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Xi Warning Regarding Taiwan; Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) is Interviewed about Trump's Visit to China; Livestreamer Faces Charges after Shooing; Eric Bland is Interviewed about the Murdaugh Case. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 14, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN: A.I. and the chat bots.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: 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.

BOLDUAN: That's a good -- a really good reminder, Clare. Thank you so much.

DUFFY: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

President Trump meets with the Chinese leader. And this morning, the aftershocks after a warning, or was it a threat, from Xi Jinping on Taiwan?

And then, if you have to crash into the ocean, do it near an Air Force water rescue training operation. New footage as 11 people are lifted from the sea.

And this morning, what happens now after the double murder verdict against Alex Murdaugh was thrown out. What legal options are there for prosecutors?

I'm John Berman, with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, just moments ago, President Trump departing from a state banquet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the great hall of the people in Beijing. Xi calling the relationship between the two countries the most consequential in the world. On the menu, lobster, beef ribs, roast duck. But on the agenda, when the two met earlier in the day, Iran, trade and energy.

But perhaps the biggest headline out of the trip so far is a warning from Xi, or some may see it as a threat. It was over Taiwan. That democratic, self-governing island that Beijing views as part of its territory. Chinese state media reports that Xi told the president that Taiwan is, quote, "the most important issue" in China-U.S. relations and could create a very dangerous situation if mishandled. Beijing has threatened in the past to take the island by force if necessary.

On the issue of Iran, a White House official says that the two sides agree that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and that Tehran can never have a nuclear weapon.

CNN's Kristen Holmes live in Beijing this morning with the very latest there.

I know that some of those promises about the Strait of Hormuz, that's sort of been a statement that we've heard from China before. What else are you learning this morning?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara, almost directly. I mean these are not new positions in terms of where President Xi stands. I mean it was just a week ago that he said that the Strait of Hormuz should be open. At one point he said in the last couple of weeks that he supports Iran's, quote, "commitment" not to have a nuclear weapon. So, again, these are positions we've already heard.

We do not have anything in terms of the actual negotiations, Sara, behind closed doors. What did they actually agree to and what were the conversations about Taiwan and Iran actually like? And were there any kind of details that they went through? We do know that tomorrow they're going to have a much smaller group meeting. It is likely this is going to come out again -- come up again, and that this is where they're really going to hammer out those details.

President Trump does best in a setting that is a very small group where he feels that he can put everything on the table. He's not going to feel that way in a group of 30 or so, which is what we saw today.

So, a lot of questions, though, as to what happens next. We saw the secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, he was on CNBC doing an interview, alluding to the fact that there was likely going to be some kind of airplane purchase, which we had long suspected. The CEO of Boeing is here. One of the conversations they were expected to have was China purchasing jetliners.

The other conversation, of course, was going to circle -- center around agriculture. Trump buying -- excuse me, Xi buying soybeans, which has been a huge problem for farmers in the U.S. That is going to still happen. We're going to see those economic deals. They'll hammer that out. They'll put those out publicly over the next several hours and next couple of days.

But really what we're trying to get to the bottom of, and it's unclear that they've actually had this conversation. What is going to happen with Iran? Is Xi willing to act? Sure, he supports opening the Strait of Hormuz. We already knew his position on all of this. He gets a lot of his oil and gas from the Strait of Hormuz. This is hurting his country.

But is he willing to take it a step further and get involved in this global conflict in really a public way in which he is pushing or pressuring Iran to reopen the Strait or come to some kind of peace agreement? That is what we don't know yet. It sounded like from both sides what we saw was two individuals kind of placating each other and filling each other with praise, talking about how great the conversations were, how great the relations are. Then you had this thrown in concept of Taiwan.

Now that leads to another question, is President Xi willing to get involved in Iran if that means that he's going to get something he wants from Taiwan in terms of -- from President Trump when it comes to supporting Taiwan. And that is not going to be something they're going to -- either side is going to announce publicly because neither side is going to want to advertise where they stand in that negotiation as they're still having those conversations, Sara.

[09:05:03]

SIDNER: Kristen Holmes, thank you so much, live there for us from Beijing with the very latest on the visit there.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: And let's talk more about this. Joining us now is Democratic Senator Chris Coons from Delaware. He sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Thanks for being here, Senator. I appreciate it.

Xi Jinping saying this about Taiwan, according to state media, the Taiwan issue is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations. And also saying, if mishandled, the two nations will experience collision or even clashes, pushing the entire China-U.S. relationship into a highly dangerous situation.

Do you see -- do you see that as a threat from Iran?

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Absolutely, Kate, that's a threat from Xi Jinping.

BOLDUAN: Yes, China, sorry. Yes.

COONS: And our challenge is that we have a distracted president and a distracted secretary of defense. I'm the senior Democrat on Defense Appropriations. And when we had Secretary Hegseth in front of our subcommittee this week, I really pressed him on, what's the plan to end this war in Iran and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz?

The Iranians have just made a next strategic step, which is allowing Chinese supertankers full of oil to cross the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, 2,000 other ships, critical for fertilizer, for fuel, for gas, are still stuck because Iran has the ability to hit them at any time with cheap and lethal drones. So, Xi, in some way metaphorically, has us over a barrel. And Trump has gone into these negotiations in the weakest position of

any modern president because he promised to lower our costs when he ran for president. Instead, the price of gas is going up. The price of groceries is going up. Inflation is going up. And China has been increasingly aggressive in the last year, Kate, around the Strait of Taiwan, transiting all of Australia with a naval flotilla for the first time, crossing the midline on an almost daily basis, and threatening Taiwan with rehearsals of a military blockade or invasion.

So, this is a very tenuous moment, Kate, and I'm concerned that President Trump will make concessions in exchange for a temporary benefit, like buying more soybeans, he will give up licensing our most advanced A.I. chips. The CEO of Nvidia, the American company that makes the most advanced chips, joined this trip at the last minute. And I'm concerned that a chips for beans deal would actually be a strategic loss for the United States.

BOLDUAN: Do you think that President Trump needs China in order to securely and finally and really have the Strait of Hormuz reopened?

COONS: Look, their help would be important. But remember, Trump also ran on peace through strength. And that requires actual strength. He's sitting across the table from the dictator of a country that is actively helping Russia launch more drones at innocent civilians in Ukraine and actively helping Iran -- Russia and China are helping Iran to rearm and to target American facilities and American allies.

So, starting by calling him our great and good friend may be diplomatic talk, but if he doesn't strike a hard deal here, I'm concerned that it will actually weaken us.

Iran is already getting assistance from China. And it is in China's self-interest for Iran to not have a nuclear weapon and for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen.

I do think President Trump has some leverage in our naval blockade. But the challenge is, this is literally a game of chicken to see whether Americans who are suffering because of steadily rising prices want to lessen that blockade before Iran, which is an authoritarian regime, suffers domestic losses or domestic pressure because they're not getting more revenue out of the Strait of Hormuz.

BOLDUAN: On the overall war, the Pentagon now says that the cost of the Iran war to the United States so far is closer to $29 billion, instead of the previously stated cost of $25 billion. Do you believe that number?

COONS: No, Kate, I think it's significantly more than that. I do think that there's been a lot of strikes that have caused real damage to our airplanes, our radar installations, our Fifth Fleet headquarters in the Middle East, and rebuilding all of that will cost a lot more. And I, frankly, think we've expended more than that, not just in munitions, but in the cost of keeping 15,000 soldiers, sailors and Marines on station in a hazardous place.

I've recently met with several senior military leaders who've estimated the cost within their services or combatant commands, and I think it will come in significantly above 29 billion.

[09:10:05]

BOLDUAN: As in -- what's your working estimate?

COONS: Probably double that. But look, it's a mistake for me to guess.

Let me just make clear that I'm guessing broadly --

BOLDUAN: OK.

COONS: Because the Pentagon has not been transparent with the American people about how much damage Iran has actually been able to do. There's also, Kate, as you know, just been public reporting that Iran still has two-thirds or more of its pre-war stockpiles of ballistic missiles and launchers and of drones. This war is far from over. And as many military leaders in the past have said, the enemy gets a vote.

BOLDUAN: Well, and also along that line, Lindsey Graham spoke out and is not happy about CBS reporting the come -- reporting coming from CBS News that Pakistan is, on one hand, acting as a peace broker between the U.S. and Iran, but on the other allowing Iranian military aircraft to park in its airfields, potentially shielding them from American airstrikes. The way Graham talked about it in a hearing was, I don't trust Pakistan as far as I can throw them and said, if that's the case, what CBS is reporting, no wonder the peace talks are going nowhere.

Do you think Pakistan is a bad peace broker here?

COONS: Look, without getting into any of those operational details, I was quite surprised to hear that from my colleague, Senator Graham, yesterday.

I do think that Pakistan has very complicated interests and regional alliances. They are in nuclear power. They have threatened to advance proliferation by selling or giving a nuclear weapon to the Saudi kingdom. There's real divisions between the Emiratis, the Qataris and the Saudis in terms of their views on whether to negotiate an end to this conflict or keep going in an attempt at overthrowing the Iranian regime, something that President Trump has said was a goal or something he believed he'd already accomplished.

But let's look at where we are, Kate. More than two months ago, before this war began, the Strait of Hormuz was open and we had lower gas costs and better regional stability and security. Today, after unloading a huge amount of munitions, and, yes, sinking Iran's navy and striking a lot of their ballistic missile launchers, the ayatollah is still in power, although it's the son of the ayatollah, the repressive IRGC is still in control of Iran, and we are no closer to knowing how much enriched uranium they have and where it is, and to securing it.

President Trump, in his first term, tore up the deal that President Obama got that gave us inspectors and visibility into Iran's nuclear enrichment program. We lack that today. And I don't see a clear path forward.

When I pressed and pressed Secretary Hegseth in front of our committee for a plan for how this war ends and ends well, he did not present one. We have a lot of unanswered questions here, Kate. And frankly, as President Trump sits across the table from President Xi, I'm concerned he's distracted, more focused on building golden ballrooms and a victory arch here in Washington than achieving an actual victory, either in his tariff war with China or his war of choice against Iran.

BOLDUAN: Senator Chris Coons, thank you for coming in.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New footage of a rescue at sea. Eleven passengers from a plane that crashed into the water. The unbelievable coincidence that helped save them.

And then a controversial live streamer known for racist videos, now charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting a man outside a courthouse.

And then closing statements set to begin in a trial that could reshape A.I. as we know it. How a trophy of a golden jackass became a point of legal confrontation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:18:29]

BERMAN: This morning, a controversial live streamer is facing charges of attempted murder, among other charges, after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse. Dalton Eatherly, who goes by "Chud the Builder," is known for posting racist content. He and another man were both shot, but it is unclear what preceded the incident.

Let's go right to CNN's Omar Jimenez, who's been following this case from the beginning.

What happened?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: So, yes, "Chud the Builder," real name Dalton Eatherly, as you just said. And he's known for being extremely provocative, essentially rage baiting people, posting racist -- posting videos with racist language, racial slurs, things like that.

And while we don't know exactly what happened with this particular incident, this happened just outside -- a little bit north of Nashville. There was a confrontation between him and another man outside of a courthouse. And then from there, shots were fired. And again, it's a little murky in terms of how the shooting unfolded and what led up to it.

But we do have at least one account, at least from his side of the story. And it comes from his live stream that appeared to continue to be going during the moments right after the shooting. I just want to play a little bit of it now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DALTON EATHERLY: He said, you start saying all that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) to me, I'm going to hit you. He hit me. Started wailing on me. Even after I had to defend myself by shooting him, he's still wailing on me.

FIRST RESPONDER: Where's your weapon at?

EATHERLY: They have everything.

FIRST RESPONDER: Who's weapon is that right there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

FIRST RESPONDER: Is that yours?

EATHERLY: Yes. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:20:01]

JIMENEZ: Now, I mentioned, it's not clear exactly how this unfolded or what led up to it, but he was charged. And those charges, serious ones, attempted murder, employing a firearm during a dangerous felony, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. Both men here had gunshot wounds, were taken to the hospital and are in stable condition as we understand.

This person, though, Eatherly, not unfamiliar to Tennessee law enforcement, at least in the last few days. There was an incident a few days ago at a restaurant where he was allegedly livestreaming. The restaurant told him to stop. They kicked him out. There -- he then allegedly used a bunch of racist language as well.

I want to play a little bit of what we heard from that part of the stream as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EATHERLY: Y'all are kicking me out or are we staying?

RESTAURANT STAFFER: No, you're paying and you're leaving.

EATHERLY: Oh, you think?

RESTAURANT STAFFER: For what you got, yes.

EATHERLY: Buddy, I didn't get to enjoy my meal. You're kicking me out. I'm not paying for (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

Watch your mouth, this is America. You're in my country, you hear me?

You are dumb. We're going to call ICE Now. (END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: So, after that, he walks out. Eventually, later on, he is arrested, in part for or not paying the bill, as what you heard there.

But, obviously, someone that -- look, it's part of the brand of his streams. We've been trying to figure out if he has legal representation, try to get in touch with him either for that incident or this latest one where he's facing much more serious charges. But still a lot to learn here, especially in this latest shooting. We only really have one side of the story, and we need a lot more.

BERMAN: In the shooting --

JIMENEZ: Yes.

BERMAN: Both men wounded with gunshots. He was charged, "Chad," --

JIMENEZ: Yes.

BERMAN: With attempted murder. Any charges for the other guy as far as we know?

JIMENEZ: Not that we know right now. We still don't even know that person's identity. It hasn't been released. But I can imagine all of that is being investigated right now. That's why we need just a little bit more on this story to see what (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: All right, a lot of questions --

JIMENEZ: Yes.

BERMAN: But a significant sort of record, video record here, to be sure.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Yes.

BERMAN: All right, Omar, thank you very much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: The wild twist in one of the most watched true crime cases of late. Alex Murdaugh's conviction for killing his wife and son, overturned by South Carolina's supreme court. So, what happens now?

And graduation season is upon us. While most schools have one valedictorian, one school is smashing records with 21.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:26:38]

BERMAN: This morning, what happens now after the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the double murder conviction of Alex Murdaugh for the murder of his wife and son. The justices sided with Mourdock's defense team, which argued several jurors had their opinions tainted by the court clerk, Becky Hill, during the trial. The justices say Hill, quote, "egregiously attacked Mourdock's credibility and his defense, thus triggering the presumption of prejudice."

With us now is Eric Bland. He is an attorney who represented victims of Alex Murdaugh's financial crimes. A separate conviction.

And, Counselor, it's good to see you.

And I know a lot of people followed all the twists and turns in this case. For those who didn't, let me just shorthand it and say, it's not just the murder case. There's a whole ton of other stuff, too, financial crimes and whatnot, which we'll talk about in just a second.

But first, just as an officer of the court, I want your reaction to the state -- the South Carolina Supreme Court tossing this conviction on the grounds that they cited, a court clerk who was basically blabbing to jurors.

ERIC BLAND, ATTORNEY FOR VICTIMS OF ALEX MURDAUGH'S FINANCIAL CRIMES: Right. As an officer of the court, obviously we want our Constitution to be followed. And Alex has a Sixth Amendment right to a fair and impartial jury. And our supreme court held that that was not the case. That the clerk of court interfered with the jury's deliberations and the consideration of the evidence and the testimony.

I'm not so sure it was to the level that they said it was because we represented six of the jurors who said that they didn't hear anything that Becky Hill is alleged to have said to the jurors or to the jury in general. And they said that their verdict was a product of their own conscience and free will.

So -- but the reason our system is the best in the world, John, is it works for the worst of us in the same way that it works for the best of us. And that's what the rule of law is. So, it's frustrating, but that's why we had these financial crimes to be so important. And we were instrumental in getting him convicted on both the state and federal level. The public needs to know, Alex is never getting out of prison, irrespective of what happens with these murder charges. He's in there until -- well into his 90s, John.

BERMAN: I mean, I know you could never get in the heads of justices or judges, but do you think that the fact that he's unlikely to get out of prison anytime soon factored into their ruling, their ability to overturn the murder convictions?

BLAND: No. No, I don't think so. I think that they are adhering to the rule of law, and they felt that the process was slanted and that it wasn't fair. I think there's significant evidence, circumstantial evidence that Alex is guilty. But they also criticized Judge Newman, John, and that he let in the financial crimes and -- that while they said it was his discretion to do that, they said he went too far and too deep with letting that be the motive for Alex killing his wife and son.

BERMAN: So, if the state called you up and said, hey, counselor, what do you think, should we prosecute again? How do we do it differently? Is it worth it for us after this, frankly, embarrassment? Is it worth it for us to do it? What would you tell them?

BLAND: Absolutely. Justice knows no distance.

[09:30:02]

Maggie and Paul were killed. They have a right to justice. And oftentimes in our country, John, we have to -- a couple.