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Trump Fires Top Jobs Data Chief Over Weak Jobs Numbers; Trump: Moving Nuclear Subs After Remarks By Russian Official; Trump Unveils New Tariffs For Most Countries; New U.S. Tariff On Many Canadian Goods Is A Punishing 35 Percent; France, U.K. & Canada Plan To Recognize A Palestinian State; U.N.: Nearly 1,400 People Killed While Seeking Food In Gaza; MAGA Base Shifts On Epstein, Rallies Around Trump For Now. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 02, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:58]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome, everyone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Jessica Dean has the day off tonight.

Is it a case of firing the messenger? President Trump firing the top official in charge of the government's monthly jobs report, and really an unprecedented move, and it came just hours after a disappointing report showing just 73,000 new jobs in July, and then drastically cutting the number of new jobs created in May and June as part of a revision.

Now, the President accused the economist without evidence of manipulating the monthly Jobs Reports for, "political purposes." CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook joins us now.

So, Julia, when the Jobs Report numbers were strong in the past, the White House definitely celebrated them, but now they're coming in weak, the White House is calling them rigged. What are you learning?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And after that, weaker than expected Jobs Report was announced, President Donald Trump fired the Commissioner of the Labor Bureau Statistics. Her name is Dr. Erika McEntarfer, and she had been appointed by President Joe Biden, but confirmed overwhelmingly with bipartisan support in the Senate, that was an 86 to eight vote when that happened.

But when it comes to the data here, Trump has accused her without evidence of manipulating the numbers. He has repeatedly said that he just doesn't believe that the numbers are correct and admitted, even in a Truth Social post, that this is his opinion. He said that in his opinion, he believes that these numbers are rigged and were used to make Republicans and then in all caps, he said "and me" for some extra emphasis, there to look bad.

Now, what are these numbers exactly that seem to set off such frustration? It was a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the monthly report that they put out on jobs numbers, and it showed that just 73,000 jobs were added in the month of July. That's less than expected. and members of the administration had expressed frustration, disappointment that those numbers looked the way that they did.

In addition to that, though, we saw that those May and June numbers were significantly revised downward. Those numbers were worse than originally reported. It is important to note there, though, that revisions in this process are normal. Trump is getting a lot of criticism for this move, and as Democrats react, the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, he slammed Trump's decision to fire the Commissioner. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger. That's just what happened with the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He ought to start governing like a leader, not like someone who imitates authoritarian leaders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: So for now, Omar, the Deputy Commissioner, is going to step into this role as Acting Commissioner. That's while Trump looks for someone to replace her on a more long term basis. He says that a lot of people are very interested in this job, and suggested that three names come to mind, but didn't add any more specifics there.

But this story continues as people question what type of precedent this sets if the numbers don't look good for the President, he has a problem with that. what kind of pressure does that put on whomever is in this role?

JIMENEZ: Julia Benbrook, really appreciate the reporting.

Now, Friday's disappointing Jobs Report is a troubling sign for what has been the bedrock of the U.S. economy for several years, which has been the resilient U.S. jobs market. The Dow fell more than 500 points on the day, and it was the worst week for U.S. stocks since Trump first announced his plans for steep tariffs back in April.

CNN's senior reporter, Matt Egan takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: This job market has been so relentless for so long, but all of a sudden, it is losing steam and warning lights are flashing.

[18:05:06]

So the latest numbers show the U.S. economy added 73,000 jobs during the month of July, that is much weaker than expected. The unemployment rate, went from 4.1 percent to 4.2 percent, that's still low, but it is moving in the wrong direction.

The thing that really got economists and investors alarmed though is the fact that there were these massive negative revisions to the months of May and June. Those months were revised down by more than a quarter of a million jobs, just a stunning negative revision there. When you look at the trend, you can see that during the months of May and June, there was almost no job growth at all. A major, major slowdown.

Now, economists, they like to take an average because it smooths out some of the volatility. But when you do that, you can see that over the last three months, this was the slowest pace of hiring in the United States since the middle of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and when look at the sectors, you can see, the good news is some sectors like health care, they are still adding jobs, another 73,000, but the bad news is that really accounts for all of the monthly job gains.

We saw a slowdown in hiring in leisure and hospitality. That's bars, restaurants, hotels; some sectors, they are losing jobs. Information down by 2,000. Professional services losing another 14,000 jobs in July, and look at manufacturing, losing 11,000 jobs. That suggests that the President's sky high tariffs, they are not paying off in boosting manufacturing employment at least not yet. If anything, they appear to be backfiring because this sector continues to lose jobs.

So why is this happening? Economists say one factor is yes, the trade war. It paralyzed businesses. Bosses, CEOs, they don't know what is going to happen next, and so a lot of them are delaying or canceling hiring altogether.

Another factor, the immigration crackdown. Look at this, foreign born employment in the United States is down by 1.5 million between March and July. That is a very significant drop, and economists say that reflects mass deportations and visas that have been allowed to expire.

No matter the reason, it is very clear right now that this job market is suddenly stalling out.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Let's dive a little bit deeper into this. I want to bring in Reuters White House correspondent, Jeff Mason.

So, Jeff, on the political side of things, what are the political implications of this Jobs Report and Trump's decision to fire the Labor Department official?

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: Well, number one, on the Jobs Report, this is not the kind of message that President Trump wants to project, and it is a shift from what the White House has been projecting and what the administration has been able to tout for the last several months.

When the President first announced his tariffs on what he called Liberation Day, there were lots of concerns and lots of projections that that could lead to a recession, that it could lead to economic damage, and in the couple of months since then, that hasn't happened until now. And I am not saying that a recession is happening now, but the numbers are turning in a different direction than he likes. And so then his decision to fire this person from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that was in line with his sort of general trend or general instinct of taking retribution when he is told something or something is done that he doesn't like, and it may or may not change anything for him, given the fact that these numbers are moving in that direction, putting in somebody new is not going to change what the data says, unless it is manipulated.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, one of the back, I guess post Liberation Day, the tariff timelines are getting a little confusing at this point, but there was a point where the bond market was -- the yield was going to be affected to the point where it clearly, I believe President Trump used the quote, of it was giving people the yips or something along those lines, and then we saw a little bit of a pullback in regards to the tariffs there.

But that is something that would have affected the American economy sort of in the longer term, and you've got the White House calling Friday's Jobs Report phony and the President firing the messenger essentially, but have you heard any concern about doubting if future numbers can be trusted and about potentially the long term implications of that dynamic?

MASON: Well, a couple of things, and I am glad you mentioned the bond market, and I remember asking the President about that on Air Force One a couple of months ago, and him giving that, I think that was when he gave the quote that you just cited.

Certainly, an example of the market having an impact on policy and having an impact on what he was doing in terms of rolling back or stepping back from the more drastic tariffs. That said, this week, he put a bunch of them back in at a lower rate, but that, I think, also had an impact on the market on Friday, in addition to the jobs numbers that we are talking about.

[18:10:04]

In terms of going forward, I think it is an open question, Omar. The fact that this administration led by the top, led at the top by President Trump is questioning whether the numbers are accurate or fair or something to be questioned will lead to more questions going forward.

But it is also in line, and I think this context is really important with President Trump's reaction or behavior to other officials when they don't do what they -- what he wants them to do economically and that, you know, Exhibit A of that, of course, is the Fed, and Chairman Powell, who has not been lowering rates in the way or as aggressively as President Trump would like.

JIMENEZ: And segueing right into my next question in that the Jobs Report is -- we are on the same page. The Jobs Report is -- it is raising questions for some about the Fed's decision to hold interest rates steady, since some of that decision seemed to be on the strength of the jobs market? Take a listen to Jerome Powell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: Despite elevated uncertainty, the economy is in a solid position. The unemployment rate remains low and the labor market is at or near maximum employment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And look, the unemployment rate still overall is low, but the slight uptick -- obviously, we have these revisions in the jobs numbers as well. Do you think the Fed will regret its decision to hold rates steady? And on the political sort of back and forth we've seen from President Trump and Jerome Powell, if we can call it that, does this give President Trump more leverage?

MASON: Well, I am not in a position to say whether the Fed will regret that decision. What I can say just kind of analytically is that, the irony of all of this is that this data may lead the Fed to start cutting rates in September, which is exactly what President Trump wants.

He doesn't like the data. He doesn't like the trend, but it could lead to him getting the rate cut that he has been pressuring the Fed to give, but not necessarily for the reason that he wants it to be. I mean, the President wants to project again like what I was saying at the beginning, a strong economy that is a sort of a reflection of his policies and a reflection of success.

The rate cuts would come because jobs and unemployment is not as strong as they need to be, if that's a decision that the Fed ends up making based on this data and other forecasts that they have.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and overall, this is President Trump's tariffs. Those new tariffs scheduled to go into effect for the most part next Friday.

What are you hearing regarding trade talks and whether any more extensions might be coming?

MASON: Well, Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary said late last week that there would be no more extensions. That said he -- the President and other top officials have made clear that negotiations are still ongoing, and that's been kind of a theme throughout everything since "Liberation Day."

The President and his administration continue in talks with these countries that are -- that they are seeking to make trade deals with up until the very last minute. So they haven't given us any hints about specific countries where new deals could come. But I am sure that they are still in talks with Canada and some of these other countries that have been hit with harder or higher tariffs than they were hoping to get.

JIMENEZ: Jeff Mason, Reuters, really appreciate you being here. Thanks for taking the time.

MASON: My pleasure. JIMENEZ: All right, still ahead, tensions between the U.S. and Canada, what President Trump's 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods could mean for your wallet.

Plus, President Trump ordering two nuclear submarines to relocate in a sudden military move aimed at Russia. We are going to dive deeper into what these U.S. Navy fleets are capable of and what it could mean for relations between the U.S. and Moscow. Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM, more coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:18:26]

JIMENEZ: President Trump says he has ordered the repositioning of two U.S. nuclear submarines following remarks by a former Russian president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We had to do that. We just have to be careful, and a threat was made, and we didn't think it was appropriate. So I have to be very careful.

So I do that on the basis of safety for our people. A threat was made by a former president of Russia, and we are going to protect our people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now that threat he is referring to was made by former Russian President and current Deputy Chairman of its Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, who posted on X this week, writing, "Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war."

CNN military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton joins me now. So, Colonel Leighton, you used to help manage these very same submarine deployments. Can you just tell us about the significance of these movements and what strategically changes with these movements?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, these movements are quite important and they are kept under a great deal of classified wraps, if you will. In other words, they're a very compartmented part of U.S. military operations. So not everyone who is in The Pentagon or anywhere else really knows what they -- where they are and what they're doing.

But from a strategic perspective, these submarines and most of them would be considered SSBNs or ballistic missile carriers, those ballistic missile submarines are capable of providing basically the third part of the nuclear triad, which means that it is the defensive capability against a Russian first strike of the United States, or a Chinese first strike of the United States.

[18:20:11]

So these weapons are designed to basically be used if the United States is attacked first in a nuclear exchange.

JIMENEZ: And President Trump didn't quite specify that the submarines were going closer to Russia per se, but just to "appropriate regions." What do you make of that statement? What do you interpret that to mean?

LEIGHTON: Well, the range of a trident missile, which is the type of missile that would be on these kinds of submarines, is about 4,600 miles. So anytime the submarine is within that range, it theoretically has the capability of striking targets within Russia that are at that distance or less. So what this could mean, what the President is basically talking about is putting them in position where they could very easily be in range of Russian targets.

Now, whether or not that's the case or whether there was actually any real redeployment of these assets is a completely different question, and it may be the case that these submarines are already in the positions that they need to be in, and this was done more for show than for anything else.

JIMENEZ: I want to stay on the Russia front because President Putin says Russia has started production of its newest hypersonic missiles and plans to deploy them to their ally, Belarus, later this year.

Now, Russia has used these weapons on Ukraine before, but is this move or communication about this intention to give these weapons to Belarus? Is this meant to show Ukraine that others aligned with Russia and who border Ukraine, have those same capabilities? What's your read?

LEIGHTON: Yes, I think that's possibly the case here, Omar, the Russians are basically spreading the wealth when it comes to their -- Oreshnik hypersonic missiles, and this type of missile is one that, as you point out, has already been used against Ukraine.

Now, the fact that it is being moved into Belarus, that could not only mean that Belarus could be a staging area for further attacks against Ukraine, which is a possibility. But the other thing is that any type of missile of this type that is put into Belarus could very well be used against other targets, such as the eastern flank of NATO countries like the Baltic states or Poland could very well be within the radius of these Russian missiles that are being stationed in Belarus. It is certainly an unwelcome development and potentially an ominous one.

JIMENEZ: And look, it is hard to read all the tea leaves here from these moves with Belarus to the moving of the nuclear submarines on the U.S. side of things. Within all of this, we have reporting that that Trump's Middle Eastern envoy, Steve Witkoff, who sort of worked as this makeshift Russian mediator is set to hold more talks with Russian leadership in the coming days.

Is it typical ahead of diplomatic talks, to have strategic shifts globally that might give one side more leverage than the other in regards to negotiations? LEIGHTON: Yes, it is certainly not unprecedented, and one of the things that is often done is forces are repositioned in a way that would indicate that there is basically a different strategic calculation being made, in this case by the United States.

so, in other words, the movement of the submarines or the announced movement of the submarines, that could be one aspect of this. The deployment of the Oreshnik missiles that would be another side on the Russian part of this, basically each side telling the other that they are ready and willing to use force, and in essence, they are projecting power before any possible negotiations, but it is not an unprecedented thing for either side to do this kind of thing.

JIMENEZ: Colonel Cedric Leighton, appreciate the insight, as always. Thank you for being here.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Omar. Anytime.

JIMENEZ: Still to come, high tensions and steep tariffs between the United States and Canada. The former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister joins us next to talk about President Trump's latest tariffs on Canada and what it could mean for Americans here at home. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:28:51]

JIMENEZ: President Trump announced new steep tariffs for nearly every country around the world that America does business with, cementing really, his sharp break from longstanding U.S. trade policy. And on many goods from Canada, it is a punishing 35 percent.

Now, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is disappointed and that they will heavily affect Canada's lumber, steel, aluminum and car industries. He vowed to protect Canadian jobs and strengthen Canada's trade ties with other countries.

Jean Charest, former Quebec Premier and former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister joins us now.

Most goods from Canada will dodge the import tax imposed by the U.S., thanks to the existing trade treaty, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but now that the tariffs have officially kicked in, do you expect the nonexempt items to have a significant impact? How do you see this playing out?

JEAN CHAREST, FORMER QUEBEC PREMIER AND FORMER CANADIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well, it is always difficult to measure, Omar, but you're quite right. The trade agreement negotiated by Donald Trump in 2018, it probably exempts about 90 percent of all the goods that travel back and forth between Canada and the United States, so that does protect us.

The challenge for us is the very steep tariffs on steel and aluminum at 50 percent, and tariffs on automobiles at 25 percent. Also very damaging, but what's most intriguing to us, Omar, quite frankly, is that it is very damaging to American auto workers who now have to compete with 15 percent tariffs coming from Japan on autos, and yet 25 percent tariffs on what comes in from Mexico and Canada, and it is not United States content, which means that the automotive industry is losing hundreds of millions of dollars, Ford and GM.

[18:30:43]

And if you add to that a 50 percent tariff on aluminum that goes into cars, well, then you have a pretty punishing economic situation for American auto workers.

JIMENEZ: The Chief Economist at Moody's says if tariffs keep increasing, a recession may be unavoidable. Do you worry about the repercussions of the new U.S. tariff policy, potentially even including a recession?

CHAREST: We worry about it for Canada. And one of the things we worry about the most is the uncertainty. I mean, uncertainty is a tax on our economy and that does affect Canada, but it will affect the United States. The last numbers we saw on employment yesterday or the day before yesterday speak loudly in our view. I mean, only 70,000 jobs created, a downward evaluation of jobs created in the previous month. You're going to get higher inflation.

What I think we are seeing, Omar, is the effect of tariffs kicking in now in the American economy, which is inevitable. I mean, you can't avoid the laws of nature forever and the weight of what these tariffs will represent for American consumers. So, the sooner we come to an agreement from Canada's perspective, the better we will all be in regards to how efficient our economies are in Canada and the United States.

JIMENEZ: I want to ask you a big picture question here because the latest New York Magazine cover headlined: "You have no idea how furious the Canadians are," and without them, what friends do we have left? What do you make of their argument that the tariffs are enraging Canadians and could be driving away one of the United States' biggest allies and trading partners?

CHAREST: Well, I've never seen, Omar, Canadians more mobilized and worked up in years over something like this. And it's - there's a - the good reason for that is that we have an excellent relationship with the United States. We think and we believe, actually we know that we are very lucky to be born in this neighborhood of the world, both in Canada and the United States.

And we have an extraordinary relationship with the American people who we love, who are their allies, their friends, their business partners. And so, that's why it's so disappointing to hear the rhetoric coming from the Trump administration, which is undeserved on issues like, for example, the 25 percent tariff on fentanyl, when you think that the amount of fentanyl that comes in from Canada to the United States is less than 1 percent of everything that goes into the U.S. And this is an issue we take, by the way, very, very seriously. Whether it's 0.1 percent or 1 percent, it's too much. But there's an issue of proportionality here. And for all those

reasons, Canadians are very disappointed and they're worked up. And yet we draw a distinction between decisions made by governments and the American people with whom we have an extraordinarily good relationship.

JIMENEZ: Yes. I want to ask you about a separate issue. Canada has joined France and the U.K. announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September. As international pressure really builds on Israel over the ongoing starvation crisis and war in Gaza, President Trump has implied doing so would make it much harder to get a trade deal done with Canada. What do you make of the move by Prime Minister Carney? And what do you think it signals - do you think, I should say, it signals anything wider in regards to the US-Canada relationship right now?

CHAREST: Well, this was a well thought out decision of the Carney government after consultations with France and Great Britain, and I imagine with the United States. By the way, when we make these decisions, we do consult with our allies. We believe in working with our allies and multilateralism.

But at the end of the day, Omar, Canada makes its own decisions in regards to foreign policy. And whether Mr. Trump likes that decision or not, at the end of the day, that's our decision. We're an independent, sovereign country. And by the way, I mean, it's interesting to note that Mexico made the same decision in 2023, and yet Mr. Trump didn't find anything wrong with that, or at least was silent on the fact that Mexico made the same decision.

[18:35:09]

So, here's an example where I think we have to be very careful in respecting each other's sovereignty on who we elect. You know, we may or may not like Mr. Trump, but we respect the fact that he is the chosen president of the American people. He is the one that we are going to work with. And that is something that is important for us, that each side respect the sovereignty of the other country.

JIMENEZ: Jean Charest, really appreciate you being here. Thank you for taking the time.

CHAREST: Thank you, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Of course. All right, coming up, hundreds of thousands of people are facing starvation as desperately needed aid slowly makes its way into Gaza. We're going to talk to one of the co-founders of a group that's helping evacuate innocent children from the war-torn enclave after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:36]

JIMENEZ: The Israeli military says another 90 aid packages were dropped into Gaza today. Israel began allowing aid drops again last week after international outrage over the rising number of deaths from starvation, most of them children. Aid groups have criticized the delivery method though as expensive, impractical, and potentially dangerous. The U.N. says nearly 1,400 people have been killed while accessing aid.

We're joined now by Steve Sosebee. He's the co-founder and executive director of the organization HEAL Palestine, which has helped evacuate dozens of wounded children from Gaza.

Steve, it's been a week now since Israel put these new measures in place to allow at least some aid into Gaza. Have you gotten any indication that it's having any impact at this point?

STEVE SOSEBEE, HEAL PALESTINE CO-FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: No, not really (INAUDIBLE) the situation story means quite dire for the people who are the 100 percent of the population in Gaza still suffering from food scarcity and malnutrition at different levels. Some of the trucks that have been allowed in have been hijacked right away when they crossed the border, either by harmed gangs, some of them supported by Israel, and just people in general who are desperate for food.

The air drops themselves are too small, too insignificant to have any impact. We have a population of over two million people there who depend on international aid for food. And to be able to provide the basic necessities of nutrition, which are being currently denied to the general population, it's far short of what's needed.

JIMENEZ: As I understand, your group has a medical facility to treat those that you are helping. How effectively can your organization operate right now in Gaza?

SOSEBEE: It's a huge challenge because everything depends on aid coming in from outside and medication, anesthesia supplies, pain medication, antibiotics, everything that any health provider and medical facility needs to be able to treat people is dependent on the Israelis allowing it to enter. And right now, most of those supplies are not being allowed in. And therefore, it's quite difficult to provide basic medical care for patients.

Although, the staff there is working hard, they're diligent in their services, they're doing the best they can, but with very limited materials, it makes it hard to provide adequate care for patients.

JIMENEZ: And I believe I heard in another interview that you all were previously able to operate food kitchens there, right? And that was - you're no - that's no longer the case.

CHAREST: No, we're not able to get shipments of food any longer. We had to close our kitchens down in March as a result of dwindling supplies. And this is true for nearly all the organizations. I don't think there's any food kitchens operating right now inside the Gaza Strip, just the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation centers, which we've heard earlier in the introduction to this talk that 1,400 people have been killed just trying to access food, starving people who are desperate, who walked miles and miles without any form of transportation to get food and then in some cases are being shot at and killed as they try to access food. So, nobody's providing food other than that institution, and it's not doing it in a safe and controlled manner.

JIMENEZ: This weekend, you're evacuating 11 wounded children from Gaza. You all described it as the largest evacuation of injured patients from Gaza to the United States. How did that come about? And can you just tell us about the conditions of these children?

CHAREST: It came about through a lot of hard work and support from hospitals and institutions all over the U.S. that are opening their doors and providing care for these kids for free, which is great. We're the main organization bringing injured kids to the U.S. This will be over 60 injured children that we've brought in the last year and a half from Gaza with their families. So, hundreds of people have come.

But the conditions that the kids are coming to the United States in is quite dire. Not only are these children suffering from severe injuries, many of them with amputations and severe burns, but the kids are coming with different levels of malnutrition and food deficiencies. We had our team in Jordan, nutritionists, pediatricians, and general medical doctors just meeting them and trying to assess them.

So, when they do come in the next day or two, we're going to be able to provide them the best care possible. Not only get them started on their healing journey, get them the medical care they need, but also ensure that we provide them the adequate nutrition. And our organization works in a way that isn't just providing medical care. It's also doing education, mental health services, social support. We work on a grassroots level. Our communities come forward, they take care of the kids, they house them, so we're very proud of that.

But the condition that kids have come in, many of them are living on one meal a day or even less. So, we've seen children that are far below their birth weight, the weight that they should be at. We have a 12-year-old girl who's coming to Seattle.

[18:45:01]

She's a double amputee. She lost both of her legs above the knees. Her father was killed in a bombing and then her tent was bombed again where she was - she suffered two amputations. She came at - 50 percent of her body - what her normal body weight should be at. And not only that, when she crossed the border, this is just an interesting point to make and a sad one, that she was in a wheelchair. And when she crossed the border, her and two other children who are both double amputees, we had three kids coming with missing both of their legs, their wheelchairs were taken from them by the Israeli army. We don't know why something like that would occur, but this beautiful 12-year- old girl, Siba (ph) is her name, is now being carried by her family, that her mom who's coming with her had to carry her at the border into the bus and then on the other side of the border because her wheelchair was taken. So, it's little things like this, which aren't so little, which - are

just - it just makes us very frustrated because we're a humanitarian organization. We're trying to help heal these children. We're trying to get them the medical care they can - they deserve. And when they're being starved, when they're being denied education, when they're being traumatized psychologically, in addition to the horrific injuries that they're suffering, it's a huge, huge challenge for us to get them back into being normal children again. And that's our struggle, that's our focus. But as you can imagine, each child is a huge challenge for us.

JIMENEZ: Yes, Steve Sosebee, I really appreciate you taking the time. Thanks for being here.

SOSEBEE: It's my pleasure.

JIMENEZ: All right, coming up, we're following a lot of stories, but we are going to take you inside what many of President Trump's closest supporters are saying as the fallout over the Jeffrey Epstein files threatens a once untouchable online MAGA movement. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:51:15]

JIMENEZ: We've seen a bit of a split among Trump supporters over the controversy surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein files. Listening to voices in the MAGA media world support is still strong for the President, but there are still a lot who have questions. Donie O'Sullivan looks inside.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN GLENN, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REAL AMERICA'S VOICE: Those that say they'll no longer support President Trump because he didn't release every single thing we've ever known about Jeffrey Epstein, just because they say they're done, they're not done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN (voice over): CNN REPORTER (voice over): The Epstein saga has rocked the MAGA base for weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE BENZ, TRUMP SUPPORTER: February 2015, Trump stands at CPAC ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bill Clinton?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nice guy, got a lot of problems coming up, in my opinion, with the famous island with Jeffrey Epstein.

BENZ: Like, you trained us to go after this issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the President believe that justice has been served in the Epstein case?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): President Trump can't get away from questions about Epstein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ghislaine Maxwell says she'll only testify if you pardon her or she gets immunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): But at the White House, few of those questions are coming from Trump-supporting media outlets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN: If you look at the, you know, 20 of the top 47 promises President Trump made, he delivered on all those campaign promises.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Brian Glenn is the White House correspondent for MAGA media outlet Real America's Voice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN: People say, Brian, why don't you ask questions about Epstein? I'm like, because everyone else is asking the question about Epstein.

STEVE BANNON, HOST, "THE WAR ROOM": We need to get to the bottom of Epstein, because Epstein is the key that picks the lock.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Some in MAGA were initially unhappy with Trump's handling of the Epstein case. But after The Wall Street Journal broke this story and Trump denied it and sued the paper for defamation, many in the MAGA base rallied to his defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BANNON: This is a centerpiece of the deep state trying to destroy Trump, going to destroy Trump, and going to destroy the MAGA movement.

MATTHEW BOYLE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, BREITBART NEWS: In the wake of The Wall Street Journal attack on the President, I think the administration has already taken several of the steps that are going to be good steps in the right direction. So - but the idea that, like, Donald Trump is covering up the whole Jeffrey Epstein thing, like, that doesn't make sense, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Matthew Boyle is Washington Bureau Chief for Breitbart, an outlet that supports Trump, but has asked questions about Epstein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): You mentioned The Wall Street Journal's story as an attack. I mean, was that an attack, or was it just The Wall Street Journal reporting a good scoop?

BOYLE: Well, the President says that he never wrote that thing, and I have no reason to believe that he did, right? Like, at this point, I don't know ...

O'SULLIVAN: But their reporting shows that he did.

BOYLE: Well, their reporting says that he did, right? Like, they say that, but, I mean, we've seen other media outlets get stories wrong about President Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Potentially trying to distract from Epstein, the Trump administration has started baselessly accusing Barack Obama of treason, even posting a fake A.I. video of the former president being arrested.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Trump posted the video of Obama getting arrested.

GLENN: Well, you know, we all know that President Trump has an insane sense of humor. You know, he is - he's - he likes to troll, and we all know that. He's the master at that. Could that, in a way, mislead the base, thinking that that's going to happen? I think there's a chance that that could happen, because people will see that and go, oh, it's going to happen next week. When it doesn't, they get a little disappointed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): But while some in MAGA might be happy for now on how the administration is handling Epstein ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): You guys can watch Brian's pre- show ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): ... Brian and his girlfriend, the Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, warn that the Trump base still wants answers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Marjorie Taylor Greene, who's your partner, said, "If you tell the base of people, who support you, of deep state treasonous crimes, election interference, blackmail, and rich powerful elite evil cabals, then you must take down every enemy of The People. If not, the base will turn and there's no going back."

[18:55:14]

GLENN: Pretty hard work. Maybe people in the administration saw that tweet. Maybe they understand that they have to be as transparent and do what's best for the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Donie O'Sullivan, appreciate the reporting.

All right, the final episode of CNN Original Series "Billionaire Boys Club" follows conman Joe Hunt's legal battle. He faced the death penalty for suspected involvement in two murders. In facing his former associates on the witness stand, Joe Hunt was gambling with not just his freedom, but also his life. It's tomorrow night at 10 Eastern, only on CNN.

Well, we've got more news we are following. Still ahead, President Trump with a strong message to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, quote, "Go to hell." You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll talk about it coming up.

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