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The Situation Room
Russia and Ukraine Peace Talks in Istanbul; Kyiv Launches Major Drone Operation; JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's Warning on the Economy; Eight Injured in Colorado Attack. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired June 02, 2025 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, delegations from Russia and Ukraine are in Istanbul, Turkey for a second round of direct peace negotiations, and it comes just a day after Kyiv launched a very significant drone operation on Russian air bases destroying dozens of Russian warplanes.
We're joined now by the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor. Ambassador, thanks so much for joining us. Do you see this Ukrainian attack as strengthening Ukraine's hand as they're about to enter these discussions with Russia?
WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE AND DISTINGUISHED FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Wolf, absolutely. This is a major attack. The major damage is a major setback for the Russians. It clearly shows that Ukrainians are in this for the long haul. They are -- they've got the advantage today because of this attack.
BLITZER: And they recently got permission from the European allies, the U.S., to be able to launch strikes deep inside Russia, and they did exactly that. Are you optimistic that something significant potentially could come from these meetings about to take place between Ukraine and Russia?
TAYLOR: No, no. The Russians haven't changed. The Russians are still demanding -- essentially, Wolf, demanding that Ukraine surrender in these negotiations. The Ukrainians have demonstrated that they're not going to surrender.
BLITZER: This was a major Ukrainian successful military operation. These Russian air bases deep, deep inside Russia. What the Ukrainians did with their drone strikes cost billions of dollars in damages destroying a whole bunch of Russian sophisticated aircraft. Ukraine says the strike hit 34 percent of Russia's strategic cruise missile carriers and destroyed dozens of Russian war planes. What does this tell you about Ukraine's capabilities at this stage of the war?
TAYLOR: They've got the great capabilities that they've developed themselves. You mentioned the Western permissions to use those weapons. These were not used. The Ukrainians used their own drones that they trucked in, Wolf, they trucked them in thousands of miles. They in -- Siberia, in Murmansk. This was a major attack by the Ukrainians. BLITZER: So, how do you think Russia is likely to respond to this Ukrainian attack?
TAYLOR: They of course will respond. They've been -- but that's what they've been doing. They've been shelling. Unlike the Ukrainians who attack military air bases, the Russians attack civilians, and they'll attack civilians. I just got back and they were -- you know, every night I was there, there were air raid sirens.
BLITZER: I want you to listen to what President Zelenskyy of Ukraine said this morning about this latest Ukrainian attack deep inside Russia.
[10:35:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Europe together with America has better weapons than Russia. We also have stronger tactical solutions. Our Operation Spider Web yesterday proved that Russia must feel what its losses mean. That is what will push it toward diplomacy. And when Russia takes losses in this war is obvious to everyone that Ukraine, either, one, holding the line, not just for itself, but for all of Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: He calls this latest Ukrainian strike on Russia, Operation Spider Web. At what point do you think Putin will begin to negotiate seriously in good faith with Ukrainians?
TAYLOR: Well, only when he, Putin, understands he can't win. When he understands that the Ukrainian ingenuity and attacks, that the American support for Ukraine, that the European support for Ukraine will continue, that he can't overcome that, only when he comes to that conclusion will he come to the table to negotiate.
BLITZER: See if he comes to that conclusion. Ambassador William Taylor, thank you so much.
TAYLOR: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Pamela.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you so much. And just ahead, replacing American democracy with a form of monarchy led by a CEO. We'll introduce you to the man promoting the idea in Washington in a Situation Room Special Report.
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[10:40:00]
BROWN: Just in, a dire warning from one of the world's most influential Wall Street executives. JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, saying this morning that the U.S. needs to get our act together because a crack in the bomb market with implications for everyone, from everyday Americans, small businesses to the government is going to happen.
BLITZER: Yes. Major development. Joining us now to discuss Ed Luce, U.S. national editor and columnist for The Financial Times. He's also the author of a very important, excellent new book entitled "Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America's Great Power Prophet." Thanks so much for joining us, Ed. What do you make of this latest warning from Dimon?
EDWARD LUCE, U.S. NATIONAL EDITOR AND COLUMNIST, FINANCIAL TIMES AND AUTHOR, "ZBIG: THE LIFE OF ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI": Well, Dimon I think is speaking for most of Wall Street and the bond markets in saying that this crack is something that's not going to go away unless there's a radical change in policy and that involves, A, a much more rational approach and predictable, a forecastable approach to how the U.S. handles its trade disputes.
And B, a budget that doesn't spill as much red ink as this big, beautiful bill that has been passed by the House spills more than 3 trillion worth of addition to the U.S. national debt. And Jamie Dimon's been sort of sounding this alarm with more and more urgency, I think, over the past few weeks. He's not going to stop sounding it unless the conditions that have led him to make these warnings go away. And I don't think there are many signs they are going to go away. This trade war is in full throttle.
BROWN: And we actually heard Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent respond to this yesterday. And he said he sort of downplayed the concerns about the bond market and so forth, and he also talked about the expectations of President Trump and President Xi of China that they could speak this week on terms of a trade deal. Watch this and we'll get your reaction on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: I am confident that when President Trump and Party Chairman Xi have a call that this will be ironed out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: How does this ongoing tension with China ultimately hurt U.S. interests?
LUCE: Well, so, there's been a lot of confusion about calls between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping of China. Last month -- late April, Trump told Time Magazine in an interview that he'd spoken to Xi Jinping and that they had resolved some issues, and the Chinese foreign ministry was forced to issue a denial, they had not spoken. It turns out the last time the two men spoke was before -- a few days before Trump was inaugurated in January.
And then, in the last few weeks, again and again, we've been told by White House officials, including Scott Bessent, Kevin Hassett, the economic adviser, that a call between the two was imminent and that this call would be the key to unlocking lots of other trade disputes, not just the one between the U.S. and China.
And so, I think until it actually happens, we should treat it with a pinch of salt. It may well be that they have finally scheduled a call between the two, but unless it -- until it happens, I have to say I'm skeptical that, A, it's going to happen, and B, that if it does happen, it will be this grand sort of conversation that will finally unravel their differences. Their differences are too deep to be fixed by one phone call.
BLITZER: Your colleague at The Financial Times, Ed, as you know, coined the acronym TACO, T-A-C-O, Trump Always Chickens Out. This refers to Trump's often backing off tariffs in the face of pressure on the U.S. bond market. If we continue to see the market volatility as it's ongoing right now amid Trump's ongoing push for more tariffs, do you expect the president to back down?
LUCE: Yes. My colleague Robert Armstrong has, I think, entered meme immortality with that TACO coinage. Because that acronym, you know, does describe to date how this pattern has evolved with Trump threatening big tariffs with China, for example, 145 percent, which would essentially have been decoupling from China. And then you see bond prices plummet, yields sore, and Trump then hitting pauses. And this has happened several times. So, it is a pattern.
[10:45:00]
I don't know whether this will stop Trump from doing so again because it's 50 percent tariff last week on Europe. You know, came after several of these events where he is marched his troops to the top of the hill, if you like, and then had to march them down again. So, again, I'm skeptical that Trump is going to change his ways. He likes surprising people in negotiations. He thinks he's got a lot of leverage. He's always believed trade wars are easy to win.
And so, I think we're going to see more of these stop-go moments because the bond markets have a very clear view. And Trump has a very consistent instinct about trade that really dates back decades, to the 1980s.
BLITZER: All right. Yes. Important point. Ed Luce, thank you very, very much.
BROWN: Thank you, Ed.
LUCE: Thank you.
BROWN: And coming up right here in the Situation Room, exploring chronic diseases. It's the topic of a new MAHA documentary. But one group says you can't cut out chemicals in our food. It will make it harder for people to build healthy diets. We'll speak to someone from the environmental working group, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:00] BLITZER: An eyewitness that at Sunday's horrible event tell CNN a Holocaust survivor is among the wounded in the attack. The Boulder community is already rallying together after the very violent event occurred. CNN's Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter has more on the reaction from the local Jewish community in Boulder and beyond.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, all across Facebook and other online organizing platforms, you can see and read the fear, the outrage, and also the resolve. The Boulder attack has intensified the fears of many Jews in America, especially those who are active in their communities with pro-Israel causes. The suspect in the Boulder attack targeted a weekly event, a weekly demonstration that was well known in the city, known as the Run for Their Lives Walk.
This is a worldwide effort to call for the immediate release of the hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas. Local residents were reminded about Sunday's gathering on Facebook and other platforms. It was easy to know when and where this event was taking place in Boulder.
One of the posts in advance read, quote, "Until they're all home, we will keep walking and calling attention to the plight of the hostages."
In the aftermath of the firebombing attack, you could see images and videos on social media showing the chaos. I was struck by one image showing a discarded Israeli flag that must have been held or brought by one of the participants, suddenly laying there on the ground as everyone scattered when this attack took place. Some people grabbed t- shirts. Others went to look for buckets of water to try to help the victims.
There was a statement issued by a number of rabbis and other Jewish community leaders in the media aftermath that said, in part, we are shaken -- we are saddened and heartbroken by what happened. Our hearts go out to those who witnessed this horrible attack and prayers for a speedy recovery to those who were injured. Quote, "When events like this, enter our own community, we are shaken. Our hope is that we come together for one another." The message ended with the words, strength to you all.
For the time being, those Run for Their Lives events in Boulder have been called off, but I suspect organizers want to come back in an even more intensive effort in the weeks ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Certainly. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:55:00]
BROWN: Happening right now, week four of the Sean Diddy Combs sex trafficking and racketeering trial. Combs' former assistant is back on the stand facing cross-examination by the defense, and we heard emotional testimony from her Friday. She detailed verbal, physical, and sexual abuse that she claimed she experienced while working for Combs. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. CNN's Kara Scannell has all the details from outside the court.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sean Combs' former assistant testifying under a pseudonym Mia was under cross-examination for much of Friday. She was confronted with about three dozen social media posts she made about Combs. In these posts, she posted photos of them smiling, captions that called him legend, mentor, an inspiration, and also writing repeatedly, I love you, with multiple exclamation points.
The jury was also showed several posts where she wished Combs a happy birthday. And Combs' attorney Brian Steel said to her, wasn't that the anniversary of the very first time you claimed he sexually assaulted you? Mia testifying that for her job, she was expected to promote him, and she also said that she was still unraveling all of this in therapy.
She was also showed a scrapbook that she made for Combs for his 45th birthday, along with that scrapbook and count -- sort of encompassing his rise in hip hop in the '90s was a long-handwritten note. She was asked, why would you make a scrapbook for him if he sexually assaulted you and brutally beaten your best friend, Cassie Ventura? Mia testified, it's a lot more complicated than the way you phrased that, it's abuse on many levels.
She was also challenged, directly asked, you just made up that Sean Comb sexually assaulted you. He never did that. Mia testified that everything she said on the stand was true.
Now, earlier in the day, she was still under direct examination by the prosecution. And then she testified that two weeks after Cassie Ventura filed her civil lawsuit against Combs that she was contacted by Combs' security guard called D-Roc, and Combs himself. She said, Puff wanted D-Roc to get to me and make sure I wasn't a threat. She called that a front. Mia will be back on the witness stand on Monday for more cross-examination.
Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And the next hour of the Situation Room starts right now.
Happening now, shock and condemnation.
[11:00:00]
