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Donald Trump Pauses Military Aid To Ukraine After Volodymyr Zelenskyy Clash; Donald Trump Slaps 25 Percent Tariffs On Canada And Mexico And 20 Percent On China; Israeli Wrestle With Release Of Prisoners To Free Hostages; Israelis Wrestle With Release of Prisoners to Free Hostages; Japan Fighting Its Biggest Wildfire in Decades; Widespread Flooding in Peru Forces Mass Evacuation; Prolific Blood Donor James Harrison Dies at 88. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired March 04, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:31]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max, I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, the U.S. is now pausing military aid to Ukraine just days after an explosive argument between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

China hits the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs as fears of an all-out trade war intensify and the Pope faces a setback more than two weeks into his hospitalization.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Welcome everyone. Well, U.S. President Donald Trump heads to Capitol Hill in the hours ahead for perhaps the most consequential speech of his second term so far, he will address a joint session of Congress just hours after a critical decision to halt U.S. military aid to Ukraine, which could have dire consequences for the war against Russia.

The White House says the pause follows President Trump's heated clash with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Friday.

Now, officials say Mr. Trump and his aides want an acknowledgement from President Zelenskyy, perhaps even a public apology before moving forward with a rare earth minerals deal or talks about continuing any future aid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I just think he should be more appreciative, because this country has stuck with them through thick and thin. We've given them much more than Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The U.S. pause in aid has sparked swift reaction. Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, "This act of retribution against our ally who is on the front lines defending freedom and democracy is not only shameful, it is dangerous."

All this happening as Ukraine remains under attack. Officials in the port city of Odessa say a Russian drone strike damaged energy infrastructure on Monday and wounded four people.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is following development. She joins us now live from London. Good morning to you, Claire. So, what more are you learning about this pause in military aid and its likely consequences?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, what we know is that this seems to be a direct result of what happened in the Oval Office on Friday, that very public spat. We're hearing from a U.S. official saying that we need our partners to be committed to peace as much as the president is. They said we're pausing and reviewing our aid to be sure it is contributing to a solution. This appears to be a form of ultimatum.

The suggestion from officials is that if President Zelenskyy comes forward and shows that commitment in some way, presumably by signing the minerals deal, as the U.S. has it, and committing to President Trump's vision for a cease fire, then things could get back on track.

But this is really a nuclear option, a gigantic reversal for Ukraine. The U.S. has been Ukraine's biggest backer through three years of war, some $66 billion worth of aid has been pledged, and most of it already allocated, but this pause will affect everything, even aid that was agreed by Congress under the Biden administration, but not yet shipped to Ukraine or not yet arrived in Ukraine.

So, this is, in a sense, a hard stop, although with an opening for it to be reversed if President Zelenskyy comes forward at the gesture that meets the requirements of the Trump administration.

As you say, some reactions coming in. Democrats are very much against this. We're also hearing from a Ukrainian MP this morning, Alexi Gurenko, who said this is a disaster.

And he said, look, what Ukraine needs to do now is resolve the issue with the Trump administration, if they want us to apologize, he said, we should apologize. What difference does it make if our task is not to lose the war and not to lose people?

So, this clearly will ramp up the pressure on President Zelenskyy to try to do something to turn this around. I think it's very clear to Ukraine who has -- they've seen the effect before of a pause in military aid. We saw that in late 2023, Congress delayed new approval of aid for Ukraine, and that led to significant deterioration of the situation on the front lines. Right now we see that the front lines have been unstable now for

several months. Russia is making a renewed push to get Ukraine out of its coast region, which is, of course, a critical piece of leverage that Ukraine has tried to hold on to, its ramping up drone attacks. You see the situation in Odesa overnight.

[02:05:08]

And I think this will be felt relatively quickly on the front lines in Ukraine, be it in terms of actual practical supplies, the ability to plan this war without knowing if these supplies are coming. And of course, the issue of morale, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Clare Sebastian bringing us that live report from London. Many thanks to you.

Malcolm Davis is a Senior Analyst for defense strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. He joins us live from Canberra. Appreciate you being with us.

MALCOLM DAVIS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you, Rosemary. It's good to be here.

CHURCH: So, President Trump pausing military aid to Ukraine after his explosive clash with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office Friday, critics are calling Trump's actions petty, but how big a blow could this pause prove to be for the war torn nation militarily?

DAVIS: Look, I think the key thing is, how long does this so called pause last? The language coming out of Washington D.C. is that it's an indefinite pause, and that it's dependent on Zelenskyy, supposedly showing a reasonable attitude to Trump in terms of the peace arrangements.

But really, when you look at those peace arrangements, effectively, they allow the United States to take a substantial portion of Ukraine's rare earths, and they give nothing in return in terms of security guarantees or military assistance.

So, now that Trump has actually paused, supposedly, the military assistance, including any military aid that is in transit, the real risk is that if this goes on too long, the Ukrainian military will start to run out of weapons and munitions, and that will then give the Russians the opportunity to make significant advances on the battlefield.

CHURCH: Well, Trump is saying that this pause could be lifted if Zelenskyy demonstrates a new commitment to ending the war and shows more appreciation for what the U.S. has done for him, and an apology apparently is very much on the table.

What's Russia thinking while Trump berates Zelenskyy so publicly, and how could this complicate Ukraine's efforts to negotiate a peace deal through Europe?

DAVIS: Look, I'm sure the champagne and vodka is flying freely in the Kremlin tonight, because essentially, what Trump has done has given a huge blow to the confidence, not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe, that the U.S. is serious about bringing this war to a close in a way that is just an enduring.

Instead, what the U.S. has done is created a situation whereby Russia is poised to make significant advances in the -- in the fighting, particularly if this pause in military assistance continues on for some weeks. And I think that Putin will be very pleased with this outcome that Trump has created.

And I think that there will now be pressure coming from Moscow onto Trump to keep this pause in place essentially indefinitely.

CHURCH: As you mentioned, Russia clearly joyful over this heated Trump-Zelenskyy exchange and Russian state television now threatening to wipe European cities off the map. What does that signal to you?

DAVIS:It signals as what we've all known. I think that Putin has territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine that go well beyond Ukraine that essentially Russia wants to see NATO capitulate. Putin wants to dictate the terms of that capitulation to Moscow. Putin wants to create a Russian sphere of influence across Central and Eastern Europe that, in effect, recreates the old Soviet empire.

And that Ukraine is merely the first campaign in a wider war against the West. And that war is actually already being waged beyond Ukraine in the form of Russian hybrid warfare attacks, cutting submarine cables and so forth, sabotage and other acts.

So, I think the potential risk is that if the United States is seen to equivocate on critical security arrangements like NATO Article 5, then the Russians will be tempted and emboldened to actually make more aggressive moves, particularly if they can buy time with a peace in our time, ceasefire in Ukraine that gives them the chance to regroup and rearm and then either start the war against Ukraine a third time, or launch conflicts and a war elsewhere against NATO directly.

CHURCH: So, what do you think Zelenskyy needs to be doing next to get his relationship with Trump and the U.S. back on track?

DAVIS: I'm not sure that Zelenskyy can get the relationship with Trump back on track, because I'm not sure that Trump really wants to have a productive relationship with Zelenskyy. I think Trump is making significant moves towards aligning with Putin.

[02:10:10]

So, I think what Zelenskyy needs to do is to work more closely with the Europeans, and the Europeans need to start taking actions to rapidly ramp up their defense spending and their preparedness for a wider war.

And I think that this is the real critical point here. The Europeans are not well prepared for a wider war. The Ukrainians desperately need that military aid, but the Europeans may not be able to fill the void left by the Americans. And so, I do think that we're in a very difficult situation here where

it may not be possible if the Americans don't lift this block on aid, it may not be possible for the Europeans and the Ukrainians together to hold off the Russians, in which case we need to somehow buy time and prevent that wider war from happening.

CHURCH: Malcolm Davis, many thanks for joining us there live from Canberra. Appreciate it.

DAVIS: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, China and Canada are fighting back as new U.S. tariffs against those countries and Mexico are now in effect.

Donald Trump announced 25 percent duties on Canadian and Mexican imports. The president says the neighboring countries are taking advantage of the U.S. economically. Tariffs on China are going up from 10 percent to 20 percent. Mr. Trump says Beijing is not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal drugs to the U.S.

So, let's take a look at how financial markets are reacting so far. The Dow, the Future is when -- it's in positive territory there. But we'll see what happens.

Let's turn to the Asia Pacific markets, and you can see there the Hang Seng and Nikkei down, the Shanghai up slightly. And let's go to our Hanako Montgomery who joins us live in Tokyo.

Talk us through -- take us through what's happening in the markets there across Asia and what this may signal.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rosemary, it's good to see you. So, as you just described there, Asia markets opened much lower today, on Tuesday, really, just to prepare for these potential impacts that the tariffs could impose on the entire region.

There is a lot of fear that Trump's additional tariffs on China, which is one of the biggest trading partners of the United States, could trigger a wider trade war across the United States.

In fact, in response to these additional tariffs, Rosemary, China imposed its own tariffs on American goods. Specifically, it imposed 15 percent tariffs on chicken, wheat, corn and cotton, and 10 percent tariffs on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, the list goes on, fruits, vegetables and dairy products.

So, really echoes of what we saw during Trump's first presidency, when China did threaten to impose and did impose tariffs on American pork and soybeans.

Now, Rosemary, also, China has said that it's going to sue the United States for its latest tariff increase according to the World Trade Organization's regulations as they ascribe.

So, clearly, a lot of frustration and anger about how the United States is handling these tariffs, handling the economic relationship between these two countries.

In fact, here's what one Chinese spokesperson said earlier today, in addition to the announcement about tariffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOU QINJIAN, NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS SPOKESPERSON (through translator): The unilateral imposition of tariffs by the United States violates the rules of the WTO and interferes with the security and stability of the Global Industrial chain and supply chain. We hope that the United States and China will work together to find a solution to the problem through equal consultation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: Now that last note is interesting, Rosemary, because China has not really ruled out having conversations with the U.S. president about potentially bringing down the heat in this looming trade war.

But if you do recall, Rosemary, Trump did threaten to impose tariffs back in February, but allowed a one month delay for both Canada and Mexico after having talks with both countries leaders and making concessions between the two countries.

However, he did go ahead with imposing tariffs on China. So, these additional tariffs that he announced on Monday are in addition to what he already announced in February.

And clearly, looking at the state of the world we're in now, he is no longer happy with having that one month delay. He's going back to his original plan of imposing higher tariffs, because, as you described, he does not think we've properly addressed the unacceptable flow he describes of illegal drugs and illegal immigrants into the United States, Rosemary.

And really, it seems as though the North American economy could take a massive hit. That is what a lot of economists and experts are concerned about given the relationships that he is forging with these three major trading partners, Rosemary.

[02:15:05]

CHURCH: Thanks to Hanako Montgomery, bringing us that live report from Tokyo.

And I spoke earlier with CNN Global Economic Analyst Rana Foroohar, and I asked her what impact these tariffs will have on the U.S. and global economies and on consumers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, Rosemary, you're already seeing the market reaction. The markets do not like these tariffs, and they particularly don't like the uncertainty that has surrounded all of it. You know, we've been back and forth about these tariffs. They're coming, you know, on Mexico, Canada and China. China, you know, I think there's a lot of mercantilist practices that

potentially warrant some tariffs. Mexico and Canada, tougher argument to make. This is going to really disrupt the North American auto components industry, the auto supply chains. It's going to have an effect on the energy markets, and it's certainly dampening consumer sentiment.

You know, you're seeing a lot of worries. You're seeing a sense that the tide has turned economically in the U.S., and not in a good way.

You know, you're seeing European markets come on by contrast, up. And I think that that speaks to the fact that investors and consumers, both alike, are very worried about what the impact is going to be.

CHURCH: Of course, we all remember that Trump campaigned on bringing prices down on day one, but of course, the opposite is actually happening. So, what do you think his economic plan might be, and what will the U.S. economy look like six months to a year from now?

FOROOHAR: You know, Rosemary, I'm very worried. I don't think the president has a plan. I think he has gut feelings that he implements on a moment by moment basis. I think we've already seen we've only been here five weeks. It feels like five years. There's been a lot of back and forth already.

I think the markets are worried. I think allies are worried. And I think American consumers are worried. You know, in a lot of circles that I travel in, you know, I hear wealthy investors saying, we want to buy property in Europe. We want to get out of the U.S. markets. There's just a tremendous amount of worry. And I think it's possible, it's possible that you could see an even bigger correction in the next six months.

It's also possible, frankly, that earnings will remain reasonably robust as they are, and the U.S. markets will, you know, stagnate, maybe not fall, but you know, stagnate relative to others.

I do think that we are going to see some capital flight out of the U.S., though, there's a lot of reason for Europeans to be bringing capital back home right now. I just think we're in a really unprecedented period, and anything could happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Pope Francis has suffered a setback as he battles pneumonia in hospital. We will have the latest on his condition after a short break. Stay with us.

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[02:22:20]

CHURCH: Pope Francis had been in stable condition at Rome's Germany hospital after or following a respiratory incident last week, but his health took a turn for the worse on Monday, when he suffered two episodes of acute respiratory failure, which causes insufficient oxygen in the blood.

Doctors perform procedures to clear build up in the Pontiff's lungs and resume mechanical ventilation. The Pope is being provided with high flow oxygen through a mask to improve his blood oxygen levels, and he's being monitored closely for any further changes in his condition.

Germany remains on high alert after a car ramming in the city of Mannheim killed two people and injured 11 others on Monday.

Authorities have since confirmed the attack was deliberate, that the driver purposefully targeted and struck people at high speed.

But police do not believe the suspect, a 40-year-old German national had any political or religious motivations.

While the investigation is still ongoing, prosecutors say there's concrete evidence that the attacker suffered from a psychological illness.

The cease fire in Gaza is hanging by a thread, and an Israeli man who lost his family to a terror attack wrestles with the high price of possible peace. That's just here.

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[02:28:26]

CHURCH: The Trump administration says it will send its special envoy Steve Witkoff to the Middle East in the coming days to try to end the impasse over Gaza, where a fragile cease fire is on the verge of collapse. The first phase of the three part truce between Israel and Hamas officially expired over the weekend.

On Sunday, Israel blocked all humanitarian aid into Gaza after Hamas rejected a proposal to temporarily extend phase one through Ramadan and Passover.

Hamas says Israel's aid block is cheap blackmail and a war crime. They are demanding Israel move to the second phase of the deal, which has not been negotiated yet.

One element of the cease fire deal has created a unique pain point for some Israelis, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Many of them were not convicted of any crime, nor were they put on trial, but some were convicted of murder.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond shows us how their victims wrestle with their release

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At this cemetery in Haifa, Iran Almog (ph) reflects on what he calls the price of a deal to free Israeli hostages.

IRAN ALMOG: This is the price, yes, right in front of you. This is a really huge price for me.

DIAMOND (voice over): 21 years after Iran's father, brother, grandparents and cousin were killed in a suicide bombing, the man who planned the attack has been set free. It is a price Iran says he is willing to pay. Three Israeli hostages are now free because of it.

[02:30:00]

This was the grisly scene at the Maxim Restaurant in Haifa on October 4th, 2003, after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt. Oran had been having lunch with his family. He was blinded by the blast.

Now, standing at the memorial dedicated to the 21 victims of the attack, Oran recalls the moment he learned Sammy Jaradat, the man who dispatched that suicide bomber, would be released.

ORAN ALMOG, RELATIVES KILLED IN SUICIDE BOMBING: The first direction thing was shocked (ph). There was pictures (ph).

DIAMOND (voice-over): But he says he soon started to see the bigger picture.

ALMOG: I understood if Sammy Jaradat will stay in the jail forever, my families who were murdered in the terror attack, they will never return alive. But living Israeli hostages still come back.

DIAMOND (voice-over): It's something Oran understands better than most. His cousin, Hein (ph) Almog Goldstein and her three children had been taken hostage on October 7th and were released as part of the November 2023 ceasefire agreement. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have been freed during the first phase of the ceasefire, but most are not convicted murderers like Sammy Jaradat.

Of the 1,735 Palestinians released during the first phase of the ceasefire, about 15 percent were convicted of killing Israelis, including soldiers. Another 18 percent were convicted of attempted murder. Nearly two-thirds, including 1,000 Palestinians detained in Gaza during the war were being held without trial. The remainder were convicted of lesser charges like incitement, a charge that has been used to jail Palestinians over social media posts. That nuance is often lost on the Israeli public.

DAHLIA SCHEINDLIN, COLUMNIST & POLITICAL ANALYST, HAARETZ: Israelis believe that a Palestinian that's being held in Israeli detention by virtue of being held in Israeli detention must be a terrorist. They don't understand that there could be people who are innocent of any charge, who were basically detained for the purpose of this very moment, the hostage exchange and prisoner release.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Instead, many Israelis think of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7th attack, who is among more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. Still, a majority of Israelis like Oran have consistently supported the ceasefire and hostage release deal, thinking of the hostages above all, ALMOG: we got the (inaudible), maybe someone (inaudible) and they feel the full meaning of this deal and this prize to me, maybe someone.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Haifa, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Historically dry conditions are wreaking havoc in Japan where crews are battling the country's biggest wildfire in decades. We'll have details after a short break.

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[02:37:55]

CHURCH: Thousands of troops and firefighters are battling Japan's biggest wildfire in decades and authorities warn it is likely to get even bigger. The fire has burned about 2,100 hectares of forest in the city of Ofunato since it started on Wednesday. More than a thousand people have been forced to take refuge in school gymnasiums and other shelters. The region is having its driest winter since data collection began nearly 80 years ago.

Meanwhile, flood waters are washing out large areas of Northern Peru following heavy rainfall over the weekend. The government issued a red alert after the Tumbes River nearly doubled in volume, threatening populated areas and farmlands nearby. About 150,000 people have been impacted. According to local reports, public spaces and religious sites in the region have also suffered extensive damage,

A fast moving dust storm left drivers in the U.S. state of New Mexico with near zero visibility on Monday. This kind of extreme storm in meteorological terms is called a haboob. It prompted an emergency alert for drivers to shelter in place, as officials tried to get cars off the interstate. Officials closed parts of that major highway because of the dangerous travel conditions.

James Harrison, an Australian blood donor whose plasma contained a rare antibody known as anti-D, has died at 88. Remarkably, Harrison is credited with saving the lives of more than 2 million babies by donating blood more than 1,100 times. Known as the man with the golden arm, he began giving blood at age 18 after receiving multiple transfusions himself following lung surgery years earlier. He expressed hope that there would be someone to carry on his good work.

[02:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES HARRISON, PROLIFIC BLOOD DONOR: Maybe it was my ego, and we got up to about 800 and I said, oh, well, I'll go for a thousand. And then I got to a thousand, I said, well, I might as well keep going. It doesn't hurt. It is good to know that my Anti-D is doing the right thing and making a lot of mothers, a lot of fathers, very happy. So let's hope the next person's in the line, steps up and breaks my record. That would be great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Starting at 18, Harrison had donated blood every two weeks until he was 81 years old. What an extraordinary man and an inspiration to us all, of course.

Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is up next. Then I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more "CNN newsroom." Do stay with us.

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