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President Trump's Meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Ukraine War May Lead to Trilateral Summit Involving Ukrainian President Zelenskyy; President Trump Says No Ceasefire Agreement Reached During Meeting with Putin; President Trump to Meet with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Oval Office; Ukrainians React Negatively to Trump-Putin Summit; U.S. Congressmembers React to President Trump's Meeting with Vladimir Putin; Transportation Department Authorizing More Drones to Operate in Skies over U.S.; New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell Facing Federal Charges for Spending Public Money on Personal Affairs; Body Language Expert Analyzes President Trump and Vladimir Putin During Press Conference after Meeting in Alaska. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired August 16, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:52]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

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

We've got this breaking news at this hour. CNN has learned that President Trump believes Russian President Vladimir Putin was open to the idea of a trilateral summit that would include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That's according to a European official. Trump has also confirmed Zelenskyy will travel to the White House on Monday for a meeting. And after being left out of the Alaska summit, Zelenskyy 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 VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: 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 VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Conversations between Trump and European leaders after the summit included discussions of security guarantees for Ukraine similar to those between NATO countries. An attack on one is 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 INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly the reaction in general to the Alaska meeting was pretty negative among ordinary Ukrainians. However, on the official level, President Zelenskyy is welcoming the results of the Alaska summit. He says he's looking forward to going to Washington to meet with President Trump and has accepted the idea of meeting with President Putin eventually in some yet unscheduled trilateral meeting with him, Putin, and Trump.

However, Yuri Ushakov, one of the senior foreign affairs adviser for President Putin, told Russian state media that there was no discussion during the U.S.-Russian talks in Alaska about a trilateral meeting. So that's a bit up in the air at this point.

Now, President Zelenskyy did say that if that trilateral meeting doesn't take place or if President Putin is not serious about a final agreement, a peace agreement, then the United States and its European allies should tighten sanctions against Russia, something, of course, that President Trump had warned was in the cards, severe consequences, he said. But that seems to be off the table at the moment.

Now, today, we had the opportunity to go out into the streets of Kyiv. We went to Maidan Square, that iconic square in the middle of Kyiv, where there is a large and ever-growing memorial to the dead from the war with Russia, where we spoke to some people who were largely negative about the Alaska summit.

And of course, what we know is that President Zelenskyy has also said that his worry is that in this period between the Alaska summit and the weeks going forward, as perhaps the pieces are put in place for this trilateral meeting, that President Putin will take advantage of this situation to further try to gain ground in eastern Ukraine. They've already made significant gains in the last few weeks. And the worry is that this is a golden opportunity to sort of gain more cards to be used at the negotiations if this trilateral meeting actually takes place. Fredricka?

[14:05:02]

WHITFIELD: All right, Ben. And now we have that sound of the people that you spoke with. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't talk about Ukraine without Ukraine. You know, that's my position. If you want to -- 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 the red carpet.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, Ben Wedeman, thanks so much for bringing us the voices of the Ukrainians who are rather disappointed in all that transpired in Alaska.

Kevin Liptak is with us now from the White House. So what are you hearing about this upcoming planned meeting now with Zelenskyy there at the White House on Monday?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and President Trump invited Zelenskyy to come here to the White House when he spoke with him as he was returning from Anchorage here to Washington last night. And I think for Zelenskyy, the real objective in this sit-down is to try and get some more details of what exactly Putin said to Trump during that nearly three-hour summit where they were alone in that room together with just two other American officials with them, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the special envoy, Steve Witkoff. We haven't really gotten a great sense of the details of what precisely these two men were talking about. And President Trump actually told an interviewer last night that he wanted to keep a lot of the specifics under wraps, at least for now.

And, you know, this was a fairly lengthy meeting. We've only kind of gotten bits and pieces of what specifically they talked about. We do understand that Putin did lay out his view of what Trump calls the land swaps that could potentially end this conflict. The president told European officials yesterday that Putin had not backed off some of his maximalist demands, namely that Ukraine give up the entire eastern Donbas region. The European officials also said that President Trump seemed open to some kind of security guarantee as part of the peace settlement to this conflict, which they have said is necessary. You know that in order for the U.S. to provide these assurances that once the war is over Putin doesn't use that opportunity to just regroup and go after the rest of Ukraine after a few years.

Now, the one thing that we have heard from President Trump today came via Truth Social. He says that, essentially, he is abandoning hope for an immediate ceasefire and wants to move directly to larger negotiations for a bigger peace settlement. He said in this Truth Social post that all parties in this had agreed that that was a good idea, but we haven't necessarily gotten any indication from European officials or from Zelenskyy that they think that this is a best approach. And in fact, their position all along is that a ceasefire needs to be in place before these larger negotiations take place, essentially, that Ukraine can't be expected to negotiate its future while it is under constant bombardment from Russia.

But the president now says that that's his view going into this. That itself is a reversal. You know, as he was heading to Alaska, the president said he would be disappointed if the talks did not result in a ceasefire. Now he says that that is not the objective whatsoever.

And so all of this will be under discussion when Zelenskyy is here on Monday. We should note, this will be his first time back in the Oval Office after that quite ugly scene back in February where the president and vice president were kind of berating him. Eventually, he was essentially kicked out of the White House. President Trump and Zelenskyy have gone to lengths to repair their relationship since then. Zelenskyy has been kind of coached by European leaders about a better approach to the U.S. president.

So it will be interesting to compare, one, how this meeting on Monday looks compared to what the meeting was like in February, but also to compare it to the reception that Putin received in Anchorage yesterday. You had that red carpet, you had the flyover with the B-2 bombers and the F-22 raptors. You had the president applauding him there on the Elmendorf tarmac. So it will be notable to see how that compares with the reception that Zelenskyy receives here at the White House on Monday.

WHITFIELD: Right. It will be fascinating. Kevin Liptak and Ben Wedeman also joining us from Kyiv, thanks to both of you.

All right, both Trump and Putin are spinning the summit as progress toward ending the war in Ukraine. One Ukrainian member of parliament says Ukraine, with a bit of sarcasm in the voice, Ukraine is now being told it's responsible for making peace in a war it didn't start.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:10:01]

INNA SOVSUN, UKRAINIAN LAWMAKER: The whole mood of yesterday's summit has been juxtapositions against the meeting of Trump and President Zelenskyy in the oval, right. And the mood and the vibe of that meeting was very different. And it felt like in Oval when he was meeting President Zelenskyy, he was meeting with the enemy. While here he was meeting with a, well not probably a friend, but a potential partner. And that is, of course, a very scary perspective for all of us.

The red carpet has been an offense to all Ukrainians, frankly speaking. The red carpet to someone who has killed, raped, terrorized the whole nation is, frankly, just not something that the leader of the free world should be offering.

So we are seeing very little sign that this can go the right direction for us. There is very little hope that there will be any pressure put on President Putin. We have actually heard President Trump saying that as of right now, we're not discussing any sanctions because I can see that Putin is willing to end this war. Well, we have heard him trying to end this war with drones attacks this night, right. So of course, that is, that all seems that again, Ukraine is being made responsible for making peace. But we didn't make this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's bring in Simon Shuster. He is a senior correspondent at "Time" and author of the book "The Showman" about Volodymyr Zelenskyy. So we just heard from the Ukrainian politician there saying she was basically appalled at the reception that Putin got on American soil. Collectively, it sounds like other Ukrainian citizens are feeling the same way, that Ukraine should not be in a position now of trying to settle this war that it didn't even start.

SIMON SHUSTER, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, "TIME": That's right. But it's also a vulnerability that President Zelenskyy and his team have sensed for a while. They've been told and they've internalized the fact that President Trump often tends to agree with the last person he spoke to. That is one of the reasons President Zelenskyy has always been so keen not to let Putin and Trump be in a room one on one together. He's always pushed very hard for at least the Europeans to be there or President Zelenskyy to be there.

But now we see the results of the summit in Alaska. Trump has emerged from it with a with a very different perspective, one very close to what Putin has been arguing for a long time, that the peace talks need to run in parallel to the war, that Ukraine needs to negotiate while being bombed.

Now, this is very new. Of course, on Monday, when President Zelenskyy visits the Oval Office, he's going to try to shift Trump back toward Ukraine's perspective and the European one.

WHITFIELD: You know, on that whole issue of messaging, I mean, already when you've got after this meeting this summit in Alaska, Trump saying that Putin is open to a trilateral meeting involving Zelenskyy. You've got this top diplomat for Putin who is now saying a trilateral discussion didn't even come up.

So again, this is a tactic, right, Russia likes to take. They like to look for ways to undermine the messaging from the White House. It didn't take but a matter of hours now. So who is right? Was there a discussion about a trilateral meeting or not?

SHUSTER: I think it's very clear from the from the press conference that we saw in Alaska after their talks that Putin is not eyeing a summit with Zelenskyy anytime soon. What Putin said was next time in Moscow. And it's very clear that Zelenskyy would not go to Moscow for any kind of talks unless it's basically to offer Ukraine's capitulation. We're not there yet. But Putin clearly was signaling that, yes, President Trump, you can come visit me in Moscow. That didn't sound to me like he had in mind a trilateral summit on neutral ground with all parties represented.

WHITFIELD: So on this upcoming meeting between Zelenskyy now and Trump at the White House, who can't forget what took place in February earlier this year? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: You don't have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We're not playing cards.

TRUMP: Right now, you don't have -- you're playing cards.

ZELENSKYY: Mr. President.

TRUMP: You're playing cards. You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War III.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I mean, you heard that Ukrainian politician just moments ago describe that Trump treated Zelenskyy as though he were the enemy. How do you believe Monday's visit will go?

SHUSTER: Well, I talked to President Zelenskyy, a few weeks after that Oval Office blowup, and he remained steadfast in his strategy. The strategy has been the same ever since it became clear that Donald Trump was returning to the White House.

[14:15:01]

Zelenskyy knows it's going to be tough, that Trump is going to try hard to get some kind of normal or friendly relation with Putin. But eventually Trump will have to realize that Putin cannot be trusted, that Putin is trying to fool Trump and make a fool of Trump. And I think that's the message that Zelenskyy is going to hammer home again and again, including at this meeting in the Oval Office on Monday. Whether it works or not, no one can say, but that has been Zelenskyy's strategy. At some moments in their relationship, it has worked. There have been moments when Trump got quite tough on Russia and began to criticize Putin quite harshly for continuing these bombings of civilian areas in Ukraine. But again, it often depends on who is the last person that Trump talks to. On Monday, it will be Zelenskyy.

WHITFIELD: All right, Simon Schuster, always great talking to you. Thanks so much.

SHUSTER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, these days drones are being used for just about everything, from taking videos to dropping off packages and groceries. The growing concerns, however, about safety coming up.

Plus, a major hurricane is rapidly intensifying in the Atlantic. We'll map out hurricane Erin's potential path as it has now become a rare category five storm.

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[14:21:03]

WHITFIELD: We're following breaking developments out of the Atlantic, where Erin has intensified into a category five hurricane with sustained winds near 160 miles per hour. The storm is the Atlantic's first major hurricane of the season, and is expected to double, possibly even triple, in size by the middle of next week. Right now, Erin is tracking above the northeastern Caribbean, with the forecast holding as a category five for at least the next 24 to 36 hours. Live Earth Cam footage showing the British Virgin Islands right now as the storm churns forward. Erin is expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents along the beaches of the Bahamas. Much of the U.S. east coast and Canadian coast next week also being impacted, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The Transportation Department is clearing the way for more drones to operate in the skies. But as drone technology advances, security concerns are growing as well, especially with major events like the World Cup and the 2028 Olympics taking place in the U.S. CNN's Pete Muntean has more on a new system that aims to prevent drone threats.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're good to go. You can launch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is what it looks like when drones are flying where they shouldn't and are about to be taken over. This demonstration by Israeli company D-Fend Solutions comes as drones are taking off as a tool of war.

ZOHAR HALACHMI, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, D-FEND SOLUTIONS: They are a threat for airports. They are a threat for critical infrastructure.

MUNTEAN (voice over): CEO Zohar Halachmi says even off-the-shelf drones can now be easily outfitted to drop grenades or carry explosives, like during the Ukrainian attack on Russian air bases in June. It is the latest concern of lawmakers on Capitol Hill as they're calling for greater coordination from federal agencies to protect large events, like the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): With minimal skill, bad actors can use these drones to launch attacks or create chaos.

REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ (R-FL): Potential for a coordinated drone attack on an airport, seaport or mass gathering is a credible and growing threat.

MUNTEAN (voice over): Here, D-fend's system uses an antenna to detect radio signals emitted by drones from the moment they take off, feeding information back to a command center in real time.

You essentially just create your own no drone zone.

HALACHMI: Correct. It's a no-fly zone.

MUNTEAN (voice over): First, a demonstration of a lone, unfriendly drone flying into our airspace. The system detects the drone. Then, with the push of a button, takes control, sending the drone to land in a predetermined spot.

So, this is our unfriendly drone here.

MUNTEAN (voice over): Next, a demonstration of multiple hostile drones in the air at one time, what's called a drone swarm.

It looks like they're all coming towards us now.

MUNTEAN (voice over): Once again, the system pulls the drones into its metaphorical tractor beam, setting them down in a safe zone and providing the location of the drone operator whose controls have gone dark.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pilot has no idea that we're doing this.

MUNTEAN (voice over): D-Fend says this is based on the science of attacking computer viruses, filtering out good and legal drone users from malicious ones. Even the Federal Aviation Administration has tried the system and similar technology from other companies during a series of tests this spring.

BRYAN BEDFORD, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: I can assure you that government's focused on making sure that we get the technology right and we get the security right.

MUNTEAN (voice over): The cost to buy this system, hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. D-Fend calls it a small price to pay to protect against a growing threat in our skies.

MUNTEAN: Why not just shoot it down?

HALACHMI: Because it's really dangerous. What you would like to do is to take that in the safest and controlled way as possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Pete Muntean, thanks so much.

All right, coming up, our deep dive into President Trump's historic meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, a look at what comes next as Ukrainian citizens sound off today about all the pomp and circumstance around that summit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:25:07]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It is a little sad and disgusting, of course, that Putin walked down the red carpet smiling, happy to be welcomed back into the democratic world. It must have been very difficult for all Ukrainians to watch, for me in particular.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, today, mixed reactions from lawmakers after President Trump left his Alaskan summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin emptyhanded. Shortly after the meeting ended, Alaska Republican, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski posted on social media that she's, quote, "cautiously optimistic," end quote, that some progress was made.

[14:30:04]

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer reacted to the visit in this way, saying in a statement late last night, quoting now, "Our fear is that this was not diplomacy. It was just theater," end quote.

Let's discuss right now with Washington bureau chief for "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution," Tia Mitchell. Tia, great to see you. So we saw Trump getting pretty close with Putin yesterday, looking very chummy like they were old friends. What are you hearing from Republicans on this meeting beside Lisa Murkowski about how this went, the messages -- the messaging, rather, being sent?

TIA MITCHELL, "WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION": So I think, honestly, we're not hearing much from Republicans. And when they are willing to talk publicly, they sound more like Murkowski, saying President Trump wants peace. We trust him to make peace. We trust that he's doing the right thing. They're very hesitant to say anything that could be perceived as questioning President Trumps actions.

But I do think that privately, especially those national security hawks in Congress are concerned, like many others have been concerned, that perhaps the posture towards Putin is not strong enough, and that with time it will be proven that the U.S. has not been aggressive enough to end this war, to help in this war.

WHITFIELD: Some of the movement, you know, from Republicans on Ukraine, you know, compared to the beginning of Trump's term, you can look at it this way. A new Pew poll shows a much smaller share of Republicans say the U.S. is providing too much support to Ukraine. That number was 47 percent in February. It's now 30 percent. What do these numbers mean and how influential is it?

MITCHELL: Yes. It shows that public sentiment is starting to shift away in questioning how much support U.S. should be giving Ukraine, questioning whether there's been too much support for Ukraine. That was part of the messaging, that America first messaging, that perhaps America shouldn't be giving so much money to Ukraine in helping it defend itself against Russia. That was part of the message that helped Trump get into office.

But also part of his message is that he was going to end the war on day one. That hasn't happened. And what the American people know is that Russia continues to attack Ukraine. It was not provoked. It's not, you know, saying, well, Ukraine did this and now we're doing that. Russia attacked Ukraine and has systematically tried to take away parts of Ukrainian territory. And I think as this war continues on, months later, I think there are American people who say no, the U.S. should help Ukraine, because how -- because Russia is the one that's at fault here. Russia is the one that needs to be stopped. So there is a risk again, because the America first message is a little bit different. I think the public is shifting a little bit away from that.

WHITFIELD: President Trump has said he thinks there might be a trilateral meeting and that Putin was up for it. We've since heard from one of Putin's top diplomats that he didn't recall them talking about a trilateral meeting. But I think what the world did here was Putin speaking in English at the end of that presser, saying next one in Moscow, and, you know, nervously, the president kind of giggling about that, but then saying that would, you know, get him in a little trouble. So how seriously is that tone being taken about what a next meeting with Putin might look like and where?

MITCHELL: Yes, I think overall there is just concern that President Trump doesn't have the right posture towards Putin and Russia. And I think there is concern that Putin came out of that meeting on Friday with the upper hand. He was the one who got what he wanted, which was to be able to continue attacking Ukraine without heightened sanctions from the United States, with the United States continuing to hold off to give Putin more -- Putin bought himself more time. And so when Putin makes comments like this that are not tenable towards Ukraine, there's not going to be, you know, a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin in Russia. That's not going to happen. It's not going to happen probably on Ukrainian soil either. So to offer that, you know, it's almost a mockery of the offer.

WHITFIELD: All right, Tia Mitchell, thanks so much. Great to see you.

[14:35:04]

Ahead of National Dog Day at the end of the month -- yes, there's going to be one -- CNN's Harry Enten has some advice to help take care of your fur baby. And that includes keeping your dog healthy and happy by avoiding ticks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICS WRITER AND ANALYST: Hey there. You know, summertime is a fun time for dogs. Dogs like Chuckster over here, look how cute he was, Cavalier King Charles spaniel, or dogs like Cody, my childhood dog over here.

But the bottom line is this -- summer can also be a dangerous time for dogs as well. Why? Because of ticks. We're talking ticks who, of course, can transmit Lyme disease.

And let's give you a few stats on Lyme disease. Look at this. Positive Lyme disease tests in dogs, get this, four percent, four percent of all Lyme disease tests come back positive. And guess what? Positive tests in all 50 states.

So how do you keep your dogs safe from ticks and, of course, Lyme disease? Well, here are some safety measures for you. Number one, lawns. Keep them short. Keep your lawns short. Remove all the weeds from your lawns. And get this, check for ticks at least daily.

Now here's an important thing to keep in mind. If, in fact, you find a tick on your dog, remove it as quickly as possible. Why? Because it takes at least 24 hours, if not upwards of 48 hours or more for a tick to actually transmit Lyme disease. Hopefully you can keep your dog safe and sound.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:41:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, after becoming the first female mayor in New Orleans, LaToya Cantrell is now the first sitting mayor in the city's history to face federal charges. Cantrell and her former bodyguard are now facing 18 felony counts combined, including conspiracy, fraud, and obstruction. Prosecutors accuse the pair of scheming to hide a romantic relationship and using taxpayer money for personal ends. CNN's Rafael Romo is joining us right now with more on the reporting that you found.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: That's right. And we are hearing from her attorney now, but it is a very short statement, and it doesn't really address the accusations, Fred. And the reality is that local media reports about the relationship and the couple's alleged conduct began circulating in November 2022. But it was not until yesterday that a federal grand jury indicted New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell on 18 counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud, obstruction of justice, and making false statements.

According to Michael Simpson, acting U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Louisiana, Cantrell and her former bodyguard, identified as Jeffrey Vappie, engaged in a nearly three-year fraud scheme that, in his words, exploited their public authority and positions. The city of New Orleans told the Associated Press in a statement that it was aware of the indictment and that the mayor's attorney is reviewing it. Until his review is complete, the city will not comment further on this matter, the statement said. We tried to reach the mayor by phone, then email, but there has been no response.

According to Simpson, the couple took many steps to hide their alleged scheme and perpetuate their fraud, including using WhatsApp to exchange over 15,000 messages, pictures, and audio clips in an eight month period, using the platform to intimidate subordinates, harass a citizen, and lie to colleagues and associates. They are also accused of lying to FBI agents and giving the government an affidavit with false statements. According to the indictment, the scheme started as early as October 2021 when the relationship began until June 2024, when Vappie retired from the police department. Simpson said he wanted to make it clear that the indictment does not allege that our relationship constitutes a crime, or that the alleged criminal activity occurred on merely a handful of days or involved discrete actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SIMPSON, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY FOR EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA: Rather, it reflects the prosecution of two public officials alleged to have engaged in a yearslong continuing fraud scheme that used public money for personal ends by exploiting their power and their authority.

JONATHAN TAPP, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Citizens of New Orleans work hard to provide for their families, and they expect their public officials to be honest stewards of those funds. And today's indictment outlines a betrayal of that trust by Mayor Cantrell and Mr. Vappie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Vappie, who retired from the police department in 2024, was already facing charges of wire fraud and making false statements, and as the Associated Press previously reported, has pleaded not guilty. Cantrell was known for being the first female mayor in New Orleans's 300 year history and was elected twice. With this indictment, she also has become the first mayor to be charged while in office less than five months before her term comes to an end. Lastly, Cantrell was listed as a guest speaker at an event launching a new Amtrak service to New Orleans today, but did not show up. It's going to be really hard to recover from this, and her legacy now in jeopardy.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right, Rafael Romo, thanks so much.

ROMO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:49:20]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Let's analyze all of this now, right. Smiles, hand pats, postures, and a pat on the back even, what does it all mean? There was a lot to take note of in the body language between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Friday's Alaska summit, those nonverbal cues from the two leaders.

Here with us now to help break it all down, body language expert Mary Civiello. Mary, great to see you. Sometimes --

MARY CIVIELLO, BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT: Hi, Fredricka. Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: Wonderful. So much is said sometimes non-verbally, so that's why we have you here. So, you know, a lot of analysts agree that Putin came into this with a great advantage -- an invitation to U.S. soil without concessions, the two presidents meeting on the red carpet that was rolled out, applause even from President Trump, handshakes, even Trump patting the back of the Russian president's hand.

[14:50:15]

So in that sequence, what did you see?

CIVIELLO: I saw two guys that were coming together, hadn't seen you for a little while. Good to see you. It was all, you know, all systems go, couldn't be friendlier on both sides. Trump, the gracious host. Putin thrilled to be here.

WHITFIELD: And then, as you see here, they're walking on the red carpet. Eventually they kind of saunter off to Trumps limo called "The Beast." Putin actually smiling, looking very joyful right there in the back seat, almost like making sure to the cameras, you see me here, right? What do you see there?

CIVIELLO: Oh, yes. I mean, he from the get-go, and in fact, throughout he just felt looked as though it was, this is a -- this is fantastic. And it is especially pronounced, you know, you really notice it if you think back to Helsinki, Fredricka, remember 2018, the last time they met. You know, Putin was kind of slouched, you know, in the after thing. And he just kind of like --

WHITFIELD: Almost like I don't really want to be here.

CIVIELLO: Yes. So and this time he was like in a candy store, a little guy in a candy -- like this is fantastic.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. So did you see in him kind of surprised that even, you know, as the general public, a lot of Americans expressed their surprise at seeing this kind of roll out, do you feel like Putin was exhibiting surprise or more so, like, yes, of course this would happen. I'm president. I mean, how do we interpret that?

CIVIELLO: I think that Putin looks like and in fact, the all the facts suggest that this was already a win. You know, arriving there and then the fanfare and so forth that you see right there the red carpet, I mean, he couldn't have asked for a better greeting. And honestly the outcome, you know, it just, this is just a big win for Putin.

I think the biggest contrast, Fredricka, was the before and after. So when you look at there, this is all systems go. Everybody ready? You know, two leaders that are ready to get some work done. That's the way the body language looked. The afterwards was so much more pronounced with Trump. If you look at the two --

WHITFIELD: In what way?

CIVIELLO: Well, if you look at the two of them at the podiums, at their separate podiums, Trump was just much more subdued. He was, as Putin, he deferred, as the host he defers to Putin. Let Putin start out. Putin goes into, you know, Alaska history and being neighbors and neighborly and all of that. And you've seen people at a at a conference table. And when somebody else is talking and is not saying anything particularly interesting or anything that you really like. And Trump, 90 percent of the time, was sitting there at the at standing there at the podium, looking out into the audience, kind of yep.

WHITFIELD: Bracing.

CIVIELLO: Yep.

WHITFIELD: OK.

CIVIELLO: And it didn't move the needle until certain points.

WHITFIELD: And then fast forward from that moment. At the end of the press conference, Putin seems to surprise Trump. That's my interpretation, but I'd love to hear yours. He seemed to surprise Trump by speaking in English, and then saying, next time, Moscow. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: Again, Mr. President, I'd like to thank you very much, and we'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon. Thank you very much, Vladimir.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: Next time in Moscow.

TRUMP: Ooh, that's an interesting one. I don't know, I'll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening. Thank you very much, Vladimir. And thank you all. Thank you. Thank you.

PUTIN: Thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK, what did you read there?

CIVIELLO: Ooh, that's interesting. I could get a lot of trouble on this one. Not sure what I think about that. I mean, Trump handled it very, very well. It was, you know, no commitment there. But Putin certainly was ready with that. He had planned that, you know he had.

And yes, that was, so he got a little reaction there. That's where Trump engaged with him, had eye contact. But the vast majority of the time that Putin was speaking, he did nothing but stare out. The only time he would do a torso turn every once in a while, he would kind of do one of these, kind of like that. And it kind of like --

WHITFIELD: I've got to have you on here more, because this is just so enjoyable.

[14:55:00]

CIVIELLO: Turn back. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Yes. OK. Mary Civiello.

CIVIELLO: It wasn't working the way he wanted it.

WHITFIELD: No, it wasn't.

CIVIELLO: But who knows about next time?

WHITFIELD: That's right. OK, we'll have you back because there may be more meetings. Who knows if it's going to be involving Putin? But we do know there's one involving Zelenskyy on Monday. Mary Civiello, good to see you. Thank you so much.

Calling it like she sees it.

All right, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, 2:00 eastern time. Smerconish is next right now.

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