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Benjamin Netanyahu Defends Planned Military Takeover Of Gaza City; Teenage Boy Killed By Falling Aid Pallet During Airdrop; Donald Trump Speaks On Crime And "Beautification" Of D.C.; Donald Trump Administration Preparing For Friday's Vladimir Putin Talks; Heat Wave Fuels Wildfires Across Europe; Uvalde School Shooting Records To Be Released As Soon As Today; Trump Holds News Conference About Crime In United States Capital; Trump: Crackdown On Crime Will Start In D.C., Go To Other Cities. Aired 10- 11a ET
Aired August 11, 2025 - 10:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:30]
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of the show. I'm Christina MacFarlane in London.
A prominent Palestinian journalist and several colleagues have been killed by a targeted Israeli strike in Gaza, we are following the worldwide
condemnation and the outpouring of condolences.
European allies are talking right now about another meeting later this week between Presidents Trump and Putin. European leaders emphasize the need to
have Ukraine involved.
U.S. President Trump will speak any minute now about using federal agents along with local police to fight crime in Washington, D.C. We will bring
that to you when it happens.
But first, facing a growing tide of criticism, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is defending his plan for a military takeover in Gaza
City.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I don't want to prolong the war. I want to end the war. Given Hamas's refusal to lay down its arms,
Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas. Contrary to false claims, this is the best way to end the war and
the best way to end it speedily.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: United Nations officials warned Sunday the plan would lead to what they called another calamity in the enclave.
And inside Israel, families of the hostages are calling for a nationwide strike next weekend to protest the decision to expand the war.
In Gaza City, mourners carried the bodies of reporters wrapped in flags and press insignia in a funeral possession after a late-night Israeli strike
killed several Al Jazeera journalists.
Israel named Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif as the target of the attack, accusing him of leading Hamas cell. It is an allegation that al-
Sharif previously denied.
Al Jazeera called al-Sharif one of Gaza's bravest journalists. Here he is reporting on the cease fire back in January.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANAS AL-SHARIF, AL JAZEERA CORRESPONDENT (through translator): I can now remove this helmet that has exhausted me throughout this period. As well as
this vest that has become part of my body throughout this long period of time. It accompanied me all the way.
And now, we announce from inside the Gaza Strip, from Gaza City, the announcement of a cease fire for all the residents of Gaza who have been
subjected to a war of genocide. They have been subjected to bombardment and displacement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif,. Well, there's a lot happening, so let's get the view from Israel. Miri Eisin is a former IDF
colonel and security expert joining us now from Tel Aviv. Miri, thank you for your time.
I want to begin, Miri, by considering that press conference yesterday and the outline of Benjamin Netanyahu's five principles. What do you see is the
realistic end game for Israel's planned military takeover of Gaza City as it stands?
COL. MIRI EISIN (RET.), SENIOR FELLOW, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR COUNTER- TERRORISM: The important part is that the Prime Minister of Israel, for me as an Israeli, both in English and in Hebrew, outlined for the first time,
for me Alex (ph), that for the first time we've heard what is his full view, and that means that he sees taking over the Gaza Strip, being in a
security control. this isn't about my agreeing, but at least he said it in a clear way. And I think that militarily, that is something that you can
achieve.
Does that destroy Hamas? I don't think so. Will that bring back 20 live hostages and 30 dead hostages? I'm not sure, but at least it's a clear
vision, and I don't underestimate the fact that I understand now what he's trying to achieve, even if I disagree with it.
MACFARLANE: I think many of us are still trying to understand what it is he's trying to achieve, especially as many have said, including Israeli
military and the Hamas families themselves, that by doing this, you are going to endanger the lives of hostages.
EISIN: So, the Hamas is the terror organization, and the prime minister said this yesterday, and I want to be clear, I don't -- I don't support
this prime minister, but when it comes to the military action against Hamas, the terror organization, not just the ones who did the attack on
October 7th, 22 months ago, but those that have been ever since, holding the hostages and using them in such a cynical way, what the prime minister
is saying, in his opinion, is that if we take over all of the Gaza Strip, that will in its own way Destroy Hamas's capability.
[10:05:14]
Militarily, I want to be clear, that is a military achievement. That doesn't mean we won't have casualties. It doesn't mean there won't be both
in, you know, noncombatant casualties and more Hamas, but it is a clear cut taking over of it all.
I think that what I missed there, and I'm saying this militarily, is if we take over both the Gaza City and all of the Gaza Strip. Then, from my point
of view, militarily, we are responsible.
And I didn't hear the prime minister saying that. What is he saying is we'll take it over and then somebody else will be responsible. And you
can't play it both ways.
If we take it over, we are responsible. And I say that because I don't think that right now, we are responsible for Hamas that attacked us for
taking care of all of these people that Hamas attacked us. Hamas could stop at any stage, and because they are responsible, and they do not take any
responsibility for what they do.
MACFARLANE: And I appreciate the point you're making about military, but I think many would argue that Russia -- that Israel are responsible for what
has unfolded in the Gaza Strip, whether or not they completely control the entire Gaza Strip, and I know it is something in the region of 75 percent
at the moment that they control.
I want to ask Miri, there are reports that suggest there is growing fatigue and dissent within the IDF. Concerns from the IDF chief of staff, we heard
just last week about the humanitarian crisis this would lead to and the international condemnation, which has been growing.
However, as a former -- as an IDF yourself, how ready are reservists to answer this call to escalate, and how strong is the support for this?
EISIN: So, we're after 22 months of war. And I want to give you the two sides of that. You know, I'm a colonel reserve. My husband's a colonel
reserve. All three of my kids serve in Israel. Everybody serves. We don't voluntarily serve. We are drafted, but afterwards, we're part of this
country.
So, it isn't that everybody now is saying we're not going to serve for that. We all want the hostages back. In this case, we're talking about,
what do we want in addition to the hostages? Can we destroy Hamas or not with military capabilities?
But I think you'll agree with me that you and I both don't want to be people like me sitting in Tel Aviv where there is on the other side of that
border an organization that not on October 7th -- since October 7th for the last 22 months, continues to call to do another type of attack like that.
So, the reservists are willing to fight what we're not willing to do. And I say this as a reservist is when you're fighting and you feel that
additional decisions that are made by this government are ones that you really disagree with. And here I will go out and protest a lot of the
government decisions, not necessarily the ones that have to do directly with the war.
But it's not that I know what's right and they are doing it wrong. Different opinions on what you do against Hamas when they took the hostages
over the last 22 months. And we hear that dissent all the time, a lot of different voices here. I think the military will fight. Not sure how
effective it will be.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and on the subject of strikes, you just mentioned, we know there's a nationwide -- a push for a nationwide strike to be called next
Sunday. I mean, this is being driven, really, by the hostage families, their desperation. How effective do you think this will be, given that the
biggest Workers Union in Israel have yet to agree to it?
EISIN: So. at this moment, at least in the Israeli press, the head of the main union that's really for the overall one has said they wouldn't
participate. And I'm already seeing in Israel that that's a big deal. I'm going to say the following: it's really bad when it comes to statistics, it
doesn't give the nuance.
70 percent of Israelis support do something, get the hostages back. That doesn't mean that they say don't fight in the Gaza Strip against Hamas, not
against in combatants. They're just all mixed up.
So, the strike itself is something that has an effect in the year before Hamas brutally attacked us on October 7th. In the year before that, there
were two very big strikes that that Union did as part of the demonstrations against the government of the State of Israel. What can you do in a
democracy? You can go on strike and you can protest. Those are the two tools you have for your democratic upheaval, and we're going to continue to
do that. It's important.
I'm not sure that this one's going to be again, as effective, because it's not going to make Hamas give them back. And I'm going to say, sadly, the
military action, I'm not sure, will bring them back. And yes, negotiations don't make it easy.
So, all of those who want an easy way out, there is no easy way out.
MACFARLANE: All right, Miri, it's very helpful and grateful to have your thoughts at this hour. Thank you for joining us.
[10:10:03]
EISIN: Thank you so much.
MACFARLANE: All right, for weeks now, we have seen and heard about the dangers of aid drops in Gaza, while a worst case scenario played out over
the weekend when a teenage boy was killed by a falling aid pallet.
Oren Liebermann has more and a warning, his report contains disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): 14-year-old boy was killed by falling aid in Gaza on Saturday, according to Al-Awda
hospital, video from that day shows aid packages being air dropped and quickly falling to the ground in central Gaza.
According to eyewitnesses and family, Muhannad Eid was struck by one of the pallets crushing him to death. Video shows a crowd of people rushing to
lift the aid package off the young boy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Despite the famine and the heart conditions that we live in, my brother still went to get the aid that these
airplanes dropped by the sea. A box fell on him directly, and he was murdered.
LIEBERMANN (voice over): The U.N. has warned that air drops of aid are ineffective, expensive and dangerous in heavily populated areas, other
deaths linked to air drops have been reported.
NETANYAHU: Since the beginning of the war, Israel has led in close to two million tons of aid.
LIEBERMANN (voice over): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose policies have closed land crossings for aid, has repeatedly denied his
government is starving people in Gaza.
NETANYAHU: Now, if we had a starvation policy, no one in Gaza would have survived after two years of war, but our policy has been the exact
opposite.
LIEBERMANN (voice over): Meanwhile, Eid's brother is left in mourning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): No aid or anything. They cannot enter the aid through the crossing, but they drop them over us and kill our
children. A kid was killed in Zawaida (ph) and here and there, and nobody feels this. God is sufficient for us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: The deadly reality there of what Palestinians are facing with these aid drops. And we will, of course, continue to follow this story.
Let us now move over to Washington, because this hour, U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to host a press conference to address violent
crime and the beautification his words of Washington D.C. A source says the president is expected to announce a plan to beef up security by adding to
the 130 FBI agents to patrol the nation's capital along with local police. The news conference comes as Mr. Trump's threats for federal takeover the
city's local government.
CNN's Brian Todd has been giving us more from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are really watching closely to see if he announces a significant deployment of the D.C. National Guard. He had
previously said he was considering sending in the D.C. National Guard to the streets of Washington, in addition to considering possibly taking over
control of the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Police Department, which he can do, but only temporarily.
Now, one source who spoke to CNN, a person familiar with the plans, said that these plans call for as many as 130 FBI agents to patrol with D.C.
police as part of the increased federal law enforcement presence here. This was first reported by The Washington Post.
Our source says that the primary part of the FBI agents' job will be to drive around the city, run license plates for stolen vehicles and warrants.
It is very unusual. It is not typical at all for FBI agents to patrol with local police.
You guys put up a post by the president a moment ago. I'm going to read from that post on Sunday, he posted on Truth Social this, "The homeless
have to move out immediately. We will give you places to stay but far from the Capitol. The criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put
you in jail where you belong."
Now, the president has gone on and on and on for the past week or so, ever since a former Doge employee was assaulted in an attempted carjacking in
Washington, D.C., that was a week ago. On Sunday morning, he has been really ranting on violent crime in the city being out of control, but the
statistics just do not bear that out.
According to the Metropolitan Washington Police Department, assault with a dangerous weapon in the city is down 20 percent, robberies are down 29
percent, the big stat, violent crime down 26 percent from a year ago. Property crime is down about five percent.
So, the president's claims that D.C. is rampant with violent crime, that is just not the case. This is not a city under siege as the president seems to
depict it.
Now, the Mayor Muriel Bowser, yesterday on MSNBC, kind of broke her long and very pronounced silence on all of this by citing those decreased crime
statistics here in Washington, by saying that she's willing to work with the president, that she understands that the president does want to have a
presence in the city. The mayor being pointedly noncritical of the president in her remarks, but before that, she had been really silent on
the whole idea of the president increasing the federal law enforcement presence in the city.
We had also reached out to all 13 members of the Washington D.C. city council, and got basically silence from almost all of them, except for one
who complained about the lack of nominations of judges to handle the criminal case load in the city being part of the reason for whatever
criminal activity is kind of backlogged in the city of Washington.
[10:15:11]
So, Christina, I think what we're going to be looking for next hour is some -- maybe some detail from the president on a possible deployment of the
National Guard, maybe some detail on the possible increase in the numbers of other federal agents on the streets in Washington, D.C.
And we have to note, when you see those agents out here, they're not going to be out during the day. Largely, they're going to be patrolling in the
evening hours and overnight hours in kind of high traffic areas where there are a lot of bars and restaurants. They're going to be very visibly shown
in those hours in the nation's capital, Christina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: CNN's Stephen Collinson is also following this story for us this hour from Washington as we wait for the president to speak there at
the White House.
Well, Stephen, we were just here -- we were just hearing we were just hearing that from Brian that reports and data showing that crime is
considerably down in Washington, D.C. So, just give us the context to tell us what this is all about.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: I think a lot of it is authoritarian theater on the behalf of President Trump. He looks for areas
where there is unused presidential power, and then he grabs it and tries to implement it.
I think part of the attraction here is that he has long created this picture of American cities as dystopian centers of violence and crime.
That's a message that's very popular with Trump's base, the same Trump's base that has been critical of him during this scandal over the Jeffrey
Epstein files.
So, there is a very strong political angle to this, I think.
Also, Trump, you know, D.C. is one of the most liberal cities in the United States. This allows the president to exercise great power over the people
that live in the U.S. Capitol. And I think that's attractive.
So, politically all round, this is great for the president, even if his claims, as Brian was saying, are quite fantastical in terms of how
dangerous it is to live in Washington.
MACFARLANE: And I guess we should be clear that President Trump doesn't actually have the full legal authority to do this, does he? What parameters
would he need to meet in order to do this?
COLLINSON: Well, in order to completely take over the government of Washington D.C., he would have to overturn an act of Congress the 1973 home
rule law, which gives wide powers to D.C. even if Congress still has oversight of the budget.
Normally, that would be a huge impediment, because the Democrats have a filibuster proof numbers in the Senate, that makes it very difficult for
them to get through -- the Republicans to get through any change in the law.
Having said that, the president has not paid much attention to Congress over the first seven months of his new administration, so I think he would
have no trouble at all challenge the law and the Constitution as it relates to D.C.
He does have wide latitude to control the deployment of the National Guard in Washington, the reservist troops, and there are many federal agents from
all sorts of government departments who he could also send on to the streets. The question is, should FBI agents and others really be doing
traffic stops, as Brian was talking about, or should they be going after terrorists, foreign spies, and trying to cut down, you know, transnational
crime, which is their real job.
So, that's why I say a lot of this, I think is political theater. We should just remember that Washington, D.C. is not a state, it's a federal
district, and that is why the president has much more capacity to influence policing and other issues than he would say when he's trying to send troops
or federal agents onto the streets in states which have much more defined powers under the Constitution.
MACFARLANE: All right. Well, Stephen, we will wait to see as and when President Trump takes to the podium. We will speak again, no doubt. But
thank you very much for now, and we will give you that press conference when it starts.
You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD live today on -- in London.
Still ahead, E.U. foreign ministers are holding an emergency meeting ahead of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, while European leaders are saying the
summit must include Ukraine's president.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:21:44]
MACFARLANE: This hour, E.U. foreign ministers are holding an emergency meeting to talk about Friday's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. European
leaders are insisting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy be involved in the summit. President Zelenskyy today posted on social media
that any concessions granted to Vladimir Putin at the summit will not persuade the Russian president to end the war. He earlier cast doubt over
Putin's true intentions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Our team is working with the United States of America. Will you not stop communicating
for a single day on how to ensure real peace. We understand the intention of the Russians to try to deceive America, and we will not allow it. I
appreciate the determination with which President Trump is determined to stop the deaths in the war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Last hour, I spoke about the upcoming Trump-Putin Summit and the diplomacy surrounding it with Clare Sebastian in London and Alayna
Treene at the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think the main goals here number one, to sort of force through the Ukrainian and European perspective that this
should not be a bilateral meeting where the U.S. and Russia sit down and essentially divide up land that doesn't belong to them. The Europeans would
like to see a cease fire before any deal takes place, not as a bargaining chip, that Russia can swap the land.
And of course, they want to see Ukraine have a seat at the table. So, we've we saw multiple statements come out over the weekend, and comments from the
German Chancellor really forcing through this perspective. Take a listen.
FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): We are preparing intensely for this meeting at a European level, together with the American
government, and we hope and assume that the government of Ukraine, that President Zelenskyy will be involved in this meeting.
In any case, we cannot accept that territorial issues between Russia and America are discussed or even decided over the heads of Europeans and
Ukrainians. I assume that the American government sees it in the same way.
SEBASTIAN: So, I think pretty telling that he used the word assume twice in those comments, a real effort, I think, to sort of, as I said, force
through this perspective.
Because, of course, there is a concern that false narratives could make their way through the Russian original goals in this conflict could be used
to persuade President Trump over to their way of thinking. We've seen this in the past.
Of course, it was after a meeting or a phone call with President Trump earlier this year that He then turned around and called President Zelenskyy
a dictator, which is, of course, one of the Kremlin talking points.
So, there's a real push from the European side to control the narrative here, going into this meeting, to create a picture of unity with Ukraine
and to push for the U.S. to get tough.
Of course, going into this summit, we've seen pressure, not only externally, from Ukraine's European allies, but from Congress itself for
President Trump to up sanctions on Russia. There was a deadline on Friday for secondary sanctions to come into force that, of course, came and went
without anything happening, but the Europeans are suddenly going to keep up the pressure on that front at this meeting today.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Typically, meetings of this level, not only with a foreign leader, but with an adversary of the United States.
I mean, the fact that they only have days to put this together is an incredibly expedited timeline that White House officials are working with.
We know that they are scrambling to, you know, set this up. They're still sending people out to Alaska to get them on the ground there. And, you
know, begin the security and logistical, you know, necessities and requirements for a meeting of this stature.
[10:25:11]
As of this morning, as of Monday morning, it still has not been announced where exactly the venue is going to be in Alaska for this meeting between
the Russian President and President Donald Trump.
Now, there's a couple other things they're working on too. Of course, they need to figure out the contours of this meeting, what President Donald
Trump is going to bring. And there's a lot of questions as well about really, what can they get out of this?
And Clare touched on some of this, but of course, a key question is whether or not the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is going to travel to
Alaska as well. When they had made this announcement, when the president said that this was going to be hosted in Alaska, they did not say that
Zelenskyy would be there.
But I know from our conversations here with White House officials, they say they are leaving that possibility open, but really the priority for them,
the main focus, was to have this face to face between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Now, an August heat wave has fueled major wildfires across parts of Europe and including Northern Spain and Italy. Crews with the
Italian fabricator continue to battle a huge wildfire in Vesuvius National Park in Italy. Hiking routes around the volcano at Mount Vesuvius and
Naples are closed to tourists.
And near Edinburgh, Scotland, a massive wildfire scorched a popular tourist site, the extinct volcano known as Arthur's Seat, was badly damaged by fire
on Sunday.
CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has more now on the dangerous conditions across Europe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This is what happens after a wet spring is followed by extreme heat and weeks without any rainfall. We've had a
very dry summer across this portion of Spain, and unfortunately, that has led to wildfires that are burning out of control. Look at the thick,
billowing smoke.
We had several aerial helicopters coming in to try and combat the blazes. Very challenging situation on the ground for this part of Spain, located
here, really, across the northern tier of the country, especially near the border of France, we've had an intense heat wave that is set up across the
Iberian Peninsula lately.
What you're looking at right now are all the current wildfire hot spots, not necessarily each one of these representing a wildfire, but satellite
picking up on these potential hot spots across Europe, many of them located across the Balkans.
Now we talk about the heat adding to this wildfire threat, there are a large portion of Western Europe under heat alerts for the day on Tuesday.
And I want you to draw your attention to France. We have more than half of the country under some sort of heat alert. According to METEO France, some
of these areas near the southwestern sections of the country under their highest alert level for the day on Tuesday. You can see the shading of red
here across the Adriatic into Croatia and southern portions of Spain and into Portugal.
Heat alerts for temperatures in the upper 30s and lower 40s. That's extreme heat. And when we see this for several days at a time that can be very
dangerous, and unfortunately, that's what we're expecting.
Look at the forecast highs for these locations, upper 30s for Madrid. Wouldn't be surprised if some of these locations outside of Madrid top 40
degrees once again across Spain.
So, the temperature trend over the next several days will keep the heat across the Mediterranean Iberian Peninsula into the western sections of
France. But draw your attention to this area here. There is actually a cold front that's going to drop South help cool down portions of Europe, at
least Eastern Europe, but the heat will be confined to the Mediterranean once again, as well as the Iberian Peninsula. So, places like Naples,
Italy, we expect the temperature to say above average, no real relief from this heat wave that is causing the concerns, as well as the fire threat for
Western Europe. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Thanks to Derek. Now, still to come, it rattled a nation more than three years ago. Soon we could get a first look at documents and video
that sheds new light on how a deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas unfolded.
Plus, CNN speaks to detainees held in Alligator Alcatraz, the immigrant detention center built by the Trump administration in the Florida
Everglades.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:31:46]
MACFARLANE: Hi. Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Christina Macfarlane, here are your headlines.
The British government says it is gravely concerned about the targeting of journalists in Gaza. The U.K. and others condemning what Israel called a
targeted strike that killed several Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza City. Among them, correspondent Anas al-Sharif, who, in the past denied Israeli
allegations of working with Hamas.
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce a plan for up to 130 FBI agents to patrol Washington, D.C., along with local police to help
battle crime.
The president's news conference at the White House, expected to start soon, comes amid his threats for a federal takeover of the capital's local
government.
With E.U. foreign ministers are meeting this hour ahead of Friday's Trump- Putin summit in Alaska, European leaders are insisting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy be involved in the summit. President Zelenskyy says any
concessions made to Vladimir Putin will not persuade him to end the war.
And more than three years after the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, we could get a better picture of the response to the massacre at
Robb Elementary School that killed 19 children and two teachers. Following a lengthy legal fight over public access, the school district and county
have agreed to release their records, and some of that could happen as soon as today.
And we're joined now by Juliette Kayyem. She is a senior -- CNN senior national security analyst and former Obama homeland security official. Good
to see you.
So, let's get straight to this. What can we expect from these records today and what might be released?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So, it's going to be a bunch of interviews that were done over the -- almost immediately after
the shootings. But, of course, as related to litigation, it is going to be also logs of phone calls, what was being said in real time, when were the
first calls seeking alert, but who was communicating with whom?
And then, of course, that horrible, inexcusable in many ways, time line that had the shooter in the room and no -- nobody in law enforcement moving
forward to stop the killings. It's going to be horrendous for people to read, because I think it will -- I think from what we know from public
sources already, it will show that had law enforcement acted pursuant to active shooter protocols, which is essentially eliminate the shooter as
fast as you can, that lives would have been saved.
MACFARLANE: Yes. I mean, this is going to be, no doubt, a very difficult day for the families. And we know Juliette that there were calls for these
records to be released now for years. So, what about the timing of this and why it's happening now?
KAYYEM: Well, I think they bumped up against -- there is -- the school district and the -- and the state have bumped up against, essentially,
there is -- there is no way out. They have to release it. This is not a good will release. This is a public safety apparatus, a state that have
done everything, or members, or pieces of the state that have done much to not disclose and have this information come out at this stage, three years
later.
[10:35:09]
There is nothing sensitive about it.
They are not -- you know, this is not a situation in which there is future lawsuits. This is -- this investigation is over, and the parents deserve to
know.
I will say one thing. One of the questions we still don't have answered is, what messaging -- what command went out that would have had so many law
enforcement stand back?
I have done this, unfortunately, a million times in terms of active shooter cases. It -- I -- no one can quite figure out as who set the message that
it was safer for law enforcement to stand back, and I think that's something that the families would want to know as well. Why was there a
perceived threat against law enforcement?
MACFARLANE: Yes. And to that point, I know there are two officers set to stand trial for their response time.
KAYYEM: Yes.
MACFARLANE: Do you expect we might see some sort of accountability there?
KAYYEM: Yes. I hate to -- I mean, this is one of those instances where it's very difficult to get prosecutions against people acting in their public
capacity. It's just the nature of the United States law that you sort of assume competency and good -- and good faith action by those who, are
supposed to support public safety.
So, these cases tend not to be very successful for plaintiffs, but it's understandable why the families are bringing such lawsuits, simply because
they want greater accountability for what happened. It's one of those instances where the consequences of what happened in Uvalde are still being
felt today. It's not only undermining confidence in law enforcement from the school security perspective, what a world that I spent some time in,
you know, one of the things that's happened is parents are no longer listening to law enforcement to stand back. Right?
You know, you get a -- hopefully, a false alarm of an active shooter. Parents are rushing into schools because of Uvalde, because they don't
trust that law enforcement is doing everything it can to protect its children. That's one of the many consequences of Uvalde that's being felt
throughout the country.
MACFARLANE: Yes. So, one would argue, you know, there needs to be, as a result of what we're going to hear today, protocols, policies put in place
so that something like this can't happen again.
I mean, whether we're going to get it or not, I guess is an outstanding question.
KAYYEM: Yes. I mean, the easy answer is those protocol -- protocols were in place. I mean, this is one of the reasons why Uvalde is just such a shock,
is no one who's been in law enforcement or Homeland Security ever questions what the protocol is, an active shooter. It is simply, eliminate the
threat.
You -- I can't describe it nicely, but you know, you run past children that may need your help, you do everything you can to eliminate the threat.
That's part of active shooter training.
The second piece that I would like examined in the United States, in particular, is the sort of plethora, the many law enforcement agencies that
exist, in particular in these smaller jurisdictions.
One of -- one of the things that makes no sense to me, just from a management perspective, is, why did Uvalde -- why do these school districts
have their own police departments that sort of are separate than the city's police departments?
I mean, we use to have (INAUDIBLE) on school -- at school.
(CROSSTALK)
MACFARLANE: Juliette, we're going to have to leave it there. President Trump is speaking. Apologies.
KAYYEM: Yes.
MACFARLANE: Let's listen in.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- ever seen in this room.
And we're here for a very serious purpose, very serious purpose. Something's out of control, but we're going to put it in control very
quickly, like we did on the southern border. I'm announcing a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and
squalor, and worse. This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we're going to take our capitol back. We're taking it back.
Under the authorities vested in me as the President of the United States, I'm officially invoking Section 740, of the District of Columbia Home Rule
Act. You know what that is. And placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control, and you'll be meeting the people
that will be directly involved with that. Very good people, but they are tough, and they know what's happening. And they have done it before.
In addition, I'm deploying the National Guard to help re-establish law, order of public safety in Washington, D.C., and they are going to be
allowed to do their job properly.
And you people are victims of it too. You know, you are reporters, and I understand a lot of you tend to be on the liberal side, but you don't want
to get -- you don't want to get mugged, and raped, and shot, and killed.
[10:40:07]
And you all know people and friends of yours that, that happened. And so, you can be any anything you want, but you want to have safety in the
streets. You want to be able to leave your apartment or your house where you live and feel safe in going to a store to buy a newspaper or buy
something. And you don't have that now.
The murder rate in Washington today is higher than that of Bogota, Colombia, Mexico City, some of the places that you hear about as being the
worst places on earth. Much higher. This is much higher.
The number of car thefts has doubled over the past five years, and the number of carjackings has more than tripled. Murders in 2023 reached the
highest rate probably ever. They say 25 years, but they don't know what that means, because it just goes back, 25 years. It can't be worse.
Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals roving mobs of wild youth, drug down maniacs and homeless people,
and we're not going to let it happen anymore. We're not going to take it just like we did on our southern border.
Nobody comes to our southern border anymore. Three months in a row we had zero. I don't know if that's right, but the people that do the work, it's a
very liberal group of people, actually, and they actually said zero for the last three months. Nobody thought a thing like that was possible.
And you know when you say, take a look at numbers. I just saw some charts. These are different cities throughout the world. Red is -- OK. The red is a
place called Washington, D.C. Look at these.
Baghdad is -- we doubled up on Baghdad.
Panama City, Brasilia, San Jose, Costa Rica, Bogota, Colombia, heavy drugs. Mexico City, I mentioned, Lima, Peru. All double and triple what they are.
So, do you want to live in places like that? I don't think so. I don't think so. And I think the people in this room, if you wrote correctly,
you'd see, look at the kind of numbers we have. D.C., 41 per 100,000. Number one that we can find anywhere in the world. Other cities are pretty
bad, but they are not as bad as that.
That way you want to live? The reporters of the world? Juvenile life offenders and crimes against persons as they say. it's getting worse. Not
getting better, it's getting worse.
And we had a recent indication. There was a story about a man who was just left, he quit because he was asked to do phony numbers on crime, and we're
going to look into that. I think, Pam is going to be looking into that.
But he was asked by the city, I guess. We don't want to show the real numbers. Let me do numbers so it looks like it's going down, not going
down.
And under Biden, it was a disaster, and nobody did anything about it. We're going to do things about it like you wouldn't believe. Every American has a
constitutional right to be able to access and petition their government in safety, and countless federal officials and employees likewise have the
right to carry out their jobs in peace without being shot.
As you know, I lost a very good person a while ago. Was shot, waiting for his wife. He was in the car. They robbed his car, they shot him. They
killed him like it was nothing to it. She was walking to the car. She was - - it's a horror show.
This issue directly impacts the functioning of the federal government and is a threat to America, really, it's a threat to our country. We have other
cities also that are bad, very bad. You look at Chicago, how bad it is? You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is?
We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem. And then, you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don't even mention that
anymore. They are so -- they are so far gone. We're not going to let it happen. We're not going to lose our cities over this. And this will go
further.
We're starting very strongly with D.C., and we're going to clean it up real quick, very quickly, as they say.
Days ago, a former member of the DOGE staff was savagely beaten by a band of roving thugs after defending a young woman from an attempted carjacking.
He was left dripping in blood. He thought he was dead, with a broken nose and concussion. Can't believe that he is alive. He can't believe it.
[10:44:59]
In June, a 21-year-old congressional intern was tragically killed after being hit by a stray bullet in a drive by shooting. A former Trump
administration official named Mike Gill -- fantastic person was murdered last year in cold blood in a carjacking, blocks away from the White House.
We all knew him. Great person. Waiting for his wife as she was walking to the car.
The Democrat Congressman was also carjacked at gunpoint not far from the Capitol. And in 2023, an aide to Senator Rand Paul was stabbed in the chest
and head by a demented lunatic as he walked down the street, just absolutely for no reason.
Horrifically, last July 4th weekend, a 3-year-old girl was shot in the head and killed while sitting in a car near the Capitol.
It's becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness.
And we get rid of the slums too. We have slums here. We get rid of them. I know it's not politically correct. You'll say, oh, so terrible. No, we're
getting rid of the slums where they live. Caravans of mass youth rampage through city streets at all times of the day.
They're on ATVs, motor bikes. They travel pretty well. Entire neighborhoods are now under emergency curfews. Just this past weekend, gunfire through --
went through, and you saw that the navy yard. I saw it this morning. They saw that they fought back against. Let's see, they fight back until you
knock the hell out of them, because it's the only language they understand.
But they fought back against law enforcement last night, and they are not going to be fighting back long, because I've instructed them and told them,
whatever happens, you know, they love to spit in the face of the police as the police are standing up there in uniform. They are standing and they are
screaming at him an inch away from their face. And then, they start spitting in their face. And I said, you tell them, you spit, and we hit,
and they get hit really hard.
It's a disgusting thing. I've watched that for years -- three, four years, I've watched them. The police are standing and they are told don't do
anything under any such so this, and you can see they want to get at it.
And they are standing there and people are spitting in their face and they are not allowed to do anything.
But now, they are allowed to do whatever the hell they want. This dire public safety crisis stems directly from the abject failures of the city's
local leadership. The radical left city council adopted no cash bail.
By the way, every place in the country where you have no cash bail is a disaster. That's what started the problem in New York, and they don't
change it. They don't want to change it. That's what started at in Chicago.
I mean, bad politicians started it, bad leadership started it. But that was the one thing that's central, no cash bail. Somebody murders somebody, and
they are out on no cash bail before the day is out. We're going to end that in Chicago. We're going to change the statute.
I spoke with Pam and Todd and everybody. We're going to change the statute, and I'm going to have to get the Republicans to vote, because the Democrats
are weak on crime. Totally weak on crime.
They don't know why they want to stop because they get mugged too. But we are going to change no cash bail, we're going to change the statute, and
get rid of some of the other things, and we'll count on the Republicans in Congress and Senate to vote. We have the majority, so, we'll vote.
We don't have a big majority, but we've gotten everything, including the great, Big, Beautiful Bill. Got that done, and that's one of the greatest
things that's ever happened to people in this country. They are starting to figure it out, how good it is, biggest tax cut in history, so many things.
But we'll be able to get that done.
So, Todd, if you and Pam can draw up things working with the people, we will -- I'll get it passed. We'll get it passed with the Republicans.
Probably won't get think of this. Probably won't get one democrat vote, because they have no idea what they are doing. That's why they want men
playing in women's sports. That's what they -- why they want transgender for everybody, everybody transgender, and they have just got walloped in an
election, in a landslide, and they haven't changed one thing.
I saw the other day, the certain gentleman who were very well-known politician, Democrat, was fighting like hell that men should be allowed to
play in women's sport. They just don't get it. They said it's an 80-20 Issue, and I think it's a 97 to three issue, and I don't know who the three
are.
[10:50:03]
I've never heard anybody come -- nobody's ever come up to me, sir, you have to let men play in women's sports. You have to do it, sir. Nobody's ever
approached me. I don't know where this issue even comes from. Never seen anything like it.
But they turned our nation's capital into a sanctuary jurisdiction. That's the other thing. We have to get rid of sanctuary cities as quickly as
possible. We're going to do it too. We have to, because it's sanctuary for criminals.
Releasing illegal alien gang members onto the streets. In 2022, nearly 70 percent of criminals arrested in Washington went unprosecuted. That's not
going to happen with the group we have standing aside and standing behind me.
And at the Metropolitan Police Department, it's now reached a small number, relatively compared to what it was, but it's thousands of people. You know,
we have thousands of police. I was told today, sir, they want more police. I heard a number, 3,500 police. That's a lot of police. 3,500.
I thought they are going to say, we only have 30 policemen or women. They said, we have 3,500. We need more. You don't need more. That's so many -- I
never heard -- that's like an army. How could you need more than 3,000?
It just happened two minutes ago. Sir, they requested more police. What do they have? About 3,500. I said, 3,500. This is not a big area. It's
ridiculous. What you need is rules and regulations, and you need the right people to implement them, and we have the right people here that I can tell
you.
Look at the border. Biden said there is nothing you can do. Kamala was the border czar. She never called one of the Border Patrol agents who are
great. ICE is great. Never spoke to anybody, never went there. But she was the border czar, and everybody said it was impossible to fix. I fixed it in
three months. No, really, I fixed it the first week, but really fixed it over the last couple of months, and I mean, literally, to a point where, as I said, zero
illegals entering our country in the last 90 days. Pretty amazing.
It's time for dramatic action. We're going to do the same thing over here. It's going to be a very safe city very soon. We are not looking just take
years, because a lot of people die in years, and we -- we've got incredible people in this country, except we have to allow them to do their job. And
that we will deliver like nobody has ever delivered before.
I actually think it's easy. You know, if you're competent, it's easy. If you're incompetent, it's impossible. But I'm very competent. Last week, my
administration surge -- surged 500 federal agents into the district, including from the FBI, ATF, DEA, Park Police, the U.S. Marshal Service,
the Secret Service, and the Department of Homeland Security.
You know, a lot of nations, they don't have anything like that. They got some police, and they are rough police. They don't have DEA, ATF, FBI, Park
Police, U.S. Marshal Service, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security. They got some police, but they are rough police, and they do
their job. They don't have crime.
We're not going to have crime either. They made dozens of arrests, and that's what starts to happen. Again, cashless bail. Watch what we do with
that.
Today, we're formally declaring a public safety emergency. This is an emergency. This is a tragic emergency, and it's embarrassing for me to be
up here. You know, I'm going to see Putin. I'm going to Russia on Friday. I don't like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and
disgusting this once beautiful capital was.
With graffiti all over the walls, it's another part of it, by the way. Because we're talking about safety, we're also talking about
beautification. We are the most beautiful, potentially capital in the world. We always had. But people come from Iowa, they come from Indiana,
they come and then they get mugged. Not going to happen.
Keep coming, because within by the time you get your trip set, it's going to be safe again, and it's going to be clean very quickly. We are going to
replace the medians that are falling down all over the roads. We're going to replace the potholes. We're going to put a nice new coat of asphalt over
the top. No, we don't have to rip the road out and spend seven years building a new road, because they cut everything that -- because some
designers said, well, we need a quarter of an inch more turn for safety reasons.
[10:55:00]
No. We're going to do it right. We're going to get it done quickly.
So, today, we are declaring public safety emergency in the District of Columbia. And Attorney General Pam Bondi, who's fantastic, is taking
command of the Metropolitan Police Department as of this moment, and I'll be making the appropriate notifications to Congress and to the mayor.
Our new DEA administrator was one of the top in the country. He better be Terry, if you're not, I going to get rid of you so fast. Terry Cole. Terry,
thanks. Very good. We're just got him. Most highly recommended person. And you'll be designated as the interim federal commissioner of the
Metropolitan Police Department. OK?
And you run them tough. They are good -- You have a lot of good people. You have people that shouldn't be there. You also have people that shouldn't be
there. They got in there because of woke. But you have a lot of great police and those people are the ones that want to help you.
This city will no longer be a sanctuary for illegal alien criminals. We will have full, seamless, integrated cooperation at all levels of law
enforcement, and we'll deploy officers across the district with an overwhelming presence.
You'll have more police, and you'll be so happy because you're being safe. When you walk down the street, you're going to see police, or you're going
to see FBI agents. We are going to have a lot of agents on the street. You're going to have a lot of, essentially, military, and we will bring in
the military if it's needed.
By the way, we're going to have National Guard. But Pete Hegseth will tell you about it. We will bring in the military if needed. People say, oh,
that's so terrible. He's going to bring in. It's been it's been used many times over the years. I don't think we'll need it. I think we've got so
many great people, including the people that are in the police department, with proper leadership.
They will immediately begin massive enforcement operations targeting known gangs, drug dealers and criminal networks, to get them the hell off the
street, maybe get them out of the country, because a lot of them came into our country illegally. They shouldn't have been allowed in. They come from
Venezuela. They come from all over the world. We're going to get them the hell out. They won't be here long.
But some of these people, a lot of them, are home grown criminals, and these are bad people. These are rough people. And this is just a list of
some of the people that were given to me today that were criminals removed from the D.C. streets this weekend. They were rough, rough and tough, but
we're rougher and tougher.
Look, at these people here. Nothing -- you know. They are not going to be your local school teacher. Look at this guy, he has killed people numerous
times. They are not going to be an asset. They will never be an asset to society. I don't care. I know we all want to say, oh, they' Are going to be
rehabbed. It's not going to be rehab.
I'm going to ask Doug Burgum to come up and say a couple of words, because he is in charge, as you know, he's interior, but he's in charge of the U.S.
Park Police. And I have heard so many great things about the park police. They are proud of it. They have been there for a long time. Their families
oftentimes grow into the roles they love the country. They love this area. So, Doug, could you say a few words please?
GOV. DOUG BURGUM (R-ND): Thank you, Mr. President.
On behalf of the U.S. Park Police, this is the oldest federal police force in the nation. They were formed in 1791 by none other than then-President
George Washington. They have got the awesome responsibility of protecting our nation's most sacred monuments. The National Mall, Washington Monument,
Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Statue of Liberty. And out west, the Presidio and the Golden Gate area.
These folks in have 10s of millions of visitors a year. The kind of people that President Trump's talking about that come from around the country and
around the world to see our -- see our sacred -- and learn about our history and our sacred monuments.
They have been doing a fantastic job, but they are so pleased the rank and file that President Trump is now allowing them to enforce the law. As those
of you that live in the city may know that the circles in the triangle parks that are spread throughout D.C. are actually federal park property.
So, the U.S. Park Police also have responsibility for that. These became littered with homeless camps under the Biden administration. All of you saw
that.
Since President Trump's executive order on March 27th making D.C. safe and beautiful again, the U.S. Park Police have removed over 70 homeless camps.
And President Trump also talked about beautification. They are stopping. The -- and enforcing the laws against graffiti on our monuments. They have
removed over 80 specific attacks against our history with graffiti on our monuments.
So, they continue to do a great job, whether it's in their vehicles, on foot, or on the Mounted Police that you see around the National Mall. And
President Trump, they thank you. The rank-and-file is so happy to be enforcing the law again.
[11:00:01]
Thank you for your leadership. And they are -- they are excited about the announcement you are making today.
TRUMP: Thank you. Very good. Great job you do. Thank you very much.
Pete, could you say something about the military doing?
PETE HEGSETH, UNITED STATES DEFENSE SECRETARY: Yes.
END
