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Trump on Arms Sale to Taiwan; Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) is Interviewed about the China Summit; Racist Livestreamer to Appear in Court; Border Patrol Chief Resigns. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 15, 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]

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And this is going to be day one of a multiday event. You'll see a lot of those showers and thunderstorms beginning to fire up late this afternoon. They will continue through the evening hours. And even into the overnight. So, please make sure you have a way to get some of those emergency alerts when you go to sleep tonight. And they continue in through the weekend.

So, again, you saw where the storms were today. But look, Saturday, Sunday, even into Monday, this is going to continue into a multi-day event for many states.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Allison Chinchar, do appreciate it. The good thing is you look like sunshine this morning and it's Friday. Appreciate your report.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, two people are dead after a small plane crashed into a home in Akron, Ohio. First responders said both victims were in the plane. As for inside the house, our affiliate spoke with the father, who says he grabbed his two young children and their dog as smoke filled the living room. They got out. The Ohio State Highway Patrol said the plane had just taken off from an airport about four miles away. Not clear what led to the incident. The NTSB is investigating.

All right, video this morning from Wisconsin, not Hazzard County from "The Dukes of Hazzard." But you will -- let's see it, actually. But you will be forgiven for thinking that Bo and Luke were perhaps inside that car. Now, the driver was taken into custody after trying to run from the scene after the car crashed. There we go. That's a good angle of it. The suspect was wanted for driving without a license, but now faces several felony charges.

So, at a beach near Sydney, Australia, the most fashionable entrance ever. A man who apparently -- not that guy -- just wanted to go for a stroll accidentally crashed a fashion show by the men's wear brand Commas (ph). This was Australian fashion week. I think he's very fashionable. So, after walking down the stairs, which was kind of like the runway there, he did his morning stretching routine, jumped into the water, just like he always does, all while the models were there strutting around him. Ultimately, the new fashion icon David issued an apology to the designer, although I'm not sure what he has to be sorry about. I think he looked great. And apparently he's been doing this routine on the beach for 30 years. So, hats off to him, not him.

All right, a brand-new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SIDNER: The breaking news this morning out of the mouth of President Trump. He says that he hasn't made a decision yet about a big arms sale to Taiwan. His new comments this morning after leaving the summit with China's president raising some concerns.

Plus, drivers aren't the only ones feeling the pain because of these gas prices. Gas station owners hate what's going on, too. And we're going to talk to one all about it.

And shocking body camera video of a police officer being ambushed by a knife-wielding suspect. His vest credited with saving his life.

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

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the major story this morning, a proposed U.S. weapons sale worth about $14 billion to Taiwan may or may not be happening. President Trump now saying that he has not yet decided whether to move forward with it after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned him that making a wrong move on Taiwan could trigger clashes and even conflicts between the U.S. and China.

I want to play for you what he told reporters aboard Air Force One that is now getting a lot of attention as they were leaving Beijing after this two-day summit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: What about the arms sales to Taiwan?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll make a determination over the next fairly short period of time.

REPORTER: You're not necessarily going to go ahead. It was your proposal.

TRUMP: I'm going to make a determination. I'm going to see. I have to speak to the person that right now is, you know, you know who he is, that's running Taiwan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Those comments raising alarm bells in Taiwan for sure this morning. The island is Democratic and self-governing, but Beijing views it as part of its own territory. The Chinese Communist Party has long vowed to unify the island with the mainland by force if necessary.

Let's get the very latest on what we've now heard from this big, important two-day summit in Beijing. CNN's Julia Benbrook is live at the White House for us this morning.

What's the latest that you're picking up from there now?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as President Donald Trump traveled back from China on Air Force One, he spoke with reporters for roughly 30 minutes. He said that the two leaders, during this high- stakes summit, they went into detail on a number of different issues, except for tariffs, an interesting one to leave out there.

On Taiwan, he said that he had not made a decision either way, a commitment either way. And on those arms sales to Taiwan, he said that he would make a determination at some point.

Now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said that U.S. policy toward Taiwan remains, quote, "unchanged."

[09:05:07]

And diving a bit deeper into that, the United States acknowledges China's position that Taiwan is a part of China, but has never officially recognized the Communist Party's claim to the self- governing island. And Washington has robust, unofficial relations with Taiwan, but has remained intentionally ambiguous when it comes to if they would become involved militarily if China were to attack Taiwan.

And Trump was asked about that specifically. He said that he did not want to answer that. He also said that Xi asked him about that specifically during some of these meetings, and that he did not answer it then either.

Now, another big headline, the topic that loomed over these meetings was Iran. If you remember, right before he took off, that's when the United States had sent a proposal to Iran to end the conflict. Iran had responded. And Trump said their response was totally unacceptable.

And while speaking with reporters, he said that even the first sentence he believed was unacceptable and that he could just throw it out after reading that. He was pressed on exactly what was in that first sentence. He didn't answer exactly, but he did say it did not make it clear that they would not have a nuclear weapon. And that, of course, is a big red line for him. So, a lot of questions on that as he returns.

Overall, the summit seemed to end on a high note, with Trump praising China as he left. The two leaders saying that there was a steadier relationship in place. A lot of questions, though, on what each side actually got out of this. While Trump said they solved a lot of problems, we're lacking in details on what exactly those conclusions were.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Much to learn still. It's good to see you. Thank you so much, Julia.

John. BERMAN: All right, with us now is Congressman Gregory Meeks, a

Democrat from New York. He is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Ranking member, it's great to see you this morning.

So, the president says he has not made a determination on this arms package to Taiwan. A package that has bipartisan support, $14 million, that the State Department has actually put forward here. What do you think of his ambiguity on this response?

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY): Well, here again it's his ambiguity. You know, clearly he came to Congress, as he should, with other things. We cleared that $14 billion. We approved it. It was requested. We approved it. He came to Congress. I wish he'd do that on some other things.

Clearly, also, you know, it just seems to me that the president does seem different when he is confronting someone who is as big as he is and who has leverage on him. And that's what seems to have taken place here. Clearly, President Xi had an individual before him who have come to him in a weakened state, standing by himself with what's taking place in Iran and other places in the world and other of our allies who he's treated badly. So, he is -- came -- went to China in a weakened state where Xi has leverage over him. And I think that's where the current status of the situation is.

BERMAN: I want you -- I want to play what your Republican colleague, Carlos Gimenez, said about the exchange on Taiwan.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ (R-FL): I take what President Xi says with a grain of salt, and also take what President Trump says with a grain of salt. What they're saying publicly and what they're saying privately may be actually two different things. And so, we'll see what the president does.

I think, in the end, that we give the arms shipments to Taiwan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: What do you think? Do you think ultimately he'll approve them or do you think he is, as you suggested, might be buckling under the pressure from President Xi?

MEEKS: Well, we'll see. I think that what's key here is that we maintain the One China Policy and the provisions that are contained therein, where it is clearly stated that the United States will give Taiwan the defensive weapons that it needs, but also make sure that we're maintaining a One China Policy. That is the status quo. And we must remain there. And that way we don't have -- no one wants a war or anything of that nature. We should have dialog and conversation with China, figure out how we can be competitive, but yet not militarily engaged. But the United States has to make sure that Taiwan has the defensive weapons that it needs, and we protect our own national security interests while the dialog for other things continue to take place.

BERMAN: On Air Force One, President Trump said he rejected the latest proposal from Iran based on the very first line of what that proposal was.

[09:10:00]

The president also said he did discuss Iran with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping. Do you have any sense now, after this two-day summit, whether the president got any promises from China on Iran?

MEEKS: No, we don't have any sense at all. In fact, you know, someone asked me, what's the big news coming out of China? I said, the big -- no, the big takeaway coming out of China. I said the big takeaway coming out of China is that there's no takeaway, right? And so that's the big -- the big thing. And so, we'll see what happens. But, you know, dialog is always good. I don't think that there was any big takeaways coming out of China.

BERMAN: Why do you think that's the biggest thing coming out of this meeting, the fact that there's no, as you put it, there's -- the biggest takeaway is there's no takeaways. Why is that so important?

MEEKS: Well, because oftentimes when Trump goes somewhere, there is a problem. You know, he comes back to the United States, he creates a bigger tariff problem, or he insults an ally if he's talking to our ally, or if he's talking to Putin, he's overshadowed therein. And so those becomes the big highlights of businesses, you know, would come back because of uncertainty, what's taking place. So, you get nervous now depending upon where he goes and who he's talking to.

So, but, fortunately, in this scenario, the big takeaway, there's no big takeaway.

BERMAN: What's going on in Cuba. Cuban leaders are saying they've fresh run out of oil. The head of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, was just down in Cuba meeting with officials there. Again, you're the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Do you know what the situation between the United States and that island is?

Well, I wish I did. It would seem that I'm the ranking member of the committee, that the committee would be briefed fully on all of those things, that we would have open and public hearings so not only that I would know as the lead Democrat, but the American people would know. We have a humanitarian crisis. There is clearly that that's taking place in Cuba. We have a problem with the government at times, you know, in Cuba. But the one that's suffering is not the government, it's the people of Cuba. It's a humanitarian disaster that's taking place and thousands of lives are at stake. That's not should not -- should not be what we stand for as the United States.

And why is it? It is because of Donald Trump and some of those same policies that he has put forth therein. And so, yes, I would imagine the Cuban people are asking for help. And

they're going to their government and anyone else. They want a change in the barricade (ph) that President Trump has placed on them in that regard.

You know, what -- substantial change took place once the president took over Venezuela. Venezuela was supplying some oil so that they had at the time (ph). Now, there's no dialog or conversation with the current Venezuelan regime because the regime is now a puppet of Donald Trump.

So, we'll see, you know, what takes place, but I hope that we are able to resolve something because I don't want innocent children and women and men dying because of actions that are taking place by us.

BERMAN: Of course, the United States says a blockade is in place to change Cuban actions and the actions of that regime.

But Congressman Gregory Meeks, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.

Sara.

SIDNER: Thank you, John.

The extremely racist live streamer, he's very unfortunately popular online, making money there. But now he's facing his first court appearance after being charged with attempted murder. We'll explain that case.

Plus, another shakeup at the Department of Homeland Security. A third high-profile exit in just a matter of the last few weeks. Who's leaving and why?

And here in New York, the earth opens up beneath a driver on an expressway. Good grief.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:18:30]

SIDNER: Very shortly this morning a live streamer known for posting extremely racist content and making money off of it is set to be arraigned after a shooting in front of a Tennessee courthouse. Dalton Eatherly is facing an attempted murder charge, among others. Eatherly and another man were shot on Wednesday. Sheriff's deputies say it was an altercation that escalated. But exactly what happened still unclear this morning. Eatherly is known for live streaming, hoping to bait people into a rage over what he says, including using racial slurs.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is joining us now.

Do we know if this all happened, the shooting happened because of his rage bait tactics, or was there something else?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. We're working to piece that together and get more information from the district attorney's office and also from the sheriff there.

But, listen, we're talking about Dalton Eatherly aka "Chud the Builder," as he goes by online. He's been at a Montgomery County jail without bond, but he is expected to make an appearance in just under an hour here for his arraignment and his bond hearing.

And he has made a name for himself online, sharing vile content, live streaming for hours, often going out in public and talking to black people and other minorities, using racial slurs, using the "n" word. Essentially rage baiting people. Content that's so absurd that even Nick Fuentes, a popular right-wing streamer, who's a well-known white nationalist, a Holocaust denier, has criticized "Chud the Builder," Eatherly, his videos.

[09:20:06]

Now, what we do know from the district attorney's office about what happened on Wednesday, that this was essentially a confrontation that escalated between Eatherly and another man outside of the Montgomery County Courthouse, just 50 miles northwest of Nashville. Both men were shot. They are in stable condition. And a witness told the "Associated Press" that Eatherly, the other man that he was involved with, was black.

Now, several hours after that investigation, criminal investigators ended up arresting Eatherly and charging him with several different charges, attempted murder, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment. And Eatherly, by the way, was live streaming. He appears to have been live streaming when this occurred. There was audio that was captured between him and the first responders.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EATHERLY: I walked past him. He was sitting on the corner. I walked up to them because they were -- they were pointing at me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-huh.

EATHERLY: They were laughing. They were pointing at me. And I said, what's up, guys? How y'all doing? I said, y'all like the -- you like the new suit? He said, walk away from me. I walked away from him. He came back up to me. He literally said, I have PTSD. I feel like I'm in -- he said, you start saying all that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) 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 was still wailing on me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Right. And the Montgomery County Sheriff did put this statement out, saying, "it is unfortunate that incidents like this are happening in our community. This kind of violence will not be tolerated, and our office will work to make sure those responsible are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law." Sara, we are working to determine if Eatherly has legal

representation. And, of course, we will be on the lookout this morning to see whether he enters a plea for these very serious charges.

SIDNER: It's also interesting to note what he said on that recording, because he admits on the recording to shooting him. But you can see that he's using -- saying, oh, this was -- I was defending myself. But we know that he does this rage bait thing and we still haven't seen that full live stream that normally he's live streaming at all. So, we are waiting to see what happens in this case, and I know you'll be following it.

Isabel Rosales, thank you so much for that reporting for us this morning.

John.

BERMAN: All right, happening now, Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks has announced his resignation effective immediately. Banks is the third high-profile DHS official from the Trump administration to depart in recent weeks. This includes former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was fired. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons is leaving at the end of the month.

Let's get right to CNN's Priscilla Alvarez for the latest on this.

And, look, you know, immigration enforcement was the hallmark of President Trump's new term in office, yet we're seeing so many departures from the associated agencies. What's going on?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it still is, John. And I would argue that the Department of Homeland Security does generally have a lot of turnover in the years that I've covered it. And what we're seeing right now is a changing era. We have Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who came into the department, is now the head of the department. And with that comes changes in the way that we are seeing the department conduct itself.

For example, less flashy and aggressive styles with immigration enforcement. And sometimes when these changes happen, that also means that the agency leadership changes. So, you see there two photos. You have Border Patrol chief, or former Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks. He resigned yesterday, effective immediately, telling me in a statement that he was proud of his work at the agency but was ready to move on and spend time with family. And we heard much of the same from the acting ICE director, who you also see there, Todd Lyons.

Now, again, this is indicative of the change that we are seeing under Markwayne Mullin. He is taking a more low-key approach to immigration enforcement while maintaining an aggressive posture. He's reviewing spending from previous senior leadership. And he's also returning a lot of authority to the agency level. Less of a micromanager, which was something that we saw during the Noem era.

So, in terms of the departures of Banks and Lyons, there's nothing to signal so far that this was Mullin coming in to fire these two individuals, so much as they are now moving on after spending about a year in their jobs and giving way to the next leadership.

We know the leadership at ICE is going to be David Venturella. That was announced this week. He's a longtime immigration official and also a former private prison firm executive. The question now is, who is going to take the reins as the U.S. Border Patrol chief? We don't yet have an answer to that, though. We'll learn more about that today.

But again, John, just to step back here, this is a new era coming into the Department of Homeland Security after a quite tumultuous one under Secretary Noem. And with that, inevitably, there are changes in leadership across the department as Markwayne Mullin ushers that in.

[09:25:03]

BERMAN: Priscilla Aalvarez, you do such a great job covering this agency and the entire field. Thank you so much for giving us that update this morning.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: President Trump, he's in the air right now heading back to Washington from Beijing. And to reporters, he said, a lot of different problems were settled with Xi Jinping. But the big question now is what does that mean for Taiwan?

And new video out of Florida showing the moment a suspect ambushed a police officer with a knife, stabbing him multiple times. What officials say saved that officer's life. Quite a mug shot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: President Trump is on his way home from China now this morning, and he's making headlines on Taiwan along the way.

[09:30:02]

He now says that he and Xi discussed Taiwan extensively in their two days of meetings. Told reporters that he has not made up his mind about the.