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American Actor Val Kilmer Dies; Republicans Dominate Special Elections In Two Florida Districts, Susan Crawford Wins Wisconsin Supreme Court Race; Democrat Cory Booker Spoke For 25 Hours In The Senate, Breaks Former Record; Tesla Owners Now Targeted By Aggressive Drivers. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 02, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max, I'm Rosemary Church.

First this hour, actor Val Kilmer has died at the age of 65. His daughter released a statement to the New York Times and Associated Press saying he died of pneumonia.

Kilmer was best known for his roles in films like "Top Gun," "Tombstone," "The Doors" and "Batman Forever." His films made nearly $2 billion at the global box office, according to ComScore.

CNN's Stephanie Elam takes a look back at some of Kilmer's iconic roles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From a quirky spy in the 1984 cult classic "Top Secret" --

VAN KILMER, ACTOR: You guys really are cowboys.

ELAM (voice-over): -- to the intense fighter pilot in Top Gun.

KILMER: You're everyone's problem. That's because every time you go up in the air, you're unsafe.

ELAM (voice-over): Val Kilmer's film career took flight in the big 80s. But the slick performer trained at Juilliard honed his acting chops on the stage and saw his craft as a serious means of exploration.

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Have you ever turned down something you regretted? KILMER: No, I don't really think that way. I just look forward. And

also, in a personal way, what I gained from acting was the opportunity to experience things that certainly you'd never do in your own life.

ELAM (voice-over): In the 1990s, Kilmer explored the mind of Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's "The Doors." Critics praised him for nailing both the look and the sound of the late singer.

KILMER: I'm your huckleberry.

ELAM (voice-over): Two years later, he played the pasty yet poised gunslinger Doc Holliday in "Tombstone." And later, a desperate construction engineer hunting lions in "The Ghost and the Darkness."

Along the way, Kilmer co-starred with some of Hollywood's heavyweights, like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, in the bank robbery movie "Heat," and played the superhero --

KILMER: That's the car, right? Chicks love the car.

ELAM (voice-over): -- as Batman in 1995. But it was an earlier collaboration on the set of the 1988 movie "Willow," where Kilmer met co-star Joanne Wally. They were married almost eight years and had two children.

Later in his career, Kilmer returned to the stage, playing Moses in "The Ten Commandments - The Musical." He also wrote and performed the one-man show "Citizen Twain," taking on the persona of the great American storyteller.

But under the makeup, the actor was dealing with grave health concerns. Kilmer downplayed cancer rumors, but then later said he had beaten the disease, which required a tracheotomy, and left him with a raspy voice.

In 2022, he reprised his role as Iceman in the "Top Gun" sequel, "Maverick."

KILMER: Who's the better pilot? You or me?

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: This is a nice moment. Let's not ruin it.

ELAM (voice-over): Like the actor himself, his once boisterous flyboy character, subdued by illness, still commanded respect and even awe on the silver screen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Joining us now is journalist and culture critic Rebecca Sun. She is also a former senior editor of "The Hollywood Reporter." I appreciate you being with us as we cover this sad news, the passing of Val Kilmer.

And for many of us, he actually became Jim Morrison, didn't he? When he portrayed the singer in the movie "The Doors" back in 1991. What is his legacy as we remember him on this day and how will he be remembered, do you think?

REBECCA SUN, JOURNALIST AND CULTURE CRITIC, AND FORMER SR. EDITOR, "THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": I think that he'll be remembered as a consummate artist. I think that the especially because before -- a few years before he passed back in 2021, he released the documentary "Val," which was a wonderful retrospective of his career as well as of who he was as a man. I think he will be seen as somebody who is a bit uncompromising in his artistry, but somebody who left really indelible performances despite having a fairly short career.

CHURCH: And what more are you learning about Kilmer's death and, of course, his health issues?

[03:04:57]

SUN: Yes. So he was always a little bit secret about his health issues while he was going through them, perhaps part of a reason was because he's a Christian scientist. I think they were various perspectives he had on his physical health.

He revealed after the fact that he had battles: throat cancer for two years but that he was in remission. His family -- his statement tonight that he ultimately died of pneumonia, but certainly the past decade, he did undergo two tracheotomies. You could see in that clip from "Top Gun:" Maverick" that he was speaking with the assistance of an electronic voice box.

And so, he went through a number of health issues that he, sort of, slowly reveal that a little bit more of his life.

CHURCH: And you mentioned Kilmer's final appearance on film, reuniting with Tom Cruise in the "Top Gun" sequel "Top Gun: Maverick". It was a shock for many fans to see him clearly debilitated by his cancer. How significant was it for him and for Cruise to have that reunion in that cameo role?

SUN: I think especially now that we know that that was his final film performance, it's enormously significant and extremely poignant. Iceman is one of his iconic characters. It's one of the most iconic characters in movie pop culture.

And so I think it was a beautiful full circle moment. I was so glad that the "Maverick" team was able to bring him back, even in that limited capacity, to really pay homage to his participation in the original film.

I thought it was beautiful. I love the fact that they incorporated his health issues into it without sort of making a voiceover. I just thought it was really fitting and really nice.

CHURCH: Rebecca Sun, thank you so much for talking with us. I appreciate it.

SUN: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: In the coming hours, the U.S. President is expected to announce his most aggressive tariff policy yet in a major escalation of his trade war. Donald Trump plans to reveal the new tariffs at a Rose Garden ceremony at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

And the White House says they will go into effect immediately. Now other countries, businesses and American consumers are bracing for the impact. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has the latest from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: He's long talked about it on the campaign trail and here at the White House. But on Wednesday, President Trump is set to put the finishing touches and announce a sweeping tariff plan.

It's one of the centerpieces of his American first agenda that really brought him into the White House here. But the questions are, as he is set to put these sweeping tariffs into effect, is what effect they will have on prices, inflation, the financial markets.

The White House is moving forward with this, though. The president is saying short-term pain may come, but it will bring long-term gain, promises of a rebirth of American factories and manufacturing. But in the final hours leading up to this announcement, foreign leaders and business leaders were really lobbying the White House, trying to get exemptions to their countries or their industries.

It is unclear exactly what the president will decide. One thing is clear. He's make the announcement at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday after the markets are scheduled to a close in the Rose Garden of the White House.

So regardless of what he decides, this could be one of the most sweeping decisions he makes for tariffs. If it's across the board, 20 percent on every country or if he puts some exemptions in place. There is no doubt this decision will have lingering effects for the rest of his term and beyond.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Now to the first elections of Donald Trump's second term, a key test of how Americans are responding to his presidency. And it was a chance for voters in one state to weigh in on the influence of Elon Musk.

First to Wisconsin, where CNN projects Democratic-backed judge Susan Crawford will defeat conservative Brad Shimel, maintaining the liberal majority on the state Supreme Court. Crawford spoke to a cheering crowd in Madison late Tuesday, taking aim at Elon Musk, who spent more than $20 million supporting her opponent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN CRAWFORD, WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT JUSTICE-ELECT: As a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined that I'd be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin. And we won.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: In Florida, CNN projects Republican Randy Fine will win the 6th House district race over Democrat Josh Weil. This is the seat formerly held by Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz.

[03:10:06]

And in Florida's 1st House district, CNN projects Republican Jimmy Patronis will defeat Democrat Gay Valimont. And this is the seat vacated by Matt Gaetz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY PATRONIS (R-FL), REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT: Thank you to President Trump. You know, this guy won an amazing race back in November because the country was sick and tired and fed up for the last four years. So CD1 is where the hopes and dreams of the Democratic Party come to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The Florida victories expand the Republicans' majority in the House, now 220 to 213. However, the margin of victory in both races was much smaller than Donald Trump's in the 2024 presidential race.

But Wisconsin is where Democratic voters had their biggest impact since Donald Trump returned to the White House. CNN's Omar Jimenez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was not the result the supporters of Judge Brad Schimel were hoping for when they arrived here to the watch party. But in the end, Schimel got up on stage behind me and announced to his supporters that he had called his opponent, Judge Susan Crawford, and officially conceded this race, which would maintain liberal control of the Supreme Court here in the state of Wisconsin, which, of course, affects a number of issues, which could include redistricting issues, but also abortion as well. So a lot on the line leading into this race.

Now, one thing that was interesting was that when Schimel announced that he had called Crawford to concede, there were audible boos from folks here in the crowd to which he eventually pushed back and said, no, you have to accept the results. And in the end, he just didn't have what it took to get over the finish line as far as the votes or the amount of support that he needed.

We got some immediate reaction in the room from the state GOP chair, Brian Schimming, who told us he does not see this race as a reflection of the November 2024 election, the one that, of course, put President Trump in the White House.

While he said there will be a time to go through and see what may have gone wrong and what may have been improved at various points, he did say that he believed the Democratic base was very fired up based on their loss in recent months.

And so they will likely take a look at that for future races. But again, in the end, it was Susan Crawford projected to win, win as CNN projects, to maintain liberal control of the Supreme Court here in Wisconsin to the disappointment of those that showed up here.

Omar Jimenez, CNN, Waukesha, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Joining me now, Caroline Heldman, Democratic strategist and professor at Occidental College; and Rina Shah, former senior Republican campaign adviser and principal and founder of Rilax Strategies. Welcome to you both.

CAROLINE HELDMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, AND PROF. OF CRITICAL THEORY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE, OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: Good to see you.

RINA SHAH, PRINCIPAL AND FOUNDER, RILAX STRATEGIES, AND FORMER SR. REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Hello.

CHURCH: So three crucial races offer an early test for Donald Trump's new presidency in Wisconsin. Democratic backed judge Susan Crawford is projected to win the state Supreme Court race. Despite her conservative opponent, Judge Brad Schimel, receiving more than $20 million of Elon Musk's own money. Rina, to you first, how big a blow was this for both Trump and Musk? And what message are voters trying to send here?

SHAH: Well, this was a tremendous blow given the amount of money spent. I think when you're talking about history and this historical spend on a judicial race, that return on investment was not only just there. It was the type of thing that is embarrassing. Now, look, there will be politicos who say that it was because Trump really didn't perform so well in Wisconsin that anyone couldn't have been too shocked.

But I think, again, when you see a hand being put in a pot to this level, you expect some degree of outcome. And that outcome, frankly, should have been in Schimel's favor.

Of course, democracy holds again. And what we saw is liberals hold the line. And Wisconsinites say to Trump that we are going to give you a fight.

That is what this was about, because at the end of the day, the courts were going to talk about abortions. They were going to talk about redistricting and were conservative to swing the majority their way in Wisconsin. That would have been absolutely the type of thing that gave Trump and Elon Musk a rubber stamp to do this again in other states.

CHURCH: And Caroline, Judge Crawford has said that her real opponent in this race was Musk, not Schimel. So how big an embarrassment do you think this is in Wisconsin for Trump and Musk after the richest man in the world went up against a liberal judge investing tens of millions of dollars and losing? [03:15:00]

HELDMAN: Yes, I mean, as the state of our democracy, right? The real indictment of the role of money in politics, that the wealthiest man in the world is tossing around million-dollar checks that aren't even randomly distributed. They're all going to kind of prominent Republicans trying to buy votes.

But you have, you know, President Trump in the Oval Office who's illegally electioneering and trying to interfere in this race. And it's not even a news story because of what is happening with our democracy.

But I think it's really important to look at why Musk was there. He was there because in the state of Wisconsin and many other states, Republicans have gerrymandered the map so much. But even though the state's 50-50, as Rina points out, right, that it was a close race, although Trump won it, out of eight congressional seats in the House, six are Republicans.

So the reason that Musk was there and talking about this being the end of civilization is he knows that Republicans have rigged the rules of the game there. And that by putting this judge in, Crawford will restore fairness.

So it really speaks to how much our democracy is eroded, not just by money from the wealthiest man and other oligarchs, but also by rigging the rules so that we don't actually have free and fair elections when it comes to the House of Representatives.

CHURCH: Right. And of course, turning to the two special House elections in Florida, the Democrats, Josh Weil, closed the gap considerably between himself and Republican Randy Fine in Florida's District 6. Of course, Randy Fine won it. That was no surprise.

So, Rina, what do you think is the reason behind this closer margin than expected in a deep-red seat?

SHAH: Well, yesterday in the United States was all about money. When you talk about these races, whether it was that judicial race in Wisconsin or these congressional races to spill to fill these special seats in Florida, the influence of money was outsized. And the great irony was that during this time we saw New Jersey Senator Cory Booker on the floor of the U.S. Senate doing this historic filibuster, speaking for over 24 hours about the Trump administration, about Elon Musk, about Republicans.

And he did spend considerable time on that big Supreme Court decision of Citizens United, which does make it legal for basically any amount of money to be spent on races and says that corporations are people, too.

So this outsized influence of money is so big. But looking at these two seats in Florida, Congressional District 1 and Congressional District 6, what we saw essentially was that Democrats really had to make these massive spends. The Democrat opponents outspent the Republicans. Now, of course, Florida is very red, but Randy Fine did not think he would have this kind of challenge.

And, of course, he won. But I think what this tells us is that Republicans still need to be on their toes. They still need to be scared, because even though their Democrat opponents outspent them and it didn't work, the influence of money is going to be great.

The numbers should have been stronger for Republicans. And angry activist voters are the reasons that Democrats were able to get a good turnout and to really close a gap that should have been far wider in both Congressional District 1 and 6.

CHURCH: And, Caroline, yes, the Democrats lost, but they are happy, no doubt, about the fact that they've closed these margins. But a lot of people who are supporting Democrats are not happy with their performance overall. So what needs to happen on the Democratic side now if they want to make this count?

HELDMAN: Well, I think the Democrats need to capitalize on the fact that Donald Trump is acting like he has a mandate, even though if you look at that election, more voters stayed home than actually voted for Harris or voted for Trump.

And when it came right down to those who did vote, it's 50-50. We're a 50-50 nation. But Donald Trump is losing popularity.

He is underwater now with his poll ratings because he is acting like he has a mandate, and he is trying to pass and has passed wildly unpopular tariffs, which are taxes. And two-thirds of Americans, according to polls, have figured out that they're taxes. So he's not doing what he said he would do, which is lower prices for everyday Americans.

And so when you look at elections like what happened in Wisconsin and the fact that these two Florida races, the margin that Trump won by was cut in half in these races. And then you have this race in Pennsylvania for the state Senate, Senator Malone, who is a Democrat who wins in a Republican district that Democrats haven't won in 136 years. You look at this and you see the tides are turning.

So Democrats need to actually take advantage of that. But that would require some structure and some leadership.

And it looks like Cory Booker maybe is emerging. He just did the longest floor speech in Senate history, replacing Strom Thurmond's racist rant from 50 years ago. So I think maybe Cory Booker is going to be the anointed one moving forward with the Democratic Party who will actually pull them together.

[03:15:07]

CHURCH: And we'll certainly see what happens with that. But, Rina, in Florida's District 1, the GOP's Jimmy Patronis is projected to beat Democrat Gay Valimont. But should Patronis have won more comfortably, given this is another ruby red seat? And what message do you think all three of these races are sending the president?

SHAH: Well, the thing about Florida's first congressional district, and I know it well because I used to work for a member of Congress that filled that seat, and that was the predecessor to Congressman Matt Gaetz. Of course, when Congressman Matt Gaetz was tapped by President Trump and then, of course, lost that nomination by himself and recused himself, that seat became open.

The thing about Florida's first congressional district is that it is dubbed Floribama. It is very conservative.

And the one thing that people ought to know is it is heavily military- occupied. There are numerous military bases there.

And that also should tell you something, is that maybe there's a through line there that the Trump administration needs to pay attention to, because it should have been more comfortably won by Patronis. And I think, in general, if you're going to be starting to see the military turn a little bit more blue, that is a problematic sign for Republicans in not just this upcoming midterms of 2026, but beyond.

Because, again, Trump, the commander-in-chief, needs a solid 100 days to not only solidify his legacy, but to also really solidify the terms of this Republican Party and show that they can win elections handily. This was not a good night for Republicans. And I think Republicans will recalibrate in the weeks to come, because 2026 will be all important for those midterms.

CHURCH: All right. We are out of time, unfortunately. We have to leave it there.

Caroline Heldman, Rina Shah, many thanks to you both for joining us. I appreciate it.

HELDMAN: Thank you.

SHAH: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, the U.S. President wants Russia to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine, but he is learning that Vladimir Putin may not want to play on his terms. We'll look at that on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

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[03:25:00]

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CHURCH: We are following this developing story out of the Middle East. Israel's defense minister has announced a major expansion of the military's operation in Gaza. It would involve the seizure of large areas of land that will be, quote, "incorporated into Israel's security zones." Defense chief Israel Katz says the goal is to crush and clear the area

of terrorists and terror infrastructure. The operation would also include, again, quoting here, "the large-scale evacuation of Gaza's population from combat zones," though no further details were given.

The announcement comes as more than a dozen Palestinians, including women and children, were killed in an overnight Israeli strike in southern Gaza. That is according to hospital officials in Khan Younis. They say the victims were taking shelter in a home after being displaced from the Rafah area.

Last month, sources told CNN Israel was making plans for a potential major ground offensive in Gaza in which tens of thousands of troops would be sent in to clear and occupy large portions of the enclave.

This week, a senior Russian negotiator is expected to meet with Trump officials in Washington. The visit comes as President Donald Trump pushes Moscow to make a peace deal with Ukraine. CNN's Alex Marquardt has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: A top Russian official, a senior Kremlin aide, is coming to Washington for meetings with the Trump administration this week. Extremely notable, not just because of the timing, but because this will be the first visit by a senior Russian official since Russia invaded Ukraine back in 2022.

The official's name is Kirill Dmitriev. He's the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund. He's essentially an economics envoy for the Kremlin, who is hoping not just to further the conversation about ending the war in Ukraine, but about the longer-term financial relationship between the U.S. and Russia.

He is set to meet with the Trump administration, specifically with Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, who has essentially become Trump's point person on Russia. He's been to Moscow twice now to meet with President Putin. And he is coming now at a moment where there appears to be increasing frustration from the Trump administration against the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

Trump saying that he was pissed off with Putin after their last phone call last week, that he was angered by what Putin was saying about the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. I'm told by a source who has heard his thinking lately, that Trump is increasingly frustrated and impatient with Putin, wondering aloud whether Putin can actually be trusted. And, of course, many Ukrainians and European allies would happily tell President Trump that no, President Putin cannot be trusted.

Now, the ceasefire that was announced by the U.S. several weeks ago was quickly rejected by the Russian side. And what has come about is essentially a narrower ceasefire in Ukraine and Russia on energy infrastructure. And then last week, after the White House announced that that ceasefire would be extended to fighting in the Black Sea, the Russians then added conditions saying that American sanctions needed to be lifted.

So this is going much too slowly for an impatient President Trump, who is very eager to end this war in Ukraine. So Kirill Dmitriev coming here to Washington to smooth out this trouble in the relationship, but raising questions about whether Russia actually wants to end the war in Ukraine and get to a ceasefire and eventual peace deal, or whether President Putin is simply playing for time.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We're following an escalation of surprise drills near Taiwan as China's military launches live fire strikes in the East China Sea. The exercises, dubbed Straight Thunder, are said to be focused on testing the troops' capabilities of joint blockade and precision strikes.

[03:30:09]

On Tuesday, the Trump White House issued a warning to China after it launched the drills, which involved the country's Army, Navy, Air Force and Rocket Force.

Still to come, history made on the Senate floor by New Jersey's Cory Booker. We will tell you why he spent more than an entire day speaking in protest. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

CNN projects liberals will keep their majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court after Democrat-backed Susan Crawford won about 55 percent of the vote. The circuit court judge defeated Trump-backed conservative judge Brad Schimel despite Elon Musk pouring millions of dollars into the race on his behalf.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to reveal new tariffs in the coming hours marking an escalation of his global trade war. The White House has not shared details but says the tariffs will take effect immediately.

[03:35:03]

Economists warn this could lead to a sharp increase in the price of goods for U.S. consumers and wipe out millions of jobs.

Actor Val Kilmer has died at the age of 65. His daughter released a statement saying he died of pneumonia. Kilmer had largely stepped away from acting after a throat cancer diagnosis in 2014 but is known for his roles in a number of movies including "Top Gun," "The Doors" and "Batman Forever." ComScore reports his films have made nearly $2 billion around the world. Three closely-watched elections are providing a check on voter sentiment. More than two months into Donald Trump's second presidency in the swing state of Wisconsin, Democrat-backed judge Susan Crawford is projected to win the Supreme Court race and preserve the high court's liberal majority.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAWFORD: To the people of Wisconsin, thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: It's a big blow to President Trump and Elon Musk who spent time and a lot of money campaigning for conservatives.

In Florida, the Republican Party will keep two seats in their narrow House majority after special elections to replace Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz. The Democrats put up a fight in districts that Trump won easily.

And I want to bring in Richard Johnson now who is a senior lecturer in U.S. politics and policy at Queen Mary University of London. I appreciate you joining us.

RICHARD JOHNSON, SR. LECTURER IN U.S. POLITICS AND POLICY, QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: Good morning.

CHURCH: So three crucial tests for the Trump presidency Tuesday. The Wisconsin Supreme Court race, of course, stands out with the liberal judge Susan Crawford winning despite the efforts of Elon Musk to derail her chances with his injection of $20 million of his own money for her opponent. So what message are voters sending both Trump and Musk with this big loss, do you think?

JOHNSON: Well, I think it shows that money doesn't buy votes in American elections. Now, American elections are the most expensive in the world. And it's one of those kind of features of American exceptionalism where the United States is truly a global outlier compared to other countries.

And yet, actually, we've known in political science for quite a long time that the relationship between spending more money and receiving more votes is not a perfect relationship.

And I guess what Musk was trying to do in this election was to defeat a perception, which has turned out to be an accurate one, which is that when Donald Trump is not on the ballot, Republican voters are less motivated to turn out and vote. And I think he wanted to create with his money a huge amount of excitement and attention on an election, which is what we might call a kind of lower salience election, a down ballot election.

And he just simply was unable to mobilize the Trump vote. Remember, this is a state that Donald Trump won in November. And this time, not the Democrats, but the Democratic-backed candidate won the state by about 10 points. So the Democrats in Wisconsin are more motivated to turn out and vote

than Republicans when there isn't a Donald Trump on the ballot. And that matters for the midterm elections next year.

CHURCH: And Republicans swept the two special House elections in Florida, as expected, of course, with significantly reduced margins, though. What do you read into that? And what message do you think Florida voters are trying to send President Trump with this vote?

JOHNSON: I think you can read the Florida results in two ways. On the one hand, the Republicans' vote share in both seats went from about 66, 67 percent of the vote to 57 percent of the vote. So that's a 10- point drop.

You apply that across the country. If Republicans across the country did 10 points worse than they did in November, that's very good news for the Democrats' prospects of winning the House.

On the other hand, I would say that perhaps Democrats got expectations a little too high for these seats. When Donald Trump asked Elise Stefanik to withdraw her nomination for the U.N. ambassador because there were concerns that she would lose her New York 21 district's House seat, it turns out that if this same swing was applied in that seat, her seat would have stayed in Republican hands.

And I think there are some causes for concern for Democrats in the state of Florida in particular, where the Democrats did vastly outspend the Republicans. A few weeks ago, the Democrats were outspending the Republicans 14-1.

And really, I think this is not a bad night for the Democrats. The Democrats made significant gains.

[03:40:06]

But I would say that the expectation, the Democrats particularly in sixth district seat, Democrats had allowed expectations to run very high. Some people were even talking about the seat flipping.

And we didn't really get very close to that. So I think it's important for the Democrats to, in political terms, to think about expectation management and also to think about their use of campaign funds and where that might be judiciously applied and where it might just be they have to write off a seat.

CHURCH: So what could all three of these crucial races mean for the midterms in two years and ultimately the big test in 2028? Or do you think it's too early to start suggesting what it could mean?

JOHNSON: Well, for the first time in a decade, we are now in a political space where Donald Trump will never be on a ballot again in American politics unless something very strange happens. And so we have to now start thinking about elections, kind of post-Trump elections. And for the Republicans, I think that is potentially that can be a cause for some concern, because Donald Trump has been able to mobilize Republican electors to come out and vote. And there's something quite remarkable which has happened, which is that Democrats used to struggle with getting their voters out relative to Republicans, that low turnout voters were more Democratic leaning. But in recent cycles, we've seen that lower propensity voters, voters who are less likely to turn out and vote, are now trending Republican. And without the pull of Trump on the ballot, it seems that the Republicans are struggling.

And that means that the midterm elections and indeed the off-year elections this year for the governor of Virginia and New Jersey will be really important tests to see if there's some other way that Republicans can mobilize and excite their voters. And if not, then I think we should expect substantial Democratic gains in the congressional and state elections.

CHURCH: Richard Johnson, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

CHURCH: Democrat Cory Booker made history by speaking on the Senate floor for more than 25 hours. The New Jersey senator began speaking Monday night at 7 p.m. protesting the actions of President Trump and his administration since returning to the White House.

Throughout his remarks, he mentioned the stories of Americans who rely on federal programs now threatened by mass defunding. Booker called on the rising generation to fix the problems in the Democratic Party and bring the nation together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): I confess that I've been inadequate to the moment. I confess that the Democratic Party has made terrible mistakes. That it gave in lane to this demagogue.

I confess we all must look in the mirror and say we will do better. And it's not just defining ourselves, what we're against. We, the next generation, as the baby boomers are leaving the stage, the last baby boomer president, we have to say that we're going to redeem the dream.

We're going to dream America anew. We're going to start talking about bold things that don't divide people, that unite people. Bold things that excite the moral imagination of a country to do better, to go higher, to call us together.

This is the time where new leaders in our country must emerge. I'm not talking about senators. I'm talking about citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Booker broke the record previously set by a lawmaker protesting the 1957 Civil Rights Act.

Still to come, we are just hours away from President Trump's so-called Liberation Day tariff announcement. What lawmakers are saying about the plan after a short break? Stay with us.

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[03:45:00]

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CHURCH: In the coming hours, U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to reveal new tariffs that the White House says will be effective immediately. Experts believe it will escalate an already bitter trade war, wipe out millions of jobs and result in a recession.

CNN's Sherelle Hubbard has more.

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SHERELLE HUBBARD, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): The full details are not yet firm, but Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is already encouraging Americans to trust the process.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-FL), SPEAKER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: You have to trust the president's instincts on the economy.

HUBBARD (voice-over): The White House says President Trump is spending Tuesday perfecting his tariff plan.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Perfecting it to make sure this is a perfect deal for the American people and the American worker.

HUBBARD (voice-over): A Rose Garden announcement is scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday when he's expected to announce reciprocal and other tariffs, a day Trump is calling Liberation Day. Political opponents are already taking aim.

BOOKER: Prices are up, stock markets down, the risk of recession is climbing, consumer confidence is in the gutter. 401k plans are losing value. Are you better off than you were 72 days ago under this president's leadership on the verge of his so-called Liberation Day that's going to drive prices up even more?

HUBBARD (voice-over): Some economists predict that tariffs will lead to higher prices for U.S. consumers.

DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN ACTION FORUM: They're going to retaliate with, you know, in Europe we already know, whiskey and jeans and Harleys and the American farmer is going to be in the crosshairs around the globe.

HUBBARD (voice-over): The White House has dubbed Wednesday's announcement event Make America Wealthy Again.

LEAVITT: We are focused on restoring the golden age of America.

HUBBARD (voice-over): I'm Sherelle Hubbard reporting. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Now to an astonishing rescue five days after the powerful and deadly earthquake that struck Myanmar.

The country's fire department says this man was pulled from the rubble of a hotel in the capital more than 100 hours after the devastating 7.7 magnitude quake. It's not clear if he had access to water or how he managed to survive.

According to Myanmar's military junta, the disaster has claimed more than 2700 lives. Emergency crews are still searching for survivors, but hopes of finding anyone alive are fading.

Meanwhile in Thailand, the death toll has risen to 22, 15 of the victims died when a high-rise that was under construction collapsed in Bangkok. More than 70 people are thought to still be trapped in the wreckage.

From vandalism to road rage, some Tesla owners say they're being targeted by people angry at Elon Musk. That story just ahead.

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[03:50:00]

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CHURCH: A Colorado man faces two federal felony charges for allegedly firebombing a Tesla dealership. Cooper Frederick was arrested last month on state charges in Colorado and then rearrested just weeks later in Texas on federal charges.

The U.S. Attorney General suggested Frederick was trying to run from authorities, but his attorney says he moved from Colorado to Texas to live with his parents. Frederick has not yet entered a plea in the case. The Tesla dealership in Colorado is just one of multiple locations across the U.S. that have faced attacks in recent weeks.

A growing number of Tesla owners say they're scared to drive their cars because the growing anger at Elon Musk has turned into threats against them and their families. CNN's Lacey Russell has our report.

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A.R., TESLA OWNER: He was driving in the middle of the two lanes, so I really couldn't get around him. Then he rolled his window down, he was flipping me off, he threw something out of his vehicle in my direction and he just wouldn't stop staring at me through his rearview mirror, through his side mirrors. It was really scary.

LACEY RUSSELL, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Some Tesla owners say they're scared to drive their cars as public criticism against company CEO Elon Musk has escalated from acts of vandalism on Tesla facilities and vehicles to aggressive driving aimed at Tesla owners.

[03:55:02]

In Fargo, North Dakota, a Tesla owner captured this video as she was driving her children to school. She asked CNN to be identified by her initials, A.R.

A.R.: As I would go into the left turn lane, he swerved to make sure he stayed in front of me. And then at that point, he gave me the Nazi salute out the window. I think what was getting to me the most, yes, is of course I had one of my kids was just right in the front seat.

All I could think about was like what to do, like if he swerved into me, what was I going to do? How could I handle that?

RUSSELL (voice-over): West Fargo police told CNN they are investigating the incident and the city attorney is considering charges.

CNN obtained this video from a different Tesla owner, also in Fargo. The vehicle swerves and then brake checks the Tesla driver, nearly causing a collision. The driver of the Tesla asked CNN to remain anonymous.

SERGIO RODRIGUEZ, TESLA OWNER: My biggest fear is like when my daughter is in the car.

RUSSELL (voice-over): Sergio Rodriguez owns a Tesla Model Y and two Cybertrucks. His daughter has her own mini Teslas to match. He says he's been harassed by other drivers, too.

RODRIGUEZ: I was in a parking lot and this guy in a Dodge Ram truck swerved at me and then did that black soot. I could take the, you want to be stupid and do foolishness, but I don't need my child being involved in something because you are being foolish.

RUSSELL (voice-over): A.R. and Sergio told CNN that despite their experiences on the roads, they would continue driving their Teslas. But some owners, like Jennifer Trebb, are selling at a loss.

JENNIFER TREBB, FORMER TESLA OWNER: For me, it was a moral decision. I was loading groceries into my vehicle in the parking lot. Someone drove by me, saw the Tesla, rolled their window down and called me a Nazi bleep. I came home that afternoon and said to my husband, we're definitely rid of this car.

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CHURCH: Unbelievable. Well, thank you so much for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church.

"CNN Newsroom" continues with Rahel Solomon after a short break. Do enjoy the rest of your day.

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