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Trump Speaks About Ceasefire Before Leaving for NATO Summit; Trump Says, Israel and Iran Don't Know What the F*** They're Doing; Trump Says, I'm Not Happy With Israel. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired June 24, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Some of you are going with me and I think it's going to be successful.

[07:00:04]

We'll see. I'll let you know.

REPORTER: Are you going to engage the agreement? It's a new dawn Middle East thanks to the agreement you managed to achieve. What are your future plans for the region, for Saudi Arabia, Israel, Gaza, the hostages?

TRUMP: Look, you're asking me about women in the Middle East. It's getting a lot better. Things are happening at a high level. As you know, Saudi Arabia's done a really good job. It's coming out far faster than I thought. So, we're very happy about what's happening with women in the Middle East.

REPORTER: No, I'm talking about a new dawn in the Middle East that you meant to achieve last night.

TRUMP: Yes.

REPORTER: You know, the region is going to a new place, this agreement. Can you tell us what your future plan for Gaza, for the hostage?

TRUMP: It's a new dawn. I appreciate the question. You're very nice. Who are you?

REPORTER: Thank you. I'm Maria Cross (ph) from Israelis, Channel (INAUDIBLE) News.

TRUMP: Well, we have to have Israel calm down because they went on a mission this morning. I got to get Israel to calm down now.

REPORTER: Did you talk Prime Minister Netanyahu last night?

(CROSSTALKS)

REPORTER: You urged both sides not to violate the ceasefire, but reports coming from the region suggest that sides accuse each other for violating the ceasefire. So what did you --

TRUMP: I think they both violated it.

REPORTER: Yes. What did you --

TRUMP: I don't think they, I'm not sure they did it intentionally. They couldn't rein people back. I don't like the fact that Israel went out this morning at all, and I'm going to see if I can stop it. So, as soon as I get away from you, I'm going to see if I can stop it, okay?

(CROSSTALKS)

TRUMP: I think the reason we're here is because those pilots, those B-2 pilots did an unbelievable job. And, you know, the fake news, like CNN in particular, they're trying to -- you know, they're trying to say, well, I agree that it was destroyed, but maybe not that destroyed. You know, what they're doing? They're really hurting great pilots that put their lives in the line. CNN is scum and so is MSDNC. They're all, and frankly, the networks aren't much better. It's all fake news. But they should not have done that. Those pilots hit their targets. Those targets were obliterated and the pilots should be given credit. They're not after the pilots. They're after me. They want to try and demean.

REPORTER: You don't believe that Iran can rebuild its nuclear program?

TRUMP: Iran will never rebuild its nuclear -- from there, absolutely not. That place is under rock. That place is demolished. The B-2 pilots did their job. They did it better than anybody could even imagine. They hit late in the evening. It was dark with no moon, and they hit that target with every one of those things and that place is gone.

But when I see CNN all night long, they're trying to say, well, maybe it wasn't really as demolished as we thought. It was demolished. You take a look at the pinpricks and you see that place is gone. And I will say, I think CNN ought to apologize to the pilots at the B-2s. I think that MSDNC ought to apologize. I think these guys really -- these networks and these cable networks are real losers. You really are. You really ugly (ph)?

REPORTER: Israel says that (INAUDIBLE).

TRUMP: You're gutless losers. I say that the CNN because I watch it. I have no choice. I got to watch that garbage. It's all garbage. It's all fake news. But I think CNN is a gutless group of people. And the people that run it -- nobody even knows it's been sold so many times, but the people that run it ought to be ashamed. MSDNC, a guy named Brian Roberts, he heads it. He's a disgrace. He's a weak, pathetic disgrace.

REPORTER: Israel said that Iran violated the peace agreement, the ceasefire agreement. Do you believe that Iran is still committed?

TRUMP: Yes, I do. They violated, but Israel violated it too. REPORTER: Are you questioning if Israel was committed?

TRUMP: Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped the load of bombs, the likes of which I've never seen before, the biggest load that we've seen. I'm not happy with Israel. You know, when I say, okay, now you have 12 hours, you don't go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them.

So, I'm not happy with them. I'm not happy with Iran either. But I'm really unhappy if Israel's going out this morning because of one rocket that didn't land that was shot, perhaps by mistake that didn't land, I'm not happy about that.

(CROSSTALKS)

TRUMP: You know what, we have -- we basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing. Do you understand that?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You're joining us here, Kate Bolduan, John Berman here picking up with what really is now a very important development of where this entire 48, 72 hours of whiplash and developments, wild developments have now landed, which is new comments from the president of the United States moving past the personal attacks the president has made against CNN's accurate reporting on all of this.

[07:05:09]

The president's saying two things, one, first saying that he does not think that the ceasefire was violated, then asked again by another reporter what his view on it is. He says, I think they both violated it and very clearly not happy with how this is developing this morning.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: but as he's getting on Marine One right now, heading on his way to the NATO summer in Netherlands, the president does not know -- the president of the United States does not know if this ceasefire is still in effect. That's where we are this morning. He thinks both sides have violated it, and you heard him at the end there just words of really, I think, frustration with both Israel and Iran with what's taken place since the president announced this deal.

BOLDUAN: Saying they don't know what they're doing and saying, these guys have got to calm down, it's ridiculous. We're going to be -- we're going to be replaying that we're quite a lot today and waiting for more reaction now from the region.

Let's bring in our team coverage on this. We have CNN's Alayna Treene live for us from the White House, Jeremy Diamond standing by in Israel, Fred Pleitgen also in Tehran for us this morning.

Alayna, first to you. This is some very important perspective coming from President Trump this morning.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's exactly right. And I was just outside on the South Lawn and with the president as he was speaking with us this morning to before he departed on Marine One.

Look, he is very, very frustrated and essentially downright angry. I have to argue, I mean, I've spent a lot of time with President Donald Trump, this is one of the most visibly angry times I have seen him. And it's clear that he's angry with both countries, both Israel and Iran. We asked him does he believe the ceasefire is going to hold after we saw kind of these sharp -- the missile potentially fired from Iran, but then also the sharp language from the Israel foreign minister saying that he wants to retaliate with full force. The president said he does believe and he hopes that it will hold. But then he said as soon as he finished talking with us, he was going to make some calls and try to stop it. That was a direct, quote. He said, I'm going to try to stop it as soon as I finished speaking with you all.

But what he seemed to be very angry with as well is really Israel. I mean, he often tries to use, you know, much more positive, optimistic language, favorable language when it comes to Israel, recognizing that they are one of the United State's strongest allies, but it is clear that he's very unhappy with how they have been acting in light of the news of this ceasefire. He said that perhaps Iran fired a stray missile that maybe it didn't land and he doesn't like that. Israel was saying that they planned to retaliate with full force.

And then he does something -- I mean, he does like to curse. We know this president has done it multiple times, I know, on the campaign trail over the past year or so. But he cursed again and it was his parting language to us. He said, you know, he was asked, do you think Israel wants peace? And he said, these two countries have been fighting for so long together that they, quote, don't know what the F they're doing.

And so, again, he's very frustrated with how this is all unfolding. It's very unclear as of now where this ceasefire stands, if it will be able to hold. But the president made very clear that he's going to be making calls to both countries trying to get a sense of how they can try and figure this out and try to salvage this deal that I know last night he was celebrating along with all of his top advisers here at the White House.

BOLDUAN: Yes, I mean it can't not be overstated how much things have changed yet again in just a matter of hours with regard to this, and as you said, the president says as soon as he moved away from reporters and got on Marine One, he was going to start making calls. So, a lot more to come.

Alayna Treene at the White House, thank you so much, Alayna. Stay close.

BERMAN: And just remember how he got to this place. The president announced the ceasefire had been brokered between Israel and Iran. Then as soon as the announcement was made, as the president said, Israel increased its attacks on Tehran, a lot of attacks overnight, Tehran firing back at Israel, some killed it in Israel, and then after the time the deadline expired, another exchange there.

Let's get to CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Israel. Jeremy, give us the latest from the Israeli perspective.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israelis very much feel like Iran has violated the ceasefire agreements. They say that about three hours after the ceasefire went into effect, we heard, of course, the sirens that were sounding in Northern Israel and an Israeli military official tells us that there were two missiles that were fired there. Both they say were intercepted.

We heard President Trump talking about a single rocket. That he argued was being fired at Northern Israel. But that is where the Israelis are accusing Iran of having violated this agreement and also now vowing to strike back at Iran in response for that ceasefire violation.

[07:05:03]

And that in particular seems to have been what got President Trump so, so upset this morning with those comments where, yes, he was talking about both Israel and Iran violating this ceasefire agreement, in his view. But there's no question that the brunt of his anger there was indeed being directed at the Israeli government, and it very much sounded like he planned to get on the phone to the Israeli prime minister to try and stop Israel from striking back at Iran.

We haven't gotten reports yet that those strikes have taken place, but we have heard from the Israeli defense minister as well as the chief of staff of the Israeli military who both vowed that there would be firm strikes in Iran in response for those missiles that the Israeli officials say were fired at Northern Israel.

But then there's also this issue of what happened in the hours before the ceasefire. Yes, Israel was striking in Tehran very, very hard in the hours after President Trump announced the ceasefire before it actually went into effect, but we also saw a very heavy barrage of more than 20 missiles, ballistic missiles, being fired by the Iranians setting off sirens for about two hours straight, one after the other after the other in all parts of Israel, and, of course, the deadliest impact happening in the southern city of Be'er Sheva very close to our location right now. At least four people were killed in that strike. More than 20 others were injured. Of course, the tragedy of it all, the fact that this happened less than an hour before that ceasefire actually went into effect, the final victims of this conflict, at least here in Israel, were claimed. John, Kate?

BERMAN: All right. Jeremy Diamond for us in Israel as this continues to develop. Thank you, Jeremy.

BOLDUAN: And on that exact, on that exact point, let's get to Fred Pleitgen in Tehran for what is the perspective from there this morning. Fred?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kate. Yes. And after the Israelis made that claim that Iranian missiles were flying towards Israeli territory, actually, I got in touch with a senior Iranian official who flat out denied that the Iranians had fired any missiles toward Israel after the ceasefire went into effect. In fact, they said that the moment that time had come for the ceasefire, that no missiles had been fired from the Iranian side. The Iranians are also now warning the Israelis against hitting Iranian territory, saying that would open up Iranian retaliation once again, and that everything within what they call the occupied territories, of course, meaning all of Israel would then become a target for Iran.

So, some tough language coming out of Tehran here as well. Also, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which, of course, is that elite wing of Iran's military, claiming that there were several violations of its soil, as they put it, by the Israelis, possibly meaning incursion by some sort of aircraft in the hours after the ceasefire went into effect.

What we're seeing right now actually here in Tehran is that things are fairly calm here. I was on the streets a little bit earlier today. There's a lot of people who are out driving, some shops opening up. But what the president said there about the Israelis unloading overnight after the ceasefire deal was announced was definitely something that we saw and we felt here from our vantage point as well. I was up here on this roof and we all of a sudden heard Israeli Air Force planes streak -- what seemed to be Israeli Air Force planes streaking past, and then extremely loud explosions rocking our building, and then rocking also a lot of other places in Central Tehran as well.

We saw a lot of outgoing anti-aircraft gunfire coming from the Iranians. The skies here over the city really were illuminated. That went on for the better part of, I would say, about half an hour, 45 minutes, maybe up to an hour where those loud bangs continued. The Israelis at some point even issued evacuation orders for certain districts here in -- warning when obviously people in those districts most probably would've been asleep.

So, it certainly was a night that saw a lot of kinetic activity. And as of right now, the Iranians are saying that their forces are not firing back. The foreign minister of this country, Abbas Araghchi, came out and said that Iranian forces had fired until the moment that the ceasefire went into effect, which the Iranians considered to be 4:00 A.M. in the morning. And that since then, no projectiles they say have been fired from Iran towards Israeli territory. Guys?

BOLDUAN: Fred, it's so important to have you there. Thank you so much. We're going to be getting you back to Fred Pleitgen as he's watching everything for us from -- in the middle of Iran right now. Alayna Treene is at the White House for us, Jeremy Diamond in Israel.

Air Force one taking off, the president's heading to the Netherlands right now for a NATO summit, you can imagine that this is overshadowing a lot of what is going -- what was supposed to be on the agenda and to be discussed.

But to that point, the president, just before he even spoke to reporters, he also put a new message out on Truth Social reiterating a lot of what he just said that we heard to reporters. He said, Israel, do not drop those bombs, in response to the Israeli officials saying that they were going to respond to Iran.

[07:15:01]

If you do, it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home now.

BERMAN: Again. President Trump on Air Force One right now, taking off for the NATO summit. As he leaves, he was asked again, does he think this ceasefire is over? He says, I don't think so.

Uncertainty as the president takes off. CNN in Tehran, in Israel and Washington. Stay with us. Our special live coverage continues after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: We continue to follow the breaking news right now, President Trump lashing out at both Israel and Iran just now with big uncertainty this morning of whether the hours-old ceasefire agreement is still holding. The president seeming himself not to know, saying just now that these guys have got to calm down, saying it is ridiculous. After Israel accused Iran of violating the ceasefire and promising to fire back, Iran denies that.

Also this morning, a brand new CNN poll just out is giving a real time glimpse really into how Americans view what is going on right now, the conflict there and with 56 percent of Americans saying they do not approve of the strikes that President Trump carried out on Iranian nuclear facilities this weekend.

CNN's David Chalian joining us now with much more on what is inside this poll. This happened in really, in real time this poll was being conducted. David, tell us what is -- take us inside these numbers.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, they were -- this poll was conducted, Kate, after the strikes on Saturday night but obviously before an announcement from President Trump that there was going to be a ceasefire, which, as you're reporting all morning, is not entirely clear if that is a ceasefire that is actually holding at the moment or not.

But the initial assessment from the American people is that people weary of the action and the potential danger it may cause. You noted there 56 percent, a majority, disapprove of the military strikes overall. And as with everything in American politics these days, so much is driven by partisanship and are polarized nature. Look at it broken down by party. 82 percent of Republicans approve of the strikes. Down at the bottom right there, 88 percent of Democrats disapprove of the strikes. But look in the middle, the independents, it is broadly unpopular with the folks in the middle, 60 percent disapprove, 40 percent approve. Again, sort of where you sit politically determined so much about how you think about these major issues that the president is tackling here.

BOLDUAN: And what about -- because this was also asked in the poll -- about the threat going forward now? CHALIAN: Yes. So we asked, is this -- you know, is Iran more or less of a threat after the military action? And you see here, partisanship at play as well. 85 percent of Democrats say Iran is more of a threat now. 60 percent of independents say that. But this -- look at the Republican line there, Kate, this is so interesting. 30 percent of Republicans of the president's own party believe that Iran is more of a threat now due to the military strikes. Only a slim majority of Republicans, 53 percent, say that it is less of a threat.

BOLDUAN: How has this impacted the overall trust level that Americans in this poll have on Trump's handling here?

CHALIAN: Yes, we asked that question, do you trust Donald Trump to make the right decisions as it deals with U.S. force in Iran? 55 percent say no. 45 percent say yes. That kind of tracks with his overall approval rating right now in the country. And, again, broken down by party, 87 percent of Republicans have trust in Donald Trump but only 38 percent of independents trust Donald Trump to make the right decisions in dealing with using force in Iran. 38 percent of independents is not likely where he wants to be.

And I think you saw the president's keen understanding of where the public is right now as they're watching this with his frustration this morning. He is so eager to make sure that this ceasefire holds, that this can be a clean victory for him because he knows he's dealing not only with the split in his party but with a country that is wearily watching to see if indeed this has the potential of growing into some kind of larger conflict.

BOLDUAN: Yes, a keen interest in this ending, this not continuing any further and that.

CHALIAN: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: You absolutely see this in the numbers coming through.

Great to see you, David. Thank you so much for bringing this to us this morning. I really appreciate it.

And we are going to have much more on the breaking news this morning, President Trump very unhappy this morning and making it clear with both Iran and Israel. More on what he said and where this ceasefire stands this morning.

We'll be right back.

BERMAN: All right, just moments ago, a furious President Trump departed the White House. Air Force One just took off for the NATO summit. Before leaving, the president really made clear That he's not sure if the ceasefire between Iran and Israel is still in place. He says, is there still a ceasefire? Has it been violated? He said, I don't think so, but clearly not certain. And he really lit into Israel for amplifying its attacks on Iran overnight and called on Israel not to take action on Iran this morning.

This is more of what he said. And, you know, if you have kids in the room, cover their ears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You know what we have? We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing. Do you understand that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. With me this morning is retired US Army Major Mike Lyons.

He's specifically referring to this ceasefire, which was brokered by Qatar overnight, which even after the deadline passed, Iran apparently launched missiles into Israel here and then Israel has threatened to attack Iran again. What do you think Israel hears in this from the president? What incentive does Israel have to stop now?

MAJ. MIKE LYONS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: A couple of things. I mean, this is shaky from the very beginning, just how it was announced. I mean, we don't even talk to Iran. So, I'm not even sure how this went down as fast as it went down. So, I was skeptical from the beginning. So, it's shaky at best. And I think the message he's sending is to Israel because he wants them to stop at this point. But Israel does not want to stop. Israel knows it's got Iran in a very bad position right now, and the Iranians will say anything and do anything to get Israel to stop.

So, I think his messaging is to Israel to get them to at least pause to see what -- you know, what the situation's going so he looks better that this actual ceasefire happened. And then if Iran violates it, well then all bets are off, then Israel can respond.

BERMAN: And, again, the president has been talking extensively about the damage to Fordow here.

[07:30:03]

You can see the nuclear facility here. This is before it was struck by the B-2 bombers. This is after you can see.