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Rubio in Kuwait to Rally Support for U.S.-Iran Agreement; Trump to Face Senate Republicans Amid Growing Party Tensions; Trump, Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-New York City, NY) Flex Endorsement Power in Key Primaries. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired June 24, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown is off. You're in The Situation Room.

Happening now, breaking news. We're watching three big stories this morning. We're expecting to hear directly from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after a clean sweep of the candidates he backed in New York's primaries. We'll carry his Q&A with reporters live.

Plus, any moment now, the House speaker, Mike Johnson, will take questions as President Trump heads to Capitol Hill amid a growing split in the Republican Party.

And Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now in Kuwait, and just minutes from now, he'll meet with the country's crown prince. We'll have coverage of that.

Let's go live first to our White House Correspondent Alayna Treene. Alayna, Rubio is trying to rally support from U.S. allies in the Gulf who have been hit very hard during this war from Iran. How important is this diplomatic mission for the Trump administration?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it's incredibly important, Wolf. And really the goal, I'm told, for the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, is to try and ease some of the concerns that many of these Gulf partners, Middle Eastern allies have about not only this memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, but, of course, what a potential more longer term deal would look like at the end of these 60 days of technical negotiations.

Now, Rubio, as you mentioned, is in Kuwait now. This morning, though, he had met with Emirati leaders, again, really seeking to reassure some of these Gulf allies about the U.S. vision for what this is going to look like, particularly in the region moving forward.

And I'd remind you that's because, of course, many of these countries who did not have a say when the U.S. joined Israel initially back in February to launch strikes on Iran, they faced a lot of the brunt of the retaliation that Iran had for that. And so it's very important for them to feel like not only that they are in approval of what a final deal could look like, but also that they have some sort of say in it. I know throughout the entire ceasefire, I actually had talked to the president himself about this, one of the issues that Gulf allies were telling this administration was that they did not feel like they were getting a say or really thought of a lot throughout that process. So, Rubio really there to try to ease some of those concerns and reassure allies during this very fragile time of the ceasefire.

BLITZER: Alayna, later this afternoon, the NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, is due to meet with President Trump at the White House. Rutte has been called the Trump whisperer for his ability apparently to charm Trump and take the edge off of Trump's criticisms of NATO.

Meanwhile, a new survey by the Pew Research Center shows the worldview of Trump is overwhelmingly negative. Of the 36 countries surveyed, 76 percent said they have no confidence in Trump, and 57 percent have an unfavorable view of him.

Alayna, how important is this meeting just ahead of the NATO summit that's going to be taking place in, what, two weeks?

TREENE: Yes, roughly two weeks in Ankara, Turkey, Wolf. It's incredibly important. I mean, this is obviously a very, very tense time for the NATO alliance overall. One, because the president has sharply criticized NATO allies for what he argued was them not sufficiently supporting the war with Iran, he also recently announced that the U.S. military plans to pull a third of the fighter jets that it provides to NATO in an emergency. You also heard the defense secretary Pete Hegseth, say last week announcing there would be a six- month review of U.S. troop deployments to Europe.

Now, I do think Rutte, of course, is someone that the alliance often looks to, European allies often look to, to try and convince Trump to stay on side. That's exactly what I think is going to happen today. He's going to be there to try to smooth tensions between all of these members and ensure that the president still believes in the alliance even as we know on multiple occasions now, Wolf, he has threatened to potentially pull out of NATO all together.

I should say too, Rutte is not just someone who publicly likes to lavish praise on Trump, but they speak often as well. And sometimes Rutte's kind of demeanor with Trump and his public praise of him has put him at odds with other NATO allies. I had mentioned the Danes, for example.

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You know, sometimes they felt like Rutte did not have their best interests at heart when Trump was threatening to try and take Greenland.

So, a lot of interesting geopolitical dynamics at play today, but I think we can expect that meeting likely to go well despite the tense nature of what they have to discuss. BLITZER: We'll see how it goes. Alayna, thank you very, very much.

Also happening now, President Trump is getting ready for a high-stakes meeting up on Capitol Hill. He's due to sit down with Senate Republicans as the party faces growing divisions over the president's priorities and his war with Iran. And some GOP leaders even say it's time that the president gets a reality check and the party unites before the midterm elections in November.

CNN's Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju is up on Capitol Hill. Manu, what are the Republican senators telling you?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's been growing concern among Republican senators about a number of actions and demands that the president has made that has simply undercut the GOP agenda in the Senate, and this chiefly among them is Trump's push to enact what he calls the SAVE America Act.

That bill would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. That bill, though, has no chance of passing the United States Senate. In fact, the Senate majority leader, John Thune, has already tried to pass that bill multiple times. It doesn't have the votes. It doesn't have the 60 votes to overcome a Democratic-led filibuster, and it also doesn't even have a simple majority of support among GOP senators.

But Trump has still said that this bill must pass, and essentially has pulled back a nomination to fill the director of National Intelligence until that bill is passed. And as a result, we've seen the collapse of other matters, including reauthorize a key surveillance power under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

All this is coming to a head as Trump comes to Capitol Hill, and a number of Republican senators that I talked to say that Trump needs to hear clearly that the votes aren't there to pass this bill.

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RAJU: Is this a mistake for him to continue to demand this promise?

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): It's an unattainable goal.

This is a waste of time. It's a distraction and it's not going to get -- it's not going to happen in this Congress.

SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): I think it's important, but the numbers are not there. Senator Thune is correct when he says arithmetic still matters in the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And the Senate majority leader, John Thune, has told reporters repeatedly that he simply does not have the votes to ask to pass this bill. The question is will he tell that to Trump behind closed doors, and how will Trump respond? A big thing we'll watch behind closed doors today. Wolf? BLITZER: Manu, as you know, last night, four Senate Republicans crossed party lines to vote for what's called a War Powers Resolution. It demands that the president come to Congress if he wants to continue the war with Iran.

On social media, the president said, and I'm quoting him now, the U.S. Senate decides to have a poorly timed and meaningless War Powers Act vote, telling the number one sponsor of terror in the world that the United States doesn't like what I am doing to them and I must stop, and by so doing has provided aid and comfort to the enemy, end quote.

How significant, Manu, is that -- is it that the president is facing more Republican resistance right now, and we can see that, we can hear it?

RAJU: Yes, it's coming from multiple wings of the Senate GOP and House GOP. One, you're seeing that vote yesterday, people who want Congress to have an actual check on the president, the first time we've seen both chambers of Congress speak with one voice.

Yes, it was only a handful of Republicans who broke ranks, but the feeling is there's concern about people who want Congress to have a say, and also those on the more hawkish wing of the GOP in the House and the Senate who don't believe that this memorandum of understanding that was cut between the Trump administration and the Iranians goes far enough in reining in Iran's ambitions to build a nuclear weapon, believe it gives too much to Iran, many of them comparing it to the Obama-era nuclear deal that they themselves have criticized.

So, the president's facing criticisms on all fronts within the GOP. And this comes at a difficult time, Wolf, because soon Congress will be asked to enact roughly $80 billion more to help fund the war in Iran, meaning he's going to need Republican votes. So, that sales job will happen today on Capitol Hill when the issue of Iran will undoubtedly come up with the Senate GOP. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Manu Raju reporting for us, thank you very, very much.

And still ahead, shaking up the Democratic establishment, Mayor Zohran Mamdani flexing his endorsement power in New York. We're breaking down last night's results.

And major flooding in Oklahoma forcing high water rescues.

Lots going on. You're in The Situation Room.

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BLITZER: Any minute now, we're expecting to hear directly from the New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani. He's celebrating a sweep of the candidates he backed in New York's primaries. We'll carry his Q&A with reporters live. Stand by for that. Mamdani flexed his endorsement clout in this latest round of primaries yesterday. In New York, longtime Congressman and Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat was toppled by Mamdani-backed Democratic Socialist Avila Chevalier, I should say. Also in the city, Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman, who came to power after leading the first impeachment against Trump in the House, lost to Mamdani ally and progressive Brad Lander.

Down in South Carolina, Alan Wilson won the Republican runoff for governor after a last-minute endorsement by Trump. Wilson defeated Pamela Evette, who was also endorsed by Trump.

Let's discuss this and more with CNN Political Commentators Shermichael Singleton and Karen Finney.

Karen, let me start with you. These upsets, what do you make of this? How's it going to affect Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, for example, the Democratic leaders in the Senate and House?

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KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Look, I think it sends a pretty clear message, certainly in very blue New York City, that Democrats, people want, people who they believe are going to go and fight. They are hungry for a sense of momentum. Mamdani right now, he leaned in real hard. He has momentum on his side. He was able to actually mobilize some of the young voters that had supported him. I wouldn't draw too much, because we also saw a moderate Democrat elected or become our nominee in Westchester County, for example.

So, you know, I would be careful how much we say that this is a huge, you know, watershed moment. But, again, I think we have to pay attention to what the voters are trying to tell us.

BLITZER: What do you think?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think this is significant. I think the Democratic establishment is losing to a fringe component of their party. And I can tell you what Republicans are going to say, and Karen knows this very well. We're going to draw a contrast. The Democratic Party is for socialism. The Republican Party is for free markets. The Democratic Party is for raising your taxes. The Republican Party is about less government, lower taxes. We're about opportunity for the small guy who want to become an -- who wants to become an entrepreneur, to start a business, while you have folks on the other side that are saying, if you make too much money, if you are too successful, then the government is going to step in and take it away.

Most Americans don't want that. I'm sorry, go ahead, Karen.

FINNEY: No, but I was just going to say, I mean, that has been the traditional conservative message, but that is not what Donald Trump is doing. And I think that's part of why there are more tensions and people are saying, well, you know, if -- it's game on, if he's not going to be a true conservative and we're suffering, then who's going to help make sure we have housing, make sure we have, you know, groceries, make sure we have transportation. I mean, I think that's the other piece of this that we have to pay attention to.

And, frankly, I thought it was interesting that in the Senate they finally passed a housing bill, because I think --

SINGLETON: Bipartisan.

FINNEY: Bipartisan, yes, because everybody's hearing this pressure to get something done.

BLITZER: And President Trump's going to sign it into law now too.

SINGLETON: He is.

FINNEY: Yes.

SINGLETON: Yes.

BLITZER: He's about to do that.

How big of an issue was support for Israel for these Democratic candidates?

FINNEY: You know, I'm distressed, I'll say it that way, the way that it's become so divisive in our party. I, I think as a party we did not fully weigh in early on and make it clear that you can be supportive of the people of Israel and not support what Netanyahu is doing. You can be supportive for the people of -- the Palestinian people and not support Hamas. I don't think that that nuance got lost, and so now there's momentum that I think really does not -- that ignores the nuance.

SINGLETON: Yes, I think you're 100 percent correct, and it perhaps may be too late to have that level of nuance.

I think there's a lot of misunderstanding with a, a huge sector, growing percent not only on your side, but we're even seeing some of this, Wolf, with fringe elements on my side, who do not understand the critical importance of the United States to have an ally in that part of the world. Not just for our safety domestically, but also the safety for many other western allies, whether it's United Kingdom or countries across Europe. You have to have a place over there where the United States has our pulse on what's happening on the ground in real time. Israel allows that.

Now, that's not to say that every single thing the Israelis have done has been perfect. That's not to say you can't critique the government. That is fair. But what we're seeing is an increase in anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, anti-Jewish rhetoric, and that should concern all of us on both sides.

BLITZER: How much is this issue dividing Republicans? Now, we know it's dividing Democrats, but how much is it dividing Republicans?

SINGLETON: Well, I think it's a big level of concern. Once upon a time, you had 90, 95 percent of Republicans writ large who supported Israel. You look at some of those numbers today, and depending on which poll, you're looking at 80 to 70 percent.

To Karen's point, you're seeing an increase of Americans who are saying because of the economic condition in our country, we don't want to see billions of dollars going elsewhere, regardless of what the ramifications may be for our own domestic security. I think it's incumbent upon leaders on both sides to articulate it is important for us to stand with our allies.

Now, that doesn't mean we endorse every single measure, every single step militarily, but it does mean there's an interest that we maintain to keep Americans safe by virtue of maintaining that relationship.

BLITZER: Shermichael, thank you. Karen, thanks to you as well. This conversation will continue, to be sure.

And just ahead, Camp Mystic dealt another blow. The camp where 27 died during deadly flooding last year files for bankruptcy. What we're learning, we have details. That's next.

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BLITZER: Any minute now, we're expecting to hear directly from the New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani. He's celebrating a sweep of the candidates he backed in New York's primary year elections. We're going to carry his Q&A with reporters live. Stand by for that.

Also happening now, the price of Brent crude oil has dropped below the price it was trading at before the Iran war began. It's currently trading around $74. Brent crude is the global oil benchmark.

And we're also watching the U.S. stock market. Here's where things stand this morning. Yesterday, the S&P and NASDAQ each had their worst day in about two weeks, prompted by an A.I. selloff.

Happening now, a top economist, Mark Zandi, says the K-shaped economy is still, in his words, firmly intact, where high-income individuals are getting richer and lower-income groups are struggling. And that could help explain why even with economic headwinds like rising inflation, people keep spending.

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Here to help make it make sense is CNN Business Senior Reporter David Goldman. David, the questions why Americans are spending money despite economic fears, what's going on?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a really good question because we know that people hate this economy. They really despise it. In fact, consumer sentiment is near an all-time low. And there are a few reasons why people think that the economy is expanding even though people really don't like it. Well, consumer spending makes up about 70 percent of the economy. Well, the top 20 percent of earners, well, those are the folks that are doing most of the spending. Look at this, 57 percent of consumer spending done by the top 20 percent of earners. So, they're really doing the bulk of the work there. That means that the bottom 80 percent are only spending 43 percent of all consumer spending, according to the Dallas Fed.

So, this is what we call the K-shaped economy. That's when the top earners are doing the bulk of the work, and the bottom earners, well, they're falling farther and farther behind.

There's a few reasons why that's happening. Obviously, wealthier people are making more money, but they're making more money at a faster clip. Look at this, 5.6 percent for high income Americans according to Bank of America. That's their growth rate in their paychecks over the past year. It was 3.1 percent for low income Americans. So, that K is getting wider.

Now, the question is, wait a minute, why is this number also growing? And there's a good reason for that, and that has to do with the expansion in this economy of low income jobs. Up 2 percent, that's actually the fastest rate for any category of jobs.

Why is this happening? The World Cup. That's right, temporary low income jobs are creating a massive amount of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs in this country, but they will go away. And so that K, even though it's expanding, it's going to expand even more, widen even more in the future potentially.

The other thing to think about is the stock market, right? Wealthy people have money in the stock market, but 75 percent of those stock market gains are from the top 20 percent of earners. Now, this does create a decent amount of consumer spending, about $50 billion from those -- from the top earners in an average kind of $7 trillion wealth increase in the stock market over the course of a year, according to RSM. So, there's a decent amount of money that's being made just from stock market gains, where the bulk is happening from the wealthy folks.

So, now you get a better sense of what's going on when people say that they hate the economy, but they keep spending. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. David Goldman with an excellent explanation, thank you very, very much.

And soon President Trump will sign a sweeping bill to lower housing costs for Americans. Next hour, David will join us to take a closer look at what this means for you and why buying a house is so expensive.

And if you'd like David to help you make it make sense, email your question or send us a selfie video of your question to makeitmakesense@cnn.com.

Coming up, a CNN exclusive, I'll speak to two lawmakers working across the aisle to help reduce the pressure of student loans on millions and millions of Americans.

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