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Trump Wants MAGA Rally To Replace Artists Who Bailed On Concert Series; New Attacks Between U.S. And Iran Complicate Talks To End The War; Martha's Vineyard Faces Surge in Tick-Borne Alpha-Gal Syndrome. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 01, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, new this morning, a booking crisis leading up to the celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary in Washington. Several acts initially signed to play concerts have backed out. Bret Michaels, Martha McBride (sic), Run DMC just some of the names opting out of the concert series. McBride and Michaels released statements saying they were promised a nonpartisan event and that's no longer the case.

Now the president is jumping in, criticizing those acts that backed out. Of course, he said he's bigger than Elvis in the process. And now he says maybe there should be no concert at all. Instead, he should play one big MAGA rally there.

With us now is Washington bureau chief at The Boston Globe, Jackie Kucinich, and Washington bureau chief of The Atlanta Journal- Constitution, Tia Mitchell.

Jackie, let me just ask you, you know, what's going on here? I mean, this is a big celebration -- 250. You would think you would sign those acts up pretty early. To have people bailing this close kind of not a good look.

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE BOSTON GLOBE (via Webex by Cisco): Yeah, and I think a lot of those artists -- the ones that you mentioned and some of the others that you didn't -- are saying that they don't like that this has become partisan.

And as we've seen -- I mean, when you -- when you go down to the National Mall all you have to do is -- you don't have to look that far to see the president's face on pretty much everything, including some of the signs about the construction around the city.

So I think at this point the whole -- the -- a lot -- much of the 250 has become intertwined with the president and now he is going to do a rally it's even more so.

But yeah, at this point you kind of feel bad for Vanilla Ice, to be honest with you. I think he's the only one who said he would perform so maybe he'll be the opening act for the president. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

BERMAN: And Tia, Matt Walsh, who is a conservative blogger -- he summed this up. He's been posting about this on social media.

He said, "I'm actually pretty pissed at how badly they bungled America 250. First, they tried to invite Milli Vanilli and a bunch of other absurdly washed up geriatric one-hit wonders. Then when that didn't work, they decided to covert the event into a Trump rally where Trump will talk about himself for 90 minutes. This should have been a massive, raucous celebration of the country and its 250 year history. Now it will be a political rally identical to the ten million other ones we've already seen."

Thoughts?

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION (via Webex by Cisco): Right, and I think we need to be clear. There was originally a bipartisan -- really, nonpartisan commission. But when Trump came back to office, he started his own thing and made it much more political and much more partisan.

So this is kind of yet another crisis of Donald Trump's own making. He decided to -- you know, he wanted to have more control over this celebration and by his involvement it immediately becomes more partisan and more polarizing. And that was his choice to insert himself. Now he's inserting himself in an even more tangible way. And so we're not going to get the kind of focus on the country and coming together because Trump himself is a very polarizing figure.

BERMAN: I would like to turn our gaze northward for a moment if I could to the state of Maine and the Senate race there. Really, one of the most closely watched races in the country and one that it's safe to say that Democrats really can't take the Senate back without. They need Maine.

So Tia, Graham Platner, who is leading in all the polls to be the Democratic nominee -- that primary is actually next week. The New York Times was the first to report the existence of these text messages -- sexts, for lack of a better word -- between him and multiple other women after he was married. The way it came out is convoluted. It was actually the wife who had disclosed it to the campaign itself, according to this report, to kind of, you know, get all the information out there so they knew what was out there.

This is what Graham Platner had to say about it over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM PLATNER, (D) MAINE Senate CANDIDATE: Amy and I have a very loving and very happy marriage. They would very much like to try to rip that apart. They're going to come after us in every awful way that they possibly can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So the question, Tia, is really about Democrats -- national Democrats and maybe Democratic voters in Maine and how they are looking at this and what they're tolerance might be for some level of scandal for lack of a better word in this day and age.

MITCHELL: Yeah. I mean, I think that voters in Maine have made it clear that they're willing to overlook Graham Platner's scandals. This is a new one, so we don't have new polling. But he's had other scandals that arguably were even more problematic, like the tattoo that was a Nazi symbol that he, you know, had until it was brought to his attention during the campaign, and other things he said online.

This one, I would argue, probably may have the least impact, if any, because his wife has stood beside him. It wasn't something that kind of came out because of, you know, some type of whistleblower. His wife is the one who reported them. Instead, it was more like a FYI -- this was something that was in our past. It wasn't even current, and she reported it.

[07:35:08]

So I just don't see voters responding to that. I just feel like our political narrative -- our political theme -- voters -- the personal controversies of the candidates are less impactful of races. We see that time and time again these days.

BERMAN: Um-hum.

Jackie, how nervous are Senate Democrats in Washington when they see this because they are being asked about it now?

KUCINICH: Well, so I think -- I think that's the issue is that one of the big fears about Graham Platner was the fear of the unknown. What is there in his past? In addition -- you know, in addition to the Reddit points -- the tattoo. Sorry, Reddit posts, the tattoo, et cetera. The fact that there could be more things out there I think is one of the biggest fears.

And it's not even really about Democrats anymore, frankly, in Maine. It's about Independents. It's about potentially some Republicans that are fed up with Susan Collins, and that's who they're trying to attract at this point. They've got the Democrats behind them after Janet Mills dropped out. That primary is kind of complete. But at this point it's about attracting those other voters and showing them why Susan Collins shouldn't be -- shouldn't get another term. And that's going to be -- that's an uphill climb for any Democratic challenger as we've seen cycle after cycle.

BERMAN: Jackie Kucinich, Tia Mitchell, great to see you both this morning. Thanks so much -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So this morning there are new attacks between the U.S. and Iran and it's rattling talks to end this war. Overnight the U.S. military said that it hit Iranian military sites. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said they had targeted -- also had targeted a U.S. air base.

There's also no video shared by Iranian state media that purports to show missiles launching but CNN cannot independently confirm when or where this video is from.

But even as the two countries exchange new strikes overnight, President Trump was up late last night posting that everyone should calm down. Literally, he wrote, "Just sit back and relax. It will all work out well in the end."

Let's get to it. CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House joining us right now with much more on that. What are you hearing about that this morning?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, look, it's not immediately clear Kate exactly how this fresh exchange of fire between Washington and Tehran are going to impact negotiations overall, but what we have seen is we've seen this ceasefire disrupted several times now over the last several weeks. Really, ever since it was first signed. And that hasn't done much in the way of blowing up talks itself.

I did speak with one U.S. official, Kate, yesterday who told me essentially that there is a large desire on the U.S. side within the Trump administration not to resume major combat operations. They recognize a deal is close. They do not want to jeopardize the state of play right now between these two countries.

And, of course, the U.S. is also hearing repeatedly from allies in the region -- Middle East allies, Gulf countries -- that they do not want to see a resumption of all-out war. So keep that in the back of the mind as, you know, you think about how this could impact where things are and a potential deal down the line.

Now as for the negotiations, the president, who had promised -- he had vowed on Friday -- he said he was walking into a Situation Room meeting and that he was going to make a final determination on this memorandum of understanding. This, you know, deal to make a deal that would trigger the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and then a 60-day period to further negotiate Iran's nuclear program.

Well, of course, we never saw that final determination. And then this weekend we reported that the president had actually sent back proposed changes to that framework.

Now we did hear from one foreign official familiar with the matter. They told us that the changes aren't substantive and mostly center on a U.S. desire for assurances on those issues. And essentially, we're told the president did want to take a tougher line on certain provisions.

But what -- there's another dynamic to all of this, which is that the pressure that the president is facing at this moment -- and he kind of, you know, lead -- insinuated some of that -- emphasized some of that on social media yesterday when he posted. "It is much tougher for me to properly do my job and negotiate when political hacks keep negatively 'chirping' at levels never seen before, over and over again that I should move faster or move slower, or to go war or not go to war, or whatever." That's when he went on to say, you know, "...sit back and relax. We're going to make this all work out." Look, I can tell you I know from my conversations with sources that the president really is committed to wanting to ensure that this deal is perceived as strong as possible and also perceived as being better than the one, of course, that was struck during the Obama administration. You kind of heard him say as much in recent comments.

[07:40:00]

So all of this weighing on him as he tries to make a final decision. But I do know, at least inside the White House, the thinking is that they are hoping a deal is reachable. They have to work some things out. We'll see whether or not that's actually possible as these different strikes continue to be exchanged, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, a deal on a framework to get to an eventual deal.

TREENE: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: All right, Alayna. Thank you so much -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you so much, Kate.

Joining me now to discuss more about this, CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier, and CNN military analyst Col. Cedric Leighton.

Kim, to you first. Is a -- is a ceasefire essentially over? Are we at square one here or is this kind of a typical thing during warfare that they are going to be exchanging fire?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yeah, we're still in this small skirmish level. We haven't seen the U.S. return to all-out strikes together with Israel across Iran. But we are coming to a date on the calendar which has got some of us a little bit anxious.

You know, Saudi Arabia had asked the White House to delay a return to strikes and try to make a deal, but at least delay strikes until the end of the Hajj, and that's about now when you've got Eid and celebrations.

So you could see President Trump sending this text back that Alayna talked about and if Iran says no, perhaps a return to strikes, which Iran -- Israel has been pushing for. Then again, we haven't seen President Trump at any point apparently satisfied that he's got a military plan to take back the Strait of Hormuz, and that's really what he's holding out for. He needs that open.

SIDNER: Colonel Leighton, The New York Times has the U.S. military saying it's quietly guiding ships through the Strait of Hormuz. An official telling them about 70 have been guided through -- commercial ships.

Can you give us some sense of the precariousness of this kind of move and all of this with the strait being what it is today?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Yeah, Sara. Good morning. One of the things that they have to watch out for, of course, is mines, and that's really the most important thing that the Navy has to deal with as they guide these ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Of course, the other things they have to watch out for are drones and Iranian missiles.

So it really amounts to a complete overwatch element that has to be used here. And in order to do this they have t very carefully navigate a very narrow passageway -- that 21-mile passageway between the tip of Oman and to the Iranian coast. And when you do that there are a lot of things that can go wrong. They're very -- you know, the U.S. Navy has had a lot of experience going through these waters over many years, many decades, and they know the area quite well so they can tell when there's an anomaly.

But there's always a chance that one mine could be there or that something else could happen, such as a drone attack or a missile attack that could, you know, render this kind of an operation very dangerous.

SIDNER: Look, Iran's chief negotiator has said the U.S. is not complying with the ceasefire after those weekend strikes. Here's what he put on X. He said, "The naval blockade and escalation of war crimes in Lebanon by the genocidal Zionist regime are clear evidence of U.S. noncompliance with the ceasefire."

It's interesting here that he has added Lebanon into the mix.

What does this tell you, Kim, about the negotiation expectations? Because for a long time, as we've understood it, it has to do with opening the strait -- at least the MOU -- and the nuclear capabilities of Iran. Lebanon didn't seem to be on the table. What does this tell you?

DOZIER: Yeah. Iran is saying that Lebanon is still part of what it needs to see, especially as we're watching Israel ratchet up the attacks. They just took the Beaufort fort. That's a crusader-era fort that has sort of a high point over much of southern Lebanon. But it is a real touchpoint in Israeli society. The last time the Israelis occupied it was 1982 in that nearly 20-year occupation of Lebanon.

So it signals that Netanyahu is not ready to lead that fight. Hezbollah has also been attacking south. And Iran is saying you've got to solve that or you're not going to have a full deal with us.

SIDNER: Yeah. It's just more and more and more complicated. The region is, in some ways, kind of bubbling and on fire and others.

Kim Dozier, Col. Cedric Leighton, thank you so much. Appreciate your time -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Breaking overnight, a man accused of killing a Virginia deputy and wounding another has been captured in North Carolina after a dayslong search. Investigators say Michael Puckett opened fire on the two deputies who showed up Friday night for a welfare check near Richmond. Deputy Logan Utt was killed. He was a veteran and had been a deputy since 2023.

[07:45:05]

A huge explosion killed at least 45 people, including six children, in northeastern Myanmar. It happened at a building storing explosives for mining near the border with China. About 70 people were injured and more than 100 homes damaged. An investigation there is underway.

And this morning a possible new sign of life in the search for two missing villagers in Laos after five others made it out safely over the weekend. Rescuers rappelled down a newly discovered 300-foot vertical shaft and say they heard knocking responses twice in the last 24 hours deep inside the flooded cave network. A Thai cave diver tells CNN they cannot confirm the knocks are coming from the two trapped men, but they are investigating.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins today. The new forecast about what we can expect.

And this morning I want you to know that I am OK. I was in Massachusetts when a meteor exploded off the coast. It was very loud and very confusing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(Meteor exploding near New Hampshire-Massachusetts border).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the (bleep) was that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:50:00]

BOLDUAN: Reports of explosions and feeling the ground shake over the weekend felt across huge parts of the Northeast after the USGS says a meteor entered the atmosphere over the New Hampshire-Massachusetts border. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(Meteor exploding near New Hampshire-Massachusetts border).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Kaboom! From Delaware to Montreal people reported hearing and feeling the impact of the meteor -- well, the meteor breaking up. But the American Meteorological Society says unlikely that it hit the ground. It was off the coast. And experts say it probably burned up or landed in the ocean, of course.

Even Berman felt it. Just ask him where he was at the time.

BERMAN: It was scary.

BOLDUAN: It was scary.

BERMAN: It was scary.

BOLDUAN: He's still scared. He's still scared. He would like compensation for his fear.

BERMAN: (Laughing).

BOLDUAN: Let's move to this. Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe would have turned 100 years old today. Her loyal fans made history over the weekend keeping her memory alive. More than 1,000 look-alike Marilyns -- we're going to use the work "look-alike" loosely here -- in her iconic platinum wig and white dress gathered in Palm Springs setting a world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as Marilyn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know that she was big on Palm Springs, so that means I'm big on Palm Springs too. And I spent all my money to be here, and it has absolutely been worth it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Marilyn means a lot to this community. She was actually discovered here at the racquet club many years ago. And she made several trips here and vacationed here and Palm Springs has had a love affair with her ever since.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Love.

Organizers say the proceeds from the event will benefit Palm Springs' pride and its LBGTQ+ community programs.

So here's a good one -- the retirement to end all retirements. Joan Prince Crandall is leaving her job as a flight attendant after spending more than 66 years flying the friendly skies. Delta Airlines says that it is pretty sure that Joan is now the industry's longest- serving flight attendant.

She began her career at Pacific Airlines in 1959, which flew prop planes that at that point held only about 40 passengers each. When Joan started stewardesses, as they were known then, they were required to retire by the age of 32. Clearly, Joan was not going to let that stop her.

She has been training a new generation of flight attendants for years and is now reflecting on her favorite flight of them all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOAN PRINCE CRANDALL, FLIGHT ATTENDANT RETIRING AFTER 66+ YEARS: I flew a craft trip, a military flight, and we flew to Frankfurt. We got out to the airport at midnight, and we were about to pick up 220 refugees from Afghanistan who were leaving their country forever to come to the United States to be safe. And that was my favorite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Hmm. Think of things she has seen.

Once in retirement, Joan plans to write a book and continue traveling. Her favorite destinations, if you are wondering, Paris, Mumbai, and Hong Kong. Fantastic.

SIDNER: Hey, if you'd add Istanbul to that list, those are my favorite destinations.

BOLDUAN: Oh, yeah?

SIDNER: They are.

Also, can we talk about your dress because you could do the Marilyn thing right now.

BOLDUAN: Oh my gosh.

SIDNER: If we could have, like, you know, some wind blowing. Never mind.

BOLDUAN: No one needs that. No one -- no one -- please. Who is behind that camera today?

SIDNER: Do not pan down.

BOLDUAN: Is that -- is that Chris? Is that Chris? OK, we're going to have a little chitchat after this, Chris.

SIDNER: It's Casey back there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Causing trouble.

BOLDUAN: I think you're going to go off the rails today. Just starting.

SIDNER: You're welcome.

BOLDUAN: Just starting, America.

SIDNER: It's always -- it's always Berman's fault. He starts it --

BOLDUAN: It is.

SIDNER: -- and then I take over, and then you pick it up.

BOLDUAN: And then I just -- yeah.

SIDNER: You pick it up.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, OK.

SIDNER: All right. We are officially in hurricane season. Some good news from NOAA -- oh my God, how am I going to get through this? It's forecasting fewer major storms, so there is something to be happy about, but expects up to six of them will actually strengthen into hurricanes.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us from Atlanta. Save us from ourselves please, Derek, because we are out of control in this studio. What should we be working on? What should we be prepared for?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: She looks so gorgeous though in that dress, so that's my compliment for Kate.

SIDNER: That's what I'm saying.

VAN DAM: She looks fabulous this morning. I agree. I agree. And Marilyn Monroe-esque or not, she's just simply a wonderful person. I'll go with that.

Listen Sara, so when you're talking about hurricane season, I -- when we want to be prepared. It starts today officially, June 1. But we need to be prepared for Mother Nature to throw us some curveballs because you can take it from this meteorologist who has been on the ground for nearly every landfalling hurricane over the past decade, the millions of residents that have been impacted by hurricanes -- it only take one hurricane to cause the destruction that you see behind me.

[07:55:00]

So this is NOAA's forecast and -- so you're looking at a pie chart. Yeah, it's seven in the morning, I get it -- but this is important because they're favoring a below-average season. There are still some percentages that favor above-average to right around average season. But really, by and far, they are predicting a below tropica activity for the Atlantic Basin.

Right now there's nothing to speak of. It's quiet out there. You can hear a pin drop.

This is their official forecast. So, eight to 14 named storms. Three to six could become hurricanes. One to three of those could become major hurricanes. You can see the average numbers below this.

So what is the impetus behind this below-average hurricane season that NOAA is predicting? Well, it has to do with El Nino. It looks like it's arriving. They are confident by this summer that it will start to impact global weather patterns.

So El Nino, just to recap -- remember, it's an increase in the temperatures of the water across the Pacific Ocean. That, in turn, kind of disrupts weather patterns throughout the planet, sending these large shifts in air circulations. By and far, what that means is it could be windier across the Atlantic Basin in the upper levels of the atmosphere. A sheer -- wind sheer and hurricane development do not go well together.

So you just factor in other previous seasons that had strong El Ninos. Yeah, they still had hurricanes develop but they were tampered down.

Remember Sara, that hurricane season is more of a marathon and not a sprint. We've got a long way to go for the year. Arthur is the first name.

SIDNER: Yep. Having grown up in Florida you always have to be prepared. Always have to be prepared --

VAN DAM: Got to be ready.

SIDNER: -- because you do get hit sometimes when you're not expecting it.

VAN DAM: Yeah.

Thank you so much, Derek Van Dam. I do appreciate it.

VAN DAM: Thank you, Sara.

SIDNER: Thank you for bringing us to normal here at CNN NEWS CENTRAL -- John.

BERMAN: All right. New this morning the Department of Health and Human Services rolling out a sweeping new plan to fight Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. Cases are climbing nationwide with vacation hotspots, including Martha's Vineyard, seeing a spike weeks before the summer tour season even peaks.

CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell is here. I care lot about this. I've had Lyme.

MEG TIRRELL CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I know.

So we are talking about another tick-borne illness that's actually growing really fast on Martha's Vineyard, which has long dealt with higher levels of Lyme disease than the rest of the surrounding area. So this an allergy called Alpha-gal. We've seen it in the southeastern parts of the country but the tick that spreads it has been growing its territory. Take a look at what's happening on Martha's Vineyard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK RODEN-REYNOLDS, PUBLIC HEALTH BIOLOGIST: People don't want to go outside anymore. They don't want to go hiking. They are scared to go gardening or even walk the dog.

TIRRELL (voiceover): In Martha's Vineyard, an island people visit, especially in the summer, to enjoy its gorgeous beaches and trails, and great food scene, ticks are making life difficult.

TOM MURPHY, MARTHA'S VINEYARD RESIDENT: We're surrounded by what is apparently a tick haven.

TIRRELL (voiceover): Tom Murphy, his wife Chris, and several of their neighbors have all contracted an allergy called Alpha-gal, spread by ticks. It makes them allergic to red meat.

MURPHY: I had a steak dinner with my son and went to bed and everything was fine. Everything was normal. And about two or so in the morning I woke up and I was having trouble breathing. TIRRELL: So what were the things you can't eat anymore?

MURPHY: Well, you can't eat beef, no lamb, no pork, no venison. A lot of people can't eat dairy.

TIRRELL (voiceover): It's spread by a tick called the lone star, which can transfer a sugar molecule with its bite that can spark the allergy. We found two on a quick hunt with a tick biologist in Tom and Chris' yard.

RODEN-REYNOLDS: So lone stars were first recorded on the island in 2011. They were probably here before that.

TIRRELL: Why has it grown so fast?

RODEN-REYNOLDS: We've got a good climate here for ticks since we're out on the ocean. We have plenty of hosts, like very overabundant deer that the ticks just have no problem finding a meal.

LEA HAMNER, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: When it bites us our immune system might decide for an invader don't like it and I'm going to create an allergic response.

TIRRELL (voiceover): Lea Hamner is an epidemiologist on the island. She says there's still a lot to learn about the allergy.

HAMNER: We don't exactly know who is most likely to develop Alpha-gal syndrome and who is not. There's people who get lone star tick bites and do not become allergic.

TIRRELL (voiceover): Martha's Vineyard Hospital tested nine people for Alpha-gal in 2020 and only two came up positive. In 2024 --

AUBREY STIMOLA RYAN, PHYSICIANS ASSISTANT, MARTHA'S VINEYARD HOSPITAL: We did over 1,200 tests and 523 of those tests were positive. So you can see that we went from like a positivity rate of 22.2 percent up to 41.7 percent. It can be quite frightening for patients because the allergy can be mild, including itching, rashes, some GI symptoms, but it can also very severe and unfortunately, quite unpredictable.

REBECCA MILLER, OWNER, NORTH TABOR FARM: About one-third of our customers that come in have Alpha-gal.

TIRRELL (voiceover): Farmstands and restaurants on the island are also adapting to try to help their customers.

MILLER: So many people were just shellshocked that they had to change their diets immediately and so they needed support with that. So I've been buying alternative dairy plant-based cheeses. This is like a -- like a feta-like cheese and I bake with this and it's melty.

CARLOS MONTOYA, CHEF-PARTNER, MAKER CAFE: So here we have our turkey bolognese, which is completely Alpha-gal friendly. We want to make sure we can accommodate this allergy because it's spreading like wildfire.