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Trump Delivers Presidential Address, Blames Economy on Biden and Democrats; Australian PM Announces Crackdown on Hate Speech; Venezuela Condemns U.S. Blockade on Oil Tankers; E.U. Leaders Meet in Brussels. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired December 18, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," the U.S. president declares a triumphant first year. But is it really? We will break down Trump's speech and latest polling. Plus, Australia is set to add new hate crime laws after the Bondi Beach shooting. We will go live to Sydney. And E.U. officials will meet to discuss how to use frozen Russian assets. CNN's Claire Sebastian is live in Brussels this hour.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church."

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. And we begin this hour with U.S. President Donald Trump's primetime address to the nation. It began with an airing of grievances against the Democrats and his predecessor, Joe Biden, blaming them for inflation and rising health care costs.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I'm fixing it. When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years, and some would say, in the history of our country, which caused prices to be higher than ever before, making life unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans. This happened during a Democrat administration, and it's when we first began hearing the word affordability. This is what the Biden administration allowed to happen to our country, and it can never be allowed to happen again.

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CHURCH: The president focused on what he considers his economic successes, tariffs, jobs, and lower prices for prescription drugs, and he bragged about other accomplishments, including the end of the war in Gaza and border security.

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TRUMP: Starting on day one, I took immediate action to stop the invasion of our southern border. For the past seven months, zero illegal aliens have been allowed into our country, a feat which everyone said was absolutely impossible.

Do you remember when Joe Biden said that he needed Congress to pass legislation to help close the border? He was always blaming Congress and everyone else. As it turned out, we didn't need legislation, we just needed a new president.

We inherited the worst border anywhere in the world, and we quickly turned it into the strongest border in the history of our country.

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CHURCH: It remains to be seen whether the president's message will land with voters increasingly disappointed with his performance on the economy. CNN's Kristen Holmes reports from the White House.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump sought to take control of the narrative around the economy while delivering his national address on Wednesday night. He touted economic achievements and said that he had turned the economy around, placing a large amount of blame on his predecessor, President Joe Biden, saying that he inherited a mess of an economy and trying to showcase what the president has done to try and turn that around.

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TRUMP: In a few short months, we went from worst to best. I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast.

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HOLMES: President Trump's message on the economy coming at a time when more and more Americans are feelings insecure about their finances. A recent Fox News poll out the same night of that address showed that registered voters, 44 percent of them, when asked about their personal finances, said that they felt that they were falling behind. That's up from 36 percent just in June.

It is coming at a time when we are seeing more and more Americans blaming President Trump for the economy, saying that the administration is focused on the wrong things. This is a clear attempt of President Trump to try and urge Americans to stick with him, to show policies that he says he believes are working, despite the fact that we have heard from a number of experts that they are not, particularly when it comes to tariffs, for example.

So, this was the first time we have seen President Trump really stick to that message of affordability, showcasing just how important this is as Republicans head into midterms. But not just that, also important for President Trump's legacy as they move forward throughout his tenure.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

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CHURCH: Joining me now is CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger. Good to have you with us.

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DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES: Great to be back with you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, President Trump started his primetime address blaming his predecessor, Joe Biden, for his economic woes, saying he inherited a mess, and now, he's fixing it. What was your overall assessment of the president's address Wednesday night?

SANGER: Well, first, his style was interesting, Rosemary. He stayed on topic. He stayed with his script, which he doesn't often do. You may remember that when he was supposed to give an affordability speech in Pennsylvania last week, he wandered way off of what was on his teleprompter. Here, he did not. He only had 15 or 16 minutes to be on national television, but he was delivering the speech so rapidly and nearly shouting at some moments that he seemed almost angry that he needed to explain these concepts to the American people.

CHURCH: And overall, the topics that he covered, what did you think?

SANGER: Well, he made selective use of statistics. And in some cases, some quite misleading statistics. He tried to argue that he had brought inflation down. It's actually, as of the last numbers we saw, we'll see some new numbers tomorrow, exactly where it was on inauguration day when Joe Biden left.

He argued that unemployment is headed in the right direction. In fact, it was 4 percent when he came in. It's 4.6 percent now. He argued that prices had actually declined, seeming to confuse slowing inflation with actual deflation. And he made some claims about gas prices that weren't supported by statistics issued by his own energy department.

So, you know, there were some exaggerations there as well. But he was just almost trying to convince Americans that they should feel good even if they don't --

CHURCH: Right.

SANGER: -- which is, of course, exactly what Biden did at the end of his presidency.

CHURCH: Yes. Good point. And just ahead of his address touting successes and signaling what's to come, a new poll came out Wednesday showing Trump's approval rating on the economy at just 36 percent. But he declares his economy a triumph, calling it the greatest economy ever. How bad could the issue of affordability in the economy prove to be for Trump, do you think, going forward and certainly heading to the midterms?

SANGER: Look, the reason he got elected was that Americans trusted him more because of his business background in managing the economy than they trusted the Democrats. And what you see from polling numbers like that and others we've seen in recent weeks strongly suggests that Americans have lost that fundamental trust in him. And that could come back.

But the fact of the matter is the United States has been in a great expansion over the past couple of years. And it is not really a surprise that both the markets are jittery and you could see a slowdown. We are, in fact, seeing some indications of that. It is one of the reasons that the Fed has now cut interest rates several times.

CHURCH: And David, on top of this, four House Republicans sided with Democrats Wednesday to try to force a vote to extend expiring health care subsidies, and this while Marjorie Taylor Greene warns that the dam is breaking when it comes to support for the president within his own party. Is she right? Is the dam breaking?

SANGER: I don't know that it's broken, but it's certainly leaking, and particularly around the edges. Those four Republicans, I think, all come from fairly moderate states. I think they're worried that when these subsidies expire, people's premiums are going to soar.

And the only solution that the president offered this evening was that he would basically write checks of about $2,000 a person with some kind of income limit to try to alleviate health care costs.

The problem is that some people are going to see premium increases of a thousand or fifteen hundred dollars a month. That $2,000 dollars doesn't really go very far.

CHURCH: David Sanger, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

SANGER: Thank you, Rosemary. Great to be with you.

CHURCH: Wonderful. At least four people are dead after the latest U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat. The U.S. Southern Command released this video, saying the vessel was operated by a designated terrorist group and that it was hit on Wednesday in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

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The statement says four male narco-terrorists were killed and no U.S. troops were harmed. At least 99 people have been killed since the U.S. launched Operation Southern Spear. Democratic lawmakers say at least one of the strikes may have violated international law, potentially amounting to a war crime.

Australia is stepping up the fight against antisemitism in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre. The prime minister says new laws will crack down on people who spread hate, division and radicalization, and that includes preachers who promote violence. Hate speech will also become an aggravating factor in sentencing. Meanwhile, the youngest victim has been laid to rest. Ten-year-old Matilda had been enjoying Hanukkah festivities with her family when the gunman opened fire on Sunday. And another victim recently woke up from a coma. The father of Leibel Lazaroff says his son suffered several abdominal and leg injuries after risking his life to help a critically injured police officer, adding that he still has a multitude of shrapnel in his body.

CNN's Angus Watson is covering this live from Sydney. He joins us now. So, Angus, what more can you tell us about Australia's new hate speech laws and, of course, other efforts to stamp out surging antisemitism in the country?

ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Well, that's right, Rosemary. Antisemitism has surged ever since Hamas attacked Israel on the 7th of October 2023. Jewish groups here in Australia have logged thousands of antisemitic incidents across the country that range from verbal abuse to the burning of synagogues and now this horrific massacre here at Bondi.

The government has long been called upon to do more about this. It appointed its own special envoy against antisemitism, Jillian Segal, who delivered a report in July. The government today says that it will deliver the recommendations, it will act on the recommendations of that report in full. Those include things like working to stamp out antisemitism at universities.

But it's also right now putting in place these tougher hate speech laws. As you mentioned, they will target hate preachers who vilify and demean other people in their -- in their religious practice.

And the prime minister today noted that he -- that he could have done more ahead of this attack to crack down on antisemitism. He said he's not perfect and his government isn't perfect. Take a listen to some of the other things that he said.

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ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: There is no place in Australia for antisemitism. It is an evil that tears at the fabric of our country. It puts the peaceful, free and equal society that we cherish at risk.

Sadly, since the terrible events of October 2023, we have witnessed an increase in antisemitism which is, of course, an ancient hatred. We have seen a series of appalling attacks targeting Australia's Jewish community. That culminated on Sunday in one of the worst acts of mass murder that this country has ever seen.

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WATSON: So, that act, that horrific terrorist incident happened right here, Rosemary, on Sunday evening. The crime scene has been opened up now. And people here in Bondi are moving through it, taking a moment to try to come to terms in any way they can with the horror that people suffered that day. Fifteen people dead, over 40 people injured at a Hanukkah festival. Families, the elderly, all here gathering to celebrate that important religious affair, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, it will certainly never be the same again at that iconic beach. Angus Watson joining us live from Sydney's Bondi Beach, many thanks.

Well, the manhunt for the person of interest in the Brown University shooting is now entering its sixth day. Police say the description of the gunman provided by witnesses matches the description of the person authorities are looking for.

Authorities also want to talk with another person who may have crossed paths with this person of interest and may be able to provide some relevant information.

Police also released this map showing the area they're focused on where they say the person of interest was spotted on the day of the shooting. The green lines indicate where they were seen before the attack and the red lines are where they were spotted after.

The shooting at the Ivy League school killed two students and wounded nine people.

Coming up, the latest from Gaza as flooding wreaks havoc on those already displaced by the war.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is blasting claims from President Trump, who says the country has stolen U.S. oil, land, and other assets. President Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. military buildup around Venezuela would continue until it returned the assets. More now on the simmering tensions from CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon.

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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The Venezuelan government is issuing a strong condemnation over this new policy from the United States of a total blockade over tankers to export oil out of Venezuela. The policy was announced late on Wednesday by United States President Donald Trump through a post on his social media, Truth Social.

However, on Thursday, pretty much every institution of the Venezuelan state has issued statements or words of condemnation. We're talking about the Venezuelan attorney general, the Venezuelan foreign minister, the defense minister, and even the electoral authority.

And the Venezuelan National Assembly even passed an emergency lawsuit that condemned those statements from Trump and guaranteed, as it said, the sovereignty of the nation over its natural resources. Maduro later on Thursday also returned to usual rhetoric when it comes to U.S. meddling into Venezuelan affairs. Here is how he characterized these newest announcements from the White House.

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NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): The truth is they are aiming for regime change in Venezuela to force a puppet government that would not last 47 hours and would offer them our constitution, sovereignty and all the wealth, and turn Venezuela into a colony.

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POZZEBON: And behind these announcements, this strong condemnation, is the fact that it's hard to put into consideration how dependent the Venezuelan economy is from those exports. We're talking of more than 90 percent of the foreign income of this country, this nation as a whole, depending on oil exports.

And while the Venezuelan oil industry has been under sanctions from the United States since at least 2019, it's the first time that the U.S. government imposes and enforces a blockade, especially after the seizure last week of one tanker, Skipper, when a Black Hawk allowed for Navy personnel to rappel themselves and take control of that ship. That has since been towed towards a U.S. port.

And this is why here in Caracas, there are already wars of apprehensions, especially looking at the New Year after the Christmas festivities and the New Year's Eve. Well, January is when probably the economic punch that these new sanctions will put on to and the pressure that it will put on to the Venezuelan economy will be most felt.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.

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CHURCH: Officials in Gaza say torrential rain and floods have killed at least 17 people and left thousands of others without shelter. More people have died in building collapses. At least one body was recovered from this collapsed building in a refugee camp in Gaza City. Officials warn more war-damaged buildings could potentially collapse. They say the storms have flooded about 90 percent of shelters for people displaced from the war, destroying clothing, blankets, and food, and leaving them without a safe place to stay.

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UNKNOWN (through translator): All night long, the children and I were on our feet. All night long, on our feet. If I, the adult, can't handle it, how about the little children, these children, how can these children?

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Earlier, I spoke to Salma Altaweel, the Gaza support manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council, about how families are trying to stay safe in these conditions.

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SALMA ALTAWEEL, GAZA SUPPORT MANAGER, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: 1.3 million of Gazans are living in tents and makeshift houses. Most of them are already damaged. But they have no choice to have a safer place to live in. So, they are suffering from the flooding whenever there is a heavy rain or a storm. The water floats the tents.

And the families do not sleep all the night. They are trying to move out the water from the tents or drying their mattresses, their blankets. It's very tough for the elderly people and children because they do not sleep. They are suffering from the cold. And each time there is rain (ph), the families have to start to (INAUDIBLE) their tents and their shelters from the zero.

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CHURCH: European leaders are gathering to make a big decision involving more than $200 billion in Russian financial assets. More on that after the break.

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

[03:30:00]

Donald Trump is hoping to convince Americans the economy is doing much better than polls indicate. During a primetime address to the nation, the U.S. president said he inherited a mess from the Biden administration, but claimed he's now bringing down prices very quickly.

The manhunt for the person of interest in the Brown University shooting is in its sixth day. Police say the description of the gunman provided by witnesses matches the description of the person authorities are looking for. They also want to talk with another person who may have crossed paths with that individual.

The U.S. says four narco-terrorists were killed in its latest strike on an alleged drug boat. The statement says the vessel was hit in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday. At least 99 people have been killed in strikes in the Pacific and Caribbean with questions raised about the legality.

European leaders are gathering in Brussels to make what some officials call an unprecedented decision to potentially use more than $200 billion in Russian assets frozen in Europe to support Ukraine for the next two years. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join that meeting. Two options are currently on the table, either using those Russian assets or borrow the money. Critics say option one is potentially legally questionable and risks retaliation by Moscow.

And as Fred Pleitgen reports, Russia's president railed against European leaders ahead of the meeting.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Russian leader Vladimir Putin ripping into the U.S.'s European allies, calling them little piglets, and accusing European leaders of brainwashing their own population to continue a conflict with Russia.

Now, all this came in a wide-ranging speech in front of some of the top military brass here in Russia, where Vladimir Putin accused Europe of undermining the diplomatic process to try and end the war in Ukraine.

At the same time, Putin said that the Russians are still very much committed to that process. But he also says it must address what he calls the root causes of the conflict or else Russia will continue.

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VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): We would prefer to do this and eliminate the root causes of the conflict through diplomacy. If the opposing country and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive discussions, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands through military means.

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PLEITGEN: Now, when the Russians speak of the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine, there's usually two things that stand out. One of them is the possible NATO membership of Ukraine, which the Russians say is a red line. And we know, of course, in negotiations that happen between the U.S., the Ukrainians, and Europeans, that the U.S. says it's now offering strong security guarantees for the Ukrainians so that they don't try to ascend into NATO.

At the same time, the big question of territories in Ukraine certainly is crystallizing as one of the most difficult ones when trying to end the conflict in Ukraine. The Russians, of course, are demanding that the Ukrainians hand over territories, even some that Russia doesn't at this point control. The Ukrainians are saying that they simply can't do that and that it would also be illegal under the Ukrainian constitution.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

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CHURCH: Investors are waiting for a decision on interest rates from the Bank of England after inflation fell more than expected. That story and much more after a short break.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. It's time for your "Business Breakout." I want to check the headlines now. The Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates today. Investors believe rates will drop by a quarter point to 3.75 percent. It comes after official data showed inflation fell much more sharply than forecast to its lowest point since March. The Office for National Statistics says that's because of lower food prices and Black Friday discounts.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a $35 billion deal to supply natural gas to Egypt. But Israeli sources say the decision was made only after pressure from the White House and that it was part of a push by President Donald Trump for the Israeli and Egyptian leaders to meet.

A shift by the Oscars has shaken the entertainment industry. The Academy Awards announced on Wednesday it's moving the ceremony from broadcasting on ABC Network T.V. to fully streaming it on YouTube in 2029. The award's show has aired on ABC for decades and will continue through 2028.

Warner Brothers Discovery, the parent company of CNN, has formally rejected the $30 per share takeover bid from rival Paramount Skydance and it is urging shareholders to vote against the offer, too. Paramount launched its hostile bid for all of Warner Brothers Discovery last week after WBD struck a separate deal with Netflix for only parts of the company.

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The WBD board is raising concerns over whether Paramount can finance its deal, saying the offer poses -- quote -- "numerous significant risks" and that Paramount's board consistently misled shareholders over the deal, calling it "illusory."

CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter has more on some of those financing concerns.

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BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: The Paramount offer is financed in large part by the royal families of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. Paramount has said it has -- quote -- "airtight financing." But the WBD side has questioned why Paramount's owners, the Ellison family, why they're enlisting outside help instead of putting up more of the funds personally?

This all revolves around Larry Ellison, the Oracle billionaire, who, according to Forbes, is the third richest man in the world right now. Larry Ellison is under pressure to personally backstop and guarantee the financing. Paramount basically says Larry Ellison has already agreed to do that. WBD says he has not. Quote -- "He does not and never has included a full backstopping of the bid."

So, essentially, WBD challenging Paramount. And now, one of the big questions is whether Paramount will come back with a higher bid, whether the company will go higher than $30 per share. WBD is saying that a shareholder vote will be scheduled for the spring or maybe the early summer. That's an indication this process is probably going to drag out for quite some time.

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CHURCH: Fans of the late Kobe Bryant may remember his one-of-a-kind Grinch sneakers. They're now up for auction just in time for Christmas. The basketball legend wore these shoes for just a single game back on Christmas Day in 2010, but they helped create one of many memorable images from his career. However, the signed sneakers carry a hefty price tag with auction house Jupiter expecting them to fetch more than $10 million. They're on display in Los Angeles through Friday before going under the hammer.

Well, the queen of Christmas has been dethroned.

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CHURCH: Mariah Carey's holiday hit, "All I Want for Christmas Is You," has dropped from the top of Billboard's global 200 for the first time since 2020. The new number one.

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CHURCH: Remember that? "Last Christmas," the 1984 classic by Wham, is the new Billboard chart topper. The estate of late Wham member George Michael said in a statement, it's a testament to a brilliant song and timeless record that embodies the very sound of Christmas. "All I Want for Christmas is You" still tops the U.S. charts, though.

All right, I want to thank you for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. World Sport is coming up next.

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