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Soon, Trump Lands in China as War With Iran Looms Over Trip; Trump Says, I Don't Think Iran War's Impact on Americans' Finances; James Comey Speaks Out, Trump Obsessed With Retribution. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired May 13, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This hour, President Trump arrives in Beijing for a high-stakes summit with President Xi Jinping. We'll see a lot of pomp and circumstance, of course, but looming over it all, the war with Iran, a worldwide energy crisis, and rising inflation in the United States. This is a critical test to see if the president can pull off some diplomatic wins.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Former FBI Director James Comey speaking out for the first time since his new indictment. The new warning he is sending to all of the president's perceived enemies.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And a massive recall now among Waymo self- driving taxis. The software glitch that could have them driving right into flood waters.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: Breaking this morning, we are standing by for President Trump to arrive this hour in Beijing for his highly anticipated summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It is a critical test for the president as the war in Iran drags on and economic anxiety grows back home. The pressure is on to deliver a major foreign policy victory.

This is the first trip by an American president to China since Trump's last visit in 2017. It's a chance for the leaders of the world's two largest economies to reset their trade relationships and deescalate tariff tensions. But China remains a close partner with Tehran, and the war with Iran is expected to dominate these talks. The president is expected to urge Xi to push Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and agree to a peace deal.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is live this morning in Beijing. Give us a sense of what we can expect to see in the next few hours.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What we're going to see is a lot of pomp and circumstance. This is just the arrival time. This is President Trump showing up in China, and we expect the red carpet to literally be rolled out for him. This is what President Trump loves. He loves a good show, and it is likely that Xi Jinping is going to give him just that.

But in terms of what we're going to see overall, it's really going to be a big question of what President Trump can achieve. The analysts that we've spoken to, many of them believe he's coming into this in a weakened state because of this war in Iran.

And remember, President Trump didn't want to have this summit with the war in Iran still raging. That's why he originally postponed this trip six weeks thinking that the war in Iran by then would be completely over. Obviously, it is not. He is going into this. Now, he is trying to downplay China's involvement in this. This is what he told our Alayna Treene earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Do you think he needs to intervene at all with the Iranians? Do you think he can help in any way?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: No, I don't think we need any help with Iran. We'll win it one way or the other. We'll win it -- we'll win it peacefully or otherwise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So, saying he doesn't think he needs any help there, but if you talk to U.S. officials, White House officials, they do expect Iran to dominate these conversations, and President Trump is expected to push the Chinese president to talk to these Iranian counterparts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or even strike some sort of peace deal.

Now, I'll remind you that one of the top negotiators for Iran was just in China meeting with his counterparts last week before President Trump's visit, likely going over their bottom line when it comes to these negotiations.

And this couldn't come at a more critical point in the war. President Trump has continued to say that we are very close to a deal with Iran, and yet now we've seen them come back with a proposal that President Trump says is completely unacceptable. He has grown completely frustrated saying and considering, at least behind the scenes, restarting combat operations in Iran.

So, this, again, is going to go over all of this, to shadow over all of this, but we do believe there will be some business deals. There's going to be conversations about agriculture, soybeans, commercial jetliners, and President Trump is traveling with roughly a dozen of America's top CEOs, Elon Musk, Tim Cook will all be in attendance. So, we are expecting some private sector deals, kind of like what we saw when President Trump made that visit to the Gulf states at the beginning of his presidency, private sector deals to come out of that as well.

SIDNER: Yes. Kristen Holmes, I know you'll be watching all of this along with us as we watch the president make his way to China. Thank you so much. I do appreciate it. We'll be talking to you in just a bit.

[07:05:00]

John?

BERMAN: All right. This morning, gas prices ticked back up again, breaking a five-day streak of declines. New data showing inflation surging to the highest level in three years, eroding Americans' wage growth. And under the shadow of all that, President Trump raised a lot of eyebrows when asked how he weighs Americans' financial struggles when making decisions about Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: When you're negotiating with Iran, Mr. President, to what extent are Americans' financial situations 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 we're talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I don't think about Americans' financial situation.

CNN's Matt Egan is with us now. Matt, when we're talking about the war in Iran, what kind of an impact does it have on Americans' financial situations?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes. John, there's been a major impact just since the war started, right? We've got inflation at three-year highs, real wages falling, and prices are rising rapidly on groceries, on airfare, and, of course, on gasoline.

Now, the energy spike, that's really ground zero for the hit to consumers. The estimates from Brown University are that the impact from higher gas and diesel, that's costing Americans $38 billion since the war started. They're comparing current prices with a no-war counterfactual.

And this really adds up, $38 billion. That translates to almost $300 per household. And one of the big factors here is the fact that diesel, which is just a crucial fuel for farmers, for truckers, and all of us consumers, diesel is going to all-time highs in a number of states just today. According to AAA, we have new all-time highs for diesel in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana, all three of those at the bottom, well above $6 a gallon for the first time ever.

Now, gasoline prices, they're no longer going straight up, thankfully, right? They actually fell five days in a row. But as you can see on the right side of this screen -- of this chart, that decline, it's been pretty minor. You almost need a magnifying glass to see it. Gas prices did tick higher today to $4.51 a gallon. That's up from below $3 a gallon before the war started.

And even the Energy Department is warning of more trouble ahead. The Energy Department's forecasting arm just yesterday increased its outlook, its projection for gas prices in both this year and next year. They are not projecting a speedy return to those pre-war prices that the president has talked about. They also see Brent Crude staying near $106 a barrel this month and next.

And while the president sometimes says that the Strait of Hormuz either is open or that the reopening is imminent, the Energy Department's, their forecasters, they're not seeing that at all. They think that the strait will stay effectively closed through late May. They see traffic returning in June, but only gradually, and not going back to normal until the end of the year.

And so, look, this is a race against time to get the Strait of Hormuz reopened. GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan just last night, he said that if there is no reopening soon, he thinks gas will go to $5 a gallon nationally very soon, possibly as soon as next month, and that would just intensify inflation and just put further pressure on all those household budgets.

BERMAN: You can see oil prices ticking up a little bit again today. Matt Egan, thank you very much for that. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Why the former FBI director, James Comey, is now saying that the president is obsessed with retribution, and while he's facing a second indictment now, Comey is also talking about a possible third.

Plus, a doctor who treated Hantavirus patients on that cruise ship, he is now in quarantine himself after testing positive for the virus, and he's speaking to CNN from quarantine.

And it was wild dash cam video we're going to show you of a plane clipping a car as it was making an emergency landing in Arizona.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: Former FBI director James Comey speaking out for the first time since his new indictment, the second indictment against him brought by the Justice Department after the first did not succeed, as we've covered and reported.

Comey now speaking out is now accusing -- is now accusing -- is -- Comey now speaking out after he was indicted for threatening, allegedly, President Trump's life with a social media post. The photo, we talked about, of seashells writing 86, 47. Comey has promised to fight this new charge, calls it blatant political retribution. He also says what he's going through is a warning for all of the president's perceived political enemies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What went through your head when you got word, I'm assuming, from your attorneys, that you had been indicted a second time?

JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: Well, my sense is that this, and I've told my family this is going to continue until this group led by Donald Trump leaves office, because, for whatever reason, he is obsessed with retribution in general and especially with me or John Brennan or Adam Schiff. So, I expect it's going to continue.

COLLINS: I mean, I imagine you prepared for another indictment after the first one was thrown out.

COMEY: Sure, and I'm preparing for three and four. I mean, it's not going to stop. Given who is currently president of the United States and the way he has shaped or really torn apart the Justice Department, it's not going to stop until they're gone from office.

COLLINS: You think you could be indicted a third time or a fourth time or --

[07:15:02]

COMEY: Yes, I just don't know. I mean, I don't know what it might be. I hear about crazy sort of red string crazy wall conspiracy theories in Florida. I don't know what they're cooking up, but I would expect there will be more efforts to get the president's enemies because he's obsessed with it, and that's really, really sad.

COLLINS: You used to brief him, I mean, in 2016 in the run-up to the election and in 2017. Do you think he's the same person as he was when you used to sit in the Oval Office with him?

COMEY: He doesn't seem okay to me. And I know that sounds like a political shot. It seems like there's something wrong with the man. There was always something wrong with the man in that he lacks a moral center, but this seems off. This middle of the night, obsessive Truth after Truth, not an actual truth, but a re-Truthing, a re-Truthing on his platform seems crazy to me.

COLLINS: So, you seem to think it's different?

COMEY: Yes, he seems different in a bad way, not different in you redid your hair. I mean, different in that you seem nuts, buddy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Well, speaking of the FBI making headlines, the man currently holding, well, Comey's old job, FBI Director Kash Patel, he got into it, to say the least, when testifying before the Senate, going scorched earth as lawmakers questioned his ability to do his job amid reports of allegations of excessive drinking.

Patel is suing The Atlantic over this reporting, calling it false and saying that he's never been drunk at work. Still, watch what happened when Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen asked Patel about it directly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): There have been no occasions when your security detail had difficulty waking or locating you, is that right?

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: Nope. It's a total farce. I don't even know where you get this stuff, but it doesn't make it credible because you say so.

VAN HOLLEN: I'm not saying it, Director Patel. It's been written and documented.

PATEL: You are literally saying it.

VAN HOLLEN: No, I'm saying that these are reports, Director Patel. And --

PATEL: Unlike your baseless reports, the only person that was slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gang-banging rapist was you.

VAN HOLLEN: You know, the fact --

PATEL: The only person that ran up a $7,000 bar tab in Washington, D.C. at the lobby bar was you.

VAN HOLLEN: This suggests to me that the allegations are true.

PATEL: So, the only individual in this room that has been drinking on the taxpayer dime during the day is you.

VAN HOLLEN: Are you polygraphing? Director Patel, come on, these are serious allegations that were made against you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: It didn't stop there either. What Patel is apparently referencing there is Senator Van Hollen's visit to visit with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man that the Trump administration deported to El Salvador despite a court order prohibiting his deportation.

Now, Van Hollen not -- didn't let it go. He actually extended the fight and took the fight to social media later, writing, quote, glasses were placed in front of us, but we did not drink them. I know that may be a confusing concept for Director Patel. Sara?

SIDNER: Ouch. All right, ahead, how did the case of the man who stole Beyonce's unreleased music end? We will let you know coming up.

And remembering NBA trailblazer Jason Collins, the league's first openly gay player, died at just 47 years old.

Those stories and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:20:00]

SIDNER: In the Sports World, condolences pouring in after the death of Jason Collins. He was the NBA's first openly gay player. Collins died after dealing with brain cancer over the past eight months. He was only 47 years old.

CNN's Andy Scholes is joining us now. What are you seeing and hearing from people? This is really, I mean, so young.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: So young and he was certainly one of a kind. You know, he's one of the bravest athletes of our time, Jason Collins was, and he announced, you know, that he was gay in a 2013 Sports Illustrated cover story. And when he did so, you know, he was the first publicly gay athlete in any of the four main sports leagues.

And in a statement, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, Collins' impact and influence extended far beyond basketball, as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.

Collins, he had served as a global ambassador for the NBA for the past decade since retiring after a 13-year career.

Now, Collins announced he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer late last year. He was 47 years old.

Now, it was a super sad day across the NBA as Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke also died. A source told the A.P. Clarke was found dead Monday at a home in the Los Angeles area, and emergency personnel who responded to the scene found drug paraphernalia in the home. An autopsy is planned to determine the exact cause.

Clarke, who played at Gonzaga, was drafted in the first round back in 2019, and he made the all-rookie team his rookie season. Clarke was just 29 years old.

All right, in the NBA playoffs meanwhile, the Spurs hosting the Timberwolves in a pivotal game five last night with the series tied at two. After getting kicked out of game four for a flagrant 2, Victor Wembanyama coming back with a vengeance. Wemby scored 18 points in the first quarter last night. He finished with 27, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks. The Spurs pulled away in the third quarter of this one. They go on to win 126 to 97. Game six of that series is going to be back in Minnesota tomorrow night.

In the Stanley Cup playoffs meanwhile, Canadiens fans, they're having a rough morning. So, they were up 2-1 on the Sabres in the second period last night, and look at what happened. So, the Sabres have the puck. Tage Thompson's going to dump it in from center ice. The puck's then going to go off the boards where the Zamboni comes out, takes a wild bounce, and goes off goalie Jakub Dobes and in. Dobes just shaking his head. That tied the game at two. And Zach Benson, who was celebrating his 21st birthday, broke the tie with a power play goal in the third. Have your first beer to celebrate that one, Zach. Sabres, they'd go on to win 3-2 to tie that series at two games apiece. Meanwhile in baseball, Paul Skenes was just mowing them down last night. The Pirates ace, he struck out the first six Rockies of the game. So, look what the seventh batter did in the third inning.

[07:25:00]

Willie Castro bunts. Skenes easily fields it, and then he laughs and says, nice bunt, at Castro. Skenes had a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and O'Neal Cruz trying to make a diving play to save the no- hitter, but was unable to catch that one. Skenes finished with eight -- pitching eight innings of shutout ball, striking out ten.

But, Sara, a lot of baseball fans are like, what are we doing here, bunting because they couldn't touch Skenes in the first couple innings? You know, the record for most strikeouts to start a game is nine, so he wasn't that close. But the bunt kind of robbed him of going for it.

SIDNER: I am not going to comment on this. I am going to let our baseball aficionado talk about this, which is -- he's standing right behind. I don't know if you've met John Berman. But he has things to say. John?

BERMAN: No, I went to opening day --

SIDNER: See?

BERMAN: -- at Citi Field to watch Paul Skenes play the Mets, because I was so excited to see him in person. And the Mets, who haven't scored a run since, knocked Skenes out in the first inning. So, I saw Skenes like pitch for ten innings.

SCHOLES: That was his worst start by far, yes. He's been amazing since.

BERMAN: Just my luck, but he's a phenomenal, phenomenal pitcher.

SIDNER: He's a great pitcher. But I like how you threw some shade again at -- I mean, come on --

BERMAN: It's not even fair.

SIDNER: I mean, you're not tough enough.

BERMAN: It's like for the Mets scored ten runs last night and won. I know, it's not fair.

SIDNER: The Mets are not tough enough without your digs. Geez.

BERMAN: All right. Any moment now, President Trump lands in China for high-stakes meetings. Some of the biggest tech names in the planet are along for the ride. So, what are they after?

And today, the mother who wrote a children's book about grief after her husband's death will get sentenced for his murder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]