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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
U.S. Democrats Address Another Impeachment for Trump; GOP Leaders Try to Recruit Georgia Governor for Senate Run; Labor Victory in Australia Could Signal New Era of Political Stability; Woman Deported Without Daughter, Mourns Her U.S. Dream. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired May 05, 2025 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers joining us in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. This is an early version of EARLY START.
U.S. President Donald Trump says that he may consider using military force to take Greenland. He has repeatedly expressed interest in taking the Danish territory by force or economic coercion. Denmark and Greenland have firmly rejected the idea, but Trump insists that the resource rich island is needed.
Here he is. I'll meet the press over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are not ruling out military force to take Greenland.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't rule it out. I don't say I'm going to do it, but I don't rule out anything. No, not there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you need that?
TRUMP: We need Greenland very badly. Greenland is a very small amount of people which will take care of and will cherish them and all of that. But we need that for international security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Meanwhile, President Trump says that he wants to name a permanent national security advisor within six months. And his deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, apparently is the number one contender.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Miller's at the top of the totem pole. I mean, I think he sort of indirectly already has that job. You understand because he has a lot to say about a lot of things.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SOLOMON: Earlier, Trump announced that Mike Waltz would be departing the security advisor role and instead would be nominated to serve as the ambassador to the United Nations. The move is seen as a demotion after sources said that Waltz lost President Trump's confidence. The president says that it's actually an upgrade.
Republican leaders are starting to worry about how to turn out the MAGA faithful in next year's midterm elections. They think that one way could be to highlight what some Democrats are saying about trying to impeach Trump for a third time. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): It appears that the president's business and family are being personally enriched through this cryptocurrency venture. That kind of misconduct, I think, exceeds virtually any prior standard for that kind of inquiry in the House.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to separate the politics. Republicans are already going after you on those comments. Do you think you'll become an issue in your campaign?
OSSOFF: Oh, I stand by those comments 100 percent.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I mean, we should never take impeachment off the table. We should never take where we see law breaking. We should never take accountability off the table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And CNN's Manu Raju has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU: Republican leaders and Donald Trump are in intense discussions about how to hold the House come 2026. Typically, a midterm election is very painful for a party in power, with the economy struggling, as well as concerns about Donald Trump's policies and voters fearful about some of the actions that he has taken in office. Democrats are hopeful that they will be able to flip the chamber.
However, Republicans see an opportunity here as well. They recognize the map for the House much smaller. There are very few competitive seats that are truly at play, and they believe they can rev up the MAGA base by talking up the prospects that Democrats, if they take the House, could pursue a historic and record-breaking third impeachment for Donald Trump.
Now, Democratic leaders don't want to talk about impeachment. Some on the left believe that Donald Trump has already engaged in impeachable offenses, and that has given enough for Republicans to seize upon, to point to, as they try to make their case to voters. This is what Mike Johnson said to me last week when I asked him about Trump's interest in keeping the House.
RAJU: How concerned are you about impeachment? REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: We've already seen this one. They've already tried it twice. I'm certain they would try it again.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): If the Republican campaign message in the midterms is, vote for House Republicans and vote for Republican candidates for Senate to stop the Democrats from impeaching Trump, the American people are not going to care, because they've seen that show twice, and it didn't matter. It won't work. No.
[04:35:00]
RAJU: But that last comment from Marjorie Taylor Greene, saying that Republicans need to do much more in order to keep the House. They need to actually deliver on their agenda.
But in addition to the House, there's, of course, the furious battle for the Republicans to keep control of the Senate. There, they have a much more favorable map in keeping that chamber. But there is one big recruit who Republican leaders have in mind.
That is Brian Kemp in Georgia. We're learning that John Thune, the Senate majority leader, flew down to Atlanta over the Easter holiday, talked to Kemp and his wife, tried to encourage him, answer some of his questions about whether to run. Several other Republican senators talked to him as well, including Senators Tim Scott, Senators Pete Ricketts and Senator Steve Daines, who used to be the Senate GOP campaign chairman, all hoping that they could put the seat currently occupied Democrat Senator Jon Ossoff in play.
But if Kemp passes, that would be a big black eye for Republicans as they try to keep the Senate and try to pick off a Democratic seat in a chamber they currently hold by a 53 to 47 margin.
Manu Raju, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Trump is making plans for what he calls a big, beautiful military parade in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary. The celebration on June 14th will also mark the president's 79th birthday. It's unclear how much this parade would cost, but Trump told NBC News that it would be minimal compared to the value of the parade.
He made plans for a similar military parade in his first term but later called it off after Washington officials said that it would cost tens of millions of dollars.
President Trump confirmed on Sunday that he pushed Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to let him send troops to Mexico to fight drug cartels.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Yes, that's true. If Mexico wanted help with the cartels, we would be honored to go in and do it. I told her that I would be honored to go in and do it.
The cartels are trying to destroy our country. They're evil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: President Sheinbaum has strongly rejected Trump's offer. She says that the country should work together and share intelligence but respect each other's sovereignty. Trump has since accused her of being, quote, so afraid of cartels that she can't even think straight.
It's the latest rise in tensions between the North American neighbors. Back in February, Trump threatened to impose steep tariffs on Mexico if it failed to curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
Romanian nationalist and Euro skeptic George Simion appears on track to win the country's presidential election rerun. Exit polls showed him ahead of the two centrist candidates by about 10 percentage points after Sunday's first round of voting.
The election comes five months after a first attempt was canceled because of alleged Russian interference.
This is yet another test for the European Union, where leaders are seeing a growing shift toward Trump style nationalism on the continent. Simion has been vocal about his support of the MAGA movement and remains critical of the current EU leadership. He also opposes military aid to neighboring Ukraine.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is ready to hit the ground running after his surprisingly strong victory in Saturday's national election. His center left Labor Party saw a big turnaround after slumping in the polls earlier this year, and some see it as another international rejection of the divisiveness and global chaos caused by President Trump.
CNN's Ben Hunte has more.
BEN HUNTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nothing like a scoop of ice cream to celebrate a stunning political victory. Surrounded by media, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stopped by a coffee shop in Sydney to savor the afterglow of his Labor Party's triumph at the polls.
Australian voters delivering a clear mandate, another term for Albanese, the first Australian Prime Minister to win reelection in two decades and a solid majority for the Labor Party in Parliament.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: We will be a disciplined, orderly government in our second term, just like we have been in our first. We've been given the great honor of serving the Australian people and we don't take it for granted and we'll work hard each and every day.
HUNTE (voice-over): It was a resounding defeat for conservative Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton, who also lost his seat in Parliament. His party was leading the polls just a few months ago, but the global havoc caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs made many voters think twice about a change in leadership, especially since Dutton's rhetoric and policies were often compared to Trump's.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it was the landslide, I didn't see a landslide coming. I think what's happening in America now badly affected Canada and it did badly affected us as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, I'm just happy that Peter Dutton's not the Prime Minister.
[04:40:00]
HUNTE (voice-over): But after the big win, it's back to work. Albanese promising a tax cut, cheaper medicines and lower deposits for first- time homebuyers. As issues like Australia's housing crisis and the high cost of living follow him into his second term.
And Australia's Treasurer says he'll pay special attention to the issue that dominated this election.
JIM CHALMERS, AURTRALIAN TREASURER: Obviously, the immediate focus is on this global economic uncertainty, particularly the U.S. and China part of that and what it means for us.
HUNTE (voice-over): Albanese is expected to visit the U.S. after his cabinet is sworn in to discuss the tariffs, and he'll do so with a groundswell of support from Australians right behind him.
Ben Hunte, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: TikTok could get yet another lifeline from the White House. President Trump said on Sunday that he would extend the pause on banning the platform if no deal is reached by June 19. The Chinese parent company ByteDance has until then to divest the U.S. assets of TikTok or face a nationwide ban. Trump has granted a reprieve from the ban twice. Democratic senators have criticized the move, arguing that he doesn't have authority to extend the deadline.
Still ahead for us, a new role for the Popemobile. Still ahead, we'll tell you more about the final wishes for Pope Francis and his iconic car. We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. As Europe braces for potential future conflicts, it's also looking back at one from the past. The U.K. this week is celebrating the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe Day. The E-Day is May 8th. But there are big events happening over the next four days. Today, there is a military procession and flyby in London.
And later, the King and Queen will host World War II veterans for tea. In Germany, a more somber observance. Survivors of one Nazi concentration camp are marking the 80th anniversary of their liberation. Survivors of the Sachsenhausen camp near Berlin share their stories on Sunday and also issued warnings about the future.
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[04:45:00]
BOGDAN BARTNIKOWSKI, SACHSENHAUSEN CAMP SURVIVOR (through translator): It saddens me to say that humanity has learned very little from that tragedy, which many millions of people perished. Humanity faces a great problem, how to prevent further wars.
JERZY ZAWADZKI, SACHSENHAUSEN CAMP SURVIVOR (through translator): Remember this, young people, and all of you, don't follow politicians, because that's not the way. A beautiful person should choose what is beautiful in this world, what has real value. That's where you have to go, not the blind alleys that lead to nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Pope Francis' legacy of peace will go on in Gaza. And one of his final wishes before his passing, the pontiff requested that one of his popemobiles be transformed into a health clinic for children in the enclave. Vatican News says that it will be refitted as a mobile health station that can examine and treat children in areas without functioning health care facilities. The popemobile was used during Francis' trip to the Holy Lands in 2014.
Meantime, cardinals will be meeting at the Vatican in the coming hours as they prepare for a new pope. The conclave to elect the next pontiff begins on Wednesday. We'll have special coverage here Wednesday morning, in fact.
And a woman who says that she was separated from her young daughter by the Trump administration is speaking out. Last month, she was deported to her native Cuba, even though both her daughter and her husband are U.S. citizens and she's never been charged or convicted of a crime. She tells CNN about life without her 17-month-old child, who was left behind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Heidy Sanchez spends her days watching videos of daughter Kailyn. It's as close as she can be to her child now just days after Heidy was deported from the United States to Cuba.
Kailyn, who was born in Florida stayed there with her father who, like Kailyn, is also a U.S. citizen. But she does not comprehend where her mother is.
She's very intelligent, Heidy says of her one-year-old daughter. When she talks to me, she says, mama, come. And they say your mama is working. She says, mama come.
Heidy lived for six years in the U.S. and although she tried to become a legal resident, she was placed into deportation proceedings after missing an immigration hearing in 2019. In late April, in what she thought was a routine appointment with immigration officials, she says they told her she was being deported and to have her husband come get their daughter.
I told them, don't take away my daughter, Heidy says. They never said if I could take her or not with me.
Heidy had to hand over her daughter to a member of the legal team to then give to her husband, her lawyer told me.
CLAUDIA CANIZARES, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: What they told her was that she needed to call her husband, and that she needed to ask him to come and pick up the baby. There was not an option of, oh, I want to take my baby. Can I take her?
OPPMANN (voice-over): Two days later, Heidy was deported on a U.S. government flight to Cuba without her daughter, who she was breastfeeding and suffers from convulsions.
OPPMANN: In a statement to CNN, the Department of Homeland Security contradicted what Heidy and her attorney told us, saying they always allow parents to decide whether their children are deported with them or stay behind with relatives.
And that, quote, The Trump administration is giving parents in this country illegally the opportunity to self-deport and take control of their departure process with the potential ability to return the legal right way and come back to live the American dream.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Heidy now lives with relatives on the outskirts of Havana. There is no cell signal inside the house, so she shows us how she climbs up on the roof to be able to call her daughter and sing her to sleep.
In Florida, Heidy says she was working as a nursing assistant and had no criminal record, not seeming to fit with the image of the dangerous, undocumented immigrants that the Trump administration says it is removing from U.S. streets.
Photos of her wedding in the U.S. are reminders of a different world, a different life. I ask Heidy if she thinks she was living the American dream.
I don't know if it was the American dream, she tells me. "But it was my dream. My family.
A dream and family that seemed farther and farther out of reach.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Still ahead, a suburb of Miami is grappling with the, quote, peacock problem as the birds begin to overtake local bird species and bother residents. We'll bring that story coming up next.
[04:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. Overrun by peacocks screeching from rooftops, leafy suburb of Pinecrest in Florida has turned to a unique effort to manage their booming population and CNN's Lynda Kinkade has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Florida suburb is preventing peacock pregnancies by giving the colorful birds vasectomies. Peacocks, typically known for their color and beauty, are also known in this Miami suburb as a nuisance -- climbing roofs, fighting each other, and screaming at all hours of the night. And they keep reproducing.
Local exotic animal vet Don Harris came up with a program to slow the growing bird population by giving the male peacocks vasectomies. He hopes to reduce the growing number of birds and the annoyances they cause.
DR. DON HARRIS, EXOTIC ANIMAL AND AVIAN VETERINARIAN: My hope with the project is primarily, but not most importantly, that we get a stabilization of the peacock numbers.
When I go in and inspect them internally, there is absolutely no scarring, no infection. No irritation, inflammation, nothing. This is as benign a procedure as we could possibly hope for.
KINKADE (voice-over): So far, his team has operated on almost 400 male peacocks and say they've had no complications.
HARRIS: The vasectomy merely disconnects the testicle from the rest of the reproductive tract. We don't remove the testicle, so we don't eliminate any of the secondary sex characteristics.
[04:55:00]
He retains his beauty. He retains his tail. He retains his dominance.
KINKADE (voice-over): One resident of Pinecrest says the peacocks have overtaken other birds native to the area.
MARIKA LYNCH VILLARAOS, PINECREST RESIDENT: I know it's really hard for it to understand for people who don't live here how annoying they are.
I mean, when I was growing up, there were no peacocks, you know. We had -- our neighborhoods were full of herons, blue herons and ibises. I mean the official bird of the University of Miami is the ibis. That's what we want to see in our neighborhood. Those are the native species.
And now, really you would think that our mascot is the peacock because they're everywhere.
KINKADE (voice-over): Not only is the noise a problem for residents, but peacocks can be aggressive if they feel threatened.
HARRIS: A male will fight for his territory even to the extent of attacking his own reflection in a car door.
KINKADE (voice-over): To help with Dr. Harris' initiative, he recruited local wildlife trappers like Perry Colato to safely trap the birds with custom-built pens.
PERRY COLATO, OWNER, REDLINE IGUANA REMOVER AND TRAPPER: They're very smart so if they see something that they don't like, they're not going to come near you. You can chase them around with nets all day long, but you'll never catch them or in a humane manner.
KINKADE (voice-over): Dr. Harris says the program is the first of its kind, and they hope it can be a lasting, humane solution to Pinecrest's peacock problem.
Lynda Kinkade, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: In a win or go home matchup in the NBA playoffs, the Golden State Warriors outplayed the Rockets in Houston, winning 103-89. Steph Curry stepping up for the Warriors, scoring 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. The Warriors will move on to face the Timberwolves in Minnesota on Tuesday.
And the first game of their Eastern Conference semifinal, the Indiana Pacers used 19 three-pointers to beat the Cavaliers in Cleveland, 121- 112.
All right, that'll do it for this hour of EARLY START. Thanks for being with us. I'm Rahel Solomon, live in New York. I'll be back with more news after this short break.
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