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CNN International: Sources: Putin is Not Seriously Prepared To Engage In Peace Talks; No Joint News Conference With Zelenskyy, Trump's Envoy; Trump Escalates His Criticism Of Zelenskyy. Aired 11a- 12p ET
Aired February 20, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
And ahead on CNN Newsroom, Donald Trump's envoy to Ukraine is meeting with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv. All of this after President Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator. We'll take a look at the unraveling U.S. relationship with an ally at war. Plus, the country in mourning as the bodies of four hostages are returned to Israel. We'll have the latest from Jerusalem. And a brand new CNN poll shows President Trump's approval rating slipping in the weeks since he took office, and a big part of it is the economy.
Well, this morning, all eyes are on Kyiv where Donald Trump's Special Envoy, Keith Kellogg, is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, although an aide to Zelenskyy says that there will be no joint press conference. Kellogg has already met this week with Ukraine's top army commander, heads of intelligence, and special services. But, this visit comes at a difficult time diplomatically for the U.S. and Ukraine. President Zelenskyy accused his U.S. counterpart of repeating Russian disinformation. In response, Trump escalated his criticism of Zelenskyy on Wednesday, doubling down on his claim that Zelenskyy is a, quote, "dictator without elections."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A modestly successful comedian, President Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 billion to go into a war that basically couldn't be won. The only thing he was really good at was playing Joe Biden like a fiddle. He played him like a fiddle. A dictator without elections, Zelenskyy better move faster, or he is not going to have a country left. He got to move. He got to move fast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Now, President Trump says that he is going to resurrect a rare earth mineral deal with Ukraine, or else things are not going to make Zelenskyy, quote, "too happy". Now, in reaction to this public feud, one of Vladimir Putin's close allies posted the following on X, "If you'd told me three months ago that these were the words of the U.S. President, I would have laughed out loud." Meantime, Russia has launched a missile attack on a critical infrastructure in Kharkiv and a drone barrage across Ukraine, including Odessa, for now the second day in a row.
And this just into CNN. U.S. intelligence believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not prepared to seriously engage with peace talks with Ukraine. This is according to three sources familiar with U.S. and Western intelligence.
Let's get to CNN's Natasha Bertrand with her brand new reporting. Natasha, what have you heard? What are you learning?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rahel. Well, essentially we're told by U.S. and Western officials familiar with the latest U.S. intelligence assessments on this issue that Vladimir Putin has not changed his assessment of the conflict in recent weeks, months, years, essentially. He has not changed his demands from that maximalist set of demands that he wanted from the very beginning, which is that he wants to subsume Ukraine into Russia.
He is obsessed with Ukraine, in the words of one official familiar with the intelligence, and that has not changed despite President Trump's insistence that in his conversations with Putin and his team's conversations with Russian officials, the Russian President appears that he -- appears poised to stop and appears ready to sit down at the negotiating table. According to the latest U.S. intel assessments, that is not the case.
Vladimir Putin, as well as Western officials, believe that Russia can actually sustain the war for at least the next year. That is despite all of the U.S. and Western sanctions that have been imposed on Russia's economy. Yes, it is definitely giving a hit to the Russian economy. They have had to shift their entire economy to a wartime footing here, but still, they are able to maintain this conflict for quite some time now, and that is despite, of course, these efforts that we are seeing by the U.S. President, by the Trump administration, to get Vladimir Putin to the table. He may be willing to sit down and start talks with the Ukrainians, but at this point, it does not appear that he is willing to actually substantively budge from any of those initial demands that he has sought out for the last over three years now, Rahel.
SOLOMON: All right. Natasha Bertrand with this new reporting. Natasha, thank you.
Let's continue this discussion with our Chief International Security Correspondent, that's Nick Paton Walsh, who joins us now live in Kyiv.
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Nick, talk to us a little bit more about what you're hearing about this meeting between Kellogg and Zelenskyy, and whether there will be more talks, more meetings scheduled. NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Look, it's very little we frankly know about what has been said between the two men. Those talks have been underway. It's unclear when they will come to an end. And what is clear, though, is while there have been some expectation amongst journalists that there might be press availability between the two men in public speaking together, maybe, we were told by an aide to the Ukrainian President that there wouldn't be a press conference after this particular meeting at the request of the American side. Maybe both men speak separately later, but it is perhaps a reflection of the growing tension between Washington and Kyiv in the last 48 hours.
General Keith Kellogg came here yesterday morning. It feels, frankly, like an age ago, stepping calmly off a train, talking about how he was here to listen. He wanted to hear about security guarantees, and in that period of time, has seen President Zelenskyy respond to Trump's comments about Ukraine starting the war, suggesting that Trump lived in a different disinformation circle, and now we've had Trump call Zelenskyy a dictator, who is refusing elections and suggesting that so much of the money given to Ukraine has gone missing. Essentially, he is suggesting being pilfered somehow.
We're into a really dark time here between Washington and Kyiv, and while I think Kellogg had been sent here to try and get the peace process back on track, that is sort of weird, very much towards rehabilitating the U.S.-Russia relationship in Saudi Arabia. We are instead seeing that spat between Zelenskyy and Trump. I should point out, Zelenskyy, when he did call Trump's different information out, he said he had great respect for Trump and the American people, but that clearly angered Trump.
And we've heard again overnight on Air Force One Trump talking falsely again about how when he sent his U.S. Secretary of the Treasury here to get a rare earth mineral and resource deal signed by Zelenskyy, one which we have learned was basically two or three pages of legal ease and then a list of assets the U.S. wanted control over, and would only forgive past debt, in the eyes of the Trump administration, paid America back for the Biden administration had given Ukraine. That wasn't signed. Trump on Air Force One said that Zelenskyy didn't even meet Bessent and that Zelenskyy was sleeping.
Now, that is completely untrue. There was a press conference between the two men, I'm sure, while Bessent was here, the U.S. Treasury Secretary. Zelenskyy may at some point have gone to sleep. But, it's very disconcerting for many Ukrainians to hear frankly the litany of falsehoods we've heard about their President -- in the past 72 hours from the U.S. President. And that's calling into question, certainly the U.S.-Ukraine alliance, and causing many here in Kyiv and across Ukraine to be deeply concerned about their backing from the United States and their potential here on the battlefield.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And it was about 24 hours exactly that we heard those comments or saw the comment from the President calling Zelenskyy a dictator, which even in the midst of the last 48 hours or 72 hours was a sort of ratcheting up of the tensions that we've seen really spill out. Nick Paton Walsh live for us there in Kyiv. Nick, thank you.
I want to continue the conversation now to discuss the strained relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine. With me now is former Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary, Sabrina Singh. Sabrina, great to have you. As I was just talking to Nick there, the last 48 hours have been remarkable, from the very public war of words between Trump and Zelenskyy to some of the requests, some of the concessions that it appears that the administration may now be suggesting from Ukraine. From your point of view, where is this heading? Where do you see this going?
SABRINA SINGH, FORMER DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Well, I think it's shocking that we're seeing these words uttered by a U.S. President, referring to the fair and freely elected leader of Ukraine as a dictator. I mean, where does it go? It's hard to say. I mean, I think everything coming out of this administration, you have to tangle through and parse through these words. But, I think what's also important is this is the President of the United States. So, we have to take him seriously. What I would hope is, you do have European allies coming to visit Washington, D.C. next week. Hopefully there can be an engagement there with the White House from these allies that assures folks within the Trump team that it is really important to stand with Ukraine in this -- during this time.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And what can European leaders say? What can allies say? I think your dog also wants to know the answer to this question. But, what can they say when they are here to try to be persuasive with Trump, if at all?
SINGH: Yeah. I deeply apologize about that. I didn't think you'd be able to hear. Look, I think what European allies are going to come to the table with when it comes to Donald Trump is, look, it is in our interest. It is in the European interest and the United States interest to support Ukraine during this time and continuing to support them with military support, because they have been able to use that military support so effectively on the battlefield.
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I mean, even though Donald Trump, in a tweet that was falsely -- had so many false accusations in it, saying that Ukraine has lost this war, I mean, let's be very clear. Vladimir Putin has failed to achieve any of his strategic objectives that he set out from the very beginning, including to take Kyiv. I mean, you've seen Ukraine over these past three years continue to push Russian forces back and really hold them to the Donbas in that eastern part of Ukraine. Now, of course, Russia still occupies 20 percent of Ukraine, and they've been able to do so with the support of North Korean troops and support from Iran.
But, it's really important that as these European allies come to the United States and engage with the Trump team next week, that you hear these arguments made about why it's so important to support Ukraine, because, frankly, it's just more cost effective to do so than having European and American forces on the battlefield with Ukraine. SOLOMON: Yeah. Let me play for you some of the GOP response that we
have seen with the caveat that the response, broadly speaking, has been pretty muted to Trump's comments towards Zelenskyy. Let's take a look at some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): I would certainly never refer to President Zelenskyy as a dictator. It is quite clear who started the war. It was absolutely Russia at Putin's directive.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I didn't hear that. I'll let other people use their words. It's not a word I would've have used.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you call Ukrainian President Zelenskyy a dictator, as President Trump has?
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): Well, I -- like I said, the President speaks for himself.
REP. DON BACON (R-NE): Well, the President needs a do over day and start again. He took a bad turn. I think what he said is wrong, and it's a shame. I think many Republicans, I'm not saying all, but many Republicans know what the President said today was wrong. I would ask that our President stand on the side of freedom, the side of democracy, the side of the victim, not the invader, and stick up for what's right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Sabrina, how likely is it that the descent that we have seen grows into something more significant, or is Trump really the only one that really affects how this war ends and this political space?
SINGH: Trump is not the only person that affects how this war ends. I think we have to remember that Ukraine absolutely needs to and must have a seat at the table, and it's ultimately Ukraine who decides how this war ends. I mean, of course, Putin has a role in that as well. I mean, if we all really want peace here, and the Trump administration has said that they want to end this war, and they said that they want to do it on day one, I mean, Donald Trump could very forcefully have a conversation about having Russia withdraw its troops from Ukraine. That obviously is not going to happen.
But, I think you're seeing in Congress these bipartisan calls for -- expressing concern over Donald Trump's characterization that, one, that Ukraine started this war, or that they're to blame for it, and two, referring to the Ukrainian President as a dictator. I was certainly heartened to see that we had Republicans come out and say, there is no question who started this war and who is to blame.
I think -- I hope that drum beat continues in Congress, because it is really important to remember that there is bipartisan support for Ukraine in both chambers of Congress. And in fact, Congress allocated millions and millions of dollars to support Ukraine through military assistance, and that is ultimately the more cost-effective option for the United States in ensuring Ukraine can continue to fight Russia in this war without drawing the United States into the war itself.
SOLOMON: But, Sabrina, it's interesting because we have seen some within the administration essentially point the finger at Zelenskyy, saying this is the worst way to try to get Trump to your side by making these really sharp, critical comments about him publicly. But, is there -- I mean, is there another approach? Is there a better approach for Zelenskyy?
SINGH: Look, I think it's really hard when like Ukraine is seeing the United States negotiate with Russia and Ukraine is not even at the table. So, there is certainly ways to placate this administration. I think playing to Donald Trump being a strong man here can help. But, ultimately, I mean, we're talking about the President of the United States calling a fair and free elected leader a dictator. I mean, there has to be some response to that from the country itself, but also from European allies and partners.
So, look, it's going to be really hard, but I'm certainly interested to see what happens when these European allies come next week and engage with this White House and make the case for why there needs to be support for Ukraine.
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SOLOMON: Yeah. Stay tuned. Certainly a lot to watch. Sabrina Singh, appreciate your insights today. Thank you.
SINGH: Of course, thank you.
SOLOMON: It's been one month since President Trump was sworn into office, and a new CNN poll suggests that more than half of Americans believe that President Trump has gone too far in his use of presidential power. The same poll shows that President Trump's approval rating is at about 47 percent. That is higher than at any point during his first term and office.
Let's discuss all of these findings with CNN's Political Director and Washington Bureau Chief, David Chalian. David, always great to see you. So, what are your thoughts? What do you --
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Nice to see you.
SOLOMON: Yeah. What do you make of this 47 percent job approval?
CHALIAN: Well, as you said, it is the best approval number we have seen for Donald Trump in any of our polling with him as President in his first term. That being said, it's a lower number than any modern day predecessor of his, other than himself eight years ago, have at the start of their presidential term here. And you could see there, 47 percent approve, 52 percent disapprove. He is upside down. He is under water. Nobody wants to be that way with more people disapproving than approving.
So, the political gravity that exists is starting to apply itself to Donald Trump, even after a short bit of a honeymoon coming in. And if you look at it, Rahel, broken down by party, I mean, it will not surprise you that Republicans are overwhelmingly with him. 88 percent approve of the job he is doing. Democrats overwhelmingly opposed, only 11 percent. But, look at that middle number, independents, so crucial, the middle of the electorate. He is at 43 percent approval with independents, all which is to suggest pessimism is creeping in. People are not feeling that he is delivering on sort of promise number one about prices, and there are some warning signs here for the Trump administration in these early days.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And then speaking of prices and speaking about some of the key issues on the campaign trail, what did the polls show as far as how people are feeling about Trump and their main issues and their key issues?
CHALIAN: Yeah. I think the number in this poll that will give the most sort of heartache inside the Trump White House is this one, 62 percent. That's more than six in 10 Americans in our poll say that Donald Trump has not gone far enough trying to reduce prices of goods. I mean, this is -- inflation was the thing last year. The economy is issue number one on Americans' minds, and more than six in 10 Americans, and that includes a swath of Republicans too, you don't get that big of a number without that, saying, not gone far enough. Only 11 percent of Americans say he has gone too far in trying to lower prices.
And we've talked a lot about the use of presidential power and how he is trying to expand that. 52 percent, a slim majority say Donald Trump has gone too far when it comes to using presidential power out of the gate here. He has a little bit more support among Republicans here of what he is doing. But broadly, with the American people, he is not on the plus side. He has majorities concerned here about what he is doing, as it regards to presidential power.
SOLOMON: Yeah. It's so interesting, David, the findings, because in a time when there are so many pressing concerns, really interesting to see that from many people. The most pressing concern is prices. The most pressing concern is their pocketbook.
David Chalian, great to have you today. Thank you.
CHALIAN: Thank you.
SOLOMON: All right. Now let's turn to Capitol Hill, where we are expecting the Senate to vote soon to break a Democratic-led filibuster on Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director. Now, if that vote is successful, we could see a confirmation vote within hours. Kash Patel's appointment is highly controversial. He has accused the FBI and intelligence agencies of a, quote, "deep state" plot targeting President Trump and his allies, and published a list of people marked for retribution. Patel has also praised the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
Happening this hour in Washington, a court hearing to consider indefinitely blocking the Trump administration from freezing federal loans and grants. Last month, the judge partially halted the administration's action to freeze those grants hours before it took effect, but it still has left many nonprofit organizations and government agencies in a state of limbo or uncertainty. A slew of advocacy groups and others warn that the freeze could upend American lives on an unprecedented scale.
And still to come for us, a convoy carrying the pain of a nation for the first time since the October 7th attacks, Hamas has returned deceased hostages to Israel. The Pope is showing slight improvements, as he recovers from double pneumonia in the hospital in Rome. We'll have a full update on his condition straight ahead.
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SOLOMON: Holding flags and hugging their loved ones, Israelis gathered in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv today for a somber homecoming. Hamas handed over the bodies of four deceased hostages who had been kidnapped on October 7th. It says that the two youngest hostages are among them, young brothers from the Bibas family. Their mother is also said to be among those returned today. We have also just learned that the family of one of the oldest hostages, Oded Lifshitz, now confirms that his remains were returned today as well.
And the Bibas brothers have become symbols of the cruelty of the Hamas attacks and the suffering of a nation during this ongoing hostage crisis. The Israelis had been holding out hope that they might still be alive.
Our Nic Robertson has more now from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): In a convoy freighted with the pain of a nation, the bodies Hamas says are the youngest October 7th hostage victims and their mother on their final journey home, and in the fourth Red Cross vehicle, what Hamas says are the remains of one of the oldest October 7th victims, Oded Lifshitz.
The early morning handover beginning against the backdrop of Hamas propaganda turning dignified with a short service as the four caskets handed over to the IDF, a moment of closure beginning for the families and a nation hostage to the fate of the Bibas's (ph). Shiri Bibas's fear, clutching nine-month-old Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, etched in Israel's collective memory, the young family from Nir Oz became icons for hope over despair. Israel is riding an emotional roller coaster over their fate.
Worryingly, Shiri, Kfir and Ariel not released with 105 other hostages freed during the first pause in fighting, November 2023. Shiri's husband, Yarden's fate was also unknown. He too disappeared October 7th, believed taken to Gaza. The first news of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel coming late 2023 when Hamas claimed they were killed in an Israeli airstrike, releasing a propaganda video, exploiting emotional sensitivities of Yarden blaming the Israeli government for their deaths. The IDF called it psychological terror.
Months later, this security camera video captured by the IDF, appearing to show Shiri soon after her abduction, but until this day, the IDF unable to confirm the fate of the family, cautioning against Hamas statements.
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When Yarden was finally freed by Hamas three weeks ago, everyone in Israel understood the heartbreaking news awaiting him, his father and sister consoling him against the near certainty of his loss.
Along the convoy route Thursday, flag-waving Israelis paid their respects. Hostage Square somber, not celebratory, as with previous releases, white vans carrying the four on the last leg of their journey to a forensic institute for final identification. The country, Bibas's and the Lifshitz's fears closer to realization.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Some positive news from the Vatican. It says that Pope Francis, who has been diagnosed with double pneumonia, is showing a slight improvement. The 88-year-old Pope was hospitalized nearly a week ago after a string of lung-related illnesses. On Wednesday, he got a visit from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who says she found him alert and jovial.
Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb joins us now from Rome. Christopher, what more are you learning about the Pope's condition?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, the Vatican said that the Pope had a peaceful night last night, and he got out of bed, had breakfast in his chair, which is significant, because before now, we haven't been told where he has been having breakfast. We assumed he has been bedridden, and we heard that he met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, behind me here at the Gemelli hospital where the Pope is receiving his treatment. The Prime Minister saying that he was alert and reactive and that he was in good humor.
But clearly, it's a complex situation for Francis. He has pneumonia in both lungs. He is 88-years-old, and he has a history of respiratory infections. It is not known how long he is going to be in hospital or what the recovery period afterwards might look like, and inevitably, people in the Vatican are asking questions about the future. Now, Francis is a determined individual. He has always said that resignation is not on his agenda. However, he has never ruled it out either. And Pope Benedict XVI in 2013 resigned, the first Pope in 600 years to do so, and he opened the door to that possibility.
So, there are some big questions about the future, particularly given that the Catholic Church is in the middle of a jubilee year, a special year that happens every 25 years, and there are lots of events planned where Pope Francis is the centerpiece of them. So, that's also fueling the questions that are being asked. But, we are expecting a further update from the Vatican later today, and we will know more, because so much depends on the Pope's prognosis. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Certainly millions of people hoping to see him there.
Christopher Lamb reporting live for us there in Rome. Christopher, thank you.
Coming up, Donald Trump's envoy from -- for Russia and Ukraine is meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. We'll dive into this week's heightened intentions between the U.S. and Ukraine straight ahead. Plus, candidates make their final arguments before German voters go to the polls at the weekend. We'll be back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. And here are some of the headlines we're watching for you today.
Spain's former soccer boss has been found guilty of sexually assaulting the player Jennifer Hermoso when he kissed her on the lips without her consent after the 2023 Women's World Cup final. Spain's High Court fined Luis Rubiales more than $11,000 and banned him from communicating and physically approaching the player. Rubiales and three others were acquitted on charges of attempting to coerce her into saying that she consented to the kiss.
The bodies of four Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during its October 7th attacks have been handed back. Among the deceased are believed to be the two youngest and most recognizable hostages, the young brothers Ariel and Kfir Bibas, as well as their mother. The fourth body is that of 83-year-old Oded Lifshitz. That's according to a statement from his family.
Two women have been killed in a knife attack at a shopping center. This happened in the Czech Republic. Police detained a 16-year-old male Czech citizen. Authorities say that the motive for the attack isn't clear, but they do not believe that it is terror-related.
And Donald Trump's Special Envoy Keith Kellogg is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today. An aide to Mr. Trump says that there will be no joint news conference. It's been a tense week between the U.S. and Ukraine, after President Zelenskyy said that his U.S. counterpart was repeating Russian disinformation. Response, President Trump escalated his criticism of Mr. Zelenskyy, calling him a dictator.
All right. Let's get more now from Alayna Treene, live for us at the White House. Alayna, what more Trump officials hoping to come out of this meeting today between President Trump's Ukraine envoy and Zelenskyy? What's the goal here?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, there is a few things. One that's interesting, though, is I actually had the opportunity to catch up with Donald Trump's National Security Advisor Michael Waltz this morning, and I asked him, especially after the last 48 hours and seeing President Donald Trump heavily criticized Zelenskyy, I said, what is really the message that General Keith Kellogg needs to deliver to the Ukrainian President today? I want you to take a listen to what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: What do you think --
MICHAEL WALTZ, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Can I see you at 1?
TREENE: Yes. I mean, what do you think is the main message Kellogg needs to deliver to Zelenskyy today after all of the back and forth yesterday?
WALTZ: Let's tone down the rhetoric and sign the economic opportunity, sign the deal.
TREENE: Is that Kellogg's directive today is to get him to sign the deal?
WALTZ: Well, he is out there talking to about a number of things, but that would be -- I think that would be a tremendous step forward.
TREENE: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: So, a few things here, Rahel. First, at the top of that, he was telling me that he is actually going to be joining the White House press briefing at 01:00 p.m. today. So, we could hear more about some of this from Waltz. But look, he also was saying that he thinks Kellogg needs to tell Zelenskyy to tamp down the rhetoric. He is referring to some of the criticism we've seen Zelenskyy lob at the President Donald Trump, arguing that he lives in a disinformation space, other comments like that. But, he also said that Kellogg needs to try and convince him to sign a rare earth minerals deal. That's what he was referring to when he said, to sign the deal.
So, it's essentially something we know that the President and others in his administration are trying to get Ukraine to get on board with. We heard more about this deal yesterday, actually, from Zelenskyy himself. He said that what the U.S. contract is asking for is about 50 percent of revenue from Ukraine's rare earth minerals, something that the Ukrainian President said he rejected, arguing it's too much, and it's not in Ukraine's interest, but that he is interested in continuing to discuss this proposal further.
Just to give you some sense of that, though. We did -- we've heard the President talk about this deal as well. It all comes back to what we've heard him say repeatedly, even before he was elected, is that, this question, the skepticism that Donald Trump and many other conservatives have, which is, is the United States spending too much on the war in Ukraine? Are they sending too much funding? That's where a lot of this stems from, and wanting to get some sort of deal with Ukraine so that we feel like -- or the United States feels like, out of Donald Trump's view, that they're getting something in return. So, maybe more on that as well.
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But generally, I do think a big goal of Kellogg's today with Zelenskyy is to cut through a lot of the noise, cut through all of the criticisms and tauntings that we've seen exchange over the past several days, and figure out how to move these talks further, because, sure, the United States delegation met with Russia, but Ukraine, of course, is such a key part of these negotiations. It's very unclear right now how some of the messaging and criticism we've heard from Donald Trump in recent days could impact that.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And to that point, Alayna, talk to us about some of the response and the reaction that we've seen to the back and forth that we've all watched in very public fashion between the two leaders.
TREENE: I mean, it is pretty stunning remarks that we've heard the President make and make repeatedly, first yesterday when we saw him label Zelenskyy as a dictator on social media, and then in continuing that language when he spoke at a conference yesterday in Miami, comments that have prompted, I should say, ire and criticism from both sides of the aisle. If you look at Capitol Hill, for example, you see someone like Lindsey Graham, one of Donald Trump's close allies, saying that this is not the right language to be using when it comes to Zelenskyy.
But look, when my conversations with Trump advisors, White House officials, etc., they all told me that this had been building for a few days. Many people were not surprised that they ended up seeing the President issue some sort of attack on Zelenskyy. Part of that is because Donald Trump's orbit has been very closely monitoring some of what Zelenskyy has been saying, like I said, some of that criticism of Donald Trump, but also criticism for not having a seat at the table when the United States and Russia leaders met in Riyadh to begin some of these talks.
And I'm told also that Donald Trump felt he wanted to respond directly. That's why you saw him issue that tweet and continue with his attacks throughout the day. Again, though, I think a key question is, where does this move forward? We've already seen Russia say they agree with a lot of what U.S. leaders and what Donald Trump has been saying. So, unclear now where this is going to go. Of course, the big goal here at the end of this is to see some sort of off-ramp to the war. But, as we've heard, many people involved in these negotiations, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, say, there is going to need to be buy-in from all different parties, from Zelenskyy as well from European leaders. And so, all of this still kind of in flux as these negotiations continue, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And top of this, new reporting from Natasha Bertrand, that at least according to U.S. intelligence sources that she spoke to and Katie Bo Lillis, that Putin may not have changed his ambitions and may not be seriously seeking a peace agreement, according to that reporting,
Alayna Treene at the White House. Alayna, thank you.
And as voters head to the polls in Germany this weekend, a party of the far right has been gaining some international backing, notably from Elon Musk, the world's richest man.
And as CNN's Sebastian Shukla reports, the AfD is also garnering support from a growing number of young Germans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Suhl is a sleepy town in former East Germany, but over the last few years, it has seen a major political awakening with the far right, the Alternative for Germany, the AfD. This region, Thuringia, is AfD heartland. In fact, it became the first regional state to elect a far-right party since the Nazi era. So, we've come to hear from the most controversial figure in the region, Bjorn Hocke, and who might be listening to him.
The AfD in Thuringia is designated an extremist organization by German intelligence authorities. Hocke, as its head, has previously been convicted for the use of banned Nazi slogans. Nevertheless, he is feeted in these parts, in particular among young people. A question I put to him.
SHUKLA: There is rising popularity among young voters for the AfD. Are you a good role model?
BJORN HOCKE, AFD FACTION LEADER, THURINGIA, GERMANY (Interpreted): I hope that my performance is lively and that the youth can also identify with me. And if they can do that and see a bit of a pop star in me, then that's fine, because the youth also need idols like that.
SHUKLA (voice-over): Support from the youth for the AfD is growing quickly. In European elections last summer, votes from 16 to 34-year- olds increased 18 percent from 2019. Young people we spoke to at the rally didn't hide their backgrounds either. Dante Reidel, a 26-year- old student, told me he is also designated an extremist and had clear ideological views.
DANTE REIDEL, STUDENT, AFD SUPPORTER: Persian virtues, things like diligence, discipline, etc., these are the things that are important, including the cardinal virtues from antiquity.
SHUKLA (voice-over): Eric Engelhardt spent his evening photographing Hocke, and as the regional head of the Young Alternatives, the AfD's youth wing, he is another party and Hocke disciple. We met up with Eric and his friend Max the next day in picturesque Sonnenberg (ph). I asked Eric about Hocke's pop star comments.
ERIC ENGELHARDT, YOUNG ALTERNATIVES LEADER, THURINGIA, GERMANY (Interpreted): I see him as a politician who can achieve a lot for his country. He stands for something. He stands for his cause.
SHUKLA (voice-over): The Young Alternatives are also designated extremists by the domestic intelligence services, something that Eric says is a political conspiracy.
[11:40:00]
ENGELHARDT (Interpreted): Our Secret Service is controlled by politicians. It is an authority that is bound by instructions, and ultimately it does what is said from above. We ourselves are not extremists. There are no extremists in the Young Alternatives.
SHUKLA (voice-over): The association was recently forced to disband effective 31st of March, but the mission isn't changing.
ENGELHARDT (Interpreted): Migration is the mother of all crisis. We have a lot of illegal immigrants in this country who are also on welfare, who are not behaving in this country. Many young people are on the side of the AfD and naturally won't change.
SHUKLA (voice-over): Eric says the youth won't be deterred. They will be back more formally aligned with the AfD and under a different name, but with the same vision for Germany's future,
Sebastian Shukla, CNN, Thuringia, Germany.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: And we'll have a two-hour special on the German election on Sunday. That's at 12:00 p.m. Eastern, 05:00 pm in London, and 06:00 p.m. in Germany, right here on CNN.
Still ahead for us, Elon Musk may soon be jumping on X to post his latest news how his huge investment in social media has begun making a profit. And Trump's defense secretary is ordering military leaders to come up with a plan for major budget cuts, and sources say that he could also fire the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We have a live report from the Pentagon straight ahead.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. The world's richest man may be about to pull off an unlikely to some, recovery, salvaging his investment in Twitter, now known as X. It cost Elon Musk $44 billion in 2022, a price that back then a lot of people saw as very high. Well, he immediately turned the company upside down and a transformation that scared off major advertisers and hurt revenue. Well, two and a half years later, it looks like X could, once again, be worth just about what he paid for, $44 billion.
Let's go to London and our Anna Stewart. Anna, what more you learning about this? How do you do it?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is quite the turnaround, isn't it? And right now, X is believed to be doing a fundraising round, which is how we have this new valuation figure of $44 billion. As you say, advertisers left a sort of mass exodus, really, after Elon Musk bought what was then Twitter in October 2022. They didn't want to be on a platform that had increasing levels of hate speech and controversial posts. And as a result, we saw the valuation of what became X really plummet.
And I can show you this timeline. You can see, in October, it was valued at $9.4 billion, a fifth of what Elon Musk had bought it for. Then it starts to creep up in December, and now we see this huge surge to $44 billion. So, we've got a question. What's changed since then? Well, of course, the President has changed, and of course, so has his right hand man.
[11:45:00]
And some would say that perhaps advertisers are coming back to curry favor with the new administration, but also the platform itself is now being used by the President, by Elon Musk, by DOGE, to actually give us direct and immediate news and updates with what's going on with the U.S. government. So, in many ways, the platform has become legitimized through this transition. Also, X is believed to have a big stake in xAI, which is another one of Elon Musk's company. This week, of course, it launched Grok 3, which they claim to be the most advanced AI platform in the world right now. And that valuation has also increased, I think, to $75 billion in the latest fundraising.
So, I have to say, right now, it does feel like there is a Musk Midas touch going on, Rahel.
SOLOMON: He would certainly like to think so. Anna, talk to us about how much, and put a fine point on it, how much this has to do with the actual fundamentals of the business. You just spoke about advertising. Make that more clear for us.
STEWART: Well, I'd love to make it much clearer. But, of course, given this is a private company, it's really hard to get into the fundamentals. How much revenue is now being generated through advertising? What we do know is, of course, Elon Musk has cut costs massively at this company. He cut 80 percent of the workforce. And you got a question, perhaps, what the active users are right now?
Now, I do have a number, I believe, from summer last year. X claimed it had around 570 million monthly active users. They said at that time that was a six percent increase from the year before. But, of course, it's a very difficult metric to measure, and many will question it, how many bots were there, etc., etc., but hard to know the fundamentals. But, it does appear that advertisers are coming back and users are quite strong right now.
SOLOMON: OK. Anna Stewart live for us there in London. Anna, thank you.
His military leaders have until Monday to submit plans to make massive cuts to the defense budget over the next five years, with an exception for border security. CNN obtained a memo by Secretary Pete Hegseth set dated Tuesday, and in this memo, he is calling for military leaders to submit a proposal for eight percent cuts to the Pentagon's budget every year for the next five years. That budget is about $850 billion. Now, just last week, Hegseth claimed that the Biden administration wasn't spending enough on defense.
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PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, I think the U.S. needs to spend more than the Biden administration was willing to, who historically underinvested in the capabilities of our military. Listen, any defense secretary would be lying if they said they didn't want more. You always want more, but we live in fiscally constrained times where we need to be responsible with taxpayer dollars. We're $37 trillion in debt. That's a national security liability as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: All right. Let's bring in Oren Liebermann, who joins us live from the Pentagon. Oren, great to have you. What more can you tell us about these budget cuts? What are you hearing?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the memo coming out just this week, calling for a plan for right percent budget cuts, not quite across the department, but essentially across many of the key areas, savings that the Pentagon claims and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claims will lead to up to $50 billion in the first year alone. Of course, it's not just that. These are to go every year for five years. So, continued cuts to the military. It's not just border security that's expected to be exempt from the cuts. The new Virginia- class attack submarines, fast attack subs, those are exempt from these cuts, the audit, which is something Hegseth has harped on quite a bit, that's exempt as well, and a number of his other top priorities.
But still, this is a massive proposal to cut the defense budget, and as you pointed out, it is part of some very mixed messaging. It's not just that Hegseth called for an increase in the budget. Last week, President Donald Trump himself endorsed the House plan for his agenda, and that included $100 billion increase to the defense budget. So, very much proposals, ideas, calls for legislation that are at odds with each other. It's also worth noting, of course, that it is Congress that sets Pentagon budget spending.
SOLOMON: And Oren, sources are also saying that Hegseth could fire some very senior general, some very public-facing admirals. What are you learning?
LIEBERMANN: So, this had been rumored even before Hegseth had started his term at the Pentagon. He made this quite clear. He called before the election, I believe, for the firing of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General CQ Brown, the top U.S. military officer. He has said Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the Chief of Naval Operations, the head of the Navy, effectively, was a, quote, "DEI hire", and that she should be essentially terminated as well.
There is now a list, according to two sources, circulating on the Hill amongst Republican lawmakers. That list includes the names of Brown as well as Franchetti and others to be terminated. It's worth noting that of the seven people to be terminated, three of them are women. And then there is a list of promotions, and that includes promoting, for example, the Commander of Indo-Pacific Command to be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Now, what's unclear at this point is the timeline for this, and if this is definitive or just a proposal circulating amongst Republican lawmakers, still it seems we'll find out very soon here.
[11:50:00]
SOLOMON: OK. We know you'll be tracking it for us. Oren Liebermann, thank you. See you soon.
We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
SOLOMON: All right. We want to get to some breaking business news. As we can see, the Dow is off about one and a half percentage points, or a pretty shocking 650 points, perhaps on the back of some earnings from Walmart, where the retailer, the major retailer, reported that shoppers actually flooded to its stores for groceries and clothing last year, but also said that 2025 could prove to be trickier for the giant. Earlier, Walmart said that its sales and profit growth will slow this year, and that sent is stock tumbling about 6.2 percent, I should say.
The other averages also in the red, although the Dow appears to be the worst among them. As I said, off about 650 points, as Walmart sends out these signals of perhaps warning signs for 2025 about the state of the consumer, and of course, the state of the U.S. economy. Where the consumer goes, the economy goes.
Let's bring in CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich, who is tracking all of this for us. Vanessa, give us a sense of what else Walmart said here.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So, this is all based on their sales forecast. They're expecting a slower sales forecast, growing by about four percent this year, profits by about 5.5 percent, but that is much shorter, much less than what investors were expecting, and that's why you're seeing the Dow down over 600 points. You're seeing Walmart stock down more than six percent today.
And really what we heard in this forecast from Walmart is they believe that their consumer is resilient, but they believe that the consumer and Walmart is not immune from the economy, what's happening in the economy right now, and that is questions about tariffs. What is going to happen with reciprocal tariffs that the President has announced? Also, what is happening with inflation? We saw last month that inflation rose for the first time since the summer, to three percent, a number that we have not seen in quite a while, and the consumer is really being more cautious about their spending. We saw retail sales falling last month.
Walmart really is America's grocery store in many ways. This is where a lot of Americans rely on cheaper food prices and items that they may need for their homes, but Walmart signaling that both the consumer and the brand is not going to be immune from these economic conditions. This is what the CFO said, Rahel, saying that Walmart's outlook assumes a relatively stable macro environment, but acknowledges that there are still uncertainties related to consumer behavior and global economic and geopolitical conditions.
Walmart definitely, because they are a bigger retailer, they can weather the storm, Rahel, as you know, a lot more than some of these smaller retailers, but really, as you said, kind of sending up a little bit of warning flares, saying we don't know what this is going to look like. And instead of signaling very, very strong growth, we're signaling a little bit of slower growth this year compared to last year, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah, Vanessa, and it's such an interesting point as you talk about the R word, the resilient consumer. That's a word that you and I have heard covering business a lot over the last year or two, in spite of the higher rates, in spite of the higher cost. But then, the other R word that has always sort of been dangling is recession.
[11:55:00]
And when you have a retailer like Walmart, which, as you pointed out, is a lower cost retailer, sending out warning signs, to your point, it makes you wonder, well, what does that mean for other retailers? What does that mean for other expenses? And it sort of brings that, not necessarily to the forefront, but again, it sort of brings it back into the conversation the R word about consumers and recession.
YURKEVICH: I mean, I think that's the biggest fear that we've had all -- for many years since, obviously, the pandemic. It hasn't come to fruition yet. There are a lot of signals from economists that some of Trump's policies could start to tip the economy into a recession. We know that consumers have been very cautious about spending recently, but they are still spending. And when you talk about inflationary measures like tariffs, that could obviously cause more inflation people -- higher prices for people is what essentially propels inflation as they can continue to purchase.
And so, Rahel, I think that Walmart is the first maybe of many that we'll hear from on this. It's just such an uncertain time. We don't have concrete sort of information yet about what this could all look like.
SOLOMON: Yeah.
YURKEVICH: So, this is, of course, a forecast, not a definitive answer on what's going to be happening with Walmart this year.
SOLOMON: Yeah, fair point. But, when Walmart speaks, certainly Wall Street listens.
YURKEVICH: We're listening.
SOLOMON: Vanessa Yurkevich -- yeah, absolutely. Vanessa Yurkevich, great to have you. Thank you for hopping on.
YURKEVICH: Thank you.
SOLOMON: All right, and thank you for being with us today as well. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.
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