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Vice President Vance and his Wife Taking Off for Greenland; David Leopold is Interviewed about Federal Agents Detain Tufts Grad Student; Judge Orders Administration to Save Messages; Deadly Earthquake Rocks Myanmar and Thailand; Elon Musk Comments on Social Security. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired March 28, 2025 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:32:01]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HHS SECRETARY: I want to promise you now that we're going to do more with less. No American is going to be left behind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's public health malpractice on the part of RFK Jr. and the DOGE team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: RFK Jr. says he can save the government almost $2 billion a year with a move he admits is painful.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for waking up with me here on CNN THIS MORNING. It's half past the hour. And here's what's happening right now.
Rescue efforts underway across southeast Asia following a major earthquake. Multiple deaths have now been confirmed. Many people are still missing, including an untold number who may be trapped under collapsed buildings.
Some of the 10,000 workers being laid off at Health and Human Services could start learning their fates as soon as today. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the layoffs are painful but needed. Democrats warn it could mean cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs.
Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha, are departing this hour for Greenland. This is a contentious visit as President Trump keeps up his talk about annexing the island. It was supposed to be a cultural visit for the second lady, with her plans to attend a dog sled race canceled. But the mushers are out, replaced by a stop at a U.S. Space Force outpost far from any expected protest. The vice president plans to criticize Greenland's Danish government while he's there. A White House official says he decided to join his wife after watching all the outrage over her trip. Here's how he explained it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was so much excitement around Usha's visit to Greenland this Friday that I decided that I didn't want her to have all that fun by herself, and so I'm going to join her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK, back to the group chat.
Now, I'm not going to front (ph). I want to see a Space Force outpost, too. That sounds good. But, Rob, I heard you laughing a bit when you heard him explain this, that he wanted to join the fun.
So, is this a person who needs to get out of town because of the Signal chat fubar (ph), or is this going over there to do his tough talk with our friends and allies? What are you looking at?
ROB BLUEY, PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "THE DAILY SIGNAL": Sure. Well, Donald Trump has talked about Greenland now for months, so I - I don't think this has just popped up out of the blue. I think it's - it's clearly a strategic interest of his because he's worried about the influence of Russia and China in that - that region, particularly for the shipping lanes in the Arctic, but also for the minerals and the natural resources in Greenland. He does not want those adversaries to necessarily take advantage of Greenland at the expense of the United States.
CORNISH: All those things sound good, but Greenland has a government. Like - we're talking about it like it doesn't.
SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: And just -
CORNISH: CNN - well, hold on. Jim Sciutto actually spoke to a Danish parliament member about Trump's push to annex Greenland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Can you envision a scenario where U.S. and Danish forces somehow come face to face over Greenland?
[06:35:08]
RASMUS JARIOV, DANISH POLITICIAN: I certainly hope not, but that's up to the American government. We're not going to back down. We're not going to hand over Greenland regardless of what type of pressure is applied to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK, Seung Min, and, Rob, you can jump in here, but how far is the administration willing to go? How far would the American people be willing to go? Because not - I wasn't talking about Greenland before this.
KIM: Right. Right. I mean, it's a fairly aggressive trip that we're seeing from the vice president today. And it was - it's unfortunate for the second lady. I mean, if I were the second lady, I'd be kind of annoyed, because I - I also want to see a dog sled race.
But the fact that, you know, it's not - it's not these kind of fun, frou-frou cultural trips that a lot of presidential spouses do. I mean he is going -
CORNISH: But these trips are always diplomatic -
KIM: Right.
CORNISH: Expeditions -
KIM: Right.
CORNISH: Right? They're frou-frou, but there's a point.
KIM: And diplomatic. Very choreographed.
CORNISH: Yes.
KIM: But - and the fact that he's going to a Space Force base with the message that that sort of image projects. And also look at the vice president's previous trips abroad, when he went to Europe -
CORNISH: Yes.
KIM: Back in February. He is not afraid to take a tough tone with our allies. So, I expect him to see a lot of that.
CORNISH: Yes. If anything, when you send him, you're sending the message that you're about to hear some language.
KIM: Right. You're sending the enforcer, basically.
CORNISH: Yes.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: No, absolutely. And what gives us any reason to believe that the president is not serious about annexing Greenland? What gives us any reason to believe that the president's not serious about annexing Canada as the country's 51st state? I mean we can giggle and mock these things as not serious exercise, but - but, no, I actually think -
CORNISH: No, that's why played that. You know, Jim asking that question is serious, right?
BLUEY: Oh, I was just going to say - the only point I was going to make is that -
WILLIAMS: No, that's OK.
BLUEY: If you go back to his - his joint address to Congress, he did say that it was ultimately the self-determination of Greenland. So, he would - you may not believe him. Elliot, but -
WILLIAMS: So - so - no, I don't, but so we've now - we've - we've now reached the imperial era of America - I mean, literally, this is what we're talking about here when we are speaking about our allies in the manner of, well, I don't know, man, it's up to them if they want their own independence. This is foolish. And we're talking about moving into other countries.
CORNISH: OK, we're going to come back to this. I'm glad you guys are fired up though. This is very, very informative.
I want to turn to President Trump's immigration agenda. That's entering a new phase, arresting legal migrants.
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CORNISH: OK, so this is video of Rumeysa Ozturk, Ph.D. student at Tufts in Massachusetts. She was arrested outside her apartment on Tuesday.
What you're looking at are plainclothes immigration officers. They surround her. Some of those officers are wearing masks. It's actually only after she was restrained that they show their badges. She was later driven away in an unmarked car.
The Homeland Security Department alleges that she has supported Hamas, although they did not provide evidence or details. Her arrest, just one piece of a broader effort to deport some foreign nationals studying at American schools.
Data from ICE shows border deportations, they aren't actually keeping pace with Biden administration era. The arrests inside the U.S., of course, are up sharply, 600 percent higher, than at any time during the Biden administration's final year.
We're bringing in immigration attorney David Leopold. He was an advisor to the Biden-Harris transition team on immigration matters.
So, first, let's talk about this idea of going after people who have legal residency. What are you seeing in the arrest of these students?
DAVID LEOPOLD, PARTNER, UB GREENSFELDER AND IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: Well, I think the country is learning, Audie, a lesson. And that's that immigration status in the United States, whether the person has a green card, whether the person is visiting, or whether the person is a student, can be very tenuous. There is tremendous authority within the executive branch. The court has deferred to the executive branch. The question really is, what are - what are the enforcement priorities? What is - who are we going after? Why? Are these individuals being - being -
CORNISH: Right. And some of these students and their attorneys are saying, in this case, it's because they spoke out, right, against the war in Gaza.
I want to let you hear Secretary of State Marco Rubio, because he actually says hundreds of student visas have already been revoked. Here's why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa.
REPORTER: It could - you're saying it could be more than 300 visas?
RUBIO: Sure. I hope. I mean - it will - I mean, at some point I hope we run out because we've gotten rid of all of them.
Why would any country in the world allow people to come and disrupt - we gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses. And if we've given you a visa, then you decide to do that, we're going to take it away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:40:03]
CORNISH: David, I think citizenship here and everywhere is conditional, right? Some of those conditionals are more - some of those conditions are more stringent than others. What do you make of this argument, though, that do First Amendment sort of protections no longer apply simply because you are not a citizen, right, have that particular designation?
LEOPOLD: Yes. You know, look, the immigration statute itself is extremely complicated. So, let me explain the way this is working. There's section 237 A-4C (ph). Now, it gets very technical, but what that section says is that people - that there are foreign policy grounds to remove people. You cannot remove somebody on mere speech. That's the general rule. The only exception, and this is what we appear to be seeing, is where the attorney - the secretary of state, here Marco Rubio, makes a determination that the individual's presence - it can be mere presence, it can be activities - somehow, potentially, could create adverse foreign policy consequences.
Now, when that law was enacted, the Congress, in their reports, said, this is only to be used sparingly. And it's only to be used - it's not to be used just if somebody disagrees with the government. It's only to be used sparingly.
So, I guess the question for the secretary of state is, is it being used sparingly? Is it - are these unusual circumstances? He, the secretary of state, by law, is supposed to give a reasonable determination. It'd be very interesting to read that and see what -
CORNISH: Yes.
LEOPOLD: What it said. And that is also supposed to be provided to the members of - to the chairman of the relevant congressional committees.
CORNISH: And there are going to be, obviously, and are underway, legal challenges. Immigration attorney David Leopold, thank you for this.
I want to turn to those Signal chats heard around the world. The order now is to save them. The Trump administration being told by a federal judge, it's the same judge involved in the fight over those deportation flights. Now he's overseeing a new lawsuit filed by advocates who are concerned that those messages about the military strike in Yemen could be auto deleted.
But Attorney General Pam Bondi seems to have an issue with this judge even being involved, Judge Boasberg.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: He shouldn't be on any of these cases. He cannot be objective. He's made that crystal clear.
These judges across the country, and again, they think they have authority, but it's going to be short-lived because these cases are going to get to the Supreme Court very fast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And the plan cannot be announced more directly than that.
WILLIAMS: Right.
CORNISH: Elliot, can you talk about this?
WILLIAMS: No, I think it's absolutely to get the matter up to the Supreme Court, but also to undermine faith in the judiciary. The president and the attorney general have been going after federal judges on a number of matters.
CORNISH: Yes. Do you think any judge would make them happy?
WILLIAMS: One that ruled in their favor? I mean, I think, no.
CORNISH: Can I ask you that? Would any judge escape this kind of attack if they ruled against the Trump administration?
BLUEY: Well, probably - probably not. I mean, the situation is, though, we live in a world where, depending on which president appointed the judges now, in every story, it's either an Obama appointed judge or a Biden or Trump and Bush even -
CORNISH: Judges don't like that, by the way.
BLUEY: Judges don't like that.
WILLIAMS: Yes, that's my point.
CORNISH: Yes.
BLUEY: Because they should be in a position where they're ruling on what the Constitution says, what the law says, and strictly interpreting that. And I - I think that this is where the Trump administration has an issue with some of these judges who believe that they've gone beyond their authority.
WILLIAMS: Yes. What's remarkable, though, is that, over the past several months, with remarkable consistency, judges have been ruling against the Trump administration, even Trump appointed judges, because of how aggressively and, quite frankly, how sloppily the Trump administration has moved with a lot of these actions that are getting challenged, at least on an emergency basis just to start.
CORNISH: Yes, and we're hearing very spicy comments from the judges themselves.
WILLIAMS: Yes, from - yes.
CORNISH: Because, in many cases, you have lawyers coming to court who can't answer their questions, Seung Min.
KIM: Right, right, right. I mean there's going to be - there is - there's legal fallout. There is political fallout. I mean, I'm actually watching more the reaction from Capitol Hill, obviously, because this is going to play out in the courts. But Senate Republicans this week were really just kind of aghast, I would say, of any of them.
CORNISH: Yes, Senate, not House. But, yes, Senate Republicans is where you saw that.
KIM: Yes, not House. But - which has generally been the divide between Senate and House Republicans.
But I'm just - just look at Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The fact that he is joining with Democrats to request an IG investigation. This is a man who is not happy. This is a man who put his neck out there to get Pete Hegseth confirmed. And now this controversy is unfolding on his watch.
CORNISH: So, it means it's not going away.
KIM: Exactly.
CORNISH: Yes.
I want you guys to stay with me. And I also want to talk to you, because if you're just joining us, we are following breaking news this morning. That earthquake overnight. People may still be trapped in the rubble.
[06:45:02]
This is in southeast Asia. We're going to bring you the latest in a live report.
Also, Elon Musk, just hours ago on TV with his DOGE team. What we're learning about them. That's just ahead.
And, of course, more from the group chat after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CORNISH: Breaking news this morning, a massive earthquake rocks Myanmar. So strong, it collapsed buildings in Thailand, hundreds of miles away.
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CORNISH: So, this was a building that had been under construction. It was taken down by the quake, sending people running for cover in the city.
Now, this was a 7.7 magnitude earthquake. Authorities in Bangkok say at least one person has died in the destruction. That's confirmed. The epicenter of the quake was reported in Myanmar and has been felt as far away as China.
Joining us now with the latest, CNN's senior international correspondent, Hanako Montgomery, speaking to us from Osaka.
[06:50:05]
Hanako, as we said, we heard confirmation of one death, but what more are you learning about the impact on Myanmar specifically?
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Audie.
Yes, as you mentioned, we know that there have been a few people injured in Thailand, which is really quite extraordinary given, of course, the fact that the earthquake was very, very powerful. So powerful that it was felt in neighboring Thailand and also parts of China.
But specifically in Myanmar, according to "Reuters," we know that at least three people have died because of this powerful tremor. And, of course, information that goes in and out of Myanmar is quite limited, given the fact that a civil war has been raging in the country for more than four years now. But there is a lot of fear that there could potentially be a lot more people injured and potentially killed because of this latest natural disaster.
Now, Audie, also important to note is that Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in the world and does not actually have the proper infrastructure or the economic means, really, to make sure that all of these buildings are up to standard, regulation, and can withstand such a powerful tremor.
And specifically because of this epicenter, because of where it was located in the city of Mandalay, which is the historic and religious capital of the country, there is a lot of reports now that some of these temples, historic temples that have been in the country for hundreds if not thousands of years, have collapsed. We're seeing social media videos of residents taking shelter, seeing all these temples collapse, their homes also entirely flattened. In fact, some of the residents that we've spoken to have said that they were scared to death and felt like they were hiding underneath tables for what felt like several minutes, just unsure if they could get to safety in time.
Now, also important to note here, Audie, is that the military junta has declared an emergency situation in parts of the country and have dispatched the fire brigade to locate any remaining survivors and those who might need any additional assistance.
Now, in terms of Bangkok, the city located in Thailand, which also felt the tremor, the governor has confirmed that at least three people have been killed and several dozen more also injured, and an unknown number remains missing. Some of the train lines in Bangkok have also been suspended because there is fear that there could be a lot more damage to the city and also, of course, debris falling from high rise buildings, potentially hurting and killing several of the residents and the visitors there in Bangkok.
Now, Audie, as we get more information, we'll be updating you just about the extent of damage and potentially the very high death toll that could be emerging from this latest earthquake.
Audie.
CORNISH: That's Hanako Montgomery reporting from Osaka.
It is 6:52 here on the East Coast. Here are a few more headlines, things you need to know to get your day going as you're walking out the door.
Hundreds of people in the Carolinas have been asked to evacuate their homes as large fires burn. In some areas they're still trying to recover from Hurricane Helene. There's rain in the forecast this weekend. Not enough to put out the fires.
The woman convicted of killing Tejano music legend Selena was denied parole. Yolanda Saldivar is serving a life sentence in Texas for shooting the singer at a motel back in 1995. Her case will not be eligible for review again until 2030.
And widespread flooding across southern Texas. Authorities have done a number of water rescues. Some areas could see nearly a foot of rain.
And look at this, flooding inside a hospital in McAllen, Texas. They had issues with their storm drain. All that pushed the water inside.
President Trump signed an executive order that prevents some federal workers from taking part in collective bargaining. It affects federal employees and national security positions. A union, which represents federal workers, says this order could impact more than 1 million government employees.
Elon Musk, along with some high-ranking members of DOGE, sat down to talk about their efforts. Here's what Musk had to say about his proposed ideas for cuts to Social Security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ELON MUSK, SENIOR WHTIE HOUSE ADVISER: What we're doing will help their benefits. Legitimate people, as a result of the work of DOGE, will receive more Social Security, not less. I want to emphasize that. As a result of the work of DOGE, legitimate recipients of Social Security will receive more money, not less money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, "The Washington Post" -
MUSK: I want to emphasize that point. And - and - and let the record show that I said this and the - it will be proven out to be true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Absent from this interview, Amy Gleason, the person the White House claims is the acting administrator of DOGE.
I got the group chat back.
Rob, earlier you were saying that like, a, they needed to do this. He was sitting there flanked by some of his DOGE employees in their ties, showing that they're adults -
BLUEY: Yes.
CORNISH: Not a bunch of kids, IT people running around. But now we're talking Social Security. Should he still be talking about Social Security? Do Republicans want Elon Musk talking about it?
[06:55:00]
BLUEY: I think it's important. President Trump has, for the past decade, talked about he - how he is not going to touch Social Security. So, that is a big promise that the president has made to the American people. And I think it's important for Elon Musk to reinforce it. And if he's not reinforcing it, then you're left in the situation where Americans, Audie, probably are raising questions about whether some of these cuts and making government run more efficiently are going to impact their benefits. He's saying no. And hold him accountable, by the way, you saw in that clip.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
KIM: Kind of the reason why there have been questions is because of Elon Musk himself, where he's kind of been off message from what the president wants in terms of Social Security, which is not touching it. I mean he said in an interview -
CORNISH: Yes, let me finish your point here for you.
KIM: Yes. Yes.
CORNISH: Elon Musk previously said this about Social Security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, SENIOR WHTIE HOUSE ADVISER: Social Security is - is the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: It's one thing to say that on Fox. It's another thing to say that on Joe Rogan, which is where that clip is from.
KIM: Yes.
CORNISH: Seung Min, continue.
KIM: Yes, I mean, he was talking - I mean there's another quote in another interview back in February, he talked about entitlement programs in general, and he said, quote, "the big one to eliminate." Of course that's going to cause worries among voters, especially among seniors who rely on these paychecks, which is why he has to go out there and sort of play cleanup duty, like we've seen in other respects.
CORNISH: You know, it's interesting, we - one of my buddies on the show was saying, you know, in my group chats we're talking about whether or not when we're going to retire, are we going to be able to take Social Security, should we start - like, it is affecting people's decision making.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also recently made some controversial comments about Social Security. I really want to play these. I've been thinking about them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL STEELE, FORMER RNC CHAIRMAN: Your mama would call you. She would call you. And guess what you would do. You'd write her a check. But what about the mother who doesn't have someone that they can call to put money in their bank account for a month? You insensitive lug! How dare you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: I want to do some context there. Because what Lutnick actually said was that, you know, his mother-in-law is - wouldn't complain if she didn't have her Social Security in the same way, but that the people who do are frauds, who want to abuse the system.
WILLIAMS: Right.
CORNISH: And you saw the outrage there. Obviously that's MSNBC. But how do you process where this rubber meets the road for voters?
WILLIAMS: Right. It's all about where the rubber meets the road because of the fact that if DOGE is serious about cutting $1 trillion out of our debt, our spending or whatever else, the question that needs - the conversation that needs to be had is, well, what happens with Social Security and defense spending? And people are right to ask the questions and be concerned about, you know, what's going to happen to the money they might receive.
Now, maybe you can find that in the kinds of overlapping and inefficiencies that we were talking about earlier in the program.
CORNISH: Maybe there will be an Apple Genius Bar for Social Security.
WILLIAMS: Maybe there's a Genius Bar for Social Security. But -
CORNISH: Do you want that? Because that - that's - that's where we're headed.
I want to talk to you guys about the things you are paying attention to today and in the next few days, what you are keeping an eye on.
Seung Min?
KIM: I'm keeping both my eyes on the upcoming special elections for open seats in the House, which are next Tuesday. And the reason I'm watching that is, first of all, I mean, one seat, which is the former Matt Gaetz seat, will be fine but - or for now. But Republicans are getting really worried about the other seat, which is the seat vacated by Mike Waltz, now the national security advisor. That's supposed to be a Republican district. And it is more competitive than Republicans would certainly like.
CORNISH: Yes.
KIM: And the reason that matters is because the narrow - the margin in the House is just so narrow.
CORNISH: But we just saw Elise Stefanik -
KIM: Right.
CORNISH: And her gig being pulled from the U.N. because she simply -
KIM: Yes, poor Elise Stefanik. She did her whole farewell tour and everything.
CORNISH: She did.
KIM: Yes.
CORNISH: She did. But they said, you can't leave.
KIM: Exactly.
CORNISH: Which, to me, is a very weird message if you're saying we have a mandate, these are seats we can hold on to.
KIM: Right.
CORNISH: It sounds like you don't think you have the ability to hold on to these seats.
Rob.
BLUEY: I'm from upstate New York, so, I mean, I -
CORNISH: So, you - you know. This - this is the exact territory.
KIM: You - you have (INAUDIBLE).
BLUEY: Right. It is.
CORNISH: Say more.
BLUEY: She doesn't represent Utica, New York, but -
CORNISH: Yes.
BLUEY: But, yes, this - and the Wisconsin supreme court election is another.
KIM: Yes. Thank you.
BLUEY: These are going to be barometers that will - the media and other people in this country will look to, to see if not only -
CORNISH: What does this mean going forward?
BLUEY: Yes, what does it mean going forward.
CORNISH: Yes, and we should mention, Wisconsin race, on track to be the most expensive on record.
WILLIAMS: Right.
CORNISH: Elliot.
WILLIAMS: So, there have been a few high-profile executive orders targeting individual law firms based on people that work for Biden or took positions adverse to Trump. A really interesting piece in "Puck" in the last day or so about, well, what if the Trump administration were to next go after investment banks or, you know, systemically important financial institutions for some of their work, whether it had been -
CORNISH: Right.
WILLIAMS: For donating to Democrats or interests adverse to Trump or whatever, what impact could that have on the economy? And it's just an interesting story to keep an eye on because it's not just about these lefty law firms.
CORNISH: Yes.
WILLIAMS: There's other industries that might be -
CORNISH: Shout-out to "Puck" newsletters for that. And also people - we've been keeping an eye on all of these things. In fact, because it's one thing to - for something to happen to Venezuelan gang members. It's another thing to happen to white shoe law firms. These are constituencies that don't have a lot of outcry.
[07:00:02] It's whether those same systems will be used against one of us if we get on the wrong side of the administration. I think that's why people are watching so closely. We don't know the answer to that.
I want all of you to stick with us here at CNN. We're going to have more headlines, especially in the news about that earthquake.
In the meantime, thank you for waking up with me. I'm Audie Cornish. And "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.
