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The Situation Room

NBA Playoffs Heat Up; Thomas Massie Loss Angers MAHA Movement; Interview With Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL). Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired May 21, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now: The Department of Homeland Security is now requiring any flights coming into the U.S. carrying passengers from Ebola-affected regions to land at Dulles Airport right outside of D.C. Ten staffers from the CDC are being sent there to help screen people. The agency still says this outbreak poses a low risk to the general public.

And SpaceX is finally revealing its plans to go public. Elon Musk's company filed a lengthy report detailing its board members, its sales, profits, expenses, and how it does business, all previously undisclosed information. SpaceX's IPO is reportedly expected sometime in June and is predicted to be the largest ever.

And look at this video. One of the wildfires in California is now scorching a national park that's home to rare plants and animals. Some of the wildfire there exists nowhere else in the world -- the wild animals. The inferno has scorched more than a third of the island, more than 17,000 acres. Just incredible video coming in. That fire is now 44 percent contained.

And we're also getting brand new video into THE SITUATION ROOM of the efforts to contain another fire in California. This is in Ventura County. More than 17,000 people there are under evacuation orders. So, this fire right here is being fueled by high winds, as firefighters battle the spreading blaze.

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And, right now, it is only about 20 contained.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Horrible situation, indeed.

We're also tracking the fallout right now to CNN's exclusive reporting. We have obtained the Democratic National Committee's so- called autopsy report examining Kamala Harris' 2024 election loss to Donald Trump after President Biden ended his campaign.

The document finds the party has steadily lost ground since President Obama's successes and blames the former Biden campaign and the White House for failing to set Harris up for success. The DNC report also uncovered a broader inability to define Donald Trump and criticizes the Harris campaign for taking too much for granted.

It urges Democrats to shift away from identity politics and move toward a middle-class appeal.

Joining us now here in THE SITUATION ROOM is Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz of Florida.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

Simply stated, this document that we just obtained, CNN just obtained, it cast Republicans as just better at politics right now. What's your view of these findings?

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): Well, I haven't seen it since it just came out.

But, obviously, like, an autopsy is a medical procedure you do over a corpse. And now it sounds like we need a malpractice attorney, because we couldn't even do the autopsy correctly. So, look, we know how we got here, right?

Obviously, it was the Joe Biden issue at the debate. It was the switchover to Kamala without a process. And, at the end of the day, Democrats weren't talking enough about affordability and the economy. And that's what we need to be doing.

And we have been doing that ever since the election. And so, look, we lost the last election. It wasn't close, OK, but the fact that we can't even tell people why, we're too afraid to tell them the truth, they know the truth. They saw the debate. They saw what happened, right?

And they saw that we got killed in the election. We lost every swing state. So they can write whatever document they want, but Democrats know why we lost.

BLITZER: The report, as you know, is silent on several notable aspects of the 2024 presidential campaign. For example, it does not include any judgment at all about President Biden's decision to run for reelection in the first place or the Kamala Harris' campaign now- infamous decision not to do an interview with podcast host Joe Rogan.

Has your party, the Democratic Party, sufficiently reckoned with its past missteps to succeed in future elections?

MOSKOWITZ: I think we have. I think we have reckoned with that. Whether the DNC has reckoned with that is a different question. Obviously, the fact that they wanted to really -- worked on a document that doesn't tackle maybe the two or three largest problems in the last election kind of tells you that, like, some of the folks there were in denial of what happened.

The American people know that's why the election wasn't close. We had never seen anything like this in our history. Look, Joe Biden served for 50 years in Washington, right? He has an amazing legacy, and he will go down as someone who gave his entire life, right, to the political process and public office.

But American -- the American people saw that debate, and then they saw how we transitioned and got out of it. We were in a box at that point. And that's not what the American people wanted. And that's why we got shellacked in the last election. I mean, we lost every single solitary swing state. And so...

BLITZER: It wasn't even close.

MOSKOWITZ: It wasn't even close.

Now, listen, now we got a whole 'nother problem as a result of that, right? We got 18 months of the Trump administration, right, gas prices in the mid-$5. Affordability is even worse. Inflation is even worse. Food prices are even worse.

So those very issues that were going on in the last campaign, when we were talking about Bidenomics and all of that and we were trying to tell people how to feel, Donald Trump has adopted that strategy. He's telling people how to feel in really bad economic times. And that's also not going to work for him.

And so Democrats now need to be going out and telling that story, which is, he told you it was going to be better and it's worse.

BLITZER: I want to turn to another very sensitive political story I know you're following very closely.

The Texas Democratic congressional candidate Maureen Galindo recently posted on her campaign Instagram account that, if elected, she would turn an ICE detention center into -- and I'm quoting her now -- "a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking" -- end quote.

Are members of your party, the Democratic Party, doing enough to try to disavow these kinds of views?

MOSKOWITZ: You know, well, first, obviously, Wolf, the idea that we have a candidate on the ballot, a Democrat on the ballot talking about internment camp for Jews in America, I mean, it just -- I can't believe we got here.

I mean, we got here so quickly. I mean, obviously, the language towards Jews in this country ever since October 7, ever since the propaganda online, and the Democrat Party allowing some of this in order to try to figure out how to win elections, but I didn't think we would get here this fast.

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I mean, you're talking to someone whose grandmother was part of the Kindertransport out of Germany where they put kids on trains to get them out, so they wouldn't wind up in concentration camps. I mean, she's not alive. I can't believe that -- what she would think if she saw in America...

BLITZER: She wouldn't believe it.

MOSKOWITZ: She wouldn't believe it.

BLITZER: Yes.

MOSKOWITZ: She probably want to leave, quite frankly.

BLITZER: Yes.

MOSKOWITZ: Because that's what they had to do, you know, when she was a child.

And so, look, the Democratic Party, a lot of Democrats have come out and said, this is ridiculous. Even some of the most extreme folks on the left have come out and said, this is ridiculous. So, the good news is, we found a floor, right? The floor is, we're willing to go after Jews with our language, but we're going to -- we're going to stop it at concentration camps.

The problem is, this has metastasized in the Democratic Party now, because we didn't do enough. And the Republican Party is watching what happened, and they're trying. They got problems on their own, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly, all the other grifters that are trying to make money off this.

I mean, we're 2 percent of the population, but, apparently, we're -- we're all -- we're the problem, right? We're always -- we're always the problem.

BLITZER: And I know you have forcefully and understandably spoken out against antisemitism, recently releasing some of the threats you face as a Jewish lawmaker. And I want to play a bit of that.

And a warning to our viewers, what you're about to hear is disturbing, deeply disturbing.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. government needs to kill Jews. You kill these (EXPLETIVE DELETED) nasty Jews. Kill every single (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Zionist scumbag. Zionism is treason to we, the people, and our U.S. Constitution. Kill Israel.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLITZER: And you have been getting, and your colleague and friend Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, you have been getting a lot of death threats in the process of what's going on.

This is the first time you have been doing that, right?

MOSKOWITZ: No, this has been going on really since October 7.

I mean, I have been getting death threats. I had a constituent that had an assassination plot that tried to kill me. He's doing 25 years in prison. But every day on X, I could post a picture of a puppy, and it's "Genocide Jared," "Kill all the Jews, "You belong in a concentration camp," all day.

Now, those voice-mails say the same thing. Calls to my office say the same thing. People in the hallway in Congress...

BLITZER: So you have had to increase your security?

MOSKOWITZ: Oh, yes, yes, yes. I have had -- I mean, I literally have security at my house. I have security where I go.

My kids have heard about all of this.

BLITZER: Other Jewish members as well, your friends?

MOSKOWITZ: Other Jewish members as well, both sides of the aisle. It's a real problem.

And it's increasing dramatically in this country. But that's why, like, a lot of people don't want to talk. They don't want to speak up because they're scared. They don't want to deal with the bullying. I -- me and many of my colleagues feel like we have to come. We have to come forcefully.

That's why Josh and I put out that statement that if Galindo winds up winning the election, we will immediately file a motion to expel her as soon as she is sworn in. And we will file that motion every single day until she's expelled.

Putting people in internment camps is not something that you misspoke on. Like, that's not going to happen. We're not going to let that happen in the halls of Congress.

BLITZER: It's hard to believe this is going on in our country right now.

All right, Congressman Jared Moskowitz, good luck. Stay safe. Thanks very much for joining us.

MOSKOWITZ: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Pamela.

BROWN: Coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM: MAHA anger. Why Congressman Thomas Massie's primary loss is prompting outrage from Make America Healthy Again moms. We will discuss after this break.

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BROWN: Happening now: Members of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again movement are speaking out against the ousting of Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie in his high-stakes Kentucky Republican primary. Massie repeatedly broke with President Trump on several issues, like

military action in Iran, the Epstein files, and the president's so- called One Big Beautiful Bill. He ultimately lost this week to Trump- endorsed challenger Ed Gallrein in what became one of the most expensive primaries in history.

Joining us now to discuss is self-declared MAHA mom Zen Honeycutt. She is the founder and executive director of Moms Across America, a group that advocates for healthier communities.

Zen, nice to have you back on the show.

Explain to our viewers why you and so many other members of the MAHA movement are upset about Massie's defeat.

ZEN HONEYCUTT, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MOMS ACROSS AMERICA: Oh, thank you for having me, Pamela.

I'm here actually speaking on behalf of the Moms Across America Movement, the 501(c)(4). And we champion policy and public servants who put children, health, safety and America's future first. And that's exactly what Representative Massie was doing.

The irony is that he was running, he was championing the very issues that Trump ran on when he got elected, which is putting small farmers first, supporting health and getting pesticides out of our food.

And, also, he put forth all kinds of issues for health and safety that Trump said that he was going to do. So we're upset because Trump promised that he would address these issues. Massie was trying to do that with like the No Accountability for Glyphosate Act and supporting raw milk access, supporting local farmers.

And Trump shut him down, despite the fact that Massie was being a champion for the American people.

BROWN: A lot in the MAHA movement, a lot of moms, got behind Trump and voted for him.

And I'm wondering where you are now with that. Do you think the MAHA movement has lost its way? And I -- when you clarified earlier in this interview you're part of the Moms Across America Movement. You made a point to say that. I'm wondering why that is.

HONEYCUTT: Oh, well, that is because we felt it necessary to expand our network to a legislative arm, right, where we can talk and speak about policy and public servants and where we can support candidates.

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So it's very important now, because moms actually have a lot of political power. We are one of the biggest swing voting blocs. And the MAHA movement brought in about nine million votes underneath Kennedy.

So, what I'm seeing now for the midterm elections is that this group of people, who are extremely disgruntled -- I'm seeing Republicans saying that they feel marooned, that they don't have a place they're seeing where to put their vote.

And so I'm seeing a rise of the potential for a third party. And, as a mom, I'm very excited, because we are not beholden to a political party. We vote for those who put health and safety first. The last election showed that. And, unfortunately, this election with Massie, it got shut down by three billionaires and foreign money that came from other countries.

And that is not America. That's not how we need to be working. That's not what we want to see going forward. But, in fact, what's happening right now is Massie is freed up. The next seven months, he has nothing left to lose, right? He is going to let it rip on the Hill, and he will.

And I think Trump's going to regret that. And it frees him up to be able to run for president, which his supporters are screaming for. So we're actually excited about what the future beholds. We are not going to stop. MAHA is not crushed. We're not going away. We are going to continue to fight for the health and safety of our children.

BROWN: And just to follow up, you mentioned the midterms. I know you all want a third party, but the reality is that that's not really a huge factor in this upcoming midterms. It's Republican or Democrats.

You feel, like, betrayed, in a sense, it sounds like, by President Trump and some of the promises that he had made. So do you think that moms that are part of the MAHA movement are going to be voting more Democrat in the upcoming midterms?

HONEYCUTT: There's a possibility of that.

But it's only going to be if the Democrats -- really, they have to lay off of Kennedy. It's -- continuing to attack Kennedy is not going to work for the Democrats that voted for Trump this last time. And the Republicans still have an opportunity to take action around pesticides in the food supply. There's still time for that to happen.

So what I'm seeing is a lot of voters who are very unclear about how they're going to vote, and there is an opportunity for the elected officials who take a stand in the next couple of months and put out bills that are actually going to address the pesticides in our food, health freedom, and the issues that we care about, the data centers overrunning our communities, geoengineering, cell towers everywhere, pesticides in our food, plastics in everything that we're eating.

These issues need to be addressed, and they need to be addressed now. And we don't care what political party it is. Just get it done.

BROWN: So you clearly have frustration, but the last time we talked, then, you had talked about the controversial weed killer glyphosate and that executive order on that.

But it sounds like you're still standing behind RFK Jr., despite being unhappy with some of these moves.

HONEYCUTT: Well, RFK Jr. is not the head of the EPA, so he could not have any influence around glyphosate being, for instance, restricted or banned or made into an executive order.

So we -- what we see is that Kennedy is really taking a stand and putting out some of the best policies that we have ever seen in our country. This administration actually has done more for health through Kennedy and the HHS than any other administration has ever done.

However, they have not kept their word on pesticides. And that is under the EPA. That's under Lee Zeldin, who has completely not done a single thing to reduce our children's pesticide exposure. And that needs to be reversed. The EPA needs to step it up, and our elected officials need to take action to reduce our children's exposure to toxic pesticides, which is what Trump said he would do on the presidential platform.

BROWN: Right.

And Kennedy, though, at the time, as I recall, did defend Trump's reasoning on glyphosate, that it would be bad for the business for these farmers if they took that, because it would be a national security issue. So I just wonder what you say to that.

HONEYCUTT: Well, he understands why Trump did what he did. He didn't agree with it. He came out later also and said that he was disappointed or not happy with it.

And as somebody who sued Monsanto and knows exactly how harmful glyphosate is, he did discuss that on the Joe Rogan show. So, we all know where he stands. He is not able to do everything that we would like him to be able to do in the position that he's in. But he is doing a lot of other great things.

And we continue to appreciate him and Trump for allowing him to be in that position and get the things done that he has gotten done. So there's a lot of good that has happened. But, right now, yes, what I'm seeing is, there's a lot of upset regarding Massie being elected -- not being elected.

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But there's room for a lot of possibility and something bigger and greater, and we're going to trust in God and trust in the process that that's going to happen.

BROWN: All right, Zen Honeycutt, thank you so much for your time and sharing your perspective.

We will be right back.

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BROWN: The Thunder-Spurs series now tied, as the NBA playoffs heat up.

BLITZER: Let's go live right now to CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes.

Andy, it's lively out there. ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Wolf, and Pam, I mean, this Thunder-

Spurs series, I mean, it is certainly living up to the hype, game two, another awesome, physical game. What a treat if we get seven games of this.

And it's been highlights galore through two games, as Stephon Castle, maybe the dunk of the playoffs, maybe the dunk of the season in the second quarter last night, rises up, throws it down on Isaiah Hartenstein. I mean, look how he cocked that ball back.

Wemby, he was even impressed. Third quarter, it was a tight game. Wemby, he misses this shot right here, but gets his own rebound and throws it down. Then, on the other end, Wemby blocking Alex Caruso. So Wemby had 21 points, 17 rebounds, and four blocked shots in the game.

But it wasn't enough because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, an MVP performance, scored a game-high 30 points, including this bucket with under a minute to go and put this game away. Thunder end up winning 122-113 to even the series. But game two was rough for injuries for both teams.

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