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Soon, Trump Meets With British P.M. Starmer; U.S. Futures Higher After U.S. and E.U. Strike Trade Deal; Ghislaine Maxwell Appealing to Supreme Court to Overturn Conviction. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 28, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Any minute now, we will see President Trump with the British Prime Minister facing questions of potentially everything from the new European trade deal to his refusal to rule out a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse minors.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, panic on the tarmac. Passengers slide to safety after their American Airlines flight catches fire in Denver, the latest in a series of aviation incident.

And the key to preventing Alzheimer's may be a walk in the park, or maybe even a studio. The new study on the benefits of walking and your brain health.

I'm Erica Hill with John Berman.

Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner are out. This is CNN News Centrals.

BERMAN: We are standing by to see President Trump sit down with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, in Scotland. The president could take questions, which is always unpredictable. The early reviews are in on the new trade deal announced with the European Union. The Financial Times says the deal marks a victory for Trump, while the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board says the damage and lost trust in the U.S. and new economic costs is still real.

The U.S. and E.U. set a 15 percent tariff on most European goods coming into the U.S. This morning, trade will no doubt be on the agenda with the British prime minister, but they will also focus on the war in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as concerns about mass starvation and malnutrition draw international outrage.

Let's get right to CNN's Jeff Zeleny in Edinburgh, in Scotland, waiting for the president and the British prime minister. What's the latest from there, Jeff?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning. A transatlantic trade war was averted when that deal was announced yesterday with the U.S. president and the head of the European Commission representing the European Union. Now, there is a new tariff rate. So, check the prices coming up on things that Americans like to buy from Europe, like French perfume and other matters.

It is widely seen as a a deal benefiting the U.S. but American consumers will certainly feel some of the brunt of that, but a big deal nonetheless, as the president has worked to sort of reshape the global trading order, the biggest deal he has made yet.

But you're right, as this meeting is happening this morning with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, other issues are on the agenda, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepening over the weekend. The starvation reports, the images are so, gripping and grizzly.

The president had this to say yesterday about the situation,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: When you get it down to a certain number, you're not going to be able to make a deal with Hamas. Because once they give them up, then they feel that's going to be the end of them. And what I said is exactly true. You know, they had a routine discussion the other day and all of a sudden they hardened up. They don't want to give them back. And so Israel's going to have to make a decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, one aims of the meeting is to have the -- Prime Minister Starmer is expected to pressure the U.S. president to put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to call for a broader ceasefire. British officials are saying that that is the leading objective of the meeting. Of course, there still needs to be some finalization of the trade deal that was inked just last week with the U.K. and the U.S.

So, John, a mix of business and pleasure here in Scotland all weekend long. Protesters turned out the president spent considerable time on the golf course, but also inked the largest trade deal so far in a second term.

BERMAN: Yes, you said a mix of business in pleasure. I've seen a lot of pictures of golf, Jeff.

ZELENY: There was a lot of golf. And, of course, he has the golf resorts here. And the whole reason for the president doing his favorite weekend activity playing golf at his resorts here is to open a new golf course tomorrow. That's in the north of the country, on the North Sea and Aberdeen Shire. It's named after his mother, Maryanne McLeod, who, of course, is from Scotland, moved to the U.S. at age 18 after the First World War.

[07:05:00]

That, of course, has increased President Trump's interest in Scotland over the last couple decades. It's been controversial, no doubt.

But for all the talk of mixing his personal business with U.S. government business, it is on full display here this weekend, massive security outpouring from the Scottish side as well as the U.S. side so he could play golf and can open that golf course tomorrow. Obviously, he wants attention to be drawn on his businesses here.

So, some of the things, John, from the first turn that seems sort of quaint now are baked into this. The Trump business often seems rolled into the U.S. government interest.

BERMAN: All right. Jeff Zeleny at Edinburgh, again, we're standing by for the President and Keir Starmer. We'll hear from both of them shortly. You'll be there as well. Thank you so much, Jeff. Erica?

HILL: So, let's talk a little bit more about this trade deal, this announcement of the framework between the U.S. and the European Union, ending months of sometimes contentious negotiations with America's largest trading partner.

So, under the framework for this agreement, there's a 15 percent across the board tariff to be placed on imports from this 27 nation bloc. President Trump touting the agreement as quote, the biggest deal ever.

CNN's Matt Egan joining me now. So, we're still waiting on some of the details. What do we know at this point, Matt?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Erica, look, it is certainly a relief that the two sides came to an agreement. This does avoid what would've been a very damaging and concerning transatlantic trade war.

Now, as you mentioned though, a lot of the details are unclear. I haven't even seen a White House fact sheet yet. This is not a legally binding agreement, but one thing that is clear is, yes, the U.S. tariff rate on the E.U. at 15 percent.

Now, I know that this agreement is a de-escalation, but what should not get lost here is this is not a cut to the tariff rate, okay? Last year, the U.S. imposed about a 1.2 percent on average tariff from the E.U. That was last year. Currently, this tariff rate is at 10 percent. The threat from the president was that starting Friday we'd have a 30 percent tariff, and the agreement again calls for 15 percent.

So, this does fit a familiar pattern where whether or not there's a deal, you have a situation where tariffs are higher right now than they were before the president took office. And so economists, they tell me that, ultimately, this is going to get paid largely by U.S. consumers and U.S. businesses importing from the E.U.

And the E.U. was the number one source of imports into the United States last year. The U.S. bought more than $600 billion of goods from the E.U., everything from pharmaceuticals and cars and car parts, to aircraft, machinery, alcohol, like French wine, electrical machinery, all of this now facing a much higher tariff than at this point last year.

Now, some of the details about this trade agreement include the fact that the president says that the E.U. has agreed to buy an additional hundreds of billions of dollars of goods from the United States. They're investing, he says, $600 billion extra. He says the E.U. is going to buy $750 billion of U.S. energy, likely oil, natural gas, no tariff on U.S. exports to the E.U. That's good news for us business. And this 15 percent tariff does apply to autos that we get from the E.U., like BMW and Volkswagen.

Justin Wolfers, the economist, he put it best he said. Basically, the American president has raised taxes on Americans across a wide range of goods. He said the E.U. president has announced its tax cuts for Europeans across a narrow range of goods. And so I do think at the end of the day, the bottom line here is whether or not there's a deal, the one constant is higher tariffs, and we see it again in this case with the E.U.

HILL: Higher tariffs, and as you point out, likely translating to higher prices for Americans. Because if you're talking about 15 percent, that's a big jump for those importers and companies.

EGAN: Yes, absolutely. Economists do feel like at the end of the day, consumers in the U.S. are going to shoulder most of the pain from the higher tariffs.

HILL: All right. Matt, I appreciate it, as always.

EGAN: Thanks, Erica.

HILL: Thank you. John?

BERMAN: All right. This morning, Ghislaine Maxwell pitches the Supreme Court to throw out her conviction as President Trump refuses to rule out pardoning her for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abused minors.

How bystanders cornered a suspect in a stabbing rampage at a Walmart that injured nearly a dozen people.

And the search for a mother and her eight-month-old daughter both now missing for ten days.

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[07:10:00]

HILL: In just a few hours, attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell are expected to make their final pitch to the Supreme Court as to why the justices should consider overturning her conviction for helping Jeffrey Epstein carry out his sex crimes. Maxwell is asking the court to review her 2021 conviction arguing she's covered by a 2007 non-pro -- pardon me, non-prosecution agreement that Epstein's struck with federal prosecutors in Florida. It included a provision not to charge any potential co-conspirators.

The Justice Department has urged the Supreme Court to reject her appeal and the timing here is, of course, notable because all of this is happening as the DOJ and the White House are trying to manage the spiraling furor over this case. Maxwell was granted limited immunity to speak with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last week about the Epstein files and about that case.

[07:15:02]

According to her attorney, she may also be looking for a presidential pardon.

Joining us now, CNN Legal Analyst Carrie Cordero. Carrie, great to have you with us. You know, given what we know, the fact that she was granted this limited immunity, which I understand is fairly standard in events like this, but that her attorney was not-- her attorney was not at all shy and noting, yes, sure, she'd be game for a pardon. And you have a history where she was actually charged with perjury, not convicted because there were bigger charges that came up, but the DOJ repeatedly said she can't be trusted. So given all of that, what are they actually going to get out of her?

CARRIE CORDERO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. I think, Erica, it's a really big question, what it is that the Justice Department is trying to achieve and why the deputy attorney general, you know, the number two position in the Justice Department responsible for managing everything that the department is doing is spending his personal time going down his own professional and personal time going down in doing these interviews himself with her last week.

She already was prosecuted. She already was convicted. She's serving her sentence. She was prosecuted and convicted, not just for being an accomplice or somebody who got wrapped up in the activities of Jeffrey Epstein. She was convicted for having an integral role herself in committing the crimes.

So, my view on this is that anything of value that she would have had to provide information that she has that would have lent towards her leniency towards her, in her case, she would've provided it at the time of her criminal trial to try to lessen the sentence at that time.

So, it'll be interesting to see what comes out of this. Of course, we were told the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, saying the information about what they discussed would come out in the, quote, appropriate time, as we wait to see what that is.

I was struck by some comments from David Boies, who represented Virginia Giuffre, who, of course, died by suicide earlier this year. He was talking specifically with Jake Tapper about what else the Department of Justice knows and how we ended up in this place, noting that, in his view, the DOJ has really failed here, not only in terms of his client, but the hundreds of other young women who survived this abuse. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BOIES, REPRESENTED VICTIMS OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN AND GHISLAINE MAXWELL: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell could not have operated on the scope and scale that they did for decades without the help and support of a great many people those people have not been held responsible. There are people that the Justice Department knows that the Justice Department has declared to be co-conspirators that the Justice Department has never gone after.

This is a failure of every Democratic and every Republican president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: What are the chances that these meetings could potentially lead to charges for other people involved in the sex trafficking scandal?

CORDERO: Well, again, it depends on whether or not Ghislaine Maxwell actually has information that she would not have been compelled to provide when it actually would've helped her in her own interests in lessening the charges against her or lessening her sentence that she received for this case.

I think, look, from the perspective of a lawyer for one of the victims. If there's more information that should have come out in the investigation, and even if today there was more information that would come out, then there's a path through which that should be handled, which is an actual investigation.

That's very different than a public airing of protected information that was obtained about victims in the context of grand jury, which is what we're hearing members of Congress would like to hear, and there seems to be sort of a public clamoring for it. But that information remains secret for a reason, and that's to protect victims.

So, I think there's two different issues there. One is whether there's any information related to this case that took place in the past that requires further investigation. And then there's the separate issue of why it would be in anyone's interest to have this information become public.

HILL: Carrie, I really appreciate it, as always. Thank you.

Still ahead here, a new study says it is time for you to get walking. How adding to your daily steps could actually reduce your risk of cognitive decline.

Plus, President Trump calling for the prosecution of Beyonce based on a non-existent $11 million payment and her ties to the Harris campaign.

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[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right. This morning, baseball history, the first Japanese player inducted into the Hall of Fame. Ichiro Suzuki proved he can not only deliver hits but also deliver some biting one liners.

CNN's Coy Wire is with us this morning. I got to say, I did not see this coming with Ichiro.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: He had the whole crowd giggling. Good to see you, John. The Seattle Mariners marvel, Ichiro Suzuki, famously said, going into the Hall of Fame was not the goal. He didn't even know it existed until he first visited in '01. Ichiro's combined 4,367 Pro hits in MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball would make him the all time hits king ahead of the late Pete Rose.

Mariano Rivera is still the only player to be elected to the hall with 100 percent of the vote, but Ichiro received 99.7 percent. The ever enigmatic entertainer delivered a poignant and playful speech. Here's part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ICHIRO SUZUKI, INDUCTED INTO BASEBALL HALL OF FAME SUNDAY: People often measure me by my records. 3,000 hits or 262 hits in one season are achievements recognized by the writers.

[07:25:05]

Well, oh, but one view (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: He said that writer's not invited over for dinner anymore.

The Lionesses, they roar once again, England Crown champs of Europe for the second executive of time after defeating Spain 3-1 in a nail- biting penalty shootout in the Women's Euro 2025 final. Chloe Kelly scoring the decisive penalty after a 1-1 draw, the hero again, just as she was when they beat Germany to win this tournament in 2022. With this, England avenged the memory of their defeat to Spain in the 2023 World Cup final.

NASCAR and Cookie Monster go together like cookies and milk, right? Cookie serving as the grand marshal of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and after a 100-race winless streak dating back to 2022, Bubba Wallace takes the checkered flag, first black driver to win a major race on the fame 2.5-mile oval. Wallace lifted his trophy and kid eventually there celebrating the NASCAR Cup victory for third of his career, first one at the series four Crown Jewel Race.

NBA superstar, you have to see this. Nikola Jokic showcased a side of himself, rarely seen on the basketball court, pure, unadulterated, happy tears. John, after his beloved horse galloped to victory at a race in Serbia. The lifelong equestrian enthusiast breaking down into sobbing tears after his horse crossed the line. He refused to take the trophy, demanding that it go to his team instead. But he did not hesitate to pop the champagne and make it rain. He got his trainer, this jockey, even the horse catching some strays before he eventually dumped a bunch of it on his own head, John.

Jokic has said that horse racing, not the NBA, where he is a three- time MVP, horse racing is the greatest sport in the world. He said his greatest victories and worst defeats came in that sport.

BERMAN: Yes. I mean, he's probably the best basketball player on Earth, arguably, but there are people who look at this and say he gets more joy out of the horse racing, which is why some people think he may not be in the basketball game for all that long. That was joy right there, I got to say. WIRE: That was pure joy, no doubt about it. He has his dream chasers stables. They've won like 50 or 60 races and he reluctantly got into basketball. His lifelong dream is horse racing, and as you can see, it's a nice little side hustle for now, but maybe not for long. Soon, it'll be the main event, if you will.

BERMAN: Yes, that's a hell of a side hustle, three-time MVP

Coy Wire, thank you very much for that.

WIRE: You got it.

BERMAN: All right. We're standing by for President Trump to take questions as he meets with the British prime minister. We've got new developments on everything from trade to the Epstein scandal.

Nearly a dozen people stabbed at a Walmart. We're getting new details on the investigation.

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