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State of the Union

Interview With Former Vice President Mike Pence; Interview With Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA); Interview With Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); Interview With Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired June 15, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:27]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN HOST (voice-over): Manhunt. A Democratic state lawmaker and her husband shot and killed.

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): An unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minnesota.

BASH: Another gravely wounded in an act of political violence. With a massive manhunt still under way, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is next.

Plus: no end in sight. The world on edge. As Israel escalates its attacks on Iran, will the U.S. be drawn into the fight? Former Vice President Mike Pence is ahead.

And taking a stand. Tanks roll through downtown Washington...

PROTESTERS: Donald Trump has got to go!

BASH: ... as, coast to coast, Americans protest President Trump's policies.

SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D-CA): I'm Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary.

BASH: Is their message cutting through? California Senator Alex Padilla and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass are ahead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Hello. I'm Dana Bash in Washington, where the state of our union is on edge, overnight, escalating attacks between Israel and Iran, as President Trump warns Iran, not to retaliate against American targets.

Here in the U.S., Americans take to the streets to protest Trump's policies, while he marked the day with a military parade. And a massive manhunt in Minnesota, where we begin today. A shooter posing as a police officer assassinated a state representative and her husband and injured another lawmaker and his wife, and then escaped.

The suspect had a target list that included the entire Democratic congressional delegation from the state of Minnesota.

Here with me now is Minnesota's senior Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Thank you so much for being here.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Thanks, Dana.

BASH: First and foremost, Senator, I am so sorry for your loss. I know how incredibly close you were to Representative Hortman and her husband.

KLOBUCHAR: Yes.

BASH: In fact, you were with her hours before she died.

KLOBUCHAR: Yes.

BASH: So I just want to start with the latest on the hunt for the man who assassinated her. What do you know about that and what the motive was?

KLOBUCHAR: So, this man, what we know from the list of -- the fact that we had groups like Planned Parenthood on the list, the fact -- some of the things we know about the manifesto, this was clearly politically motivated.

It was, as you described, an assassination. And Melissa Hortman is the most incredible person, that I wish everyone in the nation knew her, went into politics with little kids. That's how I got to know her. We were both moms and politics.

Taught Sunday school, Girl Scout leader, balanced all of it, and ends up moving up in the legislature to be a beloved speaker of the House, getting through with the governor free lunch, getting through with the governor all the work she did on paid family leave, and then this year, with a tied legislature, negotiates with her Republican counterpart and is able to get a budget done.

She was extraordinary. And so, when you hear about political violence, Dana, you have got to look at the face of this woman and understand how real this is.

In terms of this manhunt, $50,000 award from the FBI. We ask people to come forward. The chilling picture for us is the one where he had put on a mask. He's very smart. He's very evil. And that picture is taken from a Ring camera from a doorbell that many Americans may have right before he killed our friends.

So you have got massive manhunt, as you say, going on. And people are just following instructions from law enforcement. We want to get this guy. BASH: Yes. And, as you're talking, we're putting up the picture of that chilling photo from the Ring camera.

Senator, you talked about the manifesto recovered from the suspect's car. It also included all members of Minnesota's congressional delegation. Have you been briefed specifically that you were a target?

KLOBUCHAR: No, I haven't.

And I will say that, without me asking, they have added security, but not just for me, for other leaders in Minnesota. For me, I think people know that elected officials get threats. A lot of them, you never hear about, judges, election workers. This has gotten totally out of hand with threats against members of Congress. In 2016, there were like 1,700 of them, last year, over 9,000 of them.

[09:05:00]

And so one of the things that we have done, our delegation, with Congressman Emmer and Congresswoman McCollum, Senator Smith and others, we actually put out a joint statement that said we speak with one voice in condemning political violence.

I think we need to see more of this across our country. People need to call people out. Some people need to look in the mirror and say, hey, I have got to stop this or stop my colleagues from doing this, because it makes it much worse.

We need to bring the tone down, and we also need to stand up when people do bad things, which as I know you're going to be talking about later in the show, and I'm glad there was such turnouts at these rallies, because our democracy is something to protect, not try to bring down.

BASH: Senator, you said that, without being asked, you're getting more security.

Do you think, because of the reality you just described, that elected officials beyond Minnesota should have better protection right now?

KLOBUCHAR: I think, just in general, there can be copycat crimes, and people can get incentivized when they see things online, something else I'd like to put more rules of the road in place on, because that is -- you look at the man that bludgeoned Speaker Pelosi's husband.

Of course, he was off-balance. Of course, he was sick. But that case, you could see a through line with him reading this stuff online. So more has to be done on that front, and then, of course, more has to be done to protect elected officials regardless of party.

And I appreciate that Senator Thune and Senator Schumer called me yesterday, and they're very focused on making sure there's added security.

BASH: Before I let you go, what's your message to the people of Minnesota and really around the country who are looking at what has happened, the tragedy in your state?

KLOBUCHAR: The first is to follow the advice of law enforcement right now, because they -- it's been a changing situation with shelters in place, and to understand they're just simply trying to get a madman.

But the second is that people like Melissa or Senator Hoffman, who's struggling and holding in there with his life, along with his wife, Yvette, that these are real people. And before you start ascribing motives or going after them online, maybe you should think about Melissa Hortman's life, right?

A group just put out -- a group, a local group, put out a picture of her. And I didn't even know this about her, that she trained dogs for veterans in her spare time. This is a person that did everything for the right reasons. And regardless of political parties, just look at her face and think about that before you send out your next post or before you say something that isn't just about your views.

People can have different views on things, but remember that our democracy is something to cherish.

BASH: Yes.

KLOBUCHAR: And public service is a worthy thing to do.

BASH: Very well said. Again, we are so sorry for your loss, and thinking about you and all of the speaker's friends and family.

KLOBUCHAR: And Senator Hortman's children today.

They didn't just lose a mom. They lost their dad, Mark, and it is Father's Day. So pray for them as well. Thank you.

BASH: Truly unthinkable.

Senator, thank you.

Up next: escalating attacks between Israel and Iran, as President Trump faces a choice. His former vice president, Mike Pence, will be here live next.

And protesting the president's military parade.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:11:12]

BASH: There's breaking news out of Israel, where there is a red alert.

Nic Robertson is there right now.

Nic, what can you tell us? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Dana, I'm looking

up in the sky. I have just seen three interceptor rockets fired up. I can see that from my location very clearly.

Two of them had burst in the air. One of them literally, as you were just speaking to me, burst in the air. You might just be able to see that puff of white cloud. We had the sirens go off here, the warning sirens of an incoming Iranian missile strike. The warning sirens for that came in about two minutes ago.

The sirens were sounding in the city. And, as I'm standing here, I can see those launches coming up here. But what we have witnessed in the city over the past few nights -- and I should stress, by the way, that most of the Iranian strikes have happened here overnight. It's the middle of the day now, or late afternoon, at least.

But as I'm looking across the rest of the city, it seems quiet. But that's been the way that these attacks have been going. There will be a couple of interceptors fired up. You will hear the detonations and explosions. It'll pause. It'll take a beat or two. And then you may see more interceptors fly up.

But, at the moment, three interceptors flew out. Hard to tell what was struck, if anything was struck. Have not seen any explosions. From this location last night, I saw at least two heavy impacts to the south of the city. Not seeing any of that right now.

If that was it, we will get an all-clear warning perhaps in five or 10 minutes. If it's not, maybe more to come. Looking down on the streets, I have to say, very little traffic around here, just one car going there.

I was speaking to one of the police spokesmen earlier today at the site just south of Tel Aviv of that massive Iranian strike last night. And he said, one of the reasons a casualty count has been low so far, and I say so far, 13 people have been killed in all the Iranian strikes in the past two days, more than 380 injured.

But the reason he said that the casualty count was low is because people are listening to the government. They're staying close to their shelters, and then, when the sirens go off, they go to their shelters. And I was talking to some people today in their apartment. Their apartment was shredded.

They were about a -- less than 100 meters from the epicenter of that huge blast, and they told me they were in the shelter. That's why they survived. The glass had ripped through their whole apartment. They believed they survived because they were in their shelter.

BASH: Nic Robertson, thank you so much for coming on for us. Obviously, needless to say, stay safe and get back to us if you see any other incoming from Iran there in the heart of Tel Aviv, where you are. Appreciate it, Nic.

BASH: And here with me now is President Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, the founder of Advancing American Freedom. Sir, thank you so much for being here.

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you, Dana.

BASH: I just first want you to react to what you just heard from our Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv.

PENCE: Well, I think what we're witnessing is that, on Friday morning, the state of Israel sent a deafening message of resolve over the skies of Tehran that Iran will never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon.

And witnessing in the skies just moments ago, you can see the reason why. During our administration, we made that clear. I'm grateful for President Trump's strong statements of support for Israel and its action. But I want to say emphatically that, if the world knows nothing else, the world should know this. America stands with Israel.

[09:15:03]

And while Israel acted alone on Friday, Israel is not alone. And I am confident that Israel has the ability by itself to defend itself. But I know that the American people will continue to stand with Israel. And our resources in the region will continue to stand ready, like those THAAD missile systems, like the Iron Dome that we help provide to Israel, to make sure that the people of Israel are protected every much as -- bit as they can be during this time of conflict.

BASH: And you alluded to this, but President Trump said again last night the U.S. had nothing to do with Israel's attack against Iran.

PENCE: Right.

BASH: He also said that he spoke with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, that the two are agreeing that the conflict between Israel and Iran should end.

Is that the right track, or should the U.S. be providing Israel with more weapons, the weapons that it needs to completely eradicate all of Iran's nuclear facilities and capabilities?

PENCE: Well, as Vladimir Putin continues his brutal and unprovoked invasion in Ukraine, using drones provided by Iran, I would say respectfully to the administration, we ought to be looking elsewhere than Vladimir Putin for advice on how to deal with this situation.

We need to continue to provide Israel with the support they need. I also will say, though, I do welcome the fact that, early this morning, the president reiterated a statement that hearkened back to 2019 in our administration.

After we took out Qasem Soleimani, the president and our team made it very clear that there would be overwhelming response by the United States military if American lives were lost in any retaliation by the Iranian military. They fired rockets, as you remember, Dana. They landed at Al Asad. They landed in the Kurdish region.

There were injuries, but there were no American casualties or loss of life. And the Iranians stood down after that. But it was in that moment that the president made clear, as he did this morning, that there would be overwhelming force brought to bear on Iran if they put at risk American forces in the region, which, as you know, are in the tens of thousands.

BASH: Separate from the U.S. forces and the very real warning that President Trump has issued to Iran about the U.S., should the U.S. help Israel finish it off when it comes to Iran's nuclear capabilities?

PENCE: Well, I think we need to make sure that Israel has the resources and the support they need, whatever shape that might take, to once and for all eliminate and destroy the nuclear enrichment program within Iran.

It was early in this administration some of us had concerns, I expressed them, that the president's envoy and negotiators were talking about some limited enrichment program. I have held the view that others have that there can be no nuclear enrichment program whatsoever. It needs to be dismantled or destroyed.

Now, if the Iranians want to stand down, I think the president's made it clear he's willing to enter into negotiations. But there can be no nuclear program of any kind, no enrichment program of any kind. And at the end of the day, if Israel needs our help to ensure that the Iranian nuclear program is destroyed once and for all, the United States of America needs to be prepared to do it, because this is about protecting our most cherished ally.

But, remember, those missiles that Iran has developed over the years can reach Europe today. They have been working on intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the United States. And Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism, Dana. And we simply cannot allow Iran to ever obtain a nuclear weapon. It threatens Israel. It threatens our allies. It threatens the people of the United States.

And we need to stand on that principle.

BASH: Vice President Pence, some of President Trump's biggest allies in the MAGA movement, they don't think that the U.S. should get involved at all in this conflict. Charlie Kirk warned it could -- quote -- "cause a massive schism in MAGA." Tucker Carlson said direct U.S. involvement would be a middle finger in the faces of millions of voters.

What do you think about that argument?

PENCE: Well, I have a lot of familiarity with those millions of voters. And I think the American people that are part of our movement, part of the Republican coalition today understand that America is the leader of the free world.

[09:20:08] If America is not leading the free world, the free world is not being led. It's one of the reasons I have so strongly supported U.S. support for Ukraine in the wake of that brutal invasion by Russia.

But I also had a sense that the isolationist voices in the Republican Party, whether it be trying to suggest that we should cut off any support for Ukraine's fight for their freedom and sovereignty, some people also questioning our commitments in the Asia-Pacific, but I have always said that I really do believe that, strain of isolationism, all roads lead to Israel.

BASH: Is that what you're seeing now?

PENCE: And now, when you hear leading voices on the outside talking about dumping Israel in this moment, it's scandalous.

Look, since we just -- we're coming up on 250 years of our nation's history. Before this nation was founded, the pulpits of those colonies thundered with the aspiration that the people of Israel would someday return to the land of Israel. 1948, we were the first nation on Earth to recognize the Jewish state of Israel.

I like to say Israel is our most cherished ally. And at the end of the day, I believe that is in the hearts and minds of the overwhelming majority, not just people in our movement, but the overwhelming majority of the American people know and cherish and will always stand with Israel.

BASH: Let's turn to some issues here in the United States. You said that President Trump was right to send in the National Guard to respond to protests in Los Angeles.

But he's also deployed 700 active-duty Marines to L.A. Do you have concerns about that?

PENCE: Well, I do support the president's decision to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles, because, as you could see in the days that followed, it wasn't just Los Angeles.

There -- riots began to emerge in other cities. But I think a strong show of force, securing peace in the streets of L.A., sent a very important message all across the country.

With regard to activating the Marines, I have read that. I mean, obviously, we have a policy of posse comitatus. We don't use our military against our civilians. But military personnel are able to secure federal assets, federal buildings.

And I am confident that the administration going forward will make sure, and, frankly, the United States Marine Corps will make sure that any deployment here domestically is consistent with that great tradition.

BASH: I mean, your son Michael is a Marine aviator.

PENCE: He is. BASH: You would be OK if he were deployed to a Democratic-led U.S. city to respond to protests?

PENCE: Well, as I said, there's -- I have visited a lot of embassies around the world. So have you, Dana. And Marines are deployed to protect American embassies all around the world.

We do site protection. The Marines do a brilliant job at that. Thanks for mentioning my son. We're awful proud of his service, as well as my son-in-law, who's in the U.S. Navy.

And, look, I just have a lot of confidence in our military, a lot of confidence in our armed forces.

BASH: OK.

PENCE: And I'm sure the administration will respect that great tradition that we use our military for proper forces to defend our interests, to defend our nation.

BASH: Sir, we're out of time, but I do want to quickly ask you about something the FBI director, Kash Patel, warned to U.S. -- to L.A. protesters, rather.

He said: "Hit a cop, you're going to jail. Doesn't matter where you came from."

PENCE: Right.

BASH: This is from a director who supported the president pardoning all the rioters, including the ones who beat up police officers who were defending the Capitol, defending you on January 6.

What did you make of that?

PENCE: Well, I -- let me say first off, I welcome the statement. It's a correct statement. We simply cannot allow or stand by while people in the midst of protests assault law enforcement officers. It's one of the reasons I thought the president was wrong to pardon people who assaulted police officers on January 6. But,

look, this is a time when we're in the wake of not only those events of four years ago, but we have seen political violence against Jewish peaceful protesters. We saw two assassination attempts against President Trump on the campaign trail. We saw the governor of Pennsylvania's home attacked...

BASH: Right.

PENCE: ... and then that despicable attack that claimed the lives of the Minnesota state representative, Hortman, her husband, and injured two of her colleagues.

[09:25:08]

Our prayers are with them. But this is a moment when we need to make it very clear that anyone who would ever use violence, whether it be against law enforcement or political violence of any kind, must be condemned universally, and people need to be held at the strictest account of the law.

BASH: Thank you, sir. Thank you for coming on. And I hope you have a happy Father's Day.

PENCE: Thank you, Dana.

BASH: Up next: He was handcuffed by law enforcement after interrupting a press conference. He's also a U.S. senator.

Alex Padilla will join me right here next on what he wants to happen now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION.

As Democrats take to the streets in protest, party leaders are urging them to be peaceful. That includes my next guest, who was handcuffed by law enforcement this week after interrupting a press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Here with me now is Senator Alex Padilla of California.

Thank you so much for being here.

PADILLA: Thank you, Dana.

BASH: I have watched various versions of that moment several times. I was never able to hear what you initially said. Can you just take us back to that moment when you started, frankly, to interrupt the press conference? What were you saying?

PADILLA: Sure.

After being in the room for several minutes, by the way -- you can't script this in Hollywood. I was in the federal building for a scheduled briefing with representatives of Northern Command when I learned that the secretary of homeland security a couple doors down was having the press conference.

My briefing was delayed because some of the folks in that brief were participating in the press conference. So I asked the folks who were escorted me in the building, can we go listen in, in the hopes of some information, in the hopes of some insight as to their justification for the militarization, the escalation of what was happening in Los Angeles?

[09:30:11]

And, surprise, surprise, no substance came from that press conference, just political attacks. And when I heard the secretary, not for the first time in that press conference, talk about the -- needing to liberate the people of Los Angeles from their duly elected mayor and governor, it was at that moment that I chose to try to ask a question.

If all the Trump administration was doing was truly focusing on dangerous, violent criminals, as they suggest, there would be no debate. There would be no disagreement. But we have seen story after story after story of hardworking women and men, maybe undocumented, but otherwise law-abiding, good people, being subject to the terror that the -- this immigration enforcement operation is subjecting the people to.

I needed to speak up. I needed to try to get the information from the secretary that they have refused to provide in hearing after hearing.

BASH: So is that what you asked?

PADILLA: Yes, the -- well, I was beginning to ask. I couldn't get a couple of words out before obviously you saw agents respond, hands on me pretty much immediately.

And, look, everybody's seen the video. You know what happened after that.

BASH: Well, I'm sure you have seen the DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin posted that you -- quote -- "tried to manufacture a viral moment."

PADILLA: Nothing could be further from the truth.

Again, what are the odds? I was in a federal building a couple of doors down awaiting a briefing from Northern Command, because I still believe the federalization of the National Guard troops and deployment in Los Angeles was not only unlawful, unjustified, but counterproductive.

It's what's escalated the tensions in Los Angeles, the -- sending in the Marines as a result. Like, things had been quieting down day after day, so why do you escalate by sending in the Marines? And an opportunity to ask a question, maybe get answers that DHS, including the secretary, will not provide in committee hearings in the Senate, will not respond to the letters that we have sent inquiring.

It was an opportunity to ask a question and do my job as a senator, right, do my job as a senator in questioning the Cabinet secretary.

BASH: Our CNN security correspondent, Josh Campbell, who was an FBI agent, he said, just from a law enforcement perspective, Secretary Noem's security acted appropriately at the beginning, not when you were in the hallway being handcuffed, but at the beginning, trying to keep you away or get you out of the room, because you interrupted her press conference.

PADILLA: Yes.

BASH: What do you think of that?

PADILLA: If that's how they treat a senator trying to ask a question -- here's one of my big takeaways -- then imagine not what they can do, what they are doing to so many people without titles.

BASH: But they might not have known.

I know you said pretty early "I'm a Senator," but...

PADILLA: I was escorted into that room by a National Guardsman and an FBI agent. Look, the whole Los Angeles press court -- this is Los Angeles. This is my hometown. They know who I was.

And what does it say about the secretary to not know who the senator from California is, the ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration?

BASH: You were escorted into the room by law enforcement?

PADILLA: Absolutely. I was escorted during my entire time in that building, from showing up in the building, going through security screening, escorted by an FBI agent and a National Guards member to the conference room where I was awaiting a briefing.

They're the ones I requested, well, if we're waiting, can we go listen in at the press conference?

BASH: Yes.

PADILLA: They escorted me over to the press conference. They opened the door for me, and they stood next to me while I was listening for the entire time and then, of course, once I was forcibly removed and handcuffed.

BASH: Several of your fellow Democrats say that Secretary Noem should resign. Is that where you are?

PADILLA: Look, that's maybe not my focus right now, but I do think there's some serious questions.

How does a Cabinet secretary not know the senator from California when she steps foot into Los Angeles? She came through the Senate for confirmation at one point.

And, certainly, how does the secretary of homeland security not know how to de-escalate a situation? It's because she can't or because they don't want to. And it sets the tone. Donald Trump and Secretary Noem have set the tone for the Department of Homeland Security and the entire administration in terms of escalation and extreme enforcement actions.

BASH: One last question. Your Democratic colleague Senator Brian Schatz, he was defending your actions on the Senate floor. It was a pretty emotional speech.

He said the way you were treated "is something we see in dictatorships, that, in a democracy, you are allowed to be disrespectful and disruptive."

I know you said that that was kind of an organic moment, but do you think more Democrats should be, in his words, disrespectful and disruptive?

[09:35:01]

PADILLA: I wasn't trying to be disrespectful or disruptive. And I don't think I was. I was simply asking a question, just as the members of the press corps ask questions, members of the Congress, members of the Senate ask questions to do our job to hold the administration accountable.

BASH: Senator, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it.

PADILLA: Thank you, Dana.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. And...

BASH: And happy Father's Day. You beat me to it.

(LAUGHTER)

BASH: OK, thank you.

PADILLA: Thank you.

BASH: Here with me now is the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass.

Thank you so much for being here, Mayor Bass.

Officials say more than 20,000 demonstrators took to the streets in L.A. yesterday as part of the nationwide No Kings protests, which were largely peaceful. There was a pocket of unrest outside the federal building.

How violent did things get in reality last night in your town?

KAREN BASS (D), MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Well, yes, and I appreciate you pointing that out, because this is a small sliver of our town.

There were a lot of people out, about 30,000. I will tell you that, out of that big crowd, five people were arrested. About 30 were given citations. And there were injuries on both sides. Officers were injured and so were people that were there.

But I think that, one, if the raids hadn't happened, then that protest would have been a No Kings protest. We know that that was planned months in advance. But the disruption and the fear that has been caused by the raids has really had a devastating effect and has been a body blow to our economy.

I don't think the president understands that we have entire sectors of our economy that cannot function without immigrant labor.

BASH: At least one individual was detained on Friday by Marines outside the federal building. Marines also faced off with protesters there yesterday.

Based on what you have seen, are the troops being used to conduct law enforcement actions at all? And how long do you expect them to remain in L.A.?

BASS: Well, Dana, I have to say that, yesterday, I spent time in the helicopter, so I went all over the city in search of these Marines. And I'm sorry, but I just didn't see them.

What the troops are doing, the federalized National Guard, is protecting the federal building. I think that detention that happened was an isolated incident, and I believe it was outside of the city of Los Angeles.

But I do want to dispel the notion that the military is here. We don't want them here. They don't need to be here. Our local law enforcement have complete control of this situation. And I will tell you, the 30,000 people were downtown L.A. There were protests in 15 different locations in our city.

I flew over each one of them, and they were overwhelmingly peaceful. It's not shocking that, at the end of a protest, that you're going to have some confrontation. Of course, I wish there was none at all. But I don't think that characterized the day at all.

BASH: On Friday, the Trump administration...

BASS: I mean, otherwise, more than five people would have been arrested.

BASH: Yes.

BASS: I'm sorry.

BASH: No, I -- it's OK. I hear you.

I do want to ask about something that the Trump administration did on Friday, which is, they reversed course. They instructed ICE to pause immigration raids on hotels, farms, and restaurants, and not to arrest so-called non-criminal collateral, meaning undocumented people without criminal backgrounds.

How is this change impacting what is going on the ground in Los Angeles?

BASS: Well, I will tell you that I don't know if anybody buys that here.

First of all, we don't have big fields in Los Angeles. So the agricultural piece does not affect us. But, in terms of the hotels, absolutely, and that's a good thing. But I wish that he would look at the broader impact on our economy. For example, the construction industry cannot function without immigrant labor.

Our fashion industry, where there's over 4,000 businesses, looks like a ghost town now. You hear people talking in restaurants all over about how they don't want to go out anymore. You have people that won't come out of their house because they don't want to buy groceries. You have churches that are on hybrid because people are afraid to go to churches.

Why? Because there was an arrest outside a church. So all of this has created a feeling of fear and terror around our city, and like I said before, is a body blow to the overall economy of the state's second largest city and the -- I'm sorry -- the nation's second-largest city.

BASH: Mayor Bass, you have described, and you're doing it this morning, Los Angeles as a tinderbox.

BASS: Right.

BASH: The last time National Guard troops were federalized, by the way, that time, of course, that was at the request of the governor, not over the objections of the governor.

That was in 1992. You were there. You were at the corner of Florence and Normandie...

[09:40:00]

BASS: Yes.

BASH: ... when the 1992 riots erupted after that Rodney King verdict.

BASS: Yes.

BASH: Can you compare what's going on now to what happened then at all?

BASS: I really appreciate that question.

There is zero comparison. What you were talking about that is happening in downtown Los Angeles is about maybe one or two square miles of a city that is 500 square miles. In 1992 -- and you're absolutely correct. I was at the epicenter when it was occurring. It was a citywide civil unrest. It was the nation's worst, in terms of the most costly, the number of people died, the number of people arrested.

There is no comparison. And, unfortunately, that is what is being pushed, as though the city is in chaos, there's civil unrest everywhere.

For most Angelenos, they're like, well, what city are they describing? They are definitely not describing Los Angeles.

BASH: L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it.

BASS: Thanks for having me on.

Up next: everything, everywhere all at once. My panel weighs in on a very eventful week up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:51]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Two hundred and fifty years later, America stands tall, America stands proud, and America stands free. We're the hottest country in the world right now. And our country will soon be greater and stronger than ever before.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION.

That was President Trump speaking last night at his parade to celebrate 250 years of the U.S. Army. It was also his birthday.

My panel joins me now.

Congressman, never mind the parade, which we thought was going to be the biggest news. Talk about what's going on in Israel and, of course, the horrible, horrible tragedy in Minnesota. It's really hard to keep up.

FMR. REP. ANDY LEVIN (D-MI): It's hard to keep up, Dana.

And let me tie the two together, I guess. Guns aren't the way to solve everything. With Iran, diplomacy ultimately is going to be the way to keep them from having a nuclear weapon. We had a system in place that was working, a collaboration with seven countries. President Trump in his first term walked away from it. It was a huge disaster. They were getting this close to having a nuclear weapon.

In Minnesota, my God, we have got to stop thinking we can solve our problems or we can get attention for ourselves, for our point of view, or whatever that person thought they were doing, with firearms. It's an epidemic in this country. We used to worry so much about school shootings all the time, all the time.

Now the president himself was the target of two assassination attempts. This is something we have got to take on as a policy matter in this country.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I'm a gun guy. I wouldn't necessarily place to blame on guns, but I would agree 100 percent with the congressman that we do have an issue with people who are unstable, who apparently are unwilling to debate the issues and to debate the merits of their concerns.

If they believed that particular representative was moving in the right direction in terms of her policies, then vote for someone else or have that debate. But we certainly cannot move in this direction. I mean, I think yesterday or the day before was eight years since the attempt against Steve Scalise.

And we're seeing an increase in this type and level of violence. And I would hope political leaders on the Republican side, the Democratic side continue to come together to say we cannot move in this direction as a nation.

LEVIN: Dana, can I just say the mental health of the United States of our people is not massively worse than the mental health of people in every other country.

We have a problem of firearms being accessible, all -- submachine guns, all kinds of guns. And it's -- we're not going to solve the problem until we step up to the plate and take on this epidemic of...

(CROSSTALK)

SINGLETON: By the way, you can't buy a submachine gun anymore, Congressman. That was outlawed decades ago.

(CROSSTALK)

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

Look, I agree with the congressman that the availability of guns is an issue that we sort of let go by the wayside. But I think, if we take a look at the week, there's a couple other bigger themes we should be thinking about.

Number one, yesterday actually was very positive. The United States -- my dad was in the Army. The United States Army was -- or the Continental Army became the U.S. Army. The Continental Army fought the British. That's how we became the United States of America, creating our First Amendment rights, which Americans, millions of Americans came out yesterday to do exactly the right thing, which is make their voices heard, and did so very peacefully for the most part.

Obviously, we know in California and Los Angeles there have been some instigators who have perpetuated violence, which I think we all can agree is wrong. But if you look at what happened in Minnesota and you look at what happened with Senator Padilla, when we see that kind of forceful -- I mean, you heard him say he had been escorted to the room by an FBI agent, by a member of the National Guard.

People knew who he was. There was no need to put their hands on him like that. But when you see people solving problems in that manner, when you see this kind of violence, I think it should be a message to everyone that we have to tone the rhetoric down.

Kristi Noem was -- just before he asked his question, she was attacking the democratically elected mayor and the governor. We don't need to do that. We can say we just disagree with their policy or with the way they perhaps are running a situation, but we don't have to pit Americans against each other, call people lunatics, and make each other out to be the enemy.

[09:50:18] BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm respectfully disagree with Karen about the parade, the protest yesterday.

I think there were a lot of people that were being polarizing yesterday. I thought it was tasteless that those parades were organized on the 250th birthday of the Army and on Flag Day. I think a lot of liberals in this country have acknowledged that Donald Trump won the election, but they haven't accepted it.

Next year is going to be the 250th birthday of our country. We need to put our country back together, and the onus is on liberals to be able to celebrate that birthday with President Trump. That's what I'm -- as I look ahead to next year, I hope they got it out of their system yesterday. I hope they're done, and now they can move forward and find ways to work with them.

FINNEY: But you're assuming that all of the people gathered were liberals, when, in fact, increasingly since the president was -- came into office, we have seen poll after poll after poll. Our own CNN reporting speaks to this, where Americans are saying increasingly -- he's underwater on all the issues.

And they're saying we may agree with his goals. We don't agree with his methods. So, he and Republicans should be paying attention to that as well, especially when they say, we don't want to see American troops on American soil...

(CROSSTALK)

TODD: The Democratic Party's never been less popular than it is today.

(CROSSTALK)

SINGLETON: Dana, I mean, Karen raised a good point. We talked about this last week when we were on together about the tactics.

And what you have seen out of L.A., when you look at some polling, you look at the crosstabs, the data is actually starting to move to the president's favor in terms of the tactics, because people don't want to see individuals burning the flags, looting, attacking police officers. So I agree, peacefully assemble.

FINNEY: No, no, I talked about the tactics of the president.

SINGLETON: But when you cross the line, people don't agree with that.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Final word, Congressman.

LEVIN: Dana, let me just say that yesterday was a massive outpouring of patriotism.

FINNEY: Yes.

LEVIN: I couldn't disagree with Brad more.

There were over 70 events in Michigan. Evidently, there were 1,500 people out in Petoskey in Emmet County up north, voted overwhelmingly for President Trump. All across the country, people came out and said, no kings.

Brad, what's more patriotic than that? We don't want kings.

TODD: We do. We have no kings day every -- no kings day every year. It's July the 4th. We celebrate our independence from...

(CROSSTALK)

LEVIN: Yes. Well, you know what. In America, you can come out on any dang day of the year and express your opinion. And that's the most American thing of all.

BASH: Thank you for being here.

Happy Father's Day, happy Father's Day, happy Father's Day.

LEVIN: Hey, Dana, happy Father's Day to my dad, Sandy Levin, who's 93 today.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Happy Father's Day to him.

LEVIN: Served in Congress for 36 years.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Yes, he sure did.

LEVIN: Yes, thanks.

BASH: Up next, a special message.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:57:21]

BASH: I want to correct one thing from earlier in the show. I mentioned in a question to former Vice President Mike Pence that FBI Director Kash Patel supported President Trump's pardons for January 6 rioters.

Patel did say at his confirmation hearing that he didn't agree with the commutations for those who were violent against law enforcement.

Before we go, I do want to wish all of you out there a very happy Father's Day, particularly my co-anchor, Jake Tapper, who's a great dad, and the best of the best, my father, Stu.

I love you, dad.

Thanks for spending your Sunday morning with us.

Up next, the Israeli foreign minister. Stay with CNN.