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Inside Politics
Putin Declares Unilateral Ceasefire In Ukraine From May 8-11; Trump Admin. Doesn't See Russia's 3-Day Ceasefire As A Meaningful Step To Ending War With Ukraine; Axios: Trump Jr. To Lead Club For Ultra- Wealthy MAGA Supporters; Trump Offering Private Dinner To Top Investors In His Meme Coin; Rep. Gottheimer Releases New Ad In NJ Governor's Race; Trump Taunts Canadians On Their Election Day. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired April 28, 2025 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:31:18]
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Today, Ukraine is throwing cold water on a unilateral temporary ceasefire announcement by Russia, saying anything other than an unconditional ceasefire is a tactical game. Putin announced a three-day ceasefire from May 8th to 11th, coinciding with World War II VE Day commemorations.
What does President Donald Trump think? This was the White House's take.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He is increasingly frustrated with leaders of both countries. He wants to see a permanent ceasefire. I understand Vladimir Putin this morning offered a temporary ceasefire. While he remains optimistic, he can strike a deal. He's also being realistic as well. And both leaders need to come to the table to negotiate their way out of this.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
BASH: CNN's Alex Marquardt joins us now. Alex, what do we make of this ceasefire announcement by Russia?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, I think it is designed to do two things. To show the U.S. side that Putin is willing to play ball and to keep negotiating. But at the same time, to give them cover, quite literally, for Victory Day on May 9th.
It's one of the biggest days of the year. There's that big military parade on Red Square, and it's of huge importance to Putin. And of course, the last thing he wants is it getting attacked, quite literally, by the Ukrainians, which they have shown they are able to do.
But the White House making clear today that this falls short of what they want, which is that permanent ceasefire. I just heard from the top spokesman for the National Security Council, Brian Hughes, who echoed what Karoline Leavitt said. This is part of his statement.
"While President Trump welcomes Vladimir Putin's willingness to pause the conflict, the president has been very clear that he wants a permanent ceasefire".
My colleague, Kylie Atwood, spoke with a senior administration official who said they do not see this as a meaningful step that the Russians are taking. And so, the U.S. side is very much in line with what the Ukrainians believe. And of course, the Ukrainians agreed last month to an immediate 30-day ceasefire.
The Ukrainian foreign minister earlier today, he posted on X, "If Russia truly wants peace, it must ceasefire immediately. Why wait until May 8th? Ukraine is ready to support a lasting, durable, and full ceasefire".
Dana, there have been at least four ceasefires that I can think of that have been proposed in the last five weeks. Every single one has either been rejected or violated by the Russians. So we really need to take this new three-day proposal with a huge grain of salt.
BASH: Yes, it's so interesting. What a great point about the VE Day celebration. I've been there, and they certainly put on quite a spectacle with a lot of their military might physically being paraded around Moscow.
Thank you so much for that reporting, Alex. Appreciate it.
Coming up, a new MAGA playground in Washington, D.C. Donald Trump Jr. is opening a very exclusive and very expensive clubhouse. The ultra- wealthy, including some top administration officials, are a part of. Stay with us.
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[12:38:46]
BASH: There may be a new way to get a foot in the door with the Trump administration for the low, low price of $500,000. Donald Trump Jr. is one of the lead investors in a new high-end Washington clubhouse called Executive Branch. Axios reports that the membership cost is half a million dollars and describes it as, quote, "a sumptuous retreat for rubbing shoulders with Cabinet members and West Wing officials with no danger of running into reporters or Democrats".
Axios says there has been heavy interest from the donor community and the international community.
My smart reporters are here now. And so this new club, the Executive Branch, as we mentioned, Donald Trump Jr. is one of the investors according to this Politico and Axios reporting as well. In addition, there is a man named Omeed Malik, who is also somebody who has invested a lot in Tucker Carlson's media adventures, other right-wing adventures -- ventures I should say, and adventures. And then there are also familiar names on this investor list, like Witkoff, Steve Witkoff's sons, Zach Witkoff and Alex Witkoff are also a part of the sort of founding group for this club, Executive Branch.
[12:40:08]
And I should say that Politico and Axios reached out, or sorry, Politico at least reached out to Don Jr. and Malik and got no response.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be fully transparent, right? If anybody gets access to that club and gets to rub shoulders with people who get to make decisions that affect billions and billions in federal spending, they're going to disclose it all publicly, right?
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Just like Mar-a-Lago.
KING: This is the one thing I would say, and I say this directly and I mean it to Trump voters out there. Close your eyes and just imagine Hillary Clinton were president or Joe Biden were president and put their names in place of this, that Clinton's children or Biden's children, remember the Biden crime family, they're all supposed to be locked up.
Somehow, if anyone else does this, they should go to prison. But if the Trump family does it, it's cool. There's a huge disconnect about ethics and this president with his own base who -- you know, if you want to understand their questions, they think this town didn't react well to things that the Clintons did or the Bidens did -- not here for that debate, but just close your eyes and -- this is the United States government. It's grift. It's just grift.
BASH: And this is -- 1789 is an investment fund that is known as an anti-woke hedge fund, which Don Jr. joined shortly after the election.
JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: What's interesting to me is the president during his first term had a hotel in Washington where people would gather from Trump's universe and Trump world. He, in fact, he and Mrs. Trump would occasionally go there for dinner. It was the only place, as I recall, during that entire four years that he went out for dinner in Washington.
And that hotel no longer is in his portfolio. So this, at the very least, not getting into some of the issues that John is rightly raising, will be a place for Trump's people to gather and perhaps for himself to go as well.
BASH: So there's this private club that is forming that we just discussed. And then there's an issue that we haven't talked a lot about, but I really want to make sure to discuss, which is what's known as the meme coins. The president -- well, I'll just show you. There's an exclusive invitation -- that's what it's known as -- only for the top 200 Trump meme coin holders.
Trump meme coin -- excuse me, top 220 meme coin holders. So, what is the definition of meme coin for -- again, I'd like to say my parents watching wondering what this means, Jackie -- it's highly volatile cryptocurrency.
KUCINICH: Yes.
BASH: Inspired by Internet culture, inspired by trends. But the key question here is when these are purchased, what happens? What do you get in return?
KUCINICH: I mean, I think --
BASH: Where does the money go?
KUCINICH: Well, that is --
BASH: And what do you get in return?
KUCINICH: I think those are really important questions, Dana.
BASH: Yes.
KUCINICH: And I don't think that we know the answer for the most transparent -- they like to call themselves the most transparent presidency ever, administration ever. There's a lot of opaqueness to --
BASH: Yes.
KUCINICH: -- quite a bit of this.
BASH: And I neglected one other important thing that it says on this invitation. It's an intimate private dinner and you can hear firsthand President Trump talk about the future of crypto.
KUCINICH: Right. And what we know -- I mean, there have been congressional hearings about this and there have been a lot -- there's a lot of talk about regulating crypto. Not a lot of action.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This is a presidency that's all about access. And I think what is -- while there are so many questions that everyone's raised that are really valid, the last person who talks to the president can have a whole lot of sway.
So if you are attending these events, if you have the ability to talk to the president, to talk to his inner circle, you can perhaps sway a policy, and that matters. Or when it comes to contractors and then people who are also trying to get into that space. So when it is a presidency that is all about access, this is certainly catering to that.
BASH: As we go to break, I just want to read a quote from an ethics professor at Columbia University Law. He says, "The level of complete indifference to ethics takes us back to before Watergate. The United States has spent years building up an ethics infrastructure. In less than 90 days, this administration has been tearing it down". And with that, we're going to sneak in a break. Coming up, a certain reporter at this table has been talking to voters all over the map. And that includes our neighbors to the north in Canada, where voters are heading to the polls right now as the American president taunts them.
How is the president influencing the votes there? That's next.
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[12:49:02]
BASH: Ready to fight. Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer is using artificial intelligence to make that point in his first major ad of his campaign for New Jersey governor, trying to stand out in a crowded field there.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And fighting for Jersey to stop Donald Trump's tariffs and chaos. Now he's ready for the big one.
JOSH GOTTHEIMER, DEMOCRAT FOR GOVERNOR: As governor, I'll cut property taxes by 15 percent, cut taxes for seniors and lower costs. It's not impossible. I'll fight to get it done and always get your back.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
BASH: Gottheimer says they are dishing out millions in this first major ad on TV and online. The video is already getting attention far away from New Jersey. In fact, all the way in Oklahoma. The Republican senator from Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, who is a former MMA fighter, just posted this response on X.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R), OKLAHOMA: Josh, I know you're from New Jersey. I know that video is enhanced. No way you actually look like that. But my money is on President Trump. I think he would win that fight.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
[12:50:05]
BASH: This is the most Trump-era conversation I can imagine. We're going to now talk about what's happening in the North, which is voters are headed to the polls in Canada. Canada is preparing to select its next prime minister, and the president of the United States is taunting them.
Quote, "Good luck to the great people of Canada", President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post this morning. Adding, quote, "Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power for free to the highest level in the world, have your car, steel, aluminum, lumber, energy and all other businesses quadruple in size with zero tariffs or taxes. If Canada becomes the cherished 51st state of the United States of America".
John King spent time in Ontario and British Columbia ahead of Canada's national election today and, of course, is still here. What did you hear from Canadian voters?
KING: I'm going to speak a sentence you will never hear in the United States. There's a big national election, and Donald Trump is by far the most unifying force. You speak to voters in Canada.
They could be Conservative. They can be Liberal. They could even be more to the left of the Liberal Party. Support the New Democrats or support the Green Party.
Listen here. Three different voters -- this is in Ontario -- say, what's your number one issue in this election? Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
LINDSAY SMITH, CANADIAN VOTER: It's more Donald Trump. I feel like he's a bully in this situation. We're supposed to be allies. We thought we're on like a friendship level.
TOBY GORMAN, CANADIAN VOTER: We're just sick of him, you know, and it's only been three months into the term. I never thought I would put up a Canadian flag, but I think when it comes down to crunch time, Canadians really gather up.
PETER HAMILTON, CANADIAN VOTER: There is no friends no more. The biggest thing in Canada is we have friends all over the world. How many friends does Americans have right now?
(END VIDEOCLIP)
KING: Trump's insults. Trump's insults about 51st State, about calling the prime minister governor. They have created this wave of nationalism in Canada.
Three of the voters you saw there, the two women, sisters-in-law, and Toby Gorman at the hockey rink, they were going to be Green Party voters. They were going to be Green Party voters. But they want -- whoever wins -- they know the Green Party can't win enough seats to elect a prime minister.
They want that person to have a mandate to stand up to Trump. So they are going to vote liberal and give up who they would normally vote for because of this fight with Trump. At the end was Peter Hamilton, 75 years old, has a beautiful maple syrup farm. He's a Conservative. His party was leading by 25 points at the beginning of the year.
He's seen the historic swing in the polls. He knows the Liberals are likely to win. We'll see when they count the votes. And what he is saying is the United States is not our friend anymore. Canada needs to rethink everything, defense spending, economic markets, and so we better work together.
So he -- Donald Trump has changed the way Canadians are thinking about their election because they think they've lost their friend and their neighbor, that Trump took this from neighborly to nasty, and they need to stand up.
BASH: And people, of course, who watch Inside Politics may have a sense of what's going on there, but just to sort of underscore that Justin Trudeau is not going to run for prime minister again, but his party is the one that is benefiting from what Donald Trump is doing and continuing to taunt his fellow conservatives to the north.
And that is why the Conservative candidate, Pierre -- excuse me, Pierre Poilievre -- Poilievre?
KING: Poilievre.
BASH: Said the following on his social -- on social media on X this morning. "President Trump, stay out of our election. The only people who will decide the future of Canada are Canadians at the ballot box".
KING: They were up 25 points at the beginning of the year. The problem for Poilievre is that, you know, he is with Trump on some issues. He talks about the woke institutions and coming out with things like that. He's a younger sort of a flipper politician.
But again, the unifying factor that Trump has been, both Mark Carney, now the prime minister and the Liberal leader who took over for Trudeau, and Poilievre have proposed, you know, these big different details, but using government money to help Canadian industry that Trump is attacking with tariffs and everything like that.
Trump has -- their economic plans are actually quite similar because Trump has brought them together. This was an election about change at the beginning of the year. Now it's an election about Trump. And Carney is -- he's viewed by Canadians, he's serious, he has central bank experience, he understands the economy because of his bank experience both here and in London.
And so people have said, you know, Donald Trump, you're trying to make us dump these guys? A, no, and number two, we need an adult to stand up to Donald Trump, and at least the late polls show they think it's more Carney and the Liberals.
MASON: I don't think you can underscore enough how much has changed in such a small amount of time. Also, if you're Trudeau, yes, do you wish that maybe you had been able to ride that wave a little bit longer --
BASH: Yes.
MASON: -- because the race to replace him was basically to be prime minister for a few more weeks or so until this election happened because the Liberals were in such a bad position. And President Trump has just changed that entirely. And he's not -- he doesn't seem to regret it. I mean, he really enjoys sort of trolling the northern neighbor.
BASH: And it's also, to see and hear those voters you talked to, John, in Canada, so angry, I mean, that tells you everything you need to know.
[12:55:06]
And, I mean, there was one person at a hockey rink, so we've seen the Canadians angry or animated there but generally speaking.
KING: They almost apologize for it. They say we're really nice people --
KUCINICH (?): Yes.
KING: -- but we're really not at it (ph).
BASH: They say sorry.
ALVAREZ: Yes, I --
KUCINICH: Yes. Our reporter Jim Frazangaro (ph) was in Ontario, he was in Windsor, and their sister city is Detroit. There used --
BASH: Yes.
KUCINICH: -- to be a bus between the two, and that bus was canceled by Windsor because of this.
KING: Yes.
BASH: Ten seconds.
ALVAREZ: Well, and then, of course, both candidates also agree that Trump is unreliable. That is the through line, and that is telling in --
BASH: Yes.
ALVAREZ: -- all of what you just said.
BASH: All right, we'll be watching as the polls come in in Canada. Thank you so much, everyone here.
Thank you for joining Inside Politics today. CNN News Central starts after the break.
