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President Trump Lands in China; Trump: "I Don't Think About Americans' Financial Situation"; Tim Cook and Elon Musk Joins Trump in China; Sam Altman Testifies in Landmark A.I. Trial. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired May 13, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:00]

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Keep close tabs on those speeding zones for sure here. That does it for CNN Headline Express. I'm Brad Smith. CNN This Morning with Audie Cornish starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, President Trump en route to China in search of some wins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't think we need any help with Iran. We'll win it one way or the other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, can the president find his way out of this war without the help of Beijing? And a gaggle of tech bros joining the president in China. One jumped on the plane at the last minute. Could he unlock a major deal on A.I.? And --

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KASH PATEL, DIRECTOR, FBI: The only thing I know is you're the one drinking margaritas with film.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, that's a false statement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, Kash Patel flips the script on a senator, then agrees to take an alcohol test. Did he do enough to save his job? And here in New York, the city's mayor has a balanced budget. Is it too good to be true?

In the meantime, those passengers still isolated. CNN speaks exclusively with the American doctor who tested positive for Hantavirus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the time, it was felt like this is just some virus. And now, in retrospect, there is a question, could it have been Hantavirus? (END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: All right. The strongman showdown in the next hour. President Trump expected to land in Beijing, but with the war in Iran casting a shadow over the trip, can he deliver on a much-needed foreign policy win? Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish.

We're going to start with this crucial test for the president. He's going to have to navigate this very tricky relationship with Xi Jinping, even though he's bogged down by a war that he can't seem to shake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, what is your message to President Xi as it relates to the Iran war?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I think, number one, we're going to have a long talk about it. I think he's been relatively good, to be honest with you. You look at the blockade, no problem. They get a lot of their oil from that area. We've had no problem. And he's been a friend of mine. He's been somebody that we get along with. And I think you're going to see that good things are going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK. Here's the context here. China is a friend with Tehran, and President Trump is expected to try to encourage Xi to push Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and maybe even agree to a peace deal.

We're bringing in CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes, who's actually in Beijing. This meeting has been a long time coming, very high stakes, especially after the tariff wars. What is the actual goal of the White House?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, it's really unclear what their long-term goal of the White House is here. A lot of this has shifted because of the fact that the war in Iran is still looming over this meeting. They do believe they're going to come out of this with some deals in terms of economic deals. There's going to be conversations around soybeans, agriculture. They're also hoping that China will pledge to buy commercial jetliners. We'll see how that plays out.

There's also room for a lot of private sector deals. We saw this in Saudi Arabia when President Trump went. He's traveling with roughly a dozen CEOs from America's biggest firms. Tim Cook will be there, Elon Musk, among many others. So, you're looking at likely some of those private sector deals as well.

But again, it's very questionable what is actually going to be accomplished during this meeting, given the fact that such a huge issue is still on the table. And that is, of course, the war in Iran and what President Trump is going to have to push the president of China to do, which, as you mentioned, not just friends with Iran, but Iran is China's closest ally and partner in the region. They get an enormous amount of their gas and oil from Iran. But so far, President Xi has not been willing to step up and aid Iran publicly, at least.

And so, this is going to be the biggest item on the table. So, whether or not they can actually get those business deals done, that's going to be a big question.

CORNISH: The other thing that's hanging over this is Taiwan. I mean, I know after the U.S. made its intrusions into Venezuela, now launching this war in Iran, a lot of people started to wonder whether China would sort of increase its action or leanings towards Taiwan. The weird thing is, there's this Defense Department subcontract, right, of 12.4 million that's supposed to supply Taiwan with support. Would Xi actually bring this up?

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HOLMES: It seems unlikely that she would bring it up, but it does seem like President Trump is going to bring this up since he's said so a number of times. Now, one of the things to keep in mind here, anything that the United States does in regards to Taiwan is going to be contentious. You talked about this kind of minor deal that the Defense Department just announced as President Trump was coming over to China, and this could be seen somewhat as a flex by President Trump.

As we've noted, and as we've been noting for days, the war in Iran hanging over this really limits the president's power during this meeting. Many analysts believe that he's severely weakened because of the war in Iran and because he needs something from President Xi, which is help pushing Iran to either reopen the Strait of Hormuz or come to a peace agreement. So, because of that, you can see President Trump here kind of flexing a little muscle.

A $12 million deal is not a huge deal. We're usually talking about billions when it comes to these defense contracts with Taiwan. But it does still show President Xi that Trump is holding some of the cards with something that he wants deeply and wants to have a conversation about. And so, you could view this as President Trump just moments before the meeting kind of showing that he still has power in some areas.

CORNISH: OK. Kristen Holmes is going to be keeping an eye on that meeting today. And coming up on CNN This Morning, those redistricting wars come to a head this time in South Carolina. Why Republicans help defy the president and block the new maps. Plus, after months of back and forth, the controversial alligator Alcatraz is closing. And --

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a little scary. It can be, you know, your livelihood is affected.

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CORNISH: The president says he doesn't think about Americans finances when he's talking about Iran. So, is that just posturing? Is he starting to feel the pressure back home? We'll have more. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, I see nothing but an upward trajectory.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm trying not to drive as much because I can take Scepter and I can walk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If the prices continue to go up, we're going to have to limit driving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we really want Iran to have a nuclear weapon? Imagine what they would do with that, you know? So, it's going to take a few months to settle this thing. So, we learned to live with a big deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Right. Those are some people talking about those high gas prices. But here's what the president says when he was asked about whether he actually thinks about Americans finances when he's negotiating with Iran.

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TRUMP: Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about American financial situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: All right. So, we're going to ask the question about whether he really cares, whether he's putting on an act for negotiations with our group chat. Cari Champion, CNN contributor and host of "Flagrant and Funny." Joe Borelli, Republican and former New York City council member. And Antjuan Seawright, Democratic strategist.

I don't expect the leader of the free world to be thinking about this level of stuff when he is in the middle of a war. I think the problem is the messaging back home has raised a lot of questions for people. I want to play for you, Kevin Hassett. He's been kind of the main messenger here, National Economic Council director. He told Fox Business this on Tuesday about people's worries about the economy.

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KEVIN HASSETT, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: First of all, this is a temporary energy shock, and that's very clearly in the data. I think that the White House's position is this is very close to an end. And when that happens, there's going to be a gusher of oil and a reduction in prices. If you look at capital spending in March, the orders were up 3.3 percent, not an annual rate. It's one of the biggest months we've ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: It's like everything is good when you hear him talk. And then when we ask just people on the street, they don't say everything's good.

CARI CHAMPION, CNN CONTRIBUTOR AND HOST, "FLAGRANT AND FUNNY": You know, the good way to explain it, and I was trying to have this -- I was having this conversation. We were just talking about the Kevin Hart roast randomly, right?

CORNISH: Yes.

CHAMPION: So, I hear some comedians say, you know what's interesting? We're all out of work, like in terms of people who are in L.A. That's just an L.A. thought process. But in my mind, I'm looking around, you talk to your friends, a lot of my friends are just out of work. While on paper, it might look good, but I think most Americans feel this in a real way, like, OK, where's the affordability? What can I do? I might be making more money, but I feel like I'm more in debt.

CORNISH: Yes, the wages are not keeping. We just want to show the --

CHAMPION: It's not -- the math is not mapping.

CORNISH: The math is not mapping.

CHAMPION: Mapping.

CORNISH: The economist's way of saying that is the annual inflation number in April was 3.8 percent. We talk about this a lot on the show, just this idea of like, we remember when Biden, we had to defend Bidenomics, and then everyone said it was a vibe session. What's different here is that the public can pinpoint the exact day decisions were made, policy decisions by Trump that affect how they live now. So, how -- what is the kind of defense of this by Republicans as they head into midterm?

JOE BORELLI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, CHARTWELL STRATEGY GROUP, (R) FORMER MINORITY LEADER, NYC COUNCIL AND FORMER STATE LEGISLATOR: Well, I think Republicans accept that. Even Kevin Hassett basically said as much, right? This is an inflationary pop that's caused by what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz. Now, the Iranians --

CORNISH: How long is a pop?

BORELLI: Look, it's been one month. This is based on the April numbers, right?

CORNISH: Yes.

BORELLI: Probably will happen a second month. We should probably expect that. But going forward --

CORNISH: But like September, October? BORELLI: I think for political purpose, we should hope it's happening in September, October. Those numbers are going down.

CORNISH: Let me follow up with you then you can answer at the end of this. Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio asked about this on Tuesday.

[06:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE MORENO (R-OH): The gas price situation and stuff, but I don't think that's going to be resolved in the next few weeks. I think this trip to China is going to be instrumental in getting the Chinese to weigh in. If that happens, gas prices will crash just like they did on the way up. They'll come on the way down. So, I think by call it Labor Day, it's all in the rearview mirror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Is that the message?

BORELLI: I think that's the likely outcome. I mean, we saw prices drop significantly in Bretton WTI after some progress was made a few weeks back. I think that's the likely outcome when there's a positive announcement.

But let's be clear about what Iran is doing. They don't have much leverage. They don't have military leverage. They're not getting the support that they think from their allies, right? So, they are trying to work the American press into pressuring Trump through this economic issue. That's why the president is, you know, essentially going on camera saying, it's not what we're talking about. It's not what we're worried about. We're worried about the strategic threat of nuclear weapons. That's a pushback on what Iran is trying to do.

CORNISH: Let Antjuan jump in.

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Look, there's a different conversation on K Street than it is on Main Street and Main Street. On K Street, Trump and his officials are intellectually being dishonest about what the reality everyday Americans are feeling. The reality is this war and this economy of choice is sponsored and brought to you by Donald Trump and the neighborhood Republican Party.

No one asked for this war. And as a direct result of this war, we're now feeling the pain at the pump, but also in the everyday lives of Americans. When you think about health care, when you think about utility prices, when you think about gas, groceries, goods, and they mean that the majority party have done absolutely nothing to lower costs for the American people.

CORNISH: Let me just underscore what you're saying here. When CNN did its polling, we asked the question, has the war with Iran affected your financial situation? 75 percent said negatively. So, I think they're making -- it's hard to change people's feelings about the economy. Let (INAUDIBLE) answer this. Yes? BORELLI: Look, the math is the math, right? When the cost of diesel goes up, the cost of groceries and service delivery, all that goes up. That's why the Republicans have been essentially, you know, very solid on this measure and consistent on this message where they're saying this is a temporary pop. This is something that's going to happen.

SEAWRIGHT: But, Joe --

BORELLI: It's getting that -- it's landing that plane, I think, before, as Senator Moreno said, by Labor Day, by September, by October. You need to do that.

CHAMPION: But listen, the reality is, no, you can tell people anything you want to tell people, but they remember how you make them feel. And right now, Americans don't feel good at all.

BORELLI: They shouldn't. They lost 10 percent of their purchasing power in a year under Joe Biden. That has still not played not.

CORNISH: OK. Let me follow up on this in a little bit --

SEAWRIGHT: With all -- can I make one quick point.

CORNISH: Yes, go ahead.

SEAWRIGHT: With all due respect, it's not just gas. And it's not just the opportunities that Republicans have had since they've had this majority in the presidency. Things have gone up since MAGAnomics has become a failure, since Donald Trump has taken over his economy. And you mentioned, you know, what Americans are feeling. I call that feelonomics. That's economics you can feel. And you all have failed on the economic front when it comes to my personal economy.

CORNISH: Well, listen, we're going to talk more. We're going to have a lawmaker here. We're going to talk redistricting. All this matters ahead, to your point, about how people feel and how long that lasts. Because there's a certain point, I'm not sure if the name Biden is still on people's lips.

CHAMPION: Yes.

CORNISH: So, we'll see if that --

BORELLI: I'll make sure of that.

CORNISH: You'll make sure of that. That's what the lobbyist -- I want to turn to this because another major driver in our economy is tech. And tech CEOs are headed to China. We're going to talk about what kind of deals they hope they can make. And then New York City's mayor has balanced his budget. How did he do it in five months? And good morning to Chicago. We'll be right back.

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[06:20:00] CORNISH: All right. You should know the president is not going to China alone. He's got some of his best big tech buds joining him. Apple CEO Tim Cook, Elon Musk, representatives from Meta and Boeing. They're all part of this U.S. delegation. NVIDIA's boss jumped on Air Force One during a stopover in Alaska just a short time ago.

So, we're bringing in CNN business tech reporter Clare Duffy to keep track of it all. So, talk to me about these CEOs and what they're doing in China. Is this like the trip they all made with the president to the Middle East last year?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS TECH REPORTER: Yes. I mean clearly Trump likes to travel with this group and I think there's sort of two reasons here. One is that among this group will be some friendly faces in China. Folks like Apple's Tim Cook, who has built out a massive manufacturing ecosystem in China. Elon Musk, whose Tesla was once called by Chinese officials a successful model for U.S.-Chinese partnership and business. So, bringing along some friendly faces as he potentially seeks to make deals.

And then among this group, you also have people who have something to gain from this trip. You look at something like Meta, which was just ordered by Chinese officials to unravel its $2 billion acquisition of a Chinese A.I. start-up. You've got Boeing, which is potentially in negotiations for a major order from China.

CORNISH: And China wants the access to the tech. This has been a whole issue that the administration also complained about at one point, was that there was a tech transfer that they didn't feel comfortable with.

DUFFY: That's exactly right. Both China and the U.S. have something to gain here. In particular, the U.S. would like China to ease up on its restrictions, sending raw materials for things like chips and data centers and solar panels. Those are all very important to U.S. tech companies. But you're right that China would also like the U.S. potentially to ease up on its restrictions of advanced technology and in particular, advanced A.I. technology.

So, for Trump, parading some of the best and brightest of the U.S. tech economy and tech industry potentially gives him some leverage to say, you should give us what we want because look at what we have to give you.

CORNISH: Also, it's more likely to get an economic win rather than a foreign policy win when it comes to Iran, right? You'll come home with something.

[06:25:00]

DUFFY: I think that's exactly right. There are potentially some trickier things, Iran, Taiwan, as Trump enters into these negotiations with China. If he can bring home a win or some deals for big tech companies, at least he's got something to point to from this meeting.

CORNISH: OK. Let's goss about my obsession, which is this trial between Elon Musk and Sam Altman of OpenAI. This has been really unusual in that you have some of the biggest CEOs of the biggest companies in the world in courtroom sketches basically, right, like the rest of us --

DUFFY: Yes.

CORNISH: -- having to answer questions about how they do business.

DUFFY: Yes. It is really fascinating to sort of see the person behind these big companies. They've created such amazing personas. But to see them forced to answer questions in front of a jury of all of our peers --

CORNISH: About the personas.

DUFFY: About their personas.

CORNISH: Literally, like are you the person you say you are.

DUFFY: And so, Sam Altman testified yesterday. This was a really important moment because Musk has alleged here essentially that Sam Altman and the other co-founders of OpenAI were dishonest and that they breached their charitable trust by transforming OpenAI into having a for-profit arm.

And so, Sam Altman was questioned, are you a trustworthy person? That is the first question that Musk's attorney asked him on cross- examination yesterday. He was asked all about the OpenAI board members who have raised questions about his reliability. He, of course, says that he thinks he's an honest business person. He never meant to mislead the board.

CORNISH: And then, haven't Musk's -- one of his baby mothers was there because she was an executive --

DUFFY: Yes.

CORNISH: -- at OpenAI and like there's all of this very messy personal stuff --

DUFFY: Totally.

CORNISH: -- that is about the business.

DUFFY: Yes. So, Shivon Zilis, she was a board member at OpenAI in the early days of its founding. She is now the mother of Elon Musk's, I think four children at this point. And so, there is all of this interpersonal sort of drama that's coming up in part because OpenAI really was founded by Elon Musk and Sam Altman and others out of concerns about who would control this very important technology.

And then his testimony yesterday, Sam Altman, raised the fact that Elon Musk apparently said in his early days of being involved in OpenAI that if he controlled the company or the nonprofit at that point that he would hand it to his children when he died -- or Sam Altman said that was very concerning to him, that idea. And so, this wrestle -- this sort of wrestling over the future of who controls artificial intelligence is really a center of this trial.

CORNISH: And what it does. And of course, this is all happening on the edge -- eve of an IPO, right? How much money is at stake?

DUFFY: It's huge. I mean, this could mean everything for the future of OpenAI, which is expected to IPO at some point this year. And just in general, for the future, again, of who controls this technology. OpenAI obviously is one of about five major players and pushing this forward.

CORNISH: Yes.

DUFFY: If they are forced to sort of rein things back in in terms of their raising of money, return to the nonprofit status, that could make it much harder for them to invest in computing power that lets them push this technology forward. It would certainly benefit Elon Musk's xAI, the other big players in this industry.

CORNISH: Right. Because Grok A.I. has fallen behind in that race So, I can imagine there's a lot of competition there. Clare, we'll gossip about this later. Thank you so much.

DUFFY: Thank you.

CORNISH: Always love having you and your knowledge on that. Straight ahead on CNN This Morning, this came up, Kash Patel the FBI director, committing to an alcohol test but on one condition, that a senator takes it with him side by side.

Plus, can President Trump go solo to solve the war with Iran or does he need China's help?

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