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Trump Announces New Auto Tariffs in Trade War Escalation; The Atlantic Publishes Messages Detailing Attacks Plans; "Coalition of the Willing" to Meet in Coming Hours; Gaza Students Strive to Keep Learning Amid Conflict. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired March 27, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

[23:59:48]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The global auto industry bracing for an unprecedented major disruption, ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the beginning of liberation day in America.

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[00:00:01]

VAUSE: But liberation comes with a cost. U.S. consumers will be paying more for a new car to cover the president's 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles.

Saying the same thing over and over again doesn't make it true.

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PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Nobody is texting war plans.

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VAUSE: Again, Mr. Defense Secretary, yes, you did. And the White House goes on the offensive over Signalgate.

And why did Prince Harry quit as patron of a charity he co-founded?

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MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What's transpired is unthinkable. We're in shock.

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VAUSE: After what they call a leadership dispute between the prince and the charity's chairperson.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause. VAUSE: U.S. President Donald Trump has significantly escalated his

global trade war, announcing a 25 percent tariff on imported cars taking effect one week from now. A 25 percent tariff on auto parts will come into effect within a month.

The impact on American consumers is expected to soon follow, with industry experts predicting the cost of a new car will increase by thousands of dollars. Despite that, the president says no country will be exempt.

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TRUMP: This is something that people have wanted to do. Presidents have wanted to do for a long time. A lot of them didn't understand it. It wasn't a priority for them, but foreign countries understood it very well, and they've really ripped us off at levels that nobody has seen before. But that's not going to happen.

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VAUSE: Shares of the big three U.S. automakers, Stellantis, Ford and General Motors, fell in after-hours trade amid fears of higher costs and lower sales, and all three carmakers have extensive global supply chains.

The European Commission president condemned the new tariffs, writing this, "Tariffs are taxes, bad for business, worse for consumers in the U.S. and the E.U." But there was no announcement of any retaliatory measures, unlike Canada, which was ready to push back.

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MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: And this is a direct attack, to be clear. A direct attack on the very workers that I stood in front of. We will defend our workers. We will defend our companies. We will defend our country. And we will defend it together.

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VAUSE: CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us now live from Hong Kong.

So, Kristie, tell us about how these tariffs will actually affect suppliers there in Asia.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the potential impacts here, John, will be huge. And we're already hearing from the Japanese prime minister saying, quote, "All options are on the table in response to what the U.S. president did.

Donald Trump announcing 25 percent tariffs on all auto imports targeting the world's largest auto suppliers including key allies here in the Asia Pacific region. Now the new tariffs, they're going to kick into effect starting next week. The collection will begin starting on April 3rd. The tariffs will apply to cars, it will apply to trucks, but as for auto parts and that includes electrical components, engines, transmissions and so on. That will be subject to a one-month reprieve.

Now we've been monitoring investor activity and sentiment here in the region since the news broke. Shares in Japan and South Korea have been skidding. There is a sense of dismay as well as surprise, because just a couple of days ago, Hyundai, this is South Korea's auto making giant, announced plans to invest $20 billion in the U.S. market. And just a few weeks ago, earlier this month, Honda, the Japanese auto giant, announced plans that it would move production of the Honda Civic from Mexico to the U.S. state of Indiana, all in a bid to reportedly avert potential tariffs.

Now, we did hear again from the Japanese prime minister. He spoke to parliament earlier today. Let's bring up and just analyze his comments once again, what he said. Now, this according to Shigeru Ishiba, the prime minister of Japan, saying this, quote, "Japan is a country that is making the largest amount of investment in the United States. So we wonder if it makes sense for Washington to apply uniform tariffs to all countries. That's the point we've been making, and we will continue to do so," unquote.

Now analysts say that these tariffs could deal a heavy blow to the Japanese economy. They also point out that the South Korean economy will be hit significantly hard. I want to show you some interesting comments that we heard from a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in regards to the auto sector. He says this, quote, "Imports from Korea have been growing strongly. Now top $35 billion, or 2 percent of GDP. So Korea is more exposed relative to the size of the economy than either Germany or Japan."

Look, last year, the United States imported a total of $474 billion of auto products. And if you look at the list, and I believe we have the list available for you, the list of the top auto suppliers in the world that export into the United States. If you look at the names of these countries, you have Japan, you have South Korea, you have Mexico, Canada, you have Germany.

Every nation, John, on that list is a close U.S. ally. Back to you.

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VAUSE: With friends like these, huh? Kristie Lu Stout, live for us there in Hong Kong.

LU STOUT: Yes.

VAUSE: Thank you.

Well, day two of the Signalgate scandal brought more denials, deflections, and nasty personal attacks from the White House with the president and other senior officials continuing to deny war plans were ever discussed on an open source messaging app. But the reporter who broke the story proved those denials to be false. "The Atlantic" magazine published text messages from the group chat laying out plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen, including what type of aircraft, drones and missiles would be involved, what time they would strike. The Pentagon acknowledges Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared the

details while the operation was underway. Hegseth on a tour of Hawaii, Guam and the Philippines continues to push back, and now splitting hairs over semantics.

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HEGSETH: Nobody is texting war plans. I noticed this morning out came something that doesn't look like war plans. And as a matter of fact, they even changed the title to attack plans because they know it's not war plans. There's no units, no locations, no routes, no flight paths, no sources. No methods, no classified information.

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VAUSE: Multiple current and former Defense officials tell CNN any discussion about timing and targets or weapon systems which would be used in an attack is always classified because of potential risk to U.S. service members if those plans are revealed prematurely. And under no circumstances should such discussions take place on a commercial app.

President Trump now says he's not sure if classified information was shared on the Signal chat. "The Atlantic's" editor-in-chief says he published the additional text messages so the public can judge.

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JEFFREY GOLDBERG, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE ATLANTIC: You know, at a certain point, the administration is saying that there's nothing classified or secret or sensitive in these, so at a certain point, I just felt, you know, let our readers decide for themselves, read these texts that I got, sitting in my car on my phone in a Safeway parking lot two hours before the attack launch. And you tell me if this seems like good operational security.

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VAUSE: To Los Angeles now and Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst.

Good to see you, Ron.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, John.

VAUSE: OK. It seems the core group of White House principals on that group chat, as well as the president, have decided that offense is the best defense. The Defense secretary tweeting on Wednesday, "So let me get this straight. 'The Atlantic' released the so-called war plans. And those plans include no names, no targets, no locations, no units, no routes, no sources, no methods, and no classified information. Those are some really, rhymes with witchy, war plans."

If we take another look at the new messages released by "The Atlantic" Wednesday, it looks like a war plan. Looks like they talk about the routes that are being used, the locations and timing, and, you know, deny and downplay has worked brilliantly for Donald Trump in the past. How effective, though, will it be when there's glaring evidence now to the contrary in this scandal?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I mean, look, I mean, it really is -- defies, you know, credibility to argue that this is something, whether you call it a war plan or an attack plan, that should have been being discussed on a commercial app, much less to go on for days with a journalist in the chat and no one noticing. I mean, just -- the smell test, you know? Imagine if this was done by a Democratic administration, what we'd be hearing now from Republicans in Congress and from FOX News.

Or imagine that if it was a line officer in one of the military branches, what would happen to their career if they had a breach of operational security of this magnitude? I mean, it just doesn't really get to first base to argue that this was not a big deal, A, that it was being discussed, you know, through this mechanism, and B, that nobody noticed for days that there was somebody listening who shouldn't have been?

And the fact that Steve Witkoff was on the chat and was apparently in Moscow at the time, may have meant there are some other people who shouldn't have been listening who were aware of this at the time as well.

VAUSE: You touched on this. The Republican and Democrat point of view, for the most part, they have opposing views about the seriousness of this security breach. Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth tweeting this, "Pete Hegseth is a liar ducking liar," rhymes with ducking. "This is so clearly classified info he recklessly leaked that could have gotten our pilots killed. He needs to resign in disgrace immediately."

Well, the speaker of the House, Republican Mike Johnson, was willing to forgive because, you know, everyone makes mistakes. Here he is.

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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): It's been overblown, I think, by the media. I think this is a mistake. It was acknowledged as such. I'm certain it will not happen again. We move forward.

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VAUSE: So what, this unlikely to be any serious consequences while congressional Republicans, what, fall in line with the White House, regardless of the harm to national security?

BROWNSTEIN: I'm certain this will not happen again, especially given that it's never happened, I think to this extent in American history before.

[00:10:00]

You know, I learned something important during the George W. Bush presidency. When Republicans still controlled the Congress, they refused to ask any hard questions about the way the war was going in Iraq. And that allowed Bush to continue down a path that was leading toward chaos and, you know, something close to disaster. Somewhat similarly, you know, when Democrats control the Congress, they didn't ask a lot of questions of Biden as his agenda seemed to be kindling inflation. The only one who really did was the former Treasury secretary, Larry Summers.

And I think you can take a lesson from both of those that when you don't ask the hard questions, things can get worse. I mean, the amount of recklessness and irresponsibility and just incompetence that was displayed in this episode worse things can happen than to have this, you know, this chat published publicly. I mean, there can be deeper consequences for this level of incompetence.

And if there is no accountability, if there is no questioning if people who messed up this badly kind of blithely go on, you're increasing your risk as President Trump and as the U.S., that something worse is going to happen the next time.

VAUSE: Meantime, over at FOX News.

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LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Let's also remember the Democrat wall of support for Hillary Clinton's use of a private, unsecure server for official government e-mails and attachments. Yes, I remember all of that. When you look at these texts and their entirety, of course, more were released today, they show a serious and thoughtful group of advisers trying to carry out the clear wishes of the duly elected and totally competent commander-in-chief.

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VAUSE: Hillary's e-mails, it never gets old. This is what FOX does really well, right? It amplifies the spin and the outright lies coming from the White House, which means most Republican voters, and especially the MAGA base, will only hear that fairy tale that this is no big deal, which negates any possible political pressure on the administration to do something.

BROWNSTEIN: From their base. But, you know, reality bites, as the movie said a long time ago. And as I said, if you are in a circumstance where there is no one on your side willing to raise any kind of serious questions, maybe the Senate Armed Services Committee will be a little different, when something this egregious happens, you are basically inviting more missteps down the road and ultimately the public will judge you on that.

You know, I mean, the idea that the Defense secretary could screw up this badly to be discussing this level of operational detail on a commercial app and then just kind of, you know, go on the offense and go on FOX and say, we did nothing wrong. And it's the liberal media. Well, fine. But it tells you something about the judgment and the, you know, the degree of care and precision with which that official operates.

And as I said, this was bad. Worse things can happen. And if there is no accountability, you're increasing the odds that worse things will happen.

VAUSE: Yes, they can deal with it now, or they can deal with a whole lot worse later on. Maybe later on is their preference. Who knows?

Ron Brownstein in Los Angeles, always good to have you with us, sir. Thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: And there's new reporting from Germany's "Der Spiegel" magazine about private data of top U.S. security officials, which is freely available online. Mobile phone numbers, e-mail addresses, in some cases, passwords belonging to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and National Security adviser Mike Waltz. All three were part of the Signal group chat discussing plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Most of the information found by "Der Spiegel" is still in use, and some connected to social media accounts, including Instagram, as well as LinkedIn.

Well, as European leaders prepare for discussions over Ukrainian security, Russia once again sends in a massive attack drone targeting Ukraine.

Also ahead, facing the threat of war, the E.U. urges citizens to stockpile enough emergency supplies to last for three days.

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VAUSE: Another massive Russian drone attack, this time targeting a residential area of Ukraine's second biggest city, Kharkiv. Emergency personnel say at least nine people were injured, including a 12-year- old girl.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Paris right now for a meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, a group of Western nations committed to help defend Ukraine against Russian aggression. The French president lashed out at the Kremlin, saying it should not dictate conditions for peace. That's after Moscow demanded some sanctions be eased before agreeing to a halt in Black Sea fighting.

At a news conference with Zelenskyy, Emmanuel Macron added there is only one aggressor and that is Russia.

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EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): While you, Mr. President, were able to take a risk for peace by proposing and accepting this 30-day ceasefire in the air, at sea and on civilian infrastructure, today Russia has not brought forward any solid response and through its acts, it has shown its desire for war and to continue the aggression.

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VAUSE: More details now from CNN's Sebastian Shukla.

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SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Paris on Wednesday evening ahead of a summit held by the French President Emmanuel Macron as part of the conversations of the Coalition of the Willing. As he arrived at the Elysee, the French capital, they made some short statements to the press.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Moscow does not understand any language other than the language of force. This is a fact. That is why Europe, America and everyone in the world needs to have enough strength to defend themselves and the interests of peace.

SHUKLA: The two leaders then went into a working dinner together, where they discussed Thursday's summit and the gathering of more than 30 world leaders. But ahead of the summit, the Elysee sources have been outlining that there would be four major topics covered at the summit and on the agenda. The first being the immediate delivery of aid to Ukraine, the second being ceasefire negotiations discussions and the focus around the implementation and the monitoring of any ceasefire, the continued strengthening of Ukraine's military and most importantly, the headline grabbing issue, will be the reassurance force, as they called it, which will gather one of the most, if not the most attention out of the summit.

Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, has been a strong proponent of boots on the ground in Ukraine, and discussions will center around what that will look like in Ukraine. But recently the words have changed around that. The words now is reassurance force rather than peacekeeping. So we will start to get a better idea out of this communique and the discussions at the summit around what exactly a peacekeeping or reassurance force will look like, but it will still mean boots on the ground.

And obviously this summit is coming in the days after the U.S., Ukraine and Russia agreed this Black Sea ceasefire deal, which will see the halting of all military activity in the Black Sea. But depending on which side you are on, Ukraine is prepared to agree to that in totality now. But President Vladimir Putin of Russia has said that for Russia to be able to agree, there are various lists of reasons that need to be agreed before, including the reintroduction of the Swift banking system to Russian banks and even the lifting of sanctions on a particular Russian agricultural bank, too.

So we will start to see likely what the Europeans' view of the outcome of that particular ceasefire agreement and what the future negotiations from Europe and what its posture will be towards Ukraine, particularly as the United States makes clear again, once again, that Europe needs to be able to defend itself and is taking a step back on its European security commitments. Sebastian Shukla, CNN, Berlin.

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VAUSE: And call it a sign of the times in Europe. New guidance from the E.U. urging member states to shift their mindset and foster a culture of preparedness and resilience. Among the recommendations for civilians, to stockpile enough food and other essential supplies to last at least 72 hours. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement, "New realities require a new level of preparedness in Europe. Our citizens, our member states and our businesses need the right tools to act both to prevent crises and to react swiftly when a disaster hits."

After a year and a half of punishing Israeli military strikes, most of Gaza's schools and universities are now rubble. But after the break, we'll meet some students who still want to learn, even in the middle of a war.

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VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check today's top stories.

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced new 25 percent tariffs on all imported cars, taking effect one week from now and a 25 percent tariff on car parts, with some exceptions to come no later than May 3rd. Canada, the E.U., Japan and South Korea are all weighing how to respond.

"The Atlantic" magazine has published more texts showing top U.S. officials discussing highly sensitive plans for a military strike on Houthi rebels. Defense sources tell CNN the material was highly classified despite repeated denials from Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.

Dozens of European leaders will meet in the coming hours in Paris to discuss security arrangements for Ukraine. The so-called Coalition of the Willing will look at ways to arm Ukraine and whether to eventually put boots on the ground as a safeguard for a future ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned parts of Gaza could remain under Israeli occupation. During a chaotic session in the Knesset Wednesday, Israel's Defense minister raised the possibility as a security measure. Netanyahu added the option is being considered if Hamas refuses to release all remaining Israeli hostages.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The more Hamas continues in its refusal to release our hostages, the more powerful the repression we exert will be, and I say to you, members of the Knesset, and I say to Hamas as well, this includes seizing territory, and it includes other things that I'm not going to specify here. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Another anti-Hamas rally in northern Gaza Wednesday, the second in two days. Demonstrations appear to be the largest against the militant group since the war began. Some protesters told CNN their message to Hamas is enough is enough. It's time to give others a chance to govern, and to Israel's military, to stop the bloodshed. Hamas claims the protests do not reflect the overwhelming position of most Palestinians.

Well, the silent victims of Israel's relentless war in Gaza is the education system. Officials say more than 120 schools and universities have been obliterated by Israeli military strikes. Well over 600,000 children have already missed out on at least one year of schooling.

[00:30:10]

But as CNN's Paula Hancocks reports, some students are looking for ways to continue to learn.

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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Learning to write the letter "D" -- "dal" in Arabic -- on what's left of the chalkboard.

Basic education that Gaza's young have been denied for so long.

This was last December when the war was raging, where rubble was their playground, and a building that looked ready to collapse their place of learning.

"Many children were initially too scared to come," the teacher says, "because of the destruction all around."

Thirteen-year-old Farah Zakzouk (ph) was one of the students grieving for lost relatives, but determined to learn.

"My school had everything," she says, "chairs, pencils, notebooks, and chalkboards. Now, we sit on rubble. If we find a notebook among the ruins, we try to use it."

During the two-month ceasefire, Farah (ph) walked on the ruins of her school in Khan Younis. A seventh grader who used to be top of her class.

"I feel no ceasefire," she says. "There's destruction everywhere. It's the same as war."

What had changed is she had space to realize how much she had lost. No home and no school.

"I feel my heart is ripped apart, like I'm in pieces," she says. "I don't know how else to describe it."

And now, a devastating return to war threatens the limited education spaces that had been created.

PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, COMMISSIONER-GENERAL, UNRWA: It's as important as providing life-saving assistance. And the more we wait, the more we take the risk to sacrifice an entire generation.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Pre-conflict, just under half of Gaza's school- aged children attended UNWRA schools. Israel has since banned the U.N. agency's presence in Gaza, accusing it of ties to Hamas, which the U.N. denies.

More than 95 percent of educational facilities in Gaza have been partially or completely destroyed since October 7, 2023, according to a U.N. report released last November, including many that have been turned into shelters.

Israel's military claimed many were used by Hamas as command-and- control centers, making them legitimate targets, an accusation Hamas denies.

Sisters Minar (ph) and Rawan (ph) should have been close to graduating from university by now: one as an architect, the other as a pharmacist. The war forced them to continue their studies remotely, almost impossible, given the scant electricity and Internet. They were displaced multiple times.

"We're forced to come up to the fourth floor, even though the building may collapse," says Minar (ph). "We have to get Internet connection from an e-sim card so we can download our lectures."

Almost half of Gaza's population is under the age of 18. For them, education is a lifeline, a hope for a better future that has been taken away from them.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

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VAUSE: Prince Harry quits the charity he helped establish in memory of his mother. In a moment, what both sides are saying about an internal leadership dispute.

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VAUSE: Brazil's Supreme Court has ruled former President Jair Bolsonaro will stand trial for his alleged role in a failed coup attempt after the 2022 election.

Prosecutors say part of the plot included a plan to potentially assassinate elected President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro has denied all charges.

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JAIR BOLSONARO, FORMER BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today, I hope to put a final point on this. It looks like there is something personal against me. The accusation is very serious and unfounded.

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VAUSE: Seven others will stand trial alongside Bolsonaro, who they once called the "Trump of the Tropics," for their part in the alleged coup attempt, which culminated in riots back in January of 2023.

Prince Harry has stepped down as patron of an HIV/AIDS charity he co- founded in memory of his mother, Diana, amid ongoing disputes with the board's chair.

He formed Sentebale nearly 20 years ago with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, who has also left the charity. Both princes released a statement, reading in part, "It is devastating that the relationship between the charity's trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation. What's transpired is unthinkable. We are in shock."

Details about the disagreement, which left them in shock, have not been made public, but the board chair was asked to step down and then released her own statement, which appeared to call out Prince Harry and others, reading in part, "There are people in this world who behave as though they are above the law and mistreat people, and then play the victim card. They use the very press they disdain to harm people who have the courage to challenge their conduct."

Britain's Charity Commission says that they are aware of concerns within the organization and are looking into those issues and will determine next steps.

[00:40:10]

I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But in the meantime, WORLD SPORT starts after a very short break. See you back here in 18 minutes.

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