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Two-Hour Donald Trump And Vladimir Putin Call Ends Without Ceasefire; IDF Ramps Up "Gideon's Chariots" Operation In Gaza; U.K. And E.U. Deal On Trade, Security, Migration And Tourism; U.S. Investigators Await Mexican Approval To Inspect Ship; Biden Diagnosed With Aggressive Form of Prostate Cancer; at Least 28 Dead in Storms, Tornadoes Across U.S.; FAA Investigates Radio Outage for Newark Air Traffic Control; 205 People on Lufthansa Plane Without a Pilot for 10 Minutes. Aired 2-2:45a ET
Aired May 20, 2025 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:30]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max, I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, no breakthroughs after a two hour call between the U.S. and Russian presidents. Instead, Donald Trump signals he could back off completely.
The Israeli military intensifies its ground offensive in Gaza as the threat of famine grows.
And Joe Biden speaks out for the first time after revealing his cancer diagnosis.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that only he can end the war in Ukraine and that he can do so quickly. But 119 days into his second term, his two hour phone call with Vladimir Putin, the architect of the war, ended without a cease fire and without any meaningful progress toward one. Still, President Trump insists the call went very well. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I said, when are we going to end this, Vladimir? I've known for a long time now. I said, when are we going to end this bloodshed, this bloodbath? It's a bloodbath, and I do believe he wants to end it.
Very tough situation. But I said to him, we got to get going. And I did say also, if I thought that you couldn't do it, I'd step away, because what are you going to do? We don't have boots on the ground. We wouldn't have boots on the ground, but we do have a big stake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Russia's president squeezed in the phone call during a tour of a school in Sochi. The Kremlin says the two leaders spoke about a, "Prompt resolution and the possibility of direct contact between Russia and Ukraine." But they did not commit to a location or a time frame, leaving the situation seemingly unchanged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with the U.S. president before and after the call with Putin. He insists he will not accept unjust peace conditions that Russia has proposed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Nobody will withdraw our forces from our territories. It is my constitutional duty, the duty of our military to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Yes, there are temporarily occupied territories now because of the aggression of such a huge country, but we will accept no ultimatums. We will not give away our land, our territories and our people, our homes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN's Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh brings us more on the impact of the Trump Putin call.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three presidents who didn't meet last week and three very different moods after one not very fruitful phone call.
First up, Russian President Vladimir Putin taking the most important call of his war casually from here, a music school by the sea. A ceasefire might come with the right paperwork, he said. And President Trump knows Russia wants peace. But no substantive change from three months ago.
Russia's position is clear, he says. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis.
Flash across the Black Sea to Kyiv, where Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has got through a weekend of record drone strikes. Nine killed in one on a minibus to see this supposed breakthrough moment for diplomacy just heap frustration on frustration. They don't even know who will meet next or where.
ZELENSKYY (through translator): Such a meeting could take place in Turkey, in the Vatican or in Switzerland. We are now considering these three venues. The question is, who will be able to organize this with the appropriate result?
WALSH: And the most positive spin from President Donald Trump.
TRUMP: We just spent two and a half hours talking to Vladimir Putin.
WALSH: Who five days ago wanted to personally intermediate between two enemies, but now seems tinged with a sense he might be stepping back. And Ukraine and Russia can talk about a ceasefire alone. Maybe in the Vatican. The conditions for that, he wrote, will be negotiated between the two parties, as it only can be because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: William Taylor is a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. He's also a distinguished fellow with the Atlantic Council. Appreciate you joining us.
[02:05:03]
WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Thank you, Rosemary. It's good to be here.
CHURCH: So, no breakthroughs after his two hour phone call with Russia's President Putin about a potential cease fire with Ukraine, with President Trump saying he trusts Putin and believes he wants peace, but when asked if he had a red line with Putin, President Trump said he did, but would not provide specifics.
And this while Putin refuses to make any concessions, repeating the line that the main goal for Russia is to, "Eliminate the root causes of this crisis."
Does Putin have any intention of coming to the negotiating table, or is he just playing Trump here?
TAYLOR: Rosemary, I think Putin is continuing to play, that is, he's dragging this out. He thinks that by waiting out Ukrainians, the Europeans and the Americans, that he can get what he wants.
So, I don't believe he has an intention of coming to the table, unless and until he's forced to. And there's the question for sanctions and continued military, increased military support for Ukrainians, that will be the forcing function, that will be the push that would get Putin to the table.
CHURCH: Right. And I do want to talk about sanctions, but first, I mean both President Trump and his Vice President J.D. Vance are saying that the United States might pull out of the war and the talks unless Russia takes steps toward a peace deal. But isn't that exactly what Putin wants for the U.S. to step back and leave him to his war in Ukraine?
TAYLOR: I think so. I think you're right. That is, I think if the United States were to pull back and not put the pressure on Putin, then Putin gets what he wants. That is the continuation of this war. He's not interested in a cease fire. And again, the only way he is interested is if he's pushed to come to
the table. So, the United States pulling back would not be in the interest of the United States or the Ukrainians or European security.
I'm not sure however, Rosemary that the United States will actually pull back. The administration tells people that this war, the resolution of the Russian war on Ukraine, is the number one, is the top priority in foreign policy.
And so, for them to pull back without a real success, pull back without making progress, pull out -- pull out -- pulling back without the ability to do what they said they were going to do as their top priority, I think that would be a sign of weakness, and I don't think that's what they want to display.
CHURCH: Interesting, because after his call with Putin, President Trump posted on social media that, "Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations towards a cease fire and, more importantly, an end to the war."
But what evidence is there to suggest that's actually going to happen? And why hasn't the U.S. applied those additional sanctions you talk about, to pressure Putin to come to the negotiating table. Why wouldn't they do that now?
TAYLOR: And they should do that now in conjunction with European allies. The United States coordinated last weekend with Europeans, the British, French, Germans, Poles, got together and talked with President Trump about exactly this, about saying that the next step is a cease fire, is a 30 day comprehensive air, land cease fire.
And they agreed that if Putin did not come to the table, agree to that cease fire, that sanctions would be imposed. That's the right next step. That is still the right next step. Push those sanctions on to Putin so that he gets serious about these negotiations.
CHURCH: So, what do you think President Trump's waiting for then?
TAYLOR: I think he has allowed President Putin to again, defer and deflect when the Europeans and President Trump last weekend agreed on this approach, cease fire or sanctions. President Putin deflected this by suggesting these negotiations, bilateral negotiations in Turkey on Thursday.
And we know that that didn't work. President Zelenskyy was there. President Putin ducked, he said, a low level delegation.
So, that's the same thing now, that is President Trump goes in to these negotiations, to this conversation, with the expectation that Putin would agree to a cease fire. And President Putin then deflects again and talks about more bilateral discussions or exchanging memos or pieces of paper. This is a deflection. What needs to happen is a serious effort to get Putin to the table.
[02:10:02]
CHURCH: And just very quickly. What does Putin mean when he says Russia needs to, "Eliminate the root cause of this war?"
TAYLOR: Well, he's been saying that forever, for three years, he's been saying. And what that means very simply is he wants Ukraine to surrender. He wants Ukraine to capitulate. He wants Ukraine to disarm, to change the regime, to be in a position where they cannot -- Ukrainians cannot defend themselves. That's what -- that's what Putin means when he says the root causes.
CHURCH: Ambassador William Taylor, thank you so much for talking with us. Appreciate it.
TAYLOR: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Israel is ramping up its bombardment of Gaza, even as it intensifies its ground operation called Gideon Chariots. Israeli strikes killed at least 39 people across Gaza overnight, according to officials in the Palestinian enclave.
This comes just one day after the Israeli Prime Minister announced that Israel is, "Going to take control of the entire Gaza Strip."
Meanwhile, the leaders of the U.K., France and Canada are threatening Israel with targeted sanctions if it continues its military offensive and blocks aid from entering Gaza.
On Monday, aid entered Gaza for the first time in nearly three months. Israel says it allowed five U.N. trucks carrying aid into the enclave, but humanitarian groups say more than 500 trucks of aid per day are needed.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more now from Jerusalem. A warning, though, some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The next chapter of Israel's war in Gaza is now underway, and it could be the deadliest yet.
Over the weekend, the Israeli military launching operation Gideon's Chariots striking Gaza with devastating force. Tens of thousands of troops now mobilized for the offensive with a new mission from the top.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We have intense, massive fighting going on, intense and immense. There is progress.
We are going to take control of the entire Gaza Strip. That's what we are going to do.
DIAMOND: Israeli strikes have killed more than 300 people since Friday, according to the Palestinian ministry of health.
The toll on civilians is once again rapidly mounting. Among those killed is Aylul (ph), taken from this world just four months after she was born into it. Her small body now lies on her father's chest while her family searches for words to make of it all.
They were all asleep, a mother, father and their four month old daughter, all targeted in their bedroom. Aylul's uncle Omar says. I don't know what to say anymore. We've spoken a lot. No one is looking after us. Not Arabs, not Muslims. No one.
In Khan Younis, mattresses and belongings are piled high once again as Israels new offensive triggers Gaza's latest mass displacement. The Israeli military ordering hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate, declaring the area a dangerous combat zone.
In that same city, anger and frustration boiling over, including at Hamas. Hundreds of Palestinians taking to the streets in a rare protest calling for the war to end and for Hamas to get out.
After pushing Gaza to the brink of famine, Israel, now agreeing to partially lift its 11-week blockade.
NETANYAHU: We need to provide a temporary bridge, minimal basic aid to prevent starvation. That's the current situation we're in.
DIAMOND: The Israeli government says several dozen aid trucks will be allowed into Gaza this week until a new Israeli approved mechanism for aid deliveries becomes operational later this month. Thousands more are ready to go. Aid trucks will continue to be blocked.
Amid the destruction of another airstrike in central Gaza, residents are paying close attention to ceasefire negotiations in the Qatari capital. But here, flickers of progress lead only to another body that must be wrenched from the rubble.
We went to sleep with hope that tomorrow will be better. And suddenly everything turned upside down, Raed Abu Elik (ph) says. My message is look at this. Stop this war.
[02:15:02]
More men eventually joined Raed to pull out their neighbor's body and carry him out of the rubble. Signs of hope now seem far away once again.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Nearly a decade after the U.K. voted to leave the E.U., their relationship appears to be entering a new era. We'll explain after the break.
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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. G7 finance ministers will gather in Canada in the day ahead for a meeting where Donald Trump's tariffs are expected to take center stage. Sources say it's unlikely any new trade deals will be announced. [02:20:06]
Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is warning companies and consumers have yet to feel the full effect of the Trump tariffs. He says the odds of inflation and stagnant growth are much higher than others have predicted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE DIMON, CEO, JPMORGAN CHASE: Even if these are low levels, you know, they stay where they are today. That's pretty extreme tariffs.
My own view is, you know, where people feel pretty good because you haven't seen an effective tariffs. The market came down 10 percent, it's back up 10 percent. I think that's an extraordinary amount of complacency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: A spokesperson says U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will try to convince G7 members to stand firm against China's unfair trade practices.
Britain and the E.U. are moving to reset relations almost a decade after Brexit. The deal signed on Monday lays down new rules for trade, security, tourism and migration, but not everyone is in favor.
CNN's Richard Quest explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: Depending on who you speak to, this new deal is either a massive breakthrough that ushers in a new era for E.U.- U.K. relations, or it was an abdication of sell out, surrender and roll back the gains from Brexit.
The two sides still remain very far apart, but whichever way you look at it, this deal does make some major improvements.
For starters, it gives certainty to fishermen on both sides of the English Channel by extending the fisheries agreements for another 12 years. Then there are the rules about exports from the U.K. of food into the E.U. It will become easier. There will be less barriers, and that should be a great boost to the British economy.
For tourists, the big deal will be the ability for U.K. tourists to use the automatic machines in European airports. They have been shut out by the various E.U. rules.
Put it all together, and this first summit between the United Kingdom and the European Union was a big deal because the well had been so poisoned over so many years, and now at least, there are signs for the future that they're going to get along just a little bit better.
Richard Quest, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: U.S. transportation investigators are learning new details about the Mexican Navy training ship that collided with the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, two people on board were killed and more than 20 others injured. CNN's Gloria Pazmino has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, a major clue in the process of determining why the Mexican navy ship, the Cuauhtemoc, went the wrong direction and slammed into the bottom of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The ship's propeller was going in reverse, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. In video appears to show the ship had electricity, but the captain reported a mechanical failure that left the rudder inoperable, making it impossible to steer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are working with our counterparts in the Mexican government to gain access to the ship, and hopefully with some of the crew members to be able to interview them.
PAZMINO (voice-over): The 300-foot-long vessel, with the assistance of a tugboat, set out from Pier 17 around 8:20 Saturday and should have been heading down the east river, away from the Brooklyn Bridge and out to sea. As it pulled away from the dock, video shows dozens of crew members manning the yards, a naval tradition in which sailors stand atop the mass of a tall ship as it leaves the harbor.
But then, in a matter of mere minutes, the ships course changes drastically.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And at 8:24 and 45 seconds, the vessel's mast struck the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge.
PAZMINO (voice-over): The impact sent some of the sailors flying from the mast. Some left dangling from harnesses and holding on to ripped sails. The collision left two crew members dead, a cadet and a sailor killed after sustaining blunt force trauma after falling from the mast.
More than a dozen crew members were injured. Two remain in the hospital.
NTSB investigators are working with the Mexican government to get access to the ship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once getting aboard, the vessel will make a full assessment of any recording devices.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Investigators are also looking at the rate of acceleration and the role of the tugboat, which was directing the Cuauhtemoc out of the harbor that night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do have a bit of time where it was maintaining a constant speed of about two, 2.3 knots, and then the speed began to increase. Part of our investigation will be to look into the tugboats policies and procedures for the operation, helping the vessel get off the pier.
[02:25:04]
PAZMINO (voice-over): Today, the ship sat with its mangled sails and broken masts at Pier 36, downtown Manhattan, where people have started building a memorial. 94 members of the crew remain on the ship to help ensure it can be safely moved to a salvage yard.
PAZMINO: Without a doubt, a traumatic event for the crew of the Cuauhtemoc. The majority of them have gone back to Mexico, but 94 members of the crew remain on board. Investigators are still working to interview some of them, including the ship's captain.
Now, in the last two days, there's been a memorial that's been building here at the pier where the Cuauhtemoc has been docked since the accident on Saturday. People have been bringing flowers and candles. They've been stopping here to pay their respects, and you can just see how emotional it has been for the Mexican community.
Now, the crew that remains on the ship has been working to repair and secure one of the broken mass that's going to be key before the Cuauhtemoc can be moved from this pier to another yard where it will be fixed before it can set sail again.
Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Joe Biden is addressing his cancer diagnosis for the first time. In a post on social media, what the former U.S. president is saying, that's just ahead.
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[02:30:58]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Welcome back, everyone. U.S. President Donald Trump says news of Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis is very sad, but is also questioning why it wasn't revealed sooner, even though the diagnosis was only made on Friday. The former president's personal office said over the weekend that Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Biden himself is speaking out about the news. CNN's Arlette Saenz has more.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Former President Joe Biden addressed his cancer diagnosis for the first time in a social media post on Monday, writing "cancer touches us all." Biden has spent the past few days at his home in Wilmington, Delaware with his family as they are working to determine what kind of treatment he will pursue after receiving this cancer diagnosis on Friday. Doctors informed him that he has an aggressive form of prostate cancer, which has spread to his bones.
Now, some of the treatment options, medical experts say, that he could pursue include hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and radiation. But for Biden's part, he appeared to be in good spirits. In this post on social media, he had posted a selfie of himself and his wife, former First Lady Jill Biden writing, "Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support."
Now, Biden's cancer diagnosis actually came two weeks before the Biden family was set to mark the 10-year anniversary of his son, Beau Biden's passing from brain cancer. So, this is already a very emotional period of the year for the Biden family and this new diagnosis adds another layer of emotion to that. But, the diagnosis is also coming as there has been a renewed spotlight put on Biden's time in office, particularly the end of it.
A forthcoming book from our colleague, Jake Tapper and Axios Reporter Alex Thompson details some signs of physical and mental decline that were seen in Biden as he was leaving office. So that is another challenging point for this family as they are not only grappling with the cancer diagnosis and the next steps forward, but also having many questions raised about Biden's waning years when he was in the White House.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: It happened again, another radio outage at the facility controlling Newark Airport flights. Coming up, we explain what's behind the latest in a sequence of alarming failures. Back with that and more in just a moment.
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[02:38:20]
CHURCH: Severe storms and tornadoes across the Central and Eastern U.S. have now killed at least 28 people and millions more still face the threat of dangerous weather this week. More than 1,500 reports of damaging wind gusts, hail and tornadoes have been made since Wednesday. Parts of Kentucky have been hit especially hard. 19 deaths are confirmed in that state alone. Police in Laurel County say the devastation there is overwhelming.
The Federal Aviation Administration says air traffic controllers responsible for New Jersey's. Newark Airport suffered a two-second radio outage on Monday. The FAA is investigating and says all aircraft remained safely separated during the incident, but the outage is the latest in a series of system disruptions. Two 90-second blackouts on April 28th and May 9th expose critical issues with the dated equipment at the facility. The FAA said later that a newly installed software patch and backup line would help to mitigate future outages.
205 passengers and crew members were onboard a Lufthansa flight with no pilot for 10 minutes. That is according to a Spanish investigation. It happened in February of last year when the pilot left to use the lavatory, leaving the co-pilot alone in the cockpit. The co-pilot fainted and unintentionally operated the controls, though autopilot was active and kept the plane stable. [02:40:00]
There was no response when air traffic control tried to reach the co- pilot. The captain finally got into the cockpit using an emergency code to open the door. After getting first Aid, the co-pilot regained consciousness and the plane landed safely. Lufthansa told CNN, it did its own investigation, but cannot comment further on the report.
I want to thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then I'll be back at the top of the hour with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.
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[02:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
