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Erin Burnett Outfront
New Video: Mideast Oil Port On Fire After Drone Attack; Trump Tries To Spin Disapproval Amid Unpopular War: "I Don't Like War"; Report: Putin's Security Tightened Amid Assassination & Coup Fears. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired May 04, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:21]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Breaking news, engulfed in flames. A major oil port attacked by Iran, American ships targeted, as the president tonight refuses to say if the ceasefire is even still formally in effect.
Plus, Putin's mind. There are incredible new details breaking about the Russian president's extreme paranoia and what it means right now, what's actually happening, banning his inner circle from using smartphones, hunkering down inside a bunker. Why is he so afraid of being killed or overthrown right now?
And the shocking video of the United plane hitting a truck as it was coming in for a landing at Newark International. Someone who witnessed the terrifying collision that ended miraculously is our guest.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
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BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with breaking news. A major oil port believed to have been hit by Iran up in flames.
Let's show you this new video that we have obtained. It shows the crucial port in the UAE on fire. Explosions rocking one of the wealthiest cities in the world, in the UAE, as well in Dubai.
The UAE put out these numbers. They said that Iran fired 19 missiles and drones at their country today. They say that broke down to 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones. The sources are telling CNN that an Israeli iron dome air defense system was used to intercept what is now one of the largest attacks since the ceasefire.
So I guess they're still calling it a ceasefire. But when you're talking about that number of cruise missiles coming in, it's hard to call it that. Iran also targeted U.S. warships today, and the commander of CENTCOM, Admiral Brad Cooper, told reporters, and I quote him, the cruise missiles were going after both U.S. navy ships, but mostly after commercial shipping. We defended both ourselves and consistent with our commitment. We defended all the commercial ships. President Trump is claiming that eight small Iranian boats were taken out by U.S. forces today, and in an interview a few moments ago, the president was pressed on whether the U.S. could resume strikes as soon as tonight
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
HUGH HEWITT, RADIO HOST: Is the ceasefire over, Mr. President, is it over? Are we going to hit them tonight?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I can't tell you that.
HEWITT: All right, that's fine.
TRUMP: You wouldn't -- if I answered that question. You say this man is not smart enough to be in the United States of America.
HEWITT: Got to ask anyway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. That exchange comes after Trump's new push to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed for more than 60 days, is ongoing. Trump now says the U.S. military will guide ships through the strait. They say theyre going to have guided missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft, drones and 15,000 service members. And that's really crucial, 15,000 American sailors with their lives on the line.
Now, according to the U.S. military, two U.S.-flagged vessels made it through today. The Danish shipping company Maersk confirmed that one of its ships traveled through the strait while being protected by the U.S. military. But, of course, three ships is not even a proverbial drop in the bucket, and the markets are not convinced about Trump's plan in the strait. Oil prices now up again, another 4 percent, $112 a barrel, the highest since 2022.
And if the situation isn't resolved soon, the top oil market experts predict U.S. gas could hit $5 a gallon and at some point soon, everybody, were going to start an issue hitting where it's not just about prices. It's actually going to be about availability and shortages.
Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT live outside the White House.
And, Kristen, what is the latest you're learning there about what Trump plans to do? I mean, we look at the images. People are talking about a ceasefire and whether it's in effect or not. But when you talk about that many cruise missiles hitting the UAE today, it's pretty hard to call it a ceasefire.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And the U.S. officials that were talking to don't know exactly what's going to happen next. In fact, one regional source actually said this. It is a very bad and very messy at the moment.
Of course, we're seeing Iran and the United States trade shots. That is not a ceasefire. But I want to point you to this other moment in this Hugh Hewitt interview. You just played a clip from where, at the end of it, Trump basically says militarily, the war in Iran is, quote, essentially over. So what does that mean for next steps?
And that's what the U.S. officials that I'm talking to are really trying to get a handle on right now. We know that president Trump does not want to do military action. He does not want more strikes. And I will remind you that President Trump sent a letter to congress in which he essentially said that he didn't need to consult congress about moving forward, because all of that had been halted. All of the actual military action had been halted. It will be a completely different story if that military action isn't halted.
And we know that President Trump was looking for an off ramp, but he has gone back and forth so many times since Thursday, in between things are going really well to saying we're going to bomb them.
[19:05:00]
I mean, one of the quotes was, "We're going to blow them off the face of the earth if they attempt to target a U.S. ship." That was earlier today in a Fox News interview.
Then he also said in a post when he announced this kind of guiding of ships that things were going really well behind the scenes, the negotiators were having conversations, and it's leaving a lot of our allies and a lot of the officials who are trying to figure out what's going on confused just his own rhetoric.
But clearly, one thing we understand, Erin, he is back into this kind of blustery ultimate pressure talk where he's saying things like blow their face off, we're going to annihilate them. But at the same time, he is not declaring that there has been a ceasefire that is broken, which shows you that he's not willing to get out there and start actually taking military action, at least not at this second. But we know President Trump could change his mind at any time.
BURNETT: All right. Kristen, thank you very much.
And everyone is here with me.
So, Seth, Trump asked tonight about that ceasefire, right? And he responded, if it's over. And he said, well, I can't tell you that, as Kristen's reporting, but obviously, you have a port where you've got a giant fire going on and 12 ballistic missiles and three cruise missiles fired at the UAE by Iran.
So, how would you -- how would you describe the, quote/unquote, "ceasefire" right now, Seth?
SETH JONES, PRESIDENT, DEFENSE & SECURITY DEPARTMENT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, Erin, I would call it a lot of firing, not a lot of ceasing of that firing. I mean, what has happened right now, I think, is the negotiations to open the straight up. And then even if you add the uranium component to it, they just haven't been successful so far.
So where the U.S. is at is really now trying to escort some number of ships, U.S. flagged vessels through the strait. And it has done that. But Iran responded, as we predicted they would. The U.S. has used destroyers. It's developed a kill box in those areas with A-10s, with drones, typically MQ-9s, and other vessels and aircraft in that kill box area.
And so Iran has responded not just attacking the commercial vessels and the U.S. Navy ships, but now also targeting countries like the UAE. That's sort of where we sit today.
BURNETT: And obviously, a lot at risk. The UAE is trying to say their airline, which is the worlds busiest airport, is back up the way it used to be. And now all of this puts all that under immediate threat.
Karim, I want to show you again the images of the strike on the UAE today that we have from the crucial port of Fujairah. The UAE says that there were 19 total drones and missiles fired. The Iranian foreign minister is warning the U.S. and UAE about getting dragged into a, quote/unquote, "quagmire", which is a significant word because we've heard it used more and more in U.S. political conversation, especially with people trying to say quagmire like the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
So how significant is it, Karim, as you see it, that Iran chose to do what it did today and that it was capable of doing what it did today?
KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: You know, Erin, the UAE has been the target of nearly 3,000 Iranian missile and drone attacks, and these countries have really conflicting visions for the Middle East. If you look at the UAE, it wants to be a global hub for international finance, technology, transportation. As you mentioned, the Dubai Airport is the busiest international airport in the world. All of those things require stability and their stability model is premised on partnership with the United States and Israel.
Now look at the Islamic republic of Iran. It has the exact opposite business model. It thrives when there's instability and chaos. The five countries it was dominating in the Middle East, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Gaza, all failing states.
So this was -- this was -- this war Iran has been using as a as a pretext to try to destabilize the United Arab Emirates and bring it down to its level.
BURNETT: So, Philip, Trump downplayed the strike on the UAE today, which would be consistent with trying to say that a ceasefire that is no longer a ceasefire is still a ceasefire. So he downplayed it. But then he did use the bellicose language that Kristen referenced to Iran, saying that they would be, quote, "blown off the face of the earth" if they targeted U.S. ships, which they're trying to do because theyre enforcing their control of the strait. So -- but it is interesting when Trump gets upset that he would, you
know, a civilization is going to be wiped off the map or now theyre going to be blown off the face of the earth. He goes straight to the rhetoric.
PHILIP BUMP, SENIOR DATA EDITOR & COLUMNIST, HEARST: Yeah. I mean, this is one of those situations where the reality that Donald Trump presents to the world and actual reality are irreconcilable. He is often able to reshape the world as his base in particular, sees it, in order to present a reality which isn't quite true, right? Here he can't do that. He's been saying for so long, for more than a month, two months now, that this is one that the United States is done.
But he understands that the markets aren't buying it. He knows that the military doesn't accept that as the reality. He knows that observers understand that this is not that sort of conflict, that it isn't over. And so he finds himself constantly having to say, it's over, it's over, it's over. But then say either, well, no, we just need to bomb them one more time or that were going to have the cease fire hold.
He can't reconcile those two things. And so he's trying to be everything to everyone. And that's why he's in the position he's in.
BURNETT: Well, and gas prices, which I want to talk about in a moment. I mean, the American public can see that that's not the case, right? They can see gas prices.
So, Seth, Trump has announced a plan for the U.S. to, quote/unquote, "guide" certain ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Now there's a massive amount of ships, right? And opening it fully, which is what's required to not have a real economic crisis, is a far cry from a few ships getting escorted through.
But you're very familiar with U.S. Navy plans here. So how far is the Navy prepared to go?
JONES: Well, Erin, I think, I mean, theyre prepared to go as far as the president wants them to go. But I think its one thing for the U.S. Navy to help escort a couple of U.S. flagged vessels, but I don't think there are enough resources when it comes to Arleigh Burke class destroyers or A-10s or F-35s to be able to escort a lot of ships.
And plus, the more the U.S. military capabilities that try to escort more ships, the more risk you take in anti-ship cruise missiles or mines hitting those vessels. So, I mean, at the end of the day, how much risk is the president willing to take if there is visual imagery of a U.S. ship being hit? And I think that's the risk that the White House has right now.
BURNETT: It's a huge risk. And on the political side, Philip, top analyst Andy Lipow from -- oil analyst said that if the strait doesn't open, U.S. gas prices could go to $5 by the end of the month. And by the way, there's going to come a point where the increases aren't a few cents a day, which are unbelievably stark. It's going to become more than that, right? Its going to be what we see in jet fuel, where what there's been 2 million seats reduced in airplanes flying because there isn't enough fuel.
BUMP: Right.
BURNETT: It becomes an issue not of cost, but of actual availability. And that is a whole different economic world. That's the political world that Trump is staring at, though.
BUMP: That's right. And I think one of the things that people should keep in mind is that these ships are extremely slow moving. So we are going to be the last to feel the effects of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz because it takes it would have taken those ships so long to get here, to your point. But yeah, I mean, the political reality here for the president and for his party is that people are going to be driving by gasoline signs saying $5 or $4.50 or whatever, even what it is now, and being constantly reminded of how much money is coming out of their pockets to pay for gas.
This is a president who, in 2024, won based on two things really. First, that he wasn't establishment, and second, that prices were too high. Now he's the establishment and he's the reason most Americans, including most Republicans, say he's the reason gas prices are so high. That puts his party in a very tough spot.
BURNETT: Right. And of course, I think he's actually had some numbers on gas prices. They're going to be around $2 a gallon or something like that.
So, Karim, in this context, "The New Yorker" is reporting that President Obama told them that Netanyahu made the same arguments for war with Iran to him as he did to Trump. But obviously, he succeeded with Trump and not Obama. And "The New Yorker" says Obama told them that it may be that Netanyahu has, quote, "got what he wanted. Whether I think it's -- what is good for the United States, I would question that.
Karim, the former president of the United States, coming out and saying, this is a significant thing. What is the impact of that when it comes to what Iran is going to do?
SADJADPOUR: So, Erin, the irony here is that Iran is a brutal dictatorship, which is hoping that the U.S. Democratic system is going to restrain President Trump, as we've talked about a long time. But Iran is also hurting badly. It's a country suffering from 70 percent inflation. Its currency keeps sinking, and only 1 percent of Iranians are connected to the internet. So it's keeping its population in the dark so they don't know what's happening.
And so their hope is we've talked about long time is that ultimately this continued spike in gas prices is going to force Trump to end the war prematurely.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you all very much.
And next, Putin's new paranoia, incredible new reporting tonight about what Putin is doing to keep himself from being murdered, from being overthrown. Cooks and bodyguards banned from taking public transportation. He's holed up in a bunker. It's absolutely mind- boggling.
Plus, the Bezos backlash, a revolt tonight at one of the most talked about events of the year, all because Jeff Bezos and his wife are taking center stage. We'll take you there live.
And Trump trying to spin his way out of record low approval ratings tonight. Can any explanation he offers help him?
Jamal Simmons and Ana Navarro are here to talk about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:19:14]
BURNETT: Tonight, President Trump with a spin on record, low approval numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I did a poll on the war with Iran and they said only 32 percent of the people like it. Well, I don't like it. And I don't like war at all. But we're equipped better than -- we have the greatest military in the world. When you explain it like, is it okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon? It wouldn't be 32 percent.
But even if you said that, there'd be a 32 percent because the polls are fake. I mean, they're totally fake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Worth noting, of course, that Iran did not have a nuclear weapon. And U.S. intelligence said that they were not about to get one.
However, it is unclear which specific poll Trump is referring to here, but it is in line with what's happening. Poll after poll does show a majority of Americans are against the war, with Iran now on par with the Iraq and Vietnam Wars in its unpopularity.
[19:20:07]
Jamal Simmons and Ana Navarro are OUTFRONT.
And it's also -- goes along with Trump being underwater on every issue in some polls, every single issue from the economy to the war.
ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Including the border, including immigration.
BURNETT: Including immigration, which was the stunt, even that one.
So he's saying 32 percent is high for approving a war because nobody likes war. The polls are fake.
Obviously, can we just take aside for a fact that if the numbers were reversed, he'd be saying the polls are wonderful? What? We know that. It is kind of amazing that 32 percent of people approve of a war. I
mean, is that just basically that's his -- that's his stalwart base?
NAVARRO: Yeah. I mean, those are the people that when he said, if I shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue, I wouldn't lose a supporter. Well, that's that 32 percent is those people who he wouldn't lose if he shot somebody on Fifth Avenue. There's nothing he can do.
But I think what you're seeing is a reflection of an unpopular president, an unpopular war. Also, he did no work in preparing or convincing the American people or our allies about why we needed to go into this war. It has been a -- just a complete difficult maze of messaging to follow, impossible. And then you see him doing things that are so deeply unserious at a time when we need a commander in chief with gravitas and being serious, he's at a golf game, he's at a UFC match, he's tweeting all sorts of stupid things in the middle of the night. I mean, you know, it just -- does that feel like a commander in chief, he is leading?
BURNETT: He is -- Ana is right. Tweeting a lot in the middle of the night.
JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah.
BURNETT: And it is a little disconcerting when you wake up in the middle of the night, as many of us do. And I check online and I see, you know, you want people to get a little bit of rest when they're doing jobs like that.
SIMMONS: I want you to get some rest because you're waking up in the middle of the night reading tweets.
BURNETT: Okay. So why am I doing that?
SIMMONS: Right.
BURNETT: Ana mentions the tweets, though. There's one that's getting a lot of discussion where he posts about the war, saying, I have all the cards, and he posts an image of himself with wild cards from the game of Uno. So a lot of people were responding to that. Saying that he's losing because obviously the goal is to have zero cards.
SIMMONS: Yeah.
BURNETT: And I guess if you go back five times in the back and forth, right, you could get rid of wild card on each play. You don't have a double or -- anyway.
SIMMONS: Our friend S.E. Cupp had a great post about this today. That that's the objective is to get rid of your cards. Obviously, I have some small kids in elementary school. We play Uno all the time. You should not have that many cards.
Also, who can have that many wild cards at once? That means somebody's stacking that deck for that guy.
BURNETT: Oh, stacking the deck, right? It doesn't have that many wild cards.
NAVRRO: This is at the same time that he's posting memes in the middle of the night. I often think that if somebody just gave Trump a sleeping pill, things would be better in this country because the things he comes up with in the middle of the night, you know, I mean, he posted like, like 40 times and things like him floating on the reflecting pool that he just painted, him going after Hakeem Jeffries, you know, calling him low I.Q., a insult he seems to like, particularly to use --
BURNETT: When he posts --
NAVARRO: -- on -- with African Americans.
It's just -- you know, we're in the middle of a war. I mean, you want to feel that there's somebody in charge who's got the cognitive ability, but that's also taking the pain that he's inflicting seriously, 13 Americans have died. The pain at the pump, the pain at the grocery store. And this guy is acting like a senile old man tweeting in the middle of the night, all sorts of absurd things.
If it was your father tweeting this, you would take him to a neurologist and have a scan of his brain. You would.
SIMMONS: But here's the thing, Erin. You know, I don't reflexively root against the president on this front because when the president is speaking in the world stage, that is the symbol of the United States. And the United States needs to be strong. The United States needs to have resolve. People need to be able to depend on our country and know that our word is solid.
That's not what the president is doing. And so, if I were in the White House, its time to tell him to -- it's time to bring people together on this. Get some Democrats and bring them in the room, go to our allies and have real conversations, bring even stalwart Republican foreign policy hands to bear so that we can find a way out of this mess that preserves some credibility for our nation before he really ruins all of it. At the same time, people are paying $5 a gallon of gas.
BURNETT: And I will say this though, in this interview in "The New Yorker" that Barack Obama gave, he was saying that Trump's kept him more involved in politics than he would have preferred, which is sort of interesting because I feel like its pretty clear that its an anathema to Barack Obama. He does not want to be right. When he has to get in, he gets in.
But then he said something about people wanting him out the campaigning. He said, I understand why people feel that way. They don't care about the fact that no other ex-president was the main surrogate for the party for four election cycles. After they left office. Now, if you agree with his premise that he's the main surrogate, right, he's still the name. People want to hear from.
Is that a real big problem for Democrats? That four cycles afterwards, he's still the main guy? [19:25:00]
NAVARRO: But I think he's a -- he's a unique character in history, right? First, he was such a trailblazer. He made history being the first Black president. He is incredibly popular. Still 96 percent approval amongst -- amongst Democrats.
He's also -- listen, it's his fault for being so incredibly articulate. And every time he speaks, he makes very poignant points. And it's a very convincing spokesperson for the Democratic Party. He's also young. He's got the youth.
I'm not sure, you know, if Joe Biden were his age, he'd be out there. God knows Bill Clinton would like to be out there.
He also does not have a whiff of scandal. He doesn't have the baggage that some of these former presidents, like Bill Clinton, does carry. So he's pretty much a unicorn.
SIMMONS: I won't say Bill Clinton did have a big megaphone. The Democratic Party going all the way through 2012 when Barack Obama called him the explainer in chief. Bill Clinton would go at every Democratic convention. He traveled all the time and made these cases.
So it is the case when you don't have an incumbent president, that the last president is the one that people want to hear from a lot. And I think Barack Obama, sorry, dude. Like, you know, you're popular people like you. You got -- you got work to do.
NAVARRO: He's out there alone, right? Obama in the sense that you can't have Clintons almost 80 years old.
SIMMONS: I was going to say it's been a long time since we've had these guys.
NAVARRO: And he's got issues and he's carrying on him. You know, Biden has stage four cancer that he's dealing with. And he's -- I mean, it's Barack Obama. He's, you know, and people are invested in him. People voted for him.
I also think he's invested in it because he talks about in that interview, which was long, he could have flown to California and campaigned in the time it took me to read that interview. But in that interview, he says that he's always asking himself, what is the next purpose to scratch that itch? So he still has that itch of public service and, and living a life of purpose.
Well, Michelle is just living her life -0- and living and living her best life.
SIMMONS: Well, Erin, it is true, this will resolve itself a little bit next year when the Democrats circle in on a Democratic nominee, that persons voice becomes the most dominant voice in the Democratic Party.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you both very much. And next, the video is terrifying. And when you think about how many
people are on board, nearly 300 people could have died. The united jet collided with a truck on the New Jersey turnpike. So I'm going to talk to someone who witnessed the whole thing. They were right there.
Plus, the stunning new reporting about Putin isolated an inner circle that can only use cell phones that do not even have access to the internet. Why he is so paranoid of being assassinated now.
Gary Kasparov, vocal critic of Putin, is our guest. And he says Putin may be right to be paranoid.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:31:45]
BURNETT: Tonight, extraordinary new details about Vladimir Putin's extreme paranoia and what this means on the ground right now. He has fears of an assassination attempt or a coup, and that has led to the Russian president heightening security dramatically and taking unprecedented measures. This is according to a European Intelligence Agency report obtained by CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.
And to begin our coverage, here's more from Nick's report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is a rare pointed insight into one of the starkest secrets in Russia president Vladimir Putin's security protocols. And it a detailed intelligence report given to CNN by a source close to a European Intelligence Agency, portrays, predictably, a Kremlin in deep crisis.
Cooks, bodyguards and photographers working with Putin must have surveillance systems installed in their homes, it says. Putin has stopped visiting military sites this year entirely, it says, in contrast to last year, often spending time in fortified bunkers and keeping clear of some of his main lavish residences like Valdai, a tactic aided by many of his appearances. And he is in the media a lot, being prerecorded.
His staff cannot use smartphones or public transport, the report adds. Visitors must be searched twice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Max Seddon, he is the Moscow bureau chief for "The Financial Times". He first broke the story on Putin's increased security.
Max, it's always a pleasure to talk to you.
So, Putin increasingly isolated. These fears grow. I mean, just how paranoid is he right now? What are you learning? MAX SEDDON, MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF, FINANCIAL TIMES: Well, I think you
don't really have to look very far. Just look at the plans for the victory day parade celebrating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two for May 9th on Saturday. It's going to be the first time the Russian defense ministry announced the middle of the night last week, trying to bury the news. In 20 years, they've done it without the usual tanks and armored vehicles and ballistic missiles. They usually trundle past Putin and red square because theyre worried about Ukrainian drone strikes.
Ukraine has really improved its ability to strike deep, deep in the heart of Russia. They hit a luxury high rise building just earlier today in Moscow with a drone strike. And that's clearly something Putin is worried about. He's only really two fully fledged public appearances all year. And that is something that is an increasing concern in Russia.
Just today, Putin replaced the head of the aerospace forces, which, among other things, is in charge of air defense. And a suggestion there, we don't know all the reasons, but they clearly haven't been doing everything they could with air defense in Russia. Ukraine has been very successful in striking Russian energy facilities, both supporting the war and all in Ukraine, and also Russia, -- fueling Russia's energy exports to fund the war. And that's something that they really have to be worried about.
BURNETT: Yes. And you're -- I mean, you're -- all of this is just incredible that the fact that the cooks and people who work around Putin can't use smartphones. I mean, what kind of devices are they even using? They have to have be surveilled in their homes that he himself is spending time in a bunker?
SEDDON: Yeah. Well, the joke about Putin ever since coronavirus, the peak of the pandemic, where he basically went on lockdown with all but his very, very, very closest intimate circle.
[19:35:07]
And that was where he came up with the whole plan for the Ukraine invasion. You remember these really ludicrous scenes where he was meeting foreign dignitaries at opposite ends of this 30 foot long, long table. The joke that he was he was the old man in the bunker. And really, that's become true.
You talk to people who know him. They say that he spends a vast majority of his time in these secure facilities, micromanaging the war, obsessing over which village Russia may or may not take on the battlefield in Ukraine in the coming weeks. And he's becoming increasingly detached from the normal affairs of state.
And you started to see this actually create some political blowback for him, because the economy is not doing very well. Russia has been shutting down mobile internet in Moscow and all across the country, and people are pretty unhappy. Putin's approval ratings took a hit.
BURNETT: So the fear and security measures reportedly increased after a Russian general was killed by a car bomb in Moscow. You talk about the drone strikes. This was a car bomb. And apparently in a heated meeting at the Kremlin, Putin's top military and security personnel blamed each other. So it sort of devolved into a finger pointing exercise.
So, you know, what is -- what is the stability right now of Putin's inner circle?
SEDDON: I think the real lesson from this, this reporting and this intelligence report is that Putin doesn't really have an inner circle anymore. Even of the very tight circle of intimates that he, he had over the previous 20, 25 years that he's been in power. The civilian officials who weren't told at all that he was planning the war.
Most -- most of the oligarchs that he built up were among his closest friends with very few exceptions, they're not really involved in this. They don't see him really very often at all because he's only really regularly or in his immediate family, or they're directly involved in planning the war.
And when you see these generals who are being blown up, you know, unlike Putin, they don't have anything like the kind of security that that Putin has. Many of them were, were hit with, with bombs, right at their homes, at their front doors of their buildings. And there wasn't a dedicated security agency that was really working on protecting these people. The defense ministry didn't have one.
And so, that obviously is going to lead to a lot of squabbling. And that certainly does not make for a cohesive war effort now.
BURNETT: No. All right. Max Seddon, thank you very much.
And I want to bring in Gary Kasparov, now founder and chairman of the renewed democracy initiative and publisher of the next move on Substack. Its fascinating when Max is saying at this point, Putin doesn't even really have an inner circle anymore.
Is this all just paranoia or does Putin have reason do you think at this specific moment to be this afraid?
GARRY KASPAROV, PUBLISHER OF THENEXTMOVE.ORG ON SUBSTACK: No, he's, of course, paranoid, but fears are real. Putin knows from Russian history that there's one thing that led to massive changes, sometimes revolutions. It's a bad war. If the war goes well, the Russian public never cared about the price to pay for victory. The cost, it just was irrelevant.
But bad wars, unwinnable wars led to changes. It's Russo-Japanese war in the beginning of the 20th century led to the constitutional monarchy. The bad war of World War One, so the stalemate led to the collapse of Romanov Dynasty. In 1989, the retreat from Afghanistan, and basically the failure in the Cold War led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
And while I may disagree about this, as this as the its the inner circle making decisions about war against Ukraine, there was a kind of consensus that Russia would easily win. But this war now looks unwinnable, and we can just hear it by just reading, you know, just even pro-war vloggers now, they express doubts that Putin can deliver. And that's, you know, that's the greatest threat to Russian dictator, if people believe he's weak.
Weakness is something that always leads -- always led to the disaster.
BURNETT: So your piece today was titled Putin is in trouble. You were writing about those military vloggers.
You're also talking about. I mean, what is the impact? And Max referenced this, but to the internet suddenly being shut down, to having this big May 9th thing that is usually, you know, massive troops and tanks and all of these things be this -- this small, pared back thing.
KASPAROV: Yeah. Look, it's the -- as bad wars led to the trouble, good wars -- won wars always created, you know, the special aura for the regime. That's why Putin and before him, Soviet leaders always try to capitalize on the World War Two, the victory. So that's why the May 9th parade, by the way, Russia was celebrated May 9th because Stalin didn't want to do it on May 8th, as the rest of the world was a kind of sacred date. This is what made us great.
[19:40:00]
And for Putin to recognize that he should actually just reduce it. No more tanks. That's already a sign of weakness. But the biggest challenge for him now is that in the beginning of this full scale invasion in February 2022, Putin skillfully managed it by avoiding Moscow and Saint Petersburg, other big cities to be involved. No body bags there.
So he looked for either prisons or some, you know, depressed regions or some national republics. So big cities, especially Moscow, never felt the heat of the war. The last few months, it's not just -- they know that. They know that it's -- they have to pay the price.
And also many oligarchs, I mean, they have to also suffer financial losses because all these refineries and plants, somebody owns them.
BURNETT: Right, that are getting hit by the drones.
KASPAROV: Exactly. So Ukrainians are very successful almost every day, they just they hit one or two targets.
BURNETT: One person at the beginning of the war who was very close to Putin was Sergei Shoigu, a former defense minister. He had his ups and downs, but he's been a Putin ally. And now the intel report that Nick Paton Walsh obtained, says and he's still on the security council for Putin, says that Shoigu is, quote, associated with the risk of a coup.
All right. I'm curious about two things. Do you think that's the case? And I guess there's also this if this comes out is now in public, what happens to Sergei Shoigu when Putin sees this report? KASPAROV: Look, I think it's hearsay. It's just the rumors. But
remember, Prigozhin, it is -- it's the Prigozhin's rebellion was also about the war in Ukraine. But at that time, majority of Russian elite, including the army, supported Putin because they thought war on Ukraine was too profitable.
Right now, it's a big loss. And again, the war is unwinnable. And the public opinion, of course, is dictatorship, but it's public opinion among Russian elite, both in economic, political and of course, military is now expressing openly expressing doubts that Putin can lead the country again. Russian history tells us this is the beginning of the end.
BURNETT: Garry Kasparov, it's always a pleasure to see you. And thank you so much.
And next, the frightening close call of the United jet flying so low it hit a truck on the New Jersey turnpike just as it was coming in for landing, literally as it was about to touch down. And someone who was there witnessed all of this is next.
Plus, one of the most talked about nights in fashion, for sure. And now even more the embrace, though, of the Met Gala of Jeff Bezos has caused a massive backlash, sparking protests and A-listers backing out. We're going to take you there live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:46:37]
BURNETT: New tonight, the NTSB is investigating after a United plane hit a bakery truck right outside Newark international airport on the New Jersey turnpike, major thoroughfare, I-95. The collision caught on this incredible dash cam video.
I want to just be clear here. Miraculously, that driver is safe. He was hospitalized with cuts from broken glass. But he is safe. And you can see the terrifying moment frozen right here.
The landing gear -- all right. So you can see it. I mean, that's a massive 767 fully loaded coming from Venice. Landing gear strikes the top of the truck.
Now, the miracle here is that that driver is okay. The other drivers around it were okay. And everyone on that plane is okay. Safe landing, no injuries to the 210 people on board. That is a miracle.
An OUTFRONT now is Patrick Oyulu, who was driving on the turnpike and witnessed all of this.
So, Patrick, you know, we can see in your video just how close you were to the plane. So this is a road and a place that you are every week. Okay? And plane crosses over the turnpike bakery truck is just ahead of you. Okay?
So what can you even look back now and think what you were thinking or what you were processing in that instant?
PATRICK OYULU, WITNESSED UNITED AIRLINES PLANE STRIKE TRUCK: It was so amazing and so shocking because I didn't actually expect it. I normally drive going southbound, you know, when I'm going to Edison, and this time around, I thought I was going to see planes ahead of me. Then suddenly you see this thing that is swooshing over you just directly over you, the landing gear.
And you're thinking, oh my god, this is a movie. What are we seeing here? And just in the opposite lane, is this truck or semi-trailer. And I thought the landing gear had actually, you know, clipped on that. And I saw a mixture of smog and debris. What I thought was debris.
BURNETT: On top of the bakery truck.
OYULU: Yes. And I had my phone, you know, I'm a plane spotter. I had my phone ready to --
BURNETT: That's incredible. You happen to be a plane spotter, and you're there when this happens.
OYULU: Exactly. But then I expected to shoot right ahead of me. Then when this thing swooshes from left to right, and then I turn around. Luckily for me, I took the four seconds just before it landed, and it was so incredible. So incredible.
BURNETT: I mean, so the truck driver, you know, its funny because when I first saw the video of the bakery driver, because he sort of singing along or somethings going on, he's just -- he's just bopping along. And I thought it was A.I. I said, does this really happen?
And then this is real. And you can see he looks around millisecond before it happens. I mean, what did you notice about his movements? Does that fit with what you saw? I mean, the plane, it sounds like maybe it was just it was so low and it didn't have much room to clear and maybe a wind or what.
OYULU: People don't know that this is embedded in my memory. I saw this driver. I think he was trying to duck because he was directly in the flight path of the plane. So it was like something is coming directly at you. So he was trying to, you know, go like that.
BURNETT: Yeah.
OYULU: And yeah, and I had that small sound and the smoke just said, oh my God, something must have hit this guy. So at that point, I didn't know it was a pole, but I thought it was the truck.
BURNETT: Right. But you could tell something did, right?
OYULU: Something happened. Yes.
BURNETT: So air traffic control after the collision. So there's the back and forth going on between the pilots and air traffic control.
[19:50:06]
Let me just play part of what air traffic control said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Yeah, they felt something over the threshold and there's a hole in the side of the airplane. So I'm going to get you on the runway here in a moment. They said it was right at the threshold. So it should just be a minute
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, literally, I don't know how much distance, maybe a few feet, maybe a lot less than a few feet, because it actually had already hit something.
OYULU: Right.
BURNETT: Could have meant 230 people or more were dead. I mean, do you just keep replaying this in your head?
OYULU: I know. From where I saw it, I just thought it was like 10, 20 meters ahead of me, literally seeing the landing gear. I'm so glad that the plane landed because I saw it land and I took a second shot when I think it was now on the ground.
And I was really relieved that Didi, my friend who was driving, and my other friend in the back, you know, we are all safe. And also the people in the plane were safe. That's what matters. But this is playing over and over in a loop in my head.
BURNETT: Oh my gosh. I just absolutely incredible. Well, thank you for coming on and sharing that. And of course, a miraculous ending for everyone involved, including you and your friends, bakery driver, everyone on board.
Well, next, it is fashion's biggest night and some of the biggest names in entertainment are there. Its always as A-list as it gets, but there's a lot of outrage tonight over the events embrace of billionaire Jeff Bezos and his wife. We'll take you there, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:55:34]
BURNETT: Tonight, Bezos backlash. Protest messages like these lighting up New York City as the billionaire and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, takes center stage tonight at the Met Gala. Sanchez Bezos just walked the red carpet moments ago. The Amazon founder not only bankrolled the event, Bezos are also now honorary chairs as a result, which has sparked a social media revolt, coming as high profile Democrats including the New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, skipped fashion's biggest night out.
Meanwhile, the red carpet already heating up for those who did choose to attend. Anna Wintour, global editorial director, "Vogue", wearing a feathery Chanel ensemble. Heidi Klum was also there, and tennis icon Venus Williams also showing up.
But it is a backlash getting so much attention tonight and our Jason Carroll is there OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You look fabulous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of the biggest nights in fashion, the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Met Gala. Themes in the past have focused on religion or sleeping beauties, and while the official theme this year is costume art, some say it should be boycott.
"EVERYONE HATES ELON" CO-FOUNDER: No one for a second believes that the reason he's been made to chair the Met Gala is his fashion sense.
CARROLL (voice-over): Messages projected on New York's iconic empire state building and the Chrysler building Sunday night targeting Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, co-sponsors and honorary co-chairs of this years gala.
CARROLL: What do you really hope to accomplish by doing what you're do?
"EVERYONE HATES ELON" CO-FOUNDER: Well, like millions of people across the world, I used to enjoy the Met Gala, or I used to enjoy the fashion and things like that. But like millions of people across the world, I'm also seeing how much prices are rising, how much wages are low.
CARROLL (voice-over): The co-founders of the underground group "Everyone Hates Elon", referring to Elon Musk, who do not want us to show their faces, say, while Amazon workers fight for better pay and safer working conditions, the Bezoses are trying to buy their way into culture.
"EVERYONE HATES ELON" CO-FOUNDER: We've been meeting with Amazon workers this week. We met with a 72-year-old woman who was literally in tears as she told us about some of the conditions that shes faced in.
CARROLL (voice-over): The anti-billionaire group has posted its messages across the city, subways and bus stops. The message may have already reached city hall this year. The city's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who ran a campaign on affordability, has declined to attend.
It should be noted Bezos and Sanchez actually made their debut at the gala back in 2024, without all the fallout, but the couples critics say that was before Bezos ruffled political circles on the left by cozying up to President Trump, attending the inauguration, last week's state dinner before Amazon paid $40 million for the rights to a film featuring the first lady. The Met's director telling CNN, "This is not a show on Amazon. This is
not a show on Lauren Sanchez's dresses. One needs to be really clear that what our donors are supporting is the program of the Met."
And support they have. This year, the Met says it has raised a record amount, more than $42 million, up from $31 million last year. Thanks to efforts made by Anna Wintour, "Vogue's" former editor in chief, and the fundraising force behind the gala.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anna, Anna, Anna.
CARROLL (voice-over): Despite Anna Wintour's support, online chatter has swirled about celebrities bowing out this year and trouble selling tickets.
AMY ODELL, AUTHOR, "ANNA": That's something I'm very curious to see on Monday night, is who goes and who poses with Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos.
CARROLL (voice-over): Amy Odell is the author of "The New York Times" bestselling book titled "Anna".
ODELL: What I'm hearing behind the scenes is that people are kind of surprised. I think there's some disgust, but then there's also a segment of the fashion industry that is completely fine with this. I think that Lauren Sanchez represents kind of the archetype of the luxury customer today, who's not afraid to buy expensive stuff, to wear it and to flaunt it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And, you know, luxury does come at a price, an individual seat at the dinner here tonight, $100,000. If you want to buy a table, that's going to cost you about $350,000.
I should also point out, Erin, in terms of the controversy, at one point, we did see a protester try to jump the fence and make his way onto the red carpet. He was quickly tackled by police and taken away.
Now, as for Bezos, we've seen Lauren Sanchez Bezos out here tonight, but still no sign of Bezos himself out here on the carpet. We'll have to wait and see if he eventually shows up, but still no sign of the billionaire -- Erin.
BURNETT: Interesting.
All right. Thank you very much, Jason Carroll.
And thanks so much as always to all of you. We'll see you back here tomorrow.
"AC360" with Anderson begins now.
