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Trump's Consequential First 100 Days In Office; Trump Claims He'd Made 200 Trade Deals; Voters Shift Towards Democrats Compared To Last Midterm; Pope Francis Laid To Rest After 250,000 Attend Funeral Service; Leaked Proposal Defunds Suicide Lifeline For LGBTQ+ Youth; Tina Knowles Opens Up About Her Life, Career And Motherhood. Aired 7- 8p ET

Aired April 26, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:12]

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

And next week, President Trump will mark 100 days in office, a period characterized by sweeping changes that have touched the lives of nearly all Americans. Much of Trump's agenda has been accomplished through executive action, 200 executive actions and 10, 210, rather, so far. Many focusing on his top priorities of downsizing the federal government and getting rid of DEI, as well as the economy and immigration.

Some new polling tonight showing Trump's first few months in office have largely been what voters expected. However, that does not mean they approve of it. That same poll showing just overall 39 percent have a favorable opinion of how Trump has been handling the job. 59 percent unfavorable.

CNN's senior White House reporter, Kevin Liptak is joining us now.

Kevin, what does the president have planned to mark his first 100 days? And what are they thinking as they approach this landmark?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, he'll be doing something that we haven't seen him do a lot of over the course of this 100 days, which is go out into the country on an official trip to talk about his agenda. He'll be in Michigan. That's a state he obviously flipped from Joe Biden in last year's election. You know, he's traveled a lot on the weekends to his property, including here in New Jersey this weekend. But he hasn't been out on an official event since his first week in office.

And so it will be interesting to see him there in Macomb County, north of Detroit. He'll be holding a rally talking about the accomplishments of his first 100 days. You know, Macomb County is a center of auto making. Obviously that industry has been sort of at the crux of at least one of those big buckets that he's been trying to work on, which is trade and tariffs and trying to reshore some of these industries.

The president obviously facing some hurdles there. He says that, you know, 100 countries have come to him to try and negotiate new trade deals so far. China isn't one of them. That has been something of a frustration of the president's so far. And you see kind of in that, you know, that specific area, kind of a microcosm of how the president has been operating since he came into office.

Obviously, working with great speed to try and accomplish all of these things that he promised on the campaign trail and a lot of ways taking a lesson from his first term in not sort of waiting for the moment to be right, to try and do all of these things kind of all at once. You know, at the first couple of weeks of his presidency, first couple of months even, it did seem as if he was operating with a new level of discipline. Both himself and his aides.

In some ways, that has kind of melted away in the last couple of weeks. You hear, you know, reports about shouting matches in the West Wing. You hear about, for example, the chaos that now seems to be prevailing at the Pentagon. And I think it all kind of adds up, you know, to a 100-day presidency so far. That is what a lot of people were just expecting from this president. A lot of what he's done is exactly what he said he would do on the campaign trail.

But certainly in the polls, you do start to see some skepticism creeping in, particularly when it comes to the president's priorities. American voters just not really saying that the president is accomplishing exactly what they want him to accomplish. But I think when you hear from the president on Tuesday in Michigan, it will be kind of a laundry list, a valedictory lap for him as he talks about this new mandate that he says that he has in office in this quite consequential second term -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Kevin Liptak, for us in New Jersey, where the president is tonight. Thank you so much for that.

And joining us now is the global head of tech research at Wedbush Securities, Dan Ives.

Dan, always great to see you. Thanks for being here with us on a Saturday night. The president has claimed he's already made 200 trade deals since pausing the tariffs on more than 180 countries, but his own press secretary gave a much smaller number this week, saying there's about 18 written proposals.

We are 18 days into this 90-day pause. Do you see any signs of progress and how important is it that there are these public signs of progress?

DAN IVES, GLOBAL HEAD OF TECH RESEARCH, WEDBUSH SECURITIES: Look, I mean, it's all talk now. And the reality is you need deals on the table. And that's, look, that's what the markets is telling you. It's what the bond market is telling you. It's what the dollar is telling you. And that's the reality of what they're facing. I mean, this is a game of high stakes poker. They're looking at their hand and it's not a good hand.

And I think that's really the reality. They're going to have to take steps back. They're going to have to cut deals because, you know, time is not on their side.

DEAN: And how much damage would you say has already been done?

[19:05:02]

IVES: I mean, look, we believe you're potentially looking at a recession. That's already been done, just given the uncertainty that that's actually created from this category five tariff war. And I think that's the worry here is that even though right now recession called a coin flip or 60-40, that's what you're dealing with. And I think the frustration of so many of the global leaders, but especially in the U.S., you've seen Ken Griffin and others talk about it.

It's a sell America trade. That's essentially what he's set off. And you need to take steps back from the cliff. You've started to see that. But I expect next 48, 72 hours, you need more deals.

DEAN: And you say time is not on their side. Expand on that. Tell us more about that.

IVES: Because the market needs to see deals. And the reality is in the next two, three weeks, that's where the ships that are coming, the shortages, that's where it's going to hit the consumer. Price increases, shortages from an inventory perspective. And that's a snowball that just continues to go downhill. But it's an economic snowball and you can't stop it.

And I think that's why time is not on their side and in the market time is not on their side because the market needs to see deals. That's the key.

DEAN: And so, OK, I want to make sure I heard you right. You think in the next two to three weeks is when were really going to start seeing these price hikes that the average American out there just going about their business is going to start to see these at their grocery stores, or if they're going to whatever store to get whatever they might need for their kids, that sort of thing?

IVES: Well, and that's been our whole thesis. And now the numbers you're seeing, the cargo data doesn't lie. And you have a lot of data that's now down potentially 40 percent. So consumers think everything is fine now. But this is almost like you're, you know, you see the storm in the background and now the storm is coming. And that's what's created.

Remember that's self-inflicted. We need deals on the table because if you don't then this actually starts to become something much worse. And that's where the fears of basically a self-inflicted recession are on the table.

DEAN: What would you say, what country do you think is we have the best chance of getting a deal with first? And why do you think that?

IVES: I think India and Japan. I think, you know, those are the ones I think front and center because of how important those trade partners are in terms of maybe some of the barriers to get deals done. And look, Bessent, I mean, they know they need a big deal on the table soon. I mean, I can say potentially by tomorrow night or especially early this week, because otherwise especially Wall Street, they're going to say, OK, this is all talk.

You could talk every 10 minutes, but if you don't have deals, that's the key. And ultimately, remember for the consumer it's about the shortages. It's about the price increases. And these tariffs especially in China, I mean, that's coming here.

DEAN: Yes. And look, if in two to three weeks nothing has changed and we start to see these price hikes, we start to see, you can't get what you want when you want it kind of thing. Maybe there are limited availability of certain products because of all of this. I mean, you have to think -- I would just imagine in what, in your work, there's the data of it and there's the models and there's the markets, and then there's the real life consequences that you see play out.

IVES: Well, look, and it's a great point because Wall Street knows math and the reality, and that you can't deny. And I think even you, you talk about Trump's going to be speaking in Detroit. I mean, look, from an auto perspective, you have 30,000 parts in an automobile. And a lot of those even made in the U.S., you have 30 percent to 40 percent. That's from international. So a lot of these -- what are you going to price the cars at, what inventory look like?

And these are some of the issues from auto to retail to e-commerce. And as consumers start to see the inventory issues and the price increases, that's the reality of the situation.

DEAN: Yes. And then what happens, Dan? How do they react? Is that the next big question? Is like, do they just stop spending? Do they pull back? Like is that the next thing we look to, again, all things being equal?

IVES: Yes. And that's the worry that that's the self-inflicted recession or even something worse, stagflation, because the Fed can't cut. Given that you have probably the biggest inflationary policy in the last 100 years. It's forced the Feds' hand despite, you know, obviously, some of the frustration from Trump. And that's why from a market perspective you need to see deals. You need to step back and sort of de-escalate here because then you have the real economic consequences.

And I think that's the reality that we've always talked about. Call it the last three and a half weeks. And now times ticking. Time is not on your side. You need to get deals done.

[19:10:02]

DEAN: What do you think we're going to hear from the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in the next coming days?

IVES: Look, I mean, the adult in the room, right? I mean, when you look at Bessent, I mean, he knows Wall Street. He knows deals need to get done. And I think for him, that's something that him and his team probably working very aggressively on because you start to get one or two deals. You start to maybe de-escalate the China stuff. That's where all of a sudden now, OK, you'll have some rough few months ahead. But then you know that there is brighter days ahead.

You have some trade deals. You get to probably a 15 percent to 20 percent reciprocal tariff. That could be worked in. But you need deals. And that's what Bessent is working on. Because without the deals you know that and $3 get you a cup of coffee.

DEAN: Yes. All right. So will we see them? That is the question.

Dan, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

IVES: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, after everything we've seen during President Trump's first 100 days of his second term, will it be easy or an uphill battle for the GOP to keep control of Congress during the midterms? Harry Enten runs the numbers. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:15:49]

DEAN: Dramatic video out of Iran. A massive explosion at a port in the country's southwest, sending a huge fireball into the sky. At least 14 people were killed, hundreds injured in that explosion. The Iranian government has ordered an investigation, and officials say the blast was likely linked to chemicals being stored in that area.

Heavy hail and rain causing flooding in Lawton, Oklahoma. According to the National Weather Service the area received between four to seven inches of rain this morning as powerful storms moved through that area. The Lawton Fire Department posting, saying that there were multiple cars in flooded roadways this morning and warned drivers to stay off the roads and avoid those low-lying areas as they work to rescue people trapped by the flooding.

President Donald Trump has accomplished a lot in his first 100 days in office, but will it help the GOP maintain control in both chambers of Congress as we look ahead to the midterms?

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is joining us now.

Hello, Harry. Happy Saturday.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA CORRESPONDENT: Hello. You as well.

DEAN: He's going to run the numbers for us. So let's start first. The GOP holds the House now, obviously with the tiny little majority. What is the congressional ballot looking like as we approach this 100-day mark?

ENTEN: Yes, I think the key question is we've seen a number of polls that have come out over the last 48 hours showing Donald Trump's approval rating heading down, and would that impact Republicans in the House of Representatives? Let's take a look at the Generic Congressional Ballot right here. And hello, what do we have here? This is the Democrats versus the Republicans on the Generic Congressional Ballot.

And what do we see? According to CNBC out this month, plus two Democrats. How about FOX News was out last night, plus seven points. "The New York Times" out yesterday afternoon, look at that. Democrats up three points. You average it all together and what do you get? You get the Democrats up by four points according to the average of these three polls. Very much unlike what we saw of course in 2024, where Republicans, of course, won the national House vote.

And it does suggest that, in fact, Donald Trump is dragging, dragging House Republicans down. Now Democrats have a lead on this all important measure -- Jessica.

DEAN: I like how Harry helps with also by acting it out, dragging it down for us. Thank you very much for that.

ENTEN: My Shakespeare.

DEAN: Yes. So take us back to the last midterms, when the GOP flipped the House. What is the shift look like here if you compare them?

ENTEN: Yes. You know -- yes, you know, I mentioned 2024. But of course the Republicans actually gained control of the House the last time around in 2022, in a midterm election. And I think it's so important to note, look at the difference that we

have right now in April of 2025, where Democrats are up four points and look at where they were in October of 2022, according to an average of those same polls, CNBC, FOX and "The New York Times," the Republicans were up two.

This is a six-point movement towards the Democratic Party. This is what you might expect in a midterm election, but it does in fact suggest, again, I'm going to do my best acting here, that Trump is dragging down Republicans and now the Democrats hold the advantage on this all important measure.

DEAN: That's going to be so interesting, too, just because reminding everyone that everyone in the House is up every two years. So that will be interesting to see how that goes.

ENTEN: Yes.

DEAN: OK. So when this -- and when it looks like this, when the opposing party up to the White House is leading so early, what does that mean in the past, if we look to history?

ENTEN: Right. You know, you mentioned that there are 435 House seats. All of them are up in November of 2026. Of course, votes matter, but it's how they translate to seats that actually matter. So I went back through the history books. I opened up my encyclopedia, looked at the Roper Center archives, and what do we see when the opposition party in midterm elections, their average House seat gain, get this, is 35 seats when the opposition party leads by at least four points this early on, like they're doing right now. There's only two times. Only two times it's happened. It was in 2006

and 2018. And of course, those were when Donald Trump was president, heading into 2018 when George W. Bush was president, heading into 2006, where they were quite unpopular, very much like how Donald Trump is unpopular right now, according to the recent polls. And when that happens and you get a generic ballot like this, you see a massive wave usually.

[19:20:01]

Will we see it this time around? We'll just have to wait and see, Jessica.

DEAN: We don't know. The voters will tell us in just a few months.

ENTEN: Yes.

DEAN: I do want to talk about Canada for a second because they have an election on Monday, and President Trump has become the central figure in the Canadian election. What have -- what are you tracking on that?

ENTEN: Yes, I think this is so interesting. Right? Donald Trump isn't just impacting potential elections in the States. He is impacting elections north of the border. So what are we talking about here? Well, let's take a look. The Canadian Liberal Party, right. That's the liberal party in Canada, on January 19th, one day before Donald Trump took office, the Liberal Party had only a one less, in fact, less than a 1 percent chance, even less than 1 percent chance of winning the 2025 elections.

Look at their chance now, all the way up to 89 percent. I have never seen such a dramatic shift in polling such as this. And right now the Liberal Party heading into Monday's elections, they are in the catbird seat, Jessica Dean.

DEAN: Interesting. And how much of that is due to Trump's influence?

ENTEN: Yes. So you see this movement and, you know, I kind of point out, January 19th just before Trump took office and then you look today and you say OK, that's correlation. Where's the causation? I'll show you the causation. All right. Let's take a look here. On trade, Canadians better handle U.S. trade war. Look, the Liberal leader, Mark Carney, 55 percent compared to the conservative Pierre Poilievre. Yes, I took my French and took it well. Poilievre, 31 percent.

So you see the trade war definitely helping out the liberals. But then we can just ask the voters in Canada, why did they switch their votes over to the Liberal Party? Well, get this, get this. Why did Canadians switch to the liberals, 48 percent who switched their vote cited Trump as a top reason. Trump is not just impacting elections here in the States, Jessica. He is impacting them north of the border and helping, at least at this point, it looks like the liberals are going to maintain their power in the Canadian parliament, in large part because of Donald John Trump. He has been a gift to left parties worldwide, Jessica Dean.

DEAN: Yes, that is very interesting. All right. Harry Enten, as always, excellent to see you. Thank you so much.

Still ahead, millions around the world, including more than 250,000 mourners in Vatican City saying their final goodbye to Pope Francis as cardinal electors now prepare to choose a new Pope. What's next? And who could take that role?

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:26:55]

DEAN: Today, millions of Catholics around the world saying their final goodbyes to Pope Francis and CNN's Clarissa Ward has more now from Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The bells echoed through Vatican City. A final call to grieve as Pope Francis was laid to rest. Under a spotless sky, hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in Saint Peter's Square to say goodbye. From all corners of the world, presidents, priests, pilgrims and the public. The Pope chose to be buried in a simple wooden coffin, a testament to the humble life Francis led.

CARDINAL GIOVANNI BATTISTA RE, DEAN, COLLEGE OF CARDINALS (through translator): Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life.

WARD: In his homily, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re paid tribute to Francis's extraordinary legacy.

RE (through translator): He was a Pope amongst the people with an open heart towards everyone. He was also a Pope attentive to the signs of the times.

WARD: The Vatican says more than 250,000 people packed the square.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to show our love for our Pope, Pope Francis. This is the only way that we can show to him our love and our prayer.

WARD: Some remembered his words. Others how he made them feel.

LARA, RESIDENT FROM MALTA: He was not afraid to speak. And, according to me, in my opinion, he was always ready to give a voice to the voiceless.

WARD: All now feel the weight of his absence.

Carried through the hallowed halls of Saint Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis's coffin was prepared for its last journey, a historic one, through the city he served, and he left one final surprise. His coffin transported not in a hearse, but in his famous Popemobile. As the convoy crossed through Rome, some 150,000 mourners lined the

streets, all hoping to catch a final glimpse of a Pope they revered. In another break from centuries of tradition, his coffin was laid to rest in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Awaiting him on the steps a group of marginalized, invited specifically by the Pope to be among the last to say goodbye. He was then buried in a private ceremony.

His papacy is now over, but it has left behind a mark that will not fade.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Clarissa, thank you.

And joining us now is Katie McGrady, CNN Vatican analyst, and host of "The Katie McGrady Show" on Sirius XM's the Catholic Channel.

[19:30:00]

The channel is operated by the archdiocese of New York. Katie, thank you for being here with us. I do just want to start generally with your thoughts from today and what stood out to you about today's funeral?

KATIE MCGRADY, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: It was a really lovely service. Two hours nearly on the dot, and I was quite moved by the Francis' moments throughout.

So there's been this video circulating of the sign of peace, when we traditionally turn to one another and give each other the sign of peace and shake hands. And where President Trump started shaking hands with people and is reaching across the aisle. And that moment, of course, with President Zelenskyy inside Saint Peter's, only at a Popes funeral could we have this incredible liturgical service where we are praying for him and these massively important moments.

But I was most struck by at the conclusion of all of it, after his body has been processed, his coffin through the streets of Rome in Saint Mary Major, where he just was two weeks ago, these little children brought the white flowers that Pope Francis himself would often bring to this icon that he loved so much.

And I mean, I was tearing up in the studio when I saw it because it was such a Francis moment that these little ones on his behalf would go make this offering to the Blessed Mother.

So, it was a lovely service. It was very moving. The world was captivated, and I'm grateful that we got to watch it.

DEAN: Yes, and of course, now the attention turns to what happens next. Who will be the next Pope? What are you watching as we embark on this?

MCGRADY: How nerdy do you want me to get?

DEAN: Yes.

MCGRADY: This is a Super Bowl of some sorts for those of us who watch the church very closely. So, the Conclave, which hasn't started yet, we're not there yet. They haven't even announced the date of it yet. It has to start within a certain number of days of when the pontiff died. So, we're still in this interregnum.

And so the cardinals right now are meeting in general congregations. I've affectionately dubbed this cardinal camp, where they're meeting a couple times a day and they're getting to know each other even more than they already do.

So when they enter into Conclave, that's kind of the sum of all the work that's happening. And in that Conclave, 134 voters, that's what we -- we know, 135 are eligible under the age of 80. Ones not coming.

The winner has to achieve two-thirds of the vote to emerge as the pontiff. And it's going to be either somebody who's Francis 2.0, somebody who's a little of a mix of old Popes and this most recent one, or somebody who is kind of a referendum on, no, no, were going to go back to the way it was because Francis was so distinct.

So, there's going to be a lot of intrigue. I think the movie has certainly made people maybe pay a little more attention, even though it's not a documentary. There's a lot to come for sure.

DEAN: Yes, for sure. And so, we look to when that date happens and we know, as you noted, the next Pope has a lot to live up to. Francis really pushed the envelope in a lot of ways and did things in his own way. How do you see the next Pope kind of taking that? Obviously, they'll make it its own. Do they keep on that path? Do they go on a different path?

MCGRADY: Yes, the pontificate of Pope Francis was one that went to the margins. The question is going to be how much further do we go to the margins, or does the next guy pull back a bit? And I think a lot will determine -- his method will be determined by his personality. It will be determined by what he kind of sees the state of the world as being who gets the momentum and who becomes quite popular among the cardinals in these moments.

So, I think the future of the church is not just determined, by the way, by whoever walks out on that balcony. The people of God are the church, the faithful, and they'll make known very clearly if the project of Francis is what they want to continue, the energy, the desire to reach to those margins and those peripheries. The cardinal's homily today, Cardinal Re's Homily today, he quoted building bridges, not walls.

And I thought that was very pointed because he was saying it not just to the world leaders, to his left, and to the crowd of people who loved Francis. He was saying it to those cardinals to his right who are about to enter into these meetings in this vote of build bridges, not walls the world loved. So you need to keep that up. DEAN: And listen, it sounds like it's unlikely that we would have an American Pope at this point. Do you think that's right?

MCGRADY: I think every American would love to believe that we're the center of the church, but were certainly not. And so, while there are some big players, there are some big Catholic American names who are involved in the conversations, I don't suspect that will happen. But, I mean, I might have to eat my hat a lot over the next few days. We are speculating wildly.

We truly have no idea what's going to come out. When Jorge Mario Bergoglio went into these general congregations 12 years ago, some people knew his name, but he wasn't on a lot of these lists. And then he came out Pope Francis. So, I mean, I could sit here and tell you every name I'm paying attention to, but I don't know what's going to happen. And I kind of like it that way. It's more fun that way.

DEAN: It is, it is, and it is certainly something to watch. Katie McGrady, thanks so much for your thoughts on this. We appreciate it.

MCGRADY: Absolutely.

DEAN: Still ahead, a leaked budget proposal suggests the Trump administration could make major changes to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. We're going to tell you what this could also mean for the LGBTQ+ community.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:39:53]

DEAN: A leaked budget proposal suggests the Trump administration is considering making a major change to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The document mentions eliminating the LGBTQ+ service option. CNN health reporter, Jacqueline Howard has more on this.

[19:40:08]

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: It is a preliminary memo dated April 10th that leaked last week that mentions eliminating funding for 988 LGBTQ+ Specialized Service.

Now, we don't know whether any decisions have been made around this, but the document gives us some insight into the conversations that may be happening.

And what I mean by specialized services. There are subnetworks within the 988 lifeline. So when you dial 988 to reach someone for help, you are given the option to press one to reach the veterans crisis line, press two to reach a Spanish speaking counselor, or press three to reach specialized services for LGBTQ+ people under age 25.

It's estimated that since 988 officially launched as a lifeline in 2022, more than 14.5 million people have called, texted or sent chat messages to the number. Among those people, nearly 1.3 million were routed to the LGBTQ+ specialized service.

So far, LGBTQ advocacy groups say that they're concerned about this subnetwork, possibly retiring. The nonprofit, the Trevor Project put out a news release earlier this week, its CEO, James Black, said, "Ending the 988 suicide and crisis lifelines LGBTQ+ youth specialized services will not just strip away access from millions of LGBTQ+ kids and teens. It will put their lives at risk."

And the Trevor Project is a subcontractor of 988. The group also says that LGBTQ+ youth are about four times more likely to consider suicide compared with their peers. And CDC data shows that in 2021, more than a quarter of high school students identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual reported attempting suicide in the prior 12 months.

DEAN: All right, Jacqueline Howard, thanks so much.

And still ahead, Beyonce Knowles' mother, Tina Knowles, opening up about motherhood and the moment she worried she'd lose her daughter to the lure of stardom.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:46:54]

DEAN: The Annual White House Correspondents' Dinner is about to begin in Washington. You're looking in the ballroom right now where that dinner will take place.

It celebrates the First Amendment and honors the best political journalism of the year. Now, it's very crowded in there. That is the same as year's past. What's different this year is that President Trump is not attending. Last year, President Biden attended.

Oftentimes the presidents, most of the time the presidents do attend although Trump broke with that tradition in his first term as President and there will be no comedian this year as well. So, a very different vibe there at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Beyonce's mother is sharing her family's story. Tina Knowles' new memoir reflecting on her life through segregation and the effort to push past racism to reach the highest heights.

CNN anchor, Sara Sidner sat down with Knowles for her game changers series.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CO-ANCHOR OF CNN NEWS CENTRAL (voice over): You know her daughter by her first name, Beyonce. But Tina Knowles has an incredible story of her own, and she's sharing it with the world.

SIDNER (on camera): A lot of people will look at you and say, she looks like she would be one of them dance moms pushing their kid. You know, theater moms like just pushing and pushing and pushing. Was that the case with Beyonce?

TINA KNOWLES, "MATRIARCH" AUTHOR, BEYONCE'S MOTHER AND FASHION DESIGNER: Absolutely not, you know, I was in a singing group when I was a teenager, so people -- and people just found out about that because I never talked about it. I mean, I don't care what my kids would have wanted to do in life. I knew Beyonce didn't have a choice. This is what she was born to do.

SIDNER (on camera): You said she found her home on stage.

KNOWLES: She found a home. She found her confidence, her, you know, it just made -- it was what she lived and breathed. Solange, on the other hand, had the choice to do whatever she wanted to do. And so, absolutely, I didn't want her to be in this business.

And I still hope, like, at some point, I love the fact that they've been so successful, but I cannot wait till the day that they don't have the pressures of this, and they can just live their lives and not under a microscope.

You know, Solange takes big breaks when she needs them and her health and her mental health is so important to her that she knows how to step away. But, you know, Beyonce still lives and breathes. She's got to have music to survive, I think to breathe.

SIDNER (voice over): Knowles says, that is precisely why she did what she had to do to help her daughters, while at the same time running her own salon.

SIDNER (on camera): So, I read something in this book that made me go like, oh, my God. And it was when Beyonce was about to perform and you were doing her hair, as you did. And she didn't have enough highlights in her hair.

KNOWLES: Highlights in her, yes.

SIDNER: And you cut the highlights out of your own hair and put them into Beyonce's hair.

KNOWLES: Yes, I did, because I promised her that she could have them. And I only brought a little piece of hair because in my mind, a highlight would be one or two. But she was like, no, I need more. Put more over here. And I ran out and she -- it was like I had committed the worst crime.

She was like, Mom, you promised. And so, I was like, oh my God, what am I going to do? And they were calling for them. So, I just took little pieces out and, you know, glued them in her hair. And so, she talks about that story and how much love that took for me to do it.

[19:50:20]

SIDNER (voice over): Unlike her children, who grew up in the middle class until worldwide stardom, Knowles grew up dirt poor, the last of seven children.

SIDNER (on camera): You grew up in Galveston, Texas, which has a long and sordid history.

KNOWLES: Yes.

SIDNER (on camera): The last place to let slaves who were free to go.

KNOWLES: Exactly. Right.

SIDNER: And you were born at the time of segregation. What was life like for you then? How did you get through it?

KNOWLES: Well, I had questions all the time. Like, why do we have to ride in the back of the bus? Why can't we use -- drink out of the water fountain? I experienced all of that, but I think I just had such a good childhood that I didn't focus on it. But when I got to be a teenager, that's when it got really rough. Because like I said, I had a mouth on me and my brother. They beat my brother. They started harassing my family. So, we had a long history with the police Just kind of targeting us.

So, on top of the racism, then you had someone harassing your family. So I had some pretty traumatic experiences with racism.

SIDNER (voice over): She says her mother lived in a state of fear for her children, but focused on her master craft sewing to make sure that her children never looked poor. That craft was handed down to her children.

SIDNER (on camera): How many of Destiny's Child clothes and Beyonce's clothes did you end up sewing or having being involved with?

KNOWLES: Oh, I started styling them maybe -- maybe six months into their singing career. And I did both, I sewed and I styled them.

SIDNER (on camera): I have to ask you about one of the particular outfits that is iconic.

KNOWLES: Okay.

SIDNER: And that is the "Survivor" outfit.

KNOWLES: Oh, yes, that was so much fun.

SIDNER: Where did that idea come from?

KNOWLES: Well, actually, Beyonce saw -- something B.C. with Raquel Welch. She had this fur bathing --

SIDNER: Oh yes, it's a little tiny fur --

KNOWLES: Yes, it was a lot tinier than theirs. I made theirs, but she saw that, and she was like, oh, that would be great for "Survivor." And so, this guy, Jaime, who was incredibly talented, he and I made those together.

SIDNER (voice over): She also worked to ensure that her daughters relationship with one another was as tight as one of her sewing stitches.

SIDNER (on camera): Tell me about how you forged those relationships. Because you have one daughter who is the most famous female recording artist in the world, like there is no other like her. And then Solange also has a talent, but how do you, as a mother, make them both feel that they are special?

KNOWLES: Well, I think one of the things is that you look at them as individuals because they were very, very different. She's very, very different. And I think how I forged that relationship with them is I was terrified when Beyonce turned around ten. She might have been 10 or 11, and she was in the singing group and the kids would say to Solange every day, be quiet, Solange, because she would try to choreograph and you know, she's bossy.

SIDNER (on camera): She wanted to be involved.

KNOWLES: She bossy too, but she -- and they didn't want her involved. And then I started noticing that Beyonce would allow them to talk to her like that, or she would say, okay, mom, can you get Solange out of here? Because she's -- And I'm like, wait a minute, this is her house, and you've got to be nice to her. And I told her all the things, you know, how important it was for her. But finally I realized that they weren't listening. And I saw a wall between them coming, and so I got them in therapy

SIDNER (on camera): Really.

KNOWLES: Yes, and it was really early because my family was like, you're going to make those girls crazy because, you know, especially in the Black community back then --

SIDNER (on camera): You didn't do therapy.

KNOWLES: No, you didn't.

SIDNER (on camera): People don't do it now.

KNOWLES: Right. But that -- back then it was really taboo. And even my husband, he was like, I just don't know if they're too young for you to do that. And I'm like, I'm not asking. I'm going to find somebody. And I found this wonderful therapist, child therapist. And it's funny because he told Beyonce all the things I had told her, but she listened from him. Even though she hated therapy, she hated going.

Solange loved therapy. She loved talking and, you know, expressing herself and the outcome was great. It was really great because they have been super tight since.

SIDNER: I had no idea.

KNOWLES: Yes.

SIDNER (on camera): And it's such a beautiful gift that you gave to them.

KNOWLES: Yes.

SIDNER (on camera): Because they are clearly tight. Yes, they are very tight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[19:55:12]

DEAN: All right, Sara Sidner, thanks for that.

It is going to be a busy night, a busy Sunday night right here on CNN at 8:00 P.M. Eastern on Sunday. "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper, CNN anchor, Abby Phillip will take a comprehensive look at 100 days of Trump.

Then at 9:00, Eva Longoria is back with a new CNN Original Series "Searching For Spain." And then at ten o'clock, be sure to tune in to the all-new CNN original series, "My Happy Place." You can join actor Alan Cumming in the Scottish highlands for the first episode, all of this only on CNN.

Thanks so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean. I'm going to see you again tomorrow morning at 8:00 A.M. on "Inside Politics," then right back here for NEWSROOM starting at 5:00 Eastern.

"Real Time with Bill Maher" is up next.

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