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Tomorrow: Trump, Zelenskyy Set To Meet At The White House; Nationwide Strike Hits Israel As Protesters Demand Hostage Deal; Erin Weakens To Category 3 Storm Over The Atlantic; 3 Dead, 9 Injured In Brooklyn Shooting, Police Searching For Suspects; California Farmers Hope Coffee Tariffs Will Boost Business; White House Orders Review Of Smithsonian Exhibits To Align With Trump Directive. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired August 17, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:43]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour counting down to a critical meeting that could reshape the future of Russia's war in Ukraine. Just days after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump will hold talks with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy tomorrow at the White House but Trump and Zelenskyy will not be alone. European and NATO leaders announcing today that they will be at Zelenskyy's side during the high stakes sit down.

Yet with the memory of Trump and Zelenskyy's last Oval Office meeting still fresh in the minds of world leaders, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is dismissing concerns that tomorrow will be a repeat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- is in big trouble.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Wait a minute. No, no, you've done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I know.

TRUMP: You're not winning.

ZELENSKYY: I know.

TRUMP: You're not winning this. You have a damn good chance of coming out, ok because of us.

(CROSSTALKING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Zelenskyy -- Zelenskyy also speaking out this morning with the president of the E.U. as Zelenskyy laid out what needs to happen tomorrow as Trump says, he is now focused on securing a peace deal rather than a ceasefire.

All right. Apologies, we're having some problems bringing you the sound. We will bring that to you as soon as we can.

We're covering all the angles. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Kyiv. CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House.

Ben, to you first, what are leaders in Europe saying about this upcoming meeting tomorrow between Trump and Zelenskyy? And now a lot of support for Zelenskyy by way of European leaders and NATO leaders.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, they had this -- this video call today. Ukraine's major supporters, along with President Zelenskyy, where they're really just sort of coordinating their positions in preparation for the meeting tomorrow in Washington.

And I think, you know, you played the clip from the Oval Office in February where Trump really laid into Zelenskyy. And I think that's at the top of the minds of European leaders. And obviously, President Zelenskyy, as they prepare for that meeting.

The fear is that President Trump, who in the weeks leading up to the Alaska summit was -- took a fairly hard line on Russia, on President Putin -- has now switched. He's said that he wants to go straight for a ceasefire -- for a final peace agreement, skipping a ceasefire altogether, which is very much the Russian line.

So the worry is that President Trump, after the Alaska summit, has shifted somewhat. So they want to make sure that he gets back on an even keel. And in fact, the Polish foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski (ph), put out a note on social media saying that for peace to come, pressure must be placed on the aggressor, not the victim. Perhaps a reminder to President Trump who it was who invaded this country in the first place.

And of course, the worry is that President Putin is saying that he wants Ukraine to cede control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, something the government here has flatly rejected, as well as people who we spoke to today in the streets of Kyiv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If some people come to your house and steal your kitchen, your bedroom, you say, ok, ok, stay here? No. It's not ok. It's not -- it's not. Good for us. We are freedom people and we -- I hope they don't take any piece of our lands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: So there really is resistance to this idea that somehow, in order to achieve peace, Ukraine has to surrender large chunks of its territory.

[14:04:47] WEDEMAN: That area known as the Donbas, that's Donetsk and Luhansk together, is a manufacturing center of Ukraine. For Ukraine to surrender that would be a huge loss. And that explains why there's really so much resistance to this idea put forth by the Russian president, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ben Wedeman, thanks so much.

All right. Kevin, to you at the White House now, update us on what the administration is saying, not just about tomorrow's sit-down with Zelenskyy and now, let's call it his entourage or his supporters, but also about Trump's meeting with Putin.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And this meeting tomorrow is really shaping up to be quite a consequential moment. You know, in all my years covering the White House, I don't remember another time when so many top leaders have kind of convened all at once at the last minute, which gives you a sense, one, of the urgency that they feel in trying to reach a peace in Ukraine; but also the urgency they feel in ensuring that they are not sidelined in how this all comes about.

Now, the way I understand this will shape up tomorrow is that President Trump and Zelenskyy will meet individually with their delegations before moving on to this larger format meeting with the other European leaders.

We have been hearing today from all three American participants in that summit with Vladimir Putin on Friday. We heard from President Trump, who said that there was big progress made on Russia and stay tuned.

But perhaps more importantly, we heard from the two advisors who were with him in that meeting. The special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who were both framing that summit as a success and trying to explain why the president had moved away from this idea of an immediate ceasefire.

Remember, he said going into the summit, he would be disappointed if that was not a result. And he said afterwards that that was no longer a goal of his.

Rubio said that was because essentially Russia wouldn't agree to it. But what Witkoff said happened was that Russia made some significant agreements during those talks that, in his view, made it no longer necessary to do the ceasefire.

They were going to skip ahead a step and go straight for this larger peace deal based on what they -- he said were some significant concessions from the Russians.

Listen to more of Steve Witkoff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, TRUMP SPECIAL ENVOY: We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing. We didn't think that we were anywhere close to agreeing to Article Five protection from the United States in legislative enshrinement within the Russian federation, not to go after any other territory when the peace deal is you know, codified, legislative enshrinement in the Russian federation not to go after any other European countries and violate their sovereignty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So you hear they're really kind of the most fulsome accounting of what happened over the course of that three-hour summit from Witkoff.

And just to delve into one of the things he said there, which is this idea of a security guarantee modeled after NATO's Article Five clause that says an attack against one is an attack against all. Witkoff described that as essentially a workaround, because Russia has said that Ukraine can never join NATO. This is a way to sort of provide assurance to Ukraine that once this war ends, Putin isn't able to kind of regroup and go after the rest of the country after a few years.

Now, there are a lot of outstanding questions about what exactly that would look like, namely, what the U.S. role in that would be. You know, Trump has said pretty explicitly that American troops will not be on the ground in Ukraine. So it doesn't seem exactly clear how the U.S. and other NATO countries would provide that kind of guarantee to Ukraine.

But certainly that will be a major topic of discussion among the leaders here tomorrow.

I should just note, Rubio himself was a little more guarded about the momentum here. He said that we are still a long ways off from a peace agreement, that we are not at the precipice.

But certainly both of these men describing some significant progress as we head into this consequential moment tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kevin Liptak at the White House, Ben Wedeman in Kyiv -- thanks to both of you, appreciate it.

All right. And this breaking news as well, a nationwide strike and widespread protests across Israel. Today thousands of protesters blocked major roads, businesses also closing. There are rallies happening in cities and towns across the country. They are demanding an end to the war in Gaza and a deal for the return of hostages held there.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. What are you hearing from people and how potentially influential will it be?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: from the numbers of people we have seen on the streets and in the surrounding area, from the crowds we have tried to get through with some success because the streets are packed so densely, I think it's safe to say this is easily one of the largest, if not the largest, protest we've seen against the war since it started nearly two years ago.

[14:09:51]

LIEBERMANN: And it came together only in the last week. Organizers from both hostage families as well as bereaved families from October 7th called for a grassroots nationwide strike today. And it has taken place throughout the entire day.

There are hundreds, if not thousands just around me right here. And the closer you get to hostages square, which is still a few hundred meters behind us, the more packed it gets.

You may even be able to hear the noise from the chanting, the drums, the cheers, the chants from Hostages Square itself. And that gives you just a sense of how many people are here.

This all started at 6:29 this morning. That's the time of the Hamas- led attack from October 7th. So it is incredibly symbolic.

It began with road closures at major intersections across the country as protesters and demonstrators blocked major intersections. From there, it grew and it spread.

Throughout the day, we have seen protests across Israel demanding an end to the war, some calling for the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's time leading the country. That all led to a march, which we followed as it led to Hostages Square and then the main event packing Hostages Square. Organizers say there are 300,000 -- perhaps even 400,000 people in the square itself and blocking the surrounding streets.

And that's why it's so easy to get a sense here of the energy of the calls for an end of the war and the demand to come to a deal to bring home the remaining hostages, 20 of whom are still believed to be alive.

Now, in the weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to dismiss the strike today, saying it strengthens Hamas and that it's the destruction of Hamas that's necessary right now.

This, of course, comes just days after Netanyahu and the security cabinet approved Israel's takeover and occupation of Gaza city. Protesters we've spoken with here see that as a death sentence for the hostages. It endangers the hostages. It endangers the country itself, they say, because of the split.

And we see that that rift here, the rift between what the government is calling for and what the protesters here are demanding.

Organizers say for them, this is just the beginning. So a key question is, where does this go from here? Hundreds of thousands organizers say on the streets tonight in a unified call for bringing home the hostages and an end to the war.

Again, they promised this is the beginning and this will the this, they say, will continue until they see that vision, a vision of the end of the war, realized.

WHITFIELD: And then, Oren, I also want to ask you about some leaked audio of a former Israeli intelligence chief, where he discusses the situation in Gaza.

LIEBERMANN: So this came out just a couple of days ago. It was leaked audio recordings from Israel's Channel 12 News. This is Major General Aharon Haliva, who is the former head of Israeli military intelligence.

In part of these lengthy leaked audio recordings, he says here, and I'm quoting from the hostages, I'm sorry, from the recordings. "The fact that there are already 50,000 dead in Gaza is necessary and required for future generations."

He says, and I'm quoting again here "For everything that happened on October 7th, for every one person, on October 7th, 50 Palestinians must die. It doesn't matter now if they are children."

After these audio recordings were leaked, he issued a statement to Channel 12 saying these occurred in a private forum. Obviously, these statements have been condemned, especially as Israel has faced increasing criticism for the military's conduct of the war in Gaza, this certain to add to that criticism.

WHITFIELD: All right. Oren Liebermann in Tel Aviv, thanks so much.

All right. Let's get more analysis now on this. Aaron David Miller is a former U.S. State Department Middle East negotiator. He's also senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Aaron, great to see you. You've been with us many times now discussing the hostage crisis, the war in Gaza.

Today is one of the biggest and most widespread protests that we've ever seen up until now, as you saw with Oren's reporting there. What kind of impact do you think it might have?

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: Yes, Fred. First of all, thanks for having me.

You know, in a country just shy of 10 million people, it's rather remarkable. You can put several hundred thousand people out in the streets. The organizers of the hostage groups claimed that if you add those Israelis throughout the country, not just in Tel Aviv you end up with over 2 million.

And again, in a country under 10 million, it's impressive. Those are very impressive numbers. I hope it continues. I think pressure on the government is critically important.

The Israeli government clearly has more focus on avenging the dead than it does on redeeming the living. Not that it's not important to fundamentally erode and eviscerate Hamas' military capacity.

But Fred, I'm afraid that the only numbers that really count in terms of influence and change in Israeli policy is 60 plus one. And that is what you need in the Israeli Knesset in order to govern.

[14:14:53]

MILLER: And I think what this government has shown, the average length of a government, Israeli government, since independence is 1.9 years.

This government has been up and running since November, December 2022. And frankly, as I see it, it's likely that it may go to term with elections in the first part of 2026.

So impressive on the streets today. Great, great sympathy for what's happening and empathy. But determinative? Probably not.

WHITFIELD: Yes. The images are extraordinary. And I also want to play something Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said earlier. Take a listen and look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Those who are calling today for an end to the war without defeating Hamas not only harden Hamas' position and delay the release of our hostages. They also ensure that the horrors of October 7th will be repeated and that we will be forced to fight an endless war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. So he's blaming protests as potentially delaying the process of trying to release hostages.

MILLER: I mean, I don't think that's right. There are any number of points and Hamas has a huge responsibility, not only for the willful and indiscriminate killing of Israeli civilians on October 7th, but the mutilation, the degradation, the taking of hostages, the execution of hostages.

But the reality is, I think for any number of reasons, this particular prime minister who's unique in the annals of the political history of Israel, on trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in a Jerusalem district court four years now and running, has a stake, frankly, in maintaining himself in power and that means not ending the war. Certainly not short of what he considers to be total victory.

And look, most Israeli security officials, probably even the ones that are currently serving him, have probably reached a conclusion that what the IDF has done to Hamas is fundamentally destroyed its capacity to ever again mount anything like October 7th.

The prime minister wants total victory. He wants the disarmament of Hamas. The end of its influence in Gaza. If that could be achieved, it would be great but at what cost for it? At the cost of the lives of the hostages, the suffering of their families and the immense suffering, the humanitarian catastrophe that has befallen the people of Gaza.

Hamas will be there, and the Israelis can continue to have at it. The hostages and the suffering of the people of Gaza -- all of that needs to be addressed and alleviated.

WHITFIELD: The attention of President Trump, you know, has turned to Ukraine for the moment. I mean, what are the indicators to you that resolving the conflict in Gaza is a priority or remains a priority for this White House?

MILLER: I mean, I think right now the bigger play, it's quite clear is Russia, Ukraine. That may -- clearly has distracted whatever focus the administration has put on the situation in Gaza.

And for Donald Trump, I think, you know, I know the claim that he's ended 6 or 7 wars. The fundamental -- the tough conflicts that he's claimed to have ended or be on the cusp of ending -- Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Hamas, and of course, Iran -- he's batted zero for three on those.

And I think the reality -- I participated in a lot of summits, many of them failed. If you want to, if you want a successful negotiation, you've got to be willing to use not just honey and incentives. You've got to be able to use vinegar and disincentives.

And I think the balance there, both in the Israeli-Hamas negotiations and clearly, given what's transpired from Anchorage forward is a reluctance, I think, to use the leverage at the disposal of the United States to press Putin. The president seems to be headed in the opposite direction.

WHITFIELD: All right. Aaron David Miller, always great to see you. Thank you so much.

MILLER: Fred, thanks for having me. Great to be with you.

WHITFIELD: Still to come, Hurricane Erin is expected to reach category five strength again. We'll show you the danger it poses along the East Coast even though its tracking far offshore.

And later, how soon the tariff war could raise the cost of your favorite morning cup of coffee?

[14:19:28]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We're following breaking developments as Hurricane Erin churns through the Atlantic. The powerful storm has evolved at an astonishing rate this week, intensifying from a category one storm Friday morning all the way to a powerful category five just 24 hours later, making Erin one of the fast (INAUDIBLE) hurricanes on record.

The latest forecast shows Erin weakening to a category three with sustained winds topping 125 miles per hour.

[14:24:44]

WHITFIELD: While still fluctuating in intensity the system could double or triple in size as it continues churning north and west, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Here's a live look now from our Earth-Cam at current skies over Puerto Rico.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the latest on Erin's path. Allison, what's ahead for this week?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: By very early Tuesday morning, Hurricane Erin should be just about the same latitude as Miami, Florida. However, it will be several hundred miles offshore. But even with that said, the storm itself is starting to expand as we go through the next few days.

So going from Tuesday into Wednesday and eventually into Thursday, the storm is actually expected to grow 2 to 3 times its current size. What this does is it expands out that very large wind field, meaning it's not only spreading some of the outer rain bands potentially to the coastal regions of North Carolina and Virginia, but also all of that wind field that expands is taking all of that water and pushing it onshore.

This, unfortunately, can lead to incredibly dangerous high surf conditions as well as rip currents, not just for places like North Carolina, but we actually anticipate rip currents to be a potential problem from Florida all the way up the entire Eastern Seaboard.

And not just Monday and Tuesday, but this is expected to extend into Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as the storm continues to slide up the East Coast. Because even though the storm itself will actually begin to weaken by this point, that wind field, as we mentioned, is going to continue to get larger, increasing the potential risk for high surf and rip current conditions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

All right. Still to come, police search for suspects after a deadly mass shooting in Brooklyn.

[14:26:30]

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[14:30:44]

WHITFIELD: All right. Breaking news out of New York. Police are searching for up to four suspects who they say opened fire inside a Brooklyn lounge, killing three people and wounding nine others. According to officials, the mass shooting happened around 3:30 in the morning after a gun-related dispute.

CNN's Leigh Waldman is here with the very latest -- Leigh. LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, NYPD is saying that they

believe this is a gun-related, gang-related incident. No one is in custody as of yet. The New York police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, saying that they believe some of those victims could be involved in the shooting itself. Others may just be bystanders involved.

Here's what we know. This happened at taste of the city in Brooklyn's crown heights neighborhood around 3:30 this morning, 12 people were shot in total. Three people were killed. Police not releasing their names as of yet, but said that they are all men, ages 19, 27 and 35. Those other shooting victims are expected to survive their injuries.

Police recovered more than 40 shell casings from nine millimeters and 45 caliber weapons at that scene there. They also recovered a gun, but they are not saying just yet if that gun is related to this shooting at this point.

Right now, police are looking for up to four suspects. And that police commissioner Jessica Tisch saying regardless of the shooting that happened earlier this morning, that shootings in the city are down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA TISCH, COMMISSIONER, NYPD: We have the lowest number of shooting incidents and shooting victims seven months into the year that we've seen on record in the city of New York. Something like this is, of course, thank God, an anomaly. And it's a terrible thing that happened this morning. But we're going to investigate it and get to the bottom of what went down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: And the shooting this morning comes on the heels of two others that we've seen this summer, one in times square earlier this month that left three people hurt, another in July. Four people were killed in midtown Manhattan, including an off-duty NYPD officer -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Leigh Waldman, thanks so much.

All right, straight ahead, as consumers worry about rising prices from the tariff wars, we'll show you some American farmers that may be growing a potential cash crop.

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[14:37:43]

WHITFIELD: All right, more breaking news for you. More than 10,000 Air Canada Flight attendants say they will defy a government back to work order and remain on strike. Thousands of flights have already been canceled because of the work stoppage.

The airline had planned to resume flights today after Canada's jobs minister said the strike had to end, citing potential damage to the economy. Workers are seeking a pay raise and compensation for work when planes are grounded.

Coffee prices are rising in the U.S. Earlier this month, President Trump hit Brazil with a 50 percent tariff on billions of dollars worth of goods, including coffee. The U.S. imports more coffee from Brazil than from any other nation, and some American farmers are hoping those tariffs, along with levies on other top coffee producing nations, could have a game-changing impact on their businesses.

CNN's Julia Vargas jones is joining us right now.

Julia, you've been speaking with coffee farmers in California. Who knew? I did not know that. What are they telling you?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're optimistic, Fred. And the reason we decided to look into this is because back in April on your show, we actually spoke to a coffee shop owner who said, look, I'm totally for boosting domestic industry by implementing tariffs on foreign goods. You just can't do that with coffee. Because the United States just doesn't produce enough coffee outside of Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Now, these farmers here in California, they are trying to challenge that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (voice-over): Against all odds, 100 percent American grown coffee.

It's like a cherry.

DAVE ARMSTRONG, COFFEE FARMER: Uh-huh, I believe we're the largest farm in California, coffee farm. And, you know, if the experiment works, I'd love to expand.

JONES: David Armstrong is part of a group of farmers trying to make California a synonym for specialty coffee.

ARMSTRONG: We're in Ventura County, so we're going to go up to the foothills. We have multiple canyons where we grow coffee.

JONES: This is part of the only 1 percent of coffee consumed in the U.S. grown domestically.

[14:40:02]

Thirty-five percent of what coffee is imported, comes from Brazil, now slapped with tariffs of up to 50 percent on some goods, including coffee.

You would think it would be a great opportunity for all American beans, but other nations can deliver a product just as good for a fraction of the cost.

ARMSTRONG: Brazil has been hit very hard with tariffs, but they're looking at somewhere around $4 a pound for coffee. And we're in the hundreds of dollars a pound.

JONES: You want Ventura County to be the next Napa Valley, but for coffee?

ARMSTRONG: Correct. That's a great way to put it.

JONES: And could California ever produce a product that could be competitive with Brazil, with Colombia, Ethiopia?

ARMSTRONG: I think that our costs of production, our labor, our water, everything else mean that we can never get to that point where we could be a worldwide competitor.

JONES: Fo for 23 years, Jay Ruskey has been challenging the norm of where coffee could be grown by championing California. All of this was his vision.

JAY RUSKEY, CEO/CO-FOUNDER, FRINJ COFFEE: In terms of growing locations, wherever avocados can grow, we have a good chance of growing coffee, and so there's over 45,000 acres of avocados, last I heard in California.

But even if we planted all that, that would just be a drop in the bucket in the whole coffee industry globally.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (on camera): And, Fred, they've already seen a growth and expansion in their market, but they are betting on those consumers who are willing to pay a premium for domestic coffee. You know, they've already done this incredible work of making these plants that are usually grown in subtropical and tropical climates thrive here in California.

Now, the question is, can they scale up to supply the demand of the top coffee drinking nation in the world? They're saying not a chance.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Okay. Well, still, that was enlightening and revealing in and of itself. But, you know, hats off to that farmer and his continued efforts.

All right. Julia Vargas Jones, thanks so much.

All right. Still ahead, President Donald Trump making an imprint on foreign and domestic policies. And now making an imprint on icons in the world of history and cultural arts.

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[14:47:05]

WHITFIELD: All right. This week, President Trump intensified his effort to reshape key cultural and historical institutions. During a stop at the Kennedy Center in Washington, he announced this year's honorees and that he plans to host the 48th Kennedy Center honors in December. The president, also taking aim at the Smithsonian Institution, ordering a review of exhibits and materials at its D.C.- based museums.

Director Spike Lee, who has several items featured at several Smithsonian Museums, shared with our Victor Blackwell what he thinks is the goal of the White House's Smithsonian review.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPIKE LEE, FILM DIRECTOR: To roll back the clock, to roll back the clock. And what's interesting is that the world leaders, they know what's going on here, too. The citizens of the world know what's happening here, in the United States, formerly the so-called beacon of democracy. It don't look like that now.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Hmm. And you don't think America is still the beacon of democracy?

LEE: You know, you got to choose countries or people, individuals, by their actions and I don't think that the act is now in administration show, that doesn't look like the beacon of democracy -- beacon of democracy, to me, in my opinion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: National Public Radio television critic Eric Deggans joining me right now with his thoughts on Trump's approach to America's cultural and historical institutions.

Great to see you.

ERIC DEGGANS, TELEVISION CRITIC, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, this week, President Trump launched a review of some of the Smithsonian institution museums in D.C. and I'm quoting now, this is what is stated, to ensure alignment with the presidents directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions. You heard Spike Lee there.

You know, what are -- what are the stewards of these museums and patrons of them thinking this all means?

DEGGANS: Well, you know, I haven't done a ton of reporting on this, but my sense is that historians and academics and people who enjoy traditional museums might feel alarmed by this, both because there's a sense that the level of politics involved in determining what will be shown at the museum seems to have been heightened, and the idea that the decisions about what would be shown in museums might be taken out of the hands of trained academics, experienced historians, people who have managed museums for decades and handed to who will make these decisions.

[14:50:11]

I mean, that's -- that's part of the question. You know, that statement, though there's a lot of words contained in it is not particularly specific about who will be making these decisions, exactly what criteria, what exactly what criteria theyll be using to make them or what will be judged divisive, what will be judged unacceptable. And is there any appeals process, is there any way for an institution or for people who administrate that institution to push back if they feel a mistake has been made? You know, what's the time frame for this?

And, in the end, you know, how public will these decisions be made? You know, will the public know what decisions are made and when they're made and what the consequences of those decisions might be? There's a lot of question marks raised in the aftermath of the release of this statement.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, yeah, part of that timetable, apparently, you know, these content corrections are to happen within 120 days, according to that White House letter that went to the Smithsonian's director, Lonnie Bunch. And also in that letter, the review is going to be including the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the National Museum of American Indian, just to name a few.

And in that letter, the stated goal says that it is to support a broader vision of excellence that highlights historically accurate, uplifting and inclusive portrayals of America's heritage.

You know, you just pointed out the historians, who are involved in helping to make selections about what are viable, pieces of art and history to be on display or shared during the Smithsonian. Youve talked to a number of them, and I'm wondering what, you know, many of the curators are thinking because it is painstaking as to how decisions are made about what would be included in any number of these museums?

DEGGANS: Well, again, I want to emphasize, I have not done a ton of research on this. I've talked to a few people in passing. This is not a story I'm covering directly. But, certainly the traditional mode of you know, administering museums, even those that are supported with government dollars is that qualified people are hired to run those institutions, and then they're allowed to run those institutions according to academic standards, historical standards.

Things are chosen to be displayed or to not be displayed according to what scientists and historians have determined is the story that should be told. And I think, you know, the story of our evolution in terms of how museums have evolved in this country is that we've constantly pressed to get past the mythology of America and reach more towards the truth of America and talk about those elements of American history, which may be difficult to talk about. Those elements of American history where people may have been oppressed, where people may have been hurt, where people have been enslaved, where people have been killed people who have people have been lynched.

And the apparatus that was created in America to enable all of those activities, particularly when it comes to marginalized groups and people of color. And if there's some sense that there's going to be a critique of that

effort to reach towards Americas truth rather than Americas mythology, I think that's one of the things that really concerns people when they when they when they read this, this statement of, of you know, what they're aiming for. And the other thing that that occurs to me is that, you know, we're talking about very large museums. We're talking about a tremendous amount of material and they're talking about having these evaluations done in a relatively short amount of time.

It is hard for me to imagine, given the volume of material that they've requested from each of these museums, that it's even realistic to think they could fairly and accurately evaluate everything that they're showing, given the very tight time frame that they've announced in this -- in this letter.

[14:55:01]

WHITFIELD: And I wonder , quickly, you know, when the Kennedy Center director stepped down or was removed or however you want to put it, you had stated on X, you know, these are ominous times.

Do you have new words now for how you would describe all that's taking place with the president's directives on how he wants to make an imprint on the performing arts, as well as other historical institutions?

DEGGANS: Well, you know, again, you know, if we're talking about the Kennedy Center honors, I think on the -- on the one hand you know, everyone who was named this year is someone who would seem to be deserving of the honor. And I -- and I think those who wondered how Trump might operate once he asserted more control over the Kennedy Center breathed a sigh of relief to see that these are all these all seem to be worthy nominees.

But to have the president so directly involved with the selection of the Kennedy Center honors and then also you know, if he plans to host it again, that brings this this level of politics to the situation that I think is unfortunate and it makes it, in a weird way, it casts a shadow over all the people who get honored because you have to wonder if there's some political dimension to it, because the politics around the selection and around the actual event have become so overt.

WHITFIED: Okay. Eric Deggans, always great to have you. Thank you so much.

DEGGANS: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ahead of national dog day at the end of the month, CNN's Harry Enten has some advice to help take care of your fur baby. And that includes keeping your dog healthy and happy by avoiding ticks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hey, there. You know, summertime is a fun time for dogs. Dogs like Chuckster over here. Look how cute he was. Cavalier King Charles spaniel, or dogs like Cody, my childhood dog over here.

But the bottom line is, this summer can also be a dangerous time for dogs as well. Why? Because of ticks. We're talking ticks who, of course, can transmit Lyme disease.

And let's give you a few stats on Lyme disease. Look at this, positive Lyme disease tests in dogs. Get this, 4 percent, 4 percent of all Lyme disease tests come back positive. And guess what? Positive tests in all 50 states.

So how do you keep your dogs safe from ticks? And, of course, Lyme disease? Well, here's some safety measures for you.

Number one, lawns. Keep them short. Keep your lawns short. Remove all the weeds from your lawns and get this -- check for ticks at least daily.

Now here's an important thing to keep in mind. If in fact, you find a tick on your dog, remove it as quickly as possible. Why? Because it takes at least 24 hours, if not upwards of 48 hours or more for a tick to actually transmit Lyme disease.

Hopefully, you can keep your dog safe and sound.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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