Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: Trump Falsely Claims Ukraine Started War With Russia; Zelenskyy Meeting With The Turkish President In Ankara; Toronto Crash Investigation; Hamas To Release Bodies Of Four Hostages Thursday; Judge Won't Block DOGE From Accessing Data; South Korean Celebrity Concerns; Musk's New Version Of A.I. Grok; Javier Milei's Crypto Scandal; Melancholy For AC Milan In Champions League. Aired 6- 7p ET

Aired February 18, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: A big programming note, starting March 3rd, that's two weeks from yesterday, The Lead is on the move. Look for this show in our new time slot. We're moving to 5:00 p.m. -- 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern, every weekday here on CNN.

If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show whence you get your podcast. The news --

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Lynda Kinkade, good to have you with us.

Just ahead, Donald Trump falsely claims that Ukraine started the war with Russia after the U.S. holds peace talks with the Kremlin.

We'll show you the new video of the moment a Delta Airlines flight crash landed and flipped in Toronto.

And the sudden death of a South Korean actress is raising concerns about the pressures faced by celebrities there.

We begin with a major shift in relations between the U.S. and Russia. The two countries have agreed to begin restoring diplomatic ties. This following talks in Saudi Arabia, which lasted more than four hours. The U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, says the delegations agreed to work on ending the war in Ukraine, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not invited to that meeting.

President Donald Trump says he will probably meet with the Russian president before the end of the month. He also falsely claimed that it was Ukraine who started the war with Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think I have the power to end this war. And I think it's going very well. But today, I heard, oh, we weren't invited. Well, you've been there for three years. You should have ended it three years. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, this was Russia's take on how that meeting went.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): I think that the meeting was very useful. We didn't just listen to each other, we heard each other, and I think the American side certainly started to understand our side of the argument, which has been many times expanded by President Putin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, meanwhile, President Zelenskyy was in Ankara meeting with the Turkish president. The Ukrainian leader was scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia later this week, but is now postponing that trip until next month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): You can talk about anything, but no decision can be made without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine. We were not invited to this meeting, the U.S.-Russia meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us, as well as for many. I don't want any coincidences. That's why I'm not going to Saudi Arabia.

We contacted our partners in Saudi Arabia. I have very good relations with his royal highness, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. We agreed that I will have an official visit on March 10th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, CNN Politics Senior Reporter Stephen Collinson joins U.S. now for more on all of this. Good to have you with us, Stephen. So, Russia essentially brought in from the cold after years of isolation, the U.S. seemingly willing to rebuild relations, reopen embassies. This seems big picture like a win for Russia.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: It certainly does, just the fact that the meeting took place after that isolation that you mentioned ever since the war in Ukraine begun with Russia's invasion is a win for Russia. And just when Ukraine thought that things couldn't get any worse after not being allowed into that meeting, President Trump spoke this evening. He really did appear to be laying the groundwork for a deal that would ignore all of Ukraine's concerns about the peace and how it could continue to exist as a sovereign democratic nation if the future deal favors Russia.

You know, calling -- he appeared to be almost getting ready to try to push Zelenskyy aside by talking about the need for elections in Ukraine before the country gets a seat at the peace table. And by saying that Ukraine started the war, I think the president was doing something which we've seen very often, which is take a false position, repeat it over and over again, and then many people will actually end up believing what he's saying when he fogs the facts.

So, I think the comments from the president, notwithstanding the fact that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today that all parties would get a fair resolution to the conflict, has to be even more worrying for Ukraine than the meeting was in itself.

KINKADE: Yes, exactly. And of course, when we heard from the Ukrainian president, he did say that they won't accept any bilateral negotiations if Ukraine is not at the table, and did add that he was insulted, he was offended that Trump reached out to Putin before reaching out to himself, to Zelenskyy.

[18:05:00]

Going forward, what can we expect in terms of how Europe might perhaps take the place of the U.S. in its support of Ukraine?

COLLINSON: Well, the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, has said he's willing to take part in any future international peace force. The French have indicated that too. That, however, is pending a deal and is also pending, according to Starmer, the need for the U.S. to act as a backdrop for any force. Russia said in those talks in Saudi Arabia today that it wouldn't accept any forces in Ukraine from European powers, whether they're under the NATO flag, the E.U. flag, or any other flag. So, that seems to be certainly a sticking point.

Zelenskyy, I guess, has the power of refusing to accept a deal, and he can fight on, but if the United States walks away, if Trump, as he has shown every indication of doing, halts U.S. military and financial aid to Ukraine, that would leave a huge bargain -- a huge burden on the shoulders of the Europeans. And given their already compromised defense budgets and their delicate fiscal situations, it seems very questionable that they could continue to support Ukraine in a war.

So, Trump's comments on this are hugely significant and I think it augurs quite a dark period ahead for Ukraine.

KINKADE: Yes, certainly you can see it on President Zelenskyy's face. Stephen Collinson, good to have you with us from D.C. Thank you.

COLLINSON: Thanks.

KINKADE: Well, joining me now is James Melville. He is a former U.S. ambassador to Estonia and an associate dean and professor at the College of Charleston School of Languages, Cultures and World Affairs. Good to have you with us, Ambassador.

JAMES MELVILLE, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ESTONIA AND ASSOCIATE DEAN: Thank you, Lynda. Nice to be with you.

KINKADE: So, the U.S. seems more willing than ever to improve relations with Russia. But before these talks began, we saw the Russia conduct this massive drone strike in Ukraine. And again, after the talks ended, we saw Ukraine having to launch, you know, defensive strikes in its own capital against Russia. What does that signal to you? MELVILLE: Well, I agree with the reporter that you just interviewed that this is a very dark moment for all of us who had thought that the national interests of the United States were well reflected by the international order that our leaders set in place nearly 80 years ago at the end of World War II. And that have kept us from having any sort of global conflicts this whole period.

I feel like I've gone through the looking glass here with the president's comments that Ukraine is to blame for what's happened. It's simply not true. This was a war of aggression launched by Vladimir Putin. The Russians invaded Ukraine. These are facts. And to leave them -- to leave the Ukrainians and our NATO allies out of any negotiations to come to a peaceful agreement seems to me to be a historic mistake.

KINKADE: Yes, and quite a contrast to what we heard from the armed services, a chairman who said, you know, Vladimir Putin should be in jail for the rest of his life if not executed. Europe was not at the table of the negotiations today, either was Ukraine.

MELVILLE: Right.

KINKADE: What does that signal to you going forward with how this will play out for Ukraine, given that Russia currently has a control of 20 percent of the country?

MELVILLE: Well, I think those are good questions for the secretary of state to answer. When Marco Rubio was in the Senate, he was one of the leaders in standing up for seeking justice for Ukraine. You know, there's still the question of war crimes that were committed, the Ukrainians who have been kidnapped, the children who have been kidnapped, the destruction of Eastern Ukraine, what was done in Mariupol, what it was done in Bukha.

How are the Russians going to be made to answer for this? How are the Ukrainians going to receive any sort of justice, let alone the financial help they'll need to restore their country and their infrastructure after all the damage that's been done? These are the sorts of questions that need to be addressed. But for Rubio to go straight to talking about economic opportunities with leadership that has blood on its hands just leaves me deeply depressed and thoroughly perplexed.

[18:10:00]

KINKADE: And we only have to remember what happened just a few years ago, right, when days before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia was accusing that the administration, the U.S., back then of hysteria in terms of suggesting that Russia was about to invade Ukraine. And that's exactly what Russia did. How then can Russia be trusted?

MELVILLE: Russia cannot be trusted. Russia -- you know, the invasion itself was a violation of every treaty and agreement that the Russian state had signed on to since the Helsinki Accords back in the 1970s. European borders are supposed to be sacrosanct. You can't invade a neighbor. You can't use force to conquer. This is something that we thought we had we had given up at the end of World War II.

But, you know, the dishonesty of the Russian regime seems to be somewhat mirrored by our own leadership now, in this claim that Ukraine somehow was to blame for starting this war. It's almost like saying that the January 6th assault was by patriotic Americans rather than insurrectionists. And that is the sort of line that's coming from the White House now.

KINKADE: Yes, exactly. So, if the U.S. potentially sides with Russia going forward, who will hold Russia accountable for war crimes?

MELVILLE: That's a very good question. I -- and I don't know the answer. I -- you know, we have to look to the treaties and the norms that have been in place for many years and hope that their champions still are people like the prime minister of the U.K., the chancellor of Germany, the president of France, our allies who've also contributed mightily to Ukraine's ability to stand up to this Russian invasion, obviously should have a very important say in how the war is resolved.

KINKADE: Ambassador James Melville, we appreciate your time today. Thanks very much.

MELVILLE: Thank you very much.

KINKADE: Well, an investigation is underway to find out what caused a Delta Airlines plane to crash and flip over while trying to land at Toronto's Pearson Airport on Monday. CNN has obtained this video from the cockpit of another plane showing the moment the crash happened. You can see the Delta plane coming down and then catching fire as it hits the runway before flipping over.

These are the images of the aftermath of the crash. Remarkably, all 80 people on board survived and managed to get out of the plane. Delta says 21 people were taken to hospital for injuries. Most of those have now been released.

Well, Jason Carroll has more on the crash and how authorities are responding.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New video capturing the shocking moment a Delta commuter jet crash landed and flipped upside down Monday at Toronto's Pearson Airport.

DEBORAH FLINT, GREATER TORONTO AIRPORTS AUTHORITY PRESIDENT AND CEO: The crew of Delta Flight 4819 heroically led passengers to safety. I thank each and every one of these heroes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- everything. Drop it. Come on.

CARROLL (voice-over): Those heroes swiftly and efficiently evacuated all 76 passengers off the aircraft after it crashed as they crawled one by one out of the plane. Passengers helped each other along the way. PETE CARLSON, PASSENGER ON DELTA FLIGHT: You could see kind of row by row or area by area people were checking one another out, making decisions about whether we would help one another with their straps or if by doing that, would they be landing on somebody else?

CARROLL (voice-over): One passenger said all seemed normal as the aircraft was on its final descent, but then suddenly a hard landing.

JOHN NELSON, PASSENGER ON DELTA FLIGHT: When we hit, it was just a super hard light -- like I hit the ground and the plane went sideways. And I believe we skidded like on our side and then flipped over on our back. Where we ended up, there was like a big fireball.

PETER KOUKOV, PASSENGER ON DELTA FLIGHT: There was no, like, real indication of anything, and then, yes, we hit the ground and we were sideways and then we were upside down hanging like bats.

CARROLL (voice-over): In the few days leading up to the crash, Toronto received more snow than it had the entire previous winter. But officials say it's too early to answer if that was a factor in the crash.

FLINT: This would not be a time for us to have theory or to speculate on what caused the crash.

CARROLL (voice-over): Canadian officials say 21 people on board were injured, none were life threatening. And on Tuesday afternoon, officials said only two remained in the hospital.

[18:15:00]

The incident comes as the aviation industry is still reeling from recent accidents involving an American Airlines commuter jet and a military chopper near Washington, D.C., a medevac jet in Philadelphia, and a Bering Air flight near Nome, Alaska. Passengers on board Flight 4819 say it's remarkable everyone survived.

CARLSON: I think the most powerful part of today was there was just people. No countries, no nothing. It was just people together helping each other.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: And we have some remarkable new video just in to show you. Have a look at this. The video shows passengers hanging from their seats after that Delta flight crashed and flipped over while landing in Toronto. Passenger Peter Koukov provided CNN with that video from inside the plane. It's just remarkable.

Well, still ahead, Israel is bracing for some heavy days to come as Hamas gets ready to hand over the bodies of hostages from the October 7th attacks. We'll have details next.

Plus, the Argentinian president is facing calls for his impeachment after one of his social media posts triggers a wild ride for a little- known cryptocurrency. The latest on that meme coin mess, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back. Thursday is set to be a somber day for the families of Israeli hostages captured by Hamas. The militant group says it will return the dead bodies of four Israelis. Among the names on the list are two of the youngest Hamas captives, Kfir and Ariel Bibas. Ariel was four years old. Kfir was just nine months old when they were kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7th attacks.

Hamas is also set to release six living hostages on Saturday. Israel is expected to release Palestinian prisoners in return. Our Nic Robertson has more now from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Thursday really is going to be a very, very painful day for most Israelis. Everyone remembers those searing images of Shiri Bibas trying to shield her young sons, Ariel four and Kfir nine months old, trying to shield them under a blanket as she was taken hostage.

[18:20:00]

And back in 2023, late 2023, Hamas said they had been killed. Israel could not get definitive information about their wellbeing. Now, their bodies being returned Thursday, back to Israel being repatriated. And Israel is so aware of the pain of this that Shira's husband, Yarden, released just a couple of weeks ago, came back to discover that his wife and two sons are dead. It's a pain for the nation.

But what Hamas appears to be doing here by releasing on Thursday the remains of four hostages, releasing six living hostages Saturday, and releasing four other hostages -- remains of hostages sometime next week, they're accelerating the completion of the release of all 33 hostages they agreed to under phase one.

Israel, on the other hand, several weeks late, is talking about entering phase two negotiations sometime this week. What we understand from Israeli government officials is what they'd actually like to do is really slow roll the phase two process, focus on extending phase one so that they can get more living hostages released.

But Thursday is going to be that really tough day here in Israel when those -- the youngest victims of Hamas, their bodies return to their home. A final journey.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, I've got some news just into CNN. A jury has reached a verdict in rapper A$AP Rocky's felony assault case. Rocky pleaded not guilty to two felony assault counts for allegedly firing a handgun at a former friend. If convicted, he could face up to 24 years in prison. The verdict is expected to be read out at the top of the hour, about 40 minutes from now. Well, here in the U.S., a judge has declined to block the so-called Department of Government Efficiency from accessing federal databases. Elon Musk's Doge wants information held by the Internal Revenue Service raising alarms about unauthorized use of taxpayer's data.

DOGE's efforts to obtain sensitive records apparently prompted the head of the Social Security Administration to quit her job. Well, President Trump is defending Musk and his role in the administration. Mr. Trump said, you can call Musk whatever you want, but he is a patriot. Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid joins U.S. now.

Paula, good to see you and to have you with us. So, first, let's just start on the federal cases underway that we've heard of that have tried to block some -- DOGE from accessing some of this data.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Over the past few days, we've seen several victories for Elon Musk and DOGE in these legal cases. Just a short time ago, a judge here in Washington, Judge Tanya Chutkan, who I will note is an Obama appointee, she's also the judge that oversaw Trump's criminal case on allegations of election subversion, she declined to block Elon Musk and DOGE from accessing data at a slew of federal agencies.

Now, this was a lawsuit that was brought by a group of Democratic state attorneys general, and they were not only asking her to block DOGE from accessing the data, they also wanted her to block them from being able to fire federal employees or put them on involuntary leave. And she declined, saying that they had not shown how they or their states would be harmed.

Though she did acknowledge. She said, she's aware that DOGE's unpredictable actions have resulted in considerable uncertainty and confusion for the plaintiffs and many of their agencies and residents. But she said it remains uncertain how this catalog of state programs that the plaintiffs were identifying will suffer.

Now, this is notable, this was the second victory just today for DOGE. Earlier today, another Obama appointed judge, Randy Moss, here in Washington, ruled that DOGE would not be blocked from accessing data at the Department of Education. That came after a group of students who received financial aid sued to try to protect their data. But again, the judge said, you have not shown how you will definitely be harmed by this access.

And over the past few days, we've seen four other times in recent days where DOGE has won in these legal challenges because the plaintiffs have not been able to show harm. But this is not the final word on DOGE or their access or their powers. The judges have all left open the door for plaintiffs to come back if they can show that their data was compromised or improperly used or they were harmed in some other way.

KINKADE: And of course, Paula, you know, everyone can agree that an efficient government is what is going to be beneficial to most people. But under Elon Musk, DOGE has been moving forward with what some describe as a sledgehammer mentality. So, much so, some people have been fired and then rehired. Donald Trump tried to clarify what Musk's role is in the government. What has he had to say about that?

[18:25:00]

REID: Yes, they were trying to argue that he's not actually the head of DOGE. Instead, he occupies this sort of unique role as an adviser. But again, these lawsuits are all addressed to him. Trump even suggested you can call him whatever you want. He's not particularly concerned with labels.

But one of the reasons that labels and titles are significant in this context is because certain types of advisers have to reveal their finances, do financial disclosures. And many have argued that that is significant in this context because if Elon Musk is going to be the one reshaping the federal government or making these decisions, people will want to know if he has a personal vested interest.

The White House has been pressed on this and suggested that he will police himself. That is, of course, not a satisfactory answer for most Americans.

KINKADE: Exactly. Paula Reid, staying across it all as always. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Well, still to come, South Korea's harsh online culture under scrutiny after the death of a young actress. Our guests will explain the dark side of fame after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Here are more international headlines we're watching today. After meeting in Saudi Arabia, U.S., and Russian officials have agreed to appoint high- level teams to negotiate the end of the war in Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also says Washington and Moscow are working to re-establish diplomatic channels. Ukraine was not invited to those talks in Riyadh.

Pope Francis is now being diagnosed with pneumonia. The Vatican gave an update on his health a short time ago. The 88-year-old pontiff continues to be treated for a respiratory infection. The Vatican is saying that his condition poses a, quote, "complex picture for treatment." The pope was initially admitted to hospital last week for bronchitis.

[18:30:00]

More than 900 former Justice Department prosecutors penned a letter in support of the federal prosecutors who faced pressure to drop the criminal case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. New York Governor Kathy Hochul met with several Democratic lawmakers to discuss whether to remove Adams.

Well, the sudden death of a South Korean actress is renewing concerns about mental health in the country's entertainment industry. The body of 24-year-old Kim Sae-ron was discovered at her home by a friend on Sunday. Kim began acting as a child and gained widespread recognition. But her career took a downturn after a drunk driving incident in 2022.

There have been calls for changes to the way the country's celebrities are treated since other recent deaths of South Korean stars. Lee Sun- kyun, known for his role in the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," died by suicide in 2023. And Goo Hara, a former member of the K-pop group KARA, died in 2019 at the age of 28. Her death was also ruled a suicide.

Joining us now is Jeff Benjamin, K-pop columnist at Billboard. Good to have you with us, Jeff. So, Kim Sae-ron, dead at just 24 years of age. She was, of course, a child star recently in a major Netflix show. But then, of course, suffered some pretty horrific backlash after that car crash she had after she was drink driving. For people who don't know her, how would you describe this young, rising actress in South Korea?

JEFF BENJAMIN, K-POP COLUMNIST, BILLBOARD: Yes, and we might think of her as one of our most beloved child stars, you know, no matter what country you're from. She was someone who began her career when she was young, went to some amazing events that we're seeing kind of here right now, including the Cannes Festival, and was able to kind of build her career through the public eye and, you know, basically grew up in front of the public in that way.

KINKADE: And of course, so often Korean actors and K-pop stars are considered idols. They are really held to quite high standards, right?

BENJAMIN: Yes, and that's the thing is that, you know, I focus a lot on K-pop musicians specifically, but that isn't really the term that's used in South Korea specifically. They're known as K-pop idols. This kind of word, right, brings up the idea that not only do you need to be fantastic in dancing and in singing, but you also kind of need to be those ideal citizen.

So, when someone like Kim Sae-ron, who might have kind of shattered that image, right, of being the ideal, perfect, you know, actress, singer, what have you, performer, I think the public backlash and sort of that whiplash that happens as a result is kind of shocking to the public.

KINKADE: But of course, across South Korea this an issue that affects people of all walks of life, right? Suicide rates are the highest amongst all OECD countries. And quite in a contrast to the global downward trends suicide rates have nearly doubled in South Korea in the last couple of decades. What is the nation doing to address it?

BENJAMIN: Yes, it's a high-pressure society, just in general. And I think when you have all those eyes on you, especially from being, you know, a child and growing up in the public eye, that's just got to add so much intensity, right?

What I think is promising is that the topics of mental health and psychology, whatever it might be, they are slowly but surely being discussed more in sort of larger public ways. It's not exactly as common. You know, it's still something we're working on here, even in America, right? It's a topic that needs to grow and needs to be worked on. But I have seen progress, at least especially on the musician side, where agencies and labels are giving more mental health resources, training their artists with classes in mental health.

So, progress is being made. And I hope, at the very least, maybe, with this specific case, the fact that, you know, her father spoke about the mental anguish she went through as a result of YouTube reporters and bullying online and rumors. I think all these things, hopefully, can open people's eyes to make a change for that future.

KINKADE: All right. Jeff Benjamin, we'll leave it there for now. Good to have you with us. K-pop columnist at Billboard. Thank you.

Well, still to come, Elon Musk says the new version of his A.I. chatbot Grok is ready to rock. He says it can outperform the competition, including ChatGPT. The latest on the race to build more powerful A.I. models, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00]

KINKADE: Welcome back. Elon Musk took time off from his work with the U.S. government Monday to announce the release of a new version of his Grok artificial intelligence chatbot. Musk says Grok-3 can, in some cases, outperform Chinese A.I. sensation DeepSeek and ChatGPT from OpenAI. It is Musk's latest bid to show off his prowess of his own A.I. company called xAI. CNN's Clare Duffy has more.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Lynda, remember that Grok is Elon Musk's so-called anti-woke answer to A.I. chatbots from rivals like OpenAI and Google. His startup, xAI, says this the most updated model. Grok-3 has more advanced reasoning and search capabilities. In this livestream event on Monday night, company leaders teased new Grok-3 features available to premium subscribers on X, like a big brain mode to reason through more complex problems and a forthcoming voice conversation feature. This, of course, all comes as tech giants are battling to stay ahead in the A.I. arms race.

xAI says Grok-3 outperformed some top competitors, including Google's Gemini and OpenAI's GPT 4o on math, coding, and science benchmarks. But those claims haven't been independently verified, and it's not clear how Grok-3 stacks up against top reasoning models like OpenAI's o3-mini and China's DeepSeek R1.

Musk also said that Grok-3 was built with 10 times the computing power of Grok-2, which I think really underscores that building out those massive data centers remains core to the growth strategy for most of these big A.I. players. Lynda.

KINKADE: Our thanks to Clare Duffy there. Well, Argentina's president, Javier Milei, is on his way to Washington this week for meetings with Elon Musk and other officials. It comes as he faces growing financial controversy back home. Mr. Milei is on the defensive after writing about a little-known meme coin on his X social media account.

The cryptocurrency immediately soared in value before crashing. And thousands of investors lost money. Well, the president is being accused of fraud and some are calling for his impeachment. He says he was not trying to promote the meme coin.

Well, our Correspondent Stefano Pozzebon is following the developments and joins us now live. Good to see you, Stefano. So, Milei has been accused of profiting from a scam and now there's obviously these calls for his impeachment from the opposition. Take us through it.

[18:40:00]

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, Lynda. Well, this scandal is wild. Let me just give you the facts, straight facts. On Friday night, the president of Argentina, who we know is an economist, very close to the world of cryptocurrencies, and very close to the MAGA movement around the world, tweet his support or tweeted the link to a newly launched meme coin that was being launched in Argentina just that day.

Just this tweet allowed that price to soar up to more than $4 per coin and then the price plummeted from $4 to 50 cents in a matter of a few hours. In the meantime, Milei deleted the tweet and said he had nothing to do with it.

In the meantime, also, more than 40,000 investors lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, into the scandal. And this why the opposition and the general public in Argentina and at least 100 suitors who have sued Milei personally believe that he was part of a scam.

This, however, is what Milei has to say when a journalist in Argentina asked him just last night what -- how he defended himself about the people who lost money. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAVIER MILEI, ARGENTINE PRESIDENT (through translator): If you go to a casino and you lose your money, what do you complain about? Those who traded here are experts. They know the risks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: Now, of course, Lynda, the president of a nation is not a croupier at a gambling table. And this why this scandal is so bizarre, because we are asking ourselves, did Milei know that the price of this meme coin was going to plummet? So, was he part of this scandal, or was he so naive and just threw his support behind an initiative that turned out not to be what he expected to do?

Of course, he's claiming ignorance, but maybe if you're the head of state claiming to be that ignorant does not play well either. And on top of all of these, well, he's going to Washington. He will be meeting Elon Musk on Thursday, Lynda. And then, over the weekend, he will participate at CPAC and perhaps even meet the president, Donald Trump.

KINKADE: And of course, he claims, right, Stefano, that Elon Musk is a fan of his. What sort of reception is he hoping to get when he comes to D.C.? POZZEBON: Well, up until -- Lynda, up until a couple of days ago, I would have told you that the reception would have been a red carpet for Milei. There is a very strong link between the Milei movement down in Argentina and the MAGA movement up in Washington, to the point that President Donald Trump tweeted or posted on Truth Social a sentence, you can probably see it on the screen, a sentence of Javier Milei with Javier Milei's photo on his personal social media account.

Now, it remains to be seen whether this scandal -- and this scandal also throws a little bit of shadow over the whole issue of cryptocurrencies. We know that cryptocurrency can be a great instrument to free up movement of currencies of values across the world, it's a great tool here in the Global South to allow people to open bank accounts and have savings if they can't have access to traditional banking. But at the same time, we know that it's dangerous. And when the president of a nation who has thrown his own weight behind cryptocurrency compares himself to the croupier of a casino, well, perhaps it's not the best image that the world of cryptocurrency would want one. And we know that Elon Musk is part of that world.

So, whether this scandal will have repercussions up in Mar-a-Lago or up in D.C. remains to be seen. But we know that the two movements are very closely linked. Lynda.

KINKADE: All right, Stefano Pozzebon, we will talk again soon, no doubt. Thanks so much for joining us.

POZZEBON: Sure.

KINKADE: Well, turning now to China, where business leaders are seeing a major show of support from their government after years of stifling regulation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted a gathering of top tech executives and entrepreneurs in Beijing on Monday. Analysts say China may want to rev up private sector innovation to stimulate growth. Steven Jiang has more from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: While there have been recent signs of the government trying to put on a more business friendly face by placing those top executives in the same room with the country's most powerful leader in decades, having this face-to-face conversation really sends the clearest message, not only to those tycoons, but also to the whole Communist Party power structure and by extension, the whole nation that the government now relies and values the private sector to drive innovation and growth after a year's long crackdown.

[18:45:00]

Now, of all the industry titans in attendance on Monday, one name perhaps most notable is Jack Ma, founder of tech giant Alibaba, because many still consider a speech -- a skating speech he delivered more than four years ago trigger this whole harsh crackdown on a private sector, wiping out billions and billions of dollars for multiple companies and market values, including his own personal fortune, because he criticized the country's financial regulators ahead of his company's highly anticipated IPO.

Now, if there's one thing that government here would never tolerate, that is open dissent and challenge to its monopoly on power. More than four years later, those concerns seem to have largely resolved. That's why the government seems ready to renew its public support for the private sector, especially at a time when the economy still faces strong headwinds, both domestically, but also externally with this new trade war looming with the U.S. under a second Trump presidency.

The continued U.S. export controls targeting China's tech sector also really instills this urgency here. All of that may explain the timing of this meeting on Monday. But at the end of the day, many analysts have also pointed out all these people present in that room on Monday have already gotten the message from the crackdown that no matter how rich and powerful you get in this country, only one man's words truly matter.

Stephen Jiang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, Japan's economy grew faster than expected in the fourth quarter. GDP expanded 2.8 percent year over year, blowing past an expected 1 percent rise. Tourism is playing a big part. Last year, Japan saw a record 36.8 million visitors. That's a 174 percent increase from just one decade earlier.

It's also leading to over tourism. Officials tried to combat the problem near Mount Fuji last year by erecting a view blocking barrier, charging a tourist tax, and capping the number of climates. Our Richard Quest hosted a panel in Tokyo earlier this week discussing how Japan is handling the influx.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOJI TAKAHASHI, EXECUTIVE SENIOR VP, JAPAN NATIONAL TOURISM ORG.: Many people concentrated on the big cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka. But at the same time, it made a problem of over tourism. And many people concentrate on the particular place and the particular time. So, a little bit friction between the travelers and local residents.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND CNN ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: But that is an example of success. That is the downside of being successful, isn't it? How do you cope with it?

TAKAHASHI: Yes. So, the -- some way we have -- the best way is encouraging the foreign tourists going to the rural areas, not only the big cities. And also, the economical optimization by introduction of the tax or entry fee or regulation.

MICHAEL DYKES, APAC MARKET MANAGEMENT VP, EXPEDIA GROUP: Well, let's be fair to Japan as well. It's not just a Japan problem. Over tourism is a global issue. I think 80 percent of travelers go to just 10 percent of tourist destinations. And so, one of the things that we've been doing, certainly in partnership with GNTO, of course, is marketing these alternative destinations for sure, but also, thinking about detour tourism.

So, if you have someone who's going to a specific destination, we may market to you to go to a similar but close by location. Example might be, let's go to Fukuoka if you're visiting Tokyo anyway, or if you're going to Phuket in Thailand, I would encourage you to go to Krabi as well.

We're seeing 60 percent of our travelers are quite interested in what we're calling detour tourism.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Our thanks to Richard Quest. Well, still ahead. Heartbreak for AC Milan as they crash out of the Champions League. That and much more from a busy night for European football.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:00]

KINKADE: Well joy and heartbreak in the Champions League Tuesday as some of Europe's biggest teams faced each other in the second leg of the knockout phase. For the first time in history, Bayern Munich took on Celtic at home in the knockout stages. Celtic were ahead for much of the game, but there was a late twist. We'll have more on that in just a moment.

Well elsewhere, bad news for AC Milan who are out of the competition after failing to win at home. Well, Patrick Snell has been following all the action. Good to see you, Patrick. So, Bayern leaving it late for their home fans.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes. Hi, Lynda. What a night of drama. These are the knockout stages to get to the round of the 16 of European Football's Premier Club competition. Allianz Arena, let's get straight there. Bayern and Celtic, the Scottish champions, meeting in Bavaria. FC Bayern two and up from the first leg after a goalless first half, though, this game really getting into life, and the home fans in shock.

Celtic, 1967 champions of Europe, some fans will remember, they're ahead after 63 minutes. It's not the best defending by Bayern, but it's a wonderful finish on Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn there, as the young German keeps his cool in his homeland. Slots it in.

Two all now over the two legs and game on. But the Scottish champions holding firm, Lynda. Look at this. Fourth minute of stoppage time. Leon Goretzka with the header there. It's initially well saved by Kasper Schmeichel, but he can't keep it out, and it goes to Alphonso Davies, and the young Canadian makes no mistake. Heartbreak, and I mean heartbreaks, Lynda, for Celtic. Bayern win it 3-2 over the two legs. They'll meet Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid next, Lynda.

KINKADE: And of course, Patrick, bad news for AC Milan, now eliminated.

SNELL: Yes, seven-time winners Milan revered story champions of Europe over the years. They were hoping to turn around a 1-nil deficit against the Dutch club side Feyenoord. A dream start for the Rossoneri in this one, levelling the tie in the first minute.

Former Feyenoord striker Santiago Jimenez heading in from close range. The Mexican international now just the second player in history to score both for and against the same team in the same edition of the Champions League Milan.

This was crucial, Lynda, because Milan down to 10 men early in the first half when the French left back Theo Hernandez gets a second yellow after he goes down too easily, in the opinion of the officials. Big momentum switch. Feyenoord getting a leveler here on 73. It's the sub, Julian Carranza, powering home the head a vital goal because Feyenoord hang on for the 2-1 aggregate victory. They advance to the round of 16. Milan left utterly crestfallen, they're out of the tournament.

Let's look ahead at Wednesday fixtures and we can see that it is still all to play for there. The big one there is Real Madrid taking on Man City. Real Madrid have a 3-2 first leg advantage. Let's hear now from Man City star Bernardo Silva.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERNARDO SILVA, MANCHESTER CITY MIDFIELDER: I don't think my teammates need a lot of motivation to play this competition, to play against this opponent. It's going to be such a special game. But in terms of what this represents to U.S. after so many bad results in the Premier League, obviously, still having the opportunity to stay in this competition and knowing that we're not going to win the other most important competition of the season, which is the Premier League, it's always a big motivation for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: All right. Still to play for. Effectively, only half time, Lynda. And given the new look format and the excitement we should prepare to expect the unexpected. Back to you.

KINKADE: Oh, that's what we love. Patrick Snell, good to have you with us. Thank you.

Well, finally the tourist campaign creating A lot of buzz for all the wrong reasons. The New Zealand Tourism Board is hoping to entice visitors with the rather bizarre new slogan of everyone must go. While it presumably means that New Zealand is a must-go destination, the wording is being ridiculed for sounding like a clearance sale.

[18:55:00]

And some on social media have drawn even more of an unfortunate comparison. They're suggesting the phrase, everyone must go, makes it sound like people suddenly need the bathroom while visiting New Zealand's tourist hotspots.

Well, the unintentional humor of the campaign is being likened to the classic sitcom, "Flight of the Conchords." If you watched the show, you'll remember one character worked for the New Zealand consulate and helped create promotional ads like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Murray?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted you to look at the subway poster.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, wow, Greg. What about another exclamation mark?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think that's necessary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not necessary? No. Good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, if you're curious, the everyone must go campaign cost more than $280,000. But then again, with all the buzz, maybe there is no such thing as bad publicity. And if you've been to New Zealand, you'll want to go back. It is a beautiful country.

Well, that does it for this edition of CNN Newsroom. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Thanks so much for your company. Stay with CNN. Much more news in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:00:00]