Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump Ratchets Up Pressure on Zelenskyy; Key Putin Aide Shares Trump Post; Trump Says Zelenskyy Should Give Up Crimea; Storm Threatens East Coast; Three GOP-Led States Send in National Guard. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 18, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

DAVE ARMSTRONG, COFFEE FARMER: Hard with tariffs, but they're looking at somewhere around $4 a pound for coffee, and we're in the hundreds of dollars a pound.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You want Ventura County to be the next Napa Valley, but for coffee?

ARMSTRONG: Correct. That's a great way to put it.

JONES: And could California ever produce a product that could be competitive with Brazil, with Colombia, Ethiopia?

ARMSTRONG: I think that our costs of production, our labor, our water, everything else mean that we can never get to that point where we could be a worldwide competitor.

JONES (voice over): For 23 years Jay Ruskey has been challenging the norm of where coffee could be grown by championing California. All of this was his vision.

JAY RUSKEY, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, FRINJ COFFEE: In terms of growing locations, wherever avocados can grow, we have a good chance of growing coffee. And so, there's over 45,000 acres of avocados last I heard in California. But even if we planted all of that, that would just be a drop in the bucket in the whole coffee industry globally.

JONES (voice over): Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Ventura, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news, as we wait for critical meetings at the White House between President Trump and the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. President Trump leaning on Zelenskyy and Ukraine overnight. The new pressure he is putting on the country that has been invaded.

Mandatory evacuation orders in parts of North Carolina from Hurricane Erin. The threat it poses now to the East Coast.

And breaking just a few minutes ago, two officers have been killed, with a third injured, in a shooting in Utah. We're getting new details just in.

Sara is out. I'm John Berman, with Kate Bolduan, and this is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The breaking news this morning, in just a few hours, President Trump will welcome Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and several top European leaders to the White House. The purpose? Try to find a path to ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

And it comes just days after, as we all watch, the president met with the other key party in all of this, Russian President Vladimir Putin. And that red carpet treatment was quite the contrast to the tense reception that Zelenskyy received at the White House the last time he was there back in February.

For Zelenskyy, today's Oval Office visit is a chance for a do over, a redo, a reset, if you will. But he may not like the terms that are being laid out before him as he's about to walk in.

Overnight, President Trump wrote on social media that Zelenskyy could end the war almost immediately, which Putin started, by giving up Ukraine's claim to Crimea and its hopes of joining NATO.

And this is the message from Russia overnight. Moscow launching a new series of attacks, a new series of strikes that hit a residential building, killing at least seven people, including a toddler.

President Zelenskyy posted that this kind of attack is exactly why Ukraine needs security guarantees as part of any deal in order to make sure Putin actually will stop and not relaunch a new war just after.

CNN's Alayna Treene standing by at the White House, where it really is about to get underway, all of this in this series of meetings that will be happening. What's the very latest you're hearing from there?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, look, this is going to be very crucial, Kate, to how this moves forward. And I think one key that is very much clear from the United States side is that the president wants to try to end this war as quickly and swiftly as possible. That's why we've seen him move at great speed to try and organize these types of meetings.

However, what's unclear is whether or not Zelenskyy, but also the seven European leaders who are going to be joining him today, to meet with President Trump, are willing to make the same type of concessions that President Donald Trump is. One of that is, of course, the message we saw the president lay out last night. He essentially said, in order to end the war, Ukraine must be willing to give up Crimea, a territory that Russia, I'd remind you, illegally annexed in 2014, and also agree not to become a member of NATO. Those are among the conditions we know that Vladimir Putin laid out on Friday that he believes are necessary in order to reach a peace deal.

But there is also a bright spot for Ukraine. We did hear yesterday from Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. He was on CNN saying that Russia is willing to accept security guarantees. And we have heard in our reporting, particularly on -- from some European leaders, that the U.S. is far more open to being the ones to provide those security guarantees than they had been in the past.

One thing as well that I think, of course, is worth noting is that we are now hearing the president say that he is not going to be pushing for a ceasefire.

[09:05:05]

This is very different than the rhetoric we had heard in the past, particularly, you know, the president -- I remind you how we got here. The president had given Vladimir Putin a deadline of August 8th to either agree to a ceasefire or face severe economic pain and sanctions. That is now changing. Friday as well we heard the president, when he was heading to Anchorage, Alaska, say that he would be very unhappy if they did not reach a ceasefire. But then just one day later, he said, actually, a mere ceasefire is not what we're looking for. We're going to go straight ahead and try to push for a broader peace deal.

Of course, something that has potentially left some people in Europe and in Ukraine a little nervous because that does give Russia, of course, more time to continue the fighting that we saw them really aggressively ramp up last night.

All to say this is going to be a very, very important meeting as to see whether or not the talks can progress in the way that the Trump administration wants them to. We know a key goal for them is to try and set up a second meeting, this time having it be a trilateral meeting between President Donald Trump, President Vladimir Putin and President Zelenskyy.

And so, we'll see if that's actually something that is achievable today. But again, we're hearing, you know, we did hear from the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, kind of lower expectations, saying they're not on the precipice of a deal. This is all about making progress. So, we'll see what kind of progress actually can be made once these leaders arrive.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Alayna Treene, at the White House for us. Thank you.

John.

BERMAN: All right, so how closely does what we are hearing from the White House now aligned with the Russian view? Let's get right to CNN's Fred Pleitgen outside the Kremlin in Moscow.

Good morning, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

And you can see some pretty dark clouds here gathering over the Kremlin right now, but it seems as though the mood inside the Kremlin probably couldn't be brighter. Alayna was just talking about that social media post on Truth Social

that President Trump put out saying that Ukraine needs to give up aspirations to ever join NATO, and at the same time also give up wanting back Crimea as well.

Well, that's something that one of the main negotiators for the Russians, Kirill Dmitriev, who's also the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, he posted that on his X account, exactly the same thing. So, it seems as though the Russians believe that they're pretty much on the same page as the Trump administration, especially after that summit in Alaska. There's been a lot of positive reviews about that summit here in the Russian media, of course, in Russian politics as well.

It was quite interesting because Vladimir Putin actually took about a day to get back here to Moscow. He didn't get back here until Saturday. He still had some things that he was doing in the far east of Russia. But when he did, he had a meeting with some of his top officials, including the defense minister, including the foreign minister as well, where he laid out that he said that he had spoken to President Trump, that he had given Russia's position in a very calm way, that he respects the fact that the United States want things to calm down on the battlefield, essentially want a ceasefire in the not too distant future, but the Russians, of course, have their line, and they now believe that the Trump administration is pretty much on the same page as them.

If you look at some of the top politicians here in Russia, the former president, Dmitry Medvedev, he came out and he said that, look, for the Russians, everything went better than they probably could have even hoped. The threat of those massive sanctions that Alayna also was just talking about, that off the table, at least for the time being. And the Russians also saying that now they're in a position where they can enter into a negotiations process while at the same time still continuing their combat operations in Ukraine. Of course, what the Russians still call their special military operation.

What we've not yet heard from the Russians, John, is whether or not they'd be willing to agree to a trilateral summit involving Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, involving Vladimir Putin, of course, possibly also involving President Trump as well. We know from Yuri Ushakov, a senior Kremlin aide who spoke on the way back to Moscow from Alaska, saying that that was not specifically raised at the summit. Nevertheless, of course, it's also something that's being talked about here in Moscow as the diplomatic process continues, John.

BERMAN: I've got to say, Fred Pleitgen, it's great to have you there in Moscow. And notably how pleased Kremlin officials seem to be with the path that things are on right now. Thanks so much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: And joining us now for more on this is CNN global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh.

Sabrina, just on the fundamental first basic issue of the -- of a ceasefire now or it doesn't matter now, the dramatic swings in position that we saw and heard from President Trump going into his meeting with Putin, saying a ceasefire was needed in order to get to a peace deal, leaving the meeting saying that's no longer necessary at all. If he now comes out of the meeting today doing, I don't know, a 180 or even something slightly short of that yet again, I mean, what does that mean for Donald Trump and the United States being the peace broker here?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, you continue to see the president flip flop on his positions.

[09:10:04]

I mean he went into the summit on Friday with two objectives to achieve a ceasefire. And if that didn't happen, there would be severe consequences put on Russia. And both of those objectives really fell apart. So, I think today's meeting, if it's now, you know, we need a ceasefire back on the table, we're -- we're accustomed to seeing President Trump flip his positions.

I think what's dangerous here is the United States losing its credibility on the world stage to be able to really broker peace deals and to be taken seriously. At the end of the day, what makes the United States a great and powerful nation is our steadiness and our being able to lead nations all around the world.

And so, that's why the president's words really matter. And when you hear that flip flopping of positions, it makes European leaders, the Ukrainians and others around the world very skeptical about each time they have a conversation with the president.

BOLDUAN: And as we know from our Alayna Treene was just talking about, the main goal -- a main goal today is to get to a place of having a trilateral meeting next. I mean, from just a communications perspective, if they leave this meeting and President Zelenskyy is not on board with, you know, a trilateral meeting and Putin is not on board with the trilateral meeting. I mean, what does Donald Trump do next? If the trilateral meeting is like the most -- is the -- like the -- is the prize that he's trying to achieve short of actually ending the war, I mean, what are the chances you think they actually get there today?

SINGH: I think it's going to be really hard and very difficult. I mean, a trilateral meeting, while I understand that is the White House's objective and ultimately this war will end at the negotiating table in a diplomatic fashion, the reality is, is that both sides are so far apart on what peace looks like. And we don't have a ceasefire in place. And so you're continuing to see these Russian aerial attacks hitting cities overnight, you know, right before the summit took place on Friday. And so, if there's not a trilateral agreement or a meeting set, I don't think that means talks were a complete failure. I think it's a good thing that this administration is engaging with Russians, is engaging with the Ukrainians. But at the end of the day, putting posts out on Truth Social basically blaming, again, Ukraine for the start of the war, it's just not helpful. And saying that Ukraine is ultimately the one that could end this war, that, I mean, that really flies in the face of the aggressor, the invading country, invading its sovereign neighbor and sovereign territory, who's just trying to fight for survival at this point.

So, I -- you know, while I hope there's a trilateral meeting at some point, I don't know that we will get there.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and saying, you know, Ukraine can end this war almost immediately, it is not something that we really -- it's hard to find President Trump ever saying that about Russia, which obviously is the aggressor and could easily end this war immediately.

On the -- on, as you were saying, the messaging going out on social media, the president did just send out another short message on social media saying this, "a big day at the White House. We've never had so many European leaders here at one time. A great honor for America. Let's see what the results will be."

It kind of speaks to there's also this element of the show, and of the stagecraft, that is going to be on display at the White House today around all of this.

SINGH: I think that's exactly right. There's a lot of show. And you'll remember, right before that Alaska summit on Friday, the president also treated -- tweeted or posted on Truth Social, high stakes. This is a high stakes game. But what makes -- you know, diplomacy is very difficult. And it takes steady leadership.

And so, while there are, you know, high stakes with this meeting and the one, of course, that came out of Friday, at the end of the day, what we really want to see here is the president putting pressure on Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table for a ceasefire. That's what needs to happen. And so, I hope the president hears President Zelenskyy, other European leaders and their plea to the president that the pressure really needs to be put on Russia and not Ukraine.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

Sabrina, it's great to see you. Thank you so much,

John.

BERMAN: Hurricane Erin threatening deadly rip currents and high waves for the East Coast and Bermuda. We've got a new update on the storm track just in.

And any minute now, former Attorney General Bill Barr expected to testify before the House Oversight Committee. An investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein case.

And breaking news in Utah, where two police officers were shot and killed in the line of duty. We've got new information coming in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:19:27] BOLDUAN: Next hour on Capitol Hill, former Attorney General Bill Barr is expected to meet with House lawmakers behind closed doors. He's been subpoenaed to provide, the way they say it is, the, quote, the testimony related to horrific crimes perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein. Though it is unclear what new information, if any, Barr can provide the committee to advance their demands for more detail into the Jeffrey Epstein case, Barr is the first of 11 subpoenas issued by the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee for testimony and records. Other major names called to testify include Bill and Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, and attorney general under President Biden, Merrick Garland.

John.

[09:20:09]

BERMAN: All right, this morning, Hurricane Erin threatening deadly rip currents and high waves for the East Coast and Bermuda. The storm is currently a category four hurricane. It is expected to get bigger and stronger. It was stronger over the weekend, triggering flash floods and power outages in Puerto Rico. North Carolina has issued a local state of emergency for Dare County, including a mandatory evacuation order for Hatteras Island.

Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

I guess we have the 8:00 a.m., you update, forecast update. Where do things stand this morning now?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, coming off of a weekend where we had this rapid intensification that was just mind-boggling, it went from a category one to a category four in a matter of 24 hours. Now we've got a ballooning Hurricane Erin. Right now it's a category four. It's about 115 miles to the north northeast of the Turks and Caicos. Thank goodness because, remember, it is that center of the storm where we have the most intense, most destructive winds and some of the largest waves as well.

This storm is expanding. This is significant for our forecast going forward for the East Coast. Let me explain. With an expanding wind field that could double in size, we are going to agitate the western Atlantic and propagate waves towards the eastern seaboard. That means large waves, coastal erosion and rip currents will be a major threat going into this week along the eastern seaboard. This is for today.

Let me advance by tomorrow. Here's the position of the hurricane by this time tomorrow. And look at the high risk of rip currents, especially on those south and east facing shorelines.

Let's talk about how large these waves could get. On the open ocean, some of our computer models are generating 100 foot waves. That's the open ocean. That doesn't mean that that is what will realized along the coastline, but certainly dangerous waves, especially along the outer banks. Fifteen to 20 foot breakers right along the beach. There are homes that could potentially be impacted by that. Coastal beach erosion possible further south as well. This system starts to exit off the East Coast by Friday. Kind of kicks

it between the -- the tailgates there. The field goals, I should say, as this system splits the difference between Bermuda and the East Coast. But again, it is the waves that will be the major concern for our U.S. interests here.

We still have our tropical storm warnings for the Turks and Caicos. Watches for the Bahamas going forward. It will remain a major hurricane for the next several days. And when we talk about this expanding wind field, the potential for this thing to have winds, tropical storm force winds extending over 400 miles from the center means that tropical storm force winds are possible on Wednesday night into Thursday for the outer banks of North Carolina. So, that could be a concern. And if -- this won't make matters worse. We have yet another African wave moving across the Atlantic that could develop later next week.

John.

BERMAN: Yes, the march really begins as we look out at those tracks right there.

I got to say, 20 foot waves in Hatteras Island. You can understand why they have mandatory evacuation orders there.

Derek Van Dam, thank you very much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: There is new video in that appears to show two federal agents in masks on the streets of D.C. and handcuffing a delivery driver before tasing him to the ground. It happened Saturday. Bystanders filmed the incident and called on the officers -- officers to identify themselves.

A DHS official says the agents did identify themselves and also had their badges clearly -- clearly visible. Homeland Security said the person allegedly entered the country illegally, failed to appear in court for various traffic violations, and had active warrants out against him. It's unclear if the man that was apprehended has an attorney.

Here's a statement that DHS put out about it all. "In the face of menacing taunts and harassment, this law enforcement officer conducted himself with dignity and did not violate DHS policy."

Now, add to this, Republican governors of three states now have announced that they are deploying their own National Guard troops to D.C. in a show of support for the president and his takeover.

CNN's Gabe Cohen following all of this -- all of this for us this morning.

What is the latest here?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, Kate, what we're seeing here over the weekend is this clear escalation in the Trump administration's efforts to ramp up law enforcement here in the nation's capital.

So, first, that National Guard effort that you mentioned. We've heard from three Republican governors from Ohio, West Virginia and South Carolina, all saying that they are going to be sending their own troops to Washington to assist the president's efforts. And we now know from an Army official that some of these troops are going to be armed in the days and weeks ahead. That is quite different from what we have seen heading back into last week when really the National Guard was out there for visibility. They had zip ties on them, but no weapons. They were not there to make arrests. They were not there to use force. Just really there to be a law enforcement presence.

[09:25:02]

Then we are also seeing more ramped up efforts from other federal agencies, the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security. That is related, Kate, to the video that you just played. And that is what is creating these very tense moments between local residents here and federal law enforcement. A lot of people in D.C. do not believe that the presence of these federal agencies and these federal officers is warranted, or even that it is legal. There are laws in D.C. requiring officers to be willing to identify themselves, to show their badges. And yet there are concerns, based on the videos that we're seeing circulating all over the area, that that is not happening when it comes to these federal officers.

Over the weekend, we saw D.C.'s mayor, Muriel Bowser, send out a tweet saying, "American soldiers and airmen policing American citizens on American soil is un-American."

And, Kate, that is so relevant and notable here because the mayor has really used toned down language when talking about Trump and the Trump administration in recent weeks, just trying not to antagonize the president. But what we are seeing is, as the Trump administration's actions escalate, so does the rhetoric of D.C.'s mayor. And potentially we could see an escalation in those interactions between local residents and federal law enforcement.

BOLDUAN: Yes, for sure.

Gabe, thank you very much for the update on this.

Still ahead for us, today is a big day in the redistricting fights kind of sweeping the country at this point. Things appear to be winding down in Texas just as the fight is heating up in California.

And attorneys say detainees at a controversial detention center are falling into what they're calling a legal black hole. What could come out of a key hearing today, all having to do with the Alligator Alcatraz.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)