Washington Today (6-19-26): Juneteenth holiday; Pres. Trump unveils new AF1; US-Iran talks postponed

[00:00:04]Welcome to Washington today on C-SPAN radio for Friday, June 19th, 2026. On this Juneteenth National Independence Day federal holiday, we'll hear from two African-American US senators, >> [music] >> Democrat Cory Booker of New Jersey and Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina.

[00:00:20]President Donald Trump unveils the Boeing 747-8 that was a gift from Qatar and will serve as the new Air Force One. It's painted in the president's preferred red, white, and blue.

[00:00:31]Israel and Hezbollah agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon after continued military fighting there led to the postponement of the scheduled US-Iran talks in Switzerland on such issues as Iran's nuclear program.

[00:00:44]Maryland's 6th congressional district Democratic primary matchup between incumbent April McClain Delaney and challenger David Trone could end up being the most expensive US House primary ever.

[00:00:55]>> [music] >> We'll talk about it with HuffPost senior reporter Arthur Delaney.

[00:00:59]Great Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is looking at an impending challenge to his leadership from former Manchester [music] Mayor Andy Burnham, also of the Labour Party, who just won a special election to a seat in Parliament specifically so he could launch a bid to be Prime Minister. [music] We'll talk about that with C-SPAN's Westminster correspondent Peter Knowles. And some final words from Senator James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, on Father's Day [music] this Sunday. That and more coming up on Washington today.

[00:01:26]We begin with the Juneteenth National Independence Day federal holiday celebrated on June 19th every year to commemorate the date in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and free the last enslaved people in states and regions that had rebelled against the United States. Senator Cory Booker, Democrat from New Jersey, spoke on the Senate floor on Thursday about Juneteenth, also the history of African-Americans serving in Congress, and the state of voting rights today.

[00:01:54]>> Here we are on the eve of Juneteenth and we see not a stride forward but a stride back, but a setback, but our democracy being knocked down again by people who do not believe in the ideals of a democracy, of fair voting, fair maps, fair representation.

[00:02:17]But I'm here to tell you right now that progress is not always linear.

[00:02:23]That we are not in a nation that always always marches forward.

[00:02:31]We've seen setbacks before.

[00:02:34]We've seen challenges, pains and sorrows.

[00:02:39]What I'm here to tell you is that this most recent dark chapter that is ongoing right now will come to an end. I'm here to tell you that weeping may endure through the night, but joy cometh in the morning. I'm here to tell you that we may have a setback, we may have a falling down, but this is not a failure.

[00:03:00]This is not final. We will fight.

[00:03:04]And I'm not talking about physical contest, I'm talking about what makes democracy thrive. What it is we stand up and organize, we stand up and mobilize, we stand up and make sure that our voices are heard. On this Juneteenth, we need to recommit ourselves like our ancestors did to the highest ideals of our democracy, which is freedom and liberty. And how are these rights secured upon our nation? It's by people in this country standing up and securing those rights through action. We are not a nation whose story is powerful people preying upon the powerless. We are a nation that has shown that the people hold the power and that the power of the people is greater than the people in power. Six people in black robes, they were wrong in Plessy versus Ferguson.

[00:03:55]They were wrong in Korematsu. We overcame them then, and we can overcome them now. The people united for the cause of freedom is the great story of America, and it's time that our generation, benefiting from the fruits of liberty, from the toiling hands of those in the past, it's time for our generation to earn the right of democracy by sweating for it and struggling for it now. This Juneteenth, LET US CRY FREEDOM AGAIN, but not with our mouths. Let's do it with our sleeves rolled up rolled up, ready to organize and mobilize in the days to come because this next election is not right or left, it's right or wrong.

[00:04:37]So that we can elect people to this body and the other that will restore voting rights, that will restore voting freedom, that will restore the ideals of fairness. That is the end. That is the aim, and that's how we overcome again.

[00:04:52]That is how we as a people secure liberty and justice for all.

[00:05:01]>> Senator Cory Booker, Democrat from New Jersey, on the Senate floor on Thursday ahead of the Juneteenth federal holiday today. Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, posting on X, as our nation celebrates Juneteenth, we remember and honor the end of slavery, as well as when General Gordon Granger and his soldiers arrived in Galveston on June 19th, 1865 to deliver the good news of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. I was proud to work with the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee to pass a bill establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday so that all Americans can join Texans in marking this day, which has been observed as a state holiday in the Lone Star State for nearly 50 years. That was from Senator John Cornyn. And Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Democrat from Massachusetts, posting on X, the story of our nation is incomplete without the ongoing work of liberation. This Freedom Day, let us honor our ancestors through joy, action, organizing, and reparative policies that bring us closer to freedom. Happy Juneteenth, family."

[00:06:00]Senator Tim Scott, Republican from South Carolina, posted this video on the Juneteenth holiday.

[00:06:05]>> As we celebrate this Juneteenth holiday, let us also remember the 250th anniversary of America. What is the most important and foundational promise of America? Freedom. That's why when the enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally received word that they were free, all of America celebrated. All of America should celebrate freedom everywhere. From the West Coast to the East Coast, from the North to the South, black folks, white folks, Asian-Americans, uh Hispanics, and Native Americans, we all should celebrate freedom.

[00:06:42]Juneteenth, an opportunity to bring all Americans together, because free at last, free at last, all Americans were finally free.

[00:06:53]>> Senator Tim Scott, Republican from South Carolina, posting that video. And on this holiday, the federal government is closed for non-essential offices.

[00:07:02]Also, the stock market, banks, and many schools and state governments also closed. Axios writing, "Juneteenth is surviving the corporate DEI backlash even as American institutions pull back from the promises that helped elevate it. The holiday's staying power shows how black history can be absorbed into calendars, payroll systems, and public rituals, even as the post-2020 commitments that gave it renewed force are renamed, narrowed, or abandoned. The holiday is enduring by becoming quieter, more internal, and routine. Juneteenth remains a federal holiday, and President Trump cannot cancel it unilaterally, despite his attacks on it. President Biden signed Juneteenth into law in 2021 after Congress passed the measure with broad bipartisan support. That was from Axios.

[00:07:51]This is Washington today.

[00:07:53]From CBS News, the Air Force on Friday unveiled the Boeing 747-8 that will serve as the new Air Force One, giving the public the first look at the $400 million luxury plane the US accepted as a gift from the Qatari government last year. Air Force said in a release that the aircraft will begin commissioning flights before entering into active service to transport the president. The plane is now at Joint Base Andrews, the military post outside Washington that has served as the presidential airport for decades. That was from CBS News. President Donald Trump went there toward the plane and made some remarks.

[00:08:28]>> We were uh at a little bit of a log jam. We're waiting for the I call them the normal 747s.

[00:08:36]And I asked the emir if we could use the brand new 747 that he got with had when we first uh heard about it, 800 hours. 800 hours for an airplane is essentially, I think, Troy, you could say that's a brand new plane.

[00:08:54]And I said, "We'd like to use it for a little while cuz the planes are pretty old. Our planes are old." So, a normal president wouldn't do this. A normal president wants to stay away from aircraft.

[00:09:04]We don't want to order any aircraft so that everybody thinks, "But our country has to be represented properly." And includes with We have the greatest military in the world. We have the greatest aircraft anywhere in the world, military fighters and bombers and the B-2 bomber. You saw what that did.

[00:09:20]And uh we should have a plane.

[00:09:22]And we're going to have, as you know, we ordered two for long time ago. They ordered and they're coming in. And the hangar was built for the large plane. The other plane is such a difference in size, but uh there will never be one like this. This is a very unique. This is uh considered the world's most luxurious plane when it was built.

[00:09:42]It was built at a level that will probably never be seen again. And if the press would like, I don't know if it's going to help me with stories. I don't think they'll be any different.

[00:09:53]But what we're going to do is we're going to take you for just a quick tour.

[00:09:56]Uh the press is actually going to Oh, look at them. They're actually smiling.

[00:10:00]Are you smiling?

[00:10:01]First time I've seen them smile in years. They don't smile at Republicans.

[00:10:05]They should smile at Republicans cuz we're the ones that make America great.

[00:10:10]Anyway, but that's good. You happy about that? We'll do it. All right. So, when I leave, they're going to take you for a little tour. You'll see something you won't even believe.

[00:10:19]>> President Donald Trump at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland in front of the new Air Force One plane. The president is spending the weekend at Camp David, the presidential retreat. Associated Press writing that the new aircraft excuse the Kennedy-era robin's egg blue exterior of the old plane for a bolder look with the underbelly of the plane painted navy blue with a red stripe above it. The plane's left side, where the president boards, features the presidential seal, while the tail of the aircraft has a massive American flag on it. The gift from Qatar is serving as a so-called bridge aircraft to carry the president until the new planes ordered directly from Boeing arrive. That is currently slated for 2028. That was from Associated Press. This is Washington today on C-SPAN Radio. Now to Iran. CNN writing that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to renew a ceasefire, sources said, after fighting in Lebanon jeopardize US-Iran negotiations. The Iran-backed militant group has expressed uncertainty about the truce as Israel vows to remain in southern Lebanon.

[00:11:22]And the first round of technical negotiations between Washington and Tehran was delayed Friday as Iran sought guarantees that hostilities in Lebanon would end. Tehran said it is working with mediators on reorganizing the talks. The clock is ticking on a 60-day period to reach a final peace deal. That was from CNN. Meanwhile, from Axios, President Donald Trump denied that the Iran war revealed the limits of his ability to exert power telling the Axios show he still believes there are no limits. President was interviewed by Axios' Mark Caputo.

[00:11:55]>> There's now light at the end of the tunnel.

[00:11:56]>> Yep.

[00:11:56]>> For the conflict.

[00:11:58]What have you learned about not just the exercise of power, but the limits on your power as a result of the conflict?

[00:12:04]>> There are no limits.

[00:12:05]>> No limits.

[00:12:06]>> No. Not I haven't learned that lesson yet. I know there are, but you know, there are no limits. We defeated them totally militarily.

[00:12:14]Uh I was asked by Pakistan because they're close to please not do any more. I said, I like them a lot. I think that uh there are no limits. We have the most powerful military in the world by far.

[00:12:29]Who else could have done a blockade like that? I did a naval blockade when not one ship was able to get through. Some tried. They didn't, you know, didn't last very long.

[00:12:38]>> D- And it certainly brought Iran to the table more than before. However, beginning of conflict, you had talked about you only wanted unconditional surrender.

[00:12:48]And well, the MOU doesn't look like unconditional surrender.

[00:12:52]>> Well, it really probably is unconditional surrender.

[00:12:55]>> It is?

[00:12:55]>> I think so. Look, they have no military.

[00:12:59]They're all at the bottom of the sea.

[00:13:00]159 ships, that's what they had.

[00:13:02]>> Sure, but they could still menace. They only had these small wooden ghost ships.

[00:13:07]Well, those are good targets.

[00:13:08]>> Look, you call it what you want. You know, I hear the the uh JCPOA, the the Obama nuclear catastrophe, which was so bad.

[00:13:17]When Obama left, he didn't hit their military.

[00:13:20]>> Sure.

[00:13:21]>> He didn't damage their navy or or destroy their air force. I destroyed the air force.

[00:13:26]I destroyed their anti-aircraft weapons.

[00:13:29]That's why we were flying over there totally unimpeded. We turned off all the stealth. They couldn't do a damn thing.

[00:13:35]He didn't do any of that stuff. He didn't kill their leadership. I did twice.

[00:13:40]Two and a half times to be exact. He didn't do anything to Soleimani. I killed Soleimani.

[00:13:47]>> And you killed the Ayatollah.

[00:13:48]>> And I killed the Ayatollah.

[00:13:50]>> of IRGC officials and >> sadly hurt the other Ayatollah. Who's who I will tell you I did not meet him.

[00:13:57]I did not speak to him, but people were speaking of him.

[00:14:00]But he's got a certain bravery cuz he was he was badly he's badly injured.

[00:14:05]>> President Donald Trump a part of a half-hour interview by Axios on many different subjects. Here's one more clip as the president talks about why he did not want to continue bombing Iran.

[00:14:17]>> I have one primary wish as president in terms of people I never want to be the late great Herbert Hoover.

[00:14:28]So, this is the kind of thing that could cause a world wide depression.

[00:14:35]>> President Donald Trump interviewed by Axios. He wrote on Truth Social today, "We didn't meet out of desperation. Iran did. They are finished. We'll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not 10 cents."

[00:14:48]President Trump referenced former President Barack Obama in that Axios interview and Barack Obama was interviewed today on the NBC News Today show and asked about the war with Iran.

[00:15:00]>> I am very happy to see a ceasefire.

[00:15:04]Uh and I'm hopeful that it holds. But in terms of what was the original rationale for this war which was there was a deal in place in which Iran had agreed not to develop nuclear weapons. This administration or uh prior version of this administration, pulled out of it.

[00:15:25]Uh which caused then Iran to develop more nuclear capacity. We've now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, you know, put enormous strain on our military.

[00:15:39]Uh a lot of people have died.

[00:15:42]And it feels like we're back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little bit worse. awful.

[00:15:51]>> Former President Barack Obama on NBC News. Reuters writing the President Donald Trump will make a rare trip to Camp David this weekend, returning to the presidential retreat for only the second time since retaking the office last year. Trump will hold policy and political meetings during his visit, a White House official said. His family will travel with him for the weekend, which includes Father's Day on Sunday.

[00:16:10]The trip comes as Trump works to secure a final agreement to end the war with Iran and faces scrutiny over a provisional peace deal that critics say grants Iran too many concessions. That's how Reuters put it.

[00:16:23]Senator Ruben Gallego, Democrat from Arizona, spoke about the US-Iran agreement today as he visited Union County, South Carolina, a campaign event organized by the South Carolina Democratic Party.

[00:16:36]>> When the Iran war started, it for me was like déjà vu, right? When I went [snorts] to Iraq in 2005, I already knew the war was wrong. It was I knew it was a dumb war to go to, but I was not going to abandon my Marines. Um but to see us stumble into another war, another war of choice, and then really have no concept of how to get out of the war. And think about what's happening right now. The president, we don't really know, are we in a war? Are we not in a war? President keeps going back and forth. The question is, isn't it scary if you're that young man and young woman uh in the Middle East right now, where you don't know exactly what's happening? You don't know when you're going to leave. You don't know what's going to happen to What's the mission right now?

[00:17:14]I I I The president can't to what the mission is right now. And so, for me, I've been very ardent against this war because I've seen this. This is déjà vu to me, right? And the problem with this is that the people end up, you know, feeling this, it's not Donald Trump's kids. Donald Trump's kids are at the UFC fight, drinking beer and watching two guys wrestle.

[00:17:37]Meanwhile, our kids are in the Middle East, right? Donald Trump's kids are in New York City doing investment banking off the war and selling drones, you know, to all the countries, including our own, while our kids are dodging drones in the Middle East, right? They don't feel this. They will never feel this. So, for me, it was very simple when this war started because I knew exactly what's going to happen. The people that wanted the war will never send their kids. The people that are going to end They don't want the war are the ones end up sending their kids and end up paying in the long run because of it.

[00:18:09]>> Senator Ruben Gallego, Democrat from Arizona, with Democrats in Union County, South Carolina, making a campaign stop there.

[00:18:17]The Hill writing that Republican Congressman Randy Fine of Florida criticized Vice President Vance on Friday morning over his stark warning to Israel during a White House press briefing on Thursday. Vance criticized Israel's leadership for speaking out against the memorandum of understanding signed by President Trump on Wednesday.

[00:18:35]The agreement opened a 60-day period for peace deal negotiations and brought a halt to hostilities, which was to include Lebanon. Vance said, "If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world." That was from The Hill. Congressman Randy Fine was on Real America's Voice today.

[00:18:58]>> J.D. Vance from the podium yesterday, uh, chastising, uh, critics of the steel coming from Israel, uh, that was pretty unprecedented by J.D. Vance. I'm surprised he went that far.

[00:19:12]Yeah, look, I thought J.D.'s comments yesterday were absolutely inappropriate and frankly disgusting. The state of Israel was not created by the United States. It is not funded by the United States except in some small way. Um it was created on the blood and sweat and tears of the Jewish people arising out of the Holocaust. The United States didn't support Israel during its formation. In fact, there were times when it put arms embargoes in place. And J.D. Vance would be wise to go back and learn his history. I think his comments today were completely out of line.

[00:19:45]>> Congressman Randy Fine, Republican of Florida on Real America's Voice. You're listening to C-SPAN Radio's Washington Today. The power of the US presidency, especially under President Donald Trump, was a focus today of the American Constitution Society's 25th National Convention in Washington, D.C. A panel titled Imperial Presidency included Congressman Jamie Raskin, Democrat from Maryland.

[00:20:10]>> We obviously are in a period of a very aggressive, lawless, corrupt, and imperial president. I mean, imperial is almost like the gentlest thing you could say about it um because of course that problem goes back to the beginning. I mean, from the standpoint of of Congress, I think that there's always kind of been an imperial presidency. But I mean, this thing is in a class by itself because of the complete, spectacular disrespect for the Constitution. So, uh I I think that what we need to go through a kind of psychological, emotional transformation uh to get back to uh the vision of our of our founders because uh sometimes, I mean, it's my best friends in Congress, like my beloved Nancy Pelosi, who will get up and uh and say, you know, uh beseechingly, "We're three, you know, co-equal branches of government." And I just want to scream because first of all, co-equal is not even a word, okay?

[00:21:04]That's the first problem. That's like extremely unique or something like that.

[00:21:08]And in any event, we're not a coequal branch. Congress is the people's branch of government. It's in Article 1 for a reason, and the job of the president, you know, when you pierce through everything in Article 2, is basically to take care that the laws are faithfully executed. So, we need to redeem and restore the preeminence of Congress as James Madison described it in the Federalist Papers.

[00:21:35]We've got the power to declare war, not the president. We've got the power to spend money and to allocate and appropriate money for particular purposes, not the president. It's not up to him. We've got the power to tax, not the president who just imposed the greatest tax in American history unilaterally through his tariffs, which were so egregious that even his own gerrymandered handpicked Supreme Court had to strike it down. So, you know, for me, I'm not interested in {quote} restoring the balance or even checks and balances, which in the Federalist Papers never refers to relationship between the branches. It refers to the relationship between the House and the Senate.

[00:22:16]It's very clear, you know, that it all launches with the preamble, which gets right to the first sentence of the Constitution, which is all legislative power is vested in the Congress of the United States, and all of it is there for page after page after page. You get to Article 1, Section Clause Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18, and all other powers necessary and proper to the execution of the foregoing powers. And then Article 2 is like this big, and the most important paragraph says, "A president shall be removed from office upon impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors." And if we were in fact a coequal branch, why do we have the power to impeach, try, convict, remove, and disqualify for life the president, and he doesn't have the power to impeach, try, convict, remove us. So, the the argument basically that that I want to make just is that that we need to restore the priority of the different branches of the federal government and that means elevating Congress, but that means reinvigorating and rehabilitating democracy itself.

[00:23:26]>> Congressman Jamie Raskin, Democrat from Maryland at today's American Constitution Society National Convention in Washington D.C. Politico writing that Donald Trump's new acting director of National Intelligence is ordering cuts on his very first day on the job as he moves aggressively to carry out the president's mandate to shrink the country's national intelligence apparatus. Bill Pulte, who officially started at the intelligence coordination hub Friday, directed ODNI staff late Thursday to pull together a list of about 300 candidates be fired from the National Counterterrorism Center in the coming weeks per two people with knowledge of the plans granted anonymity due to fear of persecution. The NCTC is staffed by more than a thousand personnel from across the IC, the federal government, and federal contractors according to ODNI's website. The move comes just days after Trump intervened to block a Senate push to speedily confirm his full-time DNI choice, Jay Clayton, on Wednesday ensuring that Pulte would have a turn running the agency. That was from Politico. Saturday, June 20th is World Refugee Day, which the United Nations refugee agency says is the international day to honor people who have been forced to flee and together we can champion their right to seek safety, build support for their economic and social inclusion, and advocate for solutions to their plight. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Global Trends Report just published this month shows global refugee numbers fell by 3% in 2025 to 41.6 million and that 5.4 million people fled to other countries to escape violence and persecution during the year.

[00:25:09]Alfonso Herrera, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and an actor from Mexico, posted this video today.

[00:25:17]>> No one thinks about the right to [music] asylum until they have to flee and leave everything behind to save their lives.

[00:25:23]No one thinks they'll become a refugee until circumstances force them to. The right to seek protection isn't just for a select few.

[00:25:32]It exists for any woman, man, boy, or girl who one day has to flee war, conflict, [music] or persecution to survive.

[00:25:41]It is meant for people like you and me.

[00:25:44]>> [music] >> For times like this. For a world like the one we're living today. 75 years ago after World War II, the world made a promise for the future of all humanity.

[00:25:54]People forced to flee have [music] the right to seek safety and protection.

[00:25:58]This World Refugee Day, help keep this promise alive. Let's build a world of peace where being a refugee is just one chapter in a person's life, not their whole story.

[00:26:10]Welcome. Support. Include. Protect refugees. Until everyone is safe, the work is not done. Until everyone is safe, we will keep showing up.

[00:26:23]>> Alfonso Herrera posting that video, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and an actor from Mexico. World Refugee Day is Saturday.

[00:26:32]Washington Today continues in a moment.

[00:26:35]>> Today, >> [music] >> join host Dasha Burns on C-SPAN's C-SPAN for a bipartisan discussion on foreign policy with Jamil Jaffer, [music] who served in the White House Counsel's office during the George W. Bush administration, and Dan Baer, former US Ambassador [music] to the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe during the Obama administration.

[00:26:54]Watch Ceasefire [music] today at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only on C-SPAN.

[00:27:03]>> You can also listen to Ceasefire on demand anytime as a podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.

[00:27:14]>> Welcome back to Washington today available as a podcast wherever you find your podcast and on the free C-SPAN now mobile app. Maryland's primary election day is next Tuesday, June 23rd and the 6th congressional district Democratic primary is drawing a lot of attention.

[00:27:31]Incumbent April McLain Delaney is being challenged by former Congressman David Trone and it may end up being the most expensive congressional primary in US history. Coming up in a minute we'll speak to a HuffPost reporter about this race. First, here are some of the TV ads blanketing the airwaves.

[00:27:50]>> There will be no dramatic voice in this political commercial, no screaming headlines, no scary music, just one scary fact. April McLain Delaney was the only Maryland Democrat who voted to allow ICE to detain people without any criminal convictions or due process. A vote that's led to over 600,000 deportations and the murder of three US citizens. Why did Delaney vote against 150 other Democrats?

[00:28:14]>> You have to work with the administration.

[00:28:16]>> Aren't we supposed to be fighting it?

[00:28:18]>> I'm David Trone and I approve this message.

[00:28:20]>> His non-stop [music] attack ads are distorting who I am. Enough. I'm a mom of four daughters, >> [music] >> worked for decades to improve kids' health and well-being, and to protect women's choice. I fought ICE's lawless detentions and never [music] funded a penny for Trump's ICE. And I led the effort to stop the warehouse detention center.

[00:28:38]>> [music] >> As a mom I took on Trump's dangerous assault on vaccines, research, and public health. That's the real April.

[00:28:44]So, tune [music] out the ads and turn up the fight against Trump. I'm April McLain Delaney and I approve this message.

[00:28:50]>> Joining us now to talk about Maryland's 6th Congressional District Democratic Primary pitting incumbent April McLain Delaney against challenger David Trone is Arthur Delaney, senior reporter with HuffPost. Thank you for being with us. Before we begin, want to make sure no relation to the congresswoman, right?

[00:29:07]>> Yeah, I was going to say I'm not related to April McLain Delaney.

[00:29:11]>> Okay. This could turn out to be the most expensive primary in US history, but the candidates are not that far apart on the issues. What's the background on how this came about?

[00:29:21]>> So, David Trone actually had this seat before April McLainey did. She's in her uh uh first term and um it was before Trone, it was her husband John Delaney.

[00:29:32]So, April McLain Delaney is the incumbent, but David Trone is running ads saying "Reelect David Trone." And that's been one of the many very small points of contention between these two.

[00:29:44]They're both fighting sort of centrist, business-friendly Democrats with without a whole lot of difference.

[00:29:51]And so, the the last most expensive race in in uh in history was Thomas Massie against a Trump-backed challenger. And you know, that was high-stakes. It had um uh the question of Trump's control over the Republican Party. And this is uh relatively lower stakes cuz a Democrat will uh represent this seat for sure and it won't be a big question of you know, how different their policies will be.

[00:30:15]But, they're both really rich and they both really wanted it and and they're pouring tons of money, millions of dollars into the race. And it's going to wind up being more expensive than the Massie contest.

[00:30:26]>> How much total money are we talking about?

[00:30:28]>> So, the Massie one was around $33 million and that's uh uh a measurement of the ad spending, which was mostly from uh like the the outside groups, uh the Trump-backed group, Israel-backed groups. And this race is um uh due to their own money going to be at least $33 million.

[00:30:48]David Trone has already loaned his campaign $25 million and spent most of that as of the beginning of the month.

[00:30:56]And April McClain Delaney has lent her campaign more than $7 million and a source close to the race told me that she'll probably kick in another five. So just that amount gets you above the amount that was spent in the in the Nazi race, that $33 million figure. And now also, we're finally starting to see some outside spending in this race with a pro-crypto group kicking in a half million dollars just yesterday. So this is a very costly costly contest. And if you if you live around here, the ads just never stop. Every time your program goes away, it's either April McClain Delaney or David Trone talking to you on TV.

[00:31:43]>> David Trone has a history of spending a lot of money on races, right? He spent it the first time to win the house seat and then he tried to win a Senate seat and now he's doing it again. You write that Trone may be motivated by revenge because he didn't get Democratic leader support in past races. What was that about?

[00:32:02]>> Well, that's what that's what April McClain Delaney told me. She said David Trone is a bored billionaire like he's got nothing to do with his time, so he's spending all his money trying to get back into politics. And and she said he's basically bitter that he lost the Senate race. So he he lost his seat because he he didn't run for re-election to this seat when he had it because he wanted to be the Democratic senator for for Maryland, but Angela Alsobrooks won that primary after it had looked like he was ahead. And a bunch of Maryland Democrats endorse also Brooks in the race. And so McLain Delany is saying that he's now on a revenge tour against everybody who endorsed against him. And again, the entire Maryland delegation has endorsed against him, has endorsed April McLain Delany. They tell me it's just cuz she's the incumbent. There's no hard feelings towards Throne.

[00:32:57]But there's another layer to McLain Delany's criticism there. She she says he's angry at all the women who who endorsed against him in his contest against a Maryland woman. And and you know, support for women's rights and reproductive rights is one of the areas where these two are trying to portray themselves as having contrary positions even though I would say they're not that different.

[00:33:24]>> We're talking with Arthur Delany, senior reporter with HuffPost. What have been the issues that have been highlighted in the ads and in the debates between these two candidates?

[00:33:33]>> There is one thing that is a legit difference. And it is the Laken Riley Act, which was the first big bill that President Donald Trump signed into law in his second term. It requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain undocumented immigrants who are arrested for or even suspected of theft.

[00:33:56]Um you know, which is which is more aggressive than than if they had been convicted of a crime like that. And so McLain Delany was one of 44 House Democrats who voted for that. And that's been controversial in Democratic primaries all over the country. And a lot of those 44 Democrats in the house and then a few in the Senate have said, "Ooh, we really regret that vote." And she told me it was only my second week and I had no idea that DHS would become this monstrous agency dispatching ICE agents to yank people out of their homes and kill American citizens. And so David Trone's like, well, I wouldn't have voted for that. That's a terrible vote.

[00:34:40]We need somebody who's going to stand up to Trump, not vote with Trump. And so it's it's a McLain Delany does did acknowledge to me, well, this is he does have to piss on me. It's a a legitimate difference.

[00:34:53]And but she says he makes too much of it.

[00:34:56]And that it was a sensible thing at the time to the dozens of Democrats who voted for it.

[00:35:02]>> And what have the polls been showing for next Tuesday's Democratic primary?

[00:35:07]>> So it it looked like McLain Delany was running away with this. She put out four five polls actually from a respected Democratic firm that showed her winning double digits, like 13 point advantage, 15 point advantage, 11 point advantage. And then last week finally David Trone released some polls that showed him with a two or three point advantage. And the fact that he hadn't put out any polls had made it seem like, you know, the polling he had conducted as we all believe that this guy was spending all this money on ads is also doing some polling and that the results he was getting just weren't good enough to share, that they were embarrassing. But then he put out some stuff that showed him winning and it's it's it's polls from again another separate respected Democratic firm. So maybe he's pulling ahead. I don't know.

[00:36:00]There's no independent poll in this race, but we have contrary polls from the two sides. McLain Delany's showed her winning by a lot and now Trone's got a few that are more recent that show him winning by a little bit. So it's a could actually be a tight race.

[00:36:15]>> Arthur Delany, senior reporter with HuffPost. You can find his articles at HuffPost.com and on X at ArthurDelanyHP.

[00:36:24]Thank you very much.

[00:36:26]>> Thanks so much for having me.

[00:36:27]>> And now to politics in Great Britain.

[00:36:30]New York Times writes that solemn, controlled, and with the delivery of the top-ranked lawyer he once was, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain was out early on Friday pointing out that no formal leadership challenge has yet been triggered against him and pledging to fight to keep his job. Some 200 miles north, his Labour Party rival Andy Burnham promised change and urgency as he addressed jubilant supporters who helped him win a special election declaring a new era of hope. Mr. Burnham, whose victory means he is now eligible to challenge the Prime Minister, said that Labour faced its last chance to change adding, "We are going to take it." That was from the New York Times. Andy Burnham spoke to supporters after his victory Thursday night to win that seat in Parliament.

[00:37:15]>> Everyone knows that politics isn't working. Everyone can feel that the country isn't where it should be.

[00:37:25]Tonight could, just could, be the turning point.

[00:37:31]From here on, I will give everything I have got to make it so. To ensure the name Makerfield is forever synonymous with bringing about the change this country needs.

[00:37:45]Bringing back something we've lost, hope. Hope for the future.

[00:37:52]I am proud that this place has shown in the world's spotlight these last 5 weeks.

[00:38:00]And the warmth, humor, and hospitality of its people has been on show for all to see.

[00:38:07]It will never be a stepping stone to me, but instead will be my touchstone.

[00:38:14]A Makerfield test at the heart of British politics will ensure that places Westminster has neglected will now get fairness.

[00:38:27]I spoke in the campaign about the need to change politics. I promised to lead by example from the front as your member of Parliament. I know people who traditionally vote for the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, and perhaps more recently in May for Reform UK have given me their support in this election.

[00:38:53]I will always have respect to them for that. And out of respect for them, I will always take a place-first rather than a party-first approach. And I will focus on problem-solving rather than point-scoring. And I will work hard after this by-election to heal the divisions of this campaign. And let it be really understood that I will be your MP, however you voted.

[00:39:22]>> Andy Burnham, Thursday night after winning a special election to British Parliament. He's expected to mount a challenge to Prime Minister Keir Starmer for leader of the majority Labour Party.

[00:39:33]The Prime Minister today told reporters he will fight for his job.

[00:39:37]>> When I talk about stabilizing the economy, when I talk about bringing waiting lists down, and getting migration up, I'm talking about projects like this. I'm talking about people who need houses, businesses that need to thrive. That's what drives me every day. I was elected here to serve my country with a mandate that we secured at a general election 2 years ago, a very considerable mandate for change. We are carrying out that change.

[00:40:01]A lot of what we've achieved people told me wouldn't be possible. If we'd sat here doing this interview at the general election 2024, and you'd put me in 2 years time, the economy will be stabilized, in 2 years time waiting lists will be coming down, in 2 years time Migration will be back under control. In 2 years time, we're to have the um EU in the relationship we've got. And in 2 years time, reform would be on the run and the tide would be turning.

[00:40:27]Um I would have said that would be a very good place to be, but that is the place we are in.

[00:40:31]>> Sir, are you going to be involved in a leadership contest or not?

[00:40:36]>> Well, there isn't a leadership contest at the moment. There isn't one at the moment. But as I've said on many, many occasions, I don't think that's a good thing for the country to plunge us into chaos. I would also add that now that Andy has won, which is really important, really good, he's a huge asset to us, then now will inevitably be a Manchester mayoral tea by-election starting straight away. So it's important that we pull together for that. But if there is a contest, just to be clear with you, then yes, I will run.

[00:41:04]I will stand. And I've said repeatedly, I'm not going to walk away from that.

[00:41:08]>> With more on a possible challenge from within the British Labour Party to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership, joining us now from Great Britain is Peter Knowles, C-SPAN's Westminster correspondent. Thanks again for being with us. So Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, widely seen as a chief rival to the Prime Minister, wins a by-election or a special election Thursday to get back into Parliament.

[00:41:32]What happens now?

[00:41:34]>> That his team have not yet decided how to move against Keir Starmer, but move they will. That's a challenge is coming.

[00:41:44]And they would What they want to happen is that Keir Starmer just to give up and say, "Okay, fine. You know, um I had a good run, but um it's over."

[00:41:54]Um Keir Starmer has said that he's not going to do that. He's not going to go along with that. He was elected with an enormous mandate less than 2 years ago.

[00:42:03]Why should he leave? So what you're watching out for now is first of all is whether there'll be a string of resignations by Keir Starmer's cabinet.

[00:42:14]We count one or two already, including most notably the defense secretary last week, John Healey.

[00:42:20]But that's what really does for prime ministers and quickly. Um if their cabinet walk out on them and leave them stranded because they just have lost the confidence of their parliamentary party.

[00:42:34]Um in fact, with Boris Johnson, I think we got to the point where he wasn't he was starting to be unable to fill all the um positions in his own government from within. So, um that's that does for prime ministers.

[00:42:47]Um um a more balanced approach is that uh there's a a challenge and Keir Starmer fights it and we go into um uh a rather tormented leadership campaign where the fight the party tear itself apart for a few weeks and even a few months um before there's a change. We don't really know which way it's going to go.

[00:43:10]And and in fact, Labour have never done this before. They've never actually uh taken um off the top position um away from being prime minister uh against their will um any any uh leader. But it can happen and it looks like it may happen in this case.

[00:43:27]>> Going back to the original reasons, why is there dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Starmer's leadership in the Labour Party? What issues are at play?

[00:43:37]>> It's quite hard to be really concrete about this, but he's not he's rather stiff and not a fantastic political communicator. Without doubt, Andy Burnham is a better communicator.

[00:43:48]He came in with a huge mandate, but it wasn't quite clear what they were going to do with it and the attempt to save money um and pay off some debt um and create some choices by cutting some areas of welfare went badly. And uh there were U-turns, there were changes of policy and changes of mind really quite early on which suggested a weakness of purpose.

[00:44:15]And that so that there's been a growing sense of being out of touch, disconnected from what people care about. And perhaps there's just an lack of realism on the part of the electorate. I mean people are wanting you know cuts to public spending so long as it's not public spending that's on them.

[00:44:37]Everybody can see that more defense spending is going to be needed.

[00:44:42]And yet where's the money going to come from? There are very difficult choices and we don't seem to be all that great at handling that.

[00:44:50]>> We're talking with Peter Knowles, C-SPAN's Westminster correspondent. The Labour Party has what about two-thirds of the seats in the House of Commons currently? So if if this battle plays out within their party, what are the roles of the other parties?

[00:45:05]Conservative, Lib Dem, Reform UK?

[00:45:09]>> They don't have a role in this process, but at the end of the process they point fingers and jeer and shout and say the new leader does not have a mandate and there should be a general election straight away. That's what that's what everybody does and when this kind of thing has happened to other parties with the Conservative Party in recent years. As soon as a new leader is does emerge, then everybody says, well, we know need a general election because you nobody voted for you. Who voted for you?

[00:45:40]And that's an unpleasant charge to have to face over a protracted period of time because actually there's three years left to go of this parliament. Three years with a stonking majority for Labour. So it's a tricky one that. But they you know they would just face it out and as at the moment they they would for sure lose badly in a general election with Reform Nigel Farage's Reform Party pretty strong. Um they would just have to you know, turn turn their back on such calls. Interestingly, Nigel Farage's party Reform, I mean, are well ahead in the opinion polls.

[00:46:20]Slightly less far far ahead than they have been, but they haven't done so so well in the last two or three special elections. Um and so there there's some disapp ointment in their ranks. Their vote is being split with another new right-of-center party that is more hardline on migration. So, they've they've shed some votes in that direction. Um they've not chosen always the strongest candidates. Um so, there's a little bit of doubt creeping in even amongst them. But, the other parties would, you know, be delighted to have their vote share as it's reflected in opinion polls. But, what happened last night was actually quite remark able because governing part This was a Labour-held seat.

[00:47:04]And governing parties always lose popularity when it comes to a special election. They the local electorates love, you know, saying no to whoever's currently in charge. That didn't happen.

[00:47:16]There was a very strong personal vote for Andy Burnham. He is well-liked as the mayor of Greater Manchester. He's popular, although uh you you'd be hard-pushed for people to actually tell you what he's popular for apart from the fact that the buses run on time and are better organized than they used to be, which is not really a, you know, good platform for national government. But, um he did really well. I mean, it was just a fantastic personal result for him against Reform especially.

[00:47:47]>> And final question, Prime Minister Starmer has been in power for 2 years.

[00:47:51]By my count, your country has had five prime ministers in the last 10 years.

[00:47:57]Is there a structural instability or is this Well, what's going on?

[00:48:03]>> Yes, and it's a terrific question. I mean, the structures are the same as they always were and yet we're getting through prime ministers sort of three, four times as fast as we used to.

[00:48:14]Um and it What's this to do with? Is it just our attention spans? Is it uh our demand to be in immediately satisfied um by what um government is doing? Um the it it it's it's a puzzle and it's beginning to worry people that uh we don't seem to have uh we seem to have lost that ability to uh be uh have effective long-term governments with consistent policies over any period of time. It it it's it's a good observation um that um that we're rattling through our political leaders in a way that never used to be the case.

[00:48:59]>> Peter Knowles, C-SPAN's Westminster correspondent joining us from the United Kingdom. Thank you very much.

[00:49:05]>> Thank you.

[00:49:06]>> And a reminder that C-SPAN has been covering Prime Minister's Question Time in the British House of Commons for several decades. We air the program Sundays at 9:00 p.m. Eastern this week.

[00:49:17]It's Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy filling in for Prime Minister Keir Starmer who is at the G7 Summit in France. And this is Washington Today.

[00:49:28]New York Post writing a veteran NYPD detective was shot and wounded Friday morning during a standoff with a gunman barricaded in his Brooklyn building following a feud with his elderly neighbors, according to police and sources. Detective Matthew Gale, a 15-year veteran of the department's elite emergency service unit, was shot in the leg by 48-year-old Lamin Simmons before four officers returned fire killing the gunman. Authorities said that was from the New York Post. New York City Mayor Eric Adams held a news conference today with the police commissioner.

[00:50:01]>> Earlier this morning an NYPD officer was shot while responding to a call of shots fired on Kosciuszko Street between Marcy and Tompkins Avenue in Bed-Stuy.

[00:50:11]The officer was shot in the leg and as you heard is currently being treated here at King's County Hospital.

[00:50:17]I just visited with his wife in the hospital and I'm grateful that he is expected to survive and I'm grateful to all of the incredible nurses and doctors and staff here at King's County Hospital for doing everything that they can.

[00:50:29]The alleged perpetrator was shot on the scene and has since died.

[00:50:33]The first 911 call came in right before 6:00 a.m.

[00:50:36]The first officer on scene responded soon after and the ESU officer who was wounded this morning responded to his call.

[00:50:43]I want to thank every person involved at each step of this incident. Every professional who responded to an immensely challenging situation with professionalism and with calmness. Every day thousands of NYPD officers go to great lengths to protect their fellow New Yorkers. What this officer from ESU did this morning, Detective Matthew Gale, is what so many officers do each morning. He put on his uniform, he left his house, he said goodbye to his family and he went to his job to keep our city safe.

[00:51:13]When New Yorkers call 911, they expect someone to show up. What this officer and so many others today did was exactly that. I want to thank the first responders and the officers who acted so swiftly in the aftermath of this shooting and I know that all New Yorkers will join me in wishing Detective Gale a full and speedy recovery. Thank you very much.

[00:51:33]>> New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat at a news conference today in the city. Sunday is Father's Day and Senator James Lankford, Republican from Oklahoma on Thursday spoke on the Senate floor about the holiday and what he says is the importance of dads to healthy families, healthy communities, and a healthy nation.

[00:51:52]>> I first want to say happy Father's Day to my own dad, but I also want to be able to challenge all dads that are out there to turn to your kids and to rededicate again, not just this weekend, but to rededicate again to actually spending more time with your kids.

[00:52:10]Because healthy families are the most basic building block of a culture.

[00:52:15]I've said it to people and over and over again.

[00:52:18]Healthy families make healthy communities make a healthy nation.

[00:52:22]And when I hear people complain about the status of where we are as a nation, I have to tell you the first place that I look are dads.

[00:52:31]And to say, "How are our dads doing?"

[00:52:34]Because dads will define a tremendous amount of the strength of our nation and the strength of our culture.

[00:52:41]If dads back away from their families, families get weaker, communities get weaker, the nation gets weaker.

[00:52:50]If dads are engaged with their kids and with their families, the nation gets stronger, communities get stronger.

[00:52:57]Now, this is not just me speaking on this. I mean, you can go to any statistic that you want to be able to go to.

[00:53:03]The research out there for our youth and adult offenders, between, depending on the state and the place, between 70% and 85% of incarcerated individuals do not have a dad in their life.

[00:53:18]They came from fatherless homes.

[00:53:20]Around 85% of the abortions that happen in our country year to year happen with a single mom when no dad is around and no man is around.

[00:53:34]85%.

[00:53:36]That's a woman who's making an incredibly difficult decision to take the life of a child often because she is afraid she will not have the resources or the support to be able to support this child. And so she makes a decision to take the life of the child instead.

[00:53:53]I have a friend of mine that often says, "Behind every abortion is an irresponsible man."

[00:54:00]Dads.

[00:54:01]Dads are important.

[00:54:03]>> Senator James Lankford, Republican from Oklahoma on the Senate floor on Thursday ahead of Father's Day on Sunday. His office released a press release about his speech and includes this. Senator Lankford has long championed faith, family, and pro-life policies throughout his tenure in the Senate. He has fought to eliminate marriage penalties in the tax code, introduced legislation to extend child support to unborn children, and has been recognized as the Senate's leading pro-life voice. Americans looking for fatherhood resources can visit fatherhood.gov and fatherhood.org.

[00:54:37]Thanks for listening to Washington today. A reminder that a new Ceasefire episode airs tonight on C-SPAN at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.

[00:54:46]Host Asha Burns will be joined by a foreign policy panel of Jamil Jaffer who served in the White House Counsel's office during the George W. Bush administration and held roles with the Department of Justice, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the House Intelligence Committee. And Dan Baer, former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe during the Obama administration. C-SPAN Ceasefire tonight at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. Have a good night and weekend.

[00:55:27]>> [music]