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Erin Burnett Outfront
Questions Surround Eric Trump's Presence On China Trip; Economic Alarm Bells: War Fueling Inflation, Prices Outpacing Paychecks; CDC Confirms 41 People Across U.S. Are Under Hantavirus Monitoring. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired May 14, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:23]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The breaking news, Trump about to meet with Xi Jinping after China's harsh warning; as Eric Trump's presence on this trip is raising big questions about the family business.
Plus, the doctor, who was in isolation after treating sick passengers on the cruise ship has an update for us tonight live from his quarantine. He just got more test results, and wait until you hear what he is finding out right now.
And Trump doubling down on Venezuela becoming the 51st state.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner who's determined to return to Venezuela responds. Maria Corina Machado is our guest.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, all in the family. President Trump is waking up in Beijing now Friday morning preparing for a final day of meetings with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. Also waking up in Beijing is his son, Eric Trump.
There he is arriving with his wife, Laura, in Beijing, about to enjoy state dinner, served with President Xi and his dad. They dined on lobster, and here he is again, this time you see him shaking hands with President Xi himself.
That is a lot of face time for someone with no role in the United States government. But while Eric Trump is not a member of the administration, he does have a job that matters very much to President Trump, and that is helping run the family business.
Listen to Eric Trump himself -- this is in 2009. He was talking to a Chinese language news outlet about just how important China is to Trump Org.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC TRUMP, SON OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: I love China. I love China. We -- I spent quite a bit of time over there last year.
Really, really loved it. Looking at different projects. It's -- it's a market that I think we'll be in very soon. We have --
INTERVIEWER: Do you have any plans for China?
E. TRUMP: We have a lot of plans for China. So we've got an amazing buyer base that from China originally that has apartments in our buildings, that, you know, use our hotels, that are members of our golf clubs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: It's a lot of detail, a lot of time spent there and well, a lot of plans to expand in China. And the Trump family has long wanted to do business in China, including, according to "The New York Times", to have an office tower in Guangzhou, which never came to fruition.
Trump Org did, though, get an office in Shanghai in 2012 to explore potential deals, but they have not yet succeeded in their goal of Trump Towers. Trump branded golf courses and Trump resorts. Yet here's how Eric Trump now is explaining his presence on this trip to Fox News Sean Hannity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
E. TRUMP: This is probably the best of it, what you're seeing right here, Air Force One, flying to the other side of the just to be an observer, to be a fly on the wall and to keep your father company. I have no other role in this trip.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay. To keep his father company.
As the Trump Org, in a statement to CNN says, "Eric is deeply proud of his father and the accomplishments of this term and is attending in a personal capacity as a supportive son. He does not have business ventures in China, nor plans on doing business in China."
Can we just switch the words to Hunter Biden here? Look, it doesn't all add up, right? Of course, Eric Trump has every right to be there with his dad, but you can't separate the fact that he leads the Trump family business that is very interested in China and has spent decades trying to get a foothold there.
I mean, and remember, Trump was outraged when Hunter Biden traveled with his father to China back in 2013, when Biden was vice president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Is there for one quick meeting, and he flies in on Air Force Two. I think that's a horrible thing. I think it's a horrible thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I guess the shoes on the other foot now.
It's not just Eric Trump raising eyebrows with his presence. Director Brett Ratner is also on the trip. He is the director of the recent "Melania" film, where the first lady, of course, had editorial control.
There happens to also be a photo of Ratner with Epstein and Epstein files, though Ratner has told Fox News he did not have a personal relationship with Epstein. But it is just a. No one really knows why. Brett Ratner, who's director of the "Melania" film, is on this trip to China. Some of the other people on the trip make sense. If this is about business deals, which I guess it is for them, but not for Eric Trump and the Trump Org.
You got Goldman Sachs, Cargill. That's the agriculture company. Mastercard, Boeing, GE, Citi, Tim Cook from Apple, Elon Musk, Jensen Huang from Nvidia.
Okay, so you get why they're there. They're there to do deals. China matters to their company's bottom line and they're there. There's no fig leafing it.
It all comes as Xi Jinping, though is leveling a very tough warning to Trump saying, quote, "If it is handled properly, relations between the two countries can maintain overall stability.
[19:05:07]
If it is not handled properly, the two countries may clash or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-U.S. relationship into a very dangerous situation."
From a diplomatic perspective, an incredibly blunt way of talking about war and conflict.
Trump, though, had a totally different message when it came to Xi. It was all praise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We've had a fantastic relationship. It's an honor to be your friend. The job you've done. You're a great leader. I say it to everybody. You're a great leader.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The Chinese are taking those comments and running with them. State media headlines with things like this. Trump repeatedly calls President Xi a great leader, and Trump tells Xi, you're a great leader. That's actually accurate. That's what he said.
Kristen Holmes is traveling with the president. She's OUTFRONT live in Beijing.
So, Kristen, what is the latest that you're learning here now on Friday morning where you are?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Erin, I do want to note one thing. President Trump actually believes that. It's not just heaping on this praise. We know that he has an affinity for strong men. And Xi Jinping is a strong man who President Trump believes is a good leader, that he can get his people to do what he wants them to do.
So that's why he kind of heaps on the praise, because he fundamentally believes that. We've heard him do the same thing when it comes to Vladimir Putin.
Now, in terms of today, this trip is almost over. The big thing we're going to be watching is what comes out of the last meeting, the bilateral working lunch between these two. You heard President Trump, he did a brief interview, talking about what Xi Jinping said about Iran, specifically saying that China was not going to be giving any kind of weapons to Iran. They have routinely denied that. However, reports have shown that Chinese companies or have said that Chinese companies were having conversations with Iran about supplying them with arms.
He also said that at one point, Xi Jinping offered to help in whatever way whatsoever he could when it came to Iran. The reason why I'm noting this here is that in those conversations, President Trump makes clear that President Xi also said he wanted to continue doing business with Iran, buying oil from Iran. So, it's unclear what exactly he offered if anything.
But that is likely to weigh over the meeting today. President Xi does not want anything they say behind closed doors. If he did in fact say this, a broadcast on Fox News during an interview by President Trump. So, whether or not that moves the needle or changes anything, we'll wait to see that.
Also, what we're waiting to see, any of those deals that they've been talking about. Obviously, he's announced the purchase of Boeing aircrafts, but other than that, they're supposed to be hammering out those details today. We'll see what they actually get. They being the American delegation out of this trip to China.
BURNETT: All right. Kristen, thank you very much.
And always important to note, and this is true for all presidents of any party. Lots of deals get announced. And then you see a couple of years later what actually happened. So, we'll see. But let's see what even gets announced here.
As she points out, only the Boeing 200 jet purchase has so far been announced.
OUTFRONT now, Congressman Ro Khanna, the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the strategic competition between the United States and the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party.
So, Congressman, I appreciate your time.
All right. We're just pointing out Eric Trump on this trip. And obviously, we've done a lot here on this program about the Trump family business and the work of the president all the way back to the first administration.
But you saw Eric Trump and listing out in great detail all the things they were trying to do in China. Their goal to be in China. And now, Eric is on this trip where the other people on the trip are people like the guy running Apple, the guy running Nvidia, the woman running Citigroup.
Okay, so they're there and then there's Trump Org. One of these is not like the other. Eric says he's on the trip just to support his dad.
Are you okay with that?
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, after having sat through four years of lectures from Republicans about Hunter Biden and who happened to go on a trip or two with Vice President Biden, it's awfully hypocritical for Eric Trump to be on this trip. And Republicans not to say anything.
And I don't like it. I don't think you should get family involved in these kind of trips, but I'm much more concerned about American workers. What I'm concerned about is why are the manufacturers and the farmers and the workers not on this trip? Why is Trump talking possibly about $1 trillion deal with China, where you would have trillion dollars come in and set up factories here with no labor standards, with no unionization?
That's my bigger concern is, is he really going to get a good deal for American workers?
BURNETT: Well, and I will point out on that skepticism that you just raised about the potential trillion dollars of Chinese factories in the U.S., which had been discussed. You share your skepticism with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, has expressed the same point of view. So that is a bipartisan skepticism.
I mentioned one other person there because, again, I understand your point about American workers, but if this is about doing deals, you understand why some of those executives are there.
[19:10:07]
It is less clear as to why Brett Ratner, who's a director on is on this trip, right? He's not running Amazon or anything. He's a director of the "Melania" documentary.
And you've been a leading voice congressman in the push to release the Epstein files. As you know, there is a photo of Ratner in them with Epstein. He told Fox News he didn't have a personal relationship with Epstein and that he was engaged to one of the women pictured on the sofa at the time. That photo that we're looking at was taken. Do you have any questions about why Brett Ratner is on this trip?
KHANNA: Well, he shouldn't be on the trip, but look, it's obvious that the first lady and the president are in totally different places when it comes to Epstein.
I mean, the first lady came out and said that Epstein didn't act alone, that the survivors need to be believed and heard. She wants there to be investigations. And my sense is she wants the survivors' stories to be told.
And the president is out there calling the survivors a hoax, showing no respect for survivors, not willing to meet the survivors. And 3 million files still have not been released. Not a single prosecution has happened.
So, this is just a pattern with him of demeaning women, demeaning survivors. And it's really appalling that someone like this is on the trip to China.
BURNETT: Yeah. And of course, as I said, he did. He did direct the documentary that she produced.
So, I want to ask you about Taiwan because this is obviously at the core of the relationship. And when you had President Xi said saying of this, let me just read it again, referring to Taiwan, if it is not handled properly, the two countries may clash or even come into conflict.
I mean, that is as direct as I think we've ever heard it, okay? You know, basically do what we want on Taiwan or there could be military conflict. I mean, do you take that as a threat?
KHANNA: Well, we need to de-escalate and we need to have two things very clear. China cannot use military force or military coercion against Taiwan. At the same time, we affirm the One China policy, which is that the future of China and Taiwan should be resolved diplomatically with talks between Taiwan and China. Taiwan shouldn't just go off declaring independence.
And that nuanced, thoughtful policy is frankly served us well since the early 1970s. And on the China committee, we have a bipartisan commitment to that. So that's why we've said we need to continue to supply Taiwan with weapons under the Taiwan Relations Act, and we need to make sure that it's clear to China they can't take any military coercive action against Taiwan.
BURNETT: Congressman Khanna, thank you very much. I appreciate your time.
And I will --
KHANNA: Thank you.
BURNETT: -- as I'm about to talk to Seth Jones here. Just say that when Trump was asked about whether he talked about Taiwan with President Xi, he just absolutely didn't answer the question. In fact, he said China is beautiful. He just completely did not address it. But Xi said those other words. So, Seth Jones is here. He spent years focusing on China.
And frankly, going through what the war game scenarios are, that the U.S. has run extensively. And obviously, so would China have. And you made many trips to the south China Sea into Japan as well. So, when you heard what President Xi said there, very dangerous situation, talking specifically about the word conflict, what do you hear there?
SETH JONES, PRESIDENT, DEFENSE & SECURITY DEPARTMENT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, Erin, I think that's a direct threat to the United States. President Xi has repeatedly said that Taiwan is an internal issue and that anybody that were to get involved, if the Chinese were to take Taiwan either through an amphibious assault or through some sort of blockade or gray zone activity, that they would consider it a threat to the Chinese state.
So, I mean, for me and, you know, just being in that region recently, you can see the Peoples Liberation Army aircraft and naval vessels doing exercises on a regular basis for exactly that purpose.
BURNETT: I mean, it is pretty incredible. And okay, so then there's what happens in that scenario. So, you have done all this incredible analysis of what the war in Iran has done to U.S. munitions supplies both offensively long range missiles and defensively. And the depletion is extraordinary, all right, that you have found.
So, what has Iran done, that war, in terms of directly affecting the U.S. ability to engage in a conflict over Taiwan?
JONES: Yeah. Ideally, it's to deter one in the first place. You don't want China to take that action. I mean, the problem is that the PLA rocket force has the ability to strike pretty much any target in the first island chain. So that area around Japan and south, including Taiwan, further out to Guam, we call the second island chain.
And so, it forces the U.S. to fire long range missiles. The U.S. has depleted its JASSM has depleted some of -- it's fired over a thousand Tomahawks.
[19:15:01]
And then it's also depleted its stockpile of defensive munitions, like Patriot and THAAD.
So really tough to fight a protracted war with China today. And that's -- and, you know, for many of these weapons systems, it's a three to four-year timeline to produce.
BURNETT: To even -- okay. So now in that context, you have been through so many of the war games as they are called in terms of whether there's conflict with the U.S. and China over Taiwan. Now, again, layer in what's just happened in Iran.
How quickly would the U.S. in those war games that you've run, given the situation now, run out of munitions?
JONES: Some of the munitions, like the long-range anti-ship missiles, maybe a week.
BURNETT: A week?
JONES: Some of them maybe three weeks, it would force the U.S. to go to other missiles, shorter range, but put those aircraft that are flying them in much greater danger.
BURNETT: I mean, that's incredible. One to three weeks. That's not a war.
JONES: That is -- that puts the U.S. in a pretty difficult position.
BURNETT: So what happened? What do you think that does then to this conversation? Is that reality part of why Xi felt he could level such an unprecedented threat?
JONES: I mean, it's possible. I mean, the Chinese are not entirely 10 feet tall. U.S. has a much more sophisticated submarine capability. Undersea, the Chinese can't see very well. I was on an anti-submarine mission recently with the navy. We found our Chinese submarine pretty quickly. They can't find ours.
But what it would do, I think what it has done, what the Iran war has done is almost certainly give China some hope that it can deter -- threaten the United States right now.
BURNETT: All right. Seth Jones, thank you very much.
And next, the Trump administration trying hard tonight to ease concern about the economy, serious concerns suggesting that the rise in prices is just going to be a couple more blips, and then it's over and everything is going to be good. Does that add up?
Plus, I'll talk to the doctor who is in isolation after treating people on the cruise ship that's been at the center of the hantavirus outbreak. He just got more test results. And what they showed really, really surprising.
And then this -- has become one of the most talked about moments of Trump's summit. It completely mesmerized Marco Rubio. We will tell you the story behind this viral Rubio video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:22:06]
BURNETT: Tonight, flashing red warning signs for the economy. Inflation now the highest it's been in three years, rising more quickly than wages. Gas prices are up 52 percent since the war started. The housing market is in a world of pain, 47 percent more people are trying to sell their houses than buy according to Redfin.
But tonight, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is saying, don't worry. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: I think core inflation will continue coming down. We'll get to the other side of this. And I don't know whether it's a few days or a few weeks. We may get a series, one, two, more hot inflation numbers, but then I think we're going to see substantial disinflation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Jim Bianco, economic analyst and president of Bianco Research.
And, Jim, Secretary Bessent, you know, coming out there and saying, you know, one, two, basically one, two punch and were done and sort of a blip and we're going to go back to normal with substantial disinflation.
Is that how you see it or is it getting harder to make such a case?
JIM BIANCO, ECONOMIC ANALYSTT, BIANCO RESEARCH PRESIDENT: I think it's getting harder to make that case. I mean if he's right and there's a one two punch and I assume what he means is the Strait of Hormuz is open and shipping starts moving. And I've been hearing this for 10 weeks. We're just on the other side just a few days, a couple of weeks from this strait opening.
Then we can start making the case how fast things will normalize. But right now, they're not normal. And the longer we go without them being normal, the harder it is going to be to fix the supply problem. You mentioned inflation is the highest in three years. Three years ago, it was another supply problem around COVID and around the supply chain. We all remember counting the number of ships waiting to get into Los Angeles harbor, and that produced nine percent inflation.
I don't think we're going to get that kind of inflation this go around, at least not yet. I don't think that. But the fact of the matter is the supply chain things tend to be a lot more complicated than everybody makes them out to be.
BURNETT: Well, that's the thing we learned in COVID, right? We kept hearing about it, and then nothing happened for a while. And so, people thought, well, maybe all of that was a lot of crying wolf. And then boom. And so, as you say, it's a lot more complicated than it seems even now. And it's been ten weeks and we've been told constantly it's going to open right away. It's going to open, still closed.
And obviously the inflation that we see is because of, of the war, a big part of it is, right, the oil and gas and energy surge shock that we've seen. But Trump keeps saying, Jim, that that oil and gas prices are going to drop like a rock when the war ends. It is something that he continually says. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: As soon as this war is over, which will not be long, you're going to see oil prices drop.
You're going to see gasoline and oil drop like a rock.
Gas will fall down at levels that you've never seen before. You'll be down to where you were, maybe even lower.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. Jim, I know you don't think that adds up. And you've got a chart to show us exactly why.
[19:25:02]
This chart shows what markets are betting oil prices will be a year from now. The futures price for Brent oil.
Tell me what it says
BIANCO: Yeah. You know, when we talk about the price of oil, everybody says what's the price of oil. But you have to be a little bit more nuanced. When do you want it and where do you want it?
Well, the chart we're looking at is when a year from now the price is $82. The price was under 60 bucks before the war started. The market is pricing in that the price of oil will stay something like 30 percent higher than it was at the beginning of the war one year from today. So, it's not believing that the price is going to turn around and come back down.
Part of the reason, I think, is even if the war was to be resolved in the next couple of days and things were to start to normalize, there's probably going to be an embedded premium in the price of oil. There's going to be a war risk that's going to continue to stick around for a lot longer.
So that is really what we're trying to fight against. And that's what the market is telling us, that the price might come down from $100 to $80, but it's not going back to $60 or $55, which is where it was, say, back in January before all of this began.
BURNETT: Yeah, as you point out, that would mean that in a year, price of energy now is still 40 percent higher than it was before the war. That is stunning. That is long term. And that -- and that, by the way, just to be clear that that chart is assuming that the war does end and that the strait does reopen, right? They're assuming that in that price. So that is crucial.
And I guess that brings me to the context of where we are. And I mentioned some of the numbers that are very concerning. When you look at, for example, the housing market or you look at the jobs market, but then, Jim, I look at the stock market -- and I mean, the Dow is back above 50,000 points.
I remember when such a thing would have been absolutely, categorically impossible to imagine. And -- but we're talking about all-time records. The S&P at its highest level on record. But yet you have an economy that -- that has a lot of problems, a lot of problems, whether it's housing prices, whether it's inflation, whether it's credit card delinquencies, whether it's auto loan delinquencies, I can go on and on and on. And that market has been driven by just a few stocks, all of which are in A.I.
Are you worried?
BURNETT: Worried? Yeah. Because the valuations are expensive. Typically, when you buy an expensive market, it tends to give you poor returns. In the past. But there's two things to keep in mind that's different about this market than we've seen in previous markets.
The first one is the concentration you mentioned. A.I. is perceived to be one of the biggest technologies of our lifetime, even bigger than the Internet itself. And count me in. That says there's a possibility that that's very well true. And it could very well be that way. And so people are climbing onto the A.I. bandwagon trying to play that. And so, I understand that trade now maybe it doesn't work out, but I do understand that trade.
The other one is the K-shaped economy. As you point out, some of the statistics with higher bankruptcies and, you know, people having some time struggling, the fact of the matter is, is that if you want to take the numbers from Moody's, about 50 percent of retail sales is done by the top 10 percent of income in this country. So, you can have a broad swath of the country, say, not being able to go to the store, being struggling to make ends meet.
And then you look at the retail sales numbers and go, boy, they look really good. Why are they really good? Because 10 or 15 percent of the population may be driven through stock market gains, and some other things are spending like crazy. And that keeps the numbers very strong.
We haven't seen a K-shaped or bifurcated economy to this degree in probably many decades, if ever, at this point. And so yeah, I understand why all of this is happening. It does make me worried, but that doesn't mean that tomorrow, the markets going to have an epiphany, and it's going to turn around and go back down. It's been this way for a couple of years, and it's probably going to stay this way for a little while longer. And then we'll see what happens after that.
BURNETT: And then we'll see. All right. Jim Bianco, well, thank you very much. And we'll be seeing it with you. Thank you.
BIANCO: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, Trump not letting up on his call to make Venezuela the 51st state, says he's dead serious about it. Venezuela's opposition leader, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, responds for the first time here tonight.
Plus, an important update on Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, who was in isolation at the University of Nebraska in a biocontainment unit because he tested positive for hantavirus. He treated passengers on the cruise ship, saved lives.
Dr. Kornfeld just received new test results tonight, and you won't believe what he has just found out. He will tell you all about it after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:34:01]
BURNETT: Breaking news, the CDC is confirming finally numbers. And they are saying 41 people in the United States right now are being monitored for hantavirus. Among them, three Kansas residents who came into close contact with a person who had tested positive for the virus. Those people in Kansas were not on the cruise ship at the center of the hantavirus outbreak, and this development comes, as you can see now, a lot more states have lit up in terms of where they're monitoring people.
We've got a new update tonight from Dr. Stephen Kornfeld. You know him. He's the doctor who was placed in isolation in the biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska after he treated fellow passengers who became sick.
He had initially tested what they called a mild positive, and they weren't sure what that meant. Was he coming down with a virus? Was he getting over the virus? They weren't sure.
So, they did more testing, put him in the biocontainment unit. And as we reported last night at this hour, he had just found out that he had a PCR negative test. We moved out of isolation, back to quarantine.
[19:35:01]
But now there is a new twist. He has just received his antibody test results and he's back with us now, Dr. Stephen Kornfeld.
So, Doctor, I appreciate your time.
Okay. As everyone is trying to understand what happens here and now, the CDC has finally set a number of people they're monitoring, 41. You just got the results of the serology test which would test for antibodies, which theoretically when you got a PCR negative would answer was that mild positive because you had already had the virus. What did you find out?
DR. STEPHEN KORNFELD, DOCTOR EXPOSED TO HANTAVIRUS AFTER CARING FOR CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER: Well, I found out that my antibody tests were negative, which implies I have not had hantavirus.
BURNETT: So then then did they have any understanding as to why you would have had that positive that they've called a mild positive before?
KORNFELD: Well, let me when I say I haven't had hantavirus, it means that I haven't had an obvious infection with hantavirus. I still may be incubating hantavirus after my exposure. That positive was always a bit suspect. It wasn't run for many days.
The initial test was negative. A separate test was mildly positive. Ultimately, they called it indeterminate or inconclusive. And now, in retrospect, it was a false positive.
BURNETT: So that, of course, raises a lot of questions. Right, about what was that illness that I know that you with the chills and the fatigue that you and others had on the ship that had come into social contact with the original patient who died, as it raises questions about the tests themselves, lots of questions that we don't know the answers to, but I know that you're back in quarantine now, and I can see you sort of in your in your quarantine suit.
The CDC talked about you and others who are in quarantine in Nebraska, because I know you're there with more than a dozen other people from the ship. Here's what they said today.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CDC: We encourage those that are in Nebraska to maintain, to stay there because they're receiving the monitoring that they need. And should anything arise. Nebraska is a fantastic place to be.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: So not saying you have to say to stay there. Now, the WHO is recommending that for high-risk contacts, and they obviously list all of you in that category. So how long are you prepared to remain there? And I know you're all in individual rooms. Do you think others will take the CDC and say, well, okay, I can go home?
KORNFELD: Well, there's two parts to this. The first is how long to quarantine, and that's more about protecting the public in case any of us come down with the virus. And I know for me, I plan on doing a 42- day quarantine as recommended by the CDC. And from what I can tell, everybody here, the 16 other people here are 15 other people all plan on doing the 42-day quarantine.
That's not really for us. That's to protect the public in case we become clinically sick. The real question is where do we quarantine? Should we quarantine here or should we quarantine perhaps in our homes? And for us to do that means we have to get from here to our homes under quarantine, which would mean noncommercial travel.
And the federal government is ready to provide that if we want that. I think some people will stay here for the full 42 days, and other people will probably return home before that. A lot of that depends on your home situation, how comfortable you are at home, how big is your home? How big is your family, what kind of medical care do you have access to? Is your medical system and your state willing to accept you?
And I think that's going to be individual by individual.
BURNETT: So -- I mean, part of this here is obviously the extraordinarily long incubation period of this, right? So, the great news for you is that you got a negative test, right? I mean, all in, you don't want to be wondering what having had hantavirus does to you over time.
However, the fact that you have a negative test means that you've got to continue with quarantine, right? You can't say, I've already had it and I'm fully recovered. So, it does raise this question.
Now there's so much that you've learned already from treating people who had hantavirus. You're the only one who's really been done that, who's been able to speak. But you also have described something to us that you're calling the hot box. Can you tell me about that?
KORNFELD: Well, that was during my transfer from the Canary Islands to Nebraska, because I was considered positive, I needed to be segregated from the other passengers who were all not tested yet, and so on this 747 plane, there are two large, almost like a container box called the hot box.
[19:40:04]
So, I was escorted into the plane in full gear, protection gear. I went on a separate ramp in a separate door than the rest of the people, and I went into this box, which had four gurneys kind of host sick people. And I was transported over the 10-hour flight in that box. It was a little surreal.
BURNETT: In a box. Gosh.
KORNFELD: Well, it's not like a -- it's a big box, but it's still a box.
BURNETT: Yeah. Well, it's still a box, but it gives us perhaps some insight into how all this happens. And certainly, the seriousness with which the protocols are taken, which is important and positive. But obviously for someone on the inside of it, incredibly difficult mentally, physically, emotionally. Yeah.
KORNFELD: Yes, I appreciate that. I think at every step of the way, the system has erred on the side of extra caution and which to me is reassuring as a person in the public, maybe a little bit more inconvenient for the person traveling.
BURNETT: Yeah. All right. Well, Dr. Kornfeld, thank you again. Glad, glad for your negative.
And next, Marco Rubio going viral again this time after donning -- well, that look which if it looks familiar to you, you are right. Did you remember that's what Nicolas Maduro was wearing the night he was captured.
Plus, Trump doubling down on his idea of making Venezuela the 51st state. Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who's in exile and determined to return to Venezuela, responds for the first time, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [19:45:59]
BURNETT: Tonight, President Trump not letting go of his idea of Venezuela becoming the 51st state of the USA, posting this graphic to his social media account, even as he was traveling to China for his high stakes summit with Xi Jinping.
It comes as Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who's currently living in exile, is still determined to return to Venezuela, a country where she won more than 90 percent of the opposition primary vote in the run up to Venezuela's 2024 presidential election, but then was banned from running.
Now, that election was marred by accusations of election fraud. So many irregularities, and it ended with the authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro, claiming victory. He, though, now sits in a U.S. prison after he and his wife were captured in that U.S. commando raid earlier this year, all raising questions about the future of Venezuela and the 30 million people who live there desperately hoping for change.
OUTFRONT now, Maria Corina Machado, the author of the newly published book the "Freedom Manifesto" and winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
And, Maria Corina Machado, thank you so much for your time for being here.
You know, in your book, you write that Venezuelans right now, in your words, are now fighting for the rebirth of our country. When do you hope to return to Venezuela to lead that fight and that rebirth?
MARIA CORINA MACHADO, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE; VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Thank you so much.
And I appreciate it how you have told this story, because this is a story about dignity, about dissent, freedom loving people that have been, you know, parted apart because a third of our population have been forced, Erin, to flee because of starvation, because of persecution. But our wonderful diaspora is desperate to go back to rebuild a free nation in which prosperity, justice and the families can be brought together.
I'm willing, determined, to go back very soon, because, as you said, we not only want an election by a landslide, but we proved it. And we believe this is a moment to move forward towards a transition to democracy that can bring rule of law and that can bring you know, freedom of all kind for a nation to rebirth and rebuild its institutions.
BURNETT: And you talk about rebuilding those institutions. Obviously, President Trump has thrown his support behind the government in place now, Delcy Rodriguez, right, who had served under Maduro. She's now leading the country.
Trump support, though, for her, of course, has raised serious concerns about whether Democratic elections in Venezuela are going to happen and whether they're even a priority for this White House. Since Delcy Rodriguez is in power and they've supported her. Has the Trump administration given you assurances about free elections in Venezuela? Have they talked with you about details, about a timeline?
MACHADO: Well, certainly the secretary of state has been very clear about that in public and private, about a three-stage process. The first stage has already been concluded. The second one is in process, and he has said that both can overlap. And the third one is actually a transition to democracy in which we can have free and fair elections, in which every single Venezuelan inside our country and abroad can vote.
I believe it is time to move forward. Important steps are being taken as we speak. People are starting to go out back to the streets. Prisoners have been released.
Finally, some of your colleagues, journalists are starting to talk about the truth, the dire situation, the economic situation in the country. But these are things that were unseen for months ago, unthinkable.
BURNETT: And, you know, you talk about that optimism.
[19:50:01]
You know, you write in your book here, Maria Corina, that quote, no ruler, faction or tyrannical force has the ability to dictate to individuals what is theirs by right freedom. Now, I mentioned a moment ago, and in this context, it's interesting because you said, you know, Secretary Rubio is both in public and in private, going through with the process to for these elections.
But Trump keeps talking about Venezuela as the 51st state. I, you know, I just mentioned that social media post that he posted with the 51st state and the map of Venezuela. He also talked about this in detail earlier this week to a Fox News reporter who was really a bit taken aback by it. So, I just want to play what John Roberts said right after he spoke to President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS REPORTER: He kind of surprised me a little bit because he said, John, I just want to tell you, I'm very serious about this. So, you can talk about this. I'm serious about beginning a process. Process to make Venezuela the 51st state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay. How do you even respond to that?
MACHADO: Well, I know President Trump really likes Venezuela and for good reasons. It is a beautiful country. But most of all of wonderful people. But I'm sure he's going to love it even better when we have a country that is free, prosperous, and democratic, and turns into the strongest ally in in the Americas, because we're located in the heart of the Americas. And look, Erin, from every perspective for the American people and for
the Venezuelan people, a transition to democracy is a win-win solution. From the migration perspective, over a million Venezuelans lives in the U.S., and they want to go back, but they're only going to do it if there's democracy.
Secondly, from a security perspective, with a Democratic government, we're going to dismantle the criminal regime that has turned our country into the safe haven for Iranians, Russians, Hezbollah, Hamas operating in our territory.
And finally, from an energy and business and trade perspective, you need to have rule of law. Venezuela's currently in the last place globally in terms of rule of law. You have to give assurances for all those investors that were going to have open markets, that were going to have predictability in terms of the rules of the game, and that their property will be absolutely assured and respected. That's only possible in a Democratic government.
BURNETT: You know, and you make a case there. In a sense, it's odd to have to make the case for the independence of a -- of a free and independent country. But when Trump said to the Fox News reporter, quote, "I'm very serious about this, so you can talk about this. I'm serious about beginning a process to make Venezuela the 51st state." You do not take him seriously?
MACHADO: Well, I think he's sending a message to many people. And certainly, to the regime. I mean, we, the Venezuelan people value, appreciate, share the values of the American people. We are decisive to be a strong ally.
And I think it is in -- and in terms of legacy, imagine what this will mean for the -- for the U.S. government and for your country, Erin, for the first time, we will have -- once we move towards democracy and Venezuela is free, Cuba will follow, Nicaragua will follow. We will have for the first time in the history of this continent, the Americans, free of communism and dictatorship. This is huge.
BURNETT: All right. Maria Corina Machado, thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it.
MACHADO: Thank you very much, Erin.
BURNETT: And next, cameras capture Marco Rubio completely mesmerized while in Beijing. And it's not the only image of the secretary of state going viral tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:15]
BURNETT: Tonight, let the memes begin. China's internet abuzz about Marco Rubio for wearing his Nike tracksuit on air force one. And with his fascination with the ceiling in China's Great Hall of the People.
Will Ripley is OUTFRONT tonight from Taipei. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before the talks in Beijing even began, this became one of the most talked about moments of the summit. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seemingly mesmerized by the massive chandeliers and ornate ceiling decorations inside Beijing's great hall of the people.
Right away, a flood of memes mocking Rubio for comparing decorating ideas with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Is he getting inspiration for Trump's White House ballroom? Rubio knowing he'll have to do the White House ceilings when they get back?
And this -- Marco Rubio finding out he has to become the new president of Venezuela, a nod to Rubio's now viral gray Nike tracksuit aboard Air Force One, the same style many online users compared to the tracksuit worn by Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after his arrest earlier this year.
REPORTER: What's the context for that?
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: There's no context. It's a nice suit. I mean, I like it, it's comfortable.
REPORTER: It was the same when Maduro was wearing it.
RUBIO: It is. But you know what? He copied me because I had it before.
RIPLEY (voice-over): President Trump keeps handing Rubio more jobs -- secretary of state, national security adviser, acting U.S. aid chief, temporary archivist, which has helped turn Rubio into an online punchline. The secretary of everything, Marco Rubio, finding out he is now the DJ at your wedding. DJ Marco on the ones and twos on AF1.
Poking fun at this viral video posted by White House adviser Dan Scavino, Rubio deejaying a family wedding and rubio riffing on Cypress Hill lyrics while talking about Iran's leadership.
RUBIO: The top people in that government are, to say the least, you know, they're insane in the brain.
They should check themselves before they wreck themselves.
RIPLEY (voice-over): More memes. Rubio, after finding out he needs to be the supreme leader of Iran in 72 hours, #worldwarthree.
And on a much lighter note, Rubio as the Easter Bunny.
TRUMP: Who likes Marco Rubio? All right.
RIPLEY (voice-over): At the Rose Garden, even President Trump making jokes about a future dream team ticket with Vice President J.D. Vance and Rubio.
With the V.P. back in D.C., rubio is breaking the internet from Beijing, which is especially awkward because technically, China still has him sanctioned.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY: Beijing -- Beijing actually sanctioned Rubio back in 2020 as a U.S. senator for criticizing China's human rights record, Erin. And there's viral speculation online right now that China changed the Chinese spelling of Rubio's name by one character to quietly let the secretary of state into the country.
CNN Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang says that Chinese officials have actually used different translations of Rubio's name for years, and Beijing has already been signaling that those sanctions applied to Rubio, the senator, and not Rubio, the diplomat.
BURNETT: Okay, all of it incredible.
Will Ripley, thank you very much, reporting from Taiwan tonight.
Thanks for joining us.
Anderson starts now.
