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Marco Rubio Arrives in Saudi Arabia For Ukraine Talks; Republicans Scramble to Avoid Government Shutdown; Interview With Ontario, Canada, Premier Doug Ford; Trump Rattles Wall Street. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired March 10, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:31]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Market mayhem, another bleak day on Wall Street, as investors react to President Trump's refusing to rule out a recession this year and the uncertainty around his tariff policy, as Trump warns that those taxes could still go up.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus: Let's try this again. U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia for fresh talks after that ugly Oval Office blow-up. What we know about this new critical diplomatic push to end the war in Ukraine.

And could Lyle and Erik Menendez soon be free? We're expecting to hear this hour from the L.A. district attorney, who's considering the brothers' request to be resentenced.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Today, Wall Street rattled, as President Trump's global trade war enters a new phase. Today, China began imposing tariffs on a wide range of farm products from the U.S., and adding to the economic uncertainty, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: But are you expecting a recession this year?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition, because what we're doing is very big.

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)

KEILAR: CNN's Alayna Treene is live from the White House for us.

So, Alayna, what is the White House trying to do with this messaging?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, so interesting and some of those comments, Brianna, are so fascinating to me.

One, of course, you saw him double down on those comments that he had made early in the day about refusing to rule out a recession, but also, for a president like Donald Trump, someone who loves to engage in hyperbole, he exaggerates -- and you have heard many of his other top Cabinet secretaries, people like Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, saying there's no way that there's going to be a recession.

It's very interesting how he's being kind of cautious in his language on this answer. And it's in line with what he's been saying over the past several weeks, which is he expects some sort of short-term pain. And this is repeatedly what I'm hearing from White House officials as well, that, yes, there's probably going to be some short-term pain.

And that is what they're trying to argue. But at the same time, we are hearing Wall Street, Capitol Hill, the global -- our global trading partners, all of them very concerned about what they are seeing, specifically as the fallout from this kind of whiplash on the tariff policy.

But one person that we did hear from this morning on this was Kevin Hassett, one of Donald Trump's top economic advisers. He did try to have a more economic message. And, again, he argued that he believed the trade deficit would be temporary as well and be solved soon. Take a listen to how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: People are anxious about future tariffs. And so they're stockpiling. And so that's a very, very temporary phenomenon. There's a heck of a lot of uncertainty that's resolved.

I think that, in the end, the trade policy uncertainty is the one thing that people will see. And that is going to be resolved in early April, as President Trump has said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So that last part there, Brianna, I didn't fully understand, to be honest, when he's saying it will be resolved, the tariffs policy in April.

We know that the president has said that, by April 2, he expects tariffs on U.S. -- or -- excuse me -- on Canada and Mexico, the United States' neighbors, to go back into effect in a bigger way, to maybe have more tariffs placed on them.

So, if anything, we might see more uncertainty in April. But what he did also try to argue, and I caught up with him after that interview here at the White House, he essentially was trying to argue that there is other parts of the economic agenda, when you look at tax policy, which they're, of course, trying to do right now, in that broader spending deal.

We will see if Congress can avoid a government shutdown on Friday. If not, that will only send the markets into -- throw them into more uncertainty. But he was trying to argue that that and some of the other economic priorities could offset some of that tariff uncertainty.

But the bottom line here is, one, the Trump administration and the president himself are acknowledging that, yes, we could see prices go higher. They don't want to say that a recession could not happen, all at the same time knowing that the president is dug in on tariffs. He believes that the United States is being taken advantage of, and he believes it's a good negotiating tool.

We will see if that changes if the market continues to react the way it is -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Alayna Treene live for us at the White House, thank you -- Boris.

[13:05:01]

SANCHEZ: In addition to these new retaliatory tariffs from China, Canada's tariffs on the U.S. are still in place.

Last week, it put a 25 percent levy on things like beer, fruit, and vegetables, shoes, cosmetics and more. And, today, Ontario starts charging a 25 percent surcharge on electricity to three U.S. states, Minnesota, Michigan and New York.

The tariff war and opposition to President Trump has actually unified Canadians. Listen to these remarks from Mark Carney, who is expected to be Canada's next prime minister. He was just elected to head the Liberal Party yesterday, soon potentially to be sworn in as P.M.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, INCOMING CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The Canadian government has rightly retaliated and is rightly retaliating with our own tariffs that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impact here in Canada.

And my government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's discuss with Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, which is the province that started to impose that surcharge on 1.5 million homes and businesses in the United States. He also ordered all U.S. alcohol to be removed from Ontario shelves.

Premier, thank you so much for sharing part of the afternoon with us.

What do you hope to achieve with this surcharge? What needs to happen for you to remove it?

DOUG FORD, PREMIER OF ONTARIO, CANADA: Well, first of all, thanks so much for having me on, Boris.

And I start off every interview with telling Americans that Canadians love Americans. I love Americans. It's one person that's caused this problem, and that's President Trump.

As he is putting tariffs on us, even if he says he's putting it on hold, there's still 60 percent of goods that are crossing the borders that will be tariffed. And it's hurting both economies. It's hurting the American economy. It's hurting the Canadian economy.

Uncertainty is what people don't like hearing in general life, not to mention the markets are tumbling, and investors from around the world are looking twice at America and Canada to invest in. There's no reason for a recession.

I call it the self-made Donald Trump recession. He ran on a mandate to lower prices, to make sure we didn't have inflation, to create more jobs, and it's backfired. So let's sit down at the table, and let's start working on a new USMCA deal, even though President Trump said it was the greatest deal he's ever made.

Nothing's changed, so I guess it's not the greatest deal now.

SANCHEZ: His argument would be that he's trying to remake the American economy to produce more goods that are currently imported into the U.S. here at home.

With these electricity surcharge,you say that the move is designed to protect your province. The administration, if they see it as an escalation and they reciprocate with tariffs on lumber, steel, and dairy, ultimately, doesn't that hurt your constituents?

FORD: No, we're looking at negotiating through strength.

If he cuts off the lumber or puts a tariff, do you know whose costs are going up? It's the American people that want to buy a home. They're going to pay more for their home or steel that they need or aluminum. There's 16 percent of aluminum is manufactured in the U.S. They rely on over 60 percent aluminum to come down there for their goods.

High-grade nickel coming out of Ontario, 50 percent of the high-grade nickel for your military, aerospace and manufacturing comes from Ontario. And the list keeps going on and on and on, not to mention the 4.3 million barrels of crude oil that we ship down every single day.

So I believe in building an Am-Can fortress. Let's make sure that we focus on having the two greatest countries in the world, the most prosperous, the richest, the safest. The problem's not Canada. It's China right now. And he has to keep an eye on China.

SANCHEZ: I do want to ask you about the question of fairness, and specifically on one claim, because I have heard it from Trump and a number of officials in his administration, most recently Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

He argues that Canada has a 255 percent tariff on dairy imports. The administration has cited that over and over again. Is that number accurate? Do you think it's fair for American dairy farmers?

FORD: Well, what I'd like to do is sit down and discuss these issues with them at the USMCA table.

What I will tell you this. If we take the 4.3 million barrels a day that we ship down there to keep your economy going off the balance sheet, the U.S. has a $56 billion surplus, a trade surplus, with Canada. I'm OK with that's fine. Things were going fine, everything was moving forward, market was going up a little bit, everyone was optimistic, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he wants to attack his closest neighbor and ally.

[13:10:04]

And his number I call -- or I call their number one customer. You don't attack your number one customer and expect the results that he thought were going to happen. Protectionism does not work, especially between Canada and the U.S.

Maybe he should read a -- take a page out of Ronald Reagan's book.

SANCHEZ: Premier, I do want to ask you about Mark Carney. He is in line to become the next prime minister.

We saw Justin Trudeau's relationship with Trump evolve and then ultimately degrade. How do you think Mark Carney is going to approach President Trump?

FORD: Well, Mr. Carney is a very, very bright individual. And it's up to Mr. Carney to build that relationship with President Trump. They're both bright people. Let's make no mistake about.

Agree or disagree with President Trump, he understands finances. So does Mark Carney. And so do I. We're businesspeople. And if we sit down around the table, we can resolve the problem and make sure that both countries prosper, the likes of which this country's never seen or the likes of which the U.S. has never seen, if we work together.

SANCHEZ: Premier Doug Ford, we appreciate you joining us and sharing your point of view.

FORD: Thank you so much, and God bless America and God bless Canada. Thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Appreciate you, sir -- Brianna.

KEILAR: On Capitol Hill, House Republicans have a spending plan to avoid a potentially devastating government shutdown. But the clock is ticking for lawmakers to agree on it, because there's a Friday deadline and it is fast approaching.

This is a measure that would keep the money flowing in Washington through the end of September. It includes an increase in defense spending and some cuts to domestic spending, which Democrats will likely oppose.

The House is expected to vote on the bill tomorrow, but with a super slim majority, Republicans have virtually no margin of error to pass it.

CNN's Lauren Fox is live for us on Capitol Hill following all of this for us.

Lauren, where do things stand right now? '

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, the first challenge is going to be whether or not House Republican leadership can get this through their own chamber.

We expect that a vote would happen tomorrow in the House of Representatives. And, again, this is such a narrow majority that Speaker Johnson likely can't afford to lose more than one vote. That assumes that every single Democrat is voting against this piece of legislation.

And that does remain to be seen. But, so far, every single Democrat that I have talked to has argued that this is House Republicans' control of this chamber and it's up to them to keep the government funded.

Now there are some good and bright spots for Speaker Johnson. One of them, a lot of the conservatives who typically do not vote for these stopgap spending measures are signaling that they are behind the speaker. In part, that is because of some work that President Donald Trump did last week when he invited lawmakers to come to the White House where he made his case that this is crucial to ensuring that they can really move on to other pieces of legislation that would help advance President Trump's agenda.

Now, the other question mark is, even if this gets out of the House of Representatives, what happens once it gets over to the Senate? Republicans do control that chamber, but they do not have a filibuster-proof majority. That means they will need at least seven Democrats, likely more, because Senator Rand Paul, a Republican, typically votes against these stopgap measures.

Already, you are seeing a lot of consternation, a lot of concern from Senate Democrats about this proposal that House Republicans put forward over the weekend. It remains to be seen whether or not Democrats would get behind this bill if it gets out of the House or whether or not they'd let the government shut down -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, the suspense again.

Lauren Fox live from the Hill for us.

Still to come, we're live in Saudi Arabia, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio has just arrived for a high-stakes meeting with Ukrainian officials. It's the first time the two sides have met since that Oval Office blowup a week-and-a-half ago.

And Dominican authorities say they have questioned the young man who was one of the last people seen with a missing American college student. Hear what he reportedly told them.

And a new Democratic bill could force the Trump administration to rehire veterans fired by DOGE. Big if, though, if Republicans support it.

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[13:18:46]

SANCHEZ: Secretary of State Marco Rubio touched down in Saudi Arabia just moments ago ahead of meetings tomorrow with Ukrainian officials. And the stakes of this trip are incredibly high. Following that fiery dust-up between President Trump and President Zelenskyy at the White House, Trump is demanding a peace deal three years after Russia's full-scale invasion.

Now one senior State Department official says they believe Kyiv is -- quote -- "ready to move forward."

Let's take you to Saudi Arabia now with CNN's Alex Marquardt, who's there before the talks begin.

So, Alex, now that Rubio has arrived, what are you hearing about what the conversation is likely to be?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, right before Rubio touched down, he spoke with reporters on the plane. He said that, broadly, he is hopeful that tomorrow's talks will go well.

He made clear that he wants to hear things from the Ukrainian side, that he's in listening mode, and he wants to hear essentially the sacrifices that Ukraine is willing to make to get to a peace deal, because, of course, there has been this Trump administration criticism that the Ukrainians are not yet ready to negotiate a peace deal.

So Rubio said that he wants to hear what difficult decisions, what concessions the Ukrainians are willing to make, like the concessions he says Russia will have to make. And that's interesting, Boris, because we have not heard really anything on the Russian side in terms of what they are willing to give up.

[13:20:06]

A lot of these concessions that they will be talking about will be territorial concessions. And Rubio said that they're not going to get into a very granular level of detail. They're not going to be in that room poring over maps and drawing lines.

But he wants to talk about what concessions, he says, are in the realm of the possible. Now, of course, the Trump administration has shut down, put a pause on that military and intelligence assistance for Ukraine. Rubio said that the defensive intelligence sharing has remained in effect.

Of course, that begs the question of, when you're defending yourself against the Russian onslaught, what is offense and what is defense? But, more importantly, Boris, in order to get that tap of military and intelligence assistance turned back on, this key, he says -- this meeting tomorrow, he says, will be key.

Boris, what we're going to see tomorrow is the second step in this process of trying to get the Russians and the Ukrainians to the table. The first step was three weeks ago, when Rubio and other top U.S. officials met with the Russian side in Riyadh also here in Saudi Arabia.

Tomorrow is the second step. The Europeans and the Ukrainians have criticized this kind of two-track approach, because they have essentially been frozen out of those conversations with the Russians.

And I should note, Boris, that it's interesting to see how the U.S. is approaching the two different sides, a stick with the Ukrainians and taking away that military and intelligence assistance to essentially force them to the table, and the carrot approach with the Russians, giving them that meeting on the world stage, saying that American troops will not go into Ukraine, and that Ukraine will not be a member of NATO, two very different approaches, but designed to eventually, Boris, get the two sides to the negotiating table -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Alex Marquardt, thank you so much for the update from Saudi Arabia.

Let's get some analysis now from Jeffrey Edmonds. He's a former director for Russia at the National Security Council and now a senior fellow at the Center For a New American Security.

Jeffrey, thanks for being with us.

This comment from Secretary of State Rubio about Ukraine making difficult decisions, what does that entail?

JEFFREY EDMONDS, FORMER DIRECTOR FOR RUSSIA, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: It's hard to know what they mean by decisions, unless they mean completely given in to Putin's demands, because there's really not a peace deal to be had as long as Putin believes he's winning.

As long as he thinks he can achieve his strategic goals by the way he's doing it now, by taking land in Ukraine, there's not going to be any meaningful peace deals coming out of Russia.

KEILAR: Should we stop looking at this as a negotiated peace by the U.S. and more as a negotiated surrender of Ukraine?

EDMONDS: That's how I would look at it, because it's not -- Putin hasn't voiced any kind of -- or hasn't signaled he's willing to back away from his strategic goals at all.

So it's difficult to see what the actual negotiating space would be, unless you're just giving him everything he wants. SANCHEZ: How has the dynamic for these negotiations changed since

that Oval Office meeting? Because, to Alex's point about a carrot and a stick, it seems like the U.S. is punishing Ukraine.

EDMONDS: That's right.

It seems like there's this view that Ukraine is the entity that's in the way of the peace deal, right? It's almost like, Ukraine get out of the way so that the U.S. and Russia can improve their own relations. But there's really nothing to be had there.

So it's really -- there's not much changed away from this idea that Ukraine is standing in the way of peace, and that's just not true.

KEILAR: You hear Zelenskyy reiterating this, especially since that Oval Office meeting. He's saying, Ukraine has been for peace since day one of this war and it's really Russia -- Russia's fault that this war is continuing.

He's meeting with the crown prince. What is to be gained? What are you looking for in that meeting?

EDMONDS: I don't -- I think he's looking for support, in addition to whatever limited support the United States is going to continue to give him.

And he's still trying to hold the center -- not the center stage, but trying to hold public opinion the Ukrainian side, given the fact that the United States has taken such a dramatic shift in its approach to Ukraine.

SANCHEZ: To your point about surrender versus negotiated peace, where do you see the lines being drawn when it comes to new borders?

Because Ukraine says that they're preventing a Russian advance in the east. Russia is making advances in Kursk, that part of Russia that Ukraine has made some gains in. Where does that line wind up landing?

EDMONDS: I think the line -- I think it's important to realize that, for Putin, the number one objective is not land. I think that's something that a lot of people think. It is about the neutrality and demilitarization of Ukraine. That's the central goal here.

Besides Luhansk and where the line -- but he wouldn't stop there if he didn't get those strategic goals of the neutrality of Ukraine and the demilitarization of Ukraine.

KEILAR: And so how does that look like in a negotiation, that neutrality of Ukraine that he desires? Do you expect that to come from this? Or do you expect it not to come from that, such that he continues what appears to be these territorial goals?

[13:25:10]

EDMONDS: It's not -- I don't want this now. They have talked about neutrality in the past, but not with Russia -- not with Russia's invasion.

KEILAR: That's right.

EDMONDS: And so I think what Putin wants is the United States to force the Ukrainians into some kind of neutrality agreement, because he doesn't trust the Ukrainians. And so it's got to be backed by us.

And that would really be kind of a fundamental shift in U.S. foreign policy.

SANCHEZ: Jeffrey Edmonds, very much appreciate the perspective. Thanks for joining us.

EDMONDS: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Still plenty more to come on NEWS CENTRAL, including a search under way in the Dominican Republic,a University of Pittsburgh student gone missing while celebrating spring break. We will tell you what surveillance video reveals about her last known movements, including who she was last seen with.

Plus, we're following a major update in the Menendez brothers case, the L.A. giving us an update.

We will be back in just a moment. Stay with us.

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