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Trump and Xi Set to Meet Amid Bitter U.S.-China Trade War; Interview with Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA): Millions of Americans May Lose Food Assistance Saturday; Former Illinois Deputy Found Guilty of Murder in Shooting of Sonya Massey; Paris Prosecutors Give Update on Louvre Heist. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 29, 2025 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: South Korea is rolling out the red carpet as President Trump wraps up the final leg of his trip to Asia. President Lee Jae Myung presenting Trump with a replica golden crown as part of a lavish visit that also included gold-themed desserts. Trump says they are on the verge of finalizing a trade deal. They'll do that very soon according to the president.

Tonight's meeting though with Chinese leader Xi Jinping is the one many around the globe are going to be watching closely. The U.S. and China appear poised to smooth over their simmering trade war. A big relief for businesses if they can settle it, not to mention a number of other sticking points between the two nations.

CNN's Ivan Watson is monitoring all of this from Hong Kong for us. Ivan, obviously a high-stakes meeting with Xi. How critical are these talks between the leaders of these two world powers?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the leaders of the world's two largest economies which have been mired in trade war off and on basically since Trump's first term in office. They have a lot to discuss. Both sides, their trade negotiators were conducting a round of negotiations just last weekend in Malaysia, almost up to the last minute.

[15:35:00]

And in fact, it wasn't until today, in fact, that the Chinese government confirmed that this meeting would in fact take place with the foreign ministry of China saying quote, "Head of state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-U.S. relations."

We'll have to see whether or not the optimistic tones and signals being sent out from Beijing and Washington will add up to some kind of a grand agreement when these two leaders do finally meet. Trump and Xi Jinping have not met face-to-face since 2019 during President Trump's first term in office.

He did arrive in Korea where his ally, the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, he did roll out the red carpet, wore a gold tie, gave him dessert brownies with gold icing on them, awarded him South Korea's highest honor. And they did talk about some serious issues with South Korea, this military ally promising to spend more money on defense.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE JAE MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I know that it is important to continue to lessen your burden, military and defense burden for us. So we will continue to increase our military spending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: But the South Korean president also put in a request asking for U.S. help to develop nuclear-powered submarines, not armed, but powered submarines to keep pace with submarines coming from North Korea and from China. The two leaders also agreed to a trade deal, which means South Korea gets lower tariffs on its car exports to the U.S. and pledges to invest tens -- hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S. economy. The U.S. president has been making deals all along his tour through Asia. This is the last stop on this six-day tour -- Boris and Brianna.

SANCHEZ: Ivan Watson, live for us in Hong Kong. Thank you so much -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: It's day 29 of the government shutdown, and millions of Americans are on the verge of losing federal assistance that helps them feed their families. Funding for the nation's food stamp program is set to run out in just three days, and Trump administration officials claim they cannot use an emergency fund to keep it going. In the meantime, Republicans and Democrats remain at a standstill, even though there is a bipartisan proposal to fund SNAP amid the stalemate.

Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton is with us now. He is, of note, currently running for U.S. Senate. Congressman, your leadership in the House says it's illegal that the USDA is not using those contingency funds to pay SNAP benefits.

But when more than one million people in Massachusetts rely on them, what does the argument really do for them? Obviously, they can't eat a political argument.

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: I mean, look, you can tell a lot about an administration by who it chooses to protect. And the Trump administration protects criminals, fraudsters, pedophiles, billionaires, the president's pal in Argentina, while leaving American families who are hungry to fend for themselves. The reality is that these funds, of course, can be used.

I mean, he's taking a private donation from some random conservative friend to help pay the military. These SNAP assistance contingency funds are set aside specifically for this purpose. So the administration is just being cruel and has a plan to starve Americans this weekend.

KEILAR: As I mentioned, you're running for Senate. Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, who has consistently voted with Republicans to keep the government funded, just said this to CNN's Manu Raju.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO (D-NV): I don't think federal workers should be political pawns. I don't think we should swap the pain of some Americans for others. I think we should be lifting all of them up and helping them.

In my state, I have federal workers and independent contractors who are not getting a paycheck. I have my own staff not getting a paycheck. So I think we can keep the government open and address this looming crisis of the health care cliff that we are seeing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: What do you say to that?

MOULTON: I mean, look, we can have a disagreement about tactics here, but it's clear that we all want to make health care affordable for Americans. The Democrats agree on being able to simply eat is a human right, like health care is a human right. We shouldn't take this away from Americans.

When Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the most conservative Republicans that the world has ever seen, blames this shutdown on Republicans because she says her own family will not be able to afford health care if Republicans get their way. That tells you something about who's at fault here.

KEILAR: Republican Senator Josh Hawley is leading a bipartisan bill to ensure that SNAP benefits, food stamp benefits continue. Should your Democratic colleagues in the Senate broadly support that?

[15:40:00]

MOULTON: I don't know the details of the bill. It sounds like something that I would support. But of course, I don't know exactly what Josh has put in this.

You know, the problem is that Republicans are not trustworthy anymore. You know, you can make a deal with them and then the president just goes and cuts funding anyway. He's using illegal means, as far as we can tell, to fund the troops, while saying that actually the contingency funds in place to keep families from starving are not going to be used to continue SNAP benefits.

So there's a real problem here in this negotiation in that Republicans just simply don't play by the rules and aren't even honest. And that makes it hard to support proposals like this, even ones that sound like they make sense.

KEILAR: You told CNN's Kasie Hunt last week that if elected to the Senate, you would not support Senator Chuck Schumer continuing in his post leading Senate Democrats. Do you think he's effectively leading Democrats right now through the shutdown?

MOULTON: I mean, look, this is a challenging time, and I think it's important for us all to stick together as a team. But I'm not going to run on a platform of bringing a new generation of leadership to the Democratic Party at a time when I think that's desperately needed across the country. And get elected in Massachusetts and then go to Washington and vote to just continue the status quo.

So I'm proud to be supporting a new generation of leadership, not only here, but down in Washington. And I'm going to stick to that position.

KEILAR: OK, you say you don't, you don't want -- you think people should stick together in the middle of this. But this is going to -- this is this is part of what this election is about. Can you take a position on that?

MOULTON: I've taken a very clear position, which is that I'm not going to support Chuck Schumer to be majority leader or a minority leader in the in the Senate --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: And but on how you think leadership is -- how you think leadership is doing right now during the shutdown?

MOULTON: Well, look, here's the problem. I mean, we're in this second shutdown of the year because of how ineffective Schumer was at handling the first shutdown when all of us stood together in the House to block the Republicans from shoving their bill down our throats. And then the Senate just gave in under Schumer.

So I think that really the problem is that we're in this position because of Senator Schumer's ineffective leadership. It doesn't mean he's ineffective every single day. But but I think we're in this position because because the status quo is not working.

The old playbook for Democrats is not delivering. We've got a second term of Donald Trump. He's hurting a lot of people all across America today.

KEILAR: You are giving back donations that you have received from AIPAC, the lobby that supports Israel. You told the Harvard Crimson, I have always believed the people of Israel deserve safety and peace. That being said, I have disagreed publicly with AIPAC on a number of issues over the years.

If you had disagreed with AIPAC previously, why only now give back the money? Why did you continue to take money from them then?

MOULTON: Because things have gotten so much worse under the Netanyahu government. And that's my core issue, is their alignment with the Netanyahu government. Now, I've disagreed with the Netanyahu government for a long time. I've disagreed with AIPAC publicly, but I've also tried privately to get them to distance themselves from Bibi's government. And things really got bad this summer with the horrific scenes in Gaza. And so that's where I started saying, you know, we're just I can't align myself with this group and I'm going to send back their money.

KEILAR: Weren't they bad before then? And I should mention you're a Marine veteran, right? You know the reality of this.

MOULTON: I'm a Marine veteran --

KEILAR: You've been watching these scenes from the beginning of what's been going on in Gaza.

MOULTON: Yes. And I've been, again, an outspoken critic of the Netanyahu government and how they're carrying on this war. I mean, in fact, on CNN, I wrote an op-ed just after the horrific attacks of October 7th and said that they have to have a political solution here, that Bibi has got to put forward a political solution that works for Israelis and Palestinians.

And he has failed repeatedly to do that. Now, look, I think that there is a role for U.S. lawmakers to play by being in the room, by being at the table. I have sat down with Netanyahu.

I have sat down with the Israeli ambassador on repeated occasions and pressed them on these points. And there are times when, you know, you try to use that leverage. And then there are times where you just have to realize, look, it's not working.

[15:45:00]

You know, as much as I've been able to pressure them, whether it's the Netanyahu government or pressuring AIPAC, really encouraging them to distance themselves from that government, that it just hasn't worked. But I think it's worth trying. And that's why, you know, I am where I am.

KEILAR: Congressman Seth Moulton, obviously it is a critical time right now. We appreciate you taking time for us today. Thank you.

MOULTON: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: And we do have some breaking news. We have a verdict in the murder case of Sonya Massey. We'll have details on that right after the break.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We have breaking news into CNN. There is a verdict in the trial of the former Illinois deputy accused in the murder of Sonya Massey.

KEILAR: Sean Grayson has been found guilty of second degree murder. Grayson shot Massey after responding to her 911 call. We have CNN's Whitney Wild joining us now.

Whitney, what more are you learning here?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this came after about 11 hours of deliberation, seven days of testimony, in which Sean Grayson actually testified in his own defense. A key piece of evidence here was the body-worn camera from a fellow deputy, which caught the moments leading up to the shooting and then what happened afterward. And again, this was really crucial because it laid out step-by-step how this case unfolded.

As you mentioned, this was a response to a 911 call. This all happened July 6, 2024. The call came in from Sonya Massey.

She was worried. There was a prowler at her home. She appeared to be having a mental health episode.

The situation began to escalate. At one point, deputies inside, including Sean Grayson, noticed that there was a pot boiling on a stove. They asked her to take the pot off, and then she walks over to the sink.

And as the deputies sort of back up in the body-worn camera, you hear them sort of joke around about how they're backing up because they're worried about this hot boiling water she has in her hand. And then the situation turns very quickly. And at one moment, Sonya Massey sort of sounds like she's joking.

She says, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. And that's when Sean Grayson turns. He starts to draw his gun.

The situation escalates further. Sonya Massey drops the pot, puts up her hands, ducks, and says, I'm sorry. And then Sean Grayson walked around.

And again, I'm, you know, describing this video that was really crucial. You know, people can look at it for themselves. And then he shot her.

And now we know that a jury has found him guilty of second-degree murder. This was not necessarily the outcome that the state's attorney's office was looking for. They were hoping for first-degree murder, which would have carried a sentence of 45 years to potentially life behind bars.

Now we know that Grayson will face between four years and 20 years behind bars. He could serve far less than that if his behavior is good behind bars. His sentencing is set for January 29th.

Moving forward, the question, you know, whenever we see cases like this is, how is this going to change the future? What is going to happen to make sure nothing happens again? Here in Illinois, a law was passed, the Sonya Massey bill, which requires more vetting of deputies.

What came out as this case unfolded was that Sean Grayson had a checkered history. He had two DUIs. He was discharged dishonorably from the Army.

He had had a long list of problems leading up to his time in Sangamon County. So now in Illinois, there is a requirement for more vetting of potential law enforcement officers. Back to you.

KEILAR: Whitney Wild with the latest there. Very important. Thank you.

And ahead, French authorities updating their investigation into last week's daylight robbery at the Louvre. What they're saying about the two suspects in custody and the status of the missing jewels. We'll have the latest from Paris next.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A short time ago, prosecutors in Paris updated the latest on the Louvre heist investigation.

KEILAR: Melissa Bell has the latest from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Paris prosecutor has been giving more details about the latest on the investigation into the heist at the Louvre museum, confirming many of the details that we had understood already about the two men currently in custody. That they are in their 30s, that they were known to police before the heist for things like low-level delinquency, petty thefts, and that they had been tracked down thanks to DNA that had been found on one of the helmets they left behind. They are of Algerian nationality and come from the outskirts of Paris.

What the prosecutor said, though, is that they do believe that there were four people involved in the heist on the day itself, two others remain at large, and that she wouldn't give that many details because this was an ongoing investigation. She also pointed out that whilst these other two were at large and they were looking for four altogether, they had not excluded the possibility that someone else may have been involved, whether to commission the theft or in other ways. She also added that there was no suggestion that anyone on the inside of the Louvre had been complicit in the heist.

The latest details then in an investigation that continues and no sign yet, she explained, of the jewels themselves.

Melissa Bell, CNN Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Melissa Bell for that report.

So if you were planning a Halloween party at an Airbnb, you may want to rethink that, namely because of the AI party police. The company says it's ruling out what it's calling advanced AI party technology.

KEILAR: Advanced anti-party technology.

SANCHEZ: I misread that.

KEILAR: But that's hilarious, right?

SANCHEZ: Yes, it'd be good to have pro-party technology.

KEILAR: I can be your anti-party technology.

SANCHEZ: But alas.

KEILAR: I'm a mom. OK, so this is to prevent bookings from guests who just want to use an Airbnb for parties. Last year, the company says it blocked 38,000 people in the U.S. from booking Airbnbs over Halloween.

SANCHEZ: Why is this frowned upon? I don't know.

KEILAR: Don't do it.

SANCHEZ: Yes. To prevent these parties, the technology looks at things like, are you renting an Airbnb near your own home or maybe reserving a property for one night at the last minute?

KEILAR: Maybe you just want to get away someplace near your house.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

[16:00:00]

KEILAR: OK, so the company says in general, since introducing a ban on disruptive parties in 2020, Airbnb has seen an over 50 percent decrease in the rate of parties reported to them globally.

SANCHEZ: They didn't realize Airbnb were such party poopers.

KEILAR: Wow. For good reason.

THE ARENA with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END