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Trump Talks Up His Economy at Rally Amid Rising Anxiety; Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) Under Pressure to Pass Defense Bill With Sum Majority; Epstein Abuse Survivors Await Full Release of Case Files, Judge Says Maxwell Grand Jury Records Can be Unsealed. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired December 10, 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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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, President Trump seems to be back in campaign mode as he kicks off a tour meant to shore up his messaging on affordability. He still calls it a Democratic hoax.

Plus, very unsatisfying. That's how Senator Chuck Schumer describes a meeting with Defense Secretary Hegseth and other top national security officials as Democrats and Republicans demand that video of a deadly double-tap attack on an alleged drug boat be released.

And then newly released body cam video showing the moment police confronted Luigi Mangione just days after a healthcare CEO was shot and killed on the Manhattan sidewalk.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Also a plan for peace. Ukraine's president is expected to send an updated proposal to the United States, to U.S. officials later today, as the White House pressures him to accept a deal soon, even if it means giving up land to Russia.

Plus, a world first, Australia now bans social media for kids under 16. Could other countries follow suit?

And emergency landing, a pilot searching for a safe place to land ends up on someone's car.

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.

We begin with President Trump by strongly defending his economic record amid rising frustrations at a campaign-style rally in Pennsylvania last night. He tried to reassure anxious Americans that the U.S. economy is healthy and talked up lower prices and bigger paychecks under his administration.

But as the White House's record faces mounting attacks from Democrats and a lot of unease even from Republicans, the president's affordability message quickly gave way to a long list of profane insults and grievances.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We had a meeting, and I say, why is it we only take people from (BLEEP) countries, right? Why can't we have some people from Norway, Sweden, just a few?

I love this Ilhan Omar, whatever the hell her name is, with a little shoe, the little turban. I love her.

Typically, crooked Joe wins. I'm surprised. Because to me he's a sleepy son of a (BLEEP).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. Let's go to CNN Senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak. Kevin, what else did President Trump say during his approximately 90-minutes speech?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, this was really meant as a road test for the President's economic message, and he did get to the economy periodically during this speech, blaming most of American's economic anxieties on Joe Biden, insisting that this is the best economy the country has ever seen, and really dismissing the entire concept of affordability as a way to damage him politically. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They have a new word. You know, they always have a hoax. The new word is affordability. So, they look at the camera and they say, this election is all about affordability.

Democrats talking about affordability is like Bonnie and Clyde preaching about public safety.

They use the word affordability and that's their only word. They say, affordability and everyone says, oh, that must mean Trump has high prices. No, our prices are coming down tremendously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So, you hear the president talking about the economy there. But I think it was pretty clear at about the two-minute mark of the speech when the president took credit for reviving the phrase Merry Christmas, that the speech was going to be about a lot more than the economy. You know, he said explicitly, he was not reading from his teleprompter. He went on tirades against transgender Americans, about electric vehicles, about windmills. He said the U.S. border was tighter than North Korea's.

You know, when he went into that, passage about countries that he didn't want migrants coming from, it was really remarkable. He is reviving that derogatory phrase that he used during his first term and actually denied using back then. Now, he appears to have no compunction about using it in public.

So, it was a speech that meandered in all kinds of different directions, but it is a preview of sorts. The president's advisers say that he will be out on the trail actively over the next year talking about affordability, talking about the economy. I think the real fear among his allies is that he could be repeating the same mistake that Joe Biden did of trying to convince Americans that the economy is better than they feel.

[10:05:07]

And they also worry that his argument that this is all Joe Biden's fault may be coming thinner and thinner as he nears the one year mark in often. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Kevin Liptak at the White House for us, thank you very, very much.

And while the president was at that rally in Pennsylvania last night, our own Dana Bash sat down with two American leaders who are preaching a far different message, a message of unity. She spoke with Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Republican Governor Spencer Cox of Utah after they appeared at an event at the National Cathedral right here in Washington, D.C.

They talked about President Trump's attacks on Somali Americans, including Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: In your home state of Pennsylvania, President Trump is having a rally. He's talking about affordability, but he is also doing -- talking about other things. He just randomly talked about Ilhan Omar, talked about the turban on her head, said we should just get her out, and then there was a chant in the crowd, send her back, send her back.

So, while you all are trying hard to lower the temperature, lower the rhetoric, you have somebody with the biggest, loudest megaphone saying things like that in your party.

GOV. SPENCER COX (R-UT): Yes, sure. Look, I disagree with Congresswoman Omar. I think she should be voted out of office. And I think I can do that without attacking her religion or her race, or her ethnic background. I think that that's really important.

I know that the president disagrees with me. He and I have had these conversations. I have to say, during the Charlie Kirk shooting in the conversations we had, he talked to me about non-violence and trying to be a voice for that. I understand he's not interested in uniting the country, and he would tell you that I think if he were sitting here with us tonight.

But I would also say that it's not going to be a president who fixes this. It's not going to be two governors who fix this. It really has to be all of us. The politicians that we elect are a reflection of, we the people. GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): I think leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity. That's true of governors. And I think Spencer Cox, it's that mark I try to meet it. And I think it's a responsibility that falls on the president of the United States as well.

I think this president not only failed tonight to speak and act with moral clarity by attacking a fellow American, whether we agree or disagree with her positions in Congress, but what he does when he attacks a fellow American like that is it sends a signal to others in this country that others can be scapegoated, others can be singled out, others can be targeted, or worse yet, others can become victims of political violence.

I think the president has a responsibility here, as do I, and I agree with Spencer, as do all Americans, to try and lift up the rhetoric and tamp down the hate. And I think the president needs to do better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And you can see much more of that interview with the two governors. That's coming up on Inside Politics with Dana Bash. It starts right after the situation room at noon Eastern right here on CNN and on the CNN All Access app, YouTube and cnn.com as well. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Happening now, Republican concerns about a massive military bill. The House is expected to take up the National Defense Authorization Act today. A provision tucked inside would try to force defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to release unedited videos of strikes on alleged drug boats.

CNN Correspondent Arlette Saenz is on Capitol Hill. So, Arlette, this is a must pass piece of legislation. Where do you think stand right now?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, the House is expected to vote later today on the National Defense Authorization Act, a $900 billion defense policy bill that lawmakers have been working on for months. There are some questions about whether they will be able to clear a key procedural hurdle, as some House Republicans have expressed concerns about this package. There are concerns relating to the emission of a cryptocurrency provision and also additional aid for Ukraine.

So, what leaders are trying to do in the coming hours is ensure that they can get Republicans all on board to clear that procedural hurdle. There are some options for leaders. If they do not clear that procedural hurdle, they could bring up the vote under suspension requiring a two thirds majority in order to pass this.

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But one interesting provision getting some attention in this NDAA bill is a provision that would require Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to release the unedited video of that follow-up strike that killed survivors on an alleged drug trafficking vote to members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. If not, they would withhold some of the secretary's travel budget.

And there is growing a momentum among Democrats and key Republicans for this video to be released. Take a listen to some of those Republicans open to having this made public.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think it would make sense for the administration to release this video?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I'm okay with it being released and I'm okay with what happened.

RAJU: You're okay with the second strike that occurred?

GRAHAM: Yes. I mean, I trust Tom Cotton's judgment.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): We got to get the Epstein files released. We got to get any videos that do not in any way compromise mission integrity down there. Just get the stuff out there.

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): There's a way to release the video, which I have not seen. But if there's a way to release that does not compromise our intelligence gathering, I would urge him to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, there has been a back and forth about whether this video would be released. President Trump initially said he had no problem with it before backtracking and saying that that will be a decision for Secretary Hegseth, who has said that they're still reviewing whether or not they should release the video.

There's also been another key development on this matter this morning as we've learned that the chair of the House Armed Services Committee is planning to end his committee's investigation into this follow-up strike. A committee aide said that after receiving classified briefings and viewing the video that he did believe that the Trump administration was within their legal authority to take this type of strike, but he is still continuing to push for the Pentagon to make this video available for members of his committee.

The committee is hoping that that might happen as soon as next week, but there are certainly more questions and more lawmakers who want to continue the oversight and scrutiny of this follow-up strike, as Democrats have warned that it could amount to a warm crime.

BROWN: All right. Arlette Saenz live for us from Capitol Hill, thanks so much, Arlette. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Happening now, a suspect is in custody after a deadly shooting Tuesday at Kentucky State University, a historically black university, in Frankfurt, Kentucky. One student was killed and another critically injured outside a campus dorm.

Police say the 48-year-old suspect is not a student. It happened during finals week at the school and just days before the students go on winter break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got finals this week. We're just chilling, regular college week. We ain't thinking nothing going to go on, feel me? And then boom, it just happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was at a lobby and saw some dude laying on the lobby floor, people like taking care of him. They carried in him out eventually to an ambulance. Then we saw paramedics giving CPR to the kid who died.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All classes, final exams and campus activities have been canceled for the rest of the week. Pamela?

BROWN: A surreal scene truly in Florida. Look at this, a small plane made an emergency landing on the interstate and struck a car landing right on top of it. Another driver just happened to be recording the road ahead and captured the moment. The highway patrol says both the pilot and the driver of that car that they're doing okay, which is pretty miraculous, right?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are they still in here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she's in here. I broke the back window.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And dramatic new video from Milwaukee right now. First responders had to rescue a driver whose vehicle crashed and ended up dangling over the edge of a bridge. A very precarious situation there. Thankfully, thank God no one was hurt.

And still ahead, will the nation's central bank lower interest rates today despite numbers that show the job market isn't the healthiest?

BROWN: And then later, we're going to talk with one of the lawmakers who's been fighting the hardest to force the government to release all of the Epstein files.

You're in The Situation Room and we'll be right back.

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BLITZER: All right. This is just coming into The Situation Room. The Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers, is prepared to end his panel's investigation into that very controversial follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean. A committee aide telling CNN, and I'm quoting now, the video and classified briefings from the Pentagon were sufficient to convince him this was a legal action. But he has also been clear that we need a classified briefing where the rest of the House Committee on Arms -- House Armed Services Committee members can see the video, and we expect that to happen next week, end quote.

Joining us now is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. He is a key member of the Armed Services Committee. Congressman, what's your reaction to that news from your chairman?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I could not disagree more strongly with Chairman Rogers. The reality is Pete Hegseth needs to come before the Armed Services Committee. He needs to explain to the American people why he reportedly ordered a strike against two people who had surrendered. He needs to stop blaming an admiral for that action. And I just don't understand how we stop investigating this. This is a dereliction of our constitutional duties in Congress.

BLITZER: The Senate Democratic leader, as you know, Chuck Schumer, he called yesterday's so-called Gang of Eight briefing by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other top national security officials, and I'm quoting him now, he said it was unsatisfying while Senate Republican Leader John Thune told reporters he still has not seen the video of that second strike.

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What do you and the American people need to see to assure you that the follow-up attack was indeed lawful?

KHANNA: Well, I believe the American people should see the video. It shouldn't just be a few of us on the Armed Services Committee in a classified briefing. It's not going to compromise our national security to see it. This is a cover-up. This is Pete Hegseth for saying, I have the video out, now he's saying, I don't want the video out. They are concerned that there were two people on that boat who were trying to surrender and there were orders given still to shoot them.

That is not the American way of doing business. We need Hegseth in front of the committee explaining to the American people what happened.

BLITZER: In other attacks against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, there have been survivors of the initial strikes, including one, in one instance, where the U.S. Navy detained two people and actually wound up returning them to their home countries. So, why would the September 2nd incident at question be any different if those survivors didn't pose a threat?

KHANNA: Well, that's exactly the point. There are other places where our military acts honorably, as we usually do. If someone doesn't pose a threat, they are captured and they are either prosecuted or they're returned to their home countries. Here, you had two people from all the reporting who were basically surrendering and yet they were shot. And the broader issue is, what is the standard that we're using to shoot these boats in the first place?

BLITZER: On another important story that we're following, Congressman, a federal judge in New York yesterday granted the U.S. Justice Department's request to unseal records from the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein's longtime accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. I'm curious what you make of this development given your efforts, and they have been intense, to compel the release of the Epstein files.

KHANNA: Well, it's a very positive development. I'm glad that the judge in New York, the judge in Florida, is following the Epstein Transparency Act that Massie and I passed, that passed overwhelmingly in the House and the Senate and the president signed. And I'm glad frankly, that the Justice Department is supporting the law and compliance with the law. That gives me hope that by December 19th, when the law requires, we will see many of these files released. And it will be finally some sense of closure for the thousands of victims of Epstein's crimes.

BLITZER: Have you received any updates from the Justice Department on when all of these files will be released given that we're approaching the December 19th deadline set by your Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by Congress?

KHANNA: I have not. Thomas Massie and I have requested a meeting with Attorney General Bondi. She hasn't granted that meeting yet. But I will say I am encouraged that the filings the Justice Department has made in New York and in Florida have been saying, we want to comply with the act. Please overturn the protective orders. And the judges have been citing the act to overturn the orders.

So, right now, I'm giving them a benefit of the doubt because they've been citing the law and saying they want to comply. I don't have to meet if they're going to release the all the files and comply with the law, and I hope they do that.

BLITZER: How confident are you, Congressman, that the Epstein files, once released, will not be selectively redacted? What recourse does Congress have if the Justice Department does not fully comply with your legislation?

KHANNA: Well, I'm not 100 percent confident of that. That's why we're going to have vigilance. But both Thomas Massie and I have spoken to the survivors. We've spoken to the survivors' lawyers. Many of the survivors' lawyers have seen the Epstein files, and there are of course documents at the Epstein estate. So, we will have independent verification of whether the release is transparent.

I am hopeful that they will comply with the law, but if not, we're not going to rest until we have complete release of these files per the law and what the survivors seek.

BLITZER: Congressman, I want you to hold with us for a moment. We have some breaking news just coming into our newsroom. A federal judge is allowing more grand jury records related to Jeffrey Epstein's case, sex trafficking case to be unsealed.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz is here in The Situation Room. You've got the breaking news. What do we know?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf and Pamela, this is not the release of the files, but it is what the court system needs to do to allow the Justice Department to put out everything that they have under this Congressional act for transparency.

We've seen three judges over the past week agree that, yes, because Congress passed the law allowing transparency for these Epstein files, that court records that previously were inaccessible to the public can be accessed.

[10:25:01]

Now, we had a previous judge in Florida and now two different judges in New York.

The ruling today, this judge is Richard Berman in the Southern District of New York. And what he is releasing now to the Justice Department for the public consumption, ultimately, he's saying that the grand jury records that stood up the indictment of Jeffrey Epstein in 2019. So, that's the second of three different grand jury probes. The Florida one was more than a decade earlier than that. This one in New York was when he was charged in 2019. He never went to trial because he died. And then Ghislaine Maxwell also is having her grand jury records released.

These grand jury records, we're going to have to see exactly what is in them. There were only two days that this grand jury met, and from what we know from these court records, there are 70 pages of the grand jury transcript that the Justice Department now would be able to release, as well as four pages of call logs.

This isn't a case that went to trial, but Ghislaine Maxwell had, and it's very much the companion case. So, we don't know how much is already out there from the public trial in this, but it is something here with Jeffrey Epstein, another layer of transparency to meet that deadline on December 19th.

BLITZER: Katelyn Polantz, thank you very, very much.

I'm going to get reaction from Congressman Ro Khanna right now. Does this give you additional hope in regards to your efforts to have more files released?

KHANNA: Well, it's a big deal. It frankly shows, Wolf, that American democracy still is working. I mean, you've now had three judges who in the past had said you could not release either grand jury testimony or protective orders, now ruling that they have to be in compliance with Congress and these files are going to come out. And I -- it does give me hope that we're going to see broad transparency. Now, that includes some of the witness memorandums, some of the FBI interviews. I hope the Justice Department will take these three judges' rulings and release everything other than the victim's identity so that we can get closure and there can be justice.

BLITZER: All right, let's see what happens. Congressman Ro Khanna, thanks so much for joining us.

KHANNA: Thank you, Wolf.

BROWN: And still to come here in The Situation Room, French investigators share brand new details about that bold heist at the Louvre Museum.

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