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UN Aid Chief: Next Few Days Will Be "Make Or Break" In Gaza; Study Shows Daily Walks Can Help Protect Against Cognitive Decline; Trump Takes Questions As He Meets With British Prime Minister Starmer. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired July 28, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:32:30]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Any moment now President Trump expected to sit down with the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The president is at one of his golf courses in Scotland. On the agenda this morning the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the war on Ukraine, as well as the trade deal the president just struck with the European Union.

With now -- with us now is CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers, and former White House spokesperson for President George W. Bush, Pete Seat.

I want to start with this trade deal -- the 15 percent tariffs on European goods coming into the United States. The deal struck with the EU.

Is this, Pete, a) a political victory, b) an economic victory, c) all of the above, or d) none of the above?

PETE SEAT, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SPOKESPERSON FOR PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH (via Webex by Cisco): I did not know this would be a multiple choice test this morning, John.

But I'll just quote Donald Trump who said it's a big deal. And the president of the European Commission who said it is a huge deal, which I found interesting because usually Donald Trump is the one who uses the word "huge." But I will take both of their words for this. It is both a big and a huge deal.

I know we talk about the European union as a single entity, which as an economic bloc it is, but this is an agreement -- a negotiated deal with 27 member countries. Not only that but it also comes with massive expenditures and investment in the American economy to the tune of $750 billion worth of energy and another $600 billion worth of other investments that are not already planned. That is a huge windfall for our economy and for our workers.

BERMAN: Well, is it a windfall, Bakari, to charge 15 percent tariffs on European goods coming into the United States? Is that good for American consumers? BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, (D) FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA STATE REPRESENTATIVE (via Webex by Cisco): I think we'll see. I mean, I don't think you're -- or you should not hear any Democrats who are rooting against the United States of America or rooting against our financial interests.

The problem that we've had is that the president just simply can't be trusted and he's broken promises day after day after day. You talk about the fact that when we went down this path of tariffs his own trade representative said we were going to have hundreds of tariffs be rolled out day after day, deal after deal after deal. And so you look at this deal with some skepticism and you want to see the results of it.

I will tell you this, John. One of the things that the American public wants from both Democrats and Republicans alike -- and I say it until I'm blue in the face -- something they definitely do not get from this Trump administration even with this deal is competency and consistency.

[07:35:00]

And so the question is what happens next? And I do think that if this is a deal that is -- shows some value to an American worker than an A+. If we can stick to it, A+. But if this deal shows some value but then we have six or seven deals that remain undone or we end up lopsiding trade deals across the globe, then it won't matter. It'll just be spit in a bucket.

BERMAN: Again, as I said, we're waiting to hear from the president as he sits down with the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He'll no doubt be asked about this.

Pete, I expect he'll also be asked about Jeffrey Epstein, as he has regularly as he has traveled through his golf courses and the events in Europe. And one of the questions he will continue to face is: Is he considering a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell who was convicted of conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse minors? The president did not rule it out when he left for Europe.

House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about that and while he conceded it's the president's decision who he pardons or for whom he commutes sentences for, he also said this. Listen to the speaker.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON, (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: If you're asking my opinion, I think 20 years was a pittance. I think she should have a life sentence at least. I mean, think of all these unspeakable crimes and as you noted earlier, probably 1,000 victims. I mean, you know, this is -- it's hard to put into words how evil this was and that she orchestrated it and was a big part of it, at least under the criminal sanction, I think is an unforgivable thing.

So again, not my decision but I have great pause about that as any reasonable person would.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: What do you think of the position this is putting the House Speaker and others in, Pete?

SEAT: If they had an "I Stand With Mike" campaign button, I would be wearing it right now. He is pitch-perfect on this response. That is a pittance. She should have a life sentence at minimum. But I also am not too concerned at the moment that the president is not outright rejecting the idea of a pardon.

I don't think he should give a pardon, but if this is part of the conversation with Maxwell to get her to divulge everything she knows -- to make her think that a pardon may be possible -- then fine. Let's play that game in the public eye for a couple of weeks until we get what we need, then don't give her the pardon. That is a huge, huge error.

BERMAN: Bakari, I detected a headshake there.

SELLERS: Yeah. I find it really weird that Republicans and people at the DOJ are going down this path of having conversations with Ms. Maxwell. The reason being is because if she had any credible information to receive a shorter sentence, then she would have offered that information up to prosecutors when she was going through her initial trial.

Never in the history of history has anyone said oh my God, now after I've been sentenced let me tell the truth and divulge all this information.

What we do know though is that there is list. We do know that there is information. We do know that Pam Bondi was going through files. But the MAGA base was just caught out being fools on this. I mean, that's exactly what it is.

The President of the United States has made the Republican Party look foolish and he's made them look foolish on one of the most sensitive issues we have, which is child sex abuse.

Donald Trump's name is on the Epstein call log. It's probably on the Epstein list. And because it's on the Epstein list -- and that's what reports say -- he does not want to release it. I have a feeling that what we get won't be a full list. It's probably going to be blacked out, blacked out, blacked out. Bill Clinton, blacked out, blacked out, blacked about, blacked out.

So, I mean, I think it's -- I find this to be ironic and it's sad. It's a testament to who Donald Trump really is.

BERMAN: Again, you know, we don't -- we know or have reported that President Trump was told his name is in the Epstein files. We do not have any reporting whether it's on any list or whether there, in fact, is a list. That is something that we may see, depending on what Congress gets or others get in terms of Epstein disclosures.

I do want to ask about the president's new fight with Beyonce, which seems important to the president. Because Pete, he did post on Truth Social, "I'm looking at the large amount of money owned by the Democrats after the presidential election, and the fact that they admit to paying, probably illegally, $11 million to Beyonce for an endorsement."

Bakari, this never happened, by the way. The Democratic Party and the Harris campaign had to pay for some production costs for an event with Beyonce but there's no $11 million payment for an endorsement there, yet he is suggesting it.

Pete, he clearly is -- wants a public fight with Beyonce for some reason. Why?

SEAT: Well, he's itching with a fight for anyone or with anyone if he thinks it can score some political points and potentially distract from other issues. Not suggesting he's trying to distract from the Epstein case because this is just Donald Trump.

This is what he does late in the evening. He posts on Truth Social whatever is on his mind. But some of that is why his supporters love him so much. Whatever is in his head comes out of his mouth or through his fingers on Truth Social. They know what he's thinking at any given moment and obviously, this was on his mind.

[07:40:12]

BERMAN: I have to say this is the president at this point greeting the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as the prime minister arrives at Turnberry at one of the president's golf courses here.

Bakari, as we watch this, I just want to give you a chance to comment on the Beyonce post.

SELLERS: No. I was hoping that you would put up pictures of yourself probably in some sequins and a cowboy hat showing your just respect for "Cowboy Carter." I was hoping that you went to the concert -- the last one. Destiny's Child even came out at her last concert. The whole group came out. And, you know, she just put on an amazing show.

I think that Donald Trump just picks on people to try to distract from the Epstein files. But nobody can really mess with the queen.

And I hope that you went to see "Cowboy Carter" full and in person. You and Pete both probably should have went to that concert.

BERMAN: I have to tell you I have not had a chance to go. Tickets are hard to get, Bakari. But if I did, I would absolutely be bedazzled. It's the only way to go.

Bakari Sellers, Pete Seat, thanks to both of you --

SELLERS: Oh, yeah.

BERMAN: -- for being here this morning. Appreciate it -- Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning the next few days will go "make or break" when it comes to aid efforts in Gaza. That is according to the United Nations aid chief. And as international outrage grows, Palestinian health officials said today more than 14 -- sorry, 14 additional people have now died in the past 24 hours due to famine and malnutrition.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Jerusalem. So, Nic, more aid is set to arrive in Gaza today after Israel said it had paused military activity in some areas to allow that through.

Where do things stand? How much aid is actually getting in?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, and so those are temporary pauses -- tactical pauses in the fighting, if you will, in certain areas to let the aid get through these new humanitarian routes that the IDF is making open for the U.N. to use.

The U.N. says they got a lot of food in yesterday. One hundred trucks were coming from Egypt to the cross into Gaza. Sixty trucks coming from Jordon due to cross into Gaza. It's 600 trucks a day that are required.

A very senior official in the U.N. said look, what is really required here is not these corridors and not these temporary pauses, but a permanent ceasefire. That's the only way to get the right amount of food in. But he also said the level of desperation in Gaza is so bad at the moment that people know that the trucks are coming. He said there was a lot of looting from the trucks yesterday. Nevertheless, the U.N. pushing to get more and more of that food in.

But the question at the moment is, will these pauses continue? Will there even possibly be a ceasefire coming in the near future? The sort of hints and indications that we're getting from Israeli government officials seem to -- seem don't -- seem to point in the other direction, if you will.

We've heard from the defense minister today saying that if all the hostages aren't handed over then the gates of hell will be opened on Gaza.

We've heard from a lawmaker in the prime minister's Likud party saying that the overall plan for Gaza is for a military conquest. And when it comes to the international accusations of blockade and starvation in Gaza, Prime Minister Netanyahu himself has come out very, very clearly and denied that this even happening. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Israel is presented as though we are applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza. What a boldfaced lie. There is no policy of starvation in Gaza and there is no starvation in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So if you're trying to figure right now where are the ceasefire talks that seemed early on Friday, at least, or late Thursday to still be on track before they sort of collapsed over the weekend -- if you're trying to get an assessment of are those talks going to get back on track, the language doesn't seem to be there. The prime minister has been taking heat for allowing this additional aid to get into Gaza.

And Hamas is doubling down on their position and saying that there's no point in talking with the Israeli government right now because they are not serious about our efforts to get into proper peace talks and negotiations.

So as the U.N. official said today, it all depends on what happens in the coming days. They need a lot more aid to get in.

HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Nic, really appreciate it. Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. This morning new details about the stabbing attacks at a Michigan Walmart and how shoppers helped to stop it. A man armed with a folding knife attacked people apparently at random, officials say. Eleven people were injured.

Video obtained by CNN shows bystanders confronting the suspect in the parking lot.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throw the knife. Throw the knife that way. Throw it away! Throw it away!

[07:45:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put it down!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The 42-year-old suspect is facing one count of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with attempt to murder. All of the victims are expected to survive.

In California this morning a search is underway for a mother and her 8-month-old daughter. The Fresno County sheriff says 36-year-old Whisper Owen and her infant daughter Sandra McCarty were last seen on July 15 leaving Fresno to return to their home in Elk Grove, which is near Sacramento.

Police told CNN they believe Owen and Sandra were not in the Fresno area and there is nothing to suggest foul play is involved.

Her family fears a medical emergency related to high blood pressure may have caused her to veer off the road and they're urging the public to come forward with any information they may have.

New this morning there's a new 10-year study that shows how walking daily can significantly reduce the risk of cognitive decline, especially for those with a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer's. CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard is here. And I'm cognizant of

the fact that we stand up for this entire show, Jacqueline, but what does this study find?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: John, standing is great as well.

What this study does show, though, we've known that walking has been associated with cognitive benefits. That's long been established in research. But this new study kind of takes it a step further and really emphasizes how walking can have a protective benefit against cognitive decline in people with the APOE4 genetic variant that puts them at an increased risk for Alzheimer's.

So this research -- it's being presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference this week. It includes data on nearly 3,000 adults and it shows that greater walking was associated with slower decline in people carrying the APOE4 genetic variant. And this association was actually slightly greater among Black adults compared with white adults, so walking may have a slightly greater benefit for the Black community.

But overall, John, the takeaway is even if you have a genetic variant that puts you at an increased risk you can reduce that risk by staying physically active.

BERMAN: Jacqueline, stand by for a moment. The president is taking questions in Scotland. Let's listen.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- come into the country, zero -- other than come in through legal means. If you're stopping immigration and stopping the wrong people, I give -- my hats are off to you. You're doing a -- not a good thing, you're doing a fantastic thing.

So I know nothing about the boats but if the boats are loaded up with bad people -- and they usually are because, you know, other countries don't send their best. They send people that they don't want. And they're not stupid people. And they send the people that they don't want.

And I've heard that you've taken a much stronger stance on that.

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Yeah. We've done a lot of work stopping them coming. We just signed an agreement to return them, and we've returned 35,000, in fact, in the first year of this labor government of people who shouldn't be in this country. So we're very pleased that we're getting on with returning people who have got no right to be here.

TRUMP: That's great. As somebody that loves this country -- I love this country. My mother was born in -- as you know --

STARMER: Yeah.

TRUMP: -- my mother was born in Scotland and it's an incredible place. A beautiful place.

And if that be the case, I congratulate you. That's exactly -- because, you know, Europe is going to -- is a much different place than it was just five years ago, 10 years ago and they've got to get their act together. If they don't, you're not going to have Europe anymore as you know it, and you can't do that.

This is a magnificent part of the world, and you cannot ruin it. You cannot let people come in here illegally. And what happens is they'll be murderers, they'll be drug dealers, they'll be all sorts of things that other countries don't want. And they send them to you, and they send them to us, and you've got to stop them. And I hear that you've taken a very strong stand --

STARMER: Yeah.

TRUMP: -- on immigration.

STARMER: Yeah.

TRUMP: And taking a strong stand on immigration is imperative.

REPORTER: Mr. President, Prime Minister Netanyahu said there's no starvation in Gaza. Do you agree with that assessment?

TRUMP: I don't know. I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly because those children look very hungry. But we're giving a lot of money and a lot of food, and other nations are now stepping up. I know that this nation is right here.

STARMER: It's a humanitarian crisis.

TRUMP: Right.

STARMER: It's an absolute catastrophe. But nobody wants to see that. And I think people in Britain are revolted seeing what they're seeing on their screens. So we've got to get to that ceasefire. And thank you, Mr. President, for leading on that. And also to just get more and more aid in. Again, America has done a lot on this. A lot of countries have done a lot. We're now working with Jordan on getting direct aid drops in. But this is a desperate situation.

REPORTER: Do you think Israel has done all it can do to avoid civilian casualties?

TRUMP: Well, I think nobody's done anything great over there. The whole place is a mess. It'll get straightened out but it's a mess. They have to get food and -- food and safety right now and ultimately.

[07:50:00]

Look, Hamas did a horrible thing, and they paid a big price -- but Hamas did a horrible thing. But I always said when you get down to the last 20 or 10 -- they're down to 20 -- we got a lot of hostages out. And you helped us, by the way.

STARMER: Yeah, yeah.

TRUMP: But we got a lot of hostages out over the last six months that I've been in. I've been in office for six months now. And these hostages have been -- I mean, they -- many of them have come to the Oval Office and they've thanked me so profusely. I said you don't have to thank me. I did what I have to do.

But I always said when you get down to the final 20, they won't release them because that's like their shield. Very unfair. And so something is going to have to be done. And they were really unwilling to talk. But I've said that when you get down the final 10 or 20 -- it turns out to be 20 -- I thought that would be the number. I said they're not going to be dealing with us.

And, you know, many of the hostages are now dead. You know that. And parents come up to me. A woman came up to me two weeks ago. She just wants her son back. And I said, "How's he doing?" "My son is dead, sir, but he's with them and we want the body." She wanted the body of this young boy -- of her young, beautiful son just as much as if he were alive.

STARMER: Yeah.

TRUMP: It was just as important. There was no difference. And it's a very -- it's a tragic situation, frankly.

But we got a lot out and now possibly the fight will have to be a little bit different. But they have totally changed now. They don't want to give hostages. Very unfair. You have 20 living people -- in this case, living. You have many dead people too that they want to get out.

STARMER: And a helluva long time as well.

TRUMP: Yeah. They have 20 living people. And I told Israel -- I told Bibi that you're going to have to now maybe do it a different way.

REPORTER: Do you think a ceasefire is even possible, Mr. President?

TRUMP: Yeah, a ceasefire is possible, but you have to -- you have to get it -- you have to end it. You're talking with Israel -- you're talking about there because we have many ceasefires going on. The whole world is -- if I weren't around, you'd have right now six major wars going on. Indian would be fighting with Pakistan.

You see what we just did yesterday with two nations that we're trading with.

STARMER: Yeah.

TRUMP: And during the trade I said I'm not going to do any trade deal unless you guys settle your differences, and we got it settled in 24 hours. I mean, they just announced it was settled, which is a tremendous thing.

But Serbia-Kosova is another one. We have many hotspots what were at war. I think a very big one was Indian and Pakistan because that's -- you're talking about two nuclear nations.

STARMER: Yeah.

TRUMP: That was a very big one.

But -- and we get help from the U.K. The prime minister has helped. We have cases where we specifically need the help because somebody comes from here that you're aware of and, you know, when you come from a country you can do things. I call up the prime minister and all of a sudden, he's able to do things.

True also with other presidents and prime ministers. But we've done -- nobody's ever done what we've done. We have six different major --

If you take a look at Rwanda and the Congo -- Republic of the Congo. They've been fighting for 31 years. Eight million people dead. It was going on. Nobody could go to that part of Africa. They were being killed. To even walk there you'd be killed with machetes. And it was a violent situation.

And I was able to -- they like Trump. They wanted to make a trade with Trump. They wanted us to take their rare earth. They want to give us their rare earth. And I got to know the leader of the Congo. I got to know both of them indirectly. And I called them, and I said let's end the war. I don't want anything until you end the war -- and we ended the war.

As you know, the foreign ministers came up two weeks ago and the leaders are going to be coming very shortly to Washington -- of Rwanda and Congo. I mean, that's another one that we did.

So we've done a lot. It's an honor to do it. It's not hard for me to do it and I use -- not in all cases, but I use a combination of knowing them a little bit or in some cases knowing them a lot. I knew the leaders of Pakistan and India. I know them very well.

And, you know, they're in the midst of a trade deal and yet they're talking about nuclear weapons. And I say this is crazy. So I said I'm not doing a trade deal with you guys -- and they want the trade deal. They need it. I'm not doing a trade deal with you if you're going to have war.

And that's a war that spreads to other countries. You'll get nuclear dust. We'll all get nuclear dust. When they start using nuclear weapons that stuff blows all over the place and really bad things happen.

So maybe we're being a little selfish when we want to save wars too, but we stopped a lot of wars and it's a great honor to have done.

Thank you all very much. We're going to be talking inside about -- very much about Gaza and the humanitarian aspects of Gaza I think, right?

[07:55:00]

STARMER: Yeah.

REPORTER: Mr. President, what about Russia and Ukraine? You're talking about ceasefires. What's the latest on that?

TRUMP: I would have said five times we would have had a deal. I've spoken to President Putin a lot. I was -- I got along with him very well. But five times, and every time -- four times, maybe, but we've had discussions. You and I have had discussions.

STARMER: Yeah.

TRUMP: We thought we had that settled numerous times and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever. You have bodies lying all over the street. And I said that's not the way to do it.

So we'll see what happens with that. I'm very disappointed. I'm disappointed in President Putin. I'm very disappointed in him. So we're going to have to look -- and I'm going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number because I think I already know the answer of what's going to happen, OK?

Thank you very much, everybody. We'll see you later.

BERMAN: All right. You're watching President Trump and the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The prime minister just arrived in Scotland to meet with President Trump. They're going inside of the president's golf club right now and we're going to hear from them again shortly.

But some news made just at the end there where President Trump was asked about the situation in Ukraine. And the president -- and I believe for the first time -- that the 50-day period he had granted Russian leader Vladimir Putin to move toward peace before he pushed for secondary sanctions -- President Trump just announced he's going to reduce that number. He said he's very disappointed in Vladimir Putin, so a move -- some kind of diplomatic move toward Russia may come sooner than the 50 days.

He also spoke about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, noted the pictures of starvation he's seen, and said that is what he will be speaking about behind these closed doors with the British prime minister.

Stay with us. We're going to hear from him again shortly. Much more ahead.

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BERMAN: All right. This morning the FAA is investigating a possible landing gear incident that sparked a fire and forced more than 150 passengers to evacuate. Video shows passengers scrambling to escape the American Airlines flight after it caught fire during takeoff at Denver International Airport. At least one person was hurt.

Let's get right to CNN's Pete Muntean for the latest here. This video has made the rounds, Pete. I've got to say it's something.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it really is something, John.

You know, first, good job to the pilots for ordering the evacuation on the runway -- the flight attendants were executing it -- and the airport rescue and firefighting crews for getting this fire out quickly.

The video shows some really key takeaways here for passengers. More on that in a second.

This happened in American flight 3023 as it was accelerating for takeoff. You might think more landing gear issues happen during landing, but they often happen on takeoff too.

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