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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump On Saudi Crown Prince: "I Like Him Too Much"; Biden Didn't Recognize George Clooney At 2024 Fundraiser: New Book; Analyst: Inflation Numbers Do Not Reflect Impact Of What's Coming; Diddy's Ex- Girlfriend Cries When Asked If She "Enjoyed" "Freak Offs". Aired 7-8p ET
Aired May 13, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:25]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Trump treated like a king. The royal treatment from Saudi Arabia tonight, a country that's helped Trump and his family make a lot of money -- as a new report raises questions about Donald Trump Jr.'s business ventures.
Plus, the fallout from Trump's trade war. New numbers show prices are still going up. We'll break it down with Einstein and Ives on the whiteboard.
And RFK, Jr. swimming with his grandchildren in a creek full of sewage, proudly posting pictures. Why?
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, the royal treatment. Thats what President Trump is receiving in Saudi Arabia this evening. And it started with a dramatic entrance of fighter jet escort through the Saudi airspace.
Once Trump landed, he was greeted by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in person. He doesn't usually do that, but he did in this case, who then escorted the president down a lavender carpet lined with members of the royal Saudi family.
And from that moment on, Trump could not hide his admiration for the crown prince.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's an honor to be with you, my friend. And I was so impressed as a young guy who was very wise, wise beyond his years. He was very, very wise. And we became friendly. And I really believe we like each other a lot.
I like him a lot. I like him too much. Thats why we give so much, you know? Too much. I like you too much.
Mohammed, do you sleep at night? How do you sleep? Huh? Just thinking.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: What a job you have done. Some job?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Effusive. The two even seen riding together in a golf cart on their way to state dinner. But for Trump, this is not just about Americas business. The country's business with Saudi Arabia. It is also about his family's business.
This is a region where Trump's empire, his business empire, has more than tripled. His business dealings since his first term have more than tripled. This includes not one, but two major towers in Saudi Arabia, the Trump tower in Jeddah. It's a 47-story luxury tower which will overlook the Red Sea.
You see these mock-ups of what it will look like, says Trump Tower on it, something Trump has long desired in the Middle East. Major developers there have told me.
And the Trump Towers Riyadh, plans for that tower still under wraps in the center of Saudi Arabia. But the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has also secured a $2 billion investment from the Saudis, led by the crown prince. And as I reported in 2019, in our documentary about Trump's family business, the Saudis have been spending a lot of money on Trump for a long time, spending money on his Trump hotels in the U.S. even during his first administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT (voice-over): Jonathan O'Connell and his colleagues at "The Washington Post" learned a lobbying group working for the Saudi government paid the hotel close to $300,000.
JONATHAN O'CONNELL, THE WASHINGTON POST: I think in total, we tallied around 500 room nights that they stayed there.
BURNETT: "The Post" also discovered Saudi spending at Trump's New York hotel turned a red quarter black.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump has also hosted multiple events before the LIV golf tournament. That is backed by Saudi Arabia, and he's done that with his golf clubs, generating millions in dollars of fees, according to "The Wall Street Journal". In fact, Trump was in Florida while the LIV tournament was taking place at his own golf course in Miami on the day the markets tanked and the world reeled when announced the tariffs that he's now backed off of. He didn't come back, he didn't change his plans because he was at the LIV golf tournament, important.
The conflicts of interest seemed to be clear and they come as Trump has essentially stopped the United States government from enforcing a law that makes it illegal for Americans to pay or bribe foreign officials to secure business deals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It sounds so good but it's so bad. It hurts the country and many, many deals are unable to be made because of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I will say just from personal experience, reporting across Africa, there are so many companies and countries where they would be offered the equivalent of might seem like bribes from America's major -- around the world, say, China, and they chose to do business with America because they didn't want the bribes. They wanted to actually know what the rules of the road were. So, to take that all the way, that is a significant statement, and there was no shortage of wheeling and dealing in this new world order today.
Elon Musk tagged along. Trump even introducing Musk to the crown prince. Unsurprisingly, Musk announced to reporters that he has secured a Starlink deal with the Saudis. Of course, not going to shock you in this context.
And while, of course, money is one of the main drivers when it comes to Trump and Saudi Arabia, it may also be that his attraction is to the royals style, the golden lifestyle of the Saudi royals, something that Trump has tried to emulate.
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Take the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You see the new and improved Oval Office, as it becomes more and more beautiful with love, you know, handle it with great love and 24 carat gold. That always helps, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump loves gold. And there is a lot of 24 carat gold there. It has transformed the oval office. It has now decked out just about every mantel and surface, from gold-plated vases to moldings, all of it now done in gold, similar to what Trump has shows off at his home in Trump Tower. Again, an apartment covered in gold, painted in gold paint. And then there's his private jet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Inside the $100 million plane has enough gold that, if melted down, could gold plate the outside of a greyhound bus -- seat belts, light sockets, decorative trim.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, maybe that's what the whole appeal is of Saudi Arabia and maybe even Qatar itself. That's the sort of luxury that's seen in the plane that Qatar wants to gift Trump, which is where the president will be heading in just a few hours, heading to Doha, the Qatari capital.
Jeff Zeleny is traveling with the president OUTFRONT tonight, live in Riyadh.
And, Jeff, Trump made a point to showcase a very loudly and clearly a personal tie, a personal connection to the crown prince today.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erin, they were quite literally joined at the hip from the moment of President Trump's arrival here in Riyadh, a little after 10:00 a.m. local time, until the president left a state dinner after 10:00 p.m. local time. So, for nearly 12 hours, with the exception of perhaps a little bit of private time they had, they were together at every stop along the way.
And that was by design. It was part of the program. It was so extraordinary to watch the American CEOs, some of the world's richest and most successful business leaders wait in a long line, sometimes more than 100 people deep, to meet the president and then meet the Saudi crown prince. And it was extraordinary to watch the length of time they had these conversations.
Elon Musk got a bit more time. Some other lesser known business leaders got less time. But I was talking to one of the business leaders from America who is here for the meeting. And this leader got about almost a minute or so. And it was extraordinary to watch the president and the crown prince both making their own introductions.
But it was much more than that, Erin. I mean, the reality here is what the president has done. The American president has elevated the Saudi crown prince. He praised him along the way. But also think back to the last administration, the Biden administration, of course, that the infamous fist bump that we all remember, the Trump administration, the president has elevated the Saudi crown prince.
But you talked about the Trump family businesses. Erin, I can say one thing that is a bit unusual about this trip. There's no first lady. There's also no Trump family on this trip at all. Eight years ago, Jared Kushner was here. Ivanka Trump was here.
Now, all of his children have business dealings here, or most of them do. And none of them are on this trip at least. But they certainly have business dealings, including that Riyadh Tower that is planning to come at sometime soon -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much. The Riyadh Tower, Jeddah Tower, and of course, $2 billion in Jared Kushner's investment fund.
OUTFRONT now, Democratic Congressman Jason Crow, a member of the House Armed Services and Intelligence Committee.
So, Congressman Crow, I appreciate your time.
So, Trump announcing, you know, a whole slew of deals. I mentioned Elon Musk, of course, and Starlink. Saudi Arabia is pivotal as well, though, to his family's business interests. It's personal.
Is there anything that can be done about it? You know, if were listing off tower after tower in the Trump family, right, $2 billion investment funds. You know, if the shoe were on the other foot, there would be a hue and cry about this. But I guess the question is, is there anything that can be done to look into it or not?
REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): Well, Erin, I like a good deal just as much as everybody. And I like trade. I like trade deals that benefit American businesses and industry. But think about it this way, say, you're selling a house and your real estate agent comes to you and say, listen, I got a great offer on this house. I can't get any more money. The sellers are really motivated. They're going to get you a lot of money for the house.
But then you find out that your real estate agent actually has a side deal and a side business with these potential sellers. Wouldn't you have questions about that? Wouldn't you have concerns about it? It's the same concept here.
So, transparency is really important. As you've pointed out, the deep ties, financial connections, conflicts of interest that play here raise a lot of questions.
BURNETT: You know, I mentioned the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which the FCPA, which can sound a bit, you know, in the weeds, but it's actually kind of crucial.
[19:10:03]
I remember conversations actually in Egypt and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with companies that had access to massive rare earth minerals, in one case, choosing the United States over China, in spite of all of the extra things that might have come with a Chinese deal, because they wanted the American rules, right, even though they couldn't get the really fancy Hermes and Birkin bags handed out as gifts left and right.
So, Trump has now signed an executive order freezing that act that pauses all bribery investigations.
Do you think that there is any connection between that and what we're seeing now in Saudi Arabia?
CROW: Well, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is one of the many laws in the United States that actually make us the best place in the world to do business. People want to do business in the United States because there's less corruption, there's more transparency. We have stable and predictable legal systems. They can find redress to settle disputes.
All of these things make for a great economy. And if the Trump administration is going to undermine that stability, that transparency, those anti-corruption efforts in the mid-term and the long term, it's going to make for a weaker, less prosperous American economy. So, these things actually do matter. BURNETT: So I want to ask you about Elon Musk, because I mentioned he
was there and you heard Jeff Zeleny report that he got more time than others. But, you know, this line of 100 people waiting. But Musk certainly at the front, at least metaphorically shaking hands with Trump and the crown prince, and we understand the Starlink deal seems to be settled.
Do you -- did you have -- does the image of this bother you at all, or is this the category of get a deal if you can get it? Who cares if there's 100 CEOs waiting in line to perhaps not just metaphorically, but literally kiss the ring?
CROW: Yeah, of course, it bothers me. It should bother anybody. You know, this -- this obvious quid pro quo. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. It's fine if you're in the room, it's fine if you're one of the chosen few, the select few who are willing to kneel and kiss the ring.
But what about everybody else? What about the people who I grew, grew up with, and working class America who are working paycheck to paycheck, who get up to work on a construction site and shower at the end of the night as opposed in the morning? Those folks usually get left out when we're talking about Trump, and were talking about the elites that are in the room and that really have filled out this administration.
You know, it's disgusting. I have no problem with wealth. I have no problem with success. But I have a problem with is when the game is rigged and the playing field isn't level.
And every American should expect more. We should expect transparency. We should expect some rules that everybody can live by, and everybody can thrive and compete on an equal playing field. And certainly, this is not what's happening with this administration. It's not what's happening in this scene that you just displayed.
BURNETT: Congressman, I appreciate your time. And thank you very much, Congressman Jason Crow.
And also tonight, we have a new report that is raging major questions about Donald Trump Jr.'s business dealings. A little known investment firm is now anything but little, after hiring Donald Trump, Jr. just six days after his father's reelection. This is according to our next guest, who reports that the firm's massive growth came after investing in companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX and Anduril, which is a an incredibly hot defense technology firm that have both been awarded many lucrative government contracts.
OUTFRONT now, Bethany McLean, special correspondent at "Business Insider", who broke the story, also contributing editor at "Vanity Fair".
All right, Bethany, I'm so glad to talk to you again.
So, you lay -- you set out a scene here where six days after Donald Trump is reelected as president, his son, Donald Trump, Jr., joins this tiny little firm called 1789 Capital.
So, tell us what you've learned about the firm and his role in it.
BETHANY MCLEAN, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, BUSINESS INSIDER: So yes, Donald Trump jr. Joined this firm, 1789 capital that didn't have much business until Donald Trump Jr. came along. And so, there are two aspects to this. One is that today there are a bunch of these private companies that you and I can't invest in. You have to be invited into the club in order to be allowed to put your money in them.
And the particularly hot ones like SpaceX and Anduril hot because everybody views them as as sure a bet as you can possibly make in the business world, you really can't get into. And so, 1789 was allowed to invest in these companies. And these companies are also getting taxpayer money because they're getting government contracts.
So, in a very direct way, Donald Trump Jr. is profiting from taxpayer money.
BURNETT: And just to be clear, Bethany, when you talk about this firm, it was a tiny firm. And now it's a lot bigger because it's had access to these deals. But just to be clear, deals like Anduril are getting in an Elon Musk-related deal.
[19:15:01]
This isn't something that that a firm of the size of what, 1789 Capital was would ever have been getting into, right?
MCLEAN: Well, most likely not. It would be -- certainly you and I couldn't invest. And it's hard to see how 1789, given its lack of prominence and the fact that it didn't exist a few years ago, would have been invited into this club. That is where entry is so hard fought. If it hadn't been for the connection to Donald Trump, Jr.
BURNETT: All right. So, we reached out to Donald Trump, Jr. for comment, Bethany and a spokesperson responded, I'll just read the statement and give you a chance to respond to it.
They say, comparing a lifelong businessman like Donald -- Don Jr. joining a venture capital firm that invests in minority positions in American companies to Hunter Biden deciding to become a businessman upon his father's election, sitting on foreign boards and in the words of his former business partner, selling the illusion of access to his dads office is utterly laughable, even for an openly left wing and dishonest publication like "Business Insider". Referring to the headline on this which compared Donald Trump Jr. to Hunter Biden.
I just wanted to give you a chance to respond to that statement.
MCLEAN: Sure. Well, I'll start with the -- whatever they said about "Business Insider", I don't think there's any truth to that. And besides that, I'm me. So, I think I've been a pretty equal opportunity critic of sleazy activities in the business world for most of my career.
BURNETT: That is a good point.
MCLEAN: Whether it's left wing -- whether it's left wing or right wing.
The comparison to Hunter Biden, in some ways, there's no implication here that anything criminal is happening, whereas Hunter Biden was a convicted felon. Okay. So let's -- let's be clear about that.
But why we called it out is because Donald Trump Jr. himself made a very big deal about how Hunter Biden was profiting because of his father's last name. He is doing the same thing. So, what we're calling out here is the hypocrisy.
BURNETT: Right. Well, and of course, Donald Trump Jr., I'll leave it at this, had -- has said on the record, I wish my name was Hunter Biden. I could go abroad, make millions off of my father's presidency.
All right, Bethany, thank you so very much. I appreciate your time and encourage everyone to read your excellent reporting. Thanks so much.
MCLEAN: Thank you.
BURNETT: All right. And next, Biden shocking memory lapse. A new book co-written by our Jake Tapper claiming President Biden did not recognize his longtime friend George Clooney, the movie star at a fundraiser hosted by George Clooney.
Plus, a who's who of American CEOs in Saudi Arabia today with Trump. So, was this a message to China? Einstein, Ives, and -- well, we've got something about yeti for the whiteboard. We'll explain coming up.
And the prosecution's star witness taking the stand in Sean "Diddy" Combs trial, in tears. His ex-girlfriend detailing the abuse she says she suffered. Our guest tonight was inside the courtroom. She'll tell us what happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:22:14]
BURNETT: New tonight, a bombshell new book claiming that then President Biden did not recognize George Clooney at a fundraiser, that the Oscar winning actor was hosting for Biden, someone with whom he has spent time with and his friends. Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson write in their book "Original Sin", about a moment backstage.
And they write in part, I quote, Biden looked at him. Thank you for being here, he said. Thank you for being here.
You know, George, the assisting aide told the president, gently reminding him who was in front of him. Yeah, yeah, the president said, they continue to write. It was obvious to many standing there that the president did not know who George Clooney was.
Well, a Hollywood VIP who witnessed this exchange between Biden and Clooney also tells the authors, in part, quote, it was not okay. That thing, the moment where you recognize someone you know, especially a famous person who's doing an effing fundraiser for you. It was delayed. It was uncomfortable. That description sort of. I think bringing it home in a way that all of us could possibly imagine what happened there.
Lulu Garcia-Navarro of "The New York Times" is here, along with journalist Gretchen Carlson, also the cofounder of "Lift Our Voices".
Okay. Thanks so much to both of you. So, you know, Lulu, when you when you read this, you know, we had heard back when this fundraiser happened that maybe there was this recognizing awkwardness between Clooney and Biden, but all of this really puts the meat on the bones. The detail, the description, what the aide said -- you know, it is disturbing.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's disturbing. This is really bad news for Democrats. Democrats want nothing more than to turn the page on the Biden era and focus on the Trump era. This allows them to be in the opposition. This allows them to point at the failings of that they perceive of Trump.
But, you know, they cannot escape the fact that Joe Biden clearly was incapacitated. The question is, what did they know? How much did they know? And were they hiding it from the American people?
Because when that debate happened, which we all saw, right, they tried to say, don't trust your lying eyes. Don't -- he's got a cold. He's this, he's that.
The fact was, as we're now learning, he was clearly not in his full faculties.
BURNETT: And I know that you have, you know, a story to tell here.
GRETCHEN CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Well, in March of 2022, I was with President Biden when he signed my first bill into law. And I spent a considerable amount of time with him behind the scenes and then in public with my family, with other survivors, with many other people. I noticed nothing other than an elderly man.
I mean, but he had -- he was very jovial. He was carrying on all conversations. There was never, never any halting in his speech.
So, the fall of the mental capability must have been precipitous after that if that was March 2022.
[19:25:02]
BURNETT: March 2022, I'm thinking back to when I interviewed him. That was, 20 --June of 2024. Okay. I'm sorry, my brain is -- he was elderly. He was -- his voice was so soft, but he made a lot of news. He was in control of what he was doing.
It seems, Lulu, that there were times of day, and there were days when things were maybe different. And I guess that's the -- that seems to be what they're sort of, I guess, hiding behind now and saying, well, he was fine enough of the time.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, we don't know, right? Because he was never part of what has been revealed is that they never really did a cognitive exam, because they didn't want to, according to this reporting, which, you know, I can't verify, but that's what they, you know, said is that they couldn't -- they wouldn't be able to deny it if, if he was, you know, if they actually had an exam.
So, we don't really know. But at the end of the day we all saw that he wasn't, you know, there some of the time now. Right. The big question is, is he going to be there in the middle of the night if someone calls and there's an emergency? This is the president of the United States. This isn't your elderly grandfather.
CARLSON: The big question, and I think that, you know, the big question around this is that -- Fox, you know, outlets like Fox News were saying for a long time before this that he didn't have his mental capabilities. And ironically, it ended up being true.
But I think, you know, at the time, you know, the idea that he did. He was of sound mind. And then he suddenly was. And I think that plays into the whole fake news narrative, because now Republicans and people over at Fox News can say he was like that all the time.
And I think it's a -- it's a very important point also to bring up that I believe his aides and the people around him thought that only Biden can beat Trump. He beat him the first time, and somehow we have to prop him up because in their minds, they thought he was the only one capable of beating Trump. I think that was the narrative that they were living by.
BURNETT: And, you know, David Plouffe was a former top Obama campaign aide. He helped run Kamala Harris's campaign after Biden dropped out.
He told authors that Biden's decision to run for reelection and then wait until three weeks after the debate. You know, when he really fought to not get out, he said in part, we got so screwed by Biden as a party. He totally left us.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Well, this is Washington's favorite game, which is who's to blame. And I think at this point, you know, they got Biden out of the picture. And then they said he was a hero. He was wonderful. And now they're saying that they were effed.
I think there's a lot of blame in the Democratic Party to go around. I have asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi point blank, what she knew and when she knew it. I have asked Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, if there was a cover up. Right after this happened, I asked a member of his cabinet if he knew.
BURNETT: Of any of them --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And this is a -- and Pete Buttigieg and none of them said they knew anything. And so, the issue here is if they didn't know, why not? And what exactly happened here. CARLSON: This is why so many people don't want to align themselves
with either party right now. It's why 43 percent of the general public consider themselves to be independents, because they cannot stand this sort of cover up or making things up and not telling the truth. They want transparency.
I mean, it's part of the reason why Trump won this election. Not necessarily because if you agree with his policies or not, but because he puts himself out there and that's who he is, right? And that's what they want to see -- not necessarily like Trump, but they want to see more truth and honesty in.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: But the biggest lesson, at the end of the day, the biggest thing that Joe Biden did was that he was never able to make a case for himself because of his age, because of possible infirmities. I don't know, but he was never able to say to the American people, these are my policies, and I'm going to sell them. If you see Donald Trump, he's out there every day, every minute of the day making a case for himself. Joe Biden hid from the press most.
CARLSON: Why he should not be out on a PR tour right now. I think that he should be focusing on his legacy during the first couple of years when he was president, and build his library and not go out there, he's only going to make the case worse.
BURNETT: Right. All right. Thank you both very much.
And next, new numbers show Trump's trade war is actually still keeping prices high, even though, of course, Trump is backed off some of the biggest tariffs. We'll break it down. Einstein, Ives and the whiteboard next.
And then shocking testimony from Sean "Diddy" Combs ex-girlfriend. Gruesome detail. She alleges she suffered horrific abuse and was forced to participate in sex fueled parties that lasted for days. Our reporter was in the courtroom.
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[19:34:19]
BURNETT: Tonight, a who's who of American business leaders at lunch with the Saudis and President Trump waiting in a long, long line up to an hour, Jeff Zeleny said, just to shake the hand of Trump and the crown prince. Among those on the guest list were the heads of Amazon, Nvidia, OpenAI, Palantir, Uber, Coca-Cola, Google and Boeing. And of course, Elon Musk was there, front and center.
Einstein and Ives are here tonight.
So, Dan, Nvidia, largest chip maker in the world, you know, had been the story of Nvidia going up and up and up. And you know one of the biggest stories of the year, crushed by Trump's trade war. But did announce today, of course, they're in Saudi Arabia. So, they got a deal to sell chips to Saudi Arabia. Maybe not the biggest market for that. But so, what they got the deal. [19:35:01]
You think this is no coincidence? Coming on the heels of what starts this week off, which is suddenly the big drop of Trump's tariffs on China?
DAN IVES, GLOBAL HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, WEDBUSH SECURITIES: So, think about the timeline, right? The weekend, obviously, the dream scenario in terms of for the market, you have some sort of de- escalation. The China trade deal. He goes to Saudi Arabia in terms of Trump, Jensen, (INAUDIBLE), everyone's there.
But then think about now the next gen chips, who's getting it? It's not China. It's Saudi Arabia. And that to me I view that as just a further shot across the bow. And I think that's something right now that China is taking very note of because as we've said, there's only one chip in the world that fuels the A.I. revolution, and it's Jensen, Nvidia.
BURNETT: And right now, it's Nvidia.
Peter, so how much -- how much do -- we know every time you have a president go on, on a trip like this, you get a whole bunch of deals. And you know, Boeing was there. But it used to be a whole bunch of Boeing planes. You know, now we're getting a Qatari Air Force One, so that's different. But, you know, the kind of a bunch of guys lining up and doing deals that may or may not actually mean anything, but get a lot of pomp and circumstance, not new, but in this case, they're lining up for an hour to shake hands. What's the significance of it?
PETER TUCHMAN, TRADER AT THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE: You know what? Look, I'm thinking of the visuals of the whole experience. You know, we were talking -- we've been -- we've been dogging the new sheriff in town for a while, waiting that the deal we needed to get done was the big kahuna was China.
BURNETT: Yeah.
TUCHMAN: And we actually, the three of us did not. You know, we were not painting a picture that that deal was going to get done. We thought we would get a Vietnam or one of the smaller deals in advance. And we finally -- and I -- you know, if you remember, we held hands and we had our kumbaya moment that he was going to sweep on in on a golden goose and go, I made the deal. There was some backdoor diplomacy.
And that's what he ended up doing. And then off of the heels of that, and the market responded incredibly, after a weekend of all that talk, the deal is done. We don't know the particulars of it. Monday, market up 1,000 points. You know, spectacular show, right. Showing that that's what the market wanted.
BURNETT: Right.
TUCHMAN: And then to make it to then show up in Saudi Arabia and do that, it was as if, you know, he you know, you've got to think that, you know, may --
IVES: The theatrics.
TUCHMAN: The visuals of it were spectacular and it sounded like it was all premeditated in the way it was done for him to look good, make good deals. And he's in -- he's in a --
(CROSSTALK)
IVES: I think it's important. I think they're lining up. You want to be in the good side, not the bad side. And I think that that's why you have Jensen there and everyone else.
BURNETT: Well, it is personal in this case, right? And I think maybe that is what's a little bit odd about it, right? It's not so much the U.S. government, it's Trump. How does Trump perceive you, right? This is -- this is personal. This is one man as opposed to the office.
But we talk about the trade deal, okay. We don't know what's in the China trade deal. We know Trump slashed the tariffs on 145 to 30 percent. So maybe there's not much there. But you know the market got the tariffs to come down. That's what they wanted.
But the prices I'm curious. So we saw Yeti. You got you got some Yeti stuff, coolers or you know like cups or anything.
IVES: Definitely. We need the hourglass. We need the -- not to get in the way of the whiteboard.
BURNETT: Okay. Let's do the whiteboard because I want to give that its own special moment.
TUCHMAN: Okay.
BURNETT: Okay. Yeti prices, coolers went up in April. So, if you're buying a Yeti cooler, coolers went up by 14 -- by 7 percent. I'm sorry, 7 percent. Water bottles. And you know those tumblers. If you're buying were 11 percent higher.
And we are -- and dog bowls. Dog bowls. Okay, I have a Yeti dog bowl. I'm not buying another one right now. You know why? You know why? Because I'm not going to pay 22 percent more for a dog bowl for no reason. And that is what it is, 22 percent, 22 percent increase for Yeti dog bowls.
Okay, here's what I'm saying. It\s very hard once this happens for it to go back down. So where are we when it comes to inflation and stuff that's now baked in, regardless of what does or doesn't happen with China?
IVES: Well, I would just say and then here is like when you look at the CPI and everything else, that -- that's pre-tariffs in terms of some of that inflationary number. Now it comes down to next four, six, eight weeks. You know you obviously talk to port of L.A. and others inventory. That obviously is that price increases come through. And like you said, Peter, I have to talk about once you start to
increase prices, they don't decrease, right? And I think that's the issue right now for Trump administration as well as for Powell and the Fed.
BURNETT: Right.
TUCHMAN: Well, look, as significant as it is that we got a deal with China, we still yet again don't know any specifics.
BURNETT: Right.
TUCHMAN: And so that kind of keeps it still all. We're still in the corridor. Right? And as much as the market was really happy with the fact that we did do that, a not a good deal is -- I'm not -- which is better a bad deal or no deal at all?
IVES: I think at that moment --
BURNETT: And now, let's bring in --
IVES: So, I think that was the setup for the deal and the hourglass. I mean, time's ticking in terms of not just on a tariff --
BURNETT: Tariff free hourglass. This this was a -- this was a fancy thing.
IVES: This -- this might be double now in terms of the hourglass, but now it comes down to India, Vietnam and ultimately what China. And like we're just going to continue to focus on the hourglass.
[19:40:02]
BURNETT: And the tariffs on China are still higher than any time in history. I mean, 30 percent before Liberation Day would have been horrific.
TUCHMAN: Correct. But you know what? Look, I think we talk about it, We -- the -- we talked about the fact that the market has rebounded almost all of what we lost since the liberation day. Yet some of the stocks had really been broken down. I mean, even though the indices are maybe back up to where they were, there were a lot of stocks that have suffered a lot.
But if you look at it from the trough to the tip, you know, from April 7th until May 2nd, we are -- actually went from a bear market to a bull market territory. So, it's amazing how we talked about it. Was it climbing a wall of worry? You know, why is the market doing that?
Because they had some sense we were going to make a deal. And now the bottom line is how long will it be until we know the specifics of that?
IVES: Well, the longer, that's going to be the key.
BURNETT: Yeah. So just keep counting. IVES: It's all about the hourglass.
BURNETT: All right. Next, Sean "Diddy" Combs' ex-girlfriend takes the stand. She claims there was something about Combs eyes when he flew into fits of rage.
Plus, RFK Jr. went swimming in a creek contaminated with sewage, and he took his grandkids. And if that's not jaw dropping enough, Harry Enten will tell us something we don't know about Kennedy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:45:57]
BURNETT: Breaking news now, explosive new details of horrific beatings and forced freak offs across multiple states. According to testimony from Sean "Diddy" Combs' former longtime girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, taking the stand in tears, detailing shocking claims surrounding freak offs with Combs, calling them disgusting, telling the jury that the elaborate drug-fueled sex marathons could last 36 to 72 hours. Ventura, also addressing surveillance video obtained by CNN alleging that similar beatings happened to frequently.
Elizabeth Wagmeister is the one who got that video. She has been covering this inside the courtroom. She's OUTFRONT now. I want to warn you that the content in her piece tonight is graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: From stardom, alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs to star witness in the case against him, 38-year-old singer Cassie Ventura took the stand, saying Combs forced her to participate in drug fueled sex marathons called freak offs, where she'd have sex with male escorts, with Combs directing her. The events involved drug use that led to dehydration, Ventura said, taking a big chunk of her life to recover from.
The jury was shown surveillance video of Combs kicking and dragging Ventura as she tried to flee one alleged freak offs in 2016, with Ventura saying Combs became a different person during those events. His eyes would go black. The version of him that I was in love with was no longer there, she testified, adding that the abuse was chronic.
He would smash me in my head, knock me over, drag me. The prosecution insisting this was more than domestic abuse.
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: This is his pattern of behavior, not only as it relates to her, prosecutors will say, but as it relates to how he treated people in general. This is part of the sex trafficking. This is how he ran his enterprise.
WAGMEISTER: An enterprise that ran on control over what I was doing every minute of the day, Ventura testified. And allegedly, with the help of others inside Combs professional world. She described Combs as an incessant caller. And if she didn't pick up the phone, Combs's assistant or security personnel would locate her for him. The criminal indictment alleges Combs's staffers booked hotel rooms
for the freak-offs, some in cities around the world, stocking the rooms with supplies, including drugs and baby oil. That alleged involvement is part of why Combs was charged with the federal crime of racketeering conspiracy. He's pleaded not guilty to five charges that also include sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Since some sex workers cross state lines.
Ventura met Combs when she was 19 and admits she was enamored by him, saying her career was in his hands, but eventually she tried to escape the abuse after feeling disgusted and humiliated. During testimony, Ventura dabbed her nose and eyes, but broke down in tears when asked by the prosecutor if she enjoyed anything about the freak-offs. The time spent with him, she said of Combs, who she admits she loved early on, as sad as it was, I thought it was the only time I could get.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WAGMEISTER (on camera): Good to see you again, Erin.
So, believe it or not, today was actually the first time that Cassie Ventura and Sean Combs were face to face in more than six years, and they did not acknowledge each other at all. I was keeping a close eye on Cassie as she was on the witness stand. She did not look at Combs. He did not look at her.
But he did appear to be a bit more fidgety today. He was rocking back and forth. He was passing a lot of notes to his defense team, and Cassie Ventura had the support of her husband there today. Sean Combs had his entire family there again today.
And tomorrow, Cassie continues on the stand, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Elizabeth, thanks so much. And I know you'll be in that courtroom again.
I'm joined now by Terri Austin, former trial attorney.
You are also in the courtroom, Terri. So, you know, as Elizabeth says, this is the first time in six years that Cassie Ventura and Sean "Diddy" Combs came face to face.
[19:50:01]
What did you observe about, you know, his demeanor, her demeanor, any sort of interaction or acknowledgment or even how he was watching her?
TERRI AUSTIN, FORMER TRIAL ATTORNEY: Neither one of them acknowledged the other. Their attorneys must have prepped them for this moment.
Because she walked in, she sat down. She looked at her attorney. She looked at the jury. She looked at the judge.
And he did sit. I think he's been well-prepped. He had his hands in his lap most of the time. I think Elizabeth's right. He was a bit fidgety today, but for the most part I think he paid close attention to what she was saying. But he didn't look at her.
BURNETT: All right. So, when -- from what she is talking about, I mean, it's just -- it's obviously disgusting. But the violence and the abuse and it just details people. It's just disgusting.
Did -- what does this all add up to? I mean, his defense is that this was. Okay, fine. You think it's disgusting, consensual or between two people. A domestic abuse situation.
But if he's going to spend the rest of his life in prison, it is going to be because it is more than that.
AUSTIN: Well, that's right. And what the prosecution is trying to prove here is that racketeering conspiracy. And Cassie was the key witness. She was perfect, actually. She talked about the aides who came to help with setting up the freak offs and the bodyguards who helped with that. The racketeering, I think, is going to be demonstrated through that.
The sex trafficking, she was very detailed about the force, the fraud, the fact that, you know, it was coercion and that he beat her and he made her submit to all of this and the transportation. A lot of those escorts did travel with them. So they're going to establish that through her as well.
BURNETT: And traveled over state lines.
AUSTIN: Correct.
BURNETT: All right. Terri, thank you very much. Also, in the courtroom every day in this case.
And don't miss a special hour of "LAURA COATES LIVE" on the trial tonight with Laura at 11:00.
And next, RFK posting pictures of himself and his grandchildren swimming in a creek contaminated with sewage. Harry Enten will tell us something that we don't know about Kennedy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:39]
BURNETT: Tonight, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, swimming in a sewage contaminated creek with his grandkids. But this is not "The Onion". And then proudly posting pictures on social media. RFK, Jr. was posing shirtless in Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek Park where swimming has been banned for over half a century, due in part to a, quote, high concentration of fecal -- okay, I'm sorry, it's not "The Onion -- fecal bacteria.
And if that is not enough to give you pause from taking a dip, well, D.C. Water recently announced talking about that creek that it is preparing for emergency repairs on a large sewer line next to Rock Creek after discovering significant structural issues.
I don't know why I'm laughing. This is disgusting.
Joining me now, Harry Enten, to tell us something we don't know.
So please don't tell me that that's absolutely foul and disgusting because I'm well aware that.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Don't worry.
BURNETT: Okay. But here's the thing, RFK goes and does this. All jokes aside, you -- most people would say, I don't think that's a good idea. But what is their trust of him overall as health secretary?
ENTEN: Yeah. I mean, look, you would think when it comes to the Health and Human Services Secretary, that you would trust the information that they would put out when it comes to health issues. But in fact, when you look at RFK Jr., little to no trust when it comes to health issues, look at this.
In December of 2024, it was 67 percent. Then he was on the month for a few jobs. You might have thought that that number might have declined, but no, it's basically exactly the same, 66 percent in march of 2025 had little to no trust in RFK Jr. on health issues.
And again, I think it's worth reiterating, he is the health and human services secretary. He should be trusted a lot on this.
BURNETT: Yeah, so that two thirds of people don't trust him.
All right. Youve got measles. Youve got a whole lot of things out there right now. But there are some issues -- so some might say two thirds is a lot not to trust. Others might say, well, gosh, how does he have that much trust?
Maybe because there are some issues that he has championed that do reach a lot of people and that a lot of people agree with.
ENTEN: Yeah, I think that's exactly right, Erin.
Look, on issues like vaccines and I guess in bathing and sewage, they don't trust him. But when it comes to something like adding dyes to food and restricting dyes and added sugars to food, look at this. This is something, of course, RFK has been favoring. You have red dye no. 3 over there on the left side of your screen.
Look at the 66 percent favor -- favor the idea of restricting added dyes and sugars in food just compared to 12 percent opposed. This is an issue on which the American people are very much with RFK Jr.
And then I think its really important to put in perspective, RFK Jr.'s popularity as a whole. So, I looked at a slew of folks across the Trump administration, their net favorability ratings. Look at this. Guess who the most popular guy is now?
Now, we still underwater there at minus five points, but that actually makes him the most popular guy in the Trump administration. More popular than Rubio, more popular than Trump, more popular than Vance, and more popular than Pete Hegseth, at minus 14 points. He's nine points --
BURNETT: Which is amazing. And sometimes it shows people agree, you know, when you have to ban things in food, a la Michael Bloomberg in New York City. It -- sometimes it works.
Okay, now tell me something I don't know.
ENTEN: Okay. I will tell you something that you don't know, Erin Burnett.
In the last 24 hours, I looked at what was trending alongside RFK Jr. when it comes to his Google searches. Perhaps not surprisingly, swimming is up there. But, of course, reminded folks this whole thing of the time that we found out that there was a tapeworm inside of RFK Jr.'s brain, and now people are thinking about it. I think perhaps they're wondering when you go in a sewage like that, could it possibly be that it gets another tapeworm in his head?
BURNETT: Or is it the brain worm that --
ENTEN: That makes him do it.
BURNETT: -- that makes him decision to go into the sewers?
ENTEN: I don't -- you got me.
BURNETT: I don't know.
ENTEN: Explain it.
BURNETT: But, you know, one of the things about him is I bet he would be happy to talk about that.
ENTEN: I think he would be.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you all.
It's time for Anderson.
