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Pope Francis' Hospital Stay Extended Tue To "Polymicrobial Infection"; American Voters React To First Weeks Of Trump's Second Term; West Point Cadets Share Their Views Of America, Importance Of U.S. Constitution; Scientists: Alaska's Mount Spurr Could Be On Brink of Eruption. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired February 17, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:32:54]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Days after being admitted to the hospital with bronchitis and a respiratory tract infection, the Vatican now says that Pope Francis is going to have to be hospitalized longer than anticipated.

Today, officials announced that he has what's called a polymicrobial infection of his respiratory tract, and the course of his treatment has had to be adjusted.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The pope, as we have previously reported, has a long history of lung-related medical struggles, including having part of one of his lungs removed.

CNN Vatican correspondent, Christopher Lamb, is outside the Rome hospital where the pope is staying.

The Vatican just gave an update. What can you tell us about that?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris and Brianna, the Vatican saying that the pope is without a fever and that he is in a stable condition. And saying that the pope has been very touched by the messages he's been sent.

I can read out what the statement says.

"Pope Francis is touched by the numerous messages of affection and closeness that he has been receiving in recent hours. He especially wants to extend his thanks to those who are hospitalized at this time. He prays for them and asks that they pray for him."

Now the pope, despite being in the hospital bed behind me at Rome's Gemelli Hospital and ordered to rest, has also today been trying to do some work. The Vatican says he's been looking at texts.

He's also called the parish -- the Catholic parish in Gaza on Friday and Saturday, but not, we understand, yesterday, Sunday.

The pope has been told to slow down and stop to recover from this respiratory tract infection that is more complex and serious than was initially thought.

Now there is no clear timetable for how long the pope is going to stay in the hospital. It all depends on how he responds to the antibiotic treatment that he has been receiving.

We are expecting more updates from the Vatican tomorrow, but clearly this is a situation that is -- that needs to be closely monitored. And we will bring any updates that we get as soon as they come -- Boris and Brianna?

[14:35:07]

KEILAR: All right. Christopher Lamb, thank you so much. We'll be keeping a close eye on that.

And still ahead, nearly one month into the second Trump presidency, how do Americans view what they've seen so far? We'll have some new reaction next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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KEILAR: We are entering week five of President Donald Trump's second term, so it's a good time to check the pulse of the American people amid the whirlwind of activity over the last few weeks.

[14:40:04]

We have pollster and communications strategist, Frank Luntz, here with us.

And, Frank, we wanted to have you on because you do a lot of focus groups. You really get behind the numbers, the poll numbers to the sentiments of voters.

And it's so interesting. You've been speaking with a number of voters who were Hillary Clinton, 2016, Joe Biden 2020, and then went for Trump in 2024. How are these folks seeing the early days of Trump's second term?

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER & COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST: Pretty well.

KEILAR: Really.

LUNTZ: And they're reacting to it because they love the pace of change. They were very fed up over the last four years. They wanted action. They wanted results. They looked at prices. They looked at affordability. They looked at immigration. And they didn't see anything happening.

They still don't like what he says, but they like what he does. And these are Democrats now, who felt that they we're not securing the border. They were doing nothing to prevent illegal immigration, that nothing was actually happening.

They wanted to see a reduction in wasteful Washington spending, and they're seeing that. So what they tell me is, I wish you'd be a little bit less rude.

But at the same time, they like what he's doing. They believe he's serious about it. And for the first time, they have confidence in the future, which is why you now see some significant shifts in the polling about the expectations for the direction in the coming years.

KEILAR: It's a big wake up call for Democrats.

LUNTZ: I'm waiting for them to get a message. I'm waiting for them to unify and to understand that to oppose and to be the resistance, which is what some of them use that phrase, that's not what Democrats in grassroots areas want from them.

They may not want the approach that Trump is doing, President Trump -- by the way, I now know to say President Trump. But they do want action and they don't see action from the Democrats.

KEILAR: So on this Presidents Day, maybe a little reflection on the direction of our country.

Because I wanted to ask you as well about a focus group that you did with cadets and professors at West Point at the new year.

Now, full disclosure, you're not agnostic on West Point --

LUNTZ: Not at all.

KEILAR: -- the U.S. Military Academy. You're a professor there. You think it's the best. You do want people to understand, though, more about the University for America's Future Military Leaders.

And I want to play this. This is a moment where you asked the cadets and their professors about their observations on their school and America. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WEST POINT CADET: We're all coming from different walks of life, some of us coming from prior service, some straight from high school, some from other colleges beforehand.

And I think the honor code is also a great example of an equalizer. West Point is an equalizer between people. It brings people together, breaks them down, and then builds them back up.

UNIDENTIFIED WEST POINT CADET: It doesn't matter who you are when you come to the U.S. Because you can do anything when you're here. And that is something that is deeply, uniquely American.

UNIDENTIFIED WEST POINT CADET: Everybody in America wants to live a better life. People who immigrant -- immigrate, they want to live a better life. And that's what America is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Why do you think it's so important for people to get a look into what they're thinking and what's motivating their service?

LUNTZ: Well, first off, they're going to be the leaders, politically, militarily, economically. You go to West Point and you have the character and the drive and the selfless service that makes you so desirable for the next 20, 30, 40 years of your life. That's number one.

But more importantly, they're so optimistic. They believe in this country and its principles and it's values. They believe in the American exceptionalism. They're everything that we want from a great American.

And when I walk into the room and I teach them -- and I really believe this -- I'm the worst person in the room. They do more for this country in a day than I do in a year.

I'll give you an example. I walk out of this dinner that was happening for the last 100 days of the seniors that are getting ready to graduate. And I see these soldiers coming out. It's Friday night, 9:00 p.m.

And they're in full gear, full gear, carrying 30 or 40 pound rucksacks. And they're going off to train all night on a Friday night. No other school does this.

They do this selflessly. They do this to serve their country. They are being prepared to defend us. And I'm so grateful for it. I can sleep easier at night because they are working at night to learn how to defend America.

KEILAR: You also talk to them about the Constitution and what it means to them. And this is significant for a very important reason that we'll touch on after this.

Here's what that moment looks like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WEST POINT CADET: We are a country built on values. We all hear. Officers and the cadets swear an oath to the Constitution that not to a president, not to a leader.

UNIDENTIFIED WEST POINT CADET: The Constitution means America because the Constitution is the very soul of America.

UNIDENTIFIED WEST POINT PROFESSOR: I want them to understand that it is just a piece of paper until we believe in it. And we swear to uphold, support and defend it with our lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:45:02]

KEILAR: I thought it was interesting because this focus on the Constitution being in their oath, which is why we're asking them about it. It's an important distinction at a time when, honestly, the military, which is quite popular, is also becoming quite politicized.

LUNTZ: Well, I don't believe that. I believe --

KEILAR: That it's becoming politicized.

LUNTZ: -- that there are people who might try to politicize it, but that it is resisting successfully.

It is the most trusted, the most confidence of any institution in America. And West Point is the key starting point for that military.

But this applies to all soldiers everywhere. When we see a soldier, when you see a soldier on Presidents Day, walk up to them. It's not enough to say thank you for your service.

Thank you for what you represent for America. That Constitution matters to us. It's significant.

As the professor said, it is not a piece of paper. It is what makes this country so exceptional. And West Point teaches that every single day,

West Point teaches the values of America and the -- the purpose of America and the exceptionalism of America. And it's -- it's the way this country is supposed to be.

KEILAR: Well, Frank, I think it's really interesting. It's not every day you get to hear from cadets.

A lot of active-duty servicemembers, under most circumstances, are not able to do press. You just don't get to hear from them. So it's kind of interesting to see what they're thinking.

LUNTZ: And here's the thing. Everything they say is music to my ears. Everything that they say tells me that it's going to be OK.

KEILAR: You are the proselytizer. I will tell you on that.

Frank, thank you. Really appreciate it. Frank Luntz.

And coming up, a volcano near Anchorage, Alaska, has scientists on high alert after a series of small earthquakes. Is an eruption here imminent? We'll be taking a closer look, next.

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[14:51:07]

SANCHEZ: There's a huge question looming on the minds of Alaskans right now. Will a nearby volcano erupt? And when? Hundreds of tiny earthquakes have occurred beneath Mount Spurr over the past 10 months, alerting scientists that an eruption may be brewing.

And those experts say there's a 50-50 shot, a coin flip that Mount Spurr will erupt, potentially sending ash over Anchorage, the state's most populated city. KEILAR: Jess Phoenix is with us now. She's a volcanologist and the

author of "Misadventure: My Wild Explorations in Science, Lava and Life," which sounds like an awesome book.

So, Jess, it's been more than 30 years, we should note, since Mount Spurr erupted, which is why a lot of people probably haven't heard about it. And those were also small eruptions.

Are there signs of an imminent eruption here?

JESS PHOENIX, VOLCANOLOGIST & AUTHOR: So with volcanoes, the trick is that they can look like they're going to erupt. They can have a bunch of small earthquakes. We can see increased gas emissions. We can even see the ground start to inflate, which would show us that magma is filling the chamber beneath the surface.

But that doesn't mean an eruption will happen. Unfortunately, we can't predict eruptions, which is why monitoring these volcanoes super closely, like a patient in an ICU, taking the vital signs, that's why that's so important.

So, yes, that 50-50 coin flip, it's not too far off. So if I knew, if I had a crystal ball, I would love to tell you, because that would help keep people safer.

But instead, we just have to kind of keep watching the vital signs and give people as much warning as we can if we think that an eruption is about to happen.

SANCHEZ: On the question of keeping people safer, it's a good thing that Mount Spurr is sort of out there, right? It's 75 miles due west of Anchorage. No real towns or settlements nearby. How much threat could it pose if it were to erupt?

PHOENIX: So, like you mentioned, it's not super close to people's homes or anything like that. So the biggest hazard from Mount Spurr specifically is volcanic ash.

And if people have paid attention to the news in the past 15, 20 years, they may have heard that volcanic ash really messes up engines. So the biggest issue that people might see is disruption to air traffic with Mount Spurr eruption.

That volcanic ash is basically pulverized rock fragments. So they're super, super tiny and they get into anything mechanical and they gum up the works.

It's also not too good for you to breathe it either. So if there is an eruption that's really ash rich, folks in Anchorage are going to want to try to minimize their time outside and not drive their cars or fly airplanes.

KEILAR: Yes, certainly.

And then looking back in 1953 and 1992, those prior eruptions, do those tell you anything? PHOENIX: They do. In fact, volcanologists are a lot like historians.

We only know what volcanoes are capable of doing by looking at past eruptions.

And fortunately, volcanoes tend to leave us a lot of clues written in rock. So if you can decode the secrets of the rock, you can learn how big a future eruption might be, whether there's a lot of lava or a lot of ash, or whether it was really explosive or just produced a lot of oozy, runny lava really close to the source.

So that sort of information is really valuable when we prepare for disasters, emergency response, and to keep population centers safe.

Because there's a lot of people around the world who live in the shadow of active volcanoes, just like Mount Spurr, and they need as much information as possible so they can prepare.

SANCHEZ: Absolutely.

Jess Phoenix, thanks so much for sharing your expertise.

PHOENIX: Thanks, Boris. Thanks, Brianna.

[14:55:01]

SANCHEZ: We'll keep an eye on Mount Spurr.

Breaking news just into CNN. Four deputies to New York Mayor Eric Adams have now resigned. These resignations come after President Donald Trump's Justice Department asked to drop criminal charges against Mayor Adams.

KEILAR: Adams sending this statement, quote, "I am disappointed to see them go, but given the current challenges, I understand their decision and wish them nothing but success in the future.

"But let me be crystal clear, New York City will keep moving forward, just as it does every day. All deputy mayors will remain in their roles for the time being to ensure a seamless transition. The people of New York City remain, without question, our top priority."

Stay with CNN. We'll be right back with more.

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