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Trump Wants The U.S. To Take Over Gaza; Ten People Died In Sweden's Worst Mass Shooting; Trump Threatens More Tariffs To China If His Demand To Sell TikTok Will Not Work. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired February 05, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, a controversial proposal from the U.S. President Donald Trump says the U.S. might take control of Gaza and potentially permanently relocate Palestinians.

The Trump administration takes another swipe at America's foreign aid agency, announcing plans to put USAID staff around the world on leave.

And investigators seek answers as Sweden mourns the worst mass shooting in the country's history.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us.

Well, in a stunning announcement, President Donald Trump says the U.S., quote, "will take over the Gaza Strip," and he doesn't think there's a permanent future for Palestinians in the enclave.

During a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Mr. Trump suggested Palestinians would move to other countries in the Middle East and the U.S. would, quote, "develop Gaza."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: This comes as President Trump's relationship with Israel's Prime Minister seems stronger than ever, with Netanyahu calling him the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins me now from Abu Dhabi with more. So, Paula, what's been the reaction so far across the region to President Trump's shocking proposal to take over Gaza and forcibly relocate Palestinians to other nations in the Middle East?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, this suggestion has been widely rejected in the region, with the exception of the far- right in Israel. Now, with this suggestion that the U.S. President has certainly endeared himself to the more extreme conservative view in Israel, but elsewhere among the Arab nations it has been widely rejected.

We heard from the Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia. They issued a statement quite soon after this press conference took place, saying, reasserting that they support a Palestinian state, that they support the two-state solution, and this is very firm and unwavering.

Now, we've heard from President Trump that he would like to expand Israel's relationships with Arab nations in the region that he started in his first term. He has made no secret of the fact that he would like Israel to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, so that statement is key.

In the past, he has suggested that Egypt and Jordan take on more Palestinian refugees. They have been very clear in their rejection of that as well.

So there has been, across the board, a rejection of this. We've heard unsurprisingly from Hamas rejecting it, saying it's a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region.

Mustafa Baghouti, one key Palestinian lawmaker and independent, said that across the board, Palestinians reject this suggestion as well.

Now, President Trump was also asked in the Oval Office that if Palestinians were moved out of Gaza, whether they would be allowed back in.

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TRUMP: I don't think people should be going back to Gaza. I think that Gaza has been very unlucky for them. They've lived like hell. They lived like you're living in hell. Gaza's not a place for people to be living.

And the only reason they want to go back, and I believe this strongly, is because they have no alternative. What's the alternative? Go where? There's no other alternative. If they had an alternative, they'd much rather not go back to Gaza and live in a beautiful alternative that's safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, what we have been seeing in the weeks since the ceasefire took place is hundreds of thousands of Palestinians on the move, going back to their homes.

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Many that have spoken to us also saying they know that their home is destroyed, but they just want to go back to their land. So there's an overwhelming feeling that this is not going to be supported, certainly on the streets of Gaza.

What it also does, though, is, as I say, that the far right in Israel has embraced this idea of moving Palestinians out of Gaza, and in their eyes they would like to see Israelis settle in this area.

We heard from Ben-Gvir, who is one individual who has been very vocal on this, saying that he had been called crazy in the past for suggesting it, but now the leader of the most powerful nation on earth was suggesting it as well.

So really what this has done is President Trump has made what has been really a fairly fringe idea from the conservative branch of Israel into a more mainstream discussion.

And also what we're not doing is discussing the ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. This meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump was expected to focus on that and try and move the process from phase one to phase two, where the ceasefire becomes permanent and where all the hostages are released in return for Palestinian prisoners.

That barely had a mention, although President Trump did say that he believed a deal could be done. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Paula Hancocks with that live report from Abu Dhabi. I appreciate it.

Kimberly Dozier is a CNN global affairs analyst. She joins me now from Washington. Appreciate you being with us.

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: And it's an interesting evening on which to join you.

CHURCH: Indeed. And of course, in an explosive proposal, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested America take over Gaza and develop it into the Riviera of the Middle East. His words, he said, quote, "we will own it long term."

And he even suggested potentially using U.S. troops to forcibly remove Palestinians in Gaza and resettle them in Egypt and Jordan, two nations that have already rejected that idea, along with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. I want to get your response.

DOZIER: Well, he outlined a plan that was so outrageous, but also so vague that as I've read different headlines, whether it's Al Jazeera or "The Jerusalem Post" or the BBC, it's like an inkblot test, the way people have interpreted what he said.

Now, the worst possible interpretation is he is saying, I do not rule out the possibility of even using U.S. troops to take over Gaza, flatten it, move the Palestinians out and turn it into some sort of development zone and move those Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt, even though those two countries have already articulated that they don't want any refugees.

That is the best -- that's the most alarming way that it's being interpreted in parts of the Gulf by some of the diplomats who've reached out to me. But he could also mean it in the New York real estate way that the U.S. would be owning the redevelopment of Gaza in which Palestinians could return.

And that is also how it's being interpreted in some other quarters. And I think that's probably what Trump's national security team right now will probably be trying to pull together because they don't want to put U.S. troops in harm's way and take on the multibillion dollar cost of demilitarizing and rebuilding Gaza.

CHURCH: And watching that joint news conference, even Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu said that President Trump was taking this to a whole new level. Is this what Israel wants?

DOZIER: Well, it is certainly a green light to a lot of things that Israel does want. The fighting continuing in Gaza, but also some of the right flank of Netanyahu's coalition. They want to expand Israeli control of the West Bank.

Some members would like to return Jewish settlers to Gaza who were withdrawn back in 2005, I believe it was. So Trump's message is a green light to them that, you know, these plans are less than what Trump's proposing. So surely potential, possible.

And I can't see anyone in the Trump administration telling them no. You even had Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who's on a trip right now, tweet out, make Gaza beautiful again. That is music to the far- right in Israel.

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CHURCH: And on another issue, President Trump didn't rule out backing an Israeli strike on Iran. What did that signal to you?

DOZIER: Well, he said in remarks earlier today that his main goal is that Iran cannot be allowed to build a nuclear weapon. But he also held out the possibility of talks with Iran. That seemed positive at that juncture.

But following that up with this declaration this evening that the U.S. wants to take over this Gaza project in some manner, shape, or form will back Iranian leaders into a corner. They will not be able to talk to a White House that's talking about kicking out Palestinians.

I think that they will be even more firmly committed to at least holding out the potential for building a nuclear weapon. And so that leaves us back at if they do it, then this White House will probably support an Israeli strike on their nuclear facilities.

CHURCH: Kimberly Dozier, our thanks for your analysis. I appreciate it.

The U.S. Postal Service says it will not accept incoming parcels from China and Hong Kong until further notice. The government agency did not provide a reason for the temporary suspension but said the flow of letters will not be affected.

The announcement comes just days after Donald Trump ended an exemption that allowed anyone to ship packages worth less than $800 to the U.S. without paying duties or undergoing inspections. This move from the Postal Service comes just one day after U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports to the U.S. took effect, with China introducing its own retaliatory tariffs.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is shrugging off China's response. On Monday, he said he intended to speak to China within 24 hours, but now he says he is in no rush to talk with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

More now from CNN's Will Ripley.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The retaliation from China, fast and fierce.

Just minutes after President Donald Trump's sweeping 10 percent China tariffs kicked in, Beijing fired its own economic salvo. A 15 percent tax on some U.S. coal and liquefied natural gas. A 10 percent tariff on American crude oil, cars and farm equipment.

New export restrictions on rare minerals, vital for U.S. tech and defense.

RYAN PATEL, CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY-DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: When you're dealing with the Chinese government, you really are looking to try to find a way that nobody really looks bad.

RIPLEY (voice-over): With tariffs piling up and both sides digging in, all eyes are now on a crucial upcoming call between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. That conversation could set the tone for whatever comes next, a last-minute deal or a full-blown trade war.

JUSTIN WOLFERS, PROF. OF ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Trump has shown himself, frankly, to be an unreliable partner. I'm not sure I'd want to invest in the United States right now if I were a foreign entity, given that these sorts of shenanigans can be on again, off again, according to the president's whim.

RIPLEY (voice-over): China also announced it's going after Google, launching an antitrust investigation. Google's search engine is not available in China, but it does have limited operations there.

The move signals Beijing's willingness to target major U.S. tech firms in its retaliation. One wild card in Trump's China strategy? Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO has deep business ties in China.

The Shanghai Gigafactory produces a significant portion of Tesla's global output. His close relationship with the Chinese authorities could make him a pivotal figure in the unfolding trade tensions.

LEV NACHMAN, NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY: Not only does Donald Trump think he is, I believe his wording was super genius, but we know that the PRC is also very invested in Elon Musk maintaining his business within China.

RIPLEY (voice-over): China is also taking the fight to the World Trade Organization, accusing the U.S. of violating international trade rules. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce says trade and tariff wars have no winners.

Trump and Xi once shared what Trump called magical diplomatic moments, from their first meeting at Mar-a-Lago to an unprecedented state visit to Beijing's Forbidden City. He's even called Xi brilliant.

TRUMP: Have a great respect for their president, as you know, President Xi.

RIPLEY (voice-over): But now Trump is ramping up economic pressure, still insisting he can strike a deal with Beijing. A fast-moving, high-stakes economic battle that may be just beginning.

RIPLEY: And China is signaling the potential for more retaliation, saying there could be more countermeasures if the U.S. doesn't back down here. No indication from President Trump that that will be happening anytime soon.

Also, he's saying he has no rush to speak with Xi Jinping, saying that the U.S. will be just fine. Beijing, though, taking a much harder line than Mexico and Canada, which at the last minute struck deals with President Trump to at least delay those U.S. tariffs.

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China has made no such concessions, particularly on the issue of fentanyl, which they insist, in their words, is America's problem.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

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CHURCH: The U.S. Agency for International Development will soon be placing staff around the world on administrative leave. A new directive issued just hours ago states all of the agency's staff will be placed on leave this Friday, and those overseas will be ordered to return to the U.S. within weeks.

That's according to a statement posted on the USAID website, which is back online after going dark last week. The statement on the website ends with thank you for your service. Some exceptions will likely be made for core positions, but the move is raising concerns about the impact on global humanitarian efforts.

The directive comes as the Trump administration has begun dismantling the agency and frozen almost all foreign aid. The CIA is now the first major national security agency offering

buyouts to its entire workforce, a radical step as Donald Trump looks to shrink the federal government. Every employee at the Central Intelligence Agency can get about eight months of pay and benefits if they voluntarily quit their jobs.

But sources tell CNN some areas of expertise are likely off-limits and won't be eligible for the offer. This comes as the Trump administration is planning widespread layoffs across a number of federal agencies, giving tens of thousands of government workers until Thursday to either accept a buyout or risk losing their jobs.

One administration official says more than 20,000 federal workers have agreed to a deferred resignation offer. That represents about one percent of the roughly 2 million federal employees who received the offer. The White House says its target is between 5 and 10 percent of employees to resign.

Federal workers' unions, however, are challenging the legality of this in court. Congressional Democrats are also opposed to the resignation offers. And they're calling out tech billionaire Elon Musk for leading the

effort to weaken government agencies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY (D-MA): To our Republican colleagues, if you do not see the light, we will bring the fire. Resist!

REP. JASMINE CROCKETT (D-TX): We are going to be in your face. We are going to be on your asses.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): We have days to stop the destruction of our democracy. We have work to do.

SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR): Tell Elon Musk to take his hands off your money.

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CHURCH: We are getting new details about a mass shooting at a school in Sweden that left about 10 people dead. Why police believe the death toll could rise.

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CHURCH: Officials in Sweden say they're in the early stages of their investigation into the worst mass shooting in the country's history. Police say about 10 people were killed and many others injured when a gunman opened fire at a school for adults.

Police believe the shooting was not terror-related and the gunman who acted alone is among the dead. CNN's Melissa Bell has more.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some new details are emerging after the dreadful shooting that took place just after midday in the town of Orebro in western Sweden where a gunman went on the rampage at what we understand was an adult learning center but on campus where there are schools for children as well.

Police are saying that multiple people died in the attack and it was to a shock nation in a country that so rarely sees school shootings or mass killings that the Swedish prime minister spoke.

ULF KRISTERSSON, SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We've today seen brutal deadly violence against completely innocent people. This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history.

BELL: Police say that the death toll could continue to rise given that there are still several wounded people in hospital. They've also said that they're trying to figure out what this man's motive may have been.

They say the perpetrator was a man and that they believed he was killed during that shootout itself. The question of why he acted the way he did now at the center of the investigations that are ongoing.

What police have said about him though is that he was not known to police services nor did they think that there was a terror motive behind this attack, the worst in Sweden's history.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

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CHURCH: Ukraine reports at least five people have been killed in a Russian ballistic missile strike in the northeastern province of Kharkiv. At least 50 people were wounded.

The attack partially destroyed a city council building. The town's governor says there are no military facilities nearby. Survivors say the attack happened almost immediately after the air raid siren sounded, leaving them with little time to react.

And this comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says more than 45,000 Ukrainians have been killed in the war with Russia. He said in an interview that at least 390,000 people are wounded. Zelenskyy dismissed the possibility of surrendering his country's territory to end the war.

He says he considers Russian President Vladimir Putin an enemy but would be willing to meet with him if it leads to a peaceful outcome.

Mr. Zelenskyy also says his government has made contact with the Trump administration.

[03:25:06] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Teams have already begun substantive discussions. Teams from Ukraine and the United States. Today, head of the office Andriy Yermak spoke with Michael Waltz and we are preparing a schedule of meetings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Mr. Zelenskyy added he is working to arrange a visit by a U.S. delegation to Ukraine. President Trump has said he wants a swift end to the conflict. On Monday, he said he wanted Ukraine to supply the U.S. with rare earth minerals in exchange for financial support.

Donald Trump is offering to save the social media app he once threatened to kill. Just ahead, we will tell you about his unusual proposals for offering TikTok a lifeline here in the U.S.

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. Let's check today's top stories for you.

U.S. President Donald Trump is suggesting the U.S. could launch a takeover of Gaza. He made the announcement during a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, reiterating a desire to relocate Palestinians in the enclave so the U.S. could level the area and create a quote, "economic development." He also said the use of U.S. troops is a possibility if needed.

Federal employees with the U.S. Agency for International Development will be placed on administrative leave this Friday and those overseas will be ordered to return to the U.S. within weeks. The move comes as the Trump administration looks to gut federal agencies and lay off thousands of workers.

The U.S. Postal Service has stopped accepting packages from China and Hong Kong. They're suspended until further notice, which will be a blow to e-commerce giants like Temu and Shein. The announcement comes after the U.S. imposed a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports and China hit back with retaliatory tariffs on certain U.S. goods.

President Trump is threatening more tariffs if China doesn't yield to his demand to sell TikTok. He has suggested levying tariffs as high as 100 percent if Beijing doesn't approve of the social media app's sale.

TikTok is under pressure to find a new owner by April or be banned in the U.S. On Monday, Mr. Trump also floated the idea that TikTok could be acquired by a sovereign wealth fund, saying the U.S. could form one similar to Saudi Arabia's.

Kaya Yurieff is a reporter with "The Information" where she writes frequently about TikTok and other social media platforms. She joins me now from New York. Good to have you with us.

KAYA YURIEFF, REPORTER, "THE INFORMATION": Thanks, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Well so far, Beijing hasn't seemed particularly open to a deal. How likely is it that Donald Trump's proposal of a new sovereign wealth fund could interest China?

YURIEFF: I mean, it's a great question. I don't know that this sweetens the deal. It could actually potentially have the opposite effect. It's hard to say.

I think Beijing may feel negatively about a deal that involves a U.S. government fund, but they haven't really given any indication either way that they want to do any sort of deal.

CHURCH: And so how could this Trump proposal play out and what questions remain about it for you?

YURIEFF: There are so many questions. I think the big one is where the money would come from. Sovereign wealth funds are very popular in oil- rich countries like Saudi Arabia that have large budget surpluses that they can invest in such projects.

But the U.S. runs a persistent budget deficit. It's not clear from the executive order where the money would come from to seed such a fund.

And I think the biggest question for me is the timing. So we have 60 days left to get a TikTok deal done under Trump's executive order, giving an extension and a little more time to TikTok.

And he's only asking for a plan for this new fund to be ready in 90 days. So the math is not adding up there.

CHURCH: Yes, indeed. And Beijing seems especially protective of TikTok's algorithm, the system that decides what content users will see and considered a key to the app's success.

So if TikTok does sell under the sovereign wealth fund proposal or some other plan, is the algorithm likely to be part of that deal and can the app survive without it?

YURIEFF: It's hard to say because there are these export laws that China has passed.

So Beijing would be required to sign off on any deal that would involve TikTok's algorithm. And without the algorithm, it's a question of how powerful is TikTok without that and whether companies would want to buy TikTok without the algorithm.

So this is why we're in this situation. The Supreme Court upheld this law and we're past the deadline. This is why there's not an easy solution here.

CHURCH: And if none of these proposals work out and TikTok is ultimately banned, what do you think happens to the app's 170 million U.S. users? Where do they go? [03:35:07]

YURIEFF: We had a glimpse of this for 12 hours, right? We saw the reality of TikTok not being in the U.S.

I mean, a lot of them will naturally migrate to other big platforms like Instagram and YouTube, which both have short-form video products. And there's also an opportunity potentially for a new app to pop up.

CHURCH: Kaya Yurieff, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it. We'll see what happens.

And we'll be right back.

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CHURCH: A group of international medical experts say they believe the nurse known as Britain's worst serial child killer of modern times is not guilty. Lucy Letby was convicted of killing seven babies and attempting to murder seven others between June 2015 and June 2016.

She is serving 15 full life terms in prison, but she has always maintained her innocence. Now Letby's attorneys have submitted her case for review in a bid to overturn her conviction. This comes after a group of medical experts who re-examined the evidence concluded that none of the babies had been murdered.

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DR. SHOO LEE, PROF. EMERITUS, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO: In summary, ladies and gentlemen, we did not find any murders. In all cases, death or injury were due to natural causes or just bad medical care.

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CHURCH: I want to thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "Marketplace Middle East" is next, then "CNN Newsroom" will continue with Max Forster and Christina Macfarlane in London.

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