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Five Iranian Women's Soccer Players Safe With Police After Fleeing Team In Australia; Vance Walks Tightrope As War Expands With No Clear Endgame; Oz Pearlman To Bring Mentalism To Washington. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired March 09, 2026 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: -- the national anthem that -- on Iranian state T.V. Soon after that they were branded as traitors. They were called the pinnacle of dishonor. And since that point pressure had been growing on the Australian government to step in to prevent these women from being taken home. And there were also questions too as to whether the women themselves would look to defect.

Well, we had reporting this morning from sources close to the team that five of the players have actually left the team and left the team hotel and are now with the Australian police and say they do not want to return to Iran that they are seeking asylum. You know, Dana, this whole tournament has been so fraught for these players because we know that they have been placed under pressure. They have been monitored by members of the IRGC.

In fact it said that one of the traveling members with this team a man is affiliated to the IRGC. And we had heard that they'd had their phones tapped coming into this tournament. And now many of them are facing an impossible decision, the decision to go home and to face punishment and possible death because that is the charge for treason or to stay and risk their families to facing the same fate.

And we did hear that three of the five players who are currently with the Australian police have said to a source close to them that their families have been threatened already back in Iran. So you can understand just how dire this humanitarian situation is and interesting to see that President Trump has been speaking to the Prime Minister Albanese about this saying these women are being taken care of. And we very much hope of course that that is the case.

But what is unknown is what remains to be the fate of the rest of the team and whether they too will be flown back to Iran. On that we're not sure yet.

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Yes. What an impossible, impossible situation. It is notable, as you said, that President Trump has been posting about it all morning and has obviously taken a very keen interest in this really Hobson's choice for these women. Thank you so much for bringing us the latest.

And Vice President J.D. Vance is the clear frontrunner for his party's nomination in 2028. An open question is, how the Iran war will factor into those presidential aspirations, we'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:36:47]

BASH: This morning, Vice President J.D. Vance took a moment to reflect on the arrival home of six American troops killed in the war in Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was honored to be able to participate in the dignified transfer of six American soldiers who were killed overseas in this conflict with Iran. And I'd never done that before. And a lot of you served our nation in uniform.

I know a number of our firefighters have all across our country. And I just want to say that if you are the praying type, and I certainly am, I hope you'll spare a prayer for the six souls that we lost, for the seventh soul who will be coming home tonight and for all of their families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So that was notable for two reasons. Number one, most importantly, the Vice President talked about those who were killed and gave the ultimate sacrifice. And that is important. And it is something that when reporters last week were talking about it, the White House was not happy about.

And then also you heard the Vice President call this a conflict, not a war, as the President calls it. Our smart reporters are back here. And Ayesha, on the whole question of a war or not a war, you know, my reporting from last week was the House Republicans in particular, who tend to be more conservative and listen to conservative media more and are worried about going to the ballot box and voting at this coming November, are very keen on not calling it a war, regardless of what it's called or not called, what is your take on the Vice President in all of this?

AYESHA RASCOE, HOST, NPR "WEEKEND EDITION SUNDAY" AND "UP FIRST": Well, I mean, the Vice President in that moment that we just saw was, you know, really being the consoler-in-chief, which is generally what the President does, you know, it's coming together and honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

I do think on the political side, just going to that, you know, J.D. Vance is in a very difficult situation because he can try to, you know, call it a conflict or not fully embrace it or embrace it, but maybe from the back or from the way back. But at the end of the day, he will own it, right? Like, you know, we saw this with Vice President Kamala Harris.

At the end of the day, you are a part of the administration. And even though you are -- and you're not the president, so you don't make the final decisions, but you do have to carry the burden of whatever decision that he makes. BASH: Yes.

RASCOE: And so if you know, if you break it, you buy it. And this will be on J.D. Vance.

BASH: Yes. And Peter, our colleague here at CNN, Adam Cancryn, has a story that is along those lines. This morning, Vance and Rubio and others in Trump's inner circle preached caution on Iran. Now they're on board. And to quote here, "Vance's support for the war has alarmed the anti-interventionist wing of the GOP that he spent years cultivating, effectively gambling his 2028 fortunes on being able to pull off a fast win in the Middle East with few American deaths and not -- no lasting consequence." Peter?

[12:40:12]

PETER HAMBY, HOST, SNAPCHAT'S "GOOD LUCK AMERICA": Yes, look, I see three problems for J.D. Vance as he builds toward a presidential campaign as a sitting vice president. One, you mentioned the anti- interventionist wing of the MAGA movement. J.D. Vance is sort of pulled between the kind of tech globalist crowd and the Steve Bannon side of the party, who is pretty wary of him already at this point.

Two, Vance is a uniquely chameleonic figure who is willing to say anything to please Mr. Trump. That's just been true. It's true in this case behind closed doors. Joe Biden opposed the bin Laden raid under Obama. That was known. But at the same time, like this was a team of rivals for Obama and people debate things behind closed doors. That's true. And it should be true in Republican politics, too.

You can have a reasonable debate and then get on board with the administration. But Vance has this preexisting reputation of changing and saying whatever Trump wants. And then the third problem, unlike Kamala Harris, I think in the first two years as vice president, he is ever present. He's doing interviews. He's doing press. He's all over the place and putting himself on the record on a bajillion different things to Ayesha's point. When he runs for president, he'll have to answer for those.

Kamala Harris did become the nominee and, you know, was successful campaign, but also famously in an interview with "The View." She couldn't break with Joe Biden, and that's just going to be a problem for him. And there's going to be tons of clips of him saying, talking about the war, talking about the economy, etcetera, etcetera. In a moment where we don't know yet in 2027 and '28 where those issues and stands might prove to be unpopular.

BASH: Yes, yes, that's true. Although I will say part of the story with J. D. Vance now until this morning, maybe even including this morning, is that he has been everywhere all the time on a lot of things on this issue. He hasn't been as far out there, and perhaps that is because of the kinds of things that he said on the campaign trail in 2024 about the notion of war. Marc Caputo, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VANCE: We're reminding people that Donald Trump delivered peace and prosperity and Kamala Harris has delivered war all over the world and unaffordable groceries and housing here at home. We're going to stop sending our young people to far-away lands. We're not the policemen of the world.

One of the most important selling points for President Trump's agenda is when you project American strength. And when you engage in smart diplomacy, you can keep the world from blowing up.

If you're worried about the world spinning out of control, if you're worried about a military draft, if you're worried about God forbid a world war, the best way to prevent it is to vote for Donald Trump.

Our interest I think very much is in not going to war with Iran, right? It would be huge distraction of resources. It would be massively expensive to our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Marc?

MARC CAPUTO, SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: Well, you can sort of see why you did the Homer Simpson and the Bush's routine of just sort of fading back after the bomb started dropping because these are difficult things to explain.

What they do explain what Vance's team with the White House says is Vance is on board with this because Iran posed a unique threat that had to be dealt with instantly. Whether people are going to buy that or not is going to be up to the Vice President. But overall, he only has the problem of sort of inheriting whatever policy and whatever presidency is left to him by Donald Trump.

He's also sort of a man without portfolio and we wrote about this at Axios a little while ago, which is Donald Trump likes to poll people about, hey, what do you think about 2028? Who do you think the candidate should be? And he asks Marco Rubio or J.D. Vance. He doesn't want them to run against each other. He wants them to run with each other, but he's getting a lot of more positive feedback, Trump is, about Rubio at the top of the ticket than Vance.

A lot of that is just sort of recency bias and the fact that Marco Rubio has a portfolio, Secretary of State. It puts him in the front and center of global affairs and National Security Advisor. It puts him directly in the White House. The Vice President doesn't quite have that. So as Peter had said and Ayesha said, he's sort of going all around and doing all of these interviews and then he has to live up to what he had said in the past and it's just a very difficult balancing act.

BASH: Thank you to all of you. Appreciate your time today, but don't go anywhere because up next, world renowned mentalist Oz Pearlman is going to read my mind and you're going to have to see it to believe it. Believe me, I was stunned and I'm sure you will be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:44:41]

BASH: Oh my God. Are you kidding me right now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Now to a man who drops jaws and blows minds. He's known for leaving everyone from Fortune 500 CEOs to professional athletes speechless. Mentalist Oz Pearlman is going to take on a big challenge next month, headlining the White House Correspondents Dinner. I spoke with him to get a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: It's nice to see you here.

OZ PEARLMAN, MENTALIST: You too, Dana. Great to see you.

BASH: I mean, that's quite a gig that you have.

PEARLMAN: Honestly, so it's -- they haven't done anything like this in, if you can believe, it's 70 plus years. I found out there's a magician in 1955.

BASH: OK, but there's a magician and then there's you.

PEARLMAN: I'm the one and only.

BASH: Yes.

PEARLMAN: So this is the first time they've had a mentalist. By the time I leave there, I'm going to try to make everyone feel mental, but it's going to be quite a night.

BASH: It was not clear if President Trump was going to --

PEARLMAN: I knew. I knew for the record.

BASH: Did you make it happen with your mind?

PEARLMAN: I will tell you that I think I've made it happen through many ways. I manifested so many things in the last year, but that was with my mind, but also just behind the scenes as well. Just seeing if I could somehow put something in the President's ear to let him know that this will be an amazing night not to be missed.

[12:50:12]

BASH: So are you going to -- is he going to be part of the act?

PEARLMAN: I sure hope so. How could you go there?

BASH: And his game? PEARLMAN: Well, that that's to be determined. I have walked into many a room where I've been told this person does not want to be involved, and that's what I do for a living. The same way a good broadcaster or journalist makes somebody feel at ease, builds rapport, makes you feel comfortable to answer questions they haven't answered before, the same thing applies to me.

BASH: OK, so let's show people what we're talking about here. People who aren't familiar with their work, with your work, which they should be, they're going to be now.

PEARLMAN: Well, so if you think about what is a mentalist? A mentalist is kind of like a magician, but of the mind. I have no props. When I showed up here, your producer said, well, where's the stuff? There is no stuff. I'm the show, and I think we have an overlap in what we do, which is our minds have to work quickly. Would you agree? When you're in the White House asking a question, you may have to pivot at a moment's notice. Spontaneity is important.

Here's what I want to do. I want you to imagine right here in this moment that you are in an airport.

BASH: OK.

PEARLMAN: What's the airport? Make one up right now.

BASH: LaGuardia.

PEARLMAN: You're at LaGuardia. You get in. You walk into a plane. You go, and right, I want them to know you're making this up at this moment.

BASH: OK.

PEARLMAN: Dana, you sit down in a chair. What chair are you? What -- tell me what row, what number?

BASH: I mean, can I fly in first class?

PEARLMAN: Let's go. Come on. If we're dreaming, we dream big, Dana.

BASH: We're dreaming big. I don't know. 2F.

PEARLMAN: 2F. I don't think. Is F even in there? I think that. OK, so now we know it's international, folks, because now there's a bigger row. You're giving everything away. You sit down in 2F. You did not know you were going to say that before that moment, did you?

BASH: No, I didn't.

PEARLMAN: They need to know, because when I'm watching --

BASH: Yes.

PEARLMAN: -- I think this stuff's set up. So you sit in 2F. You sit down. You put your bag up. You look behind you. Oh, craziest thing happens. Right behind you is somebody you have literally not seen. Honest to God, you have not thought of before today in years. Somebody from high school or middle school or I don't know what. Close your eyes.

BASH: OK.

PEARLMAN: Visualize this person's face.

BASH: OK.

PEARLMAN: Do you know what they would look like now, or are you just assuming?

BASH: I'm assuming.

PEARLMAN: When, open your eyes. See their face.

BASH: Another trick question.

PEARLMAN: Right? I think, OK, OK, and now you sit down, and now here's where it gets good.

BASH: Yes.

PEARLMAN: CNN has a global footprint. Imagine I'm holding a globe, and you give it a spin. Give it a spin, and I'm going to just point, without even looking, with my eyes closed, and I'm going to stop it somewhere random. Now, if I just hit somewhere random right now.

BASH: OK.

PEARLMAN: There is no way in the world that you or I could know where I stopped the globe. Are we in agreement if I just hit anywhere?

BASH: Yes.

PEARLMAN: So give it one spin.

BASH: OK. You know that there's not a globe here, right?

PEARLMAN: I know. I'm pretending. This is a mentalist. Keyword is mental. And Dana, I just stopped, bam, somewhere random.

BASH: OK.

PEARLMAN: There is no way either of us could know where I stopped. It's impossible. And I'm going to turn this around in a moment, so you can see where it is, and right here, the craziest part, is when I look at this, and I turn it around, your eyes light up, because it's not random. We thought it was, but somehow I'm pointing at the one spot in the world that I call it, you would love to go. In fact, I said to you, where would you love to go, and you're like, where would I love to go, and I hit that spot, and when I turn around, you see that city or country right now. I spin it around, and you look at this specific place. Can you see it? I said city or country, and I watched your reaction, and you definitely skewed towards country. You wanted to explore more than one place here. Iceland.

BASH: Oh my god. Are you kidding me right now? How did you do that?

PEARLMAN: Hold on. The details. It's all the details. You got in the plane. You made all this up as we went on. You sat in 2F. You sat in 2F. Hold on. Hold on. You looked at this person. You go, what are you doing here? What did that have to do with the story? That started building the blocks. The person you thought of, Dana, the N. Is there an N in their name?

BASH: Yes.

PEARLMAN: I just don't know. I didn't even bring something to write with.

BASH: Here.

PEARLMAN: No, no. Don't worry about it. I'm going right here. I'm going right here. You've not thought of this person in years.

BASH: Years. Years and years.

PEARLMAN: I didn't even have something to write. I didn't know what I was going to do. What is their first name?

BASH: Haager.

PEARLMAN: Haager?

BASH: Uh-huh.

PEARLMAN: Haager is what I just wrote down.

BASH: Oh my god. What?

PEARLMAN: Can we see this? Can we get in closer? I want to make sure you can read that.

BASH: That's right there. That's crazy.

PEARLMAN: Two A's, is that right?

BASH: I think so. I don't remember how to spell it, but it's close enough. OK, how did you do that?

PEARLMAN: That is the question.

BASH: It's also the most random name. Do you know anybody named Haager?

PEARLMAN: I do now.

BASH: I want you to know that he was my first boyfriend in fourth grade.

PEARLMAN: You don't have to tell me. I knew. I knew. It broke your heart, Haager. Where were you now? Where were you when you missed out?

BASH: Stop it.

PEARLMAN: That is the question everybody will be asking April 25th at the White House Correspondents' Dinner and wait, wait, wait until we see what I can hopefully get out of the President's head.

[12:55:01]

BASH: I mean, that is going to be something to watch. I'm just floored. I've seen you do this and I was -- I have to tell you, I was skeptical because that's also my job.

PEARLMAN: That's your job.

BASH: I literally don't know how you just did that.

PEARLMAN: I hope not.

BASH: Amazing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Up next, while you as a tourist may not be able to see the plaque honoring police who defended the Capitol on January 6th, it was just installed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Call it an honor with a large asterisks. Three years after a congressionally mandated deadline to honor police who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6th with the plaque inside the Capitol. Republicans who control Congress finally acquiesced.

[13:00:03]

The plaque was installed without notice in the wee hours of Saturday morning. "On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on January 6, 2021. Their heroism will never be forgotten."

Never forgotten and maybe never seen by most people because it hangs in an area of the People's Chamber, where the general public isn't usually allowed. Just a reminder, it took 1,088 days for this plaque to be installed due to GOP obstruction.

On his first day in office last year, President Trump issued pardons to more than 1,500 charged or convicted in connection with the insurrection, including those who attacked police. More than 140 police officers were assaulted that day. Five died afterwards.

Thanks for joining Inside Politics. CNN New Central starts right now.