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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Stocks Plunge Amid Tariff Fears & Weakening Consumer Sentiment; Rep. Mike Flood, (R-NE), Is Interviewed About Economy, Florida's Special Election; GOP Grows Concerned About Florida's Special Election Next Week; Trump Asks U.S. Supreme Court To Take Up Deportations Case; AG Bondi Brushes Off Probe Into Trump Officials' Signal Chat; Deadly 7.7 Mag Earthquake Rocks Myanmar, Thailand & China; "Fentanyl In America: A Way Out" Airs Sunday At 8PM ET/PT; Vance Visits Greenland As Trump Pushes Again To Annex It. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired March 28, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Handle is just at K-A-S-I-E, Kasie, Instagram. Same thing. My meerkat account which one of my producer David found of me. David, I'm going to buy you a drink or something over this.

Also that and you don't even want to know what the comments are saying about EarthLink. All right, who here is first name and last name?

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HUNT: No?

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[17:00:41]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was not the day to sneak a peek at your retirement savings. The Lead starts right now.

A hard Friday tumble brought on by tariff fears as stocks fall and Wall Street braces for President Trump to follow through on his threat and impose a string of tariffs on nations around the world. Can anything change his mind before what he calls Liberation Day? Plus, Vice President J.D. Vance headed home this hour after a whirlwind visit to Greenland, explaining why the U.S. might want to seize its land. His direct criticism at a U.S. Space Force base in Greenland as the Danish island faces an attempted U.S. takeover.

Also absolutely horrific scenes and a rising death toll after a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake. CNN is live in one disaster zone.

Welcome to Lead.

I'm Phil Mattingly the in for Jake Tapper. And we start where we have to start, the money lead with the market plunge today as Americans worry over Trump's looming tariff war. Less than an hour ago, the Dow closing down over 700 points, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ both shedding more than 2 percent. Today's slide means the S&P 500 is down more than 5 percent this year, putting it on track for its worst first quarter since September 2022. Now this comes as new numbers today show Americans haven't been this concerned about job losses since 2009, with a survey from the University of Michigan showing consumer sentiment that tanked 12 percent this month.

And Americans blaming, at least in part, Trump's impending tariffs as the reason. President Trump doubling down on his economic plan today, saying this afternoon he intends to go forward with his new tariffs, which will impact goods coming into the U.S. from across the globe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have Liberation Day, as you know, on April 2nd because -- and I'm not referring to Canada, but many countries have taken advantage of us, the likes of which nobody even thought was possible for many decades, for decades. And you know that has to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: CNN's Alayna Treene leads things off for us at the White House.

And Alayna, President Trump had a phone call with the new Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, today. But Trump's version of the call feels slightly at odds, at least based on appearances with the prime minister's takeaway. What is Trump saying about the call?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, first I would note just really how notable it is. One, it's their first call since the Canadian Prime Minister became Prime Minister. That was 14 days ago. It's actually a pretty long time if you consider traditionally, you know, Canada is one of the United States strongest allies, at least they were before this trade tit for tack started to kick off. And normally the President United States would call to congratulate a new prime minister for an ally like that much sooner.

But they did speak today. The president first characterized it as an excellent or extremely productive call on Truth Social, kind of giving his readout of it immediately after it took place, saying that they agreed on many things and that they want -- he wanted to immediately meet with Carney after the upcoming elections. I would note, of course, if Carney is no longer prime minister, that could change. But then he reiterated that again when speaking to reporters in the Oval Office. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We had a very good conversation. Mark called me today at 10:00. We put out a statement. We had a very, very good talk. He's going through an election now and we'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Phil, some of the rhetoric we've been hearing from the president following that call with Carney is much different, you'll probably recognize, than it had been previously with Canada's former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Notable the President today referred to Mark Carney as the prime minister. He did not call him governor of the 51st state of America as he often did as a taunt with Trudeau. So it could potentially be a signal, you know, that Trump is willing to have a friendlier tone when it comes to Carney. But again, not always -- not really in line, I should say, with the actions he is taking and the tariffs he is placing on Canada.

MATTINGLY: Yes, it was like a total 180. And then you also had to pay attention to what the Prime Minister himself was saying, Mark Carney, who again has an election coming up. What did he say?

TREENE: That's right. Well, shortly after the call, his office put out a statement saying that the government would implement retaliatory tariffs in response to the resident's upcoming April 2nd tariff. Something that we know the president has been -- President Trump, I should say, has been very wary about before. But then Carney also spoke this afternoon. Listen to what he said.

[17:05:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over. What exactly the U.S. does next is unclear. But what is clear is that we as Canadians have agency. We have power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: We have power, he said. We've also heard Carney in the past, after he became prime minister say that because of the actions that the United States is taking. Canada is going to have to dramatically reduce its reliance on the United States.

Now, Phil, something that we just heard from President Donald Trump moments ago, he was speaking with reporters on Air Force One, he said, and kind of acknowledged that he would be open to making deals with countries over his tariffs policies. However, he said that would not happen until after his proposed tariffs that are set to go into effect on April 2nd take place. So all of that happening in the background of this call today.

MATTINGLY: It is a very fluid economic moment. Alayna Treene, thanks so much.

I want to bring in CNN's Paul Newton, who's for us in Brantford, Ontario, right now in Canada.

Paula, it was kind of like an inverse of what we've seen in terms of the tone and temperature from the respective leaders here. What is the sentiment right now in Canada?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, fluid was a very good description. And I think for Canadians and as well as any Canadian government officials, they're being incredibly cautious. I mean, look, I'm going to state the obvious. We are in the middle of a campaign here in Canada and a federal electoral campaign right now until the end of April. No one's even sure who is going to be prime minister.

Having said that, of course, a lot of relief with the tone changed today. But as I heard from Canadian officials as well as Canadian industry officials today, saying, look, it's not even a tariff until we see the paperwork. And as far as the prime minister's office concern, it is -- they're not taking anything for granted until it's in writing and it is a negotiation. I think the prime minister's office told me that, look, they were very pleased with the call today. They thought it set things off on a completely different level, but one that will end in a negotiation that is to Canada's liking.

I think right now, still a lot of uncertainty, a little bit of optimism for sure. But I think the capricious nature of the president has everyone quite frankly burned here, Phil. And I do not think that one call is going to turn around the feeling here in terms of having to really pull away from the United States both economically and militarily.

MATTINGLY: Yes, I think three months of experience merits some caution and skepticism on the Canadian side of things. Paula Newton, great reporting as always. Thanks so much.

Well, the market plunged today after a new survey showed consumer sentiment dropped 12 percent this month. And I want to bring in CNN's Harry Enten who explains what actual data means to normal people who don't do data and math and all that type of stuff.

Harry, why did this happen?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, why did this happen? So I'm going to get in my exercise during this segment because they're going to be big ups and they're going to be big drops. So, let's talk about a big drop. Why did that consumer sentiment fall? Well, it all has to do with expectations of the economy.

And expectations versus last month, get this, according that consumer sentiment index dropped 18 percent. That's bigger than the drop that we saw of the overall index. It dropped because expectations dropped 18 percent. That is the largest negative shift in over a decade according to the Michigan consumer sentiment. And more than that, I believe it's the seventh largest drop going all the way back since the 1950s.

That's how far back you really have to go to understand this drop. And part of the reason it dropped, you mentioned the stock market, you mentioned, of course, the tariffs. We'll get to that in a little bit. But it also has to do with inflation, core inflation, PCE over the last five years. This is the Fed's preferred metric.

Get this, that rose, that went through the ceiling. See, I went up there. That rose 19 percent over the last five years. Because I think oftentimes we talk about these small time changes, right? These small times we look at. I want to take a look at the wide breadth. And this is, I think, really what's going on with the consumer is they just can't seem to catch a break. Over the last five years, inflation up 19 percent. That is the highest shift over a five year period since the 1990s before I was even in kindergarten, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Credit on the wingspan, need some work on the knee bend just to zero in a little bit, Harry, that was better. Food prices, what does this mean for food prices for consumers?

ENTEN: Yes. So what about, you know, we talk about all this stuff, these percentages, blah, blah, blah. Let's put it into some context, right, over the last five years. Now I should note that the court does not include food, but if we expand out, we see it's just as bad there. The price increases over the last five years.

For a whole chicken, we're talking about up more than $2. How about a pound of ground beef, up more than $1.50. How about a loaf of white bread, up around 50 cents. So when you're trying to make a sandwich at the store, you're going, you're buying your food to make that sandwich or maybe put food on the table, you can just see as the consumer, the prices have gone, simply put through the roof, Phil.

[17:10:19]

MATTINGLY: Harry, I got to be honest, I'm fascinated to see how you do this, given the fact we don't actually know what all the tariffs are going to look like. However, how much could these tariffs cost Americans?

ENTEN: Yes. So on this particular one, I'm going to go to folks who know a little bit more than I do, so we can kind of put in some perspective. And one of those places is, in fact, Yale. I did not go to Yale. I went to Dartmouth, like the usual host of this show, Mr. Jake Tapper. But the annual tariff cost per household, they estimated, get this, Phil, between $1,600 and $2,000.

That's about 2 percent of the median household income. I mean, my God, if you're going paycheck to paycheck, as we talk about 25 percent to 30 percent of households do live paycheck to paycheck, that is a huge jump. And where do we see those costs really hitting? Well, I'll give you a few different examples, all right, computers up 11 percent potentially. How about natural gas? Up 5 percent potentially. How about white rice? Up 4 percent potentially. And so we just see it throughout different parts of the economy, the American consumer getting hit by potentially by these Trump tariffs on top of the inflation we've already seen. It is no wonder why my opening slide said the American consumer is fed up.

They have just been hit over and over again over the last five years. And truthfully, there's not much of an end in sight, especially with these tariffs potentially on the way.

MATTINGLY: Harry Enten, it may have been you were taking a shot at Yale there. I don't -- I don't know. I'm a normal American, went to a normal university and actually had fun in college.

ENTEN: The Ohio State.

MATTINGLY: But I look forward to hearing about it after the show. Harry Enten, as always, my friend, thank you.

ENTEN: Thank you, Phil.

MATTINGLY: I want to turn now to Republican Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska.

Congressman, really appreciate your time. You notably held a town hall in person over the last recess. You're talking to constituents, you're meeting with constituents face to face. You're shaking their hands. We saw the videos from it. Are you hearing concern right now about the direction of the economy?

REP. MIKE FLOOD (R-NE): Well, to be honest, I think Nebraskans, we know that tariffs are going to cause an adjustment period to take place. But we saw this during the first Trump administration where President Trump successfully used tariffs to produce great trade deals for the U.S. President Biden didn't do anything in trade for four years. And so now we're back at the table and we're hoping for better deals. We're looking for better deals with Mexico, with China and other countries.

Certainly our partners up north in Canada, we've seen this before. And I think at the end of the day, this is going to work out.

MATTINGLY: To your point, Congressman, in farmers, the AG community, I think writ large, if you look at polling, supports President Trump. There's no question about that. However, in that first term, that China phase one trade deal never came anywhere close to what was actually agreed on in terms of China's purchases of agricultural products. And also, farmers had to be bailed out to the tune of tens of billions of dollars from the federal government because of those tariffs. Why is this time different?

FLOOD: Well, Joe Biden's in action for four years. Let's just talk about white corn in Mexico. The Mexican president's wife at the time basically claimed that there was some genetic issue with our white corn, which is not based in any kind of science. They just arbitrarily shut it off. And we couldn't get President Biden to stand in front of a podium or anything, microphone, to do anything about it.

Well, now we have a president that's engaged. We have a president that's getting the attention of these neighbors that have in some cases taken advantage of it. And ultimately, it's my hope that this results in expanded trade, breaks down barriers so that we can export more of our great products around the world.

Listen, if we don't have world markets for our corn and our beans, our beef, we don't have much to sell outside of that. Nebraska, we're going to be hurting. So we want that -- we want these trade deals to get done. And we do believe Donald Trump can do it. We've seen it before, he'll do it again.

MATTINGLY: And it's been fascinating to watch. Ahead of the reciprocal tariffs, you see the E.U., other countries trying to come in beforehand say, all right, fine, we'll negotiate. It's having an effect on some level. I think the question to the point you're making is we know the outcome. We know the Trump administration's theory of the case. The process to get from right now to their adjustment period is the term you use.

How long is it going to take?

FLOOD: Well, let's just take a look at -- you talked about the E.U. You know, American auto manufacturers, we face a 10 percent tariff from the European Union. Well, we only have a 2.5 percent tariff on their cars. At the end of the day, it's going to take as long as it is to get it right. And you don't get people's attention unless you start calling them out.

I think the first time that President Trump did this, it lasted just long enough to make things good and to make things work. And we saw the economy boom. If we can get these tariffs fixed, if we can build relationships where we're selling American products, oh, and by the way, at the end of the day, we need to be a country that is making things. This isn't just about other countries. Hopefully this is incentivizing more production, more manufacturing to be a country that produces things and not relying on countries like China that don't want us to be the world's sole superpower anymore.

[17:15:11]

Like, there's a lot on the line here.

MATTINGLY: Yes.

FLOOD: It's bigger than just trade. It's bigger than the economy. This is also a national security issue.

MATTINGLY: I could certainly talk econ with you all day, but I do want to ask a political question, just because on Tuesday we're going to actually see some political races that everybody's paying a lot of attention to. Three critical races across the U.S., Wisconsin Supreme Court race, two congressional races in Florida to fill Matt Gaetz's seat, Mike Waltz's seat. These races come after Republicans have lost local races. A series of local races so far this year, two races in Pennsylvania, one in Iowa. Are you concerned right now?

FLOOD: Well, I came in a special election, and there's nothing special about it. These are unpredictable situations. So my race was the Tuesday. My election was the Tuesday after the Dobbs decision was handed down from the Supreme Court. It was a very volatile time politically and obviously depends on what the news of the day is.

But the biggest problem with these special elections is that a great majority of people that are very good citizens, they're responsible people, they just don't know there's an election. And so a lot of times it hinges on who's the most motivated to get out. Now, there's a lot of attention on the race down in Florida, but at the end of the day, it's anybody's guess as how some of these will go. I'm confident from what I hear from my Florida colleagues in the United States Congress that we're going to be celebrating a victory. If somebody says, oh, but it wasn't as big of a victory, I don't buy that.

I won by six points in a special and I won by 16 points in a general. Special elections are just different.

MATTINGLY: There is no question about that.

Republican Congressman Mike Flood, really appreciate your time, sir. Thank you.

FLOOD: Have a good day.

MATTINGLY: Now to the breaking news. A federal judge has just blocked the Trump administration from deporting migrants to third countries. Bad as we're also just a matter of moments, Vice President J.D. Vance backing up the president over that unclassified Signal group chat scandal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And if you think you're going to force the president of the United States to fire anybody, you've got another thing coming. We are standing behind our entire national security team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: But will the Justice Department at least investigate how a journalist ended up on the chat. We're going to get to that. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:21:29]

MATTINGLY: Our law and justice lead takes us to the U.S. Supreme Court. That's because today President Trump asked the justices to allow him to enact the nearly 230-year-old Alien Enemies Act. Now after an appeals court and federal judge James Boasberg temporary block deportations under that act for migrants Trump claims are part of a notorious Venezuelan gang. CNN's Paul Reid is with us now. And, Paula, this could be one of the most, probably the most significant cases on the docket if it's taken up. Why?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, because here they're asking the Supreme Court to get involved in one of the most contentious fights that the administration has taken on so far, because this involves not just one, but two really thorny issues. First, it's the legal question at the center of this. This is President Trump's expansive use of a wartime power to facilitate deportations of individuals the administration claims are associated with a Venezuelan gang. But they're asking the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that temporarily put this on hold. That ruling by Judge James Boasberg.

And this is the second issue, which is this judge has been the target of repeated attacks from President Trump and even some attacks from Attorney General Pam Bondi. Last week, President Trump went so far as to suggest that this judge should be impeached because he was so unhappy with his decision in this case. And that prompted a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts, who said, look, if you're unhappy with a decision, you appeal it. You don't impeach a judge. So they have done that.

They have appealed. And in their appeal today, they said, quote, "This case presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national security related operations in this country, the President, the Article II, or the Judiciary through temporary restraining orders," which are what we've seen a lot of. There are these temporary pauses on these policies, these executive orders, while their constitutional merit is assessed. They went on to say the Constitution supplies a clear answer, the President. The republic, they argue, cannot afford a different choice.

So there are two big controversies here. And it's unclear that the Supreme Court really wants to wade into this at this point. They might just say, OK, the constitutional question is premature. This is a temporary restraining order. Let's let this work its way through the courts and maybe we'll see you next spring.

Because, of course, the chief justice is also already weighed in defense of the judiciary. The next step, though, that we're waiting for is the other side of this case has to respond by next Tuesday. But this is a pattern that we've seen since Trump took office, right? They lose at the lower court, often they lose at the appellate court. So they're going up to the Supreme Court and we're going to see this on repeat probably for the next three and a half years.

MATTINGLY: I had that, like, brief urge to ask the really dumb question, what's going to happen? But I'm not going to be that guy today, Paula Reid.

REID: I feel very secure in my job for the next three and a half years.

MATTINGLY: It's full employment at this point, Paula Reid.

REID: No one's America has been made greater than mine as a legal reporter.

MATTINGLY: Paul Reid, always appreciate you, my friend. Thank you.

And let's get straight to our legal experts. Well, two other legal experts. Paula is also a legal expert.

Elie, these are some of the weightiest issues. We could possibly talk about power between the executive branch, judicial branch. Set the stakes here for us.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Phil. So ultimately, this is about the balance of powers and separation of powers within our government. These cases are going to redefine the way our government works. So the argument that the administration makes in the brief they put in today is, first of all, it is up to the president and the president alone to invoke the Alien Enemies Act. The courts have no say here.

The courts do not have the power to come in and second guess that. The second argument they make is, and by the way, he's right to say that this is an alien invasion or incursion. Now let me predict what the other side is going to say in their brief on Tuesday. They're going to say, no, this is not an autocracy. The president doesn't get to decide this himself.

[17:25:08]

The courts have to have a role and weigh in here. So, however this comes out, the Supreme Court ultimately has to either take this case, ignore this case, but one way or another, they're going to have to take a side. And either this hold on the deportations is going to stay in place or not. But that's going to say a lot about the balance of power between the executive branch and the courts.

MATTINGLY: Tom, I enjoyed our off air conversation about this specific issue so much. I'm just going to ask it to you on television. There's a 63 conservative majority Supreme Court. Does that mean the Trump administration should win this?

TOM DUPREE, PARTNER, GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER: You know, you would think yes, because you would say at first, look, this is a court that is probably going to be receptive to Trump's claim of, you know, robust, muscular executive authority. But here's the cautionary note, Phil, we had the same debate back in the Bush administration when we're dealing with individuals we're holding at Guantanamo. And they are a very conservative Supreme Court still held that the detainees did have due process rights that needed to be respected. So I don't think it's a slam dunk for the Trump administration. And the thing I'm keeping my eye on is the question Paula raised, whether the Supreme Court wants to get involved at this early stage.

There are many more opportunities over the course of the Trump administration and the Supreme Court often will punt on a difficult and challenging constitutional issue in favor of resolving it later.

MATTINGLY: Such a good point. I want to move on to Signal gate, the group chat scandal. We have to say gate, because it's mandatory, in the wake of Watergate. Elie, you wrote in New York magazine on Wednesday predicting, quote, "It's certain that Pam Bondi, the attorney general and everyone else at DOJ leadership knows what happened. Yet I feel confident predicting that the Justice Department won't lift a finger to investigate this mess."

One day later, the attorney general was asked if the Justice Department would get involved. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: First, it was sensitive information, not classified and inadvertently released. And what we should be talking about is it was a very successful mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: What'd you make of that?

HONIG: Well, I think the attorney general there, Phil, perfectly highlighted the exact point I was making. Here we have a very high stakes, complicated set of facts. It cries out for a fair and impartial investigation by the nation's leading law enforcement agency. Instead, what the attorney general has done is with zero investigation, with zero facts, she comes out and decrees that the facts are exactly as Donald Trump would wish them to be. With zero facts, zero investigation.

She says there's no classified information. Highly dubious. With zero facts, zero investigation. She says this was all inadvertent. Again, very much questionable, very much in dispute.

Now, I have to say, when Pam Bondi was nominated, I came on air and said she's absolutely qualified on paper to be the attorney general. But the test is going to be can she exercise independence? And right here she has failed miserably. That statement was something much more like you'd hear from a White House press secretary than the nation's top law enforcement officer.

MATTINGLY: Tom, you referenced your past work in the Bush administration, George W. Bush administration, Justice Department. What's your take here about what the AG should either be doing, be saying or how DOJ's posture should be?

DUPREE: Look, I think the attorney general should place more of a focus on law enforcement and protecting the sanctity of classified information. And look, it may be the case that we should be focusing on the success of the mission, but to my mind, that doesn't detract from the need for an investigation. And even the national security adviser himself has said we need to figure out how this happened, how Goldberg got on our text chain. So even some of the principals involved in this remarkable exchange are saying we need to figure out exactly what happened here to prevent it from happening again. I think the administration will be well served by having a thorough investigation, getting the facts out there and just letting the chips fall where they may. MATTINGLY: Elie Honig, Tom Dupree, appreciate you guys. Thank you.

DUPREE: Thanks.

MATTINGLY: Well, the breaking news in Southeast Asia. Rescue teams say poor communication, damaged roads, they are slowing their search efforts. The CNN team just arrived in Bangkok. We're going to have a live report for you up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: In our World Lead, urgent rescue efforts still underway at this hour as the death toll continues to rise in Myanmar and Thailand. That, after a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near the city of Mandalay, Myanmar earlier today. Not only is it the strongest quake to hit Myanmar in 80 years, it collapsed buildings hundreds of miles away in Bangkok, Thailand. And that's where CNN's Will Ripley brings us a look at the devastation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The terrifying moment. A 30-story tower collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand. Construction workers running for their lives. Many others feared trapped inside. Shockwaves from a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in neighboring Myanmar ravaging this region.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait. That whole building collapsed.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Close to the epicenter in Myanmar's second largest city, Mandalay, people huddling together in terror. Others running as buildings tilt and crumble, including historic landmarks some hundreds of years old. Here, the moment a temple seems to just disappear from the skyline. And this iconic bridge in the water in pieces.

[17:35:03]

Information is slowly filtering out from Myanmar's ruling military, Junta, caught in the throes of a four-year civil war. After visiting the affected areas, Myanmar's leader announcing a state of emergency, making a rare call for international assistance.

GEN. MIN AUNG HLAING, STATE ADMINISTRATION COUNCIL CHAIRMAN: Any country, any foreign organization, and anyone inside the country are invited to provide help. The death toll and injuries are expected to be high.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The 7.7 magnitude earthquake, the worst in the country since at least 1946, the world's strongest on land since the Turkey quake in 2023, that one killed more than 50,000 people.

Friday's tremors so strong they were felt in China and more than 600 miles away here in Thailand's capital, water seen surging from pools atop high-rise hotels and residential towers, turning those buildings into waterfalls. Rescue efforts underway around the clock in Bangkok. Emergency crews trying to reach possible survivors of the skyscraper collapse, including search dogs deployed into the rubble.

RIPLEY: Probably standing about 500-feet from this massive pile behind me. I mean, you can see the people and the heavy machinery are just dwarfed by the concrete and the twisted steel that they're trying to delicately go through to get to as many of the hundred or so people who are believed to be trapped inside before too much time passes.

RIPLEY (voice-over): One worker telling us of his narrow escape.

SUNAN KENKIAT, ESCAPED BUILDING COLLAPSE: It was shaking and I felt dizzy. After that, debris like cement pieces started falling down and the shaking got stronger. So I shouted for everyone to run.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (on camera): So if they find somebody alive, Phil, they actually bring them out through that gate. And within the last couple of hours or so they did find one survivor. So far they've found 16 survivors and 10 people dead, but with 100 people believed to be trapped in there, they don't want to use all of the bulldozers and heavy machinery that are out here on the scene.

You've got one of them right there behind me. The reason that they're digging through the rubble by hand is because they -- they don't want to disturb the building. So if there are people that are in some sort of a pocket inside, they can try to get to them safely.

They have dogs sniffing to try to find them. They've been flying drones overhead. But they're not hearing a whole lot out of that giant mountain of concrete and steel right now. But they still say that they're hopeful and they're going to keep doing this digging by hand for the next three days or so, and then they'll reassess after that.

MATTINGLY: Yeah. Hoping for a miracle. Will Ripley, great reporting in Bangkok. Thanks so much.

Well, the life-threatening information that doctors say some pregnant mothers are holding back. A must-see report that's part of a bigger crisis in America, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:42:12]

MATTINGLY: In our national lead, the fentanyl crisis, an issue many of you have been personally impacted by or know someone who has. For the past two years, CNN anchor, Kate Bolduan, has been documenting the challenges of combating fentanyl and its effects on the most vulnerable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is having some tremors. The fentanyl crisis has been very real. I mean opiate use in general, since the time I started practicing in pediatrics and neonatology, there's been an increase in over 300 percent of patients.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

What we found is that there are so many of these moms that are using that were not comfortable with sharing that information.

BOLDUAN: If a pregnant woman comes in and she holds this information back, how does that impact the care?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they wouldn't have shared it with their provider, they wouldn't know that it's actually more dangerous to stop using if you're already pregnant. So, they would try to get themselves off of it. And sometimes cold turkey, stop using.

BOLDUAN: People are going to hear that and, what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The baby can die inside. So, the baby will then also go through withdrawal, much like the mom will if she stops using, and it can cause the baby to actually die in utero.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Kate Bolduan is here now. Kate, you followed three mothers who used fentanyl while pregnant. I -- I got a list of 15 questions, but I really want people to watch this on Sunday night. Just share with them what you saw.

BOLDUAN: I mean, it's just -- these -- the -- the mothers that we followed over this time, I couldn't think of a more -- we didn't come across a more stark example of just the brute -- what the brutality of this drug and also the new phase that this crisis has now entered. I mean, just that fact that it's more dangerous to get off this drug if you're already pregnant than to stay on it.

I mean, these mothers telling me, I'm taking my prenatal vitamins, and I'm also taking fentanyl. There are solutions to it. We explore that in the documentary. But it is -- it -- this -- this -- this crisis, Phil, has entered a new phase, which is with the prevalence and access to life-saving drugs now, overdose deaths are coming down.

But now you have, we realize through our journey, you have this wave of growing number of people that we're calling fentanyl survivors, who now are living with this lifelong addiction and the new challenges that that now poses. And we talk to people, we hear from people, Phil, that really have never spoken out before, largely because of the stigma that they face.

MATTINGLY: This has been such a widespread issue. We have seen overdose deaths start to drop, that's good news, but it is still so prevalent and so pervasive. You've been doing this for two years. What -- what do people not know? What should people know that maybe we haven't always covered on a day-to-day basis?

[17:45:08] BOLDUAN: One of the things that surprised me, and I actually had a conversation with the head of the DEA this morning about it, and he agreed, which is we heard from doctors who say they now think of a fentanyl addiction almost the same as they think of someone who suffers from a chronic illness like diabetes.

Giving -- prescribing them insulin is like -- is much -- is -- is akin to them just prescribing methadone or buprenorphine to someone with a fentanyl opioid addiction because of how powerful this addiction is. It is always there, these doctors say. It never goes away, and for many people, they will need to be on these medications and all of the challenges that come with it and restrictions that are put on them for the rest of their lives.

And the head of the DEA told me this morning, he agreed that he sees -- and he sees a fentanyl addiction like a chronic disease.

MATTINGLY: The reality is heartbreaking, but the depth of work you've done over the course of these last two years has shed light on such a critical issue. I -- I cannot stress to people enough to watch this. Kate, I really appreciate you taking the time tonight to chat with us --

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: -- in advance of that. You can watch Fentanyl in America: A Way Out, on The Whole Story this Sunday at 8:00 p.m. on CNN.

Well, is Greenland a step closer to becoming part of the United States? What Vice President J.D. Vance said while he was actually on the ground there? That's next.

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[17:51:29]

MATTINGLY: Well, just in, notable sound from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on President Trump's attacks on the judiciary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT: Once norms are broken, then you're shaking some of the foundation of the rule of law. The fact that some of our public leaders are lawyers advocating or making statements, challenging the rule of law tells me that fundamentally our law schools are failing there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: What may be implicit, seemingly explicit, the Supreme Court Justice there advocating for a fiercely independent court. This after President Trump has called for the impeachment of one judge who has ruled against him and has been using executive orders to more or less go on a revenge tour against law firms who have challenged him and his allies in the past. We'll break in. In our World Lead, Vice President and the Second Lady are on their way back from a very quick trip to Greenland where the V.P. made the case for a potential annexation at a U.S. military base.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We need to ensure that America is leading in the Arctic because we know that if America doesn't, other nations will fill the gap where we fall behind. We do have to be more serious about the security of Greenland. We can't just ignore this place. We can't just ignore the President's desires.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: But the military base wasn't the Vance's only stop today as the people of Greenland remain less than warm to Trump's desire to take control. CNN's Tom Foreman has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We need Greenland, very importantly for international security. We have to have Greenland.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even as President Trump continued beating the drum for a U.S. takeover of Greenland, his vice president, J.D. Vance, was there.

VANCE: It's cold as shit here. Nobody told me.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Towing the White House line at the U.S. military base, Greenland has hosted since World War II, insisting Russia and China's interest in nearby shipping channels are making the largest island in the world unsafe.

VANCE: We can't just bury our head in the sand or in Greenland, bury our head in the snow and pretend that the Chinese are not interested in this very large landmass.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The trip by Vance, his wife Usha, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, was clearly aimed at a very different photo op. The Second Lady was set to lead a delegation attending Greenland's national dog sled races, making nice with locals.

USHA VANCE, SECOND LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I look forward to meeting many of you soon and to learning from you about your beautiful land, culture and traditions.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But the dog sled diplomacy was soon on the run. A poll earlier this year showed Greenlanders strongly objected to the idea of a takeover and the trip quickly unraveled as they and their leaders began sounding off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want you here.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Calling the visit uninvited, unwelcome and highly aggressive. The U.S. delegation ended up more than 900 miles away from the Greenlandic capital, a move no doubt fine to officials in Denmark who said Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people and Greenland is part of the Danish kingdom and that is not going to change.

Still, Team Trump keeps hammering away that anyone who opposes the proposed land grab by political, economic or even military force must step aside.

VANCE: This has to happen and the reason it has to happen, I hate to say it, is because our friends in Denmark have not done their job in keeping this area safe.

TRUMP: And I think Denmark understands it, I think the European Union understands it. And if they don't, we're going to have to explain it to them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:55:06]

FOREMAN: The White House clearly thinks those veiled threats, not so veiled in some cases, will convince a lot of Greenlanders to somehow turn around and want to join the U.S. seems unlikely since many of them are now saying MAGA should stand for Make America Go Away.

MATTINGLY: The evolution of the Second Lady's trip, it was notable. Tom Forman, great reporting. Thanks so much.

Well up next, a conservative economic advisor who had Trump's ear in the first term, he's going to be here. What he says about what feels like a very turbulent economy right now in the President's pending tariffs that are set to go into effect in just a matter of days. Stay with us.

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[18:00:04]

MATTINGLY: Welcome to Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper.