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Connect the World
Israeli Settlers Besiege Palestinian Homes in Occupied West Bank; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Describes Russian Attacks on Kyiv; Europe Endures Two Hottest Summer Months on Record; Karoline Leavitt Steps Down as White House Press Secretary; Trump Accused of Violating First Amendment and Fifth Amendment. Aired 10-10:45a ET
Aired August 13, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Christina Macfarlane in
London, where the time is just after 3:00 in the afternoon.
Israeli settlers have surrounded three Palestinian homes for days in an apparent effort to force the residents out. We will bring you CNN's report
from the West Bank.
And in an interview with CNN, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says his country urgently needs more U.S.-made Patriot interceptors to defend
against a surge in Russian ballistic missile attacks.
And Taiwan steps up its civil defense drills, including air raid sirens and simulated disruptors, as it prepares its population for a potential
conflict with China.
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MACFARLANE: But for days, Israeli settlers have surrounded three Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank in what residents say is an
attempt to drive them from their land.
This is social media video from the developing scene. The Israeli military has been there since last weekend. But the settlers show no sign of backing
down. The Palestinian residents tell CNN that the settlers have blockaded them, cut water and power lines and tried to stop anyone from approaching
their homes.
Meantime, against the backdrop of that settler siege in Qusra, Israeli cabinet ministers are celebrating the reestablishment of Ganim, a
settlement in the northern West Bank. It's located not far from the area where those Palestinian families have been blockaded. Here's how the
Israeli defense minister is responding to it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISRAEL KATZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): Here, this is our home. Here, this is the land of Israel. Here, we are staying forever.
We are returning home to the place from which communities were uprooted, returning to the land of the patriarchs, the land of the prophet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Let's return to Qusra, where CNN's Jeremy Diamond has been meeting with Israeli military officials and observing the unrest taking
place there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The view from this Palestinian home is the same from every angle. Israeli settlers
everywhere you look. For days now, they've set up camp and surrounded three homes on this hilltop in the occupied West Bank in a bid to force the
residents out and take over.
They've cut water and power lines and have tried to stop anyone from approaching. All of this is illegal and yet this is what happened when
Palestinian residents first called the Israeli military. The soldiers joined the settlers in prayer.
LOUI RIDI, PALESTINIAN AMERICAN: They start hugging the settlers and they start praying with the settlers and absolutely did nothing to protect my
brother and his son.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Loui Ridi owns one of those houses. A Palestinian American, he's watched all of this unfold from Ohio. And this is what he
saw on Wednesday, Israeli military trying and ultimately failing to remove the settlers from the area. Hours later, we drive up the hill to see if
anything has changed.
DIAMOND: So these are actually the three homes that have been besieged by these settlers for four days now. We're going to try and climb up this hill
and see if we can get past the settlers who are blocking the area.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The settlers are still there and so are two Israeli soldiers who order us to stop and turn off our vehicle.
The soldier tells me this is now a closed military area and that we're interfering with military activity.
DIAMOND: Why are we interfering and not them?
I don't understand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can contact the military spokesperson. This is a closed military area.
DIAMOND (voice-over): An IDF spokesperson said the order does apply to the settlers but it's clearly not being enforced. The IDF said it would soon
deploy more troops to the area to restore order.
DIAMOND: They're telling us that it's a closed military zone that we're not allowed to be here but at the same time, we're seeing multiple Israeli
settlers who are here, who are not being made to leave and who are continuing to block the access to these homes.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Down the hill, we call Loui's brother, Qusai, who's been staying in his home.
DIAMOND: Qusai, this is the closest we're able to get to your home, unfortunately.
How are you doing?
Do you still have supplies?
QUSAI RIDI, QUSRA RESIDENT: The food I have is going to run out in two to three days. Beyond that, I have no food, nothing, he says.
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But at the same time, even if I run out of food, I will not leave the house.
DIAMOND: So do you have any hope that these settlers are actually going to be kicked out of this area?
Q. RIDI: Honestly, from what I saw today, the settlers were monstrous, he explains. They even attacked the Israeli army, forcing them to fire sound
grenades and tear gas. They have their eyes set on the house and this hilltop. They want to take it.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The next day, Israeli soldiers temporarily order Qusai out of the house, leaving him to move in with his neighbor. The
soldiers say they will use it as a base to operate against the settlers but Qusai's fears aren't abstract. In recent weeks, settlers in this area have
set fire to a mosque and besieged this home.
DIAMOND: This right here is why those families are afraid to leave their home. You can see Israeli settlers on the rooftop of this house here. Three
weeks ago, Palestinians were living in that house but it's been taken over by Israeli settlers.
DIAMOND (voice-over): With a messianic flag now flying above it, these settlers want their presence known from one hilltop to the next.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, I spoke with Jeremy last hour and asked him for some more context on this tense reporting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: It really was extraordinary to be in that area. I mean, these settlers have been laying siege to these three homes of Palestinians living
on that hilltop for five days now. And the Israeli military was in the area as you saw in our piece when we arrived.
And yet they are not enforcing this military order on those settlers who are living there illegally. The Israeli military has failed to remove them
thus far.
Now we are witnessing what appears to be the beginnings of a much larger operation by the Israeli military to remove those settlers and also to take
down several other illegal outposts in that very same region.
We've seen today videos of Israeli soldiers, an entire battalion of Israeli soldiers arriving in the area. Initially, we saw soldiers beginning to kick
out Palestinians from their homes, from at least a dozen homes in the area, they said that they were going to use those homes as bases to operate
against the settlers.
Quite an irony there. That irony seems to have been recognized since by the Israeli military, which hours later reversed that decision and ordered
these Israeli soldiers to leave the homes of all of these Palestinians and we've begun to see that actually taking place.
But it just underscores, you know, the different ways in which the Israeli military, you know, the different rules that they have for operating
against settlers versus operating against Palestinians.
If we saw anything like this coming from Palestinians in the West Bank, you would see the Israeli military acting with a significantly higher degree of
force against those Palestinians.
But when it comes to these settlers, we see that the Israeli military is really putting gloves on to take efforts to take them out without causing
any deaths or injuries. And also, it seems, without properly detaining and arresting any of these settlers.
Only one settler has been detained so far, according to the information I have from the Israeli military today.
But again, the military is vowing that they will conduct an operation to remove the settlers from the area. We'll wait and continue to cover this
story to see whether or not that actually comes to pass.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Jeremy Diamond there for us.
Now Iran is demanding compensation for what it says is decades of environmental damage to its waters. On Wednesday, a thick oil slick washed
up on a beach around Iran's Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz, according to a video geolocated by CNN.
Meanwhile, oil prices are falling today, with Brent crude, the global benchmark, trading around $87 or $86, just under, as you can see there, to
the barrel.
Now let's get you connected on Ukraine and an appeal to U.S. -- to the U.S. from president Zelenskyy, delivered in a CNN interview. Volodymyr Zelenskyy
says his country has only a fraction of the missile interceptors it needs.
He says if the U.S. provided 10 percent of its stockpile, Kyiv would be able to defeat Russia's aerial attacks. Currently, he says Ukraine has just
1 percent. President Zelenskyy spoke to our Nick Paton Walsh.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Mr. President, Kyiv feels very different than it has over the last few years.
People used to just walk calmly during air raid sirens. Now we see them run to the subway to shelters.
How do you prepare a city of this size for the extra shock of this new wave of Russian ballistic missile attack?
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Each night, you have attacks. And four, five times per month, we have massive attacks. People live --
people try to have some sun.
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And try to spend, of course, because of terrible nights, very heroic, very resilient people, really. But they tired, understandable.
WALSH: Are you out of interceptors now?
Do you have none left?
ZELENSKYY: No. I will explain to you how it works. So this year we have 2 1-2 times less interceptors than we had in 2025, first. Russia has two
times more ballistic missiles per month than they had before. We pay 100 percent to America. I have the package from the United States and then my
personal involvement. It doesn't work the other way.
It's my personal talks, meetings and phones -- phone calls each day with everybody. I try to exchange something to missiles.
This year I'm asking American partners to sell me five percent -- five percent of missiles. What they have in their stocks. If they sell us five
percent, we will go through the winter and save people's lives. If they can sell us 10 percent, we will destroy all the Russian's ballistic missiles.
WALSH: And has that request been answered yet?
Have you had a clear indication as to whether..
ZELENSKYY: The answer is, for today, is next. I have 1 percent. This is in what I live each day.
From 1 percent to 5 percent, I have some months and million phone calls and anything else.
What can I do?
I do some things which I can't even share. It doesn't mean that it's out of the law. No but I can't speak about it.
WALSH: Have you picked up the phone to President Trump and asked for that assurance since you met in Washington?
ZELENSKYY: To be honest, I'm asking him through -- directly. I'm asking him when I have meetings, when we have phone calls and be sure. I'm asking
him through different other people also.
WALSH: You suggested yesterday that you made new proposals to the American side for a peace deal. Were there specific new ideas in this?
ZELENSKYY: No, I don't want now to go to some details. Yes, we -- first, my opinion that we need more involvement of the American side to the peace
plan. I know that they have some dialogue with Russians. I don't know details really but it's normal. Putin doesn't want to stop this war now.
And not enough pressure on him now.
WALSH: But there was one idea that was floated in earlier versions of the peace talks where, potentially, you might cede the remainder of Donbas in
order to get a more lasting peace.
And a year later, lots of those areas of Donbas are very hard for Ukrainian civilians to live in from drone attacks increasing. Does that concession
seem more possible to you at this stage than it was a year ago?
ZELENSKYY: No, the problem is security for Ukraine. We always speak about territory. Russia begins to speak about this war and they speak about
territory. The key question is why he will not come again with 1-2 additional million soldiers after the big pause or small pause, why he will
not come again to occupy us.
What security guarantees you have?
And this is -- there is no answer, there is no answer, clear answer for us that he will not to try again to occupy Ukraine.
WALSH: Do you feel there is a risk that he may escalate against NATO or is he too weak for that at this stage?
ZELENSKYY: He doesn't know how to end this war without big occupation or big victory for his society. He doesn't understand how to do it. It's more
simply to find some smaller country. For him, it will not be important this country in NATO or not in NATO.
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He wants quick victory, 100 percent be sure that he will win, occupy or destroy, all control. It can be any country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Nick Paton Walsh there, speaking to president Zelenskyy.
Now when we come back, extreme temperatures continue to scorch Europe. And for some farmers, that means losing thousands as the drought extends
further into the last dregs of summer. We'll look at that aspect of the crisis next.
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MACFARLANE: Welcome back.
Taiwan is preparing for a potential Chinese attack, even deliberately slowing its own internet as part of the country's largest-ever military
drills. The exercises are also testing how Taiwan would keep its government and critical infrastructure running in the chaos of war. CNN's Will Ripley
reports from Taipei.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Air raid sirens are going off. Streets are being evacuated. This is wild. It's like
the apocalypse.
See, all the buses are pulled over; everybody's kind of hunkered down inside or underground. And something strange is happening to our phones.
The mobile internet is slowing down drastically here in Taipei.
Here's what's happening. These are Taiwan's biggest annual military drills, with a major focus this year on preparing the entire society for a
potential Chinese attack.
Taiwanese security officials say they're preparing for a scenario where cell towers could be sabotaged, undersea cables severed or networks hit by
massive cyber attacks. So for 30 minutes, millions of people are getting a taste of what that could be like.
BEN LEWIS, FOUNDER, PLA TRACKER: In the event of an actual invasion or attack, we could expect Taipei and really the entire island to be blanketed
with strikes by the PLA.
RIPLEY: And this is just one part of a much bigger exercise. Taiwan has mobilized around 20,000 reservists for 10 days of unscripted war games,
practicing everything from defending ports and airports to drone warfare, mass casualties and repairing communications under attack -- Will Ripley,
CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE (voice-over): All right, let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now.
Los Angeles Lakers may soon be changing hands and the price is staggering. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner are buying
the storied franchise for 12.5 billion less than a year after Mark Walter became the team's majority owner.
The attorney for polarizing social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate has called for a protest in support of their freedom. The brothers are
currently being held in a federal detention in Miami, where they are fighting extradition to the U.K. Both are facing criminal charges in
Britain, including rape and sex trafficking.
We will have much more to come from CONNECT THE WORLD after this quick break.
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Do stay with us.
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MACFARLANE (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London and you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
For days, Israeli settlers have been surrounding three Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank in an apparent effort to force the residents out.
The Israeli military has been there since last weekend but the settlers show no sign of backing down.
The Palestinian residents tell CNN that settlers have blockaded them and tried to stop anyone from approaching their homes.
In an interview with CNN, Ukraine's president says he has just a fraction of the missile interceptors he needs. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country
currently has about 1 percent of America's stockpile and would need 10 percent to defeat Russia's aerial attacks.
Record low levels of the Danube River have left Hungary battling to keep its nuclear power plant running, while, in Romania, its last working
reactor was forced to shut down. The extreme heat in Europe is now calling into question whether nuclear energy can adapt to a changing climate.
And the extreme heat is digging into the pockets of our next guest, who says he is losing 11,000 euros a week as the high temperatures bring a
drought to his farm. Let's bring in Darragh McCullough, who is an Irish journalist and a farmer. He's joining me from Meath, Ireland.
Where the temperature there, Darragh, I think is 27 degrees Celsius. Thank you so much for joining us. I can see your farm behind you there. Just
begin by explaining how difficult this summer has been for you and your farm.
DARRAGH MCCULLOUGH, IRISH JOURNALIST AND FARMER: Yes, well, it's been a record-breaking summer in terms of temperatures, in terms of heat waves and
in terms of rainfall. So we haven't really had a serious day of rains for about six weeks now, nearly seven weeks in this farm.
You can see the field behind me. That would normally be green. You know, Ireland is famous for its 40 shades of green. But you -- more like 40
shades of yellow at the moment. And, there's just no grass available in the fields for our cows to graze.
And, of course, Ireland's agricultural system, certainly in beef and dairy, is based on having our cows calving in the spring because the grass is
there for them to harvest in the fields themselves.
And, so at the moment, we find ourselves digging into our feed reserves, buying an additional meal and feeding our silage. And our farm is a little
bit larger than the average-sized dairy farm.
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But in our case, last week, it was costing 11,000 euros; this week it's costing 14,000 euros.
MACFARLANE: Wow.
MCCULLOUGH: Because just the fodder supplies out in the fields are dropping all the time.
MACFARLANE: Yes. So over the course of this summer, that's going to amount to huge losses for you personally.
Look, I just want to take a minute to show our viewers this chart, which I'll explain to you, Darragh. It highlights the five driest Julys on record
in Ireland. I mean, low rainfall isn't a new problem, as I'm sure you're aware.
So how did farmers, before you navigate these droughts, is there a precedent here?
MCCULLOUGH: Yes. Well, 2018 was the last serious drought we had in Ireland. And it came as a bit of a shock to the system. But to be honest,
since then, you know, every other year there's been drought-like conditions that we're having to deal with.
So the systems are gradually modifying to cope with drier and drier summers. So for example, we've installed big buffer tanks to create water
buffers. The cow, it's not just that the feed isn't in the fields, It's also that the cows are under more heat stress.
So the cow is thirstier. She's not consuming as much moisture through her feed. Normally, fresh green grass is about 50 percent or maybe 40 percent
water. So we're having -- the water pressure in our wells are higher. And we're finding farmers are having to drill deep deeper into the ground to
deepen wells.
We're also now considering different types of crops, so maybe not just relying solely on grass but relying on maybe multi-species swards, which
combine deep rooting, taproot-type plants to suck moisture out of deeper in the soil profile, things like, forage, turnips, our other examples that are
being considered in the mix.
So the system is evolving all the time. The concern is that Ireland's great competitive advantage is growing grass, cheap grass, and converting that
into meat and dairy. And if we're not able to put the cows out into the fields for the vast majority of the summer period, yes, we're -- our
competitive advantage is severely weakened.
MACFARLANE: Yes, because can you just, I mean, spell out -- if this kind of extreme weather becomes more frequent, just spell out for us what this
is going to mean for Ireland's food supply and the price that consumers are going to need to pay for your food.
MCCULLOUGH: Yes. So, I mean, it's not that we're in dire straits, that we're, you know, planning on giving up milking cows. It still pays us to
feed the cows. And that's what we're making our living from. So we're going to stick at it.
And, you know, with every passing day, we're a day closer to rain. That's what we tell ourselves.
What does it mean for the big picture?
I think it means like, you know, however bad it might be here in Ireland, it's worse on the continent and over in the U.K. So however difficult or
expensive it is to produce milk in Ireland, it's even more expensive in most of the rest of the world.
So I think, you know, we'll find our cost of production probably increasing. And that will probably be reflected in the price that we'll
need to command for our product, which will filter eventually back to the consumer.
So it's quite likely that, you know, we're seeing the first kind of impacts of climate change starting to filter down through the food chain to the
supermarket shelves. And I think, in years to come, consumers need to be prepared for, you know, high food prices to bed in and become the norm.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And as you know, we're expecting this now to become more of a frequent phenomenon.
What help, Darragh, do you need and who, you know, who are you looking to for that help?
MCCULLOUGH: Well, there's been calls from the national farming association here, the IFA, and from other farm organizations for a national fodder
committee to be reconvened. That was last rolled out during the last drought in 2018.
It was a great way for farmers to have a hotline into the government organizations like the department of agriculture, to give them, you know,
news from the updates, from the coalface (ph), so to speak, and coordinate supplies.
And back in 2018, there was a large, coordinated effort to import fodder supplies from abroad to try and tide farmers through the winter months.
Well, I don't think we're in dire straits yet. But there's no rain in the forecast for the next 7-10 days and that's starting to make farmers a
little bit more anxious.
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Because even if it starts raining tomorrow, it's going to take a few days for the ground, the moisture levels, to come back into the soil. It's going
to take at least three weeks for the grass to grow to a point where there's enough there for cows to graze.
And so we're at least a month away from normal business resuming. And there's no guarantees. So I think farmers are looking to try and
reestablish daily links with the authorities here, to make sure that everybody is on the same page and that we don't head into the wintertime
with a massive fodder shortage.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Well, look, Darragh, we'll let you get out of the sweltering heat and back to your back to your cows, back to your crops. But
look, this is a really important conversation.
People often forget what it is that farmers like yourselves at the coalface (ph) are struggling with. So thank you very much for spelling it out for
us. And we really keep our fingers crossed for a couple of weeks of rain for you. Thank you.
MCCULLOUGH: Thanks a lot.
MACFARLANE: And the struggle over dwindling water supplies isn't just playing out in Europe. In the American West, Lake Mead has fallen to its
lowest level since the reservoir was created nearly a century ago. That's raising new questions about how millions of people share the shrinking
lake. CNN's Bill Weir reports.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We've hit a grim milestone in the American West. Lake Mead, the biggest of our reservoirs
out here, has reached historic lows at its lowest level since this lake was created with the construction of Hoover Dam back in the '30s, 27 percent
capacity right now.
And just for perspective, this boat marina, you can see floating just below us here, used to be way up on the hillside. But about 75 percent of this
reservoir is gone in the last two decades, a result of a 20-year mega drought fueled by climate change and increased demand.
This is a basic supply and demand problem in the American West but it is so vital because this is the water that starts as snow in the Rocky Mountains
and then keeps 40 million people alive and their pets and livestock and lawns and swimming pools and over 5 million acres of agricultural land
comes out of this.
And historically, the seven states that share this, the two dozen tribes, Mexico also shares this water, have failed to agree on how to evenly divide
it. So the federal government finally had to step in recently.
Interior Department put out a framework that for the next 10 years will be a series of cuts to try to conserve this water, because we're about 1.5
million acre feet short of what is needed by the population currently in the West, which is stable or growing.
And at least for the next couple of years, it's the Lower Basin desert states, California, Arizona and Nevada, that would have to cut the most,
maybe up to 40 percent, maybe up to 50 percent of their allocated water from here.
Places like Phoenix have been preparing for this. Places like Nevada have set the national standard for water conservation. And so the taps are not
going dry anytime soon.
But this is not sustainable. There is hope, prayers that this El Nino will bring enough snowfall this year to recharge these to give people a little
more breathing room. Seven states could come together with a new agreement, which would be great. They could end up in the Supreme Court, which experts
agree would be horrible.
This is fueling a lot more talk about desalination in the American West, which some say is expensive but without it, without water, you got no
casinos, you got no data centers, you got no other water intensive golf courses or anything else that Americans love.
And so the conversation should be about building like Israel did and Singapore did a lot more desalination. But here we are. It's a slow motion
disaster that's been going on for a long time.
We pay attention when it hits these record numbers from here on out but as a reminder that this is a problem that is not going away -- Bill Weir at
Lake Mead, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: And ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, U.S. president Donald Trump's social media platform is under fire. A new lawsuit against him alleges
Truth Social violates the Constitution. Details on that ahead.
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MACFARLANE: U.S. president Donald Trump says his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, will step down from her role at the end of this month. She said
she decided to leave her post to focus on her family after giving birth in May.
And now the vacancy leaves behind questions on who might step in to what is seen as a daunting role. CNN's Alayna Treene has more
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Donald Trump is losing his chief messenger. The White House press
secretary, Karoline Leavitt, announced on Wednesday that she is going to be departing the role at the end of the month.
Now this is arguably a major loss for this White House and particularly for the president himself. Karoline Leavitt is a part of a very small group of
loyal and trusted advisers that serve the president. She's often part of the most sensitive conversations that involve him.
She's also someone that he trusts greatly and she often has his ear on a number of important issues. It's also a role that has been a key one for
this White House and one that the president really struggled to fill in the beginning when thinking about who he wanted to be the person to go and
speak from the podium.
Now both the president and Leavitt posted lengthy statements about her departure on social media and the reason they gave for her leaving was so
that she could spend more time with her family.
I'd note that Leavitt actually had her second child, a daughter, born on May 1. She only took about a month of maternity leave before coming back to
the White House.
And through the course of my reporting and speaking with sources, they told me that, even then, even when she was out on her short maternity leave, the
president would often call her up, trying to check in with her and at times even asked when she was coming back, so clearly a very demanding job for
the press secretary here.
Another thing I think to keep in mind is the timing of this decision. It's only three months until the midterm elections. That's a very difficult time
to lose your chief messenger. So unclear as of Wednesday evening who would be replacing her.
I will say I spoke with some White House staffers who said that they were surprised at the decision and also that there was no immediate realization,
no immediate plans on who would be the one to replace her. So we will be standing tuned to see who is going to fill her shoes -- Alayna Treene, CNN,
the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: A new lawsuit is coming after president Trump's online platform, Truth Social. The suit was filed jointly by The Intercept and the
Freedom of Press Foundation. Truth Social was rolled out -- has rolled out its subscription earlier this year. And, for a hefty fee, users can get
early access to Trump's posts.
It's not clear how much time passes before the rest of the public gets to see the posts. But the lawsuit argues the fact that there's a gap at all
violates the First and Fifth Amendments. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. CNN's senior business reporter David Goldman has
been following the story for us.
And so, David, just explain to us what exactly the lawsuit is challenging because there's a really fascinating argument here that Trump's official
statements may actually belong to the American people under the Presidential Records Act.
So how strong an argument is that?
DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: That's right. Well, there's no doubt of that. The president doesn't actually own the speech that he
makes, which I think would surprise a lot of folks.
But everything under the Presidential Records Act belongs to the American people. And so if the president -- and this is the unusual situation that
we're in.
[10:40:00]
If the president owns the platform on which he is making those policy announcements, which can include declarations of war and declarations of
tariffs and big policy decisions, hirings and firings, things like that, well, if that is made on a platform that he owns and now can profit off of
those announcements, we're kind of in uncharted territory here.
And like so many things with the Trump administration, this creates some novel legal questions.
Among them is, well, is this a First Amendment violation if you give preferential access to those proclamations to the highest bidder or to
companies that are willing to pay $60,000 to $100,000 a month for that access?
The reason that it's so interesting is because it's not really clear that they're getting much more preferential access to you and me. We might not
even notice the difference. Those posts could go out maybe a split second before we have access to it.
We, to your point, don't really know what the difference is. The company has never said how much time the gap is between the preferential access and
the public access.
But does the First Amendment, can it be measured in milliseconds or seconds or minutes?
A really, really novel, interesting question. And then the other part of this is the Fifth Amendment part, which is the Equal Protection Act.
So you know, if the president makes a proclamation, do we have the right to see it?
And, you know, generally courts have said the answer is yes. But in this case, the companies are saying, well, we don't necessarily have that.
One of the things that the Freedom of Press Foundation does is that they scrape all of that information and they put it into a kind of a website
where people can look and see what the president has said about the media.
Well, if it doesn't have that kind of scraping access because it's being sold, well, then that might be a violation of their Fifth Amendment rights
according to this lawsuit. So again, a lot is new here. A lot is pretty strange. And we've never seen this kind of thing before but it's creating
some really interesting legal questions.
MACFARLANE: Certainly is. And we will wait to see, yes, whether how long, what delay we might be talking about here. I mean, it is quite a head-
scratcher, given we have become so accustomed, especially in the press, to, you know, checking in on those statements on a minute-by-minute basis,
really.
So we will watch this space. David, thank you very much.
And that is it for CONNECT THE WORLD for this hour. Stay with CNN. "MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST" is up next.
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