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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Trump, Republicans To Descend On Dallas For Midterm Convention; New Video: U.S. Launches Strikes On Five Iranian Tankers; Trump Claims He Was Carried Away By Firefighters After 9/11 Attack. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired September 08, 2026 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But there is also a change in the criminal activity around. The Europol published this report, last month, suggesting that across Europe, criminals are now targeting museums in a new way, with these kind of heists, proving more frequent and sometimes more violent. What they're doing is recruiting those who carry them out on social media and targeting artifacts or paintings in a way that they simply didn't before.
Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Melissa Bell, thanks so much.
That's it for us. The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now. See you tomorrow.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Tonight. President Trump says everyone wants to be at tomorrow's midterm convention in Dallas. But will they?
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
We are now less than 24 hours away from what Republicans have dubbed Trump-a-Palooza, a two-day extravaganza in the heart of Texas, and a first-of-its-kind Republican midterm convention. It's an event that the President is hoping will provide a jolt to Republican candidates and Republican voters, as Election Day is rapidly approaching.
But even as the White House says the event is an effort to help Republicans hang on to control of the House and the Senate, a number of Republicans in some key battleground races have decided to stay back home in their districts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Kean, are you going to the Republican convention next week?
REP. DAVID VALADAO (R-CA): No, I've never been to a convention, so.
RAJU: Yes, not good -- not -- probably not ideal for a swing district member like yourself?
VALADAO: I've never been to a convention, so this doesn't really change anything, so.
RAJU: Are you going to go to the midterm convention next week?
REP. RALPH NORMAN (R-SC): No. I'm going to take -- I've been in politics -- I've been campaigning for a year and a half.
RAJU: Are you planning to go to the Republican convention next week?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm planning to be in my district.
RAJU: Congressman. Are you -- are you going to go to the Republican convention? Are you going to go to the Republican convention?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The President himself promoted the convention on Truth Social just this evening, writing, quote: "The Republican National Convention, tomorrow night in Dallas, is really "HOT." The American Airlines Center, home to the Dallas Mavericks, is totally sold out." The President continued, "Everybody wants to be there, but we're really asking only those Candidates that are in tight Races, a little up, a little down, or even, to speak. We want to save the "stage" for them."
Now, the President himself is expected to speak on both nights. It remains to be seen what exactly will be included in his speech.
But there was another speech that the President gave today, about his own claimed experience during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, 25 years ago, that is raising new questions tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I was building a big building in New York, and I took the whole crew down there right after this happened, and they were -- they had no hesitation. Everybody went down with me. We went down as a big group of people. Wasn't too much we could do. I'll be honest; it was -- it was raw. Nobody's seen anything like it ever.
We had other buildings. The United States Steel Building was creaking, really creaking, and we thought it was going to fall down. The truth is, it creaked a lot. It creaked. It still creaks. But it never came down.
And I'll never forget two firemen. We thought it was coming down on top of us, and two firemen -- big, strong guys -- and I'm not the smallest guy in the world -- they grabbed me under the arms, said, Got to get out of here. And they literally lifted me up. This is not easy to do. I'm big. They lifted me up and they started running with me. I said, Fellas, I can run myself. But they were amazing. But they thought it was coming down; it didn't come down. U.S. Steel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Following those remarks today, the President, just a few moments ago, posted in a lengthy statement, on Truth Social that -- a statement that includes this following: I was there, obviously not on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter, with a large group of Construction Workers. I discussed it today during my Remarks on the Ellipse, in Washington, D.C., for Tunnel to Towers. Everything I said was exactly accurate.
My lead source tonight is the Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, whose new book, which we're going to talk about here tonight, is called "Going Further," about Clarence Thomas and his legacy. It is in stores now and just actually made the bestsellers list. So, congratulations to you on that.
I want to ask you about his legacy and your conversations with him because we don't often hear from him.
But on the President's 9/11 story today. He's saying that there is evidence that he was there right after. I mean, he's kind of making it sound like he was pulled out of the rubble though, with the firefighters. Do you think that's appropriate?
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Yes, September 11th was 25 years ago. It was a horrific moment for our entire country. And you could doubt whatever you want about Donald Trump. But the man is a New Yorker. He loves New York. And I have every doubt that what he's conveying there is what he experienced. And that was a traumatic experience for all of us.
[21:05:00]
COLLINS: Yes, some people might just hear that and think he's exaggerating his role. Should anyone exaggerate what happened on 9/11 and their role--
CRUZ: Look, I think when you're sharing your feelings, your sentiments. I remember, I was in D.C. on 9/11. We lived less than a mile away from the Pentagon.
COLLINS: You were working at DOJ at the time, right?
CRUZ: Yes, I was at -- no, I'd actually moved over to the FTC then, but my wife Heidi was in the White House, and she was evacuated. They literally, at first, the Secret Service agents said, Stay where you are, and then they ran through the hallways and they said, Get out now. Run. Don't walk. She was at the U.S. Trade Rep's office, and she was not able to get her car. She pulled off her high heels and walked home in her bare feet across Memorial Bridge.
I mean, that was a -- look, for everyone who lived through that, you could smell the smoke. We lost a very dear friend on 9/11. Barbara Olson was in the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, and it -- you know, that was a moment, 25 years ago, that changed our country.
COLLINS: Yes, and obviously we'll see the reflections of it this week on the actual anniversary.
Speaking of before that, though, is when everyone's going to Texas, your home state.
CRUZ: Yes. COLLINS: You'll be there speaking.
CRUZ: Yes.
COLLINS: You saw the President saying that only people in competitive races should be the ones on stage. You're actually slated to speak. You're not in a race.
CRUZ: Yes.
COLLINS: Are you still speaking at the convention?
CRUZ: Oh, I am. And look, there are 535 candidates, or 435 plus another 33-some-odd for Senate. So, you obviously can't have 470 candidates speaking.
So, I think the President is understandably saying, look, if a particular candidate isn't on the agenda, it doesn't mean that we don't love them. It just means we're -- they're focusing on key races.
COLLINS: And what should the message be at this Republican convention? What do Republican voters need to hear?
CRUZ: Look, I think that we face a fundamental choice. This is a time for choosing.
And we have one path that is a path of commonsense, that is a path of low taxes, low regulations, jobs, securing the border.
And we have another path. What's happened in the Democrat Party in this last year is really frightening. I think the Democrat Party has gotten extreme. We're seeing Marxists and Islamists rising within the party, and I think that would be a very dangerous path for this country to go down.
COLLINS: But for Republicans, I mean, you yourself have acknowledged that the party that's in power doesn't usually do well in the -- in the midterm elections.
CRUZ: Historically, yes, it's true.
COLLINS: So, if the President gets on stage tomorrow night and this is about the President, is that going to help your party or hurt your party?
CRUZ: Look, I think the midterms are going to be about turnout. The reason that midterms are often bad for the party in power is the party out of power is usually mad. In this case, the left is energized. They hate Donald Trump. They're motivated. They're going to show up. We're going to see everyone who hates Donald Trump show up on Election Day. The question is, do Republicans show up? Are we divided?
We need to unite. We need to come together. And not just Republicans. I just want commonsense ordinary people. People who don't think communism is a good idea, people who don't want to do, as Comrade Mamdani says here, seize the means of production. People who don't want to, as James Talarico in Texas has said, don't want to dismantle capitalism. If we just get commonsense, freedom-loving Americans to show up, we'll have a good election. But it's all about turnout.
COLLINS: Yes, and I think James Talarico's campaign has said he missed the mark with those comments about capitalism, that KFILE uncovered here at CNN, six years ago. But--
CRUZ: Well, to be clear, they're on video and he's talking to radicals. And actually, his full quote -- you can watch his full quote.
COLLINS: No, I did. I'm not saying he didn't say it. I'm just saying that that's what his campaign has said since then, when KFILE uncovered those comments.
But on the President's message tomorrow night. Obviously, the economy is a huge thing for voters right now. His numbers are pretty bad on the economy right now. He's argued that inflation has been defeated. But there's Republicans who are on the ballot that are running, that are saying, We understand costs are going up.
If he gets on stage tomorrow night and says, prices are going down. Is that out of touch with how Texans feel?
CRUZ: Listen, we had four years of really high inflation under Biden.
President Trump is right, that the rate of inflation has slowed significantly. But there's a difference between the rate of inflation slowing and suddenly prices going down. That's very hard to make prices fall.
And so, are people still hurting? Yes. And that's why we've got to give, at this convention and in the 56 days between now and Election Day, we got to give people a reason to show up.
And I think we've had extraordinary successes these last two years. I think it's incumbent on all of us to make the case to the American people, the wins that we've had for the American people.
COLLINS: But in terms of what things cost right now. I mean, prices have gone up since Trump took office. Gas is at more now than when he took office.
CRUZ: At a much slower rate than they did during Biden. Biden, you had much higher inflation rates.
And the inflation rates have lowered. And in some areas, a lot of areas of food, we've seen prices going down recently.
[21:10:00]
We just had a new jobs report that particularly non-college educated workers are seeing jobs numbers go up significantly. That's really good for the economy. And I think it also reflects the direction the Republican Party has gone. We're a blue-collar party now. That that's something that 20 years ago, very few people would have believed. But that's the heart of our party now, is truck drivers and steel workers and cops and firefighters. That's -- and I think we're seeing that in the jobs numbers.
COLLINS: The President himself says that gas prices, oil prices, will come down when the war with Iran is over.
CRUZ: Yes.
COLLINS: He thinks they'll drop then.
Right now, as you've seen, back in February, before the war started, I think we were paying $2.98 nationally. Now it's $4.15 nationally. From AAA. When you look at those prices--
CRUZ: And by the way, under Biden it was $5. And in California, it was $6, and even approaching $7. So--
COLLINS: Yes, but Trump said he was going to bring it down to $2, his first year in office.
CRUZ: Well, to be clear, Trump brought it down a lot. It's a lot lower than it was under Biden.
COLLINS: But it's higher now than it was before the war started, right?
CRUZ: That's true. And any time you have a middle -- you have a military conflict in the Middle East, you can expect at least a short- term impact on gas prices.
COLLINS: And how long do you think Americans should be prepared to pay higher gas prices?
CRUZ: Listen, I want to see gas prices much, much lower, and I think bringing peace and stability to the Middle East is one way to do it.
Another way to do it, which we're doing right now, is producing more oil and gas at home. A decade ago, the Permian Basin, which is West Texas, produced about 2 million barrels a day of oil. Today, they're producing about 6 million barrels a day. And having government policies that actually support and encourage exploration of our own resources that, that has enabled that -- that has lowered gas prices a lot for ordinary Americans.
COLLINS: But gas prices are higher right now.
CRUZ: They're higher than they were earlier under Trump--
COLLINS: So how much longer -- how much longer does that go on?
CRUZ: --but they're much lower than they were under Biden.
COLLINS: The U.S. was producing more oil under Biden than it ever had in American history, which he didn't want to talk about, but it was actually true.
CRUZ: We are producing much more oil now than we were under Biden.
COLLINS: But if you're paying $4.15 for gas, is that -- is that comforting?
CRUZ: Well it's -- $4.15 -- I would like that to be lower. But you know what? You were paying over five bucks a gallon under Joe Biden, which, which oddly enough, when CNN discusses it, y'all don't talk about that. That the fact that that Trump has lowered gas prices significantly is still true.
COLLINS: But they're higher than they were in February.
CRUZ: They're higher than they were under Trump. They're lower than they were under Biden. So, that's hard to say--
COLLINS: But they're higher than they were under Trump six months ago.
CRUZ: Why do you think that is?
COLLINS: Because of the war.
CRUZ: Of course.
COLLINS: So my question is, how long do you think Americans should be prepared for that?
CRUZ: I think President Trump is a serious commander-in-chief. And when the Ayatollah says, Death to America, I believe him. And so, I think he is acting heroically to stop the Ayatollah from having nuclear weapons, which I think if he had nuclear weapons, he would use them. And that -- his first responsibility, as Commander-in-Chief and as President, is to keep Americans safe, and I think he is doing so decisively.
COLLINS: Do you believe that this is a war?
CRUZ: I think it is a military conflict. There's relatively little active military engagement right now. There are occasional skirmishes. There's some shots back and forth. But it's been several months since we've had sustained military conflict.
What we're seeing right now is primarily an economic boycott against Iran. It's imposing crushing consequences on Iran. About $500 million a day of economic pressure, and that's the principal lever the President is using.
COLLINS: But even though the United States just bombed five Iranian oil tankers today. I mean, you don't think that means the United States is at war right now?
CRUZ: I think compared to when we were doing massive bombing -- look, we took out virtually the entirety of the Iranian military. The navy is at the bottom of the ocean. The air force is in rubble. Many of their missiles and drones have been destroyed. When we were doing sustained bombing, that was a very different phase.
Are there some ongoing hostilities? Yes, but it is not as sustained. And it is not a military conflict that has major engagement most days.
COLLINS: The reason I ask how long it could go on for is I asked the Vice President this question last week, and this is what he told me. He also did not call it a war. But this is what he said about when he believes it could come to an end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Will this war be over by the time of the midterm elections?
JD VANCE (R), U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Well, Kaitlan, again, I don't -- I wouldn't call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting.
When you ask when will this end, you're asking me a question, like, when will the Iranians stop shooting at ships? I think the reality is, I don't know the answer to that question. You would have to ask the Iranians.
COLLINS: But so it's up to the Iranians when this war ends?
VANCE: Well, if the Iranians keep on--
COLLINS: I mean, initially, you said four to six weeks.
VANCE: But -- but Kaitlan, if the Iranians keep on shooting at commercial ships, again, we have, I think, a responsibility. But certainly, we're the only ones with the capability to ensure that the Iranians are not destroying world energy markets. And our attitude is we're not going to set an artificial timeline.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Does the war go on as long as Iran is capable of firing at these commercial ships?
CRUZ: Listen, JD is basically right in what he said there, that the Iranian regime is a terrorist regime, that the Ayatollah -- for 47 years, Iran has been the leading funder, the leading state sponsor, of terrorism worldwide. They've killed nearly a 1,000 Americans. They've been waging war against us.
[21:15:00]
At the end of the day, the Iranian regime is not accepting peace. It's one of the reasons I've urged President Trump, from the beginning, that I think we ought to be arming the protesters. We ought to be arming the Kurds.
And listen, we're not going to send American troops on the ground. President Trump's not going to do that. And we shouldn't do that.
But the Iranian protesters -- look, at the start of this conflict, the regime killed somewhere between 10,000 and 40,000 protesters. And it's not fair to expect protesters with rocks, to stand up and fight soldiers with machine guns. And so, I think far better to let them take control of their own country and decide their own destiny. COLLINS: But, right now, the United States is not arming Iranian protesters. They haven't--
CRUZ: That's true. And we should be.
COLLINS: They haven't done so in the last six months. And the Vice President is arguing--
CRUZ: And by the way, the reason they haven't is because Turkey and Erdogan are arguing against it. I think we should be disregarding what Turkey is saying because, as long as this regime is in power, I think they will continue to threaten the United States--
COLLINS: But--
CRUZ: --and to engage in act of terrorism.
COLLINS: But that doesn't seem to be on the table. The President hasn't said he plans to arm the protesters.
CRUZ: Well, I talk with the President every week, and I don't know that it will not be on the table. We haven't done it yet.
COLLINS: But as long as Iran can fire at commercial ships, is this war going to continue?
CRUZ: Well, look, as long as terrorists are capable of carrying out acts of terrorism, they may do so. The best way to stop that is to prevent them from being able to, or to take them out of power.
COLLINS: So, do you think this war will be over by the midterms?
CRUZ: At the end of the day, I don't think the Ayatollah or the Mullahs want it to be over. Look--
COLLINS: But is it up to Iran, I guess, is the question.
CRUZ: Well, at some level, yes, if they--
COLLINS: The United States started the war--
CRUZ: If they keep shooting at us, then yes, at some level it is.
COLLINS: But I thought their military was degraded and that they didn't have any capability.
CRUZ: But that's because they're engaged in what are effectively acts of terrorism. It does not take a terribly high-tech military to put mines in the Strait of Hormuz. It does not take a terribly high-tech military to have a speedboat with explosives. And so, low-tech terrorism.
At the end of the day -- listen, we're, this week, we're remembering the 25th anniversary of 21 individual terrorists who, with box cutters, managed to kill nearly 3,000 people.
COLLINS: But as long as Iran--
CRUZ: So, it doesn't take a high-tech military to engage in acts of terrorism.
COLLINS: But if they can do that, I mean, does that mean the war goes on as long as they can do that?
CRUZ: It's why I have said from the beginning the objective should be regime collapse, removing the Ayatollah from continuing to wage war against America. I don't think they want peace.
And it's worth noting. Look, the MOU that was negotiated, I think, was a mistake at the time, but it would have flowed $300 billion to Iran.
COLLINS: The MOU that the Vice President negotiated?
CRUZ: And you know what? It turned out, the Ayatollah and the Mullahs are such whackjobs, they said no to $300 billion. They wanted to keep engaging in attacks, and I think that is, you know, to use the old Aesop's fable of the frog and the scorpion, that is their nature. That is who they are.
COLLINS: Do you think that was a tactical error by the Trump administration?
CRUZ: I said at the time that history has shown that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is a really bad idea. I don't believe in giving money to people who are trying to kill Americans.
COLLINS: The race that's happening in your home state between Ken Paxton, the Republican, and James Talarico, that you mentioned, the Democrat. It's a state that the President won by 14 points, two years ago. Now, polling shows they're basically in a tie.
CRUZ: Yes.
COLLINS: When it comes to the President and how much money he's going to have to spend here, or maybe not spend, who will Republicans have to blame if Republicans lose Texas?
CRUZ: Oh, listen, we have a real race in Texas. But you know, we have a real race in most states across the country. It's a midterm.
COLLINS: But Texas is Texas.
CRUZ: I am fully aware of this. But you know what? Texas, like other states, we got a bunch of liberals in Texas. Now, we have more conservatives and more commonsense Texans than we have liberals, but the liberals are really ticked off and they're energized.
And I'll tell you, if you look at this race, James Talarico, I think, is a dangerous candidate. I think, substantively, he is radical and extreme. But he's very good at seeming charming. He's very good at seeming innocuous. Personally, I prefer my wolves in wolf's clothing, not in sheep's clothing. Here's why I think Ken Paxton is going to win. Because Talarico's record is fundamentally out of step with where the people of Texas are. When James Talarico says God is non-binary, when he says there are six different genders, when he says we should have a welcome mat on our southern border, those are not the values of Texans. When he says we want to end oil and gas--
COLLINS: Does Ken Paxton have the value of Texans?
CRUZ: Ken Paxton is fighting for--
COLLINS: He's been in a lot of trouble on his own camp, by his own aides who've worked for him, who turned him into the FBI, basically.
CRUZ: Look, Ken Paxton is fighting for policies that most Texans agree with: low taxes, low regulations, lots of jobs, securing the border, supporting law enforcement. Those are the policies that Texans agree with.
[21:20:00]
And at the end of the day, this race is not about whether you personally like one candidate or the other. This race is about, in Texas, what policies are good for 32 million Texans. And the policies of James Talarico -- look, Comrade Mamdani knows exactly who Talarico is when he says he wants to dismantle capitalism. So does Abdul El- Sayed. He is a fellow traveler with the DSA radicals in the Democrat Party.
Look, James Talarico is someone who's -- who ran a vegan campaign because he believes meat is destroying the world. Now, that would be a great campaign in Berkeley, California--
COLLINS: But he's not--
CRUZ: --but it's not Texas.
COLLINS: He's not a Democratic Socialist. But--
CRUZ: OK. You say that. Tell me -- tell me then, what does -- what does dismantling--
COLLINS: I'm just saying he's not--
CRUZ: --capitalism mean?
COLLINS: But these -- we already--
CRUZ: That's his own words.
COLLINS: Yes, I know. CNN uncovered those words actually. That was KFILE CNN reporting.
CRUZ: OK. But now you're trying to help him back away from him because he's recognizing in a general election--
COLLINS: No, I just cited what his campaign has said about it. We've also cited what Ken Paxton's--
CRUZ: Of course. He's running away from his record.
COLLINS: --campaign says.
CRUZ: That doesn't mean that's not what he believes.
COLLINS: Right. Well, we've asked plenty of Democrats about their past statements.
But in terms of races that everyone's talking about. Obviously, we're looking at 2026. 2028 is the other big thing.
And in that same briefing with the Vice President, last week, he was asked about you, and he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: I'd encourage any Republican, if you care about the country, and I think all of us do, you should be focused not on a job a few years from now. You should be focused on the midterms.
Ted Cruz, I mean, look, man, he's -- just clearly, Ted is a very authentic and likable guy, and I'm sure he'll do great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: What did you hear in that comment?
CRUZ: Oh, look, I appreciate the kind words from the Vice President, and I agree with him that we should be focusing on the midterms. We're 56 days out from the midterms. These midterms matter enormously. There's a reason I'm crisscrossing the country, campaigning for candidates all over the country. Because the outcome of this midterm is going to have a massive impact on the country.
COLLINS: Do you think he meant what he said about you?
CRUZ: I have no idea. You'd have to ask him.
COLLINS: Do you think that he would make a good 2028 candidate?
CRUZ: I think there will be plenty of time to discuss that after the midterms.
And by the way, I have no idea who's going to run for President in 2028. Look, JD may run.
COLLINS: But you might know one candidate.
CRUZ: Marco Rubio may run. Tulsi Gabbard may run. Pete Hegseth may run. Bobby Kennedy may run. I don't know who's going to run. We'll find that out next year.
COLLINS: You sat down with Justice Clarence Thomas for this book. For 10 hours, I believe, you interviewed him? CRUZ: Yes, about 9.5.
COLLINS: I mean, you also spoke to him on a podcast. I don't think I've ever heard him do a podcast before.
CRUZ: Yes.
COLLINS: He is on track to become the longest serving Supreme Court justice by next -- by 2028, when you might be running.
CRUZ: Yes.
COLLINS: When you talked about his legacy, what do you think his legacy is going to be at a time when the Supreme Court and expanding it and public confidence in it is as low as it is right now?
CRUZ: Well, listen, the expanding, it is just the Democrats have gone radical and decided they want to pack the court.
In terms of the court, I think the court has been faithful to the Constitution. Not in every case, but more so than at any time, certainly in recent history.
And I will say, Clarence Thomas -- look, the reason I wrote this biography of Clarence Thomas -- I've known Justice Thomas for more than 30 years. I respect him immensely. And what I try to do in the book is three things simultaneously.
Number one, tell his personal story. He was born into abject poverty in rural Georgia, born in 1948, just a couple years after World War II. He was born before Brown versus Board of Education at a time of segregated schools. He faced enormous poverty. English was his second language. Actually, growing up as a kid in coastal Georgia, he spoke Geechee, which is a dialect that is common in coastal Georgia.
He was raised by his grandfather, who was a strict disciplinarian. His grandfather -- his own autobiography, is called "My Grandfather's Son." And his grandfather and his grandmother taught him discipline and taught him hard work and turned him into the man he is. There is no Justice who has gone from such abject poverty to the absolute pinnacle of American law.
But secondly, when Clarence Thomas was in college and law school, he was an angry left-wing radical. And so, in this book, I chronicle his journey from being a left-wing radical to one of the most important conservative voices the country has ever seen.
And then, finally, third, as you noted, he is the second longest- serving justice in American history. 35 years on the court, soon to be the longest serving.
COLLINS: Yes.
CRUZ: I try to take three decades of jurisprudence and explain it in language and terms that you don't have to be a lawyer to understand, you don't have to be a constitutional expert, to make it real. Because by any objective measure, he is one of the most consequential justices to have ever served.
COLLINS: How often do you talk to him?
CRUZ: Look, we're not pals. We don't hang out and regularly have meals together. But I've known him.
When I started writing the book, it was about two years ago, I went to see him in his office, and I asked him if he'd be willing to sit for a series of interviews. And he kind of leaned back in his chair and he said, You know, Ted, if you were anyone else, he said, If you were a law professor, I'd say no. But he said, Because it's you, I'll do it.
[21:25:00]
And I've known him a long time. I started my career as a law clerk at the Supreme Court, clerking for Chief Justice Rehnquist. So, I met Justice Thomas in the mid-90s. I spent more than a decade as a Supreme Court litigator, arguing and winning major cases in front of the Supreme Court. And I've now spent 14 years in the Senate on the Senate Judiciary Committee, being intimately involved in judicial confirmations. And so, I think he believed that I could tell his story effectively.
The book came out last week. It is number one on The New York Times Best Seller list. It shot to the top. And I think it's because people are enjoying it. It's fun. It's filled with stories.
COLLINS: Do you know if he's read it yet?
CRUZ: I don't -- I don't know. I sent him a copy. I don't -- I don't know if he's read it. But I will say, he did sit for my podcast for about an hour and 20 minutes, it's the first and only podcast he's ever done, and answered questions.
And look, part of why I wrote it. We're in such an angry time, such a divided time that people are yelling at each other. They're angry with each other.
COLLINS: Yes.
CRUZ: We have a shortage of role models. And I think he's an extraordinary role model.
And I'll say, by the way, look, CNN, you have conservatives, you have moderates, you have liberals, who listen to CNN and watch CNN. I would encourage you, if you're a conservative, you ought to buy the book because it will inspire you. But even if you're politically left of center, if you've been told Clarence Thomas is the devil, you ought to read and learn his story because it is extraordinary. And I promise you, even if you think you disagree with him--
COLLINS: Senator--
CRUZ: --I believe you'll be inspired by it.
COLLINS: Senator, Author, Ted Cruz, thank you for joining us. CRUZ: Thank you.
COLLINS: The book is "Going Further," and as the Senator mentioned, it is available now.
Up next for us here on THE SOURCE. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is facing backlash over a report that says he was warned, by another leader, of Hamas' attack just a few days before October 7th. More, right after this.
[21:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, Iran is threatening to target oil tankers near Bahrain and Kuwait, vowing to retaliate, after the United States targeted five Iranian tankers, including one near Kharg Island, which sits in the Persian Gulf and acts as that hub for Iranian oil exports.
CENTCOM posted these images, said these strikes were in response to attempted ballistic missile attacks on a U.S. Navy warship.
It follows other strikes over the weekend, and after the Vice President, JD Vance, said just last week, as you just heard, that he would not call this a war.
Joining me now is our Iranian expert, and CNN Global Affairs Analyst, Karim Sadjadpour.
Karim, as you look at these strikes going back and forth. I mean, a lot of people might look at this and say, Looks like a war to me. What do you make of Iran's capabilities that we're seeing tonight?
KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Kaitlan, Iran undeniably is in a war with the United States, even if President Vance -- Vice President Vance says that the United States is not in a war.
Iran is being strangled now economically. So, it is debilitated both economically and militarily. But it still has great destructive capacity. And rather than sit on its hands and just being strangled economically, they're choosing to punch back. They're going after oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, U.S. military bases, and after -- oil installations. So, their goal, as it has been the last six months, is to spike the price of oil and sabotage U.S. public opinion against the war.
COLLINS: Well, I mean, we look at the Middle East on fire right now. We talked about all those attempted attacks.
Something speaks to that today in this report that came out from Haaretz today, saying that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, referencing October 7th, got a warning basically from a fellow leader, from the UAE, telling him that Hamas was preparing a major attack on Israel. His office is saying -- that was 10 days before October 7th. Netanyahu's office is saying tonight that this is not true; that that was an absolute lie.
When you look at this and the reaction in the region, how significant do you think this new report is?
SADJADPOUR: It's significant in that Netanyahu is up for re-election in six weeks, and he is neck and neck in those polls. And he's someone who's long seen himself as Israel's Churchill, the sole guarantor of Israel's security, and he's provided -- he presided over the greatest security failure in modern Israeli history.
So, I would say most leaders in the Middle East right now, including Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, friendly countries to Israel, do want to see a change in leadership in Israel.
COLLINS: Karim Sadjadpour, obviously, we've seen them seizing on that ahead of the election. Thank you, as always, for joining us with your expertise.
SADJADPOUR: Thank you.
COLLINS: Up next. You heard what President Trump said today, as he was honoring 9/11 first responders and making that own questionable claim about where he was 25 years ago.
Daniel Dale has been looking at all the evidence, all the facts. He'll dig into the President's story, right after this.
[21:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: At an event today, honoring 9/11 first responders, President Trump made questionable claims about his own experience near Ground Zero, following the terrorist attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I was building a big building in New York, and I took the whole crew down there right after this happened, and they were -- they had no hesitation. Everybody went down with me. We went down as a big group of people. Wasn't too much we could do. I'll be honest; it was -- it was raw. Nobody's seen anything like it ever.
We had other buildings. The United States Steel Building was creaking, really creaking, and we thought it was going to fall down. The truth is, it creaked a lot. It creaked. It still creaks. But it never came down.
And I'll never forget two firemen. We thought it was coming down on top of us, and two firemen -- big, strong guys -- and I'm not the smallest guy in the world -- they grabbed me under the arms, said, Got to get out of here. And they literally lifted me up. This is not easy to do. I'm big. They lifted me up and they started running with me. I said, Fellas, I can run myself. But they were amazing. But they thought it was coming down; it didn't come down. U.S. Steel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, I should note, when the President is saying that, it's not clear when he's claiming exactly that happened after 9/11. He was not near the World Trade Center on 9/11. That's because we know he was miles away at Trump Tower, in Midtown Manhattan.
And tonight he wrote online: I was there, obviously not on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter.
Our CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale is here.
[21:40:00]
And Daniel Dale, the President has told a lot of stories about his role on 9/11 after, in the aftermath, throughout the years. He's claiming tonight that everything he said there was entirely accurate. Is there any evidence for that?
DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: The record shows, Kaitlan, that at least some of the story is misleading at best, while there is no evidence whatsoever for other parts of it.
So, what's misleading? Well, you mentioned, I think, the thing that's first and foremost. I think he at least left open the impression that this supposed incident, in which he was whisked away by big strong firemen, happened on 9/11 itself. And again, we know that he was at Trump Tower, miles away, not in the vicinity of Ground Zero.
What else is misleading? Well, I think he conjured the impression that he was trapped in a building, like so many people were trapped in the Twin Towers, when he said, you know, and he thought it was going to come down on top of us, that firefighters said, we got to get out of here. But there was no evidence that he was actually in this building, One Liberty Plaza, any time in the aftermath of 9/11, even in the following days. And when he told the story on the campaign trail in 2016, he said that this building that was feared to be unstable was not so far from us, so making clear that he was not actually in it.
Now, what lacks evidence? Well, he -- the larger premise of the story is that he was down in the vicinity of Ground Zero, with his large crew of workers. He said, a lot of construction workers, on Truth Social tonight. He said that for years. There is zero evidence, anywhere in the public record, that this actually happened. He said that he and his company's workers helped dig through the rubble, help with the rescue and recovery effort. There is nothing in the public record about that.
And a former New York Fire Department battalion chief who was there, for months after 9/11, has been on the record to The New York Times, to PolitiFact, saying that if there were a 100 Trump Organization workers there, that would be somewhere in the record. People who were signing in. People who were under the command of the Joint Authorities. There is no evidence that that occurred.
Now, I asked the White House about this today. Asked them for evidence. Asked them for any more specifics they could provide about when this supposed firemen rescue happened. And they didn't provide any of that.
What they did was attack the media. They said, the President was trying to honor first responders. He was trying to capture the impressions of a city that was reeling after 9/11, and instead we're attacking him.
And I don't -- I don't think we're trying to attack him. I think we're pointing out that the President's story about one of the most pivotal days in modern American history is just not substantiated by anything that he's provided, or anything that media reporting has shown over the past 25 years.
COLLINS: Daniel Dale. Thank you.
Also here tonight on this story are my political sources, including:
The former Mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu.
And former Trump campaign adviser, David Urban.
And David, obviously, given this is a week where people remember the victims, honor the first responders, from what happened on that horrific day, 25 years ago. What do you make of the President's story today?
DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Yes. So, first of all, Kaitlan, as you probably know, my West Point roommate died, Doug Gurian died, as well as another good friend of mine, Doug Gardner, died on that day in the World Trade Center.
COLLINS: Yes.
URBAN: So, I take all this stuff very seriously.
And what the President said, that videotape that I watched and America watched, I don't get that at all. He said, We went down there afterwards. There was nothing we could do. It was terrible.
It was terrible. It was -- I mean, for -- to say somehow the President claimed that he was there on 9/11 is some sort of bizarre TDS that I just can't -- listen, I come on when -- I call balls and strikes. This one is clearly not even close to the strike zone.
Daniel Dale should be fact-checked on the fact-checking because the President wasn't saying that. He was saying, we went down there afterwards. It was a mess. Buildings were torn up. Things -- by the way, the U.S. Steel Building was kind of contiguous to the blast zone down there where everything collapsed. So, to attack the guy on that is picking pepper from I can't say, but -- but it's not -- it's not fair to do to the President in this situation. And I think move on. It's just ridiculous.
COLLINS: Mayor Landrieu, is that how you see it?
MITCH LANDRIEU, CO-CHAIR, AMERICAN BRIDGE 21ST CENTURY, (D) FORMER NEW ORLEANS MAYOR, SENIOR ADVISOR, HARRIS-WALZ CAMPAIGN: Well, first of all, David, I'm very sorry about both of your friends.
And I know that the Secretary of Commerce's -- Howard Lutnick's entire office, many people were lost. I mean, this was one of the most horrific days--
URBAN: His brother.
LANDRIEU: Yes, and his brother -- in our nation's history.
And I disagree with David a little bit in this regard. For some reason, Donald Trump has to make everything about himself, whether it's truthful or whether it's not truthful. And lots of times, just from my perspective, every time his lips are moving, he's generally gilding the lily, or he's not telling the truth.
But I just cannot -- I cannot get it into my head that we're going to talk about Donald Trump as though he was relevant to 9/11, given the suffering that took place on that day and how catastrophically bad. So, I'm like David, I'm like -- just let's move off of it because it's just not -- it's just not necessary.
[21:45:00]
And the President should really focus on helping the American people. And I think that this folds into a larger dynamic with him about making everything about himself and not caring about the people, and I think it's -- it has an impact on the policies that he tries to enact, and the -- and the impacts that they have on people that he's supposed to care about.
COLLINS: Yes, I also think it's fair--
URBAN: Yes, but Mr. Mayor -- Mr. Mayor, I would say -- and Kaitlan, let me just say this: that event today was there -- it was to honor first responders.
LANDRIEU: Yes.
URBAN: There was a piece of steel there from the South Tower. It was honoring first responders. They gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a young man who saved countless lives.
LANDRIEU: Yes.
URBAN: The story of the Red Bandana. If you're not familiar with it, go watch it. It's heart-wrenching.
LANDRIEU: No, I do.
URBAN: And so, this was a whole day about other people. And the President was telling a vignette about his experience on that day.
LANDRIEU: But David, there is -- there is rarely a speech--
(CROSSTALK)
URBAN: --and I think--
LANDRIEU: No, I appreciate that. I really do. And I'm thankful that you told me that, and I'm thankful that that happened today.
But there is rarely an event that happens in the world, where Donald Trump does not put himself at the center of it, where he cares about himself and he has to talk about himself. And I think people get tired of that after a while. Even folks that like him, they're like, Come on, man. I mean, just -- just see if you can just kind of let other people have their flowers when they need them--
URBAN: Yes--
LANDRIEU: --or their remembrances when they need to.
URBAN: --yes, Mr. Mayor, I don't disagree with you -- I don't disagree with you.
LANDRIEU: Yes.
URBAN: But when you have -- when you have people on X, like Aaron Rupar, posting a deceptive clip which has 15 million -- 16 million views, and Americans think that this is what Trump was doing was real. And it's not. It was completely deceptive.
LANDRIEU: I understand.
URBAN: There needs to be really strong pushback in this case, really strong. Because then, you know what happens? People -- the people on my side of the aisle say, Fake news. And guess what? They're justified because it is fake news. It's completely fake.
LANDRIEU: Well, I just -- just for today, if we could just for the next couple days, just focus on the young people that are alive today, that lost their parents and their fathers and the -- and the trauma that had happened in this country, that -- this is something that we at least all ought to be able to remember in communion. If nothing else brings us together in this country, we should use the next couple of days so that this can.
URBAN: I will -- I will lock arms with you, Mr. Mayor.
COLLINS: Mitch Landrieu--
URBAN: --I will lock arms.
LANDRIEU: Thank you, David.
COLLINS: Mitch Landrieu. David Urban. Thank you both for joining tonight.
URBAN: Thank you.
COLLINS: Up next. There was drama, high drama in the world of college football this weekend. My favorite Conference, the SEC, as tonight they might vote to kick out one of the founding universities as the new season is getting underway.
ESPN's Paul Finebaum is here to weigh in, right after this.
[21:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, there's major drama unfolding in the world of college football, with one team apparently at risk of being kicked out of its own league.
The Southeastern Conference has now set a vote for this Thursday, to determine whether or not to expel LSU from the Conference. While it doesn't seem likely at this point, it's still an extraordinary move on its own by the SEC to punish the LSU Tigers and their head coach Lane Kiffin for recruiting two players after they had turned pro.
ESPN College football analyst, Paul Finebaum, is my source tonight.
And Paul, I mean, just tell me what you make of everything that's happened in the last 48 hours with this story.
PAUL FINEBAUM, COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST, ESPN: Well, first of all, this is not the sequel to My Cousin Vinny, Kaitlan. This is real.
We have never seen anything like this in the history of the SEC. The idea that the league has called a meeting to expel someone, especially what may very well be the best team in the league, and the most polarizing and talked about coach.
I don't want to bury the lead here. I don't think it's going to happen. But the fact that we're even having this conversation is absolutely extraordinary.
But we're talking about someone named Lane Kiffin. You know him. I know him. Sports fans know him. But he is the enfant terrible of college football. We have never seen a character like this. He thrives on being the villain. He literally walked out of Tennessee in the middle of the night to go to Southern Cal. He walked out of Ole Miss, Kaitlan, in the middle of a playoff run to the national championship.
And on top of that, one more thing: he was the offensive coordinator under Nick Saban, the greatest coach in college football history. He had already announced he was leaving to go to another school a week before the national championship game. He still managed to get fired. That's what we're talking about here. This is not your ordinary garden-variety head football coach.
COLLINS: You know, you said something on Saturday, and I think after my dad heard it, he said he got chills from it because you kind of went off on Lane Kiffin. You described him as a 51-year-old child, I believe.
And when he was at the -- during the game, on Saturday, and he was asked about how it was looking at halftime, he was talking about the score, and he said, You know, takes everything not to say, Imagine if we had pro players.
What do you make of how he's handled this? Have you been surprised by any of that?
FINEBAUM: Yes, that one line that he said to ESPN at halftime is part of this federal lawsuit amendment today, which led that he was bragging about it. And there's a lot of other things which I don't think will ever come to play.
What's really interesting to me, and I think to your audience, this is about as much about politics as it is football. You've got the Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, who's also this Special Envoy to Greenland. You probably have heard that conversation. And he's masterminding this. He brought Lane Kiffin in. He gave him $100 million. He's helped funnel a $50 million payroll for college football.
And on top of that -- I want to just read this. John Kennedy, the Senator from Louisiana, was furious today. He said that he and other members of Congress would be on the SEC like a hobo on a ham sandwich.
I'm from Tennessee. You're from Alabama. I have no idea what he's talking about. I know he's got degrees from all over the -- Virginia and Harvard and who knows where else.
[21:55:00]
But what's also interesting about Louisiana is that Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, LSU graduate; Steve Scalise, the number two guy in the House, LSU graduate. That's what he's referring to. I think he's essentially saying, If they do this, we're going to put the United States Congress against the SEC. Won't happen, but it's a lot of political rhetoric.
COLLINS: I got to ask you. Michigan. Western Michigan. Tell me what you thought in 15 seconds of that game on Saturday.
FINEBAUM: It is truly one of the biggest travesties in recent college football history that Michigan lost a game, but they decided to put another second back on the clock.
And Bryce Underwood, their $10 million quarterback, who was brought to the school by Larry Ellison of Oracle because his wife's a Michigan graduate -- I know we're getting deep in the weeds here -- got another chance and he pulled it off, and now there's mass chaos, that the opponent is now asking the NCAA to overturn it. It won't happen. It's never happened.
But college football cannot get any lower until tomorrow when it will find a way to go below where we are today.
COLLINS: It is going to be a crazy season.
Paul Finebaum, look forward to having you back. Thanks for joining us here. Up next. It is time for Source Code. We give you a number at the center of a story in the news. Can you figure out what it is? Tonight's Source Code is 4.
[22:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight's Source Code is four. That's how many Renoir paintings thieves grabbed at a small museum in France today. And the thieves, who are still believed to be on the run tonight, dropped two of them as they took off.
We'll continue to follow that story.
Thanks so much for joining us.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT" starts now.
