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The Brief with Jim Sciutto

CNN International: U.S. Begins Military Blockade of Iran's Ports; Israel and Lebanon to Hold Talks in Washington Tuesday; Rep. Eric Swalwell Resigning from Congress; Voters Reject Orban, Hand Victory to Peter Magyar; Pope Leo Says He Has No Fear of Trump Admin. Over Attacks; "; House Republican Tony Gonzales Leaving Congress. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired April 13, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to "The Brief." I'm Lynda Kinkade. Thanks to everyone joining us from around the world. You're

watching "The Brief." Jim Sciutto is off.

A U.S. military blockade on Iran's ports is now underway after talks between both countries failed over the weekend. President Trump says the

U.S. will sink any Iranian ships that approach the Navy's blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. A source tells CNN that members of the Trump

administration are now internally discussing details for a potential second in-person meeting with Iranian officials.

In Tehran, thousands rallied in support of the government condemning the U.S. blockade. The country's acting defense minister warns that any

aggression would result in what he is calling a harsh and decisive response. Now, as for Israel and Lebanon, they are scheduled to hold a

meeting in Washington on Tuesday. Israel says it continues to strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and Lebanese officials say the fighting has

already killed more than 2,000 people over the past six weeks.

Now, our Clarissa Ward is following all the developments and joins us now live from Riyadh. Now, Clarissa, good to have you with us. So, this U.S.

blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has now been in effect for over eight hours. Just what sort of change have you seen so far?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we haven't seen any definitive retaliatory response from the Iranians, which will be

viewed very positively, particularly here in the Gulf. From what we've been able to glean through monitoring marine traffic, at least two ships have

been turned around as they tried to cross the strait.

Yesterday, roughly 14 vessels were able to cross. Obviously, that's still well down from the more than 100 or 100 plus that were crossing every

single day before this war. Everybody is now waiting and watching to see how Iran might respond. There were a sort of series of threats that they

issued through a number of statements. The IRGC spokesperson warning the U.S. that it was ready to use, quote, new methods of warfare that opponents

would have limited ability to counter. Not exactly clear what he was referring to there.

We also saw Iran threatening Gulf Arab nations, saying that if its own ports come under threat, that all ports throughout the Persian Gulf and the

Gulf of Oman would also be under threat. And that's obviously something that countries here are taking quite seriously, Lynda. As we have seen

during the last six weeks, a number of attacks, not just on infrastructure, but specifically on ports in the UAE, in Oman.

And so, everyone now is sort of waiting and watching to see if there is a potential for another round of talks. There's still nine days left on the

clock on that ceasefire. And there are indications, as you mentioned earlier, that there is shuttle diplomacy going on behind closed doors with

regional actors involved, trying to bridge the gap between the two sides, at least get them back at the table one more time before this crisis

escalates any further, Lynda.

[18:05:00]

KINKADE: And, Clarissa, I want to ask you about what the expectations are for the talks that are set to take place tomorrow between officials from

Lebanon and Israel and what the aim is of those very rare discussions that will happen in Washington.

WARD: Well, the aim is to try to get some kind of a ceasefire, but there's already a lot of pressure on those talks, Hezbollah earlier urging

Lebanon's government to cancel its participation. So, far, it appears, though, that they are still scheduled to take place tomorrow in Washington,

D.C., about 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, and the makeup will be the three ambassadors of the U.S., of Lebanon, and of Israel. It's also expected that

Secretary of State Marco Rubio might drop in on the conversations.

But there's been a warning that this could take some time. This is not an easy nut to crack. It's a complex issue for many reasons. Israel has really

been focused on the war in Lebanon since this ceasefire took effect. And as you said, more than 2,000 people killed now in Lebanon, many of them

civilians, children. You had that horrific series of bombings just last week, more than 100 in the space of 10 minutes.

So, there is extraordinary pressure coming, not least also from the U.S. on Israel to rein this in and bring it to a close, not just because of the

horrors on the ground inside Lebanon and also in northern Israel, which has borne the brunt of retaliatory fire from Hezbollah, but also because this

continued conflict really threatens to undermine efforts that are ongoing to find a resolution to this war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, Lynda.

KINKADE: Clarissa Ward, staying across all those developments for us from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, thanks to you.

Well, the U.S. military does say that blockade applies to ships going to or from Iran, including all Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of

Oman. Many experts say it's a challenging task for the U.S. Navy. Retired U.S. Navy Captain Carl Schulster joins me now. He is a visiting professor

of history at the Hawaii Pacific University and joins us now live. Good to have you with us.

CAPT. CARL SCHULSTER, U.S. NAVY (RET.) AND VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, HAWAII PACIFIC UNIVERSITY: Well, thank you, Ms. Kinkade. I

appreciate it. Thanks for having me.

KINKADE: So, from a military standpoint, just how difficult is it to actually pull off a blockade of the strait?

SCHULSTER: Well, blockades are by nature very procedurally complex and they require a lot of surveillance. The world's changed in the last 40

years. Ships now enjoy unmanned aerial vehicle support, battlespace management support from airborne early warning and control system aircraft.

And so, the number of ships required has been reduced.

However, it's still difficult. For example, in CNN's earlier article, they talked about prize law, which is what do you do with ships when you seize

them? Keep in mind that when you identify a ship that is going through the blockade area, its destination becomes a critical consideration in what you

do. If you believe it's going into Iran, then you challenge it, usually by radio, and you measure course and speed and you stay with it.

If it turns towards the blockaded port, then you board. And when you board and take control of the ship, prize law takes into account. Prize law is an

international set of laws, international laws and domestic laws on what do you do with a seized maritime asset during a time of war.

Now, the complication is coastal fishing craft are exempt from prize law and exempt from being seized. And the challenge, therefore, is the Iranians

use coastal fishing craft to lay mines and criminal gangs have been using coastal fishing craft to smuggle goods for at least 40 years that I know

of. And so, how do you treat it?

And the other challenge is, of course, it'll be a distant blockade because the advent of coastal defense missiles, drones and ballistic missiles makes

it very dangerous to operate close to a hostile port because you don't have much warning time.

And so, we're probably going to sit at least 60, in the case of Bandar Abbas, at least 60 nautical miles out. In the Strait of Hormuz, you don't

have that kind of band. And you'll notice the Revolutionary Guard Corps commander talked about as yet undefined retaliation.

[18:10:00]

We've destroyed Iran's ocean-going navy. But the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has fast attack boats, unmanned surface vessels and mini-subs,

which are very difficult to --

KINKADE: Captain, I want to ask you about the broader implications for a blockade of this kind, because we know that since this war began, there

have been a handful of tankers from countries like China, India, Pakistan, Turkey that have made its way through the Strait. If the U.S. naval forces

encounter one of those vessels, say a Chinese-linked tanker, what happens in that moment and what are the risks of an escalation?

SCHULSTER: Well, the risk exists, of course, but the first thing you do is find out the port of destination. And in the case of Iran, if they're not

going north into Bandar Abbas or Chabahar, then they go into the Gulf, and the only port of concern inside the Gulf is Kharg Island. So, you have one

of two protocols to follow. You either establish a presence off Kharg Island to, shall we say, intercept, or you determine and track and make the

decision as they approach Kharg Island.

But you've raised an interesting point, and that is any time you board a foreign-flagged vessel, you are committing a diplomatically risky act,

because the flag owner, if you will, or the nation that's flagged to, you're going aboard one of their assets. You're seizing the asset of a

neutral country. And so, we probably have a protocol in place, but in my day, we had a protocol in place where we coordinated with the flag country

to determine where they were going, what they were violating, and then what we would do in response.

In the case of China, I cannot imagine them saying, yes, go ahead and board. China will take a different view. India might, on the other hand,

say, well, we'll direct the tanker to the UAE or Kuwait or Iraq. And so, but the key thing is you've got to contact -- or when I was on active duty,

you had to contact the nation of flag.

KINKADE: Right. OK. Well --

SCHULSTER: And you coordinated with them before you took the next action.

KINKADE: Certainly, the risk for escalation is high right now. Captain Carl Schuster, we'll have to leave it there, but I appreciate your

perspective. Thanks very much.

SCHULSTER: You're welcome, ma'am. Take care.

KINKADE: Well, Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell says he plans to resign from Congress after the accusations of sexual misconduct. His

statement says, in part, I will fight the serious false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the

mistakes I did make. Swalwell had already suspended his bid to become governor of California.

A former staffer has accused him of sexual assault. Three other women who spoke were seen and have accused him of sexual misconduct. Swalwell has

strongly denied the allegations.

Well, joining me now is Congressman Tim Kennedy, a Democrat from New York. I appreciate your time today, Congressman.

REP. TIM KENNEDY (D-NY): Thank you, Lynda.

KINKADE: I want to start -- I want to obviously get to Iran, but I want to start first with that breaking news we've just got on one of your

colleagues, a California Democrat, now stepping aside, and this as an investigation by the House Ethics Committee has already begun. What's your

reaction?

KENNEDY: Well, there is no place for that kind of misconduct anywhere, especially in Congress. And him stepping down is the right thing to do. He

should resign. And I'll tell you who else should resign is Tony Gonzales, who also has had similar misconduct in the very recent past. There is no

place for that anywhere. And when in fact it happens, these people should be removed immediately from office. So, Eric Swalwell resigning was just a

start. Now, Tony Gonzales needs to resign or be removed this week.

KINKADE: All right. Well, I want to turn to Iran because the U.S. is now increasing military pressure right now in the Strait of Hormuz with that

blockade that's now been in effect for over eight hours. What are your concerns with regards to a broader escalation while also driving a spike in

oil prices?

[18:15:00]

KENNEDY: Well, the people are feeling the pinch at the pump all across the United States and all across the global community because President Trump

is waging a war of choice without congressional approval, without the American people's support and one that is doing more harm than good.

America and our people are not safer. We are not more economically sound and certainly it's created havoc and chaos in the region and across the

global community as well. There is no exit strategy. This president is totally out of control and he has lost all credibility from not only the

inception of this war of choice but even before that.

And so, what we need to do is we need to end this immediately. We need to create a peace and a long-lasting peace through diplomatic means. We need

to bring in our NATO allies that have been so supportive of our work across the globe and promoting peace and security for generations that this

president has turned upside down on its head. Enabled by congressional Republicans that have rolled over and played dead and have allowed him to

run roughshod over the Constitution and the people across the globe.

KINKADE: So, far this war has cost the lives of 13 U.S. service members. It's cost tens of billions of dollars according to analysts we've spoken to

and hundreds of U.S. servicemen have also -- men and women have also been injured as a result of this war. Polls show the majority of Americans

disapprove of this U.S. military action against Iran. How much should public opinion influence decisions about ongoing military operations?

KENNEDY: Well, look, the bottom line is the president of the United States had no business to start this war in the first place without congressional

approval. The will of the people. And so, he started off by creating an illegal war of choice.

Let's start there. Without congressional approval this war should have never happened. But what it has created is a war that has cost tens of

billions of dollars quite frankly hundreds of billions of dollars at this point one to two billion dollars a day that we should be investing into our

economy that we should be investing into education and into healthcare.

This president's priorities are totally skewed. He again lacks any credibility whatsoever and he's waging a war that the American people

didn't ask for, that they don't want and it's hurting them in the pocketbook. This is hurting our economy. It's driving up the cost of

everything especially what we're seeing at the pump. Now, it's over $4 a gallon on average just for unleaded and over $5 a gallon for diesel fuel.

That drives up the cost of everything across our entire economy and the global community and the problem is here there's no exit strategy there's

no end in sight, and I hate to think that it's going to just be the beginning of a disaster for the economy and the global community because of

this president's failures.

Now, he sends in J.D. Vance for 21 hours for a negotiation he fails to come up with an agreement he puts his tail between his legs and he comes home

while the president of the United States and his Secretary of State are at a USC match. It's outrageous and it's unacceptable and we're better than

this as Americans. This war needs to end. We need to create a peace a long- lasting peace in the region and the global community by diplomatic means and we need to put the focus back on the American people and back on

restoring the trust in the global community.

KINKADE: Congressman, you've criticized the administration for lacking a clear plan. In your view what would be an objective clear exit strategy

right now?

KENNEDY: Well, we need to use the power of diplomacy. We need to first and foremost pass a war powers resolution that holds this administration

accountable puts the power of the vote back into the hands of the people of the United States of America that the president has ignored through

Congress. Congressman Greg Meeks the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee has a war powers resolution.

[18:20:00]

Speaker Johnson should bring it to the floor this week for a vote. We need to demand that this president is held accountable, and we need to create an

environment where we pull our allies back in, restore trust with our NATO allies that have created an environment over the course of the last 80

years or so in the region where we are holding the various regional countries and players accountable.

Dropping bombs and continuing to drop bombs is not going to resolve this. We need to use diplomatic means to create a long-lasting peace in the

region, and we need to pull in our natural allies to make sure that we have accountability and that long-lasting peace.

KINKADE: Congressman Timothy Kennedy, I appreciate your time today. Thanks so much.

KENNEDY: My pleasure. Great to be with you.

KINKADE: Well, still ahead, new hope for patients suffering from one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Trials for an experimental new drug are

being called unprecedented. We'll have the very latest next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. In today's business breakout, U.S. stocks rose across the board in the hopes that the U.S. and Iran can

resume high-level peace negotiations.

Tech stocks were the big winners with the NASDAQ up more than 1 percent. Oil, however, marched higher after the U.S. began its blockade of Iranian

ports. Brent Crude settled at nearly 4.5 percent higher at just under $100 a barrel. U.S. crude up more than 2.5 percent.

On Wall Street Monday, shares of oncology firm Revolution Medicine soared more than 40 percent after announcing that a drug it's developing for

pancreatic cancer performed well in late-stage trials. The company caused the survival benefit from taking the drug, quote, "unprecedented." It says

patients taking the drug survived nearly twice as long, and it's more effective than chemotherapy.

Former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse is one of the people taking the medication. He was diagnosed last year with stage four pancreatic cancer. He told the

New York Times that even though the drug has left him with severe side effects like a pronounced facial rash, it has helped to prolong his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, the tumors are smaller right now?

BEN SASSE, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: Crazy smaller. My tumors this week are down 76 percent from December 29th. Tumor volume in my torso is down 76

percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:25:00]

KINKADE: CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner joins me now. Great to have you with us.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST AND PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AND SURGERGY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Thanks, Lynda.

KINKADE: So, this is promising news given how difficult this particular cancer is to treat. Revolution Medicines is reporting that phase three

results found that the drug nearly doubled median survival rates from 6.79 months, 6.7 months to 13.2 months and reduced the risk of death by 60

percent. How does this compare with previous forms of treatment for pancreatic cancer?

DR. REINER: Well, this is the first ray of sunlight for a very grim disease in decades. So, pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of

cancer deaths in the United States, just behind lung cancer and colorectal cancer. And the likelihood of five-year survival for somebody with the

diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is only about 13 percent.

So, what this drug has been shown to do is to interfere with the dysregulated proteins that cause pancreatic cells to divide in an

uncontrolled way. And in this trial, in patients who had already been treated with another form of therapy but had metastatic disease, this new

drug prolonged survival from an average of about 6.2 months to over 13 months.

Now, that doesn't sound great, except it's doubling the survival and there has not been a therapy that can do that. And the hope is that this therapy,

you know, targeting a gene called the RAS gene, this kind of therapy now, perhaps added to other either existing or emerging therapies, might finally

provide hope for people with this really horrible form of cancer.

KINKADE: And you're specifically talking about mutations, right? This is what this drug targets, which at present, roughly 90 percent of pancreatic

cancer. Just explain why this drug is more effective than something like chemo.

DR. REINER: Right. So, chemo is a cytotoxic drug, which means it kills cancer cells. Pancreatic cancer cells are actually hard to kill for a

variety of reasons. But pancreatic cancer is fueled by a problem with a gene that regulates how cancer cells grow. And this gene called the RAS

gene, think of it as sort of a molecular switch that turns on to allow cells to divide and turns off to stop that. And cancer is a disease of sort

of dysregulation of this process.

And what a mutated RAS gene does is produce a protein that switches on cellular replication and doesn't switch it off. And what this new drug does

is it seeks out that mutated protein and inactivates it. And what we've seen in Senator Sasse's case is that even with widely disseminated disease,

switching off that protein seemed to have a very beneficial effect for him. And this has really given oncologists a really sort of exciting boost that

now maybe they start to have a glimmer of hope and a new tool that they can build on, sort of foundational therapy. This is the foundation of a new

approach. And I love that.

You know, what we try and do with all patients, particularly oncology patients, is provide them with a glimmer of hope. And now, there is

potentially a glimmer of hope. This is going to be provided to the FDA for expedited review in the coming weeks.

KINKADE: And when you speak of that -- about that glimmer of hope, many of our viewers will be wondering if this type of drug can be used to treat

other cancers, especially cancers that involve rapid mutations. What sort of cancers might be treated with a therapy like this?

DR. REINER: So, a variety of solid tumor cancers are regulated by this kind of RAS gene. It just so happens that 90 percent of pancreatic cancers

have a mutation of this particular gene. So, other cancers that contain the same mutation might be eligible for a similar kind of treatment.

KINKADE: Right. Potentially lung colorectal cancer, things like that.

DR. REINER: Right.

KINKADE: All right. Dr. Reiner, I appreciate your time tonight. Thanks very much for joining us.

DR. REINER: My pleasure. My pleasure. Thank you.

[18:30:00]

KINKADE: Well, checking some of today's other business headlines right now. Goldman Sachs kicked off first quarter earnings season session with

the release of its latest results and the banking giant reported better than expected profits due to strength in equity trading and investment

banking. But other parts of the business, like its bond and currency division, did less well. Shares of the company fell almost 2 percent on

Monday.

Luxury giant LVMH says the war in Iran is impacting its global sales. The French conglomerate says sales are down in the Persian Gulf region and it

says tourists from the Gulf are spending less when they visit Europe. The company behind Dior, Louis Vuitton and Hennessy says quarterly sales in

Europe fell three percent because of the war and a stronger euro.

A federal judge has thrown out President Trump's defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal. The president sued the journal over a story about

an off-color birthday greeting to Jeffrey Epstein that appears to have been signed by Donald Trump. The judge says Trump failed to allege the journal

acted with actual malice. President Trump says he will file an amended complaint.

Well, trust me, I'm a doctor. That's the president's explanation. After he posted and then deleted this A.I.-generated image, many people interpreted

it to be him posing as Jesus Christ. He said he was actually a doctor when it comes amid the president's renewed criticism of Pope Leo. We'll have

that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Lynda Kinkade. Here are the international headlines we're watching today.

U.S. President Donald Trump confirms a naval blockade of Iranian ports is underway. He warns any Iranian ships that come near the blockade will be

eliminated. But Mr. Trump says there's still room for diplomacy. He says Iranian officials called this morning and want to make a deal.

[18:35:00]

Hungary's new leader is promising closer ties to the European Union and less reliance on Russian oil. The center-right candidate, Peter Magyar,

beat the pro-Trump, pro-Kremlin, anti-E.U. prime minister, Viktor Orban, in a landslide election Sunday, ending his 16-year rule.

In Washington, Democrat Representative Eric Swalwell, says he'll resign from Congress. Earlier today, the House Ethics Committee opened an

investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Swalwell, including an employee who is a member of the House of Representatives.

Working under his supervision, Swalwell, has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Well, that was the scene in Budapest Sunday. Hungarians reviving their Cold War chant, Russians go home. This amid news pro-Kremlin Prime Minister

Viktor Orban had lost national elections. Hungary's incoming leader is promising to break their reliance on oil from Moscow. Peter Magyar beat Mr.

Orban in a landslide victory for the center-right Tisza Party. From Budapest, Melissa Bell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a landslide victory for the people, according to Peter Magyar. Together we

replaced the Orban regime.

PETER MAGYAR, HUNGARY OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): Together we've liberated Hungary. We took back our country.

BELL (voice-over): A fresh start, he told an ecstatic crowd after trouncing Magyar darling Viktor Orban that had been decided neither in

Brussels, nor in Moscow, nor in Washington, despite Magyar's best efforts.

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: We have got to get Viktor Orban re- elected as prime minister of Hungary, don't we?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: And I love that Viktor. I'll tell you, he's a fantastic man. We've had a tremendous relationship.

BELL (voice-over): But early on Sunday night, it was clear that none of the endorsements had helped.

VIKTOR ORBAN, HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The election result is painful for us, but it's clear.

BELL (voice-over): So, clear that tens of thousands made their way to the streets of Budapest to celebrate something they could hardly believe.

BELL: How do you feel tonight?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel too good. Too good. So, Orban, Putin, go home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can see all around, the people, the streets, everyone wants change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm really excited because it's going to be a new thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never thought this would actually happen. I've been praying for this for 16 years. So, I'm super happy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to apologize for our last 16 years.

BELL: At his very first press conference on Monday, Peter Magyar vowing to act quickly. Hungary, he said, had been left indebted, robbed and

devastated. He also answered this question, what his defeat of Viktor Orban might mean for movements like MAGA.

MAGYAR (through translator): I believe this is a major loss for them. Viktor Orban was their poster child, insofar as he could be. He represented

this fight against Brussels.

BELL (voice-over): At Budapest, he said, would also no longer finance the intellectual infrastructure of the global far-right, its think tanks and

learning centers like the MCC, where J.D. Vance spoke last week.

MAGYAR (through translator): I think this was a criminal offense, party financing mixed up with government expenditure. CPAC can come to Budapest,

but not on Hungarian taxpayers' money.

BELL (voice-over): On Sunday, Hungarians celebrated being a part of a democratic revolution. Peter Magyar says that's just the start.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Budapest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, the candidate set to be the next Hungarian health minister is proving to be extremely flexible. His dance moves have gone viral, as

Natalie Haytayan explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATALIE HAYTAYAN, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): This Hungarian politician's decision to bust a move on stage after incoming prime minister Peter

Magyar's victory speech has delighted social media users around the world. Zsolt Hegedus, who is a candidate to become health minister, stole the show

amid the celebrations.

While social media users are debating over what track he was dancing to, commenters seem united in his dance moves. He's fit enough and has the

moves to be health minister. Right man for the job. Picture of health he is. Can he become dance minister? This is the most Gen X dance moves I've

seen in a while.

The celebration continued throughout the night after nationalist leader Viktor Orban accepted defeat after 16 years in office.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: We're going to take a quick break after that. We'll be right back with much more news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Pope Leo says he has no fear of the Trump administration after the president repeatedly criticized his

opposition to the Iran war. Trump tore into the pope today and over the weekend, denouncing his stance on Iran and saying the pontiff was quote,

"weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy." It all comes as Pope Leo, who represents 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, starts a 10-day visit to

Africa.

CNN's Christopher Lamb, who's with the tour and with the pope, looks at the conflict between the pope and the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A U.S. president and a U.S. pope in a very public war of words.

POPE LEO XIV: Welcome aboard.

LAMB (voice-over): Leo XIV responding to an extraordinary broadside against the Chicago-born pontiff by President Donald Trump. Speaking on

board the papal plane to journalists covering a major 11-city visit to Africa, the first American pope made it clear he won't be intimidated.

POPE LEO XIV: I have no fear that the Trump administration or speaking out loudly about the message of the gospel, which is what I believe I am here

to do, what the Church is here to do.

LAMB (voice-over): The pontiff insisting the mission of the church is to build bridges, not engage in politics.

POPE LEO XIV: We're not politicians, we're don't deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it. But I do believe in the

message of the gospel, as a peacemaker.

LAMB (voice-over): Leo has repeatedly spoken out against Trump's actions in Iran. President Trump fired back on Sunday night, lashing out at the

pope over his criticism of the U.S. and Israel's war involving Iran.

TRUMP: We don't like it. We don't like a pope that's going to say that it's OK to have a nuclear weapon. We don't want a pope that says crime is

OK in our cities. I don't like it. I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo.

LAMB (voice-over): On Truth Social, Trump went further, calling the pontiff weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy. Even saying he

prefers the pope's brother, Louis Prevost, who has shown his support for MAGA. Upping the ante, Trump also posted an A.I. image on Truth Social

depicting himself as a Christ-like figure healing a sick person with American flags and eagles in the background. The image was later deleted.

TRUMP: I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross as a Red Cross worker there, which we support. And only the

fake news could come up with that one. It's supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better.

LAMB (voice-over): Trump also claimed the pope was only elected last year because he is American, suggesting the church chose him to better deal with

his presidency.

Pope Leo has repeatedly condemned the use of religious language to frame the military operation in Iran.

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Rescued on Sunday, flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday. In Iran? Rescued on Sunday, flown

out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday.

[18:45:00]

A pilot reborn, all home and accounted for, a nation rejoicing. God is good.

POPE LEO XIV (through translator): Jesus is the king of peace who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers

of those who wage war, but rejects them.

LAMB (voice-over): A Vatican official, Father Antonio Spadaro, saying Trump is attacking what he cannot control, a moral voice on the global

stage. Trump does not argue with Leo. He implores him to return to a language he can control. But the pope speaks another language, one that

cannot be reduced to the grammar of force, security or national interest.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Algiers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, joining me now is Elise Ann Allen of Rome-based correspondent for the Catholic media outlet Crux Now, who's also on the

pope's tour. Great to have you with us.

ELISE ANN ALLEN, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, CRUX NOW: Thank you. It's wonderful to be with you guys tonight.

KINKADE: So, you're currently with the pope right now in Algeria. How significant is this moment when you've got direct pushback from Pope Leo

towards a sitting U.S. president during an active war?

ALLEN: This is -- I don't know if I would say unprecedented, but it's certainly shocked everybody this morning. You know, I found out about the

story on my way to the airport and this completely took over the news day. I mean, this kind of back and forth is something I think that can only

happen in the digital era when you have these social media platforms, you know.

So, this is really sort of a remarkable start to Pope Leo's visit. And it really, I think, set the stage for the kind of message that he wanted to

deliver here. And his whole first day was sort of this condemnation of war and this ode to peace and to reconciliation and to healing wounds of past

conflicts in this nation.

So, I mean, it was poetic in a sense because it gave a platform that his message might not otherwise have had. But, you know, this kind of new

dynamic that we're seeing, I think, is really indicative of the sort of public discourse that we have. This sort of exchange has characterized our

public discourse in recent years. And I think it's one of the things that Leo has wanted to target so much, not just what he's called in the past the

paradigm of war and the logic of war, but also what he has said is sort of a toxic rhetoric in public discourse. He came out to the media last year,

right, a couple days after his election and said, we need to disarm our words.

So, I think that's something he's trying very hard to do today. And he tried, I think, to convey that message even today on the flight over

talking about being messengers of peace.

KINKADE: And President Trump publicly criticized the pope, calling him weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy as if the pope were a

political rival, while the pope said he has no fear of the Trump administration. How unusual is this level of confrontation? And has the

pope had anything to say about Donald Trump naming his brother in these public Truth Social posts?

ALLEN: You know, there's one thing Pope Leo did not mention. He did not refer at all to President Trump's comments about his brother, Louis. I

think he wants to keep, you know, his family safe. He certainly ties out of it. He understands that this is, you know, maybe a disagreement between

these two men that's really quite uncommon.

I mean, you're seeing global reaction to this. You know, even Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, he had called these remarks unacceptable. You have

the mayor of Rome is also coming out in support of Pope Leo.

So, this kind of, I think, broadside attack on a Roman pontiff is just something that is not seen. You know, the pope is a figure that is

generally recognized as sort of a peacemaker, the one who you look to as your moral compass. And so, to have somebody attack him so directly is, I

think, shocking to a lot of people and it makes them uneasy.

So, I think Leo has tried to take the temperature down by stressing peace and dialogue. He says, I'm not afraid, you know, but I will continue to

speak out. He says, I am here to preach the gospel and the gospel is clear about us being peacemakers. So, he said he's not backing down.

And I think Trump -- you know, Leo has been quite insistent on this message, especially the last few weeks before Easter even and throughout

the Easter holiday season. So, I think this is a message he's been doubling down on and Donald Trump is certainly feeling the heat.

KINKADE: And just quickly, I just want to ask you about Donald Trump posting and then deleting that A.I.-generated image that many said depicted

him as a Christ-like figure. He claims he is just a doctor in this image. What's been your reaction within the Catholic and more broadly Christian

community?

ALLEN: I think the reaction to this image has been what it was to his original remarks. You know, again, shock and frankly disbelief by a lot of

people. You know, I mean, if you look at that image, I mean, Donald Trump said this was an image he thought it was him as a doctor.

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I mean, of course, the posture and the -- you know, the framing of it, the whole tone of that image was depicting Christ, you know -- him as Christ

the Savior. So, I think this is seen as quite distasteful by a lot of people. Some people have called it blasphemous. You know, so I think that -

- you know, my take on this is if Trump had thought it was all right, you know, maybe he would have left it up if he wanted to stand by. You know, I

think he realized that this was problematic.

KINKADE: Elise Ann Allen, on tour with the Pope right now. Great to have you with us. Thank you.

ALLEN: Thank you.

KINKADE: We've got some news just in to us. Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas announcing his retirement. It comes after acknowledging

last month of an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. He wrote on X, there is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When

Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.

The news of Gonzales leaving Congress comes the same day as a Democrat, Eric Swalwell, announced that he's resigning. The congressman facing sexual

misconduct allegations.

Well, still ahead, Rory McIlroy wins a second Masters, the first to win a back-to-back since 2002. We'll have more on his historic achievement after

the break.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. Rory McIlroy has now won golf's biggest prize in back-to-back years, the first time since Tiger Woods did it almost 25 years

ago. The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland clinching his second U.S. Masters at Augusta National here in Georgia after a thrilling final round

of golf. Our Don Riddell has more from Augusta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Rory McIlroy is making his way back to Florida today, and he promised that he would be flying with a sore head

after a big night of celebration at Augusta National. On Sunday, McIlroy further cemented his legacy with his second Masters title, becoming only

the fourth player to win back-to-back Green Jackets. It was thrilling, and it was dramatic. McIlroy admits that he doesn't make it easy for himself.

At times during the tournament, he seemed to be running away with it. Then he was flying by the seat of his pants, but he was able to compose himself

around a men corner with a couple of birdies, and he needed a two-stroke lead because his tee shot on 18 was just awful. But in the end, he got it

done, beating Scottie Scheffler by a stroke, and it meant so much that he was able to do it in front of his family.

His mom and dad sacrificed everything so that he could pursue his dream, but they didn't see him do it last year, and they didn't want to jinx it

this time. But he persuaded them to come, and it was certainly worth their while.

RORY MCILROY, MASTERS WINNER: When the ball trickled by, and I marked it there from, you know, two inches or whatever, I just looked at the back of

the green, and I gave it one of these because I saw my mom and dad and Erica and Poppy, and I was just like, I can't believe I've just done it

again.

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So, yes, more joy, more, like -- yes -- not as emotional, but just, wow, this is -- you know, it's amazing. I can't believe I did it again.

RIDDELL: Having entered the pantheon of greats by winning all four major titles for the career Grand Slam last year, now he joins only Jack

Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods as the only men to ever to win twice in a row at Augusta. He's got six major titles to his name, he's tied for

12th on the all-time list, and he says he doesn't plan on stopping here. And he says a course that caused him so much anguish over the years now

feels like home. And next year, he will try to become the first player to win three in a row at Augusta. Wouldn't that be something? Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: It certainly would be. Thanks, Don. Well, in today's Good Brief, a hero's homecoming. In the center of this photo, you can see NASA

astronaut Victor Glover surrounded by well-wishers in his hometown of Lake City, Texas. After completing a 10-day historic journey around the moon, he

said he had not fully processed the entire mission, but was full of gratitude. Glover and three other crew members were in an Orion capture

which splashed down safely into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on Friday.

Well, that does it for this edition of "The Brief." Thanks so much for joining me. I'm back same time tomorrow. I hope you can join us then. Stay

with CNN, much more news ahead.

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