Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Trump Again Expresses Optimism About Deal With China; Pope Francis Lying In State Before Funeral On Saturday; Officials: At Least Nine Killed In Russian Strikes On Kyiv. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 24, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:23]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon. It is Thursday, April 24th, 5:00 a.m. here in New York.

And straight ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: America first does not mean America alone. It is a call for deeper collaboration among trade partners.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I get along very well with President Xi and I hope we can make a deal. Otherwise, we'll set a price.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Long lines snaking around as people wait for their turn to go and pay their respects.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just remembering everything that he stood for is very important.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Complete devastation. It's pretty surreal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is still a very active fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's still embers that rain down, shower down on homes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: President Trump is set to welcome Norway's prime minister to the White House today. No word yet, though, on whether tariffs will be on the agenda. The president is threatening to reimpose reciprocal tariffs on some countries within weeks if they don't make trade deals with the U.S., although he's much more optimistic about China claiming that direct talks are happening every day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I think what's going to happen is we're going to have great deals. And, by the way, if we don't have a deal with a company or a country, we're going to set the tariff. We just set the tariff. It's something that we think that will happen, I'd say over the next couple of weeks. Wouldn't you say? I think so, over the next two or three weeks, we'll be setting the number and were going to pick could be for China, too, could be for China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that there's an opportunity for a big deal with China, but he warned that it could take two to three years to rebalance trade with Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BESSENT: I wish to be clear, America first does not mean America alone. To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners. China's current economic model is built on exporting its way out of its economic troubles. It's an unsustainable model that is not only harming China, but the entire world. We want to help it change because we need rebalancing to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, sources tell CNN that President Trump's latest tariff flip flop came after a Monday meeting with the CEOs of Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Lowes. They reportedly warned the president that his policies would mean supply chain disruptions and empty store shelves.

More now from CNN's Jeff Zeleny reporting from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump signaling on Wednesday once again that he is eager to make a trade deal with China. Of course, for weeks, this trade war between the two superpowers has escalated. Bit by bit, China has not blinked at all. The U.S. suddenly is saying it wants to lower those 145 percent tariffs, but only if China meets the U.S. partway.

But the U.S. president had this to say Wednesday night in the oval office.

TRUMP: I get along very well with President Xi, and I hope we can make a deal. Otherwise, we'll set a price and hopefully they'll come here and they'll contribute. And if they don't, that's okay.

ZELENY: So, certainly, a softer, friendlier tone, if you will, echoed by the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as well. He was trying to explain the America first agenda. Of course, a key part of the Trump administration's plans. But he said the U.S. is willing to reach out to China. They are, in fact, eager for a President Xi to reach out to the United States. Now, in this back-and-forth escalating trade war, China has not

blinked at all. The United States has on several occasions. It is clear because of the negative reaction in the fiscal markets, just the idea of the economy and the supply chain slowing. The president is trying to shake things up a bit and get his trade war with China unstuck, if you will.

So, certainly, a softer tone from President Trump. We will see if China responds.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: President Trump's softer, more gentle approach to China seems to be having little impact in Beijing, which seems and sees itself as having the upper hand in the trade war.

CNN's Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: China's response to the dramatic climbdown from President Trump and the equally telling remarks by his treasury secretary, rather predictable, with the government spokesman on Wednesday reiterating that Beijing would fight this trade war to the end if needed, but also leaving the door open for potential talks.

[05:05:12]

Stressing, though, that they would not negotiate under threats or pressure.

Now, this kind of consistency is why a lot of people, both inside and outside the Chinese government would probably agree that without having to do much. Beijing already seems to have the upper hand here in this latest round of exchange, because in contrast to all these flip flopping and twists and turns from Washington, the Chinese have been standing their ground. They want to be perceived as the upholder of international order and norms. They really want to be seen as the adult in the room, if you will.

And that's perhaps due to them studying Mr. Trump for a long time. And the conclusion from here seems to be concessions will only invite more pressure, and the only language this president understands and respects is leverage.

Now, very interestingly, just a few days ago, I talked to a well- connected source who is familiar with the leaderships thinking here, and he told me oftentimes they would notice Mr. Trump talking very nice and sweet about China, about his relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Then quickly, they would notice Mr. Trump's cabinet secretaries and senior officials again, spewing out very hawkish views about China. And this source said, given Mr. Trump's total control over his people

now by not publicly rejecting those hostile views towards China, the president seemed to be condoning them. And that just very much runs counter to three things they really want to see from the White House before any progress can be made on those potential trade talks. And those things are reciprocity, sincerity, and perhaps more importantly, consistency.

Steven Jiang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: All right. Israel is marking Holocaust Remembrance Day today. Sirens sounded throughout the country and people paused. Whatever they were doing just a couple of hours ago. The day honors the 6 million Jews murdered in the holocaust by Nazi Germany and its allies, and recognizes the strength of the Jewish people.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid a wreath at the Yad Yashem memorial in Jerusalem, and later today, Israeli President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to walk through the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz for the annual march of the living ceremony. More than a million jews were killed there in the 1940s.

Meanwhile, in the Palestinian Authority, the president there demanding that Hamas disarm and release the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza. In a fiery speech Mahmoud Abbas laid out his vision for a unified Palestinian state and strongly criticized Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTIANIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT: Stop the Israeli genocidal war in the Gaza Strip. This really must stop. Every day there are hundreds of deaths. Why don't they want to hand over the American hostage? You sons of dogs. Just hand over the hostages and let's get out of this mess. Block their excuses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, in response, Hamas rejected the claims from Abbas and questioned his, quote, competence. This comes amid a renewed push for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with Egypt also floating the idea of Hamas disarming.

All right. Still ahead for us, the second day of public tributes to Pope Francis playing out as he lies in state at the Vatican. We'll have a live report from Rome.

Plus, many international students are facing doubts over their future in the U.S. as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on immigration.

And later, here's a question, what's in a name? It's a tale of two Katies. Why? They are duking it out in court.

We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:13:20]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

Live images now from the Vatican, where huge crowds have been quietly and respectfully moving through St. Peter's Basilica. Many of the mourners have waited in line for hours, just for a few seconds before the coffin of Pope Francis, to honor his life of service and compassionate leadership. The pope died on easter Monday after 12 years of leading the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. He will continue to lie in state ahead of his funeral on Saturday. The doors to the basilica will remain open today until midnight local time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now I had the chance to go there and see the pope. He's a -- he was dead. But -- but I saw him, and I could say goodbye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was kind of just a mixture of emotions. I mean, I'm anxious, a lot walking in. It's such a surreal place. And it's very holy. And seeing the body and just remembering everything that he stood for is very important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right, let's go to CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau, who is live for us in Rome.

Barbie, we just had a sense there from those live pictures of the scale of the crowds. But give us a sense of the crowds that we've seen and where funeral arrangements stand.

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. You know, the people who are standing there for hours and hours and hours, really a mixed bag. Youve got priests and nuns, you've got Catholics, you've got tourists, but you've also got Romans, people who -- who wouldn't miss this for the world.

I have an elderly neighbor who is going there because she's seen four popes lying in state. So, you've got a real range of -- of people who -- who just want to be part of this pomp and circumstance. And, you know, everything leading up to, of course, the funeral on Saturday morning at 10:00 local time here, expecting 170 heads of state, including U.S. President Donald Trump.

[05:15:05]

What's going to be really interesting is the dynamic of it, because the funeral is taking place in St. Peter's Square and then six kilometers away is where the burial will take place. So, you know, moving all these people around, it's a nightmare, you know, in terms of security for the city, they're really, really concerned. Obviously, closing airspace. They've got 2,000 police officers, 400 traffic cops. Everybody lined up just to get through that day. But, you know, when

you think about all the people in the line and all the people who will see him and have that amazing opportunity, you know, they were supposed to close the line at midnight last night. They only closed it for one hour at 6:00 a.m. this morning, because there were just so many people, and people have been just filing through, as you said, all morning long.

And we can expect probably that it won't close at midnight tonight either, that they'll just keep it open again so that they can get as many people who want to express their well wishes or their prayers as, as they can -- Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah, certainly gives you a sense of his -- his reach and his popularity and his impact in his 12 years at the top of the Catholic Church.

Barbie, on his successor, give us a sense. I mean, the funeral is obviously Saturday. What happens after that?

NADEAU: Yeah. You know, we haven't been given a date for in terms of when the conclave is going to start, but most people expect it will start sometime between the 5th and the 10th. Thats according to the protocol. It's supposed to be a certain number of days after the death.

But there's already politicking going on. You know, everybody's got their favorite. But it's the saying goes, the person who walks in as the next pope usually walks out as a cardinal because it's just too unpredictable, especially because so many of these cardinals that Pope Francis appointed are new. They've never been in a conclave before, and there may be the one representative of their country.

And so, it's going to be interesting to see if they follow the line of tradition or go back to, we should say, more of a traditional line, or if they follow the sort of more, you know, style of Pope Francis, who was seen very much as someone who was working to change and modernize the church, or if they'll find someone who's kind of a compromise candidate.

But, you know, eyes are already on the next pope. And so we're waiting for that white smoke out of the Sistine Chapel chimney when that conclave starts, they'll be voting a couple of times a day. And when they burn the ballots with a chemical that turns the smoke black, when they don't have a decision, when they have a decision, of course, it's that famous white smoke. And we'll all be there watching that, I'm sure -- Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah, I remember the last time I believe I was in high school, if I'm not mistaken, going to a Catholic all-girls high school. Just sort of how much anticipation there was every day waiting for that sign of white smoke.

Barbie Latza Nadeau, live for us there in Rome -- Barbie, thank you.

In Argentina, meantime, Pope Francis's hometown soccer club is remembering the late pontiff. The San Lorenzo soccer team held a mass in Buenos Aires Wednesday evening. Francis's love of soccer and his team never diminished as pope, and he continued to be a card carrying member of the club.

The club's president says that Pope Francis gave him permission in September to name a new stadium after him, in the neighborhood where the club is based. He added that the players will wear special commemorative jerseys at a match on Saturday. As we just said, the day of the pope's funeral.

All right, still ahead for us, Ukraine is under fire both militarily and politically. Still ahead, why President Trump accuses Ukraine's president of standing in the way of peace. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:01]

SOLOMON: Scenes of utter devastation in Kyiv as Ukrainian capital was hit with a new barrage of Russian strikes just hours ago. Officials say that the drone and missile attacks killed at least nine people, wounded more than 70. Rescuers have been digging through the rubble of an apartment building, searching for anyone who may be trapped.

Ukraine says that eight regions in total were struck overnight, in what one official called a massive combined attack.

Meanwhile, President Trump is again accusing Ukraine's president of standing in the way of peace. Trump lashing out at Volodymyr Zelenskyy Wednesday, arguing that he's prolonging the war with Russia and urging him to get on board with the U.S. proposed peace plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I just want to see the war end. I don't care -- if they're both happy. They both sign an agreement. I have no favorites. I don't want to have any favorites. I want to have a deal done. I want to save the lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right. For more on all of this, let's head over to London and CNN's Nic Robertson.

Nic, let's start with those overnight attacks on Kyiv, where we're now hearing and getting this reporting that Zelenskyy is cutting his trip to South Africa short because of them. What more can you share with us?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, and I think it really underscores just how perilous all of this is for President Zelenskyy at the right at this moment. He's feeling the pressure. Pressure from the United States.

He spoke last night about that this is a very emotional moment. He had both his foreign minister and defense minister here in London for what turned out to be low level official engagements with U.S. and European officials as well.

The barrage last night was massive -- 70 missiles, 145 drones. Those missiles, 11 of them were ballistic missiles. And the ballistic ones are so much harder for the Ukrainians to intercept than the cruise missiles. Also, it's interesting how many were actually intercepted. Sort of roughly 45 of those missiles fired were intercepted or 46, and about 45 of those drones were intercepted.

[05:25:07]

Typically, Ukraine has when it's had the full, full complement of defenses available to it, Patriot missiles and all the other missile defense systems that have been supplied by European allies as well as U.S. allies.

So, you know, the pictures that are emerging this morning here, you're seeing Volodymyr Zelenskyy there in south Africa, but this is for him going to be a very, very short trip because of the strikes on Ukraine, but not just because of this heavy barrage of strikes, which in many ways, some will interpret as President Putin in Russia doubling down as President Zelenskyy appears to be under pressure from the United States to -- to sign this deal.

And President Trump, just last night on his Truth Social saying it was Zelenskyy who was the problem at the moment. Zelenskyy, who doesn't have any cards to play. Zelenskyy, who must sign up to this quickly. Although the clip that we were running earlier, Trump says he doesn't favor one side or another, but it's not the perception that that Ukraine feels, and it's not the perception that European allies and partners of Ukraine and the United States see either.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And as we look at these live pictures, just to give you a sense of what our understanding is, is Zelenskyy arrived a short time ago. Obviously, he is meeting with the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa. And our understanding is after that meeting, he is headed back on a plane back to Ukraine because of these attacks, including in Kyiv.

Nic, let me ask the U.S., obviously, as you just sort of touched on there, pushing for Ukraine to make a deal happen. But considering what we understand about the contours of the deal, how likely is that to happen?

ROBERTSON: The most difficult contour and the one that's getting the most emphasis, because it really puts President Zelenskyy in an incredibly difficult position and not just him, frankly, his European allies. It's the question of Crimea that Russia illegally annexed in 2014 and has doubled down and connected by a land bridge in the latest invasion that began in 2022.

So, Russia has solidified its geographical support and control of Crimea. And according to a U.S. official familiar with the negotiations, the U.S. is ready -- ready to recognize Russian control of Crimea.

President Trump's asked that. His -- his sort of demurred on that. But behind the scenes, it is -- it is clear it seems that Ukraine is being expected to give up Crimea.

It is part of its territory. The Budapest memorandum back in 1980, 1994 said that when Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons at all, its allies would come to support it. That wouldn't allow this sort of invasion to happen. There are deep historical roots here.

The United States has refused since 2014 to recognize Russian control over Crimea. It goes against all the international rules-based order since World War Two, that an aggressor should be rewarded with territory.

Yet we continue to hear the language doubling down. that concessions have to be made.

This is what J.D. Vance, the vice president, said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it's time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process. One of the final steps, which is at a broad level, the party saying, we're going to stop the killing, we're going to freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So close to where they are today would seem to imply that Crimea lies with Russia in Russian control. And President Zelenskyy is constitutionally unable to let, or to agree to Russia's sovereignty over -- over Crimea.

The United States, the European partners, began the whole process of engaging Russia and Ukraine in a peace process by saying that Ukraine's sovereignty should be respected. And now it appears the United States is prepared to concede that point. It's not clear why they're prepared to concede, and it's something the United States allies in Europe have not voiced about publicly. But it would be antithetical to their position and support of international rules- based order that they would also follow the United States on this.

It is potentially not only tough for Ukraine, but very divisive in the relationship between the United States and European allies and partners at the moment. It does seem that this is all heading for a crescendo, diplomatic as well as military.

SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, yeah, as you point out.