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Trump, Speaker Johnson Set to Meet After House GOP Unveils First Piece of Trump Agenda; White House Touts Immigration Efforts on Eve of Trump's 100th Day; Trump Nears 100 Days in Office With Sinking Poll Numbers, Slides to 41 Percent Approval; Russia Announces Unilateral Three-Day Ceasefire in Ukraine Canadians Vote for Prime Minister as Trump Vows to Make It 51st State. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired April 28, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:55]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": President Trump's agenda in the spotlight this hour as he meets with House Speaker Mike Johnson. Can the two find a way to pass a huge bill that includes money for all of the president's hopes and dreams, even as his poll numbers hit a historic low?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Plus, is peace possible? Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the coming week will be critical for figuring out if the U.S. can clinch a deal between Russia and Ukraine. We have the latest on talks. And a Draft pick pranked one of the top players in this year's NFL Draft, fooled by some college students. Now, one is apologizing along with the NFL team that was accidentally involved in this prank. We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

KEILAR: This hour a critical meeting is President Trump nears 100 days in office. Any moment the President and House Speaker Mike Johnson are expected to be huddling at the White House as Congress returns from its two-week recess and as it gears up to try to pass President Trump's sweeping agenda. House Republicans just unveiled the first details of their huge bill, which includes $150 billion for defense programs and tens of billions more for border security.

Today, on the 99th day of Trump's presidency, the White House is putting a big focus on its aggressive immigration crackdown. It claims to have arrested nearly 1,000 migrants here in the last few days in Florida and Colorado alone. And soon President Trump is expected to sign an executive order that targets sanctuary cities. CNN's Alayna Treene is with us now from the White House. Alayna, big picture here, the White House choosing to highlight immigration and border security as Trump's about to hit 100 days. What are you learning?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, Brianna. I mean, look, they are leaning very hard into their messaging around Donald Trump's first 100 days. Of course, today's the 99th day of his second term. Tomorrow, he'll be in Michigan to mark that 100 days. But, they chose today to really focus on immigration and I don't think it's a big surprise. This is really an area where the Trump administration, despite many of the court battles that they have faced over this, particularly over their expansive use of different powers like the 18th century Alien Enemies Act, for example, getting caught up in the courts, this is an issue they think that he is winning on.

I'd remind you, throughout the campaign trail, Donald Trump often argued that immigration was actually the most important issue for Americans, not the economy. And I'd also argue the economy isn't really a bright spot for the president right now with his tariff plan and other plans not receiving the type of response from Americans that this White House and administration would like.

They do believe that immigration is an issue that they are still garnering a lot of support for. So part of that was to have this morning, have this briefing with the White House's Borders Czar Tom Homan. He talked about the number of deportations during this time so far, within the first 100 days, he said about 139,000 undocumented migrants in the country were deported. That's actually less than the same number from the Biden administration last year. However, they argue that, there are fewer border crossings under Donald Trump and therefore, less deportations.

But one issue, of course, on the backdrop of all of this is what we were learning about these three U.S. citizens who were children who were deported to Honduras with their mothers. This has really been another example of American citizens getting caught up in the crosshairs of the president's aggressive immigration policy. Our colleague Priscilla Alvarez pressed Tom Homan on this, this morning. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: If you remain in this country legally, and you ignore a judge's order about self -- about deporting, if you choose have a U.S. citizen child knowing you're in this country illegally, you put yourself in that position, you put your family in that position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So as you heard him say there, this was a decision he argued was up to the mothers, that they put themselves in this position.

[14:05:00]

Again, this idea of separating families was one that the Trump administration faced a lot of heat for during his first term, something they were keen to avoid. Now, however, they are arguing that, look, we are giving mothers and families the decision of whether or not they want to leave their young children behind. They're arguing that the mothers decided to take them with them, but again, of course, very controversial. But really the administration is trying to put on what they've been doing, really in the last several months now, a very aggressive phase when it comes to dealing with undocumented migrants and immigration overall. Brianna? KEILAR: Alayna Treene at the White House, thank you for that. Now, let's go to CNN's Manu Raju, who is on Capitol Hill. Manu lawmakers back from their break, what are you hearing about their plans to pass the president's agenda?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, they're back and this is going to be a critical period of legislating on Capitol Hill to try to move ahead with Donald Trump's agenda. Remember, the House Republicans and Senate Republicans have been laying the groundwork for months for this moment to actually draft the details of this massive bill that includes a sweeping overall of the tax code, more than $1 trillion in spending cuts to federal programs, new provisions for immigrations and billions of dollars for defense spending and homeland security spending as well.

That latter part was just unveiled by House Republicans earlier over the weekend, that includes $150 billion in new money for defense programs, more than $47 billion in new physical barriers along the southern border and the like. But some of the more complex details still need to be sorted out, namely those spending cuts as well as how to overhaul the United States tax code, which is why this moment is so critical for the House and Senate GOP to get on the same page.

Now, this all comes as members are coming back into town and have heard concerns from their constituents about the impact on prices by Donald Trump's policies, by his tariff policies. And I caught up with one of those Senators earlier today, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, and I asked him about how his constituents are reacting to rising prices.

SEN. JOHN CORNYN, (R-TX): Well, they're concerned about the disruptive nature of this change in U.S. policy, but they're optimistic that with the 90-day pause that, hopefully, a zero tariff negotiation will occur.

RAJU: How much concern are you hearing about high prices back home?

CORNYN: Well, for four years, we've suffered from 40-year high inflation, so the price of everything went up about 20 percent during the Biden years. And yes, there's been some temporary increase in prices because of the tariffs.

RAJU: And the meeting that's happening right now between the Speaker of the House and Donald Trump is largely about politics. It's about the midterm campaigns of next year. And as we know, midterm campaigns don't go particularly well for a sitting president's party. And that will be one of the things that'll be driving a lot of the discussion on the legislative front as well, how that'll impact their chances in next year's midterms. Guys?

KEILAR: All right, Manu Raju, thank you so much for that. And we have CNN Washington Bureau Chief and Political Director David Chalian with us here for some more perspective on this new CNN poll. There is a lot, David, that has changed in the first 100 days for President Trump. Where does he stand right now on approval and specifically, with Independents who are just so important? DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR: They are. So first, his overall approval is at 41 percent right now in April. That's a low water mark of where he's been in this term. Look here, since mid-February, you can see in late February, he was at 47, 48 percent, March 45, now down to 41. So going in the wrong direction in these first hundred days. Not only is the honeymoon over, but he may be taking on some water here as well. You asked about independents.

I think this is so important because it's clear in our polling that for the moment, Donald Trump has lost the political middle, 31 percent approval among independents. That is way down in, I mean, it is 12 points lower, Brianna, than just where he was with independents in mid-February. I know Donald Trump may not be running for office again, but that's a number that would concern Republicans on Capitol Hill.

KEILAR: Yeah, certainly, they are running again and quite soon, a lot of them. So, how is he doing when you look at different demographics of voters?

CHALIAN: So as you might imagine, like among white voters, among older voters, among male voters, he's staying pretty close to where his marks were in March. The biggest change though, you do see no numeric declines across the board here other than with men. The biggest declines you see here among Hispanic voters, he's down seven points; among female Americans, he's down seven points. Those are the two biggest drops among the demographic groups.

And then I just want to put them in historical context for you. That 41 percent we talked about for his overall approval rating, that is at the bottom of the pack. Every one of his modern day predecessors at the a hundred day mark, Brianna, was at a higher point including himself eight years ago at 44 percent.

KEILAR: These are wild times, 80s.

(LAUGH)

CHALIAN: Unthinkable, right?

(LAUGH)

KEILAR: Completely unthinkable. All right, so what do voters think about how he's approaching the issues?

[14:10:00]

CHALIAN: We asked this question, I think gets at the heart of sort of the arguments you see on either side of the Trump administration and how quickly they've been moving. 57 percent of Americans in our poll say that Trump's approach to the presidency unnecessarily puts the United States at risk. 43 percent say it's a necessary shakeup. This is the argument we hear every day from the Trump administration of what they're doing, how quickly they're doing is to shake it up.

Largely though, that is not where the American people are. And if you just take a look at the issues themselves, Brianna, the economy used to be a strong suit for Donald Trump. Look where he is now. 39 percent approval on the economy, down from 44 percent, lower on inflation and tariffs, even immigration. You were talking to Alayna about immigration, which is a strong suit for him. He's now underwater, 45 percent approval, where it was majority 51 percent approval on immigration in March. It's still a strong issue for him. It's why they like talking about it, but he's now underwater even on that issue.

KEILAR: That is really interesting. David, thank you so much for taking us through that. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Let's get more perspective on the Trump administration at the 100-day mark with New York Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining us. I quickly just want to get your reaction to that polling four months in Trump, as you heard, there underwater on a number of issues, including a career low on his handling of the economy. I'm sure you've also seen how voters at town halls are expressing themselves. How much do these numbers concern you?

REP. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS, (R-NY): Look, I'm not exactly sure who they've asked, but I know the people in my district are very pleased, for the most part, the majority of the constituents are pleased when they saw that the president immediately secured the border, that they've started closing those migrant shelters in New York City that taxpayers were funding and they were being filled, quite frankly, with many criminals. They've deported thousands of people from the city of New York who are committing all sorts of crime, everything from stealing in stores to pick-pocketing to more heinous and violent crimes, even murderers were caught in New York City and have since been deported.

So I would say that, on that issue in immigration and well as some of the other issues, for example, hostages that have been returning home, I mean, really a tremendous number. You've seen dozens of hostages that are now home because of the intervention of President Trump and his administration. And on the economy, we're seeing trillions of dollars in private investment from companies both foreign and domestic, who are expanding their facilities, who are creating jobs. And that's all positive too.

Now, yes, some people may be concerned because a lot has happened to -- I've said it before on your show, fast and furiously. Sometimes there needs to be a little more thought and deliberation behind some of these decisions, particularly some of the cuts we're seeing. But we have to also reassure the public that the president has said there will be no cuts to Social Security, to Medicare, to Medicaid, and that we're going to go after the waste, fraud and abuse. So right now, I think there is a lot of fear mongering out there coming from the left with regards to those issues.

They keep saying that cuts are going to be made, that won't be made. And when people see that, I'll see, his numbers will go back up. And also the decision to pause the tariffs, I think was a positive thing as well. SANCHEZ: Understood. I want to dig into a couple of those issues with you. First, on immigration, because I remember we spoke in January, the day after the inauguration and you had indicated that you'd had conversations with the Border Czar Tom Homan, where he'd made clear that deportations would be focused on gang members, sex traffickers, murderers, which you noted, drug cartels.

So I want to ask you about last week, the administration reportedly deporting these three young children, all of them U.S. citizens, one of them said to be a four-year-old fighting cancer, alongside their undocumented mothers, at least one of them reportedly pregnant who missed the court date and was attending a routine immigration appointment. There's no indication that any of these women had gang affiliations. So, I wonder if this is who you imagine the administration would be targeting for deportation?

MALLIOTAKIS: Well, obviously the, the four-year-old boy in particular is very heartbreaking and this is the tragic circumstances of a broken immigration system. I do not know why they targeted these particular individuals. I do not know whether the mother committed a crime. That would be my first question, if she was a criminal? But what I would say, and I would urge the administration is to focus on these hardened violent offenders.

That's who we really need to go after. The people who were wreaking havoc in the streets of New York City. We've seen that they've taken swift action. In New York City, you don't hear about those stories anymore, about the drug trafficker and the gang members and the violent offenses that were taking place. The woman that was set on fire by someone in this country illegally on a train. Those stories you're not hearing anymore because President Trump and his administration have deported them.

[14:15:00]

And that's who they need to focus on because there are so many more who are still running around our city. And so I would urge that.

SANCHEZ: I do wonder, given your remarks about the administration moving fast and furiously on cuts, in their effort during this immigration crackdown, if perhaps there have been situations which maybe give you pause because there are reports, for example, that the Cuban mother of a newborn in the Tampa Bay area was deported last week. She's the wife of a U.S. citizen, again, no apparent violent criminal past.

And I want to let our viewers know, I'm curious to get your perspective on this issue, because you are the daughter of a Cuban refugee. I wonder if you have any apprehension, morally, to these kinds of deportations.

MALLIOTAKIS: Well, if this individual was married to a U.S. citizen, then I question why they are not in the process right now of obtaining their citizenship or at least a green card themselves. I would think that they would be eligible for that. Look, I don't -- whether somebody is Cuban or not, that to me is irrelevant. It's whether they are a good, honest person who's here to do the right thing, or they here committing crimes and trying to take advantage of our system. That to me is what is important here.

But yes, as a daughter of immigrants, I certainly am very compassionate about those who want to achieve the American dream. And those individuals who came here illegally, sadly, they went about things the wrong way. Now, a Cuban in general, probably had some type of permission to be in this country. So, I would have to look more at that particular case. But I think that, again, the focus needs to be on deporting the criminals, the gang members, the drug traffickers, those wreaking havoc and taking advantage of American citizens and our tax dollars.

And then, we'll deal with the other individuals and see if there's some way we can work together on some type of pathway to help those people become legal residents if they have no criminal history.

SANCHEZ: And Congressman, you mentioned protecting certain entitlements. I believe you were one of a number of Republicans who recently signed a letter demanding that Medicaid for -- out of several programs, be spared from budget cuts. I wonder how the math is going to add up, given that the committee overseeing Medicaid was outlined by Congressional Republicans to cut $880 billion in funding. How does the math add up there? How are you going to make these cuts while not actually gutting some of these programs? Can you guaranty your constituents they're not going to lose benefits?

MALLIOTAKIS: Well, first of all, the math is very different on the Senate side. So I believe they're going to meet somewhere in the middle and we can achieve a tremendous amount of savings, upwards of $500 billion over the next 10 years, just focusing on waste, fraud and abuse. Now, that $880 number also over the 10 years. What I will tell my constituents is what I've been saying, which is I will not support a bill that removes senior citizens, disabled or vulnerable citizens that are on traditional Medicare from their program.

I will support work requirements. I will for those who are able to work that are of age and don't have disabilities or not pregnant, and I will do everything I can to preserve the hospitals. We've already received that commitment from the Speaker that we will not be lowering the reimbursement rates that our hospitals receive through New York -- meaning New York will not see less than the 50 percent reimbursement that they receive currently. We will have no cuts to that because of people like me who fought for that to get that assurance before we supported the resolution.

So, we will continue to fight to preserve Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. President Trump is with us. He has repeatedly said that he will not vote -- or he will not sign any law that makes those types of egregious cuts to those traditional services.

SANCHEZ: Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, we have to leave the conversation there. Appreciate you sharing your point of view.

MALLIOTAKIS: Thank you. SANCHEZ: Still ahead, Vladimir Putin declaring a short ceasefire for early next month, but Ukraine says that these are merely tactical games. Plus, Canadians heading to the polls today. But a politician not on the ballot could have a big influence on the results, President Trump. And later the President says he is bringing back another holiday, but many are asking, did something happen to Columbus Day? That and much more coming up on "CNN News Central."

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[14:23:50]

KEILAR: We are monitoring developments out of Ukraine today. Russian President Vladimir Putin unilaterally declaring a three-day ceasefire, time to coincide with celebrations marking the end of World War II in Europe. Ukrainian officials are dismissing it as a ploy and they say it's part of "Putin's tactical games." On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russia's foreign minister. He says this week will be very critical in deciding whether the U.S. will keep trying to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt is with us now. Alex, is Putin ceasefire a sign Russia is willing to go negotiate. The question is really here, is this in good faith?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. It is a sign that he's wanting to show the Trump administration that he wants to play ball, that he's moving things forward, after we've seen all this impatience and frustration from the Trump administration and notably from Donald Trump himself over the weekend with more threats. And then, there's a very practical reason for doing this, which you just touched on, the fact that the Russians have this very prominent, Victory Day Parade on May 9th, where they trot out all of their military hardware across Red Square.

[14:25:00]

And we have seen the Ukrainians target Moscow directly in the past. And so, he clearly wants cover, if you will, for that Parade. But, this is falling short of what the Trump administration wants. The Trump administration today, very much on the same page as the Ukrainians. We've heard various spokespeople for Donald Trump, including the NSC Spokesman Brian Hughes, coming out saying that they welcome this ceasefire announcement and the willingness to pause the conflict, Hughes said, but the president has been very clear that he wants a permanent ceasefire.

The Ukrainians are being much more direct saying, why do you need to wait until May 8th to have this ceasefire? We're ready to do it right now. And in fact, they signed on to the American ceasefire that was announced last month. Donald Trump had that very notable meeting with President Zelenskyy at the funeral of the Pope. They sat down, of course, we don't know exactly what was said between the two men, but not long thereafter, we saw this post on Truth Social where Trump continued to ratchet up his frustration with the Russian leader, talking about how he didn't understand why he continued to fire Russian missiles at civilians.

And then in a very pointed line, he says, it makes me think that maybe he, Putin, doesn't want to stop the war. He's just tapping me along and has to be dealt with differently. And then he talks about banking and secondary sanctions. Brianna, we have seen a string of ceasefires proposed, four of them, if I'm counting correctly, since March. Every single one has either been rejected or flouted or violated by the Russians. So when Putin is coming forward today proposing this new ceasefire, it certainly has to be taken with a massive grain of salt.

KEILAR: Yeah, it is at a time that really works for Vladimir Putin. And we should note that, Alex, thank you so much. Boris?

(LAUGH)

SANCHEZ: As they head to the polls to pick a new prime minister, President Trump is taunting Canadians. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump calling for Canada to become the cherished 51st state. The Trump factor is expected to play a role as Canadians decide between interim prime minister and Liberal Party Leader Mark Carney or Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. CNN's Paula Newton is in Ottawa for this important election. So Paula, what are you hearing from voters there?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What I'm hearing from voters is that they do not appreciate the president butting into their election. Pierre Poilievre, who is the conservative challenger here, said so in a post on X, saying President Trump, stay out of our election. The only people who will decide the future of Canada and Canadians will be those at the ballot box.

You know, Boris, I have to say though that Donald Trump has in fact been a defining presence in this election. Most people coalescing around Prime Minister Mark Carney, as you mentioned, or Pierre Poilievre, and why? They want the leader, it underscores leadership here, they want the leader who will best fight for Canada, and what they see is an existential threat to the country, given Donald Trump continues to troll Canada here. But even if you look at President Trump's cabinet, they continually say that the president means what he says about Canada being the 51st state.

And that has really been the issue of this campaign. Historically, Boris, this really has not been the most, I'd say, exciting campaign. The whole thing has been in fact quite worthy, quite policy driven. Having said that, historically, this has really been upside down. Pierre Poilievre, the conservative challenger, he was leading by almost 25 points just four months ago. Mark Carney replacing Justin Trudeau has really resurrected the Liberal Party. And polls showed that the two men really at this point, vying for the top job. Polls are close.

We will continue to stand by and of course, let the most important poll of all speak for itself later tonight. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Paula Newton, thanks so much for bringing us that update. Look forward to the results. Ahead, California's attorney general taking on President Trump by taking his executive order to court. So, could this slow things down? And an attempt to break world speed records quickly goes out of control. We're going to show you what it looked like from inside this high-flying speedboat.

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