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Trump: "Strongly Considering" Sanctions, Tariffs on Russia Until Ceasefire with Ukraine Reached; Trump Shifts Course on Tariffs, Russia, DOGE and More; Trump Tells Cabinet They, Not Musk, Are in Charge of Staffing. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired March 07, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

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JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: Welcome to "Inside Politics". I'm Jessica Dean in for Dana Bash. We're following breaking news today as President Trump is speaking to reporters right now in the Oval Office, we're going to bring you any news from his remarks.

He is expected to address the new Jobs Report, which was slightly worse than expected, but not all that bad, considering the economic turmoil in recent weeks. The president also may address his significant shift in the tone on the war in Ukraine.

Exactly one week after the Oval Office slug fest that left the entire world flabbergasted. In just four days after halting all U.S. aid to Ukraine, President Trump posting this on Truth Social based on the fact that Russia is absolutely pounding Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale banking sanctions, sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire and final settlement on peace is reached, to Russia and Ukraine get to the table right now before it's too late. Thank you.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is at the White House for us. And Jeff, we are waiting to hear more about these remarks. But these comments on Russia coming it's just the latest in these twists and turns we getting from President Trump.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: There's no question about it, Jessica, if you really put in stock what happened a week ago in this hour, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, came to Washington, came to the White House in hopes of signing a deal that, of course, blew up in spectacular fashion, as we know.

But the comment from the president this morning on Truth Social about Russia threatening sanctions really is one more indication he is trying to bring both sides back to the negotiating table. We do know that President Zelenskyy, who has been meeting with European Leaders ever since that blow up here in Washington.

He will be in Saudi Arabia on Monday, meeting with the Crown Prince. U.S. officials will also be in the region trying to get things going. But this is the first sign from the American President that he is really putting Russia on notice. Of course, day after day, there have been more bombings, more violence, not an end to the war or the invasion at all.

So, this is really the first sign the White House, really, that I can think of in several weeks, has spoken about and to Vladimir Putin in this fashion. So certainly, that is a marked change. But there's no question, the president will be asked about this in the Oval Office, almost certainly.

But right now, at least, he is speaking about these Jobs Reports and numbers, as you said, hearing just the beginning of his remarks from reporters in the room talking about the rise in manufacturing jobs, but Jessica also trying to reset the narrative.

It has been a whiplash of a week on Wall Street because of the decisions here at the White House on trade, on tariffs, the off again on again, hour by hour, nature of who is included, who is not included, from automakers to other manufacturing goods. So, the White House is trying to seize upon a jobs report that actually is pretty average, 151,000 jobs created.

Not bad by any means, but certainly not spectacular. But the White House is trying to seize upon this as a way to sort of reset the conversation from a wild week on Wall Street, largely because of the president's own making, Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Jeff Zeleny at the White House. We know the president is speaking to reporters in the Oval Office. We'll bring that to you as we get it, Jeff, thank you to you. In the meantime, we are joined by a very talented group of reporters. Today, we've got CNN's MJ Lee, we have Laura Barron-Lopez of PBS News Hour and Hans Nichols of AXIOS. Great to see you guys on a Friday.

No shortage of things to talk about Hans, I want to go to an AXIOS headline, because I think it actually captures this moment. And it's Trump's rug pool presidency. And Jeff Zeleny there using the word whip lash. And it could be applied to pick a subject. We're talking about tariffs, and we're talking about Russia. It could be a million things, but that's what we're seeing. Is just the back and forth the uncertainty.

HANS NICHOLS, POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS: We see it reflected on Wall Street, as Jeff is talking about. Look, it's one thing for reporters to come up with new ways to describe this. Is there a rug pull? Is it whiplash? You know, pour out a beer for the members of Congress. They're constantly having to answer these questions.

We saw a little bit that come out in terms of where they are in tariffs, and especially where they are with Elon Musk and DOGE. But there's a reactive nature to the world when Trump is President. And he likes that. He likes forcing us to react. He likes seeing things in floating trial balloons and then pulling them back. That's how he governs. And we saw that this week, and I suspect we'll see it for the remainder of his presidency.

DEAN: Yeah. And MJ, it's just -- it is -- it is a signature of Donald Trump. But it still is a shock, not only to the political system, but to the economy, to the world and beyond?

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MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and this is a really fascinating moment to be reflecting on the Trump economy. We're only just six to seven weeks in to his administration, and you'll recall it was not that long ago that we had the former president and former Biden White House officials basically saying, in a frustrated way on their way out.

We are about to hand the next guy a pretty good deal when it comes to the economy as far as it relates to continuing lowering of inflation, wages trending up. They felt like they were handing him a really good hand at a moment when they felt like they weren't getting the credit that they felt they deserved.

And now here we are, six to seven weeks in, and all of the sort of concerns, the worries, the jitters that we are seeing all across the board that has entirely to do with the decisions that President Trump himself has made in a very short period of time.

DEAN: Right. And I think you hit the nail on the head. Laura, I want to listen to the sound from Maria Bartiromo, because it's talking about what CEOs want to see. Let's listen to what he said.

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MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX BUSINESS ANCHOR: CEOs want to see predictability. They say, look, I have to speak with shareholders. I've got to make plans for CapEx spending. I can't if it's 20 percent one day and then it's off for a month and its 25 percent.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Yeah.

BARTIROMO: So, can you give us a sense of whether or not we are going to get clarity for the business community?

TRUMP: Well, I think so. But, you know, the tariffs could go up as time goes by, and they may go up, and -- you know I don't know if it's predictability.

BARTIROMO: So, that's not clarity?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Not clarity. And Laura, we're told by reporters in the room, he's talking about tariffs right now, we're going to get a full read out so more could be coming down the pike.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: More could be coming down. I mean, even this temporary pause for auto makers may not actually end up helping them all that much. You're just seeing a constant back and forth, as Hans and MJ have laid out.

And especially when the president is also giving, and the administration is giving a variety of different justifications for why they might be doing something like tariffs, it's gone from fentanyl coming across the border, even though not as much obviously, comes from Canada as they are claiming to oh, it's because we want companies to move into the U.S.

Or, oh no, it's actually because we want Canada to become the 51st state. So, we're going to threaten them a bit. I mean, there are more explanations than the ones I just laid out that the president has been giving when he's trying to say, this is why I'm doing what I'm doing.

NICHOLS: And revenues I'd add to that, right? That's one thing that Trump talks about, and it's so starkly obvious, how differently he talks about tariffs than Republicans on Capitol Hill. For the president, they are a means to raise revenue. He wants them in long term, it that -- when you press a Republican on the Hill, they'll say, well, as a means of diplomacy, it's an effective tool to bring negotiating partners to the table.

But Trump, to your point, I think he likes all the aspects of tariffs. It's just which ones he actually mentions in that given day. He is pro-tariff, and the market sort of figuring that out and making an adjusting accordingly.

DEAN: And yet, to that end, I do want to play because we've kind of been told, oh, he cares a lot about the stock market. That's what he's always focused on. But here's what he said about it yesterday in the Oval Office.

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TRUMP: No nothing to do with the market. I'm not even looking at the market because long term, the United States will be very strong with what's happening here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: MJ, did that surprise you?

LEE: There's no way that he's not even looking at the market. I mean, he is looking at all of these things, and presumably you know he's paying attention to the stock markets. He's paying attention to all of the major economic indicators. He's also probably hearing from Republican elected officials that are getting the heat from their constituents back home.

The fact that the president has been so indecisive when it comes to the tariff decisions, I think, does indicate that his world view on this, yes, he's very pro-tariffs is clashing with the reality, right? Like he is -- has come into office with a determination to go forth with these tariffs, but he is on one day off, one day partially off, another day, like he can't make that decision. And I do think that very much indicates that he sees the ramifications that even announcing these tariffs have had.

DEAN: Yeah. And then you kind of broaden out to DOGE. We know they had that. He had this cabinet meeting yesterday that he told the cabinet members, listen, you're in charge of your agencies, not Elon Musk, he said. And then he wrote on Truth Social, we say the scalpel rather than the hatchet. But Laura, again, it's just another example of kind of were a little all over the place with this.

BARRON-LOPEZ: It's just what I would tell people is pay attention to what the administration actually does versus what the president says.

DEAN: Yeah.

BARRON-LOPEZ: Because the president, during his speech to Congress, said, Elon Musk is the Head of DOGE. You immediately saw new court filings saying, look, Elon Musk is Head of DOGE, despite the fact that the administration likes to say there is an administrator.

[12:10:00]

But and then days later, is trying to clean it up because of the potential lawsuits. Saying to his Cabinet Secretaries, oh, actually, you guys are in charge, but if you don't make the cuts that I want you to make, in that same breath, he said, if you don't make the cuts that I want you to make, then Elon will come in and cut it.

So, all of the indication is that Elon Musk and DOGE do have a significant amount of power. They are making decisions. They are involved in a lot of decisions across the agencies, and whether or not that's some of the agencies they've been seeking to fully dismantle, like USAID or other ones where they're trying to make significant changes and cut contracts across the board.

DEAN: Yeah. And Hans, I think again, you make a great point, which is, we kind of just have to wait and see how a lot of this plays out still.

NICHOLS: Yeah, look, DOGE is still making cuts. Elon is still forcing some of these conversations. It seems as though it slowed down a little, and I -- but I want to be very careful and put a lot of emphasis on the seams there, because you saw Elon Musk not apologize, but at least explain what he's doing on Capitol Hill, saying that he's not going to bat 1000 every time.

And giving a very clear indication that when he gets feedback from lawmakers, as you mentioned, MJ, lawmakers that are hearing a lot from their constituents, he might be willing to slow down a little bit. So yes, you know, DOGE seems like it's full speed ahead, but it seems like it's got a little bit of a regulator from both the president and lawmakers.

DEAN: All right. Stay with us. We're going to continue to keep our eye on this. We're also watching the stock market and seeing how it's responding. It seems to be slipping there as we wait to hear exactly what the president is saying in the Oval Office. Also coming up, Crypto Leaders congregating at the White House as the Commander-in- Chief hosts a first of its kind Summit. Is there a conflict of interest? We'll discuss that that's next.

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TRUMP: The United States will be the Crypto Capital of the Planet and the Bitcoin super power of the world, and we'll get it done. If Crypto is going to define the future, I want to be mined, minted and made in the USA.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: That was Then-Candidate Trump last summer, campaigning at a conference for Bitcoin enthusiasts. Now today, the Commander-in-Chief is about to host the first ever White House Crypto Summit, and it comes the day after he established what he's calling a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

Of course, unlike, say, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, there's not anything physical to put in reserve. To talk more about this, we have Bloomberg Investigative Reporter Zeke Faux. He's the Author of "Number Go Up: Inside Cryptos Wild Rise and Staggering Fall. Zeke, thanks so much for being here with us. Let's start first with this Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. What exactly is that? Why is the White House saying it so necessary?

ZEKE FAUX, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, BLOOMBERG: So if you haven't thought too much about Bitcoin in the last few years, you might still think of it as sort of like some sort of alternative to the U.S. dollar, a currency that we would use for everyday transactions, but that has totally failed as an experiment, and Bitcoin advocates now push it as digital gold, and their argument is that, because the supply of it is limited, the price is sure to increase.

Now, I think this is a little bit of a faulty argument. There's lots of things with a limited supply that doesn't mean the price will necessarily increase, but it's gotten the price all the way to -- you know $90,000 or $100,000 a coin. So, the idea is that the U.S. government could come in and acquire a big stockpile of Bitcoin and that somehow that could help our country as the price continues to go up, Donald Trump has sort of jokingly said, maybe it could help pay off the national debt.

DEAN: And so, tell us about the president's Crypto investments. How the family, the Trump Family, the administration, could profit from this? I think there are some questions around if there is a conflict of interest, since they're personally involved with this as well.

FAUX: Yeah. I mean, the conflicts of interest are so clear. It's pretty wild. Because the amount of Bitcoin they're talking about purchasing, or the other Cryptocurrencies in terms of like the U.S. government, the national debt, it's really not very much, but it is enough to really move these markets.

So, if Trump says, when he says, oh, maybe I'll have Ethereum in the reserve that made the price of Ethereum go up quite a lot. And the Trump Family has several Crypto businesses, and through that, holds a lot of different Cryptocurrencies whose prices are directly affected by this.

Also, a lot of other members of the administration have Crypto interests. Howard Lutnick the Commerce Secretary, has said that he owns a shed load of Bitcoin. So, if the U.S. government starts spending taxpayer money to buy Bitcoin, that would push up the value of his holding so it'd be great for him.

DEAN: Yeah. No, that seems to your point pretty clear, right there. And it is interesting to see how the president has evolved on this issue.

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Because back in 2019, in July, he tweeted, I'm not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies which are not money and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air, that's a pretty heavy indictment of Cryptocurrency. What changed for him?

FAUX: Well, Paul Krugman wrote in his sub stack today that the Bitcoiners hacked the U.S. government, and basically Bitcoin, even though it hasn't really worked as a currency, it's developed this almost cult like following, and some of the top Bitcoin investors got together and decided, hey, maybe Trump could be a little bit more sympathetic to our cause.

And wouldn't that be great if the U.S. government, in its big pool of money, was on our side, pushing up the price of Bitcoin. And so, they got together, they donated, reportedly, collective, $25 million to the Trump campaign. And those audio clips we're listening to, that was directly after that big fundraiser, Trump came out on stage at this Bitcoin Conference in Nashville and delivered this speech that repeated all of the industry's talking points.

It was like a wish list of things they'd been pushing for, and now with this strategic reserve executive order -- you know it seems like he's keeping the promises he made then.

DEAN: And so, do you think it's a fair assessment to say that it was -- it was that they just decided to support him and financially support him as well, and thus he took up their cause?

FAUX: So, one of the most influential Bitcoiners is David Bailey, the CEO of Bitcoin Magazine, believe it or not, and he kind of organized this push. Now he says, look, Trump already like Bitcoin that's why he was receptive. But he's also explained on podcasts this whole plan, and he said that the campaign's used to people trying to push all sorts of things on them. You got to show them the money if you want them to listen.

DEAN: All right. Zeke Faux, thank you for walking us through it. We appreciate it.

FAUX: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, Canada is known as the land of politeness, but not when it comes to President Trump's on again, off again, tariff threats.

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KARIM WALJI, CANADIAN RESIDENT: He wants to show that U.S. is strong, and because I'm bigger than you are, I can bully you around, and this is how I'm going to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: John King is all over the map. That's next.

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[12:25:00]

DEAN: President Trump still speaking to reporters right now in the Oval Office. He's been talking about the economy, tariffs and also today's job numbers. This is, according to reporters in the room, and this is as stocks continue to slide. A few minutes ago, the DOW was down about 400 points. It's made -- 400 points. It's made up a little bit of ground since then, but we're certainly keeping our eye on that.

I do want to bring back in CNN's Jeff Zeleny, he's at the White House. Jeff, you were talking about this at the top of the hour, about how Trump might address the economic whiplash we've seen this week. What's he been saying in there?

ZELENY: Jessica, certainly the president is taking what he calls a bit of a victory lap for what he says an increase in jobs in the manufacturing and auto sector, again, trying to seize upon this February Jobs Report, which is by no means bad, but it is actually quite average, but the president trying to seize upon this in a sign to the markets that really have been wobbling all week long.

With the president also talking again, perhaps adding even more confusion about Canadian tariffs. He said he could level -- levy more tariffs against Canada on the lumber sector, the dairy sector, because he believes the U.S. is still being treated U.S. companies are still being treated unfairly. So, we will keep an eye on that space.

But just one more example of how these trade war and tariff policies sometimes change by the hour in the president's mind as he is talking about this out loud. And of course, that moves the markets. But I would say more significantly, Jessica, the president talking again about the need for Ukraine to come to the negotiating table, talking about how Russia is -- you know -- is continuing to escalate its actions there, but again, putting the onus on Ukraine, as opposed to Vladimir Putin, Jessica.

DEAN: All right, and you'll continue to monitor that. Jeff Zeleny at the White House, thank you so much. And Americans aren't the only ones reeling from the Trump tariff rollercoaster. The president's tug of war trade policy is having a major impact on Canadians and how they view the United States. CNN's John King got a first-hand look. He's all over the map in the great White North.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN HOST (voice-over): This is American Steel in Western Canada for custom finishes. One belt is to burn a few notches and drill a few holes. Another to weld some angled braces soon back on a rail car and back across the border for an office project in Alaska. It is a partnership that supports 100 jobs here at AI industries in Surrey, British Columbia.

This just one piece of nearly $800 billion a year in trade between the United States and Canada. Now, though, a partnership in peril because of President Trump's insistence on new tariffs.

WALJI: He wants to show that U.S. is strong, and because I'm bigger than you are, I can bully you around, and this is how I'm going to do it.

KING (voice-over): Trump paused the tariffs Thursday, just two days after imposing them. Another about face, yes, Walji prefers no tariff, but he says weeks of threats and contradictions from Trump make it impossible to plan and are already hurting both economies.