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Photos of European Influencers Used in Pro-Trump Propaganda; Will Trump Sell Stock in TRUTH Social?; Will Biden Meet With Chinese President?; Ukrainian Pilot Killed. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 29, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:10]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: New this morning, a major meeting between the leaders of global rivals could be in the works, the White House leaving open the possibility of a face-to-face meeting between President Biden and China's Xi Jinping by the end of this year.

Here's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Beijing shaking hands with the Chinese president just hours ago. It's part of a three- day trip to strengthen ties between the two countries.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is traveling with the president in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Arlette, in terms of how the White House is framing things right now, this is a very rare visit from the national security adviser. How do they feel like it's gone so far?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Phil, the main goal of National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan's trip to China is essentially to keep those lines of communications open with the country that the U.S. views as a key competitor, but is also trying to avoid from really engaging in any type of conflict with.

Now, Sullivan has spent three days on the ground there meeting with various leaders, including China's foreign minister, top military officials, and, perhaps most importantly, President Xi Jinping himself.

The White House has said that they are working towards scheduling a meeting between Xi and President Joe Biden in the coming weeks. It's not clear when exactly that might happen, but Sullivan today, when he was speaking to reporters, also left open the possibility that Biden and Xi could potentially meet in person in the coming months before Biden leaves office.

He said that the two could potentially be attending either the APEC summit or G20 summit in the weeks just after the November election. He wouldn't commit to any type of meeting, but said there's a possibility the two might be there.

It comes as President Biden himself is still keen on trying to manage the relations with China at a time when there are various tension points with the country. There is tension over trade policy, the posture towards Taiwan, and also China's moves in the South China Sea, the U.S. especially concerned about some of the aggressive posture that China has taken, specifically with the Philippines, which is a key U.S. ally.

Take a listen to Sullivan talking about that matter a bit earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: So, the PRC well understands the longstanding commitment to the United States has under its mutual defense treaty to the Philippines, and the Philippines well understands that we have an ironclad commitment to support them in their lawful exercise of their rights, their maritime rights.

At the same time, nobody is looking for a crisis, not the Philippines, not the United States, and we hope not the PRC. But I did raise our concerns about some of the destabilizing actions that have taken place, including the ramming of Coast Guard vessels and unsafe intercepts near Scarborough Shoal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, in his meetings in China, Sullivan spoke with the country's foreign minister. The two talked about trying to set up conversations between their respective military theater commanders.

That is another attempt to try to avoid any type of miscommunication as they're trying to avoid any direct conflict between the two countries.

MATTINGLY: And what's fascinating, Arlette, is, this is happening with the backdrop of the 2024 election. It's unavoidable.

I think everybody's trying to figure out what's going to happen, including foreign leaders. Jake Sullivan was asked about the vice president -- or Vice President Harris today, made comments about her. What did he say?

SAENZ: Yes, so Jake Sullivan in this press conference was asked specifically if the Chinese leaders had any questions for him relating to Vice President Harris.

Now, Sullivan said that he wouldn't speak to the exact questions that he was asked, but he did say that he shared his own experience with working with Harris.

So it's a really interesting point as you're thinking about a possible transition if Harris were to win from a Biden to a Harris administration. Of course, right now, China is viewing this election, trying to determine who they might be working with down the road.

So it's interesting to hear Sullivan say that he talked about Harris' experience in those meetings. He also, to the reporters, was quick to tout Harris' work when it comes to foreign policy and also specifically when it relates to China. She -- he said that Harris is in lockstep with President Biden's approach to the country.

These are all things that could potentially come up in that big interview she has tonight with ABC -- or with CNN at a time when people are still trying to ascertain what exactly Harris' foreign policy might be going forward in the next administration were she to win.

MATTINGLY: That's a fascinating moment.

CNN. Arlette, don't time-out. Your former employer, current employer.

(LAUGHTER)

MATTINGLY: It's Dana Bash.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

SAENZ: I know.

(LAUGHTER)

MATTINGLY: No, I'm just messing around.

Arlette, live from the Rehoboth bureau for CNN, appreciate your time, as always, my friend. Thanks so much.

Well, we have breaking news. A source tells CNN that a top Ukrainian pilot has been killed while flying a U.S.-made F-16 fighter jet. It was one of the first F-16s delivered to Ukraine after its president pleaded with the West for the military aid.

[11:35:05]

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joins us.

Now, Nick, what more do we know about the crash and kind of the broader implications?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, let's start with what we know about the crash.

Now, we're being told by a Ukrainian defense official that this occurred during the F-16 and its pilot, Oleksiy Mes, by the call sign Moonfish, were repelling one of the largest Russian assaults on Ukraine that we have seen in the past years, frankly, that occurred earlier on this week, over 400 projectiles fired this week at Ukraine, sort of Moscow's retribution for its losses on the border, the F-16 involved, this defense official says, in repelling that attack.

And we heard from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said somewhat cryptically that F-16s had been used to try and stem some of the missile attacks earlier this week. The defense official refers to a crash, and so there will be discussion as to exactly whether this was a technical problem caused by a role in combat or the plane shot out of the sky as it flew over Ukraine.

But, remember, this is one of six that have arrived in Ukraine already,the pilots perhaps trained at such a compressed rate, maybe even more a valuable resource potentially than the jets themselves, 80 of which have been promised by European allies to Ukraine.

The Biden administration had to sign off on this because these planes are U.S.-made. And it could potentially, when they arrive en masse, be a bit of a game changer for Ukraine, who's suffered from a lack of air superiority for the past years. They have limited jets and helicopters, but it's the Russians who have enough jets to bomb Ukrainian positions at will.

That's been a huge problem for Ukrainian forces across the front line. The F-16s may have been able to change that, but here we have a piece of news which I think military analysts will say is not entirely surprising, if you put pilots in a compressed training regiment into some of the most complex combat scenarios seen over Europe for decades, and then, of course, rush into the field as well these F-16 jets with a maintenance regime that must be so complex, given the environment they're functioning in.

So, a key moment, certainly, for Ukraine, the F-16 in combat defending its skies, but now enduring a loss as well. There will be questions as to what this means, the technical viability going forward, but it is a startling moment.

And I think the loss of this pilot known as Moonfish, Oleksiy Mes, felt keenly by many Ukrainians, a very experienced man, chosen for this particular role. And he went to the U.S. to advocate for the F- 16s being delivered, and now meeting his death, it seems, while defending Ukraine -- Phil.

MATTINGLY: Yes, you mentioned the moment, that moment also coming in the backdrop of another round of Russian air attacks overnight, inn officials calling them massive.

What more do we know?

WALSH: Yes, look, 60 drones shot down, two missiles shot down, but three missiles got through, and another 19 -- sorry, my math is terrible -- another 16 drones seemed to have got through as well.

These appear to be targeting energy infrastructure for the most part. We have seen it since Monday, 400-plus aerial projectiles, Russia's retaliation really, many are seeing this, for the humiliation they're enduring from Ukraine's surprise incursion into the Kursk region on the border areas, and it seems too potentially in the last 24 hours into the Belgorod region as well, where local Russian officials are asking for evacuations.

Zelenskyy clearly, Ukraine's president, throwing everything he can in this moment into the fight, asking the Biden administration and Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, presidential candidates and serving presidents, to approve the use of U.S.-supplied longer-range weapons to hit a specific list of targets inside Russia, as well as already using longer-range Ukrainian drones and missiles to hit oil depots.

You're seeing there ammo supplies, even potentially airfields. As far north as the Arctic Circle, there was an alert in aviation last week, so, so much moving here, and I think many analysts are seeing this as Ukraine urgently trying to change the dynamic on the battlefield ahead of a winter where they might find themselves pushed into a negotiating stance, maybe by a change in U.S. president -- Phil.

MATTINGLY: Nick Paton Walsh, as always, thanks so much.

Well, Donald Trump will be able to sell the shares of his media company soon. It would be a huge help paying for those sky-high legal debts, not to mention perhaps his presidential campaign, but it's not actually as simple as it sounds.

We will explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:43:45]

MATTINGLY: Six months after taking TRUTH Social public, Donald Trump could be set for a big payday.

Starting next month, the former president will be able to sell his shares in the platform's parent company, his stake currently valued at more than $2 billion.

CNN's Matt Egan joins us now.

Matt, seems pretty simple on its face, but tapping into that stash of cash is not exactly easy. Why?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Phil, that's right.

I have been covering this company for years, and I can tell you nothing about it is simple or straightforward. And one of the most fascinating parts about Trump Media is that for months former President Trump has been sitting on this multibillion-dollar social media fortune, a fortune that he could have been using to try to meet some of his cash needs.

However, he hasn't been able to touch it because those shares are locked up, which is fairly typical in deals like that. However, those lockup restrictions, they are going away very soon. If the share price stays above $12 -- and it is above that right now -- then the lockup restrictions go away on September 20.

Even if the share price doesn't do that, restrictions go away on the 25th. And either way, at that point, he's going to legally be free to sell his stake. However, practically speaking, this would be very, very difficult to do.

[11:45:04]

In any situation, a large shareholder like Trump really is not able to sell most or all of their stake. And that is especially true here because Trump is not just a leading shareholder. He's the most popular user on TRUTH Social. The company's stock ticker symbol is even DJT.

That's why NYU Law Professor Michael Ohlrogge, he told me that it would be all -- it would be just about impossible for Trump to liquidate his whole stake or even a third of it without completely tanking the stock price.

And, look, the stock price has been tanking. That's why his stake is now worth just $2.3 billion. It's still a lot of money, of course, but well down from the $6.2 billion it was worth in May. The share price is down 70 percent since March.

One other point here, Phil, there could be another way for Trump to sort of tap into this social media fortune. He could try to borrow against the stock, but to do that he would have to find a bank, a wealthy individual, or some other entity to lend to him. And that, that would not be simple either, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Nothing's easy.

(LAUGHTER)

MATTINGLY: Always complicated.

Matt Egan, thank you so much, my friend. Thank you.

We will still ahead: Their modeling careers are real. Their photos are real, but their support for Donald Trump, let's just call them fake views. CNN investigates how these women ended up on bogus social accounts endorsing the former president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:36]

MATTINGLY: European social media influencers are having their identities stolen in an attempt to influence the U.S. presidential election.

Here's CNN investigative reporter Katie Polglase.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (voice-over): Debbie is heading home from work in Luxembourg, Northern Europe, crossing the border into Germany, she races back to her son, and, of course, Lou.

But Debbie's day doesn't end there. She's also a professional mode, her image not only her identity, but her source of income, helping support her and her son.

But it's been stolen, used in a pro-Trump account on X, attracting nearly 30,000 followers in less than six months.

(on camera): Here is Luna. DEBBIE NEDERLOF, MODEL & SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER: Yes. That's very

crazy.

POLGLASE: And when you see these views, you know, it's saying, vote for Trump in 2024, what's your reaction?

NEDERLOF: My -- to be honest, what the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) was my reaction. That was my reaction, because I have nothing to do with the United States, with Trump or the political things over there.

POLGLASE: And if people following this account believe that this is you, what do you want to say to them?

NEDERLOF: That it's definitely not me, definitely. It was never me and it will never be me. And they have to unfollow, please.

POLGLASE: In fact, Debbie is not alone. In partnership with the Centre for Information Resilience, CNN found nearly 60 fake Trump supporting accounts.

And from these, we identified nearly a dozen women, real women, from across Europe, from Denmark to the Netherlands, and as far away as Russia, whose identities are being used in accounts telling voters, American voters, to vote for Trump in the upcoming U.S. election.

(voice-over): Let's take a look at some of these accounts, like Alina (ph), 33, and voting for Trump. But she's not. She's really Kamilla from Denmark.

KAMILLA BROBERG, INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER: I think it's weird. Anything that can discriminate other people on my account, because it's my little universe. I don't think it's fair.

POLGLASE: And this one, Eva. She even has a verified blue tick, which is supposed to weed out fake accounts.

NERIAH TELLERUP, INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER: You feel very taken advantage of, also because it's kind of my image. I don't want to think people think that I do what those profiles sometimes are promoting.

POLGLASE: We ran the suspicious X photos through a reverse image search engine and found they were lifted from Instagram posts.

Certain patterns emerged. The fake accounts repost each other. It's a sign of a coordinated campaign.

Here, several of the fake accounts post the exact same wording: "If you're voting for the man who survived an assassination attempt, I want to follow you." It's another sign the accounts are linked.

And that's not all. Some of the accounts manipulated the images of these women. Have a look at Debbie's post, the original on Instagram, and now the fake one on X. Her hat now reads, "Make America Great Again."

Look at this T-shirt before, and then Trump 2024. For now, we don't know who is behind all these accounts. But the former U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman who also used to investigate fake accounts for Twitter told us this:

EMILY HORNE, FORMER GLOBAL HEAD OF POLICY, TWITTER: I don't think it's unreasonable to ask questions about, could there be a state actor involved?

We know that there are multiple state actors who have been using social media to try to sow disinformation campaigns in the run-up to the 2024 election.

POLGLASE: But, regardless, the accounts are reaching influential politicians.

Doug Mastriano, a Republican state senator for Pennsylvania, follows Debbie's fake account. CNN contacted the senator about the account, but has not heard back.

Back in Germany, Debbie is shocked and upset that her image is being used in this way. With President Trump now back on X and Elon Musk, the owner of X, throwing his weight behind him, fake pro-Trump content appears to be flourishing, silencing the real women affected, once again, women's rights at the very heart of this presidential election.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:55:11]

POLGLASE: Well, look, this investigation really showed that the level of verification X, the platform, has plummeted massively under Musk's leadership.

The team designed to catch this kind of stuff, the trust and safety team, have effectively been dismantled. And, of course, we did put our findings to X. We sent them the full list of accounts, but we received no response.

But, interestingly, just within the 24 hours or so before publishing, we saw that the majority of the accounts had been taken down. Now, of course, it's also worth noting at this point that there is no indication that the Trump campaign are behind any of them -- Phil.

MATTINGLY: Great reporting. Katie Polglase, thanks so much.

And thank you for joining us this morning, I'm Phil Mattingly.

"INSIDE POLITICS" with my good bud Manu Raju is up next right after a quick break.