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Trump Predicts Meeting With Mamdani Will Be "Quite Civil"; Soon: Trump, NYC Mayor-Elect Mamdani To Meet For First Time At WH; Trump Gives Ukraine Thursday Deadline To Agree To Plan To End War; Army Doctor Accused In Massive Sexual Misconduct Scandal. Aired 3- 3:30p ET

Aired November 21, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: These beautiful twins were born in August of 2023 to mama giant panda Pan Wang. Some cuteness overload there.

And we are awaiting a meeting at the White House between Zohran Mamdani, mayor-elect of New York City, and President Trump, who has had a lot of criticism for that mayor-elect. It'll happen behind closed doors. We're awaiting that as a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: If only those gold gilded walls could talk. At any minute, President Trump and New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani are meeting in the Oval Office. No press invited as of yet. We're going to bring you the very latest from the White House.

Plus, a deadline for peace. The President giving Kyiv less than a week to accept his plan to end the war in Ukraine, though it's a deal that's widely seen as favoring Russia. We'll tell you how President Zelenskyy is responding.

And from chaos to the crown, Ms. Mexico getting the ultimate payback after being berated by a pageant director and taking a stand in protest. Much more on this scandal-plagued event as we follow these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

At any moment, President Trump is set to welcome New York City's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to the White House. This will be a remarkable first meeting for these two men who both hail from Queens but became fierce political foes. Mamdani, who's set to run America's largest city, has vowed to fight Trump's policies every single step of the way, while President Trump has dubbed Mamdani a lunatic communist. A much different vibe than what the President said earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we'll get along fine. Look, we're looking for the same thing. We want to make New York strong. And, you know, there's such a different philosophy, but I'll let you know. Well, I was hitting him a little hard, too, in all fairness. It was, you know, hard to be totally friendly toward the opponent. We meet at 3 o'clock today, and I think it's going to be quite civil. We'll find out. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's go to the White House now with CNN Anchor and Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins.

Kaitlan, before you get into the stakes of this moment, I'm curious to know your president's -- your reaction to the President's prediction there.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, THE SOURCE: Yes, I mean, he says we'll find out. That is true, Boris. We'll see what happens when these two leaders, respectively, are inside the Oval Office. My colleague, Kristen Holmes, is told that Zohran Mamdani has arrived here at the White House. So, the mayor-elect is here for that meeting promptly, which was scheduled to start, obviously, here at 3 o'clock.

And so, now the question is what happens when they are behind closed doors with one another and if the meeting does pan out to be civil, as the President predicted in that interview this morning. And so, there is a lot at stake in this meeting, because first off, it's the first time that he is welcoming Zohran Mamdani here to the White House after, obviously, endorsing his opponent in this race and arguing that he would withhold federal funding, except the bare minimum required should Mamdani win this election, which, obviously, he did earlier this month.

And so, the question is whether or not the President is going to follow through on those threats or whether or not these two leaders try to find some common ground as they sit down together. They have, obviously, incredibly different politics. They are basically on extremely different ends of the political spectrum. But they have agreed and run-on similar things, Boris, like affordability. That was a key issue during the Mamdani campaign that actually drew a lot of attention back to what Trump himself ran on when he was running for the White House last year.

And so, those are key things they can talk about. Federal funding for New York has been a hot topic, where the President has already withheld $18 billion worth in -- in projects for projects that were happening inside New York that affected Connecticut and New Jersey and the surrounding areas. That is something that could come up. The President has threatened to send in the National Guard to New York City, ICE arrest. There's so many different things that could be on the table for this meeting between these two leaders. And so, that really is the question of what this dynamic and what the approach looks like for both of these sides going into this meeting.

For Mamdani himself, he obviously invoked President Trump during that victory night speech that he had, where he famously told him to turn the volume up as he was watching that speech. And so, we'll see what the dynamics look like when the two of them are actually face-to-face, hopefully in just minutes from now, Boris.

SANCHEZ: And Kaitlan, given the President's penchant for these made- for-TV, almost over-the-top moments, it surprises me that this isn't open press, that cameras aren't being allowed inside. I wonder what the White House is saying about that.

COLLINS: I have a very hard time believing that they do not let the press inside the room for this meeting. Obviously, to your point, Boris, the President virtually has cameras in for a lot of his high- profile meetings, and so we'll be watching that closely.

[15:05:05]

We should know any moment now whether or not they are going to open it up. I'll be personally very surprised if they do not open it up to let reporters inside the room. But I do expect in some form we'll obviously hear from them after this meeting happens. That's the stakeout right outside the West Wing, and we'll see, obviously, if the mayor-elect comes out to speak to reporters and tell us what happened inside that meeting, what approach both of these leaders took, and whether or not they had any agreement or disagreement inside that room.

SANCHEZ: Yes, I look forward to finding out what happens.

Kaitlan Collins, thank you so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: And we are joined now by former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. You on a nature walk there, Mayor?

BILL DE BLASIO, (D) FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: You know, you got to stay healthy, Brianna, yes.

KEILAR: I love it. Okay, I'm not going to begrudge you that. It looks lovely.

All right, so I want to ask you about what I think is really an extraordinary moment we're about to see here at the White House. Trump said this morning he thinks it's going to be quite civil. Do you think that it's going to be, especially as Kaitlin was just reporting, we may get a chance to see this, and is this meeting the right move?

DE BLASIO: It's very interesting. I think Trump has actually a lot of respect for Mamdani. As they say, game respects game. And I think Trump is using this meeting bluntly, first and foremost, to distract from the Epstein files. But also, I think he's trying to take Mamdani's measure.

I had this exact same experience. I went to meet with Trump 10 days after the 2016 election. And I knew I disagreed with him on pretty much everything, just like Mamdani does. But I wanted to see if there was any possibility of common ground. And what I learned is, if you engage Trump and you show him you're not afraid, he actually is willing to do some give and take.

I think Mamdani understands this very, very clearly. He's going to go in there with a smile on his face, but I think he's going to be resolute about what he stands for.

KEILAR: Did you talk to Mamdani? Did you tell him that was your experience? DE BLASIO: I've talked to him in the past about dealing with Trump.

And I said to him that, you know, Trump is just classic in the sense of if you show weakness, if you show ambivalence, that's when he locks on. But if you show strength and consistency, he actually backs away. A little bit of a classic bully dynamic.

In the first -- the first term, I think it was 2016, he tried -- excuse me, 2017, he tried to take away our security funding. And he literally threatened to take away the very money that protected New York City from terrorism because we were, in his eyes, a sanctuary city. And what I said to him and his team was, you know, we're not changing our laws, we're not changing our values. And we went to court and we ultimately won. And I think they -- they go away if you stand up, if you're consistent, they literally go away and pick on someone else. That's the reality. I think Mamdani understands that very clearly.

KEILAR: And he -- as you're well aware, Trump has threatened to halt the city's federal funding if Mamdani won. He's indicated an openness to seizing control of the city because you were mayor when Trump was in in his first term. I mean, how -- how miserable can the President make life and, you know, the day to day of being a mayor for a mayor of New York City?

DE BLASIO: I think it's very much exaggerated what Trump's powers are in this situation. You know, I learned all about federalism dealing with Trump one. The founders of this republic actually put tremendous protections in place for states and therefore by extension for cities. And so, in fact, the federal government cannot do that much. Truthfully, they can try and withhold funds, but the court system has struck that down repeatedly. Even Justice Roberts wrote an opinion about a decade ago saying it was not appropriate for the federal government to withhold funding that had been authorized simply because of a policy difference.

So, I don't think he's actually going to be able to withhold that much in the way of funding. They can send in some ICE agents, but New York City will not cooperate with them. Ultimately, you know, localities and states, we run policing, we run transportation, we run education, you name it. The President is talking a big game here, but I don't think he's actually going to even come close to being able to have the impact he thinks in New York City.

KEILAR: The contrast between these two and their ideologies, their sort of belief systems, that's going to be pretty stunning. The House of Representatives passed a resolution just this morning titled Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism, 86 Democrats voted for it. What are you reading into the timing of that?

DE BLASIO: I think it's really inappropriate for the House of Representatives to ignore the fact that we live in a democracy and the people in New York City made a choice, you know, nation's largest city, highest turnout in a mayoral election since 1969, Brianna.

[15:10:03] This was democracy at its finest. And Mamdani said, I'm a Democrat

socialist and his program, by the way, would have been very familiar to people like Franklin Roosevelt or Fiorello La Guardia. It's different, but I don't actually think it's that radical. It's about taking care of people's needs and helping them pay the bills. And it's about basic affordability.

So, I think the House of Representatives is in an incredibly contradictory place. If there was an election, if people made a decision, that's what the people in New York City wanted. Let the people decide. But I'll tell you, you're right that there's a huge ideological contrast between Mamdani and Trump. But actually, in terms of how they each got elected, you mentioned affordability, but also populism.

Mamdani ran on economic populism from a progressive perspective. And I actually think this is the future of the Democratic Party. I think Mamdani just gave a lesson to the whole party about talking about kitchen table issues. I think Trump sees it. And I actually think he's worried about it in terms of the midterm elections.

KEILAR: Well, I mean, that's my next question. Do you think this visit -- and we should note a source says that Mamdani is at the White House. So, we are waiting to see if we might get a glimpse of this. Do you think that his presence at this meeting actually could kind of elevate his message, could elevate the progressive wing of the party?

DE BLASIO: You know, I think this is such a backfire by Trump and the Republicans to further highlight Mamdani for a couple of reasons. One, his message is exactly what Democrats need. To some extent, Spanberger and Sherrill had a variation of that message themselves, obviously, in the gubernatorial elections this month.

But I think Mamdani made it even clearer about how to be passionate and how to be direct with the people on this issue. So, I think this is going to help the Democratic Party for him to be elevated that way. But also, in terms of young people, think about it this way. If you're in politics, would you rather get more and more people from the next generation believing in you and moving toward you?

Well, what's happening is Mamdani's approach brought out droves of younger voters, particularly in their 20s. That's the future. That's the future of the Democratic Party, to no longer be elitist or out of touch, but actually connect with young people and their needs. I think Mamdani is presenting a great threat to the Republicans going forward, and they're making a mistake to think they can make him a villain. I actually think it's going to say to a lot of people who are sick of the status quo, Mamdani must be on to something if the Republicans are that upset about him.

KEILAR: We are very curious to see if you are correct about that. Mayor Bill de Blasio, thank you for being with us. We'll let you return now to your nature walk. I am a little jealous. I'm not going to lie. Thanks for being with us.

DE BLASIO: You'll get your chance, Brianna. KEILAR: I hope.

All right. So, still to come, President Trump has put a deadline on his proposed peace plan between Russia and Ukraine. What both sides are saying about it. Plus, a new Miss Universe has been crowned, but the title comes with some controversy.

We have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:12]

SANCHEZ: President Trump turning up the pressure on Ukraine today with a Thanksgiving deadline to accept his peace plan. Trump's 28-point proposal calls for Kyiv to make major concessions to Russia, including forcing Ukraine to cede large swaths of territory, land not currently held by Russia included.

Ukraine would also have to limit the size of its military and also commit to not joining NATO.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through interpreter): This is one of the most difficult moments in our history. The pressure on Ukraine is now at its most intense. Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner, or 28 difficult points, or an extremely harsh winter. The most difficult and further risks are a life without freedom, without dignity, without justice and believing someone who has already attacked us twice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We're joined now by Jim Townsend. He's a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO policy, also an adjunct senior fellow at the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.

Sir, thanks so much for being with us.

JIM TOWNSEND, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR EUROPEAN AND NATO POLICY: Great to be here.

SANCHEZ: Do you think Ukraine is going to agree to this plan?

TOWNSEND: Not the way it's currently written. There's a lot of work that has to go into this plan, certainly about the land discussion you've talked about, but there's a lot of other points in there that are very vague. And before he can agree to anything, he's got to get some stronger language and clearer language as well.

SANCHEZ: To your point about things being vague, are you confident that security guarantees, that the United States would intervene, are going to be clear enough to ensure that that happens if Russia attacks again?

TOWNSEND: Well, those security guarantees that are in this draft are not very good. They're very weak, full of language that you can drive a truck through. That language has got to be tightened up. There needs to be people who have done negotiations of these types to go through that document and tighten this language, because right now, there's no -- nothing that I would say would be a guarantee worthy of making the concessions that's being asked of Zelenskyy.

SANCHEZ: The deal also demands that all Nazi ideology and activities must be rejected or prohibited in Ukraine. That sounds like a Kremlin talking point.

TOWNSEND: Exactly. And I think there's other kinds of Russianisms in there that make me wonder about this translation. But you're absolutely right. It's almost like Putin has to show something to the Russian people and say, see, I did this.

SANCHEZ: Yes. So, what does that tell you about President Trump's view of things and the American position? Because it seems like at times he has been more eager to offer the Kremlin concessions than he seemed to side with Zelenskyy. Now this gives an indication that perhaps he's more willing to offer the Kremlin what it wants.

TOWNSEND: Well, that's right. I think this is really weighted towards Russia.

[15:19:59]

Right now, the Brits, French, the Germans are working with Zelenskyy to put in another draft that might bring us back to something more -- more central. But right now, this looks like something done by two amateurs, if you will, two real estate businessmen who sat down and made a laundry list of things and just threw it all on this page. It was leaked out by the Russians. And suddenly this has become a U.S. document, a U.S. first draft. And I'm not sure it deserves that.

SANCHEZ: I wonder what you think happens if this is fundamentally rejected.

TOWNSEND: Well, if it's fundamentally rejected right now, it's going to run into problems with Trump in terms of the deadline on Thursday, in terms of the U.S. walking away. But Trump also said that if things are going in a good direction by Thursday, then they -- that deadline could be extended.

So, what I'm hoping is that the -- the Brits and the others are doing a good -- good work right now on a second draft that Zelenskyy can offer maybe in a couple of days before Thanksgiving. And that -- that will be showing that this is going in a good area and we can have an extension. That's what we need. If we get a rejection, that's going to lead to big trouble.

SANCHEZ: Yes. And on these concessions of territory in eastern Ukraine, our understanding is that the U.S. assessment is that Ukraine is going to lose some of that territory that it currently holds anyway. It's like 15 percent or so of the Donbas, especially. Is that the way that you see it? Is there a chance that Ukraine can make some advances or change that dynamic?

TOWNSEND: Well, I think that's -- that's a good point. I think Ukraine right now has been very well served in terms of being on the defensive. They've hold it -- they've held the Russians back quite a bit. They've recaptured some land that was lost. They are adapting to Russian techniques. They're getting assistance in from the Europeans and the U.S. I think that it's not a sure thing that they're going to lose that remaining 15 percent. At the -- so, we shouldn't assume that and base any kind of negotiations on something that hasn't happened yet.

SANCHEZ: Jim Townsend, we appreciate you sharing your expertise. Thanks for joining us.

TOWNSEND: You're welcome.

SANCHEZ: Still plenty more news to come this hour. The Army facing what could be the largest sexual misconduct scandal in U.S. military history. More than 65 women now coming forward with accusations against an Army doctor. We have exclusive new CNN reporting after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:38]

KEILAR: Now, a CNN exclusive on what could be one of, if not the largest, sexual misconduct scandal in U.S. military history. It's a case centered around Dr. Blaine McGraw, an Army Major and OBGYN at Fort Hood, Texas, described in a lawsuit as a predator in uniform. My colleagues Haley Britzky, Izzy Khurshudyan and I talked to dozens of sources, including a number of victims, and discovered the Army investigated McGraw at least twice before, in 2022 and 2024 in Texas and Hawaii, due to patient complaints and nothing came of it. And that many patients have complained in some fashion over the course of years.

I spoke to multiple sources and learned what prompted this investigation was actually a husband raising hell. This was the husband of a female Army officer who was a patient of Dr. McGraw's. He's a combat veteran, former infantryman who served in Afghanistan. It's a job where you keep your head on a swivel and constantly take inventory of your surroundings. And that's what he was doing at his wife's appointment that he'd accompanied her to last month when this gynecologist began a transvaginal ultrasound.

He saw the doctor recording his wife in this very vulnerable situation, according to a source familiar with what the husband later told Army investigators. The couple tried and tried to report it to the hospital, to base leadership at Fort Hood. It was a very frustrating process, we learned from sources. And at one point, the husband apparently boiled over, screaming in the hospital lobby.

"I just caught a doctor recording my wife's vagina," in front of staff and patients. An Army-led criminal investigation ensues from there. Sources told us investigators found visual evidence on Dr. McGraw's phone. They started alerting women in those images and reaching out to former patients. So, far, at least 65 women, including at the Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, are accusing McGraw of sexual misconduct.

I'm joined now by CNN National Security Reporter Haley Britzky, who covers the Pentagon, and worked on this exclusive reporting with me and Izzy Khurshudyan.

This lawsuit, Haley, was filed last week by an accuser, but there's also a lot of other accusers. What are they alleging?

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, so the women that we spoke to throughout this reporting process just all kind of had similar stories. That they noticed he had a phone in his shirt pocket during their exam, that they weren't quite sure why it was there. That they felt he was doing exams that weren't quite necessary. He was pressuring them into certain, you know, very intimate exams as their gynecologist.

And largely, they said they felt they weren't being listened to. That many of them, as you just mentioned, said that they tried to make complaints, they tried to make reports, but they never felt like it was taken quite seriously. Or they were lost in the bureaucracy of the reporting process that exists within the military for things like this.

And the -- the doctor's lawyer has said in a statement that, you know, they've seen a significant number of new allegations come forward, as the Army, as we know, is sending out letters to people that could have come into contact with him to reach back out to them. He says, "At this point, beyond the allegations themselves, we've seen no records to support that patients were touched in a way that was not medically indicated."

There are, of course, concerns with how many records still exist after a big changeover in the military's medical record-keeping system.

[19:30:04]

But it's certainly something that is developing and that investigators are continuing to look into.