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CNN This Morning
Soon: President Trump Hosts Zelenskyy At The White House; Trump, Zelenskyy Poised To Sign Critical Minerals Deal; Tate Brothers Return To U.S. From Romania; Judge: Mass Firings Of Probationary Workers Likely Unlawful. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired February 28, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:35]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is Friday, February 28th.
Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Mr. President, do you still think that Mr. Zelenskyy is a dictator?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Did I say that? I can't believe I said that. Next question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Face to face. After weeks of turbulence, President Trump and President Zelenskyy will go one on one today in a high stakes meeting that could shape the future of Ukraine.
Plus --
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SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): I think we have to be realistic about the impact of these cuts.
REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): We've got to be very clear that we expect to see the results of what DOGE is doing and what the administration is doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Choppy waters out of the push to include DOGE cuts in the GOP budget bill is complicating competing plans between House and Senate Republicans.
And a flashing red light. A U.S. judge temporarily blocking the White House mass firings of probationary federal employees.
(MUSIC) DEAN: Five a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look at the dome of the U.S. Capitol here in Washington, D.C., on this last day of February this year.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean, in for Kasie Hunt. Wonderful to have you with us.
In just a few hours, a critical meeting that could determine the future of Ukraine will unfold at the White House.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arriving in Washington, D.C., today to sign an agreement on national -- natural resources and reconstruction for his war torn country. Ukraine was also top of mind at the White House Thursday, when the British prime minister traveled to Washington and for the second time this week during meetings with European leaders about Ukraine, a fact check was required in the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You know, they -- they get their money back by giving money. We don't get the money back. Biden made a deal. He put in $350 billion, and I thought it was a very unfair situation.
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We're not getting all of ours. I mean, quite a bit of ours was -- was -- was gifted. It was given, there were some loans, but mainly it was gifted, actually.
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DEAN: The meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy comes after a dramatic back and forth a week ago, when the U.S. president called Ukraine's leader a dictator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think the president and I actually have had a very good relationship. It maybe got a little bit testy.
REPORTER: Mr. President, do you still think that Mr. Zelenskyy is a dictator?
TRUMP: Did I say that? I can't believe I said that. Next question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Ah. Joining me to discuss that and more, Nick Johnston, Pulitzer publisher at "Axios".
Good morning, Nick.
NICHOLAS JOHNSTON, PUBLISHER, AXIOS: Good morning.
DEAN: We all kind of shook our heads when he said that because, of course --
JOHNSTON: I shook my head just now. He said he didn't say it.
DEAN: Of course he said that. But -- but that is very Trump to just say. Oh, did I say that? Next question.
JOHNSTON: Yeah. No, he's very much winging it I think on that. And that dictator comment had a huge amount of blowback on the Hill from a lot of his allies. I mean, there are people on the Hill, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Roger Wicker thinks Putin is a war criminal and Zelenskyy is a hero in all of this.
And so I think there's definitely been a softening of the tone, a changing of the language here. And I think that is I guess -- look, I hate to say this out loud on national television. Maybe it's a little bit of "The Art of the Deal". That very hard tone at the beginning. We've seen the draft document coming out, which is very much almost like a memorandum of understanding for a development project as opposed to a real international minerals agreement.
But the changing of that kind of language ahead of that meeting is probably a little bit of that journey. But there's a lot to -- I think there's a lot to pay attention to earlier, later today when Zelenskyy actually.
DEAN: Yeah. And so on that note, as we prepare for that meeting later today, what are you watching for?
JOHNSTON: I mean, it's very much the president's tone again, right? Like there's a huge switch from calling Zelenskyy a war criminal and seeming to sidle up with Putin. Remember that vote in the United Nations? That is the first time since the world since World War II, the United States has voted with Russia on a European security initiative.
And so, watching a lot of that language, the body language, the rhetoric around that affinity for Zelenskyy, of which side of this battle are you actually on? I think that's what were definitely looking for.
And then, of course, details from this deal. There are so much that the Trump administration does that is almost painting in very broad strokes. Until we get the actual text of the deal to actually see what's happening. We've got an early copy of this at "Axios" earlier this week, and it raised more questions than it answers.
There's still a lot unknown about what is actually being agreed to and what the final feelings will be when this is done.
[05:05:03]
DEAN: Well, they do say the devils in the details for a reason. And but at the end of the day, you do expect there is an agreement that's going to be struck.
JOHNSTON: I mean, I didn't expect an agreement will be signed, but what will be in that agreement? What will be signed? How much of this is just about the theatrics of coming to some kind of agreement and saying that there is a deal for the United States to extract something back? I think that's what Donald Trump has really been talking about, is you see the president's language about that. He doesn't want to give Ukraine something for nothing. Okay. And so what can he get back?
I think a really interesting thing to watch is the dynamics on these tariff negotiations. Remember, we've had trade wars that lasted a couple of hours because Donald Trump will make a big statement on Truth Social. The other country will say something. And then at the end its all agreed to what was actually changed. And I think a lot of this is rhetoric and the difference.
I think what's important to look for is where -- what's rhetoric and what's real on the paper. So I'll be waiting for that final document to come out.
DEAN: And so that's -- that's today. It's now Friday. We look a little dare. We look a little bit ahead to next week when President Trump will be addressing Congress and what that might hold.
JOHNSTON: I mean, where do you even begin?
DEAN: How do you even begin to bite off the first bite of it?
JOHNSTON: Something that the Trump administration has done since the beginning, even through Trump 1.0 is flood the zone every single day. There's been something new. And the way that a lot of his allies view that is how to destabilize their opponents. Like where can Democrats turn as far as how they're going to oppose this administration?
I think the speech next week will be possibly an opportunity to tie all this together. What is the governing philosophy here and the path forward? Remember, the really big issue is what Congress is going to do about the budget, about taxes. They've begun that journey razor thin vote.
But that is the start, not the end. And I think the president needs to set out a course for Congress.
DEAN: That is going to be quite a journey as we as we look ahead tonight --
JOHNSTON: Very exciting.
DEAN: -- and see if they can land that plane and what -- what it might look like.
All right. Nick Johnson, thanks so much.
JOHNSTON: Thank you.
DEAN: Thanks for coming in this morning. Good to see you.
A senior U.S. official says a proposed minerals deal makes zero promises about security for Ukraine, because it's not clear exactly how much mineral wealth Ukraine actually possesses, or whether its even worth exploring. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more now from northern Ukraine.
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TRUMP: We very much need rare earth. They have great rare earth.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice- over): A moonshot for Ukraine's survival. Talking peace suddenly means talking about places like here, this lunar landscape. A titanium mine struggling under the Russian bombardment of Ukraine's power grid, sometimes with only three hours power a day.
DMYTRO HOLIK, DIRECTOR OF MINING PLANT, GROUP DF (through audio translation): Now we don't know our work will go on even tomorrow. Because every day we see how Ukraine's energy system is being destroyed. Our company is now very unstable and this leads to a very high net cost of our products.
WALSH: Half a trillion dollars. That was the sum that President Trump initially thought Ukraine might be able to pay back to the United States, in his words. And here you're going to sense the challenge, really, because this place, yes, potential is certainly there, but they say they desperately need investment. These machines are so old. And, yes, so they say they would welcome American money.
The pressure to get money out of the ground is enormous, as are the questions as to whether the astronomical sums Trump thinks are here can match the money to be made under this sprawling sea of unknown potential.
TRUMP: And who knows what rare earth is worth, you know, but at least it's something. And who knows what it's worth? Who knows if they even have it?
WALSH: It was at first Ukraine's idea, President Zelenskyy selling their mineral wealth in November, perhaps too successfully as part of a victory plan for more aid, showing reporters maps here.
They claim 7 percent global production of titanium. Lithium isn't mined yet, but they say they've 3 percent global reserves. They say they're in the top five of graphite reserves and have some actual rare earth metals.
The initial framework deal doesn't specify what it covers, mentioning only relevant resource assets that will be further described in another agreement.
Yet the White House has been specific about some resources.
MIKE WALTZ, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: There's a foundry that processes aluminum in Ukraine. It's -- it's been damaged. It's not at its current capacity. If that is restored, it would account for America's entire imports of aluminum for an entire year.
WALSH: Waltz is probably referring to here, an aluminum plant in Zaporizhzhia, mothballed when filmed here a decade ago, still struggling and hit by a missile during the war.
The U.S., perhaps a little too eager to take, Ukraine with no choice but to give in a hugely complex deal that may get messier still when it runs into the cold, hard ground truth of where Ukraine is at today.
[05:10:02]
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Irshansk, Ukraine.
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DEAN: Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, protests erupting on New York City campuses.
Why a group of pro-Palestinian students decided to occupy a building at Barnard College.
Plus, the Tate brothers back in America. Did the White House pressure Romania to release them?
And Ron Brownstein is here with the new analysis of President Trump's social agenda. He says there is a method to the madness.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Your population doesn't want men playing in women's sports. So you better you better comply because otherwise you're not getting any -- any federal funding.
GOV. JANET MILLS (D), MAINE: See you in court.
TRUMP: Every state -- good. I'll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[05:15:14]
DEAN: The Tate brothers, Andrew and Tristan, back on U.S. soil after Romania dismissed their travel ban and released them. Andrew, a self- described misogynist and influencer, and his brother still face charges that include rape, human trafficking and money laundering from their arrest in 2022, and their return comes amid reports the Trump administration pressured Bucharest to release them. But the president denies knowing about the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I know nothing about that. I don't know. You're saying he's on a plane right now? Yeah, I just know nothing about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: CNN's Randi Kaye has more now from West Palm Beach. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW TATE, ONLINE INFLUENCER: We live in a democratic society where it's innocent until proven guilty and I think my brother and I are largely misunderstood.
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Right-wing influencer, Andrew Tate, and his brother, Tristan, moments after landing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from Romania, telling reporters they are, quote, largely misunderstood. The brothers, along with two Romanian citizens, were arrested just after Christmas in 2022 and formally indicted months later on charges of rape, human trafficking, and setting up a criminal gang.
The brothers have denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
TATE: It's about the fact that she belongs to him and the intimate parts of her body belong to him because they're in a relationship. And if she wants to sell those, he has a stake in those intimate parts of her body.
KAYE: Besides suggesting men own women, Andrew Tate has often referred to women on social media as sex workers. Despite his comments, Andrew Tate hasn't taken a clear position on whether or not he's misogynistic.
TATE: I have nothing against women at all. I'm not sexist in any regard. I'm not misogynist either.
I will state right now that I am absolutely sexist and I'm absolutely a misogynist.
KAYE: Romanian prosecutors alleged that Tate's seduced victims by falsely claiming they wanted a relationship or planned to marry them. Andrew Tate's controversial comments have attracted billions of views online. He was banned from Twitter in 2017 for saying women should, quote, bear responsibility for being sexually assaulted.
In 2022, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube also banned him. Elon Musk allowed Tate to return to Twitter, now X, in 2022, where Tate has more than 10 million followers.
Critics and advocacy groups have voiced concern over his impact on young and vulnerable audiences and have accused him of peddling his rants about female submission and male dominance to them.
TATE: I believe the woman is given to the man. I believe she's given away by the father. I believe she belongs to the man. She belongs to the man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you think, so fundamentally right, so fundamentally, you do believe that a woman becomes a man's property.
TATE: I believe she belongs to the man in marriage. Correct.
KAYE: So how did the Tate brothers end up in the Sunshine State? Perhaps flattery played a role.
TATE: Trump's saving the world.
KAYE: A Romanian official told CNN that earlier this month, Trump special envoy, Rick Grenell, raised their case with Romania's foreign minister. White House officials have said there was no direct U.S. government role in this.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he doesn't know who was behind this.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): No, Florida is not a place where -- where -- where you're welcome with that -- with those -- that type of conduct in the air. And I don't know how it came to this. We were not involved. We were not notified. I found out through the media.
KAYE: The first criminal case against the Tate brothers failed in December 2024 after a Bucharest court noted flaws in the indictment. In January, the court lifted the house arrest order. The pair had previously been banned from leaving Romania while the investigation continued.
A lawyer representing alleged victims of Andrew Tate in the United Kingdom told CNN that any suggestion that the Tates will now face justice in Romania is fanciful.
Randi Kaye, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, some Republicans are calling for DOGE cuts to be included in the budget. But could that idea make passing a spending plan impossible?
Plus, a federal judge ruling the Trump administrations mass firings are likely illegal. So what's next for laid off workers?
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[05:23:49]
DEAN: Twenty-three minutes past the hour. Here's your "Morning Roundup".
A federal judge ruling the Trump administration's mass firings of probationary employees is likely unlawful. That judge in California granting temporary relief to unions and nonprofits that sued to stop DOGE's massive cuts. And writing that the office of personnel management does not have any authority whatsoever under any statute in the history of the universe to fire workers other than its own.
Those thuds you heard are pro-Palestinian protesters putting notes on the windows of a classroom at Barnard College in New York after they marched at the school and took over a building. They're demanding two students who were expelled for disrupting an Israeli history course be reinstated. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAT MCAFEE, ESPN HOST: A source says -- says I'm coming back for sure. Going to try and get to the best shape I've been this offseason and get back to the mountain top.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: ESPN's Pat McAfee breaking the news Travis Kelce is returning for another season with the Kansas City Chiefs. The star tight end texting McAfee, telling him, quote, got a real bad taste in my mouth.
[05:25:02]
How I -- with how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle. I can't go out like that.
This morning, the Trump administration is firing around 800 employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Sources telling CNN even more job cuts are possible later today. Among those fired will be meteorologists for the National Weather Service, which provides, of course, forecasts for hurricanes and other storms.
Straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, new details about the mysterious death of actor Gene Hackman and his wife and dog. Why authorities are now calling that case, quote, suspicious.
Plus, why Republicans who support President Trump are suddenly slamming him on conservative radio.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CONSTITUENT: No one voted for Elon Musk. And if you say he's doing all these great things, when is he going to go before Congress with his report of all these so-called savings?
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