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White House Holds Briefing Amid Escalating Trade War With China; Tense Hearing As Trump Admin Refuses Judge's Order In Mistaken Deportation Case; Soon: Judge To Rule On Columbia Activist Khalil's Release; Trump's 145 Percent Tariff On China Threatens Christmas Industry. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired April 11, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: But this president is clearly committed to transparency.

You, in this room, see him and hear from him on a daily basis. You, in this room, know, from covering him, it's hard to keep up with him. He is a machine working around the clock every single day.

And the physician, after today's physical will provide an update on the report in the effort of transparency.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: If I could ask about tariffs. There have been big swings this week in the treasury bond yields. There's a theory that it might be because of China dumping these as leverage, driving up costs for U.S. loans like mortgages.

Does the White House have evidence that this is, in fact, a result of Chinese dumping? And if so, is there a message on that?

LEAVITT: Not to my knowledge, but I would check in with the Treasury Department on that. I can tell you, I know our secretary of treasury, Scott Bessent, is keeping a very close eye on the bond market.

He spoke about it at the White House this week, and I know he's keeping his eyes on it day to day.

Ed (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thanks. Thank you. Thank you, Karoline.

So the administration -- I have an administration source who's telling me that we're weeks away from the first deal with -- with the country over tariffs.

Where is the administration? How soon could we see that? And what country is that, the first one?

LEAVITT: I won't reveal or get ahead of our trade team, as these negotiations are obviously ongoing. But I can tell you very good progress has been made. Jamieson Greer was on television this morning and I spoke to him, and

he confirmed that more than 15 offers are already on the table, which is remarkable in just a mere matter of days. And as I said earlier, we've heard from more than 75 countries around the world.

This is a team effort. The president has a team of -- of great, brilliant advisers who have been with him every step of the way. And all of them will be divvying up the workload.

And I just want to give the president and his trade team credit for taking this on. This is a massive undertaking. There's no doubt about it. We take it very seriously.

The president is determined to renegotiate global trade on behalf of American workers. And again, you've seen people on both sides of the aisle calling for this for years.

But I think no other president lacked the courage or maybe the work ethic or the stamina to take on such a task.

(CROSSTALK)

LEAVITT: And I know there were some questions about the president's delayed departure earlier to Walter Reed I'd like to address. It was because he's working on this very issue. So he was running a bit behind this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: On the 90-day pause, is -- what would the president need to see in order to extend that 90-day pause for countries on tariffs?

LEAVITT: Well, I think the president addressed this yesterday when he said he's hoping that there will be good deals made before the 90 days is up, and we will cut those deals as soon as we possibly can, country by country.

Tailor made deals for each and every country as they all propose unique challenges and unique assets to each country -- advantages, rather. And if -- when that 90-day mark hits, the president will -- will make that decision, then.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: One more, if I could, on a different subject. So a bird earlier attacked my colleague, Peter Doocy, during a live shot. And --

LEAVITT: I'm wondering if that's why Peter is absent from the seat. Is he doing OK?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I mean, he's recovering.

LEAVITT: Has anyone checked on him?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He's recovering. Is anyone looking into that incident?

LEAVITT: I could check in with GSA to see if anybody here is looking into it.

I also understand there was a mouse in the briefing room earlier today, so I'm hoping somebody checked in on that --

(LAUGHTER)

LEAVITT: -- as I'm hoping it doesn't run up here and distract me.

That would be a good way for all of you to distract me, actually, have a mouse come run up here.

So I'll get an answer for you on that, out of respect for our good friend, Peter.

Jeff?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Why is American consumer confidence so low?

LEAVITT: Look, I think there's a great optimism in this economy. Great optimism for the American people. A lot of reasons for people to feel optimistic.

The president is, as I just said, trying to renegotiate the global trade agenda that has ripped off the American people for far too long. As he said, this is going to be a period of transition.

He wants consumers to trust in him, and they should trust in him. Look at what he did in his first term.

And I just want to reiterate all of the reasons to be confident since you asked, Jeff, for those watching at home.

Yesterday, the CPI report, inflation declined massively. Consumer prices are dropping for the first time in years. Energy prices are down. In fact, oil prices are down 20 percent since this president took office. Wholesale prices fell again.

There have been trillions of dollars in investments into this country. Every day, the president is signing executive orders to cut regulation, especially when it comes to Environmental Protection Agency.

Our energy industry that's going to unleash the economic boom in this country that we saw in the presidents first term. So trust in President Trump. He knows what he's doing. This is a proven economic formula.

ZELENY: What is he asking of Americans at this time? He talked about transition costs, transition problems. Is he asking something specific for Americans to do?

LEAVITT: No. I think the president is -- is asking for Americans, trust in Trump, as I just said. Trust in his economic agenda and formula. It's a proven formula that works.

And by the way, clearly, the American people do, in fact, trust him because they did just overwhelmingly elect him to this office.

Jennifer?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is he going -- I'm asking about the physical. Is he undergoing any general anesthesia? And can you outline any of the other tests that he's doing today?

[13:34:57]

LEAVITT: He is not. He is undergoing quite a few tests, imaging. Again, it's a long -- it's a yearly physical. So there's quite a lot that goes into it to make sure the president is accomplishing all of his goals. And we will provide a readout of that as soon as we can.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And will you be committed to releasing all of the results, as many of the results as possible?

LEAVITT: Of course. Yes. The president's physician will do that. I spoke with him this morning.

Karen?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Will you guys also consider releasing the president's fitness plan? He actually looks healthier than ever before, healthier than he did eight years ago. And I'm sure everybody in this room would agree.

Is he working out with Bobby Kennedy? And is he eating less McDonald's?

LEAVITT: I can confirm the president is in very good shape, as you see on a near-daily basis here.

And in that vein, thank God it's Friday. It's been a very long and busy week here at the White House. We will see you all on Monday. And we will release the -- the results of that report as soon as we can.

Have a great weekend everybody. Thank you.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We have been listening to the White House press briefing from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt there. She hit on a number of issues. Most of the questions focused on the economy there.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny asking about consumer sentiment amid reports that it is reaching a low, a recent low. Karoline Leavitt there saying that there is actually great optimism out there, even as the markets lose trillions of dollars and they go up and down, as we've seen over the last week or so.

Notably, she was also asked about talks with Iran that are set to take place this weekend, saying that they are direct talks, that they'll be in the same room, U.S. officials with leaders from Tehran.

That is despite Iranian officials saying that that is not going to be the case. So some mixed messaging there. And then lastly, she was also asked about the Supreme Court decision

regarding this. U.S. migrant who the administration acknowledges was sent to El Salvador, deported in an error.

And now that court case is literally playing out during a -- a discussion today in the courtroom.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: That's right. She's trying to stress that people should be optimistic. But as Jeff pointed out in his question, they are not. It's very much lagging.

And the question of whether the president is going to -- why doesn't the president pick up the phone? Are they waiting for China to pick up the phone?

She ended up ultimately sidestepping on that and wouldn't say sort of how they're doing the communications. But at this point, no indication that the White House is reaching out to China, which, of course, increased tariffs on the U.S. to 125 percent today.

And she was also asked, why would allies work with the U.S. to isolate China? She insists the phones are ringing off the hook.

We do know those are countries who are reaching out, some of these countries reaching out to negotiate their own situations as they are facing 10 percent tariffs across the board, all of them, even if there's a trade surplus.

So we're going to get in a quick break. We have much more news ahead. Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:41:33]

KEILAR: Happening now. The Trump administration is declining to tell a federal judge in Maryland the whereabouts or the status of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia that Salvadoran national who was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

SANCHEZ: This follows the Supreme Court's order endorsing the judge's earlier directive that the federal government, quote, "facilitate Abrego Garcia return to the United States."

CNN chief legal affairs correspondent, Paula Reid, joins us now.

Paula, a lot of drama in the courtroom.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is high drama. A fiery hearing where the judge was demanding information about steps the government has taken to facilitate his return, and the government said that it was not able to do that.

The judge clearly frustrated. So now they have homework. They're going to have to give daily status reports to this judge detailing what they're doing to bring him home.

I think another element sort of adding to the tension here is that, last night, we saw something pretty rare, which is the Supreme Court issued a decision in a high-profile case where either side couldn't really agree on exactly what they said.

The best Supreme Court team in the business, took us 15 minutes to agree upon exactly what they said.

The Justice Department insists it was a victory for them, and they're not being required to return this man. His lawyer, though, insists it was a victory for them.

Here, the judge said that the Supreme Court affirmed her decision. That's not exactly our reading here.

And what's happening under all of that is these cases have really become a proxy for this larger battle between the Trump administration and the courts, where the Trump administration does not like that judges can rein in the Trump agenda.

They hope that the Supreme Court will side with them in most of these larger issues.

And last night, it was fascinating, because the Supreme Court could have just said, yes, the lower court judge was right, this guy has to be returned or, no, he doesn't.

They took this middle road and they said his return has to be facilitated and gave no deadline.

So if you give the Trump administration sort of some mushy language and no deadline, it's not surprising that this hearing ended up like it did, where they're trying to draw things out, they're stalling.

They're not necessarily showing as much deference to federal judge as you normally would. This is not a surprising result, given what we got from the Supreme Court last night.

So a lot of questions. I would not be surprised if this case ended up back before the justices within the next few days.

KEILAR: My goodness, that is a lot of drama.

Paula Reid, thank you so much for watching that for us.

There's another high-stakes case that we're following. Next hour, a `Louisiana immigration judge is set to decide whether to release Palestinian activist, Mahmoud Khalil.

The Columbia University graduate has been detained for a month after he was arrested by federal agents. He is a legal, permanent resident.

His lawyers say the judge ordered the Trump administration to turn over evidence that supports its order to remove Khalil, or the judge would terminate the case. In response, the federal government submitted a memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It alleges that Khalil is deportable because of his, quote, "beliefs, statements or associations that would compromise U.S. foreign policy interests."

With us now is Donna Lieberman. She's the executive director for the New York Civil Liberties Union, which is part of the legal team that represents Khalil.

Donna, thank you so much for joining us.

How is his legal team responding to this argument that he is deportable because of his belief statements or associations that would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States and that's the reason that he's deportable?

[13:45:10]

DONNA LIEBERMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW YORK CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: Well, what we learned from the Rubio letter is that there is no lawful basis to deport Mr. Khalil, that they have no more evidence than they did on

day one.

And the -- and what they're claiming is that he engaged in activity that is entirely protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

He criticized Israel. He criticized U.S. foreign policy. He engaged -- he had the audacity to speak his mind in a way that disagreed with this administration.

Well, that's not illegal. It can't be grounds for deportation. So that's why the -- the Civil Liberties Unions and -- and all the counsel for Mr. Khalil are asking the court in New Jersey to rule that he must be released.

And that the -- that the charges against him must be dropped, that the statute, as interpreted as applied to him, is a violation of the First Amendment to the United States constitutional guarantee of free speech.

KEILAR: Donna, I want to listen to something that Secretary Rubio said. I'm sure that you've heard it. He said this yesterday during President Trump's cabinet meeting when he was talking about the revocation of student visas. There have been about 300, mostly student visas, that have been revoked.

Let's listen to Rubio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: If you come to this country as a student, we expect you to go to class and study and get a degree. If you come here to, like, vandalize a library, take over a campus and do all kinds of crazy things, you know, we're going to get rid of these people and we're going to continue to do it.

So when we identify lunatics like these, we take away their student visa. No one's entitled to a student visa. The press covers student visas like they're some sort of birthright.

No. A student visa is like me inviting you into my home. If you come into my home and put all kinds of crap on my couch, I'm going to kick you out of my house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: What do you say to that?

LIEBERMAN: Well, first of all, Mr. Khalil is not here on a student visa. He's a legal, permanent resident.

And -- and the First Amendment applies to students here on student visas. It applies to legal, permanent residents. And it applies to you and me.

The government has no business, no right, under our Constitution. Remember, we're a democracy. We can't control what people think and say. They have no business and no right to expel somebody based on their expression of beliefs that Marco Rubio may think are evidence of lunacy.

You know, he can't expel Mr. Khalil from this country, rip him from his wife, who's about to give birth any day now, because the government doesn't approve of his speech.

He can't do that for citizens. He can't do that for legal, permanent residents. He can't do that for students.

This is an attempt by this administration to impose an orthodoxy. It's orthodoxy of belief on the entire country.

And all Americans have to stand up for the right of free speech. The First Amendment is on the line, and when the First Amendment is on the line, our democracy is on the line.

KEILAR: What do you say to people who, you know, they look at these protests, they look at the positions that Khalil has taken -- we should note he was born in a Syrian refugee camp -- a Palestinian refugee camp.

They look at the positions he's taken and they agree with the administration that they believe he has advanced an anti-Semitic point of view. What do you say to those people?

LIEBERMAN: So -- so they're entitled to their beliefs. But they are not entitled to expel Mr. Khalil because they disagree with him.

You know what makes America great is that we're a country where people can disagree peacefully and still be protected by our First Amendment.

You know, the First Amendment isn't about protecting speech that we all agree with. It's about protecting the right to dissent. Protecting the right of people to express their views.

And just because Mahmoud Khalil disagrees with President Trump on Israel and Palestine doesn't mean, A, that he's anti-Semitic, but it doesn't mean that he's deportable from this country.

[13:50:16]

Donna, let me ask --

(CROSSTALK)

LIEBERMAN: -- would be a disaster for our democracy.

KEILAR: Just really quickly, before I let you go, if the ruling is unfavorable to Mahmoud Khalil, then what does his legal team do?

LIEBERMAN: Well, there are two cases going on. There's two aspects. There's -- there's a proceeding in `Louisiana about whether his removal. That's before an immigration judge.

But there is a case in New Jersey in the federal district court, which -- about the --- the -- the adequacy of the claims against Mr. Khalil and then challenging the constitutionality of the --- the statute as applied to him and the constitutional -- constitutionality of the statute as a whole.

So there are serious legal questions at issue. And -- and the court has already ordered that Mr. Khalil not be removed until and unless the court changes its mind. That's the New Jersey court and their proceedings there.

Regardless of what happens in `Louisiana today, Mr. Khalil is -- is entitled to stay in the country and -- and the government is under court order to keep him here.

KEILAR: Donna Lieberman, thank you so much for joining us. We do appreciate your time today.

LIEBERMAN: Sure. Thank you.

KEILAR: And well be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas could be one of the many casualties of President Trump's trade war. Nearly 90 percent of plastic Christmas trees and other holiday decorations sold in the United States come from China.

And producers there say orders from American clients should have started to come in by now, but they haven't. Not with President Trump's escalating tariffs on Chinese imports now at a whopping 145 percent.

It's causing real worries for people in the Christmas industry, including our next guest, Jami Warner. She's the executive director of the American Christmas Tree Association.

Jami, thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us.

Which tariffs do you anticipate are going to impact your products most?

JAMI WARNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICAN CHRISTMAS TREE ASSOCIATION: The 145 percent tariff. We went from 20 percent to 145 percent in just the course of a week.

We're -- you know, our heads, our member's heads are spinning. And they're trying to come to grips with what this is going to mean for the -- for Christmas and for the American consumer.

SANCHEZ: Talk to us about the range of things that they are trying to import specifically from China.

[13:54:58]

WARNER: Artificial Christmas trees, Christmas lighting and ornaments and other Christmas decor. So everything that the American family looks to -- looks forward to, to decorate their homes and their businesses and their yards for Christmas.

SANCHEZ: Is there any way to source it from somewhere else in time for the holiday season?

WARNER: No. Not really. Some lighting comes from other countries, some lights. But it's a very, very small percentage. And we do rely on our Chinese manufacturers who do an amazing job delivering beautiful products to the American family.

SANCHEZ: This may be a dumb question, but I certainly don't know the answer. Why is it that China has cornered the market on Christmas?

WARNER: They have the technology and the labor force to do what is very sort of intricate work. I mean, lighting, stringing lights on an artificial Christmas tree is very painstaking work. And most consumers want to buy pre-lit artificial Christmas trees.

So that is why we look to our Chinese partners to produce the things that are -- the things that consumers want for Christmas.

SANCHEZ: So I wonder, do you anticipate that once orders start coming in and, hopefully, they do start coming in, how much of that cost do you think is going to wind up with the consumer? Do you think some of the importers might eat up that cost?

WARNER: I think that the consumers will pay a hefty price for Christmas this year, if, indeed, they can even get those products.

We do know that orders are being canceled, from the big from the big retailers to the small retailers. So we're very concerned that the shelves will be empty this Christmas.

SANCHEZ: When do you think you'd have a good idea of what it's going to look like, given that we're still eight months out?

WARNER: Well, orders are made nine to 12 months in advance. But right now, we just don't know what will be coming, if anything.

I urge consumers to shop early. But I'm not sure exactly what they'll find. That's what we're really worried about. This -- this tariff, this unprecedented tariff is going to have a chilling effect on Christmas this year.

SANCHEZ: Jami Warner, it's so fascinating to get your perspective because obviously these tariffs are going to impact the economies and the economy in so many unforeseen ways. We very much appreciate you sharing your time with us.

WARNER: Thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Yes, of course.

And we are watching markets as Wall Street endures another volatile day. It looks like they're up right now almost 700, just over 700 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. We'll keep tracking it and bring you the latest. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)