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Zelenskyy returns Poland’s highest honor after Polish president revokes it in history dispute

2026-06-20T19:24:00-0400 / CBS News

Updated on: June 20, 2026 / 7:24 PM EDT / AP

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has returned Poland’s highest state honor, after the Polish president stripped him of the award as a politically charged dispute over World War II history resurfaced.

Ukrainians believed the order “was meant for the Ukrainian People and our army,” Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post explaining the gesture. “Today, I sent the Order back to the President of Poland. I believe the future will confirm the respect Ukrainians deserve.”

The message published on X is accompanied by photos of the Polish order and a postal receipt that it was about to be mailed to the Polish presidential office.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend an official welcome ceremony before their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, Dec. 19, 2025. Czarek Sokolowski / AP Photo

President Karol Nawrocki decided to strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle over the Ukrainian leader’s decision to name a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization accused of massacring Poles during WWII.

Former Polish President Andrzej Duda bestowed the award on Zelenskyy in 2023 for services to security, resilience and the defense of human rights.

Zelenskyy issued a decree on May 26 naming a unit of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, which operated during the 1940s and 1950s and has been accused in Poland of mass killings.

“For the majority of Polish society, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army remains above all a formation responsible for cruel crimes against the citizens of the Polish Republic during World War II,” Nawrocki said in a 13-minute address on social media.

The Ukrainian decree was met with widespread criticism in Poland, which has hosted millions of Ukrainian refugees and is a key supporter of Kyiv as it battled Russia’s four-year invasion. However, Nawrocki is a nationalist politician who has exploited anti-Ukrainian sentiment for electoral gain. Ukrainians in Poland have been facing increasing prejudice despite their contribution to the economy.

The decision to revoke the honor did not mean Poland’s support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia would decrease, Nawrocki said.

Ukraine is grateful to Poland for its support, and would stay open to resolve historical differences with Poland, Zelenskyy wrote Saturday in his post. “I am proud of our people and of EVERY Ukrainian warrior.”

Ukrainian Presidential Office chief Kyrylo Budanov wrote on Telegram that Nawrocki’s decision was “an unfriendly act toward our people” and “a gift to the Moscow aggressor, which will certainly use it against both of our countries.”

Four Ukrainian officials, including Budanov, said they would return state honors that Poland had issued them.

Some in Ukraine criticized the decision to return the Polish honors.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukraine’s former prime minister, wrote on X that one “harmful and incorrect decision by the current president of Poland cannot be corrected by other incorrect decisions of ours.”

Poland is scheduled to host a major event on Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction next week, which Zelenskyy was expected to attend.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political rival of Nawrocki, urged the two leaders to “tone down emotions, not stoke tensions.”

“The front line runs elsewhere,” Tusk wrote on social media Friday night, adding that the row between Poland and Ukraine “delights Putin and shocks our allies.”

Zelenskyy’s May decree said the designation was meant to restore military traditions and recognize the unit’s performance in defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence.

The UPA fought for Ukrainian independence against both Nazi Germany and Soviet forces. But it has been accused of killing tens of thousands of Poles, mostly in the Nazi-occupied regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia. In 2016, the Polish Parliament recognized the crimes committed by UPA as genocide.

Ukrainians say armed formations on both sides, including the UPA and Polish underground forces, were involved in attacks and reprisals that led to large-scale civilian casualties among Poles and Ukrainians.

Poland and Ukraine had recently made progress on the issue of exhumation of Polish victims. A December meeting between the two presidents in Warsaw had signaled progress on historical reconciliation.

黎巴嫩：以色列新一轮空袭造成七人死亡

2026年6月21日 07:28 / 联合早报

6月20日，以色列对黎巴嫩南部城市纳巴提耶发动一系列空袭，现场浓烟滚滚。 （法新社）

黎巴嫩卫生部说，以色列对黎巴嫩南部和东部地区发动的新一轮空袭造成七人死亡。

法新社报道，卫生部星期六（6月20日）称，五人在黎巴嫩东部丧生，包括一名妇女和一名儿童。另有两名巴勒斯坦人在南部提尔地区遇难。

这次空袭发生在以色列军方宣布已接到黎巴嫩政治领导层的命令，停止在黎巴嫩南部作战之前。

美国和卡塔尔居中斡旋后，美方原本宣布以色列和真主党同意在黎巴嫩时间星期五下午4时停火。但黎巴嫩安全部门说，以色列在停火后的第一个小时内，就对黎南进行十几次空袭，并于星期六早上继续袭击黎南。

伊朗军方星期六宣布，由于以色列继续袭击黎巴嫩南部，违反美伊达成的协议，伊朗再度封闭霍尔木兹海峡。

美伊原定星期五在瑞士举行的第一次直接谈判，就是因为以色列持续攻击黎南而临时取消推迟。

英媒称首相斯塔默将辞职 但消息人士称他仍继续执政

2026年6月21日 07:44 / 联合早报

英媒称首相斯塔默将辞职 但消息人士称他仍继续执政

英国首相斯塔默带领中左翼工党在2024年大选中取得压倒性胜利，但一系列丑闻和政策大转弯令他声名扫地，许多选民认为他无法兑现改善民众生活水平的承诺。 （路透社档案照片）

英国媒体称，首相斯塔默预计将辞职，并公布离任时间表；但一名政府消息人士称，斯塔默仍专注于继续执政。

英国《观察家报》报道称，斯塔默正在位于契克斯庄园的乡间别墅与妻子商讨此事，之后才会做出最终决定。工党高层预计，他最早将于下星期一（22日）发表明确声明。

《观察家报》的报道并未透露消息来源，但称斯塔默在与内阁部长、顾问、捐助者和工会领导人交谈后，得出结论：他的职位已无法继续维持。

斯塔默的处境已持续数月。大曼彻斯特市长伯纳姆星期五（19日）在英格兰北部的国会议席补选中赢得一个议席，这意味着他可以正式发起领导权挑战，使斯塔默的处境急剧恶化。

不过，斯塔默星期五说，他将应对任何对领导权的挑战，并敦促工党不要因内讧而分崩离析。

一名政府消息人士也称，斯塔默仍专注于工作。

斯塔默带领中左翼工党在2024年大选中取得压倒性胜利，但一系列丑闻和政策大转弯令他声名扫地，许多选民认为他无法兑现改善民众生活水平的承诺。

如果他辞职或被罢免，这意味着英国将在短短十几年内迎来第七位首相。这是近两个世纪以来首相更迭最频繁的一次，反映出民众对历届政府未能改善公共服务和解决非法移民等问题的愤怒。

据路透社统计，斯塔默所在工党有超过100名当选议员，约占下议院工党议员总数的四分之一，已公开表明希望他辞职或制定离任时间表。

现年56岁的资深政治家伯纳姆被许多工党人士视为斯塔默最可能的继任者，无论是通过协商权力交接还是正式的领导权争夺。

伯纳姆曾担任英格兰北部大曼彻斯特市市长，在工党内部建立稳固的权力基础。

伯纳姆并未立即正式向斯塔默发起挑战，而是在胜选演讲中承诺将为国家开辟一条新的道路。他的盟友敦促斯塔默同意辞职并自愿交出权力。

前卫生部长斯特里廷也称，他愿意挑战斯塔默。

《泰晤士报》星期六报道称，伯纳姆如果当选首相，将解雇财政部长里夫斯，因为他的顾问认为里夫斯未能带来足够的政策方向转变。

Trump says multiple people have been arrested for allegedly vandalizing Reflecting Pool

June 20, 2026 6:13 PM EDT / CBS/AP

The United States Park Police have arrested multiple people for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, President Trump said Saturday, days after algae turned the water a fluorescent green hue and rips appeared in an “American Flag Blue” surface handpicked by the president.

“The United States Park Police have arrested multiple individuals for vandalizing our Nations magnificent Reflecting Poll (sic),” Mr. Trump said in a Truth Social post Saturday. “Who would do such a thing? These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair.”

The National Park Service did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment.

David Hearn, a 67-year-old Bethesda, Maryland, man who stopped by the pool while on a 64-mile bike ride, said authorities arrested him and held him for five hours on Friday after he reached down into the pool.

The newly refurbished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is contaminated by algae, as seen from the Washington Monument on June 17. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo

Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer who owned a company that provided materials to build watercraft, said it was scientific interest that drew him to the pool. He told The Associated Press he wanted to examine the peeling new coating on the bottom of the pool that Mr. Trump had ordered installed.

He said he briefly touched a chunk that was still attached to the side of the pool, then let go shortly after a park worker told him to. But, Hearn said, he was then detained by National Guard troops and Park Police.

“I’m a curious citizen,” Hearn said in a telephone interview. “I reached down to see what it felt like. It was very rubbery.”

The Washington Post first reported on Hearn’s arrest, and he said he has a date to appear in court next month and is looking for legal help.

In a Truth Social post Friday night, Mr. Trump alleged, without providing evidence, that three days prior, vandals had “destroyed the grass outside of the Pool” and had “also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed.”

The Reflecting Pool has faced problems with leaks, algae and faulty plumbing for years. In April, the president launched an effort to address the pool’s “terrible” condition, part of a slate of spring cleaning projects in Washington, D.C., ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday.

After the pool was resurfaced and water was pumped back in, issues began to arise last week. Workers were seen in recent days removing algae from the Reflecting Pool, and on Tuesday morning, crews dumped bottles of hydrogen peroxide into the water.

Mr. Trump said Friday that “[t]he algae is 75% gone, and the condition will soon be completely remedied, and the area that was vandalized, fortunately, is just a small area of damage, and will be fixed early next week.”

Even if someone pulled ribbons of paint from the side of the pool, it would not explain the clouds of algae in green water and swaths of loose blue paint detached from the bottom.

Mr. Trump insisted something nefarious has been going on at the scene. “No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, they used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work,” he posted on Truth Social.

That was a reference to the discovery of large numbers etched in discolored grass on the National Mall the week before: “86 47.” Authorities said the numbers could have been meant as a threat to Mr. Trump, the 47th president. The number 86 can be slang for “getting rid of.” They are investigating.

特朗普警告：若谈判无果 美国将对霍尔木兹海峡征通行费

2026年6月21日 07:51 / 联合早报

特朗普星期六（6月20日）警告，如果协议未能达成，美国将对霍尔木兹海峡征收通行费，作为美国充当中东国家“守护天使”所提供服务的报酬，用于补偿过去、现在及未来的相关成本。 （路透社）

美国总统特朗普警告称，如果谈判代表无法达成结束伊朗战争的协议，美国可能会对至关重要的霍尔木兹海峡征收通行费。

法新社报道，特朗普星期六（6月20日）在社媒Truth Social发文称，在停火期间的60天内，霍尔木兹海峡将不收取任何通行费。60天期限结束后，也将继续不收取任何通行费。

不过，他说，如果协议未能达成，美国将征收通行费，作为美国充当中东国家“守护天使”所提供服务的报酬，用于补偿过去、现在及未来的相关成本。

Algae, peeling blue material, conspiracy theories: Reflecting Pool takes national spotlight

2026-06-20T16:00:40.163Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/20/politics/reflecting-pool-lincoln-memorial-algae-renovation

• President Donald Trump’s $14 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has become a national spectacle ahead of July 4.
• The project faces persistent algae problems and peeling blue material despite Interior Department claims the water is crystal clear.
• Tourists and politicians have flocked to the site as conspiracy theories swirl about the troubled renovation effort.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump described the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as “absolutely filthy,” vowing to clean up the iconic landmark and make it “look gorgeous, beautiful” so it again reflects the federal monuments around it.

The $14 million renovation became a pet project for the president, symbolizing his efforts to beautify Washington, DC, with architectural changes that have also included building a White House ballroom and refurbishing run-down fountains in the nation’s capital ahead of the America 250 celebrations.

But with July 4 fast approaching, the pool that sits near the feet of Abraham Lincoln’s statue has instead come to reflect the deep divisions over those beautification efforts — and Trump’s presidency itself — after the renovation project has been set back by a persistent algae problem and the peeling of a blue material from the repainted bottom of the pool.

Trump on Friday echoed claims that have surfaced in right-wing circles that the pool’s problems are a result of vandalism, and linked it to the etching of “8647” into the grass on the National Mall days prior, adding that law enforcement is investigating.

“We’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, without citing evidence. “The algae is 75% gone, and the condition will soon be completely remedied, and the area that was vandalized, fortunately, is just a small area of damage, and will be fixed early next week.”

Tourists and local residents alike have flocked to the site in recent days, shooting videos of the murky green water for social media posts that feature either a condemnation of Trump’s presidency or a passionate defense of the effort to clean up DC. Some peeled off strips of the blue material to take as souvenirs. Others filmed federal workers pouring bottles of hydrogen peroxide into the water.

On Saturday morning, some visitors stopped by the landmark on their jog, as they bicycled or as part of their overall trip to the nation’s capital. Several of them took photos and videos of the pool, focusing in on the algae, while others loudly expressed their frustrations with the state of the pool as they passed by. On the algae at the bottom of the pool were a few tracings, including a smiley face. Meanwhile, federal employees worked on clean up efforts, vacuuming the algae with big hoses.

“You can’t make this up: after railing about waste, fraud, and abuse, the Trump Administration spent $14 million on a reflecting pool reno that’s now peeling and chock full of algae,” Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said in a post on X. “I’m pressing to get answers for this embarrassing waste of resources.”

The Interior Department has dismissed the visible signs of algae that have only become more abundant as DC’s warm, muggy weather fosters its growth.

In a post on X Wednesday, the department’s press office touted its efforts to clear out the algae and described the water as being “crystal clear.”

CNN has reached out to the Interior Department for comment and additional details on the clean up efforts.

For now, what was meant to be a straightforward task to return the century-old pool to its intended glory has become a spectacle, drawing tourists to the shallow pool of water for the wrong reason.

Trump set out to accomplish the renovation that has eluded previous presidents in late March. In a post on Truth Social, he criticized the Biden administration for not taking on the project after a $34 million reconstruction effort under President Barack Obama proved to be unsuccessful.

In the weeks that followed, Trump expanded the scope of the project and ordered cosmetic changes, including painting the bottom of the pool a shade of blue that resembles the American flag’s blue field. The paint change immediately trigged a lawsuit from a nonprofit group, which argued that the project violates federal laws requiring the Interior Department to complete a consultation process that includes notifying the public of the plans and getting input from other federal agencies before beginning the work.

The president also wanted the project to be complete before July 4, an expedited timeline which the administration acknowledged drove up the total cost — nearly seven times as much as the initial estimate of $1.8 million.

Trump made a visit to the site to survey progress, and weeks before it was complete, he began celebrating by posting an AI-generated image to Truth Social of him and some of his Cabinet members smiling while floating in the pool.

But just a day after the reservoir was filled with water, there was already quite a bit of algae visible from the water’s edge.

The Interior Department told CNN at the time that the algae is “residual” and a normal part of the early process of restarting water flow.

However, within days, clumps of algae took over the pool, prompting the administration to send in workers to vacuum it out, install a filtration known as the “ozone nanobubbler” and dump in gallons of hydrogen peroxide.

To make matters worse for the Trump administration, earlier this week, blue material at the bottom of pool began peeling off. It is unclear if the material is paint or sealant or what caused it to come up.

Democrats online were quick to gloat.

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said in a post on X, “Surprise, surprise – the corrupt sweetheart deal for one of Trump’s buddies ended in disaster.” He appeared to refer to The New York Times’ reporting that the Trump administration gave a no-bid contract to an Ohio firm with ties to a Trump ally.

Former Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also weighed in.

“Found an imaginary problem, said only they could fix it, didn’t listen to experts, hired buddies who grifted millions, failed miserably, bragged how great it went. The entire Trump presidency in a nutshell,” Walz said in a post on X.

Beyond lawmakers, the ongoing pool saga has prompted an online debate, filled with false claims and conspiracy theories.

Left-leaning social media users latched on to a clip of a Fox News personality defending the renovation, incorrectly claiming that he was describing the visibly green water as blue. (He was referring to the pool’s bottom.)

Meanwhile, on the right, conservative media personality Grant Stinchfield alleged that the excessive algae is a product of liberal “sabotage.”

“Is it nefarious? I tend to think so,” Stinchfield told his online viewers from outside the Reflecting Pool. “You wouldn’t have so much algae that you see in here, you would not have that, that quickly, unless somebody did something.”

A video posted by conservative influencer Nick Sortor on Thursday night has also garnered attention. The video appeared to show “8647” traced into the algae at the bottom of the pool. CNN could not independently see that tracing on Saturday.

Outside the pool, a collection of curiosity seekers and social media influencers have also gathered. One woman showed up with a banner painted with a green “Algae,” chanting “Algae’s smarter than MAGA.”

Independent journalist Emily Miller showed up to report on the purported theft of the blue material, claiming US Park Police arrested someone in the act. CNN has reached out to Park Police to ask about any arrests. The Washington Post reported that the person who was arrested is three-time US Olympian David Hearn.

Meanwhile, visitors with no apparent stake in the debate have flocked to see just how green the pool is for themselves.

Matthew Weimer of California, who was in Washington, DC, to visit friends, applauded the renovation.

“I think it’s pretty great that somebody cared enough to do something about it,” Weimer said. When asked about the criticisms the pool is facing, he said: “The people who are criticizing, what are they doing to make things better?”

Qayla Sykes, who visited from Connecticut for a bachelorette party, made a quick stop at the National Mall to take in the spectacle.

“It looks pretty gross. I’ve taken about like 20 pictures already, especially of the people cleaning it, because I don’t know if I’ll ever see this again in my lifetime,” she said. “Hopefully not.”

CNN’s Sunlen Serfaty, Kit Maher, Dugald McConnell, Abigail Roedersheimer, Michael Williams, Devan Cole, Tom Foreman, Ben Krolowitz, Betsy Klein and Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.

Dem who sued to remove Trump’s name from Kennedy Center now says venue becoming ‘lifeless husk’ in fresh fight

June 20, 2026 2:15pm EDT / Fox News

The latest court filing from the plaintiff argues that the Kennedy Center is violating order halting shutdown

By James Cirrone, Fox News

Workers begin removing Donald Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. following a federal appeals court ruling. The court denied a last-minute appeal to keep Trump’s name on the building, which had been added after a unanimous board vote in December.

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Those in charge at the Kennedy Center have been accused by Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, of purposely allowing the Washington, D.C., venue to languish into a “lifeless husk” by not resuming regular shows and programming.

Beatty, an ex officio board member of the Kennedy Center, initially filed the lawsuit against President Donald Trump in December 2025, when the board decided to install signage displaying his name alongside Kennedy’s on the building.

According to a Friday court filing, Beatty’s legal team argued that the current board, with Trump as chairman, is in violation of a May court order by “refusing to take any steps to maintain the Center’s operations, and will effectively close the Center as a performing arts venue come July 5, 2026.”

“They plan to turn the Kennedy Center into a lifeless husk,” Beatty’s lawyers wrote.

JONATHAN TURLEY: TRUMP’S KENNEDY CENTER NAME CHANGE WILL KEEP LAWYERS BUSY FOR YEARS

Rep. Joyce Beatty speaks near scaffolding at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 2026, as construction workers work nearby.(The Washington Post)

Lawyers for the Kennedy Center responded by saying: “The Court’s order did not affirmatively require the Board to reschedule programming that had previously been cancelled or to seek new programming.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Kennedy Center and the White House for additional comment.

The order from U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper prevented the Kennedy Center from initiating its planned two-year closure for renovations. Cooper also ordered Trump’s name be taken off the building, which happened last weekend.

Cooper’s 94-page order last month did not explicitly say that shows must immediately resume, given that there are “at least some plans to restart rehearsals, performances and educational programming.”

FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP’S NAME REMOVED FROM KENNEDY CENTER, SAYS ONLY CONGRESS CAN RENAME IT

He did say that the board “bears an affirmative duty to carry out the Center’s programming and maintain a memorial to President Kennedy. It may not simply stop putting on shows altogether.”

President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Oval Office during the medal presentation ceremony for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees, including musicians Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss of the rock band KISS, actors Sylvester Stallone and Michael Crawford, and country musician George Strait on Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)

The Kennedy Center said its management would begin presenting recommendations for plans to reopen.

The venue’s lawyers said the board is considering several options, including a full closure with no programming, a partial closure that would keep some areas open to the public and allow performances in unaffected spaces, and a phased repair plan that would revive a full programming schedule.

A vote on these options, which they say have not been finalized, will be held in mid-July, Kennedy Center lawyers said.

TRUMP FIRES KENNEDY CENTER BOARD MEMBERS CITING DRAG SHOWS, APPOINTS HIMSELF CHAIRMAN

The battle over the Kennedy Center began in February 2025, shortly after Trump was inaugurated for a second time as president. He replaced several trustees on the board, while also appointing himself a trustee.

The new Trump-allied board then elected him chair, enabling him to fire the previous president of the center, Deborah Rutter. In a speech in May 2025, he claimed that under Rutter’s leadership, the board “wasted millions and millions of dollars and handed us a budget deficit of $26 million.”

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts and alongside U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who ruled that President Donald Trump’s name be removed from the building.(Getty / and the U.S. District Court of D.C.)

“In addition, the programming was out of control with rampant political propaganda, DEI, and inappropriate shows. We had some very inappropriate shows, to put it—I think, to put it very nicely,” Trump added.

Also in May 2025, the new board stripped all 23 ex officio members of voting rights. Members of this category include notable Democrats, such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as Trump administration officials — Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Education Secretary Linda McMahon among them.

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In February of this year, Trump announced the two-year closure on Truth Social, which was later blocked as a result of Beatty’s lawsuit.

The saga culminated on June 13, when workers began removing Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center. The sign previously read “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts.”

James Cirrone is a writer on the Breaking/Trending News team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to james.cirrone@fox.com.

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Claude Guillemot, co-founder of video game maker Ubisoft, dies in plane crash

June 20, 2026 / 12:34 PM EDT / AP

A founder of global gaming company Ubisoft, maker of Assassin’s Creed, was killed in a plane crash in western France, authorities said Saturday.

The twin-motor Cessna 421 carrying Claude Guillemot and a flight instructor crashed Friday evening near La Baule airport on the Atlantic coast, Mayor Franck Louvrier said in a statement. Both were licensed and experienced pilots. The instructor also was killed, the mayor said. An investigation is underway.

Guillemot was 69 years old.

Ubisoft confirmed Guillemot’s death but did not comment further.

The plane crashed in a field just before landing at La Baule-Escoublac Airport, an airport official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named.

Guillemot and four brothers founded Ubisoft in 1986. In addition to the popular Assassin’s Creed franchise, Ubisoft’s games also include Just Dance, and the Rayman and Tom Clancy game franchises.

When will Trump let Republican hopefuls make moves to succeed him?

2026-06-20T16:00:26.071Z / CNN

• President Donald Trump has not yet endorsed Vice President JD Vance as his successor for 2028.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio has emerged as a potential rival, with some Republicans supporting him.
• Trump’s reluctance to anoint an heir keeps potential candidates waiting and the Republican primary timeline uncertain.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.

We recently assessed the large field of Democrats who could run for president in 2028 and are already making moves in that direction.

So it’s a good time to see what’s happening on the Republican side of things. What we know is that the next president won’t be Donald Trump.

The president, not yet to the halfway mark of his second term, has said he won’t try to test the Constitution’s ban on his running for a third term. But he also won’t want to pass the torch any time soon. While the conventional wisdom is that Vice President JD Vance will step in to be Trump’s heir, Trump has made his career by shattering conventional wisdom. There are plenty of other Republicans out there who would like to be president, including Trump’s ambitious Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

I spoke with Steve Contorno, a CNN senior reporter who covers Republicans, to get his sense for when and how a Republican race could get underway.

Our conversation, edited for length, is below.

WOLF: Trump has remade the Republican Party in his image. He says that he will abide by the Constitution and not try to run or keep power for a third term. What is the current thinking about how Republicans might replace him?

CONTORNO:That conversation has to begin with the vice president. When you go to conservative events — Turning Point USA events, Trump rallies, CPAC — and talk to the grassroots, there’s a deference to him. You see that in the polling and the CPAC straw poll, and other sort of indicators.

When Trump was picking his running mate, his team was saying that he was doing so looking for someone who could carry the torch from him.

Trump, though, never really said that overtly, and he’s been very coy about who he wants to succeed him, both publicly and privately. That has led people to wonder whether Trump wants to consider Vance his heir. That has left the door open for people who remain firmly fans of Marco Rubio to fantasize about him.

WOLF: Trump talks about these two and he likes to frame it as an either-or or suggest they could be a team. Is there a rivalry building?

CONTORNO:Everything we’ve heard is that they get along great, and Rubio in public has been very deferential to the vice president. But there are certainly a lot of people in Trump’s orbit and in the Republican Party who remain fans of Rubio. There are people who wanted to see him be the vice president over Vance, who are giddy at the thought that he could ultimately be the person who steps in here.

It’s hard to know how much the hemming and hawing from Trump is authentic, how much of it is his tendency to play his own people off each other, and how much of it is his hesitance to anoint his successor, knowing that it will start the conversations about the post Trump presidency.

He’s very much in his presidency, and he doesn’t want to be considered a lame duck, and one of the ways to protect that is to keep the future and the future Republican Party as cloudy as possible.

WOLF: Vance would have to run from within the Trump administration. Rubio couldn’t be a political candidate as secretary of state. So is the thinking that Rubio will leave the administration at some point?

CONTORNO: I don’t think we’ve seen any indication that he would leave, and given his statements about supporting Vance if he chooses to run, I would not expect Rubio to step down to challenge Vance now. If Vance decides not to run for whatever reason — because he doesn’t feel like he has Trump’s support, because he has a very young family that is going to be growing in the next year, because he doesn’t want to do the job — then perhaps you would see Rubio make some movements. But there would have to be an extraordinary change of circumstances in the relationship between the vice president and the secretary of state, or a significant change in Trump’s posture toward those two men, for Rubio to take such a significant step.

The other thing about Rubio is he’s been in public office for most of his adult life. It has long been known in some circles that he would like to work in the private sector at some point to build some wealth for his family. If the presidency is on the table, perhaps the calculus changes.

WOLF: Rubio is interesting. You said there are people that are kind of giddy for the focus to shift to him. He’s arguably done more with his job inside the Trump administration than anyone else in the cabinet. Is that why people are interested in him?

CONTORNO: There’s this perception that he has handled everything Trump has thrown at him with both professionalism and grace, without angering or embarrassing Trump.

There are a lot of people who were in Trump’s orbit who are from Florida, and a lot of those people were fans of Rubio’s. The donor base likes Rubio a lot. When Trump was trying to choose a running mate, they were among the most vocal in pushing for Rubio, so there’s always been that contingency of Rubio backers.

People who are really plugged in and watching the Trump administration every single day on Fox News like it’s a reality TV show, and are on social media or whatever — they love Rubio, they see him as hyper-competent. Even young people, who are among the people who are most dissatisfied with Trump because of his foreign policy moves, are among the people who I find most enthusiastic about Rubio, which is somewhat counterintuitive.

WOLF: Totally ironic.

CONTORNO:Yeah, because he is in many ways the architect, or at least the enforcer, of this foreign policy. And they’re somewhat skeptical of Vance, because of his past statements about Trump, because of his ties to big tech. Even though Vance is supposedly the isolationist in Trump’s circle, it doesn’t mean he’s won over the people who are most interested in avoiding foreign conflicts.

WOLF: Vance has a new book out about his conversion to Catholicism, and the White House has inserted him into the end-of-war negotiations. What have we learned about him over the past week?

CONTORNO:The timing of the book launch is pretty remarkable, and in some ways this week marked the unofficial kickoff of the 2028 GOP presidential primary. Vance not only launched a promotional tour for his book that landed him on “The View” — hostile territory for most Republicans, but also a familiar stop for ambitious politicians — and forced him to navigate questions about his political future, but he also stepped out as the face of the administration’s deal with Iran. That agreement has sharply divided Republicans and it seems it has the potential to become a significant fault line in a GOP primary. Already we’ve seen Texas Sen. Ted Cruz step out to criticize the pact in deeply unflattering terms — with Vance allies in Trump world responding quickly to clap back at Cruz and his well-known presidential ambitions.

WOLF: It’s only four sitting vice presidents in history who have become president. It would be kind of an anomaly for Vance to succeed Trump. Are they cognizant of that in the administration? Or would the party coalesce around him if Trump endorsed him?

CONTORNO:I think you would certainly see the party coalesce around him. There are so many people who take Trump’s word above all else, and you’re already starting to see some organizations start maneuvering for Vance. Turning Point USA, for example, has already endorsed him. They have not only the platform that was created by Charlie Kirk, but also infrastructure, an organization that has been on the ground in a lot of swing states.

There are others who are eager to jump in on those efforts, but no one wants to step too much out in front of Trump. I think that’s why you’re not seeing other candidates play footsie with the idea of running in 2028 even though we know there are folks who still harbor presidential ambitions in the party — Cruz and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, among others.

There’s not been a ton of activity in Iowa and New Hampshire on the Republican side because of the fear of crossing Trump. But that has also been a challenge for Vance as well, because as much as there are people who assume he would be the heir, he can’t be seen as positioning himself for succeeding Trump before Trump is ready.

WOLF:And from Trump’s perspective, if you’re going to style your presidencies as a reality TV show, picking an heir and simply getting behind that person wouldn’t make for very good ratings.

CONTORNO: Vance has joked about this as well. He had a comment where he quipped that he and Marco are playing in the latest iteration of “The Apprentice.” That’s a joke, but there’s a lot of truth in it. The fact that Vance said it means that they’re all sort of cognizant of Trump’s preference for drama and to keep people in suspense.

WOLF: There’s the 2026 election coming up, and that will reframe a lot of the political conversation, depending on whether Republicans lose the House or the Senate and how that affects Trump’s final two years in office. What is the conventional wisdom about when we could see people start to announce campaigns?

CONTORNO:If you look back in previous cycles, that winter right after the midterms, you start seeing people jump in. It remains to be seen whether anyone dares to launch a campaign, whether formally or informally, that soon. Running for president takes so much time, and if anyone does think they have a legitimate chance of challenging Vance, they’re going to have to start building a following in either Iowa or New Hampshire very quickly after November. So if Trump holds out from endorsing Vance, which is a real possibility, you might start seeing some of these candidates test the waters, knowing that, hey, if there’s an opening because the president isn’t sold on Vance, then we need to start building up that base of support and our financial coffers sooner than later.

For Vance, how long can you wait? How long are you going to sit around and hope that the president gives you the endorsement that was all but promised when you took this job — before you have to just say, “I’m running, whether the president is ready to back me or not”?

It is such a conundrum for these hopefuls and for Vance, because so much of it does rest on Trump’s timing, which I think is why you can kind of throw out the conventional wisdom playbook. They’re all going to be waiting and watching what the president does.

WOLF: Is there space for an anti-Trump or a Trump-fatigue Republican who wants to capitalize on the idea that he is not a popular president and moving Republicans beyond him?

CONTORNO: You’ve seen Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul already suggest he’s considering it, and he would certainly claim that Trump has not governed as a Republican or a conservative, and therefore there needs to be someone in the party who is going to speak to that.

I think you’re going to see people try to make the case that they could be a more effective version of Trump. You saw DeSantis try to do that in 2024, and he’s down in Florida building up his resume, just in case there’s an opening in that lane. Whether there’s a Nikki Haley (former US ambassador to the UN and governor of South Carolina) who wants to try once again to run from the establishment wing, or a fresh voice like Gov. Spencer Cox in Utah, who is trying to bring back a more — I don’t say moderate, but collegial — approach to governing on the right.

In recent primaries, Trump-backed candidates have been so successful that it is going to give any of those people pause in believing they can convince caucusgoers in a deeply conservative pro-Trump state like Iowa — or in New Hampshire, which he has won repeatedly, even when the rest of the party wasn’t ready to embrace him. That’s going to be a real challenge.

WOLF:What are the 2028 markers you’re looking for? What would signal that Vance is either in or out, or Rubio is in or out, or DeSantis is making moves?

CONTORNO: Vance has a book out (it was released on Tuesday), and typically a book is a pretty clear signal that you have some presidential ambitions. That will be closely watched for what’s in that book, and how it’s received, and how he promotes it. It’ll be a little mini test drive for him to get a sense of how the country is feeling about him separate from the president.

Otherwise I’ve talked to people in New Hampshire who have said the unspoken rule right now is don’t come here because you’re going to anger Trump. The Iowa State Fair that’s coming up should traditionally draw a lot of people who are interested in running, and I don’t know if you’re going to see that kind of turnout. Or maybe you get a bunch of people coming to campaign in some of these congressional seats in Iowa that are going to be real battlegrounds. Maybe that’ll be an excuse for Cruz to get back to Iowa and try to put the band back together there.

The midterms are going to be a real indicator of whether you’re going to get a traditional starting line. If the Republicans under Trump pull it off and hold on to the House, then all bets are off, because it’ll be very clear that Trump will remain fully in command of the timeline and the party going forward.

WOLF:Campaigns are very much about money. Are there any indications in the money race?

CONTORNO:There’ll be a lot of hesitance to donate against JD Vance. Even the people in the party who don’t necessarily like Trump and were looking for an alternative in 2024, either in DeSantis or Haley, a lot of those people do like Vance. He has a lot of connections to the fundraising center of the party, and so you’re not going to want to anger both the sitting president and the potential future president by throwing $20 million at Ted Cruz or whoever. Unless you were really, really sure that Vance wasn’t going to get Trump’s support and wasn’t going to be the guy. Any Republican going out there right now trying to fundraise as the JD Vance alternative is going to get crickets in their inbox from the big donor structure.

Biden scores temporary court victory as Trump appointed judge delays release of Hur investigation materials

2026-06-20T13:47:20-04:00 / Fox News

The Heritage Foundation has spent more than two years seeking the recordings through FOIA requests

By Elaine Mallon Fox News

Published June 20, 2026 1:47pm EDT

New audio reveals Biden struggled to recall key moments in his life

Newly released audio from President Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur reveals him struggling to recall key dates in his life—highlighting significant memory lapses.

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Former President Joe Biden has won another three weeks to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts tied to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s classified documents investigation, after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction while a federal appeals court reviews his challenge.

The recordings stem from Biden’s interviews with Mark Zwonitzer, the ghostwriter of his 2017 memoir, “Promise Me, Dad.” U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump-appointee, on Friday issued an injunction pending appeal that prevents the Justice Department from releasing the materials while the D.C. Circuit considers the case. The order came just hours after Friedrich denied Biden’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have stopped the release altogether.

The legal battle could determine whether Americans ever hear the recordings that helped shape Hur’s decision not to prosecute Biden over his handling of classified documents. The audio has been the subject of intense scrutiny because Hur raised questions about Biden’s memory in explaining why he declined to bring charges against Biden for mishandling classified documents.

Although the Justice Department previously released audio from Biden’s interviews with Hur, the recordings at the center of the current legal battle involve separate conversations between Biden and Zwonitzer.

Hur’s 2024 report repeatedly referenced Biden’s recorded conversations with Zwonitzer. The special counsel described some exchanges as “painfully slow” and said Biden at times struggled to recall events and relay information, observations that fueled scrutiny of the then-president’s cognitive abilities amid an election year.

Former President Joe Biden speaks to a crowd during a fundraising event with the South Carolina Democratic Party at the Columbia Museum of Art on Feb. 27, 2026 in Columbia, S.C.(Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

GREGG JARRETT: RELEASE THE BIDEN TAPES AND LET AMERICANS HEAR THE TRUTH FOR THEMSELVES

The Heritage Foundation and its Oversight Project director Mike Howell have spent more than two years seeking the recordings and transcripts through FOIA requests.

Heritage Foundation officials have argued that the public has a strong interest in reviewing the materials referenced throughout Hur’s report, particularly because the special counsel relied on the recordings in explaining his decision not to pursue criminal charges

Biden has been fighting to keep the potentially embarrassing recordings under wraps.

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After Friedrich denied Biden’s motion for a preliminary injunction on Friday, Biden’s legal team immediately sought emergency relief to preserve the status quo while appealing the decision.

In an emergency filing, Biden’s attorneys argued that disclosure would effectively end the case before appellate judges could review the legal questions involved. They maintained that once the recordings are released, any privacy protections would be permanently lost and the appeal would become largely moot.

Former special counsel Robert K. Hur testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., on March 12, 2024. Hur investigated President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents and published a report with conclusions about Biden’s memory.(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The filing also stressed that the FOIA litigation has already been pending for more than two years and argued there was no urgent public need requiring immediate disclosure of conversations that occurred roughly a decade ago between Biden and his ghostwriter. Biden’s attorneys noted that the former president is now a private citizen who neither holds nor is seeking public office.

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The Justice Department initially withheld the recordings and much of the transcript material under several FOIA exemptions. Earlier this year, however, the department reversed course and determined the records could be released with redactions after concluding that significant public interest existed in understanding evidence relied upon by Hur during his investigation.

After the Justice Department announced plans to release the recordings, Biden filed suit in May to stop the disclosure, claiming the audiotapes contain private conversations that should remain protected from public release and if released, would be in violation of the Privacy Act.

President Joe Biden speaks during an official transition event to thank Ron Klain for his work and to welcome his successor Jeff Zients.(REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

His legal team argued that the department’s decision violates the Privacy Act and constitutes arbitrary agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act.

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Leading Biden’s legal effort is Amy Jeffress, a partner at Washington-based law firm Hecker Fink and a former Justice Department national security official. Jeffress has served as the primary attorney advancing Biden’s challenge to the release of the materials and signed the recent emergency filing seeking to prevent disclosure while the appeal proceeds.

Jeffress has also drawn attention because she is married to U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee who recently ruled against the Trump administration in a high-profile dispute involving the Kennedy Center. Cooper’s ruling prompted criticism from some Trump allies and conservative commentators who pointed to the judge’s family connection to Biden’s attorney, suggesting a conflict of interest may be at play in Cooper’s work.

Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.