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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
FBI Expands GA 2020 Election Probe With 260 Intel Officials; Lawler, Raskin Erupt Into Shouting Match Over Sanctuary Cities; Pirro Announces Indictment For Reflecting Pool Vandalism. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired July 02, 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]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUSTIN TINSLEY, WRITER: --because then, at some point in time, your number is going to get called and you won't be here anymore. But that's what I try to tell myself. What if I just look for the fleeting moments of joy that make life worth for living. That's what I try to do. Some days are great. Some days aren't. But grief is not a straight line.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Once again, All There Is Live, starts in just about 15 minutes at CNN.com/AllThereIs. You'll hear more from Justin, talking about grief, building community, at CNN.com/AllThereIs. I'll see you there in 15 minutes from now.
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. Jack Smith has a new warning ahead of the midterm elections. Yes, that Jack Smith.
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
Tonight, as the President is relentlessly pushing Congress to pass his controversial election bill. There is a blunt new warning from the former Special Counsel who investigated and charged Donald Trump with trying to overturn the 2020 election.
Jack Smith says he's now worried about what will happen in the next election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK SMITH, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL: I'm very concerned of what's going to happen in the next election, absolutely.
NICOLLE WALLACE, HOST, MS NOW: Do you see again, in things that are covered and things that are public facing conduct ahead of the midterms that you investigated on January 6th -- in the January 6th case? SMITH: Well, I've been thinking about it more in terms of what needs to be done based on what we saw happen last time. And, you know, it's a different situation now based on, you know, the people who perpetrated January 6th have probably learned from how they did that.
My personal view is, I think the state attorney generals have a tremendous role to play here. They can make sure the rule of law functions in their state.
And I would also say that I think a thing that all of us can do is support election workers and election officials. The last time around, we saw that those people stood firm and they were, in many cases, the difference. It's clear to me anyways, that what I've seen publicly, that those people are going to be put under great pressure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: As Jack Smith, who I should note, is speaking out in his first interview since his resignation, is sounding the alarm over the next election.
We're also learning tonight about new efforts coming from inside the government to relitigate what happened in the 2020 election. Sources say that the FBI has quietly ramped up its investigation into Georgia's 2020 election results. Yes, the election results, where there were multiple recounts.
An internal memo calls for the agency to quickly bring in another 260 intelligence officials to probe President Trump's baseless claims of fraud, in a state that he lost in 2020 and a state that, yes, those recounts I mentioned determined that, yes, Joe Biden won that election.
Now, this is all coming months after the FBI raided that elections county -- that elections office in Fulton County, that's just outside of Atlanta, where they seized about 700 boxes of material that was related to the 2020 election.
And this also comes tonight, as the President is speaking out in a new interview and says his bill to overhaul federal elections needs to be passed before he'll sign any other legislation, including that bipartisan housing bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The housing bill is fine. There's a lot of Democrat points in there that I don't even think are good, but it's fine. But I've made the case I'd rather not sign anything until we sign the SAVE America Act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My lead source tonight is CNN's Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst, John Miller.
And John, obviously, when you listen to the President there, and you see what the FBI is apparently doing. I mean, it's kind of hard not to see a through line in the President talking about what he wants to change to American election laws, and his efforts to undermine what happened in the election that he lost.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT & INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, I do see a through line there.
First of all, the oft repeated unsupported fact, something that's not true, that the 2020 election was stolen. If you say it enough times, of course, there is going to be a constituency that's just going to believe that because they've heard it over and over again.
You know the history better than I do. 61 times, they brought those allegations to different courts, and they were not -- they were not proven, they didn't have evidence. In many cases, they referred those to state legislatures, who also said when they did look into them, We don't see it.
[21:05:00]
But when you combine the idea that he is pushing the SAVE Act, and then on a holiday weekend calls in hundreds of FBI analysts, and these are staff operations specialists and investigative operations specialists to the Atlanta Field Office. This is the kind of people where it looks like you would be dumping a ton of paperwork, maybe ballots, on them, and say, Go through these one at a time. You're creating this atmosphere that there's something wrong there.
And I can't see these two things being unconnected because, they could have done that last week, they could have done that two weeks from now. But they're doing it right now.
COLLINS: Also, it was investigated, at the time, by the President's own Justice Department then. Obviously, he didn't seem to think that went far enough.
What do we think these intelligence officials, these 260 officials, what are they going to be doing even?
MILLER: Well, they're clearly calling in a large number of people because they're going to be going through an enormous amount of work. So, the question is, are they examining process, are they recounting ballots?
The other piece of this is, though, that when law enforcement comes in and starts doing things like this, where at least if there is evidence, it's evidence that we haven't seen that the administration and the Justice Department hasn't produced, it creates this chilling effect towards election workers and others, and basically, if they're doing a recount, kind of usurps the election authorities of the state.
So, what Jack Smith is talking about is this kind of thing, taken altogether, is very concerning about the integrity of the process and how it stands.
COLLINS: John Miller, thank you for your reporting. Obviously, let us know if you hear more about what those 260 officials are doing.
My next source tonight is the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee. That's Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin.
And Congressman, when you hear this, what the President is doing with these 260 intelligence officials, and you hear that concern from Jack Smith that whatever is going on, these expanding investigations into 2020, do you think it's going to have an impact on 2026, in the midterm elections?
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Well, they certainly wanted to have the impact of deranging and diverting the election.
But Kaitlan, there's no issue of controversy here. Joe Biden beat Donald Trump by more than 7 million votes, 306 to 232 in the Electoral College as found by overwhelming bipartisan majorities in both houses. The Supreme Court rejected Donald Trump's pathetic attempt to bring it into the Supreme Court. His own Attorney General, William Barr, told him that all of his claims were BS. And there were 60 different federal and state court decisions rejecting every claim of election corruption or election irregularity that was brought by Donald Trump. There is absolutely nothing to it.
And because he has no program for the country, no way to try to get people health care, no way to bring prices down in housing or anything else, gasoline certainly is out of control. They're trying to distract everybody with this nonsense.
But we have to take it seriously because, they've shown on January 6, 2021, and they've shown with phone calls, like to Brad Raffensperger, where Trump said, Just find me 11,780 votes, that they're willing to try to steal the election. So, we've got to be on the frontlines in every state, defending against this attack on the American constitutional order.
COLLINS: When the President is pushing non-stop for what he calls the SAVE America Act, this law that would change American elections, certainly change mail-in voting for many states. What do you think he is actually ultimately trying to get at with that?
RASKIN: Well, originally it was a massive attack on women's right to vote. Because, they were saying a driver's license isn't enough, that just proves that you can drive, it doesn't prove who you are, and if your married name no longer matches the name on your birth certificate, that's not good. Now, half of the people probably can't even find their birth certificate. Then they say, Well, just go ahead and use your passport. And a majority of Americans don't have a passport.
So, they're introducing, again, more chaos into the electoral system for no reason at all because, we don't have a problem with illegal aliens voting in the country. That's simply not an issue, has been found by everybody from the Heritage Foundation to the Brennan Center.
COLLINS: Can I ask you about just the state of the House right now? Lawmaker how -- all the House lawmakers got sent home early this week because there's basically a rebellion that's playing out on the Republican side.
You're trying to bypass Mike Johnson with a discharge petition. It's the same thing that they used ultimately with the Epstein files originally. To what you want to do is outlaw that $1.8 billion weaponization fund that the President had and then scrapped. Has any House Republican told you that they would vote for that?
[21:10:00]
RASKIN: Well, it's only been up for 48 hours, I think. When we are in session. We already have 98 people. About half the Democratic caucus has already gone down to the clerk's desk to sign it. No Republicans have yet added their names, but they're always, of course, the last ones to come along.
It's not just about canceling out that $1.8 billion political slush fund that Trump wants to use to pass out to Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers, and other convicted felons, who beat up our police officers. It's also to overturn their effort to deal themselves total immunity from criminal and civil and tax investigation and prosecution. Nobody has ever seen anything like that. And so, that's something that's got to go.
And while the administration is saying they're not moving forward on the slush fund, and nobody really believes that, since Trump keeps saying it's a great idea, none of them has given up on the idea of giving Trump, his family, and his businesses total immunity from all investigation and prosecution.
So, we're going to have to do that by law, and a lot of Republicans have said they're opposed to it. We want them to step up and add their names to the discharge petition, and we think we should be able to find at least six of them to do it.
COLLINS: OK, we'll see if any of them do.
I mean, speaking of Republicans. You got into a shouting match with Mike Lawler this week at a House hearing. It was focused on sanctuary cities. He was introducing the mother of Sheridan Gorman, who was murdered by a man that the Department of Homeland Security says is allegedly an undocumented immigrant.
For people who missed what happened between you and Mike Lawler, I want them to be able to hear it themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): He should have been deported right then and there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Point of order. This is not an introduction.
LAWLER: And in Chicago, we're abiding by our federal laws.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Point of order. This is not an introduction.
LAWLER: You all should be ashamed of yourselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a speech.
LAWLER: You may not want to hear the details. It may be an inconvenience to you.
REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Mr. Chairman?
LAWLER: But these details matter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman will suspend. We have an agreement with the Minority that the introductions will be introductory only. So, if I could just ask for the gentleman to make that introduction and conclude.
LAWLER: So, while some of my colleagues may not want to hear the truth, the same outrage you feel about Renee Good and Alex Pretti, you should feel about--
JAYAPAL: Mr. Chairman. Would you please end this?
LAWLER: --Sheridan Gorman and Laken Riley--
JAYAPAL: End this statement?
LAWLER: --and every angel family in this country.
RASKIN: I do feel that outrage.
LAWLER: You do not.
RASKIN: Yes, but do you--
LAWLER: Because if you did--
RASKIN: Do you feel--
LAWLER: --you would not support sanctuary jurisdictions.
RASKIN: Do you feel the outrage about Alex Pretti and Renee Good?
LAWLER: You should be ashamed of yourself.
RASKIN: You should be--
LAWLER: You should be ashamed of yourself, Jamie.
RASKIN: You don't belong in this committee. You should get the hell out of here.
LAWLER: You're a disgrace.
RASKIN: You don't understand the rules of the committee.
LAWLER: You're a disgrace.
RASKIN: You don't understand the Constitution. You're full of it.
LAWLER: You're a disgrace.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Raskin--
RASKIN: You're full of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Raskin--
RASKIN: You're absolutely full of it.
LAWLER: You're an absolute disgrace--
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Raskin, get ahold of yourself.
LAWLER: --supporting sanctuary policies.
RASKIN: Say one word about--
LAWLER: Get rid of sanctuary policies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Lawler, please suspend.
RASKIN: Say one word about Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
LAWLER: I did.
RASKIN: How--
LAWLER: I wrote a whole New York Times op-ed about it. You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself--
RASKIN: OK. Then follow the rules of the committee--
JAYAPAL: Mr. Chairman--
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Committee will be--
LAWLER: --for not opposing sanctuary policies that resulted in their daughter's death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Committee will--
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, you heard Mike Lawler there talk about, you know, he said he did say something about Alex Pretti and Renee Good. He did write a New York Times op-ed saying that their deaths were tragic and preventable.
Congressman, for you, I mean, when you look at that exchange, how are you reflecting on it? Do you have any regrets about what happened there, or, you know, what's your -- what's your sense of it in the aftermath?
RASKIN: Well, he completely abused the rules of our committee, as even the Republican Chair of the subcommittee said, Mr. McClintock, you're not allowed to go in and start filibustering and railing against Joe Biden and railing against the Democrats, and he was warned several times by Congressman Nadler, by Pramila Jayapal, that he was totally outside of the bounds and the rules of the committee. But he kept going, and he had Fox News waiting for him outside. He wanted to stage this confrontation.
And I'm sorry that I lost my temper, although I've gotten about a 100 emails from people saying they've never seen me get mad before, and it's about time that I lost my temper with these outrageous political antics and provocations.
But he's clearly running scared in his district. We've got a very strong candidate on the Democratic side, who's a military veteran, who was in charge of counterterrorism in the White House. And he's sinking like a stone politically, and so he decided to try to rev up some interest on Fox News, and everybody could see through it. And then, of course, he ran outside to go into his press conference. All he was interested in was that political theater.
And I would just say, this is a guy who, even in the face of Uvalde, in the face of Sandy Hook, where 26 children were killed, even in the face of Las Vegas, where 60 people were killed, said he did not support a ban on assault weapons, even with all of these families coming in to testify about what a nightmare it is to have a family member stolen away from you by a mass murderer.
[21:15:00]
And he said, Well, the Second Amendment comes first, the Second Amendment is more important, and he thinks the Second Amendment prevents a ban on assault weapons.
Well, that's his position and you know -- but he decided to come in and to attack our position, which is we should have bipartisan immigration reform in the country, and we can both defend our people against violence in the streets by aliens and by citizens, we can do that and defend people against gun violence, while we still respect the Second Amendment, and while we still respect the Constitution generally.
But he just wanted to engage in political theater, and he got what he wanted.
COLLINS: Congressman Jamie Raskin, thank you for sharing your part of that exchange.
Up next here on THE SOURCE. We're going to hear from Mike Lawler himself, his response, what he believes happened there. That's all coming up right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:20:00]
COLLINS: Moments ago, you just heard from Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin on his view of what happened in that incredibly tense shouting match with Republican Congressman Mike Lawler on Capitol Hill.
Now, Congressman Lawler is here to respond.
And Congressman Lawler, obviously, we played the exchange, people could hear it for themselves. Congressman Raskin says, you weren't following the committee rules by how you were supposed to introduce the witness, and that he basically brought up your race that you're in the middle of right now, and said, that is why that happened, that you were kind of manufacturing outrage.
What's your response to what we heard from Congressman Raskin?
LAWLER: He might be the most dishonest and dishonorable member of Congress.
The fact is, the outrage was sincere, and it was because we listened to 20 minutes of outrageous remarks by Pramila Jayapal and Jamie Raskin before I or Jessica Gorman spoke. And in fact, Pramila Jayapal was bemoaning the fact that we were even having this hearing, that the Gorman family was even able to share their story about what happened to their daughter. She was complaining that this was the fourth hearing on sanctuary cities. So, the outrage was real.
There are no rules about introduction. That's such a bogus, nonsensical argument from them. The fact is, I was invited by the Committee to introduce my constituents. They told me, I had five minutes to do so. And both Jayapal, Raskin, and Nadler interrupted multiple times.
They would have been better off not saying a word because, by the way, we wouldn't even be talking about my introduction. They're the ones that created this dynamic by continually trying to interrupt and stop me from telling Sheridan's story.
The fact is, Kaitlan, I'm less interested in the argument with Jamie Raskin and more interested in how we actually prevent this from ever happening again. My point on immigration has been very simple: secure the border, stop the massive influx of illegal immigration, end sanctuary cities, and reform our immigration system.
As you rightly pointed out, I wrote a New York Times op-ed after Renee Good and Alex Pretti's death, and I talked about the need for bipartisan immigration reform. I'm a co-lead of the Dignity Act. I don't know what Jamie Raskin has been doing, but it's certainly not working towards bipartisan immigration solutions.
But the point of that hearing, Kaitlan, was very simple: for Jessica Gorman to be able to share what happened to her daughter. She gave 10 minutes of the most powerful testimony that I've ever heard a witness produce before Congress, talking about the fact that her daughter was senselessly killed.
An 18-year-old beautiful young girl who had her whole life ahead of her, murdered while going out at -- in Chicago, to see the Northern Lights with her friends, and she was shot, ruthlessly, in the back of the head because an illegal immigrant was allowed to enter the country under Joe Biden's open border policies. He was detained and then released. He was later arrested in Chicago for shoplifting, only to be released, again, under Chicago's disastrous pro-criminal cashless bail policies, and then he shot and killed this young girl.
The bottom line is, there should be no sanctuary cities in America. And if you want to understand what happened in Minneapolis, let's look at a very simple fact. The Minneapolis Police Department was prevented from engaging in crowd control and traffic control. That's why Renee Good and Alex Pretti had those interactions with ICE. They never should have been engaged with ICE. ICE never should have been anywhere near them. And that's why I said, that was preventable, but so is what happened to Sheridan Gorman. Sanctuary cities must end.
COLLINS: Yes.
LAWLER: And the last thing I'll say, Kaitlan, in response to his comments about gun violence. I'm the only one that actually passed legislation, last Congress, on gun safety. I passed the Undetectable Firearms Act, for seven years, extending it. So, for him to sit there and make up quotes, trying to ascribe quotes to me. I've always supported universal background checks.
COLLINS: Yes.
LAWLER: I've supported banning ghost guns. I've supported commonsense gun safety measures in both the state legislature and in Congress. So, he literally just lied through his teeth.
COLLINS: Yes, OK.
LAWLER: And unfortunately, that's par for the course with Jamie Raskin.
COLLINS: And obviously, what happened to Sheridan Gorman is awful and, I mean, that should -- no parent should have to testify on Capitol Hill or be brought to that.
[21:25:00]
On Alex Pretti and Renee Good. I mean, some people are going to hear what you just said, and say, OK, but regardless of what the police are doing, ICE shouldn't have been in the situation, certainly with Alex Pretti, where he wasn't touching his weapon. I mean, you can watch the video. He's down on the ground, and they're still firing--
LAWLER: Kaitlan, you're missing--
COLLINS: --and still shooting at him.
LAWLER: --you're missing the point. You're missing the point.
COLLINS: I'm just saying--
LAWLER: You're missing -- you're missing--
COLLINS: But I'm just saying on what you said about their deaths. LAWLER: No, no, no, you're missing -- you're missing the point.
COLLINS: No, I'm not missing the point.
LAWLER: And it's the same point I made in my -- in my remarks, which is that everybody should be equally outraged. You should be equally outraged at the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and Sheridan Gorman and Laken Riley, and everyone else who has been killed by an illegal immigrant. All of it was preventable.
And the bottom line is, by the way, if we didn't have a 11 plus million people illegally enter our country, you wouldn't have needed a surge in ICE agents, you wouldn't need to be going into sanctuary cities if they would actually cooperate. In New York, Kathy Hochul literally just signed a law--
COLLINS: Yes, Congressman--
LAWLER: --banning every local law enforcement agency--
COLLINS: Congressman, my point was simply about--
LAWLER: --from cooperating.
COLLINS: My point was simply about--
LAWLER: That is unacceptable, and that is why we're dealing with these situations.
COLLINS: My point was simply about what you had just said about their deaths.
But can I also ask you because obviously--
LAWLER: They were preventable.
COLLINS: And we cited your op-ed, as you know.
That is what happened in your hearing on sanctuary cities.
The other thing that has not happened in Washington is something that you've also had a big role in, which is the signing of that bipartisan housing bill.
And we heard from President Trump, again on this tonight, in terms of whether he'll sign it before he gets his federal elections bill, the overhaul bill on that first, and this is what he told CNBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The housing bill is fine. There's a lot of Democrat points in there that I don't even think are good, but it's fine. But I've made the case I'd rather not sign anything until we sign the SAVE America Act.
JOE KERNEN, "SQUAWK BOX" CO-ANCHOR, CNBC: Practically, how do we get there on SAVE America? What would you like Majority Leader Thune to--
TRUMP: Well, I would like them to get it passed. What I'd really like is for them to--
KERNEN: Filibuster.
TRUMP: Kill the filibuster.
KERNEN: Right.
TRUMP: Terminate the filibuster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: You actually helped write this housing bill. Do you think it's a mistake if the President doesn't sign it?
LAWLER: I do, and I said that directly to the President. I think he should sign it.
Look, this is a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and a Republican administration that worked together to produce the largest housing bill in 36 years. Most of the provisions are actually Republican. Six of my bills are in it, and what it fundamentally does is it cuts red tape, it increases access to capital, and it builds more housing, to ultimately bring down prices.
The biggest issue when it comes to affordability for Americans, has to do with housing costs and rent. And so, to me, this is one of the biggest issues that we can tackle. We are 8 million units underbuilt nationwide. The average age of a first-time homebuyer is 40-years-old today. I bought my house at 28. I'm going to be 40 in September. That's insane, that that's the average age of a first-time homebuyer.
Mortgage interest rates reached a 30-year high under Joe Biden. We have cut those in half. But there is still more work to do, and this housing bill goes a long way to actually help.
So, I once again encourage the President to sign it. I understand his position on SAVE America. We passed it three times through the House.
COLLINS: Yes.
LAWLER: Most Americans do agree with photo ID--
COLLINS: What if he vetoes it?
LAWLER: --and proof of citizenship. But--
COLLINS: What will you do?
LAWLER: I don't think he will veto it. Well I don't think he will. But if he does then--
COLLINS: Ron Johnson was saying he told the President maybe he should.
LAWLER: --then we will override it. If he does, then we will override it.
COLLINS: Yes.
LAWLER: I mean, look, it is fundamentally a good bill. There is a lot of things in there that will help the American people on the issue of housing, and I think the President should take a win on it. It is -- his administration helped Congress write it. They worked with us closely. We got it through the House and the Senate. And I think the President should take a win on it.
COLLINS: Yes, and they called it historic.
Congressman Mike Lawler, thank you for joining us on this Friday night -- Thursday night.
LAWLER: Thank you. Thank you. Happy Fourth.
COLLINS: Coming up here on THE SOURCE. President Trump promised, speaking of the Fourth of July, he promised a state fair that would be packed with happy crowds on the National Mall. I went down there myself to see it. What I found out instead, and why we're hearing from sources that the White House is worried about the grand finale.
[21:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: President Trump is just about 48 hours away from what he calls one of the most consequential moments of his presidency.
But tonight, sources say there's growing angst inside the White House over his rally on the National Mall, on Saturday, to celebrate America's 250th birthday. Thanks to triple-digit temperatures, though, super strict security measures, we're told, the White House officials are bracing for a potentially underwhelming showing. Just as we've seen at the Great American State Fair since it kicked off in a very warm Washington this week.
I actually went down to the National Mall to see the Fair for myself, as the behind-the-scenes drama to plan it is spilling out now in public.
[21:35:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): This is what the President has deemed the Great American State Fair.
But for a President who often fixates on crowd size. So far, the Fair on Washington's National Mall, hasn't exactly lived up to the hype.
COLLINS (on camera): I'm standing here on the National Mall, which is the site of President Trump's Great American State Fair, and as this is in place ahead of America's 250th anniversary that is coming up on July 4th, maybe nowhere better exemplifies how politics have been injected into so many of the events celebrating America's 250th.
COLLINS (voice-over): For America's 200th celebration, thousands of Americans flocked to the National Mall to celebrate, in 1976.
Planning for the 250th got underway nearly a decade ago. But perhaps no level of preparation could have predicted a president who would take the celebration into his own hands.
TRUMP: When you had a rigged election, I was really angry about it. Then I realized if I win the next time, I pick up the Olympics, the World Cup, and the 250, and I said, You know what, Pam? I said, This is a good thing.
COLLINS (voice-over): In 2016, Congress created America250, a bipartisan commission that began working on what was supposed to be an apolitical celebration.
REP. BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN (D-NJ): We were focused on what does America250 mean? What are we going to do? How are we going to recognize the greatness of our country?
COLLINS (voice-over): But once Trump took office, in January 2025, he took over the programming.
TRUMP: We have created a new public-private partnership. It's called Freedom 250.
COLLINS (voice-over): Democratic Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, who has served on the America250 campaign for seven years, says Trump upended their plans.
WATSON COLEMAN: Freedom 250 is his vanity project, and the things that he is trying to implement, they're all about him, and it is because, unfortunately, the President has an insatiable ego. And so, he has denigrated the essence of the celebration.
Well, it doesn't seem to be well-attended. It just looks very sedate to me.
COLLINS (voice-over): While the 250th may not be what the Commission originally planned, it's also not turning out how Trump expected either.
After most of the original performers dropped out due to politics, a concert featuring Vanilla Ice was also canceled due to bad weather.
Then, amid a heat wave in Washington, several of the indoor stalls at the Fair had to shutter their doors to guests when their ACs stopped working.
COLLINS (on camera): You'll notice here there are several booths for states, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee.
Potato chips are good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. COLLINS (on camera): With each item representing what their state brings to the nation.
But there are other states that actually haven't shown up at all. Now, some have cited finances as a reason for not being here, but others, including Pennsylvania, where the state's governor said, he just simply thought it was too political for his state to get involved, and blamed the Trump-aligned non-profit that has been battling it out with other groups to organize all the events leading up to July 4th.
Now, President Trump told people that it would be the greatest show on earth at the National Mall on July 4th. He told his supporters, Your favorite President will be speaking, so please show up.
What they will find here on these grounds are not just the different stalls representing each state in the nation, or at least those that decided to participate, but also, this replica of the arch that President Trump once built here in Washington. It's been part of that major renovation project that he's done, not just to the White House, but also to the larger D.C. area, attempting to rename the Kennedy Center after himself, and installing this arch, though I'm not sure exactly this is the replica that the President had in mind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want frozen one?
COLLINS (on camera): Now, amid reports that some states were declining to participate in the Great American State Fair, or that it was sparsely populated, President Trump seemed to defend the entire organization of it ahead of July 4th.
He wrote on Truth Social and said, Do you think people appreciate what a fantastic job we did in building and operating the Great American State Fair at the National Mall, packed with happy people, and everybody loving it? The President told people to ask if Obama or Joe Biden could have done this, and he said, in all-caps, quote, "THE ANSWER IS NO."
COLLINS (voice-over): Now, Trump is planning a grand finale air show and enough fireworks to break a Guinness World Record.
But it remains to be seen if the heat, tightened security measures, and fireworks that won't start before 10:30 p.m. will produce the turnout the President is hoping for.
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.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Just to show that I can do anything.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And two of my top political sources are here now. Jamal Simmons. And Shermichael Singleton.
Shermichael, what are your thoughts?
[21:40:00]
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I'm not surprised that the turnout isn't as expected. I mean, you just saw the recent PCE, Personal Consumption Expenditure numbers come out, and they were a bit higher, suggesting that inflation is still hard.
The Fed has indicated that they're not lowering rates. They're going to meet again next month. Most economists, most experts on Wall Street, do not expect them to lower rates by any basis points at all.
And so, it's really difficult to imagine people traveling from across the country to D.C., when every statistical model suggests that the American people average households simply just don't have the extra capital to do so.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean, in terms of just the logistics and the planning, I mean, beyond the heat, which everybody is feeling.
Jamal, this is what happened today during one of the events, where a huge piece of the stage actually almost fell on these dancers. If you're watching closely here on the left side of the stage, I mean, you could see the dancers themselves seem very frightened after what happened over on the left side.
I just think it is another point on top of the questions about the organizing and the planning of what's playing out on the National Mall.
JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER DEPUTY ASST. TO PRESIDENT BIDEN, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIR. TO VP HARRIS: Yes, the organizing, the planning, we saw what's happened in the Reflecting Pool, or reflecting pond as it may be at the moment because of how it's not so great to look at.
Listen, the President of the United States has spent a lot of time, over the course of the last year, not really embracing all Americans. And if you think about what's happened with the birthright citizenship case that we just went through, the fact that the civil -- the voting rights cases that have gone through that said people can't really participate in voting.
He was just at Teddy Roosevelt's library opening. And at that library opening, I saw him with 25 Rough Riders behind him. What he didn't have -- you know, Rough Riders are known for charging up San Juan Hill -- he didn't have the Buffalo Soldiers who actually did -- laid down cover fire for those Rough Riders to be able to go up that hill, the 9th and 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers.
And my favorite story from that is Sergeant George Berry, who was carrying the Buffalo Soldier -- the African American soldier flag, carrying it up the hill, and the 3rd Cavalry soldier went down because he was wounded, the white soldier, he grabbed -- George Berry grabbed the white soldier's colors and carried the Buffalo Soldiers' colors and brought both of them to the top of that hill and planted them.
That is the American story that I think we would want the President to carry, that would wrap all of us in that flag. But that's not what we're getting out of this president. So, I'm not surprised that a lot of people don't feel especially happy right now and patriotic about what's happening in the country.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean, obviously, we'll see what he says on Saturday night as well. He talked about giving a very long speech.
Shermichael, speaking of Washington. We saw Jeanine Pirro. She's the U.S. Attorney in Washington. She held this press conference today, and it was about the arrest -- the indictment of a former Olympic canoeist who has been indicted for allegedly damaging the Reflecting Pool.
I want you to listen to how she described what he is being accused of.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANINE PIRRO, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR WASHINGTON, D.C.: There was an effort, a violent effort to rip up the sealant from the bottom of the pool.
We can state and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he caused damage, and that damage is over a $1,000.
REPORTER: Keying in on that, how do you prove that $1,000--
PIRRO: With an expert.
REPORTER: Is that because--
PIRRO: Come to the trial.
REPORTER: Did he have any tools, or is it just his bare hands?
PIRRO: Right now we believe it's his bare hands, both hands.
REPORTER: So, does that indicate, in your belief, that it was probably damaged before, or do you believe that he--
PIRRO: Oh, he damaged it.
REPORTER: Further. But do you believe there -- it had already been damaged before, so--
PIRRO: He damaged the pool.
REPORTER: Before he touched it. You--
PIRRO: He damaged this pool.
REPORTER: But there have been, you know, all these videos, obviously.
PIRRO: Well, good. I'm glad you've got that evidence. Come on in, the grand jury, you can testify. Next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I mean, his attorney says he's innocent. They called the charges outrageous, they said that it should be alarming because they show the effort to shift blame for their own failures. They said -- he said he was just pulling part of the -- he stuck his hand in the water, and was pulling part of the -- what was peeling off already.
I mean, Shermichael, what did you make of that press conference overall?
SINGLETON: I mean, the burden of proof is on the prosecution.
I've said this before on your show, I don't really care about this. You just heard me cite at the top of this segment, the PCE numbers and the fact that the average American household incomes are at an all- time low.
You had Congressman Mike Lawler on, in a previous segment before the commercial break. At the end, you asked him about the housing bill that he is a part of, a bipartisan bill with a lot of Republican points, including many that the President advocated for several months ago.
[21:45:00]
And in his last remarks, before you went to the break, the Congressman said he's urged the President to take the victory here because it is a victory for Republicans. It gives Republicans the opportunity to campaign across the country to suggest that we're focused on the cost of living, housing prices, and here's what we have done, and here's what we continue to do.
So, from my perspective as a strategist, any campaign ad that Democrats may throw our way, any press conference that Democrats may chop up to throw our way, is an opportunity that advances their candidates and not an opportunity that advances Republicans and the conservative message. That has got to be our focus and our priority over the next couple of months. Any minute we're not doing that, we're really ceding ground to our friends on the other side.
Now, I don't expect for them to have a 2018 victory, but I certainly do expect for us to lose the House. And so, right now my priority is to diminish those losses by as much as we possibly can.
And so, I think when the average person sees this, they're thinking to themselves, This is a distraction and not a prioritization of what I'm facing every day, which again is affordability issues.
COLLINS: Shermichael Singleton. Jamal Simmons. Thank you both for being here tonight.
SIMMONS: Thank you. COLLINS: Up next. We're going to take you to a live look outside of Madison Square Garden because what we know about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding celebration that is happening this hour. We're live on the ground with what we know right after this.
[21:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Right now, CNN's sources say Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding rehearsal is underway at Madison Square Garden, just about a block from where I'm sitting tonight.
And throughout the day, we've seen the area bustling with preparations, as officers have erected barricades on the streets surrounding Madison Square Garden. Trucks have been unloading various items into the arena. Organizers have been putting up big tents to obscure the guests who's coming in, who's coming out.
Tonight's rehearsal is -- the dinner is happening at the Infosys Theater, which is a more intimate venue inside Madison Square Garden. The big event is expected to happen in the main arena, that we're all familiar with, tomorrow.
Tonight, CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister is outside Madison Square Garden and joins me now.
Elizabeth, what do we know about what's happening inside MSG?
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: So, right now, behind me, Kaitlan, is this rehearsal event as you said. Sources have told us that this event was expected to draw around a 100 people, much smaller to the event expected tomorrow night, with a 1,000 people.
And I have to tell you, right behind me, just over here, 31st Street is closed off for many cars. There's a lot of black SUVs that have been going in. But Kaitlan, it is so secure that the cars actually drive under a tent that was put up just hours ago, I saw it going up. And then, when the guests, the A-list guests gets out of the car, they're then walking underneath the tent to go inside. So, it's very, very secure.
Now, I also have to tell you that throughout this week, they've been setting up. we saw everything from boxes of lobster meat to some box that said Garden Party, some tree branches that are probably going to be decor. So, this has been a major event that they have been setting up for all week long.
COLLINS: Well, I mean, a lot of people, when it initially came out, Elizabeth, that this was going to happen at MSG, I think people were skeptical that this was actually going to go down, at one of the world's most famous arenas -- most famous arenas in New York City.
In terms of how they've secured it and what else it looks like, do we know anything more about that? WAGMEISTER: Yes, there is a huge NYPD presence here. Also, the National Guard on site. They are expected to have canine units. So, this has been a huge, huge security presence.
And even the NYPD Commissioner, Jessica Tisch, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani have commented on this. They've kind of been teasing this possible Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce wedding all week in the context of talking about security around events throughout the July 4th weekend.
Now, I also want to note, Kaitlan, as you said, a lot of fans were skeptical, Is this really going to happen in a place as drab, quite frankly, as Madison Square Garden? But look, when money is no issue, you can transform it because it's a blank space in there, if you see what I did there, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes, I do.
Elizabeth, what else stands out to you, and what are you looking for over the next 24 hours?
WAGMEISTER: Well, I want to tell you that MSG is actually lit up right now with lavender. We know that Taylor Swift has a song, Lavender Haze. So, it seems that every detail has been thought of here.
And of course, this is a hugely expensive event. A luxury wedding planner spoke to CNN and said, an event like this could cost anywhere from $15 million to $20 million, a huge part of that cost, of course, going to security.
COLLINS: Yes.
Elizabeth Wagmeister, outside a very busy MSG, thanks so much for being out there for us.
Up next here. It is time for Source Code. We give you the number at the center of a story in the news. Can you guess that story? Tonight's Source Code is 78. And we're back in just a moment with the answer.
[21:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight's Source Code is 78. That's because that's the temperature that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani asked New Yorkers to set their ACs to, to help keep the power grid up and running during the city's record heat wave that is underway right now.
Just moments after that post though, Republican responses started to roll in, with former governor and Presidential candidate, Nikki Haley, writing, Welcome to socialism. She echoed what the Republican governor for -- the Republican candidate for governor in Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy, said. Also, Senator Ted Cruz, who wrote, In a first-world country, you could turn on the A/C.
[22:00:00] I should note, not only have Mayor Mamdani's predecessors made the exact same recommendation, including Eric Adams, and the city's former Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani. As governor, Nikki Haley herself made a similar request, in 2015, to help conserve energy during a winter storm. And officials in Ted Cruz's home state have repeatedly asked Texans to turn their thermostats to 78 as well, during extreme heat.
We hope you all stay cool this weekend.
Thanks so much for joining us.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts right now.
