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Voting Underway in New York Primaries; Trump Endorses Both GOP Candidates in SC Governor Runoff; Ukraine Attacks Key Bridges and Trains; Trump Claims Without Evidence Reflecting Pool "Vandalized"; Inside Turning Point USA's Women's Leadership Summit. Aired 11:30-12p ET

Aired June 23, 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: -- in both the 10th and 13th congressional districts in New York, while Mamdani has backed their opponents. Who has more power right now, Jeffries or Mamdani?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The voters have the most power. I mean, it'll be interesting. Look, Mamdani's strength came from his ability to turn out young voters, and so there's a question as to whether or not that will transfer when he's not on the ballot. Can he turn out those young voters and, you know, use his charisma to get people to support these candidates? And again, we'll see.

BLITZER: We'll see what happens. T.W., let me ask you about what's going on in the South Carolina gubernatorial runoff. President Trump has endorsed both candidates. What's Trump doing, and how are Republican voters in the Palmetto State supposed to react to all that?

T.W. ARRIGHI, FORMER SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS AIDE, SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Well, I've spent a lot of time in South Carolina with Senator Graham, living in Columbia. The president is really taking advice from a small team of advisers, and he's relying on them to give him accurate advice. He endorsed first the lieutenant governor, Pam Evette. Pam Evette is part of a popular administration there in South Carolina, but her race was really, really uninspired, and name I.D. really matters in that race.

You have Alan Wilson, who's run a tremendous race. He's given people a reason to go vote for him. And, oh, yes, he's been a successful attorney's general, and he also has a huge name I.D. advantage in the state. His dad's been a longtime member of Congress. So, he's had this tremendous momentum and really run a strong race, probably second only to the agriculture commissioner candidate Cody Simpson, who's probably running the best race in the state.

So, I think Trump saw the writing on the wall and said, I might as well get some winner out of this. We'll endorse them both.

BLITZER: You know South Carolina.

ARRIGHI: Yes. BLITZER: There appears to be some serious cracks right now within the Republican coalition. I want to play what Tucker Carlson had to say on his can't be censored podcast. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I would not support the Republican Party. There's no chance I would support the Republican Party. Not going to support the Democratic Party. I don't know what I'm going to do. But at this point, you know, how could you support how could I or any American voters support a political party that's not loyal to the United States, that puts the interests of a foreign country above those of its own citizens? Like that's -- you know, it's not possible to vote for people like that. So, no, I'm out. And if I'm out, then I think a lot of other people are out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do you make of that?

ARRIGHI: So, the foreign country he's referring to there is Israel. And there is this growing thought that the Israeli lobby and AIPAC has a chokehold on the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. I think that's a nonstarter for a lot of people. I think a lot of people see Israel, whether or not they agree with the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu, they believe that they are our best ally in the region. They are the only functioning democracy in the region.

And, oh, yes, there's also a bunch of stuff with him in Russia. He put out that disgusting propaganda video of a couple of years ago in the Russian supermarket. Tucker Carlson, by his own admission, has not really been a Republican ever. He was in opposition to a lot of things George W. Bush did. He's been in opposition to the party in general and a thorn in the side.

So, I take it with a grain of salt. He has his followers. What's he going to do? Push him toward the Libertarian Party? We'll see if he's any successful in that.

FINNEY: He could be impactful with independents. I think I agree with that. I don't think with the Republican Party, with the MAGA base, he's been pretty anti for a while.

ARRIGHI: It's a select sliver of the isolationist wing of the Republican Party that's growing. It's been there since Pat Buchanan. It's not necessarily new. It's in both parties. But we'll see if he's able to build that momentum over time. I'm not so certain yet that that's possible.

BLITZER: All right. T.W., thank you very much. Karen, as usual, thanks to you as well.

FINNEY: Thanks.

BLITZER: Pamela. PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Still ahead here in the Situation Room. Billions of dollars in alleged fraud. What the nation's top law enforcement officials are saying about their most recent bust.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:35:00]

BROWN: Happening now, mass firings reportedly underway at the government's top intelligence agency. A source tells CNN that President Trump's acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, is ordering the cuts on his first week on the job. Pulte has no intel or national security experience, but he reportedly showed up to his new job early last week and asked for a list of every employee in the office of the DNI. It oversees 18 intelligence agencies. Top Democrats are warning that these cuts could put national security at risk. President Trump has said this is part of needed downsizing.

Well, top officials and the Trump administration just revealed new details on allegations of health care fraud. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says that $6.5 billion in alleged fraud have been uncovered this year with 440 defendants charged.

And today, Ukrainian forces have released drone footage of multiple attacks on Russian infrastructure. A railway bridge and a supply train were destroyed. Wolf.

BLITZER: And happening now, President Trump is once again weighing in on the reflecting pool and he's laying out repair plans. Let's go live to our senior White House reporter, Kevin Liptak. Kevin, what is the president now saying?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and it is becoming clear, Wolf, that the president is now consumed with what can only be described as a botched renovation of this reflecting pool. We have seen over the last several days the algae growing, the liner pulling up. The president sort of continuing these accusations that this was the work of vandals, although he has not backed up any of that with evidence.

[11:40:00]

And he has just posted on Truth Social that six people now have been arrested and seven people have been cited for the damage that he has said has been done to this facility, describing a 350-foot gash, which we should note is 100 feet longer than he said it was a couple of days ago, that he said was conducted by very sharp knife or razors, that it was numerous slashes.

Now, in early May, the president Trump was at an event saying that it was not possible to cut this lining with a knife because it was so strong and so powerful, now suggesting that vandals had gone in and slashed that very bright blue liner that you have seen being pulled up from the bottom. He also says that a small area at the bottom of the pool was cut and lifted off the surface, leaving uneven edges. And then the president went on to write, in any event, even prior to fixing those areas, the reflecting pool is as beautiful as it can be. And then he says, we will drain some of the water either immediately before or after the 4th of July to do the permanent repair.

So, essentially, confirming here that the reflecting pool will not be in tip-top shape by the 4th of July, which was his own sort of self- imposed deadline to get this up and in working shape. Wolf.

BLITZER: Kevin Liptak reporting for us. Kevin, thank you very much. Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Wolf. And now, mobile surveillance cameras are set up to deter alleged vandals. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're going to have something to be very proud of.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A peeling bottom --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's still not fixed. And it is, it's disappointing.

SERFATY (voice over): Arrests for alleged vandalism, a high-profile lawsuit, and won $14 million green-hued pool, the president's Reflecting Pool makeover is now overflowing with controversy.

TRUMP: We did a hell of a job. But everybody's looking at that Reflecting Pool.

SERFATY (voice over): And yet, 18 days after the pool was filled with water, after the initial renovation, President Trump is now saying the pool will likely need to be shut down and drained again, blaming it on what he says are vandals that have forced a new round of repairs.

TRUMP: I can't help it if somebody goes in with a knife and starts hacking it up. And we also have pictures of it. You know, we have pictures.

REPORTER: Can you release the photos? We've been asking for that.

TRUMP: Yes, at the right time you'll see it. You'll see it in court.

SERFATY (voice over): Administration officials say that police have made several arrests at the Reflecting Pool, alleging vandalism.

TRUMP: And I understand they've arrested five people, and they have another five people that are under investigation.

SERFATY (voice over): Three-time U.S. Olympian David Hearn says he was arrested after touching blue material partially detached from the bottom of the pool.

DAVID HEARN, FORMER U.S. OLYMPIAN: And I took my left hand glove off and reached down into the water and sort of felt the end and bent it around a little bit.

SERFATY (voice over): Hearn denies vandalizing the pool and says he was cited with destruction and defacing government property and disobeying a government employee.

JEANINE PIRRO, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR D.C.: There are several citations that have been handed out to individuals, and these are cases that will be prosecuted to the full extent.

SERFATY (voice over): On Truth Social, without evidence, the president wrote, "they took some form of knife or blade and put a 250- foot-long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence and money to build and complete." He added, quote, "they also poured corrosive and destructive materials into the pool." Today, Trump increased the size of the alleged gash.

TRUMP: Well, let's put it this way. When you have a 350 -- I think it's 350, not 250 -- a 350-foot slit from one end to the other.

SERFATY (voice over): Tampering with federal property carries a prison sentence of up to ten years in federal prison.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never seen this many National Guards in the National Park area. They came up to me and two other women asking if -- asking if we've touched it, and then just promoting us not to, that we would get arrested or charged with vandalism if we did.

SERFATY (voice over): President Trump and the U.S. attorney in D.C. have been very clear, they intend to push forward to penalize those accused of wrongdoing as much as possible.

SERFATY: And earlier today we saw several trailers full of equipment come down to the Reflecting Pool and start unloading equipment. You'll see some of that behind me. Workers tell us that those are actually six security cameras that will go up and give 360-degree views of the Reflecting Pool at all times.

Meantime, President Trump has convened a meeting with the contractors of this project to talk about the necessary repairs and, of course, draining the Reflecting Pool once again.

Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The saga continues, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes.

BROWN: All right. coming up, we take you right inside Turning Point USA's Women's Leadership Summit to see what women think about traditional gender roles and conspiracy theories about Charlie Kirk's death. A Situation Room special report, up next.

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[11:45:00]

BROWN: Well, Turning Point USA held its first women's leadership summit since its founder, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated. His widow, Erika, has taken over as CEO and headlined the summit earlier this month. Speakers emphasized traditional gender roles and spoke out against the conspiracy theories about Kirk's death in September. CNN's Elle Reeve has more in the Situation Room special report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIKA KIRK, CHARLIE KIRK'S WIFE: Have more babies than you can afford.

[11:50:00]

ELLE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm at the Turning Point Women's Leadership Summit, where a lot of the speakers have talked about how feminism has hurt women, how you should get married early and have more kids I'm at the Turning Point Women's Leadership Summit where a lot of the speakers have talked about how feminism has hurt women, how you should get married early and have more kids, maybe more than you can afford.

Feminism is the biggest lie we have ever been sold as women. But the attendees have had a little more nuance in their analysis. Some have even said, you can have it all.

PHOEBE VIDACAK, FOUNDER, PLANA: From what I see, society has co-opted the word feminism, which should just be the equality of the sexes, which I really do believe in, to be something of pushing the other sex down, which I really don't believe in.

NICHOLE JACK JOHNSON, ATTENDEE: I run three companies and have a non- profit and adopted children. So, I feel like the messages to me were that women can do it all.

REEVE: And how do you see that as different from feminism? Good question.

JOHNSON: That is a great question. I feel like feminism is the pursuit of, I need nobody, and I don't need a man, I don't need others.

ALEX, ATTENDEE: I feel like the left is so focused on feminism equals abortion, and that's not at all what feminism should be for. It should just be like, how can we empower women to fulfill what they feel like their calling is?

CATARINA DICOSMO, ATTENDEE: A lot of the left say that they don't need men, but we do.

REEVE (voice-over): Speaker Savannah Stone is a married 21-year-old who's built an audience advocating for traditional gender roles in a sometimes provocative way.

SAVANNAH STONE: Submission gets a bad rep because it's seen as slavery, for whatever reason. But submission is a trust and it is teamwork. It means the woman serves the husband and the husband lays down his life for the wife. Because women are controlled by their emotions and men are controlled by logic.

REEVE: She goes viral a lot on TikTok for talking about women submitting to their husbands, being submissive. What do you think of that?

ABBIE NOTGRASS, ATTENDEE: I mean, that's what the Bible calls us to do, so that's what I think is true.

MORGAN NOTGRASS, ATTENDEE: The words sound kind of crazy and a little controversial, but I mean, I believe what the Bible says and I think it's true and I think she said it great in there.

REEVE (voice-over): This comes at a time when small but growing sections of the online and religious right have objections to women voting at all. With some calling to repeal the 19th Amendment and replace it with a so-called household vote.

TOBY SUMPTER, PASTOR: In my ideal society, we would vote as households and I would ordinarily be the one that would cast the vote, but I would cast the vote having discussed it with my household.

REEVE: Repeal the 19th's people? Yes, repeal the 19th's people. What do you make of that?

JASMINE STEWART, ATTENDEE: There's a lot of politics that divides families and that's not what they want. So, you know, I understand that part of it and then another part of it that I think is a lot more juvenile is that they're like, oh, there are so many liberal women and they're ruining whatever. I don't think that's the correct way to look at it at all. So, that's not really a view that I share there.

IRELAND DANIEL, ATTENDEE: Obviously, if we didn't think women should be able to vote, we wouldn't be standing here trying to work in politics. Why do you think it's gaining traction right now? Honestly, I would say from a liberal perspective of we don't need men has made men so angry. It's harder for men to get a girlfriend. It's harder for them to get married. Women don't want to get married now. And I think that's why a conservative movement has pushed so much back on the word feminism is because they feel like women are, quote/unquote, "ruining everything," which we're not. That's not true.

REEVE: So, a feminist might say, hey, you guys are dealing with these really angry young men online like incels, the Andrew Tate's, the whatever. You guys need feminists right now to defend you and to defend your dignity as a person. What would you say to that?

DANIEL: I would say it's all about how we approach it, though. I think by screwing me back at them isn't going to help.

REEVE (voice-over): A few dozen protesters chanted outside the conference. Turning Point's founder, Charlie Kirk, excelled at provoking people to get attention. But now his group is dealing with social media controversy from within conservatism, one that is cruel but pervasive. After Kirk was assassinated, his widow, Erika, took over the organization.

Soon conspiracy theories swirled online that she or Turning Point staff were somehow involved in his death. There is no evidence of this. Turning Point has vehemently denied the claims. Police have arrested a suspect and say he acted alone. The most viral insinuations have come from Candace Owens.

CANDACE OWENS, HOST, "CANDACE" PODCAST: For Erika Kirk should be dragged into a police precinct for questioning, like I said.

REEVE (voice-over): The conspiracy theories are so rife that Speaker Dana Loesch even addressed them from the stage.

DANA LOESCH, SPEAKER, TURNING POINT USA: God has ordered his church to care for widows, that widows be included so they are not isolated, to protect widows, to care for widows, to not persecute a widow in the most ungodly of ways because you're jealous that you are not the one controlling an organization that that widow's husband built.

REEVE (voice-over): Many attendees were keenly aware of the online discourse.

STEWART: I don't think it's wrong to ask questions. I'm always a skeptic myself. For me, the more questions, the better.

REEVE: In fairness, like one of the questions Candace is asking is like, did Erika kill him for Israel? I mean, it's kind of out there, right?

STEWART: Oh, yes, absolutely. Like I said, for me, the more questions, the better. Question everything. I can understand why people, especially like Erika, would be like, what the absolute hell?

JOHNSON: I wanted to come and support Erika, of course. I felt like the Spirit of God was telling me to support our widows. I had many phone calls, many people reached out to me, many people very disappointed that I was coming.

[11:55:00]

REEVE: Really?

JOHNSON: Christian Republicans disappointed that I was here.

REEVE: What did your friends say to you who didn't approve of you going?

JOHNSON: A lot of them truly believe in everything that's being said. It's heartbreaking to me. I don't even want to speak on it because it's so awful what's being believed. And I feel like that's spiritual warfare. I feel like we're seeing real life spiritual warfare coming after this organization.

REEVE (voice-over): Elle Reeve, CNN, San Antonio.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BROWN: And our thanks to Elle Reeve for that report.

BLITZER: Very good report indeed. And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning.

BROWN: Inside Politics with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts after a quick break.

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