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Trump Says Hamas Has Three to Four Days to Respond to Gaza Proposal; Louisiana Governor Asks for National Guard Deployment; Trump Administration to Deploy Troops to Illinois Over Objections From State; Oregon Sues Trump Administration Over National Guard Deployment; Trump Unveils TrumpRx Site for Discounted Drugs. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired September 30, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: -- Hamas has rejected that notion in the past. There's also questions about the withdrawal lines of Israeli troops, and also the number of Palestinian prisoners that would be released in exchange for those 48 Israeli hostages. Keeping in mind, of course, that Hamas would be required to release all 48 hostages within three days of this proposal actually being agreed to. And of course, for Hamas, that is their leverage.

Now, we will see what Hamas response is. They have said that they just received the proposal and that they are going to be deliberating over it and then submitting a response. Now, if Hamas rejects this proposal, President Trump has made clear that he is basically going to give the Israelis carte blanche to continue pummeling Gaza with this lofty and so far unachievable goal of fully destroying Hamas. But what's interesting is that even if Hamas rejects this plan, it does lay out a pathway for that alternative, a pathway for Israel to actually begin gradually handing over territory to an international security force.

And this is the first time that we have ever seen the Israelis acknowledge, let alone agree to, any kind of plan for post-war governance of Gaza and the handover of territory in the Gaza Strip to an international authority. The United States so far has sounded quite an optimistic tone. We've heard from Steve Witkoff, President Trump's Special Envoy, who says that he believes that this is the moment to actually close all of this out. Of course, beyond Hamas' approval of this deal, there are still questions here in Israel as well, about the politics around all of this.

The Israeli Prime Minister already facing fierce criticism from some of his right-wing allies who, have said that they oppose this proposal. But so far those right-wing allies like the Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich haven't gone quite as far as saying that they would leave the government over this. But that will certainly be something to keep an eye on.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Our thanks to Jeremy for that report. Still ahead, the president says the military should use dangerous cities in the U.S. as training grounds. We're going to get reaction from an official in Portland, Oregon as their city soon looks to see an influx of troops.

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": More American cities could soon start seeing U.S. military deployments whether state officials want it or not. In Louisiana, Republican Governor Jeff Landry has formally requested permission from the federal government to activate up to 1,000 National Guard troops. While in Illinois, Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker says the Trump administration is preparing to deploy 100 troops to his state after Border Patrol agents spent the weekend "harassing and intimidating residents and tourists in Chicago." Pritzker calls the deployment plan a dangerous power grab.

Today, President Trump told the nation's top generals and admirals that major U.S. cities should be military training rounds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they're very unsafe places and we're going to straighten them out one by one. And this is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room. That's a war too. It's a war from within. I told Pete, we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military, National Guard, but military, because we're going into Chicago version.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The president there describing the situation as a war from within. Now, Oregon is pushing back after the Trump administration called 200 members of the Oregon National Guard into Federal Service effective immediately for a 60-day deployment. Trump says the troops are needed to protect war-ravaged Portland. Attorneys for Oregon have filed a motion asking a federal judge for an emergency order blocking the deployment. We're joined now by Eric Zimmerman, a Portland City Council member and Lieutenant Colonel in the Oregon National Guard.

Thank you so much for being with us. Can you tell us the latest that you have heard on any deployment plans to Portland? Have you or others received any notification? Have you been called up?

ERIC ZIMMERMAN, PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: Hi, good morning, Brianna. Thanks. It's a good fall day here in Portland. I just want to be clear, today, I'm speaking as a Portland City Councilor and a representative of the downtown area where much of what we're talking about is taking place. With respect to National Guard questions, I think it's most important to direct those back to the Oregon Military Department and the Governor of Oregon. But for my own status, no, I have not received such an order. KEILAR: OK. And I do want to be clear, I understand the situation you are in. Members of the military are supposed to remain apolitical. You happen to have a job that makes that a little bit difficult. But if you can speak from that position that you have in your community, how would you describe things in Portland? Because we're hearing from officials here in Washington.

ZIMMERMAN: Certainly.

KEILAR: We're hearing from the president that it is war ravaged. I have talked to people in Portland who would not describe it as such. How do you see the situation in Portland?

ZIMMERMAN: Great question. And what I would say is that over the last few days, Portland has really been out, right? It's been good weather and everybody knows Pacific Northwest. We'll have a rainy day occasionally. So people are out. We're having lunch at the food carts that Portland is famous for. College just started for a lot of our community college. So kids are getting back to school, getting back to classes. It's an everyday normal event here in Portland in terms of what the situation on the ground is.

That's why I have said over and over, beginning on Friday when we first got this news, that there is no situation that would dictate that some sort of increased federal presence is needed in Portland. The presence of a few protesters outside of the ICE facility doesn't warrant increased federal presence. In fact, two nights ago, Portland Police were able to arrest two people who really did step over the line.

[13:40:00]

And I think that that shows that Portland Police has full control of the situation here in Portland, and that we are enabling people to voice their First Amendment rights, their freedom to assemble, and holding them accountable to do it in a public order, safe and peaceful manner. So, I certainly as a representative of the downtown, would highly disagree. And I think that Oregon and Portland's lawsuit to stop this increase of federal forces inside of Portland is appropriate because I have not seen any reason why such an action needs to be taken.

KEILAR: So, what are you saying to residents? Because today, the president says that he told Secretary Hegseth, we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military, National Guard. But military, he talked about Chicago, but of course, Portland is very much on the radar. What are the concerns that you're hearing from residents as we're hearing rhetoric like that?

ZIMMERMAN: Certainly, we have a lot of different concerns as residents of Portland. First and foremost, I think that residents are concerned that this will lead to an increase in the ICE-type raids that we've seen in other parts of the country where people are being detained and arrested largely based on the color of their skin and perceived status rather than any sort of due process. And so, that is certainly front of mind for Portlanders, immigrants and non- immigrants, because that seems so out of the good order of how we should go about our judicial system.

With respect to Portlanders and our anticipation for what this type of increase of federal presence means, what I'm telling residents is you should make your opposition to this known. You should do it peacefully. Don't instigate anything at the ICE facility that then makes them, what I think is they're looking for an incident to use at a catalyst for a larger approach. And I think that would be really shameful on behalf of the federal government if they introduced that kind of situation.

And so, what I'm hoping is that Portlanders make their opposition to this increase known and that there is no reason for federal troops to be sent to Oregon, that no constitutional or federal law, any legal reason that we would see that and do so peacefully.

KEILAR: Yeah.

ZIMMERMAN: Let's not give them what I think that some federal advisors are looking for.

KEILAR: And just really quickly, before I let you go, if you were activated, would you comply or would you seek to somehow resign from your position in the Guard?

ZIMMERMAN: I think that the act of mustering to follow your orders is perfectly fine on those individual soldier levels. I would encourage anybody who's getting those orders from their chain of command to consult their chain of command and not take advice from a city councilor. This matter is personal and individual. So since I haven't gotten those such orders and I don't expect to, I'm going to continue to speak as a city councilor for Portland and for downtown.

KEILAR: All right, we certainly understand that. Council Member Eric Zimmerman, thanks -- thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate it.

ZIMMERMAN: Thank you, Brianna. Thank you for covering this.

KEILAR: And coming up, the president announcing a deal with Pfizer aimed at lowering the cost of drugs in America. Dr. Mehmet Oz, who Heads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is going to join us to talk about it next.

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[13:47:51]

SANCHEZ: So, President Trump says he just cut a deal with Pfizer and that Americans could soon see drug prices drop. We're also learning about what's being called TrumpRx, a website where Americans can buy medicine at discounted prices. Let's get the latest from CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell. Meg, break this down for us.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Boris. Well, a lot of this announcement focuses on an idea called Most Favored Nation. And what that does is looks at a bucket of sort of similar countries, peer nations, economically, and looks at where their drugs are priced and says the United States shouldn't be paying a higher price than the lowest price paid in those nations. And now in this deal with Pfizer, they're saying they're starting with Medicaid enrollees and they will be offered the prices of -- Most Favored Nation prices.

So, they are saying this should be a steep discount, really closer to what countries in Europe pay for prices for people who are covered by Medicaid. Also in that Most Favored Nation idea, Pfizer is saying it won't launch new drugs at prices much higher in European countries than in the United States. And that would be quite a major change.

Also, here's this idea of TrumpRx. This is a direct-to-consumer way of purchasing medicines, possibly using cash prices, going around the insurance and the middlemen, and they haven't said exactly which medicines will be included here and exactly what all of the discounts will be. So, there are still questions on that. Pfizer also added that as part of this, it gets a three-year grace period on tariffs on its pharmaceutical products as long as it continues to invest in manufacturing in the United States.

And the response I'm seeing, Boris, right now is some relief on the tariffs and thoughts that this isn't going to be incredibly painful when it comes to Pfizer. Back to you.

SANCHEZ: Meg Tirrell, please stand by. We're joined now by Dr. Mehmet Oz. He's the Administrator for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Oz, thanks so much for sharing a part of your afternoon with us. I'm curious to get some specifics on what this deal means for the drug manufacturer. We just had a reporter lay out that they get a three-year grace period on tariffs based on continued investment in the United States.

[13:50:00]

What's in place to ensure that that investment continues?

DR. MEHMET OZ, ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES: Boris, Meg's reporting is accurate. Those key tenets were some of the ones we focused on. Just take a step back, our main goal was to make sure that the most innovative drug market in the world, with pharmaceutical companies who are solving all kinds of horrible illnesses can stay funded while we pay respect to the American taxpayer and to Americans who can't afford the medications.

One third of the time when you go to a drug store, the patient can't afford the meds and walks away with sticker shock. And patients now have to make choices, I hear it all the time as a doctor, between their groceries and their pharmaceutical products. Neither of those should be happening in America. So, the essence of this deal is to make sure that whatever is being paid in other countries, the developed world, those same prices are reflected to the American people.

We have tools that we can use to enforce that this comes to fruition as you've highlighted. One is to make sure that we can have tariffs that are -- if we need to use, the 232 gives us the ability to impose tariffs and the pharmaceutical industry knows this. There's also the reality that we have all kinds of opportunities within the agency I run, CMS, to do pilots and projects and endeavors that will allow us to change the drug pricing, and study of the impact. And those are a major hassle for the industry.

But I'll tell you, the biggest ally, Boris, is gravity. The entire industry, when you sit them down and talk to the CEOs who contrary to what many people might think, they actually went into the healthcare business because they care about people and health. I say, listen, you've lost your way. You're more focused on dollars than people. This is not right. It's not fair. And . Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer, who is a leader in the industry, said the same thing today.

We recognize it is untenable to charge more for the exact same product made in the same factory in the United States than we charge in Europe. And so we're going to change that. The president has made it clear he will not tolerate anything less. The first and most influential company, many would argue, is taking that major step today in an historic announcement in the Oval Office.

SANCHEZ: Sure.

OZ: We have additional companies already lined up, who will be coming in week after week for the next few weeks.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. When it comes to that Most Favored Nation pricing for Medicaid patients, can we expect that to eventually expand to patients on Medicare, even commercial insurance?

OZ: Oh, for sure. And you'll see some of these announcements in the upcoming weeks. But to be clear about today's announcement, we are protecting the Medicaid population because they are our most vulnerable. And it is completely indefensible to charge more for them than you would an affluent person in living in Europe. So this is going to help take some of the pressure off Medicaid which of course, states have to pay, we compensate as well. But it's a number one growing budget item for governors around the country. Just gives them relief.

We also included in today's program all new products, all new products have to be released at Most Favored Nation pricing. So as we evolve and advance science in America and save more people with cancer and treat more people with asthma or problems with skin ailments, all those will be priced appropriately. And we have several drugs, some big ones that were also included by Pfizer that are already going to be at Most Favored Nation pricing within Medicare.

So across the board we're achieving that. And then again, the magnitude of -- we're talking about selling drugs at one-tenth what they're listed for right now, which is again dramatically below even the list price. And the TrumpRx opportunity also gives direct access to these prices to everybody in America, including in the commercial market. So if you don't like the prices you're getting from your company, you could have TrumpRx as your backup, and you'll see even broader strokes of success upcoming. SANCHEZ: Were there any drugs left out of this deal that may still be difficult for some patients to afford that you wish had been included?

OZ: It's a negotiation. It's ongoing. We're going to get into more of those additional medications. But of course, there are medications that you'd like to have and some of them are going to be addressed through the IRA process, which is just to remind everybody was a mechanism set up for us at CMS to negotiate with drug companies for their biggest selling products. There are 15 drugs that are going through that funnel right now. So slowly but surely, we believe that we will be able to bring all drugs into compliance with Most Favored Nation pricing.

And we already have over 90 percent there with the projects we're working on. We can -- we believe we'll get to over 95 percent of all drugs sold in America being at Most Favored Nation pricing by the end of this president's administration. And I just want to pay homage to, I've spoken to Democrats, Republicans, everybody is over the moon that finally somebody had the passion to move forward on something as important and as volatile as this.

The president was undaunted. I think he had me on speed dial. He called so often asking for updates, making sure that he left no room for ambiguity. He wanted Most Favorite Nation for the American people. He got it and God bless him.

SANCHEZ: Dr. Mehmet Oz, we have to leave the conversation there. Appreciate your time and perspective.

[13:55:00]

OZ: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Let's turn back now to CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell. Meg, a lot to parse through there with the administrator. I wonder what you made of what he said, specifically the details about further conversations, further negotiations with other companies.

TIRRELL: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this is one drug company and we don't know exactly which drugs are going to be included in this discount plan. And so the questions are, when will this reach everybody? And what Dr. Oz just said there, about 95 percent of drugs having Most Favored Nation pricing by the end of the Trump presidency is a very interesting statistic and one we'll watch closely.

But remember, this is pegging drug prices in the U.S. to drug prices in Europe. And there are multiple ways of doing that. You can lower U.S. drug prices, but you can also try to raise Europe or other peer nation drug prices. And so, we still don't have the details of how much drug prices are actually going to come down as a result of this and for which Americans. So still a lot of questions left here, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. And hopefully, we'll get those answered as we get more details on this deal and the aforementioned upcoming ones. Meg Tirrell, thanks so much for the reporting. The next hour of "CNN News Central" starts after a quick break. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)