Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip

Israel and Hezbollah Agree to Ceasefire After Latest Fighting; Witkoff and Kushner Head to Switzerland for Iran Talks; Gov. Jared Polis' (D-CO) Clemency Advisers Speak Out After Tina Peters Released. Trump Doubles Down on Feud with Italy's Giorgio Meloni; NBA Champion New York Knicks to Visit White House after Thursday's Successful Ticker Parade. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired June 19, 2026 - 22:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:00:00]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kaitlan Collins and this is a special extended edition of The Source. Thank you for joining us tonight.

We're watching as Israel and Hezbollah both say they're going to stick to a truce following a deadly day of fighting between the two. The violence has threatened the already delayed negotiations between the United States and Iran, as our sources say that President Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, is headed to Switzerland right now to try to get those technical talks back on track.

His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is also expected to be there, as the clock is now ticking on that 60-day period to reach a final peace deal following that page-and-a-half agreement that has been at the center of a remarkable week, one with so many twists and global implications.

We decided to start tonight with -- in this hour, with something a little bit different, a look behind the scenes from Washington to Geneva to New York City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: It's a memorandum of understanding. If it doesn't get done in 60 days, it's all right, we go back to bombing.

REPORTER: Are you happy with the deal, Mr. Trump?

TRUMP: The deal is already signed and the strait is already partially open. Friday, it will be completely open.

COLLINS: We know the president has signed it, the vice president has signed it, Iran's chief negotiator has signed this deal, but, really, outside a handful of people, the details of this are still secret. That's because the actual text of this memorandum of understanding has not been publicly released yet.

What is your sense of why the full text of this, if it's only a page- and-a-half, as the vice president says, has not yet been made public?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): This agreement looks essentially like a surrender. These are Iran's terms. It's an embarrassing document. It's a humiliation of Trump by the Iranians.

TRUMP: That's what it says, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.

COLLINS: It's like the -- I've never had a setup of an interview like this. How are you?

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: I'm great.

COLLINS: Nice to meet you.

CARNEY: Absolutely.

COLLINS: Mr. Prime Minister, you said coming into this summit, Iran was the number one topic for the world leaders here to discuss. What is your assessment of this preliminary agreement between Iran and the U.S.?

CARNEY: Well, I came in with that as the number one topic. I have to say it's exceeded my expectations. We're very pleased with the deal that's been struck. Of course, it has to be followed through. It has to be implemented.

COLLINS: Did you actually see the agreement itself?

CARNEY: I've seen the agreement, yes.

COLLINS: So, the president showed it to you?

CARNEY: We have our sources, just like you.

COLLINS: Well, we haven't seen it publicly. It hasn't been released. Is it true it's about a page-and-a-half?

CARNEY: It is a reasonable length for an agreement which, in effect, is a cessation of hostilities. It's a ceasefire.

COLLINS: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your time.

CARNEY: Thank you, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: I really appreciate it.

CARNEY: Roll Tide.

COLLINS: Yes. Oh, Roll Tide.

CARNEY: There you go.

COLLINS: I love that.

Does it make sense to you why the administration has still, 48 hours later, not released the text of that agreement? MIKE PENCE, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I don't know how we're going to have greater leverage over what remains of that terrorist regime in Iran.

COLLINS: It sounds like you think, from what we know so far, this is a mistake.

PENCE: Well, it's much bigger than a mistake.

COLLINS: Someone is going to stand in front of this shot, I just feel it. Oh, God, here's the president.

TRUMP: On Sunday, we reached an agreement with Iran that achieves everything we set out to accomplish everything and much more.

We'll be giving this out so you can read it and you can see.

If we didn't do this deal, we could have dropped more bombs for another three weeks, two weeks, four weeks.

[22:05:00]

COLLINS: Mr. President? Why are you backing off your initial goals, Mr. President?

The president said if the talks don't go the way he likes, that the United States will resume bombing in the next 60 days, but he made clear that there's not really an appetite for doing so.

He did ultimately sign the document actually again tonight. His aides posted this video of the president putting that signature on a hard copy of the agreement as he was having dinner with the French president at the Palace of Versailles.

Now that we've seen the confirmed copy of this agreement, what are your first thoughts?

WENDY SHERMAN, FORMER DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: Looking at this, such as it is, it's really as if the United States is unconditionally surrendering.

COLLINS: Iran has committed before to not having a nuclear weapon, so why do you trust them now?

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): This is the first time that they've signed a document. This is a trust but verify program that we've offered them.

COLLINS: Senator, are you okay with Iran having missiles?

MARSHALL: I would prefer they didn't. I think that they have to be able to defend themselves.

COLLINS: Do you think Iran needs to be able to defend itself?

MARSHALL: I do. I think that they have to be able to defend themselves, otherwise, we turn this into a forever war.

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I've seen skeptics of the deal. People say the Iranians will never change their behavior. Well, maybe that's true. And if so, they don't get any of the benefits of the bargain. But isn't it worth trying?

COLLINS: You were seven years old when the Knicks won their last championship. What was it like today to not only go to the parade, but to be part of the parade for them?

BEN STILLER, DIRECTOR, ACTOR AND PRODUCER: The last few days have been like a dream or like a blur. It's crazy. I honestly didn't think it was going to be this intense. It kind of links everybody together, and as you can see, it's a unifying thing for the city. It's been beautiful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And that was behind the scenes this week in what was a very busy week. I want to talk about it all with the White House correspondent for Semafor, Shelby Talcott, and also joining us is The New York Times White House and national security correspondent, David Sanger, who is a CNN political and national security analyst.

David, I mean, just looking at all of this, you talked to President Trump earlier this week, when you see where we are tonight, what's your sense of everything?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, first, your cavalcade of images and quotes I think gave me sort of PTSD for the week, right? I mean, we've all been up and down, is this thing signed? Is it for real? What's it amount to?

But at the end of the week, I think, Kaitlan, what was most notable to me was that the president had a hard time generating much enthusiasm for this, even among his closest allies. And I think the reason for that is twofold. First of all, the agreement that we actually got was very bare bones, very vaguely worded, as the president advertised it would be. There was one paragraph that dealt with the nuclear program, which was, of course, the cause of the war, and it only requires the Iranians to dilute, basically what's called downblend their nuclear fuel to a position where it would be harder to use in a weapon. But none of the other nuclear issues are addressed.

And then when we read the rest of the document, missiles weren't addressed. You had a little bit of that earlier. Human rights weren't addressed, you know, so forth. And I think people looked at this and said, if Barack Obama had brought the same deal to the table, what would Donald Trump have said?

COLLINS: Yes. I mean, I think that's a good question, especially as obviously that is what kind of loomed over his entire negotiation with the Iranians.

And, you know, Shelby, when you listen to that, and we're in this point where we are tonight where Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are going to Switzerland, TBD if the vice president himself goes if it gets to that point, I mean, yes, there was a lot of enthusiasm from the allies for this agreement, but that's because they want this war to be over with because they don't want to have to deal with the Iran war anymore.

SHELBY TALCOTT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, SEMAFOR: Yes, that's exactly right. I think that is the core the core reason that people are excited for this deal is because for months now everybody has been saying, let's get this over with. We don't want to be dealing with it. The Gulf allies don't want to be dealing with it. Europe doesn't want to be dealing with it.

But, fundamentally, I think the point stands. Some of the president's staunchest allies, who really have not criticized him at all over the past several years, are coming out and saying, we don't think that this is a good deal. And one of the reasons that is because the reason we started all of this is because of Iran's nuclear program. And, fundamentally, while, yes, there's going to be technical talks, this memorandum of understanding is not a -- it does not address that directly.

[22:10:05]

And there's a lot of skepticism on Capitol Hill and even among some of the president's staunchest allies that I've privately spoken to inside and outside of the administration that they're going to be able to get a more solid deal on the issue of nuclear.

COLLINS: Well, in terms of that, you know, David Singer, we've heard so much criticism from Republicans, and it's not like this is just coming from typical critics of this administration who don't like anything the president does. I mean, it's from Ted Cruz to Roger Wicker, to all of these others who are saying, you know, that they just don't believe that this idea that Iran's not going to get any money from this is true.

I mean, listen to what Senator Ted Cruz himself said about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I don't want a lunatic, religious fanatic who chants, death to America, to receive $300 billion, whether it comes from us or it comes from some other regional partners. I don't care where it comes from. Giving people who want to kill you billions and billions of dollars from any source historically has proven an enormous mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: I mean, this is certainly something that, I mean, we're really seeing Republicans break with the White House on.

SANGER: Well, you know, we are, and that is an interesting issue as the midterms arise and so forth. But it also gets to a fundamental question, Kaitlan, about what is the theory of the case here about what would make the Iranians give up their nuclear program. And President Trump's theory of the case is that an overwhelming amount of investment into the country will be so tempting to them, as it has been to every other person he's dealt with over the course of his real estate career, that they won't be able to turn this down, and they want prosperity and investment and reintegration more than they want to have a weapon that would enable them to confront the United States, or at least to deter the United States and Israel.

And that was also his theory going into North Korea, right? In the first term, you and I covered some of this together, right, that you could promise Kim Jong-un you were going to build giant resorts along the beaches of North Korea, and they'd give up their nuclear program.

Sometimes that just doesn't work because there are regimes that fundamentally view the weapon as part of retaining their power. And you've seen in the past three months how ingenious they are at retaining their power.

COLLINS: And how intent they are in terms of that.

And, you know, I mean, obviously the domestic side of this, Shelby, has a huge part of what's weighing on the president. I mean, he went from saying that he wasn't thinking about domestic issues or what Americans were thinking about the economy in terms of this war. And then I thought it was pretty stunning what he said this week about not wanting to be a Herbert Hoover president. And for people who missed that comment, this is what he said he was worried about if this war kept going.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I didn't want to see economic catastrophe. If you kept this going, that could have happened. But all I know is every time we talked about the possibility of peace, the stock market shot up like a rocket ship.

So, rather than possibly going into a depression, rather than having your favorite president be Herbert Hoover, that was always the one I didn't want to be.

He caused the Great Depression. So, I don't think I'll make mistakes like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: I mean, he's giving a really interesting point of view into how he -- the lens through which he is viewing this.

TALCOTT: Yes, and something that's different than how he has maybe viewed it over the past few months. I remember when he told reporters that he doesn't think about Americans' economic factors when he's negotiating with Iran. Clearly, that has changed.

And I also thought it was really interesting, the vice president, when he spoke to us just the other day at the White House podium noted that this is going to be good for Americans' gas prices. And so, clearly, there has been a shift where this has gone on long enough that they're hearing from allies about, you know, concerns that this is affecting gas prices, that this is affecting Americans.

And I do think -- I did hear an interesting argument from somebody on the J.D. Vance side of things about how this is going to play out for J.D. Vance. And somebody said to me, you know, a lot of voters are not going to know the nitty-gritty details of this deal, but what they are going to see is over time gas prices go down.

[22:15:01]

And for a lot of voters, that might be enough.

COLLINS: Yes. I mean, David, that's a key question in terms of, you know, they keep saying if -- and Roger Marshall, the senator we talked to earlier this week, others say that if in this 60-day window that Iran doesn't come to the table, doesn't give up its nukes, they'll be bombed to oblivion in the Stone Ages. I mean, putting aside that Senator Marshall was also arguing that they should be able to have ballistic missiles to defend themselves while making that argument.

When you hear that, David, I think it makes people think it's pretty unlikely that the president would restart bombing 60 days from now when we're that close to the midterms.

SANGER: Absolutely. And, you know, the fact of the matter is the president has made it clear that he now understands that the bombing doesn't necessarily work to bring them to the table. And so the contrast between the Herbert Hoover comments that you heard, which I think the president was speaking from the heart, I think that's really what he believes, and what you heard just two months ago, which is this is a national security threat, they have an imminent capability to get to a nuclear weapon, which we have our doubts about after the bombing a year ago this weekend that buried that material, the president was basically saying, there's no price too high to pay for your security. That was two months ago. And now he's saying basically it wasn't worth it.

And if you're in Tehran and you are hearing those words, Kaitlan, I think what you conclude is that their strategy worked, which was cause so much economic pain and energy disruption that the president would have to blink first. And I think they probably concluded that he did.

COLLINS: Yes. David Sanger, Shelby Talcott, great to have both of you here tonight.

Up next for us here on The Source, the Colorado governor, Jared Polis, remember he freed the election denier, Tina Peters, from prison? That was despite a unanimous recommendation from a clemency board that he appointed that she stay behind bars. A member of that board is breaking her silence and will join me right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:20:00]

COLLINS: In the wake of freeing election denier and Trump ally Tina Peters from prison, the Democratic governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, has staunchly defended his decision.

You've probably seen it here, including on this show. But tonight, there's more to the story. That's because two members of his own secretive board that reviewed Peters' application for clemency are now speaking out and criticizing the governor's move, revealing that their 11-person board voted not once but twice to reject Peters' bid for early release after she was convicted of conspiring with allies of the president to breach voting systems in her county in 2021. Both votes were a unanimous no, but the governor overruled those recommendations anyway.

And now they're speaking out in writing in an op-ed for The Denver Post, quote, the problem is not about Tina Peters' case in isolation. It's what his decision reveals, that the system bends for some and holds firm against everyone else.

Now, she was freed from prison 19 days ago. Within hours of her release, she was on Steve Bannon's podcast, where she accused Democrats, basically, of cheating in the upcoming midterm elections.

My source tonight is one of those Colorado clemency board members who published that Denver Post op-ed, Azra Taslimi, and it's great to have you here because obviously this is a board that operates in secret. What made you and your colleague decide to speak out?

AZRA TASLIMI, MEMBER, COLORADO GOVERNOR'S ADVISORY BOARD ON CELEMENCY: Thanks for having me. Yes, I think, you know, one of the issues that we saw, we review hundreds of applications from people with no legal team, no resources, no one powerful in their corner, and they do everything right.

They show us remorse, they show us change, they show us the work it took to come before us, and we respond yes to their clemency applications, and the governor fails to act. And yet when it came to Ms. Peters we saw that despite the fact that we didn't see any remorse, we didn't see her take any accountability, he granted clemency anyway. And that is why we decided to speak up.

The system, I mean, if we allow for the system to run unchecked for unfairness and inequity to seep in, then that's how corruption takes root.

COLLINS: When the board voted no, which was unanimous twice on her request for early release, why was that?

TASLIMI: I think we looked at her application and we saw that what it contained was performative accountability, and that's why we voted no twice. And we were right. The moment she walked out of prison, she went back to calling herself a martyr, insisting that, you know, her only mistake was trying to expose voter fraud, repeating the very claims that got her convicted in the first place. There was no reckoning. There was no change. There was only a return to the exact conduct the jury had already issued a conviction for.

And we see a lot of these applications. Genuine accountability and change shows up in how a person speaks and about their actions and the people they have harmed, and we did not see that in Ms. Peters' application.

[22:25:00]

COLLINS: You know, President Trump was hammering Governor Polis over this. I mean, they were canceling projects in the state. He posted about it regularly. He made clear he wanted Tina Peters to get out of prison. And when we spoke with Governor Polis, he said it wasn't about that pressure, that that actually had no influence on his decision. Instead, he said he thought that her sentence was basically unfair.

Do you think that the president's pressure actually had anything to do with it?

TASLIMI: I think that's a good point, and I think that's an interesting point, right, that Governor Polis, as you pointed out, has said that he believes Peters' conviction should stand, but that her sentence was too harsh and violated her right to free speech.

Here's the problem. The Court of Appeals already agreed with him. That's why it had sent the case back to district court for re- sentencing. So, the process was already working. She was already on her way to having her sentence reconsidered by the body actually responsible for sentencing, and instead, the governor stepped in front of that process and decided the outcome himself.

I mean, other people in Colorado do not get to have that. They do not get to cut the line. They do not get a governor personally reviewing their case and substituting his own judgment for the trial court. I mean, plenty of people in the state are serving sentences that are arguably too harsh. I don't believe the governor's monitoring all of those cases ready to step in the moment he decides one looks disproportionate.

So, you know, it's a question of why this, why her? And the only answer is that this was a politically-influenced decision rather than one based on merit.

COLLINS: It was a very interesting op-ed. Azra Taslimi, thank you for joining us to share your perspective on this tonight.

TASLIMI: Thank you for having me.

COLLINS: Up next, there is quite an uproar that is happening after Italy's prime minister came out in a video refuting claims from President Trump that she begged for a photo with him at the G7 Summit. What this means, and why a huge meeting just got canceled because of it.

[22:30:00}

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Tonight, President Trump finds himself beefing with another world leader and this closest ally is in Europe. Italy's right-leaning Prime Minister, Giorgio Meloni, who's been referred to at times as the Trump whisperer, is now saying that the President is basically a liar. That's because she's disputing a claim that he made that she quote, "begged him for a photo with the G7 summit that he was just at this week in France."

The President told an Italian journalist, quote, "she wanted a picture with me so badly, I wouldn't have done it, but I felt sorry for her. So take that." And then in this pretty remarkable direct-to-camera response, the Italian Prime Minister came out and said that the President's story is completely fabricated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIORGIO MELONI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Donald Trump's statements are fully made up statements, I'm frankly stunned. But he has to remember one thing. Me and Italy, we never beg.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Well, tonight, the fallout from PhotoGate is growing because the foreign minister of Italy said he's canceling his planned trip to the United States where he was supposed to meet with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and he cited the President's remarks as the reason, saying that they were offensive.

My political sources are here tonight, Ameshia Cross and Scott Jennings. I told you you'd have more time to talk tonight.

Scott, when you look at this, I think a question is who do you believe? And is a diplomatic spat with Italy like this where they're canceling meetings, is that good for America?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's not good for the West, because I think Donald Trump and Meloni are the two foreign leaders right now who have heretofore worked together the best to try to preserve and save Western civilization. Most of Europe has fallen.

Most of European leaders -- Europe's leaders are feckless, spineless. Their domestic politics have been overtaken by an immigration crisis, and they've succumbed to it. But not Meloni, she's been a fighter for the West.

So I don't like to see these two fighting because I love them both. I love her. She's been an amazing fighter for the West and so hopefully they'll get things patched up sooner rather than later.

COLLINS: So, Scott, does that mean do you think the President is making this up? I mean, the defense minister of Italy is even weighing in, saying he can't imagine her asking for a picture from anyone, not even under a threat.

JENNINGS: I have no idea, wasn't there, haven't spoken to either of them about it. I just know that it's a silly thing for us to be fighting about when there's a bigger fish to fry, namely saving Western civilization. And these are the two best fighters on planet Earth for it.

COLLINS: I mean, yes, I guess, Ameshia, if that's even if let's say that she did ask for a picture, like, I mean, I guess the question is why he would tell an Italian journalist that, you know, in this manner, as he did, I mean, it was a quote that he gave to a reporter.

AMESHIA CROSS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes, it was totally unnecessary. And I'll, you know, push it a little further than Scott here.

I think this is another case of liar, pants on fire when it comes to Donald Trump. It is even more problematic because of that relationship that both of them had leading up to this point. This creates a wedge.

But I would argue that one of the reasons why President Trump decided to go down this path is because he got to sit back and watch as many people across the globe did.

[22:35:01]

The world leaders who were super excited to take a picture with Barack Obama just yesterday at the opening of his Presidential museum and that this President, you know, for better or worse, he's somebody who likes to self-aggrandize. He's somebody who likes to, you know, live his life like a rock star, so to speak.

And he's somebody who wants to have that throng of support. He's somebody who wants to have world leaders basically kowtow and, you know, line up to see him as though he's Bono or something. But absolutely, I think that this did not happen.

But on top of that, even if she did ask him for a photo, I definitely don't think that the reiteration that he did in the way that he told the story to the press was necessary at all.

COLLINS: Well, Scott, just to put in perspective this relationship. I mean, she is someone who she was the only European leader who came to his inauguration. She is someone who has been seen as someone who, you know, when Elon Musk was in the government, had a good relationship with him, you know, would be able to be this one European leader when the President, you know, I mean, he was basically feuding with half of the ones who were at the G7 before going to the G7.

And I mean, what does it say to you about how he's viewing his relationships with other world leaders?

JENNINGS: I don't know, I really hadn't thought about it in those terms. I just know that we love her. She's an ally to the United States, she is a fighter for Western civilization.

Most of these other European leaders, you know, you know, I don't we can't rely on them, but she's been a reliable partner. There's not that many in the world, honestly, for us and for the West. So, like I said, I hope it seems like a silly thing to break a relationship over a photo request or a misunderstanding, I hope that's all it is.

COLLINS: You know, Scott, we were just talking about the reflecting pool in the last hour and the President has been posting about it. He posted a picture of someone who I guess is sensibly is at the reflecting pool wearing a shirt that says Team algae. And the President posted a very long post.

I'm not going to read all of it. But he said that they're cleaning up all of these fountains and statues in Washington and on the Lincoln Memorial itself. He said we've had some real problems with vandalism at the reflecting pool.

And three days, just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside the pool. They've also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was installed. He said no different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, referencing that 8647 that someone put into the grass, he said they use something similar in the reflecting pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work.

Do you, I mean, I haven't heard that, but I mean, I wonder what you make of the President's lengthy post tonight, also attacking a reporter for reporting on the condition of the Lincoln reflecting pool.

JENNINGS: Well, regarding the vandalism, that's absolutely true. Somebody did vandalize the grass, even when workers were working on the reflecting pool. I think I read that people came and vandalized their trucks and their equipment.

Look, you have people that hate Donald Trump so much that they would go out and destroy our national monuments, vandalize the Lincoln Memorial, vandalize the grass. That's how broken brain they are.

Donald Trump has cleaned up Washington. The fountains work, the city is clean, the city is safe. It's good that he has taken an interest in this.

And you have these people out here who are so broken brain about the fact that he's the President that they're spending their time vandalizing all this stuff. I think it's terrible. And I hope anybody who vandalizes our monuments, I hope they get caught, I hope they get put in jail.

He's trying to make the city beautiful for America 250. It's going to be a lot of people in Washington. They deserve to go to a clean, safe capital. And that's what he's trying to do.

COLLINS: Ameshia?

CROSS: Well, President Trump isn't the President of landscaping and beautification projects across D.C. I think that the 14 million plus price tag that is associated with this cleanup project was ridiculous when the majority of Americans are asking for affordability. They're asking for affordable health care, they're asking for affordable child care, they're asking for affordable housing, they're asking for affordable utility bills and they can't pay for gas.

This is a President whose priorities are all topsy turvy and one who's not listening to any of his voters who are literally calling on him to do something that actually matters to them in their pocketbooks. Instead, he has taken it upon himself to be the landscaper-in-chief.

COLLINS: Scott.

JENNINGS: Ameshia, can I ask you a question? Did you oppose President Obama spending $34 million on the Lincoln Memorial and the reflecting pool?

CROSS: I know that when President Obama invested, when he invested, he did it with science in mind. So there was not an algae takeover. This guy chose someone who didn't even have a background in it, in the beautification he sought to begin with.

This is somebody who he knew personally because of his Mar-a-Lago connections, but not someone who was able to do exactly what anybody else. I worked at the EPA, knew that algae was going to come. You don't necessarily have to be a science minded person to know what was going to happen.

But this President basically flushed our money down the drain and continues to do so.

JENNINGS: But you're for the record, you believe that algae didn't exist when Barack Obama was the President, is that right?

[22:39:54]

CROSS: I believe that once he invested in the beautification of that specific part, what we did not see was a takeover that was blue and green within 36-48 hours after the investment happened because we just didn't believe it happened.

JENNINGS: Do you believe (inaudible) for 1.6 billion years, algae has existed in stagnant pools on planet Earth, but not during the Obama administration?

CROSS: What I'm saying is that it was treated, which is what Donald Trump could have done before he invested millions of American taxpayer dollars when Americans are fighting to put food on the tables for their families.

JENNINGS: I learned something tonight, I didn't realize that President Obama had cured algae when for 1.6 billion years, algae had been undefeated. So I've learned something this evening.

Look, here's the deal--

COLLINS: I think part of it was that the President was coming out and he has talked about these projects so much. I mean, he's not just like this isn't just other people bring up what he's doing in Washington with the ballroom and the reflecting pool.

He brings them up pretty much every chance he's in front of cameras. But he was the one who said they wouldn't have algae, they wouldn't have this, that they were going to fix this. And then I think it's not just the algae, it's the fact the paint is peeling off and all of that. And now he's blaming it on vandals. But I'm not totally sure that

that's the reason that the pool is having issues. It's the incompetence of the contractor he chose.

JENNINGS: Look, the pool is having issues because it is a stagnant pool of water in the summer, in the middle of a swamp, you're never going to defeat all the algae. The pool did need a renovation. And when they put these nano bubblers in, I think it's going to help cure the algae.

But you know what? For one point --

COLLINS: Scott, what is a nano bubbler since you looked it up today? What is a nano bubbler?

JENNINGS: I have no idea. I just know that it apparently cleans up the algae. And I also think it would be a great name for an indie rock band, Nano Bubblers.

Either way, I learned something this week. You can put these things in the water. Look, I'll tell you this.

I fight algae every day, I have chickens and I have these watering jugs in the coops. They get green every day, and it doesn't hurt chickens, but I got to clean them up. I know all too well, I feel for the President trying to clean up algae out of a pool of water in the summertime is a hard thing to do.

CROSS: Can we fight the American hunger crisis? I mean, that's what people are asking for. The American hunger crisis and housing affordability. Again, the President really needs to prioritize what matters to everyday Americans.

People can do two things at the time, it does not have to be a cesspool and a craphole. It could be safe and it can be clean and we can have a good economy. All these things are possible with a President with enough imagination.

COLLINS: Ameshia Cross, Scott Jennings, to the nano bubblers. Thank you all.

Up next, in case you missed it last night, there is something new here on "The Source." How well do you know what's happening in the news?

We're putting your knowledge to the test with what we are calling source code. We're going to give you the number. And can you guess the story? Tonight's source code is 1930. Back in just a moment with that answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: If you're wondering if you guessed it, tonight's source code is 1930. That is the year of the very first World Cup and also the last time the United States men's team won its first two matches. That is until today.

Even without some of their superstars, including one who is nursing an injury, the United States beat Australia 2-0 today to secure a spot in the knockout stage. The next team will play Turkey on Thursday in Los Angeles, and we will obviously be cheering them on very closely.

Of course, the question is, does Team USA have what it takes to win the game's ultimate prize? Don't miss the new CNN Flashdoc, "Chasing Soccer Glory." It's going to be this Sunday, 8 p.m. Eastern on CNN, you can also watch it on the CNN app.

And speaking of victories and championships, there was that huge parade here in New York City this week, as the Knicks are now soon going to head to the White House, according to their owner, James Dolan, who is a longtime friend of President Trump's. We don't know yet when they are going to the White House, but their attendance will be the first time that the NBA championship players have actually visited the White House under President Trump.

Last night, I spoke to a Knicks superfan, that is Ben Stiller, about what it was like to see his hometown team win its first championship title in 53 years.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN STILLER, DIRECTOR AND KNICKS SUPERFAN: Honestly, the last few days have been like a dream, like a blur. It's crazy.

I honestly didn't think it was going to be this intense, but there's so much emotion, so much excitement, so much happiness. I feel so much happiness. I feel like so connected with the people in the city.

You walk down the street, you see another Knicks fan and you just look at them and you go, Knicks in five. And they get it. They understand.

And it's a connection that's like, yes, we were always going to do this. We knew we could do this. You know, it took 53 years.

Okay, but come on. I mean, it's just like this amazing energy and this and this and this connection in the city. It's great.

COLLINS: I mean, your dad, obviously legendary, Jerry Stiller, he passed down his love of the Knicks to you. I think he took you to your first game back in the 70s. I mean, what would he have thought of this moment now happening?

STILLER: He would have gotten a kick out of it. He loved going to games. He loved, you know, he always got a kick out of people actually even like recognizing him or if a player recognized him, he always thought that was great because he was just like a kid from the Lower East Side who grew up really poor and realized his dream.

[22:50:08] So going to Madison Square Garden, watching basketball games, you know, it was such a, I think, you know, we enjoyed it together. And I know he always, always had a ball and would have loved this. He would have loved this.

COLLINS: I mean, what's it like for, you know, to have been someone who's at all these games watching these players? I mean, I love what Jalen Brunson said today because he is someone who was so doubted and, you know, now having this moment feels just so well deserved to watch him have this.

STILLER: Yes, I mean, you know, we love our captain in New York City because he's the guy who's, you know, fought the odds his whole career, but has always won, has never really gotten the respect that he deserves. And he's used that to fuel him.

But I think every working person in New York or every person has ever been rejected or any person who's, you know, not that tall, you know, you look at Jalen Brunson and go this guy, he doesn't care. And he has this look in his eyes. He's going to win.

And what he's done with this team in a way, he's become a leader. It's been so much fun to watch him grow. Even here in New York over the last four years to see just his level of ownership of who he is as a leader and the confidence building each year.

And now, like he was a cool guy when he first came here. But now he's like really cool. Like, you know, there's like a cool like he's a cool, like intimidatingly cool as he keeps it.

And now he's like, you know, he's stamped his legacy in New York basketball history. And he brought a championship to New York City, along with Carl Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. And, you know, this team is just incredible, you know, and with a deep bench, too.

And it's been great to see them come together. It's every basketball fan's dream, you know, what happened in this playoff run.

COLLINS: Yes, it's so special to watch them celebrating. And for you know, looking back on this season and just this moment, you know, you're always seen at the games. You've been seen at a lot of them shooting, you know, videos from your phone and many people noted in landscape mode.

And now you've confirmed that you are working on this multi-part documentary, not just about this championship, which obviously now is going to be part of it, but the team overall. And I wonder how looking at it with this moment influences that project.

STILLER: It totally does it, you know, this whole thing sort of came together. Just before the end of the season, it had been an idea that had been around, but Mr. Dolan never given permission for anybody to do a documentary about the Knicks. And we started talking about it and it was going to focus on the history of the Knicks, really, you know, obviously the 70s championship teams, then the 90s teams that, you know, '94, '99 that got close and then maybe with the bookend of this team.

But this team, what they've done, it just it really changed the whole perspective, I think, of the story, because, you know, you have a team now that did something historic. And when you look at it as a bookend to the '99 series or even when you look at this team in relation to the '73 championship series, you know, it's just there's a lot of layers to it.

And this team is, you know, it's they've kind of given us an amazing ending. What I'm guessing is by the time we're finished making the documentary next year, they're going to screw it up because we'll win it again. And then we'll have to go back and re-edit.

COLLINS: I mean, this must be a dream project for you to get to do this.

STILLER: Oh, yes, I mean, I always like film at the games anyway, just for fun and I do landscape mode just because I'm old and I like that better.

But it's like, you know, that's just always been fun for me. And then it just sort of evolved into as the doc became a reality, it's like, oh, I could use some of this footage and then, you know, but we're going to be using footage from, you know, obviously other sources, too.

And, you know, and there's so many Knick fans. I mean, this documentary also is for the fans and it's about it's going to be about the fans, too, because, you know, that's the connection I was talking to you about. That's so deep.

And, you know, for older fans like me or for fans, you know, who grew up in the '90s and 2000s, you never saw it. It's a common bond, but it kind of links everybody together. And as you can see, it's a unifying thing for the city. And it's been beautiful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Also, a programming note here, there is a new episode of "Craig Ferguson: American on Purpose," this Saturday at 9 P.M. Eastern on CNN and the next day on the CNN app. Here's a preview.

[22:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPTAIN DARRYL, BLADESMAN: It never gets old.

JACK SHEALY, BLADESMAN: I can imagine it's so beautiful. I had no idea it was so beautiful out here.

CRAIG FERGUSON, COMEDIAN AND HOST, "CRAIG FERGUSON: AMERICAN ON PURPOSE" (voice-over): I'm in a boat with Jack Shealy and Captain Darryl. I don't know Captain Darryl's last name. He didn't offer it and it seemed impolite to ask. You get a feeling manners are important here. These guys are bladesmen

hailing from a long line of pioneers who have lived off the land here in the Everglades for centuries. Hey, it's Florida, man.

FERGUSON: First of all, let me just say on the record that I apologize for my laid back attitude. I did no idea that it was going to be this relaxed. And I thought we were going to be in a swamp.

SHEALY: The diversity of this place is really one of the biggest draws. This area is one of the largest roadless wilderness areas in the entire country, and it really is the last frontier.

FERGUSON: Do you ever get lost?

CAPTAIN DARRYL: The local people does not get lost. There's just a lot of times we don't know where we're at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Thanks so much for joining us tonight. "Laura Coates Live" starts right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)