Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Today, Trump to Speak to Investors in Saudi Arabia; Day 2 of Testimony in Sean Diddy Combs Trial; U.S. Inflation Slowed More Than Expected in April. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 13, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now. President Trump is in Saudi Arabia on the first major international trip of his second term. We're following the latest as he meets with leaders and works to make deals.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Cooling inflation. A new report shows it dropped to the lowest level, lowest rate in four years. What's behind this unexpected and very welcome news and will this trend hold?

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

New this morning, today, President Trump will address a gathering of Saudi investors and prominent American business leaders from companies like Amazon, Uber, Coca-Cola, and Google. President Trump received a royal welcome to Riyadh this morning. This is his first major international trip of his second term, and its focus largely on expanding Middle East partnerships and hammering out business deals.

CNN Anchor and Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins is traveling with the president. She's joining us now live from Riyadh. Kaitlan, tell us more about the president's goals of this very important trip.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, obviously, when it comes to the ultimate goal of this trip, there is no grand foreign policy underlining all of this. But a lot of it has to do with what you heard President Trump talk about as he sat down with the Saudi Crown Prince earlier today after he greeted him on the tarmac in a very opulent ceremony and a trip that is coming with all the pageantry that the president will surely remember from 2017 when he made his first foreign trip of his first term here and stopped in Saudi Arabia.

And during that sit-down today though with the Saudi Crown Prince, one thing that President Trump talked about is something he's been hammering home ever since he took office. It's the investments that he'd like to see Saudi Arabia make in the United States during his second term. Right now, the Saudi Crown Prince has pledged $600 billion of investments in the U.S. The president is hoping to get that number closer to $1 trillion, as he mentioned, when he was sitting just a few feet away from the Saudi Crown Prince earlier.

It's really a question whether or not they can ultimately get to that. A trillion dollars is roughly the GDP of Saudi Arabia in one year. And so some economists have doubted that that could happen given all the expansion that's happening here in Saudi Arabia.

And that kind of speaks to where I am right now. Wolf, I'm in the Saudi Investment Forum. You can see the room is filled with people. They've been here all day, crawling around. They are from every different sector that you could imagine, whether it's A.I., nuclear energy, entertainment. They're waiting to hear President Trump speak shortly when he is coming to make his first public remarks here at this investment forum.

And, of course Wolf, what is looming over all of this is just how closely. This trip is tracking with the president's own family business footprint that is expanding inside the Middle East. We've seen that from skyscrapers that are going to be put here in Saudi Arabia, a golf course that is being built in Doha, where the president is scheduled to go on the second stop of his trip tomorrow, or cryptocurrency ventures with his family-linked crypto fund that's going to be involving the third stop of this trip in Abu Dhabi on Thursday and Friday.

And so that's all looming over all of this as well as critical talks when it comes to a nuclear agreement, whether that's going to happen with Saudi Arabia, the Iran deal that the president is trying to have negotiations happening with Iran right now. And also what's happening in Russia and Ukraine right now, as the president is sending some of his top aides to go there.

All of these are topics that are ripe for discussion while the president is here on the ground getting his first stop of the trip underway.

BLITZER: Kaitlan, just ahead of the President's trip, the State Department approved the sale of $1.4 billion of weapons to the United Arab Emirates. What can you tell us about that?

COLLINS: Yes. Arms deal is another huge component of this. The president wants to see these countries buying arms from the United States in these military agreements. The CEO of Boeing is here, I should note, Wolf, which is another factor here. You just mentioned some of the other CEOs. There was a huge launch that happened earlier with the Saudi Crown Prince and President Trump. They were greeting dozens of these world leaders, from Coca-Cola, NVidia, Elon Musk was there, the CEO of Boeing as well, which, you know, when he was sitting on stage earlier, and we were hearing from them, you can't ignore that the other party that's been looming over this trip is the president confirming that he does plan to accept a luxury drought (ph) from Qatar worth about $400 million, according to some estimates.

That's his second trip to tomorrow when he goes there, and that's because he's been frustrated by how slow Boeing has been when it comes to developing and producing those new Air Force One models. And so it, it's just, really, you can see all the different points here, Wolf, and how it all really connects with each stop of the trip here as the president is really seeking to put his signature on things while he's here. He wants these agreements, he wants these deals. He welcomes business leaders being here as well to try to make some of their own.

BLITZER: All right. Kaitlan Collins reporting from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for us, stay with us. Don't go too far away. We'll get back to you.

And to our viewers, make sure to tune in to Kaitlan's excellent show, The Source with Kaitlan Collins. It airs later tonight, every weeknight, 9:00 P.M. Eastern. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Happening now, day two of testimony in the sex trafficking trial of Sean Diddy Combs, and the prosecution's star witness Combs' ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, is set to take the stand. It comes after yesterday's graphic and at times explicit testimony by a man who says he witnessed the music mogul assault Ventura on two separate occasions.

And a quick note on CNN's coverage of this trial, on the left side of your screen, you'll see information from our reporters right inside the courtroom. It will be updating throughout the show, and that's because there is no video or audio recording allowed in federal court.

So, let's go live now to CNN Chief and Chief Legal -- CNN Anchor and Chief Legal Analyst Laura Coates, right outside the courthouse in New York.

So, when do we expect Ventura to take the stand today, Laura?

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Shortly, we have the person who testified yesterday, somebody who was paid allegedly to have sex with Cassie Ventura while Sean Diddy Combs looked on and sometimes filmed it. He will finish up his testimony today following explosive testimony yesterday about allegedly assault, hearing and viewing and assaulted Cassie, also who was providing payments, sometimes thousands of dollars for these sexual encounters and that they would last for hours at a time, corroborating some of the details that we heard about the use of baby oil, about the use of Sean Diddy Combs in a video camera and beyond.

But today's testimony will include Cassie Ventura. She is the star witness. She will be the glue to bridge the gap between what the public. Thinks they know about Sean Diddy Combs and what the prosecution wants them to know about Sean Diddy Combs.

Yesterday, Pam, the defense was surprisingly self-aware. They said, we own the domestic violence. That did happen. He is a drug user. He is a domestic violence participant, but he was not a sex trafficker and was not a racketeer.

Just this morning, we got a glimpse into the mindset of the prosecution and the defense about what type of evidence was going to come in. Specifically, how were they going to deal with the very sexual and explicit nature of whatever still photographs or video footage of these alleged freak-offs, drug-fueled, days-long, hours- long events happening without the consent as alleged by the prosecution. Well, they fought this morning, the defense wants to be able to show in some form or fashion, the videos, the prosecution saying they do not want the audio or the visual to be heard. It's too graphic, too sexually explicit.

In the courtroom, they asked for a media attorney to explain what their position was with the First Amendment and said, hold on, the First Amendment, get us a right for public access. If you want to prove your case, the public ought to be able to see. They grappled with that and we're still waiting to see to what extent the jurors or everyone in open court will see these very disturbingly graphic videos.

BROWN: Yes, really, really disturbing stuff. What else stood out to you from the first day of testimony?

COATES: What stood out was we finally got to know what the defense was going to argue. We knew about that video, the hotel surveillance footage that was captured by CNN, being able to obtain it for the world to see. How are they going to use it? How would they reconcile the use of that video?

Well, the defense did this. They said they had to admit what they couldn't deny, and they couldn't deny what they must admit. They said, we own the domestic violence. But he is not charged with that crime, and therefore the jury should not take that into consideration. They also said you're not going to like him or how he has behaved, but that does not make a felon.

But the prosecution really, really driving home the point yesterday, Pam, that Cassie Ventura and another woman had no agency, no control, that their livelihood and their very security was controlled not only by the head of an enterprise, Sean Diddy Combs, but by the inner circle, his chiefs of staff, his assistants, his bodyguards, his high level executives.

[10:10:00]

This is now the moment everyone's been waiting for. How will they prove it? And what will Cassie Ventura say?

BROWN: So, just to follow up on the domestic violence aspect, as you noted, the defense sort of owned that. Why wasn't he charged with domestic violence?

COATES: Well, we're in a federal court and there's not the actual crime that would attach what they're saying for RICO, and, of course, sex trafficking and engaging in prostitution. But what they are going to prove under what they have stated in those five counts is that they believe there was a criminal enterprise that was geared towards a group of people organized in some form or fashion to only commit crimes, including kidnapping and arson and perhaps bribery, disruption of justice, but also to try to cover up those crimes.

And they're making the argument that it was that inner circle that composes what we know as sort of a mob of sorts. And they were the ones to facilitate all that we'll hear about in court. Well, they prove it? We'll see.

BROWN: Yes. And the fact that the defense is sort of owning the domestic abuse part of this could, of course, feed into what you just laid out there.

Laura Coates, we'll keep checking back in with you. And make sure to tune in tonight to Laura's show, Laura Coates Live airs every weeknight at 11:00 P.M. Eastern. Wolf?

BLITZER: We'll, of course, be watching.

And also this morning, some potentially very welcome news for your wallet, U.S. inflation showing -- slowing, I should say, to its lowest rate in more than four years. That according to April's Consumer Price Index Report. It's an unexpected and very welcome development that's defying economists' expectations amid President Trump's ongoing trade war.

Let's go live right now to CNN Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich, who's watching all of this in New York. Vanessa, walk us through this morning's report. Where do things stand?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Encouraging signs, Wolf, inflation, continuing to move in the right direction, cooling on an annual basis to 2.3 percent, also on a monthly basis, ticking up slightly, but not too uncomfortable, up 0.2 percent. That's different than what we saw, however, in March when we saw inflation on a monthly basis, cooling down 0.1 percent.

But I say all of this with a huge asterisk. That is because this report likely doesn't capture the full impact of President Trump's tariffs just yet, because, as we've been reporting, retailers have had about five to seven weeks of pre-tariff inventory that they've been putting on shelves. So, those prices for consumers have likely remained low.

But just remember where we came from. Look at the height during the pandemic. We were about a 9 percent for inflation, and the Federal Reserve has done an incredible job of getting us down to that 2 percent target rate. The concern with tariffs though, as they start to make their way into these reports and into prices is does this line start to go back up again? That is something that economists and everyday consumers do not want to see.

Let's look at where things shook out in this report. Food at home, that's prices at the grocery store, down 0.4 percent. That is the steepest drop, Wolf, that we have seen since 2020. And that is because egg prices, which we've been watching closely, down 12.7 percent in the month of April alone.

Also worth watching, airline fares down 2.8 percent. Airlines have been warning people that consumer sentiment and consumer spending has softened a little bit. Maybe we're picking that up there. And, Wolf, also let's watch these categories, home furnishings, vehicle parts, home furnishings, because that's up 1 percent, that those home furnishings coming in from China, and vehicle parts. We know that there's a 25 percent tariff on foreign vehicle parts coming into the country. Look at those prices already starting to tick up. We need to keep an eye on this report and these prices because economists estimate that we'll likely see the pickup of these tariffs, Wolf, coming in the summer. But this report so far paints a really nice picture of inflation so far. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Let's hope it stays that way.

Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: Yes, that really beat economists' expectations, that report she just laid out.

It is a pivotal day on Capitol Hill for President Trump's big, beautiful bill, as he calls it. It set to face a series of key hurdles today as House Republicans seek to advance his sweeping agenda in a series of committee votes. And it comes to speaker Mike Johnson tries to hold off revolt from factions within his own party amid GOP infighting over key sticking points in their newly unveiled tax plan.

Let's go live now to see in Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill. Lauren, where do things stand this morning?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, these bills, lawmakers are still going through them because they've been unveiled in sort of drips over the last several days. We got that large 400-page tax bill yesterday. And one thing is really clear. While there are a number of provisions that Republicans and conservatives are happy about, including some of the president's promises in this bill, that means no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, as well as an increase in the debt ceiling.

[10:15:01]

One of the other provisions that people are really struggling with right now is what to do about raising the state and local tax deduction. That's because there's a number of. Republicans from states, like California, New Jersey and New York, who are fighting to increase that cap right now. It sits at $10,000. The bill is going to include it at $30,000. But there are some New York Republicans who are saying right now, they vote against this proposal.

And this is where Speaker Johnson's job gets really difficult because he's got to hold those conservatives and those swing district Republicans all together, because, again, he just has a three vote margin.

BROWN: All right. Lauren Fox, thanks so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: Pamela, still ahead, President Trump's plan to accept a luxury jet from Qatar is raising eyebrows even in his own party. We'll get reaction from Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke. That's next right here in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:20:00]

BROWN: All right, so let's get more now on the budget battle on Capitol Hill. Today, House Republicans are set to begin voting on a package of spending cuts as GOP leaders roll out details of President Trump's tax plans.

Joining us now is Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke. He sits on the House Appropriations and Foreign Affairs Committees.

So, I got to just ask you this because, as you know, the average American looks at what's happening in Washington. And no matter who is in charge, they see hypocrisy. And in this case, Republicans, as you well know, attack Democrats for spending too much, even though the national debt has gone up under both parties.

Is it hypocritical for Republicans to punt on the debt limit for another few years so you can pay for Trump's tax cuts?

REP. RYAN ZINKE (R-MT): I think the debt limit is a serious issue, and to me, it's a simple balance sheet. Whatever we find in savings, and believe me, we can find savings. We had $2.5 trillion comes out, $3.5 trillion. Remember, that's over ten years. So that's, you know, if it's $3 trillion a savings, that's $300 billion a year on a $7 trillion budget. So, whatever we find in savings, I am good at making sure that America's not faced with the largest tax increase, but it's a balance sheet. Whatever we find in savings, that's put towards the taxes or provisions, but that's not going debt doing it.

And I agree with J.D. Vance, it's the litmus test. The report card for this is how we are doing on the bond rate because that's interest, which we all pay. And, look, if we can't control our spending, then you know what, interest rates will go up a third of our finances fund funded by central banks and other countries.

And interest rates means a lot to everybody. That's your mortgage payment. That's your car payment. That's what the government pays for interest, which is now over a trillion dollars a year. So, let's make sure we balance the budget to the degree we can and control our spending.

BROWN: But as you know, some of the more conservative members in your caucus are saying, we're not balancing the budget. You have GOP Representative Chip Roy, who says the current draft of this bill still leaves more than $20 trillion in additional debt in ten years. Do you share his concern? What do you say to that?

ZINKE: I am concerned. I think America's concerned that we're just adding debt and debt and debt, you know, and we all pay it. When we pay an interest rate that's inflated, you pay it on your mortgage, your car insurance, and the government pays it on their trillion dollar a year.

So, I am all about savings. That's fine, savings. Let's make the hard decisions because we should. And Congress, for a long, long time, has been punting on these hard decisions, and now it's not time to punt. Let's face it together. And this should be bipartisan to make sure we control our spending.

BROWN: So, as you point out, there will be some hard decisions, but the challenge for Speaker Johnson is getting a consensus. And a big part of this plan is, of course, extending Trump's tax cuts from 2017. There was a major study done from the U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation, and it showed that the 2017 corporate tax cuts delivered almost no real wage benefits to the vast majority of workers. Almost all the gains went to the top 10 percent of earners. That's just with the corporate tax cut, to emphasize that.

What do you think about this idea of taxing the wealthiest President Trump has floated?

ZINKE: Well, I'll go back to probably Benjamin Franklin. The merchant should not pay the same as a candle maker. And even Teddy Roosevelt said, the more you make, the more you have an obligation to pay to protect the system that allowed you the opportunity to make more money.

So, you know, I'm good at the higher rates as long as we have an incentive to make money. We're not a socialist country. But we have to look at it. And, you know, the corporate tax rate is not in play because that's already in law. The provisions we're facing are things like the small business deductions, research and development deductions for married and single death tax, if you have a small farm out there. And if we don't correct it, then we're going to lose every farm, you know, in ranch in Montana, because you just don't have the money to recapitalize.

There's a lot in there for the middle class. I support President Trump's idea that, look --

BROWN: The taxing, how much would you be willing to do in terms of taxing the wealthy?

ZINKE: Well, I'd have to talk to, you know, Jason Smith, who's doing a great job, by the way, in Ways and Means. But I do think you go back to the principles is the more you make, the more obligations you pay. As long as there's not -- as long as you keep the incentive to make money to do good, to provide. And, you know, the wealth in this country it's there.

But I'm also concerned about the middle class. I mean there's a lot of struggling people in Montana. There's a lot of struggling people around this country that live check to check, you know, they can't afford the gas, et cetera, et cetera. So, you know, I think everything is on the table, but it goes back to let's make sure we have a balance sheet, that whatever we save.

[10:25:00]

And I'm about savings. Let's make sure we roll those over the taxes so we don't get a tax, you know, bill, especially the middle class and businesses.

BROWN: So, I want to go to something else that, as you know, has been a talk, and that is President Trump saying he wants to accept this gift, this grand gesture from Qatar, this luxury jet. You even have some Trump allies, like Laura Loomer and Ben Shapiro, are against it, even saying if this was Hunter Biden or Joe Biden, we would be going crazy right now. Even some Republicans in Congress have been speaking out against it. What do you think?

ZINKE: It must be one heck of a jet, you know, because, you know, I was with President Trump and, you know, the current aircraft has aged. Remember, during this first couple months in office, he went to Boeing and said, look, you're charging us too much. It's going to take too long. He cut a deal with Boeing. Where's the plane? And all of a sudden, he sees this plane, and I understand it went through Pam Bondi, so it's legal, it's ethical.

Does it give the right message? Well, I hope Boeing looks up and goes, look, you know, I got to deliver, but, I got to say it must be one heck of an aircraft.

BROWN: Well, just to follow up on that, because ethics experts are very concerned. They're concerned that it could be considered a bribe. And when you were on the show with me a couple months ago, you said, look, I believe in the Constitution, and as you know, the Constitution says, no office holder may accept a gift from a foreign state without congressional approval.

Why should Trump be allowed to take this plane? Do you have any issues with that?

ZINKE: Well, I don't think it's a personal gift. I think it's government to government.

BROWN: But is that a work around the library after?

ZINKE: Well, we'll see where it goes.

BROWN: So, what do you think? Are you for it, against it? Where do you stand? Do you have any ethics concerns or constitutional concerns?

ZINKE: Well, I'm glad Pam Bondi stepped in and looked at it from a legal point of view, which is helpful. You know, again, I'll go back, this must be one heck of a plane. Because, you know, he was on Air Force One, I've been on Air Force One. To me, it's a nice plane, evidently. Remember who President Trump is. He's a billionaire businessman from New York. He doesn't sleep in a sleep mat (ph) overnight.

BROWN: Understood. But even if it's a really nice plane, and he has a plane, that doesn't take away the other ethics and --

ZINKE: But I can see the point, too, that is it a good look? Is it a good look to have a Qatari aircraft that now is the president --

BROWN: Do you have concerns? I mean, you were a former Navy SEAL. Do you have concerns about the fact that even President Trump has said Qatari has had relations with terrorist group Hamas, which is why Laura Loomer and others were speaking out, and that this would have to be completely stripped down to make sure there aren't any bugs or spy gear, or anything in it?

ZINKE: Oh, no doubt, they're going to go through this like a fine tooth. You know, they're going to go through everything. But I understand, you know, our aircraft, is it a better aircraft? It must be.

Now, to your point, does it provide a leverage over the Qataris? I don't think so with this president, but, you know, he's making deals and he I think it's transactional to him. He looks at it and goes, hey, it's a better airplane. His comment was, you'd be stupid not to take it.

I think that's from a business point of view, because he is a business guy. He goes out and, you know, he's making deals everywhere and he's Mr. Deal-Maker there.

BROWN: There's a difference between being a private businessman and being a president.

All right, we have to leave it there. Congressman Zinke, thank you so much for your time.

ZINKE: Always a pleasure.

BROWN: Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Up next, day two of testimony in the racketeering and sex trafficking trial of Sean Diddy Combs. Our legal experts will join us to break down everything happening inside the court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:00]