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CNN This Morning
Federal Hate Crime Charge in Flamethrower Attack; Fault Lines Form as GOP Senators Debate Trump's Agenda; How the Very Rich Influence Politics & the Economy. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired June 03, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has announced the birth of 15 skunks. Isabella gave birth to a litter of seven kits on May 5. And then, two weeks later, another skunk, Padfoot, gave birth to a litter of seven kits.
[06:00:16]
The zoo says that the parents and the little ones are all healthy.
All right. On that note, we'll leave it here. Thanks for joining us on EARLY START. I'm Rahel Solomon, live in New York. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: It is Tuesday, June 3, and here's what's happening right now on CNN THIS MORNING.
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J. BISHOP GREWELL, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO: He acted because he hated what he called the Zionist group.
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CORNISH: A firebombing attack at a pro-Israel rally in Colorado, the latest in an alarming trend. Can anything be done to stop the violent cycle?
Plus, growing opposition to the president's tax and spending bill. Can it pass in the Senate without major changes?
Then, disturbing testimony in the trial against Sean Combs. Why his ex-assistant says she didn't come forward with sexual assault claims sooner.
Later, is FEMA ready for hurricane season? What the new boss said in a briefing that didn't exactly inspire confidence.
It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here's a live look at the White House.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for waking up with me. And we are going to start with that story out of Colorado.
Investigators say the man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails and using a flamethrower in an antisemitic attack there had been planning it for a year.
Forty-five-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman is now charged with a federal hate crime and multiple counts of attempted murder. The D.A. says they found 16 unused Molotov cocktails.
At least 12 people were injured. They were gathering in support of Israeli hostages. And then witnesses say they saw huge flames, people getting water from a nearby fountain there to pour on the victims.
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GREWELL: Mr. Soliman stated that he had been planning this attack for a year.
And when he was interviewed about the attack, he said he wanted them all to die. He had no regrets, and he would go back and do it again.
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CORNISH: Investigators say he yelled, "Free Palestine," and a court affidavit alleges he said he wanted to kill all Zionist people.
The victims include six members of one congregation.
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RABBI MARC SOLOWAY, BONAI SHALOM SYNAGOGUE: It's just shattering. You know, some of that dream has been -- has been smashed in this horrific attack.
They were violently and brutally attacked by fire, and it's like -- brings up horrific images of our -- of our past. You know, just the idea of someone who's literally got their body on fire.
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CORNISH: Joining me now is CNN senior national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem. She's a former homeland security assistant secretary.
And, Juliette, I often turn to your writing, because you talk a lot about political violence. So, thank you for being on the show this morning.
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
CORNISH: So, I was looking at the numbers from the Anti-Defamation League. They say they recorded more than 9,000 antisemitic incidents in 2024. And that's a 344 percent increase over five years.
Given the cuts to the Justice Department grant programs that actually deal with hate crimes and prevention, is this DOJ even positioned to deal with a rising problem?
KAYYEM: Yes, it is -- it is in a tougher position than it was before. There still exists a civil rights division, although it has been fundamentally gutted at this stage. And that's the -- that's the group that prosecutes these federal hate crimes.
But there's pieces of the government that we don't see a lot. They're the ones -- you know, they're not in a courtroom. And these are the grants and funding that -- that you mentioned both at DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security. There are grants to support community security efforts, as well as nonprofit security -- nonprofit group security.
And those often included synagogues, Jewish community organizations, and other places that would have supported protection, as well as reporting on antisemitism.
So, there is a link between sort of the decision to not really focus on prevention. That was sort of the decision by DOGE and all of these cuts. And that will have an impact on both reporting and the protection of various communities, and in particular, the -- the Jewish one.
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CORNISH: You talk about the performative intimacy --
KAYYEM: Yes.
CORNISH: -- of this kind of violence. What do you mean by that?
KAYYEM: Yes, I actually had not seen the clip from that rabbi at the end. It was exactly what I had thought when I saw these images.
If you put both what happened in D.C. two weeks ago and -- and what happened in Boulder, you're seeing a focus, in terms of the antisemitic crimes, on a very intimate sort of -- and I mean that in a way, sort of disgusting, perverse attacks. In D.C., it was essentially a hunt -- a hunt.
What we understand now is the two victims had been shot multiple times trying to run away.
In Boulder, you have a flamethrower and then the Molotov cocktail. And as that rabbi said, burning of the flesh is not only a horrible way to die, it has symbolism for the Jewish community, of course, given what happened in the Holocaust.
CORNISH: When I look at political and social violence, I also think to the murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, even the attempts on President Trump's life. How are you thinking about political violence? And are we seeing a distinct rise?
KAYYEM: Yes, we are, and they're all different. And so -- and what's important to remember, or at least for people in the public space or people commenting on this, is that there is no -- as I say, there is no "but."
You can't say it's wrong to assassinate. But I don't like, you know, UnitedHealthcare. Or it's wrong to -- to kill people, but what's happening in Gaza is horrible.
It's that conjunction of "but" that has really muted the -- the -- the horror of what's going on. And so, as a community and civil society, we need to -- to condemn it without qualifications.
We have big debates. I've been on air through the Israeli-Hamas war. I've had big debates about what is going on there. None of them would justify what is happening now, which is equating Jewish Americans, in this case, or Israeli diplomats with Israel.
And that is what is so scary about antisemitism, because it's not conduct, it's not opinion. It is just who -- who the Jewish community is.
And that equation of Israel with -- that equation with Jew -- Jewish identity with Israel's policy -- very distinct things -- is what we're seeing in these antisemitic attacks, is that these killers are merging those two things.
I want to say, this has nothing to do with Palestine. Both killers screamed "Free Palestine," or "This is for Gaza." This has everything to do with antisemitism. There's nothing to do with supporting what is happening in Gaza, let alone peace in the Middle East for Israelis, as well.
CORNISH: That's Juliette Kayyem, CNN senior national security analyst. Thank you so much.
KAYYEM: Thank you.
CORNISH: Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, Senate Majority Leader John Thune wants to pass the president's agenda by July 4. Is that even possible?
And is FEMA ready to respond to a major disaster like a hurricane? Helene, for example? The former administrator is here to weigh in.
And he may be on the run, but he has still got time to post on Instagram. A New Orleans fugitive pleads for help in a now viral video.
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ANTOINE MASSEY, ESCAPED INMATE: Meek Mills, Donald Trump, Lil Wayne, please help me.
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[06:12:52] CORNISH: The fault lines are forming among Senate Republicans as they chart a path forward on President Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is setting out an ambitious timeline to pass a bill by July 4th, and he says they're on track to do it.
It is still a closely divided Senate, though, and you have one group of Republicans who are concerned about Medicaid, specifically, because they're from states which depend on it. West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito says she heard a lot of concern in her state over the proposed changes.
Some senators want to see more cuts across the board.
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SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): The House did a pretty good job, in my opinion. We can -- we can -- we can do more, I think, in the Senate. And I've said repeatedly, I'm all for reducing spending until we run out of votes. But we need to pass something, because we need to renew the tax cuts.
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CORNISH: Another group of senators threatening to vote no over concerns about the deficit. House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised the bill doesn't increase it.
Senator Rand Paul says the bill contains a measure to raise the debt ceiling, something he and a few others oppose.
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SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): You can say it doesn't directly add to the debt, but if you increase the ceiling 5 trillion, you'll meet that. And what it does is, it puts it off the back burner. And then we won't discuss it for a year or two. So, I think it's a terrible idea to do this.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Has this president called you. Have you spoken to him about this yet?
PAUL: I spoke to him this week, had a lengthy discussion with him.
RAJU: How did that go?
PAUL: He did most of the talking.
RAJU: He didn't convince you?
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CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Jackie Kucinich, CNN political analyst and Washington bureau chief for "The Boston Globe"; Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist and senior adviser to the Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns; and Ashley Davis, former White House official under George W. Bush.
Welcome, guys.
CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
CORNISH: Good to have you.
Jackie, I want to start with you, because you heard there even the senator, Paul, was on the phone with Trump. So, obviously, Trump is leaning in to try and crack some of those who are putting some -- who are raising opposition to the bill.
What are your reporters saying about what they're learning?
JACKIE KUCNICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, I think it's -- Trump also got on the phone with Josh Hawley, who's another senator who's been very outspoken about --
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CORNISH: From Missouri, yes.
KUCINICH: From Missouri. And he's -- he's had a "New York Times" op-ed about his concerns about cuts to Medicaid. And it does seem like they have a lot to talk about in this bill.
CORNISH: Yes.
KUCINICH: And the Senate -- when has the Senate not wanted to change something that the House sent over? So, what can they change that won't upset Mike Johnson's math? That's the open question.
CORNISH: Well, he actually said he spoke to Trump.
KUCINICH: Yes.
CORNISH: He wrote on Twitter, slash X: "Just had a great talk with President Trump about the Big, Beautiful Bill. He said, again, NO MEDICAID BENEFIT CUTS."
Problem solved. I mean, does that -- does he sound convinced? Like, what do you make of that?
KUCINICH: Well, I think what you're hearing from House Republicans is that they're not cutting Medicaid. They're cutting waste, fraud, and abuse. I don't know that that's going to fly when senators actually start digging into it. That's messaging, not necessarily what the bill does.
CORNISH: OK, you guys.
ROCHA: When you start explaining how you're not cutting Medicaid, the explaining part is what political consultants like, because you're cutting Medicaid.
It could be folks that they deem not qualified to be on Medicaid, and that's their right. But to me, it's cutting Medicaid. And when I make a TV commercial, it will say cut Medicaid.
This is what Senator Hawley doesn't want. This is what a lot of Republicans in the midterms don't want.
And I understand that we have a budget debate, and we can go through the policies and the nuances. And I'm not going to be the policy expert. I'll leave that to my friend Ashley.
But I will say that, for making political ads, if you cut Medicaid, that's what I'm going to say.
CORNISH: OK. Ashley, I want to get to you, but Chuck just brought up this idea about political ads. The conservative Club for Growth is already releasing ads targeting Lisa Murkowski and Kevin Cramer, some people who are also reluctant. And they want to put some pressure on them. Here's a little bit of it.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One big, beautiful bill. We love that bill.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But there's one big problem. Senator Kevin Cramer, opposing Trump's bill, because it guts Biden's climate law, saying, quote, "There are too many things in there that are too important."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell Murkowski, don't block Trump's agenda. Make tax relief permanent, because strong hands built Alaska.
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CORNISH: OK, so, the voice actors who do these kinds of ads are going to be busy, because it's like tell so and so that they're screwing you.
ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL UNDER GEORGE W. BUSH: But I also think that's going to play differently in Cramer's -- in North Dakota than it is in Alaska.
CORNISH: But it's the fact that the ads are targeted.
DAVIS: Yes. And -- which is the new way of life right now, right? I mean, in general.
But let's just go back to the bill for two seconds.
The Senate Republicans are meeting today. Thune's going to tell them he wants this done by June 20. You know, the week of June 23 on the floor. So, that means that it passes by July 4. We'll see if that happens or not.
You have five committees this week coming out with their package of the bill. They're not going to do markups in their committee. You have Ron Johnson and Rick Scott, who've kind of changed their tunes over -- since last night in regards to like, listen, we want certain things. We're concerned about the deficit; we're concerned about the budget. However, we want this bill to pass.
And then you have Josh Hawley, you know, kind of stepping things back a little bit. So, there is --
CORNISH: I feel like I need a chart.
DAVIS: You're really dealing with. And, you know, the other two senators that you're really dealing with are Murkowski and Collins. Right? So that's your universe to get on board.
But they're -- they're moving quick. And he's going to try to get this done. And I think --
CORNISH: You think even the speed is a factor?
DAVIS: Yes.
ROCHA: I think speed is the most important factor. They've got to get this done. Yes. This thing hangs out there longer, you start losing people. You -- yes, it's going to be bad.
DAVIS: I think they -- the bill gets passed, No. 1. And I think they get it passed by the recess, because they kind of have to.
CORNISH: Yes. OK. Group chat, stay with me. We're going to talk more about this and other things later.
Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, is she in or is she out? More on what former Vice President Kamala Harris's absence from a convention could signal about her plans when it comes to running for California governor.
Plus, they're haves and have yachts. We'll dive deep into a new book exploring how the ultra-rich are dominating everyday life.
And good morning, Orange Beach, Alabama, as the sun rises on this Tuesday morning.
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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Are you living in a democracy when Mr. Musk can spend $270 million to elect Trump, and then becomes the most important person in government?
That is the reality of American society today. The very rich, getting richer. Working-class people are struggling; 800,000 people sleeping out on the streets.
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CORNISH: Got to go off-script for a second and talk about this new reality we are living in, where a world that has a handful of billionaires that don't just influence our everyday lives. They kind of dominate it in a lot of ways.
Like more than half of Americans believe that's a very big problem, along with the growing gap between the rich and poor. That's according to a Pew Research Center poll.
And that's the backdrop for a new book called "The Haves and the Have- Yachts." It's a deep dive into how the ultra-wealthy are not just living differently, but wielding outsized influence in shaping the rules we live by.
Joining me now is the author of that book, journalist Evan Osnos. Good morning, Evan.
EVAN OSNOS, AUTHOR, "THE HAVES AND HAVE-YACHTS": Good morning, Audie. Glad to be with you.
CORNISH: The senator raises an issue there that you write about, which is that Elon Musk had the effect of pulling the ultra-rich into our field of vision. Talk about how significant that is.
OSNOS: Yes, I'd say it's now a subject of conversation, more so than any moment, really, since FDR a century ago.
I think people are just very aware of the fact that the ultra-rich in this country have achieved extraordinary power. We've never had a situation when the richest man in the world had, quite literally, an office in the White House complex and a department of government that he could use to fire tens of thousands of federal workers.
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So, this is something that people are aware of even more than they have in the past been.
CORNISH: We're also subject to their worldviews. In Elon Musk's case, he talks a lot about pro-natalism, having lots of children. There's also a world of the ultra-rich where they're basically doomsday preppers. I don't even know how that works when you're that rich. What did you learn about them?
OSNOS: Yes. As one Silicon Valley CEO said to me, I keep a helicopter gassed up all the time.
He has a bunker with an air filtration system.
Others -- I went to New Zealand and talked to people who had Houses there. There is a missile silo in Kansas that has been reinforced and turned into luxury condos underground.
Look, the reason is that some of them feel as if they can sense the tensions in society. They see it, in fact, on their own social media platforms, in some cases. And they worry that it is contributing, ultimately, to a breakdown in society. And if that happens, they want to protect themselves.
CORNISH: The wild part is they're protecting themselves, but you also have them influencing policy. And you talk about this, the gilded age of tax avoidance, for example, which is very relevant in this week when we're talking about a new tax bill.
How does Donald Trump fit into this? Like how does his approach to wealth and power kind of govern this moment that we're seeing?
OSNOS: In many ways, I think, Audie, that Donald Trump has kind of h-- e's sort of reified this era of the domination of the ultra-rich.
He basically believes that they should have more room to operate in society. He put -- named 13 billionaires to his administration, to the upper ranks. He, of course, gave Elon Musk a kind of power that nobody had ever had before.
The reality is today that the richest people in society have a larger share of America's wealth than even the Vanderbilts and the Carnegies, and the Rockefellers did a century ago.
And Donald Trump has said very explicitly that he believes that -- he wants to put people in power who have prospered the way he has.
But the reality is this country is -- on paper, has never been wealthier. But half of all Americans say they couldn't afford a $1,000 expense.
So, I think the real question, we've now reached a point where it's about a decision point. Are we going to take steps that will ensure that there is -- in fact, more of those resources are shared with more people?
CORNISH: Finally, I have to ask, are there -- is there any evidence of backlash, or are we all just scrolling through images of people's yachts on Instagram?
OSNOS: Yes, I think there is some fascination people have. And yet the reality is, I think the good news, honestly, is Audie, that we have been through this as a country before, about a century ago, gone through the Gilded Age.
That was a very similar time. New technologies, huge concentration of wealth.
And what happened was that Americans, including many elite Americans, looked around and said, if we continue on this course as is, it's not going to be sustainable. They made choices that ensured that there was a little more money going into the pockets of people at the bottom of the income scale, and it made a huge difference.
The 20th Century ended up being an immensely innovative and prosperous time for this country. And I think the lesson is, can we take some lessons from the progressive era and the New Deal and apply them to today? I think it may be a lot better off.
CORNISH: Evan Osnos, one of my favorite writers. Thank you for being here.
OSNOS: My great pleasure. Thanks, Audie.
CORNISH: And if any of you want a copy of "The Haves and the Have- Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultra-Rich," that is out today.
Ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, a humanitarian aid group backed by Israel and the U.S. now operating in Gaza. Are they there to help those who need it?
Plus, a former hotel security employee about to take the stand in the Sean Combs trial.
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