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Laura Coates Live
Trump to Announce Trade Deal with U.K.; Judge Warns Trump Not to Deport Migrants to Libya; AI Version of Road Rage Victim Speaks to Convicted Killer. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired May 07, 2025 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
ARTHUR AIDALA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: -- gets raped. And he kills the rapist, and he's up against it. And Matthew McConaughey, he reaches deep down and represents --
BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Uh-hmm.
AIDALA: -- Samuel Jackson in court. And it's one of the greatest summations in theatrical history. And I sometimes watch it to motivate myself before I go into a courtroom and give a final summation.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: There you go. Criminal defense attorney right there at the table.
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And due process.
PHILLIP: Yeah. Well, exactly that.
NAVARRO: All about due process.
ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Full circle.
PHILLIP: Everyone, thank you very much. And thank you for watching "NewsNight." You can catch me any time on your favorite social media X, Instagram or TikTok. "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Breaking tonight, President Trump teases his first trade deal just as a new warning sign emerges in the U.S. economy. Plus, just how close was the United States sending migrants to Libya. A judge tonight stepping in with a stern order. Will the administration listen? Plus, it has never happened before until now. A victim is brought to life through AI to address his convicted killer in court. The story tonight on "Laura Coates Live."
So, is President Trump finally about to reveal the first deal of his trade war after claiming he has made, what, 200 of them? He has fired off this post a short time ago, saying, teasing a trade deal with a highly respected country. Now, he didn't say which country or what's in the deal, but a source tells CNN it's with the United Kingdom. Trump plans to reveal more at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. We'll see what comes out of it. But do you remember Trump's original vision for his trade war? It wasn't about deals. It was about factories roaring back to life across the country. Like a field of dreams for American manufacturing. A version of, if you tariff it, the jobs will come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES EARL JONES, ACTOR: People will come, Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They turn up your driveway, not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: I love that movie. Well, it's starting to sound like the past, maybe actually staying in the past, because more and more CEO, they're saying their companies won't build in America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Would it be cheaper to manufacture toys in The United States?
YNON KREIZ, CEO, MATTEL: We don't see that happening.
ALEXANDER LACIK, CEO, PANDORA: So, if you look at labor cost, if -- if I would consider going, let's say, stateside, that equation simply wouldn't work for us.
KENNETH C. GRIFFIN, CEO, CITADEL: It's going to be very difficult to find workers to work in manufacturing America, and people forget that manufacturing America today is about 5% of the workforce.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: But you know what is coming? Price hikes. Ford is raising the sticker price for three car models that imports from Mexico. By how much? Up to $2,000 each. And it was just days ago the company said it did not expect big cost increases.
And on top of all that, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is now warning about the trifecta of economic pain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, CHAIR, UNITED STATES FEDERAL RESERVE: If the large increases in tariffs that have been announced are sustained, they're likely to generate a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth, and an increase in unemployment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: What does Powell plan to do about it?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POWELL: Really not at all clear what it is we should do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Not really that calming of a message, is it? That's why he's holding interest rates steady and waiting to see what shakes out from the White House.
Now, Trump administration is planning to have talk with China this very weekend. But it sounds like any potential deal might be a very long layoff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NYDIA VELAZQUEZ (D-NY): Are those negotiations considered advanced?
SCOTT BESSENT, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: As I said, on Saturday, we will begin, which I believe is the opposite of advance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: And Trump says he's not going to budge on his China tariffs ahead of this, well, ice breaker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): China says in order to have substantive negotiations, you have to bring down your 145% tariffs. Are you open to pulling back your tariffs in order to get China to the negotiating table?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Well, no is a complete sentence, apparently. Sound messy? Well, it gets even more muddled because Trump is suggesting China is confused about who triggered the talks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): China said the U.S. initiated the trade talks this weekend and that its position hasn't changed. Are you still confident you can reach a deal with China?
TRUMP: They said we initiated. Well, I think they ought to go back and study their files.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: With me now, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan, Justin Wolfers. Justin, good to see you. Look, a source telling CNN tonight that Trump is going to announce a trade deal with the U.K. tomorrow.
[23:05:01] Is that something you would consider a -- a major trade deal?
JUSTIN WOLFERS, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: No. So, let's get some numbers and some context for the people at home. The United Kingdom, wonderful country, lovely people, love myself (ph) some fish and chips, don't mind their beer, but they're our 11th largest trading partner.
They account for 3 -- count them -- 1, 2, 3% of American trade. And if I took off all my shoes and socks and got four more people in the room, I'd be able to tell you that leaves 97% of American trade absolutely up in the air.
Now, Laura, I want to share to you one more fact that will blow your mind.
COATES: Uh-hmm.
WOLFERS: Go back six weeks ago. The average tariff the United Kingdom charged to countries around the world was 1%. That's the stakes here. So, the best we can do is knock the United Kingdom down from 1% to 0, and it's already clear we didn't get them to 0. And along the way, the president is imposing a 10% tariff on the United Kingdom, making it harder for American -- Americans to do business with trading partners over in the old DART.
COATES: So, why do you think he's announcing this with the U.K.? What -- what is the game plan here to suggest that this is much -- much bigger deal than you say?
WOLFERS: Oh, I -- the president is a showman. He's going to tell you that there are all sorts of wonderful things about it. This is a country with a king and a queen, and they have beef eaters and all sorts of things. But they're -- they're not remotely central to us.
The other thing to realize about the United Kingdom, bless them, but they're sort of the guys who walked away from trade very recently. They're particularly looking for friends. You -- you might have been at high school once and there was someone who told their whole group of friends to go stuff themselves. That's the United Kingdom. And once you do that to your friends, you very quickly go looking for another friend group, and you'll find that other friend group wherever you can. And we probably shouldn't be surprised the country that went Brexit now comes back and goes Trump.
COATES: Here's to all the kids carrying their lunch tray, wondering for that new group of friends. I'm not saying I'm not one of them. I just like your analogy, Justin.
But the Fed chair, Powell, warned something today. It is possible to imagine to -- quote -- "the economy is losing steam." Now, Trump is insisting tonight the economy is going to boom in a way never seen before. How do you see it?
WOLFERS: Look, it's somewhat interesting, how I see it. I don't believe him. It's more interesting to tell you what the consensus of economists tells you. There's not an economist alive who thinks that the economy isn't facing enormous and unnecessary risks.
The really important thing Chairman Powell said today is he said, we're risking two things here with tariffs, we're risking higher unemployment and higher inflation. Normally, we get one bad flavor or the other. We're talking about getting both of them at the same time. That's not my forecast. That's Chairman Powell --
COATES: And that's stagflation.
WOLFERS: -- the Trump-appointee and head of the Fed. Sorry?
COATES: And that would be stagflation, as it's known.
WOLFERS: That's the word for it, stagflation. Two words. Stag, stagnating economy. Flation, inflation. So, both bad things happening to the economy at the same time. The chairman was clear to say, it hasn't happened yet, but that's what's in the minds of the Fed, and that's what they expect going forward.
COATES: So, Justin, you know that Trump insists that he is not going to drop that 145% tariffs to force China at the table. We're not seeing any sign of de-escalation any time soon. That's part of why this meeting is going to happen this weekend, to set the groundwork presumably for that.
But do you expect anything to come of this meeting between U.S. officials and their Chinese counterparts given that that 145% is not going anywhere, according to Trump?
WOLFERS: So, what's funny is the Chinese have been very careful and very measured. They've said, we need to see you come in good faith, we don't want bullying, then we'll talk. And they invited the U.S. to drop their tariffs to begin those negotiations. The president has been very clear today that that's not going to happen.
Look, having Trump's underlings meet with Xi's underlings, I think, doesn't really do anything when we're at a point where it's very clear there's one man and one man alone who's making policy in the United States, and he's not in the room where it happens -- the room where it happens. So --
(LAUGHTER)
WOLFERS: -- I, you know -- let me come back to something, Laura. The reason I was giving you high -- high school cafeteria analogies before is there's so much high school cafeteria energy through this whole thing. You know, the U.S. economy has moved from being incredibly healthy to on the plunge of a recession while the president has sat next to his phone waiting for Xi to call. He hasn't picked up the phone himself.
And then the two countries get together. They've got talks planned in Switzerland. You just heard the president -- you showed the clip -- say, oh, no, I definitely didn't call them, which is he's trying to make it as politically difficult as he can for Xi to be able to move forward. [23:10:06]
Your job as president and as a dealmaker is to make it easy for other people. But his macho bravado which, again, has 15-year-old boy energy all over it, is getting in the way of actually getting anything done.
COATES: Something tells me your students love being in your class. Dustin Wolfers, thank you so much.
WOLFERS: Pleasure.
COATES: I want to bring in CNN political analyst Laura Barron-Lopez, Republican strategist Melik Abdul, and CNN political commentator Karen Finney. And feel free all of you to reference additional Hamilton --
(LAUGHTER)
-- promise because I'm here for it. Thank you so much. I'll begin with you, Laura. Trump is set to announce a deal with Britain (INAUDIBLE) U.K. What happened to him saying, we don't have to sign deals, they have to sign deals?
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, clearly, it was never going to be just them, other countries signing deals.
COATES: Uh-hmm.
BARRON-LOPEZ: I mean, this is something that the president has been facing increasing pressure on, especially as even Republicans across his party are not necessarily happy with the tariffs and with the -- the impact that they're having on the economy and the instability that they're seeing across financial markets.
You were even seeing some Republicans in Congress trying to join efforts to say that they want to get back some of the power in terms of checking the president on tariffs. Now, they haven't been successful in doing that, but that's something that they've been raising with the White House.
COATES: Is it going to give or buy Trump additional time in the patience category? Because, obviously, he's asking for patience of the American voters and the public. Would a deal like this give him that space at all?
KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I suspect -- it was interesting that you asked the question. I suspect that most Americans don't realize that we're talking about 1%, and they think U.K. -- that sounds like Europe, that sounds like a big deal.
COATES: Uh-hmm.
FINNEY: So, sure, it probably sounds good, but think about the fact that here is Donald Trump who, by the way, was the king of gaudy, lavish homes. Right? Lifestyles of the rich and famous, he was on. And he's telling people, suck it up, we've all going to have to take some paint. Not what he campaigned on. And we're about to have a multimillion-dollar parade here in Washington, D.C. for his birthday.
How do you think people -- taxpayers are going to feel when their costs are still going up? He hasn't done anything to bring them down. He's saying, wait, you're going to have some pain. But I'm going to throw myself a really big expensive party. I don't think it's going to buy him much goodwill, actually.
COATES: Of course, he would say that it's -- it's commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Army, and that's why he is saying this parade is happening.
But Karen raises a very important point about how the optics will play into all of this, particularly given the wealth dynamic in this country. You're a Republican strategist. Do you think that this -- this approach that Trump is taking is going to resonate with Republican voters who signed on with him because they said, this is the solution to our economy and our woes?
MELIK ABDUL, GOP POLITICAL STRATEGIST: Yeah. So, I probably going to sound like a broken record on this because I've said it so many times before. By the way, thank you for having me back. The economic anxiety that would that was responsible for Donald Trump's win, at least in part, that still exists today.
And when you poll people, you see that Donald Trump continues to poll well or the -- on the issues, meaning on the issue of immigration, on the issue of tariffs, on the issue of things that we need to do to build up the economy.
What people have been frustrated with, and many people who support Donald Trump, and I'll say this myself, is how they've decided to go about implementing this. So, when Donald Trump --
COATES: Does that increase the anxiety, you think, among those voters?
ABDUL: Oh, it does not calm the anxiety because that still exists. And so, until -- until you address that and because the administration -- and I would say one of my criticisms of the administration is how they've decided to message this. So, you'll have Howard Lutnick saying one thing. You'll have Donald Trump saying another thing. You may have the White House press secretary saying another thing. That does not give people any type of certainty about the market.
And so, when Donald Trump makes a big deal about -- what was that? Liberation Day --
FINNEY: Uh-hmm.
ABDUL: -- and then within hours of Liberation Day, he said, whoops, woah, my bad. I'm just going to do this whole 90 -- this whole 90-day thing. It doesn't give people the confidence --
FINNEY: Yep.
ABDUL: -- that they need, and that's what matters. COATES: Well, I want to ask -- I want to ask you both, and I want you to jump in, please, on this point. But a conservative columnist for "The Dispatch" we've all been hearing about say -- labeled Trump a socialist, point blank, writing, Trump's view of a man at a desk moving pieces of the economy around like rocks and pawns on a chessboard is what socialism is all about.
What was your assessment of that?
FINNEY: You know, I thought it was an interesting approach to make a point. Obviously, I don't think anybody really believes that Donald Trump is a socialist, and I'm sure there are plenty of high-brow people with lots of letters behind their names that I do not have who would explain to me why I'm wrong.
[23:14:56]
But I think the point that he made or to me what he was really making is everything is a transaction to Donald Trump. Everything is a real estate deal. I mean, if -- the way he talks about diplomacy, the way he's talking about the tariffs. Think about Zelenskyy. He said, you don't have the cards. Right? For him, everything is -- and yet he doesn't have clearly the depth of knowledge to understand how our economy actually works, how the global economy works.
And so, I think it's more -- it was more telling and sort of -- what I found more interesting was, yeah, he thinks he's got total control, but he doesn't have total control of the facts.
COATES: Well, on that point, Laura, the Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, was addressing the Fed's warning based on the idea that -- I think he thinks that the market, of course, has -- he thinks stocks have erased the losses from the last month's tariff chaos. I want you to listen and respond to his assessment. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: I'm dismayed that they've got bad economic modeling of what might happen to tariffs. They said, you know, if you look at the Wall Street folks, they're saying that the tariffs are going to crater the economy. Meanwhile, we got really strong jobs and we don't have the inflation that they said was going to happen.
And so, to have the Fed out there jawboning (ph) against the president's policies, I -- you know, they didn't do that when Joe Biden was printing money and spending it and creating 20% inflation. And so, it just makes me wonder about, like, what's wrong with their models or what's wrong with their politics?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Oh, the Fed is the boogeyman?
BARRON-LOPEZ: Yes. I mean, that's -- that's what the administration wants the public to believe. I mean, you know, there's -- there -- the administration is living in a different reality when it comes to what the majority of economists (INAUDIBLE). And also, a lot of conservative economists are warning about the impact of tariffs.
To your point -- to -- to the point earlier about the conservative writer who's calling Trump a socialist, I think that what feeds into that is the fact that the president also, when asked to give assurances to the public, is using a kind of socialist line by saying that, oh, well, little girls should be fine with two dolls instead of 30. So, things may cost more, but people -- people across the board can be fine with less.
And I think another story that's going a bit under the radar right now when it comes to tariffs is the potential conflicts of interest here when it comes to Elon Musk because so many of -- Washington Post and Reuters have had great reporting on this in recent weeks that essentially, the president in countries that are trying to come to the table and work out getting these tariffs lifted are essentially deciding, oh, well, we are going to now provide access and licensing to Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite business, and that a lot of these countries are coming to the table when they had previously not provided this to Starlink.
COATES: You know, I wanted to touch on a really important point you raised. I think a part of the greater context of the nuances of this trade issue and the tariff war. Trump also was dropping another health nominee. I want to stay with you here, Laura. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for surgeon general. This is the day before the confirmation hearing. What happened?
BARRON-LOPEZ: Well, I mean, essentially, it looks like, again, that potentially, someone like Laura Loomer had a bit of impact here, and she's this far-right activist --
COATES: Uh-hmm.
BARRON-LOPEZ: -- who has said things like 9/11 is an inside job, but she appears to be having some increased influence. Well, she has been at the White House since Trump took office. She also talks about this repeatedly across her socials. She tries to pinpoint different people across the administration that she believes are not loyal to the president, and this was one of the people.
And one question, I think, that hasn't really been answered is, why is someone who appears to have no experience, be it in healthcare, be it in medicine or in national security? Because she has also taken for getting Mike Waltz moved over to the United Nations. She's taking credit for getting the head of the National Security Agency axed as well. She has no experience in national security or foreign policy and appears to be wielding some appearance of influence over the president.
FINNEY: I think her -- her influence absolutely is something we should question, and there was a whole piece, too, about Medicaid, and she was concerned that the nominee, you know.
And this is part of the challenge I think the Republican Party has now. If you're expanding your base and you have more working-class people, you're going to be dealing with issues that matter to that electorate in a way you're not when you have, you know, a different electorate.
But also, if I'm not mistaken, this -- the person who they withdrew also had a little problem with padding their resume. Let's put it nicely.
ABDUL: Yes.
FINNEY: And I think they probably recognize sending that person up to the Hill tomorrow to get skewered by Democrats, would give them a win at a time when we're all looking at the Department of Defense, like, okay, Pete, how much longer you got?
So, I do think part of that was a political calculation as well, even though I agree with you that Laura Loomer -- I think it's frightening to --
ABDUL: You just took what I was getting ready to point out.
FINNEY: I'm sorry.
ABDUL: But, no, you're absolutely right about that. I think that's part of it. But there's still a discussion in whether it's this person or another surgeon general.
[23:19:59]
There is a disconnect on the right when it comes to things like the vac like vaccines, especially with the COVID vaccine. I've said many times before, I've been vaccinated, but many people are not supportive of the work that Donald Trump did around the vaccine, and that's just going to be something that Republicans are going to have to just figure out.
COATES: I don't think Laura Loomer likes the other person that they're thinking about either, so we'll see what kind of influence she really has. Thank you so much, everyone.
Up next, a one-way ticket to Libya. The administration's latest deportation plan now getting a big no, no from a judge as Trump suggests he's in the dark about the idea. Might that be because of what happened in another courtroom today? I'll explain.
And later, J.D. Vance joking about World Cup tourists getting deported if they overstay their welcome. Ha-ha. Why the industry, tourism-wise, isn't laughing one bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: Well, tonight, President Trump's deportation promises hitting another snafu. A judge quickly halting a plan to deport migrants to Libya, even if they aren't from the African country. The judge made his ruling as signs emerged that the administration was preparing to send a C-17 military plane from Texas to Libya as soon as today. Now, those plans -- those planes have been used to transport migrants in the past.
But the Biden-appointed judge said sending migrants there would violate his previous order on sending migrants to third-world countries. And unlike Salvador, El Salvador, the Libyan government says it has actually not agreed to this plan.
Now, it's worth noting the State Department issued its highest travel warning for Libya, telling Americans, do not travel there because of crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict.
Laura Barron-Lopez is back with you along with CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Elliot Williams.
Elliot, let's get right to this idea of this -- this judge's ruling. It was issued about less than two hours, as I understand, after the request was filed. And some planes were actually preparing to take off. A little bit of deja vu may be happening here for many people. This fight is not going to end here. It's going to go up to the Supreme Court likely. Right?
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: It absolutely is. Number one, the legal questions are unresolved, ultimately. One, the Supreme Court left open the question over whether the Alien Enemies Act actually could be applied to some of these folks. They said that it ought to be decided down at the lower courts and sort of left over the question there.
In general, these are complex legal questions. And what's happening here are just these emergency motions that are being filed that are not really being resolved. So, yes, the Supreme Court will be resolving all of these questions.
BARRON-LOPEZ: But one thing the Supreme Court did say was that whether or not these migrants could be subject to alien enemy deportations, due process always has to occur.
COATES: Right.
BARRON-LOPEZ: And it appeared as though the administration was prepared to deport people to Libya with no due process, with no notice.
COATES: And, of course, the big question, why Libya? And, of course, no one really knows the answer as to the choices of the third countries that they are looking at. We know the nationalities of who may have gone there, whether they are, in fact, were Libyans. I suspect that they were not, based on the absence of information, but we don't know.
But this idea of sending migrants who are deported to countries that are not of their origin or native country, what's this about? Is it because of a deterrence aspect solely?
BARRON-LOPEZ: Deterrence is clearly part of it. I mean, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said that when she went to CECOT, the El Salvador mega prison, stood in front of cages, and said that if you come to the United States as an undocumented immigrant illegally, then this is what could happen to you, this would be your fate. So, this -- this would also have a deterrence factor.
It's also about this larger campaign by the administration that they have been made very public about wanting, whether you're an undocumented immigrant or a legal immigrant, to self deport, and that's why you're seeing them increasingly target even legal immigrants.
So, I asked the White House repeatedly, State Department, DHS. They did not provide answers on who they were potentially considering deporting, when. And yes, both governments in Libya, the militia government in the east, and the internationally-recognized government in the west, said that they were having no talks whatsoever, were not even considering this, and flat out denied it.
COATES: It's striking to me as well. By the way, I'm just thinking of the treatment. If the State Department has issued these warnings to deport people to an area that's unfamiliar to them --
WILLIAMS: Yeah.
COATES: -- they're not from, with these warnings that are in place, I have to wonder about the treatment they anticipate them receiving even if they are among the general population and not detained somewhere. It's -- it's mindboggling until I know the why.
But they're also talking about, Elliot, on this point, Judge Boasberg in another case was pushing the DOJ to give answers about the ability to really bring people home who have been deported if they have not gotten that due process. And a phrase they're talking about is constructive custody, that maybe they're not in your jurisdiction, but the U.S. has some sort of constructive custody. What does that mean?
WILLIAMS: Constructive. It's sort of, if I borrow your car and your handgun is under the car seat. Right? It's still your handgun even if I'm the one driving the car. You can constructively have something that's not in your care. Constructive custody is they are in the custody of the United States but somewhere else. Right? They are sort of on El Salvador in soil but technically, America still has ownership of them as -- as prisoners or detainees or whatever else.
And he's saying that because of that fact, you know, America, you should be able to get these people back because they're -- they're -- they're --
COATES: And even more, I know you talked about this in the past, if you're in the custody, the government owes a kind of duty of care.
[23:30:01] WILLIAMS: Yeah. Here's the thing. All of this -- the government is hiding behind the idea of these folks being dangerous. And I think we can all agree fundamentally that there are national security interests that the country can protect and can do so through the immigration system.
The problem is that they're putting this broad brush over all the people who are unlawfully present in the country and saying that because everybody who is unlawfully present here is a potential national security threat, we can deprive them of due process, put them in countries where they don't belong because all our goal is getting them out of the country.
That is just -- it's -- it's hoodwinking Americans in a way and -- and sort of going a little far with the national security argument.
COATES: Due process, true process, it seems. Laura, thank you. Elliot, stick around. The deportation efforts have led to some fear among tourists. I mean, no one wants to be sent to El Salvador by mistake, right? Or Libya. Which makes this next comment from Vice President J.D. Vance all the more curious. Here he is joking about tourists coming to the United States to watch the World Cup.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I know we'll have visitors probably from close to a hundred countries. We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game. But when the time is up, they'll have to go home. Otherwise, they'll have to talk to Secretary Noem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Some laughs in that room. The tourism industry may not find it funny, especially since there appears to be some trouble spots that are emerging. Uber today, for example, reporting its slowest revenue growth since the pandemic, citing less travel to the United States. So, what kind of impact are we seeing more broadly?
Well, CNN's Harry Enten looked into the numbers for us. Harry, what can you tell us?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yeah, Laura. I would call it a crack. It's not a massive decline, but it is a crack in terms of international tourism coming in the United States at least via air travel.
What are we talking about here? Well, let's take a look at the current numbers as well as what we're looking forward to towards the summer. Air travel to the United States through April, get this, it's down, it's down, but it's not through the floor. Right? It's a drop of 1.5%.
Now, of course, a lot of experts were expecting the tourism numbers to jump through the roof this year because that is the trend that we've seen since COVID. Air travel climbing and climbing and climbing from foreign countries. But that has not happened so far. Now, let's talk about summer bookings. Now, this is just projected from a couple of popular routes. Right? So, this isn't -- isn't everything. And, obviously, the summer hasn't happened just quite yet. But what we're looking at right now in terms of summer bookings is that we see a larger decline, 5%. But again, not through the ground, but not going in the right direction.
Now, we're talking 1.5%, we're talking 5%. How much could this actually result in terms of moola loss for the U.S. economy? Well, based upon the current international travel decline, and keep in mind, again, this is just a projection, it could cost the USA, get this, $1 to $2 billion or more, or more. That is not good news.
And, of course, if travel goes even further into the ground, well, this number will unfortunately go right back up. Now, where is that travel already going through the ground? Well, it's our neighbors to the north. It's Canada.
What are we talking about? Well, Canada's summer air bookings to the United States. Look at this number. This is not good. This is down 21%. They really don't like the tariffs. And we know they really don't like the tariffs, Laura, because, get this, Canadian summer air bookings to places in Canada actually up, actually up 6%. So, we know that Canadians are taking out their pain or their anger on the United States of America.
And one place where we've actually seen that, when you think of the United States, you think of tourism, you think of immigrants, you think of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and visitors to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, get this, by ferry, just through April, already down 6%.
Hopefully, that is not symbolic of something larger, Laura Coates. But at this particular point, what we're talking about is a crack, but maybe a crack that unfortunately is becoming a little wider in terms of international travel dropping to the U.S. Back to you, my friend.
COATES: Harry Enten breaking it down for us. Thank you so much. And still ahead, a major verdict in Memphis. The three officers charged in the beating death of Tyre Nichols are acquitted. The family, devastated. So, where did the case fall apart for the prosecution?
And later, he was killed in a road rage incident, but got to address his convicted killer in court through artificial intelligence. The first of its kind legal moment that has courts wondering if Pandora's box has now been opened.
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[23:35:00]
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COATES: Tonight, the family of Tyree Nichols coping with what one of their attorneys calls a -- quote -- "miscarriage of justice." Three former Memphis police officers were found not guilty on state charges, including second-degree murder, kidnapping, and assault in the death of Nichols.
They were three of the five former officers seen beating Nichols on video, which I must warn you, we're about to run, and it remains very difficult to watch.
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Initially, police pulled Nichols over for an alleged traffic violation.
[23:40:00]
They pulled him out of his car and used a stun gun on him. Nichols ran toward his mother's home. But officers caught up with him before he reached his mom. And video shows they repeatedly hit him with their fists, with their boots, with their batons. And Nicholas cry -- Nichols cried out for his mother.
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CNN senior national correspondent Ryan Young is live for us in Memphis. Ryan, I remember when this happened, and the death of Nichols shocking the entire country, sparking protests. What's the reaction in Memphis to this verdict tonight?
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Laura, I was here for the protest. I've marched in the streets with activists who really thought that this would be the case that changed the police department and changed the area. There's so much violence in Memphis. Even recently, they had 25 murders in 28 days. So, you understand, people deal with gun violence here all the time.
But something about this crime stuck out. And the Police Department itself released some 60 plus minutes of video. And it was their sky -- eye in the sky that caught this beating and how he was just left there until they got EMTs there. So many people thought this would be the case that changed so much in the city. Now, those officers were fired, but they thought real change was coming along as well. That did not happen.
But, Laura, I do want to tell you tonight, as we walk the streets of Memphis, as we drove around, there are no signs of protests. And late this evening, we did get news that tomorrow, there will be a news conference with the family at 4:00. So that will be the first time that we get to hear from the family, especially his mother, because something that did stand out to a lot of us was the fact that he was crying out for his mother during this terrible beating.
Take a listen to the prosecutor talk about this case and how hard they tried it.
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PAUL HAGERMAN, DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, SHELBY COUNTY: You know, it's disappointing, it's heartbreaking. You try cases. This is -- it's a business to try in cases, though. Okay? There's always risk and there's reward. But we keep on going. We try to get justice. And I think we tried hard in there this week to get justice.
I know the family was behind us. And, you know, we didn't get the result we wanted or they wanted, but they've thought about Tyre, obviously, a lot this week, and they're thinking about Tyre now.
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COATES: Ryan --
YOUNG: One thing that we also want to mention, Ben Crump was -- go ahead.
COATES: Please, Ryan, you're important, I want to hear from you.
YOUNG: No. I -- I just want to say that Ben Crump also released this statement, and he basically said today's verdict is a devastating miscarriage of justice, Tyre's life was stolen and his family was denied the justice they so deeply deserve, we are outraged, and we know we are not alone.
We've been hearing that sentiment all over. Walking the streets and talking to people once again, yes, there's a lot of violence here. They believe they need the police to sort of make sure the streets are quiet. But at the same time, what they want is accountability.
Something that we should know, that Scorpion unit that was involved that night was disbanded after all this. But still, Laura, there are so many questions now about how to move forward as a city, especially after there are people who were court watchers who felt like the defense did a very good job of poking holes in the prosecution's case.
COATES: Ryan, I still get choked up thinking about him calling for his mother all those blocks away. Thank you for your reporting.
YOUNG: Yeah.
COATES: CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams is back with me. What -- why do you think the jury acquitted?
WILLIAMS: Uh, reasonable doubt. You know, I think -- you know, step back. The jury acquitted on homicide and assault, the sort --
COATES: State level charges.
WILLIAMS: State level attempted murder, just second-degree murder and assault. There were a series of other convictions. Ryan talked about that there. You did (INAUDIBLE) as well. Both guilt convictions and guilty pleas for various things, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and other misconduct by the police there.
So, to say that this was a complete exoneration, you know, isn't -- and also, there were federal convictions --
COATES: Right.
WILLIAMS: -- versus the state ones as well. Now, in terms of why there was an acquittal here, you know, the standard for a homicide in Tennessee would be inflicting injury on someone that the defendant thought could reasonably have led to that person's death.
Now, as a matter of common sense, we might say that, well, of course, how could they have been hitting somebody or kicking or punching with batons or whatever else? Evidentiary records are more complicated than that. And I think the public still, in 2025, has a reluctance to convict police officers for -- for the use of force. I'm not going to call it misconduct.
COATES: Yeah. Certainly. You and I both respect --
WILLIAMS: Yeah.
COATES: -- the decisions of juries.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
COATES: We know that as prosecutors and -- and lawyers. But now, it's about the sentencing at the federal level as well, as you mentioned, because all five ex-officers involved in the beating, they are awaiting sentencing on federal charges. They were convicted and two -- two had plea deals, as I'm not mistaken, as well.
WILLIAMS: Yeah.
COATES: Three were convicted and two plea deals.
[23:44:59]
All under a different presidential DOJ. How might this DOJ approach their sentencing?
WILLIAMS: I would -- you know, it's really up to the judge. The judge -- you know, the DOJ can ask for what they're going to ask for, but sentencing is ultimately the judge's decision. I think, stepping back, if we're talking about the DOJ, the Justice Department had an investigation into the Memphis Police Department --
COATES: Uh-hmm.
WILLIAMS: -- at the end of the last administration that the current administration has put on hold. It was an investigation into this sort of systemic questions of misconduct and police brutality and abuse and so on. It will be interesting to see what -- what happens with that, either if the Justice Department drops it altogether or engages in some investigation of the Memphis Police Department. It's bigger than acts that were committed against one victim or one deceased person here.
It's widely known that Memphis has a problem with its Police Department and police brutality. And the Justice Department can actually investigate and work with that Police Department to ensure better conditions as time goes on.
COATES: The department, as you know, refused to enter into a federal -- what's called consent decree --
WILLIAMS: Yeah.
COATES: -- for reform, many of which have been rolled back in any event during this new administration. I'll be curious to see what the family has to say tomorrow. Elliot, stand by.
Up next, it's believed to be the first of its kind moment in court. A road rage victim is brought to life through AI to talk to his convicted killer. You following me? The story and the question it's raising, next.
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[23:50:00]
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COATES: I want you to imagine if someone came back to life for the purpose of talking to their killers at their killers' manslaughter trial. What if I told you something pretty close to that actually happened with a little help from AI?
Because for the first time ever, artificial intelligence has been used to create a deceased victim's own impact statement during a sentencing hearing in Arizona, allowing him to directly address his killer.
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CHRIS PELKEY, ROAD RAGE SHOOTING VICTIM (through AI): To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances. In another life, we probably could have been friends. I believe in forgiveness and in God who forgives. I always have, and I still do.
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COATES: Now, that video was meant to resemble Christopher Pelkey, the 37-year-old Army veteran who was killed in a road rage incident in 2021. His sister spent two years working on her own victim impact statement until she asked herself, what would Chris say?
Elliot Williams is back with me now. This is really another level of the use of AI, and the family says the video was not meant to sway the jury's verdict, but it did sway, they hope, the judge's sentencing.
Our affiliate, KNXV, is reporting the judge was so moved by this video, Elliot. They sentenced the killer to ten and a half years, which is over the state's recommendation of nine and a half. There are a lot of ethical implications people are raising now. What do you -- what do you see?
WILLIAMS: Uh, it's chilling, it's -- it's maybe odd, but perfectly fine for sentencing. Now, to step back, virtually anything goes in sentencing, that can help the judge make an intelligent decision about how to sentence somebody. The obvious is letters from the public. People can write in and say whatever they wish, whether Laura Coates, the defendant, should be sentenced to more or less time, and that's perfectly fine. That's evidence or information from outside of court.
Here, it is a statement in effect from the victim's family being delivered through this computerized avatar of -- of the decedent. So, yes, it does not seem sort of natural to us, but at sentencing, I want to be very clear, at sentencing, the rules are relaxed. At trial, this could never happen.
COATES: Why?
WILLIAMS: Well, because of the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees everybody the right to confront witnesses against them. You obviously cannot confront a deceased person or a computerized image of somebody. So, it would never work at trial and no judge would ever allow it.
COATES: And yet this is so unprecedented that you wonder if the judge that -- he loved, by the way, the AI video, and thanked the family for actually using it. But, as you say, it's not unprecedented. You get all sorts of constitutional issues raised in it. But could AI find its way into evidentiary phases?
WILLIAMS: Oh, absolutely. And that's why this court was issuing a study of sorts to determine how AI can be used in the future as the chief justice of this, of the state supreme court looked into it.
It really falls to the judge overseeing the trial to determine what kind of weight to put to something like this and to recognize that this is something that doesn't exist in the real world that might have some ability to sway me as the fact finder here.
I can still consider it. It's compelling interesting information, and he acknowledged that he gave a slightly higher sentence because of how moved or touched he was by it. But again, that's completely fair game when it comes to criminal sentencing.
COATES: And just to underscore the point, this was after the jury reached their verdict.
WILLIAMS: Right.
COATES: It was not used to sway the jury. It was used to talk to the judge as many factors, including sentencing reports and discussions with the actual defendant, can also sway the judge, remorse, etcetera. I wonder if that -- if that will -- this will translate in other jurisdictions or is this going to be confined to Arizona.
WILLIAMS: Oh, oh, oh, this is going to translate across the globe. AI is going to affect every aspect of our existence in ways both good and bad, in ways that we don't even know about here.
[23:55:03] Now, the judge in her -- the chief judge in her statement made clear that there are ways in which AI can make court systems even more efficient. There's no question about that. It falls to courts and judges and individual litigants to decide or at least come to some sensible agreement as to how can this new technology actually work for us as opposed to getting in the way of -- of our laws and -- and rights.
COATES: You know who's going to be very intrigued by all this? The defense bar.
WILLIAMS: Yeah.
COATES: Because if they're going to prepare for actual sentencing, they're going to want to know how to combat this --
WILLIAMS: Absolutely.
COATES: -- particularly as well. Elliot, thank you so much.
Hey, thank you all so much for watching. "Anderson Cooper 360" is next.
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