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CNN This Morning
Oil Expert Neil Atkinson is Interviewed about Oil Prices; Mamdani Calls on Feds to Arrest Netanyahu; American's Support for Capitalism is Declining; Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) Defends Viral Clip. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired July 24, 2026 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Who has always been very anti- Russia and very pro-Ukraine and supporting Ukraine.
And so, there is a lot more going on here than just Laura Loomer. And the question is, as we all do our criminology or our Trump-ology --
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Is what does this mean?
CORNISH: What clouds are gathering and for what reasons?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And for what reason?
CORNISH: All right, you guys, stay with us. We have a very serious news story out of Wisconsin. A man who's been killed by police. There are protesters now taking to the streets, and they are calling for accountability.
Plus, with the war in Iran threatening global shipping lanes, could the next hit actually affect prices for you here at home?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:35:13]
CORNISH: Good morning, everyone. I'm Audie Cornish. Thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.
It's half past the hour, and this is what's happening right now.
The man killed by police in Madison, Wisconsin, has now been identified. Thirty-eight-year-old Corey Ruiz was fatally shot on Wednesday. And there is bystander video of the shooting. And that's at the center of calls for accountability. I'm going to show you some of it. And a warning, it is graphic.
So, officers saying that the man was holding a knife, saying that he was resisting arrest when they responded to reports of someone stealing bikes and checking cars. Witnesses say he was shot in the head three times during a struggle. Now, none of the officers involved were wearing body cameras. It's not a department mandate there.
And we're also going to talk today about the president's worldwide 10 percent tariff on imports, whether they're over, because a new 10 to 12.5 percent tariff is about to take effect. Now, this is going to affect 60 trading partners, most of Europe, China, Canada, Mexico. The Trump administration is accusing them of failing to crack down on forced labor.
And the U.S. and Iran continue to trade blows as both countries promise, quote, "an eye for an eye." Video from overnight showing an explosion in a southern port city in Iran. Iran is claiming that four people died in this latest round of attacks.
And Iran says it is targeting U.S. military targets in Bahrain and Jordan. State TV there released these images, which purport to show missile and drone launches aimed to, quote, "large hangars" and the living quarters of U.S. personnel in the region.
So, this latest back and forth, it's got the global oil market on edge. Key benchmarks for crude oil are now dipping just below $100 per gallon -- per barrel, and they're the highest that they've been in several weeks. The shock to prices is coming as two key oil shipping routes are now under threat in both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. But President Trump is saying the U.S. doesn't need to be worried.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you combine us and Venezuela, we have about 62 percent of the world's oil market. So, we don't need straits. We don't need anything. We don't need the Hormuz Strait, but we do it because we have to do it because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining me now, Neil Atkinson. He's a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics and a former employee at Venezuela's state-owned oil company.
Thank you so much for being here.
So, let's just start with that statement, that the U.S. has x amount of the world market and that Venezuela is part of what is kind of keeping us afloat somehow. What do you hear in that statement?
NEIL ATKINSON, FORMER INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY EXECUTIVE: Well, I don't recognize the president's 62 percent number. The production from the United States is just below 40 million barrels a day of crude, 20 million barrels a day of liquids. Venezuela is about 1.2 in 105 million barrel a day market. So, the numbers don't add up.
Venezuela's production has been edging up since the early part of this year. There's no question of that. And that's a welcome contribution to the global oil market. When we're seeing shortfalls, major shortfalls in oil supply from the Middle East, and indeed possibly out of Russia as well.
So, you know, the presidents right to say that Venezuela is important, but it's not that important set against the losses elsewhere.
CORNISH: So just giving people the update. Right now, when you're looking at how many ships went through the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the year versus into June, into July. You see it nudge up in early July because the announcement of a ceasefire. And now the number of ships flowing is low again. You can see it tapering off to the corner of the screen.
U.S. oil inventories before the war, we are at 905 million barrels in oil reserves. Now it's 723. It doesn't look like that big of a shift, but how much of an impact is the war having on our -- on our reserves and, as a result, the global market?
ATKINSON: Well, the war is having a massive impact. The memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, it was signed on the 17th of June. And around that time, people thought, yes, this deal is for real. And the expectation was that oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz would start to tick up. And they did briefly, but they've fallen back again since because, you know, hostilities have resumed and it looks as if the hostilities could be even hotter than they've been at any point during the crisis.
[06:40:01]
So, inevitably, if there is less production coming out of the Strait of Hormuz, to make sure that you can continue to supply the market globally, stocks have to be drawn down. And it's not just U.S. stocks. Stocks in the rest of the OECD countries, in Europe and in Japan and in other countries, including China, stocks have been drawn down to maintain normal supply levels. But you can't keep on doing that without supply, the fundamental production from the Middle East gulf resuming.
And we're now in a situation where, yes, you've got the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, you've got the spread of the conflict potentially to the Red Sea, which might affect oil exports from Saudi Arabia, and a third element, which I should add here, is that Ukraine has succeeded in damaging Russian oil export infrastructure in the Black Sea. So, there's about a million barrels a day of oil, which normally flows into global markets from Kazakhstan via Russia is also shut off. So, we are in a potentially worse situation now than we have been at any point during the crisis.
CORNISH: OK. That's Neil Atkinson.
Thank you so much.
ATKINSON: Thank you.
CORNISH: Now, next on CNN THIS MORNING, why are more Americans giving Democratic socialism a second look? There's a new poll that might have the answer. Plus, Mayor Mamdani now says if New York can't have Netanyahu
arrested, the feds should do it. We're going to talk about whether or not that's legally possible either.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:45:51]
CORNISH: So, Mayor Zohran Mamdani backing off of that threat to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested if he comes to New York in September. New York's mayor determined he doesn't have the legal authority, but he's suggesting someone else might.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here. It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does. And I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK, we re going to lawyer up, because there is a lot there.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.
CORNISH: Just sort of like, join the ICC, do this, do that.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
CORNISH: And I was like, I feel like that takes longer than you're implying.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
CORNISH: How is this -- why do you think all the avenues are exhausted? What's happening here?
WILLAMS: Yes. And he said, every avenue. There's a bunch of different avenues. And each one of them says, no, you cannot arrest Benjamin Netanyahu.
Number one, the warrant out for him is from the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which the United States is not a member of. The United States has never been a member of that. So, number one, there isn't the authority there.
Number two, if the FBI -- he was saying the FBI ought to be able to do it, but there's no allegation of breaking American law. In order for the FBI to arrest someone, there has to be some American federal statute filing.
CORNISH: Yes. Whereas right now I'm just going to put up on screen the kinds of folks who are accusing Netanyahu of war crimes.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
CORNISH: Many human rights groups.
WILLIAMS: Of course.
CORNISH: Internationally. And also in Israel.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
CORNISH: Not the same as what you're talking about.
WILLIAMS: Not the same as the International Criminal Court or American law.
Number three, after the ICC was formed in 2002, Congress passed a statute barring anyone from being extradited to the ICC from the United States. This military protection act, regardless of their nationality.
And then finally, he's a sitting head of state and international custom and American law really does prohibit the arresting of a sitting head of state.
Now, you might be saying, wait a second, Nicolas Maduro, from Venezuela, they arrested him. How did they do that? He's not -- the American government did not or does not recognize him as the legitimate head of state. And that's what made his arrest there possible (ph).
CORNISH: And therefore they could get him.
WILLIAMS: So, there's no avenue again (ph).
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I have --
CORNISH: I do have to come to the person who kicked this all off.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
CORNISH: One Miss Lulu Garcia-Navarro, doing this interview for "The New York Times." When you asked that question, did you think we'd spend the week talking about it? Were you surprised at his answer?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: No. You know, I suspected that there wasn't a real avenue. So, the reason I asked it was because I was hoping to move the conversation forward where he would sort of acknowledge that --
CORNISH: There are limitations.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: There are limitations to what he can actually do. And I think the reason that it got kicked off is because he sort of hedged and said he was still looking into it. And so when you enter that ambiguity into the conversation, then, of course, what happens? Everyone starts saying, well, does he? Well, does he? Well, does he? Well, does he? And so, what has ended up happening is that he had to actually go out and say, I don't have that kind of authority.
He is getting a lot of praise, however, from people who support his stance by basically making a very clear statement that he believes that Bibi Netanyahu is a war criminal and should be arrested.
CORNISH: Yes.
WILLIAMS: Yes, I was going to ask you that, isn't it just a huge political win for him that this turned into the story that it did on the terms --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I don't think it --
WILLIAMS: You don't think so?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I don't think so.
WILLIAMS: OK.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Because I think it distracts from the message that he more widely wants to talk about, which is affordability, which is what he's doing in New York City. And he's getting a lot of criticism, even from within his constituents, why aren't you focusing on the things that actually matter to us, and why are you focusing on Israel?
WILLIAMS: Right.
CORNISH: Can I jump in on that? Because one of the reasons why people -- a, people generally care what the mayor of New York does, Bloomberg, Giuliani, whoever --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: All of them.
CORNISH: It always becomes a thing. But thanks to Mamdani, Democratic socialism is gaining some national attention. On the flip side, it seems like America's support or certain segment of America's support for capitalism is declining.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The expectations for millennials in 2026 is that you got to have like three income streams, a side hustle, a personal brand.
[06:50:02]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just because we critique capitalism doesn't mean we're socialist or communist. It's just capitalism has reached a stage where it's exploitation at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most Americans are working two jobs now, so they're working 60 hours a week, 70 hours a week.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): Are you depressed, or is it just c-a-p- i-t-a-l-i-s-m.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: That last one is my favorite.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I love that.
CORNISH: A recent Fox News poll showing 50 percent of voters have a positive view of capitalism, 46 percent unfavorable. I want to show you the difference between now and 2019, when it was 57 percent favorable and 28 percent unfavorable.
The group chat is back.
I wanted to talk about this because frequently on this show we are talking about, why are people moving towards Democratic socialism? Where I have a question is, what if they're not? What if they are frustrated with a broken financial social contract?
Meghan McCain was talking about Mamdani, and I think she was trying to raise an alarm, so to speak, about this. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGHAN MCCAIN, HOST, "CITIZEN MCCAIN WITH MEGHAN MCCAIN : I don't think Republicans are taking this seriously enough. I don't think Republicans realize that he's really the best messenger for this. And that, even if he doesn't run, if there are any candidates running in '28 who can somehow imitate or be inspired in the same way that he was inspired by AOC, we have a real problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Terry, can I start with you?
TERRY SCHILLING, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN PRINCIPLES PROJECT: Please.
CORNISH: Just because, like, there's a bunch of dudes, right, and the bearded dudes, not that you would know anything about that, that we started this segment with, who were like, we're not -- it's not working.
SCHILLING: Yes.
CORNISH: This is not working for us.
SCHILLING: No, and it's not. Frankly, you need to look at -- I'm not talking about capitalism in general. I just think we need more rules. I don't think Americans are embracing socialism or communism even. I think that they're just tired of getting -- you know, 2009, right, I was in college. That is when the great recession started. And that's when we saw very similar numbers to what we're seeing today. Americans just want a fair deal. They want to know that if they go to college they can get a good job that pays the bills. They can afford a home. They can afford a family. I think this --
CORNISH: Yes. But does it work to tell those frustrated people, you're communist, you're bad. SCHILLING: No (ph).
CORNISH: You're, you know what I mean? Like you're going down this terrible rabbit hole with all these Democratic socialists instead of somehow acknowledging this frustration.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes.
SCHILLING: Yes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes. That. Co-sign.
CORNISH: Yes, but moderate Democrats have that problem too, right, where they're just sort of like, they're not realizing (ph) --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: No, but I mean, I think -- I think the demonizing --
CORNISH: Yes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Listen, I think the demonizing and the use of communists as a scare tactic, especially for young people, they don't remember what that is.
CORNISH: Yes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: So, therefore, that is not scary to them. That might be scary to some people in my mother's age group who fled from Cuba, and she's in her 80s, but that isn't scary to the younger generation. What's scary to them, and I mentor a lot of young people, is that they're entering the job market --
CORNISH: Yes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And they think they're going to be replaced by A.I.
CORNISH: Can I play this for you? This is Trump saying the thing you're talking about. So, I just -- so you're not doing a critics say. Here is Trump making this exact argument.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can't be hoodwinked. We can't be taken advantage of by people that say, you're going to have a free home, you're going to get free rent. Everything's going to be free. What they don't say is a year later everything is going to be -- end up in squalor, destruction and death and also death for our country. So, we have to stop the threat of the communist rhetoric that you're hearing right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, does that work? Like, if you didn't grow up in the age of hiding under your desk because the Russians were going to do something, like you're not hearing communism and freaking out?
SCHILLING: Well, I think it's important what he's doing because he's not just calling someone a communist and trying to build up fear, he's explaining why it doesn't work. When people don't have skin in the game, when they haven't paid for things, when they haven't worked for something, they don't take care of it, right? And that's important. You have to have skin in the game.
But again, I will just emphasize, we have to fix the economy for young people. We have to fix the economy for families. We have to fix -- everything has to be towards the American family. If the American family is falling behind, the country is going to fall behind and we're going to get communism.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Can I just -- can I just say, having just sat with Mamdani and I've interviewed AOC before, and these are, of course, the sort of standard bearers of this movement. You know, what they argue is that, you know, this scaremongering of we're -- that everything's going to be free and you're going to bankrupt the country, they are talking about taxing the very wealthy to make them pay their fair share so that more can be given to those who have less.
CORNISH: So, you're seeing a lot of billionaire tax requests.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Right.
CORNISH: You're also seeing people talking about taking cut from A.I. companies. Like there's a sense of --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And so -- and that makes sense to people. People understand that equation that they're making. So, the scare tactic of, like, everything's going to be free and everything's going to fall apart, it doesn't make sense to them. And in an economy where you see the very, very rich swaning (ph) around and people can't make rent.
SCHILLING: I agree. Sorry, I was just going to say, I agree with all of that. But if you -- we have to do two things at the same time as Republicans. I'm not talking about Democrats. We have to articulate the evils of communism. It eliminates political dissent. It eliminates religious freedom. It kills a lot of people.
CORNISH: And we should say, it's socialists who are running around the country, not communist. Just so --
SCHILLING: Well, I know, but it's -- a lot of people --
CORNISH: No, no, but I want to say it out loud because if you say it in passing it makes it sound like I haven't put all the communists on screen.
[06:55:04]
There aren't any. We're talking about people who are in a -- what they call a Democratic socialist movement.
SCHILLING: So, in Canada, in all these other socialist countries, how much do the billionaires contribute to the tax code? I mean I'm sure it's a lot. But the majority of the taxes are paid by everyday people.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Are you using Canada as the scary example?
SCHILLING: I think Canada is one of the scariest countries in the entire world. Have you heard of their medical assistance in dying program? You can get killed just for being depressed.
CORNISH: OK, you know who's probably talking about this? Folks in Michigan. Because they've got a Senate vote there. Michigan, of course, up, up near our neighbors. So, maybe they're living in fear.
But I wanted to point out this moment from Haley Stevens, who had a chat with TMZ. We had them on the other day. But she had a viral moment and then turned that into a campaign slogan. So, let's walk through it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HALEY STEVENS (D-MI): I am going to be working on our behalf. I am going to be telling the stories on our behalf. And you better believe I'm going to be doing it with a little bit of joy, a little bit of enthusiasm, a little bit of energy and a little bit of stick it to 'em, because that's the Michigan way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, then, because the internet is undefeated, they started like talking about "sticking it to 'em." So Stevns started leaning in and printed new signs that say, "stick it to 'em." And then she got asked by TMZ about this. Here we go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I applaud you just for something? Honestly.
REP. HALEY STEVENS (D-MI): OK, if you're going to make fun of me on the internet --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, the opposite. Hey, no, honestly, the opposite, because I saw that video, which was legendary.
STEVENS: Thank you.
This internet, it's been, I don't know, it gets wild. We all know that. But you know who I sound like? I sound like the people who I talk to in Michigan who are getting screwed right now by Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, she has been in this Senate race, which has become the most watched in the country for all the reasons we were talking about. You have somebody who is aligned with Democratic socialist ideas talking about affordability versus somebody who, in any other race, Haley Stevens, like a Democrat who pretty much is a Democrat, right, but is basically fighting for her life now to have this relevancy.
The first thing she says when they approach her is, are you going to make fun of me on the internet? WILLIAMS: And good on her for doing what smart politicians do, which was take a weakness, take the thing that people are attacking you for and make it into a strength.
CORNISH: Yes.
WILLIAMS: And, quite frankly, weaponize it against your opponent. Two of the biggest ones that we can remember. How many times did Barack Obama, when running for president, refer to John McCain's decades of service to the American people? It was congratulating him but winking at the fact that McCain was much older. Reagan, it was the same thing when they asked, are you too old? And he sort of, in that debate says, I won't use my opponent's weakness.
CORNISH: Yes.
WILLIAMS: You take the opponent's thing or your weakness, turn it into a strength. And she's done it quite well.
CORNISH: It's interesting because one of my favorite parts of the video is the staffer who's like, we got to go. We got to go. Why don't you not do this? But maybe she needed to. I mean, one of the things is about --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Oh, she needed to.
CORNISH: Yes, say more.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: She needed to.
CORNISH: Like, is there a charisma issue. Is there -- what's going on?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: There's a -- well, there's a charisma -- listen, there's a charisma issue, but there is an age issue. And not because she's older, but because the people who are supporting candidates, like Abdul el-Sayed, who is her opponent there, are younger voters. And where do younger voters get their information? Where do they live?
CORNISH: TMZ DC.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: The internet. TMZ.
CORNISH: Yes, exactly.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: As she said, this internet is wild. Yes, it is. It is wild.
CORNISH: She didn't call it the tube. So, I -- like it's still progress.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's a good thing.
But anyway, so, you know, it -- I think it can only help her.
CORNISH: What about you? Your messaging guy.
SCHILLING: No. Well, look, I love --
CORNISH: Turn that into a good ad.
SCHILLING: If there's one thing -- I could, absolutely. I think that she's very endearing here. I think she's authentic. She owns it, like Elliot said. And that slogan, "stick it to 'em," that's what Americans want right now. And I think more Republicans should have that type of a message (ph).
WILLIAMS: It's funny, you know, when we were talking in the last segment about socialism, I would love to see polling on the word "billionaires" right now. No, because over time --
CORNISH: Not great.
WILLIAMS: That's the thing. Over time. And this idea -- this "stick it to 'em" concept, there is a ruling class of folks who aren't out to take care of you and it's been allowed to --
CORNISH: And are taking advantage.
WILLIAMS: Taking advantage of you.
CORNISH: Yes.
WILLIAMS: And, you know, this income inequality has run amok. That's a central message. And even the centrist candidate here is co-opting it.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And especially for Democrats, it's a good message. Why? Because you have a billionaire in the White House who has, you know, building a ballroom and painting everything gold.
CORNISH: Yes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And so that helps.
CORNISH: And they also haven't figured out how to talk about the billionaires in their own party. Yes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Oh, well, that's true. But at this point, it helps them because it triangulates their message that Trump bad, billionaires bad. Those two things are the same.
CORNISH: Yes. On the right I hear this described as the Epstein class.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Right.
CORNISH: I feel like that has similar connotations of the elite, et cetera. And I've seen it thrown around as kind of a slur.
Does anyone have a fun group chat?
WILLIAMS: I totally have a fun group chat.
CORNISH: What is it?
WILLIAMS: Funny how that works.
CORNISH: Just give me something. It's Friday.
WILLIAMS: It's Friday. That's right. So, you know, we've all watched the television show, if you have little kids, "Paw Patrol." There's a dalmatian named Marshall that fights fires. That's fake. That's fake.
SCHILLING: Yes, I know about this.
CORNISH: You've got so many kids, they're in "Paw Patrol."
[07:00:00]
WILLIAMS: But that's fake.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: (INAUDIBLE).
WILLIAMS: It's fictional. It's fictional. It's not real. You know what is real? Firefighter donkeys. And literally, in Spain, they have now taken donkeys to graze the burnt -- the combustible grass and save the world from fire.
CORNISH: That was a journey.
SCHILLING: "Paw Patrol" is fake. I just learned that.
CORNISH: That was a journey from "Paw Patrol" to work -- to work donkeys.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Boo.
WILLIAMS: Work donkeys.
CORNISH: Oh, my God.
WILLIAMS: Well, and saves them from getting slaughtered for food.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I don't know why you had to like diss "Paw Patrol."
CORNISH: I -- OK, my friends, thank you. The group chat, lit, as always.
Thank you for waking up with us. The news is next.
