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Trump Unveils New White House Renovations; Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) is Interviewed about White House Projects Amid High U.S. Debt; Jimmy Gomez Accuser Speaks to House Ethics Committee; Clancy Trial Resumes Today; Trump Unveils Renovations as U.S. Debt Soars. Aired 9- 9:30a ET

Aired August 20, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

ARIANA MADIX, EMMY-NOMINATED "LOVE ISLAND" HOST: Person, but I recently heard that Michelle Obama had seen the show.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wow.

MADIX: And that blew my mind. She's forever a first lady for me. That's something I don't think I'll ever get over.

WAGMEISTER: Have you had the chance to talk to her about that role?

MADIX: No. If I met Michelle Obama, I'd probably spontaneously combust.

WAGMEISTER: Well, maybe she will be watching this.

MADIX: That would be insane.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WAGMEISTER: All right, so if Michelle Obama is watching right now, then perhaps we can create a meeting of the minds of sorts between her and Ariana Madix.

Now, Ariana also told me that she can't believe that she is nominated in the same category as esteemed artists like Alan Cumming, who's nominated for "Traitors," and also RuPaul, of course, for "RuPaul's Drag Race." It's a really interesting conversation. We talk about her journey from reality TV to hosting this show and to acting. She was actually on stage in the Broadway production of "Chicago." So, there is a little fun fact for you if you are not following her career.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: I love, Elizabeth. Thank you, Elizabeth.

You can catch this and other episodes of "Coming Up" on the CNN app.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the U.S. national debt soaring to a new record high. It now stands at $40 trillion. It hit that number faster than predicted. What does this ballooning amount mean for the country and for you?

Plus, breaking this morning, supporters showing up in droves outside the courthouse to rally behind Lindsay Clancy, the woman who was on trial for killing her three children. What we can expect today as court resumes.

And a surprising homecoming. Prince Harry, Meghan and their two children are moving back to Britain after six years. But what about that royal rift and concerns about security? Lots of questions need answering. We have the latest reporting there.

I'm Sara Sidner, with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, for the first time ever, the U.S. national debt crossed $40 trillion. But that's old news. You can look at this debt clock right there. It's already $47 billion more than that, which is a lot of money. And you know what? Tomorrow it's going to be even more. You might long for the day when it was just $40 trillion.

This works out to more than $117,000 per person in the United States. This drives up interest rates on mortgages, car loans, credit cards. And as the U.S. crossed that milestone, cross the $40 trillion mark, that's what President Trump was doing. He was taking reporters on a tour of his White House fixer upper projects.

Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you take a look at the stone, look how perfect the stone is.

So, if you're grass, you're very happy. And this grass will look so beautiful.

You look at the lettering and you look at the joints, they're like flawless.

We put in the finest marble that you can get.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The Trump administration plans to spend at least $900 million on White House construction projects. That's according to "The Washington Post." And that price tag does not include things like the troubled renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the arch the president wants to build in Washington.

CNN's Betsy Klein is now at the construction site -- the other side of it, I should say, at the White House this morning.

It's going on not far from you. They're digging. They're building.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The cranes are moving. And this, for President Trump, is a major priority. The president has been increasingly thinking about his legacy during his second term. He views these construction projects here at the White House and across Washington, D.C. as the foundation of that.

So, yesterday, assembling reporters for an impromptu, unexpected tour where he showed them the new changes to the White House driveway, swapping out asphalt for a new white granite from California. He also explained that it was his decision to disassemble and restart the construction on that helipad project because he was unhappy about its sloping. He said that they stripped the paint from the White House facade and repainted it. He also suggested there is new grass. And he defended his ballroom project, which he actually cast as a ballroom/military complex.

And for President Trump, this really underscores his personal investment and the painstaking level of detail that some view as really far below his pay grade. He is focused on things like the placement of stanchions as well as potholes, fixing potholes.

Just take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the things we're doing, and this was always asphalt, which is very basic, not appropriate for a great house or a great place like the White House, which is, to me, now, again, one of the most beautiful buildings anywhere in the world.

[09:05:07]

The other thing we could do, if you notice, we took it up and redid some -- one aspect because we had a lot of slope on it, and I felt it was too much slope. It's a slope for the rain, but I felt it was too much slope.

If your grass, you're very happy. And this grass will look so beautiful.

One thing I know how to do is build.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, a "Politifact" analysis recently found that the president has spent more time talking about this in his public remarks this year than any other topic, except for his war with Iran. And while all of this was happening, the national debt reaching that staggering $40 trillion mark. That is going to have economic impacts on the American people.

We are also approaching the six month mark of that war with Iran, as there are a lot of questions about the future. President Trump has signaled that he is halting talks with Iranian officials until they signal that they are serious about making a deal.

Meanwhile, the price of gas is at $4.10 per gallon. There's a lot of economic uncertainty here. And Americans are also very skeptical of these projects. A recent CNN poll found that 58 percent of Americans are dissatisfied or angry about President Trump's focus here on these projects.

John.

BERMAN: $40 trillion. But, Betsy, you can't have too much slope. Appreciate your presence there at the White House this morning. Thank you for sharing your reporting.

Sara.

SIDNER: Joining me now, Democratic Congressman Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island.

All right, let's start with this. The national debt hitting $40 trillion years earlier than expected. At the same time, you see the president excitedly unveiling new upgrades to the White House, like redoing the helipad and repaving the driveway with granite. What do you think about this messaging? How do you see what is going on here?

REP. SETH MAGAZINER (D-RI): You know, people can't afford their health care. People can't afford their housing. And they are frustrated that we have a president of the United States who is completely out of touch. He is obsessed with spending our taxpayer money on monuments to himself. And I wish that he would spend a fraction as much time figuring out how to make life more affordable for the American people.

Also, and don't forget, you talk about the $40 trillion national debt. They just added $4 trillion in the one big, ugly bill that they passed last year that went almost entirely to tax cuts for big corporations and billionaires who don't need it. And so, I am tired of the hypocrisy of Republicans in Congress and in the White House who only care about the debt and deficits when we're talking about making health care more affordable, spending money on education, spending money on health care, but they don't seem to care at all about the debt when they are giving trillions of dollars of tax cuts to big corporations and wealthy donors, or when they are spending billions of dollars of taxpayer money on unnecessary vanity projects for the president of the United States.

What voters are seeing right now is that the president is out of touch, and that Republicans in Congress are too scared of him to do anything about it. And it is the American taxpayers who work hard for a living who are left footing the bill. And so, that's why I think we are on track for a big Democratic sweep in November because people can see what's going on here and they don't like it.

SIDNER: Let me ask you about this. So, one fiscal watchdog group, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, warned that we're really putting our economy and our economy's future in jeopardy with this huge debt that the United States finds itself in. This has been an issue, though, that spans both Democratic and Republican leadership over many years.

You were a state treasurer at one point before you became a congressman. Do you and Democrats as a whole have a plan to deal with the exploding debt here?

MAGAZINER: Well, it starts by making the wealthy pay their fair share. Again, Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration passed a bill last year, they call it the beautiful bill, we call it the ugly bill, that gave $4 trillion of tax cuts to the wealthy and big corporations with no pay fors, right? With no pay fors.

And so, you know, the first thing that we can do is, is reverse those cuts. But understand, the two parties are not the same here. We have now a long-standing pattern where under Democratic presidents the deficit decreases. It happened under Clinton. It happened under Obama. It happened under Biden. And then under Republican administrations, the deficit explodes, largely because they keep passing tax cuts for their wealthy donors and for big corporations. And so, again, there is a clear pattern here where, you know, Republicans in Congress and the White House act in a fiscally irresponsible way, lavishing tax cuts on the very wealthy, and then Democrats have to clean up the mess afterwards.

And there are real consequences for people here. When you have massive debt, like we have now, it leads to higher interest rates, which means that mortgages cost more, credit card bills cost more, car loans cost more.

[09:10:09]

And again, why are they doing this? They are running up the debt.

You know, my children are going to be paying decades from now for tax cuts that they gave to billionaires last year. That is what has happened. You know, they are giving billionaires tax cuts. They are spending our taxpayer money on vanity projects at the White House, and they are expecting future generations of working people to pick up the bill.

And the American people aren't dumb. They know what's going on here and they don't like it. And that's why, again, Democrats are looking very good heading into the midterms according to the polling because I think people are tired of the president and congressional Republicans having the wrong priorities and not being focused on them.

SIDNER: All right, I do want to ask you quickly about one more issue, and that is Democratic Congressman Jimmy Gomez. He's accused of sexual assault now. The attorneys for a woman who spoke to the House Ethics Committee, who are investigating Gomez's conduct, are disputing Gomez's statement that all of what happened was consensual. Do you think Gomez should simply step down at this point?

MAGAZINER: Well, I think that these accusations are very serious. They need to be taken seriously, and they need to be investigated fully and swiftly because I think the voters have a right to know what the facts are before the election.

You know, listen, we did the right thing in pushing out Eric Swalwell. We did the right thing in pushing out Graham Platner in Maine when both of them had really egregious sexual abuse scandals that came out. And, on this one, let's see what the facts are. But if the facts are as alleged, then the same should happen here.

But, you know, again, everybody is entitled to the process. Let the process play out.

SIDNER: Congressman Magaziner, thank you so much for joining us.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, let's talk more about Jimmy Gomez, the congressman, and the ethics investigation that he now faces and new developments in that.

Joining us now is one of the reporters who's been breaking this, Allison Gordon.

Can you talk to me about what you have learned so far?

ALLISON GORDON, CNN INVESTIGATES REPORTER AND PRODUCER: Let's start, Kate, with the statement from this anonymous woman's attorneys yesterday, as it's quite forceful. So, they said, quote, "we represent one of the women who was interviewed by the House Committee on Ethics about her experience of sexual harassment and assault by Representative Jimmy Gomez. His actions were not consensual in nature with respect to our client. We fully expect that the House Committee on Ethics will come to the same conclusion in its investigation."

So, Kate, this is coming after the Ethics Committee announced a formal investigation into Gomez on Monday.

Now, we first at CNN began looking into this over the summer when we learned from sources at the time that the inquiry began after a "New York Post" article came out alleging that Gomez had kissed a staffer from a different office, which is something he denied at the time. But a source told me that while the committee initially was looking into that, they soon learned of other allegations against the congressman.

BOLDUAN: What is Gomez saying about all of this?

GORDON: Yes. So, through her attorneys, this anonymous woman is making very serious allegations that the congressman sexually harassed and assaulted her. Now, that's very different than what he has acknowledged in the past, which is that he caused pain to his family, but that he never broke the law or House ethics rules.

Now, Gomez did not reply to my questions yesterday about this latest reporting, but I should note that on Monday he told other reporters when asked about this following the formal announcement, he reiterated the assertion that any relationship he had was consensual.

BOLDUAN: And what are you hearing from House Ethics?

GORDON: Yes, the Ethics Committee chose not to comment when I reached out yesterday, but I did hear from Democratic House leadership last night who said in a statement that they provided to reporters that, "the allegations of misconduct are serious and disturbing. We encourage the committee to conduct a thorough and swift investigation."

Now, this all comes at a real moment of reckoning on The Hill, as Representative Magaziner just alluded to, the Ethics Committee is facing increased scrutiny given recent resignations of Congressman Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales and a recent investigation into Chuck Edwards of North Carolina. On top of all of that, Kate, we also have active investigations into Max Miller and Cory Mills. And we at CNN are going to continue to watch this closely.

BOLDUAN: Allison Gordon, thank you for your reporting.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, ahead, right now outside a Massachusetts courthouse, a show of support for Lindsay Clancy, the mother on trial for killing her three young children. Why this is happening now as court resumes in just minutes.

And the stories don't match. Hear the conflicting claims the man accused of orchestrating Tupac Shakur's murder told different members of law enforcement.

Plus, a boozy twist on a breakfast favorite. A new flavors created by a surprise collab between Buzzballz and Pop-Tarts.

[09:15:00]

Harry Enten is all over this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: This morning, outside of the courthouse in Massachusetts, you see that, a group of people showing up to show their support for Lindsay Clancy as testimony resumes in her murder trial. The defense could call its final witness today. Clancy's defense team argues that she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis when she killed her three young children. Yesterday, the judge actually abruptly sent jurors home early.

CNN's Brynn Gingras is following this one.

Bring us up to speed.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, look, there are so many women out there this morning showing their support. Kevin Reddington, Lindsay Clancy's defense attorney, really being moved by that, saying Lindsey is going to be moved by that because he, frankly, said she's so beat up and so sad that this would really help her out.

Look, it's not an easy story, right? We're talking about the murder of three kids. But a lot of people are moved by what happened to Lindsey throughout this whole process.

So, I do want you to hear from Kevin Reddington, because he did speak this morning just before we came on the air together, talking about really mental health and why these women support means a lot to him. [09:20:11]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN REDDINGTON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think that it's the mental health system. I hate to use the word health care because, unfortunately, in this case, we can see it hasn't been health care. And I think that it shines a light on this issue. I mean, when a woman is going through what so many people do and they go to a doctor and the doctor says, you know, here, take this pill, take that pill, take this pill, and then they basically treat them for 15, 20 minutes and send them on their way, it's just not right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: Yes. So, that was Kevin Reddington heading into court. Court has not yet started yet. Yesterday it ended abruptly. The judge saying unforeseen circumstances. People reading into that. They started late yesterday, too. So, certainly nothing big to reveal there.

But it was a big day for the defense. As we had spoken, Kate, earlier in the day they had that psychologist on the stand who gave really the crux of the defense's argument. When he was cross-examined, no surprise, the prosecutor going right at him, basically attacking the fact that he's somewhat formed a relationship with Lindsay, met with her over 60 times basically, talked -- kind of getting at to the point of, like, are you really impartial or can you really be an impartial person in this, you know, in this courtroom right now, having that sort of relationship with her. Also bringing out the point that she never reported hearing any voices to any of her doctors prior to the event happening in January 2023.

So, there was some big moments there in the courtroom. We expect more big moments today. It's very possible that the defense may rest today. So, we'll keep an eye out for that. But, of course, the prosecution will have a rebuttal case. So, still a couple more days ahead of us.

BOLDUAN: A lot more to come.

GINGRAS: Yes.

BOLDUAN: And a lot of people paying attention.

GINGRAS: Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: Brynn, thank you so much.

GINGRAS: All right.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: All right, today a judge will hear arguments on a retrial for a 19-year-old convicted in the stabbing death of a 17-year-old at a high school track meet.

And we fought a revolution to push the royals out of the United States. Now, a royal adjacent couple is leaving voluntarily. The very latest we are learning on the big move from Harry and Meghan Sussex.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:26:32]

BERMAN: The U.S. national debt crossed a staggering new milestone. It surged past $40 trillion for the first time ever. We've been watching it go up all morning. It's at $47 billion more than that right now. It drives up interest rates on mortgages, car loans, credit cards, things that matter to you.

Meanwhile, at the White House, President Trump was focused on showing off the new driveway and helipad that he is installing. Part of the reported $900 million in renovations he is planning there.

With us now, Yemisi Egbewole, the former chief of staff for the Biden White House Press Office, and Neil Chatterjee, a Republican strategist.

Yemisi, I just want to start with you. $40 trillion. How confident are you that the members of Congress will come together and work to address this serious challenge?

YEMISI EGBEWOLE, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF, BIDEN WHITE HOUSE PRESS OFFICE: I think the members of Congress really wish the president would spend less time on extreme home makeover and more time on the races that are happening across this country. It's very interesting to watch a president during what is a competitive midterm leading into consequential election for 2028, not focused on the state of the party, and more on what the White House and what Washington, D.C., will look like when he leaves.

The economy is something that is going to be the top of mind for every single person running in this country. And it feels as though the president thinks that by ignoring it the problem will simply go away. And it's not going to. And I think that's showing more and more in his approval numbers.

BERMAN: Do you think voters make a connection when they see $40 trillion in debt? I mean, debts and deficits have been an issue in politics as long as I've been covering it. And voters care to like varying degrees, sometimes not much. But when they see that number, do you think they make the connection?

EGBEWOLE: I think that voters always attach the way they feel about the economy to who is sitting in the White House, regardless if that person is doing what they believe is best for the economy. $40 trillion is a number that I think people assume, what does that have an effect on my life? So, I think if Democrats are able to break down that number and say, well, here are pieces of it that we've seen escalate throughout this entire year of how much you've paid more for gas, for child care, that resonates more. But $40 trillion, as a concept, is a bit -- is a bit large.

BERMAN: It's staggering. It's a big round number, which sometimes breaks through more than others. And, Neil, to Yemisi's point there, so as we cross the $40 trillion

mark, just as a matter of optics, right, this is what the president was doing.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm fixing the country. We're fixing the White House to.

We got rid of the asphalt here. And this is granite. It's called a flawless granite. It's -- we get the best stuff.

This was all black asphalt that was in terrible shape.

The grass was in terrible shape.

This has all been redone. It's all been topsoiled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, again, there may need to be some renovations at the White House, but I think it was "Politifact" that found that he's talked about the White House renovations and things like that second most of any issue in this second term, only second to Iran this year. Is this politically adept, Neil?

NEIL CHATTERJEE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, no, it's not great. Look, I'll be honest. Look, I live in this area. The White House, the Kennedy Center, they need upgrades, right? Look, I love the Kennedy Center. I've got a personal tie to it. My son has performed on the main stage a couple of times. It's a little dated. It needs to be fixed up. So I'm actually OK with the focus on kind of renovating some of these American icon facilities in and around the region, but it shouldn't be the focus.

[09:30:01]

Like, we are dealing with major, major issues in this country right now. The debt is ballooning out of control. Republicans and Democrats are both responsible for