Return to Transcripts main page
Erin Burnett Outfront
White House Says Putin Willing To Meet Zelenskyy, Kremlin Does Not Commit; Maxwell's Life Behind Bars; Trump's Trade War Hits Hard. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired August 19, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:23]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Falling for Putin. The White House says the Putin-Zelenskyy meeting is on. The Kremlin tonight saying not so fast, as Trump tonight is talking about Putin in some of what actually is his most glowing terms yet.
Plus, Ghislaine Maxwell's life behind bars. Fresh details about what the other inmates think of the notorious new resident, and why some will not even utter her name out loud.
Someone who's been talking to the inmates is going to tell you what is being said in there. It's incredible.
And Einstein and Ives tonight. Trump's trade war hitting close to home for them. We'll explain on that whiteboard.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, falling for Putin. The White House tonight claiming that it is full speed ahead for Putin to meet Zelenskyy face to face.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I understand accommodations for that meeting are underway. The president has spoken to both leaders about this, and both leaders have expressed a willingness to sit down with each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay, a willingness to sit down with each other, but maybe not so fast.
Listen to Russia's foreign minister today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Step by step, gradually starting from the expert level and then going through all the necessary stages in order to prepare for the summits. This is the kind of serious approach we will always support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay, that is a long and windy way of saying this meeting is not on the calendar, not even close to being on the calendar.
But Trump wants it to be on the calendar. And really, within just a couple of weeks, he wants it desperately. So, he is laying it on really thick. He is talking about Putin and truly, what is the most glowing terms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (via telephone): You saw that when he got off his plane, I got off my plane. There's a warmth there that you can't -- you know, there's a -- there's a decent feeling and that's a good thing. Not a bad thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Warmth and decent feeling. I mean, it is almost -- it's almost as if he's writing sort of a late night. Do those still exist scripts? I mean, this is Putin. The Trump is talking about the same dictator who invades other countries jails and assassinates his rivals, poisons them, poisons anybody in the opposition, engages in mass murder of civilians.
This is the same person that the world has seen in action for decades. And yet Trump is bending over backwards right now for Putin. Listen to his explanation about why he didn't call Putin in front of European leaders yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I didn't do it in front of them. I thought that would be disrespectful to President Putin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay, so he said it. He didn't do it because he didn't want to disrespect Putin. Someone that Trump thinks has his back. I mean, just listen to the president in that hot mic moment that he didn't expect the world to hear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think he wants to make a deal for me. Do you understand that? As crazy as it sounds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: It is crazy to think that Putin actually would want to make a deal and to do it because for Trump, as a favor to Trump. But of course, Trump's focus on Putin spans more than a decade. I mean, if you go all the way back to June of 2013, so I'm talking
more than a decade ago, Trump tweeted, do you think Putin will be going to the Miss Universe pageant in November in Moscow? If so, will he become my new best friend? Well, Trump does seem to be doing everything in his power to cozy up to Putin to get the outcome that he wants, right?
I mean, there's a strategy there. It's not just in that Trump trusts. He is sounding like Putin, too, when it comes to the war, and we've pointed out times in the past when he's done that about NATO as an excuse for Putin's invasion. But today, he said something very explicit, and it basically blaming Ukraine for starting the war. Let me play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's not a war that should have been started. You don't do that. You don't take -- you don't take on a nation that's ten times your size.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Of course, Ukraine did not take on a nation ten times its size. Ukraine was invaded by a nation ten times its size and defended itself, right? So, the script there is backwards, but it is not the first time that we have heard Trump parrot this Putin talking point that Ukraine somehow asked for it, that Ukraine somehow started this three-and-a-half-year war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.
You don't start a war against somebody that's 20 times your size, and then hope that people give you some missiles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Ten times, 20 times, whatever. The reality is, Ukraine didn't start the war. Putin did.
Well, when all those things that Trump said, though, do sound a whole lot like Putin and Putin's narrative about Ukraine.
[19:05:04]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): They did not leave us any other option for defending Russia and our people, other than the one we are forced to use today. In these circumstances, we have to take bold and immediate action.
BURNETT: Of course, Putin said this again and again, blamed Ukraine for leaving him no option but to defend himself and Russia from an invasion that didn't come from Ukraine. Of course, Putin's invasion was not about defending Russia. It was
about getting more land. Thats what it was about. It was about Putin reinstating parts of the USSR and what he viewed as the Russian empire. Ukraine is a core part of that to him.
And when I went to the front lines of the war in Ukraine with Zelenskyy, we actually spoke about some of the land that Putin had seized. And in this one exchange, we talked about Crimea specifically, and we did that because where we were sitting, when you see this conversation, you can actually see Crimea off in the distance. We were in Odessa.
Here's what Zelenskyy said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We cannot imagine Ukraine without Crimea. And while Crimea is under Russian occupation, it means only one thing war is not over yet.
BURNETT: To be clear, in victory, in peace, is there any scenario where Crimea is not part of Ukraine?
ZELENSKYY: It will not be victory then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, it's very clear now again that that was two summers ago. That wasn't last summer before, but Crimea part. Never mind the Donbas, right. Putin wants Crimea. He wants the Donbas. He wants much, much more.
Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT live outside the White House to begin our coverage tonight.
Kristen, we look at that map and all of the part in red that Putin wants to take. For now, right? Obviously, the goal for Putin is very clear that he wants much more of Ukraine than even that. How long is Trump willing to wait right now, Kristen, to see if this meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy actually happens?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, that's a good question. One I posed to the Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt today to say, how long is he willing to operate in good faith?
I mean, just a reminder of how much things changed between yesterday morning and yesterday evening. Yesterday morning, we heard from European leaders and President Trump saying the goal of yesterday's negotiations to come out of that was a trilateral meeting. By the end of the day, it was all about this bilateral meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin.
When I asked Karoline Leavitt, how long is Trump willing to wait, essentially, for Putin to actually arrange this? She gave no timeline, but instead she said that Trump has put tremendous public pressure on ending this war. She said that he had scoffed at leaders who said that they wanted to wait or have these meetings in months. That was something he said on Fox News earlier today, that he was the one pushing for these meetings to happen quickly.
And at one point, he said, she said that he has offered sanctions or put sanctions on India and other sanctions as well. Of course, I believe the only sanctions that have gone into place are on India. They were going to put into place another round of secondary sanctions. But then the meeting came up between Putin and Trump.
So, unclear how long he's willing to wait. But it doesn't seem as though this is something that can happen as quickly as Trump and the White House are suggesting, particularly given that we don't even have public confirmation from Putin that he is going to sit down with Zelenskyy in this bilateral meeting.
BURNETT: Yeah, yeah. Pretty incredible. And you heard Lavrov saying, well, no, first you have the experts and then you have this, and then you have this. And there's the way these things are done.
And, you know, we all know what that means is a really long time until the top principals sit down, if ever.
Kristen, thank you very much.
I want to go now to Putin's former deputy minister of energy, Vladimir Milov, who obviously has worked with him and knows him, left Russia at the beginning of this war and protest.
Mr. Milov, I appreciate your time.
So, I guess just to cut to the bottom line here, you heard what Lavrov said. Does Vladimir Putin have any intention of meeting one on one with Volodymyr Zelenskyy anytime soon?
VLADIMIR MILOV, FORMER RUSSIAN DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY: Good evening, Erin. Great to be back on your show.
I think Putin will try to avoid that at any cost. It is not excluded that being pressed by Trump, he will have the meeting at the end. But first, I think for Putin is going to be a serious blow for his stature as he presents himself for the Russian society, his own elite. He wants to make it look like he's the one of supreme global leaders, great powers, which are dividing zones of influence in the world and sitting equally at the same table with the president of Ukraine. I don't think that that's a picture that fits into that supremacy image. He was more happy with being hosted by Trump the way it happened on Friday.
Second problem here is that Zelenskyy actually might say to Putin's face and call him out on all the disinformation and lies that Putin is spreading on whatever issues.
[19:10:04]
Russian, Ukrainian joint history or NATO enlargement or war crimes. What's going on on the battlefield? Putin won't like that. So when Putin talks to Trump, Trump doesn't know no better. So he's in a difficult position to challenge Putin on his lies.
Zelenskyy can't do that. So that will be an unpleasant. And I think this is actually why I think that Putin will try to do his best to avoid a face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy.
BURNETT: I mean, just to imagine in Zelenskyy obviously has no fear, as we saw in his original meeting in the oval office, right when facts are said or things are said which are not factual, he will correct them as he did then. But, you know, you talk about how Putin wants to be seen in the world stage. As one of the great powers. And certainly that's, that is what he was afforded on Friday in Alaska.
I want to play again for you, Mr. Milov, what Trump said today about his meeting in Alaska with Putin. One very specific thing stands out. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You saw that when he got off his plane, I got off my plane. Theres a warmth there that you can't -- you know, there's a -- there's a decent feeling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: You know, when I heard that, of course I am not alone in this. I hearkened back to when then President Bush met Putin for the first time, and infamously and unforgettably said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: And I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy, and we had a very good dialog. I was able to get a sense of his soul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Bush later said he regretted that, right? But it's an unforgettable moment because -- well, I mean, we all saw what happened in history after Bush said that. And now Trump is saying it now.
I mean, do you think that Putin is really fooling Trump? I mean, do you think that Trump really thinks this, or do you think there's another reason that Trump seems to take Putin's side so frequently?
MILOV: Putin is a very skilled manipulator. He was taught exactly that, you know, with his KGB background and the way he came to power, basically, he also has, more than a quarter of a century of experience in power. He worked with old global leaders in the past two and a half decades. So, he knows how to manipulate people.
Also, sorry to say, but the current United States president is not the hardest person in the world to be manipulated. So, I think for Putin, it was a relatively easy exercise. But, you know, I was appalled because warmth through the blood of Putin's victims is still warm on his hands. Thats the warmth we're talking about.
BURNETT: Mm-hmm. Painfully and poetically put.
Vladimir, I want to play what the treasury secretary of the U.S., Secretary Scott Bessent, said today about the Putin-Trump meeting in Alaska. He was, on I believe it was with Joe Kernen this morning on CNBC. Let me play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, SECRETARY OF STATE: Alaska was a show of force by President Trump. He invited President Putin to land that the Russians used to own. He displayed a huge amount of military hardware and then did a flyover. It was kind of like inviting your uncontrollable neighbor to your house and showing him your gun case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Bessent saying that basically to say, you know, that's how you show your uncontrollable neighbor who's boss, I've got the guns, I've got the gun case, you know, you got to back off and be scared of me. Is that how Putin saw it?
MILOV: Pretty exotic interpretation to me because like among Eurasian dictatorships, military flyover is a sign of respect. And this is actually -- if you -- my advice is always to listen to what the Russian propaganda is saying. There is almost universal cheer about what happened in Alaska on Friday, and the flyover was greatly, very much taken as a sign of respect by Trump to Putin, particularly if put together with all the other pieces of the puzzle, like Trump's standing there on a carpet, applauding while waiting for Putin. That's the time when the flyover actually happened.
So, no, there was there was nothing disrespectful. In fact, Russian propaganda took it as a sign of major honor given by President Trump to Vladimir Putin.
BURNETT: Which is such an context.
Vladimir Milov, thank you very much. Always a pleasure to see you. And thank you, as always, for staying up so very late, as I know you do when we talk. So thank you.
All right. Dan Rice is with me, former special adviser to the commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces, along with Adam Kinzinger. Of course, you know him. The former Republican congressman. Also, I want to note, in the context of the conversation, former air national guard pilot who flew missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
So, thanks so much to both of you.
So, dan, you hear Vladimir Milov saying that the military flyover among Eurasian dictators is an ultimate sign of honor and respect.
[19:15:01]
Not a "I'm going to bring my uncontrollable neighbor in and show him my gun case and show him who's boss". DAN RICE, ADVISES UKRAINE ARMED FORCES: Yes.
BURNETT: That understanding the context of the person you're trying to intimidate is really important. He says that's -- that they categorically failed to do that.
I know you just returned from Ukraine. So in that context, and when Ukrainians hear Trump talk about this warmth, this warmth between him and Putin, what do they hear?
RICE: You know, I think there's a lot of consternation amongst Ukrainians right now, especially with the Alaska meeting. Their -- the flyover, certainly, the Russian propaganda is saying that was a salute to Putin. I personally think it was an intimidation play that that B- 52, B-2.
BURNETT: Certainly intended to be one. It's what it was received as it matters.
RICE: I agree. I think Russian propaganda is spinning it, but I think Putin got the message. You know, it was to start off the meeting that, you know, the U.S. is here, that B-2 probably was the one that bombed Iran and took out their nuclear facilities. So, you know, Russia has not developed any new weapon systems since the Soviet Union.
That's why it was so interesting that Lavrov would bring the CCP, USSR sweatshirt. I mean, they basically -- one of the reasons they want to take Ukraine is because Ukraine was the best part of the Soviet Union. Most of the ships were built in Mykolaiv. All the ICBMs were built in Dnipro. The tanks were built in Kharkiv.
BURNETT: Crimea, yeah.
RICE: Crimea. All of the best weapons from the Soviet Union were built. So, they're trying to bring it back. But Ukraine is standing up because of all of this. The great intellectual capital and the great industry.
BURNETT: Yeah. So, so, Congressman Kinzinger, when you hear Trump talk about the warmth between him and Putin, I mean, I was saying I immediately harken back to the George W. Bush moment. I'm sure many did. What did you hear?
ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's just nonsense. It's just what I hear is a man that gets so incredibly manipulated. I mean, I'm sure to the extent his advisers actually advise him and actually prep him on anything, I'm sure the professionals were like, sir, he's going to come in and try to be very warm with you. That's a -- that's a tactic, that's a trick. And Trump fell for it. He falls for it every time.
Or there's just a natural affection. It's one of the two. But certainly, it was not -- what was needed. We need to be clear.
I personally thought the flyover was not to intimidate, but who really knows? But we need to be very clear to Russia. You have an opportunity to end this war. Or we're going to double down with Ukraine. It's that simple.
Russia is losing this war. They've lost a million people three and a half years into it, and have 20 percent of the country. When one week into this war, they had 30 percent of the country, if we would have been sitting in this position against Iraq, people would be saying, say, were losing. So, this is the time to step down extra heavy.
BURNETT: And, Dan, can I just ask you about that? Because no matter where we are and I mean, I'm loathe to even say it, but it seems in one sense, look, you got to diplomatically try to end this, okay? However, it seems that what everything that's being talked about is Vladimir Putin wins. The question is by how much?
RICE: I don't think --
BURNETT: He's getting -- I mean, right? He's getting parts of Ukraine, then he's being rewarded for invading a country next to him. And there's been nothing on the table where he does except for Zelenskyy, who at least maybe he's changed his mind now but has always said no.
RICE: That's true. Zelenskyy has said no land ever.
I do think that that if you look at the style on Trump that that there's a lot of people that are upset with the way it was done. But the outcomes, I think is what I focus on. And that's what I talk to Ukrainians about, is like, look, you this is the first time we've ever had discussion dialogue at the highest level for potential peace. We're closer than we ever have.
The Europeans coming together like this has never been seen before. Ukrainians are so proud that all the European leaders came to the White House to show support. That's huge progress.
BURNETT: Yeah.
RICE: And the key is the next step. We have a either a bilateral. I don't think Putin will allow that ever. Just like your prior guest said. But I think we'll need to have a trilateral with Trump involved.
It's the only way we can get to peace. But I think right now, we're about to crush Russia, just like we crushed the Soviet Union economically. And with these new sanctions against India, the secondary sanctions, they've had an 11-fold increase in their in their oil imports from Russia. That's fueling the Russian war machine. We stopped them. Those go into effect next week and we stop the fueling of the whole war. And that will crush Russia, just like we crushed the Soviet Union.
BURNETT: Well, and let's see if they go into effect. I just say that because there's been a lot of talk about tariffs, et cetera., they don't necessarily go into effect. I hear you, if they do next week, we'll see.
Congressman, I wanted to ask you something Trump had said about the start of the war, but he actually just was on a radio show a moment ago. The president was and he was talking about the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and he said something that I have to play for you. Youve got to hear this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He's a war hero because we work together. He's a war hero. I guess I am, too. You know, nobody cares. But I am, too. I mean, I sent those planes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: When I said at the top, Adam, that I wanted to mention that you had flown missions over Iraq and Afghanistan, I didn't think that I would be putting you in the position of having to comment on Trump calling himself a war hero, but here we are.
[19:20:04]
KINZINGER: Yeah. I mean, look, this is just nuts. This is nuts. And they're going to find his people are going to find a way to justify this.
Listen, when they were putting out a -- something honoring the Army's 250th anniversary, they put out a picture of Donald Trump in his military academy uniform, which has nothing to do with the military except they drill you. This is nuts. He's not a war hero.
You can like what he's done. That's fine. I hope he gets a resolution in Ukraine. But to put himself on the same level of people that have actually gone out and served this country, not claimed bone spurs is an offense to anybody who served.
And frankly, you just take somebody that served calling themselves a war hero even that would be inappropriate for a guy that never served to say it, it's nuts. But somebody, they'll defend it, they'll find a way.
BURNETT: Well, you're probably right about that, but you're also right about something really important, which is the humility that defines a war hero. Right? The humility of the fact that someone who's a war hero would never call themselves that.
All right. Thank you both very much.
And next, walking on eggshells. Incredible new details tonight about how Ghislaine Maxwell's fellow inmates are feeling now that she's in the same facility. Some will not even say her name out loud. Will someone who has been speaking with them next?
Plus, Trump's trade war hitting close to home for a member of the OUTFRONT team. Dan Ives, you know, his unique sartorial splendor, his sartorial splendor, I call it now, his new clothing business is getting pummeled by the tariffs.
And Chinese President Xi Jinping seizing the moment as Trump is close to Putin, hoping for a once in a lifetime opportunity that Trump may well be handing him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:26:07]
BURNETT: Tonight. A top Republican senator demanding the truth on Jeffrey Epstein. Senator Tommy Tuberville, a staunch Trump ally, pounding the table for more transparency, telling CNN, and I quote him, I hope we all get the truth. I mean, my people back in Alabama want some clarity on Epstein, on Diddy, on Russiagate, COVID, when somebody's going to have handcuffs put on them and be indicted.
This as Republican lawmakers are facing furious constituents over the investigation. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik was booed off the stage twice at an event in her district overnight.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
BURNETT: It comes as the top Democrat on the oversight committee, Congressman Robert Garcia, today accused the DOJ of fueling a, quote, White House coverup of cherry-picking information and releasing in batches the material related to Epstein and his convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell, of course, has suddenly been moved without any explanation right after her interview with the deputy head of the DOJ. She was moved from a maximum-security prison in Florida to a lower security facility in a residential neighborhood in Texas after her two days of meetings with the Trump DOJ.
OUTFRONT now, Sam Mangel, a federal prison consultant who has clients at the very same facility where Ghislaine Maxwell is incarcerated tonight, and Barry Levine, of course, everyone knows him here. Former editor of "The National Enquirer" and the author of "The Spider", about the Epstein investigation.
There's your new cover, Barry.
All right. So, Sam, I mean, this is incredible what you know, here. Because you have clients in this facility. I know you've spoken to inmates. You've spoken to families of inmates who have been in the facility with Maxwell.
What are they? I guess lets just start with -- what are they not telling you? What are they afraid to tell you?
SAM MANGEL, FEDERAL PRISON CONSULTANT: So, I have three clients that have -- two are currently there. One got out about a week after Maxwell got there. Let's start with her.
She got out, and I was actually able to have a frank conversation with her where she pointed out that she was warned point blank not to discuss Ms. Maxwell in any form or fashion, whether that's email or over the phone, both of which, keep in mind, are monitored forms of communication.
BURNETT: Right. MANGEL: The other two young ladies that are there will not say anything over the phone or email to me. So, after speaking with their families who had a chance to visit, they were also told that orders came down from the top.
And keep in mind, its a warden's responsibility to maintain the safety and security of the facility. But to the degree that you're currently seeing at Bryan, I've never heard of this where inmates are being told under no circumstances are you to discuss any aspect of Ms. Maxwell being here. Certainly not to the press, but not on any form of communication which, even with other high-profile inmates, I've never seen it to quite this degree.
BURNETT: I mean, that's pretty incredible that you're saying -- you've never seen anything to this degree. And that they're -- you know, the one inmate who was able to speak was able to tell you some of this, right, and then the ones who aren't are doing exactly what she said they would do, right? They're not -- they're literally not mentioning her name. I mean, it's pretty stunning, Sam.
And I think in the context of you having clients who are in that facility and have just come out of it, people want to understand how Maxwells life has changed because I know it has changed remarkably, right? And for the better. When she moved from the maximum security prison in Florida to Bryan, Texas.
So, when we say minimum security, I know that doesn't just mean no bars, right? I mean, it means, I mean Pilates?
MANGEL: So, I was preparing, young lady to surrender today to a different camp.
[19:30:02]
And I explained to her she's allowed outside from 6:00 in the morning to 9:00 at night. Whether it's on the athletic field, to take yoga classes, Pilates, some camps have pickleball, depending upon the facilities of the camp. It's pretty much, you know, freedom where you can't leave.
If you leave. And you certainly can't escape, you're going to be a fugitive. So barring that, she has unfettered privileges within the camp and freedom which she didn't have at Tallahassee.
There are no cells. It's dormitory style housing where there's no controlled movement. She would be considered community custody, which means if a work release program. And there is one of Bryan, although it's my understanding they're not -- she's not eligible for it. She can go and take nursing classes to get an assistant nursing degree.
There's a puppy program. And I was told that she's not eligible for that at the direction of canine companions, which is the group that runs the puppy program at that camp.
BURNETT: Barry, you're shaking your head as you hear all of this. BARRY LEVINE, AUTHOR, "THE SPIDER": Yeah. It is disgusting to hear the
privileges that this woman now has in Bryan, Texas. This is a woman who groomed and sexually abused these young girls for Jeffrey Epstein, and with Jeffrey Epstein. And I would think that the survivors out there who are listening to this broadcast are absolutely appalled at the freedoms that she's getting behind bars. She's not even behind bars.
BURNETT: Six a.m. to 9:00 p.m. allowed to be outside the facility with complete freedom on the grounds.
LEVINE: Yeah. I mean, this is just horrible. And we still don't have an explanation for the move. We're still waiting to hear about that nine-hour interview that she did with Todd Blanche in Florida. Let's get to exactly what she said.
They said they were going to release those transcripts. Where are those transcripts? What did she say about these 100 individuals? Who did she name? And in what context?
There's still so much we need to hear from the government. This woman's a liar. She's perjured herself several times. We have to be extremely careful in terms of what she said and how we can corroborate that information.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Barry, thank you very much.
And, Sam, thank you so much. Really just incredible insight from you on sharing all of that. So important. And were grateful. Thank you.
And next, Trump's trade war pummeling American small businesses. We've got some new numbers. And Einstein and Ives are here. And guess what else is here tonight? The whiteboard.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First of all, I'd ask you please, not to refer it to that monstrosity as the big, beautiful bill.
REP. MIKE FLOOD (R-NE): It's the name of the bill, though.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So just what do Americans think about the big beautiful bill? It is actually its formal name. Harry Enten is going to tell us something we don't know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:37:21]
BURNETT: Tonight, booed for defending Trump's trade war. Republican Congressman Harriet Hageman facing angry voters over Trump's tariffs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HARRIET HAGEMAN (R-WY): Tariffs have raised over $150 billion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who pays for them? Who pays for them?
We pay for them.
HAGEMAN: Inflation has not gone up. We inflation has not gone up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We pay for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay. Well, the context here today, suddenly we find out prices are going up at some very important places. Home Depot, America's largest home improvement retailer, the biggest one has announced that it will raise prices. And that is because of tariffs.
And tonight, hundreds of things, from butter knives to baby strollers to spray deodorant, have just gotten hit with Trump's 50 percent tariff on steel and aluminum.
So Einstein and Ives are OUTFRONT here with me.
All right, Dan, let me start with you. So, Home Depot had held back on raising prices, right? There's been this whole conundrum. Why haven't prices gone up the way that people thought they would if they were tariffs? And part of it's because a lot of tariffs promised did not actually turn out to be reality. But a lot of them are real.
So, Home Depot had said in May they were going to keep prices stable. They held on, but now they say that prices are going up. So, what does that tell you?
DAN IVES, GLOBAL HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, WEDBUSH SECURITIES: Yeah, I mean, Erin, I think it's the first shoe to drop, but because, you know, we've talked about it was really going to be around Labor Day. That was when you're going to start to see price increases come through based on inventory, boots hitting shores as well as reciprocal.
And look, they're a barometer. They're someone that others in retail are going to look at. So I believe what they're doing -- you could see now sort of a spiral impact that others have been absorbing it. Now they'll start to increase prices.
And I think this is an important moment that, you know, obviously, Tuchman and I have talked about in terms of the tariff, you know, really soap opera.
BURNETT: Tariff soap opera. I mean could be more of some sort of a tragic comedy becoming, you know, Shakespearean.
So, Peter. All right, small businesses have been hit particularly hard. We're talking about home to the largest home improvement retailer, but where the pain has been felt by many already is small businesses. So, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce went through some of the numbers. Okay. And guess what's back? It's back.
PETER TUCHMAN, TRADER AT THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE: The white board. We're not here for it.
BURNETT: Ninety-seven percent of U.S. importers are small businesses, so they're not Home Depot, 97 percent are small businesses.
TUCHMAN: Big number.
BURNETT: And the chamber estimates that those companies are going to pay $202 billion in tariffs annually. Now, that's an estimate, because as we know, the tariff numbers are a moving target. Literally.
Okay. But they broke it down. So that would mean that each business pays $856,000 each of those small businesses.
[19:40:04]
TUCHMAN: Small business.
BURNETT: OK, pays $856,000 more due to tariffs.
So, then I said, okay, that's a lot of money. Thats got to be more than the average small business in America makes. So, the commerce -- chamber actually broke that down to this is average. So I'm just -- this is a point we're making the average profit for small businesses in America. The average range is 200,000.
Now they're not all importers. They're not all -- right? I mean, its not dollar for dollar, but obviously this is more than $600,000 of loss. They can't pay it. They can't pay is the point I'm making.
I mean, do we even know what the impact is going to be on 97 percent of the businesses in America?
TUCHMAN: You know what? I think we're going to start seeing that we've been talking about it with you for the last number of months that we were going to either see a supply chain interruption, or we were going to see higher prices.
You know, it was curious, though, that Home Depot, because Home Depot also said in one of their conference calls that the fact is one of the reasons they're able to that they're decided to raise their prices is because if interest rates are lowered and people decide to do sort of take equity loans and start building at home, right, that there maybe that people are going to -- they're going -- maybe people will be able to be forced to have to pay those higher prices, and there's going to be the offset.
As we know, when Amazon came out with their earnings, they were disappointing. They were good. Amazon had great earnings. But the first reaction to the market was a sell off. And that was a function of the fact that Amazon was absorbing a lot of the impact of the tariffs, right?
BURNETT: Right. And they have been. TUCHMAN: Yeah. And they have been. And so you're going to see that,
you know paradox right here.
BURNETT: So, Dan, when I put these numbers up here, okay? It's -- it's obviously -- we're making a mathematical point, an intellectual point to you. It's actually a real life point because you have a small business now.
You know, since you've been coming on the show regularly, I was looking at what you're wearing tonight. I can comment on it, right? People, too. Okay, so here's just a few nights in the in the life of Dan Ives.
And we've gotten so many comments about what you wear. So, you are actually launched -- you have launched a clothing line, right. So limited edition shirts designed by you. You have launched it. And guess what, Dan? That means that you've had to deal with finding manufacturers, much of it manufactured overseas. So, you yourself are getting hit by tariffs. What are you experiencing?
IVES: Yeah. Well, first off, the white board never lies right? I mean so it just shows that. But look I mean I've seen it, you know with my partners Snow Milk, you know, look, we went out. I mean there were probably 2 or 3 manufacturers that these are Chinese shirts significantly too high. I mean, prices went up 30, 40 percent.
We ultimately had to go and pay up for a U.S. supplier. And really, you know, stock out a bunch of shirts. But I mean, prices came out. I saw it firsthand. You know, obviously Einstein and I -- you know, we talk about it so much. But I saw it firsthand with Dan Ives clothing, prices are increasing and it's happening.
TUCHMAN: But you know what? People are just going to pay whatever they have to for those clothes. And we know that.
BURNETT: Well, that might be a special case.
Peter, before we go, Scott Bessent today said that things are really going to pick up in the fourth quarter. The one big, beautiful bill, I'm quoting him, will start kicking in in the fourth quarter and 2026 could be gangbusters. Is he right?
TUCHMAN: You know, that's a really think that's a hard comment to follow up. I -- you know, my gut. Look, the stock market is, you know, sometimes the stock market and the economy go hand in hand. Sometimes they sort of have this. They go in opposite directions.
The market is telling us, and the market is always forward looking that that we're doing well. Markets are trading. Weve already have 23 record highs already in 2025.
When we started this conversation with you, me and Dan back February, March, we were looking at a really rough year. So, you know, my gut is its possible, but we're starting to see it really eat away at people, at prices. Prices are being raised really quickly. We're seeing it stock by
stock. We did get away with the third quarter earnings without a lot of chatter about that. You know that prices are going higher.
But you know, and the next couple of months are going to be very telling. And Labor Day is a big day.
BURNETT: Yeah. We'll see, all of those back to school and those prices and shipping. Thank you both.
And next, the White House trying hard to sell the Big, Beautiful Bill. That is its formal name. But why is there now a rush to rebrand Trump's signature legislation? What is it about Big, Beautiful Bill that is not landing well? Harry Enten will tell us something we don't know.
And China's great firewall. Certain comments about Trump are now getting through the digital firewall. Why and what are they? What is the message that Chinese censors now want out there?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:49:00]
BURNETT: Tonight, did J.D. Vance draw the short straw? He's heading to Atlanta to help sell Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill. That's its formal name, which is turning out to be one of the most unpopular bills in recent history. Even with some MAGA loyalists, which is possibly why you are hearing Trump say this a lot less.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The One Big, Beautiful Bill, as we call it. But we're talking about the great, Big, Beautiful Bill. I said, why don't we just call it the great Big, Beautiful Bill? Our Bi, Beautiful Bill, as I call it, our Big, Beautiful Bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Harry Enten is OUTFRONT to tell us something we don't know.
All right, so, Harry, is it -- is it not so big and beautiful in the eyes of voters, even Republican voters?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yeah. Good luck to J.D. Vance trying to sell this bill. Thats all I can say. Look, even among Republican voters, its far less popular than Donald Trump is.
But look at voters overall, right? I think this gives you a real understanding of what's exactly cooking And what you see is on every single poll, it is under water when the best you can do on the net favorable rating is minus ten points, you know it's an unpopular bill.
[19:50:04]
Minus 10, minus 14, minus 19, minus 22, minus 22. I have not seen a single reputable poll in which thing -- in which this thing is anything more popular than being ten points underwater. Truthfully, as I said at the top here, J.D. Vance. Good luck to you, buddy.
BURNETT: All right, so the town halls have been so fascinating to watch, right? Weve pulled some of those moments. Epstein, you know, was Stefanik just last night? But the bill has come up, right?
Here's a Republican town hall earlier this month. Here's a moment about the bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First of all, I'd ask you, please, not to refer it to that monstrosity as the Big, Beautiful Bill.
FLOOD: It's the name of the bill, though.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay. He's right. It is the name of the bill. I mean, that's actually the name. They actually have the name of bill. It's not like a little thing that they made up for a marketing diddy. It's the real bill.
The White House has called it working family tax cuts. That obviously is not going to stick. Just because it's a lot of words. So, but one group of voters that Trump needs to watch in particular is really not happy.
ENTEN: No, independents. I mean, look, we know this elections are won and lost in the center of the electorate. You know what the favorable rating is in this bill among independents, it's 30 percent. What is the unfavorable rating? Look at this, 69 percent.
That is a net favorable rating among independents of -39 percentage points. If this is what the election is about, you can wave adios amigos, goodbye to that Republican majority in the House, and you may be willing, maybe able to say adios, amigos, good bye to that Republican majority in the Senate.
BURNETT: And that is incredible.
All right, so tell me something else shall we say tonight that I don't know?
ENTEN: Okay. I'll tell you something else that you don't know, Erin Burnett, is I went back, I looked at every single major piece of legislation that was passed since 1990. The most unpopular bill that was passed. Guess what it is? It's the Big, Beautiful Bill.
You see --
BURNETT: Even worse than Obamacare?
ENTEN: Even worse than Obamacare. At minus eight points was Obamacare. Look at where the Big, Beautiful Bill is, 17 points underwater there. Simply isn't anything close to how unpopular the Big, Beautiful Bill is.
BURNETT: I can't believe that's really its name.
ENTEN: It's real. And
BURNETT: That's the thing. That's the thing. Sometimes you got to be careful what you wish for.
ENTEN: They got that right.
BURNETT: Harry, thank you very much.
ENTEN: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, Xi Jinping of China, taking advantage of Trump's closer ties to Putin in an effort to try and pull off a once in at least a lifetime opportunity.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:41]
BURNETT: Tonight, China's Xi Jinping watching Trump and Putin like a hawk. Looking for a once in a lifetime opportunity to shake up the world order and launch an invasion of his own.
Will Ripley is OUTFRONT tonight in Taipei.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As U.S. President Donald Trump poses for talks with Ukraine's president, China's leaders see something very different, opportunity. Observers of Chinese leader Xi Jinping say what's at stake is nothing less than reshaping the world order, perhaps even tilt the balance of power toward Beijing.
When it comes to Russia's war in Ukraine, China's official position remains objective and impartial, even promoting peace talks. But on China's tightly controlled social media, comments like these are meant to cast doubt on Americas traditional alliances and their being allowed to go viral.
Trump doesn't give a damn about Europe. Trump loves Putin so much he did everything he could to become president just to protect him and keep him safe.
A popular pro-Chinese government researcher predicts cracks in the western alliance will continue to deepen. NATO's role will be weakened. The E.U. and Japan will continue to be marginalized, and Ukraine is destined to be the biggest loser.
All of it rattling nerves here in Taiwan, a small island claimed but never controlled by China's communist leaders.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot predict what Trump is going to do. I do feel like we are like one of the items on the list that can be traded for Trump's -- for his own good.
RIPLEY: I do worry that Taiwan's security will be traded away, he says. But I also believe there will be other ways for Taiwan to protect itself.
Trump claims President Xi personally promised not to invade this island democracy, at least while Trump's in office.
TRUMP: He told me I will never do it as long as you're president. That's President Xi told me that. And I said, well, I appreciate that. But he also said, but I am very patient and China is very patient.
RIPLEY: Taiwan's government says its continuously committed to improving its self-defense capabilities, recently holding its largest ever military drills, putting billions in U.S.-supplied weapons on full display.
Chinese commentators certainly took note when Trump cozied up to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin in Alaska, saying NATOs role is shrinking and the West is fracturing, something Xi Jinping may have predicted even before Trump's reelection.
We dug up this Russian state media footage from the Kremlin more than two years ago. Xi is on camera telling Putin, change is coming that hasn't happened in 100 years. And we're driving this change together. The world is bracing for what comes next.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY: And tonight, observers say Beijing is definitely watching for an opening here. Trump's warm approach to Putin could weaken unity. Some fear between the U.S. and Europe, Erin, and that is something that China would certainly welcome. It could give Xi Jinping more room to maneuver here in Taiwan. As you know, Beijing has vowed to take this island by force if necessary.
BURNETT: All right. Will Ripley, thank you so much, in Taipei and Taiwan tonight. Thank you.
And thanks so much to all of you, as always, for being with us.
"AC360" begins now.
