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Any Moment, Trump's Trade Announcement With the U.K.; Soon, Cardinals Resume Voting to Elect Next Pope; Pakistan Says It Has Killed 40-50 Indian Soldiers in Kashmir. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 08, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: How do you feel?

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I feel great. I get up every day and I look forward to reporting the news. I don't know if you guys know this, but I'm a news junkie. I love the news. And as we always say here in The Situation Room, the news comes first.

SIDNER: You know what? He was ready for that, but you know what I want to know?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: No, literally he could -- he just says that at every time when you ask him a question. And he will say, and what else are you about to tell us, Wolf? Where are we?

BLITZER: We are in the -- you are in The Situation Room. I'm in The Situation Room, because whatever room I'm in, there's a situation. And there's a situation going on right now as well.

You guys have a great show. We love you so much and thank you so much for all the great news that you guys are reporting.

SIDNER: Congratulations, Wolf, Happy 35th anniversary.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news. President Trump will soon announce what he calls a major trade deal with the U.K. It will be the first trade agreement since the president's sweeping tariff.

BLITZER: Conclave day two, soon, the cardinals will gather once again to vote on the next pope. Will they reach a consensus on this, the fourth ballot?

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

And we're following breaking news. We're keeping a very close eye on the White House right now after President Trump says he has a trade deal with the United Kingdom. It's set to be announced any moment. This agreement would be the first of its kind since the White House imposed widespread tariffs on countries all around the world.

Let's go live right now to CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes. Kristen, just how significant is today's announcement?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it depends on what you mean by the word, significant. Do you mean significant in terms of an actual trade deal or just the fact that there is a deal at all? Because what we are hearing right now is that this deal between the two countries is not actually going to be any what majorly significant. For example, we've heard it's limited in scope, that it is heavy on future commitments.

But it is a big deal in the sense that Donald Trump and his administration have been touting for weeks now that they were going to get a trade deal. In fact, when I talk to administration officials and allies of the president, they seem somewhat desperate to get a trade deal on the table to show that the economy was moving forward.

So, here's what Donald Trump says about the agreement between the two countries. He says, the agreement with the United Kingdom is a full and comprehensive one that will cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come. Because of our longtime history and allegiance together, it is a great honor to have the United Kingdom as our first announcement, many other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation to follow.

But, again, He says, full and comprehensive, sources telling Phil Mattingly that it's limited in scope and heavy on future commitments. And, in fact, Trump's own secretary of agriculture seem to say the same. Take a listen to what she said about the deal.

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BROOKE ROLLINS, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: Again, more details coming. It is an agreement and concept. There's a lot of details to be worked out.

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HOLMES: It is a concept. We've heard that before, but again, a lot of this is all about the messaging. We had gotten to a place where Trump actually seemed to be backpedaling away from this idea of trade deals earlier in the week. They were looking for any kind of win, and you can guarantee that he and the administration will be celebrating this despite whether or not it is just heavy on future commitments.

BLITZER: Kristen Holmes reporting for us, Kristen, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: Meanwhile, Wolf, Europe could soon be hitting back against President Trump's tariffs if ongoing trade talks fail. The E.U. just announced it is seeking feedback from the public on potential retaliatory tariffs targeting more than $100 billion worth of U.S. imports.

So, let's go live now to New York and CNN Business and Politics. Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich. What U.S. goods will be impacted here, Vanessa? VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and the E.U. is asking for the public's input on this. They want to know if the countermeasures that they are proposing against the United States for the tariffs that the Trump administration has put in place is good enough, essentially.

And so this is going to impact, as you said, $100 billion of U.S. imports coming into the United Kingdom. Things like fish and meat, fruits and vegetables, wines and spirits, bourbon and whiskey. This is something that the E.U. said that they were looking to target, as well as iron and steel products. And the E.U. is also looking to restrict certain exports coming out of the E.U. into the United States, things like aluminum and chemical substances, and steel.

It's also worth noting that in this proposal that the E.U. is asking for public comment on, they say that they're going to file a dispute with the World Trade Organization for the reciprocal tariffs that the United States has put in place.

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If you remember, the United States initially put a 20 percent tariff on any exports coming out of the E.U. into the United States, but then lowered it to that 10 percent universal rate.

Also worth noting that the E.U. says it's going to pursue trade negotiations and trade deals with other countries, that they're looking to do that actively. That is a sign, Pamela, that they are looking to sort of lower trade with the United States and ratchet up trade with other countries. That could be a significant hit to the United States. Pamela?

BROWN: It sure would be. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you. Wolf?

BLITZER: And soon, the cardinals will start another round of voting to try to choose the next pope. This was above the Sistine Chapel earlier this morning. Look at this black smoke, meaning the 133 cardinals inside will now try for a fourth time to reach a consensus on who should lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

Let's go live right now to CNN Anchor Erin Burnett who's in Rome, right outside St. Peter's Square for us. Erin, the next vote could be critical, as Pope Benedict was -- Pope Benedict, the 16th, I should say, was elected after four ballots. Is there a feeling that a new pope will be chosen today?

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I mean, as you say, Pope Benedict was elected on this second day of a Conclave. Pope Francis was also elected on the second day of the Conclave on the last vote. So, we have two more votes to go. And that, right now, the cardinals, Wolf, they're coming back in. So, really, that's all anyone's talking about is are we going to know today or are we not going to know today?

And, truthfully, everyone has an opinion. They're all, you know, relatively informed by the situation, and yet no one really has any idea what is happening and what the cardinals are thinking. I do know this, and that is that they just had lunch at Casa Marta and then a bit of a siesta with the Roman schedule. That means they're going to be returning now into the Sistine Chapel.

So, any conversations they have about switching factions or who they're going to back, or as Pope Francis did at one point turn his votes over to Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict, is something like that happening. That can only happen now during their break time. Then, and at this time, they're heading back into the Sistine Chapel. That is a time of silence and reflection, and they vote. And that's all they do there is vote.

So, they're going to be coming back in now, Wolf, and then they're going to vote. And then if there's a pope, we're going to know, because there's white smoke. And if there's no pope, we're not going to know. They don't send up black smoke for that vote. They simply begin another vote and do a final round for today. And then we will get that smoke, whether it is white or black.

And I will say, Wolf, so far, the black smoke has been very black. There has been no ambiguity about the votes. So, the excitement here though is palpable. When you're down in the square, you can feel a roar, sort of like in a theater before performance when you hear that silent conversation everywhere around you, but a bit muted. That's how it is as thousands and thousands of people are coming in, knowing that we are coming in again to a window where everyone will be watching the chapel right over my left shoulder, Wolf, where we can actually see from the square the chimney.

BLITZER: We'll be watching together with you. Erin Burnett doing an excellent job reporting from Rome, thank you so much.

And to our viewers, make sure to tune in later tonight to Erin's excellent show, ESrin Burnett OutFront, she'll be anchoring live from Rome. That starts at 7:00 P.M. Eastern. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. And breaking news this morning, Pakistan says it has killed as many as 50 Indian soldiers and the escalating violence between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Pakistan also says it shot down 25 Indian drones and is accusing India if a serious provocation with the strikes. Pakistan says 31 civilians have been killed and is vowing to retaliate. India is not confirming the deaths of its soldiers in Kashmir, but says Pakistan shelling there has killed 16 civilians.

The disputed region is at the heart of these tensions, India says, it strikes are in response to the massacre of 26 people, mostly Indian tourists in Kashmir. India blames Pakistan, which denies any involvement in that.

So, let's go live now to CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson and Islamabad, Pakistan. You know, the world is watching this closely because these are two nuclear superpowers, Nick. What is the level of concern in the region that this could escalate to a much wider conflict here?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Look, I think there's a real concern among the people of Pakistan that this is already escalating, that it's sort of in a rolling, low level conflict already. People here woke up at about 4:00 in the morning when a series of Indian-made attack drones. They are explosive laden drones that can kind of loiter over a target before hitting it began coming into the country. Somebody working in the fields in the very south of the country was killed, four soldiers, in the huge city of Lahore, 13 million people, 13 miles from the border with India.

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But four military personnel there were injured by a drone. There was a drone attempt attack in Karachi, in rural pendi (ph), which is ten miles from where I am in the middle of the day, at noon, targeting. We literally just heard speaking on national television here in Pakistan, the foreign minister saying that the target was a major cricket stadium where a massive Pakistani super league, they call it here, it is the biggest cricketing event that goes on in the country and it pulls in not just Pakistan's top players, but international players. That, according to the foreign minister, was one of the targets.

So, you are already in this rolling escalatory environment where people on social media here in Pakistan is saying, what are these noises I'm hearing? What should I do? How can I be safe? So, Pakistan hasn't even yet, and I was just checking with a very senior source here, has Pakistan responded to India's barrage of missiles that killed those 31 people? He said, no. So, we're still waiting for that. We are on a -- the escalation is happening. I think that's the bottom line here right now.

BROWN: Yes. And I want to note for our viewers, we're going to have the Indian ambassador to the United States on this show in the next hour. So, we'll wait to hear from him.

Nic Robertson, thank you so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: We'll be anxious to do that interview with the Indian Ambassador. Thanks very much.

Meanwhile, a federal judge just says, deporting migrants to Libya could violate his previous order. Before this new filing, a Trump administration official told CNN. It's moving forward with plans to send a group of undocumented immigrants from the United States to Libya on a U.S. military plane.

I want to bring in CNN Correspondent Priscilla Alvarez. She's here with us in The Situation Room. So, Priscilla, explain exactly a little bit more about what this judge is saying in this new filing.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf. This is a case that actually dates back to earlier this year when there was concern among attorneys of this effort by the administration to send migrants to countries that are not their own. Now, in that ruling that was again issued earlier this year, what the federal judge said is that he was temporarily blocking the administration from doing what they call third country removals unless they were provided written notice and given an opportunity to contest that deportation to that country. So, what the federal judge did yesterday is reiterate that order and said, look, I gave you explicit protocol as to how you're supposed to do these deportations if you want to do them. Based on what the judge was hearing from the attorneys, it didn't seem as though the administration was doing that. And so he said, if they proceeded, they could, they, the administration, could violate his earlier order.

Now, what the attorneys are saying, Wolf, here is important. What they have found in talking to their clients in Texas is that some of them, particularly one Filipino client, was told by immigration and customs enforcement that he was going to be deported to Libya. That was a verbal notice. It wasn't a written notice and it's all been very confusing since then. So, the judges essentially saying, there are guidelines that you need to follow if you want to do this.

In the interim though, Wolf, I have been talking to the attorneys that are part of this case and they are absolutely scrambling because they have had no sense as to who is going on this plane, when they would be deported, and whether or not the administration is following the protocols that they felt some reassurance that they would given the ruling earlier this year.

So, all of this is still playing out in real time, but to remind viewers, Libya is a country that the administration has sought to send people because, again, deportations are difficult and there are some countries that won't take back their nationals or can't. And so they are looking to all these other countries to try to push people out of the U.S.

BLITZER: The Libyan government has agreed to accept these undocumented immigrants?

ALVAREZ: The Libyan government has been pushing back on this, based off of the conversations I've had with my sources, though, there have been conversations and we'll see where this all lands.

BLITZER: We should find out soon. All right, Priscilla Alvarez, good reporting. Thanks very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Still ahead right here in The Situation Room, dozens of pro-Palestinian protestors taken into custody after a demonstration on Columbia's campus, and now the university's acting president is speaking out her. Message next.

You're in The Situation Room.

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BROWN: Well, this morning the Trump administration is reviewing the visa statuses of pro-Palestinian protesters after a demonstration at Columbia University.

Dozens of people were taken into custody after the group entered the main library on campus. No word on what charges they may be facing. BLITZER: Let's go live right now to see that Omar Jimenez. He is covering this story for us. Omar, Columbia's acting president is speaking out this morning. What is she saying?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She is. She's basically saying there's a line for peaceful protests and dialogue, and that that line was crossed in this, and that it endangered the safety of some of those inside the library.

Now, the New York Police Department is telling us it was 80 people who, quote, did not comply with verbal warnings by the NYPD to disperse that were taken into custody. 78 arrested, 2 were issued summonses.

Bottom line, this is a protest and occupation of the university's Butler Library that really materialized Wednesday afternoon with at least one group calling for the library to be renamed for a Palestinian killed in an Israeli raid in 2017. But it's unclear if all of those demonstrating were affiliated with that group are there for that reason.

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As you mentioned, the Trump administration is now reviewing the visas of some of those that were taken into custody, and that's likely tied to what we saw in regards to protests last year around this time where we know former students who led protests like Mahmoud Khalil, even before that, Mohsen Mahdawi, were taken into custody by this administration and threatened with deportation proceedings as well.

I want you though to take a listen to what we've heard from acting President Claire Shipman so far on this front.

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CLAIRE SHIPMAN, ACTING PRESIDENT, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Violence and vandalism, hijacking a library, none of that has any place on our campus. These aren't Columbia's values. Let me be clear. Columbia unequivocally rejects anti-Semitism and all other forms of harassment and discrimination. And we certainly reject a group of students, and we don't know yet whether there were outsiders involved, closing down a library in the middle of the week before finals, forcing 900 students out of their study spaces, many leaving belongings behind.

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JIMENEZ: And, again, she went on to say that there is a line between protests and actions that endanger others. She says that line was crossed and that she has confidence that disciplinary proceedings will reflect the severity of the actions. But we will see. Wolf, Pamela?

BLITZER: And, Omar, I take it, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has issued a public statement saying that the State Department will now review the status of these pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University to see if any of them should be deported. Is that right? BLITZER: Yes, and we're showing the tweet on screen right now. We're reviewing the visa status of trespassers and vandals as the as the secretary of state described it, to likely try to put them through some of the same proceedings that we saw play out, again, against some of the former student protestors that we saw of last year and the year before, like Mahmoud Khalil, and Mohsen Mahdawi.

But, again, we'll have to see as they continue that monitoring process, and as we will monitor to see what happens next with some of those that were involved in this demonstration.

BROWN: All right. Omar Jimenez, thank you so much.

BLITZER: And up next, and I'm quoting now, further deepening ties between China and Russia. We're live in Moscow as Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin. We'll update you when we come back.

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BLITZER: Happening now, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, is in Moscow for talks with Russia President Vladimir Putin. And Xi is hailing the relationship between the two countries as, quote, and I'm quoting him now, confident, stable, and resilient.

BROWN: Let's go live now to CNN Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen in Moscow. Fred, what are you learning about what the leaders are likely discussing here and the role that the U.S. and its policy has been playing into this?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they're definitely talking about deepening ties. I was actually in the room earlier today when they gave press statements and also signed a bunch of agreements between one another. And one of the things that we certainly ascertained that they kept saying as well, certainly Vladimir Putin saying that he called Xi Jinping his dear friend, and Xi Jinping also speaking about those friendly relations, which, of course, have become a lot more important to these two countries since President Donald Trump has been in office.

One of the things that we, of course have is we have the Chinese facing that trade standoff with the Trump administration, but the Russians also right now in a bit of more difficult water as far as getting to a peace agreement in Ukraine is concerned. Of course, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance saying over the weekend that he believes that Russia wants too much.

Now, I was able to speak to the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, on the sideline of this meeting, and I asked him what exactly Russia wants out of any peace talks. Here's what he said.

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DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESMAN: What is important to take care of those initial reasons of the spatial admirations (ph), because they're strictly interconnected with our national interests and our concerns of security.

PLEITGEN: Do you believe that the Trump administration understands how important the Ukraine issue is for Russia?

PESKOV: We do hope. We do hope. We have certain channels of dialogue and they're functioning. And we have a possibility of conveying our stance to Americans. Thank you.

PLEITGEN: What's the message of this meeting today between the presidents of Russia and China?

PESKOV: Yes, this is our joint vision. It's multilateralism. It's orientation to U.N.-oriented world and world based on international law, not on rules established by the country.

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PLEITGEN: And that's one of the things that both Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin said during their press statements, that they were going to continue to rely on each other, that, if anything, that the relations would be deepened. And, again, they signed lots of agreements with one another, talking about stability, but then also, of course, talking about further economic cooperation between Russia and China as well. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Fred Pleitgen Moscow for us, Fred, thank you very much. Pamela?

BROWN: And new this morning, Wolf, the CIA is bracing for significant cuts. It is one of the last agencies to face changes as the Trump administration looks to radically overhaul the federal government. And with reorganization on the horizon, the focus is now on CIA Director John Ratcliffe,

CNN's Katie Bo Lillis is here with us. What are you learning about what's going on inside the agency?

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Pam. Ratcliffe is trying to do some pretty significant things to the CIA that could really reshape the agency, honestly, for years to come.

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The cuts there are expected to impact between 5 and 6 percent of the overall workforce there.