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Americans Pulled Back on Spending in April Amid Tariff Rollout; Ex-Assistant Back on the Stand in Sean Diddy Combs Trial; DHS Posts List of 500-Plus Sanctuary Jurisdictions Online. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 30, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, pulling back spending. A new report shows the chaotic tariff rollout is impacting how much money Americans are spending.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Trade turmoil, President Trump's global tariffs are reinstated for now as he is now accusing China, violating the trade agreements with the United States.

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.

And we begin this morning with breaking news on the U.S economy. Americans are pulling back on their spending amid a very chaotic tariff rollout. This new report caps off a rollercoaster week for the economy as President Trump's trade agenda is now in a legal tug of war. Most of his global tariffs are now reinstated by an appeals court, but it could be short-lived, as this legal battle escalates big time.

President Trump is now lashing out at the judges who ruled he lacked the authority for those tariffs, saying, and I'm quoting him now, where do these initial three judges come from, close quote, and questioning if their ruling was because of their hatred of him. One of them, by the way, was actually appointed by President Trump himself.

Let's go live right now to CNN Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich and CNN White House Reporter Alayna Treene.

Vanessa, let me start with you, and let's get to this morning's report on consumer spending here in the United States. What more are you learning?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, consumers pulled back in spending in the month of April. It was a significant and stark contrast to what we saw in the month of March, consumer spending rising by 0.2 percent. Look at that difference compared to March, when spending was up 0.7 percent.

A little context, though, Wolf. We saw consumers spend a lot in March because they were trying to front load goods and products to get ahead of higher prices that they thought were coming in April. Consumers in the month of March were spending on things like cars and car parts, apparel and footwear. But look at what happened in the month of April, pullbacks in spending in those categories. So, you saw declines in spending on things like cars and footwear and apparel.

But you saw also people continuing to spend though a little bit on the right side of your screen there on food services and accommodations, so people still willing to spend to go out to have experiences.

Also in this report, we got new numbers on in inflation. Inflation year-over-year, this is the price index according to the personal consumption expenditure. Look at that rising by 2.1 percent. That is just a breath away from the 2 percent target rate that the Federal Reserve likes spend -- excuse me, inflation was up 0.1 percent just a little bit month over month April to March.

Now, the only thing is here, Wolf, that I don't think the Federal Reserve is going to be celebrating these numbers just yet, because the economy is looking strong in the data front. However, the trade war uncertainty is still so, so much. Just in the last 24 hours, we've seen a whiplash of trade policy. So, the Federal Reserve investors are saying that they probably in their next meeting are actually going to hold steady in rates just because of all of this trade uncertainty that's playing out right now, Wolf.

BROWN: Talk about the trade uncertainty, Alayna, on that note, an appeals court is reinstating Trump's tariffs for now. White House officials are making clear the courts will not stand in their way. Let's listen.

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KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Heaven forbid, if it ever did have trouble in the future. We've got so many other options on the table that the president's policy is going to be there enduring just going to make America great again.

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: The president absolutely has the right to set the trade agenda for the U.S. And anything that the courts do to get in the way both harms the American people in terms of trade and in terms of tariff revenue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Well this morning the president is now taking AIM at China, accusing China of violating the trade deal with the U.S. What is he saying?

[10:05:00]

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Look, I mean, this is not entirely surprising given some new reporting, great reporting from our colleagues that show that a lot of Trump administration officials have been very frustrated with China because they do believe that they are not fully living up to the commitments that they made when the United States and China officials from both countries met in Geneva just a few weeks ago. But I do want to read for you what the president posted. It was a lengthy statement. I'll just read some of it. He said, quote, I made a fast deal with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation.

But then he went on to say, the bad news is China, perhaps, not surprisingly to some, has totally violated its agreement with the U.S. So much for being Mr. Nice Guy. So, it's unclear what he means by that, being Mr. Nice Guy. Does this mean that he's potentially going to change the tariffs that he had lowered following that trade agreement on China? That's still to be seen.

But, look, this all comes after we've already seen the Trump administration take some punitive measures against China. Just this week, they revoked visas for Chinese students. They also suspended the sale of some critical technology. Two Chinese companies, we're told in this reporting, that a lot of it is because of them believing that China's not living up to their commitments.

Now, we did hear from the United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on this morning, this morning. Take a listen to what he said.

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JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: And the Chinese are slow rolling their compliance, which is completely unacceptable and has to be addressed. We made a huge effort in Geneva to accommodate the Chinese. And listen it always ends up being this way, whether it's United States or other western countries, have always sought to accommodate the Chinese. We've had open markets, et cetera, and time and time again, you know, we see, you know, the Chinese come down and not comply with their agreements, you know, slow roll compliance, you know, not open their economy like they should.

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TREENE: Now, Jamieson Greer there did not specifically say what China is not doing, but we have the reporting that essentially they are not easing export restrictions on some rare earth minerals. And that is what they believe that they would've been agreeing to have following that meeting in Geneva, all to say leaving really these trade talks with China very much unclear and uncertain, and we're seeing that uncertainty impact the markets today.

BLITZER: Alayna, standby. I want to get back to Vanessa.

Vanessa, this legal battle on tariffs is having a big impact on supply at America's ports. Could this mean that major stores all around the country might have trouble filling their shelves?

YURKEVICH: Yes. We've been watching the ports very closely, Wolf, because the ports are sort of the frontline to this trade war. We were expecting, and economists were expecting that there may be a little bit of a surge coming into U.S. ports because of that reduction on the tariff on China from 145 percent to 30 percent. However, look at your screen right now, and this is important. The ports are saying that they're really not seeing that increase in volume. And I know that may be confusing looking at what you're seeing on your screen there, but by the second week in June, about 100,000 containers are going to come into the Port of Los Angeles. But that is still 10 percent normal historical rates for that time period.

And the ports are saying that this is because of two reasons. One, a 30 percent tariff is still very high for some businesses. And, remember, that 30 percent is only in effect for about 90 days. And it takes about 90 days for a retailer to place an order in China for it to get manufactured and then loaded on a container ship to then come to the United States. So, they're really working up against the clock right now.

And what this means for consumers is, ultimately, there won't be empty shelves, but there may be fewer products. So, less selection and prices will likely be a bit higher. Uncertainty, in this economic climate and in this trade policy climate, uncertainty ultimately means that costs will go up.

For American consumers, it's obviously very difficult to understand why prices -- maybe they don't see higher prices right now but, ultimately, businesses are going to start passing those higher costs down to consumers. As you can see there, not as much volume coming into the United States as maybe some would have expected.

BROWN: All right, Alayna Treene, Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you so much.

And coming up later this hour, we're going to talk to the CEO of the Gap and how much tariffs are costing his company.

BLITZER: Also happening now, the former personal assistant Sean Diddy Combs is back on the stand in this sex trafficking and racketeering trial. She has been identified as Mia to protect her identity. During her emotional testimony yesterday, she described a rather chaotic and toxic workplace and alleged that Combs sexually assaulted her several times. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

I want to go live to CNN's Kara Scannell just outside the courthouse in New York. Kara, so what do we expect to hear from Mia this morning?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Wolf. Mia's back on the stand. She's been testifying for just about an hour and prosecutors picking up a little bit where they left off, asking her again about those sexual assault allegations and pointing to a number of communications that she had with Combs after them, where she had repeatedly said in multiple email messages, love you, I love you.

[10:10:14]

And they asked her why she was saying that. She testified that it was when they were in their best friend phase and that dynamic, she said, you're desperate to keep it there because you're safe. But she also testified about some of the threats that she received from Combs, including once she said she was in South Africa with Cassie Ventura, when Ventura found out that Combs had cheated on her with this woman, Gina. And she said that Combs was trying to reach her repeatedly, both directly and through others. The jury had seen screenshots and other messages that showed that he had made multiple calls, dozens of efforts to try to get her on the phone. In one of them, he says, if you don't call me now, F it all, and I'm going to tell everything, and don't ever speak to me again. You have two minutes.

She testified she believed that he was going to tell Cassie Ventura about their sexual interactions. She said she was afraid he was going to frame it differently, not as assault, but that it was consensual, and that was just one of the threats. Other threats, she said she was suspended multiple times, one time because she accidentally fell asleep after working for several days straight.

One thing that the prosecution did ask her directly if she was ever romantically involved with Combs, she said, no, that's because this is the theme of the cross-examination. His lawyers have signaled they're going to suggest that she was in love with Combs and that everything was consensual. But she's still testifying right now on direct and then cross-examination will begin this afternoon. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Kara Scannell outside the courthouse in New York, Kara, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: Well, Wolf, the Trump administration is putting, quote, sanctuary cities on blast. The Department of Homeland Security now has a list online of more than 500 cities and counties across the country that it says are getting in the way of immigration enforcement.

So joining us now is CNN Correspondent Priscilla Alvarez and our expert on all things immigration. So, you have this new reporting on the impact, the increased pressure on immigration arrests is having a law enforcement.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: which means that they are asking multiple federal agencies to assist with immigration arrests. This has been a challenge for multiple administrations. Immigration and customs enforcement has limited personnel resources, about 6,000 agents. And they've often had to focus, because of that, on specific individuals who may pose public safety and national security threats.

Well, this administration is widening the aperture, which means that they want to arrest more than just those with criminal records. In fact, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, in a meeting with senior ICE officials last week, said that they -- he wants them to triple the number of immigration arresets, around 3,000 a day.

ICE can't do that alone. So, they are looking toward other federal agencies for that help. They have been asking the Customs and Border Protection to fan out across the country, DEA, ATF, FBI. And on FBI specifically, our sources are telling us that FBI's offering incentives for those agents that are redirecting to immigration- related enforcement. For example, overtime pay or being able to choose a post after they participate in this.

Now, in a statement, the FBI said that, quote, working around the clock to defend the homeland and crush violent crime submission, which certainly overlaps with the consequences of the previous administration's four-year open border policies. I read that to note that the administration has made very clear that immigration is their top priority, not only for the White House, but for all the agencies that they are consistently working with and talking to.

So, this isn't just a mission now for the Department of Homeland Security, but for so many others. And when it comes to enforcement in the interior of the United States, they're looking toward all of these agencies to do exactly that.

BROWN: Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much for bringing us your reporting.

BLITZER: She knows immigration.

BROWN: She does.

BLITZER: She's really good.

BROWN: As I said, she's an expert.

BLITZER: Me too.

All right, still ahead, quote, differences of opinion. New comments from Elon Musk on his last day, his last official day with the Trump administration.

BROWN: And then later, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, joins us in The Situation Room.

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BROWN: Well, new this morning, newly released comments from Elon Musk on his last day in the Trump administration. The tech billionaire says he isn't always in lockstep with the president.

Joining us now is CNN Senior Reporter and Writer Betsy Klein. Betsy, he seems to be speaking out on the Trump administration more in his final days.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER AND WRITER: That's exactly right. I mean, we saw Elon Musk come into the Trump administration with special government employee status, big fanfare. We saw him have big plans to transform the size and scope of the federal government, at one point wielding a literal chainsaw, as he said he was going to make massive cuts.

And Musk did oversee massive transformation of the federal government. At least 121,000 federal workers laid off or targeted for layoffs, thousands more took buyouts. He still fell far short of his stated goal of $1 trillion reduction in government spending, even as his company's SpaceX, Tesla and X really struggled in part as a result of his ties and alliances with the Trump administration.

But Musk, for his part, saying he probably spent too much time on politics his last official day in the administration is today, and we've seen some divergence between Musk and this White House. Listen to these comments he made to CBS News revealing some daylight with the Trump administration.

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ELON MUSK, TRUMP ADVISER: And, you know, it's not like I agree with everything the administration does.

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So, it's like there's -- I mean, I agree with much of what the administration does, but we have differences of opinion. You know, there are things that I don't entirely agree with. But it's difficult for me to bring that up in an interview because then it creates a bone of contention.

So, then I'm a little stuck in a bind where I'm like, well, I don't want to, you know, speak up against the administration, but I don't want to -- I also don't want to take responsibility for everything the administration's doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Well, President Trump, making clear that Musk will continue to advise him. He said in a post to social media, quote, this will be his last day, but not really, because he will always be with us helping all the way. Elon is terrific.

Now, the size and scope of DOGE's efforts really remains unclear at this stage. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Betsy Klein, thank you so much.

BLITZER: And coming up MAHA under scrutiny. A new report on children's health from the Trump administration appears to have major, major issues. CNN is fact checking. We'll be right back.

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[10:30:00]

BLITZER: There appears to be several major problems in the first report from the Trump administration's Make America Healthy Again commission. According to the nonprofit Washington publication, NOTUS, it references studies that didn't appear to exist.

CNN has done its own review of the report. Our Jacqueline Howard has more on what was found.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: The MAHA report has more than 500 citations, and CNN has checked dozens so far. Now, the White House says it has updated the report, but in the report's original version here at CNN, we've identified at least two citations that appear to not have publications online.

Both of those studies are in reference to direct to consumer advertising of medications. For one of those studies, an author is referenced as being Dr. Findlay (ph) at Virginia Commonwealth University, but the university confirmed to CNN that Dr. Findlay has not authored such a paper.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about this report and its citations in a press briefing. Here's what she had to say.

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KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I understand there were some formatting issues with the MAHA report that are being addressed and the report will be updated, but it does not negate the substance of the report, which, as you know, is one of the most transformative health reports that has ever been released by the federal government. And it's backed on good science that has never been recognized by the federal government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: And the White House was also asked if the report used A.I. Karoline Leavitt said that that was a question for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Now, in a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services says, quote, minor citation and formatting errors have been corrected, but the substance of the MAHA report remains the same, a historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation's children. Under President Trump and Secretary Kennedy, our federal government is no longer ignoring this crisis and it's time for the media to also focus on what matters, end quote.

But some experts I've talked to say that they still have questions. I spoke with an expert at NYU, Dr. Art Caplan, who says that he still thinks the errors appear to have been A.I.-related. Back to you.

BROWN: All right, Jacqueline Howard.

Well, right now, a former assistant to Sean Diddy Combs is back on the stand in his sex trafficking trial, testifying under the pseudonym Mia. She described combs as violent and recalled a time when she thought he would kill his then girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and if convicted, he faces life in prison.

We're joined now by Defense and Trial Attorney Misty Marris. Hi, Misty. What have been your biggest takeaways from Mia's testimony so far? MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Mia's testimony has been very effective for the prosecution for a couple of reasons. First, it corroborates Cassie Ventura's testimony of abuse. She personally saw Combs abuse Cassie Ventura many, many times throughout the course of her employment. But it goes even beyond that. Her testimony speaks to a central theme by the prosecutors that Combs uses force and intimidation to coerce women into sexual acts.

We've heard about two horrific sexual assaults, which she testified about on the stand yesterday. So, all of that is going to speak to the elements required for force, fraud and coercion for sex trafficking. But her testimony was also critical for the racketeering conspiracy charges. Because her testimony is formulating the prosecution's case for one of those predicate crimes of forced labor, something very, very compelling.

Yesterday, she testified she didn't feel that she could leave the job because she tried to run before, but it didn't work. So, all of that is feeding in to the necessary elements of the prosecutor's case for those critical charges.

BROWN: And there's also a question whether Sean Diddy comb should testify or not? What do you think about that?

MARRIS: Well, I remember hearing his lawyer in an interview saying that, I don't know if I can keep him off the stand. That being said, it is highly unlikely that he will testify.

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And my guess would be that his legal team is telling him he's better off invoking his right to remain silent because.