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Quest Means Business
Trump Threatens Nigeria With Military Action Over Violence; 72 Percent Say U.S. Is In Poor Shape; OpenAI Strikes $38 Billion Deal With Amazon Web Services; DP World Touts Company's Supply Chain Growth Strategy; Donald Trump's Approval Rating At 37 Percent As Local Elections Loom; Dodgers Claim Back-To-Back Titles In Dramatic Comeback. Aired 4-4:45p ET
Aired November 03, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:16]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A little frost coming off the market. A little bit. You see the Dow there down about half a percent. I wouldn't
get too excited though. All three major indices still circling around record territory. Those are the markets and these are the main events.
As President Trump threatens to send the U.S. military to Nigeria, the country's former Finance Minister and current WTO chief is urging
restraint.
OpenAI signs a massive $38 billion deal with Amazon Web Services.
And the chair of shipping giant, DP World says he is not worried about short-term trade disruptions. He is still investing, he says, for the long
term.
Live from New York, it is Monday, November 3rd. I am Paula Newton in for Richard Quest. And yes, Mr. Quest still means business.
And good evening.
Tonight tensions are high between the U.S. and Nigeria after Donald Trump threatened military action against Africa's most populous country. Now,
speaking on board Air Force One, the President left open the possibility of sending U.S. boots on the ground. He cited what he called a large scale
killing of Christians and said he would not allow that to continue.
Now, experts and analysts say the reality on the ground, of course, is far more complex. The head of the World Trade Organization said the situation
is difficult and requires careful thought.
Ngozi Okonju-Iweala formerly served as Nigeria's Finance Minister. She told our Richard Quest at CNN's Global Perspectives Event that Nigerians, they
want peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGOZI OKONJU-IWEALA, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION: This situation is truly complicated. It really bears discussion and proper
understanding because you want to handle it in a way that doesn't cause more dissension, but causes peace.
Nigerians want to live in peaceful coexistence with each other. Remember, we are 220 million, 374 different ethnic groups and as many languages, so
it is a very complex one. Two big religions, as you see, so complicated situation with many overlays that needs to be understood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: She made some very salient points there, and you'll hear more from her on trade in a moment. But first we want to go straight to Alayna
Treene, who is at The White House.
I mean, obviously a lot of reaction to the statement on Air Force One, including from the Nigerian government itself, who again repeated the fact
that the situation on the ground is very complicated, very nuanced. But I am wondering from you, in light of that, what is The White House saying
about possible military action?
I mean, they didn't threaten to send peace envoys there.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: They didn't, but they also -- what we've heard from the President and it is hard, you know, to tell some of my
conversations with people at The White House, they argue that a lot of this is kind of the President putting out very harsh rhetoric and waiting to see
how the Nigerians react.
But his threats were pretty big. I mean, he threatened to cut off aid to Nigeria. He also threatened to potentially go in and use military action,
and he was asked last night when he was traveling on Air Force One back from his Florida club to Washington, D.C., he was asked, does that mean --
does military action potentially mean boots on the ground or airstrikes? And the President did not rule it out?
But what I think, Paula, is just one of the most interesting things about all of this is how it came on to his radar so quickly. The first we've
actually heard the President talk about this, and I know from my conversations with people at The White House, they argue that this hasn't
really been a focus of his until this weekend, when he started posting about it on social media on his Truth Social site.
One of them said, if we attack, it will be fast, vicious and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs who attacked our cherished Christians. Now, of
course you mentioned some of this, but I think it is important for me, of course, to give the context here as well is that Nigeria has faced attacks
from radical Islamist groups like Boko Haram and ISIS for several years now, and they have been on Christians, but also on Muslims and the data
shows that actually Muslims appear to be targeted in greater numbers over the last several years.
So we are still waiting to see exactly what could be next. We know that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said that he is going to work on
preparing some action, but a lot of it could be putting pressure as well on the West African country and see how they respond before the U.S. actually
gets involved in a much more tangible way.
NEWTON: And Alayna, I have to ask you how this is playing at home. I mean, you just mentioned the Defense Secretary there. I mean, pardon me, the
Secretary of War, how much backing is this possible intervention getting from the MAGA Christian base?
[16:05:14]
TREENE: Well, there actually is a lot. As much as this has been something that kind of came onto the President's radar, I'd argue, in only the last
couple of days, this has been something that many different Christian groups and people in the broader Christian evangelical movement have been
paying attention to for a long time now.
One of those people who is also a United States lawmaker is Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. He has actually urged fellow Evangelical Christians, but
also Congress, to designate Nigeria as a violator of religious freedom. Essentially, he is trying to push some legislation that would designate
Nigeria as a country of what they call particular concern.
Just so you know, what other countries who are designated like that, that includes Pakistan, Afghanistan and China. And if the U.S. were to move
forward with that, it could actually result in sanctions on the country and other, you know, consequences for the West African country. Not to say that
is something that is going to happen, but he is one of the loudest voices we know, particularly in U.S. government, who has been paying attention to
this.
And so there is in the broader MAGA base, but particularly, of course, among some of the President's Christian supporters, a very, very core part
of his support. They have been paying attention to this, and so there is some of that, I think, that is playing into this broader picture as well.
NEWTON: Alayna Treene, grateful to you at The White House. Appreciate it.
Now, a new CNN poll shows some troubling news for the U.S. President, one year ahead of the midterm elections. Donald Trump's approval rating is at
its lowest point since the start of his second term. And the numbers show dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy. Seventy-two percent of
respondents, in fact, say it is in poor shape, with 61 percent saying his policies have in fact made it worse.
Some key elections, a reminder here are happening tomorrow, a first test at the ballot box. David Chalian is with me and we are glad to have you. I
have to say, this poll really got my attention this morning when it came out.
Can you give us a deeper dive into the numbers? I am wondering your reaction when you saw them as well.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, I mean, I think it mirrors a lot of what we have seen in polling broadly,
which is that Donald Trump started this second term at an all-time high for him. It wasn't -- it was still lower than most presidents at the start of
his term, but it was still his all-time high. He had a bit of a honeymoon, and he has just been coming down ever since.
This 37 percent is his lowest approval rating in this term, and that 63 percent disapproval number there is his highest across both of his terms.
The why, I kind of looked under the hood to see, well, why is this happening? You noted some of it. We see six in 10 Americans say that his
policies have worsened the economy, and 47 percent of Americans in this poll say the economy is the most important thing.
Only a third of Americans, as you just saw there on the screen, think that things are going well in the country, so it is a sour electorate. And their
top issue, the economy, they feel the President's policies are actually making things worse.
NEWTON: And I guess politically, the question always and I always come back to you for this, David, is so what, right? I mean, Donald Trump has gone
through these times before. The Republican Party has gone through these times before. Should the Democrats be reading into anything of these
numbers, or is it basically, let's wait to see what happens until Tuesday and beyond?
CHALIAN: Well, I mean, I don't think any president or any White House wants to see their approval rating in the low 40s, upper 30s. I think they'd
rather see majority support. To your point, I don't think the so what applies in modern day politics the way that it used to. It would be like,
oh wow, Donald Trump is at 37 percent approval. Republicans on Capitol Hill are going to start fleeing him. We know that is not the case. This is his
Republican Party.
But I do think this sort of gives us the mood and the landscape of the country, not only as voters head to the polls tomorrow in these off year
elections, but a year from now in the midterm elections. And to your point about the Democrats, you know, we do the generic congressional ballot. If
the election were today, would you vote for a Democrat or a Republican for your member of Congress? And Democrats have a five-point advantage here.
Now, eight years ago, at the end of the first year of Donald Trump, they had something like an 11-point advantage that then turned into a big pro-
Democratic wave midterm year. That's not the case now.
They do have a slim advantage, but Democrats are viewed very unfavorably by Americans right now, only 29 percent of Americans in our poll have a
favorable view of the Democratic Party.
So Donald Trump's unpopularity isn't necessarily like a binary thing that all of a sudden Democrats are popular. They are still searching for their
path forward.
NEWTON: Yes, it is such a good point, isn't it? Which brings us, of course, to the shutdown, David.
I've gone through American airports in the last 24 hours. It is not happy out there, David, and that's really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of
what Americans must be feeling right now about the shutdown.
[16:10:04]
CHALIAN: Yes, and I do think that the big question, as we are about to, I think we are just two days away from crossing that historic threshold of
the longest federal government shutdown ever, do the election results tomorrow night, if the democrats do quite well across the board, do these
poll results that we see here and the fact that you can see there, 81 percent of Americans think the shutdown is either a crisis or a major
problem. So this is clearly not meeting with an open heart from the American people. They are not into this shutdown.
Does the pressure start to mount now that you've also said not just the airports, but in SNAP benefits, food assistance and the fact that lots and
lots of federal employees are not receiving a paycheck. You see here Donald Trump's approval of his handling of the shutdown is only at 25 percent.
This means, is enough political pressure mounting in these next couple of days to force the parties to find an off ramp.
NEWTON: Yes, and always iron here, right? The President certainly says that he is a great negotiator. And if that's true, then Americans might actually
want to see him negotiate an end to the shutdown.
David Chalian for us, really grateful to you. Appreciate it.
CHALIAN: Thanks.
NEWTON: Now, the head of the WTO says most of the world is trading as normal without the United States. It is an interesting comment. You just
heard from Madam Iweala who told Richard Quest, most countries did not engage in tit-for-tat tariffs, which she said prevented the world from
descending into chaos with respect to trade.
Now, she said, countries are finding ways to improve commercial relations without Washington's lead. I want you to listen to some of this
conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OKONJU-IWEALA: The numbers are telling us something. It is not -- the patterns are not very clear yet, but we can see trade diversification
happening. We can see value chains being created. A lot of it is moving towards regionalization.
So we see clusters of production moving in Asia. That's one cluster that is coming up. We are looking for other patterns. So yes, we do see that. We
see our members trying to create new free trade agreements with each other.
We see a new group forming. It is called FITP. The Future investment and Trade Partnership with 14 countries and it is led by Singapore, New
Zealand, UAE and Switzerland. They are bringing together all these countries and saying, we want to form a new partnership to drive trade.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": It is just how do you -- does it all work without the U.S.? And particularly as you
saw from the IMO and the failure of the IMO to come up with a deal on maritime, if the U.S. decides to be troublesome, mischief making, annoying,
how do you -- how can it work?
OKONJU-IWEALA: Put it this way, we don't have to speculate about how can it work. We need to look at what is happening now. So with our members,
they're crafting new deals bilaterally or new agreements, or the U.S. is crafting new agreements with them that are not within the WTO system. So
they are not part of the MFN, and that's going on.
But outside of that is the rest of the world, and the rest of the world is trading with each other on the WTO terms, and I want to commend all our
members, by the way, the U.S. remains a member of the WTO, and I want to commend all of them. First, for dialogue with the U.S., no tit-for-tat.
That's why we still have a high MFN. They have not done tit-for-tat with the U.S. and we think that's the best way, so that the world doesn't
descend into chaos with respect to trade.
Secondly, continuing to trade with each other on WTO terms. That is what is keeping the world stable. So we need to give them credit for continuing
with that. It is painful. It is not easy. It is stressful. This is a very, very stressful time. I am not trying to minimize any of that.
You know, I feel stressed.
QUEST: I am interested in this idea of a shifting away from unanimity because consensus does not require unanimity. And many of us have always
believed that unanimity has been the weakest part of the WTO. This incessant wish to get everybody on board, which eventually leads to wishy-
washy nothing.
OKONJU-IWEALA: Well, I wouldn't characterize it as wishy-washy nothing, because we just landed a very good agreement through the consensus rhythm.
The Fisheries Subsidies Agreement to remove $22 billion in subsidies, and I want to commend members, however --
QUEST: You know what I mean.
OKONJU-IWEALA: However, yes, I agree with you that this is one of the things we need to look at. Okay? Consensus is good. We should keep it
because it gives the smallest member the same power as the largest.
However, it can be practiced in a way that is much more efficient, much more effective. That doesn't keep --
[16:15:10]
If an agreement is being made and it doesn't materially harm your interests, perhaps you can just allow others to get on with it.
We need to have a situation in which flexible coalitions of the willing within the WTO can make agreements, can make decisions and move on with it.
QUEST: How close are you to getting that, do you think?
OKONJU-IWEALA: We have work to do? We are not close. But what we --what is important is identifying the issue, okay? We first have to identify the
issue and say, are these the problems confronting us and get everyone to agree. You can't even work on the problem if there is disagreement on
whether it is a problem or not.
I think now, virtually every member, I say virtually, there may still be one or two, virtually every member agrees that we need work because we
cannot keep up with A.I. and the fast moving world of technology if this is the way we are making decisions. We have to make it more efficient, more
flexible. So that's one.
We have to be able to do what are called plurilateral agreements, in which a few can get together, not all the membership, and we are working on it.
Second, we need to make all members feel that the organization is delivering something worthwhile for them. If developing countries feel it
doesn't work for them, they're not going to be as engaged. If the U.S. feels it is not working, you have seen the consequence of that, if the
emerging markets --
So how do we take into account the issues of all these constituencies? Some of them say protectionism is rising, too many walls, we can't trade as
freely and that is true, if you look at all the indicators, two average tariffs in the world have doubled. How do we get back to the path of more
liberalization?
Secondly, there is lack of trust because some people feel that some members are not declaring what they are doing as openly as they used to. We have to
reform that.
QUEST: You're not getting back to lower tariffs.
OKONJU-IWEALA: Well, let's see. If we are not getting back to lower tariffs, let's at least not make it higher and higher. Okay. Let's halt it.
More and more protectionism is not the way to go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Fascinating conversation there, and again proof that there is no getting away from A.I. in any discussion it seems, so up ahead, OpenAI has
agreed to more than $1.5 trillion in recent deals, the latest with Amazon Web Services, which sent Amazon shares, you see them there to new records.
We will have that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:20:17]
NEWTON: OpenAI has struck a $38 billion deal with Amazon Web Services to help satisfy its growing demand for computing power. Now, Amazon shares
closed more than four percent higher after the announcement.
According to the companies, OpenAI will use Amazon's existing data centers and future ones as needed. OpenAI has now committed to partnerships worth -
- get this -- nearly $1.5 trillion that includes recent deals with NVIDIA, AMD, Oracle and Google. They are designed so that OpenAI pays in increments
as it scales up.
What does that mean? No money up front.
Clare Duffy is with us in New York.
Yes, Clare, I mean, literally, I've lost track because you pretty much lost me at $1.5 trillion. So please explain how this is all one big happy family
now, because clearly we know what OpenAI is getting out of it. But the fact that they brought in all of these players for these kinds of contracts.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Paula, I mean, that $1.5 trillion deal announcement figure is especially striking when you consider the fact
that OpenAI is not yet profitable and the company is reportedly bringing in tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue.
So I think there is a wide gulf there, and that is part of the reason why these deals are structured so that OpenAI is paying overtime rather than
this huge amount right up front.
OpenAI believes that it needs a ton of computing power to reach what is known as AGI or artificial general intelligence. This theoretical point
when A.I. becomes smarter or more capable than all of the humans on earth, and it doesn't want to rely on just one computing partner to do that, and
that's why you're seeing it strike deals with AWS and Google and Oracle, and the chip companies, and this is also part of the reason why the company
wanted to reduce its reliance on its major investor, Microsoft.
When OpenAI announced last week that it had moved forward with this restructuring plan to become a public benefit corporation, it also
announced that Microsoft will no longer have right of first refusal when OpenAI wants to buy more computing capacity, and this Amazon deal is the
first that we've seen since that announcement.
As you said, $38 billion is expected to apply over seven years and as you said, OpenAI will be buying existing computing capacity from AWS. But
what's interesting here is that AWS will also be building custom data centers for OpenAI.
Now, I think the big question is how is OpenAI paying for all of this? You know, Sam Altman sort of dismissed concerns on a podcast over this weekend
about the company's growth trajectory. He estimated that OpenAI could reach $100 billion in annual revenue within the next two years. But I think there
is a real question about where is the business model to support that?
The company does sell subscriptions. You know, it has got coding tools for businesses, but there still is a lack of an understanding about what the
real business model is for generative A.I. at this moment.
NEWTON: And we haven't even started to talk about the fact that what kind of competition could come up for OpenAI. Still $100 billion in revenue in
two years. I know that caught a lot of people's attention as well. Did he say definitively because as you said he is eventually going to go public,
right? I mean, that is where this is going.
DUFFY: Yes. You know, he is being sort of noncommittal about the timeline for that. But I do think that is their ultimate plan, and in fact, when he
was sort of dismissing these concerns about the company's growth trajectory and whether it can afford these massive computing deals, he basically said
the benefit of being public is that people could buy our shares and they could support our vision, and we wouldn't have to deal with all of these
questions around the strength of our business.
And so he did say that that is one potential benefit of going public. He did, however, dismiss the idea that the company is planning to go public in
the next year.
NEWTON: Okay, I guess we will take him at his word for that. Perhaps December 2026 then, Clare, you and I will be talking about it going public.
Let's see. Clare Duffy for us. Appreciate the explanation because we needed it. Thanks so much.
Now on to this merger, Kimberly-Clark has agreed to Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol. That is a deal worth $48 billion. The deal has Kimberly-Clark
paying $21.00 a share for Kenvue.
You can see the reaction from investors there. They are essentially in opposite directions. Tylenol has been dealing with weak sales and lawsuits.
The White House has suggested a link, in fact, between the use of Tylenol by pregnant women and an uptick in autism rates. Decades of studies have
concluded that the painkiller is indeed safe.
Anna Cooban is in London. I mean, look, we've heard a lot about Tylenol over the last few weeks, also from The White House, given what happened
there with MAHA and the health advocacy that they're doing. But when it comes to Kimberly-Clark itself, why are they doing this deal?
[16:25:09]
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER: Well, I think that's a very puzzling question. It is something that investors are asking
themselves today. Why would Kimberly-Clark want to take on Kenvue? I mean, it is a huge company. Obviously, it has got all of these household brands,
including Listerine, the mouthwash, but also, of course, it has got Tylenol, which, you know, in many ways might be a bit of a -- can cause
some legal headaches.
Like we've got the a lawsuit that was filed by the Attorney General of Texas last month -- this last week, sorry, and this was over the unfounded
-- repeated unfounded claims that Kenvue has been deceptively marketing Tylenol to pregnant women. Of course, based on those unfounded claims that
taking Tylenol during pregnancy can link to autism.
So from an investors' perspective, from Kimberly-Clark's perspective, people are asking why, why? Why bother doing this? Also, there are some
concerns that maybe Kimberly-Clark has overpaid for it. It is a huge deal, around $50 billion, but that Kimberly-Clark is buying the shares of Kenvue
for $21.00 apiece when it closed its stock price on Friday at about $14.00.
So investors are really scratching their heads about this, Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, and it is again, the price of this. Has the company said anything about what they expect to do? I mean I know we've heard about
synergies, but that can't possibly make up for this kind of a stock price.
COOBAN: Well, these companies clearly think that they together are stronger. And of course, we can ask the question, why would Kimberly-Clark
want to get involved with Tylenol? I am sorry, Kenvue now, but this is a kind of deal that would have been in the works for quite a while before
this controversy flared up around September.
And lets bear in mind, Kenvue is a huge company. It has got millions of customers, millions of people around the U.S. are still taking Tylenol. As
you said yourself earlier, there have been decades of people taking it without any issue.
So I think Kimberly-Clark is probably seeing the wood for the trees here, just biding its time and it sees long term, this being a deal, a real value
for it.
NEWTON: Yes, well, we have to wait for the deal to close, and then they said they'll have to see what kind of results they can get over the
quarters to come. Because right now investors are not happy with that deal.
Anna Cooban for us in London, thank you.
Now a comeback for the ages. Do you have to remind me? As the L.A. Dodgers claim back-to-back titles in the most dramatic fashion, we will have the
details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:30:28]
NEWTON: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments later this week on the legality of President Trump's sweeping tariffs.
Now, the levies have disrupted much of the shipping industry since so called Liberation Day. The CEO of global supply chain company DP World
isn't too worried, though. He told Richard Quest that the impact of tariffs is much more psychological.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SULTAN AHMED BIN SULAYEM, CEO, DP WORLD: I feel it is more in the media than the real to be honest with you, it is more psychological. People said,
oh, the tariff is being charged. And some -- you see, even if they put the tariff today, the effect is not going to be immediate. That's one.
The second thing is, in all our numbers are all good. All the ports around the world are growing. So, if really this disruption of tariff is really
putting an effect, we will see the numbers drop. It hasn't dropped. It's growing less than before in the areas affected, but in general, it's
growing.
QUEST: Right. But what about things like the removal or the abolition of the de minimis rule?
BIN SULAYEM: I don't know, to be honest with you, that I can, I can't tell you, but I give you one commodity we feel -- we feel effective. It is cars
in Europe. We handle lots of cars.
Our car business dropped. OK? It's not bad for us. We're not making as much money as we used to, but it dropped, but we believe that within the next
two years, it should pick up.
I had a good meeting with my people yesterday reviewing what we're doing around the world. So, certain commodities we got affected, but in general,
it hasn't.
QUEST: Do you find that you're having to change your investment and CAPEX decisions because of what's happening at the moment?
BIN SULAYEM: Not at all. Let me tell you, our agreement and our investment in each country is like 30 years, OK, or some places even 50 years.
We cannot really make a decision about something that's going to affect in two or three years. When you spread it along 30 years, it's nothing.
QUEST: The difference seems to be and what you said in the panel today, which was interesting and surprising, is the way in which you proactively
boost the opportunities for value added or for your clients to do work. So, you're not just moving the stuff. You're building a plant that they can do
things with.
BIN SULAYEM: Absolutely, when we are in a terminal, we like to anchor the business. The way to anchor the business in that terminal is by having
added value.
The classic example is, Jebel Ali, when we started, there was no way we can get the business. When we started the Free Zone in '85 and we start to
develop, today, the Free Zone contributed six percent to GDP in Dubai, creating in the port 160,000 jobs, and within UAE, over a million.
That experience gave us confidence that we have to do the same. We do the same in Senegal. We do the same in Egypt. We're doing the same in Ecuador.
QUEST: Explain, let's take Egypt or Senegal. What does it mean?
BIN SULAYEM: When we started as a port operator, until 2016, we were only operating inside the port, and we were like a sitting duck.
Why? Because our business is only going to happen if a ship comes. The ship doesn't come for reasons outside our control, like geopolitical whatever,
then we have nothing to do and we cannot do anything about it. And we didn't like that.
That's when we invested into more in supply chain, into a shipping that connects our ports together, into logistics around the world, in Africa, in
Ecuador, in Peru, in India and other places.
QUEST: So, you're now reaping the benefits of decisions taken 20 years ago when it comes to Africa, you took decisions to build ports 15, 20, years
ago.
BIN SULAYEM: Absolutely, we have an experience. You see, we gone through this in Jebel Ali. When we invested, when people thought we are crazy. When
people thought who's going to fill that port.
I myself never thought that port will be filled. Today, we have to expand it. London Gateway, here in London, when you invest in 2010, even the U.K.
government didn't believe it will work. They said that we will not build it. That's the first thing they said.
And secondly, if they build it, nobody will come. And today we have to expand it double than what we planned. It's all because we added our
accumulated experience around the world and collectively with our customer that we acquire today around the world. We made sure they use it.
[16:35:04]
QUEST: What business are you going to get into next?
BIN SULAYEM: We are only going to be in the cargo business. Cargo related business.
QUEST: But what aspect of it?
BIN SULAYEM: I look at the digital side, the A.I., we invest a lot in that sector, because I believe the biggest risk for any business today is
they're not ready, or there is something they don't know about technology that could disrupt their business. This is what doesn't keep us sleeping at
night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: And our thanks to Richard for that.
Now, new CNN polling shows Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to 37 percent, the lowest point of his second term.
Now, Democrats are hoping that translates to votes for their party in state and local elections on Tuesday.
In Pennsylvania, many Latino voters backed Trump last year. Some are now reconsidering their options, as Maria Santana found out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA SANTANA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Normally at this time, Ricardo Francisco's Dominican restaurant is full, serving clients pica
pollo, pernil and the traditional tres golpes, mashed plantains with fried eggs, cheese and salami.
SANTANA: This is my favorite dish. The platanos.
SANTANA (voice over): But he says business has dropped about 35 percent in the past year.
SANTANA: Do you think that Trump's immigration policies and the way he's cracking down on immigrants, that that has something to do with it?
RICARDO FRANCISCO, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER (through translator): Of course, that's had a lot to do with it.
There are fewer people out on the streets. Now, they prefer delivery instead.
SANTANA (voice over): When we first met Francisco last year just after the election, he said he backed Donald Trump, trusting his economic Plans while
brushing off his talk of mass deportations.
FRANCISCO (through translator): No. I don't Agree with mass deportations because almost all of us here are immigrants. I think Trump should
reconsider that. And I think he will.
SANTANA: It hasn't even been a year since Trump has been in office, and you don't like what he's doing with immigration?
FRANCISCO (through translator): No. Because many families have been separated. I think the government should refocus and pay more attention to
the economy.
SANTANA (voice over): That frustration seems to be growing across Allentown. Large crowds recently gathered throughout the region as part of
nationwide No Kings protests.
A once-industrial hub in northeastern Pennsylvania, the city is now home to a majority Latino population that swung sharply toward Trump in 2024.
JOHNNY HERRERA, BARBER (through translator): The majority of us regret it very, very much.
SANTANA (voice over): Johnny Herrera, a barber at a local shop, says that many here feel deceived by Trump.
HERRERA (through translator): Right now, I don't support him.
He said he would go after the undocumented immigrants doing wrong and help those who are working and doing the right thing. But that's not what's
happening.
SANTANA (voice over): Back at the restaurant, Francisco worries that if things don't change soon, he may have to close.
FRANCISCO (through translator): I don't have the resources to keep this place running long term.
SANTANA (voice over): But he's still not ready to completely give up on Trump.
FRANCISCO (through translator): He has time to recover, to regroup and to govern well. I think so.
SANTANA (voice over): He hopes he's right this time. And if he is, he says "next time lunch is on me".
I'm going to come back.
Maria Santana, CNN, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: OK, folks, bear with me. As a Blue Jays fan, this next story is going to be very difficult for me to get through, but we muddle along. The
Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off an incredible comeback over the Toronto Blue Jays to win back-to-back World Series titles. Los Angeles held a parade for
the Dodgers after they won six and seven on the road in Toronto.
Now, at one point, the Jays, I'll remind you, were just two outs away from the win, but clutch pitching from Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed the Dodgers to
hang on. Indeed, they did.
He, in fact, was named Series MVP for securing the win. They do look like they're having fun. It was supposed to be Toronto's parade, but it was not
to be.
Veronica Miracle, though, was at this victory parade.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the second year in a row, downtown Los Angeles has effectively shut down for this, this incredible World
Series parade, bus after bus, player after player. We got waves from all of the stars.
Last year, a quarter of a million fans showed up here in downtown Los Angeles. There is no doubt that hundreds of thousands of people are here
today.
[16:40:04]
In fact, there's so many people lined on these streets. Some of these people can't even see a view. We've got people on rooftops, so many people
who are excited.
This city has been through a lot of chaos, a lot of tumult over the last few months this summer, but one thing I can tell you about today, there's
no chaos, it is all love and support for their team and Dodgers.
In fact, we spoke to some people who showed up at 4:00 in the morning just to get a spot. Take a listen.
MIRACLE: What brought you here today?
ALEJANDRO ALBA, LOS ANGELES DODGERS FAN: Man, last year I wasn't able to make it. I had a lot of work, and I told my boss I should have been at the
parade. But this year I said, boss, I got to go, and I promised my son I would take him, and we went two times in a row, and we're here today. Let's
go Dodgers, baby.
MIRACLE: Now, a lot of what I've been hearing from people is, yes, they won last year. They won this year. What about next year? Is it going to be a
three beat.
If it happens, all of these fans know they're going to be back here in downtown Los Angeles. So much love in the city for the Dodgers and far
beyond, it's a very proud city, certainly back with the blue.
Veronica Miracle, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: All right, congratulations to the Dodgers, I guess.
All right, the Dow Jones closed lower to kick off the week. You can see it opened in the red and was never able to recover. It was dragged down by
health stocks, Merck vanished at the bottom, down more than four percent. United Health, one of the largest components of the Dow, in fact, finished
about two percent lower.
Shares are down more than 30 percent for the year. Amazon, on the other hand, popped four percent. Now, as we discussed earlier, it reached a $38
billion deal with OpenAI.
Now, the other major averages performed a bit better. The S&P in fact closed in the green. It was a decent day as well for tech stocks. With the
NASDAQ closing nearly half a percent higher, tech investors are keeping a very close eye on all of those A.I. deals.
And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, I'm Paula Newton in New York. Up next, "CONNECTING AFRICA."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(CONNECTING AFRICA)
END
