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U.S. Retail Sales for July; Jim Townsend is Interviewed about the Trump-Putin Meeting; Diving into Dog Breeds; Mississippi Able to Enforce Social Media Law. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 15, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

IVO DAALDER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: Whatever is -- comes out of it. So, it is important for the president to say that he's not negotiating on behalf of Ukraine, which is nice to know for the Ukrainians.

It does raise the question, what it is that he's trying to do here. Why is he even meeting with Vladimir Putin if he's not trying to negotiate an end. And -- and -- and that's the uncertainly. And I think the tone you just heard in this press availability, this gaggle, suggests that he's looking for a way to that that we're making progress on the war so we can then start doing business and -- and normalizing our political and economic relationship with Russia. And -- and I think that's what he's looking for. And, presumably, Vladimir Putin, who has been in this business for over a quarter century, will try to help him get to that point where he does enough to say we're trying to move forward on settling the war, in order to pivot the conversation for the future of the relationship.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Which is interesting, and to get to the heart of what the president likes to do, right, which is a business deal.

I was also struck by -- he was asked by a reporter whether the United States would consider security guarantees. This is incredibly important, of course, to Ukraine. This has been a major point of discussion. The president said maybe, and then went on to say, "not in the form of NATO. Thats' not going to happen." But along with Europe, he said, "there are some possibilities." What does that answer say to you?

DAALDER: Well, he apparently told the Europeans and -- and the Ukrainians in the -- in this pre huddle that they had on Wednesday, that if the Europeans provide security guarantees as a coalition of the willing, not as a -- as part of NATO, the United States will provide a backstop, which is to say that if these troops get into trouble because the Russians restart the war, the United States will help, whether that's with intelligence or in -- in other means. I don't think it means troops on the -- on the ground. I think the Europeans are prepared to do that. But the Europeans want to know that if they -- if they -- if they make this commitment to Ukraine, that the United States has their back. And my -- the way I read it is the president said, yes, of course, it would be much better to do it through NATO. It's an existing organization. It has all the operational capabilities. But this is better than nothing.

HILL: Yes. I was struck by a comment that the president made yesterday talking about being at this point, right? This was a war that he said he could end, right, on day one. Admitting that this is a little bit more difficult than he expected it to be.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've solved six wars in the last six months. A little more than six months now. And I'm very proud of it. I thought the easiest one would be this one. It's actually the most difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Saying this one is the most difficult. Do you think this meeting with Vladimir Putin today helps or hurts those efforts? Does it make it more difficult or less?

DAALDER: Well, it fundamentally depends on the attitude that the president takes. If he goes in there and says, listen, Vladimir, you started this war, you need to end it. And the way to end it is to come to an agreement with Ukraine that the Ukrainians can accept, and the Europeans can accept, then this could be a good meeting. And particularly if it is -- is tied to a promise that if Putin doesn't move, severe consequences, the president again reiterated in this gaggle on Air Force One, would be instituted and that the United States would continue to provide the intelligence and -- and weapons necessary for Ukraine to continue to fight this war.

So, it depends really on the attitude of the president. Is he going to understand that this is a war caused by Russia and can only end if Russia changes its position, or is he trying to find some deal in which Russia gets more than half a loaf and the Ukrainians get half -- less than half a loaf? That's not going to promote peace. That's just going to promote more war and more -- more destruction.

HILL: So much riding on this meeting, as we know, and so many questions heading into it.

Really appreciate you -- the discussion this morning. Ambassador, thank you.

We are also keeping a close watch on the markets on this Friday morning as some breaking news comes in here when it comes to retail sales. We'll take a closer look at the new numbers and what they could tell us about consumer reaction to the president's sweeping tariffs.

That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:38:24]

HILL: Breaking this morning, the new retail sales report for July released just moments ago.

CNN's Matt Egan is here with that hot off the presses data.

So, what are we seeing? Who's buying?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Erica, nice to be here on a summer Friday with some good news, right? Consumer spending, the engine of this economy, it increased by a solid amount in July. You see 0.5 percent. That's exactly as expected.

And this is a relief because there were some concerns earlier this year when we saw consumer spending drop. And consumer spending, this is 70 percent of the economic output. So, when we did see those declines, that did raise concerns about consumers possibly being tapped out and all this confusion over the erratic trade war.

Also significant, we saw a -- an upward revision to June, right? June was a solid number, and it was revised even higher. You can see, this is the trend of monthly increases and decreases for retail sales.

And earlier this year, again, you do see those concerning jobs.

HILL: Yes.

EGAN: But now, look at this. We have two straight months of positive numbers.

Now, one thing to note here is, this is not adjusted for inflation. And we do know that some prices on some goods have gone up because of these historically high tariffs on imports. Also, this report doesn't tell us who is spending. And we do know that while higher income Americans continue to shop and spend, lower income Americans are spending less in some categories. Sometimes they're actually pulling back.

Now, digging through this report, which we really just got a few moments ago, a couple highlights I want to break out as far as where people are spending. So, we did see a significant increase in spending for autos, spending on furniture, and home furnishings stores.

HILL: And those are all things, right, that were expected to go up.

[08:40:03]

And we even saw an increase on furniture --

EGAN: Yes.

HILL: Or -- yes.

EGAN: Yes. And expected to go up in part because of tariffs.

HILL: Right.

EGAN: And because people were trying to beat the clock on tariffs.

HILL: Yes.

EGAN: So, they were buying stuff ahead of time.

Also, there are increases in spending on clothes as well and at department stores. Those are all solid numbers.

But there were some declines as well. Electronics and appliance stores, spending fell there. Miscellaneous stores as well, that was down. Food services and drinking places, that's bars and restaurants, that went down. And that's notable because, obviously, that is very much discretionary spending.

HILL: Yes.

EGAN: So, I think when you put it all together, this is a solid report, again, about the biggest driver of the economy.

HILL: Right, which is, obviously, consumer spending.

Matt, appreciate it. Thank you.

EGAN: Thank you, Erica.

HILL: Still ahead here, President Trump now en route to that high- stakes face to face meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The very latest as we look at what the president is calling this high-stakes meeting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:04]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. Just moments ago, President Trump set the tone and stage on board Air Force One as he is heading to the summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Speaking with reporters, he was asked many questions. He did stop short of promising security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a deal to end the war. Something that is essential to Ukraine's survival, says Ukraine and European allies.

Joining us right now is the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy, Jim Townsend.

Thank you for being here.

I believe you had the opportunity to listen in as we were hearing that gaggle, they call it, with the reporters aboard Air Force One. What did you -- what is -- what did you take from what we heard from President Trump as he's heading over?

JIM TOWNSEND, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR EUROPEAN AND NATO POLICY: Well, it was interesting that he is really going to be using the business connections and the idea that there could be deals made on the business side with Russia, kind of dangling that in front of Putin. Not that that's new. He's talked about that in the past. But both delegations are bringing their top leaders on commerce and on treasury. And so, I think we're going to hear some more of that kind of discussion than we might have thought we'd hear.

BOLDUAN: It was clear, at least, it's top of mind for the president, because he -- as he brought that up. That's a great point.

Jim, what is your sense of the real and perceived stakes of this meeting?

TOWNSEND: Well, the stakes are high and they're even higher because of the hype. There's been -- there's a lot of expectations that have been laid over the past couple of weeks. But if you listen to what the president has said, he's gone back and forth. And he's been walking things back, particularly over the past couple of days. So -- but the stakes are there. There's some great potential here, particularly if they can have a ceasefire and the beginning of a negotiations process. If they can't get that, then -- then I'm afraid the stakes will not be reached that we would want to see.

BOLDUAN: I believe we have another piece of -- piece of sound from the president aboard Air Force One, when he was asked about this idea of land swaps that the president floated, started floating days ago, Jim. Let me play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: On the table? Will you be discussing that?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They'll -- they'll be discussed. But I've got to let Ukraine make that decision. And I think they'll make a proper decision. But I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine. I'm here to get them at a table. And I think you have two sides. Look, Vladimir Putin wanted to take all of Ukraine. If I wasn't president, he would right now be taking all of Ukraine. But he's not going to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: What's -- what do you make of that?

TOWNSEND: Well, it's -- it's interesting. The land swap issue is a -- a thorny -- this is going to be very difficult. And this is going to call for days sitting around a table to talk about that. And this is something that Ukraine is right now dug in about not allowing to happen at their expense.

And so, dealing with land swap is -- is something that experts need to deal with before they meet again. They can't have the leaders sit around a table and work it out among themselves, and certainly not in Alaska. This is something that's going to have to happen before a second meeting of the three.

BOLDUAN: With all of your connections and your many years and decades in work in senior levels with Europe on European and NATO issues, what did you think of when the president stopped short of promising security guarantees for Ukraine? And I will say, it was a little unclear as he was going back and forth and saying -- when he was asked about NATO. What did you think of his take on that? TOWNSEND: Well, I found it very interesting because the Europeans have

been working hard to do a coalition of the willing, to put that together, to make sure it's sustainable and to describe exactly what is that -- that coalition going to do, particularly if the U.S. was not going to be part of it. And that was the word from the administration earlier on.

This was interesting today to hear that, in fact, perhaps we will be part of this. The Europeans have talked about the U.S. being a backstop, which sounds like it might be more involved than something else, which could be intelligence or maybe logistics. But the fact that the president sees a role for the United States in some type of coalition of the willing and security guarantee, that's a -- that's a big statement. I was glad to hear that.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Also, he said he was going to promise severe economic sanctions and consequences just now if Putin didn't stop, if things did not go the right direction. Do you think Vladimir Putin pays attention to a threat of sanctions like that? Do you think -- especially that threat of secondary sanctions on customers of Russia who buy oil -- in the oil and gas sector? Do you think that has an impact on him?

[08:50:03]

TOWNSEND: Well, in the past, Putin has said that those kinds of threats don't have much of an impact because they have learned how to get around them. And they have.

But there is one kind of sanction that I think he's going to feel the pain from. And that's on the oil and energy side, where he depends on oil exports to fund this war. And if the secondary tariffs are actually put on India and some of the other customers, that could really hurt, not just the funding that -- that -- that Putin needs, but also Zelenskyy is attacking his oil refineries. So, they'll feel the shortage in Moscow too among Muscovites who want gasoline for their cars.

So, that's a sanction I think that could bite Putin in the future as the sanctions are levied, as well as strikes continue against his refining capability.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Jim Townsend, thanks so much for your help today. Really appreciate it.

Still ahead for us, the Supreme Court greenlights a Mississippi law requiring social media apps to verify the age of their users and get parental -- and get parental consent.

We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:37]

HILL: National Dog Day is August 26th, and we want you to have a lot of time to prepare, right? So, as we move to this very important holiday and date, we're taking a closer look at some of the fascinating facts about dog breeds during these dog days of summer.

Joining me now, CNN's chief data analyst, dog lover, Harry Enten.

So, let's start out, if we're talking about breeds, how many are there recognized breeds?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, so, you know, we're in National Dog Month right now. And, you know, I just felt like, there feels like there are a lot more dog breeds than there used to be. And it turns out that there are.

Back in 1878, back when I was a young lad, there was just nine. When I was still a young lad in 2000, it was 146. Look at this number that we are at right now, 202. So, we're talking about more than 50 dog breeds now compared to back in 2000.

And, of course, I should point out that the latest dog breed is the Danish Swedish Farmdog, who seems quite adorable over on this side of the screen.

HILL: Very sweet. But if he's Danish and Swedish, is he a purebred or is it just -- I mean, doesn't that -- that's another segment.

ENTEN: He's a purebred. We -- I will say that we can continue to create new breeds, and that's what we're doing by mixing them.

HILL: Yes.

ENTEN: And then you go on for generations and then you have a new dog.

HILL: And then you have a new dog.

So, speaking of dogs and dogs that are out there, what is the most popular dog?

ENTEN: Yes, OK, this one surprised me a little bit because I think all of us thought -- we were talking --

HILL: Yes.

ENTEN: Erica and I were talking beforehand. We thought the most popular dog was the labrador retriever. And it was from 1991 to 2021. Oscar, Izzy Povich's (ph) dog right over here. The --

HILL: Oh. Hi, Oscar.

ENTEN: The cutest -- the cutest young man.

Now, though, however, the number one dog is actually the French bulldog. It's the French bulldog. Since 2022, the most popular dog is the French bulldog. And I will point out that the French bulldog wasn't even in the top ten as recently --

HILL: Making some serious gains here. ENTEN: Making serious gains. The French bulldog has gained and gained

and gained and then finally overtook the labrador retriever at the beginning of this decade.

HILL: One quick question. We don't have a lot of time. But mixed versus purebred, which wins out? I'm thinking mixed.

ENTEN: Yes, it is mixed, 54 percent.

HILL: Because I have a mixed breed dog.

ENTEN: There you go. There you go. But I will point out that Bella, such an adorable little shih Tzu.

HILL: She's adorbs.

ENTEN: At 46 percent. She lives in Middletown, New Jersey. My heart. Bella, I love you.

HILL: Well, Dakota will be -- my dog will be appearing in another segment since there's more dog days to come.

ENTEN: There are.

HILL: So, get ready, Harry, the pictures are coming.

ENTEN: I look forward to it more than anything you can't possibly imagine.

HILL: Thank you, my friend. Well, ice cream. You look forward to ice cream (INAUDIBLE).

ENTEN: That's true. Dogs and ice cream.

HILL: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, guys.

Let's turn to this.

New this morning, the Supreme Court says Mississippi can now enforce a state law requiring the country's largest social media companies to verify users ages and get parental consent.

CNN's Clare Duffy is here with me now. She's got much more.

It's like a continuation of this conversation we've been having. But people are divided over this. Why?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, I mean, it's the same tension that we have been talking about where parents and regulators have wanted these big tech platforms to do something more to protect young people online. But the reason we haven't seen more legislation around this is there's tension about how exactly this should be done. And that is exactly the case here. This law was passed in 2024 after a 16-year-old died by suicide after

being sextorted, the sextortion scam on Instagram. And yet these big tech platforms and a number of groups that are supporting them say that this law is essentially too broad and that it violates the First Amendment by imposing these sort of onerous restrictions in order to access these big tech platforms and the speech that exists there.

This Mississippi law requires sites like Facebook, Instagram, X, Snapchat, even the neighborhood platform next door to verify the ages of all of its users, to get parental consent when minors want to sign up for new accounts on these platforms, to prevent minors from accessing harmful content. And there could be violations of up to $10,000 per -- or I should say penalties of up to $10,000 per violation of this. So, really, you know, could be significant for these platforms if they do not now comply with this Mississippi law.

BOLDUAN: It sure sounds like it. And how does the state expect or -- yes, expect the tech companies to actually implement these requirements? And as you said, the tech companies call them onerous.

DUFFY: Yes, I mean, it is a big question. That law simply requires commercially reasonable efforts to verify users' ages. And so, there's sort of a question about what exactly that means. Potentially sort of privacy concerns. If these tech platforms have to start asking for things like government I.D.s in order to sign up for these platforms, in order to comply with this law.

[09:00:02]

And then there are sort of logistical questions, like, what happens if you leave the state of Mississippi, can you just sign up when you're out of state? Users could sign up for.