Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Trump to Announce Tariffs in Rose Garden News Conference; Trump Appealing to Largely Male MMA Fan Base. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired April 02, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: -- guys. All right. Thanks for being with us this hour here on EARLY START. I'm Rahel Solomon, live in New York. Stick with CNN.

[06:00:08]

CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: It's Wednesday, April 2. Here's what's happening right now on CNN THIS MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We always try to price out our parts and labor competitively. But it's definitely going to get passed on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, the world is bracing for President Trump's tariffs to go into effect today. How much is that going to impact you?

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAL KILMER, ACTOR: I'm your Huckleberry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Actor Val Kilmer has passed away, with decades of work in Hollywod, from "Tombstone" to "Top Gun." We're going to look back at the legacy he leaves behind.

And then later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Trump country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: CNN projects that Republicans will hold onto their House seats in Florida. Some Democrats are celebrating, but is this still a win for them?

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got to get rid of the torpedo bat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: If you have watched any baseball this year, even if you haven't, you've probably heard the words "torpedo bat." What is that? And does it give teams an unfair advantage?

It's now 6 a.m.

It's 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. I want to give you a live look at New York City, where the opening bell, just a few hours away, as Wall Street prepares -- prepares, and the world prepares, for President Trump's tariffs.

I want to say good morning to all of you. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for waking up with me.

So, President Trump has insisted on calling this Liberation Day. Most people just know it as the day he's going to announce the specifics of his plan for major tariffs that could be imposed on every nation in the world. We just don't know yet. The White House says they're going to go into effect immediately once they are announced.

The lack of clarity, the lack of details is causing a lot of concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our pastas, our olive oils, our tomatoes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Imported cheeses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And all kinds of imported cheeses.

We eat a little bit, but there's going to come a time where we can't. So, it has to be passed on at that -- at that point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can tell you, you know, our costs have gone up in our cans. There's nothing I can do about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That would put us out of the -- you know, out of the market of buying -- buying this car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Experts anticipating President Trump to announce these tariffs. And if they're anything like what he has teased, they're likely to be historic.

One economist tells CNN, "We've never seen anything like this," adding it could be something unprecedented and radical.

Joining me now to discuss: CNN contributor Cari Champion; former Republican Pennsylvania Congressman Charlie Dent; and White House and foreign affairs correspondent for "Politico," Eli Stokols.

You guys, welcome to the group chat. I'm going to start with Cari, because we've been talking all week about whether things punch through.

CARI CHAMPION, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.

CORNISH: So, are regular people calling it "Liberation Day"?

CHAMPION: Of course not. Well, I'm not going to say, "of course not." But of course not.

CORNISH: Not on your timeline.

CHAMPION: Not on my timeline.

CORNISH: Anyone else in group chat says, "Liberation Day"?

CHARLIE DENT, FORMER REPUBLICAN PENNSYLVANIA CONGRESSMAN: Liberation from low prices.

CORNISH: Yes. Oh, well. Well played, Charlie Dent. Say more. Yes.

CHAMPION: Interesting. Interesting, interesting.

DENT: Apparently, I'm ready.

CORNISH: I know, but you're right. You won -- you know. You know Pennsylvania. You know a swing state. Like, how do you think people, Republicans can talk about this, in a way? Because we've heard so many different explanations for these tariffs, and they're being announced after Wall Street closes.

DENT: Well, Republicans should talk about it the way old Republicans used to talk about it. These are -- these are taxes.

And somebody who represented Pennsylvania -- I represented Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is a great example of what tariffs would look like. If you did a 20 percent across the board tariff, cocoa. OK? We don't grow that.

CORNISH: Hersheypark. Yes, exactly.

DENT: We don't grow that in North America last I checked. Well, the price just went up 20 percent.

Oh, aluminum tariffs. Every Hershey kiss, 70 million a day, wrapped in a very fine aluminum foil. There's almost no domestic supply. It comes from Canada, Europe, South Korea, a little bit from China. Well, packaging prices go up.

So yes, it's going to impact manufacturing very negatively. And I didn't even get into the auto sector and in appliances on steel and everything else.

So, I think these are very destructive. I mean, what didn't we not -- what did we not learn from Smoot-Hawley? When Smoot-Hawley was enacted --

CORNISH: Yes.

DENT: -- in 1930, global trade dropped from 3 trillion to $1 trillion.

CORNISH: I feel like the -- yes. The economic discussion around tariffs seems very straightforward. You talk to an economist, you kick a stone and hit an economist who says this is going to have adverse effects.

Eli, can you talk about how he's moving forward, because like, I'm sure people have been beating down his door, lobbying for exemptions. This is building a lot of suspense leading into today. Why the delay? Right? Why this building up? And does it reflect the fact that people have been fighting it?

[06:05:05]

ELI STOKOLS, WHITE HOUSE AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT, "POLITICO": Yes. There has been a lot of internal discussion about, you know, how far to go, where to target, how precise to be in targeting the tariffs.

But there's a -- I mean, my reporting is that this is -- and this is obvious. This is just what the president wants to do. He's always believed firmly in tariffs. And this is not an administration where the president's getting a ton of pushback.

And actually, the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has been pinpointed as a person who, inside the administration, has really enabled and encouraged this push.

The concern is not just from Republicans in competitive seats on the Hill or from economists of different parties. It's also shared by some people around the president who are worried.

And the president himself and other aides have said, look, there is going to be some short-term pain. It is not a president --

CHAMPION: Yes.

CORNISH: The "short-term pain" phrase is one that I think most average people are like, I've already been in short-term pain.

CHAMPION: What does that "short-term" mean?

(CROSSTALK)

CORNISH: I don't want to have to deal with that. Yes, right.

STOKOLS: He's not usually -- right. He's not usually -- Donald Trump is not a guy who's usually all about delayed gratification. He wants the -- the payoff now.

And so, this is a little out of character and an admission on his part to say this is going to hurt. The question is, what's Donald Trump's political pain tolerance for

this? Maybe it's a little higher than it was in his first term.

But I don't know if it's as high as he wants everyone to think it is.

CORNISH: Yes.

STOKOLS: And there are a lot of people out there who think, look, this is just sort of the starting --

CORNISH: So, political pain versus economic pain.

STOKOLS: This is the show, and this is the sort of start of a negotiation.

CORNISH: Yes.

CHAMPION: He says that and I'm thinking, what about the pain for the -- the everyday consumer, and what we're dealing with, and how people are, as you aptly put early at the top of the show, you see everyone saying there's so much anxiety about what they will -- how that will affect them.

And early on, we always talked about, well, what about the eggs? What about the eggs? Wasn't this about the eggs?

CORNISH: Yes.

CHAMPION: Wasn't this election about the eggs?

And now, in my mind, I'm thinking for everyone at home -- I'm just talking for everyday average citizen. I know that they have to feel this anxiety. How will this affect me?

Because earlier, we're like, well, we don't even really know what these Liberation Day tariffs will look like. How will that affect me and my pocketbook?

CORNISH: Yes.

CHAMPION: And I just don't think that people can anticipate.

CORNISH: And they're also hearing -- I think we're hearing about other countries. Right? Like they're not --

CHAMPION: How they feel.

CORNISH: Yes. They're not mobilizing to be like, yes, we should figure this out to appease him. Like, it feels like they're actually -- I mean, you can tell me. There was a meeting with Japan and South Korea. And, like, the idea is fight it, which means trade war.

DENT: Oh, yes. They're ready to retaliate.

CHAMPION: Yes.

DENT: And this will be ugly, particularly for American farmers. We all know that.

I'll tell you, if I were sitting in Congress right now, I would have a bill introduced, saying that no tariff could be imposed in the name of national security or national emergency without a vote of the Congress.

CORNISH: I don't feel like a Republican would do that in this environment.

DENT: Well -- well, they want to reclaim their taxing authority. These are taxes. Taxes on consumers, paid for by the importer, not the foreign country.

CORNISH: OK. We're going to hear more details about this today. And I want you guys to stick around, because we're going to talk more.

Still ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, two elections in states won by President Trump, two very different outcomes. So, how are Democrats feeling after the first real voter test two months into the new administration? I'm going to ask Rhode Island Congressman Gabe Amo.

Plus, more federal employees are getting an offer again to walk away. Some may not have that long to think about it.

And he played everything from one of the most famous superheroes to a cocky fighter pilot. We are remembering the late Val Kilmer this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KILMER: You guys really are cowboys.

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: What's your problem, Kazansky?

KILMER: You're everyone's problem. That's because every time you go up in the air, you're unsafe. I don't like you, because you're dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:13:10]

CORNISH: If you're getting ready, it's 12 minutes past the hour. I'm going to give you your morning roundup now, some of the stories you need to know to get your day going.

Breaking overnight, actor Val Kilmer, best known for his roles in "Top Gun," "The Doors," "Batman Forever," he has passed away at the age of 65.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KILMER: You see, I'm both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Not because I have to be. Now, because I choose to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: His daughter said he died of pneumonia.

Kilmer had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered.

Also overnight, China's military conducting live fire drills in the East China Sea near Taiwan. They're practicing long-range strikes. This comes after surprise exercises around Taiwan involving China's army, navy, air force, and rocket force.

Federal employees now getting more deferred resignation offers. That's happening at the USDA and at least three other agencies. But they don't have long to make that decision. In fact, some only have a week to decide.

And I want you to see this. In Myanmar, a man survived 100 hours buried in the rubble from that earthquake. So, in this video, this is the moment that rescue crews actually got him out from under the collapsed building.

So, how did he survive? Well, he found an air pocket between broken slabs of concrete. He had been there for five days.

Still coming up after the break, politics, of course, is a cutthroat sport. In fact, might be a combat sport. Maybe that's why President Trump has found a haven within the UFC community.

Plus, the world is waiting to hear about aggressive new tariffs coming out today. In fact, how will other countries retaliate?

Good morning to Nashville, Tennessee. Part of your state is actually under high risk of severe storms. In fact, six states could see numerous long-track -- I guess they're called EF-3 tornadoes. Keep an ear out for those warnings.

[06:15:05]

Everyone, stay safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CORNISH: Going off-script for a second, because obviously, we've been hearing a ton about Democrats sounding the alarm about not connecting with young men, specifically.

And frankly, there is a place where they could, and that's combat sports, the UFC. I've done a lot of reporting on this. And the thing is, the octagon doesn't just host fights anymore. It's a cultural battleground. And you've got some people who have moved into political office.

So, I'm bringing on combat sports analyst Luke Thomas to the group chat. Luke, welcome to the studio. We've talked before on the podcast.

I want to talk about the last couple of years in terms of the Trump relationship. We're at the point now where Dana White is very much the head of the UFC, a good friend of the president.

[06:20:04]

And you even had FBI Director Kash Patel at one point, saying he wanted to use the relationship with the UFC to train agents in martial arts, which -- was that kind of a surprise?

LUKE THOMAS, COMBAT SPORTS ANALYST/HOST, "MORNING KOMBAT": Surprise in that it's just a bizarre idea. I don't know exactly how learning arm drags to the back is going to help any kind of field agent apprehend ne'er-do-wells in the lawbreaking community, so to speak. It seems like a bit of a waste.

I mean, we -- just yesterday, there was -- scientists at the CDC and NIH being sent home and had their bags packed. And I'm, like, how is that not a more suitable use for government funds, versus just training field agents? And martial arts is always beneficial to use, but on the government dime, it doesn't exactly make a ton of sense.

CORNISH: Yes. But it is a pool of candidates, right?

THOMAS: Yes.

CORNISH: Like, if you want to draw people into something like the armed services. And I think it gets to the point -- law enforcement, I mean.

And I think it gets to the point of the fan base, right? When I look at the demographics of MMA, it is predominantly male. And these are the voters that helped swing the election, especially young men who came out of the pandemic more conservative leaning.

How was the MMA and combat sports kind of a conduit for that?

THOMAS: Well, it was, I think, a concerted decision by the UFC leadership, in this case, Dana White, to embrace Donald Trump. This went all the way back to 2016, when he spoke at the RNC at that time.

CORNISH: Yes. And they're friends. Like that's -- and nothing illegal about being friends. Yes.

THOMAS: Listen, I should be clear, he has noted that, in their struggling days, when they first took over the company, that Donald Trump provided them some place to hold their events in New Jersey, and that was quite beneficial to them.

That is actually quite true. There's really no denying that. I think it's somewhat oversold how exactly important that is.

But in any case, they developed a relationship. It kind of -- it maintained over time. And then in 2016, it took a real turn. And then, I think, it really ramped up into high gear during the pandemic.

I think that was when things got turned into overdrive, so to speak, or at least at its highest point. And then now you see the results of this. They now are -- I mean, listen, young men, through this MMA conduit,

this is a important constituency, to be quite honest with you. You can like that fact, or you can hate that fact, but it's a reality. And it's now a substantial portion of a deciding factor of the electorate, as well.

CORNISH: Right.

THOMAS: So -- so I mean, this is -- this is --

CORNISH: And powerful voices like a Joe Rogan. Right?

THOMAS: Extremely powerful voices.

CORNISH: He's very big in combat sports. And he was talking about Democrats. This was just in March. Here was his description of where they are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE ROGAN, PODCAST HOST: I just don't -- I think they're lost. I mean, they're also lost in that they can't control the narrative anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: When you talk about control of the narrative, you have to be in the places that people are, right, and in dialog with that community. Is there any presence whatsoever of left, liberal Democrats in the world of MMA or combat sports?

THOMAS: I mean, I'm not a Democrat, but you're looking at it. I'm -- I'm like the sole representative.

I mean, the reality is, the left has almost no relationship whatsoever to this audience. It feels to me -- this is just my personal observation -- that they have punted on them. They feel like it's not important or they don't even -- at this point, I would even argue I'm not even sure if they know how to rebuild bridges back to them.

And this is not an argument to be made, that you have to find them where they are and just agree to everything. That's really not my point.

But again, it's a -- it's a very simple question. Does this constituency matter? Does this portion of the electorate matter?

And if you want to win elections going forward -- and I realize that there's a lot going on that is going to require a lot of different arms of the government to be focused on a number of issues. But this is just -- this -- the right and the UFC, they focused on young men. Look at the results.

If the Democrats want to -- and again, I cannot speak for them, but it just appears to me if they want to recapture anything, starting with a bit of self-reflection about why they lost this audience to begin with and what they can do to recapture it, seems fairly essential. CORNISH: All right. Luke Thomas, thank you for checking in with us.

Luke Thomas, combat sports analyst.

Also coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, an entertainment icon who passed away. Val Kilmer was a legend, of course, in his own right. He shared the screen with some of Hollywood's biggest names. We're going to take a look at his life and legacy.

Plus, last night's elections featured some mixed results for Democrats. Representative Gabe Amo joins us with his take on what those results mean for the party.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:29:08]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS'S "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Liberation Day. I'm reminded of the immortal words of Patrick Henry: "Give me liberty, or charge me an extra $10,000 for a Hyundai Elantra."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: All right. President Trump, of course, has been calling his tariffs announcement "Liberation Day." That announcement is supposed to come later today.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for joining me here on CNN THIS MORNING. It's half past the hour here on the East Coast. And here's what's happening right now.

U.S. futures back in the red as Wall Street braces for the president's tariffs. There are still a lot of unknowns right now about his plans. And that's fueling uncertainty for other countries, for businesses, and probably you.

The Pentagon is moving and -- at least six B-2 stealth bombers to an island in the Indian Ocean. Analysts are calling this a massive show of force during the rising tensions between the U.S. and the Houthi rebels and Iran.

Other aircraft will also go to the region.