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Todd Wolfson is Interviewed about Revoked Student Visas; MAGA Voters Express Regret; March Madness Elite Eight Set. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired March 28, 2025 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:00]
MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: Visa, and then you decide to do that, we're going to take it away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us right now is the president of the American Association of University Professors, Todd Wolfson. He's also a professor of journalism and media studies at Rutgers.
Todd, thanks for coming in.
What's your reaction to just that, that we heard from the secretary of state, his position on this?
TODD WOLFSON, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS: I really think it's outrageous, to be honest with you. I mean, we - let's just talk about Rumeysa Ozturk, the student who was abducted off the street at - in Boston, a Tufts graduate student. She did nothing. She wrote a - she wrote an editorial, I think. She co- wrote an editorial that called for divestment. That was the extent of what she did as far as we know. They have brought forward no evidence. These students who are here legally on visas or on green cards enjoy freedom of speech rights and they are abducting them off the street because Marco Rubio or President Trump disagree with their speech. Thats un-American, it's outrageous, and it's unconstitutional, frankly.
BOLDUAN: One of the things that their attorneys are absolutely pressing for is to understand what the charges are, because there have not been charges filed and nor evidence yet provided. That's - that is absolutely one thing that they're pushing for.
So, in the face of this, what are you hearing from fellow professors, the professors that you represent?
WOLFSON: Yes, we represent 50,000 faculty members across this country. And, you know, faculty in America are - there's a large percentage that are foreign born. And - and even our - our U.S. born faculty, there is a culture of fear on our campuses across the country right now for a host of reasons, because of these abductions of our students that are in our classrooms, that are learning with us, because of the cutting of grants on critical research. So, I mean, I have never seen such a palpable feeling on campus of just fear across the board for everybody. I'm a Jew - I'm a Jewish faculty member, and I am afraid.
BERMAN: You - you have - you called them abductions. Obviously, the Trump administration calls them, you know, federal law enforcement arrests, putting people under arrest, just for clarity there.
Your union also just sued the Trump administration over pulling, as you kind of alluding to, hundreds of millions of federal dollars in research funding at Columbia. Is that - it was $400 million. It was a cut. It was one of the factors in Columbia's decision last week to bend to the administration's demands for changes in university policy. You know, that included overhauling protest policies, student disciplinary - the process there, and putting the Middle Eastern studies program under new supervision.
So, you're fighting the administration over this. Do you also fault Columbia then for bowing to the demands?
WOLFSON: Look, first and foremost, were - we're challenging the Trump administration here. They're the ones who acted. They are the ones who basically said to Columbia University, we are going to strip out $400 million of research on pediatric cancer, on Alzheimer's, on - on diabetes, on heart disease, because we don't like your policy for disciplining students and we don't like the research and teaching you're doing on Middle East studies. That is completely incorrect. It's an absolute overreach by the administration.
If you don't like how the school is disciplining students around protests, there is a process for that. There is Title Six. There is the office - there's OCR. And you can go through a process and you can push to have it changed. You don't go to the medical school and strip out research on things every American is dependent on in order to coerce the Columbia administration to do your bidding.
And so, yes, at one level we're upset with Columbia. They should have stood taller. They should have stood up to the Trump administration. But the real problem here is not Columbia, it is the Trump administration and their extreme overreach.
BOLDUAN: You filed this lawsuit. We will continue to follow how it proceeds.
Thank you very much. Todd Wolfson, appreciate your time.
Ahead for us, they voted for President Trump because he promised to disrupt the system. Now some of them have lost their jobs. Ahead, you're going to hear the story of one woman who now says she regrets supporting President Trump because of what's happened.
And research that likely applies to all of us, friends. A new study finding people will do just about anything to distract themselves from boring tasks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:39:38] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, disappointment and anger in a county where President Trump got more than 70 percent of the vote last November. Wood County, West Virginia. Many voters there have supported the president's promise to make deep cuts in his push against waste. But now some have buyers' remorse after being laid off as part of that very campaign.
CNN's Randi Kaye reports.
[09:40:03]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER PIGGOTT, FEDERAL EMPLOYEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE: This flag used to hang there.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This was the flag Jennifer Piggott proudly hung outside her home during campaign 2024.
PIGGOTT: We had the flag. I had the shirt. I was a - I was a MAGA junkie.
KAYE (voice over): A MAGA junkie who thought her government job would be safe with Donald Trump in office. She was wrong.
PIGGOTT: I cried. It's scary. You know, it's a really scary thing. And I was embarrassed.
He's a good boy.
KAYE (voice over): Piggott was abruptly fired last month from the Treasury Department's Bureau of Fiscal Service, based here in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The reason given for the firings of 125 probationary employees at the bureau, poor performance.
PIGGOTT: I had my last review on the 31st of January, and I had the highest rating that you can get on a review, less than 21 days before I was terminated for my performance.
KAYE: You voted for Donald Trump?
PIGGOTT: I did.
KAYE: Do you regret that vote?
PIGGOTT: Yes, I do. To cut the knees out of the working class Americans just doesn't make sense to me. I expected more from President Donald Trump.
KAYE (voice over): Since speaking out, Piggott says she's received death threats and her home has been egged.
This woman asked us not to show her face for fear of retribution. She recently retired from the Bureau of Fiscal Service because she was afraid of losing her health insurance if she was fired. She also voted for Trump. KAYE: Would you still have supported him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not sure that I would have. The way that it's been done, I'm for balancing the budget, that type of thing, but not - not in this context. It's just - it's just not right.
KAYE (voice over): Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered half a dozen federal agencies to immediately offer thousands of probationary employees their jobs back. But this week, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to put that judge's ruling on hold and stop those employees from returning to work.
Eric Engle is a representative for the National Treasury Employees Union.
ERIC ENGLE, CHIEF STEWARD, NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION CHAPTER 190: They are fully reinstated. All 125 of them. They are on paid admin leave.
KAYE: Now they're getting paid for not doing their job. So, did the government really save any money here?
ENGLE: Not at all. No. No. That - that's not - I mean - I personally don't believe that was ever the point, but - but they - no they're not - they're not saving any money from these probationary and trial period employee firings. This has nothing to do with eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.
KAYE: The Bureau of Fiscal Service employs more than 2,000 people here in Parkersburg. People we spoke with told us it's considered the place to work. Jobs at the bureau are hard to come by, and people have always believed it was one of the most stable employers.
KAYE (voice over): Ronda Bragg is another probationary employee who was fired from the bureau. She didn't vote for Trump because she feared something like this might happen.
KAYE: A lot of people who voted for Donald Trump lost their jobs now. What do you think about that? What do you want to say to them?
RONDA BRAGG, FEDERAL EMPLOYEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE: You know, at first I wanted to say, when all this happens, you deserved it. At the same time, they're in the same spot that I am. And I honestly don't think any of us deserved it.
It's not even 50,000 a year. You know, it's not that much money. I'm blue collar, just like the rest of them in this valley.
KAYE (voice over): In a statement regarding the reinstated employees, a spokesperson for the Treasury Department told us they are weighing "how best to consider their performance, Treasury's operational needs, and the Trump administration's government-wide effort to increase efficiency."
That's hardly any consolation to Jennifer Piggott and her family.
KAYE: If you could say anything to President Trump now, what would you say?
PIGGOTT: I expected better from you. I really did. I expected that you would do what was right and cut waste and fraud and all of those things that you promised us before we elected you in office. But you're not doing that. You're creating a disaster. And I don't know what America is going to look like if this continues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: Thanks to Randi Kaye for that report.
We do have breaking news. Getting new information about more than 80 people officials say could be trapped in the rubble after a powerful earthquake rocked southeast Asia.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:48:55]
BERMAN: A genuinely terrifying story this morning. A child in Kansas asked a babysitter to check under the bed for monsters. So, she did. Officials say that babysitter came face to face with a man hiding under the child's bed. Police say he was arrested after a struggle with the babysitter. He'd once lived in the home, apparently, but there was a protection order issued against him to stay away.
There have been some intense thunderstorms and severe flash flooding across southern Texas. Multiple water rescues there. Video shows floodwaters pouring into the hallway of a hospital. That's some pretty dramatic video right there. This morning, authorities are warning people to avoid low-lying areas.
So, if you think your phone constantly distracts you, don't blame the phone. Researchers say you could be the problem. A new study published in "Frontiers in Computer Science" found that when faced with boring tasks, people turn to their phones for a distraction. Put that in the least surprising news ever category. I really hope that research did not put them out too much.
[09:50:00]
New this morning -
BOLDUAN: I thought you were going to say something -
BERMAN: Hydration with some celebrity juice. NBA superstar Steph Curry is launching a sports drink with former First Lady Michelle Obama. It will come in three flavors. One of them, we are just hearing, is orange mango twist. They will be entering the $25 billion sports drink market, battling other big names, including Lionel Messi and Logan Paul. And maybe Kate Bolduan one day.
BOLDUAN: Orange mango twist. I mean it's quite a - I mean, I don't think you can ever beat orange Gatorade because that is the end all, be all, do all for me. But, good luck.
Anyway, let's turn to this.
John, were you in serious face that whole time?
BERMAN: Well, I'm just - I think hydration is so important that I - that I -
BOLDUAN: Hydration is important. Hydration is important, people.
BERMAN: I do think we have to take hydration seriously. So I know -
BOLDUAN: It's - I'm - I'm - this is a serious face.
Let's turn to a very serious topic. Time to check your bracket.
As the first results from the Sweet 16 are in, it was an epic comeback and an overtime thriller. The stuff that happened last night while I was sleeping was amazing. Texas Tech with this overtime thriller. The team had this wild comeback against Arkansas to win 85-83 and advance to the Elite Eight. It was crazy, as I see in the highlight clips.
Then there was Alabama beating BYU with a tournament record of 25 three pointers in their 113 to 88 victory. Insanity, fair. And then Duke surviving Arizona's late push because of basically one man and one man only, Cooper Flagg.
Joining us right now, CNN contributor Cari Champion.
Where do you want to begin?
CARI CHAMPION, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Listen, I'm just going to go home. You hit the highlights. I'm done. She did all the good work for - and the heavy lifting.
BOLDUAN: It's crazy what happened last night?
CHAMPION: You know, I think Cooper Flagg is as advertised. They have said he's all of these things, and we've been waiting and waiting. But as a freshman, he had 30 points, seven assists.
BOLDUAN: I'm sorry, I'm going to be the dumb sports person right now. And I - you know I know sports.
He's a freshman?
BERMAN: Yes, true freshman.
CHAMPION: He's a freshman.
BERMAN: He's a young man.
CHAMPION: Yes. He's a - I mean he's going to be a superstar.
BOLDUAN: Whoa.
CHAMPION: He's obviously staying in school. He'll make a lot - he's making so much money with NIL already. BOLDUAN: Oh, yes.
CHAMPION: And what we're seeing right now is what Duke is known for.
Like, I feel as if - and I said this early on in my bracket, I had them making it to the championship game. I still didn't pick them to win. Now I'm regretting that. But Cooper Flagg is as advertised. He's everything they said he would be. And it's so good for college ball right now.
BERMAN: It - the thing is - and when you watch - when you watch those highlights last night, he just looks so comfortable. It all looks like it comes so easily to him.
CHAMPION: It looks so easy. And they said, we want more Flagg. They gave us more Flagg. I have never seen - and I know we said that we thought there might be a late push. There was no way that they were getting past Duke.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
CHAMPION: The interesting thing about this is, we start with 68 teams. By the end of tonight, on the men's side, we'll have our Elite Eight. Just eight. We're down to eight. Everybody's bracket is busted, I assume. But there are no Cinderella stories.
BERMAN: Yes, not as busted as usual, actually.
CHAMPION: Yes. Yes. Exactly. It's pretty chalk. Like, you're like, these teams were expected to win. Texas Tech, you talked about them, yes, just a minute ago. They were the only ones, I think, that really sort of surprised us, but not really, coming back from like 16 points behind. But no Cinderella stories at all.
BOLDUAN: Talk to me about women's ball. I am such a Dawn Staley fan.
BERMAN: Yes.
CHAMPION: Me too. She - I - OK, so I always feel torn. I tell you this every time I come in. I went to UCLA.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
CHAMPION: Number one seed. I want them to win it all. I'm going to put that aside and I'm going to -
BOLDUAN: Set it aside.
CHAMPION: I'm going to set it aside, not be emotional, as wolf told me not to be.
BOLDUAN: A man who has no emotions, we should -
CHAMPION: He's like - he's like, too emotional.
BERMAN: Happening now, no emotions. CHAMPION: Calm down, Cari. I was like, OK, I'll put them away. So, no,
I think Dawn Staley is special. I think that South Carolina is obviously the team to beat. They're the defending champions. However, they look beatable this season. And normally they don't. And I - and I think what we're going to see, I mean, surprise, surprise, UConn. They may do something really special. We haven't seen a Geno Auriemma team win the championship in I don't know how long. But she - UConn might do something special on the women's side.
BERMAN: So, one thing that has sort of become new in tournament watching, particularly on the men's side, is the transfer portal.
CHAMPION: Oh.
BERMAN: You see players - hey, wait, I saw them a couple years ago on a different team. We saw this in football also. And it's just much more prevalent and part of the discussion and, really, coaches aren't even hiding it anymore.
CHAMPION: Yes, it's impossible to keep your players. You're recruiting while they are still playing.
BOLDUAN: It's wild.
CHAMPION: Players are looking - it's crazy. They're looking into the transfer portal. They're looking to see who's giving them the most money. I - they're - they're going to become, sooner than later, the NCAA will have to look at this and say, these players are now going to be employees because they're making so much money.
If I was a coach right now, and you can see why some of those legacy coaches left, because you can't keep the kids on the basketball team anymore.
BOLDUAN: How do you build a program?
CHAMPION: You can't.
BERMAN: Do you want to make some, you know, revised choices for your winners now? Men's and women's.
CHAMPION: I have Michigan State winning it all on the men's side. I'm still sticking with UCLA to win it all. I have to, I must. I have to believe. I know I was told not to have emotion, but I'm emotional with this one.
What about you?
BOLDUAN: I feel like - I feel like when it comes to lots of things, I think emotion is cool.
CHAMPION: I mean - I mean I like it too. Do you have any winners you want to - you want to tell me?
[09:55:00]
BERMAN: I got - I had Duke and I still have Duke.
CHAMPION: OK. Smart.
BOLDUAN: I don't - I did auto. I did auto correct. And I had a reason to, which we don't need to get into. But, anyway, I did auto correct, which probably is going to make my bracket actually do better than what I could choose.
CHAMPION: Yes, I think - yes, exactly.
BOLDUAN: I mean I have spent time with it and been like, I am donsies (ph) like the moment they begin playing. So - so is the fun.
CHAMPION: It's going to be great. I'm excited. So, tonight you got to watch. It will be fun. It will have the - the first four were last night. We've got the last four tonight. And then we'll watch the women's as well begin their Sweet 16.
BERMAN: Cari Champion, thank you.
BOLDUAN: Till tomorrow.
BERMAN: We do have a special guest.
BOLDUAN: Stay with us, Cari, because we have a friend.
BERMAN: Someone who couldn't make it in to anchor today -
CHAMPION: Oh, OK.
BERMAN: But can make it into the control room.
BOLDUAN: What are you doing? I thought you weren't -
CHAMPION: Oh, my. The chomp. Got it!
BOLDUAN: I -
BERMAN: That's Florida grad Sara Sidner telling us who she wants to win in the men's side.
BOLDUAN: If this is Sara's idea of going on vacation, we need to talk, my friend.
BERMAN: That's right.
CHAMPION: Wait, because she's like, I want you to know, Florida's going to win it all. I did not mention Florida. Forgive me, please. I apologize.
BOLDUAN: You shall be forgiven, I will - I will keep her far away from you. Don't worry.
Love you, Sara.
BERMAN: Cari, thanks so much for being here. CHAMPION: Thanks for having me.
BOLDUAN: Thanks so much for being here, everyone. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM," up next.
BERMAN: With Wolf Blitzer. Don't be emotional, Wolf.
CHAMPION: No emotions.
BOLDUAN: No emotions. Do not show emotion.
CHAMPION: No emotion.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
