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Liberal Judge Wins in Wisconsin, GOP Sweeps Florida; Canada Vows to Retaliate Against Trump's Tariffs; Israel Announces Expansion of Military Operation in Gaza; Senior Russian Official to Visit Washington this Week; Booker Protest Trump Agenda for 25+ Hours in Senate. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired April 02, 2025 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

TARYN ROSENKRANZ, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You shouldn't really be having these kinds of results.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I mean, Katie, to Taryn's point, I mean, these are ruby red districts. Fine himself admitted that there is a lot of Democratic rage, I think is the word he used, or anger, and it's mobilizing. And so I wonder, to Taryn's point, I mean, how much of an uh-oh is this for the White House?

Is a win a win, or are they looking at the margins thinking, OK, we need to change something before 2026? How do you see it?

KATIE FROST, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I see it as a win is a win, but there is something for my Republican colleagues. We need to make sure we mobilize our voters and turn them out when President Trump is not leading the ticket. That's going to be the key for 2026 for us.

But you know, it's very easy to be motivated when you've just lost, as Taryn was saying earlier. You know, this is the first opportunity to fight back, and that's why you see so much turnout and enthusiasm, usually in the opposition party. However, what I tend to think, you talk about Wisconsin being a state that can go back and forth.

Back in the day, Florida was a state that went back and forth. I mean, we all remember 2000 and how long that process was dragged out. It was a swing state, but after strong Republican leadership, it showed the results, and now it's a solid red state.

So give time for Republican policies to take effect. People live under them. They actually tend to turn out pretty good.

So I think we're going to see some interesting things happening in Wisconsin, but I'm looking forward to 2026, and it gives us something to talk about, right? We have plenty to talk about between now and November of 2026.

SOLOMON: Fair enough. And in fact, I think I'll be talking to you in the next hour. So appreciate you being with us this hour. I will see you again soon. That's Katie Frost and Taryn Rosenkranz. Thank you both, ladies. See you soon. ROSENKRANZ: Thank you.

SOLOMON: All right, Donald Trump calls today Liberation Day, and to other countries ripping off the U.S., he says. What we're expecting from his tariff announcement at the White House straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:35:00]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. We are following two key stories this hour. First, U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to reveal new tariffs today, marking an escalation of his trade war. The White House has not shared details but says that the tariffs will take effect immediately following the announcement.

Also, the Trump administration this morning assessing the results of the first elections of his second term. In Wisconsin, CNN projects that Democratic Judge Susan Crawford will defeat Brad Schimel, maintaining the court's liberal majority.

In Florida, CNN projecting that Republican Jimmy Patronis will win the special election for the state's first congressional district. And in Florida's sixth district, CNN projects that Republican Randy Fine will defeat Democrat Josh Weil for an open House seat.

All right, joining me now from London to discuss this, Thomas Gift, director of the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London. Great to have you this morning, Thomas. Your thoughts on Wisconsin.

On the one hand, it remains a more liberal seat. Republicans will say, well, it was liberal to begin with, sort of status quo there. But on the other hand, they did work really hard. And Elon Musk put a lot of money into this.

What do you make of the results? What do they say to you?

THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR, CENTER ON U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Thanks so much for having me. It's great to be with you. The outcome in Florida was largely expected.

But liberal Susan Crawford's win over Brad Schimel in Wisconsin certainly will infuse Democrats with enthusiasm. It gives them a 4-3 majority on the state Supreme Court in what turned out to be the most expensive judicial race in America history. The race shows really, I think, the limits of outside money and the limits particularly of Elon Musk's power to swing the outcome of elections with his checkbook.

Democrats have been in the political doldrums, really, since November. And there have been infinite autopsies about what the party is doing wrong. So they're certainly going to take stock of what went well in Wisconsin and try to spin it as positive momentum heading into the 2026 midterms.

For Republicans, I think Wisconsin will really be a wakeup call.

SOLOMON: Yes and say more about that. I mean, Elon Musk factor of all of this, I think, is most interesting.

I mean, we know that secretly some within the GOP were hoping actually for defeat here, hoping for defeat to hopefully weaken Musk politically moving forward. So how do they read these results as it pertains to Musk?

GIFT: No, absolutely. I think Elon Musk, always prone to exaggerating, said this Wisconsin Supreme Court race might decide the future of America and Western civilization. So for him to lose that is a big deal.

It's one reason why it wasn't just Musk who poured funds into this race, some $20 million through his America PAC and affiliated groups. It was also Democratic mega donors like George Soros and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. Altogether, you know, $90 million on this race.

So I do think it's really a microcosm of how localized races become nationalized through big money. Invariably, Democrats did try to make this race at least partially a litmus test on Musk, who has now become one of the most polarizing figures in American life. And to an extent, the resentment that some Wisconsin voters felt that outside money was trying to buy their vote.

So for Elon Musk, this was certainly a huge blow. He really -- I wouldn't say put his entire reputation on the line but certainly put his money on the line and did not come out on top. That's pretty disappointing.

SOLOMON: And how much of a bellwether do you think these results are? Because on the one hand, it's the first test of Trump's second term. On the other hand, the type of voter that we tend to see with these special elections don't always sort of match what we see even in the midterms, let alone the big presidential elections every four years.

GIFT: I think you're absolutely right. Many experts are pointing to 2017 when in a series of special elections, Democrats outperformed expectations, which did tee up substantial gains in the 2018 midterms during Trump's first term. But I do think it's possible to overinterpret the extent to which these special elections are a bellwether.

It's really natural, of course, for partisans to want to focus on these races, the first ones in a swing state, really with national consequences since Trump won in November. But I think a lot of this distills down to candidate quality. It can't just be read as a barometer of support for the new administration or Elon Musk or DOGE for that matter.

So there are a lot of idiosyncratic elements to special elections. And I think they ultimately say less about how the U.S. electorate feels about the White House than just standard national polls. But still, it's good news for Democrats, bad news for Republicans.

SOLOMON: Yes. Great to have you this morning. That's Thomas Gift in London. Thank you. GIFT: Thank you.

SOLOMON: And as we await President Trump's tariff announcement, China says that it will counterattack if the U.S. continues to engage in what it calls blackmail over tariffs.

The Chinese foreign minister told a state-owned Russian news group, quote, America first should not be American bullying and it should not build its own interests on the basis of damaging the legitimate rights and interests of other countries.

[04:40:04]

Canada, for its part, is also vowing to retaliate against Donald Trump's tariffs. The Canadian foreign minister spoke with CNN's Jim Sciutto about the U.S. trade war against key allies. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIE JOLY, CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We didn't start this trade war. The U.S. administration did. And they can reverse course, but they can only reverse course if the American people themselves say it's enough, that they want to make sure that we get to a good place and we're able to ultimately get rid of these tariffs and also have a better relationship between Canada and the U.S. We've never seen this in decades. We were caught by surprise by this intention of launching this trade war.

But we're a strong country. We're proud people. We're hardworking. And we always defend ourselves. And we will continue to defend ourselves in the context of this trade war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, the foreign minister says that Canada and Mexico are working together to figure out a way forward and to respond to U.S. tariffs.

Meantime, America's neighbor to the South is pushing for more talks to resolve the growing trade dispute. Here's what Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had to say about how to deal with the Trump tariffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We do not believe in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, because that always leads to a bad situation. Of course, measures are taken because measures are taken on the other side. But the dialogue must continue.

It's not about tit for tat, but about what is best for Mexico and how to face the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Right, and still ahead for us, Israel announcing a major expansion of its military operations in Gaza. The details of the plan and what it means for Palestinians in the enclave when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. We are following a developing story out of the Middle East. Israel's defense minister has announced a major expansion of the military's operation in Gaza.

[04:45:00]

This would involve the seizure of large areas of land that would be, quote, incorporated into Israel's security zones. Defense chief Israel Katz says that the goal is to, quote, crush and clear the area of terrorist 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.

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

Last month, sources told CNN that 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.

And this comes as officials in Gaza continue to warn of the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The United Nations World Food Program saying that all 25 of its bakeries and the enclave have closed, citing the lack of flour and fuel. The Israeli government shut down the supply of food and other humanitarian aid into Gaza in early March, in a bid to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages and extending the ceasefire. The United Nations World Food Program says that it will distribute its last food parcels in the next few days.

This week, a senior Russian negotiator was 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 the details now.

(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's 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)

SOLOMON: We're also 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. 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.

That's an astonishing rescue, five days after that powerful and deadly earthquake that struck Myanmar. The country's fire department says that this man here was pulled from the rubble of a hotel in the capital more than 100 hours after the devastating 7.7 magnitude quake. Now, 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 2,700 lives. Emergency crews are still searching for survivors but hopes of finding anyone alive at this point are fading. Meanwhile, in Thailand, the death toll has risen to 22. Fifteen 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.

[04:50:00]

And still to come for us, history was made on the Senate floor by New Jersey's Cory Booker. We'll tell you why he spent more than an entire day speaking in protest.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. And recapping our top story now. Voters in Wisconsin have delivered a blow to President Trump, electing a Democrat-backed judge, Susan Crawford, to the state's Supreme Court.

The race was officially nonpartisan, but the result does ensure that the court will maintain a liberal majority.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump's preferred congressional candidates did win their special elections in Florida. Republican Jimmy Patronis in the state's 1st district will replace Matt Gaetz in the House. And Republican Randy Fine won in Florida's 6th district. Now, their margins of victory, they weren't smaller than President Trump's in 2024. But those two seats still give the Republican-led Congress a little more breathing room.

And there has been a massive wave of job cuts at U.S. health agencies. They include 3,500 workers at the Food and Drug Administration, 2,400 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,200 at the National Institutes of Health, and 300 at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

[04:55:02]

Now, some workers got early morning emails that their jobs were eliminated. And some were just unable to get into the building when they arrived at work on Tuesday.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says that the changes will make fighting chronic disease the priority and reduce what he calls bureaucratic sprawl. But one employee at the FDA called it a bloodbath.

A Democrat Cory Booker made history by speaking on the Senate floor for more than 25 hours. A 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. Now, throughout his remarks, he mentioned the stories of Americans who rely on federal programs now threatened by mass defunding and job cuts.

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 have given 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)

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

All right, that's going to do it for us for this hour. I'm Rahel Solomon. I will be back with you for "EARLY START" in just a moment right after the break, stick with us. I'll be right back.

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