Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Ukraine Reels from Russia's Large-Scale Power Grid Attack; U.S.: Russia 'Successful' in Rebuilding Military Since Invasion; White House Hosts Historic Summit with Japan & Philippines; Looking Back at Turbulent Life of O.J. Simpson; FBI Director: ISIS-K Poses Growing Threat to U.S.; Trump, House Speaker to Hold Press Conference Friday; Lenny Kravitz Workout Video Goes Viral. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired April 12, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN, Putin's revenge. A wave of Russian missiles and drones cause widespread damage to Ukraine's energy grid, retaliation, it seems, for Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian power plants.
[00:00:59]
A plea to help Ukraine from Japan's prime minister, as he addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress.
And looking back at one of the most infamous American figures of the 20th Century. O.J. Simpson, football superstar turned movie actor, to an accused double murderer.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: In recent weeks, a resurgent Russian military has renewed attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, especially the national power grid. And on Thursday morning, Russian missiles and drones scored a major blow, destroying one of Ukraine's biggest plants just outside the capital of Kyiv while strikes elsewhere have reduced output from the largest energy provider to 20 percent.
Most troubling for the Ukrainians, air defenses were unable to shoot down a third of incoming Russian fire.
At a regional summit in Lithuania, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, once again, pleaded with Western allies for more air defenses and other military assistance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I can clearly outline what Putin is planning to do this year. We have enough information from our intelligence. It is critical that each partner fulfills its promises regarding the supply of weapons and ammunition, as well as our joint production agreements.
Every day, Russian missiles are fired, and every day, the number of promises increases. Every day, Ukrainian soldiers at the front, withstand the brutal pressure of Russian artillery and guided aerial bombs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: According to Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, Thursday's attack was in response to recent Ukrainian strikes on Russia's power facilities. Ukrainian officials are becoming increasingly alarm not just by the high number of missiles and drones fired by Russia, but also their accuracy, which indicates better intelligence and fresh tactics by Moscow in this ongoing offensive on Ukraine's electrical grid.
More details now from CNN's Fred Pleitgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kyiv's largest power plant destroyed. The energy company Centrenergo declaring Thursday, quote, "a black day."
The dark smoke and the skyline marking the end of the company's energy supply, all three of its power plants across the country either destroyed or occupied.
Russian strikes systematically targeting power facilities have been a constant in Ukraine since late 2022 but have ramped up in recent weeks. DTEK, Ukraine's largest power company, saying two of their plans were also targeted overnight.
They say their facilities have suffered their worst attacks this month since the war began, with 80 percent of their infrastructure already destroyed.
Employees trying to repair and to rebuild. The burnt-out skeleton of their facilities needing to be back up and running as soon as possible, echoing each other's calls for the world to ramp up its weapons support.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We need more air fences. If we don't have air defenses, there won't be anything left. A lot of missiles and drones get through. and we get a lot of hits.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): It's a call heard many times over, with the Ukrainian president currently in Lithuania to meet European leaders and to ensure those calls do not become white noise in this very long war.
Warnings by generals also becoming more desperate, with the country's parliament voting on Thursday to overhaul mobilization rules, potentially allowing the military to call up more men.
GEN. YURLY SODOL, COMMANDER, JOINT FORCES OF UKRAINE (through translator): The enemy outnumbers us by seven to ten times. We lack manpower. We are holding the defenses on the last breath.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The bill still needing to be signed into law by Zelenskyy is a sign of an exhausted front line. Civilians in Kyiv spending the night once again underground, a routine
too familiar for a country resilient as ever.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Delphi, Greece.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: According to U.S. and other intelligence assessments, Russia's military losses were so severe in Ukraine, it would take a decade to recover. That appears to be wildly optimistic.
The head of the U.S. European Command saying Russia has been quite successful at rebuilding its forces, despite heavy sanctions from the West. At the same time, Ukraine is struggling with ammunition shortages and a military exhausted from more than two years of war.
[00:05:18]
Here's General Chris Cavoli on Russia's military comeback.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. CHRISTOPHER CAVOLI, COMMANDER, U.S. EUROPEAN COMMAND: The attrition that they've suffered so far has been very significant, but it's been localized. It's been mainly in the ground forces. They lost a couple of thousand tanks and the ground forces. They lost as many as 75,000 killed from the ground forces.
But they've replenished those. They've grown back to what they were before. They've got some gaps that have been produced by this war. But their overall capacity is very significant still, and they intend to make it go higher.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Joining me now is Peter Layton, a visiting fellow with the Griffith Asia Institute in Brisbane. Good to see you, Peter. Thank you for being with us.
PETER LAYTON, VISITING FELLOW, GRIFFITH ASIA INSTITUTE: Yes, John.
VAUSE: Well, here are a few headlines from May of last year. From Britain's "Telegraph," "Russian army needs a decade to rebuild and NATO can take advantage."
While over at "The Daily Mail," "Russia will take up to 30 years to rebuild its economic and military strength."
While "The Defense Post," "Russian military may take ten years to recover."
That reporting came from testimony by U.S. Lieutenant General Scott Berrier on Capitol Hill, telling lawmakers at the time that "the estimates go from five to ten years based on how sanctions affect them and their ability to put technology back into their force." Well, it hasn't been ten years. It hasn't been five years. It hasn't
even been a year since then. So how did the U.S. get it so wrong? And what are the consequences?
LAYTON: I think that the point is that the Russians are -- know exactly what forces that they need. So if you like, maximizing the appropriate production of all the tanks and armored vehicles.
Now bear in mind that the Russians ended the Cold War with literally tens of thousands of army vehicles. Most of those went into store, and were stored very badly. And they have taken -- or some years now to return back into service.
So these are perhaps not the sort of leading-edge tanks and armored vehicles, but these are all Cold War ones. But there have been re- -- re- -- refurbished. And as the general said, there are thousands of them.
I think also that the West has been optimistic, I suppose, about casualty figures. The -- the Russians have been highly -- highly successful in recruiting a lot more soldiers, especially those out of central Asia.
They're also recruiting foreigners, of course, out of places like -- like Cuba, Syria, et cetera. So they have a mix of -- of all of the Russian nationals and the foreigners.
And of course, the Russians, much to the surprise of, you know, all sort of -- to our surprise these days. But historically normal for the Russians have had, of course, used -- used very large numbers of the convicts and of prisoners, as well.
They're talking about recruiting or reconstituting about four -- a force of 400,000 this year. That's -- that's extraordinarily large. Yes.
VAUSE: Just with the tanks. You mentioned the tanks. I want to get to the soundbite from General Chris Cavoli. He talked about how many they have and how they're doing it.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAVOLI: They've got tank production going on. They've got tank refurbishment going on and the gut tank repair going on, and they have managed. They still have as many tanks functioning inside Ukraine as they introduced at the beginning of the war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And they lost 3,000. So they've replaced that 3,000 with another 3,000. So is this a direct result of Putin putting the economy on a war footing? And how long can that last?
LAYTON: Very much so. Russia has certainly -- has certainly moved into being a war state, if you like, where -- where wartime needs dominate everything.
Certainly, the figures look like -- look like this could last another four or five years. Russia also has been buying -- has been buying military -- military hardware from -- from the foreign countries, as well.
And the missiles are an interesting example of that. And Russia's making about 100 cruise missiles, et cetera, a month. But they're buying from the Iranians thousands of these Shahed drones. So there's a combination of making new resells (ph), if you like, and buying stuff from offshore.
VAUSE: Also, Russia's due to be getting help indirectly, at least, from China. How's that working?
LAYTON: It seems that the Chinese are selling various -- various duel- use items into -- into third countries. And if they are being smuggled into Russia.
And the big example, are they a low-cost consumer drones made by the DJI company. And I have to say, of course, that the DJI drones also find in the way onto the -- into Ukrainian service, as well.
[00:10:07]
So it's a curious thing that -- that the Chinese products are in service on both sides of the bomb (ph) line.
VAUSE: China is the -- you know, manufacturing hub of the world, I guess, in many ways. OK. So once I hear this resurgent Russia, in contrast to Ukraine, critically low on ammunition, especially artillery. Air defenses are failing. Troops are exhausted.
Is this how wars are won and lost?
LAYTON: Now this particular one, I think, yes. The attrition is certainly how -- is certainly how this war is -- is being fought.
If we go back to World War I, the Germans lost because they -- because they just simply lost, A, a lot more people and a lot more gear. And this one looks to be very similar.
Russia is about three times the population base. Therefore, Russia's -- Russia starts off very well-placed.
At the moment, the -- the Ukrainians are losing more than they can replace easily.
VAUSE: Peter Layton, thank you, sir. Thank you for your insights. Thank you for your analysis. Most appreciated.
LAYTON: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: Take care.
Well, during his address to a joint session of Congress, the Japanese prime minister made a plea on behalf of Ukraine. He urged American lawmakers to rise above, quote, "the undercurrent of self-doubt" about United States' leadership role in the world, especially when it comes to helping Ukraine survive this ongoing war against Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FUMIO KISHIDA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER: Without U.S. support, how long before hopes of Ukraine would collapse under the onslaught from Moscow?
We have announced over $12 billion in aid to Ukraine, including anti- drone detection systems. This is a part of NATO's aid package. And yes, we are even working with NATO.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The Japanese prime minister made his comments ahead of a White House summit with the presidents of the United States and the Philippines.
Live now to Hong Kong. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is following this for us.
That plea to lawmakers from the floor of Congress was sort of a reminder of the old days when, you know, the United States would stand up for liberty, freedom, and democracy. I guess in many ways, he would say quite bluntly to the -- to the Americans that Japan will stand with you. We will be -- we'll burden the responsibility, as well. I guess now that'll play out as he goes into this trilateral summit.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And from the United States hearing a message in turn that the U.S. would stand up for you.
This trilateral summit between the U.S., Japan, and the Philippines is a major move. A major move to counter China and its increasing pressure in the South China Sea, and China is pushing back.
In fact, today this morning, we learned that China's coast guard is patrolling near the disputed islands in the East China Sea. The Diaoyu or Senkaku islands. This according to state-run CCTV.
On Thursday, the U.S. president hosted the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, and the Philippines president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in this White House summit. It was the first of its kind by the U.S. and its two Asian allies.
And Biden said that U.S. defense commitments to both the Philippines and Japan remained, quote, "ironclad." Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States defense commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad. They're ironclad. As I've said before, any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels, or
armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: OK, he made reference to the mutual defense treaty, though. That's between the U.S. and the Philippines. It dates back to 1951. It says that both sides would help defend each other if either were attacked by a third party.
Now on Thursday, the United States, along with, you know, the Philippines and Japan, they announced plans to bolster the Philippines with a number of new infrastructure projects, including investments in -- let's bring up the graphic for you -- ports and rail, especially with the new rail and shipping corridor; clean energy; semiconductor supply chains; and wireless communications.
The three nations also pledged to deepen cooperation and global humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Now, also, on Thursday, Japan's prime minister addressed Congress. He called China the greatest strategic challenge, and China has pushed back.
We heard from China's foreign ministry saying this, according to Mao Ning. Quote, "U.S.-Japan relations should not target other countries, harm their interests, or undermine regional peace and stability. China firmly opposes the Cold War mentality and small group politics."
Back to you, John.
VAUSE: Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout there for us, as always, in Hong Kong. Appreciate it. Take care.
OK, to the Middle East now, where Israel is preparing for a possible attack from Iran, and the U.S. is working to prevent it.
[00:15:04]
Iran's foreign minister spoke by phone this week with his counterparts from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. U.S. officials reportedly called those three diplomats, urging them to help lower tensions in the region.
Israel is bracing for retaliation after an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. It was an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, in Syria last week that killed a dozen Iranian military officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is preparing for all scenarios. He's more of what he had to say during a visit to an Israeli air base Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are in the midst of the war in Gaza, which continues in full force. At the same time, we continue our unceasing efforts to return our hostages.
But we are also preparing for scenarios of challenges in other arenas. And we established a simple principle: whoever hurts us, we hurt him. We are preparing to meet the security needs of the state of Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, a top humanitarian official says famine could already be happening in parts of Gaza and reports that it is are credible. Samantha Power told lawmakers one in three children in Northern Gaza are malnourished, compared to nearly none before October 7, the start of the war.
Meantime, the Israeli military planning to build a new land crossing from Israel into Northern Gaza. The IDF says it will allow aid to flow directly to civilians in the area that had been -- which has been difficult for trucks to access.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, SPOKESPERSON, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: These new measures enable us to bring more aid and trucks destined for Gaza from overseas, including the via land crossing with Jordan, where we expect 58 trucks a day to pass through.
All of these efforts are due to close coordination with international partners and aid organizations to maximize our combined humanitarian efforts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: When we come back here on CNN, football stadiums across Europe on alert as authorities warn of possible attacks from ISIS, the same group that struck the concert hall in Moscow.
Also, millions glued to their TV as former U.S. football star O.J. Simpson unsuccessfully tried on leather gloves during that 1996 murder trial. Ninety-five murder trial, I'll say. It probably helped jurors to find him not guilty.
When we come back, a look back at the life and turbulent times of O.J. Simpson.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: O.J. Simpson, the former U.S. football star and broadcaster who was acquitted in the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend, has died at the age of 76.
His family says he died Wednesday after a battle with prostate cancer.
Renowned sportscaster Bob Costas says, at the height of his fame, he was, quote, "not just admired but loved or beloved."
But an attorney who represented the family of Simpson's ex-wife called his death a reminder of how celebrity men can avoid justice.
Tom Foreman has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[00:20:02]
LARRY KING, FORMER CNN HOST: Police believe that -- that O.J. Simpson is in that car.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For two hours over 60 miles almost 30 years ago, the low-speed pursuit of an American icon became an American sensation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People were leaving their homes and their work and wherever they were, and they were racing to these overpasses.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And when the white Broncos stopped for O.J. Simpson to face murder charges over the killing of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and Ronald Goldman, the country was hooked.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was our first introduction into reality TV and what it looked like, and we were obsessed.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Simpson was a superstar, a Heisman trophy winner in college, one of the most dazzling running backs in NFL history. For many black families, in particular, a runaway success.
O.J. SIMPSON, ACQUITTED OF WIFE'S MURDER: Nobody does it better than Hertz.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Juice was a beloved celebrity in commercials and movies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Norberg! (ph)
SIMPSON: Hi you, buddy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you?
SIMPSON: Doc says I should be on my feet and as good as new in a week.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And yet, his role as defendant eclipsed everything else. Through 11 months of court proceedings and nonstop media coverage, the nation was captivated by daily debates over DNA evidence, police procedure, and dramatical moments made for TV.
JOHNNIE COCHRAN, ATTORNEY FOR O.J. SIMPSON: If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.
FOREMAN (voice-over): When the verdict came down --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not guilty of the crime of murder.
FOREMAN (voice-over): -- by one estimate, 150 million people watched live, many splitting along racial lines over whether the ruling was just or just wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just unfair.
FOREMAN (voice-over): A massive civil suit by the victims' families did not go as well for Simpson, and he was ordered to pay tens of millions in damages. He lost his house and Heisman but kept hundreds of thousands in pension funds.
FRED GOLDMAN, FATHER OF RON GOLDMAN: Our family is grateful for a verdict of responsibility, which is all we ever wanted.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Simpson had future legal problems, too. In 2007, he was arrested after an armed robbery involving sports memorabilia he said was his.
SIMPSON: I am sorry. I didn't mean to steal anything from anybody, and I didn't know I was doing anything illegal.
FOREMAN (voice-over): He wound up convicted and sentenced to 33 years in prison. He was paroled in 2017.
And through it all, he maintained his innocence in the murders that changed his life and American society, too.
SIMPSON: Right now, I'm at a point in my life where all I want to do is spend time -- as much time as I can with my children and my friends. And I've done my time.
FOREMAN: For the families of the victims, the Browns and the Goldmans, O.J.'s continued presence in the news served as an open wound, a constant reminder to them of the justice they always felt was denied.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A controversial Texas law which empowers local officials to arrest suspected undocumented migrants is now on the law books in Iowa.
Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law Wednesday. It will take effect July 1.
Right now, the Texas law is on hold with a federal appeals court hearing argument on the law's constitutionality. The Mexican government, though, says the Iowa law criminalizes Mexican migrants. And it will explore legal resources to defend their rights.
U.S. officials have confirmed that hackers linked to the Russian government used Microsoft to target U.S. federal agencies. According to a senior U.S. cyber official, Microsoft notified several government agencies that hackers may have stolen email correspondence that included usernames and passwords.
But the official says there's no evidence yet that hacked credentials were used to get into active agency systems.
Microsoft first revealed the hacking back in January. Russia has denied involvement in this security breach.
Police in Paris boosting security ahead of this week's Champions League matches after threats from ISIS and its affiliate groups. And there's growing fear the terror group could strike in the United States.
Here's CNN's Melissa Bell, reporting in from Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was ISIS-K training in Afghanistan back in 2016.
Now, it is to the United States that the group presents an urgent threat, according to FBI director Chris Wray.
CHRIS WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: The potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, like the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia concert hall just a couple of weeks ago, is now increasingly concerning.
BELL (voice-over): That attack in Russia, the deadliest in decades, killing more than 100 and quickly claimed by ISIS-K, the affiliate of ISIS that's been regrouping in Afghanistan and the surrounding region.
ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: ISIS-K is like the blob that forms and reforms and disappears. What's left of it in Europe is a brand. And it's anybody who perceives a great injustice and has the capabilities can claim an attack in the name of ISIS. And this is what makes it so difficult to close this movement down.
[00:25:03]
BELL (voice-over): And now this clear sign that in the West, too, the group is back. A terror threat posted by the pro-ISIS al-Azaim media outlet, saying "Kill them all" and identifying four major European stadiums, including London's Emirates Stadium, Paris's Parc des Princes, and Madrid, where security was also tightened this week, as al-Azaim broadcast an image of a drone flying above the stadium with the message, "strike them from the sky."
BAER: But where people congregate, it's -- virtually is impossible to protect them, as we saw in Kansas City. Carrying weapons around this country is very easy. You can take a truck -- stolen, leased, whatever -- and run it into a mass gathering.
BELL (voice-over): The latest threats, only adding to the pressure already being felt in Europe, with France more than doubling the military personnel that patrol its streets in the wake of the Moscow attack.
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Our hope is that the culprits can be found as quickly as possible, and that we continue to fight effectively against these groups, which are targeting several countries.
WRAY: It makes it even more --
BELL (voice-over): Those groups now also targeting the United States at unprecedented levels, according to the FBI.
WRAY: I see blinking lights everywhere I turn.
BELL (voice-over): The attack on the Moscow Crocus music venue now seen as a wakeup call for the West, too, as ISIS-K revives long- dormant terror fears.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still ahead, the self-described tariff man, Donald Trump, promising an even more aggressive tariff regime: up to 100 percent on cars from Mexico, as well as other goods. That is, if he's reelected. Details when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who's accused of a multilayered scheme to overturn the 2020 election, is expected to hold a news conference Friday on election integrity.
He'll be joined by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. Details from CNN's Kristen Holmes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've just learned what exactly they are going to be talking about at this so-called press conference tomorrow. Again, this is between Speaker Mike Johnson and former President Donald Trump.
They had billed this as, quote unquote, "election integrity."
We are told by sources that they plan on using this as a, quote unquote, "opportunity" to draw attention to what they say are state proposals, legislation, and lawsuits that would allow noncitizens to vote.
Now, just to be very clear, federal law bans any noncitizens from voting at this time.
[00:30:03]
But it's truly become a rallying cry for Republicans, including the former president, who has even gone as far as to say that Democrats want undocumented migrants coming across the border, because they think it will help them in the 2024 election. It's not just the former president. We've heard from a number of
Republicans across the country, including one congresswoman out of New York, who say that they want to bring legislation forward that would stop non-citizens from voting.
But again, there is already a federal ban on noncitizens from voting.
Now, just to give a little bit of nuance here, there are some local laws -- this is in cities, in states across the country -- that allow noncitizens to vote in certain local elections, not federal elections. That will be something like the school board.
But that is not what they are talking about here. They are trying to link their pet issue, which is election issues, election fraud, to a very real issue of a very real concern for voters, which really is one of the top concerns for voters: immigration.
And so they are doing that through, right now, talking about noncitizens voting, how they are going to sway the election.
We are also told that the two of them, Trump and Johnson, are going to use this as an opportunity to relitigate the 2020 election. Not surprising thing there, since both of them really tried to overturn that election back in 2020.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: If Donald Trump gets a second term, it seems he wants to pose an even tougher tariff regime on inputs.
Trump, who once called himself Tariff Man, has floated these proposals for a second term: a 10 percent across-the-board tariff on imports, a 60 -- 60 percent tariff on imports from China, and a 100 percent tariff on foreign cars. All foreign cars, including from Mexico.
Some economists warn that this trade agenda, and the possible retaliation from other countries, will hurt the economy. It will increase inflation. It will kill jobs and may lead to a recession.
Rana Foroohar is CNN's global economic analyst, as well as a global business columnist and associate editor for "The Financial Times." She joins us this hour from New York. Good to see you.
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Great to see you.
VAUSE: OK, so Donald Trump loves a tariff, even if he has no idea how they work. Here he is speaking last month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT/2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line. And you're not going to be able to sell those guys. If I get elected. Now if I don't get elected, it's going to be a
bloodbath for the whole -- that's going to be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Right? OK. It is difficult to predict the economic impact from Trump's new, more aggressive approach to tariffs, but Moody's is predicting a 10 percent tariff on imports and a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods would cost the U.S. 675,000 jobs, wipe out 0.6 percentage points from U.S. GDP, and boost the unemployment rate by 0.4 percentage points.
Well, those numbers can be up for debate. The bottom line, though, is tariffs are specifically designed to increase the cost of certain imports, either by the importer paying that cost or the consumer paying that cost. Someone has to pay.
So right now, with the Federal Reserve struggling to bring down inflation, a policy which deliberately increases prices does not seem like a very good idea.
FOROOHAR: I would say that that is broadly true.
Tariffs are essentially what happened in the 1930s when we got the Great Depression it was interesting to me in, that clip, that Donald Trump is now talking about 100 percent tariffs. We went from 10 percent to 100 percent.
So you know that, in and of itself is a bit worrisome.
But you know, you can spin the numbers either way. By and large, most economists think that tariffs do raise prices.
Now, one thing I will say is that both the Trump administration, when he was in office and the Biden administration today are taking a different tact in terms of thinking about trade. I mean, they're thinking about not just prices for consumers, but what it means for workers when so many jobs go abroad to cheap -- cheaper labor countries.
So tariffs are basically about keeping Chinese goods out of America and thus potentially increasing U.S. industrialization. You can model that as a gain, but you can also model it as a loss. The bottom line is, we don't know. We haven't been here in 100 years.
VAUSE: Well, exactly, because 1922, the U.S. Congress raised import taxes by 40 percent. And then eight years later came the Smoot-Hawley Act. Congress raised tariffs by 20 percent. And we all know how that worked out. Not really good.
FOROOHAR: Right.
VAUSE: So you mentioned this is Great Depression. History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. What are the chances that Trump's tariff plan, if he gets a chance to implement it, will trigger a trade war with China? We could see a recession in the United States. You know, this seems to be a moment when the law of unintended consequences comes into play.
FOROOHAR: So you're 100 percent right that there are many, many unpredictable vectors in play.
I would argue, frankly, that we're already in a trade war with China. I mean, we've just seen a new 301 case come from the shipbuilding unions against Chinese shipbuilders. The president is going to be acting on that, or not, in the next 30 days or so.
[00:35:10]
You have worries about E.V. dumping. Janet Yellen just came back from Beijing, trying to get them to stop dumping cheap electronic -- or, sorry, electric vehicles into the U.S. and Europe. Didn't have much luck with that.
So tensions are high. Would they get worse if there was a 10 percent tariff? A hundred percent.
The big question is, what would happen in the U.S.? Would this result in a massive recession or even a depression? Or would you see a speeding up of reindustrialization, particularly boosts paired with a weakening of the dollar, which is what some folks both on the right and the left would argue.
VAUSE: In an opinion piece with "The Financial Times," you mentioned this bipartisan trade group in the U.S., which recently modeled the impact from a 35 percent tariff on all manufactured goods and a 15 percent tariff on non-manufactured goods.
And the result here was interesting. GDP up by $1.7 trillion; 7.3 million new jobs were created. Real household income was up by more than 17 percent.
So how does it -- how does one study end up saying that tariffs will end up costing 600 and something thousand jobs, whereas another tariff, it will create 7.3 million jobs. I mean, how do these things work?
FOROOHAR: Well, right there is your answer, John. Economics is a very fuzzy science, and it hasn't gotten a lot right in the last few decades. It hasn't predicted any financial crisis. It didn't tell us that, you know, when we sent jobs to China in the '90s, we were going to get a lot of cheap stuff, but also see hollowing out in the Rust Belt. It doesn't predict those kinds of things. It has not done a good job, generally, of predicting the future.
And I would just say lies, lies, and damn statistics. You can -- you can put the data in any which way to prove the point that you want to make.
VAUSE: And we shall leave it there. Rana, great to see you. Thank you so much. We really appreciate your
insights. And it's a very interesting point about the modelling, how you can basically get what you want at the end of the day.
FOROOHAR: That's right.
VAUSE: Good to see you.
FOROOHAR: Good to see you.
VAUSE: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. When we come back, rocker Lenny Kravitz has fans all lathered up over his leather pants. The viral video, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: So apparently, rock star Lenny Kravitz has been firing up his fans for decades. His latest video is going viral, not for the music, but for the muscle.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even superstars like Taylor Swift work out in athletic wear. Workout or wipe out, in an ad.
But not Lenny Kravitz. He posted himself pumping iron in leather pants, wearing a mesh top, sunglasses, and boots, inspiring comments like "My man never breaks character. Full-time rock star!"
[00:40:10]
The video gave one guy an excuse: "Reasons why I haven't started working out: One, I don't own any leather pants."
Kravitz lifted weights to his own music --
(MUSIC)
MOOS (voice-over): -- dressed to go direct from the gym to the stage.
"Do you think he baby-powdered his thighs in anticipation of sweating?" asked the website The Cut."
Can't quite imagine Lenny having to make like Ross from "Friends," sprinkling powder and slathering on lotion in an attempt to get sweaty leather pants back on.
Not since Lenny ripped his leather pants on stage and accidentally exposed his privates in 2015, has his leather given such pleasure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you see the footage where his, like, pants split, and stuff fell out of his pants?
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes. Yes. Do you think I could get that --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On YouTube? It's on YouTube.
CLINTON: OK. Good. I'll look for that.
MOOS (voice-over): At least Kravitz wasn't totally de-pantsed, like this woman, whose shoelace tripped her up, and the treadmill stripped her pants off.
And lest you think the weightlifting video was purely staged, it spawned a surge in images of Lenny's abs, especially impressive as he's about to turn 60.
Nothing leathery about Lenny except his pants. As one fan noted, "The man is even immune to chafing."
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, unlike Lenny's widely viewed leather, rare Roman paintings not seen for 2,000 years have been uncovered by archaeologists at the ruined Roman town of Pompei.
The artworks depict mythological characters linked to the Trojan War, including Helen of Troy and the Greek god Apollo.
They were found in a dining hall with black painted walls covered in these stunning frescoes.
According to the Pompeii archaeological park, the elaborate room provided ancient Romans with an elegant setting for entertainment and conversation during banquets.
Pompeii was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year 79 C.E. And archaeologists have been unearthing it and digging through it since the 1700s and continue to find amazing relics from the past. Thank you for watching this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause, back with more news at the top of the hour. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT is up next. See you soon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:45:31]
(WORLD SPORT)
[00:55:58]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Ahead this hour on CNN, Putin's revenge. A wave of Russian missiles and drones cause widespread damage to Ukraine's energy grid, retaliation, it seems, for Ukrainian drone strikes.
