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Trump Advisers Split over Marijuana Policy; Israeli Strike Kills Journalists; Interest in the Epstein Files; Tyler Pager is Interviewed about the Trump-Putin Meeting; Eve Samples is Interviewed about Alligator Alcatraz; Wildfires Tear Through Europe. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 11, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: During the campaign, Donald Trump suggested he would usher in a new era on marijuana laws if he won re-election. But seven months into his second term, there's been little movement on that. And now we're learning the divides are merging in the Trump White House. Sources saying some advisers want President Trump to press ahead on loosening federal restrictions, while others warn about potential fallout.

Let's bring in CNN's Steve Contorno, who's following this.

Steve, you've done some reporting on this. What are you learning about what's happening behind the scenes?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Jessica, this is actually an issue that has been debated behind the scenes among Trump's White House for quite some time. In fact, I'm told there is actually a report sitting on the desk of Chief of Staff Susie Wiles right now weighing the pros and cons of certain marijuana policies.

What is especially being considered is changing how the federal government classifies marijuana. Right now it is a schedule one drug, meaning that it has no accepted medical uses and has a high potency for abuse. This includes drugs like heroin. Now, the suggestion is moving it to schedule three, which is drugs with some medical use and a low potential for abuse.

Now, there are many people within Trump's orbit and within his White House who remain opposed to any action. But some policy advisers are encouraging him to act. And they point to three reasons. One is that it's just a good policy move that marijuana should not be treated in the same category as heroin and more tightly controlled than cocaine and fentanyl, which is the status quo. Two is that Trump promised he would usher in this new era of medical marijuana and marijuana safety, and new -- and new marijuana policy if he was elected. Last September on Truth Social, while he was trying to court a lot of new voters, he pushed for this change and said that this is something that he would be considering. And last is that the midterms are coming up. And this is an incredibly

popular issue among many voters. In fact, if you look at the polling last year from Pew, 57 percent of people say that marijuana should be legal for recreational use and medical use, 32 percent saying that it should at least be legal for medical use, and just 11 percent of people saying that it should not be legal. And Trump's -- a pollster very close to Trump saying on a memo earlier this year, quote, an easy way to attract the voters needed to win in 2026, particularly young voters, would be a change in marijuana policy."

And I'm also told that Trump has been talking about this behind the scenes with donors. In fact, he had an event at Bedminster just about ten days ago where this issue came up and he acknowledged, quote, we are going to look at that.

Jessica.

DEAN: Yes, and so the question will be, what will they do about that?

[08:35:01]

Steve Contorno, thank you so much.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we do have breaking news overnight. An Israeli strike in Gaza City killed at least four journalists from the news network al Jazeera. The U.N. just called the attack a, quote, "grave breach of international law."

Let's get right to CNN's Nada Bashir for the latest on this.

Good morning.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. And we have been hearing echoes of condemnation from across the board this morning. The U.K. government also just putting out a statement condemning the killing and targeting of Palestinian journalists in Gaza. And what has really raised concern is the fact that we have heard repeated warnings in the weeks leading up to the killing of these journalists, including the renowned Palestinian journalist for al Jazeera, Anas al-Sharif, from bodies, including the Committee to Protect journalists, as well as the U.N. special rapporteur for freedom of expression, who have warned there has been a campaign to label these journalists, including Anas al-Sharif, as having had links to Hamas. The U.N. special rapporteur has described these as unfounded allegations by the Israeli military, and they have been vehemently denied by a number of bodies, including the al Jazeera network, and including, of course, Anas al- Sharif himself.

Now, we have heard today from al Jazeera issuing a statement. They have said, "the order to kill Anas al-Sharif, one of Gaza's bravest journalists, along with his colleagues, is a desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza."

And, of course, it is important to underscore that Anas al-Sharif had become a household name for many in the Arabic speaking world. He was reporting for al Jazeera live around the clock almost every day from the beginning of the war in Gaza until his death. We've heard from officials on the ground in Gaza who've said that Anas al-Sharif, along with his colleagues, was in a tent that was clearly marked with press, a sign saying press on this tent, when that airstrike hit. Again, the Israeli military has acknowledged the strike. They say -- they believe that they were targeting Anas al-Sharif based on allegations that he was linked with Hamas. But again, these have been denied across the board. And this has really raised concern around the targeting of journalists in Gaza. So far, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, more than 170 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war.

John.

BERMAN: Nada Bashir -- and, of course, we should note that -- that CNN and a lot of western networks are not able to get journalists into Gaza independently to verify much of any of this.

Nada Bashir, thank you very much.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The vice president is now trying to change the narrative on the Epstein saga, trying to pin blame on Democrats now. That's next.

And this morning, President Donald Trump is promising an announcement. What really is driving the president's focus and his now threatened federal takeover of Washington, D.C.?

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[08:41:54]

BOLDUAN: New this morning. J.D. Vance, in a new interview, is pushing back against the criticism coming at the Trump administration for how they have handled or fumbled the Epstein saga. The vice president now trying to shift the narrative and blame Democrats.

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J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I laugh at the Democrats who are now, all of a sudden, so interested in the Epstein files. For four years Joe Biden and the Democrats did absolutely nothing about this story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And there are new numbers this morning showing something of a shift in how Americans are feeling about this. Harry Enten, here to help.

What are you seeing in these numbers?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA REPORTER: Yes, I would say that this is, from at least a political point of view, quickly turning into a dud of a story.

What am I talking about here?

BOLDUAN: Which is wild to me.

ENTEN: Which is wild. Which is --

BOLDUAN: Where this has been for three weeks now.

ENTEN: Exactly. Take a look here. Google searches for Epstein down 89 percent versus just three weeks ago. Falling through the floor. It is no longer the top term searched alongside Donald Trump's name. That's been trading off between tariffs and Vladimir Putin, with, obviously, the meeting coming up later this week.

But at this particular point, the American people's interest in this story, it's quickly becoming something of a nothing burger.

BOLDUAN: So, out of sight, out of mind, maybe, is applying here a little bit.

ENTEN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: But has it impacted -- have you seen numbers that have impacted -- this has impacted Trump's popularity, favorability, anything?

ENTEN: No, not really. I mean, take a look here. Let's take a look at the overall numbers. Trump's approval rating, in July of 2025, it was 45 percent. It's still well within that margin of error here at 44 percent. And you compare that to where he was in his first term at this point, he was at 37 percent. So, he's seven points higher. Very much in a different political universe now, significantly higher in terms of his overall approval rating than he was at this point in his first term.

And more than that, among Republicans, his approval rating is near a record high, hovering right at about that 90 percent mark. So, no, he hasn't lost any of that base. And when it comes to that center of the electorate, he's basically holding on there. And his overall approval rating, 44 percent, is pretty gosh darn good for him, considering where he was at this point in term number one.

BOLDUAN: What do you think is behind it, why there hasn't been more movement?

ENTEN: Yes, why hasn't then -- hasn't there been more movement? I think this is pretty simple. Take a look here, nations' top issue is the Epstein case. This is the number of respondents. This isn't the percentage of respondents, this is the number of respondents. In our last CNN poll, look at this, zero respondents said that the Epstein case was the top issue. How about among independents? Zero independents. And among Republicans, and therefore overall, just a single one.

So, yes, there used to be a lot of interest in this story. But the bottom line is that even amongst those who had high interest in this story, it wasn't something that they thought was all that important. And as I said at the beginning, the interest in this story has fallen off the table.

BOLDUAN: Which also, when you look at this, and you compare it to just the attention that Capitol Hill was giving it, Donald Trump supporters were giving it, congressional committees were giving it, it is incongruous what we're seeing.

ENTEN: I would just say this, Donald Trump has some of the best political instincts of any politician I've seen on this particular issue. You see it full well and clear because he has been saying, you know what, this is not an issue. And it turns out that a lot of the American public actually seem to agree with him.

BOLDUAN: If you dream it, it will become, John, that's apparently the message.

[08:45:00]

BERMAN: All right, this morning, White House officials scrambling to finalize key details for the upcoming meeting between President Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska, where the president will attempt to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. It's unclear whether Ukraine will have representation there, whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will receive an invitation. White House officials have not ruled it out.

Zelenskyy, with the support of European leaders, has been demanding a ceasefire before any negotiations. In a new interview, Vice President J.D. Vance said that any negotiated settlement will not make anyone, quote, "super happy."

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J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Both the Russians and the Ukrainians, probably at the end of the day, are going to be unhappy with it. But what -- but I don't think you can actually sit down and have this negotiation absent the leadership of Donald J. Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: With us now, White House correspondent for "The New York Times," Tyler Pager.

And you were part of the team that first reported on this, along with David Sanger, for "The Times" a couple days ago, Tyler. Where are things today versus where they were when this was first conceived of, I guess it was, what, Friday?

TYLER PAGER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "NEW YORK TIMES": Yes, there's not been a whole lot of developments over the weekend. I mean it's clear this meeting is happening on Friday. We saw Zelenskyy and European leaders put out a statement demanding that Ukraine be part of any sort of negotiated peace settlement. And as you said, John, the White House leaving open the possibility that Zelenskyy would be invited to at least part of this summit.

But I think that's the big question moving forward is, and the concern in Europe and, obviously, the concern in Kyiv is that Trump and Putin may move forward on a deal that is unacceptable or unpalatable to the Ukrainians, and then what happens then? I think there's some great trepidation in European capitals about what might happen one on one between Putin and Trump. Obviously, the last time they met in President Trumps first term there was great dissatisfaction when the president stood next to Putin and said Russia did not try to interfere in the 2016 election.

So, I think there is some concern about what might happen in that meeting. But I think the big question right now is, does Zelenskyy eventually get an invite to the summit?

BERMAN: And, Tyler, as you and David noted in the initial reporting on this, getting a meeting at all for Vladimir Putin was a win. A meeting, and even more so a meeting on U.S. soil, is an extraordinary development given where -- how isolated Vladimir Putin has been in diplomatic terms recently.

One other development, I think, that has a lot of world leaders concerned, that Vice President J.D. Vance has been front and center the last few days explaining, selling this meeting when he is known to be or seen to be, you know, very in favor of diminished U.S. support for Ukraine going forward. Are you hearing anything about who's holding a lot of sway inside the administration right now on this?

PAGER: Yes, I think to your first point there, it's absolutely right that Putin just getting this meeting is a victory for him after months of being largely isolated from the west and NATO and world leaders. And I think, you know, it's important, obviously, this is a huge shift from the mantra that was sort of pervasive among the west over the last few years is, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. Clearly, the president of the United States is now moving forward without Ukraine at this moment.

In terms of, you know, J.D. Vance, it's absolutely right, there are deep concerns about him, in part because of his long-standing opposition to the U.S. continuing to support Ukraine militarily, financially in it's war against Russia. Obviously, he was there for that high profile confrontation in the Oval Office in February between Trump and Zelenskyy, where it really set that relationship off.

And so, you know, obviously, the president is driving this process. He's going to be the one in the meeting. But as we see J.D. Vance out there, you're right, John, there are some European leaders concerned about what might happen in this meeting given Vance's, you know, previous statements about Ukraine and also Trump and his relationship that has been turbulent at times with Putin.

BERMAN: Tyler Pager, I should of note, co-author of "2024," the book over your right shoulder, which is a terrific read. Thanks so much for being with us this morning,

Jessica. DEAN: Southern Europe seeing its worst wildfires in decades. What's

fueling the out of control flames?

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[08:53:34]

DEAN: This morning, construction at the new migrant detention center in Florida, in the Florida Everglades, is on hold as a federal judge considers whether it violates environmental laws. The detention center, which Florida officials dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," currently holds hundreds of detainees and has sparked controversy not only over the conditions inside, but also environmental groups say the facility is built on environmentally sensitive wetlands.

Joining us now, Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, a conservationist and activist organization.

Eve, thanks so much for being here with us this morning.

Walk us through your concerns about the environmental impacts of this facility.

EVE SAMPLES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FRIENDS OF THE EVERGLADES: Sure. So this mass detention facility is being built in the middle of what's actually the country's first national preserve, Big Cypress National Preserve. It's part of the greater Everglades ecosystem. And we filed suit on June 27th because the state, acting with the federal government, did not comply with the National Environmental Policy Act. That's a common sense law that requires the government to look before it leaps when it takes action. And it did not do that here.

This site is surrounded by Everglades wetlands. It's habitat for the Florida panther. And now we've seen some really concerning effects on the site since construction started.

DEAN: And so you -- you talked a little bit about what's special to the Everglades, but help people who haven't been there understand what makes that area environmentally unique.

[08:55:01]

SAMPLES: Sure. So, this area was actually an internationally recognized dark sky area. And now, from 15 miles away, you can see what looks like stadium lighting in the distance. This was filed with our court documents and heard during last week's hearings in court during expert testimony. That's important, not just for humans who enjoy gazing at the stars in the night sky, but also because the endangered Florida panther is a nocturnal species. There are only about 200 left in the wild. This site is about 96 percent wetlands. And Everglades wetlands are directly connected to our water supply for millions of south Floridians. So, that's also critically important.

And we've documented about 20 acres of new asphalt that's been laid on the site without any kind of environmental review. And actually, with inadequate stormwater treatment for that new asphalt. So, there's potential for pollutants to run off into these pristine Everglades wetlands. So, many concerns at this site. And -- and actually the history of this very site where once a massive airport was proposed, it shows that we can do things better in this country if we study the impacts. The National Environmental Policy Act, the federal law we're suing under, came about after the battle to stop that airport in 1969. 1970 Richard Nixon actually signed that -- that law. And we can take a different course if we study actions. And the government did not study its actions here, and that's why we've brought it to the courts.

DEAN: Yes, and that law does require agencies to do that. The Trump administration has implemented changes to the law since he returned to the White House, and several federal agencies have followed suit. Do you have concerns, and it sounds like you do, that this law is becoming ineffective.

SAMPLES: Well, we sued under the National Environmental Policy Act because we still believe it holds a very strong value, including for this site. So, we're confident that we can right the course here and -- and that the government, the state of Florida, acting with the federal government, did not follow the law and that an environmental impact statement has to be done.

We've also filed a notice to sue under the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and a federal law called the National Parks Organic Act. So, there are a number of environmental concerns here. And it's important to remember that environmental laws stand on equal footing with other laws in our country. So, if this is about law and order, it's pretty clear that the government is not following the letter of the law in terms of the environmental policies.

DEAN: All right, Eve Samples, thank you so much for your time this morning.

John.

BERMAN: All right, happening now, dangerous wildfires sweeping across southern Europe with extreme heat and strong winds fanning the flames. In Italy, fires are tearing through the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, forcing one of the country's most famous tourist spots to close.

CNN's Barbie Nadeau is live in Rome with the latest.

Good morning.

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Good morning.

You know these fires on Mount Vesuvius are hugely important because the Archeological Park of Pompeii, which is still open, is visited by about 4 million people a year. And authorities are very concerned that some of this smoke and toxic material could reach the park.

You know, when we're talking about fires on this, you know, still live volcano. The last time it erupted was 1944. So often these are caused by the local organized crime syndicates, and they've, in fact, opened up a criminal investigation into the cause of the fires. What happens is, as these groups get -- basically get paid to dispose of toxic waste, and so burn it on the side of Vesuvius. And so, they're looking at whether or not that's a factor here.

But because of the high temperatures and the strong winds, these fires have just gone out of control. Now, there aren't homes up where this fire is burning right now, but they've been fighting it for four days, John, and they still do not have it completely under control. And they had three new parts of the fire that popped up overnight with those cinders being carried by hot winds. So, you can imagine, anyone visiting Pompeii in these days is seeing an incredible, you know, view of smoke on a live volcano. But it is not the eruption of the volcano. It is, instead, a very dangerous wildfire at the moment.

John.

BERMAN: Yes, nevertheless, I mean, Pompeii has got a pretty checkered history when it comes to things coming from Mount Vesuvius, to say the least.

I had no idea that organized crime was somehow connected to the fires that are burning there.

NADEAU: Yes, you know, I mean, this is a problem. They call this area, in fact, the burning of the land of fires, or the burning fires, because so often the Neapolitan camorra are -- are in the area burning these fires.

Now, a couple of years ago, they, you know, had to close down schools and things like that. There's actually high cancer rates in this area due to the toxic fumes. And so, you know, they're really looking at it. That's who they look at first. And these fires on Mount Vesuvius are very common, fueled by organized crime and now carried by the wind. So, it's -- it is a problem in this area that -- this part of the country. And, you know, people are very concerned that, you know, not enough is done to stop them from -- from carrying out this criminal activity, John.

BERMAN: Barbie Nadeau, in Rome for us this morning, thank you very much for that.

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