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CNN This Morning
Trump's Trade War Among Allies Triggers Retaliation from Canada and Mexico; DOJ Directs FBI to Fire Senior Officials and Identify Agents Who Worked on January 6 Cases; Investigators Examine Black Boxes in D.C. Plane Crash to Determine Cause of Crash. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired February 03, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
KASIE HUNT, ANCHOR, CNN THIS MORNING: It's Monday, February 3rd, right now on CNN THIS MORNING.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If they want to play the game, I don't mind. We can play the game all they want.
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HUNT: Trump's trade war. The President set to impose big taxes on imports from Canada, Mexico and China. Plus --
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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Now, if you're an agent working on January 6th case or some other case, and you are assigned to do it, you know, you shouldn't be punished just for doing your job.
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HUNT: Investigating the investigators? The Justice Department demanding that thousands of FBI officials explain their involvement in January 6th prosecutions. And this --
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SEAN DUFFY, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION, UNITED STATES: I'll tell you this. The questions I have is, you know, what was happening inside the tower? Were they understaffed?
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HUNT: More questions than answers. Officials investigating last week's collision over the Potomac now examining the helicopter's black box as recovery efforts continue this morning. All right, it is 5:00 a.m. here on the east coast, a live look at the Washington monument here in our nation's capital, the darkened White House there in front at this hour. Good morning, everyone, I'm Kasie Hunt, it's wonderful to have you
with us. President Donald Trump plunging the United States into a trade war on several fronts over the weekend, slapping tariffs on goods from long-time trading partners Mexico and Canada, along with more on imports from China.
He says he might not be done yet. Those tariffs include a 25 percent markup on goods from Canada and from Mexico. China will see a 10 percent tariff and all of these changes set to take effect tomorrow. The announcement from President Trump drawing fierce public reaction in Canada.
Stores started pulling American products off the shelves, like Whiskey from Tennessee or Bourbon from Kentucky. Headlines across Canadian media have been consumed with the coverage of the unfolding trade war. Reports on what will become more expensive and why this is happening, and who is to blame?
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HUNT: Fans at Canadian sporting event seemed to know exactly who to blame. They burst loudly booing the American national anthem. It happened before an NBA game in Toronto, and also before a hockey match in Ottawa. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appealing directly to Americans while pushing back against the tariffs which threaten his nation's economy.
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JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER, CANADA: This is a choice that, yes, will harm Canadians. But beyond that, it will have real consequences for you, the American people. If President Trump wants to usher in a new golden age for the United States, the better path is to partner with Canada, not to punish us.
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HUNT: President Trump unmoved by the backlash from Canada. In a post on Truth Social, the President claims, quote, "we don't need anything they have", end quote. And once again pushed the idea that, quote, "Canada should become our cherished 51st state."
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TRUMP: I disagree with the leadership of Canada and something is going to happen there. But if they want to play the game, I don't mind. We can play the game all they want.
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HUNT: Play the game all they want. Canada, Mexico and China all signaling they are ready to play the game. Canada announcing retaliatory tariffs on 25 -- of 25 percent on $30 billion worth of American goods. And in three weeks, that number could add another $125 billion. Mexico's President expected to announce her country's actions here in just a couple of hours.
And China rolling out, quote, "corresponding countermeasures". Now, President Trump acknowledging that U.S. consumers may face some pain.
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TRUMP: We may have short term some little pain, and people understand that. But long-term, the United States has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world. We have deficits with almost every country -- not every country, but almost. And we're going to change it. It's been unfair. That's why we owed $36 trillion.
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[05:05:00]
HUNT: All right, joining us now to discuss, Stephanie Lai; she's politics reporter at "Bloomberg News". Stephanie, good morning to you --
STEPHANIE LAI, POLITICS REPORTER, BLOOMBERG NEWS: Good morning --
HUNT: Nice to see you. So, what has the reaction been so far to what the President has announced here? Because we're already seeing stock market futures show a little bit of nervousness.
LAI: Yes, you're totally right on that. There is a hand -- there's a bit of volatility right now. You know, three things that I'm looking at right now. Oil prices jumped over the weekend as the news broke about the tariffs. You know, Nasdaq, S&P 500, all these futures are down just 1 percent to 2 percent it seems like.
And on top of that, you know my colleagues are reporting that automakers are expecting a $3,000 price increase on cars being made, I think the industry is expecting about a $60 billion cost just given the tariffs. So, there's already some sort of concern from the market side of things. Now, on the dollar, dollar prices did rise.
And part of that is the expectation that inflationary pressures on the U.S. will continue, and that interest rates will also stay at its current level. And to President Trump's point, there is sort of an expectation that the U.S. will not be harmed as much as foreign countries, which is possibly why the dollar rose slightly over the weekend.
HUNT: What are the implications for everyday Americans of the stronger dollar?
LAI: It does depend on the situation on the countries. But, you know, I think generally-speaking, there is sort of an expectation that prices will continue to increase. And this isn't necessarily what President Trump is hoping for. You know, much of his campaign promise was, we're going to bring the cost down for everyday Americans. And a huge part of that agenda point was by increasing U.S. energy.
Now, we haven't seen that happen yet. So, it's not entirely clear what that impact will be right now. It is possible that we see some sort of consumer price raise in the near future while we wait for energy production to sort of catch-up to speed.
HUNT: Well, and of course, that's what the President there was basically saying, there's going to be some short-term pain. Let's watch what Senator Mitch McConnell had to say over the weekend. He did an interview with "60 Minutes". Take a look.
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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): It will drive the cost of everything up. In other words, it will be paid for by American consumers. I mean, why would you want to get into a fight with your allies over this?
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HUNT: Why would you want to get in a fight with your allies over this? Now, of course, McConnell, ostensibly still in Trump's Republican Party, but clearly, from a different wing of it.
LAI: Yes -- no, that is a really good point. And I think what everyone is looking at is just sort of seeing how are these countries responding? A big part of what we had seen two weekends ago with the Colombia tariff threats was essentially if the countries would fold to Trump's whim. And I think what we're seeing this time around is very different.
You know, there isn't that feeling of we're going to just bend to the whim of Donald Trump. There is sort of some pushback from all of these countries and allies. And so, this is definitely an interesting turn of events and we'll see how this impacts the U.S. economy.
HUNT: Yes, and of course, the Premier of Ontario who does -- isn't necessarily someone who -- there's some trumpy -- Trumpian elements to him as a politician, but he's writing about the LCBO, which buys -- it's a wholesaler. It's only wholesaler of alcohol in Ontario. They sell nearly a billion dollars worth of American wine, beer, spirits and seltzers, "not any more", he says.
There's never been a better time to choose an amazing Ontario-made or Canadian-made product -- as always, please drink responsibly. Stephanie Lai, thank you very much for being here this morning, I appreciate it. All right, coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, new details about the moments before that mid-air collision over the Potomac as new -- a new investigation opens into another deadly plane crash in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Congressman Chris Deluzio will be here to discuss.
Plus, why Elon Musk says a decade's old humanitarian group started by JFK is a ball of worms. And the hottest diss-track of 2024 dominating the Grammy Awards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Grammy goes to Kendrick Lamar --
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Not Like Us".
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[05:10:00]
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DUFFY: I'll tell you this. The questions I have is, you know, what was happening inside the tower? Were they understaffed? And the position of the Blackhawk, the elevation of the Blackhawk. Were the pilots of the Blackhawk wearing night vision goggles? Did it affect their peripheral vision or their perception?
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HUNT: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy with more questions than answers. As investigators try to figure out what caused the collision between that American Airlines jet and that Blackhawk helicopter. The remains of 55 victims have now been recovered, and the search for the 12 remaining victims is still ongoing.
The families of those killed in the disaster visited the banks of the Potomac over the weekend. There was a vigil to remember the young figure skaters who perished in the disaster.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We honor the lives of those that we've lost by holding on to the beauty that they brought into this world. Let us find comfort and the love and support of one another during this time, and know that the memory of those who lost their lives will be upheld with compassion, admiration and effervescence forever.
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HUNT: Yesterday, search teams recovered the third and final black box from the wreckage. The NTSB hoping the data inside will answer questions about the military helicopter's altitude and flight path. Joining us now is Mary Schiavo; CNN aviation analyst, former Inspector General at the Department of Transportation. Mary, good morning, it's always good to see you.
MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Good morning.
HUNT: Can you talk a little bit about some of the disparity that we've learned that seems to exist or potentially exists between the data that the controller in the tower was seeing about the flight path of the helicopter, the altitude, specifically of the helicopter, compared to where we know the helicopter actually was in the sky?
[05:15:00]
SCHIAVO: Yes, and that's one of the most important developments so far in this case, along with the recovery of the helicopter combined black box with the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder into one. That will give them, of course, the best way to figure out the discrepancy in the pictures and what was occurring in each cockpit.
The discrepancy is highly important. And the NTSB, at least, in their announcements on Saturday made it clear that they believe that the aircraft had a reliable readout, and that they were at 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet. And it makes a lot of sense because in an aircraft, you have so many pieces of equipment that rely on your altimeter.
And you get new altimeter settings throughout your flight. And again, just before landing, you get the altimeter settings because when you're coming into land, it's like flying down a staircase. You can't go to your landing altitude until you do the step downs to the airport. And so, the NTSB indicated they're going with the 325, which leaves the big mystery, then why did the helicopter readout at 200 feet, and then that number was also in the tower.
So, that's a huge piece -- a piece of news and a huge development in the case because it kind of point to equipment problems, maybe the equipment wasn't calibrated on all the planes that were in the towers. When is the last time it was looked at in the tower? And by the way, that tower equipment is maintained by contractors. That's not the Air Traffic Controller's fault.
So, that's a big issue in the case. But the flight data recorders from both planes, they will hold the answer because altitude is recorded on all the flight data recorders.
HUNT: Yes, remarkable. Mary, the other question, of course, is what was happening with the plane itself, with the American Airlines jet. And there were some questions from the NTSB over the weekend about a potential upward pitch. Let's watch a little bit of what those NTSB investigators told reporters, and we'll talk about it on the other side. Take a look.
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BRYCE BANNING, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: FDR data showed the airplane beginning to increase its pitch. Sounds of impact were audible about one second later.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was it trying to pull up before the collision? Is that what you were saying?
TODD INMAN, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: I can tell you at one point, very close to the impact, there was a slight change in pitch, an increase in pitch. That is something that we will get you more detail on.
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HUNT: Mary, what does that tell you, that increase in pitch?
SCHIAVO: Well, increase in pitch is, you know, in layman's terms, is pointing the nose higher in the sky. But with one second, you don't really have time to get away from a rapidly approaching collision object. I mean, the Space X rocket could not have gotten away from that, but it does tell us that they saw the helicopter approaching at the last second, literally at the last second, and tried to climb up, you know, put the nose up in the sky and climb up out of the way. But one second isn't enough time for them to do anything. It's just heartbreaking.
HUNT: Mary, what are your biggest questions here going forward?
SCHIAVO: Well, now, because of the discrepancy in the readouts from the altitudes, and this should not be that kind of discrepancy. It's so important to set your altimeter and to calibrate your equipment. And that is, you know, somewhere, something, you know, either equipments malfunctioning or someone did not do, you know, the kinds of work in calibration that they have to do.
But that is a huge question. Yes, there are human errors, but there could also be equipment errors. But again, who -- you know, who and what did not get the right altitude reading.
And again, that in a scene of wet environment, which is what this helicopter was. Remember the helicopter asked the tower for visual clearance, meaning the helicopter accepted the responsibility to see and avoid the aircraft, and the aircraft under total air traffic control had the rights and was in the right place and was heading to the runway. At that point, the landing aircraft has the right of way.
So, that equipment failure, you name it, doesn't excuse the see-and- avoid obligation of the helicopter.
HUNT: Right --
SCHIAVO: But there are just so many questions about that equipment that must be answered because this is the busiest runway in the world. We are -- or in the country, we have to figure out why they had the wrong altitudes and it could save lives in the future. So, they will do it. They will figure it out.
HUNT: All right, Mary Schiavo for us this morning. Thank you, Mary, really appreciate it.
SCHIAVO: Thank you.
HUNT: All right, coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, thousands of FBI agents ordered by the Justice Department to answer questions about their role in the January 6th investigations. Plus, Beyonce winning big last night at the Grammys.
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[05:20:00]
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HUNT: All right, 23 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning round- up. The Trump administration ending temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who are living in the United States. The decision paves the way for the deportation of Venezuelan migrants who had hoped to remain in the U.S. for 18 more months on work permits.
Massive protests in Germany against a proposal to limit immigration, a move supported by the country's conservatives and the far-right party alternative for Germany. "Reuters" reports German police estimate 160,000 people attended Sunday's demonstration. The state of Louisiana issuing an arrest warrant for a doctor in New York charged with prescribing abortion pills to a pregnant minor in their state.
Grand jurors in west Baton Rouge unanimously issuing an indictment against Dr. Margaret Carpenter and the minor's mother, charging them with criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, a felony, yes.
[05:25:00]
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Grammy goes to "Cowboy Carter".
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beyonce!
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HUNT: Beyonce finally winning the coveted Album of the Year award at the Grammys last night, becoming the most nominated and awarded artist ever with 35 Grammy wins. Early Sunday morning, she announced an upcoming "Cowboy Carter" tour.
No dates have yet been released. All right, coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, efforts to remove wreckage from the Potomac set to begin as crews braved frigid, murky waters in search of the remaining victims. Plus, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency getting extraordinarily heavy-handed.
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TRUMP: I think Elon is doing a good job. He's a big cost-cutter, sometimes we won't agree with it and we'll not go where he wants to go. (END VIDEO CLIP)
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