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U.K. Prime Minister Starmer Announces Resignation; Trump Claims Multiple Arrests for Vandalism of Reflecting Pool; World Cup Highlights Include Cape Verde Surprises, Cultural Embraces. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired June 22, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: And it happened right before a fire tore through her home on Friday.

[06:00:10]

She escaped safely with the dog, but as you can see, their house was destroyed in that fire. These are just some of the images, but excellent work, Squilliam, to make sure that you got your owners up and out.

That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. CNN THIS MORNING with Audie Cornish starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning. A political shakeup in the U.K. Keir Starmer says he is resigning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: President Trump blames vandals for his Reflecting Pool problems. How can he be sure?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER BIDEN, JOE BIDEN'S SON: I'll come campaign for you or against you. Whatever -- whatever helps most.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Gavin Newsom embracing the Bidens as he considers running for president. Is that smart or a counterintuitive strategy?

And the World Cup now a must-see spectacle both on and off the field. How did all the critics get it wrong?

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. We're going to start with this breaking news. Keir Starmer out. The British prime minister announcing his resignation in the last hour after mounting pressure to step aside. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STARMER: The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election. I have heard the answer of my Parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.

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)

CORNISH: We're going to go now to CNN's Clare Sebastian in London.

Clare, very busy day there. Can you start by talking about why now? I know it seems inevitable, but what's the sense of why Keir Starmer stepped down?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, look, the clinching factor for this, Audie, after months of difficulties that the prime minister has faced for a number of different reasons.

But the real clinching factor was that we had local elections across the U.K. in various parts in May, and the Labour Party suffered a massive defeat, losing more than 1,400 local council seats, even as we saw the right-wing populist Reform Party, led by Nigel Farage, surge.

So, that was a real wake-up call. That seemed to suggest to certain parts of the Labour Party that they were going to struggle to defeat Reform in any general election. We have to have a general election in this country by around the middle of 2029.

So, that is when the calls for Prime Minister Starmer to go grew even louder.

But on the flip side, we also have this issue where Andy Burnham, who was then the mayor of Manchester, was seen as the most popular politician within that party, but he was not a member of Parliament, so couldn't officially challenge the prime minister.

So, then this process started to try and get him back into Parliament. There was a special election that was held in the Northwest of England last week, which he won so convincingly that it really strengthened the argument that he might be the man to defeat this right-wing populist party, Reform, in any upcoming election, since he had done it so decisively in this one constituency.

So, then, we sort of -- it all coalesced around this point. Keir Starmer spent the weekend thinking about it, addressing the sort of political realities as they stood, and made this extremely difficult decision for him to step down.

So, now we have a transition. Take a listen to the prime minister talking about how that will play out.

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STARMER: I will remain in post as prime minister until the contest is complete, and I will do everything I can to ensure an orderly handover of power.

I will also give my successor my full and unequivocal support, knowing that they will inherit a Britain that is far stronger and fairer than the one I inherited two years ago; better prepared for the challenges ahead; and better able to ensure the Labour Party secures a second term in office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, the question now is, will there be a contest? Will anyone else stand against Andy Burnham? If they do, it could take a bit longer. If they don't, this could all be over in a couple of weeks -- Audie.

CORNISH: Right. And Burnham, this will be basically third time's the charm, because he has tried to be Labour leader before.

Trump ally Nigel Farage actually speaking out after the news of this resignation. Do they feel like this is an opportunity for the Reform Party?

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SEBASTIAN: Look, they suffered a really big defeat in this special election last week. So, Farage has come out swinging today, calling in a post on X, for a general election and making the point in an essay that Andy Burnham doesn't -- having not been officially elected in a general election -- have a mandate to lead.

And pointing back to those local elections at the beginning of May, where Reform did so well.

I think look, it is a moment for reform to try to assert themselves. There are questions about whether they've peaked after Burnham's defeat of the reform candidate in that special election.

But as of now, in, you know, opinion polls based on voter intentions for right now, they are leading in the country. So, they are going to be doing everything they can to keep up the momentum.

And, of course, the chance now for Labour under a new leader is to try to stabilize their grip on power so they can see off Reform in a general election when it happens -- Audie.

CORNISH: That's Clare Sebastian in London, where U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stepped down.

And coming up on CNN THIS MORNING from: reflection to outrage. Arrests over the algae-plagued Reflecting Pool and the rising costs. Critics are calling it all money down the drain.

Plus, are world leaders losing patience with President Trump? Italy's prime minister is the latest.

And little countries doing big things at the FIFA World Cup.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Curacao came to conquer, guys. I'm telling you this once. I'm telling you this twice. Curacao came to show up. Let's go.

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[06:11:11]

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JEANINE PIRRO, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON, D.C.: Vandalizing or attempting to vandalize the Reflecting Pool will face the criminal justice system in D.C.

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CORNISH: Vandalism or something else? President Trump says he knows what is causing the problems at the Reflecting Pool. The president now claiming that multiple people have been arrested, accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. He has not provided evidence to back up that claim.

A senior administration official is saying that police arrested five people for vandalism, that they issued citations to five others.

Now, Trump did say work will begin immediately to fix it.

Now, this comes after his $14 million rehabilitation project has failed: the water riddled with algae, the lining ripped. Visitors say they noticed an increased law enforcement presence following the president's post.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never seen this many National Guards in the National Park area.

They came up to me and two other women, asking if -- if we touched it and then just promoting us not to, that we would get arrested or charged with vandalism if we did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Today in the group chat, Eleanor Mueller, White House economic policy reporter with "Semafor"; Julia Manchester, national political reporter for "The Hill"; and Elena Schneider, national political reporter at "NOTUS."

Where to begin? Where to begin? Is vandalism the problem, or the green water we just showed you coming out of a hose? I want to play -- the reason why I'm talking about this is Jeanine

Pirro, U.S. attorney for D.C., jumped in on this vandalization thing. I don't know if we have that clip. But she was asked about this, and I want to play for you what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIRRO: There are several citations that have been handed out to individuals. And these are cases that will be prosecuted to the full extent.

If there are more serious products that are put into the Reflecting Pool to create more algae or a bigger problem, then we'll consider more serious charges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Help.

JULIA MANCHESTER, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE HILL": You know, it's interesting that this came after we saw a video of hydrogen peroxide being poured into the Reflecting Pool.

I'm not a scientist. However. you know, I think it's just interesting to see the sequence of events. Certainly frustrating for the president.

CORNISH: We should say, the people pouring those jugs of hydrogen peroxide --

MANCHESTER: Were --

CORNISH: -- were government workers trying to --

MANCHESTER: Absolutely.

CORNISH: -- repair the work of these contractors that the president invited through no insistence of Congress. Literally, no one asked for this.

MANCHESTER: Right.

CORNISH: And now here we are.

MANCHESTER: And it's frustrating, I think, for the president, because he's put so much stock, I think, publicly, politically --

CORNISH: Frustrating for him.

MANCHESTER: And yes, for everyone.

CORNISH: Let me play for you one of these tourists. OK? People are walking by, not vandalizing things, though clearly threatened if they are.

And here's an example of just someone by the Reflecting Pool, kind of what they see.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, what do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's embarrassing. Yes, that's --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a word.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Money well spent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's a little dirty. So, yes. Just a little.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you even see the blue?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, all I see is greens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Out of the mouths of babes. The cost of the Reflecting Pool so far. Originally, we were told it would be 1.5 million. That's not what it is now. Now it is upwards of 14.8 million of green water.

ELENA SCHNEIDER, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "NOTUS": And it was also supposed to be done within two weeks. It's obviously not done within two weeks.

So, look, I mean, this was a no-bid contract that was given to a pool company that had connections to the Trump administration. "The New York Times" has done some great reporting on -- on sort of the questions surrounding who they hired and brought on to do this kind of work.

[06:15:00]

But look, we know what's at the heart of this, which is that Donald Trump cares a lot about the way that Washington, D.C., looks in this moment, particularly as it comes to the 250th anniversary just a couple of weeks away. There is something that he really cares is something that he really cares about, the way that the city looks.

And one can argue that there are some fountains that are now running in places like Malcolm X Park or outside Union Station, which it is nice to have fountains.

CORNISH: I know, but this is six acres.

SCHNEIDER: So --

CORNISH: And telling people that this public property, which belongs to us, the American people, we can't touch it now, because we are the ones who have vandalized it, I feel like is delusional.

ELEANOR MUELLER, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC POLICY REPORTER, "SEMAFOR": One of those arrested was a three-time Olympian canoeist who actually gave interviews afterwards, saying that he just bent down. He'd reached into the water. He touched the bottom of the pool.

And then when he walked away is when National Park Service federal officers had approached him and said that they were arresting him for vandalism. And so, I'm --

CORNISH: Like, do you have gold medals? Don't care.

MUELLER: Yes.

CORNISH: Now's the time for your criminal origin story to begin.

MUELLER: And I think it says a lot that Jeanine Pirro is the one leading the charge because she's shown herself, again and again, to be the person who's willing to take on Trump's sometimes more political, not to say vendettas, but certainly, agendas against people.

She was the -- obviously, same prosecutor who led the investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the --

CORNISH: Yes.

MUELLER: -- renovation of the Fed's headquarters.

CORNISH: So, we're bringing to bear the power of the state, the legal law enforcement arm --

MUELLER: Yes.

CORNISH: -- of the district to solve a public relations problem. That's what it looks like on its surface.

SCHNEIDER: Yes. I mean, look, I think anyone who lives in Washington, D.C., agrees that, probably, this is not the biggest issue that this city faces right now is, you know, quote, vandalism of people touching the Reflecting Pool.

But Jeanine Pirro, like many people in Trump's cabinet, understands that they have an audience of one, and they're going to serve that audience.

CORNISH: OK. You guys, thank you so much. I want you to stay with us as we talk to you. Said more interesting things today. More important things today, like this.

Game, set, Serena. Biggest thing in my group chats: the tennis icon will return to singles play at Wimbledon.

Plus, the World Cup isn't just about soccer. It's about the vibes, and the cultures coming together are vibing.

Good morning to everyone, in the meantime, from the Philadelphia Stadium, where France and Iraq will face off in a game today.

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[06:21:34] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many people probably wrote us off or didn't know much about us, and that was sort of our motivation, as well. Let's show the world that we -- we deserve to compete.

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CORNISH: Cape Verde and their fairy tale continues. The tiny island nation stunned Spain last week, and they just did it again, ending in a 2-2 draw against Uruguay on Sunday.

And they got their first goal in the World Cup, one step closer to a legitimate chance of getting into the knockout stage.

So, you've got dreams coming true. That's what the World Cup is all about.

And the worries about filling stadiums and selling tickets at this point are gone because of moments like these. Whether we're watching the next greats score their first World Cup goal or -- of what should be many to come, or seeing a team claim a World Cup victory for the first time in their history. Perhaps one of the most uniting things: seeing different cultures embracing.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As you pass statues in Boston, you're seeing the Tartan Army puts traffic cones on statues over in Scotland, and they brought that tradition back to Massachusetts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's your first ever bite of Texas barbecue. What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amazing!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't necessarily know if the United States was the best place for the World Cup, but I do feel like it is a very important place for this to be happening because of the amount of healing that is probably happening to our society.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK. Joining me now, Will Leitch, contributing editor for "New York Magazine" sports.

Nature is healing is what I'm hearing. Why do you think all of this, like, culture clash is such a big deal? And I especially hear it coming out of the South, I should say: the fans from abroad who are visiting there.

WILL LEITCH, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK MAGAZINE": Yes, to hear the people from the Netherlands talk about their Kansas City barbecue has really been kind of a wonderful aspect of this, too.

Yes. You know, remember this was a -- we've talked about this. People were very concerned about coming in -- coming to the United States for a variety of reasons, from immigration to ICE to -- and there have been issues. The Iranian team, in particular, has been treated pretty shabbily by the U.S. government in this.

But generally speaking, this tournament has gone off kind of magnificently in a way that has felt pretty healing for the United States at a certain level.

You know, it's been a good reminder. You know, we're kind of so caught up in the morass of everything that we do have a lot to show people, a lot of things to be proud of.

I think you've seen that this is what the World Cup does, right? All of those worries about the World Cup, what's going to happen with this? What's going to happen with that? Once the game gets started, the games themselves are wonderful, but also all of these different cultures.

I was fortunate to be at the Spain-Cabo Verde game, that first game in Atlanta. And just to -- to celebrate with Cabo Verde fans after.

Cabo Verde has fewer people than Mesa, Arizona. I mean, this is a very, very small country. And the joy that they have, that you see this at every single one of these places.

These venues have been full. The tickets have been very, very expensive. But the seats are full; the stands are full. So, people are going out to these games and really kind of having a pretty wonderful time.

CORNISH: We talked about Cape Verde, as you mentioned, but we've got to talk about the U.S.

Elmo weighed in online. He didn't want to step in it again, as he did with the Knicks. So, he actually, I think, tweeted, "Just to be clear, USA to win. OK? Elmo loves everybody. Just to be clear, don't make this a thing."

Honestly, evergreen tweet. But can you talk about how the U.S. is doing?

LEITCH: We live in an age of Elmo having to say, "Don't make this a thing."

CORNISH: Yes.

LEITCH: As a general rule.

But yet, the U.S. team has really -- this is the best team they've ever had in the World Cup. They finished third in 1930. It was a much smaller field and a much different game.

The U.S. have looked terrific in a lot of ways, especially Pochettino, their coach, is a big -- He's coached Tottenham Hotspurs to the -- to the Champions League final. He was brought in to kind of fix this team. It has worked. They have played terrific. They haven't played any fantastic teams

yet, but they've looked organized. They've played great. They've already won their group. We already know when their first game in the knockout round is going to be. It's going to be July 1, and -- it's going to be July 1. And so, it should set up very, very well for them.

They have looked exciting. Generally speaking, the U.S., because their talent level has been lower, they've always played kind of a defensive game. They've always kind of quiet, good. They've had good keepers and, like, tried to kind of just like fend off attacks.

That's not what this team is doing. This team is playing hard. This team is playing fast, and it's scoring a lot of goals. It is very inspiring.

You talk about the ticket prices. Initially, they were worries that the U.S. game against Paraguay was not going to sell out.

CORNISH: Yes.

LEITCH: That's not an issue for any of the rest of these games. There are tickets going for -- the given price for the -- for their first knockout game is now, I think, up to $4,000. They're -- people are very excited about this team in a way that is very new for the U.S. team.

Usually, it's just a -- don't embarrass us. Don't -- don't make us look bad on a stage.

They're not to the women's level yet, to be very clear.

CORNISH: Yes.

LEITCH: The women's are a world power. The U.S. is not there yet, but this is certainly the best men's team they've had in a very, very long time.

CORNISH: No, that's a great reminder.

You know, I want to mention this. Iran's team actually left a note in the locker room in L.A. I just want to show people on this little notebook here.

It says, "From the ancient Persia of thousands of years ago to the civilized Iran of today, the spirit of Iran remains alive and steadfast. We came to Los Angeles with pride, competed with honor, and leave with dignity. Thank you, Los Angeles, for your hospitality."

We weren't sure they'd be able to be here or leave a note like that. And it reminds us of what's going on politically.

Is there another shoe to drop? Is Trump going to make an appear after FIFA gave him a very special peace adjacent prize?

LEITCH: Yes, very special prize. Yes. So, I think that the -- the final is in MetLife Stadium -- or sorry, New York-New Jersey Stadium in -- in East Rutherford. So, it's very possible there could be a Knicks-level-esque appearance for him.

Certainly, he's been a big -- he's been a big part. He's been distracted by the pool lately. But generally speaking, he'd been a big part of what was going on with -- with this World Cup. He was at the draw, famously got his -- got his peace prize.

And I feel like, for all the worries that like, listen, ICE has not been a major presence in this tournament, like a lot of people worried about. The Iranian team, in particular, has been treated incredibly shabbily in this tournament. They've had to fly out after their games; have not been allowed to stay in the country. They've had to leave, actually, the night of the game to go back to Mexico.

Just -- just this weekend U.S. Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed that a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was about to get on their plane. The team denies this, says this is in no way true.

It -- this -- of all the teams in this, the one team that I think is actually a pretty inspiring story is Iran, in addition to the U.S. team, for the conditions that they've had to play under and have generally succeeded. They've played very well in this tournament.

There is a non-zero possibility Iran certainly looks like they could advance to the knockout round and keep going.

We -- this has been a very -- generally, other than the Iranian team, most of the major fears that people have worried about have not happened. But we still have a long way to go in this tournament.

And eventually, the pool may be blue, and there may be something for -- for Trump to -- to turn his attention back to this.

But so far, it's really been -- the focus has remained with the games and on the international spirit that the U.S. has been able to welcome here, making the Iranian team, even if the government isn't making them feel welcome, the fans are.

And I think that speaks to kind of the really wonderful thing about this tournament so far, and really kind of every four years.

CORNISH: Well, Will Leitch, I know you're in Georgia, and there's like eight games that are going to be there. So, I'm sure you're going to be having a blast. Will Leitch, contributing writer at "New York Magazine." Thank you.

LEITCH: Thank you.

CORNISH: Now straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to get back to this breaking news. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announcing his resignation.

Plus, this here at home: a rash of tornadoes tear through the Midwest.

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