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CNN This Morning
Trump Pushes Face-to-Face Meeting Between Putin and Zelenskyy; The Age-Checked Internet Has Arrived (With Risks). Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired August 19, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:08]
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Danny Freeman in Atlanta. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Putin and Zelenskyy meeting face to face? One of them is on board. Can the other be convinced? CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think he wants to make a deal for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: President Trump caught on a hot mic, claiming Vladimir Putin might end the war in Ukraine just for him.
Security guarantees for Ukraine include American-made weapons. But Europe questions how much the U.S. is really willing to help.
Donald Trump wants to ditch voting by mail and get rid of voting machines. Did Vladimir Putin help plant that seed?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We will be forced to fight an endless war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Israel's prime minister wants to completely eliminate Hamas by military force. Is that practical, let alone possible?
And we're tracking Hurricane Erin. Thousands now evacuating. See where homes and lives face the greatest risk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: The United States, under the Biden administration, got a little too comfortable with censoring.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: And now the age-verified Internet is here. Will it protect children or invade your privacy?
It's 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here is a live look at New York City.
Good morning, everybody. It's Tuesday, August 19th. I want to thank you for waking up with me. I'm Audie Cornish, and this is CNN THIS MORNING. And here's where we start.
Top European leaders launched an all-out charm offensive on the president on Monday, hoping to keep the U.S. engaged in defending and supporting Ukraine. So how did it work?
Well, seven leaders plus Ukrainian President -- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy all rushing to D.C. Monday, trying to convince Trump not to abandon Ukraine and perhaps even provide security guarantees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: Ukraine must be at the table. And so, these were the two outcomes that were the most important coming out of today. They're positive outcomes. There was a real sense of unity. We made real progress today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Zelenskyy may have also gotten his goal to have a seat at the table, and there seems to be momentum for a meeting with Vladimir Putin. It could happen within two weeks, according to Germany's chancellor.
While Putin and Zelenskyy have both met with President Trump in the last few days, it's been much longer since they've been in the same room. They met in France in 2019, their one and only meeting, more than 2,000 days ago.
On the agenda back then, it was about the control of the Donbas and Crimea, the same regions that are up for discussion now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The question of territories is a question that we will save for me and Putin to decide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: -- President Trump get out of all of this? Well, he gets another chance to show his personal brand of diplomacy in action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think he wants to make a deal. I think he wants to make a deal for me. You understand? As crazy as it sounds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Jasmine Wright, White House correspondent for "NOTUS"; Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to the Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns; and Ashley Davis, former White House official under President George W. Bush.
Jasmine, I want to start with you, because this is a big win for this White House. Just having like, this image of all the leaders, right, lined up. Never mind that meeting -- meeting with Putin. How are they talking about it?
JASMINE WRIGHT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "NOTUS": I mean, I think that they're actually really proud of how it all went down yesterday. That was a history-making moment. President Trump alluded to it multiple times.
It was kind of put together in 48 hours. Initially, it was just supposed to be President Zelenskyy coming down, and they all came down as a group, both, I think, in a way to protect Zelenskyy, but also amplify both his concerns and the concerns of the larger European continent, of course, because they have a lot of stake in it.
Not just because they don't want a war raging so close to them, but because their own economies and their own political discourse is kind of waning on their interest in continuing to fund this war for Ukraine. So, I think you're right. I think --
CORNISH: Of which they have to take on more and more. Right?
WRIGHT: Exactly. And so, I think you're right. I think Zelenskyy got what he wanted. Obviously, I think when we talked to leaders afterwards, they continued to say the top thing were those security guarantees.
Also, I think they're all just playing this game of who talks to Donald Trump last. And the last person who talks to Donald Trump potentially has the most impressionable impression on him. Now, I think the last thing here --
[06:05:09]
CORNISH: Hold on one second.
WRIGHT: Yes.
CORNISH: I want to bring in these guys, because, Ashley, you have some experience in this world of the White House, right?
ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL UNDER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Yes.
CORNISH: After this. There's been a big meeting like this. Everyone has to figure out what they even mean when they talk about security guarantees, which we're going to talk about in the show. I just want to show you all first. Here's what Ukraine wants, right?
They want a full and unconditional ceasefire. They don't want to have to give up a bunch of territory. And they want international security guarantees, which is somehow not in NATO.
And then with Russia, of course, they want territory. They -- and they want Ukraine to give up ever wanting to be in NATO. And arguably, they don't want Ukraine to exist as a country.
What did you see in how they managed Trump?
DAVIS: Well, a couple things, Audie. First of all, good morning, everybody.
I think the first thing is everyone's negotiating to the media right now. And obviously, we don't exactly know what the tits-for-tats are behind the scenes.
But of course, Putin is going to come out and say, I want everything, and Zelenskyy is going to come out and say, I want everything. But the security aspect is the most important, because what Putin does not want is NATO on those borders.
And so, it -- from what I understand and from what's been reported, is that Europe will be the first line of defense for security, and U.S. would be the second line of defense.
Because some of the questions that I've been getting a lot lately is, with Trump's base, is he going to have the ability to put troops on the ground in Ukraine? You know, just because so many people don't want us to be in foreign wars anymore?
CORNISH: It's interesting you're getting that question.
DAVIS: But the second. Well, yes, I mean, how many people don't want us in Ukraine, or spending us more money in Ukraine?
What I do have to say on this is it looks like we're making some progress. I mean, this has been three and a half years and hundreds and thousands of people dying. And hopefully, we are.
Both sides are going to have to give up a lot. Or something. And hopefully, we get to a bottom result.
CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think the president is getting exactly what he wants, because this feeds his ego. He loves this visual of folks coming in -- I'd call it "Avengers" style, all into Washington, D.C.
Because the vision, the reason I was pointing to it when you put it up is I'd take a headline like "The New York Times" this morning, put it back up, and I take this clip and I put it on a TV commercial, and I say, Donald Trump is keeping us strong as we head into the midterms.
And he's cleaning up D.C. He's protecting our border. And this is the visual that he wants politically. CORNISH: And forcing NATO allies to step up.
ROCHA: Absolutely.
CORNISH: All of that would be correct.
ROCHA: To show up here on our soil and show up at his house and be around him at his desk.
DAVIS: In 48 hours.
WRIGHT: But to be clear, Putin has already come out. I mean, the -- Russia, the Kremlin has already come out in various media reports, saying that they actually don't agree to the NATO-like Article V security guarantees.
That was the big decision made out of yesterday, was a big --
(CROSSTALK)
CORNISH: Yes. Their newspapers were talking about it as a win.
WRIGHT: Yes. They're -- they're not saying it maybe to Trump.
CORNISH: yes.
WRIGHT: But they're already saying it to their own audience.
DAVIS: But again, don't you think we're -- they're playing to the -- their people, each side?
WRIGHT: But eventually, these men both have to play to the audience of one. And that's Donald Trump.
CORNISH: Yes.
DAVIS: Can I say something that the -- that's bothering me?
CORNISH: Go ahead.
DAVIS: Is everyone keeps saying that the European leaders rushed to stand by Zelenskyy. I just really want to clarify this, because I clarified it yesterday with the White House.
We invited them.
WRIGHT: Yes.
DAVIS: They were invitees to the White House on behalf of Donald Trump and the United States of America. They weren't rushing to, like protect -- I'm sure there was some of that.
CORNISH: Yes.
DAVIS: But it -- but they were our guests.
CORNISH: But it was also a performance completely different, right? Zelenskyy in a suit.
DAVIS: Yes.
CORNISH: Opening his comments with about five or six thank-yous and a letter for the wife.
WRIGHT: Both for Trump and Melania.
CORNISH: Yes. Trump's favorite leaders are there, right? His golfing buddy from Finland. Like, it felt as though everybody came in with a different posture, ready to play.
All right. We're going to talk a lot about this. Thank you for that clarification, Ashley. You guys stay with us.
Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, even more states ready to help in D.C.'s federal takeover, sending their own troops to patrol the nation's capital.
Plus, no winner in the largest Powerball jackpot of the year. Which means you've still got a shot.
And Texas Democrats back home and will soon be forced to vote on redistricting. Was it all for naught? They don't think so.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The corn break was successful, I think, beyond our wildest dreams.
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[06:13:58]
CORNISH: This just in. The strike is over. Air Canada flight attendants and the airline have come to an agreement. This, according to their union.
The strike had snarled air traffic for days. This morning alone, more than 500 Air Canada flights have been canceled.
Union members will need to vote on the agreement to make it permanent. And if they vote it down, the strike could resume.
It's now 13 minutes past the hour, and here is your morning roundup.
Three more states ready to send their National Guard troops to D.C. Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana's governors directing their troops to protect federal buildings and national monuments.
West Virginia, Ohio, and South Carolina were the first to announce that they'd be sending troops.
And the U.S. State Department says it has revoked more than 6,000 student visas this year. Four thousand of them were linked to criminal offenses like assault and DUI.
Up to 300 were linked to suspected terrorism. It's all part of President Trump's immigration crackdown.
And you still have a chance to become a millionaire after no winners claimed last night's Powerball jackpot. The grand prize is $643 million, putting it among the top 20 biggest Powerball jackpots of all time.
[06:15:12]
The next drawing will be held tomorrow.
And after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, President Trump ending mail- in voting after talking about it with Vladimir Putin. But should the leader of the free world be taking advice from Russia about our elections?
Plus, in the era of the age-verified Internet, could it actually create more problems than it solves?
And a live look this morning at Virginia Beach. Actually, rough water in the Atlantic this morning as Hurricane Erin moves closer to the East Coast.
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[06:20:01]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So yes, I would recommend doing the credit card verification. Mine literally, like, accepted it in, like, a minute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK. That might be familiar to you. You might have kids, and you're trying to figure out how to keep them safe on the Internet, despite their best efforts.
But the approach that some apps are taking, well, it impacts everyone. Parents or not.
YouTube is going to use A.I. to figure out how old you are in order to keep kids from mature content online.
Spotify announced it will prompt users to verify their age before accessing certain music.
Facebook's parent company, Meta, says you will have to upload an I.D. or a selfie if you want to access features intended for adults.
Reddit says it plans to verify the age, but not the identity of users.
OK, so what's going on here? Why the rush to age-gating? The companies are facing a slew of legal requirements from the E.U.,
the U.K., Australia, which have nationwide online safety laws. And in the U.S., at least a dozen states have added laws requiring age verification or stricter privacy settings for kids; in some cases, even parental consent.
So, with this push for age verification spreading across the Internet, what's at stake for you and your privacy and your free speech?
Joining me now to discuss it, CNN tech editor, Lisa Eadicicco.
Lisa, thanks for sitting through my introduction with that long list, because of all these companies making these changes. But we started at the top, with the kid basically talking about how he's trying to game the system. So, tell me what's different now?
LISA EADICICCO, CNN TECH EDITOR: Yes, absolutely.
So, what's different now is basically a lot of these online services, these really popular online services like you mentioned, are implementing stricter age verification requirements.
Because again, this is something that I think has been an issue for a long time, because it's very easy to get around basic age requirements. You could put in a fake birth date, for example.
So, I think there's this larger question of how do you keep the Internet safe for young people while still making sure that people have access to the free and open Internet?
And I think that's a big question that a lot of these companies are grappling with now.
So, for the YouTube example, which is one of the most recent ones, there is a new system in place where YouTube will be using A.I. to estimate whether a user is under the age of 18. And if it is incorrect about that, you will have to upload some kind of proof to verify your age.
So, that could be a credit card. That could be a selfie or a government I.D.
CORNISH: OK, so once these companies have this information, what are the dangers? Because were just reporting a few days ago on, for example, the Tea app, where all these women on this dating site upload their I.D. and images, and that got hacked. So, what are the worries here?
EADICICCO: Yes. So, there are a few concerns. Of course, data breaches are always an issue. And they seem to be on the rise, according to some data that has come out recently from the Identity Theft Resource Center.
And I think, in the age of A.I., of course, there's even more risk for privacy. But I do think, you know, a lot of things that cybersecurity experts
will say often is that the more information there is out there about you, the more information is available for attackers to kind of, you know, possibly steal your identity or steal personally identifiable -- personally identifiable information about you.
But then there's also the argument that this type of information is probably out there on the black web already, and especially if you're looking at a service like YouTube, for example, if you pay for YouTube premium, they probably already have your credit card. Right?
So, I think there's always this balancing act of, you know, this, I guess issue, of do you give more information to have the convenience and to maybe get a benefit? Like maybe, you know, having that access to content that you want to see that should be restricted by age? Or is that worth, I guess, giving up some of your personal privacy?
CORNISH: And then there's the politics of all of this. You had the vice president in the U.K. a few weeks ago, responding to their, as I mentioned, countrywide age verification law this way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: I think the entire collective West -- the transatlantic relationship, our NATO allies, certainly the United States under the Biden administration -- got a little too comfortable with censoring rather than engaging with a diverse array of opinions.
I just don't want other countries to follow us down what I think was a very dark path under the Biden administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Can you talk about the politics of why this is being seen in some corners of the Internet as another way to censor people?
EADICICCO: Yes, absolutely. I think there's a couple of reasons there.
And I think one of them is that this idea that what happens when there is a sweeping rule, a sweeping law that kind of dictates how people can access information online and access the Internet? What does that mean for free speech? What does that mean for, I guess, you know, how people access information?
And I think that's one angle of it, is the -- just general kind of free speech and open Internet issue.
But I'm sure for politicians and the American side of things, I could see how this could also be seen as an effort by the U.K. to kind of impose rules on how American technology companies run their businesses.
[06:25:03]
Because, again, remember, these are -- you know, this online privacy act in the U.K. applies to services that have a broad reach of consumers in the U.K., which a lot of those are American tech companies.
CORNISH: And in the meantime, here in the U.S., the app store accountability act is hanging around in Congress. Requires age verification again, and parental consent for users under 18. So, this is more to come legislatively for us here in the U.S.
Lisa Eadicicco, thanks so much.
EADICICCO: Thanks for having me.
CORNISH: Next on CNN THIS MORNING, Israel's prime minister says the war in Gaza will not be over until they completely destroy Hamas. Is that goal achievable?
Plus, life-threatening surf and rip currents. The latest path for the dangerous hurricane.
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