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Trump Declines To Clarify If Xi Contacted Him Since New Tariffs On China Were Imposed; Vatican Prepares For Pope Francis' Funeral. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired April 25, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Trump is also now refusing to say whether or not President Xi has called him since he slapped new tariffs on China. He was asked twice to clarify this morning though he refused to say. He did tell Time Magazine this, quote, "I'm dealing with all the companies, very friendly countries. We're meeting with China. We're doing fine with everybody. But ultimately, I've made all the deals." The reporter then asked, not one has been announced yet. When are you going to announce them? Trump's response, I've made 200 deals.

With us now is Rick Newman, senior columnist at Yahoo Finance. Rick, thanks so much for being with us. What's your reaction to this claim from Trump that he's made 200 deals and the hesitation to get more specific about when we might see new deals be announced?

RICK NEWMAN, SENIOR COLUMNIST, YAHOO FINANCE AND AUTHOR, "REBOUNDERS: HOW WINNERS PIVOT FROM SETBACK": I wish I could offer a lot of clarity on this, but afraid -- I'm afraid I'm just as confused as anybody on this. Mainly Trump just sounded evasive in the Time Magazine interview. He made all these generalizations and then backed away when tried to --when the reporter tried to pin him down on timing.

I mean, there's this whole question of has he had a conversation recently with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He says, yes, he has, but he won't put a timeframe on it. So, he could have talked with Xi a week ago or two months ago, or maybe five years ago. Maybe that's what he's referring to.

So, for the time being, markets seem to think that we're at a better point in the trade war. I mean, we've had a week of recovery in the stock market after some really unnerving sell offs, but I'm not sure there's any reason to think this is necessarily going to last.

And just for what it's worth, when Trump actually did get some trade deals during his first term, it took more than a year to get any, you know, any -- almost any single trade deal ironed out such as the one with China that finally went into effect in 2019. Trump has created and the expectation that he can do these trade deals quickly, but history tells us, no, you can't do these quickly.

So, you know, there's a saying in markets, buy the rumor, sell the news. I think we got rumor today, probably we're going to get news that's not too satisfying in the next few days. SANCHEZ: And so, is there a benefit to this confusion? In other words, is setting up some kind of smokescreen about whether or not there are conversations with China, even though the Chinese say that there are no conversations. I mean, if you're saying, by the rumor, it could benefit markets but does it also potentially help in negotiations?

NEWMAN: I suppose Trump can claim that by keeping his you know, basically his negotiating partners off balance, that that might somehow benefit him in these negotiations. But I think if you look at it from the other side's perspective, especially China, I mean China is watching what's happening here in the United States with U.S. markets.

I mean, Trump clearly has walked back some of his threats once. You know, his threshold seems to be a 15 percent sell off in the stock market, or interest rates go up when they should be going down, or the dollar has lost 10 percent of its value.

So, Trump has shown that he has these pain thresholds and this -- I'm sure the Chinese are taking detailed notes on every bit of this. So, they see Trump, an elected leader, facing political pressure even as he's, you know, trying to be autocratic Trump 2.0, he still has to respond to political pressure from markets which President Xi Jinping in China just doesn't really have to do the way Trump does.

So, I think there -- you know, there will be some kind of an arrangement between the United States and China because if there is not, Chinese products are not even coming into the country right now. This is basically an embargo on Chinese imports.

So, how long can Trump manage this in, you know, in the back-to-school season, say to shoppers, sorry, there are no shoes or belts for your kids. I mean -- so, something has to give here, I'm just not sure China's going to be the one to give. I think Trump has put himself in a position where he might be the one who has to give.

SANCHEZ: So, how do you square that view of China not giving when CNN has learned from three import groups that China appears to be quietly rolling back some retaliatory tariffs on certain U.S. made semiconductors. Do you think that that's a sign, that it's an opening from Xi?

NEWMAN: I think it's a sign that China is doing what's in its own interest. So, if you think about it, it is making it easier to get stuff that China needs for its own purposes, which by the way, Donald Trump has done too. I mean, he has dialed up tariffs -- dialed tariffs up or down based on you know, what the feedback he gets from businesses and CEOs. And who says that's really going to hurt them?

So, I think both games, both sides are trying to fine tune the tariffs that -- so that they minimize the pain to themselves. But we still have a massive tariff regime in place for most of the products that go both ways here.

[14:35:00]

And it's -- the exit ramp is not yet obvious.

SANCHEZ: Rick Newman, always appreciate your analysis. Thanks for joining us.

NEWMAN: Thank you, guys. See you.

SANCHEZ: Thanks.

The Pope is no longer lying in state. Leaders from around the world are now making their way to Rome. Next, what we know about Saturday's funeral and the upcoming conclave where the next pope will be chosen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Happening right now, the first steps in the final journey for Pope Francis. The official ceiling of the pope's coffin is underway in a sacred closed door liturgical ceremony inside of St. Peter's Basilica.

[14:40:00]

The long lines of mourners are gone and the official lying in state has ended.

SANCHEZ: The Vatican says, roughly 250,000 people stood for hours waiting to pay their respects over the last three days. Let's discuss the Pope's legacy and what we can expect to see at tomorrow's funeral with Father Patrick Gilger. He is the Assistant Professor of Sociology at Loyola University Chicago, also the director of the McNamara Center for the Study of Religion.

Father, thanks so much for being with us. Talk to us about the importance of this interim period as the pontiff is lying in state, and then what comes next?

FATHER PATRICK GILGER, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO AND DIRECTOR, MCNAMARA CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGION: Yes, I'm really pleased to be here. There are, I think, maybe two things that we need to pay attention to. One for the church or for the people of God, another for the electors who are going to be doing some of this work and getting ready.

The electors themselves are going to be gathering all of the cardinals, even those who will not be voting in the conclave. They'll be gathering together and really getting to know one another and trying to come to some sense, some understanding of what it is that the church needs today and then what kind of leader might be able to respond to some of those needs.

Outside of that, really, for myself and for all the rest of us who are part of the church, we really need to be able to take these times to mourn and I think to remember. There were so many important gestures in Pope Francis' life that if we're not careful are going to slip out of our minds. Those were ways, I think, that God was speaking to us, calling the church to respond. If we take this time -- take advantage of this time, we can really do a good job of allowing God to continue to speak to us through Francis' life.

KEILAR: Yes, it is this time where there is mourning and then there is so much focus on what comes next because it does move kind of quickly here for his replacement. There is though, a U.S. Cardinal who was accused of mismanaging clerical sexual abuse, who was listed as playing an official role in the ceremonies to close the pope's coffin and for his burial. What do you make of that decision? And of course there are people who are very critical of that.

GILGER: Yes, and I think there are -- people have every right to be critical of these kinds of decisions, as I'm sure you are both well aware. Both Pope Francis and pontiffs over the last number of years have really worked hard to try to reform the churches, both legal structure and pastoral practices internally and externally to the church. So, we're going to continue to improve upon those exact things, including in this particular moment in time.

SANCHEZ: I wonder about the fact that world leaders are going to be joining together at this funeral for Pope Francis. I wonder what you make of the meaning of his funeral being a chance for them to use it as a forum to discuss things like potentially peace in Ukraine.

GILGER: Yes, and I think the church, really, over the last number of decades, maybe 50 or 60 years, has by its own desires tried to become a place where world leaders, global leaders, can come together and really have conversations with a little more sense of freedom of heart and of mind. And I hope that this can be one of those places as well.

Pope Francis was insistent about gathering people together for those very kinds of things. You all know he met with Vice President JD Vance just the other day, and he was meeting with world leaders right up until the days of his death, trying to be what the church can be in the political actions of our times. A bridge building institution so that people who don't understand one another can come to understand one another a little bit better.

And peace, as you know, was a deep value for the pope, something very close to his heart. We hope that -- I will be praying, that something like that can happen.

KEILAR: And soon there will be another voice. That's the thing about the pope is, so many people listen to the pope. And not just Catholics, I think a lot of people are very interested and we saw that with Pope Francis as he was a bit of a guidepost and he would sort of push against so many elected officials. So, as we are looking to see who picks up his mantle, you know, what are you expecting besides a surprise?

GILGER: Yes, that was going to be my response to you is that I'm expecting another surprise. When he was elected, it was right before I was ordained a priest. And when they announced his name, no one, but no one expected that it would be a Jesuit pope. Never in the 500-year history of the society of Jesus had there been a Jesuit pope. He was the only Jesuit who was possible to be elected, and this was a complete shock. I'm sure that the same kind of shock will be -- will happen at this time as well. What I hope happens though over these days is that at these general congregations, the meetings of all of the cardinals, and then in the conclave inside our -- the Sistine Chapel where all these conversations and the voting will take place. These men who have been selected to the cardinal, many of them selected by Pope Francis will be able to get to know one another. These are men, we hope, that are in touch, pastoral touch with the needs of their own people, Catholic and non, from all over the world.

And Pope Francis, if he has done one thing about the cardinal that he has diversified it, both ideologically and geographically. And that geographical diversity will be able to bring people together to be able to have, I think, a really interesting choice for who will be, maybe a new global pope for a global church.

[14:45:00]

SANCHEZ: We'll be watching very closely, not only the conclave, but also the pope's funeral expected for tomorrow. You have live coverage right here on CNN beginning at 3:00 a.m. eastern. Father Patrick Gilger, thank you so much for being with us.

GILGER: Great pleasure.

SANCHEZ: So, a judge finds herself arrested and facing federal charges. Accused of helping an undocumented immigrant evade federal agents. Her lawyer is now protesting her arrest, saying it was, quote, "Not made in the interest of public safety." We'll discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:00]

KEILAR: ?Eva Longoria is back in the new CNN original series, "Searching for Spain", where Eva travels across Spain to see how the country is dominating the world's culinary scene and how each region's culture and history has its own unique influence on food.

SANCHEZ: Now, episode one takes us to Catalonia and a festival held to celebrate the creation of the Spanish sparkling wine known as cava. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What a wonderful day to come to the capital of cava.

EVA LONGORIA, HOST, "SEARCHING FOR SPAIN": I know I'm very excited. There's a lot of excitement happening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today is the phylloxera party and I have here, because we dress yellow.

LONGORIA (voice-over): This region was originally famous for red wine, but in the late 1800s, the vineyards here were devastated by a yellow parasite called phylloxera. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Phylloxera is the nightmare of everybody winemaker because it attacks the roots and it was a -- really disaster.

LONGORIA (voice-over): The diseased vines were grafted with hardier ones from America. And winemakers crafted a sparkling white, that was the start of a whole new industry.

LONGORIA: That's the bug that just did it all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Cheers to the phylloxera, I guess. Joining us now is the host of "Searching for Spain", Eva Longoria.

Eva, thank you so much for being with us. So, you went searching for Mexico and you found some incredible experiences. What drew you to now search for Spain?

LONGORIA (on camera): Well, my -- well, you saw the cava, the alcohol? No. You know what, I had so much fun doing "Searching for Mexico", and I really wanted to explore my Mexican roots. And then I told CNN, I said, you know, my family is from Spain. Should we go to Spain? I just wanted to eat and drink my way through Spain.

And it was quite an experience. You know, the first episode is Catalonia, but we go to -- we have eight episodes. Eight episodes of Spain, Galicia, the Basque Country, Andalusia in the south, Seville. We go everywhere. And it was quite a gastronomical journey, but also a really great history lesson in how we are all interconnected, not just through food, but through our history.

KEILAR: Yes. And that's what I'm a -- I love Spain. I love cava too. I'm partial to cava if I'm picking a sparkling wine. And that's one of the things --

LONGORIA: Me too. Me too.

KEILAR: -- I think, when you're talking about Spain, it has this richness, you know, of course Christianity, Judaism, Islam, there's so much that is happening and there are so many different places to go.

LONGORIA: Yes.

KEILAR: What really -- what stood out to you that was, sort of, a symbol of all of that mixing?

LONGORIA: Well, you know, it is interesting because if you're talking about the food of a country, you're talking about its people. If you're talking about the people of a country, you're talking about history. And you know, the Moors ruled Spain for 800 years, so there's a lot of Arabic influence in the food and the gastronomy, especially in Andalusia which was called al-Andalus. Beautiful region. To this day, still celebrates a lot of those iconic Arabic dishes.

And then in the north you have different ingredients. People think Spain is like paella and jamon and -- but it's so much more, it's so diverse. But I think the biggest takeaway of Spain is they really enjoy life and enjoy eating.

KEILAR: Were there other things that you would say to people, if you were going to Barcelona, if you're going to Galicia, you have to try this thing that really stood out to you, that speaks to you about the area?

LONGORIA: So, many things. Fabada in Asturias, you have to -- you have to have it, this really hardy soup with fava beans. It's only in Asturias. You know, in the south there's all these chiringuitos, which is places to eat on the beaches.

And not only can you have paella but fresh fish that just comes straight out of the ocean, onto your plate. The seafood is really second to none. Most of the tuna that you find around the world in sushi restaurants comes from the south of Spain because of where the oceans meet. The tuna there has to fight harder, so it's a better tasting tuna. It's -- a lot of it's exported to Japan.

In Galicia, there's this thing called percebes, it's a barnacle that grows on the rocks where the waves crash. It takes these percebeiros to go down. It's very dangerous to get. It's a delicacy. You have to try that.

So, many things, but I will say the main -- another main takeaway is how simple the food is in Spain. It's very, very simple, and it is all based on the quality of the products that they have and the topography of the region because of where it's located in all of these oceans that surround it really lends itself to quality seafood.

[14:55:00]

They have amazing beef. These big cuts of meat called txuletons. They just have it all in Spain. It really is one of the best gastronomical experiences you will have.

SANCHEZ: It sounds delicious --

KEILAR: I'm hungry.

SANCHEZ: -- and looks spectacular. Eva Longoria, thank you so much. We're so excited to watch this.

LONGORIA: Thank you so much. You're going to really enjoy it. You're going to want to book your flight now.

KEILAR: All right.

SANCHEZ: Will do. Will do. Be sure to tune in, the all-new CNN original series "Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain", premiers Sunday at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific, right here on CNN. Only on CNN. We'll be right back.

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