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Trump Issues New Travel Ban on 12 Countries; Trump Orders DOJ to Investigate Biden's Actions, Use of Autopen; Biden's Former Press Secretary Leaves Democratic Party, Becomes Independent; GOP Grapples with Trump's Agenda After Musk Repeatedly Slams Bill. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired June 05, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Karen drops him off about 12:32. 2:30 in the morning, he says no body was at that front lawn. That is pivotal for the defense, that something happened potentially inside the house, they hadn't brought the body out to the front yard until later.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And he was pretty definitive about that. We'll see if that places that element of doubt that a jury needs to find someone not guilty. Jean Casarez, thank you so much for sharing your reporting.

A brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Two breaking stories out of the White House overnight. First, Trump issues a sweeping travel ban in the wake of the Colorado anti-Semitic attack. Citizens from 12 countries on the list, but not the country where the suspect is from.

Separately, Trump going after former President Biden, ordering an investigation over Biden's mental fitness, claiming there was a cover- up.

Plus, Kill Bill. The president's billionaire buddy Elon Musk mercilessly attacking Trump's signature bill, demanding Congress kill it. How Trump is reacting this morning.

And nearly two dozen city buses, look at that, bursting into flames in Philadelphia this morning. What we are learning about what caused those flames.

I'm Sara Sidner with Kate Bolduan and John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, a flurry of activity from the White House. A barrage of major actions in and of themselves, but also notable in the timing, as they come when the president's legislative agenda is under a withering attack from Elon Musk. So the president signed a proclamation banning people from 12 countries in the Middle East, Africa, and the Caribbean from entering the United States, citing what he calls national security threats. This is a new travel ban. A White House official tells CNN that the president made the final

call after the anti-Semitic attack in Colorado. The suspect, an Egyptian national, has been charged with a federal hate crime and attempted murder.

We should note Egypt is not one of the countries on the banned list. Also, this new ban, as we noted, is a sequel to an order the president gave during his first term. Back then, he barred entry from seven Muslim countries.

That set off a major legal battle and ultimately a repeal in 2021 by then-President Biden.

And that brings us to the other major headline. President Trump has now directed the Justice Department to investigate President Biden's actions that he took while he was in the White House, citing Biden's alleged, quote, cognitive decline.

The former president hit back, calling the investigation, quote, ridiculous and false.

Let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene at a very busy all of a sudden White House overnight -- Alayna.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. We did see this flurry of activity from President Donald Trump yesterday, issuing a series of proclamations and memorandums. But I do want to start with that travel ban because it's incredibly significant, John.

It goes further than that travel ban we saw him impose during his first term, which mainly targeted the majority Muslim countries, seven different countries. And, of course, as you mentioned, that got caught up very heavily in the courts before former President Joe Biden ultimately came in and repealed it.

This time we're now seeing restrictions from 12 countries, including Haiti, Iran and Libya and Yemen, among the others across the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean.

But then there's also partial restrictions on people coming in from seven different countries. That includes Cuba and Venezuela. I do want to add that we have now heard a lot of pushback from some of these different countries.

That includes Venezuela, their leadership saying that they believe it's actually dangerous to come to the United States right now, but then also from different NGOs really starting to already begin to prepare potential legal action against the administration.

Notable, though, and you mentioned this as well, the president had been thinking about this, John, for several weeks now. He had been wanting to do this. But I'm told from a White House official that they really sped that process up after that attack in Boulder, Colorado. Of course, the national who led that attack was from Egypt. Egypt not on this list.

BERMAN: Then, of course, there is this new order to investigate President Biden. What's going on there?

TREENE: Yes, this is really -- a lot of this is actually around the former president's use of autopen, essentially a signature, an automated signature that allows a president to be able to sign orders, proclamations, etc., while they're not necessarily in D.C., for example, across the country or even out of the country.

This is something that President Donald Trump has been fixated on for several weeks, if not months now, I've been told, from different White House officials.

[08:05:00]

And really the issue that he believes in, and we're kind of seeing this laid out in this memorandum where he directs his attorney general as well as the White House counsel, to investigate his, you know, quote, unquote, mental decline.

It also urges the Justice Department to look into whether people around him were purposely shielding the public from, quote, Biden's mental and physical health, and quote, unconstitutionally exercising the authorities and responsibilities of the president.

Essentially, this is their way to try to get into whether the staff and the aides who were around the former president were perhaps overstepping their own authority and kind of encroaching on Biden's power.

All to say it's going to be a very messy investigation as it plays out over the next couple of months -- John.

BERMAN: Maybe we will hear from President Trump for the first time in a while out loud, perhaps answering questions later today from the White House. Alayna Treene, on the ground there, thank you very much -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us right now to discuss, CNN political commentator, Republican strategist Brad Todd. And Kendra Barkoff, she was the press secretary for Joe Biden when he was vice president. Thanks, guys, for being here. It's really good to see you in person. I never get the chance.

KENDRA BARKOFF, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY TO THEN-VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I know.

BOLDUAN: Let's talk first about investigating Biden, where they just left off. The Trump administration has acknowledged that President Trump has used the autopen himself. And this also, this investigation being announced also comes after, and we remember that the president pushed or retweeted or shared a post that falsely said that Biden, a conspiracy of Biden being dying in 2020 and being replaced by a robot clone.

I'm actually not kidding. I did not make those words up. Is this, Brad, do you think, a smart use of time and focus for them right now? BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think Democrats bought the ticket on this roller coaster when they decided Joe Biden was not mentally competent enough to run for reelection but let him stay in office. They have a 25th Amendment. If they thought he couldn't handle a debate with Donald Trump, they should have invoked it and had him removed from office back then.

They knew when they left him in that we would then investigate who was running the country while he was incompetent to the last six months.

BOLDUAN: But is it a good use of time and focus? That was then. This is now.

I mean, it's a real like how how worthy is it looking back when you when it is -- there's a lot that President Trump says he wants to accomplish.

TODD: Well, I think the American public needs to know. Part of the function of government is oversight and it's oversight over things that have already happened. I think it's a very legitimate use of time.

BOLDUAN: I was almost surprised, Kendra, that the former president put out a statement on this, like to me, almost giving it -- the investigation credence. And he said, let me be clear, all the decisions I made or decisions on on my own and so on and so forth. What do you do?

BARKOFF: I mean, every single president since George W. Bush, Barack Obama used the autopen. They have a lot of stuff that they have to do on a daily basis. They can't sit there and sign everything themselves. It is very much what they're supposed to be doing.

But at the end of the day, this is just another distraction. This is just another thing that Donald Trump is doing to take away from the realities of what he's not doing, which is lowering prices, which is going after certain universities and colleges in a way that he shouldn't be doing.

I think this is a complete distraction away from what should be happening..

TODD: Kendra's right. People, every president does use the autopen. The question is, did Joe Biden know what the autopen was being used for?

BOLDUAN: Again, there is no -- there literally is no suggestion that he didn't. That's the -- we don't -- I don't I also don't know if the clouds above me could be purple, because right now I'm in a studio. It doesn't mean I want to launch a federal investigation into it.

That's the point.

TODD: Maybe Karine Jean-Pierre will tell us in her new book.

BARKOFF: I think there are much better resources that our Justice Department could be focusing on, frankly, than, you know, this in particular.

BOLDUAN: To say the least. OK. You mentioned Karine Jean-Pierre. It actually this does -- this does actually connect.

So this -- Karine Jean-Pierre is a former press secretary for when -- for Joe Biden when he was president was there for the first two years. I believe I could be short, slightly off in the timing.

She's rolling out a book. And in doing so, she has announced that she is leaving the Democratic Party, is now an independent. The book is we're learning about what she would call a broken Biden White House and what she sees as a betrayal of Joe Biden by the Democratic Party.

Here I'll read the quote from Karine Jean-Pierre in announcing this book.

I determined that the danger we face as a country requires freeing ourselves of boxes. We need to be willing to exercise the ability to think creatively and plan strategically. We need to be clear-eyed and questioning rather than blindly loyal and obedient as we may have been in the past. And freeing ourselves of boxes is truly at the heart and soul of my book, Independent.

You know, Karine Jean-Pierre, you worked -- I mean, you and I have known each other for, I mean, longer than either I would like to probably -- and you work for President Biden for vice president -- when Biden was vice president, very closely in and around the inner circle of this man.

What is your reaction to this?

BARKOFF: I'm having a really tough time with it.

[08:10:00]

To be candid with you, I think that there's something called loyalty and that there's -- you should not go out and kiss and tell and kind of poo poo your colleagues and poo poo your Democratic Party that puts you on this pedestal.

If she was so unhappy with what was going on, she could have very easily left. It seems to me like this is all about her own sort of getting something in return for the years that she put into the White House. And I fundamentally I'm kind of not OK with it, to be candid.

BOLDUAN: And that, you are a very strong. You're a very strong person, strong personality, but you're also not -- you don't speak disparagingly of people and so this is, hearing you say that is a real thing.

BARKOFF: Yes, I believe in and not doing things while you're in the White House. Look, I got called a lot of times to join books, to participate in books. I have chosen not to write my own book for a whole bunch of reasons. And I think that if you choose to do that, if you choose to participate and be the White House press secretary, sure, it's OK to write about your time. I just think there's a difference here.

And it seems like she's trying to do this for her own personal gain.

BOLDUAN: And Brad, look, this is about Biden team infighting. Trump team infighting has, you know, launched a whole bunch of books after the first administration.

TODD: You know, the people who leave an administration, they have one of two kinds of books. They have a really boring book or they have a book that's kiss and tell that they shouldn't write. Those are those two kinds, because the boring books, the cheerleading book and the other kind.

I mean, you make a deal when you walk into a White House. You basically are agreeing to support the agenda of the administration and that should last after you leave. And if you decide you can't do that, then you leave right away.

That's that's the way it works.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you guys. Come in person more often. It's good to see you. Then I can stop you like that.

SIDNER: Don't do it, Kate.

All right, this just popped off this morning in Philadelphia. We watched one bus after another burst into flames, according to our affiliate WPVI. As many as 20 SEPTA buses caught fire. They were all parked at the Midvale Depot, which is SEPTA's largest facility used for both maintenance and storage.

Now, firefighters are still working to put out the blaze. So far, we have not heard of any injuries or what has caused that fire.

All right, this morning, Elon Musk calling on senators to, quote, kill the bill. How the GOP is now responding to Musk's repeated critiques of Trump's so-called Big, Beautiful Bill.

Plus, a fight between two drivers ends in a crash and a shooting. Police say it all started over a simple turn signal.

And a new arrest in connection with the bombing of a Palm Springs fertility clinic. How police say this man helped the bomber plan his attack. Those stories and more ahead.

[08:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: New for you this morning, it's Elon Musk versus President Trump's mega bill. Musk going all out on his kill the bill campaign pushing lawmakers to scrap the president's prize legislation. Now there are new reports the president is growing frustrated by Musk's outbreak.

Now CNN congressional correspondent Lauren Fox has the latest from Capitol Hill. Lauren we're hearing from the behind the scenes the president is frustrated. What are you hearing in person from Republicans there on the Hill?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean the impact right now on Capitol Hill especially from Republican senators who are in the driver's seat of trying to find a path forward on this piece of legislation right now is essentially that Elon Musk is a smart guy. They're appreciative of what he's done on DOGE. But when it comes to legislating, as Senator Kevin Cramer put it yesterday, if he wanted advice on going to the moon he would ask Elon Musk, when it comes to legislating he thinks that lawmakers are the experts here.

I think that that really pretty much sums up how a lot of Republican senators are feeling about Elon Musk's comments in this moment.

Now on the one hand they do embolden some of those conservative senators who have been hemming and hawing about the fact that they don't believe that this bill includes enough spending cuts. People like Ron, people like Rand Paul.

But on the other hand those votes were already going to be really tough for Senator John Thune, the majority leader, to get on board. Meanwhile, there are some conservatives in the House who believe that Musk should have spoken out sooner if this was the position that ultimately he was going to get to.

Speaker Mike Johnson continues to try to downplay Elon Musk's influence here while also saying he's trying to get in touch with him in the next several hours and days to try to have a conversation.

Here he was yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one Big Beautiful Bill. I know that the the E.B. mandate very important to know that is going away because the government should not be subsidizing these things as part of the Green New Deal. And I know that has an effect on his business and I will admit that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: Now the key question is going to be what happens in the Senate in the weeks ahead because despite the fact that Elon Musk is frustrated with this bill it's going to change in the United States Senate. Senate finance members went to the White House yesterday to have a conversation about how they could craft legislation that could get the votes needed to get it out of the Senate and send it back to the House. But that process is really still underway right now.

There's a lot of questions about how exactly John Thune is going to get the votes he needs in the United States Senate with or without Elon Musk support -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, great reporting, thank you. Lauren Fox there on The Hill for us -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: And after spending -- what was it -- $290 million to help President Trump and his allies get elected in 2024. Last month we all remember Elon Musk said that he had done enough and that he now planned to quote, spend a lot less time spending political -- spending politically in the future. Yet he is spending a lot of time right now attacking President Trump's domestic agenda.

[08:20:00]

So Harry Enten decided it was time to take a look at the political influence of Elon Musk. How much influence can he have if he if he wants to continue to be involved?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATE ANALYST: Look, if Elon Musk wants to be involved in politics, he can be a huge player, arguably the biggest player who is not actually an elected official. We'll start with the money, right? I mean, you mentioned it, Kate Bolduan.

Where does Elon Musk rank? He ranks number one in spending last cycle. $291 million.

My God, that's nearly $100 million ahead of number two, Tim Mellon. And, of course, Elon Musk is the richest dude in the world. His net worth is $417 billion, with a B, $417 billion. Nearly $200 million ahead of number two, Mark Zuckerberg.

So the bottom line is this. Elon Musk, if he decides he wants to get in THE ARENA, he can absolutely do so. And if he doesn't like what some of these House members and what some of these Senate members are doing, he can certainly spend a lot of money against them in primaries, and he's certainly shown a willingness to do so in the past.

BOLDUAN: It also seems even more immediately, some of his quote- unquote influence goes much further for him than just the dollars.

ENTEN: Yes, it's not just the dollars. He can reach people. How can he do it?

He can do it on social media. What are we talking about? Social media followers. He's got 220 million social media followers just from X. Oh my God, that's actually more than Donald Trump has across all different platforms at 186 million.

So Elon Musk, his power on social media actually is bigger, bigger than Donald Trump, the President of the United States.

So if Elon Musk wants to reach people, he doesn't just have to do it on television by spending money. He can do it on social media as well because he has 220 million people. And if you look at how many people will retweet essentially him or re-X him, he gets a lot of influence in Republican circles.

BOLDUAN: And also with influence then comes the question of how much do people trust him. So where does that go? ENTEN: Yes, it's one thing if you have a lot of social media followers. It's another thing if you have a lot of money. The question is, can he actually play in Republican circles? Do Republican voters trust him? And the answer to that, Kate Bolduan, is 100 percent yes. Republicans who view Elon Musk favorably, 83 percent, 83 percent.

I looked through a ton of different politicians, people outside of politics. 83 percent of Republicans who view Elon Musk favorably, the only two folks out there who have a favorable rating that high with Republicans is Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.

So if Elon Musk wants to play again in Republican circles, he's got a lot of Republicans who are willing to listen to him. He has a way to reach them on social media and he has a way to reach them on television or through ad spending because he's shown a willingness to do so in the past and he was number one on both of those in terms of net worth and in terms of social media followers as well.

BOLDUAN: That's a great point. Thank you Harry.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: Helps to own a social media platform.

Quote, I know nothing about this project. A new message from Donald Trump Jr. as the president's children try to publicly distance themselves from Trump-branded crypto ventures.

And Hooters, as they say, the restaurant famous for its wings, now suddenly closing dozens of restaurants.

[08:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Citizens from 12 countries will be banned from visiting the United States, and those from seven others will face restrictions. A majority of these countries are in Africa and the Middle East. There are some exceptions for legal permanent residents, some visa holders, and people who serve, the president says, our national interests.

The president says the move is needed to protect against, quote, foreign terrorists and other security threats.

With us now, attorney Shan Wu. Shan, great to see you, counselor.

Just one of three kind of legal things the president announced, a travel ban, new attacks on Harvard, new investigations into President Biden. All overnight, let's go through them rapid fire. How likely is it that this travel ban will stick this time?

SHAN WU, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think it's pretty likely. The last time around in Trump won, there were basically three iterations of it, and it did reach the Supreme Court that time. And they basically gave President Trump and future presidents the raw power to do that, relying on this being really a core power of the president, conducting foreign policy, the chief diplomat, that type of analysis. So I think there'll certainly be challenges here.

They've been careful. I think the administration has been to stay away from the mistakes the first time around, making it sound like it's purely retaliatory or discriminatory. They're invoking the national security issues.

So I think by the time it finally does get back to the Supreme Court, which I think is likely. They're probably going to uphold it.

BERMAN: Does it matter that the president overnight justified it based on the attack in Colorado from an Egyptian national and that Egypt wasn't on the list?

WU: That does not help it. That's an example of some of the loose factual connections. As you just pointed out, that's not even the country on the list.

Also, this whole issue of people overstaying their visas, that's really a United States enforcement issue. It makes very little sense to me, at least, saying that the country's responsible for having a larger percentage of individuals overstaying their visa. That's kind of a pretty weak factual predicate.

But at the end of the day, I think it makes a lot of sense to catch all authority that the court has given them.

BERMAN: In the language they used did seem more careful. The fact that they sort of telegraphed this early on and sounded like they were studying it, per se, also might help their cause.

Let's talk about the new actions against Harvard here, which bans travel, if I'm saying it correctly, to the United States for people who want to attend Harvard University.

You know, it bans the issuing the visas altogether.

[08:30:00]