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Fed Agents, Protesters Clash in Standoff at California Cannabis Farm; Trump Escalates Trade War, Threatens 35 Percent Tariff on Canada; Trump Meets with Officials, First Responders in Texas; Trump Speaks After Surveying Texas Flood Damage. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 11, 2025 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, tensions are rising in Southern California as the Trump administration ramps up its sweeping immigration raids. The latest standoff between protesters and federal officers happening yesterday outside a cannabis farm near Los Angeles. And video shows that at one point during the clashes, a protester appeared to turn and fire a gun at officers. The FBI is now offering a $50,000 reward to help find that person.

Meantime, at any moment now, a federal judge is expected to rule in a lawsuit seeking to halt immigration raids in Los Angeles. Plaintiffs allege the Trump administration is unconstitutionally arresting and detaining people in Southern California based on race without first establishing reasonable suspicion that a person is in the U.S. unlawfully.

Earlier, President Trump's border czar responded to the lawsuit's claim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: People need to understand ICE officers and border patrol, they don't need probable cause to walk up to somebody briefly detained and question them. They just need a totality of the circumstances, right? They just got through the observation, you know, get our typical -- articulable facts based on the location, the occupation, their physical appearance, their actions, like a uniform border patrol agent walks up to them at, for instance, a Home Depot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right let's get right to CNN's Veronica Miracle. In Los Angeles, Veronica, what is the latest there?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we have some new information from the Department of Homeland Security who says that about 200 people were detained during the raids at the marijuana farm. So this was a significant operation.

Of course, we also saw all of those protesters descend on the raids. And there were about 500 protesters there, according to the DHS. We also understand from Customs and Border Patrol, the commissioner there, that about 10 minors were found on the farm. And so this is also evolving into a child labor violations case. That's going to be potentially part of this investigation.

And there were people injured yesterday. The Ventura County Fire Department responded. They took eight people to the hospital. And according to the United Farm Workers, some of those people were critically injured. So a lot unfolding from yesterday's events and the response from city leaders as well as activists and protesters here has been swift.

We just were at a protest that wrapped up here moments ago. Here's what one of the speakers had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELICA SALAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE COALITION FOR HUMANE IMMIGRANT RIGHTS: We want you to recognize us for the human beings we are, for the members of the community that we have always been. You cannot have our labor. You cannot have -- continue to have us serve you, for you to be fed by our hands, for you -- for us to build the buildings that you live in and the homes that you live in, and for you to treat us the way you are treating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: And in terms of city response, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass just signed an executive directive today. She says it's an attempt to bolster support for the immigrant community through various efforts, as well as find legal pathways in order to fight back against the federal government. Of course, there have been several raids throughout this week, and we have heard from people that local officials are not doing enough.

So will this work? That remains to be seen. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Veronica Miracle, keep us posted. Thank you so much.

All right, coming up, a dramatic escalation in President Trump's trade war. He is now threatening to put a 35 percent tariff on one of the United States' largest and most important trading partners.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: President Trump is dialing up the pressure as he once again escalates his trade war. He's now threatening to put a 35 percent tariff on Canada, one of America's biggest trading partners. And the warning comes 10 days before the July 21st deadline for a trade deal that U.S. and Canadian officials have been trying to meet. The president also telling NBC News he may issue a blanket tariff on other countries.

Let's bring in CNN's Matt Egan, who's going to walk us through where things stand. Matt, there's just been a lot happening on this front this week. Where are things as we close out on this Friday afternoon?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, so much happening. It has been a head-spinning week of moves on the trade front from President Trump, who is once again living up to the nickname he gave himself of tariff man.

Now, the latest escalation has to do, of course, with Canada. The president saying that starting August 1st, he's going to put a 35 percent tariff on imports from Canada. Now, the White House said that the expectation right now is that this 35 percent tariff is only going to be applying to goods that are currently tariffed at 25 percent.

[15:40:00]

So that means it would exclude energy, exclude potash and USMCA- compliant goods, although the White House did stress that President Trump has not made a final decision on that front.

Look, there's a lot at stake here. Canada is the number three source of imports into the United States. The U.S. gets everything from aluminum and cars, car parts and lumber from Canada. Also, Canada is the leading source of foreign oil into the United States, and the U.S. currently has a 10 percent tariff on Canadian oil.

Now, the Canadian government, the Prime Minister Mark Carney, he said that their government will do what it takes to defend Canadian workers and businesses. And Canada does have some leverage here because Canada is the biggest buyer of U.S. goods. Last year alone, the U.S. exported almost $350 billion worth of goods to Canada.

Now, the other big news that the president made is on this universal tariff, right, telling NBC News that countries that have not reached a trade framework with the United States and ones that have not received a letter, they could face a 15 to 20 percent tariff starting August 1st. This would be significantly higher than the current rate of about 10 percent.

Now, just to zoom out and think about where we are right now, we're kind of in uncharted territories because according to the budget lab at Yale, the effective tariff rate charged by the United States currently stands at 18 percent, just some context. That is the highest level since 1934, back when FDR was in the White House.

Now, President Trump was asked about what his advice would be to countries that are negotiating with the United States right now on trade. And he basically said everything will work out in the long run and to keep at it.

And I have to say, markets they're largely on board with that. We're not really seeing a lot of panic or fear right now in markets. You see the U.S. stocks are down on the day, but not dramatically so. The S&P 500 is only down about a quarter of a percent, less than that for the Nasdaq. And both the S&P and the Nasdaq closed at record highs just yesterday.

So right now, the message from the market is one of skepticism. Investors don't really buy that these tariffs are actually going to kick in. And Jessica, they think if they do kick in, they likely won't be in place for long. Back to you.

DEAN: Very interesting. All right, Matt Egan, thanks so much.

Still ahead here, Israel and Hamas may be inching closer to a ceasefire deal in Gaza. This is the hard-fought negotiations -- test the relationship between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

[15:45:00]

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DEAN: All right, welcome back. As we are keeping an eye on this emergency operations center there in Kerrville, Texas, we're expecting at any moment President Trump is going to speak there. You see a number of people there with him. He and First Lady Melania Trump touching down there in Texas around one o'clock local time, about two o'clock eastern time.

He's been meeting with first responders. And, Fredricka, this comes one week after these deadly storms killed 121 people, 160 still missing.

WHITFIELD: Yes, the numbers are astounding because that is the current, you know, death toll and a number of people that remain missing. But, of course, a lot of folks in the area are anticipating the numbers to grow. And the state, federal, local authorities have also been coupled with the efforts from volunteers who have come from all over who continue to try and look for anyone who might, you know, remain missing and who potentially could even be a survivor.

No one's giving up hope. We've heard that from the Texas governor. And there you see President Trump and Melania Trump who are entering the room here.

This has kind of been the emergency operations center there in Kerrville. Let's listen in and see who speaks first there alongside the Texas Governor, Greg Abbott.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, this is a tough one. And -- we just we just were making a little tour of the area. It's hard to believe the devastation. Trees that are 100 years old just ripped out of the ground.

I've never seen anything like it. I've seen a lot of bad ones. I've gone to a lot of hurricanes, a lot of tornadoes. I've never seen anything like this. This is a -- this is a bad one. We just visited with incredible families that I mean, look, they've been devastated.

They lost their child or two children. And just hard to believe what -- I've never seen anything like it. A little narrow river that becomes a monster. And that's what happened.

But the first lady and I are here in Texas to express the love and support and the anguish of our entire nation in the aftermath of this really horrific and deadly flood. Nobody has any idea how and why a thing like this could happen.

It's and by the way, I have to tell you, the people here, first responders, the sheriff's office, all of the police, law enforcement, they've done an unbelievable job. In speaking to the parents, they said everybody has been so professional from the governor to the senators all the way down to the local people on the site that really are a little bit used to this. But they've been looking at this for years, but in much smaller doses and a much, much smaller doses.

[15:50:00]

Twelve years ago and then in 1932, they had a real bad one. But that bad one was half of what this was. But I was speaking to some of the great people in the town and they said, no, every year we get a little bit. But it was like a little bit of a flood, right?

You were telling me and it was just a flood. We get used to it. We had people and we took care of it.

And this year, it was -- it was like what's going on, right? So all across the country, Americans hearts are shattered. I had to be here as president. First lady wanted to be here. All the beautiful souls and we're filled with grief and devastation. It is the loss of life.

And unfortunately, they're still looking. They're still looking. There's a lot of missing children, possibly mostly. We don't know. But they're still looking and they'll find everybody. But it's not an easy thing.

You would think it would be easy. It's very tough. I looked at what they're going through, what they have to do.

But dozens and dozens of precious children taken from us with such -- I looked at the pictures of almost all of them and it's terrible. Following a torrential downpour, the worst that anyone's ever seen.

Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in less than 45 minutes. And I've even heard it went well over 30 feet. There's one story that one person said it had to be 60 feet at one moment.

This is like a giant, giant wave in the Pacific Ocean that the best surfers in the world would be afraid to surf. And it unleashed a catastrophic flooding as the most -- most residents were asleep in their beds. A very dark evening.

The waters claimed at least 135, 140 lives. They're getting that count, but the count that they don't have is how many are still missing. A lot of lives, a lot of young angels.

At the Girls Christian Summer Camp, known as Camp Mystic, a legendary camp, a camp that people would want to go to from all over the country. People, parents, they come and they would stay with their children. They'd stay in other cabins just to be with their children, but a legendary place. They were there because they loved God. And as we grieve this unthinkable tragedy, we take comfort in the knowledge that God has welcomed those little beautiful girls into his comforting arms in heaven. We believe that, have to believe that. And we do.

And we lost some wonderful people beyond the little girls. We lost some very brave men and women that tried to save the girls.

As our nation, we mourn for every single life that was swept away in the flood, and we pray for the families that are left behind. It's amazing the incredible spirit from those families. I don't know. I don't even know how they do it.

But moments ago, Melania and I spent a lot of time with them. That's why we're a little late. I think this was a good reason to be late, frankly. And we just gave our warmest condolences.

But you say to yourself, you know, how do you give condolences? How do you do that to a young person that three days ago was here, four days ago was here, and vibrant, and now is no longer here?

The search for the missing continues. The people that are doing it are unbelievable people, that you couldn't get better people than this anywhere.

Kristi, right? But anywhere in the world, you couldn't get better people. And they're doing the job like I don't think anybody else could, frankly.

And I want to thank them. I want to thank all of these great first responders who raced into very grave danger. We have some people that were incredible.

The single Coast Guard rescue crew saved an incredible 169 children at Camp Mystic. 169. And the camp staff was also incredibly courageous.

Are those Coast Guard people around here someplace? Because I hear some incredible, incredible people. And I actually, Scott Ruskin, is he around? Where's Scott?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not here right now, sir. But he will be here later. And I will be --

TRUMP: OK, well, you let him know. And John Dunn, the owner of the Hunt store, was a flood. Where are you? OK, good. We spoke a little while ago. John was telling me some stories about that store. It was just really amazing.

JOHN DUNN, FORMER OWNER HUNT STORE: Yes, Mr. President. First, let me correct. I was owner of the Hunt store from 2013 till April of last year, where I actually sold the store to Haley and B.B. Lehrman, who are excellent operators. And they're on the ground right now in Hunt, leading the effort there, together with the fire department, the churches, the schools, what have you. And they're doing a phenomenal job. My role in it is seller finance the deal.

TRUMP: And you're going to bring it back?

DUNN: I'm absolutely going to bring it back.

TRUMP: And the walls are up? The two walls are up.

DUNN: There's belief out there that it was a total loss. It's not. Gentleman by the name of Larry Graham put up some incredible walls in 1973. And he's a great engineer. And those walls are still standing.

TRUMP: Save the walls.

DUNN: Save the walls.

TRUMP: OK.

DUNN: And the goal is, and I think we can get it done, between Haley, B.B., myself, and some outside help that we're going to be getting, I think we're going to get it reopened very quickly.

TRUMP: Good.

DUNN: I think it's important to get it opened quickly, because once we do, the community can get back to a sense of normalcy. I think it'll be good for the community. I think it'll accelerate the recovery process. There's a lot that has to be done.

But I'm impressed and very pleased with the resources that I think are going to become available through the conversations with Chip Roy, Governor Abbott's office, and others --

TRUMP: Good.

DUNN: -- that we will get it done quickly. Yes, sir.

TRUMP: Thanks, John. Good luck with it. OK. I'm sure you will.

And the search for the missing is continuing, as you know. And today, I especially want to thank all of these incredible people from the Coast Guard. And you'll give my regards, in particular, to some of the people we mentioned. Every American should be inspired by what's taken place during this short period of time.

And I want to thank Governor Abbott. He's an amazing guy. We come very, very close, politically and personally. And we've had a tremendous relationship with Texas.

I guess Texas brought us together. We were together fine, but now we're together a lot more. And I want to thank Cecilia, your great wife, who's been our friend for a long time.

The job you do is really incredible in so many different ways, including with the border and every different way. Admired by everybody -- Secretaries Kristi Noem, Brooke Rollins, Scott Turner, and Administrator Kelly Loeffler. They all wanted to be here.

Some of them hopped on the plane with me. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, you're here among us. And thank you very much.

Our great lieutenant. Governor, I see you sitting there. I don't know if they even have your name down, but when I'm here, your name is down, right?

He's doing a good job. Always did. Always did.

Also, numerous members of Congress, including Chip Roy from the district. This is Chip's district. I had a lot of time last week.

We spent with Chip Roy getting that great, Big, Beautiful Bill passed. And who would have thought -- and he's not easy, but he's good. Where is he? Where's Chip?

Who would have thought this was going to happen? And he called because we had a big ceremony set up.

And he said, you know, we have a little bit of a flood here, and I think it's going to be a little bit -- I'd better stay here. I'd better not come back and go to it. And he wanted to be there. He was a part of it, a big part of it. And then he called again, and he said, this is bad. And then it got really bad, far beyond your worst, wildest imagination, right?

So thank you very much, Chip. I appreciate it. And Brian Babin also is -- I don't know if Brian's here.

But we do have -- and I have to just give some of the names because this is -- it's very unusual. Nathaniel Moran. Dan Crenshaw.

All of these people wanted to be here. Keith Self. Jake Ellzey.

August Pfluger. Greg Goldman. Ronnie Jackson.

Where are you people? Are you here? You're all here?

Where's Ronnie Jackson? Ronnie Jackson. What a -- what a person.

Every one of these people is so incredible. Randy Weber. Pete Sessions.

Tony Gonzalez. Well, we have everybody.

Beth Van Duyne. Hi, Beth. Hi, Beth.

Roger Williams. Brandon Gill. Hi, Roger. Brandon, you're here? Yes. Thanks, Brandon. Doing a good job, Brandon.

Michael Cloud. John Carter. And Wesley Hunt.

And we have others, but I'm not -- we just -- we have to get on with it. But I did want to ask Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. He's been my friend from the beginning.

He's been the chairman of all three of my campaigns. And all I know is we won by record amounts. I guess you were a pretty good chairman, right, Dan? And his son is fantastic, too.

But Attorney General Ken Paxton. Ken's around here somewhere?

Hi, Ken. Hi. And --

END