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CNN This Morning
Trump has Deal with China; Gov. Ned Lamont (D-CT) is Interviewed about SNAP; Disapproval of East Wing Demolition Project. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired October 30, 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]
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: For the president, but it has confused what the bodies of law governing (INAUDIBLE) are.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it's interesting to watch what, if any, backlash there's going to be.
Elliot, thank you.
WILLIAMS: Of course.
CORNISH: We're going to see you, of course, this week.
And straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, new developments out of Paris. Several new arrests in the heist at the Louvre. But where are those stollen jewels?
Plus, it's a 12 out of ten, according to the president, who is feeling good after his trade deal with China.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:35:15]
CORNISH: Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. And I want to thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.
It's half past the hour. And here's what's happening right now.
Five more suspects arrested in connection to the Louvre jewel heist. One of the suspects is suspected to be part of the four-man group which carried out the heist ten days ago. Two others were arrested last weekend and have, quote, "partially admitted" to being involved. The jewels, of course, remain missing.
And terrifying stories coming out of Jamaica now, as we're getting a better picture of the damage left behind from Hurricane Melissa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Horrible. Horrific. Terrifying. The worst day of my entire life. I had to climb over a house, a wall, just to get shelter in -- in
another person's home, just so that I didn't drown to death with my child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: More than 140,000 people in Jamaica have been cut off. Rescue crews are still trying to make their way to them. At least 30 people have been killed across the Caribbean. The true death toll is still unknown.
And Melissa is still a category two storm this morning. It's currently moving towards Bermuda.
And the U.S. military launched another strike on an alleged drug boat in the Pacific. Four people were killed. This is the 14th strike in recent months and it's causing tension at the Pentagon. CNN has learned a three-star general serving on the Pentagon's joint staff was pushed out over disagreements with the defense secretary over those operations in the Caribbean, among other things.
And the president is now flying back to the U.S., apparently with a handshake agreement on a new trade deal with China. Trump wrapped up his three country Asia tour a few hours ago with a meeting with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping. And both sides signaled at least a thaw in this bitter trade war as they sat down at an airport in South Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we've already agreed to a lot of things. And we'll agree to some more right now. But President Xi is a great leader of a great country, and I think we're going to have a fantastic relationship for a long period of time.
XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): Given our different national conditions, we do not always see eye to eye with each other. And it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Now it seems some of those frictions have been eased. On Air Force One, President Trump announced a deal to lower tariffs on China over fentanyl. China also agreed to lift export controls on rare earth minerals, at least for one year, while also agreeing to resume purchasing U.S. soybean products. Historically, China's been the number one buyer of those exports. And this year it didn't buy any.
Joining the group chat now to talk about this, David Sanger, CNN political and national security analyst. He's also the national security correspondent for "The New York Times."
Welcome to the chat, David.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to be with you. CORNISH: We're bringing you in because you've been doing a lot of
writing about this. And I want to start with the deal because there's the top line and then there's like what -- what actually was accomplished. Other than this deal for soybean farmers, who were upset, what was actually accomplished here?
SANGER: You know, I think the best way to think about this, Audie, was that the presidents want another ceasefire. He created a crisis by putting in the tariffs. The Chinese responded by cutting off rare earths, ceasing the purchase of American soybeans, which they knew would create huge, political pressure. He's basically reset the clock to January.
But the remarkable thing about this was, what wasn't in their announcements. When you think about what we've just heard in the past few hours. And this is the first time these two have met in six years. You know, obviously Covid got in the way of --
CORNISH: Yes.
SANGER: Of a good bit of that. China's got the fastest growing nuclear capability. It's got technological competition with us in artificial intelligence and semiconductors. There's the TikTok issue. There's Taiwan. We heard about none of that.
CORNISH: Yes, which, by the way, TikTok, just because there's a lot of creators out there watching this, who's going to control the algorithm if a sale goes through?
SANGER: Well, the U.S., in its previous discussions, you know, a few weeks ago, said that over time the U.S. would create its own algorithm based on the TikTok model. But we were expecting this deal to be sort of closed, and the details of how that would work to be announced. It didn't happen.
CORNISH: I have to ask, Mike, I think you were saying that this was kind of the whole -- the whole enchilada.
[06:40:01]
Like this -- this Asia trip was sort of, well, you might have said eggroll, but I think that you --
MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Audie, you're putting a lot of words in my mouth this morning.
CORNISH: I am. Listen, we take notes on this show, OK.
DUBKE: I may not send you notes anymore.
CORNISH: But where -- where the -- do you see what has been accomplished, rather than kind of what David is outlining here, how much wasn't?
DUBKE: Well, look, I think a couple of things that we didn't talk about have been accomplished. The trade deals with Japan and South Korea, and then the peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand, which were, I mean, basically, I think all victories for -- for President Trump on -- on that front.
The one place with -- with David that I might take exception, and this is really on the -- on the tariffs. Yes, we have ratcheted down the fentanyl tariffs from 20 to -- to 10 percent, but we still have an average, I think it's 45 percent tariffs on China.
CORNISH: Yes.
SANGER: That's right.
DUBKE: Before Trump came in, and when you say it was reset to January, before he came in it was like 2.7 percent.
CORNISH: Yes.
DUBKE: So, we still have this, I -- you know, can be described as a very extreme tariff regime with China. China imposes 35 percent tariffs on us. So, I guess we're winning that war. But there still is a lot more to go here.
CORNISH: Yes. And your scare quotes are doing a lot of work that David was saying --
DUBKE: Yes.
CORNISH: Which is that this is a problem of his own making. Like, this is not the -- where we are is in part because of the president's own tariff regime.
DUBKE: Well, the problem were -- yes. It's money.
SANGER: That's right.
DUBKE: You know.
SANGER: Look, I'm not suggesting that any of that is small or, you know, not critical to the relationship. What I am saying is, isn't it astounding that they met for only an hour and 40 minutes when we're talking about the world's two largest economies, two biggest technological competitors? I mean even with the failed meeting with Putin, it went on for three hours before they left lunch on the table and walked out the door.
CORNISH: Yes.
SANGER: So, you know, when I think about the last big meeting that Xi Jinping had with Joe Biden, which was in San Francisco on the edges of another summit, they basically kept at it all day.
CORNISH: Yes.
SANGER: And the fact that they did not have enough prepared here to be able to go do that, I think is telling.
CORNISH: It's telling. It's also telling about the relationship and Trump's ability to draw China into his usual diplomatic theatrics.
SANGER: Yes.
CORNISH: I want to ask you about one other thing, because it kind of came up, I'm just going to say randomly.
Just before this meeting, the president basically said that he wanted to revive the idea of nuclear testing. He put this on Truth Social. And he said he ordered the military to, quote, "start testing nuclear weapons on an equal basis." And he wants to -- that process to start immediately.
And just for history here, folks, the U.S. has not detonated a nuclear bomb in more than three decades. And the president, of course, is saying that should change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It had to do with others. They seem to all be nuclear testing.
REPORTER: Russia?
TRUMP: We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. We don't do testing. And we've halted it years -- many years ago. But with others doing testing, I think it's appropriate that we do also.
CORNISH: Who is he saying is doing testing?
SANGER: Well, that's the great mystery. So, China has not tested since the '90s. Russia has not tested since the '90s. He may be confusing this with the delivery vehicle tests, exotic weapons, that Putin was showing off even earlier this week. But there was no nuclear detonation involved in that.
The only country that has tested has been North Korea, and their last test was about six years ago. So, I'm not quite sure where this rash of nuclear testing that he's discussing is coming from.
Now, there has been pressure from many in the -- in the nuclear community to say that you can't go three decades without doing tests and that it's not enough to be (ph) a nuclear power.
CORNISH: And we should say, one of the reasons why they stopped is because they were using mathematical models and they were able to say, look, we think there's another way to do this.
SANGER: And because we -- because we've got nations around the world to sign, but not ratify, unfortunately, the comprehensive test ban treaty, which was supposed to stop testing around the world.
CORNISH: Is this a sign the U.S., which had never signed on to nuclear proliferation, is just further disinterested in being a leader on the idea of like deescalating nuclear ambition.
SANGER: Right. And the comprehensive test ban treaty was basically an American-driven idea that America never set -- ratified, because they couldn't get through the Senate.
CORNISH: Right.
All right, David, thank you so much.
SANGER: Yes.
CORNISH: We talked about a lot of things here. Appreciate your time.
If you want to hear more or if you missed David's full conversation, please know we're a podcast. Look below. This QR code is where you can find our show. CNN THIS MORNING is available anywhere you get your podcasts.
And next on CNN THIS MORNING, Americans may feel bulldozed by the White House renovations. Is it all part of a larger strategy by the president?
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We should not be pitting health care against food.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Millions of children could go hungry if SNAP benefits run out this weekend.
[06:45:02]
Some governors are doing something about it. I'm going to talk to one live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very concerned. I don't know what I'm going to do. I know you can go to food pantries and stuff, but it's going to be so out of control. I mean you might be standing there five, six hours to get any food.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Hunger is about to become a harsh reality for more than 40 million Americans who rely on SNAP. Food stamp benefits expire Saturday unless Congress or President Trump figures out how to end the government shutdown. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont is not waiting for the weekend. His administration is providing $3 million in emergency state funding to help people affected. But not all governors are so eager.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JEFF LANDRY (R-LA): When you don't understand how to ensure that you have money for a rainy day, then you can't act when it rains.
If you're a disabled person, if you're a child, then it's going to be raining for you because of the decisions that Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats are making in Washington, D.C.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:50:12]
CORNISH: Joining me now is the governor of Connecticut, Ned Lamont.
And, first, Governor, I want to ask how you feel when you hear Republican, you know, from Louisiana, another governor, saying, look, this is the fault of Democrats and -- and really underscoring the pain folks are going to be feeling.
GOV. NED LAMONT (D-CT): Don't get stuck in the Washington politics. You're a governor. You've got to step up and help people in need. It's just incredible that at this particular time, when they're furloughing federal employees and layoffs and all the risk out there, they're cutting off SNAP benefits. For the state of Connecticut, that's 400,000 people, mainly kids. So, we wanted to step up and say, look, we're going to work through food share, our food banks. We're going to get six million meals delivered over the next two weeks. And if Washington can't get its act together, we'll do it again, and probably even more.
CORNISH: I don't want to be dismissive of that because people need this funding, but Connecticut distributes 75 million a month in SNAP benefits, right? So that $3 million in emergency funding is only going to go so far.
I also know that the USDA says it won't reimburse states who try and cover SNAP costs their own. So, what are your plans if this continues?
LAMONT: Historically, the feds have already come back and replenished supplies if the fed -- if the states have to step up.
But look, we're going to walk before we run. We've got 600 food pantries. They need volunteers out there. Like I said, we're going to get, you know, millions of meals out there over the next couple of weeks. And if we have to do more than that, we will do more than that.
CORNISH: What is your response to Democratic senators, certainly from your state, who are holding the line in the face of this? Should they be?
LAMONT: Look, I think you've got to make a deal. But it is shocking to me that everybody's talking about affordability, and here we are jacking up the price of food for people. This shutdown is all about jacking up the price of health care for hundreds of thousands of our citizens here in Connecticut on the exchange. Putting tariffs on energy, that's going to jack up the price of electricity. So, this administration is making it a lot tougher for us to make life a little more affordable for our people. CORNISH: Affordability is a massive issue in the New York mayoral
race. I know you've commented recently. I think you were at the Greenwich Hedge Fund Forum, that you had some concerns about Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist in the race.
One of the things I noticed, though, is almost two dozen billionaires, some of them Democrats, have leaned in and put money into this race against Mamdani. Does that undermine the argument that you just brought up, that affordability is an issue, or that Democrats answer to wealthy donors and not voters?
LAMONT: I think Mamdani, better than any of the other Democrats, is really making affordability front and center. That's why he's a very strong frontrunner in this race. And if he wins, he's our mayor in New York City, and I'm going to be working with him.
I am reminded, though, of what George Washington once told Alexander Hamilton, revolutions are easy. Governing is hard. So, we've got to think about the next step, how you govern New York City. Govern, you know, 250,000 employees, $120 billion budget. So, they've got to think about that as well.
CORNISH: Do you have any concerns that people in the financial sector will want to leave New York, or that it will become unwelcoming to businesses?
LAMONT: Look, I think Mamdani's run a brilliant campaign. Now it's time to transition. Is he a mayor who can govern? Part of that's going to be reaching out to the business community and Wall Street and say, I'm here, you know, to fight for all the people. I know how important you are to the city. But, by the way, I'm doing everything I can to make sure life is a little more affordable for our working families.
CORNISH: That's Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont.
Thank you for being with us this morning.
LAMONT: Audie, nice to see you.
CORNISH: OK, so people are not just angry about their fellow Americans losing SNAP benefits. They're also upset at how the White House is spending money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is something so specifically sinister about November. About a national community event focused around food and eating will not be accessible for everyone because the government is shut down. Meanwhile, the president is tearing down the East Wing to build a ballroom. People will not have the money to --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK. A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows 57 percent of Americans disapprove of the plans to replace it with a new 90,000 square foot ballroom. Now, lawmakers are demanding answers as well. You've got Senate Democrats, led by California's Adam Schiff, who want the White House to provide a complete accounting of how it's paying for the ballroom. That's in addition to any special conditions for donors.
[06:55:03]
The group chat is back.
The reason why I wanted to talk about this is, obviously, it's reached the nation's pundits of TikTok, right? Like, people are drawing their own conclusions.
But, David, you were bringing up this idea of accountability. That in the past people did make renovations, but they took a completely different approach.
SANGER: That's right. When Truman did his, it went through Congress. It got debated. Some people thought it was a waste of money. It actually ended up saving the White House from falling down. Seemed like a good -- good purpose.
CORNISH: Used public funds. Set up a commission.
SANGER: So, used -- right. A bipartisan commission. They all went and reviewed it. So, this was done basically under cover of night. I mean you only knew from leaked photographs that the entire East Wing was coming down, because the earlier words from the White House were, doesn't touch the building.
CORNISH: Yes. People have been calling this kind of political hand- wringing. The White House is like, calm down. But I think there is something to like what our pundit was saying, which is like, you're getting to build what you want, getting money with what you want, and we're out here broke.
MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: Yes, in short.
DUBKE: I mean -- well, go ahead, Meghan.
HAYS: Yes, the optics here are really bad. We've talked about this before. The optics of what's happening right now are extremely terrible. But Donald Trump doesn't care. So, this is where elections matter and voting matters. So, we can talk about accountability. We can talk about all the things we want. He tore down the East Wing. It's gone. It's over. So, we have to move on. And like that's great to try to hold them accountable. But this is why elections matter. This is why Democrats are standing so firm on the health care subsidies. They know that these things matter to the American people, and it will matter in the midterms.
CORNISH: The flip side is, if you change facts on the ground, David, which is what you've said, and you do a wreck it, Ralph, right? You just do the thing first and ask for apologies later. I mean, it's working. You're literally bulldozing your way through government.
HAYS: Yes.
DUBKE: But this is part of why America --
HAYS: There's no accountability for him.
DUBKE: Whether you are a fan of Trump or not, this is part of the reason he is as successful as he has been, is because he's actually just moving forward and taking action. And that is -- that's an element to Trump that no other politician, frankly, in America, even the Democrats that pretend to want to be like Trump can do.
CORNISH: Yes. Not even the Democrats. Definitely the Democrats. They do not have a record of bulldozing forward.
HAYS: Yes. But I agree --
CARI CHAMPION, HOST, NAKED SPORTS WITH CARI CHAMPION": I agree with him. That is his popularity, that he just does what he wants to do. But I think this sets a new precedent. I think that we'll have other people, after Trump, doing the exact same thing, and who will feel emboldened by him to do the exact same thing.
HAYS: That's right.
CHAMPION: Whether it be tearing down the East Wing, doing whatever they want. This is -- this is now changing how we see politics forever, which is what (INAUDIBLE).
CORNISH: Do you think so?
SANGER: I'm not sure that at the beginning of the administration, if we had asked the question, do we think the president has the authority to just tear down a third of the White House by himself without --
CORNISH: They didn't poll on that?
SANGER: Yes, right. I think they missed that one, or at least I missed reading it.
CORNISH: Yes.
CHAMPION: Yes.
SANGER: And -- and, you know, that is -- you know, he brings to this his approach as a New York real estate developer.
CHAMPION: Yes.
SANGER: And, you know, when I was a young reporter in New York, you'd see Donald Trump pull stunts like this all the time. And I, you know, I think the only surprise is, when you're in the White House, you're regarded as the custodian of the past history and institutions of America.
CHAMPION: Yes.
SANGER: And that is not the way Donald Trump governs. It's working for him, as you said.
CORNISH: Yes, governs as -- yes.
CHAMPION: David, I disagree with one thing. You're still a young reporter.
SANGER: Oh.
CORNISH: OK.
SANGER: (INAUDIBLE). You may be the only one who thinks that.
CORNISH: Well, we're about to find out, because we're going to talk about our group chats.
SANGER: OK.
CORNISH: David, we'll start with you as our guest. What's in your group chat?
SANGER: You know, my group chats are so boring. They tend to be --
CORNISH: Just -- I was trying to help you, David Sanger.
SANGER: They tend to be -- they tend to be the groups of White House correspondents at "The New York Times." And they're wonderful and funny at moments. But usually they're like, OK, who's got to write this?
CORNISH: OK, Mike, what about you? I know you like to gos (ph).
DUBKE: Mine -- mine's an easy one. It's Analog America. I am fascinated by gen z and basically all Americans. I'm gen x. Going back to vinyl. Going back to needlepoint.
CORNISH: I've heard about this.
DUBKE: Going back to -- I mean, I think everybody --
CHAMPION: That's right.
CORNISH: We have analog bags.
DUBKE: Analog bags. It's Analog America, and it is, you know --
CHAMPION: Gen x best (INAUDIBLE).
CORNISH: We're here for it.
DUBKE: What's your -- what's your -- what's your analog activity.
CORNISH: That's it (ph). Carry your watercolors. We want that for you.
DUBKE: Yes. Yes.
CORNISH: OK, Meghan. HAYS: To not have any spoilers for the "Love is Blind" reunion. I will talk about Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau dating.
CHAMPION: My favorite new couple.
CORNISH: Go public.
HAYS: Yes, all over my group chats this week. They went public this week. So, real big in our group chat.
CORNISH: Hey, last word to you.
CHAMPION: All right, so mine is, I -- what I've noticed, and this is maybe a little bit of "Love is Blind." What did it take to rob the Louvre? Seven, eight minutes? We discussed this in our group chat earlier. I wonder, if thieves can come together and do that, primarily men, how come we can't get a text back from men in a speedy amount of time is what I --
CORNISH: Cari asking serious questions.
CHAMPION: I mean how come I can't get guys --
CORNISH: Y'all be in a hurry until --
CHAMPION: Until. Yes. You all want to do what you want to do until you can text me back. What is the problem?
CORNISH: Honestly, this is the news --
HAYS: It's a real question.
CHAMPION: It's a real question.
CORNISH: This is the news we need.
Mike, last word to you.
[07:00:00]
DUBKE: And mine -- no, no, no, mine is, why is it always on the guys to text first?
CHAMPION: Great question. Great question.
CORNISH: The gender wars are back.
CHAMPION: Per usual.
DUBKE: It's a -- that's not a gender war. It's -- it is a --
CHAMPION: Well, it is.
DUBKE: It is a common courtesy.
CORNISH: It's fair. It's fair. CHAMPION: OK. Fair.
CORNISH: So, if you're out there, please, text Michael back, OK, ladies.
DUBKE: Please. And that includes my wife.
CORNISH: In the meantime, we're going to have the headlines for you next. "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts now.
