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Trump Deploys About 300 National Guard Troops to L.A.; Trump's New Travel Ban in Effect; Kilmar Garcia Facing Trafficking Charges; Trump Expected to Speak with Netanyahu; Historic Moments at the French Open. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired June 09, 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]

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND FORMER DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: -- to deal with what is, for the most part, peaceful protests is not a good use of force. It does not make sense for their training. It does not make us more lethal against China. At the end of the day, those Marines need to continue their training, whether it be at Camp Pendleton or anywhere else in the country for our adversaries.

And so, again, because the governor didn't request this additional use of forces it is a bit deranged behavior and it's something that this administration is being able to use to politicize the military. And that's exactly what they want to do.

So, again, there are -- there -- people have the right to peacefully assemble and protest. Those who are committing acts of violence obviously should be held accountable. But sending in our Marines, this is only going to make things worse on the ground, worse for the mayor, and worse for the governor of the state.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Deploying active-duty military troops on American Streets, Sabrina, would require President Trump to invoke what's called the Insurrection Act. The president is calling the protestors, Insurrectionists. Does the unrest we're seeing in Los Angeles meet the conditions for Trump to invoke this law?

SINGH: No. I think, clearly, what you're seeing is examples of peaceful protestors. Those are gathering that is allowed. And if they're doing so peacefully and safely, that is OK. You've seen this president not invoke that act because I don't think in a legal court it would uphold and meet the standards for which, you know, to deploy our forces in that manner.

Of course, if there are people committing active acts of violence such as smashing police cars, destroying property, vandalism those people do need to be held accountable and face the -- you know, the justice system. But that can be done with the LAPD. This is not an untested city. The LAPD is a very professional force. They've dealt with protests before. And ultimately, they know their communities and can handle what is happening on the ground. Unless they feel that they need a further backup, that's when the governor can request additional forces to come in.

BLITZER: Listen, Sabrina, to what the L.A. police chief said about the protestors. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JIM MCDONNELL, LOS ANGELES POLICE: When I look at the people who are out there doing the violence, that's not the people that we see during the day who are legitimately out there exercising their First Amendment rights and to be able to express their feelings about the immigration enforcement issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Sabrina, what do you make of his point there?

SINGH: Yes, I think that's completely right. People who are committing acts of violence, burning cars, smashing the windows of police vehicles, vandalism, stealing, that is not peaceful protesting, that is not freedom of speech. You do not have the right to do that, and you should absolutely be fully held accountable by the law enforcement on the ground who are trying to protect those who are peacefully protesting and making a statement about what is happening in their city with these -- you know, these ICE raids and ICE officers going into restaurants and communities and grabbing people, some people who have been living there for, you know, 10 or 15 years.

But absolutely, if you are committing an active violence, that police officer, that police chief is accurate and correct, and that should not be tolerated.

BLITZER: Sabrina Singh, thank you so much for joining us. And to our viewers, we'll of course be staying on top of this breaking news throughout the Situation Room this morning. We'll be speaking with the Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, right at the top of the next hour. Stay with us for that. Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Wolf. And happening now, President Trump's travel ban officially in effect. Citizens from 12 Nations, including Afghanistan, Iran, and Libya are fully restricted from entering the U.S. Seven other countries, including Cuba and Sierra Leone, are under a partial ban. The Trump administration is insisting these nations pose a security risk to the U.S.

So, let's go live now to CNN National Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood. Kylie, are there any exceptions to this ban? How's it all going to unroll?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Pam, there are actually many exemptions to this ban, which make it distinctly different from the first iteration of the travel ban that we saw during the first Trump administration. So, what these exemptions include are dual citizens, so citizens from these countries and the United States, they are not subject to this travel ban. Also, people who are legal, permanent residents in the United States or current visa holders, they also are not subject to this travel ban.

Another sect of people that aren't applied are people for whom travel to the United States would serve U.S. national interest, but national interest isn't actually defined. So, we'll watch and see how that exemption plays out. And then, there are other groups of people, including people who are athletes and their coaches coming to the United States for major sporting events. Of course, think the World Cup in 2026, the Olympics in 2028. Iranians who are traveling and fleeing persecution of religious sort in their country, they are not subject to the ban. And then, Afghans who could qualify or already have special immigrant visas, those are people who served alongside Americans during the Afghan war, they are not subject to this ban.

[10:35:00]

So, there are many exemptions here, which make it distinctly different from what we saw during the first travel ban. But the State Department still has to actually implement this ban, which goes into effect today. They put out some guidance to diplomatic posts around the world late last week in terms of how they should actually be implementing this, saying that this ban applies to people who are outside of the United States. They'll still be reviewing visa applications as they come through, but they will be rejected unless they meet the specific criteria in these exemptions. Pam.

BROWN: All right. Kylie Atwood, thank you so much, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Pamela, this morning, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man mistakenly deported to El Salvador back in March, is finally back on U.S. soil. But now, he's facing federal criminal charges, including transporting thousands of undocumented migrants. For the latest on what's going on, CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is here in the Situation Room. Joining us right now. What do we know about these charges, Priscilla?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this was an extraordinary development, because if you recall this case was the subject of an intense standoff between the Trump administration and a federal judge who said he had to be returned to the United States after he was mistakenly deported, mistakenly, according to the administration deported in March to El Salvador. He's since been in detention there. But now, as you mentioned, he's back.

Now, he is back specifically to face these federal criminal charges, according to the Justice Department, which announced these charges on Friday, that includes indicted on conspiracy to unlawfully transport, illegal aliens for financial gain and unlawful transportation of illegal aliens. Now, this was -- this stems actually to a traffic stop in Tennessee that we knew about. It was a brush with law enforcement that he had where he was driving a vehicle with others in the car.

Now, at the time, it sort of ended there. This was back in 2022. But now, this is serving as sort of the basis of this investigation. So, this is going to continue to play out in court. But in the interim, we're also getting reaction from his attorney who called this an abuse of power. Just to read part of the statement, it said, quote, "The government disappeared Kilmar to a foreign prison in violation of a court order. Now, after months of delay in secrecy, they're bringing him back not to correct their error, but to prosecute him. This shows that they were playing games with the court all along." Now, this is an attorney who has also been before a federal judge in Maryland, of course, trying to have him returned to the United States. He is calling for the that case, separate from these charges, to continue, saying that this is -- the administration's return was a farce, in his words, and that it's under this pretext of him facing federal criminal charges and that he was returned to Tennessee, not to Maryland. The administration, however, is calling for that case to be moot.

So, there's still a lot playing out here in court. There's going to be both in court, the federal criminal charges, then separately, the court in Maryland about what happens next in that case, and whether the administration did return him as the federal judge had asked them to and asked them to facilitate.

But at the end of the day, it was an extraordinary development to see the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who up until this point, senior or Trump officials had repeatedly and publicly said he was not going to come back to the United States.

BLITZER: Interesting. All right. We'll see what happens on this front. Priscilla, thank you very, very much. Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Wolf, happening now, the president is heading back to Washington after meetings at Camp David over the weekend. It's still unclear what these meetings were about, but they were with military leaders. And when asked by reporters, President Trump seemed reluctant to provide details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We have meetings with various people about very major subjects. Now, we thought we do it at Camp David. There's probably better security there than any place. We'll be meeting with a lot of people, including generals as you know, and admirals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, let's go live now to CNN Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak. Kevin, why so little details on these meetings?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I think when you look at the composition of who the president has up there at the presidential retreat, we can glean that these are some pretty sensitive foreign policy discussions. The president mentioning military leaders. You also saw the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, standing there with the president as he was heading up into the mountains.

And we do know that there are a number of critical foreign policy issues that the president now faces some decisions on. One on Ukraine. We are now butting up against that two-week deadline that the president set at the end of May as he was asked what he would do with Vladimir Putin, how to proceed on that situation. He also has this situation with Iran. As the president has said, we are now nearing a critical juncture as he works to curb that country's nuclear program through diplomacy, through talks. The president now awaiting a response from Iran to the latest U.S. proposal.

[10:40:00]

And we do understand that this morning the president will be speaking by telephone to Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, who has been vocal about his views towards these negotiations. In the past, the president has encouraged Netanyahu not to upend these discussions, saying that it would not be appropriate. Now, the president clearly facing a new juncture as he works on these critical diplomatic efforts around the world. Pam.

BROWN: All right. Kevin Liptak, thank you so much. Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Pamela. Coming up, law and order, one of President Trump's favorite phrases becoming reality right now in Los Angeles. But are his actions constitutional? We'll discuss that and more. That's coming up.

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[10:45:00]

BROWN: We are continuing to follow the latest out of Los Angeles, where California Governor Gavin Newsom is now saying that he will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration for deploying National Guard troops without his request. It's a move he is slamming as, quote, "unconstitutional."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Donald Trump has created the conditions you see on your TV tonight. He's exacerbated the conditions. He's you know, lit the proverbial match. He's putting fuel on this fire ever since he announced he was taking over the National Guard, an illegal act and immoral act, an unconstitutional act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And for more on this, we're joined now by Axios senior politics reporter, Marc Caputo. Marc, is the governor right?

MARC CAPUTO, SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: I don't know. I'm not a constitutional scholar, nor expert, and the courts will decide that issue.

BROWN: So, how has what we've seen this weekend from President Trump played -- how has it played into the larger political agenda of his?

CAPUTO: Well, I would imagine both Newsom and Trump have their own political agendas. And so far, the Trump White House, which is what I cover, thinks that this is the fight that they wanted. I'm not sure what Gavin Newsom thinks, but I doubt he's acting the way he is without thinking it's a winning hand for him. For Trump, he's having some trouble passing his major tax cut and immigration policy bill. And the news that came out of Los Angeles, his reaction to it and the Newsom's reaction to it is going to make it easier, and they're doing it now, for Trump's White House to begin messaging to Republicans saying, you're either with Trump and with immigration enforcement and this bill, or you're with Gavin Newsom and people waving Mexican flags in front of burning cars, set a flame by rioters. That's the choice that you're going to start hearing the White House make publicly, they're making it privately now to Congress, to get their legislation passed.

BROWN: And do you think this is also a warning shot to other blue states?

CAPUTO: It could be. I think it's more of a warning shot to other people who might protest. Now, I'm not in Los Angeles. I have not done any reporting down there on the ground. I am prisoner to what I've seen on the media and on social media. So, I cannot say exactly what happened and what sparked this.

But we do know that there are burning cars, there are rioters there. Now, that's not to say everyone is. And so, if you see those images, you're going to probably see Donald Trump react that way, whether it's in a blue city, a red city, a purple city, or state.

BROWN: Right. And that brings me to my next question. Just the way that this is being framed by the right and the left. You know, the right is saying, look, this is a city out of control and there is violence, and the Democrats care more about protecting those who are here illegally than law and order. And then, you have those on the left who say, this is executive overreach. You know, the president is going beyond his bounds and sending in the National Guard and they ginning up some of the violence we're seeing. And it really is sort of a case study in the divide we're in right now in America.

CAPUTO: I'd say so. Obviously, this is going to play out and we'll see kind of which one is right in the court of public opinion. I can say that, just in my reporting here in Florida, where we not only have a high number of immigrants, foreign-born people and undocumented immigrants and people here on temporary protective status, but also we have a lot of very strong immigration enforcement and crackdowns that are happening.

There is a growing sentiment that you'll hear among some Republican voters that what the Trump White House has been doing, what ICE has been doing has been a little too much. Now, that's on the right. I assume that kind of bleeds through into the center and certainly the left. Well, the left was never with Trump there.

However, don't discount the power of image when the Trump White House -- when the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, is posting pictures of cars of flame, that's an easier message for the White House and for Trump, Republicans and supporters to communicate than it is for Gavin Newsom to say, this is executive overage. What's the image for executive overreach look like?

And there is where the Trump folks think that they sort of have an upper hand, and you'll see them do more of that and not less.

BROWN: All right. Mar cCaputo, thank you so much. Stay tuned. We're going to be speaking with the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, in 10 minutes we'll be back.

BLITZER: And also coming up, lots of historic moments at the French Tennis Open. Our Coy Wire is standing by with an update. We'll be right back.

[10:50:00]

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf. We will touch on Coco Gauff's win on Saturday and the history making men's final. We will also go over those highlights coming up on the Situation Room.

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BLITZER: Coco conquers the clay. Coco Gauff pulled off an incredible comeback at the French Open to win the second Grand Slam of her career. She's the first American champion in a decade Over at Roland- Garros. Plus, in the men's final, a truly amazing five-and-a-half-hour match and an unforgettable comeback. Let's go live right now to CNN's Coy Wire joining us with the latest. What an amazing pair of victories for these young superstars.

WIRE: I was glued to my TV all weekend, Wolf. And back on Saturday, what an incredible moment for Coco Gauff. It feels like she's been around forever, but she only turned 21 a few months ago. She turned pro at 14. And our friends at TNT Sports, this year's Roland-Garros' rights holders were surprised to find out Coco had never popped a bottle of champagne before Wolf. And they gave her one there to celebrate.

[10:55:00]

Her very first French Open win. Congrats to Coco Gauff. First American to win it since Serena Williams.

And just yesterday, Wolf, on the men's side, one of the greatest Grand Slam finals ever. Five hours, 29 minutes. Second longest major of all time. Sinner hadn't lost a single set all tournament. He won the first two sets against Carlos Alcaraz and had him down 40 love in the third, but Carlos did not give up. He fought all the way back to win that third set. Gestures to the crowd. He wants more.

Alcaraz then goes on to win the fourth, setting a tie break. And in the fifth and final set, also going to a tie break, he completes the comeback, becoming the first player in the open era to win the men's French Open final after saving three match points. The now back-to- back champs snaps Jannick Sinner's 20-match win streak at Majors. Alcaraz has now won his first five Grand Slam finals.

And he wins his fifth major, Wolf, of his career at the exact same age his idol. Rafa Nadal won his fifth, both exactly 22 years, one month and three days old. Congrats to Carlos and Coco. It was funny, Wolf, earlier in the tournament, remember Coco Gauff, she forgot her rackets for one of her matches. She showed up. They weren't in her bag. Her team got them for her. She just goes on, takes it in stride and goes on to win it all.

BLITZER: Yes, it was amazing, amazing tennis. I watched almost all of it together, like so many millions of other people around the world. Coy Wire, thank you very, very much. And we'll be right back.

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