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Trump Won't Rule Out Recession, Warns of Period of Transition; Interview with Nikki Budzinski (D-IL): House to Vote Tomorrow on Bill to Fund Government Through September; Plane Crashes in Parking Lot of Pennsylvania Retirement Community; ICE Arrests Activist Who Helped Lead Columbia Protests. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired March 10, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Who knows, President Trump in new comments overnight, not ruling out a possible recession, saying about questions that a recession could set in this year as he, his head fake tariff strategy sets in in a new way this week.

And a new escalation in the administration's crackdown on pro- Palestinian protests on college campuses. Federal immigration authorities now involved arresting a Palestinian activist linked to the protests at Columbia.

And this morning, an investigation is underway. A small plane crashes into a parking lot at a retirement community, what the pilot said just moments before impact.

John is out today. I'm Kate Bolduan with Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

Tariffs could go up and who knows if a recession will happen. That is what President Trump is saying now as the nation enters week two, really, of his head spinning tariff war. The whiplash is real and there's no relief in sight, it seems, as those two statements from the president are important and unlikely to do anything to calm escalating trade tensions.

Right now, the United States is staring down a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum that Donald Trump's commerce secretary says will start Wednesday. So could all of this lead to a recession? Here's the president in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Of course, you hesitate. Who knows? All I know is this.

We're going to take in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs and we're going to become so rich, you're not going to know where to spend all that money. I'm telling you, you just watch.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston is leading us off this hour. It's good to see you, Mark. There's a lot leaning on that who knows when he says who knows when asked about a recession. But Goldman Sachs late last week raised its 12 month recession probability from 15 percent to 20. What's the president doing here?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The president's being the president. I mean, this is how he acts. Sometimes he -- let me rephrase that -- oftentimes he will do things for the moment, not worry about what the consequences at the end.

As you said, we are heading into a week of economic uncertainty right now. We have who will be the new president of Canada, the prime minister of Canada, came out last night and said he is ready to go toe to toe with Donald Trump. Now, the Trump administration says that these tariffs specifically that we're seeing on Mexico and Canada have to do with national security issues, right? They are to try to stop fentanyl, except the problem is in Canada, it's a minuscule amount of fentanyl. And I don't want to to lighten that, but it's a minuscule amount of fentanyl that comes across the Canadian border. So the tariffs don't seem to make a whole lot of sense.

But he also said he didn't want to predict that a recession was going to happen, because if he does predict one right now, Kate, we will certainly go into a recession. No question. And he doesn't want to tell his supporters and all the folks who supported and backed him, voted for him, that they are going to feel pain this summer and you will feel pain this summer.

BOLDUAN: One thing that we're also hearing more about, and it actually it's more than palace intrigue, which is fascinating in and of itself, because it's having real impact is the tension that has been now kind of exposed between Elon Musk and some in Donald Trump's cabinet. Some of the great reporting coming from "The New York Times" on just what that looks like. The president was asked about it, really brushed it off last night.

What's your read on it?

PRESTON: Well, Elon Musk is the friend you bring to the party that none of your other friends seem to like. But yet maybe Elon Musk is the guy who brought all the beer to the party. Let's say if you're underage, right?

The bottom line is Elon Musk right now is trying to make nice with some of Trump's biggest supporters. Laura Loomer, for instance, she is a right wing activist. They had a nice little go back and forth on the on Twitter or X this weekend.

Same thing with Marco Rubio, one of the, you know, a cabinet secretary who Musk seemed to overshadow last week. He had a nice little exchange with Elon Musk. Elon Musk went up the Capitol Hill to meet with congressional Republicans and, you know, in the Senate as well. Tried to make nice with those folks.

And now we know now we know from Maggie Haberman, who, you know, is the Trump whisper in many ways that Donald Trump wants Steve Bannon to make up with with Elon Musk. Now, the problem with that is that Steve Bannon and Elon Musk have two different thoughts about about governing and what have you. Steve Bannon is very much of a populist in a way. Elon Musk is not so much.

BOLDUAN: And also this week, we just had Congresswoman Malliotakis on -- a member of House Republican leadership -- to talk about its shutdown week once again. I mean, Politico playbook had a preview this morning. Shutdown week is here. Dot, dot, dot, again, I think is what we need to say.

[08:05:02]

What what are you watching in this? I mean, you have I think there's only one Republican no, right now. There seem to be some on the fence. But then you have this very direct appeal slash demand from President Trump to get on board right now.

PRESTON: Right. So let's look at this as a two step effort. First effort -- first step is going to be in the House of Representatives. We'll see a vote on Tuesday. Now, Republicans have enough votes to pass the budget in the House of Representatives, except, as you know, some Republicans don't like the budget.

So Mike Johnson, the speaker, is going to try to get some Democrats to come over, perhaps and help him pass this budget. Now, if we see these Democrats come across and support this budget because they feel like they are in danger of losing reelection when they're up next year. So look in the House and see what happens.

Over in the Senate same thing. Let's see what happens over there, except let's see how many Democrats in the Senate decide to come over. John Thune needs about, I think, seven or eight Democrats for the government not to shut down on Friday.

BOLDUAN: Let us see. It's going to be a fun week to watch, cover and report.

PRESTON: Don't make any plans this weekend. No plans this weekend, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Sounds good. As long as I get to hang with you, buddy. Thank you.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: You're very nice. I'm making plans.

Anyway, with me now is Democratic Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski of Illinois. Thank you for coming on this morning.

Let's get straight to something that that will rattle the markets. Likely the president refused to rule out a recession. And then our Kate Bolduan just spoke with Nicole Malliotakis of New York, who says there's been talk about a recession for well over the past year.

These are her words. She says this is something that has been a threat going back to the Biden administration. What do you think of Malliotakis' comments?

REP. NIKKI BUDZINSKI (D-IL): Well, I disagree. I think that we were actually coming out of what could have potentially been a recession. We avoided that. And now we're back in a situation where there is talk of a possible recession. And this is directly related to the tariffs that this administration is imposing on some of our strongest trade partners like Canada.

Look, I think that tariffs are something that can be used with a scalpel. When you're looking at China, I represent a steel community in Granite City. China's been dumping cheap steel in the United States for far too long. Again, tariffs could be used as a scalpel to actually incentivize more American manufacturing in the steel industry and supporting American workers.

But the way the Trump administration is going about this, imposing significant tariffs, blanket tariffs on some of our stronger trade partners like Canada, that's going to negatively impact our economy. And we're seeing that rock the stock markets. We're seeing increased talk, as you mentioned, of a recession. And we're going to see consumer prices go up.

This is exactly what the Trump administration said they were going to be addressing, which was bringing down costs. They are literally doing the opposite of that.

SIDNER: Yes, there is talk of prices probably going up because of all this, even though those tariffs not yet in place for Canada and Mexico. Certainly, Canada has responding, saying we are going to leave everything in place until we get some answers.

I do want to ask you about this. You are a big supporter of workers' unions. The UAW's leadership, however, says it supports the tariffs, saying that the free trade agreement really didn't give America what it needed. What do you say to the UAW?

BUDZINSKI: Well, the UAW, the United Steelworkers, have also weighed in and they've pointed out that we do have good trading partners with countries like Canada, that we've been able to reach agreements that account for workers' rights, that account for environmental protections. And we believe that we should have fair trade.

As a Democrat, I believe in fair trade. I believe that we live in a global economy. But there are countries like China, like I mentioned, that have been dumping cheaper steel into the United States and putting our industries at a disadvantage. We should be looking strategically at using tariffs and not blanket tariffs like what we're seeing in countries like Canada.

SIDNER: Are you planning on voting for or against the Republican Stop Gap bill to fund the government for another six months that has to happen in the next four days to avoid a government shutdown?

BUDZINSKI: Yes, look, I am not inclined to be supporting this. This is not a clean, continuing resolution. For folks at home this is just the Republicans kicking the can down the road, unable to actually come to the table. Actually, Republicans left the negotiating table last week with Democrats to actually get to a full and complete federal budget.

What we know about what is going to be hitting the House floor tomorrow is the potential for billions of dollars of cuts.

[08:10:00]

Also, turning over some of this appropriations for agencies as slush funds for Elon Musk and Donald Trump to do as they will with this federal funding. And what we've seen with this attack on the federal workforce, the Trump administration's interest in slashing and eliminating agencies. I just don't feel comfortable for the American people and for the constituents that I represent, giving them this unchecked power with a continuing resolution.

SIDNER: Yes, we just heard from Congressman Malliotakis about this and she says, oh, this is the exact same bill that Democrats approved six months ago. Is she correct? It's no, she's not.

BUDZINSKI: No, she's not. What we know is that there could be tens of billions of dollars of cuts in non-discretionary funding. This is at a time where we just voted on a budget proposal that could potentially cut up to $880 billion in Medicaid. Passing a continuing resolution that would make further cuts in the non-discretionary funding, I think is reckless for the American people.

Very concerned about what this administration, how they would decide to use their discretion, which they would have complete control of, where they would like to fund priorities. Are they going to continue to support mental health initiatives for our VA? Are they going to continue to support some of our NIH initiatives, which we know have been on the chopping block?

This CR that's going to hit the floor on Tuesday in the House gives them full discretion. The Trump, Elon Musk administration, full flexibility to make the cuts where they want to make and make investments that they see fit. And I just believe as a legislature, Congress should have that authority and does have that authority to make those determinations.

SIDNER: The power of the purse is usually Congress's job. Congressman Nikki Budzinski, thank you so much. Appreciate you coming on this morning -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So a small plane up in flames after crashing just after takeoff. Everyone on board managed to survive. The latest on an investigation now underway.

And Greenland will elect a new government tomorrow, as President Trump still is saying that the United States needs to get to Greenland one way or the other.

And the growing list now of celebrities speaking out against the deep fakes still flooding the Internet.

[08:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: So this morning, an investigation is underway over a plane crash in Pennsylvania. A small plane went down just after takeoff, bursting into flames in the parking lot of a retirement community just yesterday. I mean, just look at that fire. Five people were on the plane. They were taken to a local hospital with injuries.

CNN's Pete Muntean is tracking this one and he's joining us now. The pictures here are very are really scary, Pete, what are you learning about this?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kate, big talk in the aviation community about this crash. This involved a Beechcraft Bonanza, the type of plane that I fly often. And investigators really now have their clues cut out for them and their work cut out for them.

This crash took place only about a minute after takeoff from the Lancaster Airport. And this plane went down in a retirement community. Thankfully, nobody on the ground injured by that big fire.

But preliminary flight tracking data shows this plane lifted off about 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time yesterday, only made it to about 200 feet above the ground, then started descending at a pretty slow speed above the ground and a pretty slow rate of descent before crashing into a parking lot and erupting into flames.

Now, the pilot of this plane radioed the control tower that he had a door pop open and needed to return to the airport. Want you to listen now to the air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PILOT: Laser Tower Bonanza 347 Mike has an open door. We need to return for a landing.

ATC: 347 Mike Roger, you want to make it to 31 or 26.

PILOT: Mike Tower, I cannot hear you with the wind, so we're going to return to 26 we're going downwind.

ATC: Yeah 347 Mike Roger runway 26 clear to land.

PILOT: 26 cleared to land 347 Mike.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: You can hear the exchange there with the pilot and the controller there saying that he could come back in and land on another runway. Obviously, he did not make it.

A Bonanza is a pretty capable and strong airplane. And this one was heavily modified with a turbine engine built by Rolls-Royce. The plane has two doors, a door on the right side by the pilots and a larger barn-style door in the back for passengers. Not really clear here which one the pilot was talking about. But a door opening in flight often cited as a cause of crashes in these kinds of airplanes. The key is to fly the airplane first, not get too distracted, come back around and land. The average person might think a door opening in flight is a big deal, but at low altitude, mostly just creates a lot of noise. Land, close the door, and you're on your way.

Five people on board this plane, Kate, and here's the latest in the "New York Times" reporting, three were taken to a burn unit, two of them airlifted, two more were taken to a closer hospital nearby Lancaster -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Let's hope for their recovery and a quick recovery at that. Pete, thank you so much for your reporting as always.

Coming up still for us, a prominent leader in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University has now been arrested by immigration agents, what the White House may have to do with it, we'll bring you that.

And a playlist fit for a king, literally, King Charles sharing some of his top tracks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: Playing "Could You Be Loved" by the late Bob Marley. I always recall his words, the people have a voice inside of them. He gave the world that voice in a way that no one who heard could ever forget.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:20:03]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: There is new follow up this morning from those college campus protests over the war in Gaza. Federal immigration authorities arrested a pro-Palestinian activist and recent graduate who helped lead the anti-war demonstrations at Columbia University last year. In a social media post, the Homeland Security Department accuses Mahmoud Khalil of leading, quote, activities aligned to Hamas.

Khalil's attorney says he was taken into custody as part of what she says is the government's repression of student activism and political speech.

Joining me now is CNN's Gloria Pazmino.

[08:25:00]

Gloria, this activist was arrested despite having a green card.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara, so the first thing we should mention is that having a green card certainly does not prevent you from being arrested, right. But the key question here is why he was arrested. Now, we see the the statement there from the Department of Homeland

Security saying that he was aligned -- that he led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. What we do not know yet is what, if anything, he has been charged with.

We do not know where he is being held. And we don't know if he is going to be brought before an immigration judge at some point to determine the next steps in what we usually know as due process. Right. That's what people get when they are arrested. So that's why there's been a lot of criticism and a big response to this arrest.

Now, here's what we know about Khalil. As you said, he led student protests last year on the campus of Columbia University. He was one of the negotiators with the university. And he was at the center of this movement, which was centered at Columbia University in response to the Israel-Gaza war.

Now, since then, he has graduated and he was arrested on Saturday night by immigration authorities at his apartment. Now, we know all of these details from his attorney, Ms. Green.

Now, his wife, who is eight months pregnant, was present during the arrest. And she tells us that when they came to arrest him, they said that they were revoking his student visa. They said, no, no, he doesn't have a visa. He has a green card. And officials apparently responded by saying that that was being revoked, too.

So there's a little bit of mystery going on here in terms of what happens next. What, if anything, he's been charged with and whether or not he is going to be released.

A lot of outcry so far from student activists and members on campus who say that this is sending a chilling message about freedom of speech.

SIDNER: The First Amendment.

PAZMINO: Exactly. Now, the administration is saying that this is in response to President Trump's executive order, which he signed two weeks shortly after taking office. And it said that this is to combat anti-Semitism and directed schools to monitor and report activities.

Now, Columbia University has responded to the presence of ICE on campus over the weekend, but they have not directly acknowledged the arrest of Khalil. We're waiting for them to get back to us on that. And for now, we're waiting to learn more from his attorney who said that this is a open repression of student activism and political speech.

SIDNER: It is interesting because we don't know what he's being charged with and that ICE was involved, but he had a green card. So what that is all about is quite confusing here. I know you will keep following this. I know that there's some of the students I also spoke to on the campus who were very concerned hearing that he had been arrested and not knowing why. Lots of questions here. Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. All right, ahead, President Trump has plans to slash more federal

jobs. How his push to overhaul the federal government is disrupting the lives of America's veterans.

And a 44-year-old British woman just accomplished something no woman has done in seven years. We have more on her NASCAR debut.

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