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Trump Nominee For Labor Stats Chief Raises Bipartisan Concerns; Trump Admin Orders Smithsonian Museums To Be Reviewed For "Americanism"; Zelenskyy, European Leaders To Hold Trump Call Ahead Of Putin summit; Trains Carrying Hazardous Material Derail in Rural Texas; Major Flooding In Tennessee Prompts Water Rescue. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 13, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:31:11]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, comments from President Trump's nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics are raising some concerns from Democrats and Republicans about his qualifications. Conservative economist E.J. Antoni has been critical of the agency he's been tapped to lead, going so far as to suggest suspension spending the monthly jobs report.

Ahead of his nomination, Antoni said, quote, there are better ways to collect, process and disseminate data and that only consistent delivery of accurate data in a timely manner will rebuild the trust that has been lost.

Now it appears he may be backing away from that idea. Let's bring in CNN's Clare Duffy to talk more about this, set the stage for us here. Clare, what happens now?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Well, yes, so Antoni raised some real questions yesterday in these comments that were published by Fox News Digital. I'm just going to read to you what he said. He said until it is corrected, the BLS should suspend issuing the monthly jobs report but keep publishing the more accurate, though less timely quarterly data. Major decision makers from Wall Street to D.C. rely on these numbers and a lack of confidence in the data has far reaching consequences.

And of course, the reason that would be so concerning if they did suspend those monthly numbers is right there in his statement. This is data that is relied upon by Wall Street by policymakers. However, Antoni's colleague at the Heritage Foundation, economist Stephen Moore suggested yesterday that he had then backed off of this idea about suspending the monthly numbers.

Let's take a listen to what he told our Danny Freeman yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEPHEN MOORE, ECONOMIST, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: I've talked to you about it and he's not going to do that. We need monthly numbers. Now what he's talking about is we do a quarterly number that's much more accurate than the monthly one. He's saying, well, maybe we -- but he's backed off that we're going to continue to do monthly numbers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DUFFY: Now, it's not clear exactly when they had that conversation. We haven't heard directly from Antoni on this. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did say yesterday that the White House hopes to continue releasing those monthly numbers.

But look, there are many economists who think we do need the most accurate data possible. And there are concerns about the level of respondents to this survey that data is pulled from. However, more data is better than less data. Some data, some data is better than nothing. And businesses rely on these monthly numbers. The monthly numbers come out. It's the best picture of the data that we have at that point. And then we continue to get that data refinement each month as more information comes in.

And so, you know, look, there are a lot of questions I think still about what he will do if he is confirmed in this position. We haven't heard from him directly since these comments were published yesterday. But I think this is something that we'll all be watching really closely to see what happens.

DEAN: Certainly. And you make such an important point, which is so many economists and businesses, drivers of this economy, rely on this information to do their job. Clare Duffy, thank you so much. Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So the Trump administration is now taking on the Smithsonian, ordering a wide ranging review of current and scheduled exhibitions at this iconic institution. They're taking a look at everything it appears, the exhibits themselves, the text on museum walls, what appears on websites and on social media.

It's the latest move by the White House to impose the president's view on American culture and try to purge and go along with his very public disdain of diversity, equity and inclusion. And today the president will be at the Kennedy Center, another institution that he took over, announcing this year's honorees.

Joining us right now is seen as Brian Stelter for more on this. And when you talk about the Smithsonian, I mean, it is the largest collection of museums in the world. There are 20 to 21 properties that make up the Smithsonian. This will have a very big impact. What are you hearing about or seeing about how they'll go about this review?

BRIAN STELTER, CNNCHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, there's an overarching question here for all the viewers watching at home.

[07:35:00]

Do you want Trump, White House political appointees, political aides vetting the tone and the content and the framing of museum exhibits? You know, that is the question on the table here because this White House letter yesterday from a trio of political appointees and aides says that they will undergo a content review and they will take a very close look at eight of the museums.

To begin with, we can put on screen eight of the 21 museums will be examined first. These include the National Museum of African American History and Culture and some of the other very big famous museums along the National Mall in Washington, DC. These White House aides say they will be looking for content that they want it to be, they say, historically accurate, uplifting and inclusive, portraying America's heritage.

They say they're going to look for opportunities to make quote content corrections where necessary, replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying and historically accurate language. Of course, who decides what's historically accurate? Historically, that would be researchers. That would be, you know, folks of the Smithsonian who have been doing this their entire lives.

So whether you believe the White House should have this role or not, it's in the eye of the beholder. Some would look at this and say, yes, what's the big deal? Others would say this sounds like a Stalinist purge. It sounds like something out of history books about regimes trying to control information. And what we do know about the last six or seven months is that Trump and his aides are trying to exert more control over information in all sorts of ways.

But there is an important note here about the Smithsonian storyline. The Smithsonian is not a part of the executive branch. It is not an agency under Trump's direct thumbprint. Courts have held. It's not an agency of the government because it was established by Congress, it's funded by Congress and it has its own board.

So what will the Smithsonian do in this case, Kate? Well, we know the Smithsonian says it's going to work constructively with the White House, but we're going to, I'm very curious to see just how open and helpful the Smithsonian museums are when it comes to being involved in this content review.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And really, at the end of the day, what changes are made? We've seen some -- we've seen some of the, like the DoD, they've had to admit mistakes when they've been purging websites and saying they didn't intend to and have to reinstate things, but having to be called out and caught doing it first. We'll see what comes of this.

Talk to me about the Kennedy center, another institution, iconic institution, the performing arts center that the president has taken over the board basically of what do you know do we know? And the Kennedy Center Honors is a huge thing every year.

STELTER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: What do we know about what's about to happen.

STELTER: Every year it's a giant fundraiser, big television extravaganza. And who is honored is really at the core of this story and of this question. We're going to find out, I think later today who the Kennedy Center honorees are.

If someone asked me to summarize the difference between Trump 1.0 and Trump 2.0, I would say this is a great way to explain the difference. In Trump 1.0, Trump felt rejected by D.C., by D.C. elites and by cultural Hollywood A listers. In 2017, some of the Kennedy Center honorees said they were going to boycott a traditional pre reception at the White House ahead of the event.

So, Trump ended up skipping the Kennedy Center Honors all four years during his first term in office. Now his second term in office, he's the chair of the Kennedy Center. He's installed his friends to run the place.

He says he wants to give it a makeover and try to rehab the building. And he seems to be directly involved in what is going to be on stage. So, he's using this event today to apparently roll out who the honorees will be. According to the Washington Post, there are a few names at least in contention, including musician George Strait, the glam metal icons Kiss, and the English actor Michael Crawford. So those are three names from the Post that might be in contention. We'll find out for sure later today.

But it's a great symbol of how Trump has evolved from his first term in office to his second. He absolutely wants control. And again, this goes back to the idea of information is power and he wants control over the information. In this case, information about our cultural A listers and entertainment world excellence.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it's a good point. How this is a very simple, clear example of the changed from the first administration to this. Brian, thank you so much. Let's see what happens today. Jess.

DEAN: Joining us now, CNN political commentators Karen Phinney and Shermichael Singleton to walk through some of this. Good morning to both of you.

Shermichael, I want to start with you on this White House review of the Smithsonian museums and exhibits to, in their words, ensure alignments with President Trump's directive. They want to again in their words, celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.

Shermichael, American history is messy. I think on our best days, you hope we wake up and do it better the next day. But, but all of that is there for us to learn about. And if you start to mess with that, does it not start to feel a little like 1984?

[07:40:00]

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, I wasn't born in 1984, so I don't know.

DEAN: Well, George Orwell. Yes. Yes, Yes. SINGLETON: I just had to add a little humor to this very serious

conversation. Look, as you pointed out, history is riffed with some abhorrent aspects of it, and then you have a lot of triumphs. Right. And I think the question for the average person is how much of both of those things do you consider in one's personal assessment about where we are today?

Some individuals have long argued this isn't really a new thought process, that, well, we probably shouldn't focus so much on the abhorrent part, but focus more so on the innovations. And then there are others who would argue, well, you can't overlook or minimize the abhorrent aspects because clearly you have to acknowledge them so that we don't repeat them.

I think you're going to probably ultimately find some folks that are going to say, hey, we got to meet ourselves in the middle. We got to have some middle ground on this. And as Kate was just talking about in the previous segment with Brian Stelter, you have seen in the past couple of months where some officials have attempted to make changes to only come around and say, well, wait a minute here, maybe went too far. This was a mistake, this was an error. We need to correct this.

And I ultimately think you'll probably see some combination of that moving forward, if I'm going to be honest with you.

DEAN: Karen, what are your thoughts on this?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I'm with you in the 1984 cultural reference, particularly given that this follows a pattern across what we're seeing Trump do. I mean, we know he's hostile to the ideas around diversity, equity, inclusion, which I would argue represent the best of American values. The idea that, yes, history is messy, but we're constantly trying to get it right and do better.

You know, one of the museums is the National Museum of the American Indian. I remember the going last year to a screening of "Killers of the Flower Moon." Leonardo DiCaprio, big film, important film about a period in our history that most of us never learned about but is so vitally important to understanding what was happening with Native Americans at that part of time in our history.

But look, this follows the pattern. You know, think about this. So we fire the person who gives us the data. He's firing the person he doesn't like. You don't like the jobs numbers? Fire the person. Get me the sycophant who's going to give me the numbers that I like. I don't like the way history is written. I don't like that exhibit that makes me look bad. We're going to change it.

I mean, this is an authoritarian playbook where he's trying to not only control access to information, but the actual information itself. And we're seeing him do this across a number of sectors, not just the museums, not just the. The data that is so vital, as were just talking about. So I think we've seen this before. We're going to see more of it.

I think he's going to do like they've been doing, go into it with a hatchet, not a scalpel, and it's going to be detrimental to the story of this country. And, you know, the last thing I'll say is it is also a sign of a weak man, a weak leader. Why are you afraid of the truth? You know, strong leaders take the truth, find the solutions, or figure out how do you deal with the truth. They don't just change it to suit their fancy.

DEAN: Shermichael, Karen uses the word authoritarian that he's going, in making this argument that he's just changing anything he doesn't want. There is the case that we really haven't seen, at least in recent memory, presidents going into museums and trying to change history. What do you say to that framing of it?

SINGLETON: Sure, I think other presidents in the past, at least conservative, presidents have opted to focus on, again, some of the triumphs that we have seen in American history, whether that's on race or gender or even class, for that matter. And I think that the president is attempting to do that, but perhaps not in the traditional way that other presidents in the past have.

And so again, I would agree with Karen that you certainly don't want to erase history. You can't erase it. The story is what the story is, the good, bad and the ugly. But I would posit this position, how much of the pass do we focus on and how much of the triumphs and where we're headed do we focus on? I would argue it has to be a combination of the two.

But again, there are some others who would say worse, Michael, I get the pass, but I think we got to move on if we're going to get better. And then again, I think there are others who would say, well, yes, we should move on, but you have to learn from the things that we've gone through in order to move on. And so again, I see it as a mixed bag.

DEAN: Karen, I'll give you the last word on that.

FINNEY: But Shermichael, it's a mixed bag. But the point is, sorry, in America the whole idea of America is that it should all be out there and each one of us can decide for ourselves what's the part we're going to focus on. The point is, the information should be available. We shouldn't be afraid of things that might be painful.

[07:45:00]

That was how -- that was why we literally were founded as were trying to escape a mad king.

DEAN: All right, Karen Finney and Shermichael Singleton, thanks so much for being here this morning. Kate.

BOLDUAN: Moments ago, President Trump taking to social media and posting about his meeting. Coming up next hour with E.U. leaders saying that we -- that he will be speaking to European leaders in a short while and they are great people who want to see a deal done.

This could be considered a pregame to the Trump-Putin Alaska summit, a meeting of the minds with European leaders and Ukraine's President Zelenskyy since they won't have a seat at that Alaska summit table. Trump is about to jump on this call and with these allies and these allies as they jump on the call are expected to jump in and remind him of what is at stake here when it comes to Ukraine's survival and long term security.

The last word any of those leaders will be having really before Trump heads to Alaska for his sit down with Putin. This morning, Zelenskyy issued a plea and a warning saying this pressure must be exerted on Russia for the sake of a fair peace.

With me now is CNN political and global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh, who most recently is deputy press secretary at the Pentagon. Sabrina, it's an impressive group that is coming together for this pregame with Trump. When you look at, I mean, we know that it was kind of spearheaded by the German chancellor. They -- and what they need to get to the president is not just what they think of Putin, but what they think Putin is going to try to give to the president in this meeting. I mean, it's important to all of them the result of the Alaska summit.

What do you think Zelenskyy and European leaders will be saying or should be doing on this call with Trump?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes, this is a critical meeting that's happening this morning. And I think what's really important for President Zelenskyy and other European leaders on that call is to emphasize that every step of the way that this administration has put up potential peace deals or ceasefires in good faith. The Ukrainians have accepted those deals and accepted those cease fires. Russia has actually been the one walking away from the negotiating table before.

So, I think it's important to remind President Trump that they are serious about peace. European leaders are serious about peace. But how you get to that peace and negotiation at the table, I don't think Ukraine or the European leaders want to see Ukraine's territory negotiated on their behalf and given away to Russia. So it's really important that they make the case that they are serious about peace. But how that peace is negotiated is very important as well.

BOLDUAN: The reporting is that the White House was also trying to avoid the optics of the President hosting the Russian leader at a U.S. military installation for this summit, but also that they hit a snag in planning this on such short notice when they realized that it's peak tourist season in Alaska and the acceptable options were limited.

What do you think of just that one element of this? The President hosting Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Almondorf Richardson in Anchorage.

SINGH: I mean, it really sends a message that we're ending, you know, our diplomatic isolation of President Putin, who started this war of choice in 2022 by hosting him here in the United States at one of our own military installation bases. I think that says an incredible message and really a deep concession to President Putin, which is exactly what he wanted. You know, when Steve Witkoff went to Russia last week and said that

there would be a trilateral meeting, the Russians balked at that and said absolutely not. And they got what they wanted. They that one on one meeting with President Trump on our turf.

So I think that really sends a message to the world that the President, in this so called listening exercise, is really willing to take guidance from President Putin.

But I think what's also important here is President Putin can walk away from the meeting on Friday with nothing and still go back to Russia and continue to wage this war. And they are making gains on those front lines.

President Trump walking away with nothing in hand, you know, will certainly be a big hit to the self-proclaimed best negotiator. So it's very concerning on what's going to be talked about in a room that's going to essentially be a one on one meeting with two leaders and one of which is one of the best intelligence officers this world has ever seen.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it's interesting. Brett McGurk was on yesterday. He did make the case though, walking away with nothing today. And Trump saying that, you know, that he's rejected whatever was offered actually could put him in a better negotiation position. So a failed summit might not be the, you know, the worst outcome in the long run, but you have to see what comes out of this, of course.

The German chancellor, I want to read what he said this weekend. He said we cannot accept that territorial issues between Russia and America are discussed or even decided over the heads of Europeans, over the heads of Ukrainians.

[07:50:02]

He said this in a television interview on Sunday. I assume that the American government sees it the same way. That is why there is this close coordination. And just had me thinking and wondering how much or how little leverage do European leaders have with President Trump as they head into this kind of pregame meeting and then heads off to Alaska.

SINGH: Well, as you said, you know, this is the pregame meeting. And so these European leaders, you know, I think the leverage that they have to offer the president here is that Ukraine's interest and security is an American interest and security.

We do not want to see Article 5 invoked, which would essentially bring America into a longer, prolonged war. And we know that President Putin has greater ambitions beyond Ukraine. So if he did attack a NATO allied country, that would bring U.S. troops into the fight. And I think it's important that European leaders impress that upon the president and really harness the fact that Ukraine is the buffer to America's security and to Europe's largest security on the continent.

BOLDUAN: All right, it's great to see, Sabrina. Thank you so much. Jessica.

DEAN: Still had new details on this 35-car train derailment in Texas. Authorities now treating it as a hazmat situation. Also dangerous flooding, shutting down a highway in Chattanooga, Tennessee. And it's not over. We've got new warnings this morning.

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[07:55:35]

DEAN: Emergency crews in Texas are responding to a hazardous material situation after a train derailment about an hour southwest of Fort Worth. You can see this video showing nearly three dozen cars off the tracks. So far it's not clear what the train cars were hauling, but authorities said that none of the cars were leaking their contents. No evacuations have been ordered. There were no injuries. Investigators are working to determine exactly what caused that.

Also new this morning, an American teenage pilot has been cleared to leave a remote island in Antarctica after being stranded there for weeks. Ethan Guo reached a deal yesterday with a judge in Chile which maintains a territorial claim to that part of the icy continent. Chilean authorities detained him in late June for landing there without permission.

Guo, a 19-year old influencer, was attempting to fly to all seven continents solo raising funds for cancer research. Here's what he said happened after he landed.

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ETHAN GUO, AMERICAN PILOT STRANDED IN ANTARCTICA: Everything was good for like an hour. Then they came up to me and then they just told me to follow them. They didn't say a single word. Then they told me I was under arrest. I asked them what am I under arrest for. It was an international flight plan. It was approved by the Chilean government. I had the official Chilean government stamps. I paid the international fees. I cleared international customs. This was all documented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The agreement requires he donate $30,000 to a children's cancer foundation within 30 days.

In Alaska, the National Weather Service says Juneau is now in a major flood stage due to glacial water surging toward the capital. It is threatening to trigger record flooding for the third August in a row. Peak flooding is expected in about four hours and the sudden outburst started late yesterday morning.

By this afternoon the Mendenhall River could top 16ft putting a thousand homes and businesses at risks -- at risk there. Residents in low lying areas are being asked to evacuate and these floods fueled by climate driven ice melt have become almost annual and become a threat since 2011. Kate. BOLDUAN: It's wild to see though that is for sure. My goodness. Sticking with the weather right now. Breaking overnight, a state of emergency In Hamilton County, Tennessee was declared after flash flooding. And also just into CNN video going to show you here of an officer pulling a woman from a car stranded in that Tennessee flooding on I-24 in Chattanooga.

The city is tied its second wettest day on record with more than 6 inches of rain falling. That's twice what they usually get all month. Others had to be rescued from their homes by boat, seen as meteorologist Allison Chinchar, she's tracking this one for us. They definitely were facing the brunt of it. What are you seeing now?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, so unfortunately there is more rain in the forecast, which is the last thing a lot of these areas need. So we've got some video behind us. Again, you can kind of see same thing, just all of that water piling up. The big concern that we had here for a lot of these areas was the fact that it came in so quickly.

Now we go ahead and we take a look at where these areas are expected to have more rain and you'll see that we've still got a lot of rain on the radar. And yes, across portions of Texas and Tennessee, both states that had terrible flooding in just the last 24 hours.

So again, as we look at some of these areas, you can see it pushing forward. So even through the late morning, the afternoon and the evening hours tonight, there are still expected to be additional chances for rain showers. The greatest risk for flooding today, however, does exist across portions of the Southeast, especially the Tennessee, the Mississippi Valley regions. But it also extends up into the mid-Atlantic and portions of interior New England.

The high point though here, this is going to be across the Appalachians and that does include areas like Chattanooga that could end up seeing some additional floods, flooding. Take a look at this. Again, these roadways just completely covered in water. This is what happens when you get two months worth of rain in just a few short hours. Again, it piles up quite quickly.

Now we're also keeping an eye on the tropics. We still have Tropical Storm Erin floating around here across portions of the central Atlantic making its way westward. Winds are still about 45 miles per hour, but we're going to keep a close eye on what it does over the next several days. Now, a lot of the models are an incredibly good agreement of what it's expected to do for about the next two to three days.

It's not until we get closer to the weekend that we really start to see them begin to spread out just a little bit. We'll still keep a very close eye because things can always change.

[08:00:00]

But certainly something still to keep an eye on, especially maybe if you've got a Caribbean vacation plan in the next couple of days. The storm is also expected to continue to intensify.