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Isa Soares Tonight
A U.S. Judge Says There is Probable Cause to Hold the Trump Administration in Contempt Over Deporting Venezuelan Migrants; Tempers Flare at Republican Town Halls As U.S. Lawmakers Face Another Round of Frustrated Voters and Protesters Back in Their Districts; A U.K. Supreme Court Ruling Says that the Legal Definition of a Woman Does Not Include Trans-Women. U.K. Supreme Court Defines Woman by Law; Sending U.S. Criminals to Salvadoran Prison; U.S. Hosts El Salvador's Defense Minister. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired April 16, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
MAX FOSTER, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, I'm Max Foster in for Isa. Tonight, a U.S. judge says there is probable cause
to hold the Trump administration in contempt over deporting Venezuelan migrants. Will explain. Tempers flare at Republican town halls. U.S.
lawmakers face another round of frustrated voters and protesters back in their districts.
And a landmark ruling by the U.K. Supreme Court says that the legal definition of woman does not include trans-women. Beginning, though, with
the Trump administration's high stakes legal battles over deportation, the White House's defiance hitting a major roadblock now. U.S. federal judge
James Boasberg has ruled that, quote, "probable cause exists to hold some Trump administration officials in criminal contempt."
The judge says they violated his orders last month after deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members. Meanwhile, a different federal judge has given the
White House two weeks to prove it's working to bring back Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The Maryland father was mistakenly deported to his native El
Salvador and is now housed in a notorious mega prison there. Here's what the U.S. Attorney General had to say about the case earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: President Bukele said he was not sending him back. That's the end of the story. If he wanted to send him back, we
would give him a plane ride back. There was no situation ever where he was going to stay in this country. None. He would have come back, had one extra
step of paperwork and gone back again. But he's from El Salvador, he's in El Salvador, and that's where the President plans on keeping him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, a Democratic lawmaker is now in El Salvador to call for Abrego Garcia's release. Before leaving, Senator Chris Van Hollen said he
also wants to confirm his well-being.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): He's never been convicted in a criminal case. So, when the Vice President tweets out he's been convicted, that's
just not true. I mean, you saw lie after lie after lie coming out of the White House. They're gas-lighting the American people on this case. So,
they can say what they want. But in the United States of America, at least so far, we respect the rule of law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, all of this unfolds as CNN is told, the Justice Department and White House are reviewing the legal justification for how to possibly
send American criminals to that same mega prison in El Salvador. Let's kick things off with legal analyst Joey Jackson and Areva Martin, thank you so
much, because there's a huge amount to unpack here. But in terms of the Trump administration, Areva, being held in contempt, what are the grounds
for that?
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, this is a stunning turn of events for a case that probably was going to end up in contempt charges, Max,
because the Department of Justice refuses to comply with judicial orders. We know initially, a judge ordered the Trump administration to turn the
planes around before this deportation even occurred.
And they have been playing, they, been the Department of Justice, have been playing games with this court in ways that we've never seen. A Department
of Justice respond openly, defying court orders.
The statement from the White House that we just heard saying, one piece of paper would have been filed and Mr. Garcia would have ended up in this El
Salvadoran prison is absolutely, positively false and completely ignores his rights to due process, his rights to a hearing, the statement that he
has been convicted again, a complete falsehood by the Trump administration.
We are, as many legal experts have stated so eloquently, in a state of a constitutional crisis with the Department of Justice that refuses to comply
with a legitimate federal court orders.
FOSTER: Judge Boasberg, Joey, saying that the contempt finding could be avoided if they simply provide an explanation for their actions. They just
haven't done that, have they? So, do you expect the White House to comply with Judge Boasberg?
JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Max, I do not. And as Areva noted, we are on the verge of a constitutional crisis. This is serious, and
we are literally living in the twilight zone, right? And I say that with sincerity.
[14:05:00]
These are not the actions of a democracy. In a democracy, you don't send people on a plane, right? When a judge says, take the plane back if it has
left, right, and the Trump administration was planning to send them anyway, unbeknownst to the judge at the time, the judge gives an order -- oh, too
late, so sad. My bad. Not the way it works.
A judge gives an order, you obey the order to the extent that you don't, and to the extent that the order was clear, and to the extent that you did
it willfully, you're in contempt, and that's what it's going to take. It's going to take -- when we talk about constitutional crisis, Max, to be
clear, what we mean is that, the President is exerting an extraordinary amount of authority to the disregard of really, the judicial branch of
government which says what's lawful.
I'm not even going to say that the congressional branch, because they've done nothing at all to stop him, no legislation. They're just going along.
And so, we have to get back to the place that instead of whisking people out on planes, instead of grabbing people off the street and throwing them
into other countries, that we actually have hearings about that, right?
Does everyone remember that? There was a time, not so long ago when you were accused of being a gang member, that you had a trial. There was a jury
that was impaneled that said factually right, that the facts meet the law, you're guilty, you're not, you just don't get thrown out because the
President said so.
So, this is beyond and I don't want to overstate it, but I want to be very clear, because the next step is that there are these steps in the process
to hold these administration officials in contempt. They are held in contempt, and then what? The President owns the Justice Department, he's
appointed loyalists throughout government, and if you defy him, he will fire you. And so, this is a problem, and to see how it plays out doesn't
look to be pretty at this point, Max.
FOSTER: Areva, we just heard from the White House, if you can help explain what they're saying for us, the White House plans to seek immediate
appellate relief from Judge James Boasberg's ruling that probable cause exists to hold the Trump administration officials in criminal contempt.
What tactic are they using there?
MARTIN: Well, they're using the tactic, Max, that they always use, which is deflect, distort and delay. We've seen Trump use this with regards to
his own personal lawsuits, whether they're civil lawsuits or criminal lawsuits or criminal prosecutions against him. And now he is instructing
his Justice Department to do the same, to file appeal after appeal, even when there is no legal justification for the appeal.
This is just another tactic by this White House, by this Department of Justice, to delay complying with the judge's very clear order with regards
to bringing forth some evidence, providing a declaration to the court as to what they have done, the steps that they have taken to return Mr. Garcia to
this country, rather than comply with that order, rather than to uphold the rule of law as all of these lawyers have taken an oath to do so, they are
continuing to delay and Mr. Garcia is languishing in another country in what we know to be a notorious prison or jail. So, this is a complete
mockery, a complete mockery of our justice system and rule of law.
FOSTER: Our legal analyst, Joey Jackson, Areva Martin, thank you so much for your take on this huge story. We're going to go to the latest
reverberations now being felt across the globe from U.S. President Donald Trump's on again, off again wave of tariffs. Just minutes ago, the U.S.
Federal Reserve chair issued this stark warning about the fallout from those tariffs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, CHAIR, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: The level of tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated, and the same is
likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth. Tariffs are highly likely to generate at least
a temporary rise in inflation. Inflationary effects could also be more persistent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Now, the World Trade Organization also came out with a grim forecast today. But WTO says Mr. Trump's tariffs will sharply reduce global
economic growth, including in the U.S. U.S. retail sales jumped 1.4 percent in March, the largest monthly gain in more than two years.
But some economists believe the surge may have been fueled by consumers rushing to buy in an effort to beat the likely higher prices that will
result from the tariffs. California is suing the administration over those levies. Governor Gavin Newsom argues the President doesn't have the
authority to unilaterally impose them on Canada, Mexico and China, the state's three largest trading partners.
Let's go beyond those numbers now. CNN business and politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkovich joins us. Jerome Powell has said some of these things
before, hasn't he? But --
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes --
FOSTER: They're felt like more urgency to them, that was probably expected.
[14:10:00]
But just explain why the numbers seem quite positive that we're getting on the economy right now with this background?
YURKEVICH: Yes, I mean, I'll start on what Jerome Powell just said. And as you know, he has said some of this before, but I think he's taking this a
step further. And he has said that he expects higher inflation, slower economic growth, and with that he also expects that unemployment may rise.
That is something called stagflation. And that is something that the Federal Reserve has a really tough time with, because they can only sort of
tackle one of those three things at -- only one of those three things at once. They can't do it all at the same time. So, markets right now, you can
see are reacting to this. You see the Nasdaq down more than 3 percent.
You have the Dow down over here more than 600 points, and this all really started after Jerome Powell started speaking. Yes, markets were rattled
because of some news with Nvidia saying that the U.S. government had put new restrictions over the exporting of their chips. So, tech stocks were
already a little bit shaky.
And now, you have this from Jerome Powell essentially saying that tariffs are going to make it harder for the Federal Reserve to do its job. Listen
to what he just said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POWELL: Our obligation is to keep longer-term inflation expectations well anchored, and to make certain that a one-time increase in the price level
does not become an ongoing inflation problem. As we act to meet that obligation, we will balance our maximum employment and price stability
mandates, keeping in mind that without price stability, we cannot achieve the long periods of strong labor market conditions that benefit all
Americans. We may find ourselves in the challenging scenario in which our dual mandate goals are in tension.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: And now he said right there that the dual mandate goals will be in tension. That is full employment and that is keeping prices stable for
Americans. So, he said he's not -- that we're not there yet, but that is what may be coming because of the uncertainty around these tariffs. Also,
as you mentioned, Max, retail sales came in today.
They were very strong, but that was to be anticipated because economists were predicting that U.S. consumers were going to start buying a lot of
things and big ticket items ahead of these tariffs coming into effect, that I believe -- that is actually car retail sales for cars, up 5.3 percent in
just the month of March.
We know that Ford Motor Company said that they saw a dramatic increase in people buying cars in the month of March, trying to beat those 25 percent
tariffs on both foreign cars and foreign car parts. Two other things to keep in mind, furniture and clothing. The U.S. imports a lot from Asian
countries, including China, which is currently hit with that 145 percent tariffs.
So, those are two industries to keep an eye on. But I think really the takeaway, Max, from what Jerome Powell is saying is that, the economy as it
stands right now is pretty solid. But because of the uncertainty with tariffs, that's where we could run into some problems, and he and his
speech today is forecasting that, Max.
FOSTER: Yes, it's pretty clear, wasn't it, Vanessa? Thank you so much for that. China's economy grew stronger than expected in the first quarter
before President Trump's tariffs kicked in, that was. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has more on that.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: China's first quarter GDP data is out, and it reveals growth in the world's second largest economy, just as
President Donald Trump dials up the tariff pressure. China's economy grew 5.4 percent year-on-year. It defied expectations. I remember China is
facing multiple economic challenges as it struggles to rebound from a post pandemic slump, including low consumer spending, low consumer confidence,
high youth unemployment and an ongoing property slump.
China has set an ambitious growth target of 5 percent for the year, but economists say that will be hard to reach, given the trade war. Now, Trump
has jacked-up tariffs on many Chinese imports to an astounding 145 percent, and China has hit back with retaliatory tariffs and other measures,
including a curb on rare earth exports, sparking fears of a prolonged trade war.
So, investment banks are slashing their China growth forecast for the year. UBS has lowered its forecast from 4 percent to 3.4 percent for the year.
The bank says this, quote, "we expect China's exports to the U.S. to fall by two-thirds in the coming quarters, and its overall exports to fall by 10
percent in USD terms in 2025.
The latter also takes into account slower U.S. and global growth." Now, Citi adds this, quote, "we see little scope for a deal between the U.S. and
China after recent escalations." Now, all eyes on whether Beijing will roll out any new stimulus. China's politburo is set to meet later this month to
set its policy agenda. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
[14:15:00]
FOSTER: More now on the Fed chairman's remarks, and how markets are reacting. Let's turn to Art Hogan; Chief Market Strategist at B. Riley
Financial. I think the retail figures were really interesting, weren't they? Because, you know, they're going to give a bit of a boost when you
look at the headline, but you dig deep into it. It's a massive indictment of what's happening here because people are stockpiling.
ART HOGAN, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, B. RILEY FINANCIAL: Yes, that's -- I think that's exactly correct. And I think that was expected. I think the
increase on a month-over-month basis certainly was significant. But I think what that really speaks to is a pull forward of goods that perhaps are
going to have a higher price come the next couple of months.
And it makes sense if you look at the autos numbers, auto parts, there was an incredible pull forward there. But, you know, it's too bad we can't
celebrate positive numbers. But I think everyone kind of knew that dirty little secret there that people were in fact front-running these tariffs
and pulling forward some spending that likely dissipates over the next couple of months.
FOSTER: Just explain the numbers for us at the moment, and how investors are feeling. It feels like they're treading water whilst they figure out
where this is all going to go. How are they buying and selling? What are they basing their decisions on?
HOGAN: Well, I'll tell you this. You know, this is a market that has tried in an efficient fashion to price in what we thought was coming in terms of
tariffs. And then after April 2nd, everybody got that wrong by a large order of magnitude. And so, the market had a very rapid fashion, try to
recalibrate that.
And then with the sort of chaotic on again-off again announcements coming out of the White House, it's been hard to sort of find your footing. I
think that the market has done a pretty good job of putting in some support at 4,800 in the S&P 500, but unfortunately, we find significant resistance
up at 5,500. So, we're in that range right now.
The good news is the market is acting a little more logical in terms of, you know, on a risk off day, you're certainly seeing money finding its way
into treasuries, so yields are coming back down again after spending about a week acting in the -- acting in the opposite direction. I think that when
you look at the sectors in the S&P 500, certainly much more of a defensive bid to it.
So, you're seeing things like healthcare and consumer staples outperforming things like technology and consumer discretionary.
FOSTER: I want to ask you, we were hearing earlier about the very genuine fear now of stagflation. It's quite a complex thing, isn't it? But this is
something that economists are now warning of. And that's sort of a worst- case scenario, isn't it, for the markets?
HOGAN: Well, it's the worst-case scenario because there isn't an effective monetary policy tool to fight that. I think that's what Jay Powell was
speaking to today. It's a bit of a conundrum, because if you're going to have rising prices and you -- and you want to tamp that down, you want to
have restrictive policy.
But with those rising prices, if you have slowing economic growth, then you'd like to stimulate that. So, you find yourself, you know, between a
rock and a hard place. And I think Jay Powell was trying to get that message across this afternoon. And you know, not a prediction that we're
heading there, but certainly it's all dependent on the duration of this trade war.
If, in fact, we start to hear about some deals being cut on a bilateral basis over the next couple of days or weeks, I certainly think that could
turn the tide in terms of both sentiment and the magnitude of the inflationary pressure that we'd see with this. If, in fact, we're still
talking about the same level of tariffs a month from now, I would certainly say a lot of economic damage that has already been done caused by this
uncertainty, will physically be done by a pullback in spending and certainly a slowdown in hiring and a slowdown in economic growth.
FOSTER: The Vice President certainly talked about, you know, I think about a dozen deals under negotiation now, and that could come pretty soon. Just
explain how important it is that at least 1 or 2 deals do come through. So, it gives a good direction really for where people can go on this.
HOGAN: Yes, I think that's -- it's imperative that we -- you know, the White House is able to declare some victories here and put some deals on
the board and say that would give us a template for what this process is going to look like. So, you know, to the extent that we know we're in
conversations with Japan, with India, Canada and Mexico.
Currently, and if any of those were to come through, I certainly think it would start to turn the tide in terms of uncertainty and investor attitude
about the future. So, the sooner the better -- but like I said, if it drags on for weeks instead of days, I certainly think this is going to continue
to do economic damage with the uncertainty that's out there.
FOSTER: Yes, absolutely, Art Hogan, I really appreciate you spending time with us today. Thank you.
HOGAN: Thank you.
FOSTER: President Trump targeting Harvard University once again today. In a post on Truth Social, he accused the school of teaching, quote, "hate and
stupidity", saying the Ivy League institution should no longer receive any federal funding. He's already threatened to pull Harvard's tax exempt
status, but Harvard so far is rejecting the Trump administration's sweeping demands for policy changes and government oversight. CNN's Kara Scannell
has more.
[14:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We heard more about, you know, yesterday, Trump, focusing in on another pressure point, potentially
revoking their tax exempt status. And the White House Press Secretary yesterday, during the briefing also was focusing in on the size of
Harvard's endowment. They have more than $50 billion. Here's more of what she said.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: More than $2 billion out the door to Harvard when they have a more than $50 billion endowment. Why
are the American taxpayers subsidizing a university that has billions of dollars in the bank already? And we certainly should not be funding a place
where such grave anti-Semitism exists.
SCANNELL: Now, the thing about the endowments is that the donations come in, but a lot of them are legally earmarked for specific things, including
academic programs, scholarships and faculty positions. So, according to the universities, a number of them have filed sworn affidavits in different
court cases.
They say that they can't just easily pull this money away, and it's meant to fulfill the school's funding for years and years to come.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes --
SCANNELL: They only use about 5 percent of it a year, so it's not quite that simple. I mean, we did see, though -- we haven't seen any further
reaction from Harvard, nothing more that they have said, but we have seen other leaders at other schools stand up and stand alongside Harvard. We saw
statements from Stanford's President out there saying that they stood with Harvard, Princeton University and even Columbia, where they have had $400
million of their funding frozen.
And they're kind of in this negotiation --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right --
SCANNELL: With the White House to try to sort it out. Their acting President came out yesterday saying, you know, that they would make some
changes, but they weren't going to go as far as things that would go against the principles of higher education.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Kara Scannell there reporting for us, the United Nations estimates that 500,000 Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza over the last month
since the ceasefire ended on March the 18th. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has turned 30 percent of the Gaza Strip into a security perimeter
buffer zone.
Defense Minister Israel Katz says the IDF has expanded its operations since the ceasefire collapsed last month, and will remain in Gaza, Lebanon and
Syria as part of any temporary or permanent solution. Still to come tonight, chaos erupts at a town hall hosted by Republican Congresswoman
Marjorie Taylor Greene.
We'll tell you why tempers are running so high. Plus, the U.K. Supreme Court issues a landmark ruling today on the legal definition of a woman.
We'll look at the fallout after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
FOSTER: President Donald Trump's policies are fueling anger at Republican town halls. Chaotic scenes broke out on Tuesday during an event held by
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, north of Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, good --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands behind your back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Twice, police were seen using stun-guns to subdue people who resisted being removed from the meeting. Here's how Taylor Greene responded
to one of multiple interruptions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Ladies and gentlemen, they're all inside the interior of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How about the KKK?
GREENE: All inside the interior of the United States --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The terrorist group going after black and brown --
GREENE: They can head out. The protests is outside. Thank you very much. Protest is outside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You watch buddy, bigot! You watch buddy, bigot!
GREENE: Protests is outside. Bye. Have fun out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: CNN's Ryan Young was at that town hall, he joins us from Atlanta. I mean, have you seen this building up, this tension? I mean, where did it
come from?
RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's obvious tension all over the place. And, Max, look, it was a very interesting room to be in
because there were a lot of supporters in the room as well. But there were police officers flanked all the way around that room. I would say at least
10 to 15 officers in that room, another 20 behind the scenes and then another 10 to 15 who were stationed outside, plus a special response team.
Marjorie Taylor Greene even talked about the fact that she's one of the most threatened lawmakers in the United States, and to give her some sort
of credit here, she stood there at that podium, despite everything that was going on, she did not move. Now, both men who were tased and taken out at
one point, the crowd even started cheering, tase him, tase him, tase him.
It happened right in front of the camera position where I was standing at that very point. They did have active resistance. They did not become loud.
It wasn't clear about what escalated at one moment, but they did not like being pushed physically. But this was something to see as it played out.
There were people who were visibly shaken by all the force that was used.
But again, people did started screaming, tase him, tase him, tase him. Take a listen to the congresswoman talk about what's been going on and how she
responded to some of the people who tried to derail her town hall. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREENE: DOGE gutting our government with a chainsaw approach and the utter destruction and ignoring of our constitution and rule of law. He is not
well, physically or mentally. Poor Christina(ph, poor Christina. Well, I'm sure, Christina, you think that you're pretty smart. But the reality is you
are being completely brainwashed by whatever source of news you listen to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: You know, Max, look, there's an incredible amount of anger in this country right now on both sides. People are upset. We'll show you some of
this video from outside, there were protesters who were really wanting their voices heard as we were standing inside and listening to the
congresswoman.
You could hear those protesters chanting over and over. You could hear people honking their horns. More than 100 of them showed up, and so, they
had to have police to make sure they didn't cross the street. But you can tell this is just the beginning. And I want to leave on this point,
something that we should stress here.
They did not put out the location for this event until about 11 hours beforehand for security concerns. They had a list of people who could and
could not get inside. And I wouldn't be surprised if the next time there's a town hall, there won't be more security than what we saw even last night.
FOSTER: Yes --
YOUNG: Max --
FOSTER: It's boring, isn't it? Ryan, thank you --
YOUNG: Thank you --
FOSTER: So much. Well, the first three months of Donald Trump's second term have been marked by anxiety about tariffs, Musk government layoffs,
scrutiny over the administration's new -- administration -- immigration crackdown. So, how do Americans, specifically Trump voters, feel about all
of this? Harry Enten has been looking at the numbers. And, you know, I'm asking, I guess, if there's been some regret amongst Trump voters.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think this is the key question, Max, is, you know, obviously Donald Trump won that election in 2024. And
the question is, are those folks who helped put him in the White House regretting their vote? And we finally got some actual polling data on this
to see and ask whether or not Trump voters are actually regretting their vote.
So, let's take a look at it. All right, Trump voters looking back to 2024, what percentage of them would change their vote? Vote for a different
candidate. Get this, it's just 2%. It's just 2 percent. Very similar numbers to the folks who voted for Kamala Harris, who said that they would
change their vote.
So, I'm not really quite sure that the election result would be any different this time around than it was versus 2024, despite everything that
happened. And then there's an additional 1 percent who said that they'd rather not vote at all. But again, we're talking about very slim pickings
here.
Under 5 percent total of the Trump voters might or would have voted differently. And I was interested in comparing the numbers that we see this
time around to what was occurring the last time Trump won the presidency back in 2016 and how folks felt in 2017.
So, this is the slide that tells you there's Trump voters who -- what percentage, how many would actually shift their vote. Well, in February of
2017, looking back on 2016, it was 4 percent. This time around, in April of 2025, for 2024, it was 3 percent. So, if anything, the number this time
around of regretful Trump voters is actually lower, Max. It's actually lower than it was back in 2017. And I was also looking at the numbers in
2021, again, the number this time around, actually lower the percentage of Trump voters who regret their vote.
And of course, this is so important to keep in mind because, you know, Trump is not that popular of a guy, but it's important to match him up
against the Democrats versus the alternative. And one way we can actually do that to understand the political environment is the percentage of folks
who say they're Democrats versus Republicans.
This is a metric that historically has actually favored Democrats Party identification in the United States of America. And if you look at 2017,
Democrats held a five-point advantage on that. You look at 2024, according to Gallup, Republicans actually jumped to a one-point advantage. What's
going on right now in 2025, according to an average of the polls? It's Republicans with a plus two advantage.
So, I think what's important to keep in mind here is, yes, Donald Trump is not a popular guy, but when you compare him against the alternative, when
you compare Republicans against the alternative and the Democrats, all of a sudden, it's a different ball game and there are very few Trump voters who
actually regret what they did, despite the fact that more than a few might not necessarily enjoy what he's doing in the White House right now, Max.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Thank you so much. That's fascinating, Harry. Really appreciate that.
ENTEN: Thank you.
FOSTER: Now, the Supreme Court here in the U.K. has issued a landmark ruling today saying the legal definition of a woman is based on biological
sex and doesn't include trans women. The court unanimously ruled that transgender women with a gender recognition certificate in the U.K. should
not receive special protections as a woman under the 2010 Equality Act. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How do you define a woman by law? The United Kingdom's highest court just ruled that the legal
definition of a woman excludes trans women. The British Supreme Court's unanimous decision also says, quote, "that the concept of sex is binary. A
person is either a woman or a man," end quote.
This is as it pertains to the application of the country's equality laws. Transgender people will still have legal protection, the court says.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and
biological sex. But we counsel against reading this judgment as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another.
ABDELAZIZ: Outside the courtroom, it was for WOMEN SCOTLAND that was celebrating, the campaign group that brought the case, which challenges
guidance from the Scottish government that a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate is legally a woman and therefore entitled to sex-
based protections.
The group argued those protections only apply to people that they say are born female. J. K. Rowling, a supporter of the group has donated to them,
according to U.K. media outlets. The Scottish Greens, the political party, said the ruling was a huge blow to some of the most marginalized people in
our society and concerning for human rights.
While the ruling stems from a debate in Scotland, it is a decision that will have sweeping consequences for how equality laws are applied across
all of the U.K. and its impact will be closely watched by transgender activists around the world.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still to come, imprisoning U.S. citizens in El Salvador as the deportation battle wages. President Trump says he'd love to deport U.S.
criminals too. Details ahead.
Plus, the U.S. defense secretary hosts his Salvadorian counterpart. We'll listen in for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:00]
FOSTER: In the move, almost shorter face legal challenges. Donald Trump says he wants to jail U.S. citizens in El Salvador. And sources tell CNN,
the Justice Department and the White House Counsel's Office are reviewing the legal justification to send citizens who have committed violent crimes
to El Salvador's mega-prison. All this after the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador.
In an interview that aired on Tuesday, the president said he would love to send U.S. criminals to the country. Here's more of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could we use it for violent criminals, our own violent criminals?
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I call them homegrown criminals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TRUMP: I mean, the homegrown --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The homegrowns, could they --
TRUMP: The ones that grew up and something went wrong and they hit people over the head with a baseball bat. We have -- and push people into subways
just before the train gets there, like you see happening sometimes. We are looking into it and we want to do it. I would love to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Let's bring in our Senior White House Producer Betsy Klein, who's been looking at, you know, how you would justify this legally, presumably.
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: So, many questions there, Max. And really, President Trump making absolutely clear that he wants to
send Americans who have committed violent crimes to this maximum-security prison in El Salvador. And we are learning, to that point, that the Justice
Department and White House Counsel's Office to together are reviewing the viability and the potential legal justifications to do just that according
to two officials familiar with these ongoing discussions.
Of course, as you mentioned, this is almost certain to invite many legal challenges. One official tells CNN, however, that the president really
views this as a winning issue and one that he was elected on. But please listen to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who defined some of
the parameters here. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It is a legal question that the president is looking into. He would only consider this if legal for
Americans who are the most violent, egregious, repeat offenders of crime, who nobody in this room wants living in their communities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:40:00]
KLEIN: Now, all of this, as we are really witnessing a constitutional showdown play out right now between the White House and the courts just
days after the Trump administration admitted in a court filing that it mistakenly deported that Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, to El
Salvador.
A very tense hearing played out yesterday as a federal judge called on the Trump administration to offer evidence of what they have done toward her
directive to bring him home. She chastised them for not doing enough to carry out her directive to facilitate his release. Said she needs evidence
of what is being done. And that every day that he spends at that El Salvador prison is quote, "a day of irreparable harm."
Now, the White House is really doubling down here, defending its aggressive efforts to remove illegal immigrants. Karoline Leavitt described Abrego
Garcia as, quote, "a foreign terrorist" without evidence. The White House says that he is a member of the MS13 gang, something that his legal team
denies. Other officials are arguing that even if Abrego Garcia comes back to the U.S., he will be detained and deported.
To this end, we are seeing Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who is a Democrat, travel to El Salvador today. He said he is trying to meet with
high level El Salvador officials. He also wants to check in on Abrego Garcia and get a look at his condition.
FOSTER: Extraordinary. Betsy, thank you so much. But while the White House looks into sending U.S. citizens to El Salvador, El Salvador is sending its
defense minister to the Pentagon. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is hosting his Salvadorian counterpart, Rene Merino Monroy, today. This visit
comes after President Trump welcomed El Salvador's president to the White House. It also follows news of at least three Pentagon officials have been
put on leave over allegations of leaking sensitive information.
Joining us now, CNN's Natasha Bertrand. What are you looking for, Natasha?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Secretary Hegseth just hosted El Salvador's defense minister here at the
Pentagon, as you said. And it comes amid this high-level, you know, negotiations and meetings that this administration is having with El
Salvador amid these conversations about deporting a lot of migrants and perhaps even U.S. citizens, if law -- if the law allows it here to that
giant prison in El Salvador, where, of course, one man was mistakenly deported.
So, now, we are seeing, of course, that Secretary Hegseth is getting involved, talking to the defense minister. This has also been a top
priority for the Department of Defense, which has started a task force at the southern border, deployed thousands of troops there, and even created a
buffer zone at the border to allow for the U.S. military to have greater control over the migrant flow into the United States. So, that is what
Secretary Hegseth is trying to focus on today.
But of course, as you said, in the background here, looms large, the fact that three of his senior advisers have actually been placed on
administrative leave in recent days over questions about whether they leaked information to the press, amid investigations into unauthorized
disclosures.
One of his most senior advisers, Dan Caldwell, who is very close to Secretary Hegseth and has been working with him and known him for well over
a decade now was marched out of the Pentagon yesterday amid this ongoing investigation. Another senior official who's the deputy chief of staff here
at the Pentagon, he was also placed on administrative leave. And then, just a few hours ago we got word that the deputy secretary of defense's chief of
staff has also been placed on administrative leave.
Now, reporters tried to shout questions at Secretary Hegseth just moments ago during his preliminary comments and meeting with the defense secretary
of the -- of El Salvador, but Secretary Hegseth would not engage with any of those questions, declined to respond to any reporters' inquiries about
what exactly happened here, why three of his top officials here at the Pentagon are now effectively out of a job. Max.
FOSTER: Natasha, thank you. Still to come tonight. We are live the New York Auto Show of President Trump's tariffs looming pretty large, as you
can imagine.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
FOSTER: Honda plans to shift some of its production to the U.S. The Japanese carmaker says it's partly in response to the Trump
administration's 25 percent auto tariffs. Honda will begin manufacturing its Civic hybrid models in Indiana we're told. A company spokesperson told
CNN that whilst the tariffs did play a part in the production decision, it's a longstanding policy of manufacturers in locations with high consumer
demands. President Trump's auto tariffs looming large, let's say, at the New York Auto Show this year.
CNN's business editor-at-large and the host of "Quest Means Business," of course, Richard Quest is there. Quite the year to be there, Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND CNN ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: Yes, and there is sort of a pull over the place because
everybody is in some, shape, or form trying to work out the machinations of what it all means.
One thing I will say, Max, as I walk around the auto show, there are a lot of signs for foreign auto makers, foreign car makers emphasizing where and
how they have been manufacturing over many years, if not decades, in the United States.
So, one over there has a big sign saying, cars from U.S. factories. Another over here trumpets. The amount of parts that are made in the U.S. Everybody
-- there's a lot of dancing around the inevitable that this is an industry where imported cars are facing a 25 percent tariff and auto parts, which,
of course, go into it. And in a sense, even the domestic manufacturers, the big three, if you will, Stellantis, General Motors, and Ford, they are
being clobbered by the almost breakup so far of the USMCA, the old NAFTA, Canada, U.S., and Mexico.
So, great, magnificent, beautiful motorcars, never mind automobiles, motorcars, but an industry that is reeling and worrying what's next.
FOSTER: We saw in some of the retail numbers that, you know, people are stockpiling on things like cars, fridges, things like that, ahead of the
tariffs coming into effect. So, there's going to be a bit of a surge in sales, isn't there, before there's a fall?
QUEST: Yes, we saw that in the last month's retail sales numbers. We saw it in the car sales numbers, that there was an absolute bump up as people -
- and in fact, we're seeing that on both sides, by the way. If you look at the China GDP numbers that we just got for the last quarter, then you see
there was a bump up there as Chinese exporters got as much out the door as they could to the U.S. before the draconian tariffs increased.
It'll be a few more weeks once tariffs are in that we get to see the effect of those tariffs. But today, of course, we had Jerome Powell, chair of the
Fed, basically the dirty little secret that did not want to speak its name from the president, which is there's going to be more inflation. The
inflation could be persistent, it could give the Fed some really difficult times, and that's why you're seeing the market, I don't if you've showed
already in tonight's show, but the market, the Dow if off very heavily, the NASDAQ is being clobbered, absolutely left, right, and center because of
all these worries.
[14:50:00]
And in the midst -- there you go, you see that, the Dow off 714, the worst of possession. And in the midst of all of this, Max, these wonderful cars.
Now, if I was to bring you one home -- what would you like?
FOSTER: One I can sell again in a year.
QUEST: You curmudgeon. You curmudgeon. They're beautiful. They really are. There are some spectacular cars here and I'm looking forward to trying some
later.
FOSTER: OK. Richard, thank you so much. We'll be speaking to Richard again, of course, later on, and he'll be on air in a couple of hours, an
hour or so.
Still to come tonight truth, justice, and the Canadian way. Meet Captain Canuck and find out why he's making a comeback.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: President Trump's ongoing trade war has fueled a nationalist surge in Canada, and just one example of that is a Canadian superhero making a
comeback. Paula Newton has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy Canada Day, folks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Canuck, get moving. There's a holiday crowd out there and we have less than three minutes.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Canada's comic book superhero, Captain Canuck is back and this time he's taking on U.S.
President Donald Trump.
In this 50th anniversary issue, Captain Canuck fights to protect Canada's independence from the U.S. Canuck's co-creator, Richard Comely, says he
wanted to bring the maple-leaf-covered hero back after Trump said he wanted Canada to become the 51st U.S. state and started his trade war with allied
countries.
RICHARD COMELY, CO-CREATOR, "CAPTAIN CANUCK": All of a sudden, Trump gets into office and he starts talking about annexation and tariffs and yes, all
of a sudden Canadians are looking to Captain Canuck as a symbol and it's basically to them Captain Canuck symbolizes independence. We have, no thank
you, we have our own independence, we have our own symbols.
NEWTON (voice-over): Since 1975, Captain Canuck has been a symbol of Canadian strength. Storylines about fighting off foreign powers and groups
who tried to take over Canada.
COMELY: Never in any of those stories was it America that was going to be taking over Canada.
NEWTON (voice-over): Captain Canuck has been popular in Canada for years with a countless number of comic books, spin-offs and even a web series.
Comely says he has received lots of new interest in the character since political tensions began to rise between the U.S. and Canada.
[14:55:00]
COMELY: So, in a sense we have Mr. Trump to thank for a bit of resurgence.
NEWTON (voice-over): Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: It's a good business for some people. Now, the 2028 Summer Olympics are being held in Los Angeles. And the L.A. '28 CEO says, since
the city is the epicenter of sports, culture, and entertainment, every venue selected for the games will provide athletes and fans the best
possible experience, which is why the event will be given the authentic Hollywood treatment with all the organization -- or organizing committee
announced an updated venue list, which was on Tuesday.
Artistic gymnasts and boxing finals will be hosted at the Crypto.com Arena, the home of the NBA Lakers and NHL's Kings as well. The Baseball Olympic
return after eight years will be held at the iconic Dodger Stadium. Whilst the Universal Studio's lot will host the squash competition, the triathlon
marathon, and road cycling routes will all happen around L.A.'s famous Venice Beach.
Thank you for watching tonight. I'll be back in a moment with another hour of news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
