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Several Democratic Lawmakers Facing Voters; Interview With Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI) On Democrats Gearing Up To Take On Trump; Second Navy Destroyer Deployed To Border With Mexico; Tesla Faces Brand Crisis; Russia's "Merchant of Death", Viktor Bout, Speaks To CNN, Columbia University Changes Policy In Dispute Over Federal Funding; Pentagon Announces Leak Investigation That Will Include Polygraphs After Media Report On Musk's Pentagon Visit. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired March 22, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:01:01]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington.

And today, Democrats on the defensive. Several lawmakers from both the House and Senate are meeting face to face with frustrated voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me think. It's so many.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You target civilians intentionally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Democrats now feeling the pressure as they face Americans at town halls across the nation.

CNN's Eva McKend with us now.

Eva, you traveled out west this week to really see this up close, what people are saying. You've been monitoring the town halls that are happening today. What more can you tell us?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Jess, it's important to remember 75 million Americans did not sign up for the type of sweeping changes that were seeing from the Trump administration. And so that's why Democratic voters are leaning on their elected leadership in this moment to make it more difficult for President Trump to advance his agenda.

And to be clear, there are specific ways, even though they are in the minority, that they can do that, where they have not like shutting down the government or even slowing down the process to confirm Trump's nominees. And what we hear from some elected Democrats now in response to this is a class focused message that doesn't fall so neatly along party lines.

Take a listen to Senator Jon Ossoff at a rally today in Atlanta billed as the rally for the republic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): The corruption is why you a pay a fortune for prescriptions. The corruption is why your insurance claim keeps getting denied. The corruption is why hedge funds get to buy up all the houses in your neighborhood, and Congress doesn't do anything about it.

See, this is why so many have lost faith in our system because the system really is rigged. But Trump is not un-rigging it. He's re- rigging it for himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And, Jess, I was with Senator Bernie Sanders earlier this week at a stop in Las Vegas on his "Fighting Oligarchy" tour. He's drawing big crowds at the events. And so it seems like this is where the energy center is right now on the left. Time will tell, though, if they can use this energy to recapture some of the working class voters Democrats lost in the last election. But to be clear, this talk about oligarchy, you heard Senator Ossoff talking about the system being rigged, this is very much an economic and class based argument -- Jess.

DEAN: Eva McKend, thank you very much for that reporting.

And Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell from Michigan is joining us now.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for your time this evening. We really appreciate it. We just heard from Eva's reporting there on these rallies we've been seeing with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, drawing these large crowds, telling Democrats to fight harder. We're hearing that from constituents as well.

Do you agree with that strategy?

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): So first of all, we have to be accessible. I have been doing town -- I've always done townhalls. I have done a townhall almost every week since the president was inaugurated. But the ones that I've done the last couple of weeks have been larger, energized. I did one in five days with my state legislator last week, and there were more than a thousand people into overflow rooms.

I did one Thursday, again the room was full. They had an overflow room and people are intense. People are angry. I don't take it personally, but they're scared. They're scared for our country. They've asked if there's a constitutional crisis. Are we prepared to fight to defend it? They're worried about basic tenets of democracy, like freedom of speech, freedom of religion. And they want to know that they've got people that are going to be there and going to fight for them.

[19:05:01]

DEAN: And yet, Democrats, I don't have to tell you, don't have the majority. They don't hold any levers of power right now. Do you feel like you can do something about this, when everyone says fight back, do you know what could be done?

DINGELL: Well, first of all, you can't say -- the answer is not OK, they've got a majority of everything. They do have a majority of everything. But you don't stop fighting. I mean, I was out there the very first few days, not running away or being afraid to meet with people, but understand who was being impacted, what was being hurt, and raising the human stories so that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle understand what is happening.

You know, within 36 hours when all government grants and dollars were frozen, they were unfrozen because we quickly raised those stories. People want hope. They want to know somebody is going to be out there and fighting for them. Every townhall I've done the last three weeks, people want to know what happens if this administration doesn't listen to the courts. What are you going to do? We have to be working, strategizing and have a plan.

DEAN: And it's interesting to hear you say that these town halls, as we've gotten further along into the Trump administration, that I think I'm understanding you, right, are getting bigger, more people are coming. What does that say to you? Do you think that that's more people were kind of waiting to see how this all shook out? Do you think it's now, sometimes it takes a minute, again, I don't have to tell you for what's going on in Washington to make its way to Michigan or to, you know, other states across the country?

DINGELL: So the one that I had last week and honestly came together in a matter of days, I wasn't as surprised to see the turnout because it was in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, which is a -- it's got a lot of Democratic base. The one Thursday night was in Western Wayne, which used to be a Republican area. It's now purple. People, and the number of people that came and were worried and wanted to know that Democrats were going to fight for the issues that they cared about. And there were a lot of independents there who didn't, who were worried about a lot of issues from Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, long term care, what was going to happen to children. All of those issues.

And by the way, while I do a townhall a week that's like that, I also do meetings throughout the day where I do listening sessions, or I've met with every government agency that's had people fired from the Southeast Michigan area. People are showing up. They're talking about what services aren't going to be available, and people need to know what the consequences are going to be with some of the threatened cuts.

DEAN: And there's also this question about how Democrats push forward, what the message will be, how they connect with these voters. And we do see, as I pointed out at the beginning of our conversation, AOC and Bernie Sanders, the more progressive wing of the party, they're out there. There are others and other Democrats I talked to say, you know, we'd like to see a more moderate kind of message as we move toward the '26 midterms.

Do you have an opinion, one way or another, where it should go? What are you telling people?

DINGELL: What I've got to say is to every Democrat is that we need to understand. Remember, I'm the one that said in 2016, Donald Trump is going to win this election. Hillary is going to lose. And nobody believed me. And in October of this past year, when asked if Kamala was going to win, I said, because all the Democrats were mad at me that we hadn't won Michigan yet. I'm in those halls. Every single union halls, every single weekend. I go to farmers markets. I go to veteran halls.

What Democrats have to do is to listen, listen to our constituents, hear what's on their mind, what they want to see us fight for, and listen to them and get out there and deliver for them. Now, I got to tell you, I'm in those union halls. I'm listening to what they're saying. They're not happy right now. They have mixed feelings on tariffs, by the way. They're glad to see someone is trying to bring their jobs back home, which is why I think Donald Trump won in 2016 was on the trade issue.

But they're scared right now, what's happening. They don't see their egg prices coming down in Michigan. They're worried about increased costs. They're worried about their jobs. Canada is our neighbor. There was a huge rally in Detroit this morning with people saying, you are a friend, but what's going to happen to our job? Are we going to see increased costs and our job actually threatened? People are worried.

And if youre listening and then today, seniors, I had a senior just collapse in my arms and say, what kind of man would say that I don't need my Social Security check? Who's going to take -- how am I going to eat next month or pay for my drugs if my Social Security check doesn't come? Some of the things that people are hearing are scaring them to death. And while they may be getting angry at Republicans, we've got a bigger job, which is to tell them how we're going to protect them. How are we going to make sure they are OK?

[19:10:03]

DEAN: Right. Because there is that question of like, how do you act not just to be against what the Trump administration is doing. I do want to ask you to just about leadership within the Democratic Party right now. Obviously, there was a lot of blowback and a lot of back and forth following Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer's decision to move forward with that Republican funding bill, his supporting of that.

I know you all with the House Democrats, you voted against that in the House. Do you think it's time for new leadership in the Senate?

DINGELL: Look, I'm in the house. We were united. I did not agree with what Senator Schumer did. He knows how strongly I felt about that. But I'm also very worried about circular firing squads. Republicans love to see us divided. And right now we're going into the biggest fight of what we've got to make sure we protect. We've got to protect Medicaid when we return to Washington next week. We got to protect Social Security. How many times did Donald Trump said Social Security will not be

touched? And now we've got a head of Social Security threatening to shut the agency down. A secretary of Commerce saying people won't miss a check if something happens to it. These are people's lives that are depending on it. We've got to be united in standing up and making sure they are not able to hurt and destroy these programs, and I'm focused on us being united.

But if the senators are not there with us 100 percent in this fight, then we've got to look at Democrats are going to demand new leadership, but I'm hoping that we're going to be united. We just simply have got to stop these circular firing squads.

DEAN: Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, as always, we appreciate it, especially on a Saturday night. Thank you so much.

DINGELL: Thank you.

DEAN: And just in tonight, we are learning the Pentagon is sending another warship to the southern border. The guided missile destroyer, the USS Spruance, leaving the San Diego Naval Base today.

CNN correspondent Danny Freeman is joining us live from Philadelphia, where President Trump just arrived for the NCAA wrestling championship.

So, Danny, you are there with President Trump. What more can you tell us about this latest move?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Jessica, a lot of things going on right now. I'll get to the wrestling aspect here in Philadelphia in a moment. But let's talk about this news about that second naval destroyer. We got a release from the U.S. Northern Command just a little while ago, saying that the U.S. has deployed this second destroyer specifically to help aid on the southern border with President Trump's immigration crackdown.

U.S. Northern Command said the USS Spruance will help with the mission to, quote, "restore territorial integrity." The destroyer left the naval base San Diego earlier today and specifically will help on the southern border in, and I'm reading now, combating maritime related terrorism, combating weapons proliferation, transnational crime, piracy, environmental destruction and illegal seaborne immigration.

Now remember, Jessica, this comes after last week when the first naval destroyer was sent down to help out with this initiative on the southern border. And also just for context here, the U.S. currently has several thousand active duty U.S. service members on the southern border, but right now they're mainly doing logistical and bureaucratic items, again in the furtherance of this Trump administration immigration crackdown.

All right. Now to what we're doing here in Philadelphia. As you noted, President Trump arrived at the Wells Fargo Arena about 10 minutes ago. He's going to be watching the NCAA men's wrestling championship behind me in a little bit. We saw him get on the plane here with Elon Musk, also with newly elected Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick.

And this is of note because really President Trump has only left the White House or Mar-a-Lago for major sporting events, the Super Bowl back in February, also the Daytona 500, now here at this wrestling championship. It all continues to show his support and playing to his base during the election predominantly, Jessica, young men -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Danny Freeman for us in Philadelphia. Thank you for that.

And still ahead, President Trump says Tesla vandals are terrorists amid attacks on its dealerships. Calls are growing louder for Musk to give up his work in Washington and then get back to his own company. We'll cover all of that. Plus, freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as Putin's merchant of death, speaks to CNN.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:18:47]

DEAN: We know President Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are close. They are so close that they arrived together for a wrestling event in Philadelphia just a few moments ago. You can see President Trump getting off Air Force One, and then you can see Musk in the background a little bit there coming off behind him.

And tonight Trump's FBI is warning people to be on alert for any signs of planned attacks against Tesla vehicles and property. Multiple Tesla facilities have been targeted in recent months by people upset over Musk's role in the government. Some vehicles spray painted, car chargers set on fire and buildings graffitied. Trump has had tough threats for people attacking those Tesla facilities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I looked at those showrooms burning and those cars, not one or two, like seven, eight, 10, burning, exploding all over the place, these are terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The president also suggested perpetrators could be jailed in El Salvador.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones reports on the growing backlash against Elon Musk and his brand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE ROMER, SELLING HIS TESLA: Password incorrect. Of course it's incorrect.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rolling his Model Y back to factory settings, Joe Romer is a Tesla owner no more. A week ago, while covering a protest at a Tesla service center, we

found Romer as he drove past the picket line.

[19:20:06]

ROMER: I'm in the process of getting my car repaired so that I can sell it.

JONES: Today, he says a weight is lifted.

ROMER: I feel better because I was getting to the point where this was being embarrassing driving this car because of Elon Musk and the things he's doing right now, and that just I find annoying and not acceptable.

JONES: Even though he's selling for less than a third of what he originally paid four years ago, Romer is not alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From our hub as I were picking up eight Teslas today.

JONES: In 2025, thousands of Americans are breaking up with the automaker. Tesla cars for model year 2017 or newer made up 1.4 percent of all vehicles traded in through mid-March. That's more than triple the rate from this time last year, according to Edmund's data shared with Reuters. And some Tesla drivers are hiding in plain sight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then I just took my finger and I just pulled it off. It makes me feel like I'm doing something.

JONES: Masking a Tesla costs almost nothing. But in the week Romer waited to sell, he got $800 less for the car.

BRIAN MOODY, KELLEY BLUE BOOK SENIOR STAFF EDITOR: There's always going to be opportunity to either do the right thing, or at least signal that youre doing the right thing. But for most people, the average consumer, taking the hit on the depreciation of a relatively expensive electric car by selling it just to prove a point is not something that they're in the business of doing.

JONES: Protests continue at dealerships across the country, and some Tesla properties have become targets. Torched with Molotov cocktails, shot at, and defaced. And all this comes as Tesla faces new headaches, including potential import tariff woes and recalls after Cybertruck panels have been reportedly falling off. The stock price has also plunged. That has liberals cheering.

GOV. TIM WALTZ (D), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I got that little stock app. I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day.

JONES: And the Trump administration taking unprecedented steps to defend the company. On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced charges against three people accused of destroying Tesla property in Oregon, Colorado and South Carolina. If convicted, each faces a minimum of five years and up to 20 behind bars. And on Friday, President Trump comparing attacks on Tesla facilities to the January 6th insurrection.

TRUMP: Well, I view these people as terrorists just like others. These are -- when I looked at those showrooms burning and those cars, not one or two, like seven, eight, 10, burning, exploding all over the place, these are terrorists. You didn't have that on January 6th.

JONES: All of that going too far for Romer.

ROMER: It is done.

JONES: How do you feel?

ROMER: Better.

JONES: Better?

ROMER: Happy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES (on-camera): And Jessica, protests like this one here in the Los Angeles area continue to pop up. We're seeing just as many people or perhaps more than we saw last week, and most of them are saying that they don't agree with Elon Musk's role in government. A lot of the signs say Elon Musk was not elected. Boycott Tesla. They're trying to hit Musk where it hurts and trying to send a clear message to the administration.

Now the question is, will the administration listen to that message? Will it make an impact, or will they just double down -- Jessica.

DEAN: Julia, thank you.

And happening right now, both Elon Musk and President Donald Trump arriving just a few moments ago in Philadelphia. They are there for the NCAA men's wrestling championship. You see President Trump there getting a warm reception from that crowd. As Danny Freeman noted, the president, besides traveling to his own properties, has really only made big trips for big, major sporting events. That's where a big constituency of his is with, of course, young men.

But again, they're in Philadelphia for the wrestling championship, where it looks like the lights just went down. We'll keep an eye on that.

Joining us now is Dan Ives, a Wall Street analyst long known for being the most bullish on Tesla.

Dan, we saw you last week and now we're catching up again this week. I know you said it's time for Teslas board to, quote, "stop being silent" and call Elon Musk back to the office. Tell us more about that.

DAN IVES, GLOBAL HEAD OF TECH RESEARCH, WEDBUSH SECURITIES: Yes, I mean, look, there -- it's essentially going through a brand crisis tornado in terms of Tesla. And, you know, in our roll call for Musk and Tesla is there needs to be a balance. And I think it's a moment of truth for Musk and the board to take a step back from DOGE. Again, not necessarily getting out of DOGE but need to be CEO of Tesla.

You saw one step forward in terms of that all hands meeting that he had. But I mean, we're talking about one of the best disruptive technology companies over the next decade. And I think that continues to be the issue right now that you're seeing the stock being a big overhang.

[19:25:05]

DEAN: Yes. And as you're speaking, we're watching Elon Musk there in Philadelphia with the Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick and his wife Dina, and then Jim Jordan there and President Trump. And it is interesting that, again, just to underscore the point you're making, he is spending the vast majority of his time with President Trump and with the government.

This week I talked to the longtime Tesla investor Ross Gerber about if Tesla investors like him have any patience left. This is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: When I interviewed Dan Ives, who I'm sure you know, and he's one of Tesla's biggest champions. And he told me he thought Musk would reach essentially a tipping point in the next several weeks where he would have to decide between DOGE and being the CEO of Tesla. Do you think that Musk himself can get there with that, that he can get to the point where he thinks he needs to choose?

ROSS GERBER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, GERBER KAWASAKI: I'm the tipping point. I've had enough, OK? And I'm going to keep saying it until it happens. Somebody needs to address the issues at Tesla, and if it's not going to be Elon, it needs to be somebody else. And I think the tipping point is here. I mean, what's worse than literally Tesla owners are scared of having their car vandalized including me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Dan, a pretty meta moment there asking him about you and you about him anyway. But here, here we are. I did think it was interesting, though, to hear him say, I am the tipping point. It's enough. Like I have a major stake in this company, and I'm tired of people being quiet about this.

IVES: Look, I disagree with Ross on some of those comments, but, look, you don't want Tesla to become a political symbol. And that's fundamentally what it's becoming. And that's part of the frustration is, look, Musk, we've been here many times back against the wall from Twitter to some of the financial issues back 2018. And every time it's navigated. But the reason the clock struck midnight at this point is that it's time for Musk to balance. He has to take a step back.

I think we saw him sort of read the room a little in terms of how that all hands meeting this week, but I mean, that's why shareholder frustration is there. And I think the more it becomes a political symbol, regardless of whatever side of the aisle you're on, it's a bad thing. And that's really the core point here when it comes to Tesla.

DEAN: That it's just been so politicized.

IVES: Look, and politicized, that's the worst thing for a brand.

DEAN: Right.

IVES: You know, and especially when you alienate one side or the other. And the reason the stock sold off so much is because that's really what Tesla has become. And I think for Musk, again, it's part of the genius. But also it's part of the downside that, you know, when you have a situation like this, you need to see him balance being Tesla's CEO and DOGE. And that's why we've said, like, for Musk, it's a fork in the road moment.

I think a big step forward this week with the all-hands meeting and sort of, you know, talking to employees and shareholders, but we need to see more.

DEAN: And you said, you wrote, quote, "Let's call it like it is. Tesla is going through a crisis." What you've just said, and there is one person who can fix it, Musk. Tesla is Musk. Musk is Tesla. Do you think at this point, if he does step back in, that this is fixable?

IVES: Look, I think it's fixable. I think there could be a scar from the brand stitches, but it wouldn't be a permanent blackeye. This continues at this pace over the coming months. And, you know, throughout 2025, I think that -- I think there'll be a lot of damage here. And I think that's the frustration is that there's so much technology and autonomous and robotics and everything Musk is doing.

But, I mean, you cannot have him always at Mar-a-Lago or the White House. And that's been the frustration for Tesla becoming a political symbol, which is what no one wants as a shareholder.

DEAN: All right, Dan Ives, always good to see you. Thanks so much. We appreciate it.

IVES: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, Putin's so-called merchant of death speaks to CNN. Listen to what he has to say about President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIKTOR BOUT, FORMER RUSSIAN ARMS DEALER: Trump representing the, you know, American people, who said enough is enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:33:37] DEAN: Two years ago, the United States made a prisoner swap with Russia trading arms dealer Viktor Bout back to Russia in exchange for American WNBA player, Brittney Griner. It was then President Joe Biden who negotiated that deal that sent Bout back.

But when our Fred Pleitgen ran into Bout in Moscow recently, the former prisoner voiced his support for President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VIKTOR BOUT, FORMER RUSSIAN ARMS DEALER: You know who I am?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I know exactly who you are. That's why I'm asking you.

PLEITGEN (voice over): It's the man once known as the merchant of death. Former Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, released by the U.S. in 2022 as part of a high profile prisoner exchange.

PLEITGEN (on camera): Do you understand that some Americans would be angry that you were exchanged and freed?

BOUT: Well, look, the same way, like many Russians would be angry that I was not, you know, exchanged soon enough. So this is a, you know, whatever they angry or, you know, hear somebody angry. This is the facts, you know, take it or leave it. It's happened, you can't reverse it.

PLEITGEN (voice over): Bout was serving a 25-year prison sentence for among other things, conspiring to kill Americans, which he has consistently denied.

But as pressure was mounting on the Biden administration to secure the release of U.S. women's basketball star, Brittney Griner, detained and convicted on drug charges in Moscow, the U.S. made a deal, swapping Bout for Griner at an airport in Abu Dhabi in December 2022.

Bursting into tears after landing in Moscow, Bout says he never stopped believing Russian leader Vladimir Putin would get him out.

[19:35:20]

BOUT: We are Russians, we have a strong belief in our, you know, faith and our loyalty to our country, to our motherhood is, you know, is our -- I would say main base.

PLEITGEN (voice over): Here in Russia, Viktor Bout is a celebrity, a politician and member of a regional parliament. I bumped into him at a press event in Moscow.

A staunch supporter of the Russian President and what Putin calls the special military operation in Ukraine, but also of U.S. President Trump's efforts to restore relations with Russia.

PLEITGEN (on camera): Do you think that Donald Trump understands Russia better than Joe Biden did? BOUT: I don't think it's a mere factor of understanding. It is Trump, representing the, you know, American people who said enough is enough, who wants really change. That's why he was elected. You know, and Biden administration was just, you know, in bed with all this, you know, neocons, you know, warmongers and the global elites who just tried to stage World War III.

PLEITGEN (voice over): Anti-war rhetoric from a man the U.S. once accused of fueling armed conflicts through his weapons sales.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Fred, thank you. Still ahead, sweeping policy changes at Columbia University after the Trump administration threatened to revoke nearly $400 million in federal funding.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:41:30]

DEAN: Tonight, Columbia University is bowing to President Trump's demands, announcing it will change a number of policies after the President slashed $400 million in funding over pro-Palestinian protests at the university's campus last year.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is live in New York, with more details on this. What's going on, Gloria? What are they changing?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, let's get right to the policy changes because they are significant. And what you are seeing here is one of the country's most elite educational institutions, essentially conforming and changing its rules and its policies that govern its student body in order to sort of please the Trump administration after they threatened to cut $400 million in federal grants.

Now, here's some of the changes that the university is making, including the hiring of additional police officers who will be given the power to arrest protesters.

University I.D. is going to be required at demonstrations. No face coverings will be allowed during protests, and they are also making significant changes to the disciplinary process.

Another significant and somewhat controversial change, Jessica, is that they are going to be appointing a Senior Vice Provost who is going to oversee the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies. That is a significant concession to some of the demands that the administration had made. The question now is how is going to the -- how is the student body going to react, and how is the faculty going to react to these changes? They are on spring break right now, but they are due back at school next week. And so far we are seeing some shows of support, at least from the university's board of trustees. They issued a letter this week to the academic community essentially endorsing many of these changes and standing behind the interim president, who announced the rule changes last week.

Here's part of what they said. They said, "We have and continue to support Interim President Armstrong's approach." The trustees also wrote, "we are grateful for her principled and courageous leadership during this unprecedented time, and for the steps that she has taken and is taking to strengthen our institution."

Now, the board of trustees has significant power in terms of running the university. They are in charge of picking the president. They oversee the budget, the endowment, as well as senior appointments and university properties.

So, this is very much a public signal of support for these changes and for the President. We'll see what happens when students and faculty return next week, whether or not were going to see any more protests. And if students are going to obey many of these newly created rules.

The other outstanding question, Jessica, whether or not these changes will be enough for the Trump administration to rescind that threat, to cut the federal funding -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Gloria Pazmino, thank you very much.

Still ahead, remembering boxing legend George Foreman.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:49:13]

DEAN: New tonight, the Pentagon plans to use polygraphs to find who's behind recent leaks to the media. A defense department official says using polygraphs is legal and that its investigation will start immediately. The new memo follows a "New York Times" report that Elon Musk was due to receive a Pentagon briefing Friday on plans for a potential war with China, which the White House strongly denied.

Trump said he wouldn't share plans with anyone. Musk did meet with military officials for more than an hour at the Pentagon. Defense officials also denied Musk received a China briefing.

Former first lady of Massachusetts and activist, Kitty Dukakis has died. She was married to former governor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. Her family says she died from complications from dementia. Dukakis was open about her struggles with depression and addiction. She was 88 years old.

Boxing legend and Grill Master George Foreman has died. He passed away yesterday at the age of 76 and CNN's Stephanie Elam has more on the man once called one of the most powerful punchers in sports.

[19:50:15]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN REPORTER. When you hear the name George Foreman, electric grilling may pop into mind.

GEORGE FOREMAN, BOXING LEGEND AND GRILL MASTER: You're ready to cook some burgers on the George Foreman family-size grill.

ELAM (voice over): But the affable pitchman was once one of the most feared heavyweight fighters in the world.

ANNOUNCER: George Foreman, 257 pounds.

MIKE TYSON, FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMPION: Watching him boxing when he was younger and stuff, he was a big, mean, gluten stuff. And that's how like -- he was like the Mike Tyson before Mike Tyson.

FOREMAN: One punch of mine was equal to 20 of any other heavyweight champ.

ELAM (voice over): Foreman's awesome punching power won him 76 matches in his career, 20 more than perhaps his fiercest competitor, Muhammad Ali.

A rebellious teenage foreman was introduced to boxing by legendary trainer Doc Broadus in 1966. Broadus encouraged the Houston native to use the sport as a way to avoid gang life in the streets. It worked, and by 1968 he won a gold medal for the U.S. Olympic team.

The next year, he turned pro. Foreman won his first 37 professional fights, earning a shot at the heavyweight title against "Smokin' Joe" Frazier in 1973. Although considered the underdog, Foreman won by technical knockout in less than two rounds.

Then there was October 30th, 1974, the Rumble in the Jungle, the fight in Central Africa capitalized on the assumed beef between Foreman and Muhammad Ali, which foreman says was far from the truth.

FOREMAN: We never had any face-to-face confrontation. It was -- when I met him in the ring that was as close as we had gotten. I heard that on the news. He called me the Frankenstein monster, but he was only saying that because it was true.

ELAM (voice over): It was one of the most watched live TV events of all time, and the world had a front row seat to the only knockout defeat of George Foreman.

FOREMAN: I felt like he threw maybe 150, I still feel those punches. I just underestimated one of the greatest fighters of all time.

ELAM (voice over): Foreman made several attempts to regain the title and came up empty. With his back on the ropes, he would later say he had a spiritual awakening and ultimately became an ordained minister.

But the man of the cloth didn't completely throw in the boxing towel. In 1994, a then 45-year old Foreman defeated a 26-year old to reclaim the heavyweight champion belt. He held on to it for three years. Hanging up his gloves after losing his title to Shannon Briggs.

In retirement, the man with the iron fist reemerged as the man with the electric grill, the Foreman Grill.

FOREMAN: We sold the first 5,000, 10,000, 500,000 and one day we looked up to this day over 100 million.

ELAM: His lean, mean grilling machine reportedly netted him hundreds of millions of dollars. Along the way. The man, affectionately known as "Big George" wrote a few books, starred in several movies and television series, and showed the world with the right combination, you can win anything.

FOREMAN: I talk to young kids all the time. They want to be famous in sports. Love what you're doing, but understand that athletics is just a small part of your life. Do other things too. You can be heavyweight champion of the world, but there's more to it than that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right, Stephanie Elam, thank you for that. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:58:39]

DEAN: Tonight at 9:00 Eastern on CNN, catch a new episode of "Have I Got News for You" with host Roy Wood, Jr. and team captains Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black. Guests this week will be former U.S. Representative Tim Ryan and comedian Jenny Hagel, here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD JR., AMERICAN COMEDIAN AND ACTOR: Question, does anyone know what Mike Flood had to say about Trump's now infamous Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy?

MICHAEL IAN BLACK, AMERICAN COMEDIAN AND ACTOR: Zelenskyy needs to apologize for insulting our President by asking for help in the war that he didn't start. Except that he did, right?

WOOD, JR.: Here's Flood.

REP. MIKE FLOOD (D-NE): I do believe that that White House meeting was a disaster, and I believe that President Zelenskyy should have signed that agreement.

(CROWD BOOING)

WOOD, JR.: He had him with the setup. He said, I believe President Zelenskyy should have signed it.

Amber, I have another Nebraska question. AMBER RUFFIN, AMERICAN COMEDIAN AND WRITER: Yes.

WOOD, JR.: How mad does a White person have to be to give the double thumbs down?

RUFFIN: This is the first time I've ever seen such a thing.

BLACK: I'll be honest. I don't even know that I can do that.

JENNY HAGEL, AMERICAN COMEDIAN AND COMEDY WRITER: It's really unprecedented.

WOOD, JR.: Because, like, when White people get a double tap, that's like when Black people go.

[LAUGHTER]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And that all new episode of "Have I Got News for You" premieres tonight at nine only here on CNN.

Thanks so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean, I'm going to see you again tomorrow night. We start at 5:00 Eastern. "Real Time with Bill Maher" is up next. Have a great night.

[20:00:22]