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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Trump Claims Intel Reveals Vulnerability in U.S. Elections; Flood Watch in Effect, Two Killed in Texas; U.S. Launches 6th Straight Night of Attacks on Iran. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired July 17, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[00:00:28]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles. We begin with breaking news from the White House.

President Trump releasing a number of documents which he claims show the vulnerability of U.S. voting systems and interference by foreign countries, namely China.

His primetime speech, part of his push for Congress to approve his elections reforms ahead of the November midterms. Although the documents are newly declassified, they largely discuss issues that have been known for years and election officials across the country have tried to address.

None of the declassified information supports the claim that any previous election results were manipulated by foreign interference in a way that would have changed the outcome. Here's part of President Trump's remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Every American deserves to know that when they cast their vote, that vote will be counted accurately in a system, and that is to make that system secure. One where cheating and interference are not just difficult, but virtually impossible.

Unfortunately, the system we have today falls catastrophically short of that standard.

Tonight I'm announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure.

This evidence shows that the election system we have dangerously exposes and really exposes, like levels never thought possible to hacking, exploitation and foreign interference. Just as disturbingly, this vital information has, for many years, been covered up and hidden from you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: We've got team coverage: CNN's Gabe Cohen, live in Washington; our Beijing bureau chief, Steven Jiang, standing by in the Chinese capital. We'll hear from Democratic Congressmember Nikema Williams from Georgia; and perspective from our senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, here in Los Angeles.

But let's start with Gabe in Washington with the breakdown of the president's biggest claims -- Gabe.

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and Elex, first of all, I think the broader context is really important here, because this is really just the latest move in a campaign by this administration to prove that elections in this country are not secure; that voter fraud is not just possible; but that it's happening in large numbers, despite no evidence of that.

Important to note, none of the evidence that was provided tonight actually showed -- and nor did the president even claim that it showed -- that any votes were actually changed or manipulated in any past elections, including 2020, which the president himself has repeatedly said was stolen.

But it is just the beginning, tonight's speech, for this White House task force that's been assembled and is declassifying this trove of documents to show election security vulnerabilities.

And tonight, as you mentioned, the president used this speech to, again, push for the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act and require proof of citizenship to register to vote and voter I.D. to actually cast a ballot at the polls, although Republicans in the Senate have said, at this point, it just does not have the votes.

So, what were the president's claims? Well, just to mention a couple. He talked about voter data being vulnerable, saying that China stole data on some 220 million Americans back in 2020, even though intelligence reports at that time, from his first administration, found that China chose not to try to influence the outcome of the 2020 election.

He also said his Department of Homeland Security found that 250,000 non-citizens are registered to vote in just four states: California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. They said they found that through public data.

Now, I will tell you, I have been in touch tonight with officials in Pennsylvania and Nevada, who said they have no idea where those numbers are coming from.

Nevada's secretary of state's office flat-out refuted that claim, saying that DHS has not been in touch with them about it. Pennsylvania's secretary of the commonwealth said that they would love for DHS to share their methodology there so they can address whatever issue there might be. But I will tell you right now, the Justice Department is actually

suing more than two dozen states, including those four, to force them to hand over their voter lists for a more significant check for noncitizen voters. Apparently, they felt like they had enough public data to make that claim.

[00:05:04]

But again, there is this bigger context here, Elex, because it's important to note the president and his allies continue to claim that Democrats are rigging and stealing elections. And this administration has taken a lot of other steps to implement more federal control, most of which has been blocked again and again by courts.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And in terms of the California perspective, the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, describing this as tin-foil stuff and suggesting the 25th Amendment and that President Trump be taken out of office.

So, clearly, he didn't like the speech in terms of what he was saying tonight, as well.

Gabe Cohen, thank you for some great context tonight to start us off.

Now, let's get some perspective from China with CNN's Beijing bureau chief, Steven Jiang. And, Steven, here's what the president said about China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They show that, over a period of years, starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People's Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China's illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files.

That information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences, and other sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities, which is exactly what was happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Steven, any response from the Chinese government?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Elex, I just heard back from the spokesperson at the Chinese embassy in Washington. And not surprisingly, they had a very vehement denial.

And the statement reads, "China has all along adhered to the principle of noninterference in others' internal affairs." It goes to say, "China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the U.S."

So, this really echoes with their long-standing position and what they have said in multiple occasions in the past, because, as you have just heard from Gabe, this is not a first time this issue has come up.

And as Gabe mentioned, there was that March 2021 U.S. intelligence community assessment that China did not interfere. And China decided. But China tried to but decided not to engage in influence campaigns back then. That was the majority view.

Now, part of what the president said in this latest speech echoed some of the minority view in that report. But even those minority views very much focused on influence campaign efforts, not direct interference in the election processes.

So, the president really has gone further, not only highlighting the mass scale of Chinese efforts to compromise U.S. voter data, but also its capability and intention to interfere with election infrastructure.

Now, the timing of this is very interesting. As you know, Trump was here in May, had the high -- high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. And then, after that, this often contentious relationship has entered a period of relative calm and stability, with a very fragile trade truce still going on.

And Trump himself has said multiple times he's very much looking forward to hosting Xi Jinping in Washington in late September.

Now, before the speech, there has been chatter of senior Chinese officials going to D.C. to discuss details about that trip with their American counterparts.

So now, of course, this is really throwing some doubts onto that, because that type of summit really depends on having the right atmosphere. The overwhelming and ominous accusations from the president obviously is not conducive to that.

But Chinese officials and analysts, they also understand the intended audience --

MICHAELSON: Yes.

JIANG: -- of the president's speech is domestic, especially ahead of a critical midterm election. So, they could decide to basically look past this very quickly after issuing their predictable pushback, denial, and then turn the page over to maintain this rather fragility between the two countries -- Elex.

MICHAELSON: Right. Was there some sort of communication behind the scenes: I've got to say this, but you know what I really think? And -- and so, we don't know that, but that would certainly be interesting if that happened.

Steven Jiang for us in Beijing. Thank you so much.

Joining me now from Atlanta, Georgia, is Congresswoman Nikema Williams. She represents the Atlanta area, in the seat once held by Congressman John Lewis. She also used to be the chair of the Georgia Democratic Party. Congresswoman, welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.

REP. NIKEMA WILLIAMS (D-GA): Thank you. Thank you for having me, Elex, especially on this important conversation.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And so, there was a lot that was just said by President Trump. A lot of allegations, a lot of documents put out. Did you learn anything new? Were you surprised by any of what's in those documents?

[00:10:01]

WILLIAMS: So, Elex, what I heard was 25, 26 minutes, all to say that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election again. And no matter how many different ways he tries to spin it, the results are still the same. Donald Trump lost.

He's trying to relitigate this election from 2020 that we've proven he lost.

But this is all a set-up, looking towards 2026 and 2028. And I know that what we did in Georgia was made sure that we turned out enough voters so that, even when Donald Trump himself tried to interfere with the election and find that 11,780 votes, he could not overcome what the people wanted to happen. The people's voices were heard.

And that's what we have to do in these upcoming elections. We have to make sure that we're organizing, we're prepared, and we turn out more voters that are motivated to have their voices heard at the ballot box, so that no matter what Donald Trump tries to put in place, we can still win these elections and have the people's voices represented.

MICHAELSON: Before this speech, there was a lot of speculation and reporting from some other news organizations that said that the president was going to call out Georgia, in particular, especially the two senators from Georgia, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, and question their legitimacy as senators; potentially put out evidence questioning their legitimacy.

That did not happen in the speech. He didn't mention either one of them. He did not even mention Georgia. What do you make of that? And were you surprised by that?

WILLIAMS: Well, he didn't mention Georgia, but the fact still remains that he is trying to sow doubt in our elections processes. And it is time for the president, the leader of this country, to give confidence to the American people so that they can show up and have their voices heard.

Regardless of who you vote for in an election, every vote should be counted and counted fairly. You shouldn't be relitigating elections from six years ago.

Donald Trump is telling us that, when Democrats were in control, that, you know, elections were fair. But the election that he wants to continue to relitigate, Donald Trump was actually the president. It was his Congress, his Senate. Like these are 00 people were on the ballot, and he wants to pick and choose which votes and which elections he wants to count.

But what I know is that the people's voices should be heard. I represent this district that is steeped in civil rights history, held by the late Congressman John Lewis. And we know that when we organize, when we show up, when we use our voices, we need to do that in force, so that our voices can be heard. We can elect people of our choice to the ballot.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

WILLIAMS: And that means that even the president of the United States standing before us and relitigating these lies and going on and on about China, it means that the people's voices still should ring loudest. And that's the voices that we should be listening to, not Donald Trump.

MICHAELSON: But are we -- but, you know, the allegations against China are quite serious. This idea that they're trying to interfere in our elections. As a member of Congress, are you concerned about that? Are you worried that China is trying to tip the scales?

WILLIAMS: So, Elex, we should look into any foreign nation that is trying to interfere in our elections and that -- but that means that it doesn't -- it's not just when they are looking into Democratic elections or trying to have elections interference. We've got to look into the Republican results, as well.

Donald Trump wants to cherry-pick which elections he thinks were valid and which ones he thinks were invalid and which countries he wants to look into.

Is Donald Trump also going to talk about Russia trying to tip the scales in our elections? He doesn't want to talk about people that might be trying to help him.

What I want are fair elections across the board, regardless of who the winner is. As a member of the United States Congress, I want fair elections. I want all voices to be heard, and I want all votes to be counted.

That is my goal, to make sure that we make voting easy for everyone in this country that wants to participate.

Donald Trump is continuing to push his election suppression tactics. He wants to pass the SAVE Act to restrict whose voices can be heard at the ballot box. And I'm in Congress to do the exact opposite.

I want voices to be heard, people to show up in force and have a say in our democracy. And that is just not what Donald Trump wants. He only wants the election results that come out the way that he wants them to. And that's not what a democracy looks like.

MICHAELSON: And just to be clear, some of the documents on the White House website right now include evidence that Russia was trying to interfere with the election on behalf of Donald Trump. So, that is part of what was posted.

WILLIAMS: To Donald Trump.

MICHAELSON: To support Donald Trump. That's part of what was posted on WhiteHouse.gov, as well.

Nikema Williams, thank you so much for taking time to talk with us on such a big night in politics.

WILLIAMS: Thank you. Thank you, Elex.

[00:15:02]

MICHAELSON: Joining me live here in Los Angeles is CNN senior political analyst and Bloomberg opinion columnist Ron Brownstein.

Ron, always good to see you.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

MICHAELSON: Let's talk first, just for some context --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- on this concept of voter files. This idea that China has info on 220 million Americans. What are voter files? How do people get them?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, so does the RNC and the DNC. I mean, the voter files are the foundation of modern political campaigns.

The voter files are information that states keep and make available publicly about who is registered to vote. I, believe in all states they make publicly available how often you voted who you are.

So, maybe there's a document in these -- in these that's being released that will show something more serious. But basically, what he said tonight was that China obtained publicly available information, you know?

And I thought it was interesting that he did not talk about any kind of penalty or sanction for China. China wasn't really the target. China was the cudgel. And I think that he -- or the lever that he wants to use to justify this broad campaign, as Gabe said, this unprecedented effort to exert more federal control over election processes.

MICHAELSON: Because you, going into this, was wondering --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- is this going to be a speech that is looking back --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- really about the gripes of 2020, or is it a speech really looking forward to 2026, 2028? You think it was more looking forward?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I mean, I don't think it was as much of a kind of a rehash of 2020 as many people expected. I think it was about laying the predicate to justify not only to push the Senate to pass this SAVE Act, which -- which, you know, would have the effect of making it tougher to vote for Democratic constituencies, in particular.

And -- but it's not going to happen, right? They're not going to end the filibuster. They're not going to do it.

But that is not the end of it. I mean, I thought he said some pretty clear signals in this speech, one, that he wants to go after mail balloting again. As you know, they tried to, through the post office, restrict who can get a mail ballot. Courts have stopped them so far.

But he was suggesting again tonight I think there's more coming on that front.

And secondly, the whole tale about China -- (AUDIO GAP) desired outcome in Venezuela. I don't think that was just like kind of a, you know, a bedtime story. That was about laying the groundwork for questioning the use of those machines in the U.S.

And we know from Reuters reporting already that the Commerce Department has already -- the White House was pressing the Commerce Department to look for ways to declare the Dominion Voting Systems, components of them, violations or threats to national security, and invalidate them. That's used in about half the states.

So, I suspect that on both of those fronts, we are going to see more action between now and November. And again, more fights in the courts about how far they can go in trying to assert control over elections.

MICHAELSON: And a reminder, if Dominion Voting sounds familiar to people --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- that was the subject of a massive election misinformation campaign on FOX News Channel --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- where the network had to pay out over $700 million, because the courts found that that was not true.

BROWNSTEIN: And they looked a little like the court on a -- the cat on a hot stove tonight, I mean, as they were discussing this again.

MICHAELSON: So -- so, in terms of sort of what's next, what's the tomorrow story? What does the administration do before the midterms to actually implement some of this? Where do you see this going?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I see two stories. I mean, I -- as I said, I think that it's a mistake to assume that what he was doing was just kind of relitigating his old grievances, or that all he was doing was trying to pressure the Senate to do something that by now he knows they are not going to do.

I think he was laying the groundwork for more attempts at unilateral executive action that would make it tougher to vote, and give the federal government unprecedented control. And we are going to see more, I think, attempts and more court fights.

The other thing, though, politically, you know, the fear of Republicans going into this speech was that it would provide more evidence to one of the biggest problems they're facing in November. I mean, you know, Donald Trump was elected, above all, it's unequivocal in the polling. He was elected. His voters elected him, above all, to address their cost-of-living problems. They don't feel that he's made enough progress on it.

And even more, I think they don't feel that he's focused enough on it. They feel that he is focused more on his priorities, his grievances, his obsessions: prosecuting James Comey; tearing down the East Wing; you know, obsessing over election procedures.

And I think, again, another big opportunity, talking to the country, perfunctory discussion of the economy, if only to say, it's all fine, stop worrying.

MICHAELSON: And his voters wanted him to end foreign wars.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

MICHAELSON: That's what he ran on. And there's a war with Iran that he barely even talked about --

BROWNSTEIN: Right.

MICHAELSON: -- as he expands that conflict, as well.

So, in terms of all of this, it's going to be fascinating to watch in the days and weeks ahead.

BROWNSTEIN: I wonder, does any of this get to the Supreme Court before the election? And are they as resolute as the lower courts have been in saying, Look, you just don't have the authority under the Constitution? You know, it leaves the authority for running elections to states. And -- and that you are attempting an -- unprecedented ways to use the postal service, the postal service, to establish a list of who can receive a mail ballot in California. Right?

I mean, just think about what we're kind of talking about in shifting the power structure of how elections are run here. Does this get to the Supreme Court? They did stand up against the attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Are they going to stand up again if it does get that far before November?

MICHAELSON: Ron Brownstein, always great to see you, especially on big nights. Really appreciate it.

We will continue to follow this story throughout the night here on THE STORY IS.

But we also have some other big news we're following, including catastrophic flooding raging through the Texas hill country, which is the same area where flood waters killed more than 100 people just last year. We'll go live to Texas for an update from the ground, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:27:31]

MICHAELSON: At least two people have died as floodwaters surged through Texas hill country. First responders have conducted more than 230 rescues as storms swept across the region.

This bodycam video shows a crew member pulling a family to safety in Uvalde. Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for communities along the Guadalupe river due to flood threats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE LAMB, KERRY COUNTY, TEXAS RESIDENT: This year. I think everybody kind of -- we got a lot of phone warnings. I think that was helpful after last year. I mean, you always got like the flash flood warning. Nobody took it into consideration. It was like, oh, it's a sprinkle right now.

I think this year, people actually like -- the RV park. We were right beside it yesterday evening. That -- they fully evacuated. I mean, everybody kind of got to higher ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: A flood watch is in effect until midday Friday for hard- hit parts of South central Texas. While some rivers and creeks have receded, officials warn that the threat is not over, with more rain in the forecast.

Sherrell Hubbard has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Flood warning sirens sounded early Thursday at a campground and restaurant near Kerrville, Texas, after the Guadalupe River rose out of its banks.

Those sirens installed after the area was devasted by flooding a year ago that killed 130 people, including 25 children at Camp Mystic. Now, the national weather service says a, quote, deadly flood wave is surging down the Guadalupe River.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The water rushes down from the hillsides. The local streams and creeks, and into the larger rivers, and that is what accumulates. The water has nowhere to go but up, and unfortunately, it becomes this lethal wall of water.

HUBBARD (voice-over): In Southern Texas, about a year's worth of rain has already fallen. The Guadalupe River at Comfort, Texas, rose more than 25 feet in one hour Thursday morning as slow-moving storms dropped several inches of rain, creating fast-moving water.

The region under a flash flood emergency for most of Thursday, the highest level of flood warning. By Thursday evening, two people were reported dead.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): A male near Comfort who was swept away in an RV. Another is a female in Uvalde.

HUBBARD (voice-over): Texas, has seen loss of life but also daring rescues like this child in a snorkel seen being rescued by Texas game wardens.

Texas first responders descended in Uvalde as storms passed through Wednesday --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put this on like a jacket. OK?

HUBBARD (voice-over): -- where a young girl, her family and their two dogs waited desperately for rescue.

I'm Sherrell Hubbard, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Such dramatic video there.

Emily Foxhall is a reporter for "The Texas Tribune." She joins us now live from Houston.

Thanks for being with us. I know you guys have reporters all over this. What does it look and feel like on the ground right now?

EMILY FOXHALL, REPORTER, "THE TEXAS TRIBUNE": Sure. As you can imagine, in that area along the Guadalupe River you all were just showing, that's a place that flooded really catastrophically just a year ago, last July. More than 100 people died when that river surged in the early morning hours.

So, there's a lot of heartbreak in that community. There's a lot of memories coming back of the disaster that really ripped through homes, carried away structures, and took a lot of lives.

So, that community was still really working through the rebuilding process. And now they're having to face another really terrible disaster with high flooding again.

MICHAELSON: What's the biggest challenge in the next 24 hours, especially once we have daylight?

FOXHALL: Sure. This storm, I mean, it's just been raining here for days in Southwest Texas and in areas of the hill country. So, it's been repeated rounds of heavy rainfall. And forecasters are expecting heavy rain again tonight.

So, it's really going to depend on where that heaviest rain falls in certain pockets. That's where the -- the worst local impacts could be.

But there are several regions, including the Guadalupe River, and then another area called Uvalde that they have gotten more than 25 inches of rain over three days, which is just a staggering amount of rain.

So, the soils are saturated, the rivers are moving through huge, huge amounts of water. So, the concern is that wherever the heavy rain falls tonight, that's going to fall into these kind of already pretty full systems and could create more flash flooding again.

[00:30:07]

MICHAELSON: Yes. And 25 inches of rain at one time is just extraordinary, if you think what that's like.

So, you mentioned that catastrophic, deadly flooding from last year. Is Texas in a better place now? Has the state learned the lessons from that, or are you seeing that on the ground?

FOXHALL: Yes, it was -- it's really been quite a day, because we were up really early at "The Texas Tribune," kind of monitoring the flood warnings. And they were coming out kind of fast and furious from the National Weather Service, with very clear warnings for people to seek higher ground, and really urgent messaging about the potential for catastrophic flooding. So, you could see those warnings coming out.

And Governor Abbott, in a press conference earlier today, said the state did really kind of intentionally mobilize more aggressively this year. So, he talked about more than 2,000 responders being mobilized for this flood. There have been rescues ongoing in different parts of the region.

And you could also kind of just get a sense that, like, people on the ground have been watching, you know 27 girls died at a -- at a youth camp last summer. And there were a lot of youth camps posting updates on social media throughout the last few days as these heavy rains have been moving through.

MICHAELSON: I mean, the video, when we look at those pictures are just so dramatic, and we feel for everybody impacted in the days ahead, as well.

Emily Foxhall, thanks for your reporting. We really appreciate it.

Massive plumes of Canadian wildfire smoke have engulfed large swaths of the U.S., as well, impacting more than 100 million people.

Major cities in the Midwest and Northeast already under air quality alerts, with more cities along the East Coast under watches.

Poor air quality is expected to plague these regions through at least Friday, as more smoke pours across the border.

Much more ahead. We'll be digging into the president's speech and his election interference claims with my panel of political experts. What was the real motivation of all this? We'll get into that, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:36:56]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Every American deserves to know that when they cast their vote, that vote will be counted accurately in a system, and that is to make that system secure; one where cheating and interference are not just difficult, but virtually impossible. Unfortunately, the system we have today falls catastrophically short of that standard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: We're joined now by our political panel: Caroline Sunshine, communications aide with the 2024 Trump presidential campaign; Eric Messersmith, political commentator and host at the "Everybody Settle Down" YouTube channel; and Dina Doll, legal analyst with Meidas Touch.

We've got a little left, right and center here. And it's such a big night that we have the rare three-person panel instead of the two- person panel, because we've got a presidential primetime address.

Welcome to you all. Great to see you all again. Down the line, one- word response to -- one-word review to President Trump's speech tonight.

DINA DOLL, LEGAL ANALYST, MEIDAS TOUCH: I have two: delusional and dangerous.

ERIC MESSERSMITH, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR/HOST, "EVERYBODY SETTLE DOWN": Dangerous. Stole mine.

CAROLINE SUNSHINE, COMMUNICATIONS AIDE, 2024 TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Boring.

MICHAELSON: Boring. That's your reaction. And as somebody who's a communications aide, who's helped President Trump prepare for events and craft what he's going to say, why do you think it was boring? And sort of what was your other, you know, main takeaways from this?

SUNSHINE: You know, I look at President Trump, I think the way that he sees himself, which is the producer in chief, you know, and he's about creating great television. And I think tonight he committed the cardinal sin of TV, which is don't be boring. I think that --

MICHAELSON: What made it boring to you?

SUNSHINE: Well, I would have preferred -- what would have been a great TV moment was, Good evening to the American people. I've just received word that we've been victorious in Iran. We're going home. That would have been a great moment.

But instead, there wasn't really anything in the speech, I think, that created great TV. I think it's great that we're getting declassified information about foreign interference in an election.

However, I think that the real interference that occurred in the 2020 election happened with, you know, big tech and some of the most powerful media apparatuses in our country, suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story.

I'm thinking of people like Mark Zuckerberg at Meta, who suppressed that story. And now he's at, you know, the UFC fight. And Meta gets to put their name on a ballroom.

So, I think if we want to see real election interference, and we wanted to see really good TV, I would have loved to hear Mark Zuckerberg be called out instead of getting an invite to the people's house.

MICHAELSON: Eric, your thoughts on tonight?

MESSERSMITH: Well, there wasn't really anything new. We're going to get some of this declassified information, but a lot of it, we knew before.

There was this dispute within the intelligence community about exactly what China was going to do. Blaming it on the whole deep state, when Ratcliffe at the time was your director of national intelligence and now your CIA director.

So, are you saying he or his people blocked it from the president's knowledge?

It just seemed like if you're going to do a big primetime speech and you're going to say there's going to be a bombshell, there's going to be something new. You really probably need to deliver something or else. I think it kind of depresses your base.

[00:40:02]

And so, I thought it was -- it was disappointing in that regard.

But also, the dangerous part is I think what he's setting up is, in order for elections to be fair, that rules have to be how I want them. So, by that, I mean the SAVE America Act has to pass.

And if it doesn't pass, then it's not really fair. And we can't have a democracy based on that.

I mean, the Democrats tried desperately to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. They didn't get there. People wanted them to blow up the filibuster to do it. It didn't happen.

But they then don't get to say, well, we didn't get the election rules we want. So, the 2024 election isn't fair. And I feel like we're setting things up in the future. And that's what I'm nervous about.

MICHAELSON: For the whole idea of either I won or you cheated?

MESSERSMITH: Right. And so, those are the only two possible outcomes. MICHAELSON: Right.

MESSERSMITH: And look, if you go back to 2020, we all remember January 6th. That's how the story ended. But that's not how it began.

It began months prior to the election, when Trump basically said, better watch out. There might be some cheating in this election. And if I don't win, it's probably not going to be fair. He telegraphed it.

MICHAELSON: He said that in 2016, and he said that in 2024. Right? And in those situations when he did win, then all of a sudden, there wasn't cheating.

MESSERSMITH: It was fine, right.

MICHAELSON: Like in the California election, there was cheating, apparently, for Spencer Pratt running for mayor, but not cheating for Steve Hilton running for governor, who's a Republican who got through in that same thing.

And Dina, your thoughts?

DOLL: Well, that leads into delusional. Because he just spewed a bunch of lies, saying that somehow, there's hundreds of thousands of noncitizens on voter rolls.

Even the Heritage Foundation, looking at between 2000 and 2022, found 100 noncitizens voting out of -- (AUDIO GAP). And then the idea that not safe and secure. FOX paid nearly $800 billion, because there was no evidence about this.

We have been there before.

And then it was dangerous, because he's directing the FBI and the Department of Justice to somehow investigate and possibly prosecute people in charge of the 2020 elections.

And he calls major networks, ABC and NBC, like part of a plot, and that they should have their, you know -- be revoked, their ability to broadcast. Very dangerous stuff coming from somebody sitting in an Oval Office.

MICHAELSON: Well, and he also mentioned that there are journalists who are being paid a lot of money by China to spread propaganda. I'd be curious for a follow-up on who that is. Because if that's true, that would be very, very interesting and important to know. I'm just not sure exactly who he's talking about. So --

DOLL: Yes. And is that even illegal? No.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

DOLL: I mean, it might be unethical from journalism practices.

MICHAELSON: Yes. It's pretty bad from a journalism perspective to be doing that. Yes but -- DOLL: People -- but these days, who's a journalist?

MICHAELSON: Yes. Well, that's a whole other debate that we could have online.

But -- but Caroline, as somebody who knows the president, who's worked with him, sort of understands his headspace, why is he picking this?

SUNSHINE: I think it's a little bit of a hail Mary to maybe turn out people before the midterms. I think the president would prefer to win the midterms, but I don't think he's really afraid to lose them.

I think he's been through the rigmarole and learned that he can survive everything. I mean, his fundraising numbers and poll numbers went through the roof after that mug shot. That mug shot was one of the worst things that politically could have happened for the Democrats.

MICHAELSON: This is when he was prosecuted --

SUNSHINE: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- when he wasn't president, but he was in between.

SUNSHINE: Yes.

MICHAELSON: And -- and that became a rallying cry. He became a martyr.

SUNSHINE: His brand, his political brand does exceptionally well when he is a political martyr. And -- and he knows that.

And when I say producer-in-chief, I say that because he an audience in mind. And his brand does well with that audience when he's a political martyr.

And then I think it's a hail Mary turnout play, because I think some of the promises made, promises kept haven't been kept. I think this war is really unpopular. The American people want to see the president be tougher on deportations, which you watched him pivot to this week.

And then I think this issue. I mean, 80 percent of Americans want voter I.D. in our elections. They're animated by this issue of election integrity. I think it's a little bit of a play to turn out people before the midterms. Yes.

MICHAELSON: Where do you -- how do you think the Democrats respond to this?

DOLL: I mean, I think they continue trying to turn it out, because I actually disagree. I think this is a way of not having people turn out to the elections.

Because the way do people not -- make them not vote is by saying their vote doesn't count. It's not fair. This is how you suppress the vote.

But he's doing even more than that. I mean, the DOJ is trying to intimidate elections. They just tried, with a grand jury subpoena, to get 2020 election worker information. That was knocked down by a Trump-appointed judge.

This is just the beginning. I think he knows he's going to lose the midterms, but he cannot lose. This is his way of sowing doubt in the in the results.

MICHAELSON: And to your point, if you talk to a lot of Republican Party officials, they're very uncomfortable with this conversation about mail-in ballots being bad, because they want people to vote by mail in order for them to win.

[00:45:01]

DOLL: Yes.

MICHAELSON: We will be seeing all of you again in our next hour, because there's more to talk about. We'll see you soon. Caroline Sunshine, Eric Messersmith, Dina Doll, thank you.

Also still ahead, the U.S. launches its sixth consecutive night of strikes against Iran. As that conflict escalates. But the war received only a brief mention during the president's address to the nation. We have news about what's happening in Iran. We check in live with Ivan Watson when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:50:08]

MICHAELSON: For the sixth consecutive night, the U.S. has carried out strikes against Iran. CENTCOM says U.S. forces successfully completed strikes on dozens of Iranian military targets.

All this comes days after escalating the conflict. But during his primetime address to the nation on Thursday night, President Trump barely mentioned the war with Iran.

Let's go live now to Hong Kong.

CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson with news on what is happening right now in Iran -- Ivan.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Elex.

That's right. A sixth consecutive night of bombing. That is according to U.S. Central Command. People have reportedly been killed. But as you pointed out, President Trump barely mentioned this conflict. He devoted about six seconds to what is going on right now. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We won in Venezuela, which is now working with us to produce millions and millions of barrels of oil. We are likewise winning big in Iran. And you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly. America is back and doing really well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: All right. So Central Command, it says that fighter jets, aerial drones, and warships, they all attacked dozens of Iranian military targets. That's overnight, coming into this morning. And they tended to be clustered around the coastal areas.

They say that they're retaliating for Iranian attacks on shipping through that Strait of Hormuz, and that some 50,000 U.S. troops across the Middle East are part of this ongoing military operation.

From Iran's side, it has indicated that a number of explosions have been heard, mostly in Southern cities that would be closer to the coast.

Also reports that bridges leading to the key Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz, that several of those appeared to have been bombed, and that at least seven people were killed and nine wounded.

Iran has continued to carry out its attacks on what it says are military bases around the Middle East. We've had reporting coming from Qatar, from Kuwait, from Jordan, Bahrain, all describing air defenses being in effect against some kind of projectiles.

In Qatar, they're describing at least one child who was wounded by falling debris.

And in all of these places, or several of these countries, there have been air raid sirens and warnings from the authorities to take shelter for a period of time. CNN journalists in Qatar, for example, have heard explosions, blasts in the early morning hours.

Iran has made clear it is not going to back down. And amid threats to destroy Iranian infrastructure, Iran has gone on the record, its military spokesperson saying that infrastructure around the region will be targeted and destroyed if the U.S. targets Iran's infrastructure.

The signs, the early signs that bridges were targeted, Elex, do suggest that at least some of that infrastructure may have been hit in the last couple of hours.

There are no signs to these escalating hostilities, no signs of any negotiations -- negotiation or de-escalation in the near future -- Elex.

MICHAELSON: Yes. It's interesting, Ivan, because typically a presidential primetime address would be about something like escalating the war with Iran.

As you pointed out, only six seconds on that tonight. Showed where the president was focused on, at least for this evening.

Ivan Watson in Hong Kong, thank you for your reporting. Thousands of people across the U.S. have been sickened by an

intestinal illness that seems to be going around. Well, now, investigators may have identified the source of some of those cases. And it's a very popular restaurant that you're looking at right there. Details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:59:03]

MICHAELSON: As we approach the top of the hour, let's take a look at today's top stories.

The U.S. military says it has completed its latest major wave of attacks against Iran. CENTCOM says U.S. forces hit dozens of Iranian military targets.

Iranian state media released this photo of a bridge that was reportedly struck. This marks the sixth consecutive night of U.S. strikes against Iran.

Gulf states report fending off retaliatory missiles and drone attacks.

The investigation into a wide-ranging outbreak of intestinal illness in the U.S. is zeroing in on a possible culprit. Sources say shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms and served at some Taco Bell restaurants has been linked to at least part of the multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis.

Nearly 7,000 cases of the parasitic infection have been reported since May 1.

President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina in New Jersey on Sunday. The president will first travel to New York on Friday to attend a FIFA reception at Trump Tower.

Mr. Trump has drawn attention for his involvement in the tournament, including a claim that he has personally asked FIFA's president to review a red card --