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Rahm Emanuel Delivers 'Painful' Truths on Israel in Tel Aviv Speech; Soon: Trump Holds News Conference at NATO Summit; U.S. Commanders Bypassed Warnings of Outdated Intelligence Ahead of Deadly Strike that Hit Iranian School; 78th Emmy Award Nominations Announced. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired July 08, 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]

RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: -- all their -- in early 2000 and 2013, the 21 Arab countries that make up the Arab nations said, we will recognize Israel and give you full diplomatic recognition if you come to an agreement with the Palestinians. So, Israel, Palestine, plus the 21 -- 23 peace agreement. But the value of a 23-state solution as opposed to the diminishing political support for a two-state is far greater in value to all the parties.

One, the Arab League doesn't stand on the sidelines expecting somebody else to do the hard work. It's your idea. You have to row with us in the direction towards peace. Israel gets an interest of greater value to fulfill Prime Minister Ben-Gurion's late -- the late founding father to be a nation among nations and to be integral and accepted. And the Palestinians rightfully get their own self-sovereignty and self-determination, gives up the idea of terrorism and violence on Jews because they're Jews. And everybody has an interest in regional stability.

And you actually marshal that and make it more valuable to the Arab nations, the Palestinians, and the Israelis. You make the politics work for the policy, not against it.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I've known you, Rahm, for a long time. And I know this was a very, very emotional speech for you that you just delivered at Tel Aviv University. You spoke about how much Israel means to you. Your father was born in Israel. You know the country well.

At the same time, you want to make it clear that you believe American support for Israel is plummeting dramatically right now because Prime Minister Netanyahu, you say, has exploited America's, what you describe, unconditional support for the Israeli government. What needs to change for this U.S.-Israeli relationship to get back to where it was?

EMANUEL: Well, getting back is one thing. One is, you have to start working on peace and economic integration. Everybody knows, after the last three years, since October 7, Israel knows how to fly an F-35. Do you know how to pick up the phone call and call the head of the Syrian government, which is not a member of either Father Assad or the son of Assad, who says, we have shared common enemies, referring to Iran. We want a security agreement. And yet, there's been no phone call.

You have to work on the peace front because diplomacy goes with military strength. You have failed repeatedly, not once, but multiple times, turning military success into strategic advantages.

Look, a country, the United States, true, has four tools in its security box, military power, political persuasion, economic statecraft, and cultural attraction. You have let three atrophy and think your entire national security comes down to your military power. And it doesn't. You're not using all your assets. That's also, to be honest, under President Trump, a criticism I have of the Trump administration.

Tariffs is not economic statecraft. It's abandoning America's economic success. America's brand is severely hurt around the world. We are no longer the cultural attraction we used to be. We have political persuasion that we are now diminished. We're isolated among our own allies.

But on the attack on both the president, but more importantly on the prime minister, is you have reduced Israel's entire security toolbox to one making that the toolbox. And you are now, as a small country, a strategic, political, diplomatic, and economic pariah. You want to bust out where you're a full member, you have to work on peace and work with your partners in finding partners in peace. You take that path, we'll work with you. You take the path of what's led you to the status quo today of isolation, of only knowing how to fly an F-35 and use it. You're on your own. That's a choice you make.

Now, I also said this at the end that's not in the speech. We just celebrated 250-year anniversary based on this crazy idea of sovereign, of civil self-governance, on freedom, on liberty and equality. In 22 years, this country, Israel, will be 100 years old. Will you be known in the country that has more Nobel Prize winners than any other country, which you do? Will you be known in the country that took a desert and made it bloom? Will you be the country that finds cures to cancer and to starvation and to hunger around the world, or will you be the country that's only known to how to kill people and conduct war?

I knew another Israel. You return to that Israel, America will walk the journey with you to peace and security. If you stay on the present course, those 22 years will be a lonely 22 years.

BLITZER: And indeed, Rahm, in your speech you proposed a new U.S. policy in the region and you actually spoke about potential sanctions to punish Israeli aggression in the West Bank down the road. I want to play a little clip from what you just said. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[11:35:00]

EMANUEL: The hard truth is that America's silence through the years has engendered the worst of your domestic politics. We've done you no favors by averting our eyes from, in my view, your misjudgments. And to that end, if I have anything to say about this in the future, every Israeli found attacking Palestinian civilians or their property in the future will be sanctioned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, do you have -- do you plan to have more to say on all of this down the road, maybe as we get closer to 2028?

EMANUEL: Well, I'm saying in 2026, as you know, in 2009, 18 years ago or 17 years ago, the prime minister publicly labeled me a self- loathing Jew because I had the audacity as President Obama's chief of staff to challenge him on housing in the West Bank. I said, if you do this, it will lead to and your isolation. If there was a prediction that I wanted to be wrong on, it was that prediction.

This is not news to me. I said it 17 years ago before it was convenient politically to criticize the Israeli government or the prime minister specifically. I said it a long time ago and also said it to his face, telling him directly, didn't whisper it, didn't lip sync what the Israeli government was saying. I said something different that he didn't want to hear. So, he publicly called me a self-loathing Jew.

So, I have been consistent working for President Clinton on peace, confronting President -- Prime Minister Netanyahu when he tried to undermine peace. And I have said it not just later towards 2028. This is a principle I have had and always believed in. If you want to have the security, the stability and the prosperity that you seek, you have to break out of the policies that have led to you becoming a pariah. I've offered my ideas. Others want to offer their ideas. Great. Let's have a debate. Let's go, both in Israel and the United States around.

But the status quo leaves you where you are today, a territorial, regional, economic, political pariah. That is unsustainable for a country of only 10 million.

BLITZER: Our colleague, Dana Bash, pressed Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday in an interview about concerns from at least some Democrats who have said that Prime Minister Netanyahu's actions as the Israeli prime minister have made American Jews less safe. He dismissed that as someone trying to probably excuse antisemitism. What do you make of that? Do you think Jewish leaders acknowledge the issues driving this rising opposition here in the United States to Israel?

EMANUEL: Well, wait a second. You had two parts, Wolf. Look, I started my life really as an independent, making political judgments for myself, confronting Nazis at Marquette Park in 1976, 77, rather. I had faced ugliness when I ran for Congress, ugliness when I ran for mayor. And when I was ambassador, people spray-painting on my home, on our fence, Nazi insignia.

But I also saw the people of Chicago, which is true around the country, and I've seen it where I've gone all over this country, in Mississippi, in New Hampshire, in Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, South Carolina. People will judge you on your character. They will judge you on what you can do to help them improve their life.

Have I seen ugliness? Yes. I've also seen the greatness of somebody who I don't know, a neighbor, clean up a fence with Nazi symbols at my home. Not at my request, and I still don't know who did it. I've seen people who not because they're not Jewish vote for a candidate that was proud of being a Jew. Is there antisemitism? Yes. There was Chancellorsville in Virginia. The Jews will not replace us. That was way before this. What's different is what used to be private, what used to be socially unacceptable, has been given a permission slip to be public.

I've been targeted. Josh Shapiro has had, the governor of Pennsylvania, his home firebombed. People at the Tree of Life synagogue who practice their faith have been killed. People in Boulder, Colorado. There is a rise of antisemitism. And if you as a country believe in inclusion, if you as a country believe in religious freedom, we together must face that, whether it's against people based on race, sexual orientation, or faith. But I have also never lost faith that people have voted for me or supported me based on my character. So, I have seen ugly, and I have seen greatness.

And I will also say to you, my faith is not a problem. The fact that the American people have lost faith in America, that's our problem. And that's our project together. That's more important for our future as a country.

BLITZER: We're out of time, Rahm, but very quickly, are you thinking of running for president in 2028?

EMANUEL: I'm thinking of being an anchor during the midday for -- at CNN, Wolf.

[11:45:00]

BLITZER: That's not going to happen.

EMANUEL: See you later. Have a good one.

BLITZER: But you can answer the 2028 question with a simple yes or no.

EMANUEL: When I'm ready to say that, you'll get a simple direct answer.

BLITZER: All right. We'll stand by for that. All right. Rahm Emanuel, thanks very much. Safe travels over there.

EMANUEL: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And we're standing by once again for President Trump. He's going to be speaking at the conclusion of this NATO summit in Turkey. We're going to bring you his remarks live and see if he answers reporters' questions at the same time.

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[11:45:00]

BLITZER: At any moment, you can call us. President Trump will speak at the conclusion of the NATO Summit in Turkey. You're looking at live pictures. That's where he will be speaking from. We'll bring you his remarks live.

But right now, I want to get to some exclusive CNN reporting about the February strike that hit a school in Iran, killing nearly 200 children and adults. Sources tell CNN that senior U.S. military commanders ignored warnings in critical databases that intelligence on the potential targets was severely out of date, and those strikes were approved anyway. From the first days of this tragedy, the administration has avoided responsibility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the United States bomb a girls' elementary school in southern Iran on the first day of the war and killed (INAUDIBLE) people?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: No. In my opinion and based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that true, Mr. Hegseth, it was Iran who did that?

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We're certainly investigating it.

But I will note to this group and to the world, there's only one entity in this conflict between us and Iran that never targets civilians. Literally, never targets civilians. We don't target. Iran does. We will investigate. We'll get to the truth.

TRUMP: I don't know that they're ever going to solve that problem in terms of whose fault was it? Because there were missiles flying all over the place. And it's horrible what happened, but there were missiles flying all over the place. And somebody said it was our missile. Well, maybe it wasn't our missile, but I've seen nothing to lead me to believe it was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: CNN senior national security reporter, Zachary Cohen, gathered some exclusive reporting for us, Zach. Was this a case of rushed decision-making by U.S. military commanders?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Wolf, of all the sources I spoke to mentioned how senior Pentagon leaders in the immediate lead-up to this war were really pressing military officials and intelligence analysts to quickly turn around a list of targets inside of Iran, and that it was this push that directly contributed ultimately to this strike, accidental strike, it seems, on an Iranian girl's school.

And one source put it to me this way and said, the decision to bypass these indications that intelligence within these Pentagon databases about these targets was out of date, was made for, quote, "expediency." And another source saying, as far as why this decision was made for expediency, said, quote, "The Pentagon is pressing everyone to move faster. A lot of former hedge fund people and made- for-TV personalities in the mix, but leadership at CENTCOM did not push back either."

And so, as far as how this played out, I'm told that, effectively, in the weeks and days leading up to those first bombs being dropped by the U.S. and Israel, that intelligence analysts were able to effectively update the upper tier, the higher-tier targets in this Pentagon database, the ones that were most likely to be hit, but also the ones that were likely going to pose a threat to U.S. forces once combat operations started.

But they weren't able to update the records related to the other entries, the lower-tier targets, which are primarily fixed targets, things that don't move, including this site that included an Iranian girls' school. And that is ultimately what led to almost 10-year-old information being used as intelligence around this site when the strike was carried out.

BLITZER: A lot of little girls were killed in that strike. They launched an immediate investigation. Whatever happened to that investigation?

COHEN: Yes. Short answer is, it's, according to the White House and U.S. Central Command, it's still ongoing. But we have not really heard anything about it other than public reporting. We do know the initial findings said that outdated intelligence did contribute to the accidental strike. One source also saying that U.S. military officials knew within days, though, of how this mistake happened. So, it raises a lot of questions as to why months later have we not seen that report.

BLITZER: All right. Let's see what they say. All right. Thanks very much. Excellent reporting, Zachary Cohen. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:00]

BLITZER: New this morning, nominations for the Primetime Emmy Awards are now in and the HBO medical drama, "The Pit," leads all nominees with 25. The awards show is set for September 14th with Mariska Hargitay from "Law & Order SVU" tap to host.

I want to go to CNN Entertainment correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister. So, Elizabeth, who else got nominated?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: So, as you said, Wolf, a huge morning for "The Pit," which that is the reigning tramp champ in the drama category from last year. Last year, they won for best drama. Also, Noah Wyle winning and Katherine LaNasa winning last year. Well, now Noah Wyle getting another nomination this morning, and that show is going in with a lot of momentum. We also saw "Hacks" got some nominations this morning, that being another winner from last year. But you always see a mix of the old and the new with the Emmys, Wolf. And this year we're seeing a lot of fresh blood with some new shows. "Pluribus" from Apple TV getting a healthy number of nominations, in addition to a show called "Widow's Bay," which is also coming from Apple TV. Matthew Rhys, who stars in that series -- and actually right now we're looking at "Pluribus," which stars Rhea Seehorn. That show comes from Vince Gilligan, who was the creator of "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul," a reunion there with Rhea Seehorn. And that show has been a critical darling among, obviously, Emmy voters and a ton of TV critics.

"Widow's Bay" came out just about two months ago. And what we see happen every year with the Emmys is you have all the shows that are kind of old favorites, Wolf, but then you always have a new show that comes.

[11:55:00]

And in the 11th hour, as voting is happening, that show really gets a lot of momentum and a surge. And that is what we saw with "Widow's Bay." So, it'll be interesting to see at the Emmys.

In September, if we have a mix of the old and the new, are we going to have winners that repeat from last year, or is it going to be a lot of fresh blood? But I have to tell you, The Pit is one of my favorite shows on TV. I'm always rooting for it. So, I'm excited to see that.

And I'm also excited to see, as you mentioned, Mariska Hargitay, who's going to be hosting. She is the first woman to host the Emmys in 15 years, if you can believe it. Obviously, on one of the longest-running shows in television history. So, I think it'll be great to see her on that stage in September, Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll see what happens. Elizabeth, thank you so much for that report. And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. You can always keep up with us on social media, @wolfblitzer and @pamela browncnn.

I'll see you back here tomorrow morning, every weekday morning, 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Inside Politics with our friend and colleague, Dana Bash, starts right after a very quick break.

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