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Interview With Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY); Sources Contradict Trump Claims on Qatar Jet; President Trump Visits Capitol Hill. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired May 20, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She was out of control. The days of that crap are over in this country. We're going to have law and order.

QUESTION: Mr. President, thank you very much.

You campaigned on lowering the price of groceries. How do you justify cutting food assistance in this bill?

TRUMP: Let me just tell you, the cut is going to give everybody much more food, because prices are coming way down. Groceries are down. Eggs. You told me about eggs. You asked me a question about eggs my first week. You said, eggs. I said, I just got here. Tell me about eggs.

And it was going through the roof. You know that eggs now way down. Everybody's buying eggs. Grocery is down. Energy is down. Gasoline is now buying -- they're buying gasoline now for $1.99. When I -- if you look back, you will see $3.50, $4.00.

This country -- we were going to lose this country. Our country now is respected all over the world. All over the world, we're respected. We were a laughingstock. The entire world was a -- we were a laughingstock. I went to the Middle East, and those rulers of those three countries are very powerful people, very big people, very rich people.

They respect our country again. And China was going to take them off. China was going to get all -- they were going to get into the -- if you look Saudi Arabia, you take a -- take a little look what was happening with Qatar and UAE, great people, unbelievable people, unbelievable leaders, but they were abandoned by this country.

And they're not going to China anymore. They love us. We love them. We're going to take care of them and they're going to take care of us. We came back with $5.1 trillion, trillion. Every other president would have come back having spent $5.1 trillion, as usual.

And remember this. We were losing $5 billion a day under the past administration. I have to be a little bit careful the way I talk, because There's a lot of anger about that administration. And, by the way, you ought to -- the real question, who ran the autopen? OK, who ran the autopen?

Because the things that were signed were signed illegally, in my opinion. I think we have just proved that. But our country's respected again. All over the world, we're respected. We were laughed at seven months ago. Then you had November 5, and our country's respected again.

Thank you.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: All right, so that's it. You have been listening to President Trump speaking after his very lengthy meeting with Republican lawmakers today up on Capitol Hill.

He's pushing to get his sweeping agenda through Congress, but several GOP hard-liners are still digging in, threatening to stall what he calls his big, beautiful bill.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Congressional -- CNN congressional correspondent Lauren Fox and senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes are standing by for us.

All right, Lauren, to you first.

You just heard President Trump speaking there. What are you hearing from lawmakers about that meeting?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, this is so varied member by member, Pam.

One thing that's so interesting is, I talked to a number of conservatives coming out of this meeting. Some people, like Andy Harris, said Donald Trump gave a good speech, but, on the other hand, there are still changes that he wants to see in this bill. He said that this bill does not cut enough.

He's really concerned about the fact that these Medicaid work requirements don't go into effect for a number of years. And he said that he still believes that there are more cuts that could be done to Medicaid, despite the fact that, in that closed-door meeting, the president told them not to touch it.

Now, it's also interesting because you have a number of Republicans who are also making clear that perhaps Donald Trump is changing some minds in that meeting. Ralph Norman, another conservative and member of the House Freedom Caucus, he sits on the power for Rules Committee. He said he's going to take a very close look at the bill when it comes out, the latest version in a couple of hours, and that he's really optimistic that he could potentially vote yes in the Rules Committee and potentially even on the floor.

He said this was one of the best speeches he's heard the president give. So it just gives you a sense of how the president might have moved the needle in some places, maybe didn't move the needle in other places.

One of those members, Representative Thomas Massie, I just caught up with. Donald Trump actually called him out by name before going into the room, saying he was a grandstander that didn't belong in Congress. Here's what Massie said to me when I asked him about it.

BROWN: OK. Well, that was -- hold -- I'm being told to hold on.

TRUMP: I think we're in good shape. I don't know. I can't tell you that, but this was a meeting of love. There's great unity in that room. It's the biggest tax cut in American history. And if it doesn't pass, everybody's going to get a 68 percent tax increase.

I don't know how you beat that. Also, one other thing. You're going to get an 85 percent reduction in drugs, 85 percent reduction, not one- quarter-of-a-percent, not an increase. The Democrats, you're going to pay 25 percent more for drugs.

[11:05:03]

With me, because of what I have instituted, favored nations, the people of America, and it's about time, are going to get an 85 percent reduction. They're going to be paying the lowest price in the world.

QUESTION: How important is this for your agenda? You have been able to do a lot through executive action. How important is it to have this piece of legislation for your agenda and your legacy?

TRUMP: It's very important. It's important for the country. It's not important for me. It's important for the country. This is the greatest bill that will ever -- I think it's the most important bill this country just about has ever done in terms of size and scope.

That's why we quote the great big, beautiful deal. I mean, it really is. The bill is -- I think it's going to be one of the most important. It's the biggest tax reduction in history, biggest regulation reduction in history, incredible for Medicaid, Medicare.

The only thing, we're going to leave it exactly as it was, other than for, obviously, waste fraud and abuse. We're strengthening it. We're going to make these things even stronger. The Democrats are going to destroy Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. And we're going to keep them, but even make them stronger.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Say it?

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) sanctions on Russia, like the E.U. is?

TRUMP: Well, we're looking at a lot of things, but we will see. I had a very good talk yesterday with President Putin. We will see how that comes out. They're talking. They're talking right now. We will see how it comes out.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: say it?

QUESTION: What about Pope Leo? Why the party (INAUDIBLE) for the negotiation? Why you suggested that?

TRUMP: No, Pope Leo suggested it. And if he'd like to have the talks at the Vatican, I can't think of a better place. I like them. This is a pretty good place, too, come to think of it. But I think...

QUESTION: Do you like the American pope?

TRUMP: But I think -- I like him. Yes, I like the pope and I like the pope's brother. You know, the pope -- one of the pope's brothers, actually both of them, but one, in particular, is a major MAGA fan. Did you know that. He lives in Florida. He's got MAGA. He's got Trump.

And I look forward to getting him to the White House. I want to shake his hand. I want to give him a big hug.

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

BROWN: All right, there he is, President Trump speaking again on Capitol Hill after that meeting with Republicans, trying to unify them.

Once again, the president said it was a meeting of love.

I want to go back to you, Lauren Fox. I had to interrupt you to go to President Trump. So I want to go back to you, as you took us inside that meeting and whether or not it was persuasive for those holdouts.

FOX: Yes, I mean, I was just saying, I was talking to Thomas Massie. He was one of the conservatives who we never expected to vote for this piece of legislation. That means the speaker really can't lose many more Republicans.

And I asked him, did Donald Trump change your mind with the fact that he called you out directly, both before the meeting and inside the room? Here's what he said to me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: ... feeling after the attacks from the president, him calling you out by name?

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I think they were gentle attacks compared to how I have been attacked before. He was very nice in the room.

QUESTION: Was he -- he was asking, though, if you were in there.

MASSIE: Yes, and then talked about MIT and his uncle at MIT.

QUESTION: So he was nice. He was joking around with you?

MASSIE: Yes. He's a pretty nice guy. I mean, he's a New Yorker. Like, so you have got to take -- I'm sorry if there are New Yorkers here.

(LAUGHTER)

MASSIE: But you have got to take some of the attacks with a grain of salt. But there were -- I didn't feel attacked in there.

I think he was just trying to persuade people who weren't there yet.

QUESTION: Did he change -- did he change your mind?

MASSIE: No.

QUESTION: I mean, how live or die do you think these SALT people died (OFF-MIKE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And, of course, Thomas Massie said that he's still not going to be a yes on this piece of legislation. He currently wears a debt clock on his chest essentially showing just how much the U.S. is in debt second by second, Pam. So that tells you where he's going to stand in this.

But it's just really interesting to see the conservatives split right now, as a number of Republicans are still weighing whether or not they can back this bill.

BROWN: Yes. And, as we noted, of course, not a surprise there with Massie being a no, but Speaker Johnson can only afford to lose three votes.

Now to Kristen Holmes over at the White House.

Kristen, I know you have been talking to your sources. What are you hearing about this meeting? It's also interesting hearing the president and his pitch there on Capitol Hill this morning, really touting this as the biggest tax cut in history. But it raises the question, how much will the everyday American actually see tax relief if this bill passes, Kristen?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Pamela, I don't think we can stress how important this bill is to Donald Trump.

That's why he's there at 8:30 in the morning. That's why he's there talking to all of these congressmen. They really believe that this is going to cement his legacy. It's not just about the fact that Donald Trump made these promises during the campaign, which he did, that he was going to deliver sweeping tax cuts, that he was going to deliver no tax on tips or overtime.

It's also the fact that his White House and his greatest allies believe that his legacy will be cemented with the economy, and they believe they can only do this by getting this bill passed. I cannot tell you how many people I have spoken to who say they want to push this through, that this is going to be at the crux, the heart of what Donald Trump does while he is in office.

[11:10:15] And you really heard that there when Donald Trump was talking. At one point, he got very serious, saying he believed it was very important. He believed it was very important for the American people. It's also very important for Donald Trump to get this through.

And that's why you also saw him getting a bit defensive there with reporters who are asking him about other members in the room or sources in the room saying that he seemed to be losing patience. He was saying: I did not lose my patience. I absolutely didn't do that, that I -- this was a meeting of love, that the party is united.

He has to unite the party behind this in order to get it done. And that's why you're seeing him here today. Now, one other thing I thought was interesting is, he was asked if he was going to be pushing members individually. He said he didn't think he would have to, that that was what he was doing by coming to this meeting today.

One thing to note, obviously, we see that not everybody is a yes after this meeting. So we're watching to see when Donald Trump himself becomes personally invested in these reach-outs, in pushing these members to try to get this across the finish line.

BROWN: All right, Kristen Holmes, thanks so much.

And we have got some new reporting on the Boeing 747 that President Trump wants the U.S. to accept as a gift from Qatar and then use as Air Force One. He says a gift from Qatar. Sources now tell CNN the Trump administration initially approached Qatar about it. So, the story is actually different from what was initially proposed.

BLITZER: And CNN's chief national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt, is here with us in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Alex, this would contradict the president's claim that Qatar reached out and offered the jet as a gift to the United States, to the Defense Department, if you will. What are you learning?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're filling out the timeline and have a better understanding now.

Kristen Holmes, Natasha Bertrand, and myself have been told by various sources that, when Trump came into office, the Pentagon went to Boeing to get an update on when the new Air Force Ones would be ready. And they were told it would be another two years, 2027.

Trump has, of course, expressed impatience. He wanted a new plane. And so the Pentagon was told by Boeing, here's a list of all these planes out in the world that could serve as an Air Force One. And one of them was in Qatar.

And so the Pentagon, specifically the Air Force, reached out to Doha with the White House's blessing and started this engagement over the plane. The Pentagon said, we would like to buy this plane. The Qataris said, yes, we're willing to sell it.

Simultaneously, Steve Witkoff, the president's Middle East envoy, he had already put together a list of planes that could be suitable. And he's the Middle East envoy, so he was able to facilitate some of these meetings. So, it started as a potential sale or even a potential lease, but now, of course, this has evolved into a gift.

We have heard the language that the president has used, make it clear that he believes this is going to be a donation. He's called it a gesture, a contribution. He wrote on his TRUTH Social platform that this would be a gift free of charge.

So what we have found in this timeline is that this is a lot more nuanced, that the U.S. were the ones who actually jump-started this process. It is still being negotiated by the two sides, the lawyers still hashing out the details, the Qataris and the Trump administration making it clear that they want to do this in an aboveboard way, checking all the legal and ethical boxes.

But, of course, there has been an outcry not just from Democrats, but from Republicans as well, seeing this as potential corruption. But this is the latest in a long and, frankly, very fruitful relationship between the Qataris and the Americans. You have got the biggest U.S. military base out there. They engage with a lot of parties that the U.S. doesn't.

So it does make sense that the administration would reach out to them and that Qatar would be willing to engage on this. We just don't know when and exactly how this deal is going to get finalized.

BLITZER: I just want to be precise, Alex. So it was the Trump administration through Witkoff or anybody else that approached the Qataris and said, can you deliver this $400 million 747 as a new Air Force One for the U.S., and they initiated this whole idea?

MARQUARDT: Correct. This was not a Qatari idea. This came from the Trump administration. The White House encouraged the Pentagon to approach the Qataris about this.

BLITZER: A serious development, indeed.

All right, Alex Marquardt, thank you very, very much.

And still ahead: Kentucky is trying to recover from a weekend of very deadly storms, with more bad weather on the way. The governor calls severe weather the new normal. He's joining us live. That's coming up next.

BROWN: And gas prices could be the lowest in years just in time for Memorial Day weekend.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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[11:19:23]

BROWN: Well, right now, as we speak, more than seven million people in the Central and Eastern U.S. are under a tornado risk. The threat extends from parts of Mississippi all the way through the Ohio Valley, and it comes on the heels of severe weather that devastated parts of Kentucky and Tennessee this weekend, leaving at least 28 dead.

At least 19 people died of the Kentucky storms alone, and most of them in a single county. And now more severe weather is on its way.

Kentucky's Governor Andy Beshear joins us now.

Governor, thank you for being here.

So many people right now in Kentucky are already hurting, and now there's a new threat of storms. How are you handling this?

[11:20:01]

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): Well, it's hard.

We have had a significant storm come through. We have lost 19 children of God in our commonwealth. So many people have been devastated, with their homes destroyed. And here, a couple days later, they're under almost the same level of threat.

So we are organizing. We're going to make sure, especially in the areas where there's a lot of debris and we know there's going to be high wind, that we evacuate those areas. We don't want to lose an additional person.

But I will tell you what. We have just been hit over and over and over by the weather. But we're tough people. We stick together. And we're going to get through this.

BROWN: Yes, what do you make of that, just that the repeated hits? I know I have traveled down to Kentucky to cover some of the severe weather over the years. And it's really tough, and it puts a strain on these small communities.

BESHEAR: We have had 14 weather disasters since I have been governor. That's just in the last 5.5 years, worse tornadoes, worse floods, and some of the same people get hit over and over and over.

This one is tragic because we had two neighbors here in London hit. And it's where most of the fatalities are. And so you even have people that have lost five, six, seven (AUDIO GAP). Again, that's a lot of trauma that they're going to carry with them.

But we're going to cover them in love. We're going to submit our application to the federal government for FEMA assistance today. We have got a travel trailer program that we are setting up, so people will have a place to live in the months to come. We're working on the debris contract, because we want to get all this chaos up and out.

And our commitment to every single one of these Kentuckians is, we're going to rebuild every structure and every life.

BROWN: You have praised the Trump administration for its response to the devastation in Kentucky, saying that you have -- quote -- "no criticism for them."

But Kristi Noem, of course, the head of DHS, which oversees FEMA, wants to make big cuts to the agency. As we were just talking about, I mean, Kentucky has just been hammered with floods and tornadoes. Are you concerned about the impact these cuts could have? What is your message to DHS?

BESHEAR: Yes, I'm very concerned about the future. I'm very concerned about cuts to FEMA or to the National Weather Service.

But I want to be clear that the actual response on the ground by the Trump administration and Secretary Noem has been good. The way FEMA has treated people has been good. The president has approved each of our applications.

And so, while I disagree with this president on so many different issues, he does deserve credit when the administration steps up and does something well.

BROWN: President Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE cuts, they have also impacted the National Weather Service. I know that there was a lot of questions about that with these last storms, but you said everything was good, everything was -- worked the way it should have.

But could these hurt your ability, these cuts that have already happened hurt your ability to prepare for future storms? Is that a concern right now?

BESHEAR: It is a concern. It didn't happen in this last disaster, but if we don't have enough meteorologists, if they're not there 24/7, then we don't get the heads-up.

If you look at the two flooding disasters we have had this year, we had a (AUDIO GAP) worth of notice. We were able to preposition the boat teams. And, because of that, we made thousands of rescues. A National Weather Service that doesn't have the funding it needs (AUDIO GAP) lives all over the country.

But, again, we had the heads-up this time. What happened, though, is an incredibly strong tornado in an area that it wasn't necessarily expected while people were sleeping. And that's just the toughest of tough natural disasters.

BROWN: Yes. That is just so tough.

I want to turn to Trump's reconciliation bill. I know your focus really right now is on your fellow Kentuckians. But what has happened here in Washington could also impact Kentuckians when it comes to some of these key issues like Medicaid. House Republicans have proposed these big changes to Medicaid to help pay for it.

President Trump told GOP lawmakers this morning -- quote -- "Don't eff around on Medicaid, but he also said they're going to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse."

What do you say to that? BESHEAR: Well, we already root out waste, fraud and abuse. We do it

through attorneys general's offices like I ran. There are whole groups that are out there looking for providers that are cheating every day.

What concerns me about this bill is, the CBO estimates 8.5 million Americans will lose coverage. My state only has 4.4 million people. And when you look at who Medicaid covers, it's the people we love the most, our parents and our kids. Fifty percent of Kentucky's kids are covered under Medicaid; 70 percent of long-term care costs are covered by Medicaid.

And so, if we create a whole bunch of extra boxes you have to check, and someone misses one and they lose coverage for six months, that's somebody we love and care about that needs to see a doctor, and we shouldn't be putting impediments in the way.

[11:25:09]

BROWN: And there have been different CBO estimates, but bottom line is, it is expected that there would be millions of people impacted. So, of course, we will be tracking that closely.

I also have to ask you, while we have you, about news of the day today that includes this book written by my colleague Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson on President Biden's mental decline.

I remember speaking to you right after you had been to the White House to meet with President Biden after that debate, that infamous debate. And I'm just wondering what your reaction is now to these details coming out about how Biden struggled to remember names of his advisers and people in his inner circle that kept his decline hidden from voters.

What do you think about that and how can Democrats regain trust from voters?

BESHEAR: Well, when you're the governor of Kentucky, you end up seeing the president one or two times a year. So I wasn't able to observe the things that other people are talking about.

But I think it's important for Democrats as we move forward to be focused on what matters most to people. And that's their job and whether they can support their family. It's their next doctor's appointment for themselves, their parents or their kids. It's the roads and bridges they drive every day, the school they drop their kids off at and public safety in their community.

That's what the American people are screaming for Democrats and Republicans to address. And I know this is the news of the day, but people desperately want us focused on them and helping them get by.

BROWN: You recently said you would consider a bid for president in 2028. What is your thinking on that right now?

BESHEAR: Well, all I have said is that I refuse to leave a broken country to my kids. We are so divided right now, and we have people that are worried each and every day about the future of democracy. We didn't grow up that way. And my kids and other people shouldn't have to either.

So, in the future, I will consider any and every option if it could restore this country in a way that all of us can get along, can find common ground, can use common sense and get things done.

BROWN: And that would include consideration to run for president, right?

BESHEAR: Well, this year, I'm very busy being governor.

Next year, I head the Democratic Governors Association with so many races, and then we will sit down and decide the future some time after that.

BROWN: All right.

Well, right now, as governor of Kentucky, you have a lot on your plate. That is for sure. And we really appreciate you taking the time out to shine a spotlight on the plight of Kentuckians who have been impacted by that severe weather, and you have more severe weather on the way.

I can tell you, Governor Beshear, we're going to continue to cover that story on this show. Thank you so much for your time.

BESHEAR: Thank you.

BLITZER: Good luck, Pamela, to all the people in Kentucky, your home state.

BROWN: Yes. My heart goes out to them. I just worry about these small communities that just get decimated.

BLITZER: Me too.

BROWN: And it's hard to rebuild after that.

BLITZER: Yes.

BROWN: I have seen it in Mayfield, Kentucky, and other communities when I went back to visit after severe weather. And it's just -- it's horrible to see.

BLITZER: Terrible. Terrible, indeed. Let's hope for the best.

Up next, a major immigration win for the Trump administration, and it could impact hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who have been facing deportation.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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