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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Epstein Case Fallout Divides Trump's Officials And His Base ; Trump Announces New Plan To Send Weapons To Ukraine; Pres. Zelenskyy Thanks Pres. Trump For New Weapons Plan; Fmr. Pres. Obama Tells Democrats To "Toughen Up" Against Trump; FEMA Search And Rescue Teams Take Days To Reach Texas After Flooding As Agency Faces Overhaul; Death Toll From Texas Flooding Is 132. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired July 14, 2025 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even now, posting a photo of Trump with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein tagged, "Hey Donald, you're rattled again?"
O'Donnell has applied for Irish citizenship, but that does not necessarily change her status here. Indeed, Erin, what she has said is, "Hey, I miss my home country." And maybe when Donald Trump is not the President anymore, I'll come back".
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Tom Foreman, thank you very much and thanks to all of you. Anderson starts now.
[20:00:28]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360, the Jeffrey Epstein case divides Trump world with one staunch ally calling for a special counsel and the number two man in the FBI on shaky ground.
Also tonight, the President's new deal for weapons to Ukraine, but if he's getting tough on Russia, why is he giving Vladimir Putin 50 more days to make a deal?
Plus, new CNN reporting, how cuts at FEMA could have affected emergency response time to the flooding in Texas.
Good evening, thanks for joining us. We begin tonight with the Jeffrey Epstein's story, which tonight is making allies of sorts out of a far right conspiracy peddler in the House's top Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, who's calling for a congressional probe into how administration officials, both in and out of office, dealt with it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Option one, they lied for years. Option two, they're engaging in a cover up. At this point, it seems reasonable, that can only be one of the two things and so, it's Congress' responsibility in a bipartisan way to ask the questions and try to get answers on behalf of the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: As we said, in a sense, this crossed party lines today when we
learned that Laura Loomer on the far right, is now calling for a special counsel to investigate the handling of the Epstein case.
Also today, and also from the right, simple frustration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLIE KIRK, FOUNDER, TURNING POINT USA: Honestly, I'm done talking about Epstein for the time being. I'm going to trust my friends in the administration. I'm going to trust my friends in the government to do what needs to be done to solve it. Balls in their hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That's Charlie Kirk, and that's a lot in and of itself. And as it was unfolding, the FBI's Deputy Director, Dan Bongino, was back at work after staying away on Friday out of his own frustration over the handling of the Epstein files and differences, apparently with Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Sources told us that he'd confronted her about it earlier in the week, and that, in turn became part of a cloud of seemingly radioactive fallout from the Justice Department's announcement a week ago, shutting down any further disclosures in the case of the convicted sex offender and accused child sex trafficker after months and in some cases, years of hype from Trump world.
It has certainly poisoned the air in the far right ecosystem, where many began calling for the Attorney General's head.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGYN KELLY, HOST, "THE MEGYN KELLY SHOW": It's Bongino or Bondi. He's not saying --
KIRK: Would you guys prefer, Bongino or Bondi? Okay, 7,000 to zero.
(CROWD answer "Bongino.")
KELLY: They want Dan.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST, "THE INGRAHAM ANGLE": How many of you are satisfied? You can clap -- satisfied with the results of the Epstein investigation. Clap.
(CROWD booing.)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Scenes from the Turning Point USA conference Friday and Saturday night. You saw Charlie Kirk on stage on Friday talking about the Epstein case. Now, he says he's not going to talk about it any longer.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan was there as well, talking to some of those people. He joins us shortly.
But yesterday, even the President had gotten involved. Talking to Bongino and trying to tamp down rumors that his deputy FBI director was as good as fired.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I did, I spoke to him today. Dan Bongino, very good guy, I've known him a long time. I've done his show many, many times and he sounded terrific, actually. No, I think he's in good shape.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, that quiets any speculation is hard to gauge. What's clear, though, another such attempt just a day before did not. Here's the President on his social network. His tone all but pleading. He says, "What's going on with my boys? And in some cases, gals? They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who's doing a fantastic job. We're on one team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening. We have a perfect administration, the talk of the world and selfish people are trying to hurt it all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein."
As you might imagine that did not make people stop talking about the story any more than it did when he said this in front of reporters at last week's Cabinet meeting, a day after the Justice Department's decision to put a lid on the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Are people still talking about this guy? This creep that is unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, the President on Tuesday wondering why people can't stop talking about the story that his supporters have been talking about and spreading conspiracy theories about for years. And it's not just his supporters, its members of his actual administration. Here's some of what they've been saying lately, as well as before taking their current jobs. Here's the Attorney General teasing the so-called Epstein client list on two occasions back in February.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients. Will that really happen?
PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump.
What you're going to see hopefully tomorrow is a lot of flight logs, a lot of names, a lot a lot of information.
(END VIDEO CLIP) [20:05:21]
COOPER: Well, what followed was derided as far less than promised and more specifically did not include any client lists, which now supposedly does not even exist. And this kind of thing was going on long before the President took office. Here's Dan Bongino, now the number two at the FBI last year on his own talk show.
[20:05:38]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN BONGINO, U.S. DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: I think Jeffrey Epstein may have some videotape of people central to the Democrat and maybe Republican Party doing some things, let's just say, they shouldn't be doing. Why was the CIA director meeting with Jeffrey Epstein?
Listen, that Jeffrey Epstein story is a big deal. Please do not let that story go. Keep your eye on this. I'm not ever going to let this story go because of what I heard from a source about Bill Clinton on a plane with Jeffrey Epstein. I talked about it yesterday. You can go check it out. I'm not letting it go ever.
COOPER: Okay, well, now he's number two of the FBI. Here's Bongino's boss, FBI Director, Kash Patel from 2023.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is the FBI protecting the greatest terrorist -- the largest scale terrorist in human history?
KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: Simple, because of who's on that list.
Put on your big-boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So who has Jeffrey Epstein's black book?
PATEL: Black book -- FBI.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But who? That is -- I mean --
PATEL: That's under direct control of the director of the FBI.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The black book, it's not just sitting. I mean, that's Hoover power times ten.
PATEL: And to me, that's the thing I think President Trump should run on, on day one, roll out the black book.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So candidate Trump did not fully take that advice. He did, however, suggest that he was open to the idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just very strange for a lot of people that the
list of clients that went to the island has not been made public.
TRUMP: Yes, it's very interesting, isn't it? Probably will be, by the way. Probably.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if you're able to, you'll be --
TRUMP: Certainly, take a look at it. But yes, I'd be inclined to do the Epstein. I'd have no problem with it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: He certainly had no problem talking about it back when talking about it carried only political or political benefits when there was no real-world consequences. Whether Epstein's accusers or one of whom recently took her own life, or to anyone mentioned in the investigative files, Epstein's former friends and associates and all that hype in the years since Epstein was found dead in his cell in 2019, has also created a credibility gap.
Whenever the administration tries to tell the public there might actually be less to all this than their onetime followers were led to believe, about the circumstances of Epstein's death by suicide at the Metropolitan Correctional Center six years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BONGINO: On the Epstein files, listen, I know this is a hot potato for folks. I totally understand. My comments were clear I'm not paid for my opinions anymore. I work for the taxpayer now. I'm paid on evidence, that's it. The evidence we have in our files clearly indicates that it was, in fact, a suicide. We do have video. It is not the greatest video in the world. I don't want to set expectations on fire.
However, the video does show in that specific block that he goes in, made a phone call. You'll see 12 hours of guards going to basically check on him. Come back, you'll see no one really comes out in that bay in that area than him. There's no one in there. When you combine that with the other evidence where we will be releasing in the coming weeks, were still finalizing some of the products. I think it's pretty clear there's nothing there in the file at all that indicates anything other than in fact, a suicide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, the same may very well hold true for questions surrounding a minute long gap in video coverage at midnight on the night Epstein died. Attorney General Bondi and others have said that the taping system, which is apparently old, resets at the same time every day, and there's nothing suspicious about it, according to her, which may be entirely true, but it's a harder case to make now after raising so many suspicions before. Listen to Kash Patel last month, trying to reassure Joe Rogan's viewers of his commitment to transparency. JOE ROGAN, PODCAST HOST, "THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE": So correct me if
I'm wrong, but what I was told, what I'd read was that the guards were not paying attention or were sleeping.
PATEL: Well.
ROGAN: Right?
PATEL: Yes, and in short order, you'll see it.
ROGAN: Is that correct?
PATEL: Well, it's hard to surmise that from a video. Right, like, were they like, you know, and look, do guards doze off on the night shift? Yes, but no one can get in to the cell. And if they had gotten in to the cell, you would see it.
ROGAN: But we were told that the cameras were down.
PATEL: Well, I don't know who said that.
ROGAN: But that was that was in the news.
PATEL: We're giving you all the footage we have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:10:08]
COOPER: Which might or might not be the case and is bizarre, by the way, to have the FBI director on a podcast talking about this stuff. But either way, some even then, were not buying it. Given that at that point people had been waiting since February for more disclosures from the Justice Department, and it got even worse last Monday when the DOJ finally said that that was it. There'd be no more, which is now fully landed the administration into this mess of its own making left it squarely at odds with its own staunchest supporters, and further raised suspicions among friends and critics alike that its hiding something.
As for Dan Bongino himself, sources now tell us that his relationship with the White House has become untenable. Also that even -- if he does not quit now, some inside the administration believe he will not stay in the job long term. You heard what President Trump said today, that he had talked to him and that things seemed good.
For more on where this all stands, I'm joined by CNN anchor and CNN chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins. So, Kaitlan, I mean, this is fascinating. This has been going on now. Is it clear where deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino -- his career is headed tonight?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, it's not clear even to White House officials, Anderson, who were texting each other and texting me this morning asking, you know, whether or not they had figured out if he had shown up to work today because it was still an open question in Washington this morning, if he was going to be back at the FBI today.
And of course, he did eventually show up. We were told he had spent the weekend in Florida after not going there on Friday. But when it comes to what you just mentioned there about the relationship being untenable with the White House, he is staying in the job for right now.
He is still the deputy director of the FBI right now, and he hasn't resigned or been fired. But the relationship has deteriorated so much that there are officials inside the White House who have not spoken to Dan Bongino in days, even though, of course, the question of whether or not he was still going to be employed by the federal government was still a big one for officials over the weekend. And I was told the President was very angry with Dan Bongino and also the FBI Director, Kash Patel to a degree, which is why you saw Patel put out that statement over the weekend saying he had no plans to resign and was going to work for Trump as long as he as he would have him.
Obviously, right now they're trying to basically just get their arms around the story and control it and stop the fallout from continuing as its only continued to grow and their base has only gotten angrier about not getting answers to the questions that they were told they were going to get answers to.
And so, yes, Dan Bongino may stay in the job for right now, we have no indication that he's left. But there is a real question of the future of that relationship, especially given the ultimatum he made over the attorney general, Pam Bondi, after she confronted him, and also just the fact that he's not speaking to a lot of people, whether that's in the White House or Evan Perez has told earlier he had not spoken to anyone at Justice Department leadership since last Wednesday, and obviously that is a key relationship for the deputy FBI director to have, and one that has just really deteriorated at this point.
COOPER: It's incredible how much time this must be taking up among the top leadership of the FBI and I guess with Pam Bondi as well. Kaitlan, thanks very much. Senator Richard Blumenthal is on with Kaitlan at the top of this next hour.
Joining me now, CNN senior correspondent Donie O'Sullivan, former Trump White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin and journalist Gretchen Carlson, founder of "Lift Our Voices".
Donie, you were at the Talking Point USA conference, this was a much discussed.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Turning Point.
COOPER: Excuse me.
O'SULLIVAN: But there are -- it's mostly talking points.
COOPER: I love -- I love what the kids are doing at talking points USA.
O'SULLIVAN: Well, you know, I love spending my summer with Kirk -- COOPER: And America's talking.
O'SULLIVAN: I love spending my summer weekends at a Charlie Kirk conference, talking about Jeffrey Epstein. And that's exactly what --
COOPER: Yes, but then Charlie Kirk was talking about on Friday and now all of a sudden today, I'm not talking about it anymore.
O'SULLIVAN: Here is what some of Trump's most ardent supporters told us.
COOPER: Okay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'SULLIVAN: What do you think is going to happen?
LISA BRITT, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think they're going to maybe give us pieces and maybe not the whole thing and think that that's going to suffice. And I don't think people are going to be quiet about it until they really do it. But who knows if well ever know the true story.
O'SULLIVAN: Ultimately, I mean, how bad do you think it would be for the MAGA movement, for young people's trust in Trump if by the end of his term they don't release everything they know about Epstein?
TAYLOR SHARP, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, I think that if they don't release the Epstein files, whatever J.D. Vance says then is irrelevant because it's like everybody's going to take it as like a lie because of what Donald Trump did. But I think J.D. Vance wants these files released as well. And I think that Donald Trump, he promised them. So, he needs to do it no matter who's on them we need to release the Epstein files.
O'SULLIVAN: The whole debate about Bongino versus Bondi, but ultimately its Trump's decision, right? I mean, he has the power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Trump's decision. It's Trump's decision. I think -- I think again, and I'm not going to make the decision for the President. It's not my job. It's not my place. But I do think the way that I'm seeing it played out is that Bongino will be here and Pam Bondi will be the fall guy.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you think that's fair?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think anything's fair in politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, nothing is fair in politics. Look, onstage and offstage at that conference all weekend. That's the only thing people were talking about. And that message from Trump is telling people to stop talking about it, didn't work. I mean, you saw maybe it worked for Charlie Kirk over the space of the weekend, and now he doesn't want to talk about it anymore, but not landing with the base.
[20:15:20]
COOPER: Alyssa, as somebody who knows public relations and certainly worked in this in the previous administration, the first term, what have they done wrong and right here?
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think the big misperception was that Pam Bondi was not acting in lockstep with the White House when she put out this memo last week. This DOJ operates very closely with the White House. It's totally untraditional.
COOPER: She would not have put out this memo --
GRIFFIN: I would say there is no chance that she put out this memo without at minimum, telling the White House this is what it's going to say. And I'm actually one of the supporters of Donald Trump said it well, the President could if he wants everything the government has on Jeffrey Epstein to be released. He could snap his fingers and make DOJ do that tomorrow. So, that's where I think Dan Bongino, the deputy FBI director, was misreading the room by going after Bondi and saying it's mere Bondi.
Clearly, President Trump is standing by her. Clearly she had authorization to put out what she did. But this might be the most dramatic misreading of Trump's base by the President. This is something that has animated his voters in such a palpable way. If you think of even the conspiracy theories like QAnon and Pizzagate that exists, they're all kind of tied into this idea of these pedophile rings, people in power who are getting away with things.
So, to kind of flip on this massive animating issue is something that it is not going to go away, saying, stop talking about it is not the answer.
COOPER: Gretchen, do you think President Trump's post over the weekend just drew more attention to it all?
GRETCHEN CARLSON, CO-FOUNDER OF "LIFT OUR VOICES": Yes, because I think he's trying to just wish this away. And the more that he doesn't say any information about it, we know as journalists -- we just want to know more about it. And it keeps the story alive. I think the only way really to combat this is to blunt what Pam Bondi has done and simply admit that she over-exaggerated what was there in the files. But then if he does that, he has to fire Pam Bondi and he doesn't seem to have an appetite yet for doing that. So he's really in a pickle.
And what I would just also add is that he should be talking about his victories right now. I mean, let's face it, whether you like it or not, he passed the Big Beautiful Bill. He had a successful attack against Iran with no repercussions yet back on the United States. And yet instead of, you know, being in that, reveling in that political power, he's instead facing a rebellion.
COOPER: Yes, a lot of division. Everyone stay here. I'm going to take a quick break. We're going to continue the discussion.
Also tonight with Ukraine under continued attack, President Trump announces a new plan to send the missiles to help in their defense and lays down a 50-day deadline for Russia to agree to a peace deal. Reaction from Democratic Congressman Jason Crow and also reaction from inside Russia next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:22:26]
COOPER: We're talking tonight about why what so many people in and out of Trump world are talking about and concerned about, except starting today, conservative activists and turning point USA founder Charlie Kirk, as we mentioned, namely the administration's decision to put a lid on further disclosures about the Jeffrey Epstein case last weekend -- last week and all that's followed since then.
I mentioned this to you during the break, but I don't know, if I'm Dan Bongino and I want a podcasting career because I don't think I'm going to have a longevity of the FBI in any further administration. It would seem to make sense if I'm Dan Bongino to want to lead the FBI now and be the guy who blew the whistle on this, or left because of, you know, being upset about Epstein. Otherwise, how is he going to get back into podcasting? That's my --
O'SULLIVAN: Isn't that, I mean, isn't that just so absurd that that's a consideration for the deputy director?
COOPER: But it is.
O'SULLIVAN: It's incredible.
COOPER: But it is, but you're right. The FBI director he never saw Chris Wray on you know, any podcast.
O'SULLIVAN: But you're completely correct. And Tucker Carlson again, we're living in a world where Tucker Carlson is the voice of reason. But he made that point on a podcast today.
COOPER: Oh, great. I'm glad were in a line.
O'SULLIVAN: But he literally, you know, like because these guys have good lives. I mean, they're making a lot of money. They're a great grift in this. Bongino had a great setup, and for him to come back, that's he's going to have to really, I guess, rebuild the trust of his audience but very hard thing to do when this is precisely the thing you were going on about for years, you know.
COOPER: Where do you see, where do you see this going?
GRIFFIN: It's also fascinating watching a lot of folks who called everyone else deep state when they weren't in government. Now, they're sort of there and they realize there's information you may have access to that. Perhaps its law enforcement sensitive. Perhaps it was overhyped and not that interesting and not that much there, there even though you made a career and built a following around it. But what I think some folks around the Trump orbit misread is Donald Trump does not talk about Jeffrey Epstein very often. I looked it up. It was something like five times in the last decade,
and in most cases, it was in response to somebody asking. I think he gets Jeffrey Epstein is an evil, gross dude that nobody likes. And his past association with him is not something he wants to highlight. But there are people from the Vice President, Kash Patel, Dan Bongino, who have built followings. They have kind of built their profiles on saying, we're going to get to the bottom of Epstein.
And they didn't realize this President really didn't run on that. Perhaps people elected him on it because of his supporters saying that and people around him. And that's where this fracture is. He wants it to go away and they promised people they were going to get them answers. So, there's going -- it's going to come to a head and they're going to have to decide where they want to be. And I wouldn't be surprised if a Bongino walks at some point.
COOPER: Gretchen, you heard your old colleague at Fox, Megyn Kelly, over the weekend. She also said that this controversy could cost the President in the midterms. Do you think there's really a chance of that happening?
[20:25:13]
CARLSON: Oh, who knows? I would bet much more on the fact that the tariffs affecting prices for consumers and potentially a bunch of small businesses going out of business as a result of the tariffs would be much more of an indicator on the midterms, because let's face it, you and I both know that it's the economy, stupid. I mean, that's pretty much what determines most elections. But there is kind of a red herring here because to Alyssa's point, this seems like this incredible issue that's fracturing MAGA right now.
And I find it fascinating as a political analyst, because the Epstein files have nothing to do with the MAGA base daily life, nothing. I mean, it's not about the economy. It's not about immigration. It's not about anything that actually affects them, and yet it seems to be so important. I do see it as a potential red herring that it could have this long lasting effect.
COOPER: Well, it does. I mean, Donie, you and I have discussed this ad infinitum. It does tie into the whole QAnon, you know, conspiracy theories about democrats and Pizzagate and all that. It is wrapped up in that.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, I mean, it's a very interesting point in that I guess so many of the things that the MAGA base have been conditioned basically to be obsessed about -- or almost they are distractions right from really things that have a material impact on their lives. But that's part of the strategy, right? That is part of the strategy from the top to say, lets sell these conspiracy theories about evil cabals and everything else like that.
So, yeah, I mean, really, you know, they've fanned the flames of this conspiracy theory for years, and now they see the danger of playing with fire. COOPER: Alyssa, what do you think of Hakeem Jeffries' on the
Democratic side, talking about, you know, an investigation? Do you think that's a wise strategy for Democrats to kind of jump in on this?
GRIFFIN: If Democrats had some great messenger on maybe the Minority Leader on the Oversight Committee, this could potentially be, I've just yet to see Democrats really take hold of an opportunity from Donald Trump and win it. I will say this, though, I've been surprised by how much people left, right and center are fascinated by this story and do feel lied to by the government. So that's where there may be an opportunity. I've heard from Democrats who are like, this just doesn't feel right. The video doesn't feel right. This memo that suddenly there isn't, I think. So there may be an opportunity to reach voters and simply saying, we want more transparency and trying to take up that mantle, but otherwise it feels like it's a lot of the same bickering around the edges that we see in Congress.
COOPER: Why wouldn't, Donie -- why wouldn't they release the whatever files they have? I mean, I guess there may be other witnesses who didn't want their names in there. Victims, perhaps. I don't know.
O'SULLIVAN: Go ahead.
GRIFFIN: It's very -- a lot of things could be redacted. So, in the way that in the National Security space, you have things that are classified. Oftentimes the DOJ has things that are law enforcement sensitive. It could deal with informants. It could deal with victims that you want to protect, stories that you want to. But there is a way, I'm nearly certain that there's more that the Department of Justice could put out while redacting sensitive information. That's what doesn't seem to make sense to me.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, and of course, I mean, you know, as we know that Trump has obviously hung out with Epstein in the past when there's no allegation of any wrongdoing there whatsoever. And from the people I spoke to this weekend, nobody thinks that Trump did anything wrong. Right. But what some people speculated was, well, that maybe some of his friends in New York, there's maybe damaging things there. And they talked about how Trump is such a loyal guy and doesn't want to upset peoples families and that sort of way.
I will just mention, I mean, just I can't underscore the disconnect here enough because that that post from the weekend, Trump's post of the gals and boys -- that was on Truth Social, basically a pro-Trump echo chamber. It has, I think, about 47,000 comments under it right now. I've never seen the likes of it on Truth Social before. They're basically all negative.
COOPER: Really? They're all talking about the President.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, pushing back against the President. I went through many of them. I couldn't find one positive thing so that that's very unusual.
COOPER: Yes, Donie O'Sullivan, thanks. Elizabeth Farah Griffin, Gretchen Carlson, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Coming up right now, more breaking news tonight. President Trump
promising Ukraine new weapons while also setting a new deadline for Russia to make peace.
Also, President Obama's tough message for Democrats and who he thinks the party should focus on as they search for future leaders.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:34:13]
COOPER: There's breaking news in the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has called President Trump to thank him for his new weapons plan. The president announced the plan today it would get missiles and other weapons to Ukraine and is coupled with a 50-day deadline for Russia to come to a peace deal.
Together they signal a new approach the war for the Trump administration. The president meeting with NATO Secretary General in the Oval Office said the U.S. would sell weapons to NATO countries would then transfer them to Ukraine. In addition, he laid out his peace deadline along with repercussions for Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're very, very unhappy with them and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days. Tariffs at about 100 percent, you call them secondary tariffs.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: He also repeatedly vented about President Vladimir Putin, continuing his growing frustration with the Russian leader until recently President Trump maintained they had a very good relationship.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
TRUMP: I go home, I tell the first lady, and I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation. She said, oh really, another city was just hit.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
[20:35:20]
COOPER: As for how this is being received in Russia, CNN's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Matthew Chance is in Moscow has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Kremlin controlled television, President Trump's U-turn on Ukraine was breaking news. Trump's now following in the footsteps of former U.S. President Joe Biden, the anchor says, promising weapons to Ukraine to force Moscow to the negotiating table. But we all know, she adds, that Biden failed.
This is the Russian onslaught President Trump says he's trying to end. But amid this barrage of mass drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, Trump's threat of tariffs and secondary sanctions if there's no peace deal in 50 days seems more like a green light than a deterrent to Moscow.
"In 50 days, oh how much can change on the battlefield and in the mood of the U.S. and NATO," posted one prominent Russian lawmaker. "But our mood will not be affected," he warns.
TRUMP: Because Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening.
CHANCE (voice-over): But President Trump's most recent mood change against the Kremlin and in favor of providing weapons to Ukraine is being widely criticized in Russia with handpicked guests on state television now openly accusing the U.S. president of fueling the conflict.
"This man is deceiving you, Ukraine," warns the senior Russian politician. "Trump just wants this war to continue," he adds.
After months of being heralded in Russia as a potential peacemaker a warmonger is how President Trump is now being cast.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COOPER: Up next, former President Obama's call to action and blunt message to the Democratic Party. I'll get reaction from James Carville and Rahm Emanuel.
Plus, questions growing about the federal government's response to the deadly flooding in Texas. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:42:11]
COOPER: Former President Obama has some tough words for Democrats at a recent private fundraiser in New Jersey. The president called on those in the party who are frustrated with President Trump to stand up for what they think is right saying, "I think it's going to require a little bit less navel-gazing and a little less whining and being in fetal positions. And it's going to require Democrats to just toughen up." A rare public rebuke from the former president and it comes as Democrats struggle to define the party's future.
Joining me now is CNN Senior Political Global Affairs Commentator Rahm Emanuel, who served as Obama's chief of staff and longtime Democratic Strategist James Carville. Ambassador, are you surprised by this message from President Obama? Why do you think he's saying it right now?
RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: I'm not surprised but I would -- one point of reference, if you look at every special election and every primary Democratic turnout since 2024 is way up on a comparative basis and it's very, very -- Democratic voters are very energized and they're not waiting for the leadership to get their act together about how to confront both President Trump and do nothing -- and not do nothing but the rubber stamp Republican Congress.
So my -- I get all the frustration everybody has, but you look at where the Democratic voters are in the country, they are fully caffeinated double espresso. They are doing exactly what they're supposed to do. Take a look at the New Jersey primary vote, two and a half to one Democrats turned out.
But there is a calling card to the leadership to be as energized and it's focused on the -- confronting President Trump and the Republicans on what they are doing specifically. I think like the best of everything that ever happened to this One Big Beautiful Bill was the Epstein crisis. It got knocked the bill off the news because that thing is so unpopular, the health care cuts for kids. So to me, there's a target rich environment focus on what the Republicans are doing and that will energize the Democrats.
COOPER: James, do you look at Democratic voters as caffeinated and energized as the ambassador says?
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well you can't help but do it. I mean, you look at these primary results and you look at general election results, I mean, it's sporadic and it's off year. And I think the Democrats have just this wonderful opportunity, this Big Beautiful Bill. People detest this.
And the more that they find out about it, the more they detest it. So we have a rallying cry here and it's going to be up to the whole party to pick up the baton and run with this thing. But then they're stuck with this vote and they want people to forget about it.
Rahm's right, the Epstein thing it was a distraction. But at the end of the day, I think people are going to vote on this and express their utter anger and disgust at this bill. This thing is most unpopular piece of legislation that has ever passed the United States Congress in the history of polling. That's how unpopular it is.
COOPER: Ambassador --
EMANUEL: Anderson --
COOPER: Go ahead.
[20:45:00]
EMANUEL: Look, let's take a look at the plane. Immigration used to be a strong suit for the Republicans. His numbers as you've seen in the Gallup poll way down, their party's way down. In fact, Republicans are opposed to what President Trump and his administration is doing on immigration.
Tariffs, hugely unpopular. One Big Beautiful Bill because they've cut a health care and eviscerated poor kids being able to go see their pediatrician. So Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook could get another tax cut. This is a target rich environment.
And Democratic voters is my point. They know that. That's why they're energized. And the leadership, as Richard J. Daley, the old mayor used to say, when you see a parade, get your baton and get in front of it.
There is a parade of Democrats ready to hit on immigration, ready hit and focused on what they're doing on this beautiful bill to hurt poor kids, on health care. And they think his economic strategy on tariffs is going to cost them real money. And every one of these were on the winning side.
COOPER: James, I want to just read a little bit more what President Obama said at this meeting, "He said stop looking for the quick fix."
CARVILLE: Sure.
COOPER: "Stop looking for the messiah. You have great candidates running races right now. Support those candidates." Do you think there are party leaders now who could bring in the same kind of appeal and enthusiasm? Well, certainly maybe not that Obama did in 2008, but are there -- I mean, who -- where are the leaders out there?
CARVILLE: Well, they're going to emerge and we're going to get them in the presidential primaries. The party doesn't have a leadership and overall message until it has a presidential nominee. Not a good news, is they are voluminous people who are potential presidential candidates. One of them is on the air with us right now.
So, you know, we've got to gel together and do really well in these midterms and then the guns can start on 2028. And I think every part of the Democratic Party and part of the country is going to be represented when they run for president. That's the time that we're going to gel and gel big time.
But right now, we just need to be focused on this big bad beautiful bill in the 2026 midterms. And we need to go out and raise money for these candidates that are running and help them and push them over the finish line. That's job number one now. And the Wednesday after the election next November didn't go off on a presidential election.
COOPER: Ambassador, former President Obama urged Democrats to focus on the governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia. Obviously, in Virginia, the Commonwealth Glenn Youngkin term limited popular governor. He can't run again. His -- the person who he's endorsing his lieutenant governor not so well known, not so well funded, certainly, at least self-funded.
EMANUEL: And not so well popular.
COOPER: So why are those races so important? EMANUEL: Well, I mean, one other thing I'd like to say is he -- the -- former President Obama made his comments in New Jersey where when the Democrats, Republicans had a primary, Democratic turnout was almost two and a half one better than the Republican turnout. And we nominated in both cases in New Jersey and Virginia two women out of the national security kind of portfolio.
Both are moderates that appeal to independent disaffected Republicans and energized Democrats. That's a winning formula. Dial go -- take the camera all the way back to Youngkin's first race when he ran for governor. What comes out of that is people are surprised at the power of the education issue.
2025 is going to tell you a lot about 2026, themes, message, ideas, policies, to hit at. And that is a very important election because it also then catapults the argument going into 2028. And so to me, the 2025 field in both New Jersey and Virginia is really tells you the depth of the party in the capacity and the best of what we've had going forward into those races to seize to not only gubernatorial races but also the other elections that are going to happen that year in November.
COOPER: Well, James, in Virginia during that last race, Glenn Youngkin really seized on dissatisfaction obviously with the education system. It was during in the wake of COVID. And also, you know, it was Terry McAuliffe saying that he didn't think parents should be involved in a kid's education or tell teachers what to be teaching. That was a, you know, that didn't play well in their debate.
CARVILLE: Yes, and that was a unique time -- in a unique time in American history, right. Just it was post-COVID. This idiot, you know, woke foolishness was at its height. Thank God it's now receding by the day.
But I'll say this, Anderson, right here. Walk me down. Spanberger is going to win Virginia and it's not going to be close. OK? It is not going to be close. And I'm pretty confident that we're going to win New Jersey.
And I would remind people that Virginia and New Jersey combined have as almost as many people as the entire New York state. But you would never know it. And, you know, there's a great story about (INAUDIBLE), Governor Whitmer.
COOPER: But, by the way, Virginia I think hadn't voted a Republican in since 2009 when Glenn Youngkin became the Republican governor. So it does have a long history of with Democrats.
[20:50:15]
EMANUEL: Can I -- go ahead, James.
CARVILLE: 2021 it's not going to be close. It's not going to be close. I promise you.
EMANUEL: Can I make -- one of the point -- CARVILLE: And, you know -- go ahead, Rahm.
EMANUEL: One of the point about Virginia you got a great candidate in the front. There are nine House of Delegate races that Kamala won -- Harris won that district that is held by a Republican. It's a 51-49 split Democrats majority. You pick up five, six, seven seats in the House of Delegates and I agree with James, this is going to be a very strong year.
You're looking at a different agenda on education, on public safety, on transportation, on affordable housing. That is going to be -- and it's not, it's the top of the ticket and how deep the roots go down. And I predict that you're going to see a lot of strength for the Democrats.
CARVILLE: Right.
EMANUEL: And that's going to tell you what that means for 2026. It's a petri dish.
CARVILLE: Correct.
COOPER: Rahm Emanuel, James Carville, thank you very much. Interesting.
Coming up, the --
EMANUEL: Thank you.
CARVILLE: Thank you.
COOPER: -- the search continues for nearly 100 people in Texas lost in the flooding. But questions continue also about the initial federal response. We'll talk with the former FEMA administrator next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:55:59]
COOPER: The death toll from the Texas floods now stands at 132 and the number of missing is around 100 statewide. As the search goes on, questions over the federal government's response continue. CNN has confirmed that multiple urban search and rescue teams from across the country were not deployed by FEMA until at least Monday evening. Three of the teams were dispatched on Tuesday.
Now the flooding of course hit in the early hours of Friday, July 12th -- July 4th. These are the units typically tasked with helping local first responders to find survivors and locate victims. Well, every response differs on a variety of factors. During previous flash floods, FEMA had mobilized search and rescue teams within hours not days of the storm.
For more on all of these, I'm joined now by former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. Thanks so much for being with us, Administrator Criswell. What do you make of the CNN reporting that multiple urban search and rescue teams were not deployed by FEMA for days after the flood? In the wake of Katrina, I think two days after Katrina hit and Wednesday I was in Waveland, Mississippi with urban search and rescue team, I think they were from Virginia.
I've been out with ones from Los Angeles in a number of locations over the years. Was this an understandable delay?
DEANNE CRISWELL, FORMER FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: You know, from where I'm sitting now, there's 28 urban search and rescue teams across the country and these teams are made up of local first responders and they're part of a federal network that FEMA pays for their equipment and their training. They help them sustain their capabilities. And then when needed for things like we just saw in Texas, they can mobilize them quickly get them moving into the area.
Sometimes even before a declaration is made so they can be on the ground ready to be employed, ready to help out those local jurisdictions as soon as the declaration is made and the state asks for them. When you add an extra layer of approval, it just slows that process down and it can cost lives in the end.
COOPER: The New York Times is reporting that according to documents, FEMA didn't answer thousands of calls from flood survivors because call center contracts weren't extended. Secretary Noem defended FEMA's overall response yesterday saying, quote, "Those call centers were fully staffed and responsive." Are thousands of missed calls -- I mean is that common?
CRISWELL: Well, I mean, to be fair, when the first few -- within the first few hours or the first few days after a big event like this when there's lots of people impacted, there are a lot of calls that come in. But that's why FEMA has a tiered staffing approach to be able to surge capability and in one of those capabilities is contractors, right. They can bring in extra personnel when they know that they're going to have an increased workload.
So we can reduce the time that it takes for people to get on the phone. Many of those calls that didn't get answered could be just people that didn't want to wait very long. But then that's not acceptable either, right. We want to be able to get to people, get them into the system so they can get assistance.
But I think, Anderson, it's really important to remember that the call center is just one way people can get into the system. They can register online at disaster assistance.gov. But there also are these teams called disaster survivor assistance teams that go door to door in these communities and can register people on an iPad. But it's also my understanding that these types of teams are no longer going to be utilized by FEMA.
And so it takes away just one more resource to help bring government to the people. And now we're forcing people to come figure out how to get into the government and to get the services they need. The thing about the response teams which is so surprising to me is that, I mean, the criticism of FEMA and I think justifiably in many cases in the past particularly has been, you know, the follow up with people trying to get reimbursed for damage. And that's more of a bureaucratic thing.
It's less the initial response. That seems to have been a strength of FEMA as always. Does -- is that accurate to you?
CRISWELL: You're exactly right, Anderson. During my four years as administrator, I never had a state complaint about response. Where they get frustrated is in the reimbursement in the recovery.
COOPER: Yes.
CRISWELL: There is lots of paperwork. There's lots of procedures that have to happen. And there are definitely ways that that can be improved.
COOPER: Yes.
CRISWELL: That's where the energy should really be focused on right now.
COOPER: Yes. Deanne Criswell, thank you. I'm out of time. We'll continue this discussion. Thank you.
The news continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.
