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Trump Ratchets Up Pressure On Zelenskyy Ahead Of Key White House Meeting Today; Texas And California Set To Push Forward In Redistricting Fight; Manhunt Underway After 3 Killed, 9 Hurt In Brooklyn Lounge Shooting. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 18, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And the breaking news this morning. Just hours from now President Trump is welcoming Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to the White House to discuss bringing an end to Russia's war on Ukraine.

The president is just back from his summit also, of course, with the Russian president, Putin -- a face-to-face that resulted in something of a 180 from Trump, now dropping his calls and demands for a ceasefire before a peace deal can be reached -- and that's something he agreed to in his prep call with Zelenskyy and European leaders before he met with Putin.

Here's how his special envoy explained the shift to CNN on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: We made so much progress at this meeting with regard to all the other ingredients necessary for a peace -- for a peace deal that we -- that President Trump pivoted to that place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: But the Secretary of State Marco Rubio far more cautious in his assessment yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: So we -- we're still a long ways off. I mean, we're not at the precipice of a peace agreement, we're not at the edge of one, but I do think progress was made towards one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And overnight, President Trump laid out what may now be considered the new demands that Zelenskyy is walking into, calling on Zelenskyy to forget about getting Crimea back and abandon any hope of joining NATO.

Joining me right now is Inna Sovsun. She's a member of the Ukrainian Parliament. Thank you so much for being here.

What President Trump said exactly in this social media post is that President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately. And he says no getting back Crimea and not going into NATO.

INNA SOVSUN, MEMBER OF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT (via Webex by Cisco): What do you make of that?

Well, first of all, if it was so easy for President Zelenskyy just to end the war by his sheer will then he would have done that much earlier. Trust me, nobody wants the war to end more than Ukrainians, including the Ukrainian president.

Just this night we had another terrible air attacks in the east in the city of Sumy. The big university has been destroyed. In the city of Kharkiv a 2-year-old child has been killed in the air attack.

So we want the war to end, but it's unfair to say that it's up for us to end it. If the country that is defending itself will stop fighting that will mean capitulation, not the peace deal. So, yeah, we want peace, but we need to make sure that it is a real peace -- a real peace that will be long-lasting and stable.

The NATO issue is not of that big importance as of right now because we believe that other types of guarantees can be provided. But what type of guarantees will be provided -- that has not been made clear to us, so it's too early to discuss.

BOLDUAN: Given that -- what President Trump is kind of laying out as the baseline of the discussion that he -- that they're going into today, what is your hope as a best-case outcome from his sit-down -- the sit-down between President Zelenskyy and President Trump this morning?

SOVSUN: Well, there are the ideal options and then then are the realistic options. So as of right now, what we are hearing the discussion being is how can we suspend this war and stop all the military activity right away, and what sort of compromise can we make with Putin.

The discussion could have been framed in a completely different way. We could have been discussing what are the types of military aid can be provided to Ukraine so that it can fight back, and we have proven that we can actually fight back if we have enough weapons. So that could have been one of the options but it's definitely not on the table right now and not something that President Trump is willing to offer.

So the discussion now is about the concessions that Ukraine will have to make. And the realistic concessions that Ukrainian side seems to be willing to make is to freeze the current conflict lines to accept them de facto -- as the de facto line which separate the two forces. And that then it can stop the -- it can ensure the ceasefire, and then we can talk about the longer-time peace deal with the security guarantees from the West. Without security guarantees it makes no sense to us. Putin will start

again a new war in a week, in a month, in a year, in five years from now. We need to make sure that we will be protected from any other attack from the Russian side.

BOLDUAN: I sense that you are not optimistic about how this meeting could come out for Ukraine.

SOVSUN: Look, as a human being, as someone who has lived in Ukraine throughout 3 1/2 years of this war, someone whose partner has been on the frontlines of this war from day one, there is nothing I want more than this war to end. I want this to be over. I want us to get back to our lives as it used to be as much as that would be possible.

[07:35:00]

So we all want to believe in the miracle, but can it happen? Can we get the guarantees that we want? Can we get the guarantees that we will not get attacked again? That's yet unclear, frankly speaking.

And the position of the White House has been shifting so many times that it's -- you know, we have hope. We have -- we ant to believe in the miracle but we have to be realistic, and we have to have a plan B as well.

BOLDUAN: What is your biggest fear then of what could come out of the meeting today?

SOVSUN: Well, I think the worst-case scenario would be if President Trump suggests that the conditions of the peace deal that would not be acceptable to the Ukrainian side.

For instance, give up a third of the Donetsk region, which Russia doesn't control and never controlled, or if you don't do that there wouldn't -- we would give up any type of political, economic, and military support to Ukraine. That is the worst-case scenario that I think everybody is very much concerned about.

I very much hope that that's not going to happen, but I think that is what everybody fears, particularly given the -- you know, the previous meeting between the two presidents and how that went up. I think that concern is in everybody's minds.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

Inna Sovsun, thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate it -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now Democratic strategist Christy Setzer, and Republican strategist Melik Abdul.

And I want to read you, Christy, something that I just saw on Axios. This comes from Marc Caputo and Barak Ravid that may give you a sense of where the president's and the White House mindset is this morning.

They say, "The White House asked Ukrainian officials if President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would wear a suit to his meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office on Monday," two sources with direct knowledge tells Axios.

You'll remember that Volodymyr Zelenskyy wearing military fatigues in the last meeting became a little bit of a thing. President Trump made fun of him. A conservative reporter asked as question about it.

So the White House trying to make sure that Zelenskyy will dress up today. What do you think of that?

CHRISTY SETZER, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, NEW HEIGHTS COMMUNICATIONS (via Webex by Cisco): Uh, I think he has some misplaced priorities.

Look, when Donald Trump said that his meeting with Vladimir Putin went well -- that it was a 10 out of 10 -- I think from his perspective it was because he wasn't trying to get a ceasefire. He was trying to appeal to his great friend Vladimir Putin and show him, frankly, that he can be loyal. And Trump's actions since then have been indistinguishable from someone who is acting on behalf of Vladimir Putin. That is, he is dictating the terms to Zelenskyy as to what will create peace.

Let's remember it was -- it was Ukraine that was invaded. They are a sovereign, democratic nation, right? So I don't think that you should be telling a democratic nation what the terms should be to get people to stop invading them, right? It is fundamentally messed up.

But I will go further and say that Donald Trump has aligned himself with some of history's greatest monsters, like when he called Nazis very fine people.

So look, the stakes are very high here and they are all lopsided against Zelenskyy, which is to say that he is being told if he behaves a certain way, if he acts a certain way, that maybe, maybe, maybe he'll get something that he wants. But frankly, there is no reason to think that.

BERMAN: Melik, a couple of concrete things over the weekend. Number one, President Trump flipped on the issue of whether he thinks there should be a ceasefire before terms for a peace deal are discussed. And then you have this -- again, this concrete note overnight saying that President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can have peace if he wants to as soon as he wants it.

You know, how do you think -- or how would you describe the framing of this meeting this morning, Melik, by President Trump and the White House?

MELIK ABDUL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think it's excellent framing.

And the notion that we're somehow still debating this debunked lie about Donald Trump saying that the Nazis were fine -- Nazis were fine people is just ridiculous.

What we do know -- if you go back to last year -- it was June of last year --

SETZER: (INAUDIBLE).

ABDUL: -- when the -- it was the -- it was June of last year at the -- at the -- they called it the Russo-Ukraine peace summit, no one was asking for a ceasefire. And there were 92 representatives from countries all around the world who attended that. That wasn't a peace summit that was about a ceasefire. It literally was a cease -- it was a peace summit.

This is something that Ukraine has done over and over again, and if you go and look at the actual facts on this, this is one of many peace summits that did not include Russia.

So what Donald Trump did, he brought Russia to the table, which is the reasonable thing for him to do because under the Biden administration it simply did not happen. So the idea that somehow we're going to continue to have peace summits and not bring Russia to the table, it's just ridiculous.

It is a good thing that not just Zelenskyy himself but European leaders around the world see progress. They're not doing this at the behest of Putin. They're not doing this at the behest of Donald Trump. They're doing this at the behest of, for all intents and purposes, peace.

[07:40:07]

BERMAN: What pressure, Melik, do you see President Trump putting on Vladimir Putin?

ABDUL: Well, it seems as if so far some of the pressure may be -- of course, we don't know. Many people have talked about Vladimir Putin over the years and how he strung one president on versus another president. But it seems as if maybe some of the concerns that Putin had about the sanctions that Donald Trump was looking at when it came to oil and gas.

So I don't know what the conversations where. Most of us don't know what those conversations were. But I suspect that the threat of sanctions probably is something that is bringing Putin closer to the negotiating table.

BERMAN: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said sanctions off the table, at least for now, as long as these discussions are going on.

Christy, what pressure do you think Vladimir Putin is feeling this morning?

SETZER: I think he is feeling absolutely no pressure whatsoever. Look, he got everything that he wanted out of that meeting. He got to speak on U.S. soil, speak first, speak in Russian. But, you know, it looked like it was a meeting that was dictated by him in every single way.

And the reason that Marco Rubio and Melik cannot point to something that may be a consequence for Putin is because there's not going to be any consequences for Putin. That, again, is not what Trump is here to do. He seems him as a friend. He sees him, frankly, as an ally.

And when you look at the meeting today that's going to be with Zelenskyy and European leaders on one side, the sort of other side is basically going to be the side of dictators, which is Vladimir Putin and his "friend" Donald Trump, right? That is horrifying. That is horrifying for Americans who have always thought of ourselves as the good guys in these situations. And frankly, right now, we are on the other side of it.

BERMAN: Melik, I just want to get your quick take on something that Congressman Andy Ogles wrote over the weekend because a lot of people picked up on it on social media.

He wrote on Twitter, "Give Trump a third term, give him a peace prize, and let him run D.C. as long as he wants."

It's that first one -- the "give Trump a third term" that I think was said without irony that raised some eyebrows from the congressman, but I do suppose it shows the level of support that President Trump has inside Congress.

What do you think?

ABDUL: Well, of course, Donald Trump is the president, and he has plenty of support in Congress. This is a ridiculous idea. It's something that Republicans have actually thrown out there to kind of troll the media. Donald Trump has trolled the media itself.

But when it comes to Washington, D.C., a someone who is a longtime resident of Washington, D.C., I haven't found a single resident on my side of town, which is east of the river, who aren't supportive of what the Donald Trump administration is doing in order to reduce crime.

So people can complain about it but the people who are long impacted by crime -- we don't have a problem with it at all.

BERMAN: Melik Abdul, Christy Setzer, thanks so much, both of you, for being here this morning -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So today there are major political powerplays unfolding in two of the country's most populous states. In Texas, the House will reconvene and this time Democrats who had left the state to protest Republicans' redistricting plans -- they are now expected to return as soon as this morning. That means Republicans can quickly pass their new map that would likely add five Republican seats in Congress.

Then in California, Democratic lawmakers there are set to introduce new congressional maps today -- maps that they hope will offset what Republicans are doing in Texas. Final passage could happen this week.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is following all of this. She's in Austin this morning. Arlette, let's start in Texas. What is expected today?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Kate, there is a redistricting showdown underway from Texas to California as lawmakers in both states are racing to approve changes to their congressional maps.

Here in Texas all eyes will be on the state capitol around noon Texas time as these Texas House Democrats could return to the state as soon as today after spending two weeks outside of Texas as they're trying to block the GOP's plan to change U.S. House seats. The Republican plan could change -- or flip as many as five seats to the Republican column if it does get through the Texas House and Senate, which it is expected to do at some point.

Now, at noon, the Texas House will reconvene, and they will be waiting to see whether they will have a quorum to officially begin the business and move on to that legislation. GOP lawmakers here have not put a timeline for when this could pass, but it could get done as soon as this week.

Democrats who are returning say that they plan to put up a fight on the floor and are also preparing for legal challenges down the road.

But in addition to here in Texas there is another round of action happening in California. Lawmakers there are expected to file the legislation on their congressional maps today. They unveiled those maps on Friday, which would aim to pick up as many as five seats for Democrats.

[07:45:10]

California Governor Gavin Newsom has said that this action that California is taking is in direct response to what Texas Governor Greg Abbott had done with the maps here in Texas.

Now over in California this could be a very fast process. The Statehouse is trying to push this through with potential votes on their map on Thursday.

But the thing that's different about California compared to Texas -- Texas, the lawmakers can push those maps through. In California, the voters will actually have a final say on that in November. And already there is expected to be a multimillion-dollar campaign. You have Republicans pushing back on these maps, including former Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who posted a photo of himself saying "F the politicians, terminate gerrymandering."

So a lot at stake right now in both of these states and across the country as these changes to the congressional maps will have huge implications for what the next U.S. Congress will look like in President Donald Trump's second term.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, a lot could happen just starting -- especially starting today.

Arlette, thank you very much. I really appreciate it -- John.

BERMAN: All right. New this morning Americans have not been this gloomy about the job market since the Great Recession. That is according to a new survey from the University of Michigan. It finds that six in 10 Americans believe that unemployment will get worse in the year ahead.

Let's get right to CNN's Matt Egan for the latest on this. Good morning, sir.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Good morning, John.

Yeah look, the mood on Main Street does remain gloomy and one of the major drivers is this concern about layoffs.

So the University of Michigan did find that about 60 percent of consumers expect that the unemployment rate will go higher over the next 12 months. And look, that is up dramatically just since November.

BERMAN: Wow.

EGAN: Thirty-two percent back then around the time of the election. And, in fact, the University of Michigan says this is highest since the Great Recession back when millions of people were out of work.

And this is also in stark contrast to the way the president frequently describes the economy, right? He often says he inherited a dead country and now it's the hottest thing in town. Clearly, this is an indicator that is moving in the wrong direction.

I think the good news is when you actually look at the economic numbers, there's no indication of widespread layoffs at this point. This is a chart showing unemployment filings for the first time. This is going back to five years.

BERMAN: Look how stable that is.

EGAN: Look how stable it is. In fact, John, we're all the way on the right side of the screen. We're actually at a lower point when it comes to first-time filings for unemployment then we were during either of the prior two summers. So again, that is not a sign of widespread layoffs.

But we do know that people who do lose their job -- it is taking them longer to get a new one. That's why economists call this a no-hire, no-fire job market. And a lot of companies are warning that these sky- high tariffs are wiping out billions of dollars in profits.

Now, the other concern, of course, on Main Street is the cost of living. Inflation expectations have gone up across political affiliations and some people say they're going to change their spending because of it.

This is also from the University of Michigan, and it shows that only 24 percent of consumers say that they will spend as usual on items that get a lot more expensive. Most of those 24 percent are higher- income consumers. You see that most consumers -- 58 percent -- say they plan to cut back on spending on items that get more expensive.

Again, this does skew a little bit more towards Democrats and Independents who say they plan to cut back, but a significant number of Republicans say that as well. BERMAN: Yeah. You add up "will stop spending" and that's 71 percent of people saying they're going to cut back or stop spending altogether. That's a lot.

EGAN: Yeah. Now we do know that sometimes people -- what they tell pollsters and what they actually do -- sometimes there's a contrast there, right?

BERMAN: Before you tell your spouse I'm not going to spend anymore.

EGAN: Yeah, yeah.

BERMAN: You know.

EGAN: I've heard that before.

BERMAN: Exactly.

EGAN: But look, this does speak to some underlying economic anxiety and something we've got to pay close attention to.

BERMAN: All right, Matt Egan. Thank you --

EGAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: -- very much for that.

All right, a manhunt for multiple shooters in New York. New details on the shooting that left three people dead.

And then terrifying moments after a small boy falls into a well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN FREEMAN, MOTHER OF JACK BISSIAS: I heard a scream that I've, like, never heard before from my son.

JACK BISSIAS, 5-YEAR-OLD WHO FELL INTO A WELL: I was stepping on the top and I fell in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. The little girl being called a hero after she rushed in to help.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:59:10]

BOLDUAN: This morning there is a manhunt underway in New York. Police are looking for multiple shooters who killed three people and wounded nine others at a Brooklyn lounge early Sunday. Police say there were as many as four shooters involved.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is here and she's tracking this one for us. Gloria, what's the latest here? GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kate. Police believe that this shooting actually stemmed from an altercation that broke out inside that Brooklyn lounge early on Sunday morning. And as you said, they are now looking for at least four suspects believed to have been involved in this shooting.

Now, police say that the dispute started inside the club sending people running for cover. Forty-two shell casings in total have been recovered. And the victims' ages range from 19 to 61 years old.

[07:55:00]

Now, we heard from the New York City police commissioner on Sunday morning talking about this shooting. Jessica Tisch actually pointed out the fact that despite this shooting and despite the number of victims, incidents like this one continue to be an anomaly here in New York City. In fact, New York City has had a record-breaking decline in overall shootings.

Listen to what the police commissioner had to say yesterday morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA TISCH, POLICE COMMISSIONER, NYPD: And a lot of our work in bringing the shooting numbers down so far this year has been because of our relentless focus on guns and gangs. And as the mayor said, we are certainly not going to let up now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now Kate, one thing that's interesting to point out about what the commissioner was talking about there in terms of gang-related violence is that at least half -- more than half of the city's shootings so far are actually driven by gang violence. And police investigators at this stage believe that this shooting on Sunday stemmed from a dispute between people also involved in gang violence. That's what's part of the ongoing investigation now.

But even though that -- even though the city is seeing a record number of shootings in terms of their decrease, it still comes on the heels of two significant shootings in the last few months -- including, of course, the shooting in Midtown office just a few weeks ago -- a very different setting there and a different type of shooting.

But still, these high-profile shootings here in New York City involving a large number of victims -- a large number of people who were injured -- nine in total in this instance -- that has a lot of concern for people here in the city -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, absolutely unsettling.

Gloria, thank you very much -- John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning health officials in Wyoming are trying to get in touch with hundreds of people who may have been exposed to rabies. Officials say the exposure happened in bat-infested cabins at Grand Teton National Park this summer. State officials must now assess which guests meet the criteria for treatment.

A dramatic rescue in California. Crews used a helicopter to reach a man who spent two days trapped behind a waterfall. The 46-year-old was planning to rappel down the Seven Teacups waterfall in Sequoia National Park when river currents knocked him off his climbing lines. Rescuers used drones and infrared technology to locate him and then California Highway Patrol used a helicopter to hoist him to safety. He suffered only minor injuries and is now recovering with his family.

In Massachusetts, a young girl helped save a 5-year-old boy who fell into a 30-foot well. His mother says he was playing in the yard when it happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: I heard a scream that I've, like, never heard before from my son.

BISSIAS: I was stepping on the top and I fell in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So that 11-year-old girl who lives across the street also heard screams and quickly brought over a ladder from her house. The boy was able to climb out with only a few scratches -- amazing.

All right, this morning a hearing in Miami over the detention center called Alligator Alcatraz. CNN's Rafael Romo is with us with the latest. Rafael, talk to us about this hearing.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning.

And let's remind our viewers Alligator Alcatraz is currently facing two lawsuits. One was filed by environmental groups who are opposed to such a facility being built in the middle of an ecosystem, like the Florida Everglades. The other one was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and immigrants' rights advocates.

A federal court in Miami will hold a hearing later this morning about the second case -- the one filed by the ACLU, which makes several allegations John, including that detainees are denied access to legal counsel at the makeshift Florida detention site, and that they are pressured to self-deport without legal representation.

At an earlier hearing the federal judge hearing the case raised concerns about confusion over who runs the facility. And the ACLU says removal flights have already taken place.

The ACLU's lead counsel in this case says beyond the harsh conditions detainees face at Alligator Alcatraz, there are fundamental rights that are being violated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EUNICE CHO, SENIOR COUNSEL, ACLU'S NATIONAL PRISON PROJECT: And they are being held, of course, without honoring many of the very basic constitutional rights to be able to speak to counsel. To be able to petition for release from custody. And, you know, Alligator Alcatraz cannot end up being a black hole where people disappear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And John, in response to the allegations, a top Department of Homeland Security official said that "Any allegation that illegal aliens at Alligator Alcatraz do not have access to attorneys is FALSE. The facility maintains a physical space for attorneys to meet with their clients. Additionally, Florida established an email address for attorneys to submit requests to speak to the specific illegal aliens."

The ACLU lawsuit names Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her entire department as defendants, as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his executive director of emergency management, Kevin Guthrie, among other officials.

The state of Florida has pushed back, saying conditions at the facility are in good working order and that the claims to the contrary are false -- John.