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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
29-Year-Old Socialist Topples Longtime Congresswoman; Trump On Qatari-Gifted Air Force One: U.S. "Couldn't Build A Plane Like This"; Trump Urges Acting Intel Chief To Declassify "Almost Everything." Aired 9-10p ET
Aired July 01, 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]
GERALDO RIVERA, NEWSNATION CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE, PEABODY & EMMY AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST: --or maybe other party planners should use this formula. The chaos and anarchy and the--
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Yes, 19--
RIVERA: --and--
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: So, this was what 70 -- this was '74? Wow, I mean.
RIVERA: '74. '74. 1974.
COOPER: New York, 1974, the days of like right before--
(CROSSTALK)
RIVERA: Crazy.
COOPER: --all that. Crazy. Crazy. Crazy.
RIVERA: Right.
COOPER: Geraldo Rivera, you're in the middle of it, I love it. Thank you so much.
RIVERA: And so do--
COOPER: You take care.
RIVERA: OK, Anderson. Good seeing you.
COOPER: All right.
That's it for us. The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: Tonight.
Democratic Socialists have just notched another win.
America has a new Air Force One.
And President Trump's unforgettable birthday party for the country might need to send out a couple more invites.
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
And tonight, sources say that Democratic leaders in Washington could be staring down a Tea Party-sized problem, as another Democratic Socialist strikes another blow against another establishment Democrat. This time, it's happening far from New York City.
The victory of 29-year-old Melat Kiros, over a Colorado congresswoman who has served 15 terms, marks one of the biggest upsets we've seen so far this primary season.
In a sign of what this might mean for Democrats in Washington. Tonight, on CNN, Kiros explained why she won't commit to backing the Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, as House Speaker if Democrats take back the House in November.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELAT KIROS, (D) NOMINEE FOR U.S. HOUSE IN COLORADO: My commitment to not voting in any leadership that takes corporate PAC money is the standard that I think we should be setting as a party. If we want to be winning again, corruption is a number one issue for voters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That Democratic Socialist candidate is not alone in withholding her support for Jeffries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you support Leader Jeffries for speaker?
DARIALIZA AVILA CHEVALIER, (D) NOMINEE FOR U.S. HOUSE IN NEW YORK: So, you know, up until last night I was very focused on winning this primary, and I'm so excited to have done so. And that's a conversation that I'll be having with my coalition, with my community, to make sure that we are coming to a decision about what's best for the people here of New York 13.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And in a video that has since gone viral, supporters of another Democratic Socialist, Claire Valdez, are heard chanting, You're next, when Hakeem Jeffries appeared on TV during a victory party last week.
Now, while dealing with their own interparty rebellion, House Republicans have also been quick to celebrate the left-wing rebellion they believe Hakeem Jeffries could be facing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Hakeem Jeffries, my counterpart, you know, the Democrat leader here in the House, was booed at some of these return parties last night.
Hakeem Jeffries has a tall task ahead of him right now.
REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): You could call it the Bolshevik Revolution of 2026, but the Mamdani takeover of the Democrat party is official now.
REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): When you're Hakeem Jeffries and you're trying to be the next Speaker of the House, and you lose three elections in your hometown? That's a pretty big slap in the face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Of course, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican leaders who came before him know all too well the situation that Hakeem Jeffries might be facing.
The Republican Party in Washington is currently battling its own establishment -- anti-establishment faction that right now has frozen virtually all the movement on the House floor. They actually got sent home early this week because of it.
And those outsider populist messages that progressives are winning on right now might remind you of what you heard and what happened inside the GOP not too long ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): I have a message, a message from the Tea Party, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words. We have come to take our government back.
(CHEERING)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): This race is ground zero in the battle between the moderate establishment and the conservative Tea Party title wave that is sweeping this country.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL, FORMER REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE: No more politics as usual.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: President Trump, whose own MAGA movement was born out of the Tea Party, is also weighing in on the wins by these progressives in these primaries and is trying to work on this attack line ahead of the midterm elections.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They said they're social democrats, doesn't it sound pretty? They're actually communists, but we'll get into that a little bit later.
Communism is the greatest threat to our country, including, I believe this, you know, when I said it, I said, well, that's pretty severe, but I think it's true. The biggest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, September 11th. I think it's a bigger threat, potentially a bigger threat than that because it's like a cancer that spreads, and you better stop it fast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[21:05:00]
COLLINS: We start tonight with CNN's Chief Data Analyst, Harry Enten, who is here with us tonight.
Harry, obviously, a lot of questions about, you know, what this means, what this moment looks like. Did the numbers show a Tea Party-like, you know, kind of rising up and movement inside the Democratic Party?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: The Democratic version of the Tea Party is here, and it is loud, Kaitlan Collins, and I would argue it is here to an even greater degree than it was for the Republicans back in 2010.
Why do I say that? Because voter frustration among Democrats with their congressional folks is even worse. Their view of them is even worse than it was for the Republicans, back in 2010. Republicans in Congress, at least among Republicans back in 2010, at least it was on the north side of 50 percent. But now what we're seeing is it's on the south side of 50 percent for Democrats and how they view their congressional leaders.
And more than that, what have we seen in the primaries so far this season? You go back to 2010, right? There were only two Republican House incumbents who lost in that cycle. Then you had had the additional in a primary, you had Lisa Murkowski up in Alaska, losing, and then eventually, of course, winning a general election.
But this year, so far, there have already been five, count them, five House Democrats who have lost in a primary, so far this season. My guess is it's going to be even more than that in the upcoming primaries to go. You can look to Missouri and Cori Bush, maybe John Larson goes down in Connecticut.
And I even looked back through the record books. You know, you're talking about that five, right? Or I'm talking about that five. You're talking about that five. I'm the one doing the talking right now. You talk about that five. And I went back to the history books. There has not been at least five House Democrats in a non-post redistricting cycle to go down a defeat since 1978.
COLLINS: Huh. ENTEN: This is over 40 years, nearly 50 years in the making. As I said at the beginning, this is not just the Democratic version of the Tea Party. It is even louder than that version of the Tea Party because the voter frustration among Democrats, with their members of Congress, is even worse. Their view of them is even worse than it was for Republicans in the Tea Party, back in 2010.
COLLINS: Some people might see this and say it's progressives versus more moderates. But in Colorado last night, with Melat Kiros, she's running against Diana DeGette, who's been in Congress 15 terms. She's not exactly a moderate, though. I mean, she seems pretty progressive. She was part of the Progressive Caucus and--
ENTEN: She's very progressive, yes.
COLLINS: I mean, so what do you make of that? Is it just outside Washington that has the upper hand right now?
ENTEN: I think it is outside Washington. That Washington, D.C. Democratic brand is, simply put, it is simply put, poison. I think it is all from the poisonous tree, the fruit of the poisonous tree, from Joe Biden having -- saying, You know what, I can run again, I can run again in 2024, then having to back up, setting the stage for Donald John Trump to come back to Washington, come back to the presidency.
And I think that a lot of Democrats there are extremely, extremely upset in the electorate. They simply put, do not trust, do not trust the Washington, D.C. Democratic Party, left, right, or center.
And you mention the Democratic Socialists, who won in that race, and I will note this, Kaitlan. If you compare the Democratic Socialist brand right now, among Democrats, to the Democrats in Congress brand right now, guess who wins on that?
COLLINS: Wow.
ENTEN: This is who wins. The Democratic Socialists of America are viewed more positively by Democratic voters than the Democrats in Congress. No wonder that we are seeing Democratic Socialists win in New York, win in Pennsylvania, win in Colorado. It is, simply put because, among the Democrats' own base, their own party, the Democratic Socialists of America have a better brand, at this point, than the Democrats in Congress do.
COLLINS: That's pretty remarkable.
Harry Enten, always with the numbers that surprise us.
ENTEN: I try.
COLLINS: Thank you so much.
ENTEN: Thank you.
COLLINS: And the record books, apparently.
ENTEN: Yes.
COLLINS: My next source tonight is not a Democratic Socialist, but he did run as a Washington outsider and actually came back from being down 30 points in the polls to win his Democratic primary, last night, by double digits, defeating Senator Michael Bennet in the race to become Colorado's next governor. The state's Attorney General, Phil Weiser, joins me now.
And thank you, sir, for being here.
Why do you think you won last night?
PHIL WEISER, (D) COLORADO ATTORNEY GENERAL, (D) NOMINEE FOR COLORADO GOVERNOR: Our campaign was about showing up everywhere, so that the people of Colorado felt that I was there, authentically, to listen to them and to fight for them, whether it was issues around affordability, like housing or health care, or standing up against this lawless bullying Trump administration.
[21:10:00]
When you think about threats to the republic, this president has consistently run roughshod over the Constitution. We won yet another case last Friday, where he tried to take over elections. People saw my record, taking on the Trump administration, taking on big corporations that harmed them.
And what Coloradans know is I show up, I fight for you, and I get results. That's what people want, and that's what can win campaigns. We overcame a lot of spending from a super PAC with corporations and out-of-state billionaires, all pouring money in to do cynical attack ads. It didn't work. Because the people of Colorado want a fighter for them, they got behind our campaign.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean, you came down. Obviously, your opponent had a huge fundraising edge in this race, Michael Bennet. He was heavily favored to win initially. He had a lot of support, not only from Democrats in your state, but also outside the state, Michael Bloomberg.
Do you think you benefited from, as you just heard from Harry, what appears to be this growing anti-establishment, anti-incumbent movement?
WEISER: I do think if you're a Democrat in Washington, and you're seen as going along with a system that isn't working for people. And in the case of my campaign, Senator Bennet had voted with President Trump's cabinet picks more than almost any other Democrat in Washington. I've sued this administration, now 67 times and counting. That was a real contrast that people could see.
People also can see my job as attorney general that I'm taking on actors who harmed them. I took on proposed grocery store merger that would have hiked up food prices and lost jobs. I'm taking on Live Nation and Ticketmaster to break them up because they're hiking concert ticket prices. People know that I'm a fighter for them, I'm getting results.
And I also did something that was critical to victory, which is I crisscrossed our state, all 64 counties, and The Durango Herald, the one newspaper that made an endorsement, said that I did so and built meaningful relationships along the way. When people feel seen and heard and cared about, they can trust you. If people don't see you, they don't think you're fighting for them, they don't trust you.
COLLINS: Do you see a through line in that win with that of Melat Kiros', the other progressive candidates, the Democratic Socialists who also took down establishment incumbents?
WEISER: I think every campaign is different, but I do think there's one important lesson that everyone who wants to be in public office needs to take on board. Nobody is entitled to anything. Just because you've been in office however long, you need to earn the support of the voters.
We in Colorado have seen leaders, Ed Perlmutter, former member of Congress, who show what it means to work hard for every single vote. When I go to a parade, I learned from Ed Perlmutter, you shake every hand, you show up at every forum. I did over 300 house parties.
That's the type of work ethic, commitment to listen, to earn every vote, that I believe we need to show up, so that wherever you are, whoever you are, you say, Hey, this guy cares about me, he's fighting for me. That's a lesson that, if you want to be in public office, everyone needs to take on board.
COLLINS: You mentioned how many times you sued Trump, his administration, 67, you say, and counting, meaning more is to come.
The President, this week, hosted Tina Peters at the White House. You know who she is, obviously. For those who aren't familiar, she's the former Mesa County clerk who's an election denier, and her sentence was actually commuted by your current governor, the person you're seeking to replace, Governor Jared Polis. And you called that decision, mind-boggling.
Tonight, The New York Times says, and we've now confirmed here at CNN, that Governor Polis has fired the two members of his state's Clemency Board after they spoke out, one of them here on this show, against his decision to commute her sentence. They didn't think that she was actually remorseful for what she did.
What do you make of his decision to fire those two members of the Clemency Board?
WEISER: I should emphasize here, I prosecuted Tina Peters, along with the Mesa County District Attorney. He's a Republican. I'm a Democrat. The prosecution led to a just sentence. It was close to nine years. And Governor Polis' commutation of that sentence, against the advice of the Board, was a huge historic mistake.
What the individuals you're referring to said in an op-ed was that Tina Peters was not remorseful, which is, to my mind, and to their mind, a fundamental requirement to get your sentence commuted. They called her actions, performative. Obviously, we've seen her since leaving, saying things that are highly provocative, calling into question the prosecution itself, and that was, to me, an affront to the rule of law and an injustice.
[21:15:00]
People who have sentences that may be long, who are remorseful, circumstances are changed, those are the sorts of cases for commutation. In her case, the fact that the President was trying to bully Colorado, that's not a basis.
And I pushed back against this administration when they tried to cut SNAP benefits as part of their bullying campaign. We went to court, we got that action stopped.
I am deeply sorry that she was let out, the commutation happened. And as for the members of the Board speaking up, those are their First Amendment rights that they are voicing. And I am, again, just pained by this whole situation.
COLLINS: If you become the next governor, would you restore them to that board?
WEISER: I happen to know these two individuals. I think very highly of them. I will want to work with them, I'm not sure what the exact spots are, but whether it's on this board or something else.
These two lawyers are well-respected lawyers. They were speaking their mind, and the counsel that they were offering the Governor in this case was the right counsel. I wish he had taken it. And I will make sure I work with them. Frankly, if he had listened to them, we'd be in better shape right now.
COLLINS: A lot of people who are watching you tonight may not have ever seen you in an interview that you've done before. You obviously were not super well-known outside your state. I hope you don't mind me saying. I mean, I talked about how you came back from 30 points in polling to defeat Senator Michael Bennet.
Something you actually noted, as you won last night, about yourself personally, that I just thought was, was remarkable, is that you're a first-generation American and your mom was born in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945.
WEISER: Kaitlan, this story I've lived is a both unique story, but also a classic American story. As a first-generation American, as the child and grandchild of refugees, and as someone where I can say my mom's birth was a genuine miracle, I don't take America for granted. We're about to celebrate 250 years of valuing freedom and opportunity for all. That's what propelled me into public service.
The U.S. Army soldiers in the 6th Armored Division, who liberated my mom and my grandmother, are why I am alive. The United States of America, welcoming my grandparents and mom. They didn't have any money. They didn't have any skills. They were willing to work hard. That shapes how I see America, how and why I want to serve.
And one thing I'll add about my time in elected office is I lead with my why and my values. People need to know where your values come from, people need to know why and how I love America, and want to serve America. And in Colorado, we are a state that we are inclusive, we welcome immigrants.
We've got a great tradition of governors like Ralph Carr, who refused to intern Japanese Americans during World War II. I am excited to be a part of that tradition, to honor this nation's core values, and because of my history, I take none of that for granted.
COLLINS: Phil Weiser, thank you for joining us tonight. We really appreciate your time. And welcome to THE SOURCE.
Up next for us here--
WEISER: It's great to be with you. Look forward to coming back, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Absolutely.
Up next for us here tonight. There is new concern inside the White House about what's to come. The President says it's going to be the most unforgettable birthday party yet for America. But some officials are worried it might be a flop.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: On July 4th, we will have the greatest show of all on the National Mall. Your favorite president will be speaking.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: So please show up. Because if we have two empty seats, you know what's going to happen? The fake news is going to say, He didn't fill out the arena.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[21:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: On July 4th, it's going to be approximately a 107 degrees out, and I'm going to go, and I'm going to make a really long speech.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: Just to show that I can do anything.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: It's going to be a 107. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That was President Trump previewing, maybe warning, about this weekend's Fourth of July rally that is set for the National Mall. It's an event that he has publicly promised will be the most unforgettable birthday party ever seen.
Privately, sources tell CNN that inside the White House, there is some anxiety about this event ended up being -- that it could end up being a dud. There's tightened security measures for the Mall, there's triple-digit heat that is expected, as the President mentioned, and also schedules set to run extremely late into Saturday night.
Some officials are worried about repeating that lackluster showing at President Trump's rally last week, where he kicked off what he is describing as the Great American State Fair on the National Mall. Of course, for a president who is often fixated on crowd sizes, he was frustrated by the low turnout last week.
My political sources are here tonight, including:
Senior adviser to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, Karen Finney.
And former Republican Congressman, Adam Kinzinger.
Congressman, obviously, looking at the celebrations for America's 250 and what was expected and what has happened. I think there are questions about what Saturday is going to look like in Washington. What's your expectation?
[21:25:00]
ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, (R) FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Yes, I mean one big point that was not there in the lead up is that this initially, America250 was a bipartisan organization that I voted for in 2016 to form, and every other Republican and Democrat did. That was a non-partisan organization meant to celebrate the 250th birthday.
When Trump took over, he created Freedom 250 and a competing organization where donors aren't disclosed. There's many corporate donors that are trying to get into favor with the President, and he has clearly made this all about him. And when you make it all about you, and you have about a 30 percent approval rating in the country, it's not going to surprise anybody when no one shows up to your celebration.
And it's sad, Kaitlan because, I grew up -- I was born in '78, and I remember seeing all the quarters from 1970 or from -- yes, 1976, the bicentennial, and thinking, like, How cool it's going to be on the 250th anniversary.
And here we are. It's a celebration of Trump now.
COLLINS: Karen, I mean, the President and his allies have taken over the events and the planning of them. KAREN FINNEY, SR. ADVISER TO HILLARY CLINTON 2016 CAMPAIGN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.
COLLINS: When it comes to crowd expectation, though, we're told that the aerial image of the crowds from his rally, last week, enraged him so much that officials ended up deleting them.
FINNEY: Yes.
COLLINS: What do you make of--
FINNEY: Yes, I'm--
COLLINS: --how he's responding to this so far?
FINNEY: Well, it's pretty typical, and yet -- in all the ways. And frankly, this is a metaphor for so much of what has happened with his presidency and with this country.
I mean, think about this. The amount of money raised and spent on this event, think about what you could do. I think about the reports that came out about kids who are being kicked off of SNAP, people who are seeing their health care benefits being -- their costs going up and their benefits being reduced. And yet we're hearing this President has made billions of dollars in his own pocket.
And now, this performative event on the Mall that's supposed to be all about him, and that -- what is it? There's coins with his face on it, and all kinds of things with his face on it. Of course, people don't want to go, and certainly not in a 103-degree weather.
I think it's pretty safe to say that other -- there will be plenty more people, lots of other places than there will be on the Mall. I think more people are trying to actually get out of Washington this weekend than are actually coming to Washington this weekend.
COLLINS: I mean, part of this is just the heat. Period. I mean, regardless of what's going on. The Weather team here at CNN says that the forecast, a 102 degrees on Saturday, is expected to be the hottest July 4th ever recorded.
I mean, there's a list of what people can't even bring because of the tightened security measures: reusable water bottles, sunscreen, bug spray, camping chairs, coolers, umbrellas. I mean, if you're a family and you're going out to watch fireworks that aren't expected to start until after the President has spoken, it might make it tough to hang out for hours on end, Adam.
KINZINGER: Yes, and I think, you know, look, maybe God's sending a message, I don't know, I can't speak for God. But, yes, I mean, look, I think that's clear. And again, nobody would care, like, no -- I don't remember any time in the past, people talking about the turnout for the July 4th fireworks on the Capitol, except that Donald Trump himself has made this a referendum on him. It's always about crowd size. He said, you know, after all the people canceled, that this will be a celebration -- I think he recently even said that your greatest -- the greatest president, your favorite president, is going to speak at this. So, he himself inserts himself into this, and so the turnout, even if it's weather-related, I mean, at that point, he basically has taken ownership of the turnout.
But again, just the sad thing here is we're in the 250th anniversary of this country, and it's been driven by division, and I'm sure each side will blame the other side. But clearly, Donald Trump has pulled away from this idea of America 250. And Freedom 250 is his organization, it's all about him, and he has a 30 percent approval rating, so that's what's going to happen.
FINNEY: Can I just mention one thing about the heat? We just -- I was part of a march around -- about voting rights in Montgomery, Alabama, and let me tell you what. It was -- it felt like it was a 100 degrees. We had 5,000 people come out in the heat to make their voices heard for voting rights. So, it's, you know, yes, it's hot, but people will come out in the heat for something that they care about and something that they believe in.
[21:30:00]
And I think the Congressman is exactly right. I imagine, when you voted for America250, you thought it was going to be a celebration of this country and the progress that we've made, and sure, we've got more work to do, but all of the things that make this country great. Instead of aggrandizing one man, you know, and celebrating him when the power's not even -- apparently the power went out today, and it was so hot that, you know, some of the displays were melting. I mean, that's what I mean by it's such a -- it's a metaphor. It was poorly planned, and poorly executed, and costs a lot more money than they probably expected.
COLLINS: Yes. Obviously, we'll be keeping an eye on it.
Also, people in Montgomery are tough, they can deal with the heat.
Karen Finney. Adam Kinzinger. Great to have both of you here tonight.
Obviously, we'll be following all this closely. We'll see you back here in a moment.
Up next. America has officially now gotten a new Air Force One. It is a controversial gift from the Qatari government. It made its inaugural flight today with the President on board. What our top Democrat says about that, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:35:00]
COLLINS: For the first time in more than three decades, the President of the United States flew on a new plane today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm excited about the first flight. It's something nobody's ever seen anything like it.
You can low-key it, or you can show it. And I think the country should be very proud of it.
There's never been a plane like it. Frankly, we couldn't build a plane like this because we wouldn't be willing to spend the kind of money necessary. They spent top dollar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And when he says top dollar, he means the roughly $400 million that were spent by the Qatari government, which donated this plane that the President is now flying on. It's been retrofitted, and it has no -- none of the color scheme of the traditional Air Force One, that was baby blue. It is instead now red, white, and navy blue, which is pretty similar to the personal plane that Trump has actually used for the last several years.
Presidential staffers posted these images of what it looks like inside the plane, on social media, as well as a video of a different cabin where there were ham and cheese croissants, fruit salads served on those traditional gold and white China plates that have the presidential seal.
Joining me tonight is my Democratic source, Senator Richard Blumenthal, who serves on the Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees.
Did you ever think that you would see, Senator Blumenthal, a U.S. President, flying on a Qatari-gifted Air Force One?
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Never in my wildest imagination, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, as well as the Homeland Security Committee, would I have thought that the President of the United States, would not only take a Qatari plane as Air Force One, but say that the United States couldn't build a plane as good as it.
In fact, Kaitlan, this plane is only temporary. The President is going to use it for maybe a year or two, and then the president, whether it's him or someone who follows him in 2028, will have an American plane. Boeing is building a new Air Force One. And Donald Trump is going to take this plane, with its $400 million in outfitting, taxpayer money, and he's going to use it for himself. This is rank corruption, taking a plane from another government as a gift, then using it for himself privately.
COLLINS: Yes, and we don't actually know how much it cost to retrofit it. That's how much it was from the worth for the Qatari government.
In terms of what this looks like, though. The President's argument is the old Air Force One was in fact old. It's been used for three decades. Boeing is very far behind on delivering a new plane.
Does he have a point in terms of them taking too long to produce a new plane?
BLUMENTHAL: Hopefully, Boeing will accelerate production, and they need to do more quickly, the work on the new Air Force One. We've been pushing them to do it. That is a separate issue.
The President of the United States ought to be using an American plane. And he could have gotten by, I think, with the old one. It was performing safely. It just wasn't as big and luxurious as he would want.
And most of us who travel in economy class put up with a good deal, more discomfort. And Americans these days, remember, are struggling to make ends meet. So, the hundreds of millions of dollars that are going into that plane from our pockets, taxpayer pockets, I think are going to arouse a lot of well-founded anger.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean, the old Air Force One did have, when I was on board once, traveling with the President as press, an electrical malfunction, had to turn around and go back to Joint Base Andrews.
But I do think there is irony in it, it being a Qatari-funded plane, given he was once critical of Hillary Clinton for taking donations from the Qataris and whatnot.
But on the mandatory financial disclosures, the President has to file. We were digging through them last night here on the show. It says that the President made over a billion dollars from crypto, last year, which obviously is a sentence that's never been said about a sitting president before.
And when the President was asked today, Are you profiting off being president? This is what he told reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Critics would say you're profiting off the presidency.
TRUMP: Well, you know why I'm profiting because the stock market is going up. Everybody's profiting. If you have a -- you have a 401(k)? How's your 401(k) done? It's about up 85 percent. Thank you, President Trump. So we're all profiting. I'm profiting because I have a lot of money and a lot of cash.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[21:40:00]
COLLINS: Do you think the stock market is why he's profiting?
BLUMENTHAL: No. Absolutely not. He is profiting from the stock market, no question about it. He is investing, and his family is doing it on his behalf, with his knowledge about what stocks they're investing. But that's only a small part of the $2.2 billion that he made last year. Let me just repeat. $2.2 billion was his income last year. $1.4 billion of it was from crypto. His World Liberty Financial is taking money from the Emirates, billions of dollars invested in this World Liberty Financial that he and Steve Witkoff, their families have started. And by the way, in return for those investments, apparently, the United States sold 1.4 or approximately billions of dollars' worth of military equipment to the Emirates. So there's a quid pro quo apparently here that is really smacks of corruption. So, $2.2 billion, can't attribute it to the stock market.
COLLINS: We started the hour talking about your party and what's happening there, and of the wins that happened last week by the Democratic Socialist candidates here in New York.
You told the Associated Press, quote, "The effort to nationalize New York is going to fail. What's happening in New York will be really irrelevant by the time of the elections in November."
After what happened, last night, in Colorado, where another Democratic Socialist won and defeated a 15-term congresswoman, do you still feel that way?
BLUMENTHAL: You know what I'm hearing, Kaitlan, as I go around the State of Connecticut, and I can't claim to be an expert on any other state or constituency, is, Thank you for fighting. Thank you for fighting for us. Thank you for standing up to Donald Trump. Thank you for fighting Big Tech, Big Tobacco, Big Pharma, big corporations.
I reject that there is a single ideology or issue. We're a big, diverse country. And to try to take any single race, or any single constituency, and say that it applies everywhere, I think is going to be mistaken.
But certainly, there's a lot of energy, very exciting, and a big focus on people who are willing to fight and stand up. Because they have the sense, and he has said it explicitly, that Donald Trump doesn't care about them. He's raised costs, he's created chaos, he's gotten us into a war that has made unaffordable, everything from gas and groceries to everything else, and most important, he is decimating the American middle class, which is the source of our strength.
COLLINS: Yes, but--
BLUMENTHAL: So, they're frightened and fed up.
COLLINS: They're going against Democrats who have been in office for a couple of terms, for, sometimes, more than a dozen terms. I mean, polling shows that the Democratic Socialists have a plus-17 approval rating among Democrats, your own party. Congressional Democrats, plus- four. Why do you think they're polling better than Congressional Democrats are?
BLUMENTHAL: People, voters, taxpayers, want more aggressive advocates. And I know, as a former Attorney General, showing up, listening, showing you care, putting first ordinary, everyday citizens. Not the big donors. Not the big corporations. Not the lobbyists. Standing up for people, showing you care about them. Because this President has shown he doesn't care, and he said it explicitly.
COLLINS: Senator Richard Blumenthal, we will see if the trend continues, and what it means for your party. Thank you for joining us tonight.
BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.
COLLINS: Appreciate your time.
Up next for us here. President Trump says he told his new acting Intelligence chief, that's Bill Pulte, he says, quote, Declassify whatever. My national security source is here on what Declassifying whatever could really mean.
[21:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Despite bipartisan concerns about putting the Housing official, Bill Pulte, in charge of the nation's Intelligence Community, President Trump has expressed no reservations himself, and today actually said this about Pulte's mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: We've got DNI Pulte over there as the new director. We also know you have the task force set up on declassification, maybe looking, talking about international.
TRUMP: Yes.
REPORTER: Maybe looking at some declassification.
TRUMP: Yes.
REPORTER: Are you able to give us an update on that?
TRUMP: Declassify almost everything. Bill Pulte is a very talented guy, but he's just there temporarily until Jay Clayton.
REPORTER: Right.
TRUMP: And Jay Clayton is going through the process, and Jay Clayton, highly respected, and so is Bill Pulte. But Bill is there just for a fairly short period of time. But while he's there, I said, you can declassify whatever you want.
REPORTER: You think we're going to get something soon, or maybe 2020?
TRUMP: I told him you can do it. You got to ask him.
REPORTER: All right.
TRUMP: But I think he's a friend of yours. I think that -- I think that Bill will declassify, yes. I told him you can declassify whatever you want. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Trump says Pulte can declassify whatever he wants. And that comes amid an NBC report that a White House task force now plans to declassify documents from several U.S. intelligence agencies, in an effort to boost President Trump's unfounded and baseless claims of election fraud.
My source tonight is the former Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Beth Sanner.
And Beth, obviously you were the Deputy Director. So, in theory, if this was happening right now, and you were the Deputy Director, Bill Pulte would be your boss. If your boss' instruction was to declassify whatever he wanted, what would you think?
[21:50:00]
BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: I probably would have already resigned, Kaitlan.
But other than that, I would say, you know, first, the DNI, by statute, does have declassification authority over all IC products and material. There are stipulations that, that the agencies that collect this information have what's called Originator Control.
And you know -- and so, when the DNI does these sorts of things, he doesn't do it independently, or she doesn't do it independently. They look to each other and say, If I declassify this, what is the risk to sources and methods, meaning, you know, If we declassify this, are we going to lose this source? Are we never going to be able to report this again? And so, those are the kinds of balancing acts.
But the President ultimately has declassification authority over everything, and he knows that. He's used that before. And when Tulsi Gabbard, a year ago this month, declassified the HPSCI report from, you know, about the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian influence, she relied on the President's declassification authority because, CIA and NSA were demanding redactions. And while they were demanding that, too bad, so sad, it got released under the President's authority. So, this will happen, right? Whether this is dangerous or not for national security.
COLLINS: I mean, that last sentence there might frighten some people.
But when it comes to the 2020 election, I think if there was anything that would have proven Trump's claims about widespread election fraud, it would have come out by now, and it would have been declassified by now.
SANNER: Right.
COLLINS: What do you think, or what are your expectations for what will come out -- if that's their mission here? SANNER: So, they're getting raw reporting. That means that when NSA has an intercept, or CIA has a report from an asset, that's what this White House task force appears to be looking at, rather than analysis that evaluates that reporting and says, Oh, that's a good source, or That's not a good source, This is how this all adds up. So, they're looking at each individual report.
And we have a historical kind of reference to this. During the G.W. Bush administration, right in the runup to the Iraq war in 2002, they set up a group like this in the Pentagon because they didn't like the answers they were getting from the Intelligence Community, and they wanted to prove that al-Qaeda was in cahoots with Saddam Hussein, and they found individual reports that said that. But at the end of the day, history proves, that was wrong.
You can find a report. So, we should expect reports that say what they want them to say because there are reports -- I mean, I would say, you know, Elvis killed JFK, I could probably find a report on that, you know, and that's what's going to happen here. It doesn't mean that those reports are good.
COLLINS: So, we should obviously view that with skepticism.
You know, in that comment to the reporters, Trump is downplaying Bill Pulte running the Intelligence Community right now. He says that the person he's really picking, Jay Clayton, is going through the process.
But Trump is the one who told him not to go testify on Capitol Hill for his confirmation hearing. I mean, he's not really going through the process because Republican senators very much want him to be confirmed. They just are not able to--
SANNER: Right.
COLLINS: --confirm him right now,
SANNER: Exactly. But this is also what I -- you know, in intelligence analysis, we call an anchoring bias. So, when you put a crazy person in first, it sounds, Oh my god, everybody, hair on fire. And then you put in someone who's reasonable but not qualified, and everybody's like, Oh my gosh, thank you, thank you. Because your bias is anchored on the crazy person. So, Clayton sounds fantastic, but he's still not qualified by traditional metrics that are in the statute.
COLLINS: Beth Sanner, we'll see if he gets that confirmation hearing.
SANNER: Yes.
COLLINS: Thank you, as always, for joining us.
SANNER: Thanks.
COLLINS: Up next here. We have Source Code. We give you the number at the center of a news story. Can you guess what the story is? Tonight's Source Code is 1,454. Back in a moment with that answer.
[21:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight's Source Code is 1,454 feet. That's because that's how high this couple was when they were dangling off the spire of the Empire State Building in New York City today. The pair, who was wearing masks, unfurled a banner from the top that read, quote, When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.
The extraordinary security breach also included an unexpected moment. Listen to just how an NYPD helicopter pilot summed it up to an air traffic controller at LaGuardia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: Yes, what's with all the hoopla going on over there?
PILOT: Two geniuses climbed to the top of the Empire State Building at the top of the spire. It's a male, female dressed in black. They had some flag they were waving when they were up at the top. And he just proposed to her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The couple has been identified as Angela Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov, who were once featured in a Netflix doc and described as daredevil influencers.
They also managed to share these photos of proposal and the engagement ring on Instagram. Shortly after that moment, two officers went up to get them.
[22:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well you can't be up here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Body cam video shows the officers braving the heights to actually go and bring the couple down. They were subsequently taken into custody without incident.
While investigators are still working to figure out how they got up there and accessed what is a restricted area, the two are now facing several charges. That includes burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, and criminal trespass.
Thanks so much for joining us here on THE SOURCE tonight.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts now.
