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Trump Threatens Massive Tariffs Against E.U., Apple; Harvard Sues Trump Admin to Stop Ban on Enrolling Foreign Students; DC Shooting Suspect Charged with Murder, May Face Death Penalty; New Round of U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks Underway in Rome; Newark Airport Faces Major Test During Busy Holiday Weekend. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 23, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Senator Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire joining us this morning from Canada, even further north than New Hampshire. We appreciate your time this morning. Thank you very much.

Brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this hour. Futures are falling after President Trump just this morning threatened to hit the European Union with a 50% tariff because trade negotiations, he says, are going nowhere. And that's not all. He's also threatening Apple with a huge tariff, too, over where the phones are being made.

Also breaking: Harvard University firing back at the president's latest move. The new lawsuit the university just filed after the administration said it would bar the school from enrolling any international students.

And the Memorial Day travel rush expected to shatter records and putting Newark Airport to the test after a series of scary incidents in the air. What you need to know before you go.

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: All right, the breaking news brand new trade threats from the president rattling markets looking maybe to ease into the holiday weekend. Not happening. Not one bit. The president threatened the European Union with a 50% across the board tariff beginning June 1st, which is soon, he says, is because trade talks are stuck. The threats continuing elsewhere. He's going after Apple. He says he will impose a 25% tariff on Apple if it doesn't make and manufacture its iPhones in the United States.

Let's get right to Alayna Treene at the White House. The president hadn't been talking tariffs for a few weeks, had backed off, retreated in some ways now advancing again.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Exactly. It's very clear this morning that the president woke up with tariffs on his mind, John. And really, we're seeing the president again really try to wield this threat of massive import tariffs on other countries, on companies for economic activity that he disfavors.

And this morning, the main target that is in his sight is the European Union. I want to read for you what he posted. He said, quote, "Our discussions with them are going nowhere." Referring to the E.U., he said, "Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% tariff on the European Union starting on June 1st 2025." That is right around the corner. He went on to say, "There is no tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States."

Now, to be very clear here, John, this tariff that he is considering slapping on the European Union is more than double that initial 20% reciprocal tariff that he had threatened on the E.U. back in April. Of course, he paused those reciprocal tariffs with a number of other countries while he said that they would be working on negotiations.

Clearly, the president does not feel confident enough that negotiations with the European Union are going well. That is what he cited for wanting to slap this 50% tariff on the E.U. again, starting on June 1st. That is just days away.

Now, this announcement comes as we know that his trade representative, Jamieson Greer, is set to speak with the European Commissioner today. So, hopefully we'll get more details of what happens on that call and how the European Commission and Union is responding.

But already we can see the markets are not liking this. We're seeing pre-stock market pre-trading dropping already. The European stock markets fell 2%. And so this is something that, of course, a major, major difference in how the president has been responding to this.

And one thing to be clear on when it comes to the E.U., this is something that the President has long had a gripe against. He -- interesting enough, is negotiating with the European Union rather than the individual countries within it. He's treating it as one block. We know that Prime Minister -- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was recently at the White House. She is someone who has a good relationship with President Donald Trump.

She was really going on behalf of the E.U. to see if they could, you know, use her warm relationship with the president to get them more favorable terms. As of now, clearly, it does not seem like that is something that is moving forward.

And I also just want to briefly turn your attention to what you said about Apple that just 30 minutes prior to that, the president was posting that if Apple does not begin manufacturing iPhones in the United States, he wants to place a 25% tariff on iPhones as well. This comes just days after -- on Tuesday, when the president met in person with Tim Cook, Apple CEO at the White House.

So, a lot of tariff news today, major consequences of how this could change. And of course, markets responding in turn.

BERMAN: It is interesting. He waited until his big economic plan was through the House of Representatives, took a few weeks off from talking about tariffs. Let things settle. The minute that goes through, he's back on tariffs. Notable timing there.

[09:05:03]

Alayna Treene at the White House. Thank you very much.

Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Very insightful on that one, John.

Also breaking this morning. Harvard is now fighting back in a new way. The university just filed a new lawsuit after the Trump administration issued an order barring the school from enrolling any and all international students and telling Harvard's existing foreign students they either have to transfer to another school or lose their legal status to be in the United States. If that order stands, it would be a major blow to the university. International students make up a quarter of Harvard's student body.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is on Harvard's campus. Harvard making this new move this morning. Shimon, what are you learning about it?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Kate, this is so significant. What the impact of what the administration has just done. When you read this lawsuit, you really get the sense of just how important this program is to universities across the country, but also for Harvard. They say that this affects at least -- at least 7,000 visa holders who are now part of the university.

And just to give you the idea of how significant this is, they write that without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard. And what they're arguing is that the move here by the administration violates due process. It violates the First Amendment and that it's retaliation against Harvard. And that they write that with a stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter -- a quarter of Harvard's student body.

They then go on to give us a timeline. I think this is important because it's really the first time that we're hearing from Harvard on all the steps that they have taken to try and comply with what the Department of Homeland Security and the administration wants from them regarding records of visa holders. And they say that they have been providing records, but that the administration is arguing that it is insufficient. It's not a complete record.

And so, now we are at this point where they are threatening to terminate, terminate foreign students from this university. They also go on to write that, as I said, that they have been providing information and that this is all, they argue as part of this lawsuit, that this is all about to impact Harvard's speech, its perceived viewpoint, and its refusal. They're saying they are refusing to surrender their academic independence or relinquish their constitutional rights. Now, part of what they're arguing is that there is a process by the

government here in this program for how they could revoke this program. It is limited. And there is a process. And that is where the due process issue comes up. And they also argue that the way the government is going about this is that it's outside of their regulations.

And so, they are now arguing to a judge here in federal court in Massachusetts to put an end to this, at least temporarily, as they try to figure out how to proceed here in this unprecedented moment that we are facing against Harvard University.

And so, we could, Kate, see some action here from the court, from a ruling here from the court. Quickly, they have ruled in similar cases involving foreign students, as you recall, when the administration went after the SEVPs program. So, we could see some decision here, some ruling here from a judge as early as today, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Shimon, I'm so glad you're there. Thank you so much for bringing us that reporting on this new lawsuit. Really appreciate it.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right. This morning we have new information on the man charged with murdering two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. That young couple killed. Authorities are focusing in on what they call a manifesto written by 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez. At least one of the murder charges against Rodriguez carries the potential of the death penalty.

We are also learning more about Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, the victims of this awful crime. They have been described as a beautiful couple together, just weeks from being engaged. The Israeli ambassador to the U.S. called Yaron a, quote, "prince of a human being."

CNN's Brian Todd is in Washington, D.C. following all of this. What else are you learning about the victims this morning in this horrific attack?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Sara. We've been gathering information on these victims, just total devastation for their families and getting a picture here of two young people who really had their lives ahead of them and a lot of bright, bright days ahead.

What we can tell you, the victims are Sarah Milgrim, 26 years old. She's from Kansas, and Yaron Lischinsky, 30 years old. Israeli officials told us that they met while working at the Israeli embassy here in Washington. Lischinsky, according to those officials, had recently bought a ring to propose to Milgrim in Jerusalem. They were going to go there next week so that she could meet his family for the first time and that he could propose to her.

[09:10:06] Now, we've also been gathering information on the charges against the suspect. Elias -- Elias Rodriguez. He is 31 years old from Chicago. Here are the charges that he is facing. One is using a firearm to commit murder, that carries the possibility of the death penalty.

Also counts of first-degree murder, two counts of murdering foreign officials, and one count of using a firearm during a violent crime. It is also possible that hate crime charges could be filed at a later date.

Now, Jeanine Pirro, she is the interim U.S. attorney for D.C., spoke to reporters yesterday about whether the Justice Department will pursue the death penalty, at least in that one charge of using a firearm to commit murder. Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANINE FERRIS PIRRO, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR DC: The president and the attorney general have both indicated that, you know, in cases where the death penalty is warranted and seems appropriate, we will use it. It's far too early to say whether that is the case, but this is a death penalty-eligible case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: We can also tell you that Elias Rodriguez has not yet entered a plea in this case. He's going to remain behind bars pending any future hearings. His next scheduled hearing is June 18th.

And, Sara, you know, again, these charging documents that were filed, that were unsealed yesterday, just have chilling details about how the shooting unfolded, how he walked past them, then turned, fired at them, and then when they were down, at least he fired again at them, according to the documents, and as the young lady, Sarah Milgrim, tried to crawl away, he fired again at her.

Sara.

SIDNER: Just awful details are heard to go out to the families of both of the victims there. Thank you so much for that great reporting for us, Brian Todd.

John?

BERMAN: This morning, high-stakes nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran. They have begun in Rome. Iran expected to deliver strong objections to the U.S. proposals.

A break-in, a torched Porsche, and a dog locked in a bathroom. Wild new testimony in the criminal sex trafficking trial of Sean Combs.

Plus, the best times to travel this holiday weekend, as the travel numbers are set to break records. I might just go now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:16:37]

SIDNER: Happening now, high stakes nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran have begun in Rome, according to an Iranian news agency. Now, you're looking at video of the Iranian Foreign Minister with his delegation there. The negotiations are taking place amid growing skepticism in Tehran.

CNN's Alex Marquardt is in Washington tracking all of this. What are we expecting to happen today?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, this could be a make-or-break moment for these talks. And the noises going into them, at least from the Iranian side, have not been good. Now, that could be posturing. We will see.

The two sides will be sitting down today for these fifth round of talks. In the last round, the two sides exchanged proposals. So, this time, they're expected to try to align them. But, Sara, there is a very, very fundamental question that the two sides are still at odds on. And that is the question of enrichment for civilian purposes.

Is Iran allowed to enrich at any level, including at a very, very low level, so that they can have civilian nuclear energy? The U.S. says no. Steve Witkoff, the lead U.S. negotiator, said recently that Iran can't even enrich to 1%. That it's a very, very clear red line, he said, for the United States.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Minister, who's going to be sitting across the table from Witkoff, he posted on X recently, "Zero enrichment equals, we do not have a deal. Time to decide," he says. So, that is a very fundamental difference there. How are they going to reconcile these differences, that difference in particular? We're told by U.S. officials that they are trying to come up with creative ways to figure that out.

Meanwhile, Sara, lurking in the background of these talks is Israel, which has taken a very strong line, of course, against Iran. They would like to strike militarily Iran's nuclear sites. They have tried to get the U.S. on board with that. We reported earlier this week that Israel was making preparations militarily to strike Iran's nuclear sites.

And we've just learned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dispatched his top aide, Ron Dermer, to Rome to meet with Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of these talks, no doubt to keep pressuring the U.S. to maintain a tough line with Iran.

Sara?

SIDNER: Yeah, these talks have happened before. They happened with the Obamas. They had a deal. That deal broke apart. And now this administration is trying to get another deal. We will see what happens, and I know you'll be following it all. Thank you so much, Alex Marquardt. Appreciate it.

Kate? BOLDUAN: Joining us right now to talk about this is CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kim Dozier. On this meeting going on right now, I was listening to Alex, and he was talking about how his sources are telling him they're trying to think of or get to a creative way of dealing with the enrichment issue. And I'm wondering, what is a creative way of dealing with zero enrichment demanded and zero enrichment rejected? I mean, what does it look like even?

KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, one way would be for the U.S. or someone else to provide enriched uranium to Iran in future, for that to be part of the deal, that Iran would get rid of its resident uranium enrichment capacity and that someone else would be on the hook to give them just enough uranium enriched to just enough for peaceful purposes.

[09:20:05]

They're considering this strike, is that they're worried that the Trump administration will cave and that Iran will be left with some uranium enrichment capacity, and that means that they could have a secret facility somewhere, as Israel and U.S. officials say they have now, that could enrich -- you know, the suspicion is that they have enough nuclear fissile material to make up to six nuclear weapons right now. It's not enriched all the way, but it would only be a matter of weeks or months to get there, and that's dangerous for the whole region.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, Ambassador John Bolton was on just last hour, and from his viewpoint, he says he's not going to believe really any of the words coming from Iran when they leave this meeting, and here's what else he said. Let me play this for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: What we should be looking for is evidence that Iran has made a strategic decision to give up the pursuit of nuclear weapons. We saw that with Muammar Gaddafi in 2003, 2004. There's no evidence that the ayatollahs in Tehran have made that decision, and when they say we don't want nuclear weapons, you know, you can't -- you can't rely on their word and their conduct over 30 years indicates to the contrary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: What do you think, Kim?

DOZIER: Well, one way to know for sure is if Iran opened up more of its facilities to international inspectors, something it's been reluctant to do after the Trump administration pulled out of the Obama deal in its first term. But this moment could go on for a while, and what's troubling Israel is that after Iran attacked Israel last October, Israel hit back hard and took out a number of Iran's air defenses. With each passing day, Iran rebuilds those defenses.

So, if Israel wants to strike and have its pilots be safer and have a greater chance of success damaging more of these secret, well-dug-in facilities, it's got to do this strike sooner rather than later, even though the Trump administration, Trump himself, has made it clear he wants to cool things down in the Middle East, not spur a possible next conflict or future war.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. Kim, it's great to see you. Thanks for coming in this morning.

Sara?

SIDNER: All right. We are minutes away from the opening bell, where markets are not looking so good, at least the futures so far, are down on news this morning that President Trump now once again is threatening to raise tariffs, this time on Apple products manufactured outside the U.S. and on the E.U.

And five years since the killing of George Floyd, and America still not come to terms with what was supposed to be a racial reckoning. I speak to George Floyd's brother about this grim milestone. Those stories and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:27:22]

BERMAN: All right, we have about 33 minutes left in this show. So, keep watching. But the minute it's over, you should probably hit the road. Because AAA says more than 45 million Americans will travel this holiday weekend. The TSA says it plans to screen 18 million flyers through next week. At Newark Airport, they're still feeling the pressure after the staffing issues and outages there. The FAA has cut flights to help. Question is, will it be enough? Let's find out.

CNN's Brynn Gingras is at Newark Airport, where you single-handedly have been keeping things moving all morning long. Are you still succeeding?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the suspense, I'm sure, is killing people right now. It's not bad, John. I will tell you that if you're headed to Newark, maybe it's a good thing, actually. I can't believe we're saying that after everything that travelers have been experiencing. But you can see behind me, not too long of security lines, at least in this terminal that we're at here at Newark Airport.

And we've been checking the delays and the cancellations of flights, and really that number hasn't ticked up too much just yet. But it is early in this holiday weekend, and so, of course, we do know this is one of the busiest travel weekend holidays of the year. You mentioned 45 million people, according to AAA, are going to be traveling over this four days, Thursday to Monday. Most of those people are going to be hitting the roads.

The good gas prices or better gas prices, an incentive for people to be hitting the roads. But there is still a lot more people flying the skies as well. And here at Newark, we know, you mentioned it, John, they have been cutting down on flights coming in and out of this airport, trying to alleviate some of that pressure that they have been feeling over the last couple of weeks. And hopefully it stays as good as that we are seeing it right now.

But we did talk to some travelers who did have a little bit of concerns. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: Were you nervous about flying out of Newark?

INNA MASHIACH, TRAVELER: Yes, very much.

GINGRAS: Why?

MASHIACH: We heard a lot of stories about many delays, and we have many kids with us. Yes, hopefully it will be OK.

GINGRAS: So, did you ever once think, maybe we should switch to a different airport?

JACK LANZA, TRAVELER: We booked, what, about two months ago. And then when the news broke about everything, I was like, this could end bad. But we're just going to hope and pray.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: Those two guys said that they were going to hit the bar, grab a mimosa, and get ready for their travel. So, maybe that's a good plan as well. Another person telling me just to have a little bit of patience, a little bit of kindness, when you head to the airport. Because, you know, it's always possible you're going to hit some delay or some cancellations. But hopefully everyone gets to where they want to go this holiday weekend smoothly, John.

BERMAN: And you don't have to choose between kindness or the mimosa. You can have both. You can have both.

GINGRAS: That's true.

BERMAN: All right, Brynn Gingras at Newark, thank you for keeping things running so smoothly there.

Kate?

BOLDUAN: All right, we are seconds away from opening bell right now.