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CNN This Morning

Trump Announces 25 Percent Tariff On Trucks, 30 Percent Tariff On Furniture; Oct. 1: A 100 Percent Tariff Takes Effect On Some Imported Drugs; Consumer Sentiment Back To Near Record Lows Amid Inflation; Americans Still Spending: Biggest Driver Of The Economy; U.S. Revokes Colombian President's Visa; Trump, Netanyahu Far Apart On Gaza Ahead Of Monday's Meeting; Hegseth Shuts Down Group Advising On Women In The Military. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired September 27, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:59]

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to CNN This Morning. It's Saturday, September 27th. I'm Veronica Miracle in for Victor Blackwell. "First of All" will be back next week.

Here's what's happening right now. We are closely watching two tropical storm systems in the Atlantic. One of them could affect the southeast coast as soon as Monday. We just got a new forecast and Allison Chinchar is standing by with that. And the head of Iowa's largest school district is in ICE custody this morning.

What Homeland Security officials are saying about that and how his district is responding. And we are just days away from a possible government shutdown. And Democrats and Republicans, they don't seem close to a compromise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there going to be a government shutdown?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Could be, yes, because the Democrats are crazed.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Four days away from a government shutdown and Republicans are on vacation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: We're going to explain what would make this shutdown different from all of the others. And a new round of tariffs on everything from furniture to pharmaceuticals is set to go into effect next week. What that means for your wallet straight ahead.

And we begin when in the tropics where we are keeping a close eye on a tropical system that could bring flooding, rains, high winds and dangerous surf conditions to the Southeast as soon as Monday. When it becomes a tropical storm, it will be named Imelda. South Carolina's governor issued a state of emergency Friday in anticipation of the storm, but exactly where it will go still remains to be seen. CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins us now.

Allison, we just got a new advisory, what can you tell us about that?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not much has changed. Now, we do have two hurricane hunter planes that are out there kind of investigating the entire area, trying to get a better hold on it because the one thing we really haven't been able to find is the center of the circulation for the storm, and that is a huge component of this because it tells us exactly where the track is going to go. So we need that information. So, we don't have too much new information. It's still about 35 miles per hour for those sustained winds gusting slightly higher than that.

You've got both systems here. This is Umberto looking obviously very much more organized than this pretty much hot mess that is just kind of sitting here just off the coast of Cuba. But it's where it goes over the next few days it has all of the eyes focused on it. Again here you can see the overall track of the storm as it slides up to the north, but then notice how the cone really widens out. It's not because it's going to go all over the place, it's actually because we just simply don't know what it's going to do.

Is it going to make landfall? Is it going to go back out over the open Atlantic? There's a lot at play here. Most of even the spaghetti models that are out there, they're in very good alignment with Umberto. But notice here, and I'll zoom in a little bit closer, you've got some of them that actually do make a traditional landfall and several others that just kind of have it stop and then make that sharp right hand turn away from the coast.

Again, we talked about there's a lot of factors here and two of them are the steering mechanisms. You've got this high pressure here and also the very deep trough. And both of these storms are going to slide up into this very narrow corridor. And when it does that, you can end up kind of interacting with each other. The key takeaway here, though, is going to be along the coast. You are likely going to have incredibly heavy rainfall, possibly for several days.

MIRACLE: All right. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much for tracking that.

Well, new developments this morning in the indictment against former FBI Director James Comey. Sources telling CNN the leak to the media at the center of that indictment appears to relate to the 2016 investigation of Hillary Clinton. Comey was indicted this week after seven days of chaos. Earlier this year in an interview for a forthcoming episode of a CNN "Original Series" between FBI directors and presidents, Comey displayed confidence that he was past any legal jeopardy from Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: I often joke I'm the relationship that Trump can't get over. Wakes up in the middle of the night thinking about me and how I'm living my best life. I think it has some combination of I really have had a happy, productive life since then and that I spoke out about him. And that despite their absolute best efforts, they were never able -- never able to get me.

[08:05:07]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Standby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: All right. Well, Comey faces two charges, giving false statements and obstruction of Congress. And President Trump hinted he is not done targeting his political opponents. CNN's Alayna Treene explains what's next in this case.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Veronica. Well, the president on Friday continued to celebrate the indictment against his former FBI director James Comey and series of posts throughout the day, including one that called him a "dirty cop." But look, this is something as well that the president has argued is not necessarily revenge, but what he called justice. That's what he said when he talked to reporters Friday morning. But I think one of the most notable thing that came out of all of his remarks was when he argued that Comey is likely not the only one who will likely face potential prosecution from his Justice Department.

He said that he hopes more will follow. This is what he told CNN's Kevin Liptak.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Mr. President, on James Comey, now that Comey has been indicted, who is the next person on your list in this retribution?

TRUMP: It's not a list, but I think there'll be others. I mean, they're corrupt. These were corrupt radical left Democrats because Comey essentially was a -- he's worse than a Democrat. I would say the Democrats are better than Comey, but no, there'll be others. Look, it was -- that's my opinion.

They weaponized the Justice Department like nobody in history. What they've done is terrible. And so I would -- I hope there -- frankly, I hope there are others because you can't let this happen to a country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So as you heard there, the president wasn't really specific about who could be next. But I did press some White House officials on that. And they essentially said that those who could be targeted next are the same people the president posted about the weekend before when he sent a message on social media directed at his attorney general, Pam Bondi. He called out Comey, but also others like Adam Schiff, the senator of California who was heavily involved in the president's second impeachment. And then also New York Attorney General Letitia James, of course, someone who brought one of the civil cases against him in New York.

Now, I think what's also important to keep in mind through all of this is the context, what I'm hearing in my conversations with people in that building behind me, which is essentially the president has lamented for months now that he believes, you know, he faced prosecution and several indictments when he was out office between his first and second term. He also, of course still harbors resentment over the two impeachments he faced during his first administration. All of that has really led him to believe that his perceived political enemies, his political opponents, should be held accountable for things that he firmly believes were wrong and that they committed unlawful acts. That is what I am told in my conversations. But I think, of course, the key thing to look for now is whether or not the judge and the jury in this case against Comey ultimately agree as well, whether, of course, the prosecutors working on this have enough evidence to bring this further.

All of that still to be determined. But again, we are now looking forward to see who could be next. We know there are a series of investigations that are open against some of the president's political opponents. But as the president said, he hopes there are more, Veronica.

MIRACLE: All right. Alayna Treene, thank you for tracking that for us.

And this morning, more than a dozen FBI agents are out of a job. The bureau fired as many as 20 people, including about 15 tied to a 2020 incident where agents were photographed kneeling with protesters during the George Floyd demonstrations in a successful effort to de- escalate tensions. At the time, FBA Director Christopher Wray reviewed the incident and determined that there was no policy violation, given the circumstances. The firings follow a review by the FBI's Inspection Division and Counsel's office. The FBI is not commenting, but the firings are being viewed as part of a broader push by new leadership to remove what the Trump administration has called woke and politicized elements inside the agency.

And hundreds of protesters filled Iowa's capital yesterday after ICE took the Des Moines school superintendent into custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MULTIPLE SPEAKERS: No peace, no justice. No peace, no justice. No peace, no justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: According to ice, Ian Roberts is in the country illegally from Guyana and that a judge gave him a final order of removal back in May 2024. Des Moines Public Schools officials say he submitted an employment verification form and an i9 during the hiring process. The district's website shows Roberts was named district superintendent back in 2023. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY PAT LAMAIR, TEACHER: I just think there needs to be a legitimate reason that ICE is taking people. So I think it's important for people to know that the general public, I think, is not OK with what's happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:10:12]

MIRACLE: Officials say Roberts had $3,000 in cash, a hunting knife and a loaded handgun on him at the time of the arrest. It is against the law for an immigrant who does not have legal status to own a firearm. And new video shows dozens of protesters at an ICE detention center outside of Chicago surrounding an agency vehicle. Demonstrators frustrated over the immigration crackdown in and around Chicago chanted and tried to block it from moving. At one point, ICE agents fired tear gas and pepper balls to push the crowd back.

Since last week's protests, fencing has now gone up around the Broadview facility, even though fire officials say it was never approved and it will slow their response time. And Attorney General Pam Bondi announced ICE facilities are now getting extra security. DOJ agents will be deployed to help protect federal agents. Bondi made that announcement on Friday on social media just days after a shooting at a Dallas ICE field office. That shooting killed one detainee and left two others in critical condition.

The incident was among at least four attacks or threats on ICE or Border Patrol spots in Texas just this year. Bondi also said she is instructing the Joint Terrorism Task Forces to investigate anyone engaged in acts of domestic terrorism.

And right now, government leaders are looking ahead to a possible shutdown. The U.S. government runs out of money on Tuesday if they can't reach a deal. Now Republicans may control Congress, but they need at least seven Senate Democrats to cross the aisle to pass a spending package, but they are stuck on health care. Democrats want an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies. GOP leaders, well, they want a seven week extension of funding.

President Donald Trump does not appear to be willing to compromise, but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats are ready.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFRIES: We're four days away from a government shutdown. Democrats are here in the Capitol, ready, willing and able to sit down with anyone at any time and at any place in order to find a bipartisan path forward to fund the government, avoid a reckless Republican shutdown, and deal with the health care crisis that Republicans have created in the United States of America. Four days away from a government shutdown and Republicans are on vacation.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MIRACLE: Well, Jeffries says he plans to have House Democrats in the Capitol Monday even if the House GOP canceled votes that day. Senate lawmakers return Monday afternoon.

There have been 14 government shutdowns since 1980, but no two shutdowns have been exactly alike. So let's take a step back. A government shutdown happens when lawmakers fail to pass a spending package for a full year or if they fail to extend funding for a shorter period. If they can't come to an agreement, many agencies and activities must cease operations. They have to shut down until Congress gives them more money.

Services that are critical to protecting lives and property, those typically remain open, but that is at the discretion of the administration in power. Previous shutdowns have stalled food inspections, canceled immigration hearings, and delayed some federal lending to home buyers and small businesses. When it comes to America's more than 400 national parks, the impacts have differed from shutdown to shutdown. During the most recent shutdown in 2019, if you remember, many parks remained open, but no visitor services were available. So nobody was at the visitor centers.

Trash piled up all over the parks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was kind of smelling bad down there. And I don't know how it's affecting the park with, you know, human waste and everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: Yes. And the National Parks Conservation Association estimates that just from the missed entrance fee revenue, the park service lost $400,000 a day.

Air traffic controllers and TSA officers, well, they're typically deemed essential and must remain on the job even though they aren't paid. Now, some workers called out sick during past shutdowns, and this is what it looked like in 2019. Those sickouts led to long security lines at some of the country's biggest hubs.

In 2023, more than a million active duty military troops were at risk of not getting paid before shutdown was averted at the very last minute. And just this week, judiciary officials warned that federal courts could be impacted within days. Judges would still get paid, but other judicial employees would not.

The biggest difference with this looming shutdown, though, unlike previous shutdowns, where federal workers were furloughed and eventually brought back to work, for this shutdown, the Trump administration is telling agencies to prepare for mass firings if Democrats don't cooperate and keep the government open.

[08:15:09] Well, now to your headlines this morning, Sinclair, Nexstar, two of the nation's biggest local T.V. owners are bringing back Jimmy Kimmel live after pulling it just a few weeks ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": The mad red hatter wrote, I can't believe ABC fake news gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back.

You can't believe they gave me my job back. I can't believe we gave your job back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: The blackout followed backlash over Kimmel's monologue about the suspect accused of killing Charlie Kirk, with FCC Chair Brendan Carr even threatening station licenses. ABC briefly pulled this show nationwide. And after talks with the network and pushback from viewers, both companies say Kimmel is back on the air. Yesterday, Sinclair and Nexstar confirmed they would end their blackouts.

And the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to decide whether President Trump can end birthright citizenship. He signed an executive order to do just that earlier this year. However, the 14th Amendment confers automatic citizenship on virtually anyone born on U.S. soil. In an appeal to the court, the administration claims this notion is, quote, "mistaken and has resulted in destructive consequences." This will be the second time this issue has gone before the Supreme Court recently.

The judges handed down a decision back in June, but that dealt with more of a procedural issue.

And Texas authorities say they believe they've cracked the decades old case of four murdered girls at a yogurt shop. The bodies of 14 girls were found inside a burned down yogurt shop in north Austin in 1991. Investigators now say DNA technology has identified Robert Eugene Brashers as the person responsible. Brashers was a serial killer who took his own life in 1999.

And still to come, President Trump announced new drug tariffs that are going to start next week. We're going to take a look at how that might affect your wallet. Plus, Colombia's president won't be coming and welcome back to the U.S. anytime soon. Why the State Department says it will revoke his visa. And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is holding a surprise gathering of generals and admirals in Virginia next week.

What's expected to be on the table for the discussion? That's straight ahead.

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[08:22:13]

MIRACLE: Americans are about to be hit with a new round of steep tariffs on a wide range of items. President Trump announced they will take effect on October 1st. They will target pharmaceutical imports, heavy trucks, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and upholstered furniture. These new tariffs range from 25 percent all the way to a full 100 percent on some imported pharmaceuticals.

Ari Hawkins is the author of Politico's "Morning Trade" newsletter." He joins me now.

Good morning, Ari. Let's talk about why is this new round of tariffs happening now? I mean, the president said the reason is the large scale flooding of the products into the United States by other countries, but what do you make of that?

ARI HAWKINS, POLITICO REPORTER: The Trump administration, in this move, is increasingly leaning into the shielding of particular select sectors. This is a national security rationale that the Trump administration has used, and it's the same one that it's used for -- to widen tariffs on steel and aluminum products. What's different about this, however, is that national security rationale is being significantly expanded to not only hit things like steel and aluminum that are used as inputs in production of heavy machinery, for instance, but also now on kitchen cabinets. It tees up some potentially interesting legal questions about the extent of that authority as that definition starts to widen under the Trump administration.

MIRACLE: Yes. And you wrote in your newsletter that reps for the American cabinet industry asked Trump to activate tariffs on foreign imports of lumber. They said they were being decimated by foreign competition. But with the new tariffs, the president also has to balance American consumers if they're feeling strained by this. Consumer sentiment is also back to near record lows. So how do you see that going?

HAWKINS: It's a delicate balance the Trump administration has to take. And we saw a similar sort of dance with the auto sector where they were given certain tariffs and then certain exemptions quickly followed. And we can see a pretty fierce lobbying campaign from that industry, from the lumber sector, but also from sectors from technology to automotives to just about everything.

What's been central in this, however, is that the Trump administration has never wavered from its commitment to tariffs. Trump likes tariffs, and he believes itself that the tariff itself is going to restore American manufacturing. And we can see that message consistent despite this upward pressure that we're seeing on inflation and continuing warning signs, including from the consumer price index.

MIRACLE: You're right. Tariffs have been consistent and Americans are still spending money. Consumer spending stayed strong in August despite elevated inflation. I mean, a lot of people that I've spoken to, I feel like they're buying out of kind of fear that prices are going to go up. How long does that look like this is all going to last?

[08:25:07] HAWKINS: It's a wide range. These tariffs on select inputs, so steel and aluminum, copper, lumber, those take longer to show up in the economic data because they are used as inputs for production that is still made in America. We can see price hikes from the automotive sector, certain technology companies have linked explicitly to Trump's tariffs, inciting those price increases. But the line gets very sort of ambiguous when there's a sort of inputs that are used in terms of these larger production capacities that takes a little bit more time to pass down to the consumer. Although as we've seen, some companies have already raised prices.

MIRACLE: Yes. And then when it comes to pharmaceutical tariffs, it only applies if a company is not in the process of building a plant in the United States. And it's also not going to apply to generic drugs. So how impactful is this going to be on the American people?

HAWKINS: One of the difficulties really throughout a lot of these announcements is that the details of exactly what is being applied has not been made clear. We've already seen warning signs from certain associations representing hospitals about urging the Trump administration to effectively tread lightly on this. And we've also seen a similar letter that was leaked to me by Republican lawmakers similarly emphasizing that concern specifically about certain supply chain complications from these lifesaving medical access that is needed that they worry could be disrupted because of these tariffs. Frankly, we don't know the details for how impactful this will be up until there's more details from the Trump administration that's not delivered through a Truth Social post, but rather through the traditional Federal Register process. Everyone is basically waiting on bated breath until we get those details.

MIRACLE: Which has basically been the case this whole year. All right, Ari Hawkins, thank you so much for your analysis.

And still to come, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Trump on Monday. What they're expected to discuss as Trump pushes for an end to the war in Gaza.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:39]

MIRACLE: The U.S. has revoked the Colombian president's visa following his visit to the United Nations. Gustavo Petro joined protesters in New York speaking at a pro-Palestinian rally outside the U.N. Headquarters. And part of his speech called for U.S. soldiers to defy President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUSTAVO PETRO, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Disobey Trump order. Obey order of humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: CNN Stefano Pozzebon. What is the U.S. saying about why they made this decision?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Veronica. Well, the State Department as I said in a statement that they believe Petro's actions were reckless and for that they decided to revoke his visa. Now of course, these dates back in a long time. Petro has been one of the loudest leaders that has stood up to Donald Trump when it comes to the U.S. deportation policies, for example, but also one of the most outspoken supporters of the Palestinian case across the world.

He's been reacting to this decision by the secretary of State, Mark Rubio in the Department of State. He's been on a Twitter storm actually in the last few hours and he said that this decision is completely illegitimate. There is total immunity. I'm paraphrasing him for the presidents who do assist to the United Nations General Assembly and the government of the United States cannot condition the opinion of the United States.

I think Petro is trying to use these as a badge of honor as being one of the people who that on the international stage is, like I said, standing up to Donald Trump and standing up to the Israeli aggression in Gaza. I think that his base will be supportive of this nation. Let's remember he's a socialist left wing president, the first left wing president in decades here in Colombia.

And of course, his base is definitely celebrating these as an achievement. Now the vast majority of Colombians, of course, have a very different opinion. Veronica.

MIRACLE: All right, Stefano Pozzebon, thank you for following this for us. And also at this hour, protests are happening around the world bringing attention to the war in Gaza. President Trump says a ceasefire deal is very close and that hostages could soon be freed. He's expected to discuss the plan with Israel's prime minister on Monday at the White House. But Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations yesterday was different and defiant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: While Israel, which does everything it can to get civilians out of harm's way, Israel is put in the dock. What a joke. You want to hear another one? Israel is accused of deliberately starving the people of Gaza when Israel is deliberately feeding the people of Gaza. Since the beginning of the war, Israel has led into Gaza more than 2 million tons of food and aid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: Well, CNN's Larry Madowo joins us now.

[08:35:00]

And Larry, a couple questions for you. What's happening today with these protests and how does this U.N. appearance set the stage for Monday's meeting with Trump? LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're expecting some big protest in

Berlin. For instance, 50,000 people are expected at this protest named all eyes on Gaza. We're expecting another one in Liverpool. And instead, the background for this defiant speech that Prime Minister Netanyahu gave before the U.N. General Assembly.

I've spent the past week reporting in New York and speaking to diplomats around the world. And my sense was that Israel has lost the public opinion globally, not just the Arab states or the African states that have always stood with the Palestinian people.

But you saw the recognition of a Palestinian state by France and Canada and Australia and the U.K. and that also reflected in this mass walkout from the UN General Assembly before Prime Minister Netanyahu gave this speech. He was speaking almost to an empty hall because so many of the delegates quit the hall in essentially opposition to what he stands for.

But he was not phased in this speech where he brought visual aids as he does. He had a QR code speaking to the atrocities committed on October 7.

And as this was happening, this is his response to why he does not believe in a Palestinian state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU: My opposition to a Palestinian state is not simply my policies or my government's policy. It's the policy of the state and people of the state of Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: He called it sheer madness and insane, saying that giving the Palestinians a state after October 7th is like giving al Qaeda state in New York after 9/11. So that is where he stands in opposition to the rest of the world. So he goes to meet with President Trump on Monday and that suddenly will be coming up.

MIRACLE: Yes, absolutely. And the world will be watching. Larry Madowo, thank you for your reporting.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is shutting down a key advisory group that supports women in the military. We'll discuss what this could mean for the future of women in the armed services. That's coming up next.

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[08:41:40]

MIRACLE: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is ordering hundreds of U.S. generals and admirals from around the world to gather in Virginia next week. Sources tell CNN he plans to lay out his vision of the Pentagon as a Department of War and push what he calls a warrior ethos.

Here's Hegseth's take on generals and admirals from last year before he was leading the Defense Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: You've got top down political generals who've gained rank by playing by all the wrong rules that cater to the ideologues in Washington D.C. and so they'll do any social justice, gender, climate, extremism crap because it gets them checked to the next level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: So this upcoming meeting has been described as a more of a quote, general squid games than a strategy session with new fitness and grooming standards and a warning to get on board or risk their careers.

Now some say this news story. This is the latest Trump administration move against DEI. A decades old Defense Department committee that advised the military on how to support women in the service has been shut down. One panel member says the end of this committee will be a loss for the country.

The Pentagon says the committee is focused on advancing a divisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness while Secretary Hegseth has focused on advancing uniform sex neutral standards across the department.

Now established in 1959. The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services has provided policy recommendations over the years to the Secretary of Defense, advice like properly fitting body armor for women and appropriate health care.

Joining me now to discuss this is retired Marine captain and executive leadership coach Angie Morgan. She's also the author of |Bet on You: How to Win With Risk." Angie Morgan, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

So let's talk about many of the recommendations affected all of the service members, not just women. So issues like family planning and parental leave. I mean, do you think that losing these advisors will have a negative effect on military readiness?

CAPT. ANGIE MORGAN, U.S. MARINE CORPS (RET.): I think it's really important to understand that DACOWITS, this military advocacy group is an independent facts based research organization that guides and advises decision making. So absolutely this is going to have a long term negative impact on women for generations to come.

MIRACLE: All right. Well, before he was nominated to become defense secretary, Pete Hegseth said he didn't think that women belonged in combat. He did, however, change his tune for his confirmation hearings. Let's take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.

We support all women serving in our military today who do a fantastic job across the globe in our Pentagon and deliver critical aspects of all aspects, combat included.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Yes.

MIRACLE: You know, I just wonder what kind of effect his changing views this recent cut is having on women in the military and future recruits.

[08:45:00]

MORGAN: It just doesn't seem consistent with the history that we've seen women perform in combat. We have seen women, female engagement teams provide our service members critical intelligence that saves lives and drives performance. And there's a very interesting tune that has changed from, and I've heard his quote say before that, you know, women should be life giving, not life taking.

I know amazing women leaders in the military whose history, whose performance shows differently and it's just again, interesting to see a change of tune. But we also have to judge someone based on their actions. He's been purging women leaders from senior leadership ranks and that has a devastating impact for young women entering the Marine Corps.

To not have role models at the top levels of your organization who look like you, who perhaps could advocate for you, that is very dangerous for combat readiness and troop morale.

MIRACLE: Yes. Speaking of senior leaders, you know, we were just talking about how hundreds of senior officers are flying to Quantico, some from combat zones, and they're going for that urgent meeting ordered by Secretary Hegseth.

And sources are telling CNN it's expected to resemble a pep rally. A defense official telling us that it's about getting the horses into the stable and whipping them into shape. I mean, how do you think the top brass is going to react to this meeting?

MORGAN: I think the premise is that we haven't been driving results, winning wars, representing our country. We've been doing an amazing job, our service members, for the past couple decades, for as long as our military has been established.

So it's almost to say that we're not performing when our history is of top performance. We have an incredible national defense. We have amazing service members. So to call it, to question their performance is significantly concerning to me as an American.

MIRACLE: And now that you're outside, you're retired. So from that outside perspective, what do you think that about the current state of our armed forces versus when you were serving? MORGAN: I am so impressed by the work done by DACOWITS, by the work

done by the Department of Defense to create a military that is high performing, that has combat readiness and can drive results. And that includes having women represented in every single career field there.

I am for performance based organizations. I'm for high standards. And so I think we've been doing an amazing job making sure that this organization is fit and ready for the challenge at hand.

MIRACLE: Do you still speak to people who are still serving, still in the military, like, do you have a sense of how morale is and you know, what's going on?

MORGAN: Absolutely. I still, you know, to prepare for this conversation today, I connected with a few of my colleagues, not just from senior leadership ranks but from frontline. And to be honest, I have a young son. He's 20 years old. He's going to be a Marine Corps officer in two years. So I've connected with everyone and I found, you know, pretty consistently that there's a lot of surprise and concern about the status of women in the military and what this means for women going forward.

I hope and trust that our service members lean on their cultures that have been established like in the Marine Corps as an example. Our values are honor, courage and commitment. I think right now is a time for every service member to lean into their values and let that be a North Star.

You know, for many service members across different branches, we see what's going on at the top, you know, leadership levels coming from the secretary of defense. It is concerning. But again, I hope that what endures are the values and the leadership principles in the organization.

MIRACLE: Yes, follow that North Star. Good advice. Angie Morgan, thank you. And thank you for your service.

Well, it's that time of year again when the biggest bears in Alaska go head to head for the heavyweight title. Our favorite story, a look at who's tipped to win. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:53:26]

MIRACLE: As part of the next whole story with Anderson Cooper, CNN's Omar Jimenez goes inside the Trump administration's fight with Harvard and meets the students and faculty who are paying the price. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people will film opening their letter. I didn't want to do that. I thought it might jinx it. I remember just like running out of my room kind of screaming. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was talking to my parents the night I got in

and I was like, should I? And they're like, are you kidding? You just don't say no to Harvard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harvard is simply the most influential of U.S. private universities. And it's also able to send a message. If in fact the Trump administration is able to beat Harvard, every other university and college in the United States is going to know that it cannot afford to take on the Trump administration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to always try to go as high on the chain as possible and you work your way up. You experiment, you learn. But then eventually you're going to have to say we're going to have to go into the ring with the biggest, meanest, baddest, strongest opponent.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And this is that title fight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is that title fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: Be sure to tune in an all new episode of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, "The United States versus Harvard" airs tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

Well, it is fat bear week. That's the time of year when you get to vote online for your fat favorite, squishy bulky bear. The annual event is down to the semifinals. This is fan favorite 128 Grazer. She is determined to defend her crown.

The March Madness style bracket pits brown bears against each other with rounds of public voting.

[08:55:04]

It's all aimed at deciding once and for all who is the fattest of them all. And look at how much Grazer has grown just in a few months. Now, it's not all fun and games for the bears those, this competition has very real implications. The chunky bears are packing on the pounds for survival, of course, ahead of their winter hibernation. And we wish them a very sleepy rest.

And for the first time in more than two decades, Merriam Webster is doing a major rewrite of its Collegiate Dictionary. The new edition of the four and a half pound red linen covered reference book will include more than 5,000 new words and phrases. They include beast mode, cold brew, dad bod, cancel culture and ghost kitchen.

That one refers to the commercial cooking spaces for hire that was a phenomenon born out of the pandemic. The company's president calls the new edition a volume to cherish.

Well, thanks for joining us this morning. I'm going to see you right back here tomorrow morning. Smerconish is coming up next.

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