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Stocks Sink As New Report Shows Uptick In Core Inflation; Trump Promises Tax Deduction On Loans For U.S.-Made Cars; Axios: Trump Might Let Taxes Rise For Rich To Cover Breaks On Tips; Trump: We have To have Greenland. We Can't Do Without It: Vance: Greenland Has To Choose To Become Independent Of Denmark; Detained Columbia Univ. Activist's Hearing Ends Without Decision. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired March 28, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:57]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Breaking news, stocks tumbling across the board. New data showing inflation remains a problem, but President Trump says he has an idea to offset his new auto tariffs.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Plus, measles cases rising in a multi-state outbreak. The number of new infections in Texas reaching a really troubling milestone. We're going to have the latest numbers.

And the death toll is climbing after a devastating earthquake hits Southeast Asia. Multiple buildings collapsed in Myanmar and Thailand. Look at that, it just fell in the blink of an eye. Rescue crews still racing to save people trapped beneath the rubble.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

JIMENEZ: All right. Breaking news right now, investors are on edge just an hour before the close. And the Dow is not looking great. Down more than 700 points. Lot of red on your screen there. The other two major indexes slumping as well as Wall Street braces for maybe its worst quarter since 2023.

KEILAR: And that is before Trump is scheduled to announce even more tariffs very soon here on April 2nd or what he's referring to as "Liberation Day." Let's go to CNN's Alayna Treene, who's live for us at the White House.

Alayna, there are major concerns right now that Trump's 25 percent tariffs on imported cars and parts could send costs soaring. How's he responding to those worries today?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it's really interesting, Brianna and Omar, because he was asked a question many Americans are asking themselves right now, which is, should we be rushing to try and buy a car now that these tariffs are going to take effect next week. Take a listen to how he responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Should Americans buy cars now if they want to avoid higher prices and then just to follow up ...

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think so. I think you're going to have a country that's going to boom. We're going to do something that has never been done in this country before. I'm very proud to say it was my idea. And so sometimes a simple idea, they say, how do you think of that one? It's so simple. It was never done.

If you buy a car in the United States that's made in the United States, if it's manufactured here, when you borrow money, if you borrow money, you have interest payments. We're going to let you deduct the interest payment for income tax reasons. And I think that's going to more than pay for itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Brianna and Omar, economists and even the automakers themselves, including American manufacturers who make these cars, are warning that that's not really the case, that prices are going to have to go up and that they could, you know, potentially and will likely be passed on to consumers. And that's partly because, look, there's no such thing as an all American made car. I mean, these tariffs don't apply to what the President says are cars made in the United States.

But even American cars, even America auto manufacturers, they rely on countries like Canada and Mexico for certain car parts.

[15:05:02]

So even then, when you're getting - buying a car from an American manufacturer or getting your car fixed, there are major concerns that you're going to see those prices increase. And that's part of why we saw the big three U.S. auto manufacturers: Ford, GM and Stellantis last month meet with the President to try and convince him for exemptions on this.

So, that's really where a lot of the concern is around here and why you're seeing some of the market really react with some jitters to this news. And then just very quickly on the auto payments, the auto loans that he said, the interest payments on auto loans that will be tax deductible. That is something that the President has long said he wanted to do. It was a campaign trail promise.

However, people note as well that most Americans actually take the standard deduction. So this wouldn't apply to the majority of the country.

JIMENEZ: Alayna Treene, really appreciate it here.

I'm going to keep the conversation going and bring in Neil Irwin, Chief Economic Correspondent for Axios.

Because, Neil, as I understand, you have some new reporting on the Trump administration discussing allowing taxes on the wealthy to rise in return for cutting taxes on tips. Can you just tell us what you know?

NEIL IRWIN, CHIEF ECONOMIC CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: Yes. So, you know, there's this extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts that has to happen before the end of the year or taxes go up on almost everybody. They want to keep that from happening. The question is, how do you add some of these things like Alayna was talking about, about deductibility of car loans, eliminating tax on tips, limiting tax on Social Security, some of these things that President Trump promised on the campaign trail. Well, how do you pay for those?

One thing that we understand some people in the White House are at least kicking around and talking about is actually letting those tax cuts on the very upper income brackets, the very top bracket, over six, seven hundred thousand dollars a year to actually rise back to its pre TCJA, partly pre-tax reform level to 39.6 percent, not the 37 it is now. Whether Republicans on Capitol Hill will go for that, that's a big open question, but it is an interesting wrinkle in this debate over how taxes might be changed going forward.

KEILAR: Okay. And as you mentioned, President Trump, he just talked about that plan for tax deductions on interest paid on car loans. I know a lot of people, their ears probably perk up when they hear something like that. It would affect so many people. How would that work?

IRWIN: You know, I mean, it's pretty straightforward. We have the home mortgage interest deduction. You - if you have a mortgage, you can deduct the interest subject to some constraints on your taxes. You can do that with auto loans, too.

The issue is that the more things like that you carve out in the tax code to help certain groups of people, people who borrow money to buy a car in this case, the less money you have available for everything else. For example, keeping overall rates low.

And so, that's why a lot of more conservative kind of economic policy people don't love the idea of having all these little special, weird carve outs in the tax code. They'd rather have broadened the base, lower the rates. They'd rather have lower rates on everybody and not have all these special carve outs.

The President is going a different direction. Trump wants to see no taxes on tips, again, no taxes on overtime. And this idea of eliminating taxes or making auto loan interest deductible.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, one of the things, as we're showing some of the market numbers on the screen here, you know, next week we're expecting this next round of tariffs to go in on vehicles. Trump said he doesn't believe Americans need to rush to buy cars before 25 percent tariffs kick in. Obviously, it's expected to raise the price of vehicles.

I mean, is that good advice? Is there a period to wait to see how this plays out? I just wonder how you're analyzing what comes in the next week. IRWIN: It's hard to be sure. You know, that automakers are under pressure from the White House to not raise prices. There's been some reporting on that in the last 24 hours. How they will respond to this increase in tariffs and how quickly, we don't know exactly. Some of the tariffs on automakers are delayed until May 2nd or May 3rd.

So, it's not all happening immediately. That said, one thing we've seen across the economy as these tariff threats have mounted is companies trying to get ahead of things. And sometimes that's tech - that's price increases. Sometimes that's importing things ahead of schedule and just keeping things in storage.

That may buy some time and mean that we don't see price spikes immediately. Same time, you know, any auto analyst, any economist you talk to will tell you the idea that these automakers can absorb these 25 percent and potentially higher tariffs in terms of lower profit margins and just pass that on to - not pass that on to consumers is probably not the case. You know, these are not companies that can just have huge margins and can absorb those taxes. It will show up. It's a question of when and how much.

KEILAR: Neil, great to get your perspective on this. It's so informative.

Neil Irwin, thank you.

IRWIN: Thanks, guys.

KEILAR: New developments now are breaking news. Vice President J.D. Vance is in Greenland making the case at a U.S. Space Force base for why the Trump administration is persistent in its push to gain control of the Danish territory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. Vance, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Greenland really matters for the security of the United States.

[15:10:01]

It's extremely vulnerable right now. And if the people of Greenland were willing to partner with the United States, and I think that they ultimately will partner with the United States, we could make them much more secure. We could do a lot more protection. And I think they'd fare a lot better economically as well. 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

All right, Vance is there with the Second Lady, his wife, Usha, and also a handful of other senior administration officials, including the President's national security advisor, Michael Waltz.

Mrs. Vance was initially supposed to travel to Greenland without her husband. It was supposed to be a cultural visit, according to the White House. The trip, though, is highly contentious and has stoked tensions across the island as Trump and Vance ratchet up talk of annexation.

Here's what the President said moments before Vance spoke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We need Greenland, very importantly, for international security. We have to have Greenland. It's not a question of: Do you think we can do without it? We can't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: With us now is Rasmus Jarlov, a member of the Danish parliament.

Mr. Jarlov, thank you for being with us. Your reaction there to what you just heard from President Trump saying the U.S. can't do without Greenland.

RASMUS JARLOV, DANISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Well, the U.S. can do very well without Greenland for a number of reasons. First of all, thinking that you need another country's territory does not make up a legitimate claim to that territory.

Secondly, the threats that they are talking about towards Greenland are highly exaggerated. It is true that there is more shipping because the Arctic shipping lanes are open up as the ice is melting. Russia and China does not have any presence in Greenland at all. They don't have a consulate. They don't do any mining. They don't have any activities there. They don't have any ownership there. So, they are not about to take over Greenland. And there is no big threats against Greenland except for hostile American takeover.

And finally, the United States has full military access to Greenland and have had so since 1952. So, if they feel like they need a bigger presence in Greenland to protect the United States, they are more than welcome to do so. And I'm just wondering, why is it that they only have less than 150 soldiers in Greenland today? They used to have 15,000. They used to have three air bases, a naval base, radars all over the island. And all of that they have taken away. And now they're blaming us for not defending Greenland well enough.

We are defending Greenland to the extent that it needs to be defended. It's not an important military target, but it is relevant for the United States to have a presence there and they can have as much as a presence that they want. So, they do not need to take control of Greenland. And we're not going to agree to it because the people of Greenland don't want to become Americans. They're very, very clear about that. They had an election two weeks ago where nobody was elected that wants to join the United States.

KEILAR: Okay. So, polling shows, yes, as you mentioned, Greenlanders do not favor becoming part of the U.S. This is overwhelming. But also earlier this month, these parliamentary elections, the party that won actually favors a slow approach to independence from Denmark. And you can see - I want you to listen to something that the Vice President said, because what is clear here in the strategy is to try to drive a wedge between Greenland and Denmark and then to have the U.S. come in from there. Let's listen to what the Vice President said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: What we think is going to happen is that the Greenlanders are going to choose through self-determination to become independent of Denmark, and then we're going to have conversations with the people of Greenland from there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So, what do you say to that, because he's bringing up the fact that, hey, Greenlanders aren't exactly thrilled with you guys, right? So what do you say to that piece?

JARLOV: Yes. Greenland is part of Denmark because they have not chosen to leave. They've had the opportunity of leaving since 2009, but they have not chosen to do so because they think that they're better off being part of Denmark. And with a new government being formed, you should not expect that that's going to change very soon because they need to be able to take care of a lot of more things than they're able to take care of today before they will benefit from being an independent country.

But don't mistake the need and the desire for independence with a desire to become American. They are very clear that if they should choose between Denmark and the United States, they would choose and prefer to stay with Denmark. So, it should be their choice.

[15:15:05]

And, of course - I mean, we're not happy with Americans going to a region, a fully integrated region of Denmark and then trying to drive a wedge between us and trying to make an alliance with separatists to try to take that region. I mean, how would you react if China went to Hawaii and started a campaign trying to bribe people there to make them become part of China? I don't think any country would accept that.

So, of course, this is not acceptable behavior from an allied country. And it's really it's really very bad for the Western alliance. We cannot be allies if one country tries to take another country's territory. We are allied with the Americans because we want to be protected from others taking our territory, not because we want allies to take our territory away from us.

So, it's really not something that we can accept. And I don't think any country would accept it. We're not going to accept the strategy of trying to bribe the Greenlanders away from Denmark. And if that were the case, ultimately, Denmark would say no to independence. It's not something that you can just do. You can't take it by force, but you also cannot take it through bribery. KEILAR: It does seem clear you can't be allied with someone who is trying to actively take your territory. I think we are seeing that happen. Mr. Rasmus Jarlov, thank you so much for being with us. It's really important to hear your perspective, as well as that of Greenlanders. Thank you.

JARLOV: Thank you.

KEILAR: Thank you. We're also following some breaking news out of Southeast Asia where rescue efforts are underway at this hour after this incredible, deadly 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar today. This was the strongest quake to hit that country in more than 100 years. The damage is just astronomical here. At least one 144 people have been killed in Myanmar alone. That's what we know so far. And officials warn the number of casualties is expected to rise.

JIMENEZ: I mean, just look at that building on its side. And then this one that collapsed here, the powerful aftershocks and tremors have rippled across the region, collapsing buildings hundreds of miles away.

This this video is out of Bangkok, Thailand, showing a high-rise building crumble in seconds. As you can see, people trying to escape, more than a hundred people are believed to be trapped under the rubble. So far, about a dozen people have been rescued from the site of that collapsed building as emergency crews frantically search for more survivors.

All right, still to come, as videos show the arrests of more foreign students, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says hundreds of visas have already been revoked by the Trump administration. Plus, after vitamin A is touted by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a measles treatment, doctors now say they're treating patients for vitamin A toxicity.

KEILAR: And still to come after a CNN inquiry, the Trump administration makes a big reversal on a policy that would have had devastating impacts for some military families.

We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:22:32]

KEILAR: Today, new developments involving several high-profile immigration cases and the Trump administration.

In New Jersey, protesters gathering outside court as lawyers for detained Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil fought for his release. White House attorneys, in the meantime, fighting for the case to be moved to Louisiana. ICE agents transported the pro-Palestinian activists there after his arrest earlier this month. Khalil's lawyers expressed new outrage after the judge just a short time ago ended today's hearing without a decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAHER AZMY, MAHMOUD KHALIL'S ATTORNEY: His detention is unconstitutional. The United States government disagrees with his constitutionally protected right to dissent from U.S. foreign policy. What they're ultimately trying to do to so many student activists is chilling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The arrest of Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, also raising alarm this week. Six officers, in plain clothes, you see in this video here, approached the Turkish national as she was walking alone in Boston on Tuesday evening. She, too, was then taken by ICE to Louisiana. And today her lawyers filed a petition in Massachusetts to have her released on bail. So far, no charges have been filed in that case. Her family is arguing that her Palestinian support is the reason she was detained.

And there are more also detained right now. A Georgetown scholar, he's facing deportation over accusations of terror ties, something that his legal team denies. Also, a University of Alabama doctoral student from Iran who was taken into custody Tuesday over alleged issues with his visa. Then just yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Ozturk's visa was revoked and said the visas of more than 300 others have been revoked as well. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Well, lots to talk about here. Let's bring in National Security attorney Bradley Moss.

Brad, look, we just went through a lot of those cases. Is there anything in particular, I guess maybe a common thread that maybe alarms you or has you concerned in regards to these cases?

BRADLEY MOSS, NATIONAL SECURITY ATTORNEY: Yes, what should be alarming for most people, whether you're an American citizen or if you're an international student or a green card holder living in the United States, is the extent to which this administration is asserting broad, virtually unprecedented authorities to take these kinds of actions. You saw that with Secretary Rubio bragging about just revoking the visas for nothing other than political speech.

[15:25:02]

And you don't have to agree with what these students said or did. I probably completely disagree with what the students both at Tufts and at Columbia did in terms of their activism. But it was protected constitutional speech. There's no basis for taking these actions.

We don't convict people on rumor, innuendo and hearsay. We have rules. We have processes. And the administration is trying to make it clear they don't care about any of that.

JIMENEZ: And so I guess the question in these cases seems to be what are matters of free speech and what are matters of National Security? And obviously, the Secretary of State has not been shy to use that discretion. But in your view, where is that line? MOSS: Yes. So, historically, we have not taken these kinds of actions when people simply engaged in nothing other than standard protected political speech. That's one of the great things about this country compared to the rest of the world, especially compared to a lot of these two-bit authoritarian countries that the President seems to love, that we allow these individuals to be here, assuming they comply with criminal laws, civil law, of course, but to engage in speech that you and I might not agree with, but to do so in a lawful manner and to allow them to express that. That's what made America great. That's what has made it great for the last two centuries.

The whole idea here, the entire, you know, agenda that this administration has from a legal standpoint, is that they're going to redefine what is and is not permissible constitutional speech. That way, madness lies.

And, you know, there's been big questions over sort of the manner of how these arrests have been have been affected. I mean, you know, there's a lot of concern over the video of Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk. We're showing it on the screen there where she's on the way or on her way to meet friends for dinner. Plainclothes officers confronted her, arrested her. She is a Turkish national and arrested for allegedly engaging in activities in support of Hamas per DHS. But it's unclear what specifically those alleged activities were.

Her family suspects it was an op ed from years ago where she criticized - or last year where she criticized Tufts response to a student government group's call for the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel.

Are you surprised that for accusations like this, for example, that arrests are being made in this way where you have plainclothes officers approaching someone on the street like this? I mean, seemingly, if you're watching that video, they don't even look like officers in any way. Is it surprising that this is how arrests for, again, these types of accusations are being carried out?

MOSS: No, I'm sadly not surprised because this is actually what the administration wants. It wants to chill individuals. It wants to send that image of force, that image of power. These plainclothes officers coming in, grabbing a person and sticking them in a van and driving them off to ship them on a plane to Louisiana. They want that kind of imagery.

It's the same reason the White House's Twitter account is posting memes, mocking these individuals. The idea is to dehumanize them. The idea is to give the public the sense that these are all somehow bad people, that they threaten you, they threaten your livelihood. They don't matter. They don't count. Therefore, you should let us treat them however we, the U.S. government, feels appropriate.

JIMENEZ: Well, it seems that the pace of cases like these has not slowed down even as these judicial proceedings move forward. And, of course, we wait to hear what happens in the Mahmoud Khalil case. Bradley Moss, really appreciate you being here. Thanks for the time and insight. MOSS: Absolutely. Have a good afternoon.

JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, doctors are treating measles patients in West Texas, where they say they're now seeing cases of vitamin A toxicity, which is the very supplement touted by the nation's Health and Human Services Secretary as a treatment for the disease. We'll bring you the details next.

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