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Oil Prices Surge After Trump Vows to Hit Iran back to the Stone Age; Trump Says War Nearing Completion in Address to Nation; European Allies Fire Back After Trump Slams Them for Not Supporting Iran War; Astronauts Perform Special Orbit Maneuver for Moon Journey. Aired 8- 8:30a ET

Aired April 02, 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]

GERHARDT KONIG, DEFENDANT: ... with the rock on the side of the face. And I finally get the rock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What'd you do?

KONIG: I hit her with the rock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many times do you think you hit her?

KONIG: I hit her two times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did you feel about that she was bleeding?

KONIG: That felt horrible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Did you ever plan on hurting her that day?

KONIG: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever want to hurt her that day?

KONIG: No.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So here's the question. Was this intentionally, knowingly an attempt to commit murder on his part, or was it a horrible fight that just happened? One question, cross- examination today, it's going to, you know, it's so easy on direct, right?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

CASAREZ: But he had a medical bag with him that he said he carried everywhere and the contents. He said there was no syringe. He never took out a syringe. He denies that. She says he did. But his bag had a lot of medical supplies, including some syringes. So we'll see how he reacts to that on cross-examination.

SIDNER: This case is just endlessly disturbing. Jean Casarez, thank you so much for following it for us, and we know you'll give us an update as soon as you get it.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oil prices surging, stock markets sinking this morning. The reaction to the president's threat to return Iran to the Stone Ages.

And high above us, right now, four astronauts are minutes away from conducting an important maneuver that will push them even further and closer towards the moon. We're watching it live, and we'll bring it to you when it happens.

And sweet victory for the grandson of the inventor of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, how he got Hershey to return to the original recipe.

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the breaking news this morning, oil prices are surging, up nearly 10 percent in almost all of that since the president's speech on Iran overnight. Apparently, investors did not get what they expected. Little new and the promise to attack Iran into the Stone Age. Stock futures down also just a few minutes before the opening bell.

Poll numbers from before the speech showed Americans do not approve of where this war is headed or the president's handling of it. This is a sampling of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to finish the job, and we're going to finish it very fast. We're getting very close. Everyone is talking about it, and tonight, I'm pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion.

We're going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, one reason oil prices up, the Strait of Hormuz, which is all still effectively closed, the president offered little new on opening it, saying it will largely open itself.

Want to get to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House this morning. You know, our friend Barak Ravid at Axios had a play on this speech overnight. Of course, it was the first night of Passover. He said, why is this speech different than any other? And he said it was not. It was largely a rehash of what the president's been saying out loud and on social media.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, that's exactly right. We really didn't learn anything new, John. And I do want to address, you know, the higher oil prices we're seeing today following that speech. And I think a big part of that is so many people are worried that the president may, you know, declare mission accomplished with Iran and pull the United States out, end the war and leave the Strait of Hormuz closed.

And as we heard from him last night, as and you mentioned this as well, not necessarily new, but kind of doubling down on this idea that Really, it's up to United States allies to reopen it as well. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Go to the strait and just take it. Protect it. Use it for yourselves. Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done, so it should be easy. And in any event, when this conflict is over, the strait will open up naturally. It'll just open up naturally. They're going to want to be able to sell oil because that's all they have to try and rebuild. It will resume the flowing and the gas prices will rapidly come back down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: I think that one line in there where he says once the war ends, it will open up naturally is really what I think has concerned a lot of people. Because, of course, you know, part of the reason we're seeing such high gas prices is because the strait has remained closed. And many people have said, many experts, even people within the Trump administration themselves, saying that if the strait remains closed, we're only going to continue to see those prices rise.

[08:05:00]

And also, the idea that, you know, this is now something that Iran has great leverage over. We've seen them starting to try and toll ships that pass through. If that's how this ends with Iran having a firm hand on the Strait of Hormuz and also tolling the ships that go through, that is going to be a major problem, of course, not just for the United States, but for countries globally.

But I do want to get into some of the other parts of the speech that I took note of. One was that this really did seem like a sale to the American people of this war. You heard the president attempt to justify why the United States is there. He talked about trying to do this for the future of America's children and grandchildren.

He also argued that, unlike his predecessors, he is the only person that could save America from the threat of Iran, notably, though, of course, he was in office previously -- 2016 through 2021 or 2017 through 2021 -- and did not, you know, strike Iran like he is now.

Some other things as well, though, is one thing we did not hear is what we know many people are considering in the Trump administration, this idea of ground troops. He also did not talk on potential diplomacy with Iran, something I know his team is very much prioritizing at this point in time. So, again, I think this was really supposed to be a reassurance to Americans and especially trying to highlight that this is not going to be a prolonged conflict. You heard him say they'll be out in two to three weeks, but we'll have to see whether or not that's actually the case -- John.

BERMAN: We will. We will be watching very closely. You know, I don't know what the oil investors were expecting, but the sharp increase overnight indicates they didn't quite get what they were expecting. Alayna Treene at the White House, thank you very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Let's talk more about this. Joining us right now is CNN chief international anchor, Christiane Amanpour. It's great that you're here after -- I know you were on late last night, so thanks so much, Christiane.

The prime minister of Poland is now weighing in after the speech. Donald Tusk writing just this morning this. "The threat of NATO's breakup, easing sanctions on Russia, a massive energy crisis in Europe, halting aid for Ukraine, blocking the loan for Kyiv by Orban -- it all looks like Putin's dream plan."

If that's his big takeaway from the speech last night, that's quite something.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This has been a concern for Europe ever since this war started, particularly when sanctions, some sanctions, started to be lifted from Russian oil, i.e. filling Putin's dwindling war chest. So this is a big problem. The other things, he says, have always been a problem. Trump favoring Russia over Ukraine, it seems, in public.

And actually worse, if you hear what President Trump said in a different setting yesterday, he talked about how his prediction had been that this war would be over in three days. He said that at the White House. It hasn't got much publicity.

But this is a Putin idea. This is what he thought about the war on Ukraine. Three days, no problem, over. We'll take it over. And this is potentially the reason for what appears to be, obviously, a certain miscalculation.

The military is doing its job. But politically, there seems to be an inability to define an actual exit strategy. We keep getting these reasons for why they're there, and Trump obviously was speaking to the American people to keep them onside. But we still don't know an exit strategy. We don't know why it's going to take another three weeks, which he's always saying.

You see that a speech which was, I suppose, meant to calm markets and genuine fears that Asian allies are in energy emergencies now. It's a real problem.

BOLDUAN: And one part of the speech, I wanted to ask you about, is the president has said, and he said to reporters before, and he's said it in the speech as well, that if he had to say one main objective, his main objective, his key objective for this war is to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. And then what he said about the nuclear threat and dismissing, it seemed essentially, any operation to go into secure uranium -- uranium in Iran.

What do you think that means? What did you hear in that?

AMANPOUR: Well, I was, again, surprised and not surprised. An Operation Special Forces to take the 400 kilos of highly enriched uranium, which is apparently entombed, buried somewhere after their last attacks in the 12-day war, is very, very difficult to manage, and perhaps that's a reflection of that issue. He seemed to say, you know, the nuclear dust, as he called it, would, it would just take care of itself and that they would watch, having decimated Iran's capabilities, and then keep hitting if there was any move towards.

So what is that? That is a commitment now, officially, to a U.S. policy of following the Israeli policy of, quote, mowing the lawn, i.e., you spend your entire foreign policy and military policy and intelligence policy directed to constantly bombing. It's a constant war footing, which means there's no end to this.

And right now, people in the know who were at and around the negotiations just before the bombing started on February 28th said that there was an actual real chance and a real momentum towards getting what the U.S. and the rest of the world wanted, which was pretty much a neutralization of the Iranian nuclear file.

[08:10:00]

So you know, the real question now is are you better off now as the United States or would it have been better to stick with the progress that the Omanis, the Egyptians, the Europeans said was happening at the negotiating table.

BOLDUAN: That's a key question to ask as every day takes on with us for sure.

AMANPOUR: Yes, yes. I mean and the other thing that's really affecting the world is talking about bombing Iran back to the Stone Ages, where they belong. So you can imagine that this has really affected the diaspora, really affected people inside Iran, affected their view of this war. And you know, Iran has a 2,500-year history. Dwarfs the 250- year history of the United States. So proud Iranians are extremely upset now with this personal attack on them. They feel the war is against them.

BOLDUAN: Which is interesting because, remember, we keep protesting, help is on the way, is months ago how this all really started ramping up yet again when he was trying to support the mass protests that were -- that he said that were --

AMANPOUR: And the assassination policy continues. The latest is a top, top diplomat of the reform era, Kamal Kharazi, a former minister. He is being attacked. He's seriously wounded, and his wife was killed.

BOLDUAN: Christiane, it's great to see you're talking about this issue in Iran. Always. Really appreciate it -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you so much. We are a go for the burn. Right now, the Artemis II crew is moving to push the Orion closer to the moon. We have an update on a special moon maneuver that is next. And a plane crashes in the middle of a Philadelphia park leaving an

off duty police officer injured. What happened here? What led to this crash?

And a seven-month-old baby in a stroller killed by an apparent stray bullet. The latest on the search for the suspects in the case out of New York.

[08:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Just moments ago in space, the Artemis II crew carried out one of the most crucial steps on day two of their historic mission. They're doing what's called a perigee rays burn. It's one of the steps they have to do before the Orion space capsule can break free of its orbit around Earth and slingshot towards the moon.

It all began with a spectacular liftoff yesterday. Except for one small snag, a toilet on board. CNN's Randi Kaye is at Kennedy Space Center in Florida with us. It's so cool that you're there on Merritt Island watching the clock as it ticks forward now because they've been in space for quite some time. What are you learning about their mission today?

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that perigee burn was very successful, Sara. This is really what raises their orbit and sets them on the path towards the moon. What they're going to do next is later this evening, 8:00 or 8:30 in the 26th hour, after this launch, they are going to have this, what's called a TLI, a trans-lunar injection. And that really sets them on the path to the moon.

Then they can start their figure eight. Because for the first 24 hours or so, they are just circling Earth, but now they will start that figure eight. When they do that, they'll start that figure eight path, which they will orbit the moon as well as the Earth.

Now, of course, they have to check all the systems. That's part of what they've been doing in these first 24 hours. As they circle around Earth, they have to check the communications, the navigation, the life support, the toilet, as you said. They have to make sure that all of that is in working order before they commit to the moon.

They did have a toilet problem. They were told by mission control after they worked through it together that the toilet was good to go. So that is good news. The hygiene bay is up and working. Very good news for them.

We did get some video of them sort of tinkering around in there in the Orion capsule. It's the first time, Sara, that humans have been inside this Orion capsule, so critical to make sure that it is working properly.

And we also heard from Commander Reid Wiseman already. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REID WISEMAN, ARTEMIS II COMMANDER: It's an amazing ride uphill. The views, we've got two moon rises that we've had so far, and the views of planet Earth. We've circled it completely, and we forgot how beautiful it is to look down on Earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: So incredibly beautiful. And the astronauts are taking these four-hour naps. They're sleeping just four hours at a time trying to get used to the orbit, and they're getting woken up every four hours. But they did take with them some memorabilia that's worth mentioning, Sara. They have some fabric from the Wright Flyer, an American flag from the first space shuttle mission, and some soil samples from moon trees as well -- Sara.

SIDNER: We know all about four hour naps here on NEWS CENTRAL because that's about all we sleep. So we feel they're pain, Randi. You know the drill. Thank you so much, appreciate it -- John.

BERMAN: All right, a delay in the case of accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione. Why the judge issued this order?

And a major break in a string of unsolved murders, how investigators tracked down a suspect years after what has been called the Killing Fields case went cold.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, we've been talking about the new CNN poll, which was a really low approval rating for President Trump, just a 35 percent approval rating for the president. You see this and you would think Democrats might be doing well. People might approve of the way Democrats are doing, particularly Democrats. You might think that. But you'd be wrong. With us now, CNN chief data analyst, Harry Enten. And so, you know, bad news for Republicans hasn't really been good news for Democrats.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATE ANALYST: No, no, not at all, at least when it comes and you isolate Democrats. I mean, these numbers are just atrociously awful. A double A for the Democrats here. I mean, just take a look here. Congressional Dems have the right priorities. Look at this.

Overall, 74 percent, nearly three and four say no, just 25 percent overall say yes. You might say, OK, well, at least Dems like Democrats. Uh-uh, not the case. Look at this. The majority of Democrats are independents who lean Democrats. Look at this. 55 percent say no. Congressional Democrats do not have the right priorities. And then you just see a minority, 45 percent of Democrats, say that congressional Democrats have the right priorities.

This, to me, just jumps out at the screen because it screams primary challenges all over the map, and it says that even if Democrats don't like Donald Trump, they don't like their own party either when it comes to Congress and overall, I mean, my goodness gracious.

[08:25:00]

BERMAN: So this is sort of like Democrat on Democrat crime here. What's overall approval among Democrats of their leaders?

ENTEN: Yes, OK, so, you know, you'd speak about Democrat on Democrat crime, and I want to know how unusual what we're seeing right now about how Democrats feel about Democrats in Congress is. Take a look at this. This is a trend line going through the years, midterm elections in which there's a GOP president. Look at this, in 2006, Dems net approval of congressional Democratic leaders was plus 28.

You go back to last midterm, look at that, plus 19, very much on the positive side of it. The bottom has fallen out. The bottom has fallen out minus four points. That is Democrats, Democrats own net approval of their own congressional leaders. Even Democrats don't like their own leaders when it comes to Congress. And overall, of course, the numbers are just absolutely awful.

So Democrat on Democrat crime, absolutely. This to me screams, again, primary challenges across the map. And it screams to me, hey, when it comes to those next leadership elections, maybe something might be choking.

BERMAN: It also just means we have to maybe look at these midterms differently because this is a different prism. We haven't seen this type of thing before. We don't know what impact that might have.

ENTEN: That's exactly right. And there are a lot of folks have been looking at the generic congressional ballot and wondering why Democrats don't have a larger lead. And this is a big reason why I would think.

BERMAN: OK, so there's Hakeem Jeffries in the House. Chuck Schumer is the Senate Minority Leader. What might this mean for Chuck Schumer? What are some of the predictions about whether he can stay as a Democratic leader?

ENTEN: Chuck Schumer has been the Senate leader for the Democrats for a long period of time before I even came to CNN, and I'm not quite sure that he will stay it. Take a look at where the people who are putting their money where their mouth is. Chance Schumer wins the next Dem Senate leader election.

Back on December 1 -- look at this -- it was two and three, according to Kalshi prediction market. Then drops to 56 percent in February. And then look at where we are right now. Just 50 percent -- a coin toss, a coin toss. If I had a coin, I would toss it up in the air. A coin toss when it comes to Schumer actually winning the next Dem Center leader election.

And we've seen a number of Senate candidates Democrats across the map saying we don't want any part of Chuck Schumer to be the next leader. And there's a big reason why that is and it's because, at this point -- look at this -- this minus four. Even Democrats don't approve of their own congressional leaders.

BERMAN: These numbers bear watching over the course of the summer and into November, to be sure. Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, President Trump vows to bomb Iran back to the Stone Ages. So, is this war now ramping up rather than winding down? The view in response from oil markets? Fear.

And a seven-month-old baby is killed in its stroller by a stray bullet. The search now for who is responsible for this tragedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]