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Trump Meets with Zelenskyy at the White House; Polls on Voter I.D.; A Ceremony will be Held today at the Capitol for the Late Senator Lindsey Graham; Live Coverage of Lindsey Graham's Capitol Ceremony. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired July 28, 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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[09:31:22]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Any moment now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive at the White House. And later today, President Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two leaders. Two separate wars. A lot of questions about where those conflicts go from here.

Joining me now is CNN contributor and former Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty.

It is good to see you, as always.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks, Sara.

SIDNER: I'm curious what you expect to see in this meeting with Zelenskyy, knowing about what we've seen over time with him and that the last time these two met it was quite a friendly meeting.

DOUGHERTY: Right. Well, I mean we all remember the Oval Office meeting where it wasn't friendly. You don't have the cards meeting. But since then it actually has gotten better. So, Zelenskyy goes in this with nice comments by President Trump for the most part recently. And that seems to be sparked by the success that Ukraine is having with these long-range drone strikes on Russia.

So, the president, President Trump, has been very complimentary of that. So you would say, you know, this could be a good meeting.

And then you have the other element of this strike in the Caspian Sea, where the Ukrainians hit an Iranian vessel that they say was carrying drone parts and missile parts. And so that would be very good, you know, for President Trump, who would encourage that type of behavior.

But it's complicated, Sara, because back home in Ukraine, President Zelenskyy has a lot of problems. And one of them is a big political crisis brought on actually by himself by firing the defense minister. And, you know, we can get into that. But it's political. But it could have military implications.

SIDNER: Right. I mean all of these things are happening here in the states where we're talking about the talks here. But there is also a whole political apparatus that he has to deal with inside of his own country. And you can't forget that.

I do want to ask you about something that happened this month that took some people aback. The far-right figure, Laura Loomer, entered the chat into all this. She has the president's ear. She went to Ukraine to interview Zelenskyy. And she went from encouraging Vladimir Putin early on to take the entire country of Ukraine, she once said, basically cheerleading for Russia's point of view. Now, she says, she was bamboozled by Russian propaganda and is suddenly friendly to Ukraine. And in case you don't think she has the president's ear, he reposted a clip of her interview with Zelenskyy, saying, "very good!"

I mean should Russia be worried now that Ukraine has seemingly broken through to some of its most vicious critics and has broken through to the president?

DOUGHERTY: Well, you know, I would say, going into the Kremlin mind, Putin's mind, who knows? But I would say, yes, they're worried because if you put all of these factors together, the fact that, you know, President Trump has been saying nice things about Zelenskyy, and then this very odd Laura Loomer conversion story where, you know, she's shilling Russian propaganda and now she loves Vladimir Putin, she's in Ukraine, I've watched the videos and she's saying, you know, people on the far right in the MAGA movement have been misled by Russian propaganda.

So, sure, the Kremlin won't like that, but I think the Kremlin still, even though at this point it is full speed ahead by Vladimir Putin to attack Ukraine viciously now with missiles, not so -- I mean drones, yes, but missiles, which are very hard to protect against.

[09:35:13]

Ukraine needs Patriots. But, you know, whether he puts all of that together, I'm not too sure that Putin actually stops what he's doing. He is holding out the possibility of, yes, we want peace, let's talk. But that's at the same time that he is pummeling Ukraine.

SIDNER: Yes. I mean, look, you talked about Patriot missiles in the last meeting with Zelenskyy. President Trump intimated that he may give Ukraine that technology. So, we'll have to wait and see what happens here, but things are shifting for sure in the -- in the sort of battle of words, at least.

Jill Dougherty, thank you so much. Do appreciate you. It's great to see you.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A dramatic rescue caught on video as -- at a beach as lifeguards battle these powerful waves to save a boy from dangerous -- a dangerous rip current. We've got this for you. My goodness.

And also right now, we are standing by for the Capitol Hill ceremony. The special ceremony to honor the life of the late Senator Lindsey Graham to get underway. We'll bring that to you.

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[09:40:47]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, pretty much every morning, President Trump is pressuring Senate Majority Leader John Thune over the SAVE America Act. Trump wants to scrap the August recess, if necessary, to try to pass the voter I.D. and proof of citizenship bill.

With us now is chief data analyst Harry Enten. And it is notable, those are actually two different things.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes.

BERMAN: When you're talking about voter I.D., showing a driver's license or a picture I.D. when you show up to vote at the polling place.

ENTEN: Yes. Yes.

BERMAN: What do voters say about that?

ENTEN: Yes, overwhelming support for it. We've spoken about it before, and the polling really hasn't shifted all that much. And you can just see it right here. OK, so we're talking about voter -- voters favoring photo I.D. to vote. Among all voters we're talking 77 percent. And this is uniform, basically, or universal, I should say. Universal. Democrats, 62 percent. Independents, 77 percent. Republicans, 95 percent. This is something that is popular across the political spectrum. It is a rare thing that is popular across the political spectrum.

When it comes to voter I.D., the voters are with President Trump on this, whether they're Democrats, independents or Republicans. Overall, very clear we're talking about three in four overall who support the idea of photo I.D. in order to vote.

BERMAN: Even 62 percent of Democrats show an I.D. when you show up to vote.

Now, showing a very specific I.D. when you register to vote, proof of citizenship, like a passport, birth certificate, or Real I.D., which not every state has, how do voters feel about that?

ENTEN: Yes, OK. So, I think this might be a little bit more in the eye of the beholder. Johnny and I were talking about this. So, document proving citizenship to vote, which you can see here is, again, it's clear the majority are for it. The majority are with President Trump here. We're talking about 54 percent of Americans. We've seen this in poll after poll after poll. It is lower than the voter I.D., but it is clear, you get that 54 percent who support it, you get 37 percent opposed, which is a sizable minority, but definitely lower than the majority. And among independents, which is a group that President Trump has really struggled with, you still see it here, right? You see the majority of the -- or the plurality of independents, 49 percent supporting the idea of needing document proving citizenship to vote, 49 percent, versus 38 percent who are opposed.

So, whether it's overall or independents, yes, the support is lower than it is for voter I.D., but it is very clear that the majority of people are, in fact, for it.

BERMAN: It's definitely a majority. It's still not the 80 percent for voter I.D. when you show up to vote with the photo there.

ENTEN: No.

BERMAN: This is showing proof of citizenship to register there. There are voting -- you know, public interest groups who say, not everyone has access to a passport or Real I.D. or birth certificate. What are the numbers there?

ENTEN: Yes. OK. So, again, this is a bit in the eye of the beholder. OK, can produce citizenship proof to vote, like a passport or birth certificate. Very easily or with some effort, but still pretty easily, 90 percent. So, the lions share -- and this, I think, is part of the reason why the idea of producing a document to vote is so popular is because most people think they can do it, at least with some effort or very easily. But there is this 10 percent who say hard, can't, or unsure, Johnny B., in terms of that. And, yes.

And then I would just note --

BERMAN: Yes.

ENTEN: Just in terms of the chance that it becomes, I think that 10 percent, very much like this number though, because the chance that the SAVE Act becomes law before January 4, 2027, it's just a seven percent chance. Just a seven percent chance. So, the American people are with it, but it's unlikely going to happen.

BERMAN: Harry Eenten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BERMAN: We do have a lot of news this morning, so we'll be right back.

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[09:48:43]

BOLDUAN: We are following breaking news from Capitol Hill. These are live pictures on The Hill where moments from now a ceremony to honor the life and legacy of the late senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham. That ceremony is set to get underway very, very soon. As we're looking right here at live pictures of the hearse carrying Graham's casket arrived moments ago. And in honor of the senator's service in the U.S. Air Force, and armed forces body bearer team will be carrying his casket into the Capitol for the special ceremony that will be held in the Capitol Rotunda.

There's another image of what we're looking at right now.

After this special ceremony, there will be a funeral service then later this afternoon at the grand Washington National Cathedral, where President Trump, among others, is expected to speak.

CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju is standing by on Capitol Hill to cover all of this.

Manu, we're looking at live pictures. Some -- we were just -- had a quick view of some who were just leaving the Capitol. This would be -- almost looks like -- is -- well, definitely senators, his staff. They were all be there standing by and will be gathering. Let's just keep an eye on this while, Manu, you give me a little read of what you're hearing and what it's like there on Capitol Hill today.

[09:50:00]

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's very somber. And we're seeing members from both sides of the aisle fill in, both senators, former senators, staff, spouses, because Lindsey Graham is someone who had represented South Carolina in the House and the Senate for more than three decades. Someone who had really deep relationships with a whole wide range of members from both parties and spent a lot of time with various peoples' families, got to know people very well. So, we're expecting this to be a packed ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda to remember his life, beginning a full day of remembrance, not just about his personality and the unique personal moments with -- that he had with so many people, but also the profound impact that he had on Republican, the Republican Party, Republican politics, foreign policy, and even domestic policy. Someone who really played such a key role in so many major, major issues.

This is an honor that is really not given to many members of Congress after they pass away, or really any -- many politicians at all, to have someone brought in to the Capitol Rotunda and have him or her honored in this way. Lindsey Graham being one of those very, very few individuals in the United States history to receive this kind of honor.

What you're going to see unfold behind me just now is members of the armed services to actually pull out his casket and bring his casket up the stairs of the center steps of the United States Capitol. He'll be greeted by leaders on both sides of the aisle who will be waiting outside the doors of the Capitol Rotunda. J.D. Vance also in attendance. He just arrived, the vice president did, moments ago.

And then we will hear some remarks, not just from J.D. Vance and from John Thune, the Senate majority leader, but also the congresswoman, Sheri Biggs. She's a woman who actually represented the district in which Lindsey Graham served in the House for a number of years. Expect remarks from the congresswoman, followed by Thune and J.D. Vance.

But let's take a look at what's happening behind us -- right now in front of our eyes here, guys.

(SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM'S CASKET BEING TAKEN INTO THE CAPITOL) [09:56:30]

BERMAN: You can see there, Lindsey Graham -- the team carrying the casket carrying Lindsey Graham entering the U.S. Capitol. The people there standing by, including now Senator Graham, the sister of Lindsey Graham, Darline, who has taken over his seat, inside the ceremony at the Capitol Rotunda that will take place very shortly.

Our Manu Raju standing by there.

And, Manu, you know, the Capitol building where Lindsey Graham roamed those halls for so many years. And a complicated career. And he frustrated many of his Democratic colleagues at times. But it is notable that he was friends with so many as well. So many of the senators on both sides of the aisle will tell you that he was among the many -- or the few that they would try to spend time with, that he was the one who could make them laugh, that he was the one they would want a cocktail with if they were traveling overseas. He truly was friends with many people there.

RAJU: And you don't see that very often these days, John. So many times the politics have become so coarse that their relationships don't really exist across the aisle. But Lindsey Graham, he would battle tooth and nail with Democrats, but then he would go on international trips very often, like he just did in the days -- the days before he died, when he went to Ukraine and met with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. He would battle Democrats, but also work with some, like Senator Richard Blumenthal, who he is working with -- he worked with up until the day he died to pass a bill to impose stiff new sanctions on Russia. And in a way to honor his legacy of sorts, tonight, this United States Senate will take a vote to advance that package that Lindsey Graham was very excited about seeing approved in just up until the day he died, that bill to impose these stiff sanctions that he'd been working on for months and months and months. Expect to hear some of that today here, too, John.

BOLDUAN: And the final goodbyes from Capitol Hill, to the National Cathedral, to South Carolina, to South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham will be getting underway any moment now.

We'll give it over to "THE SITUATION ROOM."

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