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What We Know with Max Foster

Carney To Trump: Canada Is "Not For Sale"; Trump To Make "Very, Very Big Announcement Before Heading To The Middle East Next Week; IDF Says It Attacked, "Fully Disable" Yemen's Main Airport; Friedrich Merz Becomes Chancellor Of Germany; Moscow Prepares For Victory Day Parade Amid Drone Attacks; Multiple Major Airlines Avoid Pakistan's Airspace; FAA Imposes New Ground Delay For Newark-Bound Flights. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired May 06, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:21]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Is Canada for sale? Mark Carney says never.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

Beginning this hour with the Canadian prime minister hitting back at the U.S. President Donald Trump's push to make Canada the 51st U.S. state. The

two leaders holding a high stakes talks at the White House today amid the backdrop of a trade war and president as well.

That subject led to a somewhat tense back and forth inside the Oval Office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, as a real estate developer, you know, I'm a real estate developer at heart. When you get rid

of that artificially drawn line, somebody drew that line many years ago with a ruler. Just a straight line right across the top of the country.

When you look at that beautiful formation, when it's together, I'm a very artistic person. But when I looked at that beauty, I said, that's the way

it was meant to be.

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale.

TRUMP: That's true.

CARNEY: We're sitting in one right now. You know, Buckingham Palace that you visited as well.

TRUMP: That's true. And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign last several months, it's not for sale. Won't be for

sale.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: We're expecting to hear Mark Carney give a news conference a little later this hour, summing up all of his meetings today.

Kevin Liptak following everything here from the White House.

So, what's your impression, Kevin? Is Canada for sale or not?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, if you listen to Mark Carney, it's not. And I think that was kind of notable. You don't often see

a world leader come to the White House, sit in the Oval Office and push back on what the president had to say. But I think it was clear, based on

mark Carneys sort of election mandate, that he couldn't come and sit alongside President Trump and say nothing as he talked about this

aspiration to make Canada the 51st state.

So, was this meeting hugely contentious? No. Was it very warm? It wasn't that either. It sort of fell somewhere in between. And that, I think, was

the balance that Carney was trying to strike here. Obviously, he was elected on this wave of anti-Trump sentiment.

And so, I think a lot of his voters would have found it odd for him to come here and agree with everything that the president had to say. But on the

same side of the coin, he knows, and a lot of world leaders know, that open animosity with President Trump is a recipe for disaster.

And so, you do see him there in this meeting, very businesslike. I wouldn't necessarily describe it as neighborly, at least in the sense of that word

with neighbors that you like spending time with.

And so, the two men did talk a lot about trade. That is obviously been the major sticking point between these two countries. President Trump making

clear in that meeting that he has no plans to lift the tariffs that are currently on Canada. He says that the U.S. doesn't need Canadian cars and

it doesn't need Canadian steel.

And so, I think it was clear after that meeting wrapped up that many of the points of contention that Carney entered this meeting wanting to talk about

remain sticking points between these two countries, these two neighbors where relations really have soured to their worst point that anyone can

really remember, Max.

FOSTER: Yeah. We didn't know which way it was going to go, did we? But it was pretty good natured in the end.

But I was intrigued by a few comments that peppered that press conference, if I can call it that. Let's just -- I'll just show you one of the things

that Donald Trump said when he referred to a big announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to have a great announcement over the next few days, announcement that will be so, so incredible, so positive. And I'm not

saying -- I don't want you to think it's necessarily on trade.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: So, he wasn't giving anything away when he was asked about it. But what are you hearing, Kevin?

LIPTAK: Yeah. And it does seem like this is an announcement that's related to his trip that he will embark on next week to the Middle East. He's going

to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He did not provide any more details about what exactly this means.

But, you know, heading into this trip, we know the president is eager to tout new investments made by those countries in the United States. He's

also hoping to expand the Abraham Accords. Thats the normalization agreement between Muslim and Arab countries and Israel that he began during

his first term in office.

But, you know, I don't think its necessarily likely that the biggest prize of those, which would be normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, is

in the offing. The crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has said that that cant happen until there is a very finite path for Palestinian statehood,

until the war in Gaza ends. And obviously we have seen what's happening in Gaza currently. The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that the

most intensive phase of that war is yet to come.

So the president, clearly very eager to come away from this first foreign trip, this first real foreign trip that he will take during his second

term, with some announcements and some declarations.

[15:05:05]

But at this point, it's not precisely clear what he's talking about here.

FOSTER: Okay, Kevin, thank you so much.

Donald Trump also saying the United States would stop the bombings against Houthi militants in Yemen. A defense official has confirmed to CNN that the

U.S. military has been instructed to stand down on their strikes. Mr. Trump says the Houthis have supposedly given up the fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The Houthis have announced that they are not, or they've announced to us at least, that they don't want to fight anymore. They just don't want

to fight. And we will honor that, and we will -- we will stop the bombings. And they have capitulated. But more importantly, they -- we will take their

word. They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, since then, Oman has said it mediated a ceasefire between the U.S. and the Houthis. CNN has reached out to the Houthis for comment on Mr.

Trump's claims. We just want to make sure we're totally across that.

But meanwhile, Israel launched a powerful set of strikes on Yemen today to retaliate for Houthi missile strike near Tel Aviv. Israel bombed the main

airport in Yemen's capital Sanaa, saying it fully disabled it. It says it also hit several power stations being used for terrorist purposes. Israel

issued an unprecedented evacuation warning, its first ever in Yemen before the strikes.

A Houthi missile hit near Ben Gurion International Airport over the weekend. Houthis called it a response to Israel's war in Gaza. Israel says

it holds Iran directly responsible.

Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem joins us for more on this. I mean, just reading that script, so many countries, different motives involved, which really

speaks to what is a very complicated regional crisis.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Without a doubt about it.

And listen, these Israeli strikes that were carried out today directed at the international airport in the Yemeni capital, were some of the most

significant Israeli strikes that we have seen against Yemen. And they also were the first you know, coupled with the series of strikes we saw last

night as well -- these were the first series of strikes that we have seen Israel carry out against the Houthis in several months now, because over

the last several months, Israel has really ceded ground to the United States, which had stepped up its attacks against the Houthis in Yemen. Even

as the Houthis continue to fire ballistic missile after ballistic missile at Israel over the course of the last couple of months, Israel had not

retaliated, allowing the United States to take that action instead.

But that all changed, of course, with this ballistic missile on Sunday, which went through Israels air defenses and struck right next to Israel's

international Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday.

FOSTER: Jeremy, in terms of the comments we got from the White House today about the Houthis and what Donald Trump said about that, he made it sound

very simple, but it surely isn't a complicated it's much more complicated process than that. What are you looking to confirm there?

DIAMOND: It certainly is. And one of the questions in Israel is what is the impact going to be on the back and forth between the Houthis and the

Israeli military? Because President Trump in that Oval Office announcement, he only talked about Houthi attacks against U.S. assets and against the

commercial shipping in the Red Sea. He talked about the United States no longer bombing Houthi targets in Yemen. He didn't say anything about the

Houthi missiles that have been targeting Israel or Israeli attacks against the Houthis in Yemen.

And in fact, I spoke with an Israeli official who told me that the United States did not inform the Israeli government ahead of President Trump's

announcement in the Oval Office, and that whiplash was certainly amplified by the -- how close it came, you know, just hours after Israel had carried

out these very significant strikes in Yemen, raising questions again about the Houthi-Israel conflict and also about the future role that the United

States will or will not continue to play in terms of aerial defense in Israel, which it has supported, and also in terms of coordinating with the

Israelis, as the Israelis strike targets in Yemen.

FOSTER: Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem, thank you for that update.

Here in Europe, a chaotic day in German politics. Friedrich Merz is now officially Germany's new chancellor after facing a historic embarrassment

just hours earlier. This was the scene in berlin when Mr. Merz won the parliamentary ballot. It was his second attempt. Failure in today's first

vote signals there is discontent, let's say, within the coalition government.

Anna Stewart is here with us in London.

I mean, there's all this celebration on his side, but actually, I mean, he's in power, but he's weakened.

[15:10:02]

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was a bad omen. This is not how you want to start. And this was historic. This has never happened before. This

was meant to really be just a rubber-stamping responsibility.

And what it showed was that the coalition didn't all vote for the chancellor. In the first round. It also shows that they didn't all vote

actually in the second round either. And because they're all secret ballots, we don't really know which characters didn't vote for him either

round. And at this point, its how fragile will this coalition be? Will they struggle to get legislation through? Are we looking maybe a few egos within

that coalition that could be problematic?

FOSTER: It was the issue here that there was concerns about voting for. I mean, was it a vote for him or was it a vote against the AFD?

STEWART: Well, it was interesting. I think it was probably a vote against the coalition from that first round in terms of, are they happy with the

ministerial appointments? Are they happy with the direction they're going to take on certain policies?

I think in the second round, seeing it all come together just a few hours later, that was probably concern about the AFD and what might happen if he

failed to get after round and round and rounds of votes. Would it end up going to an election in that case? Of course, there would be a strong

chance of the AFD perhaps doing even better.

FOSTER: A lot of people aren't intimately involved in German politics, but just explain why it matters. I mean, I mean, we are talking about the most

powerful country in Europe, and if it's unstable, it brings instability to the rest of the E.U., doesn't it?

STEWART : This is what's so important for people to understand. It's not just about German politics. This is important for the E.U.

Germany is the biggest economy. Traditionally, it's been the leader and it's always been known for fiscal discipline, almost obsessed with it and

for stability. And for instance, when we had Chancellor Merkel for 16 years, that was very much the case.

Now Germany has had two years of negative growth in terms of the economy. It is currently stagnating. It needs to put some really decisive economic

policies in action right now. It needs to lose the fiscal discipline, although they're already kind of halfway there.

But also they need political stability. They need to help at a time when you're in a trade war with the U.S.

FOSTER: And your biggest industry, or one of the biggest is cars.

STEWART: You're a massive exporter, right?

FOSTER: Okay, Anna. Thank you.

As Russia prepares to celebrate victory day, the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, that is a stark reminder that the

current conflict with Ukraine is far from over. Russia says Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow for a second straight night. There are no reports of

any casualties or serious damage, but flights have been suspended at four of Moscow's airports as a safety precaution.

The attack comes as Russia's capital prepares for its massive victory day parade on Friday, which will be attended by world leaders including China's

Xi Jinping.

It is a huge moment for the president, isn't it, Fred Pleitgen? And you know, this would have unsettled him, but he's not going to let it unsettle

him, as it were.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I do think the Russians are pretty concerned about all of this. Max, one of the things

that we have to keep in mind, and you actually correctly stated, is that the Russians are expecting a lot of world leaders to come here in the next

couple of days. And of course, you have a pretty big problem with that if you keep having to close your airports because there's drones flying

towards them.

And if you talk about that situation, it's actually more than just some of several airports, having had to shut down last night in the Moscow region,

it was actually in several regions, especially in the southwest of Russia. And actually, as we speak right now, Max, the Russians, just a couple of

minutes ago, I was checking it, announced another airport in the Moscow region has had to close because of the threat of drones around it.

Now, there was one drone in the early hours of today that actually fell on a highway here in Moscow. None of this is causing substantial damage. But

again, as the Russians are expecting a lot of these guests to come in Nicolas Maduro, for instance, the president of various other countries as

well. And of course, first and foremost, Xi Jinping, it really is something that they fear maybe could derail things, but certainly make them more

difficult.

One of the things that the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said today is he warned the Ukrainians to stop with these strikes, otherwise there would

be consequences. The Ukrainians, of course, are saying that they are in no position to guarantee the safety of the May 9th victory day parade, Max.

FOSTER: Okay, Fred in Moscow, thank you.

Multiple major airlines are avoiding flying over Pakistan's airspace or through it. As tension between India and Pakistan continues to grow.

Militants massacred 26 civilians in Indian administered Kashmir two weeks ago.

Air France and Lufthansa say they are changing flight paths around Pakistan until further notice. India has long blamed Pakistan for harboring militant

groups. Islamabad denies any involvement. Now the Kashmir region has been under dispute between the two nuclear neighbors since the partition of

India right back in 1947.

Now it's a tough travel day in the U.S. delays at major U.S. airports continue for a ninth day.

[15:15:00]

We'll have the latest on the issues facing Newark.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Well, fall (ph) weather is adding to the ongoing flight delays at Newark International Airport in New Jersey. The Federal Aviation

Administration has been imposing delays on inbound flights for days now. A nationwide air traffic controller shortage is just one of the reasons

behind all of this. A major outage on April the 28th prompted at least five Newark controllers to take trauma leave. Thats, according to our sources.

About 900 flights have been canceled since then.

Here's CNN's Brynn Gingras with the very latest on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, there's just a big compound of issues happening here at Newark International Airport. There is

that issue that you guys just talked about with these air traffic control workers having to take leave, as many as five. We're hearing from sources

because of that traumatic incident that happened to them, with that plane losing complete communications with them. That's on top of the shortage of

air traffic controllers all across this country.

Here in New Jersey, there's low cloud cover that's contributing to a ground delay where flights are delayed up to four hours, coming into Newark

airport. Theres also a runway down for construction. So, all of these issues are causing all of these delays.

Now, right now or really were seeing more than 200 delays today for Newark Airport flights in and out of here and as many as more than 100 really.

Cancellations on flights. Yesterday that number kept ticking up as we're seeing, just like today, 425 delays yesterday, 160 cancellations.

And I got to tell you, none of this is good news for people who are traveling. We've been talking to a lot of people, some people with young

children, other people who are now on their second or third day of having to rebook airfare just to get to where they're going.

And of course, there is no relief in sight, is what we're hearing. The Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy saying that he is working on a plan to

update infrastructure to help all of these air traffic control issues, but certainly that is going to take time. We should hear more about that plan

coming up on Thursday, according to Duffy.

But again, not using any of the pain for people who are just trying to get to where they need to be.

Guys, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Global conflicts are also making for an uncertain international airspace. As mentioned through the show today, Israel has attacked an

airport in the Yemeni capital. This after a Houthi missile strike caused cancellations at Israels Ben Gurion Airport. Drone attacks shut down

airports around Moscow, and major airlines are avoiding Pakistani airspace.

What we want to know is, has it become more dangerous to fly?

Joining us now is Richard Quest because I don't know anyone that flies more who doesn't work for the airline industry itself.

Can you be honest with us, Richard? Are you -- do you have more safety concerns as you fly around at the moment?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGET : None. Not on the grounds that you're talking about, which is the security grounds. Do I worry about

the plane being hit by a missile? No, I don't, because first of all, the systems are in place. That where there are -- where there are conflict

zones, there are various NOTAM's notice to air, that you avoid them, you close the airspace, you close the runways, you close the airport as Moscow

did.

Now, in this situation, could there be a rogue incident? Yes, of course, there could. But then I could get run over by the number nine bus. As I

walked to Penn Station on the way to the airport.

And so, you have to look at it logically. You have to look at the bigger picture and know that there is no necessarily worry. I think I'm much more

concerned by what's happening with places like Newark, where its making life miserable for travelers, where infrastructure is poor, where the money

hasn't been spent either on travelers or air traffic controllers and the like, but not necessarily about the security of is my plane going to be hit

by a stray missile?

FOSTER: Just explain how the system works then in the U.S., because there are people concerned, you know, they're hearing about this lack of air

traffic controllers and they're hearing about the delays. But actually that's the safety catch, isn't it, that there are delays because there

aren't enough. You're not going to be in a situation where on a plane and there isn't a controller.

QUEST: Exactly. I mean, the air traffic controllers have never really got back to normal ever since Ronald Reagan fired them when they struck in the

1980s. There is a chronic shortage of air traffic controllers. The infrastructure, despite the FAA receiving billions of dollars for Nextgen,

the infrastructure is not what it should be. And as a result, you get a -- you get to -- just think about New York or the New York metropolitan area,

where -- where I am. Youve got three major airports over that way. Youve got newer that way, you've got to Newark, that way you've got Kennedy, and

you've got LaGuardia.

They have three interlinking airspaces, and it works brilliantly until it doesn't. And until there's air traffic control problems and then the whole

thing falls over. But the FAA put in place ground delays specifically for safety reasons. The system is designed with safety in mind. And when it

goes wrong, as it did at Reagan national -- well, then you've got to work out whether it's systemic, whether it's incidental, whether it's anecdotal.

FOSTER: Okay. Richard Quest, not worried about flying. Thank you so much.

QUEST: I'm flying tonight. I'm flying tonight.

FOSTER: You always are.

QUEST: London -- London and Athens.

FOSTER: Still to come, the United States and Canada have been longtime trade partners and the closest of neighbors who now find themselves in

unfamiliar territory as potential trade adversaries. Can they survive without each other? We'll examine that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:22]

FOSTER: President Trump says there's nothing Canada -- Canada can do to convince him to lift U.S. tariffs alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark

Carney at the White House today, a reporter asked the president if there's anything that will change his mind when it comes to U.S. tariffs on Canada.

His response no, that's just the way it is. That's perhaps a preview of what may be contentious trade talks between the longtime allies and the

discussing them now.

We're also expecting to hear from Mark Carney as well from the Canadian embassy in Washington. There he is. Let's go to him.

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: President Trump and I met today as leaders of two sovereign, independent nations. And I want to thank the

president and the members of his cabinet that attended for welcoming me and my colleagues to the White House and for our very constructive discussions.

I conveyed to the president today what our countries have long proven to be true, that Canada and the United States are stronger when we work together,

we can get a better deal for our workers. We can create more opportunities for our businesses. We can build stronger economies across north America

when we work together.

And really, today marked the end of the beginning of a process of the United States and Canada redefining that relationship of working together.

The question is how we will cooperate in the future, how we can build an economic and security relationship built on mutual respect, built on common

interests, and that delivers transformational benefits to our economies.

We had what I would describe as wide-ranging. And as I said a moment ago, very constructive discussions. We agreed to have further conversations in

the coming weeks. And we are looking forward to meeting in person at the G7 summit in Kananaskis in Alberta.

Now, while that's going on in Canada, we will focus on what we can control.

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

[15:30:03]

CARNEY: We are going to reinforce our strength at home. We will reinforce Canadas security for an increasingly dangerous and divided world. We will

transform our border security, our security in the arctic, and our support for our allies around the world.

We'll build an economy that creates jobs, grows incomes, and withstand shocks, when in fact the strongest economy in the G7, an economy that works

for everyone.

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

CARNEY: We are masters in our own home, and we can give ourselves far more than any foreign government can ever take away. So now is the time to

build. And based on the discussion today, to build at home and to build with our partners abroad, including the United States.

Merci beaucoup. Thank you very much. And I look forward to your questions.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Prime Minister.

We'll now begin the press conference. We'll begin with questions from the traveling delegation. First question.

REPORTER: Good afternoon, prime minister. Tonda MacCharles, "Toronto Star".

I was watching your face through the meeting in the oval office, and I wondered what was going through your mind when the president talked about

raising the artificial border and how he criticized your predecessor, and Madam Freeland.

CARNEY: Well, thank you for, I guess, for your question. I'm glad that you couldn't tell what was going through my mind as that was going through.

Look, the -- with respect to the first point, the president has made known his wish about that issue for -- for some time. I've been careful always to

distinguish between wish and reality. I was clear there in the oval office, as I've been clear throughout, on behalf of Canadians, that this is never

going to happen.

Canada is not for sale. It never will be for sale. Some things -- as I said in the room, some things are never for sale. And he agreed with that.

So, I distinguish between the two. And then with respect to the importance of reestablishing a constructive relationship for negotiations of a -- of a

partnership, of an economic and security partnership, which is what we were here for. I look forward, not back. And I think we established a good basis

today.

REPORTER: What gives you specifically any indication that the president is willing to renegotiate a new trade deal with you and drop tariffs?

CARNEY: Apart from the fact that he said that he would, is willing to have that negotiation, I think that's the main thing. That doesn't mean -- that

doesn't presuppose the outcome of the negotiation. As I've emphasized, it's a complex negotiation. There will be zigs and zags, difficult aspects to

it.

But the prospect is there. We discussed it in more detail. And as I said a moment ago, we'll be following up both between officials, but also he and I

in the coming weeks. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFED FEMALE: Question. Well, sorry.

REPORTER: Thank you. Thank you.

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

[15:35:18]

FOSTER: Okay. Obviously, as with all French or rather Canadian press conferences, a lot of it is in French as well. So, we're going to go to

Stephen Collinson as we listen to that.

I mean, all eyes really, Stephen, on these meetings today because it is a deeply historic partnership and many people thought it could have gone

horribly wrong because actually, Carney was going there off the back of an election where he swept to power because of anti-Trump sentiment.

But it didn't blow up. It was clear that neither of them wanted it to blow up. But we're now hearing from Carney about the meetings off the back of

it, and he's not being specific about anything that came out of it. He's just really trying to give a sense that there can be progress. And this is

the beginning of it.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: That's right. I think what the prime minister did was what he had to do. He was elected to stand up to

Trump and he came to Washington today, and he did exactly that, telling him that Canada wasn't for sale.

What he's being pressed on there is whether there was actually any concrete result of this meeting, whether there is any reason to think that the

tariffs might be lifted any time soon. And he was saying that while there are, you know, there's grounds for optimism of progress on many fronts.

There's nothing particularly concrete that came out of that. And he said, well, I wasn't expecting that anyway, which is fair enough.

But I think it does get to something about that meeting, which was quite interesting. And it seems that the president, for now, at least not just

with Canada, but with the rest of the world, is content to have these tariffs. He was actually playing down the possibility of deals.

So that raises the question of whether for Trump, the tariffs are not the means to the end, but an end to itself. And that is something I think,

which will cause some reverberations, obviously through the markets and internationally, politically, because it looks like Trump is steadfast in

his belief in the power of tariffs to change the U.S. and the global economy as he ever was, despite, you know, growing evidence that we could

be heading for a crisis and that U.S. growth is diminishing.

FOSTER: Okay, Stephen, we're just going to try and listen in again because I think he's speaking English again. If I'm right.

Still in French, Stephen, I don't know if your French is any better than mine. I mean, I should be better at this, but --

COLLINSON: I think he's basically saying the same thing in French as it was in English.

There's no -- there's no great advance going on, although there's, like, reason to talk about what we could do next. And we'll be having

consultations. He did say, though, that he was looking forward to meeting Trump at the G7 summit in Canada later this year. There has been some

speculation in Washington and in Canada whether Trump would actually show up to that meeting.

And of course, he has been pushing for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be readmitted to the G7 to make it G8.

Of course, Russia was thrown out over the invasion of Crimea in 2014. So that's interesting at least if -- if Trump shows up to that summit in

Alberta, it's going to be a very closely watched situation, given the fact that he's made these sovereignty claims against Canada.

FOSTER: Well, it's interesting you mention Alberta because, you know, ive been having chats online and Alberta, whenever you talk about Canada,

Alberta keeps coming up this idea that Alberta might become the 51st state because there's so much pro-U.S. sentiment there. They could go for

independence.

So it'll be interesting to see Donald Trump there. He'll be able to show that actually, there is a huge amount of interest, in a closer relationship

with the U.S. in at least one region of Canada.

COLLINSON: Right. You know, Alberta is one of the really conservative redoubts of Canada. Many of the conservative party's members of parliament

come from out west Alberta, Manitoba. So there is some, I think, sympathy for Trump there.

And, of course, Alberta is one of the great oil producing regions of Canada. The problem with that is Trump is saying, well, we don't need

Canada's oil. We don't need Canada's lumber. We don't need anything from Canada. We're going to use it all ourselves.

FOSTER: Yeah, a lot of the oils in Alberta as well.

Let's listen in to Carney again. Wow.

(SPEAKING FRENCH)

FOSTER: I'm not very good at this, Stephen, I'm afraid. I hear a bit of English, and then he suddenly switches back to French. I think he's trying

to wind me up.

I need to ask you about the 51st state moment in the Oval Office, though, because, you know, Carney could not have made it clearer. You know, he

said, I've spoken to the people who own Canada during the election, and they say it's not for sale. It will never be for sale.

[15:40:06]

But then Donald Trump still came back and said, never say never. Give us an insight into what Donald Trump's thinking there, if you can.

COLLINSON: I just think it shows the absolute bizarre nature of a lot of this Trump presidency that a foreign leader would have to come to the Oval

Office and defend their own sovereignty against the president of the United States, especially a Canadian leader, given that, you know, this is one of

the world's great trading relationships and one of the closest diplomatic relationships in the world.

So, it really is a sign, I think, of when Trump says something, he can't help himself, but continue to say it and continue to troll Canada.

FOSTER: Okay, Stephen, as ever, thank you so much for your insight and your command of French I'm missing.

The theme now was superfine and the celebrity guests did get the memo. More at the Met Gala and the closing theme. It's all going to be explained to

you coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: It was billed as a night to celebrate black excellence. The 2025 Met Gala was likely dominating your social feeds today. The theme in New

York this year was tailored for you, inspired by the Metropolitan Museum of Arts and Exhibit on superfine black style.

Now it is the first time the dress code focused on menswear, with stars like Lewis Hamilton embracing the dandy look in a custom Wales Bonner

tuxedo. Plenty of the women did the same with Janelle Monae sporting a suit within a suit. And the big hit of the night was Diana Ross, complete with

an 18-foot-long train looking amazing.

Bonnie Greer, playwright, former chair of the British Museum and friend of the show.

[15:45:02]

I mean, you loved it, didn't you? A lot of people were confused by it.

BONNIE GREER, AUTHOR AND PLAYWRIGHT: Well, it's a generational confusion. Let me just put it this way. I was looking at some pictures because we were

talking about the pictures.

Okay, Lewis Hamilton was the king of the night, and I'll tell you why. Lewis Hamilton -- dandyism is displaying something that's hidden. You're a

dandy.

FOSTER: I'm a dandy?

GREER: Yeah. You're dandy.

FOSTER: What am I hiding?

GREER: Okay. No. What? No. Your dandyism is what you're hiding. You're very meticulous about your presentation. And I hear this about you all the time.

Okay, so it's a meticulousness.

It's also -- it's a quietness. You can't be flamboyant. You can't be flamboyant.

But the thing about Lewis Hamilton and why I picked him out is because this is the thing that's deep inside of him. And you can tell. You can actually

tell by the way he's standing.

FOSTER: It felt authentic.

GREER: But not even authentic. This is him. And he's -- and this is the thing that he wears in his mind. So, it's also the you that's inside of

yourself.

And usually, men hide this as opposed to women.

FOSTER: I've been doing my research. You'll be glad to hear.

GREER: Yes, yes.

FOSTER: And I looked up what it meant. And "Vogue" says this dandyism is often described as a style, but it's more than just esthetics. The original

dandy, who was Beau Brummell, they say 18th century British guy.

GREER: That's right.

FOSTER: He was a man whose primary purpose was to stand out by being impeccably groomed and dressed. Who else achieved that?

GREER: Well, see, let's flip it over, because this is also a night honoring Black style.

FOSTER: Yes.

GREER: So, when you look at the fact and think about historically, Black men like my dad, who was a dandy, they worked during the day wearing

workers clothes, factory clothes, and then on Sundays and sometimes on Saturday night, they could cut a bit of elegance and everything had to be

absolutely pristine.

FOSTER: Okay.

GREER: And absolutely precise. So black dandyism which Andre Leon Talley, the late, great Andre Leon Talley exemplified is this attitude of bringing

out the hidden. But it has to be impeccable.

FOSTER: What about Whoopi Goldberg?

GREER: Whoopi is perfect because first of all, the stance she's looking at you. And it's not about being cool. It's about this is --

FOSTER: The suit within a suit thing. Explain that.

GREER: No. Well, it's -- it's -- it's the thing that is inside of you when you're working during the day and washing dishes inside of you is this.

FOSTER: It's perfect.

GREER: Inside of you is perfect. Not only perfect, it's tailored perfect. That's what's inside of you.

So, on Saturday night, I mean, we don't do this anymore. But back in the day, on Saturday night, you look like Lewis Hamilton. And nobody thought

you would look like that because you drove a taxi during the day.

FOSTER: I like Bad Bunny, but I'm not sure he was dandy on your premise.

GREER: Where's Bad Bunny?

That's -- that's -- that's theater. See? That's theater. This is the hidden, and it's quiet and it's dignified and its impeccably tailored.

FOSTER: Okay. A lot of people were quite confused by it this morning, but you very clearly saw a theme because it was the first thing that you

mentioned.

GREER: Totally.

FOSTER: Is it, you know, how does it speak to now then, if it goes back to the 18th century, the whole idea of it, why is it back now or has it always

been there?

GREER: Well, one of the things that's interesting, and I was saying this as some of the women, especially the young women, the women in general didn't

do it because nowadays we don't have anything to hide. So still men are hiding. Theres still an aspect of male hiddenness.

FOSTER: So they're mature -- so their fashions, less mature, would you say?

GREER: No, it's not about maturity. It's about what you don't show. And there's not much like that anymore. So that's why this older generation of

women were able to come out to show what was not the clothes so much, but they're hidden -- hidden personalities and coolness. But we don't have

that.

FOSTER: That's about going back to dressing more then.

GREER: It's about -- it's about taking care of your clothes. It's about knowing the designers, knowing a stitch, knowing how something is sewn, how

something is cut. In this country where we are now in England, Savile Row, and this is about cut, and its about people recognizing that not only that,

you have it, but people know you do.

FOSTER: You're the dandy.

GREER: You're the dandy.

FOSTER: You've always been the dandy.

GREER: You're the dandy.

FOSTER: Bonnie Greer, love having you. Thank you so much.

We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:52:24]

FOSTER: Well, it's a major legal victory for U.S. president Donald Trump. The Supreme Court has just ruled that his administrations ban on

transgender troops can take effect, and right now as well. The court heard the case on an emergency basis. A lower court had declared the ban

unconstitutional.

Joan Biskupic is in Washington.

I mean, this came from nowhere because it was, you know, this emergency moment. But it's immensely profound, isn't it, and have an impact on the

military and many people working there.

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: That's right. Max, this is a major development, and it certainly is a victory for the Trump

administration that now will be able to enforce a ban on transgender service members, not just in the recruiting of new members, but also to --

for currently serving trans troops the military, no matter where the individuals are.

As you know, Donald Trump had made a real priority of his opposition to transgender policies. And after taking office on January 20th, he soon

signed an order that just outright bans, trans troops, both in, as I say, recruiting and also there. Lower courts had blocked the policy and said,

you know, let's wait and see how the merits of the litigation go goes.

But as you rightly said, Trump administration lawyers went up to the Supreme Court. They said, we have an emergency here. Please lift those --

the orders against enforcing this ban nationwide. And today, the Supreme Court did. And only three justices of the nine dissented. The liberal

justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. None of them wrote anything. They just said that they would have left the

injunction against this -- this enforcement of this policy in place.

We haven't heard yet from the military, but I can tell you, max, that part of the order required the Pentagon to root out, find all trans members and

make sure they're separated from the military within 60 days, Max.

FOSTER: Yeah, it's going to be a -- and it changes so much, doesn't it? And there will be thoughts for those people, of course. Also, I guess other

organizations and how this will play out into their separate industries as well.

Thank you so much for joining me, Joan.

And now hours from now, Catholic cardinals will head into the profound and pretty mysterious process of choosing a new pope. Those are the words of

Cardinal Robert McElroy, he's the archbishop of Washington, D.C., about the secret conclave that elect a successor to Pope Francis.

[15:55:08]

One hundred thirty-three voting cardinals will take part in the process that begins on Wednesday. Here in the Sistine Chapel. That's how it's all

laid out.

And just a reminder that our live coverage of the conclave gets underway tomorrow. Special coverage begins at 4:00 a.m. Eastern. That's 10:00 a.m.

in Rome. It's all about the smoke and that chimney.

Finally, tonight, as the clock struck midnight in Hong Kong, 12 finalists raced to glory in an historic competition. The bun scrambling competition

sees climbers race to the top of a tower covered in plastic buns. Whoever collects the most buns with the highest value within three minutes wins the

race. You're impressed by my expertise.

The festival dates back to the 18th century and aims to ward off evil, and instead lure in peace. Looks very scary.

I'm Max Foster. That is WHAT WE KNOW.

"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" with Richard up next.

END

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