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Roben Farzad is Interviewed about Tariffs; Dakota Bages is Interviewed about the Florida State Shooting; Severe Storms from Great Lakes to Texas; Pope Francis Scales Back Public Appearances; Drake's Legal Beef with Lamar. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 18, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:31:17]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new this morning, President Trump says a trade deal with China could happen over the next three or four weeks. As we've noted, it's unclear whether he's actually speaking about some kind of specific progress or this is just musing, wishful thinking, words out loud. Without a deal, Americans will be hit hard by the sky high tariffs on Chinese imports. And it comes as economists and investors are wondering what life might be like if President Trump goes forward with his efforts to push out Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

With us now is business journalist and the host of "Full Disclosure" on NPR One, Roben Farzad.

Thanks so much for being with us.

Look, we've had presidents before who've nudged one way or the other, wishing for lower interest rates at times. How different is what we're seeing now?

ROBEN FARZAD, BUSINESS JOURNALIST AND HOST OF "FULL DISCLOSURE" ON NPR ONE: In the words of the late and immortal Charlie Murphy of "The Chappelle Show," Trump - I mean to paraphrase him, Trump is a habitual line crosser. And, you know, he's shattered every taboo that's been out there. He's doing it right now with respect to what's happening in El Salvador and thumbing his nose at the judicial system. He's done it with respect to, you know, suggesting that, you know, you turn Gaza into a gigantic luxury oceanfront development. And clearly he wants to do it with respect to the Federal Reserve. Time was, you'd leave that alone. That was another rail of government. You have a $30 trillion economy right now in the United States, and the Fed commandeers this balance sheet of about $6 trillion or $7 trillion. So, do you really want to play with that kind of fire?

BERMAN: Again, as one does, applying the Dave Chappelle show to monetary policy. It happens all the time here.

Look, what happens - how do you think the markets - and it's not just the markets. How do you think world economies will react if President Trump does try to force out Jerome Powell?

FARZAD: We are not an emerging market. We're not a frontier market. Things - you know, in Turkey, when you have the president there who's very much kind of a strong-arm type ruler, say, I'm thumbing my nose at the central bank. In fact, I'm firing the central bank. We should be expanding. We should be cutting interest rates during a time of inflation and you start to see, you know, bond yields at 30, 40 percent and lending choked off. That's the kind of fire you're dealing with.

But here's the problem, the single most important metric in finance is the United States' main interest rate. That is hard-wired and embedded into every asset price on the planet. I mean at the level of kind of mortgages in the United States, to the stock markets equity risk premium, to how emerging economies do to whether or not this dam gets built on a river in eastern Europe.

And that is so vital. And that has typically been sacrosanct. Even though you've had Federal Reserve chairs who've stuck around, who are appointed maybe by a different party's president. You're not supposed to go there. I mean, if anything, there's kind of, you know, complaining on The Hill. You do it at the margins. But you don't go for the jugular the way Trump just did.

BERMAN: So, can I ask you to explain, in simple terms, because if Donald Trump does push out Jerome Powell one way or another, presumably he puts someone in there who would lower interest rates right now. That's what Trump is pushing for, lower interest rates, at a time when Jerome Powell and others see the likelihood of rising inflation, because that's what tariffs do, they are - tend to be inflationary.

What happens in simple terms if you cut rates while inflation is rising?

FARZAD: Money is cheaper. It's kind of like gasoline or an accelerant on a fire. People go out and spend more. There's more FOMO spending. You saw what happened in 2022 when the Fed made the mistake of keeping rates at zero for too long, and that was compounded with all of the stimulus that came in the pandemic, with PPP and those giant checks that went out, and how hard it is to extinguish that kind of inflation.

[09:35:08]

And imagine, you know, the job is not done, and then you pump all of these trillions of dollars back into the economy. That's not something that a president can easily talk his way out of. I mean that's something that takes years and trillions of dollars to fix and clearly causes real pain.

BERMAN: Roben Farzad, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for helping us out.

Sara. SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we want to go back to the tragedy at Florida State University, where police say a 20-year-old student opened fire yesterday, killing two people and leaving five others wounded, and many, many students and faculty terrified.

Joining us now is Dakota Badges, a sophomore at the university.

First of all, can you tell me where you were when - when all of this happened?

DAKOTA BAGES, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY SOPHOMORE: Yes, absolutely.

So, yesterday, at around 10:30, some of my classmates and I went to the library. It's called Strozier. It's basically right in the middle of campus. About a two-minute walk from the student union. We had gone there to conduct some interviews for the club we're affiliated with.

And at about 11:58, you know, we heard these kind of screams from what sounded like a man. We didn't know if it was a cop or, you know, a student. We just kind of heard ruckus, and then we heard a woman scream, kind of like as if she had been toppled over.

And, of course, we're all confused. You know, we can't really see much because it's more, you know, to, like, on our left side. And the way that the study rooms, which we were in, the way that those work is that half the wall is a door, and then the other half is glass. So, what we can see is, after those screams, a bunch of students that were from - that were studying in the middle of the library, actually just started running, kind of, you know, east, towards - towards the other end.

And, obviously, you know, it was terrifying. A lot of the students that were out in the computer area started kind of funneling into our study room. And a lot of people, a lot of people, just, mixed reactions. Some are crying. Some are trying to keep their cool. Others are screaming, you know, you know, get in, get in. You know, push the - push the table on, you know, cover the door. They ended up lifting up, you know, huge desks that are meant to be computer desks, lifting them up and putting them against this glass wall.

And, you know, in that kind of moment, just hearing that screaming from behind you and in front of you, to your left, to your right, you don't know how to compose yourself. You don't know where to hide. There's nowhere really to run. And it was just such, such a scary feeling. We didn't know anything in that moment. You know, obviously, we're not checking our phone for updates. We don't know there's a shooter. We just - we're kind of unsure of what's going on.

SIDNER: Yes.

BAGES: And so -

SIDNER: I am - I - listening -

BAGES: I'm really happy there were people with me. SIDNER: Yes, listening to you tell the story. I mean, I am so sorry that you had to go through that and that the other students had to go through that. There are now, when you woke up this morning, we all learned there were two people that had been killed, five people that have been injured.

And there's a lot of details coming out from the police. They were pretty forthcoming about what happened and who this was. That it turns out that this was a student at FSU, they say. That his mother was a deputy, or is a deputy. And that he used her retired firearm in this shooting.

What do you make about how this was all handled, both by police, and - and by the school?

BAGES: Well, obviously, you know, in that moment, when you're kind of just hiding and defenseless and they - there are, you know, law enforcement officers there to give you instructions, to tell you how to walk out of the building, to tell you to stay calm, to give you those updates. I mean, obviously, we are very, very grateful for everything law enforcement did yesterday. And, you know, the way that they handled the situation. The way that they were able to come and, you know, save the situation before, unfortunately, maybe more people got hurt. You know, obviously, we're very thankful.

And all of the news coming out about the student, you know, and his affiliation to law enforcement himself is, obviously, all very tragic. I think it says a lot about some of the things that are going on right now with gun safety. You know, a couple of my classmates and I, we actually went to the Capitol, to the finance and tax committee just two days ago, two days ago, to speak out in opposition against Senate Provision Bill 7034, which would provide the longest tax holiday in history, to buying guns later this year.

[09:40:07]

SIDNER: In Florida, yes.

BAGES: We spoke out in opposition to that.

Yes, in Florida. And - and, you know, of course, two days later, something like this happens, and all I could think was, like, wow, that's - that's just crazy the way things turn out. Such a crazy turn of events.

SIDNER: You feel strongly that there has to be some better and stronger gun policy and gun control in this country. As a student now who has gone through, like so many students tragically, gone through a school shooting.

Dakota Bages, thank you. Thank you so much for coming on and explaining your story at this really hard time. I hope you're going to be OK. I'm glad to see that you're - you seem to be doing all right this - this morning, and that you had friends and people around you when this tragedy happened. Really appreciate you coming on. All right, ahead, Catholics in Rome are marking holy week and hoping

for a glimpse of the pope. We are live in Rome for the Good Friday observances.

And millions of Americans under threat of severe weather this weekend again. We're talking about tornadoes, possibly hail, and some very strong winds. We have the holiday weekend forecast for you. You should stick around to watch that as well.

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[09:45:42]

BOLDUAN: This morning, 52 million people from the Great Lakes to Texas are facing a threat of severe weather. These storms are part of the same system that brought reports of 15 tornadoes overnight in Nebraska and Iowa.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is watching where all of this is headed for all of us.

And, Allison, how is it looking as we head into this holiday weekend?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right, so much of the same that we had yesterday, we can expect as we go through the day today. The video behind me, a tornado from Nebraska. There could have been several tornadoes. They'll have to go out and confirm them as - that went through that area yesterday and overnight hours.

But today the concern is really going to be from a slightly different area as this system as a whole begins to shift eastward. Here's a look at all the storm reports that we had over the last 24 hours. And you can see a lot of them, hail reports, damaging wind reports, and, yes, even tornado reports.

So, right now, the strongest storms are sliding right into Milwaukee, Wisconsin, crossing over lake Michigan and then moving over into the state of Michigan as we head through the next short-term timeline.

But today, Saturday, and even through the holiday weekend, you're looking at that severe weather to continue for multiple states.

BOLDUAN: Allison, thank you very much. A lot to keep an eye on this morning.

John Berman.

BERMAN: All right, it is Good Friday. Pope Francis typically leads the Good Friday procession at the Colosseum in Rome, but he made a last- minute decision to skip it this year. He is still recovering from double pneumonia.

Let's get right to CNN's Christopher Lamb in Rome.

How else might this Easter weekend look different? CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, it is going

to be a different Easter for Pope Francis because he's still recovering from the double pneumonia that almost took his life. He is delegating the main services to other cardinals to lead in his place. And, of course, he's not going to have the same presence as you would normally expect the pope to have at this time, which, of course, is the high point of the Christian calendar, holy week and Easter.

However, the pope does seem determined to participate in some way. He went to a prison yesterday, Thursday, where he met with around 70 inmates. He said he would have like to have washed the feet of the inmates, part of the foot-washing ritual that takes place on Holy Thursday. We don't know if the pope is going to turn up at other services, but we have seen him make these last-minute appearances.

So, everyone in the Vatican is on high alert for these surprise appearances from the pope.

Now, behind me at St. Peters, the Good Friday service is due to start shortly. That is the service that commemorates Christ's suffering and death. And we are expecting Vice President J.D. Vance to attend that service. Of course, the vice president is a catholic. He was received into the catholic church in 2019. He's here in Rome. He met with the prime minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, earlier today. So, he is expected at that service. He also would like to meet Pope Francis. However, the pope hasn't been meeting many people, although he did have a surprise meeting with King Charles and Queen Camilla. So, it's possible that he could meet Vice President J.D. Vance.

Everyone on high alert to see what kind of participation the pope is going to have during these coming days.

John.

BERMAN: A very, very special time of year in Rome.

Christopher Lamb, thanks so much for your reporting this morning.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Ahead for us, a new twist in the epic battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Drake leveling a new allegation against his own record label.

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[09:53:40]

SIDNER: I did not have this on my bingo card. Rap superstar Drake is taking his legal battle to new heights, claiming Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime and Grammy appearances ruined his reputation by exposing millions of new listeners to Lamar's notorious diss track, "Not Like Us." Drake is suing his own label because of it.

CNN's Lisa France has the details.

Girl.

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Ma'am. Good morning, sis. I mean, what are we doing?

SIDNER: I'm not sure.

FRANCE: What we are doing is Drake is taking - he - Drake is taking it to the next level. So, what he has done is he's added on to his federal defamation lawsuit against UMG, Universal Music Group, which oversees the label that he's on, as well as the label that Kendrick Lamar is on. So what Drake is, in essence, is saying is that because Kendrick Lamar had - the biggest halftime show the Super Bowl has ever seen, with over 133 million people tuning in, and "Not Like Us" was such a big deal when it came to that halftime show, it was the linchpin. And also with the Grammy's, where Kendrick Lamar won five Grammy's and more than 15 million people watched that and, of course, "Not Like Us" was played during that and it was a big deal then, too, that it exposed more people to the song and it has further defamed him.

Now, UMG, of course, says that, you know, they disagree with this wholeheartedly. And they say that they think that Drake is getting some bad legal advice to be pursuing this.

[09:55:06]

They say that they have not defamed him. He, in essence, is saying that they defamed him by publishing and promoting "Not Like Us," which, you know, has been the biggest song ever for Kendrick Lamar. And everybody was talking about it. So, Sara, we're just going to have to wait and see how this all plays out, because I feel like a lot of us have moved on, but Drake isn't going to let us move on. We're still talking about what is arguably the most epic hip hop beef of all time.

SIDNER: Yes. And that's the thing is that everyone's talking about it because now it keeps coming up in court. We can't let it go. But you know who is like us? Who is not not like us? Jimmy, come here.

BOLDUAN: I was going to be like -

BERMAN: Oh, he's going to be so happy.

BOLDUAN: I was like - I was like, I want to (INAUDIBLE) Jimmy.

BERMAN: He's so happy.

BOLDUAN: I (INAUDIBLE) book him into the - into the Drake-Kendrick Lamar fight.

SIDNER: This guy has been a bedrock of fun and annoyance for all of us.

BOLDUAN: But we broke him. But we broke him, clearly.

SIDNER: We broke him, clearly. He's leaving us. Thank you.

JIMMY: You're welcome. It's been a pleasure.

BOLDUAN: We love you, (INAUDIBLE).

JIMMY: Love you guys.

SIDNER: You want to - you want to - you want to dance to they not like us? Like, you want to - never mind.

JIMMY: No. No. Harry's - Harry's been doing enough dancing for everybody.

BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE) love you. You're the best.

BOLDUAN: One is - one of the greats.

JIMMY: We've got 10 seconds left in show.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, sir.

BERMAN: Thank you.

SIDNER: Thank you, Jimmy.

BOLDUAN: One of the great in his last day with us. And we sincerely appreciate him putting up with all of our nonsense all the time.

SIDNER: Total nonsense.

BOLDUAN: Take it, (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: We love you, Jimmy. "SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

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