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S&P 500 Hits Correction Territory as Trump's Trade War Escalates; GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards Met with Anger, Boos at North Carolina Town Hall; Senate Democrats Appear Ready to Back GOP Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown; Putin Lays Out Tough Demands on Ceasefire Proposal; Mahmoud Khalil's Lawyers File New Petition Challenging His Detention. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired March 14, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Correction Territory markets plunging again yesterday making for another volatile day in a volatile week for the markets brought on by the roller coaster of President Trump's tariff war. Market futures right now pointing up. Let's see how long it lasts Wednesday open. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins me now with much more on I mean, what can we expect today? That might be actually the toughest question of all.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Toughest question to answer, but if past precedent indicates anything, it's going to be a potentially roller coaster day on Wall Street. But we know that the S&P entered correction yesterday. That means that it hit a 10 percent decline off its high, which it hit just a few weeks ago in February.

The Nasdaq entered correction last week, down 14 percent. And the Dow is on pace to do the same and also on pace to have its worst weekly decline since June of 2022.

This, of course, all because of President Trump's tariffs. There is so much uncertainty. Investors like uncertainty. They do not see uncertainty in the future.

And the president says that he's not watching the markets right now. And we also heard from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said the same thing. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: We're focused on the real economy. Can we create an environment where there are long term gains in the market and long term gains for the American people? I'm not concerned about the a little bit of volatility over three weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: But ultimately, this picture behind us, not a pretty picture. This is what the markets have done since Trump's inauguration. You want to see those lines moving upwards, not downwards. But futures this morning pointing up. But we've seen that all week.

BOLDUAN: Really? I think all week they started pointing up, right?

YURKEVICH: I think every week I've been here with you, they started pointing up. And then that changed, of course, very quickly.

BOLDUAN: And also within that period of time from opening bell to closing bell has also been more tariffs being threatened, more tariffs being slapped on more commentary from the president and his top advisers on what they think -- what they say they're watching and what they think, what they say, how resilient they think they can be.

YURKEVICH: Right.

BOLDUAN: Let's just see together. Thank you, Vanessa. I really appreciate it -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Furious constituents outside of Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards Town Hall in Asheville, North Carolina. Inside, there was even more outrage over the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE's sweeping cuts to the federal government.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are people losing their jobs at record numbers?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: CNN national correspondent Isabel Rosales is joining me now. You were in the room where it happened last night. Give us some sense of what that was like. I mean, it was just a barrage of anger.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sara, good morning. And now Chuck Edwards office motto is first and constituent services. And he certainly heard from constituents last night.

It was a packed house, 300 people and plus inside of an auditorium, hundreds of others outside who couldn't get in because of capacity standards. Constituents were certainly airing their grievances, sometimes in extremely fiery, explosive exchanges. It was highly energetic boos and jeers directed toward the congressman, even shouting matches, as we saw there, confronting the congressman on a variety of issues, including Ukraine and discussions of cut to Medicare.

But what especially struck a nerve, Sara, were the discussions of DOGE cuts to federal workers, including jobs held by veterans. Some of the loudest boos were after Edwards complimented Elon Musk.

Now, watch this exchange just minutes into the start of the town hall between Edwards and a man who identified himself as a veteran. Watch.

[07:35:02]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. CHUCK EDWARDS (R-NC): I was proud to vote recently for the House budget resolution, which provides the framework.

(CROWD BOOING)

EDWARDS: Yes. And you wonder why folks don't want to do these town halls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do your job that you were sent there to do?

EDWARDS: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you represent us all constitutional? Got nothing to say but lie. You're lying. I'm a veteran. You don't give a f*** about me. And you don't get the f*** for us. You don't get to take away our rights. You don't get to take our house and get off of it.

(CHEERING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't get to do this. You didn't stand up for us. You didn't do what he (BLEEP). You don't have to do this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: Yes, certainly very fiery there, but several constituents also discussed with me their appreciation that Edwards was holding this town hall in person in the first place. Because remember, GOP leadership has advised Republicans across the nation to either skip town halls altogether or switch them over into virtual town halls -- Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, you have to give him credit for standing and listening to his constituents, which is what most politicians should be doing because they're supposed to be representing their constituency. Thank you so much. Really interesting story there from you, Isabel Rosales. Appreciate it -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: And joining us right now, CNN political commentator, S.E. Cupp, and Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha. It's good to see you guys. S.E., we're sitting there watching this together as it played out. What, what do you see in this?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, as, as folks have noted, good for him for going. He spent 89 minutes there despite GOP leadership saying, you don't have to go to these anymore. You shouldn't. In a Kamala plus 24 district.

BOLDUAN: Right.

CUPP: So, but it should be said, these kinds of clashes are happening in places like Texas, Kansas, Georgia, North Carolina, red states, states that went for Trump. So it's not just angry liberals.

I think for Republicans to have to defend Republican policies to a veteran. And that guy was not the only veteran we saw. They've really lost the plot. They've lost a key constituent. They've lost the idea of who they're doing this for and what the point of cutting government is for. It's to make it leaner and smarter and better for veterans and everyone else. So I think there's, there's a lot of -- there's a lot of consternation among voters. That's obvious.

But I, I also think Republicans are having a tough time defending the chaos that Trump is overseeing right now. And how fast it's moving fast.

BOLDUAN: And how fast it's moving.

CUPP: Really fast.

BOLDUAN: And I, I -- you see kind of this like this hot outrage and we, and we bring it to show people kind of what's out there. It also just makes me kind of sad because that -- what I saw in there was like pain and fear.

CUPP: That guy was hurting. We were just talking about this. That guy was hurting, wondering maybe about his healthcare, his kids, his family.

He is not alone. You know, it's not just federal employees that were fired. A lot of people are hurting right now and confused and concerned about what's coming next. They don't even know what's around the corner.

BOLDUAN: That uncertainty. I mean, uncertainty is the word of the months because that's what's so scary.

You know, Chuck, the one thing that I'm not sure of yet is what is the impact of these encounters? We know we've heard the president dismissing them and he's not moving off his positions at all so far. So far, it does not appear to be moving any elected from their already held position.

I mean, is political outrage now just so normal that it doesn't hit the same?

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think part of that is true. There's also a calculation here by Republicans from a political lens. They want to get as much of this pain out of the way earlier because they're taking the calculated risk that people won't remember this in 18 months.

The real future of this is how long does this pain go on and the frustration go on as we get closer to the midterms, because that's when I think you'll see Republican congressmen and senators, I hope, start pushing back some on the administration saying, look, you're fixing to cost us the majority in the House and maybe the majority in the Senate. The majority in the House would be a lot easier for Democrats. Republicans only have a few seat majority. There's about 35 seats in the country right now that have a plus or minus just three point Republican or Democrat could easily switch back and forth either way.

[07:40:00]

And with the anxiety you see in these town halls and with the frustrations in America, the Republicans are taking a risk that that will all be over by the summer once they have a budget, other things are going on. But the Democrats are saying, I don't think it's going to be over nowhere near then. We're going to keep reminding the American voters what they voted for.

BOLDUAN: Yes, I mean, I don't know. I'm sure I can be corrected, but it's been a while since I've seen such a calculation of short term pain, long term gain that is going to be playing out on kind of in the political realm.

Add to this, S.E., the government shutdown, maybe, maybe not averted. We will find out today at some point how the Senate is going to vote. But I mean, I said it on five things this morning. I think what we're looking at with Chuck Schumer is like maybe the perfect political definition of stuck between a rock and a hard place in terms of what he had.

I mean, what shifted for him is kind of you know, the span of less than 24 hours is is my question today.

CUPP: Yes, we don't know. Maybe it was Christian Gillibrand yelling at Democrats behind closed doors so loud that reporters could hear out loud.

But yes, Democrats are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do they add to the chaos and confusion or do they be the only adults who are trying to keep things stable? It's a tough spot. But for all of them --

BOLDUAN: When you've got people on more -- like more maybe the progressive left saying, we are -- we need to be more -- we need to be more loud. We need to be --

CUPP: You've got the AOCs saying, why are we going for this? You've got the Fetterman saying we need to pass this. Let's be grownups.

It is shocking how Democrats have not figured out what is coming down the pike. It is March. You know, this spending fight is coming and you know, Republicans have a majority.

I don't understand -- for all the chaos on the right, Democrats are a mess. They haven't figured out -- it's not how they're going to fight Donald Trump yet. They haven't even figured out if they're going to fight Donald Trump's agenda. They've got to get it together and get on the same page and figure out a road map going forward because the chaos is going to be daily.

There's going to be incoming for months and they are not they are not on the same page at all. That's clear.

BOLDUAN: Chuck, you mentioned midterms. I was actually going to bring up midterms in this regard, but it all kind of wraps up into one and then, you know, add tariffs on into it as well. I've seen some reporting that it's going to be the Democratic -- Democratic senators in potentially tough reelection fights for 2026 are going to be the ones who will join Schumer's here -- join Schumer here.

I mean, do you think Democrats will be able to avoid blame if the government shuts down and the whole thing does not happen.

ROCHA: I think it's a political risk by all of and I think you're exactly right, Kate, it's going to be an interesting group of folks on the Democrat side in the Senate if they keep the government open today. I saw folks in seats like my friend Ruben Gallego tweet this morning that he's a no vote. But then I've seen other folks that align with Chuck Schumer as a yes vote.

But this is all coming down to what you're talking about with the anxiety in the American electorate. I run elections all over the country every day. And there's a whole group of Republicans that are frustrated, too, because they voted for Donald Trump because they thought Joe Biden was old and weak.

They thought Donald Trump was crazy, but they remembered the prices of yesteryear and they thought that they could go back to a booming economy. He had learned his lesson and things would be OK. This is a stark reminder that the Republicans, Elon Musk and DOGE is a bunch of chaos.

And this is not why they voted even for Donald Trump, putting the Democrats to the side.

BOLDUAN: Yes, a message of trust me, just wait, it'll get better. That is a tough sell for any politician, no matter how great your following is in terms of Donald Trump's following.

It's great to see you guys. Thank you so much -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, breaking overnight, new CNN polling shows most Americans are doubtful that President Trump's approach to the war in Ukraine will end up bringing about lasting peace. Fifty nine percent say his approach is not too likely or not at all likely to end in long term peace.

That includes a sizable share of Republicans, 28 percent also expressing doubts. And 18 percent of Republicans say his approach to the war is bad for the U.S.

All of this comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin questioned the ceasefire proposal brokered by U.S. officials. Putin laying out conditions and demanding concessions from Ukraine.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow. Where do things stand right now on the ceasefire proposal that is currently on the table? FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly doesn't look as though, Sara, the Russians are going to agree to a ceasefire in the at least near future. One of the things that we're hearing today, some new information that we're getting is actually coming from the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who did confirm that Steve Witkoff, the president's negotiator, met with Vladimir Putin for several hours last night. The Kremlin saying that apparently they got new information from the Trump administration. At the same time, they also conveyed information to Steve Witkoff as well.

[07:45:00]

And as the Kremlin put it, quote, sent signal, not exactly what that means, but certainly might mean under what conditions the Russians might be willing to take up the ceasefire proposal.

At the same time, the Russians at this point in time are not willing to say when there will be a phone call between President Trump and Russian President Putin. But you're absolutely right. Vladimir Putin did come out yesterday and say that, yes, on the one hand, he is for a ceasefire, but he does have still reservations. Let's listen to some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I have reservations. Obviously, I fully support the proposal, but there are a lot of things which we still have to discuss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: He then came up with a litany of things that the Russians say still need to be sorted out, like, for instance, where the demarcation line is going to be between Russian and Ukrainian forces if there is a ceasefire. How a ceasefire is monitored, how a ceasefire is enforced, but then also, of course, what happens to Ukrainian forces who are still fighting in Russia's Kursk region, where the Russians are saying right now their troops are on the move and making gains -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Fred Pleitgen, I know you'll be watching all of this from there in Moscow. Really appreciate your reporting on this, Fred -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Also this morning, a powerful storm is set to kind of explode in strength as it barrels across the central U.S. The storm already hit southern California, where it unleashed more mudslides, floods, trapping motorists. Now 70 million people could face severe thunderstorms today and tomorrow, even looking at possible tornadoes.

Which means we need to bring in CNN's Allison Chinchar, who's following all of this. I mean, it's like all over the country the storm system is going to be wreaking havoc. Allison, what are you watching? ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and Mother Nature is providing pretty much all aspects of weather as well. You've got a fire threat. You've got severe thunderstorms. You've also got the winter storm aspect of this. There will be people that end up getting some snow and ice out of this. So we've got a lot to talk about and a timeline, really, that's going to be impacting two separate days.

So let's break it down for you. This is where the low-pressure system is that we're talking about. It's going to make its way across the east over the next several days, bringing the potential for severe weather.

But also look at the winds. Before we start to see the rain, those winds are going to really start to increase. You're talking over 75 million people under some type of high-wind alert as we go through the next 24 to 36 hours.

That wind component, especially because it's coming before the rain, is really going to ramp up the fire threat. You're looking at a lot of these areas, those wind gusts up around 50 to 70 miles per hour. Then once we finally get the rain component to come in, now we're starting to talk about severe thunderstorms, the potential for damaging winds, tornadoes, and hail that could be the size of baseballs in some spots.

This is going to be the main threat area for today but today is not the only day this system will continue to slide eastward through the next 36 to 48 hours.

Here's a look. By the time we get to tonight, you really start to see those storms beginning to ramp up across the Midwest. Then you can start to see the southern aspect of this line really beginning to take shape overnight tonight and into the early morning hours on Saturday. That will continue through Saturday afternoon as you really start to see a lot of those severe components begin to flare up, especially over states like Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and eventually in towards Georgia once we get towards the evening and into the overnight timeline.

BOLDUAN: We're watching it. Thank God for you. Allison, thank you so much. Much to come.

Coming up for us still this morning, new details on the arrest of a Palestinian activist. After dozens of protesters started calling for his release, they were removed from Trump Tower by police.

There's also this. How often do I get to say these words? A celestial spectacle overnight. The first and only lunar eclipse visible from the United States this year. And it was a blood moon.

[07:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Some breaking news this morning. We are just learning that Hamas is now saying that they are willing to release U.S. Israeli hostage Don Alexander as well as the bodies of four dual nationals still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza right now. Now this is part of a, quote, proposal that Hamas has been discussing with Israel as Qatar and Egypt mediate their talks. Alexander has been held in Gaza 524 days.

A dramatic rescue we want to bring to you from Southern California. Crews lifting a man to safety. You're going to see it all play out right here. After he was found clinging to a tree just feet above a rushing creek, you can see just look at -- you can see how intense the water is rushing below that SUV. The heavy rain triggered several swift water rescues and mudslides in the region.

Tonight, SpaceX will try once again to launch a new crew to the International Space Station. It's the first step in bringing astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back home. The Falcon 9 rocket was set to launch Wednesday -- as we talked about -- but it was scrubbed due to a problem with the launch pad.

[07:55:00]

Now once the new crew arrives the ISS the rocket will then eventually bring Williams and Wilmore home after their weeks long tour turned into no more than nine months in space.

And if you looked up last night I hope you did. You might have gotten a pretty awesome view. The first and only lunar eclipse visible from the United States this year and the first total lunar eclipse since 2022. Nicknamed a Blood Moon because it's just so cool. This rare natural -- obviously, it's a natural phenomenon -- happens when the moon moves into the deepest part of Earth's shadow turning a reddish hue as sunbeams sneak around the shadow through Earth's atmosphere. Sneaky sunbeams.

The next total lunar lunar eclipse will be in September. Visible from Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. On that one we say sorry United States -- Sara.

SIDNER: I love sneaky sunbeams.

BOLDUAN: They get us every time.

SIDNER: All right, thank you Kate.

Overnight lawyers for the Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil filing a new petition asking a federal judge to immediately release him. The lawyers are challenging the Trump administration's use of a rarely used law allowing the secretary of state to deport people they deem a threat.

Khalil right now is being detained at an ICE facility in Louisiana after he was arrested over his involvement with pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University.

The lawyers writing this: The Trump administration has made no secret of its opposition to those protests and has repeatedly threatened to weaponize immigration law to punish non-citizens who have participated. Now this comes after nearly 100 protesters supporting Khalil were arrested yesterday inside Trump Tower in New York. You see them there. The protest organized by a progressive group called Jewish Voice for Peace.

While many were led out in zip ties others were carried out. Joining us now is an attorney for Mahmoud Khalil Donna Lieberman. She is executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

All right, first of all what exactly is Khalil being charged with?

DONNA LIEBERMAN, ATTORNEY FOR MAHMOUD KHALIL: He's being charged with having ideas and speaking out about them ideas that the government disapproves of. And really that's all there is to it. This is a targeted retaliatory and extreme attack on the right of free expression.

SIDNER: So the government has been arguing that because he was protesting in support of Palestinians in Gaza and against Israel's bombardment of Gaza that he aligns with Hamas and therefore can be deported. Did -- did I get that right. And is that something that is truly a legal concept.

LIEBERMAN: Well it's a legal concept from this administration but it has no basis in law and it has no basis in -- under a constitution that protects the right of free speech. The First Amendment protects everybody in the country. And this administration is telling the public a half truth.

They have pulled out this obscure piece of law that says you can be deported for doing something that endangers our foreign policy. But guess what. That same statute says that you can't be deported for past or anticipated statements beliefs or association that are entirely lawful that are express a political view.

In other words they're not claiming that he did anything illegal. They just don't like what he thinks and says. And in this country so far we're a democracy. We have the First Amendment. That is not illegal.

SIDNER: Look I remember back in the days -- because I am seasoned as we call it in my community -- when the ACLU actually stood up for the rights of the KKK to speak their piece in public and to take part in protests or marches.

In this instance is the First Amendment the main crux of this. Is this all about the First Amendment according to the way you all see it.

LIEBERMAN: Absolutely, This is all about the First Amendment and it's all about due process. You know they have -- they kidnapped this man this young student, father to be in any minute now, based on an accusation that he has the wrong political ideas and he has expressed them.

And this isn't just about him. This is a shot across the bow. This is a message to every university in the country. This is a message to every member of the faculty in any university to all the students. It's an attempt to bully the universities into submission. It's an attempt to bully and intimidate students from speaking out, faculty from speaking out.

And it's an attempt to bully the rest of us into being quiet and going with the administration's program. Last I heard we were a democracy. This attempt to quell free speech is absolutely terrifying.