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White House Says Plan for Putin-Zelenskyy Meeting Underway, Kremlin Won't Commit; Interview with Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA): Ukraine Security Guarantees, Trump Attacks Against Smithsonian Museums; Hurricane Erin Threatens East Coast with Rip Currents, High Surf; Goods Containing Steel and Aluminum Hit with New Tariffs. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired August 20, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: The FBI itself has said in a memo back in July, and other people around this case have said there is no smoking gun quote-unquote client list. There may be evidence in those files that shows us wrongdoing by other people, but I think if anyone's expecting a sort of neat printed out client list, I think they're going to be disappointed.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And again, the minute it is selective, one does have to wonder how were the documents chosen that were handed over, but we'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it on Friday. Elie Honig, always great to see you.

Brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: New comments just this morning from the Russian foreign minister, why he says Russia should be involved in talks of security guarantees to Ukraine, at the same time refusing to commit to even having President Putin meet with the president of Ukraine.

And Russia just launched a new wave of attacks on Ukraine overnight.

Right now, North Carolina is under a state of emergency as Hurricane Erin moves north in the Atlantic. We have a forecast for you. Dangerous rip currents posing a new threat all along the East Coast.

And everything from deodorant to baby strollers and butter knives, some of the items that are about to see a price jump all because of President Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs now setting in.

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BERMAN: And we do have breaking news this morning. New interesting comments from Russia taking aim at the multi-nation talks trying to end the war in Ukraine after Moscow's forces launched new attacks across the country overnight. So Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, who's been saying a lot the last few days, just spoke at a news conference and said that any talks about security guarantees for Ukraine that do not involve Russia are a, quote, path to nowhere. It's important to note there are discussions going on at this moment about security guarantees. So the implication there is that he's criticizing the process post these two meetings, President Trump with Vladimir Putin and then President Trump with the leaders of Ukraine in Europe yesterday.

So Lavrov spoke after Ukraine said that Russia fired more than 60 drones and ballistic missiles. A huge fire broke out at a fuel facility in Odessa. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says a rescue mission is ongoing after five apartment buildings were damaged in the strikes, leaving people trapped.

He added, quote, Together with the United States, Europe and all those who seek peace, we are working every day to guarantee security. We need strong security guarantees to ensure a truly reliable and lasting peace.

Again, that's what Lavrov just seemed to criticize.

Now, despite this continued aggression, the White House has maintained that plans are underway for a bilateral meeting between Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy. But the Kremlin, again, Sergey Lavrov has refused to commit to that.

Let's get right to CNN's Betsy Klein at the White House.

Every day that passes, Russia seems to be throwing up more things that indicate they may not be on the same page as the White House on where this is going.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER AND WRITER: Certainly, and Russia clearly looking to buy time here. But the White House says that there is progress being made toward a potential meeting between Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy in the coming weeks, and that the U.S. is involved in those preparations. And to that end, White House officials tell CNN that there are a number of potential sites being considered for that meeting, including Budapest and Switzerland. Those same sources caution that no final decision has been made.

But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday saying that Putin has indeed promised to hold this meeting in the coming weeks. And President Trump says that he thinks it's better if the two of them meet without him.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I had a very successful meeting with President Putin. I had a very successful meeting with President Zelenskyy, and now I thought it would be better if they met without me. Just to see,

I want to see what goes on. You know, they had a hard relationship, very bad, very bad relationship. And now we'll see how they do.

And if necessary, and it probably would be, but if necessary, I'll go and I'll probably be able to get it closed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: The Kremlin making clear that there is openness to a meeting. But this is far from imminent at this point. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying that any meeting, quote, must be prepared with the utmost care. Making clear that this isn't happening anytime soon.

And the more time this takes, really the better for Russia, giving them the time to shore up control over occupied areas and continue to make gains on the battlefield. And we see that as Russia continues to launch those airstrikes.

[08:05:00]

President Zelenskyy reacting to strikes overnight saying, quote, All of these are demonstrative strikes that only confirm the need to put pressure on Moscow, the need to impose new sanctions and tariffs until diplomacy is fully effective. He goes on to say, We need strong security guarantees to ensure a truly reliable and lasting peace.

The question now, of course, is how long President Trump is willing to wait and what pressure he can ramp up on Russia -- John.

BERMAN: It'd be very interesting to hear what he says next about this. Betsy Klein, thank you very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Joining us now on all of this is Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell of California here with me in the studio. It's good to see you. Thanks for being here.

So just what we were hearing from Sergey Lavrov, essentially saying any discussion of security guarantees, which is critical for Ukraine, any discussion of it that doesn't involve Russian input is a path to nowhere. That means what?

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): That means the bully is telling you, hey, I can protect you. Give me your school money every day. I mean, that that's we're asking the mob, you know, to protect your business. And that's your security.

I mean, Ukraine would never go for that. And they shouldn't go for that.

BOLDUAN: Is that the point?

SWALWELL: Yes. And this is what Putin has been doing. Putin is playing Trump.

And he drags this out and drags this out as he continues to bomb Ukraine and kill innocent children. And it's because he knows Donald Trump is not serious about bearing real pressure down on Russia. He's not going to put secondary sanctions on him. He's not going to

continue to send weapons of consequence to the battlefield in Ukraine. And so Putin can just play this delay, delay, delay game. It makes us look weak and worse. Children in Ukraine suffer.

BOLDUAN: The NATO secretary general did come out of the day of meetings in Washington, saying that they really did have a breakthrough, that the President Trump committed to taking part in aforementioned security guarantees for Ukraine. Do you see that as progress?

SWALWELL: I see it as progress that all of those leaders were at the White House and it wasn't Zelenskyy being bullied by the president and J.D. Vance. That was a good look. I want the president to succeed here. I want to see peace in Ukraine. And I don't think he can do it on his own. I do think he needs European leaders and they have skin in the game as well as far as what they're spending on their own defense and Ukraine's defense.

But at the end of the day, talk is cheap. What is Putin willing to do? And it doesn't look like a week later that we've gotten much out of that stunt in Alaska. It looks like he came to Alaska and was toasted and given the Lifetime Achievement Award by Donald Trump and hasn't delivered on anything of consequence since.

BOLDUAN: I just talked to Brian Stelter about something else that President Trump is very focused on, his latest move and posting on social media going after the Smithsonian Institution and museums. And the way he -- he already has ordered a review of it but now saying that apparently he wants it to go further in a review of all of the content in the museums. What he's suggesting is he says the Smithsonian's out of control but also suggesting that museums are focusing too much on the way he puts it, in part, how bad slavery was.

And he wants to take on the Smithsonian just like he says he has taken on colleges and universities. Do you think that will work here? What do you think he's saying?

SWALWELL: Who is this guy? Is he a publicist for slavery, like a lobbyist on behalf of slavery? It doesn't make any sense that he would want to erase one of the ugliest things that's ever happened in America and educate our children, especially about how we make sure it doesn't happen again.

He's done the same thing with another ugly day in America, January 6th. He's tried to erase that day and take the heroes of that day, the police officers, and make them the villains so that he also erases his own responsibility. This is what he does.

And the question is, will the Smithsonian cave? Colleges have caved. Law firms have caved. Entertainment companies have caved. The lesson that I've taken away from this is if you band together and show strength in numbers, you can stand up to this bully. But if you do these one-off drug deals, it just reduces who we are as a country and gets us one step closer toward authoritarianism. BOLDUAN: But it's also putting people in the position -- I mean, we just had a Republican congressman on who John rightfully asked, like, what is your take on what the president's putting out here and putting Republicans in the position of reminding everyone that they think slavery is bad? I mean, just where the focus then becomes again, I'm not sure what to do with it.

SWALWELL: I'm not sure what to do with Republican congressmen who are not willing to be a check because in an ideal scenario --

BOLDUAN: In his defense, he said slavery is bad. So we'll just put it there.

SWALWELL: Well, good. But he also, you know, can fund the Smithsonian then when we vote on a budget and say, keep the slavery exhibits there. And the president also took the impeachment exhibits out in the section that covers Congress and the executive.

Again, he can rewrite history, but he can't erase what actually happened. And he makes our children less educated when he does that.

BOLDUAN: I asked you about redistricting in California. It's moving full steam ahead in Texas. And in response, things are moving along in California.

[08:10:00]

Republicans have filed a legal challenge in California, but it could very well make it to voters to sign off on if this moves ahead in November. At the very same time, the governor has taken it upon himself to transform his social media kind of as part of this into very specifically spending all of its time mocking Donald Trump. Mocking Donald Trump by mimicking his social media style. I mean, you can just see some of the posts of the memes and the things that have been put out.

I'm seeing a lot of Democrats applauding this approach by Gavin Newsom. But is this all about, more about his presidential aspirations than anything else? And if it is, are you OK with it?

SWALWELL: It's a teaching moment. He's mirroring and reflecting what Donald Trump is doing. So to ask the country, is this who you want as your leader, somebody who debases us and reduces the dialogue?

And yes, I mean, it's silly. It's cheeky. But it also is going on offense.

And it's something Gavin Newsom has done in the cases he's brought on immigration and the redistricting move that he's doing to level the playing field against the crooked way that Texas is trying to fix their maps. It's making Donald Trump react. And I think you can either be on your heels reacting to Donald Trump as he goes after the most vulnerable or you can put him on his.

And there's not many leaders right now, I think, on our side who are stepping up and going on offense. And Gavin Newsom is. BOLDUAN: So interesting. Thanks for coming in. I really appreciate

your time.

SWALWELL: My pleasure, thanks Kate.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning, officials are urging caution along the East Coast as Hurricane Erin brings life-threatening rip currents and dangerous surf. The Category 2 storm is not expected to make landfall, but its tropical storm force winds could still reach the coast.

The real concern, though, is the water. There is potential for 20-foot waves, several feet of storm surge. Already popular beaches up and down the coast have issued no swim advisories.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar tracking the storm. First, though, is Michael Yoshida at Riceville Beach in North Carolina, where there have been rescues already, Michael, from the rip currents. What are you seeing?

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, John. You talk about those rescues. The big concern here, because of the waves we see behind us and the rip currents that you can't see that are in and around those waves this week already from these dangers, we've had around 60 water rescues out in the ocean on Monday, more than a dozen yesterday.

And in talking with Ocean Rescue here in Wrightsville Beach, they talk about how this really is sort of a perfect storm when it comes to the dangers for them, because everyone who lives here, who visits here, they hear about this storm being way off the coast, and they see the sun, they have warm weather, and they want to go in the water, and that's when they're swept up in these rip currents. The Ocean Rescue director told me these are really unprecedented in terms of their strength and also the sheer number of them happening up and down this coastline.

And when they do, they're not impacting just one or two swimmers. They're impacting six, seven, eight at a time, potentially. These rip currents, he says, some are a block or two blocks wide. Now, we do have that no swimming advisory here in Wrightsville Beach, one of the many beaches up and down the East Coast that have instituted those.

But still, this morning, you can see we have some swimmers, some surfers out in the water. Obviously, not what local officials want to see the last few days, especially as they've seen those rescue numbers tick up. They've been trying to get the message out.

Please do not be like those we see right now. Stay out of the water. Of course, many people, as we look further down the beach, following those orders.

But the director of Ocean Rescue is saying it just takes a few to get swept up. And then that puts his rescuers, his lifeguards in danger as well, having to go out and make these rescues. The director told me yesterday that his one plea for everyone this week is, please, just at least for the next few days, don't be like them. Stay out of these waters and try and stay safe until these conditions pass -- John.

BERMAN: Don't be like them. Michael Yoshida, thanks.

Let's get right to CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar for a sense of where the storm is and what folks can expect along the coast.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's right. So right now it is just off the coast of Florida. That's where we're seeing the movement now as it continues to slide up the north, up to the north here behind me.

Again, you can kind of see video from North Carolina, all of those waves kind of crashing on. But these waves are expected to get higher and higher as we go through the next 24 hours. And that's because it's going to come to its closest point to the U.S., likely late tonight and into very early Thursday morning. So here's a look at where the storm is. Again, you can see it's churning.

It's starting to grow in size. It's expected to continue to grow in size. And the reason that's important is the larger it becomes, the wider that wind field is. That means those outer bands can reach places far, far away.

So even though we don't expect Erin to actually make direct landfall in the U.S., those outer bands are likely going to slide over portions of the Carolinas, Virginia, and up the East Coast.

[08:15:00]

Same thing for Bermuda. And this is why both of these areas have tropical storm watches and warnings in effect because these are where we anticipate having some impacts from the storm, despite the fact that it will stay several hundred miles offshore, at least the center of it.

Here's a look as it kind of slides up the East Coast. Again, notice a lot of that green and yellow, meaning some of those outer bands crossing over into land, not just the Carolinas, but up through Virginia, Maryland, even places like New Jersey, Massachusetts, likely going to see some impacts from those outer bands.

Now, the center of the storm itself is going to remain between Bermuda and the U.S., but because of how close it's going to get, it's taking all of that wind and pushing the water onshore.

So that's why you're going to have some of those incredibly high surf. You're going to have the rip currents. You're also going to have potential storm surge for these areas because that wind is just pushing all of that water onshore. The winds also could be 55, 60, even 65 miles per hour.

That's the equivalent of a severe thunderstorm warning. So you're going to get some pretty strong gusts with this system as it continues to slide up and down the East Coast.

BERMAN: Allison Chinchar, thanks to you and Michael Yoshida as well.

With us now, Sam Proffitt, Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue Director. Sam, thanks so much for being with us.

A short time ago, we were speaking to Michael Yoshida, whom I believe you have met. And behind him, in the water on Wrightsville Beach, we saw swimmers and surfers. What goes through your head when you see people in the water this morning?

SAM PROFFITT, WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH OCEAN RESCUE DIRECTOR: I mean, you know, it's really going against our main message here, which is to stay out of the ocean. I mean, ultimately, it is your decision. We'll do all we can to get you out.

But again, if you're going out before the lifeguards get on duty or going out after hours, you know, you're putting your life in your hands when you make those decisions.

BERMAN: What do people need to understand about the situation now and the potential for these rip currents?

PROFFITT: Yes, so I mean, the rip currents have been, you know, obviously very bad these past two days, and we're predicting the same thing today and tomorrow. We're hearing the same thing from the weather service as well. It's supposed to grow or increase as the day goes on into tomorrow. So conditions are only going to get worse.

So again, you know, on Monday, 60 rescues. Yesterday, we had 18. Today is going to be even worse. So just please stay out of the ocean.

BERMAN: You know, what do you say to people? Oh, who say, like, I'm a strong swimmer. I always swim. There's no problem. A rip current doesn't scare me.

PROFFITT: Yes, I mean, those are, you know, a mindset that can get you killed. You know, it's been proven Olympic swimmer cannot swim against a rip current. And like I said, you know, these are very big and very strong. It's coming from hurricane swell. So, you know, it's not anything to mess with.

You know, we're the experts. I've been doing this for 25 years. You know, I'm telling you with 100 percent certainty, it's very dangerous out there. So just please stay out of the ocean.

BERMAN: You know, you were speaking to CNN yesterday and you said this was the first time you could remember issuing this type of emergency authorization. And while you were talking to us mid answer, you got another alert. I just want people to see this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PROFFITT: This is, like I said, the first time, to my knowledge, we have ever done an emergency authorization like this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got one guy going in for one. Location, 100 yards south of Stanford.

PROFFITT: 84 copies. rescue --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: There it is again and again and again. How are you enforcing this order?

PROFFITT (on camera): So we are going and being very proactive. You're trying to speak with the, you know, beachgoers who are particularly going out swimming. But again, you know, we have thousands of people on the beach and we have a limited number of lifeguards. So we're doing all we can. But we still are making rescues.

So, you know, it really comes down to policing yourself, policing the people you're with, you know, just encouraging them to stay out of the ocean.

BERMAN: Well, Sam, like I said, you could have a busy few days here. We appreciate the help you're giving us and we appreciate the help you're giving to people who are in need up and down that beach area. Thank you.

PROFFITT: Thank you.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: President Trump is escalating his attacks now on Smithsonian museums, now saying they're, quote, too focused on how bad slavery was. The changes he now wants to see.

And the message to the secretary. Hundreds of HHS employees signing a letter to RFK Jr., asking him to stop spreading false health information in the wake of the CDC shooting.

And also this just in, the huge shakeup at Target this morning after months of slumping sales and boycotts over DEI.

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BOLDUAN: New this morning, Target CEO Brian Cornell is stepping down after 11 years with the retailer. The company has been in a slump for years, which is part of this, facing slowing sales and ongoing backlash since it decided to eliminate its DEI initiatives earlier this year. He will be replaced by Target's current chief operating officer. And this all happened on February 1st, and he will then be staying on as executive chairman.

Target reported today its sales fell for the third straight quarter. The company also continues to face intense competition from retailers like Walmart, Amazon and Costco. Its stock is among the worst performing companies in the S&P 500 this year.

There's also this today, hundreds of everyday household items are about to get a lot more expensive, thanks to President Trump's trade war and specifically the steel and aluminum tariffs. The tariffs were initially only expected to hit raw materials, but now they include goods containing steel and aluminum.

CNN's Matt Egan has this for us.

What is going on and what should people be expecting?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Kate, this is a big deal, right?

[08:25:00]

Even as inflation is heating up, the Trump administration is quietly making it even more expensive to import hundreds of items that all of us would see on store shelves. So this is a major expansion of those 50 percent steel and aluminum tariffs.

Previously, those tariffs shielded items that just simply contained steel and aluminum. Not anymore. Starting this week, those 50 percent tariffs apply to the steel and aluminum content on many items, right?

This impacts more than 400 product categories, right? And some of these are household items, right? Everything from butter knives and baby strollers to even canned deodorant, furniture as well.

A whole bunch of household items impacted and some industrial items too. Look at this. Cranes, bulldozers, wind turbines, rail cars.

It's hard to see how expanding the tariffs to those items is going to help achieve some key Trump administration goals, like making it more affordable to buy homes and build homes, right? Or to get American energy dominance. But the Trump administration says they're doing this really for two reasons.

One, to try to crack down on people who are trying to circumvent existing tariffs. And the other reason here is they say they're trying to revive the steel and aluminum industries. But analysts, they do warn that this is just going to add even more inflationary pressure at a time that, yes, we are seeing inflation heat up, especially at the wholesale item level. And we're also seeing that people are very much frustrated with the cost of living.

Now, the Trump administration has argued that foreign countries will eat the tariffs, right? They're going to slash their prices just to try to maintain market share in the U.S., but we're not seeing evidence of that.

BOLDUAN: Is it bearing out at all?

EGAN: It's not. What you would expect to see would be import prices, which are measured before tariffs, to come down. But look at this.

We're seeing the exact opposite. In July, import prices went up by a larger than expected amount, suggesting that foreign countries are not eating the tariffs. That's why analysts are increasingly confident that it's really U.S. consumers that are shouldering the cost here, as well as businesses, right?

I talked to Samuel Tombs over at Pantheon Economics, and he said, Foreigners are not paying for President Trump's tariffs. That leaves U.S. consumers and businesses shouldering nearly all of the additional costs.

So look, if they're shouldering the costs, you're looking at businesses that might mean they're going to hire fewer workers, or they're going to possibly pass along the cost to all of us as consumers.

Either way, there is a price.

BOLDUAN: That seems very clear. Thanks, Matt.

EGAN: Thanks Kate.

BOLDUAN: It's really important to stay on top of this.

Also this, breaking overnight, Russia launches new strikes on Ukraine as President Trump says, quote, it's better if Putin and Zelenskyy meet without him. But will Putin agree?

And the redistricting fight in Texas could be nearing its end as Republicans move closer to holding that key vote on the new map.

Do Texas Democrats have any options left?

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