Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Major Earthquake Strikes Japan; Lindsey Graham Honored; Trump Meets With Netanyahu and Zelenskyy. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired July 28, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: A diplomatic balancing act. President Trump holding key meetings in the Oval Office across two separate wars. See what we learned about his sit-downs with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Lawmakers and family honor the legacy of longtime Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. President Trump will deliver one of the tributes, and we will bring that to you live.

And dozens of people are unaccounted for after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake rocks Japan. We will have an update on the rescue efforts.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: We are standing by for President Trump to leave the White House for Lindsey Graham's funeral, as today Washington pauses to remember the life and legacy of the late Republican senator.

In the next hour, the president is expected to deliver a eulogy for the senator that he said was not only a patriot, but also his friend. Just moments ago, the president wrapped up back-to-back meetings at a critical time in two ongoing wars. His first sit-down was with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, quickly followed by a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Both leaders are in D.C. to attend Graham's funeral, who arguably was among their strongest supporters in Washington before he passed.

Let's go live to the White House with CNN's Kristen Holmes. She has more on both of these meetings.

Kristen, it's notable that, in recent history, when President Trump has had foreign leaders in the Oval Office, he brings in the media to ask questions. This time, he didn't do that with either leader.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He didn't.

And it's unclear why. I mean, we do know President Trump is going to be headed to Lindsey Graham's funeral, that he is going to be speaking at that funeral. Unclear if that played any role. I will remind you that, when Lindsey Graham died, he was supposed to give a prime-time address earlier in the week.

But because of that death, he was convinced not to do that. So, unclear if it's related to Lindsey Graham or because he wanted to have these meetings in private. We know there is so much going on in both of these wars. And we did have a readout from President Zelenskyy about this meeting. He calls it a positive meeting.

That's what the press secretary to President Trump said as well. He said that they discussed their access, Ukraine's access to those Patriot missile interceptors, as well as how to revive the diplomatic process to try and end the Ukraine-Russia war.

Just one reminder that, of course, in NATO, President Trump had announced that they were granting or making plans to grant Ukraine permission and give them the licenses they needed to actually produce those Patriot missiles in Ukraine, but that would take years to actually build up that production. That was something that apparently they did delve into.

And, Boris, just really quickly, one of the things we don't know because press was not allowed in the room was whether or not Zelenskyy shared some of that intelligence that he says Ukrainians have over Russia interfering in the war and siding with Iran, giving them information in that war, which President Trump has denied is happening.

SANCHEZ: Yes, President Trump has said that he wants to ask Vladimir Putin directly about that claim.

We should note that CNN reported that this was happening back in March.

Kristen, update us on the meeting with Netanyahu. What have we learned about that?

HOLMES: Well, other than the press secretary saying briefly that it was a good and productive meeting, we haven't heard much.

But President Trump went into this meeting with some pretty harsh words for the prime minister of Israel. This is what he said on "FOX & Friends" just moments before the meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi's telling me that because he wants me to stay involved.

I mean, I don't necessarily -- we have the finest -- because of the Space Force, we have the greatest cameras in the world focused. We know exactly what's going on. But, no, I heard Bibi announce that. I said, why didn't you just tell it to me? Why do you have to announce it to the world?

I know exactly what's going on at Pickaxe. It's not a big problem. We took out their nuclear sites, and we will have to take out Pickaxe if we don't make a deal. We don't make a deal, we will take it out very easily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So what he's referring to there, of course, is this Israeli intelligence that said that some of the nuclear reactors, as well as some of the highly enriched uranium, had been moved to Pickaxe Mountain, and he's complaining that Benjamin Netanyahu announced that publicly, instead of sharing it with him privately, because he wants to keep President Trump in the war in Ukraine.

[13:05:02]

This is something that Netanyahu was expected to talk to him about to try and get him to continue the fighting there. We know Netanyahu was not ready for this war to be over, but President Trump, I mean, some harsh words there, clearly saying that Netanyahu had kind of overstayed his welcome when it came to this conversation around the Iran war.

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes, live for us at the White House, thank you so much for that update -- Brianna.

KEILAR: It's fitting that on a day with these important foreign policy meetings that lawmakers honor a man who steered the Senate on so many world issues.

Today, Washington is saying goodbye to longtime South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. Earlier, his family, friends, and former colleagues gathered in the Capitol Rotunda to pay their respects. And next hour, at the National Cathedral, President Trump will give remarks about his one-time political foe turned ally and frequent golf partner.

CNN's Lauren Fox is at the cathedral ahead of today's service.

And, Lauren, Graham was well liked and deeply respected among his colleagues. How are they remembering him today?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, over the course of the last week, Brianna, me and my colleagues spent a lot of time in the halls getting remembrances from some of those senators that Senator Graham worked so closely with.

And whether it was a Republican or a Democrat, every single senator I stopped and talked to was willing to really tell just story after story about the time they had spent with Graham and his indelible mark that he had left on U.S. foreign policy in the Senate.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, who was a Democrat who worked so closely with Graham on issues related to Ukraine aid, said that he will never forget that, in the morning before that highly televised meeting with Zelenskyy, President Trump and the vice president, J.D. Vance, that he and Graham had met quietly with Zelenskyy at Blair House to try to give him some advice about that meeting.

And Graham was very clear with Zelenskyy. No matter what happened in the Oval Office, Zelenskyy needed to be clear and not take any bait, essentially, stay calm, cool, and collected in that meeting. Obviously, we know what transpired when cameras were in the room. The exact opposite happened.

And Senator Blumenthal said he was watching this all collapse on national television, this relationship that they had worked to build so closely between the United States and Ukraine. And he said the first thought that popped into his head is he had to get Senator Graham on the phone.

And despite the fact that Graham was very public in his criticism that day of Zelenskyy, in their phone conversation, Blumenthal said Graham was already brainstorming how to get that relationship between the administration and Zelenskyy back on track.

That is just an example of how powerful, how important Senator Graham was when it came to being a bridge between Republicans and Democrats in Congress and the administration, not to mention his conversations, his roles, his relationship around the world with world leaders, what impact that was having as he was able to continuously stay in the president's ear.

At a moment where the president's inclination may have been America first, Senator Graham made clear that America deserved a role in the world stage -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Well, a shock to imagine he won't be part of all of these discussions like the ones going on today.

Lauren Fox, thank you very much.

Still to come: Many people are believed to be trapped inside of a collapsed shopping mall after a powerful earthquake hit Southern Japan. We will have some new details on rescue efforts there.

Plus, new CNN reporting shows how some veterans are waiting months just to get a mental health appointment.

And then, later: A pilot is forced to make an emergency landing right on a public beach in California. We will show you that footage and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:13:09]

SANCHEZ: Turning back now to our top story, President Trump meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this morning at the White House for just under an hour. Next hour, they will both be attending the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, but their conversation earlier today focused on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Let's get some perspective on that with Jeff Edmonds. He's a former director for Russia on the White House National Security Council.

Jeff, thank you so much for being with us, as always. First, President Trump recently responded to remarks from Zelenskyy

that Russia is providing details to Iran about U.S. bases in the Middle East for possible attacks. Trump's saying that he wants to ask Vladimir Putin about it. We're working to find out whether or not this was brought up during their meeting.

You would assume that it likely was, given the heft of that intelligence. How do you read Trump's skepticism, at least publicly, on this?

JEFFREY EDMONDS, FORMER DIRECTOR FOR RUSSIA, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: I think he often sees -- he places a lot of weight on his personal relationship with foreign leaders, and I think believes that, when he's in the room, in the same way he can produce great deals, he can also really be pointed with someone that he knows and asks the question. He expects to get the correct answer back.

SANCHEZ: Do you think Putin would be honest with him about Russia potentially aiding Iran?

EDMONDS: No, not at all. I think he would say this is just Zelenskyy trying to stir up anti-Russian fervent.

SANCHEZ: Sure.

So Zelenskyy's post-meeting statement says that he discussed licenses for the production of interceptors for Patriots, Patriot missile systems, and other ideas that would help. What do you make of that idea and what others potentially would alleviate the situation right now?

EDMONDS: I think that, I mean, one of the main concerns for Ukraine is really protecting their critical infrastructure. It has taken an incredible beating.

It's been more resilient than people anticipated, I mean, but it's still, as we all know, has taken a real beating. And I think that, looking over the longer term, because it will take a while to produce Patriots, also looking at other different ways that they could -- he's mentioned intercepting anti-ballistic -- I mean, ballistic missiles and anti-ballistic missile technology.

[13:15:00]

So I think they're looking at different creative ways of protecting their infrastructure.

SANCHEZ: The backdrop of this is that we have learned there are concerns over at the Pentagon about potential munitions shortages. Trump has denied that, while also acknowledging that, at least when it comes to sophisticated munitions, the levels are not at where he would like them.

He pointed to President Biden, his predecessor, giving Ukraine munitions during his time in office. How accurate is that claim? How much of an effect do you think the war in Ukraine has had on U.S. stockpiles?

EDMONDS: I think it's had a big impact. I think that and the war in Iran has really diminished our stockpiles. We didn't have, I think, as much as we had anticipated needing, given the fact that you have these inexpensive drones that are -- that have these long-ranges and are explosive.

There's an asymmetry there. You have these cheap drones, you have these expensive missiles, and we just didn't anticipate over the last decade or two how many of these missiles we would need to counter these drones.

SANCHEZ: How could the situation potentially limit the White House's options, the Pentagon's options when it comes to getting Iran to the negotiating table and securing a deal?

EDMONDS: I think Iran believes it's in a stronger negotiating position in this point.

They have seen the U.S. attack and then have to pull back, and I think that they believe time is on their -- I mean, this is a competition of time on both sides, right? The administration thinking they can outlast the Iranian regime, the Iranian regime thinking the opposite.

And I think the Iranians read this as -- these reports as saying, well, we think we're in a stronger position and we can outlast them.

SANCHEZ: The reason for today's visit by Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel is the funeral service for Senator Lindsey Graham. He was a champion for Ukraine, even at times when Republican support for Kyiv had waned.

I wonder what his loss means for U.S. support for Ukraine.

EDMONDS: Hopefully, that has changed. The narrative last year was that Ukraine losing was kind of -- this is the administration, that Ukraine eventually losing was inevitable because Russia had an infinite number of soldiers.

That narrative has changed this year, and I'm sure that's one of the things Zelenskyy is pushing, is that this is a different war. So I think he's hoping that the loss of Lindsey Graham will somehow be lessened by the fact that Ukrainians are doing better.

But I do think it's an important -- I mean, he was an important advocate for Ukraine, and I think that's definitely going to be missed.

SANCHEZ: How do you view the late senator's legacy specifically on foreign policy?

EDMONDS: I mean, I think he was he was a champion of U.S. values overseas. He was a champion of values-based issues like Ukraine.

People have argued whether it's in our interest or not, but I think that he was a champion for democracy and a champion for the idea that Russia, a country like Russia, shouldn't be able to do these kinds of things in Europe. And so for that I think he's got a good legacy.

SANCHEZ: Jeff Edmonds, thanks so much for sharing your perspective. Appreciate it.

EDMONDS: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, we're expecting a clash on Capitol Hill, as Dr. Anthony Fauci faces lawmakers, his appearance set to focus on newly released diary notes during the pandemic. We're going to break down key takeaways from his entries.

And we're going to bring you the latest on search-and-rescue efforts after a powerful, powerful earthquake rattles Japan.

Stay with CNN. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:22:42]

KEILAR: We have breaking news out of Japan.

A major 6.8-magnitude earthquake has hit the southern part of the country. Officials have not yet confirmed casualty numbers, but local reports say several people have been killed, dozens have been injured, and there are many more who are unaccounted for, including people who were at a shopping mall and a paper factory.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we have been seeing in Kumamoto prefecture so far, we have seen a large mall partially collapse. And we do know that at the time of this collapse, about 200 individuals were rescued from the mall that were evacuated from the mall.

But authorities do fear that potentially several employees are still stuck inside and might need rescuing. Now, we don't actually know what caused this mall to partially collapse, but authorities are investigating an explosion that happened right after an earthquake, and they are looking at a potential gas leak that might have triggered that explosion.

Now, in other parts of the prefecture, we have also seen roads damaged, bridges partially damaged as well, fires breaking out across the prefecture, and, in one case, a train also that was overturned.

Now, fortunately, there weren't any passengers on board at the time, but it does show you how powerful this initial earthquake was and also the subsequent aftershocks. Now, we are also getting reports that a paper factory in another part of Kumamoto prefecture is getting some reports of people unaccounted for inside that factory.

They can't make contact with those individuals. So they are trying to ascertain whether those individuals might be trapped or need rescuing. As I mentioned, the Japanese government deploying thousands of troops to this region to help with rescue efforts. And Japan, I should note, is no stranger to earthquakes.

It sees an earthquake every single day, but earthquakes of this magnitude can cause significant damage and potentially loss of life. And for Kumamoto prefecture specifically, there is history here, right? In 2016, we saw massive earthquakes that killed more than 270 people and injured thousands more.

So authorities are very, very concerned that history might repeat itself and that we might see potentially an increase in the death toll in the coming hours.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Hanako Montgomery for -- reporting for us on that.

[13:25:01]

Still ahead: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office. We're going to take a closer look at what this sit-down signals when it comes to the war with Iran.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Moments from now, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, which is set to begin in about a half-hour or so.

Earlier, at the White House, the two leaders met face-to-face for the first time since they launched the Iran war some five months ago. Since then, their close relationship has shown signs of strain.

CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now live from Jerusalem.

Nic, what are you hearing about what happened at this meeting and what Netanyahu is hoping to accomplish with this visit?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, about an hour-and-a-half-long. Positive and productive is how it's being described.

[13:30:00]