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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Visits Controversial Migrant Detention Center; Hamas "Serious and Ready" for Ceasefire Deal that Ends War; EU Trade Chief Heads to U.S. as Tariff Deadline Looms; Trump-Musk Feud Erupts Anew Over Trump Budget Bill; Influencers Live Streaming Their Thoughts on the Case; France Takes Steps Towards "Tobacco-Free Generation". Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired July 01, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: All right, President Trump is about to tour a controversial new migrant detention facility in Florida. "One World"
starts right now. Donald Trump is headed to Alligator Alcatraz after the Florida Governor used emergency powers to seize the land and fast track
construction.
And Senators work overtime to pass President Trump's big, beautiful fill before July 4th. They're still at it for key Senate holdouts back the bill.
And the feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump erupts again, now the president suggesting he might even look at deporting the world's richest
man.
All right, coming to you live from New York. I'm Zain Asher. This is "One World". Moments ago, U.S. President Donald Trump was actually met by
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. There they are talking as he arrived for the opening of the state's controversial new facility to house undocumented
migrants.
What used to be a small air strip deep in the Florida Everglades is being transformed with trailers and tents to house up to 5000 migrants. The area,
Western Miami, sits in swamp land teeming with alligators and pythons, and has been dubbed Alligator Alcatraz. Florida's Governor describes it as a
one stop shop for detaining and processing and deporting undocumented migrants.
But the project is sparking backlash from activists and environmentalists. Immigration rights advocates say the facility is engineered to enact
suffering. CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us live now from the White House. So, this idea of having this sort of migrant detention facility in an area that
is basically surrounded by alligators and snakes.
Donald Trump essentially says that's the point the harsh conditions are indeed the point. It's supposed to deter migrants from not only trying to
escape, but actually from coming into the country in the first place, walk us through that, Kevin.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and you really couldn't think of a better illustration of the president's hardline
approach to immigration than this facility sort of plot right there in the middle of a swamp in the Florida Everglades surrounded by alligators and
invasive Burmese pythons.
And in fact, the president says that this is all how it was intended to be. You know, we just saw him land there in Florida, and he says that the body
guards and cops in this case will be in the forms of alligators. Those are his words.
And I think this sort of menacing symbolism is something that the administration is very much leaning into. You've seen the White House and
the Department of Homeland Security post AI generated images of alligators wearing ICE hats leading up to this visit. And the point seems to be
twofold.
One is to try and create conditions that are so harsh that migrants will think twice about coming into the country illegally if this is potentially
where they could end up. But also, to get migrants who are undocumented in the United States currently to leave on their own, to essentially self
deport.
And you heard President Trump talking about those numbers as he was arriving in Florida just a moment ago. This has generated a lot of
backlashes. There's both the environmental side of it, concerns about what turning this facility into a detention center could do for what is a very
fragile environment there in the Everglades.
There's also concerns from Native American groups about what the government is doing to some of their land there in the swamp. But really, there's no
sign that the administration is backing off whatsoever. And in fact, President Trump seems to be suggesting that this could be a model going
forward, of this kind of facility, this sort of harsh conditions used to detain migrants.
We've already seen the administration, for example, put some potential deportees at the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba. And this, I think, is
sort of an extension of that effort to put forward quite a hardline approach to immigration. Of course, this is all coming as the president is
working to pass that major piece of legislation on Capitol Hill.
It does many, many things, but one of them is to provide more funding for immigration enforcement and more funding for deportation. And so, I think
as the president travels down there to Florida today, and he'll get a tour of the facility and participate in a roundtable.
One of the points he's trying to make is that the administration's efforts on immigration going forward are all kind of dependent on this bill passing
in the Senate and in the House trying to convince some of those Republicans who are on the fence about this that this measure will be necessary if he
is to keep up this hardline approach to immigration.
Which, at the end of the day, is very popular among his supporters, among Republicans, it is sort of declining in popularity among the general
populous.
[11:05:00]
But certainly, among the people that elected Trump to press the presidency in the first place. This is something that they're very supportive of.
ASHER: All right, Kevin Liptak live for us. Thank you so much. Let's bring in Andrea Flores, Vice President of Immigration Policy and Campaigns
@forward.us a Bipartisan Political Organization. She joins us live now from Washington, D.C.
Andrea, just thank you so much for being with us. Just give us your take and your reaction to this Alligator Alcatraz site, this site that was
constructed really in record time. It's not a brick-and-mortar facility. They're sort of tents constructed in an area put up in an area surrounded
by alligators and pythons and various types of snakes in order to create the harshest and most unforgiving conditions for undocumented migrants.
Your reaction to this?
ANDREA FLORES, VICE PRESIDENT, IMMIGRATION POLICY & CAMPAIGNS, FWD.US: So first, you know, I worked with Department Homeland Security, and I worked
at the National Security Council, and I think this is a barbaric structure and a real affront, not just to the human beings who will be transferred
there.
But to every Floridian and every American citizen who just saw the president build, within days, a new, extremely expensive structure where he
will signal to the entire world that the United States holds human beings in a facility and expects it to be guarded by alligators.
He wants to communicate that loss of life is the deterrent that he wants, is the message he wants to send to migrants. So, this is really extreme.
It's completely unnecessary for both public safety, national security, and I think it's a huge distraction, because he is there today, the same day
his bill still hasn't passed the Senate, a bill that would provide $450 billion more to immigration enforcement.
So how far is he going to go on his immigration enforcement agenda. We know that he's willing to take 14 million impact, 14 million Americans, to take
away their health insurance. So, I look at this, and I see this as immigration theater. It's political theater, and it's really barbaric, and
the international stage has to be really judging the United States harshly right now.
ASHER: I mean even the name, or the nickname, I should say Alligator Alcatraz. I mean it tells you -- tells you everything you need to know. But
just in terms of what the Trump Administration would say? They would point to the data, and they would say, look, illegal crossings are down under the
Trump Administration compared to Biden.
Obviously, we know that Donald Trump referred to what was happening under the Biden Administration as an invasion. He used that word a number of
times. Illegal crossings are down. What would be a better way to have gone about that?
FRANCES: Well, first, migration is not an invasion, right? He said on day one that the United States had been invaded. Generally, no country in the
world has that standard right, or else we would all be at war with each other, because immigrant cross borders all the time.
But second, yes, numbers are down, and there's a couple of things that factor into that. One for sure, is the cruelty of this administration's
messaging migrants are, as a border expert, we say there's a wait and see approach, and they wait and see how the administration will really
implement its policies.
I think they've seen really cruel tactics, and it makes sense. But also, the economy is suffering right now, right? We see the rate of the dollar
going down, sort of jobs being disrupted by deportation. So, when there's less of a need for immigrant workforce, numbers go down. And finally, the
most important factor is Mexico.
Mexico continues to do record high enforcement holding people back from the border. So, there's a lot of factors that go into this. It's not that he
needs to build a new cruel deterrent prison of sorts in Florida, he is really delaying the type of fixes in the immigration system that the public
actually supports.
So, you have two thirds of the country recently coming out and saying, we actually want legal options for the long time undocumented. We don't want
you to mass deport all of them, but he just keeps doubling down on the cruelty and the theatrics, and I do believe it is a big distraction from
the unpopularity of other pieces of his agenda.
ASHER: Right. And that the political shock value is part of that. I mean, as I pointed out, even the name Alligator Alcatraz, this idea of having
snakes and alligators essentially guard this facility for the president, is part of that sort of political theater. But it is very popular, by the way,
with his base.
For people who may not understand, explain to our audience what conditions in a place like this would actually be like for undocumented migrants who
have obviously crossed the border come into this country, clearly to seek a better life. What is it like? I mean, what would it be? Obviously, it's a
new structure, right? But what would it be like for them to have to spend their days in the facility like this?
FRANCES: So, this obviously comes from other models, and I've worked in border security for a long time.
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And you've seen what happens when people are placed in these temporary structures. They often do not have air conditioning, and they're extremely
hot and dangerous. They do not have doctors, if they're lucky, they have medical technicians on site. They may not have, you know, three balanced
meals a day.
They may not meet basic human rights requirements that we would expect any country to provide. And so that is the risk and the danger of these types
of quickly built, temporary facilities. But I want to go back to your question, because normally we would see the short-term facilities be built
because there is a security need, usually at the border, maybe numbers had increased and there's more detention space needed.
We are not there, right? We have low border numbers, and the people who will go into these facilities are the people who won or losing legal status
under this president, right? People who are losing work permits and other protections. But also, longtime immigrants.
So, what does that mean? Just this week, ICE announced that a 75-year-old man who had been in the United States for over 60 years died in an
immigration detention facility that's in a brick-and-mortar detention facility, right? So, they're already showing they cannot keep people safe,
and so that's my fear.
I fear loss of life. And I think Americans understand who's going these facilities is not people that they see on TV, it's people in their
communities.
ASHER: You know, you bring up a very good point. Essentially, you're saying, what is the point of building a structure like this now, when the
numbers at the border are already at a record low, that is a good point. Andrea Flores live for us. Thank you so much for your perspective, and we
hope to have you on again very soon. Thank you, Andrea.
All right, turning now to the war in Gaza. Hamas is signaling it is ready to reach a ceasefire agreement with Israel, as long as the deal permanently
ends the war in Gaza. Meantime, the pressure is on for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire deal before his trip to
the U.S. next week, when he's going to be meeting with President Trump.
For more on this, let's bring in Jeremy Diamond, who's live for us in Jerusalem. So, Jeremy, just in terms of the pressure right now on
Netanyahu, I mean, obviously he's got this sort of security meeting coming up later on this week there in Israel, and part of the agenda is to discuss
the future of Gaza.
On top of that, he's also got pressure from President Trump to end this war. Is this likely, as in a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas? Is it
likely to move forward at this point in time Jeremy? Jeremy, excuse me.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Listen, Zain, far be it for me to predict the future. Here we have seen so many times where we get very
close to a ceasefire agreement, only for things to fall apart.
That being said, you know that important caveat noted up front, it does seem like there is quite a bit of momentum coming out of this ceasefire
between Israel and Iran, coming out of Israel's military accomplishments in Iran, which give the Israeli Prime Minister something to tout domestically
here and to use in negotiations with his own governing coalition.
It does feel like there is movement and the real potential here for not only, you know, maybe just a ceasefire in Gaza and a deal to release some
hostages, but perhaps even a long-term solution here that could end the war and secure the release of all of the remaining 50 hostages held in the Gaza
Strip.
We have seen this week already that the prime minister has been in multiple consultations with his top coalition partners, as well as his security
advisers, top Israeli military officials. The next meeting on that front is indeed coming on Thursday, as he sits down with his political and security
cabinet.
And then next week, of course, you have him meeting not only with President Trump, but with all of the senior members of the Trump Administration who
would be involved in this, the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, the National Security Adviser and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and
President Trump's Special Envoy for the region, Steve Witkoff.
And the way I look at it right now is that this week is all about Netanyahu shoring up his domestic front as he meets with his governing coalition
partners to figure out what is in the realm of political possibility here, as well as what is in the interest of the Israeli security establishment.
And then next week, of course, with all of that in mind, he will be negotiating with the Trump Administration to see what can be done from a
broader perspective, because we're not just talking about a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.
There's also been a lot of discussion about expanding the Abraham Accords, those peace accords between Israel and a number of Arab and Muslim majority
countries. We know that there have been discussions and a lot of public commentary about the possibility of an agreement between Israel and Syria
as well.
Of course, as the kind of big fish here, which would be a peace agreement, normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. So, all of these
topics are going to be on the table, and it's just going to be a matter of which pieces actually fit together in order to get the puzzle of this
ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
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And as you noted, Hamas also saying that they are, quote, serious and ready for a ceasefire agreement, but once again, calling for it to be an
agreement that ends the war in Gaza altogether, Zain.
ASHER: Jeremy Diamond, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right still to come here in "One World", the U.S. Senate is inching towards a
final vote on Donald Trump's massive budget bill. We are live for you in Washington with the very latest. Plus, the clock is ticking for the
European Union to secure a trade deal with the U.S. before steep tariffs kick in. What can we expect to hear from the EU's top trade chief that's
ahead too?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: It has been more than 24 hours in the U.S. Senate is still not done voting on amendments Donald Trump's budget bill. There have already been a
record number of votes on the bill. Senators are expected to move to a final vote in the coming hours, and it is far from certain the bill will
pass.
It is estimated the budget would balloon the government deficit by more than $3 trillion and some Republicans are unhappy that it could also leave
about 12 million more Americans without Medicaid, health insurance.
Let's go live now to Capitol Hill where we find CNN's Arlette Saenz. So, Arlette, yep, we had quite a number of Senators actually sort of having
cold feet about the bill. Obviously, Senator Lisa Murkowski being one of them, Susan Collins being another. Thom Tillis is essentially saying he's
not going to be running again. Just walk us through where things stand now and the likelihood of this bill getting over the line in its current form.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Zain, these Senator, Senate Republican leadership has been working in these final hours, really trying
to fine tune this bill, to try to win over some of those GOP holdouts. The Senate can only afford to lose three Republican votes on President Trump's
agenda bill in order for this to pass. And there were a few who were really right there, on the line and on the fence.
Now we are learning just moments ago that these votes are expected to start quite soon there will be four votes, one on an amendment from Senator Amy
Klobuchar, a Democrat, and then two other amendments before they get to final passage. And we're also learning that there are some changes that are
being made in these final minutes. One of those is boosting a fund for rural hospitals, doubling that fund to $50 billion.
[11:20:00]
This is something that is being done to win over some of those holdout Senators, like Senator Susan Collins, it's still unclear where exactly she
will fall on a vote on final passage. They are also expected to vote on a provision that would end an excise tax on solar and wind projects. That is
something that some experts had said could be a killer for the renewable energy industry.
But there are still many Senators that will be keeping a close eye on. As you mentioned, Rand Paul and Thom Tillis voted no on these procedural votes
to move on to the bill over the weekend. Senator Susan Collins has yet to say how she will vote, and then Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska could
potentially be key.
We've seen Senate leaders both on the floor and off the floor in private meetings working to try to get her to the yes column. She just walked onto
the floor a short while ago, and did not indicate how she would be voting. Senate Majority Leader John Thune was asked whether he had the votes.
He said, we sure hope so. So, a lot of eyes will be on the Senate floor in the coming hours. Still no exact idea of when this would pass, but they are
trying to push this to get this done in the Senate. And then if it does pass, as the Senate, this still has to move over to the House, where they
will have to approve all the changes, and there's already a few in the GOP Caucus who have expressed concerns with what the Senate has written up.
ASHER: All right, Arlette Saenz on Capitol Hill. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Europe is trying to reach a trade deal with the United
States as a July 9th deadline is fast approaching. The EU is sending its top trade chief to Washington for last ditch talks with senior
administration officials.
This comes just days before President Trump's 50 percent blanket tariff on European goods. It's due to take effect if there is no deal. EU concerns
mounted after Trump broke off trade talks with Canada in response to Canada's digital service tax, which Canada then rescinded. CNN's Anna
Stewart joins us live now from London.
So, Anna, you've obviously got a lot of pressure on EU negotiators to get a deal done before a July 9th deadline, which is basically next week. I don't
know how that is possible, but on top of that, you've got President Trump essentially calling out Japan, saying that Japan is not importing enough
American rice.
Japan, on the other hand, is saying that they're not going to sacrifice their farm sector for a trade deal. So, walk us through what happens on
that front too.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can really feel the trade tensions ratcheting up here, because the deadline is the 9th of July. That's when
the so-called Liberation Day tariffs could come back in. And actually, President Trump warned over the weekend he could be sending out some
letters to those countries that he can't reach a trade deal with Japan very much included.
The focus on the weekend was really about Japanese cars and the fact that Japan exports many cars the U.S. and doesn't take in enough of American
cars. Now the focus seems to be rice. And in this "Truth Social" post earlier this morning, the president saying that he has great response. Has
great respect for Japan.
But he says they won't take our rice, and yet, they have a massive rice shortage in their country. In other words, we will be sending them a
letter. It's not strictly true actually, that the U.S. doesn't sell any rice to Japan. Just last year, it sold around, well, just under $300
million worth of rice. Perhaps it has been used in the trade negotiations with Japan.
We're not privy to sort of the back and forth that's been going on. We do know from the last U.S. administration that when it comes to Japanese rice,
it's a slightly non transparent, highly regulated area. Perhaps this is one of the so-called non-tariff barriers that really irks the president. So,
rice is very much on the table.
Now for Japan, they're going to be worrying about cars. Cars represents 10 percent of Japan's GDP. America is its biggest export destination.
Currently, they have a 25 percent tariff when it comes to exporting cars to the U.S. They want to see that removed clearly rice is being used here from
the U.S. side as part of that negotiation.
Now Zain, you have to remember that it's not just Japan you mentioned the EU as well. All of these top offenders with deficits with the U.S. are
probably front and center of the last-ditch efforts to reach trade deals by the 9th of July. It's really unclear whether we will see any trade deals
reached by then.
Currently, after all these months, the U.S. has only reached a trade deal with the UK, and a pretty thin one at that. And all of these countries have
many red lines. For the EU, it's all about services versus goods. Where's the biggest deficit? It's about the digital services attacks.
For the U.S. when it comes to the EU, and actually Canada, as we found out last week, the EU doesn't want to include any digital legislation in its
talks. All of these red lines, all of these different countries only eight days to go. It's not looking that good, Zain.
ASHER: You could certainly say that again. And a lot of a lot of countries like Canada, obviously, they rescinded that digital service tax. But a lot
of countries, especially the EU as a block want to avoid that 50 percent steel and aluminum tariff that would be devastating.
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All right. Anna Stewart, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, still to come, they're fighting yet again. Donald Trump and Elon Musk are
trading verbal blows. We'll tell you what set off the feud this time. Plus, how do you get updates on the Sean Diddy Combs trial from the broadcast
media or from live streaming influences sharing their minute-by-minute views on YouTube. We'll take a look at their courtroom coverage.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right, welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher. Here are some international headlines we are watching. Today, President Donald Trump
is in South Florida for the opening of a controversial new detention center for migrants just outside the Everglades National Park.
It's been dubbed Alligator Alcatraz because Republicans have said not much security is needed because you have alligators and pythons that are
commonplace in their surroundings. Critics are calling the facility de- humanizing and environmentally harmful.
The U.S. Senate is moving closer to a final vote in a marathon session on Trump's domestic bill, as lawmakers put forward amendments in what's known
as a vote-a-rama. The bill would slash social safety net programs like Medicaid, but devote billions more to the military and border enforcement
and extend Trump's first term tax cuts.
The Congressional Budget Office says it will also add trillions to the government deficit. More than 130 NGOs are all coming together to call for
the U.S. backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to give up operations and distribute -- to distribute aid in Gaza and reinstate United Nations led
efforts to feed Palestinians.
Officials in Gaza say hundreds of people have been killed by the Israeli military while approaching aid distribution sites. On Friday, the IDF
denied an Israeli media report that its soldiers had been ordered to fire at unarmed Palestinian waiting for aid.
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Thailand's Prime Minister has been suspended by the Constitutional Court and could be dismissed after a phone call she had with a former Cambodian
Leader was leaked. Thai Senators accused the prime minister of a breach of ethical standards.
On the call, she's heard addressing the Cambodian strong man as uncle, and assuring him that if he wanted anything, that she could take care of it.
Right. Elon Musk and Donald Trump are feuding once again after the U.S. Senate backed Trump's massive domestic policy bill in a procedural vote
over the weekend.
Musk vowed to use his vast resources to campaign against Republicans in Congress who voted for it. And later, he threatened to form a new political
party called the America party if the bill passes. Today, Trump responded with threats of his own.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: He's upset that losing his EV mandate. And he's very upset about things, but you know he
could lose a lot more than that, I can tell you right now. Elon could lose a lot more than that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you going to deport Elon Musk?
TRUMP: I don't know, we'll have to take a look. We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go
back and eat Elon. Wouldn't that be terrible?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Hadas Gold joins us live now with more on this. Hadas just, I mean, walk us through what happened here? Because A, Elon Musk was supposed
to stay out of politics, and B, the two men were supposed to have buried the hatchet about a month or so ago. What happened? What changed?
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, we thought that Elon Musk and Donald Trump has sort of kind of made up. There were some nice words
between them. Elon Musk had removed some of the more incendiary posts he had made about President Trump, including calling for his impeachment and
alleging that he was part of some sort of Jeffrey Epstein file.
Although Elon Musk's opposition to this bill did remain, and then over the last 24 hours or so, we've really seen it explode. And what's different
this time than the last time is that Elon Musk is now making some of the most concrete and stark political threats that he has ever made that show
that he is quite literally stepping away from President Donald Trump, stepping away from the Republican brand.
First of all, he said that he is going to be supporting the primary challengers to any member of Congress who has talked about reducing
government spending but then voted for this big, beautiful bill that Elon Musk says is going to raise the national debt significantly.
He even posted what he said was going to be the mockup of a poster that showed a Pinocchio doll in flames, and he said that it will feature the
face of any member of Congress who had talked about reducing government spending but then voted for this bill. And he already called out one
specific member of Congress that he will at least be supporting.
That's Congressman Thomas Massie. Massie, of course, was one of the two Republicans to vote against this bill in the House last month. He has
become one of President Trump's number-one targets when it comes to the midterms, and now Elon Musk is saying, I will support you directly.
Then, of course, Elon Musk said that he is going to start his own political party if this bill passes. He says it's going to be called the America
party, saying that the Democrat-Republican, what he called the Uni Party, no longer works. This is, of course, a very distinct turnaround from Musk's
previous plans.
He spent more than $275 million supporting President Donald Trump, supporting other Republicans last year. He spent more money in that
Wisconsin judicial race earlier this year. And back in March, his political action committee America party did support two candidates in Florida.
And he had previously said, or it had been reported, that he was going to spend more than $100 million on President Trump's outside groups ahead of
the 2026 elections. This is obviously a different change. And also, don't you remember just a few weeks ago, he said, I'm done with political
spending.
He seemed to have felt burned by Washington D.C. He seemed to be refocusing back on his businesses. Well, now that appears to be changing. And I can
tell you that Tesla investors, they are not exactly happy about this. They were hoping that Elon Musk was officially stepping away from politics,
would be focusing on their businesses.
There had been the launch of the robotaxi in Austin. There's a lot of stuff with SpaceX going on, but it does appear that Elon Musk can just not quite
shake politics just yet.
ASHER: All right. Hadas Gold live for us. Thank you so much. I want to bring in Todd Belt. He's the Director of the Political Management Program
at George Washington University. Todd, thank you so much for being with us. So, terms of Elon Musk's plans to launch a brand-new political party, the
American party, one of the problems that he has is that it's not very popular in the U.S.
He's not popular, obviously, definitely, not among Democrats and among Republicans who are loyal to Donald Trump. He's not popular with them
either. So just walk us through the sort of challenges that Elon Musk would have in terms of gaining any traction.
TODD BELT, PROFESSOR AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Well, thanks for having me on. It's great to be with you again.
[11:35:00]
Oh, yeah, Elon Musk has really changed his tune again, and we know that he was burned by that 24 million he spent on the Wisconsin judicial race. And
now he sees, you know, he wants to get back into things, because he's got two things on the line. His principled stance about cutting governmental
spending and the loss of his subsidies.
So, it's really convenient when self-interest corresponds to your principle, stance. And we've seen -- but we've seen this movie before in
the United States, right? We saw Ross Perot. He was really concerned about the budget deficit and started his own party called United We Stand
America.
And they ran a couple times and didn't get too far. Elon Musk has talked about primary Republicans, but now he's talking about his own party, which
would mean the general elections, not the primary elections. I'm not sure exactly if he understands or really cares too much about that, but what he
potentially could do is be a spoiler for the Republicans.
Remember, the Republicans are the out party. They usually lose seats during the first midterm election. Looks like they'll probably lose the House, but
they might be able to retain the Senate. And the reason that's important is because those judicial nominations and the administrative nominations and
the ambassadors, those all go through the Senate, so that's really important for Trump to retain.
ASHER: So just in terms of Elon Musk, obviously, he is the richest man in the world, and so when he spends money in terms of backing any challenger
to any individual, either in the Senate or the House who supported this bill, I mean, how much of a political force is he going to be, do you
think?
BELT: Well, that's the real big question, because money doesn't always win in politics and in the Republican Party, Donald Trump really controls those
voters. If you look at the people who voted for Donald Trump's impeachment, there's only two of them left in the House for representatives.
Donald Trump was able to run people against them, and so because of that, you got to see that. You know, while Elon Musk may have money, he doesn't
have a big followership, he doesn't have a loyal group to him, and he certainly doesn't have anybody other than Massie right now in office who
owes any sort of allegiance to him.
ASHER: And let's talk about this big, beautiful bill that is in the Senate right now. I mean, Democrats are desperately trying to control the
messaging.
BELT: Right.
ASHER: Obviously, it has to pass the Senate, and it gets good go back to the House, and then it has to go back to the president's desk, all
apparently, before July 4th, which is a very, very tight deadline, that is a tall order. But assuming that it does pass, you know, for Democrats,
what's key, just especially looking towards the midterms, is controlling the messaging.
BELT: Right.
ASHER: Their messaging thus far has been Donald Trump and Republicans only care about rich people in this country, it's all about enriching Donald
Trump's friends. He does not care about ordinary working Americans. Is that messaging going to have an effect this time come the midterms?
BELT: Well, it's about halfway there, and the reason is this, because it's one thing to be against somebody gaining. It's another thing to tell people
and for people to experience a loss, and loss actually is more politically effective in politics when you lose something, or you're about to lose
something, that is what really engages people and gets them voting.
There's been some recent reporting about cuts to the Veterans Administration that would happen with this bill. We know about the big
Medicaid cuts and the cuts to snap food assistance, and if people start feeling those things, those could be really impactful in the next series of
elections.
ASHER: And just in terms of how dangerous it is for Republicans. I mean, you have a lot of Republicans who are apparently speaking behind closed
doors, saying they can't stand this bill. They don't like it at all. They don't like what it does the deficit in terms of adding $3 trillion.
BELT: Right.
ASHER: They don't like the fact that there's so many sorts of social assistance programs that are being slashed, including Medicaid. But they're
unwilling to challenge the president publicly, because a lot is on the line if they do that.
BELT: Yeah.
ASHER: We've seen what's happened to Senator Thom Tillis, for example. How dangerous is it for Republicans right now to actually speak out against the
U.S. President?
BELT: Well, it's really dangerous. And we saw those budget hawks like Mike Lee and Rick Scott. They got together with Thune last night, and they
hammered out a deal, actually, it was the night before, and then Murkowski, this morning, got her sort of deal for Alaska.
I think they want to get to yes, and they're looking for a way that they can go back to their people and say that I protected you, but they also
were able to vote with Trump. They don't want to anger Trump, because he will go after them. It really stalls your office for weeks at a time if you
anger Trump, because all of the supporters go after you.
But there's also the issue as well, of losing your next election and Donald Trump supporting someone, and we've seen he's been successful to some
degree in the past in doing that.
[11:40:00]
ASHER: Yeah, that minor issue of losing your next election, minor details - -
BELT: Right.
ASHER: All right. Todd Belt, live for us there. Thanks for your time. Appreciate it.
BELT: Great --
ASHER: After the break, we're going to bring you the very latest on the Sean Diddy Combs trial in just a few moments. Including how social media
influences are weighing in on the proceedings in real time. Plus, the scandal in Thailand that could see the prime minister dismissed from
office. What's next for her and the country?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: The judge, overseeing Sean Diddy Combs sex traffic and trial has been meeting with defense and prosecution lawyers this morning to discuss
his response to a request from the jury. It was asking for guidance about how the distribution of controlled substances is legally defined.
Jurors are now into their second day of deliberation. CNN will keep you across any developments as soon as they happen. The case has kept trial
watchers riveted from day one with its salacious details and harrowing witness testimony and social media influences have taken notice as well.
Live streaming their thoughts on the proceedings, alongside the more traditional media. CNN's Brynn Gingras reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- down here at the Diddy trial --
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Ms. Pleasant, aka maker of "Da Pop Off Show" on YouTube.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We going to a fit check.
GINGRAS (voice-over): She's one of nearly a dozen live streamers you'll find outside the federal courthouse in New York City, while inside, Sean
Diddy Combs sits on trial, facing life behind bars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, what's up? What's up? It's your --
GINGRAS (voice-over): Rain or shine here for the past eight weeks.
GINGRAS: What compels you to actually be here every day?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm nosy. It has celebrity, it has sex, it has crime, it has drugs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look nice today. Mama combs. You step in.
GINGRAS: How many followers did you have at the start of this, and versus how many you have now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had about maybe like 5000 or so. Right now, I got about 16,000 so I gained about maybe like 11,000 so.
GINGRAS: That's pretty good.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Many have a mast, a huge following.
GINGRAS: You just read these comments --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, I'm reading the comments. I'm interacting with the people.
GINGRAS (voice-over): By giving unedited access to the chaos surrounding the courthouse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When --
GINGRAS: Are you live streaming --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, we're all live.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Some streamers read courtroom transcripts word for word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He kept his money. He kept his wallet.
[11:45:00]
GINGRAS (voice-over): This man reads off his own hand written notes. Others chase down witness and Combs family members.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just now I just had to run when the girls came. So, I'm also doing the journalism. We doing that, but then I'm doing the TMV, and
I'm getting on Happy Feet, sliding in for the count to catch my little footage.
GINGRAS: So, you are gathering everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm doing everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is a type of way that we can talk to them that legacy media probably can't really give an opinion. They can't, you know,
we can be like, I wasn't feeling that, or I didn't like that, and they feel a relatability.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you're on live too. Oh, hi.
KEALOHA CONNER, LIVE STREAMER: Multiple batteries, multiple chargers, in case one breaks.
GINGRAS: Yeah.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Kealoha Conner was in marketing before a friend convinced her to step in front of the phone and live stream.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guys -- Diddy trial update.
CONNER: First day, I was like, it's not going to be anything. And then boom, like that. First day, I peaked at 20,000 and some change on people.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Now she's not looking back.
CONNER: I want to go into journalism now because of all this.
GINGRAS: Are you able to monetize yet on this?
CONNER: Yeah, I was able to monetize on this one day one.
NIQUE LACLAIRE, LIVE STREAMER: I do also get people who want to donate. They give cash, apps and on YouTube, there's a thing called super chats.
They want to support your journey in any way that they can.
GINGRAS (voice-over): The trial now in the hands of jurors, with arguably more people tuned in for the verdict than ever before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is as big as the OJ trial, we do want to get closure and understand what this case is going to be? What is it going to
wrap up to be?
GINGRAS (voice-over): Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right, let's go now to Florida, where President Trump is speaking after touring the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility. Let's
listen in.
TRUMP: Thank you very much -- fantastic job. Even the microphone works well, that's good. Wow. Well, I'd like to just thank everybody for the
incredible job they've done. I love the state as you know. Ron and I have had a really great relationship for a long time. We had a little off period
for a couple of days, but it didn't last long.
It didn't last long. And a lot of respect for each other. And its great honor to be deep in Florida, the Florida Everglades to open America's
newest migrant detention center. It's incredibly built, and you're seeing that yourself. That's why I said let the press join us on our walk so they
can see what's happening.
It's known as Alligator Alcatraz, which is very appropriate, because I looked outside and that's not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon. But
very soon, this facility will House some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet.
We're surrounded by miles of treacherous swamp land, and the only way out is really deportation. And a lot of these people are self-deporting back to
their country where they came from. Quite a few were amazed at actually the number. We took the FEMA money that Joe Biden allocated to pay for the free
luxury hotel rooms, where he's paying hundreds of millions of dollars in New York City.
And we used it to build this project, and Iran, it was just a little fraction of that money, the money they spent on that project. I happen to
know the real estate developer. He's a very real, he never would -- he never really made that much, but he became very wealthy with luxury.
He didn't do well with people that are not exactly luxury. He's made a fortune. I want to thank Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Secretary of
Homeland Security, Kristi Noem and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. Where is James? Where is he? You do a very good job.
I hear good things. I hear good things about you from Ron, too. Now you really do. He's even a good-looking guy. That guy's got a future, huh? Good
job, James, I hear you. You're really, really fantastic. Worked hard. You're like in the construction business for a few days, right?
Congratulations for all the hard work and to make this facility possible. It's amazing. Thanks as well to Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton
Simpson, where is Wilton? Where are you? Hi, Wilton, been a long time. Thank you. Congressman Byron Donalds, where's Byron?
Hi, Byron. How are you, good. Florida Speaker of the House, Daniel Perez. Daniel, Daniel, thank you, Daniel. Why you didn't want to sit up here with
us, Daniel? Executive Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie, Hi, Kevin, good job.
Acting Director of ICE, Todd Lyons. Todd, great job. And Senator Joe Gruters, he is a great guy. Where is Joe? We love Joe.
SEN. JOE GRUTERS (R-FL): Thank you, Mr. President, We love you --
TRUMP: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Joe. Joe is great.
[11:50:00]
With the help of those incredible Border Patrol Agents, we now have the lowest level of daily border crossings ever recorded. As you know, last
month, the month of May, just got released two days ago, the number of illegal aliens into the United States was 0 --
ASHER: Right? You've just been listening to President Donald Trump speaking after touring the facility in the Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz.
It is a facility that is designed to hold undocumented migrants. Donald Trump described it as a place you would not want to go hiking in.
It is filled with makeshift tents, and it is surrounded by swamp, and that swamp obviously contains alligators, pythons, various types of snakes as
well. President Trump also said that essentially the only way out of this construction is essentially self-deportation, and that he has been amazed
at the number of people that have chosen that option.
Obviously, that is much cheaper for the government if people choose to go back to their home countries by themselves. All right, we will check in if
Donald Trump continues to talk about this, but right now, we're going to get a quick break, and we'll have much more news after that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: France is ending its long-time love affair with cigarettes. The country's ban on smoking goes into effect today and applies to many public
spaces, including beaches, parks and sports venues. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne has more on the country's historic move on public health.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER (voice-over): This is the country that turned cigarette into high art.
VANDOORNE: But lighting up under the Eiffel Tower or in the Jardin des Tuileries is now illegal.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): And it could cost you 135 euros. The government's aim, a tobacco free generation by 2032.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like it's a big Liberty torn away from us, from French people, because we smoke a lot, and it's just because we like it.
And I feel like it'd be pretty hard to enforce, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I find the forbidden boring.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why they smoke?
VANDOORNE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the stress, maybe the stress, or the ritual with the aperitif and so on. Let's go together.
VANDOORNE: Can we have a smoke free generation?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's never going to happen.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): And now France is making history, the first European country to ban cigarettes on all beaches nationwide.
[11:55:00]
Starting July 1, smoking will also be banned in public gardens and anywhere near schools. A lofty goal for a country that a generation ago, had
children staging tributes to -- cigarettes and all.
Jean-Paul Belmondo made it look cool in "A bout de souffle", a cigarette hanging from his lips in nearly every scene. Coco Chanel smoked 50 a day,
and Brigitte Bardot -- But tobacco use in France has actually been on the decline in recent years, smoking is at its lowest level in more than two
decades, with 23 percent of the adult population lighting up daily.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Think about the freedom of those next to you. For example, there are children who don't want to smoke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, I can understand for the children and for health reasons.
VANDOORNE: Still, there's one sacred space the law won't touch -- And French people, especially Parisians, are breathing a smoky sigh of relief,
because banning cigarettes there that would be a step too far, even for a change in France. Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right, stay with CNN. My friend and colleague Bianna is going to be joining me for the second hour of "One World" after this short break,
don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
