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Trump Takes Victory Lap 43 Days After Returning To Power; Massive Floods Swamp Indonesia's Capitol Region; Trump: Russia & Ukraine Signal They Are Ready For Peace. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired March 05, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:21]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America is back!

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Is there anyone in America who is comfortable with him and his gang of 20-year-olds using their own computer servers to poke through your tax returns, your health information, and your bank accounts?

TRUMP: April 2nd, reciprocal tariffs kick in.

DOUG FORD, PREMIER OF ONTARIO: People refuse to buy American products. We love the people, and the president needs to be stopped.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: But Donald, this is a very dumb thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. And a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon. It is Wednesday, March 5th, 5:00 a.m. exactly here in New York and in Washington, where the U.S. president delivered a fiery, self- congratulatory campaign style address before Congress and the American public.

In his speech Tuesday night, Donald Trump claimed that voters gave him a powerful mandate and declared that America's momentum, spirit, pride and confidence are back. He said that the country is on the verge of a comeback, the likes of which the world has never witnessed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROWD CHANTING "USA!")

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SOLOMON: The excitement of his Republican supporters is evident, but millions of Americans fear that the presidents second term could greatly damage the country.

During his nearly 100-minute speech, the longest annual address to lawmakers in modern times, he touted what he considers major achievements while making many false claims on topics like the economy, immigration and his political rivals, and also laying out his own territorial ambitions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: 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.

I withdrew from the corrupt World Health Organization. And I also withdrew from the anti-American U.N. Human Rights Council.

We ordered all federal workers to return to the office. They will either show up for work in person or be removed from their jobs.

As you know, we inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare.

We are seeking permanent income tax cuts all across the board and to get urgently needed relief to Americans hit especially hard by inflation.

I'm calling for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security benefits for our great seniors.

To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal and we've already started doing it.

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)

SOLOMON: Let's get to CNN's Julia Benbrook, who has a closer look now at President Trump's message and how it was received.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM MCFARLAND, HOUSE SERGEANT-AT-ARMS: Mr. Speaker, the president of the United States.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE) JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Donald Trump delivering his first speech to a joint session of Congress since retaking the White House.

TRUMP: We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years. And we are just getting started.

BENBROOK: While Democrats mostly waved signs in protest, a disruption came early in the night, with Speaker Mike Johnson ordering the removal of Democratic lawmaker Al Green from the House chamber.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Remove this gentleman from the chamber.

BENBROOK: The speech comes the same day Trump enacted 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and doubled his tariff on Chinese goods to 20 percent, sparking concerns of a trade war.

TRUMP: Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. There will be a little disturbance, but we're okay with that.

BENBROOK: Trump has made a whirlwind of moves since his inauguration, including firing thousands of federal workers in an effort to reduce the size of the federal government.

TRUMP: We'll be ending the flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars. And to that end, I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency, which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.

[05:05:10]

BENBROOK: Several of those fired federal workers attended the speech as guests of Democratic lawmakers.

Their party's rebuttal delivered by Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin.

SLOTKIN: America wants change, but there's a responsible way to make change and a reckless way, and we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country.

BENBROOK: In Washington, I'm Julia Benbrook.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Republican lawmakers, meantime, threatening to censure Democrats who protested the president's speech despite the fact that Republicans have loudly heckled former President Obama and Biden during their State of the Union Addresses.

Now, House Speaker Mike Johnson is targeting Democratic Representative Al Green, who was removed from the House chamber for shouting.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS) SOLOMON: Representative Green told reporters outside the chamber that he spoke out because he believes that Trump's budget will devastate critical services. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. AL GREEN (D-TX): His budget calls for deep cuts in Medicaid. He needs to save Medicaid. Protect it. We need to raise the cap on Social Security. There's a possibility that it's going to be hurt. And we've got to protect Medicare.

These are the safety net programs that people in my congressional district depend on. And this president seems to care less about them and more about the number of people that he can remove from the various programs that have been so helpful to so many people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: CNN's Manu Raju spoke with Democratic Senator Adam Schiff for his reaction on the president's speech, as well as the protests made by his fellow Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): We got what we expected, which was a thorough gaslighting of the American people. And that's not something to be applauded.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But, I mean, this was much different than I've seen other opposition parties react to not just not applauding here, saw members stand up and heckle the president for several minutes and get escorted. Was that appropriate what Al Green did?

SCHIFF: Well, I'm focused on what the president had to say tonight and the damage that he's doing to the country, which I think dwarfs what we've seen of any other president. It's been a lawless administration. They are willfully ignoring court orders. They are unlawfully cutting and have plans to cut deep into Medicaid, and the damage they're doing is going to be incalculable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Donald Trump, meantime, is defending his tariff policies, promising that they will make America rich again.

And after imposing new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on Monday, Mr. Trump says that he will match tariffs by other countries dollar for dollar starting April 2nd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: April 2nd, reciprocal tariffs kick in. And whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them. That's reciprocal, back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Canada, meantime, is promising to file claims that the World Trade Organization over the new U.S. tariffs. And Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is taking action against one of Elon Musk's companies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORD: We're ripping up Ontario's contract with Starlink. It's done. It's gone. We won't award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province -- province and our country.

TRUDEAU: This is a time to hit back hard and to demonstrate that a fight with Canada will have no winners. Americans will lose jobs. Americans will be paying more for groceries, for gas, for cars, for homes, because we have always done best when we work together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: 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 that her government has cracked down on crime and drugs, making the U.S. tariffs unjustified.

Lots to discuss. Let's bring in Mychael Schnell, a congressional reporter for "The Hill". She is with us from Washington.

Mychael, great to have you this morning.

Your takeaways from what we heard in this, this long address from the president.

MYCHAEL SCHNELL, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, THE HILL: Yeah. Hey, Rahel. Good morning. Thanks for having me.

I think that, you know, despite all the substance that President Trump had said last night, really what's going to be remembered is that protests from Al Green.

And, look, this comes at a moment where Democrats are still picking up the pieces and reeling from their crushing election losses back in November, trying to figure out the path forward ahead of the 2026 midterms and, of course, the 2028 presidential election.

[05:10:12]

And last night was a night where folks were going to watch and see their progress in that effort and see where they had landed thus far. And it just ended in this disappointment, I think, among a number of Democrats. I spoke to some Democrats yesterday who weren't thrilled with Al Green's protest after the speech. In fact, Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, told me it was unproductive.

And then we saw that those silent protests from some Democrats on the floor holding up signs, walking out with -- with words on their back that says resist. I don't know if any of that was -- was too salient among folks.

So I think that overall, you know, as we continue to talk about the build back of the Democratic Party and how they're going to move forward, last night is going to be a flashpoint where folks have said, okay, they still have more work to do, and they haven't really figured out a cohesive, salient message and strategy going forward.

SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, to that point and speaking of the protests, we also saw a lot of lawmakers wearing the hot pink blazers or the pink blazers, also a sign of protest. To that point, I mean, how urgent of an issue do you think this is for the Democrats? We've been hearing now for quite some time that there's real deep division within the party about how best to move forward, both within Democratic leadership but also prominent strategists.

I mean, how urgent of an issue is this or do they have some time to figure this out?

SCHNELL: I think it's extremely urgent. And the sooner that they can figure out their path forward, the better, because those 2026 midterm elections are going to creep up. I know folks are still recovering from the 2024 election cycle, but 2026 is going to be upon us sooner than we know it. And right now, Democrats are in the minority wilderness. They're dealing with this Republican trifecta, and they want to do anything they can to claw back at some control of government here in D.C.

And if they're going to do that, they're going to have to figure out this messaging, figure out who the leader of the party is, and that strategy for carrying out that messaging ahead of the midterms.

And, you know, you ask, is -- is it urgent? Do they have some time? They're going to want to do this as soon as possible so they can go to the American people with that message and help it start reverberating.

So again, when you're talking about the progress the Democratic Party has made, I don't know that folks will be too thrilled with what happened last night.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Mychael, I mean, on the topic of progress, you know, we know from polling heading into this, this session, heading into this speech that Americans wanted to hear more from the president about what he plans to address high prices both at the gas pump and both at -- well, not necessarily the gas pump these days, but at the grocery store, home prices.

Did he do enough? Did President Trump do enough to address those concerns? And is it a salient point at -- at this point to blame Joe Biden when he is now in office and voters aren't thinking about Joe Biden. They're thinking about President Trump.

SCHNELL: Yeah, it's an interesting question, because in the lead up to yesterday's joint address, one of the biggest topics that folks were discussing were -- was the economy and the impact that those tariffs were having on the economy, a number of companies announcing that prices were going to rise because of the tariffs. The stock market taking a tumble because of those tariffs going into place on Mexico and Canada.

President Trump really leaned in saying that the tariffs are going to take some time, that prices may go up before they come back down and get normal again. And he even said that he plans to put reciprocal tariffs then on countries next month. And then we had his commerce secretary who was speaking in statuary hall right off the House floor after the speech, talking more about those tariffs.

So, interestingly enough, President Trump not backing down from his belief that tariffs are the way to get the economy going -- again, despite there being some, some, some evidence this week that it's going to be a little painful for the economy before it gets better, perhaps, and from some uneasiness from some Republican senators, Republican lawmakers up on Capitol Hill as they start to see the immediate effects of these tariffs take place.

SCHNELL: Yeah, those comments from the commerce secretary, I think really confusing the markets. I mean, certainly providing some -- some optimism. U.S. futures, last I checked, were up on the back of those comments. But -- but still a lot to sift through and -- and are still up at 5:13 this morning. But it is early and we know certainly a lot can happen in a few hours.

Mychael, before I let you go, what's the takeaway, do you think, for world leaders watching this, whether it be allies or foes, based on what we saw last night -- I mean, as one guest told me in the 4:00 a.m. hour, allies may have been hoping for a different tone, a different message from the president, but they didn't get it last night.

SCHNELL: Yeah. So, you know, you asked about the economy before and the tariffs. That was one of two issues that was top of mind to folks heading into the speech. The other, of course, was Ukraine, after that blow up that happened in the Oval Office between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. I think a lot of folks were watching last night to see what tone Trump used when he discussed Ukraine, Zelenskyy in that potential mineral deal that had been on the table that had not been signed after the contentious meeting last week.

[05:15:11]

I think folks on the world stage will be reassured that Trump spoke highly of Ukraine and Zelenskyy talking about that note that he had received earlier in the day that he was pleased by, talking about how the mineral deal could be salvaged. So I think that a lot of folks were probably reassured by that. But then, of course, the president had said a lot of his greatest hits from his camp -- from the campaign trail dealing with the world stage, the Panama Canal, for example, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to be the Gulf of America and taking control of Greenland and so forth.

So I think it was a bit of a mixed bag. But when you talk about the world stage, Ukraine was definitely the key focus. I think as folks were watching last night's speech. And I think people will be reassured about the tone that Trump used when discussing the European ally.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Michael Schnell, great to have you this morning. Thank you.

SCHNELL: Thanks.

SOLOMON: Well, the dangerous winds that have been fueling wildfires in Texas have now largely subsided. You can hear fierce winds driving the flames. And this video from yesterday, you hear it there. This fire is now 100 percent contained after burning more than 350 acres. Dozens of fires broke out across Texas on Tuesday alone. That was thanks to high winds, extremely dry conditions as well.

The National Weather Service in San Antonio and Austin received at least 115. Excuse me? Fire reports received at least 15 fire reports.

And Texas wildfires were one outcome of the massive storm system now pushing toward the U.S. East Coast. It's also been causing dangerous weather, including blizzard conditions and tornadoes.

Millions of people, meantime, along Australia's eastern coast are bracing for what could be the worst cyclone in the region in 50 years. Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to cross the coast south of the Queensland capital of Brisbane early Friday, potentially at high tide. Residents there are sandbagging their homes and stocking up on food and bottled water amid warnings of potential flooding.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's definitely a lot of anxiety in town with people 100 percent. People are still mentally scarred from the last flood there was only a few years ago. We have friends who have only just got into their houses after years of fixing them. Yeah, it's been brutal.

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SOLOMON: The cyclone currently has the strength of category one Atlantic hurricane. Experts say that the worst of it could impact popular tourist beaches, from the gold coast to northern New South Wales.

Officials say that Cyclone Alfred was about 400 kilometers, or 250 miles, off the coast and moving west with powerful winds.

Torrential rain in Indonesia's capital has caused catastrophic flooding, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes. And the forecast won't be offering much relief anytime soon.

Derek Van Dam has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS CORRESPONDENT (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: I was going to work at around 8:30 in the morning, and I saw the floods already high. And inside these offices, the water level was at around my knee.

VAN DAM: 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: 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: 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: And Indonesia is not the only country dealing with dire flooding. Spain's tourist hotspot, the Canary Islands, were hit by a sudden rainstorm on Monday. Spain's national weather agency has issued a red alert as heavy rains are expected to continue this week.

And coming up for us, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issuing a mea culpa of sorts following Friday's heated Oval Office meeting. And according to Donald Trump, he has also sent the U.S. president a letter. The details from his address to Congress straight ahead.

Plus, the Vatican issuing an update on Pope Francis as he fights double pneumonia in the hospital. We'll have the latest on his health.

And a little later, can we still talk about the Philadelphia Eagles? Can we do that for a moment? He led his team to a Super Bowl championship, and now he's getting paid. Details on the Philadelphia Eagles' record setting deal with running back Saquon Barkley.

[05:20:05]

We'll be right back.

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TRUMP: Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine by far. Think of that.

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.

[05:25:05]

We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: President Trump there are not mincing words when it came to Europe's handling of the war in its own backyard.

CNN's Clare Sebastian joins us live from London, where, Clare, we're getting fresh reaction this morning from the Kremlin on Trump's speech.

What are they saying?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Look, I think this reaction that were getting this morning from the Kremlin will really reinforce the feeling in Ukraine, Rahel, that while the Kremlin is sort of staying calm and seeming to appear conciliatory, they have absolutely no intention to negotiate in good faith, even if they are willing to sit down at the negotiating table.

Case in point, the Kremlin spokesman today saying that their reaction to Zelenskyy's letter to Trump saying that he was willing to sit down at the negotiating table was positive, but then they continued with ongoing efforts that we've seen to discredit Zelenskyy, laboring a point that they don't feel that he can legally sit down and negotiate because of a decree that he signed two years ago, banning direct negotiations with Putin.

So that's, on the one hand. I think the other point is that the Kremlin has firmly received the memo that the Trump administration is taking a transactional approach to foreign policy and are continuing to offer sort of incentives to keep themselves at the table here. One of them was a report that the Kremlin today acknowledged, without confirming that the Kremlin might be willing to act as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran in talks over Iran's nuclear program. He simply said, Dmitry Peskov today that the Kremlin will do whatever it takes to -- to make this possible.

So I think it's clear that the Kremlin is not changing its stance, but they are very keen to keep up this reset with the U.S. and so I think we'll be watching very closely to see if a deal does get signed, if Ukraine can move beyond this catastrophic episode and restore U.S. military aid, because Russia is very much against that.

SOLOMON: And, Claire, I mean, in the meantime, the last 24 hours on the front lines there, I mean, Russia has -- has maintained and continued its attacks. SEBASTIAN: Right. And this is, I think, the key point for Ukraine

that reveals that Russia's position is to -- to keep up what they're doing. They have no incentive to back down. They are maintaining the initiative, and they continue with a significant degree.

You can see the aftermath there in Odessa of drone attacks overnight, critical infrastructure was hit. The power and water went out in an area of the city. And we've seen across Ukraine in areas well beyond the front lines. Two civilians killed, at least eight injured.

So the aerial attacks continue beyond the front lines. The pressure continues on the front lines and Ukraine, rattled by this episode of canceling military aid by the U.S., is now fighting not only on the issue of supplies, but on morale and how that feeds into recruitment. So it is a really difficult, delicate moment for Ukraine.

SOLOMON: Clare Sebastian there in London with the French reaction this morning. Clare, thank you.

And President Trump said in his speech that the U.S. has taken into custody a key suspect involved in the 2021 bombing at the Kabul airport, which killed 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghan civilians.

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TRUMP: Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, that man, an Afghan national, was allegedly involved in planning the attack, and a source says that he will be charged with providing and conspiring to provide material support for terrorism.

All right. Still ahead, we have new reaction from -- from China to Donald Trump's tariff increases. We'll have a live report from Beijing, straight ahead.

And smoke grenades and fighting in Serbia's parliament as opposition lawmakers lash out at what they say is a corrupt government.

That's ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back.

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