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Quest Means Business

Trump Shrugs Off Concerns He is Profiting Off Presidency; Trump Takes First Trip on New Air Force One Gifted by Qatar; Venezuelan Lawmaker: Death Toll Rises to at Least 2,295. AOL Owner Bending Spoons Goes Public on the Nasdaq; WPP's A.I. Officer on What Companies are Getting Wrong; USA Kick Off Against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired July 01, 2026 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:30]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: It is a cliffhanger day there. I mean, I think the Dow just missed closing at another record, but let's face

the facts, a bit of a sideways day there for the markets. Remember this is all leading up to the crucial jobs report that we are going to get

tomorrow.

Those are the markets and these are the main events. President Trump has made more than a billion dollars on his crypto ventures since taking

office. He says it simply because the stock market is going up.

Mr. Trump takes his inaugural flight on the new Air Force One. That jet was gifted to him by Qatar. The President says the U.S. couldn't build a plane

like this.

And Bending Spoons, which acquires and revamps digital businesses, has now gone public. Its chief executive will join us live from the NASDAQ.

I am live in New York. It is Wednesday, July 1st. I am Paula Newton in for Richard Quest. And this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

So everyone is profiting, those are the words of Donald Trump as he shrugged off the profiting that he is doing from his presidency. Mandatory

financial disclosures show he made more than a billion dollars from cryptocurrency businesses just last year. At least half of that came from

World Liberty Financial, a firm managed in part by two of his sons.

The President has also continued to lend his name to a range of products and ventures. You can see he has made over a half billion dollars from

crypto tokens, more than $600 million from celebration coins and millions more from Trump watch royalties. Now, this windfall from all of this comes

on top of income that Trump has continued to generate from his properties.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Mr. President, your financial disclosure shows you had a very lucrative year last year. What message does this send to average Americans,

especially those who may be struggling right now financially?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, you know, I don't get involved in my personal. We have funds that run my money.

REPORTER: To critics who say you're profiting off the presidency --

TRUMP: Well, you know why I am profiting, because the stock market is going up. Everybody is profiting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, those comments came just as he boarded his inaugural flight on the new and controversial Air Force One. We will have more on that in a

moment. But first, CNN politics senior reporter, Stephen Collinson joins us now from Washington.

So how about it, Stephen? Will it fly? Everyone is profiting.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, well, I think, you know, it is no secret that Donald Trump is rich and he likes to make money.

I think the most serious part of this is as it relates to cryptocurrency. Trump, as you said there, you showed those numbers, has made more than a

billion dollars over the last year in crypto profits. This comes at the same time that the President's administration is not just regulating the

crypto industry, but is promoting it and in some cases has lessened regulation and oversight of the industry. So it is only natural that people

are going to start to ask, well, is the president acting on behalf of all Americans and the good of the American economy, or for his own profit?

Now, The White House says, and it backed up what the President said there is that, you know, he is always looking out for the American people and any

accusations of conflict of interest which are now coming thick and fast from Democrats ahead of the midterm elections, are completely false.

But, you know, an economy in the western world, a Democratic capitalist economy, relies on the fact that people who trust, trust, that everything

is on the up and up, that there are rules, the rule of law prevails, and that there are no favors to certain industries or to certain individuals.

So that, I think, is the reason why this is, first of all, more serious than just another question of how much money Donald Trump is making off the

presidency.

NEWTON: Yes, Stephen, I will remind you that you wrote that Trump's version of winning, these are your words, often leaves destruction in its wake in

the form of crushed democratic values. I mean, Americans expect that presidents do not profit from the office, right?

COLLINSON: Right and going back to George Washington, it has been seen as a public trust, a moment when you put your own interests aside for the common

good.

Trump would argue that he is raising everybody, as he basically did there when he said that everybody is profiting. The point, though, is that

everybody isn't profiting. Millions of Americans are suffering in this economy.

[16:05:08 ]

There is an affordability crisis. That's one of the big issues in the midterm elections.

So far in Donald Trump's political career and I think this is partly to do with the fact of his persona from "The Apprentice," that he is this great

businessman. He has been able to shake off questions of whether he is looking out for himself rather than the country as a whole, because people

see him as this businessman and many people, when you talk to them at Trump rallies during his campaigns, argue that, well, sure, he is rich, but he

can help all of us get rich.

But if there is a growing public perception, that's not the case that trump is getting rich and everybody else is struggling. That ought to be a

vulnerable political position.

I think the question is, first of all, whether the Democrats can exploit that and whether it can penetrate this almost sphere of unique political

gravity that the President has created around himself.

NEWTON: And it is unique, certainly in recent history. Stephen Collinson for us, thanks so much.

Now, World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency firm linked to President Trump's sons as well as the son of U.S. Special Envoy, Steven Witkoff,

operates in areas of presidential policy. Just days before President Trump's second inauguration, an investment firm tied to the United Arab

Emirates reportedly acquired a $500 million stake in the company. The UAE is a country with which the United States has extensive foreign policy

dealings, raising concerns over conflicts of interest.

Joining me now is David Uberti. He is a reporter for "The Wall Street Journal." I do want to start with the issue of crypto. And no, it does not

link to the gains in the stock market. This is an enormous amount of money and yet you detail that the family gained that the crypto value here was

$15 billion. It is now down to $400 million. I am talking about the crypto alone.

So Trump made money. His family made money. What happened to all the other money? Was it a pump and dump or were people just satisfied to buy in

because it was a Trump venture?

DAVID UBERTI, REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Sure. Well, the figure you're describing is from his meme coin specifically. So it rose in value

to as high as $15 billion in market capitalization. Recently, it has been down as low as $400 million, which is something like a 97 percent decrease

over the course of time. It is a true price spike.

So a small collection of investors into this meme coin made money off of it, including President Trump. The disclosure released yesterday, suggested

that an entity linked to that Bitcoin or sorry to that meme coin, raked in something like $600 million. The vast majority of other investors in that

meme coin, many of them are small investors, and many of them are underwater at this point in time.

NEWTON: And yet people continue to invest. We had that long list there of people that are buying all kinds of things to buy into the Trump name and

the Trump family.

Why is there no backstop here?

UBERTI: Well, with crypto in particular, there is a weird psychology in this market where many investors in this space are sort of along for the

ride. The space is notoriously boom and bust. Rug pulls are common, and many traders sort of view this as a game. And in some sense, according to

some of them, the who we've spoken to in recent days, they see that Trump has simply played this game better than they have.

Obviously, the scale is much larger than it is for any mom and pop investor like you and me. You know, in the lead into this segment, you used the

figure $1 billion for the crypto related income that he reported yesterday. By our calculations, it is actually $1.4 billion, roughly $800 million from

either token sales or equity sales into World Liberty Financial, as well as $600 million from that meme coin as well.

It just goes to show that he sort of struck the iron while it was hot. Now, of course, despite the fact, as your colleague said, he has been very

supportive of the cryptocurrency industry in the form of lax regulations. Bitcoin prices have cratered.

So The White House says it wants to make the United States the crypto capital of the world, but the industry is really languishing.

NEWTON: Why do you think there has been no backlash, though, from others that have invested in this? At least I haven't seen it if there is any.

UBERTI: I mean, if you go on Truth Social today, the President's social media platform, oftentimes there is a cohort of people on that platform

that follow Trump-linked investments. They are very bullish on the outlook in many cases and just sort of zooming into that today, there have been a

growing number of folks who I've seen posting in that platform using the word "grift," which seems new to me, you know, whether that converts into

some sort of broad based political backlash, I will leave to the political analysts, but it goes to show that this is sort of a known fact at this

point, that many of these investments that are tied to the Trump brand, whether they are cryptocurrency investments, whether it is the Trump media

stock, for example, they have sort of spiked in price and then really declined and languished over the course of time.

[16:10:20]

NEWTON: And that is so interesting to me, the way all of this has evolved as if everybody understands what they are getting into and they just accept

they might lose some money on it. I want to point out that at the end of last year, you and your colleagues at "The Wall Street Journal" detailed a

major expansion of the Trump family empire. Right? This is not just him, it is his family as well.

You included the crypto, communications, financial products, a fusion power deal, "The New York Times" this week reported on his family's involvement

in critical minerals. In your opinion, will this continue? Because in plain terms, it is perfectly legal. There will be no legal or political blowback

here.

UBERTI: At least for now, that is, as long as Republicans control congress. Of course, a lot of Democrats in the Hill are raising hay about this very

issue. But yes, to your point, we've sort of chronicled the expansion, the different layers of the onion that we've pulled back in this broadening

business empire.

And if the first year of the second Trump administration was sort of characterized by these major bets on cryptocurrency, I think arguably, you

could say the second year is increasingly based on some of these strategic sectors across the United States economy, whether it is sort of emerging

renewable energies.

You mentioned the fusion deal. There is a fusion company merging with Trump Media as well as critical minerals, as well as drone makers, as well. The

Trump sons in particular, Eric and Donald Trump, Jr., they are working with increasingly important bankers around Wall Street and elsewhere to strike

some of these deals and many of these emerging companies, and they are either doing so in a direct way.

They are actually investing directly into some of these deals, or they are investing in vehicles that might invest their money indirectly in some of

these deals as well. So we have some visibility into these bets they are making in these various sectors of the economy.

In others, we have less visibility, but what we can say is their interests are spreading far outside the traditional media or the traditional hotel,

hospitality business, even further outside crypto as well into more traditional financial markets in different sectors of the more industrial

or critical sectors of the us economy.

NEWTON: And likely more to come, we shall see. We have to say that The White House says that the President has no conflicts of interest and

continues to work in the best interests of the American people.

David, we will leave it there. Appreciate it.

UBERTI: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, the New Air Force One jet made its inaugural flight today. The White House Communications Director posted a few photos on board. You can

see them there. The luxury plane is a gift from the Qatari government, worth an estimated $400 million.

Mr. Trump shared his excitement for it ahead of his trip to North Dakota for an America 250 celebration. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There has never been a plane like it. Frankly, we couldn't build a plane like this because we wouldn't be willing to spend the kind of money

necessary. They spent top dollar.

So the head of Boeing said this is considered the best 747 they've ever built.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, the plane has raised legal, ethical and National Security questions ever since the U.S. accepted Qatar's gift last year.

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and CNN military analyst, Cedric Leighton is with me now.

Operationally, I was kind of surprised this was even possible. Can you give us some insight into what likely had to be done to this airplane to make

sure it was safe, it was secure from all kinds of attacks from adversaries and beyond?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, Paula, that's one of the biggest refurbishments in the history of aviation is what were actually

seeing right there.

So, one of the big things was, of course, the communications suite. It had to be made secure and up to U.S. cryptographic standards. So, what that

means is that all of the communications that had maybe have been previously in there, been in there for the Emir of Qatar, had to be removed.

And the U.S. grade communications had to be installed. So, what this plane has is it has both secure voice and secure video teleconferencing

capabilities, which is, you know, certainly something that the President had in the previous version of Air Force One.

The other thing that they had to do was to make sure that the avionics could meet the standards that are necessary for flight for, you know, such

an important personage.

So they had to make sure that everything was okay from a mechanical perspective. But the other aspect, of course, is the defensive aspect. So

there are two aspects here that I want to highlight. One of them is the fact that they had to harden the circuits, the communication circuits and

the electrical circuits against electromagnetic pulse.

[16:15:10]

So the previous versions of Air Force One had a degree of hardening that allowed for the aircraft to fly through the possibility of an

electromagnetic pulse say from a nuclear blast or, you know, some other event that would cause something like that.

So this airplane has to have the same kind of capability in order to not only protect the President, but also to make sure that he has those

communications capabilities that would be necessary in a crisis of that type. So that's one particular aspect of it.

And then, of course, the other thing is that it also has to have the defensive mechanisms that would allow the aircraft to be able to evade a

surface-to-air missile or something like that. So it is both a communications protection as well as a physical protection that becomes

really important for this version of Air Force One.

NEWTON: Colonel Leighton, that is quite a list you just articulated, all carried out by the U.S. military. And yet, Donald Trump says this plane

could not have been built in the United States, even though I point out it is a Boeing airplane. That's how it started.

LEIGHTON: Yes, it started out as a Boeing airplane, and it was certainly built in the United States in terms of the basic aspects. Now, there may

have been some refurbishment done by, you know, a design shop or, you know, like most airlines, such as the premium airlines in the Middle East, where

it will use design shops in places like London or Paris to, you know, make their first class cabins look really special.

That's the kind of thing that he may be referring to, but the meat and potatoes of this aircraft are definitely U.S. built. And it is, you know,

certainly, you know, an aircraft that is flying based on U.S. technologies. There is no question about that.

NEWTON: Yes, and to be clear, American taxpayers paid for that refurbishment. We learned a lot, Colonel, thanks so much for being with us.

Appreciate it.

LEIGHTON: Thank you. You bet, Paula.

NEWTON: Now, the official death toll from those devastating earthquakes in Venezuela has now grown to more than 2,000 people. One U.S. agency says the

number could climb much, much higher.

The view from the ground just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: A top Venezuelan lawmaker says the death toll from last week's earthquakes is now more than 2,000, and that total could go much higher.

U.S. officials say there is a high likelihood that tens of thousands are dead.

[16:20:10]

In some parts of Venezuela, people are going through the rubble by hand, searching for survivors and victims. Venezuela's government is facing

mounting criticism over its response to this disaster.

CNN's Isa Soares is in Venezuela and has more now on the search efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With nothing more than borrowed tools, Delvis Ramos digs through the rubble.

The twin mattresses of his two little girls are within sight, and he anchors his strength in knowing that soon he will hold them close, even if

it is a final goodbye.

(DELVIS RAMOS speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: I can't think of crying right now. I can't bear the thought of it -- it tears my soul apart -- because tears -- tears won't move a stone.

SOARES (voice over): While we hear rescue team from North Carolina arrive looking for signs of life or death.

JACK THORPE, U.S. VOLUNTEER RESOURCE RESCUE INTERNATIONAL I know that we have still been finding people alive in these buildings, so I am not ready

to give up yet.

SOARES (voice over): Almost a week since those fateful back-to-back earthquakes, hope of finding survivors is fading fast.

But in the midst of unimaginable grief, a moment of compassion and humanity between an American rescuer and a grieving Venezuelan father.

The scene here in La Guaira is apocalyptic, with countless buildings pancaked by the ferocity of the quakes and while families wait for answers,

heavy machinery sits idle.

(ISA SOARES speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: Sir! Why is the machine not on?

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: I don't have fuel.

SOARES (voice over): He doesn't have petrol. He doesn't have fuel. I mean, tell that to the families.

SOARES (on camera): A sorry sight for one of the world's largest oil reserves.

Hassell Mendoza has seen this firsthand. She traveled from Tampa, Florida, to search for her loved ones.

HASSELL MENDOZA, FAMILY MISSING AFTER EARTHQUAKE: This guy, you know, worked with the nails, they tried --

SOARES (on camera): The hands.

MENDOZA: The hands -- they try to do everything without nothing. They don't have, you know, shoes. They don't have machine like drills, the big drills

that you need. They don't have sensors. They don't have anything.

SOARES (voice over): We walk from building to building. The scale of destruction stretches for blocks. Around every corner --

SOARES (on camera): Didn't have a chance.

SOARES (voice over): A house of horrors.

Still, Venezuelans dig with rickety tools, shovels and buckets.

As we depart La Guaira, and a resting scene of casket after casket and of overwhelming loss.

Isa Soares, CNN, La Guaira, Venezuela.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. A new report estimates that Russian forces have suffered 1.4 million casualties in Ukraine. That number

includes troops killed, wounded and missing.

Now, the Center for Strategic and International Studies says about 400,000 Russians have been killed in the war. It says the number of Ukrainian

troops killed is much lower, about 150,000.

Meantime, Ukraine is taking more of the fight to Moscow. Its drones set fire last month to this Russian oil refinery. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

says the strikes are an effort to compel Russia to end the war.

The NATO Secretary General says the alliance will provide long-term security assistance for Ukraine. Our Sebastian Shukla asked him about that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: The NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, came and attended a German Cabinet meeting in a room here known as the

Submarine at the German Defense Ministry. It is a sort of relic of the Cold War, apt, I think, for the times facing the continent more broadly.

But the message that is supposed to be being delivered by all of the European Alliance members of NATO is that they have heard the message

coming from The White House and from Donald Trump about increasing defense spending, reducing reliance on Washington for their support and investing

in their own defensive capabilities.

For weeks now, we've seen a swathe of different political events from the Chancellor here to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Macron in Paris trying

to appease Donald Trump for their spending, and that they have heard what he has wanted them to do and they have acquiesced.

I pushed Mark Rutte on the question, though, about the defense spending commitments of the European allies and that given that the Americans are

taking a step back in NATO across the board, does that mean that the reliance and that the defense of Ukraine rests solely on the Europeans?

MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: Well, when it comes to the defense of Ukraine, the U.S. is still indispensable. The flow of key support from the

United States into Ukraine continues, paid for by Canadians and Europeans and I think that's only fair.

This is the famous PURL Program, and these are, for example, the interceptors, the patriot systems, protecting the critical infrastructure

in Ukraine, energy infrastructure, the inner cities, and only the U.S. can do this at scale and is still doing that and helping in so many other ways,

not always to be disclosed in a press conference.

[16:25:31]

So it is end-to-end, Europe is massively supporting Ukraine in money and in support and in defense industrial output. Look at Germany, when it comes to

what Germany is doing bilaterally, but also through the Czech ammunition initiative and other initiatives, and also investing in defense industrial

base in Ukraine.

So that's Europe, but also the U.S. and we need both. It is really end-to- end.

SHUKLA: And that is the same message that followed immediately after that by the German Chancellor, who said and reminded me that we should look at

what happened in Evian, where President Trump remained on the same page as the European partners, and that they believe now that all of those G7

members believe that the President is fully behind them and supporting and pledged his support not only to the European nations and NATO, but also to

Ukraine. But we have to wait to see whether the summit in Ankara next week goes exactly to plan.

The Europeans have been trying so hard to make sure that it doesn't get derailed at all by Donald Trump and the crosshairs that the alliance has

been in for some time.

And so that the main topic of the Alliance and one of the themes that they can focus on entirely is ending the war in Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Bending spoons has made its market debut. Its chief executive is at the NASDAQ to mark the occasion. He will join us live right after the

break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Now, some viewers may remember this iconic sound of the 1990s and early 2000. Listen.

I remember it all too well. That's the AOL dial up, the sound of a computer connecting to the internet. Yes, over a phone line. At its peak, AOL

offered millions of subscribers access to news, weather, games, and, of course, e-mail. I can assure you it was transformational. And as the web

evolved, AOL shifted toward digital content and advertising.

And last year it was bought by Bending Spoons, an Italian tech company.

[16:30:41]

Now Bending Spoons, acquires and revamps digital businesses like AOL, Vimeo and WeTransfer. It rang the Opening Bell at the Nasdaq to celebrate its

IPO. They look pretty happy people. Shares rose nearly 40 percent on the first day of trading. That's incredible. You'll see there that the shares

were actually offered at $29. Bending Spoons says it's raised more than $1.6 billion through the IPO. It's going public at a time when A.I. is

raising questions about the future of software companies.

Luca Ferrari is the co-founder and CEO of Bending Spoons.

Congratulations, Luca. Seems like quite a day. But I have to say, you've been at this for more than a decade now. Can you explain your concept and

how you expect to grow your company going forward?

LUCA FERRARI, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, BENDING SPOONS: Thank you for having me. Yes, of course, happy to do that. So we spent the last 13 years building a

platform of really talented people, mostly engineers, designers, product managers, a culture of high performance and an approach to running

businesses that's highly scientific. Over 50 proprietary technologies that help us do better work, more work with fewer resources, and lots of data

from AB tests across product monetization and marketing.

And then we take these platform by digital businesses where we see a lot of unexpressed potential, and we integrate these businesses into this platform

very deeply and try to almost unsee the status quo of these businesses and trying to come up with the most successful version of them we're capable

of, then roll up our sleeves and rebuild everything that can be made better.

We have rewritten code bases, re-architected Cloud infrastructures. We accelerated innovation. We built organizations from the ground up. Change

monetization. And if we do it right, that improves retention earnings. And in time, we compound by investing in more acquisitions and we never sell.

We've never sold a significant business. Again it's all integrated in the same platform. And the idea is to keep these companies forever potentially.

NEWTON: And that's what I find so intriguing about your model. I am wondering, though, going forward, OK, you don't sell, you don't sell now,

sometimes selling even to competitors in certain spaces is more lucrative to shareholders. Right? And you are now a publicly traded company.

FERRARI: Yes, I think you're right. But sometimes it's not really our choice. The level of integration we pursue is unusually high. I'm not aware

of any other serial acquirer that does anything comparable to what we do. So the -- all of these companies, once they're integrated, they're running

on the same technological layer. There is a core team that's shared with people fluidly moving across all of these businesses. So it's not that easy

to then sell them off.

I think, you know, you can't ever have it all. We choose to maximize efficiency and the quality of these companies and the products we own. But

then it's not something that, you know, is easily disposed of, like, say, a private equity would. So we'd rather take our long term view and the higher

level of effectiveness and efficiency, even if it means basically giving up the opportunity of selling these businesses down the line.

NEWTON: And we'll see if shareholders agree with that going forward. I am curious about the concept of launching an IPO right now. We're used to the

ones on a massive scale because we've heard so much about them, especially in the -- on the A.I. space. So I'm wondering why your IPO and why now.

You, I'm sure, could have raised more money in the private markets as well.

FERRARI: Yes. Look, I mean, we didn't -- we have never tried to time the market or anything like that. I wouldn't be able to certainly. We

determined -- late last year, we determined we'd be better off as a public company, better access to debt, which is an important fuel for, you know,

for us, for our growth, and better access to equity, which we haven't used almost at all historically. But it's good to have the option to use it

tactically, if an opportunity presents itself.

We decided that in November or December and then it takes a long time to work toward an IPO. I think we actually got it done pretty quickly, six or

seven months. You know, and so you don't really know what kind of environment you're going to find yourself in by the time you go public.

[16:35:05]

And in all honesty, I don't really care. Ultimately myself and I think most of my colleagues were doing this for the next 20 or, you know, 10 or 20

years. We'd rather have a good market than a bad market. But ultimately, you know, we're optimizing for the long run.

NEWTON: I will have to leave it there, but quickly, can you tell me, Bending Spoons, where does that come from?

FERRARI: The name?

NEWTON: Yes.

FERRARI: Oh, yes. Yes. OK. So, well, it's one of my co-founders, Mateo, I think he's a fan of the movie "The Matrix."

NEWTON: OK, "The Matrix," yes.

FERRARI: And in that movie there is a -- yes, yes. There is a boy at some point that bends spoons with his mind. And we kind of like the name because

it captures -- like it's a metaphor for the power of the mind and the determination, you know, practice, dedication.

NEWTON: Right.

FERRARI: And we just felt these were principles or values that, you know, we find them inspiring.

NEWTON: OK.

FERRARI: And so we -- plus, you know, it's a little bit silly as a name and it's good not to take yourself too seriously, I feel, in life, and so why

not?

NEWTON: Well, I -- Luca, I'm glad I asked. Goody, we will see you again, especially now that a lot of your results will be public. Appreciate it.

Thanks so much.

Now, a leading expert in artificial intelligence says many companies are approaching the technology in the wrong way. David Hulme is now the chief

A.I. officer for the British advertising firm WPP. He argues that talent, not technology, will set companies apart. And he spoke to Richard Quest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL HULME, CHIEF A.I. OFFICER, WPP: I'm interested in how we can use algorithms, how we can use computers to do things that are intelligent and

of course, business values, things that remove frictions, that make things more efficient, more effective. And so algorithms are the best place to

start when identifying technologies to help business operate more effectively.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And there are two of you.

HULME: Two people, and of course things have changed a lot since then, but for most people, A.I. started three years ago with a launch of GPTs. But

the reality is there are many different types of algorithms that have been developed over the past 50 years that are really good at solving problems

across supply chains.

What tends to happen is we get very excited about emerging technologies. Ten years ago, if you remember, it was machine learning, data science. Now

it's generative A.I.. People then apply those technologies to solving the wrong problem. They blame the technology. But the reality is that people

are not very good at understanding what the right algorithms are at solving the right problem.

QUEST: Are you impressed by what you see out there?

HULME: I'll explain why I think organizations are getting it wrong. So I think A.I., these technologies are incredibly powerful, but I think that

they're used potentially in the wrong ways. So one is these organizations need to enable their employees to innovate at the edge. They need to use

these technologies to allow them to be more efficient, more effective at doing their work. But the reality is that employees at the edge are not

going to differentiate their business.

They're not going to build A.I. solutions that are going to push the boundaries of those business. So the second is you need to have deep A.I.

talent that are able to understand how to build these solutions at scale that will drive differentiation. And what tends to happen is organizations

don't appreciate the level of talent that you need to build differentiated solutions. And then the third thing is that you need to work with the right

partners to bring in technologies.

You shouldn't be building your own HR solution, your own finance solution. You need to, you know, let third parties bring that at a fraction of the

cost. You need to be building solutions that are going to differentiate your business. So I think what is happening, companies are applying --

they're applying the wrong talent to solving the wrong problems, and they're building the wrong solutions that are not going to differentiate

their business.

QUEST: Right. But there are lots of companies now that are employing A.I. experts to build solutions to differentiate their company, in other words,

bespoke their company. Is that a correct use?

HULME: It is a correct use, but I'd argue that, you know, a lot of people have rebranded themselves as A.I. experts over the past three years, and

most people think that A.I. is large language models. But the point here is that you need to appreciate algorithms and have an understanding of how to

not only build algorithms that solve a problem, but build them at scale. And that requires decades of experience.

QUEST: Which is why I'm going to come back to my first question. When you walk along the front, are you impressed or are you horrified?

HULME: I see frictions everywhere, and my job is to remove frictions using technology. So I'm in a permanent state of being horrified.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: England's World Cup hopes are still alive after a dramatic win against the Democratic Republic of Congo. Harry Kane led England to a 2-1

victory, scoring both goals in the second half. Now, the U.S. kick off against Bosnia-Herzegovina in about three and a half hours from now. The

match is sure to attract a lot of interest from Americans that are now football crazy.

Coy Wire is in Santa Clara, California.

Coy, not the football you played, but the stakes, I hate to say it, my friend, could possibly be higher right now. We know the fans are confident.

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: No doubt.

[16:40:01]

NEWTON: But what did the players tell you about tonight's challenge?

WIRE: Yes, I have talked to some players and no doubt the stakes are higher. I mean, this stadium has hosted two Super Bowls. It's getting ready

to be louder than it has ever been in its life. You can see these lines of fans. In about 20 minutes, they'll be able to head into this stadium. They

are ready to watch the U.S. take on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The U.S. hasn't reached a World Cup quarterfinal since 2002. Back then, smartphones didn't exist. Social media wasn't a thing. But now this 15th

ranked squad has a chance to give America's biggest World Cup moment nearly a quarter century.

Now, Bosnia and Herzegovina, they're ranked 61st in the nation. The U.S. players, they've told me they've been feeding off of the fans and they've

helped them get off to fast starts. Three goals so far in the first 15 minutes, more than any team so far. So the fans and Coach Patino have this

team wondering, why not us? Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIAN PULISIC, USA FORWARD: For sure, the energy in the stadium helps us a lot. Being here in America keeps the energy within the team. I think

we've done a good job of starting strong and it helps us a lot. So, yes, we want to keep that mentality.

CHRIS RICHARDS, USA DEFENDER: I think we're a country full of believers, and ultimately every game, every, every tournament we go into, we want to

win. So, I mean, that mentality has stuck with us ever since he said it. I think a lot of us believed it, but I think it was good to hear him say it.

So, ultimately, you know, it's the same mentality throughout the rest of this tournament. It's one game at a time. But again, you know, why not us?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right, Paula, so you mentioned a bit earlier on the lead in there, England. Boy, they were in a nailbiter. Fourth ranked team in the

world. They were facing D.R. Congo who ranked 41st. And that match showed that it doesn't matter the rankings on paper. Anything can happen. D.R.

Congo got out to a lead one-nil, but then in the second half, their captain for England Three Lions, Harry Kane, rose to the occasion, scoring two

goals. He now has more goals in his World Cup career than any other English player in World Cup history. He has that team rocking. They are definitely

one to watch moving forward.

Also something to watch I think are these fans, right? Let's see if we can talk to some of them ahead of this match with Bosnia-Herzegovina. On

StubHub, the tickets have just sold out. I've been keeping my eye on them all morning long.

Where are you guys from? You guys excited? Where are you guys from?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're hyped. We're coming in from Monterey in D.C..

WIRE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Washington, D.C. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes.

WIRE: And is this your first World Cup match so far?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our fifth. Our second U.S. one, though. So we're hyped. We're all the way up. We're ready.

WIRE: OK, so you've been to a previous World Cup in another place. So how is America representing on that stage?

WIRE: Oh, no, no. We've been to five here in America on this World Cup. So yes. Yes. So, yes, yes. Fourth game here at San Francisco Bay Area stadium.

NEWTON: You've got some -- sounds like you've got some super fans there. We will wait to hear more from California.

WIRE: Thank you so much.

NEWTON: Coy, we are out of time. You continue as you were, Coy. We'll wait for the results.

That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Up next, "MARKETPLACE EUROPE."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:45:54]

(MARKETPLACE EUROPE)

END