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Erin Burnett Outfront

Now: Trump Scrambles To Save Senate Pick After Debate Gaffe; Stars And Stripes Editor Fired By Pentagon After Censorship Comments; Full Letters From Devoted Aide Natalie Harp To Trump Revealed. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired August 21, 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:

The breaking news, Trump scrambles to save his Senate pick. The president about to speak in South Carolina for Darline Graham after she admitted, quote, "I'm not that informed on national security".

Also breaking, fired. The editor-in-chief of "The Stars and Stripes" newspaper is out after saying he wouldn't let the Pentagon have ultimate editorial control. He's our guest this Friday.

And, quote, "My guardian and protector". New details coming in tonight about the personal letters that Trump aide Natalie Harp sent to the president. She's traveling with him right now.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett on this Friday.

And OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, going all out. You're looking at live pictures out of South Carolina where the president is scrambling to save his handpicked replacement for Senator Lindsey Graham. Now, this is all ahead of next week's runoff.

Trump's choice is Graham's sister, Darline. Now, she was backed by Trump to run for her late brother's seat, despite having never run for office or held any kind of elected office, a decision that sparked outrage from some Republicans, including a lot of senior ones in South Carolina who are backing her primary opponent, longtime South Carolina Republican Ralph Norman.

And tonight, Trump is trying to help Darline Graham clean up this gaffe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBATE MODERATOR: Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States? And if so, why or how?

SEN. DARLINE GRAHAM (R-SC): I'm just going to be honest here. I'm not on national security that -- I'm not that informed on national security. So -- but I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years. So, I will do everything I can to support the military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Okay, well, the headlines were fast and furious after that response. Senator Darline Graham implodes. I'm not that informed. National security is not my thing. National security trips up Senator Darline Graham.

So, Graham was aware she had some cleanup to do. So, the next day she goes on Fox News Sean Hannity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: So this issue of Taiwan came up last night. And I know people have made a big deal about it. And I'm like, I wonder how many people around the country, if I gave them a map, could pick out Taiwan. I don't think many. And not just in -- I mean the whole country, never mind South Carolina.

GRAHAM: Right. I think you're 100 percent right, Sean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, there is someone, of course, who knows where Taiwan is. That was Darlene Graham's brother, the late Senator Lindsey Graham, right? Foreign policy was the center of his entire career.

And here's the thing, when you heard that back and forth, oh, most people can't find Taiwan, okay. It was not that long ago that some of the very same people backing Darline Graham now had a real problem with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's answer to a question about Taiwan. This was just back in February.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Would and should the U.S. actually commit U.S. troops to defend Taiwan if China were to move?

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): You know, I think that this is such a -- you know, I think that -- this is a -- this is, of course, a very long-standing policy of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Obviously, a lot of hesitation there, and, well, it was seized upon by some, including Trump and Vance, who had a lot to say about her answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, her performance was horrible. I was surprised I didn't know she was stupid. She had no idea. I don't think she knew what Taiwan was, and it was not a good answer. Could be death-defying because I suspect that'll be used in every campaign for the next 30 years again, sir. It's not a good one, Peter. What do you think?

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That was embarrassing. If I had given that answer, I would say, you know what? Maybe I got to go read a book about China and Taiwan before I go out on the world stage again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And the very same Sean Hannity who gave Darline Graham cover this week saying, you know, well, people don't know where Taiwan is and all that, said this back in February after AOC's comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Radical Squad leader AOC simply could not answer basic questions about global affairs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:05:04]

BURNETT: Sean Hannity, of course, was right at the time. It is important to be able to answer questions about global affairs if you want to be in Congress or you want to be in the Senate. It's just a gating factor. You just have to be able to do it. But I guess the standards have changed.

And now, just before leaving for South Carolina, President Trump previewed his defense tonight of Graham.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She was being honest. She's very smart, and she was being honest. I mean, she's into the price of groceries, the price of food, the price of beef. And it's not -- it hasn't been her thing, but she's surrounded by very good people. And she said that she's totally for the military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, Trump is saying other issues, not national security, are her thing, even though, of course, he himself scoffs when the price of groceries and affordability comes up. But Graham did try to pivot to red meat issues when she was talking to Hannity this week, right? You know, not so much national security, don't worry about, worry about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: Of course, Taiwan is our friend, but I think people in South Carolina are more worried about making ends meet. They're concerned about boys in girls' sports.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: They're concerned about boys in girls' sports. Okay, we just take a step back here and just say we're talking about South Carolina. That's where she wants to be a senator.

And in South Carolina, there has been a ban on transgender athletes from participating in school sports K to 12 since May of 2022. Can't do it at the NCAA. So, this is actually not an issue that anything could be done about by the senator from South Carolina in the state of South Carolina. In fact, that was just given a seal of approval by the Supreme Court when it determined similar laws in two other states did not violate federal civil rights laws. So, Darline Graham is into an issue that literally isn't an issue in her state.

Betsy Klein is traveling with the president. She's OUTFRONT live in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That's where President Trump is about to speak on behalf of Darline Graham.

And Betsy, what are you learning about what Trump really thinks about Graham in light of this gaffe?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, Erin, this race is causing a lot of divisions among South Carolina Republicans and even some of the president's closest allies. But President Trump right now remains all in on Darline Graham. Behind the scenes, members of his team are keenly aware they have a lot on the line, particularly after some of the candidates that he has endorsed have lost their primaries in recent weeks.

But the president has been making the case for Darline Graham both publicly and privately. We reported that he made calls to two of her opponents, Congressman Russell Fry, as well as Mark Sanford, the former governor, asking for their support for Graham. Now, the president also doubling down on his support when he was asked about that debate gap, making clear that he felt that Darline Graham was being honest.

But this is a rare campaign trail stop for President Trump. Obviously, it's personal because of his relationship with Lindsey Graham. But it's also clearly not a battleground state and a lot of questioning about whether President Trump should be spending his time here just two months before the midterm elections.

Now, the decision to do this here in Myrtle Beach is important. This is a fast-growing metro. It is also very historically supportive of President Trump. So, Darline Graham's team clearly trying to capitalize on that. But with this event and with their methods, we saw that driving into this rally. The signs say, Darlene Graham endorsed by Trump, trusted by Trump. Now, Erin, this is all a matter of turnout.

BURNETT: Yeah, yeah, absolutely that. We saw the night of the first round here, area by area, right, where each candidate was from. That candidate did well there. So, we'll see what'll happen. Now we're finally in a runoff.

All right, Betsy, thank you very much on Myrtle Beach. And I want to go to former Governor Tim Pawlenty and Bakari Sellers, both with me tonight.

So, Governor, I'm curious in the world that we're in right now, and obviously, Betsy lays out the stakes of where Trump is tonight, right? Myrtle Beach is Trump country, and that's where he's appearing tonight, right? So, it's friendly territory. But I'm curious in the context of a state where there are a lot of Republicans and very senior ones who thought there was another path to go with experienced people running like Mr. Norman. and also the impact of Trump's endorsements in other races around the country this cycle.

What does endorsement from him mean for Graham right now?

TIM PAWLENTY (R), FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: Well, while his record is mixed about his candidates that he endorses getting through primaries of late, let's not underestimate the remaining power of President Trump's endorsement, especially in a deep red state like South Carolina. So, it is no doubt helpful, very helpful, maybe dispositive for Senator Graham as she tries to win this primary.

[19:10:05]

BURNETT: So, Bakari, you sit here as a lifelong South Carolinian. How do you see Trump's endorsement working? Is this going to get her over the line?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, I think we have to look at history. I mean, I appreciate the governor, Governor Pawlenty, because he does state something that is actually very true that Donald Trump's endorsement within the Republican Party still rings loudly. However, in South Carolina, the most recent history is he endorsed Pamela Abbott, our Lieutenant governor right now for governor and she got beat. She got beat by -- beat soundly in the runoff by our Alan Wilson, our attorney general. He wanted redistricting in South Carolina and he lost that badly. In fact, Republicans rejected that, and so, he's O for two right now and he's on the precipice of being O for three.

The debate actually is something that people are still talking about today because it reinforced the fact that. Many people appreciate Darline Graham. We love her. And we love the relationship she had with her brother, and we appreciate the fact that she's grieving.

But there are many people who just don't like the nepotism, don't like the fact that because you're someone's brother, you can just be a United States senator for six years. There are people who are rejecting that notion outright.

BURNETT: Which is interesting in the context of, you know, all the discussion about, you know, corruption and nepotism, right, that it might be playing out at levels like this. I mean, we'll see.

I mean, Governor, when I played a few moments ago the comments that Darline Graham made about national security in Taiwan during the debate, I want to play again just the contrast here. What Trump said about Darline Graham at the debate when she talked about Taiwan, and what Trump said about AOC when she blundered on Taiwan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: All she was is being honest. She's very smart, and she was being honest.

Her performance was horrible. I was surprised. I didn't know she was stupid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Governor, does anybody care about hypocrisy like that anymore? Anybody voting, anybody who probably care that those two things simply can't both be true?

PAWLENTY: Well, some people probably do, but we've become so inoculated against double standards in politics. I'm not sure that's going to be the decisive factor in this race, the double standard part of it.

But let's be candid also. There are people in Congress who come to Congress as foreign policy, national defense and security experts, or they become that over the course of time. But your CNN viewers should know that most members of Congress come with very little or no experience in those categories, and they have to develop it.

And so, yes, she should have been briefed by her campaign staff. She should have come to that debate better prepared.

BURNETT: Even as a senator.

PAWLENTY: Yeah, but she -- even as a senator, people want outsiders. So, when you get outsiders and they're not from a national security or foreign policy background, you're going to get people without experience in these realms. And I think that's understandable to a point.

But that doesn't excuse the fact she should have been better prepared. But she did answer the question honestly. And to your point, Erin, of course, there's a double standard as applied to the examples you provided.

BURNETT: So I want to ask you both about what's going on in Texas as well, because Darline Graham is not the only Trump endorsement that's angering some Republicans, right? There's a lot of frustration about Ken Paxton and his Senate race in Texas.

One of the country's top election forecasters now just moved that race from lean Republican to toss-up, which is just pretty stunning when you talk about Texas, right? You haven't had a Democrat from Texas in the Senate since 1988, and if you had Cornyn running here, I think there isn't anybody who thinks we'd be having the same conversation.

Here's a conservative Texas radio host, Bakari, confronting Paxton.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) MICHAEL BERRY, RADIO HOST: I know there is a lot of frustration. I hear it. What's the Paxton campaign doing? What's the path to victory? There's been some concern. Will there be the money there to run the campaign it takes to win?

KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: As of June 1st, I had zero dollars. He had $30 million. So we've been trying to accumulate to raise the money, but we definitely -- we do need some outside help.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, Bakari, I guess, do you see this as a disaster such that it is at the current time, and we'll see when we see, but that is totally of Trump's making?

SELLERS: No. I want to blame Donald Trump for a lot of things, but Ken Paxton is just a horrible person. I mean, I think that most viewers, if you run down the litany of indiscretions, the character flaws of someone like Ken Paxton, he is arguably one of the worst candidates that Republicans have run in a very long period of time. Now you could have a Republican --

BURNETT: But don't you think that if Trump had endorsed Cornyn that --

(CROSSTALK)

SELLERS: -- we want to win. Go ahead, I'm sorry.

[19:15:00]

BURNETT: No, I was saying, don't you think if Trump had endorsed Cornyn, Cornyn could be running against Talarico, I guess is what I'm saying. Do Republicans have Paxton because of Trump?

SELLERS: I mean, I guess. I mean, I think that Republicans created this monster. I mean, I listen, Donald Trump is not the cancer. He's the symptom. I can't absolve Republicans -- I mean, this is -- this is what you have.

You have someone -- I mean, the bar for being an elected official in a Republican Party is somewhere near hell. And so that is where we are right now.

But my caution and I say all of that about Kim Paxton. But then I have to throw some cold water on it because there are people like Roy Cooper who need our dollars and in infrastructure, people like, Sherrod Brown who need our dollars and infrastructure in Ohio, there are places like Maine, which are more likely that we will win. Even Alaska, Texas is still for a lot of Democrats fools gold and as bad as Ken Paxton is, I definitely want us to keep our eye just on the ball here because we have a unique opportunity to take back the Senate.

BURNETT: That's a really interesting point that you make, and I think one that maybe a lot of Democrats will be listening to.

Okay, I appreciate both of you, and thank you so much for being with me on this Friday.

And next, breaking news, a top executive at the Pentagon-funded paper "Stars and Stripes" gone, fired, because he says he spoke out against the Pentagon having editorial control. He's our guest next.

And also breaking tonight, powerful video just coming in of a five- year-old crying. He's clinging to his father in handcuffs after being detained by ICE.

And Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's new reality show is out. And he wastes no time going after a favorite target of Trump's, Harvard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: They can take good young girls like you and I think corrupt their minds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:16]

BURNETT: Breaking news, the Pentagon tonight firing the publisher, editor-in-chief, and a top reporter of Stars and Stripes. Eric Slavin, the editor-in-chief, said he was fired for insubordination for speaking to CBS News in July and saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INTERVIEWER: Do you have red lines in your mind?

ERIK SLAVIN, STARS AND STRIPES EDITOR IN CHIEF FIRED TODAY: Yes, I do.

INTERVIEWER: Give me a red line.

SLAVIN: Well, don't run a perfectly accurate story. Run this instead. Here it is. written by the Pentagon, that would be a red line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Okay, now he's fired. And there's also a reporter fired, Laura Korte. She was interviewed for that same CBS News piece. Here is what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARA KORTE, STARS AND STRIPES REPORTER FIRED TODAY: I'm working for Stars and Stripes, not for the Pentagon, not for any administration, not for any policymaker. I'm here to cover the military community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Now, Pentagon officials declining to comment tonight, but CNN is learning from our next guest that the Pentagon plans to bring 25 active-duty military members into "Stars and Stripes". OUTFRONT now, Erik Slavin, the editor-in-chief, who was fired today

from Stars and Stripes in his first television interview since he was given this notice.

And, Erik, I appreciate your time. I know this is a very difficult day. You just got official notice, you've lost your job, you're fired.

Can I just ask you if they gave you any specific reason that you can understand?

SLAVIN: Well, according to the memo, they cited the CBS interview and they said that I was insubordinate for responding to a hypothetical about censorship and saying that it was a red line. I didn't say that I would disobey any sort of directive. In my mind, I reaffirmed what the law says, what the DOD regs say, which is that Stars and Stripes is meant to be free of news management and censorship.

BURNETT: So they literally are referring to this interview, which I just I'm going to just quote again. You were asked, well, give me a red line. You responded, well, don't run a perfectly accurate story. Run this instead. Here it is written by the Pentagon. That would be a red line.

So that's what you said. And then they're citing that interview and you're fired. I mean, this appears to be disturbingly black and white.

SLAVIN: I -- I don't have a great explanation for it. I stated my unofficial opinion when asked about it. "Stars and Stripes" has historically been free of military interference. That's a standard that was put into place by General Dwight Eisenhower during World War II.

And we've always been proud of that to reaffirm that standard and to report for service members and their families all around the world.

BURNETT: Well, I'm literally just pulling up right now your the Twitter for your all of Stars and Stripes. It's referred to, you know, it's independent. And by the way, I think anybody that covers national security, we all follow "Stars and Stripes". We read your reporting. I mean, it's central.

So, we're in the situation now where you've been fired, Laura Korte's been fired. She was also in that same CBS News piece. And we understand the Pentagon's brought in a military officer to be the deputy to the publisher hours after you were fired.

And he wrote on the paper's website just after you were fired that the Pentagon gave him, quote, "multiple assurances that it would protect editorial independence." And then he writes, it's time to take them at their word. Okay, I wanted just to ask you a couple questions about this.

First of all, what's your response to that all being put out within hours of you being fired for being insubordination for saying that a red line would be if the Pentagon told you what to write?

[19:25:05]

SLAVIN: Well, my personal opinion is that they were ready for this. I hope this is the case. I hope that independent reporting can continue.

This isn't about me. This is about service members having access to a free press, to benefiting from the rights of the Constitution that they've sworn to defend. So I really do hope that's the case.

But, of course, I am concerned, given today's events, when both the publisher and myself and especially our reporter who's done really excellent work for so long for us in the Middle East to see her go, it's very concerning as to what will happen in the future and what the rights will be for service members to a free press. But I hope that is the case.

BURNETT: Well, "Stars and Stripes", as I said, is so central, so it's time to take them at their word. I mean, it seems like a nice sentiment. I have to agree with you. Of course, you hope that's true.

But obviously what they just did, their actions were different than their words in the past hours, right, when that statement was written. So, the notice of separation you received that I understand here, Erik, says that there was a violation of administrative regulations, and then they referred to a tweet that the chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell posted on X in January saying we're bringing "Stars and Stripes" into the 21st century, we're going to modernize its operations and refocus its content away from woke distractions that siphon morale.

Okay, I just want to give you a chance to respond to that. Woke distractions that siphon morale.

SLAVIN: Well, I said during that interview that I had that I didn't really know what that meant because they hadn't told us, and that was my opinion, because there was no prior discussion about this prior to the tweet, and there was no discussion about it afterward. Our reporters called for comment, and we're referred to the tweet rather than receiving any further comment about it. So, I honestly stated that I did not know. And in the complaint, that is a charge against me.

BURNETT: Well, I really appreciate your time, Erik.

And I just I'll contextualize this for everyone watching, not only the importance of "Stars and Stripes" for reporting on the military, but also the fact that this Pentagon, as my understanding, has not had a press conference since early May, maybe May 5th or something, right? I mean, the lack of transparency in the middle of a war is so crucial, and losing "Stars and Stripes", if that's what happens, is a huge loss. I am grateful for your time, and thank you very much for speaking out.

SLAVIN: Thank you, Erin. I appreciate it.

BURNETT: And next, Trump's top assistant, Natalie Harp, traveling right now with him in South Carolina as we are getting new details about letters that this person with a position of incredible power around the president wrote to him.

Plus, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's reality show is out, and one episode takes aim at Harvard, one of Trump's favorite targets.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:32:34]

BURNETT: Breaking news, top Trump aide Natalie Harp with him tonight. This is her boarding Marine One earlier today to join Trump for his visit to South Carolina for the rally for Darline Graham. It is the first time he's traveled since Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff called out Harp and Trump. You can also see she and Trump making their way to Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews.

Now, the trip comes just hours after stunning letters published by "The Daily Beast" are raising even more questions about Harp's ties, power, and influence over the president of the United States. In one letter, which CNN has not yet been able to independently verify that Trump wrote or sent to Trump, "The Daily Beast" reports she writes, quote, "I want things to always be right between us.

I also know I've been distracted all week, forgetting to eat throughout the days and even forgetting to sleep and only catching a couple hours at a time. I never want bring you anything but joy. I'm sorry I lost my focus you are all that matters to me I don't want to ever let you down thank you for being my guardian and protector in this life." The letter ends, quote, "with all my heart, Natalie."

Kevin Liptak is OUTFRONT at the White House.

And, Kevin, obviously, she holds a position of power. She's a confidant. She is in charge with world leaders. She's the gatekeeper to the president of the United States. So, what else do these letters say and reveal? And is the White House responding to them?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and they are a real window into what is now the most scrutinized relationship in all of Washington. But they also provide some of the reasons that she has been able to gain access to the president's orbit. You know, it's this unrestrained devotion that has now become kind of the primary criteria for entering his world.

And there's one passage that I think really kind of articulates that. She's talking about the phone calls that she used to take from the president when she was a host on the conservative network OAN. She I missed the days when you used to call during my talk show days and we talk about everything and nothing.

I want to get back to that synergy. We shouldn't have to talk about work all the time. I've always felt like an in-betweeners somewhere between staff and those you enjoy talking to on the plane or at dinner because that's who I used to be to you when I was a talk show host as much as I hated that actual job. So, some really revealing information that she put in these letters.

Now what you've seen the White House doing this week is really closing ranks around Natalie Harp.

[19:35:01]

You saw her on Marine One today really indicating that the president maintains his faith in her what a White House spokesman said was that, quote, "Natalie Harp is one of the most loyal and hardest working aides on President Trump's team."

We also heard tonight from another of one of the president's closest advisors, Stephen Miller. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: Natalie is one of the most incredible, extraordinary people I've ever had the privilege of knowing and working with. The attempts to defame and to assail her are among the most vile things I've seen in American politics. And everybody loves Natalie. Everybody adores Natalie, and she's been an extraordinary asset to this administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So, he says there, everyone loves Natalie. Certainly, it's true that a lot of White House aides feel a degree of protectiveness around her. There are also plenty of officials who have been irked by some of her methods. Sometimes they've become frustrated at how she goes about this job. You know, she is the main conduit for people outside of the White House, including, in some cases, foreign leaders who are trying to get to President Trump -- Erin.

BURNETT: Yeah. All right, Kevin, thank you very much. And I guess I'll just point out the obvious to people watching. Somebody in the White House is leaking these letters and stories about her and the behavior, and that would indicate there is some deep dissatisfaction in some quarters.

OUTFRONT now, Democratic Congresswoman Madeline Dean.

And I appreciate your time, Congresswoman.

So, Natalie Harp is traveling with the president tonight, right? He's making his point that he stands by his assistant. She obviously, as we point out, she's a gatekeeper to the president. She talks to world leaders. She holds a position of great power and influence.

And you see and hear what is in those letters she wrote to Donald Trump, the ones that we just shared parts of. Do you have concerns?

REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA): Well, Erin, good to be with you. And I have to admit to you, forgive me, but I care very little about Natalie Harp. Obviously, it is a very serious set of circumstances that she is that close to the president, that she spent a tremendous amount of time without any kind of security clearance, and that this White House thought that was okay and appropriate.

But I care much more, much less about the gossip about Natalie Harp. I -- we'll figure that out. Historians will figure that out. But right now, we are at a moment of crisis in this country where Americans are feeling the pinch of serious, inflated gas prices, serious, inflated prices on goods, their groceries, their health care, their access to health care, utilities, rent, and all the rest.

So, I'm fatigued by this kind of gossip around Natalie Harp.

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: Let me push back on you a little bit here. I don't think anybody with any kind of gossip interest have no interest in that, but you're talking about someone who is a gatekeeper to the president of the United States. You point out the issue with the security clearance, texting with world leaders and access in a time of war in a position of incredible power and influence where people who want to get to him have to go through her.

That's an important position of power. Isn't that something for which they should be held accountable?

DEAN: Absolutely. I don't minimize that. But actually, what is this a reflection of? An emperor with no clothes. This all goes back to the president himself. How is it that this president spends night after night, middle of the night, and maybe Natalie is a part of this, tweeting and putting up memes and posts, insane memes and posts that show the madness of this president.

So, it's interesting that Natalie is that close, that proximate to this madness, but it is the president himself who is responsible. It is he who has been elected to be our commander-in-chief.

BURNETT: Yes.

DEAN: And here we are in a war that he cannot figure out how to solve. He got into it recklessly, without a thought, and here we are in a war and a defense secretary who needs to resign, frankly.

Natalie Harp is secondary to all of that, but it is about the president. It is about the secretaries. It is about the failure of multilateral diplomatic work to end this war in Iran, to make sure that we get peace in the Middle East. Natalie is a small piece of it.

BURNETT: So, you, obviously, are talking a lot about the war in the Middle East. There's another thing, Congresswoman, that you've been very vocal about, and that is major reforms you've wanted for ICE and how it operates. And in that context, I just wanted to share with you some new video that we've just gotten in of a five-year-old boy named Liam. He's crying, holding the hand of his dad who's handcuffed. They both were detained by ICE at a vehicle stop in Texas.

[19:40:00]

Now, the boy and his father are both undocumented. They were on their way to a soccer game. Liam is scheduled to start kindergarten in Texas this week. I don't know if you know anything about this. Obviously, at this

moment, all I can really share for you is the bare bones of that story and the video itself. But I wanted to give you a chance to react, given your focus on ICE.

DEAN: Another little boy named Liam caught up in the despicable web of this inhumane ICE set of circumstances. And it is under the president. Sadly, I wanted this president to be successful. We want immigration reform that makes any sense, but of course, we've never seen it.

Another little boy named Liam. And if the reporting is correct, I believe he and his father have been taken to Dilley, Texas, where I have been and I have seen the abuses there, the abuses of children, the abuses of parents, families, the abuses of healthcare, the ignoring. Literally when we were there with Joaquin Castro, Sarah Jacobs and others, when we were there several months ago, we saw a little child whose mouth was so badly infected.

We were with Catherine Clark. So badly infected, it was green to look at. It is a place of terrible abuse. Another little Liam. This is not what America stands for.

BURNETT: All right, Congresswoman Dean, I appreciate your time and thank you for talking to me tonight. Thank you.

And next, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's new reality show with his family is out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: What's up, Team Boeing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, welcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: A show funded by the very companies that he's supposed to be overseeing in his role.

Plus, an OUTFRONT investigation into a massive migrant crisis making headlines across the world.

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[19:46:13]

BURNETT: Tonight, Sean Duffy, MTV-star-turned-transportation- secretary, on defense about his newest reality road show. In one episode, the family goes to Harvard, and Duffy tells his daughter that he and his wife could block her from going to the university if she were accepted. Duffy tonight writing, "My job is to get my daughter into heaven, not Harvard. I will never apologize for wanting to protect her soul. That is a father's sacred duty, whether the left likes it or not."

Duffy's comments come amid backlash over his family's new reality show, which is called "The Great American Road Trip". The unconventional series follows the Trump cabinet secretary, his wife, Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, and their nine children as they travel throughout the country.

Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.

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RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, FOX NEWS HOST: This journey takes us through Boston, where American history helped shape the nation.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "The Great American Road Trip" wasted no time getting to a hot button issue for President Donald Trump.

DUFFY: Let's say you got into Harvard. Would you be pushing us to actually have you go?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Discussing college choices with a teenage daughter. The transportation secretary quickly slaps down her dream of going to Harvard as inconsistent with the family's faith.

DUFFY: If I send you there. I think what happens is they have professionalized figuring out how they can take good young girls like you and I think corrupt their minds.

TRUMP: Harvard has been a disaster.

FOREMAN (voice-over): That fits into President Trump's long legal and policy battles with the school.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Catholicism to us is everything.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And the secretary's new editorial on the subject dovetails with the steady push of religion, which appears in every episode of this cabinet member's show.

DUFFY: Let's pray.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pray.

DUFFY: Father, Son, Holy Spirit, amen.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But other parts of the programs are far more secular, including this hot take on how to pick a marriage partner.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: The key to a good, long-lasting marriage is to marry somebody very good-looking that you're attracted to because marriage involves a lot of forgiveness. And it's easier to forgive someone when you're very attracted to them.

DUFFY: What's up, Team Boeing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, welcome. FOREMAN (voice-over): The series, which the Transportation Department says is privately funded, was already drawing fire earlier this year from some Democratic members of Congress, since some of that money came from companies including Boeing, which has faced serious questions and is now featured in the show.

SEN. KRISTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY), APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: I don't like the fact that it was paid for by companies that you have to oversee, companies that you work with.

FOREMAN (voice-over): What's more, amid rising concern about air safety and soaring gas prices, the whole idea of the secretary making a reality series has struck some critics as a wobbly wheel.

SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D-WA), VICE CHAIR OF APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: This show is incredibly out of touch with where Americans are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: So, Tom, Secretary Duffy and his wife came, obviously, from TV careers, reality TV careers as well. So, who's watching this show?

FOREMAN: Not many people. That's the short answer. I checked the numbers coming up here. For all six episodes on YouTube where this thing is posted, it's been up for two days now. There are fewer than 20,000 viewers combined. That's a really, really low number out there, even though they've tried to gin up a lot of sport for this.

Maybe that's because they were supposed to let it out in June and push families to take their summer vacations this way, but it was late and it just came out this week in time for the kids to go back to school. But it's not performing well, so I'll give you a spoiler since people aren't watching anyway.

When she later on hears that she might get into Harvard, he's all excited about it, and then she says she wants to go to the University of Chicago. So there you go. It's almost like TV.

[19:50:03]

BURNETT: All right. Tom Foreman, thank you very much.

And next, an OUTFRONT investigation into a massive surge of migrants. All right, this is a surge that has caught the entire world's attention. What's really going on there? Our investigation.

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BURNETT: Tonight, an OUTFRONT investigation into the massive migrant surge that has made headlines around the world. The headlines, right, 72,000 migrants rushing the border into Spain in the span of two days, being seized on by politicians from Washington to Europe.

Jomana Karadsheh investigates in a story that you will see first here tonight, OUTFRONT.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chaos and utter human despair at Spain's doors, scenes that fast became fuel for the far right and growing anti-immigration voices on both sides of the Atlantic.

[19:55:00]

But behind these images lies a more complex reality, as we found on our journey to try to understand Europe's immigration debate and what drives so many to risk everything to get here.

KARADSHEH: We are in the middle of a sea of plastic so vast its visible from space greenhouses everywhere you look. This is Almeria in southern Spain. It is often described as Europe's vegetable garden because of this concentration of greenhouses. It produces millions of tons of fresh fruit and vegetables every year, enough to feed half a billion people.

KARADSEH (voice-over): These greenhouses are opportunity for work, but in the shadow of one of Europe's agricultural heartlands exists a darker side rarely seen -- slums like this one that have been around for years, home to part of the massive African workforce helping feed this continent.

In his previous life, Amoateng Foster was a math teacher in Ghana. Two years ago, he left it all behind, saying he paid smugglers about $2,300 for a perilous journey through Libya and across the Mediterranean, eventually making it to Spain

AMOATENG FOSTER, GHANAIAN MIGRANT WORKER: And I'm not going to recommend anybody to do so. Very dangerous

FOSTER: So this is my place.

KARADSEH (voice-over): This is all for the future of his kids, he says, to save enough to put them through college.

FOSTER: Everything that they are doing here is farming and the workers that they are using, all of us are immigrants. These white people can't do it.

KARADSEH (voice-over): The Spanish economy relies on migrant workers so heavily that the government announced an amnesty in April, offering legal status to hundreds of thousands already in the country.

FOSTER: If you are outside the fence, you may think that it is rosy here, it's not rosy here. Look at the environment that we live in. There's no roses here because you suffer before you can get a cent.

This hot environment like this, you kneel down like this, work continuously, just like that. And they give you five euros.

KARADSEH (voice-over): We get a glimpse into that grueling reality. Amoateng described inside one of the countless greenhouses. These men spent hours delicately planting tomatoes. Their hard labor will soon fill the shelves of European supermarkets. In the sweltering summer heat, temperatures must remain constant in here.

KARADSHEH: We've been here for a few minutes, and this heat is intense. I'm sweating and I can't begin to imagine what it's like for these guys working in these conditions, in this heat. Apparently, it hit 44 degrees or 111 Fahrenheit earlier today, and they have to do this for hours and hours.

KARADSEH (voice-over): The owner of this greenhouse told us he only hires documented workers and pays the legal minimum wage.

All around here, you find thriving migrant communities that have left their mark on this place, and the far right has seized on that.

In suburbs like La Canada that overwhelmingly voted for the populist radical right party Vox, in the last election, we find pensioners echoing the rhetoric of these parties.

"If they can work and have papers, great. The rest is an invasion," they tell us. "They are people who don't want to integrate."

It's a narrative that's been gaining traction across Europe and employed again when thousands flooded across the border into Ceuta.

The calls for help to this Catholic NGO helping migrants get back on their feet seem nonstop during our visit.

SISTER FRANCISCA, MERCEDARIAN SISTERS OF CHARITY (translated): No, I'm sorry my boy.

KARADSEH (voice-over): Sister Francisca turned 80 this month, but there's no rest for this woman on a mission.

SISTER FRANCISCA (translated): The most common thing is that ask us for is a sandwich, and they tell us, "I'm hungry".

KARADSEH (voice-over): But their food distribution center, the hungry queue for donations from local supermarkets.

Sister Francisca remembers a time when there were no migrants here. Then the greenhouses came. The road to a better life has led so many to this miserable place. It is in this land of plastic and shattered dreams where Europe's paradox is laid bare.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN. Almeria, Spain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: And finally, tonight, an update on a story that we've been closely following. Air Force Major Jason Watson had his first court hearing. Major Watson was arrested on the steps of the U.S. Capitol last month after calling for Trump's impeachment, largely over the war on Iran. The government is seeking to keep Watson in custody, although no actual charges have been filed yet, according to his attorney, Chris Mutimer. Mutimer tells us that Major Watson was returned to a county jail in Maryland just a short while ago.

Major Watson, of course, spoke to OUTFRONT exclusively earlier this week. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. JASON WATSON, U.S. AIRMAN ARRESTED AT CAPITOL AFTER CALLING FOR TRUMP'S IMPEACHMENT: 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, 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Again, no charges have yet been filed.

Thanks so much for joining us on this Friday night.

"AC360" begins right now.