Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
European Officials: Trump Says He Wants To Arrange A Summit With Himself, Zelenskyy And Putin; Hurricane Erin Rapidly Intensifies To Category 5 Storm; California Dems Have New Redistricting Map To Counter Texas; National Guard Troops Deployed To Washington, D.C. Ukrainian Prisoner Of War Returns Home After Three Years In Russia; West Virginia National Guard Sent To D.C. As White House Escalates Police Takeover; "American Prince: JFK JR" New Episode Tonight At 9:00 P.M. ET/PT. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired August 16, 2025 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:01:29]
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York, sitting in for Jessica Dean.
New tonight, President Donald Trump telling European leaders he wants to arrange a meeting by next Friday between himself, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump is set to meet with Zelenskyy on Monday in Washington, D.C., after Trump met with Putin yesterday in Alaska.
Meanwhile, European officials familiar with Trump's accounting of yesterday's summit say Putin wants to claim all of Ukraine's Donbas region in exchange for freezing the current front lines in the rest of Ukraine. You can see a picture of some of where the frontline territory acquisitions have been to this point.
Putin reportedly also said he would promise to not attack Ukraine or other European nations again.
CNN's Senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak joins us now. So, Kevin, what do we know about the president's upcoming meeting with Zelenskyy?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and the president invited the Ukrainian leader when they spoke last night as the president was returning here to Washington from Anchorage.
I think for Zelenskyy, the objective is to really get more details from the president about what precisely he discussed with Putin over the course of their nearly three-hour summit in Alaska.
You know, we've gotten bits and pieces of what the two men talked about, but we haven't really gotten a full picture of how that entire multi-hour summit proceeded.
And Zelenskyy, I think, wants to learn more from the president about how exactly Vladimir Putin envisions this war ending.
You know, we've heard from European officials that Putin told Trump that he was not backing off some of his maximalist demands when it comes to the territorial concessions he's looking for. Namely, he wants Ukraine to give up the entire Donbas region.
But I think the rest of what a prospective peace agreement looks like remains somewhat fuzzy. And Zelenskyy, I think, is interested in getting more details.
You know, the understanding from European officials is that Zelenskyy will not be alone in that meeting. It is their impression that another European leader will join him for those talks. They have some names in mind, but they haven't necessarily clarified who that will be.
The hope is that that could potentially prevent the kind of scene we saw play out in February, which was the last time that Zelenskyy was in the Oval Office. And you saw that kind of ugly, explosive scene with the president, the vice president berating Zelenskyy, saying that he was ungrateful and then essentially kicking him out of the White House.
You know, President Trump and Zelenskyy have gone to lengths to repair their relationship since then. A number of European leaders have kind of coached Zelenskyy on how to approach the president, how to better manage that relationship. And so it will be interesting on Monday to try and compare the last meeting to this meeting to see how it goes.
It will also be interesting to see and compare the reception that Zelenskyy receives on Monday to the reception that Putin received on Friday in Alaska. You know, we were there on the tarmac and it was pretty striking to see the red carpet rolled out, to see the bombers and fighter jets fly overhead, to see President Trump applauding as Putin walked towards him.
Whether Zelenskyy receives a similar reception here at the White House on Monday, I think remains to be seen.
[17:04:51]
JIMENEZ: Kevin Liptak at the White House, appreciate it.
I want to bring in CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman, who's in Kyiv for us. So Ben, obviously the stakes very high in this meeting, as they typically are between these two leaders. What does Ukraine want out of this week's upcoming talks?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think as Kevin was saying that he definitely wants to get a better read on what happened during that three-hour summit in Alaska, and particularly perhaps what happened in the president's limousine.
What did they talk about? Did they agree to something because we did hear President Trump in that interview with Fox's Sean Hannity, talk about -- it's up to Zelenskyy, it's up to Ukraine to accept a deal -- the deal. And the question is, is there a deal? So I think it's the purpose of
that meeting is going to be one to get clarification at this point.
But we can see what the Ukrainians are worried about. They don't trust the Russians, not surprisingly so. Now, just a few minutes ago, the president put out -- President Zelenskyy put out a statement on Telegram in which he was thanking Balkan states for their support -- support for Ukraine at the moment.
But he also expressed the worry that Russia, which many of the European powers that back Ukraine as well as Ukraine itself, were hoping would agree to at least, at a minimum, a ceasefire.
Russia did not agree to that, he said in the statement. And if they can't agree to something so simple as to a halt temporarily in the fighting, he is questioning how they are going to be able to live in peace with their neighbor, Ukraine.
So there is a real level of deep distrust here, and we heard that distrust when we were out in Kyiv's iconic Maidan Square, where we spoke to people about how they reacted to the Alaska summit and the reaction was generally negative.
(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, resolve some 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)
WEDEMAN: And of course, there was this disappointment. But there's still hope that perhaps, despite the differences in the past between President Zelenskyy and President Trump, that they may be able to make some progress toward peace here in Ukraine, Omar.
JIMENEZ: All right. Ben Wedeman in Kyiv, appreciate the reporting, as always.
Joining us now is CNN's senior military analyst and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Admiral James Stavridis. James Stavridis. He is also a partner at the investment firm the Carlyle Group and wrote "The Admiral's Bookshelf".
Admiral Stavridis, really appreciate you being here.
So let's just start with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Obviously, high stakes meeting coming in on Monday, one that that did not go well, at least the last time Zelenskyy was at the White House.
What does the Ukrainian leader need to try and get out of Mondays meeting with President Trump?
ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: He needs to be included in the conversation going forward -- full stop. And I think it was reasonable for a summit between the United States and Russia as a kind of initial step. But going forward Zelenskyy needs to really push for his presence.
And I would say -- I'll add to that, that he needs to push for a European presence, probably the head of the European Union, Ursula Von Der Leyen, would be a good additional member of these talks.
Let's get it beyond the bilateral U.S.-Russia that occurred a day ago, and let's get into at least a trilateral, including Ukraine. I would say got to include Europe in that conversation as well, Omar.
JIMENEZ: And, you know, one of the trilateral pushes that we've seen to this point or the hope from the White House has been that the trilateral is the U.S., Ukraine and Russia. I think that -- that is the target that we've seen so far to this point. Again, a long way to go before you get to that possibility at all.
[17:09:43]
JIMENEZ: But what could the United States do that could bring Putin to the bargaining table as Zelenskyy, in a meaningful fashion?
STAVRIDIS: The ironic thing in all of this is that as between Trump and Putin, it's President Trump who has all the cards to play. President Trump can inflict an awful lot of damage on the Russian economy by, for example, confiscating 300 billion in Russian reserves in Western banks, another 10 billion in U.S. banks alone.
Secondly, President Trump could initiate secondary sanctions. He could go after the Russian shadow fleet that's moving illegal oil all around the world.
Militarily, President Trump could supply the Ukrainians with more lethal offensive weapons, notably F-16 aircraft. They've got about 50 to 70 of those in the pipeline. Let's get that number up to about 200.
Train the pilots, give them additional surface-to-surface cruise missiles, give them unmanned capability, better cyber. All of those are tools that could be applied by President Trump.
And then finally, at the really aggressive end of the spectrum, President Trump could say to Vladimir Putin, look, if you don't come to the table and get into a serious negotiation, not only are we going to apply the economic tools I just mentioned, not only are we going to up-arm the Ukrainians, we're going to seriously consider a NATO mission into Ukraine, a NATO no-fly zone over Ukraine, and ultimately NATO membership.
Vladimir, if you want Ukraine to be neutral, you got to get to the bargaining table now, now, now. That's what I hope will be the message conveyed to Moscow.
JIMENEZ: And for those that didn't get it from your most recent answer, you were NATO Supreme Allied Commander. Clearly over a lot of the breadth of options that we have here. But Europe's role, I mean, can't really be understated here.
What would you be advising NATO or I guess, what options are on the table for that role right now, for the role that you previously had? What options are on the table from the European perspective?
STAVRIDIS: Yes. The current Supreme Allied Commander has a bully pulpit to go to all those European nations and say bring more to the table, more cyber, more intelligence, more of your offensive and defensive weapon systems.
He can encourage the Europeans to purchase American weapons, which are then passed on. NATO under the command of Supreme Allied Commander, can also move the logistics, use the American logistics advantage to move those systems into Ukraine.
A lot of that is happening, Omar but by increasing the flow, organizing it and getting Europe on the front edge of it all. That's how you put pressure on Vladimir Putin. That's how you get him to a bargaining table. That's how you resolve this conflict ultimately.
JIMENEZ: Admiral James Stavridis, always appreciate you taking the time. Appreciate the insight.
STAVRIDIS: You bet. Omar. Thank you.
JIMENEZ: All right. Meanwhile, in the Atlantic, Hurricane Erin is one of the fastest growing storms in Atlantic history. Erin actually went from a category 1 hurricane to a category 5 hurricane -- it's 160 miles per hour winds in a day. It's expected to double or triple in size by the middle of next week.
Right now, Erin is tracking above the northeastern Caribbean. I want to show you a Live Earth Cam footage of the British Virgin Islands as the storm churns forward.
Erin is expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents along the beaches of the Bahamas and much of the East Coast. But at this point is not forecast to make a direct hit with the United States.
Meanwhile, California is threatening a gerrymandering arms race. Why Governor Gavin Newsom's promise to, quote, "fight fire with fire" against Texas Republicans could maybe snowball into a much bigger problem for both parties. We'll explain.
Plus, protests erupting in D.C. as President Trump doubles down on his use of the National Guard in the nation's capital. We'll bring you the details, coming up.
[17:14:20]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: So let's talk redistricting. Republicans currently hold just nine of California's 52 seats in Congress. And Democrats are now pushing to make that number even smaller. California Democrats unveiled a new map, which voters will decide on whether to adopt in a special election this fall.
The political makeup changes and ratings shown on the map are based on one analysis of the proposal shared with state lawmakers and obtained by CNN.
This comes as Texas lawmakers begin a second special session to get their new congressional map designed to add Republican dominance there.
I want to bring in CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, who joins us now. Ron, you've said the redistricting effort that Texas Republicans are pursuing shows what map making process should not look like.
[17:19:48]
JIMENEZ: Is the California effort more in line with what redistricting should look like? What do you make of how this arms race is going down?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Short answer is no, really. It is what you said before. It is fighting fire with fire which is the only rational response probably available to Democrats at this point.
But you can see how both parties and above all, voters come out the loser in a kind of an unbounded arms war to lock up as many districts as possible safely for each party.
You know, Omar, there were only 37 House seats out of the 435 in 2024 that were decided by five points or less. And if we go down this road, competition will likely be even more rare for the House.
And you know, the alternative was what we saw in '21, which is when the House passed a set of national standards to guide redistricting in all the states to bar mid-decade redistricting like we're seeing, to put limits on partisan gerrymandering, which the Supreme Court said the courts could not deal with.
That failed with the filibuster in the Senate. It was attached to a much broader political reform bill the Republicans didn't like. Maybe after this arms race and a rational political world, both sides would see that this is just kind of a crazy escalation, you know, in both directions.
Not usually optimistic about that but this is -- this is -- this is a process in which the ultimate losers, in the end, will be voters, even if Democrats have no choice but to do what they're doing.
JIMENEZ: And, you know, California's Governor Gavin Newsom has, I think it's fair to say, taken it upon himself to use this in part to fight Texas Governor Greg Abbott, but also President Donald Trump as well, and his press office.
I don't know if you've seen making the rounds on online posts written in President Trump's signature all caps style, basically trolling the president and his MAGA support base. He's been doing it for a bit now.
Do you -- I just wonder, just politically, do you assess this as a productive way to get his point across? Or is this more to just get under the president's skin?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Short answer, I think this is a distraction. You know, Newsom overall has had a very deft strategy for dealing with the second Trump term that I think is going to have a lot of influence in how the Democratic presidential race plays out in '28, whether he runs or not.
Because he is doing two things at once. He has very much shouldered his way to the front of the line among Democrats, who at a time when the party rank-and-file really is frustrated at the inability of party leaders to more forcefully resist Trump.
Newsom really has put himself at the very top tier of Democrats who have found effective ways to push back against Trump. California sued the administration 37 times, already, a much faster pace than even in the -- in the first term.
But, you know, while he's being confrontational with Trump, he is also moving toward the center on a whole series of issues, such as some of the transgender issues, homelessness issues, environmental reviews of new building.
I mean, he's basically pursuing what I call a kind of confrontational centrism and challenging the assumption that the only way to be seen as fighting Trump is to move to the left.
It is -- I think that is a tightrope that could be very attractive to Democrats looking for a way to get through the '28 primary without sacrificing too much of your viability in a general election.
I think Newsom has caught the eye of a lot of Democrats across the country, but trolling the president is a pretty secondary way to do it.
JIMENEZ: You know, one of the things, you know, not necessarily trolling, but definitely a political sticking point is you look at Washington, D.C., where hundreds of West Virginia National Guard troops are being sent in, an escalation of President Trumps attempts to federally take over law enforcement in the city.
Look, Washington, D.C. has struggled with gun violence. It's down from a spike, but is still down from a spike, which means there are still being shot -- people shot in the city. Carjackings have also been a major issue.
But politically speaking, what is your reaction to the president's fight with local leadership and law enforcement in Washington, D.C. in particular?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, it's hard -- it's hard to imagine that crime in D.C. is really, I think, the driving force of what we're seeing here, because there's certainly higher murder rates in multiple cities in red states.
You know, Donald Trump is not a person who often publicly admits to regrets, but he has said -- he said repeatedly after 2020 that one of the few things he regretted about his first term is that he did not send federal forces more often into blue cities over the objections of mayors and governors.
And in that '24 campaign, he explicitly said he wanted to send in the National Guard into big cities to participate in mass deportation, to clear homeless encampments, and to fight crime. And he is explicitly now moving down that checklist and implementing it.
I think the goal here, above all, is to numb Americans to the sight of heavily-armored federal forces in the streets of what are blue cities and blue states.
And, you know, this is a radical change in the way the military has been used. Obviously, we have seen the military deployed at moments of great crisis. You know, enormous civil disturbances in the 60s and so forth.
[17:24:53]
BROWNSTEIN: But I think what we are seeing now is the attempt to build a template first in L.A., then in D.C., very little indication that it will stop in those places. The president talks about multiple other cities, all the ones he mentioned. You know, probably not coincidentally, with African American mayors.
And, you know, when Gavin Newsom said the other day, watch what's happening in Washington, D.C. and in Los Angeles, because it may be coming to a city near you soon, I think there's a lot of evidence to support that.
JIMENEZ: Ron Brownstein, appreciate the time and analysis as always. Good to see you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me, Omar.
JIMENEZ: All right. Still ahead, the family of a Ukrainian man captured during the war speaks out after he's finally released as part of a prisoner exchange.
Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
[17:25:38]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:30:00] JIMENEZ: After three years spent in Russian captivity, one Ukrainian soldier is now back home. Juan Alberto Leyva Garsiya was among the 33 soldiers and 51 civilians who were freed in a recent prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia.
Now, his family is speaking out about the harsh conditions he endured. CNN correspondent Rafael Romo is here with the details. Rafael, you've kept in touch with this family. What do they tell you?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you can imagine, Omar, they are elated and relieved. I have known the family of the Ukrainian soldier for about three years when we originally reported he was part of a group of soldiers who surrendered after being surrounded by the Russians in Mariupol in eastern Ukraine.
The family called me Thursday to give me the good news that for the first time since May 2022, their son was back home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROMO (voice over): His head is fully shaved, and he looks gaunt and tired. He appears somber and serious.
Especially when compared to the cheerful soldiers around him.
LYUDMYLA LEYVA-GARSIYA, SISTER OF RELEASED SOLDIER: He is a brave man.
ROMO: But for now, only two things matter. He is alive, and for the first time in three years, he is home.
L. LEYVA GARSIYA: He was one of those soldiers who was trying to defend Mariupol from Russian occupation.
ROMO (voice over): His name is Khuan Alberto Leyva-Garcia. The 27- year-old soldier, was one of 33 Ukrainian military personnel and 51 civilians returned home by Russia, Thursday, as part of a prisoner swap mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
84 Russian servicemen were returned from Ukraine as part of the swap, and were initially getting medical assistance in Belarus, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Seen here before becoming a prisoner of war, Leyva Garsiya was one of the last fighters to surrender to Russian forces in May 2022.
KHUAN ALBERTO LEYVA-GARSIYA, FREED PRISONER OF WAR: We keep fighting every day under heavy airstrikes.
ROMO (voice over): After they were surrounded at a steel plant in the city of Mariupol.
L. LEYVA-GARSIYA: Russia is not following any international law.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMO (on camera): Since the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian P.O.W. Treatment Coordination Center says there have been over 60 exchanges with more than 6,000 people returned, including many soldiers who were injured, but because the countries are still fighting, it's hard to know the condition of prisoners of war. The family of Leyva-Garsiya told us last month about the only thing they knew regarding the soldier was that he was still alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
L. LEYVA-GARSIYA: It's really hard to get any information about prisoners of war who are hold in Russia. We could get some information from other exchange soldiers.
ROMO (voice over): Recently released POWs told the family that Khuan Alberto, who was fighting for his native Mariupol, was first sent to Olenivka, in Ukraine's Russian occupied Donetsk region, before being transferred to Luhansk, and finally, to the Perm Krai region in Russia.
In a statement sent to CNN after his release, the family said that, "Words cannot express our immense relief and joy at his return. While we celebrate his freedom, we remain deeply mindful of the many brave men and women who are still in captivity, and we stand in solidarity with their families as they continue to wait for their loved ones to come home."
The soldier's father, a Cuban immigrant to Ukraine, said, during his captivity, his hope was that his son would still remember what he taught him as a little boy, a phrase the young soldier would repeat when he was under siege in the Mariupol steel plant.
K. L. LEYVA-GARSIYA: (INAUDIBLE)
ROMO (voice over): Homeland and life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMO (on camera): Leyva-Garsiya is currently receiving medical assistance and being debriefed by Ukrainian officials at an undisclosed location. According to his sister Lyudmila, it's going to take at least a week, Omar, before they can see him in person, but they have been talking on the phone and texting daily since he came back home to Ukraine. Now, back to you.
JIMENEZ: Rafael Romo, really appreciate the reporting. What a great story.
All right, for near 20 years, "CNN HEROES" has introduced you to the best of humanity, ordinary people making an extraordinary difference. But the work doesn't stop after the spotlight goes away, "CNN HEROES" is teaming up with the Elevate Prize Foundation. Anderson Cooper shares the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: The 2024 top heroes came together in Miami at Elevates Make Good Famous summit, meeting other game changers, building important skills and gearing up to take their missions even further.
STEPHEN KNIGHT, FOUNDER, DOGS MATTER: The summit is meant kind of a rebirth and trying to kind of reflect. You get in a room full of people that are experiencing the same challenges, but you're seeing solutions that takes me to a new level of motivation, and I'm inspired by it.
PAYTON MCGRIFF, FOUNDER, STYLE HER EMPOWERED: I've walked away from every conversation, feeling more committed to the work that we are doing.
[17:35:00]
And even though we might be walking very parallel paths in ways, we are walking in the same direction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: To learn more about how Elevate Prize supports the extraordinary work of the "CNN HEROES", go to CNNHEROES.COM. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: "BREAKING NEWS" just in to CNN, President Trump hand delivered a letter from First Lady Melania Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin, when they met in Alaska on Friday.
[17:40:05]
The letter obtained by Fox News Digital calls on Putin to protect children amid the war in Ukraine.
Now, part of it reads, in protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone-you will serve humanity itself. Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with the stroke of the pen today. It is time.
We'll have more on this from the White House at the top of the hour. But in D.C. tonight, we are following news of demonstrators confronting National Guard troops in the nation's capital as protests are taking place across the country against President Trump and Republican efforts to redraw congressional maps.
But tensions are running especially high in D.C., because that's where the President has been trying to federally take over local law enforcement after hundreds of troops were deployed there this week.
National Guard troops from West Virginia are now being sent to the nation's capital as well. Earlier today, West Virginia's governor posted on social media that he is granting a White House request for 300 to 400 guardsmen. That's despite protests and even after D.C. official officials went to court yesterday, winning back control of the department -- of the police department to the Metropolitan police chief. Greg Jackson joins us now. He is the former White House deputy director for the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. He also survived the gunshot wound from a 2013 shooting in D.C.
Thanks for taking the time.
You know some look at the added law enforcement, the military on the street and say, hey, look, it's just to make Washington, D.C. safer. How do you see it?
GREG JACKSON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION: This is not about safety. This is about control. For President Trump. In fact, on July 4th, he signed a Big, Beautiful Bill that cut D.C.'s law enforcement by 40 percent. And in his press conference, he talked about how there is too many officers in D.C. and that they are not tough enough, and that we need better officers that can get the job done, and that was not only disrespectful to the leadership in D.C. government. He even called the mayor incompetent, but it's disrespectful to law enforcement that have been putting their lives on the line each and every day.
But this is about replacing an already existing ecosystem of law enforcement, community, and health systems working to prevent violence with his law and order approaching federal officers from now as far as West Virginia.
JIMENEZ: You know, and this week, the Trump administration tried to appoint the DEA administrator as emergency police commissioner. But after a court challenge, they agreed to leave control with the D.C. police chief. That chief said she had never seen a single government action that would cause a greater threat to law and order than this dangerous directive that was quoting her there.
How did you see that attempt? And what are you seeing on the ground, just as a D.C. resident?
JACKSON: Well, look, as you know, I serve in the White House as deputy director for the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. But I also live in Anacostia, which is one of the neighborhoods being targeted. And right now, instead of having resources for housing, for summer programs, for education and even community-based strategies to prevent violence, we have Border Patrol patrolling our streets.
And just Sunday, I saw 30 officers harassing one homeless person, and this is on top of federal government that has cut D.C.'s government by $1 billion, that terminated $811 million for public safety, community- based violence intervention programs, from law enforcement, from crime gun intelligence, and this is also an administration that now has ended the zero-tolerance policy for illegal cell of firearms by gun dealers.
Just this week, they refused to enforce the ban on machine gun conversion devices, and they are actively defunding resources for law enforcement and community to prevent violence, dismantling regulations that we know have made our community safer, and then meanwhile, deploying and militarizing our communities. And so, it's not only ineffective, it's dangerous, it's harmful, and it's in direct contrast to the strategies that we know have led to these historic reductions across the country.
JIMENEZ: You know, one of the things that you did in your job in the office when it existed, is trying to explore options with local governments to try to tackle some of the root causes of gun violence. And I don't need to tell you. Look, D.C. has struggled with gun violence for a while. I know you know this. But our -- for our audience, the city saw a huge spike in violent crime in 2023. Still lower than the 80s and 90s, but a spike nonetheless.
And a lot of the decreases we're talking about now are in comparison to that spike year. Still, so far, numbers this year appear to be more similar to what we saw pre-pandemic.
You've lived in D.C. for a long time. You've been shot in D.C. What do you believe is the root cause of gun violence in the city?
JACKSON: Look, there is no doubt about it. This is a huge public health crisis in our country. This is the leading cause of death for youth in America, for black men in America. Is the leading cause of death for pregnant women in America, above child birth complications.
[17:45:03]
And it's also the leading cause of newly disabled Americans. This is a huge, huge crisis, and we have seen every community across the country see major spikes. But the largest spikes happened during the Trump administration.
In 2021, America saw the steepest increase in homicides in American history. And where was -- where was Donald Trump's big ideas and strategies then? Where were his resources then? Where was his urgency then? But instead, he took -- he just turned a blind eye to it.
And so, under the Biden administration, we move forward 54 executive actions. We passed the first law in 30 years, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to address gun violence. We made gun trafficking in federal offense. We shut down over 400 gun dealers. We prosecuted gun traffickers, not cracking down on homeless individuals, but those who are making money off of the death and the harm in our communities. And we also invested $42 billion in the violence prevention.
And all of that led to a 31 percent reduction in homicides over three years. And this year we seen another 20 percent reduction.
So, four years in a row of historic reductions in direct response to the Biden-Harris administration strategy of investing in communities and holding the industry accountable. And we are still making a ground from this -- just terrible spike of violence that we saw during the Trump administration.
And look, I'm a survivor. I've lost -- I've lost family members. I've lost two of my mentees. I've lost neighbors to this crisis. We are nowhere near the finish line, but we know that the strategy is not militarizing and flying in military officers from all over the country.
The strategy is investing in communities, investing in the programs, investing in our health systems, investing in the quality of life, as opposed to defunding the resources that we know can make folks safer. And if folks don't believe that works, look at Boston, where they only had 24 homicides last year.
Look at Newark, New Jersey, where you still have poverty, you still have challenges. They had only eight homicides to date. Communities that are actually taking this approach at the most intense level in cities across the country are seeing gun violence become almost nonexistent in their communities.
And D.C. is on that path, but this is a major disruption, frankly --
JIMENEZ: Greg Jackson, appreciate you being here. Appreciate the insight. Thanks for taking the time.
JACKSON: No problem. Thank you.
JIMENEZ: Still to come, Canada ordering flight attendants to return to work despite going on strike just a few hours earlier. How the Canadian government is stepping in and forcing planes to take flight? We'll explain, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:52:15]
JIMENEZ: The new CNN original series "AMERICAN PRINCE: JFK JR.," follows the story of John F, Kennedy Jr., from his early years that were marked by his father's assassination, to his iconic love story with Carolyn Bessette. CNN, Elizabeth Wagmeister has a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Carolyn!
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: In a nation with no royal family, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were prince and princess.
STEVE GILLON, FRIEND AND JFK JR. BIOGRAPHER: Each of them had their own charisma and their own charm. But you put them together and there was like a multiplier effect.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): With images like these, saluting his father's casket at age 3, John Jr. grew up as America's son.
GILLON: He just hated being called John-John. He would always say, he'd mutter under his breath, you know, one John is sufficient.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): But Kennedy accepted his public life, while Bessette preferred to stay private, creating an aura of mystery and public fascination.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let him through.
CAROLE RADZIWILL, FRIEND OF CAROLYN BESSETTE AND JFK JR.: She had married, like, arguably, like, the most famous man in the world at that time. She refused to bend to the will of the press.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): Carole Radziwill spent years in the couple's inner circle. She was married to Kennedy's cousin and best friend, Anthony, whose mother, Lee Radziwill, was Jacque O.'s younger sister. She says Bessette was the opposite of her public image.
RADZIWILL: I think what people take away from the photos is that she sort of seemed like a caged, scared person. And she just wasn't. She was very strong, very confident.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): Bessette left a job at Calvin Klein after she met Kennedy, but never actually sought the role she's still known for -- fashion icon.
RADZIWILL: She didn't fuss over her fashion. She lived her life with style. Style for her was not, like, what she was wearing.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): Her effortless, chic style is in breeze today. When fans saw early photos from an upcoming FX series on John and Carolyn, they erupted online, claiming the looks appeared more fast fashion than Bessette's classic elegance.
Producer Ryan Murphy told Variety, Carolyn Bessette is clearly a religion of her own, insisting these were merely test shots.
JOHN F. KENNEDY JR., FORMER AMERICAN ATTORNEY, MAGAZINE PUBLISHER: Ladies and gentlemen, meet George.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): In 1999, Kennedy's magazine, George, was failing. His best friend and cousin, Anthony, was dying of cancer. And his marriage to Carolyn was strained.
RADZIWILL: All I can say is, there's no talk of divorce or breaking up. They were going to a wedding together that Friday.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): But then, the world stopped as John and Carolyn's single-engine plane crashed off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. America's royal couple was gone.
RADZIWILL: She was the protector of all of us. She protected me. She was John's protector.
[17:55:03]
GILLON: Had John lived, he would have run for office.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): Just months before his death, Gillon says Kennedy spoke of what might have been, embracing his family roots and a life in politics.
GILLON: He said, what people need is hope. They need to know that tomorrow is going to be better than today. And it was this long pause. And he looked at me and he said, I can do that. I think I can do that.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
JIMENEZ: And be sure to tune in to a new episode of the CNN Original Series, "AMERICAN PRINCE, JFK, JR." tonight at 9:0 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.
Still to come, Ukrainian media calling the summit between President Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin, "shameful and useless". We're going to talk to a historian, Tim Naftali, for his take on that and what he thinks about First Lady Melania Trump penning a letter to Putin. Stay with us. More ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
