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The Situation Room

Pentagon Fires Stars and Stripes Staff Amid Pressure Campaign; Mail-In Voting Battle; A Sailor's Path to Medical Discharge for His Mental Health; Military Mental Health Support Under Scrutiny. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 28, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I always loved Stars and Stripes, going back to my days as a Pentagon reporter, I would read it all the time. Lara Korte, good luck to you, good luck to your colleagues, thanks very much for joining us.

LARA KORTE, FORMER STARS AND STRIPES REPORTER, FIRED LAST WEEK: Thank you for having me.

BROWN: And just ahead, the new federal ruling that bars sweeping restrictions on mail-in voting. Stay with us, lots going on. You're in the Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More breaking news. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing President Trump's new restrictions on mail-in voting. His executive order gives the Postal Service unprecedented control in deciding whether to deliver those ballots. The administration says it is trying to ensure that non- citizens can't vote.

My next guest is helping lead the lawsuit challenging that Trump administration order. The California Attorney General Rob Bonta is joining us right now. Thanks very much for taking the time to speak with us, Attorney General.

ROB BONTA (D), CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Pleasure.

BLITZER: Your lawsuit argues that states, not the federal government, should set the rules for these elections. In your opinion, is the president of the United States now trying to violate the U.S. Constitution with these restrictions he wants to see imposed?

[11:35:00]

BONTA: He is trying to violate the U.S. Constitution. That's par for the course for him, unfortunately. He has trampled over the U.S. Constitution time and time again, at least tried to, and we've stopped him multiple times, whether it be birthright citizenship or his unlawful unconstitutional tariffs or other actions that he has taken and he's doing it here. There's a part of the Constitution, a clause in the Constitution, right on point, the Elections Clause. It says the states and, to a degree, Congress, determine the time, place and the manner of elections. And the United States Postal Service and the president of the United States have no authority in that regard.

So, he is violating the Constitution. And rightfully and appropriately, a federal judge has blocked him from implementing this unlawful and unconstitutional action.

BLITZER: And as you know, Attorney General, the judge grants now a 14-day hold on this executive order. And some of the first mail-in ballots were due to be sent out only days from now. Do you believe the president's restrictions will impact the upcoming November midterm elections that are scheduled for November 3rd?

BONTA: My hope and belief is that they won't, because they will be blocked. And I'm grateful that the judge, in her wisdom, acted swiftly and quickly. This is an open and shut, clear-cut case of unconstitutionality that should be struck down. So, she also, in my opinion, was aware of the imminent election and the need for states to have to plan to prepare ballots and what they look like.

This order, if it does go through from the federal administration, from the Trump administration, would require redesign of ballot envelopes. And that takes time, investment resources. And so, having clarity now, having certainty now is good. And the certainty is that this unconstitutional order is blocked and folks, states, do not have to comply with it. And then we're going to have a preliminary injunction hearing next week. And hopefully, we'll get an order that goes even longer all the way through the election to make it clear that this order from the president will not be implemented before this election.

BLITZER: I also want to ask you, Attorney General, about another major case you're involved in. On Wednesday, the parent company of both Facebook and Instagram agreed to pay $18 billion in a child addiction lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by you and dozens of other state attorneys general who are claiming that the company's platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive and harm the mental health of a lot of young kids out there. First off, are you satisfied with the terms of this settlement?

BONTA: We are. You know, we had smoking gun evidence of their violations of the law. You mentioned the financial component of the settlement. But the most important part, the priceless part, are the changes in business practices going forward. The limits on daily use, the nighttime blocks, the blocks on notifications during school and at night when kids should be sleeping and studying instead of scrolling, the blocks on cosmetic filters, on cosmetic beauty filters, on likes and reactions to their posts, that is what is going to protect the mental health of kids and stop Meta from visiting depression and anxiety, suicidal tendencies, learning loss, addictive traits on our kids, tendencies on our kids.

So, that is the valuable part. That is transformative. It's historic. It's a milestone. I think history will look back and see this as an inflection moment where, led by the AGs, we decided to protect our kids' mental health.

BLITZER: Very important, indeed. And I know you've said that the timing of Meta's settlement is, quote, "telling," your word, telling. It came midway through the testimony of Instagram's president and before CEO Mark Zuckerberg could take the stand. What does that say to you?

BONTA: They didn't want Mark Zuckerberg to take the stand. They were very conscious and saw what we saw, which is that Adam Mosseri, the president of Instagram's testimony, was not going well. We took it to him time and time again in trial. We showed them their own words, their own studies, how they knew that they designed and deployed a dangerous product. And instead of not deploying it to protect kids' mental health, they doubled down on it and deployed it anyway and then lied to the public.

We had smoking gun evidence. They had just lost two trials before. They were about to lose another one. And so, they settled.

BLITZER: So, who polices these reforms, Attorney General, to make sure that Meta is better protecting children and their mental health?

BONTA: Very important point. And we built that into the settlement agreement. We made sure an independent auditor has ongoing oversight to make sure there is compliance by Meta with these settlement terms. And we also have ongoing court jurisdiction. So, if Meta ever decides it's going to slow walk or not implement any of these critical terms of the settlement, we can go into court, make sure the court orders them to comply, and even hold them in contempt if necessary.

We don't think we're going to get there. We think that Meta is serious about implementing these different reforms. And we also hope the rest of the industry will as well.

[11:40:00]

And we more than hope it. We already have a lawsuit against TikTok, and we're very concerned about and focused on YouTube and Snap. We want industry-wide reform to protect the mental health of our children. I'm the AG of California. I'm also a father. I'm nothing more important than the health and well-being of our children. And we will be relentless in pursuit of protecting their mental health.

BLITZER: This is all so, so very important. California Attorney General Rob Monta, thank you so much for joining us.

BONTA: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

BLITZER: Coming up, first a gulf, now a lake. Could an ocean be next? We're going to talk about President Trump's pension for renaming the map.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Happening now, we're following the USS Abraham Lincoln's voyage home after more than 250 days at sea. The aircraft carrier is expected to stop in Thailand next week. A Thai defense ministry spokesperson said the crew will be able to quote, "go ashore and relax," end quote. Earlier this month, the carrier came under scrutiny after reports of mental health challenges on board. But the toll of extended deployment is not unique to the Lincoln or its mission. My co-anchor, Pamela Brown, has our Situation Room special report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JORDAN HOUGH, FORMER SAILOR: I don't want to be looked down on. I don't want a bad reputation. I don't want to let down the team.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): When Jordan Hough, a former Navy enlisted sailor, felt his mental health began to spiral in 2024 while deployed on an aircraft carrier, speaking up and asking for help wasn't easy.

HOUGH: Oh, yes, there's a stigma for sure. And it's sad because I don't really think that it should be.

[11:45:00]

BROWN (voice-over): Hough says he sought counseling even before deployment under the crushing demands of getting his nuclear qualifications and caring for his dying mom.

HOUGH: When I was transferring from my last bit of training to my ship in San Diego is when my mother passed away. And it made everything more difficult, as you can imagine.

BROWN: You had to leave her when she was in the hospital, right?

HOUGH: I had to leave my mother on her deathbed in the hospital to go report for my new duty station, which is awful.

BROWN (voice-over): He says he boarded the USS Abraham Lincoln in May of 2024 with the knowledge he needed for the job as a nuclear engineer, but not the mental preparation for what life would actually be like.

HOUGH: I'm surrounded by metal walls everywhere, tight corridors and the amount of people on that boat. Gosh, it was crowded, not to mention the long waits for the chat line. It's something that maybe I've I knew or have heard of before, but had no idea what to really expect until I was there.

BROWN (voice-over): Two months later, he reached out for help.

HOUGH: I was prescribed some medication on the ship. I was very happy to be receiving some help. I don't recall if the medication was working for me or not. However, while out at sea that the ship ran out of supply, they didn't have enough medication to give to me. I just switched my medications mid deployment.

BROWN (voice-over): Despite that, he says there were plenty of mental health resources on board with counselors, chaplains and even a therapy dog. But underlying it all was a bigger problem with the culture around mental health.

HOUGH: When I started seeking help, it disqualified me for my nuclear work aboard the ship, so I couldn't really participate in group work. And I was definitely looked down on by my peers for that feeling or vibe like, oh, this guy doesn't want to work. He's just going to pretend to be sad to get out of it. And so, I think I looked I was looked at it lazy for that when, in fact, I was really just trying to get some sort of help.

BROWN: And you were suicidal?

HOUGH: Unfortunately, yes, at that time I was I was suicidal.

BROWN (voice-over): Jordan's experience is part of a much larger national problem in the military. A 2021 study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that 23 percent of active-duty service members were depressed. That's compared to an estimated 13.1 percent of the general population being diagnosed with depression.

TERI CASERTA, SON BRANDON WAS SAILOR, DIED IN 2018: I believe that if they actually got him to mental health when he was begging for it, he'd be alive today.

BROWN (voice-over): Teri and Patrick Caserta lost their son Brandon to suicide in 2018 while he was serving in the U.S. Navy after they say he was bullied in his chain of command. They then pushed for several years to get the Brandon Act passed to allow service members to directly and confidentially seek help.

PATRICK CASERTA, SON BRANDON WAS SAILOR, DIED IN 2018: When we were getting the Brandon Act passed, we went to psychologists nationwide and in particular, V.A. ones, and we talked to them and they told us the hardest part of their job is getting somebody to the door. They said, if you get them to the door, we have a 99.9 percent success rate of helping them get back on track.

BROWN (voice-over): CNN recently reported a man went overboard from the USS Abraham Lincoln earlier this month in mental distress amid an extended deployment, renewing scrutiny on service members' well-being. In a statement posted on X, CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper says the Abraham Lincoln has among the lowest number of mental health cases compared to the Navy's 11 aircraft carriers in service, and the Navy says suicidal ideations on board the Lincoln have gone down since the beginning.

BROWN: The military talks about the data about suicidal ideations. Do you think people feel comfortable raising their hand and say they have it? Like, you struggled to do that, you eventually did, but it's like, does the data really capture the reality?

HOUGH: I don't think so. I think there are so many more people struggling than we realize because they're afraid to speak up for whatever reason it may be. Maybe it's pride, maybe it's a fear of repercussions, you know, whatever it may be, and that's sad. BROWN (voice-over): Some of the roughly 5,000 crew members on board the USS Abraham Lincoln gave mixed reactions to CNN in July about the psychological toll from the long deployment.

BROWN: What are some of the challenges day to day that you have to face?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of like Groundhog Day, you know, reliving the same day over and over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard, you know, it's hard on your mental state, being out to sea for eight months without being on dry land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what I love to do. I love being on the deck place.

BROWN: You do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I miss my family, but being out here is great.

BROWN (voice-over): During our July visit, Commanding Officer Captain Casey Mahonof the destroyer Frankie Peterson Jr. says he's well aware of the struggles that many months at sea in combat can bring.

BROWN: Every day is a big day.

CAPT. CASEY MAHON, COMMANDING OFFICER, USS FRANK E. PETERSEN JR.: Yes.

BROWN: Potentially. How do you keep that heightened state?

MAHON: So, five and a half months on the on the picket line, on the firing line, it's a long time. And I think it's really important to respect that challenge of that, and be open and honest about it, right? It is wearing on the crew. It's wearing on the ship. But that being said, I think there's two real traits that the sailors on board this ship have, this destroyer have, the sailors in the strike group have, and that I think really sailors in general have, and if you look, think about it, the U.S. military, resilience and adaptability.

[11:50:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand by to recover aircraft.

BROWN (voice-over): Hough says military service like the Navy can be great for some, and not for others like him. He eventually was airlifted off the carrier in October 2024, and medically discharged from the military that year. In the years since then, says asking for help is exactly what he needed to save his life.

HOUGH: I didn't want to seem like a complainer. You know, I was there, I did my job, it wasn't what I wanted, so I tried to leave and get some help, and that worked out for me.

BROWN (voice-over): Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And a special thanks to Pamela for that Situation Room special report. We reached out to the Navy to get its response to Jordan's experience with his medication running out and being switched on him. A Navy official told CNN, and I'm quoting now from the statement, "The Navy coordinates pre-deployment medication dispensing alongside standardized carrier pharmaceutical inventories and regular underway replenishments. If operational extension creates temporary supply limitations, credentialed medical officers actively manage safe therapeutic transitions or coordinate medical transfers to prioritize the Sailor's health and safety. The Navy remains committed to expanding mental health access," end quote.

And by the way, if you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is always open. That number is 988, and it's available 24-7. We'll be right back.

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[11:55:00]

BLITZER: Happening now. With his administration stuck in trade talks with Canada, President Trump is now ordering a name change, declaring Lake Ontario is now Lake America. The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, responded by saying the name is more than 400 years old, older than either nation. And Canadians, he says, will now and always call it Lake Ontario.

Meanwhile, the trade war marches on with the U.S. imposing 50 percent tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of Canadian exports to the United States. Canada is retaliating with similar tariff hikes.

Joining us now is CNN political commentator Michael Smerconish. He's the host of CNN's Smerconish and also the Michael Smerconish program on SiriusXM. Michael, as always, thanks very much for joining us on these Fridays. We have seen this redrawing of the map by Trump before. Is this any different?

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND HOST, "THE MICHAEL SMERCONISH PROGRAM" ON SIRIUSXM: You just referenced that my radio platform is SiriusXM. SiriusXM reaches much of Canada. And just yesterday, I had the former United States ambassador to Canada, David L. Cohen, as my in-studio guest. And wolf, I pretty much surrendered the floor thereafter to Canadian callers because I wanted to hear what the Canadians paying close attention to all of this have to think.

It was a combination of disappointment, anger, hostility, but mostly they're hurt because they think that they've been a good neighbor. And I have to say, I've never once in my life gone to bed worried about our northern border, that massive northern border. And yet it's all in check. They're good people. So, it's really disappointing. And this, I think, is just President Trump trying to poke the bear, in this case, Mark Carney. I don't know what it does for us. I wish they would just resolve. Didn't this all begin over fentanyl, theoretically? I mean, what's this got to do with fentanyl? Nothing I can imagine.

BLITZER: How much of an impact, Michael, do you think this will have on the midterm elections coming up? And could President Trump's pursuit of a trade war with Canada have a huge impact? Is Trump's intention to rename Lake Ontario another distraction from kitchen table issues that are so critically important right now? Tell us a little bit more about what your listeners are saying about this.

SMERCONISH: I don't see it happening. First of all, I don't know that it stirs the president's base. You know, I always like to look at it analytically and say, well, what does he get out of this politically? I can't imagine that there are MAGA voters who are like, yes, this is, you know, stick it to Canada. I just don't see where it plays well.

And the answer to your question is data centers. People are much more fired up about data centers than they are the situation with Canada. That's what I think. It's like affordability. You know, it's the situation generally in the country, whether you feel optimistic or pessimistic, but data centers are much more important I think than this politically.

BLITZER: And the latest pushback on this issue about data centers is intense right now. Are you hearing a lot from your listeners on that as well?

SMERCONISH: You know, I'll tell you something interesting, Wolf. We talked about this on radio this week, and the way that I presented it nobody wants a data center in their backyard because of some of the concerns that they have. Whether they're grounded in fact or not, I think is a good question.

But when you then raise the issue that artificial intelligence is the future, and if we are hostile to the construction of data centers, maybe we're allowing China or Russia to eat our lunch in that regard, people then have a different disposition and they start to say, hey, we need them. We better figure this out.

BLITZER: Michael Smerconish, as always, thank you very much. And Michael's live every Saturday morning, 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN. You'll want to spend an hour with Michael Saturdays mornings as well.

And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. You can always keep up with us on social media, @wolfblitzer and @pamelabrowncnn. We'll see you back here Monday morning, every weekday morning for two hours. Stay with us, we'll be right back.

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