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Musk Says SpaceX Should Take over FAA Contract; Trump Says Tariffs Are Paid by The Country; Trump Hosts Ukraine's President at the White House; Pentagon Clarifies Transgender Plan; HHS Ignores Inquiry about Measles Vaccine. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 28, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:31:47]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: Elon Musk is now suggesting one of his companies should take over Verizon's contract with the Federal Aviation Administration, writing in a post on social media, Verizon's efforts to provide upgrades to the FAA's air traffic control system is failing. Musk warns, quote, "the FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk." It wasn't immediately clear what FAA risk assessment Musk was referring to in his post. Verizon says another company is running the current FAA systems, while Verizon is working on, quote, "building the next generation system for the FAA." The suggestion raises some questions, though, about a potential conflict of interest for Musk, as he suggests sweeping cuts for agencies that his own businesses have dealings with.

Let's bring our panel back in.

Brad, look, I can - you can see where there could potentially be some conflicts here.

BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, the facts are a little bit off here. Verizon's been awarded a contract to lead an overhaul of the FAA's whole system. Starlink is a potential bidder for part of underneath that, after Verizon - after this overall happens. The FAA is running on a copper wire system. I mean, it's crazy, every American home has got fiber into it now, and the FAA is running on 1950s technology. So, there must be modernization.

The Trump administration is putting a lot of money into this. They're hiring new controllers. They're boosting salaries of FAA controllers. And Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, says, look, we want all companies who have something to contribute to come to us. Like we - we have an urgent crisis here to upgrade this technology. Starlink has 40 percent of the satellites above the earth. It's only logical that, in the end, they will end up being one of the companies that participate in it because they're so large and they're so on the cutting edge. But Sean Duffy's going to make the call. He's going to make the decision. It won't be made by Elon Musk. But we have to modernize it to keep our skies safe.

JACKIE KUCINICH, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "THE BOSTON GLOBE": But this is the problem with having the - Elon Musk having this kind of amorphous role in this White House, because, you know, every - everything you're saying could be true, but it - but the problem is, is the - the appearance of a conflict of interest is problematic here. And is that why he's not technically the head of DOGE? I don't know. But, still, I mean it - yes, it is Sean Duffy's call. But you're telling me if - if Trump or Elon Musk don't start putting pressure on him, that that's what he's going to do? Come on.

DEAN: Yes. And do you think the American people put those dots together and that bothers them?

HYMA MOORE, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO DNC CHAIR JAMIE HARRISON AND FORMER REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BIDEN 2020: Yes, I mean - yes, it does bother them. I mean, it does. It's a clear conflict of interest. Like, I worked - I worked in government, even as a 23-year- old I had conflicts of interest I had to dedupe. I couldn't do certain government programs. I couldn't buy a house, you know - you know, in New Orleans because there were programs that were administered by the government that I wanted to participate in because I was working for the government. So, it's clearly a conflict of interest.

I think - here's the - here's the two things. One, I think the American people were sick of government not working for them. And so they want Donald Trump to fix government. That's a fact.

But I do think people are a little leery about Elon Musk being the person that's tearing all of this down and benefiting from it. He's making more money every day, obviously. He's - he's getting more influence every day, obviously. And so, I think people are a little nervous about that. They just don't know what this Elon Musk - what it's going to be, what it's going to become.

DEAN: And - yes, go ahead.

TODD: Well, he - I mean Donald Trump said, we're going to have the best and brightest people.

[06:35:03]

Elon is a very bright person. And Starlink is so important in the world's technology space, it's hard to not include it.

You know, for instance, right now in Alaska, if you're a pilot, many times the weather system the FAA operates is down. You have to call in to just a recorded phone line. I mean, this is - this is really ancient.

KUCINICH: But again -

MOORE: Brad, I think -

KUCINICH: But - but then you have Elon - then, sure.

MOORE: Yes.

KUCINICH: But then Elon Musk, on his platform, going after Verizon. MOORE: Right.

KUCINICH: I mean, you - you - I mean, you could be right about Starlink.

MOORE: Yes.

KUCINICH: Maybe it is the best, but that - but this is not - this process doesn't seem like it is going through, you know, a fair -

MOORE: Yes.

TODD: I think Elon's text on X in real time are a problem. They're sometimes wrong. And he says, I'm going to be wrong, and I'll correct it. He did correct this one yesterday.

MOORE: But every - but every day, Brad. At this point it's every day. So, pacing that -

KUCINICH: And this involves a contract where he could make a lot of money.

MOORE: Yes.

TODD: The pacing of it, I think, there's - there's a cautionary communications tale here for him posting in real time every hour.

MOORE: Yes.

DEAN: Yes. And so maybe that's - maybe that's the takeaway.

All right, stay with us. Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, looming trade wars as President Trump pledges to impose hefty tariffs on Mexico and Canada next week.

Plus, Michael Smerconish is here. We're going to discuss the White House welcome for Ukrainian President Zelenskyy today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Will you take the opportunity to apologize to him for calling him a dictator, while praising Vladimir Putin, who is a dictator?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we're going to have a very good meeting tomorrow morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:34]

DEAN: As the Trump administration steps up immigration enforcement on the border with Mexico, Mexico's government is now turning over fugitive cartel members to the U.S. Late Thursday night, a flight with 29 cartel members arrived in New York. Among them, Caro Quintero, a cartel leader accused of orchestrating and kidnaping, and the murder of a DEA agent in 1985. Now, all of those members are in federal custody.

Despite what appears to be renewed cooperation from Mexico's government on issues related to immigration and the drug trade, the Trump administration still planning to slap those punishing tariffs on the country. In a new Truth Social post, the president blaming the drug trade for the tariffs, saying in part, quote, "until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed tariffs scheduled for March 4th will go into effect." Trump says there will be a 25 percent tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods. The president also threatening to increase tariffs on goods from China, on top of the initial 10 percent tariffs, which, of course, went into effect earlier this month.

Now, economists do warn that these tariffs will raise prices for American consumers. It's something President Trump was asked about in the White House on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: The tariffs are - are paid eventually by American importers and consumers.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, they're not. No. I think they're paid for by the country. But, you know, look, we can get into that. I had - I put a lot of tariffs on in my first term, and we made tremendous amounts of progress because of those tariffs. China paid us hundreds of billions of dollars. Billions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Our panel is back with us to discuss this.

And, Jackie, despite what the president says there, if you look at the polling that's coming out, this is breaking through for Americans in terms of, they're nervous about the economy. They're nervous that these tariffs are going to cost them money.

KUCINICH: Well, one of the reasons President Trump is President Trump again is because of the economy, because of inflation, because people didn't feel like - that Washington was working for them. And if prices go up, I mean, I know the president has said that people are willing to feel a little pain. I - it - you - you just don't hear a lot of economists saying that this is going to end up in the pocket of the American consumer. There's a lot of people warning that this is going to cause a lot of things to go up for a lot of people.

DEAN: Yes.

And so, Brad, is there an argument against that? Like, can you honestly say to Americans, this isn't going to cost you anything?

TODD: What's happening right now in corporate America is every company that has manufacturing in China is trying to figure out how to move it out of China to a neutral country or back to the United States. That was Trump's intent. It's - it is achieving its intent. And so, the threat of tariffs is always going to be something he's going to use. Every president has their favorite device. Joe Biden like multinational organizations. George Bush liked interpersonal relations. You know, he stared Putin in the eyes, right, and saw his soul, right?

DEAN: Yes.

TODD: Donald Trump's trick is tariffs and the threat of tariffs. Mostly the threat. We will have some tariffs, and - but it - it will achieve what he wants to do mostly. We saw it in the first term. That's why Joe Biden kept the aluminum tariffs, that's why he kept the steel tariffs, because they were working. Tariffs can be an effective tool to a point.

DEAN: Is it - is - do you think this is the right move (INAUDIBLE)?

MOORE: Look, I mean, I have some of my - my clients who are - they're going crazy right now. They're like - they're like, look, we're already paying enough in tariffs. We've been doing this for 30 years. People who are in the industry have been doing this for 30 years. It doesn't - it doesn't make the industry stronger. It makes it weaker.

And so I think, to Jackie's point, at the end of the day, I think Donald Trump was sent here to lower costs, to make the economy better, to make people's lives better. And I don't think he's done that just yet. And so, I don't think the American people are going to say, yes, were going to be willing to take a little bit of pain. No one wants to take any more pain. We've been taking pain for years now since the pandemic. And so, I don't think people want to pay more for shoes. They don't want to pay more for appliances. They just don't want to do that. And so I think, if Donald Trump can't figure out a way to both lower costs and also use his - his - his tariff thing to - to leverage other countries, if he can't do both, I think in two years the Republicans are going to have to answer to the American people, and it will not be good for them.

TODD: Also, I think there's a point about communications.

MOORE: Yes.

TODD: You know, the Trump administration is doing a lot to bring prices down. Mostly it's on energy. They're trying to make electricity and transportation fuel as cheap as possible. That's the number two ingredient in cost in any consumer good you buy is transportation. And power would be next.

And so, they're doing a lot on that. They're not talking a lot about it. Elon Musk and DOGE are taking up all the headlines, but the administration is actually doing a lot of work to bring energy costs down, which will bring prices down. I think they have to talk about it more.

MOORE: Well, Brad, you remember Joe Biden talk about anything he did for four years and now he's not the president anymore and we have a Republican president. [06:45:01]

So, I think Donald Trump's got to talk about lowering those costs, otherwise Republicans are going to be in trouble in two years. I believe that.

TODD: You have to - to lead, you have to communicate what you're doing that's going to help people.

MOORE: Yes. Yes.

TODD: I think they have to focus on that.

MOORE: I agree with that.

DEAN: Which I think ties back to your original point, which is, Donald Trump is president because he - people believed he would lower the cost of living. And - and if - if he - you know, I think the big question is, how much - how long will people give him to make good on that promise?

KUCINICH: Well, right. And we forget that it's only been, what, five weeks or something.

DEAN: It's a month. Yes, a month and a week, yes.

MOORE: Like, it's been two years.

TODD: And it takes a while for energy prices to come down because you have to create new capacity. You have to create new exploration. So, it will take time. But I think they have to communicate that it's their top priority.

MOORE: Yes.

DEAN: All right, guys, stay with me. Thanks so much.

In a couple of hours, President Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. His arrival caps a week of high stakes diplomacy at the White House featuring French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, both bringing a personal touch to their meetings. Macron trying to rekindle what he calls a, quote, "friendship" from Trump's first term, and Prime Minister Starmer arriving with an invitation from the king for a state visit. Both men trying to convince Trump to soften his stance toward Ukraine. It's a country he's accused of being led by, quote, "a dictator," just last week. Also, both leaders found the need to fact check the president when it came to spending for Ukraine's defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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, it's not - quite a bit of ours was - was - was gifted. It was given. There were some loans, but mainly it was gifted, actually.

TRUMP: Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine. They get their money back.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: No, in fact, to be - to be frank, we paid. We paid 60 percent of the total effort. And it was through, like the U.S., loans, guarantees, grants, and we - we provided real money, to be clear.

This is my wish.

TRUMP: If you believe that, it's OK with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: All right, joining me now is political commentator Michael Smerconish, host of "SMERCONISH."

Michael, good morning. Thanks so much for being here with us.

You know, it's interesting, we noted at the top that President Trump did call Zelenskyy a dictator. Then when asked about it yesterday, he said, did I say that? I - next question. And then - and then went on to say that they are going to have a good conversation today. That they - there's a lot of respect there. So, kind of a differing - a softening - a softening in the tone. What do you expect today?

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Jessica, nice to be with you, first of all.

What occurs to me is that at long last President Zelenskyy is getting his Oval Office meeting with President Trump because, you know, we have to remember, Trump impeachment two, which was pertaining to the events of January 6th, really eclipsed what happened in Trump impeachment one. Trump impeachment one was all about that telephone call in 2019 when President Zelenskyy had just been elected. And what did he covet? He wanted to come to the Oval Office. He wanted to have the credibility that comes with a photo op with the president of the United States. And of course, at that time, President Trump, fearing that Joe Biden would emerge as the Democratic candidate, wanted an investigation of Hunter Biden and the Bidens generally. And that's what led, because of Colonel Vindman, monitoring that telephone call. That's what led to impeachment number one.

So, then it was leveraged that President Trump was seeking for a political purpose. Today, the leverage is all about minerals, which I guess is in the United States national interest. So, that's better. That's an improvement.

What I'm most interested in seeing are the terms of this and how it's cast. Is this reimbursement for support we've given Ukraine, because of the Russian invasion, or is it forward looking as part of a peacekeeping agreement? That's what I want to see. DEAN: And then there's also this dynamic of just the personal relationship between Zelenskyy and Trump, as you know, that has such history to it. And his - just in the last ten days or so, been very back and forth.

SMERCONISH: Right. But I think that President Trump is just relishing each of these opportunities, foreign leaders who are coming to him, the way in which the prime minister yesterday bestowed that invitation from King Charles, I think, was a smart way to ingratiate himself with the new American president. And I suspect that you're going to see all smiles from both Zelenskyy and from Trump today because each ultimately seems to be getting what they want, right? It's Zelenskyy, as he's wanted since 2019, to have that photo and the credibility that comes with standing with an ally in the United States. And President Trump is definitely going to be saying by the end of today, it's the art of the deal, and look what I was able to glean as no one else was able to glean from Ukraine, mineral rights.

DEAN: I also want to ask you about another story while we've got you here, the Trump administration's plan to kick transgender Americans out of the military.

[06:50:00]

Last night CNN spoke with a Navy diver who's transgender. And I want to listen to a little bit of her perspective on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. CMDR. GEIRID MORGAN, U.S. NAVY: I'm just concerned. I'm concerned for my sailors. I'm concerned for their families. I'm concerned for what the impacts that this might be on the Navy and other services.

We've been doing this for ten years, right, and we've got kind of a system in place now to support people that want to transition. And there have been, you know, no - no incidences really with the service members that have been serving openly for that - for that time period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: I just want to get your thoughts on this. And if you think this is doing what voters wanted from Donald Trump, that - that they are achieving that goal. They talked a lot about this issue on the campaign trail.

SMERCONISH: I don't think that we should turn away people who want to serve their country. Frankly, we're not in a position to turn away people who want to serve their country because each branch of our armed services is falling short of their recruitment goals.

I - you know, you hear about this in the abstract, but - but for me it's - it's a bit more personal because Joe Ellis is an affected soldier who has been in the Virginia National Guard for 15 years, and we've worked together. She has transitioned and wants to serve her country. I spoke to her yesterday. She said to me that she's scheduled for guard duty tomorrow, Saturday, and is in limbo. And - and that those in her unit desperately want her to continue to serve. She served in Iraq. How do you say to someone who was a Black Hawk helicopter gunner, your service is no longer wanted? I think it's disgraceful. I really do. Let them serve.

DEAN: And how do you think that ends up playing out. Does that go to the courts?

SMERCONISH: I think it - well, it's already, you know, being litigated.

DEAN: Yes.

SMERCONISH: I don't know how it turns out. It was - look this was all a very effective - sadly, it was a very effective issue for Trump during the course of the campaign. You know, Donald Trump is for him or him, not they or them. I don't know, I get screwed up sometimes. I just remember it was very effective when he used it against Kamala Harris.

DEAN: Yes. Yes. And it ran on every football game, every sporting event.

SMERCONISH: Totally. Yes.

DEAN: Michael Smerconish, yes, it's always good to see you. Thank you so much for being with us this morning. We appreciate it.

SMERCONISH: You too. Thank you.

DEAN: And remember to tune in to "SMERCONISH" tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. It's right here on CNN.

We are just now at 52 minutes past the hour. And here is your morning roundup.

A judge in San Francisco ruling DOJ's mass firing of federal probationary staff is likely unlawful. He handed down a temporary restraining order directing the office of personnel management to stop some of those terminations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And those thuds you heard are pro-Palestinian protesters placing notes on windows of a classroom at Barnard College in New York after they marched at the school and took over a building. They are demanding two students who were expelled for disrupting an Israeli history course be reinstated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A source says - says I'm coming back for sure. Going to try and get to the best shape I have been in 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, "I got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle. Can't go out like that."

Health and Human Services ignoring repeated inquiries about whether Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recommends the measles vaccine. And of course this is coming as Texas is facing a deadly measles outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention later releasing a statement acknowledging, quote, "vaccination remains the best defense against measles."

We can come back out to our panel for - to talk just a little bit about that, because we have seen this growing outbreak in Texas. We now have the first death of this child. It's the first time in ten years. And, Hyma, people are looking - they do look to experts generally to give them some guidance here. And there is - they're looking for answers.

MOORE: Right. I mean, Jessica, I mean, I think people are nervous. You know, last time President Trump was the president, we were in the middle of a pandemic, and it was just devastating for people. So, I think people are very nervous about what's going to happen over the next couple months.

And so I think RFK has got to be very clear about where he stands. And he wasn't during the confirmation where he stands on these things. He had to be very clear that it is safe, effective and preferred for people to get the measles, what is it, the vaccine.

DEAN: Yes, the MMR.

MOORE: And so, I think if our government can't be clear about those things, then we're in a lot of trouble. All across the country, particularly in Texas and other places, people are very, very nervous about this.

[06:55:01]

I mean these kids want to go to school. They want to live lives. Their parents want to be able to feel safe about sending their kids out and playing with other children. But right now, I think there's a question mark on, will RFK stand up for the American people and make sure that we're safe, or will he - will he hunker down on some of his personal beliefs?

TODD: You know, I mean, if you need - if you have any questions, you need to talk to your doctor, your pediatrician, about getting the measles vaccine.

MOORE: Yes. TODD: Everybody should get the measles vaccine for their kid. But the public health infrastructure in this country lost a lot of trust. And I think you saw two weeks ago, Deborah Birx, who worked in the administration on the pandemic, come out and say, you know, maybe with the mRNA vaccines for Covid we weren't clear enough. It wasn't, they're different from the measles vaccine.

MOORE: Yes.

TODD: Measles prevents infection. The mRNA vaccine for Covid just makes it - the disease less deadly. And they weren't clear about that. And she also said, maybe we should have been clear that some people needed it more than other people. So, the public health infrastructure made a decision in Covid to not really be straight with the American people. And that fed vaccine hesitancy. It's sad that that's now affecting the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. But these were decisions that were made. We're seeing consequences of government making bad choices.

MOORE: But I think, Brad, I think RFK and President Trump, they have the responsibility right now, as leaders, to clear that up. And I think they haven't. It's been muddied over the last couple of weeks in a way that people are concerned about, I mean, all across the country.

DEAN: All right, I want to get to this story, too, before we go.

As Donald Trump prepares to address a joint session of Congress next week, Democrats have now picked who will be responding to that, according to the party's top congressional leaders. Senator Elissa Slotkin from Michigan will deliver the rebuttal to Trump's speech. She is a former CIA analyst. And at the age of 48, became the youngest Democratic woman elected to the Senate when she won her race in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): I represent Michigan, which voted for Donald Trump and me on the same ballot just recently in November. And I think people feel like they want, you know, to understand what their government is doing for them in a more significant way.

So, I think it's one thing to say, yes, theoretically, I want to cut the federal government. It's another thing when your water isn't being tested and lead shows up in your community, right? Something so sensitive to Michigan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Listen, we were talking at the break - the panel's back. We were talking about this. This is a tough gig, Jackie. It's not always high - high risk, high reward.

KUCINICH: You know, I'm going to quote that very august tome, "The Hunger Games," made the odds ever be in your favor when it comes to this speech.

DEAN: Yes.

KUCINICH: And it's not just the senator, it's whoever Democrat, Republican, takes this position. You're bet - like, the best thing you can do is kind of like - like do no harm just - when it comes because there are - I mean I'm having trouble thinking of one where you're like, man, they knocked it out of the park, because there's always - it is just such a risky proposition. And they're - it - the political sphere is littered with people who had a really tough -

DEAN: It's tough. And we - yes, we - go ahead.

TODD: It's like playing ukulele after Elvis Presley leaves the stage, you know?

DEAN: It's tough.

MOORE: Yes.

TODD: I mean, it's really hard. It's the hard - there's nothing harder to do in politics than - than to follow the State of the Union. Michigan is important, though. There's an open Senate seat in Michigan this cycle.

DEAN: Right.

TODD: So, Elissa Slotkin is going to get this task, right? She won while Donald Trump was winning her state. I think that's why she's picked.

MOORE: Right.

TODD: I don't think she's the most charismatic senator -

MOORE: Yes.

TODD: But I think she's picked because Michigan is ground zero in the next election.

MOORE: Look, and, look, and she's brilliant. If there's anyone that I think can do an OK job is the new senator from Michigan. And it is -

KUCINICH: And that is a standard, an OK job.

MOORE: Right, an OK job.

DEAN: An OK job. It's like, again, do no harm.

MOORE: But I think to Brad's point, the last - the last Democrat that did this was the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, back in 2020. And so Michigan's going to be super important for Democrats. Obviously, with this new Senate seat coming up, the Democrats want to hunker down and have a real message out of the Midwest.

DEAN: Yes.

MOORE: A real message that's pragmatic. And I think she can carry that message for the Democrats better than most can.

DEAN: Yes, and I just want to play - we have - well, I was going to say, we were going to play the clip, but we'll wait. There was - Katie Britt was last year, obviously.

MOORE: Yes.

DEAN: And that was - and we - and we have Marco Rubio with - this was a few years back. Let's watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL) (February 12, 2013): Nothing has frustrated me more than false choices like the one the president laid out tonight. The choice isn't just between big government or big business. What we need is an accountable, efficient and effective government that allows small and new businesses to create more middle class jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Listen, it's not to pick on Marco Rubio there. We have many clips on both sides of the aisle of things where it gets weird. But we were saying, you go from the energy of the president of the United States in a packed house, and then it just - it's one person.

MOORE: To be fair, Marco Rubio is secretary of state now.

DEAN: Yes.

MOORE: So -

TODD: It worked out.

MOORE: It worked out.

DEAN: He is. So, you can (INAUDIBLE) it's fine.

MOORE: It worked out. It worked out for him, but, yes. Yes.

DEAN: Yes.

TODD: You have to go all the way back 30 years ago when Fred Thompson did it, the actor from Hollywood who became a U.S. senator from Tennessee, that's the last time anybody really did it well. Everybody else has just gotten by at best, you know, and not killed their career. So, it's a -

DEAN: That's it.

[07:00:00]

TODD: It's a - it's a hard job. I wish her luck.

DEAN: Yes, well, we - we will see how it goes. Thank you to all of you for being here.

MOORE: Yes, thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: And one quick programing note for you before we go today. Starting on Monday, Audie Cornish will be hosting CNN THIS MORNING. She has spent years interviewing newsmakers and everyday people on TV, radio, podcasts and more. And now Audie is going to bring her fresh angles and deeper questions to the bigger stories of the day. CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH, weekdays at 6:00 Eastern, that's right here on CNN, and it starts on March 3rd. We will be cheering Audie on.

Thank you so much to the panel. And thank you for joining us. I'm Jessica Dean. "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now. Have a great weekend.