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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump Presented With Gold Crown, Fed Gold Brownies On Asia Tour; At Least 30 Killed As Hurricane Rips Through Caribbean; Who's Trying To Pose As Bill De Blasio To Hurt Mamdani's Chances? Aired 7-8p ET
Aired October 29, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:34]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Rolling out the gold carpet. Trump showered with gold gifts overseas. From a gold crown to gold brownies as he is now hours from one of the most consequential meetings of his presidency.
Plus, who is impersonating Bill de Blasio? "The Times of London" quoting someone pretending to be the former mayor of New York, throwing shade at Zohran Mamdani. Well, who is behind it? And what is the real Bill de Blasio have to say? He's OUTFRONT.
And meet the CEO, who says that he is hiring now, and that A.I. will actually create jobs.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, fit for a king. President Trump right now being treated like royalty throughout his trip to Asia. And I say this because Asian leaders are one upping each other, country by country, by presenting Trump gifts in his favorite color of gold, ceremonial gold crown given by you see that there. That thing is magnificent.
Now, the South Korean president, also wearing a gold tie for that. Trump also receiving South Koreas highest honor, which featured a large gold medallion, a gold necklace. And at lunch, they didn't stop there -- I mean, when they get the detail, they take it all the way down the line. The menu, golden citrus dessert with gold adorned brownie. I mean, that's pretty amazing. The peacemaker's dessert, it is called.
Also, Trump receiving a gold golf ball from the prime minister of Japan and a gold embroidered cap reading, "Japan is back".
These countries know what matters to Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I love the gold.
That's actually solid gold.
That's a beautiful piece of gold. I will say that's beautiful.
Look, you've never been able to match gold with gold paint. That's why it's gold.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Right. He doesn't even want gold paint. He wants the real thing.
And the Oval Office, with his changes is covered in it. All of those additions are from Trump and the future ballroom that he is building has gold accents and a ballroom, of course, with a new donor on this trip. Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang.
And if you're wondering why these countries are showering Trump with gold, maybe you're not wondering. Maybe you've already figured it out. But part of the reason in this case is a very serious one, which is that these countries are getting hit hard by Trump's tariffs. Trump initially threatened to 25 percent tariff on Japanese goods, and South Korean cars. That obviously would have hurt Hyundai and Kia.
And then there's China facing 100 percent tariffs as of now. But as we all know, that's changed. The numbers have been all over the map exponentially all over the map.
But in just hours, Trump is about to get a golden opportunity, a one on one with China's Xi Jinping, a meeting that Trump could not stop talking about during a diplomatic dinner. Here he is, picked up on a hot mic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLPI)
TRUMP: I'm meeting with President Xi tomorrow morning and then I go home. Three-hour meeting. Three or four hours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay. The headline there is three or four hours because that is -- that is actually news. It is double the official schedule in terms of the time length, which is obviously very significant when it comes to a diplomatic meeting like this between the two most powerful people in the world.
Trump telling reporters he thinks its going to be a good meeting, and Xi is somebody Trump respects despite the back and forth in the trade war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I like President Xi very much. I've always liked him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump likes Xi. He likes that he's a strong man. In fact, listen to what he has had to say when it comes to how the Chinese president has been able to successfully consolidate power in China.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He's now president for life. President. No. He's great. Hey, look, he was able to do it. I think it's great. Maybe we'll have to give that a shot someday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And, of course, there are those Trump 2028 hats around the Oval Office. But while Trump seems to be joking about running for a third term, he has also made it clear on this trip in a very serious way that no one or no law can stop him if he wants to do something specifically like sending the American armed forces, the navy, the air force or the marines into U.S. cities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I want to enact a certain act. I'm allowed to do it routinely, and other about 50 percent of presidents have used that, as you know.
[19:05:06]
And I'll be allowed to do whatever I want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: "I'll be allowed to do whatever I want" is the quote there about saying the military to U.S. cities? Words, of course, that are surprising from a president more like those you'd hear, perhaps from a king. Which of course reminds us of the A.I. video that Trump recently posted after the 'No Kings" rallies in the U.S., showing the president wearing a crown, dropping waste on protesters. And of course, it was only a week later that he actually got his own real crown from the president of South Korea.
Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT live in Korea to begin our coverage tonight.
Kristen, I know you're talking to your sources and you've got new reporting on this crucial meeting coming up in the next hours on this meeting between Trump and Xi and how it came together. Obviously, it's going to be twice as long as anybody even thought possible.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Erin, I mean, keep your fingers crossed for me, because if it's twice as long, I might miss my flight and not make it home for Halloween. So, I'm really hoping it's on the shorter side of the meeting and more close to the schedule.
But when it comes to how this came together, what we're hearing is how much the expectations have significantly shifted over the past several days.
First of all, I cannot tell you how much the White House, how much these officials were downplaying this meeting leading into this trip. They were talking about it as a touch point, saying there was going to be no pomp and circumstance. Theres no press conference. It's just a meeting. The two of them, face to face. No expectations.
That has completely shifted. They are touting significant progress. They believe that something is going to come out of this.
Now, of course, this is because of those talks that we've been reporting on between the delegations, U.S. and Chinese, where they've come up with this framework that they're hoping both of these leaders will agree to as they sit down face to face. But when it comes to how this actually came together, you're talking to various officials. It's been fascinating to see the meticulous amount of detail that went into this from both sides, not only to put this on, but also to essentially protect both of the leaders.
For example, President Trump was supposed to leave a day early. However, that would have meant that President Xi was going to come in a day early just for this meeting. It would have been a rushed evening meeting, so they decided to push it.
This gives them both the opportunity to say, hey, I'm leaving Asia. My plane is outside. We're having the meeting right here at the airport. President Xi says, I'm flying in to South Korea for this meeting, for another meeting. But I'm here. We're both at the airport. Before I head to that meeting.
So that gives them some of the protection we know, particularly with Chinese officials, that is critical for them to protect President Xi, but also President Trump and some of the White House officials have been somewhat embarrassed after the outcome in Russia, when he sat down with Vladimir Putin. So, this was another way of protecting President Trump in that front, right?
BURNETT: Right, right. So, nobody -- nobody loses face with a meeting like this.
All right. Kristen, thank you very much in Korea.
And now, Seth Jones, who just returned a couple of hours ago from a U.S. military base in Japan where he was analyzing the Chinese military, and Dan Wang, author of "Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future".
I appreciate both of you.
And, Seth, obviously, this is the first in-person meeting for Trump and Xi now in six years, and you're in the midst of a trade war, right? Where the vicissitudes of it seem to change, sometimes by the hour. Does Trump right now have sway over Xi?
SETH JONES, PRESIDENT, DEFENSE & SECURITY DEPARTMENT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: No, I don't think he does. I mean, in some areas maybe, but Xi has just done an amazing, almost press the nuclear button on trade in the restrictions on access to battery components. And several types of metals. But I think on key issues on the national security front trying to get
Xi to get Vladimir Putin to move on the Russian war in Ukraine or on Taiwan, I don't think President Trump has a lot of leverage right now with Xi Jinping.
BURNETT: So, Dan, when we're talking about a situation where tariffs do change so quickly on a whim, impacting billions of people and by billions of people, I don't just mean China plus the U.S., the whole world, right. Is this meeting going to change anything fundamentally?
DAN WANG, AUTHOR, "BREAKNECK: CHINA'S QUEST TO ENGINEER THE FUTURE": I think that it is good that they're speaking. It is a good thing that they're speaking because if they're not, then its far more dangerous because the U.S. government is barely speaking to the Chinese government anymore.
There used to be so many bilateral meetings in the past, when it was the Obama administration, and maybe a lot of these talking shops weren't really working, but at least it's a good thing, that they're meeting face to face and maybe resolving some big issues.
BURNETT: So, Seth, on his way to Asia, Trump was asked about reports that China could pressure the U.S. to oppose Taiwan independence, right? And that that could be part of a deal. Basically, if you want a deal, then you're going to just stop on this whole Taiwan thing.
Here's what Trump said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're going to be talking about a lot of things. I assume that's going to be one of the things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: It's a big deal to even say such a thing, to open the door. Whether he changes his mind or not. I assume that's going to be one of the things, Seth. You were just obviously, as you said in Japan, analyzing the Chinese military, build-up in the South China Sea in the context of, you know, China sending its destroyers around Taiwan in a threatening way as of late.
[19:10:13]
What did you see?
JONES: Well, Erin, you know, the most interesting aspect that we see right now, I saw this morning, actually, with F-35s going over my head during breakfast was the major Chinese buildup in the region.
BURNETT: Which, by the way, can we just be clear? Your breakfast was in Japan.
JONES: My breakfast was in Japan this morning. And the F-35s were U.S. F-35s. They weren't -- they weren't Chinese aircraft.
BURNETT: Right.
JONES: But the most significant, reporting coming out of U.S. forces, this is within the first island chain. These are all U.S. forces, the third marine expeditionary force, 18th Air, U.S. Navy has assets at Kadena Air Force Base. They're reporting a massive Chinese buildup in the region. Multiple exercises of an invasion of Taiwan, as well as a quarantine and a blockade.
And that does not appear to be a major source or subject of discussion right now. It looks like it's mostly on economic issues, probably Taiwan to some degree, but the buildup is one of the biggest issues that is not being discussed right now.
BURNETT: Yeah, I mean, it's sort of sitting there right in everybody's face, this buildup, I mean, and, you know, you build up -- build up a military power such that you're seeing there doesn't happen for nothing.
Dan, the context for the meeting that they're going to have, though, is obviously, Trump does admire Xi. He has made that clear. He admires him. And he also admires his power structure.
WANG: Yeah, it is really clear that how much Trump really loves praising Xi Jinping. You know, Erin, I dug up some of these old interviews that Trump gave to Xi about a year ago to "The Wall Street Journal", in which I quote Trump said nearly verbatim that Xi is so smart brilliant. Everything nearly perfect. Theres no one in Hollywood like this guy, as if Xi Jinping were some sort of like Tom Cruise levels of handsome or something.
And so, this is a very strange thing, which Trump is often praising Xi Jinping, you brought up how Trump has praised for being president for life. And maybe this is sort of the direction that they're interested in going. But there certainly seems to be some sort of a bromance between these two big leaders.
BURNETT: Yeah, yeah. And amazing that you did find all of those comments.
All right. Dan, Seth, thank you so very much.
It's been a long day, Seth, if your last meal was breakfast in Japan, hope he'll get some dinner.
And OUTFRONT now, Republican Congressman Mike Turner on the House Armed Services and Oversight Committees.
Congressman, so much to talk to you about tonight in the context of what we're seeing around the world and a fraught moment. The NATO secretary general, Rutte, warned the other day that if Xi invaded Taiwan, right, that if this were to happen, he would first go to Putin and say, I need you to attack places in Europe first, because Rutte says Xi Jinping would want a multi-front war and that this would be part of the strategy.
I thought it was an incredible thing for the secretary general of NATO to say, not in a private meeting with someone like you, but out in public for everybody to hear. Are you worried about this?
REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): Well, certainly. And even -- even if she doesn't say it to Putin, Putin knows that that that is to his advantage, that that's a time of vulnerability for Europe, for the world. And it would be to his advantage to do so. And that's why the NATO secretary general knows that, that is probably one of the most important times to make certain that that NATO and the United States are ready and that that Europe is poised.
And that's why it's so important that President Trump has made certain that that our NATO allies are spending what they need to, that they're increasing spending, they're increasing spending in the right way so that they're ready and that that Putin is deterred from expanding his aggression in Europe.
BURNETT: So, I understand a recent intelligence assessment. NBC was reporting that it said Putin is more set than ever on winning the current war he has going on in Ukraine, more set than ever that there's been no backing off, no change in his conviction and specifically to winning it on the battlefield.
I know that you've never wavered in your support from Ukraine. You just came back. President Trump has recently said when it comes to the weapons, and I know his position with Putin obviously can go one way and then dramatically the other way. But one thing that he has said recently, specifically is that there will be no Tomahawks for Ukraine. He said, quote, the only way a Tomahawk is going to be shot is if we shot it and we're not going to do that.
TURNER: Well, not confirming what's an intelligence assessment. I have said repeatedly that I don't think that Putin has been dissuaded. And I think certainly we're seeing that --
BURNETT: Right. I mean, that's no surprise to you. Yeah.
TURNER: Right, I think that certainly on the battlefield and certainly what we're seeing from Putin's statements Putin has been focused on Ukraine, but he's focused on a much broader conflict. He sees this as a conflict with the west and with his broader view of that, you know, as he has said, that the fall of the Soviet Union was the greatest catastrophe that that happened in the last century.
And he is not going to be dissuaded unless he has significant pressure put against him. And that is what we're going to have to do. And, you know, I just returned back from Ukraine at the end of September.
BURNETT: Yeah.
TURNER: We're going to have to establish a sanction regime that goes right to the heart of what you've just described is that his ability to produce munitions is not been impacted. It's not been impacted by either direct kinetic attack by either Tomahawks or other long range munitions hitting those or his economy being impacted.
And that's what we're going to do. We're going to have to, through sanctions or through other means of supporting Ukraine, diminish Russia's ability to be able to produce their war machine. That's the aggression against Ukraine.
BURNETT: Right. Now, I am curious just on the issue of Tomahawks. I'm just thinking back when it was fighter jets. Right.
And there was fear of nuclear reprisal. The Biden administration did want to provide them. Eventually the U.S. came and did it.
Right now, Tomahawks -- obviously, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said these are crucial because they can hit far and they can hit with precision. Look, Trump has changed on this issue. He could change again. But is this right or wrong? Should the U.S. be providing Tomahawks?
TURNER: Well, I think the -- I think the issue is not necessarily that the weapon itself Tomahawks. The issue is long range weapon systems within which to be able to hit Russia's production facilities, and that I'm very much in favor of.
BURNETT: Yeah.
TURNER: Certainly, our European allies are beginning to do that. We're seeing some headway there. Tomahawks are a much longer range system than is really necessary to accomplish --
BURNETT: So, you're for a long range, but perhaps not as long as Tomahawk?
TURNER: Tomahawks are a much longer range system than is needed to do to accomplish that mission. You know, certainly I think if the -- I think the president can reconsider and might in the long range provide them that weapon system. But I think there are other things that can be provided to accomplish that mission.
BURNETT: All right. I also want to ask you, because I know you've got a big meeting on this tomorrow. Venezuela -- Armed Services Committee going to be meeting tomorrow.
Obviously, there's a series of strikes that the Trump administration has carried out on boats. Fifty-seven people we know have been killed in that so far. I know you support that mission. Obviously, the president has also talked about land strikes. There's been a lot of speculation about what this administration could do.
You have supported so far the mission on the boats. I don't want to take it further than that, because I don't know if you agree with more than that, but what are the specific questions you're going to ask them?
TURNER: Well, I think first off, I don't think anybody has openly and publicly stated a full support of what the administration is doing because no one, no one has full presentation yet from the administration --
BURNETT: Of what they're doing.
TURNER: -- of what they're doing to support it. I think what people have said -- BURNETT: By the way, that's a pretty scary thing for you to say
considering that you're on that committee.
TURNER: Right. What I have said and what I think the American public support is that the administration's statement that the drug trade has to be impacted must -- important and it threatens the lives of American public. And I think that certainly is important.
I don't think that Congress has received the information that it needs to. And I do think that there are serious concerns as to both the legal construct as to what the administration is doing, and there needs to be more information that's provided to Congress. And I think both the logistics and the intelligence information needs to be shared more broadly.
I think there is very concerned of the manner in which this is being conducted. Certainly, I think if there is anything for the next steps that that Congress needs to be engaged in a manner which that congress currently is not.
BURNETT: All right. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate your time, and it's always good to see you, Congressman -- Congressman Turner.
TURNER: Great. Thanks, Erin.
BURNETT: And next, breaking news, rescuers against the clock searching for survivors after Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica. Entire communities are gone. And we're just starting now -- just starting to see a little bit as the death toll is rising.
Plus, who's pretending to be Bill de Blasio? "The Times of London" quoting someone masquerading as the former New York City mayor taking shots at Zohran Mamdani. The real de Blasio is here to respond.
And CEOs standing up for something -- can we all get behind this? -- put your phone down during meetings. I'm going to talk to a CEO who has a message for anyone who is in a meeting with him, who looks at their phone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:23:33]
BURNETT: Breaking news, the death toll rising to at least 30 people killed. Hurricane Melissa, though, is continuing in its move across the Caribbean. New satellite images showing widespread devastation in Jamaica. On the left, you see what it looked like before the storm. And on the right afterwards, leveled across the coast.
The hurricane now hitting the Bahamas, growing in size even more and moving at a faster clip, pushing north.
Derek Van Dam is OUTFRONT, live in Jamaica, just getting the first, first visuals of what has happened.
Derek, you've been going through the hardest hit areas. What is happening right now?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Erin, hey, listen, we've been on the front lines of a medical convoy following the Jamaican defense forces and some heavy machinery trying to clear the road to gain access to the hardest hit areas of western Jamaica, specifically the Black River area where we know there was 16 feet of surge inundation and 90 percent of buildings completely destroyed, according to the prime minister.
We're sitting inside of this vehicle right now because what would normally be a two -- two ways of traffic, two lanes of traffic is reduced to one because there's electrical poles that have completely been flattened and there's just a lot of people and a lot of commotion outside of this vehicle right now trying to clear debris. But frankly, it's just not exactly safe to be outside at this particular moment.
So, we're going to let the people continue to do their work, and we're going to report to you what's happening.
[19:25:07]
But it's been a long, very grueling day to try and get to the hardest hit areas of Jamaica. And I want to show you what we saw through the course of the day today. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAN DAM (voice-over): Widespread devastation after the deadly category five hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, whipped through Jamaica Tuesday, leaving behind a path of destruction. Most of the island without power.
On the ground, a muddy mess as people come out to survey the damage for the first time. Crumbling infrastructure, flooded roads, downed trees, causing major disruption and making getting aid to those most in need a very difficult task.
VAN DAM: We are literally on the front lines of the Jamaica defense force. Ambulances, local NGOs, police, volunteers trying to clear the roadway leading into Black River, some of the -- what we believe is the hardest hit areas from Hurricane Melissa.
It's a monumental effort to try and get aid through to this area, including medical provisions. We've seen ambulances and people coming together to push those ambulances through debris and thick mud. This effort trying to get aid and people and the help that is desperately needed into portions of western Jamaica.
VAN DAM (voice-over): People banded together. Some did whatever they could to survive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had to climb over a house, a wall, just to get shelter in another person's home. Just so that I didn't drown to death with my child.
VAN DAM (voice-over): Jamaicans also can't get a break from the heat. The humidity from melissa shot the heat index over 100 degrees, making conditions to clean up even harder.
PRIME MINISTER ANDREW HOLNESS, JAMAICA: Black River is what you would describe as ground zero. The people are still coming to grips with the destruction but from what I've seen and the interaction, the people here are strong, resilient and positive in outlook.
VAN DAM (voice-over): Melissa also hit Cuba, flooding streets of Santiago and cutting off road access to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There was a lot of wind, a lot of rain. This area was flooded where you see now, the water reached almost knee high.
VAN DAM (voice-over): In Haiti, Melissa's outer bands brought deadly flooding.
Back in Jamaica, the road to recovery is long, but some are staying strong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jamaica the disaster right now, so we just have to pray for the best and the good. Help each one when we can help. And that's it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN DAM: Erin, authorities in Jamaica are appealing for aid and rightly so. You are getting kind of the first glimpse of the complete devastation that we are witnessing here on the ground. Black River, you heard the prime minister talking about that being ground zero for the most devastation. And we're sad to report that we had to turn around because the roads were once again flooded this evening as another rainstorm came through this region. And we're going to try and make our way back towards the nation's capital and continue to report -- Erin.
BURNETT: Derek, thank you so much, live there in Jamaica.
And next, someone pretending to be the former mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, making headlines, taking a swipe at Zohran Mamdani. And the question is, what's the real de Blasio say about this? He's next.
Plus, this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: When you said, I'll be back, you meant it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: See how Arnold Schwarzenegger and the people behind MTV's "Pimp My Ride" are doing something different.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:33:39] BURNETT: Tonight, impostor. Ben Smith, the editor in chief of "Semafor", is posting this tweet confirming a new twist. He writes, in the case of an impostor posing as former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. Reporters at "Semafor" saying they reached out to a Gmail address tied to the hoax and got this reply. You are correct. It was me, the real Bill de Blasio.
Well, that email, according to "Semafor", is the same one, same email address that "The Times of London" used when it mistakenly published and eventually deleted an interview with the fake de Blasio, who it was a pretty significant thing because it was this whole thing with "The Times of London" where he distanced himself from Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist who is favored to win the mayoral election, and endorsements of prior mayors matter a lot. So, de Blasio had been behind Mamdani.
"The Times of London", one of the U.K.'s oldest and most respected newspapers, was duped. Quoting a fake Bill de Blasio saying, Mamdani's math doesn't add up when it comes to paying for the free programs he's promising.
"The Times of London" in a statement apologized, saying, "The Times has apologized to Bill de Blasio and remove the article immediately after discovering our reporter had been misled by an individual falsely claiming to be the New York mayor."
OUTFRONT now, former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Bill, look, I appreciate your time on this. And obviously, you know, when you think about this or anyone applies this to their own lives or what could happen, it's pretty terrifying --
BILL DE BLASIO, FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: Yes.
BURNETT: -- to think that something like this could happen. But you are, you know, on your phone, I suppose, you know, and you're and all of a sudden, you see this story pop up saying that you were basically slamming Zohran Mamdani, who you had supported.
What was your reaction when you saw it?
DE BLASIO: Who I do support. I mean, this is what's so weird.
BURNETT: Right.
DE BLASIO: I have people still reaching out to me saying, oh, I see you've changed your mind. I'm like, no, I never did. It literally was a surreal feeling, Erin. I'm looking at a headline. I'm looking at a quote, a newspaper. I never spoke to a journalist. I never contacted.
BURNETT: By the way, a real, legitimate, credible newspaper.
DE BLASIO: Yes.
BURNETT: Yeah. DE BLASIO: And a journalist I literally never heard of. And here's
this article claiming I was saying all these bad things about Mamdani. It's literally everything they said was the opposite of what I believe.
I believe Mamdani has an absolutely necessary vision for New York City, and I believe its attainable. Just like the things I did as mayor when we did pre-K, for all they said it could never be done. I think he can do fast free buses, for example. I think he can do a rent freeze if he chooses to.
These are -- these are very viable visions. So, what was so strange, you know, to talk about it felt like the ultimate and disempowerment, like, here's my picture, here's my quote that wasn't me.
And it's being sent all over.
BURNETT: Right. I mean, you were taken -- your voice was taken away from you.
DE BLASIO: A hundred percent. And journalists were reaching out saying, oh my God, what happened? Did you change your mind? And I'm like --
BURNETT: So, do you have any idea how this happened?
DE BLASIO: Okay, so the journalist called me eventually.
BURNETT: Yeah.
DE BLASIO: I tweeted, I said, this is a falsehood. "The Times of London" should take it down immediately. About an hour later, the journalist calls me. He's very sheepish.
BURNETT: Right.
DE BLASIO: He's like, I have to apologize. I made a mistake. And he admits that somehow emailing with the wrong person.
But here's why I don't get -- was there no effort to confirm identity? Did he not want to see the person's face? Do a Zoom, do a Facetime? Do something?
Did editors say, hey, it's kind of strange this guy would change his mind a week before the election. Somethings missing here that I don't fully get.
BURNETT: Who's pretending to be you?
DE BLASIO: Some person. I have no idea who they are. Apparently, who just took a domain name or took, you know, an email address that sounded like one of mine. But imagine this: a reporter, a seemingly serious reporter, has a long dialogue and prints it without checking at all if it's the real person, all email.
BURNETT: So, have you talked to Mamdani about it? DE BLASIO: I reached out to his team. They said yes, we understand
immediately. They told him everyone's fine.
BURNETT: Yeah.
DE BLASIO: But I think this begs a bigger question because think about deepfakes with A.I.
BURNETT: Yeah.
DE BLASIO: Vocal audio visual, the whole thing.
BURNETT: Uh-huh.
DE BLASIO: What's going to be the standard going forward if this is one of the most renowned newspapers in the world, one of the oldest in the world, and they could literally in a major issue a week before an election, print an abject falsehood with no verification. Where are we going? And it begs the question, one that media outlets are going to have to hold higher standards because it's going to be harder to verify. But two journalists and this was fascinating, Erin, some journalists immediately went with it.
New York journalists who knew me, others reached out they would not. They would not talk about it until they confirmed it directly with me.
BURNETT: Right.
DE BLASIO: And that's something I think journalists are going to, unfortunately, have to do a lot more of.
BURNETT: Well, I mean, in this world of A.I., we'll be talking a lot more about that in a few moments.
The mayoral race, you know, Bill Ackman obviously is a very different view on this race than you do, billionaire investor. But he has said that that this is really a test for -- this is a nationwide race because this is the future of the Democratic Party. And he may be right about that, you know?
DE BLASIO: Uh-huh.
BURNETT: The former New York city mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg also not on your side on this. Last minute money just threw in 100 -- I'm sorry, $1.5 million into a super PAC supporting Cuomo, Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York.
Polls are tightening. "New York Times" shows them tightening. Quinnipiac has Cuomo gaining with Republicans. Who knows? I don't know what to believe with polls anymore. But do you think this race is still open?
DE BLASIO: It may be tightening, Erin, but here's what I'd say. Donald Trump has gone out of his way to say he wants to stop Zohran Mamdani, and he's basically saying he'd like to see Cuomo elected. Billionaires, Bloomberg, Ackman, so many are going out overtly and
saying we need to stop Mamdani. You know what that says to working class New Yorkers? Do you know what that says to every day --
BURNETT: Although Bloomberg was a very effective mayor of New York.
DE BLASIO: He was a mixed bag. He had some good policies and some real mistakes like stop and frisk.
But the bottom line is New York city voters, working class people, middle class people, they don't want to take orders from billionaires. They don't want to take orders from Donald Trump.
So, to the extent that Andrew Cuomo has anything going on, at the same time he's wrapping himself in all these forces that New Yorkers actually very much oppose. And Mamdani has been out in the streets. He's been out in the neighborhoods talking about affordability.
This is the lesson to the Democratic Party. Erin, if there's one big lesson in this campaign that could truly be national, Democrats should talk about affordability and affordability only. No social issues, no identity politics, affordability. That's how we win in 2026 and '28.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Bill de Blasio, I appreciate it. Good to see you.
DE BLASIO: This is a real me, by the way.
BURNETT: This is -- I mean, you know, I don't know -- I don't know these days.
DE BLASIO: I'll show you I.D.
(LAUGHTER)
[19:40:00]
BURNETT: And to that point, we were just sitting here talking about A.I., right?
And there's been so much talk, even today. The Fed chief saying, yeah, people are a lot of layoffs because of A.I. Is A.I. going to wipe out jobs?
Well, there's a CEO, a big one in this country who says, actually, no, sees it totally differently.
And Arnold Schwarzenegger giving some people the keys to do something pretty amazing. We'll tell you what it is.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news, the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates for the second time in a row, putting the cost of borrowing at the lowest level in three years in the United States. But the job market is getting weaker. And the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, is saying there is no guarantee of further cuts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: A further reduction in the policy rate at the December meeting is not a foregone conclusion. Far from it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:45:00]
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna.
And Arvind, I really appreciate your time tonight. So, Jerome Powell and the Fed choosing to cut interest rates again by another quarter of a percentage point. And obviously, it was an overwhelming agreement on the Fed, although they were much murkier on the future. But this is now the lowest interest rates in three years. And we're hearing all kinds of concerns. They're talking about the job market.
But at the same time, you have stocks. A little blip today, obviously on the heels of that. But overall hitting all time highs. And it seems like we're living in two different worlds. What's the world that you think is the real one?
ARVIND KRISHNA, IBM CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO: I think we have a good economy. I think we got a lot of good things going on around growth, and that is what you feel.
Now, with all that, I think what you saw was I think there was a lot of gouging of employment during the pandemic and maybe the year after. So now people are pausing and thinking about what to do, and you begin to see that in the numbers. And people are talking about either layoffs or freezing hiring.
BURNETT: The Amazon referenced to the pandemic.
KRISHNA: But I actually want to say that we are the opposite. I expect we are probably going to hire more people out of college over the next 12 months than we have in the past few years, so you're going to see that. So, companies that feel good about their future growth, that feel good about the demand that you can do, and we sort of believe drive innovation, drive growth. And that's going to cause employment to come back up.
BURNETT: Okay. So, you just said you think you're going to be doing more employment of college graduates in the next 12 months than you have in the past few years.
KRISHNA: Yes.
BURNETT: And as you say, you're different. You are really different. I mean, we're hearing -- I mean, some of the investment banks, there's talk that there could be outsourcing more jobs to India, Argentina, other places when it comes to layoffs. I mean, we just looked at the past few weeks, Arvind, UPS, 34,000
driver and warehouse positions going this year. Amazon, 14,000. And that's the tip of the iceberg for Amazon, 16,000 at Nestle, 11,000 at Accenture.
So, all different industries. And we're seeing layoffs after layoffs. So why is it so different for you.
KRISHNA: Look let me acknowledge -- first, skills of people are really important. We need skills in A.I. We need skills in quantum. We need skills that our clients feel really good about technology being deployed in their environment.
BURNETT: Yeah.
KRISHNA: We need more of those. As we get more and more automation, as we get more and more A.I. are some jobs going to get reduced? Yes, but on the net mix, it's a plus for us. And that's kind of what we are seeing.
We didn't have a lot of the kind of employees of the companies you just talked about, because those are not the businesses we're in.
BURNETT: Right, right. And I guess you're talking about entry level jobs for IBM are very different than at UPS, perhaps, right?
KRISHNA: Yes.
BURNETT: Okay. I am curious, though, today it came up with the in the Fed press conference, right? Powell talked about A.I. and he said, okay, it's true. There are companies who are not hiring, and there are companies that are actually laying off, and they're talking about A.I. as the reason for both of those things.
The CEO of Microsoft A.I. famously said, we're going to get to a point where A.I. will replace human labor. But Bill Gates the other day, he's had a really interesting conversations, and he did say, okay, it's true. Humans aren't going to be needed for a lot. Sort of terrifying thing to say.
But then he continued to have a more positive spin on it. Here's what he just said the other day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL GATES, MICROSOFT CO-FOUNDER: We won't want to watch computers play baseball.
HOST: That's right. Yeah.
GATES: And you know, so there'll be some things that we reserve for ourselves. But in terms of making things and moving things and growing food over time, those will be basically solved problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, what, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are fine, but the rest of us? I mean, how do you see it?
KRISHNA: So I kind of look at it this way, and this may sound like a really geeky answer, but very numerical. I think 60 percent of the world today is front line workers. You know, delivery people, short order cooks. I think it'll be a long time before A.I. will take those jobs.
Then there is 40 percent what we would call as some kind of white- collar work. The ones you just described, the ultra creatives, let's call that 20 percent and park that to the side and say they're in no danger.
BURNETT: Yeah. That's the Aaron Judge. He's in the ultra creative.
KRISHNA: Yeah.
BURNETT: Okay.
KRISHNA: Then there's the 20 percent that is let's call it is much more repetitive. It's much more process work.
I do think there is a portion of that, maybe as much as half that could go away. But then the question becomes, do we need a lot more people who actually interact with people who build trust? And then you get more of those jobs. I mean, the food example --
BURNETT: So you think -- yeah, go ahead.
KRISHNA: That Bill just used.
BURNETT: Yeah.
KRISHNA: Nineteen hundred, 47 percent of the human -- of the U.S. population worked on a farm. Today is three. So okay, three may go to one.
BURNETT: Right, right. But you think net-net, it could create more jobs?
KRISHNA: Absolutely. The moment there's more productivity in the economy, it creates the demand for things. In that food revolution as it became automated, it opened up along with the automobile that people could go to a near town for entertainment. So, movie theaters, restaurants, fast food, all of that opened up.
[19:50:04]
So, if people get more productive, believe me, everyone is going to have more things to do.
BURNETT: All right. And when it comes to you, at least in the nearer term, right, you're for sure, you're hiring more. You're hiring more.
Okay, so leadership right now, these are difficult times for many reasons, right. Polarization among people, among employees, economic uncertainty, all of that. Also just dealing with these, right? Actually, I don't -- you don't actually have yours with you. So -- you -- okay. So maybe I'm curious what you're going to say about this then, because "The Wall Street Journal" has this reporting that CEOs are fed up with it. They're fed up with nobody paying any attention in meetings because of their phones.
And we've seen schools, academic situations dealing with this as well. So Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan said people texting and meetings, it has to stop that its disrespectful and it wastes time. That's a quote from him.
Where do you stand on cell phones and meetings?
KRISHNA: So I distinguish between one to 10 people meetings and very large meetings. If it's a very large meeting, I'm sorry. It's not really a meeting. It's a communication vehicle. You're just informing people.
BURNETT: Right.
KRISHNA: Okay. If they want to use something, fine. We are, in the end, a tech company telling people they can't use their technology would be weird.
If it's a small meeting, I would really frown upon if somebody is sitting opposite my desk and lost their phone, I would tell them, why don't you come back when you have time?
BURNETT: So that -- so that's -- you make -- you make your voice and you don't have it here. If you're having a conversation, you put it down.
KRISHNA: I actually do not look and answer my phone when I'm having an important conversation. Unless I'm expecting that there's a crisis at a client and I need to respond, I will not actually look at my phone during a conversation.
BURNETT: Well, hopefully, that's going to be what becomes more and more common. I think we all could do better with that.
All right, Arvind, thank you so very much. I appreciate your time.
KRISHNA: Pleasure to be here.
BURNETT: Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM.
And next, Arnold Schwarzenegger, opening up about a project close to his heart.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:02]
BURNETT: Tonight, Arnold Schwarzenegger teaming up with the auto repair shop behind MTV's "Pimp My Ride" to give former prisoners a second chance.
Elex Michaelson is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHWARZENEGGER: When you said I'll be back, you meant it.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Arnold Schwarzenegger is celebrating the crew that turned his car from this to this.
SCHWARZENEGGER: Thank you very much. Thank you.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Many here served time behind bars before this life-changing opportunity at West Coast Customs.
SCHWARZENEGGER: They get a second chance.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Leti Dominguez got involved with gangs and drugs at just 11 years old.
She spent a decade behind bars before starting this job.
LETICIA DOMINGUEZ, WEST COAST CUSTOMS ACADEMY: I have a reason why I wake up every morning that isn't negative.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): She's also now a full time college student.
DOMINGUEZ: I feel like I'm a good person today because I have a job.
RYAN FRIEDLINGHAUS, CEO OF WEST COAST CUSTOMS: I feel like I found my purpose give back.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Ryan Friedlinghaus founded West Coast Customs in 1993.
JUSTIN BIEBER, SINGER: How many cars have we done?
FRIEDLINGHAUS: It's about eight.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): His work customizing cars featured on all these TV shows, including MTV's "Pimp My Ride".
His clients include Shaquille O'Neal, Justin Bieber, Bad Bunny and Paris Hilton.
FRIEDLINGHAUS: We build everything and anything people dream of.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Growing up with dyslexia, Ryan says he was good with his hands, but not with his textbooks. He started West Coast Customs Academy about three years ago for people like him.
FRIEDLINGHAUS: The industry is lacking good people to work with their hands.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): They partnered with an L.A. County organization called JCOD to start a free job training program for former prisoners. Youve got all this really expensive stuff around there. Do you trust
all these people?
FRIEDLINGHAUS: That's something that that was a challenge for me, so I gave it a chance.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Ryan says he's been blown away by the results. Ryan told his longtime client, Arnold Schwarzenegger, about the academy.
SCHWARZENEGGER: So, Elex, they do everything themselves here.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Schwarzenegger invited us for an exclusive tour of West Coast Custom's 60,000 square foot headquarters in Burbank, California.
In 12 weeks, the students here work on interior fabrication, paint, rap and audio all in one place. On this day, they're doing the finishing touches on Schwarzenegger's Excalibur, which was first built in the 1970s.
SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, I tell you that as soon as it is totally finished, you and I will be going on a ride through Beverly Hills with a stogie in our hands.
MICHAELSON: Let's do it, baby.
SCHWARZENEGGER: Exactly. Yeah.
MICHAELSON: Arnold Schwarzenegger's focus on second chances started long before his first visit here.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): This nearly 50-year-old video from Schwarzenegger's archive shows the former Mr. Olympia hosting a workout for inmates.
SCHWARZENEGGER: What do you guys want to see? Some posing?
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Schwarzenegger says he's visited nearly every jail and prison in California.
MICHAELSON: What did you learn from the inmates?
SCHWARZENEGGER: You know how to be tough and how to endure. We don't learn from winning. We learn from mistakes that we make.
MICHAELSON: There are some people that are like, lock people up, throw away the key. Why is it important to go the opposite route?
SCHWARZENEGGER: I mean, it's always easy to say, yeah, lock them up. Let's be tough on crime and it always sounds good.
But I mean, when someone has served their time and has understood that they made a mistake, you must make sure that they have a chance to come back. That's why I said earlier, you know, they say, "I'll be back." It's not just the Terminator that says, you know, people want to come back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Out here live now, they are putting the finishing touches. This car is just about done.
By the way, Ryan hopes that this becomes a national model for second chances. And tonight, on our brand-new show, "THE STORY IS", we'll have more from here. Plus, the latest on the President Trump-President Xi meeting. It should be happening during our show tonight at 9:00 p.m. Pacific right here on CNN, Erin.
BURNETT: All right, Elex, thank you so much. It's really fascinating to see.
And as Elex said, "THE STORY IS". It is 9:00 p.m. Pacific and midnight Eastern tonight on CNN. That and so much more.
Thanks so much for joining us.
"AC360" begins right now.
