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The Source with Kaitlan Collins

Trump Extends Deadline For Iran To Open Strait Of Hormuz; Trump Orders DHS To Pay TSA Agents As Shutdown Talks Collapse; Trump's Signature Will Soon Be Printed On U.S. Currency. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired March 26, 2026 - 21:00   ET

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

[21:00:00]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: --Noreen will be a guest on my show, "All There Is Live" that starts in about 16 minutes online. It's the only place you can see it, at CNN.com/AllThereIs. You can also talk there and communicate with other people who experience loss and grief.

That's it for us. The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand by Master Control. In three, two, say, take it away, Master Control.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: Tonight, there's new CNN reporting on ways President Trump is being presented with, to potentially escalate the war in Iran as he's delaying his own self-imposed deadline.

I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.

And there is new CNN reporting tonight that the Pentagon is putting together options for President Trump, if he decides that peace talks with Iran are going nowhere, and instead chooses a major escalation in this war, in an attempt to force the Iranians to the negotiating table. All of the options that we're reporting on tonight carry significant risk for U.S. forces.

And we'll have more on what's on the table with my lead source in just a moment.

But diplomacy is not dead, at least not dead yet. The President has actually just delayed his own deadline for Iran to capitulate and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, or risk having their powerplants bombed by 10 days.

The President explained his decision this way, which I should note, came 11 minutes after the stock market ended one of its worst days this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They said to me, very nicely, through my people, Could we have more time? Because we're talking about tomorrow night, which is pretty quick, and if they don't do what they have to do, I will knock out their powerplants. They said, does that include nuclear? Because they have nuclear, you know, plenty of money, they have a lot of money, and they built nuclear, and they built regular powerplants, but they're massive and very expensive, billions of dollars.

And so I gave them a 10-day period. They asked for seven. You're going to say, Oh, Trump's a terrible negotiator. They asked for seven. And I said, I'm going to give you 10, because they gave me ships.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now, it still remains to be seen whether or not the United States and Iran will reach an agreement to end this war in the next 10 days. But in the President's telling, one side really wants to cut a deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We had to take a little detour, it won't be long, it's going to end soon.

They are begging to work out a deal. I don't know if we'll be able to do that. I don't know if we're willing to do that.

The reason they want to make a deal is they have been just beat to shit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: That was the President's analysis today during a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House.

And while some of his advisers might be concerned about the ticking clock on his new deadline, the President said this today, in regards to timing and how he believes there is no rush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have a lot of time. You know what? It's a day, in Trump time, a day. You know what it is? That's an eternity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Starting us off tonight is my CNN Political Analyst and Global Affairs Analyst, Barak Ravid, who first broke the story on the options that the Pentagon is preparing for a final blow of this war.

And Barak, what is your latest reporting on what exactly led to the President enacting this 10-day pause of his own deadline?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: So, I don't the -- first, I don't know what made the President extend his deadline.

What I do know is that even today, the Pakistani, Egyptian and Turkish mediators were still trying to get a clear idea from the Iranians, whether they're willing or not, to have a high-level meeting with the United States, with a U.S. delegation headed by Vice President Vance, and for the Iranians to send there, the Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf.

And what the Iranians told the mediators, according to a source I spoke to, has direct knowledge of this, is that they basically send all the messages to what they call, the Iranians call, the top leadership. It wasn't clear who exactly they're talking about. And they're waiting to hear back if there's a green light to do such a meeting. At the moment, there is not.

So, I think it means that all the -- all what -- everything we hear about diplomacy and negotiations, I think we're still at the pre- negotiation phase. We are negotiating about having a negotiation.

[21:05:00]

And Trump obviously gave this thing more time, and I think there are many reasons for it. And some of the reasons could be that Trump is in no rush. He can, on the one hand, try and build some sort of diplomatic process. And, in his second hand, continue on building his forces in the region for the possibility of, you know, if he decides that diplomacy isn't going to work, he can launch a massive military step that, you know, escalates this war.

COLLINS: Yes.

RAVID: So, as always, Trump is all the time building those two options in order to make a decision at the last minute.

COLLINS: But can I ask? Because, I mean, the President's framing of it today was, Talks are going really well. He seemed encouraged when he was saying, They wanted seven days, I gave them 10.

But I mean, your sense seems to be that the talks aren't happening in any substantive level. It's just, Do you even want to talk to us still, at that stage.

RAVID: So look, it's -- the U.S. sent a proposal. The mediators sent the proposal to the Iranians.

The Iranians sent -- the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, sent this proposal to his top leadership, it's unclear if it's the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, or somebody else, with another request to have that meeting.

The Iranians came back and said, We don't like the U.S. proposal, but we do like the idea of having a negotiation.

So, I think that now what I hear from all the mediators is that they want to first try and see if they can get this meeting together. If they get a meeting, then we're in a different place. If not, then it means that we're at dead-end. And I think the effort right now is to try and get this meeting. So, I think that when we say, you know, for example, Steve Witkoff said today he has strong signs from the Iranians that they're willing to talk. That's true, they are willing to talk. But do they agree to what the U.S. proposed? I think there's still quite a big gap there.

COLLINS: Yes. And, I mean, the President was telling me Monday, that they've already agreed to several parts of those 15 points.

One thing you noted earlier is how the President's announcement came a 11 minutes after the markets closed. It was an ugly day on Wall Street. When Iran sees that, and the timing of the President's announcement, oil prices, he's got some big meetings coming up, including hosting King Charles here in Washington, going to China in early May. How does Iran see that, do you think? Is that something that's factoring into all of this?

RAVID: So, I think that what the Iranians also see is more and more U.S. forces heading to the region.

COLLINS: Yes.

RAVID: And I think this is the number one thing that they're concerned about. Because what the Iranians are saying to the mediators is, You're telling us the U.S. want the negotiations, but we see thousands of U.S. soldiers moving in.

And what I hear from U.S. officials is that there are going to be thousands of more soldiers that will likely be sent to the Middle East over the next days and weeks.

You already have around 10,000 troops, combat troops that were sent to the region after -- since the war started. You might have another 10,000 that are going to be sent soon. When you have so many ground troops in the Middle East, it's not for a show. It's not -- they're not just there for a vacation. When you have so many troops, you will likely end up using them.

This is why I think that we -- we're talking about diplomacy, but we should really keep an eye on what is going on in the region, right now, because I think the chances of a U.S. ground operation in Iran are increasing by the day.

COLLINS: Increasing by the day. That's coming from one of the best- sourced reporters in the region.

Barak Ravid, thank you for joining us at the top of the hour here tonight.

RAVID: Thank you.

COLLINS: I want to turn to -- for perspective on all of this now, especially that final word there from Barak Ravid. We have David Remnick joining us, who is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and the longtime Editor of The New Yorker.

And it's great to have you here, because you wrote a piece this week in The New Yorker about how in war, truth can be the first casualty. And you write that three weeks into this war of choice, as you describe it, the chief offender is the President of the United States.

Given how serious what's at hand -- what is at hand here, given what Barak just laid out there, tell me what you mean by that.

[21:10:00]

DAVID REMNICK, EDITOR, THE NEW YORKER: Well, what I mean, Kaitlan, is that war is an extraordinarily serious commitment of lives and treasure, and the repercussions of it can always be beyond our imagining.

And how much were the American people prepared for our commitment in Iran now? One day, we were in negotiations about nuclear weapons and more with Iran. The Omani foreign minister was -- gave some very promising signals on American television, about those negotiations.

And the next morning, at 02:30 in the morning, we had a pre-recorded statement by the President of the United States, announcing that he was bombing Iran. And what was the reason for it? What was the goal? Was it about nuclear weapons? Was it about ballistic missiles? Was it about regime change or not regime change?

And in the coming days, he and his chief lieutenants in the Cabinet consistently changed their mind and went back and forth, and the American people were astonishingly confused. At the very best. You don't have to be naive about the nature of the Iranian regime. Their sins are well-known in the past half century.

But this is an administration in its first term that abrogated and got rid of a nuclear weapons deal. And chiefly, they got rid of it because it was done by a different administration, the administration of what Donald Trump so elegantly calls Barack Hussein Obama, to make sure we remember what we're supposed to remember.

So, the American people are now faced with a situation in which the economy is deeply affected, a region is in flames. There's been no great uprising in Iran because people are obviously terrified of the regime. There's astonishing confusion about what this is all about, how long it will last and what the stakes are.

So, truth is the first casualty of war. Aeschylus said that long, long ago in ancient Greece, and it remains the truth today, in the era of Donald Trump.

COLLINS: Well, and everyone's -- everyone's looking for truth here, of what could happen, how long it could last, what the exit plan is.

And you went on to write that the President and his advisers, in your words, are Improvising on the fly, floating conflicting justifications for the war and predictions about its duration.

And when I read that, I was thinking back to what the President had posted tonight, saying that he is delaying his deadline for Iran by 10 days. People were waiting to see -- it was supposed to be tomorrow -- it was supposed to be Monday -- that was supposed to be tomorrow night. Now it's April 6th.

I mean, when you see that kind of changing of what this deadline is going to look like. But also, as Barak noted, an influx of forces in the region. I wonder how you see that?

REMNICK: Well, I think it gives the American people an enormous amount of anxiety.

And one of the outcomes of what's going on right now is our relationship with our allies. You saw a very curious Cabinet meeting today, in which everybody behaved in the usual sycophantic way around the President.

And not only were past American presidents roundly insulted, which has become a routine, not only did you see the Vice President of the United States compliment, weirdly, just his Christian soldiers and talk about Holy Week next week, but skip over the fact that Passover is coming or Eid just happened. In other words, Jewish or Muslim or non-believing soldiers, a very odd moment.

But also, just the insults directed toward the way of our NATO allies. And I think one of the consequences of what we're seeing now is our relationship with NATO, the liberal international order which has been held in place since the end of the Second World War is also being spat upon by the Trump administration.

So, the consequences here, which are enormous in the Middle East, of course, spread out through the entire world. And the discussion that you see of it, from the President of the United States and by the people around him, is rarely serious and rarely believable.

COLLINS: Well, and he was at length, trashing the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. I mean, speaking of allies today. When he was talking about King Charles coming to visit next month, he was saying he was so disappointed in Keir Starmer, because there was hesitancy by the British leader to bring their forces into this war that they say they weren't even asked about before it -- before it launched.

REMNICK: Kaitlan, I can think of no reporter who witnesses this more consistently, and more often, and with more calm, than you.

[21:15:00]

I think you see it all the time that the President has a contempt for the truth when he feels like having it. Contempt for the press. And contempt for the public, which is in the end, the consumer of this information, and wants so desperately to have some confidence in the President of the United States.

And it's a deeply depressing spectacle, and it's an enormously dangerous mission that the President has launched, seemingly with very little analysis and very little willingness to share his thinking, such as it is, with the people of the United States. And that, I think, is going to cost him enormously politically, and I think he knows it. COLLINS: David Remnick, we'll see what happens in these next 10 days. It's great to have you and your expertise tonight. And also, everyone should read your piece for all of it that you wrote tonight. So, thank you for joining us.

REMNICK: Thank you, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Up next here on THE SOURCE. There is some mounting frustration, a lot of mounting frustration, I should say, when it comes to these security lines that seem to be getting longer and longer at airports throughout the United States. The President says he's taking executive action on this tonight. What our new reporting is on how the President is going to make that happen. That's next.

[21:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: At the White House tonight, President Trump has just announced he is going to sign an executive order, instructing his newly sworn-in Homeland Security Secretary, Markwayne Mullin, to, quote, Immediately pay TSA workers who were set to miss another paycheck tomorrow, amid the Department of Homeland Security's shutdown.

Now the President says he is doing so because talks on Capitol Hill have so far failed to yield any kind of agreement between Democrats and Republicans.

There is a bipartisan push that is underway, as Republicans in the Senate are making what they describe as a last and final offer to Democrats. That offer would include funding most of DHS, but it would exclude new funding for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. It also includes some provisions to rein in ICE. like body-worn cameras.

The other deadline lawmakers are facing tonight is their two-week recess, which is set to begin tomorrow, as airports are also bracing for a surge of spring break travelers this weekend, and morale among TSA agents has hit rock bottom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I just finished my 12-hour shift at TSA just now. Worked 04:00 a.m. to 04:30 p.m., and still not getting paid for it. Fun stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel angry. I feel used. I feel abused. I feel just like every other officer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By this Friday, it will be 42 days since officers have received a full paycheck since this latest shutdown.

It has come to the point of like having to skip meals because I have to make sure that my kids are fed.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: I'm joined tonight by sources who say they have a way out of this mess. The Co-Chairs of the Problem Solvers Caucus.

Democratic congressman, Tom Suozzi of New York.

And Republican congressman, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

I mean, it's hard to listen to those TSA workers talk about this, because you can hear the frustration. No one wants to go 42 days without getting paid.

On the President's plan tonight. We're told this is likely going to come with funding from the One Big, Beautiful Bill. Do you believe that this will -- that this will work, this is a viable plan?

REP. TOM SUOZZI (D-NY): Yes, do it, I mean, I wish he had done it weeks ago. These people are suffering. It's awful. It's unfair to the workers. It's unfair to the people who are being delayed at the airports and people who are just seeing it on TV and saying, My government doesn't work, it's not doing what we want.

Brian and I have been pushing to like, let's work together to actually solve this problem. And I'm happy the President's taking this type of action. We have to find out if it's legal, but it's good that somebody's taking some action.

COLLINS: Yes, I think the White House is still trying to figure out if it's legal or how to actually make it work in order to help them from missing their paycheck.

Obviously, there still needs to be a legislative solution here. They're not the only people who aren't getting paid. What exactly are you two proposing? And when do you plan to put it forward to your colleagues?

REP. BRIAN FITZPATRICK (R-PA): Hopefully tomorrow. We've had the plan that we put out there that we're trying to get support on. We met with Susan Collins today. We're trying to get a bicameral approach to this.

But basically, Kaitlan, it takes the entire DHS appropriations bill. It takes the ICE piece, it still funds it, but it ties to that funding significant reforms, and it ties it specifically to ERO, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

That is the specific bucket of the specific ICE funding piece that is at issue here. It's not TSA. It's not FEMA. It's not the Coast Guard. It's not even other aspects of ICE, including HSI, who do human trafficking investigations. It is ERO only. So, we have to focus on that narrow piece. We should not be shutting down the government ever, certainly not an entire department over this narrow dispute, but enact reforms. And those reforms are things that I'm serious about. I'm leading that, sticking my neck out on this as a former FBI agent.

I do believe that we need to reform the way ICE ERO operates, including removing masks, including requiring warrants for criminal arrests, requiring search warrants for sensitive locations, like churches, and synagogues, and schools, and hospitals, independent investigations for all law enforcement-involved uses of force, body cameras, you know, these -- we have a laundry list of agreements, Tom and I have reached, that I think are going to set the standard for, hopefully, what the House can pass.

[21:25:00]

SUOZZI: I mean, Brian has made a very good point, a former FBI officer.

Somebody who oversaw the 11th largest police department in the United States of America.

Let's just have ICE comply with what every federal law enforcement agency does. Every federal law enforcement agency has a six-month training period. ICE has a 47-day training period.

Other agencies, you don't hear complaints about the FBI, or the Drug Enforcement Agency, or the ATF, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. They follow certain rules. You don't hear about people wearing masks or doing roving patrols, or breaking people's windows and dragging them out of their cars. They do cooperate with local law enforcement when there's issues to investigate excessive use of force.

Let's have ICE do what these other law enforcement agencies do already.

COLLINS: Can I ask you on the masks? Because that's been a huge thing. I mean, the President says ICE can wear a mask when they're out on the field -- in the field, but not when they're at the airports that he's sent them there.

I did read that this would ban officers from wearing them on the job, but would also impose harsher penalties if people dox these officers. Is that right?

FITZPATRICK: Yes.

SUOZZI: Yes.

COLLINS: And so, how exactly would that work? And do you think that's something Democrats would get on board with?

SUOZZI: Well, Democrats don't want -- I think the people of America don't want ICE agents wearing masks. I mean, it's a scary thing when you see people in these large groups, roaming neighborhoods, wearing these masks. I mean, it's a terrifying thing.

Some Democrats have said that they -- most important thing is to have IDs. We think that there should be some identification. If you see, like an FBI raid, they're wearing an FBI jacket. It says FBI on it, and people have their badges displayed, so -- badge number is displayed.

So, there can be a compromise here. Let's get rid of the masks. But let's not encourage people to go after people in their neighborhoods, with their families, by putting penalties in place for doxing, or increase penalties for doxing.

COLLINS: So, if this is proposed tomorrow, what do you think the reception is going to be? Because, I mean, it felt like we were close to an agreement this week. We thought it was on the cusp of it. And then it seemed to fall apart. Now we're obviously here tonight, with the President coming in and stepping in for the TSA paychecks, at least.

FITZPATRICK: Yes. Well, the goal of Tom and I, and our group, oftentimes, is just to make it hard for people to say no to our solution.

If you're going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, you're never going to like any of this stuff. But if you're willing to give a little bit, which that's called governing, right? Particularly with a 60-vote threshold in the Senate, which I support, by the way, we need to keep that. But it's going to require two-party solutions. That's exactly what this is.

So, here I am, as a former FBI agent, saying all these reforms need to come to ICE. And to answer your question, Kaitlan, about the doxing. It's a sentencing enhancement. So it's a two-point bump. The sentencing guidelines are essentially a chart, and you can have an enhancement for doxing of federal agents.

So, it's a give and take, right? If we're going to remove the mask, the criticism of removing the mask is that these agents are going to get doxed, their families are going to get doxed. So, we're dealing with that, right? We're having a one-to-one give and take in terms of getting this across the finish line.

COLLINS: And is that a message that goes to leaders as well? Because, I mean, we heard -- John Thune was asked about this, Mike Johnson as well.

Speaker Johnson said, I'm not sure that there's anything more they could ask for than the two outrageous requirements they've put on the table, referring to Democrats, when it comes to unmasking ICE agents. I mean, he did not seem movable on that based on what he said today.

SUOZZI: Kaitlan--

FITZPATRICK: I've executed arrest warrants as an FBI agent on my busts (ph) in New York City. I didn't wear a mask. Do we worry about our safety and our family's safety? Of course we do. But there's penalties for that.

But policing is a social contract. What policing is, it's the public delegating the authority that resides with them, the power that resides with them, to the police, to keep the community safe. If that social contract becomes freed because of a lack of mutual respect, lack of mutual trust, lack of mutual cooperation? The institution of policing breaks down.

And if you have masked agents? The public doesn't trust that, and the social contract becomes freed. So, everybody should want to fix that. SUOZZI: So, there are a lot of moving pieces right now. The Senate tonight is saying that there's a deal that they're going to try and do. The President has said, Don't make any deals with those crazy Democrats, which is not helpful at all. And now the President is saying he's going to pay the TSA agents. We're doing what we're trying to do to try and get something moving.

The key is, part of governing is that people have to talk to each other and try and negotiate deals. All of this stuff is complicated. Nothing is simple. And you can't solve complicated problems, with everybody yelling and screaming at each other. You need people to sit down and say, I think this. Well, how about that? Well, how about this? And you just try and find compromise on things to move forward on.

And this toxic environment in Washington, D.C., right now, exacerbated by some of the President's comments, is not helpful. We're trying to break through that.

COLLINS: A Republican and a Democrat. People are watching right now.

SUOZZI: You're a Republican?

COLLINS: They're like checking their volume right now to make sure they're hearing this right.

Tom Suozzi. Brian Fitzpatrick. Great to have both of you here tonight. And we'll see what happens with your proposal tomorrow.

SUOZZI: You bet.

FITZPATRICK: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thank you for both being here.

[21:30:00]

Up next. We also heard tonight from President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, about his role that he's been taking in these Middle East negotiations, also weighing in on his investment fund that has raised billions from those governments in the region. What he has to say, we'll let you hear it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:35:00]

COLLINS: Tonight, as President Trump is saying that he'll hold off on striking Iranian energy sites for at least 10 more days, as he says that peace talks with Iran are going well so far. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is speaking out about his role in those negotiations.

Kushner, who does not work officially for this White House or the U.S. government, unlike the first Trump term, is also addressing his own investment fund, which has raised billions of dollars from governments in the Middle East. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARED KUSHNER, TRUMP'S SON-IN-LAW: President and Steve to stay on, you know, in my volunteer capacity with more intensity, and so we've suspended that effort with our fund. And so, the fund's doing great, and we've got a great team, great portfolio, and I know it'll go for a long time and do very, very well. But right now, my big focus is going to be on trying to see if we can get this war concluded.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Joining me tonight is Democratic senator, Richard Blumenthal, who's a member of the Judiciary and Armed Services committees.

And just for people who maybe aren't familiar with Jared Kushner's fund. I mean, Bloomberg reported that it jumped to six -- over $6 billion last year, and that 99 percent of it belongs to non-U.S. investors, including funds tied to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar.

Are you comfortable with his role being involved in these talks that are ongoing right now?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Not at all, because he clearly has a personal financial interest. No telling which way it may dictate his going in potential negotiations involving Iran and the Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. And no telling what he may be angling for in the way of further investments, using his involvement in these negotiations as a lever.

COLLINS: Even if, potentially his involvement helps lead to a deal to end this war with Iran, I mean, I -- the White House, I assume, would point out to his role in bringing about a ceasefire in Gaza and getting the hostages released.

BLUMENTHAL: I think what the President needs here is a negotiator with real experience and credentials that will give them credibility with Iran and with the other states in the region, because right now, there is a lack of objectives and endgame and strategy clearly defined.

And I can tell you, Kaitlan, my colleagues on both the Republican and Democratic side are deeply frustrated and fearful. Frustrated because we've been getting little or no information about cost and strategy with thousands of troops in the region. And fearful that those troops are going to be in harm's way, our sons and daughters, on the ground in Iran. And we are on a path, right now, to sending those troops to the Strait of Hormuz, because the President's deadline, although extended, is still a deadline, and he potentially is going to put those troops in harm's way.

COLLINS: When you look at what is happening in the region, the force buildup. Do you think we're more likely than not to put U.S. forces on the ground in Iran?

BLUMENTHAL: At this moment, I would say the dynamic is toward troops on the ground. Because the President of the United States never sends armed forces to a region without some plan to use them that way, I can tell you, without disclosing any classified information, which indicates to me that there are potential plans in the works, in the event that these negotiations fail to be fruitful.

And right now, there is no indication that Iran is in a great hurry to have negotiation.

COLLINS: What do you think is what led the President to delay his deadline by 10 days? I mean, he says the Iranians asked for that.

BLUMENTHAL: Whatever the Iranians asked him to do, I think he is somewhat apprehensive, given what he has been told about the risk and potential cost.

We were talking about a potential land force which, by the way, has great risk in the numbers, because they are probably inadequate to take and control the Straits of Hormuz area. He would need many more troops to accomplish that mission. And I think he has been told, If you are going to move forward, you need a larger force to do it. He doesn't have that force in the area right now, and he's going to have to take time to put it there.

COLLINS: I also want to get your take on that verdict that we got yesterday. Obviously, people will be familiar with the work that you've done with Big Tech on Capitol Hill. It found that Meta, which is Facebook and Instagram's parent company, and also YouTube, are liable for addicting users, especially young people, and injuring one woman's mental health.

A lot of people are likening this to Big Tech's Big Tobacco moment. And obviously, given your experience, and you were joining state attorneys general in suing Big Tobacco, do you view it that way? How do you see it?

[21:40:00]

BLUMENTHAL: I led the states in suing Big Tobacco, and we won, because our--

COLLINS: Which was wild at the time when that happened.

BLUMENTHAL: And Big Tobacco had refused to negotiate. It said it would never sit down and talk about providing any relief to people who died because of Big Tobacco's lies. They said their products were harmless, even though they were addictive through nicotine and caused cancer.

And there is a striking parallel here with this verdict, because these individuals, survivors and their families, are saying to Big Tech, You also seek to addict our children, you are driving them toxic content on bullying and eating disorders. And you have concealed the truth, you've tried to deceive the public, and you need to be held accountable.

And at the end of the day, what we really need, as we did with Big Tobacco as well, is legislation that will establish rules so that Big Tech changes its product design that has caused the harms to these individuals. The juries in two cases have said, We're going to hold Big Tech accountable for a product design that is defective, it causes harm.

And now, Congress needs to move forward with the Kids Online Safety Act, which I have championed. It's passed the Senate, overwhelmingly bipartisan, 91 to three. The House stopped it because of Big Tech's lobbying. But I hope this kind of legal action will give us additional momentum to move forward.

COLLINS: Do you think it will open them up to even more lawsuits after what we saw?

BLUMENTHAL: It will definitely expose them to additional liability. Huge. These legal actions, and the verdicts are in the millions, but the ultimate verdicts will be in the billions.

COLLINS: Wow.

BLUMENTHAL: And Mark Zuckerberg may not care, because he makes billions of dollars every quarter. But at the end of the day, I think this really monumental outcome is a first step to changing the rules applicable to social media and holding them accountable.

COLLINS: Senator Blumenthal, thank you for joining us tonight.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

COLLINS: Always appreciate your time. I know you are busy on Capitol Hill tonight. We'll let you get back to that.

Up next here for us. The President has just put his signature touch on almost everything in Washington, from the White House, to The Kennedy Center. Tonight, apparently, it is also coming to our money. My political sources will weigh in on this new move announced by Treasury just tonight.

[21:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: President Trump said today that the war with Iran is making him more popular than ever.

But Wall Street seems to be having a very different reaction. The markets tumbled today after he insisted during his Cabinet meeting that it's actually up to Iran's leaders to convince him to stop this war. Stocks had their biggest daily drop since the beginning of the war, and the NASDAQ closed in correction. It's now down more than 10 percent from its peak back in late October.

And this comes as Americans are paying about $1 more for a gallon of gas than they were a month ago.

In an interview tonight, the President said his decision to launch this war in Iran is helping him, he believes, politically.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're very popular. I mean, what can I say? MAGA loves the fact that they're not going to have somebody with a nuclear bomb over the head.

I think -- I think I'm more popular than I ever have been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: My political and data sources are here tonight.

And Harry Enten, I'm going to start with you, since you were namedrop --or name-checked by the President in recent days, because of what you've been saying MAGA feels about this war. Obviously, you've been talking about people who are not part of MAGA as well. Can you give us a reality check of where the President does stand?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, I'll give you a reality check.

Look, President Trump is quite popular with MAGA. MAGA very much enjoys this war. They very much love the President. But of course, they are just a certain portion of the electorate.

When you expand it out, the reality check is this. Donald Trump has never been more unpopular in his second term in office. What are we talking about? Well, let's just take a look here. OK, this is Trump's disapproval rating, Fox News poll. You go back a year ago, look at this. He was at 51 percent. Up like a rocket. Now, hello, we're talking about a term too high in his disapproval rating, 59 percent, according to Fox News.

And I will note this, Kaitlan Collins. It is not just the Fox News poll, where Donald Trump is at all-time highs in terms of his disapproval ratings, all-time lows in terms of his approval rating. It is in the polling aggregate as well. It has been poll after poll after poll in which he's either at or near an all-time high in terms of his disapproval rating. Now this, of course, is his overall disapproval rating.

What about the war in Iran? How do Americans feel that Trump is handling that? Well, they don't like what's cooking. Look at this, Trump's disapproval rating on Iran, you see it right here. It is 64 percent, the American people are in disapproval on Donald Trump in Iran. You see this right here, 36 percent, just 36 percent, only a little more than a third, only a little bit more than a third of Americans, according to Fox News, actually approve of the job that Donald Trump is doing in Iran.

[21:50:00]

And I will just add this little nugget. The Fox News poll was one of the rare polls in which we had an even split early on in the war, in terms of support and opposition. And now, that support has plummeted, the opposition is up. It is very clear, no matter which poll you look at, that the American people are not with Donald Trump, when it comes to Iran, even if the MAGA base is.

COLLINS: I mean, Charlie Dent, when you hear those numbers that Harry just gave us there, what do you make of that, in terms of how the President is seeing it, and how Americans are seeing it?

CHARLIE DENT, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE (R-PA): Well, I think the problem for the President is he did not prepare the American people for this war. He did not make a case to them. He didn't make a case to Congress. He went into this war without a majority of support.

Contrast that with Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, who made cases to the public, got Authorizations for the Use of Military Force from Congress, and those wars were popular going in. I'm not saying, coming out. But going in.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, SENIOR ADVISER, HILLARY CLINTON'S 2016 CAMPAIGN, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, DNC: Yes.

DENT: And that's the difference here. And of course, Americans also see gasoline prices have spiked, oil prices, gasoline prices have spiked, and they can make a direct connection between the closing of the Straits of Hormuz in this war and the price that they're paying at the pump. So, that's a big part of the reason why this is so unpopular.

FINNEY: Yes, they don't hear the President speaking in any kind of fashion that suggests he understands the pain that they're feeling. He earlier today, what did he say? I thought they would be higher, I thought they might be lower. I mean, that lack of empathy is also problematic.

And what's interesting in some of these numbers. Republicans traditionally have enjoyed an advantage on the economy and from national security. And actually, it was in 2006, Democrats, we were able to flip that because -- around the critique of the war in Iraq and the way they were conducting the war.

They're already -- he's already where George Bush was at that point in 2006 for the midterms. So, point being, he doesn't have a lot of political capital to spend on this war, and yet he -- his polls could certainly go lower, and it's not going to be enough for the MAGA base to be supportive to hold on to Congress in the midterms. So, Democrats have an opportunity to keep flipping that narrative and win support in some areas that have traditionally been stronger for Republicans.

COLLINS: Well, as Americans are thinking about their wallet, Charlie, one thing that they are going to notice that is different is the Treasury announced today, it is going to start printing money with the President's signature on paper currency. It's a first for a sitting president, actually. And it's because of, they say, the 250th birthday of America, saying that, There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Trump than U.S. dollar bills bearing his name. DENT: Well--

COLLINS: Is that true?

DENT: No, but, but, I mean, this is -- I don't think anybody should be surprised, given how this President likes to put his name on things, including the dollar bill, The Kennedy Center, and God knows what else he's going to want, the airports, Penn Station. So, this is just part of a trend.

Obviously we, in this country, we tend to honor people after they've left office and usually after they're deceased. But not when you're dealing with Donald Trump, it's--

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: The only person I know, who still carries cash in a huge wallet that is filled with who knows what, is Harry Enten.

FINNEY: Look at that.

ENTEN: Here's a $2 bill, Kaitlan Collins. A $2 bill. I'm the rare person--

(CROSSTALK)

ENTEN: I still got cash in here.

But it doesn't matter if Trump puts his name on the money. The bottom line is this. What Americans want is not Trump's name on their money. They want more money. And when you have those gas prices being so high, when you have so many people who are disapproving of Trump on the cost of living.

I mean, just think about this, right? When it came to the cost of living, more Americans trusted Donald Trump than Kamala Harris going into the 2024 election. And now his net approval rating on the cost of living is south of negative 40 points. You can't win with that.

And you're talking about those congressional midterm elections, and we're seeing the Quinnipiac University poll had what, Democrats up a 11? I don't know if they're up that high. But when you're seeing all of a sudden special elections in Trump's backyard at Mar-a-Lago, and the Democratic candidate is winning there?

Look, Donald Trump may claim certain things when it comes to his popularity. But Republicans know what the truth is, because they're seeing it at the ballot box. And my guess is, based upon all the data that we see, that Republicans, congressional Republicans, will see it this fall at the ballot box as well.

COLLINS: Yes.

Karen, your final thought, on the new currency?

FINNEY: On the new currency. Yes, that and the coin. COLLINS: You got anything--

FINNEY: I--

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: --about your new 20s.

FINNEY: You know, I agree with Charlie. It's another way this President is trying to just mark his territory in that, like a -- like a dog with the fire hydrant.

COLLINS: Will they use the auto--

FINNEY: You know I -- he knew I was going with that.

COLLINS: Will they use the autopen to bill -- to sign it?

FINNEY: Let's see. We'll find out.

COLLINS: Charlie Dent. Karen Finney. Harry Enten. It is great to have all of you, especially our cash-carrying Harry Enten. That might earn him another namedrop from the President.

ENTEN: Show me -- see you later.

COLLINS: OK, Harry.

ENTEN: There we go. There you go.

FINNEY: Look at the size of that wallet--

COLLINS: That's Harry's wallet, everyone. And it is actually his wallet. It comes with its own security detail.

Anyway. Up next. Remember something that you heard about Bill Maher getting the Mark Twain Prize? Turns out it's actually true, despite being labeled fake news. More ahead.

[21:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The Kennedy Center announced today that the comedian, Bill Maher, will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Something that might surprise you, given just days ago, the White House vehemently denied that he would be awarded this honor.

After it was reported last Friday that Bill Maher was getting this prize, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told CNN explicitly, in a statement, This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award.

Well, it turns out on June 28th, Bill Maher will be getting that award right before The Kennedy Center closes for its two-year renovation.

[22:00:00]

In a statement, Bill Maher said, Thank you to the Mark Twain people: I just had the award explained to me, and apparently it's like an Emmy, except I win... I'd like to say that it is indeed humbling to get anything named for a man who's been thrown out of as many school libraries as Mark Twain.

Congrats to Bill Maher.

And thanks so much for joining us.

"CNN NEWSNIGHT" starts now.