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Isa Soares Tonight
Putin Vows Strong Response to Ukrainian Incursion; Elon Musk Hosts Friendly Chat with Donald Trump on X After Tech Delays; Trump Lashes Out at Harris in X Livestream; Musk Accuses Harris of Being Too Far-left; Musk Turning "X" into a Political Tool; Fires Conditions in Greece Improving; Chipotle's Brian Niccol Takes Over Starbucks as CEO; NASA Data Show Signs of Water Beneath Surface of Mars. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired August 13, 2024 - 14:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Lynda Kinkade in for Isa Soares. Tonight, Ukrainian troops on
the move in the largest attack on Russian soil since World War II. And while their forces are making gains, Russian President Vladimir Putin is
vowing strong retaliation.
Plus, little policy and a lot of insults. Donald Trump dishing out attacks during a two-hour interview with Elon Musk. To tell you about what the
former President had to say about his Democratic rival Kamala Harris. And water on Mars. New evidence suggests there may be a deep reservoir beneath
the planet's surface.
Well, difficult and intense. That's how Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is describing the offensive into Russian territory, that has
taken Moscow and much of the world by surprise. Ukraine says it has seized as much land in a week as Russia has so far this year.
And now, a new Russian district southwest of Kursk is urging its residents to evacuate as Ukrainian troops continue to push forward. The Ukrainians
are relishing this moment. We are seeing videos like this one. Ukrainian forces deep inside Russia, throwing their enemy's flag to the ground.
Russia's President calls this an attempt to destabilize his country and promises to quote, "kick the enemy out."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT, RUSSIA (through translator): The main task is certainly before the Ministry of Defense to squeeze out, knock out the
enemy from our territories and together with the border guard service, ensure reliable protection of the state border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is tracking this story and joins us now live from Berlin. Good to have you with us, Fred. So, it's exactly a week
today since Ukraine launched this incursion inside of Russia. We are hearing that it now controls 1,000 square kilometers, that's about 400
square miles. One U.S. lawmaker calling this a seismic breakthrough. What else is Ukraine saying about it?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they certainly are saying Lynda, that they have no business of -- or not wanting
to slow down in all of this. In fact, one of the things that the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier today is he said that Ukraine
now controls 74 towns and villages in Russian territory.
And just to give you an idea, yesterday at this time, the Ukrainians were saying that they controlled 28 towns and villages. So, certainly, the
Ukrainians are saying that they are moving forward. They're also saying that they're trying to consolidate those gains, which could possibly mean
that they are digging in, in some of those places.
It's still very much unclear whether or not Ukraine actually wants to continue to hold the territory that it's already taken back from Russia in
the long term. For the Russians, of course, a very concerning situation even though the Russians are saying that their forces are now fighting
back.
Here's what we're learning about the situation. One of the things that we do need to do is warn our viewers that some of the images you're about to
see can be disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): A Russian attack, gunship firing at Ukrainian forces from the air in the Kursk region inside Russia. While on the ground,
a Russian soldier's body-cam records what appear to be several killed Ukrainians near their destroyed armored vehicle.
The Kremlin trying to show its forces are halting Ukraine's advances. But the reality is this, more Russian civilians having to evacuate their towns
and villages as Kyiv's troops press ahead. "We left the chickens at home", this woman says. "We gave them two bags of grain, some water and left,
maybe there will be nothing to return to."
What seem to be Russian prisoners of war transported in the Ukrainian pickup as the Russian soldiers spray paint the Ukrainian spelling of a
town's name inside Russia. Kyiv's lightning offensive caught not just its allies off guard, but Moscow as well. Russian President Vladimir Putin
trying to publicly brush off Ukraine's incursion, meeting with the head of the Palestinian authority in Moscow after earlier berating his Generals to
oust Kyiv's troops from Russian soil.
PUTIN (through translator): The main task for the Ministry of Defense is, of course, to drive and squeeze the enemy out of our territories.
[14:05:00]
PLEITGEN: Russia has vowed a massive retaliation, and Kyiv fears Moscow could launch even larger missile strikes at Ukrainian cities. But Ukraine's
President vowing not to back down.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE (through translator): Russia needs to be forced into peace especially if Putin is so set on fighting.
PLEITGEN: And Vladimir Putin's grip on power may not be as strong as some believe. Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza who was recently
released from a Russian jail in a prisoner swap said on CNN's "OUTFRONT" --
VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION POLITICIAN: I don't only think, I don't only believe, I know that Russia will change, and I will be back in
my homeland, and as I told him, it's going to be much quicker than you ever think.
PLEITGEN: But for now, Moscow says it will bring more reinforcements to its southwestern regions to try and oust Ukraine's invasion force before it
can dig in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: And that is something that we're tracking from the Russians, then bringing those additional reinforcements into that area, Lynda. The
Russians also have published some videos today of their forces, allegedly bombing the Ukrainians in some of those regions, allegedly hitting some of
those Ukrainian vehicles that have been on the ground.
But nevertheless, you know, one of the things that we are seeing is the Ukrainians apparently still making gains on the ground there as more
Russian villages in the Kursk region have had to be evacuated, Lynda.
KINKADE: And of course, Fred, we have heard Vladimir Putin say to his forces that they should squeeze out the enemy. What could Russian
retaliation look like?
PLEITGEN: Well, I think it could be on different levels, and I think that's one of the things that the Ukrainians are bracing for. I think at
some point, they are going to be bracing for a big Russian counter attack there on Russian territory. One of the things that of course, have been a
big issue for the Ukrainians in other areas of the frontline on Ukrainian territory have been the Russian Air Force and its increased use of those
really heavy glide bombs.
But one of the other things that we are also hearing from Ukrainian officials is that they are concerned that there could be additional Russian
missile and rocket barrages, even bigger than what we've seen so far on Ukrainian towns and cities, possibly also targeting government buildings to
a greater extent than they have so for.
The Ukrainians -- and this comes from Ukrainian officials have said that they believe that this would put their air defenses under a massive strain,
but they do believe that the air defenses will hold up. Lynda.
KINKADE: All right, Frederik Pleitgen for us reporting from Berlin. Good to have you with us. Thank you. Well, Russian President Vladimir Putin, as
we were just discussing, has vowed a strong response to Ukraine's ongoing incursion. Well, for more, I want to welcome London's chief international
security correspondent from -- and our Nick Paton Walsh from London.
Good to have you with us, Nick. So, Ukraine has seized as much land in a week as Russia has in the last year. This really paints a picture of how
much Russia was caught off guard here. How does this undermine Putin's position?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Look, ultimately, we're talking about the third or the fourth time since the
beginning of this war that the Kremlin have been humiliated initially when their invasion didn't last the three or four days.
Many thought it would do, then their route from many parts of the areas that occupied in the end of that first year. Then the Wagner coup, and now
this extraordinary, unexpected Ukrainian advance straight into Russia, which just today, the Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said took 40
square kilometers, adding to the 1,000.
He said they've taken over the last week. Now, the Kremlin are very good at trying to suggest they're not bothered by things. But last week, Vladimir
Putin was told by his Chief of Staff, Valery Gerasimov that the advance had been halted. That is clearly not the case.
And indeed, he's been forced now to look quite testy and has exchanged with local officials and essentially say, it's down to the Ministry of Defense
to sort this out. There's only a period of time in which he can still remain credible whilst pointing the finger elsewhere around the cabinet
table there.
And so, it shows very clearly that Russia is not something feared anymore by Ukraine, that its borders are porous, entirely un-impregnable. You might
want to say -- and we're in a very vulnerable stage for Vladimir Putin because he has to make a choice. Is he going to allow scenes like this,
Ukrainian troops running riot essentially over huge open spaces along the border area causing over 121,000 people to be evacuated.
That's a vast number and a significant embarrassment that must have been felt around any parts of Russia they're able to get this information.
Indeed, it's being broadcast on state TV, 74 settlements, Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that's now under Ukraine's control. Indeed, we heard that
28 settlements according to local Russian officials are under Ukrainian control.
And then I'm aware of the fate of 2,000 people. So huge holes in the information that they have. And Putin has to choose between how long he's
willing to allow this chaotic situation to continue and whether he's willing to remove troops from the frontlines in other parts of Ukraine,
rush them north, try and shore the situation up and push the Ukrainians back.
[14:10:00]
And then accept the damage that might do to his longer-term strategic goals in occupied parts of Ukraine. Entirely unexpected. You might say, possibly
something you could have predicted because Russia has not been defending its border as well and focusing on the established battlefront, and
something that totally took Moscow off guard.
KINKADE: And Nikki, you mentioned those holes in information, I'm wondering how Russia's lack of transparency might be actually helping
Ukraine here.
WALSH: I mean, yes, this is not a country, Russia, where you get necessarily open broadcast of errors, mistakes and their counterterrorism
operation that's being introduced in many parts of the area where Ukrainian forces are now running around inside of Russia, also assists the
suppression of information too by the authorities.
And so, there are fragments of it getting out. We do occasionally hear about a settlement here or there from Russian military bloggers or locals
seeing Ukrainian forces moving into it. And that works in two ways. It's a huge benefit for Ukraine because they're able to create chaos, confusion, a
lack of certainty about where Russia needs to send any military forces that they have abroad, and a sense of panic and fear amongst Russian civilian
population who simply don't know where the next place where Ukraine may push is going to be.
And two, I think that just increases Kyiv's ability to have an impact along this whole border area, because they're essentially making it very hard for
Moscow to use the limited forces that it has in an effective fashion. Lynda.
KINKADE: And just in terms of Ukraine's objective, Nic, there's been so much discussion about what Ukraine's long-term goals are here. Is Ukraine
likely to hold this territory? Is it simply a ploy to distract Russian troops, withdraw Russian troops back from the frontlines? Or is there some
other reason? What's your reading --
WALSH: So, I just lost --
KINKADE: Of the situation?
WALSH: The end of your question there, Lynda. Why is this happening? What's the goal? I think in the first days of this, there were deep
concerns about whether Ukraine was wisely using its limited resources in a cross-border incursion like that. What were they aiming for? What were they
going for?
But in my assessment, that's kind of evaporated over time. Because they've had a week now of stark embarrassment, where Russia is clearly unable to
prevent these Ukrainian forces from moving around areas that have long been secure. They haven't seen invading forces since the Nazis.
And so that, I think is an operational information win for the Ukrainians if they're able to hold territory and use it as a bargaining chip with
Russia going forwards, that's one possibility if they're able to hit infrastructure that could potentially have a long-term benefit as well.
But at this point, there's not really a sense that they have to pull out in any particular time soon. That may be the case when Russia gets its sort of
forces into play here from other areas. But for now, they continue to advance. And I think the longer that sense of Russia no longer being a 10-
foot tall giant maintains the greater, the justification of Ukraine doing it in the first place is and the stronger it makes Ukraine look.
Remember, we've had a year of bad headlines for Ukraine from a failed counteroffensive to rolling frontline, they head back into Ukrainian
territory that Russia advancing in the Donbas area. This is a stark success. It's one that as far as we can tell, it's not come at enormous
Ukrainian casualties, they've clearly lost some troops as they've moved around.
And it's one that has shown Russia's military machine to be frankly, a bit of a mess, very inflexible, very immobile, fixated on certain grinding
battles in the Donbas, and ultimately its border forces unable to control its borders, the simple task of keeping its citizens safe, they simply
aren't up to. Lynda?
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. And Nick Paton Walsh, you make some great points there, joining us from London, thanks so much. Well, the U.S. State
Department says it's focused on de-escalation through diplomacy in the Middle East, describing intense efforts to head off a potential regional
war.
The U.S. and its allies are trying to keep ceasefire talks for Gaza on track, believing a deal could help lower tensions. Israel's military has
been on high alert for days, bracing for attacks by Iran and its proxies after the assassination of a senior Hamas and Hezbollah figure.
Two diplomatic sources are telling CNN that the last ditch efforts to secure a Gaza ceasefire is not expected to stop Iran from retaliating. But
the U.S. says it is critical for both Israel and Hamas to attend the talks scheduled for Thursday in Doha.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VEDANT PATEL, DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: Prime Minister Netanyahu quickly confirmed that his team will be at the ceasefire talks on
Thursday, and that they'll be prepared to finalize the deals for implementing this.
[14:15:00]
And simultaneously, our Qatari partners have assured us that they are working to ensure that there is Hamas representation as well. So, we'll let
this process play out, but we fully expect these talks to move forward as they should.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: CNN's Ben Wedeman is following the developments and joins us from Beirut. Certainly, a lot weighing on these talks that are set to take place
this Thursday. A source, of course, telling CNN that there is meant to be a representative from Hamas at these talks taking part. Talk to us about the
expectations for these talks. Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The expectations, Lynda, are pretty low at this point. It's been hard enough to get this far
to the -- for these talks to actually take place. And of course, it's still a day away from taking place, and much can happen between now and then.
And it does appear that the United States wants to put up the appearance that something is being done to end the bloodshed in Gaza, and perhaps to
prevent Iran and Hezbollah from responding to Israel's killing of those two senior officials. One here in Beirut from Hezbollah, and of course, Ismail
Haniyeh in Tehran.
But there are fundamental problems with these talks. For the -- one, on one hand, you have Hamas, the leader of which is now Yahya Sinwar in Gaza. And
of course, he's the man who has the hostages, he has the final decision. It's very difficult to communicate with him, given the current
circumstances in Gaza.
On the Israeli side, even though they're sending a delegation to Doha for these talks, there are persistent reports that Netanyahu, the Prime
Minister has imposed new conditions. This is what CNN has been reporting and other outlets for quite some time, even though the Prime Minister's
office put out a statement this evening denying it.
And then there's the problem of domestic politics in Israel. It's important to keep in mind that there are two members of Netanyahu's cabinet. Itamar
Ben-Gvir; the National Security Minister and the Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. These are hard-liners who have made it clear all along that they
are fundamentally opposed, not only to ceasefire, they are opposed to sending humanitarian aid to Gaza.
And they have threatened time and time again that if Netanyahu signs a ceasefire agreement of any kind, that doesn't involve the release of all
the hostages, that they will resign from his government. So, on the one hand, there are logistical problems for Hamas in just participating
effectively in these talks.
And on the other hand, fundamental political obstacles in front of Benjamin Netanyahu to actually agree to some sort of truce and release of hostages
in exchange for the release of Palestinian detainees and prisoners. So, the Americans are certainly spinning their diplomatic wheels very vigorously,
but it's highly questionable, and many people are doubting throughout the region that actual progress is going to be made unfortunately.
KINKADE: Yes --
WEDEMAN: Lynda?
KINKADE: Unfortunately, Dave(ph), we will see how this plays out in the coming days. Ben Wedeman for us in Beirut. Thanks very much. Well, our
next guest says this is the most dangerous moment in the Middle East in years, maybe even decades. Firas Maksad is a Senior Fellow and Senior
Director for Strategic Outreach at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
Good to have you with us. So, just put this current crisis in perspective for us, because you have said that this is the most dangerous moment in the
Middle East in years, possibly decades. Explain why?
FIRAS MAKSAD, SENIOR FELLOW & SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR STRATEGIC OUTREACH, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE, WASHINGTON D.C.: Lynda, it's good to be with you.
We're almost ten months into this war, and the U.S. administration and many of its partners in the region have tried very hard to prevent this from
becoming an all-out regional conflict, particularly involving Iran and Israel, but also potentially dragging in the United States.
This is the moment that is the most dangerous. Iran is very hard-pressed to come up with a response right now that helps it restore its deterrence
against Israel, after Israel conducted an attack, killing Hamas' leader in the Iranian capital, under Iranian support and guard.
And so, they need to come up with a defense. They need to respond to restore their deterrence. But they also know that they and Hezbollah, if
their response is deemed to be too strong, they might be giving Bibi Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, the pretext he's looking for to
launch a broader offensive, potentially one in Lebanon, to try and degrade Hezbollah's capabilities there.
[14:20:00]
So, very dangerous moment, and what we're seeing with these ceasefire talks that are due to start tomorrow is an American effort. President Biden's
last ditch effort to try and build a diplomatic off-ramp for Iran to back down from having to respond, but I'm not optimistic.
KINKADE: It's interesting though, when you look at what we are hearing from Iran, it's vowing retaliation for the assassination of Hamas political
leader in Tehran. But it's also saying, we don't want a war, we don't want to impact the Gaza ceasefire talks. It seems they've backed themselves into
a corner somewhat.
MAKSAD: They are in a very tough spot trying to strike that balance, and they certainly -- nobody wants to be seen as undermining the ceasefire
talks. There's breaking news before I got on the air that now Secretary Blinken; the U.S. Secretary of State, has postponed his travels to the
region, and that's not a good sign.
What that tells us is that the negotiations, all the back-channel diplomacy has not matured yet, and while there are two senior American officials in
the region right now, it seems like things are going to need some time. So, how long the Iranians are going to continue to postpone this, keep Israel
anticipating a response, keep the world holding its breath, we don't know, but right now at best, these talks are unlikely to yield a breakthrough.
KINKADE: And of course, Hezbollah is widely considered to be the most powerful member of the Iran-backed network, known as the Axis of
Resistance. It says it will retaliate for the assassination of a Hezbollah leader independent of Iran, is Hezbollah ready for a war?
MAKSAD: Hezbollah does not want a war. Lebanon continues to suffer from the 2019 financial collapse. The most painful, most significant financial
and economic collapse in that country's history. Certainly, everybody in Lebanon including Hezbollah's own constituency, remember the disaster of
the 2006 war when they fought a long -- a month-long war with Israel. Nobody is looking for a war, but again, Hezbollah finds itself in this
policy dilemma.
If Israel's latest attack with the assassination of its military leader goes unanswered, that will only encourage the Israelis to conduct further
attacks. Whether the response is too strong, that can then get Israel the pretext to launch an all-out offensive in Lebanon, one that Hezbollah very
much fear. So, a very difficult decision-making in Tehran and in Beirut.
KINKADE: Firas Maksad, really good to get your perspective and analysis. Thanks so much for joining us.
MAKSAD: Welcome.
KINKADE: Well, still to come tonight, firefighters in Greece say they are tackling wildfire hotspots after putting out the main front of the fast-
moving wildfire. We'll have a live report just ahead. Plus, it's not just your imagination. U.S. cities are actually getting hotter. We've got the
details just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade. U.S. cities are facing extreme temperatures this Summer. Data analysis from the International Institute
for Environment and Development shows that all America's most populated cities are getting longer and hotter. Texas, Arizona and California are
some of the worst-hit, seeing more days of blistering temperatures.
Well, scientists say a process called the urban heat island effect is behind that change? CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir joins me now
to explain. Bill, let's just start with what that means. The urban heat island effect and how it affects temperatures.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, sure, usually, if you have a nice pasture full of trees, the temperature on that sort of shaded
natural area can be 20 degrees cooler than hardened infrastructures. Concrete streets, buildings that just hold on to that solar energy like a
big thermal battery often into the overnight hours stressing people relentlessly.
And what we're seeing as you look at the data, this is the 50 biggest cities -- they looked at comparison, the temperatures this Summer to the
last decade or so, averages also going back, comparing them to 50 years ago or so. And right now, Las Vegas is staggering on how much they're jumping
above what is already a scorching hot place to live, 83 days above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, that's 35 degrees Celsius so far this year.
That's 17.5 days more than is average over the last decade or so. San Antonio is also seeing a big jump down in Texas. Nashville, Atlanta, which
is used to maybe one or two days at 95 degrees, has had 12 extra, 14 total this year. But if we compare these, Lynda, to just going back a longer
timescale, going back to the mid 70s or so, the hotter places are getting hotter.
Phoenix, Mesa-Arizona, Tucson already pretty scorching. As we look at the next chart -- oh, that's the -- that's the one nationally that just shows
the trend going up nationwide. But I think we have the number of days, 95 degrees or hotter in 1975, compared to now.
And you can see that cities in Arizona, while they're getting hotter, they started that way. But San Antonio has gone up 12,000 percent. They were
used to maybe a few days a week at the most. Back in the 1970s, 96 days above 95 degrees last year.
So overall, Lynda, the trend here on this data is that the most vulnerable folks in these big cities, the young, the old, outdoor workers, the un-
housed, those are seeing life or death situations as these heat waves become more protracted. It might have made you sick a few generations ago,
these days, it could end your life.
KINKADE: Wow, and of course, Bill, our planet has just had the second hottest July in history, the hottest, of course was 2021. So, the trend is
quite clear now, right?
WEIR: It's there, and it's the overall longitudinal trend. If you just look at, you know, you'll have daily highs and lows, but we're not breaking
any cold records of the 50th biggest cities in the nation, 47 of them have added days above 95 degrees, and sometimes staggering numbers.
So, unfortunately, this is also baked in. These may be some of the coolest years of the rest of our lives because of the physics, the thermodynamics
of this system that is just overheated by way too much fossil fuel pollution in the sky and the sea. So, the watch word these days for a lot
of folks is adaptation in addition to mitigating the source of the problem. Adapting to this new hotter world, especially in the big cities, is really
a matter of life and death.
KINKADE: Yes, it really is. Just incredible data coming to us. Bill Weir for us in New York, thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.
WEIR: You bet.
KINKADE: Well, still to come tonight, the former President of the United States sits down for an interview with the world's richest man. How the
event got off to a pretty rocky start on Elon Musk's social media platform. Plus, what the interview says about Musk's broader strategy for X. Has it
become a political tool fit the Tesla founder?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Well, welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. It's less than a week before the Democratic National Convention, and Donald
Trump is trying to put a dent in Kamala Harris' momentum. And he got a little bit of help from Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO interviewed Trump on his X
platform Monday after a technical glitch delayed the event by more than 40 minutes.
During the interview, both men spent a lot of time praising each other. And Musk, who has already endorsed Trump, accused Harris of being too far-left
for too many voters tastes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, OWNER, "X": It's important for the public that may be listening to this to say -- to look at Kamala's track record, you know, before the
last, like, month and say, is that a track record you agree with? And I think if you're an independent moderate, you definitely would not agree
with it because it is -- her behavior has been far-left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, let's turn now to CNN's Alayna Treene. Good to have you with us. I mean, let's not call this an interview. It was a discussion. It
certainly wasn't a question and answer with a journalist and a political candidate. And there were plenty of lies in that conversation. For those
who missed it, just take us through the key takeaways.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, you're exactly right. I mean, Elon Musk is not a journalist. He actually lobbed a lot of softball questions at
Donald Trump. And remember, Musk, a couple weeks ago -- actually the day after, I'm told, the attempted assassination on Donald Trump's life, was
when he formally endorsed the former president.
[14:35:00]
And so, he is a friendly, you know, person. I was going to say interviewer, but you're right. It wasn't exactly an interview, but a friendly person who
was having this conversation with Donald Trump. And it is funny because I actually had a number of Republicans text me saying this is exactly what
Donald Trump sounds like when he's on the phone. It sounded like a phone conversation. It was very casual. It was meandering.
But look, I actually was looking forward to this interview because when Donald Trump is in more of these comfortable settings with people that he
knows support him, he tends to be more candid and oftentimes break news, but that is not what we heard in that interview last night.
Instead, it really was just two hours of Donald Trump airing the same grievances that we have come to hear him repeat on the campaign trail, at
his rallies and also, the same type of attacks. Now, he did go after Kamala Harris. He went after her record on the border. He talked about her time as
attorney general of California. But he also had a lot of attacks for Joe Biden, who, of course, is no longer his opponent. I want you to take a
listen to some of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This was a coup. This was a coup of a president of the United States. He
didn't want to leave and they said, we can do it the nice way or we can do it the hard way.
MUSK: Yes. I mean, they just took him out back behind the shed and basically shot him, you know.
TRUMP: Oh, what they did with this guy -- and I'm no fan of his. And he was a horrible president, the worst president in history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: Now, to give you some just insight into this, Donald Trump has said this before. He has claimed that Biden ending his campaign was a coup.
Of course, we know that Biden made that decision himself, but due to Trump's point, a lot of pressure from the Democratic Party.
But the interesting thing that I took away from this is, Joe Biden is no longer his opponent, but Donald Trump can't seem to help himself. He was so
comfortable with his attacks against Joe Biden, and it has been a struggle for him over the past few weeks with Harris becoming the presumptive
Democratic nominee about how to shift those attacks and how to define them. You could hear a lot of that in his arguments last night.
But generally, he didn't make any news. It was a friendly interview. And I do think that he will try to do more of these long form interviews in the
future. I know that his campaign believes that this is a good way to go after some low propensity voters.
You heard -- you played a little bit of Musk at the top there, talking about, you know, how maybe Trump could appeal to more independent, moderate
voters, that is exactly what Donald Trump's campaign was hoping this interview would do. They believe -- you know, they weren't exactly
targeting voters on Twitter, but they were targeting Musk fans and people who perhaps were -- are not normally politically active who may be
convinced from a conversation like this to go out in the fall.
Now, I think that's putting a lot of stock in this one conversation. It's very unclear whether or not this conversation changed any voters' minds,
but that was what the Trump campaign was hoping this would help with.
KINKADE: All right. Alayna Treene, good to have you with us as always. Thanks so much.
Well, the conversation, as we were just discussing, was littered with false statements from Donald Trump that went unchallenged by Elon Musk.
X, formerly known as Twitter, has undergone some major changes since Musk took over that social media platform. For example, many of the guardrails
designed to stop the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories have been dismantled. CNN business writer Clare Duffy has more on all of this.
It's interesting, like, Elon Musk, when he bought Twitter and turned it into X, he said that X equals everything. But, you know, in the last few
months, we've seen the way -- the -- he's been accused of his platform shutting down pro-Harris accounts, calling those accounts spam. Clare, just
describe for us how Musk is trying to turn this platform into his own political playground.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Lynda, it is really interesting because I looked back, and two days after he agreed to buy Twitter, he said
Twitter needed to be a neutral platform that folks on both the left and the right felt comfortable, and that's really the opposite of what we've seen
him do as the owner and the chief technology officer of this platform over the past two years.
Instead, as you said there, he has, for example, slashed the trust and safety teams that were responsible for ensuring that people weren't seeing
election misinformation on this platform. And in fact, he is now instead oftentimes spreading election misinformation himself, from the very top, as
the most followed user on the platform with about more than, I should say, 190 million followers.
In just the past few weeks, we've seen him post voting misinformation, post false claims about immigration. He posted an A.I. manipulated video of Vice
President Kamala Harris that has no label on it, no community note, which is his sort of answer for fact-checking now that he's gotten rid of most of
the formal fact-checking team. He's relying on users to do that work for him.
And we saw that show up again last night. I mean, as you heard from Alayna, we didn't really hear Trump make any news in this conversation, but we did
hear Trump make at least 20 false claims that went unchallenged by Elon Musk.
[14:40:00]
He and Elon Musk were very friendly, very -- you know, they spoke favorably and highly of each other here. And it's part of this larger pattern where
we're seeing Elon Musk start to use this platform, leverage this platform that he bought for $44 billion to directly campaign for Trump, which is
really unusual. We have seen in the past social media platforms playing a role in elections. Campaigns use them. Bad actors have manipulated them,
but never have we seen the CEO of one of these platforms so directly try to use it for their own political leanings.
KINKADE: Yes, it's certainly a huge risk, right, when you've got this billionaire owning a social media platform and clearly championing one
presidential candidate. But in terms of how this platform has changed since Elon Musk has taken it over and rebranded it, who is using this platform
now? How have the demographics changed?
DUFFY: Yes, I think in general we've seen fewer users overall on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. We used to see hundreds of millions of
users going to this platform every day for live news, to get the updates on what was happening. And I think people have started to rely a bit less on
it for that.
We have seen -- there was interesting, the Pew Research Center put out a report that said Republicans now view -- more Republicans, I should say,
now view X as good for democracy and fewer Democrats now view X as good for democracy since Musk took over.
And just stepping back a little bit, I mean, the experts that I have spoken to have really tried to hammer home the fact that Musk's false claims about
the election have the potential to be really dangerous in the offline world, not just on X.
KINKADE: All right. Clare Duffy, good to have you with us on the story. Thanks so much.
Well, still to come tonight, a CEO shakes up Starbucks. We'll have the details on the Chipotle boss tasked with reinvigorating the iconic
coffeehouse. That's story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Firefighters in Greece say conditions near the capital Athens are now improving, and they add that
there are no active fire fronts left after a large and fast-moving blaze tore through the area. The Greek fire service said on Tuesday that some
smaller fire hotspots are still burning and are being worked on.
[14:45:00]
Slow wind speeds have been helping efforts and over 700 firefighters and 35 waterbombing aircrafts have been deployed. CNN's Eleni Jokos brings us this
report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As morning breaks in Greece, a moment of reckoning. Residents returned to their homes, not knowing what
they'd find.
Seventy-year-old Sakis Morfis (ph) ran away, taking only his beloved dogs. Everything else is now gone.
SAKIS MORFIS (PH) (through translator): My house, it was utterly destroyed. Even the walls fell down.
GIOKOS (voice-over): But Morfis (ph) lost more than his home. He also lost a colleague. A 65-year-old woman who went missing after the evacuation
orders.
GIOKOS: Her friends and colleagues say that they were looking for her. She went missing and eventually her body was found here at a place of work. She
spent over 20 years of her life at this business and her co-workers were saying how she was talking about going back to her home country, back to
her daughters at the end of this year. And sadly, they say she just didn't make it. And today, we find a rose left here by someone that says, we'll
remember her dearly.
GIOKOS (voice-over): More than 700 firefighters, almost 200 vehicles and 35 water bombing aircraft have now managed to control the blaze. But
100,000 acres of land were lost. The extent of the damage so great it can be seen from space.
A scenario of destruction just a few miles from Athens. Experts say the last few years of fires are drastically changing the city's climate. The
loss of trees making winds and temperatures rise along with the risk of fire. A tough challenge ahead, local officials are well aware of.
VASILIS XYPOLITAS, MAYOR OF KIFISIA: At some point, the fire was faster than the cars and the trucks, and we are trying to catch the fire. We must
find solutions in the way of evacuating. And being first at the time of the start of the fire.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Miles of beautiful green virgin forests reduced to charred barren hills. For residents like Sofia, the feeling of loss is
beyond words.
SOFIA, LOCAL RESIDENT: I feel terrible. I can't explain how I feel this morning. We had such a green oasis here. Now, I don't know after how many
years it's going to be again. And if it'd be like before.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Many like her now point the finger at the government, blaming the lack of prevention and care as part of the fuel feeding the
fire that spared nothing in its path.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, grande changes are underway at Starbucks with the CEO of the U.S. based coffeehouse stepping down. After less than a year in the top
job, Laxman Narasimhan is headed for the exit. He's set to be replaced by the head of another fast service chain, Chipotle's at Brian Niccol.
Starbucks investors are happy with that news, which set the stock price soaring. Chipotle, meanwhile, is sinking on that news. Our business
reporter, Nathaniel Meyersohn has more.
NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Lynda, big changes at Starbucks this morning. The company is going to have its fourth CEO in just
two years, as Brian Niccol takes over the company from Chipotle. And Starbucks has really struggled the last several years.
Last quarter, its sales were down 3 percent. Customers are really frustrated with higher prices. People are paying $5, $6, $7 for iced
coffee, even more for lattes. At Starbucks, the business model has completely changed over the past several years. You think back at Starbucks
during the '90s and 2000, people used to go inside, stay for a while, sit down. Now, everybody's ordering on their phone. Sometimes the service is
often slow.
But investors are very confident in him. The stock is up about 20 percent at Starbucks today. It shows, you know, excitement for Niccol. He's known
as a turnaround expert, having turned around Chipotle after its E. coli and food safety issues, also has a track record of turning around Taco Bell.
So, Wall Street really thinks that Starbucks has picked the right man for the job, Lynda.
KINKADE: Our thanks to Nathaniel Meyersohn there. Well, still to come, is there water deep under the surface of Mars? New data from NASA says it's
possible. We'll have a live report next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
KINKADE: Welcome back. With data from NASA shows there may be water deep beneath the surface of Mars. Scientists estimate that the total amount of
water could actually fill oceans on the planet's surface. The water is most likely trapped in tiny cracks and pores of rocks. And this new data came
from NASA's InSight Lander, which was used to study Mars from 2018 to 2022.
Well, joining us now to explain it more as CNN's Kristin Fisher explains. Good to see you, Kristin. So, what are you learning about this Martian
water and what it could mean for potential life on Mars?
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is the real exciting development here, right? Because if you think of where, you
know, life has flourished, especially early on when life flourished on this planet, it was in watery places. And a lot of scientists think it happened,
you know, beneath the Earth's surface. And that is exactly where these scientists believe that they have found water on Mars.
And we are talking about a huge amount of water, potentially. Water enough to fill the entire planet about a mile deep. The catch though is, you know,
in order to access that water, you'd have to drill down between seven to 12 miles into the surface of Mars, and to get a drill that big on the red
planet, that'd be a pretty tough thing to do. But if scientists were able to get a drill that size on Mars, you could potentially drill down and that
is where scientists hope that maybe there are signs of life there.
Now, as you mentioned, this discovery was made using data from NASA's InSight Lander, which stopped being operational back in 2022. So,
scientists have been crunching this data for two years since. And this lander was essentially one big seismometer used to measure what's called
Marsquakes. You know, Mars' version of earthquakes.
And by, you know, looking at where those waves went within the Mars' core, so to speak, that's how they were able to determine their belief that there
is this water there. So, Lynda, some exciting developments that these scientists are really hopeful for.
KINKADE: It is really, really exciting. The other news in space that we're following, of course, are these astronauts that are stuck up in space,
unable to get back to Earth from the Starliner. What options are being considered right now to bring them home?
FISHER: Two options for NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, Lynda. First, you have the preferred method, which is for these two veteran
NASA astronauts to get back to Earth on the spacecraft that they flew to the International Space Station, onthat Boeing Starliner spacecraft that
ran into all those issues.
[14:55:00]
But if NASA determines that it is not safe enough to fly those astronauts home, then NASA is working contingency plans that include flying those
astronauts home on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. But if that is the case, those astronauts would not return to Earth until February of 2025. So, an
eight-day mission could theoretically turn into an eight-month mission for those two astronauts.
Lynda, NASA says they are pushing a decision-making meeting that was supposed to be this week to next week, but we should be getting an update,
a news conference sometime tomorrow to nail down exactly what's been going on since the last time we heard from them, Lynda.
KINKADE: We will stay tuned. I hope they're getting paid overtime right now. Kristin Fisher, good to see you as always. Thanks so much.
FISHER: Thanks.
KINKADE: Well, if you were looking up into the sky earlier this week, you might have seen some of the brightest streaks shooting across the
atmosphere. It was part of the Perseids Meteor Shower. About 100 meteors each hour were visible. And while the shower peaked early Monday, it's
still visible until September 1st.
Well, that does it for this edition of CNN Newsroom. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Stay with us. Newsroom with Jim Sciutto is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
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