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U.S. Markets Open As Trump Signals Possible U-Turn On China Tariffs; Handbag Stolen. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 23, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Investors thrilled that President Trump signaled a bit of a retreat on his trade war with China, also thrilled that he appeared to be backing off threats to try and fire the Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Again, we are standing by to hear from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to hear what he has to say to global economic leaders. He too signaled a bit of a U-turn on China, telling well heeled investors that he expects the U.S. Battle with China to de escalate.

All right. As the market opens, let's bring in CNN's Vanessa Yerkiewicz to cover what I think is at least a little bit of a happier moment than we've seen over the last few weeks.

VANESSA YURKIEWICZ, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And investors and traders really only care about two things right now, the trade war and Jerome Powell. And they heard encouraging news from the President and the Treasury Secretary on both of those fronts.

You see the opening bell right now on Wall Street. Futures have been up all morning and they continue to stay there. This is really extending the rally from yesterday as investors really wanted to hear some sort of confidence about this trade war, a forward looking direction that was positive.

And they heard that from the President last night who said that essentially the rates at which the tariffs are between China and the United States, they're not going to stay there. They're not going to drop to zero, but they're not going to stay at that really outrageous 145 percent. And then, you also heard the President saying that he has no intention of firing the head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell.

Those two issues had investors very nervous. Now they're sort of breathing a little bit of a sigh of relief. Obviously those two things are not set in stone just yet, but encouraging news and that is boosting markets here this morning.

BERMAN: Yes. Again, I mean, saying that the tariffs are going to come down is kind of a retreat from where the tariffs are. And that's how investors are seeing it this morning. Clearly they're thrilled on this.

Now, one company least over the last 24 hours, not so thrilled, and that's Tesla. You know, Tesla profits, you know, went way down.

YURKIEWICZ: Yes, yes, yes. So net profits were down 71 percent from the year before. I mean, that is a dramatic drop. And obviously Elon Musk has been spending a lot of time at the White House, at DOGE, not as much time at his company.

I was looking pre-market and I saw Tesla's stock was up more than 7 percent. Because investors were encouraged by what he said in the earnings call. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, HEAD, DOGE: So, I think I'll continue to spend, you know, a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the President would like me to do so, and as long as it is useful. But starting next month, I'll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla and now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKIEWICZ: So you heard Elon Musk there. He really had no choice. He had to step back into his role more full time at Tesla because stock price really dropped by 50 percent from its high. You can see Tesla there.

BERMAN: Oh wow.

YURKIEWICZ: Look at that. Yes. Investors clearly encouraged by him returning more in a full time capacity to the company. We heard from analyst on Wall Street, Dan Ives, who we hear from often specifically on Tesla. He said that this was the time to close one dark chapter and open a brighter one for the Tesla story with autonomous and robotics front and center.

And he goes on to really say that Musk is Tesla and Tesla is Musk, and this is one of the most important technology period for Tesla. So essentially saying that Musk really had to return to this role in order to move the company forward, but also to make investors and traders on Wall Street feel more confident about where that company is going.

BERMAN: Time was up for him, the government too. You know, his role inside the government had an expiration date as well. But Tesla clearly needs him back. That's what investors think. Vanessa Yurkiewicz, thank you very much. Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us right now to talk about all of this is CNN Global Economic Analyst Rana Foroohar. She is also the Global Business Columnist and Associate Editor at the Financial Times.

So, Rana, markets are open and up, and you have this major course correction attempt by the President saying he's not going to fire Powell. He wants to play nice with China. Treasury Secretary saying the situation with China was unsustainable and is going to de- escalate. So no harm, no foul? RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, I think the harm has been done. I mean I would make a couple of points. One, every time the President steps back from basically all his ideas, high tariffs, firing Powell, you know, DOGE, a little pullback with Musk there, the markets like that, the markets don't like those other ideas. So I think that should be a message that should be sent to this administration.

But what I would say, and I'm talking to a lot of investors, not just in the U.S. but around the world, for sure the damage has been done. I think we are about to go through a multi-year reset where no matter what this administration does, there will be a certain amount of redistribution in people's portfolios away from the U.S. More towards Europe and Asia.

[09:35:17]

Trump has, like it or not, brought about a rebalancing that was going to happen, but probably slower in a calmer way away from the US. And it won't necessarily favor the dollar or U.S. consumers.

BOLDUAN: This morning there's also reporting on what kind of drove this course correct. Axios is reporting, Rana, that CEOs of Walmart, Target and Home Depot met with Trump on Monday and warned that his trade policy could disrupt supply chains and raise prices and empty shelves.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is reporting, the attacks on Jerome Powell had his -- Trump's own advisers warning him that any move there could cause as much market turmoil as his ongoing trade war. But aren't they, if that is what is motivating the course correct, aren't they just stating the known reality?

FOROOHAR: Yes, they are stating the known reality. And, you know, honestly, Kate, the fact that you bring up these CEOs that are saying, oh gosh, guess what, this disruption is going to be bad for business. Well, I have to wonder why more of them weren't thinking about that and saying that openly before the President was elected.

I think that there was a lot of naivete in the business community. I think people thought they were just going to get their tax cuts and their deregulation, and it was going to be all business as usual. And that's clearly not where we are.

I also think, I personally don't have a lot of trust that today's statement from the President is going to be tomorrow's statement, is going to be next week. This is what I hear from the business community and that's going to have a real impact on investment in the US.

BOLDUAN: And that -- I mean, if we -- if you learn -- if past is prologue, what we have learned in just this trade war is what we know today is not what we will know necessarily. It gives no indication of what tomorrow is going to look like.

I mean, so if people want to believe that now that Trump is, you can say, backing down, backing off, moderating whatever you want to say on his approach to China, if that then essentially -- if people would want to think that essentially means that this trade war is coming to an end, you would say what?

FOROOHAR: Well, first, I wouldn't make the assumption that just because -- even if you believe, let's say we believe that Trump is not going to do anything else to change what's just happened in the last few hours. Well, what's China going to do?

I mean, you know, we often, the U.S. Pretend as though we're the only country in the world and we're the only one with power. There's an entire world out there and it is realigning. And believe me, China's talking to Europe, Europe is talking in the Middle East, a lot of countries are saying we're in a post-American world.

We're in a post Washington consensus world. What's our game plan? And I'm going to be watching to see what that's all about.

BOLDUAN: It's a great point. And just reinforcing the point one of the trending phrases on Chinese social media right now is Trump chickened out. So there is that.

FOROOHAR: Indeed. Indeed.

BOLDUAN: Rana, thank you.

FOROOHAR: You too.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you as always, Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. The head of "60 Minutes" says he has the show has lost its independence, referring to Trump's meddling in the administration's meddling. Why Bill Owens is walking away? That story and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:55]

SIDNER: New this morning, a huge departure for a disturbing reason at "60 Minutes." The executive producer for "60 Minutes" is resigning, citing loss of independence. Bill Owens says he no longer has control over the flagship program and that the last few months have made that clear. His departure comes in the wake of President Trump's lawsuit against CBS News and his parent company, and as media outlets find themselves the target of frequent jabs from the White House.

Joining us now for more perspective is Brian Steinberg, Senior TV Editor for Variety. You have done some excellent reporting on what is happening over at "60 Minutes." And I'm curious what you make of some of the reporting you talked about where Bill Owens said that he would not be allowed to run the show as he has always run it or make independent decisions based on what was right for "60 Minutes." He is not mincing words.

BRIAN STEINBERG, SENIOR TV EDITOR, VARIETY: No. The show's had a long tradition. It's been on the air for, you know, almost six decades of being an island at CBS News. CBS News ran one way, "60 Minutes" was governed by the executive producer of "60 Minutes".

I think in recent weeks and months, with parent company Paramount being under so much pressure from a Trump lawsuit and FCC inquiry, and its efforts to be sold to Skydance Media, executives have had, you know, less patience for independent action right now.

SIDNER: I guess you have reported on how this has had the ripple effect and what's happening inside "60 Minutes." What are you learning from those who have been correspondents and members of "60 Minutes" for decades? One of the best shows on television, one of the highest rated shows, new shows on television.

STEINBERG: That is great. Look, I spoke to Lesley Stahl yesterday in a story that we posted on Variety. She spoke to us on the record directly about her concerns about the show and where it's going.

She's devastated by Bill Owens' decision to exit. She hopes that his exit will serve as some sort of warning to Paramount and CBS about the value of the program. This is arguably one of the jewels of journalism, American journalism, has won many different kinds of awards. It has opened investigations and it is seen as, you know, A- list property.

[09:45:10]

And I think staffers internally are concerned that too much meddling may undermine the show.

SIDNER: I'm curious, because you're well aware from all of your reporting that you've done over the years of the Philip Morris situation with CBS, decades ago with Mike Wallace, and do you think this rises to the level of that when sort of Mike Wallace threatened to leave because of the pressure they were getting from Philip Morris on whether smoking was dangerous or not, which, of course, they did end up doing the story eventually showing how dangerous it was.

STEINBERG: It reminds me of that incident. You have a similar, you know, example of a corporation that owns the property inserting itself into matters that it perhaps might not normally do so. So it is -- it does kind of rise that level.

It is, you know, I mean, there's no one story. I've been told that no stories have been changed, that nothing's been spiked. And you've seen in the last weeks, 60s and a lot of Trump stories about the effects of Trump's policies on America, and it has continued to do so even with the lawsuit and other things going on.

But at the same time, again, 60 is a culture of standing alone. And, you know, I think the people who work there feel that, you know, they've had this reputation for many years. And why is it -- why is their way of life changing given the current circumstances.

SIDNER: I mean, look, Trump did hit them, CBS News and its parent company, Paramount Global, with a $10 billion lawsuit. Over that 60 Minutes interview that most of the country saw with former Vice President Kamala Harris claiming that it was -- was mish edited by CBS. Do you have a sense of sort of where that stands and how much that's playing into all of this?

STEINBERG: Well, as it says, they've hired a mediator. The two sides have not been able to come to any kind of terms in court. CBS has tried to have it thrown out of court. It's been filed down in Texas, and they're trying to maybe change venues or have it thrown out.

That hasn't budged the matter so far. So I do think that there's, you know, kind of a clash of wills going on at the same time. Paramount, as a corporation, like most media companies, is under more pressure than ever in the streaming era. Economics are not as easy as they once were.

I think they'd be eager to get this deal done with Skydance, who has pledged to buy them, and Shari Redstone, who's our personal fortune at state, may have different pressures on her than the people at "60 Minutes" do.

SIDNER: Yes. And, look, "60 Minutes" is still seen as the standard bearer that the big J journalism that people really enjoy on Sundays. Brian Steinberg, thank you so much. Thank you for your great reporting and for coming on the show this morning. John?

BERMAN: People enjoy it. People need it, all right. This morning we have new details on the suspect who allegedly stole the designer purse of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem along with thousands of dollars in cash in that purse, her Passport and her DHS ID badge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:52:31]

BOLDUAN: This morning, there are new details about the suspect who Secret Service says stole the purse of the Secretary of Homeland Security while she was at a Washington, DC restaurant. Investigators say it all happened on Easter Sunday while Secretary Kristi Noem was dining with her family. And along with stealing the bag, inside the bag, they took the $3,000 in cash and other items.

CNN's Josh Campbell broke the story. He's here with us. Josh, are you learning anything more about how the thief pulled this off?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are. We're getting some new details. You know, everything we learned, it appears as though this was a sophisticated burglar. My colleague, John Miller, and I have been talking to law enforcement sources.

Here's what we know. On Easter Sunday, Noam is out with her family at the Capital Burger Restaurant in DC. Surveillance footage reviewed by the Secret Service shows this man walk in. He's got dark clothes. He's wearing an N95 mask. He walks through the restaurant.

And then a couple minutes later, he comes back and appears to zero in on that high end Gucci bag that was on the floor at Noem's feet. He takes a seat at a table right next to her, sort of with his back behind her. He eventually takes his left foot and then slides the purse over to where he is. He looks around, surveys the restaurant, picks it up, tucks it under

his jacket, and he is out of there. Of course, that then requiring Secret Service to launch this investigation.

Here are some of the items that we're learning from sources were inside the bag. There was her DHS access badge, as you mentioned, $3,000 in cash, as well as a Louis Vuitton wallet or passport or credit cards. He got away with just so many items belonging to her.

Now, our colleague, Kit Maher, at the White House actually caught up with Noem right after this happened. For her first comments on what took place. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIT MAHER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I know there's a large band. I wanted to ask about theft of your bag last night. Was your bag stolen last night at dinner?

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: It was.

MAHER: Can you tell me any details about that?

NOEM: I don't think I can yet.

MAHER: OK. We learned that it happened, but I just wanted to ask you about it and if you had any additional details. Has it been resolved?

NOEM: No, it hasn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now on that large sum of cash, a Homeland Security spokesperson said that Noem had taken out that money, withdrew it so that she could spend it on her for activities and gifts surrounding Easter. We're also learning as far as where the investigation goes next.

The Secret Service, which is one of the most experienced financial trackers in the world, they are looking to see if those credit cards are actually used, Kate.

[09:55:06]

BOLDUAN: Do investigators think that this suspect knew that they were stealing from a cabinet secretary, like, knew whose bag they were taking?

CAMPBELL: That part is still unclear, as far as whether the person was actually targeting her, whether this was a target of opportunity. Obviously, as you're walking through a restaurant, you know, if you're a professional thief and you see that kind of merchandise there almost in plain sight, that could have been just something that this man said, OK, I'm going after.

But again, no indication yet that he knew her identity. But it does raise the question, larger question about security. Now, Noem does have a Secret Service detail. Oftentimes protectees, when they're out, you know, with their family, they don't want lots of security people surrounding them.

We know that they were in the restaurant. But big questions here being raised because what if the intentions had been something more sinister? She's obviously been very outspoken, you know, surrounding immigration raids at times, often talk cartels and gang members and the like. So this could have been much worse.

BOLDUAN: And the music telling us, we gottto go, Josh. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

BERMAN: Yes, I would like to be the person at the supermarket checkout counter saying, yes, I am Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

BOLDUAN: Do I get a discount here?

BERMAN: All right. Thanks for being with us. Situation Room is up next.

[10:00:00]