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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump: "Lots Of Bombs Start Going Off" If Iran Truce Ends Without Deal; Some In MAGA Questioning Trump Assassination Attempt; Video Captures Surreal Moment Hot Air Balloon Lands In Backyard. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired April 20, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:27]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Breaking news, President Trump warning lots of bombs will go off if Iran doesn't make a deal now. Iran just responding and not giving a millimeter. New reporting into OUTFRONT this hour on what officials are saying.
Plus, new conspiracy theories spreading about the Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Some MAGA supporters are now raising questions.
And uninvited guests. Thirteen people in a hot air balloon making an emergency landing in a California couple's backyard. We're going to talk to them. We've got their unbelievable video.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett on this Monday.
OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, Trump's bluster, President Trump warning if Iran doesn't make a deal soon and I quote him, then lots of bombs start going off. And he says if the ceasefire expires without a deal, quoting him again, "The United States is going to knock out every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran. No more Mr. Nice Guy." In other words, the wiping of civilization off the map tweet from Easter.
It's important to note that the Iranians haven't actually even officially agreed to show up for the talks. And Iran's top negotiator just threatened Trump, saying that Iran has used this ceasefire time to prepare new attacks. He writes, "Trump by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table in his own imagination into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering. We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield."
Now, Vice President J.D. Vance will attend the talks, the White House says, but he hasn't left yet. So, we'll see. He doesn't leave for Pakistan until tomorrow. But that leaves very little time before Trump's deadline to make a deal before the ceasefire ends. That was supposed to be well, tomorrow -- tomorrow night.
Trump today, though, unilaterally changed the end date of the ceasefire, telling Bloomberg that he considers it to be over on Wednesday night, Washington time. So extending it 24 hours, giving everyone an extra day. And there wasn't a reason given for this.
But Trump says it's highly unlikely that he will extend that deadline. We'll see. It comes as he is facing growing questions about the shifting timeline for the war, which exposes the lack of a clear strategic definition for the war's end goals at the outset, because we're now on day 52 of a war that Trump initially, the Trump initially suggested to "Axios" would be over in two to three days, right?
Remember when that was the way Putin talked about Ukraine? And now look at that.
Well, Trump is now defying even his longer estimates for this war. Here he is on March 2nd, seven weeks ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And then on March 31st, three weeks ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: The U.S. will be gone or done with the war?
TRUMP: I think with two or three weeks, yeah. We'll leave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, Trump is denying his timeline has changed despite those pieces of tape. He posted, quote, "They like to say that I promised six weeks to defeat Iran. And actually, from a military standpoint, it was far faster than that." That's actually deflecting, right? Because he's switching the conversation there within that.
But Iran, of course, is not defeated. This is not necessarily a military question. It's much more than that. And a top Trump official testified to Congress that Iran still retains thousands of missiles and attack drones capable of threatening American forces.
And we actually have new information breaking here OUTFRONT on that in just a moment. It's very important. And the threat here is, of course, way beyond military, though. That's important.
I mean, the United Arab Emirates, of course, was hit very hard by Iranian drones and missiles, is now raising the possibility of requesting a currency swap line for American dollars, according to "The Wall Street Journal". This is a major development, right? It means they need more dollars. Their currency is pegged to the dollar. They need dollars.
And the UAE is a crucial pillar for America's greatest asset as a superpower, which is the fact the U.S. dollar is the fiat currency of the world. Every barrel of oil the UAE sells, every hotel room booked in Dubai, every flight booked on Emirates bolsters the U.S. dollar, and the UAE economy has been in freefall because of Trump's war with Iran. Hotel occupancy at crisis levels. Two of the most iconic hotels in the world are closing for renovations.
The Armani Hotel Dubai, which takes up 39 floors of the world famous Burj Khalifa, tallest building, and the city's iconic sail shaped hotel, the Burj al Arab, shutting down for an 18-month, quote/unquote, "restoration".
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And more than 50,000 flights to and from the Middle East, canceled in just the first weeks of the war. The world's busiest airport was Dubai, and all of those dollars usually get spent on things that benefit Americans at home, buying U.S. treasuries and even things like airplanes. Investments to the tune of $1 trillion just from the UAE alone, according to their embassy.
Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT, live from the White House.
And, Kristen, what is the latest you're learning about where things stand right now?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, there are so much confusion around these negotiations. And a lot of this confusion is stemming from the president himself. He has these posts. He's been doing these short interviews with different journalists in which he contradicts not only himself, but other White House and U.S. officials.
And I spoke to some U.S. officials who acknowledged that these posts, these remarks, they aren't helpful to the negotiations, to actually trying to deal with behind the scenes, the Iranian people and the White House issued this statement in response to my reporting. They said, "The United States has never been closer to a good deal with Iran, unlike the horrible deal made by the Obama administration. Thanks to President Trump's negotiating ability," and then essentially says that President Trump is playing the long game and that you're too stupid or willfully ignorant if you don't see that.
But again, these senior officials, they are saying that this is making it more complicated behind the scenes. And we've seen President Trump out there giving different parameters and changing parameters. And we know behind the scenes there is a frantic flurry of diplomacy, at least the attempt at diplomacy happening.
So, what we know now, Vice President Vance is scheduled to lead that delegation with Steve Witkoff, with Jared Kushner. We believe the Pakistanis are going to be there. We don't know right now who's going to arrive from the Iranian delegation. President Trump was asked about it. He said at one point that he didn't know. They said they were going to be there. Maybe they'd be there. It's not a big deal if they aren't there.
Of course, it's a big deal if they aren't there, they are trying to get a deal done. This administration is looking for an off ramp, and they are hoping that these talks will lead to that.
BURNETT: Thank you so much, Kristen.
As Kristen said, of course, it's a big deal. If you send the president, vice president of the United States to Islamabad, Pakistan, the other side doesn't show up. That's a big deal.
Everyone is here with me.
And, Seth, you know, right now we don't even know if Iran's planning on showing. They say they aren't, but who knows, right? I mean, it could be all bluster. I know, though, that you have, as I indicated here in our open, some new information on what Iran has been doing in these two weeks on their arsenal. You know, we saw those satellite images last week where they were obviously digging up buried missile launchers. And you've got new data and numbers here. What does your analysis show
SETH JONES, PRESIDENT, DEFENSE & SECURITY DEPARTMENT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, Erin, our analysis shows that the Iranians have been very busy since the ceasefire started, in part digging out some of their drones and bringing them out of underground bunkers or fixing some of the damage to them, as well as the mobile launchers, so that the data is pretty stark, that we assess that roughly 40 percent of that Iran still has about 40 percent of its drones still capable of striking targets in the Strait of Hormuz and then in other areas, those are mostly the various shaheed drones, like the 136 is, as well as a range about 60 percent of its missile launchers. It still has available for firing.
So, I mean, that's a pretty substantial threat. I think that the Iranians still pose in the strait.
BURNETT: Pretty incredible, too, 60 percent of their missile launchers.
Barak, how confident are officials you're speaking with that the Iranians are going to show up to these talks when, you know, they're saying that they're not going to. But Vice President Vance is going. And what are you hearing they really believe is going on here.
BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: So, first, I don't think that at the moment right now, it's 7:08 p.m. Eastern Time. At the moment, I don't think Vice President Vance is going anywhere. What I hear from sources that until it's clear that the Iranians are going to show up, Vance is not going to go on the plane, and it's between 18 to 20-hour trip from Washington, D.C. to Islamabad which means that even if he leaves, two minutes from now, he's going to get there, sometime before noon tomorrow, which will leave not a lot of time to reach a deal.
And again, as I said, at the moment, the Iranians are not giving any indication that they're going to be there. I know that the Pakistani mediators and other mediators, Egypt, Turkey, are trying to get the Iranians to show up. The Iranians are waiting for a directive from the supreme leader. So, at the moment, nobody's going anywhere.
BURNETT: You know, it's also -- it's unbelievable to think that were in a moment like this.
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And, Nazila, part of this is, you know, when on Friday night, when President Trump indicated a deal was almost done and there were some the foreign minister, for example, Araghchi, who had indicated, oh, the Strait of Hormuz was going to open the IRGC and the military shut that down immediately.
So, there's clearly -- there's clearly an issue, a struggle going on about who's really calling the shot or what's going on in Iran. I know that "The Economist" has been reporting that there's been more pro- regime crowds that have been mobilized in the streets, and they're calling out the foreign minister by name, and that there's been furious arguments within the Iranian regime itself over what to do here.
I mean, what's your sense right now of who is in charge, who's calling the shots on if somebody goes to Islamabad, if there's a deal and what's in it?
NAZILA FATHI, FORMER NEW YORK TIMES CORRESPONDENT BASED IN TEHRAN FOR TEN YEARS: Erin, I think it is very clear that, hardliners within the IRGC are in charge. Definitely. All the people that are speaking very forcefully about responding to the United States are IRGC commanders who have always favored a more confrontational stance with the United States.
And, you know, their position changed after President Trump spoke on Friday, speaking in a way that sounded as if he was humiliating Iranians, as if it was the Iranians had given most of the concession. And this is because Iranians do not respond to language of threat. And I think that's when they started changing, the way they were behaving, and the foreign minister immediately came under pressure.
But I think what we are seeing is definitely Iranian hardliners within the revolutionary guards in charge and Ghalibaf, one of the leaders of the negotiating team, is one of them.
BURNETT: Yeah. Seth, you know, you talk about threats and Nazila was talking about that, that the Iranians don't respond to them. Trump is once again making his civilization ending threat. He didn't put those two words out there, but he said that he's going to knock out every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran. That is a quote, okay?
In the context of what we're talking about and you're reporting, which is I wrote it down here, 60 percent of Iran's missile launchers are still there, and 40 percent of the drones are still there. From your latest reporting and analysis that you have right now in that context, what impact do threats like Trump is making against every single bridge and power plant in Iran have.
JONES: Well, Erin, I think the challenge right now is that the administration is mostly focused, at least publicly, on sticks -- threats -- here in the sense of trying to target Iran's, not just military infrastructure, but as you just noted, their civilian infrastructure, including bridges and, and electricity grids.
The problem is that the historical record, as we look at the use of air power, which is what this is right now, of trying to coerce an adversary through air power alone is terrible. It is really hard to do that. I mean, the historical record, whether it's the Germans trying to do it to the British during the blitz, or the U.S. and the British trying to do it to the Germans during the strategic bombing campaign without ground forces, what's called denial, it becomes very difficult to do that.
And I think it's clear the Trump administration does not want to put boots on the ground. So, without you bringing those in, I think its going to be very difficult to coerce the Iranians.
BURNETT: And, Barak, then what I mean, are we are we in for another round of Israels going to go through and see who are the hardliners in the IRGC that are currently causing the problems in terms of the U.S. and Israeli view of a deal, and go eliminate them and then see the next level that surfaces. I mean, are we about to start a whole cycle again?
RAVID: Well, first, I have to say, you know, listening to some of the things that were said here, it seems one would -- could get confused and think that the previous leadership in Iran was George Washington, Jefferson, Abe Lincoln, it wasn't really the case. It's the people who murdered thousands of Iranians who went to the streets.
So, I'm not sure how much, you know, the previous one were like a bunch of moderates, and now it's a bunch of radicals. It was a radical regime before. It is still a radical regime. It's the same regime. It did not become more radical or more moderate, as some people say. At least one person says that, it's the same regime.
And this regime miscalculated in June 2025 and got a war. It miscalculated in February 2026 and got a war. It seems to me at least that the Iranians are about to make their third miscalculation in less than a year.
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And what they're going to get is what they've been told they're going to get, which is a massive destruction of a lot of their critical infrastructure.
BURNETT: I mean, I guess there's a whole conversation over which side has miscalculated more. Certainly, the United States is not where it expected to be when this war started.
RAVID: I don't think the United States has been bombed for a month. I mean, I think that the country that has been bombed is Iran, the country that has lost 6,000 or 7,000 soldiers, is Iran the country that its economy is ruined is Iran. So I don't think there's a question here, to be honest.
BURNETT: Okay.
RAVID: I think there would be a lot of debate on all of this, and I -- but I don't -- I don't want to get into it right now.
I will ask you this Nazila to the point without. I know there may be some you agree with and some you disagree with of what Barak just said, but what is the impact within Iran on regular people? We talk about how the IRGC is getting more rallies and more people are going out. Is that all surface? Is that all a fig leaf or is there more rallying behind the flag now among Iranians?
FATHI: I think it's definitely rallying the people around the flag. Initially, there was a perception among some people that the attacks, the military strike is going to bring democracy to Iran. I think more and more people are realizing that it is bringing civilian casualties, that it is ruining the country, and there is no democracy coming with military intervention. I think more people -- more and more people are leaning toward the idea that they want to keep the sovereignty of their country. There is a website that people are signing up as volunteers, and I think the number was over 26 million by Friday.
I don't think the Islamic Republic has 26 million diehard supporters. These are people who are signing up to defend their country. And this is what the war has done to Iran.
BURNETT: It's really -- it's really stunning and so much more to talk about. And we'll be able to have all these conversations in the coming days with all.
Thank you very much, Nazila, Barak, Seth, I appreciate all three of you.
And next, the breaking news, turmoil in Trump's cabinet. His labor secretary moments ago out amid an internal investigation. "The New York Times" reported her husband had been banned from the department's headquarters amid sexual assault allegations, and there was more.
Plus, growing questions among some MAGA supporters about that assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania even as Trump's FBI says that case is closed.
And up next, it's King country, our John King on the road in Ohio. The magic wall went along for the ride. And what he is finding there, he'll show you. It may surprise you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:21:56] BURNETT: Tonight, the breaking news, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez- DeRemer resigning from the Trump administration amid several controversies, posting this statement just moments ago. And I quote her, "Well, my time serving in the administration comes to a conclusion. It doesn't mean I will stop fighting for American workers. I am looking forward to what the future has in store as I depart for the private sector."
Her tenure has been overshadowed by scandal after scandal, including an internal investigation about an alleged inappropriate relationship with a member of her security detail, spending, accusations she sent staff to pick up liquor. There was a list of things and "The New York Times" also reported her husband had been banned from the department's headquarters amid sexual assault allegations. A criminal investigation into that matter has been closed.
OUTFRONT now, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Hey, Erin.
BURNETT: And, Senator, I appreciate your time. Trump's labor secretary out amidst, as I said, a list of controversies back at her approval -- you were one of 17 Democratic senators who did vote to confirm her. At this point, though, does stepping down go far enough or are more investigations necessary? Because some of the things I refer to here, right. The investigations are just being closed now that she's gone?
KLOBUCHAR: Well, I think that depends on the facts. And I think previous administrations would have made sure that everything came out. I don't believe that will happen here. The bigger question is about the record of this administration on labor to begin with, as opposed to this individual secretary, and who, by the way, was one of three Republicans to support the PRO Act?
They have gotten rid of NLRB members that should have stayed on there. That has been bad for labor. They have staged an assault on the collective bargaining rights of federal workers. And then when you look at what's happening with things like, you know, getting free steel from a foreign steel company for as big, beautiful ballroom, when you look at what's happening with manufacturing jobs because of the tariffs, and also just the general affordability issue.
So, I think you're going to see strong labor support in these upcoming elections for Democratic candidates because of what's happened.
But I also think that it is, you know, part of this whole pattern. Now, three cabinet members have been terminated or stepped aside -- Bondi, Noem and the labor secretary in just the last two months.
BURNETT: And another member of Trump's team is now under scrutiny. The FBI director, Kash Patel, he's filed a lawsuit against "The Atlantic" over their story that I know you saw, Senator, which alleges that he drinks to excess. He has unexplained absences, doesn't show up. It was damning.
CNN hasn't corroborated some of the anecdotes and episodes told in the article, but Patel just responded to it on Fox News. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: I'm happy to announce on your show that we are not going to take this laying down. You want to attack my character? Come at me. Bring it on. I'll see you in court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Senator, you're on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
[19:25:00]
So, in that role, you oversee the FBI. So, if this reporting holds and Patel does not step down, it would seem this is a national security crisis. Can anything be done about it?
KLOBUCHAR: Well, we must have an immediate, immediate hearing with Kash Patel. If he says, see you in court, I think he should also say, see you in the judiciary committee.
I obviously didn't support him. We had a very testy back and forth in my questions of him, but I think it's not a surprise that his response, instead of either resigning or instead of giving his facts out there, he attacks and sues in court.
This is what this administration does. There's a constant attack on journalism in the media, and its time and time again these suits by Donald Trump and others are ultimately thrown out.
BURNETT: And obviously, "The Atlantic" stands by its reporting. And, Senator, we are now, as you and I are talking tonight in the longest Department of Homeland Security shutdown in the United States history, at the center of this is the standoff funding for ICE. Democrats oppose funding ICE without specific reforms.
Conservative members of the House refused to support a bill that doesn't have ICE funding. So there has been this standoff. The Freedom Caucus wrote in an X post at the beginning of the month, "If allowing Democrats to surgically remove agencies they don't like from the rest of the federal discretionary budget becomes the new norm, buckle up." Basically seems like a sense of if that's how it's going to be, then -- then we're in this for the long haul, in terms of it being shut down.
You know, here we are now. What is it, April 21st. I lose track of the days, April 20th. Is the DHS shutdown any closer to ending?
KLOBUCHAR: This is total chaos. I've never seen something where 100 senators, from Bernie Sanders to Ted Cruz, agreed on the fact that we should fund Homeland Security in the focus on the coast guard and the cyber security and FEMA and TSA, we said, fund those, but ICE and border control already got all this money from that big, beautiful bill that I strongly opposed and have been now, ICE is bigger than the FBI, bigger than the marines.
And we said, let's negotiate reforms to that agency. Let's not give them more money. Let's have it.
And the 100 senators agreed that they could do it that way. Then the House comes in and says, no. And now we're back in this thing called reconciliation, where they're going to ram this through on a party line vote.
As you know, that involves many, many amendments in the Senate and a lot of votes and things like that.
But the point is, they want to add more money to ICE, Erin, $70 billion is one estimate $70 billion. That could pay for 200,000 local police officers for three years. $70 billion could pay for two years of the Affordable Care Act tax credit extensions that they refuse to fund last year. $70 billion could pay for a year of dental and hearing and vision for every senior on Medicare.
So, budgets are values and they have decided to add more money to ICE with no reforms.
BURNETT: Stunning. When you talk about how big ICE has become, Senator Klobuchar, I appreciate your time tonight and thank you very much.
And next, a top Republican sounding the alarm about the midterms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): If we lose the midterms, it will be because we didn't talk about what moms and dads are worried about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Our John King on the road tonight in Ohio. So what is he hearing there? King Country is next.
And Marjorie Taylor Greene posting several times in a matter of hours about the Trump assassination attempt, questioning why Trump hasn't released more information about the shooter or tried to get more information about the shooter.
Donnie and Gretchen are coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:33:08]
BURNETT: Tonight, former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeting three times in less than 24 hours, raising questions about the 2024 assassination attempt of President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, which was so crucial to that election including asking, quote, "President Trump, of all people, should be leading the charge. Why isn't he?" And she adds, "Why the cover up?"
The former Trump ally joining a growing list of conservatives raising similar questions and demanding answers.
Donie O'Sullivan is OUTFRONT. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY MANN, ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTER: And what really frightens me and scares me and makes me angry is suddenly now, I'm in on a conspiracy theory.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you want to really see something that said, take a look at what happened --
(GUNFIRE)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER (voice-over): Some liberals have long dabbled in conspiracy theories about the Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
MANN: The first thing that ran through my head is because we cannot believe this man, ever, that it was somehow fake.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Like these women I met at an anti-Trump protest outside the RNC a couple of days after Butler.
O'SULLIVAN: So, you initially thought it was staged?
MANN: Yes. As we all did.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you still believe that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know.
MANN: I'm not sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not impossible.
MANN: But I couldn't help but wonder because we've been lied to over and over by this man. The way he came up and raised his fist and acted like it was nothing.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Since the early days of the investigation, the FBI has repeatedly pushed back on conspiracy theories about Trump's would be assassin, Thomas Crooks, both Justice Departments under President Joe Biden and Donald Trump have found the same thing.
INTERVIEWER: Just to be clear, did Thomas Crooks act alone?
KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: Yes. Based on the evidence that we have, that is the conclusive finding of the matter.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): But over the last few weeks, as many are speaking out against the Iraq war --
TIM DILLON, COMEDIAN: Just admit you staged it in Butler. It was the heat of the campaign.
[19:35:01] People do crazy things in campaigns.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Prominent people who supported Trump's reelection campaign, like comedian Tim Dillon, have started to express doubts about what happened in Butler that day. Trump survived, but Corey Comperatore, who was standing in the crowd behind him, died.
DILLON: Now, of course, a real person died, and that's terrible. RIP, and they should say that in high stakes things like this, stuff like that happens.
TUCKER CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: Joe, thanks a lot for joining us.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Butler conspiracy theories really started to pick up in the MAGA world after Joe Kent appeared on the Tucker Carlson show last month. Kent was a high-ranking intelligence official who resigned in protest over the Iran war.
JOE KENT, FORMER TRUMP INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL: I mean, we still don't know what happened in Butler. We don't know what happened with Charlie Kirk. And by no means am I saying like, you know, the Israelis did this or any of that, but I'm saying there's a lot of unanswered questions there.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Tricia Hope, who is a Trump delegate at the RNC in 2024, has been vocal online about her doubts, posting since the attempt on his life, Trump has shown no interest in investigating what really happened. He never mentions it. It's as if it never happened, except when he tells us he took a bullet for us.
Marjorie Taylor Greene has shared Trisha's post, and she added over the weekend, "I'm not calling the butler assassination a hoax, but there are a lot of questions that deserve public answers."
CARLSON: The far more significant story involves the government, the DOJ and the FBI, which have hidden from the public what they know about Thomas Crooks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: OK, Donnie's here with me now, along with Gretchen Carlson.
I mean, Gretchen, it is amazing when you watch this report and what you've been seeing of the criticisms, Donnie says, originally from the left and now more and more from MAGA.
You've always said that things Trump does not want to talk about can be the most telling. What do you make of him not talking about this?
GRETCHEN CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: He should. He should because that would quell the conspiracy theorists out there with more information. The way that conspiracy theories grow and evolve and don't get tamped down is that there's a lack of information being provided. It's very similar to the Epstein files. He didn't want to talk about
it, and so he called it a hoax that angered people more. That kept the story going and going. We all know that the way to end pr on all of this is to give information so that people will stop talking about it, and that's a problem for them right now, because now you have Marjorie Taylor Greene and a growing chorus of influencers of whom Trump cannot control like he does members of Congress.
BURNETT: Right, right. And so many questions here, Donnie. We still know so little about the shooter there and the motive and all of those things that that people do want to know? I mean, it was, you know, an assassination attempt against someone running for president.
I mean, how much more momentum do you think the conspiracy theory that's -- that, as Gretchen said, is filling those unanswered questions is going to grow?
O'SULLIVAN: Yeah, well, I mean, you really see there when you have the likes of Tucker Carlson talking about this, these are not people who tend to let something go very easily. And as Gretchen said, I mean, a lot of this has been building up because of frustration in the MAGA base. First, with Epstein, now with the Iran war.
And as you sort of saw there with Joe Kent, he was suggesting the possibility that there could be some Israeli involvement in the assassination attempt in Butler, of which there's no evidence for.
BURNETT: Right.
O'SULLIVAN: But you can see how this is sort of going hand in hand with the disillusionment with the war in Iran. We should point out, you know, both Departments of Justices under President Trump and President Biden both said very clearly that Crooks acted alone. So as far as what the officials are saying is that there's nothing to see here.
But also, as you saw in the piece, you have messengers like Kash Patel and, of course, former deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who themselves had dabbled in conspiracy theories for a long time. And now they are the ones trying to push back on this.
BURNETT: So, Gretchen, this does come amidst when we talk about Marjorie Taylor Greene and you're talking about Tucker Carlson, the cracks that we've seen in Trump's base. And we have seen that on this is actually one of the newer issues that this one is metastasizing, but also on Iran and the Epstein files and other ones. And while Trump says there's no problem at all, right, he likes to point to that NBC cross tab that said he had 100 percent approval rating among MAGA.
But he is doing everything he can to win back Joe Rogan. Okay? He signed that psychedelic drugs thing and Joe Rogan came to the White House. That's an issue joe rogan cares a lot about.
But Rogan has taken Trump on presidential defining issues like Epstein and the Iraq war. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE ROGAN, PODCAST HOST: It looks terrible for Trump when he was saying that none of this was real. This is all a hoax.
This is not a hoax. It's like, what the (EXPLETIVE DELEED) are we doing?
Most people that voted for Trump or wanted Trump to be in office, one of the things that was attractive was this no more wars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure. Of course.
ROGAN: And now we're in one of the craziest ones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:40:03]
BURNETT: How much does Trump fear Joe Rogan's criticism?
CARLSON: A lot more than these other influencers. And here's why. In my mind, Joe Rogan was really giving birth to the bro culture of podcasting. And that was essential in Trump winning the last election with young men. I believe that Joe Rogan basically was one of the top three most important people in Trump winning that election.
So, if you lose that now, I mean, those are people, by the way, that would never have voted for Trump before. They would have probably voted for a Democrat. Now you've got this wave of young men, thanks to Joe Rogan who vote for Trump, and now you're going to lose that potentially?
I think it's way more important. Plus, he's a little bit more mainstream than Tucker Carlson --
BURNETT: Yes.
CARLSON: -- than a Candace Owens than --
BURNETT: Right.
CARLSON: -- you know, these people who have been saying weird stuff for a long time. So I think that Joe Rogan is essential for staying on Trump's side, according to Trump.
BURNETT: Joe Rogan is as mainstream as it gets for someone who had supported Trump, who truly is.
O'SULLIVAN: And, Rogan, by the way, Rogan is the main commentator on UFC, right? Rogan also has expressed -- he said, I don't know how good idea this is having a UFC event in the White House, which is happening in June when there's a war going on.
But I'll tell you who I think should be really nervous when they see Rogan stuff and stuff about young men, because I was at CPAC a few weeks ago talking to many young MAGA voters there. J.D. Vance because these were guys who, you know, would naturally were gravitating toward Vance. But the war has changed all of that.
So, I think, you know, in terms of presidential hopes in the future, Vance must be watching this.
BURNETT: Right, right, right. Yeah. And Joe Rogan maintaining he's going to call it like he sees it when it comes to these things.
All right. Thanks both of you very much.
And next, King Country, our John King on the road in Ohio. And you may be surprised by what he is finding there on a bucolic Monday night, it looks like.
Plus, new video of a hot air balloon landing in a California couple's backyard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're in somebody's backyard is.
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're in somebody's backyard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And guess what? The couple that had the unannounced guess, they're OUTFRONT.
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[19:46:36]
BURNETT: Tonight, quote, "totally wrong". President Trump contradicting his own energy secretary with those words. Chris Wright, who told CNN that gas prices may not go under $3 until 2027.
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CHRIS WRIGHT, U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY: I don't know, that could happen later this year. That might not happen until next year.
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BURENTT: Why did Wright say that? Well, because Trump told Fox Business last week that gas prices may not go down before the midterms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP (via telephone): It could be, it could be or the same or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All of this leading to Trump allies all but admitting defeat. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNEDY: If we lose the midterms, it will be because we didn't talk about what moms and dads are worried about when they lie down to sleep at night and can't. And that's primarily the cost of living and -- look, there are too many distractions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, let's get to John King because he's on the road tonight in Ohio for OUTFRONT's King Country.
And, John, so Trump won Ohio 2016, 2020, 2024. That would pretty much be a Trump state, a red state. Theres only been one Democratic senator in the 21st century, Sherrod Brown. He was ousted by a Republican in the last election.
So, you know, it seems pretty clear cut. But of course, it isn't. That's why you're there. Our voters in Ohio sounding more and more like Senator John Kennedy, whom we just heard right there.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They don't have his Louisiana accent, Erin, but they do have his complaint that they wish Washington, they wish the president would do something about the affordability crunch. And they say rising gas prices are adding to it, only adding to what already was a gut punch. We were in Cleveland, we were in Akron, we were in Canton today. We were in Youngstown and Lordstown yesterday. Now, we're down in Zanesville, which is in central Ohio. We're making our way south.
Everywhere we go, number one, you see it at the pump a little lower than the national average here. Most prices around $3.75. But voters say, we're tired of the affordability punch. And this is worse.
Democrats, Erin, see it as an opportunity. I have the magic wall with me. If you look at this map, you say the Democrats are going to win a Senate seat here? Come on. Democrats are going to win the governor's race for the first time in 15 years. Come on.
Donald Trump won 81 of Ohio's 88 counties. You see it there. But Democrats look at the map this way and they see opportunity.
This is the affordability gap in the country. And this is the state of Ohio. Might be confusing at home, but the darker those counties that's the bigger the punch. That means your costs look at the top, are outpacing your wages. So, when you see all this dark brown, those are people who have been hammered the last five years.
Yes, that's a little bit of the Biden administration too. But they are hammered now because their costs are going up way faster than their wages. That includes -- this is where we are right now. This is a county Trump won by 44 points. We're in Zanesville part of this county.
Democrats have no hope of winning this county. What they think, Erin, because of this map, because of the affordability problem -- look at all that dark brown and the other brown shades. Voters everywhere in cities and suburbs, in rural areas. Trump voters are hurting.
Democrats think they can win some of them back, that more Democrats come out. Who stayed home last time, and that some Trump voters might just stay home. This map here Democrats see as opportunity to help them offset what for them, as you noted, have been years of this map.
BURNETT: So, I love that the magic wall is mobile. Ohio is home to J.D. Vance, obviously, and he's expected to run for president, obviously.
[19:50:01]
But from what you're looking at there, how much of all of this a major -- is a major warning sign for him?
KING: It's one of the reasons we're here. Number one, is this really competitive? Democrats haven't had a governor in 15 years. You mentioned Sherrod Brown got beat in the last election. Can he come back? That's part of it.
But does MAGA survive Trump? Does the MAGA movement survives Trump? You were just talking about Joe Rogan, all these critics of Trump. What about Trump voters? What do they do when they're hearing from some of the voices they like and respect what to do?
It's not just J.D. Vance here. If Republicans get shellacked in the elections, Democrats take the House. Maybe if they want Ohio, they get close, or maybe they even take the senate. We'll see how that plays out.
That would be a repudiation of Trump, which of course would hurt J.D. Vance. He's Trump's vice president.
If the Republicans get shellacked in the midterms, guess what? There will be more Republicans running in 2028 saying we need to go in a different direction. Sorry, J.D. Vance. We need to get away from Donald Trump, away from Trumpism, away from tariffs.
There's another test here, though. Does the MAGA movement survive as one big question? Well, guess who's likely to be the Republican nominee for governor here in Ohio has to win a primary first next month. But Vivek Ramaswamy, remember him? He views himself as the next generation Trump. He's likely to be the Republican candidate for governor here.
So, Ohio is number one, a test of whether Democrats can get their act together and make this a battleground state again. When I started doing this, I would come here every two years because Ohio was a battleground state. It has not been in the decade of Trump.
So, that's one big test. The other question is, does MAGA survive Trump and do the midterms hurt J.D. Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy?
BURNETT: All right. John King and King Country, thank you so much for joining us from Zanesville in Ohio tonight. And next, the hot air balloon that made that emergency landing in a
California backyard. It's a story that captured you. If you saw it, and you will hear from the homeowners that had this invasion early on a Saturday morning, next.
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[19:56:29]
BURNETT: Tonight. Dropping in for a visit. A hot air balloon, making an emergency landing in a California couple's backyard. Can you imagine the homeowners, Hunter and Jenna Perrin, are going to be my guests in just a moment. They captured this footage showing 13 people landing safely in a hot air balloon basket on their lawn.
Now, the pilot was forced to land. The wind had died down. It was just before 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. A backup crew then rushed to the residence. They were able to refuel the balloon, fly it over their house onto the street, where they dismantled it and packed away.
So, a happy ending. But can you imagine?
Hunter and Jenna Perrin are OUTFRONT now.
And, Hunter, okay, so it's just before 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday morning, a lot of people will be asleep. You guys were both up. You were looking at YouTube videos. Jenna was doing yoga. You're getting ready for the day.
And then what?
HUNTER PERRIN, HOT AIR BALLOON LANDED IN BACKYARD: So I got a notification on my phone that the backyard camera spotted some movement. And as I was going to check the camera, I get a doorbell ring and I opened the door and the guy goes, "They just landed in your backyard." I'm like, "What?" He goes, "The balloon."
And I was like, okay, the -- is it like a, I was thinking, is it a neighbor who lost like a party balloon? And he goes, the hot air balloon, which really didn't clear it up because like, I wasn't imagining a hot air balloon in the backyard.
BURNETT: Right.
JENNA PERRIN, HOT AIR BALLOON LANDED IN BACKYARD: I rushed to the screen door and I look outside, I'm like, babe.
H. PERRIN: So we go over there and standing in our yard in a big basket are 13 people smiling and wishing us a good morning.
BURNETT: I mean, it just I have to admit, I saw this and I'm like, wait, this can't be real. This has to be a -- I like, how does it just land there? I mean, it is just. And you had to look out. Jenna, when you saw it. I mean, I mean, do you think you're dreaming or something? I mean, first of all, it's -- it's huge. J. PERRIN: I heard -- I heard the flames, but I thought it was somebody that was like cleaning the inside of their pool. That's what it sounded like. But then I -- I look out and I'm like, oh, that's what I heard. It was the flames that I heard.
And once we saw that, it was all smiles and everybody was happy and okay, I'm like, should I make them breakfast? What can I give them? This is -- this is an unexpected surprise.
(LAUGHTER)
H. PERRIN: Yeah, just looking at the images right now, it's like, it's so unbelievable. It doesn't look real.
J. PERRIN: It looks like Pixar's "Up" right now.
BURNETT: It really, it really doesn't.
Okay, so how did the balloon ultimately get removed? I mean, when I read the part here that they landed and the pilot, you know, they're able to sort of essentially, you know, refuel and then fly over the house and get to the street. I mean, how did all that go down?
H. PERRIN: So, they landed right behind us here and they had to scoot the balloon over to the other yard where there's a path to the front. And then they brought in some new propane tanks and, and some straps and two groups of people were holding the balloon down by the -- by each strap as he lifted the balloon like 100 feet into the air. And then they just walked it out to the street and set it back down again.
BURNETT: It's wonderful to talk to you. And as you said, to be talking about something that can just make everybody smile and laugh with a happy ending. Beautiful blue sky, all of it.
Thank you both so much, joining us from the great Temecula, California. Thanks, guys.
J. PERRIN: Thanks for having us.
H. PERRIN: Thank you, Erin.
BURNETT: All right.
And thanks so much to all of you for joining us.
"AC360" starts now.
