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Trump Trades NYC Courtroom For Florida Fundraiser; Israel-Hams War; Living In Fear In Rafah With Nowhere To Go; Universities Increase Security Ahead Of Graduation Ceremonies Following Weeks Of Pro- Palestinian Protests; At Least A Dozen Texas Rivers Reach Major Flood Stage; Former Trump Aide Hope Hicks Takes Stand In Hush Money Trial. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 04, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:58]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Jessica Dean in Washington.

And tonight, Donald Trump is not in a courtroom, but he's also not out on the campaign trail. The Republican frontrunner looking to close the fundraiser then gap with his opponent Joe Biden by holding a fundraiser with GOP donors at Mar-a-Lago.

One presenter there privately admitting the hush money trial is quote, "bleeding money". The (INAUDIBLE) Republican National Committee retreat also drawing high-profile party leaders. Trump's potential next pick for vice president as well could be there.

CNN's Alayna Treene is joining us now from Palm Beach. And Alayna, what kind of impact is the trial having on campaign resources.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: I think it's really fascinating, Jessica. I was speaking with one of the attendees last night and one of the presenters during last night's session at The Four Seasons was the one who said that the trial was bleeding money, really just privately noting that this is costing the Trump campaign a ton of money.

We've heard the former president himself publicly say that he wishes that money would be going toward his campaign. Instead the Trump campaign, as well as the groups, the different packs that they have to raise money for him have been siphoning a lot of that money away and putting it toward his legal bills.

And that's something of course that is also an issue when the Trump campaign is trying to catch up to the Biden campaign and their ever- growing war chest. Weve seen the Biden campaign consistently outrace the former president's campaign over the last several months. And so that's definitely weighing on people's minds this weekend.

Now, I also just want to bring you some other reporting we got from some of the presentations happening this weekend.

Susie Wiles and Chris Lacivita, both Donald Trump's campaign managers, as well as Tony Fabrizio, one of his pollsters, laid out that they raise $76.2 million in April.

Of course, we can't independently verify those numbers because we will not have the FEC fundraising reports until later this month. But that is according to people on the campaign and who were in the room during those speeches.

We also learned that they set out new a path for Donald Trump to compete in states like Minnesota and Virginia, both that leans democrat in most recent elections. And so that was a notable admission as well.

And they also gave us another preview of how Donald Trump is going to continue to spend some of his days outside of the courtroom on upcoming Wednesdays this month. He's planning to host fundraisers in places like Ohio and Texas and Kentucky, using that one Wednesday when he's not required to be in New York for his trial, to be out there continuing to try and raise money for his campaign.

And Alayna, it's -- there's obviously big donors at this event. They're raising money of course. But we also hear that Trump is meeting with potential VP picks. That's really a lot of that talk has picked up a lot of steam.

TREENE: It has, and it's interesting because this RNC retreat is an annual event and you always see the type of wealthy donors and high- profile Republican leaders come and attend these type of weekends.

But there are a lot of special guests that are on Donald Trump's shortlist for VP and Donald Trump today at Mar-a-Lago during that fundraiser, actually called a series of them up on stage and praised them. He called up Elise Stefanik, the House Republican Conference chair, also Senator Marco Rubio, saying that he acknowledged that his name has been floated for one of his running mates. He also called up J.D. Vance and Tim Scott. All people we know that Donald Trump has privately been floating as his potential running mate.

And I do just want to be clear here, Jessica, his campaign insists that Donald Trump does not have any plan to publicly announce his vice-presidential pick anytime soon. They say that that decision will come closer to the Republican National Convention in July.

But this is a great weekend for these contenders to be brushing arms with Trump, to be showing that they support him. And of course, having him call them up on stage and praising them himself, Jess.

[17:04:49]

DEAN: Let the Veep stakes begin.

Alayna Treene for us in Florida, Palm Beach. Thanks so much.

And here now to discuss this, former Republican Congressman of Pennsylvania and executive director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program Charlie Dent and Karen Finney CNN political commentator and former senior advisor for the Hillary Clinton campaign and former communications director for the DNC.

Good to have both of you here.

Charlie, let's start first with you. You just heard Alayna's reporting. Weve got a bunch of donors with the RNC. Weve got some potential VPs all down there at this event raising money for the former president and his reelection bid.

You have a former president who is in a courtroom multiple days a week, not able to be on the campaign trail, who just in this "Time Magazine" article laid out exactly what he wants a second term to look like. And it involved, you know, giving pardons to January 6 rioters, things like that.

And yet it's a very tight race. It's a very tight race if you look at the polling. What do you make of all of those things together?

CHARLIE DENT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASPEN INSTITUTE CONGRESSIONAL PROGRAMS: Well, the country's clearly fractured and politically enormously divided. Trump has a very high floor, a low ceiling and he's obviously very distracted from his campaign activities.

He's spending time in the courtroom and can't paying. Their fundraising has been fairly anemic up to this point. And what's happening out across the swing states anyway, there's just not enough of a campaign infrastructure from the GOP. So they have a lot of catching up to do.

So Trump is going to use what time he has, little time he has to campaign to raise money. But I still think he's dealing with some real serious issues. In fact, I know he's trying to find a vice- presidential candidate also a sideshow because at the end of the day this selection is going to be about Donald Trump, not his VP selection.

But if you ask me, I think to Trump campaign is really struggling right now. That said he's in a tight race and he still might get a shot at winning.

And Karen, Trump's going to be courting these wealthy donors trying to catch up to Biden's campaign. It's really -- it's a growing war chest that they have. What does money mean in this presidential election?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Money means airtime. It means ground game. It means, you know, organizers. It means phone calls. It means all the things that you need to do to win a campaign.

Although in the case in New York in Donald Trump's case, apparently it also means potentially hiding information from voters.

But more importantly, again it means all of the things one does in a campaign to communicate with voters, to get your message out, to register voters to remind them to get to the polls. And the advantage that Democrats and President Biden has had is quite

substantial because remember, we have learned in ongoing finance reports that the former president is having to use resources for his legal bills, not necessarily for, again for the RNC to open field offices and those sorts of things.

So I think, you know, he's going to have a lot of work to do to continue to try to keep up as best he can, while also paying those legal costs, while also trying to build infrastructure in the states.

DEAN: Yes. And Charlie, there are so many issues that are going to drive the turnout and the election results in the fall. It was interesting to hear Alayna's reporting that the Trump campaign was laying out to these donors, not only that they want to try to compete in places like Virginia or Minnesota but also that they feel like they can really go after some of these demographics that have supported or were part of the Biden coalition in 2020, Hispanic voters, black voters.

Do you think that is a potential strategy for them that they could work?

DENT: Well, I think there are really a limited number of swing states -- six or seven, we know which states those are, you know.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say they can maybe put Minnesota and Virginia in play. That's tough, but I think it is fair to say that the Trump campaign can, you know, certainly cut into the democratic advantage with Hispanic and African-American voters.

Especially with Hispanic voters, it's clear that the Republicans are doing a much better job reaching out to them, their share of the Hispanic vote is growing even among the African-American vote.

And again, I'm not going to suggest that Donald Trump is getting (ph) African-American vote, of course not. But it's a matter of the margins. If he can cut those margins down substantially that will have an enormously beneficial impact to his campaign.

But he also has to worry about the flip side of that. Trump has also continued to erode support among college-educated voters, particularly college-educated, suburban women. So on one hand, he's trying to grow the base among some Hispanic and African-American voters, but at the same time he's losing -- he continues to erode support from many white college-educated voters.

[17:09:51]

DEAN: And Karen to you, it's almost the flip, right? Because President Biden continues to do pretty well with college-educated voters. It's -- we are seeing the softening in the polling in some of these other groups that Charlie was just talking about that I asked him about.

Black voters, Hispanic voters, voters that helped make up young voters. The coalition that elected him in 2020. How do Democrats get them back into the fold if they're waffling. FINNEY: Yes. It's such an important point because one thing I want our viewers to understand is that when we talk about these numbers, for the former president, he just needs about 2 percent more of the African-American vote than what he got previously. And maybe 2 to 3 or 4 percent more with the Latino vote.

Whereas President Biden has to recreate the coalition from 2020 and get more. And that's part of why our challenge is much steeper.

Look, I think what we're doing and what they're doing is the right thing which is getting out on the road and talking to people. And the other thing that I think the president started to do that people appreciate is showing up in unexpected places. A bike shop, a coffee shop, and just talking to folks who happened to be there not just in big events where he's talking about both his record and the future. Those things are critically important.

And obviously, the vice president is really the secret weapon of this campaign because she has been on the road very consistently.

Yes, talking about reproductive freedom, but also speaking to the pain that people are feeling about issues like gun safety and school shootings and some of the other issues that are affecting communities.

So talking about the future not just the past, that's going to be a really important contrast because you've got Trump continuously talking about the 2020 election and grievance versus the future.

DEAN: Yes. And Charlie, I want to -- I want to talk a little bit about abortion with you as well. Let's listen to a clip from Vice President Harris.

As Karen said, she has been kind of the key mouthpiece on this. She has been out there delivering the Biden campaign's message. The Biden- Harris campaign's message. Let's listen to what she said. She really linked it all back to Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: More than 20 states have abortion bans, more than 20 Trump abortion bans. If Donald Trump gets the chance he will sign a national abortion ban.

Here's what a second Trump term looks like. More bans, more suffering, less freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And Charlie, also in this "time Magazine" article, he said -- that was released this week -- he said it should be up to the states to decide whether to prosecute women who've had an abortion and left the door open to states monitoring women's pregnancies to identify those who may have had the procedure in these states where its banned.

This is obviously a real weak place for Republicans and they have, they have lost some, they have lost on this issue over and over again as we have seen in the last couple of years since Roe v Wade was overturned.

Do you think Trump is doing an effective job at trying to regain control of this issue or get on a winning side of this issue.

DENT: No, neither Republicans nor Donald Trump are really doing a very good job talking about women's reproductive health and abortion rights.

This issue is probably the greatest vulnerability Republicans have in the upcoming election. It's a greater vulnerability than January 6 or democracy, or pick your issue. This is the issue.

Now, I've been saying this for some time. I was the last member of the House Republican Conference who supported abortion rights. And I got to tell you, there are consequences to the actions that they have taken.

The GOP on the one hand, is trying to say this is a state issue now that Roe v. Wade was overturned. On the other hand, there are some offering federal bans. Now you have these states going on with passing these very draconian measures. And Republican candidates in those states are being -- for federal office, are being asked their position on those bills.

Donald Trump's going to be asked about Florida and the six-week ban, which he needs to respond to.

So bottom line is, Republicans don't know how to message this. They -- it's really not a very coherent message. Is it a state issue or is it a federal issue? And the answer is very muddled from the GOP and they know they are bleeding support on this issue and they better come up with an answer.

I think their answer is they need the moderate their position. That would probably help them quite a bit, but they don't seem prepared to do that at this point.

DEAN: And Karen, I just want to ask you, as we're watching these pro- Palestinian protests across the country and all of that unfolding, the president has now come out and called and been very -- he's been very firm on calling out anti-Semitism and all of this, saying there is a right to protest but there's not a right to disrupt or be obviously anti-Semitic. He's going to address antisemitism during the annual Holocaust memorial ceremony at the Capitol on Tuesday.

[17:14:48]

DEAN: And I'm curious what you think the right messages is at this moment as these protests continue and we even saw them today disrupting commencement addresses.

FINNEY: You know, I think the president can build on the message that he shared the other day because he also said Islamophobia is not acceptable and that racism and hate speech and violence are not acceptable. And when we think about Holocaust Remembrance Day is an opportunity to

remind us what happens when that kind of violent hate goes unchecked and gets completely out of control. It gives an opportunity to remind us -- remind Americans about what is happening in the Middle East and what the end goal really is in terms of peace and a two-state solution and getting the hostages back.

But also a broader message that brings the tone and the temperatures down and reminds each of us that again, when he talks about the soul of our nation and who we are as Americans and the idea that we should always be striving towards peace and the ability to have conversations.

Maybe they're tough conversations we will just end up disagreeing. But that's part of the American tradition. That's part of what a strong democracy is really all about.

DEAN: and were just watching video from today, from Charlottesville, at the University of Virginia as well as this continues -- all of this continues across the country.

Charlie Dent and Karen Finney, our thanks to both of you.

DENT: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead evacuations are underway in Texas after days of intense rain and catastrophic flooding there. Some officials in the Houston area are calling conditions worse than Hurricane Harvey.

And there are more storms on the way. We're tracking it. That's ahead.

[17:16:30]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: New tonight in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Right now, negotiators are in Cairo for talks on a possible ceasefire and hostage deal, but U.S. and Israeli official say any potential agreement could lead to even more negotiations over logistics.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is here with me now. Kevin, there is a sense of urgency around -- there always is when they're meeting. But really, you feel it, especially from the American side to get a good deal here.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: And I think the biggest tell is the CIA director Bill Burns. He is in Cairo so right now, as part of these discussions and I think that tells you that at least on the U.S. side, they really do view this at a critical juncture. The Hamas delegation arrived there today as well. They said that they arrived with a positive spirit.

So you do get a sense that things are developing and developing pretty quickly. Of course it is now, just past midnight in Cairo. So you can assume that these talks will continue through the weekend. And what the real sticking point at this point seems to be is whether

this proposal on the table will lead to an eventual end to this war that has been a bottom line for Hamas throughout all of this.

But Israel has said that it still will continue to need to go after Hamas in Gaza as part of this deal. So that seems to be sort of the knot that they're trying to untie in Cairo at this hour.

Now we did hear just last night from the American secretary of state, Antony Blinken, talking about these negotiations.

Listen to a little bit of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: we await to see whether in effect they can take yes for an answer on the ceasefire and release of hostages.

And the reality in this moment is the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, we did hear from American and Israeli officials just today that even if Hamas signs off on this framework deal, that's not necessarily the end of the road. Theres some finer points that they will still have to iron out before the hostages start coming out of Gaza.

And I think that the real fear among American officials at this point is that if this deal all falls apart, if it collapses, that Israel will begin this ground invasion of Rafah. That's the city in southern Gaza where more than a million Palestinian since have been sheltering.

The U.S. has said that they need to see a credible plan to protect those civilians. They haven't seen that yet from Israel. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been insistent that he will go into Rafah with or without a deal.

So that is sort of hanging over all of this. But certainly President Biden is very eager to see this deal. They really do believe that if a ceasefire can be agreed upon it will lower the temperature in the United States and certainly create the diplomatic space for something larger.

DEAN: Yes. All right. We will wait and see as these talks continue. And you do make an interesting note that the CIA director is there. I remember, one of our experts, Aaron David Miller saying last weekend, that's what he was watching for. That if Bill Burns showed up, that the things were progressing so we will keep an eye on it.

All right. Kevin, thanks so much.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will carry out an offensive against Hamas in Rafah with or without a deal hell on a ceasefire and hostages as Kevin was just saying.

Israeli airstrikes have been targeting the southern city in Gaza for weeks where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians are crowded into tents and temporary shelters.

CNN's Paula Hancocks reports on the reality of life inside Rafah today. First though we do want to warn you that some of the images in this report will be disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A grandmother kisses her young grandchildren. Their small bodies shared just one body bag. Four-year- old Kareem and his two-year-old sister, Mona, were killed on Tuesday by an Israeli airstrike.

[17:24:54]

HANCOCKS: Their aunt says "they are innocent. The babies went to bed last night and never woke up. Our hearts are broken forever."

The doctors tried to save Mona, but could not. The children's parents were seriously injured in the same strike.

But Rafah was not home for these children. The grandmother says the family were displaced multiple times by the Israeli military, ending up in a tent on the southern border alongside hundreds of thousands of others who have nowhere else to go.

Speaking of the Israeli military, she says, "This is all they want. This is their goal."

The IDF referred to a previous statement when asked about this strike, saying they are operating to dismantle Hamas, adding quote, "Remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks."

but despite months of threatening a major ground offensive in Rafah, the military has not told civilians to evacuate. For many here, there is no other option.

At the start of this week in Rafah, 22 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike including at least one infant and a toddler. A one- year-old killed is carried in their uncle's arms. He says, this is who they are targeting. This is the safe Rafah they talk about.

It is the area the Israeli military has pushed civilians towards for months, an area well over 1 million Palestinians are barely surviving in. Food, Water, shelter are scarce, disease is rising.

But amid such misery some adults are trying to remind children of their previous life just seven months ago, where they could play and learn safely.

This volunteer teacher says the children's mental state is distressed. They have no stability. They're distracted and they lose focus. So we work twice as hard to try and grab their attention and help them learn.

Ahmed says he's happy he can play and study here. He says we lost our schools. We lost everything.

A tent school, may not seem much but even this pretense of normality for these children will be lost if they're forced to move yet again.

Paula Hancocks, CNN -- Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Thank you.

Still ahead tonight, more protests at colleges and universities across the country where we're seeing clashes between police and demonstrators.

That's next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:31:47]

DEAN: Happening now, there's a heavy police presence at the University of Virginia after a pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus was declared an unlawful assembly. The university now urging people to avoid that area.

Also today, protests briefly interrupting the commencement ceremony at the University of Michigan.

Campuses all across the country have seen unrest over the past several weeks with protesters calling for an end to the war in Gaza and for schools to divest from Israeli-linked entities.

And so far, police have arrested more than 2,100 people on 40 university campuses across the country.

CNN's Rafael Romo is live in Tallahassee at Florida State University.

Rafael, they were really preparing and taking some precautions for their commencements today. Tell us more about that.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica, as far as I can see, there are no precautions that are very visible. We did see some police around campus here, but no more than what you would expect for an event of this magnitude.

Right now, the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, where we are, is empty. But it will fill up again in less than two hours for what will be the sixth commencement ceremony to be held here between Friday and Saturday.

A college official told me earlier that nearly 34,000 tickets had been issued to students for their families and loved ones. This is one of six ceremonies that were scheduled to be held here at

FSU between Friday and Saturday. According to the University, FSU is awarding degrees to more than 7,800 graduates.

There were tense moments here on campus when five protesters were arrested during a demonstration, but that happened on Tuesday. Two of them are current students, according to the school. They were banned from campus for one year. And it's still an open question whether they will be able to graduate.

FSU said in a statement that the arrests occurred, "After the individuals ignored multiple requests and warnings to comply with a lawful order."

FSU also said that the university rules and regulations had been explained repeatedly over several days. And the group had been compliant until the arrests happened.

It was also a tense week at the University of Florida in Gainesville, about two hours from here, where nine pro-Palestine protesters were arrested Monday evening on campus.

The protesters are demanding that the University of Florida publicly denounce what they call violence and discrimination against pro- Palestinian students, as well as a call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

On the other hand, Jessica, we also spoke with graduating Jewish students who told us some of the protesters seem unable to understand how hurtful and offensive some of the things that protesters are chanting can be.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOE MOTTIOWITZ, U.F. GRADUATING JEWISH STUDENT: People don't understand the meaning of words that they're saying. I think that's the whole issue with this movement is people are seeing that it's a trend and saying from "the river to the sea" and not realizing that's completely anti-Semitic and calling for the genocide of Jews.

So, you know, you have this argument that it's genocide on one side, but really when you're chanting these things to Jews, it means the same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Again, so far, the ceremonies here at FSU had been a very orderly and calm, Officials are hoping it'll stay that way for the rest of the month because the college of law will award 312 degrees on Sunday.

[17:35:08]

And then, in exactly two weeks, on May 18th, the College of Medicine will award an additional 110 degrees. Jessica, back to you.

DEAN: All right, Rafael Romo, for us they're in Tallahassee, Florida, thanks so much.

At least a dozen rivers in southeast Texas have hit the major flood stage. And more heavy rain is now on the way. Take a look at the aerial view of Livingston, Texas, where floodwaters have overwhelmed that area.

And you see how the pounding rain has just swept away, moving trucks. It's submerged homes there. This is about 75 miles northeast of Houston.

Rosa Flores joining us now from Harris County, Texas.

And, Rosa, people in the flood-ravaged communities, they're bracing for more rain. And I know you've talked to other people there that are afraid to leave their homes even though more rain is probably coming.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Jessica, I just talked to a mom who was devastated because her son is in the flooded zone and he refuses to leave.

He has packed. And she says this is the third time that I've come out here just to see if the water is receding so that she can go see her son.

But let me set the scene for you. She was describing that this road keeps going into a neighborhood they call the River Bottoms.

And she says that this low-lying area actually goes up, further down, and that's where the home where this woman's son lives. And there are more people there who has refused to evacuate.

Now, if you take a look around here, you'll see the water levels are very high. You can see the water level on that chain-link fence and also on the trees.

A lot of first responders out here have been to this area. Neighbors have told us that some of the people in the River Bottom have evacuated, but others just refuse to leave.

We interviewed the woman from this mobile home. Her name is Stacy Smith. You can see that she still has had access to get in and out of her mobile home. But she has taken out all of her stuff.

And she's one of those individuals who is trying to convince about eight to 15 people who are back here that have not evacuated. But she said that they're her friends.

And she was very emotional, telling us that she's still trying to get boats to save them. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STACY SMITH, HELPED FLOOD VICTIMS: The ones that didn't want to come right now, were going to go back and get with a personal boat. And we're going to go get everybody. We're not leaving nobody behind because they're like our family. They're like family down there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, here's one of the things that's giving people hope. You see this debris line? And there's an individual who's trying to drive. But you see that debris line there. The water has actually receded.

You can see that there's a second debris line over here. And then the water starts. This is giving people hope because it is actually showing that the water has receded.

Now I talked to some of the neighbors who say that during Hurricane Harvey, the water was probably about this high in this location. So that gives you a sense of just how much more devastating it was and how much more water there was in this area during Hurricane Harvey compared to now.

Now of course, one of the things that officials and first responders have been saying here is that they do not want people to drive through roads that have been swallowed by water.

Now, this is an area that you see, oh, my god, and I had not seen that this woman started walking.

This is a woman that I spoke to a while ago, Jessica. She was the one who told me that, overnight, she was actually in the hospital. And that she drove here this morning and found that this area was completely flooded.

And she had been telling me that she was debating whether to actually walk to her home or not. And she told me that the reason why she wanted to walk to her home was because her medication is in her house.

And so, Jessica, these are some of the risks that individuals are taking. You could see her, her and another man. I'm not sure who the man is. But she is trying to get her medication. That's what she told me moments ago.

And we know, from talking to first responders, that this is what they say people should not be doing right now because they just don't know the dangers, they don't know how deep the water is.

There are snakes and reptiles and other things that are dangerous. There could be chemicals in this water that could make this woman very sick. And yet, we're seeing her take this risk at the moment.

Jessica, back to you.

DEAN: Yes, it can be very scary because, as you can see, Rosa, you can't see what's underneath that water. it's not clear at all. So hopefully, she will make it there safely.

Thank you so much for all that reporting. Rosa Flores, in Harris County, Texas, for us. We appreciate it.

[17:40:05]

Still ahead tonight, one of former President Trump's, at one time, closest aides, Hope Hicks, breaking down on the stand as she testifies in his criminal hush money trial. What we've learned from her testimony. That's next. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:44:59]

DEAN: Trump's hush money trial wrapped up a second week of testimony Friday with a dramatic appearance from one of his most trusted advisors. Former White House communications director, Hope Hicks, took the stand and was noticeably nervous, even avoiding eye contact with the former president.

CNN correspondent, Kara Scannell, was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hope Hicks, once, one of Trump's closest aides, took the stand Friday. An emotional day of testimony. At one point, even tearing up on day 11 of Trump's criminal trial.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So I'm not allowed to comment on any of that. As you know, I'm under a gag order.

And I was very interested in what took place today.

SCANNELL: Hicks, who was Trump's campaign spokesperson in 2016, and later served as White House communications director, looked visibly uncomfortable before testifying, saying she was really nervous.

Prosecutors quickly brought up the "Access Hollywood" tape, which was released just one month before the 2016 election.

TRUMP: And when you were a star, they let you do it.

SCANNELL: Hicks recalled Trump being upset. She said there was a consensus among campaign leadership that the tape was damaging to the campaign, and it was a crisis.

She said media coverage of the tape was so intense, it literally knocked a category four hurricane out of the news cycle.

Hope said it was all Trump all the time for the next 36 hours. Hicks testified that Trump was involved in the campaign's response.

Prosecutors played his video apology for the jury.

TRUMP: Anyone who knows me, knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it. I was wrong and I apologize.

SCANNELL: Prosecutors tried to show the catastrophic impact the "Access Hollywood" tape had on Trump's campaign, demonstrating the urgency to kill another bombshell story from being released just weeks before the election.

Hicks testified she was sitting on the plane when she learned that the "Wall Street Journal" planned to publish a piece about the "National Enquirer's" catch-and-kill deal involving Trump's alleged affair with an ex-Playboy model, Karen McDougal, and adult star, Stormy Daniels.

Trump denies the affairs.

Hicks said she spoke with Trump, who was concerned about the story, and he instructed her to deny it. She is quoted in "The Journal" saying, "Daniel's affair allegation is absolutely unequivocally untrue."

Hicks said Trump was concerned with how the article would be viewed by his wife, saying, "He wanted me to make sure that the newspapers weren't delivered to his residence that morning."

Prosecutors asked Hicks about Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen's $130,000 payment to Daniels to buy and kill her story of an alleged affair with Trump.

Cohen told the "New York Times" in 2018 that he made the payment from his own pocket.

Hicks said she was skeptical about Cohen's motives, saying, "I didn't know Michael to be an especially charitable person or selfless person."

Hicks described Trump's assessment of the story, saying, "It was Mr. Trump's opinion that it was better to be dealing with it now and that it would have been bad to have that story come out before the election."

As Trump's attorney, Emil Bove, went to take over questioning, Hicks began to cry. After a break, Bove focused on Cohen, trying to show he had no role in the campaign and would act on his own.

Hicks testified Cohen was not supposed to be on the campaign in an official capacity but would try to insert himself at certain moments. She said Cohen often did things that were unauthorized by the campaign and that he sometimes went rogue.

(on camera): A court official tells me that Donald Trump paid the $9,000 fine for violating the gag order.

Hope Hick's testimony completes the second week of witness testimony in this trial. The jury has heard a lot about the catch-and-kill deals at the center of this case. The next phase is the alleged cover up.

Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Kara, thank you.

And still ahead tonight. Republican Congressman Max Miller of Ohio joins us. He's one of only two Jewish Republicans in Congress. We're going to talk to him about the pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, U.S. aid to Israel, and the high-stakes ceasefire talks that are happening right now.

[17:48:58]

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[17:53:41]

DEAN: Australia is under siege from a climate change below the ocean's surface. Warming waters are destroying large portions of the Great Barrier Reef.

While, in recent years, wildfires and floods have destroyed homes and the country's beloved natural habitats.

In this week's episode of "THE WHOLE STORY" with Anderson Cooper, our senior international correspondent, Ivan Watson, reports on the growing crisis down under.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, this was once-in-a-career kind of assignment and a chance to go all the way to Australia to explore this spectacular country. And along the way, I actually did get to cuddle a koala.

WATSON (voice-over): The small team at this wildlife center helps raise some of these orphaned animals by hand.

(CROSSTALK)

WATSON: Including Pearl, who seems pretty fond of humans.

(on camera); This is a little bit like holding a child, but pretty fuzzy. Yes, kid.

And the other part about this is the -- they feel really soft.

(voice-over): There are few things sweeter than cuddling a koala. My teammates couldn't wait for their turn.

But then we learned the real reason Pearl is here.

[17:54:59]

(voice-over): So the real reason that Pearl was at the sanctuary was because she was burned as a young joey in the 2020 Black Summer Fires. These were horrific forest fires across long stretches of Australia.

And on that, particular island where I was, Kangaroo Island, half of the island was burned down. More than half of the koala population was killed. And this one Koala, fortunately, survived.

What I saw in Australia was that this country, this continent, is pretty much on the frontlines of climate change, where scientists, residents are saying that the cycle of fires and floods are getting more unpredictable and more extreme.

On top of that, I got a good look with my team at the Great Barrier Reef, this sprawling Marine habitat that's the size of Italy, where we saw the beginnings of a mass bleaching event that was later confirmed by the Australian government.

Where record high ocean temperatures are quite literally cooking coral and killing it. It's part of a planet-wide phenomenon that's been witnessed over the course of the last year.

So all of these changes that are impacting Australia are not only devastating natural habitats but they're also impacting cities and towns. And even prompting some Australians to consider leaving some of these more vulnerable communities -- Jessica?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right, Ivan Watson, thank you.

An all-new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY" with Anderson cooper. It's one whole hour, one whole story. It airs tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.

We'll be right back.

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