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Supreme Court Allows Deportations; Holly Dagres is Interviewed about Iranian Nuclear Talks; Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) is Interviewed about Tariffs; Florida Wins in Thriller. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 08, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:31:32]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It scares the devil out of me. We have a choice. We can pay the bills or - and raise prices or try and absorb them and go out of business.

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AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Businesses in the U.S. that rely on imports from China now scrambling as President Trump threatens to hike tariffs on China again.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for joining me here on CNN THIS MORNING. It's half past the hour on the East Coast. And here's what's happening right now.

China describing President Trump's new tariffs as economic bullying, and they're vowing to fight to the end. Despite the new threat, markets around the world rising. U.S. futures pointing up this morning and Asian markets closing in the green.

And Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. wants fluoride out of our drinking water. He says he will tell the CDC to stop recommending it to communities, that they add the mineral to their water supply. Current CDC guidelines say fluoride is an effective and cost effective way to prevent tooth decay.

The Trump administration has revoked the visas of eight more international students. In the past two weeks, nearly 150 students have had visas revoked, the reason for their alleged involvement in campus protests. It's not clear that that's the case in many cases.

Now, the Supreme Court is handing the Trump administration a legal victory on its use of the Alien Enemies Act. In a split decision, the justices lifted an injunction sparked by last month's deportation flights to a super prison in El Salvador. The emergency appeal allows the Trump administration to continue using the law from 1798 to speed up deportations. In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor calls the administration's actions a, quote," extraordinary threat to the rule of law."

President Trump and his allies see it as vindication.

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KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This decision proves that President Trump and our administration have always been right from the beginning. He will continue to utilize the Alien Enemies Act to remove foreign terrorists.

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CORNISH: Now, there is a catch. The court's ruling does require the administration to give proper notice to people who may be removed.

So, we're going to talk about how some of this might work, some of the implications with my group chat.

And, you guys, this hearing today is going to be before the judge in this case, who originally put the injunction on these flights.

Mike Dubke, people are - in the White House obviously seeing this as vindication for the use of the entire enemies aliens act. I'm not sure that's the case if you really read the fine print of the rulings. But what does it mean to be able to talk about this as a victory?

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Well, I think they need to - I think they need to talk about this as a victory. But you're absolutely right, there - there are now restrictions. But what they - what they were putting forward was that - that the - the Enemies Act doesn't just apply to nation states, it applies to gangs, terrorist groups, whatnot.

Trump was elected to lower prices. He was elected to get tough on immigration, and he was elected to get tough on crime. And this covers - the - the efforts that they've had over the last several weeks really covers those last two items of getting tough on crime, getting tough on immigration and sending a message. So, in that sense, I think they - they feel like this is a positive step forward and they can continue to do what they've been doing.

Now they have some new rules and guidelines.

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: This is the way the Constitution is supposed to work.

[06:35:02]

So, it's a - it's a victory for them, but I think it's also a victory for rule of law.

CORNISH: I think that Justice Sotomayor slightly disagrees about that as we mentioned that dissent.

DUBKE: She does. She does. CORNISH: But we have this kind of weird split screen happening where you have the administration showing these images from that prison in El Salvador, and then you have other news organizations, you have people on social media pointing to those cases where people without due process are caught up in this dragnet, so to speak. So, as this case still works its way through the courts, we were hearing at CNN from the lawyer of another person who was sent to one of these prisons. And here's what he's enduring there.

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LINDSAY TOCZYLOWSKI, ATTORNEY FOR VENEZUELAN MAN DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR: We are gravely concerned for his safety in the CECOT. We know the conditions there. We know that there are reports of torture. The images of Andry when he arrived there, the - what we heard, that he was crying for his mom, that he was pleading for help, I can only imagine how scary this situation is for him.

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CORNISH: So, this is about a Venezuelan makeup artist who was swept up by the administration with no hearing because of his tattoos. They insist that he is a Venezuelan gang member. Again, because there's no day in court, we don't know really what's going on.

Chuck, can you talk about how these cases affect the conversation?

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes, the American people, to Mike's point, they did and want to have a safe U.S. And almost everyone, including many Democrats, agree. If you come to this country and you do something violent, let's seed to the definition of violent, you should probably be deported. You should probably get your day in court. But you shouldn't be here. You got an opportunity to come.

But what we're learning, which is chilling, is that only 8 percent of the folks who actually were sent to this prison have a violent crime, 22 percent of them have some kind of crime. That includes parking tickets or speeding tickets. The vast majority of these people have no criminal record here or at home.

And this does not make it right to send back people who had violent crimes. You should send them back. We are talking about a day in court just to make sure innocent folks, and God forbid an American citizen or somebody here is here illegally (ph). It may be a temporary status, but there's lots and lots of immigrants that came here, like my family came here, who pay taxes, who obey by the law. Because you have to remember that our immigration system has been broken for a very, very long time.

CORNISH: Yes.

ROCHA: It's not like when my grandparents came and you just signed in at the border and you got to come in. There's this long, extensive process that makes it almost impossible to come into this country. That's why you saw people coming. CORNISH: Right. Although - jumping in here, the CPB One app the Biden administration allegedly put in place so that people could make appointments just so they could go through the process, and now that's being revoked and those people are being told to go home.

So, Jackie, as this reaches further and further into the world of people who are trying to do things legally or getting caught up, what could the ripple effects be?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: So, I think that there has been, you know, a chilling effect about people trying to come into this country. We've seen some of those numbers drop. But really, just going back to this case, Audie, I think that this also proves the - or the administration is taking this as a way to consolidate executive power, which is something that they've really been exerting since this - this administration came - came into being.

But the due process piece is going to be critical, and you would assume that the president's lawyers follow it because the Supreme Court handed it down. But we'll have to wait and see. That - that's a big question.

CORNISH: Yes, and not going away.

Group chat will be back in a moment.

I'm going to move on to some international news, because there was a surprising announcement from President Trump, the U.S. and Iran, he claims, are already engaged in talks over the country's nuclear program. Iranian state media reports that their country's foreign minister will meet with U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff in Oman on Saturday.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious. And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with or, frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with, if they can avoid it. So, we're going to see if we can avoid it. But it's getting to be very dangerous territory.

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CORNISH: So, the last publicly known time that the U.S. and Iran held direct senior level talks was a decade ago.

Joining me now is Holly Dagres, senior fellow at the Washington Institute.

Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING.

We reached out to you because on Twitter you were talking about how Iran needs a deal because it is in a dire situation on the ground, right? Over time sanctions have had their intended effect. So, does that mean it is willing to come to the table? HOLLY DAGRES, SENOR FELLOW, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE: Audie, thank you for

having me on the program.

[06:40:00]

Well, I think it's not just sanctions that's had its intended effect. It's actually mismanagement and corruption as well on the part of the Islamic Republic. And I think that the situation we've seen in Iran for the past few years has suggested that it's not just a dire economic situation, but that the people are very discontent to the point that they've been wanting the Islamic Republic gone. And that's why we saw the 2022 women life freedom uprising happen.

And so, given the developments on the ground with the economy, the discontent from the people, and, of course, the region, they are desperate for some kind of economic reprieve that will help them float for the next four years. And that's what they're hoping to get through these potential talks that - if they lead to something.

CORNISH: You were talking about how things have changed in the region. I'm thinking about some military changes, like "The New York Times" put it this way, they were saying that, "Iran has lost the air defenses around its key nuclear sites because of precise Israeli strikes since last October. And Iran can no longer rely on its proxy forces in the Middle East." Of course, thinking about Syria, et cetera.

So, this is this, like, perilous moment militarily as well. Can you put that in context for us?

DAGRES: Sure. Of course last year we had two tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and Israel. Israel had taken out these - these air defense in Iran. And what we're seeing is that in just the past few weeks U.S. President Donald Trump had sent a letter calling for talks. And from what we've heard from various sources is that he said, if you don't do these talks, that there will be some sort of military action against Iran and that they had a two month deadline.

And, of course, Iran had responded that they would want indirect talks. And that's what we've been seeing is actually this potato- potato moment, which is, are these direct talks or are these indirect talks? But at the end of the day, these are talks. And so, that's what's supposed to be happening this Saturday in Oman.

CORNISH: One thing I want to ask you before I let you go, which is that there has - there's distrust, obviously, between both countries, but the U.S. also pulled out of that nuclear deal under Trump. So, is Iran going to the table kind of, yes, concerned about that? Does that affect this negotiation going forward?

DAGRES: Well, as you know, the U.S. withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 despite not violating the deal at the time under the first Trump administration. And believe it or not, if you remember the talks between Zelenskyy and Trump just weeks ago, when that fell apart at the White House, the Iranians were actually quick to react. There was a billboard in Tehran that basically had the picture of the talk, and it said "lessons from Ukraine." And in essence it was saying that we shouldn't trust the United States.

So, what you're actually going to be seeing is a bit of a divide on if these talks should even be happening domestically inside Iran, because there are groups in Iran that believe that the United States should never be trusted. But in this situation, there's going to be a push for talks because of this situation on the ground. And they realize that they need some sort of band aid just to keep afloat to survive the next four years of the Trump administration.

CORNISH: Holly Dagres is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute, talking to us there about Iran.

I appreciate your time.

Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to be talking tariff tension because it is hitting investors and small business owners. Congressman Chuck Edwards is here. His constituents of North Carolina are trying to cope with this trade war while recovering from the effects of a hurricane.

Plus, college basketball crowns a new national champion. We have the latest from San Antonio.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He walked. He can't touch it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He can't. One second. And it's over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's over.

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CORNISH: As tariff fears grip Wall Street, main street is, of course, taking a hit. Small business owners still reeling from billions of dollars in losses. For example, from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Now tariffs are bringing a new threat to that recovery.

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LEAH ASHBURN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, HIGHLAND BREWING: Right now we're under serious strain from tariffs, especially on aluminum. Most of our beer is put in cans, and our aluminum prices have increased 17 percent this calendar year and are expected to grow even higher.

JAKE VERTEL, EAGLES NEST OUTFITTERS: Absorbing these costs is simply not feasible without raising prices.

WENDY BRUGH, DRY RIDGE FARM: These tariffs are pouring salt in a wound that is just now beginning to heal.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: I wanted to talk about this because these voices are from North Carolina. So, here is the Republican congressman, Chuck Edwards of North Carolina. His district, of course, was hit by Helene last year.

Congressman, thank you for being here with me this morning.

REP. CHUCK EDWARDS (R-NC): Yes, good morning. Thanks for having me.

CORNISH: So, we heard there some small business owners speaking out, saying specifically, this is how this is going to hurt us. And then recently we heard from one of your state's Republican senators, Thom Tillis, who said this about how tariffs might impact farmers in your state.

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SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Anyone who says there may be a little bit of pain before we get things right need to talk to my farmers who are one crop away from bankruptcy. They don't have time. So, we've got to be crisp on this implementation, otherwise we could do damage that's irreparable to farmers and businesses.

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CORNISH: So, the senator is actually pushing a bill in the Senate, signing onto a bill that would reign in the president's tariff power. Is that something you think the House should consider as well? Is it something you would sign on to if given the chance?

EDWARDS: No, I - I certainly would not sign on to that theory. I believe that our president was very clear when he asked to be our president, that he would be using tariffs to make America more competitive. I trust that he will do exactly that. I know that there's just a lot of angst out there right now, but we're really early into this process.

[06:50:02]

CORNISH: He - these lawmakers are responding to their constituents. What are you telling these people who say, look, I am genuinely worried, I cannot wait until the economy bottoms out or for manufacturing to be brought back to the U.S., a decades long process?

EDWARDS: Well, the - the tariff announcements are really young. We're only into a few days ago, they were announced. I believe that we need to give President Trump the opportunity to bring world leaders to the table and begin to have discussions on what we need, what the United States needs from them to create a more fair and balanced trade atmosphere. I've got full confidence that that's exactly what he's going to be able to do.

I believe the American people have full confidence. They elected President Trump, widespread in this country, based on the fact that he told us he'd be leveraging tariffs to make us more competitive. CORNISH: You know, I want to talk about the lumber industry. The U.S.

is planning on hiking existing duties on Canadian lumber up to 34 percent. I know lumber exports are a big deal in North Carolina. So, you're going to be facing reciprocal tariffs on that. And it could also raise basically home building materials, right? Raising the average cost of a home by potentially more than $9,000.

Is there anything that you're worried about when it comes to impacts on people who are in the middle of trying to rebuild after the hurricane?

EDWARDS: Yes, certain - certainly we're all concerned about our world economy right now, but we have a president that has the courage to stand out in front of the world and use America's might, not only our military might, but our economic might, to convince the rest of the world to enter into fair trade agreements.

The announcement of tariffs is only the beginning of this process. We know that President Trump is the great negotiator. He's the author of the art of the deal. I certainly believe that he's trying to create leverage right now and say to the rest of the world that America is going to grow our economy. And we want to open this - this (INAUDIBLE).

CORNISH: But can you - Congressman, can I jump in here, leverage for what? It's not clear. We've heard multiple reasons for the tariffs. No consistency in the way they're applied.

We were, earlier, looking at a report out of Russia where lawmakers there were joking around about the fact that Russia wasn't facing tariffs. I think people are trying to make sense of this, and they're having a hard time hearing back from their representatives. Trust us, it's going to work out.

EDWARDS: Well, let's look back at President Trump's 40 - his first term when he was our full, official president.

CORNISH: We know he likes tariffs. We just don't know what this is supposed to accomplish and in what timeframe and for what specific reasons.

EDWARDS: Yes. So, again, let's look back while he was our 45th president. He negotiated deals with countries like Canada and Mexico, using the leverage of tariffs that those countries, in return for us lowering tariffs, would purchase more American agricultural products and goods. Unfortunately, he did not become the 46th president, and President Biden did not enforce those agreements. I believe that we're in a position now where foreign leaders will take him very seriously and they'll meet up to the agreements that are ultimately to be made.

The announcement of tariffs is just the beginning. The - the - the real benefit comes after the negotiation, after foreign leaders come to the table. And I believe that we should give President Trump the opportunity to bring them to the table. And, yes, we should watch what's taking place with a great deal of - of scrutiny. But at this point, I believe that we need to trust the president. CORNISH: Congressman Chuck Edwards of North Carolina.

We're going to switch gears now because finally the madness is over. The Florida Gators are the last team standing.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One second. And it's over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Florida is back on top of the college basketball world.

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CORNISH: Florida overcoming a smothering Houston defense and a 12- point second half deficit to beat the Cougars 65-63 last night.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does this win mean for you in Gator Nation?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously we're thrilled, man. It's a - a heck of a moment. An incredible opportunity to be here. And the fact that we finished it up means everything in the world.

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[06:55:05]

CORNISH: I'm joined by CNN contributor Cari Champion, and CNN's sports anchor, Coy Wire.

I know you guys both watched this closely. Coy, I'm bringing you because you were up in the mix we just saw at the end. And, Cari, I'm bringing you back because you were like, Duke's going to take it. So, first, I just have to get your point of view on where we stand now because that did not work out for many reasons. How are you feeling about the game you saw?

CARI CHAMPION, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Is that for me or Coy? I didn't - I'm sorry.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Oh, too soon for (INAUDIBLE), Audie, to bring up Duke.

CORNISH: That - that's for - that's for you, Cari.

WIRE: Too soon that you're bringing that up, Audie. I'm sorry, Cari.

CORNISH: Exactly.

CHAMPION: I will just say, it's fine. I will take the ale (ph). I'm sure I was like millions of others who thought Duke would win. Congratulations to Houston for getting past Duke. And then I thought Houston would take it all. So, what - what I'm feeling right now, if I'm honest with you, Sara Sidner is going to be insufferable because her Florida Gators won, but they deserved it.

CORNISH: Confirmed in just a few minutes.

CHAMPION: They are - they are - yes, their defense did it in the end, which is pretty ironic because Houston is known for their defense. But congratulations, they did a good job.

Coy, I'll let you have the stage since I love that she reminded everyone I had it wrong.

WIRE: I didn't do it. That was your girl, Audie.

CORNISH: I mean - I mean she said it.

WIRE: But what an incredible win for Gator Nation.

CORNISH: Yes.

WIRE: I mean this was their first championship in 18 years. And we're talking about a very storied program if you look back when they won their back to back titles in '06 and '07.

And the way they won is - is the most important thing here because this was one of the top three offenses in the nation all year, but Cari mentioned that suffering Cougars defense. And that was the first time the Cougars lost all year when holding an opponent to under 70 points. But the Gators still find a way to win. Their star was shut down. Walter Clayton had zero points in the first half, but his teammates rallied up. They rise up around him, and they find a way to get it done with grit, with toughness, walking off the stage there with coach at the end, literally walking him off the court for the first time as a national champion. It was absolute elation. And he's now the youngest coach to win a national title in 42 years. He's just 39 years old. And I think they've got a pretty good darn thing cooking down there in Gainesville.

CORNISH: And, Cari, you know, while I have you, I also want to talk about the - the women's champions with UConn back on top again. Why are they so dominant? What does this moment sort of say about that team?

CHAMPION: Yes, we were in Tampa this weekend for the Final Four. I will say this, Geno Auriemma, say what you want about him, he is by far one of the best coaches to ever do it. They have 12 national championships. And the reason why that program is that way is because of him. He created it. Forty years of coaching, and this is the - the fiber of that type of team and that - and that organization. He's been able to put together such a good program. And I have to give him all of the credit because people decide where they want to go, and usually they pick UConn because of what it's known for. And he's bringing that glory back. You see him hugging Paige Bueckers here. Paige, this was her last year in college, and I thought it was a beautiful Cinderella story because she had to fight through injury. She - she was the number one in her class in 2020, and she watched all of her teammates just go away into the WNBA and do well. And so now I'm just really, really happy for what I would think is an appropriate ending for a college superstar and for Geno Auriemma and his program.

CORNISH: All right, Cari Champion and Coy Wire, bringing me a little joy this morning because it's a rough news day. Thanks, you guys.

CHAMPION: I know. I know. Thank you, Audie.

CORNISH: All right, we're going to talk about what we're keeping an eye on in the news now. And I'm going to bring it back to the group.

Jackie Kucinich, can I start with you? What are you watching out for the next day or two?

KUCINICH: Sure. RFK Jr. was invited to testify in front of Bill Cassidy's health committee this week. Unclear whether he's going to accept that invitation. But, you know, what does this mean for oversight of that very critical agency that he leads?

CORNISH: Yes, a lawmaker who was very skeptical during those hearings.

Chuck, how about you?

ROCHA: I'm keeping an eye on the stock futures. Is it going to go up? Is it going to go down? It's another roller coaster day.

But the thing I'm really keeping my eye on is Ted Cruz, because I blame you for my Houston Cougars losing last night. Every time you show up at a sporting event for a Texas team, we lose. And I am bitter. And it's your fault.

CORNISH: Yes, I'm not sure that's how sports work, but I am new to the (INAUDIBLE).

ROCHA: I promise you this.

CORNISH: Mike, last word to you.

DUBKE: All right, that is exactly how sports works. It's all about superstition. So, let's go there.

But I'm looking -

CORNISH: Fair. Fair. Fair. I was - I've been fact checked. I like it.

DUBKE: I'm looking at the seven senators who put their names forward, Republican senators, on the Bipartisan Trade Review Act of 2025. I'm looking to see who the next six are, because while President Trump has a high threshold for pain, there's not really a lot of profiles in courage of the 535 members of the - of Congress.

[07:00:03]

And several of these people, I think, are going to step forward, Republicans, and put their name to that if the stock market continues to go down, or if we have some bad economic messaging. So, I'm waiting to see if we - where they get to 60.

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: I know Trump will veto it, but let's see who joins those seven who have already signed on, on the Republican side.

CORNISH: All right, thanks to the group chat and thanks to you for waking up with us. I'm Audie Cornish. And "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.