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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Belgium End Team USA's Dream Run with Dominant 4-1 Win; Trump Heads to Turkey for Talks with Allies; Graham Platner Faces Growing Pressure to Exit Senate Race; Public Funeral for Iran's Slain Supreme Leader Enters Fourth Day; Prince Harry's U.K. Trip Does Not Include Royal Residence Stay; Maine's Platner Under Growing Pressure to Exit Senate Race; Trump Headed to Turkey for NATO Summit. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired July 07, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:00]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: There on the Fourth. I found a way to make my work being at the beach. So I was out there and literally did a live shot from the ocean to get myself in the water on July 4th. But yes, I mean, that's where, that's where I feel the best. What about you? Where's your happy place?
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Movie theater. I love it. It's like --
MICHAELSON: Movie theater.
COATES: It's like being -- you know, with Annie, when it's like, let's go to the movies. I sing that in my head. It's true. I'm corny. Love you. Have a great show, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Well, here -- and to quote Annie, I'll see you tomorrow.
COATES: The sun will come out. It's coming out.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Tomorrow.
COATES: Bye.
MICHAELSON: Bye, Laura, have a good night.
THE STORY IS starts right now.
I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles.
Coming up on THE STORY IS Monday night football. Team USA's World Cup dreams come crashing down as the final host nation is kicked out of the 2026 World Cup by Belgium. We're live in Seattle with the team.
THE STORY IS jumping ship. Democrats pulling their money and endorsement from Graham Plattner after an accuser says he raped her.
And THE STORY IS Trump to Turkey. What's on the agenda as he's set to meet with key allies? Welcome. Top story is Team USA's World Cup dreams have come to an end.
Belgium dominated the pitch, scoring twice in the first half and then exploiting a series of defensive mistakes. They ultimately pulled away for a 4-1 win to reach the quarterfinals.
That result comes amid ongoing controversy over FIFA's decision to delay a red card suspension for one of Team USA's star players, and a phone call between President Trump and FIFA leadership that raised serious questions about interference and corruption.
Let's bring in CNN WORLD SPORT anchor Coy Wire, who is live for us in Seattle.
Coy, first off, it looks very light there behind you still. But what is the energy now? I mean, there's so much disappointment for Team USA.
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Yes, yes. I think maybe it's these fans who are here helping to keep things lit up. I mean, it was an absolute incredible environment there in that field behind me. But just like that, Elex, America's World Cup dream is now over after that Round of 16 loss to Belgium. And within just days, we saw all three host nations, the U.S., Canada and Mexico, having been knocked out.
But what a ride it was for the U.S.. This place, incredible. Fans could have used a seatbelt in there. From the opening whistle, pure pandemonium, Elex. Breakout star Flo Balogun returning after FIFA overturned his suspension, but Belgium struck first. Charles de Ketelaere burying a goal in the ninth minute. But the U.S. would answer right back. Malik Tillman, penalty shot terminator, hammering home another rocket. Second straight match with a goal for him, making it one-all.
But before fans could even finish celebrating, Belgium punched back, 60 seconds later de Ketelaere becoming the first Belgian since detailed records began in 1966 to be involved in three goals.
I could keep this highlight going, but I think the real highlight now is these fans behind me. As you can see, they are still excited even though Belgium won 4-1.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We lost.
WIRE: They're rolling. Even though Mexico got knocked out, they're still happy and excited about their experiences.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yehey. USA.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got to support your team.
(CROSSTALK)
WIRE: We're on with Elex Michaelson right now. And I told Elex, these fans just lit it up tonight. Incredible experience. What did you make of what you witnessed in there? Talk real close to me because I only have a mic right here. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, it's USA in the knockout round in the USA. You
got to support. The game is what the game is. The pundits will talk about it. They'll break it down. But the last time the Cup was here I was young.
WIRE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know if I'll be around the next time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wasn't even born yet. That's crazy.
WIRE: Now you and the game of soccer in the U.S. is all grown up. Leaps and bounds in a better place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Leaps and bounce. You're right.
WIRE: Right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
WIRE: Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Elex, let's hear the thoughts of Tyler Adams, one of the team's vocal leaders who I caught up with just moments after the loss. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER ADAMS, U.S. MIDFIELDER: I mean, the support was unbelievable. I think our initial reaction as a team was in this moment, we let them down. But I think altogether, people gravitated towards the team because we were relatable. We represented exactly what the U.S. was. Today wasn't a good day. I think from a performance, you can analyze the performance, you can analyze a lot of things, but the togetherness of the group, how we competed, in large parts of the tournament, I think was really good.
So, yes, it's tough to judge right now the overall tournament, obviously after a loss. But I think overall there were positives that we're going to take away from. It just doesn't feel like it right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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WIRE: All right. The scoreboard says Belgium advances, Elex. But this tournament may have done something bigger for the U.S., showing America how beautiful this game can be. Bringing the nation together in divisive times, a nation that once hope soccer would matter, now expects it to. And that may be this team's greatest victory in the entire tournament.
Elex, wish you were here with me. Maybe next time around. Four years from now we'll make sure were here covering one of these together.
MICHAELSON: Yes, I wish that as well. And, you know, and Balogun, obviously there was so much made about that. He was not able to score a goal tonight. Didn't really make that much of a difference in this match in the end.
But yet there was another game today, Coy, featuring one of the greatest players in the history of soccer, Cristiano Ronaldo, playing for Portugal against Spain. Spain has not given up a single goal in the entire World Cup, did not give up a goal against Portugal and now Cristiano Ronaldo says this is the end of the road for his World Cup career. We saw him very emotional today. Reflect on how important he's been to this game.
WIRE: Yes, I mean, you know, more goals across -- more World Cups than any other player, right? Incredible career. And I'll believe it when I see it that he actually retires. We've seen Serena come back. We've seen Jordan come back. We've seen Tom Brady walk away, come back and win a Super Bowl. He's 41 years old. But what times to be living in to be able to witness Ronaldo in this World Cup.
And then you have the other huge stars, Messi, Mbappe, Erling Haaland, all showing up and showing out on the biggest stages. This has truly been special. I know it's an end of the run for the U.S., but still so much great footy to come and great fan moments showing that this game can bring people from all over the world together. There's no greater unifier on the planet than sports, Elex, and I think you know that.
MICHAELSON: And this is sort of where the U.S. has wound up in most World Cups over the years, right around this moment. I mean, this really seems to be a moment, these last few matches where the cream is rising to the top. You see the good teams really playing well right now.
WIRE: Yes. Kind of Belgium that kind of veteran grizzly group, kind of showed their class today. So much credit to them and what they were able to do and really completely shut the U.S. down. But you mentioned the U.S. was right there on the verge of making just their third ever quarterfinal. They were so close. But as you can still hear, it was about much bigger than whether they won or lost I think this time for the World Cup, for the U.S..
So, Mr. Ream afterwards, the team captain, he said that they know they have inspired a whole new generation of the next soccer players to come up in this country, the boys and the girls. That was something they really wore as a badge of honor all the way through this World Cup journey.
MICHAELSON: Well, I'm glad people are still having fun in Seattle despite that loss, and it still appears that beer sales may be happening in some parts based off of what we're seeing around you. So cheers to everybody.
WIRE: Investigative journalism on for me next.
MICHAELSON: Yes. It's time. It's time to check it out. Still daylight, Coy. Thank you so much. Great reporting on a long day in Seattle. We appreciate it.
WIRE: Thanks, Elex. MICHAELSON: The Round of 16 wraps up on Tuesday with the last two
quarterfinal spots on the line. Defending champion Argentina and Lionel Messi will face off against Egypt in Atlanta as the Pharaohs chase their first ever World Cup quarterfinal. And an unbeaten and precise Switzerland will take on Colombia, one of the tournament's dark horses. That happening in Vancouver.
Now to politics. President Trump is on his way to the NATO summit in Turkey's capital right now. Air Force One taking off a couple hours ago. This is video of him getting on that brand new plane, which Qatar had gifted him. President has accused members of not meeting defense spending requirements, but NATO leaders plan to show him that they are spending money to defend Europe.
The president also signaling a renewed focus on ending Russia's war on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will attend the summit as he fights for more aid for his country.
CNN's Nic Robertson reports from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: President Zelenskyy really wants to be able to produce and get license for making Patriot missiles, defensive missiles, inside of Ukraine. It's not clear that he's going to get that. But there is a Defense Investment Fund Forum meeting here tomorrow where there's expected to be a financial significant billions and billions, tens of billion dollars financial commitment to Ukraine to support them this year, next year, in the war against Russia.
So that's what President Zelenskyy will be looking for. President Trump is going to be coming in here looking for something else. He's going to be looking to make sure that his NATO, European partners that has been leaning on for a long time to up their defense spending.
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Five percent of GDP is what is required by agreement. Last year at the Hague, declaration from the Hague Leaders' Summit of 5 percent GDP by 2035. So President Trump is going to be looking to see who's doing that, who isn't doing it. And I think it's going to be very interesting to see how he deals with countries like Spain that aren't stepping and haven't so far made a commitment to getting to that level of spending over the next nine years.
And I think there's anxiety here. When President Trump walks into a NATO summit these days, there's worry. It was only a few months ago that he wanted to take -- annex Greenland, which is part of Denmark, which is a NATO allies country. And then on top of that, President Trump has been frustrated with the way his NATO allies have not, in his opinion, stepped up sufficiently during Epic Fury, the U.S.-Iran war. He wanted more support. So all of that is in the mix here.
President Zelenskyy will be very focused on what he needs. President Trump undoubtedly very clear and determined to get what he wants out of it as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Nic Robertson, reporting for us there. Nic, thank you.
Meanwhile, back here in the United States, U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner says that he must figure out the, quote, "best path forward" as he calls -- calls for him to exit the race grow louder. A woman has accused the Maine Democrat of raping her back in 2021 while heavily intoxicated. She provided some very specific details. Platner firmly denied the allegations but acknowledged they could hurt his chances of unseating Maine's longtime Republican senator, Susan Collins. He has one week to withdraw from the ballot for Maine's Democratic Party to be able to put somebody else.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM PLATNER, DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR U.S. SENATE: I wanted to (INAUDIBLE) troubling, serious and false allegations against me. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The top Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer, called the rape allegations incredibly disturbing. He said the Democrats' Senate Campaign Committee will not invest in the Maine race unless Platner bows out. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who had previously endorsed Platner and called her -- called him her kind of man, issued this statement, quote, "Now more than ever, we need leaders in Washington who reflect our values. There can be no tolerance for sexual assault. With so much at stake, the best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations outside the Senate race."
Earlier, Platner's accuser spoke exclusively on television with CNN's Jake Tapper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Let me be as direct as I can. Did Graham Platner rape you?
JENNY RACICOT, PLATNER ACCUSER: By definition, yes. Absolutely.
TAPPER: Because he had non-consensual sex with you, forced himself on you after you had told him no and fought him off?
RACICOT: He violated multiple layers of consent that night by coming into my home when I asked him not to, and by advancing on me when I told him not to. And furthermore, another incident that I had told him not to do and --
TAPPER: With protection.
RACICOT: Yes. Yes. So, yes, by the way that my nervous system reacted to this experience, absolutely. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Time to break this all down with our political panel. Mike Gatto is a retired member of the California -- Dan Schnur is a political commentator, professor at the University of Southern California. Mike Gatto there is a former member of the California Assembly.
Gentlemen, welcome to you both.
Dan, right now, Graham Platner is refusing to step aside, even though basically every one of his key supporters have said get out of the race. The Maine Democratic Party has said, get out of the race. The chairman of the Democratic National Committee has said, get out of the race. The top Senate Democrat has said, get out of the race, and said, we're not going to give you any money as long as you're in the race. And yet he hasn't gotten out of the race. Why do you think that is?
DANIEL SCHNUR, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Graham Platner has spent the last several months essentially being excused for all different sorts of inexcusable behavior. And it's understandable that he's essentially conditioned himself to think he's invulnerable to these type of criticisms. But between now and next week, when the deadline comes to remove him from the ballot, he will step aside. And by this time next year, Graham Platner will be a trivia question in Democratic politics.
MICHAELSON: So you think there's no way that he survives this?
SCHNUR: He thinks he has leverage, but he is less than zero leverage.
[00:15:00]
Ultimately, he will have no choice but to step aside, and the Democrats will end up with a much more electable candidate in the Maine Senate race. So while we shouldn't rush past the horrific ordeal that this poor young woman suffered at his hands, when you look at the pure politics of it, this will actually end up increasing the likelihood of a Democratic controlled Senate in January of next year.
MICHAELSON: So the rules in Maine, Mike, are that he has until July 13th. If Platner himself voluntarily says, I'm out, the Democratic Party then has two more weeks to come up with a different name to put forward as the Democratic nominee and that person would then be on the ballot. We know the Democrats have not always had the best success with people dropping out at the last minute and then putting up somebody who has not been tested by the voters.
How do you think this whole thing makes the party look? And do you think that there are Democrats who sided with Platner, despite the fact that he had a Nazi tattoo, despite the fact that "The New York Times" raised serious questions about his relationships with women? They were all in on him, and now they're pulling back from him.
MIKE GATTO, FORMER CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY MEMBER: Elex, one might justifiably argue that the Democratic Party has a vetting problem because we've seen this movie so many times in recent history. We saw it with Eric Swalwell. We're seeing it again with Graham Platner. You could argue that we really just have to be better with investigating candidates.
And also, as you noted, you know, there's a lot of hope out there to retake the Senate and to, you know, put forth candidates who fit these different races and these different jurisdictions. But at the same time, you know, we've got to give credibility to these very serious allegations, and we've got to cut our losses a little earlier. We've all seen this movie before, and it doesn't end well.
You know, with what happened with waiting so long for Joe Biden to, you know, to urge him to get out of the race, I'm worried about what this does to people's faith in the Democratic Party, and I'm worried about what it gives us in terms of faith with our own candidates.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And there is already, it seems, to be a campaign underway to replace him, because there's only a few weeks to figure out who this person is going to be. And this person has at least a 50- 50 shot of being the next senator, if not better. I mean, let's throw some of the names that are being talked about and some of these folks already putting out statements tonight that seem to indicate they're interested in this.
Shenna Bellows, who's the secretary of state in Maine. Troy Jackson, former state senator, a progressive who had backed Graham Platner. Nirav Shah, former director of the Maine CDC. Jackson and Shah definitely seem to be edging their way in.
How do you see this going in the next few weeks?
SCHNUR: By the end of this month, the Democrats will have another Senate candidate in Maine, and that candidate, any one of those three or someone else, will have a far better chance of defeating Susan Collins than Graham Platner would have. Platner was not going to lose that race because he was a progressive. He was going to lose that race because he had so much inexcusable personal baggage that ultimately the voters would have just rejected him. At this point an un-Platner on the ballot is really all Maine Democrats need.
MICHAELSON: Well, and Susan Collins has been an electoral anomaly for many years, winning in a state that President Trump has lost. And she has somehow survived. Democrats have always wanted to beat her, but they have not been able to do it. But what has happened in between is you've had this second Trump term, and you've had her votes to help some of the Supreme Court nominees who ultimately took down Roe v. Wade, even though she said that wasn't going to happen. So it'll be interesting if the focus -- Democrats want the focus to be on her and Roe v. Wade and not on Graham Platner's sex life, as you're talking about.
Meanwhile, another big political story of the day that the entire world seemed focused on, Mike, was this President Trump interfering with FIFA, or at least calling the head of FIFA, expressing his frustration with what he saw as an unfair red card, which was a suspension for Balogun, one of the best players on Team USA who ended up getting to play after that phone call. We don't know if that's the reason why they changed their mind, but President Trump seemed to claim some credit for that. A lot of folks around the world were outraged by that.
How do you see that whole thing?
GATTO: So, Elex, this was a Trump special, right? He picks an issue that is very hard for Democrats to defend. And yet we fall into this trap time and time again. I always tell my fellow Democrats, when a schoolyard bully starts saying something, calling you names, the minute that you react, he has already won. The bully has already won.
And I'm seeing tweets from Democrats saying, I'm rooting for Belgium tonight. I mean, crazy stuff, right? And he took an issue which is, you know, raw patriotism. And he forced Democrats to react and speak out against it. We can agree it's wrong. We can agree that it was something really awful to do. And, you know, totally inappropriate. But he somehow keeps getting Democrats to react and he has won by doing that.
[00:20:03]
MICHAELSON: Yes. Although the United States did not win in the end of the day.
SCHNUR: No, but if -- but if the United States had won, I promise you Donald Trump would have been on television tonight taking credit for reversing the red card decision.
MICHAELSON: I thought the same thing. Instead, he did not talk to the media while getting on the plane to NATO conference today. And that's another big test for President Trump now about to meet with leaders around the world. He says he's going because of his relationship with Erdogan, the leader of Turkey.
How do you see the stakes of this trip and what a successful trip would be for President Trump?
SCHNUR: Well, the challenge for Donald Trump is I don't know that there's much that can make this a successful trip. All we've heard from his advisers for weeks, if not months now, is how important it is for him to shift the focus of the national conversation from international policy, in Venezuela, in Iran, in Greenland, back to the United States and the economy. No matter what happens, no matter how much money the European countries pledge to defense.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
SCHNUR: It's still several more days in which he's not talking about affordability. Right now, Donald Trump after Iran, he needs a win. And to me what will be the most interesting thing is to see if he continues to edge closer to Ukraine, away from Russia, the way he has in -- the way he has in recent weeks because after Iran, if he does see Ukraine gaining momentum, he wants to be part of that victory. If not, he'll settle for Cuba.
MICHAELSON: Yes, I mean, big, big stakes on the international stage.
Dan, Mike, we're grateful that you're sticking with us. You'll be back in the next hour because there's plenty more to talk about then. Thank you both for being with us on this edition.
We want to get to some other news now, though. Prince Harry's trip to London is grabbing a lot of attention because of a lack of royal sleeping arrangements. More on that just ahead. Plus, Congressman Robert Garcia still to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:26:26]
MICHAELSON: The public funeral for Iran's slain supreme leader is now in its fourth day.
These are live pictures from Iran. You look at the massive crowd there in an important holy city about 80 miles or 130 kilometers south of the capital of Tehran. The country is staging a week of mass funeral processions for the late ayatollah before he is buried on Thursday.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran. A reminder to our viewers CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government, but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Millions of Iranians taking to the streets as the procession commemorating the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made its way through Tehran for hours. The crowds surrounding the trailer transformed into a giant hearse.
This is as close as we're going to get to the casket of the supreme leader and his family members, who were killed in a U.S. air strike. As you can see, the people here are extremely angry. What they're chanting right now is "Death to America." And they have vowed revenge for the killing of the supreme leader, both against the United States as well as President Donald Trump.
(Voice-over): While some Iranians oppose their government, the leadership says it's managed to mobilize an unprecedented number of people, many carrying posters bearing the likeness of the late supreme leader, along with a simple message, Iran has a score to settle with America and with Israel.
"We've come here for the revenge of the blood of our leader, and we will not put this aside for one second," this woman says. And he says, "The objective for being here is to take revenge against Trump and Netanyahu."
Absent from the funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his son and successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who so far has not appeared in public, communicating only via written statements since taking the reins. But the people on Tehran's streets insist their new leader is in charge, their country stronger than before and ready for another military confrontation with the U.S. should negotiations fail.
"Our message to Trump is do not repeat your mistake," this man says.
As Iran lays its longtime supreme leader to rest, his message of confrontation with the U.S. endures even as Washington and Tehran attempt to negotiate an agreement for a lasting peace.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: The president of France is now the first major Western leader to visit Syria since Bashar al-Assad's ouster back in 2024. Emmanuel Macron arrived in the capital of Damascus on Monday. His visit comes just one day before the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, which Syria's president is expected to attend.
A French official says that Syria's reconstruction will be one of the key topics of discussion during Mr. Macron's visit. He'll also emphasize France's commitment to a free and democratically diverse Syria.
Cuba has suffered yet another nationwide blackout. It's not yet clear what caused the outage, but the country's grid operator confirmed an investigation is now underway. Cuba has been grappling with an energy crisis made worse by sharp declines in fuel imports. Earlier this year, U.S. sanctions forced the island nation's top oil suppliers to cut off shipments to Cuba. On Monday, the Cuban president criticized the import restrictions, accusing Washington of trying to spark a, quote, "social explosion through asphyxiation."
[00:30:07]
The rift between Prince Harry and the British royal family doesn't appear to be closing. The Duke of Sussex is visiting the U.K. this week to participate in several charity events, but he will not be staying at Buckingham Palace or another royal residence.
He will also not be joined by his wife, Meghan, or their two children. They are staying behind in the U.S. over concerns about security arrangements.
CNN's Christina Macfarlane has all the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prince Harry is in London this week. Where he'll sleep is another question.
His team said Monday a room at Buckingham Palace, courtesy of the king. But within hours, the palace begged to differ, a royal source telling CNN that Harry missed the deadline to confirm, and by the time a request came in for him, the staff had already been stood down.
To add to the drama, Tuesday brings a verdict in Harry's privacy case against "The Daily Mail's" publisher, and concerns were raised about him staying at a royal residence while that ruling is pending.
His team isn't having any of it. Harry, they say, accepted once his own security had finally been sorted; and the palace, they note, had known about that judgment since Thursday. Quote, "It is therefore unclear why, having formally accepted the accommodation offer, it is now being withdrawn at the last moment."
But that's not all. Duchess Meghan and the couple's children were meant to travel, too. That trip's off for now, but British authorities confirmed there'll be no publicly funded security for the family.
Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet haven't set foot in Britain together since 2022, and this was supposed to be the trip that changed that. That is, until the perennial security battle reared its head.
The fight goes back to 2020, when Harry and Meghan first stepped back from royal duties. A memoir, a Netflix series, and a public rift with his brother Prince William all followed.
Then, in 2024 came his father's cancer diagnosis. Harry kept fighting anyway and lost his case in the court of appeal.
Still, he told the BBC last year he'd love reconciliation. In September, the two sat down for tea in London, a rare hour that looked, for a moment, like a start.
Buckingham Palace, for now, isn't saying any more.
Christina Macfarlane, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Senate hopeful Graham Platner appears to have lost the support of his party. We'll ask a House Democrat whether or not he should drop out and how he's made it this far.
Congressman Robert Garcia is here live, standing by to talk about that, plus his potential role as the chairman of the House Oversight Committee. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:37:28]
MICHAELSON: Back to our top story: the mounting pressure on Graham Platner to end his U.S. Senate campaign in Maine.
The Democrat says that he is reflecting on the, quote, "best path forward" after being accused of rape. He called the allegations troubling, serious, and false, but he's quickly losing the backing of his party.
And that Maine Senate seat is critical to Democrats' chances of gaining control of the chamber.
California Democrat Ro Khanna is among those rescinding their endorsements. He wrote on X, quote, "I've been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line. These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race."
Platner's accuser says she had no political motive for sharing her story and actually agrees with Platner's politics, but wants people to know who they're voting for.
She spoke to CNN's Jake Tapper earlier. A warning: she describes an alleged sexual assault, which may be disturbing to some viewers. It also may be triggering for sexual assault survivors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNY RACICOT, PLATNER ACCUSER: So, he had kind of, like, jumped on top of me and indicated that he had intentions that were sexual in nature.
And I remember just at first being like, hey, I'm not into this. Like, don't, I'm not in the mood. Like, don't. Whatever.
And it got to the point where I was like, OK, I feel like I've said this enough times. Like, he's not listening to me, or he's not hearing me.
And I looked at him. And I remember this very specific look in his eyes, and I could smell alcohol. And I was, like, this is different.
I remember specifically him, like, grabbing at my chest, and I, like, hit his hand. And I said, "Don't touch me." And I remember that during the altercation, specifically.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: And then he kept going?
RACICOT: Yes. And it was this weird mix of, like, coming in and out of -- I don't think consciousness is the word, but like coming to and kind of falling back into that drunken "I don't know what I'm doing" state.
And yes. And he just -- he would apologize in those moments and then go back to doing what he was doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Robert Garcia is the top Democrat on the U.S. House Oversight Reform Committee. His district is right here in Southern California.
Congressman Garcia, welcome to our set for the first time here on THE STORY IS.
REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): Yes. Happy to be here. Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Great to see you. What should Graham Platner do?
GARCIA: I mean, he should resign immediately. And quite frankly, Mr. Platner really has and should have no say over who the next nominee is. I think the Maine Democratic Party has a lot of work to do.
I think we have to believe this is a credible accusation. It's horrific what's been described. And I think Mr. Platner needs to resign. I'm glad that he is reevaluating, but that resignation is important for the party, for the people of Maine and, quite frankly, for the country, for those of us that want to win the U.S. Senate. We've got to move forward.
MICHAELSON: I mean, "The New York Times" is reporting, suggesting somebody close to him saying that he -- part of the reason he may be holding out is that he wants to have a say, and that he will only drop out if he believes that it's somebody who shares his politics to be the next nominee.
GARCIA: Look, I share a lot of Mr. Platner's politics, as well, but he should really have no say over the nominee. That should go to the people of Maine and, certainly, those that are part of the party.
MICHAELSON: But did the people of Maine pick him?
GARCIA: Certainly, before these allegations came out.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
GARCIA: I mean, look, I think -- I don't think that there's anyone that will continue, in that state, to support him after this.
And he should deal with these accusations, not as a candidate for Senate, but in his own personal way. I mean, it's horrible what's happening. I think all of us, obviously, feel horrific for, first and foremost, the survivor, but also the people of Maine. I'm sure Mr. Platner's family. It's all devastating.
MICHAELSON: So, these accusations didn't exactly come out of nowhere. I mean, there had been controversy about Graham Platner for a long time.
I mean, he has a tattoo that some describe as a Nazi tattoo. And "The New York Times" had interviewed a series of women who said that they had questionable interactions with him in terms of his dating life in the past.
At the time, many Democrats stood by him. Was that a mistake? I mean, what do you make of the way that the Democratic Party, when it looked like he was going to beat Susan Collins, stood by him?
GARCIA: Yes. I mean, look, first, to be clear, I never endorsed Mr. Platner. And so, I mean, I'm not someone -- I looked at that race, and I shared a lot of the concerns that I think a lot of folks had.
At the end of the day, obviously, Maine voters in the party made their choice, but not also having this level of accusation. And this -- I mean, what we heard is heart wrenching was put out today. I think, clearly, that rose to a different level than what was reported on before. And so, you know, the people of Maine, I think, made their best
selection in their process. But now, it's incredibly clear that he should not be the nominee. And I think most voters agree with that.
And so, I think people have got to move forward. At the end of the day, people have to -- candidates have to be vetted, and we have to ensure that the candidates that we are electing meet the threshold of -- of being good people, of -- everyone's made mistakes. I think we can all agree to that.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
GARCIA: But that is a different level. You have done sexual abuse, you should not be in federal office, or any office, quite frankly.
MICHAELSON: Let's talk about what's happening on the world stage right now. President Trump is on Air Force One right now, headed to Turkey for the NATO conference.
What goes through your mind when you see President Trump representing the United States of America at a conference like this?
GARCIA: Well, the first thing I think is, I wish he wasn't on an airplane that was gifted to us by Qatar, a foreign government. I mean, the idea of an American president representing the United States, going to NATO on a jet given to us by a foreign country, I think, honestly, is quite shameful.
Beyond that, I do think that it's important for us to be at NATO. I think that I'm hopeful that the president understands that what's happening right now with Ukraine and what the progress that they are making, while limited, it is important. So, I hope that conversation continues.
And I -- and I also think that the world, NATO, the U.N., these are important institutions that the U.S. should be a part of. And I think the fact that there's so many NATO countries the president has -- continues to insult, whether it's Canada, whether it's our other neighbors across -- across the world, I hope he doesn't do that this trip.
MICHAELSON: What does an end to the Ukraine-Russia war look like for you? And what do you think the United States' role in that should be?
GARCIA: I mean, look, for -- for me, it certainly includes the invasion of Russia to be -- to end. And I think it's got to be, obviously, a position that Ukraine feels strongly about.
The -- obviously the fighting has got to be over. But I think as far as what peace looks like, that's really up to the Ukrainian people and our partners and allies around the world.
MICHAELSON: You're in a big job right now. You're the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. But the Republicans run the House. They have the gavel, and they really control the Oversight Committee. If the Democrats win back the House, you are now in charge,
essentially, of all of the investigations of the Trump administration. Your committee is going to lead all of that. What's priority No. 1, if you get that gavel?
GARCIA: Look, I think No. 1 is ensuring that the corruption that's happening right now in D.C., particularly in the administration, ends and is investigated.
The fact that President Trump is $2 billion richer; that there is a crypto scheme that's enriching him and his family; that real estate deals are happening across the world on behalf of both the Trump Organization and the administration; that pardons are being sold; that -- that the sons are -- are gaining resources and money from contracts with -- at the federal government.
[00:45:15]
This is pure corruption. And so, that has to be held accountable. Those folks have to be held accountable to a higher standard.
And so, Trump family corruption is centered.
In addition to that is the Epstein investigation. Again, why are all these powerful men -- why is there -- why is there absolutely no consequences for these men that have abused and raped women who were children, in many cases?
That investigation, in our opinion, needs to move and advance much faster. And all of the files, half of which have not been released, need to be released.
So, those are the big issues. Obviously, pay-to-play, some of the abuses that are happening, whether it's at ICE or DHS. I think all will be on the table.
MICHAELSON: I mean, what do consequences look like, though, for both Epstein and the Trump administration? And -- and is what the Trump administration doing right now in terms of Trump making all this money actually illegal? Or does it just look icky?
GARCIA: Its 100 percent illegal. I mean, there's -- we have -- we have -- we have clauses in the Constitution that make it clear. I mean, the president should not be enriching himself.
And what's -- what is just shameful is that you have a president who is now $2 billion richer as gas, groceries, the cost of rent all become more expensive.
We are in an affordability crisis in the United States, and the only people benefiting are Donald Trump, his family, and their billionaire friends.
We have to focus on ensuring that people can actually survive and live in the United States. And that's not where the presidents focuses. It's instead on enriching himself and giving tax breaks to the wealthiest and the largest corporations in the country.
MICHAELSON: A reminder of just how important these House elections are, because the Democratic agenda and the Republican agenda are very, very different of what to do with that gavel. It's up to the viewers and the voters to make their decision on which one they would rather do.
But you just heard a very different approach than what we've been hearing for the last couple years.
Robert Garcia, great to see you. Thank you so much for coming in.
GARCIA: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: And we've invited our Republican local members and hope that they'll join us soon, as well.
Ukrainian drone strikes are creating major fuel shortages across nearly all of Russia. Coming up, how Kyiv is trying to weaken Moscow's grip on Russian-held Crimea.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:52:11]
MICHAELSON: Russian attacks continue to strike fear around Ukraine's capital. Seven people were killed in a suburb of Kyiv on Monday. Twenty-nine others were injured, including four emergency responders.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military says it struck Russia's largest oil refinery, more than 1,500 miles from Ukraine's border. That strike could worsen growing gas shortages in almost all of Russia's 83 regions. Kyiv's pressure campaign is also targeting the highly contested Crimean peninsula.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ukraine is hitting Russia hard where it all began: occupied Crimea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: It's gonna be (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
WALSH (voice-over): Taken first in 2014. It is a peninsula, and that makes it very vulnerable to being cut off.
There are two ways in or out. First is the Kerch Bridge, which Ukraine has been hitting for years, and it's now beset by queues of thousands of anxious Russians, trying to get out.
Second is the land bridge through occupied Ukraine. Many saw this as a big strategic gain from Russia's invasion in 2022, a way to cheaply and permanently connect Russia to this tourist mecca, the jewel of the Soviet past.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coast of the Crimean peninsula, a national resort.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Crimea, sacral importance for Russia, like the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
WALSH (voice-over): Ukraine's 2023 counteroffensive tried to break through here, but failed, hitting huge Russian defenses. Now they're flying over them.
WALSH: New mid-range Ukrainian drone capability --
WALSH (voice-over): -- striking the road along the land bridge and Crimea's air defenses, leaving it vulnerable.
And then the actual bridges to Crimea and the Russian trains and the roads. Now they're hitting ordinary infrastructure: refineries, power stations, meaning power cuts in the cities.
Queues at gas stations, thick black smoke on the skyline. So, yet more Russians are leaving.
WALSH: Zelenskyy recently claimed that Russia has had to prioritize air defenses in Crimea and around Moscow, as well. Putin has recently accepted economic challenges and indeed gas shortages, as Ukraine's drone strikes increasingly cause chaos in ordinary Russian life.
So, what's the goal here? Make Crimea hard to live in: a place without tourists, gas, power, affordable food, and the land bridge to it already itself a tough place to live in. Seems less worth the cost.
And this is the wider point for Kyiv. Seize on the growing questions inside Russia as to what the war is even for. If Crimea is effectively uninhabitable --
WALSH (voice-over): -- and the only gains they can claim, a tiny bit of land, usually rubble in Donbas --
WALSH: -- turn Crimea from a jewel in Putin's crown to leverage for Ukraine, perhaps, in any future peace talks, or even into a damaging thorn in Putin's side as he tries to navigate growing dissent about his war of choice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[00:55:09]
MICHAELSON: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you for that.
We'll be right back with more of THE STORY IS, including our top stories, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:59:58]
MICHAELSON: Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen has announced his next big mission: retirement. The Artemis II crewmate says he is stepping down from his full-time role as an astronaut in September.
He was the only international astronaut to fly.
