Return to Transcripts main page

One World with Zain Asher

Russia Dismisses European Consultations Ahead of Trump-Putin Summit as "Insignificant"; White House Calls Trump-Putin Summit a "Listening Exercise"; Trump to Announce Kennedy Center Honorees; DC Mayor: Trump's Police Takeover an "Authoritarian Push"; EU, Ukraine, U.S. Talk Ahead of Trump-Putin Meeting; Perseid Meteor Shower Lights Up Night Sky Across Balkans. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired August 13, 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 INTERNATIONAL HOST: Anticipation builds for the Trump-Putin Alaska Summit "One World" starts right now. A high stakes day

for diplomacy between the U.S. and Europe as Ukraine allies hold a virtual meeting with President -- and Russian Leaders. President Trump aims to

change America's cultural institutions with a visit to the Kennedy Center this hour.

Plus, a wave of water from a melting glacier is threatening Alaska's Capital. We'll have a live report. Hello, everyone, live from New York. I'm

Bianca Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching "One World".

European Leaders are making a last-ditch effort to convince Donald Trump what's at stake when he meets with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. And

they're trying to convince the U.S. President to pressure Russia to end the fighting in Ukraine on terms acceptable to Kyiv. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in

Berlin right now, where he took part in a virtual meeting with Trump and EU Leaders.

And at a press conference with the German Chancellor afterwards, the Ukrainian President stressed the importance of action, along with words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We have to combine the negotiations with pressure against Russia. Sanctions should be strengthened

if Russia will not go -- ceasefire in Alaska. It's very important for these things to work. Of course, we discussed the battlefield today, told

President Trump and all European allies Putin is bluffing. He's trying to push before the Alaska meeting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: And here's what Friedrich Merz had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: Strategy needs to depend on strong support for Ukraine and necessary pressure on Russia. There has been no

movement on the Russian side. If there's -- if there is no movement on the Russian side in Alaska for that, then Europe needs to increase its

pressure.

Donald Trump knows these positions and shares most of them, and we had an extremely constructive discussion with one another. We wished Donald Trump

all the best, and immediately after the meeting with Putin, he will meet with the Ukrainian President, and then afterwards, the European Heads of

State and Government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Europe and Ukraine have been concerned about what might happen at the summit they weren't invited to. The White House describes it as a

listening exercise, but the Kremlin says its demands haven't changed. Now it comes as Moscow appears to be making a last-minute push in Eastern

Ukraine ahead of those talks. Recently.

Russian troops pierced parts of Ukraine's defenses in the Donetsk region, but Kyiv said that doesn't mean Russia has taken control of any new

territory. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is live for us in Moscow. But first, let's go to Clare Sebastian in London. And out of that press conference, we saw a

defiant President Zelenskyy, standing there next to Chancellor Merz, saying, once again, that Ukraine will not be giving up any parts of the

Donbas what else was notable to you?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Bianna, we did get some vaguely positive noises coming out of this, as you showed there. Friedrich Merz

described it as extremely constructive. President Zelenskyy also said that the allies and partners spoke with one voice, one will and one principle,

and that that mood in itself was a really positive sign.

Key issues obviously came to light. One of the key things that Merz said and Zelenskyy were pushing for was the sequence of events that really keen

that a ceasefire should happen before any meaningful discussions on peace. Now that is something, of course, that Russia has ruled out, saying that

they don't want to give Ukraine time to regroup and rearm during any kind of peace discussions.

Obviously, we see right now Moscow keeping up with pressure militarily, with this accelerated push in the Donbas. So that sequence is critical. And

I think the sense from the Europeans is that if Moscow does not commit to a ceasefire, that sanctions should be ramped up.

And of course, this is a critical issue, since this meeting in Alaska seems to give Trump an opening to bypass that deadline that he set for last

Friday to bring in more secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil and gas. Will he go and do that if there's no progress in this meeting?

The Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this morning suggested that that was still on the table, but Trump has been reticent about this in the past. And

we heard President Zelenskyy warning that today that Moscow was bluffing around sanctions in the constant refrain that we get from Moscow that

they're not working.

[11:05:00]

And he said that actually they are working. So, I think look this on one hand, as the NATO Secretary General said, coming out of this, the ball is

in Putin's court. I think this sets up a major challenge for President Trump. He is going to be faced on Friday with a Russian position that is

diametrically opposed to the European and Ukrainian position that we just saw laid out.

Will he be able to withstand Putin's persuasion and perhaps the sort of characteristic filibuster that we've become so used to seeing from the

Russian Leader a long history lesson perhaps, on Russia's claims to Ukraine, I think it's going to be a major challenge, and I think we should

really watch Trump's rhetoric coming out of this meeting with the Europeans to see how successful they were in persuading them to their position.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, we will be waiting to see what we hear, if anything, from President Trump following this conversation today. Clare, stand by. Let's

go to Frederik Pleitgen for us in Moscow. And Fred we heard President Zelenskyy, once again lashing out at President Putin, saying that he is

bluffing. Sanctions don't work because he says that they actually do put pressure on Russia.

And he also said that Putin is bluffing in that he would settle for any territory that doesn't include all of Ukraine as a whole. Just talk about

the perception and how the selling of this meeting is taking place in Russia itself, with the public from the Kremlin?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Bianna. Well, what the Russians are saying is they believe that the some

that just took place there with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, and the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, of course, also the

virtual part of it that that's insignificant, as they put it.

The Russians are saying they believe that that's an effort by the Europeans, as they put it, to try and sabotage the process that is going

on, and that will, of course, further be going on between the Russian Leader Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. That's what they're

eyeing. That's what they're saying is important to them. And that's, of course, what they're concentrated on as well.

First of all, as far as the battlefield is concerned, the messaging here in Russia over the past couple of days has indeed been that there have been

accelerating gains on the parts of the Russians, and that is going to lead Putin to go into that Summit with President Trump as a winner, as the

Russians put it, and the one who has the momentum on his side.

So, it certainly seems as though that is going to be an important point in the negotiations on the part of the Russian Leader. One of the things that

we picked up on today Bianna is that the Russians are saying that this Summit, for them, at least, is not only going to be about the conflict in

Ukraine, but about more than that.

The Russians are saying accumulated issues between the U.S. and Russia, starting with the crisis in Ukraine, as they put it, but of course, then

going all the way to the possible normalization of relations between the U.S. and Russia, which is, of course, the thing that the Russians really

want the most, and something that they've been very clear about as well.

One of the other things that we also picked up on, and that sort of maybe pours cold water on some of the things that President Trump has been

saying, the territorial swaps that he's been talking about, there was a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry who came out today, and he was

asked that question, and he said, look, Russia's territory is enshrined in the Constitution.

Now, of course, we know that those four Ukrainian regions, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, that the Russians now consider those to

be part of Russia and their entire administrative borders, even though large parts of that territory is still held by the Ukrainians.

So unclear whether or not Vladimir Putin really is going to keep that hard line when he meets with President Trump. Unclear what kind of a role that

will play. But that's certainly the messaging that today has come out of Moscow, that they consider that area to be theirs, the Russian and so

therefore, possibly are also going to demand territorial, very large territorial concessions from the Ukrainians when that meeting comes around

in Alaska at the end of the week Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah. Really interesting that Moscow is highlighting its own constraints given its constitution, since Ukraine also has a constitution,

and that is the same language that we are hearing from President Zelenskyy when it comes to him unilaterally giving up territory as well. He's saying

that he's constrained by their own constitution. Fred Pleitgen and Clare Sebastian, thank you so much.

Well. Alexander Gabuev is Director of the Carnegie Eurasia, Russia Eurasia Center, and joins me now from Lisbon, Portugal. Sasha always good to see

you. So, you have actually outlined three possible scenarios for how Putin will be approaching this summit.

One, a deal that Trump could push Ukraine to accept. Two, a deal Ukraine rejects, leading the U.S. to distance itself from Ukraine again. And three

continuations, of the war toward ultimate Ukrainian exhaustion. Which one do you think is the most realistic to come out of these?

ALEXANDER GABUEV, DIRECTOR, CARNEGIE RUSSIA EURASIA CENTER: The first scenario is aspirational for Putin, but it's very unlikely to materialized

at all because Ukraine has agency. It has backing of the Europeans, and it has still bandwidth to fight the Russian aggression.

[11:10:00]

But number two scenario where Trump and Putin agreed to something, and then President Zelenskyy and his European partners bulk of that deal, and

President Trump has a pretext to walk away and say it's Biden's war. I don't want to inherit that. I can maybe sell weapons to Ukraine, if

Europeans are ready to buy but otherwise, the U.S. is out of this conflict.

That's already a big win for President Putin. We'll see whether that happens. But I think that with continuation of the war, Mr. Putin,

unfortunately, still has a lot of war optimism. He believes that the war is at the inflection point because of the most recent gains, because of

domestic turmoil in Ukraine.

And because his economy is in trouble, but it has another 12 to 18 month running time before the problems become really massive and creates

obstacles for his war machine.

GOLODRYGA: So, was President Zelenskyy accurate when he said that President Putin is bluffing on two fronts, one, that he will settle for any land that

doesn't include all of the Ukrainian territory, and two, that sanctions aren't affecting Russia.

GABUEV: I think that on the territorial issue, there is maybe a room for compromise, but the precondition that Putin reportedly has set, and that's

the deal that Trump's Envoy Steve Witkoff has been discussing in the Kremlin, that Ukrainian Armed Forces became part of Donbas, the most

fortified cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and neighboring city castles.

That seems to be unacceptable for Ukraine, for both morale reasons and also for military reasons. You will give up part of the country that has been

turned into these insurmountable borders for the last decade to the Russians without a fight. It's bad strategically, and I don't think that

President Zelenskyy can afford that treaty.

On everything else, there could be probably room for compromise. But key issue is really not territory. Key issue that President Putin wants to turn

Ukraine into a small state that's de facto controlled by him, like Belarus. That's their goal. So, all the talk about demilitarization and

denazification means Kremlin's control over Kyiv security policy and domestic politics, which is unacceptable to Ukraine obviously.

GOLODRYGA: How do Russia's recent advances, and I mean, with just in the last few days, specifically on the battlefield there in the east, fit into

what Putin views as his leverage, or a strong position that he's garnered for himself going into these talks.

GABUEV: The key issue here is that Putin doesn't want a ceasefire before he understands the parameters of the deal that work for him. So, the ask of

President Zelenskyy and the European Leaders to go into a clean ceasefire with no strings attached, first and then discuss the deal overall and have

comprehensive negotiations removes leverage on the Russian side.

Because Russia is advancing, it's gaining territory. It's putting pressure on Ukraine by the battlefield. That's the only point of leverage Mr. Putin

has. So, it's very unlikely that he will surrender that. The current momentum that the Russians are having is still wrapped in form of war. So,

I would be cautious in jumping to big conclusions.

Ukrainians have ability to fix the breach. The problem that this breach recently around strategic town of Pokrovsk and Dobropillia shows is that

Ukraine still is suffering from manpower issues. Its defensive lines are not densely populated by soldiers, but they supporters, and that allows the

Russian assault troops to infiltrate then wreck-havoc deep inside the rear, and that's causing a lot of trouble for Ukrainian defenders.

GOLODRYGA: Sasha, we spent a lot of time over the past week talking about how high the stakes are and the risks that face Ukraine coming out of this

meeting, Europe as a whole, even President Trump, if he walks away without anything here, only to be roiled once again by Vladimir Putin.

Is there any risk to Vladimir Putin going into this meeting? Because I find it hard to find one, even if he walks away with nothing, he gets that

global stage and the attention in a visit with President Trump, one-on-one on U.S. soil to walk back to.

GABUEV: I agree with you, the key issue is the stake that President Trump allegedly has, and this could be either more economic sanctions or more

military support to Ukraine.

[11:15:00]

And that's where I think that President Zelenskyy wants to be optimistic that the Russian economy is crumbling and that war pressure is really

powerful in order to push Putin to an outcome that is acceptable to Ukraine and its Western France. But I think the timeline here is really crucial.

Mr. Putin is confident that he has another 12 to 18 months and that Ukraine doesn't have that. Trump's recent attempt to put pressure on India and

China in order to abandon Russian oil purchases didn't materialize in anything spectacular. We don't have any real indication that the sanctions

will work or that they will work without pushing the oil prices up and affecting negatively the U.S. economy, which President Trump doesn't want

to do.

And then on, the military leverage more deliveries of arms and so on. Unfortunately, the U.S. storages are also not entirely empty, but no

military feels confident to give weapons that its needs for protection of home land and for various contingencies in other parts of the world. So, we

are not in the best of the situations.

And Mr. Putin goes into this meeting feeling that the stakes of President Trump are not that painful as the U.S. administration wants to portray

them.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Alexander Gabuev, always good to see you. Thank you so much for joining us. And do stay with "One World" the next hour, I'll

speak with John Bolton, the Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. and Donald Trump's Former National Security Adviser who the president, just this

morning, bashed in a Truth Social post as well. We'll bring you that in the next hour.

Turning to Israel now, the country says that its military chief has approved the main concept for its new attack plan in Gaza after 22 months

of its war against Hamas. The announcement comes days after Israel's security cabinet called for the full takeover of Gaza City, despite

domestic objections and global condemnation.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military says that it struck an armed group posing as aid workers. Said it killed five armed terrorists. Video released by the

IDF shows men standing around a vehicle marked with a World Central Kitchen logo. The WCK said that it strongly condemns anyone posing as part of its

organization.

CNN's Jerusalem Bureau Chief Oren Liebermann, joins me now. A lot to get through Oren. First of all, it appears that perhaps negotiations with Hamas

have resumed. I'd like to get you to weigh in on that, and also the pressure that the Israeli military chief of staff is now under, with some

in the Netanyahu government calling for his ouster.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: I wouldn't go as far Bianna as to say negotiations have resumed, but you can clearly see the effort there

to try to make that happen. From the Egyptians, Egyptian officials, intelligence officials, have invited Hamas to begin talks on possibly

resuming ceasefire negotiations, those have been underway in Cairo, specifically between Hamas and Egypt, with the goal of trying to expand

that.

And that comes after we already saw U.S. Envoy, Steve Witkoff, speak with the Qataris in Spain. So, although those are separate, it's trying to get

to the same spot, and that's to renew the ceasefire negotiations that broke down on July 24th that's when the U.S. and Israel, in a move that was

somewhat surprising, withdrew from negotiations, blaming Hamas of acting in bad faith.

Now there was, especially at the beginning of that round of talks in July, a tremendous amount of optimism. There isn't that sense of optimism now,

but there is certainly an urgency in the effort, and that's because of the second point you mentioned. Israel's military chief says it has approved

plans, action plans, or attack plans, for the next phase of this war, which, as Israel's security cabinet approved, is the takeover and

occupation of Gaza City.

Europeans and actors in the region are clearly trying to head that off and see if they can restart ceasefire negotiations and try to get a ceasefire

in place before the plan that was just approved goes into effect. On top of that, is a tremendous amount of disagreement, a growing rift, I think it's

fair to say, between Israel's Military Chief Lieutenant General, Eyal Zamir, and the political echelon, especially Minister of Defense Israel

Katz.

And you see this, for example, even in the promotion of generals and other military officers, this should be a normal, non-contentious event in a

well-functioning military, and yet it's become one of -- one of many more incredible rifts between the defense minister and the IDF Chief of Staff,

and if these two are not essentially in lockstep together, as the -- as Israel prepares to escalate this war in a major way, that is a major sign

of a problem.

GOLODRYGA: And also, that much more significant given that Eyal Zamir was handpicked by Prime Minister Netanyahu not too long ago after he ousted his

predecessor.

[11:20:00]

So, what does that tell you about the pressure on the prime minister himself from within his cabinet?

LIEBERMANN: Well, when we look at what was approved, the takeover and occupation, specifically, of Gaza City, it wasn't as far as some of the

far-right members of his cabinet wanted him to go. They wanted to see the security cabinet approve a plan to take over and occupy all of Gaza with a

very clear stated aim to, at some point, annex Gaza and re-establish Jewish settlements there, which were dismantled some 20 years ago.

So that's the pressure on Netanyahu from his far right. They have threatened that maybe they'd consider taking down the government. So,

Netanyahu it seems approved what is essentially an interim step. It moves in that direction, but it's not all the way there.

Meanwhile, the Military's Chief of Staff, who voiced clear objections in two straight security cabinet and security meetings to Netanyahu, was

simply overruled. Netanyahu and others in what were described to us as shouting matches in these meetings, simply brushed aside the concerns that

the chief of staff had pointed out, like a risk to hostages.

Israel's international standing a risk to soldiers, the humanitarian situation, which could get far worse, all of those brushed aside as

Israel's political echelon, at least right now, in the absence of ceasefire negotiations, seems set on moving this military operation forward.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Oren Liebermann, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate the time. Well, Donald Trump wants to remake DC's cultural

landscape. Any moment, he'll announce this year's Kennedy Center Honorees after his allies took over the center's board earlier this year,

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Well, any moment now, Donald Trump will arrive at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC to announce this year's honorees. Now this comes

as the president seeks to exert greater control over Washington, DC, including its most prominent cultural institutions.

In February, Trump dismissed the Democratic members of the Center's Board of Trustees and then replace them with aides and allies who made him

chairman of the center. CNN's Betsy Klein joins me now with more. What are we expecting to hear from the president today at the Kennedy Center, Betsy?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, we do expect President Trump to unveil the first round of Kennedy Center Honorees the first time

since he has taken control of the center and its board earlier this year, as you mentioned.

[11:25:00]

And the Kennedy Center has teased some of those potential honorees, saying it's going to be a country music icon, an Englishman, a New York City Rock

Band, a Dance Queen and a multi-billion-dollar actor "The Washington Post" reporting that some of those names include the Country Music Star George

Strait, along with Actor Michael Crawford and the Band KISS.

But we are waiting to hear from the president just moments from now, where he is expected to unveil those names and take some questions, certainly a

lot of questions about his call just moments ago with European Leaders and Ukraine President Zelenskyy, leading into this Summit with Russia President

Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska.

But this also comes as his administration is instituting what they are describing as a comprehensive internal review of all material and exhibit

at this -- exhibits at the Smithsonian Institutions. This really marks the latest move by the Trump Administration to impose the president's views on

cultural and historical institutions, as well as an effort to get rid of, in their view, what is a focus on diversity.

The Smithsonian is the overarching organization of the nation's public museums. There are 21 museums, plus the National Zoo, receiving about 17

million visitors every year. And this review is going to target an initial phase of eight of those museums that includes the National Museum of

African American History and Culture, the Air and Space Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, among several others.

And they're going to be looking at all current and ongoing exhibits and budgets. There will review the tone and historical framing of that

material. They're going to look at staff manuals, job descriptions, organizational charts, as well as internal communications about how

decisions on exhibits are made? How artwork is selected, things like that?

There's also going to be an effort to replace what they are describing as divisive or ideologically driven language on things like placards and other

public facing material with what they say is going to be unifying messaging. But a letter from White House officials says this initiative

aims to ensure alignment with the president's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism. The Smithsonian saying in a statement that they're

reviewing the White House's letter and plan to collaborate.

GOLODRYGA: All right, you'll be following it all for us. Betsy Klein, thank you so much. And we'll take a closer look at the Trump Administration's new

battleground in the culture wars later in the show with CNN's Presidential Historian Tim Natalia. Well, the first signs from a stunning power move in

the nation's capital, the National Guard hitting the streets of Washington DC. Why the mayor says it's not just about Washington anymore?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00]

GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York. Here are some headlines we're watching today. Ukrainian President Volodymyr

Zelenskyy says Russian President Vladimir Putin is bluffing about the impact of sanctions, and he's reaffirming that Ukraine will not surrender

the Donbas region.

Zelenskyy made his comments in Berlin after attending a virtual summit with EU Leaders and the U.S. President ahead of Friday's meeting between Donald

Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The White House is describing the summit as a listening exercise, but Russia says its war goals have not

changed, including demands that Ukraine adopt a neutral, non-aligned status.

Kyiv and European Leaders are worried the U.S. President will offer Ukrainian territory to Russia after he said any peace deal would involve

land swapping between Russia and Ukraine. Well nearly two weeks after he fired the Head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics over weak job growth

numbers, President Trump has picked economist E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau.

Antoni has been a harsh critic of the Bureau and even floated the idea of suspending the monthly U.S. Jobs Report, but we're told he has dropped that

idea. He must be confirmed by the Senate before sitting in that position.

Well, DC National Guard troops have begun appearing on the streets of the nation's capital. These armored personnel carriers were seen near the

Washington Monument Tuesday evening. On Monday, President Trump announced a Federal takeover of Washington DC's Police Department.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro tells Fox News, 43 arrests were made overnight. Gabe Cohen joins us now from the National Mall in Washington. And Gabe,

we've heard anecdotal reports of these U.S. troops there, the National Guard, taking photos with tourists. It's quite a different visual, of

course, for many to see on the streets of the nation's capital. What effect if any, have they had thus far in the first 24 hours since they've been

deployed?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not exactly clear Bianna, because the White House hasn't given a full breakdown of who is making which

arrests, the ones that Attorney Pirro referenced before. I will say the presence is a big part of the goal from the White House that we're seeing

right now.

That's what we saw last night with the National Guard troops who are here on the mall. Most of them are not armed. They are not really making

arrests. It is more about presence. Then there is, of course, FBI Agents, DEA Agents who are being deployed across the city each night, who are

hypothetically making some arrests, or at least collaborating with the local police department, which the White House says is now being

federalized.

Meaning they have control over at the Executive Branch, although who is actually running the show? Well, that hasn't exactly been figured out, or

it depends who you ask. If you talk to DC's Mayor Muriel Bowser, and the Police Chief, they still insist that local officials are ultimately the

ones calling the shots. They are just reporting to the Trump Administration.

And yet, if you ask the White House, they say it is Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Head of the DEA who are the ones actually taking control and

calling the shots and the ones who are leading right now. And we have heard a real change in tone, seemingly from DC's Mayor Muriel Bowser, who, over

the past eight months, has really tempered her language when she is speaking publicly about the Trump Administration.

She was a vocal critic during Trump's first term, and yet recently, knowing that the President and Republicans in Congress hold the cards when it comes

to DC's future. She has tried to tone down her language to not antagonize the president, but just last night, she gave her really fiercest criticism

yet to what the president has done in the past couple days. Here's what she said during a Town Hall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER, WASHINGTON DC: We all need to do what we can in our space, in our lane, to protect our city and get to the other side of this

guy and make sure we elect the Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this their authoritarian push.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:35:00]

COHEN: And yet Bianna a just this morning, we heard the Mayor and Police Chief during an interview say that perhaps a surge in federal law

enforcement resources could be a good thing for the district, saying that they are used to collaborating with the federal government, and that it

could benefit DC.

So again, still a lot of questions, and local officials really toeing the line, treading lightly when it comes to talking about the impact of the

Trump Administration's actions.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, it is notable the change in tone, specifically from the mayor herself, from President Trump's first term, even to what we've been

hearing this past week, signaling her willingness to cooperate with the president here. We should also note that President Trump has arrived at the

Kennedy Center and has started speaking there.

We will bring you any further updates from that event. Gabe Cohen at the National Mall in Washington for us, thank you. Still to come for us, it's

known as America's Attic, and it's about to get cleaned out. The Smithsonian Museums are the subject of a new White House order dictating

what can be displayed and what can't? Plus, Donald Trump, as noted, is at the Kennedy Center to announce its latest honorees, we'll take you there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Well, the White House is taking on the Smithsonian that is the organization that runs the nation's major public museums. It has ordered a

full review of the iconic institution's exhibit and materials to make sure they align with President Trump's directive about what should and shouldn't

be displayed.

According to a letter from Trump aides, that directive is to, quote, celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives

and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions. Now it marks the latest move by the Trump Administration to impose the president's views

on U.S. cultural and historical institutions, and purge materials focused on diversity.

President Trump says that he will also host the Kennedy Center Honors later this year. He's announcing the center's first honorees since he seized

control of the institution's board earlier this year. It comes as he asserts greater authority over the nation's capital and its most prominent

cultural institutions.

[11:40:00]

I want to bring in CNN Presidential Historian Tim Naftali. He's a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University and previously served as Director

of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. So much to get to with you, Tim. Let's first start with the President at the Kennedy Center

Honors. I think you can also weigh in on the Smithsonian and the leverage that he is now exerting onto the museum in terms of what they can and

cannot exhibit there.

He becomes the first Kennedy Center Chairman actually now, or is going to be announcing the honorees. He is Chairman, and he's the first to actually

come in and make these types of changes to this institution, the first former or current U.S. President. What does that tell you about the

historical significance of his imprint here?

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Bianna, it is not normal for the President of the United States to try to seek to dominate and direct

American culture and the -- and the teaching of American history in our national institutions. This is not something previous presidents have

attempted to do.

This is the kind of approach to understanding and knowledge and culture that one associates with authoritarian regimes in other parts of the world.

So, this is a first in American history, and it is an unfortunate turn, I believe.

GOLODRYGA: And he also has not only announced the honorees, says that he will be now hosting the Kennedy Center Honors later this year. We should

note, I don't think that he attended any of them during his first term. But now we see Congress and Republicans in Congress at least toying with the

idea of renaming the Kennedy Center after President Trump.

Not sure if that will actually come to fruition, but just the fact that that's being raised now, what does that suggest to you?

NAFTALI: Yes. I think -- I think it's important to differentiate between things that presidents have typically done, whether they're Republican or

Democrat, and something that's quite different today. It's generally been the case that presidents have been comfortable with the honorees. It's, in

many ways, it's a presidential honor.

And so, the there's no doubt in my mind, particularly, two term presidents have had the opportunity to see members of the great American musical and

artistic community fully honored. So yes, presidents have been consulted. What's different here is trying to place -- place your imprint, your

personal imprint, on a national cultural institution.

And that's what's different, and that's where the name matters. To actually name a national cultural institution after a living serving president would

be unprecedented in our history. John F Kennedy was dead when the -- when the cultural center was named after him. In fact, the cultural center had

the building of the cultural center had been conceived before John F Kennedy was assassinated.

But John F Kennedy wasn't asked to have it named after him. So, the idea that we would have a living president who would insist on having a cultural

center named after him while he's in office, that, again, is not the American tradition.

GOLODRYGA: And so much focus this week on just the power grab and the power exertion that he's had over Washington, DC. Just you've got the

Smithsonian, you have the Kennedy Center, obviously announcing that he will be taking over the policing of the city for the next 30 days and sending

out 800 National Guard troops.

And what was interesting was when he was holding a press conference there at the White House and addressing the control over the city's police,

talking about the crime and the homelessness, he said, this is an embarrassment for him as he's about to approach this summit with Vladimir

Putin in Alaska.

And you and I spoke about this earlier today, the context of the Summit, and why it's so important not to compare this to previous U.S., Russian

U.S. Soviet meetings like this and summits, because this one is about and should be about seeing the end to a war and nothing more.

So, talk about the stakes here for President Trump, going into these conversations with Vladimir Putin and the risks, if it does, in fact,

extend beyond just conversations of ending this war.

NAFTALI: Donald Trump, President Trump, has a very important decision to make. Is he going to Alaska as a participant in a bilateral summit

discussion with the Kremlin's current leader, which his predecessors have done on multiple occasions?

[11:45:00]

Or is he going to Alaska to bring peace to Europe? These are entirely different challenges. If he goes there, simply thinking of this as a

bilateral opportunity to establish better relations with Putin Europe will be the big loser, especially President Zelenskyy, but all of Europe.

And I would argue, the international system. So, is this a bilateral summit, or is this an attempt to restart some kind of mediated peace

between Ukraine and Russia? It's all up to Donald Trump to decide which of the two formulas he is most comfortable with.

GOLODRYGA: And what are the risks to Europe and most notably, Ukraine, if it's the former, if it is indeed about a bilateral conversation moving the

relationship forward, as President Trump has publicly said that he would like to see happen with Russia, to go beyond just this war in Ukraine, but

re-establish economic and diplomatic ties.

NAFTALI: Well, there was a time when the United States was proud to be the leader of the free world. And after the Cold War ended and Saddam Hussein

invaded Kuwait President George Herbert Walker Bush made a very difficult decision to put boots on the ground in that region in order to establish

rules of the road for the post-Cold War period.

The rule was you don't settle issues by taking territory, and you don't get to keep the territory that you take. This is what's up in the air right

now. Is the world going to ring -- is the world going to reward Vladimir Putin for denying Ukrainian sovereignty, for invading Ukraine, for killing

Ukrainians, for taking POWs?

Is he going to going to be rewarded with territory? That's the big question. If he is rewarded with territory, every European Leader has to

worry about what's next? What the Kremlin will do next? That's not to suggest that the Kremlin is planning to invade Poland, but what kind of

means will Putin think possible to undermine those countries, to undermine their sovereignty, to put people that like him in power.

So, the United States has an opportunity to send a signal. Donald Trump has an opportunity to send a signal. The question is whether he understands

that rewarding Putin by letting him keep territories he claims should never have been part of Ukraine, whether that is really in the interests of the

international system to which the United States belongs?

The United States cannot retreat behind two oceans. It learned a long time ago that total isolationism is impossible, particularly now.

GOLODRYGA: Tim Naftali, always great to hear your perspective. Really appreciate it. Thank you for the time.

NAFTALI: Thanks Bianna, my pleasure.

GOLODRYGA: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:00]

GOLODRYGA: Firefighters in Canada are battling to contain a wildfire around Halifax, Nova Scotia. Businesses were forced to evacuate their premises as

the fire spread to cover an area of six hectares. More fires and raging -- are raging near St. John's, the capital of the Province of Newfoundland and

Labrador, a state of emergency was declared in areas threatened by fire.

And wildfires are a major problem across southern Europe as well. In Greece, local people and tourists were forced to evacuate as houses, olive

groves and forests burned on the outskirts of the city of Patras. On Tuesday, firefighters in boats were dispatched to a massive wildfire in

Achaia in the Southwest of the country.

And in Turkey, emergency workers battled fires throughout the night in the Western Province of Izmir. A different kind of threat has people on alert

in Alaska's capital. Record flooding is forecast as melt water from glacier -- from a glacier close to the city, swells the Mendenhall River to an all-

time high a third year in a row.

People in high-risk areas are being urged to evacuate until the water recedes, outbursts like this happening when a lake of melting snow and ice

drains rapidly like a bathtub when the plug is pulled. Joining us from our Atlanta Weather Center Meteorologist Allison Chinchar.

So, weather emergencies around the world, we talk about the fires in Canada, obviously the heat and the fires in Europe and now the melting

glacier in Alaska, just tell us more about what we can expect.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, so the big concern here with this glacier is the imminent flooding. Now this is drone-video again you

can look down and see the glacier. This is where the flooding potential is basically stemming from. So, here are a series of images kind of put into a

gift. And what you can see is this area right here starting to shrink down.

All of that water that's underneath it. That's what's being released, and that's what's potentially going to flow into the City of Juneau. Now how

much? How quickly? All of these things are going to be factors. So, here's a look at some video from earlier.

Again, this is way more swollen than it would normally be with all of that water kind of flowing in there. Now here's a look at the Mendenhall River.

So major flood stage begins at 14 feet. The forecast level is already expected to get to 16.73 feet. Keep in mind that the previous record was 16

feet, so they are forecasting for it to get well above that.

The current record shows that we are already above the previous record. The real question goes at this point now is, how much more does it continue to

rise? Here's a look at an overall map, just to kind of give you some perspective. So here is the City of Juneau. You've got the downtown area

right through here, but the city itself extends all the way around this curve, right through here, with the airport itself sitting on the

southwestern edge.

Now to kind of show you where some of these other features are? This is the glacier that we've been talking about here, the Mendenhall Glacier. The

flood pathway would be down through this blue shaded area, and, yes, unfortunately, then down into much of the town. This is why there is a

concern.

This is why they're asking folks to go ahead and at least voluntarily evacuate from these communities so that they can get out before it would

potentially get bad. This same thing happened last year and the year before, and in those instances, you had water that was not only covering

streets and roadways, but also kind of flooding into some homes and businesses.

And that's really what they're trying to avoid right now. That's why the concern is to try to get these folks out of here before the water continues

to push down through these areas. Now again, how much water is going to fill these areas? How quickly is it going to come in?

These are the factors the weather service office there has done a phenomenal job of trying to give people the best timelines that they

possibly can for the potential flooding when they expect it to hit certain spots, how bad it's going to be when it actually gets there. But only time

will tell they are anticipating that it will get to that crest flooding level once we get maybe, say, about another 5 or 10 minutes from now. So,

it's really going to be something we have to watch over the next several hours.

GOLODRYGA: All right now, that's what you'll be watching for us for sure. Allison Chinchar, thank you.

[11:55:00]

And finally, stargazers gathered at an observatory in the Balkans to watch the brilliant annual meteor shower known as the Perseids. Time lapse

footage captured dozens of bright meteors leaving long streaks in the sky. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMISLAVA DVORNIK, VISITOR: So, my husband, daughter and I came here to the observatory to take a look at this phenomenon, and we saw about a dozen

stars. I made a wish, but for now, let's keep it a secret.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Good for her. Keep it a secret, please. Maybe it will come true. The meteors appear to shoot out from the constellation of Perseus. The peak

last night happening after the conjunction of the two brightest planets in our solar system, Venus and Jupiter. If you missed this week's phenomenon,

your next chance to see meteors could come as early as October. Hopefully we'll get a better chance here on the East Coast as well to see it then.

All right, stay with CNN. I'll have more "One World" after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END