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Donald Trump's Speech To Congress The Longest In Modern Times; Donald Trump Takes Victory Lap 43 Days After Returning To Power; U.S. Markets Look To Rebound From Two-Day Decline; China Hits Back At U.S. With 10-15 Percent Retaliatory Tariffs; Canada Responds To Donald Trump With Retaliatory Tariffs; Trump Says Russia and Ukraine Signal They Are Ready for Peace; Zelenskyy Describes Oval Office Meeting as Regrettable, Ready to Sign the Rare Minerals Deal Any Time; U.S. Rejects Alternative Gaza Plan Proposed by Arab Leaders; Gaza Truce Hangs by a Thread as Israel Sets New Conditions; Chaos as Opposition Lawmakers Throw Smoke Bombs in Serbia's Parliament Chamber; Massive Floods Swamp Indonesia's Capital Region; Pope Francis to Miss Ash Wednesday Events While in Hospital. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 05, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:22]

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

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

43 days after his return to the White House, the U.S. president delivered a combative, self-congratulatory campaign style address before Congress to the American public. Donald Trump claimed voters gave him a mandate for bold and profound change and declared the golden age of America has only just begun.

During his entrance, Republicans chanted USA, USA multiple times, and some Democrats jeered the nearly 100 minute speech, was the longest annual address to lawmakers in modern times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It has been stated by many that the first month of our presidency, it's our presidency, is the most successful in the history of our nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Trump then flooded the zone with lots of numbers and some false accusations. He claimed his Department of Government Efficiency has already found hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud, but has provided no evidence of that.

He took swipes at his predecessor, Joe Biden, whom he called the worst president in American history, and accused Biden of weaponizing the Justice Department to viciously prosecute him, which is another falsehood. Here are some of what the president deemed his major achievements.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national emergency on our southern border. I imposed an immediate freeze on all federal hiring, a freeze on all new federal regulations and a freeze on all foreign aid.

We ended all of Biden's environmental restrictions. We've ended the tyranny of so called Diversity Equity and Inclusion policies. And the next phase of our plan to deliver the greatest economy in history is for this Congress to pass tax cuts for everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Trump also laid out his territorial ambitions, telling Americans that, "We're going to get Greenland," as well as the Panama Canal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we've already started doing it. But we need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we're working with everybody involved to try and get it, but we need it really for international world security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: More now on the president's speech from CNN's Jeff Zeleny.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: In the first prime time address of his presidency, Donald Trump declared America's back and went on to deliver the longest presidential message to a joint session of Congress in history, topping the previous record set by Bill Clinton by a bit, but it showed the deep divide in that chamber and indeed America, there's no question President Trump going forward, pushing his agenda, calling for the extension of his tax cuts, calling for a litany of cultural issues. He already signed his executive orders, talking also about foreign policy, saying he received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, signaling the fact that they will be signing, at least in his view, a rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine that could ultimately lead to a peace process with Russia.

Now, there was no question the divide between Democrats and Republicans was so clear in that chamber, Democrats rarely applauded at the very beginning of the speech. Al Green, a Texas Democrat interrupted the president was ultimately thrown out of the chamber and an extraordinary move we have not seen before. But the evening was punctuated by personal stories, the people sitting

in First Lady Melania Trump's box, one story after another, but it was the story of Marc Fogel and his 95-year-old mother, Malphine. He was the American School teacher in Pennsylvania, released from a Russian prison last month that opened the door to a reset relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that certainly captured the evening, the emotion, as well as some young cancer victims as well.

[02:05:02]

So, now, as the president ends -- enters his 44th day of his presidency, there's no question he's going full steam ahead.

But the open question on legislation, will Republicans in the House and Senate so divided, will they be able to enact his agenda? Of course, that's what we'll see next.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: As Republicans cheered for Donald Trump with one voice, Democrats offered various forms of protest. One house member held a sign reading, this is not normal, before a Republican lawmaker ripped it out of her hands. Several Democrats walked out while President Trump was speaking, and some boycotted the speech altogether.

Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin delivered the official Democratic response. It was a call for bridging divides within the United States and a reminder that the U.S. needs the allies that Donald Trump is alienating and the moral clarity that he does not possess.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Here's the thing, today's world is deeply interconnected, migration, cyber threats, A.I., environmental destruction, terrorism. One nation cannot face these issues alone. We need friends in all corners, and our safety depends on it.

President Trump loves to say, peace through strength. That's actually a line he stole from Ronald Reagan. But let me tell you, after the spectacle that just took place in the Oval Office last week, Reagan must be rolling in his grave. We all want an end to the war in Ukraine, but Reagan understood that true strength required America to combine our military and economic might with moral clarity.

And that scene in the Oval Office wasn't just a bad episode of reality T.V. It summed up Trump's whole approach to the world. He believes in cozying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and kicking our friends like the Canadians in the teeth. He sees American leadership as merely a series of real estate transactions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And I want to bring in Lanhee Chen, who is the former policy director for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, and Democratic strategist Caroline Heldman, who is a professor of critical theory and social justice at Occidental College. A warm welcome to you both.

CAROLINE HELDMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good to see you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, in his first address to a joint session of Congress since returning to power, President Trump dug in on his divisive agenda, saying, we're just getting started.

But Lanhee, why hasn't Trump tackled his biggest promise to American voters to bring down prices one -- on day one, that's -- that was what he said that he would do. Instead, the cost of living is going up, consumer confidence is down, markets are tanking, and Trump's tariffs threaten to raise prices even higher for consumers. So, why isn't he focusing more on the one issue every American is worrying about?

LANHEE CHEN, FORMER POLICY DIRECTOR FOR MITT ROMNEY'S 2012 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Well, I think the focus so far has been on issues that speak to his voter base. I think that's where the focus has been. It's been on immigration policy, for example. It's been on cultural issues, the continuing battle on DEI for example.

So, I think that the reality is that if you look at where the administration has been so far, where the executive action has been, where the president is focused, it has been on those issues that are quite interesting, are quite palatable to the Republican base.

I think the broader cost of living issues, you know, those are going to be things the administration is going to have to take head on, because ultimately, those are the issues that will drive support for the Republican Party in the long run. Obviously, Donald Trump will not run again, and so, it's a question of how Republicans down the road get impacted by the ability or inability of this administration to deal with those cost of living issues.

CHURCH: And Caroline, how would you assess President Trump's efforts during his address to sell his controversial tariffs, his aggressive cuts to federal jobs and services and his Ukraine agenda to anxious Americans who worry about where all this is going?

HELDMAN: Well, Rosemary, he definitely wasn't trying to pitch to independents or to Democrats. This was a red meat. You know, it felt like a campaign speech for his MAGA base, and he did not go into how his tariffs are going to bring down everyday prices.

In fact, we know that they're not. The CEO of Target, the CEO of Best Buy, folks are coming out and saying prices might go up as quickly as next week because of these tariffs. We get a lot of fresh fruit and vegetable from -- vegetables from Mexico. 60 percent of our crude oil is coming from Canada, and so it is as, you know, the Wall Street Journal put it, a conservative publication. It is dumb to put these tariffs on and start trade wars. It makes no sense in terms of bringing down the price of eggs, the price of gas.

And you brought up Ukraine. I mean, he -- it was great at the end that he brought up that Zelenskyy does want to broker some type of a deal, but the only way he's able to do that is because European countries stepped up and offered him the security arrangements that we refuse to offer him.

[02:10:16]

CHURCH: And Lanhee, the White House apparently fielded calls all day long from Republicans leading up to the address. They were critical of these tariffs, concerned about a possible global trade war and rising prices for consumers. But Trump is still digging in despite this, and I mean, this still impacts his base.

So, how can he be so sure this will end well for him, for the United States and for struggling Americans?

CHEN: Well, look, tariffs are something that President Trump has believed in for a long time. If you go back to even the time before he was president, if you go back to some of his earliest public writings from the 1980s and 1990s, this is a policy position and a belief that President Trump has had for many, many decades.

And so, you know, I think this is really about his desire to advance a policy agenda that is meaningful to him personally. Now, the economic impacts, we're going to have to see what happens in terms of the impact on prices, in terms of the ability to broker a longer term trade deal with, let's say, China or the United Kingdom. These are all questions that are open ones.

But in terms of why he's proceeding with the tariff agenda, let's be absolutely clear, this is because Donald Trump believes in tariffs, and it is a long held belief, and one that he is executing on now as president.

CHURCH: And Caroline, we saw some drama at the start from Congressman Al Green, who was removed after disrupting Trump's speech. But why are Democrats not pushing back more cohesively on these tariffs and on the aggressive cuts to federal jobs and services that are having an impact across the country and indeed the world. They -- the Democrats seem confused about how to respond. They're struggling with that message, aren't they?

HELDMAN: They absolutely are, Rosemary. There is no cohesion or leadership. There are kind of bright, shining stars. Elissa Slotkin being one who gave the response. I think she did a reasonable job of making it about middle class Americans, and she tried to strike a bipartisan tone, which is interesting given how divided things are right now and how much Trump trolled the Democrats.

But you're right. There's not a whole lot they can do. They're essentially using protest tactics because they're out of power in each branch of government.

And let's be clear, Donald Trump does not have a mandate. 54 percent of Americans are very or somewhat concerned about his agenda. 51 percent think we're in a constitutional crisis. It is a very divided country. He is acting like he has overwhelming support and he doesn't, and when prices start going up. You know what Lanhee is saying that he believes in tariffs. Yes, I used to believe in Santa Claus, but I don't go in and act like

tariffs aren't going to raise prices when they are. I think Donald Trump is in real trouble if he can't bring basic prices down for everyday Americans.

CHURCH: Caroline Heldman, Lanhee Chen, many thanks to you both for joining us. Appreciate it.

CHEN: Thank you.

CHURCH: We have much more on President Trump's address, still ahead, including his lengthy defensive tariffs, even though some reports suggest they may be short lived, we don't know that for sure.

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[02:17:57]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: As president, I'm fighting every day to reverse this damage and make America affordable again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Trump also claiming his tariff policies will make America rich again. He told members of Congress he would bring back fairness to international trade and promote American industry.

After imposing new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on Monday, Mr. Trump says he is preparing to match tariffs by other countries, dollar for dollar, starting April 2nd.

Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the president could announce a deal to end or scale back the new tariffs on Canada and Mexico in the day ahead, U.S. financial markets are not happy about the tariffs. The Dow fell more than 600 points for a second day on Tuesday. Here's a look at the U.S. Futures, all in positive territory for now, we can see the Dow futures up half a percent. President Trump claims any economic disruption will be short lived.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If you don't make your product in America however under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff, and in some cases, a rather large one. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries.

April 2nd, reciprocal tariffs kick in, and whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them. That's reciprocal back and forth.

Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it's happening, and it will happen rather quickly. There will be a little disturbance, but we're OK with that. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: China is hitting back at the U.S. with tariffs against a long list of American products. So, let's go live to CNN's Steven Jiang, he joins us live from Beijing. Good to see you, Steven.

[02:20:08]

So, how's China reacting to President Trump's address to Congress and what's the latest on Beijing, hitting back with its own retaliatory tariffs?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Rosemary, we're likely to hear fresh response from China very soon as their daily Foreign Ministry pre-briefing is ongoing as we speak.

But Chinese officials have already had some harsh words for Washington as these new China targeting tariffs were announced ahead of the president's speech, with a foreign ministry official saying on Tuesday that if the U.S. insists on waging a tariff war, a trade war, or any other types of war, China will fight till the end.

Now, accompanying these feisty words is a package of Chinese countermeasures, including an additional 10 to 15 percent of tariffs on a range of American goods, including many agricultural products, but also slapping multiple U.S. companies, although no house names yet on that list with the new export control restrictions and also suspending imports of American logs and soybeans.

Now, it's worth noting, a lot of these measures actually target American farmers. That's interesting, because that's a group that got a shout out from the president during his speech, saying how American farmers would be greatly helped by his tariffs and how they love and appreciate his effort, and that is simply not the case, according to many experts, as shown in these latest Beijing countermeasures, that actually would affect American farmers negatively, and that, of course, is a major constituency for not only Mr. Trump, but the Republican Party as well.

But it is against this backdrop of escalating trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies and also even a potential full blown trade war that makes the newly revealed Chinese growth target for 2025 more interesting.

Now, on Wednesday morning, during the opening session of their annual gathering of the rubber stamp parliament, Chinese officials revealed their growth target for 2025 to be, "around five percent" that is considered very ambitious, a defiant show of confidence against this potential fallout of new U.S. tariffs, not to mention all these domestic economic headwinds -- economic headwinds they continue to face.

But that's also probably the Chinese has raised their budget deficit to its highest levels in decades, to around four percent of GDP, as the officials here prepared to ramp up spending to mitigate any potential impact of new U.S. tariffs, Rosemary. CHURCH: All right, thanks to Steven Jiang bringing us the latest there

from Beijing. Appreciate it.

A source tells CNN, President Trump will speak with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the day ahead.

In the meantime, Canada is promising to file claims at the World Trade Organization over the new U.S. tariffs, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he's ripping up a high speed internet deal with Elon Musk's Starlink. CNN's Paula Newton is in Ottawa with more reaction

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: As promised, Justin Trudeau, Canada's Prime Minister, decided he would immediately retaliate, and those retaliatory measures will continue in the coming weeks, 25 percent on so many goods that are exported from the United States into Canada, but he was clear that escalation would continue as long as what he called a trade war continued with the United States.

And he spoke directly to Donald Trump, calling him Donald, and saying, look, you're a smart person, but this is a very dumb thing. Here in Canada, economic experts say, look, there will be likely a recession, perhaps a deep one here in Canada, with hundreds of thousands of jobs lost, but there is political unity.

I want you to listen now to Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister as she explains what Canada must do. Listen.

MELANIE JOLY, CANADIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER: We will be united, and we will fight back and we will win, and that's why today we announced 150 $5 billion worth of tariffs against American merchandise coming to Canada. We're targeting products from the U.S. that are linked to our friends within the Republican Party that can make pressure to the Trump administration, and we don't want to do this. We want this to be over, but at the same time, we are under an existential threat.

NEWTON: An existential threat, that's what she calls it. That is because Donald Trump continues to talk about Canada as the 51st state, and Canadians have come to the conclusion that the president would like to break the Canadian economy so that Canadians have no choice but to join the United States.

Now, Trudeau also had a warning for allies here, saying, look, Donald Trump continues to try, in his words, align himself with Russia, a dictator, as opposed to really aligning himself with people, with countries that had one time been allies.

[02:25:13]

This is definitely going to escalate in the coming weeks, and the Canadian government sees no sign that the U.S. government will negotiate.

Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Mexico's president says she doesn't want a trade war, but she will announce retaliatory tariffs and other measures against the U.S. on Sunday.

Claudia Sheinbaum says her government has cracked down on crime and drugs, making the U.S. tariffs unjustified.

Still to come, from Ukraine to the Middle East, Donald Trump dives into his foreign policy priorities, a closer look at what he said to Congress, back in just a moment.

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[02:30:55]

CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. Want to check today's top stories for you. The U.S. president's first speech to Congress since his return to the White House was highly partisan as he repeatedly lashed out his opponents. Donald Trump also tried to justify the dramatic changes he's made so far, claiming his administration has accomplished more in 43 days than most others do in years. And he declared once again, America is back.

Republican lawmakers are threatening to censure Democrats who protested during the president's speech. That includes Representative Al Green, who was removed from the House chamber for shouting during the speech. Despite the Republicans outrage, in the past, conservative lawmakers have loudly heckled former presidents Obama and Biden during their State of the Union addresses.

President Trump announced in his speech that the U.S. is transporting a "top terrorist" involved in the 2021 bombing at Kabul Airport, which killed 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghan civilians. The president thanked Pakistan for helping arrest the man who allegedly helped plan the bombing during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The war on Ukraine, also a notable touch point in President Trump's address to Congress, in which he said he is "working tirelessly" to end the fighting there.

Just days after the explosive Oval Office meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to social media to describe the fiery exchange as regrettable. According to Mr. Trump, he and Zelenskyy are still in communication. Here's what the U.S. president shared during his address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The letter reads, Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians, he said. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you.

I appreciate that he sent this letter, just got it a little while ago. Simultaneously, we've had serious discussions with Russia, and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldn't that be beautiful? Wouldn't that be beautiful?

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Clare Sebastian joins us now live from London. Good morning to you, Clare. So of course, that speech, just 24 hours after President Trump announced he was cutting off military aid to Ukraine. So, is there a chance that decision will be reversed?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, I think that speech underscored what was already pretty clear is that that decision, a catastrophic turn of events, I should say, for Ukraine where they overnight lost the material backing of their biggest ally, was essentially a negotiating position. Now, the letter that he talked about from Zelensky, really echoed the language that we heard in an earlier post from the President of Ukraine on X. The gratitude and praise for America, valuing all their help so far, the fact that they're ready to sign the minerals deal.

And I think what he didn't say, President Trump in that speech, was the word 'regrettable' which we saw in that post on X from President Zelensky, which was really I think the closest that he's come to what the U.S. has called for, an apology for what went down in the Oval Office on Friday. So President Trump appreciated it. You heard him there. That could mean that this was a strong enough gesture. We just don't know yet. And sources have told CNN that behind the scenes, there have been back channel communications between the White House and members of President Zelensky's team to try to get things back on track. But a chink -- so a chink of light perhaps shows that President Trump's sort of strong arm tactics here are actually working.

[02:35:00]

But I think even if that decision is reversed, to cancel military aid to Ukraine, this is still an episode that will leave Ukraine rattled and frankly, will leave Europe even more under pressure to step up military spending and military aid to Ukraine. And that issue of spending, by the way, was another part of the sort of Ukraine topic that came up in that speech, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine by far, think of that. They've spent more buying Russian oil and gas than they have defending. And we've spent perhaps $350 billion like taking candy from a baby, that's what happened, and they've spent $100 billion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So there's a couple of things to unpack there. The $350 billion number that we hear from President Trump fairly often, referring to what the U.S. has spent on Ukraine, we don't know where that comes from. The Congressional Research Office says that the U.S. has allocated about $174 billion over five separate funding measures to Ukraine, that includes military, humanitarian, financial support. On the issue of whether Europe spends more on Russian oil and gas than it does on Ukraine, he may actually have a point there. There's widely cited research from a think tank called the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, which says that the E.U. as a whole has spent over $220 billion on Russian fossil fuels since the start of the war.

There's a nuance they have dramatically decreased the volumes of imports, the exception being liquefied natural gas. But of course, prices have gone up, so the values have not dropped as much. So look, this could be an opportunity for President Trump. He is looking to sell more fossil fuels overseas. But I think this is also another wake up call for Europe. European leaders meeting for an extraordinary summit tomorrow in Brussels. It's hard to imagine the pressure being any higher.

CHURCH: Right. Thanks to Clare Sebastian bringing us that live report from London. Quentin Peele is a Former Foreign Editor at the Financial Times. He joins me now from London. Appreciate you being with us.

QUENTIN PEELE, FORMER FOREIGN EDITOR, FINANCIAL TIMES: Thank you very much for having me.

CHURCH: So in his joint address to Congress, President Trump read out a letter from Ukraine's President Zelenskyy saying he is ready to negotiate long-lasting peace. This coming, of course, after Trump halted U.S. military aid to the war-torn nation. So what happens next? And what will peace look like for Ukraine? What would Trump be offering him?

PEELE: I think that's the great unknown because throughout this whole discussion, we really have very little detail on what the Russians are prepared to offer and what they're prepared to accept. All we heard from President Trump, in this speech, was that they are ready for peace. But the whole question is, what's that piece going to look like on the ground? Will there be any form of serious security guarantee from the Europeans alone perhaps, or will America be prepared to back that up if Russia actually finds that it's not prepared to stop fighting?

CHURCH: And Russia's President Putin meantime, has been enjoying Trump's pause in U.S. military aid to Ukraine, and of course, his treatment of President Zelensky, and especially that fierce exchange in the Oval Office. What message does that send Russia, especially with Trump appearing to align himself with Putin? And what peace, as you touched on here, is Russia offering for Ukraine?

PEELE: I think that Vladimir Putin will be absolutely delighted at the turn of events. It actually sounds frequently as if Donald Trump is echoing the sort of propaganda lines that the Russians use themselves. So, I think that what this says to Russia is that they could actually carry on pushing forward. And that if there is a real suspension of American supplies to Ukraine, that will make a big difference in two or three months time. So what is the incentive for Russia to actually negotiate seriously?

The other thing Russia has made very clear up till now, and nobody seems to really make it -- be making a big thing of this, is that they do not accept the idea that NATO forces, European NATO forces would be the peacekeepers in Ukraine. That is still completely unresolved.

CHURCH: And how surprised were you that President Trump spent so little time talking about Israel's war in Gaza during his address, and what did you make of what he did say?

[02:40:00]

PEELE: I think that's quite extraordinary, actually. It's a huge issue and it's still very much ongoing, but this, I think probably is still perhaps too divisive an issue for him to make, to his own audience this ridiculous idea that he came out, that he wants to turn Gaza into a sort of Riviera. I think perhaps that wasn't in keeping with the generally, rather triumphalist tone of his speech, which was very much to a domestic audience.

CHURCH: And President Trump once again, floated the idea of acquiring Greenland during his address to Congress saying, one way or another, we're going to get it, and the Panama Canal as well. What do you make, or what do you think he means by this?

PEELE: Well, he seems to be serious. The trouble with Donald Trump is that you actually never quite know. He seems to be quite capable of reversing himself, having made it apparently terribly clear. He says, we are going to take the Panama Canal back. And pretty much, he is absolutely determined on Greenland as well. The logic of that is that it's all in the Western hemisphere. He would like to exercise his power in the Western hemisphere to take over neighboring countries, although he didn't mention Canada this time.

On the other hand, the logic of that is he would say to Russia, you can do what you like in Ukraine. It's a very worrying aspect for the rest of the world to be watching.

CHURCH: Quentin Peele in London, many thanks. Good to talk with you.

PEELE: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: Well, Democrats are offering some options to voters who are disturbed by President Trump's norm destroying actions in office. In her official rebuttal to the President's address to Congress, Senator Elissa Slotkin offered a defense of American democracy and a clear concise call to action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN, (D-MI): As much as we need to make our government more responsive to our lives today, don't for one moment fool yourself that democracy isn't precious and worth saving. But how do we actually do that? I know a lot of you have been asking that question. First, don't tune out. It's easy to be exhausted, but America needs you now more than ever. If previous generations had not fought for this democracy, where would we be today?

Second, hold your elected officials, including me, accountable. Watch how they're voting. Go to town halls and demand they take action. That is as American as apple pie. Third, organize. Pick just one issue you're passionate about and engage, and doom scrolling doesn't count. Join a group that cares about your issue and act. And if you can't find one, start one. Some of the most important movements in our history have come from the bottle up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Senator Slotkin also says this moment calls for engaged citizens and principled leaders, and thanks those who are fighting for positive change.

Still to come, new uncertainty for post-war Gaza. The Trump Administration responds to an alternative plan proposed by Arab leaders, all while the current ceasefire remains in doubt. Those details and more still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:48:10]

CHURCH: The Trump Administration has rejected a long awaited plan for post-war Gaza that was proposed and endorsed by Arab leaders. A spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council says President Trump stands by his vision and they look forward to further talks. Officials from Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. unveiled their proposal on Tuesday. Under their plan, Gaza's 2 million Palestinians would be allowed to stay while President Trump's plan would expel them from the enclave. The U.S. president touched on the war in Gaza during his speech to Congress. CNN's Paula Hancocks has the details from Abu Dhabi.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. President Donald Trump gave a very brief mention of a region that he has been talking about in dealing with significantly over the past six weeks. President Trump called the Middle East a rough neighborhood, also saying we are bringing back our hostages from Gaza. Now, that's all he mentioned about the hostages. Bearing in mind, the realities on the ground, that ceasefire-hostage deal is very much on hold at this point, Israel wanting to extend phase one of a three-phase deal that had been agreed upon to try and secure more hostage releases. Hamas wanting to go back to the agreed deal, so that Israel has to pull its military out of Gaza and also there's a permanent ceasefire.

The reality on the ground in Gaza is that no humanitarian aid has gone in since Sunday as Israel has halted that until Hamas agrees to its demands. Now, what the U.S. president did was to look to the Abraham Accords. These are the accords, deals that he secured in his first term, which normalized relations between Israel and a number of Arab nations, including the U.A.E.

[02:50:00]

He called that one of the most groundbreaking peace agreements in generations, saying that he wants to build on that foundation. Now, President Trump has made no secret of the fact he would like to see normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has said that will only happen when there is the creation of a Palestinian state, something which the Israeli prime minister has repeatedly rejected.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

CHURCH: It was chaos in Serbia's parliament as oppositional lawmakers threw smoke grenades and used pepper spray inside the chamber. Three lawmakers, including a pregnant woman, were injured in the scuffle. One of them suffered a stroke. The move was meant to protest against the government and show support for student demonstrators. Serbia's political crisis started when the canopy of a train station collapsed in November, killing 15 people. The tragedy has come to serve as a symbol of what many see as corruption at the heart of the Serbian state.

Still to come, the Vatican issues an update on Pope Francis while he fights double pneumonia in hospital. We'll have the latest on his health.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Torrential rain in Indonesia's capital has caused catastrophic flooding, forcing thousands of people to flee from their homes, and the forecast won't be offering much relief anytime soon. Derek Van Dam has details.

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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Indonesia's capital Jakarta struck by flooding following heavy rains since Monday. These were the scenes Tuesday as thousands of people were evacuated and transported on rescue boats.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was going to work at around half past eight in the morning, and I saw the floods already high and inside these offices. The water level was at around my knee.

VAN DAM (voice-over): Indonesia's Disaster Agency reporting the torrential downpour has left more than 1,000 homes and many cars completely submerged in and around Jakarta. The country's weather agency warning heavy rain is expected to continue through next week.

Thousands are being housed in makeshift shelters, including schools, mosques, and churches as the government works to quickly set up emergency shelters, many people had to abandon their belongings.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The floods this time came pretty fast and we were not able to salvage our stuff, especially in my shops and all my belongings at home are gone.

VAN DAM (voice-over): The Greater Jakarta metropolitan area is home to more than 30 million people and is no stranger to disasters like these. But local media reports say the flooding is the worst since the 2020 floods that killed at least 60 people.

Derek Van Dam, CNN.

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CHURCH: It's almost 9:00 a.m. in Vatican City where Pope Francis will be notably absent for the Ash Wednesday observance as he continues to fight double pneumonia in hospital. The Vatican just released an update saying he slept well through the night. The Pope's longest hospital stay since being elected has been plagued by a series of breathing issues, as he recovers.

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His condition is described as complex with the Vatican saying he is not yet out of danger. This will be just the second time in his papacy that he won't lead the Ash Wednesday service. A cardinal is expected to lead the service instead.

Meghan Markle, Britain's Duchess of Sussex, has stepped back into the TV series world with a new Netflix show.

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MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: Let's go. I've always loved taking something pretty ordinary and elevating it. Surprising people with moments that let them know I was really thinking of them.

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CHURCH: The first of eight episodes of "With Love, Meghan" premiered on Tuesday and it marks a sort of rebrand for the former Suit star as a lifestyle guru and domestic goddess. The show was filmed in Montecito, California and is centered around the Duchess hosting a different friend each episode. She offers helpful tips and tricks for being the ultimate hostess, cook and homemaker, such as making her own bath salts, beekeeping, candle making, and using berries from her garden to make raspberry jam.

Well, a rare piece of art by Banksy sold for $5.5 million on Tuesday. This re-imagining of a painting by the late Scottish artist Jack Vettriano was owned by the co-founder of the band blink-182, Mark Hoppus. A specialist at Sotheby's says, while people loved Vettriano's work, it wasn't accepted into the world, the art world, similar to Banksy's work.

I want to thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more "CNN Newsroom" after a short break. Do stay with us.

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