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Trump Tariffs Temporarily Reinstated; Judge Lets Harvard Continue Foreign Student Enrollment; Trump Trade Talks Continue; New Gaza Ceasefire Proposal; Israel To Expand West Bank Settlements; Future Of U.S. Military In South Korea. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired May 29, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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[18:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. And you're watching

"The Brief."

Just ahead this hour, illegal tariff tangle. Another flip as an appeals court spares President Trump's tariff plan for now. A Democratic lawmaker

will give me his response. An Israeli official says that Israel is ready to accept a new U.S. proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas.

Also given the green light, a massive expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. We will hear from the Israeli ambassador to the

U.S. Also, what is the future for the U.S. military and South Korea? Officials in Washington indicate they could be open to a, quote,

"reevaluation. That conversation and plenty more coming up.

We do begin with what could be described as a day of tariff policy, chaos, and ups and downs in Washington. Just hours ago, a federal appeals court

reinstated for now President Trump's ability to impose his sweeping global tariffs through his claim of emergency powers. The court put on hold a

ruling just on Wednesday from the three-member court of international trade, which struck most of those tariffs down, saying Trump had

overstepped his authority.

White House Trade adviser, Peter Navarro, hailed the appeals court decision and said the president will ultimately prevail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER NAVARRO, TRUMP SENIOR COUNSELOR FOR TRADE AND MANUFACTURING: Look. the tariff -- the tariffs remain in place. The court told us -- they didn't

all but tell us, they told us, go do it another way. So, you can assume that even if we lose, we will do it another way. And I can assure you,

American people, that the Trump tariff agenda is alive, well, healthy, and will be implemented to protect you, to save your jobs and your factories,

and to stop ship and foreign wealth -- our wealth into foreign hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Earlier today, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the issue must ultimately be settled by the Supreme Court. She called

yesterday's decision by the Court of International Trade, another example of judicial overreach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The courts should have no role here. There is a troubling and dangerous trend of unelected judges

inserting themselves into the presidential decision-making process. America cannot function if President Trump or any other president, for that matter,

has their sensitive diplomatic or trade negotiations railroaded by activist judges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: We should know that one of the judges on that trade court was appointed by President Trump. U.S. lawmakers have been arguing for months

that the president's justification for his trade policy is flawed, goes far before -- beyond, rather, congressional powers, and that Congress must

have, at least, a greater say.

House Democrat Don Beyer from Virginia is one of the U.S. lawmakers pushing for greater congressional oversight on the tariffs. Congressman, thanks so

much for joining.

REP. DON BEYER (D-VA): Yes. Thank you, Jim, very much.

SCIUTTO: So, I was going to begin by -- '

BEYER: But by the way, the -- one of these other judges was a George W. Bush appointee.

SCIUTTO: Fair point. To your point. And listen, well, I do want to get to their reaction to judges, but let me begin with where this stands in the

courts, because last night, you, of course, had the decision stopping this, blocking his -- Trump trump's tariff moves for now. Now, you have that

stayed. Where is this going to land ultimately?

BEYER: Yes, Jim, probably the Supreme Court. But I just want to emphasize this, tariffs are the most foolish policy of our taco president. You know,

he raises them. He postpones them. He lowers them. He raises them again. All of it illegally. Two different courts yesterday ruled that they were

illegal and sure that the appeals court put it on a stay. But I think the Supreme Court, they ruled, they're illegal too. The law is very clear that

this is -- tariff policy is not up to the president, is up to Congress.

SCIUTTO: The court -- the trade court seemed to take particular issue with Trump attempting to use national security justifications for these tariffs.

As you heard Peter Navarro say, well, if that doesn't work, we'll try something else.

I mean, does that have more likelihood if they try an alternate path of getting Supreme Court approval?

[18:05:00]

BEYER: Well, I think it's important to remember that one of the alternate paths they used was national security that stayed in place. So, we still

have the tariffs on aluminum, on lumber, on pharma, on steel, on autos, all that's still in place. But this talk about overreach, applying emergency

powers to everything else in our economy, is the -- is what's -- what the courts reacted to. This is -- we're not in an emergency place right now,

and this is just attacks on the American consumer.

SCIUTTO: Do you believe there's bipartisan interest in Congress on reigning in Trump's attempt to use these broad tariff powers or is it just Democrats

really that have -- that would support such a measure?

BEYER: Jim, sadly, at the moment, I think it's mostly Democrats. If we had a Democratic president, we'd have every Republican on the Ways and Means

Committee signed up on these bills to reign in presidential power. Right now, every House Republican, but one or two, our cowed by the president, by

the threat of a primary, the threat of Musk's money.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BEYER: But I know that most Republicans think that this overreach of the president and tariff policy is bad for the country.

SCIUTTO: I spoke earlier today with two small business owners who are some of the small business owners challenging Trump on tariffs. I want to play

their answer to me about how this is affecting their business, because I imagine this is something you've heard from other small business owners.

Have a listen and then I want to get your thoughts on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABIGAIL ADELSHEIM MARSHALL, CO-OWNER, MISCHIEF TOY STORE: That has been our life for the last few months, is that you never know what tomorrow's going

to bring. So, we're just trying to order as much as we can now so that we have everything at pre-tariff prices and stockpiles for the future as much

as we can.

DAN MARSHALL, CO-OWNER, MISCHIEF TOY STORE: Yes. I mean, it's been crazy. Since Trump took office, it's been like 20 percent, 50 percent, 145

percent, 30 percent. You can't plan around that. It's impossible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: They're describing there, it's not just the back and forth from courts, as you know, it's a back and forth from the White House, his own

reversals and retreats. When do you think businesses will finally get clarity on all this?

BEYER: Not in the near-term, Jim. My last couple of Chamber of Commerce meetings, I've heard from the florist who said the price of her flowers has

gone way up. The local brewery who says he can't afford his kegs anymore. That the pie company who said even the pie tins have tripled in price.

You know, he's -- the thing businesses hate is uncertainty. They don't know, can they give somebody a raise? Can they hire new people? Can they

invest? And with this chaos and uncertainty, everybody's going to be pretty careful in the short run.

SCIUTTO: I wonder given that you speak to your constituents or business owners, you're speaking to them about the effect of tariffs right now. So

far, in the headline economic figures, we have not seen a large impact from the tariffs in GDP, jobs seem to be holding steady. That said, as you know,

the Federal Reserve has said that they do expect economic impacts over time. Why do you think that is? And do you expect those numbers to begin to

reflect the costs of this trade war?

BEYER: Yes. Jim, the business I know best is the car business. And in the short run what people are doing is they're coming or flocking into buy the

cars before the prices go up. So, at the moment, business looks pretty good, but I'm also noticing that the lots are emptying out and there's an

awful lot of cars that are stuck in the ports because they don't know what the tariff zone number's going to be.

So, the -- you can make some money today, but you're terrified about what's going to happen in August and in October, when the shelves are empty and

what you do have costs a lot more.

SCIUTTO: Congressman Don Beyer from Virginia, thanks so much for joining.

BEYER: Thank you, Jim, very much.

SCIUTTO: Well, President Trump's battle against Harvard University hit a legal roadblock today. A federal judge in Boston said she will order the

Trump administration not to block Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students. Just across the river, in Cambridge, president of Harvard

University received a standing ovation at today's commencement ceremony. Have a listen to President Alan Garber.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN GARBER, PRESIDENT, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Members of the class of 2025 from down the street, across the country, and around the world. Around the

world, just as it should be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:10:00]

SCIUTTO: A call out for those many thousands of international students currently enrolled at Harvard. All this just one part of Trump's broader

attacks on American colleges and universities, including freezing funds and demanding the removal of all DEI programs.

Katelyn Polantz joins me now. She's been following this from up in Cambridge. I wonder what the feeling is at Harvard now as to where this

goes next. The nature of the courts is such, and you cover the courts and have for some time, is that you might have a win one day, but a loss the

next day. I mean, when do they believe they'll have clarity on all this?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Jim. What the judge did today is that she was making sure. That the

administration wouldn't try some other sort of funny business. There have been a couple different points in this student visa fight between Harvard

and the Trump administration last week. The administration saying that they wanted to revoke the whole program immediately.

And then, right before midnight last week, on the eve of this hearing that was supposed to take place before Judge Allison Burroughs this morning and

did, the administration came in and said, actually, we are going to allow the Harvard to have a little bit of administrative due process. So, they

changed their tune, tried to get things out of court, but the judge said, that's not what's going to happen here. She sent both teams of lawyers to

work out legal language to solidify a court order. So, there will be a court order on Harvard -- or I'm sorry, on the Trump administration

preserving the ability of Harvard to host international students on their campus. That's the immediate impact.

We don't know what will happen next in this fight. You never know in court. But we do know that Judge Burroughs does want to look at some of the bigger

issues still. Has there been retaliation, a pattern of it that Harvard alleges from the Trump administration against the university? Is there free

speech and constitutional rights? Are those being violated by the administration because of what they're trying to do with the student

population?

And then of course, Jim, there's a whole host of other issues that the administration is trying to bring into play against Harvard. They've

already blocked $2.2 billion of federal funding, largely around healthcare research from going to the university. There's another massive lawsuit

about that. It hasn't been operating in the same way as this one has. This one has been treated as a total emergency arising last Thursday, and here

we are in court having a hearing this morning.

But that other case on the grant funding, it's moving forward too, Jim, and we're going to be seeing evidence, arguments, lots more there as well. The

fight of Trump v. Harvard, it's not over, but the international students here on campus, they graduated today and they are going to be able to come

in the summer and fall semesters at this time, Jim.

SCIUTTO: And there's a big new tax on university endowments in this big, beautiful bill as well. It's coming from a lot of directions. Katelyn

Polantz in Cambridge, thanks so much.

Well, Beijing is strongly criticizing Washington's decision to, quote, "aggressively" revoke Chinese student visas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAO NING, SPOKESWOMAN, CHINESE FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY (through translator): The U.S. decides to unjustly revoke the visas of Chinese

students under the pretext of ideology and national security, which severely damages the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students

and disrupts normal people to people exchanges between the two countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. will revoke visas for Chinese students, quote, "with connections to the Chinese Communist Party

or those studying in critical fields." Here is what a spokesperson had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAMMY BRUCE, SPOKESPERSON, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: The United States, I further can say here, will not tolerate the CCPs exploitation of U.S.

universities or theft of U.S. research, intellectual property, or technologies to grow its military power, conduct intelligence collection,

or repress voices of opposition.

The Trump administration is focused on protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding our national security and public safety through our

visa process, obviously, very openly and transparently applied by Secretary Marco Rubio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: The move is causing deep uncertainty and fear among Chinese students in this country, as well as at universities where Chinese students

make up an enormous percentage of the class, also a major source of income. Last year, there were nearly 280,000 Chinese students in U.S. schools. Many

Chinese officials themselves have sent their children to U.S. institutions, including President Xi Jinping, whose daughter studied at Harvard.

Kylie Atwood joins me now. Kylie, I wonder, it's been hard to follow some of this, but has the State Department designed exactly how they're going to

determine what a connection is to the Chinese Communist Party or, for instance, what is a critical field?

[18:15:00]

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No, neither of those things have been identified. We also don't know if they've put together the

resources to actually do this. Because if you're going to go through the visas of more than 270,000 students, that's going to take a long time to

do. And there's already, you know, resource thin situation at the State Department when it comes to visas.

And so, there's a lot of questions about how we're going to see this policy actually play out. But the timing here is critical because this

announcement plays into, of course, this fight that we have seen ongoing between higher education and the Trump administration writ large.

But then, on the China front, it also comes as the trade talks have sort of hit a bit of a snag. There hasn't been forward progress on that. And so,

you have to consider that the administration is thinking about all of those things when the secretary of state rolled out this announcement late last

night.

SCIUTTO: The other thing that has come up is this idea of looking through social media posting. So, students -- and by the way, not just Chinese

students, but other students. Has the State Department at all articulated what the standards and what qualifies as disqualifying public speech?

ATWOOD: No. No. And so, what we're expecting to get from the State Department in the coming days, according to senior officials, is what is

going to be their new social media vetting policy. So, what they're going to do is bolster the vetting that they do on student applicants for visas

to the United States from around the world, not just from China, for everywhere.

And so, while they are working to implement and draft what that new policy is going to look like, they've actually put a pause on all of those

students' applications for appointments. So, when they put an application, they have to get an appointment at the U.S. embassy or consulate where

they're living in order to get that visa process rolling. Right now, all of that around the world has been paused.

And it's just -- you know, it comes at a time when I've talked to immigration lawyers who have said, this is the pressure cooker time for

those students. If they have been accepted to universities in the United States, they put their down payment. Just in recent weeks, they've gotten

their paperwork from those universities that they needed to actually apply for the visas. So, right now is when they would be going in for those

appointments, all of that on pause right now.

SCIUTTO: It's enormously distraught. I can just imagine, it was like, you know, a few weeks ago, they get those notices, they're celebrating, they're

making plans to move countries. It's -- well, a lot of families affected. Kylie Atwood, thanks so much.

Still ahead, trade talks between the U.S. and the E.U. continue despite yet more tariff uncertainties. The chair of the European Parliament's

International Trade Committee will join me right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." Checking the action on Wall Street where U.S. stocks rose somewhat across the board on Thursday. The market

shrugging off the ongoing tariff drama in Washington. Late in the day, a U.S. appeals court reinstated the Trump administration's tariff struck down

by another federal court on Wednesday. These high stakes legal fight creating further uncertainty for businesses as well as U.S. trading

partners. The White House says the court fight should not affect ongoing trade negotiations with dozens of other countries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEAVITT: We expect to fight this battle all the way to the Supreme Court. These other countries should also know, and they do know, that the

president reserves other tariff authorities, Section 232, for example, to ensure that America's interests are being restored around the world.

But I can confirm that our ambassador for trade, Jamieson Greer, already heard from countries around the world this morning who said they intend to

continue with these negotiations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Officials from the European Parliament have been meeting in Washington to this week to discuss a number of issues, including, of

course, trade. Bernd Lange is the chair of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee. He posted pictures with the U.S. trade

representative, Jamieson Greer, on social media just today. He says they explored several ways to try to ease trade tensions. And Bernd Lange joins

me now. Thanks so much for joining.

BERND LANGE, CHAIR, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE: Hello. I'm so glad to be here.

SCIUTTO: So, you hear the White House spokesperson saying there that, nope, negotiations are going forward just fine. Is that true?

LANGE: Of course. We are in negotiations and also important to have negotiations, because we want to have a solution for this trade war. It's a

really a reason for unstable and unsecured situation. Investment is stopped. So, solution is necessary. And therefore, negotiations are going

on.

SCIUTTO: How do you negotiate when you don't know what actual tariffs the U.S. president will be able to impose because it's still working its way

through the courts here?

LANGE: I guess on the baseline -- so-called baseline tariffs, we would like to keep them out because we are not convinced that they are legally in the

context of your constitution. So, we have some other problems as well. The two, three -- two tariffs on steel, aluminum, on cars, and there are eight

investigations going on, and I guess we are focusing mainly on them.

And of course, they're a little bit different because there are some investigation going on and facts and figures that we can discuss to reach

some compromise regarding the goals of the government on this so-called baseline tariffs. I have a totally different view on the European Union, we

have a totally different view than the United States government.

SCIUTTO: It sounds like you're betting that those baseline tariffs will not survive the U.S. legal system, to some degree.

LANGE: I'm not bet. But I had a lot of talks with law experts here in the United States, also to some members of Congress and the Senate, and I guess

they are now more keen to take the power, which is foreseen in the constitution.

SCIUTTO: Understood. OK. You say the E.U. is proposing to work together with the U.S. to place tariffs on China, specifically Chinese steel. Do you

believe that that might be a path to cooperation with the U.S. and therefore a deal on U.S.-E.U. trade?

LANGE: Of course, we have the two sides of the coin. There is a clear wish from the U.S. side to work together in several items related China. The

overcapacity, and steel is one element, but also economic security is one other element.

But of course, not so easy to work together when -- if you have pressure on the other side of the coin. So, there is a dependency, that's for sure. So,

let's try to avoid the trade war issue and then, of course, it might be much easier to work together in this global complex problem situation.

SCIUTTO: Are you -- are European businesses seeing and economies, frankly, seeing the economic costs of this trade war already? Do you expect that to

be more reflected in GDP figures, et cetera, job figures?

[18:25:00]

LANGE: That's indeed the case. So, we expect right about half percent of missing in the GDP and also, you know, that we are really fighting for

sustainable growth inside the European Union. But nevertheless, also some figures regarding the consequences in the United States. So, it is not

really in the -- for the benefit of both sides of the Atlantic. So, let's have a negotiation and find a solution and stop this senseless trade war.

SCIUTTO: I wonder, as you leave Washington after this most recent trip, are you more optimistic than recent visits about coming to an agreement?

LANGE: The positive element is that negotiations are going on. For a long time, weeks and weeks, we have some talks, but it was not only clear what

the United States wants to achieve. Now, we got an e-mail from United States and we made an offer on our side. And now, negotiation can start.

That's a positive element.

I'm not sure that, at the end of the day, we will find a solution, but for us, it's really important, if there's a deal that this is the final deal.

We want to avoid that in some weeks. We have the surprise in the morning that some other tariffs are said. No, we want to have a deal, which is

really the final deal and gives stability to our economy and to the people on the ground. And let's see what's possible until the 9th of July.

SCIUTTO: Would you trust a deal that you make with this administration?

LANGE: Of course. We have to trust that elected government. And on the other side, to be, let's say, have a safeguard in the back. We want to

negotiate, negotiation wherever it's possible, but of course, retaliation if necessary. And if there is a broke -- broken promises, then, of course,

we would set also tariffs on U.S. products. And we are prepared -- we are preparing a second list. We have prepared a first list and we are ready to

introduce this if necessary. This is not our first choice, but we have it in our hand.

SCIUTTO: Bernd Lange, thanks so much for joining. We wish you the best of luck.

LANGE: Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot for seeing me.

SCIUTTO: Coming up next, a potential breakthrough in Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiations. We're going to bring the latest and hear from the

Israeli ambassador to the U.S. who I spoke with earlier today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto. Here are more international headlines we're watching today.

A U.S. appeals court has reinstated President Trump's tariffs while the administration fights a ruling that struck them down. The White House

slammed the lower court ruling, calling it an example of judicial overreach. The appeals court has ordered both sides to file written

arguments by early next month.

A former assistant to Sean Diddy Combs testified today in his ongoing sex trafficking trial. She told the court that Combs sexually assaulted her and

that she was afraid of him. Also on the stand was a celebrity stylist who testified that Combs was violent with Cassie Ventura, one of the case's

main accusers. Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.

For the first time in more than a decade, the American flag was raised over the U.S. ambassador's residents in Syria. That embassy was shut down in

2012 during the Arab Spring uprising. The embassy itself remains closed and the U.S. has not assigned an ambassador due to continuing security

concerns. The flag was raised by the U.S. special envoy of Syria, accompanied by the Syrian foreign minister.

The White House confirms that Israel has now accepted a new 60-day ceasefire proposal from the special envoy of the Middle East, Steve

Witkoff. Hamas has replied to that proposal saying the group wants a permanent ceasefire instead. Jeremy Diamond has the latest on exactly

what's on the table.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, this is the latest U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas,

one that could lead to an end to the war if the negotiations between the two sides are successful. But for the time being, what this latest proposal

involves would be the release of 10 living hostages, 18 deceased hostages in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire. This would also presumably include the

release of Palestinian prisoners as well as the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

And during that 60-day ceasefire, they would be negotiating an end to the war, which Steve Witkoff, President Trump's special envoy for the region,

told me earlier this week, he would personally preside over. That's a gambit to try and give Hamas the assurances it has been seeking that Israel

will actually negotiate a permanent ceasefire, which it failed to do during that last temporary ceasefire earlier this year.

We are now into the first week of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation being operational in the Gaza Strip. This is that controversial U.S. and Israeli-

backed mechanism for getting aid into Gaza in a way that it will prevent Hamas from getting its hands on the aid, which is an allegation Israel has

made but which humanitarian aid organizations have said they've seen no evidence to substantiate.

We've already seen 11 people killed near these distribution sites, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. We know that there has

been Israeli gunfire within the area. The Israelis have said that it was aimed at dispersing the crowds. But clearly, we have seen video of

individuals who were struck by some of that gunfire.

And what's also clear is that the humanitarian situation in Gaza simply has not been alleviated as of yet. And that's why we are seeing such scenes of

desperation at the moment, not only around these distribution sites, but it is especially acute in the northern part of the Gaza Strip where this new

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is not yet operational and where the Israeli authorities have really provided almost no safe routes for the United

Nations to drive its trucks to the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

And amid all of this, we are seeing the desperation of Palestinians as we reach a grim milestone of more than 54,000 who have been killed in this

war. And all of this has led the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations to break down this week in this emotional moment. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIYAD MANSOUR, PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: This is unbearable. How could anyone -- it's horrible. Excuse me, Mr. President. I have

grandchildren. I know what they mean to their families.

[18:35:00]

And to see the situation of the Palestinians without us having hearts to do something is beyond the ability of any normal human being to tolerate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And all of this comes as we have reached more than 600 days of this war, 600 days as well of the captivity of the Israeli hostages in

Gaza. And it is important to note that those former hostages, like Keith Siegel, an Israeli American who I interviewed earlier this week, they want

to see the war end. They believe that a diplomatic deal is the only way to get the hostages out of Gaza alive. And they are calling on the Israeli

government and on Hamas to reach this deal in order for the hostages to come out and for the war to end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Our Jeremy Diamond there. Well, while the world's eyes are on Gaza, Israel has now approved the largest expansion of settlement in the

occupied -- settlements in the occupied West Bank. In decades, it is planning to establish 22 new settlements across the West Bank, the most

since the Oslo Accords more than 30 years ago. The Palestinian Authority calls the move a dangerous escalation and a challenge to international law.

Earlier today, I spoke with Israel's ambassador to the U.S. And among other topics we discussed, I asked him about the extreme hunger Palestinian

civilians are now facing in Gaza. He questioned the images we were seeing and pointed the blame back to Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YECHIEL LEITER, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Well, first of all, I'm not sure that what you see, what you're screening right now are people

fighting. I didn't see people fighting with each other. I see --

SCIUTTO: Rushing desperately, desperately jumping the fence, et cetera.

LEITER: Well, a program. Well, give it a chance. This is a program that just got underway. What I did see for a year and a half, what we all saw,

for anybody paying attention, was food being distributed through the good services of Hamas, of a terror organization, who actually hijacked the

trucks that were outfitted by money raised here in the United States by NGOs. People gave their 501(c)(3) tax exempt donations to NGOs to support

what they didn't understand wasn't eventually Hamas.

Hamas took over these semi-trailers of humanitarian aid. They sold it to the people they wanted to favor and use that money to reconstitute their

domination of the Gaza Strip. We cannot allow. The people shooting at our soldiers to be supported by NGOs. The U.N. is the problem. It's not the

solution. The U.N. was in cahoots with representatives of Hamas.

Yes. It's hard to stomach, isn't it? But the U.N. is the problem, not the solution. And what the Humanitarian Fund, which has been established, the

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is doing is circumventing what the U.N. established.

Look, you know, you cast doubt. But just last week, U.N. representative maliciously libelously said that in two days, in 48 hours, 14,000 babies

will starve to death. Everybody heard that, the 48 hours passed, nobody starved to death, and yet, there's no retraction, not from the media and

not from the U.N.

So, what we need to do is circumvent the U.N. who's creating this problem, who's creating this libelous slander, and we need to make sure that the

food gets directly to families and Gaza, and it's working.

SCIUTTO: Well, I should note that we've spoken on this program to a number of eight agencies, the U.N. included, but not just the U.N., who have said

they've seen evidence of malnutrition in enormous numbers in Gaza, up to --

LEITER: Where is it? Where's the evidence percent? Where's the evidence? That's a liable.

SCIUTTO: Well, they've done --

LEITER: There's no evidence to that. There is evidence to Hamas taking over the food and selling it to the people that they're interested in. That's

where the evidence is.

SCIUTTO: Well, we spoke to a group called Anera who's been on the ground for a great amount of time. And they did -- I mean, they did tests, right?

But I'm talking about --

LEITER: Participating with Hamas.

SCIUTTO: -- urine tests where they developed -- where they saw signs of malnutrition in 40 percent of the samples. I'm quoting back folks on the

ground who've done this kind of testing. But listen, let's set that aside if we can for a moment, because I do want to get to the Iran-U.S. talks.

President Trump, as you know, is speaking of progress in nuclear talks with Iran. I wonder, what will Israel do if the U.S. signs a deal with Iran that

it finds unacceptable or unsafe for Israel's national security interests?

LEITER: Well, it's a hypothetical that I don't believe for one moment could actually materialize. We've been speaking very intensely with the Trump

administration, from the moment President Trump came into office. President Trump has been very clear in the letter that he sent to the leader of Iran,

they have limited amount of time to agree to what he called full dismantlement.

[18:40:00]

There cannot be any road to enrichment, because enrichment means a nuclear bomb. And if these lunatics in Tehran get a nuclear bomb, they're going to

use it. For us, this is existential. They call Israel the one-bomb country. OK? So, there's under no circumstance can Iran have a pathway to a nuclear

bomb, and we're convinced, absolutely, the American administration is 100 percent in lockstep with us on that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: My conversation there with the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Straight ahead, the Trump administration could cut back on the number of

troops in South Korea. What that would mean for the U.S., for South Korea, and the region coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. The U.S. may consider reducing its military presence in South Korea, that according to senior defense officials. The Trump

administration is reportedly considering pulling thousands of troops from South Korea, that would mark a dramatic departure from previous U.S. policy

in East Asia, which focused on deterrence, not only against North Korea, but also China.

I covered the U.S. president's unique take on national security in my book, "The Return of Great Powers." And in that book I spoke to a number of

former senior Trump advisers who said that Trump saw very little value in international security agreements.

John Kelly said, the point is, he saw absolutely no point in NATO. He was just dead set against having troops in South Korea. Again, a deterrent

force, or having troops in Japan, a deterrent force.

Their vision of a second Trump administration was one in which he reduced those commitments. So, the news we're reporting today is notable. Victor

Cha, the Korea chair at the Center for Strategic Inter International Studies. He's also a distinguished professor at Georgetown University and

he joins me now. Thanks so much for joining.

VICTOR CHA, DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY AND KOREA CHAIR, CSIS: Good to be with you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: What would the impact be of reducing the number of troops in South Korea? Would that make South Korea less safe?

[18:45:00]

CHA: Well, it's a difficult question to answer in the abstract, Jim. I think the number you mentioned thousands, probably around 4,000, would be

the equivalent of one brigade, and there has always been a rotational brigade that has come in and out of Korea. I think the concern now is that

broke brigade could be rotated out and could not come back and therefore, permanently reduce the number of U.S. forces in Korea.

That will create a lot of concern in Korea, whether it makes it less safe is a little bit of an open question because it's really South Korean forces

that provide the brunt of defense. But in terms of a deterrent signal to North Korea, it is a little bit precarious, particularly right at this

particular time.

SCIUTTO: You remember back in the first Trump administration that he suspended large scale military exercises in part as a gift, as it were to

the North Korean leader. I wonder whether there are larger concerns in South Korea today, not just about the number of U.S. forces there, but the

strength of Trump's commitment to its security. Do South Korean leaders fear that if it were attacked, that perhaps the U.S. wouldn't go to war to

defend it?

CHA: I think there is some concern about that. I mean, President Trump has been on record for several -- for like three decades, long before he became

president that he didn't want U.S. troops in places like Korea and Germany. And the removal of those troops would signal abandonment by the United

States too for South Korean defense.

The current presidential hopefuls that are running in this election next Monday have not made this an open issue in the election. But, you know, I

was just in South Korea a couple of weeks ago, and amongst strategic thinkers, you know, it's an open question. I mean, and there's a link

between concerns about whether the United States would stand with South Korea. There's a link between that and South Korean talk among themselves

about their own nuclear option to counter the North Korean nuclear option. So, there are a lot of questions swirling around in Seoul right now.

SCIUTTO: That was going to be my next question. How likely is it that South Korea calculates that through a combination of a growing North Korea

nuclear arsenal, a more forthright Chinese military in the region, but also a reduced U.S. defense commitment that it needs nuclear weapons to protect

itself?

CHA: Well, there is an ongoing conversation, Jim, in South Korea today. When you look at public polling, almost 70, 75 percent of the public

believe that South Korea should consider a nuclear option. Our own research on this shows that among strategic elites, and they're the ones whose

opinions really matter. Experts, policy makers, former policy makers, c- suite executives, for them, it's a much harder question to answer. A minority actually are in favor of going nuclear.

But you're absolutely right. The external environment is pretty concerning and threatening to South Korea. North Korea's nuclear capabilities, their

new relationship with Russia, China's assertiveness, and now, this variable of the United States being potentially quite unreliable in terms of a

defense commitment has the South Koreans really thinking about this.

SCIUTTO: So, how about America's security interests? Would reducing its footprint in South Korea and perhaps Japan as well, because as you know,

Donald Trump just talked about that too, as you mentioned? Would that reduce a American power and influence in the region?

CHA: Well, I think if the United States were to withdraw from the region it would certainly reduce our influence and power. I think where the Trump

administration is headed much more in a direction of trying to reorient the overall force posture in Asia to really focus with like a laser beam on

China and in particular being able to win a fight in Taiwan, that's certainly the signal that we've been hearing from the Pentagon and this

news of potentially moving South Korean troops out appears to be the first signal of that.

Those troops were really there largely for North Korea, and the signal is that those are not going to be there for North Korea. If anything, they're

going to be repositioned for a Taiwan contingency and the South Koreans need to manage defense of the peninsula on their own.

SCIUTTO: Dramatic changes underway. Professor Victor Cha, thanks so much for joining.

CHA: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: All right. On to something lighter now, day five of the French open in full swing. As they say, all the highlights from the clay courts

coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:00]

SCIUTTO: In today's Field of Play, Novak Djokovic securing his place in the third round despite a medical timeout, world number one, Jannik Sinner,

also advance into the next round. Patrick Snell has the highlights.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi, Jim. Yes, Novak Djokovic's relentless quest for a standalone and record 25th Grand Slam singles crown continues,

even despite that blister on his left toe that required the medical timeout you referenced.

The good news though for Djokovic and his fans is that he does remain on track to make history. Still a long way to go though. The Serbian recently

won his 100th tour title. He's remarkable. Jim, you know, he's only just turned 38 years of age, but just too good for his 26-year-old opponent from

France, Corentin Moutet, who was beaten in three sets by the 24-time Grand Slam champ. The win putting no late into round three at the French for a

record 20th time, and not even the king of clay himself, the great Rafael Nadal, was able to achieve that.

In fact, Djokovic is seeking a fourth French Open title. He'll next face the 23-year-old from Austria, Filip Misolic next.

An emotional occasion for Richard Gasquet, he knew he had to avoid defeat to world number one, Jannick Sinner, to prolong his career support from the

crowd there. But it was never going to be an easy task against the formidable Italian. Sinner, who recently returned to the sport after a

three-month doping ban, just too good for this homegrown favorite.

Gasquet gave it everything he had, but in the end, would go down by three sets to love. And with that defeat, Gasquet who turns 39 next month, he now

heads into retirement. Sinner is safely through though to round three. And the crowd afterwards showing its vast appreciation to Richard Gasquet who

has much to be proud of. Nice warm moment there between the players.

Really poignant scenes for Gasquet. He was given a special commemorative trophy following his defeat to Sinner on Thursday there in Paris. Gasquet's

career coming to an end 23 years after the 38 (INAUDIBLE) played for the very first time at Roland-Garros. Gasquet setting an open-air record of 22

French Open appearances. He won 16 ATP tour titles during his peak years. Truly the end of an era. Wish him well in retirement.

On the women's side of things, former U.S. Open Champ Coco Gauff advancing to round three, despite not yet hitting top form by her own very high

standards. Gauff, the number two seated American ending the challenge of Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic, winning at two and four on

Thursday. The 18-year-old from Prague, who's ranked 172 in the world gave it her best effort, but just no match for Coco's class and experienced.

Gauff will next face another player from the Czech Republic, Marie Bouzkova.

Jim, A good day for the top American women, Jessica Pegula and the 2025 Aussie Open Champ Madison Keys also advancing. And with that, right back to

you.

SCIUTTO: Looks like quite a tournament. Patrick Snell, thanks so much. Now, to China where a paraglider is just lucky to be alive after a powerful

updraft sucked him up into the upper atmosphere. The paraglider reportedly soaring more than 8,000 meters, 28,000 feet, all without oxygen, that's

near where jets fly. He was later able to land safely thanks to his compass and some help from his teammates. Wow. Looks cold up there.

[18:55:00]

And in today's Good Brief, the humble sausage roll is a must for anyone visiting the U.K. Now, Madame Tussauds is Immortalizing the famous snack in

its museum in London. From next month, visitors will be able to see a wax work of the pastry roll as sold by the famous British bakery chain, Greggs.

It'll be on display alongside fellow British icons such as William Shakespeare and Winston Churchill. The artist who made the model says he

used the same techniques Madame Tussauds has used for centuries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM PALOCZY, SCULPTOR: We approached the project exactly how we would approach if it was sculpted or create a human figure. So, the first step

was we had a sitting. We were quite lucky because actually we had the model available at Madame Tussauds London for the sitting. So, we took

measurements, we took reference speeches, and then we started to sculpt it into clay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Alongside Shakespeare and Churchill now. That's quite a moment for the sausage roll.

Thanks so much for your company today. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. You've been watching "The Brief." Please do stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:00:00]

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