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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Addresses The World Economic Forum; Thousands Under evacuation Orders As Crews Battle Wildfires; How Trump Changes The Calculus On The War In Ukraine; Trump: Wants To Meet Putin Soon To Talk Ukraine War; Freed Palestinian Journalist Details Time In Israeli Custody; Marriage Equality Law Takes Effect, Hundreds Tied The Knot; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired January 23, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:05]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher, and this is ONE WORLD.
For the first time in his second term, Donald Trump has addressed the world economic leaders. The president addressed the World Economic Forum via
video moments ago. He told those gathered in Davos that he's accomplished more in the last four days than other administrations did in four years.
The president offered an invitation to gathered business leaders, which included a warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My message to every business in the world is very simple. Come make your product in America and we will
give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on Earth. We're bringing them down very substantially, even from the original Trump tax cuts.
But if you don't make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then very simply, you will have to pay a tariff, differing amounts, but a
tariff which will direct hundreds of billions of dollars and even trillions of dollars into our Treasury to strengthen our economy and pay down debt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Mr. Trump then answered questions from business leaders promising new plans, corporate tax cuts and other incentives as well.
Let's go straight now to the White House. Let's bring in our Kevin Liptak. So we heard similar themes, Kevin, compared to what you've heard in the
past. This idea that, yes, America is open for business, but also this idea that America has been treated unfairly and it has been taken advantage of
economically.
Just talk to us about the comparison between Donald Trump this time around compared to when we saw him the last time at the World Economic Forum in
2018.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I think, you know, the big context here is now Trump is president again, and he's being received
by some of the members of the World Economic Forum, much more actively and much more receptively than he was the first time around.
I remember going to Davos with him in 2018. And the pervading attitude was skepticism, almost disdain of a leader who had come into office and had
broken almost every norm that had predated him in the White House.
Now, I think these leaders are looking to Trump with a little more perspective and a little more knowledge of what he's bringing to this job.
And you heard in that speech him provide the WEF a roadmap of sorts of how he will govern as president.
Nothing, I think, he said was necessarily a surprise. But now that he's the sitting president, they can take what he's saying and at least apply it in
a certain degree to how they're doing business. So you heard him say essentially that the United States is open for business that he wants
foreign countries to invest in the United States, and if they don't, they will be subject to tariffs. He has said that on the campaign trail. He's
saying it now so I don't think it's necessarily a surprise.
He did list a number of things and promises that he would take to try and make the U.S. a more attractive place for businesses. He doesn't
necessarily have the ability to do this on his own. For example, he's promised to lower the corporate tax rate to 15 percent. That's not
something he can do on his own. Congress will have to go along with that.
He also said that interest rates should come down in the United States and abroad. That's obviously the purview of the Federal Reserve. He also called
on OPEC to bring down energy prices. That will be a decision for OPEC. That's not necessarily something he can do on his own.
But I think what he's trying to do here is to project a certain degree of strength, to project a certain transactional quality that he hopes these
foreign leaders can work with. And you hear him when he's talking specifically about the conflict in Ukraine say that lower energy prices
could bring a quick resolution to this conflict, really sort of addressing this as a businessman.
And you heard him in that speech say that he wants to meet very soon with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, essentially trying to bring him to
the negotiating table as he works to bring this conflict to an end.
What you didn't hear from the president there are the contours of what a peace deal would look like. For example, what would the security guarantees
be for Ukraine? Who would pay for the rebuilding of that country once the war ends? And these are all things that I think foreign leaders are still
waiting to hear from the White House and the Trump administration as this moves forward.
[12:05:19]
The other, I think, notable thing that he said in the speech was that the defense spending target for NATO should be increased from two percent to
five percent. That's something that he was, you know, railing on when he was first in office. And he did have some success in bringing a number of
NATO countries up to that two percent target. Now he wants to increase it even further.
You know, it remains the fact that not every NATO country is even meeting the two percent target. So how all of those countries are going to now meet
five percent remains to be seen. But him -- Trump now very much laying down a marker for how he thinks the world should start paying its fair share for
its own security going forward.
ASHER: All right. Kevin Liptak, live for us there. Thank you so much.
Let's bring in CNN's global affairs analyst, Kimberly Dozier, who's joining us live now from Washington.
So, Kimberly, I just want to start with what Kevin Liptak was just talking about there, this idea that NATO members need to pay their fair share.
That's something that Donald Trump talked about a lot during his first time.
This time around, first time rather, this time around he wants to increase the two percent threshold of GDP to five percent. Is that something that
Donald Trump can actually have some success in forcing their hand on, do you think?
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, NATO allies had agreed on the two percent investment of their GDP into defense at a NATO summit
years ago. But the U.S. can pressure the other NATO allies, just with the threat of paying less overall or in some manner, shape or form, withdrawing
some sort of U.S. support. We saw in the last Trump administration, he lowered the number of troops that were based in Europe.
So the thing with this overall speech, there were some moments of praise for anyone who was perceived as being pro-Trump, whether it was the state
of Louisiana or the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. But there were also threats just about for everyone, including the crown prince, essentially
saying, yes, you've promised us several hundred million dollars. You should do a trillion in investment in the U.S. And why didn't you lower the oil
prices? And, oh, Russia, you should be stopping the war in Ukraine.
And without mentioning Russia, when he talked about lowering oil prices to end the war in Ukraine, that was an implicit threat to starve Russia out
because it relies on its oil sales.
It was really sort of a mafia don speech, and the world better sit up and take notice, because if they don't, he's going to bring U.S. resources to
bear on them, including on members of NATO.
ASHER: I think what's really interesting is how Donald Trump's relationship with Vladimir Putin is going to be very different this time around compared
to what we saw during his first term, because obviously, as you touched on, there were a number of sort of veil threats.
I mean, obviously, he's talking about NATO members not just paying their fair share, but raising the amount that they pay to five percent of GDP.
He's also saying that he wants to meet with Vladimir Putin to end this ridiculous war, talking about sanctions, which he mentioned previously.
Obviously, Russia is heavily sanctioned already, but he talked about adding on more sanctions on top of that. But also this idea that, you know, the
world should sort of lower oil prices, or OPEC should really lower oil prices in order to starve out Russia's war chest.
Vladimir Putin, obviously, watched this today, and he thought what? Just walk us through what you think Vladimir Putin made of this speech by Donald
Trump.
DOZIER: Oh, that is clumsy, but clear. There's a -- there's a carrot and a stick, and the stick is lowering oil prices, which Trump signaled in a
Truth Social post and now in his public remarks that he's going to go after.
And I know that advisors from Trump's last administration were going to present this to him as a plan to give him leverage over Russia, to hit it
in its pocketbook, even more strongly than the Biden administration did with sanctions.
But one of the things you also saw is, there's a degree of respect, sort of talking to equals that he accorded to both Russia and China in these
remarks, ending up in a riff about how he discussed positively with Russia and China denuclearizing or lowering the number of nuclear weapons that all
of them had, which is going to be setting tongues wagging in the Pentagon, I can assure you.
But he is also offering scorn for places that he considers hangers on to the United States. Canada, which he said has a trade deficit, and European
and NATO countries, the EU, which he thinks is bad for business.
[12:10:10]
It's just an astounding sort of, you know, if you're a tough guy like Putin, you have my respect, and we're going to do this like a mafia
negotiation. If you're anybody else, I'm going to sanction you or make your life miserable unless you pay up or do what we think you should do.
ASHER: One of the other topics that came up quite a bit was this issue of clean energy. You know, the E.U., I think about 47 percent, roughly around
half of the E.U.'s energy right now comes from renewables. That is the E.U.'s electricity comes from renewable energy.
Obviously, Donald Trump is moving in a very different direction in terms of moving out or pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord. Also on top of that,
you know, moving much more towards fossil fuels, this idea of drill, baby, drill. Also pledging to revoke Biden-era incentives for electric vehicles,
talking about cheaper gas prices as well.
The two economies between the E.U. and the U.S., they're moving in very different directions. What does that mean for international --
DOZIER: Yes.
ASHER: -- climate diplomacy do you think, Kimberly?
DOZIER: E.U. officials have been bracing for this. They predicted that he was going to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords again. And they're going
to have to look to other countries.
You can see that there's already repositioning among some E.U. members reopening discussions with China about this kind of investment. The Dutch
government just made overtures. And others that I've spoken to predict that, whereas the Biden administration had convinced E.U. members to start
giving China the cold shoulder and using its economic might to get China to cleave to social norms, this time around for economic survival, the E.U.
faced with massive tariffs is going to have to do business deals to survive. And that includes trying to find ways to save climate change.
The one coda with that, you know, Elon Musk is on record in public comments, including to a forum in Israel, that he thinks renewable energy
is the wave of the future and it makes the most economic sense.
So I keep waiting to see when he's going to get Trump's ear and we're going to start seeing some sort of shift on that.
ASHER: Yes. There are a couple of areas in which Donald Trump and Elon Musk, obviously very close. But they do have different perspectives,
especially when it comes to AI. Obviously, President Trump announced that $500 billion AI investment. Elon Musk had a few questions about that.
DOZIER: Yes.
ASHER: And then when it comes to clean energy as well.
Just in terms of, you know, this sort of Donald Trump 2.0, a lot of people are essentially saying that we appear to be seeing a much more aggressive
Donald Trump this time around.
What stood out to you, if anything, from this speech at Davos?
DOZIER: Well, some things are the same and that once again, he led with all the things that he thinks are his accomplishments, including mostly
domestically, presenting himself as not just the choice and in a sense a savior of the U.S., but also presenting himself as therefore the inevitable
choice to do the same thing globally.
That is not going to go over well with some people in that audience. Though they learned from the last time, you praise him in public and you criticize
him privately and hope he doesn't hear about it. And you emphasized to him, I've had your leaders tell me, one of the things they did last time around
is spend all their time praising whatever he's said and showing how much they've lifted themselves up financially by their own bootstraps so that he
doesn't see them as hangers on who are just taking U.S. money and business and not paying their fair share.
ASHER: All right. Kimberly Dozier, always good to see you. Thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.
All right. Still to come here on CNN, tens of thousands of people are facing evacuation orders right now in Southern California as crews race to
contain two new fires in the L.A. area.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:15:58]
ASHER: As you may recall from the U.S. presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised he would end the war in Ukraine on day one. That didn't happen,
but he did talk about the war in his speech at Davos.
Trump suggested Saudi Arabia and OPEC are at fault for keeping oil prices high and fueling the Russian economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately. Right now, the price is high enough that war will continue.
You got to bring down the oil price. You got to end that war. They should have done it long ago. They're very responsible, actually, to a certain
extent for what's taking place. Millions of lives are being lost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: As for Russia, even before the speech, Moscow was saying that Trump's proposals of new sanctions and pressure would do little to alter
the course of the war.
And earlier this week, Ukraine's president sought to remind attendees at the Davos Forum that Russia is closer than they think.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: There is no ocean separating European countries from Russia. And the European leaders should remember
these battles involving North Korean soldiers are now happening in places geographically closer to Davos than to Pyongyang.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: With more on Russia and Ukraine, we're joined live now by Alexander Gabuev. He's the Director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and has
written extensively about Russia's relationship with its neighbors. Sasha, thank you so much for being with us.
This time around, obviously, the Trump presidency is only a few days old, but this time around, he seems to have adopted a much more aggressive
stance towards Putin and Russia compared to what we saw in his first term.
Just explain to us what's changed in the past four years.
ALEXANDER GABUEV, DIRECTOR, CARNEGIE RUSSIA EURASIA CENTER: Thanks, Zain. I think that it's something to be expected. This time around, he comes not
with the agenda just to improve or build a relationship with Putin, but to end the war. He promised to end the hostilities and do that rather swiftly.
Twenty-four hours that he pledged on the campaign trail have now turned into six or more months.
But from the activity by Trump himself and the Trump universe, it's clear that he definitely will give it a shot and then we'll see where we'll land.
ASHER: In terms of his solutions to end this war, I mean, obviously he's talked about sanctions -- additional sanctions against Russia. Obviously
Russia is, of course, heavily sanctioned already. He's talked about sanctions (TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES) to us the relationship between those two
things, the relationship between high oil prices and Vladimir Putin's ability to sustain this war.
GABUEV: Russian economy is heavily embattled and it has survived a sanction tsunami since 2022 when it invaded Ukraine and then the West, and the
previous Biden administration have orchestrated the global sanctions campaign.
[12:20:01]
Despite that, the economy has proven to be pretty resilient. Last year, Russian economy has grown 3.7 percent. That's much higher than any European
economy. This is not to say that problems are not mounting, like there are dark clouds that gather over the Russian economy over the longer run.
The interest, for example, is 21 percent, that doesn't signal a very robust health economy. Credit is inaccessible to multiple businesses.
And with the mounting sanctioned pressure, the flow of cash to the war chest is dwindling over time. But Putin is well supplied to finance his
war, at least throughout this year in '25 and maybe even in '26.
To bring down the oil price is a goal that will require a lot of time because the oil price is a function of longer term investment decisions by
oil companies.
And, by the way, you should also ask the U.S. oil industry, all of the shale producers, whether they can live with a level of $50 U.S. a barrel
that Trump pledges will end the war swiftly.
So even if Trump wants to bring the price down, it will not happen automatically by next week. And then throughout this year, Russia has
resources to continue the war. And it is war of attrition is a competition between Russia and Ukraine who has more resources.
And for now, it looks like Putin is better supplied than President Zelenskyy.
ASHER: Although one of the things that President Trump talked about is, yes, of course, he wants to meet with Putin to end this, quote-unquote,
ridiculous war, but he also said that Zelenskyy is ready. That he's ready to end this war.
Just explain to us how ready the Ukrainians really are to end this war, especially if it means ceding territory.
GABUEV: I think that President Zelenskyy has not been publicly vetted to any formula and he wants to be in the room where the negotiations are
conducted. The nightmare scenario for the Ukrainian leadership is where Trump negotiates with Putin, they arrive at some form of agreement and then
this agreement is imposed on Ukraine. So that's where President Zelenskyy is, for understandable reason, very active and even aggressive in saying
that the U.S. cannot afford to lose this war. Trump wants to be strong. He doesn't want to have his Afghanistan like the messy withdrawal of U.S.
troops from Afghanistan under Joe Biden.
But as far as it comes to the ultimate solution, it's unclear what will be tolerable for Ukrainian society, probably pledging not to return the
occupied lands by the force in any foreseeable future, is something that the society is ready to accept.
All the polling done by, for example, Carnegie Endowment shows that the Ukrainians are realistic and clear-eyed that the territories are not going
back anytime soon.
The crux of the issue for them are security guarantees, the guarantees that the Russians will not use the time to rearm, regroup, and come back. And I
think that's the most difficult task for policymakers in Washington, D.C., and Western capitals on how to ensure that the war doesn't recur a couple
of years after Vladimir Putin has polished his war machine and is ready to go again.
ASHER: Yes. And that's one thing that a lot of people have criticized Trump for not touching on much, this idea of security guarantees for Ukraine to
make sure that, as you say, that Vladimir Putin doesn't just sort of regroup and then come back again.
Sasha Gabuev, live for us there. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.
All right. Now to California, where exhausted firefighters are battling two new blazes north of Los Angeles. The fast-moving Hughes fire ignited
Wednesday, forced thousands of evacuations. It's burned more than 10,000 acres or some 4,000 hectares and is about 14 percent contained.
And a separate brush fire -- brush fire near Interstate 405 in L.A. ignited just hours after the Hughes fire. But a bit of good news there. Fire crews
say they've been able to get a handle on it and stop it from spreading.
CNN's Natasha Chen is joining us live now from L.A. County. Natasha, I see you there. You've got your mask on. You and I spoke earlier that the air is
a little bit better, but obviously there are parts of L.A. that still sadly of course smell like an ashtray.
Just explain to us what you're seeing on the ground.
NATASHA CHEN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Zain. We are at the Hughes fire in Castaic about an hour north of the city of Los Angeles. And
because we are so close to the burned areas, it does still smell very strong here.
What we are seeing here in Castaic is just a little bit of hot spots around. And we've actually been seeing in the last few minutes, a couple of
aircraft flying back and forth, dipping into this supply of water here. We're actually right by a lake, so that's very helpful for them. And they
have been flying over that spot just to try and put that out.
[12:25:11]
But overall, you said there was good news about that fire on -- by Sepulveda. This here in Castaic, we are also seeing good news because the
winds definitely played in their favor yesterday overnight as well, so that it could stay away from the populated residential areas. And that is why up
until this point, we have not heard reports of any structural damage or destruction, no injuries either. That's very good news.
This in comparison to the utter devastation of the palisades and Eaton fires just a couple of weeks ago. Here's what the chief -- battalion chief
told us about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENT PASCUA, CAL FIRE BATTALION CHIEF: In comparison to the Palisades fire, those first two days on the Palisades fire, we were just trying to
get people out of the way. This fire, we did have Santa Ana winds, but not as bad. So we were able to fly aircraft. We were able to get our resources
in and amongst the communities to protect the structures, make sure the people got out safe.
But we were -- but we were also able to fight the fire and gain ground on the fire by using our aircraft, by using our ground resources.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: And they had so many resources already from different states, from Canada, here for those fires that they were able to very quickly and
aggressively attack this one in Castaic. So that is the benefit of having everyone already here.
We are also seeing that the winds could pick up today. There's another aircraft making a drop right behind us. The winds could pick up today and
that is a little bit dangerous still.
The one thing that is also on the horizon is possible rain coming this weekend, which is good news for fires, but bad news in terms of potential
landslides where these burn scars are. So there are actually crews coming down from the northern part of the state right now, trying to shore up
those areas and divert possible mud debris from flowing right into people's homes. That is what we're looking out for in the coming days.
ASHER: All right. Natasha Chen, thank you so much for covering that for us.
All right. Still to come, it is the speech that the world was waiting to hear and Davos was all ears. Donald Trump's message to the world, economic
forum, touched on oil, Ukraine, NATO tariffs and much more. We'll have details for you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:09]
ASHER: All right. Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Zain Asher.
More now on our top story. U.S. President Donald Trump has just spoken to the World Economic Forum in Davos. His address was carried by VideoLink.
And it covered a lot of topics, including Russia's war in Ukraine. Mr. Trump says he wants to meet with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin soon.
CNN's Daniel Dale joins us live now from Washington, D.C. So, Daniel, just walk us through what we know for sure about the statements that Donald
Trump made that were outright untrue, but also the pledges that the president made that he doesn't necessarily have the power to execute.
DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Sure. So he repeated this claim we hear over and over from him that foreign countries would pay the tariffs he
plans to impose on imported foreign products. We know that is not true. It is American importers who pay the tariffs imposed by the American
government.
And we know from living in the world and from academic study after study that those importers often pass on the cost to U.S. consumers, average
Americans.
He also made a host of other false statements, some of them I guess you could call exaggerations, but they were wrong on the subject of trade.
And then on the subject of his powers, he again went far beyond his remit, although I guess, you know, the president is the most powerful person in
the world. However, he said things like, the number of transgender surgeries will decline under my presidency. And I think a lot of people are
scratching their heads about statements like that, asking how. He didn't explain. I guess it's possible, but we just -- we just don't know.
ASHER: And just in terms of Canada coming up a few times. And obviously, he talked about this idea of Canada becoming the 51st state, but also this
idea as well of the 25 percent tariffs.
Just walk us through the size of the deficit between the U.S. and Canada, because there is a lot of discrepancy in terms of what Donald Trump is
claiming.
DALE: There is. He habitually exaggerates this number. So he said, it's not fair that we have a deficit with Canada of $200 billion to $250 billion.
Well, good news, that's not the deficit. The latest number for 2023 was a $41 billion deficit in goods and services. Even if you only count goods, it
was about $72 billion.
And he does not mention that the overwhelming reason for that deficit, in fact, basically the entirety of the deficit is because of U.S. imports of
cheap Canadian heavy crude oil that help keep Americans' gas prices down.
He also made a false claim that he habitually makes about the European Union, saying the E.U. doesn't take our farm products. In fact, the E.U. is
the fourth largest export market for U.S. agricultural products. Accepts about $12 billion per year.
So certainly some trade barriers there, but the categorical statement, they don't take our firm products, just not true.
ASHER: Daniel Dale, live for us there. Thank you so much.
The new U.S. president also has been talking tariffs again. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: My message to every business in the world is very simple. Come make your product in America, and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any
nation on earth. We're bringing them down very substantially, even from the original Trump tax cuts.
But if you don't make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then very simply you will have to pay a tariff, differing amounts, but a
tariff which will direct hundreds of billions of dollars and even trillions of dollars into our treasury to strengthen our economy and pay down debt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: And checking the stock markets now, the major European indices close the day slightly higher. Wall Street is still trading and is a little bit
mixed.
Time now for The Exchange and my conversation with Catherine Rampell. She's a CNN, economics and political commentator and an opinion columnist at "The
Washington Post." She joins us live now from New York.
So, Catherine, let's just start by getting your overall opinion. Obviously, one of the sort of economic issues that came up a bunch, as we would have
expected, is this idea of tariffs. Tariffs at Canada and the E.U. Give us your take on what the President said.
[12:35:07]
CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The president again threatened to tariff, not only countries with which we have somewhat,
let's say adversarial relationships, but some of our closest allies and trading partners. You mentioned Canada, you mentioned the E.U. Trump, of
course, has also threatened tariffs on Mexico and a number of other very important trading partners to the U.S. not only because we import things
from them, but we also export a lot of goods and services to these markets.
Now, what would be the consequence of those threatened tariffs if he carries them out? As Daniel mentioned, they are likely to result in higher
costs for consumers. Depending on what the actual tariff plan would be, that might be somewhere around $1,700 in additional taxes, because tariffs
are taxes, for the typical American household, if he carries through on his main threat that he advertised during the campaign.
But it would also likely lead to retaliation against American exporters, because all of those countries, Canada, the E.U., Mexico, China, they're
not just going to sit idly by and watch Trump impose tariffs on their products.
Just as we saw last time, they are likely to embrace tit for tat tariffs, focusing their own duties on probably more politically sensitive goods in
the United States, think orange juice from Florida, peanut butter from Kentucky, you know, places where they're important, either red states or
purple states that Trump needs to keep on side.
And that's going to hurt the exporters in those -- in those places and potentially lead to, you know, sort of these cascading trade wars around
the world. That would be the very worst scenario, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility.
We've seen it happen before. You look at the early years of the Great Depression, the United States kicked off a series of global trade wars then
that worsened economic outcomes, not only in the U.S., but around the world. And it sure looks like Trump did not learn the lessons from that
era.
ASHER: And, obviously, Donald Trump is promising to bring down inflation in this country. Just explain to us how the math and how that calculation
works, especially if he's using tariffs to pay for corporate tax cuts.
RAMPELL: Yes. So this would not be helpful to say the very least. That's an understatement. Tariffs, again, will at least partly be passed along to
American consumers in the form of higher prices.
We saw that last time when his tariffs then seemed extreme, but by contrast were much more -- much more targeted, I guess, because it was on a
relatively finite selection of goods. For example, washing machines and inputs like steel and aluminum.
But in those markets, we did definitely see prices go up. We would see that happen again in the United States, at the very least a one-time price
increase. And then the real question is, does that one-time price increase potentially feed into expectations about what happens to inflation going
forward? Do people start to see prices creep up and then in anticipation of further price increases kind of create a self-fulfilling prophecy?
That is companies start preemptively raising their prices in contracts and in their -- in their, you know, how they're quoting potential customers. Do
workers end up demanding much higher pay to compensate for those kinds of price increases they're seeing at the grocery store or at the big box
store, et cetera? And that's where you could get into a really bad situation where it feeds into trend inflation.
At the very least, you're likely to see a one-time increase in prices though.
ASHER: And so when it comes to Canada, specifically, this idea of 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods. Just explain to us how that will impact
Canada specifically, especially because Canada depends on the U.S. as a trading partner much more than vice versa.
I mean, obviously, when you think about Canada's population, it's about 40 million people. That's about 12 percent the size of the U.S.
RAMPELL: Yes. So Canada, as you point out, population wise, is much smaller than the United States. And its economy is very integrated with our own
here in the U.S. So this would certainly hurt a lot of industries that depend on cross border trade. I'm thinking things like the auto industry,
very integrated across North America.
In fact, we have a lot of trade of parts going back and forth, auto parts going back and forth across the Mexican border, but also across the
Canadian border. So that would be very damaging to the domestic auto industry here in the United States, but also the integrated parts of the
supply chain that are in Canada, just as one example.
[12:40:59]
There is also a lot of oil, you know, various levels of petroleum products in terms of their stages of refinement that crosses borders between the
U.S. and with Canada.
So not only would that potentially hurt the Canadian suppliers and refiners and others in that supply chain, but of course would also affect American
consumers in the form of higher prices at the pump, particularly in the Midwest, where a lot of the petroleum that is purchased there comes from a
process that takes place in Canada.
So again, there's going to be hurt all around, not just in the U.S. and all these other places. Trump has characterized all of this, of course, as
being only about visiting pain upon our trading partners, but that's not how it would work out.
ASHER: All right. Catherine Rampell, live for us there. Always good to see you. Thank you so much.
We'll have much more news after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: More than three years after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, the nation's landscape appears to be drastically different. Women and girls are
systematically being erased from public life, suffering extreme repression and facing a never-ending series of restrictions.
But now, there may be a glimmer of hope. The International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders for alleged gender-based
crimes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARIM KHAN, ICC PROSECUTOR: My office has concluded that these two Afghan nationals are criminally responsible for persecuting Afghan girls and
women, as well as persons whom the Taliban perceived are not conforming with their ideological expectations of gender identity or expression.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: As Donald Trump's first known conversation with a foreign leader since taking office, the U.S. president spoke with Saudi Crown Prince,
Mohammed bin Salman, Wednesday amid a complex moment in the Middle East with a days-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
During the call, the prince outlined the kingdom's plans to expand investments in trade with the U.S. by $600 billion over the next four
years.
Moments ago, the president said, he will ask Saudi Arabia for more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's also reported today in the papers that Saudi Arabia will be investing at least $600 billion in America, but I'll be asking the crown
prince, who's a fantastic guy, to round it out to around one trillion. I think they'll do that because we've been very good to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:45:05]
ASHER: You may recall that Saudi Arabia was President Trump's first stop abroad during his first term.
Israel is stepping up its operation in the occupied West Bank, days into a fragile ceasefire in Gaza. The Israeli army says its forces have killed two
Palestinian men suspected in a fatal shooting attack there earlier this month.
While the operation is focused on the city of Jenin, soldiers have put up roadblocks across the West Bank. There are now 900 military checkpoints
there.
Israel's defense minister says, the operation was launched to ensure terrorism does not return to the area. The Palestinian Authority says that
Israel wants to replicate its 15-month offensive in Gaza.
One of the first Palestinian prisoners released as part of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal is speaking out about her ordeal in Israeli
custody. The journalist and mother was jailed for a social media post back in March 2024.
CNN's Nada Bashir has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Little Elia is still adjusting to finally having her mother back home. Rula Hassanein, a Palestinian
journalist from the occupied West Bank, was arrested by Israeli security forces when her daughter was just 9 months old.
Now, after 10 months in detention, she is among the first Palestinian prisoners to be freed as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
BASHIR (voice-over): This was the moment Rula was reunited with her daughter and husband last week.
Having suffered from health complications in the first few months of life, Rula says it was a relief to see her daughter doing well after almost a
year of agonizing separation.
But Rula herself has also been through unimaginable suffering while in detention.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
BASHIR (voice-over): Rula says that the day she and 89 other prisoners were transferred for release as part of the ceasefire deal, they were subjected
to hours of psychological and physical abuse.
She recalls that they were pushed down to their knees, dragged across the ground while handcuffed and dressed only in thin layers while out in the
cold. They were then made to watch hours of Israeli propaganda video before being released.
But like so many other Palestinians in Israeli jails, abuse and harassment had become a daily occurrence for Rula.
BASHIR: What were the conditions like inside the prison?
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
BASHIR (voice-over): The Israeli prison service has told CNN that they are not aware of any such claims, but the harsh conditions faced by
Palestinians in Israeli jails has been widely documented.
In a report published in July 2024, the U.N. Human Rights Office said Palestinian detainees are subjected to systematic beatings, humiliation and
threats, in addition to severe restrictions on food, water, and essential hygiene products.
Like many Palestinians, Rula was tried before a military court rather than a civil court. And later charged with incitement on social media over posts
shared where she had expressed frustration over the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
BASHIR (voice-over): For Rula, it is impossible to forget the suffering that she and other Palestinian detainees have been forced to endure. But,
she says, her focus now is on enjoying each moment with her daughter and husband.
[12:50:01]
Nada Bashir, CNN, in Bethlehem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: One of the biggest days of the year in Hollywood produced a few big surprises actually. Oscar nominations were announced earlier today in a
ceremony that had been delayed several days because of the impact of the L.A. wildfires.
Here's a list of the best picture nominees. The Netflix film, "Emilia Perez," leads the way with 13 total nominations, while "Wicked" and "The
Brutalist" each got 10. For "Emilia Perez" and "Wicked," it marks the first time two musicals have actually been nominated for best picture since 1968.
One of the most interesting races will come in Best Actress where Karla Sofia Gascon is the first ever trans woman to be nominated. Golden Globe
winner Demi Moore is also in that category as well, getting the first Oscar nomination of her long acting career. And we will find out all the winners
on March 2nd.
All right. Hundreds of same-sex couples are getting married in Thailand as the country becomes the first in Southeast Asia to recognize marriage
equality with full legal, financial and other rights.
The landmark bill was passed by Thailand's parliament and endorsed by the king last year. The (INAUDIBLE) took effect Thursday. CNN's Mike Valerio
has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A moment of pure elation. Marriage equality in Thailand a milestone years in the
making.
On Thursday, Bangkok police Sergeant, Major Pisit Sirihiranchai and his husband, Chanathip, along with hundreds of other same-sex couples, tied the
knot across the country.
PISIT SIRIHIRANCHAI, BANGKOK POLICE SERGEANT MAJOR (through translator): I feel so excited. It's the happiest day of my life. We could finally do what
we've been wanting to do for a long time. We are now a complete family. There's finally a law accommodating our relationship.
VALERIO (voice-over): Thailand is now the third place across Asia to legalize same-sex marriages, joining Nepal and Taiwan.
Thailand's parliament passed the country's marriage equality bill last year. An occasion marked with joy and fanfare.
Now that it's in effect, the country's LGBTQ couples can adopt, inherit property, and make healthcare decisions for their partners, like straight
couples have done for generations.
After 30 years of being together, Concord Memoon (ph) and Ponkchakom Wongsupa say they are both overjoyed.
PONKCHAKOM WONGSUPA, LGBTQ SOUSE (through translator): People here would have similar feelings. They may even be happier. For people at my age, I
could never imagine to see this kind of atmosphere in our lifetime, but it did happen.
[12:55:02]
VALERIO: For many in the LGBTQ community, the next priority is asking the Thai government to recognize transgender people. And that includes Nina
Chetniphat Chuadkhunthod who just married her boyfriend of more than two decades.
She says, for now, they are simply appreciating the start of this extraordinary chapter.
NINA CHETNIPHAT CHUADKHUNTHOD, LGBTQ SPOUSE (through translator): You know, we were waiting for this moment for the entire 22 years. It's just
indescribable.
NATHNICHA KLNTHAWORN, LGBTQ SPOUSE (through translator): The most important thing is that love is beautiful, regardless of gender. No matter what
gender someone identifies as, love is beautiful. Everyone wants to experience good love, so I hope people stop limiting love to just men and
women.
VALERIO (voice-over): For these couples, a historic occasion, the start of a whole host of happily ever afters.
Mike Valerio, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. That does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching. "AMANPOUR" is up next. You're watching CNN.
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[13:00:00]
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