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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Trump To Meet House Republicans Amid Internal Discord; Two-Hour Trump, Putin Phone Call Ends Without Ceasefire; Biden Addresses Cancer Diagnosis In Social Media Post. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired May 20, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:26]
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to all of our viewers joining us in the United States and around the world.
I'm Polo Sandoval, joining you the rest of the week as my colleague Rahel Solomon gets some well-deserved time off.
It is Tuesday, May 20th, 5:00 a.m. here in New York.
And ahead here on EARLY START.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It is absolutely essential that Republicans unite behind the one big, beautiful bill and deliver on President Trump's agenda.
REP. MARY GAY SCANLON (D-PA): And nobody seems to know what's in it.
REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): This should have been dealt with months ago.
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's Vladimir Putin's war. It's not our war.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Big egos involved. But I think something's going to happen. And if it doesn't, I'd just back away and they're going to have to keep going.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got to the top floor. It was just unimaginable. You looked around and everything just been destroyed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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SANDOVAL: Good morning.
President Donald Trump, he is set to meet with House Republicans in the coming hours to discuss what he describes as his big, beautiful agenda bill. Major internal struggles in the Republican Party have already slowed the approval process down of this massive domestic policy bill which House Speaker Mike Johnson wants to get through before the Memorial Day holiday. We'll see if that happens.
Hard line party members have already dug their feet in over requirements, over Medicaid, and also access to other federal programs, as well as energy tax credits.
Lawmakers telling CNN that the wrong type of changes are being made as this clock ticks down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAWLER: They better have a good number tonight. I mean, this should have been dealt with months ago, as we had asked multiple times repeatedly over and over and over, and they chose to wait to the last minute.
REP. DON BACON (R-NE): But when you work hard to get an agreement and the committees pass stuff out, and then people come in and want to undo them, makes us mad. So, yeah, there's -- you got an angry group of folks out there that are going to be very vigilant on what these changes are.
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SANDOVAL: So, if the bill passes through committee in time, Republican leadership, they want to call a floor vote Wednesday, possibly on Thursday. The problem is Democrats say they still don't even know what's in it.
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SCANLON: This big bad B.S. reconciliation bill that were supposed to be considering and nobody seems to know what's in it.
REP. JIM MCGOVERN (D-MA): Republicans told us that we would be considering their budget reconciliation bill at 1:00 in the morning on Wednesday. If Trump's big, beautiful bill is so great, why not debate it when people are still awake?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries saying that Republicans who help to advance Trump's agenda, they are not voting in the best interests of their constituents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Every single house Republican that chooses to vote for this reckless budget that will hurt the people they represent is going to be held accountable.
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SANDOVAL: Ukraine says Russia has launched more than 100 drones on targets across the country, the latest evidence that Vladimir Putin is not rushing to secure a peace deal. This coming less than a day after President Trump spoke with Russian president by phone. The two-hour call ended without a ceasefire and without any meaningful progress toward one. And despite the recent spate of airstrikes, President Trump saying that he thinks Vladimir Putin is ready for peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Did you ask President Putin to meet with you.?
TRUMP: About what?
COLLINS: About Ukraine.
TRUMP: Of course I did. I talked to him about it. I said, when are we going to end this, Vladimir? I know him for a long time now. I said, when are we going to end this bloodshed, this this bloodbath? It's a bloodbath.
And I do believe he wants to end it. But I said to him, we got to get going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: The Kremlin says the two leaders spoke about a, quote, prompt resolution and the possibility of direct contact between Russia and Ukraine. But they did not commit to a location or a time frame, leaving the situation seemingly unchanged. Very fluid. Despite this, Donald Trump insisting that there is some momentum.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think something is going to happen. It's a very, very big egos involved. I tell you, big egos involved. But I think something's going to happen. And if it doesn't, I just back away and they're going to have to keep going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:05:03]
SANDOVAL: President Trump, a form of mediator.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking with President Trump not only before but also after the call with Putin on Monday. He insists he will not accept unjust peace conditions that Russia has proposed.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Nobody will withdraw our forces from our territories. It is my constitutional duty, the duty of our military to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Yes, there are temporarily occupied territories now because of the aggression of such a huge country. But we will accept no ultimatums. We will not give away our land, our territories and our people, our homes.
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SANDOVAL: Let's get the latest this morning from CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, joining us live now from Kyiv.
Nick, good morning to you. Just how delicate is the situation for the Ukrainian President with these ongoing potential talks?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, look, it's important to point out that talks began on Friday at the suggestion of Vladimir Putin after he rebuffed demand for a ceasefire nearly a week before that.
And so, the suggestion that were into some sort of new phase here is disingenuous, really. This is an ongoing process, and it's one that the kremlin is strictly timetabling. What was important about yesterday's phone call was that Trump had kind of heralded it as a potential breakthrough moment, hoping that some sort of ceasefire potentially could follow it, or at least progress towards maybe, like he suggested, a matter of days earlier, a face to face meeting between himself and Vladimir Putin, and then maybe even between Zelenskyy and Putin.
None of that happened at all. And instead, we had a pretty unmoved Vladimir Putin talking about the possibility of exchanging documents for a ceasefire, describing the call as positive, frank and constructive, but also harking back to one of his earliest talking points in this peace process about how the root causes of the conflict needed to be addressed.
And that's ultimately code for the false Russian narrative that it was NATO expansion near its borders that provoked its unprovoked, full scale invasion nearly over three years ago now.
And so, the issue, I think, is the kremlin showing that it can maintain the same slow pace, the same dictation of what happens, who talks to who and when. But the bigger takeaway, potentially from yesterday, is how Donald Trump himself feels about it.
His vice president, J.D. Vance, hinted that, you know, if they didn't see any progress, they might decide they didn't want to do it anymore. Ultimately, Trump seemed to echo that by suggesting, as you just heard him there that if they didn't see progress, they might have to back away and let them continue to kind of go at it. I paraphrase here.
But ultimately, the United States pulling itself out of the diplomatic process is dropping diplomatic pressure on Russia for a peace deal and potentially reducing its commitment to assisting Ukraine. That's on track as it currently stands, when the Biden grants begin to run out later on this year.
That is exactly what Russia wants. They want less United States involvement in this war, and they seem to be getting that through, doing nothing. And so, I think the lesson of the last ten days is that if Trump is pushed by Putin or ignored by Putin, he loses interest in this topic. And now, we have Europe who've been clear they can't really maintain a
ceasefire here, or orderly peace without an American backstop potentially talking about sanctions, then, not as effective as they could be without U.S. support, if not particularly effective at all. And trying to maintain a sense of morale here in Ukraine, I think where we've just seen months now of diplomacy yields almost nothing apart from a very stark reminder that Vladimir Putin is in absolutely no rush, if not no desire at all for a peace deal.
SANDOVAL: CNN's Nick Paton Walsh with some very important takeaways from the last ten days. A lot riding on those. Nick, thank you.
Severe storms and tornadoes across the central and eastern parts of the United States have now killed at least 28 people, and millions more are still facing the threat of dangerous weather this week, more than 1,500 reports of damaging winds and wind gusts, I should say, as well as hail and tornadoes. They have been made since Wednesday.
Parts of Kentucky, they have been hit especially hard, 19 deaths are confirmed in that state alone. Police in Laurel County say that the devastation there is overwhelming.
Here's how some of the people on the ground describe what they experienced.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can rebuild a house, buy new things, vehicles, whatever it is, we can do those things again. Weve lost some of our memories, but we've salvaged some of them when we're up here going through the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sounded like stuff was being ripped off the house and thrown against the house. I guess wind picked up, and then you could tell the difference between the wind and the tornado for sure.
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SANDOVAL: So many people lucky to be alive there. As for Missouri's governor, he has asked for president Trump to approve a major disaster declaration for his state after violent storms hit his state over the weekend.
[05:10:07]
The governor says that Missouri was already trying to rebuild from storms and tornadoes that devastated several counties late last month. He's asking for more than $16 million in emergency aid. Meantime, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri is demanding that insurance companies pay out claims to those people who've been affected by these storms.
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SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): We need 100 percent of claims that are eligible to be paid out, and they need to be paid out in full. I have written to every insurance company, every insurer in the state over the weekend and put them on notice. I'm in the middle of an investigation right now in the Homeland Security Committee on insurance companies, including ones in this state, and their failure to pay out claims.
This is a real acid test. If they want to make good, they need to pay out claims to every person who has been injured, every person who has suffered damage. And that is so many people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Elsewhere, the Federal Aviation Administration says that air traffic controllers responsible for New Jersey's Newark International Airport, they suffered a two second radio outage on Monday, so trouble there continues.
The FAA is investigating and says all aircraft did remain safely separated during that brief incident. The outage is just the latest in a series of system disruptions there. Two 90-second blackouts, one on April 28th, the other on May 9th. They exposed critical issues with the outdated equipment at the facility, which actually is in Philadelphia. The FAA said later that newly installed software patch, as well as a backup line, would help mitigate future outages.
Ahead on EARLY START, victims of non-consensual explicit images will now be able to take legal action against the people who create and share them. Details on the Take Down Act just ahead.
But first, the potential for pharmaceutical tariffs may be affecting you. Donald Trump could soon make good on his threat to impose them.
And a little later, authorities sharing new details about the Mexican navy training ship here in New York that collided with the Brooklyn Bridge. We'll be bringing you the latest on that investigation into the deadly incident.
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[05:16:47]
SANDOVAL: Let's look ahead now. The G7 finance ministers, they will soon be gathering in Canada for a meeting where Donald Trump's tariffs or Donald Trump's tariffs are expected to take center stage. Sources saying that it's unlikely that any new trade deals will be announced, though.
Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, he is warning that companies and consumers have yet to feel the full effect of Trump's tariffs. Dimon, previously announcing his intention to step down as CEO in the coming years. He says that the odds of inflation and stagnant growth, they are much higher than others have predicted.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JAMIE DIMON, CEO, J.P. MORGAN CHASE: Even these low levels, you know, they stay where they are today. That's pretty extreme. Tariffs. My own view is, you know, were people feel pretty good because you haven't seen an effective tariffs. The market came down 10 percent. It's back up 10 percent. I think that's an extraordinary amount of complacency.
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SANDOVAL: A spokesperson says the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will try to convince G7 members to stand firm against Chinas unfair trade practices. Well, President Trump could soon take action after threatening to impose tariffs on imported drugs. In fact, just last week, the U.S. president signed an executive order that aims to lower U.S. drug prices by cracking down on what the White House calls unreasonable and discriminatory practices by foreign countries. Americans, they have long paid higher prices for many medications than patients in other parts of the world.
According to a health and human services report, U.S. prices across all drugs, both generic and brand name. They were nearly 2.8 times higher -- or much higher as those comparable in other countries in 2022. Prices for branded drugs in the U.S., they were at least three times as high. And President Trump recently shared a story about a friend who paid $88 for weight loss medications in London. Well, at the same time, he says that drug cost $1,300 here in New York.
And we are getting a tangible measurement of the effects of Donald Trump's tariffs on China. Import volume into the port of Los Angeles dropped nearly a third in the first week of May. Forty-five percent of the ports cargo comes from China. And even though the Trump administration temporarily cut tariffs on China last week to 30 percent, the cargo arriving at this port this month still carries the previous rate of 145 percent.
And because of that, the ports executive directors say that consumers will still see lower inventory and higher prices across a variety of markets. One of them, the auto market, of course, Subaru. It has become the latest car maker to announce a price increase in the U.S., as costs -- costs for some of their vehicles rise from Trump's tariff policies.
Now, the company did not directly link the price hike to tariffs, but it did say that it was adjusting prices of its vehicles sold in the U.S. to, quote, offset increased costs. Subaru didn't confirm the exact dollar amount of its price changes, but one dealership in Massachusetts posted on its website that car prices, they could increase between $750 to $2,000, and that's depending on the vehicle model.
Planet Subaru also wrote that the increase would not be enough to cover the cost of tariffs, and that it expected additional price hikes before the year's end.
On to your market watch now, let's take a look at some of the financial markets, what they're doing this morning. Looking overseas at European markets. You can see they are slightly up here at home though. Markets are at least futures not faring as well with them slightly down in the red there.
Certainly, the bell on Wall Street expected in the coming hours. So, we'll see if these numbers still hold true.
Still ahead here on EARLY START, Israel, it is ramping up its air and ground offensive in Gaza.
Ahead, what a UNICEF official is saying as Israel allows only five trucks of aid into the enclave after an 11 week blockade. Plus, Joe Bidens cancer diagnosis has some asking why it wasn't caught sooner. A closer look at that question and a possible answer ahead.
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[05:25:40]
WALSH: To the latest on the Middle East, now, as Israel is ramping up its bombardment of Gaza, even as it intensifies its ground operation called Gideon's Chariots, Israeli strikes that killed at least 49 people across Gaza overnight. That's according to officials in the Palestinian enclave. This comes just one day after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel is, quote, going to take control of the entire Gaza strip.
That's according to the leader.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the U.K., France and Canada. They are threatening Israel with targeting sanctions if it continues its military offensive, as well as continuing to block aid from entering Gaza. Frances foreign minister says that Israels easing of humanitarian aid access to Gaza is insufficient. But Israels far right finance minister, insisting that the country will not, quote, bow its head before this moral hypocrisy, antisemitism and one sided -- one sidedness, again, the words from Israeli officials there.
On Monday, aid entered Gaza for the very first time in nearly three months. Israel says it allowed five un trucks carrying aid into the region, but humanitarian aid groups saying that more than 500 trucks of aid per day are needed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES ELDER, GLOBAL SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: We've seen a doubling in the malnutrition of children right now, so we don't need a little bit of aid. We need some of the thousands and thousands of trucks that are at that border to flow into Gaza. It can't just be tokenistic. It can't just be in the south. It needs to be as during the ceasefire when hostages went home, because that's what ceasefires do. They stop bombardments, they let aid flow and they stop this abhorrence of hostages being held in Gaza. We need those 400 distribution points in Gaza to be utilized, not drip, drip, drip to prevent, you know, political pressure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Let's talk immigration now, where the first flight carrying migrants who self deported from the U.S. has landed in Honduras. It's part of the Department of Homeland Security's initiative offering undocumented immigrants, $1,000 to leave the country on their own, 38 Hondurans were on board, including at least four children who were born in the United States to their parents.
The Department of Homeland Security says that the program is a way for families to stay together, and is a significant savings compared to what they estimate to be $17,000 per case that it currently costs to deport undocumented people.
Former President Joe Biden is addressing his cancer diagnosis for the first time, and it came in the post on social media, where the former president expressed his thanks for the outpouring of love and support and said that he and his wife, Jill, have, quote, learned that we are the strongest in the broken places.
On Sunday, Biden's personal office actually revealed that he has been diagnosed with what they described as an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
CNN's medical correspondent Meg Tirrell, with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men, and many times it can be very, very slow growing. But the way it's characterized is by something called a Gleason score.
And we learned from President Biden's office that his cancer has a Gleason score of nine. And typically, that describes essentially the way the cells look under a microscope and lower numbers closer to six show that the cells look closer to normal. A higher number closer to ten suggests they look more abnormal and suggests it is a more aggressive form of cancer.
And we know from President Biden's office that the cancer has spread to his bones. They say also that the cancer is sensitive to hormone therapy and that that's a good thing. Doctors we spoke with said that that is typical when you first start to treat prostate cancer. Often you do see it respond well to therapy that blocks male hormones.
And a question will be, does that continue to work for the president? They say that will guide really future treatment options, which could include things like chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy. So, we understand that the president is working with his family and doctors to think about treatment options now.
Now, a lot of folks might be asking, you know, how did this only get caught after it had already spread to the president's bones? And doctors say that's a complicated question, because if you look at the screening guidelines for prostate cancer in the United States, for men below the age of 70, it's really an individual decision with their.
