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One World with Zain Asher
Gaza Health Officials: 20 Killed in Israeli Attacks on Hospital; South Korean President Arrives at the White House; Chicago Officials Don't Want Trump to Send National Guard Troops; Trump to Hold First Summit with South Korean President Lee; Trump on National Guard Troops: Chicago should be Saying "Please Come in"; Trump Comments on Potential Security Guarantee for Ukraine. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired August 25, 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)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Israel carries out back-to-back deadly air strikes in Gaza. "One World" starts right now. In Southern Gaza, Israel
launches back-to-back strikes on a hospital, killing more than a dozen people, including first responders and members of the press.
Plus, Kilmar Abrego Garcia back in I.C.E. custody, and this time, the immigrant from El Salvador is facing deportation, possibly to Uganda. And
trade and troops on the agenda as Trump prepares to meet with his South Korean counterpart at the White House next hour.
Live from Atlanta, I'm Lynda Kinkade. This is "One World". Great to have you with us. Well, the Foreign Press Association is demanding an immediate
explanation from Israel, following what it is calling one of the deadliest attacks on journalists since the war in Gaza began.
20 people, including five journalists, were killed in an Israeli air strike on Southern Gaza's largest hospital in Khan Yunis. Footage shows that after
rescue crews arrived at the scene following the second -- the first attack, a second strike took place. The IDF confirms its forces struck the Nasser
hospital area without saying why.
And it is promising to conduct an investigation. Earlier this month, five Al Jazeera journalists, including one of the network's most prominent
correspondents, were killed in an Israeli air strike. Today's attacks come as Israel vows to move forward with its Gaza City takeover and forcibly
evacuate 1 million Palestinians to Southern Gaza, to places including Khan Yunis.
CNN's Paula Hancocks is following developments and joins us with the latest. Good to have you with us, Paula. So multiple sources have confirmed
that Israel struck this hospital, and then as journalists and first responders were arriving, they struck again. This is indeed another sad day
for our profession. Just walk us through the details.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, what we know is that the first strike took place on Monday morning. Now we understand from
eyewitnesses that it was believed it was a Reuters cameraman who was killed in that initial blast. We see just afterwards, on a number of different
pieces of footage that there are emergency workers, there are health workers, there are journalists that rush to the scene to help those initial
casualties.
One of them holding up a damaged camera. And just moments after that first strike, then there is a second Israeli strike. And we understand that that
is where many of the casualties took place. We did see footage of all these workers and journalists on a balcony of the Nasser hospital, also on an
outside and damaged staircase.
And once the dust settles, once the smoke clears, we do know that at least five journalists were killed, and we know that at least four health workers
were killed. In all, at least 20 people were killed in these two strikes. Now this is a hospital in Khan Yunis. It's in southern part of Gaza.
We know from the Israeli military, we've asked for a statement. They have said that they did, in fact, carry out a strike in the area of Nasser
hospital. They say that there is an initial inquiry that will happen as soon as possible. And they also say that they do not target journalists as
such, which is a direct quote from the IDF statement.
We do know that an Israeli security official with knowledge of this initial inquiry, though, says that forces did identify a camera on the roof of the
hospital that they believed Hamas was using in order to be able to monitor the Israeli military. They say that the military was authorized to take out
that camera with a drone, but Israeli forces carried out and fired two tank shells, the source says, the first at the camera, the second at rescue
forces.
[11:05:00]
Now there is strong condemnation as about these strikes, most notably from Palestinian journalist syndicate also the committee to protect journalists.
This is already the deadliest war on record for journalists. And once again, today, it has been a particularly deadly day for members of the
media in Gaza, Lynda.
KINKADE: Yeah, certainly as Paula Hancock's first in Abu Dhabi. Thank you very much. Well, I want to stay on this story. CNN Military Analyst,
Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton joins us now, live from Washington. Thanks for being with us.
I want to start if we could on that strike on Nasser hospital. It seems to be a double tap attack where Israel hit the hospital and then as medics and
journalists arrived, it struck again. Why would Israel use a tactic like that? And if so, is it potentially a violation of international law?
COLONEL CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Hey, Lynda, it's good to be with you. Yes, I think it is potentially a violation of international
law, because the double tap attack like the one you've described in this case involving the Nassar hospital, is something that is not authorized
under the laws of armed conflict, because when you do a double tap, when you conduct those kinds of operations, you invariably are going to hit
rescue workers.
And that is something that is prohibited, absolutely prohibited under international law. So, this is, you know, why would Israel do this? Well,
if they believe that you know, that one of the journalists, or more of the journalists, were working for Hamas, potentially, that is, you know, one
possible explanation for that.
But it still doesn't excuse the fact that it was a double tap. It's also a situation we're targeting a hospital in and of itself is something that is
prohibited unless there is some target of military significance that is hidden by the hospital. So, unless we see proof of that, even the first
attack is something that could potentially be considered illegal under the laws of armed conflict.
KINKADE: And given how deadly this conflict has been for members of the press, I mean, more than any other in modern history? What intelligence
protocols does the IDF typically follow before approving a strike like this? And why haven't they really come out and stated their intended
target?
LEIGHTON: Yeah, this is very interesting, because on paper, the IDF follows similar procedures to the U.S. for example, but when it comes to the
execution of their targeting mechanism, then it's the results are quite different. A target like this would in all likelihood, never have been
approved under, you know, if it were being conducted by the U.S.
So, the IDF is, you know, looking at this as a way in which they can, you know, in essence, prosecute their war aims, make it harder for Hamas to
conduct operations, conduct intelligence gathering. The intelligence that is used by the Israelis for these types of attacks should be, you know, in
many ways, much more precise than it is.
It is precise in the sense that they targeted the specific balcony. But in this particular case, I would argue it was the wrong target for them to
hit.
KINKADE: I want to turn if we could Colonel Cedric Leighton to Gaza City and Israel's plan to take control of that city. I mean, we've seen over the
past 24 hours, dozens of people killed, hundreds more injured. What is Netanyahu's strategic objective here?
LEIGHTON: So, what he's telling us is that he wants to eliminate Hamas and make it very difficult, if not impossible, for them to survive. In essence,
the idea is to eliminate as many Hamas fighters as possible, and, of course, the associated infrastructure with the organization.
But when you look at the results of the conflict, the most recent conflict between Israel and Hamas, and you see how much the Israelis have actually
decimated Hamas. This is, in essence, overkill. There is no way that you're going to eliminate the ideology that is something that is in people's
minds, and it's not something that can be eliminated by force of arms.
It is something that the Netanyahu government apparently doesn't realize, because they believe that brute force is going to give them an opportunity
to not only eliminate Hamas, but basically change the face of Gaza itself. So, when you start moving into a place like Gaza City and actually
occupying it, which is something they really haven't done on a permanent basis since the start of this operation.
[11:10:00]
That then leads to several different scenarios that are all basically bad eventually for the Israelis, because it will, in essence, draw them into
quagmire even more so than they have been drawn in before. And it will also force the evacuation of around a million or so Gaza City residents and.
Quagmire even more so than they've been drawn in before, and it will also force the evacuation of around a million or so Gaza City residents. And
that forced evacuation is also something that runs counter to the principles of international law, and especially the law of armed conflict.
So, this the Israeli government is, you know, basically playing with fire here. What they're trying to do is make the situation as safe as possible,
from their standpoint, and that, in and of itself, is a legitimate goal, but the manner in which they're doing it is very, very dangerous and could
result in a very difficult episode for the Israeli armed forces.
KINKADE: And so, given all that, does that signal potentially a longer-term ground operation here?
LEIGHTON: It does. They may not intend that, and it may seem, you know to the people in Jerusalem that this is something they can do fairly quickly
and to get it over with. But in point of fact, the more you get involved in places like Gaza, the deeper you move into these areas, the much more
difficult it is to extricate yourself.
So, this is a situation where they're going to find themselves in very difficult combat roles. Potentially, it will also result in killing the
same target multiple times, in essence, destroying the same target multiple times. And that is something that is, you know, basically not necessary
based on the laws of proportionality and the actual kinetic result that you hope to achieve in the conduct of your military operations.
KINKADE: Colonel Cedric Leighton, always appreciate your time. Thanks so much.
LEIGHTON: You bet Lynda, thank you.
KINKADE: Well, in the next hour, South Korea's New President will arrive at the White House for his first meeting with Donald Trump. But in the last
hour or so, President Trump posted on social media expressing concern over the political crisis that engulfed South Korea earlier this year.
He wrote, what is going on in South Korea, seems like a purge or a revolution. We can't have that and do business there. Well, the post seems
to have caught the South Korean delegation off guard. Alayna Treene joins us from the White House with more on all of this. Alayna, good to have you.
Certainly, an odd post to see ahead of this meeting, which is set to take place next hour. What else is the White House saying about it?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. And I think that post is causing some concern, Lynda, among some of the South Korea delegation who
will be arriving here shortly, within the hour, actually, here at the White House. And part of the reason there's some concern about that.
I was talking with some of our Seoul colleagues with CNN, and they were saying that it seems like the president is referencing some of the
criticism and backlash we've seen in South Korea ever since South Korea's Former President was ousted and impeached over his use of martial law.
I remind you that they actually had a period of about six months where they didn't have a president. And we saw the new president, President Lee who is
the one who was coming to the White House here around 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. He was elected in June.
All to say that could create a kind of, you know, a precarious background, backdrop, really, for this meeting between the two leaders. And that's
really one of the key things I'll be watching for when we see President Lee arrive. What will their report be like? It's the first time these two
leaders are meeting.
And it comes as there have been some tensions behind the scenes regarding the strength of the United States and South Korean Alliance. Part of that
is, of course, because of the tariffs we've seen the United States impose on their country. But also, there are questions about the security
agreement and defense agreement that they have in place.
One key topic of discussion that is expected to come up today is the role and the number of U.S. troops in South Korea. That is something that the
president, you know, potentially could call on South Korea to pay more money for to have those troops there. And what will their role be,
particularly, you know, a discussion over a potential attack on Taiwan.
We're told that might be something that comes up during the course of their discussions today. And then again, I think the importance of this meeting
as well is trying to kind of hammer out what the actual details of the trade agreement between these two countries will be.
We know when the president announced the trade agreement with South Korea last month, they were very vague on details. We do know that there's a 15
percent tariff on imports of South Korean goods. The United States has also said that South Korea will pay $350 billion in an investment in the United
States as well as buy $100 billion worth of U.S. liquefied natural gas and other energy products.
I also caught up with a member of the president's economic team this morning, Kevin Hassett.
[11:15:00]
He told me that they are expected to make a big announcement. On a shipbuilding deal with South Korea, we had heard and again, this is coming
from some of our CNN colleagues in Seoul, that what Lee is trying to do, President Lee is have, you know, show them how the U.S. industry,
shipbuilding industry, can kind of be turned around with help from South Korea.
And that could potentially be kind of a sweetener, as President Lee is expected to arrive, but all to say, tensions between the two countries.
They are allies, of course, but at kind of a high right now, a lot of things they need to work through and get through. And we'll have to see
what, you know, what the relationship between these two leaders who have never met before will look like.
And whether they can make progress, and it will be a warm meeting, or if it could potentially go south, given some of the rhetoric we've seen from
President Donald Trump Monday morning.
KINKADE: So, shipbuilding, semiconductors and military strategy, plenty on the agenda today. Good to have you with us outside the White House. Alayna
Treene, thank you. Well, a little later in the show, I'm going to speak with Jenny Town from the Stimson Center. She's an expert on relations
between North and South Korea and the U.S.
So, stay with us for that. Well still to come on "One World", the man who has become the face of Donald Trump's deportation push could be deported
yet again. What immigration officials have planned for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, when we come back. Plus, Donald Trump turns his attention to
Chicago, what officials there are saying about his desire to deploy the National Guard in their city.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: The man who has become a symbol of Donald Trump's controversial deportation push is back in custody and may be deported once more. Hundreds
of people gathered in Baltimore, Maryland this morning to rally around Kilmar Abrego Garcia as he turned himself into immigration offices.
Abrego Garcia was the man the Trump Administration sent to an El Salvadorian prison despite a judge's order demanding he not be deported.
Abrego Garcia was required to check in with I.C.E. officials today, and then they arrested him. The Homeland Security Secretary says the plan now
is to send him to Uganda. His lawyer says the courts need to weigh in right away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON SANDOVAL-MOSHENBERG, KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA'S LAWYER: In the last five minutes, Mr. Abrego Garcia has filed a new lawsuit in the Federal District
Court for the District of Maryland. Challenging his current confinement and challenging deportation to Uganda or to any other country, unless and until
he's had a fair trial as in an immigration court, as well as his full appeal rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:20:00]
KINKADE: CNN's Priscilla Alvarez was on the scene as Abrego Garcia was taken into custody.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN REPORTER: Kilmar Abrego Garcia was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier today when he came
for a mandatory check in after being released from criminal custody in Tennessee on Friday. Over the weekend, he had kept a low profile, and here
earlier today, he was joined by his wife, his attorney, community organizers and religious leaders, ahead of his check in, which had been
required for first thing today.
Now, after speaking with the crowd, he later went up the steps behind me, where he entered the federal building, embraced his wife in what was an
emotional moment, and then went into the building, into the elevator banks, where only 45 minutes later, his attorney departed the building and
announced that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was indeed taken into custody.
Is the latest development in what has been a dramatic legal saga concerning Abrego Garcia, who in March, was wrongfully deported, according to the
administration, to El Salvador, a place where he had withholding of removal. In other words, he could not be deported there for fear of
persecution.
Now back in the United States and in the custody of I.C.E., the question remains, where will he be deported next? The Trump Administration had
offered a plea deal where, if he were to plea to federal charges, carry out his criminal sentence in the United States, he would then be deported to
Costa Rica, a place this attorney says is OK by him.
But otherwise, the Trump Administration said they would deport him to Uganda, a far-flung country that he has no ties to something that
administration has resorted to often in immigration cases. His attorneys say that's retaliation for Abrego Garcia challenging his removal back in
March.
And also say that the administration is playing the carrot and stick approach, carrot with Costa Rica stick with Uganda, and so they are
contesting this. Today, the attorney announced that they filed a new lawsuit challenging his detainment and his deportation, though, what
happens in that case still remains to be seen.
Now, there is some process in place here. From earlier this summer, a federal judge said that the administration had to provide at least a 72-
hour notice to Abrego Garcia's attorneys as to where he would be deported, to give him the opportunity to contest it. So, we're not anticipating that
there will be a deportation immediately.
But certainly, a process that will follow, as the Department of Homeland Security has also confirmed that he is in custody of I.C.E. and that they
are also processing his deportation. So, a lot of questions still remain unanswered here, the big one, of course, being where he will be deported,
something that his attorneys again maintain that they will be fighting, particularly where the Trump Administration wants to send him. Back to you.
KINKADE: Thanks to Priscilla Alvarez for that report. Well, President Trump is taking another step, he says will help curb crime. He's just signed an
executive order that puts pressure on jurisdictions that have cashless bail. The order threatens to pull federal funding or project approvals from
jurisdictions with cashless bail policies.
Trump also signed two executive orders relating to law enforcement in Washington, D.C., specifically. It comes just weeks after he deployed the
National Guard in D.C. to help what he calls out of control crime. That plan is expected to spread to other cities, mostly ones with Democratic
mayors.
The president also signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to prosecute anyone who burns a flag. Well after D.C., the next city Donald
Trump appears to be targeting is Chicago. Officials there say they don't need or want the president to send in the National Guard.
They say the crime rate is already dropping in Chicago, and Trump would only be putting on a show if he were to deploy the guard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDON JOHNSON, CHICAGO MAYOR: What he is proposing at this point would be the most flagrant violation of our Constitution in the 21st century. The
City of Chicago does not need a military occupation. That's not what we need. In fact, we've been very clear about what we need. We need to invest
in people to ensure that we can build safe and affordable communities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Despite the protests from local officials, the White House appears ready to act. We get more now from CNN's Whitney Wild in Chicago.
WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Our reporting is that this plan has been in the works for weeks, but it is not clear how many troops are going to be
deployed. It is not clear when they're going to be deployed. Illinois leaders here are firing back aggressively.
Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker, a Democrat, says there's plainly no emergency that would warrant such a deployment. Mayor of Chicago also
firing back. The Illinois Attorney General has made clear that they plan to fight this in court.
[11:25:00]
Right now, the status quo here is that they are looking at the options, but as you know, the White House has not actually spoken to anybody here in
Chicago. Civic leaders here in Illinois and Chicago are saying that they have not heard anything directly from the federal government.
So, they are also in a bit of a holding pattern while they wait to see what the reality of this National Guard deployment actually looks like. The
major questions here are whether or not surrounding states with Republican governors can send their National Guard troops into Chicago, into Illinois,
which is a non-consenting state.
And as we are reporting this out, the question that our team is asking is, is this deployment going to look more like Washington, D.C., where the
dynamics are very different, where the federal control of that area is very different, or is this deployment going to look much more like Los Angeles?
And the early read from our sources is that this deployment will resemble Los Angeles. We know that that deployment was challenged in court. There is
not yet a ruling on that. Any potential court ruling is being watched very closely here. We expect to learn more about what civic leaders plan to do
here as the stay unfolds and in coming days. Back to you.
KINKADE: Thanks to Whitney Wild there. Well, another world leader is about to make an appearance in the Oval Office. We'll look at what effect a
social media post by President Trump will have on his upcoming meeting with the President of South Korea. Plus, the powerful typhoon makes landfall,
wrecking a path of destruction across central Vietnam. What officials are saying, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Lynda Kinkade. Here are some of the headlines we're watching today. The Palestinian Health Ministry says at
least 20 people, including five journalists, were killed in a double Israeli air strike on Nasser hospital in Southern Gaza.
The IDF confirms it carried out a strike in the area, but doesn't mention why, and says it will conduct an investigation. The U.N. is slamming the
attacks and says journalists and hospitals should never be targeted.
[11:30:00]
Typhoon Kajiki made landfall in Vietnam today, packing a powerful punch with destructive winds of 165 kilometers an hour, unleashing heavy rains in
the country's northeast. Earlier, it skirted past China's Hainan Island, landslides, flooding and a dangerous storm surge are expected.
Vietnamese officials closed the airport, schools and evacuated more than 40,000 people. A long-time leader of a Mexican drug cartel is expected to
plead guilty when he appears before a U.S. judge in Brooklyn today. El Mayo Mayor Zambada faces federal charges related to his role in the violent drug
trade.
Prosecutors said they wouldn't seek the death penalty against Zambada. The 77-year-old was arrested in Texas last year. Well, next hour, President
Trump will welcome South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to the White House. Trump posted his social media earlier today expressing concern about the
political crisis that South Korea faced earlier this year.
The post seems to have caught the South Koreans off guard will bring you that meeting as soon as it happens. Well, let's see how Lee's U.S. visit is
playing out in Seoul. That's where we see our Mike Valerio standing by. Good to see you, Mike. I have to ask you what the reaction was when Donald
Trump took to Truth Social to post about this meeting, threatening that the U.S. might not be able to do business in South Korea.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, so it's after midnight here, and I can tell you, Lynda, that the politico class of Seoul is wide awake,
wondering if this is going to be a Ramaphosa or Zelenskyy 1.0 Oval Office meeting in terms of being ambushed by the President of the United States,
because there's already a trade deal in place between South Korea and America.
It was made just under a month ago, and there's a lot on the agenda. But looking at the Truth post, it is stunning, right there. It is an overused
word, but still in terms of what we were expecting and what we got with the president writing what's going on in South Korea seems like a purge or a
revolution.
Just to talk about what kind of political instability has been going on here. The only thing in that vein has been the former conservative
President Yoon Suk-Yeol removed, after he declared martial law in December, impeached and removed. And it was the hope of far-right conservatives here
in South Korea that President Trump might come to the former president's defense.
Saying that he was improperly removed, saying that this was perhaps a conspiracy to remove him, that this was unfair. And for months, we heard
nothing from the U.S. President right until now, it is possible. People here in Seoul are arguing, who really knows, but are saying that perhaps
this is a move by President Trump to pressure the South Korean delegation to go along with what the United States wants.
And in terms of the laundry list of what was set to be talked about couple things, four main things on the agenda, U.S. troops, North Korea, ship
building. And then finally, the rapport of these two leaders. When we're talking about U.S. troops, and the future of their presence here on the
Korean peninsula, there are about 28,500 of them stationed in South Korea.
And there's the question of, how much does South Korea pay for them, Lynda? Right now, South Korea pays just over a billion dollars. But President
Trump has said on the campaign trail, when he was running the second time for president, or I should say, back in 2024, that he wants up to $10
billion paid for those troops, not 1 billion.
Also, could their roles be changing? Could troops be asked to potentially serve as a counter to China, with China's ambitions to take Taiwan
potentially unfolding in the future. Right now, these troops mainly serve as a counterbalance to North Korea. So, could that be talked about during
this Oval Office meeting?
There's also the subject of North Korea itself, both Trump and President Lee have common ground, wanting to reengage Kim Jong Un bring him back to
the negotiating table about his ever-expanding nuclear program, shipbuilding. South Korea is a powerhouse in that industry.
There was talk that a big deal could be announced today, but with this Truth Social post, who really knows? And then finally, we were looking out
for the rapport these two men have never met each other. Both have survived assassination attempts, but we are acutely waiting to see what kind of
dynamic plays out.
If the president really is going to weigh in to conspiracy theories about politics in South Korea. We're going to be watching, Lynda, with you within
the next hour to see how this all goes down.
KINKADE: Yep, that meeting set to take place next hour. Mike Valerio, good to see you, live for us from Seoul, thanks so much. We are going to stay on
this story. Get some more perspective on U.S.-South Korean relations. We're joined by Jenny Town.
[11:35:00]
She's a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center and the Director of its Korea Program, and 38 North a website devoted to analysis of North Korea. Good to
see you, and great to have you with us, Jenny.
JENNY TOWN, DIRECTOR OF KOREA PROGRAM AT STIMSON CENTER AND 38 NORTH: Thanks. It's to be here.
KINKADE: So, you've recently spoken about the instability within South Korea, including the impeachment of the Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, in
light of the president, President Trump's post this morning on Truth Social. I mean, how do you think that internal stability in South Korea
could impact its influence going into this meeting?
TOWN: Well, I don't think it's really about any kind of instability in South Korea. And certainly, there is a faction within South Korea that
still does support Yoon, the Former President who was impeached. They call it the Yoon again party that has aligned with America's MAGA.
But if you look at the timing of this post, this seems much more a negotiating tactic than anything, actually really pointing to something of
substance in South Korea. But I think it comes on the heels of Lee Jae Myung made a statement just last night that, also mentioned that the idea
of changing the role of the U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula, which is something that is part of the discussions today, that this would not be an
easy decision.
And so, to announce that ahead of the summit in the first time they were meeting, it feels to me like Trump is doing this more as retaliation and
sort of strong-arm negotiations going into the meeting.
KINKADE: And of course, as this all unfolds, South Korea is simultaneously trying to seek closer ties with China while strengthening ties with the
U.S. Talk to us about that balancing act. What does South Korea have to do here?
TOWN: Well, South Korea has always tried to play this balancing act, except for the U.N. Administration, the past administration. It is, you know,
China is their largest trading partner. They're firmly aligned with the U.S. and security issues, but they do have different pressures and
different levers that they have to be aware of in this process.
And so, part of what's going on now is that the less reliable the U.S. is as an ally, it does force South Korea to look at its options and to look at
how to hedge some of that uncertainty as well. So, it only makes the dilemma more intense.
KINKADE: And of course -- Jenny, with North Korea advancing its own missile capabilities, I'm wondering what the risks are for South Korea, especially
if in the face of you know U.S. security assurances seeming less certain.
TOWN: Well, this is an interesting angle where both Lee Jae Myung and President Trump are on the same page in terms of wanting diplomacy with the
North Koreans, and not just relying solely on the military buildup, but the approach to it, and what should be the narrative, I think is going to be a
little bit in contention.
The North Koreans have said they're not going to talk about denuclearization. They've said they don't want to talk to the South
Koreans. They've opened the door, cracked it open for President Trump, if he's willing to talk about something that isn't denuclearization, whereas
President Lee has gone into this summit already saying he wants CVID, complete, verifiable, irreversible, denuclearization, and going back to
this whole phase denuclearization model that we've used over and over in the past.
So, while they're sort of headed in the same direction, how they get there, I think is still going to be really difficult to work out.
KINKADE: And what are you watching from North Korea right now in terms of how it might react to this summit, given the political dynamics on the
peninsula?
TOWN: Well, certainly, they did their -- they did a couple of missile tests this morning in response to the military exercises that are going on
already. I'm sure they'll be looking to see the readout of how relations are evolving between the U.S. and South Korea. I think a bigger question
here is, what's going on in U.S.-Russia relations, given how close now the North Koreans have been to the Russians, and how close that cooperation is?
Is there really an end year for the war in Ukraine? And if not, what does that mean in terms of U.S. --
KINKADE: I'm sorry. Just going to have to interrupt, Jenny. Right now, Donald Trump is speaking. He's taking questions. Let's listen in
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- now we're left with probably a little bit less than 20, because I think one or two are
gone. And I said a long time ago I'm going to get him out. But when we get down to that final 10 or 20 these people are going to release them because
they're dead after they release them. So, it's a nasty situation, very nasty, horrible thing. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, could you please elaborate on your post on South Korea, what were you referring to?
[11:40:00]
TRUMP: Well, I heard that there were raids on churches over the last few days. Very vicious raids on churches by the new government in South Korea
that they even went into our military base and got information. They probably shouldn't have done that, but I heard bad things.
I don't know if it's true or not. I'll be finding out. As you know, your new president is coming in just a couple of hours coming here. I look
forward to meeting him, but we won't stand for that. We just won't stand for that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Are you prepared to order National Guard troops, though, into American cities if those governors don't request the federal
deployment?
TRUMP: I am, but I also think that, look Chicago, everybody knows how bad it is. Everybody standing there knows, we know you don't have to be doing
any studies. They should be saying, please come in. Pritzker should be saying that, you know, I did a favor for Kristi -- for Kristi Whitman --
Whitmer.
A good favor, I think, with the fish, the carp, the China carp. Did you ever hear of it? China carp, and it's taken over your Great Lakes. You know
about that, right? And she came and she wanted to know if it's possible for us to do something about it. And I said, well, I'll do, but I think it's
appropriate that the person from Illinois, the governor from Illinois asks also, it's a tremendously expensive project actually.
It's invasive, it's horrible, what's happened. And we can do it with GSA and various people, but we can do it. We're going to just have to see what
happens. OK. We're going to have to see what happens. But --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- you have a legal authority --
TRUMP: -- Governor -- Kristi came, was very respectful. Asked for it. She's done a good job. We -- I did that. I opened the Air Force Base, you know,
kept it open for F35s and various planes F22s too. I did that for the state of Michigan, at her request. And I will -- and also in our congressmen, you
know, we have congressmen that are unbelievably pro Michigan up there.
But some of this stuff, like the lakes, the Great Lakes, this is a big problem that nobody ever talks about. Most of you probably have never heard
of. We have a very pretty violent fish that has comes from China, China carp -- Chinese carp, and you see them jumping out. They jump into boats,
and they jump all over the place.
They get a lot of energy. And there's a way of getting rid of them. It's very expensive, and we -- I didn't get a request from the Governor of
Illinois is affected maybe more than anybody else, right? And I think until I get that request from that guy, I'm not going to do anything about it.
And I feel the same way about crime. We go in, we will solve Chicago within one week, maybe less, but within one week, we will have no crime in
Chicago, just like we have no crime in D.C. But, you know, I don't like to go in and do it and then have somebody stand up and say, what a great job
he's doing on crime.
And we don't want the military in our state. We don't want the military. You understand? Do you understand that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, these governors will say, I don't know if there was no emergency meeting --
TRUMP: -- I think, you know, I feel like we go in and we do it like here, to a lesser extent, with the mayor, she hasn't been terrible, but she
hasn't been, you know exactly saying, oh, great. She said -- She did say, last night, I heard her say that, well, we really don't want the military
in D.C.
Well, that's not very nice. I guess I said a little bit of it -- but she's not as bad as some. We saved Los Angeles, and all we did is get criticized
by this -- that's running the state into the ground, right, where people are leaving. He should be thanking us, and he should be requesting us to be
there.
And the Governor of Illinois should be, Chicago is a disaster, and the Governor of Illinois should say, president, would you do us the honor of
cleaning up our city? We need help. They need help. They need help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --
TRUMP: We may wait. We may or may not. We may just go in and do it, which is probably what we should do. The problem is, it's not nice when you go in
and do it and somebody else is standing there saying, as we give great results, say, well, we don't want the military. They need help badly.
Chicago desperately needs help. And just look at the crime statistics. Look at the statistics that JD said about even I didn't know it was that bad.
That's terrible, but all I know is, we're being celebrated because we want an entire week, now it's 11 days. We want an entire week without a murder.
And I said -- that sounds terrible. I didn't know how to actually made a speech. I didn't know how to say it because it's a great number, it's a
great thing, but it sounds so bad.
[11:45:00]
I mean, supposing you're from a foreign country, which is probably run, and they don't have murders and things right so much, or in some cases,
virtually at all. And you have somebody saying, I'm proud to announce that nobody was murdered in the capital of the United States this week. It
sounds terrible, but --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President Gavin Newsom -- Is there a federal mechanism you're hoping to use to fight back against his redistricting
constitutional amendment, or is that --
TRUMP: Well, I think I'm going to be filing a lawsuit pretty soon, and I think we're going to be very successful in it. We're going to be filing it
through the Department of Justice. That's going to happen. And we're also going to be filing a lawsuit on blue slipping. You know, blue slips make it
impossible for me as president to appoint a judge or U.S. Attorney, because they have a gentleman's agreement.
Nothing memorialized. It's a gentleman's agreement that's about 100 years old, where, if you have a president, like a Republican, and if you have a
Democrat Senator, that senator can stop you from appointing the judge or U.S. Attorney. In particular those two. Those are the two, I guess,
anything, but those are the two that are very important.
So, we have numerous states where we have unbelievable people. Now, Jay Clayton was just approved in the southern district, but he was so good. He
was a top student, top schools, top everything, went to Sullivan & Cromwell became the Head of Sullivan & Cromwell came down here was Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Ran it for four years during my term, like impeccably beautiful job. He did an incredible job. And we went to court, and the judges, Democrat judges,
voted that he could. That's the only way you get by it. But generally speaking, you can't do that because you'll have judges from the other
party.
So, Jay Clayton just got approved, and he's in, but he didn't get approved by the senators. He got approved by the court system in New York, which was
a great thing. And I had a big victory in New York, I might add. I saved myself $500 million with a fake corrupt attorney general, a really corrupt
person, with a corrupt judge who was disgraceful.
They're being mauled right now by everybody, just it's so corrupt, and it kept business out of New York, stuff like that, but the appellate division
vacated all of that stuff that you read about. And we're going to do a big number on that whole thing. You can't have a corrupt court system.
You can't have that. You have to have borders and you have to have a free press, otherwise you don't have a country, but you'll be hearing about the
blue slipping, because if you have not -- you don't need to say you just need one Democrat Senator with the Republican.
The only person that I can get approved are Democrats or maybe weak Republicans, but we don't want that. But the only person I will be able to
get approved in any of those states where you have a Democrat will -- I can't get a U.S. attorney. I can only get a Democrat U.S. attorney.
And this is based on an old custom. It's not based on law, and I think it's unconstitutional, and I'll probably be filing a suit on that pretty soon.
Yeah, please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During the campaign, you call it Kamala Harris, a communist, but the Biden-Harris Administration, they never called for
nationalizing a private company with the federal government like you're proposing with Intel. What do you say to some who say this is a bit
hypocritical, and is this the new way of doing industrial policy?
TRUMP: Yeah, sure it is. I want to try and get as much as I can if people come in and they need something as an example, as a real estate person, if
I have an agreement, and I have any form of a stop gap where I can stop somebody from doing something, right? I have a covenant in an agreement,
and they come to me and they say, would like you to -- would like to do something, but you have us restricted.
If I do that, they usually have to pay. Now, in the case of Intel, was interesting, but I hope I'm going to have many more cases like it. Intel
came in. I met with a gentleman. I had a lot of respect for him. He came in under a little bit of a cloud. I liked his story. I thought he was good.
I think he really means to do a good job with Intel. I said I'd like to ask whether or not you give the -- give, you know, because it kind of started,
a lot of people said I invested in Intel. I didn't invest, but I invest my heart in it and my soul, because I want the country to be strong.
But I said I'd like you to give 10 percent of Intel to the United States of America, not to me, to the United States of America. And I said, if you
have them as a partner, you have the United States as a partner. I think that would be a very good thing for Intel. And he thought about it little
bit different than he said, I like that idea very much. We have a deal.
[11:50:00]
And that's -- I just made $10 billion or $11 billion for the United. States of America. And, yeah, there will be other cases I have that opportunity
again, I would do that. And then, you know, you do have stupid people say, oh, that's a shame. It's not a shame. It's called business.
If somebody's willing to give you 10 percent of a company and you're not paying for it. And I will tell you, with a company like Intel, as you know,
it's had difficulty, I want them to do well. I have -- I want them to do well anyway, but I want them to do well in particular then.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But isn't public ownership of a private company, a new way of doing business and the business of the United States?
TRUMP: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isn't that what you were sort of rejecting?
TRUMP: So, it has. So, as you know, the stock market went up almost 1000 points on Friday, and it went up not because of this very -- I think,
terrible. Hello. Who's that? Who is that back there? I get out of the room. It went up because of something much different. It went up because it was
announced.
CBO announced the numbers. And as you know, they gave no credit to tariffs. They said they made a mistake, that the trade deficit will be reduced
because of Trump's tariffs, will be reduced by $4 trillion, right? Is that right they said, right? They said $4 trillion and the market went up like a
rocket ship, because the tariffs are good.
Well, tariffs are that usual. If the seven wars I stopped, four of them were because of the fact that I had tariffs and trade. And I was able to
say, well, if you do this, if you go fight and you want to kill everybody, that's OK, but I'm going to charge you each 100 percent tariff when you
trade with us.
You know what? They all gave up. I stopped seven wars, numerous of them was because of tariffs. So, you never knew the word tariff. It didn't exist,
really, essentially, in this country, until, actually, in the 1870s up till 1913 it existed, and we were the richest country. We were richer than,
proportionately, than at any time in the history of our country.
And then, stupidly, in 1913 they said, Let's go to the income tax way of life. Let the people pay instead of foreign countries. No, we're taking in
trillions of dollars in tariffs, and we're stopping wars because of tariffs, so that's not so normal, either. But you know what? Other
countries did it to us, and now we're doing it to other countries.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- on the ground in Ukraine, but how would air support as part of a security guarantee be any different? Those U.S. --
TRUMP: -- really went from one question to the net -- I expected hit at least challenge -- Now we're talking about boots on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But U.S. air assets over the skies of Ukraine as part of a security guarantee. When those U.S. airmen also --
TRUMP: Well, we don't know what security guarantees, because we haven't even discussed the specifics of it. And we'll see number one, Europe is
going to give them significant security guarantees, and they should, because they're right there, but we'll be involved, from the standpoint of
backup, we're going to help them.
And I think if we get a deal, and I think we will, but if we get a deal, you're not going to, I don't believe you're going to have much of a
problem, but we'll back it up, because I want to stop seeing people being killed. You know, when Biden was here, gave $350 billion you know this from
covering business.
$350 billion to Ukraine. I said that Zelenskyy is the greatest salesman I think I've ever met, better than P.T. Barnum, because it comes to the
country, walk out with $50 billion every time. He actually came here, once, he walked out with $100 billion we're up to 350 billion.
I got a trillion dollars' worth of -- rare earth that we have from the country because I felt badly for our taxpayer, but I did something else at
the NATO meeting. They are wealthy countries, but they weren't paying and we don't pay any money to Ukraine anymore. Do you know that?
In fact, it's the opposite. They request through NATO. We deal with NATO. We don't deal really with Ukraine. NATO requests missiles. They want
patriots. They want missiles. We give the missiles to NATO. NATO pays us in full and does what they want. I mean, I think they give them mostly to they
can do other things with them too, because we're dealing with NATO.
We pay no money to Ukraine. We gave $350 billion to Ukraine. You know, if we didn't give that kind of money. And I was the one that gave the
javelins, if you remember, I gave the javelins, they were very effective. They say Obama gave sheets and Trump gave javelins.
They were very effective with those tanks right at the beginning. But you would have never had a war, if I were president. You would have never had a
war just to finish. We spend no money on Ukraine anymore.
[11:55:00]
We were getting fleeced by a president that didn't know what he was doing to be on I don't blame Ukraine. I mean, if they come and ask for $100
billion and they get it, but we're in for $350 billion. Now we make money. I don't want to make money on Ukraine. I want the war to end because I want
to save all those lives.
I want to just said -- but just so you understand, we're no longer losing money on that thing. We're losing money hand over fist, and now we don't
lose any money. Now we sell weapons to NATO, because NATO agreed, because of me, to go to 5 percent they had 2 percent and didn't pay.
Now they have 5 percent and they're all paid up. So, they have trillions of dollars, and they give us that money, but I really want the war to end, and
we're going to get it in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President -- historic summit here with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at European leaders all met here with you at the White
House. You said you wanted to get this done bilateral as soon as possible. Have you spoken to Putin since last Monday --
TRUMP: Yeah, I have --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your conversation --
TRUMP: Every conversation I have with him is a good conversation. And then, unfortunately, a bomb is loaded up into Kyiv or someplace, and then I'd get
very angry about it. I think we're going to get the war done. It's tough. I thought that would be of the seven that I settled.
I thought that would be the easiest of the group. Say, you never know what's going to happen. You know, war, strange things happen in war. The
fact that he went to Alaska, our country, I think, was a big statement that he wants to get it done. That was not easy for him to go to Alaska, you
know, for him to come here.
But the fact that he showed up on a very successful, that was a very successful day for other things, because, you know, we're also talking
about missiles, nuclear. We're talking about a lot of different things. We're talking about limiting nuclear weapons. We'll get China into that.
We have the most. Russia has the second most, and China has third, but China is way behind, but they'll catch us in five years. We would like to
denuclearize. It's too much power, and we talked about that also. That's part of it, but we have to get the war over with --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Thank you. On Baltimore, you said that you are going to have to reconsider bridge funding. Is that contingent on Westmore
cleaning up the streets?
TRUMP: No, we were very generous to him on a bridge. You know, a boat ran into a bridge and the bridge came down like I never seen anything. The boat
was just said -- just shows you the mass of that boat, the power of that boat. You know, people were up in that bridge painters.
They were painting the bridge, and they were watching it happen, and they thought they were very safe. They all died. They were painting the bridge,
can you imagine? And they watched the boat. The engines were off, and they watched the boat, and the power of that boat, the mass of that boat, went
right through that steel, just like it was nothing.
It's amazing. It's called mass. Mass is a big deal, but the mass of that boat, those people all died. But they were -- they thought they were
totally safe to they were eating their lunch. They were, you know, whatever, watching it. They could have gotten off. Somebody did a very good
job.
A police officer called in and said, close the bridge. Close -- and he did it with power, get everybody off the bridge, close that, that guy should
get a medal, because he stopped the bridge. A lot of people would have died. A lot more people would have died. The ones that died were the
workers of the bridge, and they were just -- they thought there was no danger, because, you know, it's a big steel bridge, and it came down like
toothpicks.
It was incredible to watch that. It was just and they died. They all died. But that police officer, again, the police do a great job. The police
officer did an amazing job. And I heard the tapes, he would say, get everybody off. Most people wouldn't have said that. You know, when you see
a thing like that, you assume it's going to, you know, tap the bridge and it's going to be rebuffed.
Thing just came down. I've never seen anything like it. So, he did a good job. In fact, I think we should get him in for a medal. The man that gave
the warning, I listened to him, everybody gets off, screaming, everybody off. He had the sense to realize that this could be a catastrophe, as
opposed to a ship that said, because the engines weren't working, it's just floating.
It's an amazing thing that a thing floating like that with no power just knocked it right down like it was nothing. Let's do that. Let's give them a
medal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, do you plan to investigate Chris Christie?
TRUMP: Say it, what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- you plan to investigate Chris Christie?
TRUMP: Look, Chris is a slob. Everybody knows it. I know Chris better than anybody in the room. I always felt he was guilty. But what he did is he
took the George Washington Bridge, which is very serious. He closed down the George Washington Bridge, and you had medical people. You had
ambulances caught up.
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