Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Teacher Detained In Russia Back In U.S. After "Exchange"; Israel: Ceasefire Will End If Hamas Delays Hostage Release; Trump Complains About Judges, Defending Govt. Overhaul; Trump Hosts Jordan's King Abdullah, Details Gaza Plan; Macron Rejects Trump's "Real Estate Operation" in Gaza; Paris A.I. Summit Concludes with Declaration on Priorities; Impact of USAID Cuts on Thai Refugee Camp; Astronauts Returning Home. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired February 12, 2025 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:30]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: A good faith gesture towards ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Hello, I'm John Vause. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARC FOGEL, U.S. TEACHER FORMERLY DETAINED IN RUSSIA: I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: How the release of American teacher Marc Fogel after years in a Russian jail could be an encouraging sign for ending the war in Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Israel readies for a return to war with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emboldened, it seems, by support from the U.S. President.
Also this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hospital here largely depended on U.S. government funding, which suddenly stopped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: After 60 years of soft diplomacy through saving lives, the devastating impact from an end to U.S. foreign aid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: After nearly four years in a Russian labor camp, American schoolteacher Marc Fogel is now free, back on U.S. soil. His release comes after the Trump administration struck a deal with Moscow, described as a show of good faith towards ending the war in Ukraine. During a meeting with President Trump at the White house, Fogel thanked U.S. officials who negotiated his freedom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FOGEL: I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now. And I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. And President Trump is a hero. These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes. The senators and representatives that pass legislation in my honor to get me home are the heroes. I am in awe of what they all did. My family has been a force. I think my 95-year-old mother is probably the most dynamic 95-year-old on earth right now. And I am so indebted to so many people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Over the past few hours, White -- the White House has sidestepped any questions about what the U.S. gave Russia in return for Fogel. President Trump says more details about the deal will be released later Wednesday. Fogel was detained in 2021 and a year later sentenced to 14 years in prison on drug charges. And while few were expecting his release, Fogel's sister told CNN her family never gave up on trying to win his freedom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNE FOGEL, MARC FOGEL'S SISTER: Things started to -- to turn around last fall when he was designated as wrongfully detained and we knew that the State Department was taking more of an interest in but prior to that my mother went to the Trump rally and -- and saw President Trump shortly before he was shot. So it was crazy. Yes, it was just a crazy turn of events. And he told her then that if he was -- if he was elected, he was going to get him out. And the man was true to his word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, for more on the release of Marc Fogel, we head to Berkeley, California, and Professor Steven Fish, author of "Democracy Derailed in Russia: The Failure of Open Politics." Professor, thank you for being with us.
STEVEN FISH, PROF, POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIV. OF CALIF., BERKELEY: My pleasure.
VAUSE: So a bigger nod right now is what did Russia get from the U.S. in return for Fogel, that question was put directly to the President a number of times. Here's how he answered it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did the U.S. give anything in return?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Not much, no. They were very nice. We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that's the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war and millions of people can stop being killed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That war is Vladimir Putin's war of choice in Ukraine. So connect the dots here as best you can. What does Fogel's release actually mean for an end to the war in Ukraine?
FISH: John, bigger picture. You just got it from Trump. He's trying to create the impression that Putin gave him something of consequence, which will cover Trump a bit, or so he hopes as he moves forward with his plan that, I think we can guess, will probably be very favorable to Putin. So Putin knows what he's doing. He's giving -- he's throwing Trump a little bone here. And this, he thinks will help free Trump to pursue a plan that, by many people's predictions, is not going to be friendly to Ukrainian interests.
[01:05:20]
VAUSE: A statement from the White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz described Fogel's release as an exchange. Here's part of that official announcement. President Donald J. Trump and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel. President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the President's advisers negotiated an exchange that serves as a good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.
That announcement would seem to indicate that envoy, Steve Witkoff, is the first U.S. official to visit Moscow since the Russian invasion of Ukraine back in 2022. There's also claims that moving in the right direction, that kind of thing. In many ways, I guess we're reading tea leaves, but it seems that there is momentum here on Ukraine. And what would be the likely next development? What would you expect to come next?
FISH: Well, we're going to get a lot of news very quickly. I think what's probably going to happen is that Trump is going to weigh in very strongly on the side of Putin. That would be my prediction. Putin wants to keep these conquered territories in Ukraine. And Trump, I think, is probably going to be very friendly to that. Remember, Trump, like Putin, has this kind of great powers, spheres of influence view of the world. Trump is talking about annexing Greenland, about taking back the Panama Canal, about annexing Canada.
And in that worldview, that's a kind of spheres of influence view where great powers going to dominate their neighborhoods. And this is something that is music to the ears of the Kremlin right now because the Kremlin wants, of course, Ukraine back. Trump actually said just today that perhaps Ukraine will be Russia, perhaps it won't.
You can imagine how that's going down in Ukraine and how that's going down in Russia. I think we can look forward to, or -- or dread, as the case may be, a very Putin friendly move on the part of Trump. Now the question is whether the Europeans will then step up and take leadership under conditions in which it seems like the United States might be selling out Ukrainian interests. That's an important thing to keep our eye on.
VAUSE: With that in mind, there is a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. U.S. President is ready for his payday. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They have tremendously valuable land in terms of rare earth, in terms of oil and gas, in terms of other things. I want to have our money secured because we're spending hundreds of billions of dollars. And, you know, they may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday or they may not be Russian someday, but we're going to have all this money in there. And I say I want it back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: There he is just throwing out.
FISH: Yes.
VAUSE: There maybe Russians one day. As you say, that probably went down like a lead balloon in Ukraine. But, you know, from this President, it seems it's all very transactional. You're defending democracy and freedom, setting up what's right, fighting Russian aggression. You know, that sort of just doesn't really count for anything. What Donald Trump wants is Ukraine to pay up. And the Ukrainians have actually agreed in part to this. But ultimately, what do you think the U.S. will get out of any kind of peace deal with Ukrainians? How bad is this likely to be for the Ukrainians?
FISH: It could be quite bad for the Ukrainians, but it's also going to be very bad for the Americans. Look, I mean, Putin, if anybody thinks that Putin's going to cut a deal and then just go home and want nothing but peace with Ukraine after this, they're really deluding themselves. Putin's plan, if he gets what he wants, is to become -- is to take his troops, go home, rearm and prepare for his next invasion of Ukraine or pressuring Ukraine.
Trump -- Putin has never accepted Ukraine's sovereignty as a sovereign state. Look, the United States has long defined its interests as protection of its own allies and preeminently its European allies. That's in America's interests. Trump is acting as if that isn't an American concern at all. He's abandoning the entire post war world order in terms of the way the United States supports its allies.
Supporting Ukraine is in America's interest because it helps support not only a fellow democracy, but also European -- European security. Trump has this weird transactional view of the world where it's all just about money. It's all about us getting money that we spent on defending Ukraine without any kind of broader notion of American interests in the world. This could be very deleterious not only to the world order, but to American interests as well.
VAUSE: Steve, thank you. Some really good points there. Some great analysis of what this actually means in real time. Thank you, sir.
FISH: My pleasure.
VAUSE: A warning from the Israeli Prime Minister. The Gaza ceasefire will end if Hamas does not release Israeli hostages on Saturday as scheduled. Israel's foreign minister adds the Israeli military is prepared for a possible attack by Hamas. The warning from Israel comes a day after Hamas threatened to delay a hostage release scheduled for the weekend over alleged Israel ceasefire violations. The military group says it remains committed to the multiphase agreement. Prime Minister Netanyahu, though, seems emboldened by support he's received from the U.S. President.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[01:10:23]
NETANYAHU (through translator): We all welcomed President Trump's demand for the release of our hostages by Saturday noon and we all also welcome the President's revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: King Abdullah of Jordan was at the White House on Tuesday talking to Donald Trump about plans for Gaza, which includes a U.S. takeover and moving Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt. King Abdullah says his country is steadfast against the mass relocation of Palestinians. But President Trump claims, quote, the U.S. has the authority to take Gaza and says this is all about the release of hostages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They either have him out by Saturday at 12:00 or all bets are off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: More now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas certainly seems to be hanging on by a thread, the most precarious moment in its three-week existence so far for a ceasefire that was supposed to last at least six weeks. The Israeli Prime Minister now issuing this ultimatum saying if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, quote, the ceasefire will end, saying that Israeli troops who have already begun to amass in greater numbers along the Gaza border will return to the fight in Gaza until, quote, Hamas is completely defeated. Now, the Israeli Prime Minister didn't go quite as far as President Trump when he made his ultimatum saying that all of the hostages, meaning all 76 hostages still being held in Gaza should be returned by Saturday. Otherwise the ceasefire should be canceled. Instead, an Israeli official telling me that Israel is demanding that all nine remaining living hostages who were set to be released during phase one, that they be released in the coming days, indicating that the Prime Minister is perhaps trying to stay intentionally vague here, leaving himself a little bit of wiggle room to strike a deal by Saturday that would keep this ceasefire alive.
Nonetheless, this is a serious threat to this agreement, especially since Hamas has said that it won't release any hostages this coming Saturday, accusing Israel of a series of ceasefire violations, including carrying out attacks against Palestinians in Gaza and indeed the Palestinian Ministry of Health saying that 92 people have been killed by Israeli fire or shelling since the start of this ceasefire agreement.
Hamas, however, made clear that it is also leaving the door open to releasing hostages on Saturday, saying that it is making this threat with five days notice in order to give the mediators time to resolve this issue. And indeed, that is what is happening right now. Egypt and Qatar, the two mediators who have been leading these negotiations between Israel and Hamas, working to try and resolve this dispute. Whether or not they can get there in time for Saturday is another question altogether.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
VAUSE: So was this threat by Hamas to delay the release of hostages the excuse Israel has been waiting for to restart the war? I put that question to Khalid Al Gindi, visiting scholar at Georgetown University.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KHALED ELGINDY, VISITING SCHOLAR, GEORGETOWN UNIV.'S CTR. FOR CONTEMPORARY ARAB STUDIES: It's a -- it's a risky move on the part of Hamas. But I do think that they are angling for a diplomatic resolution. As you said, there are -- there's enough time to -- to reach that if the parties want to. The -- the bluster from the Israeli leadership that is also being echoed by the Trump administration, I think is not promising. I think Netanyahu would be happy, I think, to -- to end the ceasefire and to go back to fighting because that is what his far right coalition partners want from him and that's what is likely to keep him in power.
VAUSE: We also had Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House on Tuesday after that meeting. He tweeted that his meeting with President Trump or during that meeting, quote, I reiterated Jordan's steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority of all. Donald Trump says U.S. military assistance for Jordan could be withheld. That's about $1.5 billion a year unless Palestinians from Gaza are permanently resettled in Jordan. He made the same threat to Egypt as well, but then kind of walked it back a little bit on Tuesday. But this does seem to be not only a no win situation for Abdullah, but could you also see some serious problems here for both Israel and the U.S.?
[01:15:07]
ELGINDY: Oh, yes. There -- there's no question. I mean, obviously Jordan is a -- is a small country, it's a weak party, it's very heavily dependent on U.S. aid. But at the same time, it is a major security partner for the United States and has been for a long time. It is a country that has a longstanding peace treaty with Israel that is now more than three decades old and -- and has important security cooperation with Israel as well. So destabilizing a country like Jordan is not in the long term interest or even the short term interest of the United States or Israel. But also it's important to remember that Jordan is not alone in this. Egypt is in a similar position.
It has a slightly a more strategic position than -- than Jordan given its size and weight in the region. But -- but still a very difficult meeting today between the King and the President.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: And CNN's Richard Quest sat down with the French President Emmanuel Macron. His vision is the diametric opposite to President Trump's. We're bringing that interview later this hour.
We'll take a short break. And when we come back, defending DOGE. Elon Musk makes the case for the Department of Government Efficiency while having very little to say about his own potential conflicts of interests.
And later, Europe invests big in the future of A.I. The latest from the Paris Summit on artificial intelligence and how the E.U. is trying to become a power player for the future.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:21:14]
VAUSE: Donald Trump's frenzied efforts to reshape the federal government have been stymied and delayed by a flurry of rulings by federal judges that his actions are illegal. Despite that, President Trump told reporters, Tuesday, he will abide by those court decisions. And the man tasked with swinging the axe, the richest man in the world and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, has also answered questions from reporters about his conflicts of interest as well his own independence. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has details.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: An extraordinary scene inside the Oval Office on Tuesday evening as President Trump and one of his top advisers, Elon Musk, held court and defended their effort to resize and remake the shape of this federal bureaucracy. The Department of Government Efficiency is what Elon Musk calls his group. And he was talking about the fraud, in his words, that he is finding throughout the government.
Of course, this is coming as the administration is trying to make a public relations campaign about how they are trying to sort out fraud and waste and abuse. But Elon Musk said he would be transparent as he goes forward.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELON MUSK, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY: All of our actions are -- are fully public. So if you see anything you say, like, wait a second, hey, Elon, that doesn't -- that seems like maybe that's, you know, there's a conflict there. It's not like people are going to be shy about saying that. They'll say it immediately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: But the world's richest man is not filing his own financial disclosure documents. Of course, he receives billions in government contracts as well, certainly raising some questions about that. But the President, for his part, as he watched Elon Musk talk about his efforts here, he pushed back on what judges are doing across the country to some of these moves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Any court that would say that the President or his representatives, like secretary of the treasury, secretary of state, whatever, doesn't have the right to go over their books and make sure everything's honest. I mean, how can you have a country? You can't have anything that way. You can't have a business that way. You can't have a country that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: So taken together, seeing Trump and Musk really for the first time together in the Oval Office on a snowy evening in Washington, it certainly was a memorable one. Elon Musk coming out of the shadows somewhat to explain what he's doing inside the government. So many questions, though, remain among Congress and of course, the courts. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.
VAUSE: With us now from Woodlands, Texas is Adam Kinzinger as CNN senior political commentator and recently retired six-term Republican. Congressman, thanks for being with us.
ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to be with you. Thanks.
VAUSE: So some of the goals outlined by President Trump, eliminating the Department of Education, reducing the size of the federal government, identifying corruption and waste is fairly standard Republican policy and has been for years. The only problem with this Republican administration is that the courts are continually getting involved and stopping the President. Here he is, Donald Trump, speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're talking about tens of billions of dollars that we've already found. And now a judge, who's an activist judge, wants to try and stop us from doing this. Why? And why would they want to do that? I campaigned on this. I campaigned on the fact that I said government is corrupt and it is very corrupt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Firstly, one problem for the President is that a political mandate doesn't mean he has a free hand to ignore the Constitution. But perhaps more importantly, it seems the reality of what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are trying to do right now is very different from traditional Republican policy, very different from what any administration has tried to do before.
KINZINGER: Totally. I mean, look, it's -- it's one thing to say we want to cut fraud, waste and abuse. Everybody that's ever run for political office on either side of the aisle says that, right? And -- and that's a noble goal. It's different than saying we're going to shut down entire agencies, we're going to get rid of what the U.S. has built in soft power just because and make up scandals. I mean, they've made up such lies about this, one, you know, obviously against "Politico" claiming that in essence USAID paid "Politico" to spread misinformation.
[01:25:10]
And so what that's violating. We -- we have a very clear thing in the Constitution that says the Congress is the -- is the branch that determines where spending goes. And they get to appropriate. If Congress wants to zero out USAID totally, they're right to do that. A president does not get to as an executive executing the laws does not get to just make the determination that he's done with it. And so he's crossing all kinds of red lines. And I got to tell you one other thing, I'm pretty sure that the fake agency, DOGE, is not going to get around to looking at those SpaceX and you know, Tesla subsidies that have come a certain way, which is a significant amount of money.
VAUSE: It's a good point. And with that in mind, Elon Musk also at the Oval Office on Tuesday. He is the man in charge of DOGE, the billionaire Donald Trump has tapped to essentially gut the federal government. Here's what Elon Musk had to say on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSK: What we have is unelected fourth unconstitutional branch of -- of government, which is the bureaucracy which has in a lot of ways currently more power than any elected representative. And this is -- it's not something that people want and it's -- it's not -- it does not match the will of the people. So it's just something we've got to -- we've got to fix.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: At least irony is not dead. Musk has again sparked some concerns over a conflict of interest, this time regarding the closure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "Washington Post" reporting he shut -- the shutdown alone amounted to a long sought victory for Musk and other CFPB critics in Silicon Valley where executives have lobbied to neuter its oversight. And some companies, including X, which Musk owns, have supported lawsuits to scuttle the agency's rules. There's a whole lot of other things going on here as well. But how much damage could Musk do overall if he is allowed to continue on unchecked as he has been?
KINZINGER: Well, looks significant damage. So let's look at again just the foreign aid side of things. USAID, you know, we could spend 20 minutes about what it does. It's very important for America's soft power. It's very important for saving lives too. The damage that he's doing that to our reputation around the world is -- is very essential. The other thing is this, look, you know, Republicans have had an issue with CFPB for a while. There's an issue with, you know, they don't have great oversight, like all that is legitimate stuff that can be debated.
But what he's saying by saying that -- that in essence the judiciary is overstepping its bounds is actually putting doubt out there, which is really what none of the -- the verbiage really bothers me until -- what I worry about is that at some point they're going to actually ignore a decision by the court.
And that would create an intense constitutional crisis that I don't know if America is ready for. And frankly, there's no backstop to. So the damage right now is reputational. This has the potential of being literally a constitutional crisis and setting us back decades, frankly, and it will take decades to unwind.
VAUSE: At the moment, Republican leaders in the House and Senate are unwilling to stand up to the President. CNN reports some GOP lawmakers are growing concerned by the effort to usurp Congress's control of the federal purse strings and that some Republicans are taking issues head on by privately sitting down with representatives from the largest federal employee unions this week is about gutting the federal government. All of this is being done mostly in the shadows out of fear of running afoul of Donald Trump. But you've been there. You know what it's like to have to stand up to Donald Trump and do the right thing. If the Republican controlled Congress is unwilling to defend itself, then who will?
KINZINGER: Yes, exactly. I mean that, look, you can meet with anybody behind closed doors, I mean, literally meet with anybody. And -- and you can say, I mean, I've -- I've -- I've seen these meetings all over the place and you can say a good line, you know what, we stand with you. We're really concerned. Well, it's great. Thanks for your concern. What are you going to do about it? And the answer is nothing. Because look, when I was in Congress, obviously under four years of Donald Trump, there was way too much like just subservience to Donald Trump, but there's still the ability for people to be independent.
That is gone now. And so, yes, the Republican Congress, who, by the way, when I was there was always defending the importance of the House of Representatives in the Senate for spending, for our power. We're really happy to push back against Barack Obama and Joe Biden, but they have given up their authority now. I hope they do find their courage. I hope -- I hope there's a moment they do decide to exercise that important power. I just -- I'm not going to hold my breath for it.
VAUSE: You know, I guess, how bad does it have to get before we see that moment is the question. Adam, thanks so much for being with us. Really appreciate it.
KINZINGER: Of course. You bet. Yes.
[01:29:46]
VAUSE: A week on since Donald Trump's jaw dropping announcement about the future of Gaza and no end to the shock, outrage and outright disbelief. In a moment, the French president talks to CNN about his own ideas for Gaza and the 2 million Palestinians who call it home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
During a very awkward photo op with the King of Jordan, the U.S. president doubled down on his plans for Gaza and forcing out millions of Palestinians who live there.
President Trump did walk back a threat to withhold military aid if Jordan refused to accept refugees from Gaza.
[01:34:49]
VAUSE: But King Abdullah says Jordan remains steadfast against the plan. And Jordan's foreign minister says mass relocation of Palestinians is not an option.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYMAN SAFADI, JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We're having a conversation with the president. He presented his views. We presented ours.
Our position is very clear in Jordan that we cannot afford any more refugees. We're the largest per capita host of refugees in the region. We have -- 35 percent of our population are refugees. So we made that clear.
And I think the president understands that, that what we want is to achieve peace. What we want is to rebuild Gaza.
And again, the president says that he has his plan, is driven by his humanitarian concern, which we appreciate. Our position is that we can rebuild Gaza without Gazans leaving Gaza.
And Gazans leaving Gaza will not be a solution. And for us in Jordan, it is a matter of stability and security, and therefore our position is that we should solve the Palestinian issue in Palestine on Palestinian land.
And this conversation with -- with the, with the administration will continue. I think the objective is to bring about peace. The president says he wants to bring about peace. We are partners for him in bringing about that peace and just peace.
But our position is very clear. In order for peace to be -- to be lasting, for everybody to feel secure, we have to have the two-state solution where Palestinians stay in Palestine and do not leave the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Egyptian officials have canceled plans to meet with White House officials. Instead, they're now looking at an emergency Arab League summit later this month to discuss this plan put forward by Donald Trump, who continues to insist he will take over Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're not going to buy anything. We're going to have it and we're going to keep it. And we're going to make sure that there's going to be peace. And there's not going to be any problem. And nobody's going to question it. There is nothing to buy.
It's Gaza. It's a war-torn area. We're going to take it. We're going to hold it. We're going to cherish it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take it under what authority? It is sovereign territory.
TRUMP: Under the U.S. authority.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The French President Emmanuel Macron, praised Donald Trump's efforts in the region. But during an interview with Richard Quest, said the current proposal to relocate millions of Palestinians in Egypt and Jordan is not the right answer for Palestinians in Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: Look, I think President Trump took a very bold and important decision in the past regarding this region with the Abraham Agreement. And I have to say that these moves were very smart and efficient moves and did change the situation.
So a lot of military operations targeted against Hezbollah and Shia militias and -- and top leaders in Iran launched by, and obviously Hamas leaders, launched by Israel did change the landscape and weakened these strategic enemies.
But we are in a situation which is absolutely terrible for everybody in Gaza since more than one year. Obviously, we did condemn the terrorist attack launched by the Hamas against Israel.
And we are very much attached to the right of Israel to live in peace and security in this region. And we do support its existence and security of the state of Israel and all the Israeli people.
But I always reiterated my disagreement with Prime Minister Netanyahu and my condemnation of the operations launched in Gaza, because I don't believe for one second that such a massive operations targeting sometimes civilian people is the right answer.
This isn't politics. This is today a humanitarian situation. So we have the ceasefire. We have to preserve it. We have to restore humanitarian operations, and we have to save maximum number of people.
But now the right answer is not a real estate operation. This is a political operation. Just because this is not a free land. This is a place where two million people live and want to live.
And just because international rights and a lot of treaties and agreements we negotiated and even the U.S. did recognize this right. So you cannot say to two million people, ok, now guess what? You will move.
The whole story of humanity is made of tiny parts of places where even less than two million people were ready to go until the end, because they wanted just to stay.
So I think we have to, to stick to our principles. Sometimes in this world you have the feeling to be so old-fashioned when you speak about principles.
But I will tell you, this is the humanity. And the civilization is a process, and the process of the civilization is that you learn generation after generation, and this is how you improve yourself.
And we did learn that you can get rid of people and just push them out of their place when they have a legitimate right to live in their place, being recognized by everybody -- by everybody.
[01:39:54]
MACRON: So, I think we have to respect the willingness of Palestinian people to have a state. And we have to respect Jordan, Egypt -- these sovereign countries, because they want their security, they want to keep their borders, and they just say, what are you doing? What are you proposing? You want to push them to my country.
So let's be collectively respectful, because it will be the precondition to be efficient. And I think being efficient doesn't mean automatically that you should lack of respect to people or countries.
So I think what we need now is a collective approach by Arab and Gulf leaders with European leaders, when they are ready to do so, to work together and to build. And I think it would be great if the U.S. could join the day after in Gaza. Which political system and leadership, what type of security guarantees and obviously which type of reconstruction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: With the United States and China both vying for world dominance of A.I. the U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, has revealed where the White House stands on regulations.
During an appearance at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, Vance argued against regulations and government controls, saying they would restrict opportunity.
It comes as Europe looks to stake out its own claim in the A.I. race as CNN's Melissa Bell reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The idea of this summit here in Paris was very much to kick start France as a center of A.I. but also to make up for what the French president described as some of the lost time for the European Union when it came to the field of artificial intelligence.
It's been an opportunity to have leaders of big tech companies from all over the world gather with world leaders to talk about the future of A.I.
We've had a speech from the American vice president calling for less regulation, criticizing the European Union for its efforts to legislate and regulate when it comes to artificial intelligence, but more still, to regulate also when it came to privacy laws.
He said that many American smaller companies, had entirely chosen to ignore European consumers because of GDPR rules.
And having criticized the European Union in its approach, he went on to say that the United States would continue to champion its big tech.
The idea then for Europeans had been to say that they, too can stand up in this industry where they feel they've lost time so far, not just the French president announcing 109-billion-euro package that will involve private money from foreign and French companies investing here in France.
But there was also an announcement at European level about further funds that Ursula von der Leyen, the commission president believes could help foster innovation here on the continent as well.
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: Today, I can announce that with our Invest A.I. Initiative, we can top up by 50 billion euros. So thereby, we aim to mobilize a total of 200 billion euros for A.I. investment in Europe. We will have a focus on industrial and mission critical applications.
It will be the largest public-private partnership in the world for the development of trustworthy A.I.
BELL: The hopes of organizers had also been the signing of a series of non-binding commitments on the future of A.I. and the need for it to be built in an inclusive and sustainable manner for the whole world.
Those non-binding commitments signed by most people here, although not crucially by the United States.
Melissa Bell, CNN -- Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: When we come back, Donald Trump gutted the U.S. agency distributing foreign aid, claiming it was run by corrupt lunatics stealing hundreds of millions of dollars, a blatantly false claim.
But the reality of ending U.S. foreign aid has been very real and devastating around the world. We'll head to Thailand to show you the end result.
[01:44:02]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: On Monday, the inspector general of the U.S. Agency for International Development released a report highly critical of the Trump administration for gutting the agency. On Tuesday, a source tells CNN he was fired.
Keep in mind inspectors general are independent, nonpartisan watchdogs, and Paul Martin was fired via email effective immediately, without reason. Legally, reasons for dismissal and 30 days' notice to Congress are required before an inspector general is fired.
For six decades, the U.S. agency has distributed foreign assistance around the world until now. The sweeping changes ordered by Donald Trump and implemented by Elon Musk have had a very real impact on so many around the world who are in desperate need of help.
CNN's Ivan Watson takes us inside a refugee camp in Thailand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is what happens when the world's biggest aid donor suddenly stops sending money. Families ordered to evacuate their sick loved ones from this hospital in the mountains of western Thailand. Days later, the hospital deserted, its front gate locked shut.
This is a refugee camp for tens of thousands of people who fled the civil war across the nearby border in neighboring Myanmar. The hospital here largely depended on U.S. government funding which suddenly stopped. [01:49:50]
WATSON: And now nearly two weeks later, there isn't a single doctor on duty for this community of more than 30,000 people.
It's a 30-minute drive from this sprawling refugee camp to the nearest Thai hospital. The director here shocked by the sudden closure of the camp hospital.
Has this been stressful, these last two weeks for you?
DR. TAWATCHAI TINGTAWEESAK, DIRECTOR, THA SONG YANG HOSPITAL: Yes. Yes. Yes. I think so. Very dangerous.
WATSON: His facility has to suddenly absorb some of the refugee camp's patients, and that includes 32-year-old Mary.
WATSON: Is this your first baby?
MARY, REFUGEE: Yes.
WATSON: You're going to be a mama soon.
MARY: Yes.
WATSON: You're going to be a mother.
MARY: Yes.
WATSON: Suffering high blood pressure, she was rushed to this maternity ward this morning and is now in labor, far from her family and home at the camp.
MARY (through translator): I just want to ask the U.S. government, why they have to stop helping the refugees?
WATSON: On January 20th, President Donald Trump ordered an immediate 90-day pause in all U.S. foreign aid. He declared the U.S. aid industry is not aligned with American interests and claims it serves to destabilize world peace.
For years, Myanmar has been ripped apart by a brutal civil war, a military dictatorship that seized power in a coup in 2021 battling numerous insurgent groups. The conflicts forced more than three million people to flee their homes.
And now aid organizations tell CNN they only have a month and a half of funding left to feed refugees along the Thai border with Myanmar, leaving smaller aid groups scrambling to fill the gap.
WATSON: You're going into Myanmar.
KANCHANA THORNTON, DIRECTOR, BURMA CHINDREN MEDICAL FUND: This aid will go across the border. Yes.
WATSON: Kanchana Thornton regularly takes food, infant formula, and medicine across the border river to desperate people in the conflict zone. The U.S. funding cut made matters worse.
WATSON: Why is it affecting you? You don't get money from Washington?
THORNTON: Well, patient come to us and asking us for help.
WATSON: Because they're not getting it from the original --
THORNTON: Yes, because they're not getting support that they should from the NGO that got the funding cut.
WATSON: Everywhere we go in this poverty-stricken border region, we hear about basic services disrupted and aid workers being laid off.
This clinic treats nearly 500 patients a day. It receives nearly 20 percent of its funding from the U.S. government. Washington has been sending money here for at least 20 years, but now all of that has stopped.
Uncertainty now felt by Rebecca and her nine- year-old daughter Rosella.
Yes. Can you show me your favorite pictures?
The residents of the refugee camp who had to move out of the hospital when it shut down last month, even though Rosella was born with a bone condition. She needs oxygen around the clock.
"My daughter needs the hospital to be open," Rebecca says, "and so do I, because I'm pregnant."
The cut in U.S. funding means this pregnant mother no longer has access to a doctor, and she doesn't know how much longer her daughter's oxygen will last.
The pause in U.S. funding has already become a matter of life and death here. The International Rescue Committee tells CNN that an elderly woman who couldn't get access to supplemental oxygen died after the hospital in her refugee camp closed last month.
Life has never been easy for refugees in this porous border region and if the world's largest aid donor truly does pull out, I think it's sure to say life will get much, much harder.
Ivan Watson, CNN -- on the Thailand-Myanmar border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, after a month's long delay, a new plan to bring two astronauts home from the International Space Station. They've only been there about eight months.
[01:54:02]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Two astronauts marooned on board the International Space Station for the past eight months may be returning home a little sooner than first thought.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were meant to stay just a week when they flew Boeing Starliner's first crewed test flight to the station.
The launch was part of a planned week-long mission. However, safety issues prolonged their state to what has now been an incredibly long time in space. NASA had hoped to use a new SpaceX capsule to bring them home, but that craft was delayed as well.
Then came the announcement Tuesday they would return on an older SpaceX capsule, which should see them home mid next month instead of April.
Before we go, meet Ramses, nearly 200 pounds or about 90kg and maybe the tallest dog in the world. He's a Great Dane and the owner recently measured him to submit the height into the Guinness Book of World Records, but apparently did not share the findings. How about that?
Ramses is a gentle giant, anything but gentle on his food. He's a dog from Germany, scoffing (ph) down 4 pounds or 1.8kg of puppy chow every day. He is really a great, great, great, great, great big Dane.
Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church, after a short break.
[01:56:53]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
