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Erin Burnett Outfront

Iran Attacks Ship Going Through Strait Of Hormuz; Top FEMA Official Out; Trump Tells GOP Not To Hold Things Hostage After He Held Bill Hostage; 1,500+ Injured, 188 Killed In Venezuela Quakes. Aired 7- 8p ET

Aired June 25, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:23]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news, Iran firing on a ship after it enters the Strait of Hormuz, as Trump again says, don't believe what you see, he controls the Strait.

And remember that top FEMA official who claimed that he once teleported to a Waffle House, a video that only came to light because of our KFILE? Well, tonight, that FEMA official is out. Breaking news this hour.

And the death toll rising in Venezuela. An American visiting Caracas who narrowly escaped disaster is our guest. Wait until you hear his miraculous story.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

And OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the breaking news, a ship attacked -- attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. This is the first time in nine it makes. It's a cargo ship that had just passed through the Strait of Hormuz. It was attacked by Iran.

A strike that leaves any sort of an agreement between Trump and Iran as shaky and amorphous and undefined, and how many synonyms can I come up with on that, as it already was, is in question tonight. And what we know about this attack is that a cargo ship was hit by a one-way attack drone, according to "The Wall Street Journal", which also reports that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps was responsible.

Tehran is just showing the obvious here, though, but this action, speaking louder than any word, showing that, yes, they are still in control of the Strait of Hormuz. They can shut it down whenever they want, despite what Trump just claimed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As long as they respect us, I don't want to use the word fear because that's an inappropriate word. But as long as they respect us, we're not going to have any trouble. We have total control of the strait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Now, obviously, if you have total control of the strait, other countries aren't bombing ships in the strait. Okay, that's just to state the obvious.

And it's not the only thing that we've been pointing out that Iran and the United States are just having completely different tales about. Trump says there's not going to be any nuclear -- I mean, that there will be nuclear inspectors inside Iran, I'm sorry. Iran is adamant that there will not be.

Iran's president said its missiles are also not part of the agreement, saying, quote, "The discussion over our missiles does not exist in the memorandum of understanding, and it never will." Which is really mind boggling because Trump said when he started the entire war as one of the core tenets of the reason that he bombed Iran was to limit the country's missile program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Our objectives are clear. First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities, and you see that happening on an hourly basis and their capacity to produce brand new ones and pretty good ones they make.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Of course, even separate from the so-called agreement, Iran still retains more than two-thirds of its pre-war missile stockpile.

Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT live outside the White House.

And Kristen, seeing this ship hit, "Wall Street Journal" reporting, by the IRGC, it is a major signal from the Iranians that they control the strait, that de facto they can open and close it whenever they want. It raises big questions about this so-called agreement.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So-called agreement and the negotiations. I mean, part of the 60-day negotiations, the 60-day deal that reopens the Strait of Hormuz, says that in exchange for the United States, removing the naval blockade, that Iran will ensure, or to the best that they can, ensure the safe passage of these commercial vehicles or vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. That is clearly not what they did here. It does not say only have these vessels go through Tehran's route.

And that is what we heard from the Iran Revolutionary Guard. They put out a statement before they actually attacked this ship and they said in it that it's that safe passage through the strait was limited to routes designated by Tehran and that other routes were unacceptable and completely dangerous. Well, they're dangerous because of Iran and Iran striking them. They're flexing every single muscle they have here saying they control

the strait saying that if you don't listen to the way that we want to control the strait, we are going to attack you. And that's what we saw here.

Now, what's also interesting about this is there's been no comment from the White House on this. And what we've seen really in the past several days is that the White House, the administration, has been willing to not necessarily give Iran any kind of leeway here, but trying not to rock the boat. They want this deal to work. They want these negotiations to go through, and they want to be out of this war.

We have known that for some time, President Trump looking for this off-ramp.

[19:05:01]

But what this does is that technically it appears it actually breaks the deal if it is Iran that is attacking the ship when they were supposed to be to the best of their capabilities keeping these vessels safe through the Strait of Hormuz so what does that mean for the naval blockade? And again we have not heard any actual comment from the White House on this. But of course, we know they're watching this very closely as they're trying to get through this negotiating period and get a final deal on the table.

BURNETT: All right. Kristen, thank you very much.

And OUTFRONT now, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who's on the Armed Services Committee.

And Senator, I appreciate your time.

So Trump saying today, U.S. has total control over the strait. Obviously, they don't -- Iran just making that, putting an exclamation point on that by striking that ship, as "The Wall Street Journal" reports. What's your reaction to this?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): As you said so well, Iran is sending the world a message. We're in control of the strait. You follow the routes we designate, or we're going to hit your ships. But even more important, the statement from the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which has responsibility for tolls, is making the same kind of statement.

So it indicates that they're going to be imposing tolls or fees. In a sense, they're almost mocking the president because he has given away so much of our leverage by lifting the sanctions and unfreezing assets. So I think what has to happen now, the administration has to think very hard about suspending the lifting of sanctions and the unfreezing of assets to regain our bargaining power, because clearly, Iran is far from taking us seriously. This is a very ominous step.

BURNETT: Yeah, I mean, well, you know, and there doesn't seem to be anything that they're in agreement on. As I said, it's confusing what was signed, when, and by who. All of that is confusing, but missiles are in it. The other side's

missiles aren't. Nuclear inspectors are in it. No, they're not. The Straits open, or we control it. No, we control it.

There's not a single thing they appear to agree on, actually, except for the fact that Iran was getting money.

BLUMENTHAL: And the inspection issue is absolutely key, because if you recall, when a lot of us went along with the JCPOA, we insisted that there be airtight inspection and verification by the IAEA. Now the Iranians are saying no oversight, no verification, no inspection has been agreed to. That's a real sticking point.

BURNETT: And -- and -- OK, so I want to ask you about something else here in the Middle East, actually, you're demanding an investigation into something very specific, which is reports of a secret half a billion dollar investment by an Emirati royal from the UAE into the Trump family cryptocurrency business. So there's this half a billion dollar investment that you want investigation into, and this investment was made just four days before Trump's inauguration. That's the timing of it.

"Wall Street Journal" first reported it and said it was an Emirati royal who was involved. So the Trump administration very soon thereafter gave the UAA access to special trips, chips made by Nvidia. What questions do you have here?

BLUMENTHAL: Well, this deal, Erin, is probably the most overtly corrupt deal by any American president with any foreign official in American history. It's part of a pattern of corruption and self- enrichment. The deal was made with Donald Trump's family, his two sons, World Liberty Financial, which is their crypto firm, for half a billion dollars of investment, but also $2 billion in the purchase of the stablecoins that World Liberty Financial is selling.

And then, magically, The Trump administration approved $1.4 billion in military sales and about a billion dollars worth of advanced A.I. chips, which are necessary for the data center that the Emiratis want to establish. And it was all done by the Sheikh, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the brother of the president, the head of national security.

So it is just profoundly on its face, certainly corrupt. That's why we need a hearing and an investigation.

BURNETT: Okay, so a White House spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that that A.I. chips deal had, quote, everything to do with what's best for the United States and nothing to do with World Liberty Financial.

BLUMENTHAL: Well, the purchase of the stablecoins was made through World Liberty Financial, which is a Donald Trump family and Witkoff family operation.

BURNETT: Yes.

BLUMENTHAL: They may try to distinguish the two. But let them say it under oath in a hearing Let them explain.

The burden is on them to justify this apparent quid pro quo.

[19:10:01]

If they've got a good explanation, let them give it under oath before the American people.

BURNETT: Well, it's a big statement if you say this is the most corrupt deal in the context of all the things that we're learning. Eric Trump, obviously, is one of the sons, Witkoff's son and Trump's son, who were involved in this, was in Dubai at a crypto conference praising the UAE for never getting caught up by bureaucracy, right? Essentially being able to do whatever they want to do. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC TRUMP, SON OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: And I always say that the rest of the world has to be careful of the UAE for one reason. They always arrive at the word yes, which is a beautiful thing, and they do it quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: You know what's interesting here is what the UAE is doing makes sense for the UAE, okay? You do whatever deal you need to do to get with you. That makes sense from a foreign policy and a business perspective for the other country. It's the United States side of this that seems to raise the most questions, that this would be the president's son.

BLUMENTHAL: And it is obviously the president who is profiting. "Reuters" has estimated that the Trump family has already made more than $2 billion in profits as a result of their crypto operation.

BURNETT: Two billion.

BLUMENTHAL: And that is a profound statement on the self-enrichment and corruption going on in this administration.

BURNETT: Senator Blumenthal, thank you very much.

And just breaking right now, FEMA confirming that Greg Phillips, who is a top Trump appointee who oversaw federal disaster response at the agency, is no longer working at FEMA. Now, viewers of this show may remember Phillips from our KFILE's exclusive reporting about him. Video Phillips claiming to have teleported to a Waffle House.

Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG PHILLIPS, FEMA OFFICIAL: We had a teleport incident, two of them. The car lifted up and took me where I was going and I ended up at a Waffle House like 50 miles away from where I was. It was an incredibly frightening moment to experience yourself in your car flying through the air.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: This person was running a crucial part of FEMA, but you found out about that from KFILE.

Gabe Cohen is OUTFRONT.

OK, Gabe, just replaying that, I think, gives people some perspective and context here. But what more are you learning about why Greg Phillips is departing from FEMA, shall we say, right now?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Erin, the official line from the Department of Homeland Security tonight is that Greg Phillips is now on personal leave. I got a statement in just a few minutes ago. I want to read that to you. It says, "FEMA thanks Mr. Phillips for his service, dedication, and leadership as he takes leave for personal reasons. Since joining the agency, he has played a pivotal role in stabilizing the Office of Response and Recovery," what he was leading, Erin, since December, "and advancing key reforms to strengthen our mission delivery."

But I will tell you, just talking to a lot of sources this afternoon about what has happened here over the past couple of days is that Greg Phillips very much was pushed out of this agency. I think over time he was seen more and more as a loose cannon. He was somebody that if you look back even to December and January when Kristi Noem was still running DHS with Corey Lewandowski, he was clashing with some of the top officials there.

But the timing here is also really clear or really important because Markwayne Mullin has been leading DHS for a few months now, and they're about to most likely have a new FEMA administrator if he is confirmed by the Senate. And that's Cameron Hamilton, somebody who was put in that role to lead FEMA at the beginning of this administration in an acting capacity. He was fired unceremoniously, and now he's being brought back in.

And as part of that, it seems like they're trying to clear house, and it looks like Greg Phillips is a piece of that.

BURNETT: And OK, but again, when we play that clip about teleporting to the Waffle House, how did that -- how was that received in FEMA when they saw those tapes?

COHEN: Well, look, to a lot of people in the administration, it was a major embarrassment. Our KFILE team called the president, even who said in the weeks after that, that it was strange that he was making those comments. So it was not received well, especially because Phillips doubled and tripled down on some of the comments.

But I'll tell you that for a lot of rank and file and some of the career leadership at FEMA, It was this odd moment because those comments were extremely alarming, but Greg Phillips was actually pretty widely liked by a lot of the top career folks because he seemed at a time when there was a real slash and burn approach to how the administration was handling this agency, he was one of the few people who was willing to push back.

And so, it was interesting to see how different leaders within this agency and this department viewed Greg Phillips.

[19:15:04]

But for the administration, I think they saw his sort of image as a black eye, and we knew that this day was coming eventually.

BURNETT: All right, Gabe Cohen, thank you very much.

Senator Blumenthal, I just want to give you a chance to respond to this. I know you're also on the Homeland Security Committee. To this finally happening, but happening really as a result of the fact that KFILE found a video of Mr. Phillips talking explicitly about teleporting into his car, lifting up and landing at a Waffle House.

BLUMENTHAL: This story is really important, and thank you for covering it, because it's emblematic of what is happening in this administration, the politicization and cleaning house of dedicated career members of FEMA, but also of so many other agencies, the firing of General Chris Donahue, or his forced retirement, within the last few days in the Army by Secretary of War Hegseth, the cleaning house that's occurring at the DNI by Bill Pulte, and across the government, the continuing efforts to, in effect, slash and burn career employees who have dedicated their lives and often demonstrated profound courage, as you covered in this story.

BURNETT: All right, Senator Blumenthal, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

And next, we have breaking news with the death toll rising after those two devastating earthquakes hit seconds apart in Venezuela. One American narrowly escaped a disaster. He's here to tell you his heart- stopping story.

Plus, why is the Trump administration tweeting bizarre QAnon references? Why are they now, it appears, trying to get closer to the fringe conspiracy theorists? We have a new special report ahead.

And breaking news out of Washington tonight, where President Trump is caving now, urging his party to unite after he humiliated them by refusing to sign a bipartisan housing bill. Karen Finney, S.E. Cupp are next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:39]

BURNETT: Breaking news, Trump caving after a three-hour meeting with the House Speaker, Mike Johnson. The president now appears to be, as a result, urging his most loyal allies in Congress to stop holding up business in the House because of his so-called Save America Act, just moments ago saying, "House Republicans should unify, no more grandstanding, please." Which, of course, is quite ironic, because, you know, they had the whole signing celebration ready for the bipartisan housing bill yesterday, and he was the one who grandstanded calling it off at the very last second after his own press secretary had put out a tweet celebrating it.

And Trump saying, I'm not-- forget about it. No party, no nothing, because I want my controversial voting bill passed, or else.

Now, that bill requires proof of citizenship to vote, and there are other measures in it that Republicans say are a no-go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Let's just stop playing games. Let's stop being dishonest. Let's recognize that 36 states have some form of voter ID today.

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): My fear is that it would result in disenfranchising voters who have been voting for decades.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, you know, interesting because all of this Trump's focus on that bill is about his obsession with voter fraud as he sees it, rigged elections and what he thinks will be voter fraud in November. As more polls show that Republicans are in real danger of losing the House, could also lose the Senate. So when that reality came, and I suppose in three hours of Mike Johnson trying to painstakingly and politely get to the end goal, Trump did decide that his only play is to cry foul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have a lot of rigged elections. I said they just rigged the election. We have rigged elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So he always goes back to that. But now it is his own party that is standing up. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who obviously lost his seat after Trump campaigned against him and endorsed his opponent, who won. But now Massie is out saying, Okay, can we just stop here? What election fraud are you talking about?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I think it's ironic that we control the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the White House, and we're yelling election fraud. The problem is not the elections. We won the damn elections. The problem is we're wasting our opportunity that the voters gave us. And the Republicans are going to pay for that in November. It'll be an absolute shellacking if they don't wake up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: You know, it's sometimes when someone just hits you over the head with something really basic and obvious, you go, wow, that is right. You know, you won absolute everything and you're the one saying that it's rigged.

Okay. OUTFRONT now, S.E. Cupp and Karen Finney.

So, S.E., so Trump is now after this three hour meeting. I would love to see how Mike Johnson managed to get that.

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Me, too.

BURNETT: You know, because yesterday there was yelling and screaming and people, Cassidy was called a lunatic by Trump and he was nasty, but Mike Johnson got him to let the bill go ahead and not hold it up for the election fraud.

What do you think happened?

CUPP: Well, I don't know, but I can feel in my bones the Republican frustration with this total self-owned this week when Donald Trump decided to hold a very popular bipartisan bill that 85 percent of Americans have been asking for hostage in order to shove a very unpopular bill that doesn't even have his own party support through.

[19:25:00]

Unsuccessfully. Unsuccessfully.

I mean, it's bonkers. I have never seen politics performed this poorly. It's crazy to go out of your way to deny your party the bragging rights to go home to their constituents. They've been dying to go home with some positive news. They had it. They could go home and take up a big victory lap on this very important issue. And Trump is just so paranoid and obsessed and fixated on the rigged elections that he was willing to throw his own party under the bus.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: But we sort of knew from the beginning last year that at some point, as we got closer to the election, the alignment of interest between Trump and the members of this party who have to go and face voters was going to diverge. And I think that's what we've been seeing over the last few days, because to your point, S.E., they needed this housing bill. They sure can't go talk about Iran --

CUPP: No, or the economy.

FINNEY: -- or the economy.

CUPP: Yeah.

FINNEY: We just had new numbers today, right? That showed that things are as bad as people feel like it is. And so, but that's part of what I think we're seeing is that the alignment of interest.

And look, I think for Democrats it's an important thing to exploit and talk about the fact that, is this person, this Republican in a general election, are they for you or are they going to be with him? Because Trump keeps saying he values loyalty over everything else. And I would use that in an ad over and over again. BURNETT: So, S.E., you know, Trump, it's not just Trump, right? You're hearing more frustration with members of the Trump administration coming from Republicans, okay? And it's not just people like Thomas Massie, okay, who stated something, who's a lame duck, but did state something, you know, sort of basic and important there, but okay, but

Now, there was a hearing with the DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. I just wanted to play a back and forth here. This is the Republican chairman in an exchange with Markwayne Mullin. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ROSA DELAURO (D-CT): Mr. Secretary, do not interrupt.

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, DSH SECRETARY: Don't you point your finger at me. Don't be a hypocrite then. By the way, ICE agents came there and helped bring those people that you also kept shut down for --

REP. MARK AMODEI (R-NV): Mr. Secretary --

MULLIN: I'm answering the question.

DELAURO: You didn't.

AMODEI: I thought you said you answered it. The floor is hers.

MULLIN: My dear --

AMODEI: Actually, I gave it to her. You know, there is a chairman of a committee. That's me. I gave it back to her. She's got it.

DELAURO: There's something about who these folks are.

AMODEI: Do you have another question, Madam Ranking Member?

DELAURO: Well, yeah, no, I do, but I didn't get an answer to a question.

AMODEI: So the record will still reflect. Please ask your next question.

DELAURO: Okay, and I will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUPP: You know --

BURNETT: So the Republican chairman comes to her defense.

CUPP: I mean, that was just for basic decorum. I mean, it's the bare minimum, but still important. I don't usually go to this place, like, knee-jerkingly, but the way a lot of these cabinet secretaries who are hauled in to Congress for hearings, talk to women in particular.

FINNEY: A thousand percent. CUPP: The women in Congress.

FINNEY: Even the women cabinet members, by the way.

CUPP: Yes. But, again, like, this isn't my knee-jerk thing to do, but it is so obvious, this chauvinistic, I'm going to talk right over you, kind of thing that happens from men to women, it's really gross, and I'm really glad that that Republican chairman of the committee, that man, stepped in and said, it's my committee, and I get to decide, and there are rules, and she is talking. That was actually really important.

Like I said, bare minimum to just ask for basic decorum, but I actually think it goes -- it's more important than that.

FINNEY: They come in, you know, ready to brawl with their talking points. I mean, we've seen this performance over and over and over again. They come in like bullies. I mean, yelling, raising their voice. Sometimes when there was not, no one was yelling except for them. And that's part of the performative nature.

And again, you have to believe that there's, it's an audience of one. It's Donald Trump. Again, he favors loyalty over everything else. So they want to have that clip that shows. I went in there and I fought and I didn't take.

And it's -- again, that may work with Trump, but for the rest of the country, when you see that, and again, at scenario, 770,000 children were kicked off SNAP because of the big, beautiful bill. So I don't think any voter who was dealing with that reality would want to see that kind of behavior.

BURNETT: All right, thank you both very much.

And next, rescuers are desperately now in terrible conditions trying to find survivors after those incredibly powerful earthquakes, one of them, the biggest in a century, left countless people buried alive. We don't have any idea what the numbers are right now.

One American managed to make it to safety. He's in Venezuela tonight, going to tell you his incredible story live.

Plus, the Trump administration posting tweets that mirror the bizarre messages we've seen from QAnon. So what are they posting and how come now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:34:37]

BURNETT: Breaking news, a desperate search and rescue underway in Venezuela after that pair of earthquakes devastated the country, both striking within seconds. Now, we know at least 188 people are dead, but the reality of it is, is that number is expected to rise dramatically.

People, countless people are still missing or trapped amid rubble. They're still trying to figure out the scale of the missing.

[19:35:01]

The earthquake struck just 40 seconds apart, 7.2, 7.5. The second one is the biggest earthquake in Venezuela in more than 100 years.

Stefano Pozzebon is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Chaos, confusion, and fear. These were the scenes as not one, but two earthquakes rocked Venezuela in a matter of seconds. Massive buildings collapsed to the ground in the capital, Caracas.

And the country's main international airport was forced to shut down after feeling the ripples and destruction of the tremors. More than 1,000 have been injured, and thousands more remain missing.

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency as search and rescue operations continue looking for survivors. The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes hit at around 6:00 p.m. local on Wednesday. The epicenter was the country's northeastern coast.

Venezuelan authorities said they registered around 140 tremors throughout the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I was here when I managed to get dressed. He helped me, and all the walls were cracked. We managed to open the door however we could. There was a cloud of smoke that wouldn't let us see. And when we went downstairs, the scene was like a horror movie.

POZZEBON (voice-over): The coastal state of La Guaira was hit the hardest. Three-story houses were flattened into piles of debris and major highways split in half. Many fearing aftershocks have taken shelter in outdoor squares and parks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We slept here on the pavement and that bench. Well, slept? Nobody could sleep last night, and nobody wants to go back inside now.

POZZEBON (voice-over): Venezuelan authorities are calling it the worst natural disaster to hit the country in nearly three decades. This comes in the midst of political and economic instability.

The United States and neighboring countries have offered aid and supplies. The real cost of the tragedy is still impossible to predict.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

POZZEBON: And, Erin, unfortunately, the latest coming out of Caracas is that at least 188 Venezuelans have been killed in this catastrophe.

But perhaps the best piece of news that we can bring to you and your audience is that, finally, aid is indeed starting to ripple into the country. For example, the Colombian air forces have confirmed to us that they have two C-130 Hercules cargo planes that are ready to depart from Bogota, where I am, and traveling to Caracas overnight, bringing no fewer than 60 rescue operators, canine unit, and 12 tons of aid for those populations that have been affected by this earthquake -- Erin.

BURNETT: Stefano, thank you very much.

And OUTFRONT now, Jason Wang, an American from Nevada who is currently in Venezuela. Jason was in the country, had been there for less than 24 hours when he narrowly escaped the deadly earthquakes, the beginning of what was supposed to be a two-week vacation with his girlfriend.

And I know Jason's spent the day sightseeing in a mountaintop. She was taking a nap because they had just gotten into the country. So Jason's next in line to catch a cable car back to Caracas. The earthquake strike, the internet is gone, and he has to go on a six-mile journey down a mountain in the dark.

So, Jason, I mean, so just people understand, you had just gotten in the country, this was your first day, you decide to go on a hike. We understand these two earthquakes, one of which is the largest in a century happened within 40 seconds of each other.

Can you just tell me what that felt like and at what point did you realize something was terribly wrong?

JASON WANG, AMERICAN WHO SURVIVED MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE: Yeah, so it was right at 6:05 PM. I was waiting in line to go back down the mountain by using the cable car. And I was actually next up to board the cable car. I was recording myself going into the cable car and all of a sudden like, the building started shaking, and the floor started moving, and then mass panic.

Like, everyone that was in line inside the building, we were all running for the one exit. It just happened so fast. Yeah, the shaking lasted about -- I mean, it felt like a long time. I think it was up to a minute.

And we didn't know what was going on because, as you mentioned, the cell phone got cut out. I couldn't look up any information, couldn't call for help. So we were pretty much on our own after that.

BURNETT: What was it like when everyone, you know, rushes for the door? I mean, that feeling of panic, because at that point you realize it all could come down. I mean, people are rushing for life and death all to one exit.

WANG: Yeah, at that point, you just don't know what's going to happen. You can only hope for the best for you and everyone around you.

So luckily, the building -- nothing happened to the building.

[19:40:02] We did see like floors outside starting to crack, but luckily the building was intact.

BURNETT: Just -- it's terrifying to even imagine.

So then you have a six mile hike to get back to your hotel. You're doing this amidst all of this, the fear and the panic. I understand you're the only person not from Venezuela doing this.

People are clearing a path with machetes, I understand. So you know what? What was that like in the dark?

WANG: Yeah, I mean, we were hoping that the cable cars would resume, so I waited 45 minutes. But then I could tell that something was not right. So yeah, I was one of the first to decide to start walking down because I knew the later we waited, the more people would get stuck and the darker it would get and the more difficult things would become.

I mean, the first part wasn't too bad. The roads were good. And then a few hundred yards in, there were no more roads. It just got completely destroyed, landslides from above, like just covered the roads and tons of fallen trees. You just couldn't get through it and a lot of rubble.

I even saw some houses that were completely destroyed along the way. Yeah, so the only way to get through is by. You know these civilians. They came with machetes and chopped the trees up so that they created a tunnel for us to like literally walk through the trees. There were several sections like that along the way down.

BURNETT: I mean, it's just absolutely incredible. You get back to the city at this point. I know you're -- you've got to be just absolutely terrified about your girlfriend who was in a hotel, right? That that the building could have collapsed, that she could be dead and you can't call. There's no Internet.

So, how do you -- how do you find each other and what was it like when you're actually in Caracas seeing the devastation there?

WANG: Yes, I mean, once I got down the mountain and I just saw, like, everyone out of their homes, people were sitting outside with their families and their pets. You know, it's a real sense of community. Everyone was afraid to go back in.

So, as I was told, a lot of people actually slept outside last night. And a lot of people were being very friendly. You know, actually someone offered me a ride on their motorbike from the first village that I came down to all the way to the city center. So it just saved me so much time and I eventually got back right before 11:00 PM. I -- you know, I was really relieved when I got back to my hotel.

BURNETT: Right, right. And we're able we're able to see your girlfriend. I know that she is safe. Thank God both of you are safe. And as I know, obviously, there's so much tragedy around where you are, as you will be experiencing.

Thank you so very much, Jason. I appreciate your taking the time and being willing to speak to me.

WANG: Yeah, thank you so much for having me.

BURNETT: Next, some of the White House social media posts now echo wild QAnon conspiracy theories. We'll show you.

Plus a special report on new hard-to-detect drones that are catching one of the world's most powerful militaries off guard tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:39]

BURNETT: Tonight, the Trump administration making an unusual and highly public appeal to far-right conspiracy group QAnon, according to new reporting from "The Bulwark". Members of QAnon has stirred up some wild conspiracy theories, including that Democrats run a sex trafficking ring, are Satan worshiping pedophiles, and that JFK Jr. is still alive.

"The Bulwark" revealing official White House and Defense Department social media accounts are now posting messages using QAnon imagery and slogans like the White House will be Q-posting today. Activation word "Ronald McDonald", that happens to also be a QAnon catchphrase. And then another QAnon reference, patriots are still in control.

And they said, "Where we go, one, we go quantum," which is a twist on another QAnon slogan.

It comes as some QAnon promoters are openly turning on President Trump, one of them posting, "We're done being treated like bleep. So sorry we aren't super giddy over a lame tweet about Q from the White House X page after we've all been kicked to the curb like absolute pieces of trash."

OUTFRONT now, Will Sommer, the senior reporter at "The Bulwark" who broke this story.

So, Will, what do you think the White House is trying to accomplish here by posting, you know, very clear QAnon posts, and then also ones that, to someone who knows the references, knows that those are QAnon slogans?

WILL SOMMER, SENIOR REPORTER, THE BULWARK: Yeah, I mean, I think on the surface, they claim to be promoting this new executive order Trump has on quantum computing, this idea of, I guess, powerful computers. But it's a very weird way to package it. And for me, I mean, QAnon is a very sinister conspiracy theory group. It's one that Trump's had a very weird relationship with in the past.

And so it's just striking me that both the White House and the Pentagon social media accounts were really seeming to embrace QAnon, and in a way, I wonder if you know, as the president faces kind of a persistently low approval rating, that they're trying to kind of get some of that first-term energy and excitement back and say, hey, you know, remember QAnon? You know, remember when you guys thought Trump was going to save the world?

BURNETT: So, I mean, why is there so much friction between the groups? I mean, obviously, you point out about, in the first administration, there were a lot of direct reposts from, you know, Trump-related accounts of QAnon, you know, things. And now, you know, you hear that real, real frustration from a QAnon poster. Why the friction?

SOMMER: You know, I think it's a couple of things.

[19:50:00]

Number one, QAnon people are typically very critical of Israel, often because they're operating off of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, so they don't like Trump going to war with Iran. They're really, really mad about Trump's attempts to close the Jeffrey Epstein case, to refuse to release documents.

Marjorie Taylor Greene is a very prominent QAnon believer, or was, who also had a falling out with Trump over Epstein. She said, basically, Trump is, he's thrown at that Q slop to try to get us excited again. So I think those issues, the fact that people like Anthony Fauci, these people who they think are in a sinister cabal that they would love to see arrested, all of that, I think, has created this anger and a point where even QAnon believers are mad at Trump.

BURNETT: Yeah, so another one, you know, one Q promoter wrote, quote, "They're using Q propaganda in a last ditch, desperate attempt to reel the deceived loyalists back in, caps. It's so freaking cringe."

You know, it is -- do you think it's working to bring anyone back in? I mean, I'm just thinking about, you know, sort of your theory that in the context of abysmally low approval ratings, they're trying to cozy back up to QAnon.

SOMMER: Well, you know, I mean, I think before the Epstein Files saga really kicked off, I think the administration enjoyed the support from people with conspiracy theorists, cranks, whatever, this idea that like, oh, justice is right around the corner, Trump's going to unveil all.

But ever since then, there's a sense, I feel like the people who were often Trump's biggest supporters feel that the administration's in a quagmire, as do a lot of other people. And I think this is just a strange effort. I feel like QAnon people feel like he's like Q baiting or that he's kind of appropriating their culture that he's almost trolling them by saying, hey, like it's just around the corner. You're going to get everything you want.

And at this point, they know that's not true.

BURNETT: Yeah. All right. Will, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

And next, one of the world's most powerful military is left scrambling after facing a new threat, really hard to detect drones. A special exclusive report, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:38]

BURNETT: Tonight, jeep, teep, jeep -- sorry, cheap, deadly, hard to detect drones. They're Hezbollah's new weapon of choice, and Israel, with one of the world's most powerful militaries, has been caught off guard.

And Jeremy Diamond has this exclusive report OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Hezbollah drone cruises undetected over southern Lebanon, propellers whirring until its target comes into view. A group of six Israeli soldiers caught off guard in front of a tank.

The feed cuts at the moment of impact, which killed a 19-year-old sergeant. He is the first Israeli soldier to be killed by this type of drone, but not the last.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has deployed these cheap, explosive-strapped first-person-view drones to deadly effect. Dozens of videos from Hezbollah show they have struck tanks, air defense systems, and unsuspecting troops in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.

The Israeli military says Hezbollah's drones have killed at least 12 soldiers since the current conflict erupted in March, one-third of all fatalities.

The key to their lethality, a spool carrying miles of thin fiber optic cable that keeps these drones tethered to their pilot, rather than emitting easy-to-detect radio signals. Ukraine has been combating these fiber optic drones for two years, but Ukrainian officials say their Israeli counterparts didn't heed their warnings about the emerging threat.

The Israeli military now scrambling to catch up, deploying mesh netting like this to protect troops operating in or near Lebanon, and providing them with shotguns and fragmenting rounds to take out approaching drones.

The military is also enlisting the private sector to help track this new threat, using acoustic, optical, and radar-based sensors.

SHAI KURIANSKI, CEO, AIRWAYZ: So, what we're seeing here is a scenario when we want to protect this area, when the drone is crossing the line, the protective line, according to the policy, then the controller will get an alert. And we know that there is a threat coming.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Shai Kurianski's company, Airwayz, is among those springing into action to give Israeli troops advance warning of incoming drone threats. KURIANSKI: Something very small that you can hardly detect is coming toward you. It does not transmit anything. You must use the data from multiple sensors to map the sky actually. This is what our system does.

DIAMOND: So, do you feel a real sense of urgency to solve this problem?

KURIANSKI: It's our children out there in Lebanon that are getting those FEV explosives, and we will not wait with that. Of course, it's urgent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND: And, Erin, while there is technically a ceasefire in Lebanon, we have seen Israel continue to carry out attacks against Hezbollah, and Hezbollah also continuing to target Israeli troops, including with these fiber optic drones. And so for the Israeli military and the private sector that's helping it, the urgency of solving that threat remains -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Jeremy, thank you very much, reporting from Tel Aviv for us.

And thanks so much to all of you for joining us. Remember, you can always follow us on Instagram, TikTok, X @ErinBurnettOutFront. You can check us out there. We hope you'll do that.

Thanks again for being with us.

"AC360" with Anderson Cooper begins right now.