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CNN This Morning

White National Group Marches in D.C.; Funeral Today for Iran's Supreme Leader; Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) is Interviewed about the SAVE America Act; McMorrow Drops out of Michigan Race. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired July 06, 2026 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Mentioned, you know, the Royal Belgian Football Association. They had also said they were astonished. Currently investigating all potential legal options.

And then we just heard this morning from the United European Football Association, which governs -- is the governing body of soccer in Europe, "expressing our disbelief in such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision." I mean, are there any other options, certainly any legal options, as the Royal Belgian Football Association is alluding to at this point?

ROGER BENNETT, FOUNDER, MEN IN BLAZERS MEDIA NETWORK: This is why we watch football, erica, because we love legislative courtroom drama. Now this is something that feels ripped from the WWE.

HILL: That's why we.

BENNETT: You know, home cooking is the best cooking.

I mean, it's totally unprecedented. And I'm kind of torn between being an American fan, despite my accent, I love this nation like Kenny Powers loves this nation. And as an American fan, emotionally, I'm like, this is the greatest thing ever. And as a rational fan of the football and the World Cup as an integral operation with rules and regulations in which it seems almost outlandish, insane that this man has been cleared. The very last because of, as a "New York Times" is reporting, a White House phone call to the head of FIFA to repeal a ban that has no right to appeal against.

So, our -- our great goal scorer is free on the eve of probably the biggest game in modern U.S. men's national team football history. And it feels great for many American fans. We do have to ask ourselves, Erica, if it was the other way around, if we were playing France and Macron had put the call in to get Mbappe, their best striker, ready to play, or Saudi Arabia or Qatar had done something, how would we feel? And the crazy thing is, the U.S. were doing so well in this tournament. We were playing so well. There was an element that going into battle today with Belgium, not like this. This is going to scare and stain the U.S. journey in the long term forever.

HILL: Yes. You're not the first to say. It's basically -- it's going to be an asterisk no matter what happens.

When we look at the matchup for tonight, Belgium, of course, beat the U.S. in a friendly, 5-2, back in March. What do you think the U.S.' chances are?

BENNETT: This is a game with an echo in history. In 2014, in Brazil, the United States played at the same stage, Belgium. They were then at their peak. This was a game many viewers may remember. It's the Tim Howard game when he played his lights out, the most saves ever in a -- in a World Cup game. We lost in agony at the end. Unbelievably, four of the Belgian players are still the core of their team. They're now an aging core. They're like a crime caper. Old guys coming back for one more crime. So, it's veteran experience against this young, very athletic United States team with Flo Balogun asterisk.

And I do believe this is the agony for me. I thought the U.S. were going to win this whatever this major, major game, get through this stage, round of 16 in which we traditionally stumble. But it's going to be a matchup with extra layers, football, intrigue, courtroom drama and that geopolitical level over the top of it. The World Cup contains multitudes.

HILL: Yes, it certainly does. It had felt delightfully non-political up until this point. We'll see if we can maintain that.

Before I let you go, as you noted, huge U.S. soccer fan. But we do hear your accent. So, let's talk a little England-Mexico, if we could.

I admitted to you in the break, I had to go to bed because I had to get up for this show. I am guessing, though, you stayed up late and watched it all.

BENNETT: Oh, Erica --

HILL: How are you feeling this morning?

BENNETT: How am I feeling? We'll sleep after the final in two weeks' time.

HILL: That's the spirit.

BENNETT: This is one that -- this is one of the greatest World Cups of my lifetime. As you say, it's been the people's World Cup. Just a World Cup of wonder. Off the field, the world falling in love with America again. America falling in love with global football.

The game last night in the Azteca, England going to this kind of "Game of Thrones" fortress, high altitude, smog. The most intimidating venue in world football. And somehow emerging barely intact with a victory. You're watching football. I know, as we watch it, Erica, that it will be talked about for generations. It's that beautiful. We're watching it played out before our eyes. It is like the odyssey, a Greek epic poem. And God bless the English. They were up all night. In England time, they're normally hungover. They kept drinking, kept powering through. And this World Cup is just a human gift.

HILL: It's great. I mean, that's how you power for the hangover, right, you just got to keep going.

BENNETT: There -- again, Erica, you're giving out tips to all your viewers.

HILL: It's an important lesson from the Brits.

You know, we're here to help on so many levels at CNN THIS MORNING. All the information you need to start your day and your week.

BENNETT: Well played. Well played.

HILL: Roger, it's great to have you with us. Thank you.

BENNETT: You too. Courage. Thank you.

[06:35:00]

HILL: Just a reminder, you can check out Roger's book, "We Are the World Cup: A Personal History of the World's Greatest Sporting Event."

Well, while the country was celebrating 250 years over the weekend, a crowd of masked members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front marched through D.C. Patriot Front is considered one of the most active white nationalist groups in the country. Members were heard chanting "life, liberty, victory and reclaim America." Some of them carrying confederate flags. There's also this photo we're about to show you. This photo, which has gone viral. It shows a young African American woman sitting on the subway, surrounded by members of the group.

The group chat is back with us.

This photo, I mean, you talk about a photo that is worth a thousand words. There is so much in that.

I know, Mario, you told us, you know, we always ask our guests what's going to be in your -- in your group chat for later in the show. This was in your group chat. What was the conversation?

MARIO PARKER, MANAGING EDITOR, ECONOMY/GOVERNMENT, "BLOOMBERG NEWS": Absolutely. Well, first of all, my cousin sent it to me on Saturday after I turned my face away from my phone. My mother yesterday was talking about it too as well. Both African American women. Not lost on me at all. Just speaking about kind of the dissonance that we see here. Just so much captured in this photo, the courage of the young woman just standing -- sitting there, if you will, the posture that she has, as my mother mentioned, ten toes firmly down to the ground there.

And just the iconic -- the iconic part of this photo. I mean it kind of harkens back to, on this 250th anniversary of our country, harkens back to so many other photos that we've seen throughout history as well. And so, it just resonated with my family, my friends, and just resonated throughout my group chat as well right there.

HILL: And understandably. There were also, you know, the questions about what this represents. My colleague, Dana Bash, yesterday, she asked Interior Secretary Doug Burgum if he would recommend to the president that he condemn this group. This again, white nationalist group. Here's his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG BURGUM, INTERIOR SECRETARY: A part of my response to that is that there are protests on The Mall that people say things that I think are reprehensible about President Trump, and yet they're allowed to go on because of free speech in our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So, it's tough to forget that in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, President Trump actually issued a presidential memorandum, and he directed the National Joint Terrorism Task Force to focus on, in his words, "domestic terrorists whose common ideologies include anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, anti-Christianity."

You have masked -- masked, it's important to note -- white nationalists marching through the capital. Confederate flags. The administration, Eleanor, is saying this is protected free speech. Is there a double standard?

ELEANOR MUELLER, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, SEMAFOR: It's a fantastic question. And I think it's unfortunate that Congress is out for the next week because I think a lot of people would have liked to hear what Republicans in the House and the Senate would have had to say. I'm sure that some of them would have taken this line that the interior secretary took, said that it was free speech and that there was nothing the administration could do. But I am also sure that we would have seen others denounce this group and what it stands for.

I was on The Mall with the president on Saturday night. I saw the folks in attendance. Mostly supporters, right? I think Trump has very purposefully turned this 250th anniversary of America into a partisan exercise, a political exercise. And, you know, clearly, the participants in this march, these -- the members of this white supremacy group have felt comfortable coming forward amid that context. And so, whether or not we see further comments, further weighing in from the White House, I think, remains to be seen. But either way, it speaks volumes that, again, these are people who have felt comfortable coming out and being part of the celebration on Saturday given that Trump has made it so much about himself and his role in American exceptionalism.

HILL: It's interesting they feel comfortable coming out, but, Joey, do not feel comfortable showing their faces. How much do you think this could potentially continue to be a part of the conversation in Washington? Do you see some lawmakers picking this up? You know, as Eleanor noted, Congress out of session at this point, but do you think we'll hear more about it into the week?

JOEY GARRISON, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "USA TODAY": Yes, I mean, I think we could. I mean it was very striking that, you know, Washington, D.C., is a very diverse city. And people -- these white nationalists were marching in the Capitol Hill neighborhoods as they went towards the National Mall.

And, you know, 250 years after the founding of this country, I think the images that we saw, particularly the really pointed image in the metro subway car, just shows how many in this country don't accept the multiculturalism that we have become. And so, I think it does start a larger conversation as we move into this week.

HILL: Yes. One could hope that it would, right, about what is actually acceptable, what is not, and what it means to be an American.

GARRISON: Yes.

HILL: It's good to have all of you with us for that chat.

[06:40:01]

Much more ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING.

President Trump reviewing Republicans line -- previewing, rather, the Republican line of attack heading into the midterms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America will never be a communist country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Democrats say they're a big tent. Says it include candidates that the president is now trying to label as communists. I'll ask Democratic Congressman Greg Landsman about that next.

And also, take a look at this. Lava spewing into the sky in Sicily. Mount Etna erupting right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: A massive funeral procession for Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, underway in Tehran at this hour.

[06:45:03]

This is the third, the largest day of public mourning.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is in Tehran, inside that very loud, crowded procession.

Just a reminder, of course, CNN operates in Iran with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is truly a historic moment that we're witnessing here in Tehran as scores of people have come out to commemorate Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who, of course, was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike along with several family members at the beginning of the U.S. and Israel's war against Iran.

And as you can see, on the ground here there is a lot of sorrow, but there is also a lot of anger. The chants of "death to America," we're hearing right now, and "death to Israel" have been going on almost nonstop, with people vowing revenge against the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We have come here to seek the revenge for the blood of our leader and we will not abandon this goal for a second. We will continue until we take the revenge from the killer of our leader.

PLEITGEN: Of course, we always have to point out that everybody is mourning today. Not everybody is out here. There are people who are deeply opposed to the rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But as you can see here, right now, the government has galvanized its supporters. They have come out here en masse.

And the message that they're sending, of course, is also directed at the United States. That if negotiations fail, Iran is ready for another fight.

Now, these processions are going to go on for another several days and then culminate when the supreme leader is laid to rest in the city of Mashhad in eastern Iran.

Fred Pleitgen CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Well, President Trump has made it clear he's putting his elections overhaul bill above everything else on Capitol Hill right now

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want to keep America great, and we will do so by approving the SAVE America Act, which means all voters must show voter I.D..

You won't have cheating on the elections anymore. It's very simple

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Now, House Speaker Mike Johnson says he's got a plan to save the SAVE Act again after sending Congress home early for the July 4th recess.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I just decided it was best to send everybody home to go celebrate July 4th in their districts. We'll come back, gather everybody together. The big urgency is to get SAVE America passed. The president has that

as a top priority, and so do I. We've passed it three times in the House. We're going to try one more time on a budget reconciliation bill, and I think that will be the way to get it through the Senate and finally to the president's desk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining me now to discuss, Democratic Congressman Greg Landsman of Ohio.

Congressman, nice to have you with us this morning.

So, the House, of course, is out until next week. Then you have eight legislative days until another five-week recess. What are the chances that the speaker is going to be able to cobble together enough Republicans to get another reconciliation bill through?

REP. GREG LANDSMAN (D-OH): I doesn't look great. I mean, you know, they are now fighting with each other. He has a hard time getting anything onto the floor. I mean, the Congress has been shut down, essentially, many, many times this session. So, I think it's low.

But, you know, the -- if Trump wants this bill, which has nothing to do with health care or schools or utility bills or what Americans are dealing with every day, just voter suppression, he'll probably get it, though it's not going to pass the Senate. They don't -- they don't have the votes.

HILL: What are your conversations behind the scenes? I'm not asking for names. But I'm always curious, what are the conversations with your colleagues across the aisle about this concerted effort by the president, which the speaker has, of course, picked up and is running with, to focus solely on this bill?

LANDSMAN: Yes, they don't like it. I mean they all have priorities that they're working on. A lot of it has to do with their districts, things that they care about. This is not top of mind for any of their constituents. No one is focused on this. They're focused on housing. For example, we got this bipartisan housing bill done to, you know, accelerate the production, the building of new housing to bring the cost of housing down.

And then he, you know, canceled the signing ceremony, said he wasn't going to sign the housing bill. That it boring. That it was a big yawn because the only thing that matters is this voter suppression bill. It's just not where they are.

You know, they don't -- they don't actually like this president. And in large part, it's because Trump doesn't really like them.

HILL: A bold statement. We'll -- I'd be interested to hear their take on that.

When we -- when we look at where things stand, there is also, that we heard from Speaker Johnson, say that he's working on a legislative fix when it comes to the ruling from the Supreme Court over birthright citizenship. What do you see as a possible legislative fix that the speaker could come up with?

[06:50:05]

LANDSMAN: Who knows? I mean, you know, the -- a couple things. One is, why is he not focused on the American people? I -- the American people are struggling. And millions have already lost their health care. And, you know, it's become unaffordable for tens of millions of Americans. Why not try to get a legislative fix on health care, on utility costs, on food costs, on, you know, all kinds of issues that Americans are struggling with. This is not an issue that they're struggling with. People have opinions about birthright, but it's not something that impacts their lives every day. So, I don't know why he's not working on the things that matter most to most Americans.

And then, you know, the idea that they're going to, you know, create some legislation. They don't do any legislation. And they passed the one big spending bill, which spent, you know, $4.5 trillion, mostly on tax cuts for the super wealthy, cut health care by $1 trillion. They passed the second bill to add another $70 billion to ICE, bringing the total for ICE to $240 billion. That's a quarter of a trillion dollars. That's it.

So, the idea that they're convening experts or, you know, looking at it from all different angles, I think he said yesterday, is laughable. They don't -- they don't really do policy.

HILL: There is, of course, a big focus on November at this point as things are picking up speed heading into the midterms. We have seen a rise in further left Democratic candidates. We saw Democratic socialists winning here in New York City. Also last week in Colorado. President Trump really seems to be leaning into that, also looking to label some Democratic socialists as communists, which is something he brought up during his speech on July 4th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America.

We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins. It's like a cancer. You got to cut it out. You got to cut it out fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: This seems to be something that we're going to hear more and more from the president, from Republicans as well. Democrats want to be a big tent party, as I know. Sometimes a united message seems to be challenging for your party. Is there a plan for that messaging from the president?

LANDSMAN: You know, he's such a divisive figure. I mean, you know, that's an understatement. But it's sad because on, you know, a July 4th weekend where most of us spent the weekend out in our communities, you know, I did several parades and spent a ton of time with constituents. And I was just really appreciative of how excited people were to be together. These, you know, these are Democrats and Republicans and independents. People don't care anything about politics. And they're just -- they're Americans. And it's just such a great weekend.

And to spend that weekend, you know, talking about, you know, how divided we are and this threat, you know, that we present to one another, as opposed to lifting us up, which I think the American people desperately want, is a leader that's going to bring us together and lift us up. And hopefully that's next. And that we'll have a nominee that does that, that is that kind of, you know, person that wants to bring us back together.

HILL: Who is the leader of the Democratic Party, in your mind, right now?

LANDSMAN: I mean, you know, Hakeem is at the top of the list. Hakeem Jeffries. But, you know, when you don't have the White House, there -- you're a little rudderless, right? And that happens all the time. What you're going to see after the midterms is, my hope, you know, a great debate among dozens of potential candidates. And these are people who want to be the president of the United States running in the Democratic primary. And my hope is that the debate is about the future of the country and where we're going to go. And we haven't had a big debate like that in a long time. And whoever emerges will be -- will be the nominee and the leader and hopefully the next president of the United States.

HILL: Congressman Greg Landsman, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.

The group chat is back with us now.

As we -- let's continue on this road of the future of the Democratic Party and where the voices are. And I think a good place to start with that is the Michigan Senate race.

So, just yesterday, State Senator Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the race. She released this video statement on her social page. Her opponent Abdul ElSsayed, of course, also releasing a video statement thanking her for her democracy but asking supporters to support him.

I want to play a little bit of what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STATE SENATOR MALLORY MCMORROW (D-MI): So, here's what we do next. Every day through November 3rd we win this Senate seat and we send Mike Rogers back to Florida for good. Whoever wins this primary on August 4th will have my full support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:55:01]

HILL: Joey, there has been a lot of attention, of course, on this race. What does McMorrow dropping out, what does it change right now?

GARRISON: Well, she had already been dropping in the polls, but she has -- still is polling at about 10 percent. I think there's a big fight right now between Haley Stevens, who's more the establishment- backed candidate, supported by Schumer, and El-Sayed, who is backed by the progressive wing and recently got the endorsement of AOC.

You know, where are those moral voters going to swing over? I mean that I think for Stevens, that's now the path for her trying to win this by arguing, hey, I'm the more electable candidate in a general election against Rogers. But all the momentum seems to be on the more progressive side of El-Sayed. And in recent polling that's shown.

And, you know, we -- in your previous segment, you saw the attacks from President Trump warning of communism in the country. He's really pointing to these rise in Democratic socialist candidates from Democrats. And, you know, that would fit into the president's narrative.

And so, you know, I think all these questions are going to be kind of battled out here in the next month before that August 4th primary in Michigan.

HILL: Mario, we still -- you know, as Joey was just mentioning, the endorsement of AOC, of course for El-Sayed and a number of other progressives who have gotten behind him. Notable endorsements. As we look at this place, this race, rather, playing out, Mario, how much of it is a snapshot of the -- of the battle within the Democratic Party?

PARKER: I think it's a lot of that. It's a big snapshot of that ideological battle that's taking place. If you speak to some of the progressives, DSA, Democratic Socialists of America, its important. El-sayed is not a member, though he has some of that backing and is aligned with them. They're looking for something new after President Trump was able to win two elections, right, from -- at the hands of moderate, more moderate Democrats.

Now, here's the distinction that I think is kind of missing here. These races that we saw in Colorado and New York as well, these are House races, right? So, when you're Chuck Schumer looking at a place like Michigan, which is a quintessential purple state, a Democratic governor, that Trump won that state in 2024 as well, whether or not a statewide race, right, for a Senate candidate, whether or not that will fly, and you can convince independents to get on board with a more progressive candidate rather than a more moderate candidate. I think what you're seeing from Schumer and the establishment is some doubts there.

HILL: And that is -- Eleanor, that is ultimately the concern, right? And that's certainly what we heard in the wake of New York City, but also in the wake of Colorado, from more establishment Democrats who were very focused on purple areas, right? Not on, in their words, turning a blue seat cobalt, right, safe seats there, but focused on places like Michigan. But, of course, they're not going to be the only ones focused there. I mean, is the Democratic machine positioned well enough, Eleanor, to

counter some of these attacks, even just the communism label from President Trump?

MUELLER: It's a fantastic question. And I think it's worth noting, too, that McMorrow, of course, is by no means a moderate. She was endorsed by Warren, if not Sanders and AOC. And the Democratic establishment, I think, is grappling with this across races. I think we saw it in the fall a lot in Democratic House races. To Mario's point, it is even more -- the stakes are even higher in these Senate races because, yes, again, this is a purple seat. It is a state where you have to appeal to voters who may have voted for Trump just two years ago. And what folks we spoke with in the fall when we wrote about this initially when it was popping up in the House told us was, there's just so much enthusiasm on the Democratic side and there's so much frustration with Trump that a lot of it is being expressed via these more farther left positions.

Clearly, Trump thinks it's a winning argument to denounce them as communism, to warn people about the dangers of adhering to these kinds of stances. But whether or not that's borne out in November, I think, is kind of anyone's guess at this point.

HILL: As we move into the group chat, as I noted earlier in the show, of course, NATO Summit this week in Turkey. President Trump will be making his way there. He is set to meet with President Zelenskyy on the sidelines.

Joey, this is in your group chat.

GARRISON: Yes. I'm really curious whether Zelenskyy is able to use this meeting on Wednesday to really kind of convince President Trump to refocus on Russia's war in Ukraine. You know, for the past several months, Trump has been really solely kind of concentrated his foreign policy on the war in Iran. And, you know, that's often put this on the sidelines. Can Zelenskyy change the conversation here?

HILL: Well, we'll be watching to see. We have about 30 seconds for you guys to share.

Eleanor, "Love Island U.K." A little bit of a departure from Zelenskyy.

[07:00:02]

MUELLER: A little bit of a departure. Someone said recently that people with stressful jobs don't watch prestige television, they watch reality TV. And I think that's true.

HILL: There we go.

MUELLER: And if you're watching "Love Island," best episode of this season, Casa Amor. If you know, you know.

HILL: OK. And, Mario, you get last word for something that I know is in Boris

Sanchez's, my good friend's group chat, because he wants LeBron in Miami.

PARKER: Yes. Where LeBron goes next. Does he go to the Golden State Warriors? Does he go back home to Cleveland?

HILL: We will be watching it all.

Great to have all of you with us this morning. Thank you.

Thanks to all of you for watching. I'm Erica Hill. The headlines are next.