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Europe Seek To Take Control Of Ukraine Peace Negotiations; Trump To Address Congress After Whirlwind Start To 2nd Term; Dems Face Fresh Test Over How To Counter Trump's Joint Address; Wildfires Driven By Winds Break Out Across The Carolinas; Zelensky addresses The media; Protesters Rally; The Oscars. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired March 02, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

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[16:00:03]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, leave it to Saturday Night Live to find humor in even the most heated political moments. Last night, the cast and crew put their spin on that contentious Oval Office meeting between presidents Trump and Zelenskyy. They also brought back a famous alum as a special government employee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES AUSTIN JOHNSON, ACTOR & COMEDIAN (as President Donald Trump): I'd like to welcome President Zelenskyy here to this incredible trap. It's going to be a big, beautiful trap, and we're going to attack him very soon for no reason, right, J.D.?

BOWEN YANG, ACTOR & COMEDIAN (as VP J.D. Vance): Watch out, because this kitty's got claws.

MIKEY DAY, ACTOR & COMEDIAN (as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy): Mr. President, with all due respect, I --

YANG (as VP J.D. Vance): Excuse me? I'm sorry, what? I'm sorry, I have to jump in here, because that's how we plan this. What happened to thank you, OK? Remember thank you? You haven't said thank you to us once in the past 15 seconds I've been yelling at you.

AUSTIN JOHNSON: You're not even wearing a suit. It's disrespectful. Who shows up to the White House in a T-shirt and jeans like a garbage person?

MIKE MYERS, ACTOR & COMEDIAN (as Elon Musk): Donald, what are you doing in my office? You know, I'm the president now, right? I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Maybe not, maybe not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, comedian and former SNL star Mike Myers making his appearance there as Elon Musk, wielding what the billionaire previously called the chainsaw for democracy.

All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All right, we begin this hour with new details on the efforts to bring peace to Ukraine. Today, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy gathered with European leaders at a summit in London to help craft a plan to end the war with Russia.

European leaders are vowing to ramp up military spending and deploy troops to defend Ukraine if a ceasefire agreement is reached. This high-stakes meeting comes just two days after Zelenskyy had a tense visit with President Trump at the White House. The heated exchange and Trump's pivot towards Russia have alarmed European leaders.

Those allies are now rallying around Ukraine, offering more military aid. They're also now taking the lead at the negotiating table, but making it clear Europe needs the support of the U.S. for any deal to happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The discussions we've had today, particularly the Coalition of the Willing, is on the basis that this is a plan that we will work with, with the U.S. and that it will have U.S. backing. So that is the purpose of the plan, and that is why I spoke to President Trump last night before we developed the work on this plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Zelenskyy also received a warm welcome from King Charles as the British monarch met with the Ukrainian leader for more than an hour. CNN's Nic Robertson has the details on today's developments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: A roadmap of how Europe and Ukraine move forward from here, short on specifics, short on detail. What Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, laid out was an effort to build a coalition of the willing, something he said that would be led by France and the U.K., Ukraine involved, to get the support of other countries to provide the security guarantees, the boots on the ground or the planes in the sky, going forward to support a peace deal for Ukraine, a peace deal that he said must provide security, respect, Ukraine's sovereignty. He couldn't say how many countries were joining that coalition of the willing. He couldn't say what they would contribute. He said that that's something that they would be doing in the coming days.

But the understanding is now very clear from Keir Starmer. Absolutely at the center of all of this is a continued and strong relationship with the United States, the absolute valued need must have of a U.S. buy-in to these and support for these European security guarantees.

The picture that emerges from here is that Europe is accelerating its efforts to step up defense spending, to step up the immediacy right now of the economic and military support for Ukraine. And on that point, the British Prime Minister said that the U.K. was committing an additional 1.6 billion pounds sterling for Ukraine's defense and security, 5,000 air defense missiles to be purchased from the U.K. with that money, manufactured in Belfast and Northern Ireland. And these missile defense systems, absolutely vital for Ukraine at this time, while Russia continues to assault it with air attack missiles and drones overnight.

[16:05:03]

So that's one piece. And that is symptomatic of what the Prime Minister is talking about, bolstering Ukraine and keeping it safe now. But the importance, he said, of getting to this just peace deal, and that's something, again, that he didn't have a time frame on. It didn't have a time frame either on when he thought it was important to take the European plan to the United States. But we did hear from European leaders, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, saying that on the 6th of March this week, European leaders will get together and lay out a new defense plan.

So significant steps being made and the importance underscored of doing this with the United States when precisely to get President Trump engaged again, that not entirely clear. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And here at home, President Trump's America First agenda will take center stage this week as he delivers his first address to a joint session of Congress since his November election victory.

CNN Senior White House Producer Betsy Klein is in West Palm Beach, and CNN Correspondent Arlette Saenz is in Washington.

Hello to both of you. Betsy, you first. The fight to secure the border, that Oval Office clash with President Zelenskyy, and the slashing of the federal workforce that is upending Washington and beyond, all of those issues likely to be in this address?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: That's exactly right, Fredricka. I think we can expect President Trump to take a victory lap for his first six weeks in office, and to take a page from A Christmas Carol. I think the speech, according to sources, is going to be framed around past, present, and future priorities.

So past, so far he has taken more than 100 executive actions. We should expect him to highlight some of those accomplishments, issues like culture wars, gutting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, as well as trade, women's sports, and other issues.

On the present, we should expect him to advocate for his budget and tax agenda going through Congress right now, as well as talking about what he's doing on the border, and his efforts in the Middle East, and looking ahead to the future. Sources say we should expect President Trump to talk about sending Americans to Mars, as well as energy issues and artificial intelligence. But we are also getting a good picture now of how Americans are

responding to President Trump's efforts to reimagine his use of executive authority, and reshape the size and scope of the federal government. According to a new CNN poll out just hours ago, a narrow majority of Americans disapprove of how President Trump is handling his job as president, 48% approve of the job he's doing so far, while 52% disapprove of the president. And a majority of Americans in the same poll say he does not have the right priorities. 40% say yes, he has the right priorities. 52% say he does not.

And Jason Miller, who is a top outside advisor to the president, also offered a preview of what to expect on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON MILLER, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: We have to tackle Bidenflation. Joe Biden left us in a really bad spot, but by getting energy prices down, and then also making sure that we stop this wasteful spending, that's going to be a big component, getting this one big, beautiful tax bill done. The House has already made some great steps. We need more money for the border to keep it permanently secure. And then here's the key thing, and you also touched on this, making sure that we continue to bring peace and stability around the world, but we have to do it with respect and strength. Those are the two keys that President Trump's going to go into.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Of course, President Trump's big speech also comes just days after that explosive confrontation with President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. And as we are learning, that top Trump officials are expected to meet once more with their Russian counterparts in the days ahead.

WHITFIELD: OK, Betsy. Thank you, Arlette. The Democrats' messaging, it's gotten a lot of criticism, you know, since the 2024 campaign. The party is hoping that perhaps freshman Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan can help turn that around when she delivers the Democrats' rebuttal on Tuesday night. What more are you learning?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, Democratic leaders are really hoping to present a united front. They want their lawmakers and caucuses to really argue that Trump's early moves in office are negatively impacting Americans. Lawmakers have been encouraged to take individuals who are directly impacted by Trump's moves.

That includes fired federal workers and people who might have been receiving benefits relating to programs where there have been funding freezes. And Democratic leadership chose freshman Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan to offer that official response. She's an interesting choice because she is one of just a few Democratic senators who won in a battleground state that Trump actually had carried in the November election.

[16:10:03] Slotkin, after that election, had said Democrats really needed to be talking about kitchen table issues, and that is part of the reason that Democrats are really trying to push these arguments relating to cost of living, trying to point out that Trump has not fulfilled his promise to immediately lower prices for Americans. Democrats are also eager to highlight how the GOP could potentially cut Medicaid and give tax breaks to billionaires. But in addition to the messaging around this joint address, there are some Democrats who are considering not attending at all. That includes Senator Chris Murphy, who's been a leading voice in the pushback against Trump. He'll instead be participating in a counterprogramming event, and here is why or how he described his reasoning for not attending.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I think that State of the Union speech is going to be a farce. I think it's going to be a MAGA pep rally, not a serious talk to the nation. We're going to stop that billionaire takeover, that destruction of our democracy, only by fighting them every single day. A lot of Democrats think maybe you should, you know, fight every third day, you should reserve your power and jump out of the bushes at the right moment. I just think that we have to be on the offensive 24/7.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, it comes as Democrats have struggled to stop Trump's actions in office and really have not settled on a cohesive strategy for how to push back against them. So this joint address to Congress by Trump really presents Democrats with a fresh test of whether they can make their messaging land and further counter Trump while he's in office.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz, Betsy Klein, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

All right, joining me right now, Jeff Mason, White House Correspondent for "Reuters." Jeff, great to see you.

OK, so I think it's very fascinating that the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would say, hey, let me give you all some advice on how to react during the president's address. I mean, be like poker faces, essentially. She's saying, you know, don't give anyone, the opposition, I guess, any material with, I guess, expressions or words that in her view might be inappropriate. What more are you hearing about how Democrats are going to handle themselves during this joint session address?

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: Well, I think that Democrats see this as a moment for them to, you know, to show at least a little bit of spine and opposition in a way that you haven't. They haven't really had a chance to show as much over the last month to six weeks. This is a public moment where the president will be in the -- in Congress and using the platform that is that address. It's not actually called State of the Union this first time around. And I can tell you from having been in the room one year during his

first term when he was engaging with AOC and the other women lawmakers who had worn white, he gives them a platform, too. And so they will probably use it.

And what exactly they'll do is I don't have any insight in on right now. It is interesting to hear what the former speaker suggested. But I do feel confident saying that it won't just be the president Donald Trump show that night. I think we'll see some -- some response from Democrats in that room.

WHITFIELD: Beyond the Democratic response coming from Senator Slotkin?

MASON: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, just -- it seems to me that -- that I mean, who knows? The speaker's -- Speaker Pelosi's advice is to not create any fodder. If that's something that they follow, then maybe -- maybe they'll -- they'll sit on their hands. But my guess is he will give Democrats in the room a reason to at least boo or otherwise show some kind of emotion. And I suspect that they will.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Trump Adviser Jason Miller, you know, telling Fox just heard that sound by, you know, that Trump will talk about respect and strength, that it's needed to achieve world peace. Does that kind of flag that Trump will perhaps make reference to that moment in the Oval Office and somehow weave that into his speech?

MASON: I mean, he'll almost certainly have to reference Ukraine. Whether or not he specifically says something about the meeting on Friday or not is hard to -- hard to predict. But it wouldn't surprise me. I mean, he's -- this is not a leader or a man who tries to pretend something didn't happen. Although he did a little bit try last week when he was asked in the Oval Office, I was in for that about his -- his comment about Zelenskyy being a dictator. And he said, did I say that?

But I think what happened on Friday is too big for him to -- to pretend didn't happen. Whether he specifically references it or not, we'll see. But surely Ukraine will be one of the main foreign policy aspects of a speech that usually goes over both foreign policy and domestic policy goals and agendas.

[16:15:14]

WHITFIELD: You formerly were the President of the White House Correspondents Association and now White House correspondents and reporters are finding this has become quite the challenge, right? I mean, especially now that the White House says it's going to manage the White House press pool in a different way. What's -- what are the challenges that you and many correspondents are facing right now in this kind of tenor that is being sent from this White House?

MASON: Well, that -- that requires maybe a little sort of one-on-one explanation of what the White House press pool is and what it does. And what the pool is, is it -- it's a group of journalists and news organizations that go in to smaller places like the Oval Office or fly on Air Force One. When the whole press corps, which is hundreds of reporters, can't -- can't fit.

So that's something that presidents of, you know, both political parties have made use of when they're holding meetings with foreign leaders, like with President Zelenskyy last year or excuse me, last week. And -- and that's -- that's what the pool is there for, is to go in to ask questions and then to share that material with the rest of the press corps.

What the White House decided to do last week is take over organization of that pool from the White House Correspondents Association and essentially start to pick who it wants to be in.

So, you know, we believe and I'm no longer the leader of the WCA, but I'm still very connected to it. The Correspondents Association believe it's important to have independent journalists in that pool because that is the opportunity to ask questions of people in power and to report that news out and to report those facts out. So it raises a new challenge when the White House takes over that kind of control.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. And the White House Correspondents Association did say that it would no longer coordinate shared -- shared coverage of President Donald Trump in this kind of escalating a dispute over the press access.

All right, Jeff Mason, thank you so much. Great to see you.

MASON: You too.

WHITFIELD: All right. Amid upheaval and sweeping changes, President Trump heads to Capitol Hill to share what's potentially next. Follow CNN for complete coverage and in-depth analysis. The Presidential Address to Congress beginning Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

All right. It's still ahead, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announces his run for New York City mayor, setting up a clash with current mayor Eric Adams.

And wildfires break out in North and South Carolina, causing evacuations. And tonight, Hollywood celebrates a very big night, the Oscars. We're live from the red carpet with a preview straight ahead.

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[16:22:41]

WHITFIELD: All right, new details on 175 wildfires that broke out across North and South Carolina. A passenger flying over Myrtle Beach captured flames from a wildfire burning near the city. The governor of South Carolina declaring a state of emergency to support first responders battling the flames in his state.

CNN's Rafael Romo is joining me right now. So authorities in parts of both of states have issued evacuation orders. I mean, this is pretty serious and widespread. RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and a lot of worried people, Fred. And earlier this afternoon, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency in his state. In making the announcement, McMaster said the purpose is to further support wildfire response efforts across the state and ensure our first responders have the resources they need.

A statewide burning ban is now in effect due to the dangerous wildfire conditions. This is what it looked like from the air last night when a passenger in a commercial airline took this video while flying over Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The areas affected by these dangerous conditions are western North Carolina and eastern South Carolina, the same region, Fred, that was devastated in the fall by Hurricane Helene. The Carolina forest fire about five miles north of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, doubled in size to 1200 acres overnight and, according to local officials, is 0% contained, although that is being updated. Of course, over the course of the day, the fire threat has continued for the region.

Today, the National Weather Service says high-risk areas are located in and around cities, including Wilmington, North Carolina, and Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina. Two wildfires were confirmed in Buncombe County, North Carolina, on Saturday. A local resident told CNN affiliate WLOS she rushed to help a friend evacuate her mother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECKY OLIVER, NC RESIDENT: I mean, it's bad enough from Helene, but now we've got this. And I mean, the forest, it's just -- it's going to be really bad.

JACKIE BURKE, NC RESIDENT SAW "ODD COLORS" IN WOODS DURING WALK: It made the sky such an odd color. I was going for a walk and it turned this odd yellow color, yellow and red in the woods where I was walking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And to answer your question, Fred, several factors are combining to increase the danger of wildfires in both Carolinas. There's dry vegetation due to lack of recent rainfall. There's also dry air being added to the mix. And if you combine these two factors with strong winds, you create the perfect conditions for wildfire to occur.

[16:25:12]

The good news is that winds in the region are expected to significantly weaken overnight. Then the temperatures will plummet to the freezing point by Monday morning. More humid air is expected to return to the region by Tuesday.

But again, looking at those images and remember that we were there in the fall covering Hurricane Helene and how devastating that was. It just breaks your heart.

WHITFIELD: Really does.

ROMO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Like 4200 acres already scorched. Incredible.

All right. Thanks so much, Rafael Romo.

All right, a critical 12 mile stretch of I-40 in North Carolina's Pigeon River Gorge has reopened five months after Hurricane Helene damaged it. It's a critical transport route for trucks between ports on the East Coast and Midwestern hubs. And while it's still a construction zone, reopening two of its four lanes will help regional industries and national supply chains. The highways shut down in September added almost 300 miles to so many drivers, commutes and routes.

And we'll be right back.

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[16:30:39]

WHITFIELD: All right. Moments ago, Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, addressing the media, after gathering with European leaders earlier today to discuss security and support for Kyiv.

CNN Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is joining us now from Kyiv. What did he say?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is a tape of this meeting being played out by the Reuters news agency. So, some of that is still, indeed, ongoing.

But he was asked if he felt he could salvage the relationship with the United States. And I'm paraphrasing him here. But he did say he felt that the relationship could, indeed, continue if asked if it could be salvaged.

And he also was, I think, critical of the format in which that meeting occurred. I think not so much critical of the choice of the White House but just suggesting that, perhaps, they open in frank conversations in which these presidents clearly needed to engage. Shouldn't have been happening in an open format like that.

It's also interesting to hear him talk, as well, about the issue of the apology, which has, by some Trump officials, been requested. He was asked that question very specifically. Would he apologize? And the response he gave was not simply to say, yes, I would.

He, instead, talked about the significant casualties that Ukraine has suffered. Saying that his choice is not to end the war today. His choice would be to end the war when it even started. To not have endured the 12,000-plus civilians alone that have died here in Ukraine. And the 10s of thousands of troops that have died on the front lines. And impassioned response, I think, essentially suggesting Ukraine maybe should not be the ones apologizing here, because they have been the victim in this particular war. But it was a meet -- a meeting with the press that is still ongoing, after a day in which I think it was more European leaders who did the talking.

And one, I think, in which he says he's ready to sign the minerals' deal, the rare earth minerals' deal, which the Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, said was, quote, "at present, not on the table." But Ukraine does appear to still be willing to move forward with that.

And so, I think he also suggested he would be, you know, open to constructive dialog with the United States going forward. It's, as I say, a press conference to play out of which is still ongoing.

But it does appear to be a president who wants to maintain an element of his composure here, to not necessarily immediately concede to some of the more strident demands of Trump's inner circle. But also, clearly, would like to see the conciliatory -- some reconciliation occurring with Washington.

I should say to you as well. Since the meeting with European leaders ended in Downing Street and -- in Central London today, we've heard from the French president, Emmanuel Macron, speaking to "Le Figaro" newspaper. He suggested one of the first key details that we've heard about this potential peace plan which Keir Starmer, the U.K. Prime Minister, talked about gathering steam or beginning to have more details around it.

He is suggesting a month-long kind of limited ceasefire that would occur in the air, in the sea and to stop attacks against Ukraine and Russia's energy infrastructure, suggesting that's something that could be done. That could be monitored. That could be affected. That could be a confidence-building measure.

So, I think were slowly seeing some of the details that have emerged from this meeting being leaked, but also -- or being spoken of publicly. And also, Zelensky, for the first time, delivering his thoughts on the remarkable last 72 hours.

WHITFIELD: Very fascinating. All right, Nick Paton Walsh, thank you.

Coming up, Republican lawmakers get an earful from outraged voters at town halls. A sample of some of the anger that these lawmakers are facing back home, next.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not a Democrat, but I'm worried about the veterans here (?).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's good. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I yielded (?) to --

[16:34:27]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. Republicans holding town halls in their home districts are finding many of their constituents are not too pleased with Elon Musk's job cuts. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas threatened to walk out of his town hall. And eventually did just that, calling the crowd one of the rudest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got to remember, you got elected from the whole state.

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R), KANSAS: I'm going to say this one time. If you all keep cutting me off, if you're rude, which you're being, I'm going to leave.

And I know you're fed so much misinformation. I despise Vladimir Putin. He's a bloodthirsty war criminal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like the government is doing right now, as far as cutting out those jobs. A huge percentage of those people.

And I know (?) you care about the veterans. Our veterans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that is a damn shame.

[16:40:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is a damn --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not a Democrat, But I'm worried about the veterans here (?).

MARSHALL: All right. Well, I yield it to one of my elders, and I appreciate his comments. I think it's a great -- I'm not going to -- we don't have time for everyone to stand up. I do got two more commitments today. I appreciate everybody making the drive out. And God bless America. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh my. And then, in Texas, Republican Congressman Keith Self was greeted with chants of do your job and vote you out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CROWD: Vote you out. Vote you out. Vote you out. Vote you out. Vote you out. Vote you out. Vote you out. Vote you out. Vote you out.

REP. KEITH SELF (R), TEXAS: (INAUDIBLE.)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: After the town hall ended, Self told CNN affiliate, WFAA, quote, "What you saw today was America. We have differences of opinion. We get to air them openly." End quote.

CNN has reached out to his office for more comment, and we'll let you know when we hear something. We'll be right back.

[16:41:40]

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WHITFIELD: This weekend, protesters joined hundreds of off-duty park rangers to rally against the Trump Administration's mass layoffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Go home. Elon Musk has got to go, hey, hey. Elon Musk has got to go.

CROWD: This is what democracy looks like.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell me what democracy looks like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: This was the scene at Yosemite National Park on Saturday, where demonstrators were led by off-duty park rangers frustrated by what they call the illegal firings of workers impacting the national park system.

The "San Francisco Chronicle" reports organizers set out to have protests at all 433 park sites nationwide. DOGE has fired about 1,000 employees from the National Park Service and 3,400 forest service workers.

The firing of some of the most critical workers at the national parks could have serious consequences. There's growing concern the loss of park rangers could endanger the natural reserves.

I want to bring in now Fred Krupp. He is the president of the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group. Great to see you, Fred.

So, what's your take on these protests at national parks across the country? And what do you suppose the immediate impact of these firings might have on national parks?

FRED KRUPP, PRESIDENT, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND (via Webex): Well, Fred, it's not really about who's fired or who has a job so much as -- although the national park job loss will threaten our access to parks. But overall, on these environmental issues, this is going to hurt American families.

You know, you can deregulate some things, but pollution isn't one of them. When you remove limits on pollution, you're going to get more dirty air, more dirty water and serious health consequences.

WHITFIELD: The EPA. This week, President Trump addressed plans for that agency. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I spoke with Lee Zeldin, and he thinks he's going to be cutting 65 or so percent of the people from environmental. And we're going to speed up the process, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But then, for clarity, according to "The Associated Press" which talked to a White House spokesperson, Trump was referring to overall budget cuts and not a reduction in personnel.

So, what would a large reduction in either budget or personnel mean for the EPA?

KRUPP: Well, it's going to mean we can't enforce the law. A lot of that funding goes to create clean drinking water and clean water overall. And it means we're going to get things that America didn't vote for and doesn't want. So, it's a very serious -- very serious situation.

WHITFIELD: So, specifically, you know, help paint a picture, meaning at risk rivers and streams. You know, our national parks and preservation of animals, of forestry. To what extent are all of these things now jeopardized, in your view?

KRUPP: All those things are jeopardized. But maybe the most important thing is that the EPA and the Supreme Court have ruled that our Clean Air Act creates limits -- allows the government to create limits on the types of air pollution that endanger us.

And maybe the most serious thing that the administration is doing is trying to reverse that. And saying that the government has no authority to limit the sort of pollution that causes wildfires. The sort of pollution that causes intense heat.

[16:50:02]

KRUPP: The sort of pollution that causes more intense storms. And, you know, when the administration talks about energy dominance, I get that and the benefits of that.

But the fact of the matter is that there's a race going on now in the world where clean energy jobs, jobs making electric vehicles. And the effect of the administration's actions is to surrender to the -- Europe and to China, kill factory jobs in the United States. So, it won't help us economically either.

And the last thing I would say about this is that on electricity prices, we all want lower electricity prices. But a new study shows that the administration's work to eliminate the clean energy tax credits will actually raise residential homeowners' costs, their utility bills, by seven percent next year.

WHITFIELD: Fred Krupp, thank you so much. I mean, it is very frightening when you put it the way you did.

KRUPP: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, Hollywood celebrates the Oscars tonight. We're live on the Red Carpet with the preview.

[16:51:22]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, we lost a Hollywood legend this week, when Oscar-winning actor, Gene Hackman, was found dead in his home alongside his wife and one of their dogs in their home. The actor won two academy awards during his four-decade career, and was nominated for five.

CNN Entertainment Correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister is joining us now, live from the red carpet. I mean, this is bittersweet, right? Because he will be honored and celebrated while so many others are also being honored for their incredible work.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. So, I did hear from a source, after Gene Hackman's passing this week, that the Oscars will, in fact, honor him tonight.

Now, I had heard, a few days ago, that plans weren't locked. And they had discussed a few different ways to honor his incredible contributions to cinema. Whether that is within the In Memoriam segment that you just spoke about, or whether that is a separate moment on stage. We will see. The plans will be a surprise tonight.

But, as you said, so many in Hollywood lost this week and that is always a bittersweet moment. But when I interviewed the CEO of the Academy earlier this week, he did tell us that the In Memoriam segment is going to be incredibly special tonight.

Now, also special tonight is the race, of course. And I have to tell you, Fred, I am really excited about the race because a lot of the categories are wide open. Usually, the pundits can predict who's going to win. What will be a snub. What will be a surprise.

But, tonight, the Best Picture race is actually a big question mark. I'm going to predict that "Anora" is going to win. But it could be "Anora." It could be "Conclave." It could be "The Brutalist." Also, if you look at the Best Actor race, Adrien Brody was the frontrunner all along. But then, Timothee Chalamet won the SAG Award, so that threw it off a little bit. So, well see tonight -- Fred. WHITFIELD: OK, can't wait. Meantime, I mean, look at all the eye candy

behind you. And you, too, of course. And I love what everybody's wearing. Because I'm seeing -- I mean, I'm really not seeing anything thematic. Everyone's kind of doing their own thing, and I love it.

So, talk to me about the fashion on the red carpet and what are you wearing?

WAGMEISTER: You know, everyone is doing their own thing, Fred, and I love it. I cannot wait to see the stars arrive. I had to dress up. It is the Oscars. And I wanted to go with the "Wicked" theme. I'm a little Glinda tonight.

And guess who I just spoke to? The wizard himself, Jeff Goldblum. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF GOLDBLUM, ACTOR: "Wicked" serenade, yes. Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I. Those icy fingers in my hair, that's sly come-hither stare, that strips my conscience bare. It's witchcraft. Oh, that's kind of "Wicked."

WAGMEISTER: It was perfect. I loved it. Thank you both so much. Have the best night. Sorry, my hands are cold. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: So, that was just literally a few minutes ago, Fred. Jeff Goldblum and his lovely wife, Emily. He is truly always one of the best dressed. And, I mean, the red carpet just started and I got serenaded by Jeff Goldblum. So, we're off to a good start. Much more to come.

WHITFIELD: Oh. Oh, he was good. He is good on the spot, no problem.

OK, we're looking at live pictures and we're seeing that beautiful crowd of people. And there's Jeff Goldblum, again.

You mentioned you kind of think Timothee Chalamet might, you know, do pretty well on the race for Best Actor. But do you have any other predictions? And Best Picture. Look, I've only seen one of -- and that's Emily -- I mean, "Emilia Perez." I've only seen one flick. I've seen nothing else. I'm going to have to catch up later. But do you have any faves?

WAGMEISTER: Yes. So, you know, "Emilia Perez" comes into the night with the most nominations with 13. And, look, Timothee Chalamet, he does have a shot, after winning the SAG.

I do think it's going to go to Adrien Brody.

[17:00:00]

WAGMEISTER: When you look at the Best Actress race, I think Demi Moore has got it. She has been the frontrunner.