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One World with Zain Asher
Iran And Israel Hold Fire As Trump Says A Deal Is Close; Wartime Pinch In Iran: "Everything Has Become So Expensive; DRC Races To Build Ebola Treatment Centers As Virus Spreads; Two Days Until Tournament Kicks Off In U.S., Mexico, Canada; Maine Senate Race In Focus As Four States Hold Primaries; Trump Fuels Election Fraud Claims As Pratt Eliminated; Trump Says Iran Shot Down U.S. Apache Helicopter Last Night; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired June 09, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:38]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump again voices optimism about a deal with Iran. "One World" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The U.S. president saying a deal between Washington and Tehran could be just days away, even as Israel launches fresh strikes on Southern
Lebanon.
We are on the ground in Democratic Republic of Congo as well where workers are racing to stand up Ebola treatment centers and curb the spread of the
virus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honestly, I would vote for a doorknob over Susan Collins.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not a perfect guy, but I agree with his politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Will Democratic voters in Maine stand by Graham Platner despite his recent controversies? The key races to watch as U.S. voters head to the
polls for primary day.
Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching "One World."
Lebanon could hold the key to the future of the Iran war. Israel struck Southern Lebanon today, an escalation that could strain efforts to extend
the ceasefire in the wider conflict.
Still, the U.S. president is again sounding an optimistic note. He says that a powerful deal is just days away. Tuesday strikes on the historic
port city of Tyre were some of the deadliest since March, when Hezbollah in Lebanon launched rockets towards Israel in support of Tehran.
Iran has earlier warned of a severe and crushing response to any Israeli strikes on Lebanon. And it comes after Israel and Iran agreed to put a stop
to attacks on each other, amid intense U.S. pressure and after the worst escalation in violence since April.
Senior White House correspondent Kristin Holmes joins us now for more. So, Kristen, we've heard a number of times, dozens of times actually, from
President Trump, that a deal was just around the corner, not the two to three-week timeframe this time, he's saying just a few days. What more do
we know about that, Kristen?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bianna. We actually counted. And it's at least 37 times in the last two months since
that ceasefire was announced that President Trump has essentially said that a deal was imminent, and yet, of course, we are still here.
Now, there is no real understanding right now as to how close they are to an actual deal, because all we have is what President Trump is saying. We
have not heard any kind of response from the Iranians, but I do want to play for you in full what President Trump said about this potential deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They're going back and forth. And now they both agreed through me to stop. And we're in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal.
That will not allow in any way, shape, or form nuclear weapons, et cetera.
And the strait will open up right away. It will open up immediately upon signing, which could be in two or three days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And one of the things to keep in mind here, and I know you noted this, is this idea that Lebanon has now become really the center focal
point of this potential deal, end of this war in Iran, because we've seen new, fresh attacks from Israeli military in Southern Lebanon. They say
they're targeting Hezbollah sites around Lebanon, but we know that both the U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as the Iranians, have said that this
could really thwart any kind of a deal. They have warned Israel not to launch any sort of attacks there.
And the big question is whether or not Netanyahu is listening to President Trump. Of course, we talked about this yesterday, Bianna, this idea that
both of these men seem to have different objectives at this point as to what they want out of this war, in Iran, and they seem to be veering in
different directions.
President Trump has made it incredibly clear that he does not want any more U.S. military involvement in Iran. He's looking for some kind of diplomatic
off-ramp, Netanyahu, not so much.
And the question is whether or not President Trump can keep Netanyahu in line to actually come to an arrangement with Iran to make some sort of a
deal. And right now, it's just not clear.
GOLODRYGA: It is not. Kristen Holmes, thank you so much.
Let's take a closer look at this situation with Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal. He's an adjunct professor of international and public affairs at
Columbia University and also a senior research scholar there. Nadav, great to have you back on the program.
[12:05:00]
So thus far, Prime Minister Netanyahu has had limited options but to comply with President Trump's demand ask. However, you want to describe it to
refrain from additional strikes against Iran.
There are some reporting about some sort of tacit, perhaps not green light, but yellow light to continue some of the strikes in Lebanon, as we are
continuing to see transpire now.
But some of Netanyahu's own opponents, as you've got an election just months away or seizing on this, and calling this a vassal state deal. Gadi
Eisenkot is now running an ad with Trump saying, quote, he will do whatever I want, referencing Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Is this an actual loss of freedom from Israel's standpoint in terms of what they can and can't do militarily?
NADAV EYAL, ISRAELI JOURNALIST: Absolutely. It's a loss of freedom of action, something that Israel always insisted upon. And to be fair, it was
always, Bianna, an issue. And you know that very well between U.S. presidents and Israeli prime ministers.
We remember this part from either series or movies, the part in which the U.S. president tells the Israeli prime minister, you can't go and do that
too.
And we're seeing this now in the relationship between these two people, between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. I don't think we
should overplay this. They know how to work with each other.
I don't think we should rule out the possibility that Israel's attacks in Lebanon that are response to Hezbollah joining the war are being now used
by the West in order to pressure the Iranians to get to an agreement.
But it's absolutely clear that as far as Israel is concerned, having this attachment between an agreement with Iran and between what's happening in
Lebanon is not a positive outcome.
GOLODRYGA: It is a bit of a paradox. Is it not, Nadav, that historically we have seen Iran's proxies do the fighting on its behalf? And now in this
case, in this scenario, a weakened Iran, as we have been told after months of bombardment, we had the 12-day war last year, is now coming to the
defense of those proxies that in the last few years have greatly been degraded by Israel.
EYAL: Yes. The entire strategic theory of the Iranians was to build a ring of fire around Israel and use these proxies either Hezbollah into a lesser
extent, Hamas and others in order to pressure the Israelis, in order to deter them not to attack the Iranian nuclear facilities.
Well, this has completely collapsed. And now the Iranians are trying to restructure the so-called axis of resistance so that it still exists. So
they still have their influence in Lebanon.
And it's -- it's not an easy thing for them, considering that they are in a dire state. The country is devastated and is bankrupt.
On the other hand, they do have Hormuz and they have this desire in the West to see an end to the war. So they are trying to reintegrate themselves
in Lebanon through that leverage.
And whether or not they're able to do that is a lot to do with the actual details of the agreement that is going to be signed, if it's going to be
signed, between the Trump administration and between the Islamic Republic.
GOLODRYGA: I mentioned the Israeli elections in just a few months. Obviously, there's every state's focus on securing the safety of its own
citizens.
But given that this is an election year, if you do see a deal form where the United States agrees with Iran that all fighting must end in Lebanon
for the ceasefire to hold and to move forward, is that something that Prime Minister Netanyahu a seasoned politician, as so many say, never count him
out, is that something that he could sell to the Israeli public?
EYAL: I think he can sell that to the Israeli public. And to a large extent, if the Trump administration would reach an agreement like that,
it's saving Israel from itself.
What -- what are the Israeli options in Lebanon? Destroying Hezbollah or disarming Hezbollah can't be done through military means of Israel. It
can't occupy the entire state of Lebanon.
It's not me saying that it's the IDF's senior officers that are saying that. That means only the Lebanese society can actually disarm Hezbollah.
And unfortunately, the Lebanese politicians are not courageous enough or inept to do that.
So, the options for Israel are indeed an agreement in Lebanon. That -- that is the option there. It's the question of what kind of an agreement? And
will Hezbollah be allowed to rearm itself, to have these watchtowers over the Israeli border planning an invasion to the Galilee again?
And that is really the devil is there in the details themselves, Bianna. And that's -- that's a really good question.
[12:10:05]
In terms of the elections, the prime minister needs to show some sort of results somewhere. Hamas still controls half of Gaza. Hezbollah is still in
Lebanon. And Iran is playing its regional gain again. And this is why he's in somewhat political distress, but as you said, he should never be counted
out considering his success.
He's probably the person who won more elections in a democracy alive today than anyone on planet Earth.
GOLODRYGA: I want to get back to your point about perhaps a deal that would force Israel to halt its operations in Lebanon would be saving itself
because you have a Substack piece that I found very informative.
I urge our viewers to -- to go read it. And it's entitled "The Lebanon Trap." And you report that the IDF really has no answers to some of the
more nimble ways that Hezbollah has been able to regroup.
Yes, it has been militarily degraded over the course of the last few years. But specifically with its use of these fiber-optic drones.
How much of a surprise has been -- has this been for the Israeli military establishments, from your sources, what you're hearing because a number of
Israeli troops have been killed through these drones?
EYAL: Yes. I think this is very much underreported by -- by international media, not -- not by yourself, Bianna, but -- but generally speaking.
Israel is really fighting a war in Lebanon. And Hezbollah, there were days in which day -- day after day Hezbollah was killing IDF soldiers because of
these cyber optic drones. There is no good technical solution now into these cyber optic drones.
They are no surprise in terms of the invention itself, but its implication and the way that it was used and is used effectively in Lebanon is a
surprise. But it's not only that, only in the last few hours, we are reported that Hezbollah terrorists managed to infiltrate the sovereign
state of Israel in the Galilee. And he was killed by -- by the IDF while being on Israeli soil.
So this is an example for a war that -- that is going on. The IDF will develop some sort of a solution to that, but it will take time.
And the question is not a question of a tactical solution, it's what is the strategy considering, again, that the IDF cannot and will not occupy the
entire state of Lebanon, cannot disarm Hezbollah by -- by force.
And the only option there is that other forces, first and foremost, the Lebanese society will do that and they are not willing to do that. And
Hezbollah is devoted to the destruction of the state of Israel and is funded and was founded by the Islamic Republic.
This is a very difficult problem and it demands nuance and planning ahead. It's probably what the Israelis are going to do when the Trump
administration decides that this war is over. And it's the Trump administration that is going to make this cool. And there is no option to
the Israeli prime minister, but to say absolutely, and to basically thank the president for his support. This is his political option right now.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, because he has campaigned as the prime minister who has been closest to a U.S. president in Israeli history.
Nadav, when it comes to the primary reason the United States and Israel went to war with Iran and that being its nuclear program, how far back has
it been set? Do you -- what are you hearing from your sources?
Because President Trump is continuing to make that claim that any deal would have to see the removal of all that highly enriched uranium, but that
could come several phases later. And we know that Iran is doing everything in its power to delay that specific conversation and focusing right now on
the Strait.
EYAL: This is an excellent question. And the answer I'm hearing from my sources is that this nuclear program has been severely degraded. It's being
devastated. It's -- it's not over and done with. It's -- it's still there.
And as you mentioned, the highly enriched uranium is in Iran. The main issue is, will the Iranians be allowed to enrich again? They have not been
enriching uranium since June of 2025, since that 12-day war launched by the Israelis, joined by -- by President Trump and the U.S. And that war was
highly successful in just limiting the enrichment.
Will this agreement be strong enough to monitor their nuclear capabilities? And my sources are saying, first thing is first, nuclear ability with Iran
is the existential threat, not only for Israel, but also to many countries in the region and around the world.
And if we focus on that as a priority, say these Israeli security sources, let's get this done. Let's make sure that this agreement is robust enough
to prevent them from returning to that track. And let's have deterrence to make sure that they don't cheat. This is the most important thing.
[12:15:13]
Now, there are other issues. There are ballistic missiles. There are support from proxies. But if you prioritize and you have a strategy, you
begin with what is most important to you and what you can actually get done. And it's probably the nuclear issue. And -- and they again support
the Trump administration and the White House focus on that issue.
GOLODRYGA: And then there's the question of what Iran gets in return and what comes first, specifically the billions of dollars in frozen Iranian
funds that they are demanding now, as you have noted, to deal with a devastated economy.
Nadav Eyal, great to see you. Please come back soon. Really appreciate it.
EYAL: Thank you, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Well, inside Iran, the war, as we've noted, has made a difficult economic situation even worse.
Now our, Fred Pleitgen has been talking to people there about their own hardships. We have this report for you now. And as we always must note, CNN
operates in Iran, only with the permission of the government, but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As the conflict between Iran and the United States drags on, the U.S. blockade continues,
sanctions continue, of course, it makes things very difficult economically for a lot of folks here in Iran.
I just spoke to a business owner. He sells and produces shoes. And he also told me that business has been difficult for quite some time now.
FARZAD MASHMOOL, SHOE MANUFACTURER (through translator): Purchases have decreased, and so have our sales. Shoes have become more expensive and
premium materials have gone up as well, but it's not like sales have completely stopped. The war had its own effect, but it has not brought our
sales down to zero. We are still selling, and we are still trying to increase sales.
PLEITGEN: A war is always devastating for any economy. And as you can imagine, a lot of folks here in Iran have lost their jobs. Inflation is
also a big problem as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The market's really collapsed now. Previously, I could buy more easily. But now, everything has become so
expensive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Inflation's made prices increase hundred times more.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely it's difficult because after war, we have such a problem like -- and after sanctions, we have problems here. But it's
the consequence of war. We can -- we cannot do anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I personally do not have much hope. What we see on the surface is that neither side will step back from their
positions, at least for the next couple of years. And the situation has been like this for 30 or 40 years.
PLEITGEN: But one of the other things that the shop owner told me has been a real issue was the fact that the internet here was shut down for an
extended period of time, because he also has an online shop where he not only sells his shoes, but he also buys some of the material as well.
MASHMOOL (through translator): For about a month or 40 days, we were really struggling. And right now, as you witnessed yourselves, it's difficult to
move from one page to another. I hope this matter could be resolved soon so that our business can flourish again. We will welcome anything that puts an
end to the war.
PLEITGEN: And, of course, that's something a lot of folks here in Iran think about, is the U.S. and the Iranian side, try to come to some sort of
end to this armed conflict? A lot of people here are just hoping for sanctions relief and for the economy to improve.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Fred Pleitgen for that report.
Well, Reuters is reporting that a protester in Kenya has been killed as demonstrations continue there against a U.S.-funded isolation ward for
Americans exposed to Ebola.
An eyewitness and a protest leader told Reuters police fatally shot the man in the head. Kenya has never recorded a single case of Ebola. And there's
concern the American facility could expose Kenyans to the disease.
Kenya's high court has twice issued orders barring the government from taking steps to begin operations at the site.
Well, the Ebola outbreak is centered in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. And CNN's Clarissa Ward is in the hard-hit zone and
reports on the race to build Ebola treatment centers there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're here at a brand new U.S.-funded Ebola treatment center at Bunia's General Hospital, which
is just about to open. You can see people are working hard to get those first patients in.
WARD (voice-over): It's being built by American NGO, International Medical Corps, with funding from the U.S. government.
WARD: Everywhere you go, you see this. This is the new branding for the United States State Department, which has contributed more than $160
million to this Ebola crisis.
[12:20:04]
WARD (voice-over): Almost a year after dismantling USAID and slashing foreign aid across the board, the U.S. remains the single largest donor to
this outbreak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has been hectic, so we tried -- we have been working day and night just to make sure that we realize this. And it has taken us
10 days. It also involves a lot of hard work.
So normally, it takes 21 days to build. But because of the urgency, because of the high number of cases that have been admitted across, it really
requires this commitment to make sure that everything is ready in time.
WARD: So each bed has a number and has already been designated. A patient, obviously, we can't show you that for patient privacy reasons.
But what we can't say is that this tent is for men who are in stable condition, and that tent is for the women.
WARD (voice-over): The following afternoon, the first patients arrive, one after another they come. The wait is over, but the hard work has just
begun.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Thanks to Clarissa for her continued important reporting.
All right. Coming up for us, just two days until one of the biggest sporting events on the planet gets going. We look at the excitement and
already the controversies surrounding this year's World Cup.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Well, President Trump didn't exactly get a warm welcome at the Knicks game last night at Madison Square Garden. Some fans booed the
president when he appeared on the Jumbotron during the national anthem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Trump was the first sitting president to attend a game at the NBA Finals. The Knicks lost game three against the San Antonio Spurs. Some
critics say maybe the president being the person who jinxed the team there. I don't know. That may be going a little bit too far.
All right. One of the top football referees in Africa has been barred from entering the U.S. for the World Cup. FIFA confirms that Omar Abdulkadir
Artan, who is from Somalia, will not be taking part in the tournament.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says his entry was denied over vetting concerns. Artan was named Africa's top male referee last year and was
chosen by the Confederation of African Football to take part in the World Cup.
[12:25:06]
Somalia is one of 39 nations affected by the Trump administration's travel ban. Other countries like Iran have also faced hurdles over immigration.
Well, there are just two days until the World Cup gets underway. One hundred and four matches will be held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, who
begins proceeding on Thursday when they take on South Africa.
A total of 48 teams are taking part for the first time, hoping to lift the trophy currently held by Argentina.
Don Riddell is counting down to kickoff. Speaking of Argentina, Messi is playing again, yes. Ronaldo playing again, yes. So hope for -- for those of
us in our 40s or plus. But --
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: You think we just can't play at the World Cup?
GOLODRYGA: We too. Exactly. Can watch.
RIDDELL: Why not? Yes.
GOLODRYGA: What are you going to be focused on, Don? And already we're seeing some of these controversies that seem like, at the very least,
especially when it comes to visa concerns, could have been addressed and flagged much sooner.
RIDDELL: I mean, you're asking me where I'm focused. There are so many stories, both on and off the field that, honestly, it's kind of hard to
keep up with what's playing out, and as you say, the tournament hasn't even kicked off. That's still 48 hours away.
I think anybody that's been following the build-up to this tournament, and in particular, the politics in the United States, I don't think we should
be surprised that we're seeing these issues.
You know, we -- you've talked about the referee from Somalia. There are reports that Iraq's top striker was held up at immigration for seven hours.
Reports that a team photographer was denied entry as well. Other people are really struggling to get in who are associated with this tournament.
So, I -- I think we should have expected some of that. And -- and that is all absolutely playing out. It's not what FIFA would have wanted, but here
we are.
As for the positive stories, Lionel Messi's involvement in this tournament is absolutely extraordinary. This is going to be his sixth World Cup
tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo, by the way, with Portugal, also will be playing in this tournament for a record-breaking sixth time.
Messi didn't play for Argentina in a warm-up game against Honduras at the weekend, but he is expected to take the field for at least some of the game
tonight against Iceland. That is in Auburn, Alabama. That is famously a college town, college football town. And we're talking American football.
So that is going to be quite the event as well. The Argentine team, who are the defending world champions, playing in a friendly game there.
Over the last 24-48 hours, we have seen more and more teams making their way into the three host countries. So we've had the Japanese team arriving.
Curacao, who are the Minnows with the capital M at this tournament.
Belgium, Cape Verde, another minnow. Haiti, returning to the World Cup for the first time since 1974. Those are all incredible stories, Cinderella
stories.
And because this tournament is so big, it's expanded up from 32 teams to 48. And because the geographical footprint of this country is so massive,
it is really hard to predict what's going to happen.
I think we are going to see some upsets. I think those are just inevitable, but we don't yet know where there's going to happen.
Another area of controversy ahead of this tournament is the involvement in Iran. They -- they were actually one of the first teams to qualify for this
48-team tournament. But then, of course, the U.S. government went to war with their country at the end of February. That's really thrown their whole
involvement up into the air.
They were hoping to be based in Arizona. They were not allowed to enter the country to stay by the U.S. government. So now, they're having to stay in
Tijuana, Mexico. Their players arrived recently.
And you'll notice that they are wearing a pin on their jacket, which says 168. 168 is the number of children that were killed on the first day of the
war between the U.S. and Iran when that school was so controversially bombed.
So, the Iranian team are not shying away from politics. On this trip, they're going to be playing Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand when this
tournament kicks off.
So there are just, as I said at the top, so many stories. It's kind of hard to know where to look. We're excited for the games to kick off on Thursday,
but I don't think that will mean the end of all the other drama and the end of all the other controversy. I think this one's going to keep us busy as
journalists, both on and off the field for the next five weeks.
GOLODRYGA: It's going to be fascinating, Don. So don't take any vacation time. You'll get into them --
RIDDELL: Certainly not.
GOLODRYGA: -- in, you know, the end of the summer.
You talk about the political statement that the Iranian team is making by wearing those pins. And I think back to -- I think it was the women's
soccer team, am I correct, that caused a lot of international headlines when they were playing in Australia just a few months ago and there were a
number of them who were seeking political asylum there?
[12:30:16]
Don, if I can ask you, I don't know if you can take off your objective journalist hat and reveal to us who is the team that you are rooting for,
who is the team that -- that holds a place in your heart. We love the Cinderella stories.
RIDDELL: Yes. Well, so you might not know this. I wouldn't say England would be a Cinderella story. That is where I spent most of my life, but I'm
actually Scottish. I was born in Edinburgh. I lost my accent when I moved to London when I was about eight, nine years old.
So Scotland are my Cinderella story. They will be the team I'll be rooting for alongside England. They haven't been in the World Cup for 28 years.
It's been a very, very long wait. They qualified in really exciting fashion.
They've got a tough group though. They're going to be playing Brazil, who they always seem to play at the World Cup. They're also going to be playing
Morocco who are one of the top teams in Africa. In fact, they're currently the AFCON champions.
So tough road for Scotland. But maybe if they can win again, maybe if they can beat Haiti, then they hopefully can get out of the group, which they
have never done ever before in World Cup history. So that will be great.
But, you know, so many Cinderella teams, I think what Cape Verde, Curacao can do will be fascinating. Four countries are playing this World Cup for
the first time, Uzbekistan and Jordan. They'll be great stories too. So we're going to be kept very busy, but hopefully very entertained over the
rest of the summer.
GOLODRYGA: Well, add Scotland to the teams that we are going to be rooting for. I saw a video --
RIDDELL: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: -- over the weekend of some of the Scottish players walking around Lower Manhattan here in New York. So very, very exciting. Two days
away. It's going to be great.
Don Riddell, thank you.
And coming up for us, American voters are casting their ballots today in a key primary race. It could be vital for Democrats' hopes of controlling the
Senate. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:35:11]
GOLODRYGA: Two Democrats will face off to be the next mayor of Los Angeles. CNN projects that city councilwoman Nithya Raman will face current mayor
Karen Bass in November. Raman moved into second place as more votes were counted from last week's primary election. Earlier, vote tallies showed her
trailing Republican Spencer Pratt, a former reality T.V. star.
Raman's lead over Pratt has President Trump claiming, without evidence, that election fraud is happening. He wrote on Truth Social, quote, "Not
possible for Spencer Pratt to have lost the L.A. runoff after the big lead he had. Third world nation. Rigged elections."
And another raft of primary elections is happening today across the country. Polls are open in Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Maine.
The key race today is the Democratic Senate primary in Maine. The expected winner, Graham Platner, would go forward to face long serving Republican
Senator, Susan Collins.
A victory for Democrats in Maine could help them take control of the Senate, but Platner has been plagued by scandals in the run-up to the
primary, including a tattoo that's been likened to a Nazi symbol and reports that he sent sexually explicit messages to women who weren't his
wife.
CNN chief U.S. national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny joins us now from Washington. Jeff, it's interesting because we have seen from a number of
our own reporters there talking to voters in Maine who, on the one hand, say that they don't like the scandals surrounding Platner, but many of them
are still willing to support him because they say it's the issues that he is campaigning on that matter most to them.
So that's the voters. But I'm curious, politically, how have Democrats in your opinion been handling this? Many of them sort of doing the, I didn't
see the tweet or the post response we normally get from Republicans when asked to respond to something from President Trump.
How are Democrats feeling from what you're hearing?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I mean, it certainly is reminiscent of what we have seen for really the better part of
the last decade or so when Republicans are asked about every utterance that President Trump has made and, you know, there's been a raft of excuses.
It's been similar from Democrats.
Look, the bottom line is that Democrats want to win the Senate seat in Maine. And here is why Maine is so important because if Democrats want to
win the Senate majority, they need to pick up four seats and hold everything else.
And it's long been thought that Maine would be the easiest place to pick up a seat. Why is that? Because Senator Susan Collins, she's a Republican,
she's been in the Senate for five terms. She's the only Republican senator who represents a state that is effectively a blue state that went for
Kamala Harris.
So, Democrats long have eyed this as an opportunity. So that is why many of them are willing to overlook some of these controversies we've seen.
But the question here is going forward. And we do expect Graham Platner to win the primary tonight. That's not really an issue.
What I'm looking at is how much of a margin he's going to win by because Janet Mills, who's the governor who Senator Schumer tried to recruit into
the race she tried but did not to raise enough money and had to suspend her campaign, she is still on the ballot today.
So if she gets, you know, a surprisingly high number of votes, that is going to be a big sign that there's not a lot of support for a Graham
Platner.
But look, this entire race was intended to be a referendum on Susan Collins on her votes, not on the Democratic candidate here.
So Democrats, some are saying, look, we want to win back the Senate. We want someone whose policies are at odds with the Trump administration. So
that's why we will vote for Graham Platner.
But others, as we've been talking to voters, are saying, look, we don't think someone like this belongs in the U.S. Senate. So we'll see what other
shoes there are to drop.
But there is one other caveat here. Even if Platner wins the primary tonight, there's still one more month for Maine Democrats to decide if he
would decide to get out of the race, which we've seen no indication, they could choose someone else at their state party convention.
So even the primary tonight is not likely to settle this entirely. But the bottom line is Democrats sound an awful like Republicans when they simply
want to win.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. I haven't heard. I haven't read. I haven't had time to look at it. You would think they'd be able to come up with something new at this
point. We've become far too used to that answer.
ZELENY: You sure have.
GOLODRYGA: Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much.
ZELENY: You bet. Great to see you.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Time now for The Exchange. Toluse Olorunnipa is a staff writer with "The Atlantic" and joins us now live.
So, Toluse, you just heard my conversation there with Jeff. From what you're hearing from Democrats and Republicans, how are they feeling about
this race in Maine, which really has come down to the wire for Democrats, hoping to flip the state, who at one point thought that the sitting -- the
-- the sitting senator there, Susan Collins, was very much beatable.
[12:40:07]
But now there -- there is a lot of concern about more and more of the background that we're hearing to Graham Platner in his life.
TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: That's exactly right. And Jeff made some -- some good points about the importance of this race for
Democrats that are trying to win back the Senate.
If they don't win back Maine, there's not really a path for them to win back the Senate. And Maine has been an elusive target for Democrats for
many years. Susan Collins won in 2020, a year when Biden was able to defeat Donald Trump and Democrats thought that they were having a great year, but
Susan Collins beat all of the polling expectations and she won and held her seat. And that was a real black eye for Democrats who thought that they
were in a really good position to win back that blue state.
And now six years later, they find themselves in a similar situation where they are trying to win back the state. They see Susan Collins as
vulnerable, but they don't necessarily have a candidate that they are confident will win that state and -- and finally defeat Susan Collins and
the fact that all of these scandals have come out over the past several months about Graham Platner that made a lot of those Democratic jitters
return.
And so Democrats are trying to figure out what they need to do. It does seem that, at this point, they are stuck with Graham Platner. A lot of
Democrats are trying to make excuses for why they need to vote for him saying that we're not voting for someone to be a preacher. We're not voting
for someone to be a friend. We're voting for someone to represent our interests in Washington and vote against Donald Trump.
And that may be what wins out, especially given how unpopular Donald Trump is in Maine and in other parts of the country. There's this fervor to send
a message to the president. And even if that means standing with someone who is flawed or someone who they don't agree with in terms of their
personal characteristics, Democrats are going to hold their nose and vote for that person.
And so Graham Platner is going to come out of this primary, likely winning the primary or going to have to wait and see how much he's able to carry
that momentum into the general election and whether or not he's able to defeat Susan Collins, someone Democrats have been trying to defeat for many
years now.
GOLODRYGA: And we'll see if he does in fact win this primary today, how many Democrats will be out there campaigning for him and with him ahead of
the midterms.
How surprised are you that President Trump is doubling down on fraud claims without presenting any evidence whatsoever in the race for mayor in Los
Angeles?
You have the Democrat or the Republican candidate who is going into most likely a runoff with the Democrat, the Democratic candidate for governor on
our air last night with Erin Burnett saying that his campaign has seen no signs of voter fraud. And yet, it's something the president continues to
make claims about.
This is a very blue state, a very blue city. So if anything, it would be more of a surprise if Spencer Pratt actually was the one who came out to be
the opponent to Mayor Bass right now. No?
OLORUNNIPA: Yes. I'm not surprised at all that Donald Trump is doubling down on these election fraud conspiracy theories. It's something that has
animated his political career for the last 10 years.
He supercharged that in 2020 by spewing a number of false claims about that election and that culminated in January 6. And a lot of his supporters who
believe those lies storming the Capitol on.
He's continued to talk about the 2020 election as being stolen and rigged. And ever since then, he's continued to showcase this lack of confidence in
America's electoral system.
It remains a point that Spencer Pratt did better among the Los Angeles city voters than Donald Trump did. And so the idea that he had the vote stolen
from him is a farce, but President Trump does not need evidence in order to put forward these broad claims of election malfeasance.
It's something that animates his -- his voters. It's something that allows him to have deniability if he loses an election or if his party doesn't do
well. He can just say that there was fraud on the other side. And so I'm not surprised that he's continued to do this.
But one risk of doing that is that you could depress your own voters. You can make people say, you know, they're not going to count the votes in any
way. Why should I turn out to vote? And I think it was part of the reason you see Steve Hilton and some other Republicans pushing back against this
idea that the vote is rigged and there's no reason to even go out and vote in the first place.
They want to make sure that their voters have confidence enough to go out and vote. And so the president is not on the ballot in November. And he's
saying things that could make it harder for his allies who are on the ballot to get their voters out and have confidence that they should, in
fact, vote and believe that their vote will be counted.
[12:45:00]
And so the president is not necessarily doing any favors to his Republican candidates by spewing this election nonsense. He's doing things that are
going to make it harder for them to get their voters out to the polls.
GOLODRYGA: So, how come we're not hearing that response, specifically that -- that President Trump could be harming his own base and turnout for
Republicans in the midterms, from people like Speaker Mike Johnson, who while not specifically saying or claiming voter fraud, is suggesting that -
- that something doesn't look right, something stinks here in this process?
OLORUNNIPA: Well, the first job of a number of these Republican lawmakers is to keep their job. And they know that speaking out against the president
would be an easy way for them to lose their job.
Someone like Mike Johnson is elected by other Republicans in the House. And those Republicans don't really have to worry too much about election fraud
or -- or for the most part, even losing an election in the general. They have to worry about a primary.
And so in order to do well in -- in primaries, they have to be in lockstep with Donald Trump. And so a number of those Republicans have continued to
embrace these election fraud conspiracy theories. They've echoed them. They've talked about them, even when they know that there's no evidence to
support them, because they don't want to get on the wrong side of Donald Trump, who could then endorse a challenger and cause them to lose their
job.
And so they don't have to worry too much about maybe their voters not showing up in the general election, because these districts have been
skewed so much that there are not very many competitive races if they're able to make it through their primaries, even if a small number of voters
turn out, they're likely to win in the general election, because the districts are so skewed that it would be hard for Democrats to win.
So you're not hearing much pushback from Republicans in power, in part, because they want to make sure they're -- they're on Donald Trump's side so
they can get his coveted endorsement and win their primaries and keep their jobs and not find themselves on the wrong side of a Trump Truth Social post
calling them disloyal or saying that they are turncoats on the Republican Party.
We've seen what has happened to Republicans who have gone crosswise with Donald Trump, people like Thomas Massie, Bill Cassidy, they have found
themselves losing their primaries. John Cornyn, they have found themselves losing their primaries and finding themselves on the outs of the party and
on the outs of power.
And so for the most part, we're not hearing those Republican candidates talk about the importance of having confidence in elections, because they
know that that would immediately get the attention of the president who would potentially post against them and -- and they would find themselves
potentially on the -- on the outskirts of Congress instead of in power where they are now.
GOLODRYGA: All right. We're going to leave it there. Toluse Olorunnipa, always great to have you on. Thank you.
And we'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:25]
GOLODRYGA: The U.S. has added major Chinese companies including Alibaba to a Pentagon list of firms it says are linked to Beijing's military. The
designation does not impose immediate sanctions but it could restrict future U.S. government business and deepen scrutiny of Chinese tech and
manufacturing giants amid geopolitical tensions.
Well, driverless cars will soon hit the streets of London for public rides, marking a first for the British capital. Wayve says the rollout of robo
taxis will expand to more than 10 cities later this year. The company will initially use supervised rides before transitioning to fully driverless
operations.
Bitcoin has fallen sharply from its record highs last year, now trading just above $60,000 after a steep wave of selling a race much of it its
recent momentum. The drop has wiped out more than $1.2 trillion in market value in eight months. It reflects a broader shift in sentiment as
investors chase the A.I. boom, pulling attention and money away from crypto.
And we'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: All right. Breaking news just into CNN. President Trump has just posted on social media saying the Iranians shot down that Apache helicopter
last night. And he says the U.S. must now respond.
Joining us from the White House with more is CNN's Alayna Treene.
So, Alayna, do we know what type of a response? When this response could happen? And what does that mean for a deal that he says was just days away?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We have not gotten any other details from what the president meant, Bianna, by the statement that
he put out saying essentially that the U.S., out of necessity, must respond to this attack.
No word on whether that means potentially over retaliatory strike or if he's going to send some type of message.
I do think one of the things to know that is so interesting about this statement is that he is actually previewing that there will be a response.
I think that just signals how he's trying to handle and almost contain any, you know, all of the back and forth and any sort of controversy we've seen,
any conflict we've seen throughout the ceasefire in particularly at this moment after we saw the ceasefire incredibly threatened by these attacks
between Israel and Iran over the last few days.
[12:55:13]
One of the things I think is also very important to note about the wording that the president used here in this statement is that he is confirming
that it was the Iranians who were responsible for shooting down this Apache helicopter.
I'd remind you that the statement that was shared from CENTCOM this morning, of course, noted that the two army crew members who were rescued
were OK, that they weren't injured.
But then they said that the cause of the incident is under investigation. So this is the first we're hearing from the president it's coming from that
it was the Iranians who were responsible for downing this helicopter.
Look, I think what's also important to note here is that the president was asked about this hours ago really early this morning, late last night for
him as he was coming back from New York. And he didn't have anything to say specifically in criticism toward the Iranians then when answering questions
about this, just going so far as to say that the two crew members were not injured and that they were OK.
But clearly now believing this needs to have a strong response from the United States. So look, we're going to have to go and do some reporting to
figure out what this will mean.
But I think it's clear that the fact that he is trying to put this message out and previewing that there will be a response does show that perhaps he
does not want this to completely derail these negotiations.
Negotiations which he said this morning were close to providing a deal. So we'll have to wait and see exactly what he means here and get some answers
from the White House. Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Because an attack like this that risks the lives of our crew members, President Trump himself has said that that would be his red
line, if God forbid, there were deaths for U.S. military servicemen. Thankfully, they were found and rescued, but an escalation here
nonetheless.
All right. Thank you so much.
That does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks so much for watching. I'll be right back with "Amanpour" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
