Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump Says We'll Have to See on Two-State Solution for Gaza; New York A.G. Letitia James Rallies for Mamdani in First Appearance Since Indictment; Today, New Furniture Tariffs Take Effect. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired October 14, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: President Donald Trump back in the White House after his historic trip to the Middle East. What he is now saying about the prospect of a two-state solution in the Israel- Palestinian conflict.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And, quote, I will not give in and I will not give up. New York Attorney General Letitia James sending a message to the White House in her first public appearance since her indictment.

And a test launch of the biggest rocket ever built. How far did it go this time after previous tests? Well, it kind of blew up.

Kate is out today. I'm John Berman with Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: This morning, the big question now that all the living hostages have been returned to Israel and nearly 2,000 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons, what comes next in Gaza? Overnight, President Trump returning to the White House after signing that historic deal in Egypt, he says that phase two of the Gaza ceasefire is already underway, though many of the details of his 20-point peace plan remain unresolved.

On the flight home, he declined to commit to a two-state solution. And there's also the bereaved Israeli families still waiting for the remains of the deceased hostages to be turned over, which was part of the deal. This convoy carried some of the coffins back to Israel.

The families say they're, quote, shocked and dismayed after Hamas returned only four out of the 28 bodies. Two of those returned have now been formally and publicly identified. Both men in their 20s are believed to have died in Hamas captivity.

CNN's Alayna Treene is live at the White House. What details do we have about phase two that the president spoke about?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, really, what this is looking at now is, of course, the disarmament of Hamas, so that is expected to come later, the rebuilding of Gaza. But there are still so many questions about how that's going to look. And, Sara, I'd say this. I think there's no question that people are celebrating yesterday. It was a historic day. It was remarkable to see this administration get to this point, but there's still so much work to be done to ensure that this ceasefire holds, and that really is what phase two is all about.

And negotiations are still not over. They are still expected to continue. For example, Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, Steve Witkoff, his Middle East Envoy, they've said that they are going to remain locked in a lot of these ongoing talks to ensure that this 20-point plan and the next phases to ensure that this hold lasts. And so there's still so much work to do.

But one of the key questions, and we actually heard President Donald Trump focus a lot yesterday in his remarks both publicly and also with reporters on the plane, was about the longer term peace. We know that, and I know this from my conversations with people here at the White House, that they do not want this to be just about ending the war between Israel and Hamas. They want it to be about a much broader peace.

You heard the president talk about the Abraham Accords, which would essentially see many other Arab nations, Middle Eastern countries, normalizing relations with Israel. He's also talked about wanting to include Iran potentially in a broader peace deal and a potential nuclear deal as part of that as well.

But what we know, a lot of people, particularly a lot of the people who were in that room yesterday for that summit in Egypt, believe is necessary to ensure that lasting piece is recognizing a Palestinian state. The president, however, refused to go that far when talking to reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I am talking about something very much different. We're talking about rebuilding Gaza. I'm not talking about single state or double state or two-state. We're talking about the rebuilding of Gaza.

A lot of people like the one-state solution. Some people like the two- state solution. So, we'll have to see. I haven't commented on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So you have him again, especially then saying, I haven't commented on that. This is a very similar answer, Sara, to what we heard him say last week when he was asked, as he essentially said, you know, it's not up to me.

[07:05:03]

I don't have an opinion on a two-state solution. He said instead that he'll go with whatever they agreed to, affirming the parties involved in these talks. All to say, I think that is a sign that there's still so much uncertainty and how fragile this could be, particularly when you talk about a much longer term peace deal.

So, a lot of work still needing to be done. A lot of those questions, hopefully, you know, we'll hear more from the president on today.

SIDNER: Yes. And it can't be overstated, as you mentioned earlier, these emotional reunions that we have been seeing striking at the heart of the very first phase of this deal.

Thank you so much, Alayna Treene there live for us from the White House. John?

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, New York Attorney General Letitia James made her first public appearance since she was indicted on federal charges. James took the stage at a Get Out the Vote rally for New York City Democratic Mayoral Nominee Zohran Mamdani. She did not mention President Trump by name, but she did give a defiant speech saying, quote, she fears no man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: I stand on solid rock. And I will not bow. I will not break. I will not bend. I will not capitulate. I will not give in. I will not give up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. CNN's Gloria Pazmino was in the room where it happened. She joins us now. That was something.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And, listen, Zohran Mamdani was the headliner at last science rally, but I would say that the state Attorney General Letitia James got a very, very loud and cheering reaction from that crowd. More than 3,000 people were in attendance at the United Palace last night. There were people who were on their feet for several minutes when she came out on stage, the first time we are seeing her in public after being indicted by the Department of Justice.

Now, as you mentioned, she did not call out President Trump by name, but it was very clear in her remarks that she was talking about him. And she was really trying to build a bridge between her indictment and the election of Zohran Mamdani, the type of politics that has resulted in her indictment and the type of politics that Zohran Mamdani is trying to bring here to New York City. We are just three weeks away from this general election. She was there to rally for him, to encourage people to get out the vote in the next few weeks, but also to send a clear message to Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES: We see powerful voices trying to silence truth and punish dissent, and, yes, weaponize justice for political gain.

We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy, the erosion of our system of government.

Let us stand together to defend our rights to protect every safeguard, every institution, every immigrant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: So, John, there you're seeing Tish trying to present herself, her indictment and this upcoming election sort of as a united front between her and Zohran Mamdani, a united front against President Donald Trump, not just his threats here to New York City, but, of course everywhere else.

James, at one point, referred to Zohran Mamdani as her little brother. She also described him as one of the boldest voices in New York City's political history. She's been supporting him in the last few weeks, even though she initially did not endorse him as her first choice before the primary. But the two have been appearing together at rallies and press conferences in recent weeks.

So, we are just three weeks away and just today we are first to report here at CNN that the governor will be appearing with Mamdani for the first time during an event later this afternoon.

BERMAN: Oh, well that will be interesting to see. Wow, a lot of politics play. That was quite an event politics. And we're going to talk to Elie Honig in a little bit about sort of the legal implications of all of this going so public when you're under federal indictment there.

Gloria Pazmino, great to see you, great reporting, as always, thank you very much.

So, who is getting paid this morning and who is not? New twists in the government shutdown that could now push even longer.

And then a gut punch if you're renovating that house. New today, tariffs on lumber and furniture, things get more and more expensive.

Then a couple held at gunpoint in a home invasion. What happened to scare off the culprits?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

SIDNER: New this morning, the first phase of new tariffs on imported kitchen cabinets, vanities and upholstered wooden furniture has officially kicked in. President Trump says the tariffs are meant to revive North Carolina's struggling furniture manufacturing industry. But some executives are concerned about the consequences to the global furniture industry.

CNN's Matt Egan joins me now. Executives may be concerned about what's going to happen to the industry. Regular people are concerned about the prices that are going to potentially explode because of this. What are you learning?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Sara. I think the price part of this is key, and we'll get to that. But, first, let's talk about the jobs impact, right? Because help is on the way for the North Carolina furniture industry, right, this 25 percent tariff kicking in today on imported kitchen cabinets, vanities and upholstered wooden furniture.

[07:15:10]

And this is just a starting point. These tariffs are going to go higher. They're scheduled to on January 1.

Now the goal here, according to the administration, is to try to revitalize a sector that has lost a lot of jobs to lower cost places overseas. And on that point, the president does have a point, because when you look at jobs in North Carolina in manufacturing, as recently as 1999, they had 80,000, today, just 28,000.

And yet what's surprising is that furniture executives in North Carolina, they were pretty skeptical and they have kind of mixed feelings when it comes to these tariffs. On the one hand, they're hopeful that they're going to work. They appreciate the focus from the administration. On the other hand, they're worried that it's going to backfire by raising uncertainty and undermining an intricate supply chain, right, the importers, the retailers, the distribution channels.

What's telling is that we talked to Alex Shuford, he's the CEO of a 78-year-old North Carolina furniture company, right? And they make about 80 percent of their sales is from furniture made in America. And yet even Shuford was pretty skeptical and concerned about the approach from the administration. Take a listen to what he told our colleague, Dianne Gallagher.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX SHUFORD, CEO, ROCK HOUSE FARM FURNITURE: My fear is we don't want the medicine that's intended to help us to end up causing so much harm that in the end it ends up killing us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EGAN: Now, Shuford, he said he thinks there needs to be a more comprehensive approach. He said, sure, you could have tariffs as a stick, but you need carrots as well, namely workforce training programs. Because this is an industry that even right now they don't have enough skilled workers.

Now, one thing, though, that furniture executives that we talked to were confident about is that this is going to raise prices for consumers. Furniture prices were already going up significantly. You look at living room, kitchen and dining room furniture prices, they skyrocketed during COVID. They started falling, meaning furniture was actually getting cheaper in 2023 and 2024. But as you can see on that chart starting to go higher and, Sara, it's hard to see how tariffs are going to help matters.

SIDNER: Very true. It's really complex, the issue. And we will be talking to you about it a lot, I suspect, Matt Egan.

EGAN: Thank you, Sara. SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much.

All right, still to come, a dire warning about democracy from former President Obama calling out Trump, but also the companies that are cowering to him.

And later, the new weapon in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, what you can now do to see if you have it. We'll explain how it works.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: What a way to wake up this morning. Who is in first place in the AFC East? Your New England Patriots. Why? Well, it has to do with what happened in Atlanta last night in the Bills-Falcons game.

CNN's Coy Wire, who starred on both teams, oh, I guess I see who you were rooting for. You couldn't lose last night.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: You're welcome. I couldn't lose last night. You're welcome for getting that win over the Bills. It was tough. I was trying -- is this a bit much, John? I think this is a bit much for early in the morning.

So, we'll just go here. Hey, are our Falcons and our Patriots going to meet up in the Super Bowl, John. Atlanta hosting Buffalo wearing their 1966 throwback uniforms? Yes, I was there and it was a good one. This night belonged to the ATL facing the dynamic Buffalo Bills.

You know they have Bijan Robinson. That guy right there, 238 total yards from scrimmage, and this absurd touchdown run. He's the most dynamic running back in the league. You'd think the game ball would go to him afterwards. He did get one.

But also getting a game ball, the entire defense, John sacking the big beautiful Bill, Josh Allen, four times and intercepting him twice, including the game ceiling snag. The Falcons are 8-1 on Monday night football dating back to 2015. They win 24-14, handing the Bills their second straight loss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAHEEM MORRIS, ATLANTA FALCONS HEAD COACH: I keep saying it, he's the best player in football.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now in the other game, Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders, this was a first starting Q.B. matchup in Monday Night Football history between the top two picks from the same draft class, John, Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams. Washington had the ball and the lead late in the game before disaster strikes. Three minutes to go, Daniels fumbles. The ball pops out on the handoff and the Bears recover. And in steps, Jake Moody, he'd been cut by the 49ers, he'd been sitting on the practice squad until this game, and with time expiring, he nails the game winning field goal. After starting the season 0-2, the Chicago Bears get their third straight win, thanks to the unlikely hero, Moody, a 25-24 win.

Game one of the NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers, and we may have just witnessed the craziest baseball play ever from what was nearly a Dodgers grand slam to an absurd inning ending double play for the Brewers. It looked like the outfielder caught the ball, but it actually touched the wall, ruled a live ball.

Runners were confused, so it allowed the Brewers to get to force out at home, and the runner on second needed to go to third, but he just stayed on second. He didn't know what happened. So, the catcher got him out as well. Brewers pull off that 400-foot double play, John, incredible stuff.

Now, the game was still scoreless in the sixth until L.A.'s Freddie Freeman hits a solo home run.

[07:25:02]

L.A. rolls from there, a 2-1 win thanks in large part to a dominant performance by Blake Snell striking out Ted, giving up just one hit, awesome stuff. Mariners won in the ALCS game.

It was an awesome night of sports, John. I'm still riding the high. I wore the same sport coat to the game, like I was up way too late. I just rolled in and said, let's go. Let's talk some ball with my boy, John.

BERMAN: If the Bills had won, would you be wearing your Bills gear this morning?

WIRE: I couldn't lose, right. I couldn't lose. Yes. I was going to support whichever of my former teams won the game. But I did call this one. I said, I have a feeling about ATL. So, I was wearing this hat yesterday too, John.

BERMAN: Very impressive. I'm sure it was fun for you to be there. I got to say the Bills has some problems for the Buffalo Bills right now. All right, Coy Wire --

WIRE: Yes, including your Patriots.

BERMAN: Yes, exactly. Big problem named Drake May.

All right, new reporting from the ground in Gaza that gets to the key question, is the war there really over?

And former President Obama tells his party enough with the political preaching, warning that lecturing will not win over voters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]