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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Is Marking 100th Day In Office With Rally In Michigan; Trump Complained To Bezos About Amazon Tariff Charge; Trump Signs Few Laws In First 100 Days As He Pushes To Expand Executive Power; 142,000 Undocumented Migrants Deported Since Trump Took Office; Canadian PM Declares Victory In Race Overshadowed By Trump; NYT: Crypto Firm With Ties To Trump Family Raises Ethics Concerns; Soon: Trump Speaks In Michigan To Mark 100 Days In Office. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired April 29, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not really.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: That's what I thought. All right. Jake Tapper is standing by for The Lead. Jake, nice to see you. I don't know if you want to add to our little chat here or. I'm sure you're about to cover the top 100 days.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: We're going to cover the top 100 days. I can't. I can't outdo your panel. They did a great job there. But thanks so much. We'll see you back in the arena tomorrow.

HUNT: We'll see you soon.

TAPPER: Sources telling CNN that a pissed President Trump personally phoned Amazon's Jeff Bezos today. The Lead starts right now.

When the trade wars hit, President Trump's call to the founder and executive chair of Amazon peeved that the company would consider displaying the cost of tariffs on Amazon's spin off cheaper goods Amazon Haul website. The latest drama as President Trump gets ready to officially mark 100 days in office in Michigan.

Also ahead, divided on politics united on the need to talk. A Republican and a Democrat will do so here before they travel to El Salvador where Trump is deporting so many undocumented immigrants.

Plus, paging Dr. Gupta. We're paging him to examine the impact of Trump's health policies, vaccines and chronic disease, banning food dyes on children's health.

Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to start on our politics lead. In less than an hour, President Trump is expected to take the stage in the state of Michigan to mark the 100th day of his second term. As the president looks to celebrate this moment, we want to take through some of the more momentous events of these last few months.

There was the Rose Garden event that Trump dubbed Liberation Day, in which he announced a slew of tariffs on nearly 90 countries that sent global markets tumbling and left many U.S. business owners confused about the impact for their own companies.

While the president insists lots of good deals are being negotiated because of that day, there is DOGE or the Department of Government Efficiency, where Elon Musk aimed to take a, quote, chainsaw to the federal workforce. At least 121,000 federal employees have been laid off or targeted for layoffs by DOGE so far in an attempt to dramatically reshape the size and workforce of the federal government.

It has been eight weeks since that heated Oval Office meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Trump and his vice president, J.D. Vance, publicly berating Zelenskyy for not being more appreciative of American support. The confrontation left a strained relationship between the two countries. Both are still trying to mend it as the U.S. works to broker a peace deal to end Russia's war with Ukraine. There is, of course, fighting illegal immigration.

The president invoked a wartime law to deport hundreds of undocumented migrants to a prison in El Salvador. 142,000 others have been deported, actions that in some cases have raised questions of due process that have led to a showdown with the judicial branch.

Though this is an issue we should note, where the president currently enjoys some of his strongest public support. I could go on. These actions have reshaped world trade, U.S. alliances, the financial stability of the country and the federal workforce.

And overall, a new CNN poll underscores Americans are a majority of them not happy with these changes. We'll have more of that in a moment.

But let's start with CNN's Jeff Zeleny, who's live for us in Warren, Michigan, in Macomb County, north of Detroit, where President Trump is set to speak in a little bit.

Jeff, what are you expecting to hear in the next hour?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, we expect President Trump to take an early victory lap. The signs here at this rally really spell that out, saying 100 days of greatness. But we've been spending some time here talking to voters who supported President Trump and those who did not. And really, across the board, there are many more questions than expressions of greatness.

Even among Trump supporters we talked about the economic anxieties they are experiencing in their daily lives came through loud and clear. But it's the whipsaw effect of the on again, off again tariff program that came up again and again in our conversations that show the 100 days is far too early to judge a presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAE)

ZELENY (voice-over): Pashko Ujkaj is still waiting for the economy to catch fire. He's owned the Dodge Creek Coney Island Diner for more than two decades. And this year hasn't been easy for him or his customers.

PASHKO UJKAJ, OWNER, DODGE PARK CONEY ISLAND: The economy is probably number one on people's minds. You know, they want to be able to afford the gas, afford food, groceries.

ZELENY (voice-over): President Trump is just down the road today marking his 100th day in office with a visit to Macomb County, Michigan.

ZELENY: Last year, when President Trump was in Michigan campaigning a lot, it was going to bring prices down.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Slash your prices, raise your wages.

ZELENY: Does it feel better? Does it feel about the same?

UJKAJ: It doesn't right now. But is it going to better? I always like to think positive.

ZELENY (voice-over): He's more optimistic than a majority of Americans. According to a new CNN poll, 59 percent of whom, say, Trump's policies have made the economy worse. He doesn't need a poll to tell him what his dining room already does.

[17:05:05]

UJKAJ: People, for example, instead of coming out three, four times a week, might only come out two times.

ZELENY (voice-over): Trump wouldn't be back in the White House without winning working class strongholds like Macomb by 14 points, which helped seal a statewide victory in a sweep of all battlegrounds.

KOHN WALLUS, RETIRED AUTO WORKER: I just wish that the message was clear on where he's going with the team tariffs.

ZELENY (voice-over): John Walllus, an Army veteran and retired autoworker, has voted for Trump three times, but is not sold on his economic policy.

WALLUS: The implementation is a little choppy, for lack of a better term. On again, off again. Correct. Stating a certain goal one day, raising them, lowering them. I think that would settle a lot of the turmoil right now, especially with the stock market.

TRUMP: We won Michigan by a lot. And I want to just thank you all.

ZELENY (voice-over): When the President rolled out his plan in the Rose Garden, Chris Vitale traveled from Michigan to be there. He retired after 31 years at Chrysler and supports Trump's tariffs changes.

CHRIS VITALE, TRUMP SUPPORTER: And all the tariffs in effect, got people's attention and brought them to the negotiation table, which is probably the goal all along.

ZELENY (voice-over): For Michael Taylor, mayor of Sterling Heights, Michigan, the uncertainty of it all is troubling.

MAYOR MICHAEL TAYLOR, STERLING HEIGHTS, MICHIGAN: Business owners, they really struggle when they don't have a certain landscape ahead of them. And these tariffs have created chaos in that regard.

ZELENY (voice-over): The President's trade war with China has come alive at The Rendezvous with Tea, where Naszareen Gibson imports tea from around the world.

NASZREEN GIBSON, OWNER, THE RENDEZVOUS WITH TEA: Businesses like mine are going to struggle and may not even exist because we cannot afford to pay those kind of prices and absorb it into our little business.

ZELENY (voice-over): Back at the diner, Ujkaj believes the 100 day mark is too early to make a judgment on Trump.

UJKAJ: If he puts this economy back on track and wins these tariffs to our advantage, I think people will feel more comfortable.

ZELENY: And if he doesn't.

UJKAJ: It's doesn't, it's not going to be good. It's not going to be good.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: And Jake, Pashko's diner is just a few miles down the road from where President Trump is going to be at this rally here tonight. Many people are still coming in and they'll be filling the seats here. But he voted for Trump in '16, did not in '20, and wouldn't say who he voted for in 2024.

But that sentiment is also very clear. The bottom line here, Jake, the economy is something that swept the President into office and it's going to be a big metric and measure of, for the rest of his term and certainly the next 100 days. Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Jeff Zeleny in Warren, Michigan, thanks so much. Let's turn now to CNN's Kaitlan Collins. And Kaitlan, another big moment today was the Trump administration calling Amazon's reported plan to display tariff costs online one of its websites hostile and political. Where does that back and forth with Jeff Bezos and Amazon, where does it stand now?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, Jake, it has been a remarkable hundredth day for this president because it started with this briefing that was happening at the White House. The Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent was there, the press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, but everyone was talking about this report that Amazon was going to start showing the impact of the President's tariffs on its prices when people were checking out, essentially saying, here's what you paid for this product and here's what it cost because of the tariffs that the President has put in place.

And so, Karoline Leavitt said she had just gotten off the phone with President Trump this morning about that. She called it a hostile and political act. They questioned why this was not something Amazon had considered doing when President Biden was in office and inflation was at such a high number.

And then culminated from there in the President directly calling Jeff Bezos to ask about this proposal. Amazon quickly came out and denied it, said they were not considering it for the main Amazon storefront. It had been something that had been considered somewhere else. They updated that statement to say it was something that they were never going to put in place.

And then we heard from President Trump directly as he was on his way to Michigan, where Jeff Zeleny is now, about exactly what happened in this phone call with Jeff Bezos. And this is what the President had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: How did your call with Jeff Bezos go?

TRUMP: Great. Jeff Bezos was very nice. He was terrific. He solved a problem very quickly and he did the right thing and he's a good guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now, Jake, obviously just hearing that in and of itself is remarkable because given if this had happened eight years ago when the President's relationship with Jeff Bezos was probably at its worst when he was openly criticizing him for the coverage that he would often get in the Washington Post owned newspaper, the paper owned by Bezos.

But obviously things have changed in their relationship. After the President was nearly assassinated last summer, you saw Bezos coming out praising the President's response. Then after the President won the election, they had dinner together at Mar-a-Lago. They've often spoken since his win and of course, Bezos attended his inauguration.

[17:10:00]

But it is a remarkable moment to see how the White House is responding to this idea that the White House could be dealing with companies that are actually showing consumers here in the United States what the price difference is as an impact of the president's tariffs, which are very much still in place and really becoming a defining moment as he hits these 100 days. Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Kaitlan Collins, fascinating stuff. Thank you. And of course, Kaitlin will have a deeper look at the president's first 100 days tonight on her show The Source with Kaitlan Collins. Among her guests, Republican Senator Markwayne Mullen of Oklahoma, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern only here on CNN.

Let's talk about this all with former adviser for the Trump 2024 campaign, Bryan Lanza and Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator Karen Finney. Bryan, CNN has some new poll numbers out, and they basically square with other poll numbers. 59 percent of Americans feel Trump has worsened economic conditions, 37 percent of Americans say they feel afraid, 29 percent say they're pessimistic about the economy.

And like I said, these are replicated in other polls. How concerned are you? Do you think this is just a short term thing?

BRYAN LANZA, SENIOR ADVISER TO TRUMP 2024 CAMPAIGN: I think it's a short term thing. Listen, I think we know in politics that voters ultimately make their decision about the economy of July of an election year. So we, you know, we have 14 months, the President has 14 months to transition us. You know, these trade deals need to take place, some of these tariffs, some of these countries and some of these companies are coming in asking for terrorist incentives, which is the new word, instead of exemptions.

And I think that engagement is going to have a positive impact. You've seen some of the impact already happen when President Trump talked about having these negotiations with countries. I represent several of those countries he's having negotiations with. They all very happy with the progress it's making. And there's an accelerated part of this that we hadn't seen before.

And we see that from a CEO standpoint where he wants things done now and the staff is trying to catch up. And I think we'll see that. But at the end of the day, you have to remember, you know, Trump's not a process person. The process is sloppy here in D.C. We see it all the time. People want to focus on that. But at the end of the day, where he wants to land is he wants to land, make sure we have tax reconciliation take place. We have deregulation. And if we get those things done by July of next year, we'll be in strong cases for midterms.

TAPPER: Karen Finney, let's listen to what President Trump had to say when asked about his list of accomplishments during his first hundred.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The economy would be certainly right up there, and I think it's doing great. We were losing billions and billions of dollars a day with trade, and now I have that down to a very low level. And soon we're going to be making a lot of money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, that doesn't jibe with any numbers anywhere. Let's start with the Wall Street Journal last week saying worst April since the Great Depression.

TAPPER: Worst April in terms of what?

FINNEY: The economy.

LANZA: The Wall Street. The stock market, not the economy. There is a distinction between the two. FINNEY: Fair.

TAPPER: The Dow.

FINNEY: The Dow. But at the same time, we also saw stories around Easter with people saying they were looking for alternatives to eggs because eggs were so expensive. Look, at the end of the day, it is -- I agree with Bryan, although I think Trump is making a mistake very similar to what Joe Biden did, which is people are telling you they're scared, they're telling you they're concerned that it's not getting better on the number one issue.

And the problem with Trump is it's not just he may be doing these deals, but at the same time, it's the way his erratic behavior has really spooked markets. And I think it's going to be a long time before people see the impact in their own lives. Most importantly, I think Democrats are seizing on this opportunity to have a conversation. We saw it on Sunday.

I think we're going to continue to see conversations trying to lift up what the American people are saying themselves about their concerns about the economy and potential budget cuts.

TAPPER: Yes. So I'm coming to you right now, Bryan, but I want to play this new clip. President Trump sat down with our friend Terry Moran from ABC News, and this is how the president responded when pressed about the tariffs with China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY MORAN, ABC NEWS SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 145 percent tariffs on China --

TRUMP: That's good. That's good.

MORAN: -- and that is basically an embargo.

TRUMP: They deserve it.

MORAN: It'll raise prices on everything from electronics, to clothing to building houses.

TRUMP: You don't know that. You don't know whether or not China is going to eat.

MORAN: That's mathematics.

TRUMP: China probably will eat those tariffs, but at 145, they basically can't do much business with the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Even today, though, China said that they're not going to kneel down to Trump. This is a big area of concern for a lot of people who import products from China. LANZA: YEs, but listen, I think it's important to step back to see

what President Trump wants to do with respect to tariffs. And tariffs is just a tool for him to get to what we ultimately do was re industrialize the United States. Because what he said in 2014, when he first stood up, and where you had both politicians on the left and the right sort of disagree with him, he said, you know, the status quo is not working for American communities.

We've seen communities gutted in Ohio. We've seen communities gutted in Michigan. We've seen communities gutted in Wisconsin through these trade agreements that have taken place. President Trump says, this is not acceptable. We need to do something.

[17:15:02]

FINNEY: But he's not being honest with the American people about how much pain they will have to endure before. Even if you believe his position on tariffs, it's going to take quite a bit of time to bring those jobs back, build those back.

LANZA: But it's important to do it. It's important -- absolutely --

FINNEY: In the meantime and easy to say when you're a billionaire who won't be impacted.

LANZA: No. Listen, I think -- listen, the voters voted on President Trump because he wanted to do these things. They accept that. They understand.

FINNEY: They know that.

LANZA: Look at his first term. They saw the effects of tariffs in his first term. They see positive results of that result in the first term.

TAPPER: I don't think we're going to resolve this.

FINNEY: No, I think not.

TAPPER: But I appreciate you both. Thank you so much. Thanks for being here. Appreciate it. Happy 100 days, Bryan.

LANZA: Thank you so much.

TAPPER: And to you, Karen, I guess maybe not, but much more as we stand by to hear from the president in Michigan. Plus, what you may not know about crypto and President Trump's dealings with the digital currency. I'm going to talk to the New York Times reporters who say Trump's policy changes now could help him and his family make quite a bit of bank later.

But first, a House Republican and a Democrat will both join me ahead of their bipartisan trip to El Salvador.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:00]

TAPPER: More now in our politics lead, President Trump's ambitious efforts to reshape the federal government have largely been carried out by signing executive orders rather than signing legislation passed by the House and then the Senate and then onto his Resolute desk.

So far during Trump's second term, President Trump has signed just five bills into law. They include the Lake and Riley Act, which requires mandatory detention for non U.S. citizens charged with or convicted of certain crimes, a stopgap funding bill needed to avert a government shutdown, and three Congressional Review Act resolutions overturning Biden era rules.

Today, President Trump said that the Republican tax bill will be his, quote, biggest focus going forward. CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju is live on Capitol Hill for us. Manu Pressure is mounting for House Republicans to pass what Trump calls one quote, big beautiful.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it. And there's really not a whole lot of time here, Jake, if they were to meet the Speaker's very ambitious agenda. He wants to pass this massive bill by Memorial Day. Even though there are so many unanswered questions about what will actually be in this massive bill. There are questions about how they're going to overhaul the tax code, a sprawling effort to try to reshape how the U.S. tax code will be for millions and millions of Americans, but also spending cuts across domestic programs.

They want to cut about $1.5 trillion in domestic spending cuts. And the question will be where do those cuts come from? Will Republicans be okay with where some of these cuts are coming from? But they are making some progress, Jake.

Today they did advance some aspects of Donald Trump's plan, including roughly $150 billion for defense funding that was approved by one House committee. There are a total of 11 House committees that are taking up different aspects of this bill. Tomorrow the House Judiciary Committee, for example, will be going on -- going forward on the issue of immigration. They're going to, as part of that plan, they're calling for new fees on asylum seekers and the like to try to raise revenue for their ambitious agenda here. Jake.

But the question will be can they get all these different pieces together? Can they get it through the House and then they can get it through the Senate and they want to do that by July 4th. All huge questions as major issues still remain unresolved among the GOP. Jake.

TAPPER: And Manu, today, House Republicans approved a rule that would block Democratic efforts to probe Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's controversial use of Signal. You asked Speaker Johnson about that earlier today. Here's how the speaker defended that move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE JOHNSON, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We're using the rules of the House to prevent political hijinks and political stunts. And that's what the Democrats have, as I mentioned, no leader, no vision, no platform. All they have is obstruction. So we're preventing this nonsensical waste of our time. We don't have time to waste.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Are you hearing any pushback from any Republicans? Because the Hegseth thing, it's a pretty serious deal.

RAJU: Yes, no question about it. In fact, one congressman, Don Bacon, who's been perhaps the most critical of Pete Hegseth of any Republicans in the House or Senate, said he objected to the Speaker's move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DON BACON (R-NE): I really don't like it. The rules should be about the bill we're voting on, and it's concerning what we're putting things that don't belong, that aren't, don't pertain to the bill that we're going to vote on in this. So I'm going to express my concern about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But it wasn't just on this issue, Jake, the issue of tariffs as well. That is something that the speaker put in to try to prevent legislative efforts to try to target Trump's tariffs. He included that in a rule earlier this year to deny any of those efforts. It did was approved by the House, including by Congressman, like Congressman Don Bacon, for example.

They're concerned that by putting this in a larger procedural vote, it's hard for them to vote no on that, ultimately allowing the speaker to do what he wants, which is essentially to protect Donald Trump and his administration.

TAPPER: All right, Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thanks so much. In our worldly the Trump administration's aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration in these first hundred days. Today, the Department of Homeland Security announced it has deported more than 142,000 undocumented immigrants since the beginning of President Trump's second term.

This as Americans opinion about the way that President Trump is handling immigration is waning a bit. A new CNN poll shows 45 percent Americans approve of Trump's immigration efforts, the deportation and the like. Down six points from March. 54 percent disapprove, which is up six points since March.

Joining us are Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez of Texas and Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna of Florida. Thanks to both of you for being here. You're both on the Congressional El Salvador Caucus. You're going to travel to El Salvador next week, the two of you, and meet with President Bukele.

Congresswoman Luna, you're the chair of the El Salvador Caucus. What do you hope to gain out of your visit next week?

REP. ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-FL): Well, look, first and foremost, this trip has been in the works for many months now. As you know, I recently took over in January. And I can tell you right now, El Salvador has done an incredible thing in South America in regards to leading out the efforts to really, I think, be the beacon of hope of what should happen when you have a country that's impacted by crime and, frankly, cartel violence.

[17:25:08]

As you know, El Salvador was one of the most dangerous countries in South America. And because of Bukele's leadership, he's turned it around 100 percent. So we're going down there. Obviously, this is not going to be a political propaganda trip. We are paying for it, not on taxpayer dollars. And we are going to be doing it in an effort to shore up our relationship with that incredible country.

TAPPER: Congressman Gonzalez, you're the co-chair of this caucus. Are you planning to meet with any of those deported from the U.S. to El Salvador?

REP. VICENTE GONZALEZ (D-TX): Well, that's not the purpose of the trip. This has been a long planned trip. We hope to meet with leaders. We hope to visit CECOT. We hope to have a frank conversation with President Bukele.

I can tell you that I think most people can appreciate what he's done in Central America. He's turned one of the most dangerous countries in the world into the safest country in this hemisphere. And we need to applaud him for that.

At the same time, we need to have frank conversations with our friends and with our neighbors and talk about, you know, rule of law, assuring that Americans that are deported from this country have an opportunity of due process and things that I believe the majority of Americans would agree with. But we begin with a premise that we're there in a friendship basis.

We're there to talk honestly with each other and grateful for some of the work that we've been able to do together and a hope that we can continue down the path that we've been.

TAPPER: Congresswoman, there were arrangements made between the Trump administration in El Salvador. Before President Trump's deportation flights of undocumented immigrants, alleged Venezuelan gang members, the U.S. approved $15 million in foreign affairs funding for El Salvador.

Sources tell CNN as of late this month, just under 5 million has been sent in the form of a grant to the government of El Salvador. But I wonder, as a member of the legislative branch, are you at all concerned about these kinds of arrangements being made without the input and consent of Congress?

LUNA: I would actually push back and say that there has been input and consensus of Congress actually met and I'm speaking for myself right now. I met with Mr. Holman, who's our border czar. And what I can also tell you is that, look, I have been first and foremost a complete hawk in regards to what happens with violent illegals getting deported because I know firsthand what happens on both sides of the border when these people are coming here and really the impact that it has on our legal immigration system. But that's not just my stance. Remember, Barack Obama actually had the very same stance.

And so I think right now if we are going to have a country in South America that is stabilizing surrounding countries, as you know, the Chinese and communism is alive and well in South America and we have friends that are willing to take back violent criminals. I think that's well within our rights, not just as members of Congress, but also too in regards to shoring up foreign relations with friendly countries in South America.

And I'd further like to add that in regards to some of these people being deported, we're talking about people that were sex offenders and people that had assaulted children. And frankly, I would have hoped that CNN would not have censored their faces because as you know, those people are criminals and they should be made publicly aware what they did in regards to hurting children.

TAPPER: Congressman Gonzalez, any final thoughts?

GONZALEZ: Yes, clearly I don't think anyone is opposed to deporting criminals. We just want to make sure they're criminals. They have the right to due process according to the American Constitution. I think that's what we all want. We want rule of law. We want stability in Central America. We want stability in El Salvador. And we hope that he continues down the path that he's gone now.

I believe that when you start taking in foreign prisoners and incarcerated foreigners, you move into a full different realm of international law and with potential exposure to their administration. So we need to have those conversations and have honest, frank conversations in a meaningful way and as partners as we move forward in this relationship.

TAPPER: Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna and Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, thank you both. Have a great trip next week. I hope it's fruitful and important and does accomplishes what you want.

LUNA: Thanks.

GONZALEZ: Thank you.

TAPPER: Coming up, concerns about cryptocurrency and conflicts. The New York Times investigation did the Trump family's crypto firm benefit at all from any White House actions at all. We'll ask one of their White House reporters about it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: In the World Lead, Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney secured victory in Canada's election last night, an election that was dominated by Donald Trump. CNN's Paula Newton unpacks it all.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Who's ready? Who's ready? Who's ready to stand up for Canada with me?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A rallying cry for Canadian sovereignty as Mark Carney declared victory in the country's federal elections.

CARNEY: We are once again, we are once again at one of those hinge moments of history. Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over. We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons.

NEWTON (voice-over): The Liberal Party leader issuing a stunning rebuke to President Trump as he promised his country would never yield to the United States.

CARNEY: As I've been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country.

CROWD: Never.

CARNEY: Never. But these are not, these are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never, that will never ever happen.

NEWTON (voice-over): The 60-year-old former central banker also sending a message of unity to the millions that did not vote for him. And my message to every Canadian is this. No matter where you live, no matter what language you speak, no matter how you voted, I will always do my best to represent everyone who calls Canada home.

PIERRE POILIEVRE, FORMER MINISTER OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS OF CANADA: So I would like to congratulate Prime Minister Carney.

[17:35:01]

NEWTON (voice-over): Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre conceded defeat early Tuesday, saying Carney had won enough seats to form a razor-thin minority government. Throughout his campaign, Carney rode a wave of anti-Trump sentiment since winning his party's leadership contest in the landslide after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down last month.

CARNEY: We are fighting unjustified U.S. tariffs.

NEWTON (voice-over): Trump's tariffs on imports from Canada and continued threats to annex the country as the 51st state only helped him ride that wave to victory.

Paul Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE) TAPPER: And our thanks to Paul Newton for that piece. If you're paying more for avocados these days, well, next it could be mangoes. We're going to talk to a small business owner in Idaho who's worried that Trump's tariffs might spoil her fruit business.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:09]

TAPPER: In our Money Lead, we're back with our series. We're speaking with small business owners from coast to coast about the impact of President Trump's tariffs. Some have been very happy, many are not. My next guest is Coree Carver. She's the founder of Grove Fruit Growers in Boise, Idaho. And Coree, thanks for joining us. Your business grows mangoes in Cambodia, processes them in Vietnam, and only just began selling here in the United States back in November. What has been the impact of the tariffs on your market here?

COREE CARVER, FOUNDER, GROVE FRUITS GROWERS: Hi. First, thanks for having me. The impact, so we were able to absorb a 10 percent increase. So it's gone up to over 50 percent. But over the next 90 days, we have 10 -- 10 percent tariff, and then it goes up to over 90 or over 50 percent in 90 days. So we were able to absorb the extra 10 percent within the supply chain. We've built a supply chain based off of trust and mutual respect.

And we've all taken a little hit. It hasn't been easy, but we've all taken a hit. It's a struggle when countries like Mexico, for example, have zero percent tariffs. So it's not really a long-term solution. But the impact to our business is that we've had to short containers that can't make it to the U.S. market. And we've had to absorb the extra costs, which we've been able to do.

But in the -- in the next 90 days, tariffs are expected to go up to over 50 percent. And there's no way we can absorb that high of a tariff. And so we'll -- just -- we won't be able to continue doing business, and we'll -- business will go to Mexico or places with lower tariffs. Because essentially it's mango, it's a commodity, and -- and price is important.

And I thought when we put this business into place, I have a 110-acre mango farm in Cambodia, I thought we'd be able to get into the U.S. market, build a U.S. standard supply chain within Cambodia, and get into the U.S. market. But now it looks like with these new tariffs, that isn't the case.

TAPPER: What about the impact on Cambodia?

CARVER: Well, Cambodia is still reeling from the Pol Pot Genocide that happened after the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam. There was a Cambodian, or there was a communist takeover, a genocide, in Cambodia. And a quarter of their population was killed, their entire educated class. And USAID, which is the U.S. government's agency for international development, has spent over $75 million in the last 15 years developing the agriculture supply chains to meet international standards and to improve standards for impoverished Cambodians who can't even -- don't even have access to clean drinking water --

TAPPER: Yes.

CARVER: -- can't send their kids to school. And without these opportunities to send into markets like the U.S., then I fear that it'll be a big loss for -- for farmers who are already struggling in Cambodia. And realistically, China's going to step in and take over where the U.S. is pulling out. The U.S. has shown leadership in Cambodia over the last 15 years.

And when we step out, China will be right behind us stepping in. In fact, Xi Jinping, Cambodia or Chinese prime minister, just was in Cambodia last week meeting with the Cambodians. So as -- as U.S. leadership is taken out, you know, is removed overseas, then countries like China --

TAPPER: Yes.

CARVER: -- will step in right behind us, which is exactly what we don't want, ironically.

TAPPER: Right. Yes. Coree Carver, thank you so much. Really appreciate your time today.

In our Money Lead, "The New York Times" out this morning with a stunning new investigation, quote, "Secret Deals, Foreign Investments, Presidential Policy Changes: The Rise of Trump's Crypto Firm," unquote. At the center of the story, World Liberty Financial, a firm largely owned by the Trump Organization, according to the company's website. Quote, Donald J. Trump and certain family members own approximately 60 percent of the equity interests, unquote.

It is launched -- it launched in 2024. It has exploded in influence since Trump returned to the White House just a few months ago, 100 days ago. According to "The Times," World Liberty has made hundreds of millions of dollars selling cryptocurrency while benefiting directly from official actions taken inside the Trump White House. How? Well, "The Times" reports that World Liberty struck secret deals, sought multi-million dollar payments in exchange for Trump brand endorsements, and received major investments from firms, including some facing U.S. government scrutiny.

As "The Times" investigation puts it, World Liberty has, quote, eviscerated the boundary between private enterprise and government policy in a manner without precedent in modern American history, unquote. And at the heart of World Liberty's pitch, both to investors and to the world, is this claim, quote, everything we do gets a lot of exposure and credibility. A Trump ally promised potential investors a promise that stretches from campaign donors to foreign governments.

[17:45:02]

A World Liberty spokesman denies any wrongdoing to "The New York Times," saying that, quote, it would be, quote, false, absurd, and dangerous to suggest that investments or partnerships with World Liberty Financial were conducted as some sort of political quid pro quo.

Joining us now, one of the reporters behind this investigation, New York Times technology reporter, David Yaffe-Bellany. David, thanks for joining us. There's a lot here. What's the most surprising thing you learned on -- on -- in this reporting?

DAVID YAFFE-BELLANY, NEW YORK TIMES TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: I think it's the fact that this is all happening out in the open. I mean, we've done a lot of really rigorous investigative reporting to, you know, find out what World Liberty Financial is doing behind the scenes, what its interactions with other crypto firms are like.

But a lot of this is just happening in public. The President and his family is promoting a crypto operation at the same time that the Trump White House regulates crypto.

TAPPER: Has President Trump in any way used his official powers to boost the value of his family's crypto business?

YAFFE-BELLANY: Earlier this year, Trump announced that he was creating a federal crypto stockpile, kind of Fort Knox, except for digital currencies. And one of the types of cryptocurrency he said he would include in it was one that World Liberty owns in vast quantities. And that announcement sent the coin's value surging and at least briefly, you know, enriched World Liberty Financial to the tune of -- of $33 million. And so you can draw a direct line there between an official action and a -- and a benefit to the company.

TAPPER: What kind of response have any of you seen from any of the federal agencies tasked with policing conflicts of interest or foreign influence?

YAFFE-BELLANY: There's been zero response. And, you know, partly that's because under the Biden administration, there was a massive crackdown on the crypto industry that has been totally unwound under the Trump administration. And so the sorts of watchdogs who would be policing the activities of a company like World Liberty Financial are no longer paying particularly close attention to crypto.

TAPPER: And as you say, all out there in the open. David Yaffe-Bellany of The New York Times. Thank you so much. Remarkable reporting.

Coming up next, the many questions parents have these days about kids and their health given so many recent policy changes. Stay with us.

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[17:51:57]

TAPPER: In our National Lead, where officials say a car crash at an after-school program in central Illinois does not appear to have been a targeted attack. Four people were tragically killed in the crash. Two 7-year-old girls, one 8-year-old girl, and an 18-year-old woman. Police say the driver is not in custody and the cause of the crash is still under investigation. In our National Lead, more than 30,000 homes and businesses in Missouri are without power after severe thunderstorms roared through the southwestern part of that state this morning. These storms produced wind gusts of more than 90 miles per hour and spawned several short-lived tornadoes. The storms are still moving east and additional severe thunderstorms are possible today from Texas all the way to New York.

In our Faith Lead, a convicted cardinal who was demanding to help choose the next pope now says he will not participate in the conclave. Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu was one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican before he was convicted of embezzlement and fraud two years ago.

Today he issued a statement saying he maintains his innocence but will obey Pope Francis who had stripped him of his rights and privileges as a cardinal.

[17:53:04]

We're just minutes away from President Trump taking the stage at a rally in Michigan on his 100th day in office. We'll be right back.

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TAPPER: Jake Tapper. Any moment, President Trump will speak after a staggering first 100 days of his second term. His rally tonight is in Michigan puts in November. The location is notable, given the state is fueled by its auto industry in so many ways at a time when Trump's tariffs are injecting some anxiety into American households and rattling small businesses and manufacturing giants across the country.

Let's get straight to CNN's Jeff Zeleny in Warren, Michigan, just north of Detroit. And Jeff, what -- what are we expecting President Trump's message is going to be when he takes the stage in just a few minutes?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, this certainly has the feel of a campaign rally. But of course, President Trump is not running for anything but trying to complete his first year in office. And he is trying to celebrate his first 100 days by taking a victory lap. It is a pretty good sized crowd here.

But for a Trump rally, certainly not one of the largest we've ever seen. More on the smaller side, but very enthusiastic supporters. But Macomb County, Jake, just north of Detroit, he won this county by 14 points. He's won it all three of his presidential races. It really is the heart of the MAGA movement in some respects. A couple of generations ago, it was the home of Reagan Democrats.

You can track the changes in American politics through Macomb County. But President Trump will be here again to take a victory lap, but also talk about how he's walked back tariffs. Arriving here to sign an executive order to, again, offer some reprieve for the automotive companies. But interesting sort of dichotomy here is the automotive workers have been supportive of his tariffs. Of course, he stood in the Rose Garden, surrounded by Michigan automotive workers who cheered on his tariffs. Many of those have been paused. So that's one of the many contradictions of the first 100 days.

And talking to voters here in Michigan over the last couple of days, Jake, there are economic anxieties, no doubt about it. Trump supporters like what he's done on immigration, but they have deep concerns about what the financial markets have done, what their retirement accounts have done, and also what the next 100 days will bring. So the President tonight will wrap all of that together, certainly in a campaign rally feel.

Jake, one thing that's been kind of striking, he's rarely left the White House on a weekday. He's not been out in the country selling his message as he did during his first term in office. When I recall him traveling to a variety of battleground states, this is a rare visit for him to again sell that economic agenda. And even though 100 days are in the books, the hardest part is still to come. Jake?

[17:59:55]

TAPPER: And Jeff, it's -- it's a, as you note, it's a rare outing for the President during this administration. We -- and we haven't really even seen him hold a rally like this in quite some time.