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Trump Claims Success on Economy, Immigration, Crime; Trump's Surgeon General Nominee Faces Senate Committee Hearing; Second Round of Snow Hits the Great Lakes, Northeast. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired February 25, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: ... I spoke with Survivor host Jeff Probst.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: What's new this season?

JEFF PROBST, HOST, SURVIVOR: Well, a lot. The biggest thing is we've never had this many players, but we turned the show over to the fans.

This season is kind of a thank you to the fans for this loyalty you're talking about. And so we let them vote on really what kind of game design they wanted, and then we turned it over to the players. And I've got to say, it is one of the greatest seasons we've ever done.

I was happy every single second we were out there.

How crazy is this? Mike White, the creator of White Lotus, is on season 50. And the way that happened was he texted me months ago. Months ago. Well, now it would be probably like a year ago and said, listen, if you're doing anything special for 50 and you would like me, I'd be honored.

But you've got to tell me now because I have to rearrange my White Lotus schedule for Survivor. I'm sure HBO is going, oh, this is wonderful. Thank you so much, Probst.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER (on camera): We're going to have a lot more of that interview coming up at 9. But right now, a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL begins.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So this morning, what has changed? The impact of the president's hour and 47-minute State of the Union address. We've got new reporting from key players.

And this can't possibly be true. It's snowing outside. For real, again. New snow falling right now out there in the same places still digging out from the epic blizzard.

And then a big surprise for a sanitation worker, a suspect hiding out in a trash can. Police nickname him Oscar the Grouch. For real.

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump delivered the longest ever State of the Union address. It clocked in at an hour and 47 minutes, breaking his own record that he set last year. The president, by most accounts, stayed on script, focusing on the economy that his staff and Republicans writ large were definitely hoping and wishing for.

But as The Wall Street Journal described it today, here's the quote. "President Trump told a national audience on Tuesday that he had unleashed a new age of economic prosperity. One thing he didn't say, I feel your pain."

Here's the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our country is winning again. In fact, we're winning so much that we really don't know what to do about it. People are asking me, please, please, please, Mr. President. We're winning too much. We can't take it anymore. We're not used to winning in our country.

Until you came along, we're just always losing. But now we're winning too much. And I say, no, no, no.

You're going to win again. You're going to win big. You're going to win bigger than ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The question now, what does his message mean for today? A CNN poll found nearly half of the people who watched the speech said that the president focused too little on the economy and the cost of living. It basically seemed a lot split on that point.

Many Democrats boycotted the speech or sat in silent protest throughout, as Democratic leaders had advised. But there were some tense moments still. Texas Congressman Al Green -- you see the picture there -- he was escorted out of the chamber holding a sign referencing the racist video of the Obamas that Trump's account reposted and then deleted.

And Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, they repeatedly yelled at the president as he began attacking immigrants. The official Democratic response came from Virginia's new governor, Abigail Spanberger.

And she, in her remarks, laid out her party's midterm strategy with a question. Is the president working for you?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER, (D) VIRGINIA: Here's the truth. Over the last year, through DOGE, mass firings and the appointment of deeply unserious people to our nation's most serious positions, our president has endangered the long and storied history of the United States of America being a force for good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now, Marc Short, former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. It's good to see you, Marc. Thanks for waking up early to do this.

What do you think of -- what do you think last night means for today for Republicans?

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Look, I think Republicans have to be really happy about it. I think that the president delivered in a moment that he needed to deliver. I think his remarks were, you know, really the criticisms were targeted toward Democrats.

He didn't really take on the Supreme Court over the tariff decision except for a passing glance. And I think that, you know, he rises, I think, to big occasions. And this was a big moment.

And I think it offered a significant contrast in visions. I think for the president's most ardent supporters, they're going to be really excited by the speech. But I think what he also does in these moments with the contrast is that for the reluctant Trump supporters, they see what the alternative is.

[08:05:00]

I think that the lines he has, the targets and gets, you know, to leave an Omar cat calling is exactly the visual that he wanted. And so I think for Republicans are actually pretty excited about the speech.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it was interesting. Rahm Emanuel was on and I asked about what do you think of the boycotting? I asked specifically, what do you think about the Democrats not showing up in boycotting?

And he said you should show up. He said you don't play JV in that arena by, you know, holding press conferences outside the Capitol. He thinks that it's best to, you know, show that contrast, as you say, as you see in the chamber there.

The CNN polling ahead of the speech, Marc, was that Trump's approval rating is at 36 percent versus a year ago, which was 48 percent. And you've got the independence number on his approval rating. It had dropped 15 points over the last year to 26 percent.

With last night's speech, add into the mix and just the lay of the land. Do you think he can turn that around enough to turn the midterm advance -- you know, turn a midterm advantage Democrats to a midterm advantage Republicans?

SHORT: I think there's only so much a speech can do, Kate. I think it was a great night for the president. I think that, again, Republicans have to be happy with it.

But the reality is that the president has always been a polarizing figure. And, you know, Americans prefer divided government. And I don't think that's going to change between now and November.

I think that there'll be a significant advantage for Democrats heading into the midterm elections. And I think, you know, there's been a lot of focus on the House. But I think in reality, Kate, even the Senate's in jeopardy for Republicans.

And I think that there's, as you said, a lot of concern about some of the president's policies. But as far as the speech last night, I think he hit all the marks he needed to hit.

BOLDUAN: You have been a consistent voice speaking out against President Trump's tariff policy from the beginning, calling it anti- Republican and just saying that it goes against, you know, the Republican values that you grew up on. He defended the tariffs throughout the speech, despite the Supreme Court decision striking down a big part of his policy. Let me play just a little bit of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: These people are crazy. I'm telling you, they're crazy. You should be ashamed of yourself.

They don't like to hear that. One of the sick people. Sick people.

Boy, oh boy. We're lucky we have a country with people like this. Democrats are destroying our country, but we've stopped it just in the nick of time.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So clearly that was not the soundbite on tariffs. He thinks those people are crazy that they don't like tariffs. Do we have the soundbite, guys?

Can you play the soundbite? We do not have the soundbite, so guess what I'm going to do. I'm going to do a dramatic reading of it for you, Marc.

But you, I mean, you know what he said. I mean, he basically said that the part that I wanted to ask you about, though, is in defending it, he says, "The tariffs are saving our country," the kind of money that we're taking in. They're protecting our country," he says because without the threat of tariffs, he wouldn't have been able to settle the wars that he did.

And he said that the tariffs would remain in place because they are approved with the tried and tested legal alternative that he is going to be putting in place. He does not sound like he is changing course here, and that is going to do what?

SHORT: Look, there is never -- I think any of the elected Republicans who thought that the Supreme Court would say that I'm having to face this issue were really foolish. The president is committed to this agenda. And I think that the difference between the first administration and the second is the president, yes, he used tariffs selectively against China, some steel and aluminum.

But it's a very different approach, and it goes beyond just the trade policy, Kate. You said I've been critical because, in my mind, he's adopted policies that were traditionally part of the Labor Union Democrat Party and what they wanted on trade policy. And he's going to continue that push, but it goes beyond.

The other things he called for last night are drug price controls, which would be the government forcing mandates on how much you can pay. And I think that's exactly been -- you know, that's been a policy of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. When you say you want to cap what credit card fees and the government playing that role, those are exact playbooks of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

And so those are the economic policies that he's calling on Congress to enact in the rest of this year, which is the antithesis of what I think free market and free trade Republicans have always believed. And I do think it's going to hurt him in the midterms. I think it's going to hurt in the Midwest, where even if inflation has not had the same trigger effect that many anticipated, it is having a significant impact on the job market.

And farmers have seen that their crops, they are no longer being able to sell them because of the trade war. At the same time, the inputs, the fertilizer costs are up because of the tariffs. And so I think that these trade policies are going to have a big impact on the president in the midterms.

Again, that's different than what he said last night, as far as I think his speech was good. But I do think there's an underlying problem in these economic policies that have basically been embraced by the left-wing Democrats for years, that he's now advancing his Republican policy.

[08:10:00]

BOLDUAN: I mean, adding, as Matt Egan was saying earlier in the show, adding red tape in places that -- in government and layers of government. In places that he wants to but then promising that they're cutting red tape. And that's like what he campaigned on. So you've got this --

SHORT: Right.

BOLDUAN: -- got this all happening at once. It's good to see you, Marc.

SHORT: Not even to mention the state-owned enterprises, that now the government's basically buying up private companies.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it's good to see you. Thanks for coming in -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate. She does not have an active medical license by the president has picked her to be America's top doctor. The fight over Trump's Surgeon General nomination will play out on the Hill today.

And an officer taking the stand in the trial against the Utah mother accused of murdering her husband. Why he's not calling her behavior abnormal?

Plus, suspects arrested after a grandfather was abducted and killed in what investigators say was a tragic case of mistaken identity.

[08:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: In just a few hours President Trump's controversial nominee for Surgeon General, Casey Means, will appear before a Senate committee to make her case to become the nation's top doctor. The wellness influencer is a prominent figure in the Make America Healthy Again movement. Her stances, though, on vaccines and contraception, and her credentials are certainly going to come under scrutiny on the Hill today.

CNN's medical correspondent Meg Tirrell is joining us now. You've been, you know, paying attention to all things, medicine. What have you learned about Dr. Casey Means?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, so we were expecting to have this confirmation hearing back in October, but Dr. Means went into labor the morning that this hearing was scheduled, and so it has been pushed back until now. So she's going to be in front of the Senate Health Committee at 10 a.m. today. So what we know about Dr. Means is that she did graduate from Stanford Medical School. She has her M.D. However, she didn't finish her surgical residency. She left after four years, saying that she was disillusioned with the medical system. She says she went into private practice in Oregon.

Since then, though, her Oregon medical license has lapsed. She then went on to co-found a company called Levels, which is a healthcare company that focuses on things like wearables, like continuous glucose monitors, for people to look at their glucose levels over time and to try to help their metabolic health. There's been criticisms of that for lack of data.

And she also wrote a best-selling book with her brother, Calley Means, who is an advisor to RFK Jr. That book also focused on metabolic health. So she really comes from this kind of metabolic focus from the Make America Healthy Again movement. But, of course, there is controversy over her credentials, over her experience.

She really doesn't have the traditional background we often see from a surgeon general nominee.

SIDNER: Usually they have a medical license. That's one of the things.

TIRRELL: An active one.

SIDNER: An active one. And also, in speaking to some doctors, I'm like, it's pretty highly unusual not to finish a residency as well. So I think there's going to be a lot of questions.

Can you just explain the role of the surgeon general and kind of what's expected at the hearing?

TIRRELL: Yes, so the surgeon general is really known as America's doctor or the nation's doctor. They really are this kind of spokesperson for the best medical advice that we possibly have. And so what you often hear from the surgeon general are these advisories and these reports.

Most famously, of course, warnings about tobacco. More recently from the surgeon general, warnings about cancer and alcohol, social media and mental health. So those are the kinds of things we hear from the surgeon general about.

Now, the questions that we're expecting to hear from the Senate Health Committee this morning, of course, this is chaired by the Republican Dr. Bill Cassidy, who cast that deciding vote to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Dr. Cassidy has been at odds with RFK Jr. about vaccines. We have been hearing that the Trump administration has been wanting to kind of back off from this aggressive stance on shaking up vaccine policy because it's not politically popular.

With these measles outbreaks brewing in the United States, it'll be very interesting to hear how Dr. Means responds to that.

SIDNER: Yes, there's a lot of questions. I mean, children have died from measles, something that we had eradicated. It's very upsetting for a lot of people to see what's happening in the country when it comes to that.

Meg Tirrell, it is always good to see you and walk us through what is going on in the world of health. Do appreciate it. All right -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Another round of snow is here. Just as the Northeast is just now digging out from the last snowstorm. We are tracking it for you and what it means for travel that's still been a mess because of it.

The Pentagon is also threatening to punish Anthropic over its clawed AI model. And we have new details on what is driving this feud.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: It really was just the beginning of this week, some two days ago, that record breaking blizzard brought so much snow to the Northeast and brought the Northeast to a standstill.

Cities across the region are in the middle of digging out and cleaning up and they're now getting more. Some good news. It is not bringing the feet of snow that broke so many snow total records earlier this week.

So let us hold on to that good news as we get over to CNN's Derek Van Dam with what to watch for today. Where are you tracking?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, so, Kate, not the feet of snow, but still a bitter pill to swallow seeing those snowflakes fly from the sky, especially considering what we've had to contend with over the past 48 hours with our bomb cyclone. Look at this.

This is New York City trying to clear the city streets, creating those, if you're in Manhattan, you know, the mini icebergs of snow trapping in some of those vehicles taking days to really clear out. And then here's New Jersey. People digging out over 30 inches of snowfall.

Yes, we don't really need to remind us about how much snow the record- breaking snow that fell from this storm. But there's a quick map just to show you. Yes, the bad news is that there's more snowflakes flying from the sky in the areas that were hit the hardest.

Rhode Island into central Massachusetts. This area here right along the I-95 corridor. It's messy.

So another quick two to three inches of snowfall locally. I got a quick inch or so in and around the New York City and into Long Island, but the snow is coming to an end. More of the same across Atlantic City into the nation's capital, as well as Baltimore.

But the snow coming to an end from west to east rather quickly. So this is the snow still to come. One to three inches.

It exits off the east coast. Latest computer model showing another disturbance but staying south of New England through the early parts of the weekend. More of a rainmaker for the southeast.

Look at these temperatures. They're going to stay generally above the freezing mark, at least for daytime highs from New York all the way to Boston.

[08:25:00]

But what's this? Sunday into Monday. Yes, that's snowflakes and temperatures dropping below freezing. So we've got to kind of poke around, investigate what's coming, what's potentially on the radar. This is to start off the work week next week.

Yes, we may see another round of snowfall that could be a little bit more impactful than what we're experiencing this morning. So we'll keep you up to date on that -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: When you described it as like another disturbance in the midst. I was like, yes, that's what this feels like. It is. It is that scary.

BERMAN: It's disturbing me, Derek.

BOLDUAN: That ominous sounding. Thank you so much, Derek -- J.B.

BERMAN: And I describe it as stupid. More snow at this point is stupid.

BOLDUAN: Stupid snow. You get stupid snow like that.

BERMAN: It's more like the stupid stage of snow.

BOLDUAN: I mean --

BERMAN: It's three feet of snow in some places. It just keeps snowing and snowing and snowing.

BOLDUAN: You know what? It's winter and we're going to miss it when it's gone. But maybe.

BERMAN: All right. So we are standing by for new testimony this morning in the trial of the father charged with murder for a mass shooting allegedly carried out by his son.

And what's the last thing that you would want to find in your trash? This is real. How about a suspect on the run from police? I will say they nicknamed him "Oscar the Grouch," which is funny.

BOLDUAN: They did!

[08:30:00]