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Trump Says Peace Agreement, Not Ceasefire, Best Way To End War; Zelenskyy Says He Supports Trilateral Meeting With U.S., Russia; Ukrainians Express Skepticism Over Alaska Summit Outcome; Source: Trump Discussed "Article 5-Style" Security Guarantees For Ukraine In Event Of Peace Deal; Russian Media Calls Trump Handshake With Putin "Historic"; Ukrainian Media Criticize Summit As "Shameful" And "Useless"; California Dems Propose New Congressional Map To Offset Potential Republican Gains In Texas; Patty Hajdu Orders Air Canada Flight Attendants Back To Work; West Virginia National Guard Being Sent To D.C.; D.C. Police Chief Retains Command Of City's Police Force. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired August 16, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:01:53]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with this breaking news. A European official tells CNN President Trump left his meeting with Vladimir Putin, believing the Russian president was open to the idea of a trilateral summit that would include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump has also confirmed that he will meet with Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday.

President Zelenskyy, who was left out of the Alaska Summit says Russia should face steeper sanctions if a trilateral meeting does not happen. But new U.S. sanctions appear to be off the table for now.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that. Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think the, you know, the meeting went very well.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: Conversations between Trump and European leaders after the summit included discussions of security guarantees for Ukraine similar to those between NATO countries, meaning if an attack on one, an attack on all. The summit did not end with a ceasefire agreement. And early this morning, Trump reversed his own position saying he now believes that a peace agreement not a ceasefire is the best way to end the war. We've got full coverage for you. Ben Wedeman is in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Kevin Liptak is at the White House. First to you, Ben. What is the reaction there to this idea of a trilateral meeting?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly the reaction to the meeting in Alaska has been mixed. Many Ukrainians were worried that Presidents Trump and Putin would somehow cut a deal that would be imposed upon Ukraine. That didn't happen.

On the negative side, many were hoping here that there would be a ceasefire announcement, that didn't happen either. So now they're looking ahead to this meeting in Washington on Monday between President Zelenskyy, President Trump, and perhaps European leaders as well. And President Zelenskyy has said he is willing to consider the possibility of a trilateral meeting involving President Trump and President Putin.

Historically, of course, President Putin has not been enthusiastic about that idea. He has always questioned the legitimacy of President Zelenskyy and in fact the overall legitimacy of Ukraine as a country. So it's a really good question as to whether this trilateral summit will ever take place.

That's several steps away, and there are many things to consider at the moment. Now, in general though, the impression that people have here coming out of the summit in Alaska was overall negative.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can talk about Ukraine without Ukraine, you know, that's my position. If you want to address results and problems, especially war in Ukraine, you need to talk with Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their meeting was really for nothing, no results, and even some shameful situation with a red carpet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I'm deeply outraged that America is welcoming an international war criminal who is killing an entire nation with a red carpet and military on it.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

[13:05:24]

WEDEMAN: And President Zelenskyy has also put out a statement that he is worried that in this sort of ambiguous period between the Alaska Summit and what comes next after Monday, perhaps a trilateral meeting that Russia will take advantage of this situation to push further on the battlefield.

It has made some surprise significant gains in the Donetsk region in Eastern Ukraine. And certainly this is a time when gaining more ground by the Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine will provide Russia with extra leverage when negotiations start or this trilateral meeting takes place. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Ben Wedeman.

Kevin Liptak, to you at the White House, what are you hearing about this Monday meeting involving Zelenskyy?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And certainly, all eyes are now on that -- those talks in the Oval Office that the President will convene organization for that. Now getting underway, you know, we really haven't heard much detail of what the President talked about in that 3-hour summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska yesterday.

The President himself saying in an interview that he didn't want to divulge too many details. And remember, there are only two other American officials in that summit, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. And so for Zelenskyy, I think a big goal of these talks in the Oval Office on Monday will be to glean exactly what was discussed, to ascertain some more contours of how precisely Putin envisioned this war ending.

And, you know, I think President Trump, as he's talking to the Europeans and as he's talking to Zelenskyy, has sort of suggested that Putin has not backed off some of the Maximalist demands that he has had in place for an end to this war, namely that Ukraine give up the entire Eastern Donbas region.

And so the pressure I think, will be on Zelenskyy in this meeting on Monday to hear out President Trump and to say more about how exactly this war will come to an end. You know, we did hear from President Trump earlier today on Truth Social, and I think it was significant.

The President sort of abandoning this idea of an immediate ceasefire before these negotiations will begin, which he suggested was a view shared by the Europeans and Zelenskyy, although there's no indication that any European leader or Zelenskyy has come to that view. You know, their position all along is that a ceasefire needs to be in place before these negotiations for a broader peace plan begins saying that Ukraine can't be expected to negotiate its future while it's under constant bombardment from Russia.

That was actually the view that President Trump himself had heading into these talks. He said that he would be disappointed if they did not result in a ceasefire. Now, he seems to be reversing himself, saying that the goal now is to head immediately to these larger peace negotiations.

Now, the other thing that European leaders say President Trump remained open to as he was briefing them on the contours of his Putin summit was the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine going forward. That's something that Ukraine has said will be necessary as part of any peace plan, essentially that the U.S. can provide some assurance that once the war ends, that Putin isn't able to kind of regroup and go after the rest of the country after a couple of years.

We have heard more from President Trump about what those guarantees will not look like than what they will look like. He says, for example, that NATO membership for Ukraine is not on the table. He has said that Europe will need to take the lead in guaranteeing Ukraine's security going forward. But he does seem open, at least to these Europeans about some sort of assurances moving ahead.

So if there is some glimmer of hope for these officials heading out of this Putin summit, it is that President Trump remains open to that in some degree. Now, this will, I think importantly be Zelenskyy first time back in the Oval Office since that kind of explosive scene back in February, those talks fell apart. He was essentially kicked out of the White House.

He and President Trump have gone a long way in sort of repairing their relationship, but it will be interesting one to compare how Monday's Oval Office session compares to that meeting back in February, but also how it compares to President Putin's reception in Alaska yesterday. He rolled out the red carpet. There was that flyover by the B-2 bombers, by the F-22 Raptors.

[13:10:01]

President Trump applauding Putin as he walks down the tarmac. It'll be interesting to see how that compares to what Zelenskyy is received like here at the White House on Monday.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it will be interesting indeed.

All right. Kevin Liptak at the White House, thanks so much.

So the Kremlin has its own take on how the Alaska Summit went. CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us now from Moscow. Fred, what reaction are you getting from the Kremlin?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fredricka. Well, first of all, it's interesting that Kevin just mentioned that reception that Vladimir Putin got on that airbase in Alaska. That obviously is a big topic here in Russia. The Russians absolutely thrilled with the fact that Vladimir Putin got the red carpet when he landed at the Elmendorf-Richardson Air Base from President Trump.

A lot of them are calling it a historic handshake between the two leaders. They're on the tarmac. The spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry actually literally said, look, for years, the West has been telling everybody that Russia is internationally isolated. And now they wake up and see Vladimir Putin walking on the red carpet on U.S. soil. We're just seeing some of the pictures on our screens just now.

Now, Vladimir Putin has now returned here to Moscow. He had some meetings in the east of Russia, but now he's back in Moscow. And just a couple of about an hour and a half ago, the first video came out of him speaking to his top officials about the summit there in Alaska.

Vladimir Putin saying that he believed that it was very worthwhile that it was a good summit and also that he was able to lay out Russia's version of the events of what's going on in Ukraine and Russia's position of how they feel things should go moving forward. Of course, as Kevin mentioned, it seems as though President Trump has now taken essentially the Russian line that an immediate ceasefire is not something worth pursuing.

That, of course, was his big thing before that he wanted the fighting to stop immediately, but rather longer term negotiations towards a larger agreement, which could of course take some time. And in that time, of course, the fighting in Ukraine would continue.

Now the Russians seem to be very happy with what they're hearing from the White House, what they're hearing from President Trump, and what came out in that meeting, the former president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who of course had a social media standoff with President Trump, I'd say about a week and a half ago, he now came out and said, look, first of all, the threat of massive sanctions is off the table, at least for now.

We heard that from President Trump in one of the soundbites earlier. He also says that he believe that generally, relations between Russia and the United States improve greatly after that summit. He believes there's a mechanism now in place for the two countries to talk to each other without threats and without pressure.

And then he also mentioned the fact that the Russians believe that now there is room, as he put it, for negotiations, while what the Russians still call their special military operation. Obviously the fighting in Ukraine still continues. Again, that's been the line from Vladimir Putin. That's what he's been demanding. That's what the Russians say they wanted, and that certainly seems to be the direction that the White House is now going in as well, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fred Pleitgen in Moscow, thanks so much.

All right, let's continue the conversation now. Bill Browder is the head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign. He is also one of Vladimir Putin's most prominent international critics after being forced out of Russia as an activist investor. Great to see you again.

BILL BROWDER, HEAD OF GLOBAL MAGNITSKY JUSTICE CAMPAIGN: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: So President Putin, I mean, he got the red carpet literally rolled out for him at a U.S. military base, a ride in the President's limo, U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer reacted to the visit in this way saying in a statement late last night, "Our fear is that this wasn't diplomacy, it was just theater," end quote.

So what did you see? And do you see this as a victory for Putin?

BROWDER: It is a huge victory for Putin. So Putin has two main objectives. One is that he wants to carry on with his invasion of Ukraine and achieve all the goals that he set out. And I should point out that he has never -- he's been extremely transparent and has never altered his goals.

He wants a total victory and a total capitulation of Ukraine. That's what he wants and he wants to keep on doing that. And he was stymied recently by all this talk about really devastating secondary sanctions, particularly when it comes to his oil industry. Vladimir Putin survives off the sale of oil to China, India, and Turkey. That Russia gets somewhere between $300 billion and $400 billion from the sale of oil to those countries. And there was a threat of those sanctions from Donald Trump. And so Putin was in a position where he had to achieve two objectives.

One, he wants to carry on, and two, he wanted to prevent those sanctions from happening. And the sanctions were basically predicated on a ceasefire. And so he went to Alaska and God knows what happened in that meeting, but he was able to basically eliminate this condition of a ceasefire, which then would lead to those sanctions.

[13:15:06]

So he's got exactly what he wants. He can carry on with his war and there will be no devastating sanctions and which means that there is no incentive for him to come to any kind of reasonable solution on this war.

WHITFIELD: So we just heard Fred Pleitgen say that, you know, Russian media is playing this up as a victory for Putin. Just as you've just underscored, Putin's popularity back home, it doesn't seem to be suffering despite the war in Ukraine. And the economic issues don't seem to be standing in the way either.

So, there really doesn't seem to be any motivation for Putin to end this war. Is there?

BROWDER: There is no motivation. We have the power, United States and West and European Union. We have the power to make life really uncomfortable for Vladimir Putin. We can make it uncomfortable for him militarily by providing more military aid to Ukraine. And we can provide, or we can make life very uncomfortable for him economically by imposing these oil sanctions and by confiscating the $300 billion of frozen reserves.

All that stuff is available to us to do. And what I find so upsetting about the last 24 hours is, at least from the U.S. perspective, there doesn't seem to be any plan to do that. And so why would Vladimir Putin do anything other than carry on with what he said to be his maximal objectives?

And this idea that he wants a full solution is just nonsense. What he wants is just a long process that doesn't require -- where there's no deadline, where there's all sorts of meetings and so on, which is supposed to be a peace negotiation, but it's really an extension of his war negotiation. And that's what he's achieved. And anyone who knows what's going on can see that it's so transparent.

WHITFIELD: Yes. If peace is not truly the goal of Russia, I don't think anybody believed it ever was, but we are hearing from President Trump that peace is the goal. If peace is not the goal for Russia, then among its goals, is it trying to normalize potentially business relations with the U.S.?

BROWDER: Yes. Well, his goal is to achieve his military objectives, and his goal is not to have the U.S. get in the way. And to the extent that he can normalize relations, economic relations, it means that he's got more money to do what he plans to do. And it's -- I mean, it's just naivete in the most spectacular way to somehow think that Putin, who is a true thug, is going to negotiate on the basis of someone talking nice to him.

Thugs only negotiate when they're put under pressure, and it's just unbelievable for me to watch this and to see this idea that if you just beg him or talk nicely to him or give him a red carpet, everything is going to be solved and he's going to stop killing Ukrainians. That's just not who he is. He's a murderous dictator.

WHITFIELD: And with this treatment, I wonder quickly, what do you believe Zelenskyy, how is he preparing himself to go to the White House? Hopefully not for a repeat of what happened the last time he was in the Oval Office, but now having seen this kind of rollout? How is he posturing himself when he comes face to face with Mr. Trump?

BROWDER: I don't know. I mean, I really don't envy him. He's in a terrible position. My fear is what's going to happen on Monday is that, that there's going to be a sort of a second leg of this whole story, which is that President Trump is going to say to him, here are the conditions that Putin laid out. You have got to give up this, you've got to give up that, you've got to give up this.

And by the way, you know, the -- they'll have a free run if they want to towards Kyiv. What do you think Volodymyr Zelenskyy? And then of course, Zelenskyy has to say, I reject that. And then Trump says, oh, well you're now the one standing in the way between war and peace. It's your fault. It's not Putin's fault.

And I suspect that we're kind of moving in that direction. Let's see. I hope I'm wrong about that.

WHITFIELD: I don't know. We did kind of hear a little prelude to that already from Trump who said, you know, it's up to Zelenskyy.

All right, Bill Brower, thank you so much. Great to see you again. Appreciate it.

BROWDER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, Democrats in California countering the actions of Republicans in Texas. Rising tensions as control of Congress hangs in the balance.

And the Trump administration backs off its efforts to effectively strip power away from the D.C. police chief. But the White House is still in control of the department. What we're learning about a new power sharing agreement.

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[13:24:32]

WHITFIELD: ?Welcome back. Republicans currently hold just nine of California's 52 seats in Congress, and Democrats are now pushing to make that number even smaller. In response to Republican redistricting efforts in Texas, California, Democrats unveiling a new map that voters could vote on in a special election this fall as Texas lawmakers begin a second special session to get a new map that favors Republicans over the finish line.

CNN Correspondent Julia Vargas Jones is joining us now from California. Julia, what more are you learning?

[13:25:06]

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the Democrats in California are saying that this map will allow for more compact districts. They're saying that it will keep more communities together, go through splitting fewer cities and making minimal disruptions to the map. You can see those differences right there.

Currently, California has 43 Democratic seats and nine Republican seats. Stay with me, that will go up to 48 to 4. But California Republicans are already saying that they are going to fight for their party. And those five seats, those five Republicans whose seats might be at risk with this new map including the top northernmost district there with Representative Doug LaMalfa.

He has taken to X to say basically that this is unacceptable. He's saying that how does Modoc County, that very last county in the border with Oregon have anything in common with Marine County and the Golden Gate Bridge? He says, voters took that powder away from Sacramento just for this reason, calling it naked politics at its worse.

He is also mentioning that the legislature will be meeting on Monday. The final passage of this will happen perhaps on Thursday, Fred. All of this, though, will be -- I'm sorry, Doug LaMalfa, that's right -- all of this will be decided still by voters here in California, and that's part of one of those differences that Governor Gavin Newsom has pointed out of the redistricting effort here in California is that it will go back to the public.

They're saying that the public will have to vote on this, and it will be up to voters whether or not they accept these new maps and those five new seats for California.

WHITFIELD: All right. And we shall see what they have to say about that.

Julia Vargas Jones, thanks so much, in Los Angeles.

All right, thousands of travelers across North America are right now stranded. Air Canada cancels all flights as a bitter contract dispute with flight attendants boils over.

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[13:31:43]

WHITFIELD: All right. Happening right now in Canada, the jobs minister has just ordered the Air Canada flight attendants back to work after more than 10,000 walked off the job early this morning. The threat of a walkout had already forced tens of thousands of flyers to change their plans. And now, it could get even worse. The airline's entire operations have come to a halt, leaving about 130,000 daily travelers in limbo.

Let's bring in now CNN Correspondent Paula Newton from Ottawa. Paula, what more did officials say and will the flight attendants, do that, go back to work?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know what, that's the key question right now. Let's deal with what the jobs minister said, and this comes as a relief to many travelers. She had said that, look, the two sides, the Flight Attendants Union and Air Canada too far apart to really negotiate this in time. And remember, she pointed to Canada's vulnerable economy and it puts into stark focus the trade war that's currently going on with the United States. I want you to listen to her now as she explained why she's sending the flight attendants back to work. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTY HAJDU, CANADIAN MINISTER OF JOBS AND FAMILIES (through translator): As Minister of Labor, I have exercised my authorities under Section 107 of the Canadian Labor Code to direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the parties to resume and continue their operations and duties in order to secure industrial peace and protect the interests of Canada, Canadians and the economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, your original question, Fred, is a good one, are the flight attendants actually going to go back to work? I have a response from the union right now. And basically, they say that the liberals, that is the liberal government, are rewarding Air Canada for its refusal to bargain fairly by crushing flight attendants' charter rights. That is constitutional rights to negotiate. They have not said yet when they would order their flight attendants back to work or if, which is more of a concern.

And I want to remind travelers here that if they do go back to work, this is of course good news for everyone, even if you're not flying Air Canada, I want to caution, because it's chaotic out there right now in terms of capacity and prices. But even if they go back to work, Air Canada has warned that this is not going to be settled in a matter of hours, it will take them days, perhaps up to a week to get their schedule back to full capacity.

So, stay tuned, Fred. We'll continue to watch things very carefully because right now the union is not saying whether or not their flight attendants would be going back to work or not. And remember, Fred, we've got flight attendants right now that would have shifts starting in the next few hours. So, let's see what happens.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let us know when you learn. Paula Newton, thanks so much. All right. Coming up next, D.C.'s attorney general praising a judge's decision that forced the White House to pull back on its move to take control of the city's police department. In just moments, I'll speak with a D.C. council member about what's really happening on the ground in the nation's capital.

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[13:35:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. This just in to CNN, hundreds of additional National Guard troops are being deployed to Washington, D.C. as President Trump tries to assert more control over the nation's capital. In a post on social media, West Virginia's Republican Governor Patrick Morrissey says he has granted a White House request to send 300 to 400 of its National Guardsmen into the district.

Let's discuss now with at-large member of the Washington, D.C. City council, Robert White. Great to see you, Council Member. So, what's your reaction to this?

ROBERT WHITE, AT-LARGE MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: I'm startled, like most district residents and many Americans. President Trump is breaching democratic norms here and has said clearly at his press conference on Sunday that he doesn't intend to do this just in D.C., he intends to do it in Chicago, in L.A., in New York, in Baltimore.

[13:40:00]

But to turn Washington, D.C. that has 700,000 residents into a military zone when crime is at its lowest point in 30 years is startling and frightening for the future of our democracy.

WHITFIELD: That today's announcement along with the fact that the Trump administration did seem to back off a little bit in the last 24 hours, right, after D.C.'s attorney general sued them on Friday over the takeover of the D.C. Police Department. Attorney General Pam Bondi has agreed now to give control of the city's police department back to the police chief as a result of this judge's directive. Is that encouraging to you? I mean, it's almost like, you know, one step forward, a couple steps back, just based on what we're hearing from the West Virginia National Guard. How do you see all of this?

WHITE: In D.C. we are continuing to brace because we don't see the Trump administration backing off as they are rolling troops into the city. We just see them changing their tactics. We are grateful to our attorney general and his team and the mayor and her team for taking this to court, which is the only place D.C. residents have protection. We don't have members of Congress who can vote senators like other states. And so, this is the breach. And folks outside of D.C. should be paying close attention to what happens here, because what happens in D.C. will happen in other parts of our country next.

I should also note, Fredericka, some of the governors speaking out in support of what the president is doing has jurisdictions in their states with higher crime rates than D.C. WHITFIELD: Well, that's remarkable too, especially since you're now enjoying your city, violent crime rate being down somewhat 26 percent since last year. And, you know, you and I spoke just over a week ago when President Trump expressed that he wanted to add federal law enforcement, you know, to D.C. streets and did so, quite quickly, you know, after a former DOGE employee was, you know, attacked in an attempted carjacking.

CNN's Josh Campbell has just learned through an internal memo of the U.S. Secret Service, and that's been obtained by CNN, that more than 700 federal agents are now patrolling D.C. I mean, then I asked you if you were concerned, you know, about this being a prelude to a larger takeover effort. And now that Trump and the attorney general are challenging D.C.'s Home Rule Act in a variety of ways, and we're looking at images now of people being arrested, just in the last week and a half or so, what have been your observations about, I guess, the visual, seeing tanks like this, armored vehicles, more police presence, law enforcement, and what are your observations and concerns as it pertains to D.C. residents and this convergence of law enforcement?

WHITE: What's happening now in D.C. derails the progress that we are making. One crime in D.C. is one too many. That is why we have been taking this seriously. That is why we are at our lowest crime rates in 30 years. Driving violent crime down every single day.

Now, when D.C. residents, including myself, see troops and tanks in the street sent by the same president who praised the people rioting the capitol, who praised the people beating bloody federal and local police officers, we know that those tanks are not sent to protect us, they are sent to harm and intimidate us. D.C. residents are not going to be intimidated. So, I believe, and I fear that the president is setting D.C. up to push back as anyone would and that he would use that as an excuse to go further.

Again, these are not normal things in the democracy. We should not, for one second, pretend that they are normal or that they're being done for public safety, they're being done for power, and D.C. is being used as a political pawn.

WHITFIELD: And you bring up an extraordinary contrast. January 6th, the president had the power to enlist, encourage National Guard troops, there have been many disputes as to that -- you know, the fact that he didn't do it and he just sat and watched what was transpiring on Capitol Hill in contrast to this, what's happening today with as D.C. is pronouncing violent crime rate is down some 26 percent. What is the ultimate goal that you see here that the president is positioning himself to carry out?

[13:45:00]

WHITE: The president is trying to federalize and militarize parts of our country. He is starting with D.C. because we are the most vulnerable. D.C. residents are the only Americans who pay federal taxes, who fight and die in every war, but have no protection, no voting representation in Congress. So, once he does this in D.C., the plan is to do it in other places.

This is turning back democracy, that is what I fear. And my biggest fear is that folks will ignore it right now because it's only happening in D.C. And by the time they realize the severity, the historic severity of what's happening, it'll be too late for our country. So, I need folks to tune in now, to step up with D.C. and protect democracy. We cannot have a president overthrow democracy. That is exactly what's happening right now.

WHITFIELD: D.C. At-Large Council Member Robert White, thank you so much.

WHITE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:50:00]

WHITFIELD: A new CNN original series, "American Prince: JFK Jr.," explores the story and lasting legacy of John F. Kennedy Jr. In this week's episode, John Jr., John as they called him, launches George, a first of its kind magazine mixing pop culture and politics, featuring superstars like Cindy Crawford and Madonna. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not exaggerating. There were probably 2,000 screaming Democratic delegates who thought that Jesus Christ was walking out of the box. They were grabbing them. They chased us to the car.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got to ask you about the party tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I hope you'll come.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who's going to be there? I mean, just a --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How exciting is this going to be?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be very exciting. I'm not sure he's going to be there, but apparently, a lot of folks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the 1996 convention where he throws a rager of a party. It's the kind of party that people are clamoring to get in on the guest list.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on a lot --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you expect this week about the connection between entertainment and politics? Is that what this party is about?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we'll see who shows up. But hopefully, makes it through a good party.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is that connection?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was just one event that everybody needed to get into, and that was the George Party, and we held it at the largest venue we could. They had to close it down because they had been so overwhelmed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining us now to discuss CNN Reporter Lisa Respers France. Lisa, I mean, just seeing this all over again, I mean, he really was very at ease. He just seemed to be a real natural to engage. I mean, I don't know, just see who's going to show up. And then, you had incredible people. You saw Chris Rock. I mean, what an incredible variety. People who were in politics, people in the world of celebrity. They wanted to be with him. They wanted to be a part of George Magazine.

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN REPORTER: Right. Because the Kennedys are the closest that this country had to royalty. And so, I love the -- even the title, "American Prince," because it's so true. And his ease with people, we credit that to his mother because Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis made sure the raise her children to just be normal people. She really pulled back from the whole Kennedy clan thing and made sure that they were around regular people, went to regular schools, and you could see that in his confidence. And I miss him. I did not know him.

WHITFIELD: Me too. The biking through the city and moments like that. I didn't know him either. But I think we all felt like we did a little bit.

FRANCE: Right.

WHITFIELD: Because he did seem to be in a way accessible.

FRANCE: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: In an unaccessible -- you know --

FRANCE: Unaccessible, right.

WHITFIELD: -- in not accessible way.

FRANCE: But -- and he also was a visionary. Because if you think about it, he had the foresight to understand that pop culture and politics weren't that far apart. And now, we have a president who's a former reality star. So, his mixing of politics and wanting that to be accessible by using celebrity and fame and pop culture was actually genius. I don't think anyone had ever thought of it at that time, even though we --

WHITFIELD: I think people really bristled initially too.

FRANCE: Oh, yes.

WHITFIELD: They were like, what? What is this?

FRANCE: What is this? Right. Because he -- I feel like he very much worked at proving who he was in that he was an individual, separate and apart from his parents. I mean, because his parents were such icons. And so, where do you go from there? And I think he was just intent on carving his own path. And that's what we were seeing with George Magazine.

WHITFIELD: Right. Iconic pictures. I mean, from him as a little boy there and then as a young man. And not just with his magazine, George, but with his love Carolyn Bessette. And I think people were in love with the love that they exuded.

FRANCE: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: And the wedding.

FRANCE: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

FRANCE: So, I mean, they got married privately, but once those pictures came out, they were just so beautiful. What a gorgeous couple, you know?

WHITFIELD: Yes. Just dripping in elegance.

FRANCE: Just -- yes, elegant, right. Yes. I mean, she had, you know, that kind of like that cool icy blondness, but not icy in a negative way. She just felt -- they just together felt otherworldly. And you know, just a gorgeous couple. Such a beautiful couple.

WHITFIELD: And we're seeing newer -- I mean, pic pictures that we've never seen before, we will be seeing, and have been seeing in this series of their wedding. I mean, everyone remembers the iconic pictures of, you know, him kissing her hand and all that. But then just their interaction, it really said they had a special something --

FRANCE: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- I think those pictures --

FRANCE: A special love affair, a beautiful wedding. But also, think about how difficult it was for her. Because all of a sudden, you're married to America's boyfriend, because that's really how we acted.

WHITFIELD: Right. Right.

[13:55:00]

FRANCE: Remember like when "Sex in the City," there was this whole thing of, you know, like they -- them being in love with John F. Kennedy Jr. And that's how a lot of people felt.

WHITFIELD: We all were, yes. FRANCE: We all were, because he was like such a beautiful man. But also, he just seemed like a great guy, and that actually is the magic of celebrity, is that we feel like we know these people when we really don't know them. And that's why we mourn so heavily when they're gone. And of course, that tragic plane crash, right, where both of them were lost and her sister Lauren, just horrendous. Horrendous.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lisa, we're going to be watching this new episode premiering tonight, 9:00 Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN. Thanks so much.

FRANCE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. The White House says the preside`nt of Ukraine is going to the White House on Monday. The trip comes only days after President Trump sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a meeting the president characterize as productive and warm.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I think those are points that we negotiated and those are points that we largely have agreed on actually. I think we've agreed on a lot. And I can tell you the meeting was a very warm meeting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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