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Isa Soares Tonight
Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations Continue As President Trump Says The Job Is Not Yet Done; Remains Of Hostages May Take Weeks As The Families Of The Living Give An Update On The Health Of Their Loved Ones; President Of Argentina Visits The White House. Trump Taking Questions At WH; Trump Hosts Argentine President Milei At WH; Six Killed In New Strike On Alleged Drug Boat; Red Cross To Receive Remains Of Deceased Hostages In Gaza. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired October 14, 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: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, the day after a historic deal now full
of uncertainty. Gaza ceasefire negotiations continue as the U.S. President says the job is not yet done. We are live in Gaza this hour as UNICEF races
to distribute desperately-needed aid.
Meantime, returning the remains of the hostages may take weeks as the families of the living give an update on the health of their loved ones.
Plus, Argentine President Javier Milei heads to the White House after the U.S. agrees to give his country a $20 billion bailout. We are live for you
in Washington with the very latest.
But first, tonight, celebrations over Gaza ceasefire agreement are giving way to tough questions this hour about the road ahead. But U.S. President
Donald Trump says phase two is already underway. He says a big burden, his words, has been lifted with the release of all living hostages, but says
the job is not done as some deceased hostages still, of course, haven't come home.
Hostage families have now begun speaking out and will take you live to Israel in just a moment for details on those emotional statements. But
first, I want to look and show you what is happening on the ground in Gaza after U.S. President Trump declared the war is over. Gaza city officials
are appealing for help in clearing the debris from neighborhoods so civilians basically can return home.
The U.N. development program says the war left at least 55 million tons of rubble, million tons of rubble in Gaza, that is equal to 13 times the
pyramids of Giza. Many families are hoping for closure as thousands of people are believed, still buried under the rubble. A UNICEF spokesperson
says a colleague in Gaza city told him there's almost nothing left, describing it as a skeleton of a city.
And we can see that with our very own eyes. Have a look at this. This is new drone footage coming in to CNN, health authorities say despite the
ceasefire, Israeli drones killed five people as they went to check on their homes near Gaza city today. The IDF calls them suspects who crossed truce
lines.
Meantime, aid agencies say a major ramp up in humanitarian aid has not happened yet, although some much needed deliveries are getting through.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIAN CARDON, SPOKESPERSON, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: The shift has not yet happened. We are still witnessing, you know, only a
few trucks coming in and large crowds approaching these trucks in a way that is absolutely not conformed to humanitarian standards.
So, figures are talking about the need for 600 trucks per day for six weeks to alleviate some of the -- of the first needs. I think we are not yet
there yet. We are clearly not yet there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Not there yet. Let's get more on the humanitarian situation from Tess Ingram, a UNICEF spokesman, she's on the ground in Gaza in Al-Mawasi
for us tonight. Tess, great to have you back on the show. We understand -- and correct me if I'm wrong, that only two of the four border crossings
have been opened, as we heard there from Red Cross, clearly not enough aid getting through.
Are you starting to see any of it being distributed? Give me a sense of what you have seen on the ground.
TESS INGRAM, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: We do have distributions ongoing, which is really good news. Aid is reaching people in Gaza, but it remains
insufficient. We really need to see all of the crossings into the Gaza Strip to open so that we can get the thousands of trucks that we've got
just waiting outside here into the people who so desperately need it.
And I can tell you, Isa, the needs are immense. I've just spent three days in Gaza city talking to families, and every person I ask says they need
water and food and medical care. A ceasefire is good news, but it hasn't alleviated the suffering.
SOARES: Yes, and in terms of the trucks, I think this is important to point out, as you heard there from the Red Cross, they were talking about 600
trucks really needed. Do you have a sense how many have got in on your end?
[14:05:00]
INGRAM: On Sunday, we hoped that would be the first day of a meaningful increase in aid since the ceasefire went into effect. And we did see an
increase, but we needed to see a consistent increase.
SOARES: Yes --
INGRAM: The crossing was closed yesterday and again today, and now we're receiving news that the volume of aid is likely decreasing over the coming
days, which is the opposite of what needs to happen. This is our opportunity to show the children and the families of Gaza that we are
standing with them, and yet, children --
SOARES: Yes --
INGRAM: Still being punished and --
SOARES: Yes, stay with us for just a moment. I want to go, Tess, I appreciate you being with us. I just want to quickly go to the White House,
we'll return to Tess Ingram. Let's go to the White House, President Trump and President Milei are speaking.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because of their philosophy, you would put a halt to what we're doing.
SCOTT BESSENT, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES: Yes, sir, and we're confident that President Milei is going to do well. We've been
criticized by a couple of American Peronists like Senator Warren. So -- and -- you know, she and --
TRUMP: That's a compliment.
BESSENT: Yes --
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: She has no idea what she's doing. She's a nasty, horrible senator. Go ahead --
BESSENT: OK --
TRUMP: Other than that, I like her very much --
BESSENT: Yes, and she and her protege in New York, Mamdani, who I don't even think he's a Peronist. I think he's more of the --
TRUMP: Communist.
BESSENT: Communist, Chavez-Massimo(ph). So, we are -- we stand with the President and what he stands for in the hope for the Argentinean people.
And President Trump, just like you, he carries the young people, so it's hope for the future. The Argentines have made the decision to shake off 100
years of bad policy.
They went from one of the richest countries in the world to a ton of debt, and I think that with the bridge the U.S. is giving them, and the strong
policies that Argentina can be great again.
TRUMP: Thank you very much. Please go ahead. Please.
JAVIER MILEI, PRESIDENT, ARGENTINA: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SOARES: Let me try and translate what we're hearing from President Milei, he was saying thanks to the great leadership of President Trump for
bringing peace to the Middle East. I also want to thank profoundly, the great work that the Secretary Bessent has done to help overcome the
problems of liquidity in Argentina.
The political attacks that we have suffered by our opposition who don't want Argentina to get -- to achieve freedom, who wants us to embrace ideas
that we can -- the ones that lead to socialism. So, first place., many thank you for welcoming me. Thank you for what you're doing for the free
world, and thank you to Mr. Bessent -- Secretary Bessent for what he's achieved.
And it helps us achieve a peaceful route to achieve what -- Argentina to show the world that peace and freedom are of Argentina. Thank you very
much. And he started by thanking President Trump for everything he's done in the Middle East, for the -- for releasing 20 hostages, bringing priests
-- peace to the Middle East.
TRUMP: But we could have it interpreted if you want. Does anybody want it interpreted? Would you like that? Would you like it? Can the interpreter
speak what -- do we have somebody set up for that? Do you want --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In fact, simultaneous over -- if the President would like to repeat his statement, we can do it --
TRUMP: No, it's OK, don't worry about it. We'll leave it that way. So, it's an honor to have you here, and I just want to tell you that your career has
been an amazing one, and it's going to continue with the election, you're going to win the election, we're going to endorse you. I'm going to endorse
you today, fully endorse you.
[14:10:00]
And I -- you know, people in Argentina like me, a lot of people like me, I'm even surprised myself. But we had a great week. We had a great weekend.
We had a great period of time in the Middle East. It was a very comprehensive -- it went very rapidly. And I think it's going to lead to
something that's going to be unrecognizable certainly for the Middle East.
What's taken place in the last few days, people can't believe it. I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen the love and the spirit. And
I've done a lot of things. I've done a lot of deals. I've done a lot of political deals where countries come into line or whatever. But I've never
seen anything like this, the level of love.
And it has to do with the mystique of the Middle East, I think, because if I did -- other countries, I did, I did seven other settlements of wars,
complete settlements of wars, and it was very well received. But this is something I've never seen anything like it. The media covered it very
fairly, and even the fake news of which we have a lot, they actually covered it fairly for a change, and I appreciated that.
We have to get back to that, it's so important. But I just want to say it's a pleasure to be with you, and we're going to have lunch and we'll take a
couple of questions from the news, and I'm sure they'll be extremely non- hostile and friendly. Like J.D. went through a very friendly interview with George Stephanopoulos, who was nice enough to pay me $16 million the last
time we came.
He had to pay $16 million to me, which was good. It was worth -- it was worth having somebody lie, if you get $16 million, that's good. But J.D.
had a very nasty person interviewing him, and we can't let that happen. Just as inappropriate to cut off a highly respected Vice President of the
United States mid-sentence.
It was -- I guess it's one way to win an argument. That was the only way --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's true --
TRUMP: He was going to win the argument. So, it was pretty inappropriate, I want to tell you that. So, thank you very much. Do you have something
there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TRUMP: OK, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
TRUMP: I'll get it. Thanks. That's fantastic, thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he did this letter, Mr. President, your settlement in the Middle East wasn't done. So, we had to do a new letter --
TRUMP: Let's include --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To include -- to include it, yes, because this is a very important --
TRUMP: You have to add one extra sentence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.
TRUMP: That's great. Thank you very much. This is a great --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes --
TRUMP: Such a beautiful statement. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome.
TRUMP: It's beautiful, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --
TRUMP: OK --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, how is this currently --
TRUMP: Why don't we talk about Argentina first and then --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes --
TRUMP: How is Argentina going?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you worried about the influence of China in Argentina? Sorry.
TRUMP: Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is this Argentina rescue package America first? And is this rescue package meant to help President Milei's party in the coming
election?
TRUMP: No, it's helped -- it's really meant to help a good financial philosophy where Argentina can after 20 years of disaster -- because it was
very successful at one point. And it can be again, like Venezuela. Venezuela was very successful, and now it's a dictatorship. So, we can --
when we can help our neighbors -- you know, we're making tremendous progress in South America.
South America, Marco was telling me my -- he's like our great expert here, he really knows it. And you were telling me that so many of the countries
are coming our way, and we had -- a few years ago when I -- when I just came back, so I've been here now almost nine months, but when I just came
in, I was amazed to see how poorly we've done.
We lost so many, and one of them was Argentina would be lost if he wasn't there. And I think he will be there because the people recognize he's done
an amazing job --
SOARES: We are going to continue monitoring, of course, a meeting between President Trump and President Milei of Argentina, we'll --we're going to
break away for a moment. We'll keep an ear on it, though, because I do want to turn to -- return to my conversation that I was having with Tess Ingram,
who joins us from Deir al-Balah in Gaza.
Tess, thank you very much for your patience for bearing with us. We heard the President talking about what is happening in the Middle East, and how -
- and how unrecognizable it was to reach this moment here. But you know, when you were talking to me just before we broke away, you were talking
about the scenes, right?
The scenes and the hard work ahead and the challenges ahead. We have some new drone footage, and I'm going to ask Kate, my producer to put out,
because I think it's so important. New drone footage that really speaks to just the scale, Tess, of the destruction.
[14:15:00]
I mean, it's immense. There are really no words to speak to what has been done by the IDF here, by Israel. This is very precarious terrain,
infrastructure, very much in existence. Which then begs the question how then do you even go about, Tess, distributing? Who is coordinating this
aid?
INGRAM: The destruction really shocked us when we got into parts of Gaza city this week that we haven't had access to properly for months. We met
with families there, and I'll just tell you quickly about one Saida(ph), she's a mother of six, and she told me today I'm used to living with fear
from the two years of this conflict.
But now I have a new fear, and it's that the water truck came yesterday, but it might not come tomorrow or the day after that. And people are so
desperate for those services that keep communities alive, like water. And I think that answers your question on how do we -- how do we do this? How do
we make sure that the water truck comes to Saida(ph) yesterday and today and tomorrow?
And that's what we're doing with our partners on the ground at the moment? The reason we were there is to coordinate with them, to assess the needs
and make sure that we're responding as quickly as possible, because it really is life or death for these families.
SOARES: How do you then -- how do you then, Tess, how do you prioritize? How do you know -- we were talking -- you and I have spoken before. We know
how much famine, many famine, malnutrition. How -- what do you focus on, of course, as the aid trickles in.
INGRAM: For us right now, the stakes are so high in terms of just --
SOARES: Yes --
INGRAM: Keeping children alive. So, our priorities are lifesaving aid in respect to the famine, as you say in Gaza city, but also --
SOARES: Yes --
INGRAM: The starvation across the Gaza Strip, bringing those nutrition treatments for children, making sure people have safe drinking water and
preventing children from dying of hypothermia from the Winter that's fast approaching like we saw last year. So, we're bringing in blankets, tents,
tarpaulins, Winter clothes.
That's where our focus is right now. Immediate lifesaving aids. And then, of course, we'll expand to the other areas like mental health support,
education and other rebuilding efforts.
SOARES: Tess, really appreciate you coming on our show and keeping us abreast of really the situation on the ground. Here's -- hoping that the
aid continues, of course, to go in 600 trucks expected a day. That is not meeting that requirement. We'll stay in touch with you, Tess. Really
appreciate it. Tess Ingram there from UNICEF in Deir al-Balah.
I want to take you back to Washington, I told you we're monitoring President Trump, President Milei, they've been talking about trade. Let's
have a listen.
TRUMP: A great philosophy take over a great country. Argentina is one of the most beautiful countries that I've ever seen, and, we want to see it
succeed. Very simple. I mean, we don't have to do it. It's not going to make a big difference for our country, but it will in terms of South
America. If Argentina does well, you're going to have others following. And a lot of others are following.
You have countries in South America that two years ago would have never even been thought of to go as democracies or as just countries that want to
do fair and balanced trading. And now all -- I mean, you mentioned Bolivia, but you -- there are -- there are numerous other countries that are coming
our way.
And Brazil, as you know, I had a very good conversation, the President, I met him at the United Nations before I went up to speak, and then I found
out he didn't have a speech because I had no teleprompter. They turned off my teleprompter purposely. They made it impossible for me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I mean you didn't have --
TRUMP: But it didn't silence me. I spoke without -- and it was a good speech. It was a good speech --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I mean --
TRUMP: No, think of that. You go into the United Nations, I'm speaking in front of 158 leaders and the whole world, and I look at my teleprompter and
it's dead. They killed my teleprompter. They wouldn't let the man that operated into the booth. Can you believe that?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of specific interest in economic terms for the --
TRUMP: I do have. No, I want to see it succeed. I think it's going to be great. And we will benefit also. But it's not that big a benefit because
it's not that big a country, but it's a very important country, and it's a country that can be very successful. There are some countries that will
never be successful. This is a country that has great potential if it has the right leadership, and you have the right leadership with this man right
here, OK.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, would you support dollarization?
TRUMP: I would say that I'll leave that up to my economic people, but I like -- I like the dollar. I'm very strong on the dollar. And anybody who
wants to deal in dollars, they have an advantage over people that aren't. But for the most part, we're keeping it that way. I think if Biden would
have -- you know, Biden, that group would have gotten elected, meaning Kamala, you wouldn't have the dollar as your currency anymore.
[14:20:00]
You wouldn't have a world domination by the dollar if I didn't win this election. And now the domination like BRICS, I told them, anybody who wants
to be in BRICS, that's fine. But we're going to put tariffs on your nation. Everybody dropped out. They're all dropping out of BRICS. BRICS was an
attack on the dollar.
And I said, you want to play that game? I'm going to put tariffs on your -- on your -- all of your products coming into the U.S. They said, like I
said, we're dropping out of BRICS, and BRICS is like -- they don't even talk about it anymore. Scott, do you want to add to that, please?
BESSENT: We're very happy with the current currency arrangement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: "ABC" fake news --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Brian(ph), let's --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First of all, congratulations --
TRUMP: I don't take questions from "ABC" fake news, after what you did with Stephanopoulos to the Vice President of the United States, I don't take
questions from "ABC" fake news. Brian(ph), go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes sir. First of all, congratulations on achieving peace, you're indeed the peacemaker. On a lighter --
TRUMP: Did you ever think I was going to be called a peacemaker?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, I did. I saw some of the actions you were --
TRUMP: Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But on a lighter note, Alyssa Farah, she is one of the hosts on "ABC's" show, "The View", she said a while back, I'll quote, "if
Trump gets the Israeli hostages out, I promise I will wear a MAGA hat for one day on this show and say thank you for doing it." Your response?
TRUMP: Well, did she put the hat on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, she hasn't got the hat yet.
TRUMP: Who is it? Which one?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alyssa Farah.
TRUMP: Well, she used to work for me, so she used to work here. I'll tell you about Alyssa. She worked here. She gave me the most beautiful letter
when you know, the administration, the time came up, the election was rigged, I left. She gave me the most beautiful letter you've ever seen. I
was a great president. What a great job.
Some of the letters have been quoted. This is Alyssa, who I never thought was very outstanding. I figured she would not make it, and she didn't have
a big role here either. And then we had January 6th and she left after that or before that, but she gave me the most beautiful letters. And then even
months after she left, and while we weren't here any longer, she sent another letter.
Glowing letter, beautiful letter. And then she got hired by "The View", and they gave her a couple of bucks, and she changed her view very quickly. I
never thought she'd make it. Never thought she had what it took in any way, you know what that means. But she's on "The View". But it just shows what a
fraud "The View" is.
Because this woman gave me letters and statements, she said I was the greatest president in her lifetime -- now, she's not that old, so I didn't
consider it a great compliment.
(LAUGHTER)
But I've had better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we send her a hat?
TRUMP: Well, recently, I've had the greatest president of them all. I like that much better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --
TRUMP: Does that include Washington and Lincoln? Yes, sir, as I said, I like that better. So, I think she's a total -- I think she's a joke.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, I'm Jossar(ph), how long will it take Hamas to disarm, and can you guarantee that it's going to happen?
TRUMP: Well, they're going to disarm. And because they said they were going to disarm, and if they don't disarm, we will disarm them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How will you do that?
TRUMP: I don't have to explain that to you. But if they don't disarm, we will disarm them. They know I'm not playing games, OK? Now, we did
something monumental. We got the hostages back. That was the first thing we had to do above all else, get the hostages back. Now, they misrepresented
because we were told they had 26, 24 of dead hostages, if we can use those terms.
And it seems as though they don't have that, because we were talking about a much lesser number. But that's a very tough subject. I want them back.
That's what they said. I want them back. Also, they said they were going to disarm, and initially speaking, they needed -- you know, they did take out
a couple of gangs that were very bad, very bad gangs.
And they did take them out, and they killed a number of gang members, and that didn't bother me much, to be honest with you. That's OK. That's a
couple of very bad gangs, you know, it's no different than other countries like Venezuela sent their gangs into us, and we took care of those gangs.
We have Washington D.C. is one of the safest cities in the country, it was one of the worst cities in the country, if you go back just a little while
ago. Right now, it's safe. You can walk to work. Isn't it nice? But we have told them we want disarm, and they will disarm, and if they don't disarm,
we will disarm them. And it will happen quickly and perhaps violently.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You say --
TRUMP: But they will disarm. Do you understand me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you say --
TRUMP: Because you always -- everyone says, oh, well, they won't disarm. They will disarm. And I spoke to Hamas, and I said you're going to disarm,
right? Yes, sir, we're going to disarm.
[14:25:00]
That's what they told me. They will disarm or we will disarm them. Got it? OK, next?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is the deadline?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You say quickly, sir, so, you say quickly. But what is the deadline you're going to put on them before you take action?
TRUMP: A reasonable period of time -- pretty quickly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --
TRUMP: A reasonable period of time --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations on the peace you achieved in the Middle East --
TRUMP: Thank you very much --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And my question is regarding Argentina. Does continue --
TRUMP: Are you from Argentina?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm from Argentina, yes.
TRUMP: I like the Argentinean --
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: I like them much better than "ABC" --
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Than "ABC" fake news --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me too, sir --
TRUMP: Please, go ahead --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does continued U.S. support for Argentina depend on the results of the upcoming legislative elections, and the ability of the
government to pass long-lasting reforms through Congress?
TRUMP: Well, I think if they don't do that, we're not going to be around very long. Scott, can you handle that one, please?
BESSENT: We're confident that the President's party will, and the coalition will do well in the election. And this aid is predicated on robust
policies, and going back to the failed Peronist policies would cause a U.S. rethink.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.
TRUMP: It's a little bit -- it's a great question. It's a little like New York. You know, we -- you're reading in Argentina about New York, we have a
problem. We have a communist who is 33 years old, doesn't know a damn thing, practically he's never worked a day in his life. And he sort of
caught on, right? And I'm not going to send a lot of money to New York. I don't have to.
You know, the money comes all through the White House, and if they're going to be sending us stupid policies, I mean, communist policies, which has
proven for thousands of years doesn't work, we don't have to prove it again. We're not going to ruin one of our great cities because we'll make
that great. We will clean up the crime in about 30 days, took 12 days to do Washington D.C.
So, New York is bigger, and Chicago, we've already made a lot of progress despite fighting from the government. But well, Chicago is doing great.
Memphis is doing really great. You know, we have great support there from the political leaders, they said, please come in and clean up crime, and
we love it. We've -- in one week, Memphis is so good. It's so much better.
We'll have a -- within a month, we'll have that into a safe city again. And all of these cities, we want to clean them up. We don't like that
opposition. But if somebody is going to be a communist mayor of New York, it's a fluke if he gets in. There are a lot of failed people that he's
running against. I mean, we have failed -- you have inferior candidates or something because it's impossible to think that New York City can have a
communist mayor.
He's a communist. He's not a socialist by the way. There's a big difference. He's a communist. He's down and dirty. He's a communist. He
hates police. He wants to get rid of all police -- I mean, how can a policeman -- he hates Jewish people, and yet he's got Jewish people
supporting him. He hates Jewish people.
So, it comes through the White House. The funding for New York and for every place comes through the White House. And I'm very generous. And I was
always very generous with New York, even when you had opposition there, but I was always very generous. But I wouldn't be generous to a communist, a
guy that's going to take the money and throw it out the window.
Because you're talking about hundreds of billions of dollars, and we're not going to let somebody get into office and squander the taxpayer money from
this country. We're not going to let it happen. So, it's a little bit like that with -- if you take a look at Argentina. If the President doesn't win,
I know the person that he'd be running against, I believe, probably, we probably have the person.
The person is extremely far left and a philosophy that got Argentina into this problem in the first place. So, we would not be generous with
Argentina if that happened. If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You talk about Argentina and important in the -- Latin America. What is your plan for Venezuela? But is the -- you -- the
terrorist, the narco terrorism movement in the President Maduro. What is your plan about it?
TRUMP: Well, Venezuela has done a couple of things very badly. Number one, we get drugs and all of that. But we get something in a way worse, because
they're a big purveyor of drugs. But we have worse. What they do very well is they send their criminals into the United States, and they send Tren de
Aragua, that you know very well, you're from Venezuela, I assume, and they send them in by the thousands, literally.
And these are the worst of all, and they emptied their prisons into the United States. They empty their mental institutions into the United States.
And because we had a president who is low IQ, he didn't realize what was going on, and the people that are high IQ that surround him, but they
happen to be lunatics radical left.
They're highly intelligent radical left lunatics, OK? So, in a way, that's worse than having a guy like Biden. But they ran the show. You heard about
the autopen. The person that auto -- that really operated the autopen, but it was really the people that told the person that operated the autopen
what to do. Those are the people that really were president, OK?
[14:30:05]
So, we're not going to stand for it in this country.
And by the way, that Autopen thing is under serious investigation. Just this -- I don't think you care because you're from Washington, you couldn't
care less about that. But I just want to say, because I do the weave, you know, the weave? Cover a lot of different subjects. But the people that are
involved in that Autopen scam -- because he barely signed anything. I mean, this guy -- I don't know how you can be president. He barely signed it. But
the only thing we can find for sure is that he signed Hunter's Biden -- his pardon, Hunter's Biden. I like that, that's a good combination.
So, we're going to work very much with the president. We think he's going to win. He should win. And if he does win, we're going to be very helpful.
And if he doesn't win, we're not going to waste our time because you have somebody whose philosophy has no chance of making Argentina great again.
Steve, go ahead. Steve.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to check something, you said Hamas assured you that they would disarm. Was that a direct conversation or through Mr. Witkoff or
--
TRUMP: Through my people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
TRUMP: At the highest level. And it was meant --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your advice for President Milei from Argentina, as a political leader --
TRUMP: My advice is to hold strong to his principles because he's right. And he's proving that he was right. He's got one problem. He's got people
that are giving him tremendously bad press, even though they know it's wrong. He's got to hold true to his principles because he's going to win.
He's going to win.
He's doing the right thing. Everybody knows he's doing the right thing. But you have a radical left sick culture. That's a very dangerous group of
people. And they're trying to make him look bad. I believe he's going to win out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What (INAUDIBLE) with China and --
TRUMP: China?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Chinese --
TRUMP: Well, you have to be careful with China. We have -- everybody deals with China. They have to deal with us, too. We have to be careful with
China. Look, I have a great relationship with President Xi, but sometimes it gets testy because China likes to take advantage of people. And they
can't take advantage of us. But we have a fair relationship with China.
And I think it'll be fine. And if it's not, that's OK too. You have to do and go where the punches are thrown. You've got to put up the blocks. We
have a lot of punches being thrown. And we've been very successful. Look, we have the most success -- I think we're the most successful we've ever
been as a country. We have now close -- I've been saying 17. We have, I think, close to or maybe even exceeding $18 trillion going to be invested
in the United States. That's more money than ever invested in any country before.
Even countries with much bigger populations like India or like China. Nobody's ever had $18 trillion invested in the country. We have. And that's
because of November 5th election, because I won. Oh, if she won, you'd be negative. You'd have people getting out of the country. This country would
have been would have been in a major depression.
If she won, we would have been 1929. They'd like to see that anyway. That's why they keep the government close. They have a shutdown based on nonsense.
They want to give away 1.5 -- think of it. They want to give away $1.5 trillion to people that come into the country illegally. And as you know,
the borders now are closed. But when they hear that they get the greatest health care package in the world and they have no money, but they're living
OK in another country, they head up and they start forming caravans and they try and come into our country.
But the big problem is they want to give health care to people that should not get health care. They want to give health care to illegal immigrants by
the millions. Look at Gavin Newsom, what he's done. He's ruined California, gives health care to anybody. And I guess they do it for votes. I actually
think it's bad politics, but I guess they do it for votes.
So, I'm with this man because his philosophy is correct. And he may win and he may not win, but I think he's going to win. And if he wins, we're
staying with him. And if he doesn't win, we're gone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can Argentina can help to the peace process to the Middle East peace process?
TRUMP: They can help by doing well. If Argentina does well, that's helpful because they know we help Argentina. So, if Argentina is successful, that's
great, because they view us as somebody that helped Argentina and they did well and the United States maybe will help them. And they're going to do
well.
So, the success of Argentina would be a great feather in the cap of the USA because we're helping them, right? Do you understand?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TRUMP: Yes, please. Behind you. Behind you.
[14:35:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President. Last week, you said that NATO should consider expelling Spain.
TRUMP: What?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said that NATO consider expelling Spain. Would you support that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: NATO consider expelling Spain.
TRUMP: I'm very unhappy with Spain. They're the only country that didn't raise up their number to 5 percent. Every other country in NATO raised up
to 5 percent. And Spain is doing very well off our backs. So, I'm not happy with Spain. Spain gets protection and they know -- you know, look, they're
sort of in the semi-middle of it. So, they're going to get protected automatically. Even if you don't want to protect them, you're protecting
them because of the way they're located.
And I think what Spain did is a very bad thing for NATO. I think it's very unfair to NATO. It wouldn't matter if you said you're not going to protect
them because they're pretty much protected. You know, what are you going to do? Go through the other countries and let's go attack Spain, right? So, I
think what they did is not nice. I think it's very disrespectful to NATO.
In fact, I was thinking about giving them trade punishment through tariffs because of what they did. And I may do that. I think unbelievably
disrespectful. Spain, the only one out of all the countries in NATO, the only one that said that is Spain. And I think that's -- I think they should
be punished for that. Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the government shutdown. You have the money to pay the troops on October 15th?
TRUMP: I do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. How is --
TRUMP: I actually have a man who is a very wealthy person, you'll know that when I tell you this, who called a donor, a great gentleman. And he said,
if there's any money necessary, shortfall, for the paying of the troops, that I will pay it, meaning he will pay it. How about that? I said, look,
we're not going to need it. We're going to take care of our troops. But this was a position that's being forced upon us by Democrats.
And all they have to do is just sign a piece of paper saying, we're going to keep it going the way that -- you know, there's nothing -- it's not like
-- it shouldn't even be an argument. They've signed it many times before. I don't want to bore you with the fact that Schumer said a hundred times, you
should never close up government. But Schumer is a weakened politician.
I mean, he's going to finish his career as a failed politician. He's a failed politician. He's allowed the radical left to take over the Democrat
party. So, if they write books about that, if they write books about him, they're going to have to say that he -- his career ended by allowing the
radical left to take over the party.
I mean, I won an election in a landslide because people are not into the radical left and the Democrat party is. People didn't want to see men
playing in women's sports. They didn't want to see transgender for everybody. They didn't want to see all of the different things that they do
that's so crazy. Open borders.
I mean, the biggest -- the worst thing that he did to us, not inflation, because we fixed inflation. Prices are way down. I don't know if you saw
that gasoline went to 58 just now for -- did you see what's going on with gasoline? No, $58 a barrel. Nobody can believe it. I'm very proud of it.
You know why? Because we're pumping like we've never pumped before.
Because with -- if you get the gas price down, everything else comes down. It's very simple. And he went away from my policies and you had the
greatest inflation -- the last administration had the greatest inflation in the history of our country. And now, as you know, groceries are down. It's
all down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But on the shutdown, are you settling it for a long -- is this going to be a long-term? Are we looking months?
TRUMP: It's up to them. All they have to do is just vote to extend. We don't need it. We're not saying we want money. We don't -- what we need is
a right to extend. They want a right to extend, but they want $1.5 trillion so they can give it away to illegal immigrants. The people that are
invading your cities and many of these people, for whatever reason. I mean, I understood this. I called it a long time ago.
These countries are run by people. I know friends of mine. Like I know this gentleman. I hope you haven't said -- you probably did too. Why not? They
send up their worst people. They send up people that are criminals. They send up people from jails. And at best, the best ones they send up are
people that don't work very hard and that are on a social form of welfare. And they're sending those people into the United States.
I don't blame them. I'm angry at them, but I don't blame them. But I'm really angry at Biden and Kamala and that group of lunatics for allowing it
to happen because it's the hardest thing. Now, you know, we're sending them out.
[14:40:00]
It's incredible, the job that Kristi and Tom Homan and the whole group is doing. But we shouldn't have to be doing that. We're doing a lot of work on
getting people out of here. Tren de Aragua has caused tremendous damage. And our soldiers are great. You know, our soldiers are now based on merit.
They're not based on woke because we won the case --
SOARES: We will continue monitoring, of course, President Trump hosting President Javier Milei of Argentina at the White House. We'll keep our
ears, of course, of what the president is saying.
Let me give you a sense of what we have heard so far. We've heard everything from Venezuela, from Argentina, from Hamas. But let me start
really on Hamas. He was asked whether Hamas will disarm. And he said it will. They will disarm. If they don't, we will disarm them, he said. They
know I'm not playing games. He did say, I spoke to Hamas. He was then asked, was it -- did you speak to them or was it through someone else? He
said it was through my people at the highest level. So, President Trump's saying there if they don't disarm, we will disarm them. They know I'm not
playing games. That's when it comes to the war in Gaza and disarming Hamas.
He was then asked about Argentina and President Milei, who is there, of course, at the White House. He's hosting Javier Milei. He is facing
elections on October 26. Yes, October 26. His ratings are pretty low at the moment. And President Trump has basically said today, in many ways,
endorsed him, said, if Milei doesn't win, we will not be generous with Argentina. Secretary Bessent said aid is predicated on Argentina's robust
policy, basically saying if he doesn't win, if you don't vote for him, you don't get that $20 billion bailout.
Stephen Collinson was listening to that with me. Stephen, let me start. First of all, where would you like to start? Why don't we start with Hamas,
really? Because he also spoke about Tren de Aragua, and this, of course, coming, as we've heard in the last few moments, the United States has hit a
fifth alleged ship -- boat, cartel boat in the Caribbean. So, why don't we start first with those messages there from President Trump?
Clearly not happy at all where we are. Not all the hostages -- the remains of the hostages have been returned. Of course, there is a delay. He's
posted that on Truth Social, but now being very clear in his messaging here on Hamas.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, and what a contrast to Monday when it was all adulation and celebration and triumph. And I
think this reinforces what a lot of people have been saying is that this is going to be a very hard slog that needs President Trump's concerted and
continuous attention.
Obviously, that's a very hard-line message, not just to Hamas, but it's former backers throughout the Arab world warning that he's not happy. The
question, I guess, has to be asked, though, how will he disarm Hamas? Would that involve American troops? Would that involve Israelis going back in?
That would start the whole conflict up again. So, it's very unclear whether the president is fully willing to put some steel behind those words, but
he's clearly using the political capital he gained by clinching this peace deal and the backing of all those world leaders, metaphorically, yesterday.
So, very interesting comments, but I think it's symptomatic of a lot of problems that are still to be ironed out with this ceasefire deal, let
alone the 20-point peace plan that's supposed to unfold afterwards.
SOARES: Yes, well, look, plenty of applause and praise for President Trump the last 24 hours. Even President Milei congratulated him at the beginning,
of course, as we showed viewers. He did say he was asked how quickly this was -- this would happen in terms of disarming Hamas. He said, it will
happen quickly. He was asked then for a time frame, he said a reasonable time, but he didn't give much detail on that.
But it does show in many ways -- before we even talk about Argentina, it does show here, Stephen, that he's still very much focused on this and he
wants to see this succeed. Does it not? Because the concern was in the last 24 hours that perhaps he'd move away. He'll be preoccupied with other
things, of course, other policies, even domestic issues in the U.S. But it seems that he's very much still focused on this.
COLLINSON: Yes. And now, of course, this is Trump's triumph and it's the most successful part of his legacy. So, he has himself a real incentive to
make sure he follows up. I think if you look at successful peace efforts by American presidents, the Camp David Accords with Jimmy Carter, Bosnia under
Bill Clinton, the Northern Ireland peace process in which Clinton also played a role.
[14:45:00]
It's not that the president has to be in the details every single day, but he to keep across it. And there will come moments when he has to make these
interventions to push the process forward, to bring parties together, to lay threats if necessary.
What it needs is a very strong diplomatic structure underneath the president to push the negotiations, which we're told started today, and
push those forward every single day. But the presidents can really be crucial here. And I think the fact that Trump pulled this together, he got
a lot of credit for it, it's not going to be the last time that he's needed to intervene in this.
SOARES: Yes. And look, as you're talking, I'm seeing as well, he's continued to speak at the White House saying that he had a good
relationship with Putin, and saying that Putin doesn't want the war to end. Of course, President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, he's coming to the White House
on Friday. And I do wonder, given, of course, the successes that he's had, the success so far, as you said, he's had with Hamas and ending the war in
Gaza, creating a ceasefire, of course, bringing hostages home, whether there are lessons the president can take away and apply in Ukraine.
Because here, in the case of Ukraine, Stephen, as our viewers will know, you know, many leaders on the show here, foreign ministers have been
calling for the U.S. to apply that pressure, and that pressure hasn't been applied.
COLLINSON: Yes, and it was -- the moment that President Trump decided to apply pressure, especially on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
that the process in the Middle East started to move forward. He essentially boxed in Netanyahu when he came to Washington and he announced that 20-
point peace plan and then followed it up.
I think the issue here is that if he tries to do the same thing with Putin, it won't necessarily be successful because they're obviously very different
situations. Trump has far less leverage on Putin. The Russians have been quite successful in rebuilding their diplomatic representation or relations
with the non-democratic world ever since their isolation during the early stages of the war.
But you're right, Zelenskyy is coming here. There's a lot of talk in Washington about the possibility of the U.S. providing Tomahawk cruise
missiles to Ukraine, which would allow it to strike deep into Russia, go after its energy infrastructure in the same way that Russia is doing to
Ukraine, that could be a sign that Trump is interested in putting on more pressure.
And I think just the symbolic nature of what happened this week was a reminder that the power of the American presidency is still very great. It
seemed to have been tarnished somewhat in recent years, but Trump did apply it effectively. And the question is whether he can do that on another stage
later in this week.
SOARES: Yes, and we heard President Zelenskyy putting on air it shows that Russia too can indeed be pressured into ending its aggression. In fact, it
is Russia that now remains the main source of global instability. We'll see, of course, what comes out of that meeting on Friday, whether, of
course, the U.S. does provide those Tomahawk missiles.
Let me turn to Argentina, because, you know, Milei, viewers may not know, is politically, I think it's fair to say, on the ropes in Argentina. His
ratings are tanking. But he does have a powerful friend, Stephen, powerful friend in President Trump, who applauded him, who gave him, I think, from
what I understood, was a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. But what we heard from President Trump right there was him very clearly
telling the Argentinian people, I'm endorsing Milei. If Milei doesn't win, we're not going to be so good to you when it comes to that $20 billion
bailout.
COLLINSON: Yes, I mean, it's almost like on Monday, Trump was trying to transform the Middle East. On Tuesday, he's trying to reshape the politics
of the Western Hemisphere, not just with Argentina, but as you were mentioning with Venezuela. The argument from the U.S. side is that a
financial crisis in Argentina, which appears to be developing, could have contagion throughout the region and could affect the United States. So,
that's their argument for doing this.
But they're not hiding it. As you said, this looks like a clear use of USA to try and influence the result of an election with a like-minded populist
right-wing nationalist who happens frequently to be a guest at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's palace down in Florida.
So, it's quite remarkable to actually watch an administration, a president and a treasury secretary lay it on the line and seek to interfere in a
foreign country's politics right on TV. It does remind me a little bit of the use of aid in the first term for Ukraine. Trump decided to hold back
aid because he wanted an investigation into Biden, that led to his first impeachment. Those days and those standards are a long way away now.
[14:50:00]
SOARES: Yes. Look, clearly, they see eye to eye. You know, Milei is the original DOGE, if you can call it that. We've seen him -- the cuts he's
done to spending in Argentina. Interesting to see how this plays out locally, of course. Important to point out behind all this, Argentina also
has -- is been deepening ties with China. So, there's another whole conversation to be having here. Stephen, as always, really appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
And even as President Trump was hosting President Milei there from Argentina, we were learning more about that latest U.S. boat strike in the
Caribbean that I just mentioned briefly. President Trump saying that U.S. forces have targeted another alleged drug trafficking boat off the coast of
Venezuela, killing six people on board.
Mr. Trump said that the vessel was, quote, "affiliated with a designated terrorist organization." That's what we have, but did not name any
organization or provide evidence to back up the assertion. We have seen criticism, of course, from many, including from President Petro of
Colombia, that this keeps happening. Allegations that someone in the last strike were Colombian. The U.S. has pushed back on that. We are going to
keep across this story for you and bring you much more as the news develops.
I want to stick, though, with what you heard from President Trump and what relates to Gaza. I want to bring in Colin Clarke. He's the executive
director of the Intelligence Security Consultancy in the Soufan Group. Great to see you. I mean, Colin, I'm sure you heard what the president,
they said, we -- if Hamas don't disarm, we will disarm them. How easy is that? Is that possible at all? What did you make of that?
COLIN CLARKE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE SOUFAN GROUP AND AUTHOR, "AFTER THE CALIPHATE": Thanks for having me. Look, this is a complex and
multidimensional challenge. You know, in my career, I've studied many post- conflict scenarios where disarmament is a key part of what we call DDR, disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration. The United States will not
send troops in to do this. That would be a recipe for disaster.
Can you imagine American troops going throughout the rubble in Gaza, attempting to reclaim weapons from Hamas fighters? It would be a recipe for
an instant insurgency. And so, clearly, there's not a strategy here. It hasn't been well thought out. This is Trump trying to put his thumb on the
scale and make kind of strong rhetoric and threats. But at the end of the day, someone's got to come up with a plan here and figure out what entity
on the ground is going to do this because it's an immense technical and strategic challenge.
SOARES: It is a huge challenge. And we've heard Hamas saying they wouldn't disarm President Trump believing they can. Do we have a sense? I mean,
we've -- you and I have spoken about this, how Hamas has been weakened, has been depleted. Do we know what their structure is like right now? Do we
know what their arsenal is like right now? Just to get a better sense, because we have seen these armed groups now popping up, right, in Gaza,
given the vacuum that the IDF has left in its wake.
CLARKE: Yes. So, this is a group that's been, you know, beaten down heavily, right, decimated, which is another challenge into itself. Even if
the leadership decides that disarmament is a good thing, which I guarantee you, the leadership will not. Would they be able to enforce that given the
weakened command and control?
The arsenal has been largely depleted, but still exists. You're talking about small arms and light weapons, anti-tank weaponry, improvised
explosive devices and rockets. That's another challenge, is that a lot of these weapons are crude and improvised. And so, there's dual use components
involved in that.
If you look at the historical cases where we've seen success, Northern Ireland, South Africa, to a certain extent, Colombia, weapons were given
back or decommissioned in exchange for as part of a broader peace agreement where the insurgents or the terrorists became part of a political process.
That's not the case here. You have Israel saying, give up your weapons and you'll play no future governing role in Gaza.
SOARES: Yes.
CLARKE: Where's the incentive for Hamas then to become a part of this?
SOARES: How much then -- given what you've just outlined for our viewers, how much would the decision by Hamas not to disarm, deter, quite frankly,
countries from contributing their forces to this stabilization force that we do not know the makeup of, where we heard anything between 20,000 to
40,000. How do we even start this?
CLARKE: Yes, it's a real chicken and egg problem here, right? These countries don't want to commit troops until Hamas commits to disarm. And
it's not possible to get Hamas to commit to disarm without some kind of broader stability there or some agreement. This is a real political
question at the end of the day. And even if these are Arab and Muslim troops on the ground, you know, Jordanian, Emiratis, Egyptians, they in and
of themselves, would they be enforcing the Israelis' mandate here or a writ that would make them look weak?
[14:55:00]
Look, I'm all for peace in the Middle East. I celebrated the release of the hostages, but I think in the weeks and months ahead, we're talking about
the really difficult questions that haven't been answered yet. It's very short on details, and that's where my skepticism comes in a little bit.
SOARES: Yes. Look, we know what the path is with this, just not clear how exactly we're going to get there. That minutiae is so crucial right now.
Colin Clarke, as always, really appreciate your insight and for holding on here as, of course, we listened to that press conference there from
President Trump. Thanks, Colin. Great to see you.
And as we're just wrapping up, I've got about 40 seconds or so left on the show. We've got some news just coming in to us. The Israeli military says
the Red Cross is on its way to a meeting point in southern Gaza. That's where we've been told several coffins of deceased hostages will be
transferred into their custody. The IDF asked the public in its statement to act with sensitivity and wait for official identification of the bodies,
of course, which will be provided to the families of the deceased.
It did not say how many bodies the Red Cross is expected to receive. So, far, of course, had been Israel had been expecting 28 deceased hostages as
part of the deal. As of right now, we understand only four. We'll keep an eye on this breaking news.
That does it for us for a very busy hour. Do stay right here. "What We Know" with Max Foster will have much more on the news out of Israel.
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[15:00:00]
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