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Suspected Kirk Shooter Under Special Watch in Jail; Ukrainian Drone Attack Targets Russian Oil Refinery; Netanyahu to Discuss Gaza City Takeover with Secretary Rubio; Vigil for Charlie Kirk at the Kennedy Center; Young Conservatives in Shock Over Charlie Kirk Killing; Trump Speaks to Reporters as He Returns to Washington; 77th Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards Tonight. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired September 14, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:35]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.
A tribute to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk is slated to start in about a half an hour. This as new details come in about the suspect and his assassination. The AP has obtained this new security video of a man believed to be the accused shooter, walking through a neighborhood on the day of Kirk's murder. A man matching the description of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson is seen about a half mile from Utah Valley University, where Kirk was shot.
Also in this clip, a Dodge Challenger, the same type of car that Utah's governor said was the killer was seen driving at the school. Authorities say the suspect is now in a special extra watch at the Utah County Jail as part of protocol. The sheriff saying that enhanced supervision allows deputies to keep an eye on the accused gunman pending a mental health evaluation.
I want to bring in CNN's Danny Freeman, who's covering this for us from St. George, Utah, where the suspect lived.
And Danny, today, Utah's governor appearing on a number of shows this morning, including here on CNN with our colleague Dana Bash and giving a lot of details about the accused shooter's life before his arrest, including who he was living with.
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jessica. I'm going to highlight two revelations, let's call them, that Governor Cox illustrated today on CNN, which really shed light to exactly as you said, what was happening in his world and in his life. That's Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect here, prior to the shooting and killing of Charlie Kirk earlier this week.
These two revelations come with a potential note that was discussed and also about, as you noted, who Robinson was living with. According to the governor, Robinson was roommates with a, quote, "romantic partner" who was a male transitioning to a female. I want you to take a listen to what the governor said about this relationship on CNN with Dana Bash earlier today. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SPENCER COX (R), UTAH: And yes, I can confirm that. I know that has been reported and that the FBI has confirmed that as well, that the roommate was a romantic partner, a male transitioning to female. I can say that he has been very cooperative. This partner has been incredibly cooperative, had no idea that this was happening and is working with investigators right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: Now, Jessica, CNN also pressed Governor Cox on whether this may have been a direct connection to any sort of motive that would have pushed Robinson to execute this shooting. But the governor said that it's easy to draw conclusions, though he did not end up giving any more theories as to what officially the motive is at this particular point.
The governor did note, though, that Robinson was part of a conservative family here in southwest Utah, though he noted that Robinson had been moving more left in recent years. That's according to family members.
Now, the other revelation, as I noted, Jessica, that the governor illustrated today on CNN, was this concept of a potential note left behind on the social and gaming platform Discord. A roommate and friend had mentioned, quote, "contents of a note the suspect had left elsewhere." Now, the governor did not go into any details about this potential note, but he did appear to confirm its existence, saying that this is part of the ongoing investigation right now.
Now, Jessica, I'll just say to you, the question that everyone has again continues to be the question of motive. The governor, though, is encouraging people to look towards Tuesday because that's when we're going to hear more information from those who are prosecuting this case. The formal charges are expected to be announced on Tuesday, and also we're expecting to see Robinson make his first court appearance here in the state of Utah on Tuesday.
Hopefully we'll get some more answers from not only that appearance, but also information from prosecutors -- Jessica.
DEAN: Danny Freeman, with the latest in all of this. Thank you very much for that.
Let's go deeper into it with criminology professor Bryanna Fox of the University of South Florida. She was an FBI special agent and profiler.
Brianna, thank you so much for joining us here. A lot of things to go through. Let's start first with this news that the shooting suspect is being -- is being held in the special housing unit until he gets that mental health evaluation. Give us context on that move and how typical it is.
BRYANNA FOX, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT AND PROFILER: Yes, well, thanks for having me, Jessica. It is relatively common in my research where --especially where there's a shooting like this or a very high profile suspect, they will put them in solitary confinement or just protective confinement, or for mental health evaluation.
[18:05:05]
In this case, it seems likely because of what he may have been experiencing prior to the shooting and also some of the reported notes left behind both in writing and also on the shell casings. These will lead people to think that maybe not all is well, and he could be at risk for suicide for instance.
DEAN: And there's also this other detail that we heard from the Utah governor today that the suspect was living with a transgender or a person transitioning, romantic partner, and investigators obviously looking to see how this might factor in. What, you know, what might have been going through the shooter's mind. How will they try to evaluate that piece of information, knowing that when Kirk was dead, he was actually discussing transgender people and shootings?
FOX: Yes, the timing for anyone who was unfortunate to have watched that video, it's horrific. But that moments when the shot went off it struck me at first as being intentional. And there was a lot that seems to have gone in to being very premeditated and intentional about the lead up to this crime. Less so on the back end of the crime and essentially getting away with it. But it did seem like this was somebody who had watched Charlie Kirk who had known what topics he was going to discuss, and picked that moment.
And it does strike you as potential motive where this is somebody that, you know, the shooter allegedly had cared for and maybe thought that they were taking upon themselves to avenge this. Again, just because they have motive in their mind doesn't mean it is in any way a valid form. you know, to exercise a murder. But in their minds, for idealistic shooters, that's what they think justifies it.
DEAN: Mm-hmm. And Governor Cox also talked about the suspect engaging what he called, you know, the dark corners of the internet. I want to play a clip about what he was talking about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COX: Seemed to happen kind of after that, after he had -- he had moved back to the southern part of Utah. Clearly there was a -- there was a lot of gaming going on. Friends that have confirmed that there was kind of that deep, dark internet, the Reddit culture, and these other dark places of the internet where this person was going deep. And you saw that on the -- on the casings. I think -- I mean, I didn't have any idea what the -- what those inscriptions, many of those inscriptions even meant, but they are, you know, certainly the meme- fication that is happening in our society today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Bryanna, what role might this all play, these deep, dark corners of the internet where he says he -- the suspect was spending a tremendous amount of time?
FOX: Yes. Several years ago, actually, too many that I would like to admit, I did research comparing homegrown violent extremists to school shooters and mass shooters, and we actually found they were very different in the modes of radicalization that the homegrown violent extremists did exist in those dark places of the internet, the Reddit areas, and they would actually radicalize quite quickly. The families sometimes would not even be fully aware of it, but it seems like we're actually changing where these shooters are actually becoming more radicalized in those same dark places. And that's a big change for our society.
DEAN: And talk us through, what do you mean by that?
FOX: So there are phases of radicalization where a lot of times people will go into these places, they feel like, oh, I'm seen. And then it goes more extreme. But before, you know, unfortunately, shooters of different, you know, types, a mass shooters, school shooters, I mean, while horrific, they had different radicalization or modes of getting to the point where they were willing to undertake such a horrific event.
It now seems like what is happening is where my research showed there was very two different forms of radicalization. They're actually starting to blend. Or perhaps the internet is becoming so ubiquitous that it's actually drawing in people from different areas, and it's just motivating more people to do the same things.
DEAN: Mm-hmm. And so how does -- how does a society combat that?
FOX: That's a really great question. The one thing I would say is for parents to be very aware of, you know, their children, what they're doing. I think a lot of times people think my child could never do this. And what a horrific thought. And I really take a moment for the father who had to essentially turn in his son. That was every parent's worst nightmare. But I think, too, if we could talk more to our kids.
I know he's 22, but still, you know, a young person. There is hope. There's nobody's lost until it's essentially over. What I mean by that is until they do something as horrific as a murder.
DEAN: Right. Bryanna Fox, thank you so much for your thoughts. Really interesting stuff. We appreciate it.
[18:10:05]
And still to come, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy discusses the path to peace with CNN's Fareed Zakaria. Plus, Secretary of State Marco Rubio arriving in Israel for crucial talks about ending the war in Gaza even as Israeli strikes there intensify ahead of a coming ground operation.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:15:03] DEAN: New tonight Ukrainian drones struck one of Russia's largest oil refineries overnight. This is the latest in Ukraine's campaign to take out Russia's fuel infrastructure.
Joining us now, CNN contributor Jill Dougherty. She's also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the former CNN Moscow bureau chief.
Jill, thanks for being here with us. The Ukrainian President Zelenskyy telling our Fareed Zakaria that Ukraine is focusing on taking out this infrastructure in an effort to keep Russia from producing more drones and weapons. What do you expect Russia's response to be to this continued effort by Ukraine?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, so far they seem to be downplaying it. And I think, you know, there's a reason for that, because oil and gas, the energy exports that Russia has are critical to its budget. I mean, anywhere from, you know, it could be like 40 percent, 45 percent, sometimes it even has gone up to 50 percent of the income that they get from exports comes from energy.
So if they are hit and this was a big oil refinery up in the northwest part of Russia, if they're hit, this really can hurt Russia. So I think, you know, I did look at the Russian response. There's not much of it other than to say that they shot down some of the drones and pieces of the drones fell, created fires which they put out, and no one was injured. But we really don't know exactly what the response is.
And also, Jessica, we know that this has been happening. You know, Ukraine is hitting more and more of these refineries and production facilities, and it is having an effect.
DEAN: Yes. And OK, so this is happening, Ukraine going after these refineries where they are producing this oil. At the same time, President Trump is telling the NATO allies, look, I'll put these tougher sanctions on Russia if you promise to stop buying oil, all of you stop -- promise to stop buying oil from Russia and impose those sanctions as well.
What do you think might happen with that?
DOUGHERTY: Well, I mean, in theory, it should have some effect. But I think one of the problems with that is that it is very complicated, you know, to tell Europe suddenly to switch off all the oil and gas. Now, if you look at what most of Europe has been doing, the NATO allies, E.U., they have been switching off. They've been going green and cutting down significantly. I mean, if you look at gas, they've cut from 45 percent of their gas was coming from Russia. A couple of like about three years ago. Now it's down to 19 percent.
And with oil it's down to 3 percent coming from Russia. But there are two countries, and I think we ought to note this, countries that the United States and the Trump administration have actually been complimentary of. And that would be Hungary and Slovakia. So if you say, will it be effective? Yes. But it would take a lot of time. And one of the other ways of doing it, getting to the end of whatever, you know, this, whatever the end is, would be to allow the Ukrainians to fight back militarily and to actually be able to take the fight to Russia.
DEAN: And then there is the piece involving Poland. And what we saw recently, we heard from the secretary of state yesterday saying that the U.S. is looking into whether those drones were intentionally sent over Poland, and if so, what that might mean.
But, Jill, this to me seems like it has the potential of being highly inflammatory.
DOUGHERTY: Oh, definitely. And, you know, you just have to look at the Polish response. Immediately, well, number one, interestingly and importantly, they were able to have a response that included a number of members of NATO. And so the response looked as if they did the right thing. And then Poland immediately invokes Article Four, which is the, you know, discussion. It's not Article Five, asking for assistance from the other NATO allies. But it's a step down from that. It's quite serious.
So I think, you know, you have to look at this as a warning sign. Other countries on the border, Romania has had that happen. Some others along the border. So the problem with Russia, and I think we have to remember this, too, is that Russia sometimes does things that are very unclear. Like, was it a mistake? Did they do it on purpose? Where did it come from? So that it doesn't directly trigger NATO to have an Article Five response, but it's definitely a threat. It's a threat to Europeans who could have been hurt if those drones had been armed and it's a challenge to the Europeans and to NATO to know how to respond.
DEAN: Right. And we're looking at a map while you're talking. So while we know all of that, we also know that Russia and then Belarus kicked off these major military drills to test the readiness of their armed forces, kind of this tit-for-tat situation.
[18:20:11]
What did you read into that?
DOUGHERTY: Well, that is very important. So these Zapad, which means West, Zapad-2025 exercises. Russia has held them for years. And interestingly, the last time that they actually held them was right before the invasion of Ukraine and the full-scale invasion in 2022. And they held them with Belarus. And that's exactly who they're holding it with right now.
So in response, they're smaller this year because they've got a lot of the people fighting in Ukraine. But NATO has rustled up its own response, which is being called Eastern Century. And they say that this is a new answer, a new kind of, I guess you'd call it new defense design, which includes intelligence, weapons, et cetera. So they are gearing up to make it very clear to Russia that NATO is ready.
I think the bottom line from this, Jessica, is that the implications of what's happening in Ukraine are growing and there doesn't seem to be any indication from Vladimir Putin that he is stepping down. On the contrary, we have a lot more attacks on Ukraine, really, you know, quite vicious major attacks, killing a lot of civilians. And then you also have these odd attacks, kind of gray zone attacks coming in Poland, et cetera.
So it's getting more dangerous. And the Europeans are very worried. And I also would say one last thing is that the Europeans are very worried about the United States and its response. If you look at what Donald Trump said, he said that this is Biden's and Zelenskyy's war. He never mentioned Putin and a lot of people, I can tell you, as I was looking at response from Eastern Europeans, a lot of people in Eastern Europe said, Putin is the guy who started it. So, you know, we have I think it's increasingly dangerous situation here.
DEAN: All right. Jill Dougherty, always good to see you. Thank you for that. We appreciate it.
New tonight, CNN learning Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss possibilities of Israel annexing parts of the West Bank in his meeting with the Secretary of State Marco Rubio tomorrow.
That new information coming as two Israeli officials tell CNN an Israeli military ground action will start in Gaza City in the coming days, potentially starting as early as tomorrow. As you see in that video, Israel has already started to hit high rise buildings there. Meantime, Rubio is visiting Jerusalem just days after Israel targeted Hamas leaders with a deadly strike inside Qatar.
CNN's Nada Bashir has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as tensions remain high following Israel's deadly strike on Doha last week, targeting Hamas's negotiating team in Qatar, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has traveled to Israel, where he joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a visit to the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday. The two are expected to hold official talks on Monday, with the Doha attack likely to be key on the agenda.
Ahead of his trip, Rubio told reporters that while U.S.-Israel relations remain unshaken, President Donald Trump, quote, "didn't like the way it went down," adding that the purpose of his visit to Israel is to get more clarity on what Israel's strategy will be going forward.
Qatar has long been a key regional ally to the U.S., hosting the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, and officials there working closely alongside both the Biden and Trump administrations to try to mediate a peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
Qatar's prime minister has accused his Israeli counterpart of undermining those peace efforts, and has said he hopes for a collective regional response to Israel's attack on Doha, adding that this response is under consultation and discussion with other regional partners, with a decision expected to be announced following the conclusion of the Arab-Islamic summit on Monday.
But beyond diplomacy, pressure is mounting on the Israeli government, both at home and internationally. On Saturday, thousands demonstrated in Tel Aviv once again calling on Netanyahu's government to secure a hostage and ceasefire deal with some family members of hostages held captive in Gaza accusing the government of sabotaging those peace efforts.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israel's deadly assault continues. More than 70 people are reported to have been killed on Saturday alone, with the death toll still rising as civilians in Gaza City are once again forced to evacuate with no guarantees of safety.
Nada Bashir, CNN, in London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[18:25:01]
DEAN: OK, Nada, thank you.
Coming up, from sorrow to anger, how the same conservatives that raised Charlie Kirk's profile are now reacting to his very public assassination. And in Washington, D.C., lawmakers and members of the Trump administration are gathering right now for a vigil in Kirk's honor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: Happening now, you are looking live as supporters of Charlie Kirk are hosting a memorial service and prayer vigil at the Kennedy Center. It's set to begin in just a few minutes. This is, of course, in Washington, D.C. Congressional leaders, members of the Trump administration, national conservative leaders, grassroots activists, all expected to be there.
[18:30:06]
I want to bring in CNN's Camila DeChalus, who is following this. And we see, obviously, a very large crowd there. What more do you know about tonight's event?
CAMILE DECHALUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, at this point, we know that over 3500 people are expected to attend this vigil. Now, the organizers of this event say that it's supposed to be about 90 minutes long, and it's going to begin with opening remarks made by friends of Charlie Kirk, and then later on by other notable figures that are expected to speak, like House Speaker Mike Johnson, the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Now, the death of Charlie Kirk has really sparked a national conversation about just how heightened the political environment in the U.S. has become, and lawmakers themselves are saying that his death is really making it clear that they need to take threats made against them and other political figures more seriously. And they're also stressing the importance of talking about unity at this time. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): So members of Congress and all public officials have an obligation to speak clearly into this and calm the waters. We can have vigorous disputes. I mean, Charlie Kirk was an expert at that. He loved debate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DECHALUS: Now, other lawmakers on the Democratic side and the Republican side have also stressed this message. And we're being told by the organizers of this vigil that they really want to make it clear that the main focus of this event is to honor Charlie Kirk and focus on what he meant to the people close to him and to people across the country.
DEAN: Thank you so much for that. We really appreciate it.
Young conservatives and supporters of Kirk say they fear people may turn more radical in the wake of his murder.
CNN's Elle Reeve spoke with them and has more now from New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN MCCROSSEN, YOUNG CONSERVATIVE: I didn't want to see that video. It just kind of popped up on my timeline on X. I mean, it was horrific. It was the worst thing you can imagine. And seeing that was really devastating.
ELLE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Young conservatives are in shock at the apparent assassination of Charlie Kirk.
RYAN LEONARD, YOUNG CONSERVATIVE: I take no pleasure in thinking this way, but things might be about to get a lot worse.
REEVE (voice-over): They were drawn in by the way Kirk mixed it up with ideological opponents on college campuses.
CHARLIE KIRK, FOUNDER, TURNING POINT USA: Your life began not at birth, but at conception. About nine months before your birth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's your opinion.
KIRK: If I wear a black face and I don't become black, why does a man who wear a dress become a woman?
MADISON CAMPBELL, YOUNG CONSERVATIVE: It was because of his quick wit. His debate style was much different than anyone really in the conservative movement had.
REEVE (voice-over): The 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA inspired young conservatives to forcefully defend their beliefs, even when outnumbered. CHRISTOPHER BRAY, YOUNG CONSERVATIVE: I think seeing someone that was,
like, willing to stand up to huge crowds at liberal schools was really powerful. Going to a liberal arts college in New York City, in Manhattan, of all places, it can be very difficult to, like, navigate what you can and can't talk about.
LEONARD: It was just this place where I felt like I could be free. And some of -- some of my closest friends in my life, I met at these events.
REEVE (voice-over): It's hard to escape, especially in alternative media. The members of the MAGA movement who are now talking about war.
ALEX JONES, FORMER PODCASTER: We're in a war.
REEVE (voice-over): Good versus evil, and an American tipping point.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing.
STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP AIDE: Charlie Kirk's a casualty of war. We're at war in this country.
CAMPBELL: There's political violence on both sides, and political violence on both sides is equally reprehensible.
MCCROSSEN: I think people are going to become a lot more radical. I think that goes without saying. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, you could determine. But people are -- people are upset.
REEVE (voice-over): These young conservatives saw Kirk as a moderate and are unsettled that someone with his views would be killed.
LUCIAN WINTRICH, NEW YORK YOUNG REPUBLICAN CLUB: For somebody who I personally consider kind of a normie conservative, to be murdered, to be assassinated for those views, yes, we're all struggling to process it.
CAMPBELL: The next person who starts to take his place is going to be much more far right, because in order to do that, you have to almost be willing to die for your opinions. I think that is, in a way, beautiful. It's very -- you know, it's a martyrdom. Right? Which is beautiful to die for your beliefs.
REEVE (voice-over): Elle Reeve, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Elle, thank you.
Still ahead, CNN sits down with the head of the L.A. school district, the second largest in the country, about his fight to protect students from President Trump's immigration crackdown in the city. He says even if it costs him his job.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:36:59]
DEAN: President Trump is talking after landing. Let's listen.
TRUMP: I'll be going on early Sunday morning. We're going to Arizona, taking some people with us on Air Force One. Maybe you people are going to be with us. I don't know. But we're going to be going Saturday early, early on Sunday morning. OK?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, have you been briefed --
TRUMP: Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How were the talks today (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: Good. We had talks going on. Scott Bessent is there and some others. Jamieson is here and, yes, I think they're going fine.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: When will you impose tariffs on China?
TRUMP: We're going to see but we've hit them very hard in so many other ways. I don't know if you know. You know what they're paying? Right now. What are they paying right now? You know what China is paying right now in tariffs? Huh?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How's the exact dollar?
TRUMP: A lot.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, have you been briefed on what happened in Venezuela?
TRUMP: Yes, I know exactly what's happened.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you just tell us about it?
TRUMP: A lot of drugs are coming out of Venezuela. A lot of Tren de Aragua. They're trying to get out, but we're stopping them successfully at the border in Venezuela. We have a tremendous amount of security. They're sending Tren de Aragua. That's the gang. They're probably the worst gang in the world. MS-13, I think they're probably considered worse. And we don't like what Venezuela is sending us, whether it's their drugs or whether it's their gang members. We don't like it. We don't like it one bit.
Hold it. You want to move over here, fellas? Wouldn't it be easier for you? Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What was your message to the Qatari prime minister on Friday?
TRUMP: Look, we're with them. You know, they've been a great ally. A lot of people don't understand that about Qatar. Qatar has been a great ally, and they also lead a very difficult life because they're right in the middle of everything. So they have to be a little bit politically correct in their terms. But I will tell you, they've been a great ally for the United States, Qatar.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, do you anticipate more strikes on Venezuela?
TRUMP: Well, we'll see what happens. There's certainly not a lot of boats out there. I'll tell you, since the first strike and then to a lesser extent, the second, we don't see any -- I mean, we almost see no boats out there, which is fine as far as I'm concerned. There's been very little boat traffic. I can't imagine why.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Again, and just on that, do you think we will start seeing strikes on mainland Venezuela?
TRUMP: Well, we'll see what happens. Look, Venezuela is sending us their gang members, their drug dealers and drugs. It's not acceptable.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE).
TRUMP: We'll see what happens. It's not an option or not option. We'll see. He had an election that was wrong. It was almost as corrupt as our election of 2020, you know that? You know what I'm talking about? I wouldn't say theirs was much more corrupt, but it was certainly corrupt. But ours was corrupt also.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, (INAUDIBLE)
[18:40:01]
TRUMP: I may or may not. They're negotiating TikTok right now. We may let it die or we may -- I don't know, it depends, up to China. It doesn't matter too much. I'd like to do it for the kids. They like it. I mean, selfishly speaking, I did very well on TikTok and I got the youth vote. I got numbers that nobody has ever even come close in the Republican Party, nobody. If you look back to Romney and all these people, they got practically no votes. I got a lot, and some was attributed to TikTok, and a lot was attributed to Charlie.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) what was your message to Benjamin Netanyahu about strikes on Qatar? It was reported (INAUDIBLE).
TRUMP: Well, my message is this. They have to be very, very careful. They have to do something about Hamas but Qatar has been a great ally to the United States. A lot of people don't know that. I told the emir, who I think is a wonderful person, actually, I said, you need better public relations because you don't really get the public relations. I mean, people talk of it so badly and they shouldn't be.
Qatar has been a very great ally. So Israel and everybody else, we have to be careful when we attack people. We have to be careful.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: On Charlie Kirk, sir, what are organizations on the left you anticipate investigating? We talked about this last week.
TRUMP: Well, the problem is on the left. If you look at the problem. The problem is on the left. It's not on the right like some people like to say on the right. The problem we have is on the left. And when you look at the agitators, you look at the scum that speak so badly of our country, the American flag burnings all over the place, that's the left. That's not the right.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you plan on investigating?
TRUMP: We'll see. We'll be announcing. They're already under investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you started (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: You know, they're already under major investigation. A lot of the people that you would traditionally say are on the left.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They're already under investigation?
TRUMP: Already under investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you asked to start revoking the visas of the foreigners who have celebrated Charlie Kirk's death?
TRUMP: What?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you asked to start revoking the visas of the foreigner who have celebrated Charlie Kirk's death?
TRUMP: No, we haven't, we haven't. But we are looking at names. We don't like that. That's not right. We wouldn't celebrate if something happened on their side. And we don't. These are sick people. These are really deranged people.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Any progress on the Fed chairman, sir?
TRUMP: Well, other than I don't like him. Well, he's incompetent. The Fed chairman is incompetent. Sure. I have three people that I like a lot. Any one of them would do a good job.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, one more on Venezuela.
TRUMP: But I think you have a big cut because I really -- I don't think he can help with cutting. It's perfect for cutting. And the thing that he's hurting the most is housing for people. But because we're doing well on everything, energy is way down, groceries are down, everything, almost everything is way down. But housing because of the Fed is not what it should be. OK, but it's not what it should be.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I'm sorry, I'm --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you talk about what steps ahead of the U.K. trip?
TRUMP: What about it?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What are you expecting ahead of the (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: Nothing. The trip to U.K. is going to be incredible. They've never done it before. Twice honored. And that's because we had nonconsecutive terms. You know that. You probably know that. But back in the days of Grover Cleveland, I don't think they did this too easily. So we'll see. But this is the first time it's ever happened. And Windsor is supposed to be amazing. They've never used Windsor.
They've never had Windsor for this. And they're going to be doing Windsor Castle. It's going to be very exciting. I think a lot of you are going with me. You're going with us, huh? Are you going with us, Maggie?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Not with you.
TRUMP: Good.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Just one more on Venezuela. The president of Venezuela called the strike on the boat illegal. Are you concerned that Maduro might escalate something?
TRUMP: What's illegal are the drugs that were on the boat and the drugs that are being sent into our country, and the fact that 300 million people died last year from drugs, that's what's illegal.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you think he's not telling the truth when he said it was a fisherman's boat? Do you think that he's --
TRUMP: You could see it. You saw the bags of white everything. Right through the bags. It's nonsense. And we knew it before they even left. We knew it before they even left. We knew exactly where that boat, where it came from, where the drugs came from and where it was heading. I mean, the problem is, nobody is getting on boats anymore, so maybe that's a good problem.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you expect Nato to issue sanctions against Russia, as you're asking them to (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: Well, they're not doing the job. NATO has to get together. Europe has to get together and do. Look, Europe is -- they're my friends, but they're buying oil from Russia, so we can't be expected to be the only ones that are, you know, full bore. But Europe is buying oil from Russia. I don't want them to buy oil. And the sanctions that are putting -- that they're putting on are not tough enough.
And I'm willing to do sanctions, but they're going to have to toughen up their sanctions commensurate with what I'm doing.
[18:45:00]
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But just to clarify, you wouldn't move ahead until NATO move ahead?
TRUMP: Well, I'm ready to move ahead, but they have to do it. I think they will. But right now they're talking and they're not doing. Look, they're buying oil from Russia. We're not buying oil from Russia. They're buying a lot of oil from Russia. That's not the deal.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So on Putin, two weeks ago, you told us that you would decide who was more to blame for the impasse on the talks, whether it's Ukraine or whether it's Russia. How are you feeling right now?
TRUMP: But when you say impact, impact of what?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The impasse. Sorry, but nothing has happened.
TRUMP: Oh, impasse?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes.
TRUMP: It's not going to matter because when they go in, they're going to be very, very strong. So it's not going to matter.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: When are you planning --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Maggie, go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, European nations do still buy -- some of them, buy natural gas from Russia.
TRUMP: Yes. Right.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Would you like to see that pulled back as well?
TRUMP: That's not the deal, though. The deal is they're not -- whether it's natural gas or whether it's cigarettes, I don't care. They're not supposed to be buying from Russia. We're spending a lot of money giving. Now, I will say this right now we're just selling weapons to NATO. It's pretty amazing. Biden has spent $350 billion. I'm spending nothing. In fact, we're making money. But I want to stop the killing.
So it just came out or I think it came out, but I know for a fact almost 8,000 young soldiers died this week between the two countries. A little bit more from Russia. But divided. You know, when you're the aggressor, you lose more. I don't know if you know that. But in war, when you're the aggressor, you tend to lose more. But it was a little bit more for Russia, but it was 8,000, a little bit more than 8,017 actually, died this week in that war.
Why? And they're Russians. They're not American soldiers, but they're still human beings. They're souls. And I want to stop it.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have any of --
TRUMP: And, you know, I stopped seven wars. I thought this was going to be an easy one for me. But this has turned out to be tough. The hatred between Zelenskyy and Putin is unfathomable.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you still believe that they will talk? That they will have (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: I don't know, I think I'm going to have to do all the talking. They hate each other.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: When do you think that will take place?
TRUMP: I don't know, relatively soon.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have any of the NATO --
TRUMP: We're going to get it worked out one way or the other, but relatively soon.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have any of the NATO --
TRUMP: They hate each other so much they can't breathe. So I'm going to have to get involved.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have any of the NATO members responded to the letter you sent yesterday?
TRUMP: Yes. Sure. They know it's true.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you say who?
TRUMP: They don't want to deny it, you know. They said, well, I'd rather not talk about it. I said, what do you mean you'd rather not? That means you're guilty, right? Yes. No, they agree. I mean, they -- look, they're buying oil and they're buying it through a couple of countries that are selling it. So they're not buying it directly.
Countries are buying oil from Russia and selling it into certain NATO countries. Not all, but certain very substantial NATO countries. That's not the deal. OK. We're all set?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Just one more.
TRUMP: Huh? Are we all set?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sorry. Last one. Just to clarify then, do you anticipate your next step with the Ukraine talks to be a summit, like a trilateral summit?
TRUMP: There'll be talks whether you call it a summit or just a get- together. It doesn't matter. But I'll probably have to get -- they hate each other so much they almost can't talk. They're incapable of talking to each other.
Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, will the first lady accompany you to Charlie Kirk's memorial next week?
TRUMP: I don't -- I didn't ask her that, but a lot of people are. But we're going to Europe just before.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: To the U.K. TRUMP: So we're going to be doing that.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: OK.
TRUMP: I haven't even thought of it. I've been thinking about other things. OK. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you, Mr. President.
DEAN: President Donald Trump speaking there as he heads to Marine One. A couple of things. He's confirmed that he will be attending Charlie Kirk's memorial, which is set to take place at that NFL stadium in Glendale, Arizona, next Sunday. He said he'll be taking Air Force One there. He'll be taking a group with him as well.
He also was asking some questions, going back to what he talked about in the Oval Office. If he was going to be investigating any of the people on the left, and he said that they may be announcing that soon, he said that that he's already -- a lot of them are already under investigation, just wouldn't go into details, though, on specifically who that might be. Just saying traditionally, people you would say are on the left.
We also heard from him on Ukraine and Russia saying that Europe's sanctions on Russia simply aren't tough enough. Obviously, he had sent that letter yesterday saying that they need to stop buying oil from Russia, and that's when he will impose stricter sanctions as well. But he kept saying he was going to have to do all the talking because of the hatred between in his mind, Putin and Zelenskyy.
I do want to bring in Betsy Klein because there were some other threads as well. She is standing by. She had been traveling with the president this weekend.
But, Betsy, again, just starting there at the top, this confirmation that he will be attending that memorial as we thought he would be.
[18:50:04]
And I think the question, too, becomes, will he have a speaking role? What that might take? Because this is going to be a very large crowd honoring Charlie Kirk next weekend.
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And not only was Charlie Kirk a conservative activist, a trusted ally and adviser of the president, he was also a close like family member to the Trump family. He was very close with the president. He was close with his sons, eric and Don Jr., as well as his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. So there are some questions about what kind of a role the president and his family will play in this memorial service that's expected to be attended by about 63,000 people in Arizona.
The president also continued, as you mentioned, to criticize the rhetoric on the left. He said there is a problem on the left, but not on the right. Of course, ignoring the fact that earlier this summer there was a murder of a Minnesota state legislator, Melissa Hortman, and her husband at their home. He also said he didn't know if the first lady would be coming with him to that memorial service, expected on Sunday.
Now, on the topic of NATO and Russia, as you mentioned, the president had laid out in a letter to NATO allies saying that the U.S. was ready to apply more and stronger sanctions on Russia if and only when NATO countries did the same and stopped buying Russian oil and gas. The president, elaborating on that moments ago, he said that the sanctions of NATO countries, quote, "are not tough enough" and reiterated that he's ready to move ahead with those sanctions if they take those steps.
He also has expressed frustration with the pace and lack of progress in the negotiations to end Russia's war in Ukraine. In the past, the president has talked about potentially walking away from those conversations. But today appeared to indicate that he is going to have to be the one to do all the talking since President Zelenskyy and Putin are not able to do so.
So a lot of news there, Jessica, the president heading back to the White House now.
DEAN: Certainly. All right, Betsy Klein, thank you for helping us monitor that as well.
Also tonight is the 77th Prime Time Emmy Awards. The ceremony airing later from the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
Joining us now with all the behind the scenes, the accolades, the snubs, his picks for the winners, Dominic Patten, the executive editor of "Deadline Hollywood."
Dominic, thank you so much. Uh-oh, we've lost Dominic, unfortunately, but I am told he is now back. So this is the magic of TV, Dominic. We hope you're there. There he is. OK, great. We're glad you made it. You're nice and dressed up for the occasion as well. We've got the master of ceremonies tonight, Nate Bargatze. "L.A. Times" describing him as bringing, quote, "a radical sense of safeness."
What are you anticipating from his hosting tonight?
DOMINIC PATTEN, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD: Well, let's be clear. This is the first year that Nate has done the Emmys. Like last year was the first time that Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy did the Emmys. So it's nice to see they're trying different people.
Nate has made it very clear there's two things he's not interested in. He's not interested in politics, though those statements were made before the assassination of Charlie Kirk. And he's not interested in long speeches. And he will literally take money away from charitable donations if people go longer and longer and longer.
I think what they're looking for here is the classic, which is a celebration of television. You know, there's a -- there's not a lot of drama, pardon the pun, around who may be the winners this year, but there is some anticipation of how it's all going to go because clearly television, as we all know, is changing. What constitutes television is changing. And this might, of course, be the last time we see the Emmys where we don't see a big contingent of YouTube nominees. There weren't any this year, but you're going to see some big time next year, I'm sure.
DEAN: Yes, a lot is changing and it's changing so quickly. And you mentioned Nate's plan to keep the speeches short. Our correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister was saying to your point that he says he's going to donate to a boys and girls club charity and he's going to take money away for every, you know, second or minute that people go over.
I would imagine there might -- the Boys and Girls Club might end up with a lot of donations tonight from people making up for whatever they might take away.
PATTEN: I think so, but, you know, also, I think the good thing about this, when you do something like that, of course, is you see the in- joke, right? So this is going to become probably a rolling joke throughout the entire evening. Again, I'll come back to, look, one of the things that we broke exclusively a couple of days ago, and already people who are down at the site are telling us this is the vast increase in security that happened after Charlie Kirk's -- the shooting, the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.
This is something that's taken very seriously. The Emmys have constantly had at least since 9/11 high security protocols. They definitely ramped it up the first few days. So I think the tension that people might be feeling coming in, there's a lot of people checking credentials. A lot of barriers are up right now around the Peacock Theater in downtown L.A. The tension outside, they want to alleviate that inside.
They want to make this into a fun night where people really enjoy it. And remember CBS, which is showing the Emmys this year, of course, they're up against Sunday Night Football with the Falcons and the -- and the Hawks, I believe, playing on NBC, Sunday Night Football.
[18:55:03]
So there's going to be a lot of battle for viewership here. So they're looking for the viral moments. Viral moments where television really live. Exception cable news of course.
DEAN: Yes, yes.
PATTEN: And that is of course is what they're going to hope they can really get across a lot. And of course, big names winning big prizes.
DEAN: That's right. It's going to be fun.
Dominic, thank you so much for coming on. We really appreciate it. You got us all ready for it. Thank you so much.
And we'll be right back.
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