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DNC Releases Log-Awaited Presidential Election Report; U.S. Deploys Strike Group to Caribbean Sea Amid Cuba Tensions; Former Fort Hood OB-GYN Facing Additional Charges; Case Dismissed Against Ex- School Official in Teacher Shooting. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired May 21, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: CNN has obtained the full long awaited report detailing what went wrong for Democrats in the 2024 presidential election. The autopsy commissioned by the DNC and it was finally released publicly after several months long delays describing why former president -- vice president I should say -- Kamala Harris lost her campaign and some overall challenges among the Democratic Party.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, some key takeaways according to this report. It accuses the Biden White House and the Biden campaign of neglecting Harris and not doing enough to boost her in the eyes of voters. It also said the Harris camp took too much for granted and that both campaigns failed to define Donald Trump. And it praised Republicans for their messaging game and for learning from lessons of the past.

Let's talk about this now with Chuck Todd, the host of the Chuck Toddcast, the best named podcast in all the land. All right, Chuck, I just wonder as you look this thing is this thing is kind of a mess the way this all went down here.

And I wonder as you're seeing this, like what's the bigger issue? Is it the way the report was released? It's the substance of it. Is there really a lot to learn from this? What do you think?

CHUCK TODD, HOST, THE CHUCK TODDCAST: Well, I didn't really -- there was nothing to learn from it. And the reason I say this is there was no critique in there that hadn't been leveled by a prominent member of the party in the last two years, last four years, last five years. So in that sense, there was nothing new.

It seemed to avoid taking too many specific. It certainly didn't want to talk about the substance of the brand of the Democratic Party and instead was focused on, you know, and this is a lesson we always learn about. I've never met a president or presidential candidate who thought they had a substance issue. They always think they have a messaging issue. Right.

And this autopsy in some way is no different in that it is -- they're trying to say, well, if we just had knocked on more doors or talk to people more, talk to people differently rather than saying, hey, is the ingredients in your products actually appealing? You know, and it did seem to be overly emphasizing on tactics. The other thing that struck me was how they were trying so hard to -- it felt as if they were blaming the past more than the present. Right.

It goes back and essentially lays the blame on Team Obama and saying, you know, they had this huge opportunity in 2008 and they blew it. And 2010 happened and they blew it.

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And it was just -- so it felt like it was a document designed to make sure nobody in the current leadership of the party would get fingered for the blame. And that's why I think it's -- this thing is going to, I think, fall on deaf ears even inside the party.

SANCHEZ: It's notable that it doesn't actually look into a number of key issues. Biden's decision to run again at his age, Harris taking over as the nominee without any sort of primary or electoral process. And to your point about substance and the ingredients, some of the tickets positions on the war in Gaza, for example, that we heard from Democrats in key states like Michigan, affected turnout.

So do you think we'll ever see a full review of what happened in 2024 that addresses that? Or is this about as much of an autopsy as Democrats are going to get?

TODD: Well, look, you're not going to get anything more out of this. And I think ultimately, if the Democratic Party is successful in the near term, it's going to be because another candidate with another team that looks at things with a fresh set of eyes is going to have a different theory of the case. Right.

I mean, you know, what struck me about that autopsy the most is that you could have written it in 2004. And then Barack Obama came along and completely changed how the Democrats campaigned and all of this stuff. And then, of course, essentially what this autopsy is saying, hey, we didn't just keep doing it, right?

We just sort of did it for one campaign, 2008, and it didn't happen again. And so that's why I'm saying by implication, it's a little bit of a poke at the Obama years. And certainly, look, I made these observations at the time.

I mean, during Obama's presidency, they never took advantage of rebuilding and remaking the DNC, and they instead had their own separate operation. And you could make a case that over time that allowed the infrastructure of the Democratic Party to atrophy a little bit.

But I go back. I mean, if there's anybody they want to blame, they just want to blame consultants. I don't know if you noticed that, right? There's no specific, just consultants.

They make too much money on TV, and so it's their fault. You know, look, I don't think there's anybody who's in the game of trying to help Democrats win elections who will look at this autopsy and say, boy, I should have thought of that.

SANCHEZ: Chuck Todd, very much appreciate you sharing your perspective. Thanks so much for joining us.

TODD: You got it. All right.

SANCHEZ: New today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying a short time ago that Cuba has accepted a $100 million aid package offered by the Trump administration, though he did express some skepticism over whether that means Havana has also accepted U.S. conditions over its distribution. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: We'll see if that means it, because here's the thing. We're not going to do humanitarian aid that falls into the hands of their military company that they have, and then they take that stuff and they sell it at the dollar stores and put the money in their pocket. That's not going to work that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Cuba, of course, is dealing with a severe energy crisis amid a U.S. ramp up of pressure on the island. Just yesterday, the Trump administration announced a historic indictment against the country's former president, Raul Castro. The 94-year-old charged over his alleged role in a deadly attack on two civilian planes back in 1996.

Meantime, a U.S. aircraft carrier has arrived in the Caribbean. Earlier, when asked if this was meant as a warning to Cuba, the president said not at all.

Joining us now to discuss is Republican Congresswoman of Florida, Maria Elvira Salazar. Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining us. So the indictment of Castro --

REP. MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR (R-FL), FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Not at all, really.

SANCHEZ: -- comes as the Nimitz carrier strike group. I mean, that's what the president said.

SALAZAR: I know, but, you know, it's hilarious what's really happening here, because why would you be sending one of the biggest aircraft carriers in the world to the Caribbean if you're not sending a very big, loud signal to the Castro family, boys? And I'm sorry I interrupted you. I was just laughing because I hadn't heard that.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the president said it wasn't meant to send a message at all. This carrier had been -- this strike group had been sort of off the coast of Brazil doing exercises. Now it's moved to Cuba.

There are questions about whether this is the setup for an effort to forcibly remove Raul Castro from the island. Is that a move that you would support? SALAZAR: Of course. Well, I believe that anything could happen when it comes to Cuba, and it's not a similar case as in Venezuela, because we got to take into consideration that Raul Castro is 95-years-old. And I do believe that when you're 95, your kids and your grandchildren are the ones who are making decisions for you, health-wise, and we're talking about biology.

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So I do think that the Castro, the younger Castros need to be thinking really loud and clear what is it that they're going to do with their father and themselves. Look what happened with Maduro and his wife. They're both in jail. So we're talking about the Castro family. There are only three or four members who are really calling the shots.

And I love what the administration is doing, because for the average American who's watching your program, Boris, this is a national security issue. The Castros have done such a dismal job. They have been in the business of power for 65 years. So that population, we're talking about 11 million slaves on the island of Cuba, at any time they can go and jump into the sea and try to get to Miami, the district that I represent in Congress. And this is exactly what the president is trying to prevent, another humanitarian crisis.

So Cuba right now is a national security threat. That is why Marco Rubio is giving them $100 million in humanitarian aid. The problem -- and this is also very important for the audience that is watching -- is that before, times before, many years before, we have offered, we the United States, we have offered humanitarian aid to the Cubans when there has been a hurricane or any natural disasters.

And they have always said no, because in those cans or in that humanitarian aid, we have the American flag, or it says this is coming from the United States of America. And the Cuban regime doesn't want that. They want those products, like Secretary of State just said, and put them in their own stores, sell them to the population that's starving.

But all that is coming to an end, thanks to President Trump.

SANCHEZ: So, Congressman, just so that we're clear on your position, you would support a military action to forcibly remove Castro from the island?

SALAZAR: I would like to see something like we saw in Venezuela, something quick, in and out, and if they don't leave on their own devolution. I think that could be the case. I do believe that we are ready.

The United States military is ready. We have different contingency plans that obviously I don't know about, but we know how the Castro's proceed. And I just told you, this is an island that has no electricity, no oil, no food, no medicine, no clothes.

They don't have anything because now Russia, they cannot be pimping the Russians anymore. Now the Venezuelans are out of the game. Mexico has decided not to send any more humanitarian.

And the Castro regime, who are in the business of power, they have nothing else to do. So it's a different scenario. And I'm sure this is going to unfold very quickly to the benefit of the United States.

SANCHEZ: I wonder, Congressman, as you described the situation for a lot of Cubans on the vast majority of Cubans on the island without ready access to fuel or energy or food, if there is a military act by the United States, the regime is fairly isolated and insulated from the hardships that the Cuban people face. And you have President Miguel Diaz-Canel saying there's going to be a bloodbath. Are you concerned about potential collateral damage, about unnecessary loss of life, if there is to be a U.S. action in Cuba that sees the country destabilized and, as you said, a wave of migration to the U.S. like never before seen?

SALAZAR: Well, the only way for that scenario to play out would have to be if the Cuban military is ready to fight. And they're not. Those people are also starving, and their families and their neighbors and their cousins.

So I want to stress -- and I'm sure that you can explain it to your audience -- that this is a completely different scenario. The Cubans and the Cuban regime, they have very little resources. And they announced the other day that their reserves of oil were down to zero.

So what type of military -- the only thing that we could definitely, and I'm sure the Pentagon is thinking about this, is that they announced a few weeks ago that they had bought 300 drones. I mean, how could these people be buying drones if they don't even have food to give to their population? But I don't think the Castros are that stupid that they will use those resources in order to provoke the United States, and then they will know that their end is very close and it will have a very bad result and a very bad ending. I believe that --

SANCHEZ: Well, lastly, Congressman, in the Atlantic, what's your response to the Kremlin? Do you think that President Trump should let that tanker dock as well in Cuba?

SALAZAR: I don't think so. I think this is the beginning of the end. This is the end of the end.

We allowed one tanker to go through, and that lasted seven to 10 days. Do you really think that Vladimir Putin is going to risk his relationship with the White House, having Ukraine and having many other issues pending because of the island of Cuba, that he knows himself that the Cubans owe the Russians $120 billion in monies that the Cubans borrowed and never paid back to the Russians? I think that this is a game where Vladimir Putin understands very well that fighting for Cuba is just not a good business vis-a-vis the United States.

That's why Cuba is completely isolated, and this is the time for us, the United States, to help the Cubans become our number one friend in the Caribbean for the next 1,000 years, because that's what the Cubans want.

SANCHEZ: Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, thank you so much for the time. I appreciate your time.

SALAZAR: Thank you. Wonderful to be with you, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Still to come, a judge dropping a case against a former school official in Virginia linked to the shooting of a teacher by a six- year-old. That story is next.

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KEILAR: We are following some new developments in what could be one of the biggest sexual misconduct cases in military history. The Army announcing a number of new charges against Major Blaine McGraw, an Army obstetrician gynecologist who was arrested in December at Fort Hood, Texas. The total number of alleged victims now rising significantly to 96, according to the Army, though well over 100 women, including service members and military spouses, have accused McGraw of wrongdoing, including in civil lawsuits.

The Army says McGraw secretly filmed his patients over multiple years, both at Fort Hood and at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, without their consent. McGraw is now facing a total of eight charges and 273 specifications, including abusive sexual contact and sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, attempted subordination of perjury, indecent recording. And the new charges include 92 specifications of assault consummated by a battery. A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday at Fort Hood.

CNN has reached out to his lawyer for comment, but as we go on air, we have not heard back. In April, when the Army previously added more charges, McGraw's attorney told CNN, quote, "The Army has had all the evidence since last year. At this point, they're basing new charges on lawsuits and not investigations." He previously told CNN as well, he'd seen no records to support that patients were touched in a way that wasn't medically indicated -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Today, a criminal case dropped against a former school official in a Virginia school shooting where a six-year-old shot his teacher in the chest. The judge dismissing the prosecutor's argument that former assistant principal Ebony Parker should be criminally charged for ignoring warnings from Richneck teachers that the boy might have a gun.

CNN correspondent Jean Casarez joins us now. Jean, tell us about this decision by the judge.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was out of the blue, absolutely, because the prosecution had rested. So the defense was giving their argument, which is procedural in nation. It's done in courts around the country, motion for directed verdict, basically saying judge dismiss all these charges because the evidence is not warranted to even go to a jury.

And the judge really has to look at the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. So it always goes to the jury. I mean, almost 10 out of 10 times.

Well, this judge started saying that she didn't believe that the conduct was criminal in nature of what Ebony Parker did. Now, she was charged with felony child abuse or child endangerment, as the judge had termed it in court, which is there is a duty of the assistant principal to the elementary students. And if there is an omission of gross negligence, then she can be responsible for any harm that comes to those children.

And what you're watching right there is minutes after the judge said this is not a crime, she broke down in tears. The judge said that she didn't see any information leading to harm, that that Ebony Parker just didn't have it. There was no one that actually saw a firearm.

Now, let me tell you the facts of the testimony that we heard. Abby Zwerner herself went into the office of Ebony Parker that morning and saying he's in a violent mood. I am so scared. What do I do if he tries to hit me?

This is because two days ago he had taken her phone and slammed it on the floor of the classroom, had broken two places, the glass. And he told her, I'm never coming back in your room, B. That's what he called her. He was back two days later. She obviously was scared.

And then two female students tell their teacher they think he has a gun. That teacher goes to Ebony Parker and tells Ebony Parker. Later on, the six-year-old was with a friend.

A teacher gets a hold of that friend, who's shaking at that point, saying, what's happening here? He says he's got a gun. It's in his pocket and there's bullets. And I saw it. I saw it myself. So Ebony Parker is told that.

Then the counselor, 18 minutes before the shot rings out, the counselor went down and said, look, can I do a body check? Because only the administrator, Ebony Parker, along with the principal, could authorize that.

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She said, no, no, don't do it. And the legal test is reasonable suspicion that there is a gun. That's the test. She said, no, don't do it. His mother's coming shortly.

18 minutes later, Abby Zwerner was shot. The shot going through her hand, into her chest, missing vital organs by a small margin. Doctors in previous testimony had said she was lucky to be alive.

And he tried to shoot a second time, but Boris, the gun jammed because he didn't have the strength to pull the trigger the second time. That bullet was lodged in there.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Jean Casarez, thank you so much for sharing those details.

Still ahead, Senate Republicans are heading home, and they are heading home frustrated by President Trump's anti-weaponization fund has derailed Republican plans in the Senate and led to a divide between the president and members of his own party. That's next.

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