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CNN International: Trump Freezes $2.2B In Funds After Harvard Rejects Demands; Investors On Edge Over On-Again, Off-Again Tariffs; Trump Signals New Tariffs On Drugs And Semiconductors. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired April 15, 2025 - 11:00 ET
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ZAIN ASHER, HOST, "ONE WORLD": The White House's standoff with America's richest University, Harvard.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, HOST, "ONE WORLD": One World starts right now.
President Trump hits back after Harvard says no to the administration's demands.
ASHER: Plus, the President now says he is considering tariff exemptions for automakers. We'll look at how markets are reacting to that.
GOLODRYGA: And the WNBA draft will look at the number one pick in the team that scooped her up, with World Sports Coy Wire.
Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. You are watching One World.
The White House is responding to Harvard University after the school refused to comply with a whole list of changes. Moments ago, President
Trump posted on social media, suggesting the school should lose its tax- exempt status and be taxed as a political entity. That's cranking up the jeopardy for Harvard, which, on Monday, pushed back against the Trump
administration's demand for changes, saying it will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Following that
statement, the White House dealing out some pushback of its own, freezing $2.2 billion in federal funding to the Ivy League school.
GOLODRYGA: Now, Harvard appears to be the first university to defy President Trump's demands, which include auditing viewpoints of staff and
students, changes to the school's admissions process, elimination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, and imposing a ban on the
wearing of masks at protests on campus.
For more on this developing story, let's bring in Kara Scannell. And listen, if any university can afford to push back, it definitely is,
Harvard with a $53 billion endowment, but also sending a message of defiance here. Just talk about the impact this is already having. Clearly,
it's provoking the President of the United States.
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, this is actually unfolding pretty quickly. It was only yesterday morning that Harvard's President said
that they would not comply with what they call this list of demands from the Trump administration. And then we saw just a few hours later that the
administration was going to freeze $2.2 billion in federal grants and another $60 million in contracts, all because of Harvard's unwillingness to
go along with what they want. And then, now this morning, we're seeing Trump respond, saying that perhaps he would pull Harvard's tax-exempt
status and tax it as a political entity. It's unclear if he can do that or what the process is, but it would certainly have big implications for
Harvard, if it were to lose its tax-exempt status.
But, there is a lot at stake. The government has said they're looking at $9 billion in contracts and funding that Harvard receives. This first shot
across the bow is targeting $2.2 billion of that. And part of the reason why Harvard said that they weren't going to go along with this is because
the President said this was essentially would amount to a federal takeover of a private university. Here is some of what he wrote in a statement to
the students and the community. "The University will not surrender its independence or its constitutional rights. No government, regardless of
which party is in power, should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry
they can pursue."
And among the things that Harvard was asked to do were to make some pretty significant changes, closing its DEI programs, giving the federal
government a view into the faculty members it hires and the students that it admits, because the government wants some kind of audit to look at this
to see if people that they hire and admit have any ideological views that are outside of what the government is prescribing to be what they think is
combating antisemitism and other stakes that they are looking to advance as part of their policies.
So, certainly, a lot of demands. Harvard saying that they are not going to do this. This crosses the line. It exceeds the government's authority, and
it violates their First Amendment rights. Big question, does Harvard move forward with a lawsuit of any kind, or do they continue to see if they can
negotiate behind the scenes? We're waiting to see that.
We're also looking to learn what funding has been affected. Harvard receives a tremendous amount of funding from the federal government. A
large chunk of that comes from the National Institutes of Health, which funds biomedical research. It also funds local university hospitals that
are associated with Harvard. And some of this research goes to HIV to infectious diseases. It's unclear if they're impacted by this first move.
Those are questions that we posed to Harvard this morning and have not yet heard back. Bianna, Zain.
[11:05:00]
GOLODRYGA: All right. Kara Scannell, thank you so much.
ASHER: All right. For more on this, let's bring in Senior Political Analyst for CNN, Ron Brownstein. He is joining us live now from Los Angeles. So,
Ron, just in terms of how significant this moment is, this idea that America's richest university has decided to go against the Trump
administration's list of demands, has decided to resist them in this way, I mean, how significant is this? How much of a turning point is this in terms
of the administration's war with some university campuses?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah. I mean, it's a -- good morning. I think it's a turning point, obviously, if others follow, right?
But, it certainly, I think, does capture the sense that those who conceded to his demands early on, like Columbia, like many of these law firms, are
facing, I think, just withering criticism from others who recognize that what Trump is doing is a playbook that is familiar from other societies
that have edged away from democracy toward authoritarianism and ultimately hurdled toward it like Hungary, where the administration tries to disable
all the sources of potential resistance and opposition within civil society. And obviously, those are enormous stakes in this fight.
But, it's important to remember that the economic consequences of what he is doing are also very significant and utterly counterproductive to what he
says he is trying to do with his tariff agenda.
GOLODRYGA: Ron, you make an interesting point in saying that actions like these by an administration actually harm the U.S. global competitiveness
down the road. Bigger picture, I'm wondering why that's not the argument you're hearing more from Democrats, just from a political standpoint,
because this is clearly a battle that this administration thinks it can win and wants to be focused on, instead of obviously the issue over tariffs and
the President's declining poll numbers in terms of how he is handling the economy. So, what should Democrats do to best take advantage of this
opportunity? Like I said that the White House believes they have the upper hand, and there is not much sympathy out there for Harvard University in
Main Street America.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think, first of all, let's just lay out, regardless of what Democrats should do, let's just lay out what the actual situation is,
which is that these research universities are really the foundation of the innovation system that has developed in the U.S. over the past half
century.
I mean, we basically have a pipeline that goes from basic research at universities funded largely through the federal government since Sputnik,
that progresses to small companies funded by venture capital, that progresses to large companies that bring products to market, either through
initial public offerings or because they are bought by others. That is how we have developed industries like biotech, like electronic -- all the
consumer electronics and computing in Silicon Valley, all the all the biotech companies in Kendall Square in Cambridge and many other industries,
all the medical software and technology around Madison.
Bianna, if you look at the 100 counties that generate the most output, economic output in the U.S., 44 of them have at least one major research
university, and those 44 counties with major research universities are only 1.5 percent of all our counties. They account for 35 percent of our all our
GDP, according to the folks at Brookings Metro, who I work with. So, you are talking about throwing sand into the gears of a critical engine for
domestic economic growth, but also for international competitiveness. I mean --
GOLODRYGA: But, Ron, again --
BROWNSTEIN: -- this is where the technologies or the future are incubated.
GOLODRYGA: I don't hear Democrats --
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: -- in response to this, making that claim. They are focusing on authoritarianism by the White House and concerns about the First Amendment,
obviously all valid concerns, but the economy is clearly what polls well for Americans --
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: -- what they really care about. When you frame it that way, I'm just wondering if there is a missed opportunity, because this is a very
significant consequence.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, it's interesting. I can't really speak to the choices Democrats in Congress are making because they made a lot of strange choices
in the first few months of the Trump presidency, but certainly, local officials are making the argument that you're talking about. I mean, I
interviewed the Boston Mayor even before the freeze on Harvard. She organized 45 mayors of both parties to intervene in a lawsuit against some
of the changes that were cutting research dollars, and she -- federal research dollars, and she talked explicitly about the economic impact on
her community and other communities.
I talked to the head of the Chamber of Commerce in Madison, Wisconsin, who is -- or similarly, organizing chambers around the country in communities
that are based on these revolve around these research universities.
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We talk about Med and Ed communities that depend on medical and educational facilities for economic growth. That is the direct effect. That is the
direct spending of these big institutions, and what it means for Boston and Raleigh-Durham (ph) and the San Francisco Bay area. But, even more
important, I think, very clearly, are the companies that are spinning off from this that are really our warriors in the competition for 21st economic
-- century economic supremacy, and are driving so much of our domestic growth, one third of all the GDP produced just in the 44 counties that
contain a major research university and are also high growth.
So, I think local officials get it. Certainly, they live it every day, and we'll see if Democrats in Congress kind of catch on to what they're -- what
the local officials are already arguing.
ASHER: Yeah. So, local officials are arguing about the economic impact, but just in terms of what democratic congressmen are talking about, as Bianna
mentioned, it's really about the First Amendment. I want to play some of that sound --
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
ASHER: -- from a handful of democratic congressmen. We can talk about it on the back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): -- is putting pressure on universities as well. Good news is Harvard University today said, go to hell.
REP. JIM CLYBURN (D-SC): That may break the fever. I really hope it does. I do know this. If Harvard had capitulated, I really fear for what next year
would be.
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): There are things that matter more than simply the size of one's endowment. We need the presidents to be banding together and
standing up for free expression.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: The thing is, we know how this administration works. Just because Harvard has stood up to the administration, it doesn't mean that it ends
here. In fact, this is just the beginning. Donald Trump --
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
ASHER: -- of course, we've just talked about, pulling $2.2 billion. The next step is, as he touched on with a post on social media just moments
ago, is this idea of pulling tax-exempt status from these universities, and essentially taxing Harvard. This is what he is floating out there, taxing
it as a political entity. We've seen this sort of financial and economic bullying by the Trump administration before. We're seeing it right now when
it comes to tariffs and tit-for-tat tariffs especially with China. Just explain to us how this escalation is going to play out between both sides.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. Look, I think that, obviously, as you've noted, I mean, Trump feels that his base will support him as he goes to war against all of
these institutions that they consider adversarial. I've kind of said the operating principle for the first months of the second Trump administration
is the last scene of the first Godfather, or Michael gets rid of all of his enemies during the baptism and says, tonight, I settled all the family
business. It sort of feels like Trump is following that playbook and targeting everyone, every institution at home and abroad. I mean, whether
it's NATO or the EU or Harvard or big law firms that he thinks his base disdains, and a lot of them have been.
But, now he is running into a resistance, I think, that will make further capitulation more difficult for others. I mean, I think Columbia looks kind
of ridiculous now after this and within, I think higher education, there is going to be a greater -- and as do the law firms that have kind of bent the
knee to him. I think Democrats are right, that there are enormous First Amendment and kind of Democrat, small d, democratic traditions at stake
here. What I'm saying is that there is also a clear economic consequence that, like many things Trump is doing, he is marketing as benefiting his
base but ultimately will hurt them.
If America loses out on the key industries and technology in the 21st century, because we are allocating research dollars not to the places that
can produce the most breakthroughs, but to the ones that accept our -- the kind of cultural biases of the administration, I mean, that sounds a lot
like the Cultural Revolution in China in the 1960s, and it's hard to believe that defunding Harvard and MIT and Columbia and the University of
Pennsylvania over unrelated policies, and sending the money to kind of religiously conservative institutions that agree with your view on
transgender sports is really going to cause a lot of quaking and cowering in China over our ability to stay with them in the race for all of these
industries that are going to drive the jobs over the next few decades.
ASHER: All right. Ron Brownstein live for us there. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Thanks, Ron. A fiery way to start off the show, Ron. Thank you.
All right. Well, another Palestinian student at Columbia University now faces deportation from the U.S. You're looking at video obtained by CNN
showing Mohsen Mahdawi being handcuffed and taken away outside an immigration office in Vermont.
ASHER: Yeah. He has lived in the U.S. for about a decade, and was about to actually have his final citizenship interview. Imagine that. Mahdawi co-
founded Columbia's Palestinian student union with Mahmoud Khalil, who is also, by the way, fighting deportation.
[11:15:00]
All right. Businesses and investors worldwide continue to be on edge over the impact of Donald Trump's trade war.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. The European Union has published a list of more than 400 products that will be hit with retaliatory tariffs if trade talks don't go
well with the U.S. Now, the list includes a host of staples, like toilet paper, tobacco, clothing and other products.
ASHER: China is promoting itself as reliable partner, meantime. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived a short time ago in Malaysia, the latest stop
on his tour of Southeast Asian nations that China sees as key economic partners.
GOLODRYGA: He is clearly trying to take advantage of this opportunity. As for Donald Trump, he says that he is considering some kind of tariff
exemption for auto parts as a way of helping out U.S. automakers. The White House has also begun moving toward slapping new tariffs on pharmaceuticals
and semiconductors, as Trump is looking to boost domestic production of those two key products.
Joining us now with more on all of this is CNN Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich in New York. And we heard from the
President yesterday saying he doesn't change his mind. He is flexible. And obviously this is a reprieve and a relief for automakers. But, it still
brings a lot of uncertainty about how long this tariff reprieve may last, and what exactly is impacted here.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: And that's, I think, what you're seeing in markets right now, actually. You're seeing
investors and traders kind of taking the good news that came on Friday, which was this pause or this exemption, let's say, for electronics coming
into the U.S., and they're sticking with that. We know that there might be a tariff coming on semiconductors, but they don't know what that is yet.
So, they're kind of holding on to the good news from Friday. You can see the Dow, S&P and NASDAQ up this morning, not a lot of volatility at all,
not anything like we saw in the past couple of weeks.
But as you mentioned, President Trump in the Oval Office yesterday said that he was looking at exemptions for foreign car imports into the U.S.
This is something that is set to be tariffed on May 3rd, but he is thinking about putting a pause or making an exemption around that. Listen to what he
said yesterday about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICASHER: I'm looking at something to help some of the car companies where they're switching to
parts that were made in Canada, Mexico and other places, and they need a little bit of time, because they're going to make them here, but they need
a little bit of time. So, I'm talking about things like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: So, when he is talking about they, he is talking about Ford, Stellantis and General Motors, the big three here in the U.S. These are
companies that do import a lot of foreign car parts in order to make their cars. And so, when you taking into account this 25 percent tariff that is
currently in effect on vehicles, fully assembled vehicles that are imported into the U.S. and foreign car parts, look at that number on your screen,
that's going to cost U.S. automakers $107 billion in cost increases. And where do those cost increases go? Well, presumably, some of those will get
passed down to consumers, American consumer.
So, the President, we know, has been talking to the heads, the CEOs of the big three, trying to figure out what tariffs mean, trying to figure out
what they would mean for these auto companies and for U.S. consumers. And also, just worth noting that there is no such thing as an all-American car
anymore, and trade is so critical to these automakers. We know that they are more OK with putting that tariff in place on the foreign car imports,
but the foreign car part imports, that's something that these automakers were raising eyebrows about.
ASHER: Yeah. So, this news is a temporary reprieve, certainly welcome relief for them. Obviously, we don't know how long this temporary exemption
is going to last. But, just in terms of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, we know that the administration is launching an investigation under Section
232 to look at whether or not importing semiconductors and pharmaceuticals in this country somehow violates national security. That's going to take
some time. That investigation can take up to nine months. If these tariffs do go into effect, Vanessa, what -- I mean semiconductors are literally --
I mean it's in your cell phones. It's in your laptops. It mean, it's literally in everything. Just walk us through what that's going to mean for
consumers of electronics, and then also the drug prices in this country.
YURKEVICH: Yeah. The U.S. imports a staggering amount of semiconductors into this country for, as you said, for our cell phones, for the very TV or
computer that you may be watching your show on, and you can just see additional items that use semiconductors, right there on your screen. And
it's important to note, though, that these are so critical to the United States, to consumers.
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If you remember, during COVID, we could not get semiconductors into the United States fast enough, and car companies were not able to roll new cars
off the lot because they were waiting for those critical chips, those critical components.
And on the pharmaceutical front, the President has long said that he believes that that is also a national security risk, that he believes that
right here in the USA, we should be producing all of our drugs. But, there are some cases where, yes, pharmaceutical companies have stood up, new
plants here in the United States. You have Merck recently opened a $1 billion plant in North Carolina. Johnson & Johnson has a $2 billion
facility in New Jersey.
So, there is possibility to do that here in the United States, but at the rate and the pace that the President wants this to happen, is what is
concerning for some industries, that it's just not going to happen fast enough in order for these companies to meet demands of the President, and
that is ultimately why he is putting these tariffs in place, trying to force companies to move faster to manufacture right here in the United
States.
GOLODRYGA: Again, it just adds to the uncertainty and the criticism that none of this was really thought out, because if the Commerce Department was
really concerned about threats to national security, why launch this investigation just yesterday, which would be two weeks after they unveiled
their big Liberation Day tariff plan. So, again, adding to the uncertainty overall.
ASHER: Yeah. And it's one thing if you knew for sure that these tariffs were actually going to be here to stay. But, under this climate, these
tariffs get turned on and off again like a light switch. And so, it's hard to plan for that. A lot of the pharmaceutical industry across the world is
actually based in Ireland. And so, to Vanessa's point, this idea of actually having to move all of that production to the U.S. is very tricky.
Vanessa Yurkevich live for us. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Still to come, Hamas is now studying a new Israeli proposal for a temporary ceasefire. But, will it lead to an end to the
fighting?
ASHER: Plus, fresh insight into the nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran and some words of caution from Iran's supreme leader. That story
next.
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GOLODRYGA: Well, we're getting our first indication of how Iran's supreme leader sees the renewed nuclear talks with the U.S. Ayatollah Khamenei says
Iran is, quote, "neither overly optimistic nor overly pessimistic about the discussions." He also warned that Iran should not, in his words, repeat the
mistakes made in the last negotiations that resulted in the now abandoned 2015 nuclear deal.
[11:25:00]
ASHER: And on the other side of the talks, U.S. Steve Witkoff stopped short of calling for a full dismantlement of Tehran's nuclear program, which the
UN believes is advancing close to the level needed to make a nuclear bomb.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program and then ultimately
verification on weaponization. That includes missiles, the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there, and it includes the trigger for a bomb.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Well, there is some movement to report in efforts to secure a pause in the fighting in Gaza. Hamas says that it is now studying an
Israeli proposal for a 45-day ceasefire. The deal would see the release of 10 living Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian
prisoners and detainees.
ASHER: Yeah. Under the plan, negotiations for a permanent ceasefire would take place during that 45-day period. The offer marks Israel's first
proposal to bring back hostages since the resumed fighting in the Enclave last month.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv for us. So, Jeremy, one thing that Hamas really does want, obviously, they are studying this proposal, one
thing they really do want is, of course, a permanent end to this war. Just explain to us what they are saying about this latest proposal.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, as it relates to a permanent end of the war, there are no guarantees in this
latest Israeli proposal that that is where these negotiations will lead to. What this proposal does call for is a 45-day truce between Israel and
Hamas, during which time Hamas would release 10 living hostages, the bodies of 16 hostages, and Israel, in exchange, would release hundreds of
Palestinian prisoners, as well as Palestinian detainees, and also allowing aid to flow back into the Gaza Strip, which Israel has not allowed since
March 2nd.
As part of this proposal that's on the table, Edan Alexander, an Israeli soldier, who is also a U.S. citizen and has been held by Hamas for more
than 18 months now, he would be the first hostage to be released. Nine others would be released in two waves, according to this proposal. But,
perhaps one of the more significant sticking points, although, clearly, there are several, is this idea that Israel also wants to see Hamas disarm
as part of this proposal, and that is something that a senior Hamas official is telling us is effectively a non-starter.
Nonetheless, this is the most concrete and detailed proposal that has actually surfaced publicly since that ceasefire fell apart, and it also
represents a higher number of hostages than what Hamas has previously been willing to entertain and discuss in negotiations since the ceasefire broke
down back in March. So, we are certainly seeing some momentum in these negotiations. We are seeing things start to kind of concretize and the two
sides getting closer together.
But, let's just be very clear that there is nothing here to suggest that we are imminently on the verge of another deal to revive this ceasefire and to
get some of those 59 hostages, who still remain captive inside of Gaza, out.
ASHER: All right. Jeremy Diamond live for us there in Tel Aviv. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Still to come on One World, many members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are now uneasy about Donald Trump's trade war.
We'll ask a Democratic Representative what they plan to do about it.
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ASHER: All right. Welcome back to One World. I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Here are some of the international headlines that we are watching today.
ASHER: In the coming hours, U.S. Justice Department officials will again face a judge over a Maryland father who was wrongly deported. The Trump
administration is saying -- is admitting, rather, that it mistakenly sent Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a mega-prison in El Salvador last month, despite
his protected status.
GOLODRYGA: The Trump administration has pulled $2.2 billion in federal funding from Harvard University after the school refused to agree to policy
changes. President Trump upped the ante, suggesting that the prestigious school should also lose its tax-exempt status and be taxed as a political
entity.
ASHER: In just a few hours, Joe Biden will make his first public speech since leaving the Oval Office. He will deliver a keynote address at an
annual meeting of disability advocates in Chicago. Mr. Biden will talk about protecting Social Security, as Democrats fear Republicans are
planning to make cuts to the program.
GOLODRYGA: Donald Trump says he is considering giving a tariff break to U.S. automakers who say their cars could become too expensive due to
imported parts used in making American vehicles. Trump has also taken the first step to slap new tariffs on pharmaceuticals and semiconductor
imports.
For more on this, we're joined now by Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley, who is a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. Congressman,
welcome to the program. Thanks so much for joining us. Governor Pritzker of Illinois stated over the weekend that he believes Trump's broad range
tariff policy here will bring the U.S. to a recession, views that other major banks and economists share. But, in terms of the tariffs on China,
specifically, Illinois does more trade with China and exports more to China as it relates to farming specifically, than most other states in the
country. And I know it imports, I think, its second most imported state from China in the country.
Just talk about the concerns and what you're hearing from some local businessmen about the impact these tariffs could have, because we know the
10 percent tariff, the flat 10 percent on everyone but China has lowered concerns from other countries, at least for the 90-day pause. The China
tariffs for now still are in place.
REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Yeah. And look, some of this is the uncertainty you talked just before about the fact that this is changing by the hour, by
the day, with the whims of the President, right? If you don't like our tariff policy, wait a few minutes. It will change. That uncertainty is
damaging enough. So, yeah, I hear from the farms, I hear from the manufacturers, I hear from the hospitality industry, because people are
canceling flights to the United States, particularly from Canada. So, it's a strange set of bed fellows now, right? I'm the Liberal Democrat from
Chicago, and I'm on the same page with The Wall Street Journal now, called it the dumbest trade war in history, a $6 trillion tax increase.
[11:35:00]
The Cato Institute, Goldman Sachs, who knew that only this President could throw the group of us into each other's arms in agreement, a very real
concern about a recession, at the same time, spiking costs, slowing the economy, creating unemployment, real concerns.
And I just have to add, beyond my own state's borders, the other thing I tell my constituents is, this tariff policy, along with other aspects of
what they're doing, is going to make us less safe. The old adage in foreign policy is, to have a friend, you need to be one. I'm not sure where
anybody's friend now, when we tell NATO they're on their own. We do -- we cut out all our soft power with USAID, treat Ukraine this way, and then put
tariffs on everyone. I'm concerned that we're not going to have any friends when we need them.
ASHER: One friend, and hopefully we can get into this a little bit later on the show with you, is El Salvador, clearly, with that press conference
yesterday in the Oval Office. There are -- there is a very close relationship between the U.S. and El Salvador. But, just going back to what
you said about strange bedfellows, one person that actually you probably are in agreement with as well is former Vice President Mike Pence, who
recently came out and said that Congress should reclaim its constitutional authority over tariffs.
Just give us your take on the legality of these tariffs, because obviously, for a lot of them, whether it's semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, steel and
aluminum, Donald Trump is sort of looking at Section 232, looking at whether or not some of these tariffs or importing some of these good pose a
threat to national security. Give us your thoughts on that.
QUIGLEY: Look, very conservative New Civil Liberties Alliance is suing the Trump administration because these tariffs are unconstitutional. This is an
Article 1 power that the President has taken over. What's concerning to me on this -- on the appropriation bills, is my Republican colleagues are
letting him do this. They're advocating their responsibility, creating a horrible precedent. At some point, they're going to have to step up.
I'm hoping that this list of strange bedfellows you talk about will come forward to these Republicans and say you've got to step up. We saw the
Senate pass something that had the effect of putting elimination of this on the Canadian trade issues, but Speaker Johnson in the House halted this
with the Republicans' help. They have to, at some point in time, realize that their concerns about what Trump will do to them politically isn't as
important or scary as what their constituents might do to them if they don't step up and help.
GOLODRYGA: You mentioned the threat of these tariffs to national security as well. China is already retaliating by withholding the export of rare
earth minerals and magnets that are used in almost every component in the defense industry, and also today, just announcing that it has stopped
importing Boeing planes. Boeing is the largest exporter here in the United States. They, I think, in the last year or so alone, sold about 11 of their
planes out of the 145 of their largest planes to China. Boeing, I know, used to be headquartered in your home state. Now, they have moved a bit
west. Nonetheless, a huge impact to the U.S. economy. But, from a national security perspective, some of what China is doing is raising a lot of
concerns.
QUIGLEY: Look, we have a lot of issues, legitimate concerns about China as an existential threat, but we have to face the economic reality that for
now our economies are extremely intertwined. And if you were going to go about doing this in a logical, coherent way, it would take a long time in
coordination with other allies, but doing this by instinct, as I think the President has called it, he creates a great risk to our economy and our
national security. It's just -- there is no thought at all as to what the implications are going to be. This would take a lot of very smart people a
long time to figure out how to do in a coherent policy.
If we're not doing it, we risk a recession. We risk great economic harm to ourselves, and as I've said, great insecurity to ourselves, just because we
don't have the resources we need for our defense industry. But, we're also angry, everybody else. We will remind everyone that Article 5, NATO, has
only been used once, and it was after 9/11 when our allies came to our aid. We're now telling those same people, we don't need you. We don't care about
you. We're only 4.2 percent of the world's population. The President has to understand, we need each other and the world will spend just fine without
us given time.
[11:40:00]
ASHER: I do want to touch on quickly, before we leave you, on that press conference we saw with President Bukele yesterday and President Trump, and
it was really sort of a disconcerting moment where these two leaders essentially rendered themselves powerless to bring back Kilmar Abrego
Garcia, the man, the father who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, to one of the most dangerous and notorious prisons in El Salvador. Can you --
let's just play that sound, and then I'll ask you a question on the back of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: That's up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That's not up to us. If they wanted to return him, we would
facilitate it, meaning, provide a plane.
NAYIB BUKELE, SALVADORAN PRESIDENT: How can I return him to the United States? Like, I smuggle him into the United States? I don't have the power
to return him to the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: So, everyone is essentially powerless to bring this man back home. Your reaction to that. And then also, I'd love to get your reaction to this
idea, what the President Trump was floating yesterday, this idea of potentially deporting naturalized American citizens to the same prison in
El Salvador as well.
QUIGLEY: I have to put this in a larger perspective. Let's remember, there was a Supreme Court decision nine to nothing, right, talking about the
return of this prisoner. I think what we're witnessing here is a much bigger picture. The President has thrown off any restrictions on being an
autocrat. The news (ph) stories of the day. First of all, he doesn't have to pay attention to the Supreme Court. We have a constitutional crisis. He
is challenging academic freedoms, as we see with the Harvard, Northwestern and other case, changing free speech, the rule of law, folks. This is a
President that warned you this is what he was going to do. When an autocrat tells you he is going to act like an autocrat, you ought to believe him.
I look at this and I see the precursor here, the polling in Hungary before Viktor Orban took over and became an autocrat, very similar to what we see
among registered Republicans that democracy isn't always the best form of government. You were witnessing this in the El Salvador case and the issues
with Harvard and all the other restrictions and limitations on naturalized citizens now. These are citizens of the United States now. So, to bully
them, to challenge them, these are the acts of a tyrant, an autocrat, and someone has to step up. The American people, my Republican colleagues have
to join us in pushing back, because when the President understands no one is pushing back, he will only get much, much worse.
GOLODRYGA: Congressman Mike Quigley, thank you --
ASHER: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: -- so much for the time.
Ahead for us, Harvey Weinstein's retrial kicked off today. Jury selection is underway in Manhattan right now. What's different this time as the
former movie mogul stands trial once again for alleged sex crimes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Harvard -- Harvey Weinstein's, rather, retrial for alleged sex crimes is underway. Jury selection began earlier today in Manhattan. Five
years ago, a jury found the former Hollywood producer guilty of rape and sexual assault. He is denying the allegations and accusations. Weinstein
was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
GOLODRYGA: But, an appeals court overturned the conviction, finding that some witnesses should not have been allowed to testify. In 2020, this was a
landmark case that galvanized the #MeToo movement, but some are questioning how this new trial will land today.
ASHER: CNN Correspondent Jean Casarez joins us live now from New York. So, Jean, this is a legal redo. Just explain to us how this particular trial is
going to mimic the original one.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's going to mimic it, because two of the three accusers are coming back to court to testify for a second
time. You've got criminal sexual act in the first degree, 2006, and that is Mimi Haley. She will come back. She will re-testify. And there was a
conviction there. It was overturned, but there was a conviction. Second is Denning, and that's 2013. It was third-degree rape, and she will testify
again, but a brand new accuser that has never been before.
But, you say something that I think is so important, because the #MeToo movement back in 2020, it was front and center in this trial. It was a huge
elephant in the room, you could say, at the courthouse downtown. But, the reality is, and the defense is going to make the most of this, they are
going to focus in that that was then, and this was now, especially on the prosecution's expert witness on rape myths that people can be raped and
sexually assaulted, and they don't report it, that they continue a relationship, that they don't act in the way that a person thinks they
should act, that this is all part of reality when something like this can happen to someone.
But, the defense is going to focus in on that those possibly are not the truths right there, especially in this situation. I think they're going to
try to show that this is a new age. Now, it was just last year that the highest court in New York, the Court of Appeals, overturned that verdict.
We've got some words from Jenny Rivera, who was the justice that wrote the opinion there, and what she focused in on was that this trial in 2020 that
the judge allowed so many prior bad act witnesses, women to come into that courtroom who alleged they had been assaulted by Harvey Weinstein, but they
were not part of the indictment, and that is allowed in states.
However, the court ruled that there were so many that he didn't have the presumption of innocence. When they went to the jury, they said -- he
secondly determined, Jenny Rivera, that Weinstein had wanted to testify, but because the judge ruled that anything could come in that he basically
had done in his life from yelling at an employee at work that he couldn't take the stand. And so, this is a different trial. You're not going to have
all those women coming in. Harvey Weinstein, I know he wants to testify. He said it before the court at sentencing last time. He might do it this time.
We'll have to see. But, it is going to be a different trial.
ASHER: All right. Jean Casarez, thank you so much.
We'll be right back with more after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATHY ENGELBERT, COMMISSIONER, WNBASHER: With the first pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, the Dallas Wings select Paige Bueckers, University of
Connecticut.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Paige Bueckers was the number one overall pick by the Dallas Wings in Monday night's WNBA draft.
ASHER: Yeah. The superstar said it was super surreal to be chosen as a top pick, but she was ready to open a new chapter. Her college career ended
with a national championship for the University of Connecticut.
GOLODRYGA: So, who better to bring in more details on the draft than CNN World Sports Coy Wire. So, this was no surprise. Paige Bueckers going
number one overall. But, just talk about the impact she has had on the sport the past few years.
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: It's been phenomenal going back several years, she kind of like put -- somehow, if you could put UConn on the map, who is
like this Behemoth and Goliath among women's college basketball, she was able to come in and really just take the world by storm. Her head coach at
UConn, Geno Auriemma, said that she flows like water. She started her career by becoming the first ever freshman to win the National Player of
the Year award. But then she got injured. She missed all of last season, tearing her ACL, had to have surgery, but she never gave up. She worked
harder than ever, she persevered, and she finished her career as a national champ.
Check out the watch party back in Dallas the moment her name was called as the number one overall pick by the Wings. You think they're excited? Here
she is after hearing that name called as the top pick in the WNBA draft.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAIGE BUECKERS, WNBA NO. 1 OVERALL PICK: Obviously, I got a little bit emotional there, just talking about my teammates and what they mean to me,
but just so much gratitude, so much appreciation for the journey that it took to get here and the people that it took to get here. So, just
rewarding their hard work and all of my hard work, I guess. It's very gratifying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Now, one thing you have to see, Zain and Bianna, this is a picture of a tweet from September of 2014. It a local photo journalist in Minnesota.
She was 11-years-old at that time, and he posted, remember the name: Paige Bueckers, 6th grade, think Diana Taurasi. Best 6th grade guard I've ever
seen. That is prescient, and that is also precious. That -- just that face right there. I mean, that's the little girl who dreamt one day of playing
in the WNBA, and she just heard her name called, and she walked across that stage, incredible moment for her and her family and of course, all of her
teammates who she thanked ad nauseum for helping her get to where she is.
ASHER: Yes. So, Paige Bueckers, number one, but we actually saw quite a few international names in terms of who came number two, Dominique Malonga,
number two. This is the highest that a French player has ranked in almost 30 years, Coy.
WIRE: Incredible. Three of the top 10 picks in the draft for international players, and you mentioned the Seattle storm pick, the six foot 16
phenomenon out of France. Dominique Malonga, number two overall, just 19- years-old, but she started playing as a pro overseas at 15. She won an Olympic silver medal in these past Olympics in Paris, and she dunks with
ease. Look at this. This is incredible stuff. I mean, we also had Juste Jocyte of Lithuania. She was drafted number five overall to the Valkyries,
the new team there out west, and at number 10, the Chicago Sky selected Slovenian forward Ajsa Sivka, who has played for her national team and
professionally in Euro League.
[11:55:00]
Here is Malonga, though, on what this opportunity means to her, coming from France.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOMINIQUE MALONGA, SILVER MEDALIST, 2024 PARIS OLYMPICS: I'm really, really excited to step on the court in W and to show that European basketball is
something, too, and I can come here and showcase my talent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: I'm so excited for this, Zain and Bianna, like she dunks with ease in games, right? We're seeing some practice video, having fun. Tony Parker,
the legendary NBA player, said that she is like Victor Wembanyama, of course, both from France, but just an athletic freak of nature who is going
to go out there and do things that we just have never really seen before. So, it's going to be very exciting to watch her step on the court like
that.
ASHER: I literally zoned out as soon as he said six foot six. I just kept on thinking about that height, because she was actually part of the French
basketball team for the Olympics, and they actually got a silver medal. But, just thinking about six foot six.
WIRE: Yeah.
ASHER: So, of course, she dunks at ease.
WIRE: But -- and moving with ease, right? I mean, it's just -- it's incredible. Seattle got themselves a good one, as did those Dallas Wings
fans. They're going to be really excited for Paige Bueckers lighting it up for them.
GOLODRYGA: Flows like water. Words never used to describe me in any of my athletic prowess.
Coy Wire, good to see you --
WIRE: You too.
GOLODRYGA: -- our friend.
All right.
ASHER: All right. One more sports story for you. Ohio State's football team made their way to the White House to celebrate their national college
championship on Monday.
GOLODRYGA: And while President Trump seemed to do OK, handling the Buckeyes' helmet he got from the team, Vice President J.D. Vance appeared
to have a bit of trouble holding on to the trophy. You'll see it right here. He ends up fumbling, literally, the trophy, dropping the base to the
ground.
ASHER: Oh my God.
GOLODRYGA: Now, later, Vance took to social media, joking that he just didn't want anyone to get the trophy after Ohio State. So, he decided to
break it. Hopefully, Buckeyes fans aren't throwing out the yellow penalty flags yet. Now --
ASHER: It's pretty heavy, though, to be fair.
GOLODRYGA: To be fair, it's very heavy, and it comes in like two components. So, it's a bit challenging to carry. But, yeah, that made for a
viral moment, for sure.
Do stay with us. We'll have more One World after a quick break.
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END
