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Eight Injured After Targeted Attack at a Colorado Rally; Hamas Ready for Immediate Talks with Israel to End the War; Dozens of Palestinian Killed at Aid Distribution Site in Gaza; Ukraine Conducts Large-Scale Operation Targeting Russian Airbases; Eight Injured In Colorado Attack At Event For Israeli Hostages; U.S. Commerce Secretary Says "Tariffs Are Not Going Away"; Polls Close In Mexico After Voters Cast Ballots For State, Federal Judges. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 02, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Let's get straight to our breaking news. We are following new details out of Boulder, Colorado, where police now say eight people have been injured in an attack on Jewish community members who had gathered in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza. The suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was seen carrying two bottles after he reportedly used a makeshift flamethrower and incendiary device in the attack on Sunday.

He was later taken into custody and is expected to be charged in the coming days. One source says federal criminal charges are likely. The victims' range in age from 52 to 88. One FBI official had this update just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MICHALEK, FBI DENVER SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: This attack happened at a regularly scheduled weekly peaceful event. Witnesses are reporting that the subject used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd. The suspect was heard to yell, Free Palestine, during the attack. The subject has been identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, and he's 45-years-old. The FBI is processing the crime scene and the subject vehicle and interviewing key witnesses. We're assisting Boulder Police in providing technical, analytic, and additional forensic resources.

As a result of these preliminary facts, it is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism. Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country. This is an example of how perpetrators of violence continue to threaten communities across our nation. It's our job, the FBI, the Boulder Police, and our law enforcement and community partners, to bring these criminals to justice and keep our communities safe. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRUCH: CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has more now on the attack and the investigation.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Multiple individuals were injured, some severely, after a man reportedly set people on fire in downtown Boulder, Colorado. The FBI said it is investigating it as a targeted terror attack. The attack happened during a pro-Israeli demonstration, an event called "Boulder Run For Their Lives," organized to support hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel.

Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfern said emergency dispatchers began receiving urgent calls at around 1:26 p.m. local time, reporting a man armed with a weapon attacking attendees near the courthouse. Upon their arrival, officers found victims suffering from burns after the suspect allegedly threw bottles containing a flammable liquid that ignited upon impact, according to multiple law enforcement officials.

According to the Boulder Police Chief, bystanders quickly pointed out to police the suspect, who is currently in custody and also receiving medical attention, for minor injuries. And we're starting to hear from those bystanders and people who were present at this demonstration, one young woman describing a harrowing scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: I hope that Jews will not be scared to come out and protest for our hostages now. I think that now more than ever we need to be strong in our Judaism and our faith, and know that Hashem has Israel in His heart, and that it is essential for us as not only Jews but as humans to help the vulnerable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: The director for "Stand With Us Colorado," an organization fighting anti-Semitism and supporting Israel behind this demonstration, posted on Facebook on Sunday saying, quote, "To all my friends near and far, thank you so much for your calls and texts today to check in. I am okay, but there are five people from the Boulder "Run For Their Lives" group today who are not." She also said that all "Run For Their Lives" walks are canceled until further notice.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis is also posting on X, saying that he's closely monitoring the situation, condemning it as a hate-filled act, and he said that local and federal law enforcement agencies are working collaboratively on this ongoing investigation. Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.

CHRUCH: Earlier, a man who was at the scene described to us what he saw and how the suspect was acting after launching his attack. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIAN H., WITNESS: The attacker was pretty erratic and walking, pacing around, yelling things like, F the Zionist or F you Zionist, you're killing all of my people, with some other things thrown in there as well, like child killers and things like that, things that you probably have heard other people kind of spew in the past through social media and so on and so forth.

[02:05:00]

And so I tried recording it, just assuming that he would probably try and make a run for it at some point. Before the police got there, he had two kinds of carafes of a clear liquid, which I initially thought was alcohol, like I said in my video. I'm assuming it's probably diesel gasoline. Once I learned a little bit more about it, especially because of the smell of all the burning gasoline in the area, he had an orange vest on initially and took that off.

And then I heard other people, obviously, people were screaming, distraught, some were writhing in pain, some weren't moving at all from the pain and from being burned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now from Los Angeles is CNN law enforcement contributor Steve Moore and a retired special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I appreciate you joining us.

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So the FBI is investigating this horrifying attack as an act of terrorism and has identified the suspect as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman. The suspect was seen carrying two bottles and reportedly yelled, Free Palestine, at the time of that attack. What questions would the FBI be asking at this time as part of their investigation?

MOORE: Well, first thing you're going to want to know is, did he act alone? That's the most important. So you can determine whether other sites are safe or whether there could be a follow-on attack. The second thing they're going to want to know is the motivation and the time of planning that this attack took. So it's going to be some long interviews. I did similar interviews that went eight, 10 hours at a time.

CHURCH: And we know that at least six people were injured in this burning attack. What more are you learning about this incident?

MOORE: I haven't heard anything specifically, but I do hear there's two types of devices here. You have the Molotov cocktail, which is the glass or the bottle full of the gasoline, and that he had kind of an improvised aerosol torch that he was using. And so that's, again, both things are deadly weapons. And he's probably not going to see his homeland again.

CHURCH: Yeah. And this group of protesters in Boulder, Colorado, was gathering in support of the Israeli hostages being held in Gaza since the October 7th attack on Israeli soil. And now disturbing videos emerging from that scene in Boulder. What does that video reveal to you and to FBI investigators?

MOORE: It's going to involve the level of planning that he's had. You're going to want to know how much of the weapons he brought with him. How many of the weapons, how much gasoline, what accelerants he used, how he got them? And, you know, they're going to go back and find out how long has this event been going on because I understand it's a weekly event.

And so they're going to want to find out what's the shortest time and what's the longest time it took him to plan it. They're also going to look at all of his social media to find out where he was getting energized and radicalized on this front.

CHURCH: And the FBI says that the suspect reportedly used this makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd, as you mentioned. What does the use of such a weapon like that indicate to you?

MOORE: It indicates that he is not probably funded from overseas, that this was improvised. These are things that, if not common knowledge, many people know them already, but you can also pick this up on the Internet. These are things that you can walk into a grocery store and pick up. You go to a gas station, you empty a bottle, you get a rag. I mean, it's very simple. So these devices were simple, crude even. And so it indicates to me he had no outside training or support, really.

CHURCH: So you have a sense that he was acting as a lone wolf in this incident?

MOORE: I do. I do. I think if you had a different type of attack, a vehicle attack like we've seen lately, or if he was using sophisticated explosives, or maybe had a firearm that would be difficult to procure, then you're looking for material support by someone. But the way he went about this, showing up without a shirt, it looks to me like it was an individual decision, and maybe not planned out for a long time.

[02:10:01]

I mean, if you've planned it out for three or four weeks, you're not going to come out with one bottle and one aerosol can. I would assume you're going to bring a bunch. And this to me seems possibly planned a short time before, if not a spontaneous or near-spontaneous act.

CHURCH: And do you think looking at this, I mean, how is it that authorities could protect people going forward against these sorts of attacks and is that even possible? And in a situation like this, I mean, are you surprised that it didn't end even worse than it already did?

MOORE: I'm grateful it didn't end worse than it did. And it could have easily been just much, much worse. Not to say that being burned and sent to burn wards is not horrible for the people and the families. But I don't think there really is a way to protect people who are exercising their right to speech and the right to protest. That's what makes America strong, is the ability to do this.

And there's a right to it. But there is also the knowledge that you're going to get some lunatic who can't accept that you have that right and who's going to try and punish you for exercising your rights under the Constitution.

CHURCH: Steve Moore, we appreciate you joining us. Many thanks.

MOORE: Thank you.

CHURCH: Colorado Governor Jared Polis is condemning what he called a heinous and targeted act on the Jewish community. He spoke earlier with CNN about the violence and those who've been affected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARED POLIS, GOVERNOR OF COLORADO: The victims are elderly individuals. We know that at least two of them have had injuries that have been somewhat severe. I hope that everybody makes it. But, of course, at this point, we don't have that information yet. But you know, this has really inflicted a lot of fear in the Jewish community at large, the pro-Israel community.

This is a very public place in Boulder. I've walked by, by the way, these folks who most weeks are there reminding us that the hostages are still being held by Hamas and to think that they would be attacked viciously and targeted simply because of their political beliefs in this country and the state. It's just, you know, completely, you know, hard to believe.

This has been occurring for weeks. There's just a standard security wall. There were not any threats that I was aware of particular to this event. We have, as a state, put money into protecting targeted sites, and these are synagogues, churches, mosques that have faced threats. We've helped install video cameras. We've given grants, $50,000, $100,000 to protect them and offer protection for major offense.

This kind of thing that happens, you know, these kinds of peaceful protests happen regularly. I mean, this is the -- for those who've been to Boulder, Colorado, the public thoroughfare, Pearl Street Mall is very much a free speech zone. It's very much in keeping with the tradition of the Pearl Street Mall that there's people there from a variety of causes, and some you might agree with, some you might disagree with. But this has been, at least until now, a safe place to have your voice heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: U.S. and Israeli officials are denouncing the attack in Boulder. Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer posted on social media, quote, "This is horrifying and this cannot continue. We must stand up to anti-Semitism." Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote, "This violent anti-Semitic attack is heartbreaking and deeply disturbing. Terrorist sympathizers have made it clear they will do anything to try and silence the Jewish people and those who support Israel."

And Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, said, "Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border. It is already burning the streets of America. Make no mistake, this is not a political protest. This is terrorism." Well, police in New York say they are monitoring what happened in Colorado and that they had already increased their presence at synagogues and other religious sites across the city for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. That includes more high-visibility patrols and heavy weapons teams being deployed. The NYPD has routinely sent more officers to synagogues and mosques since the October 7th Hamas attacks and the ongoing war in Gaza.

Still to come, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt are trying to help bring about a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. What Hamas is saying about those efforts, that is next.

Plus, Russia and Ukraine are attempting another round of peace talks, just one day after Kyiv launched a bold and significant drone strike operation on Russian airbases. The details, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:15:06]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. We have new developments on the efforts to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza. Hamas says it's ready to immediately begin indirect negotiations to resolve outstanding issues to reach an agreement. But the militant group adds they hope the talks will achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces. Qatar and Egypt say they are continuing their efforts to help bring about a deal, as recent negotiations over a U.S.-proposed ceasefire plan appear to make little progress.

Despite efforts to bring about a ceasefire hostage-release deal, Israel's defense minister is telling the military to keep advancing in Gaza. In a statement, Israel Katz called on the military to, quote, "employ all necessary means by air, land and sea." Adding either Hamas releases the hostages or it will be destroyed.

[02:19:57]

Palestinians are mourning after Sunday's deadly shooting at an aid center in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry says the death toll in the incident has gone up, with at least 31 Palestinians killed and dozens injured. CNN's Oren Lieberman has the details. A warning, though, some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: A deadly day near an aid distribution site in southern Gaza on Sunday, when the Palestinian Ministry of Health says 31 Palestinians were killed and scores more were wounded. The Red Cross, which has a 60-bed field hospital in Rafah, says their facility was quickly overwhelmed by the number of people who came in with gunshot and shrapnel wounds. The Red Cross says they had to send the casualties to several other facilities in order to be treated.

They called it the single highest weapon-wounded event that they've dealt with since the beginning of their facility more than a year ago. The Palestinian Ministry of Health says it was Israeli forces who opened fire on Palestinians as they went towards an aid distribution site. They said those killed had suffered gunshot wounds to the head and to the chest. Doctors at Nasser Hospital and paramedics say they also treated the gunshot wounds, many of them from this mass casualty incident.

Israel denies any involvement here, saying that they did not open fire on Palestinians at or near an aid distribution site. They said accusations that Israeli soldiers did so were, quote, "false reports." The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is the controversial U.S. and Israel-backed organization that runs these sites, says there was no fire at or near any of their four sites, either during the distribution of aid or throughout the morning at some of those other sites that were closed.

They said reports otherwise are untrue and fabricated. One medical official in Gaza did tell CNN that it was very difficult, especially in a chaos like these moments, to tell who was firing upon whom and who it was that was responsible for the shooting. Now, an Israeli military source did tell CNN that there was an incident several hours before the distribution site opened, a kilometer away from the site, in which suspects approached an Israeli position.

The Israeli forces opened fire towards the suspects that were approaching with warning shots, but the military source says this is not connected to reports of Israel opening fire on civilians near a distribution site. Video from Rafah in the aftermath of the scene shows the chaos of the moment as Palestinians rush the wounded and the killed for treatment or to hospitals.

The head of UNRWA, which is the U.N. agency that works with Palestinian refugees, says the distribution sites are, quote, "death traps" because of what unfolded today and the challenges over the course of the past week since these new distribution sites opened. The GHF has been up and running for about a week now, with a plan being there to open four different sites.

Several of those have been up and running over the course of the last several days, and in the videos from these scenes, you see thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Palestinians rushing in the moment they're open, rushing to get boxes, and then taking whatever food is in those boxes. Each is supposed to be able to feed a family for about a half a week, and leaving the scenes. It is in this scene of chaos that this mass shooting occurred. Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

CHURCH: Ukrainian forces launched what's being described as a bold and sophisticated counterattack. Videos from social media show thick smoke rising near Russia's Belaya airfield on Sunday. It was one of four Russian airbases targeted by Ukraine in an audacious drone operation. Russia confirmed the strikes, condemning them as terrorist attacks. Ukraine claims Operation Spider's Web, as it's being called, has inflicted $7 billion worth of damage on the Russian military and impacted more than one-third of Moscow's strategic cruise missile carriers. Back in Kyiv, residents are celebrating the latest strike against Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAVLO FESENKO, KYIV RESIDENT (through translation): They, from time to time, conduct successful operations and prove that we are moving forward, something that is very difficult. But what they are doing is, one said that we are living lives from the history books. What they are doing, I do not think anyone heard of anything like this before. It is such a huge, massive, disgraceful blow for Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: This all comes as Russian and Ukrainian officials are expected to meet in Istanbul in the coming hours. But neither side is optimistic the summit will yield an imminent resolution to the war. According to President Zelenskyy, the Kremlin has so far ignored Ukraine's request to present a ceasefire plan ahead of the talks.

[02:24:54]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): Russia did not hand over their memorandum to anyone. We do not have it, the Turkish side does not have it either, and the U.S. side does not have the Russian document. However, we will try to reach at least some progress on the way to peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Our Sebastian Shukla has the latest.

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN FIELD PRODUCER: Incredible video has been emerging from deep inside Russia on Sunday following a large-scale coordinated attack launched by the Ukrainian security services, the SBU, on military air bases inside Russia, sources have told CNN. Videos circulating on social media from Siberia show plumes of thick black smoke billowing out of targets in the region of Irkutsk, some 4,000 kilometers away from the Ukrainian battlefields.

Other video appearing to show from the drones themselves the damage inflicted by this attack at the Belaya air base in Irkutsk. In another video supplied by a Ukrainian source, you can hear the voice of Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk saying how beautiful Belaya airfield looks now, the enemy's strategic aircraft.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

SHUKLA: An SBU source also told CNN that Russian bombers are burning en masse across Russia with other airfields in Ryazan, Murmansk and Ivanovo also targeted in this audacious attack, which has been described as, quote, "extremely complicated" from a logistical point of view by Ukrainian intelligence. CNN has also been able to learn that the attack was launched from inside Russia with one video appearing to show drones rising from a truck stopped near a highway.

Now, more than 40 aircraft are known to have been hit, including strategic bombers and one of Russia's very few remaining surveillance planes. The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that airfields across five Russian regions have been targeted and have called it a terrorist attack. There have, though, been no reports of any casualties and that fires at those bases have now since been extinguished.

But the attack also marks some of the most ambitious launch by Ukraine since the war began in February 2022. But Ukraine has waged a campaign of targeting key military and infrastructure sites across Russia for many months. And likewise, Russia has done the same in Ukraine. But most, if not all, of the Ukrainian attacks have originated from inside Ukraine.

This attack is a huge shift in those operations and is clearly designed to send a message to the Kremlin that Ukraine is advancing both technologically and operationally inside Russia. And, of course, this attack comes in the hours before both Russia and Ukraine are due to meet in Turkey again for another round of talks aimed at implementing a ceasefire and steps to bringing this grinding war to an end. Sebastian Shukla, CNN, Berlin.

CHURCH: Still to come, more on the breaking news out of Colorado where multiple people were set on fire and injured in what authorities are calling a targeted attack. We'll have details in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:28]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The person who threw the Molotov cocktail had two more in his hand, and he was holding them, and he was yelling and he was screaming at everybody. That, you know, you're killing people is what he just kept screaming. You're killing. I think he was saying, you're killing my people. As he was holding -- and I was only trying to make sure people were getting away because I saw another bomb going off that was in his hand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Back now to our breaking news out of Boulder, Colorado. The FBI is investigating an attack there as an act of terrorism after they say a man used a makeshift flamethrower to injure at least eight people at a gathering in support of Israeli hostages. Video is emerging from the scene, and we want to warn you the images are disturbing.

Smoke can be seen rising after the attack on Sunday. The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was reported to have yelled "Free Palestine!" He was arrested and is expected to be charged in the coming days. Authorities say the victims range in age from 52 to 88. One of the

organizers of the event in Boulder says a woman was severely burned and had to roll on the ground to extinguish the flames. An eyewitness at Sundays event tells CNN a holocaust survivor is among those wounded in the attack. The Boulder community is rallying together after the violence.

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter has more on the reaction from the local Jewish community and beyond.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yeah, all across Facebook and other online platforms, you can see and read the fear, the outrage, and also the resolve. The Boulder attack has intensified the fears of many jews in America, especially those who are active in their communities with pro-Israel causes. The suspect in the Boulder attack targeted a weekly event, a weekly demonstration that was well known in the city, known as the "Run for Their Lives" walk.

This is a worldwide effort to call for the immediate release of the hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas. Local residents were reminded about Sundays gathering on Facebook and other platforms. It was easy to know when and where this event was taking place, in Boulder, one of the posts in advance read, quote, until they're all home. We will keep walking and calling attention to the plight of the hostages.

In the aftermath of the firebombing attack, you can see images and videos on social media showing the chaos. I was struck by one image showing a discarded Israeli flag that must have been held or brought by one of the participants, suddenly laying there on the ground as everyone scattered when this attack took place. Some people grabbed T- shirts, others went to look for buckets of water to try to help the victims.

There was a statement issued by a number of rabbis and other Jewish community leaders in the immediate aftermath that said, in part: We are shaken. We are saddened and heartbroken by what happened. Our hearts go out to those who witnessed this horrible attack and prayers for a speedy recovery to those who were injured.

Quote: When events like this enter our own community, we are shaken. Our hope is that we come together for one another. The message ended with the words strength to you all.

For the time being, those "Run for Their Lives" events in Boulder have been called off, but I suspect organizers want to come back in an even more intensive effort in the weeks ahead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:35:08]

CHURCH: CNN law enforcement analyst Jonathan Wackrow says the suspect's weapon of choice will tell investigators a lot about his motives. Here's what he says could be the next steps in the case. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Anytime that you have the utilization of an improvised device, such as a Molotov cocktail, it signals really two things to these investigators, intent in planning. So by no means was this random whatsoever.

The utilization of fire as a weapon, though, is very interesting. It's often used to inflict chaos and incite fear. Sending these symbolic messages. And we've seen that time and time again, not just to cause physical harm, but really to intimidate entire communities. So, targeting a demonstration or a peaceful protest that we had today really suggests a motive that's rooted, that's rooted in some sort of ideology.

Directionally, investigators know that the utilization of these devices against this group specifically really points them, and that gives them that this starting point for the investigation. What are they doing right now? Will they have a suspect in custody?

They're going to see if they can question this suspect. They most likely know who this individual is, and they are going to start running a series of you know, multiple investigations on this individual, one starting digitally. They're going to look at this digital footprint of the individual to see if there's any type of ideological language that he has used in the past that may lead to a motive.

They're going to start executing search warrants, search warrants on the vehicle, search warrants on where this person lives, if he's in this area, or is this going to be a multi-investigation where other resources are brought in to execute these search warrants?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Coming up, President Donald Trump is pushing on with his aggressive tariff agenda as White House officials signal that he's planning a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. We'll have details on the other side of the break.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:40:18]

CHURCH: Donald Trump's tariff whiplash and the uncertainty surrounding global trade continue to weigh on markets around the world.

We're looking here first at the Asia-Pacific Region. You can see Japan's Nikkei down 1.5 percent. The Hang Seng down 1.22 percent. But just only just in positive territory there for the Seoul Kospi.

A look at U.S. futures markets. And you can see all in negative territory. The S&P 500 futures and the Dow losing around half a percent. The Nasdaq down even more than that. We'll keep an eye on that as markets open in the coming hours.

So, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is warning that tariffs are not going away. His comments come as President Trump faces a legal battle over his authority to impose tariffs using emergency powers. But Lutnick says the president will find another way to enforce his trade agenda if needed.

CNN's Betsy Klein has more from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORER: Now, despite all of the legal whiplash of the past week, top Trump economic officials say that the presidents tariff policies are going to continue. Last Wednesday, a federal court blocked the president's global tariffs and appeals court. Shortly thereafter reinstated those tariffs temporarily, as this appeals process plays out through the judicial system.

But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the administration has a number of other tools the president can use to enact these tariffs, and tariffs are not going away. And now we saw a sign of that last Friday as President Trump announced a doubling of tariffs on foreign made steel from 25 to 50 percent.

Now, administration officials defended that move on Sunday as a matter of national security. But experts have warned that this could lead to rising prices for the manufacturing and construction industries. It could also lead to rising prices for cars.

All of this comes as the Trump administration appears to be escalating tensions with China. Top Trump officials have said that China is not holding up its end of the economic deal that was reached in Geneva just a few weeks ago, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said over the weekend that China poses a real and imminent threat to Taiwan.

All of this setting up what will likely be a critical and high stakes call between President Trump and China's President Xi in the coming days.

Listen.

KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: President Trump, we expect, is going to have a wonderful conversation about the trade negotiations this week with President Xi. That's our expectation.

But the bottom line is that we've got to be ready in case things don't happen the way we want, because if we have cannons but not cannonballs, then we can't fight a war. And if we don't have steel, then the U.S. isn't ready. And we're not preparing ourselves for something.

And if we're not strong, then that's when bad things happen. So, we have to show strength. We have to have a steel industry that's ready for American defense.

KLEIN: All of these recent moves, taken together, threaten to destabilize what has been a relatively successful period for the U.S. economy. A key inflation report out last week showed signs of cooling, inflation and GDP numbers set to be released this week are expected to show signs of growth.

So, Trump and his team taking a risk here by keeping their tariff policies in place and potentially expanding them.

Betsy Klein, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Larry Sabato is the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, as well as the editor of "A Return to Normalcy: The 2020 Election that Almost Broke America". And he joins us from Charlottesville, Virginia.

Good to have you with us.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you so much, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So let's start with President Donald Trump's legal troubles over his authority to impose trade tariffs using emergency powers. His commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, says the tariffs are not going away.

What do you say to that? And where do you see all of this going?

SABATO: Where I see it going is becoming even more chaotic. And that's really what has underlined this entire tariff controversy. It's up and down and over and around. No one can plan because no one knows what's going to happen.

Trump can change his direction on a dime. He can change his direction with a tweet or a post overnight. And it really has caused chaos. And it has been extraordinarily sloppy.

CHURCH: And, Larry, now the Trump administration is accusing China of violating a trade agreement made with the U.S. just a few weeks ago. And this comes just as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says, that President Trump is planning to speak with China's President Xi Jinping, very soon.

[02:45:06]

He thinks Trump can get these talks back on track.

What is going on here do you think?

SABATO: It's difficult to tell whether a cabinet officer is telling the truth or not, because in the Trump administration, in particular, they always have to say good things. So, Trump is always going to get things back on track. He's always going to solve a problem, or end a war, or pull down prices. But it often, frequently, mostly doesn't happen.

Now, Bessent is one of the more reliable cabinet officers, and he seems to have this subject well in hand compared to others, including Trump. But they're going to have to move awfully fast, and they're going to have to move in a way that reinforces people's confidence. And businesses confidence, because they can't even decide what to order and when. They have no idea what's going to happen next month, next week, or even tomorrow.

CHURCH: And, Larry, on another topic, billionaire Elon Musk is leaving the White House, slowly extracting himself after his effort with DOGE to cut excessive federal government spending and jobs. What exactly did Musk and DOGE achieve? What savings were made and what might the consequences be of some of the cuts to government services, do you think?

SABATO: I think it's very likely that history will record Musk's effort in DOGE as a complete failure and utter failure. He claimed, at first, he was going to cut $2 trillion out of the federal budget in an effort to reduce the long term debt. And obviously, that hasn't happened. In fact, he's only claiming to have saved $175 billion and almost no one outside the Trump administration believes that.

The best estimates I've seen is that there is an excellent chance that when all the voting is done, we'll have ended up spending more money on this DOGE effort than saving money, meaning it will have had no effect at all except to expand the debt, expand the deficit.

So, you know, it turns out, Rosemary, the governments complicated and its really not easy to go in there and cut agencies and cut employees without knowing what you're doing. And in order to know what you're doing, you have to understand what these agencies and employees do.

They didn't, and it's a mess. And it's going to remain a mess, and it's going to cost us rather than help us.

CHURCH: And, Larry, Elon Musk has made it clear he's not happy with Donald Trump's One Big, Beautiful Bill, which is set to add nearly $4 trillion to America's debt if it gets through the senate in its current form. So how likely is it that the Senate will block Trump's budget bill? Theres a bit of chatter on that, isn't there?

SABATO: Yes, but it's near zero. Again, they have no choice. I remember telling you earlier, the House had absolutely no choice. They were going to pass some version, some credible version, in their eyes at least, of the Big, Beautiful Bill.

The same is true in the Senate. Why? Because it's the entire Republican agenda boiled down into one giant bill. So, it's for them and their reelections not just for Trump and his historical successes or failures. So, they'll do it.

The question in my mind is, how is the Senate going to try to fix the large pieces of the house bill that either don't work or are threatening to push us further into debt? By 3 or $4 trillion over ten years. And in addition, not do the basic things, the fundamental things they claimed it would do -- reducing government expenditure, for one, increasing the productivity of Americans, reducing prices. I mean, they've promised the world and we're not even getting an asteroid.

CHURCH: All right. Larry Sabato, appreciate your analysis on all things political. Thanks for joining us.

SABATO: Thank you so much, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Mexico allows voters to elect judges for the very first time. But Sunday's turnout was very low. And the vote itself brings its own controversy. We'll explain why just ahead.

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[02:53:19]

CHURCH: The results are in. Polish nationalist candidate Karol Nawrocki has been elected the country's next president. He won by a razor thin margin, defeating Warsaw's liberal mayor with less than 51 percent of the vote in Sunday's runoff election. Nawrocki is aligned with Poland's right wing populist Law and Justice Party. His victory means the party will continue its ten years and counting spot in the presidential palace. It also puts Prime Minister Donald Tusks pro- democracy agenda at risk. Nawrocki styled his campaign after U.S. president Donald Trump's MAGA movement, winning the support of Poland's far right parties as well as the Trump White House.

Well, polls are now closed in Mexico after the country held its first ever judicial elections. The vote has been controversial. Supporters say it will bring democracy to the courts, but detractors warn it could usher in corruption and violate the rule of law.

CNN's Valeria Leon reports.

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VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the first time, Mexicans are voting to elect their country's judges from the Supreme Court to the local magistrates. There are over 3000 candidates vying for almost 900 positions, but with candidates restricted from using public or private funding for their campaigns, they have been forced to use their own money. And as a result, we've seen very limited information about the candidates profiled. Voters have to spend up to ten minutes to learn about the candidate's proposals, ideas or even profiles. And this is one of the reasons we've seen very low turnout at this ballot box today.

Also, electoral authorities have said that just 20 percent of the voters are expected to cast their ballots today.

[02:55:05]

Also, authorities have said that one of the reasons is because the voters have very little knowledge about the candidates.

This is what one of the electoral authorities told me.

MARIA DEL CARMEN LUQUENO, ELECTORAL TRAINER (through translator): It has been difficult to explain how people have to vote. The officials need to know how people are going to vote, because they are the ones who will be asked. That has been the most complex part. The number of candidates there are and making sure people know who they are.

LEON: This election is the result of a 2024 constitutional reform launched by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who with his party Morena, holding the majority in Congress, claimed that this reform was necessary to root out corrupt judges. But the rules and also the online campaign have fueled criticism from the opposition, aiming that this election is limiting the independence for the judiciary and also the vetting process of the candidates, very prone to elect candidates with little experience on the bench, and also candidates who have criminal records.

The results will be known on June 15th, but the results of the nine ministers from the Supreme Court will be announced this Tuesday.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

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CHURCH: Thanks for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church and I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after a short break.

Do stay with us.

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