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Energy Watchdog: Oil Market Could Enter "Red Zone" as Soon as July; WSJ: Officials Parsing Records of Trades Made Before Trump Iran Post; Dems Release "Autopsy" of 2024 Presidential Election Loss; Trump Defends "Anti-Weaponization" Fund as "Helping Others"; Trump Swears in Kevin Warsh as New Fed Chair. Aired 11:30-12p ET

Aired May 22, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, the NASCAR world is in shock and mourning. Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who suddenly died. He was only 41 years old. There's no word on the cause of death.

President Trump says the price of his reflecting pool project is going up a lot. He told reporters he's repainting the pool's basin in front of the Lincoln Memorial and it will cost less than $20 million. The original estimate was just under $2 million.

And it's take two for SpaceX. The company scrubbed a test flight of its Starship mega rocket last night. It's supposed to eventually bring astronauts to the moon. They can try again tonight. We'll see if that happens. Starship has had several explosive test flights in recent years, including this one that sent debris flying overhead in Turks and Caicos last year.

And happening now, the world's energy watchdog is warning that a combination of shrinking oil stockpiles and rising travel demand could leave the global oil system in a dangerous place if the Iran crisis doesn't improve this summer. Some oil traders don't seem worried, though. The Wall Street Journal reports that more than $800 million worth of oil futures contracts were suspiciously traded in the mere moments before President Trump postponed strikes on Tehran's energy infrastructure in March. Those well-timed bets led to major profits. Sources tell the Journal that U.S. regulators are scrutinizing that and attempting to gauge whether an insider with prior knowledge of Trump's posts traded on that information or leaked it.

Joining us now is one of the reporters who broke this important story. David Uberti is joining us right now. David's with The Wall Street Journal. David, walk us through the details of what you found out.

DAVID UBERTI, WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER: So, on March 23rd, as you said, there was this incredible surge in futures trading in the oil market at about 6:50 a.m., 6:51 a.m. as well. Fifteen minutes or so later, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he was going to postpone strikes on the energy structure across Iran. The price of crude oil cratered after that by as much as 13 percent.

Now, this has raised a lot of questions within the oil market. Why were traders trading crude futures at that time? Why were they selling oil before its huge drop down in prices? Federal regulators, as we reported, have three firms of interest in their inquiry thus far. They include a London-based investment manager, a firm with links to a Chinese trading outfit, as well as the trading arm of one of the largest oil companies in the world. And depending on where you were in the market on that day, if you were on the right side or wrong side of these bets, you could be profiting or losing by $10 million or more.

And so, regulators are now asking a bunch of questions about why firms were positioning the way they were at such a fortuitous time and potentially if they have more information about different market participants, potentially trading counterparties and such, that could give us a better sense of what happened and why.

BLITZER: Really important article you contributed to in The Wall Street Journal. As you know, David, the White House instructed staff back on March 24th in a memo not to engage in insider trading on prediction markets or other platforms. And we've seen several lawmakers call for probes into suspicious trades. Is there any indication these warnings are actually working?

UBERTI: Well, as the White House told some of my colleagues at that time, that was sort of a refresher, a routine refresher in their mind. However, there have been a lot of these allegations, especially from Democrats on the Hill, suggesting that there's a lot of smoke here and potentially suggesting that where there's smoke, where there's fire.

Now, to this point, there hasn't been any evidence that we found to that effect thus far. But as we saw last month, federal authorities did charge a U.S. Army soldier who did put a very profitable prediction market bets on related to the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela as well.

[11:35:00]

So, federal regulators are trying to unpack this sort of complicated web of data with regard to crude oil futures as well and potentially see if there was insider knowledge passed outside the White House, where exactly that went and from whom it may have leaked, if so.

BLITZER: The issue of stock trading during his time in office has recently dogged President Trump. I want to play how Vice President Vance responded to questions about that. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: The president doesn't sit at the Oval Office on his computer on his like Robin Hood account, buying and selling stocks. That's absurd. He has independent wealth advisers who manage his money. He is a wealthy person. He has had success in business. He's not making these stock trades himself.

And your question imputes that. It doesn't say it exactly, but a reasonable person listening to that question would assume the president is sitting around and doing that. He's not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do we actually know, David, about the president's trades and profits in office?

UBERTI: Well, it depends which part of the business empire that you're looking at, Wolf. Of course, there's the traditional sort of hotels and hospitality business that have existed for years, if not decades. In more recent years, the amount of proceeds and paper wealth the president and the first family have accrued from cryptocurrency and related blockchain projects has been in the billions of dollars my colleagues and I have reported to that effect.

With the stock trading in particular, presidents and other federal officials have to periodically report what sorts of equities they trade in the market at any given time. And Vice President Vance's point is well taken. Of course, President Trump wasn't actually trading stock himself, but it does raise the question of why anyone who might work in the wealth management part of that business operation, why they were doing so at that time.

As my colleagues have reported, President Trump over the last several months has gradually increased the amount of stocks that he's traded at any given point in time. And then this year, the number of those stocks skyrocketed, especially in the last couple of months or so. It's been something like 3,700 stock trades in recent months for any normal person. That's an astronomical number.

Of course, there's no evidence yet that he was trading on insider info, but a lot of the companies in which he has traded stocks, NVIDIA, for example, are companies with a lot of business before the White House. So, it does raise a lot of questions from ethics watchdogs and, of course, congressional Democrats of why exactly he was making these trades at this time.

BLITZER: David Uberti of The Wall Street Journal, excellent reporting. Thank you very, very much. And coming up, learning lessons.

A new report highlights some of what went wrong for Democrats in the 2024 presidential election. But has the party really adopted since then? We'll ask longtime party insider Rahm Emanuel. He's standing by live. We'll discuss. That's next.

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[11:40:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, countdown to the midterms. The elections are less than six months away, and Democrats are hoping to seize control of Congress, and they are releasing their so-called autopsy of what went wrong two years ago. CNN was first to obtain the closely guarded findings in this so-called autopsy, and they list a number of reasons for Kamala Harris' loss to Donald Trump, including weak support from the Biden White House and his campaign, too many assumptions, and poor messaging, especially compared with the Republicans. That's all in the report. And joining us now, CNN senior political and global affairs commentator Rahm Emanuel. Rahm, you were President Obama's White House chief of staff. Do you agree, first of all, with the bottom line in this report, and did you recognize these problems as they unfolded in real time?

RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR AND FORMER OBAMA WH CHIEF OF STAFF: Yes, Wolf, look, we knew more about what happened in 2024 before this report was issued. I've had autopsies from a local coroner that is better than this.

And second, this isn't really complicated. If you look at a presidential election, seven states, 500,000 voters in those seven states have decided the last three presidentials. To win, you have to nominate and have a candidate with a message that aligns Democrats with independents. We are a minority party. And to win, you need to actually create a majority that requires independents to side with Democrats. That is what's going to happen in 2026, which is why we're also going to be able to, in my view, capture the House and the Senate, because we have good candidates that have a broader reach.

And one other point to governing, not just electoral politics, the ACA was passed because we had a Democrat, a U.S. senator from Nebraska. The IRA was passed because we had a Democratic senator from West Virginia. You have to go win in areas that don't just elect in deep blue areas. That's the big finding.

BLITZER: The ACA, the Affordable Care Act. Do you believe the Democratic Party has applied these lessons and, of course, corrected before the all-important midterm elections coming up in November?

EMANUEL: I think that the candidates at the local level take a race in Nebraska, open seat in that area in Omaha. In the past, Democrats had nominated the wrong candidate to win that seat. We now have Denise. She is, I think, a candidate that can get exactly what I said, crossover appeal that's not just Democrats but independents, which is how you win in both marginal congressional districts, marginal statewide elections, and in a presidential election where seven marginal states will determine the future.

[11:45:00]

And that means Democrats, and we are a minority party, need to align with and find common cause and common interest with independent voters. That is the combination to the lock, Wolf, and everybody acts like it's a big, novel idea. It wasn't when President Obama won and won re-election. It wasn't when President Clinton won and won re- election. That is the recipe for unlocking the electoral map, unlocking the majority to the House, and unlocking the majority to the Senate, and focusing like a laser on President Trump. And focusing like a laser on President Trump.

BLITZER: And you were directly involved in Bill Clinton's election and Barack Obama's election for that matter. I want to ask you while I have you, Rahm, about Republican lawmakers and their revolt over President Trump's so-called anti-weaponization fund. This morning, sources tell CNN the administration has no plans to change the very controversial plan, despite many Republicans warning this will haunt the Republican Party in the midterms. Is this a gift potentially for Democrats?

EMANUEL: Yes. I mean, this is going to -- it's not just going to haunt them in the midterms, it's going to haunt the country. You have people who pillared the United States House and Senate. They were then punished by the Justice Department. They were then pardoned by Donald Trump, and now he wants to pay them the four Ps. That's what happened here, and this is not going to happen. And the Republicans are -- you know, now they're revolting only because they're scared about their own future.

What about the future of this country? What about the future of the families that literally can't pay bills and gas right now? It's $1.35 more this Memorial Day than it was back when it was $3.40. Now, it's $4.50 and more in other states. So, all of a sudden, they're worried. I mean, in my view, the Republicans in the House and Senate are acting like a bunch of chumps. They're worried only because it impacts them, but they've been silent for the last two years or 18 months while Donald Trump has actually adversely affected working families, made grocery bills, affordable housing, health care costs all that much more expensive. How about worrying about their future, not yours?

BLITZER: I want to quickly, while I have you, Rahm, turn to Iran. The Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke about Iran this morning at the NATO foreign ministers meeting, the allies are meeting in Sweden. He says he brought up the issue of the help that would be needed if Iran refuses to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S., as you know, has severely strained relations with several NATO allies. Would you see many other countries becoming involved directly in an effort to try to force the Strait to become open?

EMANUEL: Well, they would probably be by our side if two things were to change in the administration. One, stop punching down and insulting people. They're more likely to help you when you need them, which is exactly where we are today. Two, had the administration worked before they decided to get involved in a war of choice that's a bad choice, had they actually coordinated, consulted, and advised, you'd probably have the International Community through the United Nations stand up and return the Strait of Hormuz not to a personal private lake of Iran, but to the international waterway of which Iran is a party to.

So, do I think NATO will do this? Part of maybe the U.N. International Maritime Association overseeing something in that water so it stays true like every other waterway, true to the international maritime standards that are required by law.

BLITZER: And very quickly, Rahm, before I let you go, what will be your basic message to the people of Israel when you go to Tel Aviv in a few days and address Tel Aviv University?

EMANUEL: Well, thanks for asking. Look, we're at a point in the relationship we've got to start talking past each other and not actually hear each other. So, I'm going to go right to Tel Aviv University and speak about what I think is where the relationship is today and map a road out to the future where Israel and the United States have an understanding of each other, in my view, a joint strategy for peace and security, both for Israel but more importantly in the region as well.

And it will touch upon what I think is rather than a two-state solution, a 23-state solution where every member of the Arab League recognizes Israel as they actually work through the issues of sovereignty and security for the Palestinians and for themselves.

Second, an economic agreement that is what I call the India-Mid-East- Europe trade, which will actually bypass the Strait of Hormuz and be one of the most important trade agreements. And then third, how we deal with weapons from the United States to Israel. As I said on your show before, Wolf, the days of the taxpayers financing Israel's weapons, those days are over. The president recognizes, the prime minister recognizes. Those days are over. You get full price and all the restrictions like any other ally of ours in the world. And that, to me, is a relationship going forward where we have mutual interests rather than where we have today.

[11:50:00]

And I think that Israel basically has to understand that the last three years have changed the position of the state in here. And it also goes back to 2015 when the prime minister decided to make Israel not a bipartisan issue but a partisan issue. And that's on him.

BLITZER: All right. We'll see what happens. And we'll have you back when that speech unfolds. Rahm Emanuel, thanks very much, as usual, for joining us.

EMANUEL: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And we'll have more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President Trump is introducing Kevin Warsh, and he's getting ready to swear him in as the country's next chair of the Federal Reserve. Let's listen to him.

[11:55:00]

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: And honestly, I really mean this. This is not said in any other way. I want Kevin to be totally independent. I want him to be independent and just do a great job. Don't look at me. Don't look at anybody. Just do your own thing and do a great job, OK?

Unfortunately, in the eyes of many, the Fed lost its way in recent years. It became distracted by concerns far removed from its core mission and mandate, drifting into matters such as climate policy and DEI initiatives, with the Fed straying from its mandate while the last administration blew out the deficit. Americans suffered the worst inflation that we had in history. It was the worst inflation we've ever had. As you know, some people say you're wrong about that. It was only in 48 years, but I think 48 years almost sounds worse. The worst inflation we've ever had, so it made it very difficult. Kevin has spoken often about the need to restore the Fed's integrity by returning to a proper focus on its two functional and really fundamental responsibilities, maintaining price stability and low inflation, and achieving full employment. And we talk about it. We've talked about it often.

And right now, we have the most people working in the United States than we've ever had. We have never had as many people working right now in the United States. And it's something that I like to say, and it's been pretty much that way ever since I've been president. When I go back to the first term, I had those numbers too, and I kept them. And we've done things that are really amazing, but we can bring it to a new and higher level with Kevin. I think we can bring it to a level that nobody ever thought possible.

By following through on this vision, Kevin will restore confidence in the Fed, which is so important, and among Americans all across the political spectrum and people from all over the world. And they're going to be looking to Kevin probably and possibly more than any other person that's had your esteemed position before. I think that's true, Kevin. You've got a lot of people watching.

I fully expect that with the greatest Fed chairs before him, Kevin will safeguard the Fed's integrity. They'll make their own decisions and hopefully make them well. But they'll be listening to Kevin all the way. I really believe that. Even if they're from a somewhat different persuasion, they're going to be listening to him out of respect because everybody respects him.

Thankfully, unlike some of his predecessors, Kevin understands that when the economy is booming -- that's a good thing. We don't have to go crazy. Just let it boom. We want it to boom. We want it to be like nobody has ever had before because we do have some debt we'd like to take care of. And the way you do that is through growth. We're going to grow our way out of it so fast. And Kevin is somebody, and I feel strongly also, we don't want to see it stifled. We want to stop inflation, but we don't want to stop greatness.

And so, that's really a very good thing, a very positive thing, and that's what he's looking to do. He's looking to do positive economic growth. It's so important. And as we discussed, economic growth doesn't mean inflation. It can be just the opposite, actually. But economic growth does not mean inflation. You don't have to stop the world because you're doing well.

Kevin's also said that he'll bring much-needed reform and modernization, transforming obsolete data collection methods, rolling back reliance on inaccurate models, and curtailing the Fed's practice of issuing so-called forward guidance. They want to do things on that. I guess it's a little complex subject, but it's something that Kevin knows about better than probably anybody here. He has the temperament and leadership abilities to foster collaboration among the entire board, and I know he will welcome robust debate. In his mission to keep prices stable and employment high, Kevin will have the full support of my administration. Every one of these people felt -- including Kevin by the way, felt so strongly about this choice, and we have no doubt. We have absolutely no doubt.

So, important, too. So, big, so important. I just turned on the television. I wanted to see how the stock market's doing today. The stock market's up 600 points. That means they like you. If they didn't like you -- it's actually up to 50,702. So, that's as of about 12 minutes ago. No one who knows. But I think it can only go up. I think with you it's only going to go up. That was a number that nobody thought was reachable during my entire four years.

If you look at some of the great pundits, they said, well, 50,000 would be impossible during the four years, but sometime after -- and we hit it in the first year, but now, we're really hitting it. And think of it --

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