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What We Know with Max Foster
U.S. Boosts Pressure On Venezuela As Strike Group Arrives; Trump Takes Questions Amid Venezuela Tension; Judge Blasts Prosecutor Over Evidence In Comey Case; Trump Lowers Tariffs On Beef, Coffee, And Other Imports; Polish PM: Explosion On Train Track Is "Act Of Sabotage". Aired 3- 4p ET
Aired November 17, 2025 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:26]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Decision time for Donald Trump on Venezuela.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
We begin in the Caribbean, where a huge U.S. military force is in maneuvers off the coast of Venezuela. The largest American aircraft carrier is part
of the drills, which also includes military personnel, weapons and equipment.
But there's still no decision from President Donald Trump to launch any strike against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. And now, there does
appear to be an effort by the White House to come up with a diplomatic solution that would potentially force the Venezuelan leader to leave
office.
Kevin Liptak is at the White House.
So, the president speaking, what do we know?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, he's at an event right now for FIFA, the U.S., Canada and Mexico are hosting the World Cup
soon, and the president kind of getting an update on preparations on that front. But clearly, it is the situation in the Caribbean that has been
weighing on the president really for the last week.
The president so far not taking the decision to take direct strikes inside of Venezuela as he sees something of a diplomatic window opening with
Nicolas Maduro. He said last night that the Venezuelans and that Maduro wanted to talk, but a lot unclear about what exactly they want to talk
about and who precisely within the administration will be doing the talking. You know, Max, it was as recently as early last month that the
U.S. and Venezuela were holding quiet discussions. And the president at that point called them off, saying that they were essentially confusing
matters. And that was when he began amassing this massive military buildup in the Caribbean Sea, that sort of completed over the weekend with the
arrival of the USS Gerald Ford, the most advanced aircraft carrier in the naval fleet.
You know, if you stood it up on its end, it would be almost as tall as the Empire State building. And so, taken all together, there's about 15,000
U.S. military personnel in that region. More than 12 warships and a massive amount of military muscle. That is all meant to essentially apply pressure
on Maduro in the president's hopes that he would voluntarily step down.
And you saw the pressure continuing to mount over the weekend when the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said that he was designating the Cartel de
los Soles, which is a cartel that the U.S. accuses Maduro of leading as a foreign terrorist organization.
Now, what this means, practically, is that it would ban entry for any officials who are associated with it. You know, I don't think Maduro or his
top associates are planning to come to the U.S. anytime soon, but that's one of the designations. It would also criminalize external support for
that group and allows the U.S. to seize some of its assets.
I think in reality, what the designation does is sort of bolster the legal case that the U.S. is trying to build for going after Maduro and going
after other sites inside Venezuela. Now, the president last week on three consecutive days received updates from top military and national security
officials about what exactly his options would look like here. They range in severity all the way from strikes on government facilities and military
facilities going up to potential special operations.
FOSTER: Sorry to interrupt, Kevin, but someone speaking in the building behind you. Let's just tune in.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I blew my stack at these people.
REPORTER: Well, it sounds like there's a follow up there, but can I ask you about Venezuela? You suggested --
TRUMP: What?
REPORTER: It sounds like there's a follow up there. Can I ask you about Venezuela?
TRUMP: I thought you said there was a polyp.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And I said I don't want to hear that.
REPORTER: You suggested you've made a decision about what you want to do next about Venezuela. I understand you don't want to tip your hand, but is
there anything you're ready to rule out at this point? Are you ruling out U.S. troops on the ground?
TRUMP: No, I don't rule out that. I don't rule out anything. We just have to take care of Venezuela.
They dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country from prisons. Nobody knows better than this young lady right here. She's done an
incredible job with Tom Homan and all of your people. It's amazing.
You know, we have a tight border right now. Nobody comes in, but we have millions of people pouring through. A year ago, we had millions of people
pouring through our border, and many of them came from Venezuela, including Tren de Aragua, the gang.
And I guess what I'm hearing, Kristi, is that as bad a gang as there is anywhere, worst is that actually.
KRISTI NOEM, DHS SECRETARY: Absolutely. They are the worst.
TRUMP: I mean, they're worse than MS-13.
NOEM: They're killers. They massacre people. They cut them up into pieces and they bury them in their communities where they grew up.
[15:05:02]
They're horrible people.
TRUMP: And we had a lot of them, and many of them, most of them -- pretty soon, most of them are going to be out but they sent them in like we're
dumping ground. So, I'm not in love with the people running Venezuela.
I love Venezuela, I love the people of Venezuela. But what they've done to this country and I really say this, what Biden and the Democrats have done
to this country can never, ever be forgotten.
REPORTER: You suggested Maduro wants to talk. Are you prepared to speak with him directly? Would you commit to doing that before you worker
strikes?
TRUMP: Yeah, I probably would talk to him. Yeah, I talked to everybody.
REPORTER: Mr. President --
TRUMP: Go ahead, please.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Please go ahead.
REPORTER: Rebecca Reasbeck with Blaze News.
So, in a recent interview, you had made some remarks about H-1B visas. You said about H-1B visas, you said that there were certain talents that
Americans needed to outsource to foreign workers. Could you clarify?
TRUMP: Until they learn that, yeah. Like, for instance, if you're going to be making chips, we don't make chips too much here anymore, but we are
going to be in a period of a year. We're going to have a big portion of the chip market, but we have to train our people how to make chips because we
didn't do it.
We used to do it. And then foolishly, we lost that business to Taiwan -- very, very foolishly because it -- if they had a president that thought
like I did, they would not have let that happen. But it's all coming back.
I think we're going to have a -- within a few years, we're going and not because of the CHIPS Act. The CHIPS Act was a disaster for this country. We
gave away billions of dollars to other countries and other locations and companies, and all they did was rob our money.
But because of tariffs, the chips are coming back. Chip makers are all coming back. And I think within a very short period of time, we're going to
have maybe even a majority of the chip making in the world will be right in the United States, where it should have been all along.
But because we had people that didn't believe in tariffs, they believed in them. They didn't know how to use them. We would have had nobody leaving
our country right now. And instead, you have almost 100 percent of the chips are made in Taiwan. It's so disgraceful.
The good news is it's all coming back.
Yeah. Please.
REPORTER: Mr. President --
TRUMP: The gentleman at the back.
REPORTER: Thank you, Mr. President. I want to just follow up on Venezuela.
In these talks with Maduro, is there anything that he could say or do that would let -- allow you to feel like he could stay with your support? Is
there anything that he could say that you would be okay? You can stay --
TRUMP: It's hard to say that. You know, the question is a little bit tricky. I don't think it was meant to be tricky. It's just that look, he's
done tremendous damage to our country, primarily because of drugs, but really because we have that problem with other countries, too.
But more than any other country, the release of prisoners into our country has been a disaster. He's emptied his jails. Others have done that also. He
has not been good to the United States. So, we'll see what happens at a certain period of time. I'll be talking to him.
REPORTER: Mr. President, Mr. President, I just follow up. You mentioned your voice and you were shouting about trade. Which country in particular
upset you with? India?
TRUMP: No, no, a country wanted to try and renegotiate the terms of their trade deal, and I wasn't happy about it.
REPORTER: Which country was it? People want to know.
TRUMP: Why would I say that to you? Why would -- I can't believe it.
REPORTER: Mr. President, on the World Cup, if you would. Seattle and the World Cup, the new mayor elect of Seattle is a Democratic socialist.
Seattle has --
TRUMP: Or beyond. I watched her.
REPORTER: Seattle has --
TRUMP: That's more than socialism.
REPORTER: Seattle has six World Cup games. How close are you going to be watching that city with the crime in the city?
TRUMP: Well, if we think and I'll have to speak to Gianni about this, but if we think that the mayor of L.A. is incompetent, everybody knows that.
You know that I was there, I guess two years ago, and we got all the federal permits taken care of, far more complex than the state permits. And
the city permits. And Lee Zeldin, who's a superstar, got everything taken care of. The toughest part, you know, having to do with the fires that
should have never happened. If they let the water come in, it wouldn't have happened, right?
Do you know that people are building their houses yet? I mean, can you imagine that? And if we didn't go in early on? Kristi, I think we could say
it. Well, the head of their police department said it. They were unable to handle. You would have had not only did you have the fires, but you would
have had total insurrection in Los Angeles. And if we didn't go in and the head of, you know, the gentleman, he said it and he said it strongly. He
said, we could not have done it without the federal government.
We did a great job. If we think there's going to be a sign of any trouble, I would ask Johnny to move that to a different city. We have a lot of
cities that are -- would love to have it number one, and well do it very safely. So, if we think there's a problem in Seattle where you have a very,
very liberal/communist mayor, I would say, you know, it's certainly beyond just liberal.
I watched her over the weekend. Wow. That's another beauty we got there.
But if we think there's going to be a problem, we'll -- Gianni, can I say we will move? I don't think you're going to have this problem, but we're
going to move the event to someplace where it's going to be appreciated and safe.
GIANNA INFANTINO, FIFA PRESIDENT: Yeah, well, I think safety and security is the number one priority for a successful World Cup. We can see today
that people have trust in the United States. When we see the tickets -- ticket sales, we sold, I mean, record breaking figures of tickets, almost 2
million already, sold out of 2 million. That we've been selling this because people, they know that they will be coming here and they will
experience a safe and secure World Cup.
It's the responsibility, of course, of the government, of Secretary Noem, of everyone. And obviously we will -- I mean, we will discuss we are
working together. We have a task force for this and we must ensure that all fans coming from abroad or being here, they can experience a celebration of
coming together of the sport. And this goes only with, with 100 percent safety.
NOEM: We are --
REPORTER; Mr. President, Mr. President --
TRUMP: Go ahead.
NOEM: We are -- we are communicating with all these mayors about what their responsibilities are. They know the safety and security of these
events is their number one responsibility. And we'll be there. The presidents always there to keep Americans safe. But he also makes sure the
people that know their responsibilities and that they're prepared to host these events and do so in a safe manner.
REPORTER: Is there a timeline, Mr. President, that would have an economic --
TRUMP: Yeah. Go ahead please.
REPORTER: There were some news this morning from an "Axios" report that Senator Ted Cruz was laying the groundwork for a potential 2028
presidential run. Could I get your reaction to -- would you -- could you see yourself supporting?
TRUMP: Well, he's a friend of mine. I mean, you know, I haven't spoken to him about it. It's a little early. It's three and a quarter years. It's a
long time.
But he's a very good guy. He's a very good friend of mine. You remember we had a quite a campaign against Ted, and it worked out quite nicely. Let's
see. Where are we? Oh, we're in the open. But, I'm not that surprised to hear that.
REPORTER: Mr. President, Mr. President --
(CROSSTALK)
REPORTER: Mr. President, on the on the tariff exemptions, you had some recently on a variety of different goods. I'm wondering are you ruling out
going forward no more exemptions on products? You're mentioning a disagreement --
TRUMP: We've taken in hundreds of millions of dollars in tariff money. We're going to be issuing dividends later on. Some somewhere prior to
probably in the middle of next year, a little bit later than that of thousands of dollars for individuals, moderate income, middle income. We're
going to pay down debt. You know, we have a lot of money from tariffs. If we didn't have tariffs, this nation would be in serious trouble. And we've
taken in tremendous amounts of money.
And you know what's more important than that? Weve protected our businesses from being raided like we did with the chip business. Now we're bringing
them all back. But our you know, we had 100 percent of the chip industry. And then they left. They went mostly to Taiwan and South Korea, but mostly
Taiwan. And they have almost 100 percent.
And we're going to have within a short period of time, a big percentage of the chip business are coming back because of tariffs, because they don't
want to pay the tariffs, because the tariffs will be very steep if they don't come back and they're all -- they've committed to come back.
As you probably heard, Apple is now up to $700 billion. We have Nvidia at $600 billion. We have tremendous amounts of money pouring in. Our country
has become amazing again and really, really rich again.
I will say this -- we have a decision we're waiting for. It's a very big decision the numbers that we've taken in, if you talk about investments is
trillions, not with -- not with a B not with an M, millions, but trillions of dollars. I can't imagine having to give that money back on something
that we're allowed to do.
And the ones that are fighting us are countries largely, they're backing countries that have been ripping us off for years, using tariffs to rip us
off. And now we're able to defend ourselves. It really is a matter of national security because economic security is national security.
So, I think you're going to see another thing happening. I think you'll see food prices. They've come down very substantially since Biden. But I think
you're going to see food prices coming down very substantially.
(CROSSTALK)
[15:15:00]
REPORTER: Saudi Arabia -- tomorrow, you're hosting Saudi Arabia.
TRUMP: Yeah.
REPORTER: Are you planning to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia?
TRUMP: Yeah.
REPORTER: I mean, and also, are you looking at doing a similar security agreement like you did with --
TRUMP: Yeah, no, I am planning on doing that they want to buy I've been a great ally. They've got to like us very much. Look at the Iran situation.
What we did in terms of obliterating, you know, their -- we obliterated their nuclear capability.
Yeah. I will say that we will be doing that. We'll be selling F-35s.
REPORTER: Something you posted on Truth Social last night. You urged House Republicans to vote in favor of this Epstein release bill. They're going to
vote on it tomorrow.
TRUMP: Yeah.
REPORTER: I just want to be super clear on your position. Do you want to see that passed the Senate? Would you sign that bill if it gets to your
desk?
TRUMP: I do want to -- here's what I want. We have nothing to do with Epstein. The Democrats do. All of his friends were Democrats. You look at
this. Reid Hoffman, you look at Larry Summers, Bill Clinton. They went to his island all the time, and many others, all Democrats.
All I want is I want for people to recognize a great job that I've done on pricing, on affordability, because we brought prices way down. But they're
going way lower on energy, on ending eight wars and another one coming pretty soon, I believe. We've done a great job.
And I hate to see that deflect from the great job we've done. So I'm all for it. You know, we've already given 50,000 pages. You do know that.
Unfortunately, like with the Kennedy situation, with the Martin Luther King situation, not to put Jeffrey Epstein in the same category, but no matter
what we give, it's never enough. You know, with Kennedy, we gave everything and it wasn't enough. With Martin Luther King, we gave everything, and it's
never enough.
We've already given -- I believe the number is 50,000 pages, 50,000 pages. And it's just a Russia, Russia, Russia hoax as it pertains to the
Republicans.
Now, I believe that many of the people that we, some of the people that we mentioned are being looked at very seriously for their relationship to
Jeffrey Epstein, but they were with them all the time. I wasn't -- I wasn't at all, and we'll see what happens.
What I just don't want Epstein to do is detract from the great success of the Republican Party, including the fact that the Democrats are totally
blamed for the shutdown. You know, they cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars with that. And a lot of inconvenience.
So I'm for any -- I don't -- they can do whatever they want.
REPORTER: The U.S. Senate --
TRUMP: We'll give them everything. Sure, I would. Let the Senate look at it. Let anybody look at it. But don't talk about it too much because
honestly, I don't want to take it away from us.
It's really a Democrat problem. The Democrats were Epstein's friends. All of them. And it's a hoax. The whole thing is a hoax, and I don't want to
take it away from really the greatness of what the Republican Party has accomplished over the last period of time.
Yeah, please?
REPORTER: Mr. President, on affordability --
REPORTER: The shutdown is now over.
TRUMP: Yeah.
REPORTER: And administration officials had said when the shutdown ends, they'll reevaluate the farmer relief. Now we have the deal with China. So,
is the administration still looking to dish out farmer relief now that the government is back?
TRUMP: Yeah, we want to -- I'm always going to help our farmers.
REPORTER: And are you still looking to do --
TRUMP: I would do that. Yeah. If they need relief, we'll be there for them. We're going to always be for our farmers.
REPORTER: So, what are you waiting?
TRUMP: Yeah, please. In the back.
REPORTER: Mr. President, just speaking of the economic impacts of FIFA and possibly moving to another city. Some games, if you feel there's crime, is
there like a timeline that you would do that? Because these cities, there's sponsorships, there's economic impacts for these communities.
TRUMP: Sure.
REPORTER: Is there --
TRIUMP: Well, you know, the governors are going to have to behave. The mayors are going to have to behave.
You know, in the case of California, you have a problem. You have high crime and you have a place that just suffered great fires and everything
else. And they didn't do a very good job. And if we didn't go in from the crime standpoint, you would have had a disaster. It would have been it was
not going to be handled properly. It wasn't able to be.
The head of the police said without, as I said, without the federal government, they could not have done it. So, here's the story. I love Los
Angeles. If they want help during this, I would love to send in national guard or whoever's necessary to help them. I want it to be great. I'd love
it to be in Los Angeles. I love the place. It's a natural for Los Angeles.
If we think they're going to, there's going to be crime. If we are obstructed by the governor, maybe he won't obstruct. Maybe it'll be great.
But I'd love him for -- for him to call and say, you know, we'd like to have some extra help because if there's even a hint of a problem, we want
to get in there before the problem occurs.
[15:20:02]
We want to make it totally safe for Gianni and FIFA and all of the great people that are going to be there. And I think that's going to happen. I
would -- I would be honored to help California, if they're going to have a problem. And if they think they're going to have a problem, they should
say. So we can be in there in 24 hours' notice and do a great job.
REPORTER: But does that year -- by the -- by the end of the year, by the end of the first quarter?
TRUMP: Well, I think this -- if they would tell us, if they would tell us now, they're not going to have a problem, because if we go in, they don't
have a problem. Look at D.C., there's no crime in D.C. anymore. And D.C. was a mess.
If they want us to go in, I'd like them to tell us right now. But if we go in, there will be no problem. There will be no crime.
REPORTER: What's the message, then, to like local businesses who are considering sponsoring?
TRUMP: That would be governor to ask for federal help. We'd love to help them.
REPORTER: Mr. President --
(CROSSTALK)
REPORTER: -- potentially launching strikes in Mexico or putting American troops or American personnel into Mexico to deal with this?
TRUMP: Would I launch strikes in Mexico to stop drugs? It's okay with me. Whatever we have to do to stop drugs, Mexico is -- look, I looked at Mexico
City over the weekend. There's some big problems over there.
If we had to, would we do there what we've done to the waterways? You know, there's almost no drugs coming in our waterways anymore, isn't it down,
like 85 percent?
NOEM: It is, sir.
TRUMP: I don't know who the 15 percent would be.
NOEM: No.
TRUMP: It wouldn't be, you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, that's for sure.
TRUMP: No, I think it's been --
NOEM: Tons and tons.
TRUMP: You would say that's a big signal.
NOEM: Absolutely.
TRUMP: We have almost no drugs coming into our country by the sea, by, you know, the waterways. And you know why. Okay. I mean, it's pretty obvious.
Would I do that on the land? Cars? I would absolutely.
Look, every boat we knock out, we save 25,000 American lives. Not to mention the destruction of families. These families are decimated forever.
The mother, the father, the children, they never recover really from it. You know, when you lose somebody, like the way they -- any if you lose
them. But the way they die is horrible.
REPORTER: Is it something?
TRUMP: So, when we knock out a boat and we save 25,000 lives, that's great.
Now, do I feel the same way about the corridors that they use? We know every one of them. We have every one of those corridors under major
surveillance. We have nobody coming in through our southern border, but we know exactly how they get their things here, how they get the drugs here,
fentanyl, cocaine.
Colombia has cocaine factories where they make cocaine. Would I knock out those factories? I would be proud to do it, personally, I didn't say I'm
doing it, but I would be proud to do it because we're going to save millions of lives by doing it.
REPORTER: Would you only do it with Mexico's permission, though?
TRUMP: I wouldn't answer that question. I've been speaking to Mexico. They know how I stand. We're losing hundreds of thousands of people to drugs.
So now we've stopped the waterways. But we know every route. We know every route.
We know the addresses of every drug lord, we know their address. We know their front door. We know everything about every one of them. They're
killing our people. That's like a war.
Would I do it? I'd be proud to. I'd probably go into Congress and say, hey -- and you know what? The Democrats or the Republicans would both agree.
Unless they're crazy. And they are a little crazy on the Democrat side.
But we have we have lost hundreds of thousands of people in your death. And that's not talking about family destruction. That's talking about death.
And much of it comes through Mexico.
So let me just put it this way. I am not happy with Mexico. Okay. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you thank you, thank you.
FOSTER: President Trump there speaking with a bit of a hoarse voice, he said he was shouting at people because they were stupid about something
having to do with trade in a country. But he wouldn't say what country he was talking about.
He talked about Mexico. Strong words there. On not having a problem striking Mexico. So, moving on beyond Venezuela that we heard a bit about
as well, saying he would be open, Kevin, to speaking to Maduro, who clearly hasn't spoken to Maduro yet.
He was also asked, wasn't he, about whether or not he might see a situation where Maduro could stay in power and he skirted around that?
LIPTAK: Yeah. And he said that that was a tricky question. He didn't really answer that one directly. But he -- you know, we were talking about
how now that the president sees this window of diplomacy opening, that it wasn't precisely clear who exactly would be doing the talking.
[15:25:03]
Well, the president seems to be clearing that up and saying that he himself would be doing it at a certain time. And so, the president there seeming to
underscore his belief that there is an opening here that could potentially avoid carrying out strikes. But at the same time, the president isn't
ruling out even the possibility that he could send U.S. troops to the ground there, which would be an extraordinary step. I think it would take a
lot for the president to actually agree to that. But in his words, he doesn't rule anything out.
And so, I think notable remarks, as the president sort of continues to weigh his decision making here, but also what he said about Mexico, saying
that he would be proud to strike cocaine-producing facilities in that country as well. So, you see how the president is really building up a sort
of a combative approach to taking out some of the drug routes in the United States. There's just one more topic that I think was important there, which
was on the Epstein matter, and the question of whether or not he would sign this measure that's now making its way through Congress that would compel
the justice department to release all of their documents there.
The president was asked that. He sort of didn't answer for a while, complained that every time that the administration releases documents, that
it's never enough. But eventually he did seem to get around to saying yes. Sure, I would do that, which I think answers one of the big sort of
unanswered questions that had been hanging over this entire saga.
FOSTER: Okay, Kevin, thank you for summarizing that.
Stefano is getting reaction for us from the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
So he's not committing to one -- to allowing Maduro to stay in power. But he said he was willing to speak to Maduro. It was interesting just to know
that they haven't spoken yet, I guess.
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. It's interesting that for sure, Max. And it's also interesting that you can see we've talked a lot about
how Donald Trump, especially in the second mandate, has, in a way really changed the rules of diplomacy and in the American stance on the
international stage.
Well, these, this position towards Venezuela, which keeps changing and changing, of course, is leaving many people by surprise here in Caracas,
especially in the streets of Caracas. When you ask when you speak with most Venezuelans, they actually ask you as a journalist, what do you think is
going to happen? Rather than they sharing their hopes or their expectations.
Many people simply say, you should know more than these. Are the Americans going to strike or not? Are people going to take out Maduro or not? What do
you think is going to happen?
And I often lack insight myself because it's really hard to predict. What you said is absolutely spot on, Max. It's telling that despite yesterday's
openings to a discussion with between Caracas and Washington, there are not yet been any contact. In a few hours with a source close to the government
of Venezuela. And they also told me that there is no formal channel of communication.
That doesn't mean that somebody within the government is speaking with somebody close to Trump. Maybe on Signal, one of these encrypted
communication channels that we know are still active. However, of course that is one thing. The other one is a fully engaged conversation and
discussion around the possible negotiation between Washington and Caracas.
Today, definitely feels like a completely different day from, for example, yesterday or even Saturday. Saturday was really the day in the last few
days and weeks where we saw the government most prepared here in Caracas to come up to a confrontation with the United States. They had, for example,
organized ceremonies for local civilians to swear in and take an oath to defend Venezuela in case of an attack.
Well, today, as you can see from where I am, it feels a completely different day. It feels very much a normal Monday afternoon. It's -- it's
about 4:30 p.m. here in Venezuela right now. And people are just getting on with their days while we try to run our sources, trying to run our contacts
and try to get a reaction from Maduro himself.
He hasn't spoken yet. The local interior minister here, Diosdado Cabello, did give a presser, but he did not address those remarks by Trump late on
Sunday night.
So, Max, I want you to stay with us. And as soon as we hear from Maduro, we will definitely let you know.
In the meantime, we are trying to speak with as many Venezuelans as possible who share our own sense of surprise, confusion and trying to
decipher the different messages coming down from Washington. What could be the course of action? Because you have a president who says that he's open
to discussion, but at the same time, the secretary of state is saying that he wants to declare the Venezuelan government a foreign terrorist
organization.
And now today, it is the president saying, President Trump saying that he is not he will not allow Maduro to stay in power, which -- well, Maduro
will probably be a nonstarter in order to enter negotiations.
[15:30:11]
So, a lot still to come, I think, around Venezuela and a lot, a lot still for us to understand, make sense of before sharing it with you and the
audience -- Max.
FOSTER: Okay, back with you and you have more. Stefano, thank you so much. We'll be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:33:48]
FOSTER: A federal judge is blasting the U.S. Department of Justice for how it's handled the case against former FBI Director James Comey. The judge
said there was a pattern of profound investigative missteps when it came to gathering evidence in the case. That raises the possibility that the case
could get thrown out.
Comey was indicted for lying to Congress after Donald Trump spent months urging the DOJ to go after Comey.
Our crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz is in Washington.
How serious, then, is this Katelyn, for the DOJ?
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, this is a pretty serious set of issues that this magistrate judge in the eastern
district of Virginia is raising now, in the case against James Comey, namely, how the Justice Department handled evidence and how the top
prosecutor in that district, Lindsey Halligan, appointed. They're sent there by Donald Trump, how she spoke to the grand jury.
What this does at this time is it signals to Comey's team that there's some meat here that they could try and grasp onto to try and get the case
against James Comey tossed. That is what would be next. We don't -- we can't get ahead of things. So, we don't know if the court would actually
toss this case or say, James Comey is being unfairly prosecuted or was unfairly investigated in a violation of his rights.
[15:35:06]
But the judge is saying that what he has seen so far in both grand jury documents, transcripts as well as in the evidence raises a lot of questions
about how this case has been handled. I want to read from you a little bit more of what the judge wrote, because it is a pretty startling way of
capturing what the judge has seen here. The procedural and substantive irregularities that occurred before the grand jury, and the manner in which
evidence presented to the grand jury was collected and used, may rise to the level of government misconduct resulting in prejudice to Mr. Comey.
That is a bad place for the Justice Department to be in. And right now, they are trying to fight this judge on the ability of James Comey's team
getting access to more of the grand jury materials so that they can continue pushing to have this case dismissed -- Max.
FOSTER: Katelyn, thank you so much.
Meanwhile, when it comes to a vote on the release of the Epstein files, President Trump has flipped. Of course, days after Mr. Trump pressured
House Republicans not to vote for a measure calling for the release of the files, the president says he now supports the bill. That vote in the House
is likely to take place on Tuesday, may have significant Republican support, and with the House vote looming, several women who survived
Epstein's abuse have put out a new appeal, making a powerful plea to Congress to finally release the files.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are about a thousand of us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's time to bring the secrets out of the shadows. It's time to shine a light into the darkness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, President Trump has called for an investigation into Democrats named in the recently released batch of Epstein files.
The House Republican that has led the charge to release all of the documents says the president's request could complicate matters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): If they have ongoing investigations in certain areas. Those documents can't be released, so this might be a big smoke
screen. These investigations to open a bunch of them to -- as a last ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Now, it's the final moments of trade on Wall Street, and stocks are down pretty sharply. As you can see, the Dow off by more than 600
points. Actually, just below that.
Now this is our business breakout. One of the world's most popular weight loss drugs will cost less for Americans who pay in cash. Novo Nordisk is
lowering the price of its weight loss and diabetes drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy. This, as the Danish drugmaker faces a competitive market and
pressure to lower prices from President Donald Trump.
U.S. treasury secretary says Donald Trump's proposal to issue a $2,000 tariff rebate to most Americans would require approval from Congress. Trump
has repeatedly suggested using tariffs to fund rebate checks. Scott Bessent says the payments would be for working families.
And the theme for the 2026 Met Gala has been unveiled. The theme is costume art, with organizers hoping to join the dots between fashion and art. A
corresponding exhibition will open at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in May.
Now it appears U.S. President Donald Trump knows he has an affordability problem. Over the weekend, he lowered tariffs on everyday items, including
beef, tomatoes and coffee. This as Americans continue to be stung with high inflation.
But does that mean the price of a cup of coffee or beef in the supermarket will start to fall?
Matt Egan has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: This tariff reversal could be helpful when it comes to food prices, but economists and trade experts, they stress this
is not likely to be a silver bullet that suddenly makes groceries cheap again. But this is a significant reversal from the president on one of his
core issues, which, of course is tariffs. So, the administration has announced that dozens of agricultural imports are going to be shielded from
the president's own tariffs, including everything from coffee and tropical fruit to spices, beef, tomatoes, oranges as well.
All of them are going to be shielded from most of the president's tariffs.
Now, this is significant because obviously it comes at a time when prices have been going up pretty significantly. Banana prices up by 7 percent over
the past year. Beef 15 percent and coffee 19 percent as well. All three of these things were facing double digit tariffs from the Trump
administration.
Now, take a listen to White House economist Kevin Hassett. Talk about what all this means when it comes to prices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIST: The prices for those goods weren't necessarily going up just because of tariffs. And so, the prices will go
down. Well, the prices will go down, of course, but --
INTERVIEWER: But because the tariffs have been taken off?
HASSETT: Right. Well, because the supply of the goods into the U.S. is going to increase.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EGAN: Now, economists though they say that this is likely to be more gradual than a game changer. And that's for a couple of reasons.
One, there's no guarantee that wholesalers and retailers are going to share any potential tariff savings with consumers. Once stores take price
increases, they're pretty reluctant to lower those prices.
And the other thing is, this is not only about tariffs. There's other issues at play, including extreme weather and shortages of workers as well.
Now, let's just take a look at the timeline and how we got here. So, remember, just about a year ago when then candidate Trump was promising to
lower grocery prices on day one? Now, that never happened, in part because it just wasn't realistic, right? Prices generally don't plunge outside of
an emergency or a deep recession.
Then in April, the president imposed historically high tariffs. Inflation ended up hitting 3 percent in September, in part because of tariffs. And
then Democrats swept those key elections just two weeks ago. And now, the president is rolling back food tariffs.
But I talked to Scott Lincicome over at the Cato Institute. And he said that this reversal from the administration, it really undermines the
president's arguments on tariffs in a few different ways. Right? First off, if they were arguing that tariffs wouldn't increase prices, then why are
they saying that lowering tariffs is going to lower prices?
Also, the president argued that only foreigners were paying for the tariffs, yet this reversal suggests that that's not the case. Right? If
foreigners were the ones paying for tariffs, why not keep tariffs high to keep chipping away at the federal deficit?
And lastly, the administration has argued that there's a national emergency that is justified these tariffs in the first place. If that were the case,
then a couple of bad elections in New Jersey and Virginia shouldn't cause a complete reversal on tariffs.
So, look, bottom line, it could be helpful that the administration is dialing back tariffs a little bit. But economists say it's not going to be
a game changer. That suddenly makes groceries cheap again.
The best case scenario is that price increases at the grocery store. They slow to just a gradual level so that it's much more manageable for everyone
at the checkout aisle.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER; Thanks to Matt for that.
We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:45:19]
FOSTER: A train truck explosion in Poland is being called an unprecedented act of sabotage. Ukraine's foreign minister suggests that Russia could have
played a part in the incident. The railway is a key -- delivery key for delivering aid to Ukraine. However, Poland's interior minister warns
against immediately blaming Russia since an investigation is underway. No one has been arrested yet.
Well, Ukraine has agreed to purchase up to 100 fighter jets from France. President Volodymyr Zelensky inked the deal earlier on Monday, which also
includes drones.
Clare Sebastian has more detail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There was a major show of support for Ukraine's president in Paris on Monday. President Zelenskyy greeted at an
airbase just outside Paris with French-made heavy weapons displayed on the tarmac, including the Rafale fighter jet.
And the two leaders in that spot signed a letter of intent for Ukraine to be able to purchase up to 100 of those jets by 2035. Now, clearly, this was
the first time they've been supplied in this war and it was both in terms of substance and symbolism, a very welcome moment for Zelenskyy as Russia
escalates attacks.
Not only on the eastern front but now stepping up attacks in the southern Zaporizhzhia region which has been a relatively stable part of the front
line as well as escalating aerial attacks on Ukraine's energy grid.
And, of course, as President Zelenskyy's credibility at home has been tested by a massive corruption scandal. He spent the weekend announcing a
major overhaul of the energy sector involved in that corruption scandal, including new leadership at three state-owned energy companies.
Now, President Macron of France did address this but struck a relatively supportive tone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: The path to the European Union will be demanding. It will require deep efforts and reforms, especially in terms of
the rule of law, transparency, governance and the fight against corruption.
I trust the determination of the Ukrainian people to carry this out. And I trust President Zelenskyy to do so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: Well, Zelenskyy and Macron agreed on future aid. Poland Monday was grappling with the result of what it said was a deliberate attack to a
key railroad used to transport aid into Ukraine.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk describing the damage to the track between the capital Warsaw and Lublin as an unprecedented act of sabotage.
Now, Poland has not explicitly blamed Russia for this incident, but it is the latest in a series of sabotage incidents and airspace incursions that
has put European governments on high alert.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Bangladesh's war crimes court has sentenced the country's former prime minister to death for crimes against humanity. A three-judge panel
found Sheikh Hasina responsible for inciting hundreds of extrajudicial killings during last year's crackdown on student-led protests. According to
the U.N., at least 1,400 people were killed in the demonstrations that eventually toppled her government. Some of the victims' families were
inside the courtroom for the verdict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is sentence of death.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The 78-year-old former leader was not in the courtroom. Hasina was tried in absentia -- absentia after she self-exiled to India. She called
the trial politically motivated.
New protests erupted during the trial, and her son has warned of further violence if her party, the Awami League, are blocked from taking part in
next year's election.
Still to come, stepping into the ring, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul to face his biggest test yet against former heavyweight champion Anthony
Joshua. The details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:51:43]
FOSTER: YouTuber Jake Paul is about to step into the ring for the biggest fight of his relatively short boxing career. He'll take on Britain's Joshua
-- Anthony Joshua, who's been a heavyweight champ twice and an Olympic gold medalist. The December 19th fight with Jake Paul will be Joshua's first
since being knocked out in 2024. If you can't make it to Miami, you can watch it in person or you can't watch it in person if you cant make it
there, but you can watch it on TV, it'll be on Netflix, of course.
Don Riddell joins me.
I mean, there's a lot of concern about Jake Paul on this one because, you know, he could get injured. It wasn't that, long ago that Joshua actually
gave up the game.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: It's interesting. Certainly, a lot of people are talking about this in boxing, Max. And it's been announced at fairly
short notice. It's going to be happening, as you say, in Miami next month.
Yeah. Anthony Joshua by some margin is going to be the toughest fight that Jake Paul will have faced. Remember, he took on Mike Tyson last year, but
Tyson was 58 years old and coming out of retirement. It wasn't that long ago that Joshua was the world heavyweight champion. He lost a couple of big
fights to Oleksandr Usyk in `21 and 2022.
This is interesting for several reasons. One, why is Joshua doing it? It seems as though he's kind of stagnated. Perhaps he's not quite sure what
his future is in boxing. And this for him, you would think, would be an easy payday.
For Jake Paul, big payday, too. He's doing it because he thinks that if he can win this fight, then the sport is going to have to take him seriously.
And then he wants a title fight. We will see if that happens.
But the promoters certainly think a lot of people are going to watch -- Frank Warren said it's going to be a car crash and people pay to watch car
crashes, he said. So we'll see. I'm sure we'll be talking about this in December, Max.
FOSTER: Oh, no, I mean, you teed it up there. People will want to watch that, as you say.
I just want to ask you something that Donald Trump said in the last hour as well, about the World Cup and the matches potentially being moved. Let's
have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If we think there's going to be a problem -- well, Gianni, can I say we will move? I don't think you're going to have this problem, but were
going to move the event to someplace where it's going to be appreciated and safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: I think he was talking there about, you know, any concerns about, unsafe cities, I guess, Don, but I mean, moving a World Cup match.
RIDDELL: Right. I mean, so this is not the first time that Donald Trump has brought this up. He's talked about it several times before. There are
going to be 11 American cities hosting matches in the World Cup. The draw is now just a couple of weeks away. December 5th is when the draw is going
to be made.
And the reason this came up again today is because he has been threatening this before. And so, one of the reporters said, look, if you're going to do
this, what's the cut-off point? Like when do you have to decide that you can do it?
And he didn't really answer that question, but he used it as an opportunity to bash again, some of the cities that he would argue are unsafe. Where
there's lawlessness or where there's a high crime rate. And he did mention Seattle and he did mention California, Los Angeles. He basically said the
governors there, they're going to have to behave.
[15:55:03]
He talked about the fires that so damaged the Los Angeles area, just around a year ago.
So, I mean, it's hard to see that this is actually going to happen, that games are going to be moved. But it's something that Donald Trump keeps
talking about. And as you saw, the head of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, who has become very close to Trump, over the last year or so didn't really seem to
say very much on the matter. So, we'll see what happens.
But they certainly are running out of time if they want to actually change the venues and the host cities of any of these world cup matches.
FOSTER: Yeah, you know, a huge logistical effort, wouldn't it? But I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Don, thank you so much.
I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW.
Do stay with CNN. We'll have more after the break.
END
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