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Interview with Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN): Israeli Intel on Iran Sparked Plane Switch, Despite Some Skepticism; Sailors' Families Raise Concerns About USS Abraham Lincoln Conditions; Chance to Win the Senate in 2026; NOAA: 70 Percent Chance Super El Nino Will Be Strongest on Record. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 13, 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]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: We are learning new details this morning about the secret effort to safely fly-pledge President Trump out of Turkey after the NATO summit there last month. A source telling CNN, fighter jets accompanied both the plane that President Trump actually flew on, as well as the Air Force One, which was used as a decoy. We've also learned the defense secretary and some of the president's closest personal aides joined him.

At least two cabinet members, we've learned. Secretary Marco Rubio and Secretary Scott Bessent stayed on the decoy flight. All of this, of course, unfolding after Israel had passed along intelligence which suggested a specific threat from Iran targeting Air Force One.

Some officials, though, were reportedly skeptical of that Israeli intelligence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HUDSON, NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: There was a significant degree of skepticism by the CIA in the veracity. There was low confidence in the information that the Israelis passed along about the degree of the threat facing the president. This just shows that the Secret Service does have a different risk calculus that it has to deal with.

There's no room for error.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining us now, Republican Congressman Marlin Stutzman of Indiana. Congressman, good to have you with us this morning. You know, we had the reporter from The Washington Post who I just spoke with at the top of the hour about their new reporting.

This comes as well amid CNN's own reporting, which happened in the days after this threat became public, that we learned about this intel, that there was a measure of skepticism within the U.S. intelligence community about Israeli intelligence because there was a perception among those officials that Israel could potentially be trying to influence President Trump's decision making. Do you believe the U.S. can trust that Israeli intelligence?

REP. MARLIN STUTZMAN (R-IN): Good morning, Erica. You know what? I think you have to take every bit of information of intelligence seriously, especially considering what President Trump has already faced.

You know, whether it's Butler, whether it's other assassination attempts. You know, and I don't care if it's President Trump, President Biden, President Obama. We have to always be sure and take the intelligence seriously.

They only have to be right one time. You know, that's the tough job about the intelligence community is that there's so much information, there's so much data, there's so much noise that they have to decipher and work through. And I think it's better to always take precaution and make sure that our chief, the President of the United States is always going to be safe, even if you have to pull off a switch like this to be sure that the President and Cabinet members are safe, and especially in that part of the world.

We know that Iran would love to, you know, have any sort of opportunity to take out a high ranking official, and especially the President of the United States. So I think that they did the right thing by taking precaution.

HILL: Do you believe that everyone, or at least a larger chunk of the people who are on board that decoy flight should have been informed as to what was happening?

STUTZMAN: Well, my guess is they probably were. I mean, you know, if you're going to ask the President of the United States to step off of, you know, jets that he's normally used to flying on, as well as the Cabinet members, they were probably asking serious questions.

HILL: The press that was on board that decoy flight was not informed.

STUTZMAN: Well, you know, again, I think that that's the decision making by the intelligence community. They were taking precaution. You know, that's the difficult part of traveling in that part of the world where you just don't always know, and you have to work with the best information that you have.

At the moment, you know, would it have been wise to share that with the press? Probably, you know, if there was a private conversation and then nothing was leaked out of that, but that's a hard thing to do when the press corps is sitting on a plane and something like that comes up. So everybody's life is critically important to protect.

But in this case, the Commander in Chief is the one that, you know, the Secret Service's job is to protect our President. And, you know, those are decisions that are tough sometimes to make in the moment.

[09:35:00]

But I think that, thankfully, everything worked out and no one was hurt in the situation. HILL: I want to ask you about some new reporting from Stars and Stripes in the Navy Times, which details multiple incidents of sailors on board the USS Abraham Lincoln attempting to jump overboard. The wife of one of those sailors telling the Navy Times reporter that she hasn't had an update on her husband's condition in weeks. Families telling that reporter they really feel they're being left in the dark here.

They are understandably concerned. The disappointment has now gone more than 250 days. They were supposed to be back in May.

In response to requests for more information on this from CNN, the Navy gave us a statement saying, and I'm quoting it here, "We have not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship. We are not experiencing an uptick in mental health issues aboard Abraham Lincoln." Would you consider sailors attempting to jump overboard a mental health issue or concern?

STUTZMAN: Well, absolutely. I mean, if that's the case, you know, and whether it's, you know, military personnel in any part of the branch of government or the military taking their own life is obviously something that we would want to address immediately. You know, I lost a very dear friend of mine here in my hometown in Northeast Indiana after he came back and committed suicide.

And you know, it's tragic. And it's one of those things that we all -- our hearts go out to, you know, their family. We know that the cost military families give, there's a sacrifice that especially wives have to live through when their husbands are gone serving our country.

You know, in that case, I would, of course, you know, as a member of Congress, try to reach out and get some answers for a constituent like that to try to find out something in that case. So I would always encourage anybody in the situation to reach out to members of Congress. And they can at least ask.

We can ask the Department of War for an update and see if we can get them some information to give them some comfort.

HILL: So to that point, my colleague Pamela Brown was on board that same ship just last month. She spoke with different sailors about how they're doing. They talked about how low morale was.

They talked about how tough it was that the deployment had been extended. There were issues with the food. There were issues with the Wi-Fi.

They were struggling in that moment. You said you would reach out, right, on behalf of a constituent. Does this rise to the level, even if this is not your constituent, knowing what some of these sailors are going through, will you reach out to Secretary Hegseth?

STUTZMAN: Well, you know, it's definitely I'll reach out to someone over at the Department of War and even in the administration. You know, I am very certain and knowing that, you know, after some meetings just lately with the Pentagon related to budget matters that we're working through right now on the budget committee in Congress, knowing that, you know, there's a deep concern about making sure our men and women in uniform are taken care of properly. You know, we are talking about those who are serving, of course, making sure health care is in place.

In fact, we're working on a case right now for a constituent related to health care. So these are all matters that I know the administration and cabinet members are deeply concerned about people. At the end of the day, we know that those who are serving have to have, you know, comfort knowing that, you know, they're getting properly taken care of.

And everybody in Congress that I know would always want to be sure that our military men and women have the best care taken for them, because they're the ones out there serving on the front lines for us.

HILL: Senator Blumenthal has reached out for some more answers. If you do reach out and hear back, we would appreciate it. Please let us know what you hear, congressman. Appreciate you taking the time this morning. Thank you.

Ahead here, investigators digging into just what may have caused an Apache military chopper to crash in central Texas yesterday. Two pilots on board were killed. We have more updates for you this morning.

And a massive front office shakeup in the NBA. The record-setting deal the Los Angeles Lakers could now be making less than a year after the last sale.

[09:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: With less than three months until the midterms, the fight for control of the Senate is in full swing. And as President Trump's approval hits new lows, Democrats see an opening to try and make some significant gains. CNN Chief Data Analyst, Harry Enten, joining me now.

All right, wow, that's a very colorful, colorful map you got going on there. Some Democrats are leading in some places that haven't won for quite some time in Senate races. So what's the deal here?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Sara, I just want to note, you don't love me enough so much you couldn't call me back yesterday. I called you, you didn't call me back.

SIDNER: You did?

ENTEN: Yes, you said you were going to call me back and you never called me back. Forget about it, we'll talk about it.

SIDNER: What do the prediction markets say about your chances of getting a call today?

ENTEN: Yes, I think they're 100 percent after this.

SIDNER: They are.

ENTEN: What we're talking about here, you're down in Georgia, right? It's part of this new Southern strategy that I think Democrats have, their map to take back majority runs through the South. What are we talking about? Why don't we talk about Georgia?

Look at this, John Ossoff up by 13 points. How about Roy Cooper, the former governor, up nine points? And then James Tallarico holding onto that lead in the great state of Texas down there in the South, two points.

So three Southern states, three former Confederate states, and you see that Democrats are leading in them all. There has not been a Senate Democratic win in North Carolina since 2008. And in Texas, you have to go all the way back since 1988.

So it could in fact be a historic year for Democrats in these three Southern states.

SIDNER: You just gave us some sense of how unusual it is for those two states, but what would it look like if all three of the Democrats were to win in those three states? How unusual is that?

[09:45:00]

ENTEN: Yes, how unusual it is. They're ahead in these three. They're also heavily favored in the great state of Virginia.

So in the 2000s, midterm Senate races, we're looking at something historic potentially here, Sara Sidner. They're up right now in four states. The most Dem wins in a year in the former Confederacy in a midterm in the 2000s, this century is only two.

They could potentially win double the amount of races than they have in any midterm cycle this entire century in the Southern United States when you add up together Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and the great Commonwealth of Virginia.

SIDNER: All right, so who is it, what group is it, or is there one, just one group that's helping to push Democrats into this unusual position in those states?

ENTEN: Yes, what it is, is it's white college voters. We have seen that group move from the Republican column, shifting towards the Democratic column. And just look at these numbers here.

Margin among white college voters in 2016 when Trump won his first term. Look at this. In the presidential race, it was 19 points in North Carolina.

Look at where the polling is now. You have Roy Cooper up by 13 points. That's a 30-point shift.

How about in Texas? Trump won it by 31. Now it's just a one-point lead.

In Georgia, it was 41 points. Now, what are we talking about? We are seeing that John Ossoff's only down by 13.

We're talking about a 31-point shift on average among white college voters. They are driving this. And when you put it all together, Sara Sidner, and we look at the entire map, and we look at the Kalshi prediction market, look at this.

There's a chance to win the United States Senate in 2026. The odds are moving in the Democrats' direction. Republicans were a 56 percent chance a month ago.

Now it's basically dead even, 51 percent chance to 49 percent chance. So Democrats very much in the game because of these Southern races. And as I said at the beginning of this, the prediction markets also predict a 100 percent chance that in fact you will be calling me after this show.

SIDNER: I will try not to disappoint the markets or you, Harry Enten.

ENTEN: Please, I have my phone right on me right here. I have my giant phone. I'll be waiting.

SIDNER: Sounds good. We'll be right back.

[09:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: OK, on a radar for you this morning, investigators trying to determine the cause of a deadly military crash in Texas. An Army Apache helicopter went down yesterday near Fort Hood, killing the two pilots. The two-seater chopper slammed into a field, and you can see the result of it there.

It sparked a big grass fire there. You could also see debris from the crash laid out across the scorched field. It's not clear where the helicopter was coming from or where it was headed and how this all happened.

All right, a frightening close call when lightning strikes right next to two South Dakota troopers. Highway Patrol troopers were searching for a -- whoa -- searching for a suspect when lightning hit just a couple of feet away. Fortunately, they were not hurt in this.

Now, to a huge shakeup. The Los Angeles Lakers could have a pair of new owners, former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. And if you recognize the last name, well, that's because it's the brother of Jared Kushner.

They are set to purchase the franchise for a record $12.5 billion. The NBA's Board of Governors still needs to approve this deal, but if it crosses the finish line, it could be the most expensive sale for a professional sports franchise in history. All right, we are finally hearing from the man himself, Mr. Taylor

Swift, Travis Kelce, making his first public comment since marrying the pop star, giving reporters some long-awaited inside details about the July celebrations at Madison Square Garden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS KELCE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS TIGHT END: Wedding was the best night of my life. And I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and, you know, had fun with us. And yes, that's about all I really got from that night.

It was a crazy night. It was full of a lot of celebration, but it's football, baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: There's football now, baby, but you know what, what would our husbands say about whether or not it was the best night of their lives?

HILL: And we heard the first part of what you said, Sara. I'm sorry. But yes, I do love that he's speaking out a little bit.

SIDNER: Yes.

HILL: Yes, I'm sort of fascinated that he wanted to be at Madison Square Garden still.

SIDNER: I need answers as to how that all went down and why Madison Square Garden. There's just so many questions, but he said it was the best night of his life. So we're going to let that -- I'm so happy for them.

We're going to let that hang in the air and hopefully, you know, we'll get some romantic joy from it.

HILL: We'll stick with the joy. There is still joy here in New York City and we love it.

This morning, forecasters meantime at NOAA say there's a nearly 70 percent chance that the building Super El Nino will actually be the strongest on record. That climate cycle, which is characterized by hotter ocean temperatures, can shift weather patterns globally. So think drought in Indonesia and Australia, flooding in South America.

We've also never had an El Nino happen with a climate that is already this hot. CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir joins me now. So talk to me about the overall concern. What could this lead to, Bill?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, just for context, the big Super El Nino in the 80s cost the world about $4 trillion and two to 3,000 extra deaths from the flooding and the fires. The big one in the late 90s cost $5.7 trillion, took 23,000 lives with typhoons and peatland fires in Asia.

[09:55:00]

The one in 2015 triggered food insecurity for 60 million people because what happens when an El Nino occurs, there's a long tail that can last for several years, depress the GDP of entire nations. This is a big deal. And this one could be the biggest humanity has ever experienced right now.

It's a natural phenomenon, but of course with global warming, we just had the hottest month in recorded history in the United States, July. It's almost like we're on an escalator that's going up and then an El Nino year comes along and we jump. We start running up the escalator, hitting those higher temperatures much faster.

What this could mean in the United States is a lot of rain and snow in the Rockies and in California and down across the South into Florida this winter. The El Ninos will peak this winter and then continue or in the fall, peak over the winter and continue into next year. But the good news in that is the last time Lake Mead was full was after a super El Nino in the 80s.

So they desperately need snow in the Rockies for that, but it could be rain bombs that wash out entire communities. As we've seen now, the average summer rainstorm is much more intense because the warmer atmosphere holds all that. So there's so many unknowns here, but it is worth being aware.

You know, knowledge is power when it comes to protecting yourself, depending on where you live, looking at the patterns historically and making sure you can fortify best you can.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. Bill, appreciate it. Thank you.

SIDNER: Erica, we're so glad you're here. Hi, I wish I was over there though, hugging you.

HILL: The same.

SIDNER: But now we have to give the show away to two wonderful people.

"THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

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