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Six States Head To Polls Today In High-States Primaries; Trump Administration Signals It Will Back Off $1.8 Billion "Anti- Weaponization" Fund; Scott Pelley Accuses CBS New Chief Of Trying To Kill "60 Minutes." Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 02, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:31:03]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: The polls are open in New Jersey, one of six states across the country holding primaries today. These critical races will set the stage for November.

In California there is a real possibility of upheaval in a deep blue state. In that state's governor's race voters are choosing among a massive field of 61 -- count 'em -- 61 candidates to succeed Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited out.

In Los Angeles, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass is fighting to hold on to her seat with former reality TV star Spencer Pratt among the candidates threatening to force a runoff in that race.

While in Iowa, two Democrats and two Republicans are competing for the state's first open Senate seat in more than a decade.

CNN's Patrick Svitek joins me now. Give us some sense of this race in California. A lot of people watching that. But also, Iowa really interesting this morning.

PATRICK SVITEK, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, good morning, Sara.

This race in California -- the big question is whether the top two finishers today will be a Democrat and a Democrat or a Democrat and a Republican. Of course, that could have major implications for how competitive, how expensive the November election could be. Because California is such a blue state, if it's a Democrat versus a Republican in November, the Democrat would be heavily favored. But if we have two Democrats in that general election this could continue to be a very contentious and costly fight, especially if one of those Democrats is billionaire Tom Steyer who is on the ballot today and has spent, I believe over $200 million of his own money so far.

And so that's what I think the big question looming over the California governor's race is today.

SIDNER: Tell us a little bit about what's happening in Iowa because that's another really interesting race that's going on there. In 10 years we haven't seen a change and now there will be one.

SVITEK: Yeah. The Democratic side of the Senate race is particularly interesting. You have two state lawmakers, Josh Turek and Zach Wahls running against one another for the Democratic nomination there.

Turek has received outside help from a national group, Vote Vets, that spent nearly $10 million to help him win this nomination. Whereas, Wahls has been running a campaign that is trying to tap into more of the Democratic anger with leadership in Washington, D.C. right now. He's called for -- you know, he's called for not re-electing Chuck Schumer as Senate Democratic leader here in D.C.

And so this is kind of one of those intraparty fights right now that speaks to some of the broader national tensions inside the party.

SIDNER: There are tensions everywhere but today the voters will decide.

Patrick Svitek, thank you so much for your reporting for us this morning -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So the elections today happening in this new pretty unusual political environment with the president in political retreat -- maybe on multiple fronts -- especially pausing the $1.8 billion fund that might compensate political supporters.

With us now is the co-founder of Punchbowl News, John Bresnahan, and White House correspondent at USA Today, Francesca Chambers.

And John, I got the whole idea for this discussion when I woke up and saw at 5:15 the headline on Punchbowl that said, "Trump's losing streak." It went on to say, "President Trump is suddenly taking..." -- we have a great graphic of this. "President Trump is suddenly taking losses from his own friends and allies, especially on Capitol Hill."

So broadly speaking, what's this new environment that it seems like we're in as of this week that maybe didn't exist a month ago?

JOHN BRESNAHAN, CO-FOUNDER, PUNCHBOWL NEWS (via Webex by Cisco): Yeah. It's been building up though for a while here. You have a couple of reasons for this. Trump is -- and your lead-in before was perfect on this. Trump -- the economy is in trouble, and Trump is slumping in the polls. He's in the 20 percent approval rating in some polls on the economy with 70 percent of Americans, you know, disapproving of his handling of the economy. That's translating on Capitol Hill.

Also, you know, members are seeing, you know, if Trump is in trouble I've got to -- I've got to save myself. He's not on the -- he's not on the ballot this year, I am.

[07:35:05]

So the other thing you have here is even though he's having his own problems, you know, politically in the broad sense, inside the Republican Party he's never been stronger. He's knocked off a couple of incumbent senators -- Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and John Cornyn in Texas. Now they are free to vote however they want.

And there's a number of other senators who are -- you know, they're looking at, you know, what's happening and saying I've got to -- I've got to protect myself.

So in some ways he's caught in this vise. He's -- again, he's never been stronger in the party, but he's never been weaker nationally. And, you know, as long as gas prices are high and the Iran war -- Iran war is going on, Trump is -- he's going to be -- he's got a lot of problems on the Hill.

BERMAN: So Francesca, you cover the White House. What's it like inside there right now? To what extent do you think they do feel these pressures that John is talking about, and how is it impacting their behavior?

FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, USA TODAY: Well, today I think will be very interesting because it's appropriations time on Capitol Hill and you have a number of cabinet members who will be testifying.

Look to Todd Blanche who even though the White House has now, you know, backed off from this weaponization, he's going to get grilled on this by lawmakers when he testifies in front of the House this afternoon.

You have Marco Rubio who is marathon testimony today and tomorrow. It's about the State Department's budget but, you know, he's going to get questions on Iran, on the economy, and those effects as well.

So there's bunch of cabinet members on Capitol Hill.

Then you put that up against the primaries that are taking place that you were talking about and the test of President Trump's power within the Republican Party. I think it's an interesting juxtaposition when you have places like Iowa where you've got Randy Feenstra who really wanted the president's endorsement in this governor's race.

And then you have Senate races like Maine and Susan Collins who when JD Vance showed up, she didn't want to be there. You've seen her take recent votes against President Trump and his agenda on Capitol Hill from Iran to things dating back last year to some of these cabinet nominees.

So there's two separate strategies going on by Republicans right now, depending on the state that they're in.

BERMAN: Did I hear you say Maine because that's an interesting segue to a visitor that's coming to your town today from Maine, and that's Graham Platner who still stands to be in all likelihood the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine despite the whiff of scandal there. Despite The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reports that there were texts -- sexually explicit texts that he sent to people after he was married, turned over by his wife to the campaign.

John, what's the feeling today? We're on day four or five of this specific scandal but maybe, you know, month two or three of questions about Graham Platner. How is he being received today in Washington? What do you think the attitude will be?

BRESNAHAN: Yeah. I think that there's a group of progressive senators -- Democratic senators who have endorsed him, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren. These are high-profile, you know, really top senators in the Democratic Party. They've endorsed him. They're sticking with him.

He -- Platner will be meeting -- this was a meeting that was scheduled long ago but he will be meeting with some Democratic senators today. We've been trying to find out if he'll meet with Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, and other top leaders in the party, in the Senate. They're kind of vague about what they're going to do.

But listen, Platner -- there's going to be so much more on Platner, and this is the big problem here. You have the primary next week in Maine and Platner is, you know, the assumed nominee for Democrats.

And he ran over in the primary Janet Mills, the governor of Maine who is still on the ballot, who actually said yesterday with all this other stuff going on -- remember, I'm still here.

So -- but, you know, there is -- I think there is a lot of concern about Democrats. Is -- you know, if Platner is too wounded, even if he wins the primary, he can't beat Collins.

BERMAN: Yeah.

BRESNAHAN: And if they can't beat Collins, Democrats can't take the Senate.

BERMAN: Francesca, very quickly, of all the races today which one are you watching the most closely?

CHAMBERS: Besides that Maine race, which I'm curious about what the protest vote could look like because of what we're talking about with Graham Platner for Mills, I am watching that Iowa gubernatorial race where --

BERMAN: Yeah.

CHAMBERS: -- Trump endorsed Randy Feenstra. But Turning Point, a conservative group, endorsed one of his opponents. So we'll see what the Trump and MAGA vote does in that race.

BERMAN: Francesca Chambers, John Bresnahan, great to see you both this morning. Thanks so much for getting up, and thanks for all the work that you both do -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: There's a rescue operation underway right now after Russia launched a largescale attack on Ukraine overnight. At least 18 people are already reported killed and more than 100 others wounded.

Watch this. [07:40:00]

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Russian airstrikes on Ukraine, killing at least 18 and wounded more than 100.

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BOLDUAN: Oh my goodness.

Explosions shook the capital of Kyiv and right now, emergency workers are searching for any survivors as they fear people are trapped in the rubble of an apartment building that was hit. That's according to the mayor.

Ukraine's military says the assault on Kyiv and Dnipro involved more than 600 drones and dozens of missiles.

Let's get over to CNN's Clare Sebastian. She's tracking the very latest on this for us. And Clare, what are you picking up?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kate. Look, I mean, you showed those pictures. It was really apocalyptic scenes overnight not only in the capital of Kyiv, although that was a major target, but in other major cities -- Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia as well. A widespread, massive scale attack.

And Zelenskyy had said this was going to happen. He had said over the weekend that he was expecting a massive Russian attack either on Sunday night or Monday night, and his prediction was proved right.

But this -- look, Russia is saying this is part of a systematic campaign against industrial and logistical facilities connected to Ukraine's military, although obviously we do see residential buildings very much coming under fire. It's also a painting that's very much as revenge for recent Ukrainian attacks. This is very much part of the Russian playbook. We hear a lot of claims of revenge even though, of course, there is a big credibility gap there. This is a war, of course, that Russia started.

But I want to pull up the numbers again. You talked about the scale of this attack. The numbers of missiles and drones that are being used -- over 650 drones and 73 missiles. Now, that missile number is the one to focus on here. That is a very high number of missiles. The drones reaching into the hundreds is much more common.

But in terms of the types of missiles used we saw -- we've been seeing in recent weeks a rising number of ballistic missiles. These are particularly difficult to intercept or shoot down. And there was a very high number last night. Ukraine's Air Force saying that there were 30 hits involving ballistic missiles, so 30 that escaped air defenses. Only three involving cruise missiles. So you can see where the gap here that Russia is exploiting is.

And this is something that President Zelenskyy has been warning about and continues to warn about. He even wrote to President Trump and Congress in the last few days asking for more help when it comes to U.S. supplies of things like Patriot interceptors, which Ukraine is still very reliant on and has seen supplies running pretty short, especially since the start of the war in the Middle East.

So those are the warnings that we're getting from Ukraine today and this, they're saying, is a gap that Russia is going to continue to exploit -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Well, and that is perfect context and perspective on what we're seeing and some of what of why we're seeing it and why Ukraine is asking for what it has been asking the United States and European nations for -- and in large part, the United States is the only one who can supply.

It's good to see you, Clare. Thank you very much -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much, Kate.

New this morning, Iranian state media is signaling that talks to end the war are back on track a day after reports that Iran suspended them over Israel's offensive in Lebanon. "A little glitch." That's what President Trump called Israel's plans to strike Hezbollah in southern Beirut. Iran has said one of its conditions for peace is an end to fighting on all fronts which, of course, includes Lebanon.

As Lebanon has become a serious threat to Trump's deal making, sources are telling CNN there was a heated phone call full of expletives with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz also, of course, at the center of negotiations. And new video overnight from Iranian state media shows a cargo ship with a large hole in its side -- you see it there right under the "S" -- after a purported Iranian attack in the Persian Gulf.

Joining me now is CNN senior military analyst and former NATO supreme allied commander, Admiral James Stravidis. You are also the co-author of a brand-new book called "2084: A Novel of Future War." Thank you for being here, Admiral.

I do want to first ask you about the restarting of talks because in the midst of all this they brought up what is happening in Lebanon. And we know that Benjamin Netanyahu from our reporters in this phone call plans to continue with strikes in Lebanon.

So what do you think gives here because you have now you're dealing not just with Iran, you are also dealing with Israel in trying to sort of bring temperatures down there at the same time. How difficult do you see this being?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER, CO-AUTHOR, "2084: A NOVEL OF FUTURE WAR" (via Webex by Cisco): Difficult. And let's get back. President Trump has three options and he's kind of the decisionmaker at this point.

Number one, he can just walk away from this in frustration. I don't think he'll do that. Bad option -- it's still an option.

[07:45:00]

Option two, he can restart massive military but the problem with that Sara, as you well know, it's highly expensive and it runs against public sentiment here in the U.S.

So he's really down to option three, which is negotiate, which was going along apace until the Israelis started a series of high-end military activity. And it's not just up north in Lebanon; it's also in Gaza to their side.

So when you look at all that it's going to be a difficult negotiation. But bottom line, as I have for about a month, my sense is both sides feel pressure to get to a deal. So call it kind of two in three chance -- 65 percent chance we will get to a negotiated conclusion. One in three chance this thing stumbles along and the real victim will become the global economy. Let's hope we end up on the better side of that bet.

SIDNER: I do want to talk to you about this video that we're getting from Iranian state TV that shows a huge hole in one of the ships that's trying to go through the strait. I mean, this is one of the dangers obviously. But how dangerous is it because the U.S. says that it has been quietly kind of shepherding ships through the strait as well -- up to a few dozen of them?

STAVRIDIS: I've done that mission dozens and dozens of times myself as a younger naval officer, and it is difficult in the best of times. A very narrow navigational passage. Now you've got mines, you've got drones, something new since I was in this business actively. You've got the ongoing threat of ballistic missiles, and you have the Iranians playing this kind of tape. All of that creates a chilling effect, obviously, on these civilian tankers. There's probably 1,000 of them still trapped up in the Gulf.

So two points. Number one, this is where Europe could come in with their naval forces, minesweepers, frigates, guided missile destroyers, and help with these escorts. And the second point to be made is we have got to get the strait open because of the larger sense of the global economy here, Sara.

So that clock is ticking on top of the White House right now. Look for President Trump to drop a few more f-bombs before this is over. He wants to get to a deal.

SIDNER: You are referring to the reporting that he called Netanyahu, saying look, you're f-ing crazy when he's trying to get him to stop bombing Lebanon.

It is a complicated region when there is no major war happening. With this happening and these things happening at the same time it's very complicated to get these peace talks done. To get a deal.

Admiral James Stravidis, thank you so much. It's so good to see you. Appreciate you -- John. BERMAN: All right. In North Carolina, a 22-year-old police officer has been fired and charged with assault inflicting serious injury. Video shows him wrestling a woman to the ground and repeatedly punching her during an arrest. The woman after asked for mental health care and repeatedly asked officers to call her -- officers to call her father. The officer has been released on a $10,000 bond.

The video sparked protests in Shelby, North Carolina. The woman involved had been charged with resisting a public officer and assault on a government official. Those charges have been dropped.

So Colorado could get new storms today after a deluge of hail blanketed the streets. We are told the hail was the size of golf balls, which makes them smaller than tennis balls, bigger than pinballs, and maybe about the size squash balls. Any which way, they needed the bobcats there -- you can see -- to come clear out the hail. There was about 10 minutes straight of the powerful hail, which is a lot. Also, heavy rains and high winds. The storm caused ground delays at the Denver airport.

We are standing by for Jai alia-sized hail --

SIDNER: That's creepy.

BERMAN: -- in some -- in some places.

SIDNER: Have you ever gone to Jai alia?

BERMAN: Of course, I've going to Jai alia.

SIDNER: You have?

BERMAN: It's a great sport.

SIDNER: All right. Well, maybe I'll check it out. But you know what I won't be checking out? I won't be going to Aurora, Colorado anytime soon. That is so weird. Are we in the middle of June yet? Are we --

BERMAN: It's crazy. And I'm sure the cars there loved it. Loved being pelted by all that hail.

SIDNER: Insurance is going to get a lot of phone calls right now listening to that sound.

John Berman, thank you so much.

Ahead, she's murdering "60 MINUTES." That is the accusation from correspondent Scott Pelley against his boss at CBS News. More on that heated meeting and what the former executive producer of "60 MINUTES" is saying this morning.

Also, a terrifying scene after several huge explosions at a fireworks factory. We're getting new information about how everyone is doing after this morning.

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BOLDUAN: So a family's surveillance camera recorded a terrifying moment when a car went out of control and slammed into their home. Watch this.

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Car slamming into home after crashing into another car.

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BOLDUAN: Frantic moments for everyone involved. Several people were at the home -- in the home at the time. One family member says his mother was sitting in a chair that was near the door when the car came plowing into and through the wall. Thankfully, she is OK. Four people in the car -- they were hurt.

Now, the family has lived in the home for almost 40 years and now investigators say it is no longer safe to live in. The cause of the crash is now under investigation.

[07:55:00]

Also, video capturing the moment a giant explosion rocks a fireworks factory in Malta.

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Fireworks factory explosion in Malta.

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BOLDUAN: So police say there were no workers at the factory when the explosion happened, thankfully, but two people were working in fields nearby. They were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. And an investigation into this is now underway but right now authorities -- they don't know what caused it.

And in a pretty incredible rescue to show you a dog is safe now thanks to rescuers after he was swept out to sea in Australia. You can see the dog riding on the back of a jet ski as they brought him safely back to shore. Volunteer crews in New South Wales say the dog was swept off the rocks into the water and then he swam to a nearby island. Once rescuers reached the island, they spent about an hour. They needed to coax the scared dog onto the jet ski and then they got him onto a boat. Local rangers said that they are now working to reunite the dog with his owner -- John.

BERMAN: Good that they were there because there are sharks -- there are sharks --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

BERMAN: -- in that water.

BOLDUAN: I've heard.

BERMAN: All right. This morning new fallout after the stunning, very public rift inside one of the most venerated news shows in the history of television. In a staff meeting attended by a lot of people, "60 MINUTES" correspondent Scott Pelley accused CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of "murdering the show" after firing the executive producer and two veteran correspondents.

Pelley said, "She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she's been doing exactly that." Pelley said the new executive producer Nick Bilton and Weiss are unqualified for their jobs and said Bilton would "never be welcome here."

Let's get to CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter. Whoo -- I mean, a lot going on here and the fallout continues, Brian.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: That's right. The former "60 MINUTES" boss Bill Owens, who resigned last year -- he criticized current management in a speech last night in New York. He said his friends at "60 MINUTES" were fired last week "by people who don't even know what we do." Owens said he was proud of Pelley and he says he believes the remaining staffers at "60 MINUTES" are all proud of Pelley as well.

But there is some criticism of Pelley inside CBS, especially among Bari Weiss' allies. They say he was sanctimonious and rude in that meeting yesterday, and they say most employees at most companies would never dare to speak out to a boss the way that he did.

So here's what's going on. There's really an overarching big question here. What is the best way to preserve and expand "60 MINUTES" in the digital age? "60 MINUTES" is a television institution. It's beloved by millions of people. It's a valuable home for investigative journalism. It has also historically been a very clubby and insular place separate from the rest of CBS News -- literally in a separate building.

Bari Weiss, who arrived as editor-in-chief last fall, want to change all that. She believes "60 MINUTES" is valuable but archaic. She believes the place needs to pivot in a big way. She wants to shake it up. So what she's done is forced out the current executive producer Tanya Simon.

She's installed a fellow outsider, a kindred spirit, Nick Bilton, who is a former tech reporter, author, and filmmaker. She wants him to come in with new story ideas and really importantly, new ways of telling stories on digital platforms.

So it is a bold, audacious move. It might be brilliant or it might be a disaster. Nobody knows yet. But certainly, Pelley was channeling those who believe it's a disaster to bring an outsider into "60 MINUTES" and he's really placing the blame on Weiss.

And all of his comes as a political cloud continues to hover over CBS News. CBS parent company Paramount has taken steps to appeal to the Trump administration. We remember President Trump sued "60 MINUTES" back in 2024. The

previous owners of Paramount agreed to settle with Trump even though it was a frivolous lawsuit. In some ways, that's the original sin of this entire story. It created so much chaos inside "60 MINUTES" and the dominos are still falling today, John.

BERMAN: So after this very public moment yesterday -- I mean, this was a staff meeting. People were there. It was reported almost contemporaneously --

STELTER: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- what was being said.

What is next for Scott Pelley today and what's going to happen with the show?

STELTER: Well, I was afraid you'd ask me that because nobody knows. Some staffers think that maybe Pelley is trying to get fired. The indication from CBS management sources is that is not the plan currently. But nobody knows.

This show is usually on summer break now. They start working on segments for the fall. It's unclear what the path forward is.

But he accused Bari Weiss of trying to "murder" the show.

And I want to be clear. CBS News -- yeah, it's going through a lot of turmoil, but it's not dying. The news continues to be reported. The journalism continues to be strong. I think a lot of the critics who are calling out CBS right now aren't actually watching a lot of CBS. So it's important to separate the perceptions and the political drama, which is real, from the actual work that's being done on the air and online.

All of this, of course, is as Paramount tries to buy CNN and the rest of Warner Bros. Discovery, so that intensifies the speculation even more with people wondering what the intentions are for CNN. This idea of an outsider coming in -- it's something we see in Silicon Valley and other industries all the time.