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Erin Burnett Outfront
"Smacks Of A Cover Up": Epstein Accuser's Family Speaks Out; Trade War Spin; South Park Versus Trump. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired August 07, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:25]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
A cover up -- that is what the family of prominent Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre is saying tonight. And her family is here with us. What they're calling on President Trump to do tonight.
Plus, trade war spin. The president claiming billions of dollars are flowing into America because of his tariffs. But where is that money actually coming from? Someone on the front lines who knows is OUTFRONT.
And "South Park" brutally mocking Trump, Vance and Noem, just to name a few. Striking a nerve with the White House.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, cover-up. That is what the family of one of the most prominent Epstein survivors is claiming tonight. And in a moment, I'm going to be joined by Virginia Giuffre's brother and sister-in-law. They are some of the loudest and most important voices raising questions about the Trump administrations response to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Virginia Giuffre died by suicide in April. She had suffered for decades from the trauma and alleged abuse by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. And she was incredibly brave. One of the first survivors to go public and share her story.
She shared that story, speaking about working for Trump at Mar-a-Lago back when she was introduced to Epstein in the year 2000.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIRGINIA GIUFFRE, JEFFREY EPSTEIN ACCUSER: And within the next few weeks, Jeffrey and Ghislaine told me that I need to quit my job with Mar-a-Lago because I'll be traveling with them as their traveling masseuse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And that was the beginning of hell for her. Giuffre went on to say, as she was forced to have sex with Prince
Andrew, accusations that led to an out of court settlement and ultimately cost Andrew his royal titles, all taken away by Queen Elizabeth. Giuffre's family says Virginia would have wanted all of the Epstein files released and all of the truth out there, and that decision now is in the hands of President Donald Trump, who has spoken about Giuffre.
He claimed that Epstein stole her from him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people -- he stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us. As you know, none whatsoever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump and his team's response to the investigation has raised more questions. Just listen to some of the biggest influencers on the right, on the political right, MAGA die hard, who is very influential with Trump's base, Candace Owens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANDACE OWENS, RIGHT-WING PODCASTER: Trump is implicated by his sheer deceit right now in this moment. He is being so deceitful. It's incredible. And it seems to only be getting worse because now they keep pretending that they're trying to get to the bottom of everything, but they don't actually get to the bottom of anything. They actually seem to just be covering things up. They're making moves that only reveal a deeper cover up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. You heard her say it, a cover up, and Trump is now dangling bits and pieces of information, trying to convince his base that there is no cover up. For example, the calls, his calls to release the Epstein grand jury transcripts. That's what he has said he stands for. But of course, that's not transparency, because those transcripts may provide very little information because they include the testimony from just two witnesses, an FBI agent and an NYPD detective. We know in the Epstein files, there are perhaps upwards of 1,000 survivors in there.
And, of course, the names of many people who may have known what was happening or been a part of it. They are not part of this. No one really close to Epstein was part of that at all.
So those grand jury transcripts are obviously far from the whole story. And Trump's base knows that. I mean, just listen to another influential voice in the MAGA sphere calling out Trump for dismissing the Epstein investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALEX JONES, INFOWARS HOST: Your surrogates all said they were going to bring out the Epstein stuff. It was 14 terabytes, all this stuff. You can't do 180. So, this is the fourth time he's flipflopped the last 30-something days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump's team also debating whether to release the transcripts from Maxwell's interview with Trump's deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche. Again, that -- those transcripts would not be the 100,000-plus pages of the Epstein files, which is everything, right? No, this is not. This was the interview that Blanche had with Maxwell over two days a week or so ago.
It's important to remember that Maxwell was charged with perjuring herself under oath.
[19:05:01]
She is anything but credible, given that her primary goal, of course, is to shorten and get out of a 20-year sentence that she is currently serving for what she did, to aid and abet Epstein in assaulting underage girls.
I mean, just listen to our guests who know everything there is to know about Maxwell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIGRID MCCAWLEY, ATTORNEY FOR VIRGINIA GIUFFRE, OTHER EPSTEIN ACCUSER: Listen, the one thing we know for sure is that Ghislaine Maxwell is a masterful manipulator. She lies without concern over and over and over again.
BARRY LEVINE, AUTHOR, "THE SPIDER": This is a woman who has been lying about her involvement in the sex trafficking ring for decades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And tonight, the clock is ticking. The DOJ has less than 24 hours to make its case to a New York court. About that grand jury testimony. And it comes as Democrats are now in the fray calling for a congressional hearing that includes Epstein's survivors.
Kristen Holmes is live outside the White House to begin our coverage tonight.
And, Kristen, there is a lot on the line because there are now deadlines, real legal deadlines at stake.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. The Department of Justice has to respond by noon tomorrow to Ghislaine Maxwells attorney, who opposes the unsealing of that grand jury testimony, as well as the victims, some of whom have called this the public legitimization of Ghislaine Maxwell. So now, they're going to have to respond to that. And again, remember, they are trying to get this testimony unsealed.
And we know that some of the principles of the administration in the Epstein response met at the White House last night that included Vice President J.D. Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, as well as the attorney general, Pam Bondi.
Now, of course, this was the much-anticipated dinner that we had originally reported on that they moved after we broke that story, that they were meeting to the White House. And one of the topics they discussed, of course, was the White House strategy on the response to this Epstein case. And the reason for this is because the White House really wants the entire administration to be on the same page, which they really haven't been in the past.
It has been a tumultuous several weeks for this administration, for this White House. And we know behind the scenes, there's been a lot of tension, particularly between the FBI and the DOJ, about how that material on the Epstein case, that memo came to be and how it was released.
So, now, they're trying to all be on the same page, so there aren't any more upsets or issues because they want a unified front. One of the things, of course, as we've reported that they're considering, is releasing the transcripts from the interview with the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Of course, we expect that to be they saying as early as this week, perhaps early next week, if they in fact do this. But this is another thing that was on their agenda to go over last night.
BURNETT: All right. Kristen, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, Sky and Amanda Roberts, Virginia Giuffre's brother and sister-in-law.
And we appreciate both of you so much talking about this.
Sky, we're learning tonight as Kristen's reporting that some from the Trump administration met last night at the White House. So, there's a nighttime meeting to discuss how to handle the Epstein case, which obviously has not gone as the president expected.
Pam Bondi, the attorney general, was there. The FBI Director Kash Patel, Vice President J.D. Vance, all of them, we understand, part of this.
Sky, do you think Trump and his team underestimated how much staying power this would have? And how big of a problem the Epstein investigation is for them?
SKY ROBERTS, VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S BROTHER: Yeah, I absolutely think they underestimated the power that this would have. I think what they really want is for it to go away, and the people are requesting -- the people are demanding for answers because there's a lack of transparency here. And what we're not hearing is we're not hearing the survivors voices coming through, right? And so, I think that's why a lot of people are questioning, you know,
specifically what's going on and demanding for answers here. And so, you know, absolutely, I think they have a lot of concerns for this. And I -- and I do believe it's being handled -- it's being mismanaged.
And, you know, their base is seeing that people are seeing that. Because at the end of the day, this is not a -- this is not a party issue anymore, right? This is a human issue. And I think we need to bring that back because we're dehumanizing these survivors by not bringing justice forward.
BURNETT: Amanda, you know, Virginia put her face, her life on the line for this. But we know there are at least a thousand other women mentioned in the Epstein files, right? The victims, and those who have spoken out now are calling the administration's actions part of a cover up.
You have also used those words. Why do you feel that way?
AMANDA ROBERTS, VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S SISTER-IN-LAW: I think -- I think the biggest issue that this administration has is that they're saying one thing, but then their actions are showing something completely different. So, when we first came out to speak, there was the idea that the administration said that no leniency was going to be considered.
[19:10:07]
And then the very next morning, we woke up, and Maxwell had been moved to a minimum security prison that she does not belong in for her sex trafficking crimes.
And so, it felt like this big gut, like we had been violated that next morning. And so, I think that's the biggest issue.
And we got no reasons as to why. Why did they move her? What did she -- what did she give them? That -- what deal did they negotiate for her to be moved?
Because it's very abnormal for her to be there. That is not the prison that a child sex trafficker should be in. And so, she definitely negotiated a deal.
BURNETT: I mean, it's hard to see it any other way. I mean, as you point out, she doesn't belong there. She doesn't, given her crimes. It's in a residential neighborhood. I mean, it's an extraordinary thing that happened.
I mean, Sky, I guess it comes in the context of Trump's irritation. He has become noticeably -- noticeably irritated by questions about Epstein. You know, he was, you know, even swearing about it last night. Let me play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Look, the whole thing is a hoax. It's put out by the Democrats because we've had the most successful six months in the history of our country. And that's just a way of trying to divert attention to something that's total bullshit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And, Sky, then that wasn't even the first time he'd used the word hoax. I'm not even talking about the fact that he said bullshit there in that meeting, right? I mean, he actually said that, but the word hoax, Sky, he has said it again and again, just over the past few weeks for anyone who hasn't been hearing the word repeat, let me just play.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The whole thing is a hoax.
I call it the Epstein hoax.
All my supporters want to talk about is the Jeffrey Epstein hoax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Scott, you just shared photos with us new photos with us of your sister, right? A victim, the victims here are real people, real people. Women who suffered extraordinarily over their life. Your sister lost her life this spring.
So, what do you say to someone, it's the president in this case, who calls all this a hoax?
SKY ROBERTS: It's not a hoax. I think it's pretty clear that these survivors are not hoax. These are people, and it hurts. Its, you know, they're still healing.
They were. They were -- they had something taken from them that they can never get back. And I think it's time that we take something from these powerful men that they can never get back, which is freedom.
And so, by calling it a hoax is a complete disgrace to everything that my sister has worked for. Everything these survivors have worked for and continue to fight for, and I hope -- I hope it gives them the space and I hope it actually them off, to be honest with you, enough to continue to fight and to continue to come forward, because I can tell you here in a hoax, I think we need to be very careful with how we say things and treat this with compassion.
And that feels very uncompassionate coming from somebody that's the leader of our country.
BURNETT: I mean, Amanda, your sister in law, had fought for this and put her name out there. Her name right, with the Prince Andrew case, with Ghislaine Maxwell. She put her name out there, her life on that. She lost her life. She suffered for this her whole life. She never was able to regain a normal life because of what she went through.
AMANDA ROBERTS: I think -- I think it's very damaging. It's damaging to the survivors. And she was the survivor. And so many of them are still surviving every single day.
And she took all that risk simply because it was the right thing to do. When she gave birth to her daughter and she saw her child, she knew that she had to fight, and she knew that she couldn't relent. She knew that she couldn't give up at the cost of a lot to her and to the survivors are still very much experiencing that same pain.
It's one thing to go through the trauma in your life, come forward, when they did. They were shamed. They were bullied. They were threatened.
And now, after they've gotten the justice that they so rightly deserve to have that ripped from them, and then using words like hoax, it's just -- it's gutting.
BURNETT: I can only imagine when you talk about her when she had had her first child, had a daughter and saw a daughter. And to think about what happened in her life that she then chose to take that risk.
Sky, these subpoenas that come out are supposed to be part of transparency and part of justice. So that's a good thing.
[19:15:00]
It's a good thing, right? They're close to a dozen of them, but again, they're only to a few people, a few high-profile people connected to Epstein, but only a very few of the people that we know would be on that list.
And one of the people not on that list is Alex Acosta, the federal prosecutor who made that original deal, that sweetheart deal with Epstein in 2008, right? Eight years after your sister was assaulted and went through hell, this sweetheart deal was made out by Alex Acosta at the time, who then went on to become the labor secretary for Trump in his first administration. What do you think happened here? I know you are very focused on Alex Acosta.
SKY ROBERTS: My sister was incredibly hurt by the sweetheart deal that was made to Epstein, because none of these monsters deserve any type of, you know, leniency, as they would put it, right? And so, it's just -- it continues to question this even further. It continues to put more question marks on the entire case, because if you're subpoenaing, subpoenaing people and you know about something that they may have some sort of information on, I mean, you think that they would subpoena him simply because he was the one that made the sweetheart deal with Epstein.
So, I do -- I do call on them. We do call on them to call Alex Acosta. I think it's the right thing to do for survivors. And, you know, and to be honest with you, you -- while we're at it -- I mean, I think another thing they need to do is listen to the survivors. I think they need to hear their voices. They need to see their faces. These are real people.
So, yes, I do think they should -- they should bring Alex Acosta in and have some questions because he does have information pertaining to Epstein sweetheart deal.
BURNETT: And, Amanda, the two of you have made sacrifices in your life to speak for your sister because she died just a few months ago. I mean, you're still in grief for the loss of her -- for her loss for your sister, your sister-in-law. And she can't speak now. And she didn't know that this moment would come, right? She died without knowing that.
But she was one of the most outspoken and fiercest advocates for Epstein accusers. If it weren't for her, think about where we'd be. Think about where Ghislaine Maxwell might be. Think about where Prince Andrew might be, right?
That is because of your sister. And I just want to play because she can't talk now. And I know you are bravely out here talking on her behalf, but she had spoken at some times before. I want to play a little bit of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIUFFRE: I mean, it took me having a daughter and looking at this beautiful, young, innocent baby to say, I want to speak out about it now, you know, if we can make that point across, that doesn't matter how rich you are, it doesn't matter how powerful you are. There are girls out there that will speak up. And I don't care if it's ten years later or 15 years later, whenever you're ready to do it, you do it, you know, and you protect the ones that are younger than us. You protect the ones that we didn't protect before. These guys will get it in the end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And what she said there at the end, these guys will get it in the end.
Sky, what do you think she would say if she were alive here tonight and able to speak herself?
SKY ROBERTS: She'd be screaming from the rooftops right now. She cared deeply about her survivors as their family. She cared deeply about the next generation. I think what she would be pleading to the people is that we need to hear the survivors' voices, that we need to demand for justice. We need to demand that Ghislaine Maxwell remain in prison for the rest of her life.
I think she would demand, you know, Donald Trump to take action. It's not enough to say words anymore. We have to see action come through. And right now, we are not seeing that.
I also think she would say something along the lines that we're talking about survivors, but let's make them humans. Their daughters, their sisters, and they are mothers, and they are lions. They are strong. Okay?
And it's time for us as people, okay, to start treating them like they were our own daughters and sisters and mothers. What if that happened to somebody that you love?
We shouldn't be protecting these monsters. We shouldn't be protecting people that are on this list. It's time for us to stand up and just do what's right. Because again, it's not a -- this is not a party issue. This is a human issue.
[19:20:01]
And when it comes to something, right, where somebody molests a child, right, I don't think -- there is no right or wrong here. This is -- this one side to this, right? There's -- this isn't left or right. This is -- this is the wrong thing to do.
And I think we can all agree that pedophilia in this country cannot stand pedophilia around the world cannot stand. And it is the wrong thing to do. And I think that's why it's such an issue right now across every single party, across every single person out there. And she would be screaming that from the rooftops.
And I guarantee you she is. She may not be here with us, but she is with us in spirit, and she is still fighting.
BURNETT: She's -- she's with us through both of you.
Amanda?
AMANDA ROBERTS: I don't know that I could have said it any better than that, you know. We feel this sense of because she was so strong, because she was such a lion and advocate. Even though we are in this process of grief, we can't let this stand. And, you know, we feel this passion and compelling to come forward and fill that gap and build that for the survivors and to keep going. And so we're going to keep going as long as it takes, because that's what she would do.
BURNETT: Thank you both so much.
AMANDA ROBERTS: Thank you.
SKY ROBERTS: Thank you.
BURNETT: Putting -- putting your own your own lives on hold to do this and to fight for this and to fight for as you said, there is no left. There is no right, Sky. There's just the right thing to do.
Thank you both so much. We're grateful to have the opportunity to talk to you.
And I want to go straight to Gretchen Carlson, former Fox News anchor and the co-founder of Lift Our Voices.
Also with me, Barry Levine, former editor of "The National Enquirer", author of "The Spider", about the Epstein investigation.
So, Gretchen, you know, you hear Sky and Amanda, they're suffering from the loss, right? The grieving, the loss of Virginia Giuffre. She died just a few months ago, before she knew any of this would happen. And you hear what they say, they are convinced.
And the way that it is explained, the way that the facts line up, it's hard to not see this. They're convinced there's a cover up.
GRETCHEN CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS ANCHOR: First of all, let me just say that as a survivor, I never encountered what Virginia did, and I just -- my heart goes out to the family and an incredibly emotional interview. But their emotions are so raw, and I can only imagine how unsettling it is for them to hear the president call this all a hoax.
And if I could speak to them, and I hope they're still listening, I would tell them, thank you. Thank you for keeping her memory alive. And thank you for honoring her, for the courage that she had and the legacy that she will be remembered for in keeping this story in the forefront.
And she will never be forgotten. I mean, she is the reason and so many others why we are talking about this story, and without them, we would not be having this story right now. I think what shows progress is that we're not demanding that more survivors come forward and say exactly what happened.
Why? Because as a culture, we now believe them. We believe them. And so we're demanding accountability for the perpetrators. And that shows immense progress.
And we can thank Virginia's family for that. And we can thank her for that. And all of the other survivors.
BURNETT: Yeah.
And, Barry, you see these -- the question -- nobody questions what happened here now, right? As Gretchen says, nobody questions what happened. The only thing that seems to have a question mark around it is whether we're ever going to know who else did it and who else knew about it, right?
But nobody questions the horrors that happened. And that is a significant thing. But not having justice for those who knew or partook is the issue here. And you're hearing that now, Barry, from influencers on the right, people with very loud megaphones. We just played Alex Jones and Candace Owens. They are not letting up.
BARRY LEVINE, FORMER EDITOR, NATIONAL ENQUIRER: Well, Erin, I have to say, first of all, that family is so courageous to come forward and our hearts bleed for them. And in the memory of Virginia Giuffre, I'm hoping that we'll get justice for all the survivors if we can get a look at those at the FBI files. I mean, to me, this is turning into it feels like something of a Watergate style cover up.
I don't know what the Trump administration is trying to hide here. We do know that he that the president himself is mentioned in these files. They were -- he and Jeffrey Epstein were friends for 15 years, and it's been confirmed that that he is in the file.
So, if there's embarrassing secrets, the American public needs to -- needs to hear each and every reference to him in these files. I'm hoping at this point, because they are stonewalling this. I'm hoping that -- there's a deadline tomorrow. I'm hoping that the lawmakers, on behalf of the American public and the survivors, will keep on pushing the justice department to release these files.
We know that the -- what the Trump administration wants to put out, in terms of the grand jury testimony is just a tidbit of information. We're not going to learn anything from that, but we need to look at the files.
Virginia was the first one to say there were other men involved. She was threatened by Ghislaine Maxwell at the time to speak, but she moved forward on, you know, for the sake of the other survivors. She said there were other men and that we need to get to the bottom of this.
And, you know, I applaud her. And in her memory, we have to get to the bottom of this.
BURNETT: Thank you both so very much. And next, Trump tonight claiming that the United States is cashing in from his trade war and that the tariffs are causing all this money to flow into the United States. So that becomes a crucial question then.
The tariff money that is coming in, where is it coming from? Who is paying it? So, we found someone who knows a man literally on the front line of the tariff payments and the trade war.
Plus, Kara Swisher on Apple CEO Tim Cook's golden gift to Trump. Is that just the cost of doing business now in the Trump era?
Plus, shocking images tonight of the destruction inside Gaza. CNN takes you on a dangerous mission to deliver crucial aid. You will see first OUTFRONT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:30:58]
BURNETT: Breaking news, President Trump just moments ago, calling reporters into the oval office to accuse the Biden administration of inflating jobs data. Trump, days after firing the person responsible for the government jobs report, is continuing to claim that U.S. jobs numbers were manipulated for political purposes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: There's an error. It would be one thing. I don't think it's an error. I think they did it purposely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That is, of course, false.
It comes as Trump also claims that, quote, billions of dollars are flowing into America from the tariffs. His reciprocal tariffs went into effect today. And Trump also said that billions of dollars would be coming primarily from countries that have taken advantage of the United States on trade.
So, Gene Seroka is OUTFRONT now. He is the executive director of the port of Los Angeles, which is the busiest port in the United States. So, all of those cargo ships coming from Asia, they go into L.A., they unload, and the tariffs are paid.
So, Gene, you have literally the front row seat. So, I just want to -- because this is really going to end up being important is are billions of dollars flowing into the United States right now on the tariffs. Are they coming primarily from the other countries being tariffed?
GENE SEROKA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PORT OF LOS ANGELES: Good evening, Erin.
No, they're not. Importers of record here in the United States pay those tariffs. So let me lay it out. Thousand dollars worth of goods that are purchased from China with an effective tariff rate of 55 percent, come into the port of Los Angeles. Before that importer can pick up that one container, she must pay $550 in tariffs to U.S. customs. That container is then released. That $1,000 worth of merchandise.
The $550 goes to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Thus far, since the most sweeping tariffs we've seen in 100 years were announced back in April, the treasury has about $96 billion in tariffs that it's collected from U.S. importers over the last four months. A threefold increase compared to the same time last year.
BURNETT: So more money is coming in because of the tariffs. But I just -- I'm just going to be excruciatingly clear about this. But it is being paid by the American side of the equation.
SEROKA: It is being paid by the American importer. So, your big box retailer home improvement store, the corner drugstore that imports from overseas, located on my street or main street, pays those tariffs.
BURNETT: Okay. Well, that's obviously crucial. Thats not, of course, what they're saying. But its hugely important for the U.S. economy.
The Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is also talking about the money that's coming in from tariffs. And as you're pointing out, there's $96 billion, three times more than a year ago. Money is coming in. Well, actually, I should say coming into the U.S. Treasury from U.S. companies.
So he's predicting that its going to be even more money soon. Let me play what he just said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: Last month, it averaged just over $30 billion. And as of last night, midnight, the tariffs went up. I think we're going to be heading towards $50 billion a month in tariff revenue that no one has talked about except for the president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay, Gene. So do you think -- I guess two things. One is that number reasonable, $50 billion a month. And second, as you see it, is that money also going to be coming from American businesses, which then would come at the cost of American profits? American shareholders, American employees, you know, wherever it happens, Americans.
SEROKA: Yeah, it is possible unless imports take a nosedive. Like they just may after the month of August. What we've seen, Erin, is leading up to this latest deadline, which has been moved several times. We saw an all-time record for cargo in the month of June at the port of Los Angeles, and July will be our best month in the 117-year history.
[19:35:02]
August looks pretty good, too. But thereafter, I think we've built up so much inventory and tried to get in under the wire of these new and higher tariffs. Imports will drop. That $50 billion number is not really out of reach right now. Just depending on the volume of imports. But all of it will be paid by importers and American companies.
BURNETT: Which is a pretty stunning thing to think about in the broader conversation of the American economy. Inflation and all of the crucial impacts of this.
Gene, thank you very much for putting the facts out there. We appreciate that. Thank you.
And next, "South Park's" scathing new episode, which mocked Trump, is striking a nerve inside the White House. A very raw nerve.
And Paramount's new CEO, who Trump is watching closely, just spoke out to CNN. We're going to tell you what he said.
Plus, inside the dangerous mission to deliver aid to the suffering people of Gaza.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:40:11]
BURNETT: Breaking news, the new head of Paramount telling CNN he is standing by "South Park" after another utterly scathing episode about the Trump administration. The latest episode, hitting a nerve, prompting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to publicly respond to "South Park's" unflattering portrayal of her.
Here she is with Glenn Beck.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Yeah, it never ends. But it's so lazy to just constantly make fun of women for how they look. Only the liberals and the extremists do that. It's --
GLENN BECK, HOST, THE GLENN BECK PROGRAM: Yeah.
NOEM: If they wanted to criticize my job, go ahead and do that. But clearly, they can't. They just pick something petty like that.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: "South Park", which is not let up on its brutal criticism of Trump week after week, is the number one streamed show in the United States right now. The number one streamed show. So, people are watching this, and that is something the White House, which tried to dismiss the show as irrelevant, saying no one watched it, which of course is factually inaccurate. They don't want to hear it.
Brian Stelter is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP CHARACTER: Satan, meet the new face of homeland security.
CHARACTER: Whoa! Oh my god.
SATAN CHARACTER: I just want to go. This place is gross.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST (voice-over): "South Park" insulting Mar-a-Lago, Trump's manhood, VP J.D. Vance. And this week, reserving most of its scorn for --
NOEM CHARACTER: Welcome to the team recruits. I'm Kristi Noem, head of homeland security.
STELTER: The show drawing from a real-life scandal. A few years ago, I had to put my puppy down by shooting it in the face because sometimes doing what's important means doing what's hard.
Turning dog deaths into a theme of the episode.
CHARACTER: Mr. Mackey.
STELTER: When Trump budget cuts caused the school counselor to look for a job with ICE --
NOEM CHARACTER: All right, recruits, this is it. We're heading to a location that might be filled with illegals. Let's take these bad hombres down.
STELTER: "South Park" emerging this summer as one of the Trump administration's fiercest critics.
CHARACTER: Remember, only detain the brown ones.
STELTER: One reviewer saying, you can feel Matt Stone and Trey Parker's disdain in every frame.
The creators of "South Park" let it rip two weeks ago, leading the White House to claim the show, quote, "hasn't been relevant for over 20 years." But actually --
TRUMP CHARACTER: Hey buddy, welcome to Mar-a-Lago.
CHARACTER: Oh, thank you, Mr. President.
J.D. VANCE CHARACTER: Hey. What did he say?
CHARACTER: Hey, will you get out of here?
STELTER: "South Park" ratings are way up.
TRUMP: I want to make you the new face of homeland security.
CHARACTER: But, Mr. President, I thought Kristi Noem was the face of homeland security.
TRUMP: Yeah, she was, but her face freaks me out. So what do you say?
STELTER: And social chatter is through the roof.
CHARACTER: I'm proud to work for the ICE.
CHARACTERS: Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If you need a job, it's a job to have.
STELTER: And Trump officials are trying to show they're in on the jokes, not just the butt of them.
Vance posting on X today, well, I've finally made it.
NOEM CHARACTER: So let's get out there and get them, recruits. Together, we can make it happen.
STELTER: All of this creating corporate intrigue, since "South Park" airs on Paramount's Comedy Central and Paramount just cut a deal with Trump, the $16 million legal settlement was widely seen as a payoff in exchange for the Trump FCC approving Paramount's merger with Skydance, though Paramount denied any connection.
The merger took effect this morning with the FCC's lone Democrat Anna Gomez calling it a company born in shame.
ANNA GOMEZ, COMMISSIONER, FCC: What we saw in this Paramount/Skydance transaction was the company capitulated in a very cowardly manner to the demands of this administration. We need a checked power, not unchecked power, in order to maintain our democratic norms.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STELTER (on camera): So Gomez telling CNN that media moguls are betraying the public's trust. You know, Paramount recently canceled big name Trump critic Stephen Colbert's show. So, what about "South Park"? Well, today I asked the company's new CEO, David Ellison, if "South Park's" scathing Trump criticism is a problem for the company.
Ellison indicated, no, it's not. He praised the show's creators. He told me he's been a fan of the show for decades, and he said, quote, they are equal opportunity offenders and always have been.
There is one big difference between Stephen Colbert and "South Park". "The Late Show" was losing money for years, while "South Park" is in Ellison's words, highly profitable and a huge hit on streaming -- Erin.
BURNETT: Number one show in America right now.
All right, Brian, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, the one and only Kara Swisher, host of the podcasts "On with Kara Swisher" and "Pivot".
[19:45:00]
And, Kara, so all this talk of David Ellison defending "South Park:", you were actually with him today. You were with David Ellison.
KARA SWISHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah. So is Brian.
BURNETT: And the whole management team earlier today. And, yeah, and he was -- he's standing by "South Park".
SWISHER: Yeah.
BURNETT: I mean, do you buy that in the context of Colbert and everything else? "
SWISHER: Well, that was the previous administration. They just bought it this morning. Just remember, it was, you know, early this morning where the transaction completed. So they didn't -- they didn't complete -- they didn't own it until today.
So, now, they can talk about it. And he supported it there. He certainly did. And as he said he's a fan of it. It's funny. So -- and it's a big hit. And they -- just the previous owners paid $20 billion I guess to keep them there.
And so, they have to support them. They're in business with "South Park". And "South Park" is funny. And so, I don't -- I think they won't have a problem supporting them in this case. In this case, because it makes money.
BURNETT: So as you say, the -- right, right. And as he said, number one show on streaming, I mean it'd be -- it'd be pretty hard to find an excuse to get rid of that one, even if you were looking for it.
SWISHER: Yeah, but they're not.
BURNETT: But that merger did just close today. Right? And it's gotten -- right. It's gotten so much attention because of all this, right? It took a whole lot to actually get to where we are right now, including that $16 million settlement with Trump against CBS and "60 Minutes", canceling Colbert, which, of course, they did say was a financial decision. But obviously one Trump applauded and has now said that was so great. Get rid of all these other late night hosts on other networks.
They eliminated the DEI programs. They created a new ombudsman to field complaints of bias and Ellison today said, quote, today marks day one of a new Paramount.
So, Kara, I mean, just, you know, call it like, you see, it is this new Paramount when people are worried about free press and corporate CEOs bending the knee to Trump. Is Paramount about pleasing Trump?
SWISHER: I think that we'll see. We'll have to see. They just bought it.
I just -- I can't you know, ultimately a lot of those deals you were talking about, they were all Shari Redstone in order to get the deal done. She wanted to get her money. She had declining assets. It went from 8 to 10. Her value. And so, she did all those deals. The previous group of people who owned it.
Now we'll see what he does when he owns it and what he thinks about it. He definitely went out of his way today to be nonpolitical, whatsoever. He was -- he would not answer questions about that. He did give support to journalism. He did give support to CBS News.
His first meeting was with CBS News and "60 Minutes". So that's -- and he said that's an indication. If that's an indication, that's who I met with first.
George Cheeks, who runs the network, defended the closing of "The Colbert Show" as a monetary financial one. Other people argue with him about that. But he did continue with that line today.
You know, we'll see. We'll have to see. You can't say someone's going to do something until they actually do it.
BURNETT: Yeah.
SWISHER: And so, they've put a lot of money in here, including the Elisons. So we'll see if what happens when they do that.
BURNETT: I remember up, Carrie, you and I, various conversations we've had so far this year. You know, we talked about inauguration and you know, how Zuckerbergs there and Tim Cook is there and Bezos is there. And everybody was there to be on the right side of Trump.
So then caught my eye yesterday in the middle of, you know, Trump was answering questions about Epstein being a hoax, okay? But the person I looked at the first an image and I said, wait, what's Tim Cook doing there? Because it all happened when Tim Cook was there.
Tim Cook went to see Trump, CEO of Apple, in the center of the whole tariff imbroglio, and he gives Trump a plaque. And the plaque comes -- happens to come on a 24-carat gold base. So, when Cook hands it to Trump, his hands are almost --
(CROSSTALK)
SWISHER: I'm just saying -- you're saying it happened.
BURNETT: His hands are trembling, Cook. They picked it for that.
SWISHER: They picked the gold.
BURNETT: Yeah. So, and he talked about he said, oh it was made in the United States right. For Trump. You it wasn't imported from China. It was designed by a former U.S. marine who works at Apple.
So, look, this whole Trump and Cook being together and Trump now said, oh, you know, gosh, this is so amazing. Cook is so amazing, so different than what he was saying about Cook in May and the center of the tariff war. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. I said to him, Tim, you're my friend. I treated you very good. You're coming in with $500 million. But now I hear you're building all over India. I don't want you building in India.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now he's got the plaque and everything. I mean, is this what it takes to do business with Trump? You got to go in and have this personal meeting and give him a really fancy gold plaque.
SWISHER: Yes. That's what it takes to do business with Trump. I don't know what to say. I mean, obviously, it was -- it was kind of laughable.
And, you know, Tim is a very strong CEO. He's done very well by his shareholders and he's focused on his shareholders. And if it what it takes to give Donald Trump a trinket, he'll give him a trinket. That's just really what's happening here.
You know, they have said they were going to invest various amounts of money previously and made announcements, and it didn't really become that big. A lot of these things are press releases for these companies, in order to get on the good side of Trump, it will satisfy Trump, and then he may give him a break on tariffs.
[19:50:00]
He's done that before.
You know, Cook is very -- Apple is very exposed in China and other places. And so, they've got to get some relief. And so all -- what he has to do is visit Donald Trump and hand him another piece of gold for that office. He's going to do it.
And so are all these people. I just -- I know, I know you're shocked, but you're shocked that gambling is going on in this place.
BURNETT: I'm not shocked. Yeah. No, I mean, I'm not shocked. I guess it makes sense. They're doing the right thing for their company.
But of course --
SWISHER: Correct.
BURNETT: -- there's the right thing in the small, and that might be the wrong thing in the big. I guess it's the struggle with all of that.
All right. Kara, thank you so much.
SWISHER: They have shareholders. Just remember that. And that's their constituency, whether you like it or not. So --
BURNETT: Right.
All right, Kara, thank you very much.
And next, shocking new video of the ruins inside Gaza as CNN takes you on the dangerous mission to get aid to the people who are struggling to survive.
Plus, a setback for Trump's so-called Alligator Alcatraz. Why a judge just put a stop to construction at that facility?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news, large protests erupting across Israel, with some protesters clashing with police after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel said he intends for the military to completely take over and occupy the Gaza Strip.
This comes as CNN rides, along with a daring mission to bring much needed aid to a starving population in Gaza.
Our Matthew Chance is there with this special report OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the pristine skies over Gaza, a clear view of the destruction below.
Journalists are still blocked by Israel from freely entering this devastated strip of land. But CNN flew over with the Jordanian military in a cargo plane loaded with aid, an effort to meet acute shortages amid a partial land blockade.
Well, there's been criticism of these international humanitarian aid flights that drops into Gaza. People take their insufficient. They don't deliver enough aid, that there's to the people on the ground and that they're purely symbolic and don't need any, practically all of that may be true, but amid an intense starvation crisis in Gaza, the six and a half tons of milk powder, canned food will be dropping out of the back of this Jordanian plane that was shortly, maybe the difference for some people between the life and death.
[19:55:25]
But viewed from the ground, these aid drops are also a mixed blessing. Sending desperate Palestinians scrambling, even fighting each other for food. It's a humiliation, an injustice, says this man.
All I got was a ripped bag of lentils, and this carton of tomato paste, says another. Amidst the rubble. It's just not enough, he adds.
From 2,000 feet, those individual hardships are impossible to see. But you do get a sweeping view of what nearly two years of Israeli bombardment has done.
Well, I've spent this flight as much as I can looking out the window at Gaza Strip below, and I can tell you from the air, you get a stunning view of the complete devastation in the Gaza Strip. We've been flying over neighborhoods that I've reported from over many years of going in and out of Gaza, and I can tell you those places were bustling areas, teeming with life people, children, cars and other traffic, bustling street markets.
And you look at them now from above, and it's just utter devastation across vast areas of the Gaza Strip. It's shocking.
Shocking desert of ruins where so many are now struggling to survive.
Matthew Chance, CNN, in the skies over Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Reporting from Matthew Chance.
And next, the breaking news. A judge just delivering a temporary blow to Trump's so-called Alligator Alcatraz. We'll be right back with that breaking news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news, a setback tonight for Trump's so-called Alligator Alcatraz, a federal judge just now ordering the construction on the facility halted, halted for two weeks. While she considers whether the new migrant detention center in the middle of the Florida Everglades violates environmental laws, the Trump officials have been continuing to build out the site. But those plans are now on hold, as I said this two weeks to evaluate it.
This development from the judge coming as we have new video of federal agents launching a surprise raid in the parking lot of a Home Depot in California, the agents jumping out of Penske trucks. This is new footage of that angle, and you can see it.
Penske is now speaking out, responding, quote, Penske strictly prohibits the transportation of people in the cargo area of its vehicles under any circumstances. The company was not made aware that its trucks would be used in today's operation, and did not authorize this.
We'll see where this goes.
Thanks so much for joining us.
"AC360" starts now.
