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Isa Soares Tonight
Trump Visiting Royal Family at Windsor Castle; President Trump's Second State Visit to U.K.; Large Anti-Trump Protests in U.K.; Susan Monarez Testifies on Capitol Hill. U.S. Fed Cuts Key Rate By a Quarter Percentage Point; President Trump Visits British Royal Family at Windsor Castle; Israeli Tanks Surround Gaza City As Many Continue to Flee. Aired 2- 3p ET
Aired September 17, 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]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: Hello, and a very warm welcome, everyone, I'm Isa Soares coming to you live from Windsor for President
Donald Trump's second state visit. But tonight, we do begin the hour with breaking news. The U.S. Federal Reserve announcing its latest interest rate
decision as the country faces a slowing labor market and President Trump's expansive tariffs.
I want to go straight to our Richard Quest to help us break down the numbers. And --
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Yes --
SOARES: Richard, do we have a sense of what that decision is? Markets pricing in 25 --
QUEST: Yes --
SOARES: Basis points here.
QUEST: And that's exactly what they got. It's just been announced from the Fed that interest rates will be cut by a quarter basis, a quarter point, 25
basis points. I'm going to lean over to the left while I grab the statement which is just printing over here, because the interesting thing is also not
only that -- what they voted for, how they voted, and what all members did.
Now here we go. Voting for monetary policy was most of them -- there it is. There down there, right at the bottom. This is the important -- this is the
interesting -- not so much important, but interesting bit, Isa, voting against this action was Stephen Miran, who preferred to cut the rate by 50
basis points, half a percentage point.
That is interesting because Stephen Miran is Donald Trump's pick to take one of the vacant seats, fill a vacant seat, and he was only confirmed
yesterday. The vote to confirm him happened late last night, so not only has Donald Trump got his person onto the Fed board, that man voted for a
twice larger rate cut than the rest of the board.
One other thing to note, Lisa Cook, she is the Fed governor that Donald Trump is trying to sack, who a court ruled could sit today and yesterday,
she voted for the 25-basis points. So, the cat is amongst the pigeons here.
SOARES: Yes, I mean interesting that Stephen Miran, the newly-confirmed governor, has -- the way he's asking for --
QUEST: Absolutely --
SOARES: Fifty basis points, and this has been described, Richard, as one of the most politically-charged decisions and unprecedented meeting. What
we -- do you have a sense in terms of -- if you looked at the dot plot, what the guidance is, and of course, we'll hear from Jay Powell a bit later
in about 25 minutes or so. Do we have a sense of how others voted? I know you're still trawling through all the papers.
QUEST: Yes, from your words to my -- from your lips to my producer's ears, we're just printing the dot plot even as we speak, because that comes with
other notes to it. I think, look, the politicization of the Fed is now well and truly underway. The fact that Miran couldn't go even just to -- not so
he didn't scare the horses.
He couldn't go for 25-basis points. And the reason I say this is because the other two candidates -- well, sorry, the other two governors who did,
Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, they both went for 25 last time and they went for 25 this time. In other words, they're going with the
majority.
It is Stephen Miran who is just basically sticking two fingers up at the rest of them, saying, I mean, we can only interpret this as being my former
boss, if you will. I was head of -- chief economic adviser, he wants 50- basis points. He's put me here, I think there should be 50-basis points.
I'm just going to -- here we go. I've got a whole load of the dot plot coming here now, I'll get to it in a -- in a second and we have a look at
it. The --
SOARES: Yes --
QUEST: This is very dangerous --
SOARES: What's you -- we're just looking --
QUEST: Yes --
SOARES: We were just looking at -- what's you looking at? We just -- I'm going to ask Kate, Kate, can you bring up the Dow Jones as well, very much
priced in. Of course, we hear from Jay Powell, and I think we'll get a better sense, Richard, and I think a lot of people will be listening to
what exactly how he frames this, the words he used, the language in terms of what are we likely to see in the next meetings? This is going to be
crucial here.
[14:05:00]
QUEST: Yes, I mean, he's going to have to explain -- the explanation of the quarter point is really quite straightforward. He's made it clear,
there is a balance of risks when you --
SOARES: Yes --
QUEST: Have your two sides of your mandate, full employment and inflation, and they are in conflict. You balance which is the most important at the
moment. And clearly, unemployment is more important or the employment picture is more serious at the moment. But he's going to have to answer
questions about the fact he now has a Fed Governor in Stephen Miran, who is clearly there to do the President's business.
Whatever you say, there is -- you know, Waller and Bowman didn't go for 50- basis points. They were the -- if you will, the stalwarts for a rate cut. So, now, you're going to have the question if you get rid of Lisa Cook and
you get rid of Powell next year when his term is up, you end up with a majority, which you can then finagle elsewhere.
Looking at the dot plot, Josh is also looking at it, and will be telling me if he sees anything particularly interesting in the dot plot. I -- the way
I see it at the moment, rates are coming down if you -- if we take a closer look at the dot plot, we'll have it for you later. But rates are coming
down, and they're going to probably come down faster than the market would otherwise -- I mean, the market is up because of that by the way. But
they're --
SOARES: Yes --
QUEST: Going to come down faster than I suspect Jerome Powell would like. And that's because there is this shift of balance within the Fed now, and
that majority, it's unique for us to have heard the President of the United States as we did with Donald Trump, talk about we will have a majority. You
don't have a majority on the Fed. They basically vote as they see fit.
SOARES: Yes, and the Fed, as you and I have been discussing, have been facing unprecedented --
QUEST: Yes, here's the dot plot --
SOARES: Attacks to its independence. Richard --
QUEST: Right, got --
SOARES: I know you'll stay across this, of course, we'll bring this -- have you -- have you got -- have you got it there with you? Well, of
course, we'll be across the latest --
QUEST: Yes --
SOARES: Numbers. We'll be -- also be listening in to Jerome Powell who speaks in less than what? Twenty four minutes time. And obviously, the
questions -- probably, the most interesting part of that and --
QUEST: Yes --
SOARES: Some sense of guidance I think, will be crucial --
QUEST: Sure --
SOARES: Richard Quest, as always --
QUEST: Thank you --
SOARES: Thank you very much, appreciate it. Welcome back everyone to Windsor. This is where we have been looking at the pomp, the pageantry and
protest. We're going to leave the financial markets for just a moment because all eyes have been on U.S. President Donald Trump's historic second
state visit to the U.K.
And what a lavish welcome he has received. It began with the President and the first lady were greeted by the Prince and the Princess of Wales ahead
of a private meeting. A royal source described it as a warm and friendly. Later, the Trump's took a carriage ride with King Charles around the
grounds of Windsor Castle.
They were also treated to a flyover by the Red Arrows, the British Air Force aerobatic team, of course. Next hour, the President and the King are
expected to speak during a state banquet, and while the royal family was rolling out the red carpet for the President, anti-Trump protesters were
out in full force miles away in central London, about 25 miles or so from where we are.
Some came dressed in as other world leaders, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, as you can see, holding a sign that read, "war criminals
for Trump", and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bearing a sign that read, "murderers for Trump". CNN's Alayna Treene joins us now. And
Alayna, we are seeing a very clear divide, right, between the protests here, the pomp on this side in Windsor, but I'm guessing a lot of these
protests President Trump won't be seeing them, Alayna.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: No, and I think that's by design, Isa. I mean, he's not spending --
SOARES: Yes --
TREENE: Any time really in the heart of London apart from his, you know, overnight stay last night. But he immediately traveled here, he'll be
staying at Windsor this evening after that state banquet, tomorrow, heading directly to Chequers and then departing back for Washington. So, not a lot
of time in London, kind of, you know, to the benefit, I think, of the U.K., the Prime Minister, of course, and the royal family.
He is not spending any time, you know, at Bedminster Abbey or any time inside of Buckingham Palace because it's going under renovations. And so,
he is being a little bit insulated from this. It's actually similar kind of lucky as well, that last night here in Windsor, there were political, you
know, protesters and activists who were putting images, displaying images of the President and Jeffrey Epstein on the castle walls, four of them were
arrested.
[14:10:00]
But really, he is insulated from all of this. The only really time he could see some of this would be on social media. So far, we really haven't seen
any kind of reaction from the President to any of that, very unlike what we saw back in 2019 for that first state visit when he was, you know,
criticizing and noting a lot of it on social media.
We haven't seen that yet, but of course, perhaps after that state banquet, we know the President, at least, I do, likes to stay up late at night, you
know, sending those Truth Social posts so we could still see that. But look, I do think by and large, this has really been a lot of time with the
royals.
I've actually been kind of struck, Isa, by how much time President Donald Trump has spent in one-on-one conversation behind closed doors with King
Charles. And of course, you know, at a moment like this, as much as President Donald Trump has great respect for King Charles, I know just a
couple of days ago, he remarked on how he believes they have a great relationship, how he's a great king.
They have very different politics. And you know, we're curious to see whether or not perhaps the king is bringing up some of the things that are
priorities for him. One, of course, which is having more aid be sent to Ukraine to try and counter Russian aggression, and then also, of course,
climate change, among other things.
Their politics are very different, not sure if it's come up in any of those conversations, and the royals, of course, try to keep those under wraps,
but we will be pressing for more on that. And then, the state banquet is really supposed to be kind of the cherry on top of this, this pageantry
that we've seen all day.
That is what I know many of the people who are accompanying the President to this state visit. It's not just, of course, the first lady, but also,
some of his top advisors like the Treasury Secretary, like the Secretary of State, his foreign envoy, Steve Witkoff, all of them going with the
President and attending that banquet tonight as well.
So, a lot to still be watching for, and a lot -- that I know a lot of people are still excited about as we get closer to that banquet this
evening.
SOARES: Yes, and we'll get that in the next hour. We'll get a sense as well who is attending and what that -- what they'll be eating. I know --
I'm wearing -- I know how many people love to know those details. Alayna Treene, as always, appreciate it. Thanks, Alayna, good to see you. And
beyond all of the fanfare, there's the business of the visit.
Top U.S. tech and A.I. firms are pledging to invest billions of dollars in data centers, computer chips and A.I. infrastructure in Britain, it's being
called the Tech Prosperity Deal, and that agreement will no doubt be a topic of conversation on Thursday when Mr. Trump meets with British Prime
Minister Keir Starmer, also likely to be on the agenda how to get Russia to negotiating tables as Alayna Treene was mentioning there, an effort at, of
course, to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
Freddy Gray is a deputy editor and U.S. editor of "The Spectator". He's also the host of the podcast Americano. Freddie, good to see you. Give us a
sense, then, of what, Prime Minister Starmer is hoping to get out of the state visit. What realistic deliverables here are we likely to see if any?
FREDDY GRAY, DEPUTY EDITOR & U.S. EDITOR, THE SPECTATOR: Well, it's worth noting that Keir Starmer has had a terrible few weeks. Not so long ago, he
announced phase two of his government, and everybody was a bit surprised by that because nobody knew what phase one had been.
And ever since he's made that announcement, he's had a series of disasters. His deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner resigned. He lost his ambassador
to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, who of course, was instrumental in organizing the Donald Trump trip, was instrumental in pushing for all this pageantry
and so on.
And he's also -- he's had other crises, and the British economy is in trouble, and he is stalling on any number of fronts. And so, he's hoping
that this trip changes up the news cycle and is just a sort of positive news week for Britain. And he'll be very happy, I think, with the headlines
today, because Trump has not gone political today.
SOARES: No, go ahead, I was going to say hi, he'll be happy with the headlines today, but clearly not seeing the protest, Freddy.
GRAY: Yes -- no, you mean Starmer or Trump?
SOARES: I'm saying Trump being shielded from the protests and Starmer perhaps not too happy with some of the footage that was plastered on
Windsor Castle.
GRAY: Yes, I'm sure -- I mean, there have been protests. I don't think they're tremendously significant --
SOARES: Yes --
GRAY: And the police estimate that about --
SOARES: Oh, yes --
GRAY: Five thousand protesters gathered in central London. And I mean, when you think at the weekend, there was a very hard, right rally in
Britain, in central London that had half a million people, according to some estimates. I don't think those protests are particularly significant.
I think so far it's gone fine.
I think where it will get interesting is tonight at the state banquet, Donald Trump will make a speech. Will there be some political content in
there?
[14:15:00]
And then tomorrow, when we get into the trade deal with -- between Britain and America, will there be wrinkles in it? Will there be problems? We are
certainly hoping that this tech investment, this tech prosperity deal in Britain brings billions of investment into the U.K. That would be great.
But -- some -- and there's also the downside to that, which a lot of people are concerned about.
But a U.S. tech takeover of the British economy, so that will be another potential point of tension.
SOARES: Yes, $42 billion deal being announced. We know Freddy what they want to see or talk about potentially tomorrow at Chequers, and that of
course, is the Epstein scandal, right? That's not only rocked the United States, but also the U.K.. We saw some footage plastered on Windsor Castle
just 24 hours ago. How much pressure do you think that Mr. Starmer may face tomorrow when queried by the media here?
GRAY: Well, I think Trump and Keir Starmer will find that a point of agreement that they both don't want to talk about Jeffrey Epstein, they
both want to move on. Keir Starmer does not want to talk about Peter Mandelson, he's now sacked ambassador because he's facing a lot of
political fallout from that, and Donald Trump doesn't want to talk about Jeffrey Epstein.
He regards that story as an irritation and wishes it would just go away. So, I suspect they will not say anything unless asked by the reporters.
They are bound to be asked by reporters, but I expect they will shrug the questions off and say, let's move on. We're talking about investing
billions. We're talking about important things. And you're still obsessing over this story. Certainly, I think that's what Trump will say. Starmer
will sort of muddle along, I think along with it.
SOARES: You write, Freddy, for "The Spectator", I'm going to quote here, "for Vance and MAGA supporting Atlanticist such as Nigel Farage, the hope
for next week's visit is that Trump, accompanied by various tech tycoons, will launch a broadside against Keir Starmer's government for suppressing
free speech online.
Now, however, the whole world is gossiping about who did what with Epstein behind closed doors. Trump, the royal family and the Labor leadership will
perhaps agree that sometimes it's better for the people just to shut up." I just wonder, looking ahead for tomorrow, I wonder how much the British
media will shut up about this.
But there are so many questions that have been circulating here, and so much pressure on Starmer to answer those questions. When did he know? How
much did he know?
GRAY: Yes, the British press certainly won't shut up. And the Tory press, the right-wing press in this country, are chomping at the bit to keep up
this pressure on Keir Starmer, because some people think Keir Starmer is one crisis away from a resignation. And so, they would love the Tories and
the right-wing press in this country would love another major slip up, another major crisis to break while Donald Trump is here.
And that could really push Keir Starmer into big trouble. It's almost unimaginable for British people that Keir Starmer or British political
observers, I should say, that Keir Starmer, having come into power just a year ago with a huge majority, is now in this terrible state as a Prime
Minister, I think it's hard to imagine that.
And on the free speech question, there's a lot of -- I'd say call them MAGA supporting Atlanticists. So, you know, Nigel Farage, the Reform Party, the
friends of the Trump right in Britain, who are really hoping that J.D. Vance and others will have pressured the President, will have persuaded the
President to really speak out against Britain's clampdown on free speech in social media.
And Trump certainly is aware of that pressure. He's mentioned it a few times, he said it's not a good situation. Surprising. But he also seems to
like Keir Starmer, and he doesn't seem to want to cause him problems at the moment. So --
SOARES: Yes --
GRAY: I hunch is that he will say something, but it won't be a blast this time here. But that's the thing about Donald Trump, the only prediction
about Donald Trump we all know is that he's unpredictable.
SOARES: Yes, I mean, that's for sure, and both governments no doubt wanting to move past this. Freddy Gray, it's always great to see you. Thank
you very much, Freddy. And still to come here tonight, Israeli tanks surrounding Gaza city ahead of a ground incursion. We'll hear from people
on the ground as many Palestinians continue to make their way out.
Plus, Alexei Navalny's widow says there's new evidence her husband didn't die of natural causes. Why? She says there's proof the Russian opposition
figure was killed in prison. Both those stories after this short break, you are watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
SOARES: And this hour, a worsening humanitarian crisis unfolds in Gaza. Israel's latest ground offensive defying international condemnation.
Witnesses on the ground said Israeli tanks surround the city, the edge of Gaza city. This as tens of thousands of Palestinians continue, as we've
been seeing, to flee the enclave.
Many of them have already been displaced multiple times. Israeli officials say the long anticipated incursion began on the outskirts of the city. The
IDF says this operation to root out Hamas militants could last several months. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting
criticism meantime, including from Spain's King Felipe.
In a rare public rebuke, he decries the quote, "unspeakable suffering of Palestinians". Our Jeremy Diamond has more on the mass exodus from Gaza
city for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Israeli tanks are surrounding Gaza city as the Israeli military says its offensive to conquer
and ultimately occupy that city is very much underway. Two divisions of Israeli troops, or some 20,000 troops, have been mobilized for this
operation, but we've yet to actually see those Israeli tanks moving into the heart of Gaza city, where hundreds of thousands of people are still
living.
The military has been stepping up its aerial bombardment of the city in the meantime, though striking some 150 targets over the last two days,
according to the Israeli military. And we've seen that in Gaza on Wednesday, dozens of people in Gaza city alone have been killed so far. One
of those Israeli bombardments actually struck a children's hospital.
The Rantisi -- Al-Rantisi Hospital in Gaza city was bombed three times actually overnight, while dozens of patients were inside. Hospital
officials rushing to get those patients, including children, out of that facility very quickly. The Israeli military is trying to get more
Palestinians to leave Gaza city at this moment.
They've already estimated that some 350,000 have been displaced from Gaza city, but they're now opening a second temporary evacuation route, not the
coastal one that we've already seen be opened, but this one coming from the center of the city, heading south, encouraging people over the next two
days to use that route to get out of the city.
But it's important to note that even as the Israeli military says it wants to get civilians out of harm's way, it is facing accusations of ethnic
cleansing and of carrying out the mass forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza once again.
[14:25:00]
And so many Palestinians have seen that before, when evacuation routes have been outlined, those routes have also been struck by the Israeli military,
or gunfire has been directed at people along those routes. For other Palestinians, they simply don't have the means to get out of Gaza city, or
they may be too ill, injured to actually get out of the city on foot, a multi-hour journey in order to get to southern Gaza.
And so, the Israeli government is coming under growing international condemnation over this major new offensive in Gaza city. The latest news on
that front is from the European Commission, which is proposing new trade sanctions targeting Israel and far-right Israeli ministers.
This would need to be approved by EU-member states, but it could lead to a partial suspension of the European Union's free trade agreement with Israel
and the EU, it's important to note, is Israel's biggest trading partner, accounting for some 32 percent of Israel's total trade in goods, that could
have an impact if it moves forward. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And our thanks to Jeremy for that report. Well, the widow of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says there is evidence he was
poisoned to death. Navalny died suddenly last year at the age of 47 while he was in prison in the Arctic Circle, serving sentences on fraud and
extremism and other charges he said were trumped up to silence him.
Russian investigators say he died from a quote, "combination of diseases", but his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, says her husband was in fact killed there.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YULIA NAVALNAYA, WIDOW OF THE LATE ALEXEI NAVALNY: In February 2024, we were able to obtain samples of Alexei's biological material and securely
smuggled them abroad. Labs in at least two countries examined these samples independently of each other. And these labs in two different countries
reached the same conclusion. Alexei was killed. More specifically, he was poisoned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Yulia Navalnaya there. Well, Yulia Navalnaya there. Well, a Kremlin spokesperson said earlier today he was unaware of the claims. We'll
stay across that story, of course, for you. The German man being investigated in the disappearance of a British toddler has been released
from prison in an unrelated case.
Christian Brueckner was released after serving a seven-year sentence for raping a woman in Portugal. German prosecutors named Brueckner as a suspect
in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann back in 2007. The little girl was on vacation with her parents in Portugal when she disappeared. Police say
Brueckner's release will not impact their investigation.
Despite being named as a suspect, he has not been charged in McCann's disappearance. And still to come tonight, more on the state visit by the
U.S. President here at Windsor Castle. Why Donald Trump is receiving such a massive welcome by the royal family. We'll have that for you ahead. Plus,
protests across England against Donald Trump's official visit. We're live in London. We'll look at the demonstrations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
SOARES: It's just gone 7:30 here in Windsor. It's been a day of pomp and pageantry for two world powers here at Windsor Castle, and the day hasn't
concluded yet.
This morning we saw U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as First Lady Melania Trump, land by helicopter at Windsor Castle, greeted by the Prince
and Princess of Wales, and then welcomed by King Charles, as well as Queen Camilla. The group then had lunch behind closed doors and was due to lay a
wreath at the crypt of the tomb of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and this is quite an unusual location for this state visit. Typically, foreign leaders
are hosted at Buckingham Palace. The official reason Buckingham Palace is undergoing renovations.
But, unless you suspect, they may be trying to keep the American president away from Central London too. Why? Well, activists from the Stop Trump
coalition have been gathering for much of the day.
And following lunch, the Trumps and the king and queen all gathered in the green drawing room, where they viewed a specially curated exhibition of
items relating to the history of the United States. Finally, the main event this afternoon, the beating retreat ceremony, which we brought you live,
and that event historically marked the end of the day for the military, when camp gates are closed and flags are lowered. According to the British
Ministry of Defense, the scale and specter of this visit, of this ceremony, is unprecedented.
Joining me now, Middle East analyst Jasmine El-Gamal, a former Middle East adviser for the Pentagon, and host of the podcast, "The View from Here."
And, Jasmine, it has been a pretty unprecedented day, hasn't it, in terms of pomp and pageantry? Everything's bigger and better, I'm sure, than the
previous time. And we still have to look forward to the banquet that will get a sense, what, in the next hour or so, who's attending, and we'll
hopefully get some of the images. How do you think this visit will have been received so far by President Trump?
JASMINE EL-GAMAL, MIDDLE EAST ANALYST: I would think he was very happy with it. They did everything that he wanted. They avoided any
embarrassment, any hard feelings, by sort of keeping the protesters away from him. As you mentioned throughout the day, he was flown here. He didn't
have to drive through the streets and see any protesters. There are a huge amount of protesters in London. He avoided all of that, and instead he just
got, like you said, the pomp and circumstance.
So, in terms of warming him up for the discussions tomorrow, in terms of welcoming him, just by virtue of him being here for the second time as U.S.
president on a state visit, that in itself is unprecedented. So, I think all of those things, all in all, would make him feel like this was a really
good visit and that he got the respect that he thinks he deserves.
SOARES: Respect, the special treatment that he thinks he deserves.
EL-GAMAL: Yes, yes.
SOARES: How much, then, do you think that would translate to any sort of quid pro quo when it comes to either tariffs on steel, when it comes to --
it means the U.K. economy, when it comes to any sort of foreign policy, be it Ukraine, be it Gaza?
EL-GAMAL: Yes.
SOARES: You and I are here, but I can hear protests. My team and I are saying -- just telling me that protests on Gaza, related to Gaza, how much
do you think we're likely to see any sort of movement from the president on any of those fronts?
EL-GAMAL: That's a really good question, because I think it gets to the difference between what Trump says and what he actually does.
[14:35:00]
I think it's very easy for him, and we've seen this happen before, where he's really warmed up by the person he's talking to. He feels very
flattered, and he -- in sort of in a fit of magnanimity, he says something very generous, and he says, yes, let's do this, let's talk about this. But
then he doesn't really necessarily always follow through.
So, there are certain asks that the U.K. is going to have, like lowering steel tariffs to zero percent -- to zero. He may say something about that
that's warm, you know, just sort of to reciprocate the feeling he's gotten by being here, but whether he actually follows through on that remains to
be seen. Same thing on Ukraine, and furthering and enhancing support for Zelenskyy in terms of sanctions on Russia, he may very well say some of the
things that the U.K. and the Europeans want to hear, but whether or not he still thinks those things when he gets back home is unclear.
And of course, on Gaza, as you said, we're hearing the protests in the background right now. You know, and these protesters are extremely angry.
It's very surreal in the worst kind of way to look at what's happening in Gaza as we speak, and to think that that is not the top agenda item between
two of the most powerful people in the world in terms of how to stop this.
So, there is a lot of anger in the streets, a lot of anger in the country, outside the country. But they -- these two leaders, are going to try not to
focus on what they see as the difficult stuff, the bad stuff, the embarrassing stuff. They're going to want to focus on the positives, come
away with it with a win for each one of them to be able to go to their publics and say, we got a good thing out of this.
SOARES: Yes, I wonder then, for Starmer, that might be quite hard in 24 hours, if he doesn't get anything tangible other than a royal visit. He
faces pressure politically here, Prime Minister Starmer, within his own party. He's being pressured, of course, on the right-hand side, we've seen
the protests, we've seen Farage pressing hard as well. And this plays into, these protests play right into Farage's hands. But also, he's lost
Mandelstam over questions, of course, over Epstein. He's also lost another member of his cabinet. This is a really tough time, a fine balancing act
for Prime Minister Starmer.
EL-GAMAL: Absolutely. And if you look at those two columns of, you know, positives and negatives, the negatives column is really full right now for
him.
SOARES: Yes.
EL-GAMAL: And so, he really needs that tangible win, as you said. And I think that if he can't get the steel tariffs reduced or a commitment to do
so, which I don't think he will, and if he doesn't get anything really significant on Ukraine or sanctions on Russia, I think the big win for
Starmer is going to be tech-related.
SOARES: Yes. Speak to that, because we know from our business correspondent saying that NVIDIA CEO expected to be part of the banquet
today. And that's because they've signed a $45 billion agreement, not just NVIDIA, Microsoft are part of this.
EL-GAMAL: Exactly. $42 billion in this tech, U.K.-U.S. tech partnership, that includes Microsoft, that includes NVIDIA, OpenAI, all of the big tech
firms. And it's really, really significant that NVIDIA CEO is here.
So, NVIDIA produces the microchips that are sort of the backbone of A.I. technology. Everybody wants them. There aren't enough to go around and
NVIDIA is not going to give them to everyone who wants it, even if they're available.
So, the fact that NVIDIA CEO is here, along with OpenAI CEO, they are creating a tech infrastructure and an A.I. infrastructure here in the U.K.
that's going to result in thousands of jobs in this deep tech partnership moving into the future, where the future is going to be based on A.I.
EL-GAMAL: Jasmine, we are, of course, keeping an eye on Jerome Powell, Jay Powell, of course, following the Federal Reserve. We're keeping an ear out.
But it's so important to bring that in because we're interested to see whether that will be the main -- the A.I. infrastructure, whether that will
be the main win, the main takeaway that at least President Trump puts on the table tomorrow. Jasmine El-Gamal, so great to have your perspective on
this. Thank you, Jasmine.
EL-GAMAL: Thanks for having me.
SOARES: Great to see you. Now, still to come tonight, protests across the U.K. against the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump that Jasmine was
talking about, we are live in London with a look at the demonstrations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:40:00]
SOARES: And as we've been showing you pretty much all day, demonstrations have been happening across the U.K. as President Trump makes a state visit.
Protesters marched through the streets of London earlier as part of the Stop Trump Coalition. Many have been holding signs against the president,
his policies, as well as global issues. The mayor of London among those speaking out against Mr. Trump and his visit.
Similar demonstrations have also been held here in Windsor. You can hear some of them actually just probably off my mic in Central Windsor where the
royal family has been welcoming, of course, the president and the first lady. However, while the president and first lady are in Windsor, the
protests have been kept well away from them.
Our Nic Robertson joins U.S. now from more with Central London. And we saw, Nic, the size -- got a sense of the size of the protests. Give U.S. a sense
of what you're seeing on the ground or whether it's wrapping up at this hour.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it's wrapped up now. They plan to go from about 2:00 p.m. local time to about 7:00 p.m. And
they pretty, you know, much nailed it, exactly that. And there was about an hour of speeches at the beginning where they were sort of gathered in a
street just off the main sort of shopping street of Oxford Street. Then they started marching.
And it took them almost two hours to go down that big shopping thoroughfare of Regent Street and all the way around past Piccadilly Circus, down past
Trafalgar Square, all the way along Whitehall, past the prime minister's office, past the Ministry of Defense, past the Foreign Office, all the way
down to the square outside of Parliament.
But it was -- I'd say it was about 5,000 or so people, perhaps a few more, perhaps a few less. And it was, for the most part, the crowd was well-
behaved. There was no sort of violence towards the police. It didn't sort of disintegrate in the end towards violence or anything like that, as some
protests do. And the crowd there really putting forward measured, it appeared, ideas of why they thought President Trump shouldn't be there.
Part of it was they thought that, you know, he supports racism. Part of it was they felt that he supports fascism. This was their views. Part of them
wanted to see him take a firmer line with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and cut arms sales to Israel and help stop the war in Gaza. So, there were
a lot of different views there, but really united under that banner. And you're just looking at one there as well, the Epstein-Trump image. That was
something that was popping up on the streets of London as well.
And I talked to people about why they were doing that. And they said, look, we know this is an issue for Trump in the United States, and we don't want
it to escape being an issue for him while he's here in the U.K. We want to keep the pressure upon him. And that pressure, purely and simply, their
message, very clear, President Trump, go back home. You're not wanted.
SOARES: And as you're talking, just in Windsor, we are hearing free Palestine protests, very small protests just on the Windsor High Street,
Nic. But, you know, I wonder if you just putting your diplomatic hat on for a moment, as we looked in tomorrow in Chequers, how much will this
translate some of these themes and these grievances that so many have to -- in terms of pressure on Prime Minister Starmer?
[14:30:00]
ROBERTSON: You know, I think the op-ed that was written by the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, may cut through to the president because the pair have
history of antagonism. The president has called him a stone-cold loser. That's something that may antagonize President Trump. But I think when they
get into the -- when Keir Starmer gets into those meetings with President Trump tomorrow, both of them are going to be focused on what they can take
home, what they can show to their own audiences of how this benefits them.
And for Keir Starmer, it's jobs, it's money. You were talking about this with one of your guests before. Of course, the devil is in the detail with
data farms, you know, tens of billions of dollars at stake. But the question a lot of people are going to raise, and Keir Starmer may want to
get insights to it as well, is, you know, these server farms, if you will, who -- under which laws is the data stored there? U.K. laws, which are
stricter than the United States.
And then, of course, there's the things that Keir Starmer wants. He'd like to see wins on lowering tariffs on steel, on aluminum, on salmons, Scottish
salmon, on whiskey as well. It's not clear he's going to get those. And then, there's those obvious areas of contention where they both have
different views. President Trump has come over here saying he wants to see the Europeans cut back on their energy consumption from Russia. That's
something Starmer's going to say he's willing and has been doing and been doing it significantly. But he's also going to want to sway Trump on
Ukraine and get stronger support for Ukraine.
So, you know, when you get into the political meeting, the noise that happens outside, that, I think, falls away, because they're going to be
focused and there'll be nowhere near them. And Starmer will be relying on that good feeling that Trump will have hopefully absorbed by all the
pageantry and the gilded surroundings and proximity to the king and to the queen and everything that he sort of cherishes and holds dear and speaks
about in glowing terms.
If he gets an afterglow in those meetings Thursday, then Starmer's on to a winner. If not, it's going to be a tough hike for the prime minister.
SOARES: Indeed. And that lavish hospitality will continue in the next hour, of course, with a state banquet. Nic, as always, thank you.
Now, the former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is testifying on Capitol Hill today about turmoil at the agency. Dr. Susan
Monarez is telling senators about her interactions with U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. She says his office told her before she
made policy and personnel decisions, she needed to get approval from political staff. Following an intense falling out of the vaccines, Kennedy
ended up firing Monarez. Monarez says she would have kept the job, but the cost was too great. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SUSAN MONAREZ, FORMER U.S. CDC DIRECTOR: On August 25th, I could have stayed silent, agreed to the demands, and no one would have known. What the
public would have seen were scientists dismissed without cause and vaccine protections quietly eroded, all under the authority of a Senate-confirmed
director with unimpeachable credentials.
I could have kept the office, the title, but I would have lost the one thing that cannot be replaced, my integrity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And the former CDC chief medical officer, Debra Houry, is also testifying at this hearing. She stepped down to protest Monarez's ouster.
And still to come tonight, we'll tell you what's ahead for President Trump's U.K. state visit this evening, all the details in that state
banquet, ahead with our own Max Foster.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
SOARES: And finally, tonight, another look at our top story, President Donald Trump's state visit to the U.K. A big focus, of course, has been on
fashion, including this hat worn by Melania Trump. No doubt Max can give me a lot of detail on that. That was very similar, that hat, to an
inauguration hat. It's wide-brimmed and seems to obscure her eyes in a similar way.
The first lady also paid tribute to British fashion icon Burberry, wearing the tan floor-length coat with the legendary print peeking through. And
what do you get a member of the royal family, you ask? How about a replica of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower's sword, serving as a
reminder of the historic partnership between the U.K. and the U.S.
Our Royal Correspondent Max Foster joins me now to take a look at the day. And what a day it has been, and it hasn't concluded, because the banquet is
expected to start, what, in less than, what, eight minutes?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, soon, yes.
SOARES: Soon, right? Ten minutes or so.
FOSTER: We should be able to talk about who's going, because we'll see them.
SOARES: Yes, we'll see them. And, of course, we'll expect to hear from both of them. Do we have a sense of whether the theme that we've seen
throughout the day, the closeness of the relationship between the U.S. and the U.K., whether that will follow through, you think, with some of the
speeches?
FOSTER: I think so, because there's a very clear separation of the ceremonial today and the politics tomorrow. So, I don't think the king will
get involved in the politics. And why would the president? Because I think the White House side has made it pretty clear he just wants to enjoy his
day.
And what actually is very personal, you always felt a sense of mission here when he went to see the queen's grave, because that was the attachment. It
speaks -- his mother was fascinated by Queen Elizabeth II, and he's, you know, got that Scottish ancestry, and it kind of feels quite strong in the
way he's been so deferential today. I think he'll speak just very highly of the day and the relationship between the two countries. I don't know. It's
hard to predict, isn't it?
But the guest list will be interesting, because he could either go, you know, let's bring lots of officials along, or do I invite, you know, the
tech bros, whatever you want to call them, or these tech --
SOARES: Yes, I think our correspondent was saying -- Anna was saying an agreement that NVIDIA CEO was expected to come. In fact, do we have the
clip? Can we play it? Do we have time to play that? Let's play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENSEN HUANG, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NVIDIA: The part that scares me the most is the outfit I have to put on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your outfit?
HUANG: Well, there's a very traditional thing, and there's a long tail, and, you know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said leather. Would you be wearing a jacket over the top?
HUANG: Well, we'll see about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We haven't seen you without that leather jacket. This will be another history.
HUANG: I know. Nobody's ever seen me like that before. Nobody's ever seen me like that before. I tried it on last night. Yes. I did. Maybe it's hot.
It may be. No. There's a very specific protocol, and I'm looking forward to the tradition. And so, that's going to be extraordinary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: So, the thing that stresses him out most is the outfit. No one's ever seen him without the leather jacket. I mean, this is something --
FOSTER: Well, it's quite simple for the men, to be fair.
SOARES: I know, exactly. And we know from Alayna Treene, our correspondent, which was saying that Melania Trump, the first lady, has
been pouring -- has been thinking long and hard about what exactly she will wear. Do we have a sense of the scale, how many invites, how many of those
will be from the United States? Do we have any of that?
FOSTER: Well, it's roughly half and half. So, you know, it's interesting just reading into who President Trump brings, you know, who he wants to
honor, and, you know, if they're bringing people over from the U.S. You know, I guess they would come over from the U.S., wouldn't they? So, you
know, will it be big celebrities? Will it be tech bosses? Will it be, you know, part of his official team, their families? It'll be really
interesting to see how he's prioritized, because it's a -- you know, everyone would love to come and see it, of course.
[14:55:00]
SOARES: And, you know, we've got about 90 seconds or so, just frame this day for our viewers just around the world. This is a second -- this is an
unprecedented second state visit for the U.S. president. This was -- compared to previous state visits, this was on another scale, wasn't it,
Max?
FOSTER: Yes. So, I think they just went as large as they possibly could. And, you know, the confines of the castle, the biggest cavalry they could,
the biggest welcome in terms of guards that they could, the biggest bands that they could, everything was bigger and better than they've ever done
before, and that message would have been very clear to President Trump. And he'll be able to go afterwards and say they've never done this before, you
know, genuinely. And they've just seen, you know, how he appreciates that.
And this hugely valuable relationship to the U.K. has been strengthened, and maybe Starmer will get a bit more out of it. But, you know, speaking to
the White House teams, Starmer gets a lot out already for a relatively small country, you know, dealing with Donald Trump.
SOARES: We shall see, of course, of what he gets out tomorrow, of course, at Chequers. Max, thank you very much. And Max will be back here at the top
of the hour, of course, with "What We Know," a very busy hour ahead. Do stay right here for all the pomp out of Windsor. I'll see you tomorrow.
Bye-bye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
