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CNN International: Carney Promises Tariff Retaliation; Trump to Announce Reciprocal Tariff Plan Next Week; Vance and Second Lady to Visit Greenland; Judge Orders Preservation of Yemen Messages; RFK Jr. to Restructure America's Health Care System; Rubio Calls Student Protesters "Lunatics"; China's Box Office Bonanza; MLB Opening Day. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired March 27, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all over the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington, D.C.

And just ahead this hour, Canada's old, peaceful, friendly relationship with the U.S. is over. That is Prime Minister Mark Carney's message as he vows to retaliate against the U.S. for Donald Trump's tariffs. A U.S. judge orders the Trump administration to preserve all Signal messages discussing an attack on Yemen. And some good news. It's Major League Baseball's opening day with 28 teams in action, including the only one I'm watching, that's the New York Mets.

We begin tonight with growing anger and concern over U.S. President Donald Trump's new trade war escalation. America's largest trading partners coming out strongly against Trump's new 25 percent auto tariffs with many now threatening retaliation. Germany's economy minister says, quote, "We will not back down." French President Macron says he hopes Trump will reconsider.

Canada's new prime minister, Mark Carney, called the tariffs a direct attack on his country. He says, the strong bonds that once characterize the U.S.-Canada relationship have now been broken.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere. And we will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven't seen in generations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: It's remarkable words from America's northern ally. President Trump's auto tariffs also hit U.S. stocks for a second straight day. Car makers as expected among the hardest hit. GM shares down more than 7 percent. A large percentage of its cars are assembled in Canada and Mexico. And therefore, are subject to the new tariffs. And get ready to hear more of this in the coming weeks and months. Ferrari says it will raise prices by up to 10 percent on some of the models it imports to the U.S. Economists say that Trump's new tariffs could elevate car prices by thousands of dollars each for U.S. consumers.

Joining me now, Jason Furman who's the chair of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers. He's now a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and he joins me now. So, good to have you on.

JASON FURMAN, FORMER CHAIR, U.S. COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS AND PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL: Great to be with you. And I want to say I agree with everything in your introductory lay down, except it's the Red Sox that are going to prevail this year.

SCIUTTO: Well, listen, you know, you've had your World Series and now we need ours. That's what we'll say on that topic. But let's talk about tariffs. Peter Navarro, of course, Trump's trade and manufacturing adviser just said on CNN, that consumers will benefit from these tariffs. Tell me your response to that.

FURMAN: That's just nuts. And it's a crazy thing to say because consumers are going to see this. This is not subtle. This is not some complicated economic theory. They're going to go to the car dealership and the car dealers are going to charge them more money and they're going to tell them why they're charging them more money.

SCIUTTO: Now, Trump says, Navarro says, this is short-term pain, that once all these manufacturers move all their manufacturing back inside the borders of this country the pain will end and Americans will see benefits. First question is, is that even possible?

FURMAN: I don't think that's possible. The success of the American auto industry is that it's integrated. We get parts from Canada and Mexico. We put them into our cars and that's how we can sell them domestically. That's how we can export them. Raise the price of those parts, have Canada, as you heard, Prime Minister Carney say, moving its relationships to other countries, it's going to be more expensive to make cars in America. It's going to disadvantage our car industry and it could eventually cause even more pain in terms of job loss in the long run.

SCIUTTO: It seems that Trump's strategy is built in part on might makes right, which has become a consistent factor in his dealings with everyone around the world. Can the U.S., given the size of its economy relative to specifically Canada, threaten Canada into submission, right?

[18:05:00]

Say that, in effect, weaken -- I mean, Justin Trudeau, former prime minister, said that the Trump plan is to sink, to collapse the Canadian economy. Can he apply so much pressure as to force them into submission?

FURMAN: Look, when it comes to Canada, there's an asymmetry. This is going to hurt the Canadian economy much more than it's going to hurt the American economy. So, our consumers are going to suffer. Our workers are going to suffer. All of that is much more true for Canada. So, there's an asymmetry.

But guess what, Canada has politics too. Canada has national pride and Canada understands it's a repeated game. So, you give in now and then people are going to ask for even more later. And if ultimately the demand is to end Canadian sovereignty, of course, they're not ever going to agree to that.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And it's a good point, because this is not just economic for Canada. Trump has said quite publicly beyond the 51 first state talk, which is garbage, that he wants to unilaterally redraw the border with Canada. What about then a country such as Canada's plan B here, as you heard from the prime minister saying, OK, we're going to make trade deals with others? Can Canada and the other countries that Trump is imposing these tariffs on, the U.K.s of the world, Mexico say, OK, we're going to be our own kind of trade coalition and work around the U.S.? Is that doable?

FURMAN: That is, to some degree, doable for those countries that actually is some short run pain in exchange for some long run gain. And the United States needs to understand we are a big important economy. But for the majority of countries in the world, China is a bigger trade partner than the United States.

For the majority of countries in the world, you give them a choice between trade with the United States and trade with China, they're going to choose China over the United States. So, part of this is Canada will be closer to Europe, but part of this is a lot of countries in the world will get closer to China because of the steps we're taking now.

SCIUTTO: And which is an example of exactly what the Trump administration, at least, says it doesn't want, right? They say the big -- the real threat is trying at China. We'll see how it plays out. Jason Furman, thanks so much.

FURMAN: Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: Well, European leaders, they're standing firm against lifting Russian sanctions as the U.K. and France have offered to send, quote, "reassurance forces" instead of peacekeeping forces to locations, strategic locations, they call them in Ukraine once the sides agreed to a ceasefire.

Earlier in Paris, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met with his country's allies in Europe, sending this message quite directly to U.S. President Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We all need America to be stronger in relation to Russia. We really want the U.S. president to be stronger in relation to the Kremlin's master. It is important for us. We need to work on this issue. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Ukraine has agreed to stop fighting in the Black Sea, but Russia says it will not sign on to that ceasefire agreement unless further economic sanctions are lifted. The thing is, U.S. can't do that by itself. It needs Europe.

This as South Korea's military says that North Korea appears to have sent at least 3,000 additional soldiers to Russia early this year. The expectation is that they will, like others, go on to fight in Ukraine.

The White House has had to scale back a U.S. delegations' trip to another target of its ambitions, Greenland. Now, that that trip has become highly contentious to say the least. Vice President J. D. Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance are planning to visit the semi-autonomous Danish territory on Friday, Denmark's prime minister is accusing the U.S. of putting, quote, "unacceptable pressure" on the island.

President Trump has said repeatedly, he wants to make Greenland part of the U.S. claiming it is vital to U.S. national security interests, and somehow that the people of Greenland support that idea. Polls say otherwise.

Joining me now, Rasmus Jarlov. He's a conservative member of the Danish Parliament and the head of Denmark's Defense Committee. He's also the spokesperson on Greenlandic affairs for the conservatives. Thanks so much for taking the time.

RASMUS JARLOV, DANISH CONSERVATIVE MP AND CHAIRMAN, DANISH DEFENSE COMMITTEE: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: First, let me ask you this question, how do you react? How do your colleagues in parliament react to hear the leader, the president of a treaty ally, the United States, saying with a smile at times that the U.S. is going to take over Greenland? How do you respond to that?

JARLOV: We're not happy with that. It's unheard of that you have allied countries that want to annex part of another country. Greenland is a fully integrated part of Denmark. They're citizens of Denmark and there's absolutely no way that we will agree to hand them over to become Americans against their will. And they don't want to become Americans. It is very, very clear.

[18:10:00]

They had an election two weeks ago, and there wasn't a single -- out of the 31 members elected for the local Greenland parliament, not one wants to become part of the United States. So, this is a hostile attempt of taking over, annexing people, subjugating people that do not want to become part of the United States.

SCIUTTO: There are those in this country who will often say about Donald Trump, that's just talk. He's not serious. It's bluster. It's part of a negotiation. I wonder how Denmark hears those comments. Are you, are your colleagues in government there taking the threat to take Greenland seriously?

JARLOV: Yes. We are taking it seriously. It has been repeated so many times by now that it would be weird not to take it seriously. I have no doubt and we have no doubt that if the American government could annex Greenland, they would definitely do it. They wanted to become American, but we can't do it.

I mean, first of all, it's completely unreasonable. There is no legitimacy behind this claim. It is against the will of the people living in Greenland. And secondly, there is no need for it. Because everything that the United States could want from Greenland, being having a stronger military presence or minerals, they can have that if they just talk to us normally.

There's no need to annex the island. If they want extract minerals, just put up the investments needed. They have been looking for international investors for decades without finding them. But if Americans want to do it, Greenland is open for business. If they want to have a stronger military presence, that is also possible. So, there is no need for this talk. We could definitely meet whatever reasonable demands and wishes the Americans have. But the thought of annexing it and handing it over to the U.S. is out of the question.

SCIUTTO: What is Denmark prepared to do to resist American economic pressure, to give up Greenland and even possibly military pressure?

JARLOV: Everything. We will do everything to resist and we expect to be exposed to a lot of pressure. Maybe the same way that Canada is being pressured at the moment. Maybe the same will happen to us. But it's not going to change our mind.

So, we only hope that the American government does not continue to escalate and take this further and further, because we can't do it. We cannot hand over 57,000 of our citizens to become Americans against their will.

SCIUTTO: Do you envision any scenario where -- and this is remarkable, just to say it out loud, given Denmark and the U.S. are treaty allies, and as I often remind Americans, Denmark fought alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan and lost a great number of soldiers there. In fact, quite a high percentage compared to the size of their military. But do you -- can you envision a scenario where U.S. and Danish forces somehow come face to face over Greenland?

JARLOV: I certainly hope not. But that's up to the American government. We're not going to back down. We're not going to hand over Greenland regardless of what type of pressure is applied to us. So, I certainly hope it won't come to that.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

JARLOV: There is a lot at stake here, because this is not only a matter of being reasonable to Denmark and Greenland, it is also a matter of the entire Western alliance. Nobody's going to be allied to a country that tries to annex parts of that country's territory. So, if the U.S. wants to be a global leader, and we've been very happy to let the U.S. lead the world, but then you have to behave. You can't just attack your allies and try to take their territory while at the same time trying to help Russia to gain more territory in Europe.

So, we think American foreign policy is going in a very bad direction. And we are very, very sad if we are going to lose the great relationship we had with the United States for so many decades. We think it has served both sides and we're very happy to continue to let the U.S. lead. But this is just -- this is too much, obviously.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And listen, blood spilt, right, for that alliance, similar for Denmark and Canada, as we were discussing earlier. Rasmus Jarlov, thanks so much for joining.

JARLOV: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, now to an emergency court hearing and a federal judge ordering the Trump administration to preserve all messages on this Signal app sent between March 11th and March 15th.

[18:15:00]

Why those dates? Well, those are the dates of the group chat between department secretaries and intelligence chiefs, it had been set to auto delete. An advocacy group has now sued to preserve them under federal records laws. It says their potential loss is a, quote, "five- alarm fire" for government accountability and potentially a crime.

Ahead of the hearing, the Trump administration told the court it is working to find and preserve that chat, but so far, it's only found a partial version of it. Why? Sheer coincidence, the judge in this case is James Boasberg, who's also hearing a challenge to the president's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport people from this country.

On Capitol Hill, Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Armed Services Committee, has now officially requested an investigation by an inspector general into the Signal chat. And new interviews with current and former national security officials reveal growing concerns about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose chat messages included the most sensitive intelligence, including specific details about a U.S. military attack on Yemen.

I'm joined now by Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley. He's a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the co- chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus. Good to have you on.

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL), MEMBER, U.S. HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Thank you. Glad to be back.

SCIUTTO: I just want to ask you before I get -- I do want to ask you about Ukraine as well, given your recent travel. But on this Signal chat, you're on the Intelligence Committee, you have a security clearance. You very frequently have to deal with sensitive intelligence. When you hear the White House or the Defense Department or others say that this information on this chat, which included timing, targets, intelligence gathering was not classified, what's your reaction to that?

QUIGLEY: Yes, if it wasn't classified, it certainly should have been. The fact that the defense secretary decided not to classify that means almost nothing. The military experts I've talked to said this is an operational attack plan related to tactical engagement of enemy positions, and if the, Houthi military leaders had gotten this information, at the very least, they would've been able to get out of the way. And the worst-case scenario is American service members would've been killed, and obviously, the mission would've been a failure.

So, obviously, this is very classified information. The fact that the people who you witnessed on this are the people that we're talking about at such highest levels, it's extraordinary. We would be angry if this was sergeants and lieutenants doing this.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

QUIGLEY: They clearly would've lost their jobs right away. So, look, and if I had done this, if I had been briefed and went on a commercial app, they would've kicked me off the committee the next day.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I'm told that no changes to security protocols are now planned at the Pentagon because as one senior military official put it to me, quote, "That would be construed as admitting wrongdoing." Is it irresponsible, and that might be too conservative a word, for there not to be a fulsome investigation of this, but also changes to prevent this from happening again?

QUIGLEY: The fact that anyone thinks they're need that they would have to change, I mean, this should be bedrock ways to do things. ' SCIUTTO: Yes.

QUIGLEY: You know, when we had the hearing the other day, I asked both generals, would you use different apps? Are there more secured platforms? And of course, there are. This is -- you know, it's an encrypted, but it's a commercial app and easily purchased equipment can cut right through this. So, I respect them a lot more. If they had just owned up to a colossal mistake, right. Someone has to be held accountable and obviously this will never happen again. But instead, you know, you dig your feet in the sand. As a result, we're less safe.

My biggest concern with this is the fact that it's just one more reason our allies are unlikely to trust us. The irony is Tulsi Gabbard's role in ODNI, that role was created post 9/11 to enhance, to encourage the sharing of intelligence between the community and between ourselves and our allies. This is one reason. I don't know why anyone would trust her or anybody on that call, especially if they now say they're not going to change the way. Why would they give us critical information that would reveal their sources and methods and make their country less safe?

[18:20:00]

SCIUTTO: I want to ask you about Ukraine now, because you recently returned from there. When you speak to Ukrainian officials, Ukrainian military commanders, do they fear that the U.S. will sell them out to Russia in a peace agreement?

QUIGLEY: You know, I think the best way to describe the discussions I had with our military and intel and the Ukrainian counterparts is, look, they recognize what would happen if they were to publicly criticize the United States or just disagree. They saw what happened in the Oval Office.

So, there's a continuity there of nothing but gratitude. Obviously, you can sense the concern. The things they say express that concern, but still in the most constructive way they possibly can. Obviously, the pause, the criticism, the fact that the president of the United States said that President Zelenskyy started the war, those aren't things that are going to build up confidence.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

QUIGLEY: The elimination of USAID, just one more thing saying that the NATO is on its own, this gets back to my other point, why would any country think of us as a friend? You know, who are our allies? Do we have any? Because right now, I think the rest of the world thinks we're cozying up to an autocrat, an autocrat -- a tyrant who started the war, who committed war crimes, and we voted with the bad guys in the United Nations this time.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Let me ask you this. Do you believe that Ukraine and our European allies will refuse to sign on to an agreement which they believe leaves not just Ukraine unsafe, but Europe unsafe as well?

QUIGLEY: Look, there's going to be some gray areas, what I fear. The fact of the matter is, you know, the United States holds a lot of the cards as the president said, and they can leverage a great deal. You know, we have to ask ourself, what is victory? And the final analysis, security guarantees matter a great deal. They matter most importantly to Ukraine and to our NATO allies.

But ultimately, it's for protection of ourselves, right? What did General Milley and Secretary Austin say over and over again? You know, if we don't resist Putin's aggression now, you know, we're going to be battling him in other countries. We're going to have to increase our own defense budget. We're increasing the threat of further bloodshed elsewhere.

So, it's in our interest to do this, but I can't imagine that they don't feel pressure to sign onto something that's far, far from perfect. You know, we have to ask our ourself what real victory is. I don't think we're beginning to do what we need to do to hold Putin accountable, keep Ukraine and ourselves safe, address the war crimes that took place. How do we rebuild the country? A lot of issues to address. And right now, we can't get past the Black Sea. And the fact is that Putin won't make those commitments without concessions. We've already made concessions without getting anything in return.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And listen, the rhetoric continues to be -- Trump's rhetoric continues to be much more critical on the Ukrainians than the Russians. Congressman Mike Quigley, thanks so much for joining

QUIGLEY: Anytime. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Coming up after the break, HHS overhaul. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Makes his move to restructure and trim America's healthcare system. Will it make Americans healthier?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

SCIUTTO: The Trump administration has announced a sweeping overhaul of the healthcare agencies that provide key services, not only to Americans, but also people overseas. The Department of Health and Human Services says it is now cutting 10,000 jobs, that's full-time employees, combined with people who've already left in recent months. That amounts to more than 20 percent, one-fifth of its total workforce.

HHS Head Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called it nothing less than a top to bottom rethink of the U.S. government's approach to healthcare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: We're going to eliminate an entire alphabet soup (ph) of departments and agencies while preserving their core functions by merging them into a new organization called the Administration for a Healthy America or AHA. We have two goals. The first is obvious, to save the taxpayer money by making our department more efficient. And the second is to radically improve our quality of service.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: The HHS says its new priority will be ending America's epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on, quote, "safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins." But the cuts will impact many critical agencies that deal with those issues, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, programs that focus on global health and global HIV prevention, which have saved millions of lives, will also be affected.

Meg Tirrell joins me now. Meg Tirrell joins me now. So, Meg, you hear RFK Jr. there say, well, it's going to -- yes, there will be these cuts, but we will preserve key functions. Is that true? I mean, is that -- can he back that up?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what they're pledging to do is not to affect Medicare through CMS. They say they are cutting 300 jobs in that agency, but they say the services for Medicare and Medicaid won't be affected. They're also pledging not to fire reviewers at the FDA who review food, drugs, medical devices, or also inspectors.

But, Jim, there's a lot of concern that these are incredibly deep cuts. As you said, 20,000 people in total, 10,000 new jobs announced today on top of 10,000 folks who have already left. That's a quarter of HHS's staff. And so, public health experts are telling us there's absolutely no way to do such deep cuts without affecting some of these services, even if you're preserving some of those jobs, because you're going to affect people who support those jobs.

And when I talked to one former health official, he expressed concern that you're going to affect people you don't necessarily know are crucial to their jobs. And so, what people are urging is that they instead do this very carefully instead of in this huge, broad sweep.

But, Jim, we are hearing that the notices are going to start going out tomorrow. And of course, these are massive across these health agencies.

SCIUTTO: So, how are folks in the public health community reacting to these cuts?

TIRRELL: Yes, they're really worried. You know, we hear about worries about specific things that could be lost. We also heard from the former health secretary, Xavier Becerra, who was the health secretary under Joe Biden, who said, this is, quote, "This has the makings of a manmade disaster." He said, "Downgrading services for our elderly and our disabled for mental health, our strategic preparedness and response capabilities." He says, "How can that be good for the health of any American?"

Jim, we've also been hearing from Democrats in the Senate, also Bernie Sanders, who's on the Senate Health Committee, they are pledging to fight these cuts. We're going to have to see, you know, what they can do from their position in the Senate. But certainly, a lot of concern about how this will unfold.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Without a majority, difficult for them to take any action. Meg Tirrell, thanks so much.

[18:30:00]

Coming up after the break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: These lunatics, he says. Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterizing student protestors who are now having their visas revoked, some of them detained. Critics say it's a crackdown on a basic human right of free speech. We're going to take a close look, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Sciutto. And here are more international headlines we're watching today. Britain's King Charles has canceled public engagements for Friday. This after experiencing temporary side effects from his cancer treatment. Buckingham Palace says he was briefly in a hospital for observation today and will rest tomorrow as a precaution. The Palace first announced the king's cancer diagnosis back in early 2024.

Australia's prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has announced a short time ago that his country will hold a national election on May 3rd. The campaign is expected to be dominated by cost-of-living pressures. Sounds familiar. This comes as recent polls show the prime minister's Labor Party is now neck and neck with the opposition coalition.

And six Russian tourists are dead after a submarine sank off Egypt's Red Sea Coast. It was on a regular underwater exhibition to view coral reefs when it crashed just a short distance from shore. The local government says 45 passengers were on board in total, including tourists from Russia, India, Norway, and Sweden.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the government has revoked now more than 300 visas and warns the government is looking out for what he called lunatics. This follows the alarming arrest of a Tufts University student, as well as others, who have participated in pro- Palestinian activism on campus.

[18:35:00]

On the left of your screen is Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish PhD student at Tufts University here in this country on a valid visa. As you can see there, circled, she was taken off the streets of Massachusetts by masked plainclothes agents. Rubio suggested, without evidence, that she was involved in destructive student protests against Israel's military operations in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why you're coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we're not going to give you a visa.

If you lie to us and get a visa and then enter the United States and with that visa participate in that sort of activity, we're going to take away your visa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Ozturk's brother says that last March she co-wrote an op-ed in the school's newspaper, I have it right here, which just criticized the Tufts University's response to the pro-Palestinian movement in -- this is the op-ed right here. I read it. Basically, she's making an argument here that resolutions passed by the Tufts Community Union Senate should be defended by the leadership of the university. Nothing violence in -- nothing violent in this piece of paper here. I did notice this line. However, the great author and civil rights champion James Baldwin once wrote, quote, "The paradox of education is precise precisely this, that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which they're being educated."

Ozturk's family believes her detention by ICE is related to this article. She's currently in detention in Louisiana, but is yet to be charged. She's just the latest in a series of high-profile cases involving student activism. The detentions are raising questions, hard ones, about how ICE agents are choosing these students, presuming they're not reading op-eds all day.

Joining me now is Gadeir Abbas. He's deputy litigation director from the Council on American Islamic Relations. Good to join me. Thanks so much for joining us.

GADEIR ABBAS, DEPUTY LITIGATION DIRECTOR, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: So, first, let me ask you a question. You have Secretary Rubio there saying that, well, this student and others perhaps supported or maybe participated in protests, which might have damaged property. What is the actual basis as you understand it, for revoking their visas? Is it this op-ed or do they have evidence of more?

ABBAS: The administration is revoking visas and green card holders, they're denying people entry to the United States that have been here for years just because of the things they said. That's all. That's the whole reason why they're doing it. They're doing it to Tufts students this week. They were doing it to Columbia students last week. And it's going to come to universities and colleges all across the country, each and every city, I think.

SCIUTTO: Do -- let me ask you a very basic question here. Do green card holders to this country and those who hold valid visas, including student visas, do they enjoy the constitutional protection of freedom of expression contained in the First Amendment?

ABBAS: Yes. Every single person inside the United States, regardless of their status, has basically that same exact First Amendment right to speak, and it can't work any other way. Whether you have despicable views, maybe you're a Nazi and you're a cuddling white supremacist nonsense or you're a pro-Palestine protestor advocating for dignity, for life, for the folks in Gaza, you have the same right of free speech. And the Marco Rubio and his colleagues are abandoned them.

SCIUTTO: The baseline by which Ozturk was detained, as I understand it, is through the Immigration and National Act of 1952, which in effect gives the secretary of state broad discretion to designate a non-citizen, including a visa holder, as a potential threat to U.S. national security. Is there any legal bar for establishing who is a potential threat, or can the secretary of state say, I've read this op-ed, and I think she may have been involved in protests, she's out?

ABBAS: Yes, the legal bar is the First Amendment. It's the free speech clause of the First Amendment. Jim, you talked about a law, like a law that Congress passed. Any law that Congress passes is going to be subordinated to the Constitution, and there's a reason they put the free speech clause in the First Amendment. It's a basic fundamental right that underpins everything else that we got going on, democracy wise, inside the United States.

[18:40:00]

And so, if we can have free speech or we can let Marco Rubio decide who says what, but we can't have both.

SCIUTTO: You recently won a case before the Supreme Court, which essentially protected cares lawsuit, challenging the federal no-fly list, this on behalf of an American Muslim who was tortured and imprisoned at the command of U.S. officials. You said, quote, "The FBI cannot place innocent Muslims on a no-fly list, only to then block that unconstitutional list from scrutiny by removing those Muslims whenever they file a lawsuit."

I just wonder, what are the parallels between those cases and do you see an opportunity you won that case to win challenges to these students, their treatment and deportation?

ABBAS: Oh, yes. I don't think that the Supreme Court is going to tolerate what the Trump administration is doing. This is free speech. This is American exceptionalism at its finest. No one does free speech better than the United States of America does free speech. And what the Trump administration is doing is an unprecedented deviation from several hundred years of free speech traditions.

And so, just like, you know, the government, they appealed -- they took the case that no-fly list case to the Supreme Court and they thought the Supreme Court was going to reverse and tell them that they could do whatever they want with Muslims on secret FBI watch list, that turned out not to be the case. And nine Supreme Court justices out of nine voted against it.

And that's very similar, Jim, to a case that was just decided less than a year ago, involving the NRA, defended by the ACLU where state -- New York State Commission was interfering with the NRA's ability to operate as an organization. And it was, again, 9-0 at the Supreme Court saying you can't do that. An -- yes, go ahead.

SCIUTTO: The trouble is this administration has ignored the court. I mean, you have the case of the deportation flights where a judge blocked it and they said, oh the flights were out of U.S. airspace at that time, not even clear if that's been established. The case of Ozturk here, there was a judge who blocked her being removed from the State of Massachusetts, but she was sent to Louisiana anyway. And again, the administration said, oh, well, you know, it happened before we got this order. Are you confident that this administration is going to obey and listen to even a Supreme Court decision?

ABBAS: Of course, there's not a lot of confidence in anything that -- with regards what the Supreme -- what the Trump administration is going to do in the future. I don't even think that they know necessarily what they're going to do in the future. But here, it's -- it is something of a numbers game. If people of conscience keep on talking about Palestine, they keep on talking about the genocide in Gaza, then we're going to have a right of free speech. If they stop, then we're going to lose that, right.

SCIUTTO: You're right. A lot of it is on us. Gadeir Abbas, thanks so much for joining.

ABBAS: Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: Coming up China's box office bonanza. More on the animated film, taking the world by storm without though finding a U.S. audience. We're going to crunch the box office numbers just after the break.

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[18:45:00]

SCIUTTO: A Mainland Chinese film is breaking all kinds of records. "Ne Zha 2" tells the story of a little boy who battles dragons. It's cracked the list of the top 20 movies at the Global Box office, the first one made outside of Hollywood. The film has also spurred a wave of Chinese nationalism online. Kristie Lu Stout reports from Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This pint-sized warrior from Chinese mythology is fearless and the fiery star of "Ne Zha 2," a Chinese animated epic that is breaking box office records, beating Pixar and DreamWorks to become the highest grossing animated film ever.

Its success igniting scenes of celebration in China. The city of Chengdu lit up skyscrapers to mark the milestone.

STOUT: After packing theaters in the mainland, "Ne Zha 2," opening Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, North America, and elsewhere. It became an instant hit among the Chinese diaspora.

STOUT (voice-over): In this video from the film's overseas distributor, moviegoers in Australia pile on the praise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never seen animation like that before and it just blew my mind.

STOUT (voice-over): Praise further pushed on state media, touting the movie as a symbol of China's soft power and social media as well with netizens hailing how China is overtaking the U.S.

YING ZHU, PROFESSOR, HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY: So, there's a tremendous amount of national pride in this. So, that kind of explain this phenomenon of rallying support behind this box office success.

STOUT (voice-over): To help boost its box office, take supporters in China are watching the movie again and again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): This kid has watched it twice and that kid has watched it three times. Our family has bought about "Ne Zha 2" tickets in total.

STOUT (voice-over): But outside China, mainstream audiences are not flocking to the film. This social video shows an empty theater for a U.S. screening of "Ne Zha 2." This reality has not gone down well prompting rumors of a U.S. boycott of the film.

Any criticism of "Ne Zha 2" may draw attacks from patriotic fans. These people share the abuse they say they've received online for sharing unflattering takes of the movie and articles on how the film is becoming impossible to criticize, have been censored.

ZHU: When it becomes not just a cultural event, it becomes a movement everybody has to be in, right?

STOUT (voice-over): Across China, passions are high for the highest grossing animated movie of all time, an achievement earned from runaway ticket sales, mostly at home. But for China to claim soft power success on the global stage, it has yet to strike gold.

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Straight ahead. Opening day. Dozens of baseball teams started their seasons across North America. We're going to be the highlights, which for me, really just the New York Mets. We might talk about some others. More on New York's best team in just a moment.

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[18:50:00]

SCIUTTO: Today is a sort of holiday here in the U.S. Major League Baseball's opening day when the regular season begins in earnest. The Tokyo series gave us a little bit of a preview. After our show wraps, I'm going to be watching replays of the New York Mets. That's my team.

First game for superstar Juan Soto after he left the Yankees during the off season with the largest contract in Major League Baseball history.

Joining me now is Keith Law. A senior baseball writer for The Athletic. Don't even tell me Met scores, because I know they're down three-nothing at this point. But tell me who's the strength of the lead this year besides the Los Angeles Dodgers?

KEITH LAW, SENIOR BASEBALL WRITER, THE ATHLETIC: Well, it could be the Mets. I mean, you -- that was the answer I was told to give. So --

SCIUTTO: Fantastic. We do --

LAW: I mean, they could be. SCIUTTO: The only answer I'll ever plant in an interview is that one. But in reality --

LAW: Perfect.

SCIUTTO: -- who's the real strength?

LAW: I would say in the National League, beyond the Dodgers, Atlanta. They're going to get Spencer Strider back. They're going to get Ronald Acuna Jr. back. It's two of their best players from two years ago. And they have a pretty good core even beyond those guys. So, they were actually my pick to win the pennant this year. Mets I had in second, still making the playoffs. So, don't cut me off here.

SCIUTTO: OK.

LAW: And the American League is really interesting because fans will remember the Yankees won the pennant last year, lost to the Dodgers in the World Series, but since then, Juan Soto's left in free agency. Gerrit Cole is out for the year with Tommy John's surgery.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

LAW: At least two other Yankee starters I can think of are hurt to start the season with their return uncertain. So, the League looks very flat. And I think it's extremely open. You could be a fan of eight to 10 teams in the American League and at least have some hope that your team is going to get to the postseason.

SCIUTTO: You know, it's -- this marriage, if you want to call it that, between particularly the Dodgers and Japanese baseball is pretty remarkable. And of course, they're not the only team that's drawing on just the tremendous talent that's coming out of Japan these days. But is that growing -- I mean, American baseball already had a big audience in Japan. Is that making Major League Baseball truly more international this year and going forward?

LAW: I think baseball is international in select markets. We're not international like basketball is, for example. But in places like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, for example, and obviously certain countries across Central and Latin America baseball is extremely popular.

And what we're really seeing in Japan, and particularly since Shohei Ohtani came over here and proved he's one of the best players we've seen in history, I think the sport has even grown in Japan over the high point it was already at.

SCIUTTO: Now, the other question -- I got to ask you about money, right? Because the payrolls are going -- you know, they're going through the stratosphere. But for some teams, not others, and the haves and haves nots are just going like this. I mean, is that going to eventually come to a head with some sort of work stop at -- do I have to start worrying about that in a couple years' time?

LAW: I mean, yes, I worry about it. Obviously, my livelihood indirectly depends on it. And yes, I think the two sides are really far apart. There are certain labor hawks on the owner's side who want a salary cap because they're just trying to protect their profits at all costs. Whereas the players have long held strong against a salary cap, and their argument is the owners are making a ton of money, tell them to reinvest it in their product.

There's no reason that the owners of the Pittsburgh Pirates couldn't take some of that revenue sharing money and put it into the on-field product. Too many owners are happy to just rake in the profits year after year without trying to win.

SCIUTTO: Finally, before we go, one selfish question, odds that I'm going to be happy this year with the Mets, they're going to make the playoffs?

LAW: I would give them 60 to 70 percent, let's say 70 percent chance to make the playoffs.

SCIUTTO: Wow.

LAW: I am just sort of making that number up. But they're -- that's a great lineup. A really great lineup. They need the starting pitching to stay healthy. That's the one thing that could derail them. We'll see how it holds up, but I think they're going to score a ton of runs this year.

[18:55:00]

SCIUTTO: OK. We're going to -- I'm going to have you back in September and we're going to see where we stand.

LAW: OK.

SCIUTTO: Keith Law -- and hopefully before that too. Senior baseball writer for The Athletic, thanks so much.

LAW: My pleasure.

SCIUTTO: Graduation season, just around the corner and the University of Maryland has just announced its commencement speaker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERMIT THE FROG: I guess it's me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: That's right. Kermit the Frog will address the graduate's family and friends at the graduation ceremony in May. His appearance is thanks to the long history between the university and the Muppets creator, the legendary Jim Henson, who graduated from University of Maryland back in 1960.

Kermit said in a statement, nothing could make these feet happier than to speak there. He said the class of 2025 is going to leap into the world and make it a better place, and I think that's what we all need to hear. I'll be listening.

Thanks so much for your company. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. Please do stay with CNN.

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