Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Rubio Comments on Ending Russia-Ukraine War; Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) is Interviewed about Russia-Ukraine War; Maryland Senator Meets with Deported Man in El Salvador; Shooting at Florida State University. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 18, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

SCARLETT LINDEMAN, OWNER OF CAFE CICATRIZ: All power to them. I think it's really cool.

VALERIE LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The trend, part of a long tradition of renaming products to protest unpopular government policies. Just like in 2003, when some American companies decided to rename french fries "freedom fries," with France refusing to join the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

LEON: Mexico's rebranding movement is meant to rally behind national industries to protest the Trump administration's tariffs on Mexican exports.

LEON (voice over): These buy local initiatives kicked off last month by the Pannaderia Coffee Shop in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, where the owner, Ivan Cevero, posted an Instagram call to action to oppose U.S. tariffs.

IVAN CEVERO, OWNER OF PANNELA PANNADERIA DE BARRIO (through translator): In Panela, it's no longer called cafe americano. It's now called cafe mexicano now.

LEON (voice over): Many of those supporting the name change are frustrated with the United States' crackdown on immigration and the criminalization of undocumented migrants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We're not happy with what's happening on our northern border. As a country, and at least as the state of Oaxaca, with them imposing tariffs on us, this is an act of protest.

LEON (voice over): Mexican coffee consumers now preferring to fuel their day with a mexicano rather than the unwelcome reminder of U.S. tariffs and the americano.

Valerie Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio lobs a threat, saying the United States may, quote, "move on" from efforts to end Russia's war on Ukraine if progress on a peace deal is not made in the coming days.

A U.S. senator meeting with the man wrongfully deported to El Salvador. We're standing by for the first comments from Senator Chris Van Hollen, who is now back in Washington after speaking with Kalmar Abrego Garcia.

And tragedy on the campus of Florida State. This morning, a community mourns the victims as investigators scramble to find a motive for the 20 year old shooter now behind bars.

I'm John Berman, with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We have breaking news now. Vice President J.D. Vance has just weighed in on negotiations to end Russia's war in Ukraine. This comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said if they cannot get a deal done in days, the U.S., as you just heard John say, may just move on.

Here is what Vance just said while in Italy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to update the prime minister on some of the negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and also some of the things that have happened, even in the past 24 hours. We think we have some interesting things to report on, of course, in private. So, those negotiations, I won't prejudge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Did not match what we heard from Marco Rubio. The vice president's comments coming just hours after Rubio said, if a deal isn't reached soon, the U.S. involvement is over.

So, what does that mean for peace negotiations or President Donald Trump's mineral deal with Ukraine that could shake out next week?

CNN's Nic Robertson is joining us now.

You are hearing these two versions of what's going on with the negotiations, and they do not quite match. What are you learning?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, they don't quite in a way. And it's interesting because obviously J.D. Vance was sitting with Giorgio Maloney just yesterday at the White House and what he's saying is 24 hours later, there's room to be optimistic, because when they were sitting together in the White House, that's when Marco Rubio, Witkoff as well, were meeting with the Ukrainians, the British, the French, the Germans, including the French president as well. And Rubio seems to have arrived this morning at a slightly different conclusion. He's saying, look, the president is getting kind of frustrated. Eighty-seven days of trying to get this ceasefire going in Ukraine. President Putin, prevaricating. The Ukrainians signed up to this unconditional ceasefire already.

But they put out, Marco Rubio said, they gave these different leaders and officials yesterday a broad framework about what the United States is working towards. And they want answers back quickly or else they might just move on. These were his words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: We came here yesterday to sort of begin to talk about more specific outlines of what it might take to end a war, to try to figure out very soon, and I'm talking about a matter of days, not a matter of weeks, whether or not this is the war that can be ended. If it can, we're prepared to do whatever we can to - to facilitate that and make sure that it happens, that it ends in a durable and just way. If it's not possible, if we're so far apart that this is not going to happen, then I think the president's probably at a point where he's going to say, well, we're done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:05:01]

ROBERTSON: Yes, and it's not clear what's - you know, whom Secretary of State Marco Rubio is sort of intending to apply the pressure to. Is it to the Russians and Putin, who's been recalcitrant? Is it to the Ukrainians, where President Trump and he have expressed frustration in the past? He was asked - Marco Rubio was asked a specific question about security guarantees, something the Europeans want to give the Ukrainians to give them confidence in any ceasefire going forward, and he said, look, we recognize that the Ukrainians have a right, like every country, to, you know, as a sovereign decision, decide how to protect their security, which was an interesting answer, but it doesn't bring us closer at the moment to understanding where the pressure is going to lead to. What we do know is, another meeting is expected early next week according to Secretary Rubio, and potentially we're expecting it to be in London.

SIDNER: Yes, there's a lot on the line there. There's also a lot on the line with these talks with Iran. You and I both reported a lot on this back in the day when Netanyahu absolutely hated the Obama deal with Iran, the nuclear deal that was made then. Then there is reporting that he wanted to strike Iran, but the Trump administration decided to tell him not to, that they were going to try to make a deal. What are you hearing about this?

ROBERTSON: Yes, so another round of negotiations this weekend. Interesting because Steve Witkoff is going into this in a perhaps a more ambiguous position than he went into last week. The understanding had been last weekend when he had the first round of talks with the Iranians that the talks would center around making sure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon. President Trump said that again yesterday. But in the intervening period, Witkoff has also suggested that the Iranians should not have any nuclear capability at all. And that's something of a red line for the Iranians. So, going into the talks, that part at least is unclear.

SIDNER: Yes, it sounds like where the Obama administration started the negotiations. We will see if there's any big difference if they're able to get a deal done.

Nic Robertson, really appreciate your reporting there from London on both of those fronts.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now is Congressman Jake Auchincloss, a Democrat from Massachusetts. He's a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan.

Congressman, nice to see you this morning.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is threatening to move on from peace negotiations to end Russia's war on Ukraine. Based on what you've seen from this administration over the last nearly three months, which side do you think he's pressuring more with those comments?

REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): Good morning.

We both know the answer to that question, Ukraine. Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump, for the last three months they've been getting out negotiated by the Russians. And the reason they're getting out negotiated by the Russians is, they actually haven't made up their mind about whether they want to win this war or not. Fifty years ago, Ronald Reagan said to his staff, we win, they lose. And that bold statement actually became the basis for the strategy that ended the Cold War.

What Trump is saying is, we lose, they win. And so none of us should be surprised that that's the trend of these negotiations. If we decide to lose this war in Ukraine, the war can - we can wipe our hands of it tomorrow. We'll just hand over Ukraine. We'll be weaker. Russia and China will be stronger.

But if Donald Trump decides that we want to win this war, we can. We know what that looks like. It's a secure eastern border, manned by Ukrainian troops, with an EU rapid response force paid for by frozen Russian assets, it's freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, and its imminent accession to the European Union for the Ukrainians. That's a w. And he can have it if he wants it. If he wants to stop appeasing the Russians.

BERMAN: Yes, let me ask that a different way. How much do you think Vladimir Putin fears this threat from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to move on from the peace negotiations?

AUCHINCLOSS: Fears? He welcomes it. Because if the United States withdraws, then Ukraine becomes Russia's playground, right? The Europeans are going to do their best to try to mount a rapid response force, a security force, but they can't do it on their own, and Vladimir Putin knows that. They do need a NATO backstop. They do need permission from the Americans to unfreeze those Russian assets in Brussels to help pay for Ukrainian defense industrial complex. They do need American armaments and materiel.

So, what this really is, is Donald Trump winking to Vladimir Putin and saying, we lose, you win.

BERMAN: Congressman, I want to ask you about comments made by Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller last night. He was talking about the trip that Senator Chris Van Hollen has made to El Salvador to meet with Kalmar Abrego Garcia. He was talking about efforts from some Democrats to get due process for the El Salvadoran man.

Listen to what Stephen Miller said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR POLICY: You have the entire machinery of the Democrat Party using all of its power, not to fight for lower costs, as President Trump is, or better trade deals, as President Trump is, or lower taxes, as President Trump is, but to fight to bring this illegal alien, with all those horrific crimes and allegations and history against him, back to the United States where he can do what, he can commit additional acts that threaten the safety of the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:10:13]

BERMAN: How do you respond to that?

AUCHINCLOSS: First of all, interesting that he's talking about lower prices and lower taxes given that President Trump just issued the single largest peacetime tax increase in American history, borne by the middle class and the working class.

Second, this issue about the Maryland man is not about border security or immigration. It's about freedom. Freedom in the United States means that if your feet are on American soil, you get to stand in front of a judge, on an equal basis to the awesome power of the state, and put forward the facts of the matter and trust in the impartial application of the law. That is freedom. And President Trump is attacking the freedom of this man. And now he is promising to do it for American citizens. He calls it homegrown. Another word for that is citizen. He is threatening to do that for American citizens next. This is all of our problem.

BERMAN: If Mr. Abrego Garcia is brought back to the United States, there's no question that he entered the United States illegally. Were he deported to somewhere besides El Salvador, where there is a court order saying he can't be sent there because of fear for his life, would you be at peace with that?

AUCHINCLOSS: If he's given due process. Again, this is not about border security. We absolutely need to have border security. I have supported strong bipartisan border security measures. I absolutely support deporting criminals. This is about your ability, if your feet are on American soil, to stand in front of a judge and have the state have to put forward the facts of the matter in front of the law, because everybody in America is subject to the law. No one is above it and no one is below it.

BERMAN: All right, Congressman Jake Auchincloss, from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, thanks for coming on this morning. Appreciate it.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up, the Florida State University community devastated by a deadly mass shooting. What we know about the victims, as survivors and investigators struggle with the question now of why this happened.

And moments ago, President Trump speaking up, mocking the senator's trip to El Salvador to meet with the man the administration wrongly deported to a notorious prison there.

And after tornadoes just ripped through Nebraska and Iowa yesterday, there is more severe weather in the - in the making, and it's threatening millions more Americans heading into this weekend. What to watch for in the forecast. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:17:11]

SIDNER: This is just in, President Trump is attacking the Maryland senator who met just last night with the man the Trump administration has admitted mistakenly deporting to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Trump saying this about Senator Chris Van Hollen's photo of him and Kalmar Abrego Garcia. "Senator Van Hollen of Maryland looked like a fool yesterday standing in El Salvador begging for attention from the fake news media."

Katelyn Polantz is joining us now from Washington with more.

You're really looking at the legal aspect of all of this because whether or not Trump and what he says about Van Hollen and all of that, it is the courts that have some power here. And this message from the court of appeals, this order is quite surprising. Tell us what it says.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Sara, I've never read anything like this from an appeals court before. The political conversation is about Abrego Garcia and what is happening with him in El Salvador. In court, there are technical procedures that are happening now about what the U.S. is doing to facilitate his return to the United States after the Trump administration openly is admitting that he was mistakenly sent to that prison. He should not have been sent to El Salvador. And they are - they are being asked daily what is being done, what is being done to facilitate his return.

What the court is saying now, this court is the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overseeing the courts, not just in Maryland, but in much of the south of the United States. What that court is saying is that it appears the administration is doing nothing to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return. And the way that they are behaving in this case appears to signal a crumbling of American democracy.

Judge Jay Harvie Wilkinson, one of the longest serving appellate judges in the United States, a renowned conservative judge, he wrote seven pages yesterday about this, imploring the executive branch to listen to the courts, to uphold the rule of law, and to follow the Constitution in a way that preserves American democracy before it is too late. He writes, "while there is still time."

This is more of what the judge wrote in his order. "If today the executive claims the right to deport without due process and in disregard of court orders, what assurance will there be tomorrow that it will not deport American citizens and then disclaim responsibility to bring them home? And what assurance shall there be that the executive will not train its broad discretionary powers upon its political enemies?"

This is the starkest warning that we have ever seen, really, from a federal appellate court, a conservative judge toward the executive branch today, in this case, but much bigger issues at play.

Sara.

[09:20:08]

SIDNER: Yes, that is some very strong wording. An unmistakable warning to the Trump administration.

Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much for your great reporting there.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, this morning, the college campus is waking up shattered. An urgent investigation is underway. And everyone is searching for an answer to the impossible question of why. Why did a 20-year-old fellow student at Florida State University, they suspect, attack his campus, carry out a mass shooting, killing two people, five others wounded, and recovering still in the hospital. The images coming in as it unfolded, all of them just of terrified students running for safety. Other images of piling desks and chairs to barricade themselves inside of classrooms. Police shot the suspect and took him into custody yesterday. He is in the hospital as well right now. And police say that he is the son of a deputy with the local Leon County Sheriff's Department, and that one of the deputies personal guns was found at the scene.

Joining me right now is John Miller, CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, and also former FBI Special Agent Ken Gray.

Thanks, guys, for being here.

John, what - we were on last night talking about the - some of the information coming out from what was a lot that came out from that press conference that they did reveal yesterday afternoon, but what is expected to happen today?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, two things.

One, we're hoping to fill in some of the blanks, particularly about the victims, who we tend to want to talk about more than the suspect. But in this case, what we know is very limited.

BOLDUAN: Very little right now, yes.

MILLER: The two people who were killed, both male. Both not students at the college. Haven't established what their connection was.

You know, you spoke to that witness, Miss Heat (ph), yesterday, who described in detail seeing a woman shot in the back who was wearing medical scrubs. We still don't know whether she was affiliated with the same hospital she was brought to or was there for something else. So, we expect that to become a little more granular.

And - and as well, a little bit more about the suspect. We have a pretty good picture of who he is. But because his social media is locked down to public view, we don't know what he is in terms of his thinking. Usually this stuff comes spilling out when you start to get into their social media, you get those clues. But right now we just know his mom's a deputy. He was part of the sheriff's youth advisory council. And there's a big missing piece here.

BOLDUAN: Ken, what questions do you have today? John's laying out some of the keys. But what makes this unusual is what we've been talking about, which this suspect is the son of a - of a deputy. Someone who's been with the department for 18 years. She was a school resource officer. And he was part of this kind of youth advisory board with the sheriff's department. What questions do you have and do you think, you know, kind of should be top of mind today?

KEN GRAY, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Yes, you know, this guy is of the culture that you would not think he would be involved in such an event like this here at FSU. But he has exercised his right not to be interviewed, to remain silent. And so, it's going to take a lot more investigation to determine why he did this. But, of course, that is the topmost thing that both the people want to know out here in the community, but also what law enforcement needs to establish to be able to prosecute him. So, definitely want to know why he did this is one of the first things that the investigators will be attempting to establish by looking at social media, by interviewing his family members, by interviewing associates and trying to determine why he did this.

BOLDUAN: And what - there's - there are a lot of gaps, obviously, understandably so. But what is the picture that you - you see coming together right now of this suspect?

MILLER: Well, I know the process which will be, you know, as Ken pointed out, they'll dig through his social media. They'll get into the computer and the phones. They're getting subpoenas and court orders and search warrants starting yesterday to preserve all that.

But he does have an interesting history. We know from court records that CNN unearthed yesterday that he was the subject of a domestic kidnaping incident when he was a child. His biological mother took him out of the country. There was a court fight to get custody back to him. He was brought back to the United States. And his adoptive or stepmom, the deputy sheriff, has had him since. And as the sheriff pointed out, he's kind of been enveloped in the law enforcement extended family.

[09:25:05]

We know he's a political science major. We know he was quoted in the student newspaper talking about a demonstration that the reporter was covering, where she just stopped him and said, what do you think of all his? It was an anti-Donald Trump demonstration. He said, you know, these people are a little late. The election happened already. He's being inaugurated on the 20th. And interestingly, he said, you know, short of, you know, a revolution, we're not going to change that. And he said, no one thinks that's a good idea.

So, the statement doesn't really open a definitive door.

BOLDUAN: Right.

Can - what questions do you have about his acts - I mean, he's 20 years old, right? So, this is not, you know, a - this is not underage at all. But what questions do you have about, I don't know, access to these weapons? Specifically, I would say, his mother's - well, former service weapon, but now a personal weapon of hers. And just the questions for - that have to come to the family now.

GRAY: Yes. So, gun owners are responsible for the safety and protection of their weapons. That when it's not in their personal possession, that it needs to be locked up. He gained access to this weapon and used his mother's former service pistol. So, the question is, you know, the - the culpability there. Is she also exposed here for potential charges against her for the fact that he used her weapon?

Now, he's 20 years old. This is not a young kid that did this. This is an adult that did this act. So, he's responsible for his actions.

BOLDUAN: Ken Gray, thank you so much.

John, thanks for coming in.

John.

BERMAN: All right, a new chapter in the feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. What Drake is saying now about Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)