Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
CNN International: Trump Still Deciding On The Details Of Tariffs; Trump Answers Questions In Oval Office; Mahmoud Khalil Fights To Block His Deportation; Trump Seeking A Third Term; Tornado Bats Stealing The Spotlight. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired March 31, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Lynda Kincade.
Just ahead this hour, the White House says President Trump is still deciding on the details of his tariffs before announcing them Wednesday. Rescuers in Myanmar worry time is running out to find earthquake survivors as the death toll rises above 2,000. And astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams speak about their unexpected nine months in space.
Well, we begin with the global unease over President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement set for Wednesday, the White House says the president's top economic advisers have presented him with final tariff plans and that he would choose the best course of action soon. Mr. Trump said over the weekend that the tariffs will be, quote, "far more generous" than what other countries charge the us.
But White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Monday that no country will be exempt. She says trading partners have been treating the U.S. unfairly for years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Unfortunately, these countries have been ripping off our country for far too long, and they've made, I think they're disdain for the American worker quite clear. If you look at the unfair trade practices that we have, 50 percent from the European Union on American dairy, you have a 700 percent tariff from Japan on American rice. You have a 100 percent tariff from India on American agricultural products. You have nearly a 300 percent tariff from Canada on American butter and American cheese.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the true extent of the tariffs won't be known until the announcement set to take place in the White House Rose Garden. That uncertainty continues to pressure stock markets. Japan the hardest hit global market down 4 percent Monday. French, German, and Italian stocks fell sharply too. And on Wall Street, stocks finished Monday's session mixed, but ended the first quarter with sizable losses with the NASDAQ down more than 10 percent so far this year. Well, our Stephen Collinson is following all these developments and joins us now live. Good to have you with us, Stephen. So, uncertainty investors -- Stephen, sorry to interrupt. I want to go to President Trump. He's taking some questions right now.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: -- and one day we give it to Margo. One day we give it to Chamberlain. Give it to Natalie. We give it to everybody around, give it to Dan Scavino. But he is got so much money, it doesn't matter. But they love the car and it's a great car and it's made here and it's made in the country. He's got a tremendous plant now in Texas and he had one in -- he has one in California. Does a lot of his work here. And he's been really unfairly treated in my opinion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I travel.
TRUMP: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's this other story. I know it's hypothetical right now, but if you were allowed for some reason to run for a third term. Is there a thought that the Democrats could try to run Barack Obama against you?
TRUMP: I'd love that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For his third term?
TRUMP: Boy, I'd love that. That would be a good one. I'd like that. Now, people are asking me to run and is a whole story about running for a third term. I don't know. I never looked into it. They do say there's a way you can do it, but I don't know about that. But I have not looked into it. I want to do a fantastic job. We have four years, just about -- almost close to four years. It's -- time is flying, but it's still close to four years.
And we're getting a lot of credit for having done a great job in the first almost 100 days. And we have some big things we're going to be announcing over the next two days that you know very well, Peter. And I think it's going to be something that's going to bring a lot of wealth back to our country. Tremendous wealth back to our country actually.
And other countries are understanding it, because they've been ripping us for 50 years longer, but they've been ripping us off for years, right from the beginning. And I think this is going to be an amazing -- you know, I call it a lot of different names, but it's really the -- in a sense, it's a rebirth of a country because what -- how we could have afforded to do what we did, we help everybody and they don't help us.
I really -- the term I like best probably is the liberation of America. It's the liberation of this country because it's incredible. Look, we have 36 trillion in debt for a reason, and that accumulates over a long period of time. So, I think what you're going to be seeing over the next couple of days will be very inspiring to a lot of people. You know, they had a lot of auto plants being built in a certain country. I don't want to mention the country because we get along great with the country, but those plants aren't being built there anymore. They gave them up today and yesterday, day before. And they're building them all now in the United States.
[18:05:00]
And we have many examples, not only auto plants. Chip companies from Taiwan are coming in, the biggest. Mr. Wei. He's big. I said, you are a smart guy, aren't you? I've been reading about him over the years, but he controls a large portion of the chip business as you know. You don't get smarter. They're going to be investing $200 or $300 billion. Apple is investing $500 billion. You know, they always built their places in China. Now, he's building here.
I think because of the -- you speak to Tim Cook, because of the election, but maybe more importantly because of the tariffs. Yes, he's got really an obligation to do it. But we have many, many companies that you haven't even heard of.
But I think we'll be at $5 trillion very soon. And if you think about this, we've never been anywhere near that. I don't know if we've ever been at a trillion dollars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean by that?
TRUMP: We're 500 -- what do I mean by a trillion?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 5 trillion? What are you referring to, sir?
TRUMP: I think that we're going to be at $5 trillion of investment. I think you're going to have investments very shortly. We're already 3.5 and we have commitments, verbal commitments for a lot more, and numbers like that have never been done in this country, and it's going to get harder. This is in two months. It's really in less than two months because since we've really gone out with it and we have other interesting things happening, but to me, the whole tariff situation. And essentially, they've done that to us for many years.
So, if we're anywhere near $5 trillion in two months. This could be numbers like the country has never seen. And every time you hear a dollar spent, that's another job because the jobs are coming with it. So, auto plants, chip plants, pharmaceuticals, lumber coming in. We have things happening in this country, I don't think -- I'm not sure that they've ever seen it. Steel. You know, we have tariffs on steel. They've been here for a while, steel and aluminum.
Nobody's ever seen anything like we're witnessing now. Nobody's ever seen anything. You -- most of you agree with that. I mean, there's nothing much you can't agree with. We have things happening in terms of jobs and investment. The likes of which I don't think we've ever seen. If you look at, let's say, $4 to $5 trillion in a period of a month and a half, it's even more than you do with your concerts, which are always sold out, right? Nobody's ever seen numbers. And think of it, where Apple's at $500 billion, as I've said, but they always used to spend that money in China. Now, they're spending it here. That means they're going to build -- now, they don't have any tariffs. Remember, there are no tariffs if you do your product here, if you build whatever it is in the USA.
One of the things we're also trying to get is if you build -- if you buy a car that was built in the USA, you get a deduction on interest. So, if you go out, borrow money to buy a car, if it's built in the USA, never been done before, it's a big deduction for people that really aren't used to deductions, frankly. Because people that buy cars like that are not big into the world of deductions. And now, they're going to learn about deduction. So, I think it's going to be great. Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, are you going to move that with a universal tariff or different individual tariff rates on a whole variety of different --
TRUMP: Well, you're going to see in two days, which is maybe tomorrow night or probably Wednesday, you're going to see. And they're reciprocal. So, whatever they charge us, we charge them, but we're being nicer than they were. We have a lot of countries, friend and foe. I always say friend and foe, but the friend in many cases is worse than the foe. They took advantage of us.
And we are going to be very nice by comparison to what they were. The numbers will be lower than what they've been charging us and, in some cases, maybe substantially lower, but we sort of have a world obligation perhaps. But we're going to be very nice. Relatively speaking, we're going to be very kind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, you met with the chairman --
TRUMP: Somebody said that about me the other day. He said -- who doesn't know me very well, they said, you're such a kind person. And I said, say that again. They said, you're a kind person. I said, I've never heard that before. It was a weird statement. I was kind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who said that?
TRUMP: I've heard of words -- I don't know. I better not tell you. You know, I've heard of -- I've been called a lot of things, but it's sort of a different kind of a word. It's like an old-fashioned word, isn't it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, you met with the chairman of Stellantis today.
TRUMP: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he ask you for a pause on the auto tariffs?
TRUMP: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was that meeting about? TRUMP: Just about some of the problems they have with the environmental, which we're going to clean up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have any of you auto --
TRUMP: We're going to probably go back to 1920. If you -- look, we're going to go back probably to a 2020 standard. So, we'll have 2020 standard. And that's, you know, just a few years ago. Oh, they're putting them -- they're making it so difficult all over the world, they're making it. It doesn't mean a damn bit of difference either for the environment. It doesn't matter. They make it impossible people to build cars.
[18:10:00]
So, we're going to be doing much different. 2020 is a strong standard, but they've take it to a level now that, you know, makes it very difficult to build a car. So, we're going to be bringing it back to a standard that is a very good environmental standard, but it makes it possible to build a code.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you heard any concerns from the automakers though about the tariffs on parts that will go into effect over the coming weeks about what that's going to be for the price of --
TRUMP: Well, I gave them a big break for a month. I didn't charge them anything, you know, for a big month, for that first month. And they brought a lot of material into this country because they could bring it in without tariff.
If you look at Canada and Mexico, they were driving hundreds of thousands of cars into the market because they avoid the tariffs by doing it before the tariffs go on, which would be Wednesday. And I looked at the -- I saw some of your shows where cars are lined up for miles and miles. Some of them didn't have fenders on them, some of them didn't have the roof on yet. They're driving it here, brand-new. They're driving it in because they want to avoid the tariffs. I let them have that. They sort of took advantage of it because, you know, that wasn't part of the deal, but that's OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are there any --
TRUMP: There are great American car companies. And so, I gave them a little break on that. Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are there any countries that you're not targeting on Wednesday?
TRUMP: Well, it depends. You know, I said it's reciprocal. Not everybody has made a fortune, but almost everybody has, but not everybody. And the ones that haven't, we're going to be very nice to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And on a separate issue --
TRUMP: because that word reciprocal is very important, what they do to us, we do to them. OK. Please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I just ask you briefly on President Putin, you said over the weekend or indicated over the weekend some frustration with him. How serious are you about imposing oil sanctions on Russian oil?
TRUMP: No, I want to see him make a deal so that we stop Russian soldiers and Ukrainian soldiers and other people from being killed, but mostly, it's Russian and Ukrainian soldiers. They're losing at least 2,500 human beings, beautiful human beings a week, and I want it to stop. And some people would say, why do you worry about Russian soldiers or Ukrainian soldiers? I worry because it's like -- they're just like you people, they're like us, they're like all of us. And I seem to have an ability to do those things.
And if I can do that, I think it's a very worthwhile thing to do and I think we will. No, I want to make sure that he follows through, and I think he will. I don't want to go secondary tariffs on his oil, but I think, you know, it's something I would do if I thought he wasn't doing the job.
I did it with Venezuela, secondary tariffs. And, you know what happened? Every boat left the harbor. Did you see that? It was a beautiful thing to see. The whole harbor emptied out. My words weren't even finished. I have these massive ships, they're actually taking the hoses and dumping them into -- they couldn't get out of there fast enough. Because they know I don't play games.
So, I think he's going to live up to what he told me, and I think he's going to fulfill his part of the deal. Now, then you have Zelenskyy and hopefully, he's going to live up. I see he's trying to renegotiate the rare earth, you know, we did something because, as you know, the Europeans get paid back the money that they gave, and we don't, because Biden is an incompetent president. And he should have asked for rare earth, or he should have asked for the loans to be guaranteed in some form. That's what Europe did.
Europe is in for a hundred -- probably a hundred billion dollars, and we're in for $350 billion. So, we're in for more than three times. And now, you could make it a little bit less than that, but it doesn't matter. Whatever the number. We're in for substantially more than Europe. We could be in for $350 billion. They have no idea because Biden wasn't a good bookkeeper except for himself.
And what happens is we made a deal for rare earth, it was all done. And I heard through you, I haven't spoken to them yet, but through you, I heard that they're now saying, well, I'll only do that deal if we get into NATO or something to that effect. Well, that was never number one discussed.
Number two, I think it's going to be very -- long before Putin, they said, you're not going into NATO. And it could be -- that's probably the reason the war started actually.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- four hours away from a very special election, Wisconsin, Florida. Want to share your thoughts on Republican voters to not sleep on this, these are two very important races --
TRUMP: Well, it's a big race, Supreme Court race in Wisconsin. It's taking place essentially, as we -- as -- you know, it was early voting. And so, we'll see what happens. It's a big race. I love Wisconsin. We won Wisconsin. Republicans typically don't do very well in Wisconsin, but I did. I actually won it twice. I actually probably won it three times to be exact.
[18:15:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We played their son.
TRUMP: Not probably, I won it three times. And we had to rigged election the second time. But that's, you know, one of those things. We had to make this one too big to rig as each. Would you agree with that, Brian? Too big to rig?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes sir. Yes, sir.
TRUMP: So, anyway. But yes, there's a big race and I hope you get out and vote for the Republic. The woman is a radical left lunatic. And let's see who wins. But the woman will be very bad. And you know, Wisconsin's a big state politically, and the Supreme Court has a lot to do with elections in Wisconsin.
So, if whoever it is that's running, including, you know, even Senate races, et cetera, but whoever it is in four years, it runs, having Wisconsin is very big. You know, we won it early and big, but winning Wisconsin's a big deal. So, therefore, the Supreme Court choice this -- that is the one you're talking about right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
TRUMP: It's a big race. It's going to be announced fairly shortly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big week deadlines. You got Liberation Day and the TikTok deadline is this weekend.
TRUMP: Yes, we do, which I can extend if I want. But we have a lot of enthusiasm for TikTok for buying it. I think TikTok is good. I used it very -- I was a great TikTok guy and we won by 36 points. The youth. You know, we won the youth, which Republicans don't do. Maybe it's because Kid Rock likes Trump. I don't know. But we won the youth by 36 points. And I attribute some of that to TikTok.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the TikTok deal, the negotiations now, tied to a bigger tariff deal with China?
TRUMP: No, but you know, it could be. I mean, you know I've used tariffs for lots of different reasons, but I could see -- you know, one point in tariffs with China, a big country, would be probably worth more than -- all of TikTok, as valuable as TikTok is, it's big stuff. So, there's a great example -- that's a great question actually.
I'm a very flexible person. I could use that for that. Like maybe I'll take a couple of points off if I get approvals for something. I haven't done it. Maybe I'll do it, maybe I won't. But it's a very good question, Peter, you're very good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. You'll love this one.
TRUMP: Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not front page news, but I am just curious, what is your thought about Tiger Woods now becoming part of the broader Trump family?
TRUMP: Well, I love Tiger and I love Vanessa, and they had a great relationship. I happened to think the relationship with my son. I think -- I happen to think the relationship was hurt very badly by the witch hunt that went on, Russia, Russia, Russia and all the crap that they put don through who knew nothing about it.
But Vanessa and Don had a very good relationship. They have incredible children, five incredible children. All good athletes. All great students. They're like great. And they broke up, you know, quite a while ago. And which was to me very sad, because I think they're both great. Don and Vanessa.
And Tiger actually called me a few months ago and he -- and you have a very special, very good relationship with Tiger. I played golf with him a couple of times over the last month, and he's a fantastic guy and a fantastic athlete. And he told me about it. And I said, tiger, that's good. That's good. I'm very happy for both. I just let them both be happy. Let them both be happy. They're both great.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Follow up on China -- to follow up on China. China, South Korea and Japan say they're going to work together in cooperation to respond to the tariffs that you're going to put into attack this week.
TRUMP: Could be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you concerned that this move of the tariffs this week could push some of the United States closest allies to work with China?
TRUMP: No, I'm not worried about it. I'm not worried about it. Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, can I ask --
TRUMP: I'd like to have a chance of doing better actually with the tariffs. It can actually help them in a certain way. And I think a lot of them will drop their tariffs because, you know, they've been unfairly tariff -- the United States for years. And if you look at the European Union on cars, the European Union already dropped their tariff down to 2.5 percent. It was announced a couple of days ago, which is what the United -- which is a very small tariff. The United States charged very little.
And a lot of -- I think I heard that India just a little while ago is going to be dropping its tariffs very substantial. And I said, why didn't somebody do this a long time ago? A lot of countries are going to be dropping their tariffs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- happened in France today, Mr. President. Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader, got convicted in court and is now banned from running for office for five years. Do you have a comment on that?
TRUMP: That's a big deal. That's a very big deal. I know all about it and a lot of people thought she wasn't going to be convicted of anything, and I don't know if it means conviction, but she was banned for running for five years and she's the leading candidate, that sounds like this country. That sounds very much like this country. OK. Anybody else?
[18:20:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You presented with a bunch of proposals for tariffs by your advice.
KINKADE: Hello. I'm Lynda Kinkade. You've just been listening to President Donald Trump at the White House. He was, again, talking about the April 2 reciprocal tariffs that he plans to impose worldwide. He has called that day Liberation Day and just referred to it as the rebirth of our country. But he also signaled that the tariffs would be substantially lower than expected.
Trump was also asked about Russia's war in Ukraine. He, again, threatened additional sanctions if Putin doesn't fulfill his part of the deal, and he expressed confidence in the special election and addressed the TikTok deadline.
With me now is Stephen Collinson who is listening into that as well. Stephen, for investors listening to Donald Trump just now talking about the fact that tariffs are going to be substantially lower than expected, that the numbers will be lower, he said, we're going to be very kind. What sort of reaction will that get?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: I think the problem here is that the White House says all sorts of different things. President Trump could just as easily come out tomorrow and say something completely different. The damage to investors and the stock market's been caused by uncertainty and volatility and the whiplash leadership of the present.
So, I think people are going to be waiting to see exactly what those tariffs do come out as before they make any big decisions and before they really reason, OK, this isn't as bad as we thought it would be. We don't know now yet whether it's reciprocal tariffs on every country. That is a duty on an U.S. import into their economies, whether Trump is going to chop and change among countries, try to do individual deals with those nations or whether there's just going to be a blanket tariff on all imports coming into the United States.
So, I think we have to, as the president often says to himself, see what happens. It doesn't seem that the president has finally made a decision about what tariffs are going to go into effect, and that is what's causing a problem. It's hugely risky because a lot of Wall Street firms are now worried that the tariffs could push prices up in the United States and punt the economy into a recession.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. I mean, we did hear about those recession numbers today that it's far more likely, according to Goldman Sachs, than it was 12 months ago. But in terms of some of the tariffs, we already know that are in place, I just want to bring up a graphic. Donald Trump has already announced 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico. China has gone from 10 to 20 percent. Steel and aluminum, 25 percent. The E.U. at 25 percent. How would you describe Trump's use of tariffs to date?
COLLINSON: Tariffs are one of Trump's most enduring political beliefs. Even back in the 1980s when he was a mere businessman, he was calling for tariffs against what was then perceived as the great threat to the U.S. economy, Japan. Now, he wants to do them on China and the European Union, which he views as a threat.
He has this mindset in which there are winners and there are losers. There's no such thing as all allies rising together in a global free trade world. So, Trump believes that the United States has been ripped off by foreign countries and nothing -- any economic analyst will tell him about the potential damage from tariffs, the fact that they're not paid by foreign countries, they're paid by importers of goods in the United States, and those costs are therefore then passed on to the consumer.
He either doesn't believe that or he chooses not to see it. He believes that the United States is a nation in isolation and its own power. It's one of the most powerful countries in the world. Therefore, it should use the weapon of tariffs to target weaker countries. So, that's the mindset.
This mindset could potentially clash with economic reality in the coming days. That's another reason why you've seen these steep losses on the markets, not just in the last few days, but over the first quarter. Markets are very down from where they were when Trump was elected last November.
So, this is a really important moment, I think, politically and economically. And it is the coming together of many of the strands of Donald Trump's life in the political reality of the first quarter of the 20th century. So, it's going to be very interesting to see what happens next.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. We've also heard from the administration, Donald Trump and his spokespeople, overstate tariffs, especially when it comes to dairy, for example. Canada imposing a 200 percent tariff on dairy, when in fact those tariffs only kick in when those imports meet -- get to a certain quantity. That has never happened. So, why does the administration push this false narrative?
[18:25:00]
COLLINSON: I think because they want to create the impression that Trump is right when he says that other nations have been ganging up against the United States. They think they can get some economic advantage out of it. They've been using tariffs, you mentioned Canada and Mexico, for example, not just for economic reasons, but for political reasons.
The Canadians believe that the United States is trying to humble their economy in order to make it easier for Trump to annex Canada, which he says he wants to do and make it the 51st state. So, this is not just an economic question.
You know, frankly, a lot of what the White House says about tariffs, about the economy, about the billions of dollars that it will make for every American, they say tariffs are a tax cut. A lot of that is not true, but it's all part and parcel of the Trump narrative.
KINKADE: Yes. Well, consumer confidence here is certainly at a 12-year low. So, it's certainly -- and people don't seem to want this trade war that we are seeing play out. Stephen Collinson, good to have you with us.
COLLINSON: Thanks.
KINKADE: We are going to stay on this story. Thanks so much. Well, Chinese state media report that China, Japan, and South Korea have agreed to strengthen economic cooperation in the face of Trump's tariffs. China has already announced retaliatory tariffs of its own against the U.S. And while it says it's ready to fight, it is open to dialogue.
Simone McCarthy joins us now from Hong Kong. Good to have you with us, Simone. So, on the campaign trail, Donald Trump threatened tariffs of 60 to 100 percent on Chinese imports. China so far as dealing with 20 percent tariffs. How concerned is China about the potential for more?
SIMONE MCCARTHY, CNN SENIOR NEWS DESK REPORTER ON CHINA: Lynda, China is very concerned and they've expressed this to the United States, including in a meeting between the U.S. top trade representative Jamieson Greer and China's Vice Premier He Lifeng last week, and they've said very much, we're concerned about the tariffs that have already been imposed. We're concerned about the escalation, which we may see either this week or in the weeks to come.
That said, as you mentioned, China has been very clear, they want to talk, but if the Trump administration is going to fight, they're ready to fight too. And I think we've seen that not just in terms of them trying to shore up their own domestic economy, but also in terms of outreach to other potential economic allies.
Lynda, you just pointed to South Korea and Japan and their statement on economic cooperation. And certainly, that's something that we've seen. The -- Beijing is making other outreaches as well to European partners, the European Union. They really want to be able to gain more economic allies in order to be able to shore up their domestic market.
Beijing also last week hosted a number of global -- excuse me, global business executives and their message was, China is open for business. Decoupling will hurt the global economy. So, even as they're bracing for impact, they're very much looking for opportunities within this in order to shore up their own footing.
KINKADE: And so, what sort of retaliatory measures could the U.S. see from China?
MCCARTHY: Well, we've already seen China act very swiftly to each of the two tranches of tariffs that the Trump administration has put on Chinese imports into the United States. They've acted, you know, strategically, moderately, they haven't done the same kind of broad- based tariffs that we've seen the United States placed on Chinese goods coming into America.
But at the same time, they're really looking to target and cause pain. A lot of the tariffs that we've seen in this latest tranche, which came last month, those were agricultural imports. And China knows, Chinese officials are aware that America's agricultural heartland is also a bastion of support for Donald Trump. And so, they are being very strategic about this.
The other thing, Lynda, is that since the first trade war in the Trump administration, they've also been able to build out this toolbox of other kinds of countermeasures, and that includes things like dual use export controls. So, they've placed controls on kinds of critical materials that the U.S. uses for military products.
They're also having an -- like a set of different tools that they can use to put probes and different trade controls on American firms and on American sectors. And so, I think we'll expect to see kind of a targeted package of measures as time goes on, depending on how the Trump administration decides to escalate this.
But the last thing I'll say too, Lynda, is that they really do want to talk. And I think that they're looking for some kind of starting a baseline of negotiation so they can work towards a leader level summit perhaps between the two leaders. They listen and they hear when Trump says, I want to have a good relationship with China, I have a great relationship with Xi Jinping.
And so, they really want to lean into that in order to be able to shore up their own economic interest in this potentially escalatory situation.
KINKADE: All right. We will talk again, no doubt. Simone, thanks so much for joining us. Simone McCarthy.
Well, still to come, the latest on Mahmoud Khalil's legal battle, as the former Colombian student and pro-Palestinian activist fights to block his deportation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
JACKSON: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Here are more international headlines we're watching today. The Kremlin has responded to President Trump's remarks at the weekend about being, quote, "very angry and pissed off" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. leader openly add his grievances about Russia's conditions on working towards a peace deal with Ukraine. In an interview with NBC, he threatened more tariffs on Russian oil. A Kremlin spokesperson said Moscow continues working with Washington on rebuilding bilateral relations as well as peace in Ukraine.
The South Korean actor Kim Soo-Hyun denies allegations that he dated an actress suspected of taking her own life while she was underage. He says he dated Kim Cyron for about a year when they were both adults. She was found dead at the age of 24. Brands including Prada have cut ties with the actor over the controversy.
Well, police in South Korea say a man tending to a family grave may have sparked one of last week's record wildfires. Multiple fires ravaged the southeast of the country, killing 30 people. The fires burned about 48,000 hectares before being put out. The man suspected by police has not been arrested.
Well, some news just in, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending deportation protections for 350,000 Venezuelan migrants in the U.S. The administration has been trying to end what's known as temporary protected status, which the Biden administration had granted first in 2021.
Venezuela migrants had challenged the Department of Homeland Securities move to end the program. They also argued that Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem's decision was motivated by racial and political bias.
A detained Palestinian activist from Columbia University is waiting for a court decision on whether his case should be moved to New Jersey from Louisiana. Mahmoud Khalil was taken to a holding facility in Louisiana following his arrest about three weeks ago. His lawyer said the Trump administration has revoked his green card.
[18:35:00]
The U.S. government wants to deport Khalil, but claiming that he is a Hamas sympathizer. So, far, nearly a dozen students and faculty members across the U.S. have been detained in the Trump administration's crackdown. CNN has confirmed the State Department sent an e-mail to international students asking them to self deport over campus activism. Sources also tell CNN that all U.S. embassies and consulates were ordered to screen the social media activity of certain student visa applicants.
Well, Donna Lieberman is the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union and joins us now live. Thanks for your time.
DONNA LIEBERMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW YORK CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: Thanks for having me.
KINKADE: So, let's start off with the case today. Lawyers for Khalil, who obviously is being held in Immigration Detention Center in Louisiana, arguing to have his case heard in New Jersey rather than Louisiana. Just explain why that is important.
LIEBERMAN: Well, the Trump administration wants to have this case heard in the jurisdiction that it sees as most sympathetic to its case and wants to keep Mahmoud Khalil and others similarly situated as far as possible from their support networks, from their families, from their lawyers, and that's why they want to keep the case in Louisiana.
But we filed the lawsuit in New York, while the federal website said that he was still in New York. Apparently, they didn't update it and he had already been taken to New Jersey. And the -- we're hoping that the court agrees if a pretty clear legal claim that we have, that his case ought to be held in New York or New Jersey. New Jersey is fine too. That's where his wife is. That's where his baby will be. And that's where his legal team is.
KINKADE: So, Khalil is a green card holder. He's married to an American. He's accused of supporting Hamas, which the U.S. deems a terrorist group. Just explain what the charges are against him.
LIEBERMAN: Well, he's act -- there are no allegations and there's not a shred of evidence that he's a Hamas supporter or that he has done anything illegal. He's being accused simply of having what the administration has decided are the wrong political views, that he disagrees with American foreign policy, that he's been a strong critic of Israel. But he has not done and he's not accused of having done a single thing wrong.
Yet, they have invoked this -- law from the 1950s and claim that he can be deported. He can have his status revoked simply as a threat to foreign policy. This law has never been used in this way and it can't because that would violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the protection for free speech for everybody in the country, including green card holders, and including, most importantly, critics of the government, of course.
KINKADE: Right. His case is not an isolated one, right? Other university students from colleges, including Cornell and Brown, who've protested against Israel's war in Gaza and in support of Palestinians have been arrested by immigration officials. According to the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, 300 student visas have already been revoked. For those students, what rights do they have right now?
LIEBERMAN: Well, they all should have the right to a hearing before their status is revoked. None of them should be deported or deportable or held incommunicado without access to counsel or without bail pending the resolution of their cases.
This is an attempt to chill protest around the country. It's an attempt to intimidate students and faculty from expressing their points of view if they disagree with the government. And we all know that it's an attempt to intimidate and bully university administrations into becoming a mouthpiece, a tool of the administration.
And while it's focused on criticism of American foreign policy and criticism of Israel and support for the Palestinian people, now this same standard could be applied to criticism of abortion policies. It could be applied to criticism of Tesla. This is a dangerous precedent that the administration is trying to set, and that's why the Civil Liberties Union is so committed to ensuring that we can free Mahmoud Khalil and others in this situation.
[18:40:00]
KINKADE: Donna Lieberman, we appreciate your time today. Thanks so much for joining us.
LIEBERMAN: Thanks for having me.
KINKADE: Well, still to come after the break, could it be Trump 2028? The president's allies look for ways to bring about a third term despite the Constitution prohibiting him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: The U.S. Constitution limits presidents in the U.S. to only being elected twice, but that's not stopping Donald Trump from suggesting there's a way he could run again. Take a listen to what he said on board Air Force One over the weekend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TRUMP: I'm not looking at that. But I'll tell you, I have had more people asking me to have a third term, which is, in a way, it's fourth term because the other election -- the 2020 election was totally rigged. I don't want to talk about a third term now because no matter how you look at it, we got a long time to go. We have a long time, you know, we have almost four years to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, he went even further in a phone interview with the NBC saying he wasn't joking about the possibility of seeking a third term. I think there are methods which you could do it, but he reiterated it was far too early to think about it.
Well, the president has been coy when asked about extending his presidency, his allies suggests there are ways they could pull it off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BANNON, FORMER ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: I am a firm believer that President Trump will run and win again in 2028.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, he's term limited. How do you think he gets another term?
BANNON: We're working on it. I think we'll have a couple of alternatives, let's say that. We'll see what this -- we'll see the definition of term -- we'll see what the definition of term limit is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, I want to welcome James Sample, a professor of law at Hofstra University. He joins us now live. Good to have you with us.
JAMES SAMPLE, PROFESSOR OF LAW, HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY: Good to be with you, Lynda.
KINKADE: So, Donald Trump is not even in -- he hasn't even reached a hundred days into his second term already talking about a potential of a third term. He was speaking at the White House moments ago, almost joking about the fact that he would love to run against Barack Obama for a third term. Is this even possible?
SAMPLE: It absolutely, positively, and unequivocally is not possible. And for somebody who makes the claim that he doesn't like talking about it, he sure is talking about it a lot. The very first sentence of Section 1 of the 22nd Amendment is crystal clear.
[18:45:00]
It states, and I'm quoting, "No person shall be elected to the office of president more than twice." That is as clear as constitutional language gets. You know, most of our Constitution is actually written in broad, open-ended, textured terms.
What is a speedy trial? What is cruel and unusual punishment? What counts and doesn't count as equal protection of the law? How much process is actually due process? But there are a few instances in the constitutional language and the constitutional text where it is absolutely black and white, and the 22nd Amendment is one of those.
And for those who say, well, J. D. Vance could be the president and then he could resign, and Donald Trump could take his place after being vice president. That's also categorically foreclosed, in this instance, by a combination of the 12th Amendment and the 22nd Amendment with the 12th Amendment saying, in crystal clear terms, that no one who is ineligible to be president under the 22nd Amendment can serve as vice president.
So, he can talk about this, but what he's really trying to do is to distract from a news cycle that over the last week has not been particularly favorable to him.
KINKADE: Yes. And it's certainly getting a lot of reaction. I want to play some sound from James Clyburn, a Democrat Congressman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Well, I don't think he's joking at all. This man does not plan to leave this White House. All of this is about suspending, if not eliminating the Constitution of the United States. And that's the track we on. And I think people get serious about this. When he says he's not joking about throwing away the Constitution, which is what he'll have to do in order to have a third term and we are not going to rise up in opposition to that, I think it's time for us all to wake up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: And just moments ago, James, Donald Trump said, they say there's a way you can do it. I haven't really looked into it, but he was talking on the weekend about there are methods to do it. I mean, can he change the Constitution?
SAMPLE: Only if he goes through the formal process of amending the Constitution, and there's not a chance in the world that he has the votes to do that. You know, I actually really agree with the statement that Representative Clyburn made there, which is to say that just as was the case when Donald Trump purported to be able to amend the Constitution with an executive order authorizing or ending the practice of birthright citizenship, you can't change the Constitution with an executive order. You can't change the Constitution via legislation. It is intentionally difficult to amend the Constitution, and that is one of the things that has created stability in this nation for 240 years.
So, when he says, there are ways you can do it, that's just grandstanding. The reality is there are no ways to do it other than the formal amendment process, and Donald Trump's self-perception of his popularity is not some loophole in the 22nd Amendment. This applies to Barack Obama. It applies to George W. Bush. It applies to Bill Clinton. Donald Trump isn't special because he thinks he's special. The Constitution on this one is clear.
KINKADE: So, his former White House strategist, Steve Bannon, who walked free from prison days before last year's election said Trump will definitely be back in office. Can Trump simply refuse to leave office? And if so, then what happens?
SAMPLE: If he refuses to leave office, then we have January 6, 2021 on steroids with or without the violence. It is the definition of an insurrection. It would be the definition of unconstitutional. It would be the definition of a violation of everything that this nation stands for.
And one of the things -- and again, to go to Representative Clyburn's point, that even turning this clear-cut question into a debate, as if there's a debatable proposition, as if this is a matter of opinion, undermines respect for the Constitution, undermines respect for the rule of law, it's not that different than disrespecting the judges when the judges rule against him. The more he can undermine the rule of law, the more he serves his authoritarian ends.
KINKADE: James Sample, good to get your perspective on this. Thanks so much for joining us.
SAMPLE: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well still to come, the baseball bats that are stealing the spotlight. How they're made and how they're helping that player performance. We'll have that story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:50:00]
KINKADE: Welcome back. Baseball fans celebrated opening weekend here in the United States where an unusual piece of equipment stole the spotlight. The New York Yankees debuted brand-new Torpedo bats. That's a reference to their shape. You can see one at the top of the photo here compared with a regular bat below.
Each one is custom made with more wood, where the batter tends to make contact with the ball and they're completely to code. The Yankees lost no time knocking out home runs, hitting nine alone during one of their games against the Milwaukee Brewers. A team record. Wel, one Yankee legend is -- in the making, isn't using the bats. Home run hero, Aaron Judge, he hit four into the stands over the weekend while using a regular bat.
Well, joining me now is Brendan Kuty who covers Major League Baseball for Athletic. Good to have you with us.
BRENDAN KUTY, STAFF WRITER, THE ATHLETIC: Thank you for having me on.
KINKADE: So, these Torpedo bats, just explain why they're so controversial.
KUTY: Well, they look unlike anything we've seen before, for a hundred years now. People have been swinging bats that look the same way. These bats, their sweet spot is moved further down near the hands of the hitter, giving them that Torpedo shape. And it's such a simple concept. The thought of moving the mass of the bat to where hitters hit the baseball more often than anywhere else on the bat, but no one had come along and done it. So, that's why there's like such a big uproar over this because it seems such a simple fix.
KINKADE: And interestingly, these were developed by a physicist at the Massachusetts of Institute of Technology. He was a Yankees Minor League hitting coach. Just explain for us how these bats are still within code.
KUTY: So, the coach, Aaron Leonard, studied physics at MIT. He was a professor at the University of Michigan for almost 10 years, and he was a Yankees Major League coach as late as last season. Now, he's with the Miami Marlins. They're within code because they followed the rules that Major League Baseball has set.
Major League baseball says that bats -- the barrel can only be a certain diameter. This falls within that. There's nothing saying that the bat can't be made of birch wood, which most of these Torpedo bats are made of birch because they're less dense than the most popular wood type maple, which then allows you to have a wider bat because they're not as dense, which means, you know, you can keep the bat as heavy as it typically is.
And you know, it's just one of these unique things that took forever for someone to figure out and is now taken to the game by storm.
KINKADE: Yes, it really is incredible. So, five Yankees are currently using this bat. Are they exclusive to the Yankees or do you think other teams will start using them?
KUTY: No, and that's the amazing thing, right? On Saturday it was, wow, look at what the Yankees are doing. On Sunday, it's, wait a second. What are the Yankees doing? And today, we're learning at The Athletic, through our reporters across the nation, that hitters in clubhouses throughout the game have one or two of these, or have been using them in games, Francisco Lindor with the Mets. Guys, with the Twins, with the San Diego Padres, with the Cincinnati Reds, they're all experimenting.
[18:55:00]
Now. Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees king power hitter hasn't been using his, but you know, he's one of the best hitters in the game. He's one of the strongest players in the game. And you don't hand Picasso an iPad, right? You let him do his thing with what he's best at. So, some players haven't taken to it, but others who need that extra edge, they're going to take anything they can get. And if that means using a bat that looks funky, they're going to go for it.
KINKADE: Yes. I mean, some have complained, right, about the Yankees using this, saying they're pushing the envelope too much. Can a regular player buy these bats?
KUTY: So, a regular player can have these bats manufactured for them, but there's a process to it. You want to take the model bat that you already use and see what works best for you through different versions of your own bat of moving the mass further down on your bat.
Teams have ways of tracking where you hit the baseball on your bat every time you swing. So, with each swing, they're seeing where you hit the ball, that's where they would move the mass of the bat. And eventually you finally get that bat that, you know, most closely resembles where you hit the ball.
KINKADE: Amazing.
KUTY: So, it would take a little while, but people are actually selling this online right now. Victus, Marucci, they're selling these online. People can buy them.
KINKADE: Incredible. Well, I have to -- sorry to cut you off, Brendan. I have to leave it there, but it is an interesting discussion. Brendan Kuty, thanks so much for your time.
And thanks to everyone joining us. I'm Lynda Kinkade in Atlanta. Stay with CNN. Much more news ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
