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Trump: U.S. Economy Will See "Period Of Transition"; Dow Jones Down 1,000 Points Today; Rubio Meets With Saudi Crown Prince Ahead Of Ukraine Talks; Russian Attacks Kill Six Civilians Across 24 Hours; Cargo Ship Collides With U.S.-Flagged Tanker Off English Coast; Syria Sees Worst Violence Since Fall Of Assad Regime; Palestinian Activist Arrested By U.S. Immigration Officials. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired March 10, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:27]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Welcome, everyone. I'm Max Foster. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Cracks forming in America's economy. Donald Trump is not ruling out a potential recession.

It's been a dire day on Wall Street as well. Here's the latest look at the U.S. stocks. They are tumbling. The Dow 2.5 percent down. This comes after the U.S. president said his country's economy will see, quote, a period of transition in an interview that aired on Sunday.

Mr. Trump then defended his tariff plan on Air Force One. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS HOST: Are you expecting a recession this year?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we're doing is very big.

Of course, you hesitate. Who knows? All I know is this were going to take in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs, and we're going to become so rich. You're not going to know where to spend all that money. I'm telling you, you just watch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Stephen Collinson joins us now.

I mean, what's he saying there?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: It's very interesting because that comment about not wanting to rule out a recession is very un-Trumpian in many ways. Trump doesn't normally even think about giving the impression that he doesn't -- that he's not always bombastic, that things are always going to be great, and the fact that he's talking about the possibility of some disruption seems to indicate that he knows more about the impact of the tariffs he's imposing and their blowback potential on the U.S. economy than he's been letting on before.

And I think that perhaps is one of the reasons why investors are nervous. The problem here is that the U.S. economy looks like it's softening somewhat. Hiring is going down. Layoffs are going up. Consumer confidence is ebbing.

And at that kind of moment, what you need is a voice of stability. The problem is Trump's modus operandi is instability and volatility. So we could be having a bit of a clash here. And that might be causing this lack of confidence in the economy.

Having said that, all through the Biden administration, people were predicting that a recession was imminent. We haven't had one in the United States since COVID, and before that, it was the great recession in 2008, 2009. So in some ways, we are overdue a recession. It wouldn't be surprising to see one in the next four years.

FOSTER: And if we look at the Dow, I mean, it's down 2.5 percent today. That's pretty frightening for investors, isn't it? And the markets are all about trying to predict the future. And it seems to be that investors are saying, you know, actually maybe he's right. There's going to be a recession. They're not going to be looking beyond this period. Golden period he's talking about that comes after.

COLLINSON: That's right. And it's not just today. Stocks have been going down over the last few days, particularly as it looked like Trump was going to impose those big 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Then he took them off.

The problem with that volatility from the present is that businesses, especially small businesses, they need some kind of certainty. They need to know that in three months, if they need to buy something from Canada, the price is going to be the same as it is now. There's no such certainty. That's the kind of thing that causes people to pull in spending decisions.

If, for example, the government, as is happening now, is firing tens of thousands of workers, that takes demand out of the economy, not just around Washington, because the federal government operates in all the states. It's a big employer across the country. So there's lots of factors that are softening demand that may be making people nervous and could create the possibility that the U.S. is almost talking its way into an economic downturn, even if the economy, according to Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, remains resilient. Unusually, the Federal Reserve is far more bullish about the prospects of staving off the economy off a recession than the president himself.

FOSTER: Okay, Stephen, thank you so much for that. They're pretty dramatic numbers coming out. We'll talk to Richard a bit later on about his view on that as well.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, ahead of Tuesday's critical talks to end Russia's war with Ukraine. Rubio's meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He'll hold discussions with Ukrainian officials beginning tomorrow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also met with the crown prince, but he's not expected to be part of Tuesday's negotiations.

While diplomatic efforts may be moving forwards, war rages on, of course, in Ukraine. Russian strikes killed at least six civilians across Ukraine in 24 hours, 23 others died in a Russian assault on Saturday.

[15:05:08]

Following those attacks, Polish Prime Minister Donald tusk posted, quote, this is what happens when someone appeases barbarians.

From Jeddah now, our chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt.

And this is a big test, isn't it, for Ukraine and showing its willingness to get to peace.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It is, Max. It's also a test in terms of the U.S. Ukraine relationship, which, of course, took a massive hit in the oval office two weeks ago. That unprecedented meeting between the two presidents and, of course, the American vice president who instigated that that shouting match.

At the time, I spoke with the U.S. official who wondered whether that relationship could be repaired.

The Ukrainians have tried to repair it. President Zelenskyy last week saying it was regrettable what happened. And now these Ukrainian officials tomorrow will try to take that a step further. They will be sitting down to discuss the potential for a peace deal, which the frankly, the Trump administration has doubted openly whether the Ukrainians are even willing to -- to consider. The Ukrainians say they are, of course, in the right circumstances.

And what we're hearing from Secretary Rubio on his plane as he arrived here in Jeddah was, he says, the American side is in listening mode. They want to hear from the Ukrainians what concessions, what painful decisions they would be willing to make in order to reach a peace deal, he says. These are the same kinds of concessions that they will be asking the Russians to make. But we've also heard from the Russians, who haven't really given an inch in terms of any willingness to -- to offer anything.

So we're talking about things like not just territorial concessions in the eastern, southern part of Ukraine, but potential membership to the EU and NATO, as well as the potential for elections. We've heard President Trump calling President Zelenskyy a dictator.

So there's clearly a lot on the table tomorrow. But I do think the discussions are going to be rather broad. We heard Secretary Rubio saying that they won't be talking at a granular level, pulling out maps and drawing lines and that kind of thing. The eventual goal, Max, is, is for the U.S. to get both sides to the

table. So they're listening to both sides and their concerns. Three weeks ago, we saw Rubio and others sit down with the Russians. Tomorrow, it's with the Ukrainians. And then perhaps down the line we could see all of them together.

But of course, Ukrainians and the Europeans, frankly, have been rather upset by this feeling of being left out of the process. But the U.S. insisting that for now it is taking place on these two tracks -- Max.

FOSTER: Alex Marquardt in Jeddah, thank you very much indeed. It's going to be interesting to see it play out.

Now, there are fears of major environmental damage, meanwhile, off the coast, the northeast coast of England, after a cargo ship smashed into an oil tanker laden with jet fuel. While all crew members from the two ships have been accounted for, the collision caused a huge fire.

Anna Stewart has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The alarm was first raised at 9:48 a.m. local time. Two large vessels collided in the North Sea off the coast of Hull, causing a fire and huge plumes of black smoke. The UK coast guard and Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the RNLI, both responded to the incident, sending helicopters and lifeboats. The crews of both vessels are accounted for. In total, 37 people with one in hospital, according to the local member of parliament, Graham Stewart.

Now the focus shifts to the question of how this collision could happen during daylight hours and in spite of the safety and navigation features common to these large vessels. Now, according to Crowley, which is the operator of the Stena Immaculate oil tanker, the vessel was anchored off the North Sea coast when it was struck by the container ship called the Solong. The tanker was carrying jet fuel, which started to leak due to a ruptured tank and multiple explosions followed.

The Solong is a Portuguese flagged smaller ship which, according to vessel finder, was en route to the Netherlands, having left a port in Scotland. In addition to investigating the cause of this collision, there will likely be an assessment on the environmental impact of the fuel spill in the North Sea.

Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Joining me now, Matthew Schanck, founder of International Maritime Search and Rescue and an emergency response expert.

I know it's not your expertise how these ships move around, but if you I mean, what's the talk about how on earth this was able to happen, especially when one of the, you know, the vessels here was stationary? MATTHEW SCHANCK, INTERNATIONAL MARITIME SEARCH & RESCUE & EMERGENCY

RESPONSE EXPERT: Yes. So the understanding at the moment is that the weather conditions weren't particularly bad. It was daylight. And what we need to understand is that there are there are international regulations that dictate how ships can be maneuvered at sea known as the rules of the road. At this time, the vessel should have had somebody on the bridge of both vessels. Somebody should have been in charge of both vessels.

[15:10:01]

And so the fact that this has happened in quite a well known area for, for traffic and shipping movements is quite extraordinary.

FOSTER: Thankfully, a really effective rescue operation wasn't there today. So the system worked. The bigger concern now is the fallout, and particularly environmental concern, jet fuel on the tanker.

But we're now hearing containers of toxic chemical sodium cyanide might be on the other one. We're trying to confirm all the details, but they're going to have to rush to contain this.

SCHANCK: Sure. And just in answer to -- to your first point, and obviously just hearing the correspondent, we actually don't have official confirmation that everybody has been rescued. I've just been looking at the vessel tracking software. And there are a number of rescue vessels, search and rescue vessels carrying out what appears to be search patterns.

So I know we don't have that official confirmation. But as far as I can see, there is still an active search and rescue operation going on, which is obviously going to be the priority in these circumstances.

With regards to --

FOSTER: Yeah, but they're also going to --

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: Sorry, carry on.

SCHANCK: Sorry. Yeah. In regards to the environmental impact, so this was jet A-1 or jet fuel. This is a light oil. So this is in stark comparison to the images that we see sometimes of wildlife and the marine environment with thick black, crude oil, for instance.

However, there will still be an environmental impact. And one of the ways this is sort of being contained at the moment is because of the fire. So the fire is burning off this jet fuel, which is highly flammable on the surface of the sea which is good for the marine environment, not necessarily for the smoke that's produced.

But the other ship that was carrying the sodium cyanide, which I believe it was, it was carrying in 15 containers. This is another consideration. So on these types of ships, they usually carry that cargo at the front of the vessel to keep it away from the accommodation block and the engine rooms in case there's any fires there.

So, obviously, there's been a collision and that's been involved in fire. The hope would be that these steel containers would protect any spill of this cargo. But we have yet to have any confirmation if any of that has entered the marine environment.

FOSTER: There would be, you know, if they're carrying sensitive chemicals, they you know, they have contingencies, presumably for this sort of event.

SCHANCK: They would, and if it was a localized incident on board the ship, whether it was a shipboard fire or a spill on board the vessel, they would have the right PPE and the right, firefighting equipment and techniques to deal with that. But with the scale of this size of incident and the reality of the shipboard crew being able to contain a spill or involvement in the fire is pretty slim.

So we'd be looking to the, the authorities and to the -- the other vessels assisting now to try and contain that. If there has been a spill of that sodium cyanide, the jet fuel we have confirmed has entered the water. And this is where the conversations we'll be having now as to whether they continue to let this burn as a controlled burn to -- to in effect, get rid of that oil through burning it, or whether there are dispersants or other means that they can use to -- to contain that spill.

FOSTER: Okay. Matthew Schanck, really appreciate your insight on that one, because the images are pretty horrifying. Thank you.

Elon Musk's social media platform X has been hit by three waves of outages since Monday morning. The billionaire owner claims it was due to a massive cyberattack. Tens of thousands of users said the app wouldn't load in what appears to be a global issue. Musk posted on X, saying that he believes a large, coordinated group and/or country is involved.

Still to come, U.S. immigration authorities arrest a pro-Palestinian activist involved in student protests at Columbia University. They cite a law with broad authority.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:12]

FOSTER: With some reports saying more than 700 people have died, Syria is seeing its worst outbreak of violence in years.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

FOSTER: The interim government says a military operation against forces loyal to the former regime has now ended. Earlier, violent clashes spiraled into communal killings. Eyewitnesses -- eyewitnesses say armed men loyal to the current government carried out executions. Amid the violence, there are reports the interim government has signed a deal with a different faction, the largely Kurdish SDF. The presidency says the militia will be integrated into the state.

Rory Stewart is a professor of grand strategy at Yale University, as well as a former British cabinet minister and a co-host of "The Rest is Politics" podcast. He recently interviewed Syria's new interim leader in Damascus.

You're an expert on this area and you always have -- you also have a brilliant way of breaking things down. I mean, we've outlined what's happening there, but can you really explain what's happening within the country for people that just haven't caught up, Rory?

RORY STEWART, GRAND STRATEGY PROFESSOR, YALE UNIVERSITY: Yeah. I mean, just as a brief reminder. So Bashar al-Assad and his father ran the Syrian government since 1970, and that government finally collapsed just before Christmas in a very, very surprising move, where a small group, which had been right up in the northwest of the country, captured the whole country in a matter of days, propelling into the presidency, a man who had been the former head of al-Qaeda in Syria, a man now called Ahmed al-Sharaa, but previously called al- Jolani.

So, two things just to begin with. One of them is sudden change of government. A man with a former terrorist background becomes the head and he takes over a country that is ripped apart in every direction. There are very, very big tensions between different ethnic groups, very big tensions with neighbors. Turkey on the one hand, Israel on the other hand. And he has no money.

And underlying the fundamental problem is this country is still under U.S. sanctions. So any attempts he makes to try to bring the country together, pay salaries, get the oil coming, are stopped by sanctions.

FOSTER: It comes down to the economy in your view, right, because if the current government had the backing effectively of the West, America in particular, then he would be able to afford to make the changes which would get the support of the country. Is that right?

STEWART: Yes. So, I mean, what sparked off the latest violence is that a particular group, the Alawites, who were very, very close to Bashar al-Assad's family, in fact, he originally came from that group and made up the absolute inner core of his bodyguards and the elite of his military felt very, very nervous when his regime fell and retreated back to their region.

[15:20:11]

They mounted an ambush. And there were lots of rumors, even when I was there in February, that they were beginning to prepare for a coup d'etat against the regime. And then there was this horrifying response, which was clearly, completely disproportionate and out of control. And there are lots of questions about how much the president knew about this, how much these were people acting on their own.

The president has since really fallen over to say he wants truth and justice. He wants to find out what's happening. He's called one of the mothers of the victims, and he's trying to calm the thing down. But money is core because the money is what would pay the salaries of these people from the former regime. He wants to offer them amnesties and pay them salaries to be part of the new security forces.

But he also, of course, needs money for basic services. You can't fill your car with petrol, and currently the offers from neighboring countries to bring in those things are being stopped by U.S. sanctions.

FOSTER: What do we know about the Trump administrations view of this?

STEWART: The Trump administration seems at the moment, judging by Marco Rubio's statements, to be taking the line that this is a dangerous terrorist regime and that they have no interest at all in supporting it. This is a very dangerous strategy because effectively, it means that the regime is being pushed towards a failed state, it's being pushed towards civil war because it doesn't have the money to run things.

There\s a very different view in Europe where people believe and many Syrians believe this too, that despite his past and its a very, very nasty past, he should be given a chance. This is the best chance Syria has really had in over 15 years, and that we need to try to get behind him and take him seriously.

FOSTER: People are talking, or at least comparing it to potentially what could happen, as happened in Iraq after the Saddam Hussein fell. Also, some comparisons to Afghanistan, which is a country I know you know really well. I mean, should we start worrying that it's going to be the same story again?

STEWART: Yes. I mean, there's so many things to worry about. One of them, as you say, which is like Iraq is the former regime people. So, people who are part of the intelligence services, the military, who are now unemployed.

The second problem is a very, very large Kurdish population, which is heavily armed and is up in the north east of the country. Israel is bombing the country a great deal, bombing military installations, and has captured a bit of Syrian territory. Turkey has very, very strong interests, particularly in trying to balance the Kurds.

Put all that together along with the collapsing economy, you have a lot of things against this government. Nevertheless, I'm very struck by how many Syrian friends, even today, continue to say we need to try to give this a chance. This is the best hope Syria's had.

And the point about the sanctions is this that Saudi Arabia has offered to produce or provide oil. Qatar has offered to pay the government salaries. Turkey has offered to bring in electricity. And the only reason they're not doing it is because the U.S. government is blocking them from doing it.

So I suppose the message to Trump is we understand you don't want to spend any American money on this, and you don't want American boots on the ground, but at least get out of the way and let Middle Eastern and European countries try to do their best. It's fine being an isolationist, but he's not really being an isolationist. He's being an isolationist who's also interfering without spending any money.

FOSTER: I mean, it's an interesting test case, isn't it, in this early part of the Trump presidency about their role in the world.

Are you concerned were learning something here, which, you know, may keep happening. And without that sort of global policeman type role that America, you know, certainly had before. I know a lot of Trump people would say he's not withdrawing from the global stage. But, you know, a lot of people do see it as that.

I mean, how might this extrapolate around the world over, you know, because there are going to be more crises, aren't there?

STEWART: Yes. Huge number of crises around the world. And of course, America has been for 70, 80 years, the global superpower. It has troops in over 100 countries. It has this enormous diplomatic network.

And even today in Syria, it's the U.S. military CentCom that's played a very large part in trying to negotiate a deal with the Kurds. But all of this is completely against Trump's attitude to the world. Trump is clearly basically an isolationist. He doesn't want to, in his words, waste American money on almost anything overseas. He doesn't want to support HIV/AIDS programs in Africa. He doesn't want to get involved in Syria. He doesn't want to get involved in Ukraine.

So the reason it's a really interesting test case is, is he serious about allowing other people to step into the vacuum left by the United States or not?

[15:25:02]

And it doesn't seem he is, as I say, in Syria, he's not prepared to let Arab states come in. And in Ukraine, when the Europeans finally stood up and said, okay, we'll find the money, we'll buy your kit, he's cut off the equipment supplies as well.

So there's -- there's a strange thing going on where he sometimes it suits him to say, I don't have a dog in that fight, but other times he seems to like to take the side of Russia against Ukraine or the side of other people against Ahmed al-Sharaa in Syria.

FOSTER: Rory Stewart, really appreciate your analysis and breaking it down for us. It is something that, you know, a lot of people are very concerned about. Thank you.

STEWART: Thanks for having me on.

FOSTER: President Trump calling the arrest of a Palestinian activist by U.S. immigration authorities the first of many to come. Mahmoud Khalil recently attended Columbia University and was the -- at the forefront of last year's student led protests against the war in Gaza.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more on the arrest and his family's reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This took place on Saturday night and we understand that plainclothes Department of Homeland Security officers showed up to the apartment, told them that they were taking Khalil into custody and that they were revoking his visa when he sought -- when he told them that he was actually a green card holder. The officers said that they were revoking that, too.

Now, we have gotten in touch with Khalil's attorney, who has told us that she tried to communicate with the officers about the fact that Khalil is a green card holder. They did not speak to her, and as of now, it's not clear where Khalil is being held in custody. At one point, his family was told that he had been taken to Elizabeth, New Jersey, to a detention facility there. The wife went to visit him and she was informed that he was no longer being held at that location.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, earlier, CNN spoke with Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, called the arrest shocking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMEEL JAFFER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KNIGHT FIRST AMENDMENT INSTITUTE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: We have a student or a recent graduate who has been arrested, detained, threatened with deportation for engaging in student protest activity. This is the kind of thing that we are accustomed to seeing, really, in the world's most repressive regimes. You know, this is this is the kind of thing that you would expect in, in a place like China or Egypt or something like that.

But the idea that students can be arrested and deported for engaging in political speech, this is something that it's really shocking to see this in our own backyard. And, you know, your reporter mentioned this just now, but it's not just that this student has been arrested and threatened with deportation, but no explanation has been given by the government of its actions here.

There's no -- no legal basis. No factual basis has been offered beyond this high level, statement that he was, you know, pro-Hamas. But the administration has made very clear that they don't draw distinctions between people who were pro-ceasefire and people who are pro-Hamas. People who are pro-Palestine to them are pro-Hamas. People who are anti-war are pro-Hamas.

And so for them to say, well, this guy is engaged in pro-Hamas activity doesn't tell us anything at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Now, a senior Homeland Security official told CNN the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil was based on a provision of U.S. immigration law, this source adding that the administration can use broad authority on who can be subject to arrest and deportation.

We just had some breaking news on Pope Francis no longer in imminent danger. That's according to a Vatican source reporting an improvement in his medical condition.

Our Vatican correspondent, Christopher Lamb, is in Rome -- Christopher.

Okay. We'll come back to Christopher to get some more on that. But it does appear to be good news on what were hearing.

Now, Canada's next prime minister is calling for national unity and promising to fight back against Donald Trump's trade war. We'll have more on what he had to say and how he'll do it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:42]

FOSTER: Let's try going back to Christopher, who is in Rome.

Pope Francis no longer in imminent danger we're hearing, Christopher.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Max. Good news for the pope tonight.

The Vatican saying that Francis remains in a stable condition, that there has been a consolidation in the improvement of his condition. And the doctors have decided to lift the prognosis, which previously had been reserved or guarded.

And the Vatican source explained that this means the pope is no longer in imminent danger from the infection with which he was admitted to hospital with. Of course, Francis has been battling pneumonia in both of his lungs. He's 88 years old. He has a history of respiratory infections.

Now, the doctors are effectively saying that they can see a path to recovery. However, the pope's condition is a complex one. And of course, other risks remain given his age, given the other health difficulties he's had.

But the pope has been in hospital since the 14th of February. There have been ups and downs throughout that time. There have been some number of breathing crises that he's experienced up until now. The prognosis was reserved, i.e. it was too soon to tell.

It's still not exactly clear what the prognosis is. However, the fact that the doctors are lifting it suggests that he is no longer in that imminent danger, and that a path to recovery now looks more likely. However, there is still a long way to go, and the pope will remain in hospital for the coming days to receive treatment -- Max.

FOSTER: Okay. Good news. Thank you for bringing us that, Christopher.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., stocks plunging as concerns grow over the impact of Donald Trump's tariffs plan. Here's a look at Wall Street.

In an interview that aired on Sunday, the U.S. president did not rule out a potential recession. Hours ago, key economic adviser to Mr. Trump downplayed any recession fears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HASSETT, U.S. NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: I'd just be very wary, Joe, of -- of conversations about recession or not, given that we had two negative quarters that used to be a recession under Biden, and then that wasn't a recession. I think that what's going to happen is the first quarter is going to squeak into the positive category, and then the second quarter is going to take off as everybody sees the reality of the tax cuts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:35:09]

FOSTER: Richard joins us here.

You've spent years interpreting White House language. It's particularly difficult at the moment. But investors -- what are they so concerned about right now?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Well, let's just talk about Hassett line there about the economy is going to take off because of the tax cuts. That's just juicing the economy. That's just a sort of a sugar rush. Let's give it a shot of adrenaline with tax cuts.

But that doesn't account for the fact of what happens to the deficit as a result of the tax cuts. Trump says, of course, that it'll all the billions and billions coming in from tariffs will make up the difference. They won't.

And what investors are concerned about is the deep uncertainty about economic policy, both in terms of tariffs, growth, jobs, industrial policy, the works.

FOSTER: How would you speak to these numbers that we're seeing today? How bad are they?

QUEST: Well, the market falls. In any given day, they're not particularly dreadful. But you know, if you take it over the course of several days, then you're seeing investors -- what you have to look at here, Max, is the economic plumbing. Now, when you talk about a recession, its not just we plucked it out of the air. To get a recession means you have to see a series of economic numbers leading up to it -- industrial production, factory prices, factory starts, hours worked, real detailed plumbing stuff, and they're all showing down, auto sales down.

FOSTER: Yeah, well, Trump seems to think we should take a longer term view on market volatility. Let's just hear what he told Fox Business.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Look what I have to do is build a strong country. You can't really watch the stock market. If you look at China, they have a 100- year perspective.

We have a quarter. We go by quarters. That's true. And you can't go by that. You have to do what's right.

What we're doing is we're building a tremendous foundation for the future -- tremendous foundation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: He's absolutely right. You have to look at it long term. The big criticism of the U.S. is it's quarter to quarter, not 100 years.

The problem is the orthodox economist economics says his numbers don't add up, that the tariffs that's not necessary to cause such disruption. And don't forget, Max, it's not as if these tariffs are in isolation. These tariffs are coming at the same time as a wholesale chainsaw to the federal government. At the same time as you're disrupting allies in Europe, at the same time.

So you end up with a picture of chaos and confusion everywhere. And that's what the market is responding to, not any individual policy which might or might not be right or wrong.

FOSTER: And, you know, Americans generally, I'm generalizing here, but they're quite plugged into market numbers, unlike countries like this, for example, there's lots of small investors, aren't there. So they're seeing themselves. They're seeing losses on their investments. They're seeing the prices going.

QUEST: Well, let's not talk about Americans. Let's talk about me.

FOSTER: Let's do that. Let's talk about your worries.

QUEST: No, no, I live in the States. U.S. taxpayer looked at the 401(k). It's down 10 percent.

FOSTER: Yeah.

QUEST: So --

FOSTER: You're being hit from every angle at the moment.

QUEST: At the same time as job losses, at the same time as weakness across the economy. Now if what Thatcherism in the 1980s in the UK, there was a feeling that all this economic pain was leading to a solid footing, which --

FOSTER: That's what he's talking to, isn't it?

QUEST: Except there's --

FOSTER: Can't see it.

QUEST: Well, except there was rationale to what Thatcherism was doing with you, and Reaganomics. There was rationale to it. There wasn't a seemingly capricious tariffs today, tariffs gone tomorrow, this today. You know, you don't fire 7,000 members of the IRS at the height of tax

season. You don't lose 6000 employees from Social Security when you haven't put in place a strategic plan for which ones are going.

And I challenge any CEO to tell me that they would fire several thousand employees without a many months study about which ones should be fired. That's what the market is reacting to.

FOSTER: Richard, thank you. Much more from Richard, of course, at the top of the hour with "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS".

Now, the new district attorney in Los Angeles is asking a court to withdraw a resentencing request for brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez. The two are currently serving life in prison for the murder of their parents in 1989. The previous D.A. had requested the courts resentence the two after their claims of abuse by their father. Nathan Hochman says he's opposed to resentencing, but says the brothers do have a path to gaining their freedom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATHAN HOCHMAN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Again, we have laid out a pathway for the Menendez brothers to potentially get out of jail. It requires them to finally, after 30 plus years, fully acknowledge and completely accept responsibility for the entire breadth of the crimes and all the lies that they have told, including their defense at trial of self defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:40:12]

FOSTER: Joining us now from Los Angeles is Veronica Miracle.

Obviously, so many -- I mean, they've got huge number of followers, haven't they? These two brothers who believe that they were abused by their father. This is going to be a big disappointment to them.

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And it's interestingly enough, Max, not entirely surprising because just a few weeks ago, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that he did not support the brothers in a retrial. And now the fact that he has come out today and saying he also does not support them to be resentenced is not surprising. He pointed today to what he believes the brothers are -- all of the lies that they've told.

He says he doesn't feel the brothers have ever fully acknowledged and taken responsibility for their crimes. He says that leading up to the trial and during the trial -- trials, rather, he said, the brothers told 20 lies, four of them, he says, have been acknowledged. For example, one of them being the fact that the brothers have acknowledged that they did kill their parents. But he says 16 of those lies have not been publicly acknowledged, and until they do so with sincerity, he will not consider them -- not consider to suggest, and that they should be resentenced.

He's giving them a pathway for hope, though. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOCHMAN: So if the Menendez go ahead and want to at any point, whether it's today, whether it's weeks from now or months from now or years from now, finally and unequivocally express that they and acknowledge the lies that they have told and persisted in for over 30 years, then we will certainly evaluate the quality of that sincerity and decide whether or not it's real or fake, whether or not it's just designed to get out of jail, or whether or not they truly believe and acknowledge the full breadth of the crimes and lies they have told in deciding what to do at that point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: And, of course, it will ultimately be up to a judge to make that ultimate decision. But the district attorney does make a recommendation to the judge. District Attorney Nathan Hochman today also asked the judge to withdraw the former D.A.'s recommendation of resentencing.

The family of Lyle and Erik Menendez, they are very upset. They put out a very long statement. I'm going to read just part of it.

They say they, the brothers, have apologized for the horrific actions they took. They've apologized to us. Yet, DA Hochman is effectively asking for them to publicly apologize to a checklist of actions they took in a state of shock and fear.

So it will be interesting to see if both brothers decide to acquiesce to the request of DA Hochman.

Back to you, Max.

FOSTER: Veronica. Thank you. We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:46:04]

FOSTER: The White House is drawing more pushback from one outspoken Canadian leader. Ontario's premier says he'll hit three U.S. states with a 25 percent surcharge on electricity if Washington adds new tariffs on Canadian goods, and could even shut off electricity completely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG FORD, ONTARIO PREMIER: You don't attack your number one customer and expect the results that he thought were going to happen. Protectionism does not work, especially between Canada and the U.S. maybe you should take a page out of Ronald Reagan's book.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The man who'll be tasked with how to handle those tariffs for Canada will be Mark Carney, the nation's next prime minister. He won the race to lead the ruling liberal party.

More now from CNN's Paula Newton in Ottawa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mark Carney's win was overwhelming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In first place, the next prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney.

NEWTON: But all eyes are now on the contest to come as Canada's prime minister designate. Carney will be sworn in within days and will likely call for a national election within weeks. Carney is calling for national unity to better face the challenge of the Trump administration and its threat to the Canadian economy.

MARK CARNEY, LIBERAL PARTY LEADER: Right now, all Canadians are being asked to serve in their own ways. We're all being called to stand up for each other and for the Canadian way of life. So let me ask you, who's ready?

NEWTON: Carney is a political novice, a former central bank governor in both Canada and England, a former investment banker with Goldman Sachs, an economist with a hockey goalie pedigree from his days at Harvard. But in the election, he will face conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, a career politician backed by a trending social media presence and the praise of MAGA allies after cutting attacks like this.

PIERRE POILIEVRE, CONSERVATIVE LEADER: Working for Trudeau, Carney made Canada weaker and poorer. Working for himself, Carney made the United States richer and stronger.

NEWTON: President Donald Trump's tariff and annexation threats have reframed the Canadian election in just a matter of weeks, with a rising nationalism and rising popularity for the Liberal Party. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was forced to announce his resignation in January, as he grew ever more unpopular. But his liberal party has since been reborn with new purpose.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: This is a nation-defining moment. Democracy is not a given. Freedom is not a given. Even Canada is not a given.

NEWTON: Those are some of Trudeau's final words as prime minister. His successor promises to take on that fight.

CARNEY: Donald Trump thinks -- thinks he can weaken us with his plan to divide and conquer. Pierre Poilievre's plan will leave us divided and ready to be conquered, because a person who worships at the altar of Donald Trump will kneel before him, not stand up to him.

NEWTON: But for weeks already, the conservatives have been portraying Carney as weak in the face of the American threat.

AD NARRATOR: Trump wants our jobs.

TRUMP: We are going to take other countries' jobs.

AD NARRATOR: And Mark Carney is just the man to help him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON (on camera): Canadians will now take the measure of Carney's vast economic experience, both in Canada and abroad, and will weigh which leader and party is best able to stand up to the American threat.

Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

[15:50:01]

FOSTER: Meanwhile, retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on a wide variety of U.S. agricultural products are now in effect.

CNN's Marc Stewart has those details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As China fights back against the United States with tariffs of its own, it's also responding with some strong statements.

On Friday, we heard from Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi during a news conference with reporters from around the world. He questioned the United States about the effectiveness of tariffs and said, quote, if you choose to cooperate, you will achieve mutual benefit and win- win results. If you blindly exert pressure, China will resolutely counterattack.

Starting today, China is imposing additional tariffs on American agricultural products being imported from the U.S., including important commodities such as soybeans. As far as Chinese citizens are concerned, they're worried about how this will impact consumers and the prices they pay, whether they live here in Beijing or in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It may not have much impact on my life because I am at the grassroots level, ordinary people. So the impact on us may not be particularly large, but it will definitely have a great impact on the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Anyway, this is a trade war, and in the end, the U.S. may not gain. In the short term, China's exports might be somewhat affected, but ultimately, it's the consumers of both countries who will be hurt.

STEWART: As far as what's next in this back and forth between these two massive economies, we're still waiting for a much anticipated phone call between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Trump.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Still to come, protests in Romania after a far right presidential candidate is barred from running.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Romania's top candidate for president says he'll challenge a decision to bar him from taking part in the country's May election. Calin Georgescu, a far right candidate, submitted his presidential bid on Friday, but on Sunday, Romania's central election authority said his candidacy is inadmissible. Protesters squared off with police after the decision. A constitutional court previously annulled December's election results over accusations of Russian meddling. Moscow has denied them.

Britain's King Charles praising how the commonwealth can come together in the spirit of support and friendship.

[15:55:03]

On Monday, as the head of the commonwealth, the British royal family is marking Commonwealth Day. The king is the head of it, at least celebrating the voluntary organization of 56 member states. It brings together 2.7 billion people with shared goals, including democracy, development and peace.

And finally tonight, an Italian pub with soulful eyes is England's new top dog. Meet Miuccia, a four-year-old blond whippet from Italy. She was one of the competitors at Crufts in Birmingham, the worlds biggest dog show, apparently. Miuccia is now the first Italian dog to win the coveted best in show prize. More than 18,000 dogs gathered at the four-day competition.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. Richard is up next with "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS".