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Trump Says Strait of Hormuz Will Reopen Naturally; Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is Interviewed about Iran; Artemis II Successful Orbital Maneuver; Scott Parazynski is Interviewed about Artemis II; Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) is Interviewed about Oil and the Iran War. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 02, 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]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Huge jump. What investors saw that they did not like.

And the critical maneuver just before by the crew of Artimis II to get them on the way to the moon now that they fixed their toilet.

And the fiery crash involving a star of Bob's Burger. How he was rescued.

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

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, as John said, oil prices, up, way up, after President Trump vowed to hit Iran extremely hard over the next two to three weeks in his address to the nation. Analysts say the oil market wanted two things from this speech, a timeframe for ending the war and a plan for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. They got neither. The U.S. benchmark for oil surging more than 13 percent at one point after that speech, a huge jump. And stock futures down across the board ahead of the opening bell that's less than 30 minutes from now.

The president had a tough sell during last night's address. Polls from beforehand showed about two-thirds of Americans disapprove of the war. Here's some of his message to the American public.

(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 are 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)

SIDNER: That is for the Strait of Hormuz. The president said it will reopen on its own after the war ends. And he pushed America's allies to take responsibility for securing and reopening it.

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

You listened to the speech, as everyone else did. What stood out?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, one of the things I want to touch on, Sara, that you mentioned was the polling we saw, the CNN poll, about, you know, many Americans disapproving of this war. I can tell you, I know that people in the White House are seeing the same polls. They are looking at the same numbers. And that's partly why the president gave that address to the nation last night.

I think one of the key issues that this White House has faced is really selling this war to the American people. One of the chief criticisms we've been hearing throughout the past 32 days or so has been that they didn't do enough on the front end to make sure that they had the buy in of the American people before launching strikes in Israel. And that's really what we saw him attempt to do last night with this national address, try to justify why the United States is at war with Iran, sell the successes of the military operations, and also try to assure them that this is not going to be some forever war, that really he is hoping to wind this down soon.

Now, some of the things, though, that stood out to me. One is that we didn't really hear much new. For the people who are actually listening to the president's comments, you know, regularly, you kind of heard exactly what he has been saying for several weeks now. One thing he did not address that many people I know were watching for was whether or not he would say anything about potential ground troops. We know they are considering that very closely. But he did touch on one issue, which is this idea of the enriched uranium that is still beneath many of the nuclear facilities that the United States actually, you know, had striked last summer.

I want you to listen to how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The nuclear sites that we obliterated with the B-2 bombers have been hit so hard that it would take months to get near the nuclear dust. And we have it under intense satellite surveillance and control. If we see them make a move, even a move for it, we'll hit them with missiles very hard again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Sara, the reason I wanted you guys to listen to this in particular is because it stood out to me. One is, if there are potential ground troop operations. We know one of the most sensitive that could result in the most casualties would be to try and send service members in to retrieve that enriched uranium. What the president said last night was that, you know, it's really deep underground. It's hard to retrieve. But if they make a move toward it, then we'll go in.

So, unclear if that's actually something, you know, that they're seriously considering still. But it's also something that a lot of people point out that if one of the goals is to ensure that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, it kind of is hard to square with leaving that enriched uranium beneath those sites.

Another thing, and you touched on it as well, is what he said about the Strait of Hormuz. I mean that is a huge problem in every conversation I have with people in the administration, particularly those in the intelligence community, they repeat that it is one that does not have an easy solution to solve. And essentially, what we heard from him last night and really urging U.S. allies to deal with it themselves and try to go and take the oil for themselves, kind of backs up a lot of the reporting that, you know, us included, have been writing, which is that they may leave and end this war without reopening the Strait.

[09:05:05]

And that's part of why I think you're seeing oil markets respond the way they are this morning.

SIDNER: Certainly. Alayna Treene, that and a few other things, but, yes. Thank you so much for your reporting there and your analysis of the speech.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us right now is Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut for more on this.

Senator, you made clear on social media overnight that Trump's speech did not win you over to support his war effort. Oil markets didn't like it either. But looking at today, what did his remarks change?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): His remarks really changed nothing. In fact, what is most noteworthy about it is comments to the American people is how little energy and persuasive force he had because he was essentially saying, we're doing more of the same, more bombing. And the refusal to recognize that bombing will achieve none of his objectives. It won't secure the uranium. It won't change the regime. It won't destroy all the missile production or drone capacity.

And so, I think there's just more magical thinking that an aerial reign of terror on Iran is somehow going to solve the problem that we created. We created the problem at the Strait of Hormuz. And now we're saying, or at least he is saying to the rest of the world, it's your problem to solve. Just take the oil.

BOLDUAN: To -- I want to ask you about what you just said, though, because as Alayna Treene was laying out what the president played, what the president said about nuclear material in trying to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, that it's going to -- it would take months to get near the nuclear dust. If we see them make a move, even a move for it, we'll hit them with missiles very hard. You just said that they cannot secure the material or prevent that from -- just with a bombing campaign. So are you saying, even if you think he's -- he created the problem, that at this point, in order to mitigate the problem and threat, that you think boots will need to be put on the ground?

BLUMENTHAL: The only way to really secure that uranium is through an immensely challenging military operation using commando special operators and then a major force to secure the area, building a land strip, removing the 970 pounds of uranium from silos that are 300 feet deep, and it may be located in a number of different sites throughout Iran. So, the idea that we're going to bomb our way to success here is magical thinking.

BOLDUAN: So, what do you want him to do?

BLUMENTHAL: And the president, I think, is either refusing to recognize --

BOLDUAN: Oh, Senator, sorry. I think there's an audio delay.

BLUMENTHAL: I think the president is refusing to recognize that (ph) -- this strategy.

BOLDUAN: What do you want the president to do, if you think it's magical thinking that -- when he says that a bombing campaign is going to mitigate this risk of a nuclear threat?

BLUMENTHAL: The solution here has to be diplomacy. From the very start, diplomacy should have been the first resort, war, the last resort. And if the president is serious about diplomacy, there is a path to negotiations. Right now Iran seems resistant to it, but the fact is that there is some evidence of movement. And I think diplomacy and negotiations have to be pursued.

BOLDUAN: CNN has new reporting, and I've seen elsewhere as well, that President Trump has talked privately about firing Attorney General Pam Bondi, replacing her with the current EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin. Here's the CNN reporting, Senator. "Frustrated by the backlash and anger in his base over the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, Trump has asked people about replacing Bondi, who faces a deposition later this month on Capitol Hill related to the congressional investigation into the late sex trafficker, the sources said. He has also fumed that she hasn't investigated enough of his political opponents."

You, of course, are on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Would Lee Zeldin be better or worse than Pam Bondi, in your view, as attorney general?

BLUMENTHAL: No one could be worse than Pam Bondi. She has been a catastrophic attorney general. She's failed to be responsive on the Epstein files, creating a culture of concealment that is a betrayal of the survivors. And she's also, in effect, made the Department of Justice the personal law firm to the president of the United States, undermining -- in fact completely decimating its credibility.

[09:10:04]

She's taken positions in court that are completely unsustainable. So, anyone would be better than Pam Bondi.

BOLDUAN: Senator Richard Blumenthal, thank you for coming in. I appreciate your time.

John.

BERMAN: All right, it took some fancy flying, but the Artemis II crew is one step closer in the mission to circle the moon.

A doctor accused of trying to kill his wife says prosecutors got it wrong. His wife, he says, attacked him.

And gas up two cents overnight. But at one service station, and I want to make clear this is an exception, but at one service station, it's already at $10 a gallon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably could charge $20 a gallon. And if you have to get gas, you have to get gas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:27]

BOLDUAN: Forty-four thousand miles from earth, the Artemis II crew is back to bed. They've been on and off getting used to orbit. But already this morning they completed an important step of this mission to set them up for the translunar injection burn, putting them right on the correct path to head toward the moon.

CNN's Randi Kaye is at Florida's Kennedy Space Center with much more on this.

Randi, bring us up to speed. Obviously napping once again. But regardless, they've already done a bunch.

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they've been pretty busy actually up there already. But you mentioned that perigee burn. That is really critical because that will help them determine whether or not they are going to commit to heading towards the moon. So, that will put them on the trajectory to the moon later on today when they do this translunar injection. That happens in the 26th hour or so into the launch. So about 8 or 8:30 tonight, Kate, they're going to do that. And that's when they will -- that will take them on the path to the moon. They'll start that -- that figure eight path instead of just circling earth, like they've been doing since they've been up there. They will then move on to the figure eight to also orbit the moon, which will be very, very exciting for them. In the meantime, they've been doing a lot of these checks to make sure

that the Orion capsule, which humans have never been in before, are -- is safe for them to go to the moon. They've been checking communications, navigation, life support, the toilet. They had some problems with the toilet overnight, which they did work with mission control and they were able to fix that.

But we have some video of them already tinkering around up there in the Orion capsule. It's certainly tight quarters. Jeremy Hansen, the Canadian who's up there with NASA, has never been to space. And he's six foot two, Kate. So, he's learning how to float. He was hoping that his crew members would be patient with him. So, we have that great video.

And then we also have heard from Commander Reid Wiseman already. Listen to this.

(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: And Mission Control says that they are doing well up there. They are safe. They are secure, and they are in good spirits. And, of course, the big day coming up will be day six if they do indeed go towards the moon. That will be the historic flyby. They'll be on the far side of the moon, further from earth than any human has ever been. About 250,000 miles if they do indeed do that. And just for perspective here, the International Space Station is 250 miles away from earth that now we're talking about 250,000 miles away.

Back to you.

SIDNER: It's me, Sara Sidner, because, you know, back here on earth, we also have technical issues. It doesn't just happen in space, it turns out, Randi Kaye. But I am so glad you're there and I'm very excited for you. And I got to be honest, I'm a little jealous. I'm a little jealous because it is really cool to see one of these things blast off. Maybe I'll -- perhaps I'll come visit this weekend.

KAYE: Sure was. I was in the heat zone yesterday.

SIDNER: I love it so much.

All right, thank you so much, Randi.

Joining me now, former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski. He has been -- he's showing off here because he's been on five space shuttle missions.

First of all, just give us a sense, because we're talking about -- Randi was just explaining its, it's 250,000 miles away. What is this like? What is a mission like this like for the humans that are there having to make this happen with all the precision that it requires?

SCOTT PARAZYNSKI, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: My goodness, it is an epic human adventure and something that I share jealousy as well. I wish I was on board with the crew and could see the things that they're about to see. They're, you know, 44,000 to 45,000 miles from earth right now screaming around the planet, getting ready for their TLI burn. And that will just be a site that I think only 24 humans have ever seen looking back at planet earth from those distances. And, you know, to see an earth rise as opposed to a moon rise will be, you know, life changing for them.

But right now they're highly professional --

SIDNER: I was going to ask you --

PARAZYNSKI: Sorry. Go ahead.

SIDNER: No, I was going to ask you what it is like just to look back on earth. What does that do to you? Does it -- does it change you when you see it from this different perspective?

PARAZYNSKI: It's a profound, life-changing experience to look back on your home planet, to see all of human history, to see, you know, the birthplace of civilization and to think that you've got this rarefied view.

[09:20:11]

It's deeply moving to look out into the cosmos and see trillions and trillions of stars out there. But your eyes are always gravitationally and emotionally pulled back to planet earth. And to see it now in the context of our closest neighbor, the moon, it -- I think it will just be extraordinary for this crew.

And, of course, it's a great inspiration for young people. One of the things that really hit me yesterday, watching the launch and seeing a number of interviews of young people, the inspiration, the excitement that they had, it took me back to when I was five or six years old when I saw the launch of Apollo Nine from Cocoa Beach. And that set me on my trajectory through life. And it turned out pretty well for me. And I can't wait to see what this generation, the Artemis generation, drives from it.

SIDNER: OK, that is an understatement of the year. It turned out pretty well for you. You're an astronaut who has done this like five times. Unlike the rest of us. I grew up in Florida, so I used to watch these in school. We used to see them. They would bring the -- they would bring the whole TV in back in the day before cell phones.

PARAZYNSKI: Right.

SIDNER: And we'd watch these launches. And just -- we were always filled with awe.

So, keeping with the childlike theme, one of our producers, who is childlike, like the two of us have just admitted we are, they wanted to know if humans smell in space. Like, what is the deal with bathing? Since there was this issue with the toilet.

PARAZYNSKI: Well, you know, the things that we take for granted here on earth, you know, the simple, daily activities sometimes are actually a lot more difficult in space. So, yes, taking a shower in space, not really going to happen. We take a sponge bath. We have rinseless shampoo. Kind of like what's used in a hospital or nursing home. So, it kind of builds up in your hair over the length of a mission. You never feel really clean. Setting up to go to the restroom, you know, takes a few steps. It's not a trivial process. Preparing meals, you know, is a little bit more complex because you can't just put your macaroni and cheese, you know, on the table and expect that it'll be there when you go back. You have to Velcro it. And, you know, a lot of other minor details of preparation that the crew has to take into account.

SIDNER: My EP is so disappointed in me with that question. He's just like, really? But it is a question that a lot of us want to know the answer to.

Scott, I really do appreciate you taking the time and I love -- I love what you have on. It's got all these missions on it. We could not be more jealous and more proud at the same time. Appreciate your time this morning.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, the getup this morning, quite a subtle flex. Got to respect it.

SIDNER: I mean, wow.

BOLDUAN: Got to respect it.

Records aren't the only thing that she is breaking. What just happened to Mikaela Shiffrin, the skiing legend and friend of the show.

(CROSS TALK)

BOLDUAN: No. Guys. Guys.

And we're minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Oil prices have been climbing all morning. Stock futures have been falling. Clearly not happy after what they heard from President Trump about the war with Iran.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:27:43]

BERMAN: All right, happening now, this is a live look at oil prices. West Texas crude now nearly $113 a barrel. I believe for West Texas, that is a high since the war with Iran began. And it's up nearly 13 percent. That's overnight. That's just since the president delivered his speech on Iran.

With us now is Congressman Marlin Stutzman, a Republican from Indiana. Congressman, thanks so much for being with us.

You know numbers better than I do. You're on finance and budget here. What do you think the oil markets saw? What did investors see in this speech that has them so concerned and had prices go up more than 10 percent overnight?

REP. MARLIN STUTZMAN (R-IN): Yes. John, great to be with you this morning.

Honestly, I don't know because I felt that the speech gave a roadmap to what the president's thinking, and that this is a, you know, this is moving very quickly. The success that we're having in knocking out the Iranian regime's ability to fight back or to go on offense has really been limited. And so, you know, I don't know exactly what they're seeing this morning that makes them feel that way. I guess once the Straits of Hormuz is more secure and is flowing more freely, that might be a piece of it.

There's obviously -- there's actually a lot of good news in the oil space. There's leases up in Alaska that have been just let out that really should be starting to affect the oil markets and realizing that the supply is going to be there. And of course, with Venezuela in play as well.

So, I don't know, markets are sometimes funny things. We'll see what happens even by this afternoon. But I think in the long run here we should start seeing prices going back down.

BERMAN: You talked about opening the Strait of Hormuz. What he said last night was the Strait will open naturally, he said. Did you hear a different plan for opening the Strait?

STUTZMAN: Well, you know, again, you know, President Trump is a great negotiator. And what he says in public is always what happens in the long run because he's trying to bring people to the table. And also especially with the western European countries that have been just flat footed through all of this, that they need to start being a part of the process as well.

So, I think that that's what's going to -- what he means by that is that the markets are going to start demanding the oil to flow back through the Straits of Hormuz.

[09:30:02]

And as Iran is put back in their place and the ability for ships to move through there, I think that that's what he's.