Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Netanyahu Doubles Down on Gaza Takeover Plan; Democrats have a Billionaire Problem; Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) is Interviewed about Trump Removing Homeless from D.C.; Trump to Meet with Putin on Friday; Republicans Reprise Anti-Transgender Political Attack Ads. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired August 11, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Was their target, accusing him of leading a Hamas cell, something he had denied in the past.

And despite protests on the streets and warnings from military leadership, Israel is moving forward with plans to take over Gaza City and eventually all of Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Given Hamas' refusal to lay down its arms, Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Hostage families have called for a nationwide strike next weekend to protest the Israeli security cabinet's decision to expand the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISHAY LAVI, WIFE OF HOSTAGE: I, again, want to ask President Trump and Mr. Witkoff, we don't need more war, more dead, more dead hostage, more dead soldiers, we need a deal. A deal to end this war and save them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now to discuss is columnist and geopolitics analyst Bobby Ghosh.

Good morning, Bobby. Thanks for being here.

BOBBY GHOSH, COLUMNIST AND GEOPOLITICS ANALYST: Good morning, Audie.

CORNISH: Now, I want to get to what she was asking there about what the Trump administration can do. But first I just want to start with her voice. Can this movement of hostage families, of people who are against the expansion of war, are they any match for the power of like the hardliners and the settler communities who have sway with Netanyahu?

GHOSH: Well, until now they have not been. They have been trying for a very, very long time to try and get the Israeli administration and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire. They've only had sporadic impact on Israels' policy in that respect.

But this is going to be the big test, calling for a nationwide strike. There is a lot of polling from within Israel that shows that there is growing dissatisfaction with the military campaign. There's a sense among many Israelis that the campaign has run its course, and there's not much more to be gained. And that, in fact, it is endangering those hostages and that it is hurting Israel's image worldwide.

So, we'll find out on Sunday just how effective that campaign is. If there is a successful strike, that will force the Netanyahu administration to sit up and pay attention. Until now, they've been able to get away with -- with basically brushing off the concerns of the hostage families.

CORNISH: Can you talk about why and why Netanyahu is pushing further into this kind of isolation? I mean, there is France, Canada, now Australia is the latest country to announce it's going to recognize Palestinian statehood this fall. I mean, is there a fear of admitting failure that they did not eradicate Hamas?

GHOSH: Well, there's a whole bunch of things. I think you have to start from the -- the -- the idea that Netanyahu thinks that this is the right thing to do. Despite mounting evidence and despite a lot of criticism from within his own military, he seems to think that this is the right thing to do. And then beyond that, yes, once he set the bar so high by saying he wants to completely eliminate Hamas, which, from the beginning, lots of people, again, even within his own government and military have been saying is an impossible goal. But once he set that goal, he is, to some degree, a slave to his own -- to his own rhetoric.

He is, of course, in charge of a very, very right-wing government, a coalition government. If he is unable to -- to satisfy the extreme right wing of that coalition, who are behind this strategy, if he's unable to satisfy them, they will withdraw their support for him, and his government will collapse. And then he has -- there's a cascading series of things that he has to worry about, including his own personal -- there are issues around court cases against him and corruption charges and so on.

So, for all -- any number of reasons, he seems to have painted himself into a corner. Now, any artful politician can also paint themselves out of corners. That is the whole point of politics. The art of the possible. But Netanyahu doesn't seem interested in doing that. He continues to push himself more and more into this isolated position internationally by following through on his initial threat that he wants to completely destroy and eliminate Hamas.

CORNISH: We started this conversation with the voice of one of the families of the hostages talking -- saying by name, Steve Witkoff, President Trump, try and help us try to stop this. Meanwhile, here in the U.S., White House ally and military hawk himself, Senator Lindsey Graham, argues this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Enough already. Destroy Hamas. Due to Hamas what we did to the Germans and the Japanese during World War II. Annihilate them. And rebuild the Palestinian society, like we did with Germany and Japan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I don't know if you want to tackle the analogy or the question, which is, what can Trump do? Is he even inclined to rein in Netanyahu?

[06:35:02]

GHOSH: Well, there are two separate things. On the second question, Trump has -- seems to have made it quite clear that it's up to Netanyahu. He seems to be essentially tacitly giving a green light. But what his actual words are, it's up to the Israelis. So, that gives him a certain amount of wriggle room that if -- if this goes badly, he can blame the Israelis. He can say it's nothing to do with me. Although that will not really hold up in the court of international opinion. There is a growing sense in the international circles that the United States is culpable, because of its support for Israel.

The fact that more and more countries and many of America's closest allies are now openly saying that they will recognize Palestine. You mentioned them. Australia has joined the list. In a month from now, here in New York, when the United Nations General Assembly gathers, Palestine is going to be front and center and those -- those countries will basically, if they follow through on their promise to recognize Palestine, that will be the biggest news. And the Trump administration will not be able to wriggle out of this.

As for -- as far as this parallel with Germany, well, you know, with Germany, there -- there was -- it was a world war where we, the United States, and its allies did not set out to kill vast numbers of German civilians and journalists. And we were willing to spend enormous amounts of American treasure to rebuild Germany after the war. Israel has shown no inclination to do that. And I don't think the parallel holds up very much at all.

CORNISH: Bobby Ghosh, thanks so much for your time.

GHOSH: Any time, Audie.

CORNISH: OK, Democrats need to win back the working class if they want a different outcome in the elections ahead. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders says billionaires influence in the last election is what Kamala Harris -- what cost Kamala Harris, the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): I like Kamala. She's a friend of mine. But she was - her core consultants, you know, were heavily influenced by very wealthy people. How do you run for president and not develop a strong agenda which speaks to the economic crisis facing working families? You know, more income and wealth inequality today than we've ever had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Appealing to the middle class appears to be working for New York City Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani, who's centered his campaign around affordability.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I don't think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: And that puts him on a collision course with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who has an estimated net worth of $3.7 billion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): How much money you have doesn't determine what your values are. And I'm a Democrat because I believe that everyone deserves health care.

So, it does not matter what your income level is. What matters is what your values are. And that's what makes me a Democrat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, group chat is back.

Bernie Sanders has been talking about wealth for a very, very long time. But in the time he's been talking about it, we have seen the growth of more billionaires and the billionaire class. And then I would say the first six months of the year with the Elon Musk- ification of government, the public might have a different sense of what we mean when we say billionaire.

Noel, can I start with you?

NOEL KING, CO-HOST AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, "TODAY, EXPLAINED" PODCAST: Yes, I -- I worry that Sanders, bless him, is giving us a narrative that's a little bit too simple here. I mean, Kamala Harris did not resonate with the working class. Polling shows us that. Something went wrong there.

Was it because many Americans felt like she's got billionaires whispering in her ear? I don't think so. And I don't think so, because Donald Trump was running around with Elon Musk in the months up to the campaign, proudly the richest man in the world. They were like bros for life. And Americans responded to that. They liked it. They liked Trump. They liked Musk.

And so, I don't know. The idea that somehow it was Kamala's relationship with billionaires, I -- I -- I don't know. Seems too simple.

SARA FISCHER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, it doesn't add up to me either, especially because when you look at the budding class of billionaires in the United States, they mostly are coming from the big tech sector, which are running to embrace Donald Trump. You take a look at the inauguration. You have Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos all lining up. Some are donating to his inaugural fund, dining with him.

CORNISH: Yes.

FISCHER: It does not feel like she was really able to win that cohort.

What she does own, and what Democrats continue to own is Hollywood. But Hollywood is no longer, in my opinion, equivalent to the wealthy class of the United States. That's up north in San Francisco.

CORNISH: I'm wondering also about how they are talking about affordability. You have the world of people who talk about abundance, philosophy something, and then you have Mamdani going out there being like, free busses, government-owned grocery stores. Is -- is it the language that makes a difference?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: You know, I think the problem for the Democrats right now is that they're all talking to each other about what they should be talking to voters about, and they're trying to work it out, but there's no one in this whole --

[06:40:03]

CORNISH: Well, in fairness, Sanders is on tour. I mean --

COLLINSON: Yes, but there -- there are very few up and coming Democratic politicians that are actually just doing it. And that is the problem. Remember the former vice president's interview with DaBa bash in the election. The first question was about affordability. And she didn't have a very strong answer. That was one of the big problems. It's not necessarily that consultants are running messages for politicians. You know, politicians that succeed, they create their own messages, their own narratives, their own mystique. And it just doesn't seem like, right now, and it's early, right? It's not even the midterm elections. We might see this come out in the midterm elections. But there aren't Democrats that are speaking to this loss they have had with the working class and the middle class. Some of that is not just economic. It's also cultural. People feel like Democrats have lost -- have -- have moved away from them. And Trump has come in and sort of filled that gap.

CORNISH: Well, hold that thought, because we have an actual live Democrat here who's going to talk to us more. COLLINSON: Ah, good.

CORNISH: Group chat, stick with me. We've got a lot to discuss.

Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to talk about President Trump and his attempt to beautify D.C., he claims by taking the homeless out. So, where are they going to go? We're going to talk to a congressman who represents the suburbs of D.C., next.

And no alter needed. One couple says "I do" between innings at center field.

And we want to know what's in your group chat. Send it to us now on X. We're going to be talking about ours after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:57]

CORNISH: President Trump vows to move -- remove homeless people from D.C. But where are they going to go? Over the weekend, he posted a series of photos showing tents on stretches of grass as proof of the problem, he claims, is taking over D.C. In a social media post he went on to say, quote, "the homeless have to move out immediately. We will give you places to stay, but far from the Capitol," adding, "there will be no more Mr. Nice Guy."

It's an issue he's long been fixated on when it comes to Americans and American inner cities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Build permanent bathrooms and other facilities. Make them good. Make them hard. But build them fast. And create thousands and thousands of high-quality tents, which can be done in one day. One day. And you have to move people out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now to talk about this and more is Congressman Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia. He represents the suburbs outside of D.C.

Congressman, thanks for being here.

So, we're going to talk about a lot of things, but let's talk about this escalation in language against the district over homelessness problem, over juvenile crime. I think he's mentioned the graffiti. There's going to be a press conference today. What do you see in how he's talking about this? Does it merit federal action?

REP. SUHAS SUBRAMANYAM (D-VA): Yes, you know, it -- his words just make it clear, he doesn't care about the homeless people, he doesn't care about the city, he just wants the homeless people out of his sight. And he's acting on crime right now because a DOJ employee got attacked.

And so, yes, you know, homelessness is a problem in D.C. It's -- crime is a problem in D.C., like it is in many cities. But I think it's special to him because it's -- him and his inner circle see it, and that's what is affecting them.

And so, I would say, generally, if he wants to address all these issues, how about start by actually funding D.C. and giving it the federal funding that it -- has been set aside for it over the years? They've been withholding funding for D.C. this session in Congress, and that would be a much better way to tackle homelessness, funding the police here, for instance, to be able to do their jobs rather than this rhetoric. And, generally, I see this rhetoric from -- from President Trump and this administration.

CORNISH: It is not just rhetoric in terms of, they've got now some federal agents from various departments that are going to be supporting the district when it comes to crime prevention. Do you see this as a step towards the most extreme would be revoking home rule, saying D.C. can't run itself, but in what ways is he encroaching on how D.C. is run?

SUBRAMANYAM: Yes, it's the law. The home rule, it's the law right now to give D.C. the autonomy to address these issues. If the president and this Congress want to help with crime, they can do that. If they want to help with homelessness, they can do that.

What I don't think is very hopeful, though, is when they withhold funding, like they have in the past, and they just talk about this problem and talking about moving people out of their sight, away from D.C. Because I live in Virginia. That's my district and my home. And so, is there a plan to move people to Virginia to get rid of the people in D.C. who are struggling? How about helping them directly? How about getting them funding? How about getting them housing here in D.C., their home, right? That would be much more productive than what the president's doing right now.

CORNISH: I want to turn to another issue because you are on the House Oversight Committee, correct?

SUBRAMANYAM: Correct.

CORNISH: And that has oversight over this Epstein conversation. Ghislaine Maxwell, of course, she was supposed to be deposed before the committee. That got postponed as the Supreme Court is reviewing her appeal. She's now in a low security facility.

Can you talk -- is there any way to force the White House to release audio of the conversation she had with the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche?

SUBRAMANYAM: Yes, we've certainly asked. We've certainly also requested that she come before our committee. We also requested that the victims have the chance to tell their stories as well. So, we ask that they be able to come testify because Ghislaine Maxwell is a liar, right? And right now, Trump and this administration has a pardon hanging over her to be able to incentivize her to basically protect the president and his involvement in the Epstein saga.

[06:50:03]

And so, we'd like some answers, and we'd like some truthful answers as well, which is why we're trying to get the voices of the victims also heard.

CORNISH: I want to play for you something that Vice President J.D. Vance was saying, essentially that, look, Democrats could have done more on this issue when they had the power. Why didn't they? I mean, obviously, this Epstein thing has gone back all the way to like 2006 under multiple administrations. So, here's what J.D. Vance had to say, the vice president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I laugh at the Democrats who are now, all of a sudden, so interested in the Epstein files. For four years Joe Biden and the Democrats did absolutely nothing about this story. We know that Jeffrey Epstein had a lot of connections with left-wing politicians and left-wing billionaires. And now President Trump has demanded full transparency from this and yet somehow the Democrats are attacking him and not the Biden administration, which did nothing for four years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUBRAMANYAM: The president campaigned on this repeatedly last year. In fact, his FBI director and deputy FBI director, when they were going around campaigning for the president, this is all they talked about, pretty much. And so, then he gets elected, and then he realizes that he's in the files. And now the files can't be released, right? The information can't be released.

And so, this is just another example of a broken promise that this president has made to the American people. Joe Biden isn't in the Epstein files. Joe Biden wasn't hiding anything, right? In the end, it's Trump who has the files supposedly -- he said that it's on the FBI director's desk -- and won't release them. So, this is a broken campaign promise. That's why it's different.

CORNISH: I want to talk about one more thing, which is that we're seeing the return of ads against Democrats that bring up the "they" "them" idea, kind of part of the push to say Democrats are too into gender ideology and trans rights. They're disconnected from voters. That's something Democrats did campaign, right, on supporting trans rights and those people and families. What do you do now as it's coming back as an attack weapon in elections?

SUBRAMANYAM: Yes, let's be clear, Republicans campaigned against trans people generally. You know, they're the ones that made this the issue in the campaign last year.

CORNISH: But they believe that there was public sentiment that supported them. SUBRAMANYAM: Yes, and the reality is, you know, I support all people,

regardless of their background or who they love. And what's happening is, Republicans are trying to find people to blame or trying to find people to attack, to distract from the fact that they've cut Medicaid, they've increased tariffs that have increased costs on the American people. They have a lot of really unpopular policies, so they need to find different groups that they can attack and blame for the problems that people are having right now. And so, I think this is another example of that.

CORNISH: All right, Congressman, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it.

SUBRAMANYAM: Thank you.

CORNISH: All right, President Trump is also going to meet face to face with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. He'll be attempting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. Vice President J.D. Vance has been meeting with European leaders who say peace talks must be preceded by a ceasefire, and that Ukraine's President Zelenskyy should be actively involved. The White House is not ruling that out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Both the Russians and the Ukrainians, probably at the end of the day, are going to be unhappy with it. But what -- but I don't think you can actually sit down and have this negotiation absent the leadership of Donald J. Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us now from Moscow.

What are you hearing from the Kremlin? Is there any chance that Zelenskyy would get a seat at the table on Friday?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think as far as the Russians are concerned, absolutely not. It's been quite interesting to hear the Russian messaging, Audie, over the weekend, but also over the last part of this past week where the Russians have said that, look, that idea of a possible three way meeting also involving Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, that that was floated by the U.S. when Steve Witkoff, the president's special envoy, was here on the ground in Russia, that the Russians didn't even react to that at all.

And then, of course, Vladimir Putin himself had said that there need to be conditions met before a three-way meeting could take place and before he would meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. And he said that they are still very far away from making that happen.

And of course, President Trump himself also said that a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not a prerequisite for a meeting with President Trump himself, which, of course, is going to happen in Alaska this -- this Friday, or is set to happen then. So, from the Russian perspective, they see this as a meeting between

President Trump and Vladimir Putin. And as far as the Russians are concerned, there also seem to be some differences as to what they want and as to what President Trump wants. Of course, we just heard President Trump wants a 30-day ceasefire to be put in place immediately. The Russians don't want that. They want negotiations for a broader peace agreement. Of course, the fighting would continue as long as those negotiations are still going on.

But fundamentally, Audie, what the Russians want is not to just talk about Ukraine. They're framing this as talks about Ukraine and ending that conflict, but then also a broader reset of U.S.-Russia relations is what the Russians are gunning for. Of course, sanctions relief, very important for them, but also business deals, specifically business deals, possible ones in the Arctic.

[06:55:05]

And if we look at the messaging that we've been seeing here over the weekend, for instance, from the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, that's the main thing that they've been talking about here in Russia, Audie.

CORNISH: That's CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Moscow. Thanks so much.

All right, we're going to talk more about what I was just speaking with, with the congressman about Republicans reviving an attack line from last year's presidential race that they believed helped them win back the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, the GOP reportedly spent nearly $215 million on network TV ads vilifying transgender people in the 2024 election cycle. And they're ready to spend even more.

As soon as former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced last month that he was running for the Senate in 2026, Republicans produced this ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cooper vetoed a bill to protect girls sports, vetoed a bill to ban gender transition surgeries for minors, puberty blockers, double mastectomies, mutilating children. Cooper stood with the woke left, endangering our kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Now, Republicans are betting that anti-trans they/them messaging will help them drown out Democrats who are running on issues like cuts to Medicaid and the president's mega bill.

Chris Lacivitas, Trump's 2024 campaign manager and the architect of the they/them ads, say that they were "built around the need to increase voting share with men, Hispanics and moms." and that they achieved that goal.

The group chat is back.

You just heard the congressman say, look, we want to be talking about Medicaid. We talk to you as our messaging person and the media. What are you thinking about this?

FISCHER: This has been a winning message for Republicans. There's no denying of it. And when I think about Elon Musk's shifting over to the Republican Party, this was the reason he cited. And he got a ton of traction with the right on this. Part of this --

CORNISH: And we should say because he has a trans child.

FISCHER: Yes.

CORNISH: So, in his family, it's very -- an issue.

FISCHER: It's very sensitive to him personally.

Part of this is because there has been an effort in to capture the evangelical right, which has a very, very staunch belief in straight couple marriages and, you know, very sort of anti-trans. But the key thing here to remember, Audie, is that anti-trans messaging works for the Republican Party because anti-LGBT messaging does not necessarily.

Republicans have embraced people who are gay in the party. What has not really moved over is the acceptance of trans people. And that's why you see this happening.

CORNISH: I want to play for you guys how Democrats have been talking about this. Kind of the ones who are out there talking the most. Frankly, Pete Buttigieg and Gavin Newsom. We start with Mayor Pete.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, FORMER TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I think most reasonable people would recognize that there are serious fairness issues if you just treat this as -- as not mattering when a trans athlete wants to compete in women's sports.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you say no men in female sports?

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Well, it's a -- I think it's an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I wanted to play that because, again, it's paying attention specifically to the sports part. KING: Yes, the sports part was something that seems to have hit a lot

of kind of middle of the road American parents who, even if their kid was not playing sports with, you know, a fellow trans classmate, really seemed to think that, like, it was a possibility and it shouldn't be happening.

I don't exactly know, given the very small number of trans kids who are playing sports in the United States, how this became such a big issue. But if you look at the end of the last campaign cycle, it was -- it was almost like people felt like it was a very personal threat to them and to their families, even if it wasn't within, you know, 100 miles of their school. That's why it's a winning message. Somehow resonating.

CORNISH: Well, how do you continue when you're already winning, so to speak? Meaning, if you -- there are statehouses across the country, they're passing these anti-trans laws. Can you still say this is a threat when, frankly, you're winning on the political messaging?

COLLINSON: Right. And the president has done a lot of stuff on this. In a way, his success could take it almost off the table perhaps as a political issue because people might start thinking, well, that's been dealt with. My question is whether this issue has a half-life. And we saw it kind of come up first, I think, in the Virginia governor's race. And that was like four years ago.

CORNISH: Yes.

COLLINSON: It reached a peak through the last cycle. Does it become less effective now? Are other issues going to come to the table? Is this the Republicans playing an old playbook? We saw that abortion, for example, which has been a long-time Democratic issue after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, it became less and less effective the -- the longer --

CORNISH: Yes.

COLLINSON: As a -- as an election issue. You get away from the key crisis point.

CORNISH: And we -- we just have a moment left. But the other thing that strikes me is, both trans activists and progressive activists really lost their platform in X/Twitter. And so, their ability to lead the conversation or even punch back seems greatly diminished.

KING: Yes, it does.

FISCHER: Not just X, by the way. A lot of different platforms, Meta as well, has pulled back some of the protections for trans activism and speech on its platform.

[07:00:02]

So, it's not just one platform, it's actually the entire internet. Sort of this --

CORNISH: So, their ability even to mount a kind of response is really different.

FISCHER: Yes.

KING: This time around. And -- and again, if there's no one to push against, what are the Republicans pushing against, right?

CORNISH: All right, you guys, thank you for talking with me about this. Not an easy thing to figure out. I want to thank you for waking up with us. We've got more news headlines with "CNN NEWS CENTRAL." I'm Audie Cornish. Stay with us.