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The Situation Room

Senator Graham's Casket Leaves Capitol After Ceremony; Zelenskyy Concludes White House Meeting with Trump; Massive Earthquake Hits Japan. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired July 28, 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: All right. So, the casket of the late Senator Lindsey Graham will now be driven over to the National Cathedral here in Washington, where the memorial services will continue this afternoon. We'll have special coverage of that, including President Trump's remarks. He'll be speaking in memory of Lindsey Graham as well. We'll hear what he has to say. Other speakers -- other tributes to the late Senator.

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton is with us. Lindsey Graham spent 30 years in the U.S. Air Force. He was active duty, and then he was in the Reserves, Air Force Reserve. He was very involved as a lawyer for the U.S. Air Force, working out of the JAG office, the Judge Advocate General's office. And he's being honored not only for his service in Congress and the Senate, but also his service in the U.S. military.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Absolutely, Wolf. And, you know, one of the things that I remember about Senator Graham was I was in the Pentagon as a colonel, and I turned the corner one time and there was Senator and Colonel Lindsey Graham coming in my direction. He was the only colonel in the Pentagon who had an entourage. He had a whole bunch of people with him. And of course, he was, you know, performing his duties simultaneously, both as a senator, as well as, of course, as a JAG officer in the United States Air Force.

And, you know, a lot of the things that he advised on would include, you know, combat operations, whether or not the laws of war were being fulfilled, you know, whether a target was the justified target at that time. The Iraq War was still going on. And of course, we were still involved in Afghanistan as well. And the advice that Lindsey Graham was able to provide when he served his reserve time in that capacity in the Pentagon at that moment in time, you know, was clearly invaluable to the commanders, not only on the ground there, but also the staff officers in the Pentagon, because a lot of the targeting decisions were often made in the Pentagon, and then they would be conveyed to the theater command, in this case, Central Command.

So, there were a lot of things that Senator and Colonel Graham did that a lot of people didn't know about, but he was clearly an influential voice, both as a staff judge advocate as well as the U.S. senator. BLITZER: So, when he met with members of the Pentagon, the leadership, the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other top officers at the Pentagon, civilian and military, they all knew about his own military background, his experience as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, and he spoke with a lot of credibility.

[11:35:00]

LEIGHTON: He certainly did. And, you know, when you rise through the ranks, even, you know, even though you're not in the operational military's element because you're in the legal element, you know, you still have that -- there's a mutual respect because, you know, you're wearing the uniform, and both staff judge advocates as well as operational elements of the military, whether they be operational forces, you know, directly or intelligence professionals or communications professionals, there's this mutual recognition that happens in a case like this.

And, you know, with Senator Graham, you know, it was very clear not only, you know, was -- did he have that experience, but he spoke, you know, not only with conviction but with authority when it came to these matters. And he was definitely respected by the members of the Pentagon staff and certainly at the highest levels, you know, on the joint staff, he was always listened to.

BLITZER: And that always came through in my interviews with him here in the Situation Room. When we spoke about military situations, national security situations, whether the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, the current war with Iran, for example, he always knew what he was talking about.

LEIGHTON: He did. He -- now, there were certain elements, you know, where people would disagree with him on policy issues and maybe the operational employment of forces and maybe the overarching policy. But when it came to implementing the policy, his legal advice was, you know, while he was, you know, serving in that capacity, was always sought in those matters, no doubt about it.

BLITZER: And we see the hearse now leaving the U.S. Capitol. We'll drive across town to the Washington National Cathedral, where these memorial services will continue. We'll have special coverage of that, Pamela, including, of course, President Trump's remarks at the National Cathedral.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, that's right. And I want to go to our Annie Grayer, who is live right outside the Capitol for us. And as we watch this happen, Annie, I'd love for you to just bring us there. What has it been like at the Capitol today? And what have you been hearing from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as they honor Lindsey Graham today?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Pamela, it has been a very somber day as leaders on both sides of the aisle honor the three decades of career in public service in Congress of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. We heard speeches from Vice President J.D. Vance and the top Republican in the Senate, John Thune. And they both talked about their working relationship with Graham.

Vice President Vance talked about meeting Lindsey Graham back in 2022 when he was first campaigning for Senate and how much he learned from Graham along the way. And even when they didn't necessarily always agree on issues, how the two always found common ground. And also, Vance really enjoyed Graham's sense of humor and shared a number of heart touching stories on that front.

And John Thune talks about how since Graham's passing, a day hasn't gone by where he hasn't missed the late senator, because Lindsey Graham was at the senator center of everything here on Capitol Hill, where he was involved in so many legislative fights for Republicans. And he also was a direct line to the president. And he was a key part of President Trump's inner circle.

And Graham was a player on the world stage. In fact, just days before his death, he was with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Ukraine, talking about how U.S. can be a better ally there. In fact, Ukraine, President Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are both expected to attend this service -- the second service later today for Graham at National Cathedral.

It's just symbolic of the role that Graham played with so many world leaders. And Graham was a key part of Trump's inner circle in that he served as a counterbalance to some of the more isolationist views in the right wing of the Republican Party. And Republicans who viewed Graham as the Trump whisperer are really reeling with what the how the party is going to move forward without the powerhouse, that is Senator Lindsey Graham.

But he was also known for his bipartisan relationships. And so, many Democratic senators had working relationships with him, traveled with him abroad. And in part of a way to honor him is senators are starting to try and move forward a sanctions bill to put harsh sanctions on Russia that Lindsey Graham was making central to his legislative package up here on Capitol Hill.

Lawmakers are expected to take a test procedural vote on that tonight. But there is real bipartisan interest on getting this over the finish line in a in big way to honor Senator Lindsey Graham and all that he has done for the Republican Party, for the country and with so many world leaders around the world.

BROWN: All right. Thank you so much. Annie Grayer live for us from the Capitol. Also, thank you to Colonel Cedric Leighton as well. We'll be right back.

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[11:40:00]

BLITZER: There's more breaking news coming into the Situation Room. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, just wrapped up a meeting with President Trump at the White House. They will now head over to Senator Graham's funeral service at the National Cathedral here in in Washington. CNN is learning that Ukraine targeted Moscow and surrounding parts of Russia with nearly 400 drones. Russia, for its part, launched more than 100 drones toward Ukraine overnight.

[11:45:00]

Joining us now is Ambassador Kurt Volker. He was the U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations and the U.S. ambassador to NATO. He's now a distinguished fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Ambassador, thanks so much for joining us. How does this latest escalation between Ukraine and Russia impact President Zelenskyy's visit to Washington and what he needs now from the United States?

AMB. KURT VOLKER, SENIOR ADVISER, ATLANTIC COUNCIL, DISTINGUISHED FELLOW, CENTER FOR EUROPEAN POLICY ANALYSIS AND FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: Right. Well, what's happened here, Wolf, is the tide of the war has turned over the last six to eight months. For a couple of years, Russia was just hammering Ukraine, but unable to advance and Ukraine not able to do much about it.

In the last six to eight months, Ukraine has now developed long-range strike capabilities. They've been able to have a strategic impact on Russia's war effort, both the finances of selling oil and gas and also on providing fuel and logistical support to the military. And their drone campaign has been much more effective than what the Russians have been able to do. The Russians are really not able to advance on the front lines anymore.

The only thing that works for Russia these days is missiles, and they're launching ballistic missiles and cruise missiles and Ukrainian cities and civilians and those get through. And that is now one of the main topics of conversation for President Zelenskyy, whether he's meeting with Prime Minister Burnham in the U.K. earlier this week or now of President Trump, is what they can do to get access to better air defense capabilities.

But apart from that, Ukraine is slowly winning this war. And I think that has changed President Trump's attitude about how he sees this now as well.

BLITZER: I know, Ambassador Volker, you remember that now infamous meeting between President Trump and President Zelenskyy back in February of 2025 over at the White House in the Oval Office that ended in a shouting match. How has the relationship between these two leaders and their respective countries evolved since then?

VOLKER: Well, it has really changed a lot since then. That was really the low point. President Trump at that meeting, I think, was very frustrated because he had some assumptions about the war and how to end it. He thought Russia's stronger, Ukraine's weaker. You give Putin a reasonable deal, he'll take it. And then Zelenskyy just has to give up some land and that'll be it. All of that turned out to be wrong.

Putin does not want a reasonable deal. He wants to subjugate Ukraine. He's not interested in just ending the war. He wants he wants to eliminate Ukraine. Zelenskyy, of course, can't just give up land and people. And he was wrong that Russia's stronger and Ukraine's weaker. That has actually proven to be the opposite. So, a lot has changed just in the dynamics.

And of course, President Trump and President Zelenskyy have met many times since that February meeting last year. You'll remember the one in the Vatican shortly after that, where they had a very restricted one on one discussion and I think really cleared the air about what's going on. And since then, they've met many times, including most recently at the NATO summit in Ankara just a few weeks ago, where President Trump went so far as to say he would allow Ukraine to build their own Patriot missiles based on a U.S. license. So, that has really come a long way from where we were a year and a half ago.

BLITZER: It certainly has. Senator Lindsey Graham actually spent some of his final days alive in Ukraine. He was just had just returned to Washington from Ukraine when he passed away. And he met with President Zelenskyy while he was in Ukraine. You work closely with Lindsey Graham over the years on various key global issues. What foreign policy legacy does he leave behind?

VOLKER: Well, Lindsey Graham is a great example of what I would call a traditional national security oriented Republican foreign policy.

BLITZER: Yes, he really was. President Zelenskyy, he's here in Washington now trying to make the case for Congress to pass the late Senator Graham's bipartisan Russia sanctions bill in his honor. How realistic do you believe this legislative push is right now? And what are the stakes?

VOLKER: I think it is very realistic. It's been sitting around for over a year, but --

BLITZER: I think we just lost your audio for a second. But if you hear me, go ahead, repeat what you were saying.

VOLKER: I'm sorry. I hope you can hear me, Wolf.

BLITZER: I can.

VOLKER: I think it's very likely that this is going to happen -- I think it's going to pass this today in the Senate. Most likely, the House will have to reconvene. It is putting more sanctions on Russia, tariffs on countries that trade with Russia, particularly in oil and gas, which is what's providing the money that fuels this war.

So, I think this already has 86, 85 signatories in the Senate. Very likely to pass. And I think President Trump has already given it a green light now.

[11:50:00]

BLITZER: Ambassador Kurt Volker, thanks so much for joining us.

VOLKER: My pleasure. Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Pamela.

BROWN: Wolf, up next, dozens of people fear trapped under collapsed buildings after an earthquake hit southern Japan. And we have brand- new video of the scene just ahead in the Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We are following breaking news out of Japan. A major 6.8 magnitude earthquake has hit the southern part of the country. Japan's public broadcaster NHK reports that many people are trapped in a shopping mall that partially collapsed. One hospital says more than 50 people are injured and thousands of homes are without power right now.

So, let's go straight to correspondent Hanako Montgomery. Hanako, what are you learning about the extent of the damage here?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Pamela. So, far, what we're hearing is that most of the initial reports of damage are coming from Kumamoto prefecture in the country's southern region. Now, we have seen videos of that very large mall that was partially collapsed after an explosion following an earthquake. Now, authorities still don't know the exact cause of this explosion, but they are investigating a potential and suspected gas leak.

Now, we do know that a couple hundred people were evacuated from the mall after an earthquake hit. But what's causing some concern right now is that there is fear that there are a few people, few employees still trapped inside that mall who might need rescuing.

[11:55:00]

Authorities have said that they can't contact those individuals, and again, they do fear that they might need rescuing. Now, we also know that in other parts of the prefecture, some bridges have sustained damage. We've also seen roads partially collapsed. We've also seen fires break out across the prefecture. And in one case, a fire broke out across the prefecture. We've also seen a train overturn. Now, fortunately, there weren't any passengers on board that train at the time, but authorities are investigating any potential related damage.

Now, we are also getting initial reports, Pamela, of a paper factory that also sustained significant damage. Several people also reported missing, can't be contacted, and authorities are accelerating their rescue operations right now. Now, the prime minister has also said that a couple thousand Self-Defense Force troops will be deployed to help with those ongoing rescue efforts, and that the next couple of days will be really critical to get to any remaining survivors.

Now, also for some context, Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. It sees an earthquake hit about every single day, in fact. But earthquakes of this magnitude, of this size, can cause extensive damage and also potentially a loss of life.

And also, for Kumamoto prefecture specifically, it saw devastating earthquakes in 2016, about a decade ago, which killed about 275 people and injured thousands more. So, authorities are fearing that history might repeat itself, and they are hoping to get to those people who might need rescuing in time before, again, any potential loss of life. Back to you.

BROWN: Yes, hopefully they get to them soon and rescue them. Hanako Montgomery, thank you so much.

BLITZER: And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. You can always keep up with us on social media, @wolfblitzer and @pamelabrowncnn.

BROWN: And we'll see you back here tomorrow morning and every weekday morning at 10:00 Eastern. Inside Politics with our friend and colleague Manu Raju starts after a quick break.

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