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Trump Set to Escalate Trade War With New Tariffs; New Mexico GOP Calls Fire at Headquarters Deliberate Act of Arson; Key Elections Tomorrow in Wisconsin and Florida. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired March 31, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: I am Pamela Brown. Happening now, President Trump says he couldn't care less if auto prices rise because of tariffs. And he's arguing the short-term pain will be worth the long term gain.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And, Pamela, Elon Musk is over at the CIA, the director, John Ratcliffe, is inviting the tech billionaire for a visit today. What we're learning about what Musk will do there.

We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

We begin with President Trump's economic gamble, and it's a huge gamble. He's promising that, quote, liberation day, that's what he's calling it, is coming on Wednesday in the form of reciprocal tariffs on a myriad of countries. But his hope that those measures will jumpstart American production will come at a very steep cost.

The president is brushing off any political consequences of his trade war, telling NBC News about foreign cars, and this is what he said, and I'm quoting him now, I couldn't care less if they raise prices, because people are going to start buying American-made cars, end quote. And the president says his tariffs will be, quote, kinder. Listen.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: The tariffs will be far more generous than those countries were to us, meaning they will be kinder than those countries were to the United States of America over the decades. They ripped us off like no country's ever been ripped off in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. Let's go live right now to our Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak over at the North Lawn of the White House. Kevin, what more are you learning, first of all, about the reciprocal tariffs President Trump is set to announce on Wednesday?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, the watchword this morning, Wolf, I think, is uncertainty. Even two days before what the president calls liberation day, it's not precisely clear what exactly he plans to do when it comes to these reciprocal tariffs. On the one hand, you heard the president there on Air Force One last night saying that these tariff rates could be more generous than many people are expecting. But on the other hand, he also said on Air Force One that this would apply to essentially every country that the United States does business with.

And the debate now appears to be between this dollar-for-dollar tariffs that the president has been previewing now for six weeks. Essentially, if a country puts a tariff on an item that the U.S. exports, that he will apply that tariff at the same rate on imports into the United States. You also hear discussion of a potentially a universal tariff, perhaps as high as 20 percent on all countries that the U.S trades with.

And so there is a lot of uncertainty as White House officials scramble to put the final details on these tariffs that the president plans to put into effect in two days.

Now, one thing that White House officials hope is that these new tariffs will raise billions of dollars in new revenue. We just heard over the weekend from Peter Navarro, one of the president's most hawkish trade advisers who says that he thinks the U.S. could raise $6 trillion over the course of the decade as part of these tariffs.

At the end of the day, no matter how these tariffs are structured, most economists say that American consumers will pay the price. Wolf?

BLITZER: Kevin Liptak over at the White House, we will stay in close touch with you. Thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. And with, quote/unquote, liberation day just around the corner, price weary Americans are bracing for impact on their wallets with prices set to increase everywhere from grocery stores to car dealerships.

So let's go live now to CNN Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich in New York.

So, Vanessa, the president, says he, quote, couldn't care less if car prices rise. Where else could we see an immediate impact from these tariffs?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, let's start with those car prices. On April 3rd auto tariffs are set to take effect, and here's what we can expect. There's a really narrow window right now where Americans can buy a car where they won't see a tariff. New and used car prices could rise by 10 percent or more.

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There's only 27 vehicles on the market that are less than $30,000, and that accounts for 13 percent of all car sales. A 25 percent tariff on those vehicles would raise prices by $5,300. And in terms of inventory, there's about 85 days of new car inventory, which is good, but only 50 days of used car inventory. And as you mentioned, food prices expected to rise. We don't know exactly what products will be hit yet.

But the International Fresh Produce Association is asking for exemptions for food and florals. They wrote a letter to the administration. Here's what they said. They said that the proposed U.S. tariffs and the resulting retaliatory actions of other nations threaten American consumers' ability to afford fresh produce and florals, as well as the stability and prosperity of the growers and businesses that supply them.

But we have heard from the administration, they believe that these tariffs are good for businesses, good for consumers, and good for prices. Listen to Trade Adviser Peter Navarro on this.

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PETER NAVARRO, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE COUNSELOR ON TRADE AND MANUFACTURING: We have the example from the first term. We know that we imposed historically high tariffs on China. We imposed aluminum and steel tariffs. We imposed on washing machines, on solar, all we got out of that was prosperity and price stability.

And the reason why we're not going to see inflation is because the foreigners are going to eat most of it. They have to.

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YURKEVICH: And those 2018 tariffs on steel and aluminum, well, General Motors and Ford reported at the time that they saw increased cost, Pamela, of $1 billion each because of those tariffs in 2018. Pamela?

BROWN: Right, important context there. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you so much. Wolf?

BLITIZER: And this morning, Pamela, Elon Musk is set to make his first visit to CIA headquarters in Virginia, just outside of Washington. He'll sit down with Agency Director John Ratcliffe, who announced the visit at a town hall on Friday. But could Musk be in for a rather lukewarm welcome.

CNN Reporter Katie Bo Lillis is here with us in The Situation Room. Katie Bo, how do we know about how this visit is being received at the agency? What do we know?

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Wolf. So, to a certain degree, I have to say we've been waiting for this day to come, I have to say, for maybe once a week, for the last couple of months, I've been getting text messages from sources reporting rumors that Musk was on his way to Langley in Virginia, up until now hasn't been true with Ratcliffe finally announcing on Friday that he had invited Musk to come into the building for a meeting. You know, look, DOGE has taken a pretty light-handed approach to the intelligence agencies and to the national security agencies up until now. He has visited the National Security Agency in Fort Mead, Maryland. But this is only the second visit. And what we have not seen is what we have seen at some other smaller agencies with young staffers sort of banging on the door and demanding access to computer systems and to internal operations of intelligence agencies.

Director John Ratcliffe, in an appearance before the House Intelligence Committee last week, really downplaying DOGE's impact on the CIA, telling Congress that it had had zero impact to date.

And so, look, I think the big question here is going to be whether this is just kind of a one-off meeting or whether this is going to presage some more direct operational involvement in the CIA by DOGE. Ratcliffe telling staff members that he has merely invited Elon Musk to the CIA to discuss technology and mission -- making sure the mission is aligned.

BLITIZER: He doesn't have security clearances, Elon Musk, based on what I've heard. But you tell me if he does.

LILLIS: Well, he does hold a number of government contracts and, and sort of the status of his security clearance has been sort of one of the big questions. But if he is invited by the director, you know, I have been to the CIA, for example, and I do not hold a security clearance either, so just stepping onto the grounds of Langley does not require you to have a security clearance.

BLITIZER: It'd be interesting how this meeting goes. Katie Bo Lillis, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. We're learning more this morning about that fire at a Republican Party headquarters in New Mexico. Leaders there saying that the fire was a quote, deliberate act of arson. No one was injured and investigators are looking into the cause.

So let's go live now to CNN National Security Correspondent Josh Campbell. Josh, there was also graffiti spray painted at the scene, right?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Not just destruction, but also this signage, if you will, that was left behind. We know that this is now a federal investigation. Both the ATF, the FBI now joining local law enforcement to try to determine the origin of this fire.

The fire department said they were called early yesterday morning, about 6:00 A.M. They were able to quickly bring the fire under control, but there was structural damage to the front entryway. There was also smoke damage throughout the building. Thankfully, no injuries.

But to your point, it wasn't just damage but they also found this vandalism outside.

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The Republican Party saying that the words ICE equals KKK were found on the side of the building. Obviously an apparent reference there to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

We did hear from the head of the GOP there in Albuquerque yesterday. She said that she believes this was an intentional attack. Have a listen.

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AMY BARELA, NEW MEXICO GOP CHAIRWOMAN: Stop the violence. Let's come together and work together. I believe that the people that commit this violent, kind of violent behavior are not the ones that know the true issues or even come to the table to help us with the issues.

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CAMPBELL: Now, the city's Democratic mayor issued a statement saying that, quote, we do not yet know the full details of the fire early this morning at the Republican Party headquarters. But let me be clear, arson is a violent and cowardly act that has no place in our city. He said, politically motivated crimes of any kind are unacceptable. He's grateful to the fire department.

Of course, now we're waiting to see, with the feds involved that they do find a perpetrator, Wolf and Pamela, will this be treated as domestic terrorism, for example, like we've seen with recent incidences impacting Tesla facilities?

BROWN: We will have to wait and see. Josh Campbell, thank you so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And happening now, rescuers from multiple countries are descending on Myanmar in a frantic effort to find any survivors following a devastating earthquake. At least 2,000 people are now confirmed dead and thousands more injured in the area where the quake was centered.

Let's go live right now to CNN's Mike Valerio. Mike, the damage also extended hundreds of miles away to Thailand.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. There are really two centers of gravity for this emotional human catastrophe, one of them is Bangkok, the other's Myanmar. So, Bangkok's where we're going to start. Wolf, are reporting this morning began with 76, 76 people believed to be missing underneath that rubble where the skyscraper imploded. One person found dead and another lost their life at the hospital, so that death toll increasing throughout the day today. So, there are still more than 70 people who are believed to be under that pile of rubble. Machines looking for heat signatures, any sign of life or any sign of human remains as the agonizing wait for families continue.

Now, if we move over to Myanmar, ever since Sunday, Wolf, we have reports of 36 people who have been pulled from the concrete rubble, the epicenter of this magnitude, 7.7 quake, even one woman, Wolf, who was found after 60 hours of being buried underneath the remains of a hotel, and our latest round of reporting conveys that she is in stable condition.

But, Wolf, where this thing is going, this is a humanitarian crisis in a country that is in the midst of civil war. The big challenge will be getting supplies to areas that are fighting the government that's controlled by the military. The head of the World Food Program said that he's optimistic there's going to be a truce, and that help will get where it is truly needed. Wolf?

BLITZER: Well, let's hope that happens. Mike Valerio on the scene for us, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: Just awful seeing those images.

Up next, Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke joins us as we look at what Americans think about the tariffs and current prices,

BLITZER: And later, already reeling from tariffs, we'll speak to the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador on what Canada needs to do after April 2nd.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

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BLITZER: Tomorrow, crucial elections here in the United States could be an early test of how Americans really feel about the first two months of the Trump presidency. In Florida, Republicans are defending two open seats in the state left vacant by former Representatives Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz. And in Wisconsin a Supreme Court race that potentially could decide the court's ideological balance. Elon Musk has poured millions of dollars of his own fortune into that election, even giving out $1 million checks to two voters.

Joining us now, CNN Political Director and Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian. These are pretty consequential elections. Tell us about them.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: They are. First of all, they're the first big electoral tests for Donald Trump since the 2024 election. Now, these will not be the definitive electoral tests, and there's always a tendency to overread special election results. But let's talk about that Wisconsin Supreme Court race, first, Wolf, hugely important, probably the most evenly divided state in the country politically.

Wisconsin is a 50-50 state. That's why. This is the most expensive state judicial race we've seen in the history of the country and why Elon Musk has poured his own money, his allied group's money more than $20 million into the race. He used hyperbole saying, the future of civilization is dependent on the outcome of this race. But both sides are in big in that Wisconsin Supreme Court race, which will determine the ideological balance of the top court in that battleground state.

BLITZER: You know, it's also interesting on another political issue, and it's a very sensitive issue, President Trump isn't dismissing necessarily the idea of seeking a third term as president in a phone interview with NBC News on Sunday. He said he wasn't joking when asked about a potential third term and added, and I'm quoting him now. There are methods to do it. Take a listen to what he told reporters on Air Force One though last night.

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TRUMP: I don't want to talk to you about a third term now because no matter how you look at it, you got a long time to go. We have a long time. You know, we have almost four years to go.

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BLITZER: What methods potentially could Trump be looking at to get a third term in the White House?

CHALIAN: Well, there is a method, and it is to revise the Constitution as it's currently written and amend it, which is, as we know, a very high barrier.

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Listen, whether -- right now, we know of no plans that are in place or any kind of operational planning that has been going on in his political world in the White House to actually secure a path to running for a third term, amending the Constitution would be very high bar, Wolf.

I will just say, though, he was elected to this second term. And what he's trying to do is avoid being an instant lame duck, which the Constitution prescribes that he is at the moment. So, by floating this out there and throwing this out there, he's hoping to buy himself more time to allow him to build up and spend the political capital that he has from the 2024 election.

BLITZER: Because there's been some talk out there, I don't know how realistic it is that potentially he could run as vice president with J.D. Vance running as president, and then after the election, assuming they win, J.D. Vance drops out and he then becomes president.

CHALIAN: Also a constitutional theory that has not been tested yet and should somebody try to put that into practice, no doubt it'll end up before the Supreme Court.

BLITZER: They certainly will. All right, David Chalian. Thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: Right? Because the 12th Amendment, as we know, bars someone being the vice president if they're ineligible to be president, which is what you have with the 22nd Amendment. All right, thank you so much, Wolf. Well, we're closing in on President Trump's Wednesday tariff deadline a moment he's calling liberation day for the U.S. economy. But experts are warning the levies will significantly raise prices for American consumers at a moment when budgets are already tight.

Joining us now is Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke. He sits on the Appropriations and Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman, thank you for coming on. I know --

REP. RYAN ZINKE (R-MT): Great to be with you, as always.

BROWN: Yes, it's great to have you here on set. So, I know you've been talking to folks in, in your state about this, and I want to look at the poll here, this latest poll from CBS News showing 64 percent of Americans say the Trump administration isn't focused enough on lowering prices. And now President Trump says, quote, he couldn't care less if prices on foreign-made cars go up because he says more people will buy American-made cars. Do you think he's out of touch with the American people?

ZINKE: No, but I think the tariffs do represent a change in our policies. And, look, Montana gets hit more than anyone else. We are a trading partner with Canada and we're very close to Canadians with Albertans and Saskatchewan. There is 86 percent of trade in Montana comes from Canada. Much of that is fuel. The larger purpose is we want trade. We also want free and fair trade. And there is a vulnerability. It's that we are become vulnerable to China, to our allies, to also our potential adversaries in critical minerals, aluminum. And should America be independent on our basics for food, for energy, for manufacturing, tariffs are a tool that President Trump uses as personal power. He doesn't have to go through Congress. This is his power. And what we're hoping is they're short-term.

But they also -- what's the purpose? If the purpose is to make America less vulnerable, more independent on critical minerals on workings of the economy, I think we're double thumbs up. There'll be a short-term, we're hoping, you know, disruption. But long-term, if America emerges where we're not dependent upon our allies, our adversaries for the critical things that run the economy, then I think it's positive. There will be short-term disruptions. We've seen that.

You know, our friends at Canada, again, we're very, very close to Canada and Montana, both culturally friends. I would prefer short-term tariffs and then longer-term gain for America.

BROWN: Right. I'm wondering if you've shared these concerns with the White House. And, you know, in terms of short-term, it seems like you're kind of gambling on that, banking on that, right? But we don't know, right? We just don't know what is going to happen, right? And you're seeing concerns now about potential inflation, job losses, that kind of thing, with these tariffs going into effect. Do you think that he needs to reconsider his tariff strategy right now?

ZINKE: Well, I think what President Trump brings is uncertainty. You know, what is the end result? And uncertainty, the markets are, you know, ebb and flow. But I think if the path is, look, we have to be less vulnerable to the things that move this economy, our food, national security is food security. We might want to make sure that our critical minerals, that our cars, that we're not dependent.

So, again, if the goal is to realign where we have free in fair trade, I think America's with this. But if it is long-term or it affects pricing, as you point out, you know, things aren't great out there. You know, families are struggling. Food is tough, eggs are tough. And so if it results in another burden, an additional burden longer term, I think there's going to be pushback.

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BROWN: When you say longer term, how long are you talking? How long are you willing to give sort of this grace period?

ZINKE: Well, that's an uncertainty. I would say quarterly, you know, certainly if this extends into the summer. It's going to be problematic. But, again, you know, you'll look at Canada, and thus far, the tariffs have been fairly effective. You have the southern border being secured largely because of tariff threats. You have the northern border being secured largely because of tariff threats. So, I think it has been effective. But, again, the effectiveness, I think has a timeframe to it. As you continue on, I think it's less and less effective.

BROWN: All right. I want to talk about foreign affairs and the war in Ukraine. I know you've been very outspoken about that. President Trump now says that he's, quote, pissed at Vladimir Putin. As you'll recall though when he was on the campaign trail, he talked about, you know, the fact that he would end the war on day one. Clearly, that's not happening. Now, he is saying that Putin is dragging his feet. What is it going to take to finally bring Putin to the table? Do you think he's actually serious about wanting to reach a peace still given his maximalist views of Ukraine?

ZINKE: I think he's serious. Zelenskyy was an example of it. He said, quite frankly, you don't have the cards, and, you know, Russia doesn't have the cards either to continue the result of what's happening in Ukraine. They've lost 500,000 casualties. Their military complex has been severely hurt, damaged. Their combat capacity probably by 80 or 90 percent has really reduced.

And, look, Russia can't be a monolithic economy. The only thing that Russia producing right now a lot is energy and weapons, you take the energy out with stronger sanctions. And I think there is a moment where both sides have to realize the continuation of this mass killing, this expense is nonsense. And I think Putin has to a degree -- you know, look, I understand reports that he may not be healthy. He's looking at his legacy. And that's --

BROWN: When you say that, where is that coming from? Is that -- you're on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Do you have specific --

ZINKE: Yes, it hasn't been confirmed, but, yes, there, there is indication that he is not well.

BROWN: And do you have that from like intelligence from --

ZINKE: Nothing to discuss here.

BROWN: Okay.

ZINKE: But there is I think at the end of the day is this, is that he does not have the cards, and neither does Zelenskyy. If we're going to continue, I mean, we, the world watches this devastation in both human tragedy, economic tragedy, when is it going to end? And is Putin's dragging his feet? He should not. Because I think Trump is serious about it and Trump can --

BROWN: Well, what about Putin? Do you think he's serious about it? You said that Putin's thinking a lot about his legacy. Do you think he's serious about reaching --

ZINKE: I think he's trying to do the best deal he can. You know, he certainly has some cards, but he doesn't have a winning hand. Look, continuing the mass destruction, continuing his economics where he's funding the military and they're not doing very well. You know, they're gaining ground slowly, but it comes at a tremendous cost.

BROWN: Let me just ask you, before we let you go, about President Trump suggesting that he could run for a third term. I mean, he says he is not joking about this, so you can say, oh, well, this is Trump rhetoric. He says he is not joking and that there are, quote, methods for doing so. Are you aware of any methods for a president to flout the Constitution and run for a third term?

ZINKE: You know, I just visited the Medal of Honor Museum in Dallas. And I can say almost everyone that's on that board gave an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. I don't see an end around about the Constitution. And there're some things I don't bend on. I don't bend on the Constitution, and there's a lot of members in the Congress that will not bend either in the Constitution.

You know, but there's also a constitutional crisis coming up on the courts. Yes, you see that some lower courts now believe that they have the power of the executive. And the way our Constitution was constructed, there are equal powers and so when a lower court decides they interfere or encroach on the executive, that too will come up.

So, I think we have, you know, the lower court decision to go up and I'm hoping that Roberts is smart enough and I believe he is --

BROWN: Just to be clear, though, and you're talking about the nationwide injunctions from these judges that both Democrats and Republicans have, you know, complained about when it's impacted them adversely. But just really quick, you wouldn't vote to amend the Constitution to allow the president to run for a third term is what I'm hearing, right?

ZINKE: You know, on the Constitution, I like it as written.

BROWN: Okay. ZINKE: And I think most Americans do too.

BROWN: All right. Congressman Ryan Zinke, thank you for your time. I appreciate you coming in.

Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Pamela. Up next, I'll speak to the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador about the state of U.S. Canadian relations. Much more coming up right after this.

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