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Germany Halts Arms Exports To Israel; Trump Hosts Leaders Of Armenia And Azerbaijan; Donald Trump Hosts Leaders Of Armenia And Azerbaijan; Donald Trump Touts Economy In Oval Office Presentation With Heritage Foundation Economist Stephen Moore. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired August 08, 2025 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:14]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell ringing on Wall Street, just take a look at the markets. The markets are

up. The Dow Jones is up 200 points. It seems to be up throughout the course of the session.

The gavel and trading comes to an end. Oh! We had the gavel. Yes, we have. There we go. A bit of a wimpy gavel, but a strong performance at the end of

a busy session and we have a busy hour together. Those are the markets and the main events for us to talk about.

The White House tries to change the conversation around Donald Trump's firing of the BLS Commissioner. On this program tonight, you're going to

hear the man who helped him define that agenda, Stephen Moore, a conservative economist, will be with me live.

Germany is halting exports to Israel of any military equipment that could be used in Gaza, and the gold market gets tangled up by tariffs. A

sparkling example of how to confuse the landscape for business.

Tonight, live in London on Friday, it is August the 8th. I am Richard Quest in London, as elsewhere. I mean business.

Good evening.

Tonight, Israel faces further backlashes at home and abroad over its announced plans to take over Gaza City. Germany says it will not approve

the exports of military equipment that could be used by Israel in Gaza, if not for further notice.

Germany is a major supplier of arms to Israel.

Now, the plan announced by the Israeli government were approved in a heated Security Cabinet meeting last night. The exact details aren't known, but

according to various sources, they do involve the evacuation from Gaza City of a million people in only two months. CNN's Matthew Chance reports from

Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is Gaza City in the hours after Israel's controversial decision to escalate

its war.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

CHANCE (voice over): "It's a fierce airstrike," the voice says. People scatter in panic.

With the newly approved Israeli plan to occupy Gaza City and destroy Hamas there, many desperate Palestinians already on the brink are bracing for

worse to come.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

CHANCE (voice over): "We are going from bad to worse," says this man. "We're all praying for a ceasefire and that this Israeli decision to invade

won't ever be implemented."

But from the air, you can see how brutally determined Israel has been so far. On this aid flight, we flew over multiple damaged landmarks in Gaza

City, including the Yarmouk Sports Stadium, now a shelter visited by a CNN freelancer for thousands of displaced Palestinians.

Under the first phase of Israel's plan, they'd be displaced again, along with up to a million others to areas where Israel says it would provide

humanitarian assistance.

But many Israelis, themselves exhausted by a costly war, are also highly skeptical of the government's occupation plan, concerned that military

escalation in Gaza could endanger hostages still being held there and lead to more Israeli soldiers being killed.

AMI DROR, ISRAELI PROTESTER: We are here demanding the end of the war, the immediate return of the hostages, end to the atrocities in Gaza. This war

is a political war.

The only person that benefits from this war is Benjamin Netanyahu.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

CHANCE (voice over): It is the Israeli Prime Minister's far-right allies pushing hardest for a stronger military hand. Without their support, his

fragile governing coalition could fall. Fueling criticism. Israel's latest plan to escalate in Gaza may be a political, not a necessary war.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Now, President Trump is hosting the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House, where they are signing a deal that will

finalize the peace between their two countries and also grant the U.S. exclusive development access to critical transit corridors through the

Southern Caucasus and according to the route, well, it will be named after the President.

Here we are. Let's listen in.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- these two very special people, again, I've gotten to know them. They're very special

people, and I think they have the potential to have a great personal relationship, which is always good, but also a great just relationship.

[16:05:10]

And if I might ask you to say a few words, sir.

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

ILHAM ALIYEV, PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN: First of all, thank you for the invitation. It is a big honor to be invited by the President of the United

States for this historic event. Actually, we are writing a new history in bilateral inter-state relationship between the United States and

Azerbaijan.

We are starting the path towards a strategic partnership. The charter on strategic partnership will be elaborated within several months and that is

a historic achievement for Azerbaijan, because to be in the format of strategic partnership with the greatest country of the world is a great

opportunity and also a very big responsibility, and this strategic partnership format embraces so many important areas -- mutual investment,

trade, energy, connectivity, transit, A.I., defense sales, counterterrorism.

So all of these areas where we had and hopefully will have a very active cooperation in the future.

So it opens a lot of opportunities for Azerbaijan to continue its path of development, to diversify its economy, to keep unemployment low as it is

today, and to look to the future with a great optimism.

Also, I am very grateful to Mr. President that he today lifted the restrictions which have been imposed on Azerbaijan back in 1992. Just only

one month -- one year after Azerbaijan restored its independence, these restrictions have been imposed on us.

So after 33 years, these restrictions have been lifted, just today. So really, it is a day which will be remembered by the people of Azerbaijan

with a feeling of pride and gratitude to President Trump for his attitude to Azerbaijan, for his vision for not only for our region.

We were exchanging views today, and I said that within several months he managed to put an end to conflicts in Asia, in Africa and now in Southern

Caucasus, what we could not achieve for more than 30 years, we had to sacrifice lives, we had to fight two very bad wars with a lot of

casualties.

And if not for President Trump and his team and our great friend, Mr. Witkoff and his team, probably today, Armenia and Azerbaijan would have

been again in this endless process of negotiations.

So really, it is a historic day. We are today establishing peace in the Caucasus, which will open great opportunities not only for our region and

as President Trump correctly mentioned, the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, which will create new connectivity lines, which will

lift the walls and which will create connectivity opportunities for so many countries with investments, with prosperity, with stability.

You know, Azerbaijan and Armenia, we became independent at the same time as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union, but at that time, already we

were at war. So we lost a lot of years just being preoccupied with wars and occupation and bloodshed.

So today, historic day, also because we bring peace.

President Trump brings peace to Caucasus, and we are grateful for that and I am sure that Armenia and Azerbaijan will find courage and responsibility

to reconcile and also, the people will reconcile. We will turn the page of standoff, confrontation, and bloodshed and provide bright and safe future

for our children.

So I am very happy because today we are writing the great new history and once again, Mr. President, thank you for all what you are doing for us, for

our region, and for the whole world.

TRUMP: Thank you very much. Thank you.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: They are both great leaders. How long have you been at -- in the leadership position?

ALIYEV: It's been 22 years.

TRUMP: Twenty two years. That's pretty good. That means he is tough and smart. And it is an amazing part of the world, congratulations. What a

great honor to be involved.

ALIYEV: Thank you. Thank you very much.

[16:10:10]

TRUMP: Please.

NIKOL PASHINYAN, PRIME MINISTER OF ARMENIA: Thank you, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, today we have reached a significant milestone in

Armenia-Azerbaijan relations. We are laying a foundation to write a better story than the one we had in the past.

This breakthrough would be simply not have been possible without President Trump's personal engagement and his resolute commitment to peace in our

region.

The initialing of peace agreement will pave the way to end the decades of conflict between our countries and open a new era based on the full respect

for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each other. Today's declarations, which President Trump personally will sign as well as witness

gives confidence and assurance that we are opening a chapter of peace, prosperity, security, and economic cooperation in the South Caucasus.

In this context, allow me to highlight the agreement on opening transport communications in the region based on the principles of sovereignty,

territorial integrity, and jurisdiction. I am particularly thrilled that together with the U.S., Armenia will work to bring to life the trip, Trump

Route for peace and prosperity connectivity project that will unlock the entire region.

It will unlock strategic economic opportunities that will create long-term benefits. It will promote infrastructure investment, enhanced regional

connectivity and strengthen U.S. leadership as a champion of conflict resolution.

I want to thank President Trump and his team for brokering this game changing outcome between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is a great deal we

have achieved today. This is a success for our countries and for our region, and the success for the world, because a more peaceful region means

a safer world.

This is peace through strength in a nutshell.

Mr. President, today's great achievement is yet another testimony to your global leadership and your legacy as a statesman and a peacemaker on the

world stage. Bringing peace requires vision, political courage and determination. But what is most important is that it requires faith in the

cause, as it is said in the Holy Bible, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Children of God."

May God enlighten his way. Thank you. And my congratulations to all of us.

President Aliyev, to you, to all of us, colleagues from Azerbaijan, Armenia, United States and all the people of our region, all the people of

our countries and my congratulations to the world because as I said, it will definitely make the world a better place.

Thank you.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Thank you.

ANNOUNCER: The President of the United States, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia

will now sign the Joint Declaration on the outcomes of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity Summit.

That they will sign three copies in English.

QUEST: So now they are signing the document that sets out the Trump Route, which is this 27-mile corridor that runs the long Armenia southern border

with Iran, a great honor is what the President is calling it. It gives the U.S. exclusive development rights to this transit corridor connecting

Azerbaijan to the East.

Michael Kimmage is with me, Director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center. I mean, peace is always to be welcomed, but why do you think the

United States -- why did President Trump decide to involve himself in this one?

[16:15:02]

MICHAEL KIMMAGE, DIRECTOR OF THE KENNAN INSTITUTE, WILSON CENTER: Well, first of all, it confirms this narrative of President Trump as a

peacemaker, which everybody seems to have been emphasizing, just a moment ago. And secondly, it is an opportunity that fell into President Trump's

lap up to a point, because both Armenia and Azerbaijan have had difficulties with Russia, they're pushing in a different direction, and the

United States is able, in this instance, to play the role of an honest broker.

So the timing was just right and I think this is where President Trump wants to be, globally speaking.

QUEST: From your vantage point, does it seem like this deal, which has been some time in the works and obviously the two, I noticed that we managed to

get through this entire discussion or this entire press conference so far without the words Nagorno-Karabakh actually passing anybody's lips, which

of course, is the disputed territory and one of the most difficult areas within all of this.

But is it your feeling that this holds water, this agreement?

KIMMAGE: It seems to and i think most significant are the comments from Prime Minister Pashinyan and his commitment to this, because Azerbaijan is

something of the winner here. It is getting a new Defense relationship with the United States, and it is going to be able to sweep under the carpet the

ethnic cleansing and the human rights abuses that occurred just a few months ago in Nagorno-Karabakh, so it is a welcome deal. I don't think

anybody would really want to be against peace in the region and some reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

But it is coming at some cost, and it is coming at some distortion of the immediate historical record.

QUEST: Forgive the cynicism of my question, but how much of all of this is just the President wants the Nobel Peace Prize?

KIMMAGE: Well, I do think that there are certain American interests and it is curious in a certain way, as President Trump and President Putin circle

each other and seem to be on the verge of meeting and maybe doing business on Ukraine. It is interesting that the U.S. would participate in what's

kind of a slap in the face to Russia.

And, you know, that's interesting to speculate about, and there are some commercial interests and other interests that you can see at stake here.

But you know, definitely it very much flatters the image of President Trump, and you can see how Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Aliyev

are falling over themselves to praise President Trump.

At the moment, it works on all sides and ego his inflated, to be sure.

QUEST: Michael, I want to go back to the President, please.

TRUMP: Over the last month-and-a-half and Ukraine lost, just a small number -- fewer -- a lot of -- a lot of people are dying and I think we are

getting very close and we are going to be announcing later on. We are going to have a meeting with Russia.

Start off with Russia, and we will announce a location, and I think the location will be a very popular one for a lot of reasons. But we will be

announcing that a little bit later. I just don't want to do it now because of the importance of what we just did.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And I completely understand that --

TRUMP: Please go ahead.

DOOCY: A follow up, are you surprised that Zelenskyy hasn't figured out by now, in years of war, how to deal with you and to deal with Putin without

needing permission to make concessions from his Parliament or from a National Referendum?

TRUMP: Well, he is going out and getting what he needs. You know, he is not authorized to do certain things. I said, well, you're going to have to get

it fast because, you know, we are getting very close to a deal, and he is doing that, and he is working with the European nations and the terrific

people, terrific leaders, NATO.

And as you know, I became very friendly with them. They agreed to go from two percent to five percent. Two percent that they didn't pay to five

percent that they've already paid. It is trillions of dollars.

So, you know, we are working together very closely, but no, in all fairness to President Zelenskyy, he is getting everything he needs to -- assuming we

get something done.

But I will be meeting very shortly with President Putin. It would have been sooner, but I guess there are security arrangements that unfortunately

people have to make. Otherwise, I would do it much quicker. He would too. He would like to meet as soon as possible. I agree with it. But we will be

announcing that very shortly, okay -- and location.

Yes, Please. Please.

REPORTER: Mr. President, with this meeting with Putin, is this Russia's last chance to achieve peace? And do you expect Ukraine to make any type of

territorial concession?

TRUMP: Yes, I don't like using the term last chance. Look, it is -- you know, look, this is are two very, very smart people. They've been going at

it for -- and their predecessors are also very smart -- and they've been going at it for 35 years. It is tough.

And you know, when those guns start going off, it is awfully tough to get them to stop. It really does. It is a war that should have never happened.

It would have never happened if I were president. There was no reason for it.

So many people were killed, so much cultural destruction. You look at those magnificent towers, the most beautiful in the world. You know, the spires

were considered the most beautiful in the world. They're all in a million pieces laying on the ground, all obliterated, knocked into a million

pieces. So sad.

[16:20:18]

But millions of people have died, and, very, very much set in their ways. A lot of people were set in their ways. But I think we are getting close. I

mean, this was not my war. This was Biden's war.

But the European Union has been great. As you know, they are purchasing equipment from us. They are spending -- and they have a lot of money, and

they are spending a lot of money on buying equipment. We are not spending money, but we are supplying them equipment. They're paying for it.

And I think -- you know, I think that, a lot of things happened recently that would make this go forward. I am not going to mention anything having

to do with India, but maybe that had an impact, but what really had an impact was NATO has stepped up in terms of their spending on buying

military equipment.

You know, we are in for probably through Biden and his people, $350 billion -- $350 billion? When they hear these numbers, you're saying that's a lot

of money, $350 billion, the United States has spent on that. It should have spent nothing because it should have never happened -- it would have never

happened.

And Europe is in for over a hundred billion dollars, which is -- it should be the opposite, if we were in for anything. But it should be the opposite.

And I will say that, Europe has -- Europe wants to see peace.

The European leaders want to see peace. President Putin, I believe, wants to see peace and Zelenskyy wants to see peace.

Now, President Zelenskyy has to get all of his -- everything he needs because he is going to have to get ready to sign something and I think he

is working hard to get that done.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)

TRUMP: Well, you're looking at territory that's been fought over for three- and-a-half years with, you know, a lot of Russians have died, a lot of Ukrainians have died. So we are looking at that, but we are actually

looking to get some back and some swapping. It is complicated.

It is actually nothing easy, it is very complicated. But we are going to get some back. We are going to get some switched. There will be some

swapping of territories to the betterment of both, but we will be talking about that either later or tomorrow or whatever.

Yes, please.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)

TRUMP: Say it.

REPORTER: If I could ask a question of your guests and also of you.

TRUMP: Yes.

REPORTER: Of the guests, will the Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh be allowed to return? And also, do you have any thoughts on the talk about

President Trump winning the Nobel Peace Prize and for President Trump, you're working on resolving two other major conflicts.

In Gaza, you've spoke of resettling the Gazans, the country of Somaliland has expressed potential interest if you were to diplomatically recognize

their independence, are you inclined to do so? And also, did President Putin present an award to Mr. Witkoff during the recent visit?

TRUMP: He likes Mr. Witkoff, I can tell you that. That's true. Please go ahead.

PASHINYAN: I think President Trump deserve to have Nobel Peace Prize and we will defend that and we will promote -- we will promote for that. And,

that's obvious. So -- and today's event, I think is a very bright expression of that. And, hopefully you will invite us to --

TRUMP: Front row. You'll be front row.

PASHINYAN: Yes, yes.

TRUMP: Thank you.

PASHINYAN: We are in favor.

TRUMP: Thank you. Thank you.

ALIYEV: Can I have a suggestion?

TRUMP: Yes.

ALIYEV: So maybe we agree with Prime Minister Pashinyan to send a joint appeal to the Nobel Committee to award President Trump with the Nobel Peace

Prize because --

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

From the leaders of the countries which were at war for more than three decades, having this historic signature here, it really means a lot. This

is tangible result of President Trump's leadership, and no one could have achieved that.

There have been many presidents here since the beginning of 90s, and the so-called Minsk Process, which, by the way, today we put an end to with my

Armenian colleague, started in 1992. So negotiation under the auspices of OSCE continued for more than three decades without any result.

[16:25:06]

So who, if not President Trump, deserves the Nobel Peace Prize? I don't want to go into the history of some very strange decisions of the Nobel

Peace Committee to award the prize for someone who didn't do anything at all.

(LAUGHTER)

ALIYEV: But President Trump in six months did a miracle. So I think that my Armenian colleague will support it and judging by the reaction of the

audience, I think as soon as we come back, we will agree to issue a joint letter.

And hopefully, and I also join when President is awarded. We hope that he will invite us to the ceremony.

TRUMP: Thank you. You certainly will be. Thank you very much.

PASHINYAN: Do we have draft to sign now?

TRUMP: Well, we will see what happens.

ALIYEV: We would like to sign.

TRUMP: Thank you very much. That's very nice.

We are looking into that right now. Good question actually. And, another complex one, as you know, but we are working on that right now, Somaliland.

REPORTER: Mr. President, thank you so much. I wanted to ask you, have you spoken to Russian President Putin yet? And would you go to Russia or

Ukraine? And what exactly would you say?

TRUMP: We will be announcing a location in maybe a little while and I think you will be very happy. We will see what happens, all right?

All we can do is do our best. We've been working on this one for a long time. This is a very complicated one. Also, this was extremely complicated,

but we made it less complicated, and we had two very brilliant people on my right and my left. They understood what was at stake.

I think if it didn't get done now, it might have never gotten done. So this is the same, very similar with Ukraine. It became more and more complicated

as time went on. It was simple at the beginning. It wasn't going to happen, but it became more and more complicated. But I think we are getting close.

Yes, ma'am. Yes. Go ahead please.

REPORTER: Could the location for the summit be Italy?

ALIYEV: Location? Italy.

TRUMP: Oh I will give it to you very soon. I just -- honestly, I don't want to do anything. These guys, I don't want to do anything where that's like -

- because this is a bigger story than a location. A location is good. I am a real estate person. I know about location.

But this -- there is nothing to compete with this in terms of what we are doing today. Just -- it is just such a great achievement for these two,

really, they will go down as great leaders for what they did. I put them together, but what they have been able -- and I don't want to do anything.

So, we will talk about it later today. Today, we will give you a location today.

REPORTER: You were talking about sending military forces to fight against the drug cartels in Latin America. Do you think it is worth sending our

forces or U.S. forces there to take this on?

TRUMP: Cartels where?

REPORTER: Central -- Central Latin America?

TRUMP: Well, Latin America has got a lot of cartels. They've got a lot of drugs flowing. So, you know, we want to protect our country. We have to

protect our country. We haven't been doing it for four years, and we love this country like they love their countries. We have to protect our

country.

So, you know, we are playing a tough game, but we will have more to say about that soon.

Yes, ma'am.

REPORTER: Mr. President, I am Zala (ph) from Azerbaijan, News Agency Report. So we are grateful to be here.

So, today, you host a truly historic meeting. As a person who values diplomacy and global interaction, do you consider the possibility to

visiting Azerbaijan -- actually, you mentioned Azerbaijan and Armenia -- after this meeting.

TRUMP: For what?

ALIYEV: To visit our countries, do you consider to visit?

TRUMP: Which one do I consider better?

REPORTER: Yes.

TRUMP: Both. Both. I think if I ever said that that you would say this guy couldn't have solved the problem. You know what? I consider them both

great. Okay. And you know what? They are going to be even greater. But -- and they're very different in many ways, but they have a lot in common. But

they're both great as far as I am concerned.

Yes. Please. It is an interesting question. That would have been a hell of an answer if I said, well, I think -- I think I like this one or that one.

No, we don't do that.

Go ahead. Please.

REPORTER: Mr. President, first of all, thank you for bringing peace to South Caucasus, it is something that no one has been able to achieve in 35

years.

TRUMP: Thank you.

REPORTER: That's number one. We also noticed that you think highly of the commitments that the sides have taken on and assumed. However, considering

the long history of conflict and the fact that this is not a legally binding document, will there be consequences if at some point one of the

sides takes a step back?

TRUMP: I don't think it is going to happen. I think it is going to be very good. And I told them I gave them a personal commitment. If there is -- you

know, there are always little problems here and there, right? The big ones have been solved. These are the giant ones that have been solved.

But if there is conflict, they both know they are going to call me and we are going to get it straightened out. They're not going to have a problem.

Where are you from?

REPORTER: Armenia.

TRUMP: Okay, good. Very good. I was wondering, it was a very unusual question, but it is not unusual considering you're from Armenia. If there

is a problem, we will get it worked out. I told them both. Don't let the problem last. We get it early and we will get it -- we will get it solved.

Good reporter you have over there.

OK, please.

[16:30:33]

ILHAM ALIYEV, AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT: First of all, I'd like to say that today we initialed the peace deal, which was in the process of negotiations

for quite a while. The fact that it is initialed here in the capital, number one of the world, in the office number one of the world, and in

front of the great president of United States, means that there should be no doubts and no suspicions that any of the sides would step back.

If some of -- if any of us, Prime Minister Pashinyan or myself had in mind to step back, we wouldn't have come here. So, you can be absolutely sure,

as well as Azerbaijani community, that what has happened today will result in peace, long, lasting peace, eternal peace in the Caucasus.

TRUMP: That's a very nice statement.

NIKOL PASHINYAN, ARMANIAN PRIME MINISTER: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Fully agree, and nothing to add.

TRUMP: That's very nice two statement. And that's a beautiful -- beautifully stated statement. Let's go, a couple of more. Yes, please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, many in the south caucuses have pinned the blame on your predecessor, Joe Biden and the Secretary of State Antony

Blinken, for obstacles in America's bilateral relations with Azerbaijan and peace in that part of the world. How important is it to you to elevate your

country's partnership and your administration's partnership with Azerbaijan, with Armenia, and how important is this for your legacy?

TRUMP: Well, to me, it's very important, but it's, you know, I just, I know the history of what was going on, because I do a lot of reading, and

they've been a vicious -- you know, they've had a very contentious relationship for a long time. It's -- I mean, it's war. Most of the time

was war.

And so, to get it done, they're great people. I know a lot of people from Armenia, I know a lot of people from both countries, and they're incredible

people. And it shouldn't happen what has happened. I wish we could have been here sooner.

You know, if the election were different, I'm going to be nice today. I'm not going to be controversial and say the election was rigged. I would have

had this thing solved four years sooner. But the truth is, that's right, if the election weren't rigged, I would have been here four years sooner. We

would have signed the same agreement four years sooner.

But it didn't happen. And the Biden administration did really very little, actually nothing to get it done. But they did nothing to get really

anything done. It was very -- this country was in very serious shape.

And I say it over and over again, I met all the leaders of NATO. I met -- I went, as you know, the Middle East. I was with the King of Saudi Arabia,

the leaders of great countries, right, Qatar and UAE and others in the Middle East. And everyone essentially said the same thing, we had a dead

country. One year ago, we had a dead country. Our country was dying, and now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world. It's not even close.

We have the hottest country in the world.

And it's an honor to use that, if you call it power or respect or whatever it is, to settle wars like we have right here to my left and my right. And

these two guys are very smart. I got to know them, and they're very smart. They're not going to I don't think they're going to ever have to bother

with me. They may call me just to bug me a little bit. Let me put them to a test, and they'll call because they like to call me, but they're not going

to have any problem.

We have a very comprehensive agreement. It's a peace agreement, and this isn't cease fire. This is in will hold off. This is a peace agreement, and

they're going to end up doing a lot of business with each other. They're going to do a lot of business with the United States. And I'm going to

always remember, at least during, you know, the time that I'm here, I'm going to remember how smart they were, how good they were, and when it

comes to trade and other things, we're going to always go 100 percent out. We'll go out of our way to make sure it comes out good for them.

They did an amazingly good thing and a very brave thing. It's a very complicated part of the world they come from, very tough part of the world.

It's a tough, tough but smart part of the world, smart, tough people. And great wealth, you know, great energy wealth.

I was talking to Chris, and you were saying, in terms of wealth, it's enormous wealth, but wealth doesn't often solve problems. Takes other

things, but they were they're amazing, two amazing leaders, and it's an honor to be associated with them.

How about we'll do one more please?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your gut instincts have always done well in terms of business and in terms of politics. What does your gut tell you as it

relates to the possibility of an event like this in the next few weeks, the next few months, in which you have President Putin on one side and

President Zelenskyy on your other side?

TRUMP: I think my instinct really tells me that we have a shot at it, OK, and you'll find that out later on, maybe even today, but we have a shot at

it.

Look, it's got to be solved. You know, we're not losing people. A lot of people say, why are you bothering? We're not losing people. We were

spending hundreds of billions of dollars. Now we're spending nothing. We're spending no money. I guess we're making money because, you know, we're our

great -- we have the best military equipment in the world. We're selling it to NATO, but you're losing thousands of people a week.

Russians and Ukrainians mostly and mostly soldiers. But you know, missiles are lobbed into cities and towns Kyiv, lots of places. You've been reading

the same stories that I've been reading, and we're going to get it solved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Norwegian Nobel Committee will make their announcement as it relates to this year's Nobel Peace Prize on October the

10th. Friday, October the 10th, is that date circled on your calendar, Mr. President?

TRUMP: I can't say. I mean, a lot of people say, no matter what I did, because, you know, I'm of a certain persuasion, no matter what I do, they

won't give it. And I'm not politicking for it. I have a lot of people that are, I know, I mean, I read the same things as you do, but it would be a

great honor, certainly.

But I would never politic. I'm not doing it for that. I'm doing it because of I really, number one, I want to save lives. That's why I'm involved so

much with Ukraine and Russia. It's saving lives of Russians and Ukrainians. It's not American lives.

Now, I would say this, that war could have escalated in something much, that could have been a world war. I think if we didn't come, Ukraine,

Russia would have ended up being a world war. And I stopped that. That stopped.

Now, the only question is, when is it going to be settled? And it could be very soon, but when is it going to be? But that would have been a world war

if I didn't come along with a very talented group of people sitting largely right here, but there are others not in the room that are very talented. I

think Russia, Ukraine would have had a very, very high degree. I think even probably would have ended up being in a world war.

I don't think people talk about that now, because they don't see it anymore, but we brought it down a long way. But that was getting to a point

when I first came in, I said, wow, this thing is really bad, and it could have gone, it could have escalated to a level that you people would have

been very unhappy with, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your predecessor, Mr. President, President Ronald Reagan, had a phrase as it relates to dealing with the then Soviet Union

and also Mikhail Gorbachev. The phrase was, trust but verify. Do you subscribe to that same view as it relates to Mr. Putin and Russia?

TRUMP: Well, I do, relating to everybody. I mean, not just President Putin, but also people and leaders that I deal with. Look, I'm dealing with trade

and some of the worst deals we made. Some of the worst trade deals we have, I talk about friend and foe, right? Friend and foe, two interesting words.

Some of our worst trade deals were not with the foe. They were with the friends. Our friends were just killing us on trade, not anymore, not

anymore.

We're making -- you know, we're taking in trillions of dollars, and we're respected, and we're settling, you know, through trade, even a little bit

here, less here than on some but through trade, I got things settled.

With India, Pakistan, I think it was trade more than any other reason. That's how I got involved. I said, you know, I don't want to be dealing

with countries that are trying to blow up themselves and maybe the world, you know, their nuclear nations. That was a big one, getting that one

settled. I think you'd agree that was a -- that was a big one, and they were going at it in. You know, they were shooting airplanes out of the sky.

You know, five or six planes got shot down in their last little skirmish, and then it was going to escalate from there. They could have gotten to be

very, very bad.

No, I want to save a lot of lives. I love saving lives. That's what it's about. And you know, when you save lives, you really end up having a

peaceful world. Usually that ends up pretty well.

I want to thank everybody, but in particular these two great leaders for having the courage to do what they did today, and they're going to go down

in the history books. And it's a great honor to be involved. Thank you very much.

[16:40:09]

QUEST: Whatever the politics of the United States on the situation. Today is a day of history as the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan shake hands

and sign an agreement with President Trump, bringing to the United States on the situation. Today is a day of history as the leaders of Armenia and

Azerbaijan shake hands and sign an agreement with President Trump, bringing to an end of 30, 40 year disagreements over Nagorno-Karabakh and putting to

rest simmering disputes which have occasionally broken out into open warfare.

And now, of course, attention has turned to Russia, Ukraine. Michael Kimmage is still with me, Director of the Keenan Institute at the Wilson

Center.

Michael, the thing that I struck, I mean, besides, you know, we'll know later the location. We got a little bit of a teaser, though. President

Trump said at one point talking about the deal of the land. He wouldn't do details. He said talking about land and territory, some will be handed

back, some will be swapped, and some will be switched. He said it twice. What did you make of it?

KIMMAGE: I don't quite know what he means in terms of swapping territory, because Ukraine is no longer in Russia, so Ukraine has no territory to

swap. But perhaps he means shifting of territory in terms of the territory that Russia occupies in Ukraine, to some degree of back and forth there.

But it's hard to follow. It's also especially hard to believe that Ukraine would be willing at this stage, or at any stage, to swap territory. So,

it's pretty close to bluster, I would say.

QUEST: And the deal itself, the idea of why will President Putin go for the summit now, which could force him into the ceasefire he single handedly,

has refused to do so far?

KIMMAGE: Well, I think for Putin, the optics of the summit are terrific. It makes it look like these two figures are going to put an end to the war. It

allows Putin to sideline Ukraine. It allows Putin to sideline Europe.

So, I think Putin has every incentive to go to the summit. He may provide a feint at the summit and suggest that he's willing to go some distance with

a cease fire, but I would be very, very hard pressed to believe that he would actually follow through. And therefore, the question about trust but

verify was spot on.

QUEST: I'm grateful, Michael, thank you for standing by. Thank you for being our helper in all seasons. I'm grateful. This is QUEST MEANS

BUSINESS, busy night. We'll be back after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:45:47]

QUEST: So, White House officials have been providing different explanations after President Trump meddled with the government's top economic data

operation, Trump fired the Commissioner of Labor Statistics. Remember, this time last week after a week July jobs report, and he's accusing Erika

McEntarfer of rigging the data to make him look worse.

The president says she even meddled with jobs numbers last year to try to help Democrats win this election. His cabinet is taking a different

approach. Scott Bessent told MSNBC that she was simply incompetent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: And many of their cells, the things that they fill in, you know, they used to have 100 percent the surveys,

some of them, they're just down to 30 percent of actual data. And then they're intuiting or imputing the other data.

So, this is a long needed change, and the head of BLS is responsible for this.

This was the biggest revision, I believe, in 30 years. And this, again, it's a five standard deviation miss, you didn't land in Newark instead of

New York. You landed in Denver.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now yesterday, of course, as you were watching, we were interrupted by the event in the Oval Office. President Trump was giving a presentation

with Stephen Moore. There you see him on the left, an economist from the Heritage Foundation. The message was clear, the economy is doing far better

now compared to the Biden years.

Mr. Moore also told the president that he had data proving he was right to dismiss the head of the BLS, it's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. So of course,

Stephen Moore is with me now to discuss this and to put it into context.

Mr. Moore, good to see you. Thank you. Thank you for staying with us this evening, whilst, of course, we had the president and the two -- the

president and the prime minister.

And look, I watched yesterday. Do you believe President Trump was right to get rid of the head of the BLS? Never mind whether it was because of

incompetence or malfeasance. Was he right to get rid of her?

STEPHEN MOORE, DISTINGUISHED FELLOW, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Yes, I do think it is, Richard and by the way, thanks so much for having me on.

Listen, I just want accuracy. These are really important numbers that we come out with each month. I've been doing this for 30 years, you know. But

as soon as those new jobs numbers come out on the first Friday of every month, it's the most watched and consequential gage we have of how the U.S.

economy is doing month by month, and we need to make sure those numbers add up, that they are at least fairly accurate.

And what's happened over time. And this is where I'm not blaming one party or another, and I've never met this woman who's -- who was running the BLS,

so I know nothing about her.

But I do know, looking back at the numbers in the last couple of years, they are more and more unreliable, and it's almost like a blind man, you

know, shooting darts at a dartboard, they're just not coming very close.

And by the way, Scott the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent is right that the polling is terrible, so we need a whole revamp of how these numbers are

done.

QUEST: The reading, the critique, if you will, of your Oval Office, of your White House visit yesterday. The critics say, yes, you came with a load of

data, but that in itself was unverifiable, and the unpublished data that you quoted from the various organizations, particularly on unemployment,

there's nothing backing it up.

So, you are -- and I'm sure you have got some data backing it up, but the critics today say you are as guilty as the others.

MOORE: Well, I have a lot of critics, Richard, but I will say this that, you know, at that press conference, it was kind of impromptu press

conference we had yesterday, and I had shown Trump some charts the President, that showed that over the last two years of the Biden

administration, that the Bureau of Labor Statistics had overstated jobs by between one and one and a half million jobs. That's a whole lot.

[16:50:07]

And my point was that all of the errors in one or in one direction. In other words, if they were just random errors, you would expect them to be

going up and down, up and down over time. But they weren't. They were all in the direction of overestimating the jobs that Biden had created.

And one might look at that and say, well, gee, it looks like they might have been putting their thumb on the scale, because this was done right

before one of the most important elections in our lifetime.

Now, I'm not -- again, I'm not making that accusation. I'm just saying it's a little suspicious.

QUEST: Right. One of the problems now is the way it was handled. And the question is, obviously, you know, I suppose a commission, a bipartisan

commission, to look into the data of the BLS would be a way to ensure the integrity instead firing the woman makes it look as though the thumbs going

on the scale in the other direction.

And you know, with great respect to your academia, you know the significance of the integrity of the data.

MOORE: So, I think that's a great idea, Richard, I'm going to tell the president about that because I think a bipartisan commission would be

called for here. This isn't a partisan issue. It's whether we know what to do with these jobs numbers. We have to feel at least somewhat confident

that the numbers are within, you know, four or five percent margin of error, and lately they've barely been in a 40 to 50 percent margin of

error.

So, anything that can get us the accurate data I'm in favor of, and if that is a bipartisan commission of really smart statisticians, sign me up.

QUEST: Can I talk tariffs briefly if I may? Can you explain why, in your view, we are not seeing a greater inflationary effect. Somebody is eating

the tariff. And do you believe? You know, whenever I put this to other economists on Wall Street, they always say, ah, yes, Richard, it's a case

of not yet, but we will. Do you share that view?

MOORE: It's a really tough question you're asking. And I think economists will give you all sorts of different answers about who bears the burden of

a tariff. My own view is just that, you know, if you put a tariff on, let's say, toys coming into the United States from China, then I think some of

that tariff will be the burden of that will be paid for by the producers of those toys in China, and some of the burden will be borne by the people in

the United States who buy those toys.

We don't know exactly what, you know, percentages those are, but no question about it, some of the -- some of tariff costs are passed on to

consumers. That's why one of the things Trump is talking about, and it's an idea I don't like very much, but he said, OK, well, why don't we provide a

rebate check to people who pay the tariff. I think that's a lousy idea personally, but it does acknowledge the fact that consumers are paying

slightly higher prices.

On the other hand, when people say, well, these tariffs are inflationary, my response to that is, wait a minute, we just passed a major tax cut for

our businesses, so that if you make something here at home, you're going to pay less taxes. If you make something abroad and bring it in the United

States, you're going to pay more taxes.

So, it's really just shifting the burden of the tax and the cost, not overall, raising costs, if you -- if you follow my logic.

QUEST: I do indeed. Mr. Miran to the Fed, eminently qualified, but clearly has a very pro-tariff point of view, and obviously one imagines once a

looser monetary policy. Do you welcome that move? Do you welcome that appointment?

MOORE: Yes, I think Stephen Miran will be a great addition.

You know, listen, you may recall, a few years ago, I was nominated to be on the Federal Reserve Board. I didn't make it through the process, but, you

know, one of the things I learned is that the person who has almost all the power at the Federal Reserve Board is not the members of the board, but the

chairman of the board.

I bet, Richard, you probably couldn't mention more than two or three of the other members of the board. I couldn't.

QUEST: You're right.

MOORE: So, I think what matters most is who's going to be chosen sometime I don't know, later this year, early next year, to succeed the current

Chairman Jerome Powell.

QUEST: Do you have a preference who you think you'd like to see in the job?

MOORE: Sorry?

QUEST: Do you have a preference which of the Kevin's would you like to see in the job?

MOORE: Yes. I mean, I love what we call the two Kevins. The two Kevins, Kevin Warsh and Kevin Hassett are both excellent economists. They also

happen to be good friends of mine, and I think they would be -- look, we need somebody who can keep our dollar strong and stable. I don't want them

playing games with our money supply. We learned what happened under Biden when inflation went through the roof. So, let's keep inflation low. Let's

get -- let's make sure the dollar remains the world reserve currency, which I think it will.

[16:55:09]

QUEST: I'm grateful. Thank you, Stephen. It's always a treat and a pleasure to have you on the program and to talk economics with you. Thank you sir

for taking time today. Thanks for joining.

MOORE: Thank you.

QUEST: Thank you. Now, I want to show you what's happened in the markets. Shares closed up as Wall Street suggested the new Fed Governor appointment,

along with everything else, the Dow closed around half a percentage point higher, and NASDAQ at a new record high for the second day in a row, and

Apple continues rally after the chief executives visit to the White House on Wednesday.

Not often you see it at the top of the list, but it closed up four percent marking 13 percent gain this week alone.

United Health ending up two percent, 2.5 after selling 164 locations to resolve the antitrust concerns of the Justice Department and the losses

IBM.

I mean, all those at the bottom are fairly small, particularly when you consider the gains that we see in the green part.

QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight from London. After the break, I'll explain in a Profitable Moment why we are here. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's profitable moment. One of the reasons I love having Stephen Moore on this program is because he is so refreshingly honest and

blunt. When I saw him yesterday at the White House and talking about his numbers, we knew we had to get him on the program tonight to justify what

he was saying and the criticisms, and he did it elegantly.

We may not agree with, well, you may not agree, or I may not agree with what he says, but he holds his own. He puts his argument, and even tonight,

for example, making it quite clear that he doesn't approve of an idea of rebate cheques going out.

It's important we hear from people like Stephen, and we're always very grateful when they come on to the program.

Now, getting them on the program. Well, that is the art and the job of our various producers, and one of the reasons I'm here in London tonight is to

say thank you and goodbye to one of our producers, Winston Lo. Winston has been with the program for seven years and has been responsible for many of

the great programs that we've done, the tremendous guests that we have had.

And I may be the bit that talks to you every night, but it's the team behind me that makes sure that the QUEST MEANS BUSINESS we bring to you

every night is the best, the very best it can possibly be.

Winston, Godspeed and good luck.

[17:00:11]

And so, that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for this Friday night. I'm Richard Quest in London, whatever you're up to in the hours, keep going. That's

Winston. I hope it's profitable.

END