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Isa Soares Tonight

Pressure Mounts on Netanyahu to Halt Gaza Siege; Trump Visits Capitol Hill to Rally Republicans Behind Big Beautiful Bill; World's Ice Sheets on Course for Runaway Melting Even If Current Climate Targets are Met. Aired 14-15:00p ET

Aired May 20, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Max Foster in for Isa, tonight. Pressure growing on Prime

Minister Netanyahu to halt Israel's siege on Gaza, as the U.K., Canada and France threaten concrete actions. I speak with the French Foreign Ministry

spokesperson.

Then, in his first international news interview since Sunday's election, Romania's President-elect tells me what he hopes to achieve after months of

political instability. And the world's ice sheets are on course for runaway melting even if we meet current climate targets. We'll explain coming up.

Well, just a day after the U.K., France and Canada threatened concrete steps against Israel over the war in Gaza, the British government is

backing up those words with action. It has suspended trade negotiations with Israel and summoned the Israeli ambassador over what it calls the

monstrous escalation of war. Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed parliament today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: I want to put on record today that we're horrified by the escalation from Israel. We repeat our

demand for a ceasefire as the only way to free the hostages. We repeat our opposition to settlements in the West Bank, and we repeat our demand to

massively scale up humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

The recent announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza, a basic quantity, is totally and utterly inadequate. So, we must

coordinate our response, because this war has gone on for far too long. We cannot allow the people of Gaza to starve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Israel says it won't bend to external pressure. It's vowed to take all of Gaza and completely destroy Hamas. New strikes have killed

dozens more people, including women and children. Amid the severe hunger crisis, Israel's government isn't just feeling external pressure. Today,

the leader of Israel's Democrats Party and a former IDF deputy Chief of Staff triggered a firestorm.

Yair Golan warned that Israel could become a pariah state over the war, telling Khan Radio, quote, "a sane country does not wage war against

civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not set itself a goal of expelling a population." Israeli politicians across the spectrum are

bashing his remarks, but he's not backing down, saying his anger is directed at the government, not the IDF.

Israel is easing its 11-week total blockade on humanitarian aid, meanwhile saying it will now allow a basic amount in. But the U.N. says so far, it's

a drop in the ocean of what's needed. Jeremy Diamond has the very latest on the aid crisis from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, the United Nations says 100 aid trucks were approved by Israel for entry into Gaza,

but it's still unclear exactly how many of those trucks actually made it in and were able to be distributed to people in need. We know, of course, that

this comes after Israel allowed just five aid trucks into the Gaza Strip yesterday, following this decision from the Israeli security cabinet to

allow a basic and minimal amount of aid into Gaza to prevent all-out famine from engulfing the Gaza Strip.

The question now really is, how much aid is going to get in, and for how long will Israel continue to allow at least some aid to be brought into the

Gaza Strip? Because humanitarian aid officials have made clear that the amount of aid that's gotten in so far represents just a drop in the bucket

of the enormous need that currently exists in Gaza, and stemming the hunger crisis that is currently taking over the Gaza Strip will require sustained

aid to continue to make it into Gaza, according to the United Nations.

[14:05:00]

Now, as this is happening, Israel is indeed continuing to escalate this expanded military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Since Thursday, more than

500 people have actually been killed in Gaza by Israeli air and artillery strikes. The ground offensive that has been promised doesn't seem to have

materialized in a very significant way, although we do know that tens of thousands of Israeli troops are mobilized in Gaza in order to carry out

that offensive.

And it's already bringing a lot of pressure, international pressure onto Israel. France, the United Kingdom and Canada, all threatening to take

concrete actions against Israel if they do not cease this expanded military offensive, which they call a wholly disproportionate escalation. The United

Kingdom has already taken some steps, suspending negotiations with the Israeli government on a new trade agreement, also calling up Israel's

ambassador to the United Kingdom to discuss this matter further.

The Israeli Prime Minister rejecting this criticism from countries that are traditionally considered allies of Israel. The real question, though, is

what kind of pressure will the United States bring to bear? We know that they are working to try and bring about a new ceasefire agreement between

Israel and Hamas, but so far, no concrete signs of any real progress on that matter. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Let's bring in Christophe Lemoine. He is spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry. Thank you so much for joining us. Take us through

--

CHRISTOPHE LEMOINE, SPOKESPERSON, FOREIGN MINISTRY, FRANCE: Thank you --

FOSTER: The thinking with this collaboration you have with other countries in the response to Iran -- Israel, I'm sorry.

LEMOINE: Well, you know, the declaration that was issued yesterday by France, the U.K. and Canada used very strong words, and those words are

very important because they come from traditional allies, from Israel and from important allies from Israel. And when they describe the situation,

the -- in the Gaza Strip as appalling in terms of humanitarian aids, it corresponds with the reality.

So, it was a very strong statement to send a very strong message to Israel to stop the escalation in the -- in Gaza.

FOSTER: Now, they just responded saying they won't bend to external pressure. So, do you think it has worked?

LEMOINE: Well, you know, all the actions that we can take in terms of diplomacy will be -- will be regarded and will be discussed. The U.K.

announced the first measures today. France will consider further steps, further diplomatic steps toward Israel. There was today, as you know, a

gathering of the EU Minister of Foreign Affairs in Brussels, and it was already announced by the High Representative, Ms. Kallas, that we will

launch a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

And this is one first step. And I shall recall that we already took sanctions against individuals in Israel on the EU level as well, on the

national level, and those sanctions were against violent settlers in the West Bank. And discussions are open, and we will consider some other

options to show that this escalation must cease.

FOSTER: So, the British government you refer to there, suspending trade negotiations with Israel, the EU version of that is the association

agreement that you were talking about. Can you get EU support to suspend the association agreement with Israel?

LEMOINE: There was a discussion today in Brussels in-between the 27-member states, and the declaration of the High Representative Kaja Kallas to

launch the review was agreed between all the member states. And this review was called by Sweden, was called by the Netherlands. And it's an important

tool because, as you know, the association agreement is the framework of the political and economical relation between the EU and Israel.

So, it's a very important agreement, and according to Article 2, we have the possibility to review this agreement. And this is a process that has

been launched today in Brussels as Kaja Kallas announced this afternoon.

FOSTER: It doesn't really have any real sanction, though, does it on Israel? The diplomats will be able to travel as they have done before.

Businesses will continue to operate. At what point do you escalate your action?

LEMOINE: We are considering, again, you know, the EU Association Agreement is one -- is one thing, but we are considering other options and the

discussions are still going on. Again, we will privilege diplomatic tools, and we will privilege diplomatic options, considering that we've been

calling Israel from the beginning to reach a diplomatic solution to the -- to the crisis.

[14:10:00]

So, we will use diplomatic manners to increase the pressure on Israel.

FOSTER: Are you able to give us any specific examples? Because obviously France is leading the charge here, and, you know, a lot of experts would

say only America has real leverage over Israel because they supply the weaponry. Can you give us a specific example of something that would

actually cause some damage to Israel from the European point of view?

LEMOINE: Well, it's very true that the United States have a lot of leverage on Israel. But as far as the Europeans are concerned, we have

leverages. As I told you, there are different level of leverages, the sanctions that can be considered. And we started, you know, imposing

sanctions on certain Israeli individuals.

There are names circulating, all the -- all the options are on the table. So, that's one thing. But we might consider also -- we might also consider

further steps. And I can also tell you that, you know, the conference that will be organized in June at the United Nations and co-chaired by the Saudi

Arabia and the French on a two-state solution, will, you know, increase the pressure for a political solution on for Gaza and for Palestine in general.

And this is -- you know, there is a whole bundle of options that we can consider to put some pressures or to increase the pressure on Israel.

FOSTER: And just before -- just while I've got you, can I get a European officials point of view, if you like, on where we are with some sort of

peace deal with Ukraine.

LEMOINE: Well, you know, there has been discussion yesterday, direct discussions between President Trump and President Putin. The Europeans are

still, you know, saying that, you know, the expression of Donald Trump saying that we need immediate ceasefire is fully shared by the Europeans.

This is what -- this is the thing on which Europeans are working, on a ceasefire.

We just noted that there is no reaction on the Russian side or no willing reaction to engage in a ceasefire. So, we're still, you know, working in-

between Europeans with the Ukrainians, and in coordination with the -- with the American administration on moving on Ukraine towards, you know, a

ceasefire that could lead to a stable peace plan for Ukraine.

FOSTER: OK, Christophe Lemoine, really appreciate you joining us from the French Foreign Ministry on the show today. Thank you. Now, we often focus

on the big picture of what's happening in Gaza, of course, but we want to take a moment to tell you a personal story of a young girl desperately

trying to keep her family alive.

Like so many others in Gaza, she's experienced what no child should see, and what no child should suffer either. Abeer Salman has our report. We

warn you, it does contain disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANA AL-SKELFI, GAZA RESIDENT: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

ABEER SALMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the story of one 12- year-old girl, Jana al-Skelfi and her family. But it's also the story of so many others in Gaza today, where days are punctuated by the never-ending

search for water and food, and where the death of one pushes a family to endure unimaginable hardships.

J. AL-SKELFI: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

SALMAN: After her brother was killed, it was Jana who stepped up, becoming her family's guardian and caretaker.

J. AL-SKELFI: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

SALMAN: It's a burden made worse by Israel's punishing 11-week blockade of food and aid on the Gaza Strip. Israel says the blockade was designed to

bring about the release of all of the hostages and pressure Hamas. So far, neither has happened. Instead, despite aid now trickling in, the U.N. says

20 percent of the population faces starvation, calling it, quote, "atrocious and beyond humane".

[14:15:00]

J. AL-SKELFI: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

AYA AL-SKELFI, GAZA RESIDENT: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

SALMAN: A baby born and perished, surrounded by starvation. Her three brief months of life sustained by a child. Before the war, Gaza survived on

food deliveries from hundreds of trucks a day. Now, with the Israeli military pledging to take over the entire Gaza Strip, whatever makes it

through will almost certainly not be enough. Abeer Salman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Iran's supreme leader says he doesn't expect negotiations with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program to have a positive outcome. And

that's according to Iranian state media. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei added that Washington's demand for Iran to stop uranium enrichment is a, quote,

"significant mistake".

Iran and the U.S. have held their fourth round of talks earlier this month in Oman, and U.S. officials say a fifth round may take place in Europe this

week. The talks are aimed at curbing Iran's enrichment of uranium, which the U.S. says could lead to developing nuclear bombs. Still to come

tonight, President Donald Trump makes a trip to Capitol Hill.

Can he convince Republican holdouts to get behind a massive domestic policy bill that is the centerpiece of his agenda? And later, I'll speak to the

Romanian President-elect who beat the hard-right nationalist many were expecting to win this weekend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:00]

FOSTER: President Trump is calling it a meeting of love, but his talks with Republican House members today have so far failed to convince holdouts

to back his so-called Big Beautiful Bill. Sources in the room during that meeting tell CNN, the President had a blunt message to those still opposing

the legislation, stop negotiating and move forward.

Mr. Trump struck an optimistic tone after speaking with House Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we have unbelievable unity. I think we're going to get everything we want. And I think we're

going to have a great victory. I think it was a really great -- that was a meeting of love, let me tell you.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Of course --

TRUMP: That was love in that room. There was no shouting. There was -- I think it was a meeting of love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, one of those Republican holdouts is Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie. The President says he doesn't think Massie understands

government and should be voted out of office. Massie had this to say to our Manu Raju.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you worried about the blowback from the Trump allies, from the MAGA base for voting no?

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): No, actually, I got a lot of people in the MAGA base who realize that we could have done this differently. We could extend

the tax cuts and paid for them, but instead, we're not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: And here are Manu's thoughts from Capitol Hill on the day there.

RAJU: Max, despite what Donald Trump said that the Republicans are on the same page, they very clearly are not yet, because there's a division

between more conservative members and more moderate members over some of the key issues in this bill. How to deal with cutting domestic spending,

how to deal with overhauling the United States tax code.

This bill is massive in nature. It would include a multi-trillion dollar overhaul of the U.S. tax code, as well as more than a trillion dollars in

spending cuts. And there is division over how deep to go in cutting federal spending, and what exactly to include in that tax overhaul. On the issue of

taxes, there are a group of New York Republicans, in particular, more moderate Republicans, who are pushing for greater tax relief for their

constituents on an issue known on Capitol Hill as salt state and local taxes.

That is the amount that taxpayers can deduct from their taxes each year based on the amount of state and local taxes that they pay. Those

constituents in those bluer districts tend to pay more in those local taxes, and they want greater tax relief for their voters. However, the more

conservative members say no way. They called it a giveaway, and they say they would raise the deficit by too much, and they are pushing back.

And then, there are some of the more conservative members who want deeper cuts on issues like the Medicaid program. That is a healthcare program for

the poor and the disabled. They want to go deeper into that program, that is causing resistance in the ranks. They also are going after so-called

green energy tax breaks.

Some of the more moderate members are trying to protect those tax breaks because their districts rely on them. Some of the more conservative members

want those phased-out immediately. Those are just among the handful of very critical sticking points. And then there's this big question, how much does

this bill actually raise the deficit by?

There are some projections on the outside that could be trillions of dollars added to the deficit because of this tax overhaul and the tax cuts

that are included in there. And then, there's not an official score yet, an estimate, Max, from the congressional budget office, that is a nonpartisan

group that gives the analysis the estimate of the impact on the budget and the economy, we expect that to come soon.

That could change the calculus as well. All this comes as Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to get this across the finish line by Wednesday or

Thursday, Thursday potentially. And that means he could only lose three Republican votes given the narrowness of the House GOP majority. But those

issues are still not ironed out.

And if Johnson goes too far to the middle, then he loses folks on the right. If he goes too far to the right, he loses folks in the middle of his

conference, which is why he's got such a complicated balancing act here. So despite what Donald Trump is saying, that everybody is in line, everybody

very much not in line in the unruly House GOP.

And questions, Max, about whether Donald Trump can get this bill across the finish line in the house, and then it will go over to the United States

Senate, where Republican senators have their own ideas. Max?

FOSTER: Thanks so much to Manu. Now, this was like watching grandpa who shouldn't be driving, I didn't think he could be President. Those are the

words of a Democrat describing Joe Biden before he was elected in 2020. It's just one of a number of stunning revelations from the new book,

"Original Sin: President Biden's Decline and His Cover-Up and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again".

The book, released today, was co-authored by CNN's Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson of "Axios". In it, a number of Democrats accused the President's

inner circle, which included first lady Jill Biden and son Hunter, of hiding Mr. Biden's deteriorating condition.

[14:25:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: If you think that Joe Biden is the only person who can beat Donald Trump, and you think that Donald Trump poses an

existential threat to the nation, and this is the point of view of President Biden, his wife, his son and his top aides. Then you can really

almost justify anything, and that's what they did.

They believed that he was good enough and he was fine enough. And they lied not only to the press and to the public about his true condition. They lied

to members of the cabinet. They lied to their own White House staff. They lied to Democrats in Congress. We were shocked, Alex and I, after the

election when we started researching this book, and suddenly all these people who wouldn't return our texts or our calls or be honest with us,

more than 200 of them, talked to us for this book, and what they told us just stunned us.

I think the degree to which the team around President Biden was hiding him and sequestering him, mainly starting in the Fall of 2023, cannot be

overstated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: It's going to be fascinating. Still to come tonight, the first international interview of Romania's President-elect Nicusor Dan. We'll

discuss his views on Ukraine, NATO and the rise of far-right views across Europe. Plus, European countries look to ramp up pressure on Russia. But

will it be enough to get a ceasefire deal with Ukraine? We'll discuss that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: The European Union and U.K. are hitting Russia with fresh sanctions just a day after U.S. President Donald

Trump's phone call with his Russian counterpart. The E.U. sanctions will target Russia's shadow fleet ships. However, the top U.S. diplomat, Marco

Rubio, argues Washington shouldn't go down that route.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Our belief, the president's belief is he doesn't -- he believes that right now if you start threatening

sanctions, the Russians will stop talking. And there's value in us being able to talk to them and drive them to get to the table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: In an analysis piece, CNN politics senior reporter, Stephen Collinson, writes quote, "A few weeks ago, Trump called for Russia to stop

attacking civilians, and wondered aloud whether Putin was tapping me along. By giving Russia what it wanted on Monday, it's fair to ask whether Trump

is less tapped against than tapping.

Nick Paton Walsh joins us live from Kyiv in Ukraine. I mean, how do you view that and how things are settling?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I mean, I think it's fair to say that the last 48 hours has shown pretty

unequivocally, firstly, that Russian president Vladimir Putin doesn't really mind what condition his relationship with Donald Trump indeed is. Is

quite happy to set the scheduling, the timing, the casting of any peace negotiations. That's what's been occurring for the last 10 days.

He's faced down a demand for a ceasefire. He's rejected a demand from Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelenskyy for a face-to-face meeting. And

indeed, he's taken a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, that was heralded to mark a diplomatic breakthrough, but simply delivered almost

nothing more than his junior negotiating team had got from the Ukrainians in the Istanbul Summit.

So, Putin seems quite happy with how things are progressing. President Trump sounds a little bit like he wants a bit of distance between himself

and the process. Just five days ago, he talks very effusively about being the mediator between Zelenskyy and Putin if they met in Turkey. He seems to

have stepped back from that idea. He now suggests that Russia and Ukraine should have, what he referred to as direct talks that would begin

immediately, mischaracterizing really the talks that had happened just on Friday in Istanbul. They were the first direct talk between two countries

since the early days of the war.

And also, suggesting maybe these could happen in the Vatican. He did it again today as well. It sounds like the White House is potentially

recognizing the limits of its influence here and maybe trying to step back from a leadership role, but at the same time too, trying to maintain the

suggestion of influence here.

And indeed, as you heard there from Secretary State Marco Rubio, hint at the notion that if they maintain good relations with Moscow, they might be

able to pressure Russia into doing something that thus far Putin has seemed utterly uninterested in doing. And that's hatching a genuine, real serious

peace deal to end this particular war.

Moscow seems much more fixated at setting its own timetable here, its own pace, and many in Ukraine and many independent analysts are noticing a

buildup near the eastern front lines and wondering if that heralds a significant summer offensive.

So, today's sanctions from the European Union, the 17th package, targeting parts of Russia's shadow fleet, and things that have already been hit

before that try and deprive Russia of cash. Yes, it is a gesture, certainly, but Ukraine desperate for the United States to join in to make

those more effective. And already, Ukraine demanding an 18th package that might potentially hit the banking and energy infrastructure that the

Europeans felt they had American support for last Saturday when they demanded a ceasefire from Russia.

So, a lot of noise here, a lot of motion, a lot of talk, but no real change in the dynamic apart from the slow recognition that Putin is unbothered by

what the White House thinks at this stage, and Trump might realize the limits of his influence here, what Steve Witkoff called, the sheer force of

his personality, being able to change things and maybe try to put a bit of distance between himself and any immediate lack of progress in the coming

weeks. Max.

FOSTER: Where is Europe in all of this? Obviously, key players, Ukraine and Russia and the U.S., of course. I'm about to speak to the Romanian

president-elect, a big supporter of NATO. But is the E.U., for example, strong enough to really play a role here? And will Donald Trump allow them

to play a role here? Will the Russians allow them to play a role?

WALSH: Look, I mean, this is Europe's problem. Europe's continents. Europe's external borders. Indeed Romania, adjoins Ukraine. So, very few

Eastern European, NATO, and E.U. members more acutely aware to the problem of potentially Ukraine losing this fight.

Donald Trump himself said this, I'm paraphrasing here, was a European problem and should remain a European problem. I think there may be, again,

today, a recognition of the limits of his power.

[14:35:00]

Europe have said they're very openly that they can't manage a ceasefire. They can't patrol or police or reinforce a ceasefire without what they

refer to as the American backstop of essential intelligence and logistical support. And indeed, all of Europe's security has been founded since the

end of World War II on the premise that the United States would be involved in the defense of Europe against a hostile enemy to its east for the Cold

War's duration. That was Russia and remains Russia again now.

So, I think Europe is desperately trying to make it feel like the Trump administration is still their partner. One European official I spoke to

reacting to the Trump comments over the past few days said, look, you know, it is quite hard to keep track of what's going on. It changes every day,

every week, sometimes, it leaves everybody on their toes and reflected, I think, the sense of imbalance about what is really happening here. That

plays into Moscow's hands. The idea that NATO is divided on how to approach this is music to their ears, and it just gives them more time. Max.

FOSTER: Yes. Nick, thank you so much for joining us from Kyiv then. So, the far-right Romanian presidential candidate, George Simion says he is

challenging Sunday's election results. I mentioned there. This after his loss to Nicusor Dan, the pro-E.U. centrist whose results show he won nearly

54 percent of the vote. Dan can only officially become Romania's new president once the constitutional court confirms the results. Though Dan is

the current mayor of the capital, Bucharest. He is a strong supporter of NATO and providing aid to Ukraine. Domestically, he has vowed to crack down

on corruption.

And President-Elect Nicusor Dan joins us now live from Bucharest. This is his first international interview since he won the elections. And many

congratulations to you. Were you pleased with the result?

NICUSOR DAN, ROMANIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT: Thank you. Of course I'm very pleased of the result. It's not mine, it is the result of the society.

There have been a very, very strong mobilization of pro-Occidental Romanian. They want to keep the European direction. They want to keep the

commitment that Romania have inside NATO. Yes.

FOSTER: What do you think the mandate was here? Was your opposite -- the person you were running against, Simion, he was very pro-Trump, wasn't he,

quite right-wing. So, what did the public say here to you?

DAN: So, I think that, of course, Mr. Simion said he's a pro Trump administration, pro-MAGA, but in fact, it's not quite. I mean, we do not

have here this -- we have, of course, this contradiction between progressives and conservatives, but not as strong as in the United States.

So, there are conservative parties, progresses parties.

Mr. Simion said that he's the only -- he is the only conservative in Romania, which is not true. He also said that he's the only anti-system

candidate party in Romania. Also, it is not true. So, we -- what I can say about him, and we had a letter of seven foreign -- of seven former

ambassador of the United States in Romania after '90, saying that the Romanian have to choose between occidental America and Russia.

So, George Simion is one of the Romanian politician that have the same narrative as Russian narratives in Romania.

FOSTER: Have you heard from the Trump administration today?

DAN: Sorry?

FOSTER: Have you heard from the Trump government today?

DAN: We just receive a letter from the United States. Yes. So, there is -- there have been X post from the American (INAUDIBLE) inside the American

embassy in Romania. And we'll have a meeting tomorrow. And I'm very confident that it'll be the beginning of continuing our strategic

partnership between the United States and Romania.

[14:40:00]

FOSTER: And how are you going to handle your relationship with President Trump? Because I think it was pretty clear that your competitor, Mr.

Simion, was probably his favorite candidate because he spoke so highly of Donald Trump. You didn't speak negatively about Donald Trump, but he was

much more promotional of Donald Trump.

DAN: Yes. But there have been no support of the Trump administration to him. It was just Mr. Simion saying that he's supported, but there have been

no such support.

FOSTER: In terms of pushing the right-wing into a smaller position, that's bucked the trend of many European countries, hasn't it, where the far-right

is firmly on the rise? Do you think your election shows that the electorate across Europe might be thinking again about the far-right and maybe feeling

a bit more pro-European in light of the current political atmosphere?

DAN: I think that -- so, I'm talking only on Romania. And what happened in Romania is that many, many people are disappointed on what politics have

been done these 35 years after '89 of how the Romanian State relates at all level with the Romanian citizens on corruption. So, the people are

disappointed. And the -- in that situation, the -- we have a party or three parties that are speaking louder than all the others saying that they are

the opposition to that system.

So, it's more -- it's a more social question than an ideological question in my opinion. So, what we have to do now is to regain the trust of the

Romania and that the Romanian State in -- is acting for the citizen and not some network of interest.

FOSTER: Moldova is a member of the European Union and of NATO, you'll have a key voice in Europe's response to what's happening in Ukraine. A very

delicate discussions obviously starting to take place between Ukraine and Russia. Do you think Europe will be able to come together with the

resources needed to support Ukraine and to defend the rest of the continent against what many see as the Russian threat?

DAN: Yes. We had the reactions of the European leaders from the beginning, from three years now, from the beginning of the war. I think that Europe

must take his own security in his hands and Romania must be part of it.

FOSTER: But there's a an issue, isn't there, within the E.U. that some country -- many countries feel very strongly about supporting Ukraine, but

they haven't got the resources. Many of those countries are the closest to the Ukrainian border. So, it's left to countries like France and Germany

along with the U.K. to put the most money into that system. But do you think that's fair when many countries like yours are much closer to the

battle line?

DAN: Yes. So, I'm very happy that the European countries, the European leaders understand the danger that Russia is for the whole Europe, and all

the discussion that have took place until now, in all the discussion, the European countries agreed -- with very few exception, agreed that they have

to contribute in a balanced way to that European own security.

FOSTER: OK. President-Elect Nicusor Dan of Romania, thank you so much for joining us today. Many congratulations on your election. Good luck with the

coalition building. I know that comes next. We'll have much more after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:00]

FOSTER: We've all heard the warnings about global warming, rising seas, and how it threatens coastal cities. Well, a just release report says

things are actually even worse than all of those warnings. The study by several British and American universities says the ice sheets that cover

much of the Earth's polar regions are at risk of runaway melting, that could cause seas to rise by several feet, making cities like Amsterdam,

Bangkok, and New Orleans virtually unlivable.

The scientists warn that even if nations meet their global warming goals, the planet will still be too hot to keep the ice sheets from melting.

Joining us now is one of the authors of that study, Jonathan Bamber. He's a glaciologist at the University of Bristol.

And it's really hard when you are honest about these results because it does make a lot of people feel as though there's nothing they can do about

it. But just take us through the headlines of your report.

JONATHAN BAMBER, PROFESSOR, GLACIOLOGY AND EARTH OBSERVATION, UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL: Hopefully, most of you -- most of the listeners are familiar with

something called the Paris Climate Agreement. That was a landmark treaty that was signed by pretty much every nation around the world a decade ago.

And the goal of that treaty was to have a guardrail of two degrees warming above what's called pre-industrial, that's the climate in around 1850,

something like that, before we started burning lots of fossil fuel.

That's the guardrail, but with a goal of limiting warming to about 1.5 degrees. Because a decade ago, the science indicated that that was more or

less a kind of safe limit that if we went above 1.5, we would get close to some really scary thresholds and tipping points in the climate system that

we did not want to pass.

And the work that we've done, the research that we've presented in this paper suggests the 1.5 is actually not a safe limit for the ice sheets.

What we've done is look at the satellite record and what's called the paleoclimate record going back tens of thousands of years of what the ice

sheets are doing, and we've concluded that actually 1.5 is not safe for the ice sheets.

FOSTER: But that's very depressing, isn't it? Because with countries like the U.S. not committing to the 1.5 even, then currently, I'm sure all of

your colleagues agree we're going to go beyond that. And you are saying that's going to -- we're going to feel that much more strongly than anyone

expect it.

BAMBER: I think, you know, tackling the climate crisis, or actually what most countries have called it, including U.K., is a climate emergency, is

not kind of a cheery topic. It's something that's very challenging. I would argue it's the most challenging thing that the human race has had to tackle

since modern civilization in the last 2000 years.

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So, you know, it is something that's difficult and we're going to have to make some really quite difficult decisions about. But as a scientist we

can't really shy away from the evidence, and that's what we're presenting in this paper.

Whether it's sort of cheery or not cheery is not something that we really, I guess, sort of thought about too carefully. But it -- I think the other

thing to bear in mind about climate change is that it's not binary. And we are not saying that in this study. We're not saying that -- and what I mean

by that is that 1.5 isn't terrible and one is fine. It doesn't work like that. Every 10th of a degree of warming is going to make things worse. So,

the more we can do, the better things -- the better the outcome will be.

And so, I think that's quite a positive message in that sense, because if we take action now and there are things we can do, there is a lot that's

happening in the U.K. and in many countries, including actually in the U.S. in terms of renewable energy and, you know, other forms of mitigating

carbon dioxide emissions.

FOSTER: Well, there is, but, you know, they're just not doing enough, are they, to meet the 1.5 percent. I think everyone's agreed on that. And you

know, it is those big polluters, isn't it, they have to do the -- that's what -- that's where the real difference is going to be, China and the U.S.

And if they're not doing enough, then there is a real concern here.

But -- you know, what -- you're basically saying governments need to do more to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, if I can call it that. If

they don't, I mean, how badly do you think things will escalate?

BAMBER: On the current trajectory, so the -- what are called the current government pledges for curbing emissions, we are looking at a warming of

about 2.5 to 2.9 degrees by 2100. So, that's -- like that's more than double of what we think is kind of a safe limit.

At 2.5 to 2.9 degrees, we are looking at some really, really unpleasant consequences. And if we are talking here about sea level rise, it's quite

possible that we're going to see over a meter, that's more than three feet in old money by 2100. Potentially, more than a meter. And that does mean

that there are many countries around the world that are going to experience really unavoidable and, you know, coastal flooding that you really can't

stop, you can't prevent, even the Netherlands with all their technology and wealth won't be able to cope with.

FOSTER: Yes, we do need to be doing something about it now, don't we? Jonathan Bamber, really appreciate you joining us from the University of

Bristol. Thank you.

Pope Leo XIV is a huge Chicago White Sox fan. And now, the team has given him another great reason to catch a game at the home field. The story

ahead.

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FOSTER: The Chicago White Sox still have one of the worst records in Major League Baseball, but they got a rare win this year when it was revealed

Pope Leo backs the south siders and not their rivals, the Chicago Cubs.

The future pontiff attended the 2005 World Series and sat with a family friend during Chicago's game one versus the Houston Astros. And the team

has revealed a new graphic installation marking the section where he watched the game. The Socks would go on to sweep that series. They may need

some divine intervention because they haven't won apparently since.

Thanks for joining us tonight. Do stay with CNN. I'll have more with "What We Know," coming up next.

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