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Angry U.S. Voters ore X Factor in China Meetings; Jeff Moon is Interviewed about Trump in China; Numbers on MAHA; Pennsylvania Man Out of ICE Detention; Princess Kate in Italy; Warnings about Using A.I. for Financial Advice. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 14, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:32]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead of his trip to Beijing, President Trump said he doesn't think about American's financial situation when negotiating with Iran. Regardless, the hits to the economy are obvious to Americans because of Trump's decision to go to war. According to new CNN polling, rising prices and growing anxiety over affordability could play into his negotiations where he is now, China, with China seeing it potentially as leverage.

CNN's David Goldman is joining us now.

There is leverage on both sides here.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: There sure is.

SIDNER: What are you learning?

GOLDMAN: Yes. So, if you think about what each of the leaders is wanting to extract from one another, there are five things -- there are five numbers, I think, that we can all think about to kind of understand what's on the agenda.

The first is 600 million. We talked about that in the last hour. That's the number of Chinese A.I. users according to China. So, that's a lot of people. And what Trump did was he brought Jensen Huang, he brought Tim Cook, who he calls affectionately "Tim Apple." He brought Elon Musk. All of them are big A.I. players. There's an enormous untapped market in China. And both Xi and President Trump know that A.I. is key for national security. Both of them want to make some inroads with one another. That's going to be a huge part of the story.

The next number, 93 percent. That is the control that China has over rare earth minerals. Now, everything that goes beep has rare earths in it. And you need rare earths for all kinds of, you know, industrial electronics. And what else do you need them for? Weaponry. And the United States is running out of weapons after Iran. It needs to replenish its stockpiles. So, China is going to be the key to making America's weapons whole again. Eighty percent is the next number, and that's the amount of Iranian oil that China buys. Now, it's probably -- that was before the war. It's probably even higher now.

SIDNER: Right.

GOLDMAN: Key to all of this is going to be opening the Strait of Hormuz. So, why would China want that? Because it needs Iranian oil. It has a lot of oil stockpiled. And it might be a little less reliant on it than we had thought. But both the United States and China want that Strait reopened. Trump is going to use that against Xi.

$25 billion. That is the amount that Taiwan decided to buy in U.S. weaponry. There has been no more forceful argument that Xi has made during this summit than we need to talk about Taiwan very seriously. That is going -- a huge amount of leverage that President Trump goes in with.

But the last number, 10 percent. That is the U.S. tariff on China right now. It was 145 percent a year ago.

SIDNER: Right.

GOLDMAN: He can't do that anymore because of the Supreme Court. He's lost a little leverage there.

SIDNER: That's right. You can see all the sort of pressure points, just the way that you laid that out here, that have to be negotiated around. And so far there's this very friendly, sort of nice talk between the two of them. But things could get pretty -- turn. They could turn.

GOLDMAN: It's about to get real.

SIDNER: Yes, that's a good way to put it. It's about to get real.

GOLDMAN: That's right.

SIDNER: And China's made the first sort of move, saying, basically threatening, there could be a serious conflict if something happens with Taiwan and the United States.

GOLDMAN: You got it.

SIDNER: We will see what happens. David Goldman, thank you for laying that out. It was great.

GOLDMAN: Thank you.

SIDNER: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're looking at live pictures from Beijing where we will be seeing, likely expected to see, President Trump departing that state banquet, that state dinner with Xi Jinping, departing that any moment now after what has been a very big first day of meetings and talks in Beijing between the two world leaders.

Let's talk about this as we continue to watch these live pictures, if they do hold up for us. Joining us right now is Jeff Moon. He's a former assistant U.S. trade representative for China affairs under President Obama. He's also the founder of China Moon Strategies.

It's good to see you again.

What is the most important thing, I think, Jeff, that you are watching for from this whole thing?

JEFF MOON, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHINA AFFAIRS: Well, first of all, all summit meetings between the U.S. and China are positive because they facilitate communication, prevent misunderstanding. I think that it's important that they've only had two hours of meetings so far, which really means only one hour because of consecutive interpretation.

[08:35:05]

But the state dinner that they're just concluding is very important. President George W. Bush has talked about how those state dinners are very unique opportunities for the top leaders to talk one on one, without a whole flock of aides in a giant room. And I hope President Trump took advantage of that.

I think that the tone of what we're seeing is very interesting as well. President Trump's extreme praise and fawning praise of Xi and China contrasts sharply with how he interacts with our treaty allies of centuries, for reasons that I can't understand. But it's clear that trade is the top priority. Right from the beginning, as they deplaned, President Trump came off first, his son and daughter-in-law came off second, and then there was Elon Musk and Jensen Huang. Secretary of State Rubio has been pretty invisible here.

And finally, we're seeing a lot of form over substance. We're not going to see many substantive deliverables out of this, but there's a lot of form here. It's notable that the Chinese and Americans have decided to televise everything so far, including the banquet where there are lots of important people moving around. But we don't expect a lot of concrete things.

But the key day is tomorrow when they have small group meetings where -- that's where the really tough issues get discussed.

BOLDUAN: Yes. I want to keep these live pictures up, Jeff, but I also want to ask you, you mentioned Jensen Huang. The president, President Trump, brought this whole host of business leaders with him from Jensen to Tim Cook to Elon Musk to Steve Schwarzman and beyond.

I want to play for you something that President Trump actually said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We asked the top 30 in the world. Every single one of them said yes. And I didn't want the second or the third in the company. I wanted only the top. And they're here today to pay respects to you and to China. And they look forward to trade and doing business. And it's going to be totally reciprocal on our behalf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: What do you see President Trump is trying to do with this, and what do you think Xi -- how Xi Jinping interprets it, accepts it, uses it, reacts to it?

MOON: Well, first of all, President Trump enjoys hanging out with CEOs. Hence all the CEO meetings at the White House.

The reason, though, to bring these folks here is that they can strike deals immediately as opportunities develop. These trade negotiations go up to the very last minute, literally the last minute. And so there could be opportunities there.

In addition, in a past life, I was a government relations executive for tech companies in China. And I know that just the appearance of these executives being entertained by the Chinese government with Xi Jinping somewhere nearby is kind of a "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" for these folks. It shows that the Chinese government knows these people and accepts them. And that's important for the customers of these companies to know. So, that facilitates business opportunities in China and is quite valuable, actually.

BOLDUAN: That's really interesting.

Do you see this -- the statement that we saw attributed through Chinese state media, this kind of -- this statement from Xi Jinping on Taiwan -- looks like, just for everyone's notice, we see Secretary of State Marco Rubio departing this dinner right now, just as were keeping track of it. We'll keep an eye on that.

But, Jeff, the statement that came from Chinese state media that Taiwan -- the Taiwan question is the most important issue. And also, if handled properly, there's this. But there also has been interpreted by some as a real direct threat from Xi Jinping, if it is, quote/unquote, mishandled. Do you see that statement from China as a threat?

MOON: It's a serious statement. I was also an American diplomat for two decades. And every major U.S.-China meeting starts with the declaration that, for China, Taiwan is the most important and sensitive issue in U.S.-China relations. So, what we're hearing is not new. And they mean it.

In 2022, when then speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, the Chinese basically shut down the relationship for better part of a year. So, they really do mean it. But I think that the emphasis they're giving to this now is a way to raise the pressure on Trump, to reformulate how we characterize the Taiwan relationship that we have.

So, I think it's important. We should listen to it. But Trump should stand firm and not give way.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

Jeff, it's great to have you and your perspective on this in this moment. I really appreciate it.

Just as we're keeping track, everyone, you see the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, also now departing this dinner in Beijing.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., his top spokesperson resigned this week, partially in protest after the department said it would allow the sale of flavored vapes.

[08:40:03]

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is with us now.

So, this is just sort of the latest incidence of drama within the department here. How do Americans view the secretary of Health and Human Services?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, drama in that department worthy of a soap opera. And I will tell you, the MAHA math, which used to be good, is no longer good in the minds of the American public. Let's just take a look at RFK's net favorability rating.

You know, you go back to January 2025. He was in the plus side. He was a positive for this administration. But down he goes into the red sea, now minus 15 points. And among independents, he has gone from plus seven to minus 26 points. Remember, RFK was a very important endorsement that Trump got during the 2024 campaign. And there was a reason for that. He brought a lot of voters with him. Was seen positive by a lot of those in the electorate. But no longer. RFK Jr. clearly in the red.

BERMAN: How is the president doing, broadly speaking, on the issue of health care?

ENTEN: Yes, if we talk about health care, why don't we just look at the highest disapproval ratings for presidents this century. And you can see it right here. The one in red on your screen, Donald Trump, 65 percent disapprove of him on health care. That is the highest. That is the highest for any president this century. Biden was at 57 percent. That was his highest. Obama -- remember, this was around the Obamacare debate, right? He was at 63 percent. Trump's actually beating him on this score. This is a score you don't want to be winning on. And then, of course, Bush, when there was all this talk about privatizing Social Security, he was at 63 percent. But Donald Trump takes the cake on this issue, 65 percent disapproval, the highest for any president this century.

BERMAN: I have to say, my major takeaway here is how unpopular every president has been on health care. ENTEN: Well, that is also true.

BERMAN: I'm surprised that everyone doing so badly on this issue, given what a big issue it has been over the last several years.

All right, Robert Kennedy Jr., obviously one of the biggest issues surrounding him, his controversial views on vaccines. Like, what are Americans saying about that?

BERMAN: Yes, let me just tell you that Democrats would love for the 2026 midterm elections to be about vaccine policy, because on this particular issue they are trusted far more, far more than Republicans. Look at this, they got a 16-point lead on vaccine policy. You know, there are other parts of MAHA that I think are more popular, such as taking out, you know, food dyes from certain foods. But the bottom line is that when it comes to vaccine policy, that is not a popular part of the MAHA movement. Democrats crush on this. Any talk about vaccine policy in this country, especially changing it, Democrats win, politically speaking, no doubt about it. The number is clear as day.

BERMAN: It will be very interesting to hear what is actually said out loud from the administration --

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Not just HHS, about vaccines between now and November.

ENTEN: Yes, I think they're going to really have to tiptoe around it unless they want to take the wrath of the American public.

BERMAN: Harold Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

BERMAN: Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, gentlemen.

After almost nine months in ICE detention, a Pennsylvania man is back home thanks to his neighbors. Carlos Della Valle entered the U.S. illegally decades ago, escaping violence in Mexico. But a family vacation in 2024 changed his life forever, as CNN's Danny Freeman reports.

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DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In a quiet suburb of Philadelphia, signs like these have dotted lawns for months, a plea from a close-knit community, "bring Carlos home."

CARLOS DELLA VALLE, DETAINED BY DHS: When you're inside, there's really not much you can do, other than endure, be strong.

FREEMAN (voice over): This is Carlos Della Valle. He's been living in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, for nearly two decades, working, raising a family, with a U.S. citizen wife and a U.S. citizen son, now in college. But for years, Carlos had a secret. The Mexican national says he crossed the border illegally back in 1997 when he was just 20 years old, fleeing violence in his home country.

C. VALLE: If I had known what I was doing at that moment, I probably would have never done it.

FREEMAN (voice over): Carlos fell in love with his wife, Angela, and said the two consulted with immigration attorneys to get him legal status once they were married in 2002. But they say the advice they got was wait for Congress to pass laws helping mixed status families.

ANGELA DELLA VALLE, CARLOS' WIFE: When we got together, we had no idea that there was not going to be a pathway for us.

C. VALLE: They did say, stay out of trouble. Don't do anything that you might regret later. And that's what -- that's what I've been doing, personally.

FREEMAN (voice over): But in 2024, during the final days of the Biden administration, his luck ran out. On Christmas Day, while on vacation with his family in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Carlos was stopped at the airport in Saint Thomas. He was told he had a final order of removal and was charged with illegal reentry. His trial was set for the following August during the first year of the new, more hardline Trump administration.

FREEMAN: Did you have a sense that it might become harder in the next administration?

C. VALLE: They actually said it right there. Someone mentioned something to where like, oh, you know, we're in the process of changing the way we do things.

FREEMAN (voice over): His community rallied. Family and neighbors from Pennsylvania wrote letters, and some even flew to Saint Thomas to advocate for him in open court.

[08:45:02]

Carlos was found not guilty, but DHS still detained him because he still lacked status.

For the next nearly nine months, Carlos was in custody, shuttled between ICE detention centers all throughout the south, including the infamous Alligator Alcatraz in the Florida Everglades.

C. VALLE: Whatever anybody is seeing on TV is true. You are in cages. It's like tents and eight cages per tent, you know, and 32 people in each cage. And, I mean, no privacy.

FREEMAN (voice over): All the while his wife, Angela, followed.

FREEMAN: How have the past nine months been for you?

A. VALLE: They've been the hardest days of my whole life. Every day felt like a year. C. VALLE: I was worried about my body, not my mind. I believe I got

all the strength from the people outside fighting for me.

FREEMAN (voice over): Back in Downingtown, support and awareness grew. Neighbors started raising money. The local church held rallies. Politicians took notice. And then, without explanation, after more than 250 days in detention, Carlos was released. He arrived home last week.

C. VALLE: We did it.

All I wanted to do was hug people. And that's really what -- all I did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Carlos means everything to this community. We are a community of good neighbors here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has restored my faith in who we are as Americans.

C. VALLE: Just because I wasn't born in this country doesn't mean that I don't love this country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Quite a story.

So, as Stephen Colbert prepares to take to the late night desk for the final time, a new CNN FlashDocs, "The Last Laugh," examines his legacy and the importance of American satire.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE THOMAS, AUTHOR, "THE SECOND CITY UNSCRIPTED": Satire is never more important than in times of strife. And I think we're certainly in one of those times now.

SOPHIA MCCLENNEN, AUTHOR, "COLBERT'S AMERIA: SATIRE AND DEMOCRACY": There's no question that we're in crisis. I think that it's unsurprising that we're seeing a huge amount of political comedy aimed at helping the public make sense of it.

JORDAN CARLOS, COMEDIAN AND WRITER: The comedian's job now is to say, you're not crazy. This isn't normal. We're going to point this out.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER": Comedians and journalists are like the front line when it comes to the ability to criticize people in power. And if they are chilled into silence, then it will have an impact on the public as well.

CARLOS: But just as long as comedians keep using their comedic skills to speak truth to power, we going to be all right. But it won't be easy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN FlashDocs "The Last Laugh: Stephen Colbert" airs Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, looking forward to it. Thank you so much, Kate.

For the first time, the World Cup final is getting a halftime show. Coming up, what we know about the big stars who are set to perform.

Plus, a hot dog bandit caught red handed. The suspect. Oh, he's so cute. Look at him. How could you be mad at him?

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[08:52:49]

SIDNER: This morning, Catherine, Princess of Wales, started day two of her trip to northern Italy. She just finished meeting with families from a preschool there in Reggio Emilia. It's her first overseas trip since her cancer treatment.

CNN's Max Foster is there now.

Max, what is on the princess' schedule as she goes through -- we're seeing some images of her surrounded by a bunch of children.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I have to say, I've never seen her with this energy on an engagement, which is extraordinary, isn't it, really, Sara, when you consider that she's still in recovery. But I'm told having gone through this life changing event, she wanted to come back to work when she was able to and throw herself, particularly in early learning, because all of the other topics she's been interested in, mental health in teenagers, addiction in adults, she's tracked back to early learning and the way the brain is developed in these -- those early days. And she's come here because they've got this very unique approach to early learning. Effectively, you don't teach children, you encourage them to interact with the environment around them, particularly going outside. So, going outside is not going out to the playground and it's not going out to an outside classroom either. It is interacting with the trees, for example, painting pictures of them, allowing them to discover. It's been really interesting following this process. And she's really encouraged by what she's seen here.

She also went to a recycling center because this is about a community effort and the recycling center sends bits of paper, for example, to the local school. They use that to create crafts. And it's -- the whole community is involved here. And they're outside all the time. You can't do that in the U.K., of course, Sara, because it's such terrible weather and it's much better here. But she basically now wants to create a global movement, I'm told, and she wants to go to projects like this around the world. And she sees early learning as as important as climate change. So, she's competing with Prince William on that a bit, perhaps. SIDNER: It seems so. She's also picking up creepy crawlies. I noticed

she had sort of like a little squirmy thing in her hand. The kids are clearly learning in a very different way. I know that's one of the things that they really pride themselves on there.

[08:55:01]

Pretty cool. But I think you've got the best assignment there, Max. You're not in the cold, dreariness of London.

FOSTER: Lucky to be here.

SIDNER: It's good to see you. Thank you, Max Foster.

FOSTER: (INAUDIBLE).

SIDNER: Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, in Wisconsin, a car flipped over after a high speed chase. Officials say this same suspect led them on three chases in past weeks. This one ended after the suspect drove into a field and allegedly rammed a sergeant's squad car, then tried to go back onto the road. Not clear if that person should really be driving.

All right, the big reveal for the biggest halftime show on earth. Halftime at the World Cup final in July in glamorous New Jersey. The performers will be BTS, Shakira and Madonna. I just checked the internet, tickets for that game are going for between roughly $8,000 and $30,000. Yes, luckily, you can watch at home.

So, if you live in Germany and work at a certain home improvement store, we've got news for you, and I guess your robot. This is an important segment of our audience, apparently. A robot learned the store's floor plan and helps customers find products and walks them to the right aisle. The store manager says the robot is their cheapest employee, with an hourly wage of roughly $2 per hour. What's not clear to me is why exactly they're paying the robot, or what the robot does with the money.

All right, in Alberta, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police got a call of a disturbance at a cookout. Grand theft barbecue. And they shared photos of the suspect, whom they describe as having red hair, short in stature and wearing a thick coat. You can see the fox right there. And my own opinion, at risk of influencing the case, is that he looks guilty. Police say the barbecue host decided not to file charges.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: I mean, J.B., how can you be mad at that face or accuse that of a crime?

BERMAN: I think it's a little gluttonous, frankly.

BOLDUAN: A little too much? BERMAN: Yes. Have one.

BOLDUAN: Just a little too much.

BERMAN: Have one.

BOLDUAN: Got it. Got it.

BERMAN: Portion control.

BOLDUAN: All right. So, A.I. proving to be helpful in so many aspects of our lives. But if you are thinking about turning to A.I. for financial advice, you may want to think again. Experts are out with a new warning about uploading personal information and how it can open you up to some serious trouble.

CNN's Clare Duffy has new reporting on this. She's here with us now.

And, Clare, what are you learning?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Well, it makes sense, right, that people are asking A.I. for financial advice. People are asking it for all kinds of advice.

BOLDUAN: For everything. Yes.

DUFFY: And in some ways this could really democratize access to this kind of information. Not everybody can afford to pay a human financial planner. But it is very important that you do this carefully. In particular, experts say, it is very important that you do not upload sensitive personal information to A.I. chatbots. So, whether that is redacting your financial documents before you upload them to ask A.I. about them, or even better just taking the relevant information minus your personal sensitive details and adding that to a prompt for A.I. But the key here is, do not upload information like your name, your birth date, account numbers, transaction dates, all of that could be at risk of getting leaked or being used for A.I.'s training data, which could then be hacked by trained, you know, hackers, actors, putting in malicious prompts, trying to access that training information from the A.I. chatbots.

Also important to check the A.I. tool's privacy and data retention policies so you understand how the information that you're uploading might be used. Those can change periodically, so it's good to regularly check those. And if you're asking A.I. for financial advice, you can actually prompt it to give you regular privacy reminders so that you don't get wrapped up in the conversation and forget about this.

Our colleague Jeanne Sahadi talked to Rachel Tobac. She's the CEO of Social Proof Security. She put it this way. She said, "people are trusting A.I. tools like they're a trusted fiduciary." But "your trusted fiduciary is required to work in your best interest, whereas a large, cloud-based A.I. service provider is often creating their policies based on what is in their own best interest and not yours." And, Kate, it's also important to remember that this shouldn't be your

single source of truth. These A.I. tools can still make mistakes. And they'll also give different people different answers. So, you and I could give it the same exact prompt, asking how to invest $1,000. It might give you really good advice. It might give me a completely different answer. So, important to ask other sources whether that is elsewhere, trusted sources on the internet, or human professionals.

BOLDUAN: And what is the scope of how much this is happening? I mean you -- a threat and a concern for sure, but are we seeing already, like, this is becoming an issue?

DUFFY: There are absolutely people who are using A.I. tools in this way. We're also seeing, you know, popular figures encouraging people to use A.I. in this way. Again, in some ways it makes sense because this is a new way to access important information and get advice --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

DUFFY: But very important that you do it carefully if you do it.

BOLDUAN: Doing it the right way is what, I mean, all of us are needing to learn how to handle A.I. and the chat bots.

[09:00:03]

DUFFY: And this goes really for any kind of personal information.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

DUFFY: Health information. Other types of sensitive details. You don't want to be giving those to A.I. chatbots.