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Republicans Praise Trump's Message On The Economy; House Speaker: American People Disgusted With Fraud; Large Group Of Democrats Boycott Trump's Speech; Trump: "I Will Never Allow" Iran To Have A Nuclear Weapon; Impact Of Tariff Policy Changes On The Supply Chain; U.S. State Department Says Situation in Mexico is Back to Normal; President Sheinbaum Says Mexico Working Toward Security and Peace; Trump Says He Will Never Allow Iran to Have a Nuclear Weapon; U.S. & Iran to Hold Next Round of Nuclear Talks on Thursday; Trump Says U.S. Is Bigger, Better, Stronger Than Ever Before; Von Der Leyen Promises More E.U. Aid for Ukraine; U.K. Government Supports Release of Files on Ex-prince Andrew's Appointment as Trade Envoy; in Brazil, at Least 30 Killed, Dozens More Missing in Flooding; Louvre Director Resigns Months After Theft of Crown Jewels. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired February 25, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:37]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our nation is back. Bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A record-long State of the Union Address with plenty of false claims. Also, Donald Trump hails the economy in his speech with an eye on the Midterms.

We will look at his claims about tariffs and how they impact the world.

And later, not your conventional world traveler, meet the man doing it on two wheels.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM WITH ROSEMARY CHURCH.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. And we begin in Washington, where President Donald Trump has delivered the longest State of the Union speech in U.S. history. One hour and 47 minutes.

He claimed the country is the envy of the world, rescued from the failures of the Biden administration are now thriving in the midst of a new golden age.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Members of Congress, the state of our union is strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The president repeated his dubious claim that he has ended eight wars since returning to the White House. He touched only briefly on the war in Ukraine, but he bragged about reasserting U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere and his efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: No nation should ever doubt America is resolved. We have the most powerful military on Earth. I rebuilt the military in my first term. We are going to continue to do so. Also, we just approved a trillion-dollar budget. We have no choice. We have to be strong, because hopefully we will seldom have to use this great power that we built together.

It's really called peace through strength, and it's been very, very effective.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Trump made a number of questionable claims about his economic record, including on jobs, inflation, and taxes. And he said his tariff policies are saving the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: In 12 months, I secured commitments for more than $18 trillion pouring in from all over the globe. More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country. Think about that. Any time in the history of our country, more are working today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: U.S. Democrats are seeking to contrast their party from President Trump's vision for America. Many of the party's lawmakers boycotted the State of the Union Address entirely, while others are zeroing in on key issues like the cost of living.

Shortly, after the president's address, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger delivered a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration's tariff policies in her Democratic response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-VA): Even though the Supreme Court struck these tariffs down four days ago, the damage to us, the American people, has already been done.

Meanwhile, the president is planning for new tariffs, another massive tax hike on you and your family. And Republicans in Congress, they remain unwilling to assert their constitutional authority to stop him.

So, I'll ask again, is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family? We all know the answer is no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: For reaction from Capitol Hill, let's turn to CNNs chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Democrats and Republicans left the House chamber after Donald Trump's very long speech, and had very different reactions. Republicans very much applauding the president, saying that he delivered the message that they wanted him to hear on. A wide range of issues, namely on the issue of the economy, something that they wanted to press very hard.

They are trying to sell the signature legislative achievement, the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

[02:05:03]

Something that many that had concerns about that the president simply has not been focused on that enough in trying to convince the American public that this bill could actually help them reduce their costs.

In fact, polls have showing that quite the opposite, the president's approval ratings, particularly when it comes to the economy, really deteriorating.

They believe that right now this could reverse things. Democrats, however, saw this much differently. They saw this as an incredibly partisan speech that was lacking in substance. That was the words of Hakeem Jeffries, told me they had no substance whatsoever.

And what Chuck Schumer said, the Senate democratic leader, he said that this is all delusional.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Senator Schumer, what is your reaction to the speech tonight?

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): State of delusion.

RAJU: What did you make of the way you went after Omar and let's just say, Somali immigrants, in particular, in --

(CROSSTALK)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I think he called out the fraud.

(CROSSTALK)

RAJU: Were you comfortable with that?

JOHNSON: I think he called out the fraud that the American people are disgusted with. And the fact that the Democrats would not agree with that is pretty shameful. We are going to make fraud a major theme and the -- and the Midterm Election is coming up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But inside the chamber, the reaction is very partisan as well. Yes, there were a handful of bipartisan moments, but it was really, really lacking. There were actually far fewer Democrats in the chamber than in past speeches, because the Democratic leaders counseled their members to boycott the speech if they were going to have outbursts.

The Democrats did not want to have their members engaged in outbursts.

We did see Al Green, the congressman from Texas, get escorted out of the chamber after holding up a sign that said, black people are not apes. That was in reference to Donald Trump's now deleted racist video post of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.

But those are the antics, actually, Democratic leaders did not want their members to engage in. They wanted to engage have more silent protests. In fact, not really cheer the president. They -- and that seemed to get under the skin of Donald Trump, because multiple times, Trump called out Democrats for not cheering them on a clear side, that perhaps, that got under the president's skin, but also perhaps, Republicans saw that as a way to paint Democrats as out of touch for not cheering for things they thought, believe have wide support with the American public.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

CHURCH: Now, for some international reaction to President Trump's speech, CNN's Ivan Watson joins us live from Hong Kong.

Good to see you, Ivan.

So, in his address, President Trump said he will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. But also insisted his preference is to continue with diplomacy, despite the largest U.S. military buildup near Iran since the Iraq War.

What's the latest from Iran on all of this? And, of course, the overall reaction to what Trump said?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, we are still left guessing. Will there be a war in a matter of days or not?

What is clear, one of the things that Trump signaled, as you just pointed out, was that he is still willing to talk. And I guess that's important for people who are worried about where things could lead when you have Trump recently, having assembled this huge American armada across the Middle East, currently threatening Iran.

Take a listen to an excerpt of what he had to say in the speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven't heard those secret words, we will never have a nuclear weapon. My preference.

My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are, by far, to have a nuclear weapon. I can't let that happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: But Iran, actually has said the secret words that President Trump wants to hear. Look at this tweet, this post on social media from Iran's foreign minister just hours before Trump's State of the Union speech, in which he says, "Iran will, under no circumstances, ever develop a nuclear weapon." While going on to say that Iran does have the right to peaceful nuclear technology, and that gets at the crux of the argument that has gone on for decades between Washington and Tehran, the accusation that Iran's civilian nuclear energy program is hiding a covert nuclear weapons program.

Trump celebrated the fact that last year, a U.S. bombing campaign, in his words, obliterated Iran's nuclear weapons program. But then, he said, but I believe that they are trying to rebuild it right now. So, all we do know right now is, in addition to weapons and the brinksmanship is that both sides are scheduled to hold talks in Geneva later this week.

[02:10:08]

CHURCH: Yes, and that is important. We'll see what comes of that.

Ivan, even with the longest State of the Union Address in U.S. history, President Trump only briefly mentioned Ukraine, which, of course, is now marking four years of war with Russia. How is that being received?

WATSON: Right. And I'll also point out from my vantage point here in Hong Kong, he did not mention the word China once in this record- breaking lengthy speech. And that is a country, a rival that Trump has frequently liked to criticize in the past.

It could be because he is just weeks away from a face-to-face meeting with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping in Beijing, and because the Supreme Court ruled his favorite foreign policy weapon, tariffs illegal, it may have tied one hand behind Trump's back before that face-to-face meeting with the Chinese leader.

When it comes to Ukraine, that also got passing reference, Trump repeated his favorite exaggeration that he has ended eight wars, but he has also famously said that he would end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours. That has not happened. In fact, this is the four-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Trump himself said that more than 20,000 soldiers are getting killed every month on the battlefield between Russia and Ukraine, and there are no signs of an end in sight to this grinding, most deadly conflict in Europe that has been a failure by Trump's own standards, to bring an end to this terrible conflict, and there is been a lot of criticism heaped on him that he has continued to at times and his administration, repeat Kremlin talking points when it is, in fact, Russia that launched the full scale invasion and conflict four years ago.

CHURCH: Ivan Watson, bringing us the very latest from Hong Kong. Many thanks. Appreciate it.

Richard Johnson is a senior lecturer in U.S. politics at Queen Mary University of London. He joins me now from Oxford, England. Good to have you with us.

RICHARD JOHNSON, SENIOR LECTURER IN U.S. POLITICS, QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: Good morning.

CHURCH: So, Americans were hoping to hear from President Trump about how he plans to make their lives more affordable. He claimed, "the economy is warring," but very few Americans agree with that assessment. That's according to the polls, at least. What stood out to you? Big picture.

JOHNSON: Big picture. This was a speech to the party, not necessarily a speech to the nation.

Donald Trump's approval rating is just sub of 40 percent. And there are different ways that a president whose approval rating is in that area can try and improve it. One is to try to win the approval of independents and supporters of the opposite party. There was no attempt really to do that in the speech. He called Democrats crazy. He described them as destroying the country. This is an extraordinary thing. If we went back 10 years ago to Barack Obama's final State of the Union Address and said that the next president will be talking in such terms, we would have thought it to be unbelievable.

But what, I think, he is doing is he's trying to improve his approval ratings among Republicans, because that has dropped as well. He is about 80 percent approval among Republicans. So, if he can boost that up to let's say, 90 percent or even 95 percent, as he's had at various points in his presidencies, then, he could push himself back over and above the 40 percent line. I do think that that's the big picture political calculation that's going on here.

CHURCH: And Richard, as President Trump doubles down on his sweeping global tariffs, and as he amasses the largest U.S. military buildup near Iran since the Iraq War, threatening to strike that country if Iran fails to agree to a nuclear deal. The latest CNN polls show 68 percent of Americans think the president has the wrong priorities.

Did he say anything Tuesday night that would change the minds of most voters about those priorities? JOHNSON: Well, I think when it came to foreign policy, he skirted over some of these big issues. He hardly had anything really to say in great substance about the case for military intervention against Iran forever -- for example, which, if you compare to say George W. Bush and the State of the Unions in the lead up to say, the Iraq War, there was a huge amount of effort and attention that President Bush devoted to those issues.

I think, in terms of the sort of topics that the president focused on, he was for much of the speech when it was a very long speech, the longest State of the Union Address, he did focus on the economy, and he didn't talk about issues like his ballroom, and his arch, and the Trump Kennedy Center, and so on, which he has talked about.

[02:15:05]

He seems to like to talk about those kind of physical architectural legacy projects of his. But those are not popular, and those are seen as distractions.

So, I think, someone in his White House team, maybe a group of people, sat him down yesterday, and said, look, no mention of those pet projects. You need to try to focus on the economy. But there is a difference between what people hear and what people experience, and that's really where the test will be in November.

This is probably the last time President Trump is speaking to a majority Republican Congress, unless polls change dramatically between now and November. And I'm not sure that he gave Republican lawmakers actually great assurance, especially those in swing districts, that what he said this night -- this past night, is going to help them save their seats.

CHURCH: And I do want to talk about November in just a moment, but I wanted to ask you, because dozens of Democrats boycotted the president's address, and a few protested during the speech. What exactly does that strategy achieve?

JOHNSON: You know, it is a growing development in State of the Union Addresses, since we first saw this actually during Obama's presidency, when he was heckled by a Republican lawmaker, who shouted, you lie. That was a huge event. A lot of people paid attention to that. They thought this was a great breach of the civility of the State of the Union.

You know, the State of the Union is the American version of the British King's speech, and you don't heckle the king when he gives the king speech.

But what's happened is that partisanship has become such that this has gone from a speech of state, speech of ceremony, a speech that's above politics, to a -- effectively a partisan intervention, a party- political speech. And that's why you see Democrats choosing to respond to it as you would, a party-political speech, either by not attending the rally in so far as that's what it's become, or actually expressing their disapproval at points. But the president himself has invited this with the kind of rhetoric that he has used in his speech to describe, as I said, Democrats is crazy and destroying the nation. So, that's not the kind of language you would have expected to see in a State of the Union Address 20 years ago, indeed, 10 years ago. But now, it's become in the sort of post 2016-era, part of the course.

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: Right.

And of course, the president's State of the Union Address comes a week ahead of the first primaries for this year's Midterm Elections. How likely is it that Trump changed his political fortunes around? And what might all this signal for November's elections? Just very quickly,

JOHNSON: I think it's not going to change the dial very much. Where he might try to have made a difference is trying to boost enthusiasm among core Republicans that will help his backed candidates in the primaries in the -- in the spring, and he might try to address something of the enthusiasm gap in November. But to be honest, I think, Democrats are much more motivated to turn out in November than Republicans at the moment.

CHURCH: Richard Johnson, thank you so much for your analysis. Appreciate it. Thank you.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, during the State of the Union, President Trump spent some time talking about his favorite word. What the president said about tariffs and America's income tax? Back with that and more in just a moment.

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[02:22:55]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

President Donald Trump used his State of the Union speech to defend his plan to replace his most sweeping tariffs. In the presence of three of the Supreme Court justices who rendered those tariffs illegal last week, Trump said his new tariffs will remain in effect because they are now based on trade laws that have been tested for a long time.

The administration imposed new 10 percent global tariffs on Tuesday, which Trump has promised to increase to 15 percent. And he talked about using tariffs to eliminate income taxes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: As time goes by, I believe the tariffs paid for by foreign countries will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax, taking a great financial burden off the people that I love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Let's discuss Trump's new tariff plan with Ryan Patel. He is a senior fellow of the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. Good to have you with us.

RYAN PATEL, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Great to join you, Rosemary, as always.

CHURCH: So, as we just heard in his State of the Union Address, the president predicted that his tariffs could one day end the need for income taxes. How likely is that? What do you say to that?

PATEL: I mean, that would be great, but in theory, that this a little bit harder than immediate. Right? It's -- OK, let me take a step back. I'm sorry.

The tax cut funding is more conceptual. So, it does sound great than immediate. And so, the thing to me is that it sounds great. You want to hear tariffs could pay for tax cuts, but it's important to separate what the two things are. Right?

Tariffs do bring revenues, but most of the cost is borne by, you know, is on the domestic companies and consumers. And we have seen that over the last year, where multiple studies have said, for consumers have gone a couple of thousand-dollar increases in costs at their, you know, groceries or just their spending. So, the real effect here is really the capital allocation.

[02:25:00]

So, again, conceptually, yes, it could sound but where are you getting all of that money to do that, is not simply just raising a tariff.

CHURCH: Right. And Ryan, in what might be the biggest defeat of Donald Trump's presidency, the Supreme Court last week ruled against his sweeping global tariffs, calling them illegal. But now, he is doubling down, finding another way to apply tariffs. How's Europe likely to respond or retaliate to that, do you think?

PATEL: Yes, I mean, Europe is going to respond in measure. And that's what you saw, what they did. And part of that role is, you know, he had stated a 10 percent global, then, went to 15 percent. And Europe reacted to actually the 15 percent because they were like, well, we can't deal in this kind of dealing without uncertainty.

So, they are going to react in a way that's strategic for themselves. I believe they are counter the tariffs as they walked away from the deal, and you know, it will accelerate, maybe other partners too in that retaliation. And at the end of the day in the State of Union speech, President Trump made it really clear what tariffs was, and I don't think it's been any different is he is using it as leverage, and I think, Europe sees that, and that's why they are trying to use their leverage back to the trade deal.

CHURCH: And we have already seen the markets fall as a result of the president's decision to ignore the Supreme Court decision and forge ahead with applying his tariffs in other ways. What impact could this level of policy volatility have on the U.S. economy, and indeed, global economies?

PATEL: Yes, I mean, all businesses. CEOs of these companies are listening to what is going on, reading what's going on. Because this is not a short-term thing, Rosemary. There -- it's really two words, capital allocation. What I mean by that is, are companies putting capital projects 10-year, 15-year commitments? Are they doing that right now based on where we are?

And that's how the markets are reacting, because the answer as of today is no. Why would they put millions of dollars in manufacturing in certain countries are growing, if they are not sure? And I think that's where the macro tension is occurring when it comes to even the jobs numbers, the job growth, the manufacturing, the productivity.

You know, these are the things that makes the market really feel uneasy when they can't predict what that long term investment. And again, the words are capital allocation, because where the money flows is where everybody goes. And if it stops, people start to get nervous.

CHURCH: Right. And so, what impact could this uncertainty and volatility in tariff policy have on supply chains?

PATEL: Absolutely. I mean, I think we would say we are used to it now. I think it goes ups and downs. But, you know, over the long term, if we are going to continue to do this for the next couple of years, you are going to see other countries in the near short term, like, you know, you have Mexico, Latin America, you know, supply chain starts to move even further.

I mean, that's more so if we were not there yet, but you know, the alternatives are already there, and CFOs and CEOs, if they don't have plan A, plan B, right now, they are in trouble, because supply chains matter, and the spending and infrastructure needs to occur as well.

CHURCH: Ryan Patel, always great to chat with you. Thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

PATEL: Appreciate you.

CHURCH: Well, security is tight in Mexico, where life is getting back to normal. Just ahead, the government's response to a wave of unrest after the takedown of a drug kingpin. Back with that and more in a moment.

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[02:32:58]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Welcome back, everyone. The U.S. State Department says the situation in Mexico has returned to normal after the killing of drug lord, El Mencho, triggered widespread violence, and Americans in Mexico are no longer being urged to shelter in place. More than 100 Mexican marines are now in Jalisco state to reinforce security. And this comes after cartel members went on a rampage when their leader died in a military raid on Sunday. The government says the violence expanded across 20 of Mexico's 32 states. It underscores how El Mencho's Jalisco New Generation Cartel expanded its territory in recent years. The cartel's most significant presence is in the darker blue areas you see on the map there.

The situation has raised safety concerns about Mexico hosting World Cup matches this summer. But President Claudia Sheinbaum says there's no risk to visitors. CNN's Valeria Leon reports on how the attack on El Mencho was executed and the violence that ensued.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When a cartel leader as powerful as El Mencho is taken down, the consequences unfold quickly, from internal power struggles to retaliation on the ground. Mexican security forces say they have regained control and are working to prevent further violence following the operation that killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

LEON (voice-over): He was taken down in Tapalpa, Jalisco, a town where Mexican forces carried out that operation. This is what remains in the aftermath of that operation. Military personnel continue to guard the terrain where the operation unfolded. The area is heavily wooded and difficult to access.

It remains partially sealed off, with forensic teams working inside a restricted perimeter. What is normally a quiet town, known for its natural beauty and weekend visitors, became the center of a major federal security deployment.

[02:35:00]

Tourists staying in the area described hearing helicopters overhead and what sounded like explosions, before roads were blocked and access was cut off. But what happened in this town did not stay there. Within hours of the operation, violence spread across parts of Jalisco.

It reached Puerto Vallarta, one of Mexico's top destinations, the third most visited in the country, welcoming more than six million international tourists last year, many of them Americans. With many shops now forced to close, some tourists say they've struggled to find basic necessities, including food and water.

Flights were suspended at Puerto Vallarta's international airport. And this morning, President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the situation.

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT: Today, there are still no classes, but tomorrow, they are hoping that activities will return to normal at the Guadalajara Airport. Almost all flights have already resumed and things are also gradually returning to normal in Puerto Vallarta.

LEON (voice-over): But even as flights resume and roads are cleared, the economic impact is already being felt. Just weeks before spring break, and for a region that depends heavily on international tourism, the damage may extend beyond burned vehicles and broken windows.

LEON: The recovery for local businesses may take time.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: After weeks of speculation, President Trump finally gave Congress and the world insight into his approach towards Iran. The president said in his State of the Union address that he will, quote, "never allow Tehran to have a nuclear weapon," but that he still prefers to cut a deal. CNN's Paula Hancocks has more on how Iranians are reacting.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are hearing, though, from this source that this plan could show compromise when it comes to limiting the enrichment of uranium. Now, we have heard from U.S. President Donald Trump, he doesn't want any enrichment of uranium. So potentially, there is still a gap between the two sides.

But we did hear from Iranian officials telling Reuters that, potentially, the highly-enriched uranium that is believed to still be in country, potentially Iran could export part of that, they could dilute another part of that as part of this compromise. We heard from the U.N. just last year that they believe there's some 440 kilograms of this highly-enriched uranium, one of the key sticking points when it comes to these discussions.

We have consistently, though, been hearing from Iran that they only want to talk about the nuclear program and that they do also want to be talking about potential lifting of sanctions and economic relief. So really, what we are going to see over the next couple of days could show us exactly what is going to be happening when it comes to this issue.

We heard from one source familiar, one regional source, quote, "This Thursday will decide everything, a war or a deal," those crucial talks that will be taking place in Geneva.

CHURCH: President Trump set a new record for the longest State of the Union address in American history and he covered quite a few topics during his one hour and 47-minute speech. Earlier, CNN's Jake Tapper spoke with Senior Reporter, Daniel Dale who helped fact-check some of the president's wide-ranging claims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: There was just a lot of lying tonight. I counted at least 15 false claims, plus a bunch more misleading claims. A lot of them were the greatest hits you hear at President Trump's rallies, things like U.S. elections are rife with cheating. They're not.

The Democrats can't win without cheating. That's nonsense. The mail-in ballots are crooked, more nonsense.

That he has ended wars that never actually started or that clearly have not ended.

But what I thought was most notable from a fact-checker's perspective was that by far the single subject with the most false and misleading claims was the economy, that key subject on which he's struggling in the polls.

So he claimed, for example, explicitly, that his tariffs are paid for by foreign countries. That is simply false. The tariff payments are made by U.S. importers and we know from study after study and just from living that they often pass on some or all of those costs to consumers, average Americans.

He claimed he secured $18 trillion in investment in just a year. That number is total fiction. The White House's own website at this moment, or at least earlier tonight, used a $9.7 trillion figure, way lower. Even that figure is a wild exaggeration.

He said he inherited a stagnant economy, now it is roaring like never before. Growth in 2025 was 2.2 percent. That was lower than in each and every year of the Biden administration, so just totally contradicting that narrative.

[02:40:00]

President Trump said he inherited record inflation. He didn't. He inherited 3.0 percent inflation, though it was a 40-year high, about 9.1 percent more than two years before he took office and then it came down. And there is inflation today, contrary to his claim, that there's no inflation. It was 2.4 percent in January.

And then I think he was super misleading on the subject of what I think is the most important price in American politics, gas prices. He said they're now below $2.30 a gallon in most states, and in some places $1.99 a gallon. There is no state, not a single one, where the AAA state average today was below $2.37. That was Oklahoma.

And as for that $1.99 claim, GasBuddy told me that of the 150,000 gas stations the company tracks across the country, there were just four this evening, four out of 150,000 that were selling for $1.99 per gallon or less, aside from special discounts.

So, there was a ton of dishonesty tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, coming up, Ukrainians tell CNN that they are tired of resilience after four years of war. We'll hear their stories just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:45] CHURCH: The European Union says Ukraine has a clear path to membership in the bloc and is promising more financial aid as Ukraine enters its fifth year of war with Russia. European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen visited Kyiv on the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion.

She says the E.U. will deliver on a $105 billion loan despite Hungary's veto. Von der Leyen says the E.U. is also close to adopting its 20th sanctions package against Russia. And the E.U. will work on a new winter energy package for Kyiv as Russian airstrikes target Ukraine's power plants.

CNN's Clarissa Ward is in Kyiv to see how Ukrainians are coping with four years of fear, hardship, cold, and loss.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We were here, of course, four years ago as those Russian bombs began falling and Russian tanks began rolling in. And we've been coming back regularly ever since.

And I can honestly say, I have never seen the country in quite such a bleak state. A lot of people here now really feel that they've reached a breaking point, that they simply don't have the endurance to keep on going. This has obviously been a particularly brutal winter, the coldest in recent memory.

There have been relentless Russian strikes on Ukraine's infrastructure, constant power outages, heating outages. Hundreds of buildings here in Kyiv will not even have heating or power for the rest of the winter. We met a young mother, a single mother with a three-year-old daughter who is often carrying her up and down ten flights of stairs to get in and out of her apartment.

And I think there's an increasing sense of bitterness here, too. Like, what happened to the United States? They used to be our closest partner. Now they feel abandoned. We spoke to President Zelenskyy. We put this to him. We said, you know, how is the relationship now? He said that they had good contacts in December, that the negotiating teams are talking on pretty much an everyday basis.

But he did have a personal plea for President Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARD: This woman said to me, I never want to hear the word resilient again. I am so over being resilient. I am so exhausted. I am so broken. What do you tell Ukrainian people right now, who are feeling that, that they're done?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: It's very difficult. It's very understandable and painful that we want to end this war as quick as possible. And really, each day, we do all we can. I speak with all the partners. I try to negotiate. I'm asking different partners in different continents, help me to stop Putin. But if we will give him all he wants, we will lose everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD: When we asked him what he would like to hear from President Trump in his State of the Union address, he took a very, very long pause while he was thinking about it. And then he said simply, we want him to stay on our side.

And the very fact that he had to say that, and so many Ukrainians feel that they are now in that position of almost begging the U.S. to keep its focus on Ukraine, to continue supporting Ukraine, I think is a pretty staggering assessment of just how much things have changed in these four years.

CHURCH: Ukraine's allies showed solidarity on the fourth anniversary of the start of full-scale war. On Tuesday, the Eiffel Tower lit up with Ukraine's national colors. Berlin's Brandenburg Gate was also illuminated in blue and yellow, and crowds marched in the city streets in support of Ukraine.

And Ukrainian flags flew outside the European Union buildings in Brussels, which also showcased Ukrainian colors.

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The British government is backing a proposal to publish documents related to former prince Andrew's appointment as a U.K. Trade Envoy in 2001, following his arrest last week. CNN's Max Foster has details from London.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely consuming parliament and Westminster, this whole story and we're not even talking about Peter Mandelson who is someone else who's been facing the similar sort of allegations. But in terms of Andrew, going into the succession debate, you have to pass a law in 14 -- 15 different parliaments. So that's one part of the story.

The other part of the story is this police investigation into Andrew's role as Envoy, whether he abused that position. He hasn't been charged around that and parliament doesn't want to get involved in the police investigation. But what they are doing is going to the government and saying, we want to see all the files that relates to the fact that he was appointed to that position all of those years ago.

So in order to do that, they had to have a parliamentary debate. This is how complex this is all getting. There's a rule in parliament that they're not allowed to debate the monarchy. That's the king, the heir to the throne, but also other members of the royal family. They're not allowed to talk about their conduct because the royal family, in theory, can't answer back. They're also a branch of parliament as well.

So, the speaker today had to give special dispensation for this debate to go ahead, which was extraordinary in itself. This is centuries-old traditions really burning up here, just shows the repercussions the Epstein Files are having here. And then take a listen to this, so you're going to hear from a government minister and they really did not hold back on Andrew.

CHRIS BRYANT, MINISTER OF TRADE, U.K. LABOUR PARTY: Colleagues and many civil servants have told me their own stories of their interactions with Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor and they all betray the same pattern, a man on a constant self-aggrandizing and self-enriching hustle, a rude, arrogant and entitled man, who could not distinguish between the public interest which he said he served and his own private interest.

FOSTER: Andrew, of course, denies any wrongdoing in relation to all of this and he hasn't responded to any of our requests for comment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Just ahead on "CNN Newsroom," CNN is following a man on a mission to see the world and he's doing it all on a bike. An update on his journey, just ahead.

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CHURCH: Rescue workers and residents in southeastern Brazil are removing debris after landslides caused by a severe storm. At least 30 people are reported dead, another 39 are missing. Security forces have rescued dozens of people and are hoping to find others trapped in the rubble of homes that have collapsed.

[02:55:00]

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has mobilized his government to help Brazilians affected by the storm. It has done so much damage, it is difficult to get in or out of the hardest-hit city. Heavy rains have damaged bridges and roads and flooded neighborhoods, forcing nearly 700 people to abandon their homes.

The danger is not over yet. Forecasters say more rain is coming. Local government officials are pleading with people living in hillside areas to leave their homes immediately.

The Director of the Louvre Museum in Paris is stepping down, just four months after the daytime heist that stunned the world. Laurence des Cars admitted last year that there were not adequate security measures in place to protect the world's largest museum under her leadership.

While several suspects have been arrested, France's crown jewels worth tens of millions of dollars are still missing. President Emmanuel Macron accepted her resignation and praised her decision as an act of responsibility.

Well, people dream of traveling all over the globe, but probably not on a bike. One world traveler has been biking for five years on a mission to cross every continent. CNN caught up with Ian Andersen in Tokyo as he's facing unexpected challenges along his journey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IAN ANDERSEN, CYCLIST: All right. I biked from Portugal across Europe, all the way to Asia. I biked to Japan, baby.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Ian Andersen just traversed six continents on his bike. It took five years to do it. His latest leg was through 20 countries from Portugal to Japan. Andersen documented his journey along the way.

ANDERSEN: (Inaudible) were unbelievable this morning. I'm curious about the world and people in the world, different cultures, exploring. I was curious about places like the Iran, Russia, what the people were like there. And so, I biked to them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): He said he was most surprised by Afghanistan.

ANDERSEN: I was just so caught offguard and surprised by their generosity. It felt like every day they were inviting me into their home, offering me food, tea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): While he faced his biggest challenge in Iran, getting stuck in the country after Israel launched a series of deadly strikes in June last year.

ANDERSEN: More bombs are falling. (Inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Unsurprisingly, he says it's now time for a break, but not for long. He says next up and the last continent to cross is Antarctica. He plans to do it later this year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Very impressive. Thanks so much for joining us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more "CNN Newsroom" after a short break. Stay with us.

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