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Erin Burnett Outfront

U.S. Unleashes Strikes On Iran For 12th Night In A Row; Trump's Victory Lap; GOP's Olive Garden Obsession. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired July 22, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:34]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news, a dangerous escalation. This hour, the U.S. military now carrying out 12th night of strikes as Trump tries to minimize the war, calling it a skirmish, even as he threatens to target power plants and bridges in Tehran.

Plus, election deniers with a big win. Trump taking a victory lap after his election-denying candidates win crucial primaries in the very system that they say is rigged.

The top Republican election official who took on Trump is OUTFRONT.

And why Republicans are suddenly obsessed with Olive Garden?

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

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

And OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the breaking news. Tankers attacked and Iran backed militant group claims it has just hit two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. A daring strike and you can look at your map, right?

The Strait of Hormuz is nowhere near the Red Sea. So, this is an expansion of this war. Just look at the geography as explosions are at the same time rocking Iran. And President Trump is waffling, facing a critical decision point.

This is what Trump told supporters, actually, just a very short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This skirmish we have going on, I call it a skirmish. This is with this skirmish we have with the Islamic Republic of Iran. And I call it that because, let me tell you, they're getting hit so hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: Perhaps Trump thinks minimizing it as a skirmish will make Americans think it doesn't matter and isn't a big deal, maybe like last night when he posted about American troop deaths in what he called a military conflict, clearly making the point that the Iran war isn't a big deal compared to other wars.

But those hollow words skirmish come even as Trump threatens to launch the war into completely uncharted and dangerous territory. He writes, from this point forward, anytime the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by missile, rocket, drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy, then he puts in all caps, one bridge or power plant, including those located next to or in the capital city of Tehran.

Now, threatening bridges and power plants in Iran's capital and doing so, so explicitly, right? That's home to 10 million people, almost all of them civilian, is not something any American president has done before. And there's a reason for that. America doesn't threaten countries with wiping out their civilizations. Well, America didn't until Trump did.

As for Iran's response, the foreign minister tonight posting, "Our defense doctrine is clear eye for an eye. Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response."

And As for Trump's skirmish, he says that it is still being fought for one reason.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What we're doing now is we're ending any chance where they can have a nuclear missile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Which still does not add up. Because before the war even started, America's intelligence agencies were in agreement that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. In fact, go back to March of 2025. Trump's Director of National Intelligence at the time, Tulsi Gabbard, said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TULSI GABBARD, FORMER DNI: The I.C. continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon, and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: That was Trump's -- Tulsi Gabbard, right? That was Trump's DNI. And that was before Trump's first bombing series in Iran last summer. Never mind before this Iran war. But after Trump bombed Iran last summer and before he launched the war, he was detailed. And he repeated again and again that Iran's nuclear enrichment capabilities had been totally obliterated. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.

It was obliterated like nobody's ever seen before.

And in June, we obliterated Iran's nuclear capacity.

America's armed forces obliterated Iran's key nuclear facilities.

We obliterated it. Just obliterated their nuclear potential.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, I mean, just that last one right there, obliterated, quote, even their nuclear potential.

[19:05:03]

So then, how is he now ending any chance where they could have a nuclear missile when he's already done it?

So, the war was launched, despite all of those comments anyway, without any explanation to this day of why, apparently, all of those things that Trump said so repeatedly were not true. And hundreds of American troops have now been injured in the war, 18 are now confirmed dead.

And of the fallen, Trump said this today on his way to the dignified transfer of the four American troops killed in Jordan and Iraq this past weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: All of them said very strongly, we can't let -- we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. They won't have a nuclear weapon. So, we're going to honor them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: It is unclear how Trump knows what these four American troops felt or what they strongly said about Iran getting a nuclear weapon before they died. He didn't say how he knows that. But the four troops who died fell while serving their country, following orders and doing their jobs as part of the greatest military on Earth.

They are Army First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, Army Sergeant Angel Rampersad, Army Private Isabella Gonzalez, and Army Staff Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton.

Swinton was 30 years old. And he died during what's being called a controlled explosion to destroy an attack drone.

His stepfather tells OUTFRONT that he was always a good brother. He was a good son. He was the father of two young kids and had just brought a home -- brought a home with his wife before this deployment.

Kevin Liptak is OUTFRONT live outside the White House.

And, Kevin, I know you are speaking to your sources there tonight as we have another night of massive strikes across Iran. What's the thinking on the effectiveness of them?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I am starting to hear some concerns, Erin, from inside the administration that this strategy of night after night bombings does not seem to be moving the Iranians off of their hardline negotiating positions. And it's leading, I'm told, to some very hard discussions inside the administration about what exactly comes next.

You know, the president, we're told, has been receiving options for more escalatory steps. He's been hearing those over the last several weeks. And what you see the Pentagon doing is moving into position forces and firepower in the instance that the president decides to go in that direction. They've been moving the F-16s, the F-35s, the aerial refueling tankers.

But so far, the president has not executed on some of those options. And instead, what the strategy seems to revolve around these ever escalating threats against the roads. and bridges against Pickaxe Mountain, that nuclear site that's buried under 400 feet of solid rock.

Today, the president even posted an article that reported he had instructed CENTCOM to, quote, open the gates of hell. But so far, neither the threats nor these 12 straight nights of bombing have proven effective. I've been talking to diplomats as well from the region.

They, too, are pessimistic. that either side of this appears are ready to come back to the negotiating table. Yes, they are trying to get to some de-escalation, but the view among the diplomats in the region is that the prospects for negotiations right now are very, very bleak.

You know, there is a phrase. I keep hearing it from administration officials, including at the Pentagon. It's called the Dover test. The president was up at Dover today to receive the remains of those fallen soldiers. And I think what the test and what that trip implies is that the president now, as he's weighing this very critical decision is to try and decide whether whatever he decides is worth the risks and the consequences that may follow -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Kevin Liptak, thank you very much.

And everyone's here with me now.

General Ben Hodges, so, you know, in the context of what Kevin's reporting, right, Trump talking about opening the skies, the gates, I'm sorry, opening the gates of hell, even as he calls the war a quote-unquote skirmish Okay? And so, what do you think is really happening here? LT. GEN. BEN HODGES (RET.), Well, of course, the administration has lost the narrative here. They're trying to create a narrative that minimize -- would minimize voter concerns. But the fact is, because the administration, the President and the Secretary of Defense specifically, have trouble being truthful and explaining what is going on, and also, they cannot articulate why, then you end up with movie language like "Gates of Hell" versus clearly articulated strategic instinct.

BURNETT: So, Alex Trump is threatening to blow up the bridges and power plants in Iran, right, to open up the gates of hell. And specifically, when it comes to the bridges and the power plants, he then went and mentioned, including those located next to or in the capital city of Iran, of Tehran, Tehran, I'm sorry.

[19:10:04]

To which Iran's -- the president replied "eye for an eye". OK?

And now, we've got two tankers hit in the Red Sea, which obviously is far away from the Strait of Hormuz.

So how big is the escalation threat? How real is it right now?

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The escalation threat is absolutely very real. There's two different things I think to discuss on this particular topic. The first is when you talk about it in that context, when the lawyers are going to interpret what you can and cannot strike, if there's valid dual military targets because they're used for both military and civilian purposes, that can be lawful under international law.

But if you're going to strike them as a means of reprisal and that there's not a valid military target, the intentionality is part of what the lawyers are going to interpret as to whether or not that's valid. So that's the first part.

The second is that the Iranians have made clear that they will strike in return, and it's not clear based on their responses that they're really caring about what's legal and what's not. Some of the neighboring Gulf States they've been striking only have four days of potable water. So, if they were to go after those desalinization plants and they were to target the electrical infrastructure, or if they were to go after oil and gas, they would be catastrophic, potentially humanitarian, as well as economic damage as a result of that.

BURNETT: Which is horrifying to even contemplate just the human cost.

And then, Paul, let me throw a wrench into all of this, right? We show on the map, Strait of Hormuz, and then you look at the Red Sea. "The Washington Post" is reporting that Trump is weighing military strikes in another country really far away from here, actually in Africa. It's not even on this part of the map, okay, all the way over on the west coast of Africa, Mali, landlocked country.

So that would be the eighth country that he has had military strikes against since he's been back in office. What's your reaction to that?

PAUL RIECKHOFF, HOST OF THE INDEPENDENT AMERICANS PODCAST: Welcome to Trump's forever war. It's not just about war in Iran. It is war in Iran. It's about war around the world.

And what's been obliterated is the American respect. What's been obliterated is the checks and balances from Congress. What's been obliterated is our economy. And what's been obliterated is the ability of the American government to slow down a president who wants to just wage war anywhere, anytime, anyplace.

Yesterday was important because they finally asked for money, right, in a way that put them in front of Congress in a deferential position. But Congress has failed to stop him from doing anything. They can't get him out of Iraq, they can't -- Iran, they can't stop him from hitting Mali, and he's all gas and no brakes.

And this has always been the worst-case scenario for a president like Trump that does not care about public opinion, maybe doesn't care about the midterm elections, and definitely doesn't care about what Congress has to say, because now we've got four Americans coming home in flag-draped coffins, and that is the real cost of war that Americans aren't ready for.

BURNETT: And, General, obviously yesterday, the president put out that post, not just referring to the Iran war as a military conflict or operation, when he had listed all the other wars as wars, and then he put the death toll. And the point that he was making was that this isn't really a war, and not that many people have died. It seemed to be very clear, the point he was making.

But he went to Dover today for that dignified transfer, for those four American soldiers that Paul just talked about. And I want to play again what he said when he was on the way to that transfer at Dover Air Base. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: All of them said very strongly, we can't let-- we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. They won't have a nuclear weapon. So, we're going to honor them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Of course, General, he's referring to the four young dead troops that returned. What do you think when you hear that?

HODGES: Well, of course, it's ridiculous. I mean, no serious person listening to that believes that the president heard that from these soldiers. This is not how soldiers talk, by the way. I mean, that's not how they would have said anything if they had the chance to speak to the president.

And so, I think the president undermines his own credibility every time he issues one of these sort of fairy tale things. And unfortunately, the people around them, the secretary of defense, secretary of state, they are guilty of echoing that as well.

And it just seems like they're not serious. They haven't yet said our objective is to do this and therefore we're going to do everything necessary to achieve. this. If it's stopped them from getting a nuclear weapon, okay.

But the language that comes from them is so unbelievable and unhelpful. And, of course, we really need allies, Erin. This is not going to get done unless the rest of the world puts pressure on Iran. Until Iran feels economic and diplomatic pressure from everybody else, I think, honestly, they can ride this out much longer than we can.

BURNETT: Paul, as you served in the Army, you work with veterans now. What's your reaction to what Trump said today that those four specific troops said and felt?

RIECKHOFF: I think it's outrageous. I think it's disgusting. I think it's dangerous because the worst thing you can do is assume you can speak for the dead.

[19:15:03]

I mean, it's propaganda at its highest level. He's trying to portray that everybody in the military is on board with his political agenda. He's always pushed that forward, like everyone is a loyal minion in his army.

And it's so much more complex than that. We've spent decades after Vietnam separating the war from the warriors, the people from the policy. And in the last two days especially, he and Hegseth are jamming it together.

If you don't support the war, you don't support our troops. And that is a very dangerous manipulation, and I think it's outright It's not something you would do if you've served in uniform and it's not something you do if your kids were serving in uniform.

So, I'm going to continue to ask, you know, some of these folks who died are around the same age as his son Barron Trump was 20 years old. If it's such a noble cause if everybody's all in why isn't his own son signing up to enlist. That would show that everybody's really on board with his agenda and it's just not happening.

BURNETT: No, absolutely, has not happened.

Alex, I know you're speaking to mediators in the center of this war. What are you learning? You know, Kevin Liptak's reporting that there's now real concern in the White House that this strategy of nightly strikes is not moving the Iranian regime's position or willingness to negotiate. What are you learning?

PLITSAS: So, we're learning that there's absolutely a split in Iran. So, in the beginning, it wasn't clear if the civilian negotiators and the IRGC were playing good cop or bad cop. But what it appears at this point is the civilians have very little power at all. And the reason that is that the last time that there was a

negotiation, it was around whether or not Oman or Iran could come to an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz. Very quickly, Oman had proposed, hey, we'll control the southern portion of the strait. You take the north. No tolls on our side. You do what you want.

The foreign minister said, hey, I've got to go home and get the National Security Council on board in Iran with us. Three hours later, they responded with missiles and started attacking ships and everything in the region. Made it clear sort of where everybody stands at this point.

And unfortunately, it looks like there's still a divide. I asked if it was just Vahidi, if that was the IRGC leader alone, and I was told, no, it's actually not just him. He's not the only problem child.

It's the IRGC Navy leader. It's the head of the Supreme Council. It's the Supreme Leader's representative on the council.

Apparently, most of the national security apparatus believes that they should control the strait, and that's unfortunate. So, this idea of decapitation strikes is going to change things, there's a big divide right now inside of Iran, and unfortunately, they're on the other side of it, and they are adamant that they think that they can win. And as a result of that, the civilian negotiators said, hey, we would like 10 days of a ceasefire. I was told by the negotiators that it was the Iranians who asked for that, but it was the civilians with the intention of trying to then get the national security apparatus on board with that.

And so far, there's been no luck in doing so. And the U.S. has asked for more time and more concessions. Hasn't gone anywhere. And we've seen strikes in response.

BURNETT: Yeah. All right. Thank you very much, all of you. I appreciate you. And next, Trump greenlights a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia. big, you know, rival of Iran. At the same time, the financial ties between Saudi Arabia and the Trump's, the Trump Org, are growing and growing and growing. We have new details just breaking this hour from "Forbes".

Plus, a professional model recruiter who introduced women to Jeffrey Epstein found dead. And now officials are speaking about his death tonight.

And Trump claiming victory after his candidates to include election deniers, one big in Arizona. Former Congressman Jamaal Bowman and Gretchen Carlson are next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:56]

BURNETT: Tonight, President Trump taking a victory lap for MAGA candidates, winning in Arizona's Republican primaries last night, saying, quote, all caps, "A complete sweep, three exclamation points. I won Arizona 18 months ago. The Democrats are dumbfounded. After decades, Arizona is becoming a Republican state. Congratulations to all."

Now, the candidates include major election deniers, including Andy Biggs, the GOP nominee for governor, who voted to overturn the election on January 6th as a congressman. and Alexander Kolodin, the Republican nominee for Secretary of State, which is the top election official in Arizona. He was involved in multiple lawsuits challenging the 2020 and 22 election results in Arizona.

OUTFRONT now, one of the Arizona Republicans who stood up to Team Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election there, the former Maricopa County recorder, Stephen Richer. Maricopa County, of course, the most populous in Arizona.

So, Stephen, this was a huge victory for election deniers in the Republican primaries in Arizona. What happened?

STEPHEN RICHER (R), FORMER MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ RECORDER: Yeah, well, they've had these types of victories before. They did very well in the primaries in 2022, and I think what this reflects is that the Republican Party in Arizona, at least the primary voters, are still in the thralls of election denialism and will still follow President Trump to the end of the world, even if that means denying reality.

BURNETT: So Arizona's current governor, Katie Hobbs, was actually the secretary of state in 2020. She's now considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic governors on the ballot in November. And she is raising an alarm about Biggs becoming the next governor. Here's what she said today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATIE HOBBS (D), ARIZONA: Arizona is one of seven swing states that will decide the presidential election. If Andy Biggs is governor, Arizona is the first swing state with an election denier in charge. And the time to stop that is not 2028. It is right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Stephen, you know Andy Biggs. And you know what he was a few years ago and what you've seen him, at least publicly, portray himself as now.

[19:25:03]

How deep do you think his loyalty to Trump runs?

RICHER: It's immense and I have a lot of policy preferences with Andy. We both believe in a limited government, lower taxation, lower regulation, so on and so forth.

But Andy Biggs, we use the term election denier a lot. But Andy Biggs isn't just an election denier. He was one of the architects of January 6th and Alex Kolodin, the candidate for Secretary of State, isn't just an election denier, but he was the lawyer who filed the Kraken lawsuit in Arizona and Warren Peterson, the candidate for Attorney General, he was part of the leadership team for the Cyber Ninjas audit in 2021 that was such a failed fiasco trying to resurrect President Trump's 2020 campaign.

So, these are leaders of. that crowd, not just followers.

BURNETT: So as a Republican, you're talking about policy agreements you have with Andy Biggs. But then obviously this this core issue, right? The election. Is there any scenario where you'd vote for Andy Biggs?

RICHER: It would have to come with a heartfelt apology for a lot of this stuff, and it would have to come with the denunciation of all the stuff that happened during 2020, and it's immediate aftermath and Andy Biggs is somebody that I've watched, take two men who were my colleagues, Jack Sellers and Bill Gates, when they went to Congress in 2021 to explain what happened in Maricopa County in 2020.

And instead of supporting them, instead of acknowledging their humanity, he was somebody who did President Trump's bidding and made life absolute heck for them. And just -- that was just so nauseating to me. So, I would say he has a long road to hoe.

BURNETT: All right, Stephen Richer, I appreciate your time. I'm always glad to speak with you, so thank you.

Here with me now, former Congressman Jamaal Bowman and Gretchen Carlson. They are both OUTFRONT.

So, Gretchen, you hear what Stephen Richards saying, right, about Andy Biggs and where he really stands. And yes, it's a Republican primary. We've seen Trump do very well in many of those, although not all when it comes to the governors, but many.

So, election deniers, and you heard Stephen say, they're not even just election deniers. They are now the Republican ticket.

GRETCHEN CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: And it's not just going to be in Arizona. And we just had Trump last week give a national address during prime time to talk about the rigged election still. So, I'm very nervous about where we are moving forward in this election if you have people like that in power.

However, at least in the governor's race, he is running against Katie Hobbs. She's had experience in running also against an election denier in Kari Lake.

BURNETT: That's right.

CARLSON: Who was also a huge Trump supporter and has said, you know, some crazy things along the way, she narrowly beat her. So, she has that experience.

I would also say that the "Cook Political Report" after Biggs won last night changed their prediction of that election now from a toss up to leaning now more to Democrats to Hobbs. So, I think Hobbs has a history potentially of being able to get independents. She has Cindy McCain, a lifelong Republican, now endorsing her.

And what will Just like the man you just interviewed, Stephen, what will he do? Will he vote for Biggs, or will he vote for Hopps?

BURNETT: Right, and he made that clear, that he will not vote for Biggs, because Biggs is not going to recant all those things he said.

I do find it interesting, Congressman, just to make, again, the very basic point, and Thomas Massie made it a while ago, how can it be rigged if you're a Republican, when Republicans control the House and the Senate and the White House, right?

All these election deniers, when they win, it's all fine. It's good. Let's celebrate. It's a good election. But if they lost, it would have been rigged. Does anybody, like, get the joke?

JAMAAL BOWMAN (D), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: It's -- I'm a former middle school principal. This is middle school thinking and middle school behavior by leaders in the Republican Party. Is the DNC strong enough to beat election deniers? I hope the answer to that is yes.

Is the Democratic Party going to pounce on this and do enough to widen the base into the big tent that we are to pull out as many voters as possible to make sure the Trump sycophants and supporters and election deniers do not win these seats? Because I am worried as well.

But I do feel like -- I feel a sense in New York, and I travel across the country. I do feel the country, independent voters, Democratic voters, and many Republicans, are done with Trump, moving away with Trump, moving away from Trump, done with MAGA, and ready to get back to some type of sanity and normalcy in our politics.

CARLSON: The problem, though, is that huge swath of independence, which grows every single day --

BURNETT: Yeah.

CARLSON: -- has nowhere to go right now, because we also have the trend moving of the socialism aspect of the Democratic Party, so the independents are not going to go there, likely, and they're likely not going to go to the way far-right MAGA.

So, if you end up having an election, the Democratic Party, so the independents are not going to go there, likely, and they're likely not going to go to the way far-right MAGA. So, if you end up having an election with socialist versus MAGA, like, that's where the real crisis is going to unfold in our country here.

[19:30:04]

BURNETT: Right.

CARLSON: And if we continue to move in those trends, it's incredibly problematic. It's why more people should vote in primaries, by the way, because they dictate everything down the line. BURNETT: Right, right. If you had more open primaries or more people having a say, you might get candidates that more people were interested in. Yeah?

BOWMAN: I think independents are going to choose moderate Democrats or progressive Democrats. I don't think they're going MAGA. I don't think they're going to the right. I mean, the issue of affordability is both a progressive socialist issue and a moderate Democrat issue. And so, I think independents are going to go there.

BURNETT: Trump brought affordability up today when he was on the campaign trail stumping for Mike Collins and the must-win Senate seat of Georgia, right, against Democratic star Jon Ossoff.

Here's what Trump said about affordability.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: First day, first press conference, nice friendly press conference. You know, they treat me so nicely. What are you going to do about the prices? And if they said they used the word first time I heard it, it was a word, you know, made-up by the Democrats affordability. They said affordability.

I said I've been here one day. Don't worry, I'll take care of it and we're taking care of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: OK, Gretchen, here's I want to ask about this. OK, he just admitted there that he had not heard the word affordability. before his first press conference, which is stunning. And then he said it's a word made-up by Democrats.

CARLSON: Okay.

BURNETT: It's one of the most resonant words in the country today.

CARLSON: None of that is true. He doesn't want to talk about the economy right now. But if you look at every single poll, it's still the number one issue that people will vote on.

BURNETT: Yeah.

CARLSON: So, affordability is not a hoax. You can't continue to blame this economy on Biden. And President Trump promised that on his very first day in office, he would reduce prices for the American consumer. And until he starts focusing on that, he is making the whole scenario for other Republicans in the midterms incredibly treacherous.

BOWMAN: Yeah, and he's -- yeah, it's not true, because after Zoran Mamdani won, Trump tried to co-opt the term and use it himself. There are clips of him using the word for the Republican Party.

And so, again, the American people are still struggling with gas prices, with utility prices, with housing, with education, with transportation, $1 billion a day on war that they didn't want. et cetera, et cetera. So, Trump has failed on the economy, and that's why we have this red scare stuff going on. We have so much fearmongering. We're building ballrooms. We're trying to distract the American people from what they see in front of their eyes and what they feel in their pockets.

BURNETT: All right, thank you both very much. I appreciate you.

And next, Marco Rubio did not want to talk about Trump's nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia today. Not at all. The same country that gets this big, nice deal as it's doing a lot of big deals with the Trump Org.

Plus, picking up steam. New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez now leading in a new 2028 presidential poll. Where is that support coming from?

Harry Enten tells us something we don't know.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:37:49]

BURNETT: Tonight, Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying President Trump's sudden announcement of a deal to allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium is news to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting that President Trump has approved a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia. Do you have any details on that?

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Yeah, I'll let the White House officials sort of put out an official statement about anything with regards to that. But I saw the same reporting this morning. But let me let that go through. I don't -- I'd prefer it be, you know, put out when there is something to say that we'll say it and through official channels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: That was awkward. And Marco Rubio, of course, just to state the obvious, is an official channel, in fact, as official as it gets for a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, as he is both the secretary of state and the national security advisor.

Trump has signed a deal with Saudi Arabia, allowing the kingdom to move towards enriching uranium without international safeguards. The agreement is something denied Saudi Arabia by every administration, every one, just as it's been denied to Iran.

It comes as Trump's family business, though, is increasingly tied to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Dan Alexander is OUTFRONT now, senior editor at "Forbes", whose reporting has tracked the Trump family business ties to Saudi Arabia for many years.

So, Dan, you know, this deal coming in the context of a lot of Trump family, Trump Organization, business in Saudi Arabia, it doesn't look good at all. How big are the deals Trump is making with Saudi Arabia?

DAN ALEXANDER, SENIOR EDITOR, FORBES: Last year in 2025, Donald Trump earned $9 million from deals inside the country, but he also has one of his most connected partners that's from Saudi Arabia that's helped spread his name throughout the Middle East, and that adds another $17 million. You add those two things up together, you're at $26 million. That's a little bit more than a third of Trump's international licensing business with ties to Saudi Arabia.

BURNETT: That's right. And then there's even things like the massive, you know, billions of dollars in funds going into Jared Kushner's money management business, all of those ties as well.

So, the relationship, I know, goes back decades. Your reporting, though, Dan, shows a dramatic shift after Trump became president.

[19:40:00]

In what way?

ALEXANDER: What linked Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia for years was sort of, he had a lot of money, a lot of people in Saudi Arabia had a lot of money, and they really liked to spend it. So that you saw them doing deals on flashy things, yachts, the Plaza Hotel, apartments in Trump World Tower across from the United Nations.

Once the presidency gets involved, you see it in much less sort of happenstance. And there are big efforts. You mentioned Jared Kushner's fundraising $2 billion from the Saudi government. But then there's also, you know, all these licensing deals that come on board.

Donald Trump had done business in the Middle East, but not really in Saudi Arabia before he becomes president the first time. Then in 2022, you see that deal in Oman with the Saudi company, and then you see him expand into Saudi Arabia, principally in 2024, '25, and going into this year.

BURNETT: So, you know, I'm just looking at this on the screen, Trump Plaza Jeddah, Trump Tower Jeddah, all of these things. Is there, you know, where are we now? Is there any sign Trump is done? I mean, this is obviously a close relationship.

ALEXANDER: It certainly is. If you look at Donald Trump's international business, what you see is he keeps going back to the same partners over and over to do more deals. And right now, if you were to look across the world, his most dedicated partner is his partner in Saudi Arabia. So, I would not be surprised at all if we see more deals in the future between the president and Saudi companies.

BURNETT: That's incredible, though. You're saying he's the most dedicated dealmaker around the world in Saudi Arabia.

ALEXANDER: Yeah.

BURNETT: That, as I said, when you do that and then you look at the nuclear deal, whatever may or may not be, the optics are really bad.

Thank you very much, Dan.

And also tonight, a model scout connected to Epstein found dead in France. Daniel Siad, who appears more than 2,000 times in the Epstein files, was found at his home in a Paris suburb, according to local authorities, the cause of death not yet known. For over a decade, Siad arranged for models to meet with Jeffrey Epstein.

According to the Justice Department files, he repeatedly sent Epstein photos of young women, some in provocative poses. Epstein paid him tens of thousands of dollars. Siad sat down with CNN in late May and defended his ties to Epstein.

Here's what he told our Katie Polglase.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL SIAD, MODEL SCOUT: My work with him has been strictly professional. I never doubt that -- because I never heard anything from anyone introduced him, who came back to me that they had a bad -- a bad situation with him. I trust in him. I believe that this guy is a professional person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Just a few hours ago, CNN spoke to an Epstein survivor named Svetlana, who said this about Siad's death. If it wasn't for him, my life would have unfolded completely differently. It would have unfolded completely differently. I wanted for justice to be served, for there to be some kind of investigation and achieve some closure.

Paris authorities were investigating Siad for human trafficking and criminal conspiracy at the time of his death. His lawyer maintains that Siad was innocent and had not been prosecuted. As I said, we are awaiting for formal word on a cause of death.

OUTFRONT next, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, all of a sudden, now in the lead in a new 2028 presidential poll. So, what is behind this sudden surge of support?

Harry Enten is here.

Plus, why are Republicans suddenly obsessed with Olive Garden?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're protecting our breadsticks more than our ballots in jurisdictions across this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:48:19] BURNETT: Tonight, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez leading in a new 2028 presidential poll. She's surging to the top of this poll. Now, this poll is Democratic likely voters in New Hampshire, so I want to be clear. It's specific, but look where she is, way out in front of Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, and other names.

AOC responded to the news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): One is that, you know, polls are polls and a horse race is a horse race. I am, of course, I think very deeply humbled and grateful to, you know, folks who participate and convey that confidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Harry Enten is here to tell us something we don't know.

So, Harry, you know, obviously we're early in the process.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Very early.

BURNETT: So early that nobody's actually announced they're running. But, okay, where's the strength coming from?

ENTEN: Yeah, they're running even if they haven't announced that they're running. And those are two very separate things. They're all obviously trying to organize, get together their networks, et cetera.

I think one of the things that's so surprising, right, we've looked at politics in the past, right? There have been a number of women who have won Democratic nominations. Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, you know, look back at Hillary Clinton, her strength came majority from women in the Democratic primary process.

That is not what is supplying the surge for Kamala Harris. That is not what gassing up her engine. What is gassing up her engine is male voters in New Hampshire, not female voters.

BURNETT: For AOC.

ENTEN: For AOC, look at this. Look at this gender split. AOC is the choice for the Dem nominee in October of 2025. Look, it was 17 percent for men, 15 percent for women.

But look at this now you get a large gender gap, and it is male Democratic voters who are fueling that surge, not female Democratic voters who are fueling that surge.

[19:50:02]

And I think that's something that's rather interesting to me because there's all these questions about females, women running for president being electable, maybe men not saying that they would vote for women candidates, but at least in that primary poll, it suggests the exact opposite.

BURNETT: It's fascinating.

Okay, so this is the first time we've seen AOC lead the pack. Again, we haven't had a lot of polls.

ENTEN: We haven't. That's a very close race. It's, you know, very, very tight.

BURNETT: I don't -- right. So, I don't want to overstate it, but what are you seeing elsewhere?

ENTEN: Yeah, okay, it's one thing if it was just this one New Hampshire poll, but take a look at the prediction markets nationwide, because I think this really gives an indication. Oh, Gavin Newsom was very, very hot last year and hot in the beginning of this year.

But look at his prediction market odds, the chance to be the Democratic nominee. people putting their money where their mouths are according to Kalshi. Look at that, Newsom, his support or the people, his percentage chance of winning has dropped basically in half from 35 percent to 18 percent.

AOC has jumped up from 10 percent to 15 percent. Jon Ossoff, a name that we haven't mentioned so far, is also up there right in this sort of pack. But basically, what we're seeing right now is this is a wide open Democratic competition and AOC is very much in the game.

BURNETT: Well, it looks like Democrats are casting about to try people on and see who's energize them, we'll see.

ENTEN: We'll see.

BURNETT: So tell me something I don't know.

ENTEN: I'll tell you something you don't know, Erin Burnett. One of the things that is so interesting to me about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is she's just a member of the House, right? And the idea that she could become president. I went back through the history books.

When was the last time a person basically jumped from House to president? That is, their highest elected office was the U.S. House of Representatives.

You have to go all the way back to 1880. James Garfield was able to win that presidential election, a very tight one. You want to say something there?

BURNETT: Well, I was saying, James Garfield is the only president to have graduated from the Ephs, which is Williams College.

ENTEN: Yes, I think you might have some affinity for Williams College as well.

BURNETT: Yeah, the only Eph to ever be president.

ENTEN: There you go.

And I'll also note that Abraham Lincoln was also his highest elected office prior to being president was the U.S. House of Representatives. I think that's a pretty good comparison you would like.

BURNETT: I would say. All right, there you go, Williams College.

ENTEN: There you go, Williams College and Abraham Lincoln. And coming together, and if AOC can join that pack, I think she'd be pretty gosh darn happy about it.

BURNETT: And she's not even a Purple Cow.

ENTEN: No.

BURNETT: As Garfield was.

All right, thank you very much, Harry.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BURNETT: And next, why Republicans can't stop talking about Olive Garden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Olive Garden takes pasta pass security more seriously than Democrats are taking election security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:57:12]

BURNETT: Tonight, MAGA championing Olive Garden. Stephen Miller claiming Olive Garden has stricter policies than American voter ID laws. You need photo identification to redeem the, quote, "never ending pasta pass" being the reason.

Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First round, get your go-to. Second, have what she's having.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An Olive Garden diner asks online if his whole family can share his never-ending pasta pass, which is good for months. The restaurant chain says no, it's only for use by the pass holder, who must present a valid photo ID.

And that prompts White House advisor Stephen Miller to serve up some piping hot politics.

STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: We've reached the point of society where access to Fettuccini at Olive Gardens is vastly more secure than deciding who is commander-in-chief of the country.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Some Republicans have bellied up to that table fast, asking their fellow lawmakers to pass the SAVE America Act, please.

REP. BRYAN STEIL (R-WI): We're protecting our breadsticks more than our ballots in jurisdictions across this country.

FOREMAN (voice-over): They've been pushing the measure for months to put strict new ID requirements on anyone trying to vote.

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): The only reason you can be against that is if you want voter fraud. It's a main course for President Donald Trump, who implied he simply overpowered election fraud when he won in 2016.

TRUMP: Folks, the system is rigged.

FOREMAN (voice-over): That he was cheated when he lost in 2020.

TRUMP: It was a rigged election.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And even now, back in office, he relentlessly claims corruption is common when Americans go to the polls.

TRUMP: This cannot be allowed to continue.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The fly in the sauce, it's not true. Courts, election experts, and researchers have found time and again that voter fraud at any level is exceedingly rare and almost never decides the outcome of any election.

Still, the GOP keeps dishing distrust on the issue.

ABIGAIL JACKSON, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: Olive Garden takes pasta past security more seriously than Democrats are taking election security.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Even as many Democrats say, the SAVE America Act could discourage legal voters by stoking fears and raising onerous requirements, such as proving citizenship or making a married woman prove she changed her name long ago, not for pasta, but for a constitutional right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: This measure has been passed by the U.S. House. It has stalled in the Senate where there do not seem to be enough votes, people willing to back this thing, even though a lot of Republicans think this is something that ought to happen.

And we reached out to Olive Garden to just see if they had any comments about any of this. They did not. Not surprisingly, they didn't do anything wrong here. So now we may reach out again and see if we can get some breadsticks.

I'll charge them to you, Erin.

BURNETT: They are actually delicious. My favorite food at Olive Garden.

All right, Tom Foreman, thank you very much.

And thanks so much to all of you for joining us.

"AC360" starts now.