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Zelenskyy, E.U. Leaders Arrive for Summit on Ukraine & Defense; House GOP Leaders Push for DOGE to 'Keep Us in the Loop'; Cuomo Announces He'll Run for NYC Mayor. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired March 06, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Now, we've already seen a lot of the leaders coming in, and we're expecting those leaders coming in to be inside a session that could last all afternoon, and it could go on into the evening.
[05:58:39]
And we know that there are potential outliers in those 27 to not wanting to give Ukraine the support, not wanting the E.U. to -- to spend the money.
So, here they come. Antonio Costa on the left of your picture, Von der Leyen on the right in the white jacket, of course, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his traditional military-type attire. Meeting with all these diplomats who are all in suits, but he is wearing his traditional attire.
And you will see him, as he's worn through the last three years of the war. You will see him, in a moment, appear on another camera in that direction, where he is expected to give comments, and we can get to hear how he is going to explain his mission here today.
We know that just yesterday or even earlier this morning, he's already talked with four different European leaders to kind of bring them up to speed with where Ukraine is, with Ukraine's readiness to work with the United States, readiness he's talked about to sign this minerals deal.
But what he is most keen to look for, of course, is how Europe can fill the security gaps that are emerging, because the United States is withdrawing itself from the fulsome support that it has given Ukraine previously.
Witnessed just yesterday, the intelligence support, intelligence support that alerts Ukrainians to the potential of attack on front lines, on cities, all of that.
And we've heard today reports that President Macron of France is -- is offering some intelligence that can help Zelenskyy.
So again, you know, he's been in the building now ten minutes. He was expected to walk directly up to the cameras. Again, I'll underscore the fact that he is in conversation with the
European Commission president, the European Council president, is an indication of just --
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: It's Thursday, March 6th. Here's what's happening right now on CNN THIS MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): It's just political theater until it becomes a law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Concerned Republicans deliver a message to Elon Musk. Go easy with that chainsaw and send those cuts to Congress.
Plus, this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG COLLINS, SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: We'll be making major changes, so get used to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: DOGE's next target is Veterans Affairs. Tens of thousands of jobs on the chopping block. What it will mean for veterans and their families.
Plus, this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We might not see it, maybe, right away, but it's going to hurt down the line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: If you're looking for a new car, you might want to buy now. President Trump is pressing pause on auto tariffs, but not for long.
And later --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW CUOMO, FORMER NEW YORK GOVERNOR: I'm stepping aside as your governor.
I announce my candidacy today for mayor of New York City.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: From disgraced governor to candidate for mayor. In the post- MeToo era, are New Yorkers ready to forgive Andrew Cuomo? It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. This is a live look at sunrise in
New York City. Good morning, New York. Good morning, everyone. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for waking up with me.
We're going to turn to our first story. Elon Musk taking his DOGE team and their plans directly to Republicans on Capitol Hill.
So, as some GOP members are pushing for a seat at the table in determining what gets cut next, in his meeting behind closed doors with House and Senate Republicans, Musk gave them all his personal cell phone number. The idea is to more closely coordinate what's happening inside his team as it rapidly moves through the government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: There's a lot of room, a lot of opportunity to improve expenditures in the government, and we're making good progress in that regard.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Should Congress have a vote on this? Should Congress have a vote on this?
MUSK: Well, they do have a vote on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: House Speaker Mike Johnson tells reporters he's now in almost daily communication with Musk about the efforts to cut government spending. But rank-and-file members left in the dark until now, and they want more clarity into how the cuts are being carried out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ (R-FL): The tone in the House was probably a lot different than the tone in the Senate. Most of the House members there were saying, yes, we like what you're doing. Keep it up. Just keep us in the loop. Make sure that you don't step on any -- any -- any landmines.
REP. DUSTY JOHNSON (R-SD): I'm not upset about disruption itself. Broken systems need disruption, but we need to make sure we get it right.
REP. RICH MCCORMICK (R-GA): If he just takes a half step back, we'll -- we'll do something that I think can be compassionate and, at the same time, something that's impactful when it comes to saving Americans money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: But others in the House Republican ranks want Musk to keep his foot on the gas pedal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: You hear some Republicans say he's going too fast. Slow down. What do you say to them?
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): I have not had any Republican tell me that personally. So --
RAJU: They told us that.
GREENE: Well, you know, what I have to say to them is they need to grow a backbone. We're $36 trillion in debt. And this is how you save the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining me now to talk about all this: Stephen Collinson, CNN politics senior reporter; Nia-Malika Henderson, CNN senior political analyst and political and policy columnist at Bloomberg; and Margaret Talev, senior contributor at Axios.
OK, to the group chat. I don't -- I don't know if you've ever had to call I.T., but that's not a phone number that necessarily yields a solution.
Stephen, talk to me about the fact that these lawmakers are back, fresh off their town halls, and now they've got questions.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Right. And they're hearing a lot of concern about various cuts from their constituents.
This, constitutionally, is the way it should have happened all along. And we've seen the first signs that the Supreme Court is not that keen on the idea of presidents just refusing to spend money that's already been appropriated by Congress.
And why they're doing this is because, if you use this process called rescission, which is to claw back money that's already been appropriated, that gets past the Senate filibuster.
The problem here, though, is once you start introducing individual lawmakers to this process, every lawmaker has got one program they don't want to get cut.
[06:05:04]
CORNISH: Yes, but that's the point of Congress, right?
COLLINSON: So that -- that slows down the whole thing. Sure.
CORNISH: Like, one of the things I've wondered is did they give away their power? Are they giving away their power?
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean, they already have. I mean, if you think about it, tens of thousands of these employees have already been let go. There is no undoing that at this point.
CORNISH: Well, in some cases, they have. They've been called back.
HENDERSON: That's right. When they -- when they let go of the folks, you know, in charge of sort of the nuclear football, in charge of --
CORNISH: Which I'm pro that. I am pro --
HENDERSON: That's good. That's good.
CORNISH: Professionals working around nuclear weapons.
HENDERSON: Mistakes -- mistakes were made. And so yes, they're obviously hearing from these constituents. Maybe they'll -- they'll try to slow this process down.
But already, so many people have been let go. And it sounds like, if you're Elon Musk, he wants to have control over this. He sent that email about, you know, he said it was a proof of life. It really was, Tell me what you did last week.
CORNISH: Margaret, what do you make of him walking the halls, giving out his number, trying to make nice?
MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR AT AXIOS: Because there's some problems.
HENDERSON: Yes.
TALEV: But I think, like President Trump --
CORNISH: Margaret, Marjorie Taylor Greene says she hasn't heard anything.
TALEV: Well, don't forget, there's this push to make -- take those Trump tax cuts and make them permanent. If you're going to talk about what drives deficits and debt over the long term, it is the imbalance with money coming in and money that needs to go out.
And so, some of this isn't, like, government spending. It is government revenue coming in.
CORNISH: Yes.
TALEV: It's all part of the same conversation. There's just a couple, like, numbers or trends I keep your -- our eyes on the ball on. And one of them are Elon Musk's favorability ratings. Because when you look in the polling, voters -- he is less popular.
CORNISH: Yes.
TALEV: Even among those who voted --
CORNISH: Well, Kara Swisher said that he's been a heat shield for President Trump, basically taking in --
TALEV: It's absolutely -- it's absolutely true.
CORNISH: Yes.
TALEV: It's sort of plausible deniability. If it gets really bad, the president can just say, well, you know, that's Elon Musk.
But so far, he's stood by him. But if that's who you're sending out there. And -- and these lawmakers, they're between a bit of a rock and a hard place in the GOP caucus.
Because if they don't do what President Trump wants, they face problems in the primaries. But if they don't stop job cuts and economic problems down the chain in their districts, they could still be held accountable by voters.
HENDERSON: Yes. And it's not clear that Donald Trump necessarily cares about that, right? You know, if he goes two years and sort of runs roughshod over Congress, you know, when he gave his address to Congress, he basically said, I'm here. I'm doing what I want to do.
CORNISH: Yes.
HENDERSON: I don't necessarily need you.
CORNISH: Stephen, can you jump in on that? Because usually you go to that address and make a bunch of requests: Please do this. Please do that. He's doing so much on his own. There weren't that many requests.
COLLINSON: Well, and normally, you see a president get on Air Force One and spend three days flying around the country, promoting the policies he laid out in his address.
He didn't really lay out any policies. His policy is wielding vast presidential power. And he's not, to your point, very interested in Congress getting in the way of that.
CORNISH: OK, group chat, stick around. We've got a lot more to talk about in terms of these cuts.
But coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, the U.S. generally does not negotiate with terrorist organizations. So why is the U.S. breaking that long-standing tradition?
Plus, a new critical fire threat. Where's the biggest danger today?
And defiant mayors face a grilling on Capitol Hill over sanctuary cities. We'll talk to a congressman who was in the room when this went down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): When an illegal alien rapes a woman, do you believe you're on the right side of history? Yes, or no?
MAYOR MICHAEL JOHNSTON (D), DENVER, COLORADO: I will charge and prosecute them.
MACE: Yes, or no?
MAYOR MICHELLE WU (D), BOSTON: No. Rape is obviously horrible.
MACE: Why are you letting rapists back out on the streets of Boston?
WU: That is not true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[06:12:55]
CORNISH: It's 12 minutes past the hour. I want to give you your morning roundup. Some of the stories you need to get your day going.
The U.S. and Hamas are holding direct talks about the release of hostages and extending the ceasefire with Israel. This actually upends a really long-standing tradition in which the U.S. government generally does not negotiate with terrorist organizations.
Last night, President Trump issued an ultimatum, writing, quote, "To the people of Gaza, a beautiful future awaits, but not if you hold hostages. If you do, you are dead."
L.A. County is suing the utility company Southern California Edison over that Eaton Fire, which killed 17 people. That was one of the major fires that scorched the L.A. area back in January.
The county blames utility equipment for starting the flames, but the company says there's no evidence of that.
And as Taylor Swift says, "Karma's going to track you down, step by step, from town to town." And that is what has happened to two people accused of hacking into StubHub to steal 900 Taylor swift tickets for her Eras Tour.
Prosecutors say the suspect sold those tickets and made -- I can't believe I'm saying this -- $635,000.
The two were arrested on charges of grand larceny and computer tampering.
And we want you to see this. A police officer rescuing an unconscious man from a burning vehicle. This happened in Bridgewater, New Jersey, after the car collided with a diesel tanker truck.
Now, both vehicles caught on fire. The driver of the car was taken to the hospital. His injuries are not life-threatening.
And still coming up this morning, former New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, looking to make a political comeback. Why it looks like New Yorkers might be ready to give him a second chance.
Plus, after announcing sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the Trump administration is giving one industry a short reprieve.
And good morning, Norfolk, Virginia. It's expected to be in the 50s all day.
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[06:19:18]
CORNISH: So, our assignment this morning, former New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, officially pitching his political comeback to New Yorkers. And he's betting they're ready to forgive and forget.
Cuomo announced he's running for mayor of New York City. He resigned in 2021 after he was accused of sexual misconduct. But we're in the post-MeToo era now.
So, for this week's episode of my podcast, "The Assignment" -- "The Assignment," I spoke to the woman who started the MeToo movement, Tarana Burke, and asked her about Cuomo's potential return to office. What that says about not just Democrats, but society at large.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TARANA BURKE, FOUNDER, #METOO MOVEMENT: I was literally about to go live, and I never do that, on Instagram the other night. And I was like, this is the -- and I hope this stays in, because I need to say this.
We will never be able to move forward. And when I say move forward, I mean collectively towards liberation. This is not about women or men or even sexual violence, but the kind of world that so many of us say that we want to live in.
We will not get there when we -- when we keep making these same kinds of mistakes, when we discount violence against women as a serious enough offense. Right? That -- that it always gets dismissed.
So, what happens is somebody like Andrew Cuomo decides he's going to run for mayor, and people are like, oh yes, he's great. He knows how to govern. He can beat such and such and blah, blah, blah.
And then somebody will say, but wait a minute, what about? And like, ah, well, yes, that was terrible. Or maybe that happened, but.
And that "but" is what's going to kill us. That "but" is what sets us back, right there. You can't tell me that there are not other qualified people who don't have a history of abuse of power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: We're back with my group chat. Nia-Malika Henderson, Margaret Talev, and also, we're joined by Hanna Rosin, senior editor at "The Atlantic." She's also the host of the Radio Atlantic podcast and co- host of the We Live Here Now podcast.
You guys just heard what Tarana said. Nia, I'm going to start with you. Why not look for leaders without the baggage? Is it that it's no longer considered baggage?
HENDERSON: Yes, listen, America -- New Yorkers will have a choice, right? It's not going to be just Cuomo who is running in this primary. But he is certainly going to be the most dominant force. If you look at polls, he's leading in the polls. There is a post-DEI era. There is a post-woke culture era. There is a post-MeToo era culture that you see happening.
And we see this historically, right? There is social progress, and then there is backlash. And often the backlash is much more impactful and bigger than whatever social progress has been made.
CORNISH: Hanna, let me drag you in. You've also written in the past about men and our culture. I mean, we could say that fairly.
HANNA ROSIN, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE ATLANTIC": About men, yes.
CORNISH: What was the title of that book, Hanna Rosin.
ROSIN: It was called "The End of Men."
CORNISH: OK.
ROSIN: And I feel like we're at --
CORNISH: I did not make that up.
ROSIN: We are at the end of the end of men.
CORNISH: Yes, we are. So, say more. Because I do feel like that's the kind of thing that is part of this backlash.
ROSIN: Yes. I mean, the economic statistics have stayed the same. Men are still behind in college, and all the things that were true are still true when I wrote that book.
However, the cultural feeling has completely shifted, and they've somehow managed to turn powerlessness into extreme power. And I don't really know how that magic trick happened. Maybe its backlash.
CORNISH: Yes.
ROSIN: Maybe it's a final push. I mean, it's so strong now. We had a White House official who was praising Andrew Tate, who's been accused of rape on -- in two countries. That's --
CORNISH: Right.
ROSIN: -- unusual. And as a victim of the --
CORNISH: And self-described misogynist, we should mention, as well.
ROSIN: Yes.
CORNISH: Margaret, one of the things I'm curious about is, is it no -- are litmus tests over?
One of the things we heard in the aftermath of the -- of the Kamala Harris loss was like these progressives, they ask for too many things, and they made things a rule, and they shouldn't have done it. Like the MeToo thing was one of them. Defund police might have been the other.
Can you put this in context for us?
TALEV: In the Democratic Party, I don't think litmus tests are over. And in fact, I think what the litmus test should be, it seems to still be being litigated inside the Democratic caucus or the Democratic Party as they kind of search for their next leaders and how they want to position themselves.
But I think there -- there is obviously a change. And I think if you're Andrew Cuomo, he's not running for mayor of New York to end the MeToo movement. He is running for mayor of New York to exercise a political comeback.
And he is -- whatever you may think about him, for better or for worse, clearly has political skills. He's reading the room or the country, as it were, and thinking, let me come. Well --
CORNISH: I'm glad you said this, because I want to play a clip of him, actually, in his 17-minute online announcement that he made where he -- he kind of referred to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: Did I always do everything right in my years of government service? Of course not. Would I do some things differently knowing what I know now? Certainly.
Did I make mistakes, some painfully? Definitely. And I believe I learned from them, and that I am a better person for it. And I hope to show you that every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK, Margaret, I want you to finish your thought. I didn't mean to interrupt. I felt like we needed the context.
TALEV: Were the mics hot when we were all laughing as that was running? Because that's like an "SNL" skit that is going to be made in the next show.
So, I think those are the things that you have to say if you mount a political comeback.
HENDERSON: Unless you're Donald Trump. But go ahead.
TALEV: Yes. OK, but fair. But -- but I also think there are tactical things about this race that need to be considered. And one is that, if it was Andrew Cuomo against one very strong alternative candidate, it would be a different landscape.
[06:25:08]
CORNISH: Yes.
TALEV: But he sees an opening, because he's not canceled, which is what we were told during the MeToo movement was happening. Men were being hounded out of the public space, never to return. That's not turned out to be the case.
ROSIN: I mean, a few men went to prison, a tiny handful of men went to prison. Some did kind of disappear, and -- and many came back even when they had, you know, 20 charges of sexual harassment against them. I'm thinking of the Cleveland Browns quarterback, for example.
So -- so, it had varied effects. But I think reading the room is exactly what's happening now. It's just not a disqualifier, which is a very, very different moment than we were in, in 2017.
HENDERSON: Listen, I think these politicians look at Donald Trump, right? Coming back from, obviously, accusations and all sorts of infractions.
CORNISH: Yes. Which in a way kind of kicked it all off, because were talking 2016, 2017 as the reporting of Harvey Weinstein came out.
HENDERSON: And if you look at the movement. If you look at Andrew Cuomo, you talk about his ambition, this is a stepping stone to something much bigger, right?
He sees himself not just as the mayor, not just as a former governor, but as president. And if you think about the conversations that are going on in the Democratic Party, they see white men as the path forward. And possibly --
CORNISH: Moderate white men.
HENDERSON: Moderate white men.
CORNISH: Talking about law and order.
HENDERSON: Kind of manly white men, as well. And I think, if you look at Andrew Cuomo, that is the part that he's playing.
CORNISH: OK. Manly men.
ROSIN: Manly men. I was just going to say, I feel like you're going to have thoughts. I want you guys to respond to this.
So -- so -- so somebody, sort of right-wing radio commentator who is very popular, said to me, the problem with Democrats is they don't have any manly enough candidates; that their Democrats are not manly enough. And that's why they can't win elections.
What do you guys think about that?
HENDERSON: Well, listen, I mean, I think that's partly what Andrew Cuomo was doing. If you think about what was going on with Biden, some of that, he was old; he was weak. He wasn't manly enough. He wasn't -- he didn't project strength in the way that Donald Trump was able to. Same age, but different --
CORNISH: Yes. Well, those -- in our minds now, those things are equal. HENDERSON: Exactly.
CORNISH: Right? That's the only way.
TALEV: There is a -- there is a comeback movement for masculinity. The question is, can you be masculine and embrace your masculinity and also be a decent person at the same time? And what are the boundaries for that?
And how -- how -- you know -- and is masculinity or femininity going to be the guiding issue for voters at the polls --
CORNISH: Right.
TALEV: -- at a time when they're concerned about all these other things? Like a lot -- a lot of women voters who want, if they're going to vote for a man, they want a man who will take care of women and represent women well, as well as represent men well.
CORNISH: Yes. Well at least --
TALEV: But they also care about --
HENDERSON: Or maybe they're tradwives. I mean --
TALEV: Well, but at least --
CORNISH: That was the messaging out of this election. There was so much conversation about the gender divide in voting. I'm sure we're going to keep talking about this.
Thank you, guys, for a spirited chat.
You can hear more of the conversation, actually, if you want to know more from #MeToo founder Tarana Burke. My podcast, "The Assignment," comes out every Thursday. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts.
And I also want you to check out Hanna Rosin's podcast. It's called "We Live Here Now." You can find that on Apple, Spotify, everywhere. Hanna Rosin's, of course, senior editor at "The Atlantic."
Thank you for joining us this morning.
ROSIN: Thank you.
CORNISH: And straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, the DOGE chainsaw targeting the V.A. How will veterans' services be impacted as the administration plans to cut tens of thousands of employees?
Plus, fire and ice. Millions face blizzard conditions this week, but others face the threat of fire today.
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