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One World with Zain Asher
CNN International: EU Trade Chief To Meet U.S. Counterparts In Washington; Trump Team Gives Mixed Messages On Tariff Exemptions; Trump On Tariffs: No One Is "Getting Off The Hook". Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired April 14, 2025 - 11:00 ET
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[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, HOST, "ONE WORLD": A key ally in President Trump's immigration crackdown gets a White House visit today.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, HOST, "ONE WORLD": One World starts right now.
The President of El Salvador is expected to visit the White House this hour. All this as the Trump administration has already sent hundreds of
migrants to a notorious Salvadoran prison.
ASHER: Plus, tariff exemptions, market swims, and policy shifts. We'll be joined by Democratic Congressman Don Beyer to discuss Trump's tariff
whiplash.
GOLODRYGA: And some of Earth's biggest female stars embarked on a space launch like no other.
All right. Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. You are watching One World.
One of Donald Trump's top allies on the world stage is coming to the White House at any moment now.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. We are standing by for President Trump to meet with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. The two men have formed a warm
relationship over Trump's deportation push. Now, over the weekend, the U.S. deported 10 more men to El Salvador, the latest in the hundreds who have
been removed from allegedly being gang members and criminals. Lawyers and family members of some of those men argue that they are innocent and didn't
receive due process.
ASHER: Much attention has been focused on the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who the U.S. admits it deported by mistake. The
Trump administration now says it does not have to work with El Salvador to return him, a decision that appears to defy a ruling just days ago by the
U.S. Supreme Court.
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Gustavo Valdes is tracking this story for us. And Gustavo, as we noted, these two leaders have developed quite a bond over this
particular issue, and the Supreme Court ultimately weighing in last week, saying that it is up to this administration to facilitate and effectuate
the return of this one specific detainee there, but the administration not confirming or denying what exactly they're going to do in response. Just
talk to us about how much to anticipate out of this meeting.
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, I think it is up to the White House to make the request. Right? If they send the prisoners, they can request
one of them to be freed, to be returned, but it's up to the White House. I don't see a scenario where President Bukele comes to the White House and
says, by the way, we're going to release this man, because the U.S. Supreme Court said that we have to do so. This is a White House issue that is up to
them to make the request.
But, I think that what we are going to see is two presidents who can look at the cameras and say, we are doing what we promised we would do, and we
will continue to do so, regardless of the controversy. We know that Donald Trump sees in Nayib Bukele and this prison in El Salvador as a way to
fulfill his promise to protect the border, to get rid of those elements they considered are criminals in the United States, and they will continue
to do so as long as President Bukele receives them, right? We know that is controversial in the United States, but that is part of his platform.
On the side of Nayib Bukele, he is also coming here kind of like a little bit of validation to his actions that have been controversial. He is widely
popular in El Salvador. The country is a lot safer than it was when he took office seven years ago. There has been a lot of controversy around the
human rights, also the way he won reelection, but he won reelection with a wide margin of the vote. So, his policies in his country are popular. Some
other countries are debating if they need to be duplicated in the area, not only for safety, but also to avoid people migrating to the United States.
So, we're going to see two presidents again talking about issues that are important to them and is being showcased around the world.
ASHER: And we actually now know that the U.S. State Department actually changed its travel advisory to El Salvador to level one, essentially
indicating that it is a much safer place to travel than other parts of Latin America. Just explain to us what are some of the perks for Bukele in
this sort of close alliance and relationship with the Trump administration.
VALDES: So, for El Salvador, for Bukele, in particular, Zain, his policies are working. And you talk to Salvadorians. They're going to tell you that
they're happy with the changes. They can go out and they don't fear.
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In fact, they say that now they feel empowered that in the rare occasions, they say now, when somebody is being robbed or a business is trying to be -
- somebody comes and try to ask for money in exchange for protection, they feel empowered to record the moment. They tag the police. The police is
going to do an effort to find the person, and then later that person might be detained. Now, the problem is that they say that many of those people
now, perhaps, are being charged or overcharged and placed in detention without due process in El Salvador. The government says that, well, if a
person is innocent, eventually a judge is going to make the determination, and they're going to be freed. But, in the meantime, the country is safer.
Now, if we think a little bit on the other side is that the migrants, especially from El Salvador, that have come to the United States over the
years, have said that they're migrating because they fear the dangerous conditions in their country. If the United States is saying that El
Salvador is a safe country, all those arguments are going to be erased for thousands of people who have been basing their asylum requests in the
United States on the conditions in El Salvador. Financially, economically, the country is also doing a little better. So, that argument, which, by the
way, technically, is not a basis for asylum in the United States or other countries, that is being erased.
So it's making it difficult for the migrants to not only come to the United States, but perhaps eliminate the need for those who have temporary
protective status, which is a status that immigration gives to certain people in certain countries for certain conditions, that -- those
conditions will no longer be in place. So, it will be harder for activists and migrants to defend when -- if the government of the United States
decides to eliminate the TPS for El Salvador. Also they can say, well, if a migrant crossed through El Salvador in their way to the United States, they
will say, well, Salvador is a safe country. You could have stayed there. You didn't have to come all the way to the United States. So, it could have
other repercussions.
GOLODRYGA: And it's interesting in the case, specifically about Abrego Garcia, that President Trump has said that he will abide by whatever the
Supreme Court decides, and yet his Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, continues to stand by the White House decision to deport him to El
Salvador, citing just a technicality, but now saying that it is up to El Salvador as to how to handle the process for their own citizens.
And I want to bring in our Alayna Treene, because Alayna, I know that you had actually spoken with Stephen Miller about this very issue, and they
appear to be digging their heels in, not just in terms of Abrego Garcia, but also sending more and more detainees to El Salvador.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. That's been a key question, Bianna, is how many migrants, undocumented migrants, in the United States
that they want El Salvador to accept, particularly, of course, as we're really seeing El Salvador become the country that this administration is
focusing on, to try and accept what they argue are gang members or violent criminals, and for the reasoning for their deportation.
Now, I asked Stephen Miller, is there a limit? Is there a number of people that you are going to ask El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele today to
accept? Listen to what his answer was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: Well, as an example, there are thousands of either Tren de Aragua members left in this country
or their affiliates and associates. So, obviously, some portion of those will be going to El Salvador as part of our effort to eradicate this
foreign terrorist organization from the United States. There is no upper limit to the agreement. We're going to continue to send foreign terrorist
aliens to El Salvador, as well as to many other countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: So, as you heard, Stephen Miller, the President's Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, he is saying that there is no upper limit to the number
of people they will be sending to El Salvador. All to say, this move by El Salvador's President Bukele is really what has solidified himself as one of
President Donald Trump's closest allies now. I mean, he has really worked himself into kind of this upper echelon of people that the President views
as being very close to the United States and as someone who is actually doing the United States a favor. So, of course, we're going to see that
kind of be part of the setting for today's meeting.
I think notable, of course, as well, as many relationships the United States has with other allies abroad are strained right now due to the trade
wars and other spending battles that we've seen kind of take place during the first few weeks of this Trump administration. All to say, I think it's
going to be a very significant meeting.
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And I heard you touch on this earlier, but one of the biggest questions, of course, is really, what is the fate of that Maryland man who a Trump
attorney himself had said was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and put in an El Salvador prison? I think that's the key part of this.
Now, Miller also addressed that when reporters were asking him about this, this morning, and he said essentially that he did not believe that the man
was mistakenly deported, even though, of course, we know the Supreme Court ruled just last week that this administration needs to facilitate his
return, Abrego Garcia, of course, as you were mentioning earlier, all to say a lot of questions of whether or not that's going to be central to this
meeting today, if we'll get any answers on whether or not Bukele plans to return the man to the United States, but definitely something top of mind,
of course, not only for this person's family, but for many people in the United States who have been following that case closely, and also
particularly after that Supreme Court ruling.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. And as we noted, Stephen Miller doubling down, saying that this was one incorrect line of a legal filing, and that that lawyer has
since been removed, but goes on to say, Garcia is El Salvadorian. He is an illegal alien. He was deported to El Salvador. I would welcome anyone here
to tell me what country they think we should be sending El Salvador illegal aliens to, really sort of defying the language that we saw come out of the
Supreme Court saying that this administration should do everything they can to bring him back.
Alayna Treene at the White House for us. Thank you so much.
Well, global stock markets are up despite more confusion stemming from President Trump's chaotic tariff strategy. The rally comes after news over
the weekend that electronics like computers and smartphones are exempt from steep U.S. tariffs on imports from China.
ASHER: Asian markets, meantime, closed up in trading today, led by Hong Kong's Hang Seng, which was nearly 2.5 percent up. European markets also,
let's see here, trading much higher as well. And right now, let's see where U.S. markets are. There we have it, all in the green. The Dow is up by
almost 400 points.
Well, the Trump administration officials insist that the reprieve for electronic imports is only temporary, saying that separate tariffs are
coming on semiconductors. Trump wrote on Truth Social, quote, ""Nobody is getting off the hook for unfair trade balances, especially not China, which
by far treats us the worst."
GOLODRYGA: Now, this is interesting because it comes as China's leader Xi Jinping is in Southeast Asia now to strengthen ties with Vietnam, Cambodia
and Malaysia, and EU trade negotiators, meantime, are in Washington to talk trade deals.
ASHER: Yeah. Let's bring in on Nic Robertson, joining us live now from London. So, Nic, we had a lot of whiplash here in the U.S. over the
weekend. On the one hand, we heard from the White House that there would be exemptions on electronics. Then we were told that actually those exemptions
are only temporary. Then we were told that semiconductors would actually be subject to different tariffs under a national security investigation. We
know that EU trade negotiators are heading to Washington. How did they begin to negotiate under this kind of environment, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. I think what Maros Sefcovic, the Trade Commissioner, coming over from the European
Union, sitting down with Howard Lutnick later today in Washington, is really going to want to find out precisely what the United States wants
from Europe. I think the European Union, at the moment, feels unclear where all this is going, and Sefcovic will not only be worried about this now
coming soon additional tariffs on semiconductors and chips, not only because they're used in in vehicle manufacturing in the European Union,
which is important to the European Union.
But, it also -- we've heard those comments over the weekend that the pharmaceutical industry could be coming for tariffs in the next few days.
And of course, that's a concern for the European Union. Ireland gets a lot of its economic income from sales of pharmaceuticals to the United States,
but Sefcovic's message is going to be this. Look, we are your massive trading partner, your biggest trading partner. We've been open for
discussion about tariffs since you first started -- towards since President Trump first sort of put these 25 percent tariffs on aluminum and steel back
in February. Then there was the vehicle tariffs in March that came along. The European Union is still considering what to do about those, as well as
the other 10 percent now, 10 percent, it was 20 percent tariffs, confusing, right, for everyone involved.
Sefcovic's message is, we're here to talk. We want to talk with you about this. In fact, you'll point back to just last week when the European
Commission President said, OK, we've decided how we're going to respond to those 25 percent tariffs on aluminum and steel. It's going to be towards
about $21 billion worth of goods. But, like the U.S. now, when President Trump announced his pause, the European Union paused its response.
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So, Sefcovic is going to try to get an idea of European leaders here about the possibility of buying more liquid natural gas from the United States,
LNG. OK. So, the question will be, how much? What's the plan? Let's discuss that. So, I think that's why Sefcovic will be the direction he will be
going in.
And I think the other thing that the European Union will have on its mind, not just figuring out how to deal with this particular White House, but
also sending a message to all the other countries it trades with that it, unlike the United States, at the moment, is a reliable, stable trading
partner that's not doing whiplash tariffs. They're just trying to be careful and considered in the way that they've been so far with their
response to the U.S. tariffs.
ASHER: All right. Nic Robertson live for us there. Thank you.
All right. Let's bring in Democratic Congressman Don Beyer. He is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Congressman, thank you so much for
being with us. I want to start by playing our audience some sound, just in terms of really showing you the chaotic messaging around tariffs that we
got this weekend. Let's play the sound from Navarro, Lutnick, and Greer. Let's roll it, and then I'll talk to you on the back of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER NAVARRO, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR COUNSELOR FOR TRADE & MANUFACTURING: The policy is no exemptions, no exclusions. The policy --
KRISTEN WELKER, HOST, NBC NEWS: But there were exclusions.
NAVARRO: -- is in effect. There were not exclusions.
HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: What he is doing is he is saying they're exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, but they're included in the
semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two.
JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: What happened is, it's not really an exception. That's not even the right word for it. What happened
is, this type of supply chain moved from the tariff regime for the global tariff, the reciprocal tariff, and it moved to the national security tariff
regime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. Congressman, I mean, how do you even plan? If you're a tech company, how on Earth do you begin to plan in that kind of
environment? The market is doing relatively well. It's in the green this morning, and that's because everyone is focused on the fact that there is
this kind of temporary reprieve, and it's probably going to be much better than the 145 percent that we saw last week. But still, for American
companies more broadly, but particularly the tech sector, how on Earth do you begin to navigate this kind of environment?
REP. DON BEYER (D-VA): You throw the dice. It's just chaos. It's the worst possible environment for a business leader to make a sound decision. And
the markers may be back a little bit right now, but they have a long way to go to make up for the crash that's happened in the last couple of weeks.
These tariffs, there is many things I disagree with Donald Trump doing, but the tariffs are the biggest and the stupidest, because they take us from
this extraordinarily strong international position in terms of leadership and finance and GDP growth, and basically alienate all of our friends and
some of our enemies.
GOLODRYGA: And congressman, we also know that China has stepped up too in their response, raising their tariffs to 125 percent, and then over the
weekend, they also cut off their supply of rare earth minerals and magnets to the rest of the world. That will definitely have an impact on the United
States economy. It impacts everything. These components are found in cars, in semiconductors, aerospace, defense industries as well. And I'm wondering
for you, specifically, in Virginia, how is this going to impact the defense sector? I know that it's home to a large submarine manufacturer as well.
Talk to us about what you're hearing economically from your own backyard.
BEYER: Well, it's definitely going to impact the defense sector a great deal. It's also affecting our inflation rate. We've been hovering around
2.5 percent. Now the expectations are up to around four percent, and they're going to go higher. Let's remember that all those imports from
China have served to keep our inflation rate, COVID aside, down by one percent or two percent. And it's just crazy policy. We look at things like
tariffs on Australia, where we have a trade surplus, and on Brazil and on Singapore, or these huge -- basing the trade tariffs on structural
imbalances ignores the fact that the theory of comparative advantage says we should buy vanilla from Madagascar because we don't grow any.
And so, there are so many things that are just crazy out of whack with this tariff policy, and they are not going to help our economic growth at all,
And I'm very suspect that they're going to bring back those low wage, low medium wage manufacturing jobs to America.
ASHER: Yeah. Speaking of it not growing, not helping economic growth in the United States, I mean, when you look at, for example, the bond market, and
you see that the yield for U.S. Treasuries for the 10-year is at 4.5 percent.
[11:20:00]
Obviously, those numbers are rising, and it's moving in the wrong direction. It's very rare that you see stock prices fall, stocks being
sold, and on top of that, bonds being sold, and on top of that, the U.S. dollar getting weaker. A lot of people are saying that there is just this
general aversion to American assets right now, because, aside from the fact that there is a fear of a recession, the whole thing is self-inflicted.
That is the major issue here. What is your biggest concern about what the U.S. economy is going to look like, let's say, six months from now?
BEYER: My greatest concern is that we can see very small to negligent economic growth, that we're not going to bring back the jobs that Trump
promise us, that we have -- for the long term, damaged relationships with our closest trading partners, with the EU, with Canada, with Mexico, lots
of countries around the world, we've undone our financial leadership position, and it makes America weaker in every respect.
ASHER: All right. Congressman Don Beyer live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
BEYER: Thank you very much.
ASHER: All right. Still to come here on One World, we are waiting, an inside look at the White House, where Donald Trump is meeting with the
President of El Salvador, President Bukele. We will bring you that meeting as soon as it happens.
GOLODRYGA: Plus, Blue Origin's supersonic star-studded space flight, a lot of SS (ph) there, we'll recap this morning's historic launch that featured
an all-female crew.
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GOLODRYGA: A historic supersonic moment. Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, just launched its first all-female crew to the edge
of space.
ASHER: Yeah. Six amazing women, including TV News host Gayle King, popstar Katy Perry, were on board. The women traveled three times the speed of
sound, topping 3,500 kilometers per hour, shooting more than 100 kilometers above Earth. After returning to Earth, Gayle King described her voyage as
much more than a mere ride.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gayle King, you are officially an astronaut. How do you feel?
GAYLE KING, CO-HOST, "CBS MORNINGS": I still can't accept that word, but I will say, it's -- I can't even believe what I saw.
[11:25:00]
When somebody calls this a ride, this was not a ride. This was -- what happened to us was not a ride. This was a bona fide freakin flight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: A bona fide freakin flight.
Joining us now from Van Horn, Texas, on the phone is former U.S. Air Force Colonel and retired NASA Astronaut, Cady Coleman. Thank you so much for
joining us. I mean, so few people know what this experience is like. So, having an astronaut like yourself, who I believe has been on two missions
to space, much longer than the 10-minute, 62-mile mission that these women have been on today, you can tell us about what the training is like, and I
guess from just our interest, what you see, what it's like up there.
VOICE OF CADY COLEMAN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, first, I just have to tell you how thrilled I am to be here today. I'm actually in a bus with
about -- I can't even count them, which is a great thing, about 10 women astronauts who have been up on various vehicles, and not including the crew
that went today. And even though it's only 10 minutes, it's such an experience. And I think that they were well trained. You really have to
make sure you can take care of yourself. You can get in and out of your seat. You know what to do in an emergency. And there were several comments,
and I've heard from both sides, how thorough the training is for the crews of just making sure they really know, even when they're a little bit maybe
afraid, a little bit overwhelmed, as all of us would be, that they're ready to do what they need to do.
But, it's -- getting that view and being able to look out like they have and doing it as a team, it's something that I think changed the world today
to have it be so public that it was all women. Everybody is going to see some of themselves in one part of that crew or another.
ASHER: Yeah. These six women are the first all-female space crew in more than 60 years. Just -- I mean, you've explained to us what it's like and a
little bit about the training. But, how does it change a person, and also, how does it change the bond between these women?
VOICE OF COLEMAN: I think you can't undo something like that. We were talking about it. How -- whenever you do something, something really hard,
I call it getting down to your skinny little self, like the part of you that were just you and this part that's apprehensive, and at the same time,
knows that you are (ph) ready. And when you do that, and you do that with other people, it makes a bond that I think you'll always have, even if you
weren't best friends going into it.
GOLODRYGA: One of these incredible women is Aisha Bowe, a former NASA scientist, and I bet she did a lot of hand holding, a lot of explaining in
the weeks of preparation for these women to really get a sense of what this experience was going to be like. So, I'm sure it was reassuring for them to
have someone who is an expert in this field on this voyage with them.
But, in terms of what this means going forward, these types of trips can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars if civilians do decide that they want
to travel to space. Do you foresee a future in the near term where affordability can be something that more Americans, more people on Earth,
can weigh, as they factor whether or not they want this experience as well?
VOICE OF COLEMAN: Well, I do, and having it at the common place is going to take longer. But, I think the fact that today, six very women, very
different from each other, each skilled in different ways, went to space, it actually shows people all over the Earth. I mean, we had three -- they
had three different countries, who represented the U.S., Vietnam and the Bahamas. And showing people that what looks impossible can actually happen
to a person that you might have something in common with, it's such a powerful way to basically get the rest of the world empowered to meet
challenges down here.
People have been asking me like, well, what if -- how many girls will be affected by seeing Taylor Swift go to space? And my comment is, well, it is
not just the girls. Think about how we've just educated the boys as well and the guys as well, and that they understand that this is who they share
a planet with.
ASHER: Yeah. That's a really good point, actually. And just in terms of -- I mean, obviously, you're a former NASA astronaut yourself. Are these women
now technically also astronauts as well?
VOICE OF COLEMAN: They are. There are various definitions, but the one that is predominant is, if you have gone 50 miles above the Earth, then you are
considered an astronaut. And in a technical FAA kind of sense, I think there has been some kind of new ruling about exactly what role you play on
the crew, has to do with safety.
[11:30:00]
But, I -- in my opinion, if you're on a crew and you're ready and you're trained, then you definitely understand safety and you are ready to perform
that for you and your crew. But, for me, it's not about those exact definitions, and that's why I'm here today, really, is that being -- going
to space, there are so few of us that we definitely are a family, all the people who have already gone, and now we've just added six more.
GOLODRYGA: Well, Cady Coleman, as we noted, so few women have done what these six just did. You paved the way. You helped as a trailblazer in this
field. For so many girls watching that dream, one day they too want to travel to space. We thank you, a bona fide astronaut with years of
experience and a lot of education getting you to this place right now. I'm glad you were there to watch this.
Well, we're going to take you now live to the White House where you just saw El Salvadorian President Bukele walk in.
ASHER: Yes. We just saw the back of him. He is having this meeting with Donald Trump. This is a man who has been -- actually, this is moments ago
when the car was pulling up. Also, just worth noting that there has been so much controversy over the U.S.'s deportation flights to El Salvador. Marco
Rubio, the Secretary of State, reached a deal with Bukele earlier this year to be able to deport alleged, alleged, I should say, gang members from the
U.S. to El Salvador. There is Bukele shaking the President's hand. Just in terms of what comes out of this meeting, it's not necessarily clear at this
point, but this is a man who has been described, I believe, by himself as the world's, quote, unquote, "coolest dictator". He is very popular at home
because of his work in terms of cracking down with violent crime.
GOLODRYGA: Also very young and somebody President Trump has chosen to strategically align himself with and use as an example for other Latin
American countries to work with the United States on as well. All right. We'll keep a close eye on that meeting.
And still to come on One World for us, back to our top story, and that is this meeting between these two leaders, and the timing of it is so crucial
--
ASHER: Right.
GOLODRYGA: -- given the role that the U.S. courts have played here and this President still deciding to invite Bukele back to the White House for a
second meeting.
ASHER: And also what's going to happen with Abrego Garcia as well. The U.S. is saying that they have no jurisdiction in terms of bringing him home,
that it's not their role to bring him home. We'll see what happens with that. We'll have much more news after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Welcome back to One World. I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Here are some international headlines we are watching today.
ASHER: The Israeli military is repeating evacuation warnings in Rafah, as troops continue to seize more of the enclave in Gaza. They have essentially
cut off Rafah from the rest of Gaza. Meantime, a Hamas delegation met with mediators in Cairo over the weekend, as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
said steps are underway to reach a new hostage ceasefire deal.
GOLODRYGA: Talks between the U.S. and Iran are reportedly set to resume next week in Rome. This after Oman hosted talks this weekend in Muscat. The
aim is to reach a new nuclear deal with Iran. U.S. President Trump says talks are going OK, but warns not reaching a deal could potentially lead to
military strikes on Iran.
ASHER: The reelection of Ecuador's President is coming under scrutiny. Officials declared Daniel Noboa the winner of Sunday's election based on
preliminary results. However, his rival, Luisa Gonzalez, is calling for a recount. The race was overshadowed by drug-related violence, despite the
President's efforts to curb the drug trade.
GOLODRYGA: As we've been discussing, Donald Trump is meeting with his El Salvadorian counterpart at the White House right now. The President has
developed a strong relationship with Nayib Bukele in his second term. El Salvador has won praise from the U.S. President for taking deportees from
the U.S. and placing them in a high-security prison.
ASHER: For a bit more on that White House meeting, we welcome in CNN Political and National Security Analyst, David Sanger. He is the author of
the new book "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West". David, thank you so much for being with us.
I mean, obviously, one of the key aspects in terms of everyone's focus regarding this meeting is going to be Abrego Garcia and what his future
holds. The White House has come out with mixed messaging, just in terms of whether or not they have the authority to bring him back, whether or not
they want to bring him back, the fact that they're saying, without offering any evidence, that he is actually a gang member, just talk to us about the
overall hesitancy to follow up on the fact that they've admitted that they've made a mistake and work to bring him back, which presumably would
not be a difficult task.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: No. Presumably it would not be. So, President Trump famously does not like to admit to
mistakes, but in this case, they're up to the point where the Supreme Court is saying that they need to facilitate his return. Now, they've decided to
-- the White House has decided to interpret that in the narrowest way possible, which is to say, if he somehow breaks out of this terrorist
prison in El Salvador and ends up at the U.S. border, they will let him in, because there is a court order that basically said he shouldn't have been
removed, to begin with.
But, they're making no effort to actually get him released. And of course, the easiest thing to do would have been to -- in the -- as part of this
official visit that is underway with Mr. Bukele, is to ask him to bring him up on his plane. After all, the United States has spent $6 million paying
El Salvador to keep these prisoners, many of whom are Venezuelan, in their prison. So, if the U.S. is commissioning this, presumably the U.S. could
ask for the return of one of the prisoners.
GOLODRYGA: All right. David, stay with us. We are actually going to go now to the Oval Office, where this meeting between these two presidents is
taking place.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- just a young man. He has done a fantastic job. Mr. President, it's an honor to have you in.
NAYIB BUKELE, SALVADORAN PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mr. President
[11:40:00]
TRUMP: You've done incredibly for your country, and we appreciate working with you because you want to stop crime, and so do we, and it's very, very
effective. And I want to just say hello to the people of El Salvador and say they have one hell of a President, OK? And I mean that, and I know him
well. I know him as a very young man, Marco, even younger than you. He started pretty young.
BUKELE: A lot younger.
TRUMP: Young at heart, but I want to thank you for the great job you're doing. I appreciate it.
BUKELE: Well, it's an honor to be here in the Oval Office with the President and leader of the free world. We're very happy, and we're very
eager to help. We know that you have a crime problem, a terrorism problem that you need help with, and we're a small country, but if we can help, we
can do it, and we actually turned the murder capital of the world, that's what the journalists called it --
TRUMP: Right.
BUKELE: -- the murder capital the world into the safest country in the Western Hemisphere. And if -- they -- sometimes they say that we imprison
thousands. I like to say that we actually liberated millions. So, like --
TRUMP: It's very good. Who gave him that line? Do you think I can use that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
BUKELE: And in fact, Mr. President, you have 350 million people to liberate. To liberate 350 million people, you have to imprison some. That's
the way it works, right? You cannot just free the criminals and think crime is going to go down magically. You have to imprison them so you can
liberate 350 million Americans that are asking for the end of crime and the end of terrorism. I mean, it can be done. I mean, you're doing it already,
and I'm sure that people have seen the change in the streets --
TRUMP: Yes.
BUKELE: -- a long way to go because you're just initiating your second term. But, it's clear that with the numbers at the border, we need the --
even in Democrat-run cities, they get a help from the work you're doing. So, I'm really happy to be here, honored and eager to help.
TRUMP: Well, we had a terrible thing happen. We had an administration that allowed people to come in freely into our country, from not only South
America, but from all over the world, many from the Congo in Africa, Asia, all over the world, Europe, rough parts of Europe, and they came from
prisons, and they came from mental institutions, and they came from gangs and the gangs of Venezuela and other places, and hundreds of thousands and
even millions of them came, 21 million people altogether, but many of the people that came, tremendous percentage of them were criminals, in some
cases violent criminals. We had 11,088 known murderers, half of them murdered more than one person.
This was allowed by a man who -- what he did to our country is just unbelievable. So, we're straightening it out. We're getting them out. But,
what they did and what that party did to our country, open borders, anybody could come in. As soon as I heard that, I said every prison is going to be
emptied out into our country. That's what happened, and we're straightening it out.
And we just had numbers. We had the highest recruiting numbers in the history of our country going into police departments. And a year ago, we
had the lowest numbers. You couldn't hire a --
BUKELE: A bit of change.
TRUMP: Nobody has --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: And the military now, Marines, the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, every slot is -- I mean, we have the best numbers we've ever had. We got
recruitment numbers, and we've never had anything like it. We had records on every single -- at every single level. But, very important, the
policemen. The policemen are joining forces now that we really -- we're having a hard time with policemen, because we weren't protecting our
police, and we cherish our police. The police are great and the firemen and everybody else, but we have the highest numbers that we've ever had, the
most enthusiasm. We -- great enthusiasm.
And on trade and other things, we're doing great. We're taking in billions and billions of dollars. We made -- two weeks ago, I gave them a little bit
of a pause, because you have to show a little flexibility. We go back to what we have to do. The markets have been very strong once they got used to
it, but we were losing $2 billion a day. There is no company big like this, but this is the biggest deal ever made. Now we're making $3 billion a day.
We're a great country, but we had stupid people running this country, and I can say what they've done to us at the border, it should never and can
never be forgotten.
[11:45:00]
It's a sin what they did, and you are helping us out. We appreciate it.
BUKELE: Thanks.
Actually, what you're doing with the border is remarkable. It has dropped, what, 95 percent. It's incredible.
TRUMP: As of this morning, 99 percent. 99.1 percent, to be exact.
BUKELE: What are those numbers not in the media?
TRUMP: Well, they get up with the fake news, like CNN. CNN over here doesn't want to put them out because they don't like putting out good
numbers. They don't like putting out because I think they hate our country, actually. It's a shame. You're right. Isn't that a great question, why
doesn't the media -- why don't they put out numbers?
BUKELE: Yeah, 99 percent. I mean, it's like -- it's crazy, right?
TRUMP: We're doing the same.
BUKELE: It's a crazy turnaround.
TRUMP: Kristi, could you maybe say a couple of words about the border? How we do it?
KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY NOMINEE: Yeah. It's just been absolutely phenomenal what a great leader can do. Clear direction. Our laws
matter. We should only have people in our country that love us, and the Border Patrol and our ICE officers and law enforcement officers have done
fantastic work. So, we're proud of them. Now we just need to get the criminals and murderers and rapists and dangerous gang members and
terrorist organizations out of our country. So, Mr. President Bukele, we thank you very much for your partnership.
It has been wonderful for us to be able to have somewhere to send the worst of the worst and someone to partner with, and we'd like to continue that
partnership, because it's been a powerful message of consequences. Mr. President, you wanted people to know that there was consequences if you
break our laws and harm our people and endanger our families, and this is a clear consequence for the worst of the worst that we have somewhere to put
them.
TRUMP: Thank you very much.
BUKELE: Yeah. We even had this gang member from Venezuela, one of the ones you sent, and we interview him just to get some information, etc., from
them, and he said, oh, well, I got arrested six times, but they released me that six times. So, why shouldn't I be released again? And then we said,
well, what's the last thing you do? And he said, well, I shot a cop in the leg, but I didn't kill him. I just shot him in the leg. And we're like,
this guy was arrested six times here in the United States, six times. He was released six times. And in the last -- I know he was released five
times, and the last time he was sent to El Salvador, right? So, he is not getting a release. But, the last time he shot a cop, actually, and he shot
him in the leg. So, this, like you said --
TRUMP: Incredible.
BUKELE: Yeah. I mean, yeah, there is something broken.
TRUMP: The liberal establishment, but they're not running things anymore in this country, and we're run by -- and I don't say conservative. I don't say
anything. We're run by people with great common sense --
BUKELE: Yeah. Common sense.
TRUMP: -- because it's all common sense.
BUKELE: Yeah.
TRUMP: It's not liberal conservative. It's common sense. Like, do you allow men to play in women's sports? Do you allow men to box your women and box -
- because I know you have a lot of violence?
BUKELE: That's violence. That's --
TRUMP: That's abusive to the women.
BUKELE: -- violence against women.
TRUMP: But, we have people that fight to the death because they think men should be able to play in women's sports. And some of those sports, it
wouldn't matter much, but it still matters. But, some of them are very dangerous for women.
BUKELE: Some years ago, some -- like I said, a decade ago or so, women rights movements were pressuring so that we enacted specific laws to avoid
men abusing women, and I think those laws were great because there were a lot of men abusing women, but now some of the same people are trying to
backtrack and actually trying to make new laws allowing men to abuse women in sport. So, actually, it doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense.
TRUMP: It's crazy. They have weightlifting records, right?
BUKELE: Yeah.
TRUMP: A woman gets up this way. She is incredible. A guy gets up and beats her by 100 pounds. What are you going to do? A record that hadn't been
broken in 18 years. They put on announce and announce quarter, announced eighth of announced for 18 years. Now, they have a guy come up peeing. The
whole thing is green, but they continue to fight. And I don't like talking about it, because I want to save it for just before the next election. I
said to my people, don't even talk about it, because they'll change.
And I watched this morning. There was a congressman fighting to the death for men to play against women in sports. And you say to yourself, why? What
are they doing? Right? What are they doing? But, your country is not too big in that.
BUKELE: No, no. We're big in protecting women.
TRUMP: Good. That's right. And it's a very important form of protection.
BUKELE: And as you can see, most of my cabinet are women. So --
TRUMP: That's impressive.
BUKELE: Yeah. Yeah.
TRUMP: That's why you're --
BUKELE: They're not the high hires or anything. They just are great at what they do.
TRUMP: This is very impressive. This is a first.
[11:50:00]
We've had women, but we've never had three of them right here.
BUKELE: It is four and three men.
TRUMP: Look at what you have. You guys feel a little bit mistreated? That's good. I like it. We've been advanced. I've been very advanced in that
regard too. We have families who has been so fantastic. Kristi, and the most powerful woman, they say they're all afraid of.
BUKELE: They're all afraid of her.
TRUMP: Susie Wiles, the most powerful woman in the world, according to magazines. What do I know?
BUKELE: Yes.
TRUMP: But, I think she is probably --
BUKELE: Yes.
TRUMP: She is probably -- yes.
BUKELE: Congratulations.
TRUMP: And Stephen has done such a great job. We have just -- we have great people.
BUKELE: Very famous stuff.
TRUMP: But, we love working with him. He really lets him have it.
BUKELE: Yeah, exactly.
TRUMP: There is no games.
BUKELE: No. No. No. No good.
TRUMP: He knows. Do you have any questions, please?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President Trump --
TRUMP: Go ahead. Let's not --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: -- because they're so --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President.
TRUMP: Yeah, please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. Thank you, Mr. President. You repeatedly mentioned last night that Russia's attack on Ukraine was a mistake. What is the exact
mistake? And have you given Putin a deadline to actually move toward a ceasefire?
TRUMP: The mistake was letting the war happen, if Biden were competent and if Zelenskyy were competent, and I don't know that he is. We had a rough
session with this guy over here. He just kept asking for more and more. That war should have never been allowed to happen. That war, I went four
years and Putin wouldn't even bring it up. And as soon as the election was rigged and I wasn't here, that war started. There was no way that war
should have been allowed to happen, and Biden should have stopped it.
And you take a look at Putin. I'm not saying anybody is an angel, but I will tell you, I went four years and it wasn't even a question. He would
never -- and I told him, don't do it. You're not going to do it. And it was the apple of his eye, but there was no way that he would have done it. All
you had to do is lower oil prices. If you lowered oil prices, Biden kept the prices so high because he made it impossible to get it. If you lowered
oil prices, you would have never had the war, but you wouldn't had it with me anyway. That war would have never happened. And I think it's a great
abuse.
So now, what do you do? You get a country where 25 percent of its land is gone, and the best locations, where millions of people were killed. You
haven't reported accurately the death, and this was Biden's war, and I'm trying to stop it, and I think we're going to do a good job. I hope we're
going to do it. They lose 2,500 young people a week, think of it, on average. Now they're Russians and they're Ukrainians, but it's 2,000. We
don't care. It's like whatever it is. They're not from your country. They're not from mine. But, I want to stop it. 2,500, it's a killing field.
It's like the Civil War. You take a look. I look at the satellite pictures. This should not be happening in our time. Of course, our time can be pretty
violent, as we know.
But, that's a war that should have never been allowed to start, and Biden could have stopped it, and Zelenskyy could have stopped it, and Putin
should have never started it. Everybody is to blame.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you spoken the President Zelenskyy serve out his offer to purchase more Patriot missiles?
TRUMP: I don't know. He is always looking to purchase missiles. He is against -- listen, when you start a war, you got to know that you can win
the war, right? You don't start a war against somebody that's 20 times your size, and then hope that people give you some missiles. If we didn't give
them what we gave -- remember, I gave them javelins. That's how they won their first big battle with the tanks that got stuck in the mud, and they
took them out with javelins. They have an expression that Obama at the time, Obama gave them sheets and Trump gave them javelins, but just
something that should have never happened. It's a really shame.
The towns are destroyed. Towns and cities are largely destroyed. They have the spires, the beautiful spires that go up. They say they were the most
beautiful in the world, in Ukraine, for whatever reason, but the most beautiful in the world, they're mostly laying on their side, shattered and
broken, and most importantly, you have millions of people dead, millions of people dead because of three people. I would say three people. Let's say
Putin number one, but let's say Biden, who had no idea what the hell he was doing, number two, and Zelenskyy, and all I can do is try and stop it.
That's all I want to do. I want to stop the killing, and I think we're doing well in that regard. It should. I think you'll have some very good
proposals very soon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last question, sir.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- motive through the FBI investigation behind the attack on Governor Josh Shapiro over the weekend?
[11:55:00]
TRUMP: No. I haven't, but the attacker was not a fan of Trump. I understand, just from what I read and from what I've been told. The
attacker basically wasn't a fan of anybody. It's probably just a whack job. And certainly a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- President Bukele the best guarantee that this time you won't terminate the temporary protected status.
TRUMP: I have a great relationship with this man. I have the best relationship with him. We've known each other. I've known him since he was
a very young man, as I said, very, very young. And I was impressed. I said, look how this guy is. In fact, you sort of look like a teenager. You look
like a teenager.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: He grew up well in the last five years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you support extension for nationals of El Salvador under temporary protected status?
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Let's hear the question from this very low rated anchor at CBS.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, President. Do you plan to ask President Bukele to help return the man who your administration says was mistaken
deported?
TRUMP: Which one is that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
TRUMP: Well, let me ask Pam. Would you answer that question?
PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Sure, President. First and foremost, he was illegally in our country. He had been illegally in our country, and in
2019, two courts, an immigration court and an appellate immigration court, ruled that he was a member of MS-13, and he was illegally in our country.
Right now, it was a paperwork. It was additional paperwork had needed to be done. That's up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That's not up to
us. The Supreme Court ruled, President, that if, as El Salvador wants to return him, this is international matters, foreign affairs, if they wanted
to return him, we would facilitate it, meaning, provide a plane.
TRUMP: And you are doing a great job. Thank you.
BONDI: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Wait a minute. Can you just also respond to that question because it's asked by CNN, and they always ask it with a slant, because they're
totally slanting because they don't know what's happening? That's why nobody is watching them. But, would you answer that question also?
MILLER: Yes, gladly. So, as Pam mentioned, there is the illegal alien from El Salvador. So, with respect to you, he is a citizen of El Salvador. So,
it's very arrogant even for American media to suggest that we would even tell El Salvador how to handle their own citizens, as a starting point, as
two immigration courts found that he was a member of MS-13. When President Trump declared MS-13 to be a foreign terrorist organization, that meant
that he was no longer eligible under federal law, which I'm sure you know, you're very familiar with the INA, that he was no longer eligible for any
form of immigration relief in the United States.
So, he had a deportation order that was valid, which meant that, under our law, he is not even allowed to be present in the United States and had to
be returned because of the foreign terrorist designation. This issue was then by a district court judge, completely inverted, and a district court
judge tried to tell the administration that they had to kidnap a citizen of El Salvador and fly him back here.
That issue was raised with the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court said the district court order was unlawful and its main components were reversed
9-0 unanimously, stating clearly that neither Secretary of State nor the President could be compelled by anybody to forcibly retrieve a citizen of
El Salvador from El Salvador, who, again, is a member of MS-13, which is, I'm sure you understand, rapes little girls, murders women, murders
children, is engaged the most barbaric activities in the world. And I can promise you, if he was your neighbor, you would move right away.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, you don't plan --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But, Supreme Court is asking to --
TRUMP: What was the ruling in the Supreme Court, Steve? Was it nine to nothing?
MILLER: Yes. It was 9-0 --
TRUMP: In our favor.
MILLER: -- in our favor against the district court ruling, saying that no district court has the power to compel the foreign policy function of the
United States. As Pam said, the ruling solely stated that if this individual, at El Salvador's sole discretion, was sent back to our country,
that we could deport him a second time. No version of this legally ends up with him ever living here because he is a citizen of El Salvador. That is
the President of El Salvador. Your questions about it, per the court, can only be directed to him.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can President Bukele weigh in on this? Do you plan to return him?
BUKELE: Well, I guess I'm supposed to suggest him that I smuggled a terrorist into the United States, right? How can I smuggle -- how can I
return him to the United States? Like, I smuggle him into the United States, or whether you -- of course, I'm not going to do it. It's like, let
me -- the question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist to the United States? I don't have the power to return him to the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But, you could release him inside of El Salvador.
BUKELE: Yeah. But, I'm not releasing, I mean, we're not very fond of releasing terrorists into our country.
END
