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Trump Threatens To Investigate Former NJ Governor Christie; Officials: Russia Launches 100+ Long-Range Strike Drones On Ukraine; Russia State Media: Putin Heads To China Next Week For 4-Day Visit. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 25, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:32:30]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning an exemption on tariff duties for small packages worth less than $800 is set to expire at the end of the week. It is called the de minimis exemption and without it, small business owners are now scrambling to figure out whether to absorb the costs or pass them on to their customers. Meanwhile, some countries are temporarily pausing shipments to the United States.

CNN's Matt Egan is with me with -- now with more on this. So Matt, I guess let's just start with who is going to be impacted by this.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, Omar. Look, this is another example of how the Trump administration is trying to reshape global trade. And this move, in particular -- it's causing alarm among buyers and sellers, really, around the world.

So the big impact here is to discount sellers. You think about sites like Amazon Haul, TikTok Shop, Etsy, and Shopify -- those ecommerce platforms. So all of the U.S. consumers who use these platforms but also the small businesses based overseas that, again, use these platforms are going to be impacted.

Now this is a big shift because for almost a century now the United States has allowed low-cost goods to come into the United States duty- free. Essentially, they could skip the line on tariffs and disallow for faster transportation into the United States -- and cheaper.

Now what's happened is that this threshold for de minimis has gone up over the years to the current level of $800 or less. And the Trump administration has argued that this de minimis exemption -- this loophole has allowed for tariff evasion, and it's also allowed for illicit substances like fentanyl to come into the United States. And that's -- it's hurt U.S. businesses.

So that's why the administration, in May, suspended de minimis for China and for Hong Kong. And now, starting on Friday, globally de minimis exemption is going away. And this is a big deal because last fiscal year alone we had into the United States 1.4 -- this should be billion units -- 1.4 billion units of de minimis coming into the U.S. That amounted to four million units every single day. Again, that ends on Friday.

So we've already seen a number of postal services around the world suspend shipments into the U.S., including India, Thailand, South Korea, and New Zealand, because now what's going to happen is starting on Friday all of these goods are going to start to have to face a tariff. Eighty dollars per item is the low level. That's for nations that have tariffs of 15 -- of 16 percent or lower. So think the U.K., New Zealand. But it goes up to $160, $200.

[07:35:12]

So at the end of the day this is going to likely lead to fewer options for U.S. consumers and higher costs.

JIMENEZ: And that deadline is Friday, right?

EGAN: That's right.

JIMENEZ: All right, something to watch.

Matt Egan, I really appreciate.

EGAN: Thanks, Omar.

JIMENEZ: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new threats from President Trump this morning against someone who has been critical of him.

Remember, FBI agents searched the home of former national security adviser John Bolton after Bolton repeatedly raised questions on some of the president's foreign policy actions. Sources say this is part of some retention of classified documents investigation.

This time the target is former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie over the 2013 Bridgegate scandal. Follow the timing here. First, Governor Christie said this on TV yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: Donald Trump sees himself as the person who gets to decide everything, and he doesn't care about any separation. In fact, he absolutely rejects the idea that there should be separation between criminal investigations and the politically elected leader of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So Governor Christie said that.

And then later on social media President Trump posted this accusing the governor of lying about the closures on the George Washington Bridge back in 2013. And then wrote, "Chris refused to take responsibility for these criminal acts. For the sake of justice, perhaps we should start looking at that very serious situation again? No one is above the law." Which you'll remember which is exactly what Kash Patel, the FBI director, posted on social media during the investigation and search of John Bolton's home.

With us now, Republican strategist Doug Heye, and Christine Quinn, the executive committee chair of the New York State Democratic Committee.

Christine, what do you see going on here? President Trump just throwing out these threats of investigations when there has been a search at John Bolton's home?

CHRISTINE QUINN, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR, NEW YORK STATE DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE, PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE OFFICER, WIN (via Webex by Cisco): Look, President Trump wouldn't know justice if it came up and bit him in the you know what. This is about trying to control anyone who is even mildly critical towards the president. It's authoritative behavior and it is over the top.

Did what Chris Christie -- is what Chris Christie did as it related to Bridgegate wrong? Absolutely -- no questions about it. It was an abuse of power. But this is also an abuse of power on the part of the president. And sadly, I don't think we're going to see an end to it.

BERMAN: You know who didn't think it was an abuse of power -- at least seemed to back in 2020? President Donald Trump -- because this is what he wrote when the Supreme Court basically exonerated a couple of the people who were tied to Chris Christie and tied to Bridgegate. This is what Trump wrote in 2020.

"Congratulations to former governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, and all others involved, on a complete and total exoneration (with a 9-0 vote by the U.S. Supreme Court) on the Obama DOJ scam referred to as 'Bridgegate.'" That was May 7, 2020.

Doug, now he's saying maybe we should investigate Chris Christie. So whatever changed?

DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, FORMER RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, it's what Donald Trump wants on any given day. And John, I'll say having been born in the great Garden State and celebrating the 50th anniversary of "Born to Run" coming out 50 years ago this week, I'm a fan of Chris Christie's.

And I think what we're seeing here is another example of what we've seen so often with Donald Trump. Donald Trump doesn't give points; he only takes them away one at a time. As long as you're pro-Donald, he's pro-you. When that changes, he changes.

And the irony here is if we look at what Bridgegate was about, it was about withholding funding to a bridge for political purposes. What is Donald Trump proposing to do in Maryland right now? Withhold funding to repair bridges for political purposes. The reality though is for Donald Trump; he doesn't see any discrepancy there. It's all pro- Donald all the time.

BERMAN: And again, he doesn't see any irony in actually threatening Chris Christie with the very thing that Chris Christie was commenting on on TV earlier. I want to play a little bit of sound now -- changing subjects -- to

Vice President J.D. Vance who was speaking with NBC News about the status of negotiations with Russia and criticism over negotiations with Russia involving the invasion of Ukraine.

Listen to what Vice President Vance said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you go back to World War II, if you go back to World War I, if you go back to every major conflict in human history, they all end with some kind of negotiation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: World War II ended with a negotiation, Doug, here? You know, my question to you is was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

HEYE: (Laughing) Well, I appreciate the John Blutarsky reference -- Sen. Blutarsky, I should say.

[07:40:00]

Look, yes, there is some form of a negotiation. In World War II, it basically was complete surrender. It's why we have V-E Day, V-J Day, and so forth.

And I think this still could be an opportunity for Donald Trump to show strength where he really hasn't thus far. If he basically withheld all assets from Russia, gave them to Ukraine, allowed them to defend themselves, allowed Ukraine to do things with weapons that we've given Ukraine in Russia, they'd be in a better position to hold themselves.

And this is a -- this is a failure, so far, of Donald Trump. Frankly, it was a failure of Joe Biden. America has let down Ukraine. There's still an opportunity --

BERMAN: Yeah.

HEYE: -- for success here whatever the final negotiation is. But if you want a peace prize, allowing a bully to take land from a foreign -- from a foreign country isn't a way to do that.

BERMAN: I will say what was notable at the end of World War II was no negotiation with Japan or Germany. It was --

QUINN: Right.

BERMAN: -- unconditional surrender.

Christine Quinn, I do want to ask you --

HEYE: Sign this document. That's the negotiation. BERMAN: That's right.

Christine, I want to ask you what Doug brought up before, which is President Trump's threat to -- you know, to withhold funds for rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge at a time where he's threatening to send the National Guard into Baltimore, into Chicago.

Look, you know, you're of New York City here. You are a city person. What's your feeling on this, and how you think the president feels about how this is playing nationwide?

QUINN: Well, I think the president probably loves this. He loves to sit back, turn on the television, and watch troops rolling through Washington, D.C. Watch tanks outside the train station protecting Shake Shack and making sure no one steals a hamburger. This is the kind of thing he loves. It's theater. It's good television. That's how he runs the government.

I mean, Maryland is in need of assistance and the federal government -- a big part of their job is helping localities -- so help with a terrible accident -- a tragedy that happened. If you also want to help urban America address crime, work jointly with their governors and their mayors. Talk about what you can do. Talk about how you could not cut funding to critical programs that urban America relies on.

He's talking about crime and homelessness, yet he has a budget proposal that will gut programs that rehouse the homeless into permanent housing. He doesn't really care about urban America. He cares about flexing his muscles and reminding everyone who is president, and playing with his toys, whether it's good or bad for the cities he doing it in.

BERMAN: Christine Quinn, Doug Heye, great to see you both this morning. I appreciate it -- Omar.

HEYE: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Well, John, this morning another major medical group is breaking from the CDC when it comes to recommending the COVID-19 vaccine. Now if you remember, in May, the CDC actually removed its recommendation that pregnant women receive updated COVID shots. But since then some medical associations have stood by the recommendation for expectant mothers to get vaccinated.

I want to bring in CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard who joins me. So Jacqueline, can you just tell us about this latest group to break from the guidance?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Omar, the latest group is the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

And this is actually what they had to say in an advisory statement: "The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists continues to recommend that all pregnancy and lactating individuals receive and updated COVID-19 vaccine or 'booster.' All clinicians should provide a strong recommendation for updated COVID-19 vaccination to their pregnant and lactating patients."

So Omar, this recommendation is different than what the current Trump administration is recommending, so we are seeing this kind of disagreement between medical groups and the current CDC recommendations.

And ACOG, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists -- they're not the first medical group to do this when it comes to recommending COVID vaccines.

We saw with the American Academy of Pediatrics it also recommends vaccination for young children -- children between ages 6-23 months old. And it recommends vaccination for kids two and older who have an increased risk of severe COVID illness due to an underlying medical condition, for instance.

So that recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics is different than what, again, we're seeing from federal health officials. So we are seeing these differences emerge, Omar.

JIMENEZ: So what should expectant mothers and parents of young children be doing here, especially if you're getting guidance that might be different from one group versus another?

HOWARD: Right. Yeah, it can be confusing.

[07:45:00]

But I will say first, for pregnant mothers or if you're planning to get pregnant you should know that on the CDC website pregnancy is still listed as something that can increase your risk of having a severe illness if you do happen to become infected with COVID-19. So because there is this increased risk definitely talk with your doctor about getting vaccinated.

And then for parents, we are in the back-to-school season, so talk to your pediatrician about not just the COVID-19 vaccine but other childhood vaccinations that they -- your kid may need as we head back to school this year.

JIMENEZ: All right. Appreciate the reporting as always, Jacqueline -- John.

BERMAN: National Dog Day is coming, so gird your loins. In anticipation, we have Harry Enten here for his take on the dog days of summer. Today, why having a dog is good for your health.

Senior data analyst Harry Enten -- or chief data analyst -- chief data analyst.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Chief, senior, whatever.

BERMAN: So talk to me about this. Talk to me about what this does for your health.

ENTEN: OK. You know what, it's not just that dogs are adorable, it's that your health and your chance of dying actually goes down.

What are we talking about? Dog's human parent's chance of dying over a 10-year period down 24 percent versus humans without a dog, especially when you've got cute dogs like little Beacon over here and little Christiano over there. I've known them since they were little pooches, and they help my health and they're part of the reason that I live longer.

BERMAN: This is like a giant number.

ENTEN: It's huge.

BERMAN: OK. But look, what could be fueling that number?

ENTEN: OK. What is fueling this decline of 24 percent in terms of a chance of dying if you have a dog versus not? Well, it's two things. Number one, why having a dog helps your health. You're going for exercise, right? It's physical exercise.

BERMAN: No.

ENTEN: Daily walk time with your dog -- the average dog owner -- get this -- averages about 43 minutes of walking their dog per day.

But it's not just physical health, right? It's not just walking.

BERMAN: Yeah, yeah.

ENTEN: It's your mental health as well. Your chance of meeting a friend -- get this -- human -- humans that have a dog met a friend via your dog -- because of your dog -- get this -- 40 percent-plus according to polling data, especially when you've got cute dogs like Charlie over here. Look at this little pooch over here. That's Peter Kaplan's dog who works here at CNN. I betcha Peter Kaplan has met some friends because of Charlie.

BERMAN: I've got to say this alone -- you can explain why you're that much healthier. If you're walking that much that makes a difference.

ENTEN: It's one of the reasons my father lived well into his late 80s.

BERMAN: All right, let's talk about something -- and I want to be -- I want to be graceful here. What about -- what about action, Harry?

ENTEN; Yeah, bow chicka wow wow. What about action here -- your love life? OK, with a dog by his side, a human male's chance of getting a woman's phone number goes up -- get this -- three-fold. This was an actual experiment that was run when, in fact, a human male had a dog by his side trying to get a woman's phone number. They were far more successful than they were without a dog.

BERMAN: Can I just -- what was bow chicka wow wow exactly?

ENTEN: Bow chicka wow wow. I don't know. It kind of sounds dog and it kind of sounds sexy, I dare say.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you --

ENTEN: Thank you.

BERMAN: -- very much for that.

JIMENEZ: Harry always getting to the real science that we need -- that last one, especially. You know, take notes, people.

All right. We've got a lot of news we are covering this morning, including monitoring a critical meeting soon between Russian President Putin and China's Xi. The high-level talks and massive military parade happening next week in China and we'll have the details.

And thousands of evacuations underway as typhoon threat brings dangerous conditions. We'll take you there and bring you the details soon.

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[07:52:30]

JIMENEZ: Breaking overnight, Russia launching more than 100 new drone strikes toward Ukraine, killing at least three people in the last 24 hours, according to Ukrainian officials. Now, firefighters battled flames following Russian shelling in Ukraine's northeast.

And the attacks some hours after Vice President J.D. Vance said Russia has made significant concessions aimed at ending the war.

CNN's Sebastian Shukla joins us now. So, Sebastian, let's just start with what are you learning about these latest strikes here?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yeah, good afternoon, Omar.

A deadly overnight attack or series of attacks have taken place across those three Ukrainian regions of Sumy, Kharkiv, and Donetsk. In each of those individual regions at least one person has died and has left 22 people across the country injured.

It's another reminder that despite all of this diplomatic talk that we had last week and this shuttling between Washington and Berlin and Alaska before that, the battlefields of Ukraine and Ukrainian cities and civilians are still being pounded by the Russian Air Force as they continue their assault.

It was interesting though to take a listen to what Vice President J.D. Vance has to say about these talks that took place and also about a potential for any agreement to be made between Moscow and Kyiv. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in 3 1/2 years of this conflict. They've actually been willing to be flexible on some of their core demands. They've talked about what would be necessary to end the war. Of course, they haven't been completely there yet, or the war would be over.

But we're engaging in this diplomatic process in good faith. We are trying to negotiate as much as we can with both the Russians and the Ukrainians to find a middle ground to stop the killing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUKLA: So finding the middle ground to stop the killing. What we've seen, Omar, is that clearly, that seems as far away as ever. And the recent talks that all took place were supposed to elicit a summit of some form -- even a trilateral summit between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and President Zelenskyy. There was a lot of talk and optimism about that taking place in the near future. In recent days we've seen, particularly after the Washington summit, that the Russians have poured cold water on that and at the moment there seems to be no real chatter about that summit taking place at all, Omar.

[07:55:05]

JIMENEZ: And all the while we continue to see strikes like some of the images we're showing on the screen as well.

Sebastian Shukla, I appreciate the reporting as always -- John.

BERMAN: So no meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin there, but we are learning this morning that the Russian leader Vladimir Putin is set to travel to China next week for a four-day visit. That's according to Russian state media. The Russian leader plans to attend a political and security summit there hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Let's get right to CNN's Marc Stewart in Beijing. So what's the significance of this meeting, Marc?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, this is significant because China is a safe place for Vladimir Putin. He and Xi Jinping have this long, loyal relationship. It's been described as this "no limits" friendship. We have seen the two men exchange a hug together on camera.

But perhaps what's even more notable is the fact that China has not condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. But perhaps this moment we could see a shift. Perhaps Xi Jinping may try to take on the role of negotiator with his friend Vladimir Putin to at least try to ease back on the war in Ukraine.

It comes at a time when China is facing pressure from the United States -- the potential of tariffs because of its purchases of Russian oil. It buys a lot of oil from Russia. So perhaps this could be a moment for Xi Jinping to try to set a new direction in this conflict.

John, the other thing I'm looking for is the fact that it's not just Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin who will be at this meeting. We will see other world leaders from this part of the world. It comes at a time when China and Russia, for that matter, are trying to establish themselves as the leader of a new world order. An alternative to the West. A new way of thinking. So I'm very curious to see what kind of messaging we see and what kind

of messaging we hear about this new potential global alliance, John.

BERMAN: And Marc, you've seen some preparations. It's a huge military parade scheduled for China. What are you seeing?

STEWART: September 3, and I want to make sure I give this justice as far as the size and scope of all of this. Throughout Beijing over the last few weekends we have seen war machines -- tanks in the streets of Beijing. We have seen aircraft flying overhead. We have seen what appear to be weapons covered in tarps, all part of this dress rehearsal.

Beijing is a city of around 21 million people and parts of the city, when this parade happens, will come to a standstill. People will stay home from work. Many schools have -- are likely to cancel classes. So it's going to be a very big deal. But also a big deal is the fact that Vladimir Putin is expected to be there with Xi Jinping. So very symbolic as China tries to tell its population of more than a billion people that it's a force -- a message that it's also going to send to the world, John.

BERMAN: Yeah, sending a clear message, I think, to the world.

Marc Stewart, great to see you this morning. Thank you very much -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Well, let's get people updated on a few other headlines, including right now, Vietnam is shutting down airports, schools, and evacuating thousands as a typhoon heads toward its northeast coast. Winds are topping 100 miles an hour right now -- about the strength of a category 2 Atlantic hurricane.

The same storm tore through a southern Chinese island yesterday bringing down trees and flooding streets.

On a much lighter note -- not just a few states (PH). We're talking dozens of corgis turned from royal companions into athletes this weekend in Lithuania because that is, of course, what they are there -- athletes. More than 100 teams from across Europe brought their pups to the International Corgi competition. The pups sprinted, strutted in costumes, and battled it out in a mightiest bark showdown.

John, it sounds right up your alley.

BERMAN: I will say, you said on a lighter note. I find it to be very serious.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, it is very serious.

BERMAN: And --

JIMENEZ: That's -- my apologies. I should have given it the respect it deserves.

BERMAN: And I have heard allegations about juicing surrounding that competition. It's that serious.

All right, thank you very much, Omar.

Happening now, extreme heat fueling dangerous wildfires in the west, threatening thousands of homes and forcing evacuations, including in California's Wine Country near Napa. There's a blaze there only 11 percent contained. In Oregon, there is a fire tearing through the central part of the state.

Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar for the latest on this. What are you seeing, Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, good morning.

Unfortunately, the scenes behind me in California have really been kind of exacerbated because of the incredibly hot, dry conditions that California has had. And it's not just California. As you mentioned, Oregon also dealing with a lot of fires as well.

Here is a look at some scenes from that particular area. Again, you can kind of see the flames, the smoke -- all of the stuff in the background. Just again, this has been the scene across both of these states the last few days.

Here's a look at both of those fires.