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One World with Zain Asher
Israeli Tankers Enter Parts of Central Gaza for First Time; U.S. Man Among Druze Executed During Syria's Sectarian Violence; Rare Glimpse Inside Secretive Russian Drone Factory; Trump Meets with Philippines President at the White House; Trump: Not Planning to Fire Fed Chief Jerome Powell; Trump Calls 2016 Allegations "Fiction". Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired July 22, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Hello, everyone. Live from New York. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: I'm Zain Asher, you are watching "One World". Any moment now, Donald Trump is going to be welcoming the President
of the Philippines to the White House.
GOLODRYGA: That's right. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is the first Southeast Asian leader to meet with the U.S. President during his second term, and it comes
just days before U.S. tariffs on Philippine goods are set to take effect. We will bring you that meeting once it begins.
ASHER: Right, indefensible, unbearable and nothing left to say. The chorus of international condemnation against Israel's war in Gaza is growing
louder by the day.
GOLODRYGA: Palestinian health officials say 15 people, including four children, have died of starvation across the besieged enclave in just the
last 24 hours. The EU is once again reiterating its call for the free, safe and swift flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, saying that civilians there
have suffered much too long.
The UN warns that the Israeli military has killed more than 1000 Palestinians trying to access food since late May, and its Agency for
Palestinian refugees says its colleagues there are fainting due to severe hunger.
ASHER: But it's only getting worse with each passing day, the World Health Organization says its main warehouse in Gaza was damaged after an attack
caused explosions. It all comes as Israel expands its military operation in central Gaza and orders an evacuation of the area. Yesterday, we spoke with
Jonathan Conricus, a former spokesperson for the IDF, who had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIEUTENANT COLONEL JONATHAN CONRICUS (RET.), FORMER IDF SPOKESMAN: The responsible party for everything happening in Gaza is Hamas. The war could
have ended a long, long time ago. The war that Hamas started on October 7th, it could have ended many, many months ago by Hamas surrendering,
handing over the hostages and finishing the war.
They're refusing to do it. And they continue to refuse to end the war, despite the fact that Israel is constantly moving towards Hamas' demands,
what I think should be done is to defeat Hamas. It is to crush Hamas. It is to implement a situation in Gaza where humanitarian aid is provided.
Even in greater numbers than what is currently provided by Israel, really by Israel, not only by interlocutors, but really by Israel, and with the
help of interlocutors, in order to apply significant pressure on Hamas and to make them understand that this isn't going to go anyway, but their
surrender and the handover of hostages, and only after that happens can anything positive happen in Gaza.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Paula Hancocks has more on the dire hunger crisis unfolding in Gaza.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As we hear reports of more deaths due to starvation in Gaza, we're also understanding that the Israeli military is
ramping up its operations in central Gaza. Now this is significant. It's an area called Deir Al-Balah, and it's an area that the IDF has not operated
in for 21 months in a ground operation.
Now the IDF is not commenting on this operation at this point, but Israel army radio says that they believe there is one battalion that is operating
there, and the operation could last several weeks. Now there is concern for those on the ground. We know there have been evacuation orders for those in
the area.
Since Sunday, we have seen hundreds of people trying to leave the area, carrying what they can. We've heard as well from the U.N. Human Rights
Chief, and he has said the operation will invariably lead to further civilian deaths. Also saying that just when you thought the nightmare
couldn't get worse, it does. So, there are concerns for those still on the ground in Deir Al-Balah.
Now, Israeli media had been reporting that they believed the reason the IDF hadn't gone into this area before is because they suspected some hostages
were being held there. So, we've heard from the forum that represents those families of the hostages, and they say that they are increasingly alarmed
that this operation could harm their loved ones that are still being held by Hamas and other militant groups.
We also heard from World Health Organization. They say that in Deir Al- Balah their main warehouse and their staff residence were hit by the Israeli military. They say that the warehouse was looted by desperate
crowds shortly afterwards, so they have lost their supplies.
[11:05:00]
And they also say that the women and children were forced to evacuate the staff residents, and that the men were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated
on the spot. Now there is increasing criticism across the board of the humanitarian situation. Israel has been saying, through COGAT, its aid
group, or its agency that helps the distribution of aid that the IDF is trying to facilitate the release of aid.
But we're hearing from the Ministry of Health that 15 people, including four children, have died in just the past 24 hours. We're hearing from
hospital officials this one, the Director of the main Al Shifa Hospital, saying that they are constantly having people coming in with malnutrition
and with starvation symptoms.
And he said, we are, quote, heading towards terrifying death tolls. Now, Israel has pushed back against the criticism, but we are hearing increasing
voices that say there needs to be a ceasefire and there needs to be more aid allowed in. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
GOLODRYGA: Tarik Jasarevic is a Spokesperson for the World Health Organization, and he joins us now from Geneva. Tarik, thank you so much for
taking the time. So first of all, can you walk us through exactly what happened at the WHO warehouse yesterday, when that strike happened in Deir
Al-Balah? What unfolded and what was the result of those strikes?
TARIK JASAREVIC, SPOKESPERSON FOR THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Well, what happened is, after the vacation orders were given, there were explosions.
So, there was a strike on the on the house where WHO personnel, was living, and after that Israeli military entered, they basically separated men from
women, ordered women and children to leave on foot.
And then basically stripped, interrogated, handcuffed, all male residents. Four people, have been detained. Three of them were released later, but one
of our colleagues is still in detention, and we obviously calling for his release. At the same time, our warehouse, as you have already pointed out,
has been damaged, so medical supplies that were inside were lost.
And then desperate crowds of people looking really for anything looted, what was what was left. So, our staff had to be moved to WHO office. This
obviously will further complicate our work, and just really, we should remember that humanitarian workers should be protected and should not
really be a target. Situation is getting worse by day for Palestinians, and having humanitarian and health workers targeted will make things only
worse.
GOLODRYGA: Did the IDF offer any explanation for why they detained your staff there and interrogated them?
JASAREVIC: Well, we don't know that, but really the question is that, if all these health workers, and according to the Ministry of Health, 1500
health workers have been killed since the beginning of the war, 330 health workers are being detained. Number of colleagues of U.N. Agency for
Palestinian refugees have been killed, so this place is not safe for anyone.
And then what ordinary Palestinians can really await if humanitarian and health workers, those who should be protected the most, are also targeted.
ASHER: And that's such a good point, and this is why a ceasefire is so desperately needed. I mean, when you think about the fact that it's not
just the idea that humanitarian workers have been killed or detained, it's also that much of the enclave right now, Tarik, is at risk of starvation.
And thing about starvation and famine is that it does not discriminate, right? It doesn't matter whether you are a Palestinian mother of six, or
whether you are a journalist, or whether you are a doctor or whether you are a humanitarian aid worker. When there is no food, there is simply no
food.
Walk us through how the humanitarian workers were on the ground in Gaza are dealing with the lack of food, you know, not just in terms of ordinary
Palestinians in Gaza, but even among their own staff. I mean, how are they supposed to help ordinary Palestinians when there is literally no food and
not enough food to go around for everyone?
JASAREVIC: I was hearing today from my colleague from U.N. Agency for Palestinian refugees relating stories of her colleagues, sending really
urgent distress messages saying, we are all hungry now. And then everyone is hungry now in Gaza. People are hungry, people are dying, people are
sick.
[11:10:00]
You have seen the images of desperate people trying to get to those so- called humanitarian points, and then they are just simply being shot at. So, we really, as someone has just said, when we think it can't get worse,
it gets worse. So, this nightmare has to end. There has to be some solution.
So, there is a ceasefire, so people stop being bombed and shot at. And us, humanitarians, we need that humanitarian space, and we are ready to bring
what is needed and to support health facilities, doctors, health workers and everyone else in Gaza.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and you're hearing calls for a ceasefire, obviously, not just from U.N. officials and aid workers and Palestinians, but also from
families of those hostages too, who are so concerned about their whereabouts and status. Tarik, what are the supplies that are most
desperately in need, and what is the status of your supply of medical equipment, of medicine, of food, of any services right now as you are
trying to provide for Palestinians there in Gaza?
JASAREVIC: Right now, everything is needed. One of the most pressing concerns is fuel. Hospitals cannot run without fuel, and fuel is also
needed for bakeries, for desalination points so people get a clean water. There is a need for food, obviously, otherwise, with any other medical
equipment, if the person is malnourished, if the child is starved, no, no, no medicines can help.
The medical supplies that we be able to bring are not enough. Many medicines are already running out. And what we were able to bring cannot
really satisfy their needs. But again, we have hospitals that are missing out on fuel, on food, but also health workers. We have to think about
health workers.
They are also going through this with their families. They are exhausted. They are still trying to do their best. But again, with people coming in a
huge number with trauma injuries, with children being malnourished. It's really difficult how this can really improve without a solution that would
allow full access to all humanitarians and ceasefire.
ASHER: Yeah. I mean, we've seen stories of families in Gaza where the parents essentially decide to only go with one spoonful of soup or one bite
of bread, so their children can stand a fighting chance. And their children 5 of them, 8 of them, 10 of them, share the tiniest amount of food among
themselves, and parents are literally obviously going hungry.
It makes sense, because it's what any parent would do. Obviously, you love your children that much that you want them to have a fighting chance, but
just in terms of what the most vulnerable people in Gaza are doing right now. I mean, obviously it's one thing to go without food when you're
relatively healthy, when you're a grown-up individual, and you're going without food.
But when you're talking about the sick, when you're talking about children, when you're talking about babies, when you're talking about people who have
suffered already traumatic injuries as a result of the relentless bombing in Gaza. What are they doing without enough food?
JASAREVIC: Well, if they don't get food, they will die. It's simple as that. There are more than 13,000 people who are waiting to be medically
ever created, who have injuries and have medical conditions that cannot be treated in Gaza, they are still there. Children who are starving will have
a problem.
Even if they get food, they will have -- they may have long term medical problems. Pregnant women, if they don't get what they need, obviously,
there could be complications during pregnancies, people with chronic diseases, people who depend on a renal dialysis.
We just heard that in Al Shifa hospital, they may stop doing dialysis simply because of a lack of fuel. So, everyone is at risk. It's really
difficult to start somewhere, and that's why the only solution is really that this stops, and then we try, really to support as much as we can, with
the help of Palestinian health workers.
GOLODRYGA: Just a really dire situation there. And as we've been reporting, the ceasefire hostage relief negotiations are moving forward. So hopefully
there will be some resolution there, very, very soon. Tarik Jasarevic, thank you.
ASHER: Thank you --
GOLODRYGA: Thank you for your time.
ASHER: All right, the situation has become so dire in Gaza that the French Press Agency, the AFP, or the Agence France-Presse, is now trying to
evacuate its remaining freelance staff. Next hour, we're going to speak to speak to Chris Otten, that's the AFP's Editor in Chief for the Middle East
and North Africa region, about this the AFP -- saying that journalists were on the ground in Gaza are at risk of starvation.
There's simply not enough food for them, and so the AFP is desperately trying to evacuate their journalists, which obviously is not an easy thing
to do.
[11:15:00]
GOLODRYGA: Well, turning now to Southern Syria, where a fragile ceasefire is still holding after an eruption of sectarian violence, but tensions
remain high. Charred buildings and damaged cars are what's left of a village in Suwayda Province following clashes between Druze and Bedouin
forces last week that left hundreds, dead.
ASHER: And we are now learning that one of the casualties was an American citizen who was killed execution style, by the way, along with several of
his family members. CNN's Ben Wedeman joins us live now in Rome. So, this American, Syrian individual was a 35-year-old man. His name was Hosam
Saraya. What do we know about him and what happened?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we understand that he was killed on the 17th of July. In this video that you will see
shortly, that has emerged over the last -- over the weekend, basically this fighting broke out about 10 days ago. And what we're seeing is that the
amount of destruction and death that occurred in that very short period has been significant.
Now the video where you're about to see we must warn viewers, some of them may find it disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Shouting Allahu Akbar, God is great. The unidentified gunman appeared triumphant, marching through the streets of the Southern
Syrian City of Suwayda with prisoners, men from the Druze minority, all members of the same family. We wanted to offer you safety, but you refuse
to leave, someone shouts out of view.
Relatives of the captives told CNN they had fought back against the gunman when their home was surrounded, but surrendered after one of them was
wounded. The person who shot the phone video passes by a bullet pocked car. A dead man lies across the front seats.
Another clip shows the captives on their knees. Dogs, someone shouts. And then a hail of machine gun fire for 15 seconds, all eight captives were
killed. Among the dead Hosam Saraya a 35-year-old U.S. citizen who had studied in Oklahoma before returning to Syria.
The U.S. State Department confirmed Monday, an American citizen had died in Suwayda, providing no further details, but added it was greatly concerned
when any U.S. citizen is harmed overseas, wherever they are and called for accountability in all cases where U.S. citizens are harmed abroad.
The execution in Suwayda is just a small snapshot of the madness that is since the 13th of July engulfed this part of Southern Syria where various
Druze militia, which seek limited autonomy from Damascus, have battled Bedouin tribesmen, loosely aligned with the central government.
The fighting has left hundreds dead civilians as well as fighters, and has forced more than 90,000 people to flee their homes. Tuesday, Human Rights
Watch issued a report claiming all sides, Bedouin and Druze fighters as well as government forces, have committed abuses.
A Ministry of Interior spokesman tell CNN, such acts are absolutely unacceptable to us, and those who committed them will face justice. U.S.,
Turkish and Arab diplomats pushed through a shaky ceasefire, but not before Israel entered the fray bombing targets in Suwayda and Damascus in defense
it claimed of the Druze.
While the fighting raged, hundreds of Druzes from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights and Israel proper crossed into Syria in support of the
community in Suwayda. Last week, Interim Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa said in a televised address, we are all partners in this land, and we will
not allow any group to distort this beautiful image that expresses Syria and its diversity. A diversity now more precarious than ever before.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (on camera): Now we have heard that the U.S. State Department is going to try to do something about this American citizen killed in Syria.
But if you look over the last few years, you have had American citizens killed in the West Bank, in Gaza, now in Syria and Lebanon, but the record
of the United States actually getting to the bottom of these killings isn't very good, Bianna, Zain.
[11:20:00]
GOLODRYGA: No, it isn't. Unfortunately. Ben Wedeman thank you so much. Well, now to the story that has consumed Washington and will not go away.
We're talking about the Epstein files.
ASHER: The Department of Justice now says it wants to talk to Ghislaine Maxwell, one of Epstein's closest associates. Ghislaine Maxwell, rather, is
in prison for her role in trafficking young women to be abused by Epstein. The DOJ says it wants to ask her about other people who may have committed
crimes connected to Epstein.
GOLODRYGA: Meanwhile, the calls for more information about Epstein have functionally shut down the Congress. The House Rules Committee adjourned on
Monday, rather than face a difficult vote on the Epstein files without an active Rules Committee, nothing can be voted on by the full House.
And House Speaker Mike Johnson has ruled out any vote on Epstein before September, even though a growing number of his own Republican colleagues
are calling for it. Both Johnson and the White House say at this point it is on the FBI, the Department of Justice, to take the next steps regarding
the files.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has said, if the Department of Justice and the FBI want to move forward with releasing
any further credible evidence. They should do so as to why they have or have not or will. You should ask the FBI about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Well, let's go to Capitol Hill and CNN's Senior Reporter Annie Grayer, obviously, there are a few Republicans now actively calling for a
discharge petition that would see those files brought forward. And Annie, we're now hearing from the Speaker himself, saying that he will actually
shut down Congress until September to avoid this exact thing from playing out. Walk us through what you're hearing.
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: So, the House is supposed to go on recess next week until September, and what Johnson is doing is cutting this
week short to try and stop momentum building. Within his own Republican conference who want to vote on this issue. There are now 11 Republicans who
are signing on to this resolution that would call for the release of all of the Epstein files.
Johnson is sending members home early this week in the hopes that it will slow down momentum, because Johnson and his leadership team have continued
to emphasize. They want to give the White House and the Trump Administration the time to handle this issue.
Johnson is trying to keep the house out of this, but Republicans, who are hearing from their constituents on a regular basis, demanding transparency,
are pushing against this. This divide in the Republican Party has really led the House of Representatives to a halt. We have a new development in
the House Oversight Committee, where they are going to be subpoenaing Maxwell as well for deposition.
They're going to have to coordinate with the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons to be able to speak with her. But this issue came about
because Republican Congressman Tim Burchett forced the Oversight Committee to take a stand on this because, like a lot of his colleagues, Burchett
wants more action on Epstein, and wants to see the house take action.
This morning, House Republicans met behind closed doors, and the speaker again, was demanding his members to allow this process to play out, to
trust the president and his administration to investigate this fully. But we are seeing again and again that members are not taking that advice.
They have their own constituents to answer for. They have their own positions on this, and we are just seeing a true divide that has really led
the House to grind to a halt.
ASHER: Annie Grayer on Capitol Hill, live for us there. Thank you so much. We'll be right back with more after the short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
ASHER: Right. There is a faint light of hope for peace in Ukraine. Kyiv and Moscow will hold a new round of talks on Wednesday. Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his officials will also prepare for an exchange of prisoners.
GOLODRYGA: The Kremlin says don't expect a miraculous breakthrough, claiming that there's much diplomatic work to be done to bridge the gap
between the two sides. Moscow is continuing to bombard Ukrainian cities, including the capital of Kyiv, where a subway station being used as a
shelter was damaged in a strike early Monday.
ASHER: Despite agreeing to meet for talks, Russia's efforts to ramp up production of drones suggest it is preparing for a long war.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, a highly secretive drone factory gave Russian state media a rare tour of its operations. CNN's Matthew Chance reports from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Over Kyiv, the ominous buzz of a Russian drone. Before it finds its target.
Waves of these attack drones pose a nightly threat against Ukrainian towns and cities. Now we have a rare glimpse inside one highly secretive Russian
drone factory where thousands the cheap, simple and deadly weapons are virtually flying off the assembly lines.
This is now the biggest factory in the world for attack drones. The company CEO who sanctioned by the U.S., tells the Russian Ministry of Defense
television station it's secret, he says, but we will show you something. And what we're shown is a vast and modern production facility, employing
thousands, hundreds of miles from the front lines, recently expanded, we're told, enabling Russia's escalating campaign of drone strikes across
Ukraine.
We must give credit to the strategic foresight of those who foresaw that this war would be a war of drones, the CEO says. And it's good. We're ready
for it yet. There's also this extraordinary footage of the drones being test launched at speed while their performance is remotely monitored.
Russia's drone program, once reliant on imports from Iran, is now self- sufficient. Ukraine is waging its own drone war, of course, striking Kremlin forces deep inside Russia in highly sophisticated operations like
this one last month, targeting Russian strategic bombers on the front lines.
Drones from both sides have transformed the battlefield. These unprecedented images from this one Russian factory shows how the Kremlin is
dramatically scaling up drone production. And its capacity to wage a long and devastating drone war in Ukraine. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right, we have live pictures here of the U.S. President meeting Ferdinand Marcos Jr., at the White House that is the President of the
Philippines. One of the main topics that are set to be discussed is, of course, Philippines, like a lot of other countries, is desperate for a
trade deal with the United States.
Right now, Trump is threatening a 20 percent tariff on Philippine goods coming into the United States. Marcos Jr. wants that to be much lower. They
have, of course, until the August 1st deadline that Trump has touted, certainly a bit of a tall order, to get a trade deal done within the next
10 days, but that is the time frame they are looking at.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, the President Trump will be hosting the Philippine President Marcos Jr., for a lunch. Obviously, if past is prolog, we may be
invited into the Oval Office for any Q&A that the president conducts with the press pool there.
[11:30:00]
And when that happens, we will bring it to you live. In the meantime, we're going to take a quick break and be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Welcome back to One world. I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Here are some of the headlines we're watching today.
ASHER: At least 31 people were killed in Bangladesh on Monday when an Air Force jet crashed into a school. According to officials, 25 children died,
along with a teacher and the aircraft pilot. 165 others were injured. Afternoon classes were finishing up when the plane hit the two-story
building in the capital Dhaka.
Some students told CNN they believed the actual death toll could actually be higher than the official version.
GOLODRYGA: The White House has removed "The Wall Street Journal" from the media pool that will accompany President Trump on an upcoming trip to
Scotland. The White House Correspondents Association says that the move defies the First Amendment. Trump sued the paper last week over a report
about the president's ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
ASHER: And U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is ruling out for now a congressional vote on opening up the Epstein files. Johnson is facing a
growing clamor from within his own party for the release of more information on Epstein's crimes and who else may have been involved in
them.
GOLODRYGA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has just arrived at the White House for a meeting with President Trump. Marcos hopes that his
country's role as a key ally of the U.S. will secure a favorable trade deal. He and President Trump are also expected to discuss defense and
security.
Let's bring in Kevin Liptak at the White House, and Kevin, as we're anticipating any sort of press availability in the Oval Office between the
president there as he's meeting with Marcos Jr., as Zain had mentioned before, the most pressing issue right now are those tariffs.
President Trump just saying moments ago, as he welcomed the Philippine President. I think we will get a trade deal now, as he said before, a deal,
in his view, is even just a document or a letter sent to these leaders.
[11:35:00]
Walk us through the president's process here as he's meeting with the President of the Philippines.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, because we are coming up on that deadline that the president has set August to strike these new
trade deals or put into place these punishing new tariffs. The rate that he has threatened on the Philippines is 20 percent which is actually not that
high when you look at all of the other rates that he's threatened.
In part, that's because the trade surplus that the Philippines has with the U.S. is relatively small, particularly when you compare it to other
Southeast Asian nations. And the president just moments ago, voicing confidence that he would be able to strike a new trade deal with Marcos as
their meeting here at the White House.
I think for Ferdinand Marcos, the objective is really to try and leverage this long-standing relationship, very, very important relationship between
the Philippines and the United States, particularly on defense, and try and use that to come up with a favorable trade deal. You know, the Philippines
is the oldest U.S. ally in the Pacific.
It dates just to the years after World War II. It remains kind of a critical bulwark against China in the South China Sea and ensuring some of
these critical navigation routes remain open. And I think for Marcos, the goal really is to try and link these two things together to make clear to
the president that friendship and alliances on the defense front can also lead to an important, critical economic relationship to between those two
countries.
And he is meeting while he's here in Washington with a number of business leaders to try and advance that relationship. I think the problem for
Marcos is that President Trump clearly views things differently. He sees these trade relationships that don't necessarily favor the United States,
as a problem, whether you're a friend of the U.S. or whether you're a foe.
And so that could be sort of a tough wall for Marcos to scale as he tries and cements this relationship. The other sort of card that he has, and this
one is interesting, is his family. You know, he is the son of the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and I'm told that when he first spoke to
President Trump, President-elect Trump, back in November, one of the first things that the president asked him was, how is Imelda?
How is his mother, Imelda Marcos, who, like Trump, is sort of an icon of the 1980s and 90s. She's most famous for the extravagant lifestyle and the
massive shoe collection that she amassed on taxpayer dimes from the Philippines. The president knows her. They attended parties together in the
late 1980s.
The president is someone who won is in many ways, still of that era. He thinks of the 80s is kind of his heyday. But two also associates these
family relationships with like the quality of the person. He has said that before, about foreign leaders, about his own staffers, and so as Marcos
enters this meeting, I think that's one thing he may be able to use to his advantage as he works to press Trump on this trade relationship.
Of course, Imelda Marcos has been convicted of graft. She never ended up serving time in prison because she's 96 years old. That I think not
necessarily at the forefront of President Trump's mind as he enters into this meeting.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, of course, for the president, especially personal family connections are always so important for him as he deals with geopolitical
issues. Who can forget Imelda Marcos.
ASHER: Yeah --
GOLODRYGA: -- again, child of the 80s. I knew it very, very, very well.
ASHER: -- how interesting that Trump actually brought her name up --
GOLODRYGA: Exactly -- Kevin Liptak, thank you.
LIPTAK: Similar tastes in a lot of ways --
ASHER: All right, President Donald Trump is now holding a meeting with -- the President of the Philippines. Let's listen in.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well. Thank you very much everybody. It's a great honor to have President Ferdinand Marcos,
Jr. of the Philippines, a great family, great family legacy, and highly respected in this country. I know that because I have many friends in the
Philippines and there's great respect, or I couldn't say it, so congratulations.
FERDINAND MARCOS JR., PRESIDENT OF PHILIPPINES: Thank you --
TRUMP: We're going to be talking about trade. We're going to be talking about war and peace. They're a very important nation militarily, and we've
had some great drills lately. We're back with them. I think I can say that the last administration was not getting along with them too well.
They didn't get along with anybody. They didn't know. Honestly, they didn't know what they were doing. But we have some fantastic military
relationships with the Philippines, and that's been reinstituted. And Pete, I would say that you couldn't be happier, right with the relationship.
So, I just want to say it's an honor to have you. We're going to talk about trade today, and we're very close to finishing a trade deal, big trade
deal, actually.
[11:40:00]
And we do a lot of business with you. It's a lot of income coming in for both groups. But I was surprised to see the kind of numbers are very big,
and they're going to get bigger under what we're doing and what we're proposing. And I just want to thank you for being with us.
It's a great honor. You and your representatives truly a great, great honor. We have a big announcement. AstraZeneca, the big drug company, is
going to spend $50 billion just announced $50 billion in the United States in order to build various places all over the country, big manufacturing
plants, pharmaceutical plants all over the country, so that's an honor.
And he said they did that because of the election and because of the fact that the tariffs are placed. So, they're building their facilities in New
York, 50 billion. That's a big investment, and it's going to be a very good investment. I have no doubt about it. So, thank you to AstraZeneca, and
with that, I'd like to have you say a few words, please.
MARCOS JR.: Thank you very much, Mr. President. Of course, we're all very happy to be here to once again, reaffirm the very strong ties between the
Philippines and the United States. The ties that go back over 100 years, and considering the context in which we live these days, especially in my
part of the world.
This has become, this has evolved into as important a relationship as is possible to have. We must remember that the United States is our only
treaty partner in the Philippines, and that has stood us in good stead over the years, certainly through the Second World War, and the cultural memory
of all Filipinos down to even the school children, is that our strongest, closest, most reliable ally has always been the United States.
That is something that we value, that we are grateful for, and that we will continue to foster. So, as we go on with the leadership of President Trump,
I am very confident that we will be able to achieve that. I think it is worthwhile to remember that it was President Trump who, in his first term,
characterized the relationship between the Philippines and the United States as ironclad.
And that has been necessarily the case since that time that you made that statement, sir. And it is one. It is something that the Philippines will
always hold close to its heart. Thank you once again. And we are honored, and it is our great pleasure to be here and to visit with the President of
the United States. Thank you, sir.
TRUMP: Thank you very much. It's my great honor. Any questions -- Yeah, please go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, do you think that Fed Chair Jerome Powell should be gone?
TRUMP: I think he's done a bad job, but he's going to be out pretty soon anyway in eight months, he'll be out, but he's, I call him too late. He's
too late all the time. He should have lowered interest rates many times. Europe lowered their rate 10 times. We lowered ours none.
And it's causing a problem for people that want to buy a home. Look, our economy is so strong now. We're blowing through everything. We're setting
records. You know that you see that, and whether it's the Philippines or anyone else, we're setting records at levels that nobody has ever seen
before.
But you know what? People aren't able to buy a house because this guy is a numbskull. He keeps the rates too high, and probably doing it for political
reasons. The only time I remember him cutting rates, I mean, he cut the rates just before the election to try and help Kamala, or whoever he was
trying to help people he didn't know.
And he's building a building is $2.7 billion over $900 million over on. What is that? And that was given by Biden. That was another Biden deal. And
this guy's building this building that's severely overrun. And what does he need to building for? What does he need? He needs space for more people.
So, they did a big study the other day, and they called all of the great intellects and the great economists and all of the great everything. And
they -- it was 71 and only two got it right. Me and another gentleman that happens to be very smart, 69 people got it wrong, and the fed got it wrong
more wrong than anybody.
And, you know, he has these think tanks. And they build buildings for people that think. And it's really not thinking, it's a little bit of
combination of thinking, but it's something you sort of have, or you don't have. They don't -- this, the job he's done is just terrible. He ought to
raise interest rates.
[11:45:00]
You know, we would -- we should be at 1 percent, we should be leading the world. Instead, we're paying 4 percent and if you look at what that means,
that's over a trillion dollars in interest that we have to pay, that with the striking of a pen, we would be saving more than $1 trillion said right,
Scott, you have anything to say about it?
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: Yes, sir, I called yesterday and this morning for the fed to do a big internal investigation to understand
not their monetary policy, but everything else. The fed has had big mission creep, and that's where a lot of the spending is going. That's why they're
building these new or refurbishing these buildings.
And I think they got a state in their lane. And I think that the, you know, based on the way they cut rates last fall, they should be cutting rates
now.
TRUMP: It's inconceivable. I know the fed very well that they can be spending 2.7 billion to build a building. They don't do anything. They just
-- I mean, it's the greatest job. You show up one day, a half a day, you make a little speech. Economy is doing well. The economy is not doing well.
We're going to raise interest. And he's got it wrong. That's why I call him too late, too late. And it's really too bad, but it is affecting people
that want to buy houses, and that shouldn't happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And Mr. President --
TRUMP: And you know, he should lower them. Those rates should be three points lower. That's what they should be. Three points lower, maybe more
than that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- I would like to ask -- one question, Mr. President Marcos, next year, Philippines going to be the rotating chair of ASEAN. I
wonder, how do you plan to balance your relationship between the United States and China.
And for President Trump, Kremlin, yes, they said, if you are going to Beijing in September, they wouldn't rule out a meeting between you and
President Putin. Is such a meeting possible? And how soon do you plan to visit China?
TRUMP: Well, we have a lot of meetings possible. President Xi has invited me to China, and we'll probably be doing that in the not-too-distant
future, a little bit out, but not too distant. And I've been invited by a lot of people, and we'll make those decisions pretty soon, please.
MARCOS JR.: Well, as you will be the -- as you say, we are chairing ASEAN for -- into 2026 there is no need, in a sense, to balance, as you
characterize us, to balance our relationship within the United States and China, simply because our foreign policy is an independent one.
And we are essentially concerned with the defense of our territory and the exercise of our sovereign rights. Now, whether we do this not alone, we
need to do this with our partners. And again, our strongest partner has always been the United States. But of course, we are trying to form
coalitions and multilateral relations.
So that we those likeminded nations who share the same values as we do, who hew into the international law, more specifically, the UNCLOS are present
that position very clearly to anyone who has intentions of unilaterally changing the world order, and that is where -- that is how we are guided in
that --
TRUMP: And I don't mind if he gets along with China, because we're getting along with China very well. We have a very good relationship. In fact, the
magnets, which is a little complex piece of material, but the magnets are coming out, you know very well. They're sending them in record numbers.
We're getting along with China very well. And I don't mind if the president dealt with China, you know, if that's meant because, I think he has to do
what's right for his country. I've always said, you know, make the Philippines great again. Do whatever you need to do, but you're dealing
with China. Wouldn't bother me at all.
MARCOS JR.: No, well, no, it is something that we have to do in any case.
TRUMP: Yeah.
MARCOS JR.: And certainly that --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, do you support the Justice Department seeking a new interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, Deputy Attorney General --
TRUMP: I don't know anything about it. They're going to what? Meet her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going to -- your deputy attorney general has reached out to Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney asking for a new interview.
TRUMP: Yeah, I don't know about it, but I think it's something that would be sounds appropriate to tell you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you deputy attorney general is your former attorney conducting the interview given --
TRUMP: No, he's a very talented person. He's very smart. I didn't know that they were going to do it. I don't really follow that too much. It's sort of
a witch hunt, just a continuation of the witch hunt.
[11:50:00]
The witch hunt that you should be talking about, is they caught President Obama, absolutely cold. Tulsi Gabbard, what they did to this country in
2016, starting in 2016 but going up all the way, going up to 2020 of the election. They tried to rig the election, and they got caught.
And there should be very severe consequences for that. You know, when we caught Hillary Clinton, I said, you know what, let's not go too far here.
It's the ex-wife of a president, and I thought it was sort of terrible, and I let her off the hook, and I'm very happy I did, but it's time to start
after what they did to me, and whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people.
Obama's been caught directly. So, people say, oh, you know a group. It's not a group, it's Obama. His orders are on the paper. The papers are
signed. The papers came right out of their office. They sent everything to be highly classified. Well, the highly classified has been released, and
what they did in 2016 and in 2020 is very criminal.
It's criminal at the highest level. So that's really the things you should be talking about. I know nothing about the other but I think it's
appropriate that they do go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May I ask you about that, Mr. President.
TRUMP: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tulsi Gabbard has submitted a criminal referral to the Department of Justice. From your perspective, who should the DOJ target as
part of their investigation? What specific figures in the Obama Administration?
TRUMP: Well, based on what I read, and I read, pretty much what you read, it would be President Obama. He started it, and Biden was there with him,
and Comey was there, and Clapper, the whole group was there. Brennan, they were all there in a room right here. This was the room.
This is much more beautiful than it was then, but that's OK. Have nice pictures up. They came out of the vaults. They were in there for 100 years.
This is much more beautiful. We have the Declaration of Independence now in the room, which wasn't here. I guess people didn't feel too good about
putting it here, but I do.
But you know what? If you look at that those papers, they have them stone cold, and it was President Obama. It wasn't lots of people all over the
place. It was them too, but the leader of the gang was President Obama, Barack Hussein Obama. Have you heard of him? And except for the fact that
he gets shielded by the press for his entire life, that's the one they look he's guilty.
It's not a question, you know, I like to say, let's give it time. It's there. He's guilty. This was treason. This was every word you can think of.
They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody's ever even imagined, even in other countries,
you've seen some pretty rough countries.
This man has seen some pretty rough countries, but you've never seen anything like it, and we have all of the documents. And from what Tulsi
told me she's got thousands of additional documents coming. So, President Obama, it was his concept, his idea, but he also got it from crooked
Hillary Clinton.
Crooked is a $3 bill. Hillary Clinton and her group, the Democrats, spent $12 million to Christopher Steele to write up a report that was a total
fake report. Took two years to figure that out, but it came out that it was a total fake report. It was made up fiction, and they use that.
Now the one thing they weren't able to do was, probably the only thing I respect about the press in years is the press refused to write it before
the election. They refused to put it in. The Steele report was a disaster. All lies, all fabrication, all admitted and admitted fraud. She paid $12
million and the Democrats for that report to a wise guy named Christopher Steele.
He wrote a phony report, and they wanted to get that report in before the election. And I'll tell you what I talk about all the time, the fake news,
how bad it is. But in this case, they wouldn't do it. They saw it, they read it, and they said, we don't believe it. And it was only after
substantially, like a month and a half after the election that it got printed.
And it was a big wisp. It was just like a bang of nothing, because the election had ended. If that report had gotten published by "The New York
Times", or somebody, and I respect the times for maybe only this, because they're crooked as you can be. They're a terrible paper, a crooked, corrupt
paper.
But for this one moment, they said, this is bullshit, we can't put this in. And neither could any other paper "Wall Street Journal" is a lousy paper,
very, very dishonest paper.
[11:55:00]
As you see, I'm suing them for a lot of money, because they do things very badly. It's a really, it's got a nice name, but it's really, in my opinion,
it's a terrible paper, and it can be corrupt. But just so you know, they didn't take the Steele report was the dossier. Remember the famous dossier?
I call it the fake news dossier. The news wouldn't publish it, and I'm amazed at 2.5 months it was finished, 2.5 months, that was supposed to be
what was going to happen, and it got published a couple of months after the election. And frankly, nobody cared too much about it, but that was a big
thing.
No, no, we caught Hillary Clinton. We got Barack Hussein Obama. They're the ones, and then you have many, many people under them, Susan Rice, they're
all there. The names are all there. And I guess they figured they're going to put this in classified information, and nobody will ever see it again.
But it doesn't work that way. And it's the most unbelievable thing I think I've ever read. So, you want to take a look at that and stop talking about
nonsense, because this is big stuff. Never has a thing like this happened in the history of our country, and by the way, it morphed into the 2020
race.
And the 2020 race was rigged, and it was a rigged election, and because it was rigged, we have millions of people in our country. We had inflation. We
solve the inflation problem. But millions and millions of people came into our country because of that. And people that shouldn't have been, people
from gangs and from jails and from mental institutions.
People that we don't want in our country, and people that we're getting out dangerous people, 11,888 murders, many of them 50 percent, more than 50
percent murdered more than one person. I hate to say this was such a distinguished guest, but you know, they asked me a question.
I got to answer the question. No, Barack Hussein Obama is the ringleader. Hillary Clinton was right there with him, and so was sleepy Joe Biden, and
so with the rest of Comey, Clapper, the whole group, and they tried to rig an election, and they got caught. And then they did rig the election in
2020.
And then, because I knew I won that election by a lot. I did it a third time, and I won in a landslide. Every swing state won the popular vote, but
I won that all the same way in 2020 and look at the damage that was caused.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President -- how crucial is the ammunition hub that the U.S. plans to build in Subic and the Luzon corridor, considering
that these will be built in areas that hosts strategic ports as well as military air bases?
TRUMP: We figured ammunition?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, the U.S. House Congressional Committee on Appropriations, approved budget.
TRUMP: Yeah. Well, it's very important. Otherwise, we wouldn't have approved it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sorry.
TRUMP: Yeah, it's very important. Otherwise, we need ammunition. We're going to end up in a few months, we'll have more ammunition than any
country has ever had. We're going to have more missiles than any country has ever had. We're going to have all the speedy missiles.
We'll have the speedy ones, the slow ones, the accurate ones, the ones that are slightly less accurate. We have everything, but we will have more
ammunition than any country has ever had. It's very important to me. OK -- go ahead, please red.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, when you say that you're close to making a trade deal, what gaps remain? And for President Marcos sir, I was just wondering,
do you not think that perhaps you, the Philippines hosting U.S. missile systems could be considered escalatory by China --
TRUMP: Well, it's an honor to be with this gentleman. You know, I've known him, and I've known his family, actually, but I've known him, and he's, I
assume you're from the Philippines. Are you from the Philippines?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes sir.
TRUMP: It's good. You're very lucky to be from the Philippines, right? It's a great place. But we're going to have a very good relationship. I mean, I
know you had some problems with another president, and it was not your fault, it was the president's fault. And the country was maybe tilting
toward poor China, but we untitled it very, very quickly.
But you know, you did have, you had a country that was tilting toward China for a period of time, and I just don't think that would have been good for
you. You can deal with China. You should deal with China, but when I got elected, everything changed, and they came right back to us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump, we may consider --
TRUMP: Say it again. Yeah, Brian (ph), go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, Mr. President -- piggyback off --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- question to President Marcos.
MARCOS JR.: Yes, yes. Sorry, what was the question, again?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was about whether having U.S. missiles hosted in the Philippines would be considered escalatory by China --
MARCOS JR.: All of the what we consider part of the modernization of the Philippine military is --
END
