Full Episode: Sunday, July 5, 2026

Summary

Podcast Summary

This Week with George Stephanopoulos

Full Episode: Sunday, July 5, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This episode of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" focuses on the collision of American tradition and political controversy as the country marks its 250th birthday, highlighting President Donald Trump's record-breaking earnings in office, the dramatic expansion of executive power by the Supreme Court, fallout and debate over ethics and corruption, and the spectacle – and missteps – of the America 250 celebrations. The show features news analysis, roundtable discussions, and reporting from significant historic sites.

---

Key Topics & Discussion Points

---

1. Trump’s Financial Disclosures and Presidential Profits

(03:18 - 09:54)

• Historic Scale of Earnings:
  • President Trump disclosed over $2.2 billion in income in his first year back in office, triple his 2024 total.
  • These revenues span real estate, merchandise, and cryptocurrency ventures.
• Crypto Ventures:
  • Trump's "Meme Coin" alone netted his family $630 million in profits despite a massive drop in coin value.
  • Losses for outside investors estimated at $3.8 billion.
  • Trump’s family’s firm, World Liberty Financial, brought in $500 million last year, with some profits linked to controversial deals with the UAE – including a $500 million investment preceding policy changes benefiting UAE.
• Ethical Concerns:
  • Experts and critics note unprecedented personal profit from regulated industries while in office.
  • Critics argue traditional blind trust practices are not observed; Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children.
• White House Denial:
  • Official statement asserts there are no conflicts of interest.
  • Trump repeats claims that he is not involved in business management.
• Foreign Gifts:
  • Qatar’s $400 million “gift” of a new Air Force One jet sparks constitutional questions about emoluments and foreign influences.

"What we've not seen is someone who is proactively growing their wealth while president."
— Maggie Haberman, 03:41

"Have you ever seen a president make money on this scale while in the White House?"
— Ethics expert, 03:51

"I don't do anything having to do with my business. My kids run it. My son Eric handles it."
— Donald Trump, 07:32

---

2. Supreme Court Expands Presidential Power

(09:54 - 14:12)

• Landmark Rulings:
  • The Court grants the president wide latitude to fire independent regulators, rolling back decades of precedent and enhancing executive control.
  • Democrats and legal experts argue this undermines checks and balances, creating a near-monarchic presidency.
• Limits and Losses:
  • The Supreme Court sustains birthright citizenship and curtails Trump's unilateral tariff powers, reaffirming that major economic actions require congressional approval.
  • Other decisions include upholding mail-in ballot deadlines and weakening campaign finance and Voting Rights Act protections.
• Political Fallout:
  • The Court’s conservative majority is seen as shaping the presidency and the powers of Congress for years to come.

"It is a massive transfer of power to the executive branch...Congress’s ability to structure the institutions of government to provide transparency and accountability."
— Democratic Commentator, 11:05

"The result is a president who emerges with far greater power than ever before. It is a power, however, that neither the people nor Congress nor the Constitution bestowed upon him."
— Justice Sonia Sotomayor (dissent), 11:19

---

3. Roundtable: Ethics, Corruption, and Midterms

(14:12 - 26:30)

• Trump’s Attitude Towards Profiting in Office:
  • Panelists Maggie Haberman, Chris Christie, Donna Brazile, and Doug Hai note Trump is unapologetic and feels entitled, viewing office as an opportunity rather than a public trust.
  • Christie compares Trump’s actions to “Putin-esque corruption.”
• Political Impact:
  • Democrats are betting that corruption will energize voters, drawing a connection between Trump’s enrichment and economic pain for ordinary Americans.
  • Republicans doubt voters will be shocked, warning Democrats must frame the issue as impacting affordability, not just elites’ corruption.
  • The midterms loom as a test for both parties on these issues and the effectiveness of their messaging.
• Pardon Talk:
  • Trump is reportedly discussing preemptive pardons — a “pardon radius” — for those close to him in government.
• Democratic Party Identity:
  • Debate over whether the party is being defined by its left flank (e.g., Democratic Socialists) and what that means electorally.

"He and his family believe they are entitled to this. This is an entitlement to them...This is Putin-esque type of corruption and self enrichment."
— Chris Christie, 15:53, 16:44

"Democrats are going to talk about affordability, they're going to talk about making sure that the American people can make ends meet. But Mr. Trump has turned the White House into a profit center."
— Donna Brazile, 17:34

"What voters want is results. They don't care about these labels."
— Donna Brazile, 26:20

---

4. The Great America 250 Celebration: Delays, Dissent, and Disrepair

(28:01 - 39:06)

• Logistics and Mishaps:
  • Fourth of July events in DC delayed by heat and storms; state fair turnout mixed.
  • $68 million in public funds spent on events managed in part by a group tied to the administration.
• Accusations of Co-Opting the Holiday:
  • Democrats allege the celebration was hijacked to benefit Trump.
  • Reports of donor misdirection to Trump-linked nonprofits; group denies wrongdoing.
• Reflecting Pool Renovation Controversy:
  • Trump’s $16 million project to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool led to poor results (algae, peeling paint), then vandalism allegations.
  • Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defends achievements (fixing leaks, monument repairs, safety), blaming a small group of vandals for ongoing problems.
  • The cost far exceeds initial promises; the contract was no-bid and remained opaque.
• Secretary Interview Highlights:
  • Burgum emphasizes overall improvements to DC, says vandalism is rare and under investigation, with increased security added.
  • Despite assurances of success, further repairs and possible draining are required.

"Under President Trump's leadership, Washington, D.C. we fixed 48 monuments, 22 fountains that hadn't had water going for years. We eliminated over 1000 graffiti sites. All of these things have been going on across the city. And... the place has never looked better."
— Doug Burgum, 32:08

"He promised it would be fixed for under $2 million. It's already cost more than $15 million with a no bid contract. And the pool is going to be drained at least in part."
— George Stephanopoulos, 35:28

---

5. Historic Sites and American Memory

(41:05 - 49:34)

• Mount Rushmore Special:
  • Martha Raddatz and Blaine Cordemire provide a rare view of the monument, including its secret Hall of Records carved inside the mountain to store founding documents and a time capsule for future generations.
• Pearl Harbor Reflection:
  • Martha Raddatz visits Pearl Harbor and the USS Missouri, recounting the site’s history from attack to surrender.
  • Museum officials and curators highlight stories of sacrifice, commemoration, and lessons of Allied victory and reconciliation with Japan.

"Right behind the faces is a time capsule. A time capsule that tells the story of America's first 150 years."
— Martha Raddatz, 44:38

"For a lot of the sailors on board the ship, it was very emotional for them to know that they were able to go home."
— Frank Clay, Pearl Harbor curator, 46:59

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Maggie Haberman, on presidential enrichment:

  "He is very aware... he is coming back with very few constraints on his power. Congress is basically acting like supplicants, Republican House members. There are no ethics constrictions on the president the same way they are on other appointees throughout the government... It's like a reparations phase, for lack of a better way of putting it." (14:39)

• Chris Christie, on public trust:

  "This is Putin-esque type of corruption and self enrichment. And Maggie's right, the laws don't prohibit him from doing this." (16:44)

• Donald Trump, on his profits:

  "Well, you know why I'm profiting? Because the stock market's going up, everybody's profiting." (04:10)

• Justice Sotomayor’s dissent (paraphrased):

  "...the result is a president who emerges with far greater power than ever before. It is a power, however, that neither the people nor Congress nor the Constitution bestowed upon him." (11:19)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------------|--------------| | Trump’s Financial Disclosures & Profits | 03:18 – 09:54 | | Supreme Court Expands Presidential Power | 09:54 – 14:12 | | Roundtable on Ethics & Corruption | 14:12 – 26:30 | | America 250 Celebrations & Reflecting Pool Trouble | 28:01 – 39:06 | | Mount Rushmore & Pearl Harbor Features | 41:05 – 49:34 |

---

Overall Tone & Takeaways

The tone of the episode is urgent, analytical, and reflective. Panelists grapple with the implications of unprecedented presidential self-enrichment, a judiciary shifting the balance of power, and a nation divided over what its historic milestones mean. Moments of American unity—at Mount Rushmore and Pearl Harbor—are contrasted starkly with allegations of partisanship, mismanagement, and institutional strain in Washington.

For listeners, this episode offers a deeply reported, sometimes bracing look at what happens when politics, norms, and national memory collide on a milestone anniversary.

Transcript

[Ryan Reynolds]

Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment

[Mint Mobile Announcer]

of $45 for three months, $90 for six months or $180 for a 12 month plan. Required $15 per month equivalent taxes and fees. Extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

Me slow when network is busy.

[Mint Mobile Announcer]

See Terms.

[George Stephanopoulos]

THIS WEEK with George Stephanopoulos starts right now.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

Stunning disclosure to critics who say you're profiting off the presidency.

[Donald Trump]

Mr. Well, you know why I'm profiting? Because the stock market's going up.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

President Trump reveals more than $2 billion of income the first year of his second term.

[Donald Trump]

I don't do anything having to do with my business. My kids run it.

[Doug Burgum]

Trump is enriching himself at the expense of the American people.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Much of the money from some industries Trump regulates, a move unparalleled in the American presidency.

[Donald Trump]

Plus, we had something that gives back tremendous power to the president of the United States.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

The Supreme Court expands presidential power.

[Democratic Commentator/Critic]

It is part of a pattern of empowering the executive branch at the expense of working people.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Our roundtable analyzes the fallout. And as Trump's controversial renovations sweep across the nation's capital, we're joined by the cabinet secretary overseeing the effort, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. All this as Americans celebrate a big birthday. Special coverage from our THIS week team for America 250.

[George Stephanopoulos]

From ABC News, it's this Week. Here now, George Stephanopoulos.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Good morning and welcome to THIS week. It has been a weekend of celebration and storms. And as Americans honor our country's 250th birthday. The fireworks on the National Mall started just under the midnight wire, delayed by lightning strikes and a speech from President Trump that was less a commemoration of American history than a reflection of our polarized American politics. The Declaration of Independence, signed 250 years ago this week, broke America free of rule by a British monarch. The Constitution that followed was designed to ensure that our country would not be governed by a monarch. The president would be constrained by the courts and Congress, ethical norms and elections every four years. Two hundred and fifty years later, that system is under stress, tested by a president determined to wield power and buck norms in a way his predecessors did not. Perhaps most brazenly this week, President Trump's financial disclosure forms revealed that he collected more than $2 billion in revenues during the first year of his second term from investments in some industries he regulates, fueled in part by payments from foreign powers and a steady stream of stock trading, including stakes in companies he promotes. The president and his team insist this is not a conflict of interest. Democratic critics and many ethical experts disagree. One thing is certain, no other American president has ever acted this way or amassed money like this while holding the supreme office of public trust. Jay o' Brien starts us off this

[George Stephanopoulos]

week, the money Donald Trump has made since returning to the White House coming into clearer focus, staggering profits unprecedented for an American president. New mandatory financial disclosure forms released by the Office of Government Ethics show Trump reported making at least $2.2 billion last year, triple what he earned in 2024, before the start of his second term.

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

What we've not seen is someone who

[Maggie Haberman]

is proactively growing their wealth while president

[George Stephanopoulos]

money making on a historic scale, says Megan Gorman, who chronicled presidential wealth in her book all the President's Money.

[Ethics Expert/Commentator]

Have you ever seen a president make money on this scale while in the White House?

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

I've never seen a situation where someone

[Maggie Haberman]

has been proactive like this.

[George Stephanopoulos]

Trump pointing to the stock market to explain his gains.

[Donald Trump]

I don't get involved in my personal we have funds that run my money.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

To critics who say you're profiting off the presidency.

[Donald Trump]

Mr. Well, you know why I'm profiting? Because the stock market's going up, everybody's profiting.

[George Stephanopoulos]

But the more than 900 pages show a Trump family business empire that's expanded alongside the president's time in office, extending from real estate holdings to merchandise to the biggest recent profit driver, cryptocurrency. Trump raking in upwards of $1.4 billion from crypto ventures alone last year, according to the documents, more than $630 million in profits came via the president's Meme Coin, the sales of which generate revenue for Trump and his family even as the value of the coin itself has plummeted from a high of $74 just before Trump was inaugurated to trading under $2 today. An analysis found that nearly a million people who have invested in Trump's Meme Coin lost a combined $3.8 billion.

[Political Analyst]

Investors who bought the coin, many of them have suffered losses. Think of it like a baseball card. I think a lot of people bought it who may simply, like the president, wanted to support the president. I think there are others who bought it to try to buy influence.

[George Stephanopoulos]

The other big Dollar crypto profits coming from World Liberty Financial, a firm founded by Trump's family and that of his Middle east envoy, Steve Witkoff, which the disclosures show earned Trump well north of $500 million last year. World Liberty Financial has brokered a series of controversial overseas deals, including accepting a half a billion dollar investment just days before Trump's second INAU from Sheikh Tanun bin Zayed Al Nayan, who heads the United Arab Emirates State Investment Fund and serves as National Security Advisor. Months later, the Trump administration approved something the Sheikh and others in the UAE had long coveted. The sale of hundreds of thousands of cutting edge American artificial intelligence chips. A spokesman for World Liberty Financial later telling ABC News, quote, any claim that this deal had anything to do with the administration's actions on chips is 100% false. But through that deal, in a flurry of branded real estate projects, Trump made roughly $300 million from the Middle east alone, according to the disclosures, more than any other region in the world. And the President's crypto profits coming as the industry itself has teetered. Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, losing over half of its value since last October.

[Donald Trump]

We're going to be the undisputed crypto capital and bitcoin superpower of the world.

[George Stephanopoulos]

At the same time, his family crypto business has flourished. Trump, who once said bitcoin, quote, seems like a scam, now promising to be the most crypto friendly president in rolling back enforcement of the industry, something crypto advocates argued was necessary to prevent overregulation.

[Ethics Expert/Commentator]

As someone who was intimately involved in this kind of enforcement, what do you make of a president personally profiting off of an industry that he also has his administration regulating?

[Political Analyst]

I think it's absolutely reprehensible. We've never seen a president do anything like this, to my knowledge.

[George Stephanopoulos]

In a statement, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly saying neither the President nor his family has ever engaged or will ever engage in conflicts of interest. And the White House repeatedly insisting the President only acts in the best interest of the American people. And pointing out that President Trump's assets are in a trust, but not a traditional blind trust run by a third party, instead one managed by his children.

[Donald Trump]

I don't do anything having to do with my business. My kids run it. My son Eric handles it. I don't talk to him about things such as this.

[George Stephanopoulos]

Trump's sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr have invested in a flurry of ventures that could also have business before their father's administration, from military drones to Donald Trump Jr. S investment in a company seeking to sell guns through the mail to mining. Both of Trump's sons have repeatedly disputed their father is involved in any of their business dealings. Donald Trump Jr. Sang this at a summit in Saudi Arabia last year.

[Donald Trump Jr.]

We understand we're outside of government, obviously, but over the last 10 years we've been embroiled in it. We've been in that fight. We understand what the administration wants to do because we help craft some of that messaging so we can be on the outside but still have that understanding of what they plan to do. And that's logical.

[George Stephanopoulos]

The new financial disclosures also shedding light on the stock trades made by the president's financial advisers on his behalf. More than 21,000 last year, earning Trump a stake in some 1600 companies, many of which are directly involved in deals tied to the administration. On April 8th of last year, over 300 trades of various securities made on Trump's behalf just a day before he announced a surprise pause on the sweeping tariffs he had unveiled a week earlier. Trump has said he's not directly involved in trades made on his behalf. All of the documents made public just as the president took his new Air Force One for its inaugural flight this week, a $400 million gift from Qatar, which some legal experts and Democrats charge could violate the Constitution's prohibition on federal officials taking gifts from foreign countries. White House staffers posting pictures inside showing off the plane's large rooms to serve as the president's personal aircraft. The jet, also retrofitted by the Pentagon, estimated to cost hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, there's very little relative to

[Donald Trump]

what it would cost if we did it a different way.

[George Stephanopoulos]

And while Trump has called the plane a gift for the country, the jet is subject to a highly unusual arrangement that will transfer its ownership to Trump's presidential library, not to the next commander in when he leaves office.

[Ethics Expert/Commentator]

And George While the president and vice president aren't subject to the same ethics laws as other members of the administration or even members of Congress, Democrats are promising that if they take back the House come November, they'll use the power of the legislative branch to investigate President Trump's family business dealings and hold him accountable if necessary.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

George Jay o' Brien thanks now to the Supreme Court. The justices wrapped this week ending a term which greatly expanded presidential power despite a few high profile losses for President Trump. Rachel Scott has the story.

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

The nation's high court wrapping up its term defined by several landmark decisions that increase the power of the presidency.

[Legal Analyst]

Once again, this Supreme Court term was about executive power about what the role of the president is versus the role

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

of Congress in a remarkable expansion of executive powers. The court ruling Monday 6, 3 that President Trump can fire officials from independent regulatory agencies for any reason or no reason at all.

[Donald Trump]

It gives a president the right to do what the president should have the right to do.

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

The court's conservatives rolling back almost a century of legal precedent, giving the president direct control over the leadership of more than two dozen agencies, including some created by Congress to serve as bipartisan government watchdogs. Chief Justice John Roberts writing, the president may remove his subordinates at will, meaning Democratic members of key commissions can be targeted for removal by President Trump. Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter was one of them.

[Democratic Commentator/Critic]

It is a massive transfer of power to the executive branch really, not from independent agencies but from Congress and Congress's ability to structure the institutions of government to provide transparency and accountability.

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor accusing her conservative colleagues of distorting the structure of government to fit the majority's theory of unitary total executive control, adding, the result is a president who emerges with far greater power than ever before. It is a power, however, that neither the people nor Congress nor the Constitution bestowed upon him. But the justices did carve out an exception in the case of the Federal Reserve, preventing President Trump from firing Fed governor Lisa Cook for now, citing the importance of the bank's independence.

[Democratic Commentator/Critic]

I have a really hard time reconciling the decision in my case and the decision in Lisa Cook's case. The Constitution does not have a special asterisk or special section for banks, so I don't really understand how the court could say there is a separate set of rules for Wall street than there are for Main Street.

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

President Trump telling Breitbart News the Slaughter decision more than made up for the court rejecting his effort to end birthright citizenship. The court on Tuesday reaffirming that babies born on American soil are American citizens, dealing a major blow to the president who had tried to reinterpret the 14th Amendment by executive order.

[Legal Analyst]

I don't think any serious legal scholar thought the president was going to win that case.

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

Earlier this year, the court also reject Trump's unprecedented assertion of power to tariff any country at any level without congressional approval.

[Legal Analyst]

The tariffs decision was probably the most important case we've seen from the Supreme Court in a quarter century, reaffirming that presidents cannot run the government through executive order and cannot make major policy and legislative changes without Congress passing a law first.

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

And on Tuesday, in another setback for Trump, the court ruling against Republican efforts to restrict mail in voting, upholding a Mississippi law that says ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to five days later can still be counted.

[Donald Trump]

I think it was very detrimental to honest elections, but it is what it is.

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

After granting sweeping presidential immunity two years ago, the conservative majority bolstering President Trump's authority to crack down on immigration in a series of decisions, including ending deportation protections for hundreds of thousands and allowing border agents to turn away asylum seekers. And ahead of the midterm elections, the court backing Republican efforts to strike down federal limits on campaign finance laws and significantly weakening the landmark Voting Rights Act.

[Legal Analyst]

Probably the case with the biggest impact on the midterm elections will be the campaign finance case, which will now allow political parties to coordinate with their candidates.

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

The court's conservative supermajority likely reshaping the presidency and the role of Congress for years to come.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Thanks, Rachel, for that. Let's bring in the roundtable. We are joined by our regulars Chris Christie and Donna Brazile, Republican strategist Doug Hai, and the New York Times Maggie Haberman, co author of the new book Regime Change Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. You see it right there. Maggie, let me begin with you. You saw what we we went through the president's financial disclosure forms this week, more than $2.2 billion income. He's remarkably open and unapologetic about it, especially in an interview with you for the book.

[Maggie Haberman]

He actually made a comment to my colleagues earlier this year, which was that he had prohibited his sons from doing new deals or business, which wasn't quite true in his first term, and that he found out that nobody cared, which is also not true, and that he's allowed to do it. That part is true. There are no restrictions on what he's doing now. He is very aware, George, and this is sort of the part of the premise of what we're writing about in this book is he is very aware that he is coming back with very few constraints on his power. Congress is basically acting like supplicants, Republican House members. There are no ethics constrictions on the president the same way they are on other appointees throughout the government. And there is this sense throughout the Trump family that they were persecuted, that they gave up things in order for him to be, you know, in office and to serve, and that this is their time. It's like a reparations phase, for lack of a better way of putting it. But to your point, we have never seen anything on this scale. You said that earlier. And he is making money on Something that he regulates and that his own investors lost money on. And so I don't know at what point that starts to become problematic for him politically. It certainly isn't personal.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

That's going to be the question. Should the president be caring about this?

[Chris Christie]

Well, I mean, look, should a president be caring about this? Yes. Will this president care about it? Absolutely not. I think Maggie, I would take it to the next level. And what Maggie said, he and his family believe they are entitled to this. This is an entitlement to them. They believe when they came back and won this election the second time that that gave them license, that the American people gave them license to essentially go and take whatever they could take over this period of time. And quite frankly, you know, when you look at the scale of this, here's another thing apparently that Donald Trump learned from Vladimir Putin during his first term. This is Putin esque type of corruption and self enrichment. And Maggie's right, the laws don't prohibit him from doing this.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Essentially the Constitution does. The emoluments clause.

[Chris Christie]

That's right. I mean there's a difference between obviously, as you know, between the individual ethics laws which do not apply to him, but the emoluments. Cause when you look at the plane and what I think it will start to hurt him more is that he says things that turn out to not be true. Oh, the plane is a gift. Won't cost us anything. Well, no, it cost us hundreds of millions of dollars to get it up to Air Force One level of operation. Every time he says one of those things. The ballroom won't cost anybody anything. Now we're talking about them wanting to move a billion dollars to work on the ballroom. So, you know, the American people are starting to catch up to this. You can feel it.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Well, that's the question, Donna. Democrats seem to think, they seem to be unifying around the idea that corruption is going to be an animating force in the midterm election.

[Donna Brazile]

Absolutely, George. And why not? Democrats are going to talk about affordability, they're going to talk about making sure that the American people can make ends meet. But Mr. Trump has turned the White House into a profit center. I mean, he talks about Nvidia, he talks about Microsoft, and the next day he goes out and gives a speech and then he posts it on social media only to find out 67 million invested in Nvidia, 70 million in Microsoft, 63 million in Apple, 21 million in Broadcom, 31 million in Amazon. I need to call my broker and say what the hell am I Doing wrong. Okay. Clearly the president is doing something that brings a lot of profit to himself. And Chris is absolutely right. Meanwhile, he's telling the American people one thing and doing another, oh, this is not going to cost you. I'm doing this. My donors are doing this, but we're paying the price for it. Democrats will make this an issue. Affordability and accountability of this president.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Will Republicans pay a price in the midterms?

[Republican Strategist]

Sure. And I think it depends largely how Democrats frame this. It's so baked in that Donald Trump, of course, is going to profit from the presidency. If we go back to the Access Hollywood tape, we were all shocked in Washington and in New York City about those comments. The reality is voters said, wait, the guy who was on the COVID of Playboy magazine said something awful about women? No real surprise there. This isn't surprising either, unless Democrats are going to say and really prosecute this case of while Donald Trump is focused on the plane, the ballroom, the reflecting pool, whatever it is, you're spending more on shoes, socks, lettuce, beef, all of that. But also, it surprises me that Donald Trump isn't more concerned about these midterm elections because we know he doesn't care about legislative majorities, but he really should care about a Democratic House or Senate majority and the investigations they can follow.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Well, that's what I want to bring to Meg. You've had this series of public statements from the president over the last several weeks indicating that he doesn't seem to care that much about the midterms. What did he tell you?

[Maggie Haberman]

He has been remarkably unconcerned about the midterms. We didn't get into in depth with him about how, you know, he views the upcoming elections. But we do know from people we've spoken to around him and things he has said publicly that he considers it. I think his quote was an honor that Republicans do worse without him on the ballot. And so he tends to see this as a binary and a reflection of his own power versus something else. I think he may start to care the closer that we get to November, maybe in September. I agree with you in terms of the investigations, and I think that clearly the people around him are very aware of that because they are going to be subjected to it as much as anybody. But the thing that we report in the book is that he has been talking about how he will pardon anybody who comes within a certain radius of the Oval office. Sometimes it's 250ft, sometimes it's 200, sometimes it's 25. There is a pardon radius and he has said that he is going to grant pardons to all of these people. You know, the Biden folks had talked about some sweeping preemptive pardons for all political appointees. They shelve that idea. I think you will likely see something very similar. And in our reporting for the book, we spoke to a number of senior, senior Trump folks who are waiting for their pardons, counting on their pardons. And so that creates a very specific climate. I think the bigger question, I shouldn't say bigger, but a question is how do you pass a spending bill if they don't control the House? If they lose both chambers, this could mess up their final two years in ways they're not seeing.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

The president does seem to have in the last couple of days. You saw Mount Rushmore speech also. The speech very early, late last night, early this morning, seems to have settled on the idea that if he talks about communism enough, that'll counter the corruption issue.

[Chris Christie]

Yeah. And look, the Democrats have a challenge in front of them that they have not met before. They haven't done it. Well, we'll see if they can do it well this time. Doug alluded to it. It's not enough to just talk about the corruption because the American people think both sides are corrupt and they just think this is Trump's turn. They think Biden was corrupt. They saw the Hunter Biden stuff with the paintings and the other thing. They think both sides are corrupt. The connection has to be he doesn't care that you can't afford to pay your bills. Well, he doesn't care. What he cares about is making money for himself. There has to be a direct connection between those two things, George. Cuz otherwise I don't think it'll have any political potency at all unless you make the connection. And Democrats have just felt like they're cleansing themselves by complaining about the corruption stuff, but haven't effectively made the connection in my view yet. And if they don't, they're not gonna get the maximum impact.

[Donna Brazile]

I think the connection has been made, George. And you saw in the elections last year and most of the special elections this year that Democrats are connecting with voters on not just the affordability issue, but making the connection with the corruption while he's, you know, you know, fattening his wallet. You're losing money, you're losing money. He's sitting on a housing bill, a bipartisan housing bill. And what are the so called socialists, what we call the ultimate blue. What are they saying? They're saying the rent's too high and Trump is saying, well, nobody cares about this housing bill. So yeah, I think Democrats have made the connection. I think the Democrats have to figure out right now, especially the incumbents, that they better get back on the ground and talk to voters about what they really care about. Because being anti Trump is not the only issue that in Colorado, we've seen it now in New York. And Democrats have to focus laser on these so called socialists.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Let's pick up on that. Wins by Democratic socialists in New York and Colorado even have some Democrats saying that's electoral poison for the Democrats.

[Republican Strategist]

You know, it's a real boon for Republicans who are struggling to have anything to talk about. And if we're talking several months ago, the question is, is Mamdani the face of the Democratic Party? Maybe, maybe not. But there are a lot more faces now that Republicans can use and really scare voters on some scary policies, some scary rhetoric. The issue of Israel becomes that much more important. And Republicans have a lot of silver linings, despite Trump's terrible poll numbers. When I was at the RNC in 2010 and Maggie would call me and harass me almost every day, our magic

[Maggie Haberman]

number for Obama, I'd ask you questions and do my job.

[Republican Strategist]

Our magic number for Obama was 46. We felt if Obama was at or below that, we'd take back the House and he was basically at 46. We won 63 seats. That math doesn't exist anymore. That map doesn't exist. But as low as Obama as Trump's numbers are, Republicans have a boon in the Supreme Court decision this week that they were very prepared for. They're outraising Democrats massively in every party, every party committee level. They're out registering voters in swing districts. There are a lot of silver linings for Republicans and this adds to that. Trump still remains an albatross.

[Chris Christie]

George, can I add something quickly about Mamdani is I think we saw him make his first significant mistake this week.

[Political Analyst]

First?

[Chris Christie]

Yes. His first significant mistake politically is that he's been very upbeat. If you watch it here in New York, he's smiling, he's happy, he's upbeat.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Watch the Knicks rally, right?

[Chris Christie]

He gave this dour pre 4th of July speech enormously critical of America and its history. And with a group of people standing around him and he started to just get a little bit, I think too harsh in that regard. Mamdani has been able to do what he's doing in the city because people have seen him as a happy warrior. He was not a happy warrior in that pre fourth of July speech. And we need to watch whether that's something that's gonna continue. Because like it or not, for the Democrats, he is an important part now of the national Democratic Party.

[Maggie Haberman]

He's also a really good political performer, which is, I think, is one thing that Mayor Moudani is actually, I mean, to your point, pre the speech, he has been very, very effective in many, many ways politically. And I don't know that every single candidate who has been elected in the last couple of primaries as a DSA candidate is able to say the same thing. So that is the risk.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

And one of the big questions is, what will define the Democratic Party going into the elections in November?

[Donna Brazile]

There's no question our message has to be focused on the people. Look, I have a lot of criticism of some of my colleagues on the far left of the party, but the one thing I have to say about them, they're on the ground. They're talking to voters, and they're not just talking about socialism. They're talking about jobs. They're talking about creating jobs. They're talking about housing. They're talking about real everyday issues. You go to the grocery store and you don't have the money and you know you're falling short. They're talking about things the American people care about. The Democratic Party is a big ten party. So we have liberals, we have progressives, we have moderates. And we have to understand that we are not going to be able to just go out there and say, well, that's a commie, that's a socialist. No, this is an American who care to govern and will get results. And that's what Madame, look, he's balanced his budget. His speech.

[Chris Christie]

Look, he's balanced his budget on the backs of everybody across New York.

[Donna Brazile]

He balances.

[Chris Christie]

Blackmailed Kathy Hochul to get her to raise taxes.

[Donna Brazile]

He's delivering on the promises, especially with regards to childcare. He's delivering. And what voters want is results. They don't care about these labels.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

That's gonna be the last word today. Thank you all for a great conversation. Up next, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on the president's efforts to remake Washington. We're back in two minutes.

[Mint Mobile Announcer]

When it's time to scale your business, it's time for Shopify. Get everything you need to grow the way you want, like all the way. Stack more sales with the best converting checkout on the planet. Track your cha chings from every channel right in one spot. And turn real time reporting into big opportunities. Take your business to a whole new level. Switch to Shopify, start your free trial. Today,

[Republican Strategist]

the best dancers from across the

[Doug Burgum]

globe are about to join me for

[John Carl]

the audition of a lifetime.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

ABC July 13 do they have what it takes to compete and be the next Dancing with the Stars pro?

[Doug Burgum]

I'm here to win.

[Chris Christie]

Nothing is going to stop me.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

Our star judges will decide.

[Donald Trump Jr.]

This is what hunger looks like.

[Maggie Haberman]

It was 100% the wrong choice.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

Robert Irwin Huss.

[Blaine Cordemire]

The next era of ballroom starts right

[Doug Burgum]

here on Dancing with the Stars.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

The Next Prize Series premiere Monday, July 13, 8, 7 Central on ABC. Next day on Hulu.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

They were delayed by storms, but the show did go on. A massive July 4th fireworks show over Washington last night. Pretty much the president has made celebrating America's 250th birthday a major focus in recent months. But his efforts have hit some snags. Here's ABC's Selena Wang.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

This Fourth of July weekend, President Trump's long promised birthday party for America colliding with reality. The National Mall wrapped in miles of security fencing, a dangerous triple digit heat wave. So on the loudspeaker, they're actually telling people to leave the fair. The events have been postponed, I'm told by an organizer it's because of the intention. Trump's 16 day great American state Fair at times struggling to draw a crowd. Even before this announcement, there weren't huge crowds around.

[Legal Analyst]

And you can see the booths for

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

the different states lining the National Mall. Some of them had long lines, others pretty empty. On Saturday, attendance was strong, but in

[George Stephanopoulos]

the evening, we need evacuation right away.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

Confusion and disappointment as storm threats forced thousands on the National Mall for the Salute to America programming to evacuate the remaining military flyovers cancelled and the main events delayed. The events were organized by Freedom250, a public private partnership tied to the administration to commemorate the landmark anniversary. The Interior Department has put at least $68 million towards events for America's 250th. Freedom250 says their events are nonpartisan and for all Americans to enjoy. But Some Democrats say America's 250th has been, quote, hijacked to serve one man's vanity. In a new report, Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee alleging donors trying to give money to a congressionally sanctioned group were instead pushed to give to the organization tied to the president. Some, the report alleged, were given incorrect routing information. A Freedom250 spokesperson called that accusation categorically false, adding, it's disheartening that some in Washington are more interested in scoring political points than honoring our nation's milestone. But amid the patriotic fanfare President Trump also injecting partisanship into the occasion, giving a politically charged address in front of the iconic Mount Rushmore.

[Donald Trump]

Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

And wrapping the celebration on the National Mall with a speech that honored America.

[Donald Trump]

Here on our National Mall, we're celebrating freedom's triumph over tyranny.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

But was also reminiscent of his signature rallies.

[Donald Trump]

We want to keep America great, and we will do so by approving the Save America act. And you won't have cheating on the elections anymore.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

Just a short walk away. Trump's crown jewel renovation, the reflecting pool, barricaded off for days ahead of the massive fireworks show to close out America's 250th. Trump spent $16 million in taxpayer money to renovate the pool, repainting it to make the water American flag blue. But within days, the water turning green with algae chunks of that freshly painted bottom peeling loose, floating to the surface. Trump blamed vandals without providing any evidence.

[Donald Trump]

They put a big gash 350ft long. Think of that 350 foot gash.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

And this week, the Justice Department bringing a felony charge that carries up to 10 years in prison against former US Olympian David Hearn.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

The evidence shows, and we will prove

[Maggie Haberman]

beyond a reasonable doubt that Hearn willfully destroyed property at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

[Various Voiceovers/Commercials]

But Hearn told me he simply touched a piece of blue coating that was already partially detached from the bottom of the pool, telling me, quote, I did not remove, I did not damage, I did not rip, tear, break, destroy or harm any part of the Reflecting pool.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Thanks, Selina, for that. We're joined now by the Secretary of Interior, Doug Burgum, and oversees the Reflecting pool and the 250 celebrations. Secretary Burgum, thank you for joining us this morning. I assume you had a late night, so I appreciate you getting up this morning. Let's begin with the Reflecting pool. President Trump originally said that fixing it would cost under $2 million. That cost has climbed above $15 million. And of course, the pool is still closed. So what went wrong? How are you going to fix it? How much is it going to cost?

[Doug Burgum]

Well, good morning, George. First of all, let's put this all in context. Under President Trump's leadership, Washington, D.C. we fixed 48 monuments, 22 fountains that hadn't had water going for years. We eliminated over 1000 graffiti sites. All of these things have been going on across the city. And, you know, everybody that lives in Washington, D.C. says the place has never looked better. And of course, you look at the crime stats, the city has never been safer. And so when we look in context, President Trump set out to make D.C. safe and beautiful. He'd done that. The reflecting pool was part of the original design of the Lincoln Memorial. It's part of that memorial. It is part of one of the monuments that is important to us as a country. It was leaking 45,000 gallons a day. It's been attempted to be fixed in the past, widely reported by the New York Times, Washington Post and others that this pool was closed for two years between 2010 and 2012. $34 million was spent. It's a challenging thing. This has got two and a half miles of expansion joints. It is eight acre pond. It has been a challenge. But now with the industrial liner, it's not paint. With the industrial liner that's gone in, the reflecting pool is not leaking. New technology that hasn't existed before. Nanobubblers taking care of the algae. The water is now clear. The reason why the fences were up the last week was to get ready for the, for the world's largest fireworks show. On either side of the reflecting pool is where the fireworks are stationed. And so this is a, and anybody that's been there, some of the greatest photographs ever taken in recent weeks of both the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Memorial, reflecting our history, our incredible history of those two presidents, one that helped found the country and the other that helped save the Union, back and forth. So the reflecting pool has been a big success and we've got a very of the 340 million people in this country that are celebrating. 250. We did have a few vandals, but all that's going to be repairable and that will all be fixed in the coming weeks as we go forward.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Well, you say it's been a success, but the pool is going to be drained this week, isn't it?

[Doug Burgum]

We don't know if we need to drain the whole thing or not because the cutting happened on the edge. And of course it slopes from the edge. It's not a flat bottom pool. It slopes from the edge to the middle. And so we may be able to partially drain it and do the repair. To be able to fix it, we may not have to drain the whole thing, but it could go very quickly. And of course again, when you're talking about 340,000 square feet of surface, even though there was damage done by vandals that was there, it is a small, small 99.99% of the pool bottom is perfect. The leaks have stopped. And so this will be quickly move on and again, I think the press should move on too, because we've got great. This is the kickoff of our 250th year. We're going to continue to have celebrations around the country. And you know, the real story here is how did we let this nation's capital fall into such disrepair where we had monument after monument, statue after statue, fountain after fountain, covered with graffiti, anti American graffiti, and how that was never reported as a story. And now when President Trump goes to fix it up, that becomes a story.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

He promised it would be fixed for under $2 million. It's already cost more than $15 million with a no bid contract. And the pool is going to be drained at least in part. And you've also put, you're putting out solicitations for new bids. So the pool is not fixed right now, is it?

[Doug Burgum]

Well, it's fixed in the sense it's no longer leaking 45,000 gallons a day. And we've got, you know, less than 1/10 of 1% of that industrial liner that's been damaged. And that's the only thing that remains to go back and fix the damage done by the vandals. And then we're going to be back in business again. And of course, this was done for a fraction of the cost. The bid that was done in 2010-2012 was, you know, a $34 million contract. And so it's, you know, fraction of the cost and a fraction of the time. And again, moving on, because we do have deferred maintenance across our national parks, President Trump ready to sign the Great American Outdoors Act. There's great support for this. We believe that that bipart bill can come out and we can get after, you know, restoring things on our national parks across the country, not just here like he's shown, can be done in

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Washington, D.C. you've repeated that vandals cost the damage. The president has repeatedly claimed that vandals cut a 350 foot gash in the pool. That's a claim that's echoed in a legal filing by your department. What specific evidence do you have to back up that claim?

[Doug Burgum]

Well, we have the actual cuts that were made into the industrial liner and that's been measured out. So that's just a fact that that's

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

what, 350 foot gash?

[Doug Burgum]

Well, it's multiple gashes that add up to 350ft across that. And so, and again, some of this happened early on. There was a where we've installed more cameras. I mean, we weren't expecting that we were going to have a small group of people that wanted to try to destroy effectively what is part of the Lincoln Memorial. There's plenty of cameras around the Lincoln statue and around the memorial. The reflecting pool had gone for, you know, decades without vandalism. But now we've got, you know, we've got cameras up and we've got more eyes on it. And we'll, you know, we have. That's part of the job of the National Park Service, the US Park Police, is to protect our monuments. And so we're in better shape now. If anyone were to do something now, we would have better video evidence of that.

[Donald Trump]

But you don't.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

But you don't have video evidence of people making those gashes.

[Doug Burgum]

Well, we do have video and we do have eyewitness reports, and that's up to the courts now. So that process will go forward in the legal system.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

How much more is this going to cost?

[Doug Burgum]

I think it's going to be a small number because the majority of the work was related to the labor and the materials for the liner. And of course, the new nanobubbler system, which is taken care of and won the battle against the algae, which is something in a, you know, in a shallow pool in hot weather, has been, has been a historic challenge. But now that's working fantastically. If you're down there today again as the fireworks get cleaned up from the incredible show we had last night. Spectacular event celebrating our 250th. As the fences come down, we clean that up. Anybody that's there and anybody that was there last week before the fireworks started being installed on either side of the the reflecting pool could see that the water was crystal clear. So that part's been taken care of. So again, we are on to the next thing because this has all been done so well.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Mr. Secretary, thanks for your time this morning.

[Doug Burgum]

Thank you, George.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

Up next, John Carl with a rare look from the top of Mount Rushmore and a part of that monument you've likely never seen before.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

This show is sponsored by Progressive Insurance. You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact you might not know yet. Drivers who switch and save with Progressive save over $900 on average. Pop over to progressive.com, answer some questions, and you'll get a quick quote with discounts that are easy to come by. In fact, 99% of their auto customers earn at least one discount. Visit progressive.com and see if you can enjoy a little cash back. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12 month savings of $946 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2024 and May 2025. Potential savings will vary.

[Narrator for True Crime Segment]

Three decades ago, a young woman named Angie Dodge is found brutally murdered in her bedroom in Idaho Falls.

[Doug Burgum]

It was the probably the worst case I've ever seen.

[Chris Christie]

It is the one that sticks with me.

[Narrator for True Crime Segment]

Police zero in on a suspect and put a man behind bars.

[Donna Brazile]

I don't know what the hell you guys want.

[Doug Burgum]

Do you think we'd be wasting our time and wasting your time if we didn't think you're involved?

[Narrator for True Crime Segment]

But as the years pass, doubts emerge about whether the real killer was ever caught. That's when Angie's own mother embarks on a decades long mission to uncover the truth.

[Martha Raddatz]

23 years I've been trying to put this puzzle together and I'm the sinner's missing.

I've always been told the truth will come out. You can't hide the truth.

[Narrator for True Crime Segment]

Listen to the Snare, a new series from ABC Audio. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast app and add free on Amazon Music.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

As America celebrates its 250, John Carl got an up close look at one of America's most iconic landmarks, Mount Rushmore, along with a special tour of the hall of Records behind it.

[Martha Raddatz]

Wow. I mean, this is just incredible.

[Blaine Cordemire]

From the top of the mountain, you can truly sense the enormity of this presidential mountain carving.

[Martha Raddatz]

We've got Abraham Lincoln's nose right over there.

[Blaine Cordemire]

Few people ever get to see it from up here. For one, it's a little dangerous.

[Martha Raddatz]

It's a nice spot by Washington's head, but we can't get too close to the edge because that is a very steep drop.

[Blaine Cordemire]

When I was just 11 years old, I made a secret trip to the top of Lincoln's head. Back then, I wasn't allowed to tell anybody about it. This time. Our guide is Blaine Cordemire, one of a handful of people who have actually gone over the faces of Mount Rushmore.

[Martha Raddatz]

Does it ever get old for you to be up here? We're on top of Mount Rushmore. It's unbelievable, isn't it?

[Blaine Cordemire]

He goes over the faces every year to inspect for cracks. And in 2005, Blaine was part of the team that gave the monument its first and only cleaning, a power washing of the faces.

[Martha Raddatz]

You went over Jefferson's head and you power washed? Yes, I did. Descending over the face is always hard to do every time. Yeah, but it gets easier over the course of A day One little known fact about Rushmore.

[Blaine Cordemire]

Jefferson's face was originally carved on the other side of Washington. But concerns about the structural integrity of the rock on that side scuttled the plans and the original Jefferson was blasted away. And just behind those massive heads, another Rushmore secret.

[Martha Raddatz]

Over here, the back of Mount Rushmore. The face is on the other side. But here in this tunnel, a hidden story about Mount Rushmore.

[Blaine Cordemire]

We got special permission, almost never granted, to go inside this unfinished part of Rushmore, a project nearly as ambitious as the mountain carving itself.

[Martha Raddatz]

This is the hall of Records. This was going to be the place that stored America's most treasured documents. What, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address were all going to be here on display.

[Blaine Cordemire]

As the heads were being carved, workers dug this tunnel into the solid granite behind. It was supposed to hold the nation's founding documents. This drawing, done by Lincoln Borglum, the son of Rushmore's sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, shows what a finished hall of records was supposed to look like. But in 1939, Congress pulled the plug on the project, saying the only work to be done was to be on the faces of Mount Rushmore.

[Martha Raddatz]

They only worked on this tunnel, this hall of records, for one year, 38 to 39, 1938 to 1939.

[Blaine Cordemire]

We ventured deep into the tunnel where inside the very back wall, we found some of the original drill bits used to carve Mount Rushmore.

[Martha Raddatz]

This is pretty cool. We have here, we have a drill bit, two drill bits that were actually used in the making of Mount Rushmore in the hall of Records. So these are, you know, at least 85 years old. That's when all the work stopped here.

[Blaine Cordemire]

More than a half century after Rushmore opened to the public, an addition was made to the unfinished hall, a secret time capsule for the ages. Underneath that engraved stone, there's a titanium vault, and inside that, a teakwood box holding copies of America's founding documents etched in porcelain.

[Martha Raddatz]

Right behind the faces is a time capsule. A time capsule that tells the story of America's first 150 years.

[Blaine Cordemire]

On that stone marker, the words of the sculptor about that monument, quote, carved high, as close to heaven as we can breathe a prayer. He wrote that these records will endure until the wind and rain alone shall wear them away.

[Martha Raddatz]

George it was an extraordinary experience to basically follow in the footsteps of me as an 11 year old going up to the top of that mountain. Back then I was able to do it because of work my parents were doing, going out, finding and Interviewing the people that work to create Mount Rushmore. This journey very much like. The one big difference I noticed, though, is there is a heck of a lot more security around that mountain. They really don't want anybody on the top unless you have permission. And thank you to the National Park Service. We did. George.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

George and thanks to you for sharing that experience with us. Coming up, Martha Raddatz remembers Pearl harbor and some of our youngest Americans celebrate our nation's founding document. 84 years ago, the surprise attack on Pearl harbor pulled the nation into World War II. Martha Raddatz visited the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum and the memorial that marks the solemn spot.

[Martha Raddatz]

From the bow of the USS Missouri, you can see the stark white memorial atop the USS Arizona, sunk by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, marking the beginning of America's involvement in World War II.

[Republican Strategist]

The die is cast.

[Doug Burgum]

America is at war.

[Martha Raddatz]

And here on the deck of the Missouri is where the war officially ended.

[Frank Clay]

That happened on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay that ended World War II, which was the bloodiest conflict in human history.

[Martha Raddatz]

Frank Clay is the curator of the memorial. So this is where it actually happened?

[Donald Trump]

Yes.

[Frank Clay]

So this is the surrender plaque. This marks the exact location where the surrender documents were signed.

[Martha Raddatz]

The ceremony was solemn. General Douglas MacArthur signing for the US the grandfather of the late Senator John McCain in the line of officers nearby, along with hundreds of sailors witnessing the moment.

[Frank Clay]

For a lot of the sailors on board the ship, it was very emotional for them to know that they were able to go home.

[Martha Raddatz]

The Missouri had been in the thick of battle during the war, from Iwo Jima to Okinawa, a kamikaze pilot even striking the ship.

[Frank Clay]

This picture shows that Japanese plane literally as it was, striking the side of the Missouri. The really remarkable thing is when the plane hit, the ship the bomb is carrying didn't explode. So the damage to the ship was relatively minor. The pilot's body was discovered on board, and the crew and Captain Callahan, the ship's commanding officer, gave that Japanese pilot a proper burial at sea the next day.

[Martha Raddatz]

For Frank Clay, walking these decks is a powerful reminder of America's might and grace.

[Frank Clay]

The end of the war was also the beginning of a new world for Japan. The imperial dictatorship ended here, and occupational forces implemented a democracy. We also got their infrastructure and their industries back up online. You know, we weren't going to leave them broken and destitute. And as a result, Japan and the United States are one of the most strongest allies in the world right now.

[Martha Raddatz]

Across the harbor, the Ford island operations Building and control tower bore witness to the Pearl harbor attack as well. Now part of the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, Chairman of the board of the museum, retired U.S. air Force General Ray Johns, flying me in a world World War II aircraft.

[Donald Trump]

Okay, you ready?

[Mint Mobile Announcer]

Ready.

[John Carl]

Okay.

[Martha Raddatz]

On the same deadly route some 350 Japanese aircraft took. If you were looking up in the air that day, what would you see?

[Ethics Expert/Commentator]

Chaos.

[John Carl]

You would see torpedo bombers coming in. The Kates. You see dive bombers coming in. You see fighters, Zeros doing strafing runs. You'd see all that and you're in pure panic. You didn't know it was coming. The Arizona is right over here.

[Martha Raddatz]

John Hiltz, a retired Navy fighter pilot, is now the CEO of the museum.

[John Carl]

Nowhere else in America can you stand on an American battlefield. That was in World War II. These are hallowed grounds. Those are really poignant reminders of the sacrifices that were made that day. But the attack on Pearl harbor is an air. And it was a novel air raid. It was logistically unprecedented in scope and scale. And to be able to tell that story about how that day transformed our nation, our world, but also how America responded to it, those stories need to be told because they really do echo in eternity.

[Martha Raddatz]

Those stories do indeed echo, especially here in Hawaii. But at the heart of all of those stories from here, said John Hiltz, is service and sacrifice and the resilience of America.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

George no question about that. Thank you, Martha. We'll be right back.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

This show is sponsored by Progressive Insurance. Insurance isn't one size fits all. That's why drivers have enjoyed Progressives name your price tool for years. Now, with the name your price tool, you tell them what you want to pay and they'll show you options that fit your budget. So whether you're picking out your first policy or just looking for something that works better for you and your family, they make it easy to see your options. Visit progressive.com to find a rate that works for you with the name your price tool. Progressive Casualty Insurance company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law. This show is sponsored by Progressive Insurance. You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact you might not know yet. Drivers who switch and save with Progressive save over $900 on average. Pop over to progressive.com, answer some questions, and you'll get a quick with discounts that are easy to come by. In fact, 99% of their auto customers earn at least one discount. Visit progressive.com and see if you can enjoy a little cash back. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12 month savings of $946 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2024 and May 2025. Potential savings will vary.

[Anchor/Host (possibly George Stephanopoulos or another ABC News anchor)]

That is all for us today. Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with us. Check out World News Tonight and I'll see you next on Gmail.

[Doug Burgum]

You know when you're locked in, focused and fearless.

[Donna Brazile]

Welcome to the wnba.

[Martha Raddatz]

Your vision narrows.

[Doug Burgum]

You can't look away.

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

Every assist, every stop, every logo three go.

[Democratic Commentator/Critic]

Every.

[Doug Burgum]

Did you see that moment?

[Legal Expert/Commentator]

You been what records are going to be broken this season?

[Martha Raddatz]

All of it. Right here.

[George Stephanopoulos]

Lock in.

[Doug Burgum]

It's the WNBA on ESPN all season long.