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The Source with Kaitlan Collins

10 U.S. Troops Hurt In Iranian Attack; Tiger Woods Arrested On Suspicion Of DUI After Car Crash; Jane Fonda Protests Against Trump's Takeover Of Kennedy Center. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired March 27, 2026 - 21:00   ET

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

[21:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA FARNOOD, CPAC ATTENDEE: We don't want money. We don't want anything. We want our country back.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (on camera): If Trump is watching this, what is your message to the President?

FARNOOD: Mr. President, thank you. And we know you're playing right. People of Iran. Thank you for your help and support.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Donie O'Sullivan. CNN. Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: And the news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: And we come on the air tonight with breaking news, as Iran has just hit a major U.S. base in Saudi Arabia.

The attack that struck the Prince Sultan Air Base, which is just south of Riyadh, as we've learned tonight, as we come on the air, that a U.S. official -- from a U.S. official, that 10 American troops have been injured in this attack. At least two appear to have suffered shrapnel wounds, we're told. And so far, there have been no reports of any American deaths. But obviously we're keeping a close watch on this and the state of the U.S. forces there.

Iranian state media has released this satellite image, which shows what a U.S. official also described to CNN as a tanker aircraft that was damaged in this attack. The extent of it still remains to be seen, as we're working to learn more from what U.S. officials know this hour. And this comes as tomorrow marks one month since this war has started.

CNN has learned that another U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, is now heading to the Middle East. That's on top of the two American carriers that are already in the region. It's not clear right now if the Bush is going to replace one of those or simply join them, as we are seeing U.S. forces amassing in the region. The U.S. military is still hitting targets in Iran. According to CENTCOM, they're trying to eliminate Iran's ability to strike beyond its borders. You can see why that matters. Tonight's strike on the air base in Riyadh, just south of Riyadh, proves that very point, and that Iran does still have the ability to at least hit its neighbors.

So do scenes like this, where CNN crews were in Israel, witnessing Iranian cluster munitions exploding in the sky over Tel Aviv.

The President, who was in Miami tonight, speaking to investors at Saudi Investment Forum, put a hard number on the work that he says he still wants the U.S. to complete in Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Now we're just going after targets. And, again, they have no anti-aircraft, so we're just floating over the top looking for whatever we want, and we're hitting it. And we have another 3,554 targets left, and that will be done pretty quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now, to put that number into perspective, for the most part, the U.S. military has been hitting between 300 and 500 targets per day.

Joining me tonight, many sources on this.

We're going to start with CNN's Global Affairs Analyst, Karim Sadjadpour.

And Karim, obviously, when you look at this, and the President, and all of the top officials at CENTCOM and the Pentagon have made clear what they are trying to do when it comes to Iran's capabilities here. They do still have the capability to hit a U.S. base in Saudi Arabia. I wonder what that says to you tonight.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE, IRAN EXPERT: Well, no doubt the United States is dominating this war militarily. But Iran still does have -- the Islamic Republic of Iran still has the capacity for great destruction.

I ultimately think that this strategy of Iran is going to backfire, and that rather than push the United States out of the Middle East by attacking our Gulf partners, they're just going to further cement the need for American partnership with the Gulf. But certainly, Iran is continuing to fight.

COLLINS: Well, and the President has said he was surprised that Iran did this, that it -- that it struck its neighbors, as it did immediately after this war started. Should we read anything into, as the President has been talking about negotiations with Iran and hopes that those will be productive. What does it say about Iran's willingness to negotiate, if they are still doing something like this? SADJADPOUR: I think actually, Kaitlan, that in some ways, both sides, both the Trump administration and the Iranians, do want to see a ceasefire. President Trump needs a ceasefire to see the price of oil come down, but he can't get that without reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Likewise, the Iranians are being pummeled on a daily basis. They would like a ceasefire. But when you look at the negotiating positions of each side, they are miles apart.

And so, in my view, we're not going to see a resolution to this conflict anytime soon. It's possible that we move from a hot war to a cold war. But we're not there yet.

COLLINS: That's a good point in terms of where this is going. Because, also from the perspectives, you're talking about Iran getting beat up every day, the challenges here at home that the President is facing. I mean, we've seen the Dow, the S&P 500, NASDAQ, each hit their lowest level of the year. Today was another bad day.

[21:05:00]

Iran, meanwhile, is selling more oil at a higher price since when the war started. I wonder how you think that factors into how Iran's viewing this. I mean, the President told me, the other day, he doesn't think Iran is going to be able to get a lot of the money from the oil that they're selling because of just the difficulty of this as the war is going on. How do you see it?

SADJADPOUR: Well, for the Iranian regime, this is simply a war of survival. They just need to stay in power in order to declare victory. And as of now, that looks like it's a decent probability that in the -- for the foreseeable future, they'll be able to stay in power.

I think for President Trump, he can't declare victory, so long as Iran is controlling the Strait of Hormuz and has the global economy hostage. And so, my argument is that we're dominating -- the United States is dominating, Iran, in the battlefield.

Iran is trying to fight America in the living room of Americans, and spike the price of oil, and create kind of popular discontent in the United States to restrain President Trump's ability to escalate this further.

COLLINS: Do you think that could work?

SADJADPOUR: What I worry about, Kaitlan, is that what's happening now is that the President is essentially threatening Iran with force, if it doesn't open the Strait.

I fear Iran is going to call the President's bluff. He'll be forced to send troops. And when we send troops into harm's way, into places, whether it's the Strait of Hormuz, or trying to get Kharg Island, there is a real possibility of American casualties. And I do worry, if that happens, that he'll be forced to further escalate -- President Trump will be forced to further escalate. And doesn't seem to me that this is a conflict that Americans want. COLLINS: Can I ask you one other thing is, in terms of Iran's capability here, and what this looks like. The Wall Street Journal is reporting tonight that it is a missile, not that it was a drone attack, that hit this base. Is there anything that you think we should be reading into that in terms of the capability that Iran does still have?

SADJADPOUR: Well, there's been some reporting that the extent to which Iran's missile capabilities has been degraded has perhaps been exaggerated, because a lot of their missile facilities are deep underground.

And in addition to their missiles, they have a lot of drones. So, they have a lot of capacity for destruction, and it doesn't take that much to continue to harass ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, or to continue to go after oil installations in the Persian Gulf and cause regional havoc.

COLLINS: Yes. I mean, you can see why ships don't want to go through there, given the real concern, as evidenced by this tonight.

Karim Sadjadpour, it is always great to have your expertise. Thank you for joining us tonight.

SADJADPOUR: Thank you.

COLLINS: I'm also joined here by a congressional source, California Democrat, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee. Congressman Ro Khanna.

And first, Congressman, can I just get your reaction to Iran striking a U.S. base with, according to The Wall Street Journal, a missile tonight?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, it's horrific. My thoughts are with our service members who were injured. My prayers and thoughts with their family members, and I'm just thankful for their bravery and courage. But this is why we need to end this war.

Look, the President has sent the 82nd Airborne Division to the region. Already, we have 4,500 Marines, we have 7,000 troops. No one wants troops to go into Iran. We need to vote, frankly now, in the Congress, to stop any further invasion into Iran. We need to stop the bombing. Israel needs to stop the bombing. Iran needs to stop the bombing. The American people have had enough of this.

COLLINS: I mean, you're on the Hill right now. But the Senate left town today. I believe Congress is gone for the next two weeks. I mean, the President could very well put troops on the ground, if he decides to do so in that two-week period. It doesn't seem like Congress is on the verge of stopping him.

KHANNA: I believe this incident tonight, where 10 of our service members have gotten badly injured, should give the Congress new resolve. We're still all here tonight because we're trying to vote for the TSA funding. We should be in this weekend, we should be voting to stop this war.

Look, it's not just that gas prices are up 34 percent. Most urgently, of course, our service members are at risk. But we're also diverting our resources from the Pacific. We're bringing Tomahawk missiles and capacity that should be there in the Pacific into the Middle East. We're running out of ammunition. This is only benefiting China. I say that as the top Democrat on the China committee. And it's something that President Trump ran against, these endless wars.

COLLINS: Yes.

KHANNA: So, I don't know what we're trying to achieve.

[21:10:00]

COLLINS: In your sense, do you believe the U.S. is more likely or less likely to put U.S. forces on the ground right now, based on what you've seen?

KHANNA: I hope that the President still won't do it, but it seems more and more likely, given that he's increasing our presence there.

And the reality is, you can't get the enriched uranium, which is underground, unless you have diplomacy or unless you put troops there. So, I think it is a real risk, especially based on the briefings that members have had, and that's why I think Congress needs to vote. We can't just be gone for two weeks. I mean, we've got to vote on this war. And if people want to vote to authorize it, they should do that.

But most Americans, I think, do not want ground troops there. They don't want service members dying in Iran. And we should just say, Look, we've degraded their navy. We've degraded their air power. Let's end this.

COLLINS: Yes, I mean, you can see, I mean, what's happening in Saudi Arabia right now. They're still able to get hit. Obviously, it's a U.S. base there.

You mentioned why you were on Capitol Hill at 9 o'clock on a Friday night. Congress has still not figured out a solution to fund the Department of Homeland Security. That shutdown is why Americans are waiting hours in line at the airports. It's why TSA workers are going, as some of them told us today, without paychecks, they're getting eviction notices. Some of them are limiting their meals, so they can feed their children. They're accumulating debt that's not going to just go away when they get backpay.

How is that acceptable, Congressman?

KHANNA: It's not, Kaitlan, and that's why we should at least vote for the Senate unanimous bill, which would pay TSA workers, open up the Department of Homeland Security. I don't know why we didn't do that this morning. The Senate passed it unanimously, and now the Republicans are saying, No, that's not good enough.

Why can't we just pay the TSA workers? That's been what the Democratic position has been for weeks, and that's what the Senate has done. The President now is doing it unilaterally. But the House Republicans still aren't willing to do that.

COLLINS: Do you know when you're even voting tonight? We had heard earlier that they were -- they were struggling to get a critical mass of Republicans on the Hill for this latest proposal tonight.

KHANNA: 10:30 is what I've heard. But it's not a vote on the Senate bill. That's what would have made sense.

COLLINS: Right.

KHANNA: If they're going to be voting on is a continuing resolution to include ICE funding, I mean, it's just going to be a logjam. It's not solving the issue.

COLLINS: But if they vote on -- OK, so say the House votes on that, and they get enough Republicans to pass it. The Senate left Washington today. I mean, there's cameras--

KHANNA: Right.

COLLINS: --showing all these senators leaving, going to the airports. I mean, how long do you expect this shutdown to go on, just given the dynamics at play here?

KHANNA: Well, look, my view is the Senate should come back, the House should come back, first to vote on the war. But certainly, if they send a different version to the Senate, then the Senate needs to take that up, and we need to resolve it. They are counting on the fact that President Trump--

COLLINS: And what if they don't?

KHANNA: Well, they're counting on President Trump giving them a lifeline, saying that he's going to, through executive order, pay these TSA workers. But to your point, it doesn't cover backpay, it's not something that is stable. And we're going to continue in a crisis if the Senate and House doesn't act -- don't act. And that's why I don't understand why we couldn't have just voted on this, this morning.

COLLINS: Do you support what the President did, though, to take executive action? We're told that TSA workers should get paid as soon as Monday. Do you support that?

KHANNA: Yes. I mean, I support paying them. And I agree that the President had to do something, but it's a temporary solution. What we really need to do is pass the Senate bill. It was a unanimous bill in the Senate. I don't know why the House can't do it. But of course, I mean, I want the TSA workers to get paid. And if the President is saying this is a temporary way to do that? That's fine. But what we need is for Congress to act.

COLLINS: Do you have any -- do you have a position on this proposal that Brian Fitzpatrick and Tom Suozzi, two of your colleagues, one Republican, the latter a Democrat--

KHANNA: Yes.

COLLINS: --want to put forward, that would do all of this, would pay all of these things?

It does have limits that people wanted, that Democrats wanted on ICE, like not letting them wear masks when they're out on the streets. And that's something that even Brian Fitzpatrick, he's a Republican, said he supports here last night.

Is that something that you would vote yes on?

KHANNA: No. Look, I like Brian Fitzpatrick, he often operates in good faith. And we can look separately at what needs to be done on ICE.

But I can't support additional funding for ICE, which already has $75 billion, which is harassing Americans, which is harassing immigrants. I've sat through testimonies of an American kid, 16-year-old, being told he was under a chokehold, an American mother saying that she was going to have her head blown off and that ICE was a better custodian of her kids than she was. It's disgusting stuff. So, I can't vote in good conscience for another new dollar.

[21:15:00]

And that's why the Senate resolved it, with Thune and others, and they said, OK, let's just fund everything else. And that's what we should vote in, in the House.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, Speaker Johnson felt that they did not resolve it, obviously, which is why you were going to be spending your Friday night on Capitol Hill.

Congressman Ro Khanna, obviously we'll be watching what happens there closely. Thank you for taking time to come over to the camera and join us tonight.

KHANNA: Thank you for having me.

COLLINS: Up next. We have new details out of Florida tonight. The Golf legend, Tiger Woods, is in jail right now. He was arrested on the suspicion of Driving Under the Influence after he was involved in another rollover crash. We have a live report outside the jail.

Also, that misery for travelers stuck in long security lines. A key air traffic control facility was just evacuated. That means more flights have just been grounded at several major airports. We'll give you details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:20:00]

COLLINS: Tonight, the Golf legend, Tiger Woods, is still in jail, after he was arrested earlier on the suspicion of Driving Under the Influence following a car crash.

Florida police arrived to the scene and found his Range Rover rolled over on its side, as you can see here. Investigators say that the collision occurred, after Tiger Woods sped up behind a pickup truck that was pulling a small trailer. When the truck was trying to pull over, but didn't really have a shoulder on the road to do so, Woods clipped it from behind.

Now, the police say that Tiger Woods was not injured in this crash, but that he did show signs of impairment, possibly from a medication or a drug, but they said they might not ever know for sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOHN BUDENSIEK, MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA: Woods did exemplify signs of impairment.

We really weren't suspicious of alcohol being involved in this case, and that proved to be true at the jail. So Mr. Woods did a breathalyzer test, blew triple zeros.

But when it came time for us to ask for a urinalysis test, he refused.

He has a right to refuse that test. There's a Florida statute which he will be charged with for refusing to take that test. But we will never get definitive results as to what he was impaired on, at the time of the crash.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: This is not his first car accident. It's not also the first time or his first arrest for allegedly Driving Under the Influence. He was previously arrested for a DUI in 2017, cited for careless driving in 2009 and, as you'll remember, he was involved in another rollover crash in L.A. in 2021 when we saw this scene, and where he had serious injuries to his legs after.

In recent months, the 50-year-old PGA legend has been working to make a comeback from his injuries, including his seventh back surgery late last year.

CNN's Randi Kaye is at the Martin County Jail in Florida.

And Randi, what else have police said about what they know so far about this crash?

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kaitlan, we know from authorities that this was a very, very narrow road. It's South Beach Road. And this happened before -- just before 02:00 p.m. today, when, as you said, Tiger Woods was traveling behind this truck that was pulling this small trailer.

And because it's a narrow road, this truck driver was apparently, according to authorities, trying to slow down and pull into a driveway. And that is when he told authorities that he saw the Land Rover behind him speeding up, and he tried to pull over and get out of the way.

But that's when, the Sheriff's Department says that, Tiger Woods swerved and then clipped that truck and then rolled on -- rolled his Land Rover, and he landed on the driver's side, so he wasn't able to get out on the driver's side. He had to exit his Land Rover on the -- while he was -- while it was on its side, out the passenger side.

So, they did see signs of impairment on the scene. They also said that the investigation shows that he was driving erratically.

And then they tried to do that urinalysis test, and that's where they still have some questions, as the Sheriff said, they want to know what was in his system. It doesn't seem to be alcohol. He blew that triple zero. But they did charge him with DUI, so they have him here in jail for that. They charged him with property damage, and they also charged him with refusal to take that lawful test, which is the urinalysis.

So, the only good news here is that the driver of the truck and Tiger Woods both escaped uninjured. So, that is some good news. But certainly, he has some explaining to do, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes. I was just going to ask you if we knew about the condition of the driver -- the other driver. So, that's good to know.

Do we know how long Tiger Woods is going to be in jail, Randi?

KAYE: Well, he's been here since about 3 o'clock today. And according to Florida law, there's a statute that says that if you're charged with DUI, they can hold you for at least eight hours. So, if they hold him for the full time, that would be at least 11:00 p.m. tonight, or maybe even midnight before they let him -- let him go and before he makes bond.

But we've been waiting here. This is one way to exit the Sheriff's Department. This is the front entrance. Whether or not they do that. We've already been told that they're trying to keep him safe and that they're not putting him in the general population. So, they didn't really get specific about whether or not he's getting special treatment. So, we'll see if they take him out the front where all the media is, or if they try to find a better way for him to exit this building, when he does exit.

COLLINS: Yes.

KAYE: But it's a terrible time for him, Kaitlan, terrible timing for anything like this. Of course, he just returned to TGL here in Florida this week, his golf tournament, and there was a lot of speculation he was going to return to the Masters next month. So, doesn't look that way for now, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes.

Randi Kaye, thank you. Keep us updated with what you're hearing.

Also, for more on this tonight, my source is Wright Thompson, who is a senior writer at ESPN, and has covered Tiger Woods extensively for years, including in his book, "The Cost of These Dreams: Sports Stories and Other Serious Business."

And Wright, it's great to have you back. It's unfortunate that this is what it's about.

I just wonder, given your coverage of Tiger, what your first reaction was, when you heard that he had been in this crash.

[21:25:00]

WRIGHT THOMPSON, SENIOR WRITER, ESPN, AUTHOR, "THE COST OF THESE DREAMS": I mean, I think, like a lot of people -- I mean Tiger's 50. I'm 49. I think for a lot of people who have grown up with him, I just felt sad, you know? I think -- I just felt sad.

COLLINS: Yes, I think it's, you know, you're right. He's this legend, incredibly talented.

But you have written an amazing story, that if people haven't read it, they should -- they should go back and read it, about his life, and the struggles that he's had during his life that has resulted in a list of several of the things that I mentioned there, including previous times when he was arrested and had several different medicines, and I think it was Vicodin, Xanax, Ambien, others, in his system. I think that was in the 2017 arrest.

THOMPSON: I imagine a couple of things. One, I imagine he's in near- constant pain, you know? I think -- I certainly have a tremendous amount of empathy for that. I mean, you can't be if -- if you're messed up, you can't be behind the wheel of the car. Just full stop. You know, everybody knows that.

But I think, when he emerged on the scene, he was, you know, so many expectations were put on his shoulders. And he has been through incredible highs and incredible lows. And I just -- I was watching, and I just saw a human being who's been through an incredible amount of difficult situations, and I hope that there are people in his life who can -- who can help him. And it's just -- like Randi said, it's the -- it's the exact wrong thing at the exact wrong time.

COLLINS: I was thinking back to, in 2021, after that wreck, which was really bad. I mean, he had to have multiple surgeries on his right leg after. And I want to remind people what he said then about his grateful -- his gratitude for still having his right leg.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I'm lucky to be alive, but also still have the limb, that those are two crucial things, you know? So, I'm very grateful that someone upstairs was taking care of me, that I'm able to not only be here, but also to walk without a prosthesis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: When you hear that and think about he's trying -- he was trying to maybe make a comeback in the Masters, as Randi noted there, which adds just to all of this.

THOMPSON: You know, when he won, when he was young, he won because he looked like Superman. And he's been through so much in his life that, in some ways, like the incredible human foibles of a 50-year-old man just sort of over and over, ending up in headlines and, you know, for great things, and then for things like today, the sort of visible humanity of watching him struggle.

I mean, it makes the golf almost that much more impressive to me because, like, it's just a good reminder that, like, everybody is human, and we all know people who struggle with substances and struggle with pain. And I certainly thought about everybody in my life who has faced that struggle. And, honestly, just, it's just really sad, Kaitlan, I mean, it's just a sad day.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, you talk about the physical pain that he's in. But as you wrote in that piece on his life, chasing this dream of being like his dad, and someone who was so young when he became a worldwide name -- a household name. I think that was something I was thinking about immediately today, after hearing this, and just thinking, Wow.

THOMPSON: I heard the Correspondent say, they were worried about whether he was getting special treatment.

And it's like, he's been getting special treatment in kind of a bad way for his whole life, you know? I mean, to live in public like that. The people who know him -- he's an extreme introvert. And so, to be this public, like, you know, people like that. I mean, that's really damaging to people.

And so, you just -- there's a reason that he has a big boat and it's named Privacy. And there's a reason that parked next to the big boat named Privacy is a still big, but smaller boat that is -- that's called, like, Solitude or something.

[21:30:00]

And so, like, you just get the sense is, this is the guy who really hates to live in public, and then he keeps doing things that pull him into public in a negative way. And that is, you know, ironic is a terrible word to use in such a serious situation. But it's just, you know, again, it's just a -- I feel bad for him.

COLLINS: Yes.

Wright Thompson, thank you for joining us tonight. I know it's not the subject people want to talk about, but it's great to have your reporting and expertise on this.

THOMPSON: Thanks, Kaitlan. Thank you very much.

COLLINS: Up next here on THE SOURCE. I'm going to take you to something that happened in Washington today. The Academy Award winning actress and activist Jane Fonda is going to join me, after what she said during a rally in Washington today, protesting against the President's takeover of the Kennedy Center. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE FONDA, ACTRESS AND ACTIVIST: We chose to hold today's action in front of the John F. Kennedy Center.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

FONDA: That's right. Because this beloved citadel of the arts has become a symbol of what is happening.

(CHEERING)

FONDA: 50 more people were fired just today.

The Center has been effectively silenced after artists refused to bow to ideological demands and the racist erasure of history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: That was the legendary Jane Fonda in front of the Kennedy Center today, in Washington, protesting President Trump's takeover of the D.C. landmark and kicking off a weekend of No Kings protests across the country.

Fonda and dozens of other artists and performers, like Joan Baez and Billy Porter, were raising alarm today about the President's sweeping changes to the Center, pointing to the installation of loyalists, mandates to push patriotic programming, and putting the President's name on the building as well.

And joining me now is the actress and activist, Jane Fonda.

And it's so great to have you here.

Because, just hearing your speech there today, you can tell how much this matters to you. Why was it important for you to be there today?

FONDA: The attacks on the arts, writ large, writers, painters, museums, National Endowment for the Arts, State Arts Councils, these are all being defunded. People who Trump doesn't agree with are being fired. Networks who report on the war, for example, in ways that Trump doesn't like, are told that they may lose their license. I mean, this is what happens in banana republics and in totalitarian countries.

I remember, I was -- I was in Russia. Well, it was the Soviet Union in the 1960s? Can't remember exactly when. And I looked out the window of my hotel room, and below me on a lawn, there was an outdoor exhibit, all these paintings of Impressionist works on stands, and the Soviets bulldozed it.

COLLINS: Wow.

FONDA: Because they said it was degraded art.

This is -- this is where we're going. You can't have art, unless the artists can express themselves. You may not agree with it, but you know, it's art. You have to let it be.

And what is happening now in this country has never happened here before. Our bedrock rights, The First Amendment, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom to protest. It's being taken away. There has been an authoritarian takeover, and it's consolidating very fast.

And here's why this was important, today, and tomorrow is important, and every act of resistance is important. Because we still have some tools, some few guardrails of democracy to protect our rights. Very soon we may not have those, including voting. We have to use our rights, while we can, to stop this from happening.

My father fought in the Second World War. Other people's fathers and grandfathers fought and died for these rights. We can't just sit back and let them be taken away from us.

COLLINS: Given the stakes that you're learning out there--

FONDA: You know, it's funny, one of the -- excuse me.

COLLINS: Yes, go ahead.

FONDA: The great, great writer Ann Patchett was there. I admire her so much. And she made this point, she was talking about the damages that's done when books are banned, under the guise of, They're bad for children.

Phones are good for children? They're not banned. Guns are good for children? They're not banned. It's -- this is an authoritarian move, and we have to stop it.

I'm sorry that I interrupted you.

COLLINS: No, you can interrupt all you want.

But what I was going to ask is, you're in front of the Kennedy Center. I have lived in Washington for a long time. I know how much it matters to people there, and to be able to go.

FONDA: Yes.

COLLINS: Someone who maybe doesn't live there, though, might say, How does what's happening in Washington at the Kennedy Center affect me?

What would you say to that person?

FONDA: Well, thousands of people love the Kennedy Center, because it affords them the kind of cultural experiences that they want.

[21:40:00]

But why what matters, the doing away of our First Amendment, especially when it comes to the art and to journalism, why it's important is, because prices will go up, content will become shallow, less complex, less diverse, less helpful to us. There're not going to be as many films, television series.

Everything is going to be flattened out, and there'll be less of it, and it will all be controlled by the government. Is this what we want from our entertainment, our art, our journalism, so that when we watch the news, we don't really know if we're hearing the true facts?

This is -- this affects everybody. Everybody. Your child's academic curricula are going to be wiped clean of true history. If we don't, as a country, understand our real history, which has a lot in it, that's pretty shameful, pretty bad? We have to own that.

And that's what makes us grow, understanding what happened, understanding why it happened, and then moving to a future, not going great, back again, but moving to a future that is truly a multi-racial democracy, where everybody is seen by their government and respected by their government. I've been in countries where that's true. And people are different. We have to make that happen here.

COLLINS: The White House commented on your speech today, and they were arguing that the President is trying to remake the Kennedy Center to make it the finest performing arts facility in the world for all Americans to enjoy. They said, No one cares what Jane Fonda has to say.

Obviously, I disagree with that, because we're having you on the show tonight. But I wanted to give you a chance to respond to that.

FONDA: I know Mr. Trump. I have met him. And I just -- I'm just so sad that whatever happened early in his life has turned him into someone that is the anathema of what a country needs in a leader.

It's just, it's -- we have to fight for this country. Our country is being taken from us. Our greatness was that -- was the First Amendment, was the fact that everyone had rights. And even if we didn't believe what the other person was writing or saying, we still had to honor their right to say it, and feel it, and paint it, and perform it. That is the strength of this country, and we cannot allow it to be taken away by somebody that is not well.

COLLINS: Jane Fonda, as always--

FONDA: And one more thing. We have to vote. And when we vote, we have to become kind of psychiatrists. We have to vote for people who care about other people, who are woke. Woke means caring about other people.

And find out where the money comes from before you vote for somebody. If their money comes from fossil fuels, or petrochemicals in this -- you know that -- then they're not going to vote -- they're not going to govern, with citizens in mind, with the good of average people in mind. This is -- this is -- we have to vote good people into office, people who care about us, and not just corporations.

COLLINS: Jane Fonda, thank you for joining us tonight.

FONDA: Thank you, Kaitlan. It's an honor.

COLLINS: It was our honor.

Up next. Our behind the scenes look at what happened at the White House and in Washington this week.

[21:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: This week started off under the wing of Air Force One, as I questioned President Trump about his ongoing war with Iran.

Here's more of what we saw behind the scenes this week in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: They want very much to make a deal. We'd like to make a deal too. If it goes well, we're going to end up settling this. Otherwise, we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out.

ON SCREEN TEXT: Monday, March 23.

COLLINS: Mr. President, who are you speaking with in Iran?

TRUMP: We're dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader.

COLLINS: Is that the Supreme Leader?

REPORTER: Is that the Supreme Leader?

TRUMP: No, not the Supreme Leader.

We have not heard from the son.

But the people that seem to be running it.

COLLINS: If you obliterated their nuclear sites last summer with your strikes, then how can you argue it was an imminent threat now?

TRUMP: Oh, we hit them so hard, we obliterated them. But that doesn't mean with the right equipment, you can't dig down and go get it. We don't want that.

COLLINS: What about the Strait of Hormuz? Who's going to be in control of that?

TRUMP: That will be opened very soon, if this works.

COLLINS: How soon?

TRUMP: Maybe--

COLLINS: And who's in control of it?

TRUMP: I mean--

COLLINS: Will Iran still be able to control the flow of oil?

TRUMP: It'll be jointly controlled.

COLLINS: By who?

TRUMP: Maybe me. Me and the Ayatollah.

Thank you very much.

COLLINS: Who's idea was that to put ICE in the airports?

TRUMP: Mine. That was mine.

[21:50:00]

The Democrats are fully to blame with the struggle at the airports. We just put ICE in charge and they're helping TSA, the agents.

Who doesn't love Elvis?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you been here before, Mr. President? Or is this your first time?

TRUMP: I've never been here, no. I'm a big fan of Elvis. Who isn't, right?

COLLINS: I just left Graceland with President Trump, which he was touring for the first time ever. At one point, the President was asked to sign a guitar in a gold Sharpie. He tested it out before he did and then held up the guitar for everyone to see.

ON SCREEN TEXT: Tuesday, March 24.

TRUMP: We have, really, regime change.

You know, I don't like to say this, this war has been won.

COLLINS: Hey.

President is talking today about these ongoing talks with Iran. That comes after he was threatening to bomb their powerplants and putting deadlines on that. He's now extended it to Friday. When you hear what the White House is saying, do you believe that he's looking for an off-ramp in this war?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): There is evidence that, in fact, he is not talking to Iran, that that's a lie, stated in order to calm the stock market and to lower oil prices.

COLLINS: Do you want them to hold the line, even if that means TSA agents still not getting paid?

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): They need to be paid.

Donald Trump is trying to cause maximum chaos and cruelty to TSA agents, and all those people waiting in line, in hopes that it will make Democrats buckle and support his ICE agency.

It's a president who is, again, cruel and chaotic, and he's bringing that to our airports.

ON SCREEN TEXT: Wednesday, March 25.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: As for the temporary, short-term fluctuation in gas prices, the President has said, once these combat operations are over, this administration is going to continue to unleash American energy dominance. We're continuing to do that every day, and we're going to see prices at the pump go back down.

The United States has been engaged over the last three days in productive conversations, which led the President to temporarily instruct the Department of War to postpone planned strikes against Iranian powerplants.

COLLINS: It was when the President came out on Monday and said he was extending his deadline that he had issued for that night to blow up Iranian powerplants, should they not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He extended that to this Friday. There are still questions about the deadline, and if that holds, and where these talks go from there.

OK, paparazzi.

TRUMP: I said, Fellas, do you mind taking off your masks in the airport? And they took them all. And they're helping the people with their bags, they're moving things along. People are starting to say, ICE, you're nice guys, we really appreciate it.

COLLINS: We've seen the President saying that Iran really wants to make a deal. The White House today, even when asked, who exactly they're speaking with, still haven't said who that person is. Do you think these talks are genuine, or do you think the President is buying time?

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, it could be he's buying time.

But the chances of reaching an acceptable agreement with this regime, no matter how many of their leaders we have killed, is zero.

ON SCREEN TEXT: Thursday, March 26.

TRUMP: Read a story today that I'm desperate to make a deal.

I'm not -- I don't -- I'm the opposite of desperate. I don't care.

They said yesterday that we weren't negotiating with them, and now they admit that we were negotiating with them. So, they want to make a deal. The reason they want to make a deal is they have been just beat to shit.

COLLINS: President Trump just extended his deadline for Iran to blow up their powerplants, if the talks with the United States don't proceed as he wants them to, by another 10 days.

When you look at what is happening in the region, the force buildup. Do you think we're more likely than not to put U.S. forces on the ground in Iran?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): At this moment, I would say the dynamic is toward troops on the ground. Because the President of the United States never sends armed forces to a region without some plan to use them that way, I can tell you, without disclosing any classified information, which indicates to me that there are potential plans in the works, in the event that these negotiations fail to be fruitful.

And right now, there is no indication that Iran is in a great hurry to have negotiation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Up next here for us on THE SOURCE. There are several major airports that are still recovering right now after a key air traffic control facility was evacuated. Yes, that, on top of everything else. The latest, right after this.

[21:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: As if air travel couldn't get any worse right now, several major airports in the Northeast are still recovering tonight after dealing with ground stops, after a key air traffic control facility in Virginia had to be evacuated due to a strong smell.

Now the FAA initially said the ground stop could delay flights or hold them in the air for as long as an hour, just adding to the misery that a lot of flyers are already experiencing right now, due to this partial, ongoing, as you just heard, our conversation with the Democratic congressman, government shutdown.

We'll keep you updated on that.

[22:00:00]

If you missed any of this show, you can watch THE SOURCE anytime on the CNN app. You can also listen to our podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. And you can also follow me on X and Instagram, where I'm always posting all the latest reporting throughout the day.

Thanks so much for joining us tonight.

"CNN NEWSNIGHT" starts now.