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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Trump's Refusal To Rule Out Recession And Tariff Fears Spark Market Sell-Off; Interview With Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT); Law Firms Targeted By Trump; GOP Rep. Bacon On Trump's Handling Of Ukraine War: "This Administration Is Walking Away" From The Legacy Built By Eisenhower And Reagan; Reagan's Daughter: "He Wanted America To Be A Strong Partner In The World To Defeat Tyranny And Aggression"; Man Accused As "Predator" By Rep. Nancy Mace Breaks His Silence; U.S. College Student Vanishes In Dominican Republic On Spring Break. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired March 10, 2025 - 20:00   ET

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

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: And so, and who will take care of these folks? In some places, they're the only EMT for hundreds of or thousands of acres in any direction. So, it remains to be seen if people rise up and say, these are our lands. This is America's best idea -- the National Parks --

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Right.

WEIR: Let's not ruin them.

BURNETT: Right, well, absolutely and people that work there, they know it, they love it and there's something so incredible to visit a park and talk to Rangers, it's incredible. All right, thank you very much.

WEIR: You bet.

BURNETT: And thanks so much to all of you, Anderson starts now.

[20:00:33]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360, there's breaking news. President Trump sparks recession concerns in a market sell-off by what he didn't say. Senator Bernie Sanders joins us to discuss the state of the economy.

Also tonight, a Republican Congressman complains about Trump's treatment of Ukraine. He wants a return to Ronald Reagan's peace through strength. We'll hear from Reagan's daughter, Patti Davis.

And later, an exclusive. A man accused on the House floor of being a predator by Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace breaks his silence.

Good evening. Thanks for joining us.

It is rare for President Trump to not appear in front of a camera, but today he was nowhere to be seen, which meant reporters couldn't ask him about this. The massive stock selloff that began the moment the bell rang. The Dow was down almost 900 points. The NASDAQ took the worst, beating

down four percent. The NASDAQ's decline was at biggest day decline since September of 2022.

More than an hour after markets closed, the White House did finally put out a statement touting the President's economic agenda and first term record on the economy. It didn't mention the massive drops today, nor what sparked it.

The culprit wasn't a poorly received report of jobs, GDP or consumer spending as is often the case, it was what the President himself said in this interview aired on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK HOST, MORNINGS WITH MARIA": Are you expecting a recession this year?

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing wealth back to America, that's a big thing. And there are always periods of -- it takes a little time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, it was a pretty simple question that deserved a straightforward answer, but that was not what the reporter got. He was asked that same question again on Air Force One and here's what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Are you worried about a recession? Maria Bartiromo asked you, and you kind of hesitated.

TRUMP: 'll tell you what, of course you hesitate. Who knows? All I know is this, we're going to take in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, twice the President of the United States was asked whether he was expecting a recession this year. Twice he avoided the question.

For markets already spooked by the uncertainty and potential for higher prices surrounding those tariffs on Canada and Mexico. You just heard him mention this was too much, particularly compared to how his Commerce Secretary answered that same question Sunday morning on another network.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS: Should Americans brace for a recession? HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: Absolutely not. There's going

to be no recession in America. I would never bet on a recession. No chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, the President seems has no such confidence, which is notable after he spoke so highly of last week's jobs report and after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, last week said the U.S. economy continues to be in a good place, perhaps it's not surprising he didn't want to be on camera today as the markets crashed after all, he has often tied a President's performance as a leader to the stock market.

During a brief dip in the markets in late October and early November, Trump blamed it on Democrats. He said online, "You can't play games with markets -- Kamala crash."

And in 2015, months after he entered the Presidential race, he tweeted this after a market decline, "Markets are crashing all caused by poor planning and allowing China and Asia to dictate the agenda. This could get very messy. Vote Trump."

Well, repeatedly on the campaign trail, Trump warned a Democratic victory would lead to a decline in markets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If Harris wins this election, you will quickly have a Kamala economic crash. You're going to have a crash.

If we lose, you're going to have a crash like you wouldn't believe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, he also said the only way to avoid a market crash would be to elect him. In fact, one line he used repeatedly throughout much of 2024.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Did you see that? Their stock market crashed when we won.

Many people say that the only reason the stock market is up is because people think, I am going to win.

And we are a nation whose stock markets continue success is totally contingent on MAGA winning the next election.

We are a nation whose stock markets continued success is contingent on MAGA winning the next election.

If we don't win the next election, the stock market will crash just like it did in 1929.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: As for the possibility of a recession, here's former Treasury

Secretary Larry Summers earlier today on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY SUMMERS, FORMER U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: On January 1st, no one thought that a recession was a substantial likelihood. And today, market prices and consensus opinions of economists suggest a very real risk of recession.

I think we've got a real possibility of a vicious cycle where weakening economy leads to weaker markets and then weaker markets lead to a weakening economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:05:29]

COOPER: We'll start things off with CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins who also anchors "The Source" at the top of the next hour.

What is the mood inside the White House today? Why is the country not hearing from Trump?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's quite remarkable, Anderson, and just to give people a sense of how this works at the White House, typically, they put out the schedule and there will be several events on Trump's schedule that are closed to the press, as was the case today.

There were three events on his schedule this afternoon, and more likely than not, one of them at least opens up to the press. That is often when you see the President behind the Resolute Desk taking questions from reporters, as he has for the last six weeks or so since he's been back in office.

And we were expecting events at the White House to open up today, at least one of them. And then we were later told by the White House that when he was going to sign an executive order, it would not be opening to reporters.

That was right around the time that the markets were closing today, and it was notable because we've often seen the White House time certain interviews or comments to reflect the stock market when it's about to close or how traders are looking at it that day, and it is notable that it was complete silence from the President today, at least in front of the cameras despite having at least three opportunities to speak to reporters, he declined to do so.

And it comes, of course, after that interview where he not only declined to rule out the possibility of a recession. He also talked about his tariff policy overall and pushed back on this notion that businesses need certainty, that they need to know what's going to happen here. It's not just about the tariffs, it's the fact that they're being

threatened and imposed and then suspended and, you know, postponed for a few weeks or for a month potentially, that has really raised a lot of the questions for these businesses that they have about what is actually going to go into place.

But in that interview, the President said he does not expect tariffs to go down. He said if anything, Anderson, they might go up. And so, that is the real question here of what that's going to look like, because the President is obviously saying that.

We're hearing the translations from his Commerce Secretary and top aides who are saying they don't believe there's going to be a recession, but obviously, also as this comes as were expecting more tariffs to be imposed on at least steel and aluminum by the administration this week.

COOPER: Kaitlan Collins, thanks very much. We'll see you at the top of the hour.

Joining me now is Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent from Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats. Senator Sanders, thanks very much for joining us. Do you think there'll be a recession?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Not me, but I think there is so much chaos in the world right now created by -- you know, we have a trade war with our two neighbors, Canada and Mexico. You have the President of the United States wanting to take over the Panama Canal, take over Greenland, God knows what else.

We are laying off -- Mr. Musk is now laying off or proposing to lay off hundreds of thousands of federal employees. What will that mean to the Veterans Administration? What will that mean to Social Security? What will that mean in terms of unemployment? So, I think all of those questions creates a lot of economic uncertainty.

COOPER: President Trump has said many times on the campaign trail that he would not touch entitlements like Social Security or Medicare, which I know are priorities for you.

Elon Musk, however, seems to be leaning in the other direction. I want to play something, he said in an interview today to Fox Business.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY: The waste in entitlement spending, which is all of the -- which is most of the federal spending, is entitlements. So, that that's like the big one to eliminate because that's sort of half trillion maybe $600 billion or $700 billion a year. That is also a mechanism by which the Democrats attract and retain illegal immigrants, by essentially paying them to come here and then turning them into voters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: So, I mean, what do you make of his desire to cut entitlements? He says he wants to go after waste and fraud and the reason you just heard him use.

SANDERS: Well, he has called Social Security a Ponzi scheme. They have already laid off 2,500 employees of the Social Security Administration.

Anderson, I think I speak for probably every member of the Senate, in that the calls that we get in large numbers are people who are saying, I'm trying to get a hold of Social Security, I've got a disability issue. I can't get ahold of anybody.

And the reason is the Social Security Administration today is understaffed. There are estimates out there that tens of thousands of people with disabilities die while they're waiting for those benefits to come to fruition.

They apply, they're waiting, they're waiting. And now, if you do, as Musk and others are proposing, not only 2,500 Social Security employees, they want to cut half of the Social Security employees. That will be a disaster. That will mean that millions of people who are, you know, calling up, they're not going to get an answer.

[20:10:27]

So, if you ask me, I think this is a prelude not only to cutting benefits, but to privatizing Social Security itself. I think that's in the back of their mind.

If you make the system dysfunctional, why would anybody want to support it? And that's consistent with what Trump said in his State of the Union Address. Oh, there are millions of people, thousands of people 200 years old and 150 years old.

What does all of that about? It happens to be a lie. It's not true, 99 percent of the benefits go to people. More than that go to people who have paid into them.

So, why do you lie so much about Social Security. Why do you make it look like it's a broken, dysfunctional system? The reason is to get people to lose faith in the system, and then you can give it over to Wall Street. That's my view.

COOPER: Is there any way to get more transparency about what Elon Musk is doing? I mean, the only thing like the public sees besides his posts on X are this, you know, so-called wall of receipts and, you know, CNN, "The New York Times," David Fahrenthold of "The Times" has, you know, looked at the numbers that are being posted for the alleged savings that they're making, and a lot of them are phony.

I mean, $8 billion contract for ICE canceled turned out to be an $8 million contract.

SANDER: Well, I mean, two things. I am the ranking member, leader of the opposition on the Health Committee -- Health, Education, Labor -- and I have requested of Senator Cassidy, the Chairman of it, to bring Musk before the committee. I think the American people would like to hear him answer questions from members of the United States Senate. And I will tell you, Anderson, just this last weekend, I was in

Wisconsin and Michigan. We had, you know, whole lots of people, far more people showing up than I had anticipated. We had 9,000 people in Warren, Michigan, and people are angry. They're confused.

They see the richest guy in the world going around saying, hey, were 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?

So, the idea that we have oligarchs, people with incredible wealth trashing programs that working people desperately need is, I think, unacceptable to the vast majority of the American people.

Now, they're going after Social Security, they're going after the Veterans Administration. And obviously in their so-called Reconciliation Bill, they want to give huge tax breaks over a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the top one percent and they pay for that by cutting Medicaid by some $800 billion and cutting nutrition programs for children by a couple of hundred billion dollars.

So, I think the American people are saying, you know what? We're struggling enough right now, 60 percent living paycheck to paycheck, don't give tax breaks to billionaires, cut programs that working people, don't go after Social Security, don't go after the Veterans Administration and the men and women who put their lives on the line to defend us.

COOPER: Do you see America moving to a kleptocracy where, you know, people have loyalty oaths? If you want to get a job in the civil service, where, you know, pay money, you get access.

SANDERS: Well, look, you've got, you know, during Trump's inaugural, as you know, the three richest guys in the country, Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg were there, right behind them, with 13 other billionaires who Trump had nominated to head major government agencies.

So, I would say without any doubt that you have a government right now. You know, Lincoln talked about a government of the people, by the people, for the people. I think it's fair to say you have a government today of the billionaires, by the billionaires, and for the billionaires.

COOPER: And before I let you go, I just want to ask you, Elon Musk was something -- Elon Musk said today about your colleague, Senator Mark Kelly, after Senator Kelly posted on X about a trip he'd made to Ukraine over the weekend, Musk commented, you are a traitor. Does --

SANDERS: I mean, it's disgusting. It is absolutely -- this by the way, Kelly is a military guy who serves his country, went to Ukraine to get a sense of how the Ukrainian people are responding to Trump's betrayal of the country, if you like, and you have Musk talking about Mark Kelly as a traitor.

I mean, this is -- I mean, it is really unspeakable. It really is and I think the American people are sick and tired of the wealthiest guy in the world running the United States government and calling, in this case, a guy who put his life on the line to defend us, a traitor. That's beyond the pale.

[20:15:22]

COOPER: Senator Bernie Sanders, thank you for your time tonight.

SANDERS: Thank you.

COOPER: Coming up next, a new strategy by President Trump is unlike any we've seen from a President. Trump is now targeting attorneys at big law firms in Washington, D.C. Their alleged crimes simply representing people that the President doesn't like. We're talking about attorneys who worked for Hillary Clinton's campaign back in 2016, attorneys who are representing former Special Counsel Jack Smith right now.

It's not just retribution, it is also intimidation designed to make any lawyer think twice before helping a client who runs afoul of President Trump or his administration. We'll have details on this next.

Also tonight, Patti Davis, the daughter of former President Ronald Reagan, on this moment in American politics in which she believes her dad would think about what's going on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:20:28]

COOPER: President Trumps assault on the Judiciary by attacking judges and even their families when their rulings don't go his way is well documented. But now, as President, he's taking an even more aggressive approach, going after law firms that represent clients like -- that the President doesn't like.

The first to feel his wrath is a law firm which represents former Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Smith, as you know, is now a private citizen but as special counsel with the Department of Justice, he brought criminal charges against Trump in two cases.

Smith is expecting to be the subject of a number of investigations by Republicans in Congress, for which he'll need legal help. Now, in late February, the President signed a memo suspending the Act of Security Clearances of lawyers for from a firm called Covington & Burling, who represent Jack Smith.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Hold it, this is a good one. Is everybody listening? Deranged Jack Smith we're going to call it the Deranged Jack Smith signing or bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: In some cases, when sensitive materials are involved,

attorneys need security clearances to adequately represent a client. For instance, Donald Trump's attorneys had security clearances working on the classified documents case against him and other cases as well.

If Mr. Smith's attorneys can't have access to sensitive documents, the question is, can he be adequately represented in National Security matters by them? According to legal scholars, it could also violate the First Amendment's right to free speech and Fifth Amendment's guarantee of due process, and the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel.

It's not just one firm that's been targeted so far. Another firm, Perkins Coie, it's called. They've been targeted. They represented Hillary Clinton's campaign when she ran against Trump and they hired an opposition research firm, which ended up producing the now infamous Steele dossier.

Lawyers at Perkins Coie are currently working on a case challenging Trump's ban on trans servicemembers, and the President has also attacked them for having internal diversity initiatives. Four days ago, that law firm security clearances were also suspended and they've been banned from entering some federal buildings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This is an absolute honor to sign. What they've done is just terrible. It's a weaponization, you could say weaponization against a political opponent. And you're looking at about 15 different firms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That or more, sir, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Fifteen firms or more, the question left in the air, of course, is who's next? And that's a question the President likely wants law firms asking themselves these actions against two prominent firms certainly send a chilling message to other firms about taking on cases that President Trump might not like, even if individual lawyers may be brave enough to incur the wrath of the most powerful man in the world, the other attorneys at their firm may not be. And the other clients of these firms may cancel their business because they're afraid the President will then punish their companies just by using one of these law firms.

That, it seems, is not an accidental byproduct of the President's actions. It sounds like that's the point. Yesterday, in an interview on Fox Business, the President threatened more firms will be targeted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have a lot of law firms that we're going to be going after because they were very dishonest people. They were very, very dishonest. I could go point after point after point and it was so bad for our country. And we have a lot of law firms that we're going after. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, joining me now is former Ambassador Norm Eisen. He was special counsel to House Democrats. And President Trump's first impeachment is now the Executive Chair of the State Democracy Defenders Fund, who have a number of pending legal motions against the Trump administration. And just this afternoon, according to this posting by Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, Norm's security clearance was revoked per directive of the President.

I'm also joined by Erin Mulvaney with "The Wall Street Journal," whose latest piece is titled, "Fear of Trump Has Elite Law Firms in Retreat."

So, Erin, can you just walk us through your reporting? What are attorneys at these firms saying? Probably not on the record, but about what's going on?

ERIN MULVANEY, REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": I think chill is definitely the right word that you had at the top of the segment. I think there's just a fear of any kind of retaliation, maybe even not, of what happened to the first two law firms that you mentioned. They're fearful of losing clients. They're fearful of retaliation against their clients.

COOPER: Because other clients who aren't -- don't have a case against the President of some company that has this firm representing them. They might be fearful that, well, the President will go after this company because they're attorneys, he doesn't like.

MULVANEY: Yes, exactly. I think that -- and were also talking about these types of firms are the biggest the most elite. They represent the biggest companies in the world too. So, they go hand in hand.

And I think that's why it's a bit alarming that, you know, law firms can step back. Everyone can get a lawyer of any kind. And yes, and to some extent they do choose their clients. Well, they do choose their clients, but it's a matter of -- but they're just doing their job. That's what the lawyers would say.

But the idea that Trump is willing and will retaliate against them, if there's a perceived notion that they're coming after him, or enemies, I think that's what's alarming, that even the biggest firms out there.

[20:25:26]

COOPER: And, Norm, I mean, you're involved in multiple cases challenging the administration. We mentioned your security clearance getting pulled. But by the way, does anyone notify you or did you just hear that through Tulsi Gabbard's, you know, announcement?

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: My phone started blowing up, look at Tulsi Gabbard's tweet and Anderson, President Trump had said he was going to do this several weeks ago right after we secured a court order in one of our cases at Democracy Defenders, protecting thousands of FBI agents from retaliation for working on January 6th cases. So, you really have to see this as a kind of a backhanded compliment

where working on over a dozen cases and we've gotten those orders in many of the cases in response to illegal behavior by the administration. And, this is more retaliation. Plenty of lawyers are going to stand up to it.

COOPER: And, Erin, in terms of the retaliation, it's revoking security clearances. What else?

MULVANEY: There are also firms that work with big companies that have government contracts and Trump is asking to investigate those government contracts and potentially revoke them --

COOPER: Wow, so not related to the case, they're working on just any government contract this firm may have.

MULVANEY: Right, I mean, if you read the executive order, it's very clear that the firms are being targeted, not the work they're doing necessarily. Even the one about Jack Smith is about the firm being the problem and same --

And the second was much more sweeping. It called for investigations into DEI practices, revoking of government contracts, you mentioned access to federal buildings. It's written a little broadly. So, it's not clear if that means federal courthouses.

And the second law firm, Perkins Coie, has said that they see it as patently unlawful, the move, and they will challenge.

COOPER: And, Norm, I mean, for you, this feels like, I mean, administrations have had contentious relationships, you know, with law firms in the past. But this feels like they're pulling levers which have not been pulled before.

EISEN: Anderson, it's illegal. It's a violation of the Constitution. The first time they try to keep me out of a courthouse will be right in front of a judge within minutes, I guarantee you that judge will have me in the courthouse. You have to understand it in a pattern, Anderson. Donald Trump said he was going to be a dictator on day one. The essence of dictatorship is breaking the law and these unconstitutional actions --

COOPER: What's illegal about this?

EISEN: Well, it violates First Amendment, freedom of speech. There's no due process at all. It cuts off my client's Right to Counsel if I need and I do security clearances to represent clients. This won't hold up in court. Just like so many others of Donald Trump's actions, illegal spending freezes, Mr. Elon Musk and DOGE pulling over personal data, the firing of those FBI agents.

I'll be in court this week on an illegal firing of tens of thousands of probationary employees. We've gotten order after order from the courts, myself and our partners, cutting that off. Yes, you need lawyers and law firms to bring those cases, but the retaliation won't work. Perkins Coie got one of the best firms in the country to represent

them. And I think you're going to see some law firms will be scared. But many attorneys are going to take this as a backhanded compliment. Anderson, you know what, I'm doubling down, and so are my colleagues at Democracy Defenders.

COOPER: I heard a number of firms turned down, I think Perkins Coie initially, but yes, they do have a very good law firm now representing them. Ambassador Norm Eisen, I appreciate it, Erin Mulvaney as well. Thanks so much.

Coming up, Ronald Reagan's daughter, on her father's aspirations for world peace and how he might see this moment in the Republican Party. And Congresswoman Nancy Mace made a shocking speech on the House floor last month accusing a group of men of being predators. Randi Kaye has an exclusive interview with one of them ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:34:23]

COOPER: A Republican lawmaker is warning that President Trump's position on the war in Ukraine is undermining America's influence in the world stage. Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, had this to say when asked by CNN's Pam Brown if he thought Trump was being too conciliatory towards Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

REP. DON BACON (R), NEBRASKA: We are the leader of the free world, but right now, many countries are questioning, are we still the leader of the free world? We may be the most powerful country in the world, we were the leader of the free world, but it appears to many leaders and people all over, to include Republicans in Nebraska, that this administration is walking away from that legacy that was built by Ike Eisenhower and all these presidents and really a capstone of Ronald Reagan, peace through strength, and building these close alliances. And we are undermining that legacy right now.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

[20:35:11]

COOPER: His comments mirror the message from President Reagan's own daughter, Patti Davis, in an op-ed over the weekend in the New York Times about why her father chose to run for president and his vision. She wrote, quote, "I knew he wanted America to be a strong partner in the world, bonding with other countries to defeat tyranny and aggression".

Patti Davis joins me now. She's the author of "Dear Mom and Dad: A Letter about Family, Memory, and the America We Once Knew". Patti, it's great to have you on again. Thank you.

You write about the night your dad's -- of your father's first inauguration, and you were staying in the Lincoln bedroom, and he came in and you had a talk, and you said, you write, "He said, 'I really believe I can make this world a safer, more peaceful place. That's why I ran for president'."

You went on to say, "When he left and the stillness of Lincoln's bedroom folded around me with all of its history and stories, I was struck by the fact that he spoke about the world, not just America."

What do you think he would make of this moment in our history?

PATTI DAVIS, DAUGHTER OF FORMER PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: I think he would be heartbroken. I think he would be grieving. And, you know, one of the reasons that I wanted to write this op-ed is that, I don't know about you, but I feel that grief everywhere, and it transcends politics. You know, people who didn't support my father -- and listen, I disagreed with my father. I protested some of his policies.

This is not -- this is beyond politics. This is the relationship between us and our country, which is, you know, it's every bit as profound as one's relationship with another individual. And the America that I grew up in, that we all have known, is one that had alliances and was friends with other countries, and it would go to other countries who were in trouble, who were being tyrannized, or invaded, or, you know, otherwise suffering from famines, for example.

I was thinking recently about 1985, and We Are the World, to help Africa with their famine. That's the America that we know, and that we have been bonded with, and suddenly that America is no longer that. You know, suddenly we're hated in the world.

COOPER: It's --

DAVIS: And I don't, you know -- go on.

COOPER: It's interesting, because for all the political criticism of your father, some of which, as you said, came from you back in the day, I don't remember a lot of people believing -- I mean, the idea that he would be seeking vengeance or retribution, that would have been kind of impossible to imagine.

DAVIS: Well, because it wouldn't have happened. I mean, that wasn't -- you know, that phrase, peace through strength, I think we have to define what strength is. And strength is not -- I don't think bullying is strength. I don't think being overly aggressive is strength. Strength is forming alliances.

It doesn't mean that you don't hold your ground, or you don't take a stand, or something like that. But it's understanding that, you know, you need partners in the world. And I just -- I don't think that anybody, even people maybe on the far right, if they're really being honest, would say, oh, yes, this is good.

America's going to be completely isolated and have no friends in the world. This is good. This is the America we want. I can't imagine anybody thinking that.

COOPER: You mentioned peace through strength. Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin, and you mentioned her in your piece, she delivered the response to President Trump's congressional address last week. And she criticized the president for using that famous line from your dad.

I just want to play the clip of what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D), MICHIGAN: President Trump loves to say peace through strength. That's actually a line he stole from Ronald Reagan. But let me tell you, after the spectacle that just took place in the Oval Office last week, Reagan must be rolling in his grave. We all want an end to the war in Ukraine.

But Reagan understood that true strength required America to combine our military and economic might with moral clarity. As a Cold War kid, I'm thankful it was Reagan and not Trump in office in the 1980s. Trump would have lost us the Cold War.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

COOPER: The moral clarity, I think, is an interesting phrase, because I do think that's something that your dad did view things in terms of morals.

DAVIS: He did. You know, I said in my piece that even, you know, despite my disagreements with his politics, his policies, I never doubted his motivations. And, you know, I saw my editor at The New York Times sent me a couple of the letters that were in the comments section -- I don't read the comments section for my pieces because, you know, sometimes they're not nice, so I don't read them -- but she sent me a couple of the letters, and they were both from people who honestly said, I didn't vote for Ronald Reagan, I didn't support his policies, but I miss him.

I miss his -- I'm paraphrasing a little bit -- his vision of America, his understanding of who America is supposed to be in the world.

[20:40:31]

And like I said, I, I mean, I walk around now with this feeling of grief, like I've lost the country that I knew and that I loved, and that I was taught about from a very, very young age.

My father taught me about the Holocaust at a really young age, I mean like eight years old, that America was, you know, this force in the world that if another country was in trouble, would cross oceans to help them.

COOPER: Patti Davis --

DAVIS: Well --

COOPER: Yes, thank you for being with us. I appreciate it.

DAVIS: It doesn't seem to be who we are now.

COOPER: Yes. Thank you for being with us. And I recommend people read --

DAVIS: Thank you.

COOPER: -- your op-ed in the Times from this weekend. Thank you.

Coming up next, an exclusive Congresswoman Nancy Mace delivered an unprecedented speech on the House floor, calling out several men by name and accusing them of being predators. One of them tonight breaks his silence with our Randi Kaye.

Plus the new details on the U.S. college student who vanished during spring break in the Dominican Republic in the search that's now on for her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:46:08]

COOPER: Last month on the House floor, Congresswoman Nancy Mace delivered a blistering speech nearly an hour long, accusing four men of being, quote, "predators".

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

REP. NANCY MACE (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call out the cowards who think they can prey on women and get away with it. Today, I'm going scorched earth.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

COOPER: Well, one of the accused couldn't be reached by CNN. The three others have denied any wrongdoing and say that Mace's speech tarnished their reputations and personal lives. One of those three is talking to our Randi Kaye. Here's her exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIAN MUSGRAVE, RESPONDING TO ALLEGATIONS BY REP. NANCY MACE: For the rest of my life, when someone Googles Brian Musgrave, this is going to be the thing that comes up. It's catastrophic.

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Brian Musgrave, speaking exclusively to CNN for the first time since South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace labeled him a predator during a speech on the House floor.

MACE: These men aren't just criminals, they are predators. And you can see the names and the faces of these predators on this board.

KAYE (voice-over): That was Mace last month at the U.S. Capitol.

MACE: These men didn't just harm their victims, they recorded their depravity as if it were a badge of honor.

KAYE: Have you ever done any of the things that Nancy Mace is alleging you did? B. MUSGRAVE: Absolutely not. No, no.

KAYE: Have you ever witnessed any of the things Nancy Mace alleges you were a part of?

B. MUSGRAVE: No.

KAYE (voice-over): For 53 minutes, Mace talked about Musgrave and these other men, including Patrick Bryant, Mace's ex-fiance. Mace accused her ex of, quote, "evil crimes", including rape, recording sex acts without consent, and sex trafficking.

She accused all of the men of taking part in premeditated, calculated exploitation of women, including herself and some girls who she said were underage.

MACE: One of the first videos I saw was of a woman. She was incapacitated, and she was being raped.

KAYE (voice-over): Mace said she found more than 10,000 hidden camera videos and photos, but didn't provide any evidence. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division told us they are investigating, and we've confirmed that videos do exist, but a source would not comment on the contents. CNN has not independently reviewed any videos or photos.

KAYE: When she made that speech on the House floor, she put her hand on a Bible and swore to tell the whole truth. Did she?

B. MUSGRAVE: No.

KAYE (voice-over): Jen Musgrave defended her husband to us.

JEN MUSGRAVE, BRIAN MUSGRAVE'S WIFE: He's nowhere near any of those things that she was accusing him of. He's just a really good man. You know, we've been together 28 years, married 22 years. He's my best friend.

KAYE (voice-over): Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter are Brian Musgrave's lawyers.

KAYE: Have you seen any evidence against your client?

ERIC BLAND, ATTONEY FOR MUSGRAVES: We have seen zero evidence of it.

KAYE (voice-over): They sent this letter to Representative Mace requesting she either provide evidence that links their client to the alleged acts or retract her allegations against Musgrave and issue an apology.

RONNIE RICHTER, ATTORNEY FOR MUSGRAVES: What we want is to put a period on the conversation about Brian Musgrave to try to restore his good name and reputation. When she posted that speech on Twitter, on X, it's now up to 1.8 million views.

BLAND: He's lost 80 percent of his customers. His daughter goes to college. His son's in high school. They have to answer for your father being an alleged rapist, an alleged predator, an alleged sex trafficker.

KAYE (voice-over): Mace's lawyer, the House General Counsel, responded to Musgrave's lawyers with this letter, noting that SLED is investigating the matter and any request for such evidence should be directed to SLED. Musgrave's lawyer, Eric Bland, called that a typical government response, a non-answer.

Musgrave, meanwhile, told us he believes Mace named him because of his decades-long friendship with her ex-fiance and the fact they own a vacation rental condo together on Isle of Palms near Charleston. Musgrave says that condo is outfitted with a camera in the kitchen, though it's unclear if that is one of the cameras Mace was referring to.

[20:50:07]

Another attorney for Mace did not respond to requests for comment on Musgrave's accusations.

B. MUSGRAVE: The camera was placed on top of the refrigerator in the kitchen area to make sure that nobody was messing around in the condominium.

J. MUSGRAVE: It's a security type of camera way out in the open. You see it when you walk in the kitchen. Patrick put that up for his use, so we, Brian hasn't seen it, didn't have access, control over anything.

B. MUSGRAVE: The most control I could have over that camera would be to unplug it.

KAYE (voice-over): In their letter to Mace, Musgrave's lawyers made it clear that their client has never hidden any camera anywhere on the property and that Musgrave is unaware of anyone else hiding cameras within the property.

Mace said she brought the case to state authorities. South Carolina law enforcement, known as SLED, told us in a statement it is specifically investigating allegations of assault, harassment, and voyeurism and the subject of the investigation is Patrick Bryant.

We tried reaching Mace's ex-fiance, Bryant, numerous times. Then his representative sent us this statement, in which Bryant denied all criminal allegations.

B. MUSGRAVE: I've known Patrick a long time. I don't think he's capable of any of this.

KAYE (voice-over): Another of the men Mace named, Eric Bowman, told us in a statement that no wrongdoing has been committed. We were unable to reach the fourth man Mace named.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

KAYE (on-camera): In her speech, Mace also pointed fingers at South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson for not investigating this. But his office told us in a statement that he wasn't even aware of her allegations until her speech on the House floor.

Also, one note about immunity. In his letter, Mace's lawyer says her statements are absolutely protected by the speech and debate clause in the U.S. Constitution. Musgrave's lawyers don't argue that point.

They are quick to point out, though, that Mace acted beyond the House floor, saying she posted her speech on social media, and that poster board that showed the men as predators was posted outside her office. Those lawyers say that those actions were not protected by the speech and debate clause, and that opens her up to a lawsuit.

Anderson?

COOPER: Randi Kaye, thanks very much.

Coming up next, details on the massive search underway for the U.S. college student who disappeared on spring break in the Dominican Republic. What investigators are saying about the case.

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[20:57:01]

COOPER: In the Dominican Republic, a search is underway for a missing University of Pittsburgh student who vanished during her spring break. Danny Freeman has more on the mysterious disappearance.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dominican National Police are leading the search for 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki, deploying drones, K-9 units, and helicopters in the area around the Rio Republica Hotel in Punta Cana, where Konanki was last seen. Her family has now traveled to the Caribbean nation to help with the search, her father telling ABC News.

SUBBARAYUBU KONANKI, FATHER OF MISSING STUDENT: My daughter said that she is enjoying her trip, spring break and everything was going OK. And she was really happy.

FREEMAN (voice-over): What's unclear, though, is if foul play was involved, or if there was a terrible accident. Konanki was last seen with a group of seven other people in the early morning hours last Thursday. The group was drinking on resort grounds before heading to the beach around 4.15 a.m., according to a law enforcement source.

According to law enforcement sources, surveillance cameras showed five women and one man leaving the beach around 5.55 a.m. Konanki is believed to have stayed behind with a young man in his 20s. Those CCTV cameras also showed that man left the beach area around 9.55 a.m., about four hours later, with no signs of Konanki.

The man, who may have been the last person to see Konanki before she disappeared, has been interviewed by police. Sources say the young man is not considered a suspect at this time, but one source told CNN that his version of events has changed slightly in three different accounts to authorities.

In every version, he said they were at the hotel beach and went into the ocean, but then he got out after feeling sick and fell asleep on a lounge chair. But he had different accounts of when he last saw Konanki. The cover-up belonging to Konanki was found on a lounge chair on the beach, and authorities say there are no signs of violence.

Originally from India, the Konanki family has lived in the U.S. since 2006 and are permanent residents. Law enforcement officials in Loudoun County, Virginia, where they currently reside, are not ruling anything out.

SHERIFF MICHAEL CHAPMAN, LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA: I'm not going to rule anything in or rule anything out. You know, obviously the circumstances are concerning as to what happened down there. We're looking into it the best that we can.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Konanki's father told CNN he wants authorities to investigate all possibilities, including whether this is a case of kidnapping or human trafficking. For her part, Konanki is a biology major at the University of Pittsburgh, and she's on the board of a South Asian fusion a cappella group.

Her father describing her as a very nice girl, ambitious. She wanted to pursue a career in medicine. On campus, shock and sadness.

ALLISON LEWIS, FRESHMAN, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: It's definitely really, like, concerning. It's definitely something that everyone should be really processing, because it can happen to anyone.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

FREEMAN (on-camera): Now, Anderson, in a post to social media this evening, the Dominican National Police reiterated they're truly doing all that they can to try and find Konanki. That includes re- interviewing potential witnesses and also expanding forensic surveys of the surveillance video that they already at this point have collected.

And, Anderson, I'll just note the extensive amount of resources that are being used to try and find Konanki. The Dominican Republic says that they're using the Dominican Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, and that's in addition to our own FBI, who's on the ground in the Dominican Republic, again, aiding this search as well.

COOPER: All right.

FREEMAN (on-camera): Anderson?

COOPER: Danny Freeman, thanks very much.

That's it for us. The news continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.