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Trump: "I'll Make A Determination" About Arms Sales To Taiwan; Cuba Warns Energy Crisis Set To Worsen As Oil Runs Out; Israel And Hezbollah Continue Attacks Despite Ceasefire. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired May 15, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:00:58]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, running out of fuel. Cuba is now suffering blackouts lasting 20 to 22 hours a day, prompting protests. And the government is warning it's going to get worse. We have the very latest from Havana.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And later, new reward to find an alleged spy. The FBI is now offering $200,000 for information on a former U.S. Air Force specialist. They say gave details on a highly classified program to Iran.

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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

BLITZER: Right now, President Trump is on his way home from China. And he may be carrying some new political baggage. This morning, he remains vague about U.S. commitments to Taiwan.

BROWN: In Beijing, he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a second straight day. But it was aboard Air Force One a short time ago that the President delivered news that's sure to rattle the self-governing island. He says he and Xi discussed a pending $14 billion U.S. arms deal to Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We discussed Taiwan, you know, the whole thing with the arms deals was in great detail, actually. And I'll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right now is a war that's 9,500 miles away. I think that's the last thing we need. We're doing very well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would the U.S. defend Taiwan if it came to it?

TRUMP: I don't want to say. I'm not going to say that. There's only one person that knows that. You know who it is? Me. I'm the only person. That question was asked to me today by President Xi. I said, I don't talk about the us. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: All right, CNN's Mike Valerio joins us now from Beijing. So, Mike, walk us through the significance of the President's comments here on Taiwan.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, it's not an understatement at this late hour here in Beijing to say that these comments could be seismic, depending on what the president of the United States decides to do next about these arms sales to Taiwan, $14 billion in total, that are now on hold.

And why they are significant, Pamela and Wolf, it's because it is one of the signature goals of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to reunify the mainland with Taiwan and certainly part of what's called the national rejuvenation that has its centenary of the Communist Party by the year 2049 to have this reunification of Taiwan with the mainland. So, I want to go back to Air Force One. We're going to listen to comments from the President when he was asked by a reporter on the left-hand side of the screen whether or not there is a real risk of confrontation between the United States and China with the subject of Taiwan. Let's listen to what he said. We'll talk about it on the other side.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Xi said that there was a risk of conflict with the U.S. over Taiwan. What's your response to that?

TRUMP: I don't think there's a conflict. Other than we don't need their Strait. We don't need the arm of China.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On Taiwan, Mr. -- President Xi said there was a risk of conflict with the U.S. over Taiwan.

TRUMP: No, no, I don't think so. I don't think so. I think we're going to be, I think we'll be fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So, to be clear about what he said, "We don't need their Strait, meaning the Strait of Taiwan. That is an arresting comment, to say the least, because when you think about how consequential that body of water is, we're talking about choke points like the Strait of Hormuz. This potentially is another one. The Strait of Taiwan, according to Bloomberg shipping data in 2022, about half, Pamela and Wolf, about half of the world's container ships pass through the Taiwan Strait in the first seven months alone of 2022.

[11:04:56]

Taiwan semiconductor manufacturing company TSMC produces about 90 percent of the world's most advanced semiconductors. So we have that in one bucket. And then in another bucket, our CNN contributor colleague and reporter from the New York Times, David Sanger, followed up and said, well, Mr. President, were you consulting with Xi Jinping on an arms sale to Taiwan, which has not been the policy of the United States since the Reagan administration? And he said, we discussed this in detail. So a lot of follow-up questions waiting for the president as soon as he gets back to D.C., Pamela and Wolf?

BROWN: All right, Mike Valerio, thank you so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And also happening now, Cuba. Cuba in crisis amid an ongoing U.S. oil blockade that has plagued the country with blackouts, prompting protests. The island nation has reached a breaking point after government officials announced they had run out of oil reserves. Let's go live right now to CNN international correspondent, our Havana bureau chief, Patrick Oppmann. He's joining us live from Havana. How dire is the situation there, Patrick?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the country is run out of oil by Cuban government officials' own admissions. You know, the power is on in our office by miracle. It goes off several times a day. And, you know, where most Cubans live, it is off most of the time on this island most days. It is rare now to have power on in your home in Cuba. You're lucky if you get it a couple hours a day. Sometimes people don't even have enough power to charge their cell phones.

Late last night, we went out and saw some of these protests. People have been banging pots and pans so hard, they'd actually put huge dents in them because they've been banging them for hours. And people were just indignant. They're actually not mad at the U.S. government, despite the U.S. oil blockade. They felt that their government distributes the power that there is very unequally and that certain neighborhoods, poor neighborhoods don't get as much power. And so I spoke to one woman who said that she simply can't deal with the situation anymore.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through audio translation): The children don't have food to eat, they don't go to school, we are desperate. The women have lost 20 pounds, we're anxious. We don't have a way to support our kids.

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OPPMANN: And I asked this woman, you know, would she be, you know, OK if the U.S. were to invade? And many people here don't want that. They don't think it would help with the situation. But also, some people say that if anything makes the power situation better, then they're in favor that they simply can't continue to have blackouts that stretch on for so many hours that it makes their food rot in their fridges, that they can't go to work, they can't go to school. There's no life here.

And so you saw this extraordinary meeting between the head of the CIA yesterday, essentially offering a choice to Cuba. They can receive aid or they can continue to feel these very harsh sanctions and protect potentially, you know, even further measures. BLITZER: A historic visit to Cuba by the CIA director, Patrick. Thank you very much for that report.

BROWN: I'm wondering, too, how can I just ask you really quick, Patrick, how are you able to do this live shot given the energy crisis there, the power crisis, if you're still there?

OPPMANN: On a wing and a prayer. I have solar panels at my house. You know, eventually I'll do a live shot and the power is going to go out in the middle of the live shot. I'm counting down. We've been very lucky so far. But I tell you, the power goes off all the time.

BROWN: Yes.

OPPMANN: You don't know when it goes off, when it's going to come back, if it's going to come back.

BROWN: Well, it lasted through this live shot. So best of luck to you moving forward. Patrick, we appreciate it.

And still ahead here in The Situation Room, the military style immigration raid that has residents suing the Department of Homeland Security for millions.

[11:08:53]

BLITZER: And fiery crash. A plane slams straight into a family's home, bursting into flames. We have new video from the deadly scene. You're in The Situation Room.

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BROWN: Happening now, new peace talks between Israel and Lebanon are underway for a second day at the State Department. They're being mediated by senior U.S. diplomats in Washington, including Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel. Despite having a ceasefire in place, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange attacks this week.

BLITZER: CNN's State Department reporter Jennifer Hansler is joining us right now. Jennifer, are we seeing any signs of progress in these talks between these Israeli and Lebanese officials here in Washington?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Well, Wolf and Pam, we are seeing progress, first and foremost in the fact that these talks are continuing today. This is the second day of this latest round of discussions between the Israelis and the Lebanese delegations.

Now, this is already significantly longer than we've seen in the past two rounds of talks that lasted just about a couple hours each. According to a State Department official, yesterday's talks lasted a full eight hours, and that official said that they were, "Productive and positive," and they hope to have more to share after today's round of talks that kicked off earlier this morning. Now, key to these discussions is that tenuous ceasefire that is due to expire on Sunday. As you mentioned, this has not been a perfect ceasefire. There have been continued strikes between Israel and Hezbollah throughout the course of this roughly month-long ceasefire. At the same time, there has been a continued presence of Israeli forces within southern Lebanon. And a military source told our colleague in Israel that they have extended beyond the Litani River, which is a key boundary in southern Lebanon.

[11:15:23]

Another key point of these discussions is Israel's demand that Hezbollah be disarmed. This is something the U.S. has also said needs to take place, but they have not said how exactly they are going to support the Lebanese government in doing so. We have not heard if they are going to provide additional funding to the Lebanese armed forces, for example, but they have said that they want this to be a path forward to a durable peace between the Lebanese and Israeli governments.

Another thing I should note about this particular round of talks is that both Israel and Lebanon have added officials to their delegations. These are still happening at the working level, but Lebanon has added their presidential envoy, Israel has added their deputy national security advisor, as well as senior military representatives. So a lot of eyes are here on the State Department today to see whether there is at least an extension of that imperfect ceasefire to see if these talks can continue. Wolf, Pam?

BLITZER: We'll see how it goes. Jennifer Hansler at the State Department, thank you very much.

BROWN: All right. So up next, how do you find and start your life's work? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jodi Kantor is here with her recipe for success. That's next.

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[11:21:27]

BROWN: Well, graduation ceremonies are taking place across the country this month, and students are bringing home a degree. They are gearing up to enter into an uncertain workforce as they come home. Federal data shows employers have pumped the brakes on hiring new workers over the past year and a half. In fact, last year, unemployment of Americans in their early 20s, specifically between the ages of 20 and 24, reached a four-year high at 9.2 percent. It's since declined. It is now at 7.6 percent.

But A.I. is, of course, having a big impact right now. So what is the secret for these new graduates looking to start a successful career? We want to dive into this with New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor, because she discusses it in her new book. It's titled "How to Start Discovering Your Life's Work," and she joins us now.

So, Jodi, in this current landscape we're in, particularly with A.I., how should young adults be looking at building a career in this moment?

JODI KANTOR, REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: That is the question. I mean, the negative statistics you just recited are very important context, but the real question is what are young people actually supposed to do? How do you chart a course and build your life's work amid the negativity of this environment?

So I'll tell you a couple of things quickly. I think, first of all, this is a time for really tested wisdom. We don't want to go with crowd thinking. We don't want to go with career fads, because we don't really know what's going to happen long-term with A.I. and entry-level work.

But we do know one thing, which is that hiring has become very difficult and very lonely. For people, you're in my age, it's actually kind of shocking. But young people, many of them are actually getting interviewed by A.I., not by real people. So the hiring process is really digital and really lonely. And relationships with other human beings, as a result, are becoming even more important.

BROWN: Yes, and A.I. is being used to filter through resumes, right? Like looking for key buzzwords. And it really is shaping so much for young people. Tell us more about what you see as the biggest reason employers are slow to hire young workers right now.

KANTOR: There's a lot of caution. You know, what the evidence shows is that it's not all necessarily the impact of A.I. yet. Some companies are just in an incredibly cautious stance. So this has always been a time of struggle in anybody's life. Starting is hard. We've all experienced that. This era is making it harder. And so part of what we need to do is bring young people all the help we can. Just really bring on the advice, really bring on the mentorship, really bring on the human contact.

BROWN: So bottom line in your book, what do you give? What advice do you give to young graduates, particularly those who wanted to go into the tech industry right now?

KANTOR: OK, so I am going to tell you the key thing. I mean, there's a lot in this book. It's about finding your craft instead of just finding a job. It's about finding the need that's going to drive your career. But this is the essential thing because there's a lot of cynicism and negativity about the workplace among young people, which is a rational response. It's understandable, but it's not going to help them. So the most important thing is do not give up before you even start.

[11:25:08]

Frustration and disappointment are certain. Failure is possible. The search for satisfaction now, you'll put it further out of reach. Resist the urge to arm yourself with uninformed cynicism, masking as oh so wise pragmatism. That's just really good old fear of rejection. We do not yet know what the world will offer you.

BROWN: All right. Well, Jodi Kantor, thank you so much. And congratulations on your book. We appreciate it. And I know a lot of young people and parents as well will be reading it for their kids. Thanks. Wolf?

BLITZER: And the book is entitled "How to Start Discovering Your Life's Work." I recommend it very, very highly. Good work, Jodi. Thanks for joining us.

And just ahead, stepping up to the plate, the Washington Nationals, my baseball team, they're adding a very good boy to the roster. We're talking about Natty, the new team dog, making his major league debut. And Natty is live right here in The Situation Room.

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