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Trump Set Liberation Day For Tariff To Take Effect Wednesday; French Far-Right Leader Marine Le Pen Slams Public Office Ban; Frantic Rescue Efforts In Myanmar Following Quake; China Launches Military Exercises Around Taiwan; Trump: Ukraine Trying To Back Out Of Minerals Deal; U.S. State Elections Seen As Referendum On Trump So Far. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired April 01, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

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LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: Now Aaron Judge wasn't using this but many of his teammates were. It's call the torpedo bat. You've seen it in your feed. But other Yankee players are and it's fueling the surge in homeruns. Seattle gets fatter a couple inches below the top with their custom fitted to each player's sweet spot, beefing up the part of the bat where the player most often hits the ball.

The internet is losing its mind over whether it's clever or cheating. One user writing, I think the torpedo bats are stupid. Do steroids like a man? OK. Major League Baseball weighed in and says, well, they're legal. And by the way, the Yankees aren't the only team that uses them.

Thanks for watching, everyone. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" is next.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Mark your calendar, Wednesday is set to be a major turning point in world history, ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're reciprocal, so whatever they charge us, we charge them. But we're being nicer than they were.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: With announcements of reciprocal tariffs from the U.S. president and an end to global trade as we know it.

What's the French word for lawfare?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARINE LE PEN, FRENCH FAR-RIGHT LEADER: (through translator): If that's not a political decision, I don't know what is.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: France's far-right leader and convicted embezzler plays the Trump card after a guilty verdict and a ban on running for political office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The majority of those still missing now thought unlikely to be alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And the death toll in Myanmar surges as rescuers struggle with the natural disaster on top of a civil war and a military coup and a political crisis.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: It's a rare moment when the world knows a major turning point in history is about to happen. But if the U.S. president is true to his word, and that remains an if, Wednesday could be the day when he announces dollar-for-dollar reciprocal tariffs on all U.S. trading partners, a move which would reverse 80 years of liberalization of global trade in favor of a new America first policy.

President Trump calls it liberation day. He's been talking about it for weeks, and still exact details are not known, and much seems to change from day to day. But we do know a big official event is scheduled Wednesday in the White House Rose Garden. The president and his Cabinet expected to be there.

Presidential advisers have put forward multiple plans with a variety of options, some with exemptions or delays or negotiations. The ultimate decision now is with the president. Keep in mind, though, when it comes to tariffs, since the start of his second term, President Trump has made an announcement followed by a reversal. Then comes some exemptions, sometimes within hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Even before the expected announcement, the verdict on tariffs is in from Wall Street, which has seen its worst quarter since September of 2022. Many economists predicting the higher cost of imports will mean a greater chance of an economic recession in the U.S. this year. Right now futures are down across the board in the United States.

And around the world, countries are bracing for economic turmoil, with leaders in Europe and Asia ready to fire their own shots in a trade war started by Donald Trump. And again, these are the current markets in the Asia Pacific region. You can see the Nikkei down just -- well, actually flat there. Hong Kong, Shanghai and the Seoul KOSPI all back up in positive territory.

More details now from CNN's senior politics reporter Stephen Collinson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: He's got the whole world hanging on his every word, and that's just how he likes it. Donald Trump said in an extraordinary White House Oval Office news conference that liberation day is beckoning for the United States on April 2nd. That's the date when he plans to unveil his promised tariffs on U.S. trade partners and foes, which promise potentially to rock the global economy.

But we don't know exactly what the president will say. He says that that will all be unveiled on Wednesday in the Rose Garden of the White House, in an event that will be looked at around the world. Will the president, for example, impose those across-the-board tariffs, dollar- for-dollar, against countries that put similar duties on U.S. imports? Will he go country by country, try to wring out deals with various U.S. trading partners and other trading blocs? We just don't know. But the risks are huge.

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Many economists fear that tariffs will push up prices for American consumers, who are still feeling the effects of that inflation that came into force during the pandemic years, and that has not really dissipated for many Americans who are very frustrated about the price of groceries, of rent and of mortgages. And the problem there is that if those -- if that hurts consumer confidence, that could put the U.S. economy into a cycle of recession.

But tariffs are a weapon that Donald Trump has believed in for decades, ever since he was a businessman in New York in the 1980s, when he was warning of the competitiveness of the Japanese economy and said that that could hurt the American economy. Now the trade foes are China and the European Union, but Trump's belief is still the same. Now, as the president, who has few checks on his power, now he can put all of those years of economic orthodoxy into practice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Wendy Cutler is vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute. Before that, she spent three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, where she also served as acting deputy U.S. trade representative.

Wendy, thank you for being with us.

WENDY CUTLER, VICE PRESIDENT, ASIA SOCIETY POLICY INSTITUTE: Thank you.

VAUSE: Right now, financial markets globally are bracing for liberation day. Here's the view from Mexico. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES SALAZAR SALINAS, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, CIBANCO (through translator): Trump triggered this because we used to be in a completely opposite dynamic, nearshoring, helping global markets. Now we look to get close to the national aspect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Also, here's the view from Germany. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM OECHSNER, SENIOR TRADER, WOLFGANG STEUBING AG (through translator): Next Wednesday could have a major impact on the global stock markets. Quite a few stock market analysts are talking about the fact that it could be the end of the liberal world trade.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, we only know we've had a major turning point in history from hindsight usually, but we're heading towards this big day. Are we now at the -- on the eve of ending 80 years of breaking down barriers on trade and trying to end production in global trade, essentially going back to how it used to be, where every country was every man for themselves?

CUTLER: Well, it sure seems that things are changing drastically on the trade front. We'll have to see how expansive the announcement the president will make tomorrow. It's still unclear how many countries will be hit, what the tariff rates will be. Well, there'll be one rate for a group of countries or different rates for each country.

And how he will implement these tariffs. Will they all go into effect right away or will he provide a window for negotiation? And I think all of these issues are still under discussion internally. And so this announcement, the magnitude could be enormous. But we could also see an announcement that provides some flexibility as well.

VAUSE: Of course have an announcement without clarity, too. That's another option here. According to Beijing's state controlled media, China, Japan and South Korea held economic talks Sunday for the first time in five years, vowing to bolster fair trade and strengthen economic ties among them.

Now, we should note here that Japan and South Korea are critical U.S. allies in Asia, and these soon to be announced tariffs appear to be moving them much closer to China, which is a major adversary of the United States. So is this dynamic happening elsewhere around the world, U.S. friends moving closer to rivals out of economic necessity?

CUTLER: Well, absolutely. I think what we're seeing is that countries are viewing the United States as not as a reliable trading partner as we were in the past. And they're looking to reduce their dependence on the U.S. market. So they're looking to forge agreements and to promote cooperation with other trading partners. And I think that's what you're seeing with this trilateral meeting between the trade ministers of China, Japan and Korea just a couple of days ago.

VAUSE: The official line from the White House continues to be something along the lines of tariffs are manna from heaven. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER NAVARRO, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE AIDE: The message is that tariffs are tax cuts. Tariffs are jobs. Tariffs are national security. Tariffs are great for America. Tariffs will make America great again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That's just cuckoo for cocoa puffs really. But you know, what is true is that countries with smaller or developing economies usually benefit more from free trade than major industrialized countries like the United States. But it's still not a zero sum game. And the important thing to note in all of this is that the benefits of free trade go way beyond economics. That seems to be getting lost in the discussions here.

CUTLER: Yes, I mean, that's clear that, you know, we have a lot of allies and partners all around the world. And as we impose more tariffs against them, I think it's going to make it more difficult to cooperate on other issues that are important to us in the political or the diplomatic or the security or on the security fronts.

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So, yes. This, the impact while it's going to hit all of the economies and hit the global economy, I think there will be fallout with respect to our overall relations with countries all around the world.

VAUSE: Wendy, thank you so much for being with us. Wendy Cutler there in Hong Kong. We appreciate your time. Thank you.

CUTLER: Thank you.

VAUSE: Live now to Capitol Hill, where Democratic Senator Cory Booker is a little more than five hours into a marathon speech on the Senate floor. He's expected to keep talking throughout the night and maybe into Tuesday, if he is physically able to do so. The talkathon is Booker's way of protesting recent actions by the Trump administration, including cuts to health care. While Booker keeps talking, the Senate floor will continue to be staffed and Capitol police will continue to be on duty.

A political earthquake in French politics Monday. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who is also frontrunner in the next presidential election, has been officially banned from running, leaving her party scrambling to find a replacement while also crying political interference. The court imposed an immediate five-year ban on Le Pen after she was found guilty of embezzlement. While the decision is well within the law and has been imposed a

number of times on other political leaders in France, Le Pen, along with the National Rally Party leader Jordan Bardella, and far-right leaders across Europe, have all accused the court of denying democracy to millions of voters.

CNN's Melissa Bell has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was a very combative Marine Le Pen who took to French airwaves in primetime in the wake of the verdict and sentencing that has seen her barred from seeking political office for the next five years. This was a trial that concluded in Paris in November.

The verdict and the sentencing handed out this Monday saw not just Marine Le Pen, but several of the National Rally's MEPs found guilty of embezzling European funds that should have gone to funding parliamentary assistance, and the court found were in fact used -- the money was used to fund party political workers here in France. That vast system, as the judge described it, spans several years and was of such severity that she had decided to hand down the most severe sentence sought by the prosecution.

Even before she heard it, once Marine Le Pen began to understand what kind of sentencing she was received, about to receive, she left the courtroom, and it was to that anger that she spoke on French television in the wake of the sentencing, announcing that she is a fighter, that she will not take this sitting down, and that she will do everything she can to fight against what she described as a political decision.

The presiding judge in the case, as she delivered the verdict and the sentencing, however, very clear to explain that it was precisely to protect democracy and the affront that had been done to it by this embezzlement of Marine Le Pen's party that she was seeking such severe sentencing.

Still, it is now a very political and very loud fight that the leader of the national front intends to wage against this and in the name she hopes of being able to salvage her political career.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Almost four days now since a deadly and powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and the so-called golden window for pulling survivors alive from under the rubble is coming to an end. That means those trapped all this time in flattened buildings with no access to water are far less likely to survive as time goes on.

But the rescue efforts do continue. Myanmar's military dictatorship says more than 2,000 people are confirmed dead, with about twice as many injured, several hundred are considered missing. CNN's Ivan Watson has a closer look at the now the search for

survivors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON (voice-over): Desperate cries for help, two teenage girls trapped in an air pocket with their grandmother under the rubble of their home, trying to get the attention of the outside world by banging on concrete with a butter knife.

The trio trapped and terrified for 15 hours until rescuers pulled them to safety.

Frantic rescue efforts repeated across Myanmar since a deadly 7.7 magnitude earthquake shook the country on Friday. These two women, who asked not to be identified, say they were also trapped when their five-story hotel in Mandalay collapsed.

Could you see outside? Could you see daylight from where you were?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We were trapped in total darkness. But the good thing is we had a phone and we could use its light to see. If we didn't have that, we could have died. We could see to clear rubble from on top of each other.

WATSON (voice-over): They say civilian volunteers from the neighborhood rescued them after five frightening hours.

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Also in Mandalay on Monday, a Chinese rescue team pulled three people from the wreckage of a residential high-rise, including a pregnant woman and a little girl.

But now, as more time passes, hope starts to dwindle. The majority of those still missing now thought unlikely to be alive. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people in quake-damaged cities and towns must now find food, clean water, and shelter. Myanmar's military ruler, Min Aung Hlaing, who rules over a closed society and rarely cooperates with the international community, is asking for international aid and help.

Already one of the poorest nations in Asia, Myanmar has been further devastated by four years of civil war. And the earthquake zone crosses the war's frontlines. With its people in desperate need, some have been critical of the military junta.

YANGHEE LEE, FORMER U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON MYANMAR HUMAN RIGHTS: Why hasn't Min Aung Hlaing sent in all of his military assets for rescue and relief? We don't see any helicopters with rescue and relief team. We only see civilians digging into the rubbles.

WATSON: Some lucky survivors in this majority Buddhist country are giving thanks to a higher power.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): While being trapped, we learned that nothing is permanent, and the most important thing to do before death is to live a happy life and to do many good deeds. Don't do bad things because karma will follow you.

WATSON: They say they may become nuns to show their gratitude for their miraculous escape.

Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Find out how you can help Myanmar earthquake survivors, please go to CNN.com/Impact.

Beijing orders new military drills around Taiwan again escalating tensions in the region. The very latest in a live report after a short break.

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VAUSE: New military drills involving China's Army, Navy, Air Force and Rocket Force now underway with orders from Beijing to close in on Taiwan from multiple directions, a move which the military says will act as a stern warning and forceful deterrence against the island.

CNN's Simone McCarthy joins us now live from Hong Kong.

So just in terms of size, how big are these drills? And has there been any response from Taipei?

SIMONE MCCARTHY, CNN SENIOR NEWS DESK CORRESPONDENT, CHINA: Well, John, certainly these drills just got underway a few hours ago here in Asia. So we're still watching to see how they develop in terms of duration, in terms of scope, in terms of how many aircraft, how many vessels are ultimately deployed.

There are a couple of things that were paying very close attention to. One of them is what you just mentioned, that there are four branches of the military that are involved in these. That's significant, certainly, because it shows that Beijing is trying to ramp up the interoperability between different branches of its military if it were to take some kind of military action against Taiwan in the future.

One of those is also the Rocket Force, and that's in charge of China's missiles. So certainly whenever the Rocket Force is involved, we're paying close attention to any kind of deployments there. The other is that they're using language, talking about how these exercises are related to a blockade of key areas and sea lanes. And that's something that analysts say, again, were Beijing to want to take military action against Taiwan, they may use a blockade as a key strategy in order to do that.

Now, we have seen the Taiwan government come out and condemn these drills. They've said that this is -- that China is a threat to the world order. But we have seen and, you know, and I should say, too, we have seen none of this is unprecedented. We have seen, you know, all four branches of the military be used before. We have seen this blockade language before, but Beijing has certainly been ramping up its intimidation of Taiwan over the past couple of years.

And part of that is when it wants to express displeasure with Taipei for things that have been going on. However, an internal analysis from the Taiwanese government has actually linked this to another factor, which is the recent visit from U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to the region. And we saw Hegseth here in the Philippines late last week, and then he was also in Japan over the weekend.

And he had a very strong message during that trip where he said, the United States is going to prioritize deterring what he called the Chinese communists and that was clearly a key focus, talking about how the United States wanted to really bolster its positioning there, strengthen its relationships with allies. He did talk about security in the Taiwan Strait.

And so I think that we can also certainly see this as Beijing, not just, even though, you know, Beijing is saying this is sending a stern warning to Taiwan over, quote, "Taiwan independence," I think we can certainly see this through the lens of a message that Beijing is also trying to send to the United States, as it's talking about a pivot to Asia.

VAUSE: Simone, thanks so much. Simone McCarthy, live for us in Hong Kong with the very latest.

We'll take a short break. When we come back, Mr. Art of the Deal struggling to make any kind of peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. And now he's angry with both countries.

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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

The world is bracing for Donald Trump's latest announcement on tariffs. The White House says an event has been scheduled for the Rose Garden Wednesday, the day Donald Trump has called liberation day. Many are expecting dollar-for-dollar tariffs to be imposed on all U.S. trading partners.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is slamming a court imposed ban on running for office for the next five years. Le Pen was found guilty in an embezzlement trial Monday. The sentence rules out the frontrunner from France's 2027 presidential election.

Two NASA astronauts who recently returned to earth say they never felt abandoned or stranded during their extended stay on the International Space Station. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were scheduled to stay a week on the space station, but technical problems with their spacecraft kept them there for more than nine months. Both say they were honored by the interest in their journey home.

Donald Trump is threatening to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil unless Moscow makes a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Over the weekend, the U.S. president said he was, quote, "pissed off"

by Vladimir Putin's lack of cooperation, later adding he believes the Russian president will follow through.

Meantime, Donald Trump accuses Ukraine of trying to back out of a rare earth minerals deal. But Ukraine says the U.S. keeps changing the terms.

CNN's Clare Sebastian has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: With efforts to get to the point of a ceasefire in Ukraine essentially stalled --

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): -- the U.S. appears to be stepping up efforts to get a mineral deal over the line, a central part, of course, of President Trump's strategy to ensure the U.S. gets something in return for helping Ukraine.

Well, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday the U.S. has put forward a new proposal and one that goes beyond the original arrangement that was set to be signed on February 27th, the day of that Oval Office spat between Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy.

Well, the new proposal would apparently give the U.S. more access to Ukraine's mineral reserves and would apply to all mineral resources, including oil and gas, according to those sources, who also said it does not contain any promise of postwar security guarantees for Ukraine.

Well, Zelenskyy, who has maintained he's open to signing a mineral deal in principle, let slip some frustration last week. He said on Thursday that the U.S. keeps changing the terms of the deal. And on Friday, he called the new proposal an entirely different document, which contains some things that hadn't been discussed and some things that had already been rejected.

Well, on Sunday, President Trump hit back.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think Zelenskyy, by the way, I see he's trying to back out of the rare earth deal. And if he does that, he's got some problems. Big, big problems.

SEBASTIAN: Well, the risks for Ukraine are clear. Last time President Trump and Zelenskyy fell out, the U.S. paused military aid and intelligence sharing, though later reinstated it.

Now, the difference now, though, more than a month on, is that Trump is signaling he's also willing to get tough on Russia and ramp up economic pressure to sign onto a ceasefire, without which, of course, the U.S. cannot start reaping the benefits of Ukraine's mineral wealth.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: At least three people were killed, several more injured in an Israeli strike on Beirut, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

The top three floors of a building were hit with two missiles, according to the country's national news agency.

Israel's military claims the strike targeted a Hezbollah militant, marking the second attack on Southern Beirut in recent days, testing a shaky ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group.

Well, the White House keeping a close eye on Tuesday's U.S. special elections in a moment. In a moment, what the outcome of state races in Wisconsin and Florida could mean for the entire country.

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VAUSE: Another successful launch Monday for SpaceX. The Fram2 crew and one of SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsules will be the first manned flight to orbit the North and South Poles.

This private flight is funded by a cryptocurrency billionaire who's invited three guests along, all with links to polar exploration. They'll be conducting experiments about human health in space to learn more about the impact of long-duration times in space.

Voters in Florida and Wisconsin head to the ballot box in the coming hours. The state races, which could have national implications, have caught the attention of the Trump White House; especially, it seems Elon Musk, who is now heavily invested in the outcomes, as CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump and Elon Musk are not on the ballot Tuesday, but their prestige and their popularity certainly are on the line in two special elections the White House is watching very carefully.

ZELENY (voice-over): In Wisconsin, the nation's most expensive judicial race ever has really come into significant attention. Of course, Donald Trump won Wisconsin last fall. It was the narrowest of all the swing states.

There is a Supreme Court judicial opening on the ballot. It has always attracted outsized attention, but this year, it is something extraordinarily different.

Elon Musk has devoted millions of dollars and so much of his time, as well, to campaigning there for the conservative candidate, Brad Schimel.

Elon Musk has been giving out $100 increments to people who signed a petition that would lead them to vote, but he also gave away two separate prizes of $1 million each for people who supported the conservative position.

Now, Democrats there are pushing back, trying to say that Elon Musk is essentially trying to buy votes.

So, this certainly is one of the first and biggest referendums yet of the Trump administration, the Trump presidency, not only what he has done in office, but also what Elon Musk stands for, as well as his Department of Government Efficiency.

So, all eyes here at the White House will be on Wisconsin on Tuesday for the special election.

ZELENY: Florida also hosting a special election to fill the congressional seat of Mike Waltz. Of course, he's the national security advisor, who came under fire for the whole brouhaha over the group chat in Signal leaking those military plans.

But his seat also is up for grabs. It's a safe Republican seat. Generally, Republicans have generally won this, but Democrats believe that they have a chance there to at least make inroads. We shall see.

So, there's no doubt the first special elections here, the White House keeping an eye on them. It could be a harbinger of things to come.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. I'll be back with more news at the top of the hour. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT starts after a short break. See you back here soon.

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