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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Meets With Japanese PM At White House Amid War With Iran; European Leaders Urge U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Talks; Report: U.S. Weighing Possible Troop Deployment; Frustrated Democrats Walk Out Of Tense Epstein Briefing With Bondi And Blanche On Capitol; Hill; U.S. College Student James Gracey Disappears In Spain; Finland Named World's Happiest Country Again; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired March 19, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:02]
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Is that OK?
SANAE TAKAICHI, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
TRUMP: Very good, I tell you. I mean, it's so nice that we don't have to sit --
TAKAICHI: Yes, I can.
TRUMP: No, it's very good. I haven't -- I haven't picked up your language, so. The next time you come, I'll have your language master.
All right. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If the war is almost over, why is the Pentagon going to ask Congress for an additional $200 billion?
TRUMP: Well, we're asking for a lot of reasons beyond even what we're talking about in Iran. This is a very volatile world. And the military
equipment, the -- the power of some of this weaponry is unthinkable. You don't even want to know about it.
Oh, you could end this thing in two seconds if you wanted to, but -- but we are -- we are being very judicious. But we want to do -- don't forget,
Biden gave away -- I rebuilt the military my first term.
Biden gave away so stupidly to Afghanistan a lot. He didn't want to move it. He was too lazy, too stupid to move it. But it was a very small amount.
It was a lot, but it was very small relative to what I purchased and what I built.
We want to have a good -- we want to have vast amounts of ammunition, which we have right now. We have a lot of ammunition, but it was taken down by
giving so much to Ukraine.
They gave so much -- you know, Biden gave $350 billion worth of cash and military equipment to Ukraine. And he didn't rebuild anything.
Fortunately, we have a lot. We have a tremendous -- unlimited supply of -- of what you call middle and upper middle armaments and military equipment.
Munitions, armaments, but munitions in particular.
At the high end, we have a lot, but we're -- we're preserving it. We don't really need it. But we're building our manufacturers of military equipment.
Our building at a level they've never seen before. They've never done before.
Pete's in charge of it with -- with all of us, really. But Pete's been very -- very strong on it. The general and Pete, myself, the whole group.
And Raytheon is building four factories. Lockheed is building five or six factories. And they're -- they're building them fast, because we had a very
tough meeting with them. They were going out and buying -- buying back stock for $51 billion in one case. They spent $51 billion buying back
stock. Now, they're not allowed to do that.
And they are now building a tremendous -- there's never been anything like it what's taking place right now.
So, we're in very good shape, but we want to be in the best shape, the best shape we've ever been in. We were that. You know, when I rebuilt the
military, we were in great shape and then Biden blew it. And he didn't do anything. He didn't build -- he -- he didn't do anything.
And if you listen to the Democrats, they don't even want to have a military. Now you see how important it is.
But we have the strongest military in the world. We have the best equipment. We make, by far, the best equipment.
The other night, they had 114 rockets shot at a certain location. And out of 100 -- highly sophisticated rockets, out of 114 sophisticated rockets,
every single one of them were shot down with our equipment. All our equipment. It's amazing, actually, how good it is.
So, we want to be sure. And it's a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy top.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President. The Treasury Secretary said there were defections among the Iranian leadership. Are you aware of that?
And is there anybody that you ask to work with as a leader going forward?
TRUMP: Well, we have a man named the Treasury Secretary here. So maybe -- maybe he wants to discuss it. Does anybody know -- do you know who he is?
Central casting.
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: Yes. So we -- we -- we are seeing the defections at -- at all levels as they're starting to sense what's
going on with the regime. It doesn't get reported here in the U.S. very well, but, you know, we -- we are tracing them from the air, and the regime
will probably collapse within itself.
At Treasury, we've seen where they've wired their money out of the country. We're coming for that. We're going to get it back to the Iranian people.
TRUMP: You're seeing defections?
BESSENT: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On Israel --
TRUMP: There's a lot of military defections also. You have a lot of military defections in Iran. I don't -- hey, I don't blame them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President. You talked to the Prime Minister Netanyahu about attacking the oil and gas fields.
TRUMP: Yes, I did. I did. I told him, don't do that. And he won't do that. We didn't discuss.
You know, we do -- we're independent, but get along great. It's coordinated, but on occasion, he'll do something, and if I don't like it,
and so we're not doing that anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the last one, if I could, the Fed Chairman told me yesterday that he plans to stay until a new Fed Chairman is confirmed. And
he also plans to stay on the board until the investigation of the Federal Reserve is done.
[12:05:01]
TRUMP: Well, he's under investigation because he's building a building for hundreds of billions of dollars more than it's supposed to cost.
The building you see over there is under budget and ahead of schedule. That's the ballroom. The ballroom is a much bigger building. It's a much
more complex building than what he's doing. And it's -- and a fraction of the cost.
Something is going on, whether it's contractors. That's what I do best in the world. I build. I build great buildings. I've always done it. And I
build them under budget and ahead of schedule.
They could have four billion. This is a renovation job for $4 billion.
And if you look at the building, it's not even -- I don't know if Kevin Warsh is ever going to be able to move into it. It's been under
construction for years. It's the most expensive building ever built.
Now, it -- I know it's grossed in company because I happen to think he's grossly incompetent. Today, certainly, he should be lowering interest
rates. All right? Certainly. Who would not lower them?
But he's stubborn. And he's got Trump derangement syndrome, but a lot of people have that, you know. It's not a curable disease.
But -- but he's also building -- he should be lowering rates immediately. But he -- he won't do that because he's -- he's a stubborn, incompetent
person. And that's a bad thing, you know.
When you're stubborn and incompetent, I think it's the worst combination. And he's also not a smart person.
But he's building a complex over there that's under his jurisdiction. He started it. And it's out of control. It's billions of dollars for a little
building.
I could have done that building and made it beautiful for $25 million. $25 million, and it would have been beautiful.
Look what I've done at the White House fixing it up. And I mean, the place was in bad shape. You see the floors and everything. It was in bad shape.
I could have -- I could have made that building beautiful for $25 million. They're spending $4 billion.
All right. So it's -- there is criminality. Maybe it's with the contractor. But -- because I know more about contractors than any human being, maybe,
that several lived.
But that contractor is a very rich man. Whoever the contractor is that we know. But whoever the contractor is -- is an extremely rich man. He's going
to make -- I mean, he could make billions of dollars.
I don't -- I'm hearing numbers from $3 to $4 billion. That would make it the most expensive building on a square foot basis ever built in history.
And you're not even building a building. It's a renovation. The exterior skin is staying. The steel is staying. The structure.
So, all I want to do is bring out to the public that this guy is an incompetent. He's a very incompetent guy. And he may be a dishonest guy.
But somebody's dishonest because there's no way that building could be $3 to $4 billion.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
TRUMP: Please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, you just mentioned Japan.
TRUMP: This looks like one of your people right here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
TRUMP: Is he good or bad? Is he a good reporter or bad, you know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So-so.
TRUMP: Not -- he's -- all right. It looks like it is. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, you just mentioned Japan is stepping up. What kind of (INAUDIBLE) do you expect from Japan in the future?
TRUMP: Look, I expect Japan to step up because, you know, we have that kind of relationship. And we -- we step up with Japan. We have 45,000 soldiers
in Japan. We have -- we spend a lot of money on Japan, so.
And we've had that kind of relationship. So I -- I expect -- I'm not surprised that they would step up. We don't need much. We don't need
anything. I mean, honestly, we don't need anything from Japan or from anyone else, but I think it's appropriate that people step up.
In the case of Japan, I hear they get more than 90 percent of their oil through the strait.
TAKAICHI: Yes.
TRUMP: So that's a big reason to step up. I mean, we've -- we've demolished -- that country is close to demolished. The only thing is the strait.
It's very hard. You could take two people and they could drop little bombs in the water and they're holding things up. We don't want that to happen.
But honestly, Japan, China, Europe, parts of Europe, get a lot of their oil through the strait. We get none, practically. We're less -- we're less than
one percent. We -- we don't have to be any percent. We don't even -- I think we do it just to be nice.
But we -- think of it, we -- we don't use the strait. We're defending the strait for everybody else. And then in the case of NATO, they don't want to
help us defend the strait. And they're the ones that need it.
But now they're getting much nicer because they're seeing my attitude. They're getting much nicer. But it's -- as far as I'm concerned, it's too
late.
[12:10:09]
You know, U.K. wants to send aircraft carriers now. And I said, I want the aircraft carriers before the war. I don't want them after the war is won.
They want to send me aircraft carriers after there was -- there's practically nobody to shoot at them.
You know, their missile count is down. Maybe you could discuss it by about 90 something percent. The drones are way down and the factors are being
demolished. Maybe.
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Sir, our missile -- missiles being shot or down over 90 percent since the beginning. One-way attack drones
down 90 percent since the beginning, which is a reflection of overwhelming firepower.
But you mentioned the most important part, Mr. President, their defense industrial base. If you can't make more of it in the future, then you have
a limited supply. And so we're going after all of their defense contractors that make all of their exquisite weapons and ensuring that even if they
wanted to rebuild more launchers or more missiles, they couldn't in the future. And that's a level of devastation for their military that they've
never seen before.
TRUMP: So we have, in literally two weeks, we've demolished a navy their Air Force. All technology is gone. All communication is gone. And all of
the leaders are gone. Other than that, they're doing quite well.
OK. How about one more question for the prime -- for the prime minister? Let me pick a beautiful looking person from a beautiful person from Japan,
a question for the prime minister. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me?
TRUMP: Yes. Oh, he doesn't believe he's --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, OK.
TRUMP: He says, (INAUDIBLE). Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, you know, Japan and U.S. are very good friend, but one question. Why didn't you tell U.S. allies in Europe and
Asia like Japan about the war before attacking Iran? So, we are very confused about -- we Japanese --
TRUMP: Well, one thing you don't want to signal too much, you know. When we go in, we went in very hard. And we didn't tell anybody about it because we
wanted surprise.
Who knows better about surprise than Japan? OK? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor? OK? Right? He's asking me. Do you believe in surprise?
I think much more so than us.
And we had a surprise and -- and we did. And because of that surprise, we knocked out -- the first two days, we probably knocked out 50 percent of
what we -- and much more than we anticipated doing.
So, if I go and tell everybody about it, it's no longer a surprise, right?
OK. One -- one more -- one more -- one more for the -- one more for the prime minister.
TRUMP: Are you going for the prime minister?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And for you too.
TRUMP: Go ahead. For the prime minister.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much. Japan's (INAUDIBLE) press. Japan's biggest concern is China. Now, they're giving us export control
and, you know, a very harsh terms to criticize us.
So, could you -- where do you plan to bring out relationship between Japan and China while you are there, you know.
TRUMP: Yes. Well, I'll be going to China very quickly. But the -- I think I'd really like to have the prime minister talk about China because I know
they have a little bit of an edgy relationship
And I'd just like to know where it stands, how are you doing with China, so please.
TAKAICHI (through translator): So first of all, Japan has been consistently open to dialogue with China.
And also second, we have been addressing our relations with China in a calm manner.
And also speaking of the U.S.-China relationship, my sincere hope is that the relationship will be something conducive for regional security and also
ensuring the global supply chain in the world.
Once again, I would like to reiterate that Japan has been consistently open to dialogue with China.
TRUMP: And I think we're going to have a great trip. The trip has been postponed for about a month and a half. It's been reset. And we look
forward to it.
And I'll be -- I'll be speaking Japan's praises when I'm in China with President Xi.
But we have -- but we're going to have some good talks today. And I think mostly about trade because they want to do a lot of trade. They're a
tremendous purchaser of our energy, our oil, gas from -- in particular Alaska.
[12:15:11]
Because Alaska, believe it or not, is very close. It's much closer than any other (INAUDIBLE). It seems a little cold compared to it, but it's just a
short -- it's just a short trip.
TAKAICHI (through translator): So that's something that we will talk about after the first press corps of this.
TRUMP: We'll be discussing trade. And a lot of -- the talk will be about energy.
Thank you very much, everybody.
(CROSSTALK)
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You've been listening to a White House presser there between President Trump in the Oval Office, as he was
meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan, Takaichi.
They're taking questions from reporters. A few notable headlines from the president when asked about the war in Iran, he said that it's substantially
ahead of schedule, and its impact, of course, on the markets, the stock market and specifically the oil and gas markets.
He said he actually thought that it would be much worse, but that the markets had been at a historic high and gas and oil prices had been low
enough that to address what he said was a threat to both the United States and the world.
He had to take this, quote, excursion, though he said that this would be a limited war. And he said that most of their objectives had already been
accomplished when asked if the $200 billion was something that the United States was or that the administration was going to be asking Congress for
and why. He said there is much that needs to be reinvested in the U.S. military.
For the Japanese prime minister, she said that a big concern obviously is the global economy. She expects that there will be a huge hit if this war
continues for longer, but then praise the president telling him that only he can achieve peace and that nuclear weapons should never be allowed to be
an Iranian possession.
She said she's going to be presenting the president with specific proposals to calm the global energy markets.
I want to bring in Hanako Montgomery, who has been listening in from Seoul and Kevin Liptak at the White House.
Hanako, let me start with you. The prime minister seems to have done what she was set out to do, and that was maintain a -- a good relationship with
President Trump, who praised her, said that they are stepping up, meaning, Japan is stepping up, perhaps militarily, though he didn't lay out concrete
measures in how Japan is doing that, unlike NATO.
So, walk us through what you heard and what we can expect to see next from these two leaders.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bianna. I think what was really notable about what we just heard from both President Trump and the Japanese
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, is really the emphasis on their personal relationship.
You heard Trump even complimenting and praising Takaichi's interpreter, who is actually the interpreter of the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe, and Trump used to refer to that interpreter actually as the little prime minister.
So really just emphasizing how close of a relationship that Takaichi and Trump do have. Both leaders were sort of praising each other and sort of
keeping that praise on one another, and again, emphasizing how strong that relationship is in the face of NATO where Trump said he wasn't getting that
same support.
Now, Bianna, as you mentioned, there weren't really many details, you know, that were the details about what kind of support Japan is offering.
But we are hearing that Japan will be announcing a second round of investments as part of that $550 billion trade deal that Japan signed with
the United States last year.
Now, during this second round of investment, we are expecting deals made in the energy sector for the United States. So Japan pouring in billions and
billions of dollars in the United States' nuclear reactor development, also developing crude oil in potentially Alaska and also liquefied natural gas.
Now, these are all types of energy that, of course, Japan is heavily reliant on, given that it is a resource-poor country. And more than 90
percent of its oil comes from the Middle East. So this is technically potentially a win-win situation for Japan.
But I do really want to emphasize here that Japan is severely limited when it comes to getting involved militarily in the U.S. and Israel's war with
Iran.
It has a pacifist constitution that limits its military action to self- defense. There are some circumstances under which Japan can use force, but that is really a case-by-case scenario and also requires parliament
approval. So it takes time.
Also, you know, not to mention that this war is very unpopular back at home for Takaichi. So, if she were to get involved militarily, it will not go
down well with the Japanese public.
[12:20:00]
And as Japan is trying to boost defense spending, as Takaichi has a list of things on her agenda to achieve, of course, she's not going to want to make
that kind of political gamble.
So again, Bianna, really from -- from that conversation we heard between Takaichi and Trump emphasizing how strong the alliance was in the face of
worse examples like NATO and Trump again really just emphasizing how much he appreciate Takaichi for stepping up to the plate, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Though -- though a bit of an awkward moment there when the president was asked why allies weren't informed, he said that they wanted
to surprise Iran, and thus, the world as a result. And then said, look at what happened at Pearl Harbor. That indeed was a surprise. Obviously, it
was World War II and Japan's role there that ultimately led to what is now a pacifist constitution.
Hanako, thank you.
Let's bring in Kevin Liptak. So, Kevin, again praise from President Trump for the prime minister there, he said unlike how he feels about NATO and
their response to this war. The president saying he actually doesn't need any help at this point.
What else stood out to me though is what we heard from the treasury secretary and this is something he said that is not getting much play in
the U.S. media, but that the U.S. is seeing signs of defections of leadership military leaders in Iran, and said that he believes the regime
will ultimately collapse and the treasury department is following the wiring of money out from top leaders in trying to stop and track that money
as well.
What more do we know about this, Kevin?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And the treasury secretary was relatively specific about what the U.S. is doing on that
front, but I do think it's notable that he said that because, you know, up until this point, American officials have been fairly reticent to describe
any kind of regime change as an objective in this conflict.
You know, they say that that is something that Israel's pursuing, but they have laid out an entirely different objective set for what they're trying
to achieve in Iran. So it was notable that he was describing how some of these leaders have defected and the treasury department's efforts to track
them.
Some of those details I don't think we knew previously and we'll have to sort of run down exactly what it was that he was talking about. But I think
it was interesting to hear the president say that he would be defecting to if he was a military leader in Iran. Just noting that so many of them have
been killed as part of this conflict.
I thought it was also notable when the president was asked about conversations that he has had with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu specifically about Israel's targeting of oil and gas fields.
You know, we saw that just yesterday this tit-for-tat volley where Israel targeted that key natural gas field in Iran. Iran fired back on Qatar. It
created an enormous amount of consternation. And the president claimed later that he had no awareness of it.
The president did say that he talked to Netanyahu about this and told him that it wasn't something that he liked. And that Netanyahu told him that he
would stop. The president said, quote, we're not doing that anymore, allowing you know at least some daylight between the U.S. and Israeli
objectives in this conflict which the White House has been so loath to do up until this point. And I think that was significant.
But just going back to that joke about Pearl Harbor, it was kind of interesting how little it landed in the room. People were sort of silent
when the president made a joke about that.
You know, I remember going to Pearl Harbor with Shinzo Abe and Barack Obama. It's a very solemn moment. Abe was offering his condolences to the
Americans that were killed in that attack that launched World War II.
This was a very different sort of treatment of that historical event. Obviously, it was off the cuff, but it's just, I think, notable to see how
these two presidents. And the protege of Shinzo Abe were sort of handling that historic moment in the Oval Office.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Had a bit of an awkward landing, to say the least.
Kevin Liptak, thank you.
Let's continue this discussion with the former U.S. ambassador to Japan, Thomas Schieffer. Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us.
You've written that the mutual trust and respect between these two leaders is what keeps the U.S.-Japanese alliance whole and together. Was that on
full display from what we just saw?
THOMAS SCHIEFFER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN: Well, I think it was a giant sigh of relief to everybody on the Japanese side that it got through
as well as it did and that the conversations they had prior to the press conference this morning were good and that both people seemed to be in good
-- good happy mode as the day progresses.
I mean, the -- the difficult talks are going to go on now and headed in the afternoon and toward the evening, but I think it was a very good first
start to -- through the day.
GOLODRYGA: Right. And when this meeting was first announced, obviously, these were not the topics that the prime minister was hoping or thinking
that she would be raising with President Trump. The focus was intended to be on both the U.S. and Japanese economic alliance and perhaps a $550
billion investment between these two countries from Japan, but also China. And that's now put on the backburner with the president in his trip, put on
hold for a few weeks.
[12:25:26]
So what we did hear from the prime minister was that she had specific proposals to present the president in order to calm global energy markets.
From your experience, given that Japan is a resource-poor country, what specific proposals do you think she could bring to the table?
SCHIEFFER: Well, one of the things that they have promised in the international agency, energy agency, is to pledge 80 billion barrels of
oil, which is 20 percent of the 400 that the -- that the agency is coming up with. That's a pretty big number.
And I think that's -- and I think that speaks well of Japan that they'd be willing to do that. They -- they are dependent on somebody else's energy.
That's been the history of Japan.
But this is a -- this is a big problem in Japan as to where they're going to get the energy to come. And I think she's going to make the case to the
president that that -- that is the case that the Japanese are willing to help in any way that they can, but they are under enormous pressure on the
energy side of the equation to come up with where they're going to get the energy in the future.
Now, a lot of that can come from the United States in -- in the future, but it's going to take a while.
And I think that there is a concern in Japan among the Japanese people about China. And they -- security arrangement that the United States has
with Japan. That's the most important thing in the alliance is the security part of it.
Because the Japanese are dependent upon American power. And they have considerable power themselves, but they're restricted in their constitution
as how they can project it. And that was a constitution, by the way, that was written by the United States and has not been amended since World War
II. So it has been reinterpreted sometimes more favorably to the United States.
Shinzo Abe was a leader in -- in doing that.
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
SCHIEFFER: And -- and -- but that's -- that's the important thing here. And we don't want to have a situation in which Japan and the United States are
seen as somehow weakening the alliance or not being -- believing in it. It's -- it's really important to the peace of the United States as well as
Northeast Asia.
Well, given -- last question. Given the conservative supermajority that she now has in the country after calling those very successful snap elections,
do you think this instability now in the Middle East and specifically affecting Japan's economy, do you think that that gives her political
cover, especially if it continues for -- for the next few weeks, at least, to revisit Japan's post-war pacifist constitution?
SCHIEFFER: Well, I think that she has, in following in Prime Minister Abe's footsteps, I think she has a real understanding of the security needs of
Japan. And I think she has the ability to do something that Japanese leaders have been somewhat restricted in doing in the past because of this
incredible victory that she had.
She has got a two-thirds majority now of the (INAUDIBLE) and it's just an LDP membership. That's never happened before.
But she has the ability to do things that others have somewhat wanted to do but might not have been able politically to do.
And I think she has to be careful here that she doesn't expend that political capital on something that is kind of down the line in importance.
This is a -- this summit is -- is a big deal today. It's important. And I'm delighted that -- that the two seem to be getting along well.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Also important to note that despite her popularity at home, this is not a very popular war back at home in Japan --
SCHIEFFER: No.
GOLODRYGA: -- at least thus far.
Ambassador Thomas Schieffer, thank you for the time. We appreciate it.
SCHIEFFER: My pleasure.
GOLODRYGA: Well, we've got new video of the breaking news that we brought you in the last hour. Sources telling CNN that there has been an Iranian
ballistic missile strike on an Israeli oil refinery in Haifa.
You can see the smoke plume from this strike there. No injuries have been reported. Emergency workers are trying to extinguish a fire at the facility
in northern Israel. We'll continue to follow this story.
[12:30:02]
In the meantime, we'll be right back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: European leaders are urging Washington and Tehran to engage in ceasefire negotiations as the war escalates. They met in Brussels, Belgium
today, amid growing concern about the long-term global impact of the war.
The U.N. Secretary General says that it is time for the force of law to prevail over the law of force. He called for diplomacy to prevail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: It's high time to end this war that is risking to get completely out of control, causing immense suffering
on civilians, and with the propagation around the -- the global economy that is really dramatic with potential tragic consequences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: NATO Secretary General says the U.S. is doing the right thing by targeting Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: We all agree, as we always did, that it was crucial for Iran not to get his hands on a nuclear capability, a
ballistic missile capability.
And what the U.S. is doing at the moment is degrading that capability of Iran. And I think that's very important. This is important for European
security, for the Middle East.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: On Capitol Hill, meantime, U.S. intelligence officials are back in the hot seat to discuss the worldwide threat assessment before a House
Intelligence Committee.
In her opening statement, U.S. Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, said Iran maintained the intention to rebuild its infrastructure
and nuclear enrichment capability following last year's U.S. strikes against its nuclear facilities. But she did not state that Iran was making
efforts to do so.
She also said the U.S. and Israel have different aims for the war with Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TULSI GABBARD, U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different from the objectives that
have been laid out by the Israeli government.
[12:35:05]
We can see through the operations that the Israeli government has been focused on disabling the Iranian leadership and taking out several members,
obviously, beginning with the ayatollah, the supreme leader, and they continue to focus on that effort.
The president has stated that his objectives are to destroy Iran's ballistic missile launching capability, their ballistic missile production
capability, and their Navy, the IRGC Navy, and mine-laying capability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: President Trump once again said that he would not put boots on the ground in the war in Iran. But just before he said that, he also said
he wouldn't tell everyone before doing it.
Now, last week, the Pentagon deployed about 2,500 Marines and sailors to the region. While the U.S. Defense Secretary didn't say more than his boss,
he did say what the war effort needs now is more money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEGSETH: $200 billion, I think that number could move, obviously. It -- it takes -- it takes money to kill bad guys. So, we're going back to Congress
and our folks there to -- to ensure that we're properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Major John Spencer is a chair of war studies at the Madison Policy Forum. He also heads up the Urban Warfare Institute and joins me
now. Thank you so much for taking the time. It really is good to have you on the program.
So, let's pick up with this question of whether we will see U.S. boots on the ground and what that actually constitutes, because there had been
reporting that the president is looking to send the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. That's some 2,500 or so troops to strip Iran of its
ability, to essentially hijack the global export market there for oil and natural gas.
In fact, General Frank McKenzie has suggested that Marines could seize Kharg Island and use it as a bargaining chip. So not bombing the
infrastructure, as the president said they wouldn't do, but sort of a continuation after they took out their military infrastructure on that
island.
Do you think that that is the right call? Do you think that that would actually set Iran back and stop its attacks on energy infrastructure and
open up the Strait of Hormuz? And -- and follow up, does that then constitute boots on the ground?
MAJ. JOHN SPENCER (RET.), CHAIR OF WAR STUDIES, MADISON POLICY FORUM: Well, thanks for having me.
Do I think it's a smart move? Well, I don't have access to all of the intelligence. I definitely think the role of the U.S. military is to give
the president options and maneuvering the -- those Marines into position is to give them options.
Strategy isn't a plan that you start on day one and you just check off a checklist. It evolves in uncertainty of what the enemy is doing.
Definitely, that's a -- a core Marine Corps mission is to seize an island. Hold it. Is it a possibility? Absolutely, it's a possibility.
On that, you know, of the boots on the ground. As a war scholar, I can say that the worst thing you could ever do is tell your enemy what you're about
to do, what you're willing to do, and what you're not willing to do.
So as the president said, you know, a few minutes ago, basically nothing's off the table. There's no plan. It's -- you don't want your enemy knowing
what you're going to do.
I can say it was strong conviction that I don't believe people that want to take boots on the ground then transfer that to ground invasion, transfer
that to nation building.
I was a part of the invasion of Iraq, you know, over 170,000 troops. That's not what I believe this U.S. administration is even considering.
GOLODRYGA: And that is understandable. Obviously, you don't want to forecast or lay out to your enemy exactly what your war plans are.
So then, do you think the president made a mistake in that post, and again reiterating today from the Oval Office last night that Israel will no
longer be targeting Iran's oil or energy facilities because he said the United States had no role in that?
But from all accounts, from multiple sources, who CNN has reached out to, this was a highly coordinated expedition envisioned by Israel.
SPENCER: I definitely won't speak for the president. As you know, more than I do, he speaks his mind in -- in a certain way.
I believe that, you know, Israel has shown its immense capabilities to be an ally willing and able to support the U.S. in its objectives, but also
its own nations that is doing supporting missions.
What has been done in the decapitation strikes are more likely to change behavior than some other forms of maneuvers. And taking things away from
the regime like its supplies that it relies on, I think, is -- you couldn't say is bad strategy, but I again don't have all the information.
[12:40:59]
I take it all that we all know at what -- at its face value and say that if the president believes that's not the strategy, that the United States and
Israel, there is no daylight between the two and they work hand in hand in developing the strategy to achieve what appears to be very mutual goals.
GOLODRYGA: We heard there from the defense secretary and the chairman of Joint Chiefs today that there will be more targeted attacks in Iran,
striking at their ballistic missile facilities. Obviously, their drone facilities, missile launchers, and the defense apparatus there that
produces all of their weaponry.
And by all accounts, this has been quite successful. The ballistic missiles and launchers have declined by 90 percent. The same is one-way drones that
the launchers have also been decimated, as well as Iran's air defense system.
And yet, you still see the IRGC today just taking credit for attacking Israel's gas facilities there in Haifa, striking its neighbors in the
region and their oil and gas facilities.
At what point does this become a -- a war of attrition?
SPENCER: I mean, I think all war is a war of attrition by means to convince your enemy to do your will.
So, there is a difference between maneuver warfare and attrition warfare. I think the U.S. military and Israel have shown a historic capability to a
trip. The enemy's will and its capabilities because you have to have both.
Of course, the decapitation strikes were an unchartered territory. We've never been able to eliminate the entire political and military leadership
in echelons.
So, the people that believe that we're not going to change the behavior that way and just have no historical presidents to say so, yes, the enemy
is still fighting. Yes, it -- it appears to still be using a very limited capability it has.
But as General Caine said, as we continue to push into the eastern portions safely, and I think that can't be discounted as everybody wants, you know,
this to end as quickly as possible, that definitely cost immense amounts of capability of the U.S. military to do that.
But, you know, I'm also a student of war and you can't just snap your finger and eliminate an entire nation this largest capabilities to do
anything. But we're surely in unchartered territory in the amount of damage that has been conducted against Iran in such a short amount of time.
GOLODRYGA: No doubt that they have been weakened substantially. This is a 47-year-old regime. And it's important to note we are in day 20 of this
war.
Also interesting to hear from the treasury secretary today, I think for the first time, have a -- an administration official say that they are starting
to see a -- a significant sign of defections from leadership and the military there.
John Spencer, chair of war studies at the Madison Policy Forum, thank you so much for your analysis.
Well, Jeffrey Epstein's longtime attorney testified before members of Congress. He had no knowledge whatsoever of the convicted sex offender's
wrongdoing.
In a closed-door deposition, Darren Indyke rejected any suggestion that he assisted his former boss's crimes.
Now, it comes a day after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's behind -- behind closed doors briefing with members of the same committee turned
tense. Democrats storming out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): We opened up what was supposed to be a briefing by asking the attorney general, which I did multiple times, if she would
commit to follow the subpoena that is in place that compels her to answer questions that's under oath, transcribed, and then made available to the
American people. And she refused on multiple occasions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I made it crystal clear, I will follow the law.
We were there to answer questions. It's the evening. We came at their convenience. We gave them as really as much time as they wanted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Annie Grayer is live on Capitol Hill with more. So, where does that leave things now, Annie? Where do things head next?
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, currently House Republican and Democrats, on the oversight committee, are questioning Epstein's longtime
lawyer, Darren Indyke, behind closed doors. Each side is getting to ask Epstein's former lawyer questions.
And Indyke worked with Epstein for decades. He was extremely close with him to the point that Epstein was reportedly planning to leave Indyke with $50
million in his will. Indyke was very involved in Epstein's business dealings.
We're told that Indyke would take large amounts of cash out from banks to a point where it raised alarm bells internally with those banks,
Indyke currently serves as a co-executor of Epstein's estate and help negotiate a deal with settlement with Epstein's survivors. He's denied any
wrong doing. And he's never been interviewed by the FBI about his role and knowledge of all of these of Epstein's crimes.
So, it is notable to learn what Republicans and Democrats are learning from this deposition today.
[12:45:00]
And this is just the latest person in Epstein's inner circle that this committee has interviewed. They've also interviewed Epstein's former
assistants. And that -- and they have -- they've also spoken to high- profile witnesses including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Bill Barr.
And last night, they had the opportunity to speak with Attorney General Pam Bondi. Now, there's still a subpoena for her deposition to appear under
oath that was voted on, on a bipartisan basis by both Democrats and Republicans.
The meeting last night was just a voluntary briefing. As you heard in the introduction, there are Democrats walked out of that meeting extremely
frustrated because they said that Bondi would not commit to returning for her deposition under oath.
But take a listen to how the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, framed Democrats' behavior last night and what he
thinks should happen going forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): The behavior of the Democrats yesterday was unacceptable. And, you know, we're -- we're going to have to come back and
-- and talk as a -- as a conference, the majority, to see what we do moving forward.
But we -- we had the sitting Attorney General and the top brass of the Department of Justice there yesterday to answer questions.
And, you know, they were wanting T.V. cameras in there, and you know why so they could show out and get on MSNBC and be outraged, but there's an
ongoing investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRAYER: So there were five Republicans who voted to subpoena Bondi. And the question is, are they going to stand by that vote now that they have the
opportunity to speak with Attorney General Bondi voluntarily?
We're going to continue to follow those developments, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Annie Grayer reporting live from Capitol Hill. Thank you so much.
And still ahead for us, we take a closer look at the world's happiest countries and the troubling trend among young people.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: An urgent search is underway for a U.S. college student who disappeared after a night out in Spain with friends.
Relatives of 20-year-old James Gracey said that he was last seen on Tuesday outside of a Barcelona club and they're pleading for help to find him.
CNN's Dianne Gallagher is following the police investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And look, the family and friends of James Jimmy Gracie are incredibly worried saying this is
extremely out of character for the 20-year-old University of Alabama student.
[12:50:02]
I did just get some new information from our colleague in Spain, Paul Mosquera, who says that he just spoke with the Catalan police force, the
Mossos d'Esquadra, which told him that the investigation unit is now in command of this search.
And police have deployed marine and underwater units in the areas of the Olympic Port and Somorrostro Beach, which is in front of the club where
Jimmy Gracey was last seen.
In addition, he says that officers are patrolling Barceloneta on motorcycles looking for him as well.
Now, Jimmy Gracey was in Spain for spring break. He was visiting friends who were studying abroad. And he was last seen at the Shoko Night Club
outside of it around 3:00 A.M. local time on Tuesday.
A fraternity brother who was not with them last night said that that night said there was a large group of friends who went out and they lost contact
with Jimmy. They sort of separated.
The last time that he was seen, and I do want you to bring up if you can that photo of him in the white shirt again in full because that was taken
that night. These were the clothes that he was wearing. His mother has posted about this as well, noting that he's got the white shirt, the dark
pants, the chain with the gold rhinestone cross on it.
Again, we don't have a lot of information here. Something we do know Jimmy is without his cell phone. And his mother says that's because police
already have it. It was recovered after it had been stolen.
Now, source close to the investigation also told CNN that aquatic forces were out on Wednesday searching the waters in the area as well but had
negative results. They're also looking through camera footage and trying to potentially retrace his steps.
Look, he's from the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst. He has described as just a really responsible person who is the oldest of five children, helps take
care of his younger siblings. He's an avid hockey player. According to his uncle David Gracey, who is a senior producer here at CNN in Washington. He
says that Jimmy has a flight booked home to the U.S. on Saturday and stresses how out of character this is for a man that he describes as
incredibly responsible.
We do also know that Jimmy's father has already traveled to Barcelona to try and help with the search.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Finland has once again been named the happiest country in the world, topping the global rankings for a ninth year in a row.
The World Happiness Report in 2026 also highlights a growing concern worldwide, declining well-being among young people. With social media use
seen as a key factor.
[12:55:03]
Natalie (INAUDIBLE) reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): In the world's happiest country ranking, one place keeps coming out on top. Finland is still the happiest country in
the world.
But in some parts of the world, happiness is falling. Gallup just released its annual World Happiness Report. And for the ninth year in a row, Finland
ranked number one. Iceland and Denmark are right behind it. And Costa Rica hit the highest ranking ever for Latin American country, fourth.
The U.S. didn't even make the top 20. In fact, for the second year in a row, no English-speaking country cracked the top 10.
The rankings are based on years of surveys from more than 140 countries, looking at things like income, social support, life expectancy, and
corruption.
But this year, researchers pointed to another factor that could impact happiness among young people, social media use. They say it could be
contributing to falling happiness among young people, particularly those spending five hours or more a day on social media.
And it's not just how much time people spend, but how they use it. Messaging and staying connected is linked to higher well-being, while
endless scrolling and algorithm-driven feeds are tied to lower life satisfaction.
So, no matter where you are, a little less scream time could do some good for your well-being.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: All right. Well, that does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks so much for watching. "Amanpour" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
