Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Emmanuel Macron Addresses France On Need To Boost Spending Defense; Donald Trump Pauses Canada And Mexico Auto Tariffs For One Month; U.S. Negotiating Directly With Hamas In Break With Policy; Trump Warns Hamas to Release All Hostages Immediately or It is Over; Israel Has Begun Blocking Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza; U.S. Negotiating Directly With Hamas in Break With Policy; Singer Flogged 74 Times for Lyrics About Hijab Removal; Rare Cyclone Threatens Millions on Australia's East Coast; Nauru Selling Golden Passports for $105,000. Aired 2-2:45a ET
Aired March 06, 2025 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:44]
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, European leaders set to come together once again, hoping to come up with a Ukraine peace plan that completes both Kyiv and Washington.
The U.S. pulls back on some tariffs just one day after introducing them.
And we are tracking a rare cyclone on Australia's eastern coast with millions of people directly in its path.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Strengthening defenses across Europe and support for Ukraine will top the agenda at a summit in Brussels set to get underway in just a few hours.
European leaders are meeting at a crucial time as the new Trump administration in the U.S. has paused critical support for Ukraine and made it abundantly clear that Europe needs to invest more in its own defense.
French President Emmanuel Macron is even warning that Europe may need to be prepared to go it alone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): I would like to believe that the United States will stay by our side, but we have to be ready if this isn't the case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Kyiv and Europe are working on a plan aimed at ending the war.
In a Telegram post, he wrote "We are preparing a plan for the first steps to bring about a just and sustainable peace. We are working on it quickly. It will be ready soon."
But not soon enough, as Ukraine reports a deadly Russian air strike against President Zelenskyy's hometown, officials say at least two people were killed and more than a dozen injured after a missile struck a five story hotel sparking a fire.
CNN's Nic Robertson is following all the developments from Brussels.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There's a lot of sort of mechanics that have to happen here, and this is one of the disadvantages for the European Union trying to respond to President Trump, who can make a decision and turn on a dime and unexpectedly, for the European Union, perhaps taking a tougher line on the lack of support that he is now giving Ukraine and the support that he is giving for conversations with President Putin.
So, the European Union is responding to that. What we heard from President Macron was sort of a passionate explain, if you will, to the French people, very much, as we saw Keir Starmer doing in the U.K. over the weekend, explaining why they need -- the countries need to spend more on defense, shake up their current sort of spending plans. Maybe take from one pile to put in the defense pile.
What will happen here on Thursday, Emmanuel Macron will be here with the other 26 European Union leaders, and they've been given a plan by the European Commission president that says this is how I propose we raise the money for increasing the defense spend of the European nations. And it has several parts to it, and one part would be potentially 150 billion euro loan. Another part of it could be Ursula von der Leyen had laid out, 650 billion euros accumulated from all the 27 nations, spending another 1.5 percent of their GDP on defense spending.
It sounds complicated. It sounds cumbersome. And again, this is the difficulty of the E.U. trying to respond. They have processes, so the leaders will get to decide and then tell the European Commission if this is the way forward, if this is what they want them to do.
And only after that, the European Commission goes away, figures out that all the sort of details in raising that money, and it's only after that that the countries get to discuss or get into the detail of what spending that money would look like on precisely what and who would build it, and how it would be done.
[02:05:05] So, that passionate push by the French president there, it's all about preparing France for these tough decisions, but it's going to be across all those 27 E.U. nations.
Nic Roberson, CNN, Brussels.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: I spoke earlier with Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics, and a former Ukrainian economy minister. I asked him what he expects will come out of the summit of European leaders in Brussels.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYMOFIY MYLOVANOV, PRESIDENT, KYIV SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Well, there is the maximum that can come out, or something one would like to hope. And I would say I would put it in three categories.
One is very strong unity and agreement among the European nations and to dedicate substantive financial support to defense procurement, development, investment, both in Ukraine and in the E.U.
The second one would be stricter sanctions, actually, on Russia. And the third one would be seizure of Russian assets, which also could be directed or redistributed towards investments into defense or security guarantees or something of that sort.
I think this is a little bit unrealistic, but that would be the best outcome, in my view.
What's more realistic that there would be commitment towards investments and some discussion about security guarantees. And the difference is that we want a stricter, stronger action from the E.U., from European nations, with respect to seizure of the assets and sanctions with respect to Russia, rather than just focusing on financial aspect of the defense development.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And we will have more of that interview ahead in the next hour.
Well, we're now learning the U.S. has paused crucial intelligence sharing with Ukraine following Friday's explosive Oval Office meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy, the Trump administration appears to have ordered at least a partial halt to the intelligence the U.S. shares with Kyiv to defend against the Russian invasion.
The extent of those limitations is not clear. U.S. officials suggest the pause could be short lived if President Trump is satisfied that Ukraine is taking steps toward negotiations to end the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN RATCLIFFE, DIRECTOR, CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY: President Trump said, is he asked for a pause. In this case, as everyone saw play out, President Trump had a real question about whether President Zelenskyy was committed to the peace process. And he said, let's pause, I want to give you a chance to think about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: But this pause could have dire consequences on the battlefield. The U.S. has provided extensive information on Russian troop movements and intercepted communications about their military plans since the early days of the war, and officials say that has been critical to Ukraine's ability to fight back.
Republican lawmakers are privately pushing Elon Musk for control over sweeping cuts to the federal workforce and spending. The world's richest man met with congressional Republicans behind closed doors on Capitol Hill Wednesday. One Republican said Musk acknowledged making some mistakes while carrying out the Trump administration's efforts to shrink the federal government. But another lawmaker said Musk blamed the widespread firings on federal department heads.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): He won the room. He actually gave out his number. We need a system where if you see something that you think is not what was intended, who do you call and how do you fix it? He said, when I -- I want to fix it quickly. So, what he said, I want to keep the momentum.
But from a political point of view, we need to take the work product of DOGE and put it in rescission package.
SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): Elon, he's very upfront, so they're moving fast. It's not going to be perfect. There'll be mistakes made, but we'll correct those mistakes very quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: House Speaker Mike Johnson says they discussed a legislative package that would codify the cuts. When asked, Musk told CNN, Congress should have a vote on how the cuts are made.
Well, now to the tariff war, threatening to bring higher prices and economic recession across North America. Donald Trump has decided on a one month pause in auto tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The U.S. president says he wants to protect the big three U.S. automakers from financial harm. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump often talks about imposing tariffs, and he's often talked out of actually going through with them. That is exactly what happened at the White House on Wednesday, at least for the big three automakers, who have been tremendously concerned about the unfair competitive advantage, they said that they would be at with these new tariffs to Canada and Mexico. [02:10:11]
Ever since the U.S. Mexican Canadian trade agreement was passed during the first Trump administration, there has been effectively free trade flowing from Mexico to the United States to Canada, which has benefited the automotive industry, which, of course, have suppliers in all three countries.
Well, giving a reprieve for the tariffs for one month at least offers some relief, but raises questions about what is to come.
The market, of course, all week long, the financial markets have been a key concern at the White House. The White House press secretary said this about the markets.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: For folks on Wall Street who may be concerned, look at what this president did for you in his first term. Wall Street boomed. Stock market boomed. The president expects that to happen again. But most importantly, Main Street is going to boom, and that's why the President has this whole of government, economic approach, which includes tax cuts, tariffs, regulation cuts and an energy industry that will bring down costs for American consumers.
ZELENY: Now, Leavitt said the White House is open to additional carve outs as well. They did not give any specifics on that. But could that be bourbon? Could it be syrup? Could it be gasoline, other things? The other tariffs are still scheduled to go into effect on April 2nd. Those are the broader reciprocal tariffs.
Now, all of this is coming as the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is trying to urge the White House to back off of those broader tariffs. The president of the United States said he is signing them to protect the U.S. from a fentanyl. Of course, Canada is responsible for very little of the fentanyl that actually comes into the United States. More of that, of course, comes from Mexico.
Having all of this, the Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is scheduled to speak with President Trump on Thursday.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Larry Sabato is the founder and director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, he joins us now. Good to have you with us.
LARRY SABATO, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, we have all had 24 hours to digest what we saw and heard during President Trump's address to Congress Tuesday night. Let's start big picture. What did you think of his messaging overall?
SABATO: I thought it was the most divisive and partisan State of the Union address, and this is the equivalent of State of the Union that we've ever had. And I started watching them with JFK in 1961. I was just a baby, of course, but I can remember very clearly that other presidents tried to be bipartisan, tried to bring people together, wanted to unite, rather than divide, and this was exactly the opposite.
CHURCH: And tariffs were the big issue of the night, drawing President Trump's very long address to Congress, but just hours after his speech, Trump paused auto tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month to help U.S. car makers. The markets reacted positively to that move, but it's only for a month. So, what is the strategy here, and how can the U.S. function with this whiplash approach to policy?
SABATO: Well, with Trump, I think he enjoys keeping people unsettled, certainly the people he's negotiating with, or his foes of the moment, and that's what he's doing. Who knows what he'll do tomorrow, or, for that matter, in the middle of the night. He's inclined to send out Truth Social posts at 3:00 a.m., so you have to follow him constantly.
He's mercurial, and I think people around the world understand that, but it does make for difficult policy making, and it's not helping the United States foreign policy.
CHURCH: And of course, American consumers and others around the globe are still stuck with Trump's other tariffs, with additional steel and aluminum tariffs coming next week, what would be the likely impact on consumers and farmers, and what might the political fallout be for Trump, certainly, if these tariffs stay in place for a while?
SABATO: I'm really confused as to why Donald Trump has decided tariffs are the solution to everything, and he really has. I think he genuinely believes in tariffs, and a lot of the things he talks about, I don't know that he really believes in, he's got a small group of economists who told them that they work.
And every economist I know, really without exception, says exactly the opposite, that it's going to raise prices, it could have the effect of raising interest rates instead of lowering them, and all kinds of other negative effects on the economy. That's why he was elected to lower prices and get the economy back on track, and he's not doing it, to the extent that people are paying higher rather than lower prices. He's going to suffer in the polls, and that will be reflected in Congress. It may even encourage a few Republicans to stand up and exercise their backbone.
CHURCH: And of course, the other part of the story was the behavior of the Democrats during that address. How would you assess how Democrats are dealing with Trump in office overall?
[02:15:05]
SABATO: Pitiful, absolutely pitiful. The Democratic rank and file have just about given up on their leadership and even on people who are not in leadership, but can't seem to make solid suggestions, passing out panels with messages on them. Look, if you wanted to make a splash, then either have a walkout at a
particularly interesting moment of the speech, when he attacks Democrats, Trump attacks Democrats, or you could simply have boycotted from the beginning.
But to hold up panels during the speech. And of course, the one congressman from Texas caused Democrats a lot of problems, and that seems to be the moment that most people remember, people off the street who may have watched at least the beginning. Most people didn't sit there for two hours, Rosemary. They really didn't.
CHURCH: And on Wednesday, Elon Musk met with Senate and House Republicans amid concerns over DOGE cuts to federal jobs and services and angry town halls, demanding answers. What changes might be made in the wake of those meetings and revelations that Musk actually wants $4 million to pay DOGE employees for the work they've done so far?
SABATO: I'm very interested in what happened in the last 24 hours, Because it turns out that Musk is neither the irresistible force nor the immovable object. He has heard the criticisms, and whether he did it on his own initiative, or whether Trump or the White House staff suggested it to him, he's showing some flexibility.
I was stunned that he gave his private cell number to all the members of the Republican caucus in House and Senate. I hope he's ready for a lot of phone calls, because they're getting grief from their own constituents who are losing their jobs or their benefits, and it's only going to increase as Musk continues to cut.
CHURCH: Larry Sabato, always appreciate your analysis. Many thanks.
SABATO: Thank you. Rosemary.
CHURCH: South Korea's Air Force makes a shocking mistake during a live fire exercise with military jets, the result, large bombs fell on civilian homes and more than a dozen people were injured. That story just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:21:46]
CHURCH: At least 15 people are injured after the South Korean Air Force accidentally dropped bombs on a residential area. It happened in the city of Pocheon on Thursday during a live fire exercise with U.S. forces close to the demilitarized zone with North Korea. South Korean officials say eight bombs fell outside of the shooting range, destroying two residential buildings and part of a church. Two of the victims were seriously wounded. Officials say initial findings suggest a pilot entered wrong bombing coordinates. The city's mayor is calling for the military drill to be suspended right away.
In Greece, clashes broke out in Athens between police and people protesting the government's handling of the country's worst rail disaster, riot police fired tear gas through stun grenades and detained protesters after violence erupted Wednesday. Thousands of people earlier held a rally and a moment of silence to honor the crash victims.
57 people were killed when a passenger train and a freight train collided two years ago, lawmakers in Parliament debated an opposition motion which accused the government of shirking responsibility over the crash, failing to fix critical safety gaps and covering up evidence.
Catholics prayed for Pope Francis during Ash Wednesday services as he remains in hospital fighting double pneumonia.
In prepared remarks read aloud by a cardinal in Rome, Francis reflected on how brief life can be, writing, "The condition of fragility reminds us of the tragedy of death." The Vatican just released an update on his condition, saying the pontiff spent another tranquil night in hospital and is still resting.
President Trump promises the people of Gaza a beautiful future if Hamas gives up the remaining hostages. But if they don't, he is threatening dire consequences. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:28:43]
CHURCH: for what's believed to be the first time ever, the U.S. is negotiating directly with Hamas about the hostages and cease fire in Gaza. This marks an abrupt change in policy for the United States, which for decades, has refused to engage with groups it considers terrorists. The U.S. declared Hamas a terrorist organization in 1997.
No comment yet from Hamas about the negotiations. The White House press secretary explained why the Trump administration is breaking with president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEAVITT: The Special Envoy who is engaged in those negotiations does have the authority to talk to anyone. Israel was consulted on this matter and look, dialog and talking to people around the world to do what's in the best interest of the American people is something that the president has proven, is what he believes is good faith effort to do what's right for the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Meanwhile, President Trump issued a blistering new ultimatum to Hamas to release all hostages, or, "There will be hell to pay."
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Trump is making a new effort to try and seek the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, issuing a fresh ultimatum to Hamas. In a social media post, the president wrote -- [02:30:00]
"Release all of the hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered or it is over for you. Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted."
The president goes on to say that he is going to, "be sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job." And saying that not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don't do as I say. He goes on to say that this is Hamas', "last warning" and also issues a warning to the people of Gaza saying that a beautiful future awaits you, but not if you hold hostages. If you do, "you are dead."
This certainly isn't the first time that we have heard this kind of tough language from the president being directed at Hamas regarding the remaining hostages being held in Gaza. But this time, it seems to come with a lot more meat on the bone, and it also comes at a very, very delicate moment in this ongoing ceasefire.
Phase one of this ceasefire agreement has been completed with the release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for more than 1,700 Palestinian prisoners. But now, we are in the delicate stage where the U.S. and Israel are both trying to pressure Hamas not to get into phases two and three of that deal, which would lead to the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the end of the war in Gaza, but instead are trying to impose new conditions on Hamas.
We know that Israel has put forward this new proposal to see six or seven more weeks of ceasefire in exchange for the release of half of the remaining living and dead hostages being held in Gaza. And now, President Trump with this ultimatum to release all of the hostages immediately or effectively face the wrath of U.S.-backed Israeli military resuming its war in Gaza.
Israel has already begun to block humanitarian aid into Gaza as an effort to pressure Hamas, one that has drawn immense criticism from the international community and human rights groups who have called that a violation of international law. And now clearly, there is also very much the specter of the Israeli military recommencing its fight in Gaza amid this latest from the president.
Hamas is already firing back. The spokesman for Hamas, Hazem Qassem says that these threats "complicate matters regarding the ceasefire agreement and encourage the occupation government, meaning Israel, not to implement the agreement." He is then calling on the U.S. administration to instead pressure Israel to enter the phase two of the ceasefire agreement as was previously scheduled.
We've also now learned that the United States has been holding direct conversations with Hamas. Adam Boehler, the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs for the United States, has met with Hamas officials in Qatar, according to a report from Axios. That was effectively confirmed by the White House press secretary who said that Israel was consulted on this matter and that the talks are on "ongoing," but that she would not get into the details. This would be the first time that the United States has engaged in direct talks with Hamas, as far as we know.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": An Iranian musician famous for a song that encourages women to remove their hijabs has been imprisoned, fined, and now flogged. A lawyer for Mehdi Yarrahi said he received 74 lashes. He was arrested in 2023 for supporting the anti-hijab protest that swept Iran and spent a year behind bars. State media said Yarrahi was accused of releasing an illegal song that's against the morals and customs of Islamic society.
Flogging is a form of beating that usually involves striking a whip or rod against the back of the person being punished.
Still to come, a rare tropical cyclone is threatening millions on Australia's East Coast. We'll have details just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:38:39]
CHURCH: For the first time in 50 years, a rare southerly cyclone is threatening millions of people along Australia's eastern coast. Tropical Cyclone Alfred is about 400 kilometers or 250 miles off the coast. It is moving west with destructive winds equivalent to a Category 1 Atlantic hurricane. The cyclone is on track to cross the coast just south of Brisbane early Friday. Officials say 20,000 properties across Brisbane could face storm surge or flash flooding, and creeks and rivers in Northern New South Wales are expected to flood. Residents in Brisbane are filling sandbags to protect their homes. And officials in Queensland are urging those living near vulnerable coastal areas to follow evacuation orders.
Well, ever considered living on a remote Pacific Island? Now is your chance, perhaps you can buy citizenship on the island of Nauru for a cool $105,000. The tiny island nation is selling golden passports. It's part of a plan to raise money to protect Nauru from the impact of climate change. Nauru spans just 20 square kilometers of mostly flat land, making it especially vulnerable to rising sea levels. The island was strip mined for phosphate in the 20th century, leaving much of its interior uninhabitable.
[02:40:00]
The government wants to use the money from the golden passports to rehabilitate the land and move most of its 12,000 residents to higher ground. Now, it doesn't expect golden passport holders to actually live on Nauru, but the passport offers visa-free access to 89 countries.
I want to thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
