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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Giuffre's Family: Maxwell's Actions Were "A Pure Sense Of Evil"; Trump Unveils New U.S. Tariffs Affecting Every Country; Kamala Harris Gives Colbert First Post-Election Interview. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired July 31, 2025 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:00]
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: --the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating this. It says, turbulence is the top cause for injuries onboard commercial flights.
The pilot told passengers, this episode came on without any warning. Seven Delta crewmembers were injured, in this case. The airline says they have since been released from the hospital.
John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Awful flight there.
Pete Muntean, thank you very much.
That is all for us. I'll see you tomorrow, at 7 o'clock, alongside Kate Bolduan, for "CNN NEWS CENTRAL."
The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: Tonight, I'll speak with the family of Jeffrey Epstein survivor, Virginia Giuffre. What they want the world to know about their sister, and what questions they have tonight for the President of the United States.
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
Good evening from Washington, where, at the White House today, President Trump faced a new set of questions about Jeffrey Epstein, questions that Trump himself prompted, by laying out the reason he says his friendship with Epstein came to an abrupt end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: The family of Virginia Giuffre released a statement overnight, in response to some of the comments that you made this week. You said that Jeffrey Epstein stole people from Mar-a-Lago. At the time, did you know why he was taking those young women, including Virginia, who was just 16 at the time?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No, I didn't know. I mean, I would -- I would figure it was ABC fake news that would ask that question, one of the worst.
But no, I don't know really why. But I said, if he's taken anybody from Mar-a-Lago, he's hiring or whatever he's doing, I didn't like it, and we threw him out. We said, We don't want him, you know, at the place. This is a story that's been known for many years, as you know. But it's -- I didn't like it that he was doing that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The name you heard there, in the reporter's question, Virginia Giuffre, I'm going to speak with her family in just a moment, and they have a lot to say tonight.
But first, a reminder of what started all of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He took people that worked for me, and I told him don't do it anymore, and he did it, and I said, stay the hell out of here.
REPORTER: Mr. President, did -- did one of those stolen, you know, persons, that include Virginia Giuffre?
TRUMP: I don't know. I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people, yes. He -- he stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: When the President says Epstein stole her, he's talking about a person. She's not property. She has a name. Virginia Giuffre, known then as Virginia Roberts, was 16-years-old, and working as a Mar-a- Lago spa attendant in the year 2000, when she was first approached by Ghislaine Maxwell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIRGINIA GIUFFRE, JEFFREY EPSTEIN VICTIM: She said, Oh, you're reading a book on massage therapy. And, you know, we started talking. She goes, Oh, you know what? I know this guy. There's an opportunity, actually, if you want to become a real massage therapist. We can get you trained.
Within the next few weeks, Jeffrey and Ghislaine told me that I need to quit my job with Mar-a-Lago because I'll be traveling with them as their traveling masseuse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Court documents show that her employment at Mar-a-Lago did end that same year, 2000.
Giuffre was then groomed by Maxwell, sexually abused by Epstein, and in her own words, quote, Passed around like a platter of fruit among his rich and powerful friends. I want to be clear tonight. No one is alleging that President Trump was involved with any of Jeffrey Epstein's wrongdoing or sex trafficking, or that he even knew about it.
And remember, he said this today at the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: No, I don't know really why. But I said, if he's taken anybody from Mar-a-Lago, he's hiring or whatever he's doing, I didn't like it, and we threw him out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: In 2002, two years after Giuffre was, quote, stolen, the President described Epstein like this to New York Magazine, calling him a terrific guy, and saying, He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.
Earlier this year, Virginia Giuffre died by suicide at her farm in Western Australia. She was just 41-years-old.
Donald Trump says he wasn't aware of what Jeffrey Epstein was really up to, all of those years ago. Whether he had suspicions, we don't know.
But tonight, Virginia Giuffre's family wants answers.
And I want to bring in the members of Virginia Roberts Giuffre's family. Her brothers, Sky Roberts and Danny Wilson, as well as their wives, Amanda Roberts and Lanette Wilson.
[21:05:00]
And I'm just so grateful to have all of you here tonight, to talk about something that I know is really painful but also really important for each of you.
And Danny, I think it's hard for anybody to imagine the emotional toll, the last few weeks have probably had on your family. What made you decide to speak out tonight?
DANNY WILSON, BROTHER OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: I don't -- I don't think it's even the last two weeks. I think it's the last 10 years. I'm speaking out, because my sister is not here to speak out, and I think she would, and I'm here to speak out for the survivors.
COLLINS: And Sky, your sister was just 16-years-old, when she was -- when she was working at Mar-a-Lago in 2000, and when she was recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell.
As this has played out, over the last few weeks, I imagine, you were probably quite surprised when the Justice Department sent their number two in charge to go and sit down with Ghislaine Maxwell. SKY ROBERTS, BROTHER OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: Yes, we were -- we were very surprised, I think. She was preyed upon by Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as many other predators out there. But she was preyed upon at Mar-a- Lago. And we were very shocked, and very surprised, that they were giving her a voice, and giving her a platform to essentially, possibly make a deal.
And reality to that is that there's so many survivors still out there that are affected by that, including my sister, who's not here to speak for herself. And I think it's important that we stand beside them, that we stand in front of you, and in front of everyone out there, with a sign of strength on my sister's behalf, because she's not here to do that herself. But we stand with survivors here.
And I want to make it clear that she does not get the opportunity to get out. She deserves to rot in prison, where she belongs, because of what she's done to my sister, and so many other women. And it's absolutely a pure sense of evil.
COLLINS: A pure sense of evil.
I think some people remember this, and think of Jeffrey Epstein, but may not remember Ghislaine Maxwell. And I know that y'all, as a family, have said that at times, Virginia said that she could be -- that Maxwell could be more cruel than Epstein was.
And Amanda, or Lanette, I just remember what -- I wonder what either of you remember about what she had to say and her view of that.
AMANDA ROBERTS, SISTER-IN-LAW OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: Yes, I just remember various vivid and specific conversations with her, and talking about Ghislaine, and almost describing her as this puppet- master, and being this organizer of things, and being so viciously cruel to the young women.
And knowing that they were so vulnerable and young, she targeted them specifically, you know? And she was also very complicit, like, in those actions. She wasn't just like a recruiter. She participated, and viciously participated with these girls, and abusing them. And so, she just described her as this monster, of a nightmare.
COLLINS: Well, and Lanette, remembering that, I wonder, as we're in this--
LANETTE WILSON, SISTER-IN-LAW OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: Right--
COLLINS: --conversation of whether or not she'll be granted immunity to speak to Congress, or whether a pardon would be on the table, or even a reduction in her -- in her sentence that she's serving right now.
Not only what message that would send to someone like your sister, who was -- who was so outspoken about this, and such an advocate, but also to the survivors, the other survivors, in this moment?
L. WILSON: I mean, I think that's really -- I think that's really the point and a big reason why we are even speaking out. Because it does send a message to the survivors that if you're in power, if you've got money, if you've got connections, then you're above the law. Because we're -- if there is any kind of conversation around leniency or potentially getting out?
[21:10:00]
This wasn't someone who was a minor player. This was someone who was an organizer in this sex trafficking ring. She was alongside Jeffrey Epstein and, as Virginia said, she was, most of the time, worse than him. So, it's just sending a message to survivors that their voices and all of the hard work that they've done for the last, however many years, 10-plus years, doesn't matter.
And it does, and as a people, we should be listening to survivors' voices, and survivors' testimonies, rather than someone that was convicted of the crime.
COLLINS: Sky, when you heard the word -- hear the word, Stolen, used to describe what happened to your sister, when she was recruited away and sex trafficked? I wonder what goes through your mind.
S. ROBERTS: She wasn't stolen. She was preyed upon at his property, at President Trump's property. And I think it's very important that we don't treat it -- like, stolen seems very impersonal, it feels very much like an object. And these survivors are not objects. Women are not objects.
What goes through my mind is that it's time to protect survivors, and it's time to protect the young women, and our future generation of young women.
So no, she wasn't stolen. She was preyed upon. And it certainly makes you kind of ask the question, you know, how much he knew during that time, right? Even a couple of years later, even after he, you know, I believe he had stated something along the lines of cutting off communication, or kicking him out, you know, he described Jeffrey Epstein as somebody who really enjoyed being around young women.
And so, she was preyed upon. She wasn't stolen. That's a predator that came and took her, and did absolutely horrible things to her, and so many other women out there.
COLLINS: Danny, does it raise questions for you too, about what was known at the time?
D. WILSON: I think my sister's whole story makes me ask a lot of questions, how things went down, and how things were facilitated. I think something that I was thinking of earlier was, are there still people working there that are underage or young women?
Hopefully, you know, hopefully we've come up as a society, and put laws in place to protect young people at work. I know, when I was growing up, you could just get a job. I know now, having a -- having a young one at home, there are things put in place. And I think that those -- those kind of -- those kind of checks and balances need to be put in everywhere.
COLLINS: When it comes to questions, you write in a statement today that even 20 years later, Virginia would wake up screaming, with nightmares, about what happened to her, about being trafficked.
And if you could say something to the President, or someone who does have the power to pardon her, or reduce her sentence, for Ghislaine Maxwell? Amanda, I'll start with you. But what you would -- how you would respond to that, or what message you would want to get across?
A. ROBERTS: I think we get so used to seeing the black and white of things, and we're seeing these headlines, and I think that we've completely forgotten that these are human beings who are still surviving the very real trauma they endured. And that never goes away. You become strong and learn how to fight through it, and that's what she did. She turned that pain into strength and let it drive her to keep going. But it never leaves you.
And people who commit those crimes against someone deserve to feel those repercussions. They don't get to rest easy, while the survivors are still trying to live their life, every single day. You don't get to rest easy.
[21:15:00]
COLLINS: Lanette, I just -- some people may argue that maybe they -- maybe people should listen to Ghislaine Maxwell, because she saw and heard what happened. I wonder if you think that she has any credibility, though, from your perspective, knowing what you know and heard from Virginia.
L. WILSON: Actually, no. I don't see any real reason to speak with her. She has perjured herself in the past. And we're talking about -- we're talking about a sex trafficker, a monster, that could do unspeakable things to young women without conscience. So, what would she do to get herself out of the situation that she's in, the uncomfortable prison sentence?
I think that survivors have come forward. They put her in jail. They've come forward with their stories. They've come forward with the allegations. They have the information. It's already in there.
There's no way that Epstein would be in jail, or Ghislaine would be in jail, if they didn't already have that information. So we question, what can she really add, and what's going to become of that?
COLLINS: Sky, in the statement, your family notes that you believe what we've heard from very powerful figures, lately, has only raised more questions, questions that you say you want answers to, that the public wants answers to, but also that the survivors deserve here.
What questions do you want answered tonight?
S. ROBERTS: I think one for me is, when are we going to start believing survivors? I think that's a very powerful one, and it's certainly something every survivor feels. We've had the opportunity to speak with so many powerful survivors out there, and I think it's important their voices get to be heard.
I think another question that I have, and it pertains to, A, we already talked through why Ghislaine Maxwell should not even be considered, remotely, by the Department of Justice to be released, or get some sort of pardon.
But I think the other thing that we need to speak about is why aren't the documents being released? And so we want that answer -- that question answered. We want to know why aren't the documents being released.
They deserve justice. These survivors were -- had something taken away from them, they can never get back. And it's time for these monsters to be exposed, and get something they can never get back, which is their freedom.
COLLINS: Danny, do you also want to see everything released?
D. WILSON: Oh, absolutely. I got the -- you know, we all sat down and talked to survivors of this and other things. And it was really personal for me in that these women, they've all gone on with their lives, and they've had kids, and they've bought houses, and they have jobs. But this has still followed them, the pain that comes from this type of behavior in our society has followed them.
And I think -- I think -- I think they just -- we as, you know -- and somebody asked me this earlier. I don't look at this as a Democrat or a Republican thing. I look at this as a human thing. I think everybody, on all sides of our country, for our country, for these women, need to stand up.
And everybody, once that collective voice is together, and that's my dream, and I think that was my sister's dream, once that collective voice is together? We're untouchable. The people that -- the innocents, the people that go through this. And that's what I think is going to stop this type of behavior.
COLLINS: Do you think your sister would have wanted this information out there?
S. ROBERTS: I know it.
A. ROBERTS: That's -- yes, that's exactly what I was going to say.
[21:20:00]
In one of my very, I think, one of the last months that she was with us, we had a conversation about that. And still, to the day that we lost her, she was still fighting for those documents to be released. They are sitting in our court system, right now. She wanted the world to know what they have done to her, and so many other survivors, and she had been fighting that, to her very last day.
And I think we have taken that mantle on, and we will continue to fight with her, and for her, and for all the other survivors, so that their truth is known to the world, and that they're vindicated. COLLINS: She told you in one of your last conversations that she wanted the information out there?
A. ROBERTS: Yes, unequivocally, yes. She wants the information out. It is -- it is a current case that has been active, and is sitting in the courts, right now, for her documents to be unsealed, and for those monsters to be exposed, for who they are and what they've done.
COLLINS: Everything that y'all have said tonight is so powerful, and so compelling, and understandably very difficult and challenging. And I just want to say thank you to each of you, for being willing to come and talk about her legacy, her advocacy for survivors, and just what that meant.
Sky. Amanda. Danny. Lanette. I just -- I want to thank you all so much for joining me.
A. ROBERTS: Thank you so much.
L. WILSON: Thank you.
D. WILSON: Thank you.
S. ROBERTS: Thank you.
A. ROBERTS: Thank you.
COLLINS: Up next. Whether or not that message, a powerful and compelling message that you just heard there, from Virginia's family, could sway members of the Congress, or the President, when it comes to spooling out a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, or granting her immunity for her testimony.
My insiders will join me with reaction, right after this.
[21:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You just heard my interview with the family of Virginia Giuffre, who was just 16-years-old when she was approached by Ghislaine Maxwell, at Mar-a-Lago, 25 years ago before being sexually trafficked and abused by Jeffrey Epstein.
Her family told me that they are firmly against the Justice Department's meeting with Maxwell that took place in Florida, last week.
And Giuffre's attorney who also represents other Epstein accusers, and once sat across the table from Maxwell, as she perjured herself under oath, as she was accused of doing, had this to say to my colleague, Erin Burnett tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIGRID MCCAWLEY, ATTORNEY FOR VIRGINIA GIUFFRE, OTHER EPSTEIN ACCUSERS: The one thing we know for sure is that Ghislaine Maxwell is a masterful manipulator. She lies without concern, over and over and over again. You can see that in the deposition. I mean, there was not a question she answered truthfully.
So, it wouldn't make sense to me, for someone to give her an audience, because the only thing that she's going to say, during those interviews, or those meetings, are things that will benefit her, and they will not necessarily be truthful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My political sources are here tonight, along with our CNN Senior Legal Analyst, Elie Honig.
And Karen, just when you listen. I mean, it's hard to even, to hear from the family, and they were just so raw and emotional, but also had such an important message, I thought, tonight.
KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER DNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: A 100 percent. I mean, talking about just their own journey and the experience of this, which is 10 years.
We have to remember that for them, it's not just about the last few weeks. It's about whenever they first learned what was happening to their sister, and her journey to try to heal and put her life back together. And just so painfully talking about what that takes. I mean, if -- I know women who are survivors, and it takes, but every single day to just get through the day.
I think the other thing that was so important, the fact that they're saying they want to speak up for survivors. Because, we're talking about the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. But there are thousands of women and men in this country who are survivors of sexual assault and trafficking, who they're watching this too, and how, you know -- and this puts a human face on a story that was very quickly becoming the typical political football. And instead, this really brought it back to the humanity of what we need to be thinking about here.
COLLINS: Yes, I think that's an important point, because we have been talking about, is she going to -- is Ghislaine Maxwell going to get immunity? What is the White House saying about this?
And I think what Virginia's family did there was just humanize this, in terms of saying, Remember there are people at the center of this, and they're not property. And I thought her brother's comment, saying, She wasn't stolen, she was preyed upon by this sex trafficker and his notorious accomplice.
KEVIN MADDEN, FORMER MITT ROMNEY CAMPAIGN ADVISER, SENIOR PARTNER, PENTA GROUP: Yes, and so much of the public consideration of this has been through a political context. And that's one of the problems with our system right now, is that we're always trying to gage who's up, who's down, who's at the advantage, is this good or bad for Trump?
And we got a very, very poignant reminder tonight, of the human element of this, that this is somebody, there's -- there's a family involved. And I thought the admonition by her brother, Danny, about, This isn't a Republican or Democrat lens on this. This is instead -- this is somebody who these -- there are victims out there. That's probably one of the most important takeaways from this.
[21:30:00]
Now, that's one of the problems with the system too, is that how long will -- what's the shelf life on a story like that, or an impact of an interview like that, and will we very quickly go back and retreat to the sort of partisan politics on this? And unfortunately, I think that's probably the case.
COLLINS: Yes.
FINNEY: Yes.
COLLINS: And Elie Honig, when you hear that -- and their focus so much was on the survivors that are still here, because their sister was such a major advocate for that when she was -- before she died, and just talking about that.
When it comes to the Justice Department, and how they treated her, and other accusers, I wonder what your thoughts are.
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: So Kaitlan, the way, that Virginia Giuffre's family, and Virginia Giuffre herself, and dozens of other victims in this case, were treated by DOJ, is an abomination.
And just for background, here. In 2004, Congress passes the Federal Victims -- Crime Victims' Rights Act. And that gave prosecutors at DOJ a legal obligation to consult with victims, to keep them accurately informed what was going on in cases, and to give them a chance to be heard.
In the original prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein, in federal courts, in Florida, 2007, 2008, so this law is already on the books, Alexander Acosta's team completely betrayed that duty. Not only did they fail to inform the victims. At one point, the public records show, Jeffrey Epstein's lawyers said to the prosecutors, after they reached this sweetheart deal, Hey, we'd like you to not tell the victims.
Alexander Acosta, not only did he not tell the victims, and again, later, findings by a judge confirmed this, he misled the victims. He had a deal in place, with Jeffrey Epstein, to let him off light, and DOJ, FBI notified the victims that the case was still pending, which was incorrect and misleading.
So, that needs to be a lesson to all of us, that needs to be a lesson to prosecutors and to everybody else, that victims have to be treated right. And if prosecutors can't uphold that duty, then we're nowhere.
COLLINS: Elie, I think that's such a good point, because I remember -- I was at one of Alex Acosta's final press conferences as Labor Secretary, when all of this was coming to a head, and the details of his role in this. And I asked him, Would you make this same deal, this same plea deal, with Jeffrey Epstein today? And he basically said, Karen, that, you know what -- how we treat victims now, and in this situation, in the era of MeToo, basically, is different than it was, when that agreement was made.
But I think it says a lot about how people like Virginia, and others, were treated for so long, or not taken seriously.
FINNEY: Absolutely. I mean, these women were trying to bring this story forward, for a very long time, is my understanding from the reporting, and they weren't believed. And that's why, as the brothers were talking about, we say, we've got to believe women, we've got to believe survivors.
It doesn't mean you don't do whatever investigation you have to do into what happened. But it means you have to start from the premise that this person is telling you the truth about an experience that they had. Not start from the premise of degrading her, or seeing her as less than. And I think that was part of that language of stealing, you know, Stole her, felt like just that degrading language that I think was -- has been too common in our culture.
COLLINS: You talk about whether or not this goes back to being a political football.
MADDEN: Yes.
COLLINS: I mean, obviously Democrats have been keeping this in the forefront, because it's dividing Republicans and it's causing issues for them. I do think there are some though, who have said, We should have tried to do this under Biden, and regardless, we should get this information out now.
I wonder if a call by her own family and from her sister -- saying, This is something my sister wanted, and talked about, leading up to her death? If that changes the calculus?
MADDEN: I don't -- I don't know. I mean, look, I think we're going to quickly turn to all of these questions about pardons. And usually, when you have pardons, they are sort of inherently a political act.
But I think the family's message tonight, which has to be sort of more relentless, and I think they have to be more sustained in this message, is that this ultimately has to be about justice, this ultimately has to be about accountability.
One of the big worries I have about this issue overall is, sometimes with the -- with the way the information is coming out, will there ever be enough finality? Will there ever be a point where people sort of feel satisfied, that people have -- everybody has been held accountable--
FINNEY: Yes.
MADDEN: --and that there has been some level of justice delivered here?
FINNEY: Right.
COLLINS: Yes.
MADDEN: And I just worry -- I worry about that, that that gets drawn out.
FINNEY: And I think there's part of -- there are some folks where there won't ever be an answer.
MADDEN: Right.
FINNEY: But I hope that for the victims, that there is some kind of justice that gives them some kind of closure. And this goes to something we talked about earlier this week. This is now culture. This isn't just a bad day news story at the White House. We are now back into something that has real cultural strains.
COLLINS: Yes.
Karen Finney. Kevin Madden. Elie Honig. It's great to have all of you here tonight.
And up next for us here. We are ticking down to midnight. That means we're hours away from the President's sweeping global tariffs that are going into effect. We just heard a lot of details from the White House, and a lot of businesses and nations are curious about this too. What's going to happen at midnight?
My next source is Senator Chris Coons, ahead.
[21:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We have some breaking news, as tonight, the White House has announced sweeping new tariffs for every country around the world. The White House says countries will see new tariff rates higher than 15 percent if they have not entered into a new trade agreement with the United States.
[21:40:00]
And one official told CNN, that rate will also serve as the new floor for countries that have a trade deficit with the U.S. That includes Canada, America's second largest trading partner, whose tariff rate is going to jump from 25 percent to 35 percent, a rate the Ontario Premier tonight called, quote, Concerning.
And I should note, these new tariff rates are not going to go into effect at midnight tonight, which was the expected deadline. Instead, the tariffs will be implemented on August 7th, next week, to give Customs and Border Protection enough time, to make the necessary changes, to collect on these tariffs.
This comes after the Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, told me this evening that that August 1st deadline is firm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Take a few questions on the tariffs?
HOWARD LUTNICK, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF COMMERCE: I can't. Sorry about that. I got to get to a meeting.
COLLINS: Any extensions or deadlines that we should be expecting?
LUTNICK: No extensions.
COLLINS: No extensions?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is the President--
COLLINS: Are you expecting any last-minute agreements, Secretary Lutnick?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My source tonight is the Democratic senator, Chris Coons of Delaware, who is also a member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, who answered that last question for us there.
And you said the answer you believe is?
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): No.
COLLINS: No? Why not?
COONS: Look, President Trump promised all sorts of things that he's failing to follow through on. One of them was 90 trade agreements in 90 days.
As we're seeing, once again, he's threatened huge tariffs. He's threatened and berated a whole lot of our close allies and partners, and in relatively few cases, has he actually implemented high tariffs. We're getting closer to when he may very well, in another week, implement tariffs against dozens and dozens of countries.
I'll remind you, a tariff is a tax that average American consumers pay. In an interview, the Secretary of the Treasury, earlier, was bragging about how much money they think they'll bring in. They may well bring in a huge amount of money, but that will be paid by American consumers. It will raise prices. It will raise the cost of living. It'll raise inflation.
COLLINS: Do you think once these go into effect, that we're going to see that change, when it comes to inflation? Because it stayed relatively tame, through the other rounds, and the other considerations, but it seemed to be maybe more of a wait-and-see period.
But the White House was saying, You guys warned against all of this and this didn't happen, to economists who had predicted the worst.
COONS: Largely because they didn't implement them. So, remember that it's become almost a running joke, TACO Tuesday, Trump Always Chickens Out on tariffs. He has threatened to impose significant -- huge tariffs on a number of our closest trading partners, and then delayed them, delayed them again, and delayed them again. So, to the extent we may be about to see, for example, a 35 percent tariff on goods from Canada, that would have a significant impact.
So, we haven't seen huge increases in inflation and costs, or a big drop in the stock market, or a big drop in economic growth, because they haven't implemented tariffs of the level that Trump has been threatening. If he actually goes through with it, now, finally? I think it could have some very negative consequences for businesses of all types, and for families all over the United States.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean, this executive order basically means he's significantly putting higher tariffs on virtually every trading partner the United States has.
COONS: Yes.
COLLINS: It's got a 15 percent rate, that's the new tariff floor, which the United States has a trade deficit for those countries. That's about 40 countries that will at least pay that.
And then the tariff is lower for many of the nations in the April 2nd reciprocal tariffs, but it's still higher for some of them, some of the biggest ones. I mean, you look at this, it's got Syria, 41 percent. Switzerland is at 39 percent. But you look at this list, Cambodia is on there, Vietnam is on there, well above 15 percent.
COONS: Some of our largest trading partners, Canada, the European Union, Brazil, are going to see significant increases, double-digit increases. And that contributes to the cost of living.
So, for example, if affordability in housing is one of the biggest problems in the United States? You can't build new housing at scale in the United States without wallboard from Mexico, without plywood, lumber from Canada. Lots of the core inputs for building housing come from other countries, from our closest trading partners.
For most Americans, most of the vegetables, and most of the fruit, that you eat come from other countries. So whether it's shoes and clothing, whether it's electronics and cars, whether it's construction and housing, we're going to see increasing costs, if Trump actually imposes tariffs as high as he's threatening.
COLLINS: And this has obviously been a huge subject on Capitol Hill, as you know. We've even seen this playing out at the courts, people challenging it.
I want to ask you though about something else that's been talked about a lot, on Capitol Hill, these days, which is what is happening with the Epstein files.
COONS: Yes.
COLLINS: And we spoke with Virginia Giuffre's family tonight, about what they want to see happen, and also what she wanted to see happen before she died.
I want you to listen to what her sister-in-law told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
A. ROBERTS: She was still fighting for those documents to be released. They are sitting in our court system, right now. She wanted the world to know what they have done to her, and so many other survivors, and she had been fighting that, to her very last day.
[21:45:00]
And I think we have taken that mantle on, and we will continue to fight with her, and for her, and for all the other survivors, so that their truth is known to the world, and that they're vindicated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Do you believe the survivors deserve to have these files fully released?
COONS: Yes. Virginia was an advocate. She was a survivor, and she was someone who stood up and spoke out about her own experience, as a victim of sex trafficking, as an advocate for others who were as well, and helped, really, shine a spotlight on the horrors of what Jeffrey Epstein was doing.
So, I think it's a powerful thing that her family is speaking out in her memory. I think it's important that we all remember that at the end of the day, this Epstein case is not about political advantage.
And it's concerning, when a senior member of the Department of Justice is looking to go interview his co-defendant, someone who worked with him as a co-conspirator to carry out this sex trafficking, literally, of whom Virginia was a victim, rather than focusing principally, on transparency, releasing documents, honoring the wishes of one of the most important victims and advocates in this whole story.
COLLINS: Senator Chris Coons, thank you for your time tonight.
COONS: Thank you, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: As always. Really appreciate it.
Up next, we have new details here on what we learned from the White House today about President Trump's latest renovation, when it comes to the White House. My White House insider is here, on this $200 million project that's going to be 90,000 square feet.
[21:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Long before he took office, President Trump always wanted and believed that the White House should have a ballroom. Now that he is in office for his second term, that dream is about to become a reality, after the White House confirmed today the construction, on the new $200 million project, will start in September.
It is the new State Ballroom, and you can see from the renderings here, from the White House, is expected to be about 90,000 square feet, much in the President's style, gold and crystal chandeliers, gilded Corinthian columns, coffered ceiling with gold inlays as well.
The President says he is going to be paying for this project, along with private donors, and that it's expected to be done before he leaves office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We've been planning it for a long time. They've wanted a ballroom at the White House for more than 150 years, but there's never been a president that was good at ballrooms. I'm really good.
So we'll be leaving it. It'll be a great legacy project, and I think it'll be special.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Joining me now, my White House insider, Jeff Mason, Reuters' White House correspondent.
And Jeff, obviously, the President has been putting his stamp on the White House, in a way that we have not seen, did not see the first term, from the Oval Office, to the Cabinet Room. But with this? I mean, I think the word he used there, legacy--
JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: Yes.
COLLINS: --speaks to why he's doing this.
MASON: 100 percent. I mean, he's been putting his stamp on U.S. society. He's been putting his stamp on the physical aspects of the White House. And this is the biggest manifestation of that that we can -- that you can imagine, and it's something he's wanted for years, as he said, and now he's got the chance to do it. And he's going through with it.
COLLINS: Yes, and I was thinking about this. He has wanted this for so long back, that he offered to try to help steer head -- steer it when Obama was in office.
The press secretary then, Josh Earnest, actually got asked about it, and kind of seemed to laugh it off and say, Would not be appropriate to have a shiny gold Trump sign on any part of the White House.
I mean, now, in hindsight, here Trump is, constructing this ballroom that he's always wanted. MASON: And it's -- and to use the word, Manifestation, again, it's like a physical manifestation of just blowing through norms. And he's made some other changes to the White House that many people like. The flag poles in the front and the back, they're attractive. But the gold in the Oval Office, not as popular with everyone.
And this ballroom will absolutely alter the grounds of the White House and the South Lawn, in a major way that can't be changed when another president is in office.
COLLINS: Yes, and we'll see what the construction looks like. Obviously, just the Rose Garden itself has been quite extensive. We'll see this.
MASON: Exactly.
COLLINS: Jeff Mason, great to have you as always. Thank you so much.
MASON: Thank you.
COLLINS: Up next here from us. We just heard from former Vice President Kamala Harris, after she announced that she is not entering a major race. What she had to say tonight? That's right ahead.
[21:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Former Vice President Kamala Harris appearing on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" for her first sit-down interview since she lost the 2024 election, and announced that she is not going to be running for Governor of California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Why are you sitting this one out? Are you saving yourself for a different office that might be--
(CHEERING)
KAMALA HARRIS, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No. No. No.
(CHEERING)
COLBERT: No?
HARRIS: No, not today.
COLBERT: That's what everybody, obviously--
HARRIS: I know. But -- but honestly--
COLBERT: Obviously people project on to you--
HARRIS: No, I understand. COLBERT: --their hopes and dreams.
HARRIS: And honestly, that it's -- it's more, perhaps basic than that. I am -- listen, I am a devout public servant. I have spent my entire career in service of the people. And I thought a lot about running for governor. I love my state. I love California. I've served as just -- elected District Attorney, Attorney General and Senator.
But to be very candid with you, I -- you know, when I was a young -- young in my career, I had to defend my decision, to become a prosecutor, with my family. And one of the points that I made is, why is it, then, when we think we want to improve a system or change it, that we're always on the outside, on bended knee, or trying to break down the door? Shouldn't we also be inside the system? And that has been my career.
And recently, I made the decision that I just, for now, I don't want to go back in the system. I think it's broken.
Don't want to go back in the system. I want to -- I want to travel the country. I want to listen to people. I want to talk with people. And I don't want it to be transactional, where I'm asking for their vote.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Harris also told Colbert, she will always be part of the fight.
And you heard there, she did not fully rule out a White House run in 2028. We will see where that goes.
For now, Harris says she'll be talking a lot more about her 2024 campaign in the coming months. She has a new book coming out, titled "107 Days" a behind-the-scenes look at her historic and short run for president. That's out in September.
Thanks to you all so much for joining us on a very special and busy night.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts now.
