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Canada's Liberal Party Chooses Mark Carney As Its New Leader; Voters From Bucks County, Pennsylvania, React To Trump's Recent Actions; Israel Cuts Electricity Supply To Gaza; Noem: Will Keep Using Polygraph Tests To Find Leakers At DHS; Farmers Hit By USAID Freeze, Unclear When Funding Will Resume; Pittsburg Student Disappears On Spring Break Trip To Dominican Republic. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired March 09, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

MARK CARNEY, SUCCESSOR TO PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU (through translator): And he will also allow let our planet to burn.

Pierre Poilievre would let our planet burn.

(BOOING)

CARNEY: This is not leadership. It's ideology. It's ideology that betrays what we as Canadians value. Each other. It's an ideology that also represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how the economy works. Now unlike Pierre Poilievre, I've actually worked in the private sector. I know --

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

CARNEY: I know, I know, I know how the world works. And I know how it can be made to work better for all of us.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

CARNEY: And that, and that knowledge, that knowledge is especially useful now in the service of Canadians when we must build a new economy and create new trading relationships.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

CARNEY: Let me tell you something else that we know that Pierre Poilievre doesn't. We know that markets don't have values. People do.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

CARNEY: And we know, we know as liberals that it's our job, our job, to make markets, to make the economy work for all Canadians.

(APPLAUSE)

CARNEY: These are the most powerful tool we've ever invented. They can find solutions to our greatest problems. And when the private sector, when the markets are governed well, they deliver great jobs and stronger growth faster than anything. But markets are also indifferent to human suffering, and they are blind to our greatest needs. So when they're not governed well or not at all, they will deliver enormous wealth for the lucky few and hard times for the rest. And --

PAULA NEWTON, CNN HOST: That was Mark Carney there, Jessica, putting forward, which was what will really be a very progressive agenda. I do want to just let everyone in on what will happen next. We call Mark Carney now the prime minister-designate. Within about three to five days, Justin Trudeau will officially tell the governor general of Canada that he will no longer serve as prime minister.

Mark Carney will be sworn in as prime minister. He will call -- he will appoint a cabinet. But here's the thing, Jessica. He could also then trigger an election. And in terms of what people believe, that election could happen as soon as a few days from now, a few weeks from now, which would put Canada in election position towards the end of April, perhaps early May.

At stake, I don't have to remind you, are the threats from Donald Trump on tariffs and so much more. Remember, the man we're looking at right now, Mark Carney, is absolutely a political novice. Certainly he is known in the halls of power around the world. He was the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, a former Goldman Sachs banker as well. He knows Fed Chair Jerome Powell quite well.

But he's just such a political novice, Jessica. And there are so many people wondering how he will do in a campaign. He was talking about conservative leader Pierre Poilievre there, who was so far ahead of the liberals up until Donald Trump was inaugurated. In fact, one poll showed that there was less than a 1 percent chance that the Liberal Party would win an election on the day that Donald Trump was elected.

The chances now are 37 percent. Still not great. The Liberal Party is still far behind the conservatives, but certainly they have a shot in this. And this is where things get interesting. Pierre Poilievre really has been taken on by the MAGA group. They have certainly posted a lot of what he's been doing in his campaigns, so it will be very interesting now to see how Donald Trump reacts, and also to see any congratulations that we might get from the Oval Office.

And keep in mind, Jessica, this is going to be quite the fancy footwork for someone who is a political novice, even though he's obviously a very well-trained economist who has to deal with running for prime minister. He's never run for anything except for this liberal leadership race. Now he has to run for prime minister simultaneously trying to deal with all of these threats coming from the Trump administration.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Yes, this will be fascinating to watch.

Paula Newton, thank you so much for laying all of that out for us. Really appreciate it.

Back here in the U.S., President Trump is not ruling out the possibility of a recession this year. This week, Trump announced tariffs on Mexico and Canada, then delayed them for about a month. And he seems to be admitting what a lot of economists have said that tariffs could, in his words, cause some disturbance in the economy.

Mariann Davies and Joe Donahue join us now.

[19:05:01]

They are both from a swing county, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Last year, Trump became the first Republican to win that county in more than 30 years. It's right there outside of Philadelphia, one of the collar counties outside of Philadelphia.

I want to say thank you to both of you for being here with us. I really appreciate it. We're excited to hear what you have to say, what you're thinking. I just want to kind of set the stage. You both voted for Donald Trump this past election. You each have your own reasons for doing so.

Joe, let's start first with you. I know for you, the economy was a big factor in your decision. So I'm curious how you're feeling about the economy now and what you're thinking about these potential tariffs.

JOE DONAHUE, FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANT: Yes. Well, Jessica, thank you so much for the invitation to come on. Certainly the economy is top of mind for myself and many Americans. I think that the economy is going to be -- I know it's been taking a little bit of a downturn in the stock market over the course of the last several days. But I do think on the whole it does have an upward trajectory for us.

I think personally, I do see some concern with the tariffs. I know tariffs have an inflationary element to them and so much of the economy is interconnected. But ultimately it is -- I think that this is going to be beneficial to the American economy because it's going to encourage more manufacturers to keep jobs here in the United States, which ultimately will at the end of the day drive down some prices, in my opinion.

DEAN: And, Mariann, what are your thoughts on the economic health of the country, where President Trump is taking it? What do you think?

MARIANN DAVIES, FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANT: Well, first of all, we have to remember that he's been in office for about 40 days. Given his track record when he was elected the first time, our economy was roaring. We were energy independent. He made everyone's 401(k)s great again. And now with the tariff situation, I mean, he's a very smart businessman. He has incredible advisers. Scott Bessent and others like that.

And I believe that the tariffs are really just a tool that maybe only temporary. They're powerful and a proven source of leverage for protecting our economic interests. And in fact, during his speech, he announced some incredible investment from Apple and Taiwan chip manufacturers. We're talking about billions and billions and even trillions of dollars. I believe that India even committed to investing unprecedented amounts of money in some technologies here in the United States. So I truly believe that that would never have happened if they don't have confidence in what Donald Trump is planning for our economy.

DEAN: And, Mariann, I want to stay with you for a second on another issue. I know you have a strong family connection to the military. There is concern about the Trump administration that these cuts are going to really be hitting a lot of veterans. And the employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, services for veterans, also veterans who may be working in the federal government. I want to just get your thoughts on what you're thinking about this and if you are concerned.

DAVIES: Well, I did hear and listen to what Doug Collins, the new secretary of the Veterans Administration, has said. He has put out some very informative updates. And every time you hear him speak, he is all about getting the Veterans Administration, right-sized to provide better benefits and more responsive to direct services for veterans. He talked about more direct access to health care, where they can just go to any doctor like everybody else and use the VA benefits, and also the responsiveness of the Veterans Administration for claims.

So I have confidence in what Doug Collins, who also is a veteran, is doing for the department and will benefit directly the veterans.

DEAN: Joe, what are your thoughts on that?

DONAHUE: Yes, I definitely have some -- a number of family members who have served and who are serving and certainly the cuts to the VA concern me a little bit. In terms of it feels like it's shooting from the hip. Sometimes when you have to make efficiency cuts, when you have to find places to do a reduction in the workforce staff, those things hurt quite a bit. And it can be difficult to pare back the federal government staff.

So definitely the seemingly haphazardness that it can cause there definitely concerns me as well as we always want to make sure that we're approaching these kinds of very sensitive situations in a way that's going to be conducive to the individual person. We want to make sure that we're being respectful of the fact of the people whose lives are being impacted by these decisions.

[19:10:06]

So I do have concerns surrounding it. Are these cuts necessary? They seem to be in some respects, and certainly we do have to, we do have to be mindful of that. But I do think that that we do want to make sure that we're respecting the people who are involved in these cuts and whose livelihoods are being upended by that.

DEAN: And, Joe, I know you said earlier this week, you all were watching the -- to fill everybody else in that's watching with us. Now you all are watching President Trump's address to Congress, and you were giving your feedback as Trump voters, what you thought about it. And so, Joe, on that note, I know you said earlier this week that Trump -- you think Trump should do more with Democrats, try to reach across the aisle and be bipartisan.

What ways would you like to see him do this? DONAHUE: Well, I think back to one of the earliest conversations that

President Obama and leaders of Congress at that time were having and those individuals really thought about having conversations surrounding an infrastructure plan, making sure that we're reinvesting in America and in infrastructure. That's usually a really good way to unite Americans across the aisle. Especially just because of how important infrastructure can be to people.

So I would like to see him maybe do a little bit more of that. And I think that that could be something that people could get behind. The Democrats did show multiple times during the speech that they were going to be very reticent. And I'm -- that's a wild understatement, in my opinion, to do any kind of working across the aisle themselves. But sometimes, as the president, you need to take initiative and you need to be the one that's going to say, hey, let's come to the table, let's sit down. Let's have some discussions surrounding that.

DEAN: And, Mariann, what are your thoughts on -- do you want to see more bipartisan work coming out of D.C.?

DAVIES: That would be wonderful. I think that looking at the panel and what the things we discussed, even off camera, I think we all agree that the economy was very important. We all agreed on basic safety, the issues regarding the safety of our border. And I think there is a lot to reach out. I mean, who is against, you know, going through, you know, and cutting out waste, fraud and abuse? I don't think anyone is against that.

But we should be working together. I think that also an example of that is recently a representative, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, and I believe it's Paulina Luna are working on a bill to cut the interest rates for credit cards down to 10 percent. Now that certainly everybody can agree that's a really good thing. So there's -- I think there's probably more that we can agree on to help our economy, to help our national security, cost of living for Americans than we disagree upon.

DEAN: Yes. And, Joe, just finally, I want to ask you about the role Elon Musk is playing in this administration and how you would evaluate that.

DONAHUE: Yes, it's kind of hard to evaluate that at this point because it's still very early on in the administration, Jessica. I think that we do need to see ultimately, we need to take a longer view of what is happening. It does seem to be very haphazard. But I do think that some of what's being affected is necessary. But at the same time, again, it's just too soon, in my opinion, to do a formal like evaluation of somebody who, A, is still very early on in the tenure and B, really can only work a handful of days out of the year.

The government, he's what's called a special government employee which really only requires him to or requires him to work a maximum of something like 135 days over the course of the year, I forget what the exact number is, but I think any damage that he might do as it relates to DOGE is limited at this particular juncture, just because of how short he's going to be in there. So it really -- what decisions he's making now really need to be evaluated as we see how the government is operating in a longer term.

DEAN: All right. Mariann Davies and Joe Donahue, really thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. We really appreciate it.

DONAHUE: Thank you, Jessica.

DAVIES: Thank you for having us.

DEAN: Still ahead, Israel cutting the power supply to Gaza, hoping to pressure Hamas to free the remaining hostages. What Hamas is saying about who they're willing to release as negotiations to end the war enter a new phase.

[19:15:01]

Plus, a University of Pittsburgh student missing in the Dominican Republic. What we're hearing from her father tonight. And a small plane crash in Pennsylvania. We'll update you on what we know about the people on board.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Israel says it has now cut its last flow of power into Gaza, hoping to put pressure on Hamas to free the remaining hostages. But Hamas is downplaying the move, saying it will have little practical effect because Gazans have largely relied on generators and solar power since the war broke out.

[19:20:08]

And today a Hamas affiliated TV report says the group does not oppose releasing Israeli American hostages Edan Alexander as part of negotiations to end the war in Gaza. President Trump's special envoy telling CNN he's optimistic a truce is within reach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM BOEHLER, U.S. HOSTAGE ENVOY: I think something could come together within weeks. I will say that I believe there is enough there to make a deal between what Hamas wants and what they've accepted and what Israel wants, and it's accepted. And I think it -- I think there is a deal where they can get all of the prisoners out, not just the Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Joining us now, CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger.

David, great to see you. Do you think that assessment is correct? Can the U.S. achieve a deal between Israel and Hamas?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, great to see you. And let's hope that, in fact, they can. Predictions in the past that they could have been largely dashed. But at this point all but 59 hostages have been released. So, you know, when you consider the fact that we started at, you know, over 200, that is significant progress, although it has taken more than a year and a half to get there.

This is going to be a challenge on several fronts. The first is -- first to the American hostages. There are five known, but only one believed living. And my suspicion is that Hamas, based on their statements, will probably release him. The second big issue then is, do you go to the phase two that was negotiated at the very end of the Biden administration as part of this sort of three part series, or do they stumble along to some discussion about prisoner releases?

That doesn't really come to some kind of a resolution of who controls Gaza, whether Hamas would give up the civilian control, whether all of its military would leave. And Hamas so far has said they will not.

DEAN: And, of course, we know now that the U.S. has been directly speaking with Hamas. Do you think that that leads to a different outcome than if they were not directly speaking with them?

SANGER: Well, it might, and the Israelis were pretty infuriated, in part because the U.S., while they had hinted at this, did not tell the Israelis that they were going ahead with direct contacts with Hamas as far as we can tell. And there were some pretty sharp exchanges behind the scenes. But you haven't heard the Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu come out and denounce President Trump for doing this. It tells you that he understands he's got some limits here about how far he can push Trump on this issue himself.

DEAN: Mm-hmm. And yet, and in the meantime, Israel obviously trying to put more pressure on Hamas. We were just talking about the cutting of power, the cutting of water. How far do you think that can go?

SANGER: Well, right now the power cut is probably not likely to have much effect as you heard from Hamas. That's because there have been a lot of other restrictions put in place, and most of the power in Gaza right now is from electric generators that are local or solar power. And of course, so much of the infrastructure has been destroyed that you don't know how much of that electricity would get through, even if the Israelis, you know, had full power on.

It does have some risk for the Israelis. I mean, cutting off power, cutting off water can be considered under some circumstances to be part of a pattern of humanitarian violations. And, of course, the Israelis are already, you know, fighting those accusations in International Criminal Courts at this moment. So it strikes me as somewhat something of a risky tactic, given the fact that they're not going to get very much out of it.

DEAN: I also do want to talk to you about the war in Ukraine. We know that we are entering this key week of negotiations in Saudi Arabia. We know Putin and Russia are escalating attacks on Ukraine just within the last couple of days. Where do you -- what are you expecting to unfold this week?

SANGER: Well, at this point, the United States and Russia seem to be aligned in putting huge pressure on Ukraine.

[19:25:02]

The Russians, by stepping up these attacks, you heard President Trump say from the Oval Office the other day, that he thought anyone would do this under these circumstances. Well, these are attacks on civilian sites. And, you know, speaking of potential war crimes in ordinary circumstances might qualify in that regard, though you could probably say that about attacks going in the other direction at Russian civilian sites from Ukraine.

The moment may be ripe for a temporary ceasefire of some kind. The -- what we don't know is what the U.S. proposals that they will arrive in Saudi Arabia will look like, and whether or not there will be any kind of security arrangements for the Ukrainians because President Zelenskyy's biggest fear is that there's a pause, that the Russians use it to rebuild and rearm, and then when the American attention has moved on, Russia then turns around and seizes or attempts to seize the rest of Ukraine.

On the other hand, both sides were exhausted. And as you know, casualties are sky high on both sides, particularly the Russian side.

DEAN: Yes. All right. David Sanger, thank you for that analysis. We really do appreciate it.

SANGER: Thank you.

DEAN: Yes. Still ahead, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem taking a zero tolerance approach to any employees who may be leaking to the media. A new report explains just how far she's been willing to go to stop those leaks.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:31:05]

DEAN: An update now to breaking news we've been following. The five people on board a small plane that crashed in Pennsylvania have all now been taken to the hospital. That small single engine plane went down near a retirement community in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, about 70 miles outside of Philadelphia.

We are also hearing air traffic control audio, in which the pilot tells officials a door on the plane was open moments before that crash. The FAA is now investigating.

New tonight, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying her agency will continue to use polygraph tests on DHS employees. This after reports this week her department was using them to find out who might be leaking sensitive information to the media. That's even though most states do not allow them in a criminal trial, because they are not considered reliable.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is joining us now. Julia, what more are you learning about this?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN, NEWSOURCE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, reporting from Bloomberg Government showed that the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued an internal directive that all polygraphs that her department administers must include a question about unauthorized communications with media and nonprofit organizations.

This memo was described to Bloomberg Government by two people not authorized to speak publicly. Noem appeared on "Face The Nation" this morning, and when pressed by CBS's Margaret Brennan about whether she would continue polygraphing, Noem responded, absolutely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARGARET BRENNAN, CBS HOST "FACE THE NATION": You're going to continue these polygraphing of employees?

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Absolutely. The authorities that I have under the Department of Homeland Security are broad and extensive, and I plan to use every single one of them to make sure that we are following the law, that we are following the procedures in place to keep people safe, and that we are making sure we are following through on what President Trump has promised, that he is going to make America safe again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: When it comes to polygraph testing, questions about providing information to those not authorized to receive it, DHS is matching what much of the intelligence community already does.

In a post on social media Friday, Noem said, "We have identified criminal leakers with DHS and are preparing to refer these perpetrators to the Justice Department for felony prosecutions. These individuals face up to ten years in federal prison. We will find and root out all leakers. They will face prison time, and we will get justice for the American people." --Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Julia Benbrook, with the latest on that. Thank you very much.

The consequences of President Trump slashing USAID overseas is hitting home for many American farmers. They are suffering from the consequences of the funding freeze.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz went to the heartland to talk with farmers anxious about this uncertainty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BOYD, JR., FARMER: You're asking me why I do it. We feed people and that's a good feeling. What I produce here, I stand behind my crop. I don't produce anything on my farm that I wouldn't eat. Matter of fact, I assure you I choose some soybeans, it tastes good. I grow it right here on my farm. SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: What does it taste like?

BOYD, JR.: It tastes like a McDonald's hamburger.

PROKUPECZ: No.

BOYD, JR.: Yes, that's what's in them.

PROKUPECZ (voice over): John Boyd, Jr. is a fourth generation farmer. He grows wheat, corn and soybeans here on his thousand acre farm in Southern Virginia. He also founded the National Black Farmers Association and he's no fan of President Donald Trump.

BOYD, JR.: The president cast a net of uncertainty. Every time he makes one of these wild announcements that people are saying, yay. Tariffs to China, tariffs to Mexico, tariffs to Canada, USAID, it's over, it's done. Every time he makes those type of drastic announcements, he affects America's farmers.

PROKUPECZ (voice over): Within days of taking office, President Trump dismantled USAID, a humanitarian program that's been a lifeline for the most vulnerable around the world and a critical source of income for U.S. farmers, paying them hundreds of millions of dollars a year for their crops. He also froze some funding for farmers and rattled trade markets.

[19:35:21]

BOYD, JR.: We're taken totally, totally for granted and what we're doing in this country right now, we're gambling with all that.

PROKUPECZ (on camera): Gambling with farmers.

BOYD, JR.: Gambling with farmer's lives. The gamble with my life, the gamble with my livelihood, man.

PROKUPECZ (voice over): Farmers like Boyd rely on loans to plant for the upcoming season, with the hope that the harvest will pay it off and bring home some profit.

In fact, about a million American farmers rely on the USDA for financial assistance every year. But just days before planting season starts, Boyd says he hasn't been able to get a loan yet, and he says he's not the only one.

BOYD, JR.: They want to hear -- they want you to show them on paper how you're good for that operating loan, and how you're going to pay it back. I can't pay it back with $8.00 beans and $6.00 beans and $3.00 corn.

PROKUPECZ (voice over): The majority of grain exported from the United States is stored in grain elevators. In Kansas alone, one grain elevator can export millions of dollars of goods.

PROKUPECZ (on camera): This is in Pawnee County in Kansas. This is a grain elevator site, this is where farmers will bring their grain, stuff that they've harvested, like milo and wheat and soybean and corn. It is stored in these bins, these large concrete bins and then sold to exporters, companies who are willing to buy that. And right now, it is very difficult to move some of this stuff.

KIM BARNES, CFO, PAWNEE COUNTY COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION: They could come in and sell wheat for $5.58. It was down $0.14 today.

PROKUPECZ (voice over): Kim Barnes has been buying and selling each year's harvest for Kansas farmers for over 50 years.

BARNES: All these bins are full and they're full of milo.

PROKUPECZ (voice over): That's $5 Million worth of grain, Barnes says. Grain that countries like Ethiopia and others depend on for food aid.

PROKUPECZ (on camera): And so what's going on with the milo? Why do you have so much of that right now? What are you seeing in the market?

BARNES: Just -- we just don't have any market for it. There's nobody wanting to buy it.

PROKUPECZ (voice over): Five months ago, Barnes says USAID bought over 200 million metric tons of milo from American farmers. Today, with no market for that grain, he's desperate. One potential lifeline, a proposal in Washington for the USDA to continue USAID's food distribution program.

PROKUPECZ (on camera): You're optimistic that the USAID stuff will get moved into USDA, and the program will get --

BARNES: And we'll go on.

PROKUPECZ (voice over): But John Boyd doesn't share that optimism. He's not just worried about the future of farming, but for the future of his own farm.

BOYD, JR.: There are four children, and I know that my kids have watched me scuffle, you know, throughout my career, and they're not going to want to do this if this administration continues to make it more difficult than it already is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right, Shimon, thank you for that report.

A mystery in the Dominican Republic. What happened to a 20-year-old college student who went missing while on a spring break trip? CNN has spoken to her father, we'll have more of that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:43:04]

DEAN: Just in to CNN, authorities in the Dominican Republic are searching for a college student who disappeared while on a spring- break trip. Twenty-year-old Sudiksha Konanki was with a group of students when she went missing. Rafael Romo is joining us now and has more on this. What do you know? -- Rafael.

RAFAEL ROMO, CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jessica. As you can imagine the entire family is deeply worried especially because it's already been nearly four days since she went missing.

In the last couple of hours, I spoke on the phone with her father who has traveled to the Dominican Republic. Subbarayudu Konanki described her daughter as a very nice girl and very ambitious young woman who wanted to pursue a career in Medicine. Sudiksha Konanki is 20-years- old. She's a pre-med student at the University of Pittsburgh, where she is a junior.

Previously her father said she attended Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a magnet school in Alexandria, Virginia. According to her father, Sudiksha Konanki traveled to the beach resort to Punta Cana on March 3rd for spring break with several friends.

On Wednesday, Konanki, told me, her daughter told her friends she was going to a party in the Riu Republica Hotel in Punta Cana, the resort where she was staying. He also said she went to the beach at about four in the morning on March 6th with her friends and some other people who were also staying at the resort.

When her friends realized she was not in her room the following morning, they alerted authorities. Riu Republica Hotel in Punta Cana has issued a statement about the case. It says in part, "Since the moment she was reported missing at approximately 4:00 P.M. that same day, we have been working closely with local authorities, including the police and Navy, to conduct a thorough search. We would like to express our sincere empathy towards the family and friends at this difficult time."

We've also heard from Dominican officials who say they have deployed drone teams to widen the search for the young woman, the Dominican National Emergency Service issued a statement that says, in part the following, "In coordination with the Tourism Police, the Civil Defense, the Dominican Navy, the National Police, and other rescue organizations, four teams of drones equipped with advanced technology have been deployed to conduct a thorough search in the coastal area of Bavaro." The statement says.

As for the search, Konanki also expressed concern that Dominican officials have not yet expanded their investigation and are seemingly not considering possibilities other than having had an accident in the immediate vicinity of where she was seen last. He told me that they're only looking in the water, but Jessica, he wants them to also investigate other possibilities, including whether this is a case of kidnapping or human trafficking. Now, back to you.

[19:45:39]

DEAN: All right, Rafael, thank you for that update. Just a few moments ago, President Donald Trump spoke to reporters on Air Force One. I want to listen to what he had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: ... in factories, think of that, and we're going to get them back, and they're coming back and they're coming back in records. Look at what happened with the big chip company, the biggest in the world, by far, the most powerful chip company in the world from Taiwan. And they're going in with $200 billion of money, and they're going to build something that's going to give us 35 percent to 40 percent of the chip market just in one company. No, it's going to bring it back. And I think it's going to make us -- bring us to a level that we've never had before.

REPORTER: Is there to be a government shutdown this --

REPORTER: Many of your supporters are concerned about conservative that your supporters are attacking SCOTUS Justice, Amy Coney Barrett, you put her on the bench. They're saying she's a DEI hired. Do you regret putting her on the bench?

TRUMP: Look, she's a very good woman. She's very smart. And I don't know about people attacking her. I really don't know. I think she's a very good woman and she's very smart.

REPORTER: Is there to be a government shutdown at the end of this week?

TRUMP: It could happen. I mean, the Democrats want that. They want to destroy the country. So, I can't tell you, but it could happen. It shouldn't have happened. And it probably won't. I think the C.R. is going to get passed, we'll see. But it could happen. You never know.

The Democrats are out of control. You saw that the other night during the speech when they wouldn't stand up for two of the young ladies were killed by illegal aliens, one with the cancer, the young man with the cancer. And all you want to do is stand up and applaud the man and the boy, the young boy and nobody's ever seen anything like that. They're out of control. They've lost their minds.

REPORTER: Mr. President are you alarmed by escalatory rhetoric from the Chinese response to your tariffs? And are you planning to meet with Xi Jinping about trade anytime soon?

TRUMP: No, they took that rhetoric back as you know, they were very tough. And I said, whoa, what's that all about? That rhetoric was taken back. You know that, right?

REPORTER: My question to you is --

TRUMP: I mean, but if you know that, why would you ask that question?

REPORTER: Are you planning to meet with Xi Jinping anytime?

TRUMP: Yes, at some point I will. I have a very good relationship with President Xi, very good and at some point I'll be meeting with him.

REPORTER: So do you think there's going to be a deal on TikTok soon?

TRUMP: There could be, we're dealing with four different groups and a lot of people want it. And it's up to me, so, there could be.

REPORTER: Who are you leaning towards?

TRUMP: All four are good.

REPORTER: Mr. President, you've said there's no feud between your Cabinet members and Elon Musk has even had dinner with them last night, the Secretary revealed. However, tensions are high between your Cabinet and Mr. Musk. How are you going to simmer down tensions? Does Mr. Musk need to back off?

TRUMP: Well, I don't think the tensions are high. Look, Elon's a very special person and these Cabinet people are special people. You know, these are very successful people or they wouldn't have gotten, you know, they've attained the highest heights of government and they -- I think they have fantastic relationship to Elon. And DOGE has been incredible.

You know, hundreds of billions of dollars of waste and fraud and abuse has been found, already found. And that doesn't mean they don't have a little bit of an argument here and there about something or maybe personnel arguments.

There's not too many contract arguments. You know, contracts have been found. This is much more than just personnel. And we found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraudulent contracts or very wasteful. But I think fraud -- I think it's fraud.

REPORTER: There was just another plane crash --

TRUMP: And I think, I actually think -- I actually think they -- I think really the Cabinet for the most part, I think they get along really well with Elon.

REPORTER: There was just another plane crash in Pennsylvania today. Secretary Duffy's big concern is his department is being gutted. He's been, you know, dealing with these crashes ever since he was sworn in. Does he have a legitimate concern?

TRUMP: Well, that has nothing to do with the department. That was a small plane and that would have happened whether you had a big department or a small department, as you understand. It's just they're in a -- they have space like this, you know, they have times when things happen a little bit more often than normal. And then it goes back and you go many years without having a problem.

I'll tell you, I think the Southwest pilot did a fantastic job last week when he lifted that plane off the air, because if he put the brakes on, that wouldn't have been good. And I think the license should be maybe revoked for the plane that got in away from the pilot revoked for the plane that got in its way. But the way he immediately stepped in the gas and lifted up, as opposed to, you know, thinking for about three seconds when it would have been too late. The Southwest pilot or pilots were -- they did a great job.

[19:50:25]

REPORTER: Russia, China and Iran are doing military exercises together. Does that concern you?

TRUMP: No, not at all. Not at all.

REPORTER: Why not?

TRUMP: Because were stronger than all of them. We have more power than all of them. I rebuilt the military. Unfortunately, Biden did nothing with it. But I rebuilt the military. But we don't want to even talk about that. I think if you look at what's happening and if you see what we've done, and if you see where we've come and let's see what happens with the whole Russia-Ukraine thing, I think you're going to have eventually, and maybe not in the distant future. You're going to have some pretty good results coming out of Saudi Arabia this week.

REPORTER: Are you going to resume aid to Ukraine if they sign the minerals deal with you?

TRUMP: Well, I think they will sign the minerals deal, but we want them to -- I want them to want peace. Right now --

REPORTER: How do they show that?

TRUMP: Well, right now they haven't shown it to the extent that they should. I think right now, they haven't but I think they will be. And I think it's going to become evident over the next two or three days. I think eventually, look, we have to have peace. And I'm doing this -- money is one thing, we're going to lose what we spent $350 billion on this.

But the big thing, human life, thousands of people -- this week, thousands of young soldiers died this week, hundreds of people died in cities in Ukraine. And we've got to get it stopped. It would have never happened if I was President and it didn't happen. This was not going to happen.

By the way, October 7th wouldn't have happened. Inflation wouldn't have happened, the Afghanistan, the way they -- not that they left, but the way that they left. It looks so bad. Probably the most embarrassing day in the history of our country. That wouldn't have happened.

A lot of things wouldn't have happened, but it is what it is. I think we're going to have a good time. I think we're going to have a good result in Saudi Arabia, meaning they're hosting the various talks and we have a lot of good people going out there. And I think Ukraine's going to do well, and I think Russia is going to do. I think some very big things could happen this week. I hope so.

So 2,000 people, at least 2,000 young soldiers have died this week. And this is almost on a constant basis. A couple of thousand soldiers a week. It's a killing field and we got to stop it. And if I can stop it, I'll be very happy.

REPORTER: Would you consider lifting the intel pause on Ukraine. What does, Ukraine have?

TRUMP: Well, we just about have I mean, we really just about have and we want to do anything we can to get Ukraine to be serious about getting something done.

You know, I say they don't have the cards. Nobody really has the cards. Russia doesn't have the cards. They don't have -- what you have to do is you have to make a deal and you have to stop the killing. It's a senseless war and were going to get it stopped.

REPORTER: You have some treatment to Maria Bartiromo --

TRUMP: Where are we? Are we just about -- we're just about ready to land.

REPORTER: Are you worried about a recession?

REPORTER: Maria Bartiromo asked you, and you kind of hesitated.

TRUMP: I'll tell you what, of course you hesitate. Who knows, all I know is this. We're going to take in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs, and we are going to become so rich. You're not going to know where to spend all that money. I'm telling you, you just watch.

We're going to have jobs. We're going to have open factories. It's going to be great. And the plane is landing and --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got to go. Thanks guys.

TRUMP: Thank you for a lot of good questions. Okay. Thank you very much, everybody.

REPORTER: Thank you.

REPORTER: Thank you Mr. President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And that was President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One just a few moments ago. They're again saying that he can't say that there won't be a recession, but repeating his claims that he believes the tariffs will make America hundreds of millions of dollars, despite what economists have cautioned that that may not work out exactly that way.

Also, interesting to hear him say in that moment that no one has the cards when it comes to Ukraine and Russia, neither Ukraine nor Russia has the cards, he said. He once again reiterated that it is time for peace in that war.

So certainly, we are looking ahead to that as those peace talks are expected to happen in Saudi Arabia in the coming days. We're going to take a quick break. We're going to talk more about all of this when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:59:19]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

DEAN: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York, and we just heard from President Trump aboard Air Force One. The President speaking on a number of topics, including the war in Ukraine, saying Russia would be coming to the table in a meeting in Saudi Arabia this week.

He also said he was close to lifting a pause on U.S. intelligence to Ukraine, but Ukraine must be what he said, serious about striking a deal.

CNN senior White House producer Betsy Klein is joining us now. And Betsy, he covered a lot of ground, taking a number of questions while he was on Air Force One. Start first with what he was saying about Ukraine and Russia. We did get some new details there.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: That's right, Jessica. The President speaking to reporters as he made his way from the Palm Beach area back to Washington, where a busy week ahead awaits him and his team, notably on the topic of Russia and Ukraine, as you mentioned.

The President said he was optimistic about that critical minerals deal that was halted after that contentious meeting with President Zelenskyy just over a week ago, and asked about the pause he put in place on intelligence sharing with Ukraine. He said, "We just about have" lifted it. He said he was looking at sanctions on Russia, saying that Russian officials will be present this week for talks in Saudi Arabia.

[20:00:40]