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Erin Burnett Outfront

Soon: World's Strongest Storm Of Year Hammers Jamaica; Forbes: Trump Empire Raking In Millions Off Ties To UAE; Day 26 Of Shutdown: Johnson Defends Keeping House Out Of Session; Putin Hails Test Of "Invincible" Nuclear Missiles, Trump Fires Back. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 27, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:24]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

The breaking news, Hurricane Melissa now the strongest storm to hit the planet this year, life-threatening flooding, storm surge and mudslides, all in these hours ahead of us. We're on the on the ground in Jamaica tonight, and we will speak to a storm chaser who just flew through this record-busting hurricane.

And exclusive new reporting OUTFRONT tonight from "Forbes". The Trump family has at least nine deals going with ties to the UAE, making President Trump a lot richer. What's the quid pro quo?

And Melania Trump reportedly not on board with the East Wing demolition. New details ahead.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett and OUTFRONT on this Monday.

The breaking news, the strongest storm to hit planet earth this year is about to make landfall. And we are showing you right now the live pictures in Jamaica, in Kingston, you can see rainfall, winds already reaching the island as a category five hurricane.

Melissa churns closer and churns at an incredibly slow rate, moving very slowly but with winds, fierce winds, sustained winds of 175 miles an hour. If you look at the bands of speeds right, that would be a category six. But there is no such thing. So, 175 expected to be the strongest storm that Jamaica has ever faced. And as I said, the strongest on earth this year.

And Melissa has exploded in strength, more than doubling in strength in a span of 24 hours. So, we'll show you what it looks like inside the monster storm. Hurricane force winds extending 30 miles from the center. And this is video from one of the very few flights that went through the storm. And you can see the turbulence. We're going to speak to someone who flew on that flight. Hurricane Hunters actually had to abort a separate flight today. And

the standard for that incredibly high, right? This is what they do. They fly through horrible storms. They had to abort a flight because of the strength of the winds. The meteorologist on board saying, quote, it was definitely the most turbulent I've ever experienced. Take this one seriously.

Another video showing lightning strikes flashing within the powerful eye. As you can see that, Jamaican officials warn that the time for preparation is all but over. Landfall is now hours away. The storm surge they expect, prepare for this one up to 17 feet, along with landslides, catastrophic winds, flooding which could cut off communities for days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRIME MINISTER ANDREW HOLNESS, JAMAICA: I don't believe there is any infrastructure within this region that could withstand a category five storm, so there could be significant dislocation. And I urge all Jamaicans and people who are, you know, friendly well-wishers of Jamaica to continue to pray that this hurricane does not hit us directly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Derek Van Dam there interviewing the prime minister of Jamaica. He is OUTFRONT, live in Kingston.

And, Derek, obviously, already the outer bands where you are, but still hours away from landfall. When we're talking about 175 miles an hour, possibly coming your direction, what are you seeing now as it approaches?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Like -- unlikely to avoid a direct hit from this monster hurricane. We're in Kingston, the capital city of Jamaica. The rain is coming down cats and dogs. But eerily, there is no wind.

But we know what's coming. The worst of the storm is yet to arrive. That will pick up in earnest tonight from midnight tomorrow, peaking between 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. And there is a multitude, the full gambit of threats that really are posed here across this nation, this island nation.

So, I want to get right to it, because you talked about the strongest storm on the planet in 2025. This will break records in Jamaica being the strongest storm to ever make landfall. And I want to point that out to you, 175 miles per hour. But look at how slow it's moving. That is the slow-motion disaster that we are so concerned with across Jamaica, because that is going to prolong the impacts of this storm as it crawls across this island nation.

The eye wall very, very tight. So this is an indication to the meteorologists who study this, is that that pinhole eye is such a powerful part of the storm. That's where we find the most intense catastrophic winds. Now, this is a game of miles. Kingston has been included within the

path. The forecast cone from National Hurricane Center leading up to the storm. But just in the 5:00 p.m. update, it was excluded. And that's important because what we're seeing as we hone in on those final moments before landfall tonight and into tomorrow morning, it's where that core of the eyewall makes landfall will mean. Who gets the destructive winds?

[19:05:03]

That doesn't mean that we are out of risk here in Kingston. We have plenty of threats, including flash flooding, landslides and mudslides that will cause and really test the infrastructure of this city going forward -- Erin.

BURNETT: Yeah. Derek, and when you look at where you are watching that -- that eyewall and of course, 175 mile an hour winds, I mean, you'd go pretty far out and you'd still be in category five conditions. Why? What is the biggest risk for Kingston, especially regarding flooding?

VAN DAM: Well, it has to do with the topography of this area, Erin. So we're surrounded by mountains, the blue mountain range is just behind our live shot, behind our hotel here. You may have had blue mountain coffee in the past. That's farmed in the mountains here in the distance. They tower about 7,000 feet into the air.

And when the moisture from the storm arrives in earnest tonight, it's like taking a wet sponge, pushing it against a wall and squeezing out all the available water in that sponge that's being the mountains and all of it deposited in the form of heavy rainfall. That rain water has to go somewhere, and it will funnel down into the communities where people live, and it will be met by an opposing force, that being the storm surge on the right front quadrant of this hurricane.

So, when those two opposing forces, the inland flooding and the storm surge meet, the water has to go somewhere and that is up. That's why we're worried.

BURNETT: All right. Derek Van Dam, and you will be there for all of it. Of course. Stay safe. And to be our eyes. The eyes for everyone there on the ground. Thank you.

And let's go to Matthew Cappucci now, because he flew into the eye of Hurricane Melissa. He's a meteorologist with the Capital Weather Gang.

And I just want to show everybody the video, Matthew, that you took on the hurricane hunter flight through this storm. Obviously, a bumpy ride. And, you know, we know someone another meteorologist said this was the worst they had ever seen. They had actually abort a flight because of the turbulence, which is almost unheard of.

How would you describe that flight?

MATTHEW CAPPUCCI, METEOROLOGIST, CAPITAL WEATHER GANG: I'd say it's very reminiscent of a roller coaster at night. If you've ever been on space mountain at Disney World, you sort of know how it is. You know it's dark, you don't know if you're going up, down, left or right. You're jostled all about to and fro. And we had that for about ten-ish minutes.

You have to remember, the hurricane hunters are flying through the storm at about 280 miles per hour. And so, you have ten crazy minutes with the turbulence, and then suddenly it's calm and you're in the eye. And I have to say, that was one of the most breathtaking. And simultaneously horrifying experiences I've ever had.

Even though it was night, the moon was illuminating what we call the stadium effect. Basically, you're right in the middle of this atmospheric sink drain, and yet you look up all around you, 360 degrees, towering, hulking thunderstorms overhead, spiraling around, marking that eyewall. The buzz saw of 150 to 170 mile-per-hour winds. And that's what's heading for Jamaica.

BURNETT: And just that view. We can see those stars above you.

I know that you got sick on the flight. I mean, it was that horrifically turbulent. Even though you've done this before, you did record that so everyone could understand just the severity of this, you know? What are you expecting from the storm based on your experience?

CAPPUCCI: I think in this case, it will be very difficult for Jamaica to avert a potentially significant humanitarian crisis. And I've covered many storms. I've seen high end hurricanes before, but it's very rare that we get a hurricane of this magnitude heading to a place that has 2.8 million people there.

And keep in mind, if by some miracle, the eyewall was to miss, you'd still get extremely heavy rains on the order of three feet, causing flooding and landslides inland and isolating some communities. You'd still get coastal flooding and tornadoes. Unfortunately, with that eyewall, that buzzsaw of winds near the center, that's likely to cause tornado-like damage, where it comes ashore, winds gusting 150, 160 miles per hour at the coast. And you're going to push up to about 13 feet of water inland, too.

BURNETT: And, Matthew, in that eyewall, you talked about that moment and almost the horror, the terror and horror of it, right? That its silent and you know that in a moment, right. In an instant, you're going to be launched back into the storm again.

But you saw some things in that eyewall. Tell me what.

CAPPUCCI: Yeah. So, it was mesmerizing seeing the stars overhead. I think people forget that the strongest hurricanes have the clearest eyes. So, you have air spiraling inwards and upwards, and then some of it bounces off the ceiling of the lower atmosphere, punches back down and carves out that eye. And that's why it's dry inside.

Now, today, the hurricane hunters flew in again. They actually saw birds with their own naked eyes. And that's something you see in some of the strongest hurricanes. The birds literally get sucked in and they can't escape. You know, during the hurricane of 1938, tropical birds got carried by hurricane all the way to New England.

BURNETT: Wow, wow. All right. Well, Matthew, thank you so much. I appreciate your taking the time and sharing that. And I think that video just showing you all the experience you have, that anybody could get sick.

[19:10:04]

It can happen. Thank you so much.

And OUTFRONT now, A.J. Fraser, a marine rescue swimmer who is helping the Cajun Navy in Jamaica.

AJ, you know you just heard Matthew there and he had flown through the storm. How dangerous do you expect it will be?

A.J. FRASER, MARINE RESCUE SWIMMER: Well, you know, I think it's important for everyone to know what's going on. I've been doing hurricane rescue since -- nonstop since Hurricane Harvey. The only one I missed was Michael when it comes to the U.S. landfalls.

You know, I remember Hurricane Helene and, you know, we were having issues with FEMA because they wouldn't let us use our helicopters and airplanes to rescue people who were trapped in the mountains. The topography is very similar here. I just drove through all the Jamaica mountains. Looking at a map, I went from the Montego Bay Airport down to Mandeville and then to Kingston.

And those mountains, it's scary driving through there when it's dry. I mean, it's a bunch of cliffs and they're going to be trapped. There's a bunch of landslides. This is not going to be one. Simply one of the most powerful storms to hit Jamaica at landfall, it's going to be one of the most intense storms to ever hit -- make landfall on planet earth, period.

Right now, it's down to a 906 pressure. That's the -- that's the top six of all time landfalls if it maintains that pressure. Or could be even worse if it gets lower than that when it makes landfall. So, you know, we got -- it's most likely to make landfall anywhere from tomorrow morning to, 3:00 p.m. based on what we're looking at.

But I think an important thing to note, because we don't -- I'm sure we don't have much. You don't have much time here is, we're going to need assistance from the Jamaican government getting all the units were affiliated with. And I'm affiliate with as well.

You know, united Cajun navy, task force, we have we have gun club. We have 50-star search and rescue, gold search and rescue, aerial recovery, halo relief, we have a lot of units that are coming in with helicopters and airplanes, and they need help with the Jamaican government getting clearance to get them all in because there's going to be -- people could be trapped for months.

You look at what Hurricane Maria did. This storm was more powerful than Hurricane Maria, more powerful than Katrina. A lot of things can happen. The topography here in Kingston, there's a lot of mountains and landslides.

BURNETT: Yeah.

FRASER: There's going to be a lot of stuff going on. There's going to be a lot of people trapped, you know, and there could be anywhere from dozens to thousands dead, depending on what the storm does.

BURNETT: I mean, it's just -- it's horrible to even know that you I mean, you can talk about these things ahead of time and I guess in part, A.J., I'm curious what you think about the fact that -- I mean, we heard the prime minister, you know, he was very somber and dire, but also very calm.

But we also know that the shelters across Jamaica, there aren't very many people who have gone to them, and it's unclear as to why. Are they riding it out in places they shouldn't? Where have they gone? What do you think is happening?

FRASER: Well, let me tell you. So, you know, I have cousins all over Jamaica. My dad's Jamaican. You know, I've been to Mandeville before I came to drove southeast to Kingston, and you got to understand, the eye keeps shifting. When I departed, the -- here's the problem we have right now. This is important. I get this out because this can save a lot of lives.

So, here's why there's no rescue teams out here right now from the U.S. We were all waiting to see what would happen. It wasn't until 12 p.m. on Friday when the first. Forecast, the first advisory from the national hurricane center finally showed likely landfall in Jamaica. So, then, we had I went and immediately ordered my flight, and that ended up being one of the last flights you could book to Jamaica before the Jamaican airports closed.

So, now, there's no way for rescuers to get in and no way for people to get out. So, people are trapped and we can't get the rescuers in. So, who's getting the rescuers in right after the storm passes? We're going to need approval from the government to a whole bunch of these rescues. We have a bunch of helicopters and airplanes. We need to get people are going to be trapped, and the faster we get in, the more lives were going to be able to save.

I mean, we don't want another Hurricane Maria. We don't want another Katrina in places like here in Kingston.

BURNETT: No.

FRASER: It's critical we do that and we the question that you ask again, I want to make sure I got that out there.

BURNETT: Yes. And thank you very much for that. A.J. Thank you so much. I know you're in Kingston and you're going to be doing everything you can. Thank you. And please be safe yourself.

And storm chaser Brandon Clement is OUTFRONT. He's also on the ground in Kingston tonight. And, Brandon, I know you were able to hear some of this as you're

plugging in here. You have chased so many hurricanes in your career, but we're talking about this one the strongest to hit the planet this year. The strongest ever to hit Jamaica.

How worried are you about what this is actually going to be like?

BRANDON CLEMENT, STORM CHASER, WXCHASING: I'm extremely worried. This is a very similar situation to Hurricane Maria, where you have a category four, almost category five for Maria. And this of course, category five slamming into an island.

[19:15:00]

And that was a humanitarian disaster that it took six to -- six months to a year to get power restored through most of the island of Puerto Rico similar to Hurricane Dorian when it hit the Bahamas. That hit U.S. 170, 175 mile an hour, Cat five, just like this.

And it was very slow moving. It was devastating. Some of the worst destruction I've seen. I've covered just about every type of disaster you can imagine. And it was some of the worst destruction I've ever seen.

So you've got -- you've got big problems that are definitely going to happen in Jamaica as a matter of just where the miles are going to cut off and who gets the impact at the most. But, you know, a large portion of this country is going to be in complete devastated period for months. It's going to take a long time to recover.

BURNETT: All right, Brandon, thank you very much. And we'll be talking to you in just a few minutes here as you're on the ground there in Kingston, we'll be coming back to you. Thank you very much for now.

And next, a new exclusive investigation this hour. We'll show you. It's from "Forbes". Nine Trump family deals tied to the United Arab Emirates, worth up to half a billion dollars just this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC TRUMP, SON OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: The UAE is the developers' greatest dream because they never say no to anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Plus, Vladimir Putin's most aggressive move yet, testing what he called an invincible, nuclear capable missile that can strike anywhere on Earth.

And new images from the White House tonight after President Trump leveled the East Wing as Melania Trump reportedly raises private concerns about the demolition.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:20:53] BURNETT: Tonight, an exclusive new investigation into Trump's money making. The president is getting a lot richer, thanks in no small part to his family's lucrative deals in the Middle East, specifically in the United Arab Emirates, home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Remember, the president may not be managing his company anymore technically, but he is still reaping the profits. And at the same time, he is the sitting president of the United States. And every country, including the United Arab Emirates, wants something from the United States. And if deals are to be made, that will get them that well, then they're there for it.

According to a new report from "Forbes", the president and his family have entered into at least nine agreements with ties to the UAE, including five licensing agreements and three crypto deals. Those deals alone will earn about $500 million in 2025. Let's put that another way, half a billion dollars this year alone for the Trump family.

And on top of that, the annuity in the years to come is at least $50 million every year. At the center of many of these deals is Trump's youngest son or youngest -- is Eric, who now runs the day to day operations of the Trump Organization. And Eric has -- well, he's been pretty clear about how great the UAE is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

E. TRUMP: To everybody in Dubai -- guys, I love you to death.

I'm going to get myself in trouble for a second, but the UAE is the developers' greatest dream because they never say no to anything.

I always say that the rest of the world has to be careful of the UAE for one reason. They always arrive at the word "yes" which is a beautiful thing.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Dan Alexander, a familiar face to everyone here who broke this story for "Forbes".

And, Dan, you know, we hear about these deals going on in country after country around the world. It is so important to be able to pick one and drill down and actually show the facts, which is what you do here. So just how intertwined is the Trump family wealth right now that half $1 billion with the UAE?

DAN ALEXANDER, SENIOR EDITOR, FORBES: Well, if you look at Trump's entire business and you say, okay, where is he really making a lot of money right now, whether that's issuing stablecoins or selling other types of cryptocurrency or expanding his international licensing portfolio, all of that is happening in the UAE. And a little bit of context here -- I mean, the United Arab Emirates is the 86th largest country in the world by population, 37th by GDP.

And yet, if you look all around the world, there's nowhere -- no other country outside of the United States that has its hands in so many different parts of the Trump business. All of that has come on in the last couple of years. I mean, almost all these deals were struck in either '24 or 2025, just as Donald Trump was increasing his political power.

BURNETT: And look there, there are many in leadership in the UAE who at best would have rolled their eyes at Trump years ago, never mind when he had fallen out of favor after January 6th in the election. And yet, as you point out, so much turned so quickly, right? They're practical. He's coming back up, and they were there.

What does the UAE want from Trump?

ALEXANDER: Well, there are a few things. You know, some of them are things that you would expect. You know, they really want military assistance. You know I'm talking about helicopters, airplanes. They really want a voice in diplomacy. If there's negotiations about Iran or about Israel, they want to be part of that conversation.

But there's a third part of this, which is that the UAE was really early in anticipating how much artificial intelligence was going to change the world. And they took some steps really early in that, including establishing some ministries and that sort of thing. And the UAE has a lot of the big ingredients that you need to be successful in an A.I. world. They have a lot of land, which is good for data centers. They have a lot of very cheap energy. They're right by the water, which you need for data centers.

What they don't have are the high powered Nvidia chips that the U.S. has, and that the U.S. has been doling out to the rest of the world. That all changed in May, when the United States agreed that from this year to 2027, we would be shipping about a half a million Nvidia chips over to the UAE.

BURNETT: So, they're getting all of that. And as you say, the value of all this to Trump is $500 million, just this year alone.

[19:25:03]

You also, in your reporting, Dan, found that one of the UAE businessmen who Trump has dealt with and is dealt with extensively even in some of the times when Trump was out of favor, that this individual is connected to Jeffrey Epstein as well?

ALEXANDER: Yeah, that's right. This is a sultan in the UAE who was one of the early partners with Trump when he first got into the country in sort of the mid-2000s. And, you know, there are pictures of him that were in Epstein's house, and he reportedly sent money to Epstein. Now, this is just another reminder of how many people in Trump's world were connected to this guy who wasn't really a significant financial player, but was big in certain social circles of people who, you know, are certainly regretting it now, I would hope.

BURNETT: Yeah. All right. Thank you very much, Dan Alexander, as always.

And OUTFRONT now, Andrew Yang and S.E. Cupp.

So, Andrew, Dan laying this out, the deals themselves, right? And as we were saying, you could -- you could take a tack and throw it at the world and hit a country, and you might hit a country where Trump is making a lot of money and all of a sudden having a Trump hotel and a Trump resort and a Trump this and a Trump that, because he's president. But as Dan laid it out, the UAE is bigger -- is the biggest.

ANDREW YANG, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yeah. This is an egregious by any standard. Trump is an accelerant. The disintegration of norms. And there have been norms in place so that presidential families haven't been profiteering to this level.

I'm reminded of a story a friend of mine in Bolivia, told me he asked me to guess who the richest person in Bolivia was, and I had no idea. And he said the president. And then -- and then he said, who's the second richest person? I said, the vice president. He said, no, the last president.

So, the truth is that countries are accustomed to trying to buy access and you know, privilege from other countries. The U.S. has been something of a standard bearer for avoiding that kind of entanglement, but now it's on as it is for unfortunately, a lot of developing countries who haven't had any sort of restriction.

BURNETT: I mean, it's on and as I say with the UAE, they're playing by -- they're saying, okay, the U.S. is going to play by these rules. Fine. Right. If you want 50 Birkin bags to get? Sure. Okay.

YANG: Yeah, exactly.

BURNETT: Right?

So, S.E., does this ever land with voters?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah.

BURENTT: This sort of breaking of the norms, could be blatant corruption, does it matter?

CUPP: It's conditional. It will matter if voters don't feel good about the economy. As long as voters feel good about the economy, they have excused worse than this. They have excused crimes. They've excused, you know, insurrection.

They excuse, you know, the fact that he's changed, flipped America first to now, Argentina first and UAE first. They'll forgive all kinds of things, even the lapsing of these norms. Like I said, even criminal behavior, if they feel good about their own personal economy.

And when American voters say they care about the economy, they don't care about the GDP, they care about their personal economy. So if they're not feeling good, then this story becomes a part of a bigger story. The $20 billion bailout to Argentina, the ballroom, the Arc de Trump, the tariffs. I mean, then it all becomes part of a story of grift and greed and incompetence and corruption. But only, only if voters aren't feeling good about their personal economies.

BURNETT: All right. So right now, they aren't. But, you know, we'll see where we are as months come into the midterms, Andrew. Right now, we're day 26 of the government shutdown. If you go to the Department of Agriculture website today, they have a giant message that says Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as SNAP. Bottom line, the well has run dry.

At this time, there will be no benefits issued on November 1st. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.

Now, I'm just curious. Obviously, Democrats say, you know, this is about health care, but nonetheless, Republicans have forced this vote against a, quote/unquote, "clean". I'm not going to get into the -- what rhetoric we're going to use, but a bill which would provide some things, including SNAP and put health care aside, and they have refused to vote on it. So, this voting 12 times to not fund food stamps actually true.

Is this an inflection point for Democrats?

YANG: It really should be, Erin. The fact is, 42 million Americans are on SNAP, and they're getting messages saying they're not going to get their usual stipend at the beginning of the month. So, you have a lot of food insecurity households.

BURNETT: Which is Saturday, right? This Saturday.

YANG: Which is Saturday. And so, we're approaching the holidays.

If you are getting that message, you're looking up saying, what the heck is going on? And you don't care whether its Democrats or Republicans to blame, you just are trying to put food on the table. So, I pray that common sense prevails and they come to a resolution and restore SNAP, because 42 million Americans heading into the holidays without food is unconscionable for both sides.

CUPP: Not to mention 500,000 just in New York City kids.

YANG: Yeah.

[19:30:00]

CUPP: Okay? Just in this town, we could open the door from our studio, walk out, and probably meet a kid on SNAP because 500,000 kids in New York City are on this program and count on this program. Saying the well has run dry is really disingenuous. That's like a banker saying, I can't give you your money because the bank is closed.

Well, open the bank. You can open -- you can open these reserves. The well is not dry. The money is in there. You just won't open the government.

YANG: So, come to the table.

BURNETT: Myriad reasons.

YANG: Yes.

CUPP: Yeah.

YANG: Yes. If I'm the Dems, I'm like, look, we've taken a stand, but we're not going to let families starve. Chuck Schumer in March kept the government open for this very reason. And then he took a blasting from the base of his party that he had to show fight.

But this is not the fight because you have millions and millions of Americans who are on the edge right now, and everyone at home knows what I'm talking about. You're on the edge right now, and a lot of them are getting pushed off the precipice by the shutdown.

CUPP: Veterans, kids, I mean, it's all kinds of people.

YANG: Air traffic controllers, you name it.

BURNETT: Yeah.

CUPP: That's right.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you both very much.

And next, Trump gives Putin an ominous warning. Finally, maybe it's real this time. Maybe it's not. But Putin tests what is called a, quote, invincible nuclear missile that can hit anywhere in the United States.

A new images of the construction at the White House. Jimmy Carter's grandson, Jason, is OUTFRONT, talking about his grandmother, Rosalynn, and why she would have been heartbroken by what is happening to her former home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[1935:35]

BURNETT: Tonight, Vladimir Putin's biggest provocation of Trump since the start of his second term, right? And this was a big deal. Russia's president just announced that Moscow has successfully tested a nuclear-powered cruise missile. And this missile could travel nearly 9,000 miles. And Putin says that he intends to find a way to use it, which is obviously pretty ominous thing to say, even if just rhetorically.

Trump, though firing back then after this, with this warning to Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They know we have a nuclear submarine, the greatest in the world, right off their shores. So, I mean, it doesn't have to go 8,000 miles and they're not playing games with us. We're not playing games with them either.

We test missiles all the time. But, you know, we do have a submarine, a nuclear submarine. I don't think it's an appropriate thing to Putin -- for Putin to be saying it, by the way.

You ought to get the war ended, a war that should have taken one week is now in its soon fourth year. That's what you ought to do instead of testing missiles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Ian Bremmer is OUTFRONT now. He's the president and founder of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media.

And, Ian, I'm glad to see you. So obviously, Putin's threat of a missile that can go 9,000 miles with a nuke on it and that he intends to find a way to use, is intended as a threat specifically to the U.S. and to Trump.

So, you know, Trump, what you just heard him say there on Air Force One, does that sort of commentary talk about the nuclear sub? Does that at this point faze Putin at all?

IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF EURASIA GROUP & GZERO MEDIA: Well, it's not that it fazes Putin, but, you know, he tried the phone call with Trump, and two weeks ago, we were talking about a potential summit meeting in Budapest. And then Trump put Marco Rubio on the case, had him call the foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and make it very clear to Trump that there's no movement from Putin.

And so, now, finally, after many months of many deadlines set by Trump that have been completely ignored by Putin, now Trump is leaning in to meaningful sanctions that are going to cost Russia billions of dollars in lost oil revenue a year, at a minimum.

BURNETT: Right.

BREMMER: And Putin doesn't like that. So he's talking up his nukes.

But the reality is that, you know, even Trump, who has given every opportunity for Putin to come out of this with face and territory and engagement with the United States, has decided that he's not going to play ball and Trump has lost patience.

BURNETT: And I mean, for now, I mean, I only add for now because I don't know, it's gone back and forth so many times, as you point out. I'm curious, though, Ian, as to how you see this nuclear threat from Putin, because we have heard, whether it be from Putin himself or from others in his government, Medvedev is the one I'm thinking of most obviously, that throw the nuclear threat out there the minute anything doesn't go their way or the minute, you know, American fighter jets are on the table, they, they, they put it out there. And that worked.

The U.S. backed off sending those for a long time. It may have worked with Tomahawks for a while. It has worked before. Do you take the threat at all seriously? When Putin says something

that he is looking for, a way, he intends to find a way to use that nuclear weapon.

BREMMER: I take the threat seriously that Russia is a major military power. That is true with asymmetrical capabilities in terms of drones and cyber capabilities that they've been using against NATO countries. I also take it seriously in terms of their broader military and nuclear capacity, so that if Putin were ever to feel an existential threat against him, that the danger to the world would be real. There was a time at the beginning of the war when the Biden White House believed that Putin was preparing to use a tactical nuclear weapon on the ground in Ukraine because they were losing a lot of territory.

But we're not close to that right now. And I think that while we shouldn't ignore the fact that Russia has nukes, we should ignore this throwaway rhetoric from Putin over the last 24 hours. We should actually ignore it.

BURNETT: So, President Trump is when I played that soundbite, he's on Air Force One and he was on Air Force One going to Asia, and he's going to be going to several places there, obviously to China. But he is in Japan right now, and he's got that face to face meeting Thursday with President Xi.

[19:40:05]

And you actually see signs, despite what many are pointing out of fears in the South China Sea to tariffs and beyond, you actually see optimism in this particular meeting. Tell me why.

BREMMER: Well, certainly I see stability in this meeting. And it's because the Chinese have shown the Americans that they have both the capacity and the willingness to use their trade leverage against the United States, much as the U.S. has used it against every country in the world. In fact, China uniquely has the ability to hurt the Americans and the willingness to hurt the Americans. If the United States escalates.

And we've seen that with the 50 percent and another 50 percent tariffs from Trump back in the spring. We've seen it with export controls on semiconductors. The Chinese have hit back.

And what we've seen is that Secretary Treasury Scott Bessent, in meeting with the Chinese premier over the weekend, actually set that meeting up for Trump and Xi quite well. And they are intending to get to at least a suspension of the trade fight that the two countries have had over the past months, and more intensely over the past weeks.

The markets are happy about that. The allies are happy about that. I was just in Beijing, met with a lot of Chinese leaders. It was very clear that's where they were heading.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Ian, thank you very much. And as we look at Canada again, well see where things go. As the days go on, the swings are dramatic. Thank you. And next, the White House's East Wing is now demolished. Obviously,

that was where generations of first ladies lived, including Rosalynn Carter. The grandson of President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Jason Carter, is OUTFRONT next.

And more breaking news. We're back on the ground in Jamaica, where the strongest storm to hit earth this year and ever in Jamaica is about to strike.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:46:10]

BURNETT: All right. These are new images of the White House and where the East Wing used to stand. That just mangled pile of metal and the flag hanging there above the destruction. First Lady Melania Trump privately raising concerns about leveling the east wing. According to the wall street journal, the first lady behind closed doors, distancing herself from the idea, telling associates that it was not her project.

CNN has reported that, frankly, not all of Trump's team was on board with the project from the beginning that they moved ahead, though, because the president wanted it.

The East Wing obviously has been home to Americas first ladies for decades. That's part of its history. Rosalynn carter among them. She was the first lady, the first first lady to use the East Wing as her office. Here she is in 1977. You see her there greeting a guest when she was there in the East Wing.

OUTFRONT now, Jason Carter, former Georgia state senator, the grandson of President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter.

And I appreciate your time. It's good to talk to you again, Jason.

Although odd circumstances -- I mean, when you look at these images, I know everybody looking at them. However, they may feel about the need for more ballroom space has an emotional connection to seeing the mangled pile of metal. For you, though, you're in a really unique spot because it's personal. I mean, you think about your grandparents walking through the East Wing and that your grandmother worked there was the first to have an office there.

What goes through your mind when you see the images of the East Wing's demolition?

JASON CARTER, GRANDSON OF FORMER PRESIDENT CARTER: You know, I think for me -- yes, my grandmother worked there. She made it her office and the things that she did in that office were what made the office special to us, right? She planned a trip to Latin America to go and literally face down dictators and talk about the value of human rights and the idea of America.

And so, when we're -- when I see it, it's really symbolic for me. More than it's about the building itself. It's about this -- the fact that we've demolished not just this. Physical space, but, you know, the idea that America is going to stand for human rights in the same way that we did, right? Our Latin American policy today is more about honestly attacking boats in international waters as the judge, jury and executioner. And that's sort of the opposite of what my grandparents stood for.

And so, I think it's a symbolic demolition. That's pretty disturbing.

BURNETT: Do you -- you are a year old when your grandparents moved into the White House, you were five when they left. Young, but perhaps old enough to remember some things. Do you have memories of that time?

CARTER: Yeah. I mean, look, we saw "Star Wars" there, right? I mean, my grandparents were normal people who lived in the White House. And so, when they had Christmas parties and I would go to visit them for Christmas, we would go up there and, you know, be a part of that experience of living in that house. It was a place where presidents were more human than in other parts of the White House.

But again, my grandparents, I think, have always believed and demonstrated that it's not about the house, it's about who we are as Americans. And that, you know, to watch, to say what we need really right now in this moment of, of enormous crises around the world, significant things that are going on is another ballroom. I just think it's out of sorts. I think that symbol, again, takes me back to the other things that have been demolished in terms of our state in the world, the way that we stand for human rights. et cetera.

BURNETT: So in her memoir, your grandmother wrote about the East Wing, she said it was the warmest part of the house during the winter because people may remember at that time, right? Everyone had been told to turn the thermostats down to conserve. She wrote, "We passed large laundry rooms, the machine shop went through the plumbers shop, passed the bomb shelter and emergency rooms for the president and his staff. I liked it, especially on cold, cold days with Jimmy's energy conservation program. It was the only really warm place in the White House with the largest steam pipes running overhead."

Do you think -- and you know, you knew her, obviously, for decades after her time there.

[19:50:01]

Would she have understood the concept of having a ballroom, maybe a ballroom that suddenly requires tearing down the whole East Wing? Or would she be heartbroken?

CARTER: You know, I think, again, the thing that she would be heartbroken about is what's going on right now, right? The attitude that says, we don't need to talk to anybody else before we tear it down, right? That overreaching or this belief that the executive office.

And I'm not someone who disagrees with something just because Donald Trump does it, right? There's things he's done that I celebrate. But in the attitude of lets tear this down because we want to, I think

would be heartbreaking for her because she always believed this was the people's house. She always believed that what we were trying to do was to build a unified community of people. You know, she spent her time there. Yes, yes. Staying warm, but also, you know, working on mental health, working on the issues that confronted the country. And I think trying to do it in a spirit of, we're all in this together.

And this is just an example, I think of, you know, the executive plowing ahead with the project, you know, that we all found out about right at the last minute. And then it was gone.

BURNETT: Jason, thanks so much. I appreciate talking to you again.

CARTER: As always. Thank you.

BURNETT: All right. Next, we're going to take you back on the ground in Jamaica for what is turning out to be the biggest storm to hit Earth this year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:55:58]

BURNETT: Breaking news, Hurricane Melissa hours from making landfall in Jamaica as a category five storm with catastrophic, life threatening winds. I spoke with Michelle Robinson moments ago, an American from New York stuck in Jamaica, riding out the storm in her Kingston apartment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE ROBINSON, RIDING OUT HURRICANE IN JAMAICA: Everything just happened too quickly for me to make any plans to exit as fast as possible.

We have filled up tubs of water. We have drinking water. We have nonperishable foods. So we're doing the very best that we can at this time.

I'm not really sure how you even prepare for a category five storm. I'm not sure how you do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And storm chaser Brandon Clement is back with us now. He's also on the ground in Kingston.

And, Brandon, you know, you hear from Michelle. You know, when she's saying, I'm not even sure how you prepare for something like this. You know, you checked in with us earlier this hour, and now here you are. And it's going to be hitting you soon.

What are you expecting? I mean, what is a 175-miles-an-hour like?

CLEMENT: It's hell on Earth. There's no way to really prepare for it unless you're. You wrap yourself in concrete. You know, concrete, steel-reinforced concrete buildings really the only thing that survives that, and that's if you're in high ground and don't have water rushing in.

So, you've got multiple, facets of the storm that could get you is you got the wind, you got the rainfall, storm surge, and you have the landslides, mudslides, even tornadoes. So there's a whole lot of -- whole lot of different variables that could get you on this storm, especially if you're on the just on the east side of the eye.

BURNETT: So when you're looking at the flooding and you're looking at the landslides, and obviously we've been talking about the mountains that are right behind Kingston, I mean, even Kingston specifically where you are, right? That can bring those two things together.

How -- you know, tell me, like what does flooding look like in this scenario?

CLEMENT: Well, if it's the blue mountains, which are right here behind Kingston, you're talking about 7,500 feet of elevation at the peak. That's only eight miles from the coast. That's a -- that's a massive drop in elevation very fast. So that water is like a -- when it rains, it's kind of like a water slide.

It really steep water slide. It's going to create a lot of momentum going down. So, you have a lot of water coming down really fast. And when you have that it starts carving out and eroding the sidewalls of mountains and those mountains can come down. So, then you have debris and mudslides that can happen.

So, it's not just the blue mountains, though. There's mountains in the central part of Jamaica as well. And there's also gradual slopes. This can happen in any of those places. So, the blue mountains are definitely the steeper terrain and the bigger concern, but anywhere you have that heavy rainfall come down, landslides, mudslides, debris flows, and then just river flooding is a huge, huge concern.

BURNETT: And the expectation is that this could be 24 hours of hurricane force winds. Right? So, you have 175 miles an hour and then out, even with hurricane force for 24 hours, right? I mean, this thing is crawling is generous to describe the speed with which this storm is advancing. What does that mean? That is also unique in this case.

CLEMENT: Yeah, it's going to be similar to Hurricane Dorian. It hit the Bahamas as a category five and just sat there. Of course, Dorian sat there for almost two days, but it's going to be moving very slow. The longer you have those winds, the more damage they can do. So you're going to have winds just battering one direction, especially with the eye hits. You have winds battering one direction for a long duration, and then you'll have a long period in the eye.

And then on the backside of that eye, you're going to have the winds coming from the other directions. So, when that happens, you get the momentum switch and all the debris and everything gets piled up one direction, and then it blows back the other way and stuff that didn't break on the front end starts snapping off the backside. So, it's really, really just a bad situation for a long period.

BURNETT: Brandon, thank you very much. On the ground in Kingston, in the hours before this storm begins its assault. Thank you.

CLEMENT: All right. Thank you.

BURNETT: And thanks so much to all of you, as always for joining us. We'll see you back here tomorrow.

"AC360" with Anderson begins now.