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U.S. Resists Putting Russian Aggression in G7 Statement on Ukraine; Judge Allows Trump Admin to Continue Mass Firings of Federal Workers; Canada Gets Revenge on Team USA in 4 Nationals Final. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired February 21, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Totally astonished the Kremlin this morning, totally surprised about just how quickly President Trump has made concessions to Vladimir Putin. And we have new reporting on when a meeting might take place between the two.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: An all night Voterama might sound fun, depending on your definition of fun, but what it means is Senate Republicans, they make a big step forward in advancing President Trump's agenda, and it now sets them up for a showdown with the Republicans in the House.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, Canada, a thrilling overtime win, an unprecedented championship after a bruising game, and it all leads to top level diplomatic taunting.

I'm John Berman with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: Happening now, Trump forgotten who the dictator is. A stunning rift in unity among the world's richest nations as President Trump refuses to say two words every other G7 leader wants to say. Those words, Russian aggression. This morning, the U.S. does not want that phrase included in a joint G7 statement that's being drafted right now as Ukraine approaches its three-year mark of the war.

As one western official put it, there is a lot of concern at equivocating who is responsible for the war. The answer is Russia. There was no concern exactly a year ago when the 2024 version plainly stated Russia's war of aggression several times, calling it Russia's illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked full scale invasion.

All of this capping a whirlwind week that left Russia rejoicing and Europe alarmed. But this morning, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy is expressing some hope after meeting with President Trump's envoy.

CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House. But, first, let's go to Nick Payton Walsh, who is in Kyiv for us this morning. This is a lot to take in and a lot of fear there in Ukraine. What is Zelenskyy saying about all this so far? NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, let's just be quick to recap here. We've gone from a U.S.-Russia summit that appeared to be about a larger Washington-Moscow on taunt with Ukraine's piece somewhere on the list of things to deal with to an extraordinary 72 hours of insults frankly being traded. Zelenskyy gingerly, I think, having to correct Trump's statement that Ukraine started the war and that Zelenskyy had 4 percent polling rating. Existential questions here in Kyiv that they simply couldn't allow to go unanswered. He kept saying how much he respected Trump When he said Trump was in a different information space. And then we had that litany of mistruths from Trump about him being a dictator, refusing elections, how money had been stolen here. But that all really got in the way of the key thing here, which was Kyiv's first real grasp with the part of the Trump administration involved in these peace talks.

The Ukraine envoy, General Keith Kellogg, he's been here now for two days. We understand he's still in country leaving potentially in the next 24 hours or so, according to the plan. And I would suspect the negotiations are indeed continuing. There's been a lot of suggestions that they're hashing through details of this rare earth minerals deal, a resource deal that Trump so urgently once signed essentially to pay United States back for aid that's already being given.

But I think we've heard from Zelenskyy after that spat, no other real way to call it, a bid to put things back on track, said that the meetings with Kellogg were productive. Here's what he said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: General Kellogg, our talks restore hope. We need strong agreements with America, agreements that will really work. I give instructions to work fast and very much even handedly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: Now, I mean, what is this deal going to happen? Actual security guarantees for the future, promises of aid for the future, the original text, all about paying back past aid.

[07:05:07]

Remarkable, really, given the Biden administration gave that. And all of this a distraction from the daily death on the frontline where Russia is advancing and even from the peace deal that Trump said was so seminal to his policies here that essentially seems to be underway with the Russians in Riyadh, but without Ukraine, it's pretty much everyone involved here at the table agreeing to whatever's proposed, slim chance it will stick. Sara?

SIDNER: Yes, depending on what Kellogg says, but it really depends on what Donald Trump says. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much. I really appreciate your reporting there from Kyiv. John?

BERMAN: All right. This is all coming to a head as the leaders of France and the U.K. are coming to the United States. Of course, those countries are now seemingly at odds with the U.S. on the positions towards Ukraine.

Let's get right to Alayna Treene at the White House for the latest on this. What's the expectation from these meetings, Alayna?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, look, there's a couple of things. One, of course, is you're exactly right, John, he is at odds with both French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as the United Kingdom's prime minister, Keir Starmer, both of whom are coming to the White House next week. The president's going to be meeting with Macron first. Actually, he will be the first European leader to come to the White House and meet with the president since he was sworn into office. They're meeting Monday, Starmer and Donald Trump meeting on Thursday.

But, look, one of the key things, and we've heard this from both of these European leaders in recent days, is that they want to try and convince Donald Trump why it is so important to show the support for Ukraine that they believe the president needs to be showing and really standing up to Putin. We heard Macron say some of this yesterday. He did a live Q&A session on streaming, and he essentially said that he's going to come and tell the president you cannot be weak in the face of Russia. Take a listen.

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EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: What I am going to do is that I'm going to tell him basically you cannot be weak in the face of President Putin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, John, he also said that essentially with China, for example, he said, look, it's not just about Russia here. The way that the president of the United States responds to Putin in this moment will be a signal to other adversaries like Iran, like China, noting that how can you tell China they can invade Taiwan if you're not going to say that Russia wasn't responsible for invading Ukraine, all to say these are going to be high-stakes meetings, really the next turn of this wheel and all coming as we're still trying to learn when and if the president is going to be meeting with Putin himself.

As of yesterday, John, in my conversations with White House officials, they said they do not have a date or a location set for that. So, we're still trying to gather, you know, when that might happen as well. John?

BERMAN: All right. Alayna Treene at the White House, a lot going on there this morning, thanks so much for your reporting. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Including this, legal wins overnight for Donald Trump. A judge rules his DOGE efforts can move forward with the mass firings of federal workers for now. So, what this decision means for tens of thousands of jobs, and why the judge said that he didn't have authority to hear the case.

Also today, Luigi Mangione, the man accused of the brazen murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, he'll be back in court, his first court appearance since he was arraigned.

And it was an incredible rescue. A driver pulled from a car, engulfed in flames, and the tearful moment now that she is reunited with the people who saved her life.

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[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: So, today, we will see if President Trump gets another big court win when it comes to his moves against USAID. But this really has been a week of many legal victories for the Trump administration. A federal judge yesterday cleared the way for Trump's DOGE efforts to continue mass firings of probationary federal workers, workers who have been on the job for roughly less than a year. That judge declined a request from a group of labor unions to block, temporarily, his firings of the federal workers and other actions targeting government workers. The judge said he lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.

Here's part. Federal district judges are duty bound to decide legal issues based on even handed application of law and precedent, no matter the identity of the litigants or, regrettably at times, the consequences of their rulings for average people.

Now, this is just the latest of a series of wins for the Trump administration as it's faced a flood of lawsuits over its break it now and clean it up later approach.

Joining us now is CNN's Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig for more on this. First, Elie, let's start with what I was just talking about. That big ruling last night, what do you see in it?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Okay. The technicalities matter a lot when you're talking about legal cases. So, this related to doge's effort, their plan to lay off thousands of primarily probationary federal employees, meaning newer federal employees, group of labor unions sued to stop it. And the judge said, you don't have jurisdiction, I don't have jurisdiction as the judge here. Because federal law says if you're a federal employee and you want to challenge the conditions of your employment or your firing, you have to go through a series of internal administrative hearings actually intended to benefit those employees.

And what I found so interesting about this ruling is the judge went out of his way to say he's not a fan of what Musk is doing.

[07:15:03]

He said it's causing disruption and chaos. And I should also note this judge is an Obama nominee to the bench.

So, these cases are not referendums on do you like DOGE or not. These cases are about specific legal issues.

BOLDUAN: Let's talk about kind of the rest of the week or what's really happened in the week. As I mentioned, there've been other wins and important ones for the Trump administration and their efforts and those and executive orders this week. Which ones stand out to you?

HONIG: Well, two others from the same federal court in D.C., again, two different Obama nominees. One of them, by the way, is Judge Tanya Chutkan. You'll remember her from the Trump prosecutions. Not a fan of Donald Trump, but both of those judges rejected efforts to try to block DOGE from accessing privacy and other data that's contained in the federal government. And in both cases the judge said, I can't -- we can't stop DOGE from accessing this data because, A, there's no evidence they've illegally accessed it, B, there's no evidence they've illegally disseminated it or made it public, and so we can't grant what's known as an injunction. We can't block this on some speculative future theory that maybe they'll violate the law in the future.

So, once again, you have two more judges, Obama nominees, not Trump fans, but they rejected these challenges on technical but important legal bases.

BOLDUAN: But it wasn't all wins for the Trump administration this week, and I want to walk through the, he continues to lose in his effort to get rid of birthright citizenship. That seems to be the one that has hit roadblock after roadblock. Where is this headed?

HONIG: Yes. So, Trump has lost every single court case relating to his effort to undermine birthright citizenship. The big development this week is now Trump had already lost several cases at the district court level, the trial court level. This week, we saw the first time the next level up, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump's effort to block birthright citizenship. And so that leaves us potentially one step away from the U.S. Supreme Court.

I do think, one way or another, this effort by Trump will end up in front of the Supreme Court. It relates to a very core 14th Amendment constitutional principle that gives anyone born in the United States automatic citizenship. I think Trump's going to lose this one. I think he's going to continue to lose this one, including at the Supreme Court.

It's right on the face of the 14th Amendment. We have 150-plus years of practice that establishes that Trump's wrong, and so he has continued to lose here.

BOLDUAN: Is there a trend that you see in all of this?

HONIG: Yes. Here's the trend I would urge people to keep in mind. These cases are not about whether what Donald Trump is doing, Elon Musk, DOGE is doing is wise or unwise, whether it's good government, bad government, smart, idiotic, whatever. That has nothing to do with this. And the judges went out of their way to say this. These are about specific legal issues, jurisdiction standing. Is there irreparable harm?

And so keep that in mind. These are not cases that are thumbs up or thumbs down. They're not referendums on the policy here. To paraphrase James Carville, it's the law stupid. You're not stupid, Kate, but, I mean, generally. BOLDUAN: That is a misquote of the James Carville, but an appropriate one in this regard. But what you're saying, Elie, is important to keep in mind because as each ruling comes down, everyone we're seeing is spinning it their own way. So, what is actually happening here is an important thing to keep in mind.

Thank you, Elie. It's great to see you. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. A warning about how President Trump's latest power grab and his executive orders could discourage military leaders from following the law versus following their orders.

And a stunning late night overtime loss for Team USA. Sufficient to say this battle is a lot more than just on the ice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Is that coffee in the cup there, John?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what it is? It's Canadian.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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BERMAN: All right. Developing this morning, the Canadian Prime Minister is taunting President Trump, or is it trolling, maybe both, this after a thrilling overtime win in the championship game of the first ever 4 Nations faceoff.

Let's get right to CNN's Andy Scholes. Let's start with the hockey, which was, I got to say, awesome.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, the whole night was so good, John. You know, and this 4 Nations faceoff tournament, it was supposed to just be, you know, an all star exhibition, but it really turned into, like, an Olympic gold medal type of atmosphere. Both the U.S. and Canada wanting to win this game badly, and President Trump even calling the team before to give them a little pep talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm a hockey fan. I love hockey. The talent, the skill that you have is great. And just go out and have a good time tonight. And I just want to wish you a lot of luck. You really are a skilled group of people. It's an honor to talk to you. And get out there and there's no pressure whatsoever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, and an awesome moment before the game in Boston is the crowd at T.D. Garden singing the national anthem together.

Now, Canada would take an early lead, but Austin Matthews would find Brady Tkachuk for the equalizer. Now, the game would go to overtime, tied at two. And the U.S. had a great chance to win it. Jordan Bennington, though, blocks Matthews, then he snags Tkachuk's rebound shot. Bennington's 31 saved, none more important than those two. And moments later, Connor McDavid proving why he's the best player in the world with a game winner, don't want to leave him open in front of the net. Canada goes nuts as they win the 4 Nations title.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONNOR MCDAVID, TEAM CANADA FORWARD: Just to see the reaction, just to know what it means to us, you know, I know it's just a quick tournament, you know? And it's not an Olympic gold medal or anything like that, but it means the world to our group. As you can see, everybody battled so hard all week. So, yes, it was special.

NATHAN MCKINNON, TEAM CANADA FORWARD: Connor is the best player in our game, and for him to put it in like that in such an intense atmosphere, obviously, in a hostile environment for Canadians, was special. And, yes, hopefully he can do that again next year too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau celebrating the win on X afterwards saying, you can't take our country and you can't take our game.

So, John, there was a lot of patriotism and politics behind this game. But, you know, as I mentioned, it was supposed to just be an all star exhibition. And I'll tell you what it likely is going to go down as the best all star format we've ever seen and something, you know, fans certainly want to see moving forward.

BERMAN: In any sport, baseball, basketball, take notice. Hockey just fixed it. You can too.

Andy Scholes, great to see you. Thank you very much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Overtones, undertones, so many tones going on with that game.

BERMAN: Lots of tones

BOLDUAN: Again, may I reiterate? It was a meaningless game though. But it was everything. I love it, right? It was so good.

Coming up for us, Elon Musk and his chainsaw, the wild antics at the big annual conservative conference, his promise to continue slashing and cutting more as some Republicans start facing real questions about those cuts from their own constituents.

And are Birkenstocks works of art? I say yes. You get to ponder that question while we tell you about the legal battle now over that exact question.

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