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Trump to Arrive in Middle East in Coming Hours; Hamas Releases Last Known Living American Hostage in Gaza; China and U.S. Agree to Drastically Slash Tariffs for 90 Days; Trump Clears Way for White South Africans to Enter U.S. as Refugees; Pope Leo Calls for Release of Jailed Journalists. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired May 13, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Trade deals galore, no stopping Israel, and a luxury new jet, ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, you could argue this is more than just a presidential trip.
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VAUSE: Yes, the U.S. president, on a four-day visit to the Middle East focusing on trillions of dollars in new trade deals while sidestepping Israel again.
A 583-day long nightmare is over.
The last living American hostage held in Gaza by Hamas released and reunited with his mom.
And while the U.S. president has banned entry for all asylum seekers, it seems there are exceptions.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They happen to be white, but whether they're white or black makes no difference to me.
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VAUSE: Fifty-nine men, women and children, all white, and none, according to the South African government, facing any form of prosecution.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to arrive shortly in the Saudi capital for the start of a four-day Middle East visit, which notably does not include close ally Israel. From Saudi Arabia, the U.S. president will travel to Qatar, and then to the United Arab Emirates. All three countries are expected to focus on new trade deals, as well as announcing massive new investments in the U.S. economy.
Saudi Arabia was the first country Donald Trump officially visited during his first term in office, and planned to do so again. That is, until the death of Pope Francis and his funeral last month in Rome. And unlike his first term, this visit comes as war continues to rage in Gaza, with neither Israel nor Hamas any closer to a ceasefire, and Israel increasingly sidelined by the Trump administration on a number of key issues, especially negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.
Live now to the president's first stop, that's Riyadh, and our Becky Anderson is standing by covering all of this for us.
Becky, good to see you.
ANDERSON: Good to see you, John. And here in Riyadh, we are awaiting the U.S. president's arrival just a couple of hours from now. Ahead of that, the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. delivering an opening message that the kingdom's decades old alliance with Washington is more important than ever, and that her country has completely transformed since his last visit as part of its vision 2030.
She wrote a piece in the "Washington Times," in part, saying, quote, "The Saudi Arabia that Mr. Trump will visit is investing billions of dollars in fostering new economic sectors such as tourism, artificial intelligence, clean energy, culture and sports. It's a dynamic society where youth are pioneering the future and women are at the forefront of the vision."
We're joined now from Washington by Mohammed Soliman, who is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.
It's good to have you with us, sir. You are an expert in U.S.-Saudi relations. Talk to us about that economic transformation that the ambassador was writing about from Saudi Arabia's point of view and what it hopes to achieve on this trip.
MOHAMMED SOLIMAN, SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Greetings from Washington, Becky, and great to be with you. Let me start by saying that the kingdom has been trying to change the nature of its own DNA in the past 10 years, pivoting away from oil to become much more of an innovation hub, focusing on A.I., building an A.I. ecosystem. That means data centers having access to chips, making sure that they are presenting themselves as a destination for A.I. backend.
What the kingdom hopes to achieve from this trip is an actual recognition that there's change that took place in the kingdom, that the kingdom is an A.I. rising power under the threshold of the United States and China. And the relationship should also be much more centered around A.I. when it comes to ships, investment, making sure that Saudi Arabia gets access to the right sort of technologies to be able to achieve its own ambitions.
ANDERSON: Is it going to get that? SOLIMAN: I think the way the visit is being presented is, yes, Saudi
Arabia is going to secure and get an understanding with President Trump around A.I. framework.
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We have seen the announcement yesterday in Saudi Arabia, but the new A.I. holding company, Humane, this timing is not a coincidence. This timing is very strategic. I assume that we're going to hear about deals around A.I. We have many CEOs, American tech CEOs in Riyadh right now for the U.S.-Saudi investment forum. So this is a fair assumption.
I expect if we're going to have these sort of big A.I. ideas, you're going to have agreements around how Saudi Arabia is going to get those sort of ships that are very critical to any sort of A.I. infrastructure build up in the kingdom.
ANDERSON: Yes, that investment conference, of course, later today, Tuesday, and President Trump will be making a keynote speech at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Conference.
Look, let's be quite clear about this. It is likely we'll see quite a lot of window dressing. I'm being told there'll be news on about 100 deals or partnerships. Some of those, of course, will be MOUs. But I mean, you're making a very good point here that this trip is not just about Donald Trump coming, as it were, cap in hand for the billions, if not trillions of dollars that he is looking for, for the U.S. economy and his America first policy.
But here and around this region, very specifically in the UAE, this is not sort of a blank check partnership these days. These countries expect a quid pro quo, as it were, certainly on A.I. and advanced tech as they build their own economies and power them out of their reliance on hydrocarbons, and attracting sufficient overseas capital has been tough for the Saudis. FDI declining for a third straight year and the recent fall in oil prices will further cramp these big budgets that are needed to sweeten this economic ambition.
How concerned are you about where Saudi is today and where it needs to be by 2030, which, of course, is the sort of, kind of, you know, the dateline on this big Saudi vision that was announced in 2016?
SOLIMAN: Excellent question. And I'll be frank. I cannot deny that the global -- the global economic situation is tough, tough for everyone. But let me speak about Saudi Arabia and the broader Gulf here. They play a very interesting role in the global A.I. ecosystem-slash-value chain. There are countries that they have the capital. They do have the land and they have the energy to build an A.I. stack.
So they make them very unique in this sort of A.I., the rising role of A.I. in the global economy, and what the kingdom is trying to capitalize on the question of energy and A.I. Energy and I are very intertwined. I would even argue that the main bottleneck for A.I. development and full deployment is not actually ships or data centers.
I think it's going to be a functionality of who has more access to energy and able to make compute is a functionality of energy.
And this is where Saudi Arabia, UAE, and of course Qatar come ahead of the rest of the world outside of the U.S. and China aligned ecosystems. And I think this is the biggest bet that the kingdom is making a big bet on.
ANDERSON: Yes, no, it's fascinating. Look, I mean, I just want to close this out with a quick discussion about geo-tech and how that fits into the wider sort of story of international affairs in 2025, where once we talked geopolitics, geo-economics, and we still do that, geo tech is this third sort of key driver these days, isn't it?
As the U.S., China, these Gulf allies look to power their economies into a new generation, can you just explain, for the purposes of our viewers who may not be as familiar with this term, what we mean when we talk about geo-tech?
SOLIMAN: I will do my best. But geo-tech simply is how states think about the question of technology and state power in the 21st century. If we are seeing that A.I. and emerging technologies are the central pillar of any sort of power projection. It's no longer about territories, it's about information flow. It's about internet cables. It's about compute power. How can we use this to our own leverage to be able to advance our own interest in the geopolitical support that we're seeing right now?
So in the case of today, United States and China are the two countries that are leading when it comes to technologies, and the two countries are looking to technology as a way of statecraft.
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And one of the aspects of why the Gulf is important is, this is a region that's emerging as a global swing region in the A.I. geo-tech competition, and the United States and China are trying to offer solutions to the Gulf to align with their own ecosystems. Clearly, clearly, the Gulf made a choice that we are a team America A.I. This is the term that everyone is using in Abu Dhabi And Riyadh and Doha that we're in team America A.I. and we want to be part of this A.I. aligned ecosystem.
And we want to make sure that we have the right framework when it comes to investment ships, and making sure that American companies are the main players in our ecosystem. But we're not going to be only investors. We also want to be partners and build our own indigenous capabilities, not just mere investors.
ANDERSON: Very well explained. It's good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed.
SOLIMAN: Thank you, Becky.
ANDERSON: And, John, that lends Trump's quest for A.I. and advanced tech dominance and his America first drive to boost U.S. manufacturing and capacity, of course, driving these partnerships and investments with these key Gulf allies who have enormous sums of sovereign cash to spend, but in turn will extract as much value for their own ambitious and burgeoning economies as possible. This is not any longer a blank check relationship, as it was in the past -- John.
VAUSE: It is still very transactional and that's how Trump likes it.
And Becky, thank you for being with us. We'll catch up with you next hour. See you then.
And the U.S. president is defending his decision to accept a super luxury jumbo jet as a gift from Qatar's royal family.
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TRUMP: I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person say, no, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane. But it was, I thought it was a great gesture.
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VAUSE: The president plans to use the newer Boeing 747 to replace an aging Air Force One, but retrofitting the plane from Qatar, described as a flying palace, into a White House in the sky, could end up costing U.S. taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. This gift is also unprecedented in value and has raised ethical and legal questions as well.
Edan Alexander, the last known living American hostage in Gaza, has been reunited with his family following his release by Hamas. This was the moment. An end to 19 months apart, 19 months of cruelty. Edan was serving in the Israeli military when he was taken hostage by Hamas during the terror attack on October 7th.
And in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, crowds cheered as they watched his release, which came after the Trump administration sidelined Israel and negotiated directly with Hamas, officially listed as a terror group by the U.S. State Department.
Here's more now from the Israeli prime minister on how Edan was set free.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): This is a very emotional moment. Edan Alexander has returned home. We embrace him and we embrace his family. This was achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure applied by President Trump. This is a winning combination.
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VAUSE: A lot more now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond reporting in from Tel Aviv.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To Yael, Edan Alexander isn't just the last living American hostage in Gaza. He's her son.
And this reunion is more than 19 months in the making.
Alexander, an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas on October 7th, released unconditionally in a gesture that U.S. officials say could unlock a deal to free more hostages and deliver a ceasefire in Gaza. Before that emotional reunion, a phone call to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff cell phone assuaging a mother's worst fears.
You're out, my soul. You're out, she tells him, grasping at this new reality.
YAEL ALEXANDER, MOTHER OF EDAN ALEXANDER: They just released a photo of you. You look unbelievable. Wow. You look beautiful. I love you so much.
DIAMOND: That photo of Alexander alongside a Red Cross official and masked Hamas militants gave his family the first confirmation that Edan was alive and well. In Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, hundreds joining in the family's joy. Cheering at the first sight of the hostage, whose name Edan, they've all come to know.
TRUMP: His parents are so happy. They're so happy.
DIAMOND: President Trump making clear he expects Alexander's release to lead to much more, writing on social media, "This was a step taken in good faith to put an end to this very brutal war and return all hostages and remains to their loved ones.
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"Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict."
A week after announcing plans to launch a major new offensive in Gaza next week, the Israeli prime minister now agreeing under U.S. pressure to send a delegation to Qatar to negotiate. But he is also vowing those negotiations will continue under fire.
For the families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, their fight continues.
ELNAV ZANGAUKER, SON HELD HOSTAGE IN GAZA: Mr. President, sir, all of the Israeli people are behind you. End this war. Bring them all home.
DIAMOND: Yehuda Cohen's son Nimrod is the same age as Edan Alexander. They were even posted at the same base on October 7th. But Nimrod is still captive in Gaza.
YEHUDA COHEN, FATHER OF ISRAELI SOLDIER HELD HOSTAGE IN GAZA: My son is only two titles, Israeli citizen and Israeli soldier. The only difference is the American citizenship.
DIAMOND: Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: A pause, not an end to the U.S.-China trade war, but enough to send markets soaring. After the break, new details on the breakthrough in talks, which ended with this 90-day pause.
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VAUSE: A 90-day pause in the U.S.-China trade war has brought relief to the markets and hopes of avoiding a global recession. On Monday, Wall Street posted its biggest single day gains in more than a month. U.S. stocks also erased all their losses since the U.S. president's so-called liberation day trade announcement last month that slapped a 10 percent tariff on almost all goods entering the U.S.
Under this 90-day deal, the U.S. will slash sky high tariffs on Chinese imports, down from 145 percent to just 30 percent. China will knock down its 125 percent levy on American goods to just 10 percent.
And they say no one wins a trade war. And this detente marks an unexpected shift by the Trump administration, which just days ago seemed to be digging in its heels.
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TRUMP: We're not looking to hurt China. China is being hurt very badly. They were closing up factories. They were having a lot of unrest. And they were very happy to be able to do something with us. And the relationship is very, very good. I'll speak to President Xi maybe at the end of the week.
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VAUSE: Live now to Hong Kong, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout standing by for more on this.
OK, so it's champagne and lollipops. Peace in our time. Cheering in the streets. There's fireworks and celebration. But what risk factors remain in all of this?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. After the euphoria comes the really key questions here. You know, global markets have been rallying after the U.S. and China agreed to dramatically roll back tariffs for an initial period of 90 days, but uncertainty remains. Now starting from May 14th, that's Wednesday, for a period of just about three months the U.S., as John, you just mentioned, will lower tariffs on China from 145 percent to 30 percent. China to lower tariffs on the U.S. from 125 percent to 10 percent.
And we also heard through an interview with FOX News, from Jamison Greer, the U.S. Trade representative, who said that China plans to lift export countermeasures including those export curbs on rare earth ingredients to the United States. And we also learned that U.S. tariff rates on small packages, otherwise known as de minimis, will be decreased. So this is why investors have been cheering the news. Chinese state media has been cheering the news. Interestingly, earlier this morning, the last hour or so, we heard
from Chinese President Xi Jinping. He's giving an address. A Latin American Trade Forum is underway in Beijing. And he talked about, mentioning that well-worn phrase, nobody wins in a trade war. Listen to this.
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XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): The century defining transformation is accelerating across the globe with multiple risks compounding one another. Such developments make unity and cooperation among nations indispensable for safeguarding global peace and stability, and for promoting global development and prosperity.
There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars. Bullying or hegemonism only leads to self-isolation.
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STOUT: OK, so we have a trade war truce for now. But investors and businesses, they want reassurance and they want clarity. Look, 30 percent tariffs is a sharp drop from 145 percent. It is still a major drag on trade and it will continue to lift prices. Also this is only for a period of 90 days. It's a temporary pause. And there is a number of core U.S.-China trade issues that yet to be untangled. For example, the U.S.-China trade deficit and also Chinese subsidies on everything from capital to labor.
Now, one Hong Kong based economist pointed this out. His name is Zhiwei Zhang, he's with Pinpoint Asset Management. He said this, quote, "This is only a three month temporary reduction of tariffs. So this is the beginning of a long process." And then we also heard from Jane Foley. She's the head of FX Strategy at Rabobank. And she says this, quote, "The overall scenario is not as bad as it could have been, but we still have a fair amount of uncertainty about where these tariffs will settle, their impact on world growth and central bank policy," unquote.
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So, look, 90 days is a reprieve. It is a welcome break from the U.S.- China trade war. But the clock is ticking. The U.S. and China have 90 days to hash out a final trade deal.
Back to you.
VAUSE: Kristie, as always, thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate.
Kristie Lu Stout live for us in Hong Kong.
STOUT: Thank you.
VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, dozens of white South Africans welcomed to the United States as refugees, with President Donald Trump claiming they're victims of racial discrimination and genocide.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check today's top stories.
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U.S. President Donald Trump on his way to the Middle East on the first state visit of his second term. He'll land in Saudi Arabia shortly. He'll then travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates later this week.
Freed Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander is now back in Israel after his release by Hamas Monday. The development followed days of talks between the militant group and the U.S., which had bypassed Israel to seal the deal.
Israel's prime minister praised the U.S. president for securing Alexander's release.
The sudden and temporary pause in the U.S.-China trade war has investors breathing a sigh of relief. The two countries agreed to slash tariffs on each other's goods for 90 days, a dramatic de- escalation, which has sent global markets soaring with happiness.
Fifty-nine white South Africans arrived in the U.S. Monday, the first ever to be granted refugee status. The Trump administration expedited their processing, claiming they were the victims of discrimination while still refusing to accept anyone trying to escape from war and famine from other countries.
President Trump is also claiming, again without any evidence, that white South African farmers are facing genocide.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: It's a genocide that's taking place that you people don't want to write about, but it's a terrible thing that's taking place. And farmers are being killed. They happen to be white, but whether they're white or black makes no difference to me. But white farmers are being brutally killed, and their land is being confiscated in South Africa.
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VAUSE: Very different point of view from South Africa's president, who said that the Afrikaners who left for the United States do not fit the very definition of a refugee.
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CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: Those people who have fled are not being persecuted. They are not being, you know, hounded. They are not being treated badly. And they are leaving, ostensibly, because they don't want to embrace the changes that are taking place in our country in accordance with our constitution.
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VAUSE: New laws which allow the South African government to redistribute -- redistribute property and farmland, without compensation in some cases, has angered many white South Africans, especially farmers.
Officials have framed it as a way to correct the wrongs of the past, especially apartheid, which ended more than 30 years ago.
Currently, black South Africans make up more than 80 percent of the country's population but own just 4 percent of the land.
Still to come on CNN, the new pope calling for the world to protect freedom of speech and the press. We'll have the very latest from his first meeting with journalists in a moment.
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VAUSE: The second day of testimony will begin in New York in the coming hours, in the federal criminal trial of rapper Sean "Diddy" Coombs [SIC] -- Combs, sorry.
Prosecutors called two witnesses Monday. One was a police officer responding to a distress call in 2016 after Combs was seen on video assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.
The other witness claims he was paid to have sex with Ventura.
Combs is accused of coercing women into days-long sex parties known as freak-offs, where victims say they were physically abused. Among the charges he's facing is sex trafficking, and, if convicted, could be sentenced to life in prison.
During his first meeting with the press Monday, Pope Leo XIV called for the release of journalists detained in prisons around the world. The newly elected pontiff pledged the church's solidarity with them and called on the global community to protect the precious gift of free speech.
CNN's Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb was there.
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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: The first American pope meeting with journalists, thousands in Rome to cover the conclave that elected him.
POPE LEO XIV: Thank you for this wonderful reception. They say when they clap at the beginning, it doesn't matter much. If you're still awake at the end and you still want to applaud, thank you very much.
LAMB (voice-over): Leo, joking in English. But then delivering a serious message, expressing solidarity with journalists who are imprisoned, calling for their release and emphasizing the importance of a free press.
POPE LEO (through translator): I am thinking of those who report on war, even at the cost of their lives; the courage of those who defend dignity, justice, and the right of people to be informed. Because only informed individuals can make free choices.
LAMB (voice-over): Not all his predecessors have spoken as passionately about freedom of the press, but this has shifted in recent decades. Pope Francis, a strong defender who gave many interviews.
After speaking, Leo came down from the platform to greet a group of journalists individually. I was among them.
I joked that I was now White Sox fan, the baseball team Leo supports and even cheered for in person at game one of their World Series victory in 2005.
Another reporter asking if Leo would play a game of tennis doubles. "I play, but not well," he replied.
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"I'll bring Agassi," one reporter said.
Just don't bring "Sinner," the pope replied, referencing the top men's player in the world, Jannik Sinner.
Leo said he wasn't planning to make a trip home to the U.S. soon.
UNIDENTIFIED We have a new pope.
LAMB (voice-over): But was happy to hear on the radio that since his election, more people were going to the cathedral in Chicago.
The pope also heard saying today, "I'm still learning."
I had met Leo once before when he was Cardinal Prevost. He struck me as thoughtful and a good listener.
Today it was the same. Leo is the second pope that I've met Francis and Leo with the same accessible and pastoral manner and a good sense of humor.
But Leo has his own style methodical, measured, and who takes his time before making interventions. Despite all the attention, Leo still maintaining a low-key approach. Reluctant, unlike Francis to take selfies.
But whether he likes it or not, Papa Leone is fast becoming a star.
Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Thanks for watching. WORLD SPORT starts after a short break. See you back here in 90 minutes.
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