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Trump: 'I Don't Know' If I Need to Uphold Constitution; Jury Selection Begins in Trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired May 05, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: It is Monday, May 5. Here's what's happening right now on CNN THIS MORNING.

[06:00:37]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN WELKER, MODERATOR, NBC'S "MEET THE PRESS": Don't you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The president of the United States not sure whether it's his responsibility to uphold the Constitution. So, what's he saying now about a third term?

Also, jury selection about to begin in the trial of Sean Combs. A look at the charges, the witnesses, and what you can expect when it starts up this morning.

And police thwarting a plot to bomb a Lady Gaga concert. What they say one suspect was planning to do on a live stream during the show.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN A. SMITH, ACTOR/TV PERSONALITY: Do I believe I could win? You're damn right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Stephen A. Smith ready for a White House run? President Trump likes the idea, but what does Smith think of that endorsement?

It's 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here is a live look at London, where preparations are underway for a -- for V-Day celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. We'll check back in on those ceremonies later this hour.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. Thank you for waking up with me.

I'm going to start with something that's got a lot of people talking this morning. Over the weekend, President Trump was asked whether he needs to uphold the Constitution as he pushes forward with a massive deportation program.

Now, you might expect a pretty clear-cut response from the president, but here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it.

WELKER: But even given those numbers that you're talking about, don't you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?

TRUMP: I don't know. I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me. And they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Those comments as President Trump also weighed in on growing concerns about the economy and, of course, speculation about him seeking a third term.

Joining me now in the group chat, Stephen Collinson, CNN politics senior reporter; Cari Champion, CNN contributor; and Brad Todd, Republican strategist. You guys, welcome back to the chat.

OK, Brad, we haven't seen you in a minute. So, do you mind if I start with you?

BRAD TODD, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Sure. Go ahead.

CORNISH: So, here, what I hear when conservatives talk about this due process issue is that it doesn't count for immigrants. It doesn't count for migrants. And we do know there are different rules in that respect.

But what do you hear the way the president answered, because he was asked multiple times about this?

TODD: He said he's going to do what the court said. He said he's going to follow what the Supreme Court said, and that -- that is what all his critics --

CORNISH: But that's not, like, an obvious answer, the yes or no?

TODD: No, it wasn't. His critics have said for months, Oh, he's an authoritarian. He's going to abolish the Supreme Court. He's going to not hold elections.

Like, he's appealing decisions up the chain as they come. He says he's going to follow the Supreme Court's directives. This is what his critics want him to say. They should -- they should exceed and give him credit for that.

CORNISH: Do we want him to get credit for that?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, he did swear an oath about three months ago to uphold the Constitution.

You can argue whether you think that he's fully applying what the Supreme Court said in the Garcia case, which told him to facilitate the return. It didn't say that he couldn't deport Mr. Garcia somewhere else.

But the president does say a lot of things. He says one thing one day and one the other. That's part of his political method: to keep everyone confused.

CORNISH: You were noting that he acts like it's a choice.

COLLINSON: Yes, well, it's obviously not a choice --

TODD: It's not --

COLLINSON: -- to uphold the law. Like, on the question of this idea of whether he would run for a third term in 2028, the way that the question was answered on the NBC interview was, Well, it's not something I'm looking to do right now.

I guess you could say, well, that's just following constitutional precedent. But other people would say, given what's happened in the past, given what the president has said, that's somewhat troubling, that he thinks it is a choice.

CORNISH: Let me play a little context for this, so we have a sense of the kinds of things that he was saying.

So, at one point we had to kind of get it all together, all the things he answered, "I don't know." And here's -- OK, you ready for that? Here we go.

[06:05:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WELKER: You campaigned on a promise to bring prices down on day --

TRUMP: Well, I don't know.

WELKER: Your secretary of state says everyone who's here, citizens and non-citizens, deserve due process. Do you agree, Mr. President?

TRUMP: I don't know. I'm not -- I'm not a lawyer. I don't know.

WELKER: Well, the Fifth Amendment says it's --

TRUMP: I don't know.

I don't know if that's constitutional. WELKER: Don't you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States

as president?

TRUMP: I don't know.

WELKER: Is anyone in your administration right now in contact with El Salvador about returning Abrego Garcia to the U.S.?

TRUMP: I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARI CHAMPION, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, the "I don't know" of it all, right? To me, it's very clear that he does know, but I think everyone saying, Oh, he does not know. I think that was very intentional.

And making sure that he doesn't say anything that could actually get him in trouble or hold him accountable.

But in my group chat, literally in my group chat, it was this conversation back and forth of interpretation. And they've always -- they, his administration, people who work for him -- have always been like, let's interpret it the way we choose to interpret it until we can figure out how to get it to work our way.

CORNISH: So, you're saying that "I don't know" is really trying to prevent any landmines later on?

CHAMPION: Exactly. He knows. He knows exactly.

CORNISH: It's about challenging.

TODD: Yes. I feel like this is a conversational Trump. This was in low -- this is Trump in low-key mode.

He also, by the way, we should note, has given more interviews in the past five months --

CHAMPION: That's interesting.

TODD: -- than Joe Biden gave in four years. Yes, he's --

CORNISH: Well, the thing about giving interviews is then people scrutinize the answers.

TODD: Right.

CORNISH: Which is where we are now.

TODD: That's right, that's right.

I want to go back to what Stephen said, though. On the Abrego Garcia case, whether he's complying or not, the case has been remanded down to the district court for clarification. It's going to come back up to the Supreme Court. Whether or not the administration is complying with the court will

happen once the court makes its decision on the merits of the case. And I think we all know what we expect that to be, but let's don't prejudge that yet.

COLLINSON: I'll tell you what is interesting, though, is that this is a president who's very direct in making claims of expansive power: this is what I can do.

When he's challenged on it and when it's a question of is there a political price to pay? He always says, in this and many other contexts, well, it's up to the lawyers.

But in the end of the day --

CHAMPION: This is true. Yes.

COLLINSON: -- the president is the person that wields the power. He has the responsibility. He's taken the oath.

CORNISH: Right. And they're not pushing these things without him. Right? They're not, like, just motoring to court to challenge some issues without his interest.

CHAMPION: So, shifting the power when convenient. And then saying, but actually, I'm in charge.

CORNISH: Or, as you say, per audience. It's one thing to put something in the courts to say we should be able to X, Y and Z. It's another thing to tell a national audience --

CHAMPION: Yes.

CORNISH: -- for sure, you know, some people have rights, and some people don't.

TODD: But they are following what the court's dicta is so far. And they should. They should. That's clearly what they have to do.

But his critics for five months have been shrieking, Oh, he's preparing to defy the courts. He's not doing that. And we should note it.

CORNISH: OK. Group chat, stay with me. We've got a lot to talk about today.

Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, major travel delays cripple one of the busiest airports in the U.S. Ahead, we've also got details on the list of problems that have caused the delays and cancellations for at least a week.

Plus, this morning, the government will once again start collecting on federal student loans that are in default. So, what happens if you can't pay?

And no, it's not a joke. Why President Trump says he wants to reopen a prison that's held some of the most infamous criminals in history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN CONNERY, ACTOR: Welcome to the Rock.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:13:00]

CORNISH: Jury selection in the long-awaited criminal trial of music mogul Sean Combs begins today. He's already turned down a plea deal that prosecutors -- that the prosecutors had offered. And has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including sex trafficking.

CNN correspondent Leigh Waldman is live outside the federal courthouse in New York.

Leigh, let's just start with what we can expect on the opening day for this jury selection.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Audie, good to be with you this morning.

So, we know that these potential jurors are going to be asked a series of questions, both from Sean "Diddy" Combs' defense and from prosecutors, as well.

Now, the questions could center around their views on things like drugs, guns, sex with multiple partners, and the hip-hop industry as a whole.

One expert believes that seating an impartial jury in this case, willing to just listen to the facts and -- and view Combs as a defendant and not someone who is best known as Diddy in the music industry, could be a real challenge here.

Now, we're expecting this trial, that it could last for several weeks. They're hoping to get this jury sat within a week and have opening statements start next Monday.

But they are making sure that the jury has their schedules cleared, if they're selected, for the next 8 to 10 weeks.

We're also -- we also know that there's going to be a list of witnesses and victims who are called to testify. But it's not only this jury selection that's happening. Combs is facing a slew of civil lawsuits in addition to these federal charges that he's facing now, including from some of those victims who say that they were minors at the time when they were subjected to drugs and sexually assaulted by Combs.

CORNISH: All right. That's CNN's Leigh Waldman. As we said, jury selection beginning in that case. So, keep an eye on this for the rest of the week. Still to come on CNN THIS MORNING, like it or not, people are already

discussing who should run for president in 2028. Why Stephen A. Smith is talking about running, even though he says he's not the most qualified for it.

Plus, Elon Musk for mayor. SpaceX's Texas launch site just voted to make itself the state's newest town.

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[06:19:30]

CORNISH: OK. Starting today, if you have a federal student loan in default, you're going to have to start paying it back once again.

The Education Department is warning that its resuming collections on those loans. This could lead to millions of people having their benefits and wages garnished if they don't start paying again.

In a recent op-ed, Education Secretary Linda McMahon defended her decision to do this, writing, quote, "Debt doesn't go away. It gets transferred to others. If borrowers don't pay their debts to the government, taxpayers do."

So, joining me now to discuss, Preston Cooper. He's a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Good morning, Preston.

PRESTON COOPER, SENIOR FELLOW, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Good morning. Thank you for having me.

CORNISH: OK. We know the administration wants to start collections again. There had been a pause during the pandemic, et cetera.

But what is involved in doing that? Is the department actually ready to make these collections, given the cuts to the department? I know that AEI has done some assessments where they're saying the program's in complete disarray. It's plagued by administrative failures.

COOPER: So, today's action to resume collections on defaulted loans was really only a matter of when, not a matter of if. They were going to have to do this eventually, because the government needs to get its money back if students are not paying their loans.

But as you mentioned, you know, this is going to be an administrative challenge to actually restart collections on the loans. Most of the actual collecting at this stage will be done by the treasury department. So, they'll be affected less by some of the cuts.

But this was always going to have to happen. You know, if students are not paying back their loans, they do need to be consequences for that. And so, Linda McMahon was going to have to turn the collection system back on eventually. And it should have been done, honestly, years ago, but now is as good a time as any.

CORNISH: Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna is among those arguing for continued forgiveness of student loans. He writes this: "Restarting loan payments now will cause credit scores to plummet and risk millions of Americans' ability to participate in the economy."

And I want to ask you about this, because there's also this plan, I think, that Republicans are talking about in the in the next budget bill where economic hardship deferments for new for new borrowers after July 2025, those would end.

I mean, you're talking about borrowers who could face, like repayment right when the economy is hurting or if they're facing financial hardship.

COOOPER: Well, so Republican proposals to reform the student loan program preserve an important feature of it, which is called income driven repayment. And that means that if you have loans and your income goes up or down, say, due to a recession, your payments will go up and down with your income. So, you have a lower income, you get a lower payment.

And the Republican plans preserve this. But they also add an extra benefit to that, which says that if you cannot make the interest payments on your loan, if you cannot fully cover the interest, they'll actually waive that unpaid interest.

And they'll even credit your principal balance by a little bit to ensure that, if you keep up with your payments, if you do the right thing and pay your loans, you'll see your balance go down over time, and you'll pay off your loans faster.

CORNISH: One of the things that surprised me is the high number of people who are delinquent who are 45 and up, right? People who are in their 50s. People who are in their 60s. Parents who have debt.

They could be in a position -- I think I see 37 percent of older borrowers in debt. What concerns should we have about this, this, this repayment kicking in? And these changes happening to these programs, honestly, to a large number of people who are at retirement age. Right? Who are at the age when they might just frankly end up on social safety net programs.

COOPER: Well, we certainly need to make sure that this return to repayment transition is managed appropriately for all borrowers, older and younger, to make sure that people have the resources and the support they need to get back into the habit of repaying their loans.

But the Republican proposal would also limit how much debt colleges can force on older borrowers. They would limit the Parent Plus program, which currently allows colleges to force, effectively, unlimited debts on parents and grandparents.

They would -- they would cap that amount, so that wealthy colleges can no longer force families to borrow, you know, up to their eyeballs loans that they're probably never going to be able to pay back.

Preston, I want to ask you one more thing before you go, because I think what's interesting is this reform effort is on the way. But in the meantime, there's lots of people who are locked into this debt now. Is this just a generation that is going to be lost to this debt? The idea is, while you're trying to get colleges to pay more, the

folks who are on the hook are just officially on the hook. And that's it.

COOPER: Well, the Republican plan would allow borrowers to transition into their new repayment plan, which again allows borrowers to pay down their debts a lot faster, because it waives that unpaid interest and provides that credit towards your principal.

By my calculations, you know, the typical borrower would pay off their debt in just 11 years, compared to 20 years under President Biden's plan. So, I hope that if this plan were enacted, that would enable more borrowers to get out from under their debt and move on with their lives.

CORNISH: Preston Cooper, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

All right. Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, police in Brazil following a -- foiling a plot to attack a Lady Gaga concert on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach.

[06:25:09]

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MIKEY DAY, CAST MEMBER, NBC'S "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Sir, this order will officially shorten the word "recession."