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Trump Holds White House Event On Musk's Final Day At DOGE; Soon: Trump Heads To PA To Tour U.S. Steel Merger With Japanese Firm; Now: Combs' Ex-Assistant & Alleged Victim "Mia" Testifies; Taylor Swift Now Owns Her Entire Music Catalog. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired May 30, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:01]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Any moment now, President Donald Trump will board Air Force One and travel to Pennsylvania to celebrate U.S. Steel's merger with Nippon Steel of Japan, an acquisition that President Biden blocked while in office on National Security grounds, one that Trump vowed to oppose while on the campaign trail. A week ago, though, the President did an about-face.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, he announced that he would approve the controversial deal, which has drawn bipartisan opposition. That's a decision that paved the way for Nippon Steel to buy the iconic American company, though many specifics about the arrangement are still unclear. President Trump describes this as a partnership between the two companies, not a purchase. We are live in western Pennsylvania here in a moment.

And also happening now, Elon Musk says goodbye to Washington, kind of at least. The tech billionaire ending his 130-day reign over the President's Department of Government Efficiency. Let's bring in CNN Chief Media Analyst, Brian Stelter, and CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein.

Brian, Musk departing Washington. Do we know if he's going to continue to have influence and sort of speak up?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Well, there's so much pressure on him from other directions to focus on his companies, right, to focus on Tesla, to focus on SpaceX. There are so many Elon Musk stands out there all around the world that don't want him in Washington anymore. And yet you see this tension, this back and forth, this pendulum swing, so to speak, with Donald Trump saying just now he's not really leaving, he'll be back, he'll be around, he'll be back and forth. And Musk agreeing.

I think that's coming from Trump's point of view, knowing that Musk is the richest man in the world, someone who can bankroll future Republican campaigns. He can help with the midterms, for example, even though Musk has said he doesn't want to be dealing with politics and financing anymore. I suspect that the more we hear Musk criticize Trump in gentle ways, the way he did on CBS the other day, that interview airs this weekend, the more that Musk is out there on his own the more Trump is going to try to keep him close. And we're going to see this back and forth, so to speak, for quite some time.

SANCHEZ: Ron, I wonder what you make of Musk's departure. He himself said that he only had a few days left as a special government employee. But it also comes at an interesting time where Republicans are trying to pass this Big, Beautiful budget bill, one that he doesn't necessarily agree with.

RONALD BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, you know, I agree with Brian. I mean, if you look at the arc of Musk's political involvement, the cost to his companies, particularly Tesla, the brand damage to Tesla, which was always a product that appealed more to kind of urban left or center people who would be outraged by many of the things that Musk was espousing or doing.

You know, it's not a surprise that their sales have plummeted in Europe and have taken a hit in the U.S. as well. And from the other side, you know, in many ways, Trump - Musk was useful to Trump as a heat shield. But he also became a focal point in a way that I think was a problem for the administration. If you look at that Wisconsin state Supreme Court election where he put himself front and center, Democrats were able to mobilize a lot of people to come out and basically say, don't let Elon Musk buy a seat on the Wisconsin state Supreme Court.

So, I think if you look at it from both ends, kind of the push and the pull, it's hard for me to imagine that he will ever again be as front and center and prominent as he was in the first months of this administration. Right now, he's saying he's not even going to invest in politics to the same extent. We'll see if that part holds up.

But I don't think you'll see this kind of public role for him again because it had problems from both ends.

KEILAR: Does he walk away, Ron, though, with some benefits when it comes to SpaceX and now so much of his involvement in the government and other companies that have contracts?

[15:05:00]

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, absolutely. I mean, you know, look, the Trump, you know, from pardons to contracting, you know, Trump is basically kind of mobilized or weaponized the federal government into a vast enterprise for rewarding his friends and punishing those he sees as enemies to a degree that is really unprecedented, I think, up and down. You look at what's happening to Harvard and then look at Elon Musk at the other end of that, and it probably will involve and I think there are cases already where it involves not only contracts, but regulatory decisions by agencies that were overseeing, you know, his companies.

I do think this broader question of, you know, whether, you know, will matter to the extent voters don't see Trump improving their economic circumstance. I mean, that's what he was elected to do above all. And if voters continue to believe that they're not seeing that kind of progress, then the idea that Trump ran on pledging to solve your problems, but all he did was make his rich buddies even richer, that becomes a pretty potent political argument. But it needs the backdrop of continued disappointment in his economic agenda. And that way, Musk could come back to bite him in 2026 and beyond.

SANCHEZ: Brian, I wonder what you make of Elon Musk's response when he was asked by a reporter about this New York Times reporting regarding his alleged drug use.

STELTER: I think this is going to be something that's going to be in the news for several days to come because he's avoiding the questions about the New York Times story, the headline in the Times on the campaign trail, Elon Musk juggled drugs and family drama. This report is very detailed. It says that his drug use was more intense than previously known.

And this matters for a couple of reasons. One, SpaceX, his company, is a huge government contractor. There are randomized drug tests. And according to the Times, Musk was tipped off in advance to know when those drug tests would happen. Number two, this is, you know, this detail here, it gets to the root of what so many people have wondered about Musk in recent months. Is something wrong with him? Is something changed? Is something going wrong? What's to explain all the erratic behavior?

Well, according to the Times, ketamine, sometimes daily, mixed with other drugs on the campaign trail last year. That's the Times reporting. They also have a photo of a box of pills. Now, Musk does not seem to (INAUDIBLE) back to the New York Times, attached to the publisher, complained about the Pulitzer Prizes, the paper has won in the past.

So, he did avoid - he has been trying to avoid questions about this topic, but they are unavoidable given the SpaceX drug test question, a dynamic - and some of these other dynamics that are underway. I did sympathize with him, though, when he talked about his five-year-old hitting him in the face and giving him a black eye.

You know, he does have his five-year-old son X around all the time. My five-year-old was trying to wrestle me today. I get it, right? Musk was pouting around with his son. He has a black eye. But don't you think that black eye is also going to become a metaphor for a thousand articles about his time in Washington? You know, this is a guy who was able to conquer basically every industry that he set out to succeed in. And Washington, D.C. may be the only one where he's going away with a black eye.

SANCHEZ: We should note that Musk has talked about having a prescription to ketamine as part of treatment for depression. Interesting to see his response there in the Oval Office.

Brian Stelter, Ron Brownstein, thank you both.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Let's turn back to Pittsburgh now. The President headed there shortly to celebrate U.S. Steel's merger with the Nippon Steel of Japan, a deal that he originally opposed.

KEILAR: That's right. CNN's Kristen Holmes is with us now on this.

Kristen, how is he explaining his reversal?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's saying that it's not actually a purchase of U.S. Steel, but instead it is a partnership. He described it as an investment. At one point, he said the U.S. was still going to completely control the entity, and that he wouldn't have agreed to a deal with any other terms. But the deal terms are actually incredibly murky, because since Donald Trump announced this, quote-unquote, "partnership," we have heard nothing from either of these companies.

And we do know that Nippon Steel had said that they wouldn't commit to an agreement in which the U.S. still controlled U.S. Steel. So, the only people that we have heard from are one Pennsylvania senator, Dave McCormick, who indicated that they had some arrangement where the U.S. government would control a majority or most of the board members who would have a say in what was happening in the newly acquired or partnered up version of U.S. Steel.

But there's also one other group that we've heard from, and it is the U.S. Steel workers represent the actual steel workers. And they are saying they still oppose this deal because they have no indication that the U.S. is actually going to have any control here. They always said they were going to oppose a deal in which Japan took over - the control. They say they still oppose it because they've gotten no indication that that's changed.

Of course, the backdrop of all of this, Brianna and Boris, is this trade war, is the negotiation over tariffs. Donald Trump has been trying to get a deal from Japan. We were told yesterday he mentioned that he had spoken to Japan just yesterday. So, that is in the background of all of this in this agreement now, obviously in the foreground.

[15:10:08]

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes live for us in Pennsylvania, thank you so much.

Still to come, the latest from the witness stand in the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial. A lot of explosive testimony there.

KEILAR: Plus, reality TV star Todd Chrisley talks about the emotional moment when he walked out of prison after his controversial presidential pardon.

And then, the debate over transgender athletes is about to hit the championship field in California. We'll take you there coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:14:59] KEILAR: Reality TV star and former federal prisoner Todd Chrisley made his first public remarks since President Trump pardoned him. Todd spoke to reporters today with his daughter Savannah, who Chrisley said fought a long fight to get him and his wife, Julie, free.

The stars of "Chrisley Knows Best" left federal custody Wednesday. They were convicted in 2022 for fraud and tax crimes. And he spoke at the moment that he learned he was getting out.

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TODD CHRISLEY: I remember walking back from the phone and just feeling numb, not really knowing. And then after about 10 minutes, all I could think about was the guys that I was leaving behind because I had made such wonderful relationships with those men. And when I left that day, there was only 317 men in our camp, but they were lined up shouting when I was walking out and they were saying, don't leave - don't forget us, don't forget us. And my commitment is to them that I will never forget them.

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KEILAR: Chrisley says he first thank God, then President Trump for his freedom. He also said his wife, Julie, remained at their home with their 12-year-old daughter, Chloe, saying, quote, "Chloe will not let her go." Boris.

SANCHEZ: Happening now, one of Sean "Diddy" Combs former assistants is back on the stand in the music moguls, racketeering and sex trafficking trial, testifying under the pseudonym "Mia." The ex- employee's testified that the music mogul physically and sexually assaulted her repeatedly when she worked for him. The defense just showed the jury more photos that Mia posted on social media for Combs birthday back in 2013 and asked her how she could post about Combs birthday, despite her claims that this was around the time when she says that he was sexually assaulting her. He responded - she responded, I should say, quote, "It was Puff's birthday. That's what the date was. And I try to forget that night and shove it down. I never wanted to think about it again."

Let's take you live outside the courthouse now with CNN's Kara Scannell, who's following the trial closely.

So, Kara, talk to us more about Mia's testimony.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, the cross-examination has been underway for most of the afternoon, and Mia's been questioned about all of these social media posts. They've shown her more than three dozen Instagram posts, some of them with photos of her and Combs smiling, laughing, enjoying themselves, photos of them on his birthday, a montage, collage photos and with the hashtags that are inspirational. She's thanking him for being a mentor, saying repeatedly in them, I love you, with a lot of exclamation points.

So, she's being challenged on how she could post these posts, especially the ones around his birthday, which yesterday she testified it was at his 40th birthday that he sexually assaulted her. She was then asked repeatedly, how could she wish her rapist a happy birthday? How could she wish someone who beat her best friend a happy birthday year after year after year? And she said, to some extent, it was something that she was supposed to do as part of her job to promote him. She also testified: "I was young and manipulated and eager to survive. I'm unraveling a lot of this now in therapy. Nobody was there to say these things that were happening were wrong. There was nobody around us that ever even flinched at his behavior."

Now, after they went through the social media posts, they then turned to a scrapbook that she made for Combs for his 45th birthday. There's a long-handwritten note attached to it where she's saying to him that she wants to remind him of all of the success he's had pulling clips from the early '90s when he was coming of age and rising through hip hop and media and asking how she could put that together after all of this. And she says - and he says to her, Combs' attorney, "Why would you, if you're being sexually assaulted, your friends being brutalized, make a scrapbook for his 45th birthday?" She said, "It's a lot more complicated than the way you phrase that. It's abuse on many levels." And she said that if they ask any sexual abuse advocate, they would be able to explain it better than she could.

Now, the jury has already heard from a sexual abuse advocate earlier in the trial, but her - she's still in cross-examination. Combs' attorneys was signaling he would go throughout the day. The judge is keeping the jury later than he has. He said he would keep them till 4 P.M. It's unclear if we're going to go that far, when if she'll be back on the stand on Monday. But the theme of the cross-examination has been to suggest that that this was not something that happened.

In fact, he even challenged her, saying, "Combs never sexually assaulted you, did he?" She said, "What I testified to on the stand is the truth." Boris.

SANCHEZ: And Kara, we actually just heard from President Trump when he was in the Oval Office. He was asked whether he would consider a pardon for Combs. Walk us through comments from the President.

SCANNELL: Yes. So, President Trump was just asked if he would consider a pardon from Combs since he has just delivered thousands of pardons to people since he's been in office this year. Here is what Trump said when he was asked about Combs, especially since he did used to know the music mogul.

[15:20:00]

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I haven't seen him, I haven't spoken to him in years. He used to really like me a lot, but I think when I ran for politics, he sort of - that relationship busted up from what I read. I don't know. He didn't tell me that, but I'd read some little bit nasty statements in the paper all of a sudden.

I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated, whether they like me or don't like me, it wouldn't have any impact on me.

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SCANNELL: Now, Boris, usually pardons are issued after there is a conviction in this case. Clearly, this trial is far from over. Combs' lawyers seemingly that they do plan to put on a defense. But as for now, Mia is still on the stand testifying. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Kara Scannell live for us outside the courthouse in Manhattan. Thank you so much.

Still to come, Taylor Swift says she now owns all of her songs, every version of them, more on the music deal and what it means for all of us Swifties when we come back.

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[15:25:36]

Listen, Swifties like us around the world are celebrating today. It's a huge win. The end of a year's long battle for Taylor Swift, the pop star, just announcing that she now owns her entire music catalog, including music videos, album art, concert films and those unreleased songs that we've been waiting years for. Swift announced the news on her website today, saying she was able to buy back her music outright, no strings attached following the success of her record-breaking Eras Tour.

KEILAR: You may remember Swift's former record label sold the masters of her first six albums. She desperately fought to get them back. And to celebrate her win, Swift posted this photo of herself on Instagram, surrounded by those six albums. The caption, "You belong with me."

Jem Aswad is the executive music editor for Variety.

I wonder, Jem, like, are we going to have to stay up till, I don't know, midnight or three in the morning to get releases of some of these unreleased songs? What do you think?

JEM ASWAD, EXECUTIVE MUSIC EDITOR, VARIETY: I know there's been a big rollout for each of them. She had been attaching them to her Taylor's version re-recordings, which was her way of getting back at the fact that she felt her catalog had basically been taken unfairly from her. So, no, there's always - there are very few surprises with things like that from her, but you never know.

SANCHEZ: It's always fascinating to figure out, like, music business and how an artist can create something and yet not actually own it. I do wonder, given the spectacular success that she's had, how much it cost her to buy back her own creative product?

ASWAD: Well, the sources - there's no official number. Sources say it was in the mid $300 million range. Shamrock paid $300 million for it, so they made a very good profit. But it wasn't, you know, really exploitative. And I think that she would have made enough noise about it if it had been that they may have backed down a bit, because this isn't just a victory for Taylor. This is actually - this entire situation has raised awareness of the value of intellectual property so much: Songs, writings, artwork, all kinds of things like that. It's really elevated that in the public consciousness. And consequently, so many more artists are signing deals where they either own their masters and the record company distributes them or the ownership comes back to them after five or seven or whatever years.

So that's where it's a real win and there have been so many things in Taylor's career that have been like that, where, yes, she's benefiting herself, but she's benefiting other artists as well.

KEILAR: Yes. And, you know, so it's infrequent, Jem, that we know about these folks who are behind the scenes. I mean, they're big players, I think, in the industry. But as people who enjoy music, we don't know them. But we know who Scooter Braun is. Remind us of the role that he played in this saga.

ASWAD: Well, he was - he's one of the most successful artist managers in the last 25 years, if not the most successful. He managed Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato. He doesn't manage any of them anymore. And he's largely gotten out of management. But it was his company that bought Taylor Swift's masters, the master recordings to her first six albums from Big Machine Records, the label that signed her when she was 15, I think. And she has said in their conflicting stories here, she has said that they made the - she attempted to buy them herself and they made it impossible.

I don't want to get into the details because it's not really sure who was telling the truth there. But, you know, it was good old American capitalism, quite honestly. But she made - she was so outraged by the situation in a very healthy way. I think, as you said, you know, it's hard to imagine that, like, you can write a song and it doesn't belong to you. But she made so much noise about it and was able to build so much pressure around it. And, you know, the Taylor's version re- recordings of the album gave her the upper hand as well. And she built her Eras Tour around them that it ended up being a win for her.

[15:30:03]

And now it's really a win. But it was a long way to get there.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it says a lot about her and the support of us, her fan base, supporting her version of these re-recordings.