Do Americans Approve of the Trump Trade Wars?
48:23 Share

Your data is like gold to hackers. They'll sell it to the highest bidder. Are you protected? McAfee helps shield you, blocking suspicious texts, malicious emails, and fraudulent websites. McAfee's secure VPN lets you browse safely, and its AI-powered text scam detector spots threats instantly. You'll also get up to $2 million of award-winning antivirus and identity theft protection, all for just $39.99 for your first year. Visit McAfee.com. Cancel any time. Terms apply.

Ready for your next adventure? KLM Royal Dutch Airlines brings you Real Deal Days. Your chance to uncover real adventures and create real memories. Taste the real Amsterdam, explore the real Barcelona, and discover the real Johannesburg, along with many more destinations around the world. Secure your real deal today and seize the moment with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Restrictions apply. See terms and conditions at klm.com.

It is Wednesday, March 12th. Here's what's happening right now on CNN this morning. We're certainly concerned about rising prices because we have to pass them along. New tariffs taking effect overnight. But what do Americans think of President Trump's trade wars? We've got the numbers in a new CNN poll. Plus... Fire schools! Fire schools!

Mass layoffs underway at the Department of Education. We'll look at how this will impact students, teachers, and parents across the country. And then... There's a serious safety issue here, which is why we're issuing these urgent safety recommendations. Questions, answers, and new rules for the FAA. The first report from investigators on the collision in the skies above the Potomac. Also this. No, no, no.

A week-long trip that turned into a nine-month saga, a rocket launch today will finally help bring two American astronauts back to planet Earth.

6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here's a live look at nearby Baltimore. Good morning, Baltimore, and good morning to you. I'm Adi Cornish. I want to thank you for waking up with me. And I want to start with stocks because stocks across the markets are taking a dive this week. One number is going up. The number of people who disapprove of President Trump's handling of the economy.

So according to some new CNN polling just out today, 56% of adults disapprove of his economic moves. And that's higher than at any point in his first term in office. Those numbers sink even lower when you ask about tariffs. Only 39% approve of how he is handling those.

Overnight, the president's 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum went into effect. All of this, the tariffs, the rising trade war with allies, are raising fears of a recession. And President Trump seems to be going full steam ahead.

The Press: Do you think there will be a recession? The President: I don't see it at all. I think this country is going to boom. But as I said, I can do it the easy way or the hard way. The hard way to do it is exactly what I'm doing, but the results are going to be 20 times greater.

Joining me now to talk about all this, Sabrina Rodriguez, national politics reporter for The Washington Post, Elliott Williams, CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, and Kristen Soltis Anderson, CNN political commentator and Republican strategist. Kristen, I want to start with you because you're not just a strategist. You poll. So when you hear numbers like this, where does your mind go?

There's a glass half full and glass half empty way to read them. The glass half full way to read them is this is still better than a lot of what Trump saw during his first term. He still is looking a little bit better than you would have expected for a president that has such high, say, unfavorable numbers, where a lot of Americans go, I don't really like him, but I guess I like what he's doing. On the other hand, this is a decline from the start of his term. It is. And especially the fact that it's disapproval

on the economy ticking lower is a real problem for him. - Right, 'cause on immigration, it's not too bad, right? When we look at, from the CNN poll, his immigration numbers are much better, first term high of 44%, first term low, 35%. But here's where my eyes go, is independent voters, when they talk about how they feel about how he's performing now.

On that issue, you've got a real difference, obviously, between Republicans and Democrats, but you have a real shift with independents. And Sabrina, those were the people who brought him to 2024, to 2025, actually. 100%. And I think for a lot of folks, the calculus was, you know, I was tired of hearing on the campaign trail last year, people say, I don't really like the way he talks. I don't really necessarily agree with everything he says.

but I think he's going to be the person who's best for the economy. And for a lot of folks in these first 50 days of the Trump administration, there's sort of been this grace period, this obviously things aren't going to change overnight, but a lot of people just want to kind of understand what the plan is. You know, people are not going to get into exactly every detail about what percentage tariffs are and things like that, folks at home.

But they just want to understand, OK, what exactly is the plan here? OK, it might be a little tough for a couple months, but I get the vision for six months. And a lot of people don't see that right now. - Well, Yad, I want to bring you in because the Wall Street Journal, which has really been hitting hard on the terrorists, as you're calling them, dumb. But the quote from them this week, sort of under the idea of how do you like the trade war now,

Mr. Trump behaves as if his manhood is implicated because a foreign nation won't take his nasty border taxes lying down. Border taxes, not tariffs, right? And we said from the beginning that this North American trade war is the dumbest in history, and they dumbed it. We're being kind, they say.

So can you talk about that perception, right, which is coming from the business pages? - And man, going after the guy's manhood. That is a low blow from the WSJ. - I was not expecting that here, yeah. - But you know, to Sabrina's point about this idea of what's the play, where is the president going, I think more than anything else, and the numbers are reflecting this, it's the inconsistency and unpredictability that I think people

are responding to people maybe could have gotten their head around the idea of tariffs but their tariffs one day and then we're not enough for the auto industry and the next day and then and then it's just uncertain lawyer and he says terrorists are negotiating tool sure when you're when you're negotiating uncertainty is good absolutely but when you're negotiating as the president the United States uncertainty can

tank global markets. And we've seen that over the last week or two. And so, sure, bring other people to the table. But there's a consequence to doing that when people don't know what the next thing the American government's going to do. Although I want to say Howard Lutnick was asked specifically, will these policies be worth it? Right. We heard at the start of the show, Trump saying it'll all be worth it. He was asked, will they be worth it if they lead to a recession, even a short term one? Here's what he had to say.

Will these policies be worth it if they lead to a recession, even a short-term recession? These policies are the most important thing America has ever had. So it is worth it? It is worth it. A, I don't think the only reason there could possibly be a recession is because of the Biden nonsense that we had to live with. Sabrina? I mean, to say that a recession is worth it, anyone that's hearing that at home,

It is alarm bells, no question. The word recession is something that is deeply triggering for a lot of Americans at home. It means stock up. It means worry. It means put off your own decisions. And we're seeing Letnick sort of be Trump's biggest cheerleader. He said in multiple interviews in the last week, you know, he's coming out and saying anyone that's betting against Donald Trump is making the wrong call.

And that's sort of how he's been dismissing a little bit the stock market and saying companies are sort of jumping the gun on this. But again, this is something, a huge area of concern for Americans that see Trump just in the span of what Elia was saying. I mean, yesterday's a perfect example. Trump started the day saying he was going to double the tariffs on aluminum and steel from Canada.

and then by the end of the day wasn't doing that. And I think the Canada piece of this is very clear because a lot of folks are saying, "Wait, isn't he calling Trudeau Governor Trudeau? And isn't he talking about annexing Canada?" For a lot of folks there is sort of this question too of why exactly are we picking on Canada that's our neighbor to the north?

China makes more sense. We'll talk about that more later. I think that's really intriguing actually. We're going to have more about sort of economic warfare in the show today. Still to come on CNN this morning, Ukraine accepts a ceasefire proposal, putting pressure on Russia to do the same. We're going to have Representative Seth Moulton on to discuss the Trump administration's efforts to end Putin's war. Plus, Tiger Woods forced off the fairway. We've got the details on the golfing legend's latest injury. And who doesn't love a Diet Coke and some French fries?

Ahead, the changes that RFK Jr. wants to make to fast food and school lunches. With the school lunch programs, the CHIPS programs, it's mainly ultra-processed food. We need to change that, and we are going to change that.

I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of the Chasing Life podcast. What it's really like for someone to be diagnosed with a brain tumor. Ignoring the emotional consequence on those that are equally affected is something that I've learned isn't appropriate. Dr. Bobby McComala, president-elect of the American Medical Association. What it's like when the doctor becomes the patient. I'm a work in progress in that regard. Listen to Chasing Life, streaming now, wherever you get your podcasts.

It is 12 minutes past the hour. I want to give you the morning roundup. Some of the stories we're watching, some of the stories you need to know to get your day going. The measles outbreak in West Texas has now spread to a third state, Oklahoma. Two new cases there brings the total number to more than 250. And New Mexico says it's had more than 30 measles cases as of yesterday.

A key hearing today in the case of Mahmoud Khalil. He's the Palestinian student activist who was arrested after protesting the Israel Hamas war at Columbia University. The Trump administration revoked his green card. His attorneys want him released from custody as he fights that deportation.

And Tiger Woods forced off the golf course. He's ruptured his Achilles tendon. He posted that he had a minimally invasive surgery earlier this week and is now back home. But it's the latest setback for Woods after facing a number of injuries. And you gotta see this. Yo santo. Yo santo.

Okay, this is video a woman in Florida who survived a direct hit from a tornado while stuck in her car. This video is coming to us from just north of Orlando. The tornado was an EF2 for you tornado nerds. That means it's the strongest to hit that area in more than 25 years.

Still coming up after the break, sweeping tariffs on all imported aluminum and steel now in effect. Will we see more manufacturing jobs return to the U.S. or just higher prices? Plus, how two astronauts stuck in space could finally come home and a good, very early morning to Las Vegas, where it is 314 and a chilly 47 degrees.

There's going to be plants closed in the U.S. Assembly plants will shut down because they won't have the aluminum or they'll be paying twice, three times as much. This is absolute chaos created by one person, and that's Donald Trump, not the American people.

Canadians and Americans waking up today to a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imported into the U.S. President Trump says tariffs will help bring more manufacturing jobs to the U.S. It could also drive up prices on things like cars and appliances, and it puts a strain on U.S. relationships with some of its closest allies, in this case Canada, the U.S.'s top source for imported metals.

How do you think tariffs will affect the economy? Tariffs are actually, we've had a lot of experience with them. They're an act of war to some degree. How do you think tariffs will impact inflation? Over time there are attacks on goods. I mean, the tooth fairy doesn't pay them.

Okay, we're playing that clip, the idea that terrorists are an act of war, because our next guest is an expert on economic warfare, Edward Fishman. He's the author of Choke Points, American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare. He's a professor at Columbia University and actually worked on U.S. economic sanctions policy at the State Department.

Edward Fishman, welcome to the program. Good morning. Thanks for having me on, Adi. Okay, so this is pretty much your thesis here, right? That through the power of the dollar and through the fact that the dollar is the currency of international transactions, the U.S. is able to wield sanctions, tariffs as a weapon. So in that way, is Trump right? That's exactly right. Look, my book is called Choke Points because there are these

specific choke points in the global economy that allow countries to impose significant economic pressure on others. The number one choke point is the U.S. dollar. I say in my book, Adi, that trying to do business across borders without access to the dollar is like trying to travel without having a passport. - So here's an example. Russia, President Trump last week threatened new sanctions against Moscow, which is kind of running opposite of the rhetoric we've heard politically on foreign policy, but he's targeting the banking sector.

And do you expect to see more action like this? And is this using sanctions as a scalpel? - So look, so far President Trump has applied a lot of pressure on the government in Ukraine and much less on the Russian government.

We've seen these two threats, the one he made early in January and the other he made just a few days ago against Russia. I think we need more leverage on Russia if we are going to get a just peace. And one thing I think that's misunderstood is that we have not yet maximized sanctions on Russia. There's still quite a bit of pressure that could be added to the Russian government. Really? I mean, it's interesting. Reading the book, you talk about how so much of how we use sanctions now started with the Cold War.

It was to contain Russia. But I think anyone reading the news thinks that Russia survived pretty well since the war, since it invaded Crimea, and there were Russian sanctions put on it then. I think there's some misunderstanding here because I think what has happened, even if you look back in 2014-15 when I was working on the sanctions, Russia's economy was on the brink of collapse, and then we sort of pulled back.

And then during Trump's first term, he didn't impose really any sanctions on Russia. So I think there's been sort of this yo-yo effect where Russia's been sort of on the ropes and then we kind of backtrack. And I think that's what Putin thinks he can get now. I think he thinks he can pull Trump back from the brink right when his economy is really in the doldrums. Okay, next economic warfare tool, tariffs. Looking at that quote where you see Canada is not for sale by a Canadian leader, what do you see in how this is playing out

Canada versus Mexico. Because I see Mexico actually kind of coming to the table, paying attention to what the administration wants in terms of the drug war. It does seem to be working, air quotes, for what Trump wants it for, leverage. What are we seeing with Canada? I think it's not working with Canada. And I think the truth is we do not have a national security threat coming from Canada.

Tariffs historically have been used more as a tool of economic policy than a tool of warfare, right? But what Trump is trying to do is to use tariffs basically to bully the Canadian government into conceding to terms that are not even defined, right? I mean, we seized something like a couple dozen kilograms of fentanyl at the northern border last year. So if I'm the Canadian government, I'm not even really sure what I need to do to get Trump to back off.

It seems like he really doesn't like Justin Trudeau. So maybe what it will take is having a new Canadian prime minister and Mark Carney to try to repair the US Canadian relationship. One more thing. This Friday, the Trump administration is having an AI and crypto summit. The Trump administration has talked about a US stockpile of digital assets. What happens...

to the U.S. economic warfare tools if we start to encourage crypto in the international space? I'm glad you're asking this, Adi, because look, the most powerful tool the U.S. has internationally is the dollar. It is critical to imposing sanctions and it's also critical for our economy, right? We've got massive amounts of money that come into our economy plugging the deficit every year.

If we are all of a sudden going to sponsor cryptocurrencies that are not backed by anything, that in many ways are scams, that are taking advantage of vulnerable people, not only is it bad, I think, for the American people, but I think it really does endanger the role of the dollar as the world's reserve currency. That's not to say we don't need digital currency innovation. We do. We can't just stand still.

But I think doing it in sort of this unruly fashion in which there are random cryptocurrencies that are launched overnight and then lose value, that's not a recipe for American financial leadership moving forward.

All right. Edward Fishman, thanks for digging into this with us. Congratulations on the book. It's called Choke Points, American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare. Coming up on CNN this morning, police actually released new surveillance video of a University of Pittsburgh student missing in the Dominican Republic. What clues could this hold? Plus, doors are locked at the Department of Education as the dismantling of the agency begins. What does it mean for your kids and for your schools?

The new season of United States of Scandal has bribery, fraud, undercover agents, and politicians suffering from a moral virus. You know, the usual. United States of Scandal with Jake Tapper, Sunday at 9 on CNN.

We had the greatest economy in history. This economy, in my opinion, is going to blow it away. Big promises from President Trump, but are the American people on board? Good morning, everyone. I'm Audie Cornish, and it's 6.30 here on the East Coast. I want to thank you for joining me this morning, and here's what's happening right now.

Americans, many Americans, giving a thumbs down to President Trump's handling of the economy. In a CNN poll out just this morning, 56% say they disapprove of how he's handling it. That negative review is higher than at any point during his first four years in office.

Today, U.S. and Mexican trade officials will meet to discuss Trump's new tariffs on aluminum and steel overnight. President Trump's 25% tariff on those particular imports from all nations actually went into effect, and that's threatening the price hikes for Americans.

And the dismantling of the Department of Education underway this morning. Hundreds of workers got layoff notices last night, but nearly half of the workforce expected to get the ax. President Trump calling for the elimination of the Education Department altogether. Our schools, our schools, our schools. That's not sitting too well with many parents and teachers, but the Trump administration is moving quickly. The doors at the department headquarters in DC were locked yesterday.

It's another day that a student fails a big exam because they're being denied proper accommodations for their learning disorder. These students and their families are waiting and hoping for justice and assistance that may never come. Just over 4,000 people work at the department, not for long, according to Education Secretary Linda McMahon.

What we did today was to take the first step of eliminating what I think is bureaucratic bloat. Is this the first step on the road to a total shutdown? Yes.

I want to bring in John B. King Jr. He's the former education secretary under President Obama. Now, John, I want to talk to you about this because right now I think something like 10% of federal dollars go to public schools. So how big a difference does this actually make in the long run since states control education?

States certainly do control education, but the federal role is critical. The federal government provides funding for schools that serve very low-income students. Without that funding, we can expect teacher layoffs, class sizes to grow. The federal government provides funding that supports students with disabilities, ensures that they get the services they need in order to succeed in school. Without the education department, that funding may not be there for students.

And the federal government plays a crucial role through the federal Pell Grant program that makes higher education possible for low-income Americans and through the student loan program that helps low- and middle-income Americans access the American dream through pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree. So if you take away those functions, you're harming students.

The Education Department also is responsible for civil rights protections, making sure that schools serve all of their students. - John, I wanna interrupt for a second because I think that for a long time, I also heard from liberals who said, look, the department is too interested in standardized tests, for example. The department is not getting the,

equity outcomes in terms of student achievement that it sets forth as a standard for states. Do you think it was vulnerable to this moment that conservatives have long called for?

There are certainly things that the department could do better. And at this moment, we should have national leadership around the fact that our students are behind where they were before COVID. We still haven't fully recovered from that period. And the federal government should be leading on that. We should be doing research on what are the best interventions to help students succeed. But those are exactly the kinds of activities that the Trump administration is planning to eliminate.

I want to ask you about who will be affected by this. You mentioned special programs for like special needs, etc. Are there constituents of parents who are going to be affected, who are going to feel that or feel the unintended consequences of this?

Sure. Look, there are 26 million students who are in schools that are served by the Title I program, the program for low-income students. Those schools without these funds would have to eliminate advanced placement classes for students, extracurricular activities. That is something folks are going to feel right away.

The department also protects civil rights. So that means that if your child isn't getting the services they're entitled to, you're an English learner and your child isn't getting the support to learn English, you won't have someone to take that complaint to. The department received over 20,000 complaints around civil rights issues last year, and they're investigating them. Without the department, who will do that work?

John B. King Jr., I want to thank you so much for your time, former education secretary. I want to turn back to the group chat because, as I mentioned, Kristen, this is one of those things like forever. People have been like, get rid of the education department on the right. Elliot, did you...

Hear anything there that struck you? The word disabilities, the idea of these what are called Section 504 plans, individualized educational plans that affect millions of people. IEP. Anybody who knows a parent who has a kid with special needs, you will know the phrase IEP. And across ideology, people, this touches lots of families, and that program will be affected by the loss of the Department of Education, full stop.

Okay, I want to bring in some other topics here because there's a lot more to talk about. But what caught my eye, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. saying that he's going to go after artificial dyes in food. That's according to the New York Times. He's also trying to close a loophole that allows manufacturers to put new chemicals in food without the oversight of the Food and Drug Administration. These are just some of the latest initiatives he's pursued as head of HHS.

as he pushes for what he sees as a healthier America. -10% of food stamps, which are federally funded, taxpayer-funded program, is going to the poorest neighborhoods, and they're the ones with the worst chronic disease burden. And we are literally poisoning those neighborhoods by paying for 10% of the food stamps going to sugary drinks.

- Group chat is back. Sabrina, I wanna start with you because I feel like Michelle Obama must be cheering somewhere maybe. No, she's in South by Southwest, shout out to the former first lady. But it feels like this conversation should feel familiar to those on the left.

100%. I mean, this is actually an area where RFK Jr. can build a little bit of consensus. I think there's going to be, of course, strong pushback from the companies because this is a huge shift for them. But I think also for folks and companies who are looking for some type of oversight, some type of regulatory shift nationwide, it would be helpful because we're seeing some states moving that direction. We've already seen Virginia have debates about this. California have debates about this. Yeah.

I think the shift in the politics on the right are so interesting. These policies are ones that actually, like California was at the forefront. The idea that there's now a California to Republican administration policy pipeline is really interesting. And it has a lot to do with the new voters that somebody like an RFK was able to bring to Trump. It may not have been a massive, massive coalition, but the

The fact is there are some voters, they're not as interested in a lot of the traditional political battles, but they're really worried about what's in their kids' foods. And those are voters that Trump was able to win by courting RFK and his coalition. Can I be cynical? Go ahead. You? Me? What? How dare you? But we can all agree, right, left, people don't want red dye in their food or any of the other stuff.

Food companies donate to across the political spectrum, and there is money in the political system that comes from these folks. There will be pressure to not implement any number of these changes. I don't want to single anybody out, but PepsiCo has an interest in producing food at a certain cost and so on. People buy it and enjoy it. I just have a hard time believing that we can just wave a wand and get rid of dyes and there won't be political impact in Congress. I will add my own cynicism here. Yeah. Dye.

I mean, this is happening in the backdrop. In the backdrop right now, there is still the measles outbreak. And this is something that can build more consensus. This is something, for example, we've seen Senator Cory Booker talk at length about. It's easier to talk about, right?

absolutely don't want artificial dives when we've seen that there are certain links with certain diseases and certain disorders and such. - It's an easier conversation to have with the voter. Kristen is referring to the Make America Healthy Again, especially female, very online, health-conscious voter, rather than saying, oh, also measles seems bad.

Here's what I'm not gonna do about it. I want you guys to stay with me because still ahead on CNN this morning, we wanna talk about Ukraine because they're agreeing to take the first steps towards a truce. Will Russia agree? We actually have Congressman Seth Moulton here to talk about that. And the NTSB making some urgent safety recommendations after that deadly collision over the Potomac. And more from the group chat after this.

The president's objective here is, number one, above everything else, he wants the war to end. And I think today Ukraine has taken a concrete step in that regard. We hope the Russians will reciprocate. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing that Ukraine has agreed to a proposal of a 30-day ceasefire with Russia. Under this agreement, the U.S. is also resuming intelligence sharing and military aid for Ukraine. And now Ukraine says it's up to Russia to show that they're serious about peace.

And today in the conversation there was a proposal from the American side to take the first step immediately and try to establish a complete ceasefire for 30 days. Not only with regard to missiles, drones and bombs, not only in the Black Sea, but also along the entire front line. Ukraine accepts this proposal, we consider it positive, we are ready to take such a step and the United States of America must convince Russia to do so.

New this morning, a Kremlin spokesperson refusing to comment on the ceasefire proposal, saying that they expect a briefing from the U.S. government. But overnight, Russian missile and drone attacks killed 14 people across Ukraine, officials there reported. We're going to discuss that and more now with Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee. He's also a member of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus. Welcome and good morning to you, Congressman. Good morning. Great to be here.

However the path was to get here, Trump did what he promised and got everyone to the table.

Now that this conversation... I mean, through extortion, I mean... Say more. I mean, look, you don't extort your allies. I mean, imagine if in World War II, whenever we had a disagreement with the Brits, we just cut off intelligence sharing. Imagine if President Roosevelt had started using Hitler's talking points. That's what Trump has done over the last several weeks, literally parroting what the Kremlin is saying. The bottom line is...

You don't sell out your allies. And we cannot forget that that's how Trump got us to this point. It's put Ukraine in a much weaker position. And although we can all agree that we'd like to see this war end, and I would like to see peace eventually in Ukraine,

It's clear that the president's number one priority is stopping the war. It's not what it should be, which is Ukraine winning. That is the message that we need to send to the rest of the world. Since you brought up allies and message to the rest of the world, the message that Europe has received is we need to arm ourselves, that we can't rely on the U.S.,

in a number of areas. And I'm wondering about maybe the ramifications for that here in the U.S. itself. I mean, most of the arms contracts around the world come from U.S. companies. - And U.S. companies are really good at this. And that's why people, that's why countries all around the globe, their troops, they want American arms.

I'm already hearing from U.S. defense contractors that they're worried all this business is going to go to Europe. And so yet this is yet another way that Trump is hurting the U.S. economy. We've got new pulling out actually on the economy. Basically, we're finding that the most important issue to voters is the economy. 42 percent say that. Senator Bernie Sanders says he's also seen growing anger about this. I want you to take a listen.

People are angry. They're confused. They see the richest guy in the world going around saying, "Hey, we're going to decimate the Veterans Administration. We're going to decimate Social Security. We're going to be laying off people here and there and everywhere." And people are saying, "What is going on?"

Can you give me your response to that? Because people are not just saying what is going on. They're also saying what are Democrats doing about it? How do you hear this discussion? First of all, the first thing that popped out to me was the VA, because I'm a veteran who relies on the VA for my health care. And I already know that the waits are too long, that sometimes it takes forever to get an appointment. All of that is going to get worse. We're going to go back

to the days of veterans dying on waiting lists just trying to get seen by the VA. So this has real impacts on people's lives, including people that Republicans claim to care about. And yes, this is why Republicans right now are refusing to even hold town halls.

I have a town hall next Saturday. Republicans are refusing to hold town halls because it's not just Democrats who are upset. It's Americans across the board are furious with what Elon Musk is doing in not making government more efficient, but making it non-existent. So this is really impacting people's lives.

And it's making things a lot worse. I want to ask about this recent vote on the continuing resolution bill, which basically just says, look, we're going to keep spending where it is while we figure out the big questions about the budget. But there was a Democrat from Maine, Jared Golden, who was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans on this bill. And he said the CR is not perfect, but a shutdown would be worse. He also called the criticisms that Democrats have

around the VA, for example, or money for veterans, it's kind of a gimmick. Like the idea that we're sort of drumming up, the idea that Democrats are drumming up fear when really this needs to be taken care of and a government shutdown would have been bad. What's your response to that? - Actually, you know, you started this by talking about how people want Democrats to do something. Well, this is one place where we had a little bit of leverage to do something, to say that what Elon Musk is doing to the VA is wrong. And

You might disagree with, I mean, just say more. There's not much that Democrats can do, but this is one place where we could take a stand. So I respectfully disagree with Jerry Golden, who's a good friend and a fellow Marine. I mean, you can certainly have different perspectives on this. You know, one thing you always see is Republicans pretty much voting in line and Democrats actually being more thoughtful about these bills.

And there is a legitimate debate to be had. But I said, no, this is a different time. This is a time when we need to put our foot down and say, we're listening to Americans, not just to Democrats, but to Republicans as well, who don't want this to continue.

do not want Elon Musk to continue wrecking the government. And so that's why I'm not going to vote for a continuing resolution. I have one more question. Public backlash against Elon Musk. The Trump administration is now saying that if you are attacking Teslas or dealerships, going beyond vandalism, that that could be an act of domestic terrorism. But I do want to ask about this as resistance. Is this what resistance should look

like. So Trump thinks that if you try to kill cops to overthrow the government and change an election, that's not domestic terrorism, but somehow having a protest in front of a Tesla dealership is. The bottom line with Trump is freedom and liberties belong to people who agree with him, and that's it. That's his view of America. That's not a view that people who believe in our Constitution share. Congressman Moulton, thank you so much for being with us. Thanks for having me.

All right. Time check for you. It's 51 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup. Some of the stories you need to know to get your day going. Helicopters now barred from flying along a four-mile stretch of the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan National Airport. The Transportation Department quickly adopted that recommendation from the NTSB's preliminary report on the deadly collision involving an Army chopper and an American Airlines flight. This was, of course, the deadliest air crash in the U.S. in nearly two decades.

And SpaceX, phone home. Today, SpaceX is launching a mission to help bring two American astronauts back from the International Space Station. Their 10-day mission was extended to more than nine months due to severe technical issues with their original spacecraft built by Boeing.

And new surveillance video shows a University of Pittsburgh student who went missing last week in the Dominican Republic. While on spring break, it shows the 20-year-old with a group of friends going to the beach after 4:15 a.m. on Thursday. This was right before her disappearance. The FBI says it's now helping in the investigation.

And customers of Southwest are not happy now that the airline is ending its 60-year tradition of free checked bags. Fees kick in May 28th, with a few exceptions for those in the airline's loyalty program or if you have a Southwest credit card. I don't like that at all. It's the first I've heard of it. I fly Southwest because of that. Everybody has to make money, I get that. But I just hope that they will reconsider.

Anyone else going to be off Southwest now or Sabrina's face? Sabrina's face says no, thank you. Amtrak posted a message about this saying, guess we're the only ones doing free baggage now.

The South Lawn of the White House transformed into a Tesla showroom for a day by President Trump. Tesla shares have declined sharply since Elon Musk started slashing the federal workforce and police across the country are investigating attacks on Tesla showrooms, charging stations, vehicles. So the president decided to promote Teslas using a prepared note, including the detail

which is about how Teslas can be purchased for as low as $2.99 a month, which is making me feel like I'm reading an ad. He's even claimed that he's buying a red one to support his Doge buddy. - This is a different panel than I've had. Everything's computer. - Musk took a $29 billion hit to his net worth in a single day on Monday, and the president seems to be taking it personally. - In the time I've known him,

He has never asked me for a favor. He didn't ask me for this. I said, "You know, Elon, I don't like what's happening to you." He has never asked me for a thing. And he's built this great company, and he shouldn't be penalized because he's a patriot.

Okay, group chat is back. And Sabrina, I want to ask you something about this. Kara Swisher, kind of Muskologist, technology reporter, was saying that Elon Musk has been a heat shield for Trump, right? Taking on the sort of incoming from people who are criticizing the reshaping of the federal government. What does it say to you that Trump took this step?

I mean, I think Trump recognizes that Musk has been taking so much heat. And I think he recognizes that at the end of the day... That he has to protect him? Not necessarily. That's a choice by Trump, no question about it. But I think for Trump right now, I mean, you see the Democratic ads being cut right now and...

it is video and clips of Elon Musk and you see Democrats really trying to like prod at Trump by saying that it's President Musk and that they're co-presidents or that really Musk is the one that's running the country. There's so many memes that are being made about this. So I think it is hitting at a sore spot for Trump and sort of that's part of him coming out in defense. And I will say it's exactly the day after there was an interview where Elon Musk did on Fox Business

where he was asked about his company suffering. And there was sort of this moment of him saying, oh, you know, it's with great difficulty that he's navigating this. So there's a timeline here. And clearly we've seen Tesla be affected and Trump being responsive. We were talking during one of the breaks about like the weird political horseshoes that happen. And there's a lot of liberals, right, who love Teslas because they were EVs. And then you had conservatives who were like, I

don't want an EV forced on me. So maybe I'm not like, it feels like things are getting a little scrambled. Completely scrambled. There's going to be a lot of Democrats that drive by Tesla dealerships and have protesters like yelling at them and are going to want to have like an, it wasn't me bumper sticker put on their car. I think that's- Some are selling their cars on TikTok. I think that's, that's fascinating. I mean, I

I don't feel bad for somebody who's extremely wealthy and has chosen to take on another responsibility and that has led to the politicization of their brand. We have seen over the last couple of years a lot of brands that the more they wade into politics, the more that suddenly they lose a large portion of either their customer base or their potential customer base. Coming from the other direction, you had Anheuser-Busch wind up, they lost a bunch of their conservative customers. I mean, when you wade into politics, this stuff can happen.

I'm also kind of not taking the bait on this story with Elon Musk where, okay, he's lost money. So have a lot of business owners across America because the Dow and the S&P are down like 9% or 10% over the last week or so because the economy is struggling right now. And yes, it's a little odd to see an auto...

showroom on the grounds south face of the White House, but I think we got bigger fish to fry. - It's also not weird to see Trump selling something. Like that's his whole deal. - It felt showcase showdown, but in a way that did not feel inauthentic. - Let's just remember though, he is the world's richest man. Elon Musk is. - He is.

$29 billion sounds like an obscene amount of money for us here. But it's not, right? The New York Times reporting Elon Musk signaled he wants to make $100 million in donations to the three groups controlled by the Trump political organization. So while we're sort of talking about that, the America PAC, Trump does really benefit

in a lot of ways from this relationship. Yeah, and I think that Elon Musk's conversion to this more conservative libertarian worldview is genuine. I think that he does want to come in with a sledgehammer and dismantle a lot of agencies. Republicans have wanted that for a long time. So having Elon Musk and his resources as an ally all of a sudden, as of the last few years, is really, really a big deal for Republicans.

Okay, Wednesday hump day. This is when we're halfway through the week. We're up, we're blessed, and I want to know what you're keeping an eye on. Sabrina. I mean, I think the number one thing, you know, we've talked a lot about tariffs today, and, you know, Trump has previewed and talked repeatedly about how he's going to pursue more. There's one date that should be on a lot of folks' minds, and it's April 2nd. He has said that he wants to pursue reciprocal tariffs, that that would mean that he would raise the tariffs on everything.

every country to the levels that they tariff us. He talks about how that's like leveling the playing field. But for a lot of people, they're bracing-- April 2nd. April 2nd. And a lot of people are bracing for how painful that would be for the US economy, what a big escalation that would be of the trade war. So I think that's a big one to be watching. Elliot. Yeah, April 2nd, no fooling, but I had to.

There are 26,000 works of art that the federal government owns. And with government leases being sort of terminated, and also, and there's some articles about this, the office at GSA that oversees American art has been gutted.

And since the beginning of time, cavemen to the Romans to frankly the paintings on the Berlin Wall, societies are judged by their public art. What happens to American public art? And sort of what are the legs that this story has? - Yeah, we've been paying so much attention to the real estate and the things that are shut down, but you're saying there are things we own as a collective country. - But real quick, at the Justice Department, giant beautiful murals inside the building, those are all over government buildings, what happens to them? - Interesting, Kristen, last word to you. - I'm not sure what's happening

the domestic politics of countries where Donald Trump is engaged in confrontation. So it's been fascinating to watch in a country like Mexico, all of a sudden the job approval of the president there has risen. Claudia Scheinbaum, I believe it's now like 85% approved. You had the center-left party in Canada that had really been suffering as of late, all of a sudden have shot up in the polls as they have a new PM. It's interesting in countries like Ukraine, Greenland,

just watching the domestic politics get affected by Donald Trump's confrontation. - Yeah, watching that shift in real time. Thanks to all of you. And I wanna thank you for waking up with us. I'm Adi Cornish, CNN News Central starts right now.