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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Markets Close Down Ahead Of Trump's Midnight Tariff Deadline; Sen. Brian Schatz, (D-HI), Is Interviewed About Trump Nominees; Axios: Dem Senator Holds Up More Than 300 Trump Nominees; WH Praises Supreme Court After Deportations Ruling; RFK Jr. To Tell CDC To Stop Recommending Fluoride In Tap Water; Iran Exploiting Swedish Teens To Carry Out Anti-Semitic Attacks. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired April 08, 2025 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[17:00:38]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: The world's two biggest economies are in a face off. How will it end? The Lead starts right now.
President Trump just took his trade war with China up a notch, hitting Beijing with a tariff rate at a staggering 104 percent. Yes, you heard that correct, 104 percent. Who is going to blink as American consumers and companies brace for impact? We'll tell you where you will likely see prices rise first.
Plus, CNN is the first U.S. network in El Salvador's notorious mega prison since the latest round of deportees from the U.S. arrived. What has changed inside since Trump started sending migrants there? And is Trump really about to send American citizen prisoners there as well?
And tragedy in a nightclub, a roof collapse, dozens trapped underneath. And a World Series winning pitcher among the victims pulled from the rubble.
Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.
Only seven hours until President Trump's tariff train leaves the station and escalates the global trade war. Barring some 11th hour change of plans, which the White House says will not happen, these new blistering tariffs will officially go into effect at midnight Eastern Time on countries around the globe. That includes China, one of the biggest, most consequential players in this trade war. Just think of how many everyday goods are manufactured in China for better or for worse. Or who have components built in China.
Laptops, the smartphone you might be scrolling right this second, the clothes and sneakers you're wearing, the furniture upon which you sit, and on and on. Tonight, the Trump administration says it will impose tariffs of at least 104 percent on China. That number is so high, Trump says, because Trump attacked on an extra 50 percent after saying China missed the deadline to stand down on its own threat of retaliatory tariffs. Despite a rally this morning, U.S. stocks closed down once again after it became clear that Trump showed no signs of stopping or pausing the tariffs. All week, the market has been reacting to the mixed messaging. And will they, won't they energy coming from the Trump administration. First they said tariffs were not about negotiation. Then they said, hey countries, bring U.S. your best offers to make some deals.
And in the midst of that, we got ourselves a public spat complete with juvenile name calling between two top Trump officials. CNN's Alayna Treene asked the White House about it earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: There's been some public sparring between Elon Musk and the president's trade adviser Peter Navarro on some of these tariffs. Musk actually referred to Navarro today as being, quote, "dumber than a sack of bricks." Are you at all -- or is the administration, the president all concerned that this is maybe impacting the public's understanding of these tariffs? It might be messing with the message on it?
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: No. look, these are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs. Boys will be boys and we will let their public sparring continue. And you guys should all be very grateful that we have the most transparent administration in history. And I think it also speaks to the president's willingness to hear from all sides.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: This is not the most transparent administration in history. And it's boys will be boys, except with trillions of dollars of wealth vanishing into the ether.
CNN's Ivan Watson is in Hong Kong for us. And CNN's Jeff Zeleny is at the White House.
Jeff, there are more developments in this Elon Musk versus Peter Navarro public spat. But first, tell us what the White House is saying ahead of these global tariffs set to go into effect this evening.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, just a few minutes to go. Here in the East Room of the White House, the president defended his tariff policy once again and he talked about the open door negotiations that many countries now are having. Japan, one key example, he said, flying here to Washington to negotiate anew with the White House. He said sometimes you have to mix it up a little bit. But there is no question here that this is one of the most severe effects we've seen on the economy just six days after announcing that plan. But just a few moments ago in the East Room he defended his tariff proposals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're doing very well in making, I call them tailored deals, not off the rack. These are tailored, highly tailored deals. Right now Japan is flying here to make a deal. South Korea is flying here to make a deal and others are flying here. It's been amazing what's happened. Sometimes you have to mix it up a little bit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Amazing what's happened. That's also the view on Wall Street, but in a very different way.
[17:05:00]
The president not acknowledging the deep losses again today in the financial markets. He's also not weighing in the ongoing spat between his top advisors, which Elon Musk continued this afternoon, of course. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier, boys will be boys, but Elon Musk continue that saying this, Jake, "I'd like to apologize to all the bricks for calling Peter a sack of bricks earlier. It was unfair to those bricks." So clearly going back and forth.
Navarro, the top trade advisor here, not responding to Elon Musk.
TAPPER: Yes. And --
ZELENY: Jake.
TAPPER: -- using a slur for the intellectually disabled.
ZELENY: The R word.
TAPPER: Yes.
Ivan, 104 percent tariffs are set to go into effect on China at midnight. The White House says China wants to make a deal, but they don't know how to get it started. What is the government of China saying and how will these massive tariffs impact the overall trade war?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, the Chinese are not backing down right now. They are accusing the U.S. of abusing these tariffs, saying the smacks of unilateralism and protectionism. They say they do not see signs that the Trump administration wants to talk or wants to have a genuine dialogue. And the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday said that China would fight to the end in a trade war that it says it does not want.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIN JIAN, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (through translator): Pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right ways to engage with China. If the U.S. disregards the interests of both countries and the international community insist on launching a tariff or trade war, China will fight to the end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Right. So no signs at all of backing down. Of course China has a trade surplus with the U.S. It has about six -- last year it had about $582 billion worth of exports to the U.S. which dwarfs the U.S. imports to China. And that gets to the crux of what President Trump is so angry about. So China does stand to potentially lose more trade here.
When President Trump first announced the tariffs last week, China waited till Friday, a national holiday, the tomb sweeping holiday, to announce that it would match his 34 percent tariffs. We have yet to hear how it would respond to him doubling those in effect. Chinese state media has suggested some of the potential measures that it could take, which is to further tariff U.S. agricultural products, soybeans and sorghum which are imported in large amounts, pausing cooperation on fentanyl, restricting U.S. films going to Chinese cinemas and creating further barriers to services. Those are some of the measures that could potentially move forward.
The Chinese have also been saying that they've had eight years to prepare for this. A final thing here as both countries are preparing to weather this trade war in storm is that there is a nationalist response. The vice president, J.D. Vance, repeatedly referred to Chinese peasants, in his words, producing these imports. That has been viewed many times on Chinese social media with a lot of outrage. And the Foreign Ministry responded to that, calling his remarks ignorant and impolite, referring again to Chinese as peasants.
Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. Thanks so much.
CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich, which is at a New York City grocery store.
Vanessa, give us an idea, what are some of the products that will be immediately impacted by tariffs? And how are local businesses, stores like the one you're in preparing?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The grocery store is the place where Americans are likely to feel these higher tariffs and these price increases first on things like fresh produce that come in and out of the country every single day. Here at Morton Williams, where we are, they haven't seen the high prices yet, but they are bracing for them. On fresh produce like bananas, they get shipments in six days a week. These are from Costa Rica.
These over here are from Ecuador. Both countries hit with that 10 percent universal tariff that went into effect on Saturday. I want to take you to the seafood section here because this is where some of the prices might rise the most because those countries where Morton Williams, this store gets their seafood are getting hit with those high reciprocal tariffs set to take effect at midnight. This shrimp over here, they get it from Indonesia and also from Vietnam. A 32 percent tariff on Indonesia, 46 percent on Vietnam. And then salmon, the U.S. imports more than $1 billion worth of fish every single year. This salmon comes from Norway. They're being hit with a 15 percent tariff.
I want to walk you over, Jake, to the coffee section. Coffee prices have seen really record high prices in recent months because of bad climate, bad weather in key coffee growing countries, mainly in Africa. So this is the coffee section here.
[17:10:08]
Hello, miss.
And these companies may have been able to stockpile a bit because these are nonperishable items. However, once those stockpiles run out, Jake, these coffee items, some in particular from Brazil and Ethiopia, are getting hit with that 10 percent tariff. And ultimately these grocery stores, these types of grocery stores run on such thin margins, Jake, that the owner says unfortunately they are just going to have that -- have to pass that cost down to you, the consumer, Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Vanessa Yurkevich with the tunes of Madonna behind her. Thank you so much.
Canada has just confirmed its new retaliatory tariffs will go into effect tonight. Essentially a 25 percent tariff on auto imports from the United States into Canada. This in response to tariffs that the United States put on the Canadian auto industry.
With us now, the Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly.
So Minister Joly, where did negotiations stand right now between Canada and the United States? Are you talking with the Trump administration? Is there any hope for a last minute reprieve?
MELANIE JOLY, CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Well, at this point there's no on, how can I say, there are ongoing discussions, but there's no ongoing negotiation. I was at NATO last week, saw Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, had some constructive conversations. But at the same time we're still under tariffs for steel and aluminum. We're still under tariffs because of also the auto sector. We just, as you mentioned, Jake, we just imposed new tariffs for all non USMCA compliant cars coming to Canada.
And also what we're under is that 25 percent tariff based on fentanyl crossing the Canadian border going into the U.S. Well, we know that actually there is less than all of the fentanyl -- less than 1 percent of all fentanyl going into the U.S. that comes from Canada. So we're active. We know that tariffs are a tax on hardworking Americans. I was watching your report.
We know that it is a tax on Americans grocery bill. It is a tax when also Americans go at the gas pump. And more than that, what we're seeing now is it is also just a double whammy because not only is it a tax, not only will people pay more, but at the same time they're losing more because markets are in turmoil and people are losing money for their retirement.
TAPPER: Yes.
JOLY: So nobody's winning out of this trade war. And the first impacted are those watching us right now, the hard working American people.
TAPPER: So today a journalist asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about the timing of any tariff negotiations. Take a Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is the President operating on any sort of a timeline or deadline where he wants this completed by?
LEAVITT: Well, we always move at Trump's speed here at the White House, which is incredibly fast. All options are on the table for each country. But again, these are going to be tailor made deals. They are not going to be off the rack deals, as the president has called it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So she says that they're moving at Trump speed. What do you make of that? Is it possible that there will be speedy trade negotiations?
JOLY: So we're in a campaign right now. The elections in Canada are on April 28th. The Prime Minister, Prime Minister Carney and President Trump had a first phone call. We said that we would be ready to negotiate after the election, which are basically less than three weeks. At the same time, we want to make sure that we can negotiate not only on trade, but also on security.
And we need a full partnership. But at the end of the day, what we know, Jake, is the relationship between Canada and the U.S. will never be the same. This -- the trust was affected by what happened. This trade war was launched out of nowhere against your best ally, friend and neighbor. And we want to make sure that we can be constructive.
But we're not naive neither.
TAPPER: Yes.
JOLY: We know -- we know we have to protect our own jobs and our own economy. And of course, meanwhile, we're talking to the world. And the world is reacting in different ways. Canada is leading the charge in terms of our own response, making sure that we have counter tariffs against American products. But at the end of the day, like I mentioned, the American people are the ones that are most affected.
TAPPER: Yes.
JOLY: So my message also to those watching us, Jake, right now is please talk to your Congress people, talk to your governors, talk to people in power, because they all need to send a clear message to the White House that that's enough.
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TAPPER: Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, thank you so much. Appreciate your time today.
Coming up, the alarming recommendation --
JOLY: Thank you.
TAPPER: -- from RFK Jr. He's directing the Centers for Disease Control to change their guidelines when it comes to fluoride in water. What research says about this practice that has been common for decades?
Plus, one Democratic senator's bold protest trying to change some of the consequential policies that have come from the -- come from President Trump. That senator will join me next to explain what he's doing and whether it will work.
But first, some breaking news. A ruling just in on the lawsuit filed by the Associated Press against the Trump White House when it comes to the Associated Press's access to the White House, which has been curtailed. Stay with us for that breaking story.
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TAPPER: We're back. We have some breaking news for you now. A ruling in that lawsuit by the Associated Press against the Trump administration over the ban on access to certain parts of The White House.
[17:20:01]
CNN's Brian Stelter, our media reporter is here.
Brian, this judge, we should note, is a Trump appointee. What did he decide?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: That's right. He says the White House ban against the AP is unconstitutional because it's a form of viewpoint discrimination. However, this judge did not immediately restore the AP's access. Associated Press reporters will not be allowed back in tomorrow necessarily. He delayed his order for one week, expecting an appeal from the White House as this case goes on.
But the AP had been asking for immediate relief because this blockade was put into effect back in February by the Trump White House. This case stems from Trump telling the government to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. The AP has customers around the world, including in Mexico. So it still says Golf of Mexico, while also acknowledging Trump's order of Golf of America. The Trump White House objected to the AP's editorial decision making.
They started keeping the AP out of small press events in the Oval Office, also big press conferences, and banned the AP from Air Force One. Basically, the AP is no longer a part of the press pool. The Trump White House also took over the press pool and now chooses who's allowed in on any given day. So the AP filed suit in federal court. And this judge, Trevor McFadden, he has now ruled in the past few minutes saying he's issuing a narrow ruling here, saying that the government offers no other plausible explanation for its treatment of the AP.
The Constitution forbids viewpoint discrimination even in a non-public forum like the Oval Office. He's saying you don't have to let everybody in, but if you're going to let some journalists in, you can't discriminate against the AP just because of their point of view. In this case, the point of view is that the Gulf of Mexico is the name known in other countries. And of course that is true. This has been a quandary for news outlets that are fearing a slippery slope.
But for now, at least, today, the AP winning in court, Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Brian Stelter, thank you so much for that breaking news.
Let's turn to our politics lead now. While millions protested this weekend against President Trump and Elon Musk's government shake ups, one senator in is trying to resist in his own way. He's using a parliamentary rule to gum up the Senate's business by placing holds on more than 300 Trump nominees and several bipartisan foreign relations bills, that's according to Axios. The senator is Brian Schatz. He's a Democrat from Hawaii and he joins us now.
Senator, we have seen some Democrats trying to demonstrate to the country, to Democratic voters, some pulse, some passion. Senator Cory Booker did his 25 hour record breaking speech. Why do you think this method of putting up a hold on Trump's nominees and bipartisan legislation is a good way to get your message across?
SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ (D-HI): Well, look, we've got limited leverage. They have a 53 to 47 majority, but that doesn't mean we have no leverage. And so where I have some authority here is I cannot grant them unanimous consent. At the end of every evening, they try to pass a bunch of bills and nominations kind of in a arcane language, wrap up script. And I'm just objecting to that.
If they want any of these nominees or these bills to receive a vote, they have to schedule the vote. But this will slow them down. And this is designed to lay down a marker both about the lawlessness of the Trump administration, but also about the fact that Donald Trump himself is destroying the American economy on purpose.
And so, look, Cory did an extraordinary thing. I think people all across the country are doing extraordinary things. I'm trying to do whatever I can. And my message to everybody is we need to get a little less fussy about the particulars of the tactics. And whatever is available to you to try to resist this creeping autocracy and the destroying of the American economy, everybody should do everything that's available to them.
TAPPER: So Axios reports that among the legislation you're blocking is one that, quote, "seeks to counter activities by the terrorist group Hezbollah in Latin America and another condemning China's assault on Hong Kong's democracy." Those seem pretty important. Why block them?
SCHATZ: Yes, I mean, look, part of what it means to do a hold is that sometimes you're going to block things that you would otherwise allow to happen. And that's the case for these. I voted for both of those pieces of legislation in committee. But we have to generate some leverage. And so until Secretary Rubio comes to the committee and testifies about what they're doing in terms of illegally eviscerating United States aid, I'm not going to allow those -- even those bipartisan bills to move forward.
It's not that I will never let them go forward, but where we have some leverage to gum up the works, we got to use it to make sure that -- especially in the Senate, they do need both parties to make progress. And we have to be willing to stand up to these folks and gum up the works, even if it's politically uncomfortable to block a bill that you would otherwise before.
TAPPER: So last time I remember gumming up the works, such as this was by Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville. He was putting holds on military promotions. This is what you said in July 2023 about that.
[17:25:00]
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHATZ: Every senator has enormous power. I could probably block the defense bill this week if I wanted to, but I won't. You know why? Because I'm not a maniac. Because I understand that when you vest someone through your voters with this kind of power, you have to be very careful how you exercise it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Are you no longer being careful with how you're exercising the power?
SCHATZ: No. There's a pretty important distinction between what Senator Tuberville did and what I'm doing. These are political appointees which are always subject -- are usually subject to a Senate vote. And so what I'm doing is slowing them down. What Senator Tuberville did was prevent a one star admiral from being a two star admiral. These are career Department of Defense flag and general officers that were blocked.
That is not the same as what I'm doing.
TAPPER: All right. Democrat from Hawaii, Senator Brian Schatz, thank you so much. Always good to have you on, sir.
SCHATZ: Thank you.
TAPPER: The conversation continues in two special events. First, tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern, Anderson Cooper will moderate a town hall with independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Then the day after that, Thursday, join me alongside CNN's Kaitlan Collins for a town hall with four lawmakers from battleground states. Republican Mike Lawler of New York, Republican Ryan McKenzie of Pennsylvania, Democrat Johanna Hayes of Connecticut and Democrat Derek Tran of California. That's this Thursday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.
Coming up next, CNN inside El Salvador's notorious mega prison. We are the first network since President Trump started sending deportees to this facility to be there. What's changed since the first time were there? That's ahead.
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[17:31:01]
TAPPER: In our World Lead today, the White House said that President Trump will meet with the president of El Salvador next week on the agenda. Of course, the U.S. using El Salvador's Supermax prison for deporting suspected gang members who are not citizens in the United States. And, as well, they're discussing the possibility of sending American prisoners to this facility. Here's White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt when asked about that today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These would be heinous, violent criminals who have broken our nation's laws repeatedly. And these are violent, repeat offenders in American streets. The President has said, if it's legal, right, if there is a legal pathway to do that, he's not sure. We are not sure if there is. It's an idea that he has simply floated and has discussed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: This follows yesterday's five to four ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of the Trump administration, saying that they can continue to use the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport alleged gang members who are not U.S. citizens.
CNN's David Culver just returned to El Salvador's notorious mega prison and shows us what's changed since the latest round of deportees arrived from the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So we're going to go into Sector 4 right here. But if you look just straight down there at the very end, that's Sector 8. That's where the deportees are being held. We cannot go into that sector.
When I ask why, he says, it's not part of this approved tour. But we will go into Sector 4 right now. And he said we're going to notice a difference from the last time we were here. The last time we were here, the director tells me, there were roughly 80 or so people inside each of the jumbo cells. This time, he said, notice the numbers. It's a bit more crowded. He suggests a bit more than 100.
Buenos dias.
UNIDENTIFIED MEN: Buenos dias.
CULVER: Why are there more people here? He says the state of exception, essentially the state of emergency that's been declared under President Bukele going back 2022, will not end until the last gang member has been taken from the communities and brought here to CECOT.
He said everybody's got the same conditions. It doesn't matter where you are, including Sector 8. This is the place where El Salvador says they keep the worst of the worst. And now the U.S. is sending deportees here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: David Culver in El Salvador with that report. Thank you so much. Let's bring in Chad Wolf, who served as Acting Homeland Security Secretary at the end of Trump's first term. Secretary Wolf, good to see you.
Reacting to the Supreme Court's ruling that allowed the Trump administration to move forward with deporting Venezuelan migrants in the U.S. illegally using this Wartime Powers Act, a group of Democratic senators and representatives issued a joint statement writing that the ruling, quote, will unquestionably harm people caught up in this oppressive nightmare. This decision also leaves unanswered whether the President's dangerous and unprecedented invocation of the wartime authority to go after immigrants was lawful in the first place, unquote. What's your response to that?
CHAD WOLF, FORMER ACTING HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Well, obviously, I disagree with that letter. Look, I think this is an authority that the administration and President Trump is using, again, to target MS- 13, TDA and others and remove them out of the country. A lot of these individuals, Jake, you need to remember, a lot of them have final orders of removal.
And so they are -- they are subject to removal. And, of course, they're going back to El Salvador. So I think part of this is the fact that the Trump administration is actually using authorities and removing people to other third countries where they can be housed. And it's something that hasn't been done before.
But, of course, we know that the Trump administration uses all the authorities at their disposal to make sure that they're protecting Americans.
[17:35:02]
TAPPER: Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed by President Trump, as you know, sided with the court's three liberal justices dissenting against Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act. She's getting a lot of criticism online. Responding to Republican Senator Mike Lee's post, Elon Musk said, quote, suicidal empathy is a civilizational risk. What's your reaction to that? WOLF: Well, again, my reaction is the Supreme Court, by, you know, obviously a five to four decision, allowed President Trump and his team to go forward using this authority. There's always going to be criticisms of judges and -- and the decisions that they make and things of that nature. But I'm just glad in this case that the majority obviously was in favor here and allowed this to continue to go forward.
Look, they -- they also indicated, and of course the government stipulated, that there needed to be a judicial review so that individuals can say, look, it's not who you say I am. And they have that -- they have recourse laid out in this ruling as well.
TAPPER: In an interview with Axios, President Trump's border czar Tom Homan says, ICE is the agency that will decide if a detainee is linked to a gang and should be deported immediately. Mr. Homan also said, quote, I've talked to the highest level at ICE and they've reassured me several times. Everyone that was removed under the Alien Enemies Act was a gang member and a terrorist, unquote.
But I have to say there has been a real reluctance by the Trump administration to provide any evidence of these claims to judges or to the legislative branch. Don't you think that our system of checks and balances would work more effectively if this evidence was presented?
WOLF: Well, no, not necessarily. Look, a lot of that evidence is likely law enforcement sensitive and others. So you're not going to just turn that over. But -- but again, you know, it's interesting. The same people that are so concerned about terrorists being removed from the United States did not have that same concern when millions of individuals were coming across that southern border under four years of the Biden administration.
So I -- it's obviously very hypocritical of this. Look, President Trump and his team are doing everything that they can. ICE uses law enforcement techniques and methods to identify who is a gang member. And in the case of the one individual that's been sent down there that's at the, you know, the middle of a lot of this, a judge even indicated that he had MS-13 ties.
So, look, law enforcement will continue to do that. There should be a -- a process if -- if they disagree, which, again, the Supreme Court laid out. And so that is available for folks going forward.
TAPPER: Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the judge rule that in a -- in an immigration court where the rule is that ICE claims have to be given the presumption of correctness, right?
WOLF: Well, that's correct. I mean, again, that's the law. And again, it can go before an immigration judge to adjudicate that. And in this case, obviously, that needs to be in Texas where they departed for El Salvador.
TAPPER: I want to play you something else that President Trump said. This is about the possibility of sending U.S., American citizens who are inmates, who are prisoners to an El Salvador prison. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we could take some of our 20-time wise guys that push people into subways and that hit people over the back of the head and that purposely run people over in cars, if he would take them, I'd be honored to give them. I don't know what the law says on that, but I can't imagine the law would say anything different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Today, the White House press -- press secretary said this is just an idea that's being discussed. What -- what do you make of the idea of sending American citizens who are prisoners to prison in other countries?
WOLF: Yes, obviously, we've heard President talk say, you know, President, sorry, President Trump say this a couple of times. He's very interested in this. Look, I think it's 00 it's outrageous the number of folks that are in prison today, what it costs the American taxpayer, folks that are in there for life and -- and other charges. So, obviously, that needs to be looked at.
The legality of sending U.S. citizens from the United States to be housed somewhere else, again, I would agree with President Trump. I don't know what the legality of that is, but I think, look, all options should be on the table here. I think we have an unprecedented crime problem here in the United States, but particularly illegal aliens coming in. We need to obviously deal with that, and that's what the team is doing there in the White House.
TAPPER: Former Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, thank you so much, sir. I appreciate your time, as always.
WOLF: Thank you.
[17:39:28]
TAPPER: RFK Jr. is out with a suggestion for the CDC that is stunning people in the medical community, again. This time he's calling for the agency to drop its recommendations for fluoride in your drinking water. What do past studies show about this practice? What does the research not show? That's next.
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TAPPER: Our Health Lead now, Health and Human Services Department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, to change its recommendations when it comes to fluoride, which has been in America's public drinking water at small amounts for nearly a century. It helps people, regardless of age or income status, stave off tooth decay. And yet, here's RFK just yesterday in Utah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: The evidence -- evidence against fluoride is overwhelming. I'm very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it, and I hope many more will come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: The CDC heralds fluoride in water as one of the 10 greatest health achievements of the 20th century. Obviously, we're talking about small amounts of fluoride. A reminder, Secretary Kennedy has no degree in health. He has no degree in medicine. He has long been regarded by accomplished health officials as a purveyor of false information. CNN's Meg Tirrell is with us now.
[17:45:09]
Meg, RFK Jr. talks about overwhelming evidence. What is he referring to?
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, probably the most recent piece of evidence they're pointing to, and they talked about this in the press conference yesterday, he was also joined by the EPA administrator, was a report that came out last summer from the National Toxicology Program, which found that at, quote, moderate confidence that higher levels of fluoride in water, they're talking about levels at 1.5 milligrams per liter of water, those are consistently associated with lower IQ in children.
This has really been the main issue people are focusing on with potential safety risks of fluoride. But Jake, the fluoride levels that are recommended in U.S. water systems are less than half that, 0.7 milligrams per liter, and that same report found that more studies are needed to fully understand the potential for lower fluoride exposure to affect children's IQ. So at those low levels, these safety issues have not been seen.
TAPPER: A vast majority of Americans live in communities with fluoridated water and have for decades. How would this even work?
TIRRELL: Yes, so 63 percent of the U.S. population right now has fluoridated water through their community water systems. And Jake, this is a really local decision. Usually this is towns, this is cities and counties that are often voting on whether they want to fluoridate their water. Utah now is the first state to ban fluoride in water, and that means that counties like Salt Lake County, which was where they had that press conference last night, are going to have to take it out.
Salt Lake County's Public Health Department told us that they support community water fluoridation as a safe, proven, and efficient way to improve oral health community-wide, as you said, regardless of income level or access to regular dental care. Jake, a lot of folks see this as the best way to help everybody, regardless of your ability to pay for dental care.
TAPPER: Let's turn to another urgent public health matter that RFK Jr. has been a font of disinformation about, measles. New numbers are out when it comes to the measles epidemic. What can you tell us?
TIRRELL: Yes, we've surpassed 500 cases now in Texas, where this measles outbreak is large and growing. We also know, of course, the second death there in a school-aged child was reported over the weekend, and we talked about that yesterday. This has spread to at least three other states.
We also heard from Texas health officials on the ground there today that this is starting to change. There is now an outbreak in a daycare in a more urban setting, and the health director of Lubbock was saying that she's worried now this is going to expose people in grocery stores and malls, Jake. So we're seeing a lot of measles cases, and they're unfortunately expecting this to continue to grow for some time.
TAPPER: Meg Tirrell, thank you so much. Some tragic news was just confirmed.
[17:47:45]
CNN can report that former World Series winning pitcher Octavio Dotel was among those who was killed in the nightclub roof collapse, and we're going to go live to the scene where crews are searching for possible survivors. That tragic story, next.
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TAPPER: In our World Lead, anti-Semitic crime is on the rise in Europe. And a CNN investigation is revealing how Iran's notorious anti-Israel, anti-Semitic regime is orchestrating some of the most brazen anti-Semitic attacks from behind the scene, including, as CNN's Katie Polglase reports, enlisting Swedish gangs and preying on young people via social media to do their bidding in crime-for-hire plots against Jewish people, Jewish businesses, and synagogues.
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KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (voice-over): Attacks on Jewish and Israeli sites in Europe have been on the rise in recent years, the U.S. and its allies have warned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two men accused of planning attacks on a Jewish restaurant in central Athens.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).
POLGLASE (voice-over): Among the targets, a synagogue in Germany and a Jewish restaurant in Greece. Western intelligence says Iran is behind some of these plots, working with criminal networks. Now a CNN investigation based off court documents and security sources has found they're often using the most vulnerable in society to do it.
And it was in Sweden where we found the youngest suspects. Last May, a 15-year-old set off for the Israeli embassy in Stockholm. We found text messages he received along the way.
Take the gun. Load it, they tell him. The police stop him en route, but the next day, a 14-year-old makes it.
POLGLASE: He fired several shots near the embassy, just behind me here, and then ran in this direction, throwing the gun as he fled. And as police caught up with him, they grabbed him, chucked him to the ground, and then they noticed he was still holding his phone, and someone was calling him.
POLGLASE (voice-over): Who were these kids talking to, and why were they directed to an Israeli target? Police say the attempted attacks were among several last year targeting the Israeli embassy in Stockholm.
Swedish intelligence told CNN Iran is behind these plots, using two Swedish gangs, led by Rawa Majid and Ismail Abdo, running Foxtrot and Rumba. Both are wanted by Interpol.
Christoffer Bohman spent 20 years investigating organized crime for Swedish police and says the involvement of foreign state actors complicates the picture.
CHRISTOFFER BOHMAN, FORMER SWEDISH POLICE OFFICER: Now it's transformed to be globally. You have people sitting in other countries dictating the crime. They are sending messages to Sweden, kill that one, kill that one, and so on. It's easier when you have the gangs, you have the people on one place. Now everything is global, and everything is also digital.
[17:55:19]
POLGLASE (voice-over): Social media is indeed key. We found dozens of messages online offering kids money for violent crimes. Skull emojis indicating a killing, dollar emojis indicating payment, the gamification of gang warfare. Rene Lobos knows these kids well. He himself used to be part of one of Sweden's most notorious and violent gangs. The change, he says, is how online adverts now recruit the kids.
RENE LOBOS, FORMER SWEDISH GANGSTER: If they see in that app, they see a list, it's like a work to do here. You've got a work to do here, who wants to take this one? You're going to get paid like this, so much money, and they take it. They take it. They take the job and they -- and they do it, and then they get paid.
POLGLASE: So the crime is like a service?
LOBOS: Yes.
POLGLASE (voice-over): But the reality can be deadly. In the outskirts of Stockholm, the latest children's graves. A stark reminder of the ultimate cost young people pay for gang violence. Groomed to service Swedish gangs, now, authorities say, exploited by Iran.
It is vulnerable children at the heart of Iran's shadow war with Israel. Katie Polglase, CNN, Stockholm, Sweden.
(END VIDEOTAPE) TAPPER: And our thanks to Katie Polglase in Stockholm, Sweden.
Since this story was published on CNN.com, Iranian authorities responded saying they, quote, firmly reject involvement in such actions, adding that no substantial proof has been provided. That's what they claim. They also claimed what they call, quote, the Zionist regime and anti-Iranian circles, end quote, were behind these accusations, which they say aims to tarnish Iran's foreign relations, especially with Europe.
Ahead, what lawmakers on Capitol Hill are hearing from the Trump administration on trade and the future of this tariff war. Stay with us.
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