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Trump to Give Televised Address Tonight About War with Iran; Trump: Iranian President Has Asked U.S. For Ceasefire; U.S. Supreme Court Considers Future of Birthright Citizenship; American Journalist Shelly Kittleson Kidnapped in Baghdad; Trump's Approval Rating on Economy Hits New Low; Countdown Underway for Nasa's Artemis II Mission. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired April 01, 2026 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: U.S. President Donald Trump will deliver a prime-time address on the war with Iran as his
approval ratings hit a new low. It's 09:00 a.m. in Washington and it's 02:00 p.m. in London. I'm Christina Macfarlane, and this is "Connect the
World".
Well stock market in New York opens in about 30 minutes from now. And as you can see, all the arrows are pointing up as optimism around the war in
Iran ending grows. And the world could learn much more about U.S.'s goals for its war with Iran when President Donald Trump gives what the White
House is calling an important update later today.
The televised address happens 12 hours from now, 09:00 p.m. Eastern Time in the U.S. He'll speak amid conflicting signals on just when the war is going
to end. Iran's Foreign Minister says his country is ready for six months of war. President Trump under pressure at home as gas prices and poll numbers
sag, says hostilities could end within two to three weeks.
He talked about a potential timeline and the cost of gas on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: All I have to do is leave Iran, and we'll be doing that very soon, and they'll become
tumbling down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Meantime, U.S. Central Command is releasing video of what it says are attacks on underground military targets in Iran, both U.S. and
Israel are conducting wide scale strikes. And Iran is continuing to attack Israel and its Gulf neighbors. These are images from Kuwait International
Airport after Iranian drones hit a fuel depot, sparking a massive fire.
And in the past few minutes, President Trump has just made a new post on social media saying Iran's new regime president much less radicalized and
far more intelligent than his predecessors. Has just asked the United States of America for a ceasefire. We will consider the when Hormuz Strait
is open, free and clear.
Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages, President Donald J. Trump. We've got Kevin Liptak joining us
this hour from Washington, and Matthew Chance is with us in Doha. But Kevin, just to get straight to this latest Truth Social post that was just
a few minutes actually, as we were coming on air.
Just tell us what we're seeing here in light of the fact that Donald Trump is mate -- is about to make this announcement later this evening.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and it's not precisely clear what the president is responding to here, although I think it's
likely that he's reacting to comments that we had heard yesterday from the Iranian President, suggesting he was ready to end the war if he was able to
get certain guarantees from the United States that it would not be restarted down the line.
Those comments we saw caused a boost in the markets yesterday. So that could be what President Trump is responding to here. But I think it's
notable what the president's condition is now for agreeing to a ceasefire, which is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
We know that that has been something of a preoccupation for the White House and for the president, as we see this bottle neck of tankers, and as we see
the price of energy rise within the United States and around the world, all of the president's attempts so far to get the strait open have so far
fallen flat.
Whether it's guaranteeing risk insurance for tankers going through, or to try and demand that European countries send their own navies to the strait
to try and escort those tankers through. None of that has been successful so far. It has caused an enormous amount of frustration on the part of the
president, because, in his view, those countries should do more because they rely on more on oil from the Middle East.
Now the president is suggesting to the Iranians that as part of these negotiations, that reopening the strait would be his condition for agreeing
to some sort of pause in the violence. And so, where this goes from here? We're not sure whether this is a serious offer or not, we're not sure, but
the president certainly seems hopeful that the counterpart on the other side is more willing to agree to concessions than they were, perhaps
previously.
And we've heard this from the president before, that the regime now is more reasonable than the regime that was in place prior to the start of the
conflict, of course, where he's getting that we're not entirely sure.
[09:05:00]
Many experts say that the Iranian officials who have replaced those officials who were killed as part of this conflict are, in fact, more
extreme and more hard line. Obviously, the supreme leader is the son of the previous supreme leader, just 30 years younger. And so, the president, I
think, trying to cast progress and forward motion on these attempts to end the conflict.
But where exactly he's getting that optimism, I don't think is entirely clear at this point, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, it comes amidst a lot of conflicting information right now from the United States, from Iran. And as you point out, I mean, this
would seem to suggest that they will only agree to a ceasefire if the Strait of Hormuz is open this amidst talk of the United States, of course,
withdrawing from this war in two to three weeks.
And amidst all the talk of wrapping up this war, Kevin, we know that thousands of airborne specialist troops are still in the region. And
yesterday we heard Pete Hegseth talking about U.S. aims for an unpredictable for keeping a potential ground rule, ground war, an
unpredictable element in all of this.
LIPTAK: Right.
MACFARLANE: So, speak to that aspect of this, and whether you know there's still a possibility or chance this could all be about posturing.
LIPTAK: I think it's a good chance that it could be about posturing, and certainly that is a fear I think you hear among Gulf partners, Europeans,
sort of reflecting some of the concerns of the Iranians, that the president's move towards diplomacy now could just be a way to trick them
into sort of resting on their laurels and the president will come and do something like he did at the start of this war, which is to attack even as
this diplomacy was underway.
And so, where this is all going? It's not clear you're right that the American troops continue to flow into the region, whether it's the 82nd
airborne or those two Marine Expeditionary units that were dispatched to the Middle East, beginning a couple of weeks ago. All of those are heading
towards Iran and towards the Gulf, raising a lot of questions about what exactly the next two weeks are going to portend.
You know, I think it is clear that the president does not expect this war to go on for much longer. He said that yesterday he gave that two-to-three-
week timeline. They have said since the beginning that they expect the conflict to go between four and six weeks.
And I think it is sinking in at the White House that this war is enormously unpopular among the American people, and that going any beyond that window
that they initially projected could pose even more political damage for the president. I think that's part of the reason why they scheduled this prime-
time address tonight, is to lay out in more explicit detail about what exactly the president is trying to accomplish here.
He has not done something like this, either before the war began or in its first four weeks. And there is, I think, a recognition that the messaging
has been extraordinarily muddled and that it is on the president now to try and explain better how exactly he expects this war to end, whether or not
that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has been an open question.
The White House has suggested that, that won't be a prerequisite for ending the conflict, but of course, that would leave in place these higher energy
prices and so how all of that is reconciled, both in the war itself and in the president's speech tonight, as he tries to communicate better what he's
doing, I think will be something to watch.
MACFARLANE: Yes, indeed. Kevin, thank you. Let's turn to Matthew Chance, who's in Doha for us this hour. Matthew, I mean, you've been reporting all
week, really, about growing concern among Gulf allies about the prospect of the United States withdrawing from this war and leaving them to deal with
an emboldened Iran in its wake.
I mean, what are you hearing at the moment as we look ahead, not just to that speech from Donald Trump this evening, but also how they are going to
view this latest Truth Social post from the president?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: There's concern on two counts, actually, Christina. One is that, you know, President Trump
declares an end to this conflict and leaves this huge mess behind him, including the Strait of Hormuz under the control of the Islamic Republic.
That's a real concern, because, obviously these Gulf Arab states are highly dependent on their exports of oil and gas, and they have to go through that
very important waterway, and they can't if the Iranians won't let them. And so that's a huge issue. But another concern, just as big is that President
Trump escalates the war from here.
There's been all this speculation about ground troops are being sent in. Thousands of U.S. marines and sailors and other forces have been brought to
bear in the Persian Gulf region in the Middle East, which obviously, you know, suggests that ground operations are at the very least one option for
the White House.
And that carries with it, its own risks as well for the region, not to mention the risk to U.S. troops for the region.
[09:10:00]
If there is an escalation in that way, there are a great deal of concerns here that Iran will really step up its campaign of striking at energy
infrastructure targets, desalination plants, things like that. That could really cripple even more than it has been crippled the economies of this
region.
In terms of tonight and this announcement that has been sort of flagged by the White House. I think it's at 09:00 p.m. Eastern Time, so really, in the
early hours of the morning here on the following day. And look, I've spoken to a lot of people around the region, and people don't know what to expect.
They don't know whether President Trump is going to announce an end to his war in Iran, or whether he's going to announce an escalation to the war in
Iran. I mean, that's how unpredictable this current White House with President Trump has become. I've actually just got off the phone to
officials inside Iran.
And they also have no idea what's going to be coming through the pipeline, basically saying to me that they do not think what President Trump says is
necessarily a reliable guide to what actually happened. So, they're watching the actions rather than the words. This strait in the words of one
senior Iranian official to me in the past few minutes, this strait reflects an unstable and eccentric personality.
That's how that senior Iranian official is describing President Trump to me, as we sort of look forward to what he's going to say next about this
war in Iran, Christina.
MACFARLANE: All right. Matthew Chance there with some important reporting. Thanks, Matthew. Let's turn to Jim Sciutto, who is in Jerusalem this hour.
Jim, I mean, one wonders. The big question is, how Israel is viewing all of this? What are you hearing there as we look ahead to this address later
this evening?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Israel officials have been in a wait and see mode with this president for some time. They
know that ultimately, it's his decision whether to continue the war. But I should also state that from an Israeli perspective, the aims, the principal
aims of the war have not been met yet.
The primary aim for Israel was and remains disabling permanently, if possible, Iran's nuclear program, including getting hold of taking control
of those 400 kilos of enriched uranium which remain in Iran. To do that has always required a ground operation, which it seemed perhaps Israel might
have been more prepared for than the U.S. had been some discussion of U.S. ground operations, but focused more on either Iranian oil facilities on
Kharg Island or on ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz reopens.
If the president's tweet is correct, and we should always inject some question to that, because he has swung back and forth from expanding the
war to declaring victory and ending the war. But if that is the truth, then Israel will be ending this war without achieving that goal.
Now Israeli officials, much like U.S. officials, will still say, well, Iran's military capabilities have been depleted, its missile launchers, its
missile production, et cetera, but I will say, not entirely obliterated overnight. Perhaps time to the start of the Passover holiday, which begins
this evening.
We had four, five waves of missiles coming into Tel Aviv and the air raid warnings. And some of those munitions managed to hit the ground and injure
several Israelis. And we had Yemen saying that it fired at Israel today. And of course, Iran striking not just another tanker in the Gulf, but also
Kuwait's airport.
So, Iran still maintains some capability to fire and of course, that goal of eliminating Iran's nuclear program remains to date, unachieved.
MACFARLANE: All right. Jim Sciutto, there live for us from Jerusalem. Appreciate it. Jim, thank you. Well, let's get more on the widening nature
of this conflict. Fawaz Gerges is a Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and author of the book "The Great Betrayal:
The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East".
So great to have you back with us on the show again. So, look, we've just been hearing about this Truth Social post from Donald Trump. In the last 10
minutes, we've heard from Matthew Chance, reporting there in Doha, that you know the unpredictable nature of what Donald Trump says.
There's that member states in the Gulf don't know whether to read his words or his actions. So, I think we should take this with a grain of salt at
this time. But look, if Donald Trump decides to end the U.S. military conflict with Iran, especially without opening or securing the opening the
Strait of Hormuz.
[09:15:00]
Can you spell out for us what the global fallout will be and the impact on the wider region and America's Gulf allies?
FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AT THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Well, you're really asking many questions in one. So, let's see.
Let's break down your important questions. I think if President Trump ends the war in two weeks or so, as he says, because we should not take his
words for granted.
We have to be very careful and very cautious. But if he does, this would be a worst-case scenario for the Gulf states. This would be a worst-case
scenario for Europe, a worst-case scenario for Asian countries. I think there will be significant geopolitical and geo economic consequences in the
international system.
Just to give you an idea. Iran will emerge with a much stronger hand than it used to have before the war. Iran has already asserted its control of
this Strait of Hormuz. This will be the worst-case scenario for the Gulf states, because the Gulf state then have to basically deal with a more
powerful and a much more assertive Iran.
This will mean that President Trump's motto, we break it and you own it, as opposed we break it and we own it during the Iraq war in 2003, that the
Gulf States and Europe and the world will have to -- the mass after Donald Trump. Part of the consequences will be also to degrade American deterrent
power, American military power.
Even though President Trump will basically tell the American people that he has won that mission accomplished that his he obliterated the Iran nuclear
program again. But Americans are not naive. They realize that he had no end game. He had no viable strategy, and the president did not even bother to
address the American people before he carried out this consequential war.
So, all in all if he does what he says. And I'm not convinced yet, I think this will be a major victory for Iran, and this will be basically a major,
basically signal that Donald Trump lost the narrative, and in fact, that America lost control of its foreign policy, because this is a personalized
decision-making process.
And President Trump did not really consult American institutions, either the State Department or the National Security Council or his top generals.
MACFARLANE: There are wide ranging repercussions, all of which you have just broken down perfectly for us there. You talk about the jeopardy in
this moment for the Gulf states, but what is apparent is the real rift that is emerging between the U.S. and its NATO allies as well.
I mean, we heard Donald Trump stating yesterday that if other countries want oil, they should just go and take it, and today, he's followed up with
threats over withdrawing from NATO too. I just wonder what that all signifies to you at this particular moment.
GERGES: Well, I think what we have seen in the past 13 months or so, a major rift has emerged between the United States and its European allies.
Really what we are seeing now the broader picture is America is alone, as opposed to America being part of this NATO alliance?
And I think Donald Trump is discovering that America is alone is a weaker America. America is alone is a weaker hand. And I think the European
countries are also realizing that is, they can no longer really rely on Donald Trump. They cannot really predict American foreign policy.
He didn't even bother to consult his European allies. He basically started his war of choice, yet he wants Europe now to join the war, and they
realize this is an illegal war. It's illegitimate war. So, the reality is, regardless of what happens, one of the major consequences in international
politics is that this rift between the United States, between Donald Trump, sorry, Donald Trump and Europe, will become bigger.
And this is great news for President Putin and China, because they chose that the United States not only uncertainty, but President Trump's word can
no longer be taken for granted. The United States cannot really be relied on to come to the defense of Europe. And what he has been saying about
NATO, whether they're in terms of power, they don't really join the American war.
[09:20:00]
They have to basically open the Strait of Hormuz for navigation. It's all part of this chaos that President Trump has sewn in the past 13 months.
MACFARLANE:
Yeah, and we will wait to see and watch those words closely from the president later tonight, especially to see how it pertains to the Strait of
Hormuz and whether or not that will be open. Fawaz -- we have to leave it there, but thank you so much. Right, still to come, the U.S. Supreme Court
is set to consider Trump's order on birthright citizenship. The president says he'll be in the courthouse to listen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: President Donald Trump is planning to take the extraordinary step of attending a Supreme Court hearing today. He's closely following a
case that could end automatic birthright citizenship in the U.S. Supreme Court justices will hear arguments next hour on the constitutionality of an
executive order he signed last year that seeks to limit birthright citizenship.
The order is part of the Trump Administration's broader crackdown on immigration. Lower courts have ruled against Trump's plans, claiming it
violates language in the Constitution's 14th Amendment. Trump disagrees with those rulings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: All of this legislation, all of this everything having to do with birthright citizenship. It was at the end of the Civil War. The reason was
it had to do with the babies of slaves and the protection of the babies of slaves. It didn't have to do with the protection of multi-millionaires and
billionaires wanting to have their children get an American citizenship. It is the craziest thing I've ever seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: CNN's Paula Reid is following the story for us. So, Paula it's quite unusual, isn't it, for a U.S. President to attend a Supreme Court
oral argument. I mean, past presidents have avoided doing that. What is President Trump's intent and his end goal in being there?
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting because he did attend several of the high-profile arguments related to his
criminal cases while he was out of office, but when it came to the final appeal before the Supreme Court, he did not attend.
His legal team didn't think it would be a good idea. Now, he's also had some choice words about these justices over the past few weeks. He's no
stranger to criticizing judges who rule against him, but some of them are judges that he justices, rather that he has appointed.
So, it is notable that he will be coming today. It's usually a circus, like atmosphere here on big argument days or opinion days, but there's an added
element here. We have helicopters overhead, additional security provisions. So, it will be interesting to see how his presence today actually impacts
the argument itself.
This is going to be focused on the 14th Amendment, which is enacted after the Civil War. It says, if you are born here in the U.S. and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, you are a citizen.
[09:25:00]
And both sides are really going to be focusing on that subject to the jurisdiction thereof. The government is going to argue that if you are here
illegally, if you are on a temporary visa, or if you are, for example, a tourist, that you are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States,
so that you should not be entitled to this citizenship.
Now, on the other side, they're going to argue that, in fact, if the government wins, this is going to, far more people than they are letting
on. This could impact millions of people. And the government is actually having to convince the Supreme Court that they've been wrong for over a
century.
So, the Trump Administration has a real uphill battle today, but we won't know exactly what they rule likely until June.
MACFARLANE: And we, as you're speaking there, Paula, we're seeing protests happening just outside the front of the courthouse there. It's certainly
going to be a lively morning, and one that we'll be covering here in full on CNN, with those oral arguments beginning at 10a Eastern Time.
So, we will be back with you. But for now, Paula Reid, thank you. And also, ahead on "Connect the World", the price of oil is dropping as hope grows
over possible end to the Iran war this month. We are going to have details from Dubai, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London, and you are watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines this hour. U.S.
President Donald Trump says in a social media post that Iran's President has asked for a ceasefire. It comes ahead of what the White House calls an
important update on the war from the president in a televised address tonight.
Iran's Foreign Minister said on Tuesday, his country is prepared for at least six months of war. Israelis have been rushing to shelters and as
missiles are launched from Iran and Yemen. Yemen's Houthi rebels say they launched a barrage of strikes at Israel. The Houthis, who are backed by
Tehran, said the operation was conducted jointly with Iran and Hezbollah.
Next hour, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on a landmark case, and President Donald Trump is expected to attend. The case weighs the
constitutionality of the president's executive order to end birthright citizenship. Lower courts have ruled against Trump's plans.
And it's nearly all systems go in Florida in about nine hours from now, four American astronauts are expected to blast off on the first lunar fly
by in 50 years. The Artemis II is a critical step in the ultimate mission to put humans back on the moon.
[09:30:00]
But the focus right now is to make sure the weather holes and any mechanical kinks are squared away. And ringing the opening bell, electrical
architecture group Versigent -- trading for today. It's the first day of trading in April, and it looks like optimism has returned.
Investors are hoping for a quick end to the Iran war. Let's see how stocks are getting on at the open and there, as you can expect, up in the green as
we watch for the U.S. President's address on the Iran war, just a few hours away now. And we are keeping all eyes on the oil prices.
They are well off yesterday's highs in hopes of a ceasefire this month. Here's how Brent crude is trading right now, down to just over $100 a
barrel, and this is where West Texas crudes, the U.S. oil benchmark stands right now around about similar standards. So, CNN's Eleni Giokos is joining
us now, live from Dubai. So, optimism in the air, Eleni.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.
MACFARLANE: President Trump, though, is saying that the price of oil and gas will come tumbling down after the war. I mean, how long is it going to
take to bring the energy industry back to normal do you think if that is the case?
GIOKOS: Yeah, you're using the word optimism. I've heard the word euphoria, excitement, hope. Choose whatever epithet you'd like to describe what we're
seeing in the global markets today, as it was really strong, U.S. markets opening up in the green. And I think it's really just indicative of the
fact that, you know, if this war comes to an end, you know, markets will take it in its stride, but it doesn't change the fundamentals.
Christina, I think that's what we really have to focus on, because the Strait of Hormuz is still effectively controlled by Iran. Just a trickle of
tankers that are passing through. You still have this backlog of oil that hasn't gone into international markets. And according to Kpler data, since
the beginning of March, and I want to give you this number, around 260 million barrels of oil have not been produced.
And then, if the war continues until the end of April, they estimate 570 million barrels of oil will not go through into the international markets.
You know, one very vocal voice the Abu Dhabi national oil company, CEO Sultan Al-Jaber, where we've actually seen strikes on facilities here in
the UAE, on critical energy infrastructure.
He's been talking about the dire consequences of the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz. And today, he said this, Iran's actions in the 33-
kilometer-wide strait are not a regional issue. They represent global economic extortion, a threat the world cannot tolerate.
They go on to give a really important graphic to show that we keep talking about 20 percent of global oil supply that passes through the strait. But
they give a proper breakdown here, around 30 percent of LPG. So that's fuel for homes and industry that passes through the strait, refined fuels, jet
fuel, 20 percent of jet fuel, global jet fuel passes through the strait.
35 percent of crude oil as well. Fertilizers, 55 percent of sulfur-based fertilizers, 30 percent of urea and ammonia. I mean, this just gives you an
overall breakdown on why we're seeing this, not just being a war contained here in the Gulf, that it's gone global. This is an absolute chain reaction
that everyone is feeling.
And it's really just showing the Achilles' heel of the global economy, and that is energy flow, that is supply of critical energy. And then, of
course, we've talked about this, the International Energy Agency has said that this is the largest supply crisis that we've seen in the history of
markets.
And then you hear, you know, prime ministers from you know, industrialized nations saying, you know, we've got to pull back on demand. I want to
listen to what the Prime Minister of Australia have to say today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: And over coming weeks, if you can switch to catching the train or bus or tram to work do so that builds
our reserves, and it saves fuel for people who have no choice but to drive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: So even if the war ends today, and we get concrete evidence from the Trump Administration, that doesn't what happens to this Strait of
Hormuz? How do they secure the opening? We know that the threat came through from President Trump saying, until they're opening up, they're
going to continue hitting Iran.
And then secondly, a lot of the analysts that I've spoken to that we should still expect much higher oil prices until we see that backlog feeding
through into the market, effectively, Christina. So, lots to think about as we wait for President Trump's speech.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, still very unclear, isn't it? On the Strait of Hormuz and many other things right now, but we will watch and see.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
MACFARLANE: Eleni Giokos, thank you.
[09:35:00]
Now on Tuesday, American journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in Baghdad, Iraq. The U.S. government is working with the Iraqis to secure her
release. A suspect has been apprehended by Iraqi forces along with one of the vehicles used in the kidnapping.
It remains unclear who is responsible, but sources said she had been warned of threats from Iranian proxy group, Kataib Hezbollah. Following this story
is CNN's Senior National Security Reporter, Jennifer Hansler. So, Jennifer, what more do we know about the suspect here who's been apprehended?
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Christina, our understanding is this person was apprehended by Iraqi sources when they
tried to flee, or Iraqi, officials, rather, when they tried to flee the scene of this kidnapping. According to the State Department, top Assistant
Secretary for Global Affairs, Dylan Johnson, this person had ties to Kataib Hezbollah, and they were taken into custody, and they are believed to be
tied to this kidnapping.
Beyond that, there is not a lot of information at this time about what has happened with Shelly, where her location is, and who exactly has seized
her. But as you noted, myself and Jeremy Diamond had heard from sources that there were threats made specifically against her by Kataib Hezbollah,
including the threat of kidnapping.
Now, according to these sources, she was told of these threats in recent weeks and urged to leave the country. But I should note, Christina, this is
someone who has been reporting from the region for a long time. She has spent years as a freelance journalist there in Iraq. She's worked in Syria
as well.
So, she has worked in these high-risk environments in the past. We saw from Dylan Johnson, in his post on X, that they had given a duty to warn. They
had completed that duty to warn of the individual. He does not name Shelly there. The duty to warn is something where the U.S. government, if they are
aware of a threat against an individual, they are obligated to tell them about that threat.
So, this was something he said was completed. In this case, he said that the FBI is working to bring her home as soon as possible. But of course,
all of this happening, Christina, amid this heightened, heightened environment of risk, particularly against American citizens after the war
in Iran broke out.
We've seen repeated warnings from the U.S. State Department urging Americans to keep a low profile and to leave specific areas, including
Iraq, due to those heightened risks, if it is, in fact, Kataib Hezbollah who does have Shelly. This is a group that has repeatedly targeted
Americans in the past.
They also held hostage a woman from Israel, Elizabeth Tsurkov for some two years.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. Seriously troubling development is amidst this backdrop of instability in the region. That's one will continue to follow. Jennifer,
thank you. All right, still to come, countdown to lift off in just a few hours, America is set to send four astronauts on a 10-day mission around
the moon.
No human has gone farther. We're live at the Kennedy Space Center just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. Donald Trump's approval rating on handling the economy has fallen to an all-time low. Just 31 percent of people polled for
CNN at the end of March, think he is doing a good job on the economy. That's a drop of 44 percent a year earlier. 69 percent said they disapprove
of how he is dealing with the economy.
27 percent approved of how the president was handling inflation, down from 44 percent a year ago. And for voters, these are really issues that matter.
40 percent of those polled said the economy, jobs and cost of living are the most important issues facing the country.
That's compared to 17 percent who said it is foreign policy and 12 percent who think it's immigration and border security. David Chalian is CNN's
Washington Bureau Chief, so David, just help us delve a little further into these figures. You know, where we are seeing the biggest changes in the
polling here?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah, Christina, the first, the last point you just made there is the most important, which is that the
economy is the most important issue for Americans, overwhelmingly. So, as you showed there, so Donald Trump's 31 percent approval rating on his
handling of the economy, that is a record low for him across both presidential terms to date, and this used to be one of his strong suits.
So, this is creating a real political headache. We now show, you see there, 31 percent approval on the economy. That's down eight points from just
January, when it was at 39 percent approval on the economy, his approval on handling the economy, is beneath.
He's underperforming his overall approval, which in this poll, stands at 35 percent also on the low end. This is a concern to Republicans who are
running for reelection this year in the midterm elections, but it is also a concern for Donald Trump, because we're seeing by party, some slippage
among his own base, his Republican Party.
So, 71 percent of Republican -- well here on his overall approval, you see, Republican support is at 80 percent approval. Obviously, that's the vast
majority. But you see, it's down from 87 percent in January, he's tanking with independents, but that slippage among Republicans is key, and we're
seeing that on the economy as well.
He stands at a 71 percent approval among Republicans on the economy, and just in January, that was some 14 points higher than it is now.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, and it's worth mentioning, isn't it? That Donald Trump campaigned on being the president who is going to fix the economy. So, are
we seeing a sort of a bit of a voter revolt here, in terms of sending Donald Trump a message?
CHALIAN: Certainly, in the assessment of Americans right now, we are in our brand-new poll show that two thirds, 65 percent of Americans in this poll
say that it is Donald Trump's policies that have made the economy worse. So, remember, you noted he got elected on the economy, and Joe Biden was
wildly unpopular because of his stewardship of the economy and inflation.
But Joe Biden never saw that kind of sort of blame for his policies on the economy, and this is part of a sour mood, as you see there among Americans.
77 percent of Americans say the economic conditions in this country are poor. Only 23 percent say it's good, but the fact that two thirds say its
Trump's policies making the economy worse, that is a very troubling sign for the president.
MACFARLANE: Undeniably so. David Chalian, appreciate it. Thank you.
CHALIAN: Thank you.
MACFARLANE: NASA is counting down to a historic return to deep space with four astronauts set to fly around the moon for the first time in more than
five decades. You are looking here at live pictures of the Kennedy Space Center, where just over an hour ago, the launch director gave the go ahead
to start the fueling process for the Artemis II mission.
Lift off is set for 06:24 p.m. Eastern Time exact, the 10-day journey is a critical test of the rocket and spacecraft that could, one day, return
humans to the lunar surface.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I try to walk every day in the morning and I look up at the moon quite regularly thinking about this mission and upcoming missions
that are going to be coming right downstream. So, I'm really excited about this. I'm excited going to the moon.
I'm excited about establishing a presence there. It's something that I have had a desire for a great many years, and then to get humans back out to
Mars as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: CNN's Jackie Wattles is live near the launch site at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. So, the launch director has given the go
ahead. So, what can we expect, then, to see in the coming hours as we count down to launch?
JACKIE WATTLES, CNN SPACE & SCIENCE WRITER: Right. Absolutely, yeah, the launch director gave the go for fueling a little bit ago.
[09:45:00]
So, they're currently finishing up that process, they've loaded it up with millions of pounds of liquefied hydrogen and liquefied oxygen. That's the
fuel and oxidizer that give this rocket its pack of punch. And there's some really exciting next steps coming up the astronauts, that's what everyone's
looking forward to.
They're going to arrive to the launch pad and start boarding that vehicle later today, about four hours before takeoff. And then from there, we'll be
keeping a close eye on the health of this rocket. Even though we're almost done with fueling it, can spring a leak at any time.
This rocket is pretty notorious for leaks, and that's because hydrogen is the lightest element in the universe. It loves to escape from places that
are trying to contain it. So, we'll be keeping a close eye on that. And then, yeah, in the final minutes before launch, at 17 minutes T minus 17
minutes, we'll get the final go, no go poll.
And then we'll head into terminal count, and then it will look like all things are go for takeoff. But of course, we're prepared for a scrub at any
moment. Things definitely happen in the world of rockets.
MACFARLANE: I'm sure it does. So, we've got four astronauts set to fly around the moon for the first time in over 50 years. I mean, what is the
projection for how long this journey is going to take?
WATTLES: Yeah, well, this will be about a 10-day mission. Really, it's about nine days and one hour. But we're calling it a 10-day mission because
each of these days is going to be packed full with activity. But you're right, right after these astronauts reach space, they're going to start
testing out the equipment immediately.
Victor Glover, who's the pilot on this mission, is actually going to manually handle the spacecraft briefly in low Earth orbit. Before tomorrow,
they're expected to do a trans lunar injection burn, which will kind of put them on that path away from the Earth and towards the moon and really get
things kicked off.
And then, if they launch today, they are set to break the record for the farthest any human has traveled in space, beating the record set by Apollo
13. So that will be a huge milestone, we're looking forward to.
MACFARLANE: That is truly spectacular, isn't it? And well, it looks like blue skies behind you right now. We'll keep our fingers crossed. That
continues. Jackie Wattles, appreciate it. Thank you. All right, still to come, President Trump says he's going to do what no sitting president has
done before, attend a hearing at the Supreme Court.
Why a case on birthright citizenship is a priority to his administration.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: U.S. President Trump has just arrived at the U.S. Supreme Court to listen to all arguments. The High Court is hearing arguments on Mr.
Trump's executive order attempting to end automatic birthright citizenship. That's a guarantee in the U.S. Constitution that anyone born in the U.S. is
a citizen.
Well Attorney and Legal Affairs Commentator Areva Martin is following the case for us. Areva, we've already talked about how this will be the first
time a sitting president has attended oral arguments from -- But let's talk about what we can expect to happen inside the courtroom today as well what
the arguments will be on each side here?
AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY & LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes, Christina, this is a landmark case, obviously about a lot more than immigration is really
about whether a constitutional right that has been in existence for over 150 years can be changed without a constitutional amendment.
We know if birthright citizenship were limited, it's estimated that approximately 255,000 children will be born in the United States without
automatic citizenship.
[09:50:00]
So going into this hearing today, we can expect these judges to really drill down on this question about whether a president can end birthright
citizenship with an executive order, or whether this is something that can only be changed by a constitutional amendment, which has to come from
Congress, not the president.
Another big question we should look for is, what's going to happen to these children if they're born to individuals who are not legal residents of the
United States? What happens to them? Do they become citizens of the country of their parents? Do they become stateless? Do they automatically get
deported?
That's another big issue here. Another question we're going to be looking for is, how has the Supreme Court ruled in the past on this issue? We know
there is a landmark decision dating back to the 1800s that essentially said that if you were born in the United States, irregardless of the status of
your parents, you are a U.S. citizen.
Is this court prepared to overturn that decision, or is it going to try to rule on this case in a narrower fashion, rather than getting to the
constitutional question? So, a lot of big issues will be raised in this hearing this morning.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, undoubtedly so. And at its heart here is, of course, the 14th Amendment. And I think there's one line that the Trump team will be
expected to hone in on here. And I just want to show our viewers the 14th Amendment, and what that line might be.
It says, all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., and this is the highlighted bit here, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens
of the U.S. and of the state wherein they reside. Areva, can you just talk us through that highlighted section there and how you think that might play
a role today?
MARTIN: Yes, you're right, Christina, that line subject to the jurisdiction thereof, is going to be a central theme played throughout this hearing
today. We're going to hear justices ask both sides, those lawyers representing the president as well as those lawyers representing immigrant
families, what is the interpretation of that line subject to the jurisdiction thereof?
The Trump team is arguing that, that is a sentence or a phrase that goes to your allegiance and that only those individuals who are permanent
residents, legal citizens in the U.S. should be allowed to have children that become automatic U.S. citizens. Now the immigrants, the lawyers for
those individuals who are opposing the end of birthright citizenship, is saying it's not about whether you pledge allegiance to the America as
defined by the Trump team.
But it's about location, and that's been the case for over 150 years, and that this case has been well settled by U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
MACFARLANE: So, given that, then Areva, what is the view here of legal experts? So, they believe that the Trump Administration has a chance of
winning this case?
MARTIN: Well, the overwhelming position, or I guess the belief, of most legal scholars, Christina, at this point, is that the court may dodge this
whole constitutional issue and may not go to the heart of that and may just make a decision that the president doesn't have the authority by executive
order to change something so foundational.
So, you know, such an integral part of the U.S. democracy, and that only Congress can make such a huge change by a constitutional amendment. And
therefore, it would dodge the question of whether the 14th Amendment applies to these individuals who are born in the U.S., whose parents may
not be U.S. citizens.
There's a consensus that the court may not have the appetite for taking on this case, for overturning this 1898 decision that was rendered in U.S.
versus Wong Kim Ark.
MACFARLANE: Yeah.
MARTIN: That was the seminal constitutional case that said, basically, if you're born into this country, no matter the status of your parents, you
are a U.S. citizen.
MACFARLANE: All right.
MARTIN: There's a lot of belief in legal community not to overturn that decision.
MACFARLANE: Areva, thank you. This is important detail, and we're going to hear more of it in the next hour, but we are going to have to leave it
there, and that is it for "Connect the World". Stay with us for those oral arguments coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
