'This Week' Transcript 5-3-26: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy & Sen. Jack Reed
This is a rush transcript of "This Week" airing Sunday, May 3.
A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, May 3, 2026 on ABC News is below. This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors. For previous show transcripts, visit the "This Week" transcript archive.
MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC “THIS WEEK” CO-ANCHOR: Gas prices soar as President Trump weighs his next moves on Iran, with just six months until voters head to the polls.
“This Week” starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RADDATZ (voice-over): Two months of war.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They want to make a deal, but I don’t -- I'm not satisfied with it.
RADDATZ: With the U.S. and Iran at a stalemate, the economic pain intensifies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Having to choose between gas and food, that's a very hard decision.
RADDATZ: As Americans' disapproval of Trump's performance hits a new high. This morning, results from our brand-new poll.
And Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on the war's growing fallout and Spirit Airlines shut down.
Heated testimony.
PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We are two months into a historic military success in Iran, and you want to call it a defeat?
RADDATZ: Lawmakers challenge the administration on what comes next after 60 days of war.
I'll speak with top Senate Armed Services Democrat, Jack Reed.
Monumental ruling.
SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK, (D) GEORGIA: This is one huge step backwards for racial justice and for the health of our democracy.
RADDATZ: The Supreme Court deals a blow to the Voting Rights Act. Our roundtable on states racing to redraw maps ahead of the midterms.
Plus, a major new ruling limiting access to an abortion pill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
ANNOUNCER: From ABC News, it's “This Week”. Here now, Martha Raddatz.
RADDATZ (on camera): Good morning and welcome to “This Week”.
Today marks six months until November's midterm Election Day, and we're now entering week 10 of the Iran war, which is twice as long as the president initially said the war would last.
And this morning, both the economic and political fallout from that war is deepening. Our brand-new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll showing Americans expressing growing concern about President Trump's job performance and his handling of key issues.
A majority of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling every issue we measured -- from the cost of living, to inflation, to the war with Iran, to the overall economy. And the president's job approval rating dipping to 37 percent near the lows of his first term, with his disapproval now standing at 62 percent, a record high.
Democrats don't fare much better on handling key issues, but while they're not running away with the midterms at this point, our poll shows independents prefer Democratic candidates for the House by a wide margin, a potential warning sign for Republicans.
We'll discuss the Iran war's impact on oil and gas prices with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a moment, and we'll hear from him on how the federal government is responding to this weekend's shutdown of budget carrier Spirit Airlines.
But we begin with ABC's Elizabeth Schulze on the war's widening economic fallout.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH SCHULZE, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This morning, oil prices soaring, sitting near four-year highs, as Americans grapple with the consequences of President Trump's Middle East military operation here at home.
STEVEN DRUMMER, DRIVER: I have to work, I have to drive, but it's not very sustainable.
SCHULZE (voice-over): The average price of a gallon of gas surging to $4.45, up 40 cents in one week, and up $1.51 since the war began. The cost to fill up a mid-sized SUV, now $27 more expensive than before the war.
Wondie Tiruneh is a taxi driver here in D.C., trying to fill up his tank only when necessary, and shop around for the best price.
WONDIE TIRUNEH, TAX DRIVER: When my customer took me somewhere, if I see a cheaper one, I will get fill up there.
SCHULZE (voice-over): Prices even higher in West Coast states like California, with averages above $6 a gallon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's kind of shocking at this point how much we're paying for this.
SCHULZE (voice-over): And in the Midwest, in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, prices spiked around a dollar in just a week.
PATRICK DE HAAN, GASBUDDY HEAD OF PETROLEUM ANALYSIS: It couldn't come at a worse time for consumers who are gearing up for the summer travel season.
SCHULZE (voice-over): President Trump insists oil and gas will drop as soon as the war ends.
TRUMP: I thought oil would be much, much higher than it turned out to be. I mean, it's not low, it's certainly not low. It's going to come crashing down as soon as this war is over.
SCHULZE (voice-over): But in our new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, 50 percent of Americans say they expect gas prices will get worse over the next year. Only 21 percent think they'll get better. And 15 percent expect them to stay the same elevated cost as they are now.
Moody's Analytics says if oil stays at its current price for a year, the typical household will pay an extra $1,300 in gas and diesel costs. Forty percent of Americans now say they’re worse off financially than when Trump took office, compared to just 17 percent who say they're better off.
Americans now forced to make trade-offs, with 44 percent saying they've cut back on driving because of higher gas prices; 42 percent say they've dialed back on other household expenses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cut down on groceries a little bit because gas is just more of an expense now. I used to not think about it.
SCHULZE (voice-over): The ripple effects of the war reaching far beyond gas. Jet fuel costs have roughly doubled -- the final blow this week to beleaguered budget air carrier Spirit Airlines as it shut down Saturday morning.
And diesel gas, the lifeblood of American business that keeps trucks tractors and trains running, is approaching record highs.
SCHULZE: Oil can affect the price you pay when you got to eat, too.
STEVE SALIS, RESTAURANT OWNER: No question about it.
SCHULZE (voice-over): Threatening to send food prices even higher at grocery stores and restaurants like Ted's Bulletin in Arlington, Virginia, where owner Steve Salis says the cost to get his food delivered has skyrocketed.
SALIS: It's many tens of thousands of dollars at this point. You know --
SCHULZE: Tens of thousands extra --
SALIS: Extra dollars, yeah, absolutely.
SCHULZE: -- over the last eight, nine weeks.
SALIS: Yes, sure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHULZE (on camera): And, Martha, oil analysts say even if the strait reopened tomorrow, it could take months to get all of that gridlock supply back online and more than a year for gas to go back to its pre-war level -- Martha.
RADDATZ: And our thanks to Elizabeth.
So, let's get right to our experts on the war's economic toll: Karen Young of the Columbia University Center on Global Energy, who's also a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, and Diane Swonk, the chief economist and managing director at accounting firm KPMG.
And, Karen, let's start with you right now.
President Trump had predicted weeks ago that gas prices which he said weren't high at four -- at $4 a gallon, were coming down. That certainly has not happened. They’re an average of $4.45 this morning.
Why the surge this week?
KAREN YOUNG, GULF REGION POLITICAL ECONOMIST & COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH SCHOLAR: Well, they're probably going to keep going up as well, right? So the surge is happening probably because we're getting into this, you know, nine weeks of the crisis. We've drawn down now of all the supplies that, you know, we're headed to market have arrived. Now, we're dipping into inventories.
And so, there's a realization that there are -- you know, there are shortages, particularly of refined products. And what was first impacted particularly in Southeast Asia is now equally affecting the United States. So as a proportion of price increase, gasoline has risen about 37 percent in Southeast Asia, about 42 percent in the United States.
So, we are feeling this as, you know, an impact, a crunch, equally or more than the most affected countries that first felt it in the East.
RADDATZ: Boy, we are feeling it for sure.
And, Diane, President Trump had also said gas prices will drop like a rock when the Iran war ends. There's no sign that that's going to happen soon.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, our next guest, a few weeks ago, thought there would be a very quick rebound in energy prices once the conflict is resolved.
Do you agree?
DIANE SWONK, KMPG CHIEF ECONOMIST: Well, what we usually see is when oil prices go up and gas prices at the pump go up, they go up like a rocket and they fall like a feather. And I think that's one of the issues we have to deal with.
And what's so important is this is more than an oil shock. It is a supply chain shock. It is disrupting supply chains the world over, much like we saw during the pandemic, although without the buffers. And so, we're going to see over the course of the year many of these effects cascading compound and that'll push inflation up even higher.
The biggest issue for consumers is not just the mobility, and they're not traveling as much with higher gas prices today. But also it gets into food prices at the grocery store, and farmers are already complaining because, of course, they rely on diesel. But importantly, fertilizers and the chemicals that go into all of our food products out there. And then the transportation costs on top of it.
This is something that's very hard on consumers. And those are some of the most important and we call salient prices for consumers. It's of the basics -- food, travel and shelter. Those are the things that really matter to the average household.
RADDATZ: And, Diane, do you think it could go even higher, breaking records, which I think were $5.03 a gallon, just talking there about gas prices?
SWONK: It's -- from where we are today, I would agree with Karen, they're going to go higher, and we could easily break those records.
And we don't have the buffers we once did. Fiscal stimulus helped to buoy spending in the first quarter. We saw a good solid first quarter at 2 percent.
But remember, the economic gains that we’re seeing are concentrated among fewer affluent households and fewer firms than we did in the past. That was the case in 2025, and it is a case again today, even with the increase in tax refunds.
And as we get into the year, you're going to see more stress out there across the board. And that's what we're really concerned about for U.S. consumers.
RADDATZ: And, Karen, one big question, of course, is if the strait opened today --
KAREN YOUNG, GULF REGION POLITICAL ECONOMIST & COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH SCHOLAR: Uh-huh.
RADDATZ: -- or a day in the future, how long does it take to recover from that? What would we see? How long? And given the mines in the strait?
YOUNG: Yeah, I mean, there is no easy fix to this problem.
So, the problem first is getting ships who agree and, you know, their insurers to come into the strait to load. We're going to have to refill from storage. We've had shut-ins in Iraq and Kuwait, now in Iran. Those ships will load. Then, you'll be able to restart wells, restart refineries.
So this could be three to four months. That's what Kuwait petroleum executives have said.
And then you've got to increase the actual flow of traffic. So, it's not going to be 120 vessels, which was our normal before February 28, on day one. That will take a lot of time.
And then, of course, if it's not safe, if there are mines in the water, if there are still ongoing threats of hostilities, not even just, you know, active conflict, but if Iran holds that sort of leverage and threat to shipping into its neighbors, you're not going to see resumption of normal traffic.
RADDATZ: And thanks very much to both of you this morning. We appreciate your expertise.
YOUNG: Thank you.
RADDATZ: And I'm joined now by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Good morning to you, Secretary Duffy.
We just heard our experts say gas prices could break record highs and even if the Strait opened today, it would take months to recover and for those gas prices to go down. What is your reaction?
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SEAN DUFFY: Well, a couple of things. I'll tell you that every time I go into the Oval Office, I hear the president talk about energy prices. That's been going on since he took this -- a second term in Washington.
He's -- he’s been concerned about American energy dominance, making sure Americans produce more, we drive energy prices down. But he's also confronted with the idea that, could there be a nuclear Iran? And he understands the threat of that reality.
Iran's been the most destabilizing force in the world for 40 years. He sees that as untenable, and I would agree with him, we can't have a nuclear Iran. And so he's taking action, bold action.
And, again, he's going to make sure that the world and America is safer as we look forward, not just in the several months after this conflict, but in the several years and decades after he's out of the presidency.
RADDATZ: So, that clearly seems the most important thing to President Trump. But meanwhile, back to those gas prices, do you agree it could take months, even if the strait opened today, and that those gas prices might break record highs?
DUFFY: Well, listen, so I'm at DOT. I'm not in the energy sector. But from all the briefings that I've had, once the Strait opens, you'll see prices come down, come down immediately.
And again, there's going to be a tail to that. It's going to take time to get back to where we were before this conflict began, but you're going to see, I think, immediate relief once the Strait opens.
RADDATZ: Immediate relief.
Okay. President Trump said Friday that he is dying to make a deal with Iran. You mentioned Iran, of course. I know you’re at the DOT, but this is a big issue, clearly -- and what kind of offer he has gotten from the Iranians.
Do you know anything about this? And why the president would say they have not yet paid a big enough price? What does that mean exactly?
DUFFY: Yeah, listen, so the president has done very well in his career as a builder and as a president. And he doesn't talk publicly about what those negotiations are. He doesn't necessarily say and front run what he's going to want.
I think we've let this play out, but the president's going to look for a good deal, a great deal for the world and for America with the Iranians. But I think it's untenable to think that the Iranians have a nuclear weapon, and they're going to have to open the straits.
RADDATZ: I --
DUFFY: And again, the president's going to negotiate that out. And I think in the end, America's going to benefit.
RADDATZ: One of the things the president said early on is that the war would be over in about four to six weeks. So I also want you to listen to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who told me in this program what he told me back in March when I asked him how long Americans should expect high gas prices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS WRIGHT, ENERGY SECRETARY: I think that this conflict will certainly come to the end in the next few weeks, could be sooner than that. But the conflict will come to the end in the next few weeks, and we'll see a rebound in supplies and a pushing down of prices after that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: That was seven weeks ago. You said essentially the same thing about a week later, saying it would be short-lived. In your view, why didn't that happen?
DUFFY: Well, I think if you listen to Secretary Hegseth and Razin Caine, our general, who's orchestrating this war, militarily they've been wildly successful. The president has been successful in executing the military operation. Again, we're now navigating, you know, the safety through the Strait of Hormuz and also trying to navigate the -- the nuclear material that Iran has and that's taking a little bit longer, and that's going to play out over the next several weeks.
But per Chris Wright's point, again, you're going to start to see immediate relief. Once the strait opens and supply flows again, we are going to be in a way better place.
I will say this, Martha. It's important for Americans to understand we have a tremendous amount of energy in America. And so, yes, it is priced globally, oil and gas is, but in America, we're not going to have supply shortages because we produce so much here. And that is a net benefit to the U.S.
As we look at, for me, jet fuel prices or even the supply chain for energy at the pump for American citizens, we have deep supply here. And I think that's -- that can't be forgotten because President Trump has focused on American energy and American energy dominance.
RADDATZ: Mr. Secretary, I know you're feeling optimistic about this, but Americans are apparently not. Our new poll makes clear they feel generally bleak about their financial situation. Again, 44 percent cut back on driving, 42 percent cut household expenses, 34 percent changed vacation plans. The rise in gas prices is having a real effect.
So what would you say to those Americans? We see no end in sight yet of that war.
DUFFY: Well, listen, that point is why the president has focused so hard on energy pricing and American energy dominance. The last administration, as you're well aware, was trying to move Americans from oil and gas to electric vehicles. Americans didn't want it, so the president has leaned into American energy dominance.
And, yes, we have seen an increase in pricing, but if you look at what the president has done for consumers, one big beautiful bill, he wanted to make sure that Americans got a big tax refund this tax season. Not sure if that was in your poll. I didn't get a chance to look at it before I came on. But Americans were happy with how much they got back because he said listen, we're not going to tax tips, we're not going to tax Social Security.
(CROSSTALK)
RADDATZ: But, Mr. Secretary, what I'm talking about is now. I'm talking about now.
DUFFY: I want to make sure Americans are paying less in taxes to impact their pocketbooks.
RADDATZ: I'm talking about now. What is your message to Americans now who are suffering because of these gas prices?
DUFFY: Well, Martha, I am talking about right now. We just -- we just went through tax season, and I'm just -- I'm talking about what happened with people's refunds as they've gone through tax season.
(CROSSTALK)
RADDATZ: Well, clearly, they -- they're not feeling it.
DUFFY: So, yes, energy prices have -- well, energy prices have come up. You're right. And, again, you have to look at the president to say, what does a leader do? What does a president do when he sees a potential nuclear Iran? He's not going to tolerate it. And we can't have that when they have long-range missiles that can deliver those nuclear weapons to many of our friends and to many of our bases.
That is untenable. And it's been a problem for -- and you reported on this, for decades it's been a problem. This is the first president who said no more, no longer, we're not going to have a nuclear Iran. So he's leaned into that. And I think if you ask that question specifically, Americans applaud him for taking on this threat. And I'm proud of our president as well.
And, again, we're going to get back to lower energy prices. When the Strait opens up, those prices come down and Americans travel, and it's -- I think our economy is going to be set up for something that we haven't seen before in regard to American wealth and American opportunity.
RADDATZ: And, Mr. Secretary, just finally on Spirit Airlines, they ceased operating over the weekend. You have said that was -- that the war was not an impetus in putting Spirit out of business because they filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy last summer, but the Spirit CEO said in his statement that the sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices ultimately left them with no alternative. Quickly, if you can.
DUFFY: Sure. So Spirit tried to merge with JetBlue. The Joe Biden-Pete Buttigieg administration and DOJ tanked that deal. Immediately after that, they filed for bankruptcy. They were having financial problems.
Martha, they filed for bankruptcy again last year. They were bleeding money. And so this was in the works for some time. They were going to have to liquidate. And so again, I'm proud of the American airlines that have stepped up to take care of the passengers of Spirit, making sure they can -- they can get home. The employees of Spirit have special access to apply for jobs with other American airlines.
So, again, I've stepped in, worked with the CEOs, and again, this could have been chaotic. And under this administration, President Trump's leadership, there isn't chaos. There is actually a unified American approach to helping passengers and employees of Spirit navigate this crisis.
RADDATZ: Hey, we appreciate your time this morning, Mr. Secretary. Thank you so much.
DUFFY: Thanks, Martha.
RADDATZ: Up next, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's heated testimony to Congress on the Iran war, I'll speak with the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, Senator Jack Reed. We're back in two minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RADDATZ: This week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, or as he refers to himself, the secretary of war, made his first major public appearances before Congress since the war in Iran began two months ago, testifying alongside his chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine.
Those hearings before the House and Senate Armed Services Committee proving contentious and heated and Hegseth himself combative, defensive and dismissive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans.
REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): Do you think we're winning?
HEGSETH: Militarily on the battlefield, it's been an astounding military success.
MOULTON: No. But are we winning the war?
HEGSETH: Absolutely.
MOULTON: OK. So do you call Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz winning?
HEGSETH: Well, I would say the blockade that we hold that doesn't allow anything to come in or out of Iranian ports always --
(CROSSTALK)
MOULTON: OK. So we've blockaded their blockade.
HEGSETH: -- in our portfolio to use.
MOULTON: So they blockaded us, and then we blockaded their blockade. That's like saying tag, you're it.
HEGSETH: Well, their nuclear facilities have been obliterated. Underground, they're buried, and we're watching 24-7.
REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): Whoa, whoa, whoa.
HEGSETH: So we know where any nuclear material might be. We're watching it.
SMITH: Reclaiming my time for a second here. We had to start this war, you just said, 60 days ago because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat. Now you're saying that it was completely obliterated?
HEGSETH: They had not given up their nuclear ambitions.
SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): Is the president intending to either seek congressional authorization for the war in Iran or send us the legally required certification that he needs an additional 30 days to remove U.S. forces from the war?
HEGSETH: I would defer to the White House and White House counsel on that. However, we are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire. So they're not in -- it's understanding, just so you know.
KAINE: OK. Well, I do not believe the statute would support that.
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): You don't care whether the American people support this war?
HEGSETH: What the American people and -- the American people are quite smart. They
understand and see through spin. They know that a regime that says “death to America”, that seeks nuclear weapons and the ability to deliver --
GILLIBRAND: And at what cost?
HEGSETH: Did they lie about the range of their missiles?
SEN. JACK REED, ARMED SERVICES RANKING MEMBER & (D) RHODE ISLAND: So you have not achieved any of the objectives yet that the president mentioned?
HEGSETH: President Trump saw an opportunity because their ambitions continued to ensure that umbrella of nuclear blackmail did not allow them to get to a nuclear weapon. And the world is safer because of his bold and historic choice.
REED: Mr. Secretary, I think that's rhetorical, but not factual. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: And the man you saw right there, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Jack Reed, joins me now.
That was quite a hearing, Senator. But let's talk about your views.
Regardless of your views about the constitutionality of this war, it has been a tactical success. And in many ways, you -- they took out the navy, the majority of missiles, senior regime leaders. But you have said that Hegseth has dangerously exaggerated military successes. What are you talking about?
REED: Well, the success is not measured simply in tactical operations. I must commend the men and women of our armed services. They've done a superb job.
But strategically, we're in -- in many respects, a much worse position. The Strait of Hormuz is blockaded. We're seeing incredible impacts economically in the United States in oil prices, fertilizer prices. The world itself is shuddering on some of these economic blows.
And the regime in Tehran is probably more hostile and fanatical than the one that we replaced.
And finally, we have not yet resolved the issue of nuclear material in Iran.
So this has been a tactical demonstration of prowess, but has not achieved the strategic goals that the president announced. And he seems not to have a plan to achieve those goals.
RADDATZ: He said on Thursday, after he was briefed, he talked about military options. He said he'd prefer not to blast the hell out of Iran and finish them forever. But he's also said -- and this was just last night -- that the Iranians have not paid a big enough price.
Do you have any idea where we go from here or what he is talking about?
REED: Well, frankly, I'm sometimes confused, and I don't know sometimes what he is talking about, because again, he announces it's going to be regime change or we'd won in two days, et cetera. What faces us is a stalemate militarily, which he could -- or inject additional air assault against the Iranians. But I don't think that's going to break their determination just to hang on. And one reason is for them, it's existential.
I mean, after we started this operation with the Israelis by decapitating all their leadership, after the president's made claims of, you know, obliterating a civilization, I think they're just sitting there saying, we have only one option, keep fighting.
And if that's the case, then we have to get off that track, get into negotiations, and that means putting together a skilled team of negotiators, not your son-in-law and your golfing buddy.
And it means time, because it took us two years to reach a settlement with respect to the -- of President Obama's agreement. It'll take a long time to get that settlement through. And we have to focus, I think, right now on diplomacy.
RADDATZ: You -- your colleague on the Armed Services Committee, Richard Blumenthal, said on Thursday that he had the impression from briefings that an imminent military strike is very much on the table, one that could put America's sons and daughters in harm's way and have the potential for mass casualties.
Have you heard the same? Do you believe a new round of strikes is imminent?
REED: Well, there are certainly positions for strikes. That's what a military force has to be.
Again, one of the things that's so confounding in this whole situation is, I don't believe the president has a plan. I think it's impulsive. It's day-to-day. It's how he feels.
And he's not being given, I think, the support and the planning that is necessary to make judicious judgments. So this is like a minute-to-minute whatever in the president's head at the time, and that's not a pathway to success.
RADDATZ: Secretary Hegseth told your committee that the administration doesn't need congressional authorization to continue the war past 60 days because the clock pauses because of the ceasefire.
President Trump has essentially said the same.
Do you agree with that?
REED: No, no. The language of the statutes is -- does not provide for timeouts like in a football game. From the day you begin, 60 days, the President has to comply with the law. There can be a 30-day extension to 90 days, but that has to be requested by the President. We have to be notified. No such notifications come through.
The president is ignoring the law. He does that constantly. This is not the first example where he just completely ignores the law. And we have to keep the pressure on. In contrast to President Trump, at least President Bush came before the United States Congress and asked for authority to conduct operations in Iraq.
Now I disagree with that. I thought it was going to be a disastrous situation. But nevertheless, he provided Congress the opportunity to opine and decide and gave him legitimacy that this president lacks.
RADDATZ: You know, we've heard again and again the administration say that Iran wants a nuclear weapon and a lot of people are saying that indeed. But they also say the Iranians would use that nuclear weapon. Do you think Iran would actually use a nuclear weapon if they got it? Is there any evidence --
REED: Well, I --
RADDATZ: -- that they want to use it?
REED: Well, I don't want to have to be in a position where they have one, and they're contemplating the use.
But here's one of the ironies. After this attack, and we were negotiating with the Iranians at the time of the attack, and I think they feel that their only defense might be a nuclear weapon. So we've ironically, I think, given them more reasons to push for a nuclear weapon. We have to prevent that. We have to prevent proliferation throughout the world.
And in fact, what we're seeing with his disputes with NATO, his disputes with other allies, is that there's discussion for the first time, serious discussion across the world in places that were under our nuclear umbrella, let's get a nuclear weapon.
He's started a dangerous, dangerous trend, but we have to, and I think you accomplish it through negotiations ultimately, as we did with President Obama to stop their production and have intensive supervision by international authorities so that they can't break out. And if they do, then we have to take action.
RADDATZ: OK. Thanks so very much for joining us this morning, Senator.
REED: Thank you.
RADDATZ: Up next, could the Supreme Court's ruling on the Voting Rights Act upend the midterm map?
We'll break it down when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JEFF LANDRY (R), LOUISIANA: I think this whole race-baiting, race issue on the redistricting has been put to bed finally, once and for all. What it says is that -- is that, listen, the legislature and the people control the pen.
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): This is a Supreme Court that is going vastly against this idea that one person should have one vote, that there should be equal representation, that we should be against discrimination. It's a sad day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: Reaction there to that major Supreme Court ruling this week that has unleashed a new round of mid-decade redistricting after the justices narrowed Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That ruling effectively preventing states from considering race when drawing congressional maps.
Several southern states may now move to eliminate majority Black districts just six months before the midterms. Louisiana's governor delayed its U.S. House primaries after some voting had already begun. The governors of Tennessee and Alabama called for special legislative sessions to review their maps.
These developments follow a slew of other changes to maps made in the last year. The mid-decade redistricting battle kicked off in Texas after President Trump asked Republicans to create five more GOP-leaning seats. California Democrats responded with voters approving a map that will likely net the party five more seats in November.
Eight states have approved new maps so far, with several more now looking to do so before November. But none of the seats that either party is targeting are guaranteed.
And the roundtable is all here to discuss that and much more when we come back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RADDATZ: So let's bring in the roundtable -- former DNC chair Donna Brazile, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, SCOTUSBlog editor Sarah Isgur, and author of the now “New York Times” bestselling book, “Last Branch Standing”, and former GOP Congressman Patrick McHenry.
Welcome to you all, and congratulations especially to you, Sarah.
So we're going to start with you. Republicans are touting the Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act as a big win. How significant do you see it?
SARAH ISGUR, EDITOR AT SCOTUSBLOG & ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I actually don't think this will terribly affect, certainly not this election. The question is 2028, 2030. Republicans in these states had actually begged conservative lawyers not to bring these cases for years because it had, as a partisan level, helped Republicans to be able to redistrict on the basis of race and pack Democrats into districts.
What this will do is gut Black representation in Congress. No question about that.
But remember, Congress at any point can fix this. They can make laws about partisan redistricting. What the court said they are not allowed to do is to decide voters going in one district versus another based on the color of their skin.
RADDATZ: And, Donna, I want your reaction to this. Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that states with, quote, “unconstitutional maps should look at redistricting before the midterms.”
What's your reaction to all of that?
DONNA BRAZILE, FORMER DNC CHAIR & ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, first of all, it's a betrayal. It's a betrayal of Black citizens who believed after 1965 that they could get a seat at the table, they could have fair representation. It's a betrayal of the Constitution, I believe -- this notion that you can have partisan gerrymandering, but not racial gerrymandering.
I live in a state that is one-third Black, one-third Black. I watched my parents. I watched my uncles and uncles come from war. I was a girl, a little kid who saw them cry because finally they could go to vote, and stand in line and cast their ballots -- not be afraid to die.
So, Martha, it is very -- it is immoral. It's unjustified, what they did.
My family was voting already in Louisiana, and the governor stopped it. He stopped it because he said these maps are unconstitutional.
Just a few years ago, he changed the maps because it was politics involved. But when it comes to race, somehow or another, one out of three people in Louisiana who are Black don't have representation if this goes into effect.
So, no. When you make it harder for Black people to vote, we're going to show up. And that's how many of us feel.
It's not just anger. It's disappointment. It's betrayal, because, again, I watched my daddy. He comes home with medals. He comes home fighting for his country, and he could not vote.
You are bringing us back to Jim Crow, and we do not want to go back to Jim Crow.
RADDATZ: Chris, you want to jump in on that?
CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR & ABC ENWS CONTRIBUTOR: Look, I think that what Sarah's saying about this from a practical perspective is correct. It can get fixed. Supreme Court’s --
BRAZILE: By this Congress?
CHRISTIE: Well, no, probably not by this Congress, Donna. But, look, there are going to be Congresses in ‘28 and ‘30 that may look significantly different than the one we have now, based on some of the polling numbers that we're going to talk about a bit later.
But, look, when you read the decision that Justice Alito laid out, he's -- and this court's done this a number of times -- they're laying political questions at the feet of the political branches. They're saying, we're not going to get into this stuff anymore. You guys created this mess. Go fix the mess. And we're not going to fix it for you anymore.
It's a different way of approaching this. I understand -- I understand Donna's upset about it. I absolutely do, because we have set -- the court previously has set a pattern where they've gotten involved in every one of these disputes.
It's time for the Congress to wake up, and to deal with this gerrymandering issue. They haven't dealt with it, and they're dealing with it in a way that's destructive right now from a political perspective.
Go back and fix it, and I think that's what the court was saying to them.
PATRICK MCHENRY, (R) FORMER NORTH CAROLINA CONGRESSMAN: But from the state of North Carolina, the experience I had, since 1990, we've been in constant litigation in North Carolina because of the drawing of our districts. Multiple Supreme Court cases, nearly a dozen in that time, coming out of North Carolina.
What the Voting Rights Act did is, in the first generation, protect voting rights and access to voting -- very important thing, a historic great thing for America. How it got used in this later time was old data to determine today's discrimination, which the courts ruled against. It was then used for partisan means.
In my state, what the Voting Rights Act did was enable Democrats to draw white Democrat districts using the Voting Rights Act as justification. Then it became Republicans using it as justification.
This is a political question. And now we've returned to a different era where this is back up to the states to draw these congressional maps and state house and state senate maps.
Gerrymandering is, by the way, called gerrymandering, and Elbridge Gerry was a friend of John Adams. This is from the founders' era challenges that can be remedied at the state level, but it's not up to the Supreme Court to opine on each one of these details.
ISGUR: As the chief justice said 20 years ago, the best way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race, which is what these lines were doing.
RADDATZ: And it's our own to ask you another legal question. You also had the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals restricting access to the most common abortion pill. Where does this go from now? It's clearly significant right now. It means nationally.
ISGUR: So, they have already filed at the Supreme Court for an emergency stay to stop that the circuit ruling from going into effect. Remember that two years ago, Texas had a very similar lawsuit that went to the Supreme Court unanimously. The Supreme Court tossed that lawsuit out. We tend to ignore those cases when they're unanimous. They don't fit our narrative about the court being 6-3.
So I expect that the Supreme Court will weigh in on this very quickly, at least on an administrative basis. But what they said in that Texas case was that doctors did not have the standing. They did not have an injury to complain about this. Here in Louisiana, we have the state arguing that they are injured by it. It seems pretty tenuous to me. But again, it's actually been the liberal side that has wanted greater standing for states and environmental regulations and climate change. Conservatives now adopting liberal arguments. Liberals now adopting conservative arguments. Welcome to the Supreme Court in 2026.
DONNA BRAZILE, ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, the practical effect.
RADDATZ: Now let's welcome ourselves to our poll, which had some pretty astonishing numbers. I want to, Sean Duffy, by the way, said Americans are applauding the President Trump's moves in Iran.
This is what our poll found, 33 percent approved, 66 percent disapproved. So that's a very quiet round of applause.
Chris, I love that you guys have Sarah's book there, right there, the inspiring book.
(CROSSTALK)
CHRIS CHRISTIE, ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Keep it close to me at all times.
RADDATZ: At all times. You read it at all times. What struck you in the poll?
CHRISTIE: Well, here are a few of my favorite things --
RADDATZ: OK.
CHRISTIE: -- from this poll, Martha.
RADDATZ: That's what we want.
CHRISTIE: Look, I look at Independents when you're talking about midterm elections, and that's what we're really focused on here.
The President, right track, wrong track in the country among Independents, which is the first thing I would look at in polling when I was in elections, 18, 78 among Independents, 18 percent think we're on the right track, 78 percent of Independents and more and more people are identifying as Independents say we're on the wrong track.
The President is in bad shape. Six years ago, eight years ago now, in 2018, it was a six-point margin among Independents about Democrats over Republicans, 44-38. Now it's 20 points among Independents favoring Democrats over Republicans for the midterms. These are all really bad wins in the districts that are going to make the difference.
In deep red and deep blue districts, it doesn't matter. But in the districts that will decide who's going to be in the majority, a 20-point gap in favor of the Democrats over my party should tell my party, we got big problems and a lot of work to do in the next six months.
RADDATZ: And Donna, let's remember, it's all about the economy. It's all about affordability. And right now, $4.45 for a gallon of gas, they've got to be nervous about.
BRAZILE: Well, look, I look for something within the mid-range between $4.30 and $4.75. It is getting bad. Over the last couple of days, I've been through Florida, I've been through California and God knows California gas prices. I would stop driving and get back on the bicycle.
If you talk about anger, people are angry. Groceries up. OK. Rent is up. Health care is out of reach for most Americans. They cannot stretch their paycheck till the end of the month. This is about kitchen table issues. They're running out of patience with Donald Trump and his administration. And they don't believe his lies anymore.
RADDATZ: OK, I have to move to another legal issue. And we'll start. But I want to start with you on this, Patrick. The Comey indictment, the seashells on the beach indictment, 86-47, that Comey put on his Instagram, pulled that down quickly. The Justice Department believes that is a threat. Do you see that as a threat?
MCHENRY: Well, the acting attorney general says you have to prove intent and had a very honest press conference about it. The fact is that in a traditional setting, a former FBI director making a threat on a president, a sitting president of a different party is a significant thing. Stepping back.
But in the Trump era, this thing is discounted, ignored. And especially when it comes to Comey, who's not viewed as a serious actor and much more as a political gadfly. So, this was more of a social media stupid thing that he did rather than significant intent to do bad things, as has been proven out since he was fired as FBI director.
So because it's Comey and because it's Trump, things are viewed differently. And that tells you more about the era we're in than anything else.
RADDATZ: You got 40 seconds, Sarah.
ISGUR: There is binding Supreme Court precedent going back to the days of LBJ on this question. This is not a real case. We know it's not a real case. This was a press release, and we should all be angry that we are having a government try to undermine the First Amendment in this way. Legally, they will lose this case, but politically they are doing real damage.
CHRISTIE: I know Jim Comey well. He's one of the stupidest smart guys I've ever met. And this is stupid, but it's not criminal.
BRAZILE: He apologized.
RADDATZ: On that note, OK, thanks to all of you. Thanks for being here.
Up next, ABC's Matt Rivers reports from Cuba on how the U.S. push for regime change is impacting daily life in Havana. We're back in a moment.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Here we got problems. We'll finish one verse. I like to finish a job. On the way back from Iran, we'll have one of our big, maybe the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, the biggest in the world. We'll have that come in. Stop about 100 yards offshore, and they'll say, thank you very much. We give up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: President Trump on Friday saying he'll target Cuba after Iran. Cuba's president responding, quote, "No aggressor, no matter how powerful, will find surrender in Cuba."
Despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Trump administration has kept up its push for regime change in Cuba with a strict oil embargo leaving the island nation's economy devastated.
ABC's Matt Rivers is on the ground in Havana.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just after dawn along the Malecon, Havana's famed coastal highway, filled with Cubans all marching, all headed toward the same place.
So that building right there is the U.S. embassy here in Havana. And today, the Cuban government is surging hundreds of thousands of people right past its front door with a clear message -- the Cuban government is not backing down.
(Voice-over): It was an anti-imperialist march, says the government, in the face of a U.S. administration more determined than ever to topple the government that's ruled this country for nearly 70 years.
TRUMP: Cuba is a failing nation, and we're going to do this, and we may stop by Cuba after we're finished with this.
RIVERS (voice-over): The Trump administration has explicitly not taken military action off the table to achieve that goal, but announced new sanctions on Cuban leadership Friday, increasing pressure on them to step down. Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla calling those new sanctions collective punishment on the Cuban people.
MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: Those serious economic reforms are impossible with these people in charge. It can't happen. And these people in charge aren't just economically incompetent. They have rolled out the welcome mat to adversaries of the United States to operate within Cuban territory against our national interest, with impunity.
RIVERS (voice-over): But for now, the pressure campaign has focused on one main thing -- oil. A U.S. embargo wiped out nearly 60% of Cuba's oil import supply in a matter of days. Now, in Havana, as night falls, the lights often don't come on.
The only lights on, on this street right now are the ones that are powered by batteries, and this is the new norm. There's not a single neighborhood in all of the city of Havana that has not been affected by these blackouts. And the longer this country goes without getting enough oil, the worse this gets.
RIVERS (voice-over): Upstairs from the street, mom, Idana (ph) cooks on a propane stove, hamburger, rice and beans by flashlight, yet again, that's most nights here now.
It's a crisis, she says. It's incredibly stressful. There's no schedule to eat, to cook. You can't plan your life. It's horrible.
After dinner, it's homework by flashlight, lantern in one hand, pencil in the other.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
RIVERS (voice-over): Daylight in Havana reveals more challenges, the smell of rotting trash wafting through the streets.
RIVERS: With no gas to run the trash trucks, there's piles of trash like this all over the city. Not just in poorer places, but also right here. That building is the Ministry of Tourism.
RIVERS (voice-over): Hospitals forced to scale back operations, dimming lights to conserve power, air conditioning only in critical areas.
Pediatrician Maria Elena Mesa (ph) says many of her colleagues can't even get to work because of the lack of gas. We asked how she was feeling.
It's hard to keep back the tears, she says, it's a little difficult, but no matter what, I'll be here because it's what I do.
Havana's famous fleet of classic cars now also sit idle. A single gallon of gasoline costs $40 here, and tourists have all but stopped coming.
RIVERS: Many drivers we spoke to today have had no clients at all, and they say it's been that way for months, ever since the oil stopped flowing into the country. But when we asked them to talk about that reality on camera, everybody said no for fear of government retribution.
RIVERS (voice-over): And that is a sign that for all the economic hardship, for all the pressure from the U.S., the communist government is still firmly in control, unofficially still led by this man, 94-year-old Raul Castro, Fidel's brother, sat front and center at that march just in front of the U.S. Embassy.
RIVERS: Martha, the U.S. government argues that the Cuban government itself is responsible for a lot of the suffering that you just saw there in our piece. They say that this government here is inefficient, it is corrupt, and that the people are inept stewards of whatever is left of the economy here. They say that it is time for this government in its current form to come to an end.
Meanwhile, though, it is ordinary Cubans caught up in the crossfire. Martha?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RADDATZ: Our thanks to Matt Rivers. We'll be right back.
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RADDATZ: And that's all for us today. Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with us. Check out "WORLD NEWS TONIGHT" and have a great Sunday.
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