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Former DOGE Worker Assaulted; Tariffs Now in Effect on Dozens of Countries; Trump Escalates Trade War. Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) is Interviewed about Russian Agreement. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 07, 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]

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Islands. And what we find lurking off the coast there, it may surprise you. It certainly surprised us.

We go inside fishing villages. We go out on navy patrols. And we go into communities -- and this is where it's really heartbreaking -- where they're still searching for loved ones who vanished.

Now, sure, the U.S. and Ecuador just signed this new security agreement. And, yes, Ecuador's most feared gang leader, known as Fito, is now in U.S. custody, this happened in recent weeks, on charges of drug and arms trafficking. But the violence is worsening. And Ecuador's leaders, including the president, are even calling for U.S. troops to help. They say that Ecuador, this year, 2025, could be its deadliest year yet.

And so we're following this very closely, but we're also going very deep in this documentary this weekend. And we hope folks can get a sense of what's going on there and how this is actually impacting us.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, fascinating.

David, thank you so much. I'm really looking forward to seeing this episode. I really appreciate it.

New episode of "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper" "Ecuador: The Narco Superhighway." Much more of David's reporting airs Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A new call by the president to federalize the police force in Washington, D.C. A city where the violent crime rate is actually going down.

As of this morning, nearly every country in the world wakes up to a new wave of tariffs. How this will affect the prices you pay.

And they are dubbing it Operation Trojan Horse. New video shows the moment Border Patrol agents hid in a rental truck for an immigration raid.

Sara is out. I'm John Berman, with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: And developing this morning, violent crime on the streets of the nation's capital. And President Trump seizing on it to renew his threat of a federal takeover to run Washington, D.C., potentially. The victim that we're talking about at the center of this is a 19-year-old former DOGE staffer named Edward Kirstein. He's better known by, we'll say a salty nickname that we won't use here. Police say he and another person were attacked in an attempted carjacking early Sunday. According to the incident report, officers say a group of ten young people were seen surrounding his car and then assaulting him. Two 15- year-olds were arrested and charged with unarmed carjacking.

And the president, on Tuesday, shared a lengthy social media post about it. Sources telling CNN that the White House is now making plans to ramp up federal law enforcement in D.C. starting today. And on Wednesday, the president was asked about the potential of a federal takeover of the D.C. Police.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Are you considering taking over the D.C. Police? Is that an option on the table?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're -- we're considering it. Yes. Because the crime is -- is ridiculous. I could show you a chart comparing D.C. to other locations, and you're not going to want to see what it looks like.

We're going to beautify the city. We're going to make it beautiful. And what a shame. The rate of crime, the rate of muggings, killings and everything else, we're not going to let it. And that includes bringing in the National Guard, maybe very quickly, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That is despite a significant drop in violent crime actually in D.C. The Metropolitan Police say incidents of it have dropped 26 percent from this time last year.

But let's get to CNN's Brian Todd. He's watching all of this and tracking it for us.

Brian, you're on the streets there where this happened. What are you learning?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, we have some new information from the Metropolitan Police on this incident. We'll set the scene for you first.

This is the intersection where this attack occurred on Sunday. This incident, which was really the catalyst for the president making all these remarks this week about federalizing D.C. and possibly taking over the police department. Early Sunday morning, the attack occurred right here at the corner of Swan and 15th Streets northwest. Police, according to their report, say that they rolled up on the scene here and there was a car parked right around this intersection where that former DOGE employee, Edward Coristine, was with a friend of his. As you mentioned, there were ten young people surrounding the car. Police say when they rolled up and exited their vehicle, the -- the young people scattered. They did arrest two of them.

Now, the new information this morning, guys, is that they have a third person of interest whose photograph they have just put out, the Metropolitan Police, and they say multiple young people are still outstanding. Multiple suspects are still outstanding here. So, that's the latest on the investigation.

But we have also reached out to the office of the mayor, Muriel Bowser, for comment on this idea that the president has put forth on trying to federalize the city, saying that we may have to run the city the way it's supposed to be run. Mayor Bowser, despite multiple attempts from CNN to get comment, has not commented on that, has not commented on the idea of the federal government taking over the city. She has been treading very carefully on this. We've asked for the mayor to go on camera, and so far she has declined to comment on any of this.

[09:05:06]

We have also reached out to the Metropolitan D.C. Police on the idea that President Trump has put forth on taking over the police and saying that violent crime is a huge problem in this city. So far, the Metropolitan Police have declined to comment on any of that and declined to put their chief, Pamela Smith, on camera with us.

So, we'll keep trying to get them to comment on all of this.

As you mentioned, Kate, violent crime, though, is, in fact, down considerably in the city. Twenty-six percent down from a year ago at this time. Carjackings have also been going way down. So, you know, the facts of the matter remain that the city is on a positive trend as far as violent crime.

But again, when a high-profile incident like this occurs, especially with someone attached to DOGE, which is such a controversial entity in and of itself, you're going to get a lot of brushback and a lot of buzz around it. We're going to see if the city officials and the mayor and the police have anything to say about it.

We've also reached out to just about every member of the D.C. city council. None of them have commented on it except for one, Christina Henderson, who voiced some frustration that the federal government, including the Biden and Trump administrations, have not approved or nominated enough judges to handle the criminal caseload, and the Senate has not approved them. So, that's the only comment we've heard from anybody who's involved in running this city so far.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, great reporting, Brian, as always. Thank you so much. John.

BERMAN: All right, breaking overnight, after repeated delays, President Trump's sweeping tariffs, they've taken effect. And it could represent the biggest change in the world economic structure in nearly a century. The new measures impact dozens of America's trading partners around the world. They face a minimum tariff of 10 percent. And for many of them it's much, much higher than that. It could affect the prices you pay on all kinds of things.

Let's get right to CNN's Matt Egan.

It's on, Matt.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, John, it is. And look, it's also just a huge gamble by the president, right? He's trying to reshape global trade in a way that helps the American people without hurting the economy or reigniting inflation. That's not going to be easy. And it's just way too early to say how this is going to end, because in many ways we've really just begun.

Look at these numbers here. This is historic levels of tariffs. Ten percent. That's the minimum tariff on nations the U.S. has a surplus with. That is -- means that 10 percent is really the new zero. Fifteen percent minimum tariff on nations the U.S. has a trade deficit with.

And then we have more than two dozen nations that have even higher tariffs than this 15 percent, including 30 percent on South Africa, 35 percent on Iraq, 39 percent on Switzerland, 50 percent on Brazil, even though the U.S. actually has a trade surplus with Brazil. Just yesterday the president threatened to impose major penalties on India that would lift India's tariff rate to 50 percent.

Now, it's important to remember that even though the president says that other nations are paying these tariffs, it's really U.S. importers that are paying the tariffs to the U.S. Treasury. And economists and trade experts say there's a number of products that Americans buy that are very exposed to tariffs, including computers, clothing, watches, shoes, alcohol, furniture and toys.

Now, a lot of people are probably wondering, when am I going to see these price increases? Well, in some cases you may already have. In other cases, you know, it does take time to have all of this filtered through the system. Goldman Sachs says it could take eight months between when tariffs take effect and when consumers notice them. I think the bottom line here is the president, he clearly believes in tariffs. He believes in all the positives, virtually none of the negatives.

But, John, we really are in uncharted territory here. There's no precedent for it in the modern economy.

BERMAN: And he says he's not done yet, correct?

EGAN: Oh, yes. This is really just getting started. So, we already have these tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper. But then there's other tariffs that are on the way. There's investigations that have been launched that could pave the way to tariffs on a whole range of goods, including lumber, semiconductors, critical minerals, trucks.

Just yesterday the president talked about a 100 percent tariff on semiconductors, foreign semiconductors. Two hundred and fifty percent was threatened earlier this week on pharmaceuticals. And new polling numbers, they do suggest that voters are not -- they're a little skeptical about the early stages of the trade war. This UMASS/Amherst poll shows that on tariffs, just 31 percent of adults say that they think the president is very well -- done very well, or somewhat well on tariffs. Sixty-three percent say not well.

So, that does suggest, John, that the president has an uphill battle here to convince the public on why he's using tariffs.

BERMAN: Matt Egan, thank you very much.

EGAN: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, joining us right now is Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha and CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Brad Todd.

We should mention, disclosure, Brad does consulting for Republican candidates in multiple House and Senate campaigns.

[09:10:01]

Both of them very busy men. Thank you for being here just in the midst of your busy schedules.

BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks. It's good to be here, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Let's talk about tariffs first, because as Matt was just laying out, it's all setting in, in a very big way right now, Brad. And one of the things that we've heard from companies over and over again is, some prices are going up, but prices are definitely going to be going up in the long term. And the way Matt was kind of laying it out earlier was that it could be eight months when you really start feeling that as a consumer. Is that -- are you concerned about just the timeframe when you talk about the candidates you're working with and just the political schedule as it is? If people are shoulder shrugging and the markets shoulder shrug now, eight months from now, that's tough.

TODD: Well, all these things go together, right? We're stopping tax increases from go -- kicking in at the end of the year, Republicans are. There's a deregulation agenda that the president has put in place. And ideally, we'll get a rate cut from Jerome Powell. And all these things tend -- have to come together.

I see this latest round of tariffs, though, as a straight up Russia play. Before the Ukraine war, India was buying less than 1 percent of its oil from Russia. Now it's 40 percent. India is basically the profiting sidecar for the Russia war in Ukraine.

And a lot of the president's critics have been -- have faulted him for not being tough enough on Russia. Well, if you want to stop Russia in Ukraine, you cut off their oil customers. And punishing India is the best and fastest way to do it. He's the only leader in the world that's been willing to do it. The Europeans have been too scared to take on Russia's oil customers in India. This is a big move on Ukraine.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Well, and then the -- then the attention goes to, what does that mean for China? I know the president had kind of said, maybe, sort of, that might happen with China as well.

But in the midst of this, and kind of to that point, Chuck, I mean it -- companies so far have been absorbing, in large part, have said they're absorbing the tax from these tariffs. Do you think this -- do you see this as a politically potent opportunity for Democrats, or do you think that it -- the -- the world is just saying, this is the price of doing business now?

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: The word opportunity, Kate, is, I think, the most important part of this. Regular folks, regular voters don't have any idea what a tariff is. It sounds right and it sounds like when Republicans talk about, we're going to punish this person or punish this person because they're not being, quote/unquote, fair. Donald Trump got elected because he got people to believe that the system was rigged, and it is. But the problem is, is that he got them to believe, for Democrats, that he was the solution, and he's proven that he is not.

Now, if he does, in fact, bring prices down like he said he would do on day one, they would win overwhelmingly in the midterms. And, yes, there's a lot of time left to go.

And your point about the eight month lag. Folks don't understand tariffs, but they will understand when the price of their everyday goods go up, if they in fact go up. And if they go up, every Democratic congressional ad in America will be talking about, you're paying more for this or that and blame congressional Republicans. If it don't go up, it'll be a head to head war. And if they go down, it will be a bad day for Democrats. That's politics, and it's bottom line.

BOLDUAN: Let's talk about the -- well, your home state in Texas. Let's talk about redistricting. And there's a lot more -- there's more elements into kind of the Republican efforts here and Democratic efforts, I should say, in response. The president put out on social media, and we'll put it up on the screen, a lengthy post this morning that essentially said that he has now instructed the Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new census, which, obviously, is not set to be happening for years now.

But as we know, the census and the result of it impacts every aspect of our lives. One of the big -- one of the big things is it helps decide congressional maps.

TODD: Right.

BOLDUAN: Do you -- does this have everything to do with redistricting?

TODD: Well, it does. In fact, we know the 2020 census, the errors were almost always to the detriment of red states. Blue states like Rhode Island --

BOLDUAN: Do we know that?

TODD: We do know that. The Census Bureau's own audit of its work has proven that. Blue states like Rhode Island were overcounted. Rhode Island then doesn't -- didn't lose a seat. Red states like Alabama were undercounted. That's -- this is just a fact. It wasn't all red, blue, but it was disproportionately red, blue.

BOLDUAN: Do you think the president would care about this if he wasn't looking at trying to gain five seats in Texas and a seat here or there in Indiana?

TODD: I think the president's focused on the census not counting illegal people. That's --

BOLDUAN: That's -- yes, (INAUDIBLE).

TODD: He was focused on that in the prior -- about the prior census as well. But reapportionment for 2030 is going to change the map. After the 2030 census, there will be a lot more seats moving to red states, a lot of states moving away from blue states. That's going to impact the Electoral College. It's going to make it much tougher for Democrats to win the White House in 2032.

BOLDUAN: Chuck, what -- what is happening in -- in Texas in the midst of all this? I mean we know that Democrats have left the state. And now I was just reading that, Greg -- the governor had said on a -- I believe it was a podcast, said that maybe the FBI is going to be coming into help. Here's the quote, "but know this, it's my understanding that the FBI is going to search for those derelict Texas house members in whatever state they may be in, and help identify them and maybe work with us to bring them back."

[09:15:04]

ROCHA: This is all a bunch of Republicans trying to twist themselves into a pretzel. They're trying to make the American people think that this is palatable in some kind of way. You based -- basically brought up the fact in the beginning is, we don't do redistricting until every ten years. They're trying to literally add five Republican seats because, there's always a reason, because this big bill that they passed is so unpopular they know they're going to lose seats. So, why don't we pad, quote/unquote, what Donald Trump would say, rig the system. The American people, I just said Donald Trump has let people know that the system is rigged and now him and the Republican Party are putting their hands on the scale to rig the system to add five more seats. You can put all the lipstick on this pig you want to, it's still going to smell like a pig. TODD: You know, well, Chuck, I'm glad you're finally outraged about

mid-decade redistricting because last cycle, in 2024, Kathy Hochul tried to do it in New York to help Democrats take the House. I don't remember Democrat consultants being fired up against Kathy Hochul.

ROCHA: (INAUDIBLE). That was in the middle of a court order for God's sakes.

TODD: She lost in court. She lost redistricting in court.

ROCHA: It wasn't Kathy Hochul. They were -- the Democrats even backed off of that and said, look, we'll keep these seats. They could have redistricted, but they didn't. Again, it still smells like a pig, brother.

BOLDUAN: Am I the pig in this, like, in the middle? I'm trying to understand my role here.

TODD: No. No, the pig is Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrat majority -- minority in the House.

BOLDUAN: Oh, I -- I -- I set you up. I let you walk right into that one.

ROCHA: Here we go.

BOLDUAN: But one final, quick thing. But it does feel like that you've got the president saying, I don't like the numbers in the census. Let's -- let's throw out the census.

Also, I don't like the numbers coming out from the jobs report. Let me fire the head of labor -- the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I mean that's a -- that's an uncomfortable place to be.

TODD: Well, I think the -- the challenge on the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the critique I would have is, they should have fired her in February. She was a Biden appointee. A president's entitled to have political appointees of his choosing. Firing her in July is the problem. They should have fired her in February.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Well, you're -- neither of you are fired, but we are going to go.

ROCHA: Kate, I just want to say that I can tell you -- I just want to say that I have fired a lot of weight scales because I didn't like the number that I thought I weighed as well.

BOLDUAN: Exactly. You just -- that scale is what needs to be fired. Exactly right.

TODD: It's a liar. It's a liar.

ROCHA: That's right.

BOLDUAN: Always stick with that, Chuck. Thanks, guys.

ROCHA: I'm not that big.

BOLDUAN: I'm not -- I'm not that big. I love Chuck so much.

Love you, guys. Thank you.

TODD: See you.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: All right, just in, the Army secretary has arrived at Fort Stewart following the mass shooting there. The new details we're just getting about the shooter.

And then students at Stanford University suing the Trump administration. We'll tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:22:03]

BERMAN: All right, breaking overnight, the Kremlin says preparations are underway for a meeting between Russian Leader Vladimir Putin and President Trump. Could happen as soon as next week, though it is unclear whether it could come together that quickly.

With us now, Congressman Ami Bera, a Democrat from California who's on the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees.

Congressman, you've got a lot more visibility on situations around the world than we do. How would you feel about a one-on-one meeting between President Trump and Vladimir Putin as soon as next week?

REP. AMI BERA (D-CA): You know, I think it's what Vladimir Putin's been waiting for. I'd go in really cautiously here. But again, if it allows us to find an end to this conflict, the war between Russia and Ukraine, then, you know, I'm supportive of it. But I would be pretty cautious here.

BERMAN: Why do you say it's what Vladimir Putin wants?

BERA: You know, I think Putin's want -- wanted to have a sit-down with President Trump from the beginning. I wouldn't trust Vladimir Putin at this juncture. You know, he's said a lot of things, but he's continued to escalate this, this war. I'm also glad that the president is talking to Mr. Zelenskyy in Ukraine as well. Again, I think the Ukrainians have to be part of the solution. And then I would also try to bring in the European Union allies as well.

BERMAN: So, secondary tariffs on India did go into effect to punish them, or are going into effect to punish them for selling oil to Russia. What's your view on that?

BERA: You know, I think that's a dangerous gambit. We're doing a lot with the Indians right now. Obviously, you know, we're looking at supply chains. You know, we've got this quad coalition, which is the United States, Japan, Australia and India to provide maritime security in Asia. I wouldn't actually penalize the Indians. I would actually approach the Indians, who have this long relationship with Russia, and ask them to play a constructive role in negotiating an end to this conflict.

Now, it is true, India has been buying a lot of oil from Russia, and that's been keeping their economy alive. But China actually buys more oil than India does. So, if we're going to go after the Indians, I also think we've got to take a hard line with China as well.

BERMAN: Are you supportive of new sanctions in general that could impact Russia?

BERA: You know, I'm open to new sanctions. I would also think about, you know, there's about $300 billion, $400 billion of (INAUDIBLE) that have been impounded in Europe and the United States. I would also hit the oligarchs that support Putin pretty hard. They still own a lot of assets in the United States, property, other assets in Europe as well. Start to make them feel a little bit more of the pain and maybe that would put some pressure on Putin.

BERMAN: All right, you are joining us from California this morning, which as of this morning, I think, has a congressional delegation that's what, 43 Democrats, nine Republicans. If California does move to redistrict after Texas ultimately does, how many of those Republican seats do you think you could flip?

[09:25:07]

BERA: I mean, I think that you're looking at potentially putting five Republican seats in play, potentially shoring up some of the vulnerable Democrats that are in very competitive seats.

Again, my preference would be that Governor Abbott and the Texas folks back off. We're only doing this in reaction to what Texas is doing. And again, I would honor every ten years I'm just (INAUDIBLE) so. But if Texas is going to play hardball, you know what, we're going to play hardball, too.

BERMAN: For sure. I mean, have you been inside meetings where this is discussed? What are the plans?

BERA: You know, I think our leadership is talking to the state legislature and the governor's office, looking at what potential maps would be. Again, I think this is all predicated on what Texas has already shown that they're planning on doing, which I think they are going to do, even with the Democrats that have left the state. That means we would actually go to the voters, because we still believe this is up to the voters, put a ballot initiative up there and let the voters decide if they want to play hardball and -- and go after what Texas is doing.

BERMAN: So, on the subject of things that happen every ten years, the census is one of them, and it has already happened for this decade. Yet just a short time ago, President Trump said on social media he's ordering the Commerce Department, which oversees the census, to do a new one mid-decade. What do you think is going on here? BERA: Yes, I think it's the same thing he did with the Bureau of Labor

Statistics. You know, (INAUDIBLE) manipulate the data. He understands that he's not super popular right now. That the -- that his bill that passed a couple of weeks ago is going to hurt a lot of Americans. And it's not popular. So, he's going to do everything he can to cheat and bend the rules, break the rules to stay in power.

I don't think that's what the American people want. Again, the census is there to collect information on everyone who's in this country, even those that may be here in an undocumented capacity. We need to know those numbers. So, you know, if we start manipulating numbers to just create what we like, the public's going to start losing trust in those numbers.

BERMAN: All right, Congressman Ami Bera, I appreciate you being with us. Thank you for your time this morning.

I am hearing that there is a press conference happening now in Fort Stewart, Georgia, the site of this mass shooting. Are we going to it now? All right, let's listen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Georgia community and to all the local, state and federal agencies who responded and stood by us during this challenging time.

Although this has deeply affected us and our dog-faced soldiers are strong, as you just saw our soldiers getting recognized for their strength, character and heroism by Honorable Driscoll. And he also visited with them and some of the injured and their families this morning.

These soldiers who intervened or provided critical care and support during yesterday's events received awards. And the secretary of the Army will provide some brief comments and take a few questions. This engagement is on the record, and we will have 15 minutes set aside.

A couple of reminders. We will not release any of the names of our injured soldiers at this time. However, we will be able to provide you a status update on their general condition.

We will not speculate on the assailant's motives or the circumstances that led to yesterday's events. We'd rather refer those questions to CID as this is an ongoing investigation.

When you ask your questions, we ask that you give your name and affiliation and speak up so that we can hear you, and you can hear us.

Now, I'd like to introduce the secretary of the Army, the Honorable Dan Driscoll. His name is spelled d-a-n, last name, Driscoll, d-r-i-s- c-o-l-l. And Brigadier General John Lubas, the commanding general of the Third Infantry Division. Spelling is j-o-h-n, Lubas, l-u-b-a-s. And we will have CID representation also available. It's the deputy director of the Criminal Investigation Division, Peter Tolebtino, p-e- t-e-r, t-o-l-e-b-t-i-n-o.

[09:29:55] And special agent in charge, Ryan O'Connor, r-y-a-n, o apostrophe c-o- n-n-o-r. They will be