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Laura Coates Live
Canada Rebukes Trump In Major Election; "Laura Coates Live" Reports On 100 Days Of Trump 2.0; Gov. Pritzker Blasts "Do Nothing" Democrats At New Hampshire Fundraiser; Mother Deported, Separated From Baby; NFL Stars Praised, Criticized Over Trump Visit Decisions. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired April 28, 2025 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DAVE ARONBERG, FORMER STATE ATTORNEY, PALM BEACH COUNTY: Do you take the Gavin Newsom approach, the Bill Maher approach about meeting with Trump? When Joe Scarborough goes to the White House, they get cancelled by some parts of the Democratic Party. Or do you take the Pritzker approach?
The thing that people want the most, though, I think, right now, in 2025, is authenticity. If you can fake that, you got it made, as it has been said.
But Pritzker is a billionaire. Now, he's talking about fighting and being tough. And I don't know. I -- I think you have to feel it in your bones to be someone who wakes up every day and fights.
(CROSSTALK)
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: We got to leave there. It's top of the hour. Everyone, thank you very much. Thanks for watching "NewsNight." "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: As Trump says he runs the world, Canada says, well, not us. The breaking news tonight from our neighbors to the north who just sent Trump and the globe a major message as the country's Liberal Party is now projected to win power. We're live in Ottawa.
Plus, 100 days of Trump 2.0. Did the disruptor in chief get what he wanted? And later, sports and politics collide into controversy as one-star Eagle flies to the White House while the other does not. Tonight on "Laura Coates Live."
Let's start with the breaking news that Canada is choosing who will lead the country next as President Trump continues his threats of annexation and taxation on our neighbors to the north. Within the last hour, Canadian media projecting Mark Carney's Liberal Party the winner, making Carney the next prime minister. It's a reversal of fortune for the Liberals, which were expected to lose before Trump began making his threats. CNN's Paula Newton is live in Ottawa. Paula, this is a huge comeback. It's certainly how unpopular the last liberal leader was, Justin Trudeau. He even resigned to allow these elections to happen. So how big of a factor was President Trump in Canada tonight?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some say in terms of the liberal resurrection, if you can call it that, he was really the only factor. And why? That's because Mark Carney, now prime minister in Canada, he had taken over just a few weeks ago, he has now been elected prime minister.
So many in Canada that I heard from, Laura, told me, look, this is a safe pair of hands, a former central banker not just here in Canada but in Britain, steering Britain through Brexit. They wanted someone in the room, in the Oval Office, who they feel could stand up for Canadian rights and sending a message to Trump that they intend to bargain hard and demand respect. All of that went over well through this campaign. That is the political drama of the moment.
I want to give you the political drama to come. Right? Mark Carney still has what we call a minority government at this hour. He must win enough seats in May by the end of the evening to have a majority government. That'll have a big impact, to see what kind of a free reign you will have to negotiate any kind of deal with President Trump in the United States. If he has a minority government, things become a little bit more complicated.
But by any stretch, Laura, you have to say -- I've heard from pollsters who said they've hardly ever seen this anywhere in the world where the Conservative Party led by Pierre Poilievre ahead -- if you can think about it, he was practically measuring the curtains in the prime minister's office --
COATES: Uh-hmm.
NEWTON: -- just five months ago, ahead by 25 points. And here comes Mark Carney, takes over the Liberal Party from Justin Trudeau, and now is elected prime minister.
COATES: You know, Carney has already struck a very tough tone on tariffs. So, how will these elections impact the U.S.-Canadian relations?
NEWTON: Well, it will be interesting to see what happens. Firstly, as I say, whether he has a minority government, and that means he has to bring on other parties in order to pass legislation, or whether it's a majority.
But regardless, I've listened very closely to what he has been saying in speeches in the last few months. Look, he does not want to have a confrontation with the United States or with Donald Trump. He still believes that there is a negotiated settlement to be had.
But at the same time, he says he will demand respect. That -- that means Donald Trump has to stop talking about Canada as the 51st state and stop not call him governor in the first place the way he did with Justin Trudeau. But these will be tough negotiations.
And look, Mark Carney, in his speeches, is saying Canada needs to pivot away from the United States. And in so doing, Mark Carney is clear that he will try and bring a good portion of the rest of the world with him. He has already appealed in -- in quite a dramatic and bold way --
COATES: Uh-hmm.
NEWTON: -- to allies in Europe.
COATES: Paula Newton, thank you so much.
You know, we are about, what, an hour away now from President Trump's 100th day. And if the goal was reshaping the levers of government as we know them, well, the disruptor in chief is certainly disrupting.
But it may not be the kind of ride that most Americans bargain for. I mean, take immigration. That's what the administration wants you to focus on. The White House lawn was plastered this very morning with these signs, showing people that the administration says are illegal immigrants. They were placed right behind the area where reporters do their T.V. hits.
[23:05:02]
But Trump isn't able to control all of the optics. His border czar is having to defend deporting three children who are U.S. citizens along with their mothers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HOMAN, BORDER CZAR: What we did is remove children with their mothers who requested the children depart with them. This is a parental decision. Parental one -- parent -- parenting 101. The mothers made that choice. And I tell you what, if we didn't do it, the story today be Trump administration separating families again. No. We're keeping families together. But parents will make decision what happens to their child. Having a U.S. citizen child does not make you immune from our laws.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Controversy deportations like that, well, they could show up in numbers like this. Trump's approval rating on immigration now at 45%, down from 51% last month.
And Michelle Obama is warning in a new interview that Trump's deportation plans are not just about immigration. She says it's an assault on the courts and due process itself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So, my fears are for what I know is happening out there in streets all over the -- the city, and now that we have leadership that is sort of indiscriminately determining who belongs and who doesn't, and we know that those decisions aren't being made with courts and with due process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: President Trump's war with the judiciary is having huge consequences as he tries to gain more executive power. I mean, waves of lawsuits are trying to stop him in his tracks.
The nonpartisan law journal, Just Security, says he has been hit with 212 of them, by the way. Fifty-three of those are related to immigration and citizenship. And the administration is showing it's willing to stonewall federal courts, leading to questions about whether we're on the brink of a constitutional crisis.
You know what may be the biggest disruption of Trump 2.0 so far? His attempt to completely rewire the global economy. He's got real reason to be worried there. A new CNN poll shows 59% of Americans say that his policies have made economic conditions worse. That's up from 51% just last month. And the administration can't just wave it off as one bad poll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Look at this. Negatives. Negatives across the board. It doesn't matter what poll you're looking at. If it's a scientific poll, it shows that Trump is way underwater on the economy and it is dragging his presidency down with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: We got Harry Enten doing all the moves. Even one of the most well- known Republican strategists, Karl Rove, is sounding the alarm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARL ROVE, FORMER GEORGE W. BUSH SENIOR ADVISER: When it gets to the economy, he is in very bad shape. And it's not only that he's in -- in the short term in bad shape. There's also evidence in the poll that no matter -- even if he gets his way on certain things like tariffs, that he's not good in the long run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Joining now, CNN political commentator Van Jones, CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings, and senior political correspondent for "The Wall Street Journal," Molly Ball. Glad to have all of you, guys, here. I'll begin with you, Molly. I like your necklace.
MOLLY BALL, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Thank you.
COATES: And your mind, of course. But, you know, Trump is saying in a new interview in "The Atlantic" that this second term is different from his first because he runs the country and the world. Well, Canada, as you heard earlier in our program, they checked him on this with liberals essentially challenging that very much, that they -- that they can be run. What's the impact going to be?
BALL: I would say, first of all, you know, in context, what Trump was saying in that part -- portion of the interview was that he felt he wasn't having to spend so much time just fighting the forces within. Right? He was talking about there being fewer impediments. Critics might say fewer guardrails within the White House restraining him and hemming him in like he felt there were in his first term.
But look, you know, the -- this Canadian result shows that there is an equal and opposite reaction when you take these kinds of bold actions that he has taken. Because he has moved so quickly, because he has upended so much of the geopolitical and global economic system, that's having effects all over the world and that's having a political effect.
And that is going to affect the -- the ability that he has to do, the things that he wants to do. When -- you know, that same type of nationalism that Trump inspires in his supporters here in America, who believe so passionately in the sort of patriotic vision that he conjures -
COATES: Uh-hmm.
BALL: -- that applies to Canadians, too. They have nationalism. They have patriotism. They care about their country. And when they feel under attack, they, too, have -- have risen up, and I think that's what we've seen in this result.
COATES: Scott, the administration can't be happy with the polling. And I know that, you know, they'll probably find a poll that is helpful to their case, as many presidents do. They'll give a yin and yang moment. But this is his first 100-day, this mark that we often judge.
[23:10:01]
And 66% feel either pessimistic or afraid about the economy. He ran on this. This is not where they want to be. What are they thinking about tonight?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, I'm not sure they feel good about it, but I don't think they're worried about it because they have a tremendous amount of confidence in what's on deck. My understanding is they are on the brink of announcing a bunch of things, both with private companies and also with other countries, that they will then point to and say, see, the strategy is working, you just got to give us a little time.
COATES: What might be enough in that area? What would be the type of thing that would satisfy, you think, people?
JENNINGS: Well, I think if you started rolling out agreements with our allies -- I mean, there's, like, 17 to 20 countries that really matter. If you started rolling out agreements with them and you started also to see more private companies saying, we're going to continue to invest in America, we're investing more in America, jobs going here, investments going there, I think that would give people the sense that, hey, there is a method here, there's a plan in all of this, and that begins to then lend itself to the idea that there's a trajectory that we're on. That, down the line, you can see that it's going to be working.
So, I think if you see some of these movements, some of these announcements, I think that will help with the economic numbers. I don't really think Trump is the kind of person who gets freaked out by the polls, frankly. I think he's quite confident in what he's doing. I don't sense a lot of panic over at the White House, and I don't really think they think the 100-day mark, which is arbitrary, you know, we talk about it, but it's arbitrary to them, is something that they were looking at as a deadline for any of this to be done.
COATES: You know, Van, let me bring you in here, because when you hear about the idea of essentially patience or that, you know, it's not necessarily how you feel about the economy, but what we have in the future, that wasn't really a positive direction for Democrats. It was kind of the Achilles' heel, the notion of feelinomics (ph). Is that where we are right now with Republicans?
VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think so. You know, I think a lot of people were -- were sitting on a white, hot stove economically in October and November, and they had a guy that said, I'm going to fix it, I'm going to -- I'll turn it around in a day, I'll get you peace, I'll get your prosperity. And it's not coming true.
And a lot of stuff that they're saying is going to happen. It's kind of, like, well, take this short-term pain right now, we're going to -- we're going to flush your -- your 401K down the toilet, we're going to leave you hanging out there with high prices and tariffs and all kind of fear.
You don't know what to do with your small business, but don't worry, things are going to get better tomorrow. But then when you look at what's coming tomorrow, they say, we're going to somehow magically onshore manufacturing.
But I don't know if people have noticed. They're basically fighting for jobs for American robots because all the manufacturing is advanced manufacturing at this point that will be coming back, and that's not really going to create the jobs.
So, I think people who gave a chance, including a bunch of Black men who gave a chance to this administration, are not happy right now. And I'm not quite sure where we're going. I think Scott has confidence about some of these things that are rolling out. I'll be happy to see it. But I think a lot of people right now are sadder than they expected to be the 100 days.
COATES: The economy, immigration, two very important areas among many for many American voters. Molly, the Trump is going full court press when it comes to immigration. Obviously, maybe the economy is not where they want it to be in terms of the polling. They display these mugshot-style posters of migrant arrests on the White House lawn. Of course, behind where people are going to actually televise their interviews.
The latest CNN poll, though, shows that the administration is underwater on immigration. Is this what they think will be the winning issue and the course correction?
BALL: Yes. I mean, the White House still does believe that this is the best issue for them, and they are --
COATES: Should they believe that?
BALL: -- continuing to lean into it. For a long time, at the beginning of the administration, it looked better than a lot of other issues. And it did look like, even as they were starting to lose people's confidence on things like the economy, they were still keeping it with immigration.
We're seeing that start to sour and it seems to be of a piece with voters' more global impression that voters are starting to feel that this is an administration that has gone too far, too fast.
And in the beginning, that was seen as a positive. I -- I saw in a lot of focus groups and just talking anecdotally to rank and file voters, there was this feeling, like, well, maybe we don't love exactly how they're going about all of it, but at least he's doing something. Right? He's sorts of man of action. He loves this image of strength, of dominance.
But now, you see that voters are getting nervous, and they're not sure that this pace of change is exactly what they signed up for. And I think, to Van's point, they're not sure that they have confidence that it's going to end up in a better place versus a worse one. They're not sure that where this is going is the golden age versus things getting more expensive and -- and -- and those jobs not necessarily showing up.
So, I think on immigration, it's the same thing. You know, at first, it seemed like there was a lot of sort of low hanging fruit they could go after, all these criminals they talked about and people who had recently arrived. And now, people are saying, that doesn't seem like that's who they're going after. Right?
COATES: So, then, Scott, on that point, I mean, this was a -- in many ways, people believe it was a winning issue for Trump and Republicans, the issue of immigration, being tougher on it, the idea of patience and there being a method to the madness or the order of which they went about these arrests.
[23:15:08]
Is Trump at risk for losing some credibility and -- and capital in this particular arena? JENNINGS: I don't think so. I have a different point of view. I actually think it's still their best issue. And I think when it all shakes out, what are they going to be able to say? Donald Trump effectively closed the southern border just by taking office and changing the attitude of the federal government. They have deported lots of violent criminals. And frankly, they are sending a different message than the previous administration.
You know, the old way was, hey, just get here, we'll find a way, and it'll probably work out for you. The new message is, don't come here. Please, don't come here. And now, people know that we mean it.
When it all shakes out, I think we're going to find that Donald Trump inherited -- the biggest mess of all was on immigration. He had the biggest cleanup job to do on it, and he ultimately did what he had to do to bring order to us.
I still think it's their best issue. I still think they're going to lean into it. And obviously, it's the issue that motivated his campaign way back in 2015 in the first place, and he stuck with it all the way through. I -- I still think it's their number one issue.
COATES: Will it be overshadowed by the pressing concerns of the economy?
JENNINGS: Of course.
COATES: Is there a balance on it?
JENNINGS: Well, it -- it's absolutely true. All presidents are judged mostly by what happened in the economy.
COATES: Right.
JENNINGS: That will be true for him, too. I mean, if this whole thing works, it'll be the ballsiest thing that ever happened. And if it doesn't work, well, it's his plan. And so, he has so much confidence in it, though.
I just think, you know, when they start rolling out these trade deals and they start getting -- and the Congress passes the permanence on the tax cuts, you know, he's going to be quite happy with the movement and the polling. I -- I think you'll see some improvement.
COATES: Ballsy, a new political movement.
(LAUGHTER)
Learned about it here today. Thank you, Scott and Molly. Van, stand by.
Up next tonight, what about the Democrats in these first 100 days? Will governor JB Pritzker issuing a call to action for his party be everywhere against Trump all at once? Is it the right path forward or is it a mistake? And what about those calls to impeach? There's that word again. Well, Van is back with us for this, and former Congressman Dean Phillips will join the conversation next.
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[23:20:00]
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JB PRITZKER (D-IL): Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now.
(APPLAUSE)
These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They have to understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker trying to ignite a fire within Democrats to take on President Trump, blasting when he called "do nothing" members of his party. It's a vastly different message from other Democrats. Democrats like James Carville encouraging his party to -- quote -- "roll over and play dead." Or California Senator Adam Schiff, who said his party has to -- quote -- "pick our fights and not chase after every crazy squirrel."
Well, Governor Pritzker, well, those strategies are not enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRITZKER: We're in a perilous moment in this country. There is, I mean, tumult around everyone in this country. We've had our economic rights taken away. We've had our civil rights taken away. And it's only been 100 days. And it -- it's time people have to stand up, speak out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: CNN political commentator Van Jones is back with us now along with former Minnesota congressman and 2024 presidential candidate, Dean Phillips. Welcome back to both of you. Dean, let me begin with you. Is this, in your opinion, a realistic strategy from Governor Pritzker?
DEAN PHILLIPS, FORMER MINNESOTA REPRESENTATIVE: Well, Laura, my -- my first reaction, as you can imagine, is where was Governor Pritzker and so many others that are running to the fire right now in 2023, when I tried so hard to encourage him very specifically and others to enter the democratic primary, introduce a new generation of Democrats to America, and most importantly, salvage an election that absolutely was winnable?
So, it is a little difficult for me to watch Governor Pritzker and so many others who knew better, who know better, who suddenly, I think, have placed self-preservation over principle. And it's disconcerting.
I think that is what Americans should be more concerned about than anything else. Litigating the past doesn't usually serve any purpose, but it is difficult to watch. And I think all energies right now should be spent mobilizing, energizing, and listening to the broad swaths of Americans who do not believe in the Democratic Party anymore. That's how I believe we should be acting. It should be in every small town in America introducing, welcoming, inviting, and not just arguing.
COATES: So, Van, do you see it the same way? Is the governor too much of a Johnny come lately?
JONES: No. I mean, very few people had the courage of our guest. I think history will remember that he raised his hand when nobody else would and tried to get this party to wake up to the threat, hanging around, you know, hoping that somehow Joe Biden was going to stop Donald Trump, looks quite foolish, and he had the -- the -- the foresight to -- to tell us that.
That said, I -- I applaud Governor Pritzker. We do need people to stand up, and we do need people to try to raise the stakes. You know, most people are sheeple. They're going to look around and try to figure out what they're supposed to do. And if everybody is kind of calmly, you know, wringing their hands, most people won't move.
You need -- but you need two things. You need a fire alarm and you need a fire station.
[23:25:01]
A fire alarm is somebody who can raise the concern level in an appropriate way. We also need a fire station. Who got to put out this fire? The opposition is important. What's the proposition? What -- what are Democrats offering besides, you know, outrage to Donald Trump and Elon Musk? That has to be worked out.
But, look, I think -- I -- I think Governor Pritzker is -- is responding to the base that feels every day, every story is another assault on our democratic rights, on our courts, babies getting deported.
And by the way, Homan got on there, I just have to say this, and said that, you know, the mamas said it was okay to deport the babies. That's not true. Those moms were trying to coordinate with the -- with the dads, and were not allowed to. And so, these people, you know, lie, divide, distract, and we do -- and we need our governors to stand up in the way that Pritzker is doing.
COATES: I was speaking to one counsel for one of those women. Later on, we'll ask her that very question about what opportunities that mother had.
You're speaking of proposition. When you look at the numbers and what's happening right now, Dean, I mean, one thing that's being offered is Democratic Congressman Shri Thanedar introducing the first articles of impeachment against Trump, seven of them and all. And, of course, impeachments are a familiar territory for Donald Trump.
But a lot of Democratic voters, they want the party take a harder stance against Trump. But impeachment isn't going anywhere unless Democrats win control of Congress. So, what is the right response, Dean?
PHILLIPS: Well, you know, Laura, first of all, I -- I want to support what Van just said about needing a proposition moving forward. I don't want my words misunderstood. I think Governor Pritzker would have been the perfect candidate to take on Trump last time, another billionaire Democrat with principle and experience leading organizations. He should have been, I think, perhaps our nominee.
Now, impeachment, you know, we've tried that, and I think evidence indicates that every time President Trump is attacked, it only creates a groundswell of support amongst his base. And I'm just not certain that these tactics of sit ins and protest and impeachment and condemnation is going to do a darn thing.
This is not the first presidency of Donald Trump. We learned lessons the first time, and that's why I'm dismayed about the absence of a leader emerging with a broad, inspiring vision for the future that redefines the Democratic Party.
I think we need a Tony Blair to, you know, to -- to reinvigorate what, you know, the Labour Party did in Great Britain. We need the same thing here in the United States with the Democratic Party. So far, I've not seen that leader emerge.
COATES: You know, Van, it's not maybe just the leadership. Maybe it's the language or the terms that are being used in all of the messaging because the Michigan senator, Elissa Slotkin, is criticizing her Senate colleague, Bernie Sanders, for using the term "oligarchy" during his cross-country tour with, of course, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Sanders is hitting back. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): I think the American people are not quite as dumb as Ms. Slotkin thinks they are. I think they understand very well. When the top 1% owns more wealth than the bottom 90%, when big money interests are able to control both political parties, they are living in an oligarchy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: So, who's right here? I mean, is this a form over substance discussion, or do Americans understand truly the messaging from both sides and they're deciding for themselves, obviously?
JONES: Look, most -- most --
PHILLIPS: I got to say to you, guys -- oh, I'm so sorry.
COATES: No. Your passion. Go ahead. Tell me what you wanted to say, Dean. PHILLIPS: I am so -- I'm impassioned because I served with Elissa Slotkin. There is no one I know in the United States Congress who is closer to the heartbeat of America, who has won some of the toughest races imaginable, and is trying so hard to bring some clarity to a party that is so in the woods right now.
And to see Bernie Sanders, an old last generation Democrat, angry, unfriendly, representing this party is part of the problem. And with all due respect to him and so many others, calling this an oligarchy, all that does is offend the very people, many of them at least, that I think we need to attract and invite. So, I would listen to Elissa Slotkin a lot more than Senator Sanders. That's it.
COATES: Van?
JONES: Look, I think most Democrats love both of these leaders and appreciate the different things that they're trying to do. You know, when we talk about, like, who's the leader going to be and we need a leader, listen, we got beat in 2004 pretty badly. George W. Bush, you know, swift voted John Kerry. They -- we had a triple red threat. It was horrible.
We didn't have a leader for three and a half years. Barack Obama didn't emerge as our leader for three and a half years. It takes a while for parties to sort it out. And I think this insistence that right now we got to have a leader, that has never happened one single time in the history of this party.
[23:30:00]
We will -- it will take a while. I love Slotkin, what she's doing. I love Sanders and ALC. Let a thousand flowers bloom in our party. Let's quit arguing with each other. Let the people pick. If the people like oligarchy, which I think is an awful lot of syllables, then we'll -- they'll -- they'll let us know. And if the people like something shorter, they'll let us know. But what I like is that both of these people out here are trying to raise the alarm, which right now needs to be raised.
COATES: You're saying both Republicans and Democrats think that the American electorate is very patient. We'll see if it's true. Van and Dean, thank you both so much.
PHILLIPS: Thank you, Laura. Nice to see you, Van.
COATES: Well, remember when the administration promised to deport the worst first? Our next guest says their story will put that into question. A Cuban mother deported in a hurry, leaving behind her American citizen husband and their one-year-old daughter. Family now says the child is unable to nurse. Their attorney is standing by to share their story.
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[23:35:00]
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COATES: Trump administration is on the defense. This time over the deportation of U.S.-born children, American citizens. First is a two- year- old. A mother with her two-year-old detained during a routine check-in with ICE. Authorities proceeded to report them together, deport them together to Honduras. A federal judge says the deportation appears to have taken place -- quote -- "with no meaningful process."
Then there are siblings. A four-year-old battling a rare form of late stage cancer who was still receiving treatment expelled along with her seven-year-old sibling and their mother. The lawyer says two ICE officers were waiting for the family at a routine immigration appointment.
And then there's my next story. Heidy Sanchez is a Cuban migrant. She was abruptly detained by immigration authorities during her scheduled appointment with ICE, separating her from her one-year-old and husband who are both U.S. citizens. The family completely distraught.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLOS YUNIEL VALLE, WIFE DEPORTED TO CUBA (through translator): We have this beautiful one-year-old daughter that depends on her for everything. She still breastfeeds. She gets attacks when her fever spikes. She gets attacks. She gets everything. She depends on her mother. I'm pleading everyone for help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: We did ask DHS for comment on this family separation. Here's what they told us: Quote -- "Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with someone the parent designates. In this case, the parents stated they wanted to be removed without the child and left the child in the care of a safe relative in the United States. We take our responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to ensure that children are safe and protected."
With me now, lawyer for Heidy Sanchez and Carlos Valle, Claudia Canizares. This is such a difficult story as people are learning more and more about this. As I understand it, Heidy's one-year-old child, who is still breastfeeding, has had difficulty sleeping, difficulty eating. Is there an immediate health concern with the baby?
CLAUDIA CANIZARES, LAWYER FOR MOTHER LIVING IN TAMPA DEPORTED TO CUBA: There is an immediate health concern. The baby before she was taken away from her mother, the baby had had seizures. We still don't know if she was being, you know, assessed to figure out what is going on and why she had the seizures. And definitely, she needs medical care and medical attention here in the United States.
Heidy was not given a chance to take the child with her. They told her, call your husband and tell him to go and pick up the child.
COATES: So, DHS is saying that she was given the option to take her daughter with her to Cuba. So, that's -- that's not true, that she had that option?
CANIZARES: Honestly, from the words of my attorney that represented her during this ICE appointment, no. She was asked to call her husband to come and pick up the child, and they actually gave the baby to the attorney, and the attorney took the baby out of the office. Therefore, I don't believe that she was really given an option to take the child with her. She didn't even have the passport to be able to do that.
COATES: Did she want to take her daughter with her?
CANIZARES: No. The conditions in Cuba right now are deplorable. There is no electricity. And therefore, there is no medical care that is appropriate for this child. She needs to stay here in the United States, and she needs to receive medical attention.
We need to find out why she's having seizures. It's not normal that a baby this young has seizures. Therefore, we need the medical care that she can receive here, and it's only in the United States. We do humanitarian visas all the time to bring kids from Cuba to the U.S. because they cannot receive proper medical service in Cuba.
COATES: What a difficult circumstance for the father and, of course, the entire family to think about this separation in the way that it's described. I mean, Heidy has -- excuse me, Heidy has been living in the United States with a temporary stay permit that does not grant legal status or protection from deportation, though she was required to show up for regularly scheduled check ins at an ICE office. Was her family prepared for the possibility that this could even happen?
CANIZARES: They were.
[23:40:00]
I think she was concerned that this could happen, and that's why she wanted representation during this appointment. We explained to her that this could be a risk. However, we have had case recently where people with positive equities had gone to ICE, and they had given them another year to report.
And people where we had explained to ICE, look, we're in the process of reopening their case or filing a waiver, and they were amicable to giving us another year. However, with Heidy, they moved her appointment to an earlier day, called her all of a sudden, and told her that she was being removed immediately.
COATES: Any idea why?
CANIZARES: It is my impression that they -- it is my impression that they were trying to fill the blame, and they just told her to go.
COATES: Does she have any legal recourse to return?
CANIZARES: She does. She can return with the petition from the husband. That is currently pending. And she also is going to need a waiver. We explained to ICE that she qualifies for a waiver and that she could wait for that waiver here in the United States, and their answer was, let her go and she can wait for the waiver outside.
COATES: What is that timeline?
CANIZARES: The timeline for a waiver, it can take anywhere between one year to three years. So, when you're dealing with a child that is sick and a mother who is outside of the country, waiting three years is a very long time for her to return to the United States. It has taken two years for the petition to be approved. And now, we're probably looking into a year, a year and a half or even three years, for this mother to go to the interview, file the waiver, and be able to return back legally.
COATES: Claudia Canizares, thank you so much.
CANIZARES: Thank you.
COATES: Still ahead, one of the NFL's top stars hitting back at critics who were furious that he golfed with the president. How Saquon Barkley is defending himself tonight.
Plus, Jalen Hurts, an excuse we got today for why he didn't show up at the White House celebration. Jemele Hill and Donte Stallworth were standing by on what this all says about this era in sports and politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And, you know, Saquon is a good golfer, but he's a much better football player, in case you had -- in case you had any thoughts of doing something else, Saquon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: Is there a new presidential bromance brewing? It sure seemed that way today when Philadelphia Eagles visited the White House to celebrate their big Super Bowl win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Your superstar running back, who I met yesterday, and I want to tell you, he is -- he's a handsome guy --
(LAUGHTER)
-- but I wouldn't want to tackle him, Saquon Barkley. Where's Saquon?
(APPLAUSE)
But I offered him a ride on Air Force One because I was coming down. And usually, they say, no, no, I don't think so. He said, I'll take it, sir.
(APPLAUSE)
And he loved it. We loved being together. He's a great -- he's a great young guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley took a lot of heat for his golf weekend and VIP ride on Air Force One with President Trump, but he brushed it off on social media, posting in part, "maybe I disrespect the office, not a hard concept to understand. Just golfed with Obama not too long, ago and look forward to finishing my round with Trump."
Joining me now, contributing writer at "The Atlantic" and host of the podcast, "Jemele Hill is Unbothered," Jemele Hill. Also here is former NFL wide receiver, Donte Stallworth. Glad to have both of you, guys, here today with me. Let me ask you about this, Donte, because Saquon is defending his outing with the president. Trump seems, frankly, more than flattered by all this. What do you make of it?
DONTE STALLWORTH, FORMER NFL WIDE RECEIVER: Hah!
(LAUGHTER)
Let's start there.
JEMELE HILL, PODCAST HOST, CONTRIBUTING WRITER FOR THE ATLANTIC: (INAUDIBLE).
STALLWORTH: Start there. Start there.
COATES: Okay. That's his -- that's his response. Go ahead.
STALLWORTH: I love Saquon. I think he's a great player. You can't deny his talent. One of the things that -- that bothered me the most was that he was one of the players that, back in 2020 when -- when the players, when the NFL players were really going after the NFL for not standing up against the -- the -- the NFL and the -- the president at the time, President Trump, he was one of the guys at the forefront saying racism and injustice cannot exist, and then he goes today, five years later, and he's golfing with Donald Trump.
And one of the things that he said was that, you know, it's not about politics or leave politics out of it. One of the things I'm reminded of, there's a quote that's attributed to Greek philosopher or Greek politician Pericles where he says, it's -- it's attributed to him, it's -- it's similar words, paraphrase, and he says, you may not be interested in politics, but that doesn't mean politics won't be interested in you.
And so, as you see, they've used his tweet. The White House, they've posted his tweet. they've posted photos with him. He's essentially being used kind of as a propaganda tool to say, hey, look, Saquon Barkley likes us, everyone else should like us because he is number one, a Black player in the NFL, and number two, he's a prominent American -- African-American.
At the same time, it's evident where he says that he just respects the office of the president. It's evident that Donald Trump doesn't respect the office of the president. He only respects the power that he wields.
COATES: So, Jemele, is there an unfair pressure and double standard being put on Black players in the NFL to appear or not appear at events like this for the reasons he's talking about?
HILL: Oh, definitely. But a lot of that has to do with the fact that this administration has communicated so often about how they feel about Black people in this country. You know, at the same time, while he is with the president, you have this administration taking away precious artifacts from the National African American Museum here in Washington, D.C.
You have them doing other things that show that they are more than willing to undermine black liberation in this country.
[23:50:00]
And so, if you're a Black player, that automatically is going to put you at the crosshairs of -- of politics.
And so, while -- I do think, generally, my position is, with these White House invites, whether it be a Republican or a Democrat in office, we've seen players that didn't go when Obama was --
COATES: Jalen Hurts didn't go today.
HILL: Yeah, Jalen Hurts didn't go today either. But the thing is that I've always felt like it's -- it's up to the player to decide that.
But once you make that decision, realize that people like you and I can be here on television to question whether or not -- where it is you truly stand by doing -- by standing and aligning yourself with somebody who, frankly, has really done a lot and has a very long history of completely disrespecting people who look like you, because if you didn't play sports, if you were not a Super Bowl champion, if you were not Saquon Barkley, his reception of you would be a lot different.
COATES: So, what does it say about the white players that attend then? Is the -- is the opposite also true then, that those who attend were not Black, they are making a statement?
STALLWORTH: Yeah. I think -- I mean, I remember, politics weren't really talked about in the NFL locker rooms, at least any of the NFL locker rooms that I was in up until 2008 when Obama was running against McCain, and that's kind of when things started to explode and people regularly began talking politics.
There's a -- there's a ton of players in the NFL who -- who are outright Trump supporters. And as me and Jemele were talking about, you know, out earlier, Trump has become more palatable for a number of reasons. And so, that has allowed these players to kind of step out of the shadows or kind of step -- step out and say, you know what, I'm okay with this.
And -- but there were a lot of players that also didn't show up. A lot of the star players that didn't show up, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and a lot of other players on defense as well. So, there's still players that are -- that are going to make that stand. But the players that were there, they -- they know what the -- what the conversation is going to be when you go to the White House.
HILL: And if I just may add this quickly, is Saquon Barkley was able to do that, and he was able to put out, hey, I did it because I respect the office. At the same time, while we saw several players or at least the Eagles, they sort of massaged it as it was scheduling conflicts. I think those players that didn't come should have the same right to say why they didn't come and explain. I mean, they don't owe us the explanation.
But if Jalen Hurts has political and social reasons why he didn't attend, I think it's fair that he be able to speak to whatever that is and what his concerns are about this administration.
COATES: Or as some would say, not have to address anything at all. He played the game. He won the -- he won the trophy. Next. We'll see.
And speaking of somebody who's aspiring to do that, I'm talking about University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders who, as we know, did not go as early as he certainly wanted to.
There has been a lot of statements that were made about why he was so low in the draft. People talked about attitude. They talked about, you know, bravado, all sorts of things. Of course, we know who his father is, hall of famer and Colorado coach Deion Sanders. Why do you think he wasn't picked as high?
STALLWORTH: I think it's really layered. I think there's a number of issues that are at play here. The NFL doesn't have a great track record for -- for a lot of things. One of the things, though, I will say is that the NFL is extremely tolerant for talent. Right? So, the more talents you have, the more tolerant they will be.
And we see -- you know, you've had guys like Baker Mayfield. You've had guys like Johnny Manziel and Caleb Williams who had -- who turned out to be number one quarterback or top -- top five, top 10 pick, who had a number of concerns and issues from -- from league officials.
But these -- these kids coming out of college were extremely -- like, they were the kind of the outright number one pick. And I don't think Shedeur Sanders had that kind of ability to say, hey, I'm -- I'm the number one guy, so I'm -- I don't have to go to the Columbine and work out, I don't have to go to the senior bowl and work out, and I can kind of dictate to these teams what I want to do in -- in my interviews.
COATES: Hmm.
STALLWORTH: And that didn't go over too well with -- with NFL owners. There's a -- Steve Keim, who is a long time NFL official --
COATES: Uh-hmm.
STALLWORTH: -- a general manager of the -- of the Arizona Cardinals for, like, 20 years, he -- he once said that if Hannibal Lecter ran a 4.4 --
(LAUGHTER)
-- he would be drafted in the first round. So, the talent, and that's not to say that Shedeur is not talented, he is a top two round talent, but for him to drop all the way to the fifth, it lets you know that it's not on the field stuff, it's something off the field.
COATES: Yeah.
STALLWORTH: And he's going to have to account for that and go work hard. And in this position, he actually got a chance to start or to at least to contribute to the team at some point this year or next season.
COATES: I mean, first of all, he quoted Pericles and mentioned Hannibal Lecter.
HILL: I know.
COATES: I mean, I'm just -- this is some respect.
HILL: Right.
COATES: That's where --
(LAUGHTER)
COATES: -- people. But Jemele, Stephen A said a lot about Sanders. He also tweeted out -- quote -- "This is Kaepernick all over again." What's your reaction?
HILL: No. My answer is no. That -- that's my reaction. And I can't believe this is coming out of my mouth.
(LAUGHTER)
The number one skeptic of the NFL. I'm somebody who many times in "The Atlantic" and in shows like this have talked about how this league has a lot of racist underpinnings.
[23:55:03]
They -- as you mentioned, they have a terrible track record. So, I'm the last person to throw down the cape over the puddle for the NFL. But in this case, it wasn't about race. I think it had everything to do with the fact that they did not value Shedeur Sanders as a talent, as that kind of shore fire. He's a lot as a first round or top five kind of guy. And, again, in that draft process, that's the evaluation of who you are, your character, your football character, all those things. So, if it's true, the reports, that he was purposely tanking some interviews because he didn't want to go to those teams, showing up and doing other, you know, other things with other teams, those kinds of messages get out across the league, and they're going to reflect poorly on -- on him.
And so, you can't -- if they already think you are kind of a borderline talent --
STALLWORTH: Right.
HILL: -- and then you add the extra stuff to it, it is going to greatly influence your draft stack. And no, we can't compare it to Colin Kaepernick. This is a man who lost his career when he already had been to a Super Bowl and done a lot as a quarterback, and then he had his career taken from him because of -- he made the mistake of actually standing up for Black people.
COATES: Shedeur proved him wrong, I guess. Jemele, Donte, thank you both. And thank you all for watching. "Anderson Cooper 360" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
