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Trump Says U.S. Knocked Out Big Facility in Venezuela; Americans in 1998 Tried to Predict 2025 and Got a Lot Right; Entertainment's Biggest Stories of the Year; Trump, Netanyahu Speak After Meeting at Mar-a-Lago. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 29, 2025 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: ... was the nature of this, quote, big facility that he said that was taken out. Take a listen to what he said today when he was asked about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. They load the boats up with drugs. So we hit all the boats and now we hit the area. It's the implementation area. That's where they implement. And that is no longer around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that the only strike that the U.S. has done inside of Venezuela?

TRUMP: I don't want to comment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So it's interesting. He seems to be trying to link this facility to the drug trafficking, these boats that they've been striking in international waters for months now, saying that it was an implementation area, that it was located along the shore of Venezuela itself. But again, hitting a target inside Venezuela on Venezuelan soil is a significant escalation from what the U.S. military has been doing.

And noticeably, the Pentagon not commenting on what Trump has been saying. When the Pentagon's been really eager to sort of publicize these strikes that have been happening in international waters to date. But you also remember we reported that the CIA has been authorized by Trump to carry out covert action inside Venezuela.

This appears potentially to be the first time, though, whether it was CIA, the Pentagon, or some other agency, that the U.S. has done something on Venezuela soil itself.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: No video of this strike.

COHEN: No video.

KEILAR: Right. We've seen a lot of video that we know of, that we've seen that's public. All right, Zach, thank you so much for that.

Now to some of the other headlines. that we're watching this hour, Chinese troops, warships, and fighter jets are holding live-fire military drills around Taiwan. The war games mark a significant escalation in recent years and followed this month's landmark arms deal between the United States and Taiwan. China called the mobilization a serious warning against any push for Taiwan's independence. Taiwan condemned the drills, accusing China of military intimidation.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Also, officials in Mexico are investigating what caused this train derailment that killed more than a dozen people and injured more than 100 on Sunday. This happened in the southern state of Oaxaca, along a rail line that runs between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Video shows passengers stranded on the tracks, while others inside the derailed cars are helping the injured.

Officials say hundreds of personnel and rescue vehicles were dispatched to that scene.

And British boxing star Anthony Joshua recovering from minor injuries after a horrific car crash in Nigeria that killed two people. Video from the scene shows the heavyweight former boxing champion wincing in pain as he was being helped out of the wreckage. Nigerian officials are now investigating this crash.

Remember, just over a week ago, Joshua knocked out YouTuber Jake Paul during a fight in Miami.

Up next, in 1998, Americans try to predict what this year, 2025, would look like, what they got right, what they got wrong, what it might mean for the future -- after a quick break.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Back in 1998, most American households still had landline phones. I miss, I kind of miss that.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: Right? I do know, I was having kids for sure. And a new internet search engine called Google. Do you remember that thing?

SANCHEZ: Oh, yes. Yes. I remember that when you would pick up the phone, you'd get knocked off the internet.

KEILAR: That was so annoying.

SANCHEZ: That was annoying, yes. Cell phones and the internet really started to explode into the mainstream, though. Pollsters dialed up Americans on those landlines to get their best predictions for the futuristic year of 2025. Some of their guesses surprisingly accurate.

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten joins us now to break down some of those predictions. Harry, what did Americans get right?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: I will just note, I remember the landlines. You can still get a landline, Brianna. It's not like they've gone away. I guess the copper part of it has, but I can get you a landline. Maybe that's what I get you for the new year, but that would not be a bad gift.

But in terms of what Americans got right, you look back to 1998, you know, there were a lot of alien movies that were coming out in the late '90s, right? You had Independence Day, you had Mars or Mars Attacks, you had all these things, and so they asked Americans, you know, will we in fact make alien contact by 2025? The majority of Americans, vast majority, two and three said no, just 25 percent said yes.

Now, I know there are some really weird people out there, but I don't think that they qualify as aliens. I know some people think I'm from another planet, but I don't qualify as an alien either. They would have to look something like this. And while I think that's a good- looking fella, I don't think he's here as that much of a resemblance to me.

SANCHEZ: Jury's out on Harry. I don't know about that. Or so he claims.

KEILAR: Whatever, you are my favorite, whatever. All right, Harry, so what do we get wrong?

ENTEN: All right, what is one thing we got wrong? Well, this one actually surprised me, which was on a prediction back in 1998 for 2025 was we would do most of our shopping online. The majority of Americans said yes, we would 56 percent, but in fact the correct answer was no. 43 percent of Americans got this right back in 1998. It turns out that most consumers still actually do most of their shopping in brick and mortar stores, and more than that, they actually prefer it.

So for All of the talk, you know, about Cyber Monday and all the shopping we do on Amazon. In fact, the clear majority of shopping we still do is in person. And that means that back in 1998, we got that one wrong.

SANCHEZ: If you had asked me today, I would have gotten that one wrong. I didn't know that most people shot brick and mortar.

ENTEN: I used that Google, which they were inventing back in the late '90s.

SANCHEZ: Smart guy. Anything else that we were way off on back in '98?

[15:40:00]

ENTEN: All right, was there anything else that we were way off on back in 1998? How about this? The idea that we would mostly or regularly that folks would live to the age of 100. If we look back in 1998, 61 percent of us said, yes, Americans would often live to 100. But now the answer is, while there are plenty of folks who live to 100, that really isn't anywhere close to being the norm. It's more of an occasional thing. That's the reason why, of course, you know, when we have stuff like the Today Show, it's, oh, so-and-so made it, made it to 100. That's still a very big event.

Life expectancy is still at about 80 years old. And I'm not sure I want to live 200. Although I will note, although she's not anywhere close to 100, today is my mother's birthday. So happy birthday to my mom. I hope you do make it to 100.

KEILAR: Big happy b-day to Harry's mom. Mega. OK, so take us out with a winner. What else did we get right here?

ENTEN: OK, what else did we get right? How about this one? Cloning. The idea that we would clone humans regularly. We haven't cloned a single human yet, and it turns out 60 percent of us got that right. We said no, there would be no human cloning. Remember this was right around the time we were cloning sheep. Just 37 percent of us said yes. I don't think we need to clone anyone, and we certainly don't need to clone me. I think one of me is more than enough.

KEILAR: No, no, it's not.

SANCHEZ: Well, rest in peace, Dolly, the shape wherever she is.

ENTEN: Yes, that's right.

SANCHEZ: Are the Mets going to win a World Series by 2050? I think we both know the answer is no.

ENTEN: No, the answer is no, but I do have two predictions for 2050. Number one, the Bills will win a Super Bowl --

SANCHEZ: Oh, OK.

ENTEN: -- by 2050. And number two, on one that I think I put maybe a little bit more money behind, I do think that driverless cars, while they may not be a majority by 2050, I think we'll be seeing a lot more of them society.

KEILAR: I mean, that's a safe bet, Harry.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

ENTEN: Go on.

KEILAR: Come on. I get out on a limb, buddy. Come on.

ENTEN: That was my Bills, winning the Super by by 2050. The one on a limb and one that's easy.

SANCHEZ: We'll see.

KEILAR: All right.

SANCHEZ: If they win it, we may see Wolf Blitzer prancing through the streets of D.C. wearing nothing but a Buffalo Bills helmet. So cross fingers for that. Harry Enten, thank you so much.

ENTEN: See you later, buddy.

SANCHEZ: From Jimmy Kimmel's fight with the Trump administration to Taylor Swift's engagement era, the biggest entertainment stories of 2025 are next.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: What a year it has been in Hollywood, from struggles to get audiences back into theaters to the looming possibility of a mega media merger. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has the biggest entertainment stories of 2025.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: From Hollywood's battle with Trump to courtroom drama and the engagement we were all waiting for. Here are the top ten entertainment stories of 2025.

Number ten, a super-sized controversy.

BAD BUNNY: I'm doing the Super Bowl halftime show.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Bad Bunny is named halftime headliner, delighting his global fan base.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bad Bunny is slated to become the first Latino male artist to headline the Super Bowl.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): But some others blasted the choice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy does not seem like a unifying entertainer.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The Trump critic decided not to tour the U.S. mainland amid ICE raids, opting for 31 shows in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And, by the way, ICE did show up in -- during his shows. So, he did not want to have that happen for the Latino communities here in the United States.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): In response, conservative group Turning Point USA is producing their own halftime show.

Number nine.

TILLY NORWOOD, AI GENERATED ACTRESS: Let's get to know each other. And thanks for watching.

WAGMEISTER: Artificial intelligence invades Hollywood. Meet Tilly Norwood, a British actress who's not real.

NORWOOD: Real life Hollywood stars are condemning the project.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a ripoff.

WAGMEISTER: But AI is coming to Hollywood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey have partnered with 11 labs that will allow the voice cloning company to use AI technology to replicate their voices.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): And Disney, while suing one AI startup, is licensing its characters to another.

Number eight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't I know it?

WAGMEISTER: The box office roller coaster. As "Minecraft" and "Lilo and Stitch" wipe away early year box office bombs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen here. This ain't no house party.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Beyond "Sinners" and "Weapons," many original stories failed to hit big. Theaters turned to special events to fill seats.

TAYLOR SWIFT, SINGER, SONGWRITER: Hey, it's Taylor.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): A Taylor Swift album party, and a K-pop demon hunter sing along prove that fans can be wooed into theaters.

Number seven, the Sydney Sweeney saga.

SYDNEY SWEENEY: I'm not here to tell you to buy American Eagle jeans.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Sweeney's American Eagle ads led to a political firestorm.

SWEENEY: Jeans are passed down from parents to offsprings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.

SWEENEY: You see what I did there, right?

SANCHEZ: The ads featuring the blonde, blue-eyed actress generated a storm of criticism, accused of promoting eugenics.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The internet blew up with calls of racism and Naziism. The ad spawned endless parodies.

SANCHEZ: American Eagle stocks soaring up 35 percent.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): American Eagle had the last laugh. The jeans sold out within a week.

Number six.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are houses on fire.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The L.A. fires ravage Hollywood. Celebrities like Mark Hamill and Dick Van Dyke fled for their lives, while Jeff Bridges, Billy Crystal and Paris Hilton are among those who lost their homes. Actor Steve Guttenberg sprung into action as fires raged.

STEVE GUTTENBERG, ACTOR: I was helping people in wheelchairs, and there were mothers who were hysterical.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know one guy that lost his entire studio, burned.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Award show producers had a dilemma, should the show go on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a sense of community right now in Los Angeles that I personally haven't seen before.

[15:50:00]

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The Grammy's did go on, honoring firefighters and raising millions for victims.

Number five, the war for Warner Brothers.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: It's a mega deal that could reshape the entire entertainment industry.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Netflix wins a bidding war for the storied film studio and HBO. The streamer could change how we watch legendary titles like "Batman," "Harry Potter," and "Game of Thrones."

KEILAR: Paramount CEO David Ellison is turning up the heat, launching a hostile takeover bid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: All right, let's go to Mar-a-Lago, where President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have taken to the lecterns there.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A big meeting with a lot of people, a lot of talent. from Israel and from the U.S. And I think we came to a lot of conclusion, a lot of conclusion and conclusions. And there's very little difference in what we're looking at and where we want to be, where we want to go.

And so I just want to thank you for spending time. I know you're going to be over here for a couple of days, and maybe we'll be surprising us on New Year's Eve, that'll be fine.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you.

TRUMP: And it's wonderful seeing you and Sara and your whole group. Very talented group. We've done very good work together, and it'll continue. So thank you very much, Bibi.

NETANYAHU: Thank you.

TRUMP: Thank you very much.

NETANYAHU: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you.

I have to say that -- I have to say that, in addition to what I said, that we've never had a friend, even close a friend, as President Trump in the White House. I think he's been extraordinary in his friendship and his support for Israel, his principled positions, his willingness to just cut through to get to the essence of things. And I don't say that as a compliment. I just mean it.

People have heard me say that behind your back, Mr. President, many times. But I want to say something else. I think we have a partnership, if I can quote you, second to none. I think it's allowed us to do enormous things.

You know, people said there was a different conception at one time, which means that America can advance its interest in the Middle East if it opens a lot of daylight between it and Israel. And President Trump has done the exact opposite. He's achieved remarkable things in the Middle East because we've worked together.

We talk about our ideas. Sometimes we have different ideas, but we work it out. And most of the time, we see eye to eye. But it's been a remarkable experience, and this was a very, very productive meeting. And may I say, a very good lunch. Thank you. Thank you for your friendship.

TRUMP: Thank you very much, Bibi.

NETANYAHU: And thank you for your support. It's meant from the heart.

TRUMP: Thank you. You know, as I said outside, he's been a wartime prime minister, and we were -- look, I guess I could say I was a wartime president in more places than just Israel, if you think about it. But Israel was a big factor, and we're with you, and we'll continue to be with you. And a lot of good things are happening in the Middle East.

We have peace in the Middle East, and we're going to try and keep it that way. I think we will be very successful in keeping it that way. And you've been a great friend, and I've been a great friend to you and to Israel, and it's been my honor. And the award that I was given was really surprising and very much appreciated.

NETANYAHU: Well, President Trump has broken so many conventions to the surprise of people, and then they figure out, oh, well, maybe, you know, he was right after all. So we decided to break a convention to, or create a new one, and that is to award the Israel Prize, which in almost our 80 years, we've never awarded it to a non-Israeli. And we're going to award it this year to President Trump.

This was announced formally over lunch by our Minister of Education, who's responsible for the Israel Prize. It's going to be awarded to President Donald J. Trump for his tremendous contributions to Israel and the Jewish people. I think there's -- it's such a fitting thing. And it would honor us, obviously, Mr. President, if you could visit Israel in that occasion, on our Independence Day.

But I have to say that this reflects the overwhelming sentiment of Israelis across the spectrum. They appreciate what you've done to help Israel and to help our common battle against the terrorists and those who would destroy our civilization. So, again, that's an expression of thanks. and appreciation.

[15:55:00]

TRUMP: Thank you, Bibi, very much. That really is a great honor.

Any questions, please? We'll go pretty quickly because pretty much we agree on most of the things and you would know what most of those things are. Please go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to know if you and the Prime Minister talked about having Israel pulled back its troops before Hamas fully disarms. I know that's been an issue. Did you push for that today?

TRUMP: Well, we talked about Hamas, and we talked about disarmament. And they're going to be given a very short period of time to disarm. And we'll see how that works out. Steve Witcoff and Jared Kushner will be in charge of that from our side. But if they don't disarm, as they agreed to do, they agreed to it, and then they'll be held to pay for them.

And we don't want that. We're not looking for that. But they have to disarm within a fairly short period of time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is Israel withdrawing its forces?

TRUMP: Well, that's a separate subject. We'll talk about that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President.

TRUMP: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have a message for the Prime Minister about the West Bank? And are you at all concerned that settler violence, Israeli settler violence could be undermining the peace plan?

TRUMP: Well, we have had a discussion, big discussion for a long time on the West Bank, and I wouldn't say we agree on the West Bank 100 percent, but we will come to a conclusion on the West Bank.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I could ask, what is the disagreement?

TRUMP: Well, I don't want to do that. It'll be announced at an appropriate time. But he will do the right thing. I know that. I know him very well. He will do the right thing.

Yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a growing fear of a confrontation between

Israel and Turkey. How are you going to ease this tension given the fact that Erdogan, President Erdogan calls Mr. Netanyahu Hitler and compares Israel to the Nazis?

TRUMP: Well, I know President Erdogan very well. And as you all know, he's a very good friend of mine. And I believe that -- and I do respect him and Bibi respects him. And they're not going to have a problem. They're not going to have a problem. I know him very well.

And you've seen me do things with President Erdogan and Turkey that nobody else could have done. We're not going to have a problem. He's done a fantastic job.

I'm with him all the way. I'm with Bibi all the way. Nothing's going to happen.

Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, are you concerned that Israel is not moving quickly enough to phase two of the peace plan?

TRUMP: Well, I'm not concerned about anything that Israel is doing. I'm concerned about what other people are doing or maybe aren't doing. But I'm not concerned. They've lived up to the plan.

They're strong, they're solid. And sometimes they don't understand when somebody violates something that you want to give them a second chance. Well, we'll give them a couple of second chances. But no, Israel's lived up to the plan 100 percent.

Don't forget, we made the plan possible by taking out Iran. And speaking of Iran, I hope they're not trying to build up again, because if they are, we're going to have no choice but very quickly to eradicate that buildup. So I hope Iran is not trying to build up, as I've been reading, that they're building up weapons and other things.

And if they are or they're not -- they're not using the sites that we obliterated, but they're using possibly different sites. We know exactly where they're going, what they're doing. And I hope they're not doing it because we don't want to waste the fuel on a B-2. It's a 37-hour trip, both ways. I don't want to waste a lot of fuel. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After your last remarks regarding the pardon's request of Prime Minister Netanyahu, Herzog office told us that you have not talked after the official request of Prime Minister Netanyahu's pardon. Can you clarify to us? Did you talk about it?

TRUMP: What's the question you're talking about?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With the President, the Israeli President Herzog. Did you talk with him directly?

TRUMP: President Erdogan. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Herzog, Herzog. The Israeli President.

TRUMP: Oh, you're talking about pardon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

TRUMP: Oh, well, you got to say that. No, I think he's going to be in great shape. He's a wartime prime minister at the highest level. He's achieved tremendous success.

And I'll say it, you know, if you had eight out of 10 prime ministers in his position right now, or before right now, maybe, you wouldn't have Israel any longer. Israel would not exist. I'd say two of them would, and eight of them wouldn't. Those are not good odds.

You needed a very special man to really carry through and really help Israel through this horrible -- Jim, you know, these are major factions, and it started with our negotiation with Iran. I think it probably started with Soleimani. That was really where -- you mentioned that today. It started with Soleimani, a bad guy doing bad things, hurting a lot of people, killing American soldiers and other soldiers. But it started -- right there would probably be the ...

END