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Trump Expected to Tout His Economic Policies in Pennsylvania; New York Archdiocese Announces $300 Million Fund for Sex Abuse Victims; Honduras Issues Arrest Warrant for Ex-president Pardoned by Trump; Car Driver Injured After Plane Crashes on I-95 in Florida; Top Lawmakers Briefed on U.S. Boat Strike That Killed Survivors; Trump Admin Plans for Possible Maduro Ouster in Venezuela. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 09, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:33:12]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Tonight, President Trump will be at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in northeastern Pennsylvania to deal out a message which may not have many takers, that the economy is strong and costs are more affordable. In the latest Fox News poll, three in five people feel just the opposite. They say their personal financial situation is not so good or it is poor.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": The president though, insists that prices are better across the board. Listen to his new interview with Politico.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Energy has come down incredibly. Prices are all coming down. It's been 10 months; it's amazing what we've done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's discuss the president's trip to Pennsylvania with Pennsylvanian, Michael Smerconish, the Host of Smerconish on CNN. He joins us live from Philadelphia. Michael, why Mount Pocono? Why giving an economic speech there?

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND HOST OF "SMERCONISH": I think it's mostly a happy place for the president. I think he wants to be comfortable in his environment. And I say that because in 2016, Northeastern Pennsylvania, a swing area critical to President Trump's success, much like Southeastern Pennsylvania. Tell me who's going to win there. I can usually tell you who's going to win the commonwealth and therefore, who's going to win the presidency. 2020, of course, you had a native son in Joe Biden running against President Trump. We know how that election ended for President Trump.

And then in 2024, again, he did well in that area. So, I think he wants to be in that kind of a rally environment, in a congressional district that Republicans need, and probably will be surrounded by a crowd of adulation.

KEILAR: John King spoke with a three-time Trump voter who works about 45 minutes south of Mount Pocono in Bethlehem, working for a credit restoration office and hear some of the stories that her clients are telling her, Michael.

[13:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENIQUE JONES, TRUMP VOTER IN PENNSYLVANIA: My kids' daycare went up, can't afford the cost of food, using credit cards for everyday expenses. No money left after their bills are paid. Pretty much just a whole bunch of financial mess.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So that's a lot of specific individual issues, Michael, how should the president be focused on this kind of thing?

SMERCONISH: OK, first, Brianna, for my street cred, I went to Lehigh University in Bethlehem. The president's going to be in Mount Pocono, that's where I go fishing. So I know all of these places and I know all of the personality types that you find there. And I think the answer to your question is, it's complicated and it's uneven. I mean, anybody can point to the metrics that suit their objective. You can look at the stock market and you can look at gas prices, or you could look at the return of 3 percent inflation.

You can look at the Wall Street Journal today, which has as its lead story, most red story when I looked a little while ago that we are minting moderate millionaires. Or you could look at my health insurance premium which just arrived for January, and I have a 20.6 percent increase. So, I think that's the honest answer. That there are some trends that are favorable and there are some trends that are unfavorable. And if you want a tie breaker, I'll give it to you. The tie breaker is the bailout for the farmers, because if the tariff trade policy were working, why would we need to bail out the farmers to that extent?

SANCHEZ: Yeah. And it's only a bridge according to the administration. There's much more that is required that is supposedly on the way. If the president says that the negative aspects of the economy are the fault of his predecessor, when does this become Donald Trump's economy? He's almost 11 months now in office.

SMERCONISH: Boris, the holidays are here. This is the time of year that flies by. And then we will be looking at one year of Trump 2.0. Certainly by then, I think objectively you lose the ability to say I'm blaming the other guy.

KEILAR: The president is always trying to sell, right. Michael? I mean, that's sort of -- that's -- a politician is sort of a salesman and the president is quite the salesman. That's always how it has been on the campaign trail. At this point, what can he sell? What economic successes can he sell to people? SMERCONISH: Well, I think he can, to the extent people have investments in the market, because most don't. But I think to the extent they've have investments in the market, I'm sure you're going to hear about energy costs and gasoline prices in particular. I don't know what he'll say about grocery prices other than to say that it is Biden's fault. I think the big picture context to keep in mind is that we're living amidst this great wealth transfer when boomers passing are leaving their money to Gen Xers and millennials, and a lot of people are going to be beneficiaries of that. And a lot of people are going to get totally cut out of the process because they're not inheriting anything which goes back to my opening thought, which is uneven. In a word, it's all uneven.

KEILAR: Yeah. We're going to see how he approaches this and if he speaks to the concerns that we're seeing people say they have. So far the president has struggled to do that and we will see if he can maybe rectify some of that. Michael, thank you so much. Great fishing there, obviously, in the Poconos.

SMERCONISH: Thank you, guys.

KEILAR: And you are an expert on the region.

SMERCONISH: Thank you.

KEILAR: Thank you. Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour, the New York Archdiocese is once again asking for forgiveness as it announces a new $300 million fund to compensate sex abuse victims. Cardinal Timothy Dolan says the money was raised by cutting staff and selling assets like a former headquarters in Manhattan. The archdiocese also agreed to use the same mediator that was used in Los Angeles to negotiate settlements.

SANCHEZ: Also, Honduras has issued an international arrest warrant for their former president, the same former president that was pardoned by President Trump. Juan Orlando Herandez was freed from U.S. Federal Prison last week after a conviction on drug trafficking charges. President Trump has received bipartisan criticism over this pardon, as the U.S. conducts deadly boat strikes against alleged drug runners. The new allegations against Orlando Herandez accused him of money laundering and fraud. His lawyers call the charges a political move.

And take a look at this, a plane on a highway. Local fire officials telling our affiliate WESH TV that the small plane hit a Camry while making an emergency landing on I-95 in Central Florida yesterday. They say a woman in the car suffered minor injuries. The two men inside the plane were not hurt. The FAA is now on the case, saying the pilot reported engine issues.

Still to come, President Trump says he has seen video of that second strike on an alleged drug boat from Venezuela and concedes it isn't pretty. Soon, lawmakers are going to be briefed by Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth directly.

[13:40:00] We have the latest from Capitol Hill.

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SANCHEZ: In only a few hours, intelligence officials are expected to brief the Gang of Eight about the U.S. boat strike that killed two survivors after their alleged drug running vessel was destroyed. Sources say that Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth is set to give the briefing alongside Secretary of State, Marco Rubio; CIA Director, John Ratcliffe; and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine.

[13:45:00]

The lawmakers that are set to receive this briefing are party leaders from both chambers and the heads of the Intelligence Committees.

Let's discuss with a member of House Intelligence, Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas joins us now. Congressman, thanks so much for being with us. What is your message to the Pentagon on releasing the footage of this second strike? Do you think it needs to be made public and why?

REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO, (D-TX) HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I would tell them to be transparent, to stop the secrecy and the entire Congress -- I'm glad that the Gang of Eight is going to see everything, but the entire Congress needs to see the footage and the whole country needs to see the footage because the country needs to see what their government is doing. And there are real questions about the morality here, about killing these two survivors when they were in the water defenseless. And so, there's got to be transparency and ultimately, Boris, people have got to be held accountable for this decision.

SANCHEZ: Do you think that the administration is withholding this footage and the written order to carry out this strike because they're potentially hiding something?

CASTRO: I do. I do think they're hiding something. I think they're hiding a war crime. I think they're hiding a case of murder, and they're hiding it because it's hurting them, because Americans of all politics, all faiths, everything are losing faith in Donald Trump. And the tendency of this administration more than any other in generations probably in this country, is that when their poll numbers are hurting, when they're getting less popular, they contain information. They become more secret.

And we see it not only in this case, but also domestically, with hiding economic reports. This morning, I think I saw that they're going to not release an inflation report. So, they hide information and they become more secret and less accountable. And that's what's happening here so far.

SANCHEZ: More broadly, on policy toward Venezuela, sources tell CNN that the White House is strategizing what that nation might look like without Nicolas Maduro in power. I wonder what you think the administration should weigh there, whether you think Venezuela and the Western Hemisphere would be better off without him.

CASTRO: Well, I think the people of Venezuela and the Western Hemisphere would be best off if Venezuela was democratic. But historically, here's what's happened in Latin America. The United States government has treated right wing leaders as friends and left wing leaders as foes and authoritarians. And so, in the case of Nicolas Maduro, there's no doubt that he has mistreated his people. There's no doubt that the democratic process, the so-called democratic process that they went through for his last election was not fair. And he in fact, I don't think won that election.

But the American people don't want to go invade Venezuela. There's got to be other ways, including sanctions and other leverage, to get him to leave or to basically jumpstart a democratic process there. But the American people are not asking for a war with Venezuela.

SANCHEZ: I want to ask you about another neighbor to the south, Congressman. Mexico has been accused of violating its water treaty with the United States, holding back on its water obligations. One lawmaker in your state estimated that it has led to a billion dollars in lost crops for Texas. Trump has since threatened Mexico with tariffs until they comply. What's your reaction?

CASTRO: Well, that's a legitimate claim. The farmers in Texas, for example, have a real right to be upset about this. Mexico is way behind on its treaty obligation with respect to water. One thing I would caution is on levying a tariff, you notice that right away, the president's immediate reaction when he's in a dispute with another country seems to be to go to a tariff. But it's because of these tariffs, for example, that he's having to propose giving $12 billion to American farmers as a kind of relief. So, I think he's got to be careful about adding another 5 percent on top of that.

I've been part of bipartisan efforts, resolutions here in Congress, obviously letters to Mexico, meetings with Mexico on pressing them on this. And I agree that it's a very important issue, but I would be cautious about additional tariffs.

SANCHEZ: I also want to ask about politics in your home state. The primary race heating up between representatives Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico, here are bits of their campaign videos back to back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP (voice-over): How about this new one they have? Their new star, Crockett. How about her?

She's the new star of the Democrat Party, Jasmine Crockett. They're in big trouble.

But you have this woman, Crockett, she's a very low IQ person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. JAMES TALARICO, (R-TX) SENATE PRIMARY CANDIDATE: The biggest divide in our country is not left versus right, it's top versus bottom.

CROWD: Yeah.

(APPLAUSE)

TALARICO: Billionaires want us looking left and right at each other, so that we're not looking up at them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:50:00]

SANCHEZ: Which message do you think is going to prevail in a primary?

(LAUGH)

CASTRO: Well, first they're both incredibly charismatic, talented folks and both great friends. And so, I'm letting them run their primary race. But I believe that whoever wins that primary has a good chance to become the next U.S. Senator from the state of Texas because the people are fed up with the Republican leadership there. They're fed up with Senators who kowtow to Donald Trump rather than doing everything they can to lower grocery prices, lower the cost of healthcare, lower the cost of childcare, and work for the people of Texas rather than working for one person, and that's Donald Trump. So I offer Godspeed to both of them. They're incredible folks. And I'll be with them after March.

SANCHEZ: So, you won't weigh in before the primary?

CASTRO: No, I've spoken to both of them and wish them both well. And I think that for Texans, they're going to get to see two amazing people campaigning all over the state, exciting Democrats in Texas in a way that we haven't seen in quite some time. We also have some other wonderful people that are running statewide on the Democratic ticket. So I think 2026 is going to be a strong year for Democrats in Texas.

SANCHEZ: And Congressman Joaquin Castro, thank you so much for the time.

CASTRO: Good to be with you.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead, worms and food with molds. New details from inside an ICE detention facility where kids are being held, families painting a grim picture of what it's like inside. We have a CNN Exclusive report when we come back.

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[13:56:30]

KEILAR: Back now with the CNN Exclusive on what conditions are like inside of a Texas detention facility where migrant families with young children and teens are being held. According to court documents reviewed by CNN, families have described long days with limited access to drinkable water. They've described worms, mold in food, and denial of medical care that they say is needed. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez broke this story. Priscilla, tell us what you're learning. This is incredibly alarming.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, the families that we're talking about here are migrant families who either recently crossed the U.S.-Mexico Border or those who were picked up in interior enforcement actions. And that is a really big distinction in the way that we've seen family detention used before. Because it speaks to these families having a way of life in the United States that has been suddenly disrupted and is part of the reason why this is so disturbing for the children who are now held in this detention.

So again, these are court declarations, testimonies shared by families with immigration attorneys who are able to talk to them through the 1997 Flores Settlement. That's a settlement that dictates the conditions by which kids can be held in custody and for how long. They have spoken to more than a hundred families from May to November who have been detained, and these declarations reflect September to November, more than two dozen.

I'm going to read you part of one of them. This is a mother who was detained with her daughter. She says, "It's a prison here. It is truly a living hell. It's not a good place for anyone. All of the children here are suffering. The mothers are crying, especially for their children. We are all suffering." Now, in addition to some of what you described there in terms of what these declarations show, it also has described rooms that are packed because the mothers and daughter and children are sharing them together.

The lights are always on, that makes it difficult for the kids to sleep. And they have infants who are part of these families. I've read one declaration including a nine-month-old. But there are also teenagers. And one of those teenagers had this to say in one of the declarations, he said, "The kids here can get sad when people get deported or their friends leave. Kids are tired of doing the same thing every day. We try to help kids who are sad and teach them to play new games. Sometimes kids don't eat when they are saddened." This was actually a recurring theme in all of the declarations because, in these declarations, these are kids who were enrolled in school in the United States. Their parents were going and their kids were going through immigration proceedings.

So, they were used to their usual classrooms and now they are confined to this detention facility in Dilley, Texas. Now, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement did say in a government filing earlier this month that they are trying to improve conditions there. But it's still alarming for the attorneys and advocates who say that nothing has changed for the families who are being held there, that they're being held there for far too long. Well over the 20 to 25 days that we have seen in the past and now going into a month or longer. So this has been disturbing for the families who are held there and also for the attorneys who are able to obtain their testimonials to file in this ongoing court case. KEILAR: What happens next for these families?

ALVAREZ: So, some of these families are choosing to or could choose to self-deport. In fact, they described agents telling them and offering them money to leave the country. Some are quite heart wrenching. There are parents who are considering and have tried to negotiate with ICE to have them be deported and leave the children with relatives in the United States. Even though they stay in the declarations, they don't want to be separated from their kid. They are just trying to get their kids back to the life that they had in the United States.

And others will just face deportation because they may be at the end of their immigration proceedings. So it can really be a mixed bag, but they are there to be deported. So that would be the final outcome. And a lot of these families --