CNN halted for Trump breaking news as president handed shock victory

CNN was abruptly halted for a breaking news announcement as the feed cut to footage of US president Donald Trump on an airfield in Allentown, Pennsylvania, before travelling back to Washington DC. He was swarmed by reporters before boarding his helicopter, with one telling him: "Actress Sydney Sweeney, it came out this weekend that she's a registered Republican. Any thoughts on that?"

Trump asked her to repeat the question, asking: "Who was?" before he was told: "Sydney Sweeney. She's a very hot actress right now." He replied: "She's a registered Republican? Oh now I love her ad. Is that right, Sydney Sweeney? You'd be surprised at how many people are Republicans.

"That's one I wouldn't have known, but I'm glad you told me that. If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic. Okay, thank you very much everybody," he said before retreating.

The breaking news strap "Trump speaks to reporters before traveling back to DC" played across the bottom of the screen as the president was handed the unexpected victory.

It emerged that White Lotus star Sweeney, 27, registered with the Republican Party in June 2024, though she has been largely silent about her political views in public.

She has recently come under fire for an American Eagle jeans campaign which the left have branded "Nazi propaganda", showing the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Sweeney with the caption "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans". In the ad, the camera pans to the actress's eyes as she says: "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality, and even eye colour. My genes are blue."

The ad has been accused of promoting eugenics and of appealing to the MAGA fanbase. But American Eagle defended the controversial ad with a statement that read: "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans is and always was about the jeans."