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Kremlin: Washington Now "Largely Aligns" With Moscow; RFJ Jr.: Deadly Texas Measles Outbreak Is "Call To Action"; "Resistance Rangers" Protest At National Parks Across U.S. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired March 03, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: -- exchange of Ukraine's leader in the Oval Office and revealing and I should say in reveling in the confusion and the worry that has caused a lot among the U.S. allies.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, there's a lot of concern among the U.S. allies. And today, Moscow is saying that Europe's emergency summit on Ukraine was not aimed at achieving peace and that the U.S. is now coming into alignment with Russia. Those U.S. allies will be anxiously tuning in tomorrow as President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress.

CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny is at the White House. Jeff, has there been any response to these new comments from the Kremlin saying that the U.S. is now coming into alignment with them?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, not direct response but that certainly is hanging over the entire new week here at the White House. The Kremlin obviously was very pleased by what was happening on Friday.

You could see that happening in real time as the meeting, the proposed deal, really blew up right in the Oval Office which sent Europe scrambling over the weekend. And the White House also scrambling to make clear that they are the ones who have the upper hand. But that is a central question here, this -- the idea of a deal being blown up which was expected to be signed on Friday over the rare earth's minerals with Ukraine potentially leading to a peace process.

With that off the table, the European leaders met all weekend long. And the White House now is saying that they welcome Europe's increased involvement in this. But the question that is unanswered this morning and likely will be in the days ahead, is this going to potentially extend the war in Ukraine rather than retract it? Is this going to give Vladimir Putin more leverage to fight longer?

So the White House is not responding directly to what Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin are saying. Of course they are very sensitive to the glee from the Kremlin because that simply opens the door to criticism that they are aligned with them. But the White House this morning certainly is welcoming a European leader's increased involvement in -- in peacekeeping moves in Ukraine, Pam.

BROWN: And Jeff, do you expect the President to address his evolving stance on Ukraine during his joint session of Congress tomorrow?

ZELENY: He absolutely will. I mean, look, he was expecting and hoping to announce a deal. You'll remember he campaigned. He said he could end the Ukraine war on the first day in office. Of course that was not achieved. But he was hoping to announce a deal. Now that obviously isn't going to happen. But he is likely to talk about Ukraine, talk about America's strength, how Ukraine will not have a blank check going forward.

But the central question is, Pamela, how is the response from Republicans going to be? This is still very much a divided issue inside the party in terms of how much assistance and aid the U.S. should give to Ukraine. We are seeing one of the biggest realignments in the world order in U.S. foreign policy in generations here.

So the President, yes, will address this. But the question is, is this advancing the goal of reaching a peace deal? That is very much unclear, Pam.

BROWN: All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Thanks to both of you. And I want to continue this conversation right now with CNN's chief international anchor, Christiane Amanpour. She's joining us live from London. Christiane, how damaged is this relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine? And does President Trump have the will or the desire to repair it? What's your assessment?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It's hard to tell. Both sides have said when they're ready for peace, they should get back together. Clearly, the Europeans hope that Ukraine and the United States repair the relationship. But, Wolf, it goes way beyond U.S. and Ukraine. It's -- it's U.S. and the whole transatlantic alliance.

Essentially, the pieces are now being picked up by Europe. You had the British prime minister here convene a very large number of European leaders, as well as President Zelenskyy, this weekend. He did it yesterday here.

President Zelenskyy went to visit the King as well. He got a lot of support from everyone who he came in touch with. And Keir Starmer made it very clear that as soon as he saw the debacle unfold in the White House on Friday night, he immediately called President Trump. He called President Zelenskyy. He called President Trump again. And he is trying to be the bridge, the traditional position of the U.K. in the transatlantic alliance.

But the reality is that the United States has stepped back, at least according to its own proclamations right now. The Europeans are doing it all, i.e. trying to come up with a peace plan and putting and pledging a coalition of the willing to put boots on the ground should there ever be a peace plan, and also to up spend money and finance to defend Ukraine.

So all of that is happening overnight, as it's perceived here that the United States overnight has changed its alliances, essentially. And essentially coming this close to rupturing the transatlantic alliance and pivoting away from Pax Americana and towards Russia. And as Jeff just said, it was very notable what the Kremlin spokesman said, that everything that President Trump is now saying, as he said, Dmitry Peskov, aligns with our views. This is not a good thing for the Kremlin to say about the United States.

[11:05:12]

And, you know, we have a major realignment in U.S. foreign policy, at the same time as there's a major war being fought in -- in Europe right now. So it's a very critical moment. As Starmer said, we're at a crossroads in history.

BLITZER: And Christiane, as you know, some Republican lawmakers here in Washington are suggesting that President Zelenskyy should consider stepping down. Do you believe this is what the White House wants?

AMANPOUR: Hard to tell. I mean, look, I'm telling you that the newly elected winner of the German elections, he's trying to put together the coalition. But Friedrich Merz, a conservative, actually said today that he believes that it looked like a manufactured escalation, not a spontaneous exchange.

There is such a view that this administration was trying to trip and trap Zelenskyy. Whatever you might think of Zelenskyy's body language or his comportment, that this was, you know, a -- this was not the right way to go. And so what's happening is that they are trying to figure out how to -- how to recoup all this and whether they can go forward with any trust and credibility of the United States with them.

And they're trying to figure out how to step into this break. But they're doing it. And it's actually quite interesting to see in the White House, as predicted, did say that they are pleased to see Europe stepping up. It's what they said they wanted all along. But in Ukraine, the Ukrainians are supporting him. Zelenskyy has said, I'm not going to step down.

We don't have elections because nor did you in Britain have elections during the war. It's impossible. But if I can be, you know, get Ukraine into NATO, which he said before, I'll step down. My job is done. The whole reason this thing went south on Friday is because there was no security guarantees in that mineral deal. It wasn't a ceasefire deal. It was a transactional deal, a mercantile deal, you know, to -- to -- to, you know, a geological deal, if you like, a business deal. It wasn't a ceasefire plan. And there were no security guarantees for any future ceasefire or peace. So that's the crux of what's being figured out now here in Europe.

BLITZER: Finally, Christiane, before I let you go away, a senior U.S. official now tells CNN that the U.S. has suspended offensive cyber operations against Russia. Critics say this makes the U.S. more vulnerable to Russian cyberattacks, which have not been suspended. What do you make of all of this?

AMANPOUR: Well, look, it -- it's hard to understand why and in what direction and why do that now. Of course, there's plenty of commentary as to why the United States might be taking many of these moves right now. And many of these sort of what most people believe and what can see are, in fact, Kremlin talking points.

And again, nobody has tried to actually put a peace plan in front of Putin. Do we know what President Trump says? We're quite far along talking to Putin about peace. What are the details? Because the Kremlin has actually not said anything different or anything to suggest that they might want a good faith peace deal, one that's, you know, concessions and on all sides and -- and something that both sides can agree to, not at all.

The Kremlin still is standing publicly by its maximalist demands. So not at all sure why this -- why this directive has come from the new defense secretary and what it's aimed for. But if it's trying to placate Putin, most of those who understand Putin says he only understands strength. That's all he understands, whether they're Russians who worked with him, whether they're European leaders who have worked with him over the decades. That's all he understands.

BLITZER: Christiane Amanpour, excellent analysis. Thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: And still ahead this hour, RFK Jr. promised Democrats that he would change his message about vaccination as health secretary. What he is saying this morning as a deadly measles outbreak spreads in Texas.

[11:09:12]

BLITZER: And that's so worrisome. And later, the former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says he's running for mayor of New York City. I will ask the current governor, Kathy Hochul, if her former boss is ready for a political comeback. Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

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BLITZER: Right now, evacuations are underway. Look at these pictures coming in as dozens of wildfires burn across the Carolinas. Take a look at this video from Myrtle Beach over the weekend, firefighters were battling massive flames fueled by very dry and windy conditions. South Carolina's governor has already declared a state of emergency.

BROWN: And a doorbell camera captured flames erupting just outside Myrtle Beach. You see it light up the sky just feet from the front yard. Officials say more than 5,000 acres have been scorched so far.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the measles outbreak in Texas is a call to action for everyone in this new op-ed. He writes vaccines not only protect individual children from measles but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons. [11:15:01]

BLITZER: But Kennedy stopped short of actually saying people should get the vaccine, calling that a personal decision. The outbreak in West Texas, but Kennedy stopped short of actually saying people should get the vaccine, calling that a personal decision. The outbreak in West Texas has now grown to almost 150 cases and many of those cases involving unvaccinated children between the ages of five and 17 years old.

BROWN: Dr. Paul Offit joins us now. He is the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He is also on the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee. Doctor, what do you think about that statement? Do you think it went far enough?

DR. PAUL OFFIT, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER DIR., CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: I think it was internally contradictory. So you're right. On the one hand, he talks about the importance of community immunity, recognizing that there are some people who can't be vaccinated because they're too young or because they have certain high risk medical conditions like cancer and vaccines not going to work in them.

And then he turns around and says, but that's your decision. That's your personal decision about whether or not you want to catch and transmit a potentially fatal infection in the midst of an epidemic that's already killed one child, the first child death in this country in more than 20 years. So that was upsetting, frankly.

BLITZER: Dr. Offit, do you expect this outbreak that is so worrisome? Do you expect it will likely slow down once it gets the communities where the vaccination rate is higher?

OFFIT: Sure. If -- if -- if a -- a community has a rate of vaccination at 95 percent or greater, I think it will slow down. This is a -- a generally a winter spring disease. So -- so usually it starts to fade away by May anyway. But if you have communities where vaccination rates are less than 95 percent and unfortunately, that's a number of communities now, it will continue to spread. And this is the most contagious vaccine preventable and frankly, infectious disease period, far more contagious than COVID or influenza or RSV.

BROWN: We should reiterate you are a member of the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee. There was this meeting scheduled for later this month. What is the status of that meeting and -- and what can we expect from it?

OFFIT: Canceled. I think with no plan of -- of having it. And my understanding is that the FDA has decided that they don't want this external independent advisory committee, independent of the government, independent of the pharmaceutical company, to advise on the science behind a particular public policy recommendation, which is too bad, because it's a committee meeting that is open to the public. It's transparent, whereas when it goes sort of behind, you know, closed doors, the public doesn't get to see or listen to the debates that surround various scientific policy decisions. BLITZER: So Dr. Offit, what are the other potential consequences of not having that meeting?

OFFIT: I think there's value in holding a policy, a science policy, to -- to a rigorous standard. And -- and -- and when we have our meetings, we often have vigorous debates. We don't always agree because some -- because sometimes the science is imperfect. And I think it's important for the public to see that. Now they don't get to see that, not only at our committee, the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee, but also the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, which advises the CDC that also had a meeting canceled in February.

You worry, I mean, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talks endlessly about how we need transparency. And if anything, it seems like it's going in the other direction. We're putting things behind closed doors.

BROWN: All right. DR. Paul Offit, thank you so much.

BLITZER: Important discussion.

BROWN: Yes.

[11:18:23]

BLITZER: Still ahead, a woman who just lost her dream job as a Yosemite Park Ranger will join us. She will tell us about the ripple effect that will come from staffing shortages as the Trump administration slashes the government workforce. Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

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BLITZER: The U.S. Department of Education is giving its employees just a few hours to make a major life decision for themselves and their families. Employees have until midnight tonight to decide if they will accept or decline buyouts of up to $25,000.

An e-mail sent this morning says the offer is coming before a, quote, very significant reduction in headcount over the Department of Education. President Trump has repeatedly vowed to abolish the entire department and said he hopes Linda McMahon, his choice for Education Secretary, will, quote, put herself out of a job.

BROWN: Well, shockwaves from the mass firings are being felt across the country, including at iconic National Parks, where resistance Rangers led protests over the weekend. Joining us now is Andria Townsend, who was fired from her position at Yosemite National Park. Andria, I'm so sorry that you're going through all of this. Just walk us through what happened.

ANDRIA TOWNSEND, FORMER YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK EMPLOYEE: Thank you. I appreciate that. I'm not -- I'm sorry, February 14th, I received an e- mail stating that I would be terminated from my position effective immediately. So without warning, had to pack up and leave my office by the end of that day. Specifically, the -- the letter that I received stated that the department determined that I had failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment.

BROWN: And is there any truth to that? A lot of people we've spoken to said they had performance reviews and so forth that showed otherwise.

TOWNSEND: Yes, that's exactly right. I have multiple performance reviews, official performance reviews stating that I had exceeded the expectations that were outlined for my position.

[11:25:05]

BROWN: What was it like seeing these demonstrations across the country in support of you and your fellow workers?

TOWNSEND: It was amazing. It was very inspiring, very empowering. I think that people across the country agree that our public lands are important and the people who care take those lands should be respected and treated with dignity. So I've been really inspired by the protests that we've seen around the country, especially even here in Yosemite.

BROWN: Many of these parks were already short staffed. I'm sure you can speak to that. What are the biggest threats facing them following these cuts? What are your concerns?

TOWNSEND: You know, I'm a wildlife biologist, so my concern first and foremost is for the resources that these lands conserve and protect. And, you know, these firings, we've seen losses of not just biologists, but hydrologists and geologists and range specialists and foresters, you know, the folks that spend their lives working to protect these resources. And so my fear is that we're going to see degradation of those resources and that's going to lead to a decrease in the visitor experience in these parks as well.

BROWN: How so? Because a lot of families right now might be planning their summer vacation, might be wanting to visit Yosemite. How do you think what has happened might impact their experience this time around and perhaps years past?

TOWNSEND: Well I think, you know, here in Yosemite we've lost custodians, we've lost our locksmiths, so I think there's going to be, you know, more trash, there's going to be more conflicts with wildlife that are, you know, coming closer to human waste and there's going to be issues with, you know, locked doors.

You know, the things that you don't normally pay attention to when you're here because you're able to just enjoy the beauty of the park are going to be more apparent because we don't have the staff to -- to keep things running as efficiently as we would like.

BROWN: What is your message for this administration?

TOWNSEND: My message is that this is not something that the American people will stand for. This isn't a partisan issue. These are our public lands, this is our water, this is our -- these are our forests, these are our rivers, these are our jobs and we have rights and we're not just going to take this laying down.

BROWN: Andria Townsend, thank you so much for coming on.

BLITZER: I wish you, Andria, only the best.

Still ahead, President Trump designates English as the official language of the United States. So what does this mean for non-English speakers across the country? We'll discuss right after the break.

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