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Trump Voters in Colorado Reflect on First Month; Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) is Interviewed about Musk's Ultimatum to Federal Workers; DeSantis Announces DOGE for Florida. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired February 25, 2025 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Ukraine refuse to suggest Russia was the aggressor and indeed join Russia in a U.N. general assembly vote. Remarkable.
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN ANCHOR: It is remarkable. It is a 180 degree shift from where the Biden administration had been in condemning Russia at the United Nations, with its allies, for the four years prior. Although, you know, I think that many would say that that did not have a material impact on the trajectory of the war. We will see, as you say, whether this does.
Nick Paton Walsh, we appreciate it. Thank you.
Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis taking a page out of Elon Musk's book, announcing that he plans to create his own version of DOGE for the sunshine state.
Plus, how the first month of President Donald Trump's presidency is going over with his supporters in Colorado.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESMERALDA RAMIREZ-RAY, COLORADO TRUMP VOTER: I voted for that. I love it.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What did you vote for?
RAMIREZ-RAY: I voted for a president that was going to put America first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:35:26]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People are saying it was the best month for a president in our country's history. I hope that's right. But I feel it's right. We've - we've done a lot of things in a very short period of time, four weeks. As I've said before, it's my hope that my greatest legacy, however, will be as a peacemaker and a unifier. I want to bring peace, not war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAUSCHE: It's too early to tell how history will record the early days of Donald Trump's second term, so he decided to ask some of his supporters. CNN's John King traveled to Colorado's eighth congressional district to talk to four Trump voters about the president's first month back in office.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Smola (ph) Ranch spans more than 100 acres, home to 60 horses and one last bison.
DAVID HAYES, COLORADO TRUMP VOTER: This little guy down here, his name is Trouble.
KING (voice over): A bit ornery at times. Yes, Trouble.
HAYES: You know, it's like Trump. I really don't like him as a person. I think he's arrogant and kind of a jerk. But -
KING (voice over): David Hayes is a funny man.
HAYES: I tried farming for a while, and I would rather get run over by a bison, you know?
KING (voice over): The northern Colorado ranch has been in his family since the 1880s. The White House and Washington are far away.
HAYES: We got like hot dogs.
KING (voice over): Yes, Hayes wants the government shrunk, but he doesn't see a coherent plan, and he doesn't trust Elon Musk. Doesn't believe what he says. Doesn't want Trump letting Musk poke around Social Security or tax files.
HAYES: I don't know how many people he's fired. And, you know, Musk keeps saying, well, I found $1 billion of waste here. And Social Security, there's hundreds of - hundreds and hundreds of people that are collecting it that are between 100 years old and 150. Can you believe any of that crap?
KING: No.
HAYES: He can't substantiate it. You can't believe it.
KING: Right.
HAYES: So that's a trust issue.
KING (voice over): A blue-collar rural guy in one of the nation's most competitive congressional districts, a three-time Trump voter who calls the president unfocused and arrogant. But Democrats should hold the celebration.
KING: But if you had a do over tomorrow and you had to pick again between Trump and Harris, what would you do?
HAYES: I would still do Trump.
KING: So, a conservative independent, is that fair?
ESMERALDA RAMIREZ-RAY, COLORADO TRUMP VOTER: Very conservative independent, yes.
KING (voice over): So would Esmeralda Ramirez-Ray. She smiles when asked about Trump's frenetic first month.
RAMIREZ-RAY: I voted for that. I love it.
KING: What did you vote for?
RAMIREZ-RAY: I voted for a president that was going to put America first. I voted for a president that was going to secure our borders. And I voted for a president that was going to make sure that we were respected throughout the world. And I believe I'm getting that.
KING (voice over): Greeley is the northern edge of Colorado's eighth, a congressional district that is 40 percent Hispanic and has a significant undocumented population. Ramirez-Ray is a court interpreter for defendants who don't speak English. She agrees with Trump that some who crossed the border illegally are violent criminals, but she wishes he would add that the overwhelming majority are good people.
RAMIREZ-RAY: I was raised as a migrant worker working in the fields. Those are the people that are out there picking their crops. So, even though I support Trump, I don't believe that he's the end all, be all savior of humanity. Nobody is.
TODD WAUFLE, COLORADO TRUMP VOTER: Now this one, we've had Canadian hoser (ph) for a long time before all this stuff came up.
KING: Right.
WAUFLE: All the fights with American and Canadian hockey players and everything.
KING (voice over): Like Hayes, Todd Waufle says Trump can be arrogant and pompous. But like Ramirez-Ray, he's a fan of the early pace.
WAUFLE: I like him going full speed. Let's get - let's get things done. Let's find out if the policies work. They don't work.
But, yes, this is the baby brewing system. Boil it up there.
KING (voice over): Waufle started Satire Brewing seven years ago. Business is good. And he constantly debates expanding. But a plan to boost sales by adding canning machines is on hold because of Trump tariffs on aluminum. WAUFLE: When you fly enough, you understand, you know, buckle your
seat belt, turbulence ahead.
KING (voice over): Waufle's approach is a trademark of many Trump voters, accept the things that make you cringe to get the things you want, like a better economy and a stronger border.
WAUFLE: Trump's going to say what he's going to say. And yes, some of it's going to be exaggerated, some are not going to be true. But at the end of the day, I think you got to, you know, sift through all that. Is he going to get things done? Is he going to get the country moving the right way?
AUSTIN JENKINS, COLORADO TRUMP VOTER: Let go right in front of your eyes. Just like that.
KING (voice over): Austin Jenkins voted for lower taxes and less regulation. That would help his small businesses, including this cocktail bar and the Greeley Hatchet House.
JENKINS: He seemed like the lesser of two evils, in my opinion.
KING (voice over): But Jenkins finds the first month unsettling. Not a fan of tariffs or executive orders by the dozens or Musk popping from agency to agency.
[06:40:04]
JENKINS: I thought they were supposed to be checks and balances somewhere.
KING: So where do I want to let go? Shoulder height?
JENKINS: Right in front of your eyes. So -
KING (voice over): Plus, he sees fear in the Latino community, wishes Trump would find a more compassionate way to improve border security.
JENKINS: I think there's a better way to go about it. I don't know if it's necessarily just force them out.
KING (voice over): Trump, of course, won't be on the ballot next election, but this district will help decide whether Republicans keep their tiny house majority.
JENKINS: The cost of living is getting crazy here in Colorado, and I hope that they would have some kind of an impact on helping that.
KING (voice over): The new Republican congressman won by just 2,000 votes. His 2026 re-election prospects will likely hinge on Trump's performance. On whether swing voters here see the president as focused on the big issues or veering too far off target.
John King, CNN, Greeley, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAUSCHE: There's a metaphor in there somewhere, him being at the hatchet house there, but -
BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hatchet of fear (ph). I can't figure out which is the metaphor.
TAUSCHE: Leah, you know, generally those voters were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. How long do we see these honeymoon periods last? And we have very few data points on a second term not contiguous president.
LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST AND HISTORIAN: Right. Although there are a couple of things that we can extrapolate from this. And essentially voters will give Donald Trump as much as the economy and Elon Musk will allow. And so I think it's really important to pay attention to those two indicators. Why? Because we're not actually talking about the loyalists. Donald Trump loyalists, MAGA loyalists are going to support the president no matter what. We're talking about the small sliver of voters who may have crossed over, who may have been feeling the burn of the last four years, these kind of economic hardships, and are starting to express some kind of hesitancy about the things that they are actually feeling. They actually matter. They really matter, particularly for midterm elections. And so, as we begin to see these various things happening, these various things happening with tariffs, with slash - slash and burn, the actual effects of people on the job, are costs lowering, right? Are the prices of things, material things in their lives, in their lived experience, are those things changing?
If they change, if they - for the better, then you see people who will - they will reward Trump for it. If they don't change, they will punish him for it.
TAUSCHE: Yes.
RIGUEUR: And one of the things that we're already seeing is that Trump's - and through new CNN polling, Trump's numbers are starting to slip, specifically because voters feel like - voters like the ones we just saw in that clip, feel like he hasn't done enough on the economy and like there is a real question about executive overreach, particularly with Elon Musk.
TODD: There's a poll -
TAUSCHE: We did hear from that final voter saying that he didn't like the tariffs. He didn't like that he - the way that Trump was going about some of these things. It was too chaotic.
But by and large, most voters echoed the sentiment from Trump's first term, which is, we don't like the style but we like the substance.
TODD: A Harvard Harris poll came out yesterday and, by a very wide margin, people think Donald - they prefer Donald Trump to Joe Biden. And that's what he's going to be judged against for a while. I think John King picked the right place to go. Colorado's eighth
district with Gabe Evans, a freshman Republican, Hispanic, former police officer. That is the crux of the battle for the House. That's the - he won the toughest House race last time, will be the toughest race this time.
I think I take away from that piece what I'm seeing from polls. People think that Trump is directionally correct. They accept that the country was really on the wrong track, and it's going to take some drastic action to change it. There may be some things that get broken in that process. They won't - everything won't be perfect. But they want a president who's taking action, shaking things up.
TAUSCHE: I guess the question, Kendra, is how much gets broken in that process?
KENDRA BARKOFF, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY TO JOE BIDEN: Well, and that - and that's exactly right. I think there's a very fine line that they're walking. I think they've very much crossed over it multiple times. I think you saw that with what some of the viewers were talking about or the - the voters were talking about. It is a fine line. But, you know, there is a little bit of - of leeway he's getting. But at the - at the end of the day, the egg prices are still not down, right? You're still going to the store and you still can't find eggs half the time. The economy is not doing better at the end of the day, and that's what a lot of the voters have voted for.
TAUSCHE: We will stay tuned. We will keep it here. More from our panel coming up.
Ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, DOGE in the sunshine state. Florida's governor announces a plan to replicate Elon Musk's DOGE team. What it could mean for local agencies.
Plus, federal workers facing a second order to respond to an email outlining what they did that week. Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski joins me live to discuss the turmoil unfolding among federal workers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think everyone thought it was a pretty ingenious idea. We have to find out where these people are. Who are they?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:48:41]
TAUSCHE: Millions of federal employees are waking up this morning wondering what else might be in store from Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Last night's deadline imposed by Musk on federal workers to respond to an email outlining what they did last week or risk losing their jobs has now come and gone. It remains unclear how many employees have responded. The Office of Personnel Management clarified just hours before the deadline that responding to the email was actually voluntary. But President Trump defended the firing threat from the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think everyone thought it was a pretty ingenious idea. We have to find out where these people are. Who are they? And we said, if you don't respond, we assume you're not around and you're not getting paid anymore too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAUSCHE: Musk says workers will, quote, "get another chance" to respond or yet again risk termination. Some federal employees spoke out to CNN about the latest moves from the Trump administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LATISHA THOMPSON, DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEE: The email was, you know, yet another scare tactic meant to humiliate, dehumanize, demoralize the federal workforce. And in fact, you know, we want to go to work every day. We, you know, are accountable to the American public and not to a billionaire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAUSCHE: Joining me now to discuss, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, a Democratic representative for Illinois.
[06:50:00]
Congresswoman, thank you for being here.
You just returned from some time back in your district -
REP. NIKKI BUDZINSKI (D-IL): Yes.
TAUSCHE: Which employs many federal workers. And I'm sure you heard from a lot of them. What is the sense on the ground? What are they saying?
BUDZINSKI: Yes, I think people are really concerned and worried. I mean one of the things I think people don't appreciate is that 85 percent of the federal workforce actually resides outside of the D.C. area. And the 13th district that I represent, I have 9,300 members of the federal workforce that live in my district. These are our neighbors. These are folks that are delivering our mail. These are people that are working within the VA Administration to make sure that veterans are getting the health care that they deserve.
And so what I heard when I was at home is just a lot of panic, a lot of confusion. There's a lot of confusion as you covered some of the email communication that Elon Musk has put out and then conflicting information about what those emails mean. And, quite frankly, it's a lot of bullying, I feel like, that's happening with the federal workforce. So, a lot of concerns that I bring back to Washington. TAUSCHE: You served as chief of staff at the Office of Personnel
Management during the Biden administration. What would it look like if you were on the receiving end of that hr@opm.gov email, and you were flooded with all of the responses from hundreds of thousands, in some cases, federal employees? How possible is it even to take the accounting of who responded and who didn't respond, and then notifying them of their termination?
BUDZINSKI: Well, exactly. Not only is it confusing, but what you're seeing is this administration is actually making mistakes. You know, first let me say that when I had the opportunity to serve as chief of staff at the Office of Management and Budget, I saw firsthand the professionalism, the thoughtfulness of the federal workforce. And the fact that they would be bullied, as they are being right now, and getting these emails is really just horrific.
But what I would say is that this administration, in their rush to make these decisions, are clearly making mistakes. You see the - you saw that at the CDC. You saw that at the USDA.
One of my big concerns, because I serve on the House Agriculture Committee, is the rising cases of bird flu. What you saw as this administration, again, fire scientists within the CDC and the USDA that are going to combat this public health crisis. So, a lot of mistakes, I think, are being made.
TAUSCHE: And my apologies for mixing the acronyms of OPM and OMB.
BUDZINSKI: Yes, it's OK.
TAUSCHE: Early in the morning.
I do want to ask about some of the feedback that your Republican colleagues are getting, because there were several town halls that have now been - been receiving a lot of coverage. And in some of those cases, we've seen voters say Congress is supposed to be the check and balance. Where is Congress in all of this? Do you get any sense from your Republican colleagues that they are beginning to start to oppose some of these moves, or at least the way in which they're conducted?
BUDZINSKI: Well, I think you're seeing some Republican senators, even some Republican House members that are saying this is moving too fast. You're saying - you're seeing them speak to some of the cruelty with which the federal workforce is being handled.
I think there are some real concerns, on both sides of the aisle, as it regards to Elon Musk and how this administration is carrying out looking for efficiencies.
Look, I would say, as a Democrat, I support looking for efficiencies. I support us looking at our federal spending and where we can maybe find some savings for the American people. But the way this administration is doing this, almost literally with the chainsaw, is too much for the American people.
TAUSCHE: There's been a question of to what extent DOGE will be a galvanizing force for Democrats going forward, at least in - in advance of the midterms. And billionaire Mark Cuban was a big supporter of Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. He campaigned for her.
BUDZINSKI: Right.
TAUSCHE: But he's also been vocal about Democrats own messaging and where he believes it should go. I want to get your reaction to what he said.
Here's Mark Cuban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CUBAN, ENTREPRENEUR AND INVESTOR: If you gave the Democrats a dollar bill and said, you can sell these for 50 cents, they would hire 50 people to decide if they really - to try to figure out how to do it, and then would not know how to sell a dollar bill for. 50 cents. If you gave it to Donald Trump and said, sell this dollar bill for $2.00, he'd figure out a way, right? He'd tell you, that $2 bill is, you know, is huge.
I learned that Democrats can't sell worth (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAUSCHE: So, harsh words from a stalwart of the Democratic Party. But is there some truth in it?
BUDZINSKI: Well, look, what I would say is what I just said before is that we can find efficiencies. We can find ways to cut red tape. I've actually introduced bipartisan legislation on the House Veterans Affairs Committee to cut through some of those red tape - that red tape that exists within the VA to help veterans get easier access to care. I think we can, as Democrats and Republicans, be looking at those types of efficiencies. But that's not what this administration is doing.
You know, when we saw just yesterday another round of layoffs at the VA, I serve on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, 1,400 more people to be laid off. And what I'm thinking about on that committee is, when we're trying to address veterans suicide rates, when you're cutting jobs for folks that are actually answering those suicide hotlines, how is that in the service of our veterans.
[06:55:02]
TAUSCHE: And not an agency that's ever been accused of being overstaffed or overfunded.
BUDZINSKI: It is understaffed, actually, yes.
TAUSCHE: We appreciate it. Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, we really appreciate your time this morning.
BUDZINSKI: Thanks for having me. TAUSCHE: Thank you so much.
It is 55 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIVEK RAMASWAMY, FORMER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can feel it. There's a fresh new enthusiasm. A new verve. A new energy in America.
We're on the cusp of a new golden age in America right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAUSCHE: Former Republican presidential candidate, and biotech millionaire, Vivek Ramaswamy kicks off his 2026 campaign for Ohio governor Monday after exiting the DOGE task force. Trump responding on social media, quote, "he will be a great governor of Ohio, will never let you down and has my complete and total endorsement."
Rudy Giuliani's yearslong legal saga with two Georgia election workers is now over. Giuliani faced a $150 million defamation judgment in the case for false statements related to the 2020 election. The exact dollar amount of the final settlement was not disclosed.
In just a few hours, the Supreme Court is expected to issue a slate of new opinions, which issues they will rule on is generally unknown. We are closely watching for cases dealing with vaping, ghost guns and a death row inmate in Oklahoma who the states' Republican attorney general believes should not be put to death.
Denny's joins the growing number of restaurants struggling with the nationwide egg shortage. The popular diner chain has added a temporary surcharge to its egg-based meals at a number of locations. The current shortage has been sparked by an ongoing bird flu outbreak that's wiped out flocks dating back to 2022.
And a source with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles tells CNN the team would, quote, "be honored to visit the White house." Rumors on social media swirled this weekend claiming the Eagles turned down an invitation. The source tells CNN the team is still waiting on that invite.
And Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants to follow in the footsteps of Elon Musk and President Trump. On Monday, the one-time Republican presidential hopeful laid out his plan to create a Department of Government Efficiency in his state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): We are creating a state DOGE task force that will implement a multi-pronged approach to eliminating bureaucratic bloat and modernizing our state government to best serve the people of Florida in the years ahead. This will be one just similar to the federal DOGE. It's going to be a limited amount of time. It will be a one-year term. It will sunset following the completion of the mission. (END VIDEO CLIP)
TAUSCHE: The term for the Florida version of DOGE s set to run through March of next year.
My panel is back.
Is imitation the best form of flattery here?
TODD: I think it's pure flattery. I think it's all it is. I mean Rick Scott was governor of Florida for eight years. He modernized the government, cut things back, made Florida the model really for state governments in the country. Ron DeSantis has managed to tick - not screw that up for eight years. And now I think this is an attempt to try to get back in Trump's good graces.
TAUSCHE: At a state level, have we seen this before?
RIGUEUR: So, I think we have seen it before. I think we have - particularly with Ron DeSantis, Ron DeSantis, every couple of years, comes out and says that he is going to engage in efficiency and cost cutting and things like that. It's particularly ironic, I think, to - to Brad's point, given that the last four governors of Florida have been Republicans. So, are we cutting waste from ourselves? Is it self- reflective? It's not quite clear.
There's also the tension, the long standing tension between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, because Ron DeSantis ran for president of the United States. So, I think part of this is not so much, you know, oh, we're actually really going to cut waste and do all of these draconian things, but instead is about a pretext for, you know, essentially kissing up to Trump, but also setting a difference between the DeSantis administration and the person that Donald Trump has anointed to essentially run for Republican - the next governor of Florida, which would be Byron Donalds.
So, setting up a contest.
TAUSCHE: Yes, the - yes, that animosity between DeSantis and Trump has been the elephant in the room for some time here.
BARKOFF: It has. But the thing that I heard that I think was really interesting is that he said we're going to take the next year to do it. What we are seeing in the federal government right now is this slash and dash cuts across the board. You know, people are losing their jobs in a very short period of time. I think it's very interesting that he said he's going to take the next year, which to me seems like he's going to do it in a more responsible way, which is, you know, to be said.
TAUSCHE: Perhaps use the federal government as a cautionary tale in some respects.
BARKOFF: Yes.
TODD: People want the government to move fast and change things. That's what means - it means to be - to be unhappy with the status quo. And I think Democrats should help Republicans do it. You know, when Bill Clinton cut - cut the workforce, as we mentioned earlier, he had 55 Democrats in the Senate decide to help him cut government. You couldn't find five Democrats in the Senate who would be for cutting government right now. The Democrat Party is out of place here.
BARKOFF: Well, yes, we can have a whole conversation about that.
[07:00:02]
They didn't even go to Congress to have the conversation, you know.
TAUSCHE: We'll get a cup of coffee offset, continue this conversation. There is a lot more to be had there.
Perhaps they're also after Elon Musk's deep pockets in the next gubernatorial race. We will see.
My thanks, as always, to our panel. Brad, Kendra and Leah, it's been a pleasure to have you guys today. Thank you for our viewers, everyone, for joining us. I'm Kayla Tausche. "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.
