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Ukraine Evacuates Children from Donetsk; Three Dead in Tennessee Flooding; Tramell Tillman is Interviewed about "Severance." Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 13, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: On U.S. soil in Alaska. This is the first time, of course, Putin is setting foot on American soil in a decade. Zelenskyy himself not expected to be at that meeting on Friday, and that's prompting concern Ukraine may be forced into an unfavorable deal in order to achieve peace with Russia.

Joining us now, CNN political national security analyst David Sanger and Ambassador Stephen Sestanovich. He is the former U.S. ambassador- at-large to the former Soviet Union.

Great to have both of you here.

David, I want to start first with you.

This meeting is happening as we're speaking virtually. It's also coming as we get information that Russia is making these advances in the Donetsk region where there are now (INAUDIBLE) families. That's what's on (INAUDIBLE) the line for the people (INAUDIBLE) and Putin has said (INAUDIBLE) I'll end this war but only if you give me this land.

Walk us through a best case scenario coming out of this virtual discussion today.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, the best case scenario I could imagine would be that President Trump comes to an agreement with the European allies about what his red lines are, what he will not -- what -- what he would not allow the Russians to get. But the fact of the matter is that the Europeans and President Trump have been talking in very different terms about these discussions. The president keeps discussing land swaps, which suggests that the Russians may even get some territory that right now they are not occupying militarily. When you listen to the Europeans, they talk about security guarantees, about making sure that the flow of arms to Ukraine continues no matter what. And that's, of course, something that Putin wants to limit quite directly. They talk about making sure that the president doesn't commit NATO to pulling back from current positions. So, they're worried (INAUDIBLE) that, of course, Putin will use the moment to take a pause, use the ceasefire to rebuild, and then continue to try to attack the rest of Ukraine at some point in the future. DEAN: And, Ambassador, there's always the question with President

Trump about who has spoken to him last. Has he been swayed by what they say? Do you think today's call could impact the president's thinking leading into Friday?

STEPHEN SESTANOVICH, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE TO THE FORMER SOVIET UNION: Well, the -- the sign that the president listens to different people and changes his predictions as to what's going to happen in the meeting are in the two different versions that he has of what's going to happen. There's the, he'll be in listening mode version, and then there's the land swaps version. One is very -- involves active negotiating and the other just involves seeing what's on Putin's mind, to use the -- the president's terms.

The Europeans are nervous about both of those. They don't want either land swaps or listening mode. They don't want the president to find out what's on Putin's mind. They want him to try to change it. And that means using the leverage that jointly western governments have developed for helping Ukraine and for putting Putin more on the defensive than he has been. They're worried -- the Europeans are worried that that's not going to be his approach.

DEAN: And, David, to that point, the last time we saw Trump and Putin together, that press conference, I mean, everyone remembers that and -- and how the president seemed -- you know, did side with -- with Vladimir Putin on a lot of issues. What is your thinking around how he's going into Friday's meeting? Did he learn from that moment? Is he still in a place where he could -- where we could see him reacting in the same way as we did all those years ago?

SANGER: Well, we don't know how much he's learned from that moment. I was at the first meeting that they ever had together, which was in Hamburg in 2017. And that was a summit meeting. And when the two of -- after the two of them met, the president called me on his cell phone to say, President Putin just said to me that the Russians could not have been involved in the 2016 elections because they're so good at cyber, they never would have been caught. And isn't that right? So, he basically adopted the -- Putin's position over the position that -- that he had heard from all of his intelligence agencies. He went on to do that in public later on, and many times after that.

So, yes, I think he is susceptible to a Putin version of history here, that somehow the Ukrainians provoked Russia into invading the country.

[09:35:08]

In fact, the president himself used those lines earlier this year.

DEAN: Yes. And, Ambassador, look, as you noted, the -- this has been described by the White House as a listening exercise. That's how they're thinking about it. And we have to remember, Putin is one of the best trained operatives in the world. He's -- he's very, very good at manipulation and psychological manipulation and strategy. How are you thinking about all of this?

SESTANOVICH: Putin is pretty good at manipulating people who are willing to be manipulated. You know, I think one of the questions that is particularly interesting to which we don't have an answer, and David has just shown you we don't have an answer, is, how worried is President Trump about seeming to be manipulated by Putin? Is he worried that he'll come out of this meeting seeming like Putin's dupe?

The Europeans, I would think, in subtle ways, without seeming too heavy handed, are trying to convey to the president in this meeting they're having right now that he's got to, you know, exercise his role as leader of the free world, not come out of this looking like somebody who has been taken advantage of in a real estate deal. And that's -- that is something that presumably the president's advisers are telling him as well. There's some political damage for you in looking as though you're a dupe.

DEAN: Yes.

All right, David Sanger, Ambassador Sestanovich, thank you to both of you. We appreciate it.

Up ahead, breaking this morning, three people dead in Tennessee as torrential rainfall triggers dangerous flooding in Chattanooga.

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[09:41:37]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We do have some breaking news. Three people have died after devastating flash flooding in southeast Tennessee. What the -- the area tied its second wettest day on record with more than six inches of rain falling. That's twice of what they usually get all month. We're going to show you video of an officer pulling -- of an officer helping to pull a woman from a car stranded in flooding on I-24 in Chattanooga.

Let's get over to CNN's Allison Chinchar. She's been following this.

Tragic news coming out of there. What are you seeing?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And unfortunately, there's more rain on the way, which is the last thing this area needs. Not just Chattanooga, but for much of southeastern Tennessee, portions of northeastern Alabama, because this is what it looked like yesterday evening and kind of continued in through the rest of the evening hours. Again, just streets and roadways completely under water. And not just a few, but you're talking some major interstates. A lot of the side streets as well.

But now, as we mentioned, we've got even more rain on the way that's going to impact a lot of these areas that have already had a tremendous amount of rain. Water rescues took place across portions of southeastern Tennessee last night. Again, just because of the sheer volume of water that we ended up having.

Look at this. So, here's, again, here is a look at Chattanooga. Yes, they picked up roughly six and a half inches of rain in 24 hours. Really, though, most of that came in about six to eight hours. So, again, a very short period of time and a tremendous amount of water. Double what they would normally see in the entire month of August.

But just to the west of that, some of these areas right here along the ridge, again, also seeing a tremendous amount of rain. Now we're adding more rain on top of it.

This is a live look at the radar right now. You can see the very heaviest rain just to the west of Chattanooga, but it's shifting off to the north and east. So, all of that rain is going to eventually make its way into downtown Chattanooga here in the next few hours.

These red outlined boxes that you see here, this is where we have flash flood warnings. This means imminent flooding is happening as we speak. So, there is water on the ground. It is covering streets and roadways. So, turn around, don't drown, the messaging that you often hear from the National Weather Service. That is the message I would adhere to if you are in or maybe perhaps thinking of traveling through some of these counties over the next several hours. Just don't do it. Not only are you risking yourself, but you're also risking the lives of any of those first responders that are trying to help out in those areas.

Everything you see here shaded in green is under a flood watch. So, they may not have imminent flooding at the moment, but they are anticipating the potential for flooding as we go through the next several hours. Not just later on this morning, but through the afternoon and evening, because more of those showers and thunderstorms are going to fire up later on this afternoon. The heat of the day is going to help kind of just fire up some of those thunderstorms.

The thunderstorms are most concerning because they can kind of sit over the same spot for very prolonged periods of time. Yes, the focus is going to be over Tennessee because that's where we've had a lot of the flooding. But this line of storms extends the entire way up. So, you could also have the potential for any flooding, say, even into portions of the mid-Atlantic and the northeast as well.

BOLDUAN: There is a lot to track today. Thank you so much, Allison. I really appreciate it.

[09:44:53]

Coming up still for us, chasing history. We speak with "Severance" star Tramill Tillman about the hit show and his Emmy nomination for best supporting actor in a drama series.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Final voting for the Emmy Awards begins next weekend ahead of the big ceremony set for September 14th. The most nominated series would be "Severance," the darkly satirical workplace thriller on Apple TV.

And our next guest is nominated for his role as the one, the only, Mr. Milchick, one of the most intense and mysterious characters on TV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kier's twin was always with him. That's why we provided the very same for each of you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you all. I was right.

[09:50:01]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Milchick.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the tallest waterfall on the planet. You have followed the path of Kier and Dieter and reached Woe's Hollow. You stand upon sacred earth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're starving, Mr. Milchick.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you? I thought the waterfalls grandeur would satiate you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Emmy-nominated actor Tramell Tillman is here with us now.

Oh, such a great scene.

TRAMELL TILLMAN, EMMY-NOMINATED ACTOR, "SEVERANCE" ON APPLE TV+: Thank you.

DEAN: I was just saying as we were going into break, this show is so compelling, and it draws you in. As an actor, to have this character, who I think is really one of the most -- they're all so interesting, but I really want to know more about Mr. Milchick. And I think that's because of what you've put into this character.

TILLMAN: Well, thank you. I -- I can't take all the credit. You know, Dan Erickson and his writing team have been so instrumental in crafting such beautiful characters. And he is an enigma. And I'm still figuring it out -- figuring him out myself.

DEAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Yes, is he good? Is he bad? What is he?

TILLMAN: I know. I'm enjoying the debate.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

TILLMAN: There's -- there's a whole bevy of theories about this guy.

BOLDUAN: For sure.

There's a quote you actually -- about -- about him that I -- that grabbed my attention. You said in a previous interview that -- that Milchick is "an amalgamation of colleagues, of former bosses, of caricatures of people that I've worked with. And I'm like, do they know?

DEAN: Do -- do they see it?

TILLMAN: They probably do not know. And they will never know.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

DEAN: Because you locked that one away.

TILLMAN: Oh, yes.

DEAN: There was the scene, and I'm not -- I don't think I'm giving anything away here.

TILLMAN: OK.

DEAN: But there is a moment where Mr. Milchick really gets his moment with the band in this season. And you -- you're -- you're dancing, you're orchestrating.

TILLMAN: Yes.

DEAN: You are -- you are the conductor of -- of everything in that moment.

TILLMAN: Yes.

DEAN: And I read that you really wanted to infuse that very intentionally with that energy from an HBCU. Tell us about all -- how all that worked.

TILLMAN: So, I'm a product of an HBCU. I actually went to two. I went to Xavier University in New Orleans and graduated from Jackson State University. And I was so enthralled by the HBCU family, and especially the bands. And when Ben told me that there was an opportunity to bring that culture within Lumon, I said, let's do it. Let's figure this out. And this gives Milchick an opportunity to let loose and bring a little flavor to the -- the Severed Floor.

BOLDUAN: Why do you think this series has just taken off the way it has? What do you think it is about it?

TILLMAN: There's a lot of mystery behind it, right? And I think we're in this era of, like, true crime, trying to figure everything out and piecing things together. This show asks audiences to lean in.

And there's also a human element to it as well. We spend so much of our livelihood and our time at work.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

TILLMAN: And, you know, you start asking the questions of, what is this for? Who am I doing it for? And I believe that this show really speaks to that, our connection, human connection, and -- and who we are as individuals.

DEAN: That is pretty universal even -- when you think about it. As extreme as this show is at its, you know, at its core -- BOLDUAN: Like, lived worker --

DEAN: Yes, exactly.

BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE), yes.

TILLMAN: Yes. Yes.

DEAN: Who are you at work? Who are you doing it for? Why are you doing it? That's -- it's -- it's -- it's so true.

And now, here you are as an Emmy-nominated actor.

TILLMAN: Yes.

DEAN: How did it feel to get that information?

TILLMAN: Oh, my gosh, I was on cloud nine. I -- I couldn't wait for the day because I was just on edge the entire matter. I was just like --

BOLDUAN: No matter what, you just wanted it over.

DEAN: Yes, yes.

TILLMAN: Yes, please. Just like, let the day come, let the time happen, and let it be over. But when the news hit, I was floored. And one of the first things I did was call my mom.

DEAN: Is this you getting it?

BOLDUAN: Yes. Yes, yes, yes.

TILLMAN: That's me. I called my mom and I told her.

DEAN: OK.

BOLDUAN: Do we have --

DEAN: Oh.

TILLMAN: Yes. Yes.

DEAN: Oh.

BOLDUAN: Describe -- describe that -- -- that -- describe what it means to you and to your mom, because no one does this alone here.

TILLMAN: No, you're absolutely right. I mean, she is the reason I'm here. And not just in the physical sense.

BOLDUAN: We're aware of how it works. Like --

TILLMAN: She did good. She did good. No, but -- but she was the one who inspired me to act, you know? She pushed me on stage when I was a young kid at ten years old at a church play, and she inspired me to really learn about presenting myself in the public and public speaking and -- and learning about character and how to speak convincingly. And she really sparked the flame for me. So, it felt right for her to be by my side at the Emmys.

DEAN: She'll go with you?

TILLMAN: She is. She said yes.

DEAN: OK.

TILLMAN: Can you imagine if she said no?

DEAN: Right. Something would be wrong.

BOLDUAN: I've got a thing, but you've done OK.

TILLMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: OK, we have a few big -- superfans of "Severance" from our -- from our -- our show team. They want to know, between season one and season two, it was three years that -- that everyone had to wait.

TILLMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Is there -- are they going to have to wait three more years for season three?

TILLMAN: It is my hope that they will not have to wait three years. That is my hope.

DEAN: Just tweak (ph) -- tweak it a little.

And we have you on the cover of -- of "Variety" I believe it is. Look at this.

[09:55:01]

TILLMAN: Wow. Yes.

DEAN: So, it's a -- what is -- what does little Tramell think about this moment? Young.

TILLMAN: Gob smacked.

DEAN: Yes.

TILLMAN: You know. It's such a (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: I mean, not a -- not a bad shot either. I mean, hey.

TILLMAN: No, it's not. It's not.

DEAN: Amazing. Who's the boss.

TILLMAN: Who is the boss? (INAUDIBLE). BOLDUAN: I mean, if you have arms like that, why are you wearing a jacket today? I mean, I just want to say, I mean, you know, you've got to (INAUDIBLE) that you got. So.

TILLMAN: I hear that. I hear that. Thank you for that.

Well, it's really nice to meet you.

DEAN: Well, good luck. We will be cheering you on at the Emmys.

TILLMAN: It's a pleasure. Yes, thank you.

DEAN: And you and your mom have a great time.

TILLMAN: Thank you. We look forward to it.

BOLDUAN: Super awesome.

Thanks so much for -- let's do it together.

DEAN: Let's (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much for joining us today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "SIT ROOM" is up next.

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