¶ Intro / Opening
Is CNN breaking news.
¶ Pentagon Lockdown: False Alarm and Enhanced Security
We start with breaking news out of the Pentagon. A lockdown there is now over. Sources familiar with the matter tell CNN the evacuation. was due to a false alarm. A Pentagon spokesman says building systems detected an air quality issue triggering precautionary measures to determine the threat. I want to bring in our CNN's national security correspondent, Natasha Bertrand. Natasha, I know you've been working your sources. What are they saying about what happened?
Yeah, Dana, so sources are now telling my colleagues Hailey Britsky and Pamela Brown that this does appear to have been a false alarm. Now, leading up to all of this, of course, the Pentagon was taking uh extreme precautionary measures to ensure that there was actually no threat uh to people inside the building. There were hazmat teams on sites because there was an air quality issue that was detected uh on multiple floors of the Pentagon and multiple corridors that were then
Evacuated. But now we're being told that this was all precautionary, and that as of right now, field tests have not detected that there was. an actual uh threat in the air and that the entire thing does appear to have been a false alarm. But we should note that the Pending on Forest Protection Agency's hazardous materials response team showed up in force along with the Arlington uh fire department to ensure uh that there was no threats and now we're being told that uh people are beginning
uh at least to stand down. But of course they take these situations extremely seriously, uh, because if there was some kind of airborne threat obviously that would pose a a huge risk to the thousands and thousands of people that work inside that building every day, Donna.
Yeah, well it is very good news and we're very glad to hear it. And as you said, they take it seriously as they should. Um Natasha, thank you so much for giving us the latest. I want to now go to CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller. Just talk about the the way that the Pentagon um to kind of snapped into this and your experience in law enforcement, in national security, and what led them to Mm-hmm.
Well, I mean a lot of this is uh
kind of the fallout of the anthrax attacks from just after nine eleven, two thousand one, when, you know, for years they were trying to get to the bottom of that case and trying to figure out what that threat was. But what it caused was to really expand the kinds of sensors that were put in secure government locations, um, the sensitivity levels that they were set to to make sure that if there was something in the air they would be detected early, if not immediately.
So, you know, here we are twenty four years later in counting, um, when you see uh a sensor going off for a hazardous substance in the air. Now Sean Parnell from the Pentagon, the spokesman. you know, told our people the Pentagon has sophisticated systems reading the air and what are they hunting for? They're hunting for chemical agents, biological agents, um, anything that um that could be used in the past. The difference with
a chemical agent, maybe a cleaning fluid or or even something sinister would be. People would feel that immediately. They would be affected immediately. One of the problems with some of the threats that they assay, like anthrax, for instance, um is that the effects aren't felt immediately. They're felt days um or multiple days later. So the detection of
Where is it? Is it here? Why is this sensor sending an alarm? And we don't know that that's what the alarm was for. I'm just giving um, as you asked, examples of how these systems work. You know, would cause a response where they would go They would do the full on response within the sector where that was detected. Um false positives are more common than um than than obviously the real sensor detecting something like that, but that's because the equipment is kept sensitive. One other thing is
Um and you might remember this. You know, when I was in the FBI, um, at the Justice Department, everywhere in Washington, you know, under your desk you had that bag with what they called an escape mask. And if there was an alarm like this, you were supposed to put that mask on and and evacuate. Um over time, you know, we've seen that fade away from a lot of those locations as either people moved on and took the masks with them or they expired or weren't replaced.
Um I'm sure this is one of these things where they're gonna look back on this incident and say, what do we need to update here?
John Miller, I was a producer on Capitol Hill. Um when anthrax was sent to the offices of senators Daschall and Leahy, and uh I was on antibiotics for two months because of fear of exposure. So I remember that very, very well, and the protocols were not in place.
and people were very much on edge because it wasn't long after nine eleven, which is another thing that I've been thinking watching the Pentagon. The Pentagon, obviously it was a long time ago, but There's gotta be people in that building who still remember the horrible, horrible day of uh 9-11-2001 and the Pentagon and the precautions are so important and I just Thank goodness that it was just a false elusion.
And to And today was all protocol, no hazard. And that's a good thing. Yeah. Um, it's never a good thing to have a false alarm. But it is a way to test the systems, maintain them, uh, but it's also a way to see how did that response snap together? Um, how did it work? Uh was it efficient? Um, was the evacuation right? Did people move out? Who self evacuated? Um, all of that is part of the learning that we got out of today, however inconvenient it might have been.
Yeah, and scary. Um, John Miller, thank you so much. Really appreciate you being here and thanks to Natasha as well. Um actually before you go, I do before we go to break, I was just told we have Sabrina Singh, who is uh of course our colleague here, a former Pentagon press secretary.
Uh talk about what was going through your mind when you saw this and some of the protocols that you went through as somebody who worked in that building, which as John Miller was talking about earlier, uh isn't just your average government office. I mean it is a huge building the size of a small city.
Yeah, I mean the first thing that I was thinking about was how many people are working there every single day. I mean that building houses over, you know, 20,000 people on any given day going in and out.
of any office. And so there's so many people that work there. And so one of the things that I was thinking about is just the fact that the Pentagon is a planning organization. They are prepared to execute plans like this. If an emergency like this ever happens um to secu uh to protect the people that work in that building, the personnel, but of course to ensure the safety and security of the secretary, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and of the other service secretaries as well.
So there's a lot that, you know, when you think about you know, drills that you go through, whether it's a fire drill or something more, um, this is what the Pentagon plans for. So I have absolute faith
in the people and and the Pentagon police that are working this building to ensure the safety of the personnel that are there. Um but it obviously is disruptive and we're learning more that, you know, this was a sensor malfunction. Um That's a good thing, but what they had to do was take these precautionary measures to ensure safety.
Yeah, no question. Thanks for jumping on with us. Appreciate it. Um we're gonna sneak in a break and on the other side talk about the fragile ceasefire that seems to be No longer. President Trump is threatening to amp up strikes in Iran and take over Karg Island. How willing is he to expand this war that doesn't have a lot of support with the American public right now? And later the White House is about to
Throw down. You'll see all the preps for what may be the most unusual event ever held at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
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I am your host, Michael Ian Black. We're talking explosions in Israel. Explosions in Iran. Explosions on Meet the Press. Plus, California's primary election. Will it be settled in time for the general election? And so much more. Have I got news for your ears? Check us out on Apple, Amazon Music, wherever you get your podcast. Even there, you can watch the Vol.
¶ Trump's Escalating Iran Threats
The war in Iran may be taking a sharp and more dangerous turn. This morning, President Trump is threatening to expand it, announcing the U.S. will hit Iran, quote, very hard tonight. He's also floating one of the most consequential targets imaginable, Karg Island, which is the oil hub at the heart of Iran's economy. Here's what he said about that on Fox this morning.
I don't know that America has the stomach for it to be honest with you. You know, make a fortune. But I don't know that America has the stomach. I think they'd like to see us come home. But we did it with Venezuela. I mean, I'd like to get a deal now, less than three or four weeks to go, because, you know, once you do this it's I just you could just go a step further. But I don't know that America has the appetite to do what I would really much prefer doing
Here's what's going on. Sources tell CNN that President Trump is growing more and more furious, especially this week. after he ordered new strikes in Iran. They say he felt both Tehran and the media didn't view US military action as powerful enough, so he ordered another another round of strikes yesterday in the hopes of forcing Iran to come to the table in a way that they will accept a deal. But today
He's still clearly frustrated that Iran doesn't seem to be taking the strike seriously, which is why he's raising the s stakes again. I'm joined by a terrific group of reporters. Um First of all, let's just talk about the what and the why if we can in the same The what is what are you hearing uh from your sources at the White House about whether or not the president is going to go ahead with these strikes on Carg Island, which is an escalation that we haven't seen in a very long time.
Well, uh you know, from what I'm hearing, yes, it matches that the president is getting more angry. He is getting more frustrated by this entire process. Now, we have also seen a familiar cycle, you know, for for weeks now, now months, you know, uh uh during this war. um apocalyptic threats, these very aggressive, you know, threats that range from wiping out a civilization to attacking critical infrastructure in Iran.
to also focusing on Carg Island. We have seen that before, followed by another statement that says, okay, we're uh getting cl Iran wants to make a deal, you know, looking more sort to the diplomatic route. But we haven't actually seen it amount to anything sort of tangible when it comes to a breakthrough.
Uh uh since that ceasefire agreement that now seems to be crumbling here. What's going to happen? It has been unpredictable in terms of this cycle, but we are are hearing that the president is incredibly frustrated here. There's also You know, some tension in different factions. There are those in the uh uh that are concerned, officials that are concerned, about the depletion of long-range weapons.
uh about the fact that actually taking Cark Island would almost certainly involve ground troops being deployed as well. Um and you can see the president's comments there of will America stomach this? polls show no as well. So the President has actually few options here as he moves forward and the frustration's growing on him.
He's been pushing, pushing, pushing publicly for a deal in a way that I talked to one ally this morning. makes it so that Iran smells the desperation, which is why the further he pushes, the further Iran pushes back. There were some other sort of tells about the president's frustration in his interview with Fox this morning. He tends to, when he gets
you know, agitated and feels like he ha doesn't see a way out of whatever situation he's in, he goes after the media and he talks more and more about rigged elections. Here's some examples.
The only thing they have is fake news. You know, they have the New York Times writes stories like they're doing great and they're not. They've been wiped out. In twenty twenty I got more votes than anybody in history. Republican Party and got more votes, but the election was rigged. And the media is crooked. They're just like our elections, the media is crooked.
I mean... Seems to be, you know, the the the F one on the computer for him. And that's where he goes uh when things are going poorly.
Right. No no question. One uh security official said to me, Trump is not bored, he's stuck. And the problem is where does that lead to? And, you know, welcome to negotiating with the Iranians. This is not easy. They are playing for time. There is real concern. I spoke to intelligence and national security experts about the president's statement.
Uh it would not be hyperbole to say heads are exploding because Military 101, you do not forecast strikes, you don't give advance warning, you don't put uh our armed forces
And I it's something that he has said, Jamie. Right. Time and time again when people have said, what are you gonna do, X, Y, or Z, I'm not gonna tell you the only, you know, presidents before who have done that have had made a mistake. We don't tell our enemies what we're gonna do.
A hundred percent. And big picture, there is real concern that even after all this time, President Trump does not understand the Iranian playbook.
that, you know, the other day J.D. Vance said weeks, months, maybe a year, um, that they could very well be playing for time. This is not to say that this has not caused great pain and suffering there, but There's also real concern I keep hearing that the president is not getting or listening to the kind of national security advice he needs because so many people have been pushed out.
That's interesting. Um Mike Johnson, the House Speaker, was asked about the potential uh of going into either by strikes or um with ground troops, Carg Island. Here's what he said.
I think he's communicating directly with our adversaries over there. That I would not
Thank you.
I I would not put too much stock in the details of that remote.
No, no, no, it's just a negotiating tactic.
It's kind of an incredible quote because you know, the we are supposed to take the pr the President of the United States' word, especially when he makes these really serious threats. um in an ongoing war. But what the pres or what sorry, what what the speaker seems to be signaling and we should note that the speaker has met with the president several times this week to talk about other issues, but I I'm sure this the issue of the war came up.
He's signaling it this is c sort of this you know three dimensional chess negotiation play, but again that doesn't you know, we do need to underscore how serious of a move of of a move that would be, particularly on Carg Island, because if you know w aside from the reason
why it's such a critical target, obviously being where all all nearly all of the oil exports go through. It's also very close to the mainland, so if you do have American troops there, it makes them very vulnerable to missiles, drone, other attacks from the the Iranian mainland. And that is what the President is hint hinting at in his Fox Interview, that this is something that the Americans would not have the stomach for.
Listen to a little bit more of his interview on Fox and specifically his um comments on American troops in other wars.
Remember in Iraq I said don't go in but they went in. They made a big mistake. It should have never la you know, that war lasted ten years. Killed tens of thousands of people. Millions of people on both sides. Millions of people. Nobody ever reported that. We've lost thirteen soldiers in two wars.
In Venezuela we lost none, took over the country. And in Iraq in in Iran we lost thirteen. In Vietnam we lost hundreds of thousands, nineteen years. Nobody says that. They say you've been there for three months. Three months.
Look, long wars begin in small increments in one hundred days, two hundred days, and we're not suggesting that this is going to be the duration or severity of uh Vietnam uh let's certainly hope not or Iraq or Afghanistan. But Uh he did campaign against uh forever wars and that's how wars start. So far easier uh more than a hundred days ago to get into this than it is to get out. And to Jamie's point about him being stuck, I think that is a very apt.
a word here and he has made clear so many times. almost ending. He's talking to the markets in some respects. He's talking to uh Republican voters. He's talking to farmers. Almost done. The gas prices are coming down. But the reality here is Iran is watching every word of this.
And to your point, Dana, about how they uh know that he is eager to make a deal, that is the case. I mean Iran has all the time in the world in some respects and he does not, and that's why he is becoming increasingly uh desperate. in some things that he's saying. But the bottom line is there's an escalation. Yeah. And that is not uh probably what he wants, but that is what he's getting.
And the other dynamic that I don't want to lose sight of here is you mentioned the markets is the economy and the pain that the American people are feeling. We have even more evidence today we saw evidence that we wholesale inflation is up. to six point five percent, the highest since November of twenty
Twenty two.
and it's outpacing wages. Check this out. I'll just give you a sense of of what we're talking about. Uh if you look, I think you have the graphic. There you go. Um the red line is inflation, uh, the orange line is wages. So this is not the direction you want either of those to go in. You have the inflation going up, you have wages going down, and we all know with our lives that is makes much much, much more
diff much more difficult uh to live everyday lives. And that is part of the pressure point that the president is feeling. Okay, coming up. It's brazen, it's calculated, it reveals so much about this election season. You're gonna see how far politicians will go to can gain an edge when inside politics continues next.
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¶ Republican Meddling in Minnesota Primary
Okay, we're gonna really go inside politics here and talk about this ex post that caught our attention. Here's what you need to know first. There's a really competitive Democratic primary in the Minnesota Senate race. On one side is Congresswoman Angie Craig, she's running as a moderate. On the other is Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, who's liberal. She's been endorsed by Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar. You get it.
Uh most Republicans would rather run against the Liberal, against Flanagan. So with that in mind, check out this post from yesterday. It's Minnesota Republican Tom Emmer. He's in leadership, the majority win. He says, always great to see my friend Angie Craig. She's one of the few Democrats willing to work across the aisle to get important legislation like the Lincoln Riley Act across the finish line. We got the feeling that wasn't entirely sincere.
So does Andy Craig, a reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, says Craig told her Emmer posted it to boost Flanagan, and that Emmer's press team was in the room, ready to capture that hug on camera. These two are not known to be friends. They had an infamously heating heated exchange on the floor of the House of Representatives. Look at that. That was back in January, A federal agents shot and killed Renee Good in her car. Politics, man.
Uh the voters of Minnesota know Angie Craig and Peggy Flanagan, the Democrats are not going to be likely swayed by something that Tom Ember does, but it certainly uh raises the point that this is one of those primaries. uh that uh is yet to be decided. I think in August is uh the primary. But uh um I remember back in the day when uh home state members of either side kind of like uh stayed out of races. That is obviously no longer the case.
Right, right. I mean it it is always, you know, pretty entertaining to watch this over meddling by one party in another party's primary. Obviously that example is there. I always think back to um in 2012 with Claire McCaskill. She intentionally bolstered Todd Aiken in the the f you know the former Todd Aiken deceased the late Todd Aiken in the Minnesota Senate primary and it got her to be a Democratic senator from Missouri.
Yeah, I mean m th there's meddling going on all across the country today, but there's meddling with money and then there's this a points for being clever.
Not only with trolling. Yeah.
Exactly. All right, coming up, the White House gets a fight card. We have an early look at the$60 million spectacle that is going to draw more than 125,000 people. We expect. Stay with us.
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¶ White House Hosts Controversial UFC Event
Take a look at the White House South Lawn this morning. That is the stage for the UFC fight at the White House, which will happen this Sunday on President Trump's 80th birthday. Let's just take a second to acknowledge how massive this event is. The administration says it costs at least$60 million, mostly paid for by the UFC and its allies.
They're expecting at least 125,000 spectators, both at the White House and mostly on the National Mall. That means they are trucking in 494, more or less, porta potties. Dana White, the UFC's president and longtime friend of President Trump, is setting very high expectations.
This is a very unique experience for everybody. And um, you know, we're we're we're expecting Super Bowl type numbers for for this, for this fight.
my panel is here. I mean, those are pretty high uh expectations for people and what they're gonna watch. I mean I
And look, I mean the um the president made a point of sort of tapping into this uh You know, sort of the manosphere, right? Going on the podcast. He's used sports as a backdrop for his presidency, uh, on multiple occasions. He was at the Knicks game earlier this week, so Uh you can imagine that there are many supporters that could be uh excited about this. I I do think it's interesting that it does come at a time where we have seen a certain shift.
in sort of the um cultural influence that the president has been commanding, right? I mean if you go back to early last year, you had business leaders flocking to Mar-a-Lago, podcasters eager to have the president on. uh uh NFL players doing the Trump dance after touchdowns, right? And we've seen a bit of a shift here with some of the musicians dropping out for some of the America two fifty things. Uh some of those podcast hosts criticizing the administration as well.
It does seem like we've seen a shift that this event comes at a bit of a shift for the sort of cultural grip that the president had.
Yeah, I mean i it's true, uh but if there if you talk about President Trump, Trumpism currently and culture There's nothing that says that more than the UFC. I don't know what this means, but my son says that there's a good card. I don't I'm gonna look over here.
Cảm ơn các bạn đã theo dõi và hẹn gặp lại.
What is the card? I I just wanna say there is a court fight going on about this. I I don't think it's going to to go anywhere. But we've never seen anything like this a at the White House and as part of the court arguments I I believe the Trump White House was saying, well former President George W. Bush, forty three, had T Ball at the White House. Um, I don't think we have those pictures, but I would suggest Google those pictures of T ball. Very different.
Slightly different and not quite as much enrichment going on.
Uh
the the T ball thing. I mean this is just scratching the surface here. I mean this is the beginning, kind of the the a kickoff of the America a two fifty thing. and uh just driving around it and uh walking around uh the mall. I mean it's extraordinary what's happening and this is all by design. Uh but I think the the bigger question is uh
Um
It's become more than a celebration of a patriotism, but it's coming as the inflation conversation we talked about earlier. It's impossible to decouple these. and is it going to make the president look even more out of touch? We'll see, not among his true supporters, but I was with him in uh in a Wisconsin last Friday and he was talking about the beautiful fountains and all these things. There was dead silent
from a room of Trump supporters. Oh, that's and I was struck by just how disinterested uh this room supporters was and they don't uh place a priority on all this uh beautification like he does.
Right. Well, especially when you're in Wisconsin and th he was speaking to farmers and they're m more worried about the cost of uh everything to do their jobs. Um this afternoon Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State will um sign a memorandum of understanding with Dana White of the UFC uh in order to foster bridge building initiatives and diplomacy through the sport. And then the FBI posted this on its rapid response account yesterday.
Thanks to the great partnership with UFC. through here and learn these amazing tactics so they can safeguard Americans.
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If you didn't catch that, UFC uh fighters are working with FBI agents to help train.
Yeah, I mean if the if if there is a Trump interest you do see it kind of, you know, spread beyond other areas throughout his administration and promoting it, whether it's at the State Department Or um, you know, or at the FBI, we of my s my colleagues in Congress spotted Dana White hanging out there this morning on Capitol Hill. But you know, this really does kick off this kind of summer of hosting for Donald Trump, who obviously loves being at the center of attention.
He had talked um, you know, back, you know, when he had lost the 2020 election, he had he uh he has said and his allies have also told me that he was kind of s you know sad about not being the president, you know, when America turns 250 years old, when America hosts the World Cup.
So he sees it as kind of a poetic, you know, ending that he is the president when all of this is happening. And obviously as Donald Trump does, you know, there i there is a certain amount of Donald Trump in all of these celebrations.
I mean absolutely. And I I think you're right, this is going to be the first of events. There's also, I think, going to be a like a NASCAR element this this summer. Uh uh you're likely going to see him continue to use the White House as a backdrop for these kind of events. Uh you did mention that lawsuit though, and I I am interested to see where that goes. I don't think it'll block this event, but there have been questions of
You know, just how much money is being made off of this event and also the ethics of using the White House as a setting for a business operation, right? That's what the UFC is.
All right, everybody, speaking of sports, what happens when the world is watching and World Cup teams and fans run into Trump's immigration agenda? We're about to find out. Stay with us.
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I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of the Chasing Life Podcast. We're talking to Dr. Alexander Moskop. He's author of the book called The End of Migraines, and he's the founder and director of the New York Headache Center. It's gonna tell us why headaches hurt, what's really happening in your head, and what you can do about it. What is the first thing you sort of recommend then in terms of lifestyle?
So sleep deprivation is number one.
That's probably part of the reason headaches have gone up. Just because we're getting less and less sleep.
Right. Diet is a very important factor as well. Lowering your carbs can definitely help three out of four migrant sufferers. Suffer from reactive hypoglycemia, which means you eat something sweet or carbs, sugar goes up and then plants.
Listen to Chasing Life, streaming now wherever you get your podcast.
¶ World Cup Politics and Immigration Crackdown
A live look at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, where the World Cup officially kicks off in just a few hours with Mexico versus South Africa. Before the players even hit the field, politics have infiltrated the cup with the Trump administration's war with Iran and its immigration crackdown. CNN World Sport anchor Don Riddell joins me now. Don, we have seen several players, refs, staff members questioned for extended periods of time or denied entry altogether into the U.S.
What are you hearing from FIFA about this?
Well what Fiva have to say about this is rather interesting and I cannot believe this is the look they wanted for their tournament. I kind of feel a bit like you, Dana, covering US politics because with the World Cup there's one overarching narrative but there's all these kind of micro dramas happening at the same time
within that story, some of which are a really big deal, but the story keeps moving forward and some of them get forgotten and I kind of get the sense that FIFA and the US government would would want us to forget some of these stories because they're a terrible look. So Uh I mean I guess front and center we have the situation with Iran, uh who of course the United States launched a war with at the end of February. They were one of the first countries to qualify for this tournament.
Their involvement was in doubt as a result. They were not able to base themselves in Arizona as they would have hoped. Now they're camped out into one, they're just over the border. They're going to be playing two games in LA and one in Seattle. And they've arrived wearing pins saying 168, which is the number of people they say were killed in that school bombing on the first day of the war.
And some of their backroom staff have been unable to get into this tournament. Then you have the situation of this Somali ref, one of the best referees in the world, who is going to be refereeing some of the games in this tournament. He was questioned in Miami for eleven hours. and turned around and sent home. And so now he's not gonna be able to play any part uh in this tournament. That surely wasn't in the plan.
Then you have the fans that can't get in. You have players like one of the Iraqi strikers who was questioned for seven hours before he was ultimately allowed in, but a team photographer from Iraq was sent home. So none of this surely is what FIFA would have wanted. But the FIFA president Gianni Infantino is kinda saying that it's not he or his organization that has the problem, it's the rest of us. Have a listen.
Of course it is in fourth unfortunate as well what happened to uh Omar. Ευχαριστώ. But again, we don't control.
Everything.
We try, we will discuss, we will speak, we will see. Maybe sometimes it's good as well to just chill, relax.
Chill and relax. I mean that is fascinating. When you look at the recent World Cups that FIFA has staged in countries like South Africa, Brazil, Russia, Qatar, those countries basically had to agree to let in whoever wanted to be a part of the tournament, be it uh playing staff, support staff, fans, whatever. And that clearly is now not the case this year. And FIFA does have real power and leverage. They were going to be staging an under-20 tournament in Indonesia back in twenty twenty three.
Uh but the Indonesians wouldn't let the Israeli team in. So FIFA just said, well fine, you're not having the tournament, we'll just stage it in Argentina. Um clearly the relationship that Infantino has been trying to cultivate with President Trump over the years.
I I guess was in part to avoid situations like this. Infantino was seen in the White House about half a dozen times last year and remember they invented a peace prize to give to Donald Trump last December, perhaps to hopefully avert some of these situations, but It hasn't worked. The tournament hasn't kicked off and a lot of the stories around this tournament have nothing to do with football. And to go back to your initial point, it's not a great look for the tournament.
I um you took the words out of my mouth. I was gonna ask a rhetorical question, which is how do you think uh that the FIFA president is feeling now about giving President Trump that um brand new Peace Prize that he gave to him? uh ahead of these uh these These games. But listen, we're all still gonna be able to we're gonna keep reporting on this, but all still uh gonna be uh watching this incredible football, uh as you call it, here i in in uh North America. Thanks so much.
Thank you.
Coming up is AOC test driving a presidential campaign brand new reporting on the question following the popular Democrat everywhere she goes.
¶ AOC's Potential 2028 Presidential Campaign
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I can't live!
She's looking at herself on television right now. How are you feeling? Can you put it
into work.
Nope.
People looked at you like you were crazy.
They did, they did. And maybe I I was a little bit.
I mean you're going up against the Queen's machine as they call
Yeah.
But you know what? We meet a machine with a movement.
That was the beginning for Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez the night she upset one of the most powerful Democratic members of Congress. on Capitol Hill. But what comes next for the Progressive Fire brand? That is what Isaac Daubert looks at in his new exclusive reporting, the road test inside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez strategy ahead of a potential
2028 campaign. Go read it for yourself. It is very, very good. You can get it of course on CNN.com and on the CNN app. But guess what? Isaac is here. Before that, here's a hint from AOC herself.
They assume that my ambition is positional. They assume that my ambition is a title or a seed. And My ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country.
Isaac, this is such a terrific piece. I'm just gonna read one um quote from your piece that I think what really kind of set our discussion off. We're seeing an opening, definitely among swingy independents, but also among Republicans. They don't agree with everything she says, but they believe she is honest and that she's going to work for people. That's one person close to her.
That will put to the test in the that will be put to the test in the coming months. Will Democratic candidates in tough races recognize she is a net positive for their campaign? I mean that's really the nut of it.
Yeah, like th the the difference in time between those two clips you played is just eight years, right? Eight years ago Alexandra C Ocasio Cortez, like right now eight years, was still s uh tending bar in New York. And those eight years have been this meteoric rise for her. She has this massive presence and everybody is
uh rightly focused on whether she'll run for president or whether she'll run for a Senate seat in New York, the seat that's currently held by Chuck Schumer. And she's really struggling with what to do here. And what I get into in this article is some of how she's been repositioning herself, uh, both in talking with colleagues about how to get things done and legislatively how to uh build bridges more. And then out on the road, whether it's through endorsements or actually campaigning for people,
testing how big her appeal is. And there's going to be a lot more of that going into the fall when it's not about primary campaigning. She's done a lot of that uh already and has a pretty strong win record all across the country. New Jersey, Montana, California. uh Philadelphia. But she's going to go into places that are beyond the usual democratic base, beyond her strongest places, and see
Two things. Number one, whether she is uh whether people want her to be there. And number two, whether she wants to actually go through with this herself.
So you mentioned I just want to put on the screen some of what you were talking about and these are primary endorsements and that matters because there is still this massive um sort of struggle within the party in these primaries about progressive candidates of which she has endorsed.
Um starting of course with the current mayor of of New York City and then these are some of the other candidates you were talking about. But on the point that you discussed about going into um areas where she isn't usually um she did that with Bernie Sanders. And they got very, very big crowds. So this is a test for her without the Sanders.
Yeah, em in in a bunch of different ways. First of all, what happens when you show up on your own without Bernie Sanders there? How much do you differentiate and distinguish yourself from him? Not because she's saying, I don't like him anymore, but how much can she stand on her own as a political figure? There's also like an operational infrastructure part of this, which look presidential campaigns are a lot about that and logistics and that sort of stuff.
She has never built an operation of her own before. She's always been folded into the Bernie Sanders operation. Those events, those are hard to put on. They'd be even harder to put on of in a presidential campaign. Well, what we're gonna see in the fall is how she and her staff start to think about how to do that and see if they can pull some of that off.
And and I think just to sort of add to that, what people might not realize is that because she's not on that level, so much of what she does is based on her own instinct. her own um intuition and it's gotten her pretty far.
It has and look i her team uh acknowledges that they're a little spoiled by how good she is at this on her own. But one of the people that I spoke to who's been in contact with uh with her orbit a lot. said to me it's now it's a question of her and how she has all the talent can she build the team to do what she needs to do here if she decides to do it because I do think importantly that quo that line to David Axelrod is sincere. She has not decided what to do.
Great piece. Thanks for being here, Isaac. Thank you for joining Inside Politics today. CNN New Central starts right now.
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