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One World with Zain Asher

President Trump Meets With The President Of El Salvador; Trump: I Want To Deport Homegrown Criminals; U.S., Iran Hail "Constructive" Nuclear Talks; Suspect Arrested In Arson Attack At Pennsylvania Governor's Residence; Blue Origin Launches All-Female Crew To Edge Of Space. Aired 12- 1p ET

Aired April 14, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:20:01]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: All right. That was a wide-ranging press conference where the president touched on everything from talks with

Iran, saying that Iran should never be able to get a nuclear weapon. And then, of course, what's happening all the confusion this weekend with those

tariffs.

But the real focus was, of course, on deportation from the United States to El Salvador. The President speaking alongside President Bukele. That was

probably, by far, one of the friendliest oval office meetings I've seen in the past two months.

And that is because the values of these two men do seem to align. Obviously, the case of Abrego Garcia was front and center in all of this.

What's going to happen to him?

It's interesting because the U.S. officials were essentially saying, we have no authority to bring him back, but the El Salvador president,

essentially said the same thing, that they don't have any authority to send him back to the United States either.

Let's bring in more from Ed Luce. Edward Luce, he's the U.S. national editor for the "Financial Times" joining us live now today from Washington.

So just talk us through some of the key points here in terms of the fate of Abrego Garcia, because that, as I mentioned, is a main focus for a lot of

our international audience.

But also this idea of the possibility that Donald Trump could start deporting American citizens, naturalized American citizens. How

unprecedented would that be as well?

EDWARD LUCE, U.S. NATIONAL EDITOR, THE FINANCIAL TIMES: Well, I think this, I think Bukele-Trump meeting was in a sort of getting a long sense, the

equivalent in shock value to the rest of us of the Zelenskyy-Trump meeting, the Oval Office open mic situation a few weeks ago.

It was something I've never quite seen before. The leader of a small Central American country sitting there being asked whether he would comply

with the Supreme Court unanimous order of 9-0 to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia says, no, he wouldn't smuggle a terrorist back into the

United States.

I'm still trying to digest the shock of him also saying that America has 350 million people. And if you want them to remain free, many of them will

have to be put in jail.

[12:25:12]

And of course, that's alongside with discussing the President Trump, the expansion of El Salvadorian jails to include. Now we -- now we've

discovered from Trump's answer, potentially American citizens as well.

There is no precedent for this kind of by natural press conference by two leaders. I'm still digesting the shock value of this.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Bukele seems to be very talented and well versed in Trump's speak before this meeting. We should note this is their

second meeting at the Oval Office and Trump's short second term now, just a few months in.

And you mentioned what he said about the 350 Americans need to be free. He actually said they need to be liberated. And that caught my ear because

that's the word that Trump seems to like as well. Remember last week, obviously was -- or two weeks ago, was Liberation Day in America as it

relates to tariffs.

This had to deal with crime and immigration, illegal immigration into this country. Bukele telling our Kaitlan Collins when asked if he would

repatriate Garcia back to the country, he said, how can I smuggle him into the United States? He is a criminal.

Ed, there were so many conversations and topics raised here and questions asked, but it's notable that this is an issue that President Trump likes to

focus on, even if he is bending the laws of justice here because it seems to pull well.

Immigration is something that does very well for him, especially if he frames it as making American streets safer. He also veered a bit into

tariffs as well, not pulling well for him as you see in the latest polls over the last few weeks, and given the wild swings in the stock market as

well and uncertainty about investing in the United States, which had always been a stalwart safe haven for other countries around the world.

If I can switch gears and ask you about that from a European perspective, how do Europeans now view trading with the United States? Is this in fact

the safe haven as, you know, it's questionable now given that we've seen the yield in 10-year interest rates as it bonds as well as the drop in the

dollar?

LUCE: Well, there's now a risk premium some rather rudely call it a moron premium, which was a phrase coined for Britain's former Prime Minister Liz

Truss, who got drummed out of office within 44 days, shortest prime minister (INAUDIBLE).

The bond markets basically ended her prime ministership and they're now imposing a penalty, a premium on U.S. treasury bonds because of the just

wild uncertainty, volatility, unpredictability of what he's going to do next in this trade war.

And bearing in mind the fact that although he's paused at a 10 percent, new 10 percent level tariffs on everybody else, barring China, that he's saying

he's going to strike bilateral deals with the likes of the European Union in the next 90 days.

And, you know, anybody who follows trade knows it takes years to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement. For example, U.S.-South Korea have one took

two or three years, Ditto for U.S. Columbia.

The idea that you're going to strike deals within 90 days with 75 or so countries is highly improbable and therefore suggests that we will return

to the higher tariff rates that he announced on what you rightly call the self-declared liberation day.

So this is about European and global mistrust of the predictability of America going forward.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And what is President Xi doing as we speak right now? He is trying to court other Asian nations, Vietnam, Cambodia also to reestablish

closer trade relations and alliances with them, given this instability coming out of the United States.

As Janet Yellen told us, the worst self-inflicted wound by any administration against a well-functioning economy.

Ed Luce, thank you so much.

ASHER: Thank you, Ed.

LUCE: My pleasure.

ASHER: All right. Let's bring in CNN's David Culver. He has actually been inside that notorious Salvadoran prison where the mistakenly deported man,

Abrego Garcia, is being held. Thank you for that piece really showing us inside, David, CECOT's prison in El Salvador. I mean, it is a notorious

prison.

[12:30:02]

You know, it is very clear what Donald Trump is getting out of this relationship with the president of El Salvador just in terms of being able

to deport Venezuela and Salvadoran migrants to this prison without any due process whatsoever. He's talking about possibility -- the possibility of

bringing in American citizens, naturalized American citizens, sending them to that prison as well.

But walk us through what President Bukele is getting out of this relationship too.

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, for one, I've got to point out that back and forth. I don't know how you all felt, but

that was a whirlwind of just different topics they were hitting on.

But within that, if you sift through some key moments, and I think we can speak to one of them being Abrego Garcia, the man who was, as you

mentioned, Zain, wrongfully deported through an administrative error from the Trump administration.

I think it's bizarre to look at that setting and see two very, powerful men, two very popular men, Bukele is incredibly popular, not only in his

own country, but having traveled across Latin America. We've heard many people come up to us to say, we wish we had Bukele as a president.

And then for both of them to say essentially they're powerless in that moment to be able to ask the other to hand over Abrego Garcia and to send

them back to the United States.

I mean, it was interesting, and Ed mentioned this a short time ago, you heard him there, that the Salvadoran president said that he did not want to

smuggle Abrego Garcia back into the U.S. and that he certainly wouldn't revert to allowing Abrego Garcia, who's a Salvadoran citizen, out onto the

streets of El Salvador.

And the word that's often used, and you heard it mentioned there several times, is liberation. That's certainly how President Bukele has seen it

within his own country. But you have to take a step back, and you have to look at the context of why CECOT, this is the infamous prison that, yes,

I've visited now twice, exists and why it's in El Salvador of all places.

And I think it's to understand the context of brutality that existed, not only through years of civil war, but then followed by extreme and really,

really violent gang activity that was still persisting up until the time that President Bukele was first elected in 2019.

And so when you look at how harsh and how militant CECOT is, it seems to align with the level of brutality that existed at that time.

Now, does it also then correspond with the deportees who many say have, yes, entered the country of the United States illegally, but then created

really little issues outside of that and didn't cause the crime activity that some have alleged them to? That's certainly the argument from those

who say they're innocent.

Does CECOT really merit there being in that facility? I mean, it seems to not match the level of brutality. Some argue absolutely.

And what's interesting with Abrego Garcia is you hear President Bukele essentially say, he's not going to return him, and that aligns with some of

our reporting from last week. We were in San Salvador. I spoke to two government officials who didn't want to say this on camera, but told me

that they have incriminating evidence against Abrego Garcia. I asked what that was. They did not elaborate. I asked to see it. They didn't show it to

us, but it's something they're standing by firmly.

And in fact, one of those individuals told me, he's not going anywhere, meaning, he will not leave El Salvador and be returned to the U.S. So I was

not expecting any sort of release to be announced today in that meeting between President Trump and President Bukele.

However, we've heard Abrego Garcia's attorneys push back fervently on that. They say this is fabrication. This is a total lie in that it is not true.

But now it seems that seeing that back and forth, Bianna and Zain, between the presidents, it doesn't look good for Abrego Garcia.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. The attorney general was sitting there in the Oval Office and also stated this man, in her view, as this administration sees it, came

to this country was here in the United States illegally and had been a member of MS-13.

And so for them, this was all about a technicality that they say was addressed, but they also are standing by their conviction that he will not

be repatriated back to the United States.

David Culver, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

ASHER: Thank you, David.

We'll be right back with more after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:35:46]

GOLODRYGA: Well, talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program will resume this Saturday after what's being called a constructive

first round. Discussions took place at Oman over the weekend with the Omani Foreign Minister relaying information between the two sides who were seated

in separate rooms.

ASHER: Yes. Iran's foreign minister said the talks got very close to reaching a new framework for negotiations. The White House also said the

meeting was positive. President Trump laid out his priority on Air Force One.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want them not to have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country. But

they can't have a nuclear weapon. I want them to flourish, but they can't have a nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: You'll remember that Trump pulled the U.S. out of a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran during his first term. He has since promised to secure a

stronger agreement now.

ASHER: Time now for The Exchange. Joining us live now is Karim Sadjadpour, an expert on Iran and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for

International Peace. Karim, thank you so much for being with us.

So obviously, the Iranians are concerned. Donald Trump has pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal before. There was concern that he could do so again.

Based on that fact and that environment going into these tools, where does the trust lie here?

KARIM SADJADPOUR, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: There's virtually no trust between the United States and Iran. And

this is going to be obviously a major factor in these negotiations.

Not only did Trump pull out of the nuclear deal, but he also assassinated Iran's top military commander, Qasem Soleimani. So when I hear the

president say this is going to be an easy one and a quick deal, I'm very skeptical. I don't even think we're five percent of the way towards

negotiation.

GOLODRYGA: But, Karim, you also heard the president say he thinks this is a deal that can be made easily. These are promises and statements that he's

made as it relates to the war in Ukraine and Russia attacking Ukraine and obviously the war in Gaza too. He hasn't achieved an end to those wars.

So from the perspective of him wanting to have some sort of, quote-unquote, victory, do you think there is the chance this administration will settle

for something less than they initially demanded? And that is uprooting their entire nuclear program, not just their capabilities of building a

bomb, as well as dismantling their missile programs and ending the facilitation of aid to their proxy groups around the world?

In other words, could this be a deal he settles on that looks very close to the original 2015 JCPOA?

[12:40:30]

SADJADPOUR: I think if he's able to get close to what the 2015 deal did, he will sign it because he's probably not aware of the full details of what

happened in 2015.

But even that, in my view, is going to be a very tall order. That would essentially require the Trump administration to reverse Iran's program,

perhaps more than 90 percent of where it is right now.

And so this is a big question of whether congressional Republicans and Israel who were so vociferously opposed to Obama's nuclear deal would

oppose Trump signing a deal which very much resembles that 2015 deal or is actually worse than that.

ASHER: And, Karim, we know that Iran's foreign minister is going to be traveling to Moscow this week for consultations in part, obviously, they're

going to discuss other issues too, but for consultations in part on the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal and reaching some agreement.

Just the fact that you're seeing Iran sort of cozying up to rush at a time like this, the fact that the nuclear deal with the U.S. is going to be

discussed, what does that tell you about Iran's diplomatic strategy here?

SADJADPOUR: Well, Iran has long had a close relationship with Moscow. I think the thing that I'm more concerned about is that, obviously, President

Trump doesn't have a command of the details of what a nuclear agreement with Iran would look like.

This isn't about the art of a deal. This is about the science of nuclear proliferation. These discussions will need to be very, very technical in

nature. And he's appointed an envoy, Steve Witkoff, who comes from the real estate world, who also doesn't have a deep command of these issues.

Whereas on the Iranian end, you have Iranian diplomats who've been negotiating and thinking about these technical issues for two decades now.

So there's a huge imbalance in expertise. And I don't know how that's going to be reconciled.

ASHER: Yes, that's a good point. This isn't the art of the deal. This is much more technical than perhaps Donald Trump and members of his cabinet

and even Steve Witkoff, given his background are potentially used to.

Karim Sadjadpour live for us there. Thank you so much.

All right. Still to come here on ONE WORLD.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society. And I don't give a damn if it's coming from one particular

side or the other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: That's Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speaking out after his residence was set on fire with his family asleep inside. More of the story,

ahead.

And later -- and later, Blue Origin's first all-female crew is back on Earth after a much anticipated voyage to the edge of space. Full report on

that star-studded flight, ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GAYLE KING, AMERICAN TELEVISION PERSONALITY: This was not a ride. This was -- what happened to us was not a ride. This was a bona fide freaking

flight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:45:07]

GOLODRYGA: Authority say Pennsylvania man is facing arson, attempted murder and terrorism charges for breaking into Governor Josh Shapiro's residence

and setting it on fire while his family and he were asleep inside.

ASHER: Yes. Thankfully, the Shapiro family was actually able to escape the fire without any injuries.

CNN's Danny Freeman is following this development story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We have a lot of new information this morning and much of the details that have been coming in

overnight, frankly, are very disturbing.

Overnight, we finally obtained court documents which spell out how police believe 38-year-old, Cody Balmer, was able to get on the premises of the

governor's residence behind me and ultimately set fire to the mansion.

Police say that on Saturday night, while the Governor and his family and some guests who were over celebrating a Passover Seder were staying and

sleeping in the mansion, Cody Balmer jumped over a side fence over here and approached this building behind me where he broke one of the windows and

threw a beer bottle filled with gasoline, essentially a Molotov cocktail, into the residence.

He then, according to court documents, broke a second window, climbed through that window and threw another Molotov cocktail or incendiary device

into the residence as well before ultimately kicking open another door and exiting back the way he came over the fence and running off into the other

part of Harrisburg where we are right now.

Now, fascinatingly, the room and the area that he lit on fire, part of it was the exact place where Governor Shapiro had been celebrating the

Passover Seder earlier in the evening on Saturday night with his guests at the residence.

But this is perhaps the most remarkable thing that we learned from these court documents. Later on, on Sunday, the police then got a phone call from

an ex-lover of Balmer who said that Balmer told her to call and say that he was the one who set fire to the residence.

And then shortly after that, Baumer actually showed up at Pennsylvania State Police headquarters, let's say massive complex here in Harrisburg,

and turned himself in. He told police, according to court documents, that he did all of it and perhaps most chillingly said that if he had

encountered Shapiro in the residence, he would have, quote, beaten him with his hammer.

Now, I want you to take and listen to how Governor Shapiro talked about political violence and violence in general at the residence yesterday.

SHAPIRO: This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society. And I don't give a damn if it's coming from one particular side or the

other. Directed at one particular party or another or one particular person or another. It is not OK.

FREEMAN: Now, Balmer is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault.

But as for motive, according to the court documents, it seems that Balmer was not even a hundred percent sure that Shapiro was in the residence that

Saturday night.

All that was said in those documents was that Balmer harbored hatred towards Governor Shapiro. Again, thankfully, no one was hurt in this

incident, though much of the building was significantly damaged.

But at this point, Balmer is awaiting an arraignment and preliminary hearing this matter. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Our thanks to Danny Freeman for that report.

All right. We'll be right back with more after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:55]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Jeff Bezos and his fiance, Lauren Sanchez, embracing after a historic Blue Origin spaceflight. Six women, including Sanchez, TV news

host, Gayle King, Pop star, Katy Perry, helped make up the all-female crew that travelled more than 100 kilometers above Earth, reaching speeds of

about 3500 kilometers per hour.

GOLODRYGA: What was Katy Perry holding up to the sky? I don't know, if you could go back and take a look at -- a daisy. A daisy. There you go.

ASHER: And she sang a song during the flight.

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

ASHER: I think on the way down, actually.

GOLODRYGA: I would not be singing anything if I was in there with them.

ASHER: How relaxed do you have to be to start singing?

GOLODRYGA: Exactly. The rocket took off in West Texas where CNN's Ed Lavandera filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We witnessed a West Texas party this morning. It was a spectacle than science. It was a rocket launch taking a

star-studded crew into the lower levels of outer space. And it included Katy Perry, Gayle King, Lauren Sanchez, who was Jeff Bezos' fiance, as well

as three others.

Many of them spoke very emotionally as they walked out of the capsule minutes after landing back here in the West Texas desert.

Gayle dropped to the ground, kissed the ground and said, thank you, Jesus, as she exited the capsule here.

As I mentioned, many of them spoke very emotionally about all of their through. You know, definitely a very festive kind of scene, but also a

little bit of tension, like the unexpected of what might happen, but all of that sense of relief kind of just lifted up as that capsule descended back

to earth.

The trip lasted a little more than 10 minutes. And the capsule landed just not too far from where it had taken off just a few minutes earlier.

But definitely a great sense of emotion from all of the crew members who talked about what it was like experiencing and seeing the earth from that

perspective and that point of view. And it all ended as they got back into their seats after experiencing several minutes of weightlessness and on the

way back down.

Several crew members and Katy Perry talked about how they listened to Katy Perry singing "What a Wonderful World," the classic song by Louis

Armstrong.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Again, we would not be the one singing. Get me back down now, but I'm so glad they had so much fun.

ASHER: And Oprah was the one that encouraged Gayle King to actually go.

GOLODRYGA: Oprah was crying as she was.

ASHER: Opening go herself.

GOLODRYGA: She sat there with her two children.

Well, moments ago, we heard more from the women who went up to the spacecraft.

ASHER: Speaking of.

GOLODRYGA: Here's Gayle King on the power of their historic flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: All the stuff that you hear about the blackness and the blue is it's a neon blue and it's still and it's quiet and we were all feeling this

experience together. I know I will never forget it.

So for me, it's just -- it just says to me if I can do this, I was telling -- I was telling these guys, I might even now get my ears pierced. I've

never gotten my ears pierced because that hurts.

[12:55:03]

But I feel -- I walked out of there thinking gosh, I can do anything. I can do anything. And when you get out and they say welcome home never felt and

sounded so good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: And here, as you mentioned, as Zain, is King's bestie, Oprah Winfrey watching the flight from the ground in West Texas. She said she's

never been more proud of her friend for going on this adventure.

ASHER: Wow.

GOLODRYGA: You make me proud in so many ways, Zain. You can stay right here on Earth. And I'll even cry.

ASHER: I would not be going.

GOLODRYGA: And crying over you. I know.

ASHER: I would not be going into space. I'm not that adventurous.

GOLODRYGA: Good for Gayle.

ASHER: But I love what Gayle said about, listen, if you can do that, you can do anything. I totally felt like that when I gave birth to my first

child.

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

ASHER: I really felt that I could do anything off that.

GOLODRYGA: And maybe she'll get her into space now.

ASHER: Not quite going into space, but I can relate.

GOLODRYGA: Superwomen.

ASHER: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: Superpowers.

All right. Well, that does it for ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga. I'll be back in just a few minutes for "AMANPOUR."

ASHER: I'm just about to steal your line.

GOLODRYGA: I know.

ASHER: You didn't let me.

GOLODRYGA: And this is Zain Asher. I'm always very proud of. See you on Earth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:00]

END