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Trump to Decide on Iran Strikes Within Two Weeks; Trump Draws MAGA Backlash Over Potential U.S. Strikes on Iran. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired June 20, 2025 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: It's Friday, June 20, and here's what's happening right now on CNN THIS MORNING.

[06:00:40]

President Trump giving diplomacy a shot, granting Iran a two-week window. Can negotiations succeed with missiles still flying?

Plus, overnight, Israel and Iran continue to trade blows as Iran's top diplomat heads to Europe for nuclear talks.

And the Republican rift deepens. Will the president's decision on Iran fracture the party further?

At the top of the hour, here is a live look at Tel Aviv, Israel, as strikes between Israel and Iran continued overnight.

Good morning, everybody here on the East Coast. I'm Audie Cornish. And thank you for waking up with me.

I want to start with this escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, and specifically, this new deadline to find a diplomatic solution before the U.S. steps in.

Here's the latest. Iran launched more strikes on Israel overnight. First responders are now searching for victims after a missile hit a technology park housing Microsoft offices in Southern Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he plans to strike every nuclear facility inside of Iran, while refusing to rule out targeting Iran's supreme leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I instructed that no one in Iran will have immunity. I said, we will achieve all our goals: all their nuclear facilities. But the decision to join is President Trump's. If he wants to join or not, it's his decision. He'll do what's best for the United States, and I'll do what's best for Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: President Trump now has a two-week deadline for Iran to agree to a nuclear deal and abandon its uranium enrichment program, or face a potential U.S. strike. That two-week timeline might sound familiar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I will make that decision, I would say over the next two weeks.

I could answer that question better in two weeks.

And I'll do this at some point over the next two weeks.

I'll announce it over the next two weeks.

You know, in about two weeks.

It'll be out in about less than two weeks.

Maybe in two weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Sabrina Singh, former deputy Pentagon press secretary; Rob Bluey, president and executive editor of "The Daily Signal"; and Lulu Garcia-Navarro, "New York Times" journalist and podcast host.

So, we were just playing all the times he's kind of set this ten-day deadline. But in the case of kind of defense and security concerns, two weeks is a lifetime.

Can you talk about kind of how White Houses -- or like how they think about that block of time and what you do with it when you're trying to make this kind of decision?

SABRINA SINGH, FORMER DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: It's a lot of time, and you're already seeing the department move additional fighter squadron into the region.

You have F-16s, F-35s already moving into different bases along the Middle East. You also have an additional aircraft carrier that is going to move to the middle -- to the Middle East, to the Central Command area of responsibility.

So, all of this is posturing, and what it's doing is a power projection. It -- you know, we have -- in the previous administration, when I served under the Biden administration, I mean, we literally moved an aircraft carrier right outside Iran to show how close not only we can get, but look at the air capability that we have on this -- on this aircraft carrier.

This also gives the president a lot of optionality, a lot of flexibility and maneuverability within the area of responsibility that would potentially conduct a strike with Israel, should the president choose to go forward.

Two weeks is a lot of time, but it takes a lot of time to move a carrier, as well. And you can't forget that these carriers, it takes an incredible amount of manpower to -- to --

CORNISH: Yes.

SINGH: -- to move. And that's -- you know, you're moving a major city, a little city --

CORNISH: Essentially.

SINGH: -- in front of -- in front of a country.

CORNISH: So, we --

SINGH: It's a lot of time.

CORNISH: We heard Sabrina saying a lot of words here like "optionality," "maneuverability." All of that sounds like we need time to figure out what we are doing in response to Israel because, as Netanyahu said, he's going to do what he's going to do.

I want to play a clip when the press secretary fielded a question about this two-week self-imposed deadline from the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's used this phrase "about two weeks" several times in terms of, like, we expect like a two-week deadline. And then you give another two-week deadline.

How can we be sure that he's going to stick to this one on making a decision on Iran?

[06:05:00]

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, in those deadlines, as you've seen in respect to Russia, Ukraine -- might I add, these are two very different complicated global conflicts, as you know, that the president inherited from our previous incompetent president and the weakness of the previous administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROB BLUEY, PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "THE DAILY SIGNAL": Yes, it's --

CORNISH: Eyebrows up. Tell me, Rob.

BLUEY: Eyebrows up.

President Trump's doctrine is peace through strength. And so, I agree with Sabrina that he's trying to project power in the region. He would ultimately like to reach a diplomatic solution.

I think he -- he treats this as a very serious matter. He does not want to put American lives in harm's way if he doesn't need to. And so, that's why you're seeing him drag this out. Now, I do have concerns that what can Iran do in the next two weeks? I

mean, we will continue to see death there in not only that country, but in Israel. And so, every day that passes is another day that you give the Iranian regime an opportunity to strike back on Israel.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's the generous interpretation of what's happening. I think another interpretation of what's happening. And ultimately, we don't know what's in the president's mind, because he changes it so often is that precisely this.

We saw Steve Bannon showing up at the White House. We know that MAGA is split over this decision.

Basically, President Trump came into power with this promise that there wouldn't be any foreign entanglements. And so, politically speaking, this is very dicey for him.

The other thing about this two weeks is the two weeks can be two months. As they wrote in "The New York Times," the space-time continuum has no meaning to the White House often, because we really don't know what is in the president's mind.

This, though, has real ramifications. There are people in Iran who are dying. There are people in Israel who are dying. And in the meantime, you know, this is not a reality TV show. This is an actual active conflict.

CORNISH: But on that, you guys have the same point, which is that just because you want to create some space for yourself to make decisions, doesn't mean the situation won't escalate during that time, right? And that's a concern I hear both of you having.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes.

BLUEY: That is a concern. And to Lulu's point, I mean, I do think that there are some prominent voices within the MAGA movement who clearly are trying to signal to President Trump this would be a mistake to take military action.

At the same time, as CNN's Harry Enten has pointed out, the Republican base is largely going to follow what President Trump does here. So, if he decides to take military action, I think that he will generally have support among Republicans.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: It depends what happens at the other side of that military action.

CORNISH: Yes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I think -- I think, yes, the base follows him, until you have one of an American fighter pilot in the air that could get shot down.

Or if the United States does join Israeli strikes, you know, Iran largely has held off on striking Americans in the Middle East, our bases. They use their proxy groups. They use Hezbollah.

Should Iran strike, with a ballistic missile, one of our bases in the Middle East, we don't -- we do not have the type of air defense and air cover that a base would need to -- like, if it were to be overwhelmed.

So, I think it is incredibly dangerous. And, you know -- you know, I think this president has said peace through strength, America first. This does kind of fly in the face of what he promised on the campaign trail.

CORNISH: Yes, yes. Listen, you guys, we're going to talk more about this, because there are many more angles to come. So, stay with us.

Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, as we monitor this breaking news out of the Middle East, Israel says it hit several industrial sites in Tehran overnight. We're going to talk about what they were targeting.

Also, heightened concerns over the safety of lawmakers, as a Congressman claims he was run off the road by an angry constituent.

And the L.A. Dodgers claim ICE agents were denied entry to their stadium Thursday. Does the team need to do more for the immigrant community? Stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty percent of their fan base is Latino. I am a Dodger fan, you know. And this is -- you know, I do struggle with this, because, you know, as a sport and as the players, I love -- you know, I love all of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:13:25]

CORNISH: It's now 12 minutes past the hour. And here is your morning roundup.

President Trump has granted TikTok another lifeline, signing a 90-day extension to delay the sale or ban law. The original deadline was in January.

The Chinese-owned company now has until mid-September to sell the app.

GOP Congressman Max Miller says he was targeted Thursday morning while on the way to his office in Ohio. He claims a man with a Palestinian flag yelled, "Death to Israel" as he ran Miller, quote, "off the road."

Miller, who is Jewish, describes himself as a staunch defender of Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. MAX MILLER (R-OH): If you have an issue with a legislator, your city councilman, your mayor, anyone like that, the appropriate thing to do is to reach out to them for a phone call, to set up a meeting at one of our district offices.

What is not OK is to assault anyone -- whether you're a member of Congress or anybody else within our district -- while you are driving to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The three top Democrats in the House releasing a statement condemning the act, writing, quote, "This is a moment of crisis that requires Congress to act decisively in order to ensure the safety of every single member who serves in the People's House."

And severe weather ripped through the Northeast Thursday, leaving behind damage in several states. Near Philadelphia, strong winds ripped up trees from their roots. At least one child was injured.

In New York City, a teen was struck by lightning in Central Park.

And near Buffalo, a sinkhole opened up after flash flooding.

Now straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, 4,000 National Guard troops deployed to California. After a new court ruling, they won't be leaving anytime soon.

[06:15:08]

Plus, if President Trump decides to attack Iran, could his MAGA base revolt?

And good morning, St. Louis. You've got a beautiful sunrise under the arch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CORNISH: So, the prospect of U.S. involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran is dividing the MAGA base. President Trump's two-week negotiating window, announced after a visit to the White House from former adviser Steve Bannon.

A source tells CNN he had lunch with the president.

Bannon has repeatedly warned Trump not to join Israel's military campaign against Iran. He's not alone. Some of the loudest voices in conservative media now taking sides.

[06:20:08]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLIE KIRK, HOST, "THE CHARLIE KIRK SHOW": I can tell you right now, our MAGA base does not want a war, at all, whatsoever. They do not want U.S. involvement. They do not want the United States to be engaged in this.

MARK LEVIN, PODCASTER: This is a country that tried to assassinate our president. You know, in the good old days, that would be enough to blow them off the face of the earth. They tried twice, and we haven't done anything.

TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, "THE TUCKER CARLSON SHOW": I think it's going to happen. I don't -- you know, who cares what I think.

STEVE BANNON, PODCASTER/FORMER TRUMP SENIOR ADVISOR: You think -- Do you think we're enjoining the combat?

CARLSON: Yes, I do.

BANNON: Offensive combat oper --

CARLSON: I do.

BANNON: Well, we have to -- We have to -- We can't assume that. We have to stop that.

CARLSON: But these things are never the --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The group chat is back.

The reason why I wanted to talk about this is not because the Internet loves watching a good fight, although that is clearly what is happening, but because the president is known for -- this is the reporting -- kind of whoever's last in his ear, kind of having -- do you agree? -- kind of having not the last say, but certainly influence.

So, every lunch, every tweet, every conversation is going to be reported. Rob, how are you seeing how this is playing out?

BLUEY: Sure. The president pays close attention to all those voices we just heard. Plus, Tucker Carlson and others who've talked to him just within the last few days.

CORNISH: But he was dismissive of Carlson, and Carlson had to like, I guess --

BLUEY: Apologize.

CORNISH: -- apologize. So clearly -- and he said, "America first" is what I say it is.

So, that's what I'm trying to interpret. Do you see a president listening to this stuff or saying, let the grown-ups talk?

BLUEY: Yes, I think no matter what issue you're talking about, Audie, President Trump is listening to those particular voices, because he recognizes that's who the MAGA base is -- is getting their news and information from. So, he has to keep in touch with them.

I think at the end of the day, though, this president is going to base his decisions on the national security advisers and the intel that he gets on the Middle East, probably not somebody who's broadcasting on a podcast platform.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Hmm.

CORNISH: Lulu doesn't know. OK, look, let me put --

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Maybe. I don't know. Listen, I fully don't know who the president listens to, but what is instructive, for example, is what happened over immigration. And I'm using this for a reason, not to just veer away from the Middle East.

CORNISH: Tell me.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: But -- but, you know, we had a situation where you had the secretary of agriculture saying this is going to be a problem. Getting rid of workers is going to affect our food supply. Immigrant workers provide a lot of America's food. True. Hotels, of which Trump has. Et cetera. Et cetera. Please don't deport these people.

Trump listens to her, tweets it out, says we're not going to be touching these people again.

And then I guess Stephen Miller gets in his ear. And then sort of 48 hours later, it's like, actually, no problem. Go after these people wherever they are.

And so, what this shows is not only are the heads of the departments in the United States government really having no sovereignty over what is actually being implemented. This is all being run out of the White House. But Donald Trump changes his mind all the time, so it's very difficult to know what he's going to do.

CORNISH: OK. And then meanwhile, for Democrats, here is how this is being talked about. I want to give you an example, starting with Senator John Fetterman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): I absolutely -- I think I was maybe the only one that said we really have to fully support him taking out Iran at this point. We can't ever allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.

SEN. PETER WELCH (D-VT): What is really the agenda with Netanyahu is to go beyond that and get us involved in a regime change war with Iran. And I adamantly oppose that.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): This is an opportunity for the Democratic Party to be the anti-war party again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: During the Bush era, Democrats established themselves as being, like, anti those wars in the Middle East.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes.

CORNISH: You also had, obviously, with the campus protests, a sort of renewed conversation about Israel. What do you see in how Democrats are talking about this?

SINGH: Yes, I think -- I think there is a bit of consensus here that we do not want to get dragged into a larger war.

And Israel, certainly, as you know, we are Israel's closest -- one of Israel's closest allies. Israel is going to use this moment to say to the United States, look, Iran is severely economically and militarily weakened. This is the time to strike.

But is it really? Because then what happens next? What happens to that nuclear facility if you don't damage it? What happens if you actually do need boots on the ground to put explosives to actually further, you know, destroy the Fordow facility?

CORNISH: So, you're seeing the horseshoe politics here, where bipartisan, there is a group in each wing asking those questions?

SINGH: I -- I think what Democrats are asking is what's actually the plan? Because there does not seem to be a plan.

There certainly is not a plan in Gaza. In -- in Lebanon, there is a ceasefire holding. And I think Democrats want to say or want to know, if the United States does join Israel in these strikes, what comes next? Because Israel is clearly not going to stop unless there is a diplomatic off-ramp.

CORNISH: Yes. And here's where I think those arguments in the MAGA wing, right, they sound very similar.

BLUEY: Yes. And there are -- I mean, from Tucker Carlson's perspective, he sees what's happened over the course of decades and the migrant crisis in Europe.

And then you have Steve Bannon, who's saying this is a distraction from what Trump needs to accomplish here domestically at home, particularly with deportations, if we're distracted. So, there are a whole number of factors.

[06:25:11]

CORNISH: Yes.

BLUEY: And I think you hit a good point, Sabrina. I mean, conservatives criticized the Biden administration for a lack of a plan for Afghanistan. Right?

And so, I think that it's -- it's, you know, justifiable to say we need to make sure that, if we're going to do this, we know what the outcome is going to be. And there's a lot of unknowns, if that regime were to fall in Iran. CORNISH: OK, people are obviously asking many more questions. Group

chat, stay with me. We're going to talk a little bit more about this.

Ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, Israel and Iran are going at it for an eighth straight day. Both countries are now taking heavy damage. We're live on the ground in Israel, where a hospital and a technology park have been bombed.

Plus, one too many holidays. Why Juneteenth went uncelebrated in the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)