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Erin Burnett Outfront

Trump Snaps Over Question On Kim Jong Un: "Be Quiet"; Airman Arrested After Protesting Trump In Uniform Speaks Out; Trump, White House Unload On Senator Ossoff With Name-Calling, Crude Attacks; New Details On The Sudden Death Of Hayden Panettiere, 911 Call. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired August 17, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:24]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news, Trump lashing out over questions about his Iran war debacle as an Air Force major who was arrested after protesting Trump's war and calling for Trump's impeachment at the U.S. Capitol, speaks out for the first time. He's our exclusive guest tonight.

And a special KFILE investigation, 2020 election skeptics running to be governor of a whole slew of key swing states. So, what they said after Trump's 2020 election and what they're saying now on the campaign trail.

Plus, new breaking details on the sudden death of actress Hayden Panettiere and what the 911 call reveals.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

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

OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, Trump cows to North Korea's Kim Jong-un. On the same day Russia says -- Russia and North Korea are fighting to establish what they call a new and righteous world order.

And then Trump went ballistic when he was questioned by CNN about why he is scaling back military exercises with South Korea, a country, of course, that has been core to America's defense for 80 years, where the United States has about 30,000 troops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Did he ask you to scale back on those?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Quiet. You're very disrespectful in front of this young man. Okay? Don't you find her disrespectful? He understands. Quiet. Who are you with?

HOLMES: I'm with CNN. TRUMP: Fake news.

HOLMES: I just wanted to follow up on this.

TRUMP: You're a loud -- you're a loud, boisterous person. You're fake news. Be quiet. Be quiet.

HOLMES: I was trying to find out if you had been talking to Kim Jong Un if he had asked you to scale back on those military exercises.

TRUMP: You're a fake reporter and you report fake news. Go ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Obviously, Kristen Holmes' fair and important question struck a nerve. Because it is shocking that the United States would scale back exercises with South Korea, the country where America has its largest military base abroad, largest military base outside the United States in South Korea. So why is Trump doing it?

Well, here's one reason he gave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Kim Jong-un has always treated me with great respect. And we met on numerous occasions, actually, two primary occasions, spoken. and spend time. I understand him. He understands me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, this is about. I mean, keep in mind, Trump also said that North Korea today has been quote unthreatening.

Now, of course, none of this is true. North Korea launched a threatening ballistic missile test just before these joint exercises between the U.S. and South Korea began, as he has, by the way, many times during Trump's presidency. In fact, this was North Korea's second reported launch in less than a week, as the country is pushing to expand its nuclear missile arsenal, including, okay, including new missiles designed to hit the United States of America.

Yes, back in March, North Korea conducted a test for a missile engine capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. And that's just a few of the weapons tests that Kim Jong-un has conducted while President Trump has been in office, these people who understand each other and have such a great relationship. Kim even noted back in March that thanks to the war in Iran, North Korea's nuclear status is now, quote/unquote, "irreversible".

Now, of course, Kim, who Trump famously said sent him a love letter, and who Trump now claims understands him, had that whole summit, if you remember, just to get Kim to abandon nukes. Remember back in Singapore? Well, that summit, of course, failed. And North Korea has long seen the United States as its ultimate enemy, not South Korea. After all, here are some of the videos released by North Korea over the years. There's the one with a target on the White House. I mean, look at this

-- zooms in, boom. U.S. Capitol blows up. Another with a missile flying through space across the globe and meanders its wave. Where is it going? Nope, not to Seoul. No. Where is it going? Where is it going? Oh, Washington, D.C.

Non-threatening, right? I mean, another missile sent to destroy the United States. Look, we see this imagery time and time again from Kim Jong-un, right? There's no question about whether it's a hostile country to the United States, right?

So why is Trump giving Kim the biggest possible prize, pulling back on America's single biggest foreign military base, dropping joint military exercises? Well, let's just circle back to where I began with Russia, which tonight confirmed that North Koreans are fighting with Russians in Ukraine to drive out the, quote/ unquote, "Ukrainian Nazi clique". In fact, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, there are now up to 50,000 North Korean troops on the front lines for Russia.

[19:05:01]

Again, Putin's top emissary tonight said that Russia and North Korea are fighting together to establish a new and righteous world order. You don't need to kind of read between the lines to understand that what they're saying is it replaces the United States led world order, right?

And Trump's actions now support the new and righteous world order of Putin and Kim Jong-un. So again, we have to ask, why is Trump doing this? And why is he so angry at a reporter, at our Kristin Holmes, for asking questions about it? Why is he aiding and abetting Putin and Kim Jong-un?

Is it about something bigger? Or is it as petty as vengeance at South Korea for not helping him with Iran?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When I called recently, the president of South Korea, who I like, I think he's very nice, actually. But I called him, I said, would you like to give us a little hand? We don't need help with Iran. But if you'd like, give us a hand with Iran.

He said, no, thanks. And I said, wait a minute. We have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong Un, your next-door neighbor. And you're not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran? That's strange.

No, no, we'd rather not get involved. I see. Well, why are we involved in helping you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT at the White House.

And Kristen, all of this clearly hit a nerve with Trump today. There are extremely serious and legitimate questions about what's going on here, of course, which you were asking there.

HOLMES: Yeah, and, Erin, there's precedent for this. That's why this question is so important. President Trump there saying that he had had some kind of communication or opened the door to communication with Kim Jong-un. And then shortly afterwards, this announcement that they were scaling back the military exercises with our ally South Korea.

I'm going to bring you back several months to when Zelenskyy was coming to the White House and the day before, we knew Zelenskyy was going to ask for Patriot missiles. The day before, President Trump talked to President Putin, and because of that phone call the next day, he denied giving Zelenskyy Patriot missiles, citing conversations that he had had with Vladimir Putin. So, this is a real unjustifiable question.

There's also an issue about how this pertains overall to the other crisis that he is facing, which is this war in Iran. The idea that North Korea has been stockpiling illegal nuclear weapons. What message is that sending to Iran that he is willing to support North Korea in this -- as they stockpile these illegal nuclear weapons, or at least look the other way.

Now, all of this is coming at a point where President Trump seems to be, at least foreign policy-wise, completely spiraling. And that is likely due to what we are seeing here at home. There is no end insight to this war in Iran. And in fact, President Trump is saying the same thing today that he said five months ago, that they want to negotiate, that they're not going to come up with a deal that he likes, and that the baseline premise of this entire war is to make sure Iran doesn't get nuclear weapons.

That does not change anything that we have seen other than an enormous amount of use of U.S. military force in Iran in the last five months. Now, part of the reason he is likely having so many issues, particularly when it comes to Iran and answering these questions, is this poll, the poll that we did at the end of last month in which president, we asked voters if they believe that the Iran war was worth both the U.S. lives lost and the financial costs, and 74 percent of Americans said no. Those polls are not lost on this White House.

BURNETT: No, not at all. And we're going to see if our next guest is reflecting that in the U.S. military.

Kristen Holmes, thank you very much at the White House tonight.

OUTFRONT now, Air Force Major Jason Watson. He was arrested last month on the steps of the U.S. Capitol after calling for President Trump and Vice President Vance's impeachment and removal from office over the war in Iran and other issues. And tonight is his first television interview since that arrest.

And Major Watson, obviously, you have done this after Incredible, incredible consideration. You've been in the Air Force for 17 years. You're in the Air Force and you know that by choosing to speak out as you did in uniform, calling for the commander in chief's impeachment and removal from office, that that carries grave consequences, violates the laws governing the US military. But you chose to do it knowing all of that.

Tell me why.

MAJ. JASON WATSON, U.S. AIRMAN ARRESTED AT CAPITOL AFTER CALLING FOR TRUMP'S IMPEACHMENT: Well, I think the most important thing for all of us to keep in mind is what has happening with President Trump is not normal. He has failed us and not only is he a failure as president, he is flagrantly violating the Constitution, breaking the law, engaged in rampant corruption and is killing Americans. And that is unacceptable to the Constitution, breaking the law, engaged in rampant corruption, and is killing Americans.

And that is unacceptable to me. And it should be unacceptable to all of us. I feel like, unfortunately, many of us have gotten used to this, and we've normalized to this conduct, and we think that there's nothing that we can do about it.

And one of the reasons I chose to use the pseudonym of just nobody was to underscore that you do not have to be somebody special to take action and reject this government. We can all do something about what's happening in our country and I want to just inspire people and bring the conversation to impeach, convict, remove.

And there are organizations out there that I joined with Removal Coalition with Jessica Denson and Citizens Impeachment with Keira Havens and John Boniface's Free Speech for People that are not getting enough attention. And I want to try to spotlight them as much as I can and to inspire Americans to act because I believe we can defeat this government if we just take a stand.

BURNETT: So, you know, when you talk about that desire to inspire, you know you're not, of course, a somebody. You are a somebody, right? You're not. You're not anybody. You're you are a somebody, right?

You're a sitting major and in the Air Force, you know, after your arrest, the military had placed you under a gag order. They restricted your movements. You're under investigation as you and I speak.

And obviously the consequences you could face for speaking out because you are who you are include court-martial, removal from the Air Force, loss of pay and benefits. I mean you could even go to prison and you knew all of that right you knew all of that when you made this decision to try to inspire others.

How did you go through the thought process that made you willing to pay the price that this may cost?

WATSON: Nothing that is worth doing is something that you can do for free. Everything that is worthwhile is going to cost something. It's going to be hard. It's going to require sacrifice.

And we are in an incredibly challenging time and in order for us to get out of this situation, we all have to have courage. So, for me to take action, if I don't sacrifice something, if I don't give something up, then it's just words. And words are easy to ignore. So, if I don't put myself out there in a big way, then it's just --

it's just noise and there's plenty of noise that we're all listening to every day. There's plenty of people telling us the obvious truth. But there's no cost being paid, and there's a lot of ways to. View that as cynically or skeptically or whatever the case may be and just. dismiss it and say, OK, you're not making any difference.

But we just have to be willing to accept that we can change what is happening in our country if we're just willing to pay a price for it. So, all that I could do was ask myself, what's the highest price that I'm willing to pay? And this is what I ultimately came up with.

And it is absolutely motivated by my oath to the Constitution. But any American can make this choice. Any American can say this government is intolerable and I want a better future for my children and I want to hand them a better country than I inherited. And that is ultimately a huge inspiration for me as well.

BURNETT: You mentioned the Constitution. You mentioned corruption. And I know you have specific reasons for why you feel this is necessary and why the president should be removed from office.

It is obviously-- it includes the war in Iran, but it is much more than that. But it is in the context of the war in Iran at this moment, right, that you are choosing to do this.

What is it about the war and this commander in chief, President Trump's handling of it, that made you do this at this moment?

WATSON: So, I know that there are some folks probably in your audience that have seen my interview with Jessica Denson. I talk about this a little bit, and it's important to just underscore that what is happening with the Iran war is very predictable strategically, and a lot of much smarter people than me knew that it would have gone pretty poorly, like the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, that's known.

And a lot of the consequences that we're seeing. There was probably advice that was being given to the president of the United States saying this is what's going to happen if you do this. And he chose to do it anyways.

[19:15:02]

And that's an important context to keep in mind with all of this, but at the end of the day. It's also more important to remember that what he did was unconstitutional. It was an aggressive war of choice that if we saw another country do that, we would probably look to our allies and say, what are we going to do about this?

And you could make the comparison with what happened in Ukraine. That was an aggressive war of choice. And now we as a country, America, is choosing to do that with Iran.

BURNETT: All right, Major Jason Watson, I appreciate your time very much. And I thank you for speaking out. Of course, you may say it's a nobody, but it certainly is a somebody

and something that is going to matter for a lot of people. So, thank you very much. And I appreciate your time in speaking to us tonight.

WATSON: Thank you for having me on.

BURNETT: And I want to bring in Ryan Goodman, now our OUTFRONT legal analyst, former special counsel at the Defense Department.

So, Ryan, you know, he's obviously speaking out. What he did was an incredibly unusual thing, to say the least, right, to go in his uniform to the steps of the U.S. Capitol and to say this and to do this.

How rare is it for an active duty officer like Major Watson, 17 years in the Air Force, to do something like this?

RYAN GOODMAN, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: It's extremely rare for an active military officer to speak out against a president or a president's policies. I can only think of two examples in modern history.

When President Clinton was being impeached for the Monica Lewinsky affair, there was chatter, online chatter, by some active military officers. They were immediately warned by their military leadership to cut it out or they could face court-martial. That's one.

And then the second one is Vietnam War. There was a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He had a poster that said, "End Johnson's fascist aggression in Vietnam". He was court-martialed successfully.

And those are the two examples I can come up with of active-duty military officers speaking out against a sitting president.

BURNETT: Incredibly rare. Now, you mentioned that that lieutenant, you said, second lieutenant?

GOODMAN: Yeah, second lieutenant.

BURNETT: Okay. Could be, was court-martialed.

Major Watson could be court-martialed. He clearly is well aware of that. He did this knowing that that could be the case. He could lose his pay, his benefits, he loses his job, 17 years, his life, his personal definition. He could go to military prison, all of those things.

What implications does that have for others in the military, right? In a moment where there has been discussion about what or about carrying out lawful orders or does, you know, how does one draw a line of what destroying a civilization is, for example, as the president has threatened to Iran?

GOODMAN: So, I think that's exactly what Major Watson's trying to accomplish and is accomplishing because he is risking a lot by doing this. There's every likelihood that the U.S. military could charge him in a court-martial. I can think of four different charges they could bring if they want to.

One of those is contemptuous statements against the president. That's what happened in the Vietnam War with that particular individual. There are others. Failure to follow orders and regulations, such as thou shalt not speak at a political gathering. He did that. Thou shalt not attend a political gathering in your uniform. He did that.

So, it is a part of the problem here for the military, the U.S. military, is that if they don't do something, then what will others think about doing as well?

So, they might want to send a message. That message, they might decide, is best sent by just discharging him with other than honorable discharge so that he leaves the military and he pays all these other prices that he maybe loses his pension and things like that. And that sends a very significant signal to officers and the like.

BURNETT: Right.

GOODMAN: But it doesn't give him a further platform to be speaking about these issues. That's what they might decide to do.

BURNETT: Right, right. And of course, then there's what the uniformed officers might choose and think is the right thing to do, and then what the political head of the Department of Defense or the White House might think.

GOODMAN: Yeah.

BURNETT: And we'll -- we'll see.

All right. Brian Goodman, thank you very much.

And next, election deniers and skeptics on the ballot. KFILE has uncovered comments by Republican candidates in some of the most important battleground states. And you're going to see exactly what they said. These are people who could be in governors -- could become governors in charge of running elections.

Plus, actress Hayden Panettiere, the "Nashville" star, found dead just days before her birthday. What the 911 call actually says.

And Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff got under Trump's skin with a comment about one of the president's closest aides.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You mean Pee-wee Herman? Pee-wee Herman lookalike?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And some of the other White House responses at -- to Jon Ossoff are too vulgar to even show. Max Rose and S.E. Cupp are here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:24:18]

BURNETT: Breaking news, President Trump and his team using name- calling and vulgarity after Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff went there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings. He golfs and trades stocks. So, he doesn't want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Here's what Trump said in response.

[19:25:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yesterday, Jon Ossoff said you'd be rather travel with your aide, Natalie Harp, and build the ballroom than do your job as president.

TRUMP: Who said that?

HOLMES: What is your response? Jon Ossoff.

TRUMP: You mean Pee-wee Herman? Pee-wee Herman lookalike? No, I would much rather do other things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right, this back and forth is centered on Trump's executive assistant named Natalie Harp. She was one of the very few select people, not including secretaries of state or treasury, whom Trump took off Air Force One via the catering truck.

Harp frequently accompanies Trump on trips, including weekend visits to Mar-a-Lago and New Jersey. According to Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan's book "Regime Change", Harp also left Trump a series of letters, including in his personal spaces, in which she told him, quote, "You are all that matters to me in one," and in another, reportedly writing, quote, "I want to bring you joy."

Former Congressman Max Rose and S.E. Cupp are both OUTFRONT.

Max, let me just start with you here. Because, you know, obviously you hear what Senator Ossoff said.

Now, anybody who lives on social media knew what he was referring to.

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Sure.

BURNETT: Maybe some people in the audience did, maybe they didn't. But he was speaking to the audience on social media who have left that particular conversation and bit of speculation about the president on social media. And he put it into another sphere.

Is he saying what a lot of other Democrats were too reluctant or afraid to say?

MAX ROSE (D), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: Thousand percent. And look, I think right off the get go. This is unfair to Natalie. This is unfair to people who work in politics. And that's why I support him doing it in this manner, because for too long, Democrats have practiced that old mantra, when they go low, we go high.

Anyone who is not willing to match the Republicans in terms of how low they're willing to go and to beat them should be disqualified from any future presidential nominating contest, particularly this next one.

BURNETT: So, as the Trump response, as you heard to Kristen Holmes, was to call Jon Ossoff, Pee-wee Herman, which showed he had thought about it. And he was mad, and he added an insult, right? This was there. This was right there on the edge of his thought process. It had gotten in there.

His communications director's response was too vulgar to even show. Which is saying a lot, because we've now had to kind of change standards all the way around, because sometimes you got to say what people say, because you can't whitewash it. We're not going to share that.

But another White House aide said, quote, "Jon Ossoff is a cringe- worthy, feminine theater kid cosplaying as Barack Obama."

I mean, they were really, really --

CUPP: Bothered by this, yeah.

BURNETT: Yeah.

CUPP: A couple of things.

Pee-wee Herman's a very dated reference. I just don't know how many people younger than us know who that is. Obama's an odd comparison. Obama won twice. Obama's beloved. Obama still has great approval numbers.

I don't know that you want to compare a presidential hopeful to someone people remember pretty fondly when your numbers are 32.

BURNETT: Especially considering when they came out of being kind of a junior senator and rising to the White House.

CUPP: Yeah.

BURNETT: There's a lot of --

CUPP: That's a good comparison for Jon Ossoff.

Look, the feigned outrage that someone would talk this way about, you know, a female aide is really rich coming from the administration of Donald Trump, who talks terribly about women. I mean, every moment, right? We had one today with one of our reporters.

So that's a little rich. I will just say, and you and I have talked about this a bunch, I disagree because I am clinging to whatever hope is left that we cannot go into the gutter with Trump every time. And this is deeply unfair to Natalie Harp.

If a Republican or Trump said this about a woman working for a Democrat, we would be offended and outraged for her. I'm not going to speculate on their relationship. I don't know what it is. She could just be a very close aide because she's got access to his social media. I think that's what he cares the most about.

I have no idea, and I wouldn't impugn her that way, and I wish Democrats wouldn't go low, but I understand. I think voters are actually with Max. They want to see this.

BURNETT: Well, actually, Max, because when you think about it, we've seen these sorts of attacks, and I don't mean specifically by Natalie Harp, but being willing to go there on whatever the issue today is, the person in the Democratic Party stands out the most for that is a presidential hopeful is Gavin Newsom, governor of California, right? But he's kind of been on an island. Others have been a little hesitant, a little unsure.

So, does this catapult Jon Ossoff to being something that people didn't really expect of him?

ROSE: Sure, absolutely. I mean, I think that the only thing any other Democrat should say is that Ossoff is wrong for physical reasons. Donald Trump probably couldn't have an affair with anyone right now. That's the line that these things should be going in.

[19:30:03]

For so long, we have faced this Republican Party, which not only flaunts any rule, right, but does so almost with pride, right, and says the American people just don't care. What people are looking at the Democrats to do now is to show that they have the guts to not leave any tool on the table in terms of their effort to beat this. That's not a bad thing.

BURNETT: Do you think that Trump's response to this may be to put even more Natalie Harp out there?

CUPP: Usually, he doubles down when he's in these situations. I think you might start seeing even more of Natalie Harp. She might become the next press secretary. Who knows?

But I don't expect him to be, like, suddenly embarrassed by this and then hide her away. That's just not been in his DNA.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you both very much.

CUPP: Sure.

BURNETT: And next, the "Military Times" reporter who broke the story. of what's happening on board the USS Abraham Lincoln with the sailors jumping overboard, the food shortages, the basic necessities, personal hygiene items not available. Tonight, she has new reporting on the ship now heading into relieve the Lincoln.

Plus, Republicans who have cast doubt on Trump's 2020 loss are now running and could be governor in key states, states that could determine the next presidential election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know that he won.

JOHN JAMES (R), MICHIGAN GOV. CANDIDATE: Thank you, Mr. President, for coming back to Michigan, where you've won three times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: He didn't. Anyway, K-Files' Andrew Kaczynski found much more, and he joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:35:53]

BURNETT: Tonight, a KFILE investigation here OUTFRONT. Republicans who denied, challenged, or cast out on Donald Trump's 2020 election loss are running for governor. And they are doing that in some of the most important battleground states in America, including Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia. and the stakes are incredibly high.

If these candidates win in November, they'll be in positions to shape, be in charge of election laws and playing a formal role in certifying the results of the 2028 presidential election.

OUTFRONT now, Andrew Kaczynski of KFILE, who broke this reporting.

Andrew, obviously the stakes here are incredibly high. So let's start with what you found.

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: Yeah, you are very right about how high the stakes are because these are true swing states. Each of these states, Joe Biden won in 2020. Donald Trump won them in 2024. So, they were literally designed the 2028 presidential election.

And two of these candidates for governor, Andy Biggs in Arizona and Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin, actually used their official actions as members of Congress to try and block Biden's 2020 victory. Both also backed a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn the results in four states. And on January 6, both voted to sustain objections to Biden's Electoral College victory.

Andy Biggs, Republican congressman, this guy really went the furthest. The Republican speaker of the Arizona House actually testified that Biggs called him on the morning of January 6th and asked him to support decertifying Arizona's electors. And before that, Biggs was publicly criticizing Arizona's Republican governor, Doug Ducey, for certifying the election results.

Now, Tom Tiffany, running for Wisconsin governor, also claimed at the time that roughly 200,000 ballots had been affected by what he called illegal practices in justifying his vote to object to the election results. Now, Biggs didn't return a request for comment, but Tiffany, in a statement to CNN, he now says this. He says, Joe Biden won, talking about the 2020 election, and added, I'll certify whoever wins the most votes in Wisconsin.

BURNETT: Which is actually notable, because as we've noted in testimony before Congress, some people that Trump has wanted in high positions have said Joe Biden was certified, actually saying Joe Biden won was more than they were able to do. I guess words may matter here.

But what about John James I know he's winning for governor of Michigan and Stacy Garrity that's in Pennsylvania so we mentioned those other two states those are important they were not in Congress at the time so what did you find out about them in their views?

KACZYNSKI: Well, Erin, both of them made comments later questioning or denying the 2020 result and in James case what's really striking is he actually changed his position. First, he said Biden won and now he's flirting with that Biden didn't win let's start with Garrity in Pennsylvania. She appeared at a rally January 6th that was aimed at pressuring state lawmakers over Pennsylvania's election results.

Then at a Trump rally in 2022, Garrity outright falsely claimed that Trump won Pennsylvania when talking about her own victory as state treasurer in 2020. And then Trump said she personally told him it was not possible that he lost. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STACY GARRITY, REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR: We know that he won. So he pushed a lot of us over the finish line. I am forever grateful.

TRUMP: She said, Sir, I won because of you. You were much more popular than me, but I won. First time in decades that a Republican won. But she said, Sir, you were much more popular, and you lost my area. You lost this. It's not possible.

And I appreciate you saying that because I happen to like you more than I like me, okay? But no, but a lot of people said it. The election was rigged. It was a disgrace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: Now, Garrity has since backed away from that, and in a statement to CNN said, As I have said repeatedly since the 2020 election, I am painfully aware that Joe Biden was elected president, and a spokesperson for her said that she would both accept and certify the results of the 2028 election if she were elected governor.

John James, Republican congressman from Michigan, this guy's almost the reverse. After winning his congressional release in 2022, James was asked directly whether Biden had been duly elected.

[19:40:04]

And he said, quote, "Of course, yes, that's how the process worked." But after Trump endorsed James for governor, he began making some very, very different claims. He said in one interview, the 2020 election was, quote, "rigged and manipulated" against both himself and Trump and more recently standing around alongside Trump in Michigan, here's what James said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES: Thank you, Mr. President, for coming back to Michigan where you've won three times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: So, Trump won Michigan 2016, 2024. He did not win it in 2020. He lost to Biden in 2020. And unlike Garrity, James did not answer our questions about who he believes won the 2020 election or whether he would commit to certifying the winner in 2028.

BURNETT: That's pretty incredible. And then there's Georgia, which is actually even a slightly different case than some of the ones you've laid out here. Rick Jackson, his comments questioning the 2020 election are coming right now during this campaign.

So, what's he saying?

KACZYNSKI: Yeah, that's right, it's coming during this campaign during his primary. He is a billionaire healthcare executive, and he is a first-time candidate. He actually launched his campaign by going after Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. He ran an ad depicting Raffensperger, his primary opponent, as Judas for defying Trump's efforts to overturn his loss in Georgia.

And since then, Jackson, we found, has repeatedly cast doubt on what happened in the state in 2020. In one campaign event, he called it, quote, "bizarre," and then he said this about Fulton County.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

RICK JACKSON (R), GEORGIA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: It's really easy to believe that for the last 40 years, Fulton County's been cheating on, on voting. You don't have to -- I don't have to sell anybody on that.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: Jackson went on to say it was just as easy for Democrats to believe Republicans were trying to suppress the vote. That's something he said was not true. And then, at another event, we found Jackson called what happened to 2020, quote, "unconscionable," and he has backed the FBI's ongoing investigation into Fulton County's election, saying, quote, "I have no problem with the FBI because to me, we need to have confidence in our voting system." Now, Jackson's campaign did tell CNN that he does acknowledge Biden won the 2020 election, and that if elected governor, you'd follow the Constitution and certify the election results, a spokesperson told CNN. Just as Governor Kemp did, Rick acknowledges both Biden's win and that there were issues in the 2020 election that need to be resolved in order to ensure Georgians have faith in the electoral system -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, obviously, really important reporting to know what they're saying, to put it out there, and, of course, to get them to give those comments to you about what they would do, because then that lives, right? That lives in black and white of the stand they take. Thanks to you.

All right, Andrew Kaczynski, KFILE, thank you for that investigation.

And next, Trump doubling down, again dismissing the horrific conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I know people on the Lincoln, they say it's beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: "The Military Times" reporter who first broke this story is here tonight with new details.

And Hayden Panettiere, the star of "Heroes" and "Nashville", dead at 36 days before her birthday. And we now have the 911 call.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:23]

BURNETT: Tonight, President Trump again dismissing reports about the conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Is there enough food on the USS Lincoln?

TRUMP: Yeah, it is. That was a CNN fake report. The Lincoln has been out there for a period of time, good period of time. But over the years, we've had him out there much longer.

I was at a group meeting and an admiral came up to see me over the weekend. And it was at a big group, and he happened to be an admiral retired. He said, I've been on ships that are out there much longer than that, sir, and I know people on the link, and they say it's beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of. And other people went out, and they found out to be true.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: Now, first of all, there is no aircraft carrier in American history that has been deployed as long as the Lincoln, which is important because there's 5,000 crew on board. I mean, this is a massive endeavor. And their mission is obviously showing no signs of ending, which is something Trump celebrated just days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Has the deployment gone on too long? Are you worried about the mental health concerns?

TRUMP: No, no, no. Not nearly long enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Not nearly long enough.

Well, the conditions on board were first reported by the "Military Times". Sailors on the Lincoln have faced food shortages, shortages of basic hygiene needs, and a morale and mental health crisis. CNN and the "Military Times" also learning of multiple service members who attempted to jump overboard.

OUTFRONT now is Natalie Oliverio, the Pentagon reporter for the "Military Times". Familiar face to our viewers is Natalie.

Of course, you've been breaking these details on the USS Lincoln, and you also, of course, happen to be a Navy veteran yourself.

What's your response to what President Trump is saying about your reporting? Of course, calling it all essentially fake news at this point.

NATALIE OLIVERIO, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT, MILITARY TIMES: Thanks for having me back on, Erin. Essentially, the military families who have heard President Trump's response loud and clear are really disappointed. They're disheartened to hear that this is the response from the leader of our military.

On August 3rd of this year, President Trump established the Military Spouse Commission so that military spouses could be heard, so their family issues could be responded to and taken care of. And to hear him dismiss those same concerns and to say that they're actually not worried about their service members is really concerning to these spouses and family members.

BURNETT: So, the head of U.S. Central Command met with troops on the Lincoln to look into all of this, so we understand. It did not deny to these spouses and family members.

So the head of U.S. Central Command met with troops on the Lincoln to look into all of this so we understand. It did not deny reports of mental fatigue and difficult living conditions, right? So, there was no denial, but he did say the Lincoln has recorded the lowest number of mental health cases among the Navy's 11 active aircraft carriers.

Now, you say this is a dangerous thing to say. How come?

OLIVERIO: You know, I think that, Both of these things matter. It can be extraordinarily difficult, and the crew can still do an extraordinarily amazing job. The question is really how much longer can we ask them to continue being this resilient? Because resilience and sustainability are not the same things.

Having 11 carrier strike groups on paper isn't the same as having 11 carrier strike groups ready and willing to go. It sounds to me that maybe not everyone in leadership is aware of the optimized fleet readiness plan, response plan, excuse me, is a 36-month cycle that focuses on maintenance and training, and that only accounts for eight months of deployment time per group. So, that's a three-year rotation.

Understanding that that window is specific for a reason, ships require constant maintenance, but sailors require constant upkeep, too.

BURNETT: Yeah.

Now, the George Washington is what's supposed to relieve the Lincoln. And I'll say, Natalie, that's perhaps in no small part because of your reporting over these past months on a lot of these details, the shortages, the morale. Now, you have new reporting tonight about what swapping one carrier, the Washington, for the Lincoln in this case actually means. What are you learning?

OLIVERIO: So it is much bigger than the Lincoln because now the George Washington battle group has been rerouted from the Western Pacific, which is one of our constant theaters over to the middle -- to the Middle East. So that has left us completely. Unmonitored in the Western Pacific and I haven't heard anyone say yet how long it may be until replacement comes to the Western Pacific area and if anyone will relieve the George Washington, not sure what will happen with their planned deployment in that rotation.

I know before the George Washington was reported out to be joining and relieving the Lincoln, Secretary Hung Cao told over 200 military family members it would be the Theodore Roosevelt. He just couldn't say when because of operational security.

BURNETT: Yeah, I mean, it's fascinating and also the context I guess we got to put around this at the South China Sea, China and Taiwan, and now the president of the United States, going to be pulling back on joint military exercises with South Korea, which is home to the largest base for U.S. soldiers outside of the United States. All of that coming as you're talking about the strike group being pulled out of the Western Pacific.

Thank you very much, Natalie. I appreciate your time tonight and your new reporting.

And next, the 911 call made after the death of 36-year-old actress Hayden Panettiere revealing new clues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:57:12]

BURNETT: Breaking news, we have new details now on the sudden death of Hayden Panettiere. The TV star was found dead at age 36 days before her birthday. Panettiere is best known for her roles in the series "Heroes", as well as "Nashville". She was discovered in cardiac arrest yesterday in Greenville, South Carolina, at a home where she was temporarily staying. No official cause of death has been released as of yet, but she leaves behind her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, whom she shares with her former fiance, the Ukrainian boxing champion, Volodymyr Klitschko.

Let's go OUTFRONT to Elizabeth Wagmeister.

And, Elizabeth, what are you learning now?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: This is such an incredibly tragic story, Erin. Now, Hidden Panettiere was found on Sunday afternoon. She was unresponsive and medical personnel tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate her. They have said that the 911 call came from an acquaintance, but we do not know the identity of that person.

Now, the coroner says that the autopsy results, the initial autopsy at least shows no trauma that would have contributed to the death, but they are still awaiting further test results. Now, Of course, the reason why fans are speculating as to what happened that ended Hayden's life so soon is because she was very open with her struggles, her struggles with substance abuse and addiction, with postpartum depression, with mental illness. So, this is a young woman who lived her life in the limelight, grew up in front of us and again was incredibly open, particularly towards the end of her life about her personal struggles, Erin.

BURNETT: She really was. And, you know, I remember even when she talked about the postpartum depression and her addiction and then how all of that led to her granting her former fiance, Vladimir Klitschko, full custody of their daughter, right? She wasn't -- she didn't fight that. She very painfully acknowledged that she thought it was the right thing to do. Here she is just a few years ago in 2022. She talked about that, about that gut wrenching decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAYDEN PANETTIERE, ACTRESS: The most heartbreaking thing I've ever, ever had to do in my life. The papers were to give him full custody. And, you know, I was going to go work on myself. Right. And I was going to get better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: It just so haunting to hear her say that. And also you know that she right. I was going to go work on myself. I was getting going to get better.

I'm obviously putting more emphasis on the word was then then she did in that interview. But now in this moment it's hard not to hear it that way. What was the latest you understand with Panettiere's addiction struggles?

WAGMEISTER: Look, she came out with a memoir just three months ago, Erin, so we saw a lot of her and she was very open and honest about her struggles, but she seemed to be doing very well. She said that she was doing the best that she had been in a while.

But Hayden had said at one point, doctors told her if she didn't stop drinking, she would be dead in five years. So again, a very tragic ending to this young woman's life.

BURNETT: So tragic, gosh.

All right, Elizabeth, thank you very much.

And thanks to all of you for being with us.

"AC360" starts now.