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Trump Clashes with Democrats During Speech; More Testimony in Gray Trial; Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) is Interviewed about Trump's Speech; Fact Checking Trump's Speech. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired February 25, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

RUTH SCOTT, MOTHER OF MIKAEL SCOTT: And more people died. More people died after Mikael.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Ruth, I am so sorry for what you've gone through. I see that you're sort of using that bear and holding that bear to help you get through this. This has just been an incredibly horrific time for you.

Carrie, I do want to ask you about this because she said, look, we told Amazon, this is what happened. And -- but they never -- they didn't remove it immediately. What is -- what is happening with the case? What is it that you are saying, look, this is a problem, Amazon. You have to do something about this. And what's happened since?

CARRIE A. GOLDBERG, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING FAMILIES SUING AMAZON: So, my law firm represents 29 people, mostly children, who were sold this chemical. And at the time of sale, Amazon knew in every single case that this was a product that was used almost entirely exclusively for suicide. It sold this product and its algorithm recommended that other people that purchased this suicide chemical also purchased an antiemetic to prevent vomiting, a kitchen scale to dole out the right amount, and a suicide manual, Amazon edition, that had an entire chapter about how to die from sodium nitrite.

We contacted Amazon and for -- about this, expecting that they would just say, oh, God, we don't want to be selling a suicide chemical. They continued selling it for 20 months longer. And almost all of our cases are people who died after Amazon was on exclusive notice.

Now, the thing that's really monumental is that Amazon consistently has said that they don't have legal responsibility. And what the outcome last week from the Washington Supreme Court told us is that they do.

SIDNER: So, at this point in time, what happens next?

GOLDBERG: So, now we litigate this. We make them show us the extent of their knowledge. And we want them to be confronted in court. I have 29 heartbroken families who want Amazon to have to account for what they've done in front of a jury. SIDNER: Carrie Goldberg and Ruth Scott, thank you both so much for

bringing us this story. And the warning is, at this point in time, it has been, right, taken down, correctly -- that you know of, or is it still being sold?

GOLDBERG: I don't know. I don't trust Amazon. If they have temporarily taken it down, then that's nice. But when I last visited the product, it said it was just out of stock.

SIDNER: OK. Carrie, we'll be watching this case. It's an important one for so many families, especially the 29 families that you are representing.

And we just want to remind you, if you or someone you know needs someone to talk to, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline offers free 24/7 support. There it is. Just dial 988 on your phone.

Ahead, another hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hundreds of new tips in the search for Nancy Guthrie and how federal and local officials, they were surprised when some videos in this investigation were released to the public. What's new going on there?

And the trial resumes today for the Georgia man charged in connection with the deadly school shooting allegedly carried out by his son. What the jury will hear today after intense testimony from the man's wife and daughter.

And a season unlike any other. "Survivor" kicks off its 50th season tonight. Some familiar faces and some big, new twists. The longtime host, Jeff Probst, is our guest.

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

SIDNER: This morning, the fallout from President Trump's marathon State of the Union speech. It was the longest ever, one hour and 47 minutes, topping his own record from last year. The president using what is likely his biggest audience before the midterms to project his vision of a country that is growing and an economy, he says, that is booming, even as many Americans remain deeply concerned about affordability.

Many Democrats boycotted the speech, but there were still some tense moments with those who were in the room. Texas Congressman Al Green was escorted out while holding a protest sign that criticized the racist video of the Obamas that Trump posted on his social media account and then deleted.

And then there was this part, when the president asked a pointed question about immigration and Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar shouted back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, 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.

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

[09:05:01]

Who blocked the removal of criminal aliens? In many case --

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

TRUMP: They are 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)

SIDNER: CNN's Alayna Treene is live at the White House this morning.

That was a tense moment. But there were lots of other moments during this very long speech. Do you -- does the White House feel like the president really did what he set out to do?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: In large ways, yes. And part of that is because the president did something that's very uncharacteristic for him, which was to stick to the script. And that's in part because he had been practicing, Sara, I'm told, for several days leading up to this. Something that's also not typical of this president, making revisions, practicing behind a lectern inside the White House residence.

And part of that, what you just played of that clip with that moment, that very tense back and forth moment with him really issuing these partisan attacks against Democrats, that was part of his strategy all along.

Now, I think the goal there, of course, was to -- what we saw him do throughout the night, which was really to use the House chamber kind of skillfully. He also did that with calling on specific Americans, some who had sad stories, some who had inspiring stories. He awarded several medals. He called out the men's hockey team, who had just won in the Olympics. A lot of these different moments to try and make his point, which largely was that he has done a great job in office for his first year.

Now, one of the biggest themes, of course, of all of this, though, was how he was going to address the economy. And he painted it as almost mission accomplished. He argued -- he started off his speech by saying it has been a turnaround for the ages. And specifically said that the economy is doing better thanks to him. But also used the moment to try and criticize Democrats and blaming them for what has been largely seen as an affordability problem in this country. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESET: By 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. You caused that problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, see that was a nod, Sara, to what the president and his team recognizes as one of the biggest issues that not only the president but Republicans at large face ahead of the midterm elections. And the president did try to offer some specific policies as well that he believes could help boost them. He talked about energy and specifically said he wants A.I. and tech companies to pay for the high cost of energy to run their companies, something that many people have said would be a great policy moving forward. He also talked about mortgage prices, saying that those are coming down, something that's also been troubling to Americans. So, trying to touch on a lot of these issues that we know many people are struggling with and are also top of mind for all of those Republicans who are facing reelection come the fall.

SIDNER: Alayna Treene, thank you so much for your reporting today from the White House for us on the State of the Union Address.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Testimony is about to resume in the trial of Colin Gray. He is the father of Colt Gray. And the father is now accused of crimes, even murder, associated with the deadly school shooting that his son allegedly carried out in 2024. This week, Colin Gray's daughter and wife testified against him.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is following this trial.

And, Isabel, there is -- this is picking back up today, of course, but talk to us about what they testified, the sister and mother -- the daughter and mother testified and spoke to from the stand.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN ANCHOR: Right. Just yesterday we heard from the defendant's own 14-year-old daughter. And that testimony sounded fairly damning against her own father.

Now, the defense has been saying since opening statements that Colin Gray had no idea what his son was planning and, in fact, was attempting to try to get him mental health. Prosecutors say that there were plenty of red flags all around, and he ignored them, knowing his son could put other people in danger and still decided to get him this AR-15-style rifle for his birthday.

Now, yesterday we heard from Jenny, this 14-year-old who was avoiding eye contact with her father. We know she's with a foster family now. She's not using her last name. She has decided to cut off all sorts of contact with her biological family. And she spelled out how concerned she was about Colt, her brother, owning these guns, and telling her father, please take these guns away. And her father never doing anything about it was her testimony.

And also this part that was pretty eye-opening and surprising within the trial, where she said in her testimony that her father coached her on what to say on the way to an interview with investigators.

[09:10:01]

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNY, COLIN GRAY'S DAUGHTER: He told me, like, if they asked me anything, you know, about if he knew that Colt had problems and that his problems would lead up to this, that I should basically try to cover for him. And specifically about the pictures on the walls, he told me not to tell them that he knew what they were.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. And when you say pictures on the wall, do you mean pictures of Nikolas Cruz?

JENNY: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. And the news articles about Nikolas Cruz?

JENNY: Yes, ma'am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And the problem with that testimony from Jenny, from the daughter, is that prior to her testimony, we had heard portions -- jurors for the first time heard portions of an audio recording between Colin and law enforcement where he told them, hey, yes, I did ask him about these weird pictures in his bedroom, what the state has called a shrine to Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland school shooter, but he denied knowing who that was on his wall.

Now, I just spoke with the defense attorney, Jimmy Barry, who says that they will talk to the judge today to finally determine if they will let Colin take the stand or not. And they did hear back from Colt Gray's attorneys who are not letting him take the stand here in his father's trial. They're pleading the Fifth.

Guys.

BOLDUAN: Wow, there is a lot, a lot going on here.

Isabel, thank you so much. This is going to be another important day in this trial.

Do not forget, CNN's coverage of this trial continues today on CNN All Access.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, ahead, a surge in Texas. Early voting begins there. And they're seeing a turnout they haven't seen in decades. Which party might benefit from that?

And "Survivor" is back for its 50th season with familiar faces and new tricks. This time producers putting the reality show in the hands of fans. Jeff Probst is here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:16:00]

BERMAN: New reaction to the president's State of the Union Address.

With us now is Congressman Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida, who is running for governor there.

Congressman, thank you so much for making it this morning. We appreciate it.

I was reading "The Wall Street Journal" this morning, and one of their first lines in one of their first articles led with this: "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."

Should he have said that, Congressman?

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): I think what the president has always done has been committed to the policies and looking forward, having a vision for the future of this country. And last night he laid that -- that vision out. He not only talked about the economic successes and really one of the biggest turnarounds in American history, if you want to talk about economically, from the Joe Biden years that saw no real GDP growth but massive inflation crippling every family. He has turned that around. GDP growth is up. Wages are up. Inflation rates are coming down, stabilizing in a lot of areas.

But then he also talked about the future. And that centered around affordability and housing. One of the high notes, the president moving Congress to ban institutions from buying single family homes and getting in front of Americans trying to buy their first home or buy a new home. I just left the Treasury building, in a meeting this morning, discussing that very topic with the secretary -- Secretary Bessent and members of House Financial Services.

So, the president is focused on these issues. And that's where I think voters should be able to have their concerns be understood, that the president is looking, working every single day trying to address the affordability crisis that, quite frankly, was started by Joe Biden and Democrat policy in America.

BERMAN: You agree there's an affordability crisis? Because the president said that word, the use of that phrase was, as he put it, "a lie." Their statements were a lie. DONALDS: And I think what the -- well, look, let's be clear, what the president was referring to is how Democrats now care about affordability and that the Democrats care of affordability is a hoax because they are the ones that created this with Joe Biden's American rescue plan.

BERMAN: OK.

DONALDS: With Joe Biden's Build Back Better plan that created inflation in our country. It created a labor shortage. And that is what allowed for prices to skyrocket on the American people.

And so, you have the Democrats, who were the arsonists, and now they want to be the firefighter. It's just not right. And that's what the president was calling out. And he's right to call it out.

BERMAN: So -- OK. And so he did -- he said, on affordability, he said that he believes that them calling it is a lie.

But I want to ask you about this. The CNN poll asked Americans, does President Trump have the right priorities? Does President Trump? Not former President Biden. Current President Donald Trump. And when we asked them, does the president have the right priorities, 68 percent say, no. So, how do you explain that?

DONALDS: Well, look, what I will tell you is the president's priorities, as he laid out last night in the State of the Union were about Americans being able to afford housing, about lowering energy prices in the United States, lowering household staples, eggs, milk, beef, lowering those prices in the United States, while, at the same time, having to build an economy that can grow and thrive, where you can have investment in the United States. And all of that does take time to put together.

Look, what people are about to see when they file their taxes, they're going to get some of the largest tax refunds they've probably ever seen. And that is because of the president's agenda that Republicans on Capitol Hill supported him in and Democrats all opposed. So, when people are getting now, what, $1,000, $1,700 more in their tax refunds because of no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and keeping small business taxes low, which is what the Democrats did not want to do, I would argue that the American people, as we move through these summer months, they're going to continue to see the fruits of the work that Donald Trump has brought back to America, because the previous economy under Joe Biden, we all know that was a terrible economy for everybody. Everybody was suffering in America.

BERMAN: You brought up GDP.

[09:20:01]

You brought up GDP growth. Inflation was higher, but GDP growth was also higher during the Biden administration than certainly it was last quarter and the average of year to year.

But, Congressman, I do want to ask you about -- DONALDS: That's -- that's not true, but, OK.

BERMAN: GDP growth? You can go check GDP growth.

DONALDS: OK.

BERMAN: I mean, you can say what you want about inflation, but the GDP is what the GDP was. GDP growth last quarter was 1.4 percent.

DONALDS: Here's -- here's -- John, here's -- John, here's -- John, here's what I will tell you. Under Joe Biden's economy, wages adjusted for inflation were down in America.

BERMAN: All right.

DONALDS: I mean, families were falling behind left and right.

BERMAN: Congressman -- Congressman, I --

DONALDS: Thirteen months with Donald Trump back on the job, wages adjusted for inflation are up.

BERMAN: I was talking about -- I was talking about GDP. All I was saying was GDP growth, which you said, was higher under Trump than Biden. That's actually not true.

DONALDS: OK. All right, John.

BERMAN: But I want to ask you about the tariff revenue right now.

DONALDS: Yes. Go.

BERMAN: The Supreme -- the Supreme Court just ruled that, you know, what the White House has estimated is over $100 billion of revenue collected from tariff, it was collected not by legal means but by measures that weren't constitutional. What do you think should happen to that money?

DONALDS: Oh, look, that remains to be seen. I think the president talked about some stuff that they were doing, some direct payments to some of our troops for their service to America. So, it remains to be seen how those dollars will be divvied up.

But let's be very clear about tariff policy overall, the entire strategy was to reset global trade agreements for the United States because we have to acknowledge that a lot of the trade deals that were negotiated and signed by former presidents were not in the interest of the American people, not in the interest of American companies and American workers. And the president's having to reset those agreements. And so, yes, tariff policy was used to do that.

And so, if the end result is, which I believe it is, if the end result is, we have better trade deals that actually make trade fair for America and for American companies, then it is worth the move through tariff policy.

BERMAN: OK. Understood. I was asking what should happen to the revenue.

Final question, Congressman, Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas, there are accusations that he sent these lewd texts to a former staffer who later took her own life, asking for a sexy pic. Some of your Republican colleagues have said he should resign. What do you think?

DONALDS: Look, I think it's disgusting. I think Representative Gonzales should drop out of this race and not run for re-election. That's what I think.

BERMAN: But not resign before next January?

DONALDS: Look, when it comes to members resigning, that's something members got to decide with the people that they serve. This has been a consistent statement of mine no matter who we've talked about on these issues. But I think he should not run for re-election. I think he should let the people of Texas in his district find new representation.

BERMAN: Congressman Byron Donalds from Florida, we do appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.

There are new developments in the search for Nancy Guthrie. Hundreds of what investigators are calling new, credible tips pouring in after her family announced a $1 million reward.

And a driver blew through a stop sign right into a state trooper's patrol car. Oh, terrifying. How that trooper is doing this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:27:02]

SIDNER: Now to the State of the Union fact check after the historically long one hour and 47 minute address. CNN's fact check team determined President Trump made at least 20 false or misleading claims.

CNN's Daniel Dale is here, as he always is at this time in our lives..

Let's start with the economy. I will play here some of the claims that the president made.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Twelve months ago I had just inherited a nation in crisis with a stagnant economy. Inflation at record levels.

In 12 months I secured commitments for more than $18 trillion pouring in from all over the globe.

I believe the tariffs, paid for by foreign countries, will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern day system of income tax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And the facts say, Daniel?

DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: A whole lot of nonsense there. I'm going to start from the end. So, the president claimed that tariffs are paid for by foreign countries. They simply are not. The tariff payments to the U.S. government are made by U.S. importers. And we know from life experience and from academic study after study that they often pass on some or all of their costs to the final consumer.

He claimed again that he secured 18 trillion in investments so far this term. That number is total fiction. The White House's own website uses, at this very moment, a figure of 9.7 million in so-called major investment promises or announcements. And I found that even that 9.7 trillion figure is a wild exaggeration.

And then this whole economic narrative that he inherited record inflation. He didn't. He inherited 3.0 percent inflation. Just a bit above where it is now, 2.4 percent. And this claim he inherited a stagnant economy is now roaring like never before. Look, economic growth in 2025, mostly under Trump, was 2.2 percent. That was partly affected by the government shutdown in the fall. But it was 2.8 percent under President Biden in 2025. It was also higher than 2.2 percent in every other year of the Biden administration before 2024. And other metrics also don't suggest any corroboration of this narrative that there is some terrible disease, stagnant economy that is now booming. It's just not the case.

SIDNER: Yes, it is really fascinating that he quoted this $18 trillion, but on their own website it's $9.7 trillion that they are touting. So, there's a huge discrepancy there.

All right, the president also said he's responsible for low gas prices, getting them to below $2 in some states. What do the facts say in this one?

DALE: Yes, so he said most states have gas prices below $2.30. Not a single state yesterday had a gas price average according to AAA below $2.37. And then how many stations were below $2? Well, I spoke to GasBuddy, a firm that tracks more than 150,000 gas stations around the U.S. They told me that four stations yesterday were selling for below $2, aside from special discounts. Four out of 150,000.

[09:30:00]

So, yes, they exist, but the president didn't make clear that we're talking like beyond needle in a haystack territory here.

SIDNER: All right, so