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Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) On Ukraine Talks, Witkoff To Visit Moscow; Trump Says Extending Obamacare Subsidies May Be "Necessary"; 13 Dead As Fire Rips Through Hong Kong High-Rise Apartment Complex. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired November 26, 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 at airports across the United States they are preparing for record-breaking numbers. The FAA is expecting more than 50,000 flights today alone.

CNN's Gustavo Valdes is at the world's busiest airport in Atlanta for us this morning. Gustavo, what are you seeing?

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me tell you something. Things are smoothly here thanks to workers like Hannah. You can hear --

HANNAH, AIRPORT WORKER, HARTSFIELD-JACKSON ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Huh, yes.

VALDES: You are giving instructions. What instructions are you giving?

HANNAH: I'm giving where to go and where to be in this -- in this airport right now.

VALDES: And you're trying to keep waiting time to how long?

HANNAH: A short time, so a minimum of, like, two minutes or three. Three to two minutes.

VALDES: And what have you seen so far?

HANNAH: I've seen a lot of people going different ways.

VALDES: We'll let you -- yeah, we'll let you work. She has been telling them to be ready, to be prepared. She got a little shy, but she was very adamant at making sure people knew where to go because Atlanta has actually five entry points. This is the main one -- 17 checkpoints. But there are five more that is making things a lot easier for travelers who, like -- what's your name again?

RICKY CLOUSE (PH), PASSENGER: Ricky Clouse.

VALDEZ: Ricky, where are you going?

CLOUSE: Vero Beach, Florida.

VALDEZ: So were you prepared? Were you afraid?

CLOUSE: I was a bit nervous because I've been watching the news. I've been seeing the delays, the cancellations -- so, yeah. And today could be the busiest travel day of the year.

VALDEZ: So the shutdown a couple of weeks ago -- we knew that they had problems with staffing. Were you worried? Did you ever think about changing your flight for a -- to drive down?

CLOUSE: So I was traveling to Boston at that time, and I was concerned it wasn't going to happen, and it did. And I didn't think about it. I just said you know what, whatever happens happens and we'll make the best of it.

VALDEZ: Well, very well. Good luck and happy holidays.

So as you can see here in Atlanta it's been smooth sailing. Five entry points.

And today I learned something I didn't know. One of the entries is designated for those who have TSA precheck or clear the fast access to -- you know, to get through security. There's a line on that side of the airport where they have dogs -- bomb-sniffing dogs, explosive- sniffing dogs that are going through the line. And the security people here at the airport are telling me that people who get to go through that line -- they're treated as TSA, which expedites their crossing.

So, so far, no problems here. Let's hope it stays that way.

BOLDUAN: Yep. Keeping the security lines moving. That is critical.

Gustavo, thank you so much. Let's see how things continue throughout the morning -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

New this morning, Russia says it is premature to say the Ukraine war is close to and end, but it has received the latest version of the peace plan proposal. A top aide to Putin telling reporters many aspects still require discussion. President Trump posting on Truth Social that he will not join any talks with Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy until the deal is "final or in in its final stages."

CNN's Clare Sebastian joining me now. A lot of reporting on this, this morning. What do you know about the latest proposal and the obstacles that are there?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. We don't know exactly what's in the latest proposal, Sara. What is clear is that changes have been made to that original 28-point peace plan. The president -- President Trump says that it's been fine-tuned and only a few remaining points of disagreement there. President Zelenskyy of Ukraine said the principles of the document can be developed into deeper agreements.

But I think what is clear is what is left of the hardest parts, right? These really difficult issues of territory. Russia is demanding more territory than it actually occupies militarily. That is a red line for Kyiv. The issue of NATO membership. Ukraine is realistic on this, but they don't want it taken off the table altogether. The issue of caps on the size of Ukraine's army also very controversial.

So that is where we're at.

Russia, as you say, says it has the latest version of the deal. Some points are positive, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, but a lot requires further discussion, so a similar tone there.

In terms of the next steps, President Trump says that the Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will be back in Kyiv this week to talk to the Ukrainians. Ukraine then wants to set up a meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump to discuss those most sensitive parts of the deal.

And I think, look, the most watched part of this will be the visit that is expected now -- next week -- by Steve Witkoff to Moscow. This, I think despite the fact that we see Moscow playing down expectations today, is in many ways a best-case scenario given that we've seen Witkoff and certainly confirmed by the reporting that we see today from Bloomberg, so friendly to Moscow's way of thinking in previous meetings with Putin -- Sara.

SIDNER: Yeah. I mean, the Bloomberg reporting is -- gives you some real insight into how some of these negotiations were happening. A lot of people talking about that and the friendliness towards Russia.

Clare Sebastian, thank you so much for your reporting this morning -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: And joining us right is Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois. He is the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus. Congressman, thanks for coming in.

Just first, from what you see and hear -- and admittedly, there's a lot of detail lacking -- do you think these Ukraine talks could really lead to the end of this war?

[07:35:05]

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL) (via Webex by Cisco): Look, I wish they could. I think we all want peace but not appeasement.

I just ask people when has Putin shown any willingness to come off his maximalist demands? When has Putin ever said OK, we won't have to take all this land? He continues those demands at the same time he continues his attacks -- over 90 percent of them on civilian targets.

BOLDUAN: There is this Bloomberg reporting -- I'm sure you've seen it -- that talks about a transcript -- a call transcript published by Bloomberg between Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff. It's quoting advising a senior Putin aide last month on how to strike a deal with President Trump. Witkoff urging the aide to praise President Trump on his Gaza deal as a way to curry favor with -- between Putin and Donald Trump. Also at one point in the call, according to the transcript from Bloomberg, saying this. "I know..." -- Witkoff saying this. "I know what it's going to take to get a deal done," Witkoff said. "Donetsk and maybe a land swap somewhere."

Now, President Trump has brushed off this transcript saying this is just standard negotiating tactics. Is that what you see?

QUIGLEY: No. I see Witkoff understanding the man he works for. He's a narcissist and he knows that the kind of communication that's most effective with president -- one that praises him and gives him credit for anything positive that possibly could happen, you know. My message to Witkoff and the president is the only way a deal will ever get done is by showing strength to Putin. It's the only thing he understands.

If Putin sees deadline after deadline getting blown off and the President of the United States not offering to do a supplemental to seize Russian assets or to even impose the bill that's bipartisan, bicameral -- a bill out there on secondary sanctions, that's what Putin would understand. That's in the long run how he'll -- should and could get done.

BOLDUAN: This actually leads to an important question because it seems President Trump has now answered one of the key unknowns in these talks -- answering this yesterday. Asked by a reporter essentially what is Russia giving up as part of this negotiated deal. Let me play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: What kinds of concessions are the Russians going to have to make?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, they're making concessions. The big concession is they stop fighting and they don't take any more land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: "That they stop fighting and they don't take any more land." Those are the big concessions President Trump says Russia would agree to.

If that is it, what does that mean about -- what does that say about this deal?

QUIGLEY: Yeah, you're punishing the invaded and rewarding the aggressor. As I said before, Neville Chamberlain would blush at this. This is the work of an appeaser who understands strength and actually is sense to reward it.

You know, my concern, besides the fact this is a moral and strategic imperative, is the message it sends to the rest of the world. You know, leaders in Beijing must look at this and others who are aggressive and say to ourselves -- and say to themselves you know, we know we can now do this. The U.S. won't intercede and there certainly won't be any repercussions.

BOLDUAN: Let me ask you on another topic as it's developing this morning. The FBI now wants to interview six congressional Democrats who -- the Democrats who put out that video urging U.S. service members not follow illegal orders. Democrats are kind of fighting back against this.

But do you think they should fight this ask from the FBI or do you think they should submit for interviews with the FBI?

QUIGLEY: Yeah, I'm going to leave that to them. I mean, the bigger picture here for me that's so concerning is I serve with these members. They are veterans of the military, veterans of the intel community unlike the President of the United States. They know what it means to serve honorably. And the fact is they just restated the law as it is concerns the President of the United States might go over the top.

The fact that the president is willing to weaponize the Department of Justice, the FBI, and many other agencies is a real concern that this is a president moving from this autocracy to tyranny.

BOLDUAN: But let me ask you about that because accusing anyone of sedition, especially these members -- you know, elected members of Congress, and also then posting that it's punishable by death -- that is quite outrageous.

[07:40:00]

But Republicans say that the Democrats who did this -- they knew what they were doing, saying that they were wanting to create a political stunt and to get a response, and now they just don't like the response. They still have not articulated what exactly they think could be illegal that they want service members to push back against.

Do you think they should articulate what they think is illegal as part of this if they're going to put this video out?

QUIGLEY: Look, it's hard to know all the scenarios the president could create. The fact of the matter is he's -- there have been court rulings in just the last week in three or four instances in which the president has violated the law. Would anyone be surprised -- and I talk to my Republican colleagues -- that the president does something or orders something that is illegal? So now is the time.

We recall the end of the first Trump administration where leaders in our military were calling other countries -- you know, worried that the president might go after some extraordinary event. That we create a war.

This is a president quite capable of anything. I think these Democratic members were doing our country a favor.

BOLDUAN: Congressman Mike Quigley, thanks for coming in -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Overnight, new comments from President Trump on extending Obamacare subsidies. Some 20 million Americans could see their premiums spike at the end of the year if this does not happen. The White House, at the beginning of the week, floated and then backed off a proposal to extend the subsidies for two years. Now the president says, basically overnight, he doesn't want to extend them at all but might for some kind of deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Are you planning to extend those subsidies -- those --

TRUMP: I'd rather not. Somebody said I want to extend them for two years. I don't want to extend them for two years. I'd rather not extend them at all. It may be -- some of an extension may be necessary to get something else done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. With us now, CNN political commentator Maria Cardona, and Maura Gillespie, the former senior adviser to then-House Speaker John Boehner.

And Maria, someone said that they wanted to extend them for two years. It was a White House plan that was floated Monday morning to extend the subsidies for two years. So that someone was kind of White House insiders.

But what does -- what impact does it have to hear the president say I really don't want to extend them at all?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Certainly not a good impact for Republicans going into the midterm elections next year.

John, it underscores what we have known for the past 15 years, which is Republicans have no idea, have no interest in, and are completely clueless in how to really come up with a viable alternative to the Affordable Care Act, which they have been whining about for those 15 years and have tried to repeal hundreds of times.

And what the American people understand is that the Affordable Care Act has actually reduced the rate of increase of health care premiums. It has given health care coverage to millions of Americans who wouldn't have it if not for the Affordable Care Act. And that it's coming from a party who has done everything they can to work with Republicans to bring down those costs.

And so now we have millions of Americans who are about to receive huge increases in their premiums, who are about to be kicked off of their health care plans -- and they have one party to blame, and that's the Republican Party. So they have to either understand that they're going to genuflect at the altar of Donald Trump and perhaps put their political futures at risk or come to the table and really try to talk to --

BERMAN: Um-hum. CARDONA: -- Democrats and negotiate improvements to the Affordable Care Act, which Democrats have always wanted to do, or suffer the political consequences next year.

BERMAN: It was the Democrats when they were in power who wrote in the expiration of the subsidies to be at the end of this year, so they were expiring because of the last bill. If people want to expend them -- extend them, obviously now it's going to take Republican and Democratic votes.

But Maura --

CARDONA: Um-hum.

BERMAN: -- the impact of the president -- and I don't know who he's negotiating with. If he's negotiating with Democrats at this point or if he's negotiating with Republicans on extending the Obamacare subsidies. But when the president says he doesn't want to do it all, what do Republicans on the Hill think now?

MAURA GILLESPIE, FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL, BLUESTACK STRATEGIES, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO THEN-HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER (via Webex by Cisco): I'm sure they're wondering who it was that within the White House that got his ear last. I think that's usually what members have come to realize is that whoever spoke with the president last tends to have the last say, right? He espouses whatever he heard last. And so unfortunately, they're going to need to do some more conversations within the White House.

I think it's important to remember that the subsidies that are being extended are because Obamacare did not work the way that Democrats assured us it would, and so this is the reality that Americans are now facing. They are going to face these premium increases.

[07:45:00]

And the president know that he has not followed through on his promise to make this the golden age of America and economic standings of Americans around the country are really fraught right now. They are feeling like they are not living -- you know, having the best that he promised them. Grocery crosses -- grocery prices are down -- are not down like he promised. Gas prices are not down like he promised. And so that's really what you're seeing play out here.

Republicans do need to decide are they going to stand by Trump no matter what he says as he flip-flops back and forth or are they going to stand with their constituents and actually come up with a --

CARDONA: Yeah.

GILLESPIE: -- solution and a plan, as is their job in Congress to do.

BERMAN: And Maura, you know, on the subject of Thanksgiving, who eats the political cost of no extension of the Obamacare subsidies to this point? GILLESPIE: That was very -- it was very well done, John. I think right now what happens is I do think that both Republicans and Democrats will be really hearing it from their constituents if things continue to rise.

BERMAN: And Maria, you know, it's interesting. With all the things going on -- and we've just focused a lot on what's happening with Mark Kelly and these five other Democrats here -- I was speaking to Congressman Jake Auchincloss last night and he sees all of it as a -- what he calls an intentional distraction to the challenges the White House faces on the economy, on affordability.

To what extent do you think that the White House would rather be talking about an FBI investigation than talking about prices?

CARDONA: Oh, I'm sure they would rather be talking about that FBI investigation, John. But I think the issue here is that both of those issues -- both of those discussions I believe work in favor of Democrats.

The first one, the ACA extension of subsidies or lack thereof, is not going to go away because this is something that Americans are facing each and every single day as they get their hike in premiums in the mail.

And again, Republicans have shown no interest in helping these working-class, middle-class families actually make ends meet at a time where Trump has betrayed the American people having promised to bring down the cost of groceries, gas, and rent. Bring down inflation. And everything that he has done, he has done exactly the opposite.

This issue of FBI investigation also goes to the fact that Donald Trump and Republicans have no respect for the Constitution. Have zero respect for the rule of law. And that everything that Donald Trump is doing while he is in office is focused on retribution, on vengeance, and using the highest entity -- the highest institution of our law enforcement to go after his political enemies. That is not something that Americans voted for in 2024.

BERMAN: Maria Cardona, Maura Gillespie, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, both of you.

GILLESPIE: Thanks.

BERMAN: Police question a new person possibly connected to the escape of a woman who stabbed her friend when she was 12 to please the fictional "Slenderman."

And burglary suspects find themselves in hot water, literally. Police find them soaking in a hot tub.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:52:20]

BOLDUAN: There is some breaking news coming in. Just look at these images. There's a developing situation we are tracking out of Hong Kong. The death toll there has just jumped. We're now told 13 people, at least, are reported dead and many more are said to still be missing after a fire broke out in apartment complex and just ripped through the high-rise buildings. Officials are warning that more people may be still trapped inside.

Let's get to CNN's Ivan Watson. He's on the ground there. Ivan, what is happening right now?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a major inferno. I mean, we're looking at thousands -- nearly 2,000 apartments in flames in these tower blocks here. The fires have been burning for hours. As you've indicated, this is a deadly blaze. It has already killed 13 people, at least, with dozens injured. Among those killed is a fireman with nine years' experience on the local fire -- in the fire department.

I'm looking here at two hoses blasting some of the towers with water, but they seem to be having little to no effect, as you can see. It is just these towers are burning from top to bottom right now. And there are fears that there could be more people trapped inside because we've heard reports of people crying for their missing loved ones.

So this is already set to be perhaps one of the worst fires that Hong Kong has dealt with in decades because think about it. These towers house more than 4,000 people, many of them elderly, over the age of 65. The fire has been burning since after 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon local time. It's now approaching 9:00 p.m. I can't even count the number of fire trucks in this area that are all apparently working on this blaze.

And part of what seems to have contributed to it is that these buildings were under renovation and they were sheathed in bamboo scaffolding. The bamboo scaffolding is kind of a symbol of this city. They're used to put up these giant high-rises in Hong Kong. But perhaps contributed to the spread of the fire from one apartment block -- one tower to neighboring towers. This is a public housing estate built in 1983.

And again, we're talking about at least 13 people killed, including a fireman, dozens wounded, and no end to this raging inferno in sight. Back to you.

[07:55:00]

BOLDUAN: It's -- Ivan, it's really hard to wrap your mind around what we're seeing behind you. I mean, it is, like, a massive high-rise just burning from top to bottom -- more than one, as you're pointing out.

Can you tell us about this neighborhood where this is happening?

WATSON: Right. So this is an area called Tai Po. Walking here -- because part of the highway has been cut off, there are commuters coming home on the subway station. It's a busy area. You'd have perhaps hundreds of thousands of residents living in similar high- rises to this. There are other ones nearby. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world.

People live in little shoebox apartments in towers that are 20, 30, 40 stories high.

What we're seeing here though is a fire that started, according to the authorities, on a ground floor that was being renovated and spread within a matter of hours to engulf neighboring towers. So there are at least four, perhaps five towers in this public housing development that are all in flames -- again, I would say from the bottom floor up to the very top.

So I hesitate to speculate if there was anybody who wasn't evacuated in time. But there is a large number of vulnerable elderly people that make up the residents -- more than 4,000 residents of this public housing development. So we're going to be watching to see what may happen.

As of now, despite the enormous presence of fire trucks -- I mean, dozens and dozens of fire trucks here and this being rated as a five- alarm fire, effectively, there is no sign that this blaze is being brought under control. If anything, we're seeing more sparks and debris flaming and falling off of these towers.

So this is a terrible emergency in Hong Kong, the likes of which I've not seen in 10 years of living in this city.

BOLDUAN: My goodness. I mean, just look at those flames. You can see them right there on multiple floors just raging out the windows.

We're going to stick with this. Ivan, we're going to come back to you. Thank you so much.

As Ivan said, 4,000 people are housed and live in that apartment complex. Right now the death toll has just jumped. It stands at 13. This is unfolding as we speak. We're going to come back to this -- Sara.

SIDNER: Terrifying to watch that. My goodness.

All right. Also on our radar this morning one heck of a fish tale when a birthday fishing trip goes wrong. A Florida family found themselves stranded overnight when their vessel capsized 26 miles off shore. The four boaters included a 90-year-old man. They were reported missing Monday when they didn't return from their excursion. One of the guys on the boat said it began filling up with water and then overturned. They spent more than 20 hours on top of the capsized boat before finally -- you see them -- being rescued there.

All right. Now to some incredible video. A farmer in Vietnam trapped in rising floodwaters -- look at that -- gets rescued by a giant drone. Vietnamese state media says the 49-year-old was found struggling on a sandbar. You see those waters raging around him. Authorities used a drone to lift him out of the fast-moving river and finally back to safety on land. Vietnam's Disaster Agency said at least 100 people have died and dozens are missing in the country due to that flooding, and some landslides and severe storms continue there.

All right. This video is crazy. Two burglars put themselves in hot water, literally, while trying to get away from police in the U.K. They were caught hiding there -- you see them -- in that hot tub. British police just released the video. This actually occurred last year. They say the criminals broke into homes, held people at gunpoint, and their goal was to steal high-value cars -- luxury cars. Both men and a third accomplice all pleaded guilty. They were each sentenced to more than nine years in prison -- John.

BERMAN: And pruning.

All right. This morning, new footage of police capturing the escaped so-called "Slenderman" attacker in Illinois. Morgan Geyser pleaded guilty in 2017 to stabbing her friend to impress the fictional "Slenderman" character. They were 12. Geyser escaped her group home in Wisconsin last week. And now we're also hearing from, apparently, Geyser's friend found alongside her in Illinois.

CNN's Jean Casarez here with all the details. Jean, what are you learning?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have two new things this morning.

First of all, it looks like she is still in Cook County because she's on the rolls for the inmates at the Cook County Jail. But she did waive her extradition.

Now we also are learning this morning the Department of Health Services who actually -- of Wisconsin -- who actually has custody of her now because they maintain control of the state hospitals and the groups homes -- they have filed a petition. Now we don't know -- they want it sealed. We don't know what it is. If it's to revoke her conditional release to a group home or for her to go back to the state hospital.

But yesterday she waived that extradition. Her head was down in court, but she waived it. So now it's a matter of Waukesha, Wisconsin because they have the custody and control of her.