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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: U.S. Senate Votes on Iran War; Trump Insists Iran Agreed to Nuclear Inspectors Despite Denials; U.N. Agency to Evacuate Sailors Stranded in Persian Gulf; Europe Swelters Under Record-High Temperatures; South Korean Stocks Plunge; Chip Stocks Fall Around the Globe; Residents Express Disappointment, Regret After Brexit. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired June 23, 2026 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Paula Newton in New York. You are
watching "The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, the U.S. Senate votes to prevent President Trump from resuming the war in Iran unless he gets approval from Congress. Europe
suffers a deadly heat wave, how Paris and other cities across the continent are coping with record temperatures, and the South Korean market plunges
and U.S. stocks tumble as fears over A.I. spending take hold.
But we do begin with multiple developments concerning the Middle East. Now, in Washington, enough Republicans joined Democrats in the Senate to back a
resolution directing President Donald Trump to remove military forces from the conflict with Iran.
Now, the largely symbolic vote sends the White House a strong message that the war lacks congressional support. Also, in D.C., U.S.-mediated talks are
ongoing between Israel and Lebanon to end the fighting between Iranian- backed Hezbollah fighters and Israel.
On the Iran agreement, meantime, President Trump claimed today that Iran has agreed to nuclear inspections into, quote, "infinity." Tehran denies
making such a concession, and the president's secretary of state, Marco Rubio, is in the Persian Gulf region looking to sell the agreement to three
countries likely to be among its biggest skeptics. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait were among the Gulf states most heavily
targeted by Iran during the war.
Rubio spoke on another point of contention, the future of the Strait of Hormuz. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: A careful reading of the MOU will see that when you talk about, for example, a complete and end of
hostilities in the entire region, well, that's not possible. You can't have the end of hostilities and conflicts in the region as long as Iranian
proxies are launching missiles and drones from Iraq and are participating in terrorism like Hamas did and like Hezbollah did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Kristen Holmes is at the White House for us. And, Kristen, you know, given the political import here, the fact that we just had Congress
send albeit a symbolic vote against this war, but they did send the message to the White House in general, I'm wondering what the litmus test here for
the White House is in terms of what success looks like, and is it still that 60-day deadline?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They've been clear that if the 60 days doesn't go well or if they need more time, they will
extend that 60 days. We've heard that before.
We've also heard the vice president, J.D. Vance, say they could walk away. We've heard President Trump say if negotiations don't go well, he could
resume bombing, although that seems highly unlikely given how much we know President Trump wants to extricate himself and the United States from this
situation.
Now, in terms of that War Powers vote that you mentioned, it is largely symbolic. It doesn't require the signature of the president, meaning it
doesn't carry the force of law. And Democrats had been trying to force this vote. They had forced it multiple times. But it really can't be overlooked
that enough Republicans joined on to actually get this through.
Now, the White House did respond to that vote. They said it has no significance. They blamed Republican absences, even though only two
Republicans were absent from that vote today. And Democrats certainly are celebrating.
Now, in terms of, as you asked, what exactly constitutes a win, getting out of this completely for the White House constitutes a win. What they want is
to see a stretch of period, particularly before November, those midterms, in which the prices go down, prices of gas, price of oil, and overall
affordability is better achieved.
Right now, things are incredibly expensive here, and people blame the person in power, of course, President Trump and Republicans. We saw him out
there in Pennsylvania today trying to deliver this message on affordability. That is what he wants to focus on, not what's going on in
Iran.
But the other thing to note here is that the more Iran publicly pushes back, the more they go out there and talk about how the president is wrong,
how they didn't agree to these things, President Trump, and we've seen this before, he cannot stop himself from responding. And that's what we saw
today, saying they're wrong. They know they're wrong.
[18:05:00]
We saw over the weekend leveling threats at Iran, saying you won't even make it back to your country if you guys continue with this rhetoric or if
you walk away from these negotiations.
So, it's hard here to see how the White House fully extricates themselves, especially because 60 days is a lengthy period. And they have said that if
they need to, they will likely or they could extend that 60 days just to continue the negotiations.
So, right now, the White House is viewing everything with cautious optimism. They feel good at the direction that things are going in, but
that could change at any point. It's just something we're keeping a close eye on.
NEWTON: Yes. As well, you see the high stakes. You're having the vice president deal with the negotiations and now Marco Rubio headed to the
region as well. Kristen Holmes for us at the White House. Appreciate it.
The International Maritime Organization, meantime, which is a specialized U.N. agency, is now preparing to evacuate more than 11,000 stranded
seafarers through the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier, I spoke with Arsenio Dominguez. He is the secretary general of the IMO, and I spoke to him about
this plan. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARSENIO DOMINGUEZ, SECRETARY-GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION: The traffic separation scheme established by IMO back in 1968, we know that
right now it's not safe to be used. Iran issued some information regarding navigations north of the Strait of Hormuz, so we've been working
particularly with Oman in order to use this corridor in the south part of the Strait of Hormuz, and this is focusing on evacuating these 11,000
seafarers in over 500 vessels.
I just got confirmation that following the announcement of this route, which we know that is safe, and this is paramount for any activity in the
region, the first ship is already crossing, and of course we will see an increment, a periodic increment of transit using both corridors because our
first step is, of course, to start bringing those vessels into position in order to have safe evacuations, avoiding any collisions.
NEWTON: How long do you think it will take to get all of these stranded ships out?
DOMINGUEZ: So, we're talking about over 500 vessels. We've seen since the weekend that there's an increase of around 30 vessels that have been
transiting every day. We will then start increasing those numbers using this corridor from Oman.
So, we expect that in the next few weeks we actually will be able to at least evacuate those seafarers that innocently have been affected by this
conflict, and in the meantime, also continue the conversations to start resuming the operations and ships traveling into the Persian Gulf.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: For more, we are joined by Richard Haass. He's President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. Good to see you, and good to have you
here as we try and figure out this plan.
We just heard from the IMO itself this plan will be executed to open up the strait. I'm wondering what strikes you about that because I didn't really
get a clear message as to whether or not there would be tolls. And notwithstanding all of that, do you fear that there has been collateral
damage done in terms of the strait itself having a lasting impact on free navigation anywhere in the world?
RICHARD HAASS, PRESIDENT EMERITUS, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Lots of questions there. There will be tolls. They may not be called tolls, but the
MOU explicitly gives Iran the ability to charge fees of various sorts. So, whether they're for passage, for safety, for demining, for environmental
reasons, what have you, one way or another, there will be tolls.
Secondly, there'll be some new oversight of the waterway. And I think we have to be prepared for the possibility, even the probability, that days
will come where Iran's going to say certain ships can't go through for political reasons. They may want to deny passage. Let me give you one
possibility, to countries that are providing arms to Israel or something like that.
So, the era of a totally unconditionally open strait of Hormuz, I think, is over. Iran has discovered. It has this powerful weapon in its possession.
Whether there will be a precedent for other parts of the world depends, I think, on the dynamics of the respective regions. But I think we have to at
least expect that some other countries might try.
NEWTON: You know, you have been vocal that this war has been a strategic error of the first magnitude, your words. Now, that the U.S. Senate has
successfully voted to limit Trump's power here, what do you think that says about the U.S., its position strategically?
You know, a lot of the congresspeople or the senators who actually declined to vote this way made the point that, look, we're not going to neuter
ourselves militarily here. We still need to project that power on the world stage.
[18:10:00]
HAASS: Well, that vote's a symbolic vote. It's meaningless in terms of actual policy. Could be vetoed if it ever came to that.
Look, I think the bigger issue is not what Congress does symbolically. It's what this entire war has done to the American reputation for competence.
We've not handled this well. The gap between our declared objectives and what we've now settled for is enormous. We weren't able to protect our
friends and partners in the region. We've -- you know, I think, you know, to a rather massive compromise that sets Iran up to have a significant
power going forward. That's the consequence. Far more significant than any congressional resolution is the reality of this war and how it's perceived
regionally and globally.
NEWTON: The priority for the president, he says, has always been to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Now, President Trump's claims
that there is going to be an infinite, his words, high-level nuclear inspections. Of course, Iran has pushed back on this.
I'm wondering what you -- if you think this will be a very contentious and a very thorny issue, given how difficult it is for inspectors to get in
there in the first place and then guarantee that Iran is not doing something nefarious in other parts of the country that are not privy to
inspections.
HAASS: It is 100 percent certain this is going to be a contentious issue because Iran is going to be allowed a degree of nuclear activity. If
there's a moratorium, at some point a moratorium on enrichment will expire.
So, Iran will be back in the nuclear domain. And inspectors can't inspect under every roof. They can't inspect under every building. So, for the
inspection process to work, it takes a degree of cooperation between the country being inspected and the international inspectors. You would have to
be an optimist on steroids to believe that Iran is going to be cooperative and forthcoming on these issues.
So, this vague MOU to be negotiated on nuclear issues, I think is the question of what ceilings are set on the Iranian program. But then the
implementation of it, including inspectors, I think guarantees, if you will, open-ended friction between Iran, the United States, Israel, and the
outside world.
NEWTON: Yes, which you've made the point, puts the world no further ahead when it comes to Iran and its threat not just to the region but beyond.
Richard Haass for us. Thanks so much. I appreciate it.
HAASS: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, a blistering heat wave is scorching Western Europe right now. The U.K.'s Met Office says its highest recorded temperature for June, 35.6
degrees Celsius, last set 50 years ago, could shatter this week as a heat dome refuses to budge. For thousands of children and parents, the heat
means no school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I suppose that the schools need to think about how they're going to tackle this in the future. Because while some one-off
closure is fine, we can cope with it somehow. If this becomes a regular thing, we're all working parents, so that's going to be very difficult to
manage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Meantime, France posted its hottest day on record Tuesday, as the heat there takes a terrible toll. Dozens have drowned in recent days.
Officials say many were teenagers swimming in unsupervised areas. More now from CNN's Melissa Bell.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's already proving a devastating heat wave, with firefighters battling
wildfires in Greece and in France, and temperature records being shattered across Europe, like in Cognac in southwestern France, where they rose above
106 degrees on Monday.
It's the second heat wave in Europe in as many months, with schools closing, like here in Pithiviers, where all nursery and primary schools
will remain closed for the week, according to CNN's affiliate BFM TV. Trains, too, have been cancelled and public services across France are
under pressure as the heat turns deadly.
Beyond the heat-related deaths, authorities in France say that 40 people have drowned since the extreme heat began last week.
In Germany, too, people are doing all they can to stay cool, with red heat alerts affecting several parts of the country, and even London is bracing
for even more heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I find it quite unbearable, and I think it is a sign of climate change, and I just think that London is not a city that's meant
to be hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The weather's really hot, but ultimately, it's not good for a lot of people, and I think we need to be more aware. It looks like
we're all having fun here, but there's lots of people living in homes which are overheating.
BELL (voice-over): The U.K. has also issued a rare heat alert and closed some of its schools.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, there's only so much that can be done, especially if schools haven't got the funding to -- you know, to cover the
cost of adaptation.
[18:15:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do feel a lot more hot, and it's harder to go to the park and have a nice time outside.
BELL (voice-over): Few European homes are equipped with air conditioning, making heat waves even more dangerous.
In Paris, parks normally closed in the evening were left open to allow Parisians some respite, as Monday into Tuesday proved the hottest night on
record. Also, a better place to watch France's World Cup match against Iraq than stifling apartments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The park also offers some privacy for sleeping, and I think it's quieter. So, I think it should stay
open like this all-year round, for homeless people as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): And today, I think it's a reality that we can no longer deny, even on an individual level, like when we come
to a park at 11:00 p.m. to find a bit of cool air. The fact is, global warming is very much here.
BELL (voice-over): People are being urged to stay out of the sun, to stay cool, and to stay hydrated, as Europeans brave one of the worst heat waves
on record.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: So, this just in to CNN. England versus Ghana match at the World Cup just ended in a nil-nil draw, and now the two teams are still leading
their group with four points each. We'll have much more on today's World Cup highlights later in the program. You'll want to stick around for that.
Still ahead for us, tech tumbled. The NASDAQ down sharply for a second straight day. South Korean stocks falling especially hard. What's next for
tech and A.I.? We'll have it next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: And welcome back. In today's Business Breakout, another rough day for tech with the NASDAQ tumbling more than 2 percent. All this after the
NASDAQ's more than 1 percent drop on Monday.
Shares of chip makers were among the hardest hit. Micron, which reports key profits Wednesday, fell 13 percent. Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD shares also
pulled back sharply due in part to A.I. spending and valuation fears.
Now, the tech turmoil being felt hardest in South Korea, the country's benchmark KOSPI index plunged 10 percent today. You see it there. South
Korean chip giant Samsung and SK Hynix fell 12 percent. Now, remember, they make up more than half of the Cosby's market value. Selling pressure was so
intense on South Korea's exchanges that it triggered a 20-minute trading halt.
[18:20:00]
Also, today, SpaceX shares broke a three-session losing streak, rising just under 1 percent. You see it there. Shares of Elon Musk's rocket and A.I.
firm plunge 16 percent though on Monday.
Dan Niles joins me now. He is the founder of Niles Investment Management. Good to have you. Look, I think this is a very difficult market to try and
parse right now. You might think differently. You've been warning about a speed bump ahead. What risks do you see here, or is this par for the course
given how much these A.I. stocks have run?
DAN NILES, FOUNDER, NILES INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT: Well, the market always fluctuates between two extremes. You have fear, and that's where the market
was on March 30th at the bottom. Then you have greed, which is where the market was basically last Thursday.
And so, at this level, when you have negative things showing up, like last night when you had one of the Korean newspapers say, hey, INEX is delaying
their transition to the latest high bandwidth memory. And that's because Rubin, which is the next chip from NVIDIA, that's, you know, the ramp is
being delayed.
Obviously, when you've got markets going vertical from the end of March, you're going to have some giveback on that. And then obviously you've got
things like the CEO of Microsoft saying, hey, we may host low-cost alternatives for A.I. because the A.I. builds have become too much for
companies like DeepSeek. So, they might host that.
And then, finally, you've got companies at the leading edge saying, yes, we were spending way too much money on tokens. And so, we got to start cutting
back our token usage. And so, you may have problems as you look forward to the guidance that we're about to get in a couple of weeks when companies
start to report Q2 earnings.
Q2 earnings should be great. But Q3, if you're seeing all of this stuff happening, the guidance might be a bit disappointing.
NEWTON: Yes. I mean, Q3 and beyond has already been priced into these stratospheric valuations. You know, you claim that you were backing away
from hyper scalers in your portfolio. I mean, how significant do you think this whole idea of putting up a fight in these communities against these
data centers, how much of that figure into your decision or not at all?
NILES: Yes, that didn't really figure. And the biggest thing you have to figure in is the fact that SpaceX came public. And when SpaceX came public,
you've got five companies right now, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and then you've got Meta and Oracle that are spending about $700 billion in CapEx
this year up about 70 percent versus last year.
With SpaceX coming public, now all of a sudden you have a sixth competitor in there that has said publicly they're going to spend several hundreds of
billions of dollars to reach their ambitions. And then you saw them sign a deal with Reflection A.I. the other day. You saw them raising $20 billion
in bond offering after they just raised, you know, $85 billion when they came public.
And so, you have all of these things going on that show you there's a lot more competition in the market, and that generally results in lower
profits. So, you know, the communities fishing back on data centers, you have other communities that are like, hey, we want all those jobs coming to
our places. And so, that's more of a mixed bag. It's -- I'm trying to look at this from a competition standpoint and an end-demand standpoint, and
that's ultimately, I think, what's going to drive these stocks.
NEWTON: But if I hear you correctly, you do believe there's going to be a shift here then. And I point specifically to this idea of return on
investment. I remember speaking to CEOs, it's almost two years ago now, that told me anecdotally, like, we have to spend this money and we are
seeing zero payback. Obviously, the return on investment is there. Is it just not what they'd hoped?
NILES: Well, you've got to remember there's a difference between a speed bump and we've hit the top, and this is going to be like 2001 and 2002,
because Agentic A.I., which I'm sure you've done reports on OpenClaw, that got formalized on January 30th. So, you've barely gotten any companies that
have moved to Agentic A.I. since January 30th, right? It's been only five months. And so, this is going to be a multi-year process for the other 99
percent of companies out there.
Now, at the leading edge, if you're Microsoft or Meta or Uber, which blew through their entire token budget in four months, you've got a different
problem where you're trying to figure out, hey, we've got to reign in some of these costs. And so, that's why I said, look, in the near term, there's
this speed bump, but CNN, my firm, and the 99 percent of the other companies out there, we're going to be doing a lot more with Agentic A.I. a
year from now than we are today.
And so, that's why I said this is a speed bump. It could be, you know, a pretty big one, but I think you've still got another strong year of growth
in front of you. And by the way, we saw speed bumps in the build out of the internet infrastructure as well. And so, I think this is just another one
we're going to have to live through.
[18:25:00]
NEWTON: I know. I was old enough to remember all of that, Dan, and that was pretty painful, especially for some portfolios. So, we will see where
this goes next. As I said, I'll end the way I began, it's like a very difficult market to try and figure out right now. Dan Miles for us. Thanks
so much. Really appreciate it.
NILES: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, checking some of today's other business headlines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average will soon have a new member, a tech giant,
Alphabet. S&P Global announcing a short time ago that the parent company of Google will be added to the blue-chip index before the start of trade next
Monday. It will replace telecom firm Verizon. Many of Alphabet's peers like Nvidia, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft are already on the Dow.
The European Central Bank won a big victory Tuesday in its push for a digital euro. The ECB winning key parliamentary backing for the payment
system. Final approval could come later this year. The digital euro project was launched some six years ago. Backers say it will make the eurozone less
reliant on U.S. credit card giants like Visa and MasterCard.
Meta still believes in the future of artificial intelligence smart glasses. The parent company of Instagram and Facebook has unveiled a new, cheaper
line of A.I. glasses. OK. Unlike previous models, these glasses were designed in-house and are a bit cheaper. Meta says the new glasses can play
music, translate languages, and give users information about their surroundings.
OK. It is election day in four states across the United States and a big test of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's political sway with voters.
We'll have details of that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: And welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Paula Newton. Here are the international headlines we're watching today.
[18:30:00]
Republican senators backed their Democratic colleagues and narrowly voted through a resolution ordering President Donald Trump to remove U.S.
military forces in the conflict with Iran. The measure, which passed the House earlier this month, is a significant rebuke to the president.
However, it does not require a signature. It does not carry the force of law. The Senate tally was 50 votes to 48.
A deadly heat wave continues to bring record-breaking temperatures right across Europe. France posted its hottest day on record Tuesday. Schools
have shut down. Many trains have been canceled. And even the Eiffel Tower closed early. Forecasters in the U.K., meantime, are warning of severe
impacts on energy and water supplies.
U.S. law enforcement officials say a note that was sent to media outlets in February stated that Nancy Guthrie was dead. The mother of TV news show
anchor Savannah Guthrie was taken from her home on February 1. She remains missing. Officials believe the note was from her kidnappers. The note said
they did not mean to kill her, but that she died shortly after being abducted.
In four U.S. states, voters have just a few more hours to cast their ballots in primary elections. Voting is underway right now in New York,
Maryland, Utah and South Carolina. Much of the focus, though, right here in New York City, where the political power of Mayor Zohran Mamdani is being
tested. He is backing several progressive candidates for the U.S. Congress over incumbent Democrats. And that is putting the spotlight on a growing
rift inside the Democratic Party over support for Israel.
Jeff Zeleny is at the polling site in New York City and joins me now. Quite the audacity of this New York mayor. He's backed three progressive
candidates. Two of them are taking on, as we just said, those incumbent Democrats. What was the thinking behind this? And is there a sense that
he's really going to move these votes?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I mean, Paula, it is unusual, but there is one explanation for it. Mayor Mamdani wants to
move his party left. I mean, he is a proud, avid Democratic socialist, and he wants to see other Democrats, particularly here in New York City,
elected who support his brand of politics.
Of course, he's, you know, not only doing this in a vacuum. I mean, the idea that Hakeem Jeffries, who's the Democratic leader in the House, if
Democrats would win control of the House of Representatives in November, Hakeem Jeffries is likely to be the next speaker of the House. So, that is
pitting these two gentlemen against each other. But really, it's a larger look at just these divides inside the Democratic Party now.
In many respects, we've seen Democrats effectively go toward the middle to try and win over red states, if you will, or moderate voters. Not true in
blue cities in America. We're seeing it in Washington, D.C., a Democratic socialist won the mayoral primary there. So, the outcome here tonight in
New York certainly will be interesting, but the mayor is going against those Democratic incumbents.
But he's not weighing in in the district where I am right now, that is New York's 12th congressional district, where voters are trying to fill the
retiring shoes of Jerry Nadler, who's been in Congress for 17 terms, 34 years. One of those is Alex Bores. He talked about turning the page and why
that is important.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: This district has been obviously represented by Mr. Nadler for very long time. Do you believe that this is an important moment to turn the
page?
STATE REP. ALEX BORES (D-NY): Well, I think the old ways aren't working. I have deep respect for Congressman Nadler and his half a century of service
to the people of New York City. It's an incredible model to try to emulate. And he ran the first time as part of the West Side Boys, who are bringing
new ideas. I think it's time for some new ideas again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: And some of those new ideas, or at least new themes in the races that we are seeing, is really the first inclusion of artificial
intelligence. The major companies have been ganging up on Alex Bores, the candidate we just saw right there, trying to stop him, because he has been
pushing the regulation of A.I. He's an assemblyman here in New York, a state lawmaker, if you will, and he has been running on a campaign to
regulate the artificial intelligence.
One other test we're seeing here is the power of the Kennedy brand and the Kennedy name, the grandson of President John F. Kennedy, Jack Schlossberg.
He is also running for Congress. We will see if he's able to use that to propel to a victory.
So, many different themes we're watching, Paula, but one thing is clear, the flavor of Democrats, the ideology of Democrats certainly is front and
center in this primary today.
NEWTON: Jeff Zeleny at a polling station there. Thanks so much for teeing it up for us, and we will continue to have coverage of this on CNN in the
coming hours.
Now, 10 years of division over a decision to pull Britain out of the European Union. After the break, we visit a seaside town to see how Brexit
is biting into the economy and impacting businesses. We visit a seaside town to see how Brexit is biting into the economy and impacting businesses.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:35:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND CNN ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: I'm Richard Quest. The people have spoken. The majesty of the
process. Whether or not you like the result, the reality tonight is that the British people have voted every before to leave the European Union.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Big Ben ringing in a dramatic shift in Britain's place in the world after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union. The result
triggered a decade of political instability and economic upheaval, which continues to be felt to this day. Our Anna Cooban has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LUCY PHILIPS, DECKHAND: I'm probably one of the few remainers on this beach, if not the only one.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER (voice-over): In Britain, a decade of division. Back in 2016, nearly 34 million people
answered a deceptively simple question, to leave or remain in the European Union. The answer was to go. The U.K.'s fishing industry, small though once
mighty, became a flash point in the big Brexit debate, one that is still raging today in coastal towns like Hastings.
PHILIPS: Personally, my heart was never a Leave lever, and it seems to bring nothing but complications, Brexit to a lot of people, whether that's
your job or import, export, or your right to travel and study.
COOBAN (voice-over): Many fishermen, like Roland, voted leave to get more control over British waters.
ROLAND KELLY, FISHERMAN: I voted for Brexit. I believe most of us beach voted for Brexit. We all wanted to be independent. The big problem was at
the time the fishing industry was actually a big bargaining tool.
COOBAN: Your concerns around the fishing industry, that was the main reason, the way you voted, the way you did.
KELLY: I just know I would like to have seen Great Britain great again.
COOBAN: If you could describe Brexit in one word, what would it be?
KELLY: Failure for a fisherman, definitely, our paperwork has gone threefold. It's more difficult now exporting fish.
COOBAN: Everyone in the U.K. has a story to tell about Brexit, where they were, how they felt, and quite frankly, the arguments they had with family
and friends. It's an economic issue, it's a political issue, but it's also about identity. It's highly emotional, and it's about the way that Britain
sees itself in the world, and it seems in 2026 that those divisions are still very much in place.
[18:40:00]
COOBAN (voice-over): The Brexit vote catapulted the U.K. into years of political turmoil, with six prime ministers in just the past decade. Olafs
has owned his fish and chip shop for about the same length of time.
COOBAN: And you're Latvian.
OLAFS MEZPAPNS, OWNER OF NEPTUNE FISH & CHIPS: Yes, I'm Latvian. Yes.
COOBAN: How did you feel as a European when --
MEZPAPNS: I never have any racism for me, you know? So, I'm follow the English rules, you know, and then try to integrate all the fish and chip
shops have a little bit more struggle now. Yes.
COOBAN: So, Hastings is really an in-between kind of place. It's actually closer to France than it is to London. And 10 years ago, you had 55 percent
of voters saying they wanted to leave the E.U. and 45 percent saying they wanted to stay.
And just by going around here today and talking to people, it's quite clear that the feelings about Brexit, about the wisdom of it, whether or not they
voted stay or to leave, and whether or not it really delivered what people thought it would. Those emotions are still running quite high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What better thing to talk about on a nice sunny day 10 years later?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe it was the right thing to do to leave, in my opinion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt powerless because I wasn't able to vote. Now, I speak to my older family members, and they do regret a lot of the things
that they were led to believe at that time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just having to grow up in a kind of post-Brexit economy, everything's a little bit more expensive now. Everything's harder.
COOBAN: You could describe Brexit in one word, what would it be?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mistake.
COOBAN: Did you vote to leave?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I vote to leave. Yes. I think I would have voted differently if I'd have known what it is today.
COOBAN (voice-over): Before I left, there was one question I needed answering, and I knew just the person to ask.
COOBAN: Salter (ph), I need to know, are we ever going to stop talking about Brexit?
COOBAN (voice-over): Anna Cooban, CNN, Hastings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: OK. Ten years ago, Britain's anti-E.U. sentiment was of course fueled, as Anna Cooban just explained there, by anger over a surge in
immigration, one of the policy cornerstones of Nigel Farage's UKIP Party.
Soon after the Brexit referendum result, President Trump welcomed Farage on stage during one of his campaign rallies. Farage is now leading a party
called Reform U.K., which was particularly successful in Britain's recent local elections.
Now, both the Farage and Trump campaigns reached out to disaffected people who felt they had no voice. The same sentiment is driving far-right
movements in other countries as well. In France, Marine Le Pen's party won two seats in the National Assembly in 2012. After the 2024 election, it
earned 142.
So, where does that leave Britain's future relationship with the European Union? And how far will populism spread beyond the U.K. and the US? Joining
me now is a man who knows all about politics on both sides of the pond.
Stephen Collinson is with us now from Washington. Really grateful to you as we try and take in these last 10 years, right? And I want to start there
with Britain. In 2016, you wrote Britain was having a Donald Trump moment. So, is that moment continuing with Farage? Do you believe it will gain
ground? I mean, it's hard to believe, but Nigel Farage might be closer to 10 Downing Street now than he was a decade ago.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: That's the fascinating thing, because if you talk to people in Britain right now, many people
believe that Nigel Farage will be prime minister after the next election in three years' time. Although Brexit is quite unpopular, a majority of the
people in the U.K. don't like Farage.
Farage is still rising as a political force, which is in many ways a contradiction. I think some of that is being driven by the fact that
politics hasn't worked in the United Kingdom for the last 10 years. They will be waiting for their sixth new prime minister since Brexit, who's
presumed to be Andy Burnham.
And what you've had is a succession of politicians that have promised change and have failed to really deliver it. That creates a cycle, and
we're not just seeing it in the U.K., but we've seen it in Europe and the United States as well, that voters who are already angry about the failure
of politics to deliver become even more cynical and don't think it can improve their lives.
I've heard the same thing in the U.K. recently, as I heard in the United States in 2016. It's like politics isn't working. None of these politicians
know what they're doing. Why don't we just give something else a shot? That was also a sentiment, I think, which was very deeply ingrained in the vote
to leave the European Union.
The European Union became almost a proxy for people's frustrations. But 10 years later, I think most economists will agree that Britain is poorer,
it's more isolated in the world because it's been cut off from Europe, and its great ally, the United States, seems to have deserted it as well in the
Trump administration.
[18:45:00]
And it's a long way from the sunlit meadows that the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised with a vote to leave the European Union.
NEWTON: In the sunlit meadows, he did promise. When we heard from some of those people in Anna Kubin's piece, I mean, look, they're admitting that
maybe from an identity point of view, they still feel the same way. But from an economic point of view, it was a mistake.
Do you think the U.K. will move closer to the E.U., especially economically, in the years to come? Do they have to do that?
COLLINSON: It looks like they don't have much of a choice if you take the emotion out of it. Because the theory of the Brexiteers was that this great
trading nation would recover its seafaring glory and would be a force of its own in the world, that it would be able to cut deals with trading
partners that would be better than those of European Union countries.
The way the world has moved in the last 10 years has made that much more difficult. Obviously, the U.K. has lots of now impediments to trade with
the E.U. It has found itself, and no one could have believed it 10 years ago, as the victim of attacks on the economy by the United States.
Britain has always had this debate over the last 60 years or so of whether it should move closer to the United States or move closer to Europe. And
that is a fault line in British foreign policy and a part of the identity crisis the country is going through.
So, being a small country on the edge of Europe that is being rejected by the United States is a very difficult position, especially at a time when
you've got a lot of growing nations in Southeast Asia which have big economies. The problem is, is there a political consensus in the U.K. for
going back to the E.U.? I think it would open up a lot of the political wounds and Britain would not get the same kind of deal with various opt-
outs that it had with the E.U. if it ever did move back towards trying to ask for membership.
So, it's very difficult to see how things could improve. Perhaps closer trading ties, moving into the customs union might be an option. But even
that, I think, would be a very divisive political move right now at a time when the U.K. is really a political tinderbox.
NEWTON: Yes, Stephen, we have to go. But that is the point, isn't it? There is no satisfaction in any of this, even though they've had a decade
now of leaving. I do have to go. But do you think there is a lesson here for the United States at this point in time?
COLLINSON: I think what is needed, and I sometimes hear it in the country in the United States, is new political thinking, new political figures, new
political messages. The United States has always been able to regenerate itself politically, historically. It's not done so over the last 10 years
of leadership by 80-something presidents. But I think that's something we could look towards in the 2028 now. I guess it will be a general election.
NEWTON: Yes, absolutely. Stephen Collinson, always great to talk to you. Thanks so much.
COLLINSON: Thanks.
NEWTON: Coming up on "The Brief," Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo finally joins the World Cup party with multiple goals, as other stars keep scoring.
We'll have the highlights.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:50:00]
NEWTON: OK. World Cup action. Croatia set to take on Panama in about 10 minutes. England versus Ghana ended in a goalless draw. The three lines
dominated the match, but no goal. Earlier, Portugal beat Uzbekistan 5-0, with Ronaldo scoring two goals as he broke a new record.
Don Riddell is here with all of the details. Once again, World Cup action does not disappoint, except maybe if you're England.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, we'll talk about England in just a minute. I mean, the Portugal-Ronaldo story, Paula, is absolutely
fascinating. Because remember, he, like Messi, is playing in a sixth World Cup tournament. But unlike Lionel Messi, he wasn't doing very much of
Portugal. In fact, he was kind of getting in the way. That was until this Uzbekistan game, when he scored two of those goals in their very
comfortable 5-nil win.
It ended a long drought for him, a 10-game drought in major competition matches. And it meant that he had done something that Lionel Messi has
never done and never will do. And that is scoring in six consecutive World Cup tournaments.
Now, he's never scored in a World Cup knockout game. Unlike Messi, he's never won a world title with Portugal. But he's very much now back in the
conversation. And you could see what it meant to him, especially when he scored that first goal. There was just so much relief, so much energy went
into his celebration. It really was quite an extraordinary moment.
So, good day for Portugal. Great day for Cristiano Ronaldo. Not so much for England. England fans of their team at the World Cup will know that you
just have to accept that you're going to have to strap yourself into a roller coaster and go with the emotions, because they had a really
energetic positive 4-2 win against Croatia in their opening game.
Against Ghana's Black Stars, it was a completely different story. They set a record that you won't want to hear about if you're an England fan. They
had 78.8 percent of the possession and failed to score. No team has ever had that much possession and failed to score in a World Cup game. They had
19 shots, only three on target. Fair play to Ghana. They defended very well. They put 11 men behind the ball. And it means that both teams now
have four points in that group. England's still top of the group.
As for the race for the golden boot, we've never seen anything like this. So, many top stars in the World Cup all coming to play and banging in the
goals right from the off. Just two games played, remember, for these countries. Lionel Messi, five goals. All five of Argentina's. He's leading
the race after just two games. He's also now, by the way, the World Cup's all-time leading scorer with 18. Kylian Mbappe in with four. Erling
Haaland, four goals. He's only ever played two World Cup games. He's off to the races. And this one is just going to run and run.
NEWTON: Don, we have to go there. Jonathan, David, though, I'll say at the end. Canada. Don Riddell, thanks for that update.
Now, Group C, Scotland will face Brazil, Miami tomorrow. And guess who showed up? The Tartan Army. Here is Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you're looking for the Scottish World Cup fans, they're not hard to find.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love to party at any sport event. We love to drink. We love to party.
KAYE: Is the stadium going to run out of beer tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 100 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to phone up Scotland and say, can you send more beer? Because we're going to drink it all tonight.
KAYE: Scotland hasn't been to the World Cup in nearly three decades. So, the soccer fans who came here to the U.S. for the games are certainly
making the most of it. But it's not just soccer that has them cheering. It's baseball.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love baseball. We know the one song they've got. It goes like this.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's all we really know.
KAYE (voice-over): Scottish fans call themselves the Tartan Army. In between World Cup matches, they've been taking over stadiums in host
cities. In Miami, the Marlins team dubbed Monday night's game the Tartan Takeover, after about 8,000 tickets were purchased by Scottish fans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are here to see Scotland play Brazil. So, we thought we would just come and see the baseball and support the Fighting
Fish.
KAYE: What do you think makes the Scottish fans so unique?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, no one else wears kilts. We have lots of fabulous songs.
KAYE (voice-over): And where the Scots go, the party follows.
[18:55:00]
KAYE: Many of these Scottish fans have never attended a U.S. baseball game. But that doesn't seem to be getting in the way of their club.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He throws it, and he hits it as far as he can. Is there more than that?
KAYE: Can you explain the rules of the game to me here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a Scottish man, I would say there's a man throwing a ball at another man who's trying to hit it out the park. And nine times out
of 10, he misses.
KAYE: Do you think they should just use a bigger ball out here? Would that make more sense to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say a bigger ball and a bigger bat.
KAYE (voice-over): The Marlins lost to the Texas Rangers 4-3, but that didn't dampen the Tartan Army's spirits.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Who knew that the World Cup would even do something for baseball? I want to thank you for being here. I'm Paula Newton. You've been watching
"The Brief." Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
