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Trump Leaves White House for His Trip to China; Kash Patel Faces Senators Amid Allegations of Misusing FBI Resources; Hantavirus Cases From Cruise Ship Rise to 11. Aired 2-2:30p ET
Aired May 12, 2026 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- He's a great doctor, and he was having some difficulty. But he's going to go on, and he's going to do well. We have -- everybody wants that job, everybody.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, the midterm elections, would you send the National Guard or ICE to voting locations in November? Would you do that?
TRUMP: Well, you know what? I'd do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections. We have to have honest elections.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you're not ruling that out?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Quick question, Mr. President. This month is considered to be the month of Africa. On the May 25th, we'll be celebrating Africa Day. Would you mind doing something special, like 10-minute interview to speak about your views on the African country?
TRUMP: We would do that.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ceasefire is on life support. Is President Xi (inaudible) to bring it back to life?
TRUMP: Well, we'll see what happens. We're going to have a great meeting in China. He's a wonderful guy. He's a friend of mine. And we're going to have a great meeting. We do a lot of business with China. We do very well with China. And they do well with us. And the relationship is very good.
We're going to have a great meeting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But do you think he's got what it takes to convince the Iranians?
TRUMP: Whatever he can do to help, we'd like it.
(CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, will you be able to talk about the end of the war in Ukraine with the president?
TRUMP: Yeah, I think it's getting very close. The end of the war in Ukraine, I really think it's getting very close.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will China invest a trillion dollars in the U.S.? Will China invest a trillion dollars in the U.S.?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible) Iran, Mr. President. To what extent are Americans' financial situation motivating you to make a deal?
TRUMP: Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all. That's the only thing that matters.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is more broken, NATO or OPEC?
TRUMP: Well, OPEC is having some difficulty right now because one of those things, but that has nothing to do with me. NATO was very disappointing to me. NATO was not there when we wanted them.
We don't need NATO. We don't need NATO, but if we did need them, they just weren't there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think President Xi can help and contribute to a deal with Iran?
TRUMP: He could. I mean, it might be. I don't think we need any help with Iran, to be honest with you. They're defeated militarily, and they'll either do the right thing or we'll finish the job.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: They're either going to do the right thing or we're just going to finish the job.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The message, sir, to the Chinese people as you embark on this Summit?
TRUMP: That we're going to have a great relationship for many, many decades to come. My relationship with President Xi is a fantastic one. We've always gotten along, and we're doing very well with China, and working with China has been very good. So, we look forward to it. As you know, President Xi will be coming here toward the end of the year, so that'll be exciting, too.
I only wish we had the ballroom finished. The ballroom is right on budget and ahead of schedule, but I wish we had it finished now. You also may want to do one other thing. You may want to go see the reflecting pool, because that's under construction, and for the first time since 1922, it's going to work properly.
(CROSSTALK)
MARK STONE, U.S. CORRESPONDENT, SKY NEWS: This is Mark Stone from Sky News. What's your advice to Keir Starmer, sir? He seems to be on the brink.
TRUMP: Well, my advice to him has always been, open up your oil in the North Sea. You got one of the great oil finds anywhere in the world, and you're not using it. They're not allowed to use it, and it's one of the best in the world, among the best oils in the world. Open up your oil in the North Sea, and get tough on immigration.
STONE: Should he stay or go?
TRUMP: Europe is being very, very hurt by immigration. All over Europe.
STONE: Should he stay or go?
TRUMP: That's up to him, but I've told him from day one, you're getting killed on energy. You're windmilling your country to death. Open up the North Sea. You have one of the greatest sources of energy in the world. Open up the North Sea.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible) taxes on oil. Did you ask them to do that?
TRUMP: I think it's a great idea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I asked you two questions, two. So, has there been any understanding between you and Putin that Russia should get entire Donbas?
TRUMP: No, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have the invitation to travel from Russia. Do you think it might happen?
TRUMP: It could. I will do whatever is necessary. That war, I've settled eight wars. That war is getting closer.
[14:05:00]
Believe it or not, it's getting closer, and we think we're going to end up getting a settlement between Russia and Ukraine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the ultimate goal of your trip to China?
TRUMP: I think more than anything else is we have massive relationships with China. We're the two superpowers. We're the strongest nation on earth in terms of military. China is considered second. Who knows? I mean, who knows? But we are. There's nobody even to come close. And you see that whether it's Venezuela or whether it's Iran. Iran's military is decimated.
I have a great relationship with President Xi, and I think it's going to remain that way. We have a lot of things to discuss. I wouldn't say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control.
We're either going to make a deal or they're going to be decimated. So, one way or the other, we win. What we're going to be talking about -- we're going to be talking with President Xi about a lot of different things. I would say more than anything else will be trade.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just to clarify, did you say earlier that the only thing that matters to you when it comes to Iran is a nuclear weapon? You're not considering the financial impact of this war on Americans?
TRUMP: The most important thing by far, including whether our stock market, which, by the way, is at an all-time high, but including whether or not our stock market goes up or down a little bit, the most important thing by far is Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about the pressure on Americans and prices right now? How concerned are you about Americans?
How they're feeling about what they are paying for food?
TRUMP: Are you listening to me? Every American understands. They just had a poll, like 85 percent, which is surprising it's only that. They understand that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If Iran has a nuclear weapon, the whole world would be in trouble because they happen to be crazy.
They're not going to have a nuclear weapon. Now, if the stock market goes up or down a little bit, the American people understand. When it's over, you're going to have a massive drop in the price of oil, which a lot of people thought would be higher.
I mean, it was $99 yesterday, which is low, which is relatively low. When this war is over, oil is going to drop. The stock market is going to go through the roof. And truly, I think we're in the golden age right now. You're going to see a golden age like we've never seen before.
The minute it's announced, and I'll be the one to announce it because I'm the one that makes that decision, I could leave right now and it would take them 25 years to rebuild their country. But I don't want to do that. I want to have it complete and total. Are you ready? As soon as this war is over, you're going to see numbers like you've never seen before.
(CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know how much you value loyalty. I know how much you value loyalty. Are you comfortable with people serving in the military if they personally oppose the Iran War or you?
TRUMP: It doesn't mean I'm happy about it. But I live with a lot of differences.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A question on redistricting. The voters who are confused about the changing maps, the changing dates, and to African Americans concerned that this is going to draw black members of Congress off the map, what do you say?
TRUMP: Well, I think it's been a wonderful process. They've been -- the Democrats, or as I call the Dumbocrats, because they are dumb in so many ways. They've redistricted for years. And now we took our shot, and it looks like we're going to pick up a lot of seats, and that's a good thing. That's a good thing. We want voters to have their choice. We want fair voting.
We want fair elections. The Democrats have been cheating on elections for many years, and all we're doing is winning. Thank you.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We've been listening to President Trump as he speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House getting set to board Marine One as he makes his way to Joint Base Andrews, soon to be heading to Beijing for this important summit with Chinese leader, Xi Jinping.
The president saying that he doesn't think about Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody, I think about one thing when it comes to securing a deal with Tehran. "We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon." The president saying that he anticipates a very good meeting with Xi, that they both have a fantastic relationship, though notably the president says that he's not going to ask Xi for help on securing a deal with Iran, saying that he doesn't need any help.
Keep in mind, Iran is the largest consumer of energy coming out of the Strait of Hormuz in the world. Also, Iran supplies components that help, rather -- China sends components to Iran that help bolster its missile program. So the amount of leverage that Xi Jinping has over what Tehran does is enormous.
[14:10:00]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": He seemed to say that he didn't think the U.S. needs help, while also signaling that he might be asking --
SANCHEZ: Yeah.
KEILAR: -- for some kind of assistance or setting up an expectation that there would be. Asked about Xi convincing the Iranians, he said, whatever he can do. They're going to have a long talk about Iran. He said good things are going to happen. Then he said a lot of good things are going to happen.
Even as he said, I don't think we need any help with Iran, we have Iran very much under control. So a lot of mixed messaging there. And then just to be clear, he sort of went into a place where he's always comfortable, which is talking about building things, the ballroom. He talked about the reflecting pool. And again, I think belying some of the frustration that the president has been feeling lately as this war has dragged on and on.
We heard him calling a reporter a dumb person. We've been, you know, this isn't completely unusual for the president, but we've seen a lot of it lately. He's clearly suffering from some frustration here recently as he faces a lot of questions about this war.
SANCHEZ: The ceasefire has now gone on for weeks after he said that he had already secured concessions from Tehran, after he effectively said that it was over. Clearly, there's still a lot to figure out. We're joined now by Major Harrison Mann, along with CNN Business Senior Reporter, David Goldman.
Major Mann, first to you, just to talk about China's role as a potential mediator, because the president here is sort of dismissing the idea that he's going to ask Xi to pressure Tehran. You have U.S. officials and Iranian officials both saying that China could play a role here.
MAJ. HARRISON MANN (RET.), FORMER DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY OFFICIAL: So I think China does have a role to play as a mediator and a conduit, but it's not realistic to expect them to come in on Trump's side and pressure Iran.
Yes, theoretically, they have a lot of leverage in terms of their oil imports and defense exports, as you mentioned, but they have a relationship like that with countries around the Middle East. They want to be a friend to all. They do not want to take a side, and I don't think they would disrupt that just to please Donald Trump.
I mean, honestly, if anything, they might have more leverage over pushing Trump to a deal, right? We saw from the press conference, he doesn't really have a clear idea about what he wants to get out of his visit other than some kind of big achievement. Maybe it's handouts for these tech executives he brought. Maybe it's something with trade or soybeans or whatever.
But it is conceivable that to try and get Trump to take a deal seriously, Xi could offer him something and say, hey, let's do some all-encompassing big deal and put this war to an end.
KEILAR: Yeah, and David, just really interesting as he was asked about how much Americans' financial situations are motivating his decisions on Iran, and he said, as Boris pointed out, I don't think about Americans' financial situations. I think about one thing, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
Americans are really thinking about Americans' financial situations. It's hard to imagine that this is not weighing heavily on the president and the White House, certainly their frustrations as this war stretches on.
DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, I'll tell you why they're so concerned about it. So we just got this Inflation Report today, and it showed that inflation was at a three-year high. And look what that has done to people's paychecks. So this blue line here, that is your pay raise.
Every single month, you look back a year and you can determine how much more you've gotten. This red line is inflation. And look what it just did. For the first time in three years, it is eclipsing your pay raise. And so that means that you are now losing money over the past 12 months to inflation, and most of that is gas prices.
Now, we can take a look and see how much people are upset about this. Look at this. The CNN poll showed 77 percent of people think that Trump's policies are increasing the cost of living. Only eight percent say that they think that it has decreased. So this isn't just Democrats. This is Democrats and Republicans saying this.
Certainly this gas price, $4.50, over the -- this has been going on for about a week now at $4.50. This price is really hurting people because it happens immediately and everyone pays it. So what happens to other prices? Well, good news here is that we're not seeing a huge amount of other prices increase, but there are some concerns.
Food, 3.2 percent. This is up over the past year. Some of that has to do with the fact that food goes on a truck and it's shipped to you. Look at this, airfare, almost 21 percent increase over the past year. Anyone who's taking a summer vacation knows it is very, very expensive to fly.
But here's the thing, core inflation. This is the number that the Federal Reserve is going to look for, and it is a point lower than overall inflation.
[14:15:00]
This number takes out food and energy, because those are very volatile. So the Fed has a big decision to make, because they have just got a new Fed Chair on Friday, Kevin Warsh. Here's the thing, though. Is President Trump's pick for Fed Chair going to be able to lower rates, as President Trump wants to help people's cost of living? The market doesn't think so.
33 percent chance the market thinks that there's going to be a rate hike. That affects your inflation, your -- I'm sorry, that affects your mortgage, your credit cards, any personal loans. Only a three percent chance the market thinks that those rates are actually going to go down. So maybe even more pain to come.
SANCHEZ: A tough picture six months out from the midterms. David, thank you so much, appreciate that. Appreciate you, major man, as well.
Still to come, the concern over Hantavirus growing as the scope of monitoring expands to new states. We have a live report with the latest on this deadly outbreak.
KEILAR: And we're keeping a close eye on the Hill, where FBI Director, Kash Patel is testifying before lawmakers. We're bringing you a live update next on "CNN News Central."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:57]
SANCHEZ: Happening now on Capitol Hill, FBI Director, Kash Patel is making the case to lawmakers for a bigger budget. The administration wants $12.5 billion total for the FBI, an increase of nearly $2 billion from 2026. The big ask comes as Patel faces allegations of misusing FBI resources, excessive drinking and unexplained absences. And the top Democrat on the committee questioning Patel started the hearing with those allegations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, (D) RANKING MEMBER, APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: And Director Patel, these reports about your conduct, including reports of your being so drunk and hungover that your staff had to force entry into your home are extremely alarming. If true, they demonstrate a gross dereliction of your duty and a betrayal of public trust.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Patel, of course, denies the allegations.
Let's discuss with CNN Law Enforcement Contributor and retired FBI Supervisory Agent, Steve Moore. Steve, thanks so much for being with us. What are you going to be looking for from the FBI director's visit to Capitol Hill?
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR AND RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY AGENT: Well, I think it's going to be a lot about him. It's not going to be about any budget request or anything like that. I mean, we know that a lot of these the budget issues themselves are hashed out behind the scenes, things like that. And these type of appearances have become a way to express displeasure with the current administration or the current director himself.
And so, I would expect it to have very little to do with the actual budget itself.
SANCHEZ: What do you anticipate that a combative appearance like this for the director will have for the rank and file, the folks who actually work day to day at the FBI?
MOORE: I think it's going to come down. This is kind of a rough split for the FBI because they tend to lean conservative and lean towards law and order, and therefore, Republican candidates, presidents, things like that.
And so a lot of them will want to support Kash Patel because he's part of that administration. However, a lot of them are also upset that a director was put in who really didn't have much to do with the FBI, who didn't have experience in this area, and some view it as a political appointment.
And so if you are on one side, you're going to think that a combative Patel is exactly what you need. And the other side is going to say a combative Patel alienates Congress and causes us budgetary issues.
SANCHEZ: So as I noted a moment ago, this would be an increase of nearly $2 billion for 2027. What does the budget request tell you about the bureau's priorities?
MOORE: I think the last time around, if I'm not mistaken, they got cut by about $0.5 billion. So I think they're looking, of course, to recoup some of that, so that some of that might be recouping lost funds. But I think what's happening right now in the FBI is the expensive stuff. It's the electronics. It's the A.I. It's you know -- it's one thing to buy helicopters for the hostage rescue team. Those things are pretty, you know, you know the amount when you go in.
But when you're talking about system-wide A.I., electronic surveillance equipment, all this type of stuff, really high-tech investments. I think they're getting deeply into that because keeping up with everything is a struggle these days.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. Steve Moore, thanks so much for sharing your perspective.
MOORE: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Still to come, the Hantavirus outbreak connected to a cruise ship, growing and confirmed cases, dozens of others being monitored. We have the latest next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:29:39]
KEILAR: There are now 11 confirmed cases from the Hantavirus outbreak on that cruise ship, which has killed three people now, and the World Health Organization says all the infected are either passengers or crew from the MV Hondius.
In the meantime, at least 29 Americans who are on the ship are under monitoring across multiple U.S. states. 16 of them are in a special facility in Nebraska, including Jake Rosmarin. He spoke to NBC today about his life under quarantine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE ROSMARIN, PASSENGER ON BOARD THE MV HONDIUS: I do not have desire --
