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Maine Voters go to Polls Tomorrow; New Yorkers Feelings on Trump; Jury Selection in Palisades Fire Trial. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 08, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:31:02]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, tomorrow, primary elections in Maine with the headline race. The Democrat, Graham Platner, is looking to secure his nomination to take on Republican Senator Susan Collins. Now, several women told "The New York Times" that they had volatile and toxic relationships with Platner, and at least one woman accused Platner of physically threatening behavior, which Platner disputes. Democrats across the country in Congress have been asked about this. And it puts them in a precarious situation.

And just moments ago Kate had an interview with Mike Quigley, a congressman from Illinois, who had an answer I had not heard before on this subject. And it tells you where some Democrats are.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): We have to try to be consistent here. And for all the reasons we have problems with many of our Republicans, especially this president, we can't just turn our minds and say, no, it's different with this guy just because he's got a "D" next to his name. So, that's just my opinion. If there's way to replace him on the ballot, I'd be all for it. But as Rahm said, at this point, I guess, it's up to the voters in Maine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, with us now, Washington bureau chief for "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution," Tia Mitchell, and CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny.

Jeff, I hadn't heard that before exactly from an elected Democratic official who said, if there were a way to replace him on the ballot, I'd be all for it. That's something.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It is something. Certainly, it stands out. And there actually is a way to replace him. The party has until later this summer, even after the primary. But look, there's no indication that a congressman's perspective from Illinois is going to have any sort of influence on what the voters of Maine are doing.

And look, there's no doubt there's frustration among Maine voters. The question is, that tomorrow evening, if Graham Platner wins the primary, then it's off to the races. Of course, Janet Mills, the governor, her name is still on the ballot. So, voters do have a choice there. There's a couple other candidates as well. But once voters make that decision tomorrow, Democrats are going to be locked into what looks like a Graham Platner-Susan Collins race for the fall.

And look, it will be an epic battle, there's no doubt, but it certainly raises questions just on the vetting of these outsider candidates that have been recruited to run in this moment. And we will see if it works. But Maine voters will have a choice, and it will be their choice.

BERMAN: Yes. And, you know, Tia, Jeff brings up a good point. Chicago is not near Bangor, you know. So, Mike Quigley, you know, is not a Maine resident. But that said, you do get a sense of the pressure this is putting on Democrats around the country.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION": Well, that's the thing. Yes, Democrats around the country, particularly Democrats that are on the inside already holding office, they have concerns. But this election is just in Maine. And a lot of the Democratic voters in Maine have gone to events. They've seen Graham Platner in person. And what they're saying isn't that they're necessarily excusing all that they've read and learned, but they're saying it's not enough to convince many of them to not support him on election day tomorrow.

So, at the end of the day, this is a Maine election. This is for Maine voters. And what we've been hearing consistently from a lot of Democratic voters is that they still believe that Platner is their best option when they go to the polls tomorrow.

BERMAN: It's going to be an interesting few months of a race up there with Susan Collins, who's been in tough races before, and Graham Platner, who looks like he's poised for a fight there.

I want to shift gears to our colleague Kristen Welker at NBC "Meet the Press," who held an interview with the president over the weekend. We should note, it was pouring rain outside, which made it hard to get the interview off. But the president stormed out in the middle of the interview, no pun intended with the storm going on, after he was making wild, you know, unbased claims about the elections in California, January 6th, you know, the 2020 election.

[09:35:03]

And Kristen was pushing back, asking for evidence, of which he had none. And he walked off.

I want to play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your elections in this country.

KRISTEN WELKER, HOST, "MEET THE PRESS": (INAUDIBLE) --

TRUMP: We're like a third world country.

WELKER: But, sir --

TRUMP: Your elections are crooked and you're crooked. And "Meet the Press" is crooked.

WELKER: But, Mr. President --

WELKER: And so is ABC, and CBS, and CNN.

WELKER: But, Mr. President --

WELKER: You're one-sided crooked networks. All right, let's call it quits because I've had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good day.

WELKER: Mr. President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: And, Ita, it's interesting because even before this, sort of the context that led up to it was the president defending this political $1.8 billion fund that he still very much wants to compensate people who feel that they've been unfairly prosecuted. That's what even led up to it before it. He walks off there.

Just, Tia, quickly, your take on that moment. You know, even by the standards of the last ten years with Donald Trump, that was something.

MITCHELL: Yes. I mean, you know, I'll try to be quick, but I'll say this because I think a lot of people at home are watching and they're going, why does the media continue to sit down with him? Why do they platform him knowing that particularly he treats women and black women especially harshly and unfairly and, quite frankly, disrespectfully? But he is the president of the United States. We have to listen to him as the leader of the free world. We're trying to ask him questions, get to the truth.

Kristen was doing her job --

BERMAN: Oh, yes.

MITCHELL: But Donald Trump loves to hate the media. I think this is just kind of part of the dog and pony show that we get from the president, because he'll be back to NBC, CNN, all the networks. He can't leave the media alone, even though he likes to treat media members poorly.

BERMAN: Jeff, go ahead.

ZELENY: He also likes to change the subject. And it was the questions on Iran and the questions on the weaponization fund that led him into a path of -- this familiar path of confronting the media here. So, he was very much trying to change the uncomfortable subject.

Republicans are not happy with the war. The voters there that I was speaking with on Friday, many said that. So, I think he was, you know, definitely some deflection going on.

BERMAN: So listen to what Congressman Jake Auchincloss, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said about this, because I do think it's really interesting how he shifts that moment with the president to something else entirely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): I don't know what else to say. I don't know that Democrats really need to press further the nature of Trump's character. It's on full display. And those who have made up their mind, have made up their mind to like him. What Americans need to hear from Democrats is not yet another round of, look how pathetic that guy is. It's, what are we going to do? If you entrust us with Congress, if you entrust us in '28 with the presidency, how do we deliver for you a new American dream for young Americans where you can get an excellent education, where you can buy a home by the time you're 30, where you can have a dignified retirement by the time you're 65. What are the bold ideas that we will deliver? Because this country is exhausted by that kind of behavior. It's been a decade now. People are sick of it. And I think character matters, and they want to see character on display.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, Jeff, it was interesting, right? His answer to the president saying things not true about the 2020 election, about the elections in California, about the weaponization. But his answer was prices. Talk about prices.

ZELENY: For sure. And I mean, but I think that he also is hitting on something there. Is it enough for Democrats to once again try and make this a referendum about the president? It may work in the midterms, but going forward, I mean, we are still in the Trump era. There's no doubt about it. I mean he is still the president of the United States for two and a half years here. But there is very much a sense on both sides, but particularly on Democrats, what is happening after this. And I think the congressman is hitting on the point that I hear from a lot of Democratic voters, what are Democrats going to do for us? What are the policies that Democrats, if they happen to win control of the -- of the House or Senate in the fall, what are Democrats going to do?

So, I think we are sort of seeing the limits of just being against the president there. There is that exhaustion out there. There's no doubt about it.

BERMAN: Jeff Zeleny, Tia Mitchell, great discussion. A good point. As big as 2026 is, it may just be a prologue or a prequel to something much bigger after.

All right, a huge, deadly earthquake, magnitude 7.8 shakes hundreds of thousands of people. We're getting new updates from the scene.

And a fake boarding pass and hiding out in an airplane bathroom. How a man managed to sneak past security onto a crowded flight.

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[09:44:03]

BERMAN: Game three of the NBA finals tonight up the street at Madison Square Garden. President Trump is going. City officials have told fans if they want to go to the game, if they're lucky enough to have the multi-million-dollar tickets, arrive two hours before game time. That's what the president's presence is going to do there. People might not like that, but they may have pretty firm opinions on the president already.

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

So, it may not be the two hours before the game thing that sets New York voters off when it comes to President Trump. How is he doing here?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, I would just say this. The president of the United States, Donald John Trump, may be more hated in his home state of New York than the San Antonio Spurs. Because what are we talking about here? Let's take a look here. Trump's net approval rating in New York state.

You know, you go back to January of 2025. It was, you know, not so great, but not so terrible. Five points underwater. But look at where he's fallen to now. He is now 30 points underwater on the net approval rating in his home state of New York. A massive drop off we have seen in his popularity in the empire state.

[09:45:05]

BERMAN: And it's interesting. When you dig into some of these numbers, there were some groups, even in this very liberal state, that the president was doing well with.

ENTEN: Yes, OK. You know, a lot of the people who might be getting screwed tonight, especially with that watch party getting canceled, are working class New Yorkers. And those are the voters who have turned most against the president of the United States.

OK, Trump's approval rating in New York state with incomes under 50,000. You know, back in January of 2025, he was actually slightly above water, one point above water. But, hey, one point above water is better than one point below water. But look at where he is now. A dramatic decline. My goodness gracious. Right down there into the Hudson River. He's now 36 points underwater. Nearly a 40 point move against the president of the United States with working class New Yorkers, those with incomes under $50,000. And that is matching what we're seeing nationwide as well. And that is the president of the United States, disproportionately he is losing support among working class Americans, and he's disproportionately losing support among working class New Yorkers.

BERMAN: This is a pretty good number for January '25.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: This isn't.

ENTEN: No.

BERMAN: It's dropped a lot.

ENTEN: One is good. One is really bad.

BERMAN: OK. So, New York's a big state with a lot of congressional districts, including a few swing races here. How are the congressional elections looking in this state?

ENTEN: Yes. OK. So, you know, you go back eight years ago, New York was a very bad place for Republicans in the midterm elections during Trump's first midterm election. You look at the generic ballot. In June of 2018, Democrats were ahead of it by 15 points in the empire state. Look at where it is now. Democrats are even doing better than they were doing eight years ago at this point. They were ahead by 19 points right now. And this 15-point, this led to a three seat loss for Republicans as Democrats went on to gain a majority.

Now, there are not as many competitive races this time around, but Mike Lawler, up on the Hudson Valley, has to be looking at a number like this and has to be shivering because it turns out what happens at the top of the ballot with Donald John Trump manages oftentimes to find its way to down ballot races. And I think Mike Lawler sees this and says, I'm not so hot to trot.

And you talk about the governor's race as well at the top of the ticket. This is another thing that may drain Republicans as well. Chance that Democrats win the 2026 gov race according to Kalshi. It was 74 percent back at the beginning of Trump's second term. Look at where it is now, Kathy Hochul, the Democrat, sky high, 91 percent. These are the types of numbers that really should make Republicans quite worried in Donald John Trump's home state, where, as I said at the top, he may be the only thing that's more hated in New York than the San Antonio Spurs.

BERMAN: Bomani Jones said it's going to be like an away game for the president tonight.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much.

A lot of news. We'll be right back.

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[09:52:12] BOLDUAN: So, right now, search and rescue efforts are underway for survivors after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the southern Philippines. At least 19 people are already confirmed killed. The earthquake triggered scenes of just panic as buildings began collapsing. It also hit around 7 a.m. local time, which is just as public schools were starting the new academic year. And there's video capturing the moment that this terrified group of little school children, elementary school children, are experiencing the earthquake. You can see them shaking, and then a -- kind of like an overhang collapses. Fortunately, everyone there was OK. And the tsunami warnings were set off by this in the -- in the wider region. Officials, though, say at least that threat has largely now passed.

Big protests in Albania, and they are not letting up. And it's all over what Ivanka Trump just revealed. Plans that she and her husband, Jared Kushner, have to -- or have to now develop an uninhabited island and protected beach off the coast of Albania.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVANKA TRUMP: We were on a friend's boat and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that's how we found it. We swam to the islands. We went on a hike barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated. And it stayed with us ever since.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So, for days now, Albanians have taken to the streets to protest. The country's prime minister says that Trump and Kushner are part of a group of investors from around the world, and an environmental review is still underway.

John.

BERMAN: All right, happening today in Los Angeles, the federal trial begins for the man accused of sparking last year's catastrophic Palisades Fire. A dozen people were killed, thousands of homes and businesses destroyed. So many people still recovering from all the devastation.

Let's get to CNN's Nick Watt, live in Los Angeles for a preview of what we're going to see this morning.

Nick.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Listen, John, this was the most destructive wildfire in the history of Los Angeles. As you mentioned, 12 people dead, 37 square miles burned. You know, it pretty much wiped an entire neighborhood off the map.

Now, prosecutors are going to argue that this young man, Jonathan Rinderknecht, I'm sorry, it's a tough pronunciation, that he was working as an Uber driver on New Years Eve 2024. And passengers said that he was intense, angry, seemed pissed off at the world. And prosecutors claim that he also, in the previous weeks and months, had run internet searches, including "let's take down all the billionaires," "free Luigi Mangione." And he'd also asked ChatGPT to create images of people fleeing from flames.

Now, prosecutors claim that just after the new year, just after midnight, he, in this intense, angry state, went up and set a fire above Pacific Palisades.

[09:55:07]

Then he tried to call 911.

And here is where this case might get a little bit complicated. That was the morning of January 1st. Firefighters came, put that fire out, so they thought. But investigators then claim that the horrific Palisades Fire, which broke out a week later, was actually the result of embers that had just never been put out.

So, prosecutors are going to have to say, yes, OK, this guy set a fire on January 1st that was allegedly put out. It then became the Palisades Fire a week later. Is that his responsibility?

Now, his lawyers are going to say, listen, this guy is just being used as a scapegoat. He was arrested months later. They just want to pin it on him to try and hide failures from the fire department.

This is expected to last a couple of weeks. Jury selection, as you say, John, begins this morning.

BERMAN: It will be fascinating to watch. Almost two real trials here, right?

WATT: Yes.

BERMAN: First, proving what he did, and second, the science behind if it actually had an impact one week later.

Nick Watt, thank you for explaining that so well. Appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: And thank you all so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

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