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Europe in Unison for Ukraine; Signal Chat Fallout Cause Confusion; U.S. to Revoke More Visas; U.S. Slaps Canada With 25 Percent Tariff; Anti-Hamas Protests In Gaza Demand End To War; Australian PM Calls New Election For May 3rd. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired March 28, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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KRIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

European leaders gather for another summit to discuss how to best support Ukraine. We'll have details on the messages being sent to Russia and to the U.S.

New developments in the U.S. Signal chat fallout. We'll have the latest, plus the implications for America's European allies.

And Gazans take to the streets to protest Hamas. We'll hear from residents who are speaking out against the militant group.

UNKNOWN: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: As European leaders deliver a show of support for Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is making it clear he wants the Ukrainian president removed from power.

The Russian president called for a temporary administration in Ukraine, adding that he wants, quote, "the root causes that led to today's situation eliminated." Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): In principle, of course, it would be possible under the auspices of the U.N., with the United States, even with European countries, and of course with our partners and friends, to discuss the possibility of introducing temporary administration in Ukraine.

For what? In order to hold democratic elections, in order to bring to power a viable government that enjoys the people's trust, and then begin negotiations with it on a peace treaty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: While speaking to a submarine crew in Murmansk, President Putin also said Russia is willing to work with Europe, but accused its leaders of, quote, "always trying to lead us by the nose."

Now, many of those Western leaders gathered in Paris Thursday for a so-called coalition of the willing summit, and they agreed now isn't the time to lift restrictions on Moscow after it demanded some sanctions relief earlier this week.

The European stance sends a pointed message to the Trump administration, which said it was considering Russia's demands, but the British Prime Minister said sanctions against the Kremlin should be actually strengthened. And Ukraine's president called on the U.S. to step up its game.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also addressed negotiations with the U.S. over a rare earth minerals deal. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): The terms keep changing, and it seems to me as if we have already agreed there will be a framework agreement, and then a full agreement. And now, as I understand, Ukrainian and American teams are working on this because America is now changing these terms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Sources tell CNN that the Trump administration's latest proposal would give the U.S. even more access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals.

All right, a closer look now at the takeaways from the coalition of the willing summit. CNN's Clare Sebastian has our report.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was a major show of unity from Europe and support for Ukraine. Twenty-seven heads of state, as well as the leaders of NATO and the European Union, committing to strengthening Ukraine in the short term. Now, there was no firm agreement yet on security guarantees, but there was progress.

President Macron saying that more countries, though not all of those present, had signaled a willingness to be part of a so-called reassurance force in Ukraine once a ceasefire is reached. But of course, that is far from imminent. Since the so-called coalition of the willing last met at the beginning of March, Russia has rejected a full ceasefire.

It's agreed to a pause in attacks on energy infrastructure, which Ukraine says it's repeatedly violated, and it's demanded extensive sanctions relief in return for a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea, leaving, in effect, the U.S.-led peace initiative in limbo.

Well, the good news for Ukraine is that the leaders gathered in Paris were apparently unanimous in rejecting Russia's terms, and given the extent of European sanctions on Russia, this carries weight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: In complete clarity, that now is not the time for lifting of sanctions quite the contrary what we discussed is how we can increase sanctions to support the U.S. initiative to bring Russia to the table through further pressure from these group of countries.

EMMANUEL MACRON PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): In terms of short-term support for Ukraine, we also decided unanimously that this is not the time to lift whatever sanctions are on Russia, and there will not be a lifting of sanctions before peace is clearly established.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Now by contrast, President Trump has said he's looking at Russia's conditions for a ceasefire. So, the difficulty for Europe here is that it risks looking like it's breaking with the U.S. at a time when it's fighting to keep up the appearance of transatlantic unity and, of course, convince the U.S. to provide some kind of backstop to an eventual security guarantee for Ukraine, something there's been no clear signals on yet.

[02:05:03]

Well, for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after spending weeks repairing the damage of the Oval Office spat with President Trump, this was also a fine line. He called on the U.S. to be stronger in its attitude to Russia, urging President Trump to help strengthen Ukraine's hand as it pushes for peace.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

BRUNHUBER: The chat group scandal plaguing the Trump administration is now the subject of a federal lawsuit.

Judge James Boasberg has ordered the preservation of all texts from the Signal app discussion of military strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen. A watchdog group says the messages are part of the federal record. Some Republicans in Congress say it's time to move on from the incident.

But Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker has requested a Pentagon inquiry into the text chain. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted highly sensitive, if not classified, details of the attack plan, and multiple current and former defense officials tell CNN concerns are growing over his judgment and experience. Members of Congress are divided.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you have confidence in him as Defense Secretary Snowe?

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): I do. And this is a call that the president will make. But I know that the NSC is going to scrutinize this and then they'll get back to us and let us know. REP. RICH MCCORMICK (R-GA): It was unintentional. It's a mistake. I think it's been admitted it's a mistake. It was wrong. It won't happen again.

RAJU: Hegseth has not admitted it was a mistake.

MCCORMICK: I haven't heard him not admit it.

UNKNOWN: But I don't see where investigation is needed at this time.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): In her opening statement, DNI Gabbard should have said, this never should have happened. We made a major error.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Some of the texts in the Signal chat are a major concern for U.S. allies. Hegseth called the Europeans pathetic and freeloaders. And Vice President J.D. Vance says he hates bailing out Europe again.

All right, joining me now from Berlin is New York Times chief diplomatic correspondent Steven Erlanger. Thanks so much for being here with us again.

So it's not a surprise to European officials that the Trump administration has contempt for them. But those comments on Signal, calling them essentially, as you put it, geopolitical parasites. How are those comments being read there in Europe?

STEVEN ERLANGER, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK TIMES: Well, with despair, to be honest, everyone is trying to figure out how to get through to the Trump administration and make it realize that it is in America's interests, not everybody else's interests, that America's interests, that it have allies in the world and that it trusts those allies and work together with allies. And that includes Canada as well.

The Trump administration is overturning scores of years of carefully built diplomatic relationships in the name of American nationalism. And I think Europeans feel, on the one hand, it hurts them a lot. Of course, it does. It will hurt them economically.

I mean, I think their feelings are actually beside the point, but they feel it hurts the West. And they need America, you know, with a world that is increasingly autocratic with China, Russia, North Korea, Iran getting together, sort of. The West feels smaller, smaller demographically, comparatively smaller economically. And for it to divide itself seems self-harm to people.

BRUNHUBER: There was also the idea in that chain that Europe should be paying the U.S. for these strikes, as one of our reporters put it, you know, what's the going price for a drone strike against Houthi rebels? So, what are the Europeans making of that aspect, that the Trump administration expects the U.S. to be remunerated for something like this? ERLANGER: Yes, it's part of, I guess, the transactional nature of

Donald Trump as a businessman. Everything is a deal. Either things are fair or unfair to him, but it's all about a deal. And he insists that NATO, for instance, and European allies should pay for America's military might and its protection, and that this is a bargain, this is a deal, that NATO is somehow some kind of protection racket and America must be paid. And the people around him feed off this long obsession Donald Trump has had.

And what struck me about this chat, which certainly seemed classified stuff, was the effort by the Trump people to outdo one another in appealing to what they think is President Trump's own obsessions.

[02:10:03]

I mean, the contempt for Europe seemed performative, frankly. Hegseth was going along with Vance, partly because he wanted the vice president to go along with bombing the Houthis. So I kind of read it and Hegseth saying, yes, yes, you're right, they're pathetic. Now, can we get back to bombing Yemen?

BRUNHUBER: One of the obvious concerns here is that American enemies could be monitoring these chats and the U.S. attorney general says essentially, don't worry about it, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA INGRAHAM, HOST, FOX NEWS: Is Signal not going to be used or is it going to be used going forward? Are you aware of it?

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think Signal is a very safe way to communicate. I don't think foreign adversaries are able to hack Signal as far as I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: I mean, those words, you know, I don't think, as far as I know, hardly inspiring confidence to American allies. So, first of all, what do you think that will mean in terms of things like intelligence sharing? And then also, you know, where does that leave U.S. allies? I mean, we saw the U.S. partners like Canada sort of saying essentially Canada's new prime minister saying Canadians must look out for ourselves.

But I mean, when it comes to intelligence and defense more broadly, I mean, America's allies, they're really learning how difficult and expensive it is to try to decouple from this seemingly now unreliable partner.

ERLANGER: I think that's right. I mean, first, I would say Signal is very, very good, but it is not authorized by the American government or other governments for classified information because there is an assumption that big states like Russia and China can crack Signal.

I don't know that for sure, but I hear people telling me who have been in positions in the American government before that that is their assumption. So, first of all, that is unsafe and it feels reckless. And also that Signal has a disappearing function, which is not supposed to be used by government authorities.

And of course, there are military people who are with all of these principles all the time who have communications devices that are classified and should have insisted upon it. Now, for allies, you're quite right. There's this question of is this reliable? Can these people be trusted? They do seem reckless.

I mean, that's the problem, reckless and a bit arrogant. And even the Israeli officials I've talked to have said, you know, we need America. We don't really have any option. There's no other country with which we share so much intelligence, but we're very worried about it. And I think that's true of Europeans, too. I mean, America is crucial to the so-called Five Eyes arrangement, which is this top-secret deal with close allies like Britain, like New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. And if that starts breaking apart, I think there's going to be real damage to everyone's national security, not just America's national security.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. The implications of this just spiral on and on.

Steven Erlanger in Berlin, really great to get your expertise on this. Thanks so much.

ERLANGER: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: All right, still ahead, why a PhD student from Turkey is now being detained by U.S. federal law enforcement. We'll have the latest on that and more stories coming up. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Secretary of State is warning some people with U.S. issued visas. Marco Rubio says the Trump administration may have revoked more than 300 visas so far and more could be revoked soon. He says it's because they're, quote, "lunatics involved in destructive actions."

Here's the secretary of the press conference in Guyana on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa.

UNKLOWN: It could -- you're saying it could be more than 300?

RUBIO: Sure, I hope. I mean, at some point I hope we run out because we've gotten rid of all of them. But we're looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up. And by the way, we want to get rid of gang members, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Turkish PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk is among those with a revoked visa. She's being held without charges at an immigration and customs facility in Louisiana. Plainclothes immigration agents arrested her in Massachusetts. The U.S government alleges that she supports Hamas. Secretary Rubio doubled down on these allegations just a short time ago. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: There's a clear distinction between protesting against a democratic order and protesting in favor of groups that advocate the slaughter and murder of innocent people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more on Ozturk's case.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN REPORTER: Rumeysa Ozturk is the latest in a string of arrests in the United States of foreign nationals linked to prestigious universities and purported to be related or have ties to a terrorist organization.

Now, the administration is using an obscure law to target these individuals. It gives the Secretary of State authority to revoke a visa if that individual or individuals is believed to have an adverse foreign policy consequence. Now, there are no charges against Rumeysa, according to her attorney. She was here legally.

The Department of Homeland Security, which has not provided evidence, said the following in a statement. Quote, "DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas."

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They go on to say, "glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated."

Now, as you see in the video, she was approached by plainclothes officers while she was walking. And it was then that they detained her, arrested her, and then detained her. This was an issue that came up in court where a judge said that she should not be moved out of Massachusetts.

The Department of Homeland Security saying, however, that they had already moved her to an ICE facility in Louisiana. She becomes the third student to be detained in that facility. Her family believes that it is an op-ed that she wrote last year that has served as the basis for this where she criticized the response to the pro- Palestinian movement.

Her brother saying in a statement, quote, "it seems that she has been subjected to the activities of ICE, which has been on a witch hunt in the post-Trump period against those who support Palestine. Going on to say that the land of the free, the freedom of expression and the freedom of belief are under or rather that they have been targeted. Now, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio did weigh in on this and he

has suggested that there are more to come saying that there may have been more than 300 visas to date that have been revoked.

Now, again, the secretary of state here is critical in the invoking of this law to again revoke visas from those who they deem could be national security threats. But the major concern with immigrant advocates and immigration attorneys is that there is not evidence that is being provided to justify or serve as the basis for this. Or at times the evidence that is being presented is flimsy and that has been a major concern. It is also part of ongoing lawsuits, but certainly the administration indicating that they are not backing down anytime soon.

Back to you.

BRUNHUBER: President Trump is facing growing backlash from America's allies for his escalating trade war. Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney is vowing to retaliate after the president announced sweeping new tariffs Wednesday, 25 percent on all cars and car parts shipped to the U.S. Carney called the tariffs, quote, "a direct attack." Here is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): It's clear the U.S. is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible that with comprehensive negotiations, we can reestablish an element of confidence, but there will be no going backwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Japan's prime minister says he'll consider all options and both Germany and France are urging the European Union to respond. But while world leaders weigh their options, most experts agree Americans should expect car prices to go up.

Greenland is gearing up for the arrival of U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife. Its leaders there condemned President Trump's bid to buy the self-governing Danish territory. Here's what he said on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's a island that from a defensive posture and even offensive posture is something we need, especially with the world the way it is. And we're going to have to have it. And so I hate to put it that way, but we're going to have to have it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now, the Vance's itinerary dramatically changed as outrage over the trip grew in Greenland. They will no longer go to one of the world's foremost dog sled races. The pair is now set to visit a U.S. base and meet service members on Friday. The Danish lawmaker says Trump wants Greenland simply to expand U.S. territory. ANDERS VISTISEN, MEMBER, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: America have had

security bases, military installations in Greenland since 1940. They have decided themselves to scale back their military presence. If they wanted to upscale that for any serious reason, there will not be any objections from Denmark or Greenland. So there's really no other argument for this persistence than Donald Trump wanting to enlarge his territory and apparently enlarging it by taking it from an allied nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And we're also learning that the Vance's will be joined by national security advisor, Michael Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Republican Senator Mike Lee, who's been a vocal supporter of President Trump's plan for Greenland.

Elise Stefanik says she's proud to be a team player after U.S. President Trump pulled her nomination to be his United Nations ambassador. Trump admits he's dropping the New York GOP representative because he needs her to stay in Congress and help him achieve his legislative agenda. I'm in a razor thin Republican house majority.

Stefanik says she believes the move was a combination of congressional math and what she claims is democratic interference with the special election to fill her seat.

All right. Still ahead, fed up with Hamas rule. Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza to protest the militant groups tight grip on power and demand an end to the war. That and more coming up, please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

More than a dozen aid workers have been killed or gone missing in Gaza over the past few days. That's according to several groups.

As Israel ramped up its renewed military assault on the enclave, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says eight of its staff members were killed. Separately, Israeli strikes killed a World Central Kitchen volunteer as meals were being distributed. And the Palestine Red Crescent society says nine of its workers have been missing since Sunday when Israeli forces fired on ambulances and fire trucks in southern Gaza.

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Israel claims militants were using the vehicles as cover.

Over consecutive days this week, thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in Gaza for the largest public demonstrations against Hamas since the war began. CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports, and we just want to warn you, you might

find some of the content disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Calls for ousting Hamas echo through the rubble lined streets of northern Gaza. After 17 months of war, public exhaustion and rising anger at the Islamist militant group has spilled out into the open, marking the wars largest anti-Hamas demonstrations.

No Hamas, no jihad, they chant, we want to save our country.

Over two consecutive days, a few thousand Palestinians poured into the streets of Beit Lahia. The protests represent a relatively small share of Gaza's population of more than 2 million, but it is still a remarkable stand against the group that has not hesitated to violently quash dissent.

Some carried white flags as they raised their voices against Hamas and against the war.

This Gazan surgeon calling on Israel to stop the bloodshed. And on Arab nations to drive up the pressure. But his final message is to Hamas. Enough is enough, Dr. Ahmed says. You have ruled long enough. Give others a chance. Give others the opportunity to govern.

We have no food. Our children find nothing to eat, this man says. We walk while stumbling over everything. We say no to Hamas. We have had enough. We are tired.

Small protests also broke out in other parts of the Gaza Strip, including in the central city of Deir al-Balah.

I will not be ruled by a masked man, reads one sign. The blood of our children is not cheap, reads another. Israel, seizing on the protests, calling on more Gazans to rise up.

But there is also a message here for Israel.

Not all the people in Gaza are Hamas, nor are they terrorists to be treated so severely, this man says, condemning Hamas's indiscriminate attacks. Hamas, he says, must also stop gambling with their lives.

Anger at Hamas has largely stayed below the surface, revealing itself only in the cries of those cursing Hamas after their loved ones were killed.

And so, it is no surprise that northern Gaza is where the anger boiled over. No part of the strip has been more devastated, but there are still children here, and hope is not yet extinguished.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (on camera): In a statement, Hamas government media office said that the protests, quote, do not reflect the general national position, insisting that they are the result of the, quote, unprecedented pressure our people are experiencing amid the war. The question now is whether these protests will continue to grow, and if they do, whether they will actually affect Hamas's position on ceasefire negotiations.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

BRUNHUBER: Campaign season is underway in Australia after its prime minister called national elections for May 3rd. Anthony Albanese will fight to keep his job amid a cost of living crisis and questions about future relations with the U.S. and China.

Now, his main rival is conservative firebrand Peter Dutton, who's been described by opponents as something of a Trump-lite. According to the polls, he and Albanese are running neck and neck. Some analysts say Australia may end up with a hung parliament, meaning whoever wins will need support from minor parties to form a coalition government.

All right. Plenty to come here on CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us. We will be right back.

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BRUNHUBER: Viewers of a certain age will remember that magic moment from the movie "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial", as Elliott shares a connection with the homesick alien. Well, now, one of the film's three original E.T. models is being auctioned online by Sotheby's New York. The prop was designed and built by special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi, the monster maker behind King Kong and other films.

Also on the block are mechanical study of one of E.T.'s eyes and sketches, so you can have E.T. go home with you, but it will cost you. The model is expected to fetch up to $1 million.

Well, the commencement speaker for the 2025 graduating class of the University of Maryland has been described as an environmental advocate. A Peabody Award winner and a friend to all creatures might be surprised to see.

Yep. Thats him, international superstar Kermit the Frog. The world's most famous amphibian is no stranger to the school. The Muppet was created by the late Jim Henson when he was a student at the university. Henson graduated in 1960.

And there's even a bronze statue of Henson and Kermit on the campus. This won't be Kermit's first commencement address. He delivered a speech to the graduating class at a college of Long Island University in 1996.

Well, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

"WORLD SPORT" is next. Then I'll be back at the top of the hour with more news.

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