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Erin Burnett Outfront
"Lunatic": Trump Lashes Out As GOP Senator Stands Ground At Meeting; Iran Doubles Down, Denies Inspectors Have Access To Nuclear Sites; Mamdani-Backed Candidates, Including 2 Dem Socialists, Sweep NY Races. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired June 24, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:23]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Insults, yelling, humiliation, that's how Trump treats his own party. New details on an epic meeting between Trump and Senate Republicans today.
And a clean sweep for Zohran Mamdani. All the candidates he endorsed won. Boom, boom, boom. Claire Valdez, a Democratic socialist, is here for her first national interview since her win.
And a fireproof house. Is it really possible? One of HGTV's "Property Brothers" whose movie star fiancee lost her home in the Palisades fire shows us how.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, lunatic. That's the word. That's the word that the president of the United States used against a senator from his own party today. It was during a lunch with Republicans on Capitol Hill and it deteriorated into a shouting match. It was Senator Bill Cassidy who was the target of Trump's lunatic insult.
And he said -- he's talked about the context. So he said he was talking to Trump about the war. He went on to say this. He said, quote, "You have not told the American people what's going on. It was supposed to last for four weeks. It's lasted four months."
Cassidy goes on to say to reporters, "He did not particularly care for my comments."
And then Cassidy went on to describe how the temperature escalated from there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): The president didn't want to hear my question, interrupted me. I didn't care to be interrupted. I felt like I was trying to get answers for the American people, and I'm not going to be bullied. And I'm trying to get answers for the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: President Trump then told Cassidy to sit down. Cassidy said that he wouldn't, which he referred to there. So that's when Trump called him a lunatic, according to our excellent reporting by Manu Raju.
And then something really odd happened in the meeting. So Trump complained that the Pennsylvania senator, Dave McCormick, missed yesterday's Iran war vote. Now, "Politico" is reporting that that complaint was there. And now Trump, of course, has said that missed vote is why the Senate voted down his war powers.
Okay, so fine, but there's something really odd about this. And what's odd about it is that McCormick missed that vote because he was with Trump. I mean, literally, he was with Trump. There they are at a Mack Trucks factory in Pennsylvania.
So it's a little bit jarring to hear Trump complaining about McCormick for the failure of the bill and the rebuke from Republicans when Trump to state something very basic should have known and remembered where McCormick was.
But after all of this, Trump put a positive spin on the whole lunch when he spoke to reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we had a really great meeting and we're very proud of the party. We like our leader. We like everybody. Really in the room, I don't like a few people, but that's okay. But for the most part, we have a really well-unified party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay, it's not a unified party. Neither party's unified right now, but certainly not the Republican Party. And that whole episode behind closed doors with yelling and insults follows the public humiliation that Republicans suffered at the hands of Trump earlier today, right? So there was this big humiliation. Then there was the yelling lunch.
So here's how that part went down. It was the first bipartisan housing affordability bill in decades. It was about to be signed on Capitol Hill. It was all pomp and circumstance, 12:00 noon. It was scheduled. They had it all set up flags, podium desk, all fancy, ready to go, 10:15, the speaker, the speaker, so the speaker, right, is Republican proud of this whole thing, holds a press conference to brag about the bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We're going to bring the American dream back within the grasp of hardworking American families. It's critical to do, great policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK, great policies helping hardworking Americans. Those are Republicans. Steve Scalise behind him. They're -- they're proud of this. Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, is proud of it on Twitter. She calls the bill one of the most significant pieces of housing affordability legislation in American history.
So everybody's excited. Then, at 10:26, Trump drops a bomb. He says, quote, "Today's housing news conference and signing is hereby canceled until such time as we pass the desperately needed, all caps, Save America Act, which I consider to be a national emergency."
So Republicans who had hoped to run an affordability, right, they put the word affordability that has resonated so much in primaries across the country in all of their talking points there, were just derailed by their own president for what? Save America Act.
So what is that? Well, it's a bill about voting. And that, of course, is Trump's prized topic, right? Rigged elections. The bill includes several things, one of which is a proof of citizenship requirement. That specific thing actually was struck down by a federal judge today who said it was illegal for Trump to implement this requirement through executive order.
So now Trump only has one way to get his proof of citizenship through, and that is getting it through Congress.
[19:05:06]
But the Senate, because of Trump's own party, again, his own party, this unified party, is saying no. Listen to Senator Lisa Murkowski.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): My fear is that It would result in disenfranchising voters who have been voting for decades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Senator Tom Tillis, also a Republican, said, quote, "We should not be completely upending how states already securely conduct their elections. Even if this issue is fixed, the Save America Act still will not have the 60 votes required to pass it."
And Trump ally, Senator Rick Scott, who is for the actual act, told Trump directly today that they just simply do not have the votes to pass it. He said, quote, "I'm a business guy. You have to live in reality."
The reality is, though, that when it comes to this, the voting bill matters more to Trump than the housing bill, championed by his own party, right? He canceled their big party. According to "Punchbowl", Trump said in March behind closed doors, quote, "No one gives up blank about housing." Sounds a lot like this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: To what extent are American financial situation motivating you to make ad deal?
TRUMP: Not even a little bit. I don't think about. American financial situation. I don't think about anybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: He said it himself.
Manu Raju's OUTFRONT on Capitol Hill.
And, Manu, obviously, as I said, incredible reporting. You're the one who's been talking to everybody, getting all these details from Cassidy and Tillis and others. The major blow up behind closed doors at that luncheon today. What's happening right now between Trump and his own party?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it actually, Erin, could be summed up with how Senate Majority Leader John Thune just said to reporters, according to our colleague Morgan Rimmer. He said it was largely a one sided conversation, referring to the conversation in the room there because President Trump has decided to move on things and make demands that are counter to what Senate Republicans have wanted to do it.
This has been going on for several weeks, whether it was coming out with the anti-weaponization fund that could have provided taxpayer money to January 6th riot or something that caused a major revolt on Capitol Hill, ultimately caused Senate Republicans to walk away from delaying his major immigration enforcement bill for weeks.
Or it was the president's demands over the so-called Save America Act, which has derailed a critical surveillance law, turning off key spying powers of the federal government because of the dispute this dispute or leading open a vacancy position a critical position the permanent director of National Intelligence all over this and now the latest over this major housing bill that Democrat that -- Republicans and Democrats have been touting and GOP leaders in particular were so desperate to talk about affordability pivot on this issue ready to cheerlead this but they were totally blindsided by the abrupt decision to scrap this news conference and decide that he simply wanted this Save America bill passed.
But this is the problem, Erin, as John Thune and other Republicans have told me time and time again, they simply do not have the votes to deliver on Donald Trump's core promise. So at what point does the president back off and say that he needs to move on with his agenda? Because if he doesn't, Erin, then this agenda will continue to be stymied and Republicans will be pointing fingers in a state of disarray heading into a critical midterm election season.
BURNETT: All right, Manu Raju, thank you very much, on Capitol Hill, with all of that reporting. And everyone's here with me.
Van, you know, interesting how Manu describes it. They were blindsided, which is obvious from just the fact that they had the whole pomp and circumstance set up. And then they go into this lunch. You know, they were going to have a win.
VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's like Lucy in the football with this guy. I mean, they literally the Republicans have something positive to say. They did something for housing. You see young people out here voting all kind of ways people don't like. Part of these young people can't buy a house.
BURNETT: Yeah, I mean affordability, by the way, the single biggest aspect of it is --
JONES: That's it. And so you finally have one nice thing -- one thing Republicans have done for America and Trump just snatches it back for a very bad voting bill. Now, by the way, I'm from voter ID.
People say you have to have a -- an ID to buy a beer. That's true. But you don't have to have a passport to buy a beer. What Trump is trying to do to voting is not the normal stuff that 80 percent of Americans want. It's so extreme, the other Republicans don't want this extreme burdensome thing on our voting rights.
So for a bill Republicans don't want, he's taking away the things that everybody wants. You can't have nice things with Donald Trump as president.
BURNETT: I mean, Paul, you know -- Trump doesn't have the votes. Even if all the Republicans were on board, right, he still doesn't get to 60. But you heard Murkowski, you hear Tillis, you hear Van. He doesn't even have them all.
But he can't let this go for the sake of anything else, right? I mean, he can't even get the win and then deal with it later.
PAUL RIECKHOFF, HOST OF THE INDEPENDENT AMERICANS PODCAST: It's going to be an interesting summer.
[19:10:05]
The UFC has ended, but the cage fighting is just getting started. And I think it's important to remember, Trump's not good at legislation. It requires negotiation. It requires compromise. It requires getting along with people from the other side.
And he doesn't like doing that. He's a snowplow. He likes to go full force, you know, all gas, no brakes without stopping for anyone.
And I think it's really important that he's focusing on the SAVE Act because he's focusing on the elections. He's always focusing on the elections because he has to protect his power. And he knows that free and fair elections this fall will mean accountability. It could mean impeachment. It could mean prison. He knows that is America's circuit breaker. That's why he continues to
prioritize. It's not random. It is strategic.
He doesn't care about housing. He said that before, even though most of America does. It is a win for the Republican Party if they can get it. He cares about power. And the most important thing in protecting his power is the SAVE Act.
BURNETT: So, Charlie Dent, Senator Cassidy, was also asked about Trump calling him a lunatic. And he didn't deny that it happened. But I think his response is really interesting, because, you know, a few years ago, Republicans wouldn't say anything like this in public. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASSIDY: Can I imagine that the president called me things that would be settled in a school on the playground? Yeah, I can imagine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Charlie, what do you make of that? That he's willing to come out and basically say he acts like a child, right? That it's infantile, the behavior. That is something that we're seeing more and more of now, but you did not see a few years ago.
CHARLIE DENT (R), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Well, I am sympathetic with Senator Cassidy's predicament here. I suffered the same fate in March of 2017 when the president told me I was going to destroy the party is going to make my fault. I'm going to blame you. You're being very selfish, Charlie.
I've been through that. I know what this is all about. When you tell the president something he does not want to hear, he usually doesn't take it well. And I experienced that firsthand. That's what Senator Cassidy experienced.
But, you know, and I talked about it, and you're going to see more Republican senators and members talking about this because he's already infuriated John Cornyn. He's always after Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. Tom Tillis has been very outspoken, Cassidy.
If I wanted to lose a midterm election, I would do the things the president is doing. I would steal -- I would steal defeat victory from the -- I would steal defeat from the jaws of victory on this housing bill. I would obsess on a ballroom. I would obsess on a pond, a reflecting pond and an arch.
I would say I don't care about Americans financial condition. I mean, it's as if he's trying to deliberately undermine his own party's electoral prospects. He was just in my hometown of Allentown yesterday, in Macungie, Pennsylvania, up at the Mack Truck plant, and he doesn't even mention the Republican gubernatorial candidate who's sitting right there, the state treasurer, doesn't even call on the Republican congressman until the end to say something and say it fast. I mean, it's just incredible that he doesn't care about their electoral prospects.
BURNETT: And then he complained that the guy he went with, Senator McCormick, was -- blew the vote yesterday by not being present.
JONES: But he was with Trump.
Look, you know, Trump likes to make money. I think he should send a bill to the DNC and just say, look, I'm giving such good service to Democrats with all these shenanigans. I'm going to charge you.
And I think Democrats would pay Trump to keep doing what he's doing. It'd be an honest way for him to make money, better than all these crypto scams. It'd be a fair exchange of value. He is doing more good for the Democratic Party than we could pay him to do.
BURNETT: Well, I mean, because we're talking about this right now and not the dramatic earthquake schism going on in the Democrats with the victories in New York, which we are going to talk about in a moment.
Paul --
RIECKHOFF: We do, yeah.
BURNETT: Former President Obama was on "All the Smoke", which is a podcast, and he was asked about what the Trump, what the host called Trump's obsession with Barack Obama. And I'm going to play something about that in a second.
But first, I wanted to play part of what Obama said today on the podcast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I -- obviously, you know, have a room in his head --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rent-free. You do everything great.
OBAMA: A suite in his head. First of all, when I was president -- the last thing I had time to do was worry about what --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody said.
OBAMA: Somebody said, or what the -- my predecessor did. They're gone. I've got work to do.
The idea that I'd be worrying about --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Came before.
OBAMA: Somebody who came before and me trying to measure, you know, like, what's he done today? Look, constantly worrying about that is a strange thing to me. It shows me somebody who's not focused on the American people and the job they're supposed to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP) JONES: I love that guy.
RIECKHOFF: In fairness, he did have to focus on George Bush and the two wars that he got stuck with by his predecessor, right?
BURNETT: From a policy perspective, absolutely.
RIECKHOFF: But I think this reveals what is really, really important. He does get under Trump's skin, because he's two things that Trump will never be -- loved and respected. And I think that all around the world, especially globally, Obama has this cool phenomenon.
[19:15:03]
And Trump will never be cool. He'll never be truly respected. He'll never be truly trusted. And he knows that.
But I think there's something else here, too. I don't know why the Democrats haven't been turning up Obama to 100 for the last three years. I mean, he is one of their most effective weapons. He can actually provide a narrative to Trump, he can bring independents back to the Democratic Party, and he's the most masterful communicator of our time.
I think the Democrats have been keeping them on the sidelines for far too long on too many issues, and it's a reminder of how powerful he is.
BURNETT: So, Charlie, could I just play, you know, the premise here of the question, some people might say, well, you know, podcast host said that he's obsessed with Obama, you know, show it. Let me just play something that happened just a couple of days ago that that does show that Trump thinks a lot about Obama for unknown reasons. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: In April, you showed us pictures of what you were going to do at the pool. You said you had a guy who was going to do it in a week for about a million dollars.
TRUMP: Well --
REPORTER: It's been two months, $16.5 million.
TRUMP: OK, ready? Barack Hussein Obama, have you ever heard of him?
(END VIDOE CLIP)
DENT: Well --
BURNETT: Yeah, there you go, Charlie.
DENT: Well, look, look, there are a lot of people who occupy space in Donald Trump's head. Let's face it. It's not just Barack Obama. It's a lot of his enemies. We know who they are. You know, what occupies his head are things like I said earlier, you
know, it's the ballroom, it's the Kennedy Center, things that are really not central to the lives of the American people and really not important to the job. He's very impulsive as we all know. And he operates on instincts.
So instead of spending time reading, talking to experts about, you know, going to war in Iran and thinking through the consequences, second, third-order effects, he's not doing that. He's got these other grievances and these petty grievances and vanity projects that seem to be all-consuming.
So it's not just Barack Obama. It's any number of other issues that I would say are not particularly important to most people or to most people worried about their economic situations.
BURNETT: Right, right. And a housing bill now that just did not pass today.
All right, thank you all very much.
And next, breaking news, Iran doubling down. No nuclear inspectors, they say, even as Trump said, today, the Iranians are, quote, "giving me everything that I want".
Plus, Trump seizing on the big wins by the Democratic Socialists in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They're going radical left. They're going, and really, you know, you talk about the Democrats, socialists, you took really, it's really communist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, one of last night's biggest winners, Claire Valdez, is our guest. What does she have to say to Trump?
And one of the Property Brothers tonight with a new way to build a house that's fireproof.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard to see your loved ones in pain, and everybody's experiencing it, everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:22:19]
BURNETT: Breaking news, Iran is doubling down on no nuclear inspector, something the Trump administration says is key to the agreement between the two countries. Iran's deputy foreign minister posting that there is, quote, no program for access to the attacked facilities and nuclear materials. It comes in the context of Trump saying that Tehran is, in his words, making very big concessions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Iran is being very nice. They're agreeing to everything that I want, and they have to. Otherwise, we just go back and do what we have to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Alex Plitsas and Seth Jones.
So, Alex, the president says Iran is doing everything that he wants. That certainly is not true, but you've spoken with regional mediators today. What are you hearing on some of the key points?
ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So I'm hearing that the discussions that took place with the vice president when he was in Switzerland were productive. It was actually -- he was described as the adult in the room, kind of setting the tone for four tracks.
One would be nuclear, to try to work out some of the nuclear issues on the highly enriched uranium, the bans on enrichment and things of that nature. There'll be one on the regional security, and then that would be led by the GCC partners, who will deal with that.
And then separately, one in the Strait of Hormuz, which I've been told there has been agreement behind closed doors. There won't be tolls or fees associated with that. And the last is the economic one, which is tied to the previous three being successful in terms of having some sort of forward movement that hasn't been a clear definition to then get some --
BURNETT: The fund and unfreezing of assets.
PLITSAS: Precisely.
BURNETT: All right, so Seth, Republican Congressman Rich McCormick is breaking with Trump after he suggested, after Trump suggested it's a little bit unfair for Iran to not have missiles. Let me just play this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RICH MCCORMICK (R-GA): I've been 20 years in the military. I served overseas in the Persian Gulf a couple tours. I'm a Marine by nature. I'll tell you what I'm not going to have is the Tehran regime that's pursuing ballistic missiles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Seth, what do you think about this? I mean, first of all, it's a complete about-face from Trump. Originally, one of the reasons that he gave for the war to begin with was getting rid of Iran's missiles, that they shouldn't have ballistic missiles. Now he's making the argument that it's unfair for Iran to not have
missiles if other countries like Saudi Arabia can have missiles. But he's being turned on by his own party here, as you can see, by Congressman McCormick. So why do you think Trump is downplaying the Iranian missile issue?
SETH JONES, PRESIDENT, DEFENSE & SECURITY DEPARTMENT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, Erin, I think the reality is that as part of where the negotiations are at right now is Iran is getting money that it will likely use for its missile program and its drone program and its industrial base that produces those weapon systems.
And the reality is, if you look at the last several decades, Iran has a track record of using bombs, explosively formed penetrators, and missiles and drones to target U.S. forces, U.S. bases, and U.S. embassies in the region. And so there are a range of reasons why I think people, including Republican members of both the Senate and the House, should be concerned about giving Iran money that can be used for exactly the same things Iran has been doing for decades.
BURNETT: Right, and as, of course, you point out, and the intelligence shows that 70 percent of the missile stockpile from before the war is still in place.
I mean, Alex, I'm also curious as to what we're all supposed to believe. First of all, it's confusing what was really signed. You know, there was documents put out, and then there were multiple signings. So no one's really sure, other than maybe the people who signed it. And I say maybe, because then we get two different versions of everything.
So it's sort of, it's Strait of Hormuz, fees, tolls, they say yes, they say no. And really just seems like the whole thing is completely untrustworthy.
PLITSAS: Well, until anything is signed and is in writing, it's all discussions at this point.
BURNETT: Right.
PLITSAS: So there is the MOU. I'm told that there are implementation documents that are kind of secretly held in the background. They weren't necessarily signed, but would talk about how the MOU would be implemented, which is really what we got this weekend.
There wasn't much technical progress made on the deal itself. It was more, we have this high-level MOU, how are you going to do this? Now we've got four defined tracks. Now you actually have to go to negotiate all those difficult issues, and we've got less than 60 days when the last time it took 18 months and 15 seven pages to get to an agreement.
BURNETT: I mean, which is incredible.
I mean, Seth, there's another big development here in all of this context, which is the instability or uncertainty at the Department of Defense. We're learning tonight that four-star Army General Christopher Donahue is stepping down from his post commanding soldiers in Europe set to retire. And multiple sources tell CNN that the context of this early retirement is tension between Hegseth's office and Donahue's command.
There's rumors Hegseth could nominate Donahue to be Army chief of staff instead of retiring. I mean, you know, General Donahue in the context of obviously a wider swath of removals of the Department of Defense. What can you tell us?
JONES: Well, Erin, I think the unfortunate reality is both with General Randy George, the chief of staff of the Army, who was relieved last month, and then with General Donahue, the senior U.S. Army chief in Europe right now, and also for U.S. forces in Africa. These are both outstanding Army officers, some of the best in the Army, relieved without any kind of indication that they were performing poorly and battlefield effective.
You know, Erin, it's one thing when I was in Afghanistan in 2009, the Secretary of Defense at the time, Gates, comes in and relieves the four-star commander of Afghanistan for battlefield ineffectiveness. That's one thing. But when you're -- when you want to appoint people who are more politically loyal, that's a problem.
In the literature on relieving or appointing officers, general or flag officers, not for combat effectiveness, but for loyalty, that does not generally bode well for a highly effective fighting force in a military. And that's a bit of my worry right now, is there's a lot of loyalty tests in a military, and it should be a combat effectiveness test.
BURNETT: Alex, what's your feeling about this, especially when you hear about purges in military ranks? That's something we expect to hear, and we do hear in places like Moscow.
PLITSAS: I mean, Chris Donahue, Rossidi, as he's known, he is widely respected and revered throughout the special operations community. Commanded Delta Force, led the raids against ISIS in Iraq and Syria over the years, took on the really hard missions. He was in Afghanistan at the end, basically got sent in to clean up everybody else's mess with the withdrawal at the end.
And there's the famous photograph of him being the last guy getting on the bird. But if you talk to anybody who's ever served with him, the guy is quite literally one of the finest warriors and battlefield commanders of our generation. So he is widely revered and respected.
And it's the second person I've known -- I don't know him particularly well, but a former officemate of mine, Jamie Sands, was the commander of all U.S. Navy SEALs, and he was relieved, along with the head of the DIA and the Naval Reserve, largely without explanation. And he was an apolitical, phenomenal leader, phenomenal SEAL officer, special operations officer.
And it hasn't really been explained, but we're seeing these purges that are coming now, and that's been given to the American public for it.
BURNETT: Yeah, and that's why it's important that we all talk about it and try to get answers.
All right, Seth, Alex, thank you both very much.
And next, President Trump about to kick off the Great American State Fair in Washington to celebrate the 250th birthday of this country. But after nearly all the musicians dropped out, has this become essentially a political, a MAGA rally?
[19:30:03]
Plus, Mamdani's political gamble paid off. All three of his candidates won last night, and one of the Democratic Socialist candidates, Claire Valdez, joins us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:35:00]
BURNETT: Breaking news, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani taking a victory lap after all three congressional candidates he endorsed won their primaries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK: And what I see these results as a reflection of are the fact that New Yorkers are hungry for a new kind of politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Two of the Mamdani-backed candidates knocked off incumbent House Democrats, and two ran as Democratic Socialists. One of them, Claire Valdez, is my next guest. She's a state assemblywoman who supports policies which include universal rent control, Medicare for all, shrinking the private sector, growing the public sector, abolishing ICE, and ending all arms sales to Israel and supporting Palestinian statehood.
OUTFRONT now, State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, and this is her first national interview since her win. And obviously, it's a win that has sent shockwaves through the Democratic Party, through the Republican Party, you name it.
Assemblywoman, you know, what do you -- what do you think? Now you've had not even 24 hours here. What do you think your victory means?
CLAIRE VALDEZ, DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR U.S. HOUSE IN NY: I think it means that the movement that elected Zohran Mamdani last year continues, and that the movement that has been fighting for working- class New Yorkers for years before his election continues. We have a lot to win, and when we go to working people, when we say, you know, this is our platform, we want to fight for you, we want to fight to abolish ICE and win Medicare for all, to make your lives more dignified and affordable, to empower workers, that resonates with people, and we win. And so, I'm very proud of the campaign.
BURNETT: It's interesting in the context when you talk about housing and affordability, how central that is, and obviously in Washington. That bipartisan bill was torpedoed today by the president because he wants his voting bill.
He is seizing, though, as are other Republicans, on your victory and other victories by Democratic socialists here in New York as a negative. Let me just play some of what they've said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, they're going radical left. They're going really, you know, you talk about the Democrat socialists, you took really -- it's really communist.
JOHNSON: These are the times that Reagan was warning about. He was warning about communism overseas. Now it is on our own shores.
REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Call it the Bolshevik Revolution of 2026, but the Mamdani takeover of the Democrat Party is official now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay, now, I'm just going through here, and, you know, Trump using the word communist, Mike Johnson using the word communism.
Is that a badge of honor to hear them talk like that?
VALDEZ: You know, I'm a proud Democratic socialist. And what that means for me is that my union taught me that when we organize together, we can take on bad bosses, we can win good wages, we can win dignified working conditions. And it's funny that they would invoke Reagan, who famously decimated the labor movement, attacked Pat -- after PATCO, really set the tone for what the federal government has done to the labor movement over the last decades.
My goal in running for office is always, how do we get as many people as possible into unions? How do we pass the Pro Act? How do we stand on the side of working people so that they have the power to fight for themselves and their coworkers and their neighbors? And that's the movement that I come out of and I'm very proud to be a part of that.
BURNETT: Okay, so that is what they're saying, right? And you're talking about unions. But here's the thing. It's in the Democratic Party, too, right? There are a lot of people who are freaking out and are not happy about your victory and other victories.
And there's a couple reasons for that. Israel's one of them, Palestinian statehood. So Josh Gottheimer, Democratic congressman, he told CNN, "Obviously, the socialists had a big win last night. The question is, are we going to let them take over the party, or are we going to stand up and fight back? Many of us believe, as I do, that if you're a socialist, you're not a Democrat."
And two other prominent Democrats, one a senator, one a prominent strategist that you've probably known of your whole life, have also come out for other reasons criticizing who they are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): The dirtbag left is having their moment.
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: And understand, these people do not like Democrats. Not only are they not Democrats, they wish Democrats poorly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay, there's a lot in there. Let's just start with James Carville. Do you wish not only are you not a Democrat, you wish Democrats poorly is what he's saying. Is that true?
VALDEZ: What I wish is for working class people to have the dignity, the wages, the protections that they deserve. And if the Democratic Party is willing to stand for Medicare for all, is willing to fight for abolishing ICE and bringing them the billions, trillions of dollars we spend on forever wars back into our communities, then that's the Democratic Party I want to be part of.
That's what we're fighting for in these races, and I think we saw over the last several weeks, months as progressives around the country are winning and last night that this is what the working class and the Democratic electorate is also hungry for.
BURNETT: So and you have a point there. Then when you listen to Senator Fetterman, the dirtbag left is having their moment. Obviously, when it comes to an issue like Israel, right, he is diametrically opposed to where you stand.
But I mean, can you recognize that the two of you are even in the same party?
[19:40:00]
VALDEZ: It's a big party -- it's a big tent party. And I think what's important for me right now is saying that we won with a mandate in this race. We won across the entire district. And that, you know, the message that we had at the doors resonated. People want affordability. They want politicians who will stand up against ICE, who will stand up against forever wars, and who want to see the resources that we pour into agencies that do not make us safer back into our neighborhoods and hospitals and health care and education, the things that actually make lives dignified and beautiful here in New York 7.
BURNETT: So there's affordability, there's also the issue of Israel, and I want to follow on that just because obviously Congressman Gottheimer's talked about that a lot as well. Is the party big tent enough that you can be in the same party where you support Palestinian statehood and are talking about genocide with people who support arms sales to Israel and Israel's actions in this war and in Lebanon? Is the tent big enough to include a John Fetterman and a you on that issue? VALDEZ: What I'd say is that the people who do not agree with me that we should not be aiding and abetting a genocide and occupation, that the Democratic electorate does not reflect that position by far and large. You know, the Democratic electorate wants to see us pull resources away from that, and again, put them back into our communities. They don't want to see our tax dollars going to fund a genocide, apartheid occupation. They're tired of that.
And we heard this over and over again at the doors, but this is an opinion that is reflected across the entire country. It's not just in New York City. I think that Democrats would be well-advised to listen to the people who put them in their offices when they say that.
BURNETT: All right. Assemblywoman Valdez, I appreciate your time, and thank you for taking the time to talk to us.
VALDEZ: Thank you so much for having me.
BURNETT: And next, live pictures from Trump's Great American State Fair. He says it's to celebrate America's 250th anniversary, but hasn't simply become a full-on MAGA rally?
Plus, one of HGTV's "Property Brothers" now building homes that are fireproof after his fiancee, actress Zooey Deschanel's house, went from this to this after the California wildfires.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:46:51]
BURNETT: Breaking news. President Trump moments away from kicking off America's 250th anniversary celebrations at the Great American State Fair. Trump has turned the celebration into a Make America Great Again rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have the hottest people, the hottest everything. It's going to be one of the best rallies we've ever done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The majority of musical artists have pulled out of the events that kick off tonight because they didn't want to be political musicians, including Millie Vanilli, Martina McBride, Brett Michaels, the Vanilla Ice, has made it clear he will attend. That's a number of states, mostly blue states, have refused to send representatives.
I want to go to Donie O'Sullivan because he's there.
And Donie, you've been talking to people all day, okay? What are you hearing? from people you know this is supposed to be for everybody and you know, Washington at 250 is everybody can descend there and no matter who you support. Is that what this is or is this more of a Trump rally? DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Erin, yeah, I would say that the closer you get up to the stage there the more MAGA hats you see. This very -- it sort of has the vibe of a Trump rally, a lot of Trump supporters here but also a lot of locals people who live in the Washington D.C. area who are just here to see some of this spectacle.
We've been speaking to some people, many of whom are Trump supporters. Here's what one of them just told me a little earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'SULLIVAN: What do you think so far? I mean, this is quite the setting for a Trump rally.
TRUMP SUPPORTER: I'm here, and during this, I'm an enthusiastic supporter. I know he's got a rough time. You can see it on him physically. He's hunched over, a little bloated.
But the job itself is a killer.
O'SULLIVAN: A lot of Trump supporters are very disappointed with the war in Iran that it started in the first place.
TRUMP SUPPORTER: Yeah, well, the thing is that I think we have an effeminated society of weakening people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And, Erin, we just had a B-52 bomber fly overhead here on the National Mall a few minutes ago. You mentioned that many of the musical guests that were due to perform at this state fair over the next couple of weeks have pulled out.
One person we did hear perform just in the last 30 minutes or so, Alexis Williams, who is a country music singer, sang the national anthem. She also happens to be Kash Patel, the FBI director's girlfriend.
BURNETT: Happens to be.
So can you just tell us about what where you are on the Mall? Don't just give us a sense of the scale of what you're seeing and how big this is?
O'SULLIVAN: Yeah, I mean, this is going to take up. This is just obviously two weeks after the UFC when we spoke to from the Lincoln Memorial. So really, I mean, the National Mall is being transformed as part of these 250 celebrations.
This is over the next few days is going to turn into the State Fair officially as it opens tomorrow. There are state pavilions that are further down the mall.
[19:50:03] There's also a Ferris wheel. And there's also a smaller version, a mock-up version of Trump's proposed arc, his arch that he wants to build here in Washington, D.C. So there's a lot of stuff going on and everybody here just waiting for the president.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Donie. And next, one of the Property Brothers from HGTV now using a special technology to build homes in California that are actually fireproof.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:55:12]
BURNETT: Tonight, a jury deliberating in the trial of the man accused of setting the devastating Palisades fire. The horrific January 2025 blaze scorched more than 23,000 acres, destroyed nearly 7,000 structures. 12 people died. If convicted, the 30-year-old former Uber driver, whom prosecutors say was angry at the world, faces up to 45 years in prison. And so many families there are still trying to rebuild after the utter devastation, including those close to Jonathan Scott, the star of Property Brothers. Scott is using an incredible new technology to do it.
Elex Michaelson is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN SCOTT, HOST, HGTV'S "PROPERTY BROTHERS": I think it's a beacon of hope.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Celebrity contractor Jonathan Scott is showing us a way to build homes he says are virtually fireproof, earthquake proof, tornado proof, and hurricane proof.
MICHAELSON: This is something that could be implemented all across the country, right?
SCOTT: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Jonathan and his brother, Drew, are known as the Property Brothers.
SCOTT: And it just looks fancier.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): For over 15 years, they've renovated hundreds of homes, including many on HGTV.
Just like CNN, it's owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
ZOOEY DESCHANEL, ACTRESS: It's really special.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Jonathan is engaged to actress Zooey Deschanel.
DESCHANEL: Get out! Don't look at me! MICHAELSON (voice-over): She appeared in the Christmas classic "Elf".
DESCHANEL: So that happened.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): And starred on Fox's "New Girl" for seven seasons.
Zooey and her sister Emily, also an actress, grew up in L.A.'s Pacific Palisades neighborhood. For 42 years, the Deschanels lived in this 100-year-old Spanish-style home. This is what it looked like after January 7, 2025.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): The Palisades fire killed 12 people and burned nearly 7,000 structures, including the Deschanels.
SCOTT: Gets emotional?
MICHAELSON: Yeah.
SCOTT: It's -- it's hard to see your loved ones in pain and everybody's experiencing it. Everybody.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Soon after the fire, Jonathan returned to that home.
SCOTT: Just know that there is hope.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): To film a public service announcement for the city of Los Angeles. Around that same time, he first heard about a technology called RSG 3D.
SCOTT: This wasn't a technology that was on my radar. I had seen it in, you know, industrial applications, but I didn't know it was available for residential.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Jonathan is now trying out that technology for the first time ever while rebuilding his in-laws home.
MICHAELSON: How does it work?
SCOTT: RSG is simply just no wood. You're building a structure that's reinforced steel with a polystyrene core and it's concrete on the surface, both the inside and the outside. The entire structure. Roof, walls, floors, everything is tied together, so it's hyper-efficient, incredibly strong, and fireproof from both the inside and the outside.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Here are some examples of completed homes built with RSG 3D technology. The Deschanel home should look almost identical to the way it did before the fire, when construction is expected to wrap up by the end of the year.
SCOTT: It looks rough. I find it sexy. I think this looks really sexy.
MICHAELSON: It is sexy.
SCOTT: So this is how it comes from the factory.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Scott says it takes about a third of the time to build like this versus traditional wood.
SCOTT: So it's way faster. And the cost is about 10 percent more than the traditional. But I would never have to deal with anything again. If anyone's ever had a flood or termites or rot, it doesn't affect this because there's nothing organic.
MICHAELSON: Now, while the Deschanel house is being built over here with the new technology, just across the street, multiple homes are being built with old school wood.
When you see that, wood literally across the street from you, what goes through your mind?
SCOTT: I'm like, am I crazy? Either we're ignorant or we're stupid.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): On the same day as our visit, Jonathan shows off the technology to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. He's also talking with insurance companies.
SCOTT: Tell us. If you build this way, we will make this neighborhood more insurable.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Jonathan doesn't have any financial stake in this technology. He simply wants to use his sizable platform to increase awareness.
SCOTT: They used, traditionally, if you wanted a fully hardened home, it was going to be like twice the price. That's not the case anymore. It's just a matter of people don't know about it.
MICHAELSON: Right. And now they do, thanks to this.
SCOTT: And now they do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And that was Elex, pretty incredible, just remembering being on the ground there and just the utter devastation. When we looked out, it was just a sea, looked like a war zone, except for one big difference, which is that all the chimneys were still standing. And to think about the fact of all those lives that had been just completely upended, that now there could be something like this that could work. And that was thanks to the great reporting of our Elex Michelson there on the ground in the Palisades.
And thanks so much for joining us. You can check us out on Accent OUTFRONT, CNN, and also on Instagram and TikTok, Erin Burnett OUTFRONT.
Thanks so much for watching.
"AC360" with Anderson Cooper begins right now.
