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Erin Burnett Outfront
Report: Top Trump Officials Doubt Iran's Intentions On Deal; White House Refuses To Condemn UFC Fighter Who Insulted Michelle Obama; Newsom Says Trump DOJ Is Investigating His Wife: "Vendetta". Aired 7-8p ET
Aired June 15, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:26]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Breaking news, serious doubts from Trump's CIA director and secretary of state about Trump's Iran deal, according to new reporting just out from "Axios".
And MAGA heavyweights slamming a UFC fighter's insult against Michelle Obama. The White House, though, silent. Why?
And Kerry Kennedy on Trump's name coming down from the Kennedy Center and her brother RFK, Jr.'s obsession with animals.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, the CIA director and the secretary of state doubting the agreement with Iran tonight. This is according to a new report just breaking from "Axios", which reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly told President Trump that U.S. intelligence raised serious doubts about Iran's willingness to make the nuclear concessions the United States wants. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth both also expressing concerns about the deal.
All of that is hugely significant, and there is real anger coming from some of Trump's allies publicly too. Trump and Vance claim they've already signed the agreement, but they've refused to let anybody see it.
And tonight, some of Trump's most visible supporters are crying foul.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARC THIESSEN, FORMER SPEECHWRITER TO GEORGE W. BUSH: The Iranians may comply for a short period of time, but then we're going to have a weak American president, and they're going to have gotten the money, and then there's talk of a reconstruction fund of hundreds of billions of dollars. We didn't -- they'll be doing a Marshall Plan for Germany while the Nazis were still in power. So I'm anxious to see what the -- what the details of the deal are and what gets negotiated, but I'm concerned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: In those concerns, he's referring to questions of whether Iran could have access to $300 billion, just by holding up its ends of the deal. And another Fox News host and longtime Trump backer Mark Levin is raising his hand, too, posting on social media today. And I quote Mark Levin, "I've asked for days, why can't we the people see the damn MOU?" That stands for memorandum of understanding. "Not through people briefed by an anonymous person. Honestly, I've never seen anything like this. If it's a great outcome for peace, then release it."
Well, he's got a point. Here's all we know. This so-called memorandum of understanding, the MOU, is one and a half pages. Now, of course, an agreement, it's an agreement to talk about a deal, right? It's not a deal itself, but these deals, the whole point of them is that they're incredibly complex.
It is all about the details. I mean, after all, the Obama JCPOA deal with Iran was 159 pages. So if the one and a half page MOU is great, why not release it? After all, if Trump kept his word, the MOU would address his own promises made the day the war began, 108 days ago, like this one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally again obliterated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, not sure if an MOU or any deal can address reality on that front.
We know from Seth Jones and the Center for Strategic and International Studies that Iran still has about 70 percent of its pre-war missile stockpile and 70 percent of its missile launchers. Never mind they're dirt cheap drones that have successfully taken out U.S. aircraft collectively worth over a billion dollars.
Iran's massive stockpile of Shahed-136 drones is about $20,000 each. And just one of those took down an American Apache attack helicopter valued between $35 million and $40 million only a week ago. And that's just one of 43 aircraft the US has lost in this war.
And the MOU, it shouldn't be an issue to release it if it addressed this promise Trump made when he started the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're going to ensure that the region's terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces and no longer use their IEDs or roadside bombs as they are sometimes called to so gravely wound and kill thousands and thousands of people, including many Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, Iran's proxies, including Hezbollah, continue to destabilize the region. And by the way, Hezbollah is celebrating this agreement, the statement today congratulating Iran on its quote- unquote, "great achievement". Well, those are those issues, but the MOU also shouldn't be an issue to release if it addressed this promise Trump made as his quote-unquote great achievement.
Well, those are those issues. But the MOU also shouldn't be an issue to release if it addressed this promise Trump made as his core purpose for the entire war.
[19:05:03]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. It's a very simple message. They will never have a nuclear weapon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, of course, the JCPOA deal did promise this. But this time around, the one thing that both sides agree on is that the one and a half page memorandum of understanding does nothing to stop Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. And as "Axios" reported, U.S. intelligence raises doubts that Iran will agree to anything meaningful on this point. The whole MOU, as best we understand, just says that they'll talk about it.
But it isn't just that Trump hasn't achieved his stated goals in the war in a very black and white type of way. It's also that the war has fundamentally helped Iran do something it had never done before, which is control the Strait of Hormuz. And now, whether the Strait is open or closed, the world knows that Iran can and will close it, which is an existential shift.
Also, before the war, Iran was not collecting any money from ships using the strait. Ships should just go through it, free transit of waters. The strait was open and free.
And today, Vice President J.D. Vance made this claim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our expectation is that the strait is going to be opened in a toll-free way for the long term.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: But Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said today that Iran wouldn't collect a toll to use the strait, but they would be collecting fees, toll, fee, potato, potato, you get the point.
Alayna Treene is OUTFRONT from Geneva tonight, where President Trump is meeting with world leaders at the G7 summit.
And, Alayna, what is the latest you're learning from your sources about the reaction in the administration that you're getting to -- now we're hearing even with "Axios'" new reporting that there are real doubts and very high levels of the administration, whether that's Marco Rubio or CIA director or the defense secretary. But in the White House, what's the response to that reporting and the criticism from Trump's own supporters publicly like Mark Levin?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Look, I think there's been a four weeks now really when there's been discussions of a potential agreement and of course, now as well that we're hearing that has been signed by the president, by the vice president, by Iran's chief negotiator about whether or not Iran will actually uphold its commitments. There's always been a concern.
We've -- I know this has been a chief one of the vice president of the United States, Erin, about the enforcement mechanisms for this and really sure, they can get Iran to a number of agreements, particularly something that -- the vice president argues just one and a half pages long of kind of a general framework.
Really, the thorniest issues are going to be negotiated in that 60-day negotiating period. They're calling it for highly technical talks. One thing I want to share that an administration official said earlier today really struck me was that they're essentially looking at that 60-day period for highly technical talks. Again, where they're going to really get into the discussions and the specifics over trying to dismantle Iran's nuclear program was that they were referring to it as a trial period.
And they said pretty bluntly that they're going to have to reassess where things are in two to three weeks following the signing of this memorandum of understanding. So I think that just gives you a level of kind of some of the skepticism around whether or not Iran is actually going to hold true to its word. Now, you've heard many different officials.
I've been hearing this, Aaron, in my conversations with people from the White House. I know administration officials have been saying this on a call today earlier with reporters, this idea that Iran is only going to get kind of compensated or rewarded, as they've said, if they comply with the different points that are outlined in this broader agreement, this broader framework.
Now, we did hear an administration official argue there could be small gestures. They didn't spell out what those would be, but I think obviously they're referring to the unfreezing of assets and potentially sanctions relief. But there are definitely concerns about whether or not Iran is really going to abide by this and the mechanisms that this administration has in place to ensure that they do.
BURNETT: All right. Alayna, thank you very much at the G7 in Geneva.
And OUTFRONT now, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, who sits on the Intelligence and Armed Services Committee and served as a U.S. Navy combat pilot.
Senator, I got a lot to ask you about. I got to start, though, with this new reporting coming out of "Axios" that U.S. intelligence has raised serious doubts about Iran's willingness to make the nuclear concessions and that Director Ratcliffe of the CIA, that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have all expressed concerns about the agreement.
What's your reaction to this?
SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): Well, Aaron, I'm not surprised to hear that I haven't verified that I haven't seen the intelligence you're talking about, but you know, as I listen to, you know how you describe this agreement, this 1-1/2 page MOU that is going to be signed and then 60 days of negotiations.
[19:10:02]
I mean, the word that comes to mind to me is incompetence. I mean, just from the start of this thing at the end of February earlier this year, I mean the decision to go to war against Iran without a strategic goal or a plan. No timeline, no way to get out of it. Not realizing, or at least not accepting the president, not understanding that the Strait of Hormuz can be closed and what the consequences of that were.
And remember when we got into this thing, it wasn't initially about nuclear weapons, it was about regime change. So you know, just along the way, and I think we're probably closer to the beginning of this than we are to the end. But I just keep thinking that this is just been -- it's just the height of incompetence with this government.
BURNETT: And I guess to make the point, right, if the MOU had addressed regime change, they could release that for us to see it. Obviously, I'm somewhat tongue in cheek there. Obviously, it does no such thing 'cause they're doing a deal with the regime.
KELLY: Right.
BURNETT: But I guess that brings me to the question, because I was pointing out, you know, Trump made very explicit promises about what was going to happen here. Several of those things, as I pointed out, we just know factually have not occurred. But why do you think they would not put out the text of the agreement? I mean, they're getting criticized from some of Trump's own most vocal and visible supporters, right? Trump says it's signed, but nobody can see it?
KELLY: I think they think the criticism is going to be more severe if People see it. I think that's why they haven't released it, and that's why the president tweets about it. Hey, for anybody to seriously evaluate this thing, especially me and the United States Senate on the Armed Services and the Intelligence Committee, I got to see something that isn't a tweet. Yeah, I've got to see the text itself and a page and a half? I mean, after a month of negotiations, that's what Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff was -- they were able to come up with?
I mean, we need to have serious people that have experience doing these things negotiate this deal.
BURNETT: So I'm just curious as you point out armed services and intelligence committees and I know you've seen the intelligence, but I mean, I laid out some of the -- the num -- what we know right that that the president said that their missile capacity was going to be wiped out and we understand that at least 70 percent of their pre-war missile capacity is still in place. I mean. Are there other things like that that you're able to share, or at least contextualize for us to understand?
KELLY: Well, I think one people need to -- one thing people need to understand, it's people like Donald Trump who never served in the military that doesn't understand the military and its capability. They're always the first people that want to drop a bomb on something and think that's the solution to everything and think we can obliterate underground -- you know, nuclear enrichment capacity.
I mean, nobody who's a professional would ever say that to say that we're going to completely obliterate something. We can degrade it. We can damage it.
Same thing with the ballistic missile capacity and the drone capacity that the Iranians have. I just think President Donald Trump just doesn't fundamentally understand what he's doing, and because of that he makes very poor decisions.
BURNETT: I want to ask you about something else, Senator, since you're here with me tonight, and I mentioned, of course, you served as a combat pilot, and there is a tragic development in Los Angeles with that B-52 bomber. We understand it crashed shortly after taking off at a base northeast of the city today, and eight crew members are believed to be dead. So it's a true, true tragedy.
We're awaiting more information from the military in just a few moments to get some information from officials there at that air base. But do you know anything about this and what possibly could have gone so horribly wrong?
KELLY: I do not, Erin, but about 25 years ago I was out at Fairchild Air Force Base and on the day I was there, I actually didn't see the accident, but there was a B-52 crash. It is a strategic asset, but worse than losing the airplane is to lose the lives of these eight pilots and airmen, you know, who are, you know, just training and doing their jobs.
I mean, that is tragic. They have families, they have parents, they have brothers and sisters. They have children and spouses. You know, that's the tragic part of this. There'll be an investigation. We'll figure out what happened and we'll do our best to make sure it doesn't happen again.
BURNETT: Yeah, it's a terrible tragedy. Senator, thank you very much. I appreciate your time, Senator Kelly.
KELLY: Thank you.
BURNETT: And everyone's here with me now.
Ambassador Daniel Shapiro, I want to start with you. Obviously, you were former U.S. ambassador to Israel in the Obama administration. And you know all the players that we are hearing from and hearing reporting about today and tonight.
And I know that your takeaway from what we understand in this deal and reading both sides of the discussion as you are able to do. You say Iran is strengthened by this and the U.S. is weakened.
Explain how come.
[19:15:02]
DANIEL SHAPIRO, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL UNDER OBAMA: We are essentially getting a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to end our blockade, but also so that Iran will allow shipping to pass. When the deal -- when the Strait of Hormuz was open when this war started. So there is payment coming. It's clear that Iran is going to get sanctions relief. Some frozen assets released first, perhaps by its neighbors, then later, perhaps by the United States and others, and so this will cost us just to get back to the status quo we were at before the war.
Everything else is kicked down the road. Everything else is a negotiation to come on whether Iran will end uranium -- enrichment of uranium for a long period of time, will relinquish the enriched uranium that it has will allow adequate verification inspections of those commitments. That's still to come and Iran will demand more concessions from us to get to that -- those agreements.
So we are going into those negotiations without a credible threat of force, something that's critical to make diplomacy effective, because no one will believe that 60 days from now, if Iran tries to drag their feet on those negotiations, President Trump's going to go back to war two months before the midterm, send oil price -- oil prices and gas prices spiking back up again.
So we're in a very weak position going into the meat of these negotiations on the nuclear program, having already made a number of concessions ourselves.
BURNETT: Seth, I know you're also critical of the agreement. Why?
SETH JONES, PRESIDENT, DEFENSE & SECURITY DEPARTMENT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, Erin, I would just say sort of objectively let's look at the data. We have the regime in place that is still revolutionary regime. It's the son of the former ayatollah. We still have critical individuals, General Vahidi of the IRGC that is the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
We still have, as Ambassador Shapiro noted, we've got no details and no agreement on one of the central parts of this conflict, which is the nuclear deal. And I would just point out that Iran has had a covert nuclear program for now roughly four decades. The idea that they're going to suddenly give this up is, I think, beyond belief. And then when we look at the missile program, and you mentioned this
earlier, Erin, roughly 70 percent of the mobile launchers that they still have access to, 70 percent or so estimate of missiles, Zulfiqar, the Fateh 110, the Sumar, these are cruising ballistic missiles, and then the Shahed-136s.
They have a pretty substantial standoff capability. And so, you know, I just don't see factually in Iran that has been severely weakened.
BURNETT: You know, Ambassador, the U.S. and Israel obviously went in this war together. And we all have seen extensive reporting on that, right? They went into this as a team. But then when it came to this negotiation, we understand that Trump did it without Netanyahu's input, and he's now been saying a lot of critical things about him. He's called Netanyahu a very difficult guy, effing crazy, and says he has no effing judgment. Those are all quotes.
But you say -- how do you see Netanyahu's options now? Because certainly, I mean, you can see some of the rhetoric from the far right in Israel, the talk about more settlements, the talk about action in Lebanon, you know, but what really are their options?
SHAPIRO: So, first of all, weak as this deal is, it's important to do it. It's important to end this war that shouldn't have started in the first place and President Trump finally reached that point where he realized that the most important interest the United States had here was to get the Strait of Hormuz open to end the global economic crisis and energy chaos that that has caused to get gas prices down at home. And so he decided that was the primary U.S. interest.
But Israel has different interests and our interest diverged here. Israel wanted to continue to fight Iran, to weaken the regime, to damage its nuclear and ballistic missile programs further, and so that's a big difference.
But Prime Minister Netanyahu does not really have the option to publicly disagree with Donald Trump, to try to go to war without Donald Trump because he has tide his own identity -- his political identity in Israel out of a tough election to his partnership with Donald Trump and trying to remake the Middle East.
There will still be clashes between Israel and Hezbollah and Lebanon. If they stay limited to south Lebanon, that will not upend these talks. However, if Iran -- if Hezbollah continues to fire into northern Israel communities and Iran -- Israel responds by firing into Beirut, that could become a challenge to these talks.
So I think both sides, Iran and the United States have an interest in trying to keep that conflict at a low simmer rather than a hot boil.
BURNETT: Seth, we've talked about some of the basic fundamental differences. The ambassador was talking about the fact that the strait was open before. Now it's closed. And no matter how you look at it, Iran is getting relief on things it never could before, just to open the straight, whether that's sanctions relief or release of assets or whatever it might be. But former President Obama spoke out about the agreement or the
memorandum of understanding, such as we have it.
[19:20:01]
And he said what frankly many people have been saying, which is that at its best, he doubts it will be much different than the deal, the JCPOA that I referenced 159-page deal in 2015. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: It is doubtful that any agreement that arises is going to be significantly different, or a significant improvement from the deal that we had in the first place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, given Hormuz, Seth, isn't that definitional?
JONES: Yeah, and I have to say the reality, if you look at the timeline that went into an agreement with the JCPOA, it was like 18 to 20 months. So we're now talking about 30 and 60 days. I just find it highly unlikely on such an important issue.
I mean, a nuclear weapon is the ultimate deterrent for Iran, and I think they've been consistent in wanting it. It's been largely a covert program. So I actually share this skepticism that any kind of negotiation is going to be quick and that Iran is going to -- is going to sort of willingly concede here.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you both very much. I appreciate you.
And next, the breaking news. We are standing by for a press conference about that deadly B-52 bomber crash in California where eight crew members are believed to be dead.
Plus, live pictures from the Kennedy Center. Officials there say Trump's name was removed, but there's a tarp still covering the spot where his name is. That's an odd thing. I mean, why not just let everybody see that?
Kerry Kennedy is OUTFRONT.
And California Governor Gavin Newsom tonight saying his family is the latest target of Trump's Justice Department.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list, and today I proudly join that list.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So what's actually going on there? Details. Jamal Simmons, Sarah Matthews, and Paul Rieckhoff are on deck. They'll be up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:26:28]
BURNETT: Breaking news, Trump's still silent on the offensive insult a UFC fighter lobbed at former First Lady Michelle Obama after winning his fight at the White House. With Trump watching, Josh Hokit had said, quote, "Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?"
Now, Trump, however, has chosen to call Hokit outstanding and unbelievable after this in a social media post. But tonight, Trump's allies are not staying silent. Again, it's ones who are very public and high profile, the UFC President, Dana White, telling "Time Magazine", quote, I understand that the Obamas are public figures, but I'm completely against saying nasty and false things about people's families. Everyone knows my position on free speech, but I hate that kind of nonsense."
And he's not alone. Podcaster Dave Portnoy, who has supported Trump in the past, said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE PORTNOY, PODCASTER: There was one moment I do think Trump has to denounce and anybody associated with it has to denounce, and that's that crazy fighter guy. He took the microphone and he made a derogatory comment about Michelle Obama.
When you have that on the White House lawn, on an event you put down, I don't care what you think about the Obamas or anything, that has to be an immediate denounce.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Everyone's here with me on set.
Sarah, why is it so hard for Trump to say that this was wrong when it was obviously offensive and wrong and people who may share his politics are very clearly saying such?
SARAH MATTHEWS, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: I think expecting Trump to say or do the right thing is useless and disappointing. Look, this is the guy who posted a racist meme of the Obamas depicted as monkeys. This is a guy who posts memes depicting himself as Jesus Christ. There is no decency or decorum in this White House.
And when the White House was asked for comment, they also praised the performer or that -- praised the performance of the fighter. They didn't comment on it. They had every opportunity to condemn it. And yes, it's nice hearing folks like Dave Portnoy and Dana White come out and denounce this attack. But it shouldn't take a pressure campaign from people on the right to get the president to do the right thing. You should immediately condemn something like that.
BURNETT: And, Jamal, what Sarah is referring to is Jake Tapper asked for a comment from the White House about Hokit's comments about Michelle Obama. And it was the communications director, Steven Cheung, who said, quote, he had a great win last night. He showed toughness and the ability to pressure his opponent both on his feet and on the ground, just an absolute refusal to address the issue.
JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, it's absolutely right. Listen, I believe in free speech, and I think the real test of your beliefs and your values is when you can support somebody doing something even when you completely disagree with them. And the president having this event was absolutely his right, but it was him promoting a kind of brutishness and a coarseness.
And this event, what this fighter said, which I don't even want to repeat -- what this fighter said is the level of coarseness that we have to ask ourselves, is that what we really want for our country?
A couple days earlier, they did the weigh in. They did the weigh-in at the Lincoln Monument.
BURNETT: Right, right, right.
SIMMONS: Right? In front of the statue of Abraham Lincoln right and they almost broke out into that sort of fake fight that fighters do right before during the weigh-in, they're pushing each other around and other people to jump in and break them up.
And so, I'm thinking -- here's Abraham Lincoln who in his first inaugural was calling us to the better angels of our nature and when you do that you're making acknowledgment there are worser angels to our nature too. There some people call them demons.
And those demons are they come back. They're like zombies they kill them once. Every generation, we get these sort of dark forces that we have to push back.
[19:30:00]
The problem is, we usually push them back by getting people out of Vegas. Now we got Vegas in D.C. at the White House. And that's not something people were ready for.
BURNETT: And they're also -- look, but part of the reason he said what he said is because he thought it would fall in fertile territory. Which it did, right? I mean, saying in front of the White House, on the one hand, what you're saying is completely true, but on the other hand, of course.
PAUL RIECKHOFF, FOUNDER & CEO, INDEPENDENT VETERANS OF AMERICA: It's the same guy who showed up at the weigh-in drunk and spit on himself. I mean, this is entirely predictable, and it was entirely preventable if you wanted to prevent it.
And I think the bigger takeaway from last night is this was a UFC propaganda dream for Trump. It was entirely on message. They're not looking backward. They're not acknowledging any criticism. Pretty soon, he'll be talking about the ratings. But he had the microphone. He had the stage. And he dominated it. And
he portrayed exactly what he wanted to. Fighters who were tough, bowing down to him. You had Americans versus Canadians.
You had no women on the card whatsoever, even the honorable Medal of Honor recipients and first responders.
BURNETT: Supposed to be American gladiators.
RIECKHOFF: But it was all white men for the most part, right? Especially when it came to the portrayal, right? Hegseth was notably not there. Kash Patel was not there, maybe because Trump wanted to mitigate the risk, but he got what he wanted. It was a spectacle of the highest order, and he totally controlled the message, and he's not looking back. And it was a recruiting video.
BURNETT: And Dave Portnoy come out and say this, Trump, he just cannot, he can't do it.
RIECKHOFF: But they have -- they have businesses, right? They have businesses to worry about. Trump is recruiting for team Trump, and that's what that was last night. And he wove the military into it in a very nefarious and dangerous way as well.
MATTHEWS: Something really interesting, though, is that we have seen Trump willing to condemn conspiracy theories like this. He did it with President Macron of France and his first lady, his wife, when she faced similar accusations of being --
BURNETT: And Candace Owens --
MATTHEWS: And Candace Owens saying it. President Trump came out and said that that wasn't true and condemned it. But then he can't do the same thing for Michelle Obama. Makes you wonder, what's the difference between those two women in his eyes?
BURNETT: Yeah, it's a really important point.
SIMMONS: It does make you wonder where Melania Trump is, too. There's a kind of a first ladies club, and it seems like this would be a moment for the first lady to kind of rise above the den and say, you know what, tamp down, boys.
RIECKHOFF: She was inside, completely quiet, never spoke, just sat there, right? And again, like very few women elevated on any level, and a normal UFC fight has women on the card. UFC is one of the few sports that gives women equal attention, and there were absolutely no women on the card. It would have been an opportunity to elevate someone like Ronda Rousey, someone who's a legend, and that entirely absent. Yeah.
MATTHEWS: And when the White House felt like Melania Trump was under attack by Jimmy Kimmel, even though it was just a joke that he made and they freaked out and, called for him to be off air and all of these things. They fought that because they felt like the first lady was under attack, but they're not willing to do the same for a former first lady.
And I just have to say, Michelle Obama has carried herself with so much grace and dignity over the years and has faced these kinds of crazy, baseless attacks, and she still continues to push forward. And I just think that it is really pathetic of this administration, and it's really pathetic of that White House spokesperson. As a former deputy press secretary myself, I would be embarrassed to have my name on a remark like that, saying, praising the performance of the fighter.
I mean, come on, it's pathetic. She has not been in office, or her husband has not been in office, and she has not been the first lady for nearly a decade, and yet she continues to live rent-free in these losers' heads.
BURNETT: So dominating, dominating that moment.
SIMMONS: Yeah, these tropes that you hear, these tropes you hear that are in Reddit and all these sort of places. These are really old, racist tropes that have been around for a long time. And the fact they're happening on the White House law and nobody calls it out, it's really disappointing.
BURNETT: Paul, let me ask you the other breaking news tonight that we are confirming the U.S. Attorney's Office in Eastern District of California, okay, is leading probes into multiple people connected to the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, including his wife, who runs a nonprofit on tax-related crimes. Possibly, we don't know.
Newsom brought this up today. He was the one who said this is because, you know, I criticized Trump and everyone who has criticized him ends up on his list. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: Donald Trump isn't just coming after me because of my mean tweets. He's coming after me because I'm considering running for president because he hates that I've consistently called him out over and over again for his lies and deceit. Donald Trump is simply the most corrupt president in American history. One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list. And today, I proudly join that list.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, again, we've confirmed the U.S. Attorney's Office in the East of California has launched a probe. Our Paula Reid is reporting in Washington, there's no direct DOJ investigation. So there's a lot we don't know here.
But how does this look to you at first glance?
RIECKHOFF: It looks like Newsom's the next on his list. And Newsom has gotten under Trump's skin before. And Trump has made it clear that he will come after his political enemies. He's come after Mark Kelly. He's come after, you know, a long list of people. But I think there's an upside here for Gavin Newsom. It said he's got
the microphone right now. And he's in a one-on-one with Donald Trump. When Donald Trump shoots down on people like Massie most recently, he elevates them, and he actually amplifies their message.
[19:35:02]
So this might be just what Newsom needs to expand beyond the Democratic base and talk to independents and Republicans who I don't think are going to vote for him in high numbers anyway. It brings Newsom back on the playing field and Trump's kind of doing him a favor.
MATTHEWS: I mean, it's basically a badge of honor for Gavin Newsom, and it's an in-kind donation to his 2028 presidential campaign. I think that Trump is going after him because he sees him as a threat, and it's only going to help him with voters because I think Democratic voters and people in general are just tired of feeling like there aren't enough fighters out there forcefully pushing back on this administration and their abuses of power. And I think that Newsom has positioned himself as that kind of fighter. And so this is just further evidence of that.
SIMMONS: And that's absolutely right. He's going to make Gavin Newsom stronger. Also, even if they find something that brings Newsom in, I'm not sure it's going to have the effect that it would have had five or 10 years ago. Trump has changed the math. I think politicians can now withstand a lot more scrutiny than they did before.
BURNETT: Yeah, that could be one of his long, long-term impacts.
All right, thank you all very much.
And next, as Vladimir Putin suffers mounting losses on the battlefield, he strikes a monastery that's nearly 1,000 years old. What happened there? And this viral video of RFK Junior wrangling snakes with his bare hands, adding to a long list of wild stories about him and animals.
His sister, Kerry Kennedy, is live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:40:34]
BURNETT: Tonight, let's show you some live pictures of the Kennedy Center in Washington, a large tarp covering the signage. But the Kennedy Center's executive director says that Donald Trump's name was removed from the building following a court order that appears to have happened in the early hours of Saturday morning, perhaps under cover of darkness, but it's still covered up. As you can see, the public still can't see it themselves. The tarp is there.
And this ruling may not stand. The case could still make its way to the Supreme Court, which obviously could significantly develop this. So let's go to Kerry Kennedy. She is OUTFRONT. She's the daughter of
Robert F. Kennedy and RFK, Jr.'s sister as well, also the president of the RFK Human Rights Center.
Kerry, I always appreciate talking to you.
So just trying to understand what's happening here. The Kennedy Center obviously has a. a role in American culture, especially as the preeminent arts and culture center of the nation's capital. And the Kennedy Center's executive director, Matt Floca, who was appointed by President Trump, does say Trump's name has been removed from the building.
I guess if you take that just at face value for a moment here, are you relieved at that symbolic move?
KERRY KENNEDY, DAUGHTER OF ROBERT F. KENNEDY; RFK JR'S SISTER: Yeah, I think that's the first step, but I think the thread of putting his name back on it is a continuing threat for all of us. You know, imagine the Trump tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the or the Trump Washington Monument or the Trump Lincoln Memorial that can't stand and it can't stand because those were created by Congress in order to memorialize people who die for our country and fallen presidents.
And so that's the reason the Kennedy Center really can only be named for my uncle John F. Kennedy. The second reason is that it is the preeminent Arts Center for our country, and as such it has to be above politics. It can't be associated with the politics of a living president who does not have the support of nearly 2/3 of the American people.
So we need to distinguish between arts and politics here.
BURNETT: Now, as you're speaking, Kerry, we're just looking at the Kennedy Center. You know where it had said the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center and the lettering is still covered by a tarp, so we can't see that Trump's name has been removed.
Now, obviously, they were supposed to do it. They say that they did it. But they won't let us see it. I mean, I know you don't know exactly why either, but what do you think is going on here? It's obviously very odd.
KENNEDY: You know, I think that this is typical of an administration that doesn't believe in transparency. It doesn't believe in transparency and decision making. It doesn't believe in transparency in the courts. It doesn't believe in transparency in when or why it goes to war or why it stops these wars and it doesn't believe in transparency for something as small as this. Now to me, it's very, very important that the Kennedy Center be retain its name, but it's also symbolic of a larger problem of transparency and corruption by this administration.
BURNETT: I want to turn, if I may, Kerry, to your brother RFK, Jr., who is the nation's top health official, obviously. "The New York Times" recently published a report about him and there was a lot of criticism in it, Kerry. And one point they write, Mr. Kennedy, obviously with their sources, Mr. Kennedy has shown little interest in managing the details of work in his department and has little direct engagement with his staff. Several described him as checked out.
Now I want to note, your brother responded directly himself in a lengthy post on X, 871 words, directly refuting the article. He called it unfair and inaccurate.
Does "The New York Times" reporting sound like your brother or does that sound off to you?
KENNEDY: You know, I can't really comment on it because I all I know is what I read in "The New York Times", but I do believe that "The New York Times" has become the record -- the most trusted record in our country.
[19:45:02]
Over the last three years or within three years leading up to 2025, we lost 10,000 journalism jobs in our country. "The Washington Post" has been decimated and so has so many other papers across the country.
So we really rely on "The New York Times" for its incisive and well- funded interviewing and research techniques. I think that there's -- it seems like there's reason to be defensive, but I think what's most important is that the -- you know 20,000 people have lost their jobs under HHS. We have lost $500 million in MRNA vaccine research. We have a leader of HHS. That has tried to get rid of the vast majority of childhood vaccines.
The cost of Medicare, the cost of health care for so many Americans is skyrocketing. I think those are the issues that most people care about know about and impact their lives.
BURNETT: I want to ask you about one more thing if I can before you go carry and that is just these viral videos that have come out of your brother and animals, one that he had posted of wrangling a pair of racer snakes with his bare hands. Cheryl, his wife obviously, was repeatedly telling him to put them down. They were these racer snakes, I guess, on the porch of where they were, Dr. Oz's house or something like that, if I remember.
But it just comes in the context of the dead bear cub, you know, which with the carcass was in Central Park, that situation. And I know your niece Kick claims he once used a chainsaw to decapitate a dead whale, that went on the roof of the minivan and then he drove it home. I mean, all these stories.
I'm just curious because someone had mentioned that he had a fascination with animals, with being a vet, animal carcasses since very young childhood. Does that jive with what you remember as a sister?
KENNEDY: Yeah, absolutely. And to me, it's complicated. I'm so grateful to Bobby as my older brother when I was a kid. His fascination of nature he shared with all of us and he took me to catch snakes and learn about frogs and salamanders and go on nature hunting trips and he gave me a crow when I was a kid. It gave me a hawk and I learned so much about him.
With another side -- there was always another side. I'll just tell you this quick story. I guess my daughter is almost 30 now, so when she was maybe four years old, we were having her little birthday party and I was looking in the garden and I found a snake.
So I called Bobby. He just lived mile down the road and I said there's a snake in the garden. He rushed over with his infant son Aiden in one hand who was just a few months old and a bed sheet and another pillowcase in the park and he grabbed this snake and stuffed it into the pillowcase while he was holding his infant son. So that was a little scary. And then he walked up to where the rest of the birthday party was and he reached into the bag and this snake was just chomping on his hand and he pulled out the snake to show the kids.
Then there was a bowl which looks like a mole, a combination of a mole and a mouse, and he grabbed that with his hand and he put it into the bag with the snake, which made all the kids scream because now they were afraid the snake would eat the mole.
So then he shoved his hand back into the pillowcase and grabbed the snake, which chomped on him a few more times. Then we went over to his house a mile away. There were tons of kids in the swimming pool and he released this snake that had dropped his hand into the swimming pool now.
So this is somebody who on the one hand has a fascination with nature, but on the other hand has, you know, a lack of judgment when it comes to the safety and care of children and of -- and so, is this the person who you want running HHS who's got this lack of judgment when it comes to health and safety? And I think we've got somebody who's been consistent about these things throughout his life.
BURNETT: Wow. That's an unforgettable story.
[19:50:00]
Kerry, thank you very much. I appreciate seeing you. I always do, and thank you.
KENNEDY: OK, thank you. Take care.
BURNETT: All right. You, too.
And next, Putin launching a massive attack, absolutely massive, on a historic church in Kyiv, 1,000 years old as he sends Trump a remarkable birthday message.
And breaking news, the Air Force just releasing new details about the deadly B-52 bomber crash in California today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news, massive attack. A cathedral nearly 1,000 years old burning in Kyiv, at least 11 killed in that same wave of Russian strikes.
And Nick Paton Walsh is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russia's savagery against Ukraine always seems to find new depths to sink to. Last night, one of Ukraine's oldest churches, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, founded nearly 1,000 years ago, rocketed.
Almost certainly the target here, it sits quiet and alone on Kyiv's woody riverbank. Ukraine's plight getting less attention during the U.S. war with Iran, but raging still.
Nightly attacks across Ukraine as fierce as Moscow can manage, but not massively more effective, instead becoming more grotesque against the people and culture their invasion falsely claimed it wanted to save.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: When we go now to G7 meeting, first topic, you see what is the priority. The priority is air defense.
WALSH (voice-over): Russian officials have claimed U.S. President Donald Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a congratulatory 80th birthday call in which Putin called him such a bright, remarkable person that he will pressure Ukraine and Europe at the G7 to agree to Russian terms for a deal.
But European officials see Russian desperation and weakness amid their outrage at these strikes and an opening, as Russia stalls on the front line.
[19:55:04]
JEAN-NOEL BARROT, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): For us French, this would be the equivalent of bombing Notre Dame or Saint- Denis, something that is obviously unacceptable.
FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): Ukraine today finds itself in a new position of strength. Russia cannot win militarily. And, moreover, its economy is in dire straits.
WALSH (voice-over): Ukraine's deep strikes into Russia, like those we witness here, have caused huge damage and embarrassment. Some Kremlin allies have suggested Putin may now realize the war is going badly, or at least slowly, with a Western estimate of half a million Russian dead.
Even Putin, whose hometown was hit in early June by drones during a key meeting, briefly admitted to economic damage last week.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): As for the economy, yes, we suffer some damage, but everything is recovering quickly. They will not be able to create serious problems for us, but keeping in mind what they are doing, we should retaliate appropriately. WALSH (voice-over): And so the strikes across Ukraine keep coming, even as Ukraine's defenses improve against drones, but struggle with the ballistic missiles Moscow is throwing at them to make the desperate point it is not losing.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And next, breaking news. The Air Force just revealing new details about the B-52 bomber crash that killed eight on board.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news in the B-52 bomber crash in which all eight on board were killed. Officials just gave this update a few moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. JAMES HAYES: It was a B-52 that was on initial takeoff supporting the radar modernization program, which is a test -- it was a local test sortie. It took off and immediately after takeoff crashed and burst into flames.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: You can see right there where the runway was left charred with smoke pouring from the wreckage. The B-52 is one of the U.S. Air Force's oldest aircraft, first put into service back in 1955. But it is a horse. It can carry as much as 70,000 pounds of bombs and other munitions. It can also carry nuclear bombs and nuclear-armed cruise missiles. Officials say there weren't any weapons on board the plane today. Before today's crash, the most recent deadly accident involving the B-52 was in 2008.
Thank you for joining us.
"AC360" begins right now.
