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Polls on New York Primary; Harry Collett is Interviewed about "House of the Dragon." Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 22, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

JIM GERAGHTY, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "NATIONAL REVIEW": Anybody to hear the Iranians, oh, sure, we're going to allow international inspectors in then. The Iranians bragged about how easy it was to fool international inspectors. In 2004, 2012, 2016, 2017, and in February they bragged that their ballistic missiles could not reach past a certain range. And then during the war, they demonstrated they could go well beyond that range.

So, if you ignore all of Iranian history, which, of course, started with taking the -- all Americans hostage at the embassy, if you know nothing about this, then, yes, this was a very good day and everything the Iranians said was very reassuring.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: I do want to ask about what you have written. You have sort of written that if the details of the MOU play out as we have seen them --

GERAGHTY: Yes.

SIDNER: The 14-point details there, that the U.S. has effectively been defeated in that it is Iran who comes out the victor. How so?

GERAGHTY: Well, first of all, look at all the things that apparently go into effect now, now that Trump has signed the memorandum of understanding at Versailles, I don't know if you guys are history buffs, but the last treaty that was signed in Versailles did not work out so well. I would have picked a different French city. But, hey, that's just me.

Immediately upon signing the memorandum of understanding, the United States begins removal of the naval blockade. Immediately after signing the understanding, we terminate all sanctions. The Department of Energy will issue waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives, and all associated services and immediately -- in other words, we start making all of the immediate concessions. And then down the road, the Iranians say that. They say that they're going to never pursue a nuclear weapon. They were a signatory to the nonproliferation treaty back in 1968. They have violated it over and over again. Other than the fact that they have broken every treaty they have ever signed, they're signing this as a really good deal. We have good reason to trust them. And if you're -- yes, I'm being sarcastic for anyone who's just reading the transcript. They -- theoretically, if we give them -- by the way, Trump spent his

entire career insisting that the Obama administration releasing $150 billion in frozen funds was the worst move ever. And it was -- of course, money is fungible. So, the more money you provide to the Iranian regime, even if it's going to purchase American soybeans or if it's going to be used to rebuild bridges, that frees up other money they get from their oil sales and everything else to purchase ballistic missile parts, to pursue nuclear weapons, to build more drones.

There's a new study that indicates an Iranian Shahed drone might only cost $7,000 each. And it really, when you look at how the conflict in the Persian Gulf played out, it was those drones and their ability to target the oil tankers, the port facilities, the natural gas facilities, all of that kind of stuff, that's what actually gave Iran the leverage to force us to basically this deal that is really not much of a deal. You can't call it a U.S. wholesale surrender because we're paying retail prices.

SIDNER: Let me ask you about the situation between Lebanon and Israel, which, of course, has been going on for a long time, but really has intensified since this war with Iran. We heard from J.D. Vance that they are working on something, but they haven't really gotten Lebanon and Israel to the table on this. They're looking at having others like Iran, Qatar, potentially Islamabad, kind of be the overarching group that deals with this. Is that even possible without having both the Lebanese and the Israelis making this agreement together with the U.S.?

GERAGHTY: Yes, if you're going to have -- if you want to have a deal between Lebanon and Israel, you probably figure you should invite them to the negotiations. Again, that just seems like a small, basic step you'd have.

The one silver lining I'd say is that Iran does have considerable leverage over Hezbollah.

SIDNER: Right.

GERAGHTY: But we also know that Hezbollah is not always the most obedient faction you're going to run into. And so, the idea that at any given moment Hezbollah, or even some portion of Hezbollah can say, we're going to fire missiles into Israel. We don't think this deal applies to us. We don't like the terms. We're going to do what we want.

And obviously as we've seen, while Trump and Bibi Netanyahu have been close, you know, quite close in the past, they do have their disagreements. And no Israeli prime minister is going to say, well, I'd like to take actions to defend my country, but the United States of America negotiated this deal with Iran that I'm going to have to honor, even though I was never part of these negotiations.

You know, it's destined to fall apart. That's the only silver lining to this is we know at some point the Iranians are going to break their word, so we won't have to hold our -- to our part of the agreement. But as noted, all of this stuff begins immediately. And all of their side of the deal begins at some point down the road, assuming they even keep their word and -- on inspectors and not pursuing nuclear weapons and things like that.

SIDNER: Jim Geraghty, I've gotten a big soup of sarcasm this morning from you. People should know a huge helping.

GERAGHTY: First day back from vacation for me. I'm full of certain fluids and vinegar.

SIDNER: We understand.

GERAGHTY: Yes. I'm as clear (ph) as the Reflecting Pool these days.

SIDNER: Wow. You know what, you should think about doing stand-up as well. Your writing is excellent, but I think you have a career coming up in stand-up.

Do appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

GERAGHTY: Thank you very much for having me.

SIDNER: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking this morning, the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, announced he is resigning less than two years after he won the job.

[09:35:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Every decision I've taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Needless to say, this is a major political upheaval for one of America's closest allies and paves the way for the sixth prime minister in seven years. Happening now, the man who is likely to get that job, Andy Burnham, is being sworn in as a member of parliament in the House of Commons. He won a special election last week, allowing him to challenge Starmer for leadership of the Labour Party. That's how it works there. Burnham says the country expects, quote, "stability and seriousness."

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: I expect the same from you.

BERMAN: Good luck.

BOLDUAN: "House of the Dragons" is kicking off season three with a bang. One of the stars of the show is in studio today.

And after Elmo got into a bit of a pickle over the NBA finals, he's ready to set the record straight now when it comes to the World Cup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELMO: Just to be clear, don't make this a thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:41]

BERMAN: Big Democratic primaries in New York tomorrow with some big names on the ballot. And one of the key issues in some of the high- profile races, support for Israel.

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

Talk to me about one of the races we're looking at.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, I don't think that Israel has played a bigger role in any district, any more than in this particular district. We are talking about New York's 10th District. I mean, chance to be the New York Ten Dem nominee, Dan Goldman, the incumbent, a hero of the Trump first impeachment trial among Democrats, only has a one, two, three percent chance of actually holding on to his Democratic designation to be the Dem nominee in this particular race. Brad Lander, who was last seen running for mayor in New York City, 98 percent chance. The reason why Dan Goldman is in trouble is because of the issue of Israel. He is seen by many in that district as being too pro-Israel. Lander has the endorsement of Zohran Mamdani, who, you know, obviously, when it comes to the issue of Israel, has been much more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israeli.

BERMAN: Of course, this is what the Kalshi prediction markets are saying about this race tomorrow, but you can look at any of the polls that have been out there.

ENTEN: Any -- this matches up with the internal polling 100 percent.

BERMAN: All right, Democrats in general, where -- how has their thinking changed on Israel?

ENTEN: Yes. OK. So, why are we seeing this right now in the Kalshi prediction markets? Well, it's part of a broader national picture, right? I mean, just look at the change over the past few years. You know, you go back to late 2023, who Dem voters sympathize more with. It was basically an even split, but perhaps slightly more with the Israelis than the Palestinians, 34 percent to 31 percent.

Look at this Israeli percentage, though, down through the ground. Look at this now, just 16 percent. This Palestinian percentage about doubled. The percentage of Democrats who say they sympathize more with the Palestinians has about doubled in just two and a half years. Look at that, from 31 percent to now the clear majority of Democrats now say they sympathize more with the Palestinians than the Israelis. A 60 percent to 16 percent. So, a three-point spread in favor of Israel has become, what, a 44 point spread in favor of the Palestinians in terms of who Democratic voters sympathize more with.

BERMAN: And that's Democratic voters writ large. What about Jewish Democrats?

ENTEN: Yes. So, if you know anything about New York Ten, you know that it is one of the most heavily Jewish congressional districts in the country. And so you might say to yourself, hey, why would applies nationally would necessarily apply in New York Ten? Well, this is one of the more interesting questions and cross tabs that I have seen. Did Israel commit genocide in Gaza? This is among Jewish Democrats. And even among Jewish Democrats the majority of Jewish Democrats say, yes, 52 percent do believe that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, compared to just 39 percent who say no.

BERMAN: Very, very interesting. And, look, support among pro-Israel groups has been a campaign issue across the country.

ENTEN: Yes, absolutely. Zohran Mamdani, you know, I mentioned him in the early part of the segment, said at a rally this past week that AIPAC is, quote/unquote, monsters. This may actually play in a Democratic primary. Among Democrats, AIPAC backing makes you less likely to vote for them or more likely? In 2024 it was 34 percent who said less likely to vote for him. But now it's the majority, up 19 points in 2026 to 53 percent. Just five percent of Democrats actually say that AIPAC backing makes them more likely to vote for a candidate. So, Zohran Mamdani seems to be on the side of Democratic voters. Of course, we'll see if that plays out in the polls tomorrow.

BERMAN: Elections are tomorrow. We will wait for those results. Harry Enten, great to see you.

ENTEN: Nice to see you, Johnny B.

BERMAN: We've got a lot of news this morning. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:48:46]

BOLDUAN: There's an investigation underway into a deadly fire at a resort in the Dominican Republic. The images are truly troubling. It happened Friday morning. One woman, a tourist from Italy, died in this. Three others had to be rushed to the hospital -- to hospitals, and nearly 1,700 tourists were evacuated. Officials believe that the flames spread quickly because, well, one, you see the straw roofing, and also because of the windy conditions that they were experiencing that day. It is not clear, though, yet what actually sparked this fire.

And to the box office. "Toy Story Five" set a new box office record over the weekend, winning big. Now, this year's biggest debut with $160 million at the box office, shattering the beloved movie franchise's opening weekend record. Jessie, Woody, Buzz and friends also scored the title now of the second largest animated opening weekend in history. Second only to "The Incredibles Two" opening weekend back in 2018. So, you were following this, I know. Elmo seems to have learned his

lesson after his NBA finals tweet that set off a storm online.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELMO: Just to be clear, Elmo wants Team USA to win, OK? But Elmo loves everybody. Just to be clear.

[09:50:00]

Don't make this a thing. Thank you. Elmo loves you and Elmo loves you and Elmo loves you and Team USA and everybody who's playing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: I'm waiting for him to do like a Trumpian, like, thank you for your attention to this matter type of a thing, Elmo declared over the weekend he is cheering on Team USA in the World Cup. This is, of course, after he took quite a bit of heat for posting during the NBA finals that he wanted both the Knicks and the Spurs to have fun. Knicks fans -- Lou (ph), I'm looking at you -- were not so happy about that given that Elmo is a native New Yorker. This hilarity even continued like through the Knicks final, clinching the championship in the end. Jalen Brunson, though, extended an olive branch by holding up and kissing an Elmo plushie, as you can see here, afterward, that had a sign saying, forgive me, please.

See, Jalen Brunson fixes everything, John.

BERMAN: He heals the rift with Elmo.

All right, the wait is over. HBO's "House of the Dragon" is back. The prequel to "Game of Thrones." Season three premiered last night and is now streaming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRY COLLETT, ACTOR, "HOUSE OF THE DRAGON": Mother, stop! You cannot.

EMMA D'ARCY, ACTRESS, "HOUSE OF THE DRAGON": There is nothing you can say that I have not heard.

COLLETT: If you die --

D'ARCY: Then you will at last be king.

My riding leathers.

COLLETT: You are to lock and bar this door. The queen must be confined until she regains her senses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could not defy her grace's commands.

COLLETT: You are a knight to the queen's guard, Sir Laurent (ph). You swore to protect her grace from all threats, including herself. Your life for hers. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Yikes! You can feel the tension there. With us now is one of the stars of "House of the Dragon," you just saw him there, Harry Collett.

You had a pretty rough night, Harry.

HARRY COLLETT, ACTOR, "HOUSE OF THE DRAGON": I did. I did. It wasn't my easiest night, I'll tell you that much.

BERMAN: Spoiler alert, and I'm just going to say it, if you don't want to know what happened, you know, put the earmuffs on, you died.

COLLETT: Yes, I did.

BERMAN: You died.

COLLETT: I did.

BERMAN: How dead are you?

COLLETT: I think I'm pretty dead. I don't think there's any coming back from this.

BERMAN: When you are part of a show like this, that has an extended run like this --

COLLETT: Yes.

BERMAN: When did you find out and how did you find out you were dying?

COLLETT: I found out when I got cast. So, I've known for like four and a half years probably. And it was just a moment of like, how and when are they going to do it? And sort of, yes, just how it's going to look. And it was so impactful. Obviously last night was crazy. And to go out in such a way is a blessing really. It's really lovely.

BERMAN: It's a really nice way to look at it after all that happened.

COLLETT: Yes.

BERMAN: What was the hardest -- what was the hardest part of dying?

COLLETT: Probably act -- I said like acting dead was probably the hardest acting I've ever done in my life because we have so many real emotions in these show. You know, as much as it's filled with dragons. But playing dead is so unnatural to the body. And especially in water. I was, obviously, like floating. And they wanted me to, you know, drown in some bits. And I just, I couldn't. And they would go up my nose and in my eyes and I'd cough and everything. Obviously, I can't cough if I'm dead.

BERMAN: What's the direction at that point? Is the guy tell you or the director say, die better? Harry, you got to die better. COLLETT: Yes, no. Yes, no, it -- funny, Loni did say something like

that a little bit. But, no, it was -- he understood how difficult it was. And Loni was great. We'd talk through the emotions throughout the episode and everything like that, and he'd be on set with a megaphone. So, yes, it was -- it was pretty crazy.

BERMAN: So, we were just talking during the commercial here, and this is a show very much about dragons and battles and war, but it's also about family in relationships. And we saw in that clip there, you've got a complicated, yet compared to some other relationships, wholesome relationship with your mother in this show.

COLLETT: Yes, we've definitely seen a different one last night, haven't we?

BERMAN: Yes.

COLLETT: Yes, no. Yes, it's really lovely. We're like the only two people in the show that have a really nice mother and son relationship, which I really love. And Emma D'Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra, they're, incredible. And I love them so much. And they have made my time amazing throughout my time of being on the show in five years.

You know, I got cast when I was 17 and I'm now 22. So, I basically grew up on this show really, and they're like my second family. So, it's been lovely.

BERMAN: What is that like to spend so many years -- well, what's it like to spend so many years with one group of people? And what is it like now that you know, at least according to you, that you're not coming back?

COLLETT: It's going to be sad. But, you know, as actors, I feel like we're kind of used to it in a weird way. You kind of build a different family every job.

[09:55:00]

And you're dedicating your life, you know, for a certain period of time. And then you do have to let go at some point. So, you do kind of have to be used to it.

But I'm -- you know, I'm going to miss them loads. But I have made friends for life. I'm definitely going to see them again.

BERMAN: And who are you rooting for?

COLLETT: Rhaenyra, obviously. My mother, the rightful heir.

BERMAN: I mean, I ask that because, really, you can't be sure in this show at this point.

COLLETT: No. No, for sure. For sure. But, yes, season three is a great season and people aren't going to be disappointed, definitely.

BERMAN: It started off with quite a bang and quite an ending for you.

COLLETT: Yes.

BERMAN: Listen, congratulations on everything here.

COLLETT: Thank you so much. Thank you.

BERMAN: They'll love the show too.

SIDNER: I'm -- there's a lot of violence but --

BERMAN: There is a lot of violence.

SIDNER: Which is hard for me.

BOLDUAN: So, we're a yes.

SIDNER: So, we're full on (ph).

COLLETT: Yes. I mean, right. Right.

SIDNER: But I do want to ask you, you sing. You're in musicals.

COLLETT: I was before my voice broke. And then -- and then it was all over. So --

SIDNER: OK. So, I won't ask you to do it.

COLLETT: No, but I -- but I -- yes. But I want to train my voice again. Maybe in the future here, 100 percent.

SIDNER: OK. Looking forward to that.

BERMAN: What happened to Peter Brady here in the United States in the 1970s? That's a reference to all our viewers out there.

BOLDUAN: Seriously. That's where you're going with this one?

BERMAN: He wont know Peter Brady.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely not.

COLLETT: I'll have to look that up.

SIDNER: Yes. Or don't. It's fine.

BERMAN: Harry Collett, thank you very much.

COLLETT: Yes. OK.

SIDNER: All right, thank you so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "SIT ROOM," up next.

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