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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Trump Rips Allies For Refusing To Help In Strait Of Hormuz; Trump Says He Thinks He'll Have The "Honor Of Taking Cuba"; Vance Says He Trusts Trump On Iran, Downplays Differences. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired March 16, 2026 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Please give them our condolences. And I wish you the best.
ERNESTO NISPEROS, FRIEND OF AIR FORCE CAPT. ARIANA SAVINO: I appreciate that, and I think Ariana's spirit is going to live on forever in the skies that she cherished.
COOPER: Yes.
NISPEROS: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well that is it for us.
The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: As we come on the air tonight, we're following an unfolding situation this hour, near the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad.
It's unclear still exactly what is happening, other than the video that we are seeing that shows a very active scene, in what appears to be defensive fire at something targeting that area from the sky.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO - AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS ACTIVE OVER BAGHDAD NEAR U.S. EMBASSY)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: In the video that you're watching there, streaks of those orange anti-air rounds consistent with those fired from the U.S. Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar systems, can be seen streaking through the night sky. That video was taken less than 800 meters from the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad.
We're still trying to figure out more about what is happening here, as we've been watching a very active scene in the Middle East, with that dramatic footage there, just coming into CNN. We'll bring you the latest information as we get it throughout this hour, and have reaction from our experts, what do they see in those videos, in just a few moments. This comes with an important context of, in Washington today, the President was lashing out at his counterparts and major U.S. allies that he's been pressuring to help the United States reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with little success so far. As Iran has been choking off much of the world's oil supply, while also this has raised questions about whether or not the United States had planned for this ahead of starting the war with Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I was not happy with the U.K. I think they'll be involved, yes, maybe. But they should be involved enthusiastically.
We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on the Strait far more than ours. You know, we get less than 1 percent of our oil from the Strait, and some countries get much more. Japan gets 95 percent. China gets 90 percent. Many of the Europeans get quite a -- quite a bit. South Korea gets 35 percent. So, we want them to come and help us with the Strait.
The Strait for a lot. I mean, you know, these people literally need it 90 -- 95 percent of their energy, or their oil comes out of the Strait, and they should be in here very happily helping us.
The Strait and -- or, as they call it, the Strait, and they should be not only thanking us, they should be helping us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: So far, none of those countries that the President mentioned there have committed to sending ships to help open up the Strait of Hormuz. Some have been outright rejecting the President's request. In fact, the spokesperson for Germany's government put it this way, saying, quote, This war has nothing to do with NATO. It is not NATO's war.
Yet the President, who did not rally international support for this war before it started, is calling for help almost three weeks in, even though he is also arguing that he knew this is how Iran would respond if the United States attacked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I knew about the Strait that it would be a weapon, which I predicted a long time ago, predicted all of this stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The President claimed that there are some nations that have signed on to help. He declined to say which ones, or to name them. As, he's also been making the argument and criticizing them for not helping the United States and not responding to his request. He's also simultaneously arguing that their help isn't needed anyway.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: We have some that are really enthusiastic. They're coming already.
I have that from a number of them, and I'd like to say their names. But frankly, I don't know if they would want me to or not.
My attitude is, we don't need anybody. We're the strongest nation in the world. We have the strongest military, by far in the world. We don't need them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: In the meantime, even as this war has continued to rage, the President also today, as he was talking about what the timeline of that is going to look like, and saying that his trip to China, scheduled for just over two weeks from now, could be delayed by a month, so he can monitor the war, the President clearly today also made it plainly obvious that he also has set his sight on another country.
[21:05:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I do believe I'll be the honor of -- having the honor of taking Cuba. That'd be good honor -- it's a big honor.
REPORTER: Taking Cuba?
TRUMP: Taking Cuba. In some form, yes. Taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it. Think I can do anything I want with it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I want to bring in tonight:
The former Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Beth Sanner.
And also, the Head of Crude and Equity Partner, at Onyx Capital Group, Manny Newman.
It's great to have both of you here tonight.
Because Beth, first just on this breaking news.
And I want to note tonight, as we're watching what's happening with the -- near the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad. We also saw officials returning back to the White House earlier, which isn't typical, something, that we see in this hour. It was the Vice President, the Joint Chiefs Chairman, Secretary Hegseth. They were there for a little bit. And we've asked the White House, if anything was going on.
This video started to come out of the videos of the air defense systems engaging over the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, in the compound there. What do you see in that video, Beth?
BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Well, it looks like they have used their Close- in air defense system called C-RAM. And this is a system that's designed to take out drones and these kind of rockets that you would normally see fired by the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.
And if you look at some of the tragedies that we've had recently with the losing U.S. service people, in Kuwait, and then previously in Jordan, right on the Syrian border there, both of those circumstances, those outfits were not outfitted with C-RAMs. They didn't have this air defense system. So, we're lucky that they have it there in Baghdad. It was put there purposefully because of this, and we're seeing it accurately do its thing. It does work.
COLLINS: Well, and Beth, as we're watching that and we're waiting to learn more. I mean, obviously, the Middle East has been incredibly active, to put it lightly, over the last few weeks.
SANNER: Yes.
COLLINS: Were you surprised by how U.S. allies responded to the President's pressure to help the United States open the Strait of Hormuz?
SANNER: No, but I'm not sure that -- I mean, I think that they're trying to be very careful to walk a fine line, although I'm surprised that Germany is being as forthright, maybe as German as we can expect them to be.
But look, we did not -- the United States did not warn them, did not tell them, did not help them prepare. We have threatened them with tariffs. We threatened to take Greenland and attack NATO, use military force, not taking that off the table. I mean, you kind of reap what you sow.
And I think that this is something that, you know, he can't expect countries to just jump when we say, Jump, especially when he's going back and forth and saying, We don't need them anyway, and then in another statement saying, Well, I'm just testing them basically, I just want to see what -- how they react. I mean, people don't like alliances that are based on bullying and threats.
And I think what's interesting is that he would have threatened them with more tariffs, if the Supreme Court had not ruled against IEEPA tariffs. So, that's off the table, but all the other threats, they're kind of still on.
COLLINS: It was very critical of Keir Starmer today, saying he was disappointed.
And Manny, as we look at this. Obviously, this has real life consequences for people. You've been tracking oil prices all day, every day. And if the Strait does not have tankers flowing through it soon, all of these other tankers that haven't been able to get through, what does that mean for gas prices, for plane fares, for everything that is then downstream from that being more expensive?
MANNY NEWMAN, HEAD OF CRUDE & EQUITY PARTNER, ONYX CAPITAL GROUP: Yes, so I don't actually think we've seen the full fallout of this price shock yet into consumer prices.
So, everyone's looking at the topline numbers, Brent and WTI hitting $100. That's not even scratching the surface. If you look at the actual physical prices, especially in the region of the Middle East, they're well above $150. And seeing as everything is so globally integrated, we're going to have those prices hit the U.S. and also filter through to Europe, which we aren't yet seeing.
So of course, it's a huge inflationary issue for all the G7. No one wants to take this blame of these oil prices going higher. But we are very much just at the start of this hitting into the real prices of the economy.
COLLINS: I mean, how much worse do you think it could get, Manny?
NEWMAN: Well, if you look at the Dubai benchmark for oil, which is currently trading above $150, you know, that's a pretty good bench or, like, baseline for where we could see Brent and WTI look to hit.
[21:10:00]
I mean, it's not as though, the Straits -- of course, the Straits of Hormuz, they're like the main talking point at the minute. But really, it's the 9 million barrels a day of oil that's offline every day. So typically, a huge shock to the market will be that, for 9 million barrels in total. We're having this every day. So every day this fall goes on, it's getting that much worse.
COLLINS: Yes.
NEWMAN: It's going to take years, potentially, to help balance out this oil disruption, it could be quite catastrophic.
COLLINS: Well, I mean, and Beth, it's obviously still going on.
SANNER: Yes.
COLLINS: I mentioned, the President is supposed to have a huge trip to China in a few weeks. He was supposed to be sitting with Xi Jinping. He said today that he believes he's probably going to delay it by about a month. And he said that's because he needs to monitor the war with Iran. Obviously, if he's supposed to go the first week of April, that means he predicts the war is at least going to be happening for two more weeks.
What else stood out to you about the President's comments on that today?
SANNER: Well, I think it's interesting that he is calling--
NEWMAN: Well, I think the problem is--
SANNER: Oh, I'm sorry. Is that for me, Kaitlan?
COLLINS: Go ahead, Beth.
SANNER: I think that what's interesting about this is he's also calling for China to help reopen the Straits which -- Strait of Hormuz, which means putting Chinese warships in the Strait of Hormuz. And that is something that is absolutely 180 from what we have wanted all along.
We haven't wanted Chinese military forces to be spreading globally, and to be solving problems and taking credit for it. That's not kind of in tune with our adversarial relationship with China. But I think it kind of shows that President Trump thinks of China in a different way.
That said, really big picture here is that China is the one that has more of the cards now. They can withstand this. They planned. They've been stockpiling. They're ready for this. And they're ready to take advantage of the United States looking like an aggressor. Even though Iran is a terrible, terrible regime, and should be dealt with.
COLLINS: Yes.
Beth Sanner. Manny Newman. Great to have both of you here. Obviously, we'll be tracking all of these developments.
I'm also joined this hour by Democratic congressman, Greg Casar of Texas.
And Congressman, obviously, this is a huge concern for Americans. We're watching what's happening with oil prices. Even if the war stopped today, would you be worried that Iran's success at shutting down the Strait of Hormuz is something that would remain a tool in their arsenal, that they'd be able to do what they're doing right now, again, to punish the United States?
REP. GREG CASAR (D-TX): I mean, clearly, Trump dragged us into this war without any sort of plan. It's a disaster that is going to have all kinds of consequences here, Kaitlan.
And you remember, early on during this, when Trump said, well, oil prices going up, in his words, would be a small price to pay.
Well, everything for Trump is a small price to pay because he never pays it. Look, it's not his budget getting stretched thin. It's millions of Americans paying more at the pump. It's not his kids that are getting shipped off to war. His kids are too busy cashing in on business deals with Middle Eastern despots.
So, remember, we just went through a debate about, unfortunately, millions of people getting kicked off their health care, because Trump said, we don't have enough money. And he's spending billions of dollars on this war in the Middle East with no plan.
COLLINS: I mean, the White House has been arguing, they do have a plan. When you're watching what's playing out in the Strait of Hormuz, right now, and the pressure he's putting on U.S. allies. I mean, is it clear to you what the plan is for the Strait of Hormuz?
CASAR: There has been no briefing to the United States Congress about a plan.
And if you watched his press conference just a minute ago. On the one hand, he's begging for help from China, then nudging or bullying for help from our European allies, and then saying, We don't need anybody's help. On the one hand, you hear from Marco Rubio that we are essentially in this war because Israel pushed us into it. And then from Donald Trump, you hear that, I had nothing to do with it, and we'll be out in a few days.
I mean, it is a mess, and we have 13 U.S. service members already dead. So, this is not a game. This is a disaster, and we've got to -- just got to stop.
COLLINS: The White House argument is that no one wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon, Republicans or Democrats, but that Trump is the only president who's actually working to ensure that that doesn't happen.
How would you respond to that?
CASAR: I mean, it is gaslighting at its finest, because it was actually President Obama that signed the historic deal that kept Iran from getting towards nuclear-grade weapons here, and it was Donald Trump who ripped that to shreds.
[21:15:00]
And then, it was Donald Trump who went and bombed Iran, and said that he completely eliminated the threat of a nuclear weapon, and now has us back in there again.
And so, I empathize or sympathize with you here, Kaitlan, having to try to put up the White House's argument. But they argue against themselves. It's clear that they have absolutely no plan, and here they're playing with live ammo.
COLLINS: I don't know if you heard the President. He said today that there is a past president, a Democratic president, who has agreed with him that they should have done more on Iran, or they wish they had done more sooner.
Obviously, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, were the only four living presidents. A spokesperson for Clinton told us that no recent conversations happened between Clinton and President Trump about Iran or anything else. Aides to Bush, Obama and Biden all said the same, basically.
What do you think -- what do you make of that, and the President saying that he's hearing from a Democrat that he's doing the right thing on Iran?
CASAR: Look, Donald Trump lies all the time, and he lied to his own voters when he said he was going to keep the United States out of regime-change wars. And Iran is not the first time where Donald Trump, in this term, has sent U.S. service members into harm's way over these regime-change wars.
So, it's no surprise to me that he would continue to lie to the media, and to the American public, and to the people that voted for him, saying that he was somehow going to be a President of Peace, when it feels like he just keeps on starting new wars every month.
COLLINS: The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for a month now. TSA workers are missing their first full paycheck. We've seen more than 300 quit amid this, because, obviously, people don't want to go to work if they're not getting paid. It's very hard to pay for child care or gas to put in your car. We've seen these insane lines at airports, including in Austin, in Houston, in your home state, sometimes they're two hours long for people to get through security.
You had a dramatic interaction with your Senator from your state, John Cornyn, outside of the Austin airport today. For people who didn't get to see that, I just want to play that moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASAR: Senator Cornyn should put his money where his mouth is.
Hey, Senator. Senator, I was hoping that we could--
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): Why don't you tell your Democrats to vote to pay these poor people?
CASAR: Let's do it. Let's do it. Why don't--
CORNYN: No, you do it. I've--
CASAR: No, I don't -- we don't have to yell -- you don't have to yell at me.
CORNYN: I've voted for it time and time again.
CASAR: You don't have to yell at me. Let's go -- let's talk for second, Senator.
CORNYN: No, I--
CASAR: There's a bipartisan bill to fund just the TSA. Can we do that together?
CORNYN: Not acceptable.
CASAR: Not acceptable to fund just the TSA?
CORNYN: You want to fund -- how about all the terrorist attacks like we see down on 6th Street.
CASAR: Let's--
CORNYN: You want those to continue? These people are keeping us safe.
CASAR: Let's vote--
CORNYN: Tell the Democrats to vote for funding the DHS.
CASAR: Let's talk about each one. Would you fund the TSA with me? No? Sounds like--
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible).
CASAR: Instead of bringing people burgers, he should bring them their paychecks, which involves funding TSA.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The two of you disagree on how to resolve this.
But what do you say to those TSA workers, to those people who are not getting paid, to the Americans who are waiting two hours in line for security at airports and missing flights because of that? Obviously, financially, a burden as well. What do you -- what do you say to them?
CASAR: I say that we need the Republican Party to vote for the bill that we have all agreed to, to simply fund TSA. You see in that video there, Senator Cornyn said a lot. But the two most important words he said were the words, Not acceptable. I said, Can we just pass the bipartisan bill to fund TSA? And he said, that was Not acceptable. So instead of bringing these TSA workers--
COLLINS: Well they're -- and that's -- they're arguing that Border Patrol officials and everyone else who are not getting paid either because the DHS shut down, that they should all also get paid.
CASAR: But let's hold -- one second. We can talk about ICE and Border Patrol. There is a historic amount of money in ICE. And we have a disagreement about ICE funding, Senator Cornyn and I do.
But Senator Cornyn came to the Austin airport, to bring burgers to TSA workers just one week after he blocked the bill that would have given them their paychecks. So, I think it's perfectly fair to say, Don't bring people burgers, give them their paychecks. He blocked the funding that would have gone to those TSA workers, and that's just the truth.
Democrats, under unanimous consent, said, We'll fund TSA, and it was folks like Senator Cornyn that blocked those paychecks.
COLLINS: Right. And they're arguing that Democrats are doing the same by not funding DHS. Period.
Congressman, obviously, everyone wants to see this resolved. Thank you, Congressman Greg Casar, for joining us tonight.
CASAR: Thank you very much, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: And also, up next here, I'm going to speak with a Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Rick Scott is my source. As the administration is pressuring those allies to help in the war with Iran.
Also, given what the President said today, we're going to have a live report, on the ground in Cuba, as the President says that he is open to the idea of taking it as its electrical grid is suffering a total collapse tonight.
[21:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: During his second term in office, President Trump has ordered unprecedented attacks to remove the leaders, in places like Venezuela and Iran from power.
Today in the Oval Office, he raised the prospect that Cuba may be next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I do believe I'll be the honor of -- having the honor of taking Cuba. That'd be good honor -- it's a big honor.
REPORTER: Taking Cuba?
TRUMP: Taking Cuba. In some form, yes. Taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it. Think I can do anything I want with it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Joining me tonight is Republican senator of Florida, Rick Scott.
And thank you sir for being here.
Obviously, I know you've spoken about Cuba a lot in your political career. Do you think the United States should, in the President's word, take Cuba?
[21:25:00]
SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): I think what we need to do is try to, hopefully, get a democracy there, where the Cuban people get to pick their leaders, not some, you know, like what the Castro brothers have done to control the population. So, that's what I'm hoping happens. I mean, this President has -- you know, his actions to put Maduro in prison and stand trial, I think is a big gamechanger.
And Cuba has been the source of instability and everything bad in Latin America for what, 60-years-plus? So hopefully, we get new government there that wants to work with the United States and is for the benefit of the people of Cuba.
COLLINS: But when the President says, Take Cuba, what do you think he means by that?
SCOTT: Well, what I hope he means is that, that we're going to get a democracy where the people of Cuba pick their leaders. That would be, I mean, there's -- it's a beautiful island. Actually, I served there for a few months when I was in the Navy at Guantanamo Bay. So, it's a beautiful island. Wonderful people. A lot of people are in, as you know, in Florida, especially Miami. And so, it'd be a -- it'd be -- there's an unbelievable opportunity there for the people of Cuba. So, that's what I hope happens.
COLLINS: Would you support the President using military action in Cuba?
SCOTT: I don't think we're going to have to. The Cuban government, their socialist policies, their dictatorial policies, have just destroyed the island. And so, I -- the people are ready.
You know, there've been protests in the past. You know, Jose Daniel Ferrer just got -- he was the leader of the opposition. He got exiled away from Cuba, what, last fall, I think it was, or last -- sometime, last fall.
So, I think it's -- I think it's going to happen. So, I don't know what the form of it will be. But they -- the people of Cuba are fed up. They're fed up with a despicable government--
COLLINS: You--
SCOTT: --that doesn't care about them.
COLLINS: You think the government is going to fall?
SCOTT: Yes.
COLLINS: But, I mean, just given what's happened in Venezuela, what's happened in Iran. The President obviously has no problem using military power in these situations. So, if he used it in Cuba, is that something you'd support?
SCOTT: Well, let's remember, the operation in Venezuela was a law enforcement operation. Maduro was under indictment, and he was brought to trial, and they just used the military to arrest him. You know with the--
COLLINS: Right. But I just think the premise, though, is for military action in Cuba. Is that something you support?
SCOTT: I don't think he'll have to do it, and so he -- I mean, look, this is -- Trump is not a president that wants to go to -- he doesn't want forever wars. But he does want peace, he does want stability.
In the case of Maduro. He was selling drugs. He sent his criminals here.
In the case of Iran. They wanted to destroy your life and my life with a nuclear weapon or ballistic missiles.
So, I mean, he's doing what his job is. He's, as President of the United States, he's supposed to protect our lives, and that's what he's doing.
COLLINS: OK. So, you don't want to say yes or no on military action?
SCOTT: Well--
COLLINS: You obviously--
(CROSSTALK)
SCOTT: --military action. I mean, I served in military. I mean, nobody wants -- you know, nobody wants to go to war, so. And so, hopefully, that's not what it's going to -- what's going to happen in Cuba. I think they're going to fall. I think the people of Cuba are going to rise up, and they're going to fall.
COLLINS: What if it doesn't? What if the government doesn't fall there?
SCOTT: Well, I mean, I think it's -- I think it's going to, and that's a decision that the people of Cuba are going to do. I mean, they don't have electricity, they don't have resources. The government has just destroyed the island. It's -- I can just tell you, the people are wonderful. Look at how Miami is built based on smart Cubans coming to Miami. So, they have a lot of smart people. They're industrialists, they're hard-working. So, I think the Cuban people are going to do it on their own.
COLLINS: I mean, and they're basically in the middle of a humanitarian crisis right now. We obviously saw what happened with the grid today.
Some people may say what the United States is doing in Cuba right now, with blocking the oil, is hurting the people there. Do you have concerns that it's actually affecting them way more than anyone else, just the regular people that you're talking about there?
SCOTT: Well, the Government of Cuba doesn't have the money to pay for any oil. They have no resources. They have no money. And this is -- this didn't start when Maduro was taking over -- Maduro was giving them resources on -- you know, as a result of Cubans in the military to help him, so. And that stopped, so.
And as you know, the United States does not want a humanitarian crisis. We've allowed oil to flow into the people, not to the government.
COLLINS: Yes, obviously they're suffering right now.
You mentioned forever wars. You said that's not something that anyone wants anymore. Obviously, the President ran on not having any more forever wars.
When it comes to Iran and what's been happening with this back and forth with the White House and U.S. allies today. If U.S. allies are so crucial in reopening the Strait of Hormuz? Obviously, something that's critical in bringing down oil prices here in the U.S. Do you believe that the White House should have coordinated with them better before starting the war with Iran?
[21:30:00]
SCOTT: Well, you have to -- you have to remember, Europe was similar to Obama. They appeased. They appeased, appeased, appeased. And that didn't work. I mean, they were -- they were getting close to a nuclear weapon. They were building ballistic missiles. If they had the ability to drop them in the United States, they would have. They put our -- our troops are at risk, so.
And the Strait of Hormuz is not a place where we get a lot of our oil. I mean, I -- the fact that -- if I was China, I sure as heck show up. And there's other countries, they're completely dependent. The United States is not dependent. We all want the price of gas to come down. I grew up in public housing. I know the price of gas is devastating for families, so.
But I don't want to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon. I don't want to be destroyed by a ballistic missile. I don't want my family destroyed, or any family in the United States. The President is doing the right thing. Let's remember why we're doing this. And we all want gas prices to come down, and they will when this crisis is over.
COLLINS: Yes, but the President obviously said, last summer, after those strikes, that it had obliterated Iran's nuclear program. He then cited that as part of his reasoning.
But what the German government said today is that the United States and Israel didn't consult them before the war, and they said, Washington explicitly stated that the European assistance was not necessary or desired.
Do you think the United States needs Europe's help, as the President has made the case today? Or he also, moments later, argued that they don't need their help.
SCOTT: Well, of course, we don't need their help, and we have the strongest military in the world. But--
COLLINS: But he's asking for their help.
SCOTT: Well, it's in their best interest. I mean, they're -- you know, the rest of the world's way is dependent. We're not dependent. So, they can show up or not show up. If they want oil to flow and they want oil prices to come down faster, then they're going to show up. If they don't, they're the ones that are going to be harmed. We will get -- oil prices will come down.
Look, the Democrats wanted to raise oil prices. They tried to destroy the oil and gas industry. Thank God for President Trump in his first term, and this term, you know, we have now more oil, we are energy- independent. So, we're in a position to survive this.
COLLINS: But Senator--
SCOTT: China, Europe and others aren't. COLLINS: If the Strait of Hormuz doesn't open, how are oil prices in the United States going to come down?
SCOTT: Well, it'll open eventually. I mean, eventually it's going to open. But in the meantime, we need to do what we're doing. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. They cannot have ballistic missiles. Right? This is -- this is about--
COLLINS: How long do you think it could be closed?
SCOTT: I don't -- how long is it going to take to make sure they don't have nuclear weapons? How long is it going to take to make sure they don't have ballistic missiles that can destroy Americans? They've been killing us for 47 years. This had to end at some point. And I don't want it on American soil. The President did the right thing.
Would I -- do I want oil prices to come down? The first, I want them to come down badly, just like everybody else. But I don't want to die, and I don't want people in this country to die of a nuclear weapon from Iran. They want to kill us. Let's all -- let's be realistic here. The main goal here is destroy their ability to kill us.
COLLINS: But the President argued -- I mean, some people might hear that, and they're paying 30 percent more for gas, and they heard the President make the case, last summer, and criticized people who've reported on the outcome of those strikes, that the program was obliterated then. Some people may say, Well, why are we at war with them now, if it was obliterated then?
SCOTT: Well, because they were rebuilding their program, because they said they had -- they had enriched uranium, and because they were building ballistic missile weapons, the missiles and the ability to carry those to the United States, and they were putting our troops at risk. That's why.
We are -- I mean, look, I'm more -- look, I want oil prices to come down. But guess what? I don't -- I want this country to be safe. This President is doing the right thing for our safety. Is there a short- term hurt by gas prices being up? Absolutely, and it hurts everybody, including the -- but mostly the poorest families. So--
COLLINS: How long do you think that -- how long do you think those families could be paying more in gas? What do you think they should be prepared for?
SCOTT: I have no idea how long this is going to take.
But the most important thing is, we've got to destroy their ability to kill us. That's the most important thing. And prices will come down. First off, think about, we're continuing to develop in the United States. Venezuela is going to start developing more oil. So, the President is doing what he can to get oil prices down.
But let's don't ever forget why this is going on. They want to destroy our way of life. They hate us. We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon. COLLINS: Yes.
SCOTT: We cannot let them have ballistic missiles to kill us.
COLLINS: Florida senator, Rick Scott, thank you for joining us tonight. Thank you for your time.
SCOTT: Thanks, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Up next. We'll get reaction from my political sources, and let you listen to that moment today, where President Trump cited conversations with a former President he said he's had on Iran.
[21:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Moments ago, you heard Republican Senator Rick Scott defending the Trump administration and its goals in Iran, as oil and gas prices have skyrocketed due to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT: Look, I want oil prices to come down. But guess what? I don't -- I want this country to be safe. This President is doing the right thing for our safety. Is there a short-term hurt by gas prices being up? Absolutely, and it hurts everybody, including the -- but mostly the poorest families. So--
COLLINS: How long do you think that -- how long do you think those families could be paying more in gas? What do you think they should be prepared for?
SCOTT: I have no idea how long this is going to take.
But the most important thing is, we've got to destroy their ability to kill us. That's the most important thing. And prices will come down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My political sources are here tonight.
Paul Begala is a Democratic strategist.
And David Urban is our Republican strategist and former Trump campaign adviser.
And David Urban, obviously you heard Senator Scott there, saying that he believes this is a worthwhile effort with this war with Iran.
[21:40:00]
I do think there is a question of how Americans who are struggling and seeing these gas prices go up so much, if they think that's something that resonates with them. DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, Kaitlan, I don't know whether people are focusing on the war or not, but they should focus on having an Iran that does not possess a nuclear weapon to export, globally, amongst its terror network, either Hamas, Hezbollah, the IRGC.
We've seen this played out, whether it's Bill Burns (ph) being murdered in Beirut, the station chief, or 283 Marines being killed in Lebanon, or improved IEDs killing and maiming soldiers in Afghanistan for years, the Iranian regime that was in place for the past close to 50 years, is the number one exporter of state-sponsored terrorism. So, allowing them to get nuclear capability is just a non-starter.
Gas prices. I'd rather have short-term spike in gas prices than my son and grandchildren having to live with a nuclear-armed Iran. And I think that Paul would agree to that, you would agree to that, nobody wants to see a nuclear-armed Iran, and there's only one way to end it, and we're seeing it right now.
COLLINS: Yes, and we asked, obviously, the Democratic congressman we had in the show earlier about that, that argument from the White House.
Paul, though, today in the Oval Office, as the President was fielding these questions about Iran. The Vice President, JD Vance, was there. Obviously he's a former Marine, someone who has argued out and spoke out against things like a war with Iran before going into office.
He was asked about this, and his position today, and this is what he told reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILIP WEGMANN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REALCLEARPOLITICS: So there's no hesitation, given your past statements, with the current operation?
JD VANCE (R), U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: What do you mean there's no hesitation with my past statements?
WEGMANN: Given your skepticism of foreign adventurism, you were a critic of the global war on terror, previously.
VANCE: Well, I think one big difference, Phil, is that we have a smart president, whereas in the past we've had dumb presidents. And I trust President Trump to get the job done, to do a good job for the American people, and to make sure that the mistakes of the past aren't repeated. Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: What did you make of the Vice President's answer there, Paul?
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, it's like the great Darrell Royal, the Texas Longhorn football coach, he said, You dance with the girl that brung you. OK? Three years ago, JD Vance won his first and only election in his life. Well, then he was selected Vice President. The reason he's now a heartbeat from the -- from the presidency, is because of Donald Trump. So, he owes Trump everything. I'm not a fan of Trump can't stand Trump, you know that. But JD Vance owes everything to Donald Trump.
And I actually thought right before that clip you showed he was crawfishing a little bit. You know, he looked like he was -- he wanted to have it both ways. He is a remarkably dexterous guy, right? He ought to go be in the Olympic Gymnastics because he flips and flops and twists and turns. But this is it, that seriously, my honest advice as a political analyst, if I were advising the Vice President, would be, You got to dance with him that brung you.
This -- this -- I think he's on -- bought a one-way ticket on the Trump-tanic, OK? And I think it's hitting iceberg after iceberg. But you've made your choice. There's no way you can get around your association with Trump, so you may as well embrace it.
COLLINS: David, I wonder how you see it, because obviously what people in Washington talk about is JD Vance is someone who is young, obviously has political ambitions, if he is the person who is running in 2028. I mean, obviously, we don't know what the outcome of this war is, how it will end, or what the public opinion on it will be at that point.
URBAN: Yes. So look, I -- you can have it both ways, I think if you're JD Vance.
And Paul, hear me out before you kind of jump up and down on me. You can be opposed to U.S. interventionism around the globe and the global war and terror and foreign entanglements.
We were in -- we were in Afghanistan, and in Iraq for 20-plus years, based under a Authorization for Use of Military Force, which was passed after 9/11, right? The Congress and administration after administration lacked the courage and internal fortitude to go to the American public and say, Here's why we're fighting for. OK? So that's -- I think JD Vance was standing against that, and lots of people were opposed to fighting a series of 24-one-year (ph) wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This is discrete military operation to date. We've been there two weeks. I suspect we'll be there a few more weeks. We're going through a primary, secondary, tertiary bombing list.
I think this administration and the military know exactly what they're doing. And at some point, and I'm not quite sure what point that is, when they're -- when they feel that they've defeated and exhausted the Iranian military, to a point where they can't exert any more influence around the world in their terrorist organization, the IRGC, or others, I think they'll stop. And it might not stop, until then.
We may see a change in leadership again. I do not think this President is going to leave Iran standing as it is with nuclear capabilities. I just don't think that's going to happen. [21:45:00]
COLLINS: Paul, there was something the President said, not once, but twice today, about a conversation he had with a former U.S. president. Obviously, there's only a handful that are living that he says praised--
(CROSSTALK)
URBAN: I think it's Paul's former boss.
COLLINS: --in Iran.
Well, let's listen to what the President says, how he described that conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER DOOCY, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: You've said twice today that you talked to another former President about the Iran strikes. Was it George W. Bush?
TRUMP: No.
DOOCY: Was it Bill Clinton?
TRUMP: I don't want to say.
That person said, I wish I did it. OK? But I don't want to get into who.
DOOCY: OK.
TRUMP: I don't want to get him into trouble. Maybe, hey, you know what--
DOOCY: I have a guess.
TRUMP: I think you probably know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Immediately after that, we were all texting people in the worlds of Bill Clinton and everyone else. But it seemed to be Bill Clinton who said there have not been any conversations recently between Trump and Clinton.
I mean, Paul, first off, do you know of any? And two, what did you make of that?
BEGALA: Yes, I haven't been in touch with the President -- former President Clinton, so I don't know. But his office has said that that's never happened.
URBAN: Well that's not a denial, Kaitlan.
BEGALA: No, no. His office said it didn't happen.
Donald Trump -- President Trump has a rich fantasy life, and we wish him well. But I wish he would call his predecessors, any of them, either party. This is a guy -- while JD Vance is trying to have it both ways. And Urban is wrong, as usual, he can't have it both ways.
Donald Trump has attacked seven countries already. Seven. Here they are in alphabetical order: Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Syria, Nigeria, Venezuela and Yemen. Seven countries. One of his predecessors going to say to him, Donald, don't do any of that unless it's the absolute last option. Any good president knows you don't go to war the way Bush did on a lie, and you don't go to war unless it's the very last resort. And it's not in any of those seven cases.
COLLINS: Paul Begala and--
URBAN: Apparently, Paul's former boss said, a good job. So, I'm all for it.
COLLINS: But, I mean, Clinton's people have said that they've not spoken.
BEGALA: We did not talk to him though.
COLLINS: Right.
BEGALA: It's -- this didn't happen.
COLLINS: I mean, David, they said they haven't spoken.
BEGALA: Yes, I think the makeup has kind of affected his brains, or something, I don't know, Trump is making himself--
(CROSSTALK)
URBAN: Begala didn't deny it, Kaitlan. Begala didn't deny it.
BEGALA: No, I just haven't talked to President Clinton in several weeks. I don't know.
COLLINS: Clinton's people say that they didn't.
BEGALA: Yes.
COLLINS: So do Obama's and Bush's and Biden's.
Paul Begala. David Urban. Nice to have this conversation with the two of you. Thank you both for being here.
BEGALA: Thanks.
COLLINS: Up next. Given what is happening in Cuba, and you heard our conversation with Senator Scott, we're going to go live on the ground there. Millions of people right now are dealing with a nationwide blackout, as the President says he's open to taking Cuba.
[21:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The New York Times is reporting tonight that the Trump administration is working to push the leader of another Caribbean nation out of power. This time, it's Cuba's leader, the president there. Sources tell The New York Times that amid talks with some Cuban officials that U.S. negotiators have said the president has to go in order for there to be any meaningful progress in those talks.
This comes after we heard the President say today he is open to the United States taking Cuba.
As, right now, Cuba is in the middle of a nationwide blackout. For hours, the roughly 10 million people who live there have been plunged into darkness, after the electrical grid suffered a complete and total collapse, earlier today.
The energy crisis there has hit this breaking point, as the United States has been blocking oil shipments to Cuba in this effort by the White House to strongarm the changes they want to see there, major political and economic reforms.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann is live on the ground in Havana, Cuba, and using a generator, I should note, to connect with us.
And Patrick, it's great to have you here, because obviously we've been talking about the politics of this, and what the President wants to see. What is it like for the people who live there tonight?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: It's an incredibly difficult situation, because people already, over the last several weeks, have been experiencing blackouts that go most of the day. The other day, we had one in my neighborhood that lasted 20 hours. And so, your food begins to spoil. There's very little transportation. Kids are going to school that has no power.
And for many people who have had a lifetime of difficulty, this is the most trying times that they have ever lived in. They do not have generators, most Cubans in their homes. They cannot afford fuel. Even if they did, it's a luxury.
If you're buying a tank of gas right now, if you can find it, because, of course, there is an oil blockade on the island at the moment, it could cost you hundreds of dollars. To put that in context, it's more than what a Cuban might make an entire year. So, just an impossible luxury, even if they could find it. It's becoming scarcer and scarcer.
So, the longer this goes on, the energy grid will continue to collapse. It will probably take days to come back on. There are no guarantees it will stay on for any amount of time, because already the government is forced to take it off for longer and longer periods.
And so, many Cubans now have increased questions about the future. We're seeing more Cubans go out and protest against their own government. People, really, at this point, are just at the end of their rope.
COLLINS: I mean, and you heard Senator Rick Scott, he's predicting the government will fall there. I mean, what are -- what are people on the ground saying about that, if anything?
OPPMANN: It's, you know, you have people that have come up to me and say, We want to get this over with. We don't care what comes next.
You have people who are still supporters of the Cuban Revolution, cannot imagine that President Diaz-Canel, who's not very popular, but was handpicked by Raul Castro, that he could be forced out, that the government of the Revolution, the government of Fidel Castro, would let the U.S. dictate who is president of this island. That seems impossible to believe.
[21:55:00]
But at this point, life has gotten so much worse, so quickly here, in the last several months, since this oil embargo has been put on in place, people really can't imagine what could come next. We are on the brink of a humanitarian crisis here.
COLLINS: Yes. It's scary stuff.
Patrick Oppmann, I'm grateful you're there on the ground to let us know what it is like there in Cuba. Thank you, Patrick Oppmann.
OPPMANN: Thank you.
COLLINS: And we have much more on our breaking news from the top of the hour. You saw that dramatic video of the situation that's unfolding near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. We have more video tonight, giving us better view -- a better view of what's happening on the ground. We'll show you, right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We're following breaking news out of Iraq this hour, where the U.S. embassy in Baghdad has come under attack this evening, as video, just into CNN, shows multiple explosions near the compound, including at a nearby hotel.
[22:00:00]
Officials there in Iraq have confirmed that a drone did hit the hotel in Baghdad's heavily-fortified green zone, which houses government offices and diplomatic missions, including the United States Embassy. In the video, you can see the smoke and flames rising from that building.
And this strike comes, as the videos that we saw this hour also show air defense systems engaging at projectiles, just about 600 meters away from the embassy compound based on CNN's geolocation of that.
We are going to continue to monitor this breaking news here on CNN. We'll bring you the updates as we get them. Thanks so much for joining us here on THE SOURCE tonight.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts now.
