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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Trump's Approval Numbers Hit Historic Low; U.S. Citizen Children Deported to Honduras with Mother; Kim Kardashian Robbery Trial Set to Start. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 28, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

RAHEL SOLOMON, ANCHOR, EARLY START: Good morning, and welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world, I'm Rahel Solomon, it is Monday, April 28th, 5:00 a.m. here in New York, and straight ahead on EARLY START. President Trump with the lowest approval rating for any newly-elected President at the 100-day mark in at least seven decades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN POLITICS SENIOR WRITER & ANALYST: He has broken his own record for being the worst. The American people do not like what they are seeing at this point from Donald John Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three children who are U.S. citizens were deported with their mothers to Honduras. Now that includes a four- year-old being treated for cancer.

TOM HOMAN, U.S. BORDER CZAR: Having a U.S. citizen child after you enter this country illegally is not a get-out-of-jail free card.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A trial is set to begin in Paris for members of the so-called grandpa gang, accused of robbing reality star Kim Kardashian.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to court documents, the thieves tracked Kardashian social media and knew exactly when and where to strike.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Welcome and good morning. The Trump administration likes to boast, promises made, promises kept. But as he closes in on 100 days in office Tuesday, a new CNN poll shows the math isn't mathing. His approval rating has dropped to just 41 percent. That is the lowest level for any newly-elected President at the 100-day mark in at least seven decades.

You can see here the steady erosion in Trump's overall approval rating. It's down 4 points since March, 7 points since late February. President Trump's poll numbers on immigration also declining, 45 percent approve of his handling of immigration, that's down 6 points from March.

Today, the administration plans to highlight their efforts to implement their hard-line immigration policies, with border czar Tom Homan attending the White House briefing. Over the weekend, more than 100 immigrants, allegedly in the U.S. illegally were detained in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in an overnight raid at what authorities described as an underground nightclub.

Federal officials say that the establishment was involved in drug trafficking and prostitution. And in Florida, ICE says that nearly 800 people were arrested over four days in a massive multi-agency immigration enforcement crackdown. That's what they're calling it. Now, all of this comes as the Trump administration is sending a chilling message to the judiciary.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested by the FBI and charged for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest. President Trump says that her conduct was, quote, "terrible".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, it's terrible. What happened there is terrible, that, that could happen with a judge is so ashamed. And we have to -- look, we have to bring our country back from all these criminals. But we can't let these people stay, and the courts are allowing them to stay. And we're not going to -- we're just not going to allow it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And two senior Trump administration officials are defending the deportation of three children who are U.S. citizens. White House border czar Tom Homan and Secretary of State Marco Rubio say the U.S. did not deport the children, but deported their mothers, who took the children with them. CNN's Brynn Gingras has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): So, yes, we're talking about two separate families here, two mothers with children who are U.S. citizens deported to Honduras last week -- over the weekend, and essentially brought their children with them. Now, whether or not they had that decision is what's up for debate at this point.

According to court documents, according to immigration officials, and really, these two women's attorneys were learning that a mother of a two-year-old went in for a routine checkup with ICE officials, and immediately was told that she was going to be deported. Her two-year- old is a U.S. citizen, and she allegedly wrote a letter to officials saying that she wanted her daughter to come back with her.

That's despite her attorney saying that the father tried to get custody of this child because he had a sister-in-law who is a U.S. citizen, and he wanted the little girl to go with that family member and that, you know, that was ignored. And in another case, there is another mother who had a four and a seven-year-old, and the four-year- old is actually undergoing cancer treatments; those children also U.S. citizens, same thing happened.

It's sort of deja vu. This mother goes in for a checkup, according to officials, with ICE officials, and is told she's going to be deported.

[05:05:00]

Now, according to the attorneys for these women, they say they didn't really even have a choice about whether or not their children could come or stay in the United States. According to federal officials, it's a different story. Take a listen to what Tom Homan was saying on the Sunday circuit about this issue.

HOMAN: The children aren't deported. The mother chose to take the children with her. When you enter the country illegally, and you know you're here illegally, and you choose to have U.S.-citizen child, that's on you, that's not on this administration. If you choose to put your family in that position, that's on them. But having a U.S.- citizen child after you enter this country illegally, it's not a get- out of jail free card. It doesn't make you immune from our laws.

GINGRAS: And these women's attorneys say that they had no attorney with them at these meetings with ICE officials. And they also say this is just another example of a lack of due process. So, we'll have to see how this all plays out. Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Polls also show that approval over President Trump's handling of the economy is also on the decline. It now sits at 39 percent. That's career low for President Trump. You also see low approval numbers for how he's handling things like inflation and tariffs. The President's ongoing trade war also raising fears of a global recession. But he says he is sticking by his aggressive tariff policies. Here's what he told reporters on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to be taking in a tremendous amount of money, we're going to be taking in a lot of jobs, a lot of plants and factories. They're already coming. I mean, you see it. And we're going to make a lot of money, and we're going to cut taxes for the people of this country. It will take a little while before we do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, it's a big week for the U.S. economy with several major data releases that will really give investors a sense into how the U.S. economy is responding to President Trump's second term. On Tuesday, we'll see the job openings and labor turnover survey jolts. On Wednesday, we get the latest read on consumer spending and inflation with the Fed's preferred inflation report, the PCE report.

And then on Friday, this is probably the big one, at least in terms of economic releases. We get the April jobs report. We also know that dozens of companies are expected to report quarterly financial results, including tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta. So, a lot to watch. Stay tuned.

But as we watch futures right now at 506 on a Monday morning, futures are, I'd say, fractionally lower between the Dow and the Nasdaq off between 0.5 percent for the Dow to about two-tenths of a percent, rounding up here for the S&P and the Nasdaq. So, watch that space. And this morning, there is growing confusion on the state of trade talks between the U.S. and China. As CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reports, both countries are sending conflicting messages.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): As we enter a new trading week. There is trade war confusion with U.S. President Donald Trump saying high-level trade talks to China are underway and China is saying, no, that's not true. And adding to the confusion, fresh comments from the U.S. Treasury Secretary on Sunday, Scott Bessent did not back up Trump's claim. He told "ABC" that he's not sure whether Trump has spoken directly with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Watch this.

SCOTT BESSENT, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES: I don't know if President Trump has spoken with President Xi. I know they have a very good relationship and a lot of respect for each other. But again, I think that the Chinese will see that this high tariff level is unsustainable for their business --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why would they deny that the negotiations are going on?

BESSENT: Well, I think they're playing to a different audience.

LU STOUT: On Friday, Trump told "Time Magazine" that talks were underway, and that Chinese President Xi Jinping had called him. And he said this about Xi, quote, "he's called, and I don't think that's a sign of weakness on his behalf", unquote. When Trump was later pressed by CNN on Friday, he declined to comment, only saying that he has spoken to Xi many times.

China has shot back repeatedly, saying, no, they are not talking. Now, today, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, quote, "there has been no recent phone call between the two heads of state." And while there is confusion over talks, there are signs of de-escalation between the world's two largest economies.

Import agencies tell CNN that China is rolling back retaliatory tariffs on some U.S.-made semiconductors. And the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in China says China has allowed some U.S.-made pharmaceuticals to enter the country tariff free. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: All right, still ahead for us, why President Trump's top diplomat says that this week will be critical for brokering peace between Ukraine and Russia. We'll have the latest. Plus, voters will soon begin heading to the polls in Canada for an election that has focused largely on growing tensions with the White House. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. President Trump is struggling with his overall approval numbers. But the bad news for his administration doesn't end there. Mr. Trump's moves on foreign affairs, which have included a more friendly stance toward Russia are seeing majority disapproval as well. In our new CNN poll, only 39 percent now approve of how he is operating in this space. That is a 3-point drop from just March.

Now, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the coming week will be, quote, "very critical in determining whether Washington can still broker peace between Russia and Ukraine before President Trump walks away in frustration." On Sunday, Trump said that he feels Ukraine's leader is more interested in a peace deal after their sit- down inside the Vatican. Have you seen this photo? But he couldn't say for sure whether the Russian President was serious about ending the war. Take a listen.

[05:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your message to Vladimir Putin after your meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and how did that meeting go?

TRUMP: I think the meeting went well. We'll see what happens over the next few days, we'll probably learn a lot. I was very disappointed that missiles were flying by Russia, but that missiles were flying -- very disappointing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, Russia says that its Foreign Minister and Rubio discussed Ukraine in a phone call Sunday. It appears that they spoke about preconditions to start negotiating a peace agreement. Let's bring in our Clare Sebastian who joins us now with more. Clare, you know, it's that photo of Zelenskyy and Trump at the pope's funeral that I think so many people found striking. Where do things stand this morning?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rahel, the optics were extraordinary. And I think many people especially in Ukraine, are waiting to find out the extent to which that may have been a turning point. Take that along with Rubio's comments on Sunday, that this is a critical week, although, that is slightly moderated from his comments after the Paris talks some ten days ago, that there were days left, he said, before the Trump administration may walk away from this.

And add that, of course, to Trump's comments again after that meeting at the Vatican, that he could be willing to ramp up pressure on Russia in the form of secondary or banking sanctions, he said. So, we have all of that sort of rhetorical evidence, but so far, this is just talk. And Marco Rubio in that interview with "NBC" on Sunday was asked, why the U.S. hasn't actually gone ahead and done something, hasn't actually gone ahead and put more sanctions on Russia. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: Well, because I think we're still hoping to see that this effort works out in diplomacy, and that we can bring these two sides closer together. I mean, the minute you start doing that kind of stuff, you're walking away for -- you're walking away from it. You've now doomed yourself to another two years of war, and we don't want to see it happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, they still are calculating. It seems that there is greater benefit in keeping Russia at the negotiating table. And I think, given the fact that as we've looked, as we look at the course of these talks over the past few months, it is clear that President Trump's attitude can change based on who he's talked to last.

We've seen his rhetoric swing back-and-forth between more critical of Zelenskyy and more critical of Putin. I think it's going to be really interesting to watch what Russia's next move is. Are we going to see them initiate another conversation between President Trump and President Putin? Dmitry Peskov; the Kremlin's spokesman was asked about that this morning.

He said that nothing was on the cards, according to Russian state media, but that something could be arranged very quickly if necessary. Could we see another gesture? We have seen the Russian position shift a little bit. They say that they are open now to direct talks with Kyiv without preconditions. Dmitry Peskov repeating that again this morning, though, saying that they are waiting for a signal from Kyiv, which may be a stalling tactic.

And of course, there was the Easter ceasefire, which did at least seem to hold in the air. But I think as you show these pictures here, the most reliable evidence at the moment of Russia's position is that this period of -- sort of this diplomatic push by the U.S. has really ushered in an even more deadly and dangerous period for Ukrainian civilians.

We've had multiple events even so far this month with mass civilian casualties, including last Thursday with that missile attack on Kyiv, which did ramp-up Trump's frustration. And all of this, despite the fact that, as we understand it, based on accounts from sources, the contours of the U.S. peace plan that is taking shape directly favors Russia.

So, I think this week, in a sense, as Rubio says, will be critical as we look to see where the sort of red line is for Trump's frustration with these ongoing Russian attacks, and how much Russia will calculate that they want to preserve that U.S. relationship going forward. SOLOMON: Yes, and how much farther along we are on Friday than we are

on Monday morning? Our Clare Sebastian live for us there in London. Clare, thank you. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his quote, "sincere gratitude to North Korea's Kim Jong un." His comments follow Pyongyang's first public acknowledgment that it sent military units to Russia.

The hermit kingdom says that its soldiers contributed to, quote, "precious victory in Russia's Kursk region." According to state media, the units have now concluded their operations there, as Russia claims to have recaptured the area. But officials in Kyiv insist that Ukraine still has a foothold in Kursk, and say that North Korean forces are still present.

All right, Trump's threats and tariffs loom large over Canada's federal election taking place in the hours ahead. More details after the break.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. The polls in Canada's federal election are set to open in just a matter of hours. The key vote will determine which party will form the country's next government, and who will lead Canada amid tense relations with the U.S. The election involves six national parties, with the liberals and the conservatives, the frontrunners in this race, Prime Minister Mark Carney vowing for a chance to continue leading the country.

The former central banker took over after Justin Trudeau officially stepped down last month. Now, he has not ruled out continued talks with President Trump, but has been moving to strengthen ties with, quote, "more reliable allies". Carney's main competition is Pierre Poilievre, Canada's conservative party leader.

Now his political capital has declined as relations between the U.S. and Canada took a hit. Poilievre appeared to distance himself from comparisons to Trump. Joining me now from Toronto is top pollster Nik Nanos; he is the chief data scientist and founder of Nanos Research. Great to have you this morning, Nik. Looking at your most recent polling, posted just about eight hours ago, it looks like only 3 points separates -- you've had a long night, so we really appreciate you getting up early for us.

[05:25:00]

Only 3 points apparently separates the two frontrunners. This sounds like it could go either way here.

NIK NANOS, FOUNDER & CHIEF DATA SCIENTIST, NANOS RESEARCH: Well, you know, the thing is, over the course of the campaign, the liberals have had upwards of an 11-point advantage over the conservatives. But over the last ten days, the conservatives have been able to narrow the gap. There's been a clear focus on Trump and the cost of living, those being the two ballot questions that are kind of battling it out right now. But the thing is that, when you convert that popular support, because the Canadian system is like the U.K. system.

Its parliamentary first pass the post(ph). When you convert liberal support into seats, they have the advantage. So, if these polling numbers hold up, we're realistically looking at a liberal win in terms of seats in the House of Commons. The big question is, will it be enough to form a majority government, or will it just be a minority?

SOLOMON: I see. I see that's good context. I want to read for you, Nik, something that just came across my e-mail. This is one of the research notes I get every morning. This is from Greg Valliere. The topic is, the wild Canadian election, and the first line is, we have covered dozens of elections, but very few have been as unpredictable and crucial as the one that will end tonight in Canada.

Can you explain for us the last few months, and that the Trump factor here, and how that has really seemed to change things for the liberal party?

NANOS: Yes, it's been an absolute roller-coaster ride of public opinion in Canada. You know, at the end of December 2024, the conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, were at a whopping 47 percent, the governing liberals were at 20, 2-0. So, they were 27 points back. And then there were a number of game-changers.

First of all, Justin Trudeau and his cabinet revolt, led by former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, him stepping down. Then Donald Trump's relentless tariff attacks on Canada, those two things and the liberal leadership electing Mark Carney basically changed the ballot question because before at the end of December, it was about change the government, get rid of the liberals, punish the liberals for what's happened in the last ten years.

And the liberals were 27 points back. Fast forward with the resignation of Trudeau, and also Donald Trump being the big ballot question. And we have a liberal party which has gone from being on its death bed at 20 percentage points just a couple of months ago to actually having about 43 percent support and leading the conservatives.

SOLOMON: Yes, I mean, it's been really fascinating to watch from even this side of the border. And then, just give me a sense, I mean, despite the Trump of it all, the 51st state of it, all the tariffs, there are real pressing domestic issues there. I mean, how much of that is a motivating force to getting people out on election day, whether it's an affordability issue, whether it's the housing issues? Give me a sense of how --

NANOS: Yes --

SOLOMON: Significant those issues are.

NANOS: Those issues are extremely significant. You know, the thing is, what we're going to see in this particular election is a record- voter turnout, probably a voter-turnout that we haven't seen since the 1988 free trade election, where Canadians decided to kind of go and vote on whether they wanted to have free trade with the United States. And when we look at the advanced polls where people could vote, and

they voted on the long weekend, the Easter long weekend, the advanced polls broke all the records for turnout at that time. So, we've got a hotly-contested election. We've got people that are very focused and mobilized.

And the thing is you're either looking at trying to punish the liberals for the last ten years, or you're thinking about the future. And Mark Carney as a potential individual to manage Donald Trump.

SOLOMON: Yes, and how much does it help his background as a central banker? I mean, just in this period of economic uncertainty, perhaps a belief among some Canadians that you would want someone who has that central banking, that monetary policy background leading the country.

NANOS: Yes, actually, you know what? It might be boring, might be good right now for Canadians that they want a boring leader that might be in safe hands. You know, we asked Canadians who they prefer as Prime Minister, and although, the ballot numbers like we talked about, there's only 3 percentage points between the liberals and the conservatives.

When we asked Canadians who they prefer as premier, prime minister, that is, 52 percent give a tip of the hat to Carney, 36 percent, a tip of the hat to the conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre. What this shows is that the liberals support is driven by Carney's personality. Him as an individual, not based on the party or what it stands for. While the conservative vote is largely based on change and the desire to punish the liberals.

SOLOMON: Fascinating. Just really interesting to watch. We will be watching, certainly, as the results come in. We appreciate your time this morning. That's Nik Nanos in Toronto. Thank you.

NANOS: Bye-bye.

SOLOMON: All right, and the election in Canada comes as the country grapples with what police there are calling the darkest day in Vancouver's history. At least, 11 people were killed Saturday night when a car plowed into a crowd at a festival celebrating Filipino heritage. Police have identified the suspect as 30-year-old Kai-Ji Adam Lo; he's been charged with eight counts of second degree murder.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney attended a memorial for the victims, and CNN's Paula Newton has more now from Ottawa.

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The details of this tragedy have been so hard to fathom for so many, not just in Vancouver, but also in Canada and also in the Philippines.