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Former Memphis Officers Acquitted; Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) is Interviewed about the U.K. Deal; Saving Venice Airs Sunday. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired May 08, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Is going to be remaining in place.

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Yes, great questions, Kate.

You know, as I was hearing Phil's reporting, I was thinking, this is a deal that's a non-deal. You know, there's a -- there's a lot that's happening politically between the U.S. and the U.K. I mean, you know, the two countries have always had what's called the special relationships. A little bit different, a little closer than certainly it has been with the rest of Europe for -- for obvious, historical reasons.

Trump has been, I think, a real master politician in terms of, I would maybe even use the words manipulating. Keir Starmer. who could easily, at this moment, be shifting the U.K. more into a pro-European stance, more into a, hey, you know, is there some backdoor way back into Europe for -- for Britain kind of a conversation, which, you know, many people would like to see. Instead, Trump's saying, we're going to -- we're going to do the first deal with you. This is the special relationship. But what is this deal? I mean, as you're hearing, trade is minuscule. Ten percent still in place. I think 10 percent is the new normal. And I would also add that if 10 percent is the new normal, that in itself is a really big hit economically. If that's going to be the across the board number, which I think it may be, that's going to have a big impact on the markets in just -- even if we do have a deal. I mean that 10 percent, that as a new normal, that's big.

BOLDUAN: Yes, actually, Jeanna, about that, because that is -- that is something to explore, right? If 10 percent's the new floor, whereas it's definitely -- that is, you know, that it will be historic in and of itself if that's kind of where this all heads with U.K. and other nations, what is that going to mean over there?

JEANNA SMIALEK, BRUSSELS BUREAU CHIEF, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Yes. You know, I think it's fascinating to look back, you know, rewind six or seven months. And during the campaign when Trump was campaigning on tariffs, and he was saying 10 percent on everybody else, 60 percent on China, you know, economists were just saying, you know, that's crazy, that's so high, that's such a big deal. And now I think, because we've had such -- this wave of just sort of tariff announcement after tariff announcement, we've all become kind of desensitized to what a big deal that would be and how big of a change it would be.

I think, here in Europe, it would really require them to think a lot about how they rebalance their relationship with the United States. I think that you just don't have the same kind of relationship if you have 10 percent tariffs across the board, and especially if those 10 percent tariffs across the board are part of a broader package that also hits certain sectors. I think a big question here in Europe is, what happens with cars, what happens with pharmaceuticals, because we know that Trump is particularly focused on those two sectors. And I think we don't have a clear understanding of that yet. And so, 10 percent completely rewrites sort of the ground rules, and then the sectoral stuff could do even more to upend the existing relationships.

BOLDUAN: Yes, big questions there. That's really interesting.

Really quick, Rana, U.S. officials, Chinese officials set to meet in Switzerland this weekend to finally start talking trade, despite what's -- whatever's being said about who's talking to whom at any point. They're going to finally start talking this weekend. Who enters the meeting with a stronger footing, if either side, do you think?

FOROOHAR: It's a great question. I mean if you looked at it just in straight up economic terms, you might say that the U.S. has the upper hand. Dollar is the global reserve. The U.S. economy, even though it's taken a hit, is -- is still in a better position than China's is at the moment.

But there's a real politic situation here. China is a country that is used to taking a lot of pain. I mean there are people that have been starving in living memory, you know, through the cultural revolution. This is -- this is also a country that's very nationalistic. And I don't think Xi Jinping is going to, you know, back down. I don't think he's going to be -- be a weak negotiator by any means.

BOLDUAN: Yes. It's great to see you guys. Thank you so much.

That announcement coming, again, 30 minutes from now.

FOROOHAR: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: We'll be listening closely.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Kate.

Three former Memphis police officers acquitted of state charges in the fatal beating of Tyree Nichols. How the city of Memphis is reacting to the verdict this morning. That story and more, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:38:37]

SIDNER: Three former Memphis police officers have been acquitted of state charges in the 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols. The officers, who were also black, were facing second degree murder charges for beating Nichols after he ran during a traffic stop. All of it was caught on camera. He died three days after he was beaten.

CNN's Ryan Young is in Memphis for us.

Ryan, what are you hearing from residents? Obviously, you're hearing also from the Nichols 'family attorney about all this, and the -- and the officers themselves.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's a great question, Sara, for the simple fact that there are so many people in this community who were heartbroken by the video that we all watched back in 2023. People were upset about this verdict. But at the same time, there are people who say, this is all a part of a process and they're glad it played out in front of everyone because when you think about the Memphis Police Department, they've released some 67 minutes of video that showed what happened when Tyre Nichols initially ran from officers.

Now, to give our viewers a warning, we're going to show some of this video at least one time to show you what happened during that initial traffic stop. Tyre Nichols was about 6'2", 6'3", about 140 pounds. And those five officers at some point all could be seen on that video piling on top, some of them trading blows.

He ultimately lost his life, and a lot of us remember the fact that he was calling out for his mother, who was about two blocks away when he died.

[09:40:01]

EMTs who got to the scene even remarked in the court case that they didn't know that he had suffered a beating when they first arrived there.

But for so many in this community, they wanted to see justice. The jury here was actually brought in from Chattanooga. It was an all white jury. They found those officers not guilty. Their families were very upset -- happy about that verdict. And today at 4:00, Sara, from what we're told, Tyre Nichols' family will talk.

But listen to the DA talk about this case and this verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL HAGERMAN, SHELBY COUNTY DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: You know, it's disappointing. It's heartbreaking. You try cases. This is -- it's the business of trying cases though, OK. There's always a risk and there's reward. But we keep on going. We try to get justice. And I think we tried hard in there this week to get justice. I know the family was behind us. And, you know, we didn't get the result we wanted, or they wanted, but they thought about Tyre obviously a lot this week and they're thinking about Tyre now.

STEVE MULROY, SHELBY COUNTRY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It's my hope that the public understands that this is part of the system. And that our office will continue to push for accountability for everybody who violates the law, including, if not especially, those who are sworn to uphold it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: The mayor and the police chief also released a video statement to the public. And talking to community members, they really thought with all the transparency involved in this case the officers would have been guilty on something. And that was what was baffling to so many people.

Of course, we'll be hearing from family members and community members a little later on this afternoon. But there's a larger conversation because the violence still remains pretty high in the city. Crime rates are dropping a little bit, but at the same time they did have a spate of 28 days with 25 murders. So, you understand, gun violence is high in the city. They want to see more police involved with citizens, but at the same time they want to see it done the right way, Sara. And you can understand that.

The scorpion unit that was involved in this, they have been disbanded at this point.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, those officers were fired. They were also convicted on other federal charges in this case as well.

Ryan Young --

YOUNG: And we're waiting for that sentencing as well. Absolutely.

SIDNER: That's right.

Ryan Young, thank you so much for all your reporting on this. I know you were there right after that tape was released there in Memphis. Thank you. Appreciate it.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the breaking news this morning, very shortly, President Trump is expected to give a press conference -- a news conference from the Oval Office to announce what he calls a major trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom. With us now is Congressman Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington.

Congressman, some of the details that we're getting from this plan coming from our reporter Phil Mattingly, who does a terrific job on this, he says this deal would grant relief to the U.K. on steel and auto tariffs, and that the United States would see an easing of digital tax levies in the U.K. that target large U.S. companies and they'd also get a pathway to some other agreements. If that's what's in this deal, how much progress do you think it is?

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): I think it's a good deal with the U.K. We're -- every administration is constantly trying to negotiate various smaller trade deals with countries all across the world. And I'm glad that the Trump administration is doing that. That doesn't change all of the tariffs that were put on, gosh, well

over 100 other countries, and the impact that it's having on our economy. So, this is one small piece of the much larger picture. The impact of President Trump's tariffs is going to be very, very negative in the short term. This one deal, even if it plays out the way it's described, doesn't change that.

BERMAN: But you see it as positive.

SMITH: Absolutely.

BERMAN: What if this is the first of several? What if it's the first of several? What if there's South Korea? What if there's Israel? What if there's India in the next three weeks?

SMITH: Yes, no, I think -- I -- depending on the details, of course, because, as you know, President Trump is given to exaggeration, I guess is a generous way to put it, in terms of what's been -- been accomplished. So, we'll see what those details are.

What we know is the tariffs that are in place against -- against, like I said, a 10 percent tariff on just about every country, the limitations on the tariffs, on aluminum and steel are dramatically impacting our manufacturing. The massive trade war with China is dramatically reducing port activity, certainly in my district, but up and down the West Coast in a way that's going to impact consumers.

So, this is much bigger than one or even, to your point, two or three other trade deals.

BERMAN: We're getting word that -- and reports that as soon as next week, Tuesday, I think, is going to be the day the House Energy and Commerce Committee does its markup on the big Republican tax bill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said that any changes in Medicaid would only affect a very small number of people. That's an exact quote. And he ruled out overhauling federal contributions to state-run Medicaid programs. And he accused Democrats of fear mongering on the issue of Medicaid.

I did note, on your social media feed, you've got several posts, videos, where you say you're concerned about the Republicans cutting Medicaid.

[09:45:08]

SMITH: Yes, absolutely. But -- but overall, please understand what a complete joke the Republican budget reconciliation process is, because what -- what kicked this off? I mean during the Biden administration all you heard from Republicans was how the debt and the deficit were devastating. This was a huge problem. They -- they gave incredibly heartfelt speeches about how terrible the debt and the deficit were going to be. And by goodness, they were going to get after it. And that's -- that's the reason that they're making all of these cuts across government. It's the reason they're proposing the cuts to Medicaid. And they -- their budget is going to dramatically increase the debt by a couple of trillion dollars. And to help pay for all of the tax cuts they're doing for the wealthiest Americans, you know, they're going to hurt Medicaid.

All they're debating now is two things. One, how much they're going to hurt Medicaid, and poor people who receive those benefits, or whether or not they're going to abandon the entire plan to cut anywhere, do the tax cuts anyway, and drive the debt ever higher. I mean there is just nothing that is good policy about the Republican budget reconciliation plan.

BERMAN: You are -- you, of course, are the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee and Vice President J.D. Vance made a statement about why there has not been a deal between Russia and Ukraine.

Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wouldn't say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution. What I would say is, right now the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they're asking for too much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He says, "we think they're asking for too much."

A, how surprised are you that the Russians are asking for too much? B, how surprised are you that Vice President Vance is saying that?

SMIITH: Yes, I'm not surprised at all. And understand, what Trump and Vance did, part of the reason that Putin is asking for too much is Trump and Vance gave President Putin a massive green light from the day they got into office. They did two things. The two things that Putin wants. He wants the U.S. to abandon Ukraine, and he wants NATO divided.

So, what did Trump and Vance do? They sent every signal from that horrible meeting with President Zelenskyy that the U.S. was going to abandon Ukraine. They sent that signal. They cut off aid for about a week. They cut off intel sharing.

And at the same time, Vice President Vance showed up at the Munich Security Conference in February and threatened Europe on a whole range of issues. The signal was clearly sent to Putin that what he wanted most was going to happen. We were going to abandon Ukraine and we were going to divide NATO. So, of course, Putin kept pushing at that point.

What we needed to do then, and what we need to do now, is make it clear, we are going to support Ukraine, the alliance is going to support Ukraine, until Putin stops this war. It is just tragic that it took Vice President Vance and President Trump this long to figure out what was blindingly obvious to any national security foreign policy observer prior to them making that mistake. Are they going to correct it now? I hope. I think they're beginning to

better understand what Putin and Russia stand for. Vice President Vance's comments are -- are -- are helpful, but they've got a long way to go to adequately make -- send a clear message that we're not abandoning Ukraine until Putin stops his war.

BERMAN: Congressman Adam Smith from Washington, appreciate your time this morning.

SMITH: Sorry, we're not -- we're not abandoning Ukraine, period.

So, yes, thank you. Thanks, John.

BERMAN: Understood. Thank you, Congressman. Appreciate it.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, one of Italy's top tourist destinations is sinking, and not just into the water. How overtourism is threatening the future of the iconic Italian city of Venice. A special report coming from our very own Erica Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:53:25]

SIDNER: Venice, a city known for its beautiful canals, gondolas and good food. But now many Venetians say they're fighting to keep the soul of the city because of overtourism. Here is a look at "The Whole Story: Saving Venice."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Foreigners come and they think Venice is sinking. We have to save it. When you hear "save Venice," what does that mean to you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Respect Venice when you come here. Understand where you are. Always, I ask, do you know that we have cinema? We have school? Oh, really? We have a swimming pool. Two swimming pool in town. I can't believe it. Yes. But lots of people doesn't really know how really Venice work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It -- most of the time I argue with tourists and say, OK, do you usually stand in the middle of a street during the rush hour? No. They will kill you. Either a biker or a car. So that here this is a street. This is not a pedestrian way. This is not a nice place to take pictures. And now they are all mad of selfies. And they take selfies on the top of the bridge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pretending nobody passing by.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretending they're (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, they can stop waiting (ph) --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are ruining my pictures. And, no, I'm just going home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: I'm just going home.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

SIDNER: Joining me now is CNN anchor Erica Hill.

It really is interesting the way in which they're talking about this, because I think a lot of people can feel that in their own communities as well.

HILL: They do. I mean overtourism we're seeing is an issue around the world, right?

[09:55:03]

And one of the people who we spoke with at that lunch that you'll see in the hour, his point is like, look, Venice -- Venice is the canary in the coal mine. If we figure out how to maintain tourism because they need it, right?

SIDNER: Right. Right.

HILL: This is the main economic driver in Venice. Venice leaned in hard. They need the tourism. But the problem is they're losing the locals.

So, the jobs don't always pay as well. Housing is an issue. Airbnb is an issue.

SIDNER: Right.

HILL: They want to work with these companies. So, what is the balance to bringing people in, but also the locals still having a place to live that's their city so it doesn't turn into, as some of them have said -- have said to me, it's just going to turn into an amusement park if we don't solve this problem now.

SIDNER: Yes, you want the local fare. Like, the -- the flair of the locals (INAUDIBLE).

HILL: We went to a local fair. It was fantastic.

SIDNER: Erica, you did not take me. I'm mad at you.

HILL: Next trip.

SIDNER: But I love this. I can't wait to see it. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

"Saving Venice," all new episode of "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper" airs Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN.

John. BERMAN: The only thing better than Venice, Erica Hill.

SIDNER: True.

HILL: John Berman. Love you, John Berman.

BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE).

President Trump will announce what he is calling a major trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom. We are standing by for some of the details in that bill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: And --

SIDNER: All right -- you know, we can never -- he said he didn't want to start. Kate and I both started at the same -- whatever.

BOLDUAN: Never. Well, like, obviously.

SIDNER: We have a special guest here. Erica Hill, who we love, because we have a special thing to say to our Wolf Blitzer, who is going to be doing "THE SITUATION ROOM." Oh, there he is.

BOLDUAN: Hey.

BERMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Happy anniversary, Wolf.

HILL: Happy 35th, Wolf.

[10:00:00]

SIDNER: Thirty-five years, Wolf. How do you feel?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I feel great. I get up every day and I look forward to reporting the news. I don't know if you guys know this, but I'm a news junkie. I love the news. We