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CNN This Morning

U.S. Halts Iran's Sea Trade; White House Eyes Second Round of Talks; Severe Weather Threat Continues; Bishop Mariann Budde is Interviewed about Trump and the Pope; Trump Doesn't Care What Happens with Iran; Democrats Look to Midterms. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 15, 2026 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:34:18]

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ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Nice to have you with us here on CNN THIS MORNING.

It's 6:33 here on the East Coast. Here's a look at what's happening right now.

A new woman accusing Eric Swalwell of sexually assaulting her. Lonna Drewes is telling reporters he raped her in 2018. Her attorney declined to share detailed corroboration of those claims with CNN. A lawyer for the former congressman responded in a statement, saying, Swalwell, quote, "categorically and unequivocally denies" the allegations. Swalwell resigned his seat this week amid those allegations.

The Justice Department is moving now to dismiss seditious conspiracy convictions against members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. So, if a judge approved the dismissals, it would then erase the most serious convictions from the federal investigation of the Capitol riot.

[06:35:00]

President Trump has often referred to the convicts as, quote, "hostages." As those who were convicted.

The husband of the American woman missing in the Bahamas speaking publicly for the first time after being released from custody, telling CBS he plans to keep looking for her.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe that Lynette's still alive?

BRIAN HOOKER, WIFE MISSING IN BAHAMAS: I do. I believe I've been told that people have lasted in the Bahamas after falling overboard for days and even weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Brian Hooker was arrested and questioned days after his wife, Lynette, went missing. He was not charged by officials in the Bahamas and was released. The U.S. Coast Guard also has a criminal investigation opened.

The U.S. has completely halted economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea. At least that's according to U.S. Central Command. We have a live look for you now at how the marine traffic, rather, through the Strait of Hormuz. You see not a lot getting through the Strait. The tracking data shows several Iranian-linked ships, though, passing through since that blockade took effect on Monday. The U.S., meantime, says it forced six merchant ships to turn around yesterday. A spokesperson for China's ministry of foreign affairs calls the blockade of ports "dangerous and irresponsible." U.S. officials call it strategy.

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MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: As part of the ceasefire, Iran was supposed to -- had agreed to stop attacking international shipping. Instead, they're trying to be -- decide who the winners and losers are in the global economy.

So, what he's decided is, look, Iran, until you open it all and there's shipping for all, we're not going to let your ships go out.

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HILL: CNN's Eleni Giokos is joining us now from Dubai.

You've been following, of course, all of this movement. Where do things actually stand at this moment?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And it's interesting hearing that comment. It's that all or nothing approach. But CENTCOM has said that they're going to be stopping vessels and shippers that are coming from Iranian ports and Iranian territorial waters.

When that naval blockade was enforced at 10 a.m. Eastern on Monday, we saw some traffic in the Strait of Hormuz where some tankers were able to cross through. So, everyone was asking the question, how is this naval blockade being enforced? You know, what is the U.S. checkpoint? And what is interesting, in the last few hours, monitoring marine traffic. And there's one vessel, Erica, that we've been tracking because it is sanctioned by the U.S. since 2023. It has Iranian links. It's called the Rich Starry. It passed through the Strait of Hormuz during the hours of U.S. naval enforcement, and then stopping in the Gulf of Oman and then making a u-turn.

And that's not the only sanctioned vessel that crossed through the Strait of Hormuz and stopping at that exact point in the Gulf of Oman. U.S. CENTCOM says that it was able to make six vessels turn around and go back into the Iranian territorial waters, which I think is very telling. A little bit about where that naval blockade actually is, because it seems like it is in and around that image where you see those vessels stopping. It is also being said there's over 12 navy vessels that are embarking on this very strategic and very complicated reconnaissance mission by air and use of satellites as well.

When I'm speaking to marine traffic experts, I asked the question whether we've actually seen any vessels that are coming from non- Iranian ports passing through the Strait. And they said, not that they know of. But it's really interesting to see this new trend emerging as we're trying to find out the parameters of how the U.S. Navy is actually enforcing this blockade.

HILL: Yes. And it's such an important question.

Eleni, really appreciate it. Thank you.

GIOKOS: Yes.

HILL: This morning, we're also getting a look at some new satellite images which show Iran digging for missiles amid the ceasefire. So, front end loaders in this video can be seen scooping up rubble from blocked tunnels. U.S. intelligence found roughly half of Iran's missile launchers were still intact after a month of fighting.

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J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Honestly, after 49 years, there's a lot of, of course, mistrust between Iran and the United States of America. You're not going to solve that problem overnight. But, yes, I think the people we're sitting across from wanted to make a deal. And I know the president of the United States told us to go out there and negotiate in good faith. That's what we did. That's what we're going to keep on doing. So, you never know, though.

But I feel very good about where we are.

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HILL: CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier joining now the group chats.

So, you have J.D. Vance there talking yesterday talk -- about these talks, right? We had the president saying they could restart perhaps as soon as tomorrow in Pakistan. He feels very good about where we are.

Based on everything else that's happening, what is your sense of just how far those talks could go if there is, in fact, another date on the calendar?

KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Look, we are -- we're seeing some pretty hard lines within the talks. You know, the Iranians want to maintain control of the Strait of Hormuz. They don't want to give up the right to nuclear enrichment. And they haven't agreed to turn over the 60 percent enriched uranium that is buried at two or three different sites by U.S. bombing.

[06:40:09]

So, that all makes it sound like not much of a chance.

But the Iranians have done the thing that they're very skillful at. They had a workmanlike and professional conversation with J.D. Vance and team over that weekend in Islamabad, and they made it sound like they're reasonable. I spoke to a Pakistani official about the talks, and they said there wasn't any sort of spat back and forth. Everything was very professional.

So, they're going to keep talking. But how long will Trump's patience last?

HILL: Which is such an important question.

We also are just getting some new comments in from the president talking specifically, I believe, about his thoughts in terms of a nuclear deal.

Let's take a listen.

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MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: And you told me on Sunday that you think they will ultimately consent and say they're not going to continue building a nuclear weapon. How will you verify?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, first of all, if they don't, we're not making a deal, OK. So there's no deal. This whole thing, it was -- is really about no nuclear. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. And if they're going to have a nuclear weapon, we'll be living with them for a little while. But I don't know how much longer they can survive. I don't know how much longer they can go because they've been hit very hard.

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DOZIER: Yes. I mean the last regime leadership was willing to ban a nuclear weapon. This one, we haven't gotten those assurances yet, though we've had some public remarks from Iranian officials on Twitter.

But, look, the last time the JCPOA, the Iran nuclear deal was negotiated, it took 18 months. There was a lot of stiff verification built into it. You know, cameras inside universities, et cetera. I can't see this group of people agreeing to it. And in the -- but they'll talk about talks about talks and run us right up to the midterms and into 2027 with oil at $100 a barrel or more, which is exactly what the IMF has said could bring on a recession.

HILL: Yes. Which is what everybody is worried about.

I feel like I was getting a time cue, so I'm just going to say this out loud for the control room. I have to wrap this now? Is that what I'm being told? Because we have a lot more to talk about. Is that a yes? That's a yes.

Stay with us. Stay with us. Much more ahead here.

We do want to go -- get you caught up on this threat of severe weather. Today, millions of Americans impacted. This is a week, of course, we've already seen incredibly destructive tornadoes and flooding. On Tuesday, severe flooding hitting parts of northern Michigan just submerging homes. Take a look at some of this video here. Roads under several feet of water. Destructive tornadoes as well sweeping across parts of Kansas, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Derek Van Dam, CNN's meteorologist, joining us now with more.

So, this is far from over. The serious weather threat continuing today and in the coming days, Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Erica, were not in Kansas anymore. In fact, we're in Iowa. Wyoming, Iowa, where a classic "Wizard of Oz" type tornado dropped from the sky. I mean, this thing is quite literally a drill bit in the sky, just moving through open farmland, but very picturesque.

And you're looking at two different perspectives from two different storm chasers, same tornado but, wow. This drone got extremely close into the vortex. This is the funnel right there. Very rarely do we get to see this type of definition.

This is a rope tornado. And a lot of times this is in the weakening stages of tornadoes. The tornado kind of gets thinner and gets longer. It rotates and it stretches. And often it twists and it bends and it looks like a rope, just what you're seeing here. Again, we call it a drill bit because you can see it just touching the ground there and, of course, causing damage, fortunately into a lot of open fields there.

But that wasn't the case in some areas. Union -- into Wisconsin. Union City, Wisconsin, that saw some damage. There were seven confirmed tornado reports. Lots of wind damage reports as well. And, guess what? Today we have another round of severe weather in the making, this time across the southern plains, through the Midwest, and into portions of the Great Lakes. You need to be weather aware from Chicago into Columbus, Des Moines, Kansas City to Oklahoma City, southward into the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

The radar right now lighting up like a Christmas tree. Fortunately, there is no active severe weather as it stands. But that will change. All we need is that one important special ingredient, the heating of the sun, right? So, we'll get these things firing off later this afternoon. Heads up, right along the state line there, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, and then further west. This is where we have those individual, we call them, discrete supercell thunderstorms. They take advantage of the environment around them and often they can produce those tornadoes like we've seen the past couple of days. Now, this is all part of a multi-day severe weather stretch.

[06:45:01] Tomorrow we get a bit of a reprieve. But Friday, as the storm cycle recycles, this could be a big ticket day across the Plains. We're keeping a close eye on this. And then even into the weekend, more potential of severe weather across the Ohio River Valley.

The other big part of the story is the excessive rain that has combined with the melting snow in Michigan, and that has left river gauges flooded. Flash flooding taking place here in Green Bay, Wisconsin. So, so much weather to cover in this amount of time.

Erica.

HILL: Yes, absolutely.

All right, Derek, appreciate it. Thank you.

Still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, Pope Leo is pretty popular, and not just with Catholics. So, why is President Trump still trying to pick a fight with the pontiff?

Plus.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From now to the end of this year, it's going to be Trump at the pump.

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HILL: Democrats looking for a winning argument in the midterms. Is affordability the right one?

And a bit later on CNN, a royal visit. King Charles heading the -- heading to Washington, D.C., but with the strained relationship with the U.K. overshadow that trip?

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[06:50:12]

HILL: The president not letting go of his grudge with Pope Leo. Just a few hours ago, in fact, the president lashing out again on social media, writing, quote, "will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a nuclear bomb is absolutely unacceptable." He then added, "America is back."

Vice President J.D. Vance, the highest-ranking Catholic in the federal government, is also now offering the pope some advice.

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J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology. If you're going to opine on matters of theology, you've got to be careful, you've got to make sure it's anchored in the truth. And that's one of the things that I try to do, and it's certainly something I would expect from the clergy, whether they're Catholic or Protestant.

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HILL: Joining me now, Bishop Mariann Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.

Bishop, it's so nice to have you with us this morning. Vice President Vance there saying you need to be careful and make sure it's anchored in the truth. I'm just curious your response to the vice president offering the pope advice on theology.

BISHOP MARIANN BUDDE, EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF WASHINGTON: I think it's important not to focus on the -- on the personalities involved, the president, the vice president, the pope, and to keep our eyes on the larger issues at stake, which is the devastation that this war has wrought, the thousands of people who have died and are suffering and the preference we all have across the world for diplomatic solutions in times of legitimate conflict and the need for change on the global stage. And I think that that's what the pope was trying to say.

It is utterly consistent with the teachings of Jesus to focus on peace and to -- and to call people into a respectful relationship. I think the pope is pretty well grounded in his theology, frankly. And I trust him from his global perch to understand the complexities of war and the nature of peacemaking, which is a far more delicate and nuanced process than dropping bombs.

HILL: You -- to that point about not focusing on the personalities, could this actually be helping in this moment to elevate the pope's message? Because it is prompting more of a discussion about what the pope is, in fact, talking about?

BUDDE: Right. And he's consistent.

HILL: Yes.

BUDDE: Utterly consistent in his message of peace, focusing on the suffering and the marginalized, calling for respect and dignity in human discourse. And I think it's really important to note his concern that we all have, quite frankly, of the misappropriation of religious symbolism to justify bellicosity and war and the -- and the uncontrolled use of political and military power. And we all have huge concerns about this. And frankly, it's nothing new with this administration.

HILL: I thought it was interesting, some of the comments that we heard from Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, who is, of course, also a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He was reacting specifically to some comments from J.D. Vance, but there's part of this that I think you'll appreciate as well.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): This is how despots and wannabe despots talk. This is how fascists talk. They tell the people who are faith leaders to stay in their lane.

There couldn't be a better time for leaders of faith, for people of moral courage to hold power accountable. If they don't want to be held accountable, if they don't want to hear truth being spoken to power, that's just too bad.

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HILL: Senator Warnock touching there on the pressure the administration seems to be placing on faith leaders to fall in line. I know you've dealt with some of that firsthand. But he also spoke about moral courage. In this moment, where do you see moral courage right now?

BUDDE: Where do I see moral courage? Well, I see it everywhere, Erica. I see it certainly in the -- in the stance that the pope has taken. I see it in people across this country and around the world who are -- who are insisting that there is a better narrative and a better way forward for us as a country. I see it in all manner of endeavors to try and rein in a government right now, our government, that has -- that is being led by people with absolutely no accountability and the larger and larger platform with which to wreak considerable damage.

[06:55:09]

And so, moral courage, we are seeing rise up across every spectrum of our country. And I think as the -- as Raphael Warnock said so well, this is what moral courage looks like. It isn't remaining silent. It's not staying in some self-prescribed safe lane. It is looking at the issues that harm or protect human thriving, which is not about protecting one religion against another, but making sure that all of God's children can live with some modicum of peace and well-being.

HILL: Bishop Mariann Budde, I really appreciate you taking the time to join us this morning. Thank you.

BUDDE: Good to be with you. Thank you.

HILL: Well, with inflation spiking, gas prices soaring, of course the war in the Middle East, President Trump's approval ratings are tanking. Seven months to go now before the midterms. Don't worry, we're keeping track in case you're not. Most presidents would likely be in panic mode given what we've just laid out. Not President Trump.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Their promise was that they were going to open the Hormuz Strait. They didn't do it. They lied.

I don't care if they come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine.

They have no navy. They have no radar. They have no air force. Their leaders are all dead.

With all of that, let's see what happens. But from my standpoint, I don't care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: He doesn't care. How much do Republicans care in this moment, Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: They care a lot. I mean the reality is the president also cares. That's why he's continually looking for an off ramp and signaling the markets that an end is in sight in Iran.

But his time frame is much shorter here than others. But of course he cares. It's one of the main reasons that the president, from -- since last summer has been trying to engineer the mid-districting -- the mid-decade of redistricting. And there was a big vote coming up on that in Virginia.

So, yes, the bottom line is, the president cares about control of the House of Representatives and gas prices.

HILL: And gas prices. So, gas prices, right, affordability. We've been talking about affordability for a long time because that's what the American people are talking about.

We just heard -- we heard earlier in the show Senator Ed Markey saying "Trump at the pump." That's going to be the plan, right? What's interesting is Congressman Ro Khanna had a slightly different take, and I want to play that for you.

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REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): The Epstein class has led to a system of extractive capitalism that basically has been indifferent to the working class. And if you say, OK, I want to reduce the cost of childcare and I want to reduce the cost of health care, and I want to reduce the cost of education but you're not talking about the role of big money in politics, you're not talking about the role of private health insurance companies in politics, you're not talking about the role of a group of people who have rigged the rules to benefit themselves, then the American people aren't going to believe your promises.

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HILL: He's also -- he's making the case, though, that you, in many ways, have to tie Epstein to the affordability issue. Is that a smart messaging move, in your view?

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, the root of all of this, and the one thing that brings our party together, and the one thing I think the country is united on is the affordability crisis brought to you and sponsored by Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Just a few minutes ago -- HILL: Tying it to the -- to Epstein, though.

SEAWRIGHT: You can tie anything you want. But the central tenet of the messaging that will win in November will be the affordability crisis that the president, as a candidate, promised to lower on day one.

The other -- I will remind you, one in seven Americans who signed up for the Affordable Care Act cannot afford to pay their premium. It just came out as we were sitting on the show. That means millions of Americans will lose their health care coverage in the -- in the coming days and weeks and months.

Add that to utilities being more expensive, gas being more expensive. The basic necessities for Americans to survive have all gone up because of Donald Trump and this do-nothing Congress. That is what is going to win the day in November.

CHARLIE DENT (R), FORMER PENNSYLVANIA CONGRESSMAN: Yes, bottom line what this is going to be all about is, it's the party in power. It's about the economy. It's about affordability. And frankly, the president's conduct in office, you know, fighting with the pope and all sorts of other things like that. That's what this is about.

And of course, the Iran War is also playing into this because you can draw a straight line from the Iran War to gasoline prices and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. So, it compounds the affordability problems that Republicans are facing.

HILL: We have less than one minute left in the show, so I have a challenge for the three of you. We're going to end on a high note. We're doing group chats.

Jeff Zeleny, you were shortest before. You go first.

ZELENY: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The 1980s are back. Phil Collins, Luther Vandross.

HILL: Sade.

ZELENY: Sade. Billy Idol. Love it.

HILL: Jeff Zeleny, happy for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

[07:00:00]

DENT: The conversion of tennis courts to pickleball courts is a national scandal.

HILL: National scandal.

DENT: Hospice -- pickleball is hospice for tennis players. That's where we go to die. And so --

HILL: It's where you go to die and it's also really loud, which has people upset.

Where are you taking us in your group chat today?

SEAWRIGHT: The transfer portal. We -- the Lady Gamecocks need to pick up some talent in the transfer portal. And that is what is dominating my group chat.

HILL: OK, here's what I would like to offer you all. It is Tax Day. You know what that means? There are a lot of freebies out there for you. Go find them, people.

Thanks for joining us. The headlines are next.