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Erin Burnett Outfront
Explosions Over Israel & Iran, Trump: Won't Ask For Ceasefire; "We Fear No One": Protests In Iran Amid Rising Fury With Israel; Vance At ICE Command. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired June 20, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:23]
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Breaking news, Iran and Israel trading fire tonight as the president undermines his director of national intelligence, again saying she's wrong that Iran is not building a nuclear bomb.
Plus, thousands taking to the streets in Tehran and across Iran, saying, punch the U.S. in the mouth, as well as chants of "death to America!" Our Fred Pleitgen, the only Western journalist on the ground.
Also breaking, Vice President J.D. Vance in L.A. right now, making a point of visiting an ICE command center. The city itself on edge after the Dodgers said they blocked immigration agents from their stadium.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening. I'm Erica Hill in for Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, new explosions over Israel and Iran. Israel tonight claiming it's intercepted more than a dozen drones from Tehran. It's three cities in Iran come under attack by Israel, including an area that's home to a nuclear power plant. The intense exchanges coming as Iran insists it will not meet with the U.S. until Israel stops attacking. That is something Donald Trump says he won't ask the Israelis to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's very hard to make that request right now if somebody is winning. It's a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: The president also making it clear the U.S. could join Israel's assault at any moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're going to see what that period of time is, but I'm giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: The maximum. Putting Iran on notice that an attack by the U.S. could come at any time. This also comes as Trump is once again undermining his own director of national intelligence, and her assessment of Iran's nuclear program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: What intelligence do you have that Iran is building a nuclear weapon? Your intelligence community has said they have no evidence that they are at this point.
TRUMP: Well, then my intelligence community is wrong. Who in the intelligence community said that?
REPORTER: Your director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
TRUMP: She's wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: She's wrong. You'll recall Gabbard testified back in March. Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon. Yet Donald Trump, as you just heard there, telling reporters, not only is Iran building a nuclear weapon, but he says it could be ready to go basically any day now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think within a matter of weeks, or certainly within a matter of months, they're going to be able to have a nuclear weapon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: It is unclear what the president is basing that assessment on. And as tensions rise, the president is also warning reporters to take Iran's threats against U.S. targets seriously.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're always concerned about that, and we have to take them out and be very strong. You're even in danger talking to me right now. Do you know that? You are in danger talking to me right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Jeremy Diamond is OUTFRONT. He is live in Tel Aviv.
So, Jeremy, what is the latest there on the ground at this hour?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, today, we saw the destructive power of Iranian ballistic missiles on display once again, a barrage of more than 20 missiles being aimed at Israel, sending the entire country rushing into bomb shelters. Millions of people all at once, going into those shelters, there were several impacts, both in southern Israel as well as in the northern part of the country. In the city of Haifa, near to Haifa's big commercial port, there was a strike there that injured dozens of people.
One person in serious condition, two others in moderate condition. The rest were lightly injured. A mosque nearby was also damaged in the process, and this comes as Israelis are left to wonder what this two- week window of diplomacy will actually lead to.
It has put the Israeli government in a bit of a bind, to be honest, because, you know, they will have to make a decision first of all, about whether or not they will have to try and go and destroy that Fordow nuclear facility alone, or whether they want to wait to see whether President Trump will ultimately authorize those U.S. strikes on that facility, which is buried deep beneath the mountain.
And the best way to get at it would be using those U.S. 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs. And then, of course, there's the fact that day after day, we are continuing to see deadly strikes by Israel in Iran and also these strikes here in Israel by those Iranian ballistic missiles. We haven't seen any fatalities in recent days. But certainly, when you look at the images of the destruction, you know that it's only because of those bomb shelters and those air raid warnings that we haven't seen anyone die here in recent days.
But that possibility still certainly looms.
[19:05:01]
And the danger is there every single day that this conflict continues, as neither side seems interested in backing down, and also as the Israelis talk, not only about destroying Iran's nuclear program, but also increasingly about regime change, or at least creating the conditions for regime change on the ground in Iran -- Erica.
HILL: Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv for us tonight -- thank you.
Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT at the White House.
So, Kristen, President Trump today did not seem willing to put any pressure on Israel to stop saying that would be hard. In his words, what is the thinking in terms of that next move right now at the White House?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, they really are trying to get Iran to come to the table. We saw that with those European talks. We know that the European foreign minister from the United Kingdom was here yesterday talking to Steve Witkoff and delivered a message directly to the Iranians.
And that's what Donald Trump was actually responding to, was the Iranians saying that they weren't going to come to the table and negotiate directly with the United States, unless, of course, the United States told Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, to essentially agree to a ceasefire. He said that would be hard. Donald Trump, he said, it's hard to tell somebody when they're winning a war to actually stop doing what they're doing. But again, President Trump is really looking for an off ramp here and
looking for a negotiation with Iran and not to get the U.S. further involved in this conflict. And one of the things I want to mention here, you talked about the other thing that President Trump talked about, which was essentially defying his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, something we've reported that there has been a really a kind of break between them, just at least on president Trump's end, because he believes that she's off message when it comes to Iran.
And she has now responded to the remarks that that President Trump made. She posted this on, on Twitter saying the dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context in order to manufacture division. And then she says this, which is actually the critical part here. She says America has intelligence, that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months if they decide to finalize the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can't happen.
And I agree this is not what she said in March when she said they had paused their nuclear program and had not renewed that since they had taken a step back on that. But the thing we're going to be watching closely, Erica, is how much his head of intelligence is in the meetings coming up. And in those briefings.
We know that the president was supposed to spend the entire weekend at his Bedminster golf resort in New Jersey. Instead, he's going up only tonight for a fundraiser so he can come back to the White House tomorrow for two briefings, Saturday and Sunday with his National Security Council. We'll, of course, be watching to see if Gabbard is included in those. She has been at the White House in recent days. Her office has tried to downplay any sort of rift.
But as you heard there, that was today, President Trump saying she was wrong. She is wrong. And make no mistake, he knew who in his intelligence community had said that because he was just asked about it last week, specifically when he said the first time that she was wrong about the intelligence.
So, him kind of playing into that question, saying who from my community said that was wrong -- he knew who it was, who had said that he had just answered that question a few days before.
HILL: Yeah, absolutely. To your point, Kristen, it's certainly a question that has come up multiple times over the last few days. So not a surprise there. Interesting the way he handled it.
Kristen, appreciate it. Thank you.
OUTFRONT now, Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, he sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee, retired General James "Spider" Marks, and Barak Ravid, our political and global affairs analyst.
Gentlemen, nice to see all of you this evening.
Congressman Lawler, do you agree with the president here that the director -- that Director Gabbard's assessment that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon is wrong?
REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): Yes, and certainly from my conversations, both with the administration and just a few weeks ago in the Middle East, met with Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan, including Prime Minister Netanyahu. Look, I don't think there's any question Iran is on the verge of having a nuclear weapon. It's why Israel felt the need to take action at this time.
The president gave Iran 60 days to negotiate a deal that would end their nuclear program. And they chose not to engage in a good faith negotiation. And so, not only do I support the steps that Israel has taken, but I support the decisions that the president is in the process of making, and ultimately would support action to assist Israel in ending Iran's nuclear program once and for all.
The fact is, the Middle East, over the last 19 months has undergone significant change, and we are at a moment, a pivotal moment in which you can actually establish real and lasting peace in the Middle East. The collapse of Hamas and Hezbollah, the fall of Assad in Syria, the dismantlement of Iran's air defenses. And ultimately, if were able to end their nuclear program, this will create the opportunity for real peace in the Middle East.
HILL: As we watch all this play out, general marks, having spent your career in army intelligence, its not uncommon to have, of course, a difference of opinion, but to see this very public disagreement over the facts between the president and the DNI, those facts are critical in this moment, especially as the U.S. potentially moves forward.
How damaging could that be?
MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I tell you, having been told I'm wrong multiple times in my career, I understand exactly what that what that means. I'm being challenged. I've got to get back and figure it out. In other words, if I am presenting options to my commander in chief, my boss, and they are completely off base. We've got work to do. I mean, that's number one.
And then the fact that it was done publicly, man, that's a -- that's a punch in the face. That relationship has got to be fixed or Tulsi Gabbard becomes irrelevant if she's not part of the going forward national security invitation list, then our intelligence work is going to be at ad hoc, which has happened before.
So, administrations have gone through these kinds of changes and these kinds of challenges before. But I think it's important to realize that, you know, the president, the president's intuition or his desire to achieve a political end state will always drive what that decision making looks like.
And I think it's important to realize that if there is a three month or a multiple month, multiple year pathway for a nuclearization of a weapon and Iran, I got it. That's a pretty conservative timeline.
However, Khamenei could pick up the phone tomorrow and call his buddy and the axis of evil and Kim Jong Un and say, hey, you got a couple of nukes, ship one my way. And I'm not being facetious here, but we could at a very close point for nuclearization. And the intel world has gotten stuff wrong before. So, this is now playing out in public, which is unfortunate.
HILL: Yeah. When we look at where things stand in this moment, Iran today said, Barak, that it would only meet the U.S. for nuclear talks if Israel would agree to stop striking Iran. Here's how President Trump responded when he was asked about that today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's very hard to stop when you look at it. Israel is doing well in terms of war, and I think you would say that Iran is doing less well. It's a little bit hard to get somebody to stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Barak, do you think Israel would agree to that?
BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: There's no chance Israel would agree to stop the war, only to facilitate talks between Iran and the U.S. if Iran wants negotiations, it will have to do those negotiations under fire.
I do think, however, that if the Iranians came today and said, A, let's meet tomorrow, if it came to the U.S. and said, let's meet tomorrow to discuss a nuclear deal along the parameters that the U.S. proposed, I think it most likely President Trump will go to Benjamin Netanyahu and tell him, listen, you did your job. You did what you had to do, now allow me space to do what I want to do. Think -- but at least for now, the Iranians don't seem to be close to, you know, making those decisions.
I just want to maybe also propose an explanation to what you discussed earlier on the different versions between President Trump and Tulsi Gabbard. There is an option. Its not an option. I think the reality is that both of them are right, because on the one hand, Tulsi Gabbard is right that the supreme leader in Iran did not give an order to his people. Go build a nuclear weapon. Now. But president Trump is right when he says that the Iranians have taken steps in numerous avenues in their nuclear program that gets them very close to the point that within a very short time, once the supreme leader gives such a such an order, they will be able to build a nuclear device, a crude nuclear device, in like 2 or 3 months, which is a very short timeline.
And sometime -- there is a chance that the intelligence services, because its such a short timeline, will not know in time. And that's why I think both President Trump and Director of National Intelligence Gabbard, are actually right.
HILL: Which I have, which I have heard, I should point out from others that I've spoken to over this past week that they can both be correct in that moment.
[19:15:03] But it brings us back to really what you were talking about, Spider. And that's the fact that to have this play out so publicly, to have that there be this different interpretation of, if you will, of the facts, that could be potentially damaging not only to the administration but to the way that this is received on an international stage, on the global stage.
So, when you're looking at that, Congressman, and we have what is, you know, what Donald Trump he's saying, this is a pause to hopefully get democracy to work. It's also an opportunity for him to do what he can to help get to that point, which we know the president would like to play that role.
He has said he thinks it's hard to ask Israel to stop. He explained why, but given that he wants to give diplomacy a chance here, do you think this is actually an opportune moment for the president to go to the prime minister and say, hey, let's think about a pause for a minute while we can get this scheduled?
LAWLER: Well, again, I think President Trump obviously wanted to avoid conflict. It's why he gave Iran 60 days to negotiate a deal on their nuclear ambitions. And ultimately, they failed to reach an agreement in those 60 days. And obviously, you know, I met with Prime Minister Netanyahu just a few weeks ago. And one of the things he said to me that really stuck was we fight or we die.
The fact is, over the last year, Iran has shown a willingness not only to fund its terror proxies, but to actually launch ballistic missiles in the hundreds at a time at Israel, indiscriminately targeting civilian populations. And but for David's Sling and Iron Dome, you would have had mass casualties across the state of Israel.
So, the fact is that the prime minister does not have the luxury of time. He does not have the ability to wait until Iran launches the nuclear weapon. And so, you know, the failure of Iran to reach an agreement created this situation in which the prime minister acted.
I think the president obviously wants to avoid greater conflict. He wants to avoid this spiraling into a regional conflict. But I think the president's comments are correct, which is, look, Israelis have a responsibility to finish this. Obviously, if we can reach an agreement, great. That's why the president is giving Iran two more weeks to actually come to the table.
But the fact is, if they fail to do so, I do believe we have to be prepared to act and support Israel to finish the job.
HILL: Spider, quickly before I let you go, when we look at the threats, right, President Trump was asked again today about the risk to U.S. targets abroad should the U.S. get involved. There has been some discussion, too, about potentially cells in the U.S. that could be a major concern.
How concerned are you about retaliation specifically on U.S. soil?
MARKS: Well, very much so. Thats the notion of an asymmetry in terms of a response on the part of the Iranians. They can get beyond the region. They certainly are dealing with a significant challenge right now. The Iranians and the IRGC has been wounded, but they still have great capacity.
And there have been penetrations that have taken place not only in Europe, but in the continental United States. So, there is legitimate concern that we need to be that we need to be prepared for. And certainly, the increase of U.S. presence in the region increases our exposure. But we know how to handle that as well.
HILL: Yeah. Gentlemen, thank you all for joining me on this Friday night.
OUTFRONT next, breaking news, anger boiling over in Iran right now. The chants of death to America in the streets.
Our Fred Pleitgen was one of the first western journalists to report from Iran after those first attacks. And he filed a special report. We'll bring that to you next.
Plus, Vice President J.D. Vance in Los Angeles right now, making a point to visit ISIS command center as anger grows over Trump's crackdown.
And you're going to need a bigger boat. The blockbuster horror film "Jaws" turning 50 today. Harry Enten is here to tell us something we don't know about this classic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:23:35]
HILL: Breaking news, the State Department is warning Iran of dire consequences if it targets U.S. interests or personnel. But as our Fred Pleitgen reports, the first major Western journalist on the ground in Iran heard today, there is also no shortage of threats coming from Iran to the U.S.
Fred is out in Tehran with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Death to Israel chants to a massive crowd after Tehran's Friday prayers. The streets packed for a protest against Israel's aerial campaign, but also the policies of the Trump administration.
"We will punch the United States and Israel in the mouth," he says.
"Trump, you are threatening my leader," this woman says. "Don't you know my nation believes death is sweeter than honey?"
"What do you have, Israel?" he says. "You have nothing. You are occupiers. Unreligious. You're killing people, killing women. You kill everyone. You're terrorists."
People here vowing not to back down as the conflict escalates and President Trump ponders U.S. involvement.
As you can see, thousands of people have turned up here in central Tehran. They're chanting "Down with the USA, down with Israel". And they're warning if the Trump administration gets involved and the standoff between Israel and Iran, it will lead to direct confrontation between Washington and Tehran.
As Israel continues to hit targets inside Iran and the Iranians answer with missile barrages striking Israeli territory, Iran's foreign minister met with European nations.
[19:25:08]
MAJID FARAHANI, IRANIAN DEPUTY VICE PRESIDENT: We are entitled, tasked and determined to defend our territorial integrity, national sovereignty and security with all force. This is our inherent right.
PLEITGEN: Iran's leadership says air attacks are unifying people against Israel. A member of Iran's presidency calling on President Trump to rein the Israelis in.
FARAHANI: President Trump can easily stop the war by only one telephone to Israel. But I don't know why he didn't do that.
PLEITGEN: With public support seemingly growing, Iran's leadership says its ready for a long-term confrontation with Israel and possibly the United States as well.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: OUTFRONT now, the host of "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS", Fareed is with us.
Fareed, so you just heard Fred's reporting there, Iran claiming that Israel's attacks are unifying people against Israel, that its ready for this long-term confrontation and, if necessary, not just with Israel, but the U.S. as well.
How sincere do you believe Iran is when it comes to potential concessions, then, to end this conflict?
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": The Iranians have always put on a very tough and brave front. They generally are very, very tough negotiators. It's also probably true, as in any country, when you have an attack from a foreign nation, it has an effect of unifying the country, a kind of rally around the flag.
But it's a pretty unpopular regime. It has driven the economy into the ground. You know, it has some support, but it's not very deep.
So, I suspect that what we're watching now is the kind of routine, performative bravado. It's very tough to tell whether or not they'd be willing to make concessions yet. I suspect that that the Israeli campaign is going to continue unabated. The Iranians are not going to make concessions now. But in two weeks, if there's two weeks, more of this, you might begin to see some -- some shift in the Iranian position. But it will -- it will not be easy. This is a -- these are tough negotiators. They've been Bazaaris for thousands of years.
HILL: And as we are in this, this period, which could be this maximum of two weeks, as Donald Trump said today, this -- it's interesting the number of times that we are starting to hear Iraq brought up.
Donald Trump was asked specifically today, what's different about the intelligence now being in this moment in 2025 versus what the U.S. relied on before going into Iraq in 2003? This was his answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, there were no weapons of mass destruction. I never thought there were.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Easy, of course, to say in hindsight, he wasn't specific about what's different. But it's tough to ignore the growing concerns, right? Given the chasm that we did hear today between President Trump and his own intelligence committee and the concerns, this could be another Iraq.
Do you think those concerns, even that analogy, is that well-founded?
ZAKARIA: I think that there is always -- it's always worthwhile to be very cautious. It is very easy to start wars. It is very difficult to end them. And there is always a tendency towards hubris when your initial military attacks go well. And that is what I worry about both for Israel and for the United States.
Donald Trump is clearly trying to kind of get in on the action of what seems like an effective military operation, but there are big differences. You know, nobody's talking about troops on the ground. Certainly, the United States has no intention of doing that.
It's also fair to say, as you in your previous segment, the Iranians did make a very substantial dash towards more enrichment. Now, more enrichment is very different from making nuclear weapons. But they did something they haven't done in many, many years. They went up to 60 percent enrichment. Huge number of centrifuges.
So, they're clearly trying to do something probably to get the world's attention. I think they miscalculated. They didn't mean to get the attention this way, but there was a change in the Iranians -- you know, the way Iran was pursuing its nuclear program. They did do a big ramp up. So, it's fair to say there was some activity there.
So, I think that if the general lesson to draw from Iraq is, you know, think carefully, imagine all the ramifications. Imagine if things don't -- don't succeed, it's a worthwhile analogy, particularly for the United States, to remember that toppling a regime in the Middle East does not always lead to a good outcome.
[19:30:00]
Look at Libya, look at Iraq, look at Afghanistan. There are so many examples of that where what you get is chaos. And sometimes -- sometimes something even more radical.
HILL: Yeah. And that understandably, some of the concern and one would hope some of the calculus in this moment, Fareed, appreciate it as always. Thank you.
ZAKARIA: Pleasure.
HILL: OUTFRONT next, the breaking news, Vice President J.D. Vance in Los Angeles right now, making a point to visit an ICE command center even as the city reels over Trump's immigration raids and Trump icing out his director of national intelligence. How Tulsi Gabbard went from being in the Trump inner circle to persona non grata.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Breaking news. Vice President J.D. Vance just moments ago in L.A. threatening his.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you enforce your own laws and if you protect federal law enforcement, we're not going to send in the national guard because its unnecessary.
[19:35:01]
But if you let violent rioters burn great American cities to the ground, then, of course, we're going to send federal law enforcement in to protect the people the president was elected to protect.
HILL: Vance also taking aim at lawmaker Senator Alex Padilla, who, of course, was recently muscled to the ground after interrupting a homeland security press conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: Well, I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question, but unfortunately, I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn't the theater. And that's all it is. You know, I think everybody realizes that's what this is. It's pure political theater.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: California's governor, Gavin Newsom, immediately firing back on social media, calling him Jose Padilla is not an accident, the governor said. Vance at the federal building that ICE is right now using as a command center. His visit coming, of course, amid protests and tense standoffs over ICE's raids in the state.
Stephanie Elam is in Los Angeles.
So, Stephanie, Vance really not holding back at that presser? He did. Also, we talked about the governor's response there. He also went after Governor Newsom.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Several times he went after Governor Newsom and also Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass calling out both of them, saying that they were encouraging violence. He said it several times. He also said that this was something that was necessary. You see, behind me, the National Guard is here.
It's worth mentioning that this is the same federal building where the vice president was, where Senator Alex Padilla, not Jose Padilla, where Senator Alex Padilla was wrestled to the ground just about a week ago.
So, this is the same building that this happened in. And he was saying the vice president was saying that its necessary for the National Guard and for the marines to stay here because they don't they want to be able to respond if there's another flare up of tensions like we saw far on the other side of town in downtown Los Angeles, that began on, I think that was June 6th Friday when we saw that flare up start.
He's saying that we need to keep them here so that they're able to respond. I think for those of us who are out there covering the protests, you can see that a lot of the local law enforcement was taking the lead. The California highway patrol, the sheriff's department, the LAPD were the ones who were taking the lead. As things did get aggressive, though, that's when you would see at the end of last week that we did see some of the marines and National Guard members helping to stop those people who were agitating and difficult ways.
But overall, it's just another time here that we've seen people out here with their signs saying that these people here are here are a waste of money because it's not necessary to have this level of protection for a federal building when most people are walking around in flip flops, Erica.
HILL: Stephanie Elam, important points. Good to see you. Thank you.
I'm joined now by Lindsey Horvath, L.A. County supervisor.
It's good to have you here tonight.
You know, as Stephanie ran through what happened just in these last few moments there with the vice president in Los Angeles, and then we saw the response from the governor saying it was no accident that he called Senator Alex Padilla "Jose Padilla", what do you make of that?
LINDSEY HORVATH (D), LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISOR: That's exactly right. It was no accident. He is targeting a community. This administration is targeting a community. And they're, you know, saying the quiet part out loud. No rioters are burning our city to the streets. What burnt our city are the fires that we had earlier this year.
And if the federal government really wanted to help us, they'd focus on the assistance that needs to continue to help people on the ground. They wouldn't be going to places of work like the two Home Depots and the Lowes that were raided in my district just yesterday, where people are going to work. They're trying to support their families, and they're also trying to support families who need to rebuild their homes and their lives.
This isn't targeting violent criminals. This is targeting working people. This is an assault on working people and families who are just trying to take care of themselves. So, I think this administration has it all turned around. They're not clear about what's happening in Los Angeles. I'm happy to tour the vice president around the city so he can actually see what's happening on the ground.
HILL: Did you reach out to his office with that offer?
HORVATH: I haven't personally reached out. This is, you know, just absurd to hear that our vice president is saying these kinds of things. You know, Senator Padilla was his colleague in the Senate. He, you know, he knows exactly who our senior senator is from California.
I mean, this is what he is saying is to be inflammatory. He's talking about calming the tensions. It's the federal government that has escalated what's going on here in Los Angeles. And the best thing that could happen is for them all to leave and for us to continue conducting the work that needs to be done to take care of our residents and keep our communities safe.
HILL: I'm curious, number one, if you do reach out right and offer that opportunity to tour him around, please do keep us posted because I'd love to know if he takes you up on it, and also what that moment is like.
And just quickly, before we move on, I'm just curious your take on the timing here, because as Stephanie laid out what we were hearing from the vice president is he says he needs to keep the national guard, the marines basically on call just in case, as Steph was laying out for us, you know, people walking around in flip flops where he is right there.
[19:40:00]
What does this say about the timing for his visit?
HORVATH: Well, it's showing us that the federal government is militarizing our streets. They're bringing more guns onto our streets. They're bringing more tension and more of an escalation onto our streets, when what we need is a calming in this community, a uniting in this community to support one another.
They claim to care about working families, and it's clear that they don't. They claim to care about, you know, protecting our safety when all they are doing is escalating the tensions that are happening here. We already know that they went out of chain of command, which is the most important thing that you can respect when it comes to public safety.
So, if they really want to focus on safety, then they should take a look at what's going on in this community because we are more than capable of keeping people safe here in Los Angeles. What we need to do is support them with care and services and stop militarizing our streets.
HILL: L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you.
HORVATH: Thank you.
HILL: Up next, Donald Trump's director of national intelligence tonight, trying to get back in the president's good graces, putting out a new statement, agreeing now with Trump's claims about Iran. How did Tulsi Gabbard fall out of favor with Trump so fast?
Plus, breaking news, air raid sirens going off right now in Tel Aviv. We'll bring you live to Anderson Cooper next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:46:04]
HILL: Breaking news, we are showing you video from just moments ago as you watch your screen and as you listen, you're going to be able to hear explosions lighting up the sky over Tel Aviv, sirens going off across Israel. You see some of it there in the images.
Anderson Cooper is on the ground in Tel Aviv in a bomb shelter right now.
Anderson, walk us through what is happening and what you've been hearing just before you got down to that bomb shelter.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Yeah. Erica, we got the warning about 13 or 14 minutes ago. People have come down to the bomb shelter. This is a countrywide warning. Actually, it seems similar to the one we had about 12 hours ago, which was also pretty much in most places all across the state of Israel.
This warning has gone out. Sometimes it's more a warning just for Tel Aviv or certain areas. This one is across the country. So, everybody's been asked essentially to respond and get down to bomb shelters.
We had the ten-minute warning, which is when the ballistic missiles coming in, they -- that's about how long it takes for them to get here so that they're able to warn about ten minutes out by the most part. And then we had the red alert a few moments ago, which is shortly right before we heard those explosions in the air, those interceptors going up.
We do not have reports of any impact sites. How many of these missiles may or may not have gotten through? This is literally just happening as you all -- we're in commercial break.
But this is just about 12 hours since the last barrage of missiles were fired by Iran, hitting a building with a large explosion in Haifa. No fatalities there. Thankfully, though, a number of people were injured. Another hit in Beer Sheva and that follows, obviously, another day, the previous day in which there was also strikes in that hospital in Beer Sheva and elsewhere.
So, it's routine, but it's something everybody here is still very much paying attention to. And this bomb shelter in this hotel, a lot of people here have come down, woken up and are here with their children. There's folks here with wheelchairs. There are folks here who are carrying children who are still sleeping.
It's very calm. Everyone is waiting for the all-clear which should take place any moment from now. And then life will continue on -- Erica.
HILL: As you mentioned, it's all -- it's calm. It is. It is somewhat routine. And yet for people who do not live through that, tough to think about.
You mentioned that these were alerts that were going out. They were not localized tonight to just Tel Aviv, but actually alerts across the state of Israel tonight.
COOPER: That's right. That's what we've seen on our devices. They sort of -- we have some apps that will show us where these alerts are. So, these were across the country. It gives you a sense of perhaps the seriousness of them.
They can usually tell kind of where these missiles are going. Not always. Sometimes there may be drones involved as well. And other and other kind of weapons. So we're going to have to wait and see and get official word of exactly where this was fired from, where the missiles were heading to, and what, if anything, has an impact been all right,
HILL: All right. Anderson, really appreciate it. Glad you and your team are safe, obviously. And we will get more from you.
Of course, Anderson will be with us at the top of the hour on "AC360".
Also breaking tonight, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard changing her tune after finding herself on the outs with the president just moments ago, posting this on social media. America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months. President Trump has been clear that can't happen. I agree.
This after President Trump today doubled down against Gabbard, saying bluntly she's wrong. This after Gabbard, who has said Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and that the ayatollah had not reauthorized the nuclear program.
Tom Foreman has more now on this serious rift.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TULSI GABBARD, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The IC continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and her boss, President Donald Trump, appear at odds over what she said in March about Iran's nuclear aspirations and what he is saying now.
TRUMP: My intelligence community is wrong. Who in the intelligence community said that?
REPORTER: Your director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
TRUMP: She's wrong.
FOREMAN: As Israel and Iran pound each other. Sources tell CNN the clash between Trump and Gabbard has been heating up.
GABBARD: I recently visited Hiroshima in Japan.
FOREMAN: Ever since Gabbard went, off message and released this video just last week, which some close to Trump saw as a swipe.
GABBARD: Political elite and warmongers are carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tulsi Gabbard!
FOREMAN: Back when Gabbard was a Democratic congressmember seeking her party's presidential nomination, she hammered Trump's ideas about U.S. relations with Iran.
GABBARD: He has not put the national security interests of our country first.
FOREMAN: But as a member of the military who had served in Iraq, she gradually warmed to his largely anti-interventionist message.
GABBARD: President Trump has pledged to end wars, not start them.
FOREMAN: Late last year, she turned Republican and endorsed Trump. He picked her for his intelligence chief, despite questions about her dealings with the now deposed dictator of Syria, and all seemed fine.
TRUMP: Most of you know Tulsi, she's a fantastic woman.
FOREMAN: But now Gabbard is under scrutiny for the way she is handling her job for spending too much time polishing her own public image and for how she is dealing with Trump and Trump with her.
STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: Why was Tulsi Gabbard not invited to the Camp David meeting all day?
TUCKER CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: You know why.
FOREMAN: National Guard commitments reportedly kept her away from a key meeting on the Mideast battles, but that did not keep big name Trump supporters from asking if she's lost his confidence.
Louisiana Senator John Kennedy reportedly said she obviously needs to change her meds.
And although U.S. intelligence has said Iran may yet be years from having a nuke, the White House is sending a much more alarming message.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Iran has never been closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (on camera): As you noted at the top, Erin, she is trying to get the message out. Gabbard, is that there is no distance between her and Trump. They are not clashing, but undoubtedly there are whispers swirling around her at the White House. And usually in any White House, that's not good -- Erin.
HILL: Definitely not. Tom, appreciate it. Thank you.
FOREMAN: You're welcome.
OUTFRONT next, "Jaws" still swimming circles around modern day thrillers. That summer blockbuster is now 50 years old. Harry Enten is up next with something you don't know about the cult classic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:09]
HILL: Finally, tonight, something a little lighter on a Friday. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to need a bigger boat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: That line gets you every time, doesn't it? The feeding frenzy known as "Jaws" turns 50 today. The summer blockbuster from Steven Spielberg came out a half century ago, going to the movies and the beach really has never been the same. And events across the country are doing their best to mark that anniversary, like Martha's Vineyard, where of course, the movie was filmed. Theres a giant replica head of "Jaws" going on display there.
The Alamo Drafthouse theater chain. get this, they're hosting a series of jaws on the water screenings, so you can watch the movie there on a giant inflatable screen in the water, from the comfort of an inner tube. Don't worry. No, that's not a shark nibbling at you. Nothing to see here.
Even the New York Yankees taking a bite at the action with a Jaws themed cup and a special jaws milkshake. I'm sure that's just artificial berry flavoring right there. Nothing to worry about.
Harry Enten, who does love a little bit of ice cream joining us now.
So, Harry, when we look at this, you're going to need a bigger boat. That is by far one of the most memorable lines. Of course, from Jaws. Just how big, how popular? How do we rate this movie 50 years later?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yeah. You know, we have polling on it which shows that 81 percent of Americans, 81 percent, four in five, say they've seen "Jaws". That is more than any other horror film. They tested over 30 of them, and "Jaws" came out on top. It's not just "Jaws" 50 years ago. "Jaws" remains a top horror film even today.
HILL: I hate horror films. Hate, but this one I can watch. Because I know it's not real. I'm just getting in the water after.
I was struck at learning that Steven Spielberg was 26 when he started shooting this film, he's done all right for himself. I feel like this really set him on quite the career path.
Where does it rank compared to some of his other big hits?
ENTEN: Yeah, so if we look across right now, remember jaws was 50 years ago and it still ranks number four in terms of domestic box office all time. I mean, my goodness gracious, "E.T." is number one at $439 million. You see, "Jurassic Park" second there at 415, "Indiana Jones", the fourth. That was the one that came out in 2008 at $317 million.
But you see "Jaws" there still in the number four spot with $273 million. And of course, that doesn't even take into account inflation. If you did, it would be either 1 or 2 with "E.T."
HILL: Wow, that is pretty impressive. Okay, so you can't think about "Jaws" I would argue without thinking about the music. That song let me play it.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
HILL: Did you see that? All right. Tell me something I don't know about "Jaws" theme song.
ENTEN: Okay, I'll tell you a couple of things you don't know about the "Jaws" theme song, Erica. First off, it still scares me to this very single day.
HILL: That I believe.
ENTEN: Yeah, that you believe that and "The Terminator" are the two things that scare me. But here's the thing that I think is so important to note is that if you look back over time, guess what? The "Jaws" original soundtrack, that theme song, which a part, of course, part of that original soundtrack was the first ever horror film soundtrack to actually win the best Oscar for original score.
And that's what I think is so important about this, right? This film is it's not just a film that scares us. It's actually an excellent film with excellent music. It's an excellent cinematic masterpiece. And that is why, even to this day, it remains the number one horror film in the United States of America.
HILL: You have made your case. The only beings that are not excited about it, of course, are the sharks.
ENTEN: The sharks. They scare me, too. I don't go into the ocean when they're near.
HILL: We're coming into your world, sharks, I'm sorry that we're there.
Harry Enten, thank you, my friend.
ENTEN: Thank you.
Good to see you. Thanks to all of you for joining us tonight. I'm Erica Hill.
"AC360" starts right now.
