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Trump Pushes Back 50 percent Tariffs on E.U. Until July; GOP Senators Call Budget Cuts 'Wimpy' and 'Anemic'; Noem in Israel after Murder of Israeli Embassy Staffers in D.C.; Behind the Numbers of Increased Military Enrollment. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired May 26, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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


[06:00:14]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: I want to thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: It is Monday, May 26. And here's what's happening right now on CNN THIS MORNING.

Another delay in the trade war, this time with the European Union. But how long will it really last?

Plus, this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: He's sending rockets into cities and killing people. And I don't like it at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Russia launches its largest aerial attack on Ukraine ever. But will President Trump's rare rebuke of Vladimir Putin help ease tensions?

And later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are being used essentially as poker chips.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Thousands of international students at Harvard in limbo. And now the Trump administration wants their names and countries of origin.

And military recruitment making a comeback on this Memorial Day. What's behind the trend, and will this momentum continue?

It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here is a live look at the White House on this Memorial Day weekend. Good morning, everyone. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for

waking up with me on this holiday.

And we're going to begin by talking about the president's on-again, off-again tariffs, because they're sort of off, at least for now, when it comes to the E.U.

On Friday, the president announced 50 percent tariffs were going to kick in this upcoming weekend on all imports from the European Union. And seemed pretty sure nothing was going to change that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm not looking for a deal. I mean, we've set the deal. It's at 50 percent. Now, if somebody comes in and wants to build a plant here, I can talk to them about a little bit of a delay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Two days later, a call from the E.U. Commission president apparently changed all that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And she asked for an extension on the June 1 date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiations.

July 9 would be the date. That was the date she requested. Could we move it from June 1 to July 9? And I agreed to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat: Stephen Collinson, CNN Politics senior reporter; Maria Cardona, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist; and Lindsey Drath, CEO of the Forward Party and a former campaign finance official for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.

Thank you, guys, all for being here today.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks for having us.

CORNISH: Appreciate it.

OK. Stephen, so you talked in the past about the tariffs in general. When you look at the state of play, are these reversals? Are these the art of the deal? Is the E.U. doing better than other countries?

You know what I mean? It feels like there are some European leaders that have won his favor. What are you looking at now?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: I think there's really total confusion. The --

CORNISH: Oh, my ten questions didn't convey that?

COLLINSON: Right. No, no. No, no.

CORNISH: No. No, obviously, I have a firm grasp.

COLLINSON: The argument that this is the art of the deal founders on the fact that there hasn't really been any deals yet.

There have been discussions about deals or commitments about deals or a commitment to China to talk about a deal. But I think there are increasing concerns about how real all of this is.

Ultimately, I think what Trump would like is a tariff of 10 percent. I think that's what we've seen on most of the deals that have emerged.

The problem is it's backwards and forwards. And I think the thing that a European leader probably would take away from the Chinese example, for example, is when the pain is about to kick in, the president steps back. And that seems to be what's happened here.

CORNISH: All right. I have to play a clip of tape from the president, because so much of this conversation has been wrapped around the idea of bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. What would that look like? What would that mean? How long would it take?

He was asked about it, and here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We want to make military equipment. We want to make big things. We want to make -- do the A.I. thing with the computers and the -- many, many, many, many elements. But the textile. You know, I'm not looking to make T-shirts, to be honest. I'm not looking to make socks. We can do that very well in other locations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK. It's a tie for Lindsey and Maria on facial expressions while that was playing.

Lindsey, let me start with you. What? I mean, that's ambitious. And I think that has always driven the U.S. protection of its manufacturing capabilities, military equipment, being competitive. What's -- what's going on with what he's saying?

LINDSEY DRATH, CEO, THE FORWARD PARTY: Yes, it is ambitious. And I think that the American people want to hear that the president is committed to bringing manufacturing jobs, because the American people equate that with middle income jobs.

So middle-class job creation equals manufacturing.

Unfortunately, it's not realistic. As most of us know, the time horizons to build out the infrastructure to create these manufacturing facilities is not something that's going to happen, certainly not during this Trump administration.

CORNISH: Yes. But if you want to launch a golden age, then this is what you do. No. I'm serious. It's like you just -- you have to decide at some point, right? It was like building the highway system. It didn't happen overnight.

CARDONA: Yes, but you also have to base it on reality, and on history, and on the knowledge of what the United States is capable of, and what other countries are there to do for the United States in terms of trade.

This is nothing but chaotic, discombobulated craziness and confusion. And we're seeing it in what not just the tariffs are doing to consumers, but what this back and forth is doing to the markets.

And you all have done -- CNN has done such a great job, and I'm so proud of the network, of focusing on real people's stories. You -- you all have on all the time small businesses, entrepreneurs, people who are -- frankly, would be the ones who would benefit if this kind of manufacturing would actually come back to the United States. But they --

CORNISH: But are experiencing the pain right now.

CARDONA: Exactly.

CORNISH: Which is to your point about other countries saying, well, let's just -- maybe you put them through it. It's a problem.

I want to add one more thing to this, which is all of this also depends, at least according to the treasury secretary, on the math of the budget bill. Right? It's one thing to do the tariffs, but there's supposed to be another half of that policy.

Here, I want to play for you. I think it's some Senate Republicans who are now taking a look at this legislation after the House was able to pass it earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): I think we have enough to stop the process until the president gets serious about the spending reduction and reducing the deficit.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): I think the cuts currently in the bill are wimpy and anemic. But I still would support the bill even with wimpy and anemic cuts, if they weren't going to explode the debt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I feel like I have been listening to a lawmaker named Paul complain about the deficit for easily 20 years. We've gone through the generations. The fiscal hawks are back, baby. Do they have any power?

COLLINSON: I think it's going to call for some changes to get this through the Senate.

But the problem then is you have to go back to the House. And a lot of the things that the speaker, Mike Johnson, did to get this bill through the House with one vote, things are going to annoy senators. Interesting here --

CORNISH: Yes, let's underscore that: one vote.

COLLINSON: Right. It's interesting to hear Senator Hawley, for example, talk about the pain of the Medicare -- Medicaid cuts. That's, you know, the real politics of this kicking in.

But eventually, the bill will pass, because the bill has to pass, because it's so important to the president. For him, I think it's less important necessarily what's in it. It's about just getting the big, beautiful deal to his desk.

CORNISH: Yes. Group chat, stay with me. We've got a lot to talk about the start of this week.

Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, the trial against music mogul Sean Combs entering its third week. We're going to talk about what you can expect and about the victim who will not be taking the stand.

Plus, the U.S. Expresses unwavering support for Israel as its other top allies demand action for what's happening in Gaza.

And activists and family members recommit to fighting police brutality five years after the murder of George Floyd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR GEORGE FLOYD'S FAMILY: We are not deterred. We are recommitted. So do whatever you're going to do with the Department of Justice. We will not turn back. Justice for George Floyd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[06:13:27]

CORNISH: It's been a devastating weekend in Gaza. Israeli airstrikes killing dozens. One doctor losing nine of her ten children in one of the attacks, her one remaining son and her husband left clinging to life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): One of the civil defense workers was handing me one of the bodies. Doctor Alaa (ph), who was standing next to me, recognized it. She said, "This is Reval (ph). Give her to me."

She asked to hold her in her arms. She's a pediatrician. See the subconscious reaction? She wanted to embrace her daughter, forgetting that her daughter was burned in front of her eyes.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: With the violence against Gaza escalating, Homeland Security

Secretary Kristi Noem is in Israel meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

CNN's Nada Bashir is tracking the latest developments.

Good morning, Nada. I want to talk about the purpose of this visit. What have we learned about why the Department of Homeland Security is in Israel?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. We understand, according to the White House, that this visit was instructed by the U.S. president, Donald Trump, following those -- devastating tragic attack in Washington, D.C., just last week over -- against the couple just outside the museum in Washington, D.C.

But of course, the timing of this is interesting. This comes at a time where, of course, the Israeli government is facing mounting criticism from many of its closest international allies. And, of course, as the Israeli military expands its operation in the Gaza Strip.

And as you mentioned, Audie, we have seen a devastating -- devastating weekend in Gaza. Yet more attacks, of course.

[06:15:03]

And just after midnight overnight in the Gaza Strip, another devastating attack, an airstrike on a school in central Gaza which, according to health authorities in Gaza, has killed at least 20 people.

This is an area, of course, in central Gaza, in Gaza City, where thousands have flocked to take shelter since the breakdown of the ceasefire in March. This was a school known to be housing displaced civilians and, according to many of the eyewitnesses on the ground, there was no prior warning against this airstrike.

We've heard from health authorities at the al-Ahli Hospital, al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, rather, where many of the injured, wounded, and those killed were taken by emergency workers. They have said that, while they were able to identify the bodies of at least 20 victims, others have been dismembered, disfigured, or charred by the fire which engulfed the building. Parts of the building, and that they have been unable to identify some of those victims, many of whom they have said were women and children.

But of course, alongside this, there continues to be that mounting focus on the aid situation on the Gaza Strip. Of course, this is a huge focus for the Trump administration, as well.

COGAT, the Israeli agency which oversees the shipment of aid to the Gaza Strip, has said that at least 107 trucks were able to pass the Kerem Shalom Crossing on Sunday.

Of course, that is a fraction of the total number of trucks that the U.N. says is needed: around 500 to 600, which they say is desperately needed in Gaza -- Audie.

CORNISH: That's Nada Bashir in London. Thank you.

Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, an American arrested in New York for allegedly plotting an attack on a U.S. embassy office in Israel.

Plus, the U.S. military experiencing a rise in recruitment. What's behind it? Can it be maintained?

And want you to take a look at these live pictures out of Hawaii. The Kilauea volcano actually spewing lava into over a thousand feet to the sky overnight.

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[06:21:17]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings. There will be no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody forced onto our brave men and women in uniform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, when I heard that, I realized I want to go off script, because it's Memorial Day. And there is actually a rise in military recruitment and the direction of the armed forces under this new administration.

So, as you saw over the weekend, President Trump was speaking to the graduating class at West Point. The cadets also got this very clear message about his expectations as their commander in chief.

All of which follows the firing of top-level military officers, orders to remove transgender troops from service. The uptick in enrollment numbers that the president is taking credit for.

So, bringing in an expert to join us on military recruitment, deputy editor of "The Military Times," Leo Shane.

Thanks for being here with us this morning.

LEO SHANE, DEPUTY EDITOR, "THE MILITARY TIMES": Yes, thanks for the invitation.

CORNISH: So, a few years ago, I was covering this story on my podcast where I spoke to the secretary of the Army, Christine Wormuth, and she walked me through all the reasons why there was a recruiting crisis at the time.

I think that the Army had missed its target by like 15,000 recruits, and part of it was, like, people couldn't do the physical part of it because of their weight. Some people had failed drug tests. Some people had remedial education. So, there were -- am I getting it right?

SHANE: These have all been major challenges, especially the physical fitness one. As we've seen the American population rise in obesity, you know, increases in just a sedentary lifestyle, it's been a real challenge for bringing in younger folks who can meet those physical requirements over the years.

CORNISH: But she never mentioned diversity. She never mentioned that it was so woke people just didn't want to help -- I guess the people who could compete didn't want to sign up.

SHANE: This has been a fighting debate point on Capitol Hill for quite a few years now, even before President Trump came into office, because we heard from Republican lawmakers who said, hey, the military is spending too much time worrying about diversity, worrying about including other -- other folks.

When we've heard testimony from the military leaders themselves, they've said this is not a factor when they're talking about this. They don't hear complaints. They don't hear folks who are shying away or getting out of the military, except for maybe an anecdotal case here and there.

It's really a matter of those issues, plus just the economics of it. In good economic times, fewer people join the military. In bad economic times, we've always seen an upturn because of the stability.

But military services is a lot.

CORNISH: Yes.

SHANE: It's a lot of sacrifice. It's a lot. So, it's not -- it's not just a job like going down the street and picking up another, you know, hourly wage here. You've got to make a commitment.

CORNISH: Although the recruiters were competing against higher hourly wages in places like Amazon.

SHANE: And that's what it is. So, we've seen a lot of increases in pay in recent years.

CORNISH: Let me talk about that.

SHANE: Yes.

CORNISH: Data shows that the military recruitment numbers rose, I think, more than 12 percent in 2024. That was before Trump was reelected. He's still taking credit for it.

But can you talk to me about what people think is actually driving some of this increase?

SHANE: Yes, at least part of the increase right now that we're seeing are folks who signed up last year, as you said, deferred entry. So, folks who maybe -- maybe this time last summer were like, hey, I want to get in. But the Army was already at their numbers, and they said, we're going to -- we're going to just delay you for a few months and bring you in. That way we can help with the numbers next year.

So, about a quarter of all the ones that have come in so far this year are -- fall into that category.

Last year, you know, the Congress passed a very substantial pay increase for junior enlisted troops, bringing everybody's salary over $30,000. It doesn't include other stipends like housing stipend, food stipend, things like that.

So, it's a stable -- you know, it's a stable paycheck coming in. It's -- it's more money than some folks would see with just a -- just a high school degree after that.

[06:25:07]

CORNISH: Yes.

SHANE: So, there's a lot of interest in getting into that.

The numbers have continued to go up since Trump's election and since Trump's inauguration. So, there may be a factor that goes in there.

But a lot of what we're seeing him claim credit for now are folks who signed up even before his election, sometime last fall or late last summer.

CORNISH: And -- and we mentioned preparedness. I know there's a future soldier preparatory course, which is kind of like a pre-basic training and other things.

SHANE: Yes. I mean, there's a lot of these -- these programs that, you know, the military isn't just looking to recruit for right now. They're looking to recruit for years from now.

So, you know, there's junior ROTC programs that are looking down the road for -- to bring in new officers. There's just -- you know, there's -- there's recruitment not just of high school seniors, but of -- of sophomores, of freshmen, of folks who might be interested down the road, so they can bring them in.

So, it is a -- it is a long process. They're always -- they're already, this year, starting to look ahead at what the next year's numbers are. Are there candidates for those deferred programs --

CORNISH: Yes.

SHANE: -- for those, you know, things to come in?

CORNISH: One more thing. When I was digging into the numbers, I saw that the recruitment growth is disproportionately driven by women, that in the 2024 year, 10,000 women enlisted. That's an 18 percent increase from the year before.

You're smiling.

SHANE: Well -- CORNISH: I mean, is that due to some diversity efforts? And is this the kind of -- what -- what is -- what are these women in for under a leadership that now sees a different role for them, so to speak?

SHANE: And that's the real question. I mean, what we've seen is after -- after missing those marks for several years with recruiting, we saw a targeted effort at all sorts of populations, at -- at minority populations, at women.

CORNISH: Diversity initiatives.

SHANE: Not just diversity, but like, really, anything that they could get to.

CORNISH: Yes.

SHANE: But certainly diversity initiatives helped out. Outreach to -- to populations that maybe were underrepresented there.

So, with those ending, it's interesting to see if we'll -- we'll see a pullback, especially with some of the rhetoric from President Trump, with Secretary Hegseth.

You know, are those folks going to regret signing up now, or are they going to be fine with it? Are we going to -- we may get to next fall and see that numbers have continued to go up, that all these populations do like the direction in the military, or at least aren't dissuaded by anything the president is saying.

But we just don't really know right now how much the president and the new secretary of defense have -- have played into these recruiting numbers.

CORNISH: Well, thank you so much for digging into it with us. I appreciate you coming here, Leo.

SHANE: Thank you.

CORNISH: All right. Leo Shane is the deputy editor of "The Military Times."

All right. Next on CNN THIS MORNING, President Trump lashing out. Why he says Vladimir Putin has gone, quote, "absolutely crazy."

And a controversial move in Texas, requiring all public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms, has cleared a key hurdle.

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