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Kremlin Comments on Trump's Statement; Trump Tests Presidential Power; More Testimony in Combs Trial; Trump Wants Names from Harvard. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired May 26, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:33:37]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.

It's half past the hour, and here's what's happening right now.

President Trump pressing pause on another set of tariffs, this time for the European Union. On Sunday, he said the 50 percent levy on EU imports wouldn't go into effect until at least July 9th.

And an American has been arrested after allegedly plotting to firebomb a U.S. embassy office in Israel. Officials say on May 19th he showed up at the embassy, spat on a guard, and then ran away, leaving behind his backpack. Inside they found three Molotov cocktails. He was arrested at JFK Airport in New York on Sunday.

And we are looking live at the World War II Memorial today. President Trump to commemorate Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery. In just a few hours, he's expected to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Now, in the meantime, Russia has just launched its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since starting the war more than three years ago. The Russians have been intensifying the bombardment in recent weeks as international pressure mounts on President Vladimir Putin to accept a ceasefire proposal. President Trump, obviously frustrated, posting on Truth Social, Putin's gone, quote, "absolutely crazy."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I'm not happy with what Putin's doing. He's killing a lot of people. And I don't know what the hell happened to Putin. I've known him a long time. I've always gotten along with him. But he's sending rockets into cities and killing people. And I don't like it at all, OK. We're in the middle of talking, and he's shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities. I don't like it at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: All right, so here's the thing. This just in from the Kremlin. They are calling those remarks that you just heard from the president, "emotional reactions to the situation."

The group chat is back.

Response from the Kremlin. Kind of like, girl, calm down. It -- at a certain point, when does this start to be embarrassing for Trump and -- and by virtue of the United States? And I -- I don't mean to say that in a, like, high commentary way, but, like, he looks like he's getting schooled.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: I think in a geopolitical sense, it's been embarrassing for the United States for some time. But the president doesn't want to take that step to create ownership of the situation. These tweets, he was mad at Putin. Then he criticized President Zelenskyy.

[06:35:03]

He's acting more as a commentator of the situation rather than an active participant.

CORNISH: Oh, interesting.

COLLINSON: And I think this is a test for the president. These attacks came one week after that call with President Putin, which the White House billed as a great success, even though it didn't push the process forward, you know, clearly. And the -- the Kremlin seems to be testing, will Trump actually just say stuff about Putin?

CORNISH: Right.

COLLINSON: And -- or will he actually go ahead and impose secondary sanctions in a way that could hurt Russia? And that, I think, is what's happening here.

CORNISH: Trump also posted this on Putin on Truth Social, saying, "I've always said he wants all of Ukraine, not just a piece of it. Maybe that's proving to be right. But if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia."

Collinson mentioned secondary sanctions, but we know politically within the Republican Party there is not the same appetite. How do you guys think of what more pressure there could be?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I -- go ahead.

LINDSEY DRATH, FORMER REGIONAL FINANCE DIRECTOR, ROMNEY PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Zelenskyy actually has come out. He has said that the world knows all of the pain points that -- that we can hit Russia on in terms of the economy. The world has chosen not to. We do have sanctions that are in place now. But in turn, Putin has gone ahead and diversified a number of their trade partners around the world.

Politically right now, over 50 percent of Americans view Russia as -- as an enemy. And I think a lot of what we're seeing here is the president also acknowledging the political realities of him cozying up to Putin and the fact that that's actually not what Americans want to see.

CARDONA: This is all about Trump's ego. And I think what's happening now is that the fact that Putin is not doing what Trump wanted upends Trump's whole vanity strategy around this. I mean this --

CORNISH: There's a lot of egos involved here.

CARDONA: Oh, well --

CORNISH: Which I think Trump himself has said.

CARDONA: True. But let's remember, Trump has said, this never would have happened if he was president, right?

CORNISH: Yes.

CARDONA: During the campaign he said, I'm going to end this war on day one. All of this focuses on Trump's inability to get done what he said he was going to get done. And -- and, frankly, what we know is the reality. But in his mind, right, it upends his whole power certainty in terms of what happens when he is in office.

Well, he is in office now, and what he said was going to happen is not happening.

CORNISH: Yes.

CARDONA: So, he's trying to, I guess, by a Truth Social post, he thinks he can change things, but he's running into reality.

CORNISH: So, buying time or backing away? I think for a time I heard, oh, maybe Pope Leo will get involved. Like, what's happening here?

COLLINSON: There -- there doesn't seem to be much of a plan, to be frank, from the U.S. side.

CORNISH: Yes.

COLLINSON: The issue here is, this is an existential conflict for Putin politically. It's the product of years of warped history. And Putin is playing by a far longer clock than the 24-hour clock or the --

CORNISH: Yes.

COLLINSON: Before Memorial Day clock, or the July 4th clock or the administration's time clock. In the.

CORNISH: And in the meantime, the U.S. has mostly just extracted a deal literally for minerals out of Ukraine.

COLLINSON: You know, deals don't get done unless there's some leverage from one side or the other. And if the U.S. isn't prepared to -- CORNISH: Use its leverage.

COLLINSON: Use the leverage, then I don't see how anything's going to change.

CORNISH: Yes.

COLLINSON: And the Ukrainians understand that.

CORNISH: OK, you guys, stick around. We have a lot more to talk about.

And first, I want to turn to the president's relationships abroad to -- from -- from that to how he's governing here at home. So, here's this CNN headline, zeroes in on a key question being asked as Trump continues to bypass the courts, Congress and other constitutional norms to advance his agenda.

We're going to talk about whether anyone can stop him because so far the courts have posed the biggest challenge. And here's what House Speaker Mike Johnson had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): It is about separation of powers. And right now you have activist judges, a handful of them around the country, who are abusing that power. They're -- they're issuing these nationwide injunctions. They're -- they're -- they're engaging in political acts from the bench. And that is not what our system is intended for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, what is it intended for? Well, joining me now, senior political analyst Ron Brownstein.

Good morning, Ron.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, good morning, Audie.

CORNISH: OK, so in your piece you highlight basically the idea that these institutions that the president has either bypassed or directly challenged. But what is the goal here? Is it ultimately to create a stronger executive branch? Because in that case, he's actually not the first president to be doing that.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, but I think what we are seeing is different not only in magnitude but in -- but in kind. I mean, I think if you take a step back and you look at the first month of the Trump administration, what you see is a kind of panoramic effort on all fronts to shatter the boundaries, the limits that the Constitution and subsequent legislative decisions made to try to limit the arbitrary exercise of presidential power.

I mean just kind of look in every direction. And the executive branch, he's trying to consolidate, you know, unfettered, personal control, eroding the independence of agencies, firing inspectors general, undermining civil (INAUDIBLE) protections.

[06:40:02]

Congress has been sidelined willingly, as Mike Johnson shows. I mean as the administration has effectively shut down agencies that were authorized by statute and openly announced that they are not going to enforce laws they don't like. We've seen them already move toward pretty clear defiance of lower courts, in -- in particularly in the Abrego Garcia matter. Traditional notions of federalism, which was another protection that the founders built in, I think, have been overrun as they moved to try to impose red state policies on blue states.

And then the -- kind of the -- maybe the most ominous fronts of all, all the different ways in which they're trying to mobilize and weaponize all the power and kind of mass of the federal government against targets in civil society, law firms, universities, even individuals. You know, think about the threat to Apple over the weekend with the tariff threat. Imagine that under a Democratic president, what you would be hearing from the Chamber of Commerce or the business roundtable if a Democratic president made that kind of threat. Silence, because they are worried, I think, about further retribution.

And all of this does go to your point. What you're looking at is sort of an unbound executive who controls, not only the executive branch and the other elements of government, but unprecedented influence over civil society and any institution that might resist him.

CORNISH: I want to ask you, though, from the position of, say, like a MAGA right. There is this sense that the president is punching in the face all the cultural bullies that they have railed about over the last 20 years, whether that be education, whether that be corporations, whether -- whether that be the quote/unquote elites. So, is there appetite for this? And is -- what's the threat of overreach that you think would create backlash?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, there is appetite for it. The question is whether there's legal justification for it or constitutional. I mean, because you don't like an institution as a political movement doesn't mean that you necessarily have the right to use the tools that they have been employing to try to destroy or undermine them, you know, through the mechanisms of -- of federal power.

Yes, I think there is an audience, but there -- certainly there is an audience. I mean that is the core Trump audience. The -- the idea that all of these institutions in American life have been kind of mobilized against them. You know, two-thirds of Trump voters say discrimination against whites is as big a problem as discrimination against minorities. An overwhelming majority say discrimination against Christians is a bigger problem than discrimination against other religious groups.

So, yes, there is an audience. But I do think that the cumulative weight of what we are watching is something that could make Americans uneasy in the long run. You know, it is the bottom line. It is -- it is people's personal finances that it's going to decide above all. But I think if you look at polling, pretty consistently, a majority of Americans already believe that Trump is not following the rule of law.

And the question is whether even institutions that feel like they're getting what they want out of this presidency. I look at business. You know, they're getting a lot of what they want, eviscerating regulations, cutting taxes. But they may be getting uneasy about a world in which their decisions are being questioned and influenced by the federal government to a degree that I think they would never tolerate from a Democratic president.

CORNISH: That's Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst. Thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

CORNISH: Still ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, President Trump doubles down on his attacks against Harvard University. His latest threat after blocking foreign students from enrolling at the school.

Plus, Team USA does something in hockey that they haven't done in nearly a century.

More from the group chat after this.

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[06:48:13]

CORNISH: The trial against Sean "Diddy" Combs has paused for Memorial Day, but the testimonies are far from over. You're going to see more witnesses taking the stand tomorrow.

The second week of the trial brought some very serious allegations and dramatic accounts from eyewitnesses who crossed paths with Combs. Among them, rapper Kid Cudi, who accused Combs of breaking into his home and setting his car on fire with a Molotov cocktail. Celebrity makeup artist who described a violent assault on Cassie Ventura, also allegedly by Combs.

Joining me now to discuss is CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson.

Joey, good morning. Thanks for being here.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Of course, Audie.

CORNISH: So, since we have this pause in the proceedings, it's a good time to talk about the testimony that we've heard so far. For my money, rapper Kid Cudi was very much a remarkable witness. Can you talk about who stood out to you and why?

JACKSON: Yes, there's no question. I mean, obviously, Kid Cudi, let's start there, was important because what he brings is, remember the charges, Audie. We're talking about a racketeering conspiracy. And what the government is alleging that this conspiracy existed over the course of 20 years. And in conspiracies of racketeering, what do you have? You have guns, drugs, money.

But in addition to that, let's talk about what Cudi brought to the table. He talked about the issue of arson. He talked about the firebombing of his Porsche. That gets you to that.

In addition to that, he talked about the burglary of his home, the removal of surveillance cameras. So, that's certainly significant as it relates to what this alleged criminal enterprise was doing.

However, he also gave something to the defense, and that was his relationship with Cassie Ventura. Who was she? She's the star witness of the government who had a long term relationship with Sean Combs. And that relationship had a lot of violence, a lot of destructive behavior on the part of Combs.

[06:50:05]

And that's what we saw -- the videotape that was played over and over for the jury. So, there's no question that he was a central witness. But, of course, he said also that he dated her, that is Cassie Ventura, and he felt somewhat played because he didn't know that she was still with Combs. And so this -- the defense will seize upon that to say, hey, she manipulated Cudi and she's manipulating you.

In addition to him, though, we heard from a psychologist. And the psychologist was important because she spoke about how women behave when they have these real relationships that are predicated upon physical force, violence, et cetera, to go to show some of the conduct. Because remember, Audie, what we have here is not any testimony concerning him beating her and her saying, no, I'm not going to engage in these freak offs wild parties where there was this rampant, you know, activity going on. And we have the reverse. We have certainly text messages and emails saying she can't wait to do it. So, the psychologist was explaining why a woman, who was controlled by a person, would engage in that behavior.

And, of course, we heard from Cassie's mother as well with respect to something else you have in conspiracies and racketeering, right, which is extortion. Wherein he, that is Combs, reached out to her and said, give me $20,000. She owes it to me, that is your daughter, and I want it and the mother sent it. And so, I think with Cassie and her mom and the psychologist, those were certainly compelling witnesses. And there were a variety of others as well.

CORNISH: Joey, it's sort of odd to understand this, but we're in the Me Too era or post Me Too era, and so much of this conversation is around Cassie Ventura's motivations. It's kind of the equivalent of, like, not she deserved it, but did she want it? Did she participate it? It is that surprising in what is essentially a RICO trial?

JACKSON: So, what happens is, is that it is RICO. And RICO, as really used, right, in terms of getting mobsters and others who run criminal syndicates and bringing them to justice. Here you have it used against Sean Combs. But in addition to that, Audie, what you have is you have sex trafficking allegations. Now, in order for the government to get to the issue of sex trafficking, of course it makes it federal because it's across state lines. Was this occurring in New York? Was it occurring in Florida or California, internationally, in fact. So, they have to show that to make it federal.

But you also have to show force or coercion. And so the reason that you have this battle, you have this psychologist, you have, you know, this whole issue of whether it was forced or whether it was not is because in order to get to trafficking, you have to show the element of coercion. And so that's the battleground here. If the defense shows that it was consensual and a freaky lifestyle, it's one thing, it's not guilty.

If it's shown by the government that it was forced, it was coercive, and it was because of this abusive and controlling relationship, it gets you to another place. And that's why, even in the Me Too generation and movement, we're hearing a lot about intentions, a lot about her intentions, a lot about the money she collected from him in a $20 million settlement, a money that she got, you know, from the hotel with respect to this incident. And that's the real critical issue was whether the government can show this coercive behavior that led to her not consenting at all. That's the -- that's the question the jury will have to decide.

CORNISH: Many more witnesses this week.

Joey Jackson, CNN legal analyst, thank you.

JACKSON: Of course. Thank you, Audie.

CORNISH: OK, it's 52 minutes past the hour. Here is your morning roundup.

People in Minneapolis gathering for a candlelight vigil Sunday to remember George Floyd, marking the anniversary of his murder five years ago. He was killed by a white police officer who was caught on video kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. Our Sara Sidner spoke to his family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA HARRELSON, GEORGE FLOYD'S FAMILY MEMBER: There's so many people that have showed up, showed up out here. Their kindness, their love, their support, you know, it brings a certain amount of peace and joy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Crowds also gathered in Minneapolis at a memorial marking the site where Floyd died.

And a proposal in Texas to require all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments just cleared a major hurdle. The Republican controlled state house just gave its preliminary approval. The final vote expected in the next few days. Then the bill is off to the governor's desk, where it's expected to be signed into law.

And then there's this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thompson (INAUDIBLE) shoots, scores. Tage Thompson, golden goal. And the United States has won the World Hockey Championship for the first time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The USA men's team has won the World Hockey Championship for the first time in more than 90 years. Team USA defeated Switzerland 1- 0 in overtime. The goalie from the Boston Bruins stopped 25 shots to shut out the Swiss team.

OK, we want those names. That's the newest demand from President Trump in his fight with Harvard University.

[06:55:01]

In a new post on social media, he ordered the school to turn over the names of all foreign students, as his administration accuses the school of failing to address anti-Semitism. Late last week his administration banned the university from admitting foreign students, which actually make up about 27 percent of the student population there. A judge put the ban on hold, but President Trump is forging ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They refuse to tell us who the people are. We want to know who the people -- now, a lot of the foreign students we wouldn't have a problem with. I'm not going to have a problem with foreign students. But it shouldn't be 31 percent. It's too much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Thousands of international students at Harvard essentially are now in limbo, describing a situation of pure panic over the ban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDULLAH SHAHID SIAL, HARVARD STUDENT BODY CO-PRESIDENT: I'm not sure if I can or if I have the ability to come back to the U.S. after -- over -- after the summer and attend the fall semester. And that story of, again, not just me, but at least 7,000 individuals at Harvard right now who again represent the absolute best of their own respective countries. And now they're being tossed around between the Harvard administration, the Trump administration as poker chips.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The group chat is back.

I want to take on what that student just said as poker chips. What's the game?

CARDONA: I mean this -- this is exactly the problem with they're going after these elite institutions and not -- clearly we're seeing it's not just Harvard.

You know, one of the things, Audie, that people miss is that the export from the United States of this kind of postgraduate education is one of the biggest revenues that the United States has in terms of bringing all these foreign students here. And not only that, but what we get from that, right? I mean so many of these foreign students stay here and contribute trillions of dollars to our economy.

CORNISH: Yes, we should say that --

CARDONA: And I think this is a, you know, this is a huge benefit for us.

CORNISH: "The Wall Street Journal" had an editorial, the editorial board in fact, seemed to oppose this, saying that "the university seems likely to prevail on the law, but until the court settled the merits, thousands of students who have done nothing wrong will be in legal limbo."

CARDONA: Yes.

CORNISH: And I want to underscore this. They say, "some of them no doubt opposed the anti-Israel protest and may even hail from Israel. Why punish them?"

COLLINSON: This is about power. It's about the administration taking aim at a classic heritage source of liberal power. Now, to your point earlier --

CORNISH: Heritage source.

COLLINSON: Yes, well, it's been, you know, there for -- Andrew Jackson had a bit of a showdown with Harvard --

CORNISH: Yes.

COLLINSON: Which eventually decided to give him an honorary degree. So, maybe that would have been the way to defuse this right at the start.

CORNISH: Yes, it's that or a plane, I think.

COLLINSON: But -- but to your point earlier, there are a lot of conservatives who believe that Harvard and academia went far too far to the left. And this is their chance to, you know, really take a shot at one of these big, liberal institutions. If you stop 25 percent of the students, 27 percent of the foreign students going to Harvard, you create massive financial pain for that university, and you send a message to all the other universities that can't afford to stand up to the administration. So --

CORNISH: You also send a message to the world's best and brightest, do not come here --

DRATH: Absolutely.

CARDONA: Exactly.

COLLINSON: Sure. Yes.

CORNISH: Because if something happens to this -- to this university, you're not going to pick another university in the U.S. That's just -- OK.

DRATH: Absolutely right And in a previous segment we were talking about innovation and the president's desire to come and create incredible technologies here.

CORNISH: Yes.

CARDONA: Yes.

CORNISH: In this moment of AI.

DRATH: This -- we are the shining city on the hill.

CARDONA: Right.

DRATH: We are supposed to be the pinnacle of innovation in the world. We have to attract that talent.

This is a cultural shift in the United States, where we would be sending a message externally that we don't want the best and the brightest.

CORNISH: OK.

DRATH: How are they -- how are we going to create those things then.

CARDONA: It's also not just about power. It's about, frankly, downright clear xenophobia.

CORNISH: You think so?

CARDONA: I absolutely think so.

CORNISH: Of all of these students from all these different places?

CARDONA: Yes, I do.

DRATH: Including the Belgian princess?

CARDONA: Yes, I mean, I -- I think it includes -- well, frankly, if -- if we're going to be honest, I think it's about the majority of the foreign students who aren't white.

CORNISH: What do you think, especially coming off of the South African refugee crisis --

CARDONA: Exactly.

CORNISH: Where you heard the president just going on and on about his -- his allegations about white farmers? COLLINSON: This is a theme that seems to underlie a lot of the

administration's rhetoric and actions.

CARDONA: Exactly.

CORNISH: Yes, which is sort of this over and over again, it's a privilege to be here. And it's very much underscoring who he thinks that privilege should be going to or not going to at any given time.

All right, we're going to have a lightning round to keep an eye on it. Don't mess up my clock, OK.

Stephen.

COLLINSON: OK. The senators are back in their states for the recess. Do they get backlash on Medicaid and the big, beautiful bill?

CORNISH: Lots of Republican senators in particular might deal with that.

Maria.

CARDONA: A small, nasty, dangerous provision in this, quote, "big, beautiful bill" that would strip the courts of their power to hold officials, especially Trump administration officials, in contempt. The courts have been the only thing that has stopped the egregious actions of this administration, and they want to put something in there to keep the courts from doing that.

[07:00:03]

CORNISH: OK.

DRATH: Removal of leadership. Four partners resigning at Paul Weiss, CBS leadership stepping down, the calls for Jerome Powell to step down, looking at independent agencies and the Trump administration putting in desired leadership in those places. Watching those trends.

CORNISH: So, everywhere where there's independent voices replacing them with loyalist voices.

DRATH: With loyalists.

CORNISH: You guys, thank you so much. We talked about a lot today. I really appreciate you being here on this holiday.

Thank you for waking up with us. I'm Audie Cornish. And "CNN NEW CENTRAL" starts right now.