Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump Says U.S. is Winning so Much in Marathon Speech; Trump Admin Considers Forcing Banks to Verify Customers' Citizenship; Team USA Men's Hockey Attends State of the Union Address. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired February 25, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump says the country's winning so much, you apparently needed a record-long State of the Union address to talk about it. He painted a rosy picture of the economy and his accomplishments, but also clashed with Democrats. We'll break it all down for you.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, investigators are looking into hundreds of what they are calling new credible tips in the search for Nancy Guthrie, this after the new $1 million reward.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Wild video you're going to want to see, a road buckling right below two cars at a stoplight, the bystanders jumping into help then after the fact.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: Breaking overnight, the State of the Union is long, historically long. President Trump delivering a speech that lasted an hour and 47 minutes, breaking his own record that was set last year.

He used his moment in primetime to tout his economic and border policies, but there were some tense made for T.V. moments as he clashed with Democrats in the chamber. Texas Congressman Al Green removed while holding a protest sign, and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib yelling at the president during his remarks on immigration when he said this to the room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: If you agree with his statement, then stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.

You should be ashamed of yourself not standing up. You should be ashamed of yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: The Democratic response came from Virginia's recently elected governor, Abigail Spanberger. She outlined the party's strategy going into the midterms with this question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-VA): Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family?

We all know the answer is no. He lied, he scapegoated and he distracted, and he offered no real solutions to our nation's pressing challenges, so many of which he is actively making worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: We also heard from Ilhan Omar, who was screaming at the president during the immigration segment of his speech, saying you are killing Americans.

CNN's Alayna Treene is live at the White House this morning. What are the reactions that you hearing to last night's address?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, I think, as is often what is expected with these addresses is that a lot of people watch these in silos. I think for Republicans, the president gave a speech that they were happy with. He did what they wanted him to do, Democrats, of course, very critical of the things that he left out.

But, really, President Trump leaned into this idea of, you know, giving a rousing speech of the current state of Americans, specifically the economy, even if that's not exactly what Americans say they are feeling. He started off the speech saying that it's been a turnaround his first year in office, a turnaround for the ages.

And he also used the gallery, the House chamber, very skillfully. He pulled on Americans using specific stories, some that were sad, some that were more inspiring to kind of rouse the crowd here. We saw not one, but two Congressional Medals of Honor awarded one to a 100-year- old Navy fire fighter pilot from World War II, Korea and Vietnam, the other one to a Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, who was injured during the Maduro raid last month.

But more than anything else, he really focused a lot of his hour and 47 minute address on the economy, and he painted it as being better than I think a lot of Americans are currently feeling. But he also made a point to blame Democrats for what he said was what he inherited when he came into office. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The same people in this chamber who voted for those disasters, suddenly used the word affordability, a word they just used it. Somebody gave it to them, knowing full well that they caused and created the increased prices that all of our citizens had to endure.

[07:05:01]

You caused that problem. You caused that problem.

They knew their statements were a dirty, rotten lie. Their policies created the high prices. Our policies are rapidly ending them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, as you could hear there kind of vintage, classic Trump, saying that it's the greatest economy now ever after what Democrats had done to it.

But what he did that I think a lot of Republicans in the room, specifically those that are very worried about the midterm elections in November, is that he offered some specific kind of populous policies that he has his eye on. He talked about energy costs and said that he wants to encourage or he's going to urge A.I. companies and tech companies to try and cover a lot of those costs, which Americans largely are paying for right now. He talked about energy, for how much energy a lot of these companies are using. He talked about housing costs, offering a proposal on that. So, those are all things to keep in mind.

And, largely, he stayed on script, which is not very characteristic for this president. And I know from my conversations with my sources in that building behind me, Sara, is that he took the speech very seriously. He had been preparing for days, again, not also something typical of this president, but he knew that this was going to be a moment when a lot of Americans who don't typically tune in to hear what he's saying, were going to be listening. And so he very much tried to take that opportunity and make it one that Republicans largely would be walking away with, pretty happy with.

SIDNER: Yes. It says something that he stuck to the scripts generally, but it was also a really long script.

Alayna Treene, thank you so much. I do appreciate it. John?

BERMAN: All right. Let's get right to Alex Thompson, CNN political analyst and Axios national political correspondent. Alex, you also have one of the keenest eyes in modern political coverage, so we're thrilled to speak with you this morning.

Your colleague, Mike Allen, was talking about Trump's swagger overnight. Others this morning have noted though, on the other hand, he didn't provide much of a roadmap for what the next six months would be to elect Republicans, if that was his argument. What's your major takeaway?

ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean, this speech was more mission accomplished than finish the job. You know, past State of the Unions from other presidents usually are these laundry list of things they want to do the next six months, the next year, they call on Congress to enact them. This was more of a laundry list of things that Trump considers accomplishments.

Now, the political effect of the speech, probably minimal, but it is part of a larger political strategy you are going to see from this White House over the next six months. It's part of the reason why he was disciplined and on messages, as Alayna alluded to before. And the political effect, the political strategy of this speech is to try to change the direction on Trump's approval on the economy and on immigration. Both of those things had previously been huge strengths of Trump.

Even when he was unpopular, he was still popular on those issues. You have seen over the last year a gradual erosion on both counts, and you also saw that in the Democratic response last night. Let's say, a year ago, Democrats felt on their back foot on both the economy because of inflation during Joe Biden and on immigration, because of the border situation under Biden. Now, it is flipped. They now feel on their front foot and feel like they have the advantage going into November.

BERMAN: I know it's been, what, like three and a half hours since the end of the speech, which went nearly two hours. But what have you been hearing from activists both parties about how they feel going forward? Do Democrats still feel like they have the right roadmap going forward?

THOMPSON: Democrats feel that nothing about last night has changed their advantage going into November. They sort of -- honestly, most of them were just eye-rolling during the speech. That's part of the reason why so many Democrats, about half of the entire Congressional delegation, just did not show up. They were tuning out.

Now, if you're a Republican, last night's speech was great. It was a pep rally essentially. And part of the reason why that could be important is because Trump has lost approval among Republicans. That's part of the reason that's driving down his approval rating is that his approval among Republicans for the first time really in his presidency has gone into the low 80s. Last night, that was a speech for that portion of the electorate.

BERMAN: Alex Thompson, great to see you. Thanks for waking up for us. I look forward to talking to you again soon. Kate?

BOLDUAN: There's also new reporting coming in the search for Nancy Guthrie. Why Local and federal officials were caught off guard by what FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media about the suspect and the hundreds of new tips that they have now received.

And Congressman Tony Gonzales, a Republican, says he will not step down. He's dodging questions about the allegations that he had an affair with an aide who later died by suicide. Now, fellow Republicans at growing number are calling on him to resign.

Plus, a suspect on the run from police found hiding in a trash bin and just seconds away from being dumped in a garbage truck.

[07:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: So, this morning, the White House could soon be throwing U.S. banks straight into the middle of his immigration crackdown, Trump's immigration crackdown. Sources tell CNN that the administration is considering an executive order now that could try to force banks to report more information on the citizenship of their customers.

CNN's Matt Egan is taking a look at this. He's here now. What is going on with this?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Kate at this point, nothing's been finalized. A lot of the details are unclear, including whether or not this would be an executive order or some other action.

[07:15:02]

But sources tell --

BOLDUAN: Which read that, is it enforceable or is it a please do?

EGAN: Sure, sure, right. A lot of those details are unclear, but sources do tell CNN's, Priscilla Alvarez and I that as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, they are considering having banks verify customer's citizenship status. And that could require banks to collect a whole different category of information and documents from their customers that they normally don't collect, including passports.

And what's notable here is this would not just be on a go forward basis. This would apply to current and future customers of banks. So, think about that. That means if you have had a bank account for years or decades, you could have to provide that lender documents that normally you wouldn't have to.

Now, as you might imagine, this is alarming some in the banking industry because it would force them to collect different information. Some executives worried that this would almost compel them to be part of the administration's efforts to deport undocumented immigrants. One banking industry source telling me that verifying every bank customer's citizenship status would be unworkable. It's a bad idea. We are very alarmed.

Now, we reached out to the White House and they would neither confirm nor deny that some action is coming here. A spokesperson telling CNN that reporting about potential policymaking that hasn't been announced is just baseless speculation. But Republican Senator Tom Cotton, he came out strongly in favor here. He says, I strongly support President Trump taking action to prevent illegal migrants from accessing our banking system. And he says, he sent a letter to Treasury about this last fall, and he will be introducing legislation on this shortly.

One of the ironies here, Kate, is that the president talks a lot about cutting red tape. In last night's speech, he mentioned a record number of job-killing regulations that he says that he cut. But yet, really, in some ways, the president has taken a pretty heavy handed approach when it comes to private businesses, whether it's deploying taxpayer money into healthy companies, trying to ban stock buybacks at defense contractors, and some of this focus on de-banking and possibly immigration at banks.

BOLDUAN: Yes, adding red tape in the areas that they want to get more involved in. It's good to see you, Matt. EGAN: Thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much for this. Sara?

SIDNER: All right, great, more snow. Yes, it's happening like right now. The northeast dealing with another potential storm after the historic bomb cyclone.

And a moment of bipartisan applause during the State of the Union, it's all about getting the gold.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

SIDNER: Fresh off the first gold medal since the Miracle on Ice, Team USA Men's Hockey got a major honor, attending President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, olus they're getting a tour of the White House as well.

CNN's Andy Scholes joining us now with more on this. A lot of cheers, that was a bipartisan hurrah.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: It certainly was, Sara. And I tell you what, these guys have got to be running on steam at this point. You know, they win the gold medal Sunday morning, spend all day and night celebrating, fly from Italy to Miami to party again on Monday. Then President Trump sent an Air Force plane to pick them up yesterday and bring them to D.C.

Now, during the State of the Union, President Trump talked about how the country just keeps on winning, and the perfect example of that is the men's hockey team. They then came out to a big applause and chants of USA. And President Trump then made a special announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I've never seen a goaltender play as well as goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

I will soon be presenting Connor with our highest civilian honor, which will be given and which has been given to many athletes over the years. But when I say many, not too many, like 12, it's called the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes. So, Hellebuyck just had an epic performance making 41 saves in the gold medal win over Canada. He's going to be the first ever hockey player to get the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Other athletes who have received the award include Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, and Simone Biles.

Now, before attending the State of the Union, the men's hockey team hung out at the White House touring the grounds, and they also took some pictures with President Trump in the Oval Office. 20 of the 25 players on the team made the trip.

Now during the State of the Union address, President Trump also said that he will host the women's team and celebrate their gold medal at the White House soon. The women declined an invite to the White House, the State of the Union this week, saying they were grateful for the invite, but had other commitments. And that came after much criticism over the way President Trump joked with the men's team on the phone that he'd get impeached if he did not invite the women's team.

Now, the Women's Pro Hockey League, it resumes play tomorrow. The NHL is back in action tonight. And Sara, NBC says nearly 21 million people watched the men's win over Canada, making it the most watched sporting event before 9:00 A.M. Eastern, ever, ever. So, you could tell lots of people set their alarms to wake up to watch that one.

SIDNER: They did. And, you know, hockey hasn't been our big sport, right? It's football and basketball. I think this has all changed with the men and women and what they did at the Olympics, just incredible. And it's such a fast, fun game.

Andy Scholes, I do appreciate you. Thank you. John?

BERMAN: 20 million before 9:00 A.M., it's like CNN News Central when we sprint back and forth in the studio.

[07:25:02]

They can see us getting our steps in, 20 million viewers. All right, thank you.

SIDNER: Wow.

BERMAN: This morning we have new developments of the search for Nancy Guthrie. Hundreds of what investigators are calling new credible tips pouring in after her family announces a $1 million reward.

And then a driver blows through a stop sign, slams into a state trooper's patrol car. Wait for it. Wow. How's that trooper doing this morning?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]

BOLDUAN: So, it was a historically long night in Washington with President Trump breaking his own record with the State of the Union address, pushing.