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Countdown to Trump-Putin Summit; Putin Floats Potential U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Deal; Netanyahu "Talking to Several Countries" about Resettlements; U.N. Worker Describes Dire Situation for Women and Girls; Trump "Ended Woke Programming" at Kennedy Center; Trump Warns "Severe Consequences" if Putin Refuses to End War; U.S. Wholesale Inflation Heated Up in July; Call to Earth: Saving the Clanwilliam Sandfish; Taylor Swift Talks New Music on "New Heights" Podcast. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired August 14, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN London, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to our second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Christina Macfarlane in
London, where the time is just after 3 pm.
Russian President Putin is speaking out in his first public remarks about the high-stakes Alaska summit tomorrow with U.S. president Trump since it
was announced last week. We'll go live to Moscow and Anchorage, Alaska, for the details shortly.
Israeli prime minister Netanyahu says Israel's talking to several countries about displaced Palestinians as he voices support for a greater Israel.
And president Trump turns his focus to American arts and culture at the Kennedy Center in the latest frontier in his efforts to shape Washington,
D.C.
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MACFARLANE: The countdown to the Trump-Putin summit is on and, ahead of that highly anticipated meeting Friday in Alaska, the Russian president is
voicing praise for the Trump administration's efforts at ending the war in Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): To tell you about the stage we are at with the current American administration, which,
as everyone knows, is making, in my opinion, quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities, stop the crisis and reach agreements that
are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict.
In order to create long-term conditions for peace between our countries and in Europe and in the world as a whole, if, by the next stages, we reach
agreements in the area of control over strategic offensive weapons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, Putin's mention of strategic offensive weapons, a reference to a potential Russian-U.S. deal on nuclear arms control.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is rallying support in Europe today, visiting British prime minister Keir Starmer in London this morning.
President Zelenskyy says they discussed security guarantees in detail, a key issue in getting Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire.
And European leaders are approaching the summit with caution but voicing guarded optimism after a virtual meeting Wednesday that included president
Trump. The president told reporters later that Vladimir Putin would face severe consequences if he doesn't agree to end the war.
And just moments ago, we heard from secretary of state Marco Rubio about the summit. Let's take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Very fast, because this was put together very quickly. And it's in Alaska. So we've got to get there. We'll
see how tomorrow plays out. As the president said, his hope is to interact with tomorrow and get a sense very quickly and early, whether a peace is
possible or not.
The president's spoken to him, I believe, four times by phone and felt it was important to now speak to him in person and look him in the eye and
figure out what was possible and what isn't.
This is the president of peace. He wants that war to end. He's going to do everything he possibly can; if he sees an opportunity to talk about
achieving peace, he's going to pursue it. And we'll know tomorrow, at some point, as the president has said, probably very early in that meeting,
whether something is possible or not. We hope it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Nick Paton Walsh is back with us this hour, joining us live from Kyiv.
And Nick, just reflecting on Marco Rubio's comments there, saying he's hopeful something will come from this meeting.
There are, of course, a lot of moving parts this hour. Just give us a sense of where the big picture lies now in preparations for this summit and
whether all of this breakneck diplomacy will actually lead to positive change for Ukraine.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The question is, for Ukraine, ultimately, Christina, you heard Vladimir Putin
there talking about the possibility of a U.S.-Russia deal on something entirely unrelated to Russia's war against Ukraine.
Strategic offensive weapons likely nuclear or nuclear capable missiles. So that may be something which begins to dominate Trump and Putin's
conversation that may well appeal to Trump significantly to his U.S. interests and his desire to take the notch down generally across
geopolitical conflicts.
Putin may also raise economic cooperation as well. They're close to the Arctic. They're a region of both U.S. and Russian significant interest. So
a lot potentially that could come out of this Alaska meeting as curve balls.
We still have Ukraine not invited. Zelenskyy mentioning yesterday the possibility he might attend Alaska but, increasingly, I think less likely,
as we hear Putin begin to outline how he considers the U.S. efforts for peace in Ukraine to be energetic and the limits that we're hearing Trump
put upon himself to some degree.
You know, 24 hours ago, calling this a listening exercise.
[10:05:00]
Forty-eight hours ago, calling it a listening exercise, then saying there could be very serious consequences if he doesn't feel peace is coming from
his meeting with Putin.
But there's been no real clear threshold for what he has to get tomorrow for there not to be these serious consequences, which many think are the
secondary sanctions that are due to kick in against India but haven't been announced against China, both key energy customers of Russia.
And I think the issue potentially here is we have a president saying he's simply going to listen, to meet Putin face-to-face, to hear what he has to
say. He said he's not going to be negotiating on behalf of Ukraine about its territory.
Well, that takes potentially some of the discussion to one side in terms of U.S. agency, what they can bring to the table, so to speak.
So it's maybe Trump more in a passive mode and deciding whether he likes what he hears. Well, Putin's exceptionally good at appealing to the U.S.
president and quite likely to hit the correct tone with him. And so I think that is what potentially is behind some of the anxieties of European
leaders.
They all emerged from the virtual meeting with president Trump yesterday; hopeful
he wasn't going to discuss Ukraine without Ukraine, give away territory, discuss territory, would put down very serious consequences.
A European official saying to me they felt the threat was on secondary sanctions because they felt the threat against India had had a real
palpable effect in Moscow's calculations.
But those two men, together, separately in a room, discussing American and Russian interests, that is a roll of the dice that has so many here in
Ukraine concerned that their fate may be decided without them in the room or possibly with U.S. and Russian interests paramount, instead, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Nick, thank you.
Well, we are learning details about the summit, including that each delegation will have five members. One of them on the Russian side spoke
exclusively to CNN before leaving for Alaska. Senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen is joining us now from Moscow to tell us more
about that.
So Fred, which member of the delegation did you speak with and what did they say?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. Christina.
I spoke to Kirill Dmitriev, who's the head of the Russian direct investment fund and in many ways was, of course, instrumental in jumpstarting this
whole diplomatic process between the U.S. and Russia.
He is, of course, pretty much the point person for the U.S. special envoy, Steve Witkoff when he's on the ground here in Russia, in Moscow and then
also has been in all of the meetings between Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff as well.
So certainly someone who's played a big role in getting diplomacy this far. And I met Kirill Dmitriev shortly before he took off to go to Alaska. And I
asked him about some of those threats that have been coming from the Trump administration. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: President Trump has threatened severe consequences if there's no movement toward a ceasefire.
What's Russia hoping to get out of this meeting?
KIRILL DMITRIEV, RUSSIAN SPECIAL ENVOY: Well, I think dialogue is very important and I think it's a very positive meeting for the world because,
during Biden administration, no dialogue was happening.
So I think it's very important to hear Russian position directly. And there are lots of misunderstandings, misinformation about the Russian position.
And it's also a chance to reset, if the meeting goes well, U.S.-Russia relations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: That's Kirill Dmitriev, speaking to me earlier today.
He is, of course, officially part of the Russian delegation. Christina, I think one of the things that we've learned today from the Russians, there
certainly was a flurry of information that came out, is how important they are taking this meeting.
You can see that actually by the makeup of the Russian delegation as well. Vladimir Putin speaking to some of them earlier today.
The fact that, of course, the foreign minister is part of the delegation, Sergey Lavrov, that doesn't come as a surprise. But for instance, the
defense minister, Andrey Belousov, also part of that delegation as well.
So large parts of the senior leadership here in Russia, traveling to Alaska, certainly showing that the Russians are taking this meeting
extremely seriously. And at the same time, the Russians, of course, also projecting, Christina, that, as this happens, they are the ones who are
making gains on the battlefield in Ukraine.
They feel that the momentum there is on their side. And that means that Vladimir Putin is going into that meeting with a fairly strong hand.
Christina.
MACFARLANE: All right, Fred, appreciate your reporting. Thank you.
It's interesting to hear Dmitriev say to Fred there this was a chance to reset U.S.-Russia relations, because that is something seen, as Matthew
Chance has been writing about.
He said in an article for CNN.com, "Putin sees a unique opportunity with Trump to fundamentally reset relationships with Washington and separate
Russian ties with the U.S. from the fate of Ukraine, a scenario that would also divide Western allies."
And Matthew is joining us now live from Anchorage, Alaska.
So Matthew, how are you reading those comments we've just heard there from Dmitriev and also, before that, Putin's comments on, you know, the need for
energetic and sincere efforts, as he praises the U.S. delegation?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think -- I think it's interesting because there's a slight difference of difference of
emphasis between the United States and Russia going into this summit, between the two presidents.
[10:10:00]
The United States is saying clearly that the focus is very much on Ukraine war and how to end it and to see whether President Putin is able and
willing to make the kind of compromises necessary to achieve that.
The Russians are, of course, acknowledging that the Ukraine issue is, you know, going to be talked about and is, you know, perhaps the focus of the
talks as well.
But they're much more keen to stress that there's a much broader agenda and that the Ukraine question is only one question in a fuller range of issues
that President Putin and the Russians want to tackle in the bilateral relationship with the United States.
And so Putin's constantly talking about arms reduction treaties; other officials in his delegation, like Kirill Dmitriev, who's, remember, the top
trade negotiator essentially for the Kremlin, talking about, you know, cooperation in the Arctic, oil and gas exploration, space exploration,
other economic cooperation between the two countries.
And so the Russians very much see the Ukraine question as important but only one question in a much broader relationship with the United States.
I think that's one of the things that President Putin wants to achieve when he comes here to Anchorage in Alaska, to try and make sure that the
relationship is a lot broader and doesn't just focus narrowly on the issue of Ukraine. Christina.
MACFARLANE: And if they are successful, if the Russians are successful in achieving that with president Trump, Matthew, I mean, where would that
leave not just Ukraine but Europe as well, because that would effectively drive a wedge here between them.
CHANCE: I think it would, yes, because obviously the Ukrainians and the European supporters of Ukraine do not want to see a burgeoning, flourishing
relationship between Washington and Moscow that does not result in or does not focus in on resolving the question of Ukraine.
But you know, obviously, as I mentioned, it's what the Russians want. And symbolically, you know, Ukraine is -- sorry -- Alaska is, you know, quite
significant in that sense, because, look, I mean, this place has been chosen for a number of reasons.
But one of the things that symbolically it shows, I mean, you couldn't get further away from Ukraine in the world if you tried. I don't think it's
very distant from Europe. It's very distant from Ukraine.
And I think that symbolically shows that, you know, from both the Russian and the U.S. point of view, the relationship between the two countries
isn't just focused on that, on that one thing.
And so, yes, it would be divisive, it would be controversial. But it could yet still happen. Let's wait to see to this point what comes out of this
joint news conference that's going to be taking place tomorrow.
MACFARLANE: All right, Matthew Chance there live for us from Anchorage. Appreciate it, Matthew. Thank you.
Well, for more on the summit I'm joined by Ann Simmons. She's the former Moscow bureau chief for "The Wall Street Journal," joins us now live from
London.
Thank you so much for your time. No doubt you were listening there to our correspondents on a lot of messaging that has been coming out of not just
the Trump administration but also from Russia as well.
As we look ahead to this summit on Friday, how do you read Putin's mood right now and his strength heading into this summit?
ANN SIMMONS, FORMER MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Well, thank you for having me, Christina.
It goes without saying that this is both a diplomatic and political coup for President Putin. So he's going into this meeting on a high.
And if you read, as I do, Russian press and you listen to the pro-Kremlin commentators, you'll hear that they have already declared a victory in
these talks. The very fact that President Putin has been invited to a meeting in the United States with the so-called leader of the free world is
a major victory for Russia already.
And so it goes without saying that most definitely President Putin will be on a high. He knows he's going in kind of with the upper hand in the sense
that the comments he made today, he certainly knows that president Trump responds quite well to flattery.
And so he wants to set the stage and kind of control the narrative. So it's going to be very interesting to see and to hear from the meeting at this
press conference, what the results actually are.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And CNN has been learning that Trump has been apparently asking Europeans and White House aides what's changed about President
Putin, I guess, since their last meeting in Helsinki in 2018, although we know, of course, intelligence suggests Putin largely has the same
maximalist goals now as he has -- he did then.
I mean, in your mind, does Donald Trump -- how can Donald Trump try to understand Putin better, I mean, this former KGB agent?
And do you think we can expect any change in approach toward the Russian leader in tomorrow's meeting?
[10:15:00]
SIMMONS: Well, President Putin is certainly known to be a master manipulator and a very shrewd politician. And he is going to be arriving in
Alaska with a team of individuals, officials who are very familiar with U.S. policy, foreign policy.
And so he's going to have a strong team around him. President Trump hopefully will also have a strong team around him and he will have to
definitely try to avoid being kind of sucked into the Russian narrative.
Because certainly President Putin is going to be pushing to try and get his point across that Russia was justified in invading Ukraine, Russia deserves
the territory to keep the territory that it already has. And also Putin will obviously be trying to push for a restoration of relations between the
U.S. and Russia.
As your correspondent said, it's not lost on the fact that, you know, this is taking place in Alaska. Among the team is going to be Kirill Dmitriev,
who is, you know, a big player. He'll be a key strategic player in Putin's entourage, mainly because he speaks Trump's language, the language of
dealmaking and exchanges.
He's very familiar with America and Americans. He's U.S.-educated -- I believe Stanford and Harvard -- and he's a former banker and he speaks Mr.
Trump's language.
So certainly, Kirill Dmitriev is going to be probably whispering in Putin's ear -- and he does have a very close relationship with Putin -- that it's
good to try and appeal to Mr. Trump's businessman side.
So certainly tomorrow it's going to be, you know, a kind of a crucial look at whether or not it's not only going to be diplomatic and political but
certainly it's going to have to do the economic as well, a possible economic coup as well.
MACFARLANE: Yes. We've heard president Trump's speaking in the last 24 hours, saying that his plan would be for, you know, following this meeting,
a quick meeting, a quick second meeting to then happen, a trilateral with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
I mean, what do you think are the chances of Putin agreeing to that?
SIMMONS: Well, Putin has in the past made clear that he has no wish to meet with President Zelenskyy, mainly because he does not view President
Zelenskyy to be the legitimate leader of Ukraine.
Of course, he is, also, President Putin has never really respected President Zelenskyy since Zelenskyy came to power. Putin has been very much
looking at Zelenskyy as being a comic turned president who doesn't deserve the same standing or ranking as himself.
So I am not optimistic about an immediate second meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. But obviously that needs to happen because any deal that needs
to be made in terms of ending the war in Ukraine has to include Ukraine.
Is there going to be a ceasefire agreement?
Who knows at this stage?
Is there going to be a way that president Trump can indeed ensure that he pushes the process forward?
Because, after all, president Trump, you know, he does want to be seen as the peacemaker in chief. He has managed to put other wars kind of to bed,
so to speak. And so he definitely wants to come out of this looking as if he has a chance of solving the war in Ukraine.
And I just want to add that the positive of this is that this process, this meeting tomorrow, moves the ball forward. There is a step in the right
direction. There's progress in regards to the fact that it's on the table.
Ukraine, the conflict in Ukraine is being spoken about and it's being taken seriously. So the momentum is there. So in that regard, there is a positive
to this meeting tomorrow.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Let's hope that will result in a positive for Ukraine. And we really appreciate your analysis this hour ahead of that big summit.
Thank you so much.
SIMMONS: Thank you.
MACFARLANE: All right. Just ahead, growing international outrage at Israel and prime minister Netanyahu as he talks about resettling Palestinians from
Gaza. A live report.
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[10:20:00]
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MACFARLANE: International alarm is growing over Israel's plan to take over Gaza City. It's been hit once again by Israeli military strikes ahead of
that planned takeover. Palestinian officials say 123 people have been killed across Gaza in the past 24 hours.
Meantime, Israel says it's in talks with several countries about taking in displaced Palestinians. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is
offering few details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): First of all, inside Gaza, we are not pushing them out, either, but we are
allowing them to leave.
QUESTION (through translator): It is happening very slowly.
NETANYAHU (through translator): You need the receiving countries. We're talking to several countries. I can't detail it here.
QUESTION (through translator): Is there a special response and cooperation?
NETANYAHU (through translator): There is dialogue and that is already important.
QUESTION (through translator): Do you really believe that this will happen in the end?
NETANYAHU (through translator): The most natural thing would be for all those who say they're concerned for the Palestinians and want to help the
Palestinians to open their doors.
Why are they coming and preaching to us?
Open your doors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Let's get right out to CNN's Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem.
So Oren, how much do we know about how advanced these plans are for resettling displaced Palestinians?
And really, is it something that's likely to happen?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: Both are excellent questions, because prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given
only very few details, not only in that interview but in previous interviews where he's been asked about how advanced these plans are.
He's always been a bit circuitous with his answers, never mentioning specific countries, only saying there are talks. We have learned from a
senior Israeli official that Israel is in talks with at least five different countries -- South Sudan, Libya, Ethiopia, Somaliland and
Indonesia.
Now does that mean it's going to happen with any one of these countries?
At least from where we stand right now, it's not clear that it's going to and that this plan will ever come to fruition. But according to that senior
Israeli official, these talks are ongoing.
From Israel's perspective, one issue here is that a number of these countries have already rejected this idea. South Sudan put out an official
statement just a couple of days ago, saying there were no such discussions.
Somaliland basically did the same a few months ago, a little earlier this year. And then Indonesia said earlier this week or last week that they
would take in 2,000 Gazans for treatment but then that they would return back home.
The other issue with this problem is that Netanyahu is trying to pitch this as some sort of voluntary emigration from Gaza. And yet we don't know that
there's any sign that Palestinians want to leave their home, that they have any indication of leaving long term or short term and not coming back.
He has tried to pitch this as voluntary and yet we have seen Israel repeatedly issue evacuation orders that have pushed and displaced Gazans
from their home inside the besieged territory. It's not really clear that this would be any different, if there is even a country willing to take
them in.
MACFARLANE: And also, when it comes to the West Bank, we're hearing a far- right Israeli minister is pushing what's known as the Doomsday Plan. Talk us through what you know about that.
LIEBERMANN: This plan is formally called E-1. It's been in the works and frozen for decades. The reason this particular settlement plan is so
critical is because of its location, east of where we're sitting right now in Jerusalem.
It effectively, if realized, would divide a West Bank into north and south. That makes a contiguous state of Palestine virtually impossible. It also
separates East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. And that means that the envisioned capital for a state of Palestine becomes impossible.
And that's very much the intent here. According to far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, he views this almost as a bit of revenge against
the countries that have announced they intend to recognize a state of Palestine next month.
[10:25:06]
For him, he says, that can be your dream. But our reality is a Jewish reality on the ground in the West Bank.
And that is what he's pushing, to bury, in his words, permanently, the idea of a state of Palestine. Him (sic) and many in the coalition, including his
other far-right partners, have a vision of annexing and declaring Israeli sovereignty over all of the occupied West Bank.
And this, to them, is a part of that. This is creating facts on the ground. We have already seen an outraged Palestinian response from the Palestinian
Authority, as well as other officials there.
But this is the direction. This is the intent of Israel's government. Now the formal approval is set for next week. But the far-right finance
minister getting out in front of that and basically celebrating this as he pushes for this.
And Christina, it's also worth noting, this comes just a few months after Israel announced the largest expansion of settlements in some 30 years,
since the Oslo Accords. So that's very much the direction this government is pushing the country and the region to.
MACFARLANE: All right. We'll continue to follow this closely. Oren Liebermann there. Thanks, Oren. Appreciate your reporting.
And more than 100 aid groups are urging Israel to end what they call the weaponization of aid in Gaza. This follows a letter signed by 24 foreign
ministers, requesting all crossings and routes be open for aid delivery.
Saying starkly, "famine is unfolding before our eyes."
That is apparent in the statistics given by health officials in Gaza but it's especially hitting home when you hear from the people affected on the
ground.
And on Wednesday, I spoke with a U.N. program officer in Gaza, who is struggling to keep her own family safe. I asked her about the hardships
that women and girls are enduring there. And you'll hear in this clip the sound of drones buzzing outside her home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANY HANIYA, ADOLESCENT AND YOUTH PROGRAM OFFICER, U.N. POPULATION FUND: Being adolescent and youth program officer and being in this field
regularly, I hear the first-hand testimonies from the women and girls.
I see the little girls, the 11-year old girls, that say, I wish I wasn't a girl every time I had my period. I see mothers who cry to offer the
sanitary pads for their girls first and then for themselves, which they cannot afford, either, because they are not available in the market.
Or if they are available in the market, they are very expensive. Women, they turn their clothes to use them. They use unhealthy material to, you
know, during this period, which is something harmful for themselves and for dignity as well.
The situation must not be like that for women and girls. They need lots of services. They need the psychological support. They need the social
support. They need the access to food and to water and to everything.
But the reality is it's not there. The restriction on the U.N. system and all the international community working in Gaza Strip affect the access of
services for women and girls.
MACFARLANE: Yes. You are in Gaza City right now where Israel are preparing to launch an operation to take the city by force.
How fearful are you for what may be coming?
HANIYA: It's a real nightmare, like to be displaced again and again; to witness the displacement, the instability for me, myself, for my relatives,
for my friends, for the people we serve. It's a nightmare. It's something that we pray that it's not going to happen.
Losing everything, you know, because, after each displacement, you are reestablishing or restructuring your temporary life. But again, once in a
month or two months and then you are evacuating and you are displaced and then you are leaving everything behind and just save your souls and your
kids.
It's something heartbreaking. It's alarming for all the people to leave where they have this temporary life. It will affect everything. It will
affect the safety of the people. It will affect the provision of services in Gaza Strip and the north of Gaza Strip as well, where our IPs are
working there.
This is -- this scenario will be concerning for UNFPA and its IPs.
MACFARLANE: And, of course, you have children. You're saying your youngest, not yet 3 years old. You know, as a mother myself, I wonder, I
mean, how do you -- how do your children sleep at night and how do you bring them comfort in times like this?
[10:30:00]
HANIYA: Well, it's the scenario of every day to calm them down.
Can you imagine that?
They are alert to every noise, to every sound and they keep putting their hands on their ears to -- just to calm down and to reduce the fear. And I
keep hugging them and assure them that everything will be OK.
But it's not getting OK. It's like it will be now two years of the suffering, two years of the protracted situation. We are really burdened.
We don't know what to do.
And you ask me about plans?
No, we don't have plans. We, like, live. We survive every day.
Given all these circumstances, what should not be the case?
We have the right to live like other people living in safety and dignity and having all this humanitarian standards and policies to be applicable to
the people in Gaza Strip and to save the children and to ensure their lives are in dignity. And, you know, they have lives like other people and other
children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Amany Haniya, speaking to me there from Gaza City.
All right. Coming up, Trump used his podium at the Kennedy Center yesterday to set a political trap for his opponents. We'll have those details next.
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MACFARLANE (voice-over): Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. Here are your headlines this hour.
Russia's president says the U.S. is making, quote, "sincere and energetic efforts" to end the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin spoke on the eve of his
summit with U.S. president Donald Trump in Alaska. Mr. Trump is also speaking about tomorrow's summit, telling FOX Radio that Putin is, quote,
"going to make a deal."
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says talks are underway with several countries about taking in Palestinians from Gaza. An Israeli
official tells CNN talks have been held with South Sudan, Ethiopia, Libya, Indonesia and Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia.
The White House is ramping up the National Guard presence in Washington, D.C. President Trump says he'll seek an extension for his takeover of the
federal police force in the capital. He'll need congressional approval to maintain control for more than 30 days.
Mr. Trump made those remarks at the Kennedy Center yesterday, one of many U.S. cultural institutions that he's looking to reshape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: In a few short months ago, I became chairman of the Kennedy Center and we completely reversed it. We reversed what was happening. We ended the
woke political programming.
[10:35:00]
And we're restoring the Kennedy Center as the premier venue for performing arts anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, being chairman of the Kennedy Center, the president was able to pick this year's honorees. Among them were actor Sylvester
Stallone, country music star George Strait and singer Gloria Gaynor.
Now normally, the president doesn't have time for such matters but, as CNN's Stephen Collinson points out, it plays into the broader culture war
that helped propel Mr. Trump to power.
In his latest column. Stephen says that Trump is setting a trap, writing, "Any criticism of his choices as too lowbrow or undeserving will only
bolster his claims to be a scourge of the establishment and endear him more to supporters who lionize him as the ultimate outsider."
Here to discuss more of this is Stephen.
So Stephen, just expand on what you meant by that and also how this takeover of the Kennedy Center, you know, is really playing into Trump's
presidency.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think this seizure of the citadel of American art, which is widely seen by Trump
supporters as a very liberal institution, is an important moment for the MAGA movement.
Many of those voters believe that the liberal establishment has spent decades changing American art, American history, American life and pushing
it to the Left and taking away from traditional American values.
So the fact that a president who many liberals regard as a Philistine who knows nothing about art is now trying to set himself up as the arbiter of
the nation's taste, I think, is very significant from a political point of view.
You know, many of those artists, I think, probably are very deserving of their honorary status. There'll be a big gala, which Trump, in another
unusual step, will compare the Kennedy Center this year.
But I think he's also daring people to say among the cultural elites that he's gone down-market because he's always found power in creating a sense
of grievance and disdain for his people about liberal elites.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And it's been a busy week, hasn't it, for Donald Trump in the cultural stakes, because his administration also taking that rare step
we saw earlier this week to review the Smithsonian.
Saying in a quote, "this initiative aims to ensure alignment with the president's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive
or partisan narratives and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions."
Stephen, just break down the concerns all of this raises for the average American.
COLLINSON: I think that this stems from the same root as the Kennedy Center situation. Trump and the MAGA movement and the ideologues inside it
believe that American historical institutions, museums like the Smithsonian, whose buildings line the National Mall in Washington, have
taken history and put a left-wing spin on it.
There's been, in some senses, a reassessment of the generation of the founders of the United States, the people that wrote the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution and people pointing out that their great strides for equality didn't take into account the fact that many of them
themselves were slave owners.
And it would take decades for the United States, after its formation, to purge slavery. So this is a reaction to that. The problem is that countries
where presidents try to decide what the history of the country is are on a very slippery slope to authoritarianism.
I think the concern is that Trump and his people will try to censor what is in museums. They'll censor America's, you know, very tortured journey on
race, for example, over the entirety of its history.
All of this is to do with the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States next year. And it's going to be an exceedingly politicized
occasion.
The irony, of course, is that when Trump and the White House say that some of these museum exhibits do not live up to the expectations of the
founders, the core reason for the American Revolution in the first place was a rebellion against the kinglike figure with ultimate power. And that
is what Trump is increasingly looking like.
MACFARLANE: Yes, the irony. Look, I want to just pivot you, if I may, Stephen, to Alaska and the summit we're looking ahead to on Friday, because
you and I were on air during that Zelenskyy press conference yesterday.
And, you know, we've had some messaging coming from the White House today but we had a essentially another tone shift from president Trump last
night, saying there will now be severe consequences if Russia does not agree to a peace deal.
[10:40:05]
How likely is it that Donald Trump has a game plan going into this summit?
Because for an event of this magnitude, it's felt very much, you know, very organic so far.
COLLINSON: You know, I don't think Donald Trump really has a game plan about much. If you look at the history of his life, his business career and
his political career, he's always looking for a deal.
And whatever that deal is, as long as he can frame it as a win, he will accept it. On the one hand, he's saying, well, we're going to get tough
with Russia. You could interpret that as a way to build his leverage before the summit.
Yet today he came out a few minutes ago in a radio interview and said he was convinced that president Vladimir Putin was coming to do a deal,
thereby blowing up all the expectations-lowering that the White House and the foreign policy team has spent the entire week trying to do, to kind of
create a way out for Trump if this doesn't work.
It's also interesting. I think you've seen Putin today talk about, well, there's the possibility that we could actually do a big arms deal if these
negotiations are prolonged. I think that's a way of throwing all sorts of incentives out there for Trump to think that he could get a big
geopolitical win.
And it's something for which he might be prepared to throw Ukraine under the bus.
So I think, you know, all of this gets to the point that everybody is really worried outside the United States and even inside the foreign policy
establishment, the non-MAGA foreign policy area in Washington about what happens when Trump and Putin are in that room, together with nobody but
translators.
The president, the American president, has shown himself to be very pliable in those situations and often comes out of meetings or conversations with
Putin amplifying the Russian position rather than the American one.
MACFARLANE: Yes, Stephen, always great to have your analysis on all these different points. Appreciate you joining us. Thank you.
And we're keeping a close eye on how Wall Street investors are reacting to a key gauge of U.S. inflation released earlier today after the Dow closed
down under 100 points, shy of an all-time record Wednesday. It's back in the red now.
As you can see, it follows data showing U.S. wholesale inflation heated up more than expected in July, with prices rising by the fastest monthly pace
since March of 2022. Well, the Producer Price Index is a potential signal of the prices consumers may see on the store shelves in the months ahead.
CNN business and politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich is in New York with the latest.
So Vanessa, just break down the numbers we've seen today and what that may mean in terms of prices American consumers could be paying.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: The prices that wholesale producers pay usually is a precursor to what consumers end
up paying at the end of the day.
And what we saw in the month of July was that the prices for wholesale producers really heated up much more than anticipated. On a monthly basis,
you saw the sharpest increase in three years, rising 0.9 percent.
And you saw the -- on an annual basis, prices rising 3.3 percent. And what you're looking at on your screen there is how this report is broken down
into both goods and services, which both rose -- and especially services rose.
And in that category there's something called margins, as we say, more colloquial terms but its what producers are taking home, what they buy the
product for and then what they sell it for.
Those margins, those profits actually grew in the month of July after having shrunk in the previous months. And that's a signal that actually
producers may not be shouldering the burden of the prices anymore and passing it down to consumers.
If you look at key categories that we've been tracking, food in particular was a big one that rose 1.4 percent in the month of July. Fresh and dry
vegetables up almost 39 percent in one single month. Transportation and warehousing, all of that industry that helps get things from the producers
to consumers, up 1 percent.
Traveler accommodations, which includes hotels, was up 3 percent and energy prices up 0.9 percent. I will mention, though, that gas prices did fall in
the month of July.
And the reason, as you mentioned, why we pay attention to this report, Christina, is because producers do make the decision every single day and
every single month whether or not to pass these increased costs down to consumers.
And one would think that the reason you're seeing higher prices is because of the impact of tariffs.
On another note, we saw the Port of Los Angeles just yesterday reporting a record month of July, actually an all-time record but it happened to be in
the month of July, bringing in more than 1 million containers, moving 1 million containers. That's a record.
[10:45:00]
And that was led by producers, importers, trying to bring in as much product as possible, trying to beat these tariff deadlines. So not only
were they doing it at higher prices but they were doing it in higher volumes.
And the big concern from economists is that now we are really starting to see businesses stop absorbing the cost of these prices and ultimately start
passing it down to consumers. And that's where you get into the conversation about inflation and what that could potentially look like in
the future. Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes, very close eyes in the months ahead to see where all of this ends up in the real world. Vanessa, appreciate you breaking it down
for us. Thank you.
And we are back after this quick break. Stay with us.
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MACFARLANE: The Clanwilliam sandfish was once so plentiful that its annual migrations turned water into waves. But the freshwater fish in South
Africa's Western Cape has been in rapid decline for the last few decades. Today, on "Call to Earth", we meet the conservationists helping to restore
this endangered species.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From the nets and buckets, this may look like a fishing expedition. But Jeremy Shelton and Cecilia Cerrilla aren't
here to haul in a big catch. They're here to save South Africa's disappearing sandfish.
DR. JEREMY SHELTON, CONSERVATION BIOLOGIST, FRESHWATER RESEARCH CENTER: In South Africa, freshwater fishes are the most threatened species group. And
the sandfish is the most endangered migratory fish.
There's not just one threat. It's a combination of invasive species, water abstraction and habitat degradation.
ASHER: This is the Biedouw, a tributary of the Doring River, it's one of the last known places where sandfish come to spawn.
SHELTON: After spawning, the Biedouw is literally pulsing with baby sandfish but within a few weeks those numbers start to decrease. We have
invasive fish like bass and bluegill moving in, eating a lot of them.
So what we're doing is coming in and rescuing as many of those little sandfish as possible before they perish, moving them into sandfish
sanctuaries where they can grow safely to adulthood and then we can release them back into the wild.
ASHER: A few years ago, young sandfish were introduced to this former agricultural dam turned sanctuary located at Bushman's Kloof Wilderness
Reserve.
SHELTON: This is the first time we've come back to this dam since 2021 and we set fyke nets, which are a passive way to collect fish from an aquatic
environment.
CECILIA CERRILLA, PHD CANDIDATE, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN: Here at Bushman's Kloof we've got two sandfish sanctuary dams. And the fish in
these dams are happy. They grow big.
ASHER: The nets will be left overnight to capture as many adult fish as possible to release back into their native waters.
SHELTON: We want mature fish coming out of these sanctuaries at a size where they are big enough to avoid being eaten by the invasive fish, old
enough to breed themselves.
[10:50:00]
ASHER: A sunrise start for the team as they return to the sanctuary to check their nets.
SHELTON: Our first few nets didn't have too much but then there was a net that was just full of beautiful three-year-old sandfish just in perfect
health, thrashing in the water.
CERRILLA: Nice.
So once they're out of the nets, now they're in buckets. And it's kind of a race against the clock to some extent to get them back into the river.
SHELTON: Ready to go back into the wild.
The water quality in the dam and the river could be a bit different. So now we're on about 50-50 during water -- dam water gives them a chance to get
used to it.
ASHER: Before they're released into the Doring River, the fish are measured and tagged with tiny transponders.
SHELTON: Five years ago, when we started reintroducing sandfish back into the wild, we started using pit tags and those tags allow us to determine
things like sandfish movement and survival and growth in the long term.
We have this underwater antenna at the mouth of the Biedouw River and that allows us to detect any tagged fish that swims back up the Biedouw to spawn
during the annual spawning migration.
ASHER: Since its inception, the Saving Sandfish Project has more than tripled the size of the spawning population.
CERRILLA: So far it's been a relative success. What's been really interesting over the past few years is getting more and more data.
When we release these fish, we record the conditions in which they're released. Which sanctuary dam do they come from?
How big are they when they're released?
Where are they released?
What time of year?
And so we can see which conditions are most favorable to a fish's return.
SHELTON: Once we've stabilized this population in the Biedouw, the next step really is to reclaim habitat for the species in the long term.
I think what really inspires me is the support that we've received from the communities in the area. All that fills me with a lot of hope and
enthusiasm for the future of the sandfish.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Let us know what you're doing to answer the call with the #CalltoEarth.
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MACFARLANE: Taylor Swift got both candid and emotional when she appeared on her boyfriend Travis Kelce's New Heights podcast Wednesday, announcing
that her 12th studio album will be out in October.
Since the episode aired, it's had more than 9 million views. Swift talked about everything from her relationship with Travis to life on the road and
her record-breaking Eras tour. But one of the biggest reveals was when she sent her mother and brother to represent her in the meetings to buy the
rights to her recordings. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAYLOR SWIFT, MUSICIAN: Rather than send lawyers or management like in a big crew, I sent my mom and my brother, who I work with, to L.A. And they -
- sorry. They sat down and they like, this happens.
I don't ever really talk about it because it's -- they sat down with Shamrock Capital and they told them what this meant for me. Like this is --
they told them the whole story.
I get a call from my mom and she's like -- she's like, they -- we did -- you got your music.
JASON KELCE, "NEW HEIGHTS" PODCAST: Yes
SWIFT: And so sorry that -- this is -- it's literally been so long since this happened. Like, it's -- every time I talk about it.
[10:55:02]
She was like, you got -- you got your music. And I just, like, very dramatically, hit the floor for real.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: So candid. Swift's new era has a bold new signature color as well: orange. She says it reflects how her life felt while writing the new
album, electric and vibrant.
And if having 35 Grammys wasn't enough, Beyonce can now add an Emmy to her list of awards. The music star won her first Emmy for the Beyonce Bowl
halftime show, performed during Christmas Day NFL game that aired on Netflix.
Her team took home the award for outstanding costumes for variety, nonfiction or reality show. And with this Emmy win, she's halfway to the
coveted EGOT status, which one achieves by earning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award.
And finally, tonight, for the first time in the pageant's history, a Palestinian woman will step onto the Miss Universe stage. Carrying the flag
is Dubai-based Nadeen Ayoub, a former Miss Earth finalist, making her historic debut at the 74th edition of the competition.
Here's what she had to say in her announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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NADINE AYOUB, PALESTINIAN, FORMER MISS EARTH FINALIST (voice-over): This journey is for every single girl who dares to dream beyond the headlines
and for every woman shaping a better future, despite the odds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Ayoub said she wants to be a voice for Gazans who refuse to be silenced.
That's a great note for us to end it on here. I'm Christina Macfarlane. Stay with us. "ONE WORLD" is up after the break.
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