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Trump: Called Off New Iran Attacks At Request Of Gulf States; Ukrainian Troops Adapt To Evolving Tools Of Warfare; U.S. War With Iran Weighs On America's Economy; Trump Takes Questions From Reporters At White House; W.H.O. Chief Raises Alarm Over Scale Of Ebola Outbreak. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired May 19, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:43]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi,
where the time is just after 6:00 in the evening.
Donald Trump says he will hold off on a potential strike against Iran, citing direct appeals from Gulf leaders in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and here in
the United Arab Emirates.
It's primary day in the United States, with all eyes on Kentucky, where Trump critic Thomas Massie faces a really tough challenge after a concerted
push by Republicans to unseat him.
And a deadly Ebola outbreak now linked to more than 130 deaths as the U.S. moves to ban travelers from the affected region.
Well, let's talk the U.S. and Iran. A key sticking point appears to be standing in the way of a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran. Not
surprisingly, it is the nuclear issue. Iran said today that its latest proposal to end the war includes needing its right to enrich uranium
included in any deal, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes. And it calls for sanctions to be lifted, frozen funds released, and for the U.S.
to end its naval blockade, as well as ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon and compensation for war damages.
Well, U.S. President Donald Trump's main demand, he says, is to ensure Iran does not have nuclear weapons. Well, Alayna Treene, back with us this hour
from the White House. Elena, let's just concentrate on why it is that we believe President Trump says he has called off new strikes, at least for
the time being, on Iran, which apparently were set for today. What do we know about that?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, we do know, Becky, that the Pentagon had been presenting a number of different options to the
President and his top advisors about targeted strikes. And this is something I was told, that the President had been moving closer to wanting
to order in recent days because of his frustration with the way that Iranian leadership has handled these negotiations. However, now he's giving
diplomacy, you know, more time, more breathing room, he says, to continue.
And that comes after he spoke separately with allies in Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, he says. But look, I think what's important here is we have
seen this before, right? We've heard the President say many times that he believed that they were getting positive updates from the Iranians many
times. That was a message being delivered through Pakistani mediators. And then he was hopeful that a deal would be closed only for, you know,
everything to kind of fall apart just hours later when the President and his team looked at the fine print of what was actually in the response from
the Iranians.
It's hard to see how this is completely different. I mean, you just laid out what the latest Iranian proposal, according to the deputy foreign
minister, is and what's in it. And one of the key things that Tehran continues to maintain is that they need to continue their right to enrich
uranium, something that Trump has said repeatedly is a red line for him.
And so it's hard to see where this is going to go, but it does appear, I mean, the President kind of laid this out publicly yesterday on social
media, that what he is hearing from allies in the Gulf, who, of course, are very influential on how President Donald Trump thinks about a number of
things related to the Middle East, but very influential regarding this war as well. And also, you know, where they think talks can go from here.
It's very unclear how this is going to change. But for now, he does seem to continue to prioritize wanting a deal to be made. A question is, when does
his patience really run thin to the point where he feels like he needs to move forward with strikes in order to bring this to an end? Because by and
large, Becky, the number one goal, of course, for this White House is they want to find a swift resolution to this, but they also don't want to
continue military operations.
[10:05:06]
The President views that as something that, you know, might be a necessary evil in order to make a deal. But for now, he's willing to keep the clock
ticking and see whether or not they can get to some sort of compromise.
ANDERSON: Yes, good to have you.
All right. Well, look, my next guest is an expert on geopolitics of the Gulf region and the broader dynamics of the Middle East. He says Gulf
countries are walking a rather thin line at this point. And while they have had to respond to Iranian attacks, "Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE
understand that they ultimately have to come to their own understandings with Iran." I think this is fascinating. Firas Maksad is a managing
director for the Middle East and North Africa, the consultant firm Eurasia Group. He joins us now live.
Let's start with Trump posting that he's been asked by Qataris, Saudis and the Emiratis to effectively sort of hold off on his strikes and that he
says serious negotiations are taking place. What do you make of that comment? And at least what it says about the Gulf's influence in what
happens going forward?
FIRAS MAKSAD, MANAGING DIR. FOR MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA, EURASIA GROUP: Yes, Becky, good to be on your show again. First, let's talk about
the accuracy of those comments from President Trump. And I don't think it's quite accurate to lump in the UAE together with Qatar and Saudi Arabia in
terms of their position of where we are in the conflict and what the next step forward ought to be. They have taken very different postures on this
war. Saudi and Qatar very much on the de-escalatory path, pushing against conflict, pushing for diplomacy.
And the Saudis, given their close relationship with Pakistan, very much working hard to midwife, midwife a diplomatic outcome to this resolution.
Not where the UAE is. The UAE very much doubling down on its relationship with the U.S., but also Israel, and proven to be the tip of the spear in
wanting to escalate against the Iranians.
But I do think that Trump's message here, his post on Truth Social, signals that he is looking for a pretext to de-escalate. Trump does not have any
attractive military options at this point. And even though it's very clear that he is growing increasingly frustrated by the Iranian negotiating
position, time is not necessarily in his favor.
He has elections coming up in the fall, where you are in the polls in spring, usually manifest at the election box in the fall in the midterm
elections. But not necessarily, I don't think that the Emiratis are looking for de-escalation either. So, yes, it's a bit of a mixed bag here for
President Trump. But at this point, he's again preferencing diplomacy and very much putting the ball in the court of the Iranians.
ANDERSON: I think it would be fair to say that what none of these countries want is a frozen conflict and no agreement at all. So what are their
options? And I'm talking about them being the Gulf region. And you're very right to point out that it's clear that countries are coming at this from
different positions. So what do you believe their options are at this place? I mean, I've been talking to sources around this region for weeks
now. There was a sort of received wisdom that after Donald Trump had been in China, were there to be no resolution, you know, during that trip, and
there wasn't any resolution, that it was very likely there would be an escalation again. But I think everybody agrees also that Donald Trump wants
a quick out from all of this.
MAKSAD: I think that's very much the conclusion in the region. Again, no matter what side of the divide you're on, that at the end of the day, what
Trump is looking for is a very narrow deal that reopens the straits and then deals with the nuclear bucket of issues of general understanding, no
enrichment, or at least a freeze on enrichment for a certain period of time. The Americans have asked for 20. The Iranians are not there. But it
leaves unanswered many of the other problematic issues for the region.
The ballistic missile threat, the drones that are menacing the skies of the GCC and striking its vital infrastructure, the support for proxies,
Hezbollah, the Shia militias in Iraq and otherwise. There's an understanding in the region that those issues will be left to them to deal
with the Iranians. Now, how they go about doing so depends on where you're sitting.
[10:09:52]
The Saudis, together with Qatar and Pakistan and Turkey and Egypt, those regional heavyweights have come together in an effort to accumulate
leverage so that when they do address these issues the day after with the Iranians, they can be speaking with one voice. The UAE is just simply not
in that space and in that political construct. And so what they're leveraging is Israeli military might and deepening the relationship with
Israel and the United States in advance of having to have that tough understanding with the Iranians down the road. So very different postures
against what is a similar challenge for all of them.
ANDERSON: You name-checked Egypt and I do just want to play our viewers part of a discussion that my colleague Christiane Amanpour had with the
Egyptian foreign minister earlier. Let's just have a listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: President Trump's latest is that he is responding, he says, to appeals from his Gulf state
allies to not launch another hot war right now, but who knows what in the future. Where do you stand on that? What do you think is going on in the
state of mediation?
BADR ABDELATTY, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, first of all, we commend President Trump's wise policies and decisions in order to give more time
for dialogue, for de-escalation. That's highly appreciated. And it's indeed very, very important to exert our maximum efforts to push for dialogue and
for de-escalation. And I believe that things are moving in the right direction, maybe slowly but steadily.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: What do you make of those comments?
MAKSAD: It's exactly where I expect the Egyptians to be. The region, Becky, perhaps minus the UAE for the reasons I laid out, is literally under the
gun here to produce a diplomatic offering. It is the Pakistani engagement with Iran, with Saudi support, Egyptian support, Turkish support, and
China, perhaps a more quiet role behind the scenes there. It's pushing the Iranians to get to a place that would then have the region escape the
perils of yet another round of conflict that could very much have blowback against UAE, GCC infrastructure.
So the Egyptians here are very much still in favor of diplomacy, understanding though that time is short and running out. And the Iranians
here are stretching the process, wanting to extract concessions as Trump feels the heat domestically through the economy manifesting in the polls in
the lead up to elections. And so whether we're going to have a 12th hour or 11th hour deal that the region is able to produce in their engagement with
Iran is a separate question. But I do think that we're getting to the point of go, no go in terms of military action in the days and weeks ahead.
ANDERSON: Can I just put this to you? Because I understand where you're coming from on the UAE's perspective. I talk to a lot of people here who
are sort of well versed in the thinking. I mean, you know, I'm told regularly that, you know, ultimately it is a political solution that is
sought for this. And I just note one Emirati expert today writing. He says, this comes from his own perspective. But he closes his analysis, and this
is Nadim Koteich, closes his analysis with the following. All of this comes at a time when Iran is showing flexibility and a desire for dialogue with
regional states. A weakened Iran is an Iran the Gulf States can finally negotiate with on its own terms. He says, watch the next three days
closely. What do you make of that?
MAKSAD: Nadim is a very dear friend of mine. I haven't spoken to him about this particular view. But I do think that that is a shared view, that Iran,
a weakened Iran, is one that the region can then come to the very necessary and perhaps unescapable accommodation with. The question here, Becky, is
whether Iran has been weakened enough or not.
And if it hasn't, is escalation worth the downside risk that is associated with it, that blowback that is expected against GCC energy infrastructure,
oil plans, perhaps even desalination. And you get different answers depending on whether you're posing that question in Riyadh or Abu Dhabi.
And so I think in Abu Dhabi, the view is Iran has not been weakened enough, as demonstrated by the fact that they continue to drag out these
negotiations. I think there's a different view on the other side of the Gulf.
[10:15:06]
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. It's good to have you, as ever. Thank you, Firas. And folks, you can see Christiane's full interview with the Egyptian
foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, on Amanpour Today at noon Eastern, 5:00 p.m. London, 8:00 p.m. if you are here in Abu Dhabi.
Right, coming up, Russia is using its drones to turn a vital supply road in eastern Ukraine into a deadly passageway. How Ukraine's forces are adapting
is after this.
Plus, it's another election day in America. Voters head to the polls for primaries in six U.S. states, setting up another major test of President
Trump's political power.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Russia's President Vladimir Putin is kicking off a two-day state visit to China. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as
cooperation across energy and trade, are expected to top the agenda. Ahead of the meeting, Putin said Sino-Russian relations have reached a, and I
quote here, truly unprecedented level. Well, their meeting comes just days after President Xi rolled out the diplomatic red carpet for U.S. President
Trump.
On the battlefields, Ukrainian forces are proving their ability to adapt to new challenges, including the constantly evolving technology of warfare.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh now shows us how they do it and gives us an up-close look at the dangers that they face.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): They call this the road of life, but it's about survival, not living. It is
safest on foot, under skies ruled by tiny killer drones targeting any vehicle, the nets trying to block the horror from above. If you can, make
the robot your friend, your porter, though machines are normally the enemy here.
WALSH: This now, pretty much all over the front lines, tiny bits of fiber optic cable used to connect drones to their controller can go on for tens
of kilometers, stopping the jamming before --
WALSH (voice-over): A Russian drone above. The Ukrainians open fire.
WALSH: Follow him.
[10:20:01]
WALSH (voice-over): They hit it.
WALSH: That's the impact. And you have to split out, because the drone will try and target groups of individuals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): One, two, or three.
WALSH: Sometimes one, two, three, you find.
WALSH (voice-over): We're doing Sasha (ph) and Bogdan's (ph) usual walk along this road between two Ukrainian positions, but it takes five hours,
and we are buzzed by attack drones 14 times. The threats change every month. Here, looking for loitering drones, they hover low and wait for you.
A radio warning. The trees aren't just a place to hide, but somewhere the drones cannot fly. Russian drones circle, targeting vehicles, but also
dropping explosives on troops. You have to keep moving, though they may swarm around you.
WALSH: The battlefield has completely changed in a matter of a year. Nobody drives cars on this road, unless you have to. Nobody drives in tanks.
That's outgoing artillery. These robots used for resupply, up ahead we can see people repairing the nets, a kind of key protection. But these used to
resupply food, ammunition, all around the front line.
WALSH (voice-over): Gunfire means run, again.
WALSH: This is a pretty constant, and the only move is to hide into the trees. There it lands, not far.
WALSH (voice-over): You might be thinking, why not walk inside the nets?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): To maneuver if there is a drone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Their speed is high. You need to get away, and not group up.
WALSH: This is part of the problem here, in that after an hour of this, you don't quite get numb to it, but let's see something here, you get slightly
too comfortable and tired.
WALSH (voice-over): The next one is right on top of us.
WALSH: There it is. There it is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Is it ours?
WALSH (voice-over): They hit it. That grey streak. And it falls. Whirling down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What a good hit.
WALSH (voice-over): But it hasn't detonated. Debris drifts. There's been no blast, so we are alive. It may have been a recon drone, but flew like a
Russian attacker.
Down the road is the Kostyantynivka front, where the Kremlin's advance has been slowed to a crawl, at the enormous cost, across the front, of 35,000
Russian dead and wounded a month, says Ukraine. This is the tenth attack.
WALSH: They caught sight of it briefly, and it appears to be coming closer now. Actually, intense fire. You can hear it. See it up.
WALSH (voice-over): Drones also target heavy gunfire. Their friend, a lieutenant, killed when this car was hit just two days ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Roman, this is where it happened. Rest in peace.
WALSH (voice-over): We are nearing their bunker position. There are moments here to rest, see the trophies of drones that failed, but we have to get
back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Did you expect there to be so many robots and drones?
AFINA, 24TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE (through translator): No, to be honest, I didn't. I actually joined the army before the full-scale war and didn't
expect anything like this at all. It's a big tough at the moment. Over time, you get a bit bummed out by all of this. You realize you have to do
it.
WALSH (voice-over): As soon as we emerge, they are above us again. This is the new warfare, hide. Shoot at the sky. Run. Fire drones back. The
impact's just as deadly as shelling. The accuracy, horrific.
[10:25:10]
WALSH: Have to walk in, but also walk out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Monakh, Monakh, it is above the trees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Plus, plus. Hear it.
WALSH (voice-over): The buzz stays with you, ringing in your ears for hours later. No respite. The grey smoke, perhaps it hit the net.
WALSH: That was close, loud. You could hear the shrapnel landing on the tarmac, clearly targeting that armored vehicle.
WALSH (voice-over): It is hard to see how this grind is a win, but it is. Ukraine on foot, robots in support, automation replacing scarce troops,
holding ground. The drones never stop, but neither does Ukraine, adapting, learning, engineering this new warfare, and hoping any edge sustains long
enough to put Russia in reverse.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Druzhkivka, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, ahead on CNN, we look at the impact of the U.S.-Iran war on America's economy. It's much more than just paying at the gas pump. We will
explain more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Hi, welcome back. You're watching Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. Here are your headlines this hour. And in California,
authorities investigating a deadly shooting at San Diego's largest mosque as a hate crime. Three people were killed there, including a security guard
whose heroic actions are credited with saving lives. The police chief says, two teen suspects were found dead in a car near the mosque from self-
inflicted gunshot wounds.
The head of the World Health Organization is sounding the alarm about the scale and speed of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo
and Uganda. Health officials suspect more than 130 deaths are linked to the virus. The WHO is mobilizing tens of tons of health supplies for the
region.
A ship carrying humanitarian aid from Mexico has arrived in Havana. It comes as Cubans endure a severe energy crisis and tensions with the United
States continue to rise. The Trump administration recently announced fresh sanctions on the Cuban government.
[10:29:57]
The war with Iran has global ramifications. We've reported extensively on the economic impact of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz on
countries around the world. Let's focus on the United States. The States, the cost to the U.S. is at least $29 billion with some estimates much
higher than that. It's raised prices at the pump of course there and now there are warnings of motor oil shortages but the impacts to the U.S.
economy are much broader than that. CNN's David Goldman joins me now. Just explain that what you are seeing and reporting out there.
DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Well we've gotten a boatload of economic data just in the last couple weeks so I think we have a clearer
sense of what's actually going on in the U.S. economy because of the war in Iran. The first thing let's just take the broadest view and that's GDP,
gross domestic product, the broadest view of the economy and it's pretty good.
Look at that 2 percent growth, that's not bad. Well that's only one month of data though because it's the whole quarter so, you know, the war started
in late February. OK so then let's take a look at jobs then. Well take a look at this. This month, that was March, was the biggest job gain that we
had in one month in two years. A little weirdness going on with some of the shutdown and whatnot but this is pretty good.
If you look back just a couple years we're doing all right. OK retail sales, well sure gas prices is fueling some of this but look at that 1.6
percent in that month and then in the last month 0.5 percent. Now if you cut out gas prices we were right about here and that still looks pretty
good. But this is where things get a little tricky because if you look at inflation this is where people are starting to feel the hurt because we're
now at 3.8 percent and that is the highest in three years.
So the gas price is certainly lifting all prices. We're starting to see it in produce that was up 6.5 percent airfares are up 21 percent so this is
starting to seep out into the broader economy and that has done awful things for sentiment. This is the lowest rating we have ever had in data
going back to the 1950s. I couldn't even fit it all on my chart. This is really, really bad for the feeling that people have about the economy. So
why is that?
Well, take a look at this wage growth versus inflation. When these lines cross that is not good news, right? Because this means that the average
inflation rate is outpacing the average wage growth. Now for three years we had better wage growth than inflation which means that your dollar was
stretching farther. That's no longer the case as of this past month and that means people have to dip into their savings to get all of that gas
money out the door.
But it's not even as simple as that because this is an average view. Look at this. What happens when you divide it into income levels? Our friends at
Bank of America do this amazing work where they take the third of their depositors who have the highest income, middle income, lowest income and
give us some cool data on this. High income wage growth was up 6 percent now you compare that to 3.8 percent. They don't even have to worry about
it.
Take a look at this though. Middle income, lower income Americans are making way less than the rate of inflation. That's a big problem and you
can see it here in spending, right? Because high income, middle income and lower income Americans are all spending more because of gas prices. But
higher income Americans have a lot more disposable income to continue to spend and that's why we see things like overall economic growth, jobs and
especially spending that fuels that, Becky.
ANDERSON: All right. Thank you for that.
Right now at the White House U.S. President Trump is speaking about his plans for a new White House ballroom and the important security plays in
the plan. The White House has been pressing Congress for funding for this addition. We'll keep an ear out on what Mr. Trump is saying. We'll bring
you any significant developments.
[10:34:51]
Well, happening now a big day of primary elections across six U.S. states. Polls are open in Alabama, in Georgia, Idaho, Oregon, Pennsylvania and
Kentucky which is home to a race with really high stakes. It's the latest stop on what critics have dubbed President Donald Trump's revenge tour as
he tries to unseat Republican incumbent Congressman Thomas Massie. Massie of course has clashed with the Trump White House on everything from
spending to the Iran war to the release of the Epstein files.
What do American voters think about Trump's take on Massie? Here's what a handful of them told CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thomas Massie has burnt every bridge he could possibly have to be effective. He can no longer take care of his positions. He can't
take care of the Fourth District.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm still going to vote for Thomas. I think he's a great guy. He's very careful about how he wants our taxpayer money to be
spent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if Trump came in here and said don't vote for Massie, what would you say?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd say well if I want to vote for him I'll vote for him. If I don't want to vote for him, I won't vote for him. It's my choice
not yours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All right. I want to take you to the White House now where President Trump, as I understand it, is taking some questions. Let's listen
in.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We had the king and the queen the other day and we had a thousand people wanted and we ended up having a
hundred people sitting in the first row. So they've been after this for a long time but maybe more important is the safety element. This is a shield
that protects everything that's inside everything that's on top and, you know, obviously the White House was built in 1792.
You know, it's awfully hard to -- it's awfully hard to do that kind of a capacity that we've done here. So this will give future presidents, but you
have to understand, when this is finished, my term ends shortly after that. This is really for other presidents. This is not for me. This is my gift to
the United States of America. I'm going to be able to use it very little because when it's finished, we're talking about six or seven months. But it
will be used for hopefully hundreds of years for other presidents and there will never be anything like this built again. There will never be a room
built like with the safety. As an example, if we had the White House Correspondents' Dinner here, it would have been no problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, you said that this would be, when it opens, in six or seven months, have you planned for that?
TRUMP: I have. I have. I better not tell you about that, Daniel, but everybody wants to be here for the first event. We're talking about heads
of nation. So we have some very special places that it could happen. You know, we have, we had literally, if the king and queen were, you know, we
had this finished, we would have had an event that would have been 10 times as such. I mean, we literally were in a little room in the White House.
Presidents, now we're not even talking about safety. Presidents have been asking for this literally from the time the White House has been built. But
on record, for 150 years, they've said, what about a big room? And you all know, you probably attended. They have some where they use tents. If it
rains, it's a disaster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mentioned that this is going to be a gift to America.
TRUMP: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: We will have to have a safe country. We have to have a great country. We have to make sure that Iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon. And
all of the things that you see me fighting for so hard. And it's always tough. You know, we're negotiating with Iran and then you have the
Democrats. I call them the Democrats putting in a bill that Trump should immediately stop. You know how it is to negotiate with a country where
you're beating them badly. They come to the table. They're begging to make a deal because they're begging to make a deal. I hope we don't have to do
the war, but we may have to give them another big hit.
We may have to give them another big hit. I'm not sure yet. You'll know very soon. But how do you feel when you're negotiating? You're winning
every point. And they say, but in Washington, they want to stop you from negotiating. They want to stop you. And it's only political. It's the
Democrats. They're dumb. It's a new name. It's a very accurate name. So I'm in the middle of a negotiation. I'm saying you cannot have a nuclear
weapon. And it comes over the wire that the Democrats want to stop Trump from further negotiations.
They want to stop Trump from, if he has to, giving them another slap. They want to have a nuclear weapon to blow up the Middle East and to blow up,
frankly, the world. It's not going to happen. Nice to see you, by the way. Good job.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How close were you to striking Iran?
TRUMP: I was an hour away. We were all set to go. You're talking about yesterday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TRUMP: We were going to be striking very -- it would have been happening right now. Yes, it was all done. The boats, the ships are all loaded.
They're loaded to the brim. And we were all set to start.
[10:40:09]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What message did both nations tell you that convinced you?
TRUMP: They said that they feel they've had, for the first time in almost 47 years, you know, Iran's been the bully of the Middle East for 47 years.
I mean, literally the bully of the Middle East. And they're nasty, very nasty, very dangerous. They wanted a nuclear weapon. Had I not terminated
Barack Hussein Obama's Iran nuclear deal, had I not terminated it, you see that's the win. It can't happen with the real structure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, on Cuba, what do you want to see from Cuba's government?
TRUMP: Talking about Cuba? Well, we're going to see. Look, Cuba's calling us. They need help. Look, Cuba is a failed nation. Cuba needs help. And
we'll do that. Just hold them, though. It's like an exercise game for them. Give that to me. I'll hold it. I'll hold it.
It's so beautiful. See, I look so thin. They'll say, oh, he's gotten so thin because I'm holding this. You don't have to look at my waist. You can
look at this. You saw enough of my waist along with President Xi.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you confident that you can reach a diplomatic --
TRUMP: With Cuba? I think so. Yes, I think so. We are -- I am very prone toward the Cuban Americans. They've been incredible people. Many of them
have lost family members. They've been very badly hurt themselves. They've been in prison. They've come to this country, and they've been very
successful.
The Cuban American people in Miami, I mean, they are amazing people. Most of them are in Miami, in Florida, but mostly in Miami. I'm very, very prone
to helping them. I mean, that's -- they've been -- I think I got 97 percent of that vote. I want to help them. Now, they have family members in Cuba.
They've been treated very, very badly. They've been treated extremely badly. And we're going to get that solved. That's not going to be hard for
us to solve.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you can do that without --
TRUMP: I don't know about changing the regime. I can do that, whether you change your regime or not. You know, it's been a rough regime. They've
killed a lot of people. But it's a country that really needs help. It has nothing. They can't turn on the lights. They can't eat. We don't want to
see that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, how much notice did the Gulf nations have -- how much notice did the Gulf nations have that you were going to do
these strikes before they asked you to pause?
TRUMP: They called me over the last two days to say they've made a lot of progress. Because we have them negotiating with us, and primarily Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait a little bit, and Bahrain and some of the others. And we have them negotiating with us. We're all working together.
It's like a team. And Israel, of course. And Israel has been a great partner. And so we are negotiating together.
I got a call from numerous of these people. They know the people in Iran. Don't forget, when you talk about regime change, I think it's the ultimate
regime change, because the first level and the second level are no longer with us. They're someplace, but they're no longer with us. So we have real
regime change. But I got a call yesterday, sir, could you wait? We think we're close to a deal, and that's OK.
Now, I've heard it before with these people. They changed their mind. I made deals with them. No nuclear. We immediately get the nuclear to us. And
they said you're the only one can get it, because the bombers did such an unbelievable job that the mountain literally collapsed on top of it. They
said us, and they thought China would be the only two countries that could even get it. But I think it's important to get it, maybe psychologically
more than anything else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long did they know that you were planning to go today?
TRUMP: They knew I was getting ready to attack. I didn't tell them. I never tell anybody when.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're in constant contact with them?
TRUMP: I never tell anybody when, but they knew that we were very close. I would say we were -- I was an hour away from making the decision to go
today. And we would probably not be talking about a beautiful ballroom today. We'd be talking about that. And, no, I had made the decision. So
they called up. They had heard I made the decision. They said, sir, could you give us a couple of more days, because we think they're being
reasonable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long do you expect maybe for Iran to come to war?
TRUMP: Well, I mean, I'm saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time. Because
we can't let them have a nuclear weapon. If they had a nuclear weapon, they would start with Israel. They would blow it up, and they would blow it up
fast. But they'd blow it up. And I'll tell you what, they'd go after Saudi Arabia. They'd go after Kuwait. They'd go after UAE. They'd go after Qatar.
They'd go after, I think they'd go after the entire Middle East. And it would be a whole different negotiation.
[10:45:06]
It would not be, it would be -- it would be -- it would be nuclear holocaust. And there's no question in my mind that they'd use it. There's
no question. And I deal with these people. They're extremely radicalized. These are not people like what I deal with you. You're a very nice guy.
These are people that are seriously radicalized. They would use it. The only question, would it be the first minute, the first hour, or the first
day?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
TRUMP: I'm not doing this politically. Look, everyone tells me it's unpopular, but I think it's very popular. When you -- when they hear that
it's having to do with nuclear weapons, weapons that could take out Los Angeles, could take out major cities very quick. When they hear that, you
know, when they're explaining, I'll tell you what, when we explain it to people, I don't really have enough time to explain to people.
I'm too busy getting it done. When they understand, I think it's frankly very popular. But whether it's popular or not popular, I have to do it.
Because I'm not going to let the world be blown up on my watch. It's not going to happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- Thomas Massie and your endorsed candidate?
TRUMP: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think your candidate can beat him and what you are seeing?
TRUMP: Well, yes, Thomas Massie is a terrible congressman. He's been a terrible congressman from day one. Dealing with him is just horrible. I
don't think he's a Republican. I think he's actually a Democrat. He's not a libertarian. You know, sometimes they say, he's really a Democrat. He votes
against us all the time. He voted against the border wall. He voted against men playing in women's sports.
He voted against transgender for everybody, the mutilization of your children. He voted against, again, open borders. We have the best border
we've ever had right now. Nobody's coming in. I mean, a report just came out in the last 11 months. Literally nobody has been allowed into our
country illegally. We're taking people legally. They go through a process. But nobody's coming to our country. But we've taken out hundreds of
thousands of people. We had 10,000. It was 10,800, 11,888 murders. Many of these murders allowed into our country from prisons. They were in prisons.
Many of these people killed more than one. More than 50 percent killed more than one person. This was gross malfeasance. This was on behalf of the
Biden administration. I don't know Biden because I don't think he knew he was alive. But she, Kamala, was the border czar. She never called, not one
time, she never called the Border Patrol. She never called ICE. She never called law enforcement. She never went to the border. Think of it. I used
to call every single day.
And that's recently. Now I call less. We have nobody coming through. We had caravans coming through with tens of thousands of people pouring into our
country. We had no idea who they were. We would have been, I'll tell you what, our country would have been destroyed if they won this election, our
country would have been.
We have now the hottest country anywhere in the world. If they had won the election, our country would have been destroyed. Our country was a dead
country two years ago. And now we have really the hottest country in the world. And this is the ballroom, and it's going to be something incredible.
You see the quality of it. And they go right, those columns go right into the roof. And on top of the roof, we're going to have the greatest drone
empire that you've ever seen. And it's going to protect Washington.
Thank you all very much. We have a little breakfast for you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really?
TRUMP: Yes. Where is your breakfast? I'd have it. Where is it? Oh, it's right over there. We have a little bit of a breakfast for you. I figured
I'd be nice to you for a change.
ANDERSON: All right, Donald Trump taking questions from reporters there as he updated them on one of his passion projects, that being the new ballroom
at the White House. He talked about this being a big day of primary elections in the United States. And I do want to do a little bit more on
that. These elections are across six U.S. states. Let's discuss with Doug Heye, Republican strategist and former communications director for the
Republican National Committee.
And, Doug, I do want to start in Kentucky. Donald Trump taking questions about Thomas Massie's race there. Can you just explain what is going on and
how Donald Trump's influence in Kentucky perhaps flushes out just how firm a grip he still has on the Republican Party?
[10:50:01]
DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes. So, look, it's a contested Republican primary. Thomas Massie has been an opponent on some level of the
President for some time now. Actually, he's voted really in large part with the President. But with Donald Trump, he wants 100 percent. 90 percent
isn't good enough. And so Trump has gone after him. We've seen this multiple times. But, Becky, here's the problem, because it's ultimately a
Washington conversation versus the rest of the country.
I was overseas for the past month. I've received 27 inquiries from Republicans, 26 of them said, and what does it say about Donald Trump
standing with the Republican Party? That is exactly the same question we got when Donald Trump attacked John McCain, when the Access Hollywood came
out, and every single primary and legislative agenda item for the President over the past 10 years.
We've been asking the same question for 10 years now. And so if Donald Trump's candidate wins, it's Donald Trump is stronger than ever. If that
candidate loses, say, Madison Cawthorn in North Carolina or a gubernatorial candidate in Pennsylvania, are there cracks in the coalition? And what has
happened in Washington is it's not that we're losing the forest for the trees.
It's that we obsess over every individual leaf. And the reality is, outside of a small subset of Republican primary voters, and in the Kentucky race,
whomever wins that primary is going to be that member of Congress. It's going to be a Republican member of Congress so it doesn't affect,
ultimately, the balance next year.
The problem is, Washington is losing sight of the conversation that voters are trying to have. So is Trump. So everything that we just saw, Becky, in
the past few minutes, when he would talk about issues that mattered to voters, you couldn't even hear him because of the larger issue of the
banging of the hammers and the construction on the ballroom that voters want.
So if Trump isn't talking about it and the Washington press corps isn't talking about it, it's very hard for voters to hear the messages that they
want to hear from Republicans or Democrats on why are things costing so much and why are we in Iran and what is the ultimate endgame there. And
that's what voters need to hear.
ANDERSON: It's great having you on, and we will do more with you between now and November, of course. Really important times.
HEYE: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Thank you so much, Doug, for joining us.
All right, raising the alarm on the Ebola epidemic. The World Health Organization holding an emergency meeting in Geneva where its chief has
declared in his words that he is deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Uganda. DREC
health officials say more than 130 deaths are now linked to the virus and they suspect there could be at least 500 more cases.
Look, I thought it was important to bring in CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, today. Sanjay, there's a real sense of
concern now from the WHO. How did all of this start and where exactly do things stand right now?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Becky, I think with regard to the second part of your question, we don't know where
things stand right now and I think it's sort of what you're hearing from the World Health Organization. Knowledge of this outbreak came late and as
you know, and I've spent a lot of time in Congo, these numbers I think are probably going to be significant under reporting right now just in terms of
actually confirming cases, the testing and everything that goes into that.
But let me show you this timeline here, Becky. April 24th, there was a health care worker who got sick and it looked like Ebola. They weren't
sure, but that was a suspected case. And then a couple weeks later, there was a cluster of unknown illnesses. That was on May 5th. It took about 10
days after that to then start confirming that it was in fact an Ebola virus that was causing this.
So that 10-day lag. And then, you know, at that point, there were some 246 suspected cases. This is just a few days ago, 65 deaths. And now, as you
said, 500 cases, 100 deaths or so. But again, grossly underreported. We're going to hear that meeting today that you just talked about.
But keep in mind, they declared this a public health emergency of international concern even without that meeting, which I don't think that's
ever been done before. But I think that also speaks to the gravity of this. They saw the numbers, they saw what was happening and said they did not
want to wait even to convene a formal meeting. They wanted to declare the public health emergency.
ANDERSON: Right. Sanjay, you know, our viewers will be asking two questions. Just how contagious is this disease? And how concerned should
they be wherever they are watching in the world?
GUPTA: Well, I don't think this is going to be a pandemic. I mean, this is sort of one of the macabre sort of notions about viruses like this. When
you have very high mortality viruses, people often die before they can spread it that far, which I know is a really difficult sort of dark thing
to wrap your head around, but that's often what happens. And so I don't think that this is going to turn into something that's widespread.
[10:55:16]
And, you know, I was there in 2014. It was a significant outbreak, 26,000 cases, 11,000 deaths, you know, at that time. So this could be larger than
that, given where it is right now, but still not a worldwide pandemic. Really quickly, it's not very contagious, meaning, you know, you think of
contagious like if you're in the same room with somebody, it's in the air, I could breathe it in like a respiratory virus. This is not that. But what
it is, is very infectious.
So when I was over there in West Africa putting on all that garb, it's because even a small amount of fluids that is contaminated with Ebola
virus, if that were to get on your skin through an open wound in your hand or into your mucosal membranes in your nose or your mouth, that could
potentially cause an infection. So highly infectious, but not contagious.
ANDERSON: I remember you being there in 2014 like it was yesterday. It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.
GUPTA: All right. Thank you.
ANDERSON: Dr. Sanjay Gupta in the house.
Very quickly, just before I let you go, we've got some news to bring you just in to CNN. The UAE, where we are broadcasting from here, reporting it
has been fending off incoming drones. The Ministry of Defense says the country's air defenses intercepted six drones in the last 48 hours. It also
conducted an investigation into the attack on the Baraka nuclear energy plant May 17th this weekend. Tracking and monitoring confirmed the three
drones targeted there came from Iraqi territory. One of them struck an electrical generator outside the internal perimeter of that civilian
nuclear plant.
Right, you are up to date. That's it from Connect the World. From the team working with me here in Abu Dhabi, it is a very good evening. Stay with
CNN. One World is up next.
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