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The Lead with Jake Tapper

U.S. And China to Cut Tariffs For 90 Days; President Trump Defends Qatar Gift Of Luxury Jet For Air Force One; Edan Alexander Released By Hamas; Trump Defends Plan To Accept Luxury Plane From Qatar; Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), Is Interviewed About Protesters Return To Scene Of Mayor's Arrest, Tense Demonstration. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 12, 2025 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[17:00:00]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Sorry. What? Chicago-based restaurant "Portillos" has renamed one of its sandwiches after the new American pope and it Is called the "Leo." I mean, honestly, it looks like it is sent by God.

The restaurant describes it as Italian beef, quote, "baptized in gravy," and finished with the holy trinity of peppers. It really looks delicious, but you know what, Jake Tapper, can I just tell you, like nothing beats a Tony Luke's, wiz without, so maybe they should rename it for the pope.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: I'd do provolone other than wiz, but I hear you, 100 percent, and because of his Villanova roots, a 100 percent --

HUNT: Exactly.

TAPPER: -- that should happen.

HUNT: Exactly.

TAPPER: Thank you, Kasie. We'll see you back in "The Arena" tomorrow.

HUNT: Have a great show.

TAPPER: The intense trade war with China is on pause for 90 days, but uncertainty remains. "The Lead" starts right now. President Trump is right now on route to Saudi Arabia for both peace and tariff negotiations. He's warning if there's no long term deal with China worked out, his tariffs could go substantially higher. Wait, what? When? How much? We're seeking some answers.

Plus, drama already as testimony begins in the trial of Sean Diddy Combs. The first witness is called to the stand and the strategy for Diddy's defense is revealed.

And, well, who just gives away a luxury airplane? Well, apparently, Qatar, and President Trump is willing to accept it with open arms. What might that wealthy country want in return as the White House squints to find some fine print to make this huge multimillion dollar donation legal. Welcome to "The Lead." I'm Jake Tapper, and we begin with our "Money Lead" and the drastic de-escalation in the trade war between the United States and China starting Wednesday. And effective for the next 90 days, the United States government will lower its overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 145 percent to 30 percent. China will lower its duties on American imports from 125 percent to 10 percent.

President Trump this morning was asked what comes after this 90-day period during which both sides are attempting to negotiate some sort of trade deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: If a longer term deal is not reached with China at the end of these 90 days, can the American people expect those tariffs to go back up to 145percent?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No. But they would go up substantially higher.

UNKNOWN: Okay. And then on --

TRUMP: You know, at 145, you're really decoupling because nobody's going to buy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: This agreement for this pause was ironed out over the weekend in Geneva, Switzerland by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his Chinese counterparts. And while we still do not know exactly how long this will shake out in the long run for our tariff weary economy, there is new research published today showing that the trade war slowdown will not be enough to eliminate the damage done to American families and the economy at large.

Trump's tariffs will still, according to this study, cost the typical middle class household $2,237 per year. That's according to the budget lab at Yale. Still, this agreement was welcome and somewhat surprising news for businesses and for Wall Street. U.S. stocks surged today. Because remember, as of just a few days ago, Trump was saying that the trade standoff with China was long term and necessary to rebuild American manufacturing.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins is in Saudi Arabia for us ahead of the president's arrival there for the tariff and peace negotiations. And, Kaitlan, it turns out that the White House had been looking for an off ramp from its incredibly intense trade war with China, even a temporary one. How did all of this unfold behind the scenes?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Yeah. Jake, Secretary Bessent went into those talks in Geneva saying that they had disagreed to talk, then they were going to talk about what to talk about. But it was very clear what both sides wanted to talk about in those meetings behind closed doors. Obviously, we were in touch with officials all weekend who were part of those talks and getting readouts on them of what to expect. And yesterday morning, after the final talks had been completed in

Geneva, I've been hearing from officials that we should expect those tariffs to come down. They were saying substantially. What was unclear, Jake, was just how substantially. But both sides went into that looking for an off ramp and looking for some de-escalation here.

And even though President Trump said repeatedly in the last several weeks that he would not lower tariffs on China without some concessions coming from China, that is what we're seeing play out right now while they say they are going to be talking for the next 90 days. The president saying that he could have a conversation with President Xi Jinping as soon as this week, which would be incredibly notable because it would be the highest level conversation between those two leaders, since the president put these massive tariffs in place and China retaliated.

But he did say, Jake, that any final deal is going to take time. So, yes, certainly a short term reprieve that a lot of these businesses are -- and the United States are very happy about since there's essentially no trade happening. But the question is where it goes from here and if they can come to the table and see eye to eye with one another.

[17:05:00]

TAPPER: So Kaitlan, it was reported by the "Wall Street Journal" long time ago, early -- mid-May, that Trump was looking for another Air Force One since Boeing was taking so long with the one he'd ordered in his first term. But we didn't know it was going to be a free gift from Qatar. And this trip to Saudi Arabia, it comes as his administration is expected to accept this, what is it, $300 million luxury jet gift from the Qatari Royal Family. Lots of legal questions, lots of ethical questions. What is the White House saying about this today?

COLLINS: Well, they were pretty blunt over the weekend, Jake, when we were asking them about this reporting that they are set to accept this plane from Qatar, that it is maybe even closer to $400 million when you actually look at the numbers here, Jake, in terms of the value of this. And President Trump confirmed that reporting on Sunday, and then he was quite angry and dismissive of questions that he got about whether or not it violates a clause of the Constitution that prohibits public office holders in the United States from accepting gifts from foreign government.

And he was essentially saying it would be stupid to not accept a plane like this and talked about the free things that he says the United States does for other countries. But, obviously, Jake, this has raised a lot of questions here in terms of the president accepting this. He did confirm our reporting yesterday. I've been hearing from officials in Qatar that essentially, this is going to go from their Ministry of Defense to the Department of Defense, not directly to President Trump himself. So, therefore, it's not a personal transaction, but then it is planned to go to the presidential library after, Jake.

And so this has raised a lot of questions, but the president was quite defensive about it and didn't seem like he was going to change any kind of attack despite what questions the Democrats and legal experts who have looked at this have raised about the legality and the ethics here.

TAPPER: Wait. It's going to the Pentagon and then the Pentagon is going to gift it to President Trump after the term's over?

COLLINS: Yeah. Essentially, the Pentagon will be in charge of retrofitting it, making the modifications to make it Air Force One- able, and essentially to have all the security aspects that any kind of president would need.

And then what we are told is the plan, and obviously this can change. It it's just in the first few months of his presidency, is that then they would gift it to the Trump library once he leaves office. Trump told reporters today he would not be using it after he leaves office, that he's doing it because he's frustrated.

And, Jake, also, you mentioned we are in Saudi Arabia right now. We're in Riyadh. Trump's second stop on this trip is Doha. So he will be going and meeting with the bureau officials who are gifting the Pentagon that plane in just a few days from now.

TAPPER: Yeah. But it sounds like they're really gifting it to Trump personally if he's taking it after his term. Kaitlan Collins in Saudi Arabia. Thanks so much. Kaitlan's going to have much more from Saudi Arabia on "The Source with Kaitlan Collins." That's coming up tonight at 9:00 eastern, only here on CNN.

Let's go now to CNN business editor-at-large, Richard Quest. He's on assignment off the Turkish coast. And, Richard, back to the tariffs. You're getting perspective on how businesses and markets all over the world are reacting to this 90-day tariff rollback/pause between the U.S. and China. Tell us more.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Sheer unadulterated relief that, if you will, the foot has been removed from the neck a little bit of the global economy. Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, summed it up when he said that both sides realized that decoupling China and the U.S.'s economy was not in either interest, and therefore, they've sort of taken a pause and a break.

But, Jake, there's still a 30 percent tariff, which before this would have been absolutely humongous. And now you and I are saying it's so much better because it's not 145. There's still going to be economic damage done as a result. It is going to be longer lasting. But for the moment at least, the rally in the Dow and the Nasdaq up to 4 percent, is just investors saying, thank goodness for the time being. Now, we can start to worry about what comes next.

TAPPER: I'm going to recommend to the people doing the transcript that's sound of exhaling. Richard Quest, thank you so much.

Joining us now, former U.S. Trade Representative under President Obama, Michael Froman, who is currently the President of the Council on Foreign Relations. Michael, good to see you. So, the U.S. temporarily lowered its overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 145percent to now they're at 30 percent, still higher than they were. What sort of impact will this have on trade for these next 90 days, and what impact will it have on Americans who are worried about higher prices?

MICHAEL FROMAN, FORMER U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: Well, first of all, Jake, I think it's a good step that both countries came to the table to try and manage the relationship rather than just escalate tension. But going from a 140 down to 30 percent on the U.S. side plus whatever tariffs existed before. So as I understand it, an additional 25 percent on steel, aluminum, other products. Other sectors could still have higher tariffs.

[17:09:58]

But it certainly sent a message to the rest of the world and to the markets that the U.S. wanted to step back from the brink of seeing empty shelves and interrupted supply chains. Small businesses were reporting that they were going to have to close down because they didn't have access to critical parts and inputs and couldn't replace them immediately from the U.S.

And on the Chinese side too, they were seeing their trade fall off a cliff on their side and also want to step back from the brink. But they now have a 90-day period to try and address some of the broader underlying questions and that's where the rubber hits the road and where the negotiations will become quite important.

TAPPER: President Trump cautioned that if a longer term deal with China is not reached, is not successfully negotiated during these 90 days tariffs on Chinese goods won't go back up to 145 percent, but he did say they will go up substantially higher. So there is still this uncertainty out there and I'm wondering how you think that's going to impact American businesses over the next 90 days because one of the -- we talk to businesses every day. We talk to a different small business owner and more than the tariffs in a lot of cases, the uncertainty is what's plaguing them.

FROMAN: I think that's absolutely right. I think the uncertainty runs the risk of both with consumers and with businesses having them sit on the sidelines. It's hard for a business to decide to invest a significant amount of capital in a new production facility or moving their supply chain if they don't have some sense of what the tariff regime is going to look like, not over the next 90 days or even over the next year or two, but longer term.

These are big capital allocation decisions. And so, at the moment, a lot of companies are simply standing on the sidelines, keeping their powder dry, and hoping there'll be greater clarity. Same with consumers. Consumers, if there's uncertainty in the market, they tend to pull back and slow down their spending. And so the combination of that uncertainty facing consumers and businesses could add to the pressure for a recession ultimately or a slowdown in growth.

TAPPER: Yeah. We even saw that with McDonald's financial call, saying that people are not spending on meals at McDonald's the way that lower income people, the way they did. You've been on the inside creating U.S. trade policy. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is emerging as possibly he most critical player in these ongoing tariff negotiations. What's your take on him? Do you think he's steering the ship in the right direction?

FROMAN: Well, I think he said a number of positive things about not wanting to decouple with China and hopefully that leads to a more strategic approach, with regard to specific sectors that we care about producing here in the United States as opposed to keeping out anything that China produces, whether or not it's strategic.

I think he is playing, from the outside, it looks like a very constructive role in partnering with Jameson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, which is where the technical knowledge around trade policy and negotiations really lie. I think the two of them together can hopefully bring this negotiation to a successful conclusion.

But the announcement over the last day or so really has been an announcement to negotiate. It's a pause and this isn't an agreement per se, and hopefully now the difficult work will begin.

TAPPER: U.S. Secretary Of Commerce Howard Lutnick, yesterday told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" that he, Lutnick, does expect a 10 percent tariff on basically any import in the United States. He thinks it's here to stay. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. SECRETARY OF COMMERCE: So we do expect a 10 percent baseline tariff to be in place for the foreseeable future, but don't buy the silly arguments that the U.S. consumer pays. Businesses, their job is to try to sell to the American consumer and domestically produced products are not going to have that tariff. So the foreigners are going to finally have to compete. They're going to have to compete. What happens is the businesses and the countries primarily eat the tariff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: It comes to these 10 percent tariffs. Is it true that American consumers will not end up paying for that 10 percent tariff?

FROMAN: Well, first of all, I think the secretary is correct in suggesting the 10 percent may well be the baseline going forward. We see that with the U.K. deal that was announced last week. Here's a country that actually has a trade deficit with us in goods and it's going to face a 10 percent tariff going forward. So that does appear to be where the Trump administration wants to land longer term.

You know, at the tariff, it depends frankly, Jake, sector by sector or product by product. In some cases, the businesses can reduce their margins, lower their profits, and eat the increased cost. In other cases, you have a lot of very narrow margin businesses where they pass the cost directly on to the consumer. Ultimately, it's going to be more expensive to the consumer one way or the other. As the question is how much of that gets passed on. And the experience before in the first Trump administration, most of those costs were passed on to the consumer.

[17:14:58]

The foreign country does not ultimately pay. It's the business that imports and ultimately the consumer.

TAPPER: Michael Froman, thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

FROMAN: Thanks for having me.

TAPPER: Just in, brand new video after today's release by Hamas of Edan Alexander, the last known living American hostage, now in safe hands after 19 horrific months held in captivity by the terrorists of Hamas. We have new details about his release ahead.

Plus, day one of testimony just wrapped in the trial of Sean Diddy Combs. CNN teams were in the courtroom. Their observations, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our "World Lead," American hostage, Edan Alexander, is finally free after more than a year and a half in the captivity of the terrorist group Hamas. Alexander, who has dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship had been held captive since October 7, 2023.

[17:20:00]

As CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports for us, Hamas handed him over after direct talks with the Trump administration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To Yael, Edan Alexander isn't just the last living American hostage in Gaza. He's, her son. And this reunion is more than 19 months in the making. Alexander, an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas on October 7th, released unconditionally in a gesture that U.S. Officials say could unlock a deal to free more hostages and deliver a ceasefire in Gaza.

Before that emotional reunion, a phone call to U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's cell phone assuaging a mother's worst fears. You're out, my soul. You're out, she tells him, grasping at this new reality.

YAEL ALEXANDER, MOTHER OF EDAN ALEXANDER: They just released a photo of you, and you look unbelievable. Wow. You look beautiful. I love you so much.

DIAMOND (voice-over): That photo of Alexander alongside a Red Cross official and masked Hamas militants gave his family the first confirmation that Edan was alive and well.

(CROWD CHEERING)

In Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, hundreds joining in the family's joy, cheering at the first sight of the hostage whose name, Edan, they've all come to know. TRUMP: I know his parents are so happy. They're so happy.

DIAMOND (voice-over): President Trump making clear he expects Alexander's release to lead to much more. Writing on social media, "This was a step taken in good faith to put an end to this very brutal war and return all living hostages and remains to their loved ones. Hopefully, this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict."

A week after announcing plans to launch a major new offensive in Gaza next week, the Israeli prime minister now agreeing under U.S. pressure to send a delegation to Qatar to negotiate. But he is also vowing those negotiations will continue under fire. For the families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, their fight continues.

UNKNOWN: Mr. President, sir, all of the Israeli people are behind you. End this war. Bring them all home.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Yehuda Cohen's son, Nimrod, is the same age as Edan Alexander. They were even posted at the same base on October 7th, but Nimrod is still captive in Gaza.

UNKNOWN: My son has only two titles, Israeli citizen and Israeli soldier. The only difference is the American citizenship.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (on camera): And, Jake, that father, Yehuda Cohen, told me that he has lost faith in the Israeli government and its priority of getting the Israeli hostages out, but he tells me that he is hopeful now in the wake of this deal to free Edan Alexander that perhaps President Trump will lead the charge to free the remaining hostages and put pressure on the Israeli government to do the same. Jake?

TAPPER: Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much. To get Edan Alexander released today, the Trump administration had to negotiate with Hamas, which is a terrorist group as designated by the U.S. government. What those talks and this release could mean for similar situations in the future, keep it here. My next guest has unique insight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:25:00]

TAPPER: And we're back sticking with our "World Lead," the release of Israeli American hostage, Edan Alexander. In order to secure Alexander's release, the Trump administration had to negotiate directly with Hamas, which the US government considers to be a terrorist group.

Joining us now, Brett McGurk, who served in the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. Brett, good to see you. What do you make of the U.S. directly talking with Hamas? What kind of message does that send? Do you worry about the precedent?

BRETT MCGURK, FORMER NSC COORDINATOR FOR THE MIDDLE EAST & NORH AFRICA: Well, first, Jake, I mean, you've been a champion for the hostages. I know, you know Adi and Yael, and this is just a great moment, a great day. These images are something. I spoke with Adi, the father of Edan last night. This is something we should all celebrate. And, you know, Edan was always going to come out at the first phase of what we called phase two of the hostage deal. The ceasefire deal fell apart about three weeks ago, and there's been a lot of work, I know, behind the scenes to secure Edan's release.

About a month ago, Jake, Hamas put out just a horrific hostage video of Edan. Then a few days later, they claimed they lost contact with his captors, suggesting he was -- had been killed in an Israeli strike. So there's been a lot of psychological torture going on. But, look, there's been a lot of back channel diplomacy. I know the countries played a role here. There have been indirect contacts with Hamas, some direct contacts with Hamas.

We, in the Biden administration, pursued a number of channels with Hamas indirectly. We always kind of tried to figure out the best way to get the hostages out. It's extremely, extremely difficult. The most difficult negotiation I've ever, been a part of.

TAPPER: I mean, first of all, yes. Of course, I completely applaud that he's been released. And, personally, I don't, you know, I don't have a policy when it comes to getting hostages out, but I do know it's a consideration for any government, should we directly negotiate with this group that we consider to be a terrorist group, whether it's Hamas or Al Qaeda or the Houthis or whomever?

This also means, of course, that the U.S.-amas talks mean that the Trump administration kind of bypassed the Netanyahu government in Israel. And I wonder what you think about those repercussions.

[17:30:03]

MCGURK: Well, keep something in mind here. There's a reason why, you know, Hamas didn't just out of his good graces decide to release Edan Alexander. It is under really tremendous unprecedented pressure. I mean, Israel has a policy right now that, frankly, in the Biden administration, we would not have endorsed. It is a complete siege on Gaza. There has been nothing going into Gaza humanitarian aid going on now nearly seven weeks. That has put tremendous pressure on Gaza.

You see Palestinians in Gaza rising up against Hamas. The military threat against Hamas matters. I mean, the pressure on Hamas matters. They are under unprecedented pressure. And the administration also, I think, leveraged effectively the visit of President Trump to Qatar, the first president ever to visit Qatar, to ensure that the emir of Qatar and others are putting every possible ounce of pressure on Hamas to release Edan. We were close to getting Edan out a few weeks ago. I think Steve Witkoff said that publicly.

He thought he was going to be released, and then that fell apart, and they were able to get it done here. Look, any time you can get an American out of a hostage situation, an administration will consider direct talks, including with a terrorist group. That is not -- we -- we talked to Hezbollah. We talked to others. We talked to groups affiliated with al-Qaida to get Americans out.

The thing, the judgment you have to make before doing that is, do you have a realistic chance of actually succeeding, of getting the American home? If not, you're just kind of playing into the hands of the extremist group. In any case, this is good. The key thing here, Jake, this needs to be a catalyst now to get the rest of the hostages out and hopefully get to that phase two of the hostage deal.

And what makes this so hard is Hamas's core demand is Israel says the war is over and Hamas remains in control of Gaza. And that's, like, not something that Israel is going to accept. I don't think it's something they should accept. But because of the pressure Hamas is under, there's a lot of discussions now about a formula where they actually do relinquish their security control of Gaza and you get to an end of the war.

That would be consistent with the deal that was put together in the Biden administration, which talks about the conditions to be set for the end of the war. Bottom line, good news. I think there's now momentum. Talks are beginning again in Cairo and Doha to reach that phase two. And, you know, we have to keep pushing. And I give the administration credit for keep pushing. You never give up. And hopefully we can bring this war to an end, get the hostages home and have a better future here for the Palestinians in Gaza and then begin to talk about a political path to a long term solution. Not there yet, but this could be a catalyst. And I think that's the most important outcome we should be looking for.

TAPPER: Let's hope so. Brett McGurk, thank you so much, as always, for your insights. We appreciate it.

Breaking the Law and Justice Lead, an explosive and very busy day just wrapped in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs. So far, we have heard from two witnesses and we could hear from Cassie Ventura, that's Sean Combs' former girlfriend, tomorrow featured in that horrific video of him beating her. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges that include racketeering, conspiracy and sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.

We have with us now CNN anchor and chief legal analyst Laura Coates, who's live for us in New York. She's a former prosecutor herself, was inside the courtroom. Laura, always great to have you on. Right out of the gate, the claims raised by the prosecution are disturbing. After opening statements, prosecutors called an L.A. police officer to the stand. He was a security guard in 2016 and he testified about that hotel surveillance video that CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister was first to obtain and break the news about.

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely. This has been quite a riveting day in court, beginning with immediately what's called the Batson challenge by the defense attorneys to suggest the prosecution had dismissed too many black prospective jurors. They had to fight back and give some race-neutral reasons for why they wanted to do so. Then they launch into this opening with two very distinct themes. For the prosecution, their theme was that Cassie Ventura and another pseudonymed victim by the name of Jane had no power, no control, and they were the victims of a concerted effort and scheme or an enterprise by the inner circle of Sean "Diddy" Combs to try to force them into non-consensual freak-offs, days-long opportunities, days-long non-consensual drug-fueled, sex-fueled nights.

Now, they made the point that Cassie, just 19-year-old when she met Diddy, was without any agency, had no choice, and tried to please him in order to avoid violence that came swift and frequently. On the other hand, the defense's argument, Jake, was that he was a complicated man. This was not a complicated defense, that, yes, they owned that he was, in fact, somebody who would engage in domestic violence.

He was, yes, a drug user. And at times, they said, you're not going to like this person. But a domestic violence abuser is not a racketeer or a sex trafficker, and they want the jury focused on what is charged and more importantly, Jake, what is not.

[17:34:59]

TAPPER: We also heard from a man today who testified that he was paid to have sex with Cassie Ventura. Why is that testimony important?

COATES: This is so important. This lays the foundation for these so- called freak-offs, trying to give evidence that she would not have consent or she was not a willing participant in these sexual experiences. Now, what the prosecution would like them to, the jury, to understand is that this person is the connection between Diddy being in the corner and in the background, either directing or filming or, in some cases, involving in masturbation, while he watched Cassie and other men involved in sexual activity.

The defense is going to say tomorrow at cross-examination and that this was, in fact, a personal relationship. She was not trafficked. We'll see what Cassie Ventura has to say tomorrow morning when she takes the stand.

TAPPER: All right, Laura Coates, thanks so much. And Laura, of course, is going to have much more coverage tonight on a special edition of Laura Coates Live, Diddy on Trial. That's tonight at 11:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN. You're not going to want to miss it. This is Coates's bread and butter. She knows prosecutions.

President Trump said today he'd be stupid not to accept that fancy $400 million airplane that the people of Qatar apparently want to gift him to use as Air Force One. Of course, Qatar won't want anything in return, right? We'll get into that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:52]

TAPPER: In our World Lead with outrage expressed by even some of his most stalwart supporters over what looks a lot like an attempt by Qatar to curry favor with President Trump. Some Democrats are calling it a bribe. President Trump today is defending a plan to accept a free up to $400 million luxury airplane from the Qatari royal family and then retrofit it so he can use it as Air Force One. It's raising serious ethical, legal, and security questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's a great gesture from Qatar. I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The White House notes that Attorney General Pam Bondi has signed off on this gift, though they failed to mention that Bondi from 2019 to 2020 lobbied Congress on behalf of the government of Qatar, which we should also note supports Hamas and spreads propaganda via Al Jazeera. CNN's Tom Foreman has more on this plane, which Trump says would go --

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The possibility of a $400 million gift jet from Qatar to serve as President Trump's new Air Force One is drawing lightning strikes of criticism. Trump's latest grift, it's not just bribery, it's premium foreign influence with extra leg room. And from the vice chair of the Senate Ethics Committee.

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE), VICE CHAIR, SELECT COMMITTEE ON ETHICS: This is almost exactly the sort of gift that our founders had in mind that Americans shouldn't accept. And I'll remind you, other federal employees can't accept even $50.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The plane would appear to fly in the face of the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause, which says no person holding any office shall without the consent of Congress, except of any present of any kind, whatever from any king, prince or foreign state. Ask about that. Trump hit back.

TRUMP: It's not a gift to me. It's a gift to the Department of Defense.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Analysts say the gift plane would likely have to be entirely stripped down and rebuilt to make sure it does not hold technology detrimental to presidential security. After all, Qatar has long ties to Hamas, a terrorist group in the eyes of the U.S. government.

TRUMP: The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is the United States of America accepting a gift of this magnitude from a foreign government that supported terrorist organizations?

FOREMAN (voice-over): In his first term, Trump hit upon the idea of revamping Air Force One, upgrading it, changing the color.

TRUMP: You know what colors we're using? Take a guess. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Red, white and blue.

TRUMP: Red, white and blue.

FOREMAN (voice-over): He became frustrated by the long, expensive process of doing all that. But now, Qatar has offered him a quick fix, and he's on board.

TRUMP: I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person and say, no, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (on camera): For Trump to say this is going to the Department of Defense, not to him, just doesn't really hold water, Jake, because the Department of Defense has its own rules beyond the Constitution that say you can't accept gifts like this.

Simply put, they say, would you get this gift if you weren't in the office you hold? Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump, both could have been given this plane two years ago. Neither one were.

TAPPER: Right. And the other thing is that the next president's not going to get to use it. My understanding is that President Trump, when he's done with his term, is taking this to his library.

FOREMAN: Yes, he says he won't use it again, but that's his word. And we've seen how that's worked out.

TAPPER: Tom Foreman, thanks so much.

[17:44:36]

One of the Democrats accused of storming that immigration detention center Friday in New Jersey is going to join me. I'll get her response to the Department of Homeland Security accusing her of body slamming an ICE agent at the scene.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our National Lead, the Trump administration is currently threatening legal action against some Democratic lawmakers who were involved in an incident last Friday outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.

[17:49:59]

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested after he joined the members of Congress who were demanding to see conditions inside the ICE facility. The mayor was released after a few hours. One of the lawmakers involved is New Jersey Democratic Congresswoman LaMonica McIver. She's the one in the red jacket there, you see, and she is with us now. First of all, Congresswoman, tell us more about why you were all there. REP. LAMONICA MCIVER (D-NJ): Thank you so much, Jake. And thank you for having me on today. We, me, along with Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman and Congressman Bob -- Rob Menendez from New Jersey, we decided to show up at this facility to conduct an oversight visit.

We've done this in the past. We've gone to other ICE facilities in New Jersey and did the same thing, conducted an oversight visit. We were simply there to do our jobs and we showed up there to do that. That is exactly why we were there.

TAPPER: I want to play for you part of a conversation that CNN anchor Victor Blackwell had with the spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security over the weekend. Let's roll that tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: You say a video of members of Congress body slamming ICE officials?

TRICIA MCLAUGHLIN, DHS ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS: That's correct. That's correct, sir. It's disgusting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Later Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security released body cam video of the confrontation. One video shows you pushing past federal agents to follow Mayor Baraka after he was led away. What -- what do you say to the DHS spokeswoman's claim of body slamming?

MCIVER: I mean, it's ridiculous, right? I mean, this is what the Trump administration does. Everything that comes out of their mouths are lies. Everything comes out of the President's mouth is a lie and the people who work for him that he has appointed, they lie and lie over and over again. Literally, I absolutely did not body slam anyone and the video that they show does not, you know, show me body slamming anyone.

We've been constantly calling for the release of all video. If they're going to release just certain parts, that's not helpful. They should release the entire, all of the body cam that they have, but me body slamming someone, absolutely not, Jake. That did not happen. In one of the body cam videos, it sounds as if you are accusing somebody there of committing assault. Let's roll that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCIVER: Why, why, why, why, why. He just assaulted me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: You -- you're heard saying he just assaulted me. I'm filing a complaint. Tell -- tell me about that. Who are you talking about?

MCIVER: I was referring to one of the agents. All of the agents were masked. There were over about 20 of them, definitely over a dozen to 20 agents that were there that were all masked. And so one of them had definitely roughed me up, you know, more than anyone. And at the time Representative Rob Menendez, I remember came over telling this man like, hey, she's a member of Congress, which they knew I was a member of Congress.

And it was a very, you know, high tension moment. It was a moment that I could not believe that was playing out before me. Just before then Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman and myself was trying to surround the mayor because we were scared to what they might do, going after him outside of the facilities gate.

So it was -- it was very high tension. I mean, they created all of the chaos and the confusion and, you know, what was happening, everything people see on the video, they escalated that. And so it was just very much a very frightening moment and a very tense moment as that played out.

TAPPER: In that Saturday interview, the spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security suggested that members of Congress who were there may be arrested. Are you concerned at all about that?

MCIVER: I mean, definitely it's a concern when you have, you know, an administration who is definitely, you know, putting out threats out there via Twitter, you know, to arrest you for doing your job. You know, like Jake, are they going to arrest me for doing my job, for showing up with my colleagues to perform an oversight visit? I'm going to be arrested because of that, because their officers created this chaos and this, you know, confusion and this confrontation with us.

I mean, literally we were there to do this oversight visit, which this is what we do. This is our job as congressional members. This is what the people of New Jersey elected us to do. It's un-American and -- and quite frankly, it's a sad day for America to even hear, you know, officials of DHS even indicate that we're going to be arrested for elected members doing their job. It's -- it's very, very concerning.

TAPPER: Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, Democrat of New Jersey, thank you so much for your time.

MCIVER: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: And this just in, the odds of the U.S. going into a recession, according to one of the biggest investment banks in the U.S. Well, I'll tell you what the report says next.

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Plus, major news from President Trump today, he signed an executive order that should help dramatically cut the price of prescription drugs. It's something many of you have demanded for decades. But is this price controls? It's a dose of intention versus reality. That's next.

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TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, a trade war semi pause means lower tariffs between the U.S. and China are on the way, but they're not gone entirely and the deal is only temporary. So what might this mean for your wallet and the prices you see at the store?

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Plus, President Trump signing an executive order aimed at cracking down on high prescription drug prices.