Return to Transcripts main page
The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Elon Musk Becomes World's First Trillionaire After SpaceX Debut; Trump And Iran Say An Agreement Is Close; UFC Fighters Face Off At Lincoln Memorial Ahead Of WH Fight. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired June 12, 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)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: You did this, first of all, in the book, when your husband is going for hip surgery, and the nurse is asking about bowel movements.
DAVID SEDARIS, AUTHOR, "THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE," COMEDIAN: Oh, yes.
COOPER: And you said, they're going like, Ah, la-la-la-la, you don't want to hear if -- and you claim that there are no bowel movements in the bathrooms in your home.
SEDARIS: In my house that -- no one's ever had a -- ever had a thing like that.
COOPER: Because the idea of it is so disturbing to you?
SEDARIS: In the bathroom, you wash your hands and you brush your teeth, and that's all that happens in there.
COOPER: David Sedaris, I love talking to you. Thank you.
SEDARIS: Oh gosh, thank you so much for having me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: It's a great way to head into the weekend.
The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: Tonight.
The UFC has landed at the Lincoln Memorial.
And the President's name is about to be removed from The Kennedy Center any minute.
And also, the world has its first trillionaire.
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE. And as we come on the air tonight, there are two remarkable scenes that are unfolding right now in the nation's capital.
On the left, as you can see here, the Lincoln Memorial is the stage for a pre-fight press conference, ahead of the White House UFC fight on Sunday evening.
On the right side of your screen, crews at The Kennedy Center, right now, are in the process of removing President Trump's name from the building.
We'll take you to both scenes, this hour, and explain what is happening.
But first tonight, something else remarkable has also happened. No person has ever spent more money on an American election than Elon Musk has, and he is now worth more money than any American ever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(BELL RINGING)
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That bell did more than ring in a new day of trading. It also rang in a new definition of wealth. With shares of Elon Musk's SpaceX now available for public trading, he just became the world's first trillionaire.
Only a year ago, Elon Musk himself took credit for another historic American moment, which was President Trump's return to the White House. Then, he said, quote, "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate."
Now, Elon Musk spent more than $290 million on the 2024 election, and all that money made him an integral part of the President's campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, BUSINESSMAN AND FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As you can see, I'm not just MAGA. I'm dark MAGA.
President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution. He must win to preserve democracy in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: It was a bromance that continued into the President's second term, when moments like these happened. Elon Musk, inside the Oval Office, as he was handed unprecedented access to the government through the creation of DOGE. It was a job that saw him celebrate his spending-slash effort on stage at that conservative conference with a chainsaw.
And the more than a quarter billion that Elon Musk spent in 2024, it's actually only a fraction of what he's worth now. Even if it's so- called paper wealth, not a pile of cash in a bank, it's an amount of wealth that has never been seen before in the history of human commerce. The amount itself is pretty mind-boggling. A trillion is made up of 1,000 billions, or think, 1 million million dollars. And even if Musk spent $1 million every hour of every day, it would still take more than a century to spend a trillion of them.
The fact that there is even a trillionaire, much less that his name is Elon Musk, means his impact on American politics is likely far from over, especially at a time when Americans have been watching prices go up and climb at the grocery store and at gas stations, and as Democrats have been on a mission, right now, to take control of Washington, come this November. So far, they've only been targeting billionaires.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): To the billionaire class, I say that your greed has got to end.
GRAHAM PLATNER, (D) MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: The billionaire class.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): The billionaire class.
REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): The billionaire class is doing fine.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): He is there to serve himself and the billionaire class that put him there.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): The billionaire class is funding these campaigns.
KRISTEN WELKER, MODERATOR, "MEET THE PRESS," NBC NEWS: Do you think that billionaires have a right to exist?
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D-NYC, NY): I don't think that we should have billionaires.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: On this moment, my CNN Contributor and first source tonight, and it's the tech journalist, Kara Swisher.
I mean, Kara, when you look at this.
KARA SWISHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, THE NEW YORK TIMES OPINION, PODCAST HOST, "SWAY," AUTHOR, "BURN BOOK": Yes.
COLLINS: Just to kind of put this in perspective. If you put together the estimates of the next four richest people in the world, their actual combined net worth falls short--
SWISHER: They are. Yes. COLLINS: --of what Elon's now is.
SWISHER: Yes.
COLLINS: How do you put this much money in perspective?
[21:05:00]
SWISHER: It's really hard, I mean, it's really hard, especially since I knew him when he was poor, like, and he didn't have money, so that's a very different thing.
Yes, you're closer to being as wealthy as Jeff Bezos, as Jeff Bezos is being close to Elon Musk, so that's the kind of thing you have to think about is he only has 200 and some billion dollars, and Elon has four times that. So, you're closer in salary to Jeff Bezos right now. I mean, maybe not you, Kaitlan -- Kaitlan. Me, for sure.
COLLINS: I mean--
SWISHER: Yes, I'm just--
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Safe to say.
But I mean, just to think about that, and as someone who has covered Elon for as long as you have, and during the different chapters of his life and his businesses and his career.
SWISHER: Right.
COLLINS: I mean, what does it mean that Elon Musk is the world's first trillionaire.
SWISHER: Well, it depends on how you think about this company because, right now, it has the revenue of Land O'Lakes Butter. So, it's not -- this is like totally overvalued in a lot of ways. But it doesn't really matter because it's him, right? He gets this premium, this Elon premium.
And the question is, is it going to be a meme stock, or is it going to be a real company? There's a lot of great businesses in here, especially Starlink. There's others that Scott Galloway has called money furnaces, and I think he's absolutely right. xAI, they might shove Tesla in here. A lot of his sort of companies that aren't quite gelling the way that he had hoped are in here, and so it's going to be really hard.
And the other thing is, nobody controls it but Elon, and so -- you know, it's interesting. It didn't go up that much today. It went up exactly as much as the bankers planned it, which is just under 20 percent.
And I think the question is, what's going to happen five months from now, is when you start looking for it. Because there's a lot of support here for this stock, with the bankers keeping it scarce, not letting people sell, things like that. And so, we'll see what happens as it rolls out in the next 12 months.
COLLINS: What's your prediction, or what's kind of the one thing that you're keeping your eye on that--
SWISHER: I don't know.
COLLINS: --that maybe not everyone is paying attention to right now?
SWISHER: Well, I like math, you know, and it doesn't add up in any way, whatsoever. And some of these promises, data centers in space, I've been talking to a lot of people, and it seems far-fetched. You're going to have a robot next year in your home, all these promises he's made.
Now he's had some amazing businesses. Tesla was one, until he sort of stopped paying attention to it, and then it's gotten run past it by BYD and others. And so, the question is, can he maintain Starlink in the lead the way it is, and it certainly is, and it's a terrific company.
At the same time, it's a telco, really. And so, should it be valued at a 100 times with Amazon or Google, who have, or Apple, you know. It's just so far and above all the other tech stocks, which are already very richly valued. It's the -- the numbers don't add up compared to other tech companies.
And so, let's see if it can grow into its valuation, or it's all based on one person, which it is. This company is priced because Elon Musk wants this price, and they've supported him because Elon Musk wants this. And so, it's a very singular person that is keeping this stock aloft, and there's all kinds of things that could happen to it. It just depends on how the business does. And there's a lot of businesses in this business, which makes it more confusing.
COLLINS: Yes, and in terms of just watching that, but also his political involvement. I mean, we've seen him spend though--
SWISHER: Oh, yes.
COLLINS: --in midterms, coming up, not anywhere near what he did two years ago in 2024.
SWISHER: Yes.
COLLINS: I mean, what is your sense of how -- how do you think he'll choose to spend on politics going forward?
SWISHER: A lot. A lot. He kind of likes it. It kind of works. It didn't work everywhere. It didn't work in Wisconsin. But you know, he's spent -- what he's explicitly spending, and what you don't know he's spending, that could be something else. Where is he? What is he doing? What is he involving himself in?
Obviously, one of the things that sort of made me sad that got lost in this is what's going on in Ireland, these riots, which he is egging on, you know? It's just like people don't put the things together. But I don't think bankers are moral, you know, they don't have any moral quandaries about things like this.
But I think he's going to spend big. I think he wants to keep -- Republicans have been very good to Elon Musk, 20 percent of its business is with the government right now, so, of SpaceX, and so it really needs that government relationship. And if the Democrats get in charge, he's going to be out of luck, I think, in lots of ways, as you listen -- what you listened to before.
And so, all this whole tech class really needs Trump to stay in place because, they put in a little money on one end, and they get a lot more on the outside, multi-billion dollar contracts, and everything else. So, it's a really good deal for Elon to be backing President Trump.
COLLINS: Yes, and that he is now back in his good graces, at least.
SWISHER: For now. For now.
COLLINS: Kara Swisher, always great to have you. Thank you.
SWISHER: For now.
COLLINS: For now--
SWISHER: Right. Thank you.
COLLINS: --the important asterisk to always include on that.
SWISHER: Yes.
COLLINS: And I should note--
SWISHER: Thank you.
[21:10:00]
COLLINS: --as we're watching this and seeing what does happen, going forward, this is the world's largest IPO that is going to boost a lot more wallets than just Elon's.
That includes for SpaceX employees in California because, the subsidiary that you heard Kara mention there, xAI, the headquarters are based in Palo Alto, they've got a San Francisco office. And X, which a lot of us still call Twitter, it is part of the same company. They also have offices there and in San Jose.
And it's all in a state whose current governor, Gavin Newsom, wrote this today. He said, Americans are struggling to pay for groceries and gas while Elon Musk becomes a TRILLIONAIRE. When the federal government is for sale, the rich get richer and everyone else gets shafted.
The Republican candidate to replace Gavin Newsom on the ballot is my next source tonight, Steve Hilton.
And it's great to have you here, Mr. Hilton.
As you're looking at this. SpaceX is about to make more than 4,000 new millionaires with this IPO today. A lot of them work in California. You're running on a flat tax that would actually significantly reduce what the richest Californians pay. Do you think most voters in your state want to see them pay less in taxes?
STEVE HILTON, (R) CANDIDATE FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: Yes, most voters want lower taxes all around. They want more jobs. We have the highest unemployment rate of all 50 states. A big reason for that is because we have the highest tax rates, highest sales tax, highest gas tax.
It's ridiculous for Gavin Newsom to be blaming Elon Musk for the high costs of California, the highest cost of living in the country. It's his policies that have caused that. The fact that gas is $2 higher in California than any other state, even at a time of the Iran war, entirely because of Gavin's policies. Same with groceries, the highest cost in the country because of the regulations, the electric bills that have doubled the national average.
All of these things are driving businesses, like Elon's businesses, out of California. He's moving so much of the production, the jobs, to Texas, for example. As governor, I want those jobs in our state. I don't want to be the state with the highest unemployment rate and the highest poverty rate. The way to turn that around is to lower taxes for entrepreneurs and for workers. Remember, the first part of my tax plan focuses on workers, your first 100 grand, tax-free.
COLLINS: By your campaign's own math on this, that tax plan would cut the revenue by as much as $65 billion per year. How exactly do you determine, and have you done so, so far, what services you would have to cut to cover that loss?
HILTON: Well I think that we've tested, to destruction in California, the idea that if you spend more money, you get better services. We have the highest gas tax, highest vehicle registration in the country, and yet we are 50th out of 50 on the quality of our roads. Same with education. We spend $28,000 per student, one of the highest rates in the country, we have some of the lowest test scores. So, I don't think it's about spending money. That equation is broken in California.
Now, in terms of where we can save money and reduce the budget. Let's start by remembering that they've doubled the budget of the State of California in the last 10 years or so. Everything's worse, not better. We've done an analysis of spending, and our estimate is that, in the last five years, there's been about 400 or so billion dollars of money that has been lost, wasted, spent on things that it shouldn't have gone to.
That's based on an analysis of public data, for example, the state auditor's estimate of how much has been spent without result on homelessness, or how much was lost in the Employment Development Department during the pandemic. That works out at a roughly $80 billion a year. So, that's the starting point, to cut out the waste in our government, so that we can reduce spending, get it back to a more reasonable level, and cut taxes.
COLLINS: You're going to be facing Xavier Becerra in the governor's race. You've been endorsed by President Trump. He's been saying things like this about elections in California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Look at California. They send out millions of ballots. Tens of millions. They have no idea what's going on. Those elections are so corrupt.
One of my big things because our elections are corrupt. You see that in California.
And then the other is the governor of California. Take a look at what's going on. It's a disgrace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: You have said that you've seen no evidence of voter fraud in your race. Is President Trump wrong?
HILTON: Well, I think that there's certainly concerns that he's reflecting there, which many Californians share. The fact that it takes so long to count the votes. The fact that there are millions of wrong names on the voter rolls. That's not the President or me saying that. That's the Democrat Secretary of State, Shirley Weber. That was an analysis that I think three years ago, she said, there were 9 million wrong names on the voter roll.
So, there's many things we need to fix in terms of our elections in California. Top of the list, I would say, and this would help speed things up, is voter ID. It's actually going to be on the ballot in California, supported by around 70 percent of Californians, and I've invited Xavier Becerra. I don't think we agree on many things, but perhaps we can agree on this: that we should campaign together for voter ID because, it's something that a large majority of Californians support.
COLLINS: One thing you've also said is to remove the need for signature verification. Right?
[21:15:00]
HILTON: That's exactly right. Voter ID would do that because -- and that--
COLLINS: But wouldn't signature--
HILTON: --that would really speed up the process.
COLLINS: But doesn't signature verification help protect against fraud?
HILTON: Right. But I think we all experience in our daily lives that signatures, often you're invited to sign things on an electronic pad and it's a squiggle, and maybe your signature isn't exactly the same as when you first registered to vote, maybe 15 years ago.
And so, you've got a lot of people in the vote centers trying to make those determinations. Whereas, if you have voter ID, the plan that's going to be on the ballot in California, for example, uses Social Security numbers and things that can't really -- that don't require that kind of human verification, it could be done much more quickly, and I think that's something that, well, as I said, most Californians support that.
COLLINS: For voter ID. Obviously, people who go in-person, we see how that works. What about the more than 80 percent of Californians who vote by mail though?
HILTON: You add -- the proposal that's on the ballot in California would involve you writing your -- the last four numbers of your Social Security number, for example. There are certain forms of ID that you can -- you can put in writing on the -- in the envelope, when you send in your ballot by mail.
And so, it's a different proposal, just to be clear, than what's being discussed in Congress, with the SAVE America Act. The California proposal, I would -- I'd characterize it as a more narrow proposal, but -- and that's probably why it's got broad support, including among many Democrats in California.
COLLINS: But if someone -- if someone does that on their ballot, wouldn't an election worker, someone have to verify that?
HILTON: Well, the Social Security numbers and the ballot them -- and the way that it's sent in makes the process much quicker. You don't have to, in each case, look at the signatures. And so, yes, you're right that where there are anomalies, you can go back and check. But the actual process with voter ID because, it's going to be much less subject to those qualitative measures, if you like, it's just going to speed the whole thing up and add a level of security that most people support.
COLLINS: Steve Hilton, we will see what happens on the ballot. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. Really appreciate having you on the show.
HILTON: Thank you, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Up next. The United States and Iran have different takes on what is in the deal to end this war, or at least get to a starting point to try to end the war. Both sides are signaling that some kind of agreement is within reach. What we're learning tonight about how soon that could happen.
And also, for the first time ever, UFC fighters are facing off at the Lincoln Memorial. This is what's happening right now in Washington. We'll take you to the scene live.
Also, on the other side of Washington, not far from the Lincoln Memorial, The Kennedy Center has crews, scaffolding set up here, preparing to remove those words at the top there, Donald J. Trump. [21:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We have some breaking news that we're following this hour. Because right now, this is a live look at what's happening at The Kennedy Center in Washington. This scene is because a federal appeals court has ordered President Trump's name to be removed from The Kennedy Center tonight, rejecting a last-minute effort by the Center to keep it up, at least for now.
My colleague, Sunlen Serfaty, is on the scene outside The Kennedy Center.
And obviously, Sunlen, I know there was some dodgy weather in Washington earlier. But what are we seeing, and when do we expect them to actually start the removal?
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kaitlan, there was some thunderstorms earlier in the night, but work here has restarted to ultimately take down Donald Trump's name off of The Kennedy Center, and I think this moment speaks volumes of the political reality that we're in here in Washington.
I want to show you a little bit of what's happening behind me. This crew of 12 workers, you see them there behind me in hard hats, bar by bar, they are actually building the scaffolding foot by foot, to go up to reach, and you see some of them climbing on the side there to reach those words at the top that President Trump had added, The Donald J. Trump And. They will be removing that.
Now, with every foot that they climb up, with every level that they build, this crowd here erupts in applause and jubilation. Many of the people here are chanting, Take it down, as they're going up higher and closer to the words there. And this crowd here, at The Kennedy Center, is notable. It has swelled in size over the last few hours. Notable that this is all happening at 09:20 p.m. Eastern Time on a Friday evening.
This building, of course, represents so much symbolism for the stamp that President Trump wants to make on Washington, and they are now compelled, despite that last-ditch effort in court today, they are now compelled to bring this name down by 11:59 tonight. So, right now, Kaitlan, it is just a race for the clock.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
SERFATY: And I'm sure, you can hear the crowds behind me as they make one more level up, one inch closer to that name coming down. The crowd here is celebrating.
Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Oh yes, we can hear them. Sunlen Serfaty, we'll check back in with you throughout the hour as we are watching that.
And Sunlen's right, it is a remarkable moment to see the President's name removed from The Kennedy Center, given how much he wanted it on there.
We're also following some other breaking news tonight that has to deal with Washington. That's because sources are telling us right now that the United States and Iran are in the final stages of a prospective agreement.
I should note, anything that's going to be signed, is still pretty preliminary. It's not a complete and end game to this war. But what we've learned is that a signing ceremony of what is known as a memorandum of understanding could be held in Geneva, Switzerland. Right now, we're also hearing from the Iranians. It could happen remotely.
[21:25:00]
So far, any details beyond that are basically pretty murky. That's because what's actually inside this agreement, based on what we know right now, ultimately depends on who you ask.
A senior Trump administration official told CNN that Iran had agreed to these terms, which they describe as a performance-based deal: one, it would include the destruction and removal of their nuclear material; two, the dismantling of their nuclear program; three, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz; and four, an end to Iran's support for their terrorist groups; and we are told this all has an understanding that none of Iran's money would be released until they perform those other objectives.
Now, compare that, what we're hearing from the White House, to what we're hearing from Iran's foreign minister on what they say is and is not in this agreement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): The termination of the war will be announced on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
Now, the topic of the nuclear issue has been postponed to the final agreement.
The second phase or final agreement will be covering sanctions removal and the nuclear program, and one or two other issues.
We are the victor of this battlefield. The Islamic Republic of Iran has emerged as a victor.
Iran emerged stronger out of this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Joining me tonight is CNN's Global Affairs Analyst, and the former Middle East Coordinator on the National Security Council, Brett McGurk.
Brett, I mean, every day it feels like we talk about this, and our question is, are we close? Where are we? We started out the week with strikes. When you look at what you're hearing tonight from the White House and from the Iranians, what is your sense on how close an agreement potentially is?
BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, FORMER MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA COORDINATOR, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Kaitlan, you laid it out in your piece. I mean, what those five points that the White House put out today in background briefings are just completely contradictory to what the Iranians and the Foreign Minister went on their state TV tonight said.
And even on the gating, the gating issue, this is the phase one agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz. And what Abbas Araghchi, the Foreign Minister you just saw there, he said in that interview, the Strait of Hormuz will never go back to how it was, it will never again be free of charge, those were his words, and that it will be controlled by Iran and Oman, and they will charge, he said, not fees, but basically maintenance -- or not tolls, but maintenance fees, so meaning they'll be collecting revenue.
Also, on all those issues that are kicked to this phase two, the nuclear, Kaitlan. I mean, let's assume we get to the gating issue, Strait of Hormuz opens. The understanding from the Iranian side, and I think this is a good assumption, they'll be trading their oil again. There'll either be sanction waivers or an agreement not to enforce sanctions.
And if you just add that up, even on conservative numbers and just back in the envelope math. If Iran is exporting 1.5 million barrels a day, which they could do pretty easily, say the price is a $100 a barrel, they're making $150 million a day, about a billion dollars a week. And over the course of this two-month phase one deal, that's $8 billion. It's highly unlikely, given that resource windfall they would get, that they're going to then make the hard commitments on the nuclear side in that phase two negotiation.
So, you said, murky. That's right. It's very unclear. I think we have to see. But the way the deal is structured, I think I'll reserve judgment until we actually see it. We haven't seen it. But we're hearing two completely contradictory narratives from the two capitals.
COLLINS: I mean, the Vice President, who was the person who's rumored to go to a signing ceremony, should there be one. Right now, it's not really clear there will be one, at least in-person. He put out a statement today, saying he's seeing all this reporting from anonymous sourcing on what's in the deal, what the President has signed off on.
I mean, there are real questions, though, about, you know, even what this memorandum of understanding, where that would put us in the war. I mean, if it does open the Strait of Hormuz, but doesn't solve those other issues, I mean, most people would not see that as a deal to bring this war to an end.
MCGURK: Unfortunately, Kaitlan, past is prologue. You might -- some might hope that the Iranians would invest those economic resources in their people and recovering their economy. They will not.
They will invest those resources in their missile program and their proxy networks, and everything we've seen them do, and basically recharging for, unfortunately, for a future phase of a conflict as their networks expand across the Middle East. We saw this. They were -- they proliferate their missile and drone technology to the Russians, to the Houthis, all over the place. I mean, I had to deal with this day-to-day when I was working on this most difficult file. I think that's what we can anticipate.
So, no, this does not end this problem. This might put a stopgap measure on this immediate problem in the Strait of Hormuz. But as Iran gets that economic wind at its back again, trading its oil, particularly at a market price, then the incentive for them to make the really hard moves on the nuclear side, dismantling its nuclear infrastructure, getting rid of those stockpiles, which we all want, I think will be very difficult.
[21:30:00]
So, I'm very curious to see what is in this document. Senior officials today told the press, it's more comprehensive than the JCPOA in some ways. Abbas Araghchi, tonight on state TV, said it's only a two-page MOU. So, first, let's see if there is a deal, and let's see what it says. But as of right now, very murky. I hope there's a breakthrough. That's a good deal. But right now, again, I'm not -- I'm not really seeing it.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean, and all of this is going to be at the top of the agenda, when the President is in France, next week, for the G7, meeting with other world leaders. So, we'll see where that takes us.
MCGURK: Right.
COLLINS: Brett McGurk. Great to have you here tonight. Thank you for breaking it down with us.
MCGURK: Thanks, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Also, right now in Washington, this story that I mentioned, there are UFC fighters at the Lincoln Memorial, going down the steps, as you see here. That is a live look ahead of Sunday's UFC White House fight. What more we know about what's going to be happening in Washington? Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:35:00]
COLLINS: This is a live look at the Lincoln Memorial, right now, in Washington, where the UFC is hosting a press conference to hype up Sunday's UFC fight at the White House. For about the last hour, the event had faced delays because there are passing storms, summer in Washington. Officials there are broadcasting a large Seek Shelter sign, earlier this evening, warning people to cover up. Well, obviously, there's not a ton of places to go on the National Mall.
This could be a preview and an issue and a challenge of what's to come for Sunday. Right now, forecasters are warning that severe storms and lightning could threaten the White House event. So, we'll be tracking that closely as officials there will as well.
Joining me tonight is Shawn McCreesh, who is the White House correspondent for The New York Times.
And Shawn, obviously, just watching all of this play out in Lincoln Memorial. You also were on the South Lawn yesterday. That's where the Octagon is, the UFC stage. What do you make of the massive production, and just what it looks like in the context of not just it, existing, but where it is right now on the White House South Lawn.
SHAWN MCCREESH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: I think tonight is a really interesting split screen. With the name coming down off The Kennedy Center. At the same time that the weigh-ins are happening at the Lincoln Memorial. And then you've got this massive superstructure blinking behind the White House. I mean, he really is using the entire town like his own sandbox.
And I got to be honest, I was at the -- at the, you know, the Claw, as they call it, at the White House yesterday, and it -- the thing is huge. It's -- it's really something.
COLLINS: Yes, I don't -- I don't know -- I mean, you can see it from the -- we have a picture, we've shown it every night because it's lit up.
But when you're walking into the White House, I mean, as a reporter, you truly can't ignore it from any angle. I mean, anywhere you are in Washington, any of the buildings nearby, it just looms over it in such a way that, I mean, I've covered the White House for 10 years now, it's like almost nothing you've ever seen before.
MCCREESH: Yes, it's massive. I think the White House campus has this sort of understated glamor, and it's these massive willow oak trees and magnolias that were planted by presidents from decades and centuries ago. And now you've got this thing that's got Sponsor, Bud Light, Crypto.com wrapped all over it. It's taller than the House itself, it's way taller than the trees. There are Klieg lights on every inch of the thing, it's -- it looks really out of place there.
COLLINS: I think you make a good point of where we're seeing the Lincoln Memorial. I mean, it's not far right behind the Lincoln Memorial, where The Kennedy Center is, where there's this -- I mean, it's just -- it is such a split screen, in terms of there's these cheering crowds at the UFC press conference right now, listening to these fighters as they hype up the fight card on Sunday. And then just a few hundred feet away, there are people at The Kennedy Center cheering, as each row of scaffolding is going up, getting closer to the words, Donald J. Trump, as this court has intervened here and said, his name has to come off of The Kennedy Center in the next three hours.
MCCREESH: Yes, I covered the -- his takeover of The Kennedy Center a lot for the newspaper, and this feels like sort of the inevitable endpoint of it.
But it's almost like an Aesop's Fable or something, you know, the man who has to put his name on every single thing gets control of this magical building, and the surest way to destroy it is for him to put his name on it. But he couldn't help himself, he slapped his name on it, and that was sort of the end of it, right?
COLLINS: I mean, they also had his name, you know, the lettering ready to go when they voted on it. I mean, it was -- it went up, I think, like 30 minutes after they had voted on it, the Board that he had appointed
MCCREESH: Yes.
COLLINS: Now just a few months later, it's coming down.
MCCREESH: The Board meeting happened at the house of Steve Wynn in Palm Beach, with all sort of his friends there, and Lee Greenwood was performing in the house, and it was like this sort of social get- together where they all just decided to do this. And I guess it didn't last very long.
COLLINS: The UFC fight on Sunday at the White House. Obviously, UFC has a massive fan base, they'll all be watching.
But given the fact that it's on the White House lawn, and as a White House reporter, what are you going to be watching for, in terms of just this moment, coming at this point in the administration, as they're dealing with the Iranians, they're dealing with gas prices that are skyrocketing here at home, inflation is outpacing the highest rate in three years. I mean, how do you see this in the moment of the Trump presidency?
[21:40:00]
MCCREESH: I think it's interesting. I think Donald Trump has, for decades, been intimately connected to Americans' sort of tabloid tastes and sensibilities. This is the guy who owned casinos in Atlantic City, and appeared as himself on WrestleMania and in Pizza Hut commercials. And "The Apprentice" was such a massive hit on television, it's what allowed him to become president, many people say. And he knows what people like.
But I think, it's one thing to do this at a campaign rally. I think doing it in the White House is something else entirely. And there was a poll by Reuters that came out that said only 16 percent of people find this to be appropriate. And when you juxtapose it against his sinking poll numbers, the rising gas prices, it seems like it's more provocative than maybe they realized it would be?
COLLINS: Yes, it's going to be fascinating to see it on Sunday night. That's regardless.
Shawn McCreesh. Great to have you and your reporting as always.
MCCREESH: Thanks, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Coming up here on THE SOURCE. California's first partner, as she's known, Jennifer Siebel Newsom is my next source. We sat down to talk about her new documentary, and also her future as Gavin Newsom is weighing a potential 2028 White House bid.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:45:00]
COLLINS: With the rise of AI and deepfakes, so easily made at the press of a button, what is it like to grow up as a young girl online right now? That question is explored in the new documentary, "Miss Representation: Rise Up."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I definitely feel like I am more self-conscious after getting on social media.
Social media makes you feel like you always need to perform a certain way, and to be perfect.
It makes me feel like, what is wrong with me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The 2023 CDC study on youth health and wellbeing reported that the rate of girls who are feeling persistently sad and hopeless is 53 percent. The CDC also reported that one in three girls had seriously considered suicide.
We used to think about depression as happening as girls were turning 16 or 17. Now we're seeing it at a 11, 12, 13. This is unprecedented.
Around 2011, we began to see this rising spike in mental health concerns among young girls. That's when girls began to have much more access to smartphones, and that's when a lot of social media platforms added the Like and the Share buttons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Earlier this week, I sat down with Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who wrote, produced, and directed the film. And we also talked about her husband, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and his political future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Thank you for being here. This film is a second chapter to the documentary that you made in 2011, which was about -- "Miss Representation," about sexism in the media, and I know that you have your own experience with that from your time in Hollywood. What was it that led you to social media for this?
JENNIFER SIEBEL NEWSOM, DIRECTOR & PRODUCER, "MISS REPRESENTATION: RISE UP," FIRST PARTNER OF CALIFORNIA: So, "Miss Representation" was made 15 years ago. And with the advent, in around 2011, of the Like and Share button, we started to see a dip in girls' and women's mental health.
57 percent of girls experiencing persistent sadness and hopelessness, one in three seriously considering suicide. 99 percent of deepfakes, targeting women and girls, 96 percent of them nonconsensual pornography. And then we started to see a downturn in women aspiring towards political leadership. And so, this all together helped us understand that tech-facilitated gender-based violence was harming girls' and women's mental health, safety, and power.
COLLINS: This movie starts out, focusing on young girls and what -- you know, people focusing on their looks and what that's like for them to experience that for the first time. But you also talk about women who are in politics and seeking public office, and what that story is like.
And I was taken by one woman you spoke with, Sabrina Javellana, who was seeking public office, one of the youngest elected officials in Florida, and has her images used for deepfake porn.
SIEBEL NEWSOM: Yes.
COLLINS: And just to see that I wonder, what that was like for you, as you made this, and also whether or not you feel that it discourages women from seeking public office.
SIEBEL NEWSOM: We are seeing young women hold themselves back from wanting to pursue careers, like your own, not just political leadership, and it's extremely disturbing. It is a backlash, a backslide, and it is happening at an unprecedented scale, where ultimately we are silencing women's voices, and we need women to have a voice in a democracy. A democracy thrives when women thrive.
COLLINS: What do you think is the fix to this? I mean, some people may say, That's the price of admission for being in public life. After doing this, what would you say to that?
SIEBEL NEWSOM: I disagree that it's the price of admission. I think girls and women deserve to be protected. We deserve to be safe. Anyone aspiring towards a public service career deserves to be safe. It should be fundamental.
[21:50:00]
COLLINS: I wonder, how you personally feel and experience this. I mean, Politico reported recently, I'm sure you saw this about saying, As 2028 looms, Jennifer Siebel Newsom faces increased conservative attacks, from everything to the title of first partner, to speaking out about the manosphere and directly talking about the influence that has on young boys and young men.
What has this been like for you?
SIEBEL NEWSOM: So, all of my documentaries, five that I've written and directed, and others that I've executive produced, have awakened consciousness and shifted attitudes and behaviors around limiting gender stereotypes and norms, and how we all suffer. It's not just women and girls that are suffering. Boys and young men are suffering as well.
And so, I'm not going to be stopped by folks that don't know me, folks that want to put me in a box and silence me. Clearly, I'm doing something right because, they're paying attention.
COLLINS: And as we're talking about the spotlight. I mean, it is widely rumored and speculated that he's going to run for president in 2028. Are you ready for that spotlight?
SIEBEL NEWSOM: I will continue to do the work that I'm doing now for as long as I can imagine. I love championing and focusing on uplifting and supporting women and girls and children, and giving families the opportunity to experience the California dream.
And so, I've loved our time in office, and we have a lot of work left to do to -- that I'm really proud of the work that we've done, and I don't know what the future looks like.
COLLINS: Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Thank you for joining us.
SIEBEL NEWSOM: Thank you so much for having me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Up next. We'll show you what we saw behind the scenes this week in Washington.
[21:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: We hit them hard yesterday, and we're going to hit them again hard today.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Monday, June 8.
(CHEERING)
COLLINS: The first sitting President to ever attend an NBA Finals game. The President was pretty loudly booed during the national anthem as it played.
TRUMP: It was certainly amazing. I think mostly cheers.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Tuesday, June 9.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. military, CENTCOM launching new strikes against Iran. This is in response to the downing of an Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman yesterday.
COLLINS: The White House hasn't said much beyond the CENTCOM statement.
The President signaled this, earlier today, when he posted about the downing of this Apache helicopter, blaming Iran.
We don't know yet the full scope of this, or if the President is simply trying to send a message after that helicopter was brought down about 24 hours ago.
Results are coming in from Maine, in a race that could end up deciding control of the Senate here in Washington.
PLATNER: It is deeply humbling to stand here as your Democratic nominee.
(CHEERING)
COLLINS: Graham Platner, fresh off a projection that he will be the Democratic candidate for Senate.
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Collins is formidable.
But Graham has had a terrific night.
He understands he needs to do work, and he understands they're giving him a chance at redemption.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Wednesday, June 10.
TRUMP: We're really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along, they keep playing us for suckers.
I love the inflation, you know why?
Something you didn't know. Do you know we've been taking out millions of barrels of oil?
You know who doesn't know about it? Iran, until right now.
When the war's over.
REPORTER: Yes.
TRUMP: It's coming down.
See, Biden wouldn't do this.
(APPLAUSE)
COLLINS: Marjorie Taylor Greene, it's Kaitlan. How are you?
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE, (R) FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Are you enjoying the -- seeing the giant, what is it, the roll cage out there on the White House lawn? Oh, my goodness.
COLLINS: Oh it's huge.
TAYLOR GREENE: I hope it comes right down. Let's let the White House be the White House.
COLLINS: Tonight. Marjorie Taylor Greene is here. As the United States has resumed strikes on multiple targets across Iran this evening.
The release of the Epstein files, debating over how to handle Jeffrey Epstein, basically paralyzed the White House.
TAYLOR GREENE: I'm not surprised by this news, Kaitlan. Because, I also had a very uncomfortable phone call with the President.
He told me that his friends would get hurt if the files were released, and I'll never forget that.
These people are absolutely absurd.
They should be considered traitors.
COLLINS: This report basically says it was the President who didn't want anything released. Are you saying that that applies to the President himself?
TAYLOR GREENE: I'm saying exactly that.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Thursday, June 11.
TRUMP: Just had a big day. We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran, subject to finalization of documents, should get done over the next few days.
COLLINS: We've heard the President say dozens of times now that they are close to getting a deal. There are signals of optimism from the White House. But obviously skepticism from the mediators here, as there's those denials from Tehran saying that they are not close to an agreement. It seems to change on a daily basis, if not by the hour.
Edie Falco, it's Kaitlan Collins. How are you?
EDIE FALCO, AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS & KNICKS SUPERFAN: I am great.
COLLINS: Oh my god, I love your shirt, it looks so good. Have you recovered from last night?
[22:00:00] FALCO: Not entirely. I haven't really slept a whole lot of hours since then.
(CHEERING)
FALCO: They just don't stop. It feels like, you know, my very romantic idea of New York itself, just made up of a lot of people who had a dream, came to New York, and they just give it their all. Like every last second, these guys just never, never give up.
COLLINS: Thank you for staying up for us after a crazy night, last night, and we can't wait to see you--
FALCO: It's all good. I'm not going to sleep anyway.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And "CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts now.
