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Quest Means Business
Trump vs Cook; Trump Urges Erdogan to Help End Ukraine War; Ruto: Kenya Remains Robustly Democratic; Trump Signs Executive Order On TikTok; On Safari With Chris Fallows. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired September 25, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:12]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell ringing on Wall Street. TETRA ringing the closing bell. They have a rather
nice big cardboard thing for us. They're ringing the closing bell today, the market is down, quite heavily down, been down all day. Not surprising
the amount of stuff that's going on in the world at the moment, but there is no real reason for it to be so off just at the second.
Hit the bell. There we go. All firm and solid. Firm and solid gavel. Solid, that's the word for today. Solid gavels. Trading is over. The markets and
the main events of the day.
A renowned group of former Fed Chairs and Treasury Chiefs making a plea to the U.S. Supreme Court, don't let Donald Trump fire the Fed Governor Lisa
Cook.
The former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is sentenced to five years in prison.
And the Kenyan President, William Ruto joins me for a robust conversation on the protests and his unpopularity.
We are live in New York, nearly over in the month of September, Thursday the 25th. I am Richard Quest and I mean business.
Good evening.
There are two stories that we are watching for you in the business world. President Trump is about to sign an executive order that would pave the way
for the TikTok deal with China. The exact details are unclear. When the President speaks, we will bring it to you as it is just minutes from now.
First, though, let's turn our attention to this extraordinary document, which was released today. It is an amicus curiae brief. A friend of the
court brief that was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. It involves all the living former Fed Chairs, ex-Treasury Secretaries, all urging the Supreme
Court not to allow Donald Trump to fire Lisa Cook as Fed Governor.
The amicus brief was filed by -- are you ready for this? Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson and Janet Yellen all Fed Governors and Treasury
Secretaries. They argue that firing Cook would harm both the bank's credibility and thus U.S. economic stability.
The brief says: "The Fed's ability to fight inflation is directly related not only to its actual insulation from short term political pressures, but
also to the public perception of its independence."
Just looking at it says, "... to allow the firing of Cook would expose the Fed to political interference and erode public confidence and efficacy of
monetary policy." The amicus curiae includes other former economic officials like Jared Bernstein, who chaired the White House Council of
Economic Advisers. He is there and joins me now.
Sir, did you have to be convinced hard to sign this?
JARED BERNSTEIN, FORMER CHAIR OF THE UNITED STATES COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: I did not. The message in that brief is not only important, but
it is extremely urgent. These are fast moving issues and the independence of our Central Bank could be quickly compromised if the Supreme Court goes
the wrong way on this.
QUEST: Why do you feel the need to make such a document as this? Because at the end of the day, you know, one imagines Lisa Cook's lawyers will make
all the same arguments. Essentially, you're all arguing the same thing, that there is a part of the law, the Fed Act that says he can only fire for
cause and this is not for cause.
BERNSTEIN: Well, I think there is a bit of a distinction. Her lawyers are reasonably arguing about precedents, about whether the President had really
the authority to do what he did under the For Cause Clause, as you've just mentioned. What we are doing here is very much in the lane of monetary
economics, and it is -- I don't want to say its arcane, but it is not the kind of thing that everybody, even wise justices of the Supreme Court walks
around knowing about.
For example, it is not widely known that when in countries like Turkey and our own history, the independence of the Central Bank was compromised, was
undermined by political leaders, inflation shot up and some of the very critical factors that the Fed has in play, the inflation anchor, the
ability for a credible Federal Reserve to convince markets that it means what it says.
[16:05:09]
All of that gets undermined when you have this kind of political interference and so I think that the history and the impact of that on
markets probably isn't as well-known as it should be, even by the justices.
QUEST: The justices have already hinted they see the Fed as different, don't they? Trump and Wilcox and a couple of other cases where, but
particularly that one where they've started a carve out for the Fed that I am guessing this case or this amicus brief would also hope to build on,
which is very different from, for example, the decision only last week where the justices allowed the firing of the only Democrat on the FTC.
BERNSTEIN: Yes. This is truly important and just to make sure your viewers understand what's going on here, the court has given the President quite a
bit of authority to, summarily remove people in charge of various agencies, including independent agencies and there is precedent that kind of goes the
other way, but they've said, well, maybe that precedent isn't quite right.
They've singled out the Fed, though, as a different case. One of the things we tried to amplify in the brief is that I think its problematic when the
President does this in any independent regulatory agency. So I would be probably with the liberals on the court who voted against those decisions,
but those decisions don't reverberate across global markets the same way this one would.
Again, once the executive starts putting himself in the business of the Central Bank, history is very clear that markets, our creditors, people who
lend to us, the businesses, price setters, wage setters, they all recognize that the Fed is now infiltrated by political forces and that has observable
negative effects on their ability to control inflation and to set interest rates to hit their goals of maximum employment and stable prices.
So this is a very serious problem that the President is fooling around with.
QUEST: All the names -- I am being diplomatic here -- all the names on the list are bipartisan at some sense, and they are all distinguished. But I
think even you'd agree it is especially distinguished when you have Alan Greenspan's name on the list. Five times chair of the Board and appointed
by Reagan, kept on by Democrats. It is really quite extraordinary that he signed on as well.
BERNSTEIN: There is a tremendous amount of experience, myself excluded on that list with Treasury Secretaries and former Fed Chairs and at least one
person, Janet Yellen, who has been both Chair of the Fed and Secretary of the Treasury. So tremendous amount of weight there. And, you know, don't
forget about Ben Bernanke, former Federal Reserve Chair, but also truly one of the most knowledgeable persons in the world on the history of Central
Banks in general and the Fed in particular.
His recent book on this was really quite magisterial in terms of its historical sweep. For my money, there are few who know what is at stake
here more than Bernanke and he was, you know, very engaged with this process.
QUEST: I am grateful to you, sir. Thank you very much for joining us. We will see how the Supremes, as they say, look at it. Thank you.
Now, staying with President Trump and of course, our last guest was just talking about Turkey. President Trump says he wants to see the Turkish
leader, President Erdogan, help end the war in Ukraine. They were at The White House, and the U.S. President also urged Turkey to stop buying
Russian oil and gas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I can tell you that President Erdogan is very respected by both of them. Everybody
respects Erdogan. They really respect Erdogan. I do. And I think he could have a big influence if he wants to.
Right now, he is very neutral. He likes being neutral. So do I like being neutral. But he is somebody that if he got involved, the best thing he
could do is not buy oil and gas from Russia. If he did that, that would be probably the best thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Suitably, the President of Turkey remained mum on that particular question.
In all of this diplomacy around the world, Finland has emerged as a key player in the push for peace in Ukraine. Last month you saw, of course,
there in the picture to the left, there it is, you saw the Finnish President, Alex Stubb, amongst a small group of world leaders invited to
The White House for crunch talks on Ukraine peace.
And during the meeting with President Zelenskyy, it was President Stubb, who reiterated Finland's support for Ukraine.
[16:10:19]
The pair also discussed the recent Russian incursions into NATO airspace. Finnish aircraft formed part of the NATO response to fly over Estonia.
Elina Valtonen is the Finnish Foreign Minister, joins me now from the United Nations.
Minister, I am grateful to you. I saw your President here. He was in our building here today. He sends his best regards, I am sure you've spoken to
him many times, but look, the reality is Finland is playing a disproportionately important role at the moment for a country of its size
and economic size and that gives you a new importance in the world.
ELINA VALTONEN, FINNISH FOREIGN MINISTER: Well thank you -- thanks first of all, for having me. And you seem to be seeing more of my President than I
do, but, yes, well, Finland, of course, knows Russia pretty well. We have a very long border with Russia, and we've had a history with Russia tried
invasions or invasions of Finland, and therefore we never lived under any illusions what comes to our neighbor.
At the same time, of course, we hope that Russia also, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, would become a proper democracy but unfortunately,
that never happened. So we were glad that we had always invested into our own defense and deterrence.
QUEST: This ability -- this ability to bridge that gap between today's U.S. and your presidency enjoys playing golf with Mr. Trump, but this ability to
bridge that gap, how do you see the leverage continuing? Because we are fascinated to see whether or not the U.S. President does follow through in
his view of going stronger against Putin? Or is this examples of him losing interest?
VALTONEN: We have been so glad to see that President Trump really wants to see peace in Ukraine and certainly Europe wants to see peace in Ukraine and
first and foremost, the Ukrainians want that. Now at the same time, we don't think that the U.S. position needs to be neutral in this or be just a
neutral mediator because the U.S. is and has always been the leader of the free world and the free world means that certainly countries can enjoy,
territorial integrity and sovereignty, but even more important than that, that people are free to make their own choices.
And what comes to the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine, they are essentially trying to deny the Ukrainian people all of these values, and
that we cannot accept.
QUEST: The U.S. has put forward this basic idea that he will -- President Trump will go harder against Vladimir Putin when Europe stops buying oil
and gas. Now, in terms of gas, we are up to about 80 percent and most of oil, but there are holdouts, whether it be Hungary, France in some cases,
Slovakia in other cases, are you confident that you can get Europe -- European -- E.U. countries to stop purchasing these fossil fuels in a
reasonable timeline?
VALTONEN: Absolutely. And we have to achieve that.
Now, first of all, what has to be said that we have been on the right track already for three-and-a-half years. We have been reducing our imports of
Russian crude oil by 90 percent. Also the imports of gas have gone down substantially.
What we have to do is to have these figures down to zero, and indeed, we are looking only at a couple of countries. And now I think it is extremely
fruitful that President Trump is meeting with President Erdogan of Turkey today because Turkey is our ally in NATO, and of course, they should also
do their bit in stopping to purchase, Russian energy, and at the same time they play a key role also in helping to prevent the circumvention of
sanctions, which the E.U. has put in place.
QUEST: So my fundamental fear in all of this is that whilst everybody is doing and talking and diplomacy-ing, if you will, if there is such a word,
eventually, Russia just keeps the meat grinder rolling, God forbid and overwhelms Ukraine. And, you know, everybody looks around in six months'
time and says, oh, sorry about that.
[16:15:10]
Well, never mind, we will win the next one.
VALTONEN: It is very unfortunate that the mindset of the Russian leadership seems to be that there is no value in human life. In July alone, they
sacrificed 20,000 soldiers and the gain on the battlefield is minimal. They have gained territory in Ukraine in the extent of one percent in the past
12 months, and at the same time, they have taken massive losses in both men and capacity.
Now, what we need to do is we need to be aiding Ukraine. We need to inflict extra economic pressure on Russia, and there of course, it is so important
that we do have the Transatlantic coordination in this, both through sanctions and if need be, through tariffs. And I think the single most
important step to take would be to lower the oil price cap, and that is also something that the U.S. can do because that would really hamper the
possibility of Russia to receive revenue through their oil sales; at the same time, it would not disrupt the oil market.
QUEST: Minister, I am grateful to you. Thank you very much for joining us.
VALTONEN: Thank you so much.
QUEST: In just a moment, Donald Trump is expected to sign an Executive Order that would basically move towards the completion of the deal to sell
off TikTok into a U.S. entity from China-based ByteDance.
Clare Duffy is with me, and we will be talking -- Clare, it is Oracle, its Abu Dhabi A.I. investment firm, MGX, it is whole lot of other -- Silver
Lake. There is a real mishmash into this, but the issue is the algorithm. Is it your understanding they have solved that issue?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: I think that there are a lot of questions that are still to be answered here, Richard, and hopefully when President
Trump signs this Executive Order, which is more of a procedural step at this point towards closing this deal, but hopefully he will be giving some
more information about where exactly things stand.
What we understand about the algorithm is that if this deal is indeed completed, ByteDance will be handing over a copy of the algorithm to this
U.S. based joint venture. They will be reviewing it and retraining it on U.S. user data, and then Oracle will be continuously monitoring how it
serves up content to users. But I think the big question that still remains here is, is China going to sign off on this deal?
They have signaled obviously that they are interested in the deal framework that has been put forward, but as recently as Monday, The White House was
telling reporters that they didn't yet know the final list of investors that would be making up this new joint venture.
So I think there still is a question about whether we do indeed see China's final sign off and even after Trump signs this Executive Order, we will be
waiting for that. We will be waiting for likely regulatory approvals on both the U.S. and Chinese side before this deal actually gets finalized.
That probably won't be happening until early next year.
QUEST: When we hear more from the President, don't go too far and we will be back with you. Thank you.
Now, as we continue our nightly conversation, Kenya's President has been speaking to me about the country's deadly protests this summer and the
state of democracy in his country, in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:21:15]
QUEST: Welcome back.
Kenya's President has told me that claims his country has become authoritarian cannot be further from the truth. The protests turned deadly
over the summer. It followed the death of a prominent blogger who had been taken into police custody.
The government has directed officers to shoot at protesters who approach police stations. CNN witnessed groups of men armed with batons beating up
civilians as police watched. But despite this unrest, President William Ruto insists Kenya remains pro-democracy and pro-investment.
He was in New York for the U.N. General Assembly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM RUTO, KENYAN PRESIDENT: Kenya, you know, is a robustly democratic country, and it is the only place in our corner where people demonstrate,
people express themselves freely and everything in between and --
But the last 24 months slightly more over two years, we have had a journey as a nation. We have reformed our education system, we have reformed our --
transformed our agricultural system, transformed our health system. We have brought in more interventions that were there for a very long time, housing
and everything in between, and a very heavy lifting the last couple of -- three to four months.
QUEST: But the criticisms have been very harsh on you as you've been doing this and indeed some of the criticisms in terms of the questioning of
rights, of freedom of speech.
Look, you know, I am always hesitant when I speak to a President to tell you about your own country.
RUTO: Yes.
QUEST: But at the end of the day, the criticisms say that it is authoritarian and that it is anti-investment. That the nature, the effect
of all this is, it creates an anti-investment environment.
RUTO: That cannot be further from the truth. If you look at the numbers, the numbers don't lie, my friend. Our inflation has come down from 9.6 to
four -- to an average of four. Our dollar reserves have gone up, doubled actually from $5.7 billion to $11.8 billion. Our exchange rate has come
down from 167 to the dollar to 129. That tells you the fundamentals are strong.
The IMF just released a report that says Kenya has now moved from position nine to position eight as the largest economy in Africa and Standard &
Poors has just given a report that Kenya is much more creditworthy than it was two years ago. That tells --
QUEST: So why are people protesting?
RUTO: That's the essence of a democracy. Don't you see a demonstration around here? There are demonstrations all over. This is the essence of
democracy.
Democracy is that some people agree with you, some don't agree with you. Those who don't agree with you demonstrate, those who don't agree with you,
they do whatever it is that -- but what leadership must do is to focus. Keep the eye on the ball.
QUEST: I was reading up on you. It must have been quite painful when you were described as the worst president. You saw that that --
RUTO: There is all manner of stories all over as to --
QUEST: How did you take that?
RUTO: I also saw one saying that Nairobi is the capital of Africa, you know, so there is all manner of things in the social media. But you see, as
a leader, you must keep the focus.
QUEST: How hard is that?
RUTO: It is quite difficult because there is so much noise sometimes. There is so much action sometimes, and it is easy to be dissuaded or it is easy
to be misled. But for the last three years, I have kept my focus. And believe you me, it is turning around. People are beginning to say, let's
listen, maybe William Ruto has something to say.
[16:25:10]
In fact, because the reality is changing. The numbers are speaking for themselves.
QUEST: Do you --
RUTO: The transformation is real.
QUEST: Do you regret getting involved and offering to lead the multinational force in Haiti? Bearing in mind, I mean, when you're
complaining about old cars, second hand cars and that really that comment, I am not sure whether you realize it was going to sort of take off as it
did, but do you regret leading that?
RUTO: I will never regret because in the first place, Kenya came into Haiti out of solidarity, because that is the essence of the United Nations.
QUEST: It is the other side of the world.
RUTO: That is the belief we have as a nation that -- we have been across the world many times. This is not the first time we are going across the
world for peace efforts.
We've done this in Kosovo. We've started in many other places. So we are just -- that is the DNA of Kenya, to be present when others need us.
QUEST: Have you been assured you'll get new cars?
RUTO: There is a transition which I spoke to this afternoon. There is already an understanding that yes, Haiti is doable, it is solvable. You
just need to get the right logistics, the right support, financial support, the right equipment, the right mandate. And I think our recommendations
that now go to the new mission --
QUEST: Right.
RUTO: -- have been taken on board because we are the people on the theater. We are the people in the theater. And we have clarity on what is needed for
this to succeed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now, I promised you that Donald Trump was speaking about TikTok, signing the Executive Order. Moments ago, he did just that. Have a listen
and we will follow on with what he is talking about it later.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next sir, we have an Executive Order on TikTok. From the first days of your administration, you've charged a team from your
administration, led by Vice President Vance with ensuring that we can preserve TikTok as a platform for the 170 million Americans who use it,
while ensuring that their data is properly protected, as required by law.
With this Executive Order, you will be effectively bringing into effect the agreement that will save TikTok and ensure that it can operate safely and
securely.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So this is interesting because I had a very good talk with President Xi, a lot of
respect for him. Hopefully he has a lot of respect for me, too. And we talked about TikTok and other things, but we talked about TikTok and he
gave us the go ahead.
You know, its run by American investors and American companies, great ones, great investors. The biggest -- you don't get bigger I don't imagine. And
maybe I will have J.D. --
J.D. was very much involved and in charge of it, and maybe I will have you say a few words about the deal. He would report back the points of the
deal, I think are great for our country. So, J.D., do you want to give it a little talk, please?
J.D. VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yes, sir. Yes, so thank you, sir, for your leadership and for your help. We really
couldn't have done this without the President actually ushering this deal over the finish line.
There were some resistance on the Chinese side, but the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating,
but we also wanted to make sure that we protected Americans' data privacy, as required by law, both because it is the right thing to do, but also
because it is a legal requirement of the law that was passed last year by Congress.
So we think that we were able to do that. Of course, we are going to keep on working at it, but this deal really does mean that Americans can use
TikTok, but actually use it with more confidence than they had in the past, because their data is going to be secure and it is not going to be used as
a propaganda weapon against our fellow citizens. We are very excited about it.
We appreciate the cooperation of everybody involved, and it is a big day.
TRUMP: And I think I can say that especially the young people, they really wanted this to happen. They did not want to have TikTok closed, and I got,
you know, a little used to TikTok. I used it myself during the campaign and it was very successful because, you know, how I did with the young voter
and Charlie helped me a lot, too. And he said to me you should go on TikTok, and it actually helped because we got record votes with the young
voters, you know, for the election.
So I was a little bit prejudiced in that way toward TikTok. It is very good and very meaningful. But we have American investors taking it over, running
it highly sophisticated, including Larry Ellison and Oracle, I guess is going to be a very -- play a very big role in terms of security, safety and
everything else.
So we have very good controls and literally I would get a call from friends of mine who are fathers of young people saying, could you do me a favor?
Could you get it approved, please? My son is driving me crazy, so we are getting it done and they have a big audience and we have great American
investors, and here is your final copy -- TikTok.
Now, maybe if you want, we could take a couple of questions on TikTok and then we are going to get on to something completely different, okay?
[16:30:10]
Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, you mentioned that China was resistant. Can you describe where China is now? Are they fully on board with this?
TRUMP: They're on board. I spoke with President Xi. We had a good talk. I told him what we were doing, and he said go ahead with it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the algorithm, it's still being leased coming from China. Are you satisfied that there's no security concerns for that?
TRUMP: Yes, I am. I really am.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would push disruptive --
TRUMP: The biggest reason is that, it's owned by Americans and very sophisticated Americans, and people that love the country and very smart
Americans too. So they don't want anything like that to happen. Yes, please.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Is there any operational relationship with Chinese entities or staff to execute the deal?
TRUMP: With who?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With the Chinese?
TRUMP: I don't think so. Not that I know. We're going to be -- this is going to be American operated all the way.
And great respect for President Xi and I very much appreciate that he approved the deal because to get it done properly, we really needed the
support of China and the approval of China. Yes, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, now that Americans will have operational control, do you want to see the algorithm suggest more MAGA
related content prioritized --
TRUMP: I always like MAGA related. If I could, I'd make it 100 percent MAGA related. It's actually a good question, but I would -- yes. If I could make
it 100 percent MAGA, I would. But it's not going to work out that way, unfortunately.
No, everyone is going to be treated fairly. Every group, every philosophy, every policy will be treated very fairly. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, do you know the valuation? You know the American company is going to be valued in the billions.
TRUMP: Well, they valued it very highly. They're paying a big number. Do you want to talk, Scott? Do you want to say something about value?
SCOTT BESSENT, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: Well, I'll put the vice president and then --
TRUMP: JD?
BESSENT: -- I can follow up.
TRUMP: Well you say something?
JD VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: Sure. Well, first of all, I want to say all credit goes to the Secretary of the Treasury couldn't have got
it done without Scott. Also couldn't have got it done without Sean Cooksey on my team, so thanks to them.
The company will be valued around $14 billion. We actually think this is a good deal for investors. But ultimately the investors are going to make the
determination about what they want to invest in and what they think is a proper value.
The most important thing is that, it does protect Americans data security. It ensures TikTok is still accessible to. And on this question of the
algorithm, which we've heard this a lot, what this deal ensures is that the American entity and the American investors will actually control the
algorithm.
We don't want this used as a propaganda tool by any foreign government. We want to make sure that our people and our investors actually make these
decisions based on what's good for their business as opposed to what's good for another government's propaganda arm.
So that's what we've done with this deal. I think it's very good for the American people. And as the President said, young people love this. We
actually want everybody to access this, whether they're MAGA or not, we just want it to be fair. We want it to be fair to everybody. And we think
that's what's going to happen with this new arrangement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the US government --
BESSENT: And just to follow up on the vice president, there were two pieces to the transaction. The Vice President's Office has worked since the spring
for the commercial transaction between the investor groups and then Treasury and a group including the Vice President's Office were in Madrid
two weeks ago to negotiate with the Chinese.
And it was a result of President Trump's close relationship with Party Chair Xi that we were able to get this across the line. We created a
framework for Party Chair Xi to agree. And then on the leader's call, Xi and President Trump discussed the final arrangement. So it was one-two, and
that was the final piece.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will the US government get any kind of annual payment as a result of this deal?
TRUMP: Taxes, we're going to make money. And we're going to get a lot of money in taxes. And, you know, China wanted to see this go. This is a great
legacy for China, too.
I thought President Xi was great in terms of his approval. We probably could have done it a different way, but it wouldn't have been the same. It
wouldn't have been the same security at all. But I appreciated that he approved it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible) in taxes, there's no part of the deal that is like a payment to the US government.
TRUMP: Well, we're going to be announcing different things but the US comes out great. And I think China comes out great because they're going to have
a very important legacy. And they have many other deals. You know, they have deals with us and they have deals in here in this country. And, you
know, they want to be treated fairly also.
So, Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, the US company could change the algorithm to push different content is that --
VANCE: The US will have control over how the algorithm pushes content to users. And that was a very important part of it. We thought it was
necessary for the national security element of the law. We also just think it's important to protect American users.
[16:35:03]
Again, we want users to use this platform the way they want to. We want the business to make decisions about content based on the interests of the
business, and based on the interest of the users. And that's what we think will happen with this new arrangement.
TRUMP: And they're paying a lot of money and I think hopefully it's going to be a great deal. They're very sophisticated people. You'll see a list.
Have you seen a list yet of the people? Well, you've been reading about it.
I know Michael Dell's involved, Rupert Murdoch's involved, and a lot of -- and let's see, we have probably four or five absolutely world class
investors that love the country, and they made a lot of money with the country. And many of them are in a somewhat related business. So it works
out pretty well.
And they're going to be very careful about all of these questions that you've been asking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who else beyond Dell and Murdoch?
VANCE: Well, it's a blue chip group of investors, and we'll be announcing more about who exactly is involved in the deal in the days to come.
TRUMP: Oracle is playing a very big part.
VANCE: That's right, sir.
TRUMP: And Oracle really understands this. And I think they're actually -- and they've been involved for quite a while running it for the people, the
previous people. And so it's really I think it's going to be very well- protected, very prestigious deal actually.
VANCE: On that point, Mr. President, as the President said, Oracle has actually had a role in housing the data for a long time, even when the
entity was controlled by the ByteDance organization in China. So Oracle had a pretty interesting perspective on what was necessary to actually create
true data privacy protections for Americans. They were a very important part of getting this thing done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, you told us a couple weeks ago you thought that the security concerns were overrated. But were there
legitimate concerns when it comes to safety?
TRUMP: From my standpoint, no. Because the people that own it are, you know, they're not China centric, they're USA centric and they're very smart
people. I guess you could say it about everything. Everything is -- what's secure nowadays, things that you think are totally secure turn out not to
be.
But I think in this case it's going to be as secure as you can because of the ownership and the people and they have a big investment, you know.
It's, to their advantage, to make sure it's good and safe. Yes.
Anybody else? Do you have a question? No, behind you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I just want to say, do you think this move in getting this deal done, Mr. President, do you think this honors the legacy
like Charlie Kirk? You mentioned that he specifically pushed you to get involved with TikTok, and your campaign and helped you win young voters. Do
you think this deal honors him?
TRUMP: Well, I think it's a good thing. It's a good sign. We're doing very well, as you know, with the trade deals. We're doing very well with China
and a lot of them. We were never treated properly.
We were for four years, actually, but were never treated very properly by other countries. And we're doing well. We've never done this well. We have
-- because of the tariffs that are coming and the deals that are being made. $950 billion in one case, $950 billion where previously they paid
nothing.
We have, as you know, in Japan, it's $550 billion. South Korea is $350 billion. That's up front. And one of the things I can say --
(END LIVE COVERAGE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: Some of those numbers are certainly in dispute that the President's talking about. But what's not in dispute is the deal.
Clare Duffy is back with me. Thank you.
You didn't go too far away. I saw you typing furiously. We didn't learn a huge amount. Larry Ellison, Dell, Murdoch are all involved. Fourteen
billion is the implied value. What did you learn?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH WRITER: Yes, Richard. I mean, I wish I could be in this room right now because the big question that I still have is, are
American users going to have to download a new, separate TikTok app once this transaction happens.
Because what we heard from the White House on Monday was that this new US ownership group would be controlling the algorithm for American users. But
what's implied there is that, the existing parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, will be controlling the algorithm for the rest of the world. And
I don't necessarily see how that works if everybody remains one app.
So that is a question that I still have about this deal. But we did get a bit more information from this press conference, these comments from the
president. The $14 billion valuation is somewhat interesting. That's a bit lower than I think many people had expected. TikTok's US assets had been
valued anywhere between $20 billion and $100 billion, so that's sort of an indication of just how much I think these investors want to be involved in
this deal and the potential future value that they see in TikTok.
I also think the comments that they were making about the control of the algorithm by this new US ownership group were interesting, both President
Trump and Vice President Vance, trying to underscore the point that this algorithm will be fair. They won't be trying to promote any certain
viewpoint using this new algorithm.
[16:40:00]
But I think that does speak to a question that many users have begun to have is, OK, the Chinese government will no longer potentially be
manipulating the TikTok algorithm, but will this new ownership group, which includes many allies of the President potentially be manipulating what
people see on the platform.
So I think they're trying to reassure people that the algorithm will continue to be fair and promote all viewpoints. But it was interesting to
hear them try to hammer that point.
QUEST: The other thing is, I mean, is it TikTok at the end of the day, who's going to do the development of it? Who will then be responsible for
the updates of it?
If TikTok itself wants, you know, Byte's version, wants to create new features, does the US entity -- I mean, I think you've nailed it when you
say is this going to be TikTok after the deal is done. But that's something we'll talk about. Clare, much more work for you in the hours ahead. I'll
let you get back to your duties as they say.
DUFFY: Thank you.
QUEST: This is CNN, TikTok or otherwise.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: All this week on Call to Earth, we're on an epic journey with the world-renowned photographer Chris Fallows. He devotes his artistry to
inspiring change. So now back to the Tarangire National Park in Northern Tanzania where, I beg your pardon, where Fallows has been looking to
capture more thought provoking images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS FALLOWS, PHOTOGRAPHER AND CONSERVATIONIST: We're in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania and it's an incredibly beautiful site. We've got
two of Africa's icons here, the enigmatic baobab, probably the most charismatic tree in all of Africa, and then the world's largest animal, the
African elephant. My idea here is to try and marry these two icons together in a moody artistic image.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: South African photographer Chris Fallows travels the continent in search of authentic moments like this to add to his portfolio,
which helped to buy land to protect habitat in Africa.
[16:45:05]
But as a passionate naturalist with a soft spot for elephants, he's often stopped in his tracks.
FALLOWS: Sometimes as a photographer, you can be obsessed with taking a photograph, but some of the most beautiful moments in what we do is
actually just sitting and observing these incredible creatures in action.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More often than not, Chris is accompanied by his wife and fellow naturalist, Monique.
FALLOWS: The diameter of this baobab is truly phenomenal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And as first time visitors, they're excited by the prospects.
FALLOWS: What an incredible thing to see
MONIQUE FALLOWS, NATURALIST: Chris doesn't focus on taking just a wildlife photograph. He's always wanting to try and capture the essence of animal or
of an area. So it's more of an artistic impression.
FALLOWS: But that's quite clean there, and we've got the elephants in the general area now. So what I've done is, I've gone to a tree where I hope
the animals are going to move towards, based on evidence around the tree that they've been there before, and then trying to set up the shot in as
aesthetically pleasing a way as possible.
What I'm trying to do is create separation with the background. This tree stands alone and proud.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As is often the case, this particular herd was camera shy and walked off in the opposite direction. And luckily and unexpectedly,
a unique opportunity presented itself.
FALLOWS: So we've got a magnificent sight here. We've got a leopard in the bowel of a beautiful baobab and incredibly, we've got elephants under it.
But my focus right now is on the leopard. You don't get to see this very often. It's truly beautiful.
Leopards can be extremely shy at times. She's pretty relaxed for now. So we've been here three hours now, and three hours really isn't very long to
wait for us. But you're always anxious you're going to miss something. But we're waiting for her to come down this beautiful mold and textured trunk
of the baobab.
And it might be in the next five minutes, might be in the next three hours. She might not come before sunset. So it's always a game of waiting. So if
that leopard gets up, that's going to be absolutely dynamite.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While many pictures were taken, Chris says he didn't end up with the quality of image that he would add to his collection.
FALLOWS: I hate clipping on top of the tree.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the experienced pro, it's all in a day's work. And tomorrow presents a new day with fresh opportunities, a renewed focus and
hopefully some cooperative subjects.
FALLOWS: Failure is part of the process, you know, and it's not necessarily failure if you don't get the shot first time. Because when you spend a lot
of time in a place, you begin to understand really what makes for an iconic photograph.
So we'll keep going. For me, this is building blocks and whatever I get is great. It might not be the iconic shot that I put into my portfolio, but
it's all about learning what makes each area special and then ultimately capturing it at the end of the day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Every time, those photographs, they just get me. We'll have more Call to Earth tomorrow. And of course, the full documentary, Beyond the
Lens is this weekend. Naturally, it's here only on CNN
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:51:12]
QUEST: It's Climate Week here in New York, an event that takes place alongside the UN General Assembly. President Trump, no way to say it other
than a discouraging tone when he described climate change as a con job and was extremely rude about renewables. The movie star and former California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is also here for Climate Week and told CNN's Alex Michelson that Donald Trump stance kept him from endorsing the fellow
Republican during his first presidential run.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: I'm not surprised that he said that. The bottom line is that he just never believed in it. And to
me, I said to myself, OK, then I cannot really go and be on his team because I'm a big believer that we have to do something about reducing
pollution and we have to do something about, you know, having people die, 7 million people a year die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now. The green mining company, Fortescue, has brought its ship. Yes, you heard me right, a ship to Climate Week. It is the green pioneer. It is
fueled by ammonia, one of the many ways that Fortescue is demonstrating how to cut carbon emissions. Manhattan is the ship's latest stop on a global
tour to promote alternative marine fuels.
Fortescue's founder and executive chairman is Andrew Forrest. He is with me now. What a splendid ship you have behind you, Mr. Forrest. Hopefully the
line is good to you. Let me simple why have you brought the ship here?
ANDREW FORREST, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, FORTESCUE: Richard, because this ship is fueled by ammonia. You get more hydrogen molecules in a cubic
meter of ammonia, believe it or not, than a cubic meter of hydrogen. So a tremendously efficient form of using that molecule which when you burn it
makes nothing more than water you can drink. So what's not to love about that?
But you make ammonia from air, wind, sun, water, that's it. That's never going to run out. Just when you use the water just goes back to fresh
water. So we know that this is a horse and cart to motorcar moment, Richard. And I'm just hoping that America isn't going to stand on the road
of the motorcar.
You've got a few motorcars around now. This is that horse and cart. Henry T (inaudible).
QUEST: So simple question, Andrew, and I'm going to be coming down later to look at the ship. If it's so good and so obvious and so easy, why aren't we
doing it? Why aren't more people on board with it?
FORREST: Well, because, Richard, you have a little government in the United States who's placed all its bet on a tired old horse in a big horse's
energy race called oil and gas, so I don't know why say all energy is open. Let's bet the best (inaudible).
The United States administration was basically saying if you vote for renewable energy with the coming vote in October with the International
Maritime Organization, then we're going to hit you with penalties. We're going to hit you with visa refusals, tariffs, economic bullying. Hey,
that's interfering in a race. That's not allowing a fair race to be run. That's not the free of America which we're all used to.
So I sailed this ship in here (inaudible) already.
QUEST: But, Andrew, do you worry that your company, when I say penalized, obviously I mean it in a sense that you'll be shunned by the US investment
from the -- if you are perceived to be against the prevailing wisdom of the United States administration, it could hit you badly in the pocket. Does
that bother you?
[16:55:10]
FORREST: Well, I just want to ask what is that wisdom, Richard, if that wisdom is to say global warming or et cetera is the greatest con job in
history. I just say, well, tell me the facts behind that. I'd be delighted to learn about it. I'm happy to be informed in any room you like, in a
debate, a courtroom, sue me. But I'm saying if you say that global warming doesn't exist, you go straight against the lived experiences of me.
I have millions of acres which I can see what's happening to our sheep and cattle stations in Australia. I've dived all over the reefs. The first
great tipping point across Australia, like in the rest of tropical world, first great tipping point. Change is underway and that's the smashing of
our coral reefs.
(INAUDIBLE)
QUEST: Andrew, just in time. We've lost -- we're losing the signal to you. Just make sure you have a drink or two by the time I get down there in
about an hour from now. Looking forward to seeing you then. Thank you.
We will take you and myself a profitable moment after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: You know, tonight's Profitable Moment. That phrase unprecedented times. It's certainly true in terms of Lisa Cook who's being fired by, or
at least trying to be fired, by Donald Trump as governor for some mortgage activities, for cause, as they say. And therefore, since the very case
against Lisa Cook is unprecedented, first time in 111 year history of the Fed.
So this brief is also unprecedented. It's an amicus curate brief. It's where people can join in the litigation. In this case, it's Donald Trump
against Lisa Cook as he's trying to fire. But what makes this unprecedented, Ben Bernanke, Jared Bernstein, Cochrane, Jason Furman, Tim
Geithner, Alan Greenspan, on it goes. Jack Lew, Paulson, name after name, every living Fed governor and most Treasury secretaries have all signed on
to this brief. That the core of it, the core says exposes the Federal Reserve to political influence, jeopardizing the credibility of US monetary
policy
So now the question is, the argument is clear one way or other, what weight is the Supreme Court going to give to this? Are they going to be stuck with
saying no unitary presidential policies or are they going to be saying the Fed is is different?
That's what's different about all of this. I have no idea how it's going to go. And that's Quest Means Business for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New
York or up to in the hours ahead. Hope is profitable.
END
