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Trump to Meet with NYC Mayor-elect Mamdani at the White House; Democratic Lawmakers Condemn Trump's Sedition Comments; Israeli Settlers Torch Cars in West Bank Attack; Mozambique Hit by ISIS Resurgence Amid USAID Cuts; U.S. Drafts Peace Plan on Ukraine-Russia War; Zelenskyy Discusses U.S. Peace Proposal with VP Vance; A.I. Bubble Fears Persist Despite Strong Nvidia Earnings; Pennsylvania Voters Sour on Trump Economy. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired November 21, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:30]
ANNOUNCER: Live on CNN, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A very warm welcome to the second hour of the show from London. I'm Christina Macfarlane where the
time has just gone 3:00 in the afternoon.
Mr. Mamdani goes to Washington. New York's newly elected mayor is meeting with the U.S. president later today. And Ukraine says it is reviewing a new
U.S. peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. Also, violence in the West Bank as Israeli settlers carry out a new attack. The latest in rising extremist
violence.
But we begin with a highly anticipated high-stakes meeting. Political adversaries coming face-to-face for the first time. In a few hours from
now, President Trump will host the mayor-elect of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, at the White House. The president has been posting on social media
about it, calling Mamdani a communist. He says he's a Democratic socialist, and it's no secret how the two men feel about each other.
They've been fiercely attacking the other for months, though Mamdani has repeatedly said he wants to meet with Trump to focus on improving
affordability for New Yorkers.
Well, let's get the latest from CNN's senior White House reporter Betsy Klein, who's standing by.
So, Betsy, what are we to watch for this meeting today? These are, of course, two firebrands. Do we think there are going to be fireworks?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There certainly could be. It's going to be something we'll be watching very closely. President
Trump set to host Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office. This meeting is set for about 3:00 p.m. As of now, it is closed to press, which
means there will not be cameras in the Oval Office as of now. That has been known to change. So obviously that is something we're going to be keeping a
very, very close eye on.
And Mamdani already on his way here to Washington. He posted a selfie from what appears to be a plane. And while both sides have cast this meeting as
a signal that they're willing to meet with just about anyone, there certainly are political tensions brewing as the head of the MAGA political
movement is set to meet with a self-described Democratic socialist, and he is coming to the Oval Office on the heels of a very decisive victory.
And he has a mandate to enact a very sweeping agenda. That includes things like making public buses free, as well as opening government run grocery
stores. And he also recognizes how high the stakes are. In a sign of that, we have learned, according to our colleague Gloria Pazmino in New York,
that Mamdani spent much of Thursday preparing for this meeting. He held calls with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, along with House Minority Leader
Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as the Reverend Al Sharpton.
And in those conversations, he was discussing how to approach this meeting, as well as how best to communicate with Trump, particularly from some of
those people who have so much experience doing so. But we've seen President Trump go after Mamdani repeatedly during the campaign. He took that rare
step of endorsing a former Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, in this race who ran as an independent. And the president has also threatened federal
funding for New York City.
So, so much at stake here. Mamdani said that he is approaching this meeting as an opportunity. He says it is a way he can potentially talk about
affordability issues with the president, and they may find some common ground. But you also have to remember the constituency that Mamdani is
serving here. According to CNN, exit polling really quite revealing. 27 percent of the people who cast a ballot in that race earlier this month
approved of the job that President Trump is doing, compared to 70 percent who disapproved, Christina.
MACFARLANE: And Betsy, I also want to talk about the outrage being felt today after President Trump accused a group of Democratic lawmakers of
sedition and suggested they deserved to be executed. Now, that came after they posted a video reminding members of the military that they can disobey
illegal orders issued by the president.
How have the White House been responding to this today?
KLEIN: The White House response has generally been to double down on President Trump's comments. And as you mentioned, there are six Democratic
lawmakers. They are all former members of the U.S. Military or intelligence community, and they are saying in this video that if the president or his
top officials issue what they say are illegal orders, if they are not lawful orders, they should disobey them.
[10:05:04]
The president striking back yesterday saying that this is potential sedition, which could have a death sentence attached to it. The White House
press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, was asked about that. She denied that the president was calling for lawmakers to be executed, but said that their
message was dangerous and perhaps punishable by law.
We are now also starting to hear some of the reaction on Capitol Hill. Of course, much outrage from Democrats and even House Speaker Mike Johnson
seeking to put a little distance between himself and the president's comments.
MACFARLANE: Yes, a truly surreal turn in the press briefing room yesterday, Betsy. Appreciate it. Thank you.
And we are getting new details about the settler attacks in a car scrap yard in the occupied West Bank. The owner depends on the scrap in Huwara to
provide for his family. He says dozens of settlers descended on it, smashing cars and setting them ablaze.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED DALAL, OWNER OF TORCHED SCRAPYARD (through translator): This car repair field is mine and it is my source of income to raise my kids. These
people came from the olive fields and set fire in this site, then moved to the highway. This year they didn't allow us to pick our olive trees, so
they are giving us a hard time in picking our olives and supporting our family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, CNN's Nic Robertson is back with us from Jerusalem.
So, Nic, we know we are seeing an uptick in the level of settler attacks. Tell us a bit more about what happened here and if anything is being done
to try and halt this.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. What Palestinians in the West Bank and Israeli peace activists are telling us, it's not just
an uptick, it's an organized uptick, that's organized and focused on taking their attacks to the next level.
This was an attack on a business in a town. There was an attack on another business just last week, a dairy distribution facility, one that was
growing and prospering. What the activists, the Israeli peace activists are saying is that the settlers are working to an agenda. They say that has the
support of the Israeli government, this government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his right key right-wing allies who are strong
supporters of the settler movement.
And the allegation is that that the settlers are taking this to the -- to the next level, going from rural to towns. What the government did
yesterday was hold a security meeting. But the steps that critics of the government say haven't been taken is a reversal of the decision that was
taken by the defense minister almost a year ago to withhold administrative detention for settlers, which is a method that the Israeli government uses
for many Palestinians in the West Bank to take them off the street, hold them in administrative detention.
So there's -- the allegation is there's no deterrence against the settlers, but the language and concern is getting stronger across the sort of body
politic in Israel, if you will. Opposition politicians have been calling it Jewish terrorism. The head of the IDF in the Gaza area called them
anarchists. But the settlers responded by spray painting graffiti during one of their attacks, say they don't care what the IDF says.
So I think from the Israeli government perspective, they are seen to be doing something about this. From the perspective of Palestinians in the
West Bank, it is woefully short of providing a real deterrent for the settler attacks, which are averaging more than eight a day now, according
to the U.N.
MACFARLANE: Meanwhile, Nic, we've also seen fresh fighting in Gaza. The IDF saying it killed five Hamas fighters in Israel controlled territory. What
more are you learning about that?
ROBERTSON: Yes, this is in Rafah in the south of Gaza, and we're getting new details now which update that, what the IDF said that two locations in
Rafah, they spotted 15 Hamas operatives, terrorists, they say coming out of the tunnel network underneath of Rafah. So give this some context here.
There's been talk about a negotiation, a possibility of a negotiation to try to get 200 Hamas operatives who are in tunnels under the IDF controlled
part of Gaza, inside of Rafah.
That's a figure that the IDF is using, about 200 Hamas in tunnels, essentially under their feet. Well, today the IDF said that 15 of them came
out. They killed six of them. They arrested, they say, five of these Hamas operatives, whom they say surrendered to the IDF, which by my math, leaves
four on the run and the IDF say they are still trying to track those down.
[10:10:03]
So this sort of comes at a time when there was a belief, perhaps on the Palestinian side more than the Israeli side, but certainly a belief that
there were some sort of talks about trying to get those Hamas operatives out from under the feet in the tunnels, under the IDF, into the Hamas
controlled part of Gaza.
MACFARLANE: All right. Nic Robertson there live for us from Jerusalem. Appreciate it, Nic.
This hour, former U.S. National Security adviser John Bolton is appearing in court in Maryland for an initial status conference related to his
criminal indictment. Last month, the Justice Department charged Bolton with illegally transmitting national defense information. He pleaded not guilty
and said President Trump was weaponizing the Justice Department against his political opponents. The president appointed and fired Bolton as National
Security adviser during his first term in 2019.
Still to come, an African nation ravaged by a resurgence of ISIS, where the terrorist group is laying down new routes and the atrocities it's
committing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Last year, the United States Agency for International Development, known as USAID, gave $586 million to Mozambique. The money
paid for humanitarian aid and projects to curb ISIS. recruitment. But earlier this year, USAID was dismantled by the Trump administration. Now
that has left the Southern African nation reeling just as ISIS is resurging there.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has this exclusive report from Mozambique. And we should warn you, some of the footage is disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It looks like a place where nothing should go wrong, but ISIS are seeing a resurgence across Africa, home to two-thirds of their global
violence this year, rising fast here in northern Mozambique.
We land in the flashpoint of Mocimboa de Praia, seven weeks after ISIS started their worst offensive since they occupied the town in 2021. The
government's grip is so shaky, they've let Rwandan forces in to be the real muscle on streets where ISIS seem to rule the night.
So USAID's contribution to Mozambique amounted to about 3 percent of its GDP. And that USAID money helped the economy here, development, schools,
really enable the government to try and promote its hold on the place. And so, now that money has suddenly vanished, well, they're reeling here. And
ISIS are back.
(Voice-over): The little video we have of ISIS' recent onslaught is terrifying. Outgunning Mozambican forces, slaughtering captives. But in
October, they tried something new, less savage and confident.
[10:15:04]
They walked unopposed, armed, in stolen uniforms, straight into this mosque in Mocimboa's coastal fishing community to deliver a manifesto. The crowd
didn't flee, but instead filmed. When ISIS arrived, asked for the keys and walked in wearing their boots, the imam had presumed they were soldiers.
What did you think on that night when these guys came in?
SUMAIL ISSA, IMAM (through text translation): They ordered the old man, asking for the microphone to broadcast their voices. When they displayed
their banner like this, I was surprised that they are Al- Shabab.
WALSH: It is extraordinary, after all these years of ISIS spread across the Middle East, to stand in -- startling to stand in a place where they had
freedom of movement just a couple of days ago.
(Voice-over): 93,000 people around this area fled in just six weeks after ISIS' attacks began on September 7th.
Rafael takes us directly to the home of his brother-in-law, now abandoned. They were not rich and also took U.S. aid.
RAFAEL NDINENGO (through text translation): He was tied up, they took a stick and beat him. They cut off his head and put it on his bottom. This
place you see here is where we laid my son's spilled blood. You are going to make me cry because of my son. My son, I lost him. My feelings for my
son, you're going to make me cry. I didn't want to come here. He was calling me "Papa, Papa."
WALSH: Eight men killed by ISIS, seven of them beheaded, some in front of their families. And you just -- we're looking around, I mean, there's
nobody here. It's startling. This used to be a vibrant area, Christian area.
(Voice-over): The money USAID spent here urgently tried to curb the spread of ISIS. They gave $50,000 here to help motorcycle taxi drivers vulnerable
to recruitment by ISIS improve their working conditions with paperwork, vests, and helmets. But their anger about that help suddenly disappearing
and then us asking questions clear.
Emotions are incredibly high here. I mean, it's all about people's livelihoods, really, and a lot of anger.
(Voice-over): The man who ran the project describes how it is the only way to stop ISIS.
KHAMISSA FABIAO, PROJECT COORDINATOR (through text translation): If they have an opportunity to earn money, I don't think they will go into the
jungle, because nobody wants to die. When we started this project, I personally recruited many young people to keep them integrated into
society. President Trump should have a heart.
WALSH (voice-over): Fishermen, the main workforce here, but also a source of ISIS recruits. We visit a USAID project aimed too at giving them a
better livelihood, now shut. 10,000 new arrivals in this camp alone were met with a steep drop in food aid.
SAVIANA NDIWICA, VILLAGER (through text translation): They come and immediately start shooting. There is war. Beheaded. You flee with nothing.
They come and cut your throat. When you see someone else being killed, you flee along to a safe place. Since we arrived here, we sleep on the floor.
WALSH (voice-over): But Mozambique could be rich. Around the town of Parma, shielded by these fortifications, it's clear that while the Trump
administration is stripping away aid here, it's also investing fast and hard, a $4.7 billion loan in March, in vast liquid natural gas facilities.
A contradiction where wealth is held up by a wave of ISIS savagery which surged after the USAID meant to calm it vanished.
A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. had continued to provide assistance this year in Mozambique, a majority of which was life-saving
food and nutrition assistance. They added that worldwide aid was constantly under review to ensure it meets the needs of the receiving country and the
priorities of the United States.
The State Department did not respond to our questions about the resurgence of ISIS following the withdrawal of U.S. aid. Their statement added, "The
United States continues to be the most generous nation in the world. This administration is significantly enhancing the efficiency and strategic
impact of foreign assistance programs around the world. We call on other nations to increase in burden-sharing globally.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Mocimboa da Praia, Mozambique.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: All right ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, Ukraine's president is responding to a draft U.S. peace plan to end Russia's war on his country.
[10:20:04]
What Volodymyr Zelensky is saying and the challenges in getting this plan to fruition?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Christina Macfarlane. Here are your headlines this hour.
U.S. President Donald Trump will host New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House in the coming hours. Mr. Trump has clashed
repeatedly with the self-declared Democratic socialist over the past few months, often calling him a communist. Mamdani has suggested affordability
is at the top of his agenda at today's meeting.
Israeli settlers carried out an attack on a scrapyard in the West Bank town of Huwara on Thursday. According to the scrapyard's owner more than a dozen
settlers descended on the site, destroying or damaging more than 150 cars.
This hour former Trump National Security adviser John Bolton is appearing in court in Maryland. Last month, the U.S. Justice Department charged
Bolton with illegally transmitting national defense information. He pleaded not guilty, saying he was a victim of President Trump weaponizing the
Justice Department against political opponents.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's working to ensure Ukraine's interests are taken into account in a draft U.S. peace plan to
end Russia's war on his country. A top Ukrainian official says the government is carefully reviewing it. President Zelenskyy discussed the
plan in Kyiv Thursday with the U.S. Army secretary, who is briefing European allies in the Ukrainian capital today.
Well, the plan calls for Ukraine to cede certain territory currently held by Russia, something President Zelenskyy has rejected in the past. Ukraine
would not join NATO and cap its army at 600,000 members. It would receive unspecified security guarantees.
Well, Ben Wedeman joined me last hour with the details from Rome.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly what we know is that currently, Dan Driscoll, the U.S. Army secretary, has been in Kyiv.
Yesterday he met with President Zelenskyy. This morning he met with other senior Ukrainian officials. And this afternoon he will be briefing European
envoys in Kyiv on the details of this plan.
But certainly what has been seen so far is setting off alarm bells in Ukraine and Europe. European officials say that, for instance, until this
plan was leaked, they had no idea even existed. And they're hearing the same thing from counterparts in the U.S. State Department and others on
Capitol Hill. So this plan is a shock for many.
[10:25:02]
Certainly, it does appear that President Trump, perhaps to distract from his domestic headaches, is rushing ahead with this plan. But the critique
is its very similar to essentially what Russia is demanding from Ukraine, going back to 2022. There is very little in the way that Ukraine gets out
of this deal, except perhaps the temporary cessation of hostilities. But it's going to lose a lot of territory, including territory that it
currently controls.
And I have seen myself, Ukraine has shed plenty of blood to defend or to reconquer. So there is profound worry in European capitals as well as in
Ukraine that this is a half-baked plan that really seems to cater more to Russian demands than Ukraine's basic requirements as the country, we should
remember, that was invaded in February of 2022 by Russia and not the other way around -- Christina.
MACFARLANE: And President Zelenskyy has been speaking with European leaders this morning who, as you mentioned, were somewhat blindsided by all of
this, both of which Ukraine and Europe have, of course, been here before. The question now, Ben, is what can they do about it? What can European NATO
leaders do about this and Ukraine to turn things around once again?
WEDEMAN: Well, we did hear from Secretary of State Mark Rubio, Marco Rubio in the United States that this is a plan, sort of a work in progress. This
is not a final plan that there are points that obviously need to be modified, changed, negotiated on, and so forth. It seems a bit premature to
actually put it out there in its current form, because that's certainly is, as I said, setting off alarms.
But at the same time, if you look at the details of the plan, it's not the United States alone. They are expecting Europe to provide funds, to provide
assistance in rebuilding. There are a lot of points that will require not only the cooperation, but the basic agreement of the Europeans to
participate in this plan. So we can expect, even though until now what we've seen is European leaders largely wary or afraid of upsetting
President Trump, I think at this point they may decide that it's time to stand up and point out that it's Europe that is adjacent to Ukraine and not
the United States, and that perhaps they, similar to the Americans demanding that Europe play a larger role in militarily assisting Ukraine,
that they should also play a larger role in guiding this process rather than sitting in the back seat and allowing an unpredictable American
president to decide how this process goes ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Alexander Baunov is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and joins me now from Berlin.
Thank you so much for your time. What's clear and has been said by so many by this point is that this peace plan is not a peace plan, but a
capitulation plan for Ukraine. What is less clear is who's in the driving seat and how quickly the United States intends to implement this, although
there are reports already that the U.S. want this framework agreed by Thanksgiving.
What are your thoughts at this juncture?
ALEXANDER BAUNOV, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE RUSSIA EURASIA CENTER: The most troubling is that it seems to appear behind Europe's back and behind
Ukraine's back. And it came really as a big surprise to everybody, especially at some points in the plan.
What is seen from Russian perspective, in the sense of independent Russian analyst, is that the last year was maybe the most difficult, not only the
war, but as well for Putin to wage the war. He was very proud of economic survival of Russia with the sanctions last year and 2023, but not this
year. This year, Russian economy, including the military sector, is slowing down. Russian citizens began to feel the war.
The internet, the Web has been shut down in many regions. There is no mobile internet. Planes are delayed and the soldiers are not that much in
the numbers that are necessary to go for a decisive victory. So he needs a victory without basically being victorious. Because if he stopped the war
at the freezing the war at the at the line, at the front line, it's not a victory.
[10:30:02]
It's just something the opposite. So he needs some image of victory and this plan helps him to provide him with this image of victory.
MACFARLANE: Yes, it certainly all seems to be very favorable to the Russians. The question, though, for Ukraine is, can they reject this deal?
I mean, President Zelenskyy has been saying in the last few hours that he will not betray Ukraine's national interests in response to the plan, but
there's a very real concern and prospect that Ukraine could be pressured into accepting this deal through the withdrawal of weapons or intelligence
sharing, which, of course, is what we saw back in March.
You know, that tense Oval Office meeting, how do you expect Ukraine to play this, given what we've been hearing from President Zelenskyy today?
BAUNOV: There are many demands that concern their domestic things in Ukraine and is exactly that when the plan is totally asymmetric, there are
many demands to domestic changes and internal changes of Ukrainian politics, Ukrainian media situation and no demands on how Russia has to
change itself to end the war or after the war. In this sense, it's really providing the idea of Russia's victory.
And what we see, for instance, that the draft agreement contains some details, maybe not visible from the West or from the United States, but
very, very visible from Ukraine itself. Like for me, for instance, legalized Russian language. OK. But when the language is legalized under
the bombs, it's a different situation, or legalize Russian -- Ukrainian Orthodox church of Moscow patriarchate. And the most dangerous, the
legalized Russian media inside Ukraine.
The idea of elections of Ukrainian president 100 days after the signature of the agreement which provides confirms the idea that still in the
Kremlin, they believe that in Ukraine there is some pro-Russian majority and that if Russian propaganda and pro-Russian political forces are given
free rein, they are this majority will prevail, delivering basically the regime change and delivering the whole of Ukraine to Putin.
That's the idea of these small points inside the agreement. And that's exactly what the points are, which are most painful for Ukrainians because
they are concerning not what happens on the front line, but what happens in their own lives inside the country.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And it, you know, that the election within 100 days seems particularly designed to humiliate President Zelenskyy, as well as being
totally impractical. We talked about Europe a little bit earlier, and this is, of course, been particularly stinging for the Europeans, who once again
have been cut out of the negotiations and yet are paying a sizable bill for Ukraine's defense aid.
What do you think Europe can do in this moment to protect Ukraine's interests without alienating Donald Trump? How much more can they step up
here?
BAUNOV: That's just the trickiest thing. The most -- the biggest of Europe was not used to rely on themselves in the defense matters and still has no
capacity to deter nuclear Russian sufficiently without the United States help, and this is why Donald Trump administration see in Europe as a
sponsor, financial sponsor of the future agreement. But not a site that has its own interests and demands.
But to alienate Donald Trump is as well a strategy to totally alienate Donald Trump is bad strategy for Europe because it brings maybe Putin and
Trump closer to each other. I would say that Europe has to insist to be part of the deal because it's European war. It concerns European security.
Europe has already experiencing hybrid attacks by Russia directly and all over about European security.
Even in the draft agreement, we see things that are not about Ukraine, but about the NATO positions and Europe itself. And if Europe and not just
Ukraine, Russia (INAUDIBLE) Europe has to participate in the elaboration of the agreement that's clear.
[10:35:03]
MACFARLANE: Well, obviously, it's a fast-moving story today, and we will continue to follow developments. But for now, Alexander Baunov, we
appreciate your thoughts. Thank you.
And we'll be right back after this quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
MACFARLANE: Breaking news to bring you now. We have been told that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spoken to U.S. Vice President
J.D. Vance about President Trump's peace plan. The 28-point plan that was outlined yesterday.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is joining us now to discuss.
I believe, Nick, details are scant of this call, but what can you tell us and what this signifies?
WALSH: Very little, other than it has occurred at a time in which Zelenskyy has just recently released a video message talking about this being one of
the most difficult moments in Ukraine's history, and the choice between dignity and losing a major ally. We've seen in the past that J.D. Vance,
particularly in the White House, Oval Office blow-up in February or March, was it, can often be the more antagonistic element of the Trump
administration.
We don't know the contents of this phone call, but we know the timing in which it occurred has been surrounded by leaked parts of a peace plan that
had been simultaneously denied, and then, it seems, fed with other ideas as well. So a huge amount of pressure on Ukraine here. And I think the thing
we don't know at this point is whether this marks a definitive and final bid by the Trump administration to pressure an ally who they were
increasingly supportive of in the past months to reach some kind of deal fast.
There have been media reports suggesting that they feel under pressure to achieve something in under five or six days, or if this is, again, like
we've seen in the past Trump administration pressuring an ally for a bit, seeing what they can get out of it to get themselves closer to a deal, and
then being persuaded by other allies to take a different tact hours or days later.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and it's worth remembering what happened back in March following the Oval Office meeting, when, you know, the United States
withdrew military support for or military aid for Ukraine. So there is a very real prospect that that could happen again, and also perhaps the
withdrawal of intelligence services as well at this point.
WALSH: Yes. I mean, back after the Oval Office blowout, there was it seemed a brief cessation of some assistance. It's really hard because the movement
of arms is not entirely transparent. It's always hard to know what the ultimate impact of that ends up being on the front lines. And often those
delays can only come to impact months later. But the psychological blow is often key. And remember, seeing morale tanking across Ukraine after that
Oval Office blowout.
Clearly, the intelligence sharing is much more real, much more immediate. That could potentially be interrupted if the U.S. chose to take this
pressure. But you still have to listen to the potential calculations of Ukrainians are making here. They are being pushed into a corner again to
accept something which they know is not just politically unpalatable, but potentially militarily unpalatable, too.
[10:40:04]
And I think when we have these discussions about what diplomacy can yield and the different points that Ukraine is being pressured into, it's
important to remember that people are sitting in Kyiv, this can be a bit of an existential question, not just in terms of Zelenskyy's poll popularity,
but about the possibility that if Russia gains the land that it thinks it can simply have conceded to it under some of the drafts of this plan that
have been leaked, that might leave them quite capable of advancing over relatively open terrain towards the capital.
MACFARLANE: We have a soundbite from President Zelenskyy a few hours ago. Let's just take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is one of the most difficult moments in our history. The pressure on Ukraine is
now at its most intense. Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice. Either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner, or 28
difficult points, or an extremely harsh winter.
The most difficult and further risks are life without freedom, without dignity, without justice, and believing someone who has already attacked us
twice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Zelenskyy outlining there the risks again of losing this key strategic partner amidst the backdrop of reports that the United States are
actually looking to get the framework agreed for this deal within a matter of weeks.
WALSH: Yes, I mean, look, he's clearly under pressure there. This is rare rhetoric to hear from a president who's almost constantly under pressure
and has been in a particularly difficult spot domestically, politically over the past weeks. And so this obviously is the result of the pressure
they've been feeling through more private channels and possibly the phone call that's between him and president -- Vice President J.D. Vance in the
last hours or so.
Where does this go? I mean, look, we've seen in the past, Trump apply pressure like this. Take the Russian position so vehemently. Pressure
Ukraine with it, and then get a phone call from Emmanuel Macron and vacillate wildly back in a more pro-Ukrainian direction. There does feel to
be something slightly different about this, the 28-point plan. When you read some of the draft texts, you can literally see how some of this
probably was originally Russian language and has been clumsily translated into English.
And so that proximity to what would be a phenomenally good outcome for Russia is something again the White House have taken up, whether they stick
by it after those series of phone calls you can anticipate may already be happening from European allies, something we've seen not happen in the
past. Could it be different this time? We simply don't know.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And we've certainly heard European leaders all speaking out in the last few hours. We do have another soundbite from President
Zelenskyy. Let's just take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKYY (through translator): We will not make loud statements. We will work calmly with America and all our partners. There will be a constructive
search for solutions with our main partner. I will present arguments, I will persuade, I will offer alternatives, but we will definitely not give
the enemy any reason to say that Ukraine does not want peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: I mean that again speaks to Zelenskyy saying earlier today that he will try not to betray Ukraine's interests. And one wonders if, you
know, the phone call here has happened with J.D. Vance, if that might be laying the groundwork for a potential call with President Trump. We don't
know at this point.
But as you say, I mean, there has been so many swings and roundabouts between the two leaders this year alone. That Zelenskyy is clearly treading
very carefully here on the diplomacy front.
WALSH: I mean, to some degree, you might argue that this renewed pressure on Kyiv was somehow inevitable if you sort of observed the pendulum swings
of U.S. policy on this issue over the last year or so. They had just swung very far in the direction of their NATO allies, their European allies, and
Ukraine with the very strict economic sanctions against Russian oil giant Rosneft and Lukoil.
That was clearly a strident move that was deeper, frankly, than much of what the Biden administration did. That was peak pro-Ukrainian Trump. And
so is it then logical that a president obsessed with the idea of ending wars and his potential magical role as a deal maker would then think,
right, maybe now it's the time to push against the Ukrainians.
What's happened, though, is this has occurred at a time of heightened weakness for Ukraine. Not only is Zelenskyy going through a pretty horrific
domestic political scandal where his inner circle are implicated in corruption involving tens of millions of kickbacks from energy deals,
that's really weakening the mandate that he's enjoyed over the past three years or so and his poll standing, too. That's happening in exactly the
same time, where his forces on the front lines are in days or weeks, going to lose Pokrovsk, a key town they've battled for years over and utterly
important place along the Donbas front line, and are also seeing the Russians moving really fast in the Zaporizhzhia region as well.
So normally a popular Zelenskyy would struggle with the front line emergency, but he's sort of weakened with his domestic mandate and dealing
with the front line issue and then suddenly dealing now with the timing of this Russian proposal, which is probably designed to play to this moment of
weakness, not only on the front lines, but for Zelenskyy domestically, too.
[10:45:14]
MACFARLANE: Yes, certainly seems that way, doesn't it? Having been a pivotal week for Zelenskyy on the domestic front.
Nick, appreciate you jumping in. Thank you.
And coming up, the major U.S. markets' indices started Friday trading in the green. We'll take a look at what's driving that boost to close out what
has been a volatile trading week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: It's been a wild week on Wall Street, but things are looking at least marginally brighter after the Fed's official interest rates -- said
interest rates can be cut in the near term, despite some warning signs in the U.S. economy. The tech heavy Nasdaq, however, has now dipped into the
red.
The recent volatility, in part driven by fears of an A.I. tech bubble something even Nvidia can't shake after its blockbuster earnings report
Wednesday night. Well, the blockbuster share price is lower right now.
CNN's Anna Cooban is joining me.
So walk us through, Anna, what we've been seeing today and kind of the week that's been really.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's been, you know, as you said, a completely wild week. We saw huge tumbles on Wall
Street on Tuesday, particularly with tech stocks. Then Wednesday, you've got those blockbuster results from Nvidia. And then Thursday, Nvidia shares
bounced before closing down again. So it's difficult to know what to make of all this.
But what I will say is that it looks like two of the really big concerns aren't really going anywhere. So you mentioned the A.I. bubble. Yes, Nvidia
exceeded expectations, $57 billion worth of sales in the last quarter, but it's still, you know, investors are asking the question, is this trajectory
of growth sustainable? And that picture, the circularity of all those deals, the investment deals, the tech deals between all these different
A.I. companies, Nvidia being a really big player in that, that's gone nowhere.
And then you've got the Fed. You seem like a slam dunk there was going to be this interest rate cut next month. And this jobs report came out. It's a
bit of a mixed picture. It's difficult to know what to make of it. But again it doesn't seem like that interest rate cut is certain.
MACFARLANE: Yes. After a long delay, it was a bit of a mixed picture, wasn't it?
Anna, thank you. We'll wait to see what next week brings.
Now, affordability is a big issue in the United States, and it's reflected in new data and polling that shows a growing number of Americans have a
negative view of the U.S. economy.
For this edition of "All Over the Map," CNN's John King visited the working class city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to see how residents there are
coping with inflation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bethlehem is blue collar, full of people living paycheck to paycheck. Full of people who come
to Jenique Jones for help.
JENIQUE JONES, PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT 7 VOTER: My business assists people in repairing their credit, managing their finances and basically being
financially organized.
KING: So if you're busy, times are tough.
JONES: Absolutely, completely.
KING: Are you busy right now?
JONES: Super busy.
KING: What kind of stories are you hearing?
JONES: My husband lost all of his overtime. My kid's daycare went up. Can't afford the cost of food. Using credit cards for everyday expenses. No money
left after their bills are paid. Pretty much just a whole bunch of financial mess.
KING: We changed presidents at the beginning of the year.
JONES: We did.
KING: And the guy who moved into the White House said that he was going to fix it. Several times he said it would be easy.
[10:50:04]
JONES: Absolutely.
KING: Has he fixed it?
JONES: Absolutely not. I'm definitely waiting for him to fix it.
KING (voice-over): Jones is a three-time Trump voter, but she says he has simply failed to keep his promise to lower the cost of living.
JONES: I'm very let down by that. Very, very let down because I feel like it's only gotten worse.
KING: Pennsylvania ranks highest among the states in terms of food inflation. Grocery prices here up more than 8 percent this past year. That
is way above the national average. Housing costs are another piece of the affordability challenge. A one-bedroom apartment here in Bethlehem runs
about $1900 a month on average. That is up nearly 6 percent from last year.
(Voice-over): This is Gentleman's Barbershop. Customers gripe a lot about rising costs. Ashley Ruiz tries to help.
ASHLEY RUIZ, PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT 7 VOTER: I'll tell the client, hey, if you get it cut a little shorter, the haircut will have a longer lifeline
because I want them to feel like they're getting a service that will last longer so their money goes further.
KING (voice-over): She gets it because she does the tough math at home. Rent, food, childcare.
All up.
RUIZ: They are a lot higher. So I try to make wiser decisions and hope that things will get better.
KING (voice-over): A mix of politics around this table, but everyone agrees costs are up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Insurance is crazy. It's coming on more crazy than next year.
KING (voice-over): Owner Ronald Corales is another three-time Trump voter. When clients or co-workers grumble about costs, Corales urges patience.
RONALD CORALES. PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT 7 VOTER: Well, hopefully soon. You know, like --
KING: But it hasn't happened yet?
CORALES: Not really. We don't really see it at the moment. Like I said, I think we have to give him some time.
KING: Back in Bethlehem's heyday, this was its economic powerhouse, Bethlehem Steel. But the blast furnace here last fired 30 years ago,
November of 1995. A lot of change, but Bethlehem still matters politically.
This is Pennsylvania's bellwether, Northampton County, a place known for picking winners. The winner here in Northampton has gone on to win
statewide and win the White House in the last five presidential elections. And in 29 of the 32 presidential elections dating back to 1900. Trump's win
here in 2024 also helped flip this congressional district, Pennsylvania's 7th, from blue to red.
Now, the margin in that House race was just 4,000 votes. And so, with affordability as issue number one, Democrats have this district high on the
target list as they try to retake the House in next year's midterms.
(Voice-over): John and Lisa Ronca own Cutter's Bike Shop. Their teenage daughter rides competitively. Sometimes gets injured. They get their health
insurance through the Obamacare exchange, and their renewal letter just came.
LISA RONCA, PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT 7 VOTER: It's going to be triple and --
JOHN RONCA, PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT 7 VOTER: Triple this year.
L. RONCA: Which equates to double the cost of what we pay for our mortgage for our house. So that's so we can't keep that plan, to say the least.
KING (voice-over): Health care costs going up, their profit margin already down.
Why? Is this a tariff question?
J. RONCA: Every, like, two to three months, we get letters from the companies, you know, we got to increase. We're having a 10 percent
increase, another 10 percent increase. And it just keeps, keeps escalating.
KING (voice-over): Sales tend to spike around Christmas, but they're worried this year.
L. RONCA: 20-inch single speed kids' bike was $250, which is still decent, decently high. $400 just in the last couple of months. So it's kind of
tough. I don't know how many kids bikes we're getting for Christmas. I mean, who's going to spend?
KING: From $250 --
L. RONCA: To $400.
KING: -- to $400 in a couple of months --
L. RONCA: Yes.
KING: This year?
L. RONCA: Yes.
KING (voice-over): The Roncas don't like Trump and tend to vote blue. But they did support moderate Republican Charlie Dent a few years back when he
was the congressman here.
J. RONCA: And it's like I have no problem voting for either side if the person's good for the area.
KING (voice-over): But their stress this November shapes their early thoughts about next November.
L. RONCA: Yes, just this year, it's a big change.
KING: He keeps saying that that's a myth, that prices are down, that, you know, they're gone. Inflation's over.
L. RONCA: He doesn't go food shopping. I mean, I don't know. Yes, it's hard.
KING: How do you vote? Local or national?
J. RONCA: I would -- to me, I'm going to vote for a person who puts a check on them. You know what I mean? Who's going to --
L. RONCA: Yes.
J. RONCA: Who's going to reign the president in.
KING (voice-over): Frustration with prices and with the president in one of those places that tends to decide whether the country stays the course or
shifts gears.
John King, CNN, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: And for today's "Parting Shots," the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi in Saadiyat Cultural District will make its grand opening this
weekend. The museum is the largest of its kind in the Middle East and will have a special focus on the Arab region. It will feature immersive exhibits
that chronicle 13.8 billion years of history, spanning the creation of our universe to the Dinosaur Age and the rich biodiversity of the world today.
[10:55:05]
And Frida Kahlo's "El Sueno" has set a new record, selling for $54.7 million. That's the most ever for a work of art by a woman sold at auction.
The 1940s painting depicts Kahlo asleep in a wooden bed wrapped in a golden blanket, embroidered with vines and leaves above her rest. The skeleton in
strings of dynamite, crowned with a vibrant bouquet. The painting, last sold at auction in 1980 for $51,000. Extraordinary.
And that is it for this edition of CONNECT THE WORLD this Friday. Keep it with CNN. We have "ONE WORLD" coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
