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The Situation Room
Trump Tariffs Raising Prices?; New Alzheimer's Test; Putin and Trump Hold Phone Call. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired May 19, 2025 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: This morning, there are high-stakes phone calls happening over at the White House.
Just minutes ago, we learned that President Trump is speaking with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, pushing for a cease-fire in Ukraine. Earlier, President Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and, later, he's due to hold a call with some NATO allies.
CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt is here with us in THE SITUATION ROOM.
How significant, how important are all these calls?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the bar is always high when you have a call like this between Trump and Putin. But because of the choreography and all the other calls, it raises expectations even farther.
Remember, President Trump said that nothing's going to happen until he and Putin sit down together. This is the second best thing, them actually getting on the phone and trying to reach a cease-fire and lay the groundwork for an eventual peace deal.
So, after this call takes place -- and it's been going on for about an hour -- he's going to have to make all those other phone calls, not to mention speaking to the American people, and say what he either got done or failed to get done. So, really, there is a hope, of course, that he will be able to get President Putin to agree to at least a 30- day cease-fire.
Now, we have heard from Trump and other top officials that he's worried that Putin is tapping him along, that the U.S. is ready to move on and walk away from trying to hash out a peace deal. We heard again from the vice president, J.D. Vance, today as he left Rome to come back to the U.S., saying the U.S. doesn't want to spin its wheels and that there is a finite time period here.
Here's a little bit more of what Vance had to say: (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We realize there's a bit of an impasse here. And I think the president's going to say to President Putin, look, are you serious? Are you real about this?
Because the proposal from the United States has always been, look, there are a lot of economic benefits to thawing relations between Russia and the rest of the world, but you're not going to get those benefits if you keep on killing a lot of innocent people. So, if you're willing to stop the killing, the United States is willing to be a partner for peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT: Rather interestingly, Vance also said that Putin doesn't know how to get out of the war.
Remember, the first step here is a cease-fire. And the Ukrainians and their supporters have said, we need to get to a cease-fire before we can figure out a peace deal, while the Russians have said, no, we actually need to keep talking about the conditions that would be right for a potential cease-fire.
And that's why there have been so many accusations that Putin is, in Trump's words, tapping everybody along.
BLITZER: It's interesting on that specific point, because President Trump has been saying repeatedly that Putin may simply be tapping him along, his words, tapping him along.
If nothing comes out of today's phone conversations, what happens next?
MARQUARDT: That really is such a huge question, because we also heard Vance today saying that the U.S. is more than open to walking away.
Now, that's really what Russia would like, for them to be left alone so they could continue with their war. Russia, by all accounts, doesn't want to end this war because they have much bigger designs of taking over all of Ukraine.
We have also heard the Trump administration threaten sanctions. And so there are a lot of people who would like to see -- if these talks collapse, would like to see the U.S. putting more tariffs on Russia, applying secondary sanctions on Russia, stepping up the military aid and weapons for Ukraine to continue their fight.
But the Trump administration really has not made it clear what moving on or what walking away looks like. Does it mean more support for Ukraine and against Russia? Or does it mean just washing their hands and moving on to other issues?
BLITZER: Alex Marquardt, thank you very, very much -- Pamela.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Thank you, Alex. And just ahead: new hope in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, the
first-of-its-kind blood test that could help detect it earlier than ever.
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[11:39:06]
BROWN: Well, today, there is new hope in the fight against Alzheimer's. The FDA has cleared the first blood test that can help diagnose the disease. It could give millions of people earlier access to treatments for slowing its progression.
Maria Shriver has been on the front lines in the fight. She founded the Cleveland Clinic's Women's Alzheimer's Movement. And she has written a new memoir called "I Am Maria. "She is a very busy lady, but she has found time to join us today. And we are grateful.
Hi, Maria. Thank you for your time.
MARIA SHRIVER, FOUNDER, THE WOMEN'S ALZHEIMER'S MOVEMENT: Hi, Pamela. How are you? Thank you.
BROWN: It's so great to see you. It really is. We have been trying to get you on the show. And I'm so glad we're having you on about this, Alzheimer's, because we have this new advancement I just talked about, obviously a big deal, with this blood test.
SHRIVER: Right.
BROWN: And you're there in Vegas to celebrate the progress made in women's brain health. Mom was a caregiver to my grandmother, who battled Alzheimer's. So, of course, this cause is so important to me.
[11:40:06]
Tell us about this event today, why it is so important and how people across the country can join in.
SHRIVER: Well, thank you for having me.
And you're right. This event today is really important, because it honors researchers who are on the front lines of trying to figure out why women are two-thirds of those who get Alzheimer's. It's also really important because we're celebrating five years of the Women's Alzheimer's Prevention Center.
And you talked about this new approval for the blood test. And the word prevention and Alzheimer's never used to go together. So the Women's Alzheimer's Prevention Center was really a pioneering movement, a pioneering center to say, yes, there are things that each and every one of us can do. Some of these cases are preventable.
You do have power. And I think the blood test obviously gives more power to individuals. But how we live our daily lives and how we exercise, how we sleep, what we eat, how we conduct ourselves, do we prioritize our own brain health, that's what the Prevention Center has been studying and looking at.
And all the people who go through it are part of the research, are part of science. But the Women's Alzheimer's Movement has really been at the forefront of saying, we're going to look at women's brain health, we're going to look at women's health spans, and we're going to go where people haven't gone before, and we're going to stay at it at this time when research is under duress.
BROWN: Right. There's obviously a lot of uncertainty around funding from the National Institutes of Health now that some Alzheimer's studies are in limbo.
SHRIVER: Right.
BROWN: How is that going to impact the ongoing fight against Alzheimer's?
SHRIVER: Well, I think we have to stay at it. That's why the Women's Alzheimer's Movement, I think, is so important. As I said, we have been pioneers in this space. And we're going to continue to fund research.
We fund seed grants. Today celebrates our 50th grant. We know that Alzheimer's disproportionately impacts women, so we're going to stay at funding research into women's brain health. We're going to look for clues. Is it at perimenopause? Is it at menopause? What is going on in women's brains that people haven't discovered as of yet?
So we're staying the course. I think it's a larger federal issue, and I think it's incredibly important. It's a bipartisan issue. Alzheimer's research has always been bipartisan and it must continue to stay so. Women's health research is largely and grossly underfunded. And we as a nation need to focus on funding it, bringing it up to parity.
We need to look at what is going on in women's health journeys that we can find cures, so that women can make informed decisions about their brain health, but about their overall health at every juncture. So, that -- this issue is incredibly important to me, and I think it's incredibly important to every woman at every age.
BROWN: As it should be. And there's a lot more to learn about the woman's brain...
SHRIVER: Yes.
BROWN: ... and why we're more susceptible to Alzheimer's. I mean, I'm certainly interested in that.
Again, my grandmother had it.
SHRIVER: Yes.
BROWN: And so I'm so grateful for you to holding this event with the leading researchers on this talking about all these important issues. And, Maria, you mentioned that you think this is a larger federal issue. I know, under the Biden administration, you were really actively involved. Right now, NIH is under, as you know, the Department of Health and Human Services. And according to a preliminary budget blueprint from the White House, it will see cuts.
I know this is obviously a little sensitive, since your cousin is RFK Jr., who is running HHS, but what is your message to the agency?
SHRIVER: Yes.
BROWN: What needs to be done on the federal level?
SHRIVER: Well, I think my message is that the funding at NIH is critical to our nation. It's critical to researchers and scientists.
And, obviously, I'm not the only person stressing that message. I'm staying very calm. I'm staying very focused. What we're doing here today is shining a light on researchers who are doing that kind of work. We're also shining a light on other researchers who we funded in the past and showing what they have been able to do and how important their research has been in this path to finding more answers.
And I'm just going to stay focused. I have been focused on it all along. And I will continue to be focused. I will continue to fight for this issue. And I know that there are so many people of both political parties who share the same sentiment.
BROWN: Yesterday -- I have to ask you about former President Biden revealing he's been diagnosed with an aggressive former prostate cancer. You served as an adviser to him and first lady Jill Biden on women's health research. What is your reaction to this sad news?
SHRIVER: Well, obviously, my prayers. I just came from Rome for the inaugural mass of Pope Leo, the first American pope. And I think -- my heart goes out to the Biden family at this moment.
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I don't know anything about it, so I can't really comment about it, but there are human beings at the center of it. so I send my love and support to them. They did a tremendous amount focusing the world's attention women's health and research.
Much of the work that came from the White House came out of this exact event two years ago. I went to the first lady and told her that she had a great opportunity and the administration had an opportunity to focus the nation's attention on women's health and research.
And I'm just going to continue to focus my attention in that space and continue to try to galvanize researchers, advocate activists, philanthropists, corporate sponsorship, because that's what we need in this space.
BROWN: I want to ask you about your book, "I Am Maria". I'm reading it now, and it's so touching to me, because you write about how you had to carve out your own identity, which resonated a lot with me coming from a family where both of my parents were high-profile and always being introduced as I'm the daughter of.
I know you also experienced that, being the daughter of.
(LAUGHTER)
SHRIVER: Right.
BROWN: And I have had to fight that and to carve out my own path, but you don't have to have high-profile parents to sort of struggle with that challenge of who am I and how do I deal with this anxiety and uncertainty I'm feeling right now to define my own path, and your book tackles that, and you had a unique outlet through poetry.
Tell us about that.
SHRIVER: Well, I -- thank you Pamela. I -- and I knew your parents well. Your mother was a great friend of mine. And she was so proud, is so proud of you and your brother...
BROWN: Thank you.
SHRIVER: ... and how you both have carved out your own paths.
And I think it's a very human desire to figure out why I'm here on this Earth. What is my calling? What is my purpose? And in traveling around the country for the book, which has been so successful, people have come up to me of all ages and said, I'm struggling with these questions. I want to live a meaningful life. I want to figure out who I am separate from my work, separate from who I may or may not be married to, separate from the family I may have been born into.
And so, for me, poetry was an outlet to discover the voice inside of me. What was I struggling with? What was I dealing with? And it wasn't something that I thought about. I didn't think about poetry, but I had tried all kinds of external achievements to find my path. And those were helpful at different junctures in my life.
But poetry gave rise to a voice that was uniquely my own and that has helped me come to peace with the family I was born into and the life that I have led and the life that I'm living. I'm deeply grateful for the parents that I had. They put me on this Earth, and they told me and my brothers, find something that will make a difference in your life.
And this work that I'm doing right now is my mission, is my passion, women's health, Alzheimer's research, finding an outlet for my voice. And so I'm deeply at peace with where I am today. And poetry helped me do that.
This kind of work, having a mission, having a focus, which I believe we all have, has helped me tremendously. And that's why I always tell people, find your calling, and find it in silence to listen to your voice. BROWN: That is just so profound. You are making such a positive
difference in this world. And I know my parents would always tell me: "Pam, don't just exist, do something. Make an impact."
I'm a very proud daughter as well.
SHRIVER: Yes.
BROWN: And you inspire me, Maria Shriver. Thank you so much.
We will be back.
SHRIVER: Thank you, Pamela. Thank you.
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BLITZER: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is calling on America's trading partners to reach a deal with the United States or watch tariff rates go back up. Bessent tells CNN that President Trump has put these countries on notice and that they have 90 days to make a deal happen.
Meanwhile, President Trump has a stark warning for companies considering hiking their costs: Eat the tariffs, or pay the price.
That's what he says.
BROWN: All right, let's go to CNN business and politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich.
Vanessa, Trump's tariffs are driving up cost for American companies. So what else can they do but raise prices for consumers?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, the only other thing they can do is to move their manufacturing out of China, which many retailers like Walmart have said that they have been trying to do for years now, but it's not that quickly.
It doesn't happen overnight, so Walmart saying that they are going to have to raise prices on some of their products, including electronics, toys, and food. But, to that, President Trump writing this weekend on TRUTH Social, saying that: "Walmart made billions of dollars last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China, they should, as is said, eat the tariffs and not charge valued customers anything."
He says: "I will be watching."
This is not the first company that has said that they have to raise prices. Mattel, the maker of Barbie and Polly Pocket, saying that they're going to have to raise prices because of the products that they import from China, the company also saying that they can't produce toys here in America, the president responding, saying that he's going to put 100 percent tariff on the toys that Mattel imports from China. [11:55:16]
That, of course, though, would just raise prices even more. And the president saying over the weekend that he's putting pressure on 150 countries to come to the table and make deals, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent saying that they're negotiating with 18 countries.
But just look at that, just two trade deals or agreements made so far, one with the U.K., but that 10 percent universal tariff is still in place with the U.K., and then, of course, with China, that sort of agreement or deal, a 30 percent tariff now on Chinese exports, instead of 145 percent.
But that ticking clock, guys, that July 9 deadline, that's when that 90-day pause is over for those higher reciprocal tariffs, the administration putting pressure on other countries to come to the table with deals or risk higher tariffs -- Pamela, Wolf.
BLITZER: Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you very, very much.
And, to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. We will see you back here tomorrow morning 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
BROWN: "INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" is next after a short break.