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Stock Futures Tumble; White House Reaction to Tariff Fallout; Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is Interviewed about Tariffs; Four People Dead in Severe Storms; Scott Walker is Interviewed about Tariffs. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 03, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As part of the reason to detain her. The university president said in his declaration, we actually have no problem with this. She was critical of our response to the Israel-Hamas war, but it was well within her right to do. And we stand behind her. Our asking the court to let her be released.

So, it's an interesting development as these universities are stuck in a difficult position as the Trump administration continues to threaten their funding.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Gloria Pazmino, thanks for following this for us. Appreciate it.

We got a big hour coming up. The markets set to open. They have been very shaky to say the least. A brand-new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All eyes on the U.S. stock market that will be opening in less than 30 minutes. That is because of President Trump's huge historic tariffs across 185 countries. And right now, President Trump's 25 percent tariff on all car imports are currently in effect. A move expected to spike prices on millions of vehicles. The impact this decision will have on companies and consumers alike.

All right, just a few minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Stocks futures are giving us some idea of what we may expect. And it ain't good. The Trump administration's global war on trade. All eyes on the market to see the immediate and potentially long-term effect this might have on the U.S. economy and your economy.

And, you waited almost a full season for his "White Lotus" big reveal, the mystery man from Thailand. Scott Glenn joining us later this hour to discuss his role on the HBO mega-hit, no spoilers, trust me, for the finale this Sunday, we promise.

I'm Sara Sidner, Kate Berman - Kate - nope, nope, nope, my co-anchors, John Berman and Kate Bolduan. Or, as I call them, my friends. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news. SIDNER: Turns out me and the markets have jitters. We are just 30 minutes from the opening bell on Wall Street, and the world is reacting to President Trump's historic escalation of his trade war. Trump announced an across the board tariff on 10 percent on imports coming into the U.S. starting this weekend. Some 60 countries will be hit even harder with much larger tariffs. And overnight, the new 25 percent tariff on all car imports taking effect. This move alone is expected to hike prices on millions of vehicles by thousands of dollars.

CNN's Matt Egan is joining us now.

My goodness, this is a big day. Everyone's watching the markets. They're seeing the futures. It doesn't look good. Huge drops here. What can you tell us about what this tells us about what's going to happen in a half an hour?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Sara, clearly the president's trade war is freaking out Wall Street. It's sending shockwaves across global markets. Let's take a look at U.S. stock futures. Dow futures down 3 percent, tumbling almost 1,300 points. But steeper losses of nearly 4 percent. I think that qualifies as a plunge for the S&P. Almost 5 percent for the Nasdaq. I guess this answers one question, why the White House waited until after the closing bell for the president to actually roll out his trade plan.

These losses are bad, but there's actually even steeper losses than some of the individual stocks, the multinational companies that import items and make items overseas. Nike, Apple down 8 percent, 12 percent.

SIDNER: Wow.

EGAN: Crocs. Lululemon. And look, investors, they were bracing for some rough news on tariffs yesterday. But I think this reaction shows that the result was even worse than they had anticipated. We're seeing that the U.S. tariff rate is going sharply higher because of these moves. Look at this. This shows the U.S. tariff rate going back 200 years.

SIDNER: Wow.

EGAN: And what you can see here is, one, it's going straight higher. Fitch ratings says that it's going to be at at least 22 percent because of these new Trump tariffs. That is the highest level since around 1910, even surpassing Smoot-Hawley, which infamously made the great recession even worse.

Just to recap what happened yesterday and what's happening today. We have the auto tariffs kicking in today. Also, the president announced this 10 percent baseline tariff on all U.S. imports kicking in, in just a few days. And then next week these reciprocal tariffs on almost 60 countries.

Now, JP Morgan put out a note to their clients last night and they say, look, if these policies are sustained and they're implemented, it's likely going to push the U.S. and the global economy into recession this year. Moody's Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi, he said, look, if they follow through, I would buckle up and brace for impact. He said a recession seems more likely than not.

Now, of course, there's still some questions here, right? How are other countries going to retaliate? Are the tariffs definitely going to kick in?

[09:05:01]

How long are they going to stay in place. But clearly, Sara, this is a global - this is a gamble by the president, right?

SIDNER: A huge one.

EGAN: And the question is, is it going to turn out in the long run where it rebalances the trading system in a way that helps Americans? Or does it push the economy into a recession? It's too early to tell. But I do think the message from the market is, they're worried about a recession.

SIDNER: The message from the market is clear and the opening bell is coming, so we'll really see the robust response. And we will hear from other countries who are already starting to talk about the fact that they are going to retaliate. We will see when and if that happens.

Matt Egan, thank you so much.

EGAN: Thanks, Sara.

SIDNER: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: But now down 4.5 percent, the Nasdaq.

SIDNER: No, this is huge. Yes.

BOLDUAN: I mean this is now - now plunging stock futures.

New reaction is also coming in from the White House this morning to the impact and fallout from the president's historic escalation in this trade war. The message from the White House to nervous investors today, the president isn't changing course. Here is what the White House press secretary told us just last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say, trust in President Trump. This is a president who is doubling down on his proven economic formula from his first term. We saw wages increase. We saw inflation come down. We had a Trump energy boom. We had the largest tax cuts in history. And that's exactly what the president intends to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: All right, let's get to the White House. CNN's Alayna Treene standing by. And, Alanya, just as I was walking out, I saw that the president has posted his first comments of the day. What is he saying?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, let me just read this for you off the bat, Kate, because I think it's - it sets the tone for how White House officials are responding to this. The president himself posted this morning, "the operation is over. The patient lived and is healing. The prognosis is that the patient will be far stronger, bigger, better and more resilient than ever before. Make America great again."

Now, obviously, I think it appears that he is referring to the operation as being the implementation, or at least the announcement, of these tariffs.

Look, the White House has been very intentional, Kate, in their messaging, both yesterday, but, of course, in the immediate aftermath and this morning following those tariffs announcement. One, that idea of liberation. I mean you saw that Rose Garden event yesterday. It was meant to be a celebration. The president treated it as such. They really do believe, and this is going back to something that the president believes at his core, that the United States has been taken advantage of for several years.

And so, you know, we have heard now, the president himself and others say repeatedly over the last several weeks that there will be tariffs, that he is serious about tariffs. You've had people on Wall Street, Republicans on Capitol Hill, the president's defenders, argue that perhaps it is just a negotiating tool, that he would back off. You know, questions of whether he is serious or not.

It is very clear that he is serious. And his - his team and top economic advisers, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, are making that very clear today. Essentially, they believe that the United States needs an entire realignment in how they operate as it relates to global trade. It's a change that they recognize is big, that is going to upend the way that the United States and the global economy interact with one another. But they argue it's necessary.

Now, I want you to listen as well. I know you asked her this question. But Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, made this clear as well. She - you know, when she was asking whether or not the president would move away from this approach. Listen to how she responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is firm in his approach, and the president is ensuring economic stability here in the United States of America. Yesterday, he was joined in the Rose Garden by everyday Americans, middle class workers. You heard from one of them who the president invited on stage by name because he knows this man and he knows what the impact of globalization has done to communities like Detroit, Michigan, where auto workers have been put out of jobs, where we've seen factories shut down. We have offshored critical supply chains in our country. Do we want our critical supplies like lifesaving medical - medicines and chips being made in China, or do we want them being made right here in the United States of America? Every American knows the answer to that question. This is a commonsense policy. And if these countries wanted to negotiate, if these countries wanted to do what's right, they've had 70 years to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: I think the end of that quote there, Kate, is really the key here. If these countries wanted to negotiate, they had 70 years to do it. That actually is a little bit different, though, from what we heard from the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. He's been urging other countries who have said and continue to say this morning that they are planning to respond in kind to these tariffs with their own retaliatory tariffs. We heard the treasury secretary say, do not do that. We do not want to escalate this even further. And also argued that, you know, potentially these could be negotiated down the line. But that's still a key question.

Right now what is very clear is how serious the president is about these tariffs, how serious they are to committing to this and really taking that gamble that Matt Egan just told Sara about.

[09:10:07]

This is a gamble. He is gambling that the United States economy will hopefully turn out for the better once this restructuring of how they do trade is completed.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Alayna Treene, at the White House for us. Alayna, thank you so much.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now is Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island.

Senator, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

The president wrote moments ago, "the operation is over. The patient lived and is healing." What do you think of that prognosis?

SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-RI): Seems like a bad analogy. Looks a lot more to us like the roof just fell in on American families who are going to face thousands of dollars more in costs per year, north of three grand by current estimates. And that's before the reciprocal tariffs worsen the trade war. They're going to wake up probably tomorrow, the next day, and see 401(k)s and pension funds that have taken a pounding.

The Republicans are now in the middle of stripping back hundreds of billions of dollars of Medicaid to - that, you know, peoples moms are in nursing homes, peoples family members are having babies in hospitals supported by Medicaid. And behind all this, you have the property insurance, mortgage crisis looming.

So, this is not a good day for American family income and American family economics.

BERMAN: So the metaphor you use is the roof is falling in. Supporters of the president would say the roof has fallen in on manufacturing in the United States over the long term. In Rhode Island alone you've lost, what, you've lost nearly 57,000 manufacturing jobs in the last 35 years. That's according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you think something needs to be done to address those losses? And are tariffs something that could contribute to bringing those jobs back?

WHITEHOUSE: Yes, absolutely. I think that structured and careful, thoughtful tariffs could well have a role. Investment in the U.S. has a big role, as we proved with the Chips Act, with the Infrastructure Bill, with the IRA. There are factories being built across America right now thanks to those Biden-era programs.

So, there's a smart way to do it. And there's a dumb and damaging way to do it. And I'm afraid we just chose the dumb and damaging way to do it.

BERMAN: You are an outspoken man. I think you would - you would own that proudly. What do you say to the American people? Donald Trump ran on tariffs, right? He ran on all kinds of tariffs. He said it's a glorious word. It's his favorite word. So, is this what American voters asked for? And what would you say to these voters now?

WHITEHOUSE: Take - take a week and see how this turns out for you. I think when voters understand that this means north of three grand more in family costs every year, when they look at their pension fund plummet, when they see Medicaid being pulled out from under them, when they look at what happened to their homeowners insurance bill and their problems getting mortgages and weather hit areas, I think what we're going to see is an enormous correction politically because of the enormous damage economically that Trump is inflicting on America.

I mean, I think it's time for Republicans to look at each other and say, hey, Houston, we have a problem.

BERMAN: Do you think he'll blink?

WHITEHOUSE: You know, he's not of a blinking nature, but who very well might blink are Republicans in Congress who have to face voters in 2026. You saw what the Wisconsin and Florida races looked like. It is looking like a real bloodbath for Republicans in November of 2026 if they don't correct what seems to be essentially economic warfare on the American middle class.

BERMAN: Let me ask you about a story that came out in "Politico" this morning, and it has to do again with the way that the national security team is handling messages and conversations. "Politico" reports that there have been more Signal chats set up than just the one dealing with Yemen. "Politico" writes, "National Security Advisor Mike Waltz's team regularly set up chats on Signal to coordinate official work on issues including Ukraine, China, Gaza, Middle East policy, Africa and Europe, according to four people who have been personally added to Signal chats. Two of the people said they were in or have direct knowledge of at least 20 chats. All four said they saw instances of sensitive information being discussed."

How much of an issue do you think this is or should be?

WHITEHOUSE: I think it's going to be a continuing issue. First of all, because of the security risk of talking about national security related issues in a platform that is so vulnerable that the Department of Defense itself has warned that it shouldn't be used. And then they have the credibility and morale problem that, you know, there's a saying about the military that officers should eat last.

[09:15:07]

When you have a privileged cadre at the top that is violating rules that would cause younger officers and regular soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines to be court martialed or have their security clearances revoked and their careers ended, that's not a good look. And every single time that a training is done in the Defense Department that tells people how serious it is that they have to treat classified information properly, this is going to be in the back of peoples' mind, that the rules only apply to regular people. And these Trump high officials get to play outside the rules, even at peril to national security.

BERMAN: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, from Rhode Island, we appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, ahead, tornadoes tore through several states overnight, leaving a big path of destruction. And the threat from storms, not over yet. Actually getting more dangerous.

And we are, of course, watching the markets. Just about 15 minutes from the opening bell on Wall Street. So far, futures, bad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:15]

SIDNER: This morning, the line of severe thunderstorms that raked across the Midwest is now taking aim at the south. Overnight, these powerful storms killed at least three people in Tennessee. A fourth storm-related death is now confirmed in Missouri. And so far, at least 20 tornadoes have been reported across five different states. In Arkansas, one person shared this video with CNN of a massive tornado touching down. Oh, look at that, as sirens are blaring in the distance.

CNN's Ryan Young is in Lake City, Arkansas, with us.

You've been showing us damage all morning. We're finally seeing the light of the morning, so you can get a real picture of just how bad things are. What are you seeing, Ryan? RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we have first

light here, so we can see a lot of damage. But, Sara, you know how this works. We have people walking around, trying to survey the damage for themselves.

This man was just walking by. We haven't even really had a chance to introduce ourselves. I'm Ryan, by the way.

CHARLES: Charles (INAUDIBLE).

YOUNG: Nice to meet you, Charles.

You said this was severe. You were worried about your daughter. As you talked, tell me where they went yesterday when this storm happened. So I can show you back this way.

CHARLES: Right before the storm come in, they had word the storm was a coming. So they went to Lake City to a storm shelter. And then when the storm blows over, we just heard that 158 one 135 18 got hit. So, we come down here and look, and her house was gone.

YOUNG: When you see your daughter's house, what hits your heart about how bad this could have been if her and the kids -

CHARLES: Our heart dropped because we know it could have been gone - they could have been gone. They couldn't - they wouldn't be with us today, you know? So, I mean, we was all devastated. So, we all come out here today, this morning, I was (INAUDIBLE) we can find their personal stuff and stuff that we could find.

YOUNG: But they are OK?

CHARLES: Yes, sir. They're all - they're fine.

YOUNG: Fantastic. Thank you, Charles, for stopping. Appreciate that. Thank you.

So, Sara, I wanted to get that because he had just walked up. That was her house right there. She had three kids. That house is now gone.

And taking you back to the other side of this, as I walk you around this way, I want to tell you about the story right here. Chad, who's standing there on the porch, that's where he was standing when the tornado was headed this way. He could see it coming across this field. If you look back this direction, you can see the path that the storm cut. And as it came this direction, he made the decision to run this way to a storm shelter. He grabbed his neighbors over there. They ran to a corner storm shelter, and they rode it out. And the reason why that was lucky is, because, look what's in the front yard here. They were able to survive this. He was able to come back and get his three dogs. So, you know just how terrible this was. They were all running to try to get away from this storm.

We're going to walk you to the corner as well, Sara, because all this is our - really our first chance to go through here. Six homes destroyed in a matter of seconds. Everyone here talks about the pressure, the sound of the train, the noise, then the compounding snapping of the trees. And then all of a sudden the power sparking. All this happened so very quickly they didn't feel like they could get away from it.

Look that direction. Look at that red pickup truck. It is basically hanging, been pierced by not only trees but the telephone poles. So, all this happened very quickly. Luckily, though, the folks here survived and they have stories of survival. But at the same time, they're trying to find their belongings. They're trying to find their dogs. They're trying to find their cats.

Sara.

SIDNER: Ryan, you know what I love about you? You always take us into this, and you make us feel what people feel on the ground, listening to their stories, seeing the damage. Incredible reporting there. Thank you so much. Ryan Young, to you and your team, thank you.

YOUNG: Thank you, Sara.

SIDNER: John.

BERMAN: All right, take a look at stock futures right now. Very shortly they will be futures no more. The markets open in seven minutes. What this tells you right here. It could be a very, very rocky opening. Get out your dictionary. Learn some of the words to describe market drops of this size.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:28:29]

BOLDUAN: All right, the breaking news this morning, we are just now truly moments away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Investors are clearly worried and clearly bracing for impact after the president's tariff announcement. Stock futures have been really plunging all morning. The world's biggest economies also vowing to hit back.

What the president announced is an across the board tariff of 10 percent on all imports coming into the U.S. starting this weekend. For some 60 countries, the hits even harder and the tariffs are even higher. Futures way down, as you can see.

Last hour I asked the White House press secretary how much pain the president is comfortable with Americans feeling when it comes to these tariffs and his tariff agenda. Here's part of her answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is delivering on his promise to implement reciprocal tariffs while his administration is working hard every day to cut regulation, to reduce fraud, waste and abuse in our federal government as well. And tax cuts are the next step of this economic agenda, which will lead to more investment, more money in our economy, more economic growth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now is the former Republican governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker.

It's good to see you, Governor. Thanks for being here.

SCOTT WALKER (R), FORMER WISCONSIN GOVERNOR: Good morning.

BOLDUAN: First and foremost, I just want to get your take on the president's tariff rollout yesterday going to take effect this weekend, and the reaction that were seeing from global markets and U.S. futures so far.

WALKER: Well, obviously, in the marketplace, uncertainty is always an issue. Whether it was Covid five years ago or other things like tariffs.

[09:30:01]

Until we get more certainty, I don't think the markets are going to be comfortable. So that will take some time.

But when it comes to tariffs and trade, I mean, Donald Trump,