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Trump Clashes With Democrats During Record-Long Speech; State Of The Union: Global Reaction; Rep. Gonzales Says He Will Not Resign Amid Affair Allegations. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired February 25, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:05]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So it was an historically long night in Washington with President Trump breaking his own record with a State of the Union address pushing nearly two hours. It is and always -- and was always a prime opportunity for any president to promote their agenda, especially this time around with midterms looming and Republicans fighting to keep control of Congress.

The president did focus on the economy, as his team and Republicans wanted and wished, talking of an American turnaround for the ages in his words, while still blaming the Biden administration for current economic woes and the pain that Americans are feeling, and also blaming the Democrats in the room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you agree with this statement then stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.

(Applause)

And you should be ashamed of yourself not standing up. You should be ashamed of yourself. Who blocked the removal of criminal aliens --

REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): You have killed Americans!

TRUMP: In many cases they're blocking the removal of these people out of our country, and you should be ashamed of yourself.

OMAR: You should be ashamed!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Those are just some of kind of if you want to call them the clashes that happened during the night on immigration and other issues.

Let's talk about the night and what it means today. Joining me now is CNN senior political and global affairs commentator Rahm Emanuel, former ambassador to Japan, former Chicago mayor, and former Obama White House chief of staff.

RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR, FORMER AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN, FORMER CHICAGO MAYOR, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: Thanks for being here.

EMANUEL: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: As a political matter what do you think was the high and low of the night for Trump? What's your take?

EMANUEL: I kind of -- I was listening to the speech, all one hour and 47 minutes, and I would just say it's a tale of -- as Charles Dickens said, "A tale of two cities." It's a tale of two speeches.

One, he wanted to tell you everything is great, it's unbelievable. It's (INAUDIBLE) and never been better in the next three years. And then this dark side of the speech as he went and turned to crime, turned to immigration, and so were the basket of cultural issues. And it was a tale of two speeches.

And I do think the latter part was meant to do two things. One is people have lost sight. The president, as he's dropping, is dropping also for the first time below 90 percent among Republicans. And it was an attempt to basically address Republicans in that effort and really gin them up because there's across elections over the last year, Republican turnout has dropped compared to where Democratic energy is.

And then the economy -- I happen to think it's not going to work convincing people what they don't experience in their everyday life. Remember Kate, you get a utility bill every month. It's up 15 percent. Telling people it's not -- it's going -- everything is going down and everything is great just doesn't jive with the reality, and that's the problem he has. There's a lot of static in that message.

BOLDUAN: What did you think of -- I mean, you used to be in that chamber once upon a time. What do you think of the Democratic approach this time -- either not going to the speech, being told by leaders to sit in silent protest? But that clearly, you know, didn't work for some.

EMANUEL: No. Well, first of all, I go back. This all started and the deterioration of the State of the Union there's always been theater going back to Ronald Reagan when he asked people to be in the upper gallery. But when Joe Wilson, from South Carolina --

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

EMANUEL: -- shouted out at President Obama when I was chief of staff that you're a liar it has been on a precipitous decline to the point now that it's actually less State of the Union and more theater and more -- actually, in my view, very disrespectful on both sides -- both for the president, the speaker, and then the audience there. I think the Democrats should have shown up. Don't be -- don't play

junior varsity in that area and listen to the president's remarks and then go out and say what you disagreed with. And there's a lot to disagree with. I don't think it helps the Democrats.

That said, you know, the president was taunting them to play as his backboard to the shot he was taking --

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

EMANUEL: -- and I don't think you give the president that ammo knowing full well this is all political theater for the public that's watching and stayed for at least an hour and 40 minutes -- or 47 minutes.

BOLDUAN: Who's counting?

That Joe Wilson moment --

EMANUEL: I --

BOLDUAN: -- it really is amazing when you look back in history how that really did kind of, like, break the damn or, like, take the lid off Pandora's box when you --

EMANUEL: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: -- in the -- in the history of State -- of State of the Union addresses.

You wrote a piece just --

EMANUEL: I --

BOLDUAN: -- just --

EMANUEL: -- went --

BOLDUAN: Go ahead.

EMANUEL: OK, sorry.

BOLDUAN: You wrote a piece --

EMANUEL: No. I would say two things -- I -- I'll let you go.

BOLDUAN: Go, go, go. No, you go.

EMANUEL: I went right then to John Boehner and I said, "You have to go fix this problem, and you've got to go fix it now both for last night because of what happened and for the future." And obviously, then a couple of days later, Joe Wilson did apologize, et cetera.

But once that -- as you said, once you cross that line you weren't putting the genie back in the box.

[07:35:00] BOLDUAN: It is a thing.

You wrote a piece last week about Trump's approach to China and how you think it's already proving as failed.

Last night --

EMANUEL: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: -- not a single mention of his views and policy toward China and what it means --

EMANUEL: Correct.

BOLDUAN: -- for Americans. Some read that as Trump realizing that he is now weakened in this U.S.-China trade truce if you will as he's preparing to journey over to Beijing, or maybe something else.

What did you see in that?

EMANUEL: Well, I think the absence tells you a lot. One is a month from now he's going to go sit down with Xi and obviously the tariff decision by the Supreme Court does change the president's position.

But take a couple of things. The -- China is going after the long pole of America's Asia policy, which is Japan, and we have been AWOL as a country.

Two, the Philippines had aligned strongly on the other side of Taiwan -- strongly with the United States is now talking to China about exploring the gas in the South China Sea, which is a major strategic asset. And the United States nowhere to be seen. And if you have a strategy for Taiwan, it includes the Philippine islands and the Okinawa islands of Japan. And the United States is MIA. They're just nowhere.

And so I do think the President of the United States is economically weakened as it relates there, strategically being -- leaving our allies on their own in that region. And this "pivot" to confront China is -- that may be some voices in his administration, but that is not where the president is. He'd rather be a friend with Xi than actually confront what China is doing economically to the United States, which is stealing our intellectual property, which we sometimes in the past gave away.

Strategically, our alliances in that region through the quad, through the U.S.-Japan-Korea -- the U.S.-Japan-Philippines nature and AUKUS -- the President of the United States is basically that's not important. I want a trade deal, and I want to be liked by Xi. That is not the priority for the national security of the United States.

And I think the absence of that, and remarks tells you that the President of the United States and his administration have abandoned our strategic posture where we isolated China in its own backyard, which was a strategic asset for us.

BOLDUAN: It was a notable absence from that very historically long speech.

Ambassador, Mayor --

EMANUEL: Yeah. I do -- I do --

BOLDUAN: Rahm --

EMANUEL: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: -- thank you.

EMANUEL: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You go. No, you go.

BOLDUAN: I mean, I -- if I have to say how much a hate an audio delay, I hate an audio delay so much.

BERMAN: You say goodbye. No, I'm going to say goodbye.

BOLDUAN: John -- no, you're -- John, John --

BERMAN: All right.

BOLDUAN: No, you go.

BERMAN: Anyway, Kate and Rahm -- Mayor Emanuel talking about the absence of the mention of China in this speech.

Let's get the international reaction to what was said by the president. CNN has reporters standing by across the globe. First to Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iran has accused President Trump of repeating big lies in his State of the Union speech when it comes to their nuclear and missile program and the number of anti-regime protesters killed by security forces last month -- even comparing it to Nazi propaganda.

Now, President Trump has said that he believes Iran does want to make a deal, but he has not heard the secret words "We will never have a nuclear weapon." Now, in fact, Tehran has said that on a number of occasions. We heard the foreign minister say it just hours before this speech, although many do doubt what truth there is in that statement.

Now, President Trump has said though that he does still prefer a diplomatic option to the issue at this point. The next 48 hours are key as the U.S. and Iran will meet once again in Geneva on Thursday.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, for Ukraine, on the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, the most striking part of Trump's speech was how little it was mentioned. President Zelenskyy had told CNN this week the one thing he was looking for was for Trump to "stay on our side."

But there were no explicit expressions of support for Ukraine. No condemnation of Russia's aggression. No mention even of the fourth anniversary of the war, only a passing reference to how Trump wants to end the war.

But we're getting, so far today, little to no official reaction to this in Kyiv. And I think the key reason for that is because for Ukraine, U.S. support and U.S.-led diplomacy is still seen as their best hope of ending this. And a new round of bilateral talks between Ukraine and the U.S. is set to get underway on Thursday.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was certainly stunning, especially watching here in Beijing, that there was no extensive section in the State of the Union that talked about China policies. So the question is why? And it could be because U.S. President Donald Trump finds himself perhaps weakened going into a trip to Beijing on March 31 through April 2 that has to, of course, center on the trade truce.

The U.S. Supreme Court somewhat clipping his wings when it comes to limiting that emergency tariff power that he had been wielding over the past year, especially negotiating with China.

China's main trump cards when it comes to rare earth minerals and its huge export network -- they remain untouched.

[07:40:00]

So this could be perhaps the U.S. president not wanting to rock the boat ahead of this key trip to China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Great to hear from our reporters all around the world -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Gabe Amo of Rhode Island. He serves on several House committees and is the vice-ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Thank you so much for being here. I know Rhode Island got hit pretty hard in the storm, so I'll ask you about that last to see how you're doing over there.

But look, President Trump said he believes that the tariffs paid for by foreign countries, as he put it, will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax.

What do you make of that argument?

REP. GABE AMO (D-RI): Well look, in President Trump's nearly two-hour tirade we heard a lot of patting himself on the back while the facts of the economy are hitting the people across my district and this country hard. Americans are paying those tariffs. American companies are paying those tariffs, not the foreign companies that the president promised. And in fact, it is causing the cost of living to go up. So the falsehood he put forward about the tariffs being affected, first, was wrong. And I think he's more focused on giving away tax cuts to his billionaire buddies rather than using the resources of this federal government to invest in people, like health care.

And again, last night we saw a lot of lies and half-truths, and this was another one of them.

SIDNER: Yeah. I mean, there is a fact-check there. Foreign countries do not pay the tariffs. It is the importers and the exporters and eventually companies and consumers.

Look, the president asked everyone to stand who believed, as I'm putting it here -- quoting him -- "The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens." Democrats did not stand. Why?

AMO: Well look, this again was another theatrical game to try to divide the country. The president had multiple outbursts attacking Democrats as crazy and really doing what you shouldn't do in the State of the Union speech. It's an opportunity to bring people together. And yes, there were some flares -- flashes of that, rather, but he did not go into that speech trying to be a uniter.

And so again, if, you know, the rhetoric that the president put forward is any indication of how he's going to govern over the next several years, it's merely to try to divide Americans. And Democrats certainly will not agree with the premise that underlies a question like that.

SIDNER: I want to further ask you about immigration because Congresswoman Ilhan Omar yelled at Trump that he is killing Americans. Of course, she is referring to what happened in her state where two Americans were killed by federal agents during Trump's immigration crackdown.

What is the message that Democrats should be sending when it comes to immigration?

AMO: Well, I think we should talk about the benefits of immigration. Look, I'm the son of two West African immigrants who has the honor and privilege of representing his constituents in Congress.

Immigration has been foundational to our country for over 250 years. And the fact of the matter is the demonization of immigration does not allow us to focus on the pathways to citizenship, to fixing our immigration system, or having the comprehensive solutions that are our nation deserves.

And so again, the president -- the focus on dividing us was certainly a main point of his speech and a major takeaway that emphasizes that he does not want everybody to thrive in this country, just a narrow few.

SIDNER: I want to ask you about some of the president's policies when it comes to relationships around the world. The president last summer said that the Iran nuclear capability had been obliterated -- those were his words -- but he is now considering another strike.

Do you support a strike on Iran?

AMO: I think the president and his whole administration has a whole lot of work to do to come to Congress and make a case, and we need to vote affirmatively for any action that the president takes militarily full-stop.

I don't believe it is the case that the president is being transparent and laying out what an endgame would be. I certainly don't believe that Iran should possess a nuclear weapon and we should be working through diplomatic channels to assess that.

But the inconsistency from what we heard last year after the strikes to what we heard just a few weeks ago that they could be weeks away from weapons grade enrichment is wholly inconsistent and we cannot rush to war. The American people have told us no more wars, and so we have to stay focused on getting the answers from the administration.

SIDNER: I do want to lastly ask you, truly, about what is happening in Rhode Island -- how it's doing. Because we are seeing now another snowstorm coming our way. It's already started here in New York.

[07:45:05]

How are things in Rhode Island when it comes to what happened with the bomb cyclone?

AMO: Well, I've been talking to constituents all morning and look, this is the blizzard of 2026. We have the famed blizzard of 1978 that laid over two feet of snow at the feet of Rhode Islanders -- on their doorsteps. Now we had over three feet.

So my constituents are certainly coming together, helping to dig out neighbors and people in the community. But we are certainly going to see a few more days of recovery from the snowstorm, and we'll be seeking as much federal support as possible to help recover accordingly.

SIDNER: Congressman Gabe Amo, thank you so much for coming on early this morning for us. I do appreciate you -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: CNN has learned the FBI received 750 credible tips on Tuesday alone after Savannah Guthrie announced that the family will pay a $1 million reward for information leading to her mother's recovery. Savannah and her heart-wrenching new video pleads once again for her mom's return but also acknowledges that her mother may already be gone.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is tracking the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC ANCHOR, "TODAY", DAUGHTER OF NANCY GUTHRIE: Hi, there.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The anguish, the pain --

GUTHRIE: I am coming on to say it is day 24 since our mom was taken --

LAVANDERA (voiceover): -- cut through Savannah Guthrie's voice in a video message announcing a million-dollar reward for information leading to the recovery of their 84-year-old mother.

GUTHRIE: We are blowing on the embers of hope. We also know that she may be lost. She may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves, and if this is what is to be then we will all accept it. But we need to know where she is. We need her to come home.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): A source close to the Guthrie family says Savannah and her siblings first raised the idea of a substantial reward on the first day of the search for Nancy but investigators cautioned against it because of concerns the calls would overwhelm the tiplines.

GUTHRIE: You can be anonymous if you want. Someone out there knows something that can bring her home. Somebody knows and we are begging you to please come forward now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you describe him for me, please? Is he Black, white, Hispanic?

LAVANDERA (voiceover): The Pima County and FBI tiplines have received tens of thousands of calls since Nancy Guthrie disappeared, but that's changed with the investigation now in its fourth week.

LAVANDERA: And how is the influx of calls now?

JOANNE AMSTEAD, 911 DISPATCH SUPERVISOR, PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT; It's starting to taper down a little bit. Unfortunately, we haven't had a lot of, you know, new breaks with this as of late, so as people are watching the news maybe there's not as much new things for them to call in and report about.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): It was these haunting videos and images of the suspect standing at Nancy Guthrie's front door that's generated the largest number of tips in the last two weeks. But one of those photos stood out because in it the suspect was not seen wearing the backpack and holstered gun around his waist. A source tells CNN that image was captured on a day before Nancy Guthrie was abducted.

The Pima County sheriff says, "There is no date or timestamp associated with these images. Any suggestion that the photographs were taken on different days is purely speculative."

But for weeks investigators have been asking Guthrie's neighbors for video dating all the way back to January 1, suggesting the investigators are looking to confirm if the suspect had previously staked out Guthrie's home to plan the abduction.

Outside Nancy's home the vigil of yellow flowers keeps growing with a message to the suspect to do the right thing and end this nightmare for the Guthrie family.

GUTHRIE: So many people have been praying, of every faith and no faith at all -- praying for her return, and we feel those prayers.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): The Guthrie's wait continues.

GUTHRIE: Please keep praying without ceasing. We still believe. We still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home. Hope against hope.

LAVANDERA: An FBI official tells CNN that in the hours since Savannah Guthrie posted that announcement of a $1 million reward that it has generated 750 credible leads that have been passed on from the FBI call center to investigators here in Arizona. And as this official points out, they just need one of those to be the credible tip and lead that brings them to where Nancy Guthrie might be.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[07:50:00]

SIDNER: All right. Still ahead for us, "SURVIVOR" season 50 -- yes, 5- 0 -- kicks off tonight and the all-star season will be unlike any other. Host Jeff Probst joined me to discuss what fans can expect this year, and he addresses the rumor about whether he will be on the new season of "THE WHITE LOTUS."

Also, a sinkhole swallowing up two cars at a red light. Good grief -- scary. How the drivers are doing after that street collapsed.

(COMMERCIAL)

BERMAN: New pressure this morning on Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales to step down, even from some of his Republican colleagues. He is accused of having an affair with a staffer who later took her own life.

[07:55:05]

Text messages provided to CNN by the husband of Regina Santos-Aviles include lewd messages and a request to send a "sexy pic."

This is what Gonzales told Manu Raju.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TONY GONZALES (R-TX): I'm not going to resign. I work every day for the people of Texas.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Did you carry --

GONZALES: And there will be opportunity for all the details and facts to come out. What you've seen is not all the facts.

RAJU: Did you -- did you have an extramarital affair with a staffer?

GONZALES: What you've seen is not all the facts and they'll be -- they'll be ample time for all of that to come out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Let's get right to CNN congressional correspondent Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill. This is something, Lauren.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and we should out that Tony Gonzales is actually facing a primary challenge next week in his Texas district. That is part of the reason that Speaker Mike Johnson has made the case that he is not taking any immediate action here in the House of Representatives. His argument is that the ethics investigation play -- should play out. That voters in the state of Texas should have an opportunity to actually vote on this issue and make a decision for themselves.

Tony Gonzales has denied any wrongdoing and has argued that this is akin to blackmail. But those text messages that were also obtained by CNN paint a picture of someone who was having a communication with a staffer who was obviously his junior and, as you noted, asked in one of those messages for "a sexy pic."

Now, we should also point out that some of Gonzales' own Republican colleagues are asking for him to step aside, arguing he's now become a distraction for the party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I think he's nearsighted. I think he is trying to protect the slim majority, but I think he runs the risk of jeopardizing our majority.

REP. ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-FL): I think that it's pretty much a self- explanatory case. What he did was wrong. He exploited his younger staffers. I don't think that he brings honor to the House of Representatives and if I had the votes tomorrow, I'd kick him out of office. I don't think that he belongs to be here. But because of the fact that he has an election in seven days, I have publicly warned the American people about him. I do not think that he deserves a place up here and I think that his voters should consider that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And John, an overarching dynamic is obviously the fact that Speaker Mike Johnson is dealing with one of the smallest majorities in the history of a majority here on Capitol Hill. Losing someone like Tony Gonzales could obviously make it much harder for Republicans to pass legislation in this chamber -- John.

BERMAN: Yeah. Unlikely the pressure goes away though because even if he does lose the primary he would still be in Congress until next January. So that's still a long time to serve after that fact.

Lauren Fox, great to see you. Great reporting. Thank you very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So there's new video in showing what New York police are describing as a very terrifying close call. Oh my God, it's so hard to watch. A trooper was standing outside a patrol car during an accident investigation when an SUV drove through a stop sign and slammed into her vehicle, very nearly hitting her. The driver of the SUV said the sun was in his eyes impeding he view of the road. The trooper was taken to the hospital. She has since returned to work -- terrifying.

Also take a look at this. A traffic camera in Omaha captured the moment a road suddenly collapses right underneath two cars. And look at the two cars just behind them. Several bystanders quickly jumped in to help. They got the drivers out of the cars and actually even back onto the street before first responders even responded. Just look at that craziness. There are -- officials are now investigating what caused this scary scene.

And "I'm coming to the cottage," the pivotal line from the hit series "HEATED RIVALRY." Soon fans will be able to do just that -- stay in that very same place where Shane and Ilya had their secret retreat. I mean, it's not like you're slumming it.

The cottage featured in the season finale will be available to rent through Airbnb beginning next week. It's located north of Toronto. Three bedrooms on a lake and comes with kayaks, canoes, and a firepit. It's said to be going for 248.10 in Canadian dollars per night.

Mega fans will notice -- I'm told that this is a reference to the show -- Shane's jersey number is 24. Ilya's jersey number is 81. Yeah.

SIDNER: CNN NEWS CENTRAL from the cottage would mean --

BOLDUAN: I mean --

SIDNER: John -- he -- I don't --

BERMAN: If you haven't seen that show you need to see it before you talk like that. You've got to just see it first.

BOLDUAN: We're just talking about the real estate.

BERMAN: OK, fine, fine.

SIDNER: It's -- wow. He's got feelings about this but, you know, it's very popular.

BOLDUAN: He's -- we love you, John.

SIDNER: All right. If you have survived since 2000 there is no way you haven't seen this show, "SURVIVOR." And guess what? It's still going. One of the longest-running reality TV shows is marking a huge milestone tonight, its 50th season. This time around survivor legends from different eras of the show are returning to battle it out for the $1 million prize.

I spoke with "SURVIVOR" host Jeff Probst. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: What's new this season?

JEFF PROBST, HOST, "SURVIVOR": Well, a lot. What the biggest thing is we've never had this many players.