Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Interview With Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA); Ukraine Endorses Cease-Fire; Canada Retaliates in Trump Trade War. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired March 12, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:01:18]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news: retaliation and escalation. Canada's fighting back with tariffs of its own against the United States.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Pamela Brown is out today. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

And we begin this hour with breaking news. America's trade war quickly escalates. Just hours after the U.S. slapped a new tariff on metal imports, Canada is hitting right back, slapping a 25 percent tariff on some $20 billion worth of U.S. goods.

And in just moments, President Trump will welcome the Irish leader, Micheal Martin, to the White House. We will listen in to see if they speak. I assume they will.

CNN business and politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich is in New York for us. And chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny is for us over at the White House.

Vanessa, let me start with you. What can you tell us, first of all, about these latest retaliatory tariffs?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this is just the latest escalation in what is now a global trade war.

You have Canada slapping back with a 25 percent tariff on $20 billion worth of U.S. goods set to take effect tomorrow. This comes on the heels of that midnight tariff going into effect, 25 percent on any aluminum and steel coming into the U.S. The E.U. also slapping back pretty quickly, putting their own tariffs on $28 billion worth of U.S. goods.

On the other side of the fence here, you have a picture of inflation here in America starting to cool. This is the first time in four months that we have seen inflation cool on a monthly basis and on an annual basis, so inflation ticking up just 0.2 percent in the month of February and 2.8 percent year over year.

This was led by declines in prices for airline tickets and for gas. But we are seeing shelter -- that is rent that people pay every single month -- making up half of all increases in this report, food prices, though, rising about 0.2 percent, but looking at those egg prices that Americans have been struggling with, up 10.4 percent in the month of February alone. That is just a staggering increase.

And markets, investors this morning trying to muddle through all of this economic data. The markets for the most part have been mixed there, but you see the Dow down about 350 points trying to understand what kind of economic picture we are facing, cooling inflation, but, Wolf, a trade war that is very much heating up -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Heating up, indeed.

Stand by, Vanessa. I want to bring in Jeff.

This is further -- all of this is further straining the relationship, Jeff, between the Trump administration and Canada, right?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it absolutely is.

I mean, obviously, Canada one of the strongest allies, one of the biggest trading partners, and the closest neighbor. And this is all just really rocked the relationship, even coming as Canada is in the verge of finding a new leader in and of itself.

There has been, of course, a party election, but the prime minister's election later this year will, of course, just intensify all of this.

But the underlying question here is the uncertainty that this back- and-forth really day by day has added to the markets, has added to business. I mean, keep in mind, the free trade that is happening throughout North America, from Canada to the U.S. to Mexico, that is how automobile companies and others have operated, because, of course, that free trade agreement was signed back in the first Trump administration.

[11:05:05]

Now, the president is clearly using tariffs in a different way and the threat of them as well. But Wolf, if all of it is taking a toll on the president's view -- of how Americans view he's handling the economy.

We have a new CNN pullout this morning that offers a very interesting window into this. Let's look at that right now. About 56 percent of Americans, as you can see right there on screen, disapprove of the president's handling of the economy.

Of course, that is a broad question, but the fact of the markets have been in steep decline -- there's still questions and concerns about high prices, as Vanessa was talking about.

So this is as the trade war is intensifying, and we're nowhere near the end of it. The president is already saying there will be new reciprocal tariffs at the beginning of April, never mind the ones that seem to be imposed day by day with Canada. So the bottom line on all of this, this is the president's worst view,

worst snapshot of how Americans view he is doing on the economy, a 12- point underwater, if you will. And that certainly flies in the face of how he was elected, saying he would have fixed the economy on day one, bring down prices on day one.

Americans clearly do not have a positive sense of the direction coming from this White House, Wolf.

BLITZER: They certainly don't.

All right, Jeff Zeleny and Vanessa Yurkevich, to both of you, thank you very much.

Right now, all federal Education Department offices are closed, and about 2,000 federal department -- Education Department employees, nearly half of the department's work force, are losing their jobs, the new education secretary saying the cuts are just the first steps, and the next could be an executive order from President Trump that would begin the process of completely closing, shutting down the federal Department of Education altogether.

The Ukrainian president, meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says he hopes the U.S. will take strong steps against Russia if Moscow does not agree to a proposed cease-fire. President Zelenskyy told reporters the 30-day deal proposed by the U.S. would include a truce to set up a future peace deal. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We will not play with the narrative that we do not want the war to end, the narrative that Russia has and is spreading around the world.

I'm very serious about this. It is important for me to end the war. I want the president of the United States of America to see this. I want Americans to see and feel this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A Kremlin spokesperson is refusing to comment on the proposed cease-fire initiative, saying they expect a briefing from the U.S. government first.

CNN's chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, is joining us live from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv right now.

Clarissa, how are people on the ground responding to this proposal?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think there's a sense, Wolf, on the Ukrainian side of victory after yesterday's meetings in Jeddah, not because people here are optimistic that peace is imminent, but because the meetings really reinforce the crucial cooperation between the U.S. and Ukraine, getting that relationship back on track, restarting that clutch, that vital military assistance, that intelligence sharing, and essentially allowing Ukraine to take back ownership of the narrative, to tell the world we are not the obstacles to peace here, as you just heard from President Zelenskyy himself.

And during that press conference, it was interesting, Wolf. first of all, he only spoke in Ukrainian. He wanted to choose his words very carefully. And despite being prodded by several journalists about the spat with Trump, about his accusation that Trump was living in a disinformation bubble, he really wouldn't be drawn into that at all.

The Ukrainians want to take this moment and deflect onto the Russians, essentially saying, the ball is firmly in your court. You now have an opportunity to show the world what your true intentions are.

At the same time, Wolf, when you're out on the streets, when you're talking to people, I think the Ukrainians have a very cynical view of the Russians. They have seen Russians repeatedly break cease-fires in the past. I would not say that they are terribly optimistic that this cease-fire is going to take place any time soon.

And they still believe, for there to be any kind of a lasting peace that they would want to be a part of, that there need to be security guarantees going forward. So, some absolute reservations still remain on that side.

But the broader takeaway here is feeling that Ukraine is no longer on the back foot, that it is in control of the narrative, and that, crucially, that partnership with the United States is once again in a much better place than it has been for weeks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Very quickly, before I let you go, Clarissa, as we know, for three years now, the Russians have launched bombing strikes against civilian targets throughout Ukraine, including in Kyiv, where you are, the sirens are going off all the time.

[11:10:12]

But, this week, we actually saw the Ukrainian military launch, what, about 300 drone strikes against targets in Moscow. Is the expectation this kind of warfare on both sides is going to escalate now, even before a potential cease-fire takes place?

WARD: I mean, certainly from what we saw last night, Wolf, there's no sense that the violence, that these strikes is abating in any way.

There were dozens of strikes last night, and, as you said, those Ukrainian drone strikes hitting the heart of Moscow, sending a very firm message: We don't want to keep fighting, but we're willing to do it, and we will keep going as long as it takes.

So, nobody here anticipating that the skies will be quiet until everybody signs up to this 30-day cease-fire, Wolf.

BLITZER: Well, should find out very soon if it's actually going to happen.

Clarissa Ward, thanks very much for your excellent reporting, as always. Stay safe over there in Kyiv.

And, for more on this, Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts is joining us right now. He is part of what's called the Ukraine caucus in the House of Representatives.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

I want to get your reaction, first of all, to the proposed U.S.- planned cease-fire between the Russians and the Ukrainians. How can this Trump administration get Russia, first of all, to agree to this cease-fire, and then to actually honor it?

Because, as we heard from Clarissa and so many others, in the past, Russia has signed cease-fire deals, but almost always have gone ahead to violate those same cease-fire deals.

REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): Good morning, Wolf. Thanks for having me on.

It would help if the administration would stop telling Russia that it has all the cards. Not a great way to negotiate when you grant leverage to your enemy. Russia does not have all the cards. They have double-digit inflation in their rear. They have unsustainable casualties on their front lines, trading thousands of deaths or wounded for every square kilometer gained.

They're short of materiel, and the sanctions are beginning to bite on their oil and gas sector. So Russia's war effort was not something that could be sustained in the long run. And yet the administration is ceding that premise to the Kremlin. So, they have got to stop doing that and be clear that they would back Ukraine for as long as it took.

But then, in terms of driving towards the cease-fire negotiations, the linchpin is security guarantees. Without security guarantees, everything else is rhetoric. And those security guarantees have three parts to them. One is Ukraine. Ukraine is going to need to be able to field probably a million-man army, probably cost between $20 billion to $40 billion a year.

That money should come from the frozen assets held by Russia in Brussels. It should be expropriated for the use of Ukrainian defense. Number two, the Europeans need to be willing to field a 20,000 to 30,000 European force to do strategic response.

And then, finally, the Americans have to be willing to snap back much tougher sanctions that are even in place now against Russia should Russia violate a cease-fire.

BLITZER: As you know, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is now saying he hopes the U.S. will take what he calls strong steps against Russia if they don't agree to all of this.

So what's your response to that?

AUCHINCLOSS: Agreed. That would be a much tougher imposition of the price cap on Russian

oil and gas exports. That would be a green light to Ukraine to use American arms to strike deep inside of Russia, including at its oil refineries. And that would be an open-ended grant of economic and military support for Ukraine for so long as it takes to bring the Russians back to the negotiating table.

We have to be very clear and very aligned that we are going to fight with freedom and democracy against Putin's brutalism. Anything other than strength will only serve to embolden the Kremlin.

BLITZER: And, as I assume you agree and support the decision by the Trump administration to end the pause on U.S. military aid to Ukraine and to end the pause on sharing sensitive intelligence information with Ukraine, you think that's appropriate, right?

AUCHINCLOSS: Yes.

However, even using that as a piece of leverage against our ally undermines not just our credibility with the Russians, but, frankly, it undermines the U.S. defense diplomacy and industrial base globally. I mean, countries that are going to buy from us, whether it's India or Eastern Europe or our Asia-Pacific allies, are now wondering, do we want to buy these F-35s? Can we count on them when things get tough?

BLITZER: Important point.

On another sensitive issue, Congressman, the U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Doha, Qatar, as the U.S. is hoping to advance negotiations in a potential cease-fire/hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

[11:15:10]

Before leaving the U.S., Witkoff told FOX News that Hamas' demands that the IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, leave Gaza is a nonstarter. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: A starter is Hamas demilitarizing, not rearming, leaving all their arms on the ground, and leaving Gaza. That's the start. There's -- they -- there's no logical or rational choice for them other than to leave.

If they leave, then I think all things are on the table for a negotiated peace deal. And that's what they're going to need to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So how do you think that approach will be received in Doha, Qatar, right now?

AUCHINCLOSS: The United States has never been unclear about its war aims aligned with Israel, the release of all the hostages -- there's two dozens still being held by Hamas -- and a demilitarized Gaza Strip.

Hamas cannot be allowed to govern in Gaza again. They have immiserated the Palestinian people. They have brutalized the Israeli people. And it's simply a nonstarter for Hamas to think that they're going to have the levers of power going forward.

So he's not restating anything new. And I do think that, because Joe Biden and now Donald Trump have supported Israel, Hamas is in such a boxed-in negotiating position that they're more likely to accede to these demands. Now, that was not going to be the case a year ago, potentially, because Hezbollah and Syria and Iran had not yet been severed from Hamas. But Hamas is feeling much more isolated now.

BLITZER: Congressman, I want to get back to our top story quickly.

Canada has announced its latest round of retaliatory measures in President Trump's trade war with Canada, including 25 percent tariffs on billions of dollars of imports, such as aluminum products.

What are you hearing from your constituents, first of all, about this trade war between the U.S. and Canada and the impacts it's having on them?

AUCHINCLOSS: Car insurance, home insurance and utility bills, Wolf.

Home insurance and car insurance bills are messages from the future about cost of living, because they're insurance companies underwriting, what's it going to cost for us to repair or rebuild this house or this car?

And the message from the future for my constituents is going to be, it's going to cost a lot more, because houses and cars are bundles of steel and aluminum and lumber and semiconductors, all of which this president is taxing. He is imposing an onerous tax upon the middle class right now. They're going to see it first in their insurance premiums, but, ultimately, it's going to cascade across the economy, from prescription drugs to employment and hiring decisions.

And he rightfully is now underwater in voters' approval of his handling of the economy, because, while Americans are starting to feel the pain of his chaotic approach to geo-economics, he's sitting there at his joint address to Congress spending 98 minutes out of 100 minutes talking about noneconomic issues, and then two minutes out of those 100 minutes talking about prices, but saying the prices are going to go up, not down.

So he's lost, I think, the confidence of the mainstream American voter that he knows what he's doing.

BLITZER: Congressman Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts, thanks so much for joining us.

And still ahead: A prominent Palestinian activist in the United States who was arrested over the weekend is in court. Right now, the Trump administration will have to explain why it thinks he should be deported from the United States. And we're waiting for the Irish prime minister to arrive at the White

House. We will bring that to you live. Stay with us. Lots going on.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:23:31]

BLITZER: There's more breaking news we're following.

In just a few minutes, President Trump will be meeting at the White House with a visiting Ireland prime minister, Micheal Martin, as Trump's trade war goes global with 25 percent tariffs on all aluminum and steel imports.

Let's go back to our chief national affairs correspondent, Jeff Zeleny. He's over there on the North Lawn of the White House.

So, what are we expecting from this meeting with the Irish leader?

ZELENY: Wolf, we are expecting the Irish prime minister to arrive momentarily. He's running a little bit behind schedule, or the meeting is, but to meet with the president.

And usually this is one of ceremony around St. Patrick's Day. The reason it's being held a little bit earlier this year, I'm told, is because Congress is scheduled to be out of session next week. So this meeting is going to include leaders of Congress as well.

But, Wolf, the idea of just the ceremony and really underscoring the relationship between the United States and Ireland is now complicated by a variety of tensions worldwide, not only, of course, the question about the role of the U.S. and the world, given the war in Ukraine and the president's decision to embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin, but also the trade war.

There is a rising, growing trade war between the European Union and the United States. Just this morning, the European Union announcing that it is going to slap tariffs on very American products, like Harley-Davidson motorcycles, for example, Kentucky bourbon, for example.

So, the E.U. suddenly is a wash in steep tensions with the United States. So that is going to be a bit of the underlying factor here at the White House as this meeting happens.

[11:25:08]

Now, we are not expecting the Irish prime minister to get into any type of a confrontation with the president. In fact, he had a meeting with Vice President J.D. Vance this morning, and he hailed the U.S.' role, longstanding role, in brokering peace, of course, thinking back to the 1998 Good Friday Agreements with Northern Ireland, as you remember well, you covered. And this is something that he is using as an example to talk about how

the United States can also bring peace with Ukraine. But, Wolf, a ceremonial visit that's often a wash in shamrocks and the strong relationship between the United States and Ireland certainly is coming under a different view today, as those tensions with the European Union come front and center.

BLITZER: And it was nice that the Irish prime minister went to meet with the vice president, J.D. Vance. I think they were meeting at the vice presidential residence down...

ZELENY: Right.

BLITZER: ... the street from the White House as well.

Do we expect that the upcoming meeting with the president, both leaders, to answer reporters' questions as well?

ZELENY: We do, Wolf.

After the prime minister arrives here, which, again, should be happening shortly this morning, he will have what's called a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office. We have seen many of the leaders come in from really around the world.

Excuse me as I'm just looking to the gate here. He's not coming in quite yet. But, yes, we do expect the president and the prime minister to take questions and talk a bit before going into a closed or bilateral meeting.

But, of course, that is where the exact type of meeting, the exact same location in the Oval Office, just less than two weeks ago, where things went incredibly wrong with the Ukrainian president, who was also visiting.

But we expect today's visit to be very friendly. But, again, those tensions that are underlying it certainly are so different in this administration from previous ones, Wolf.

BLITZER: Because of the imposed tariffs. And we will be watching and listening to the Q&A that's about to take place.

Thanks very much, Jeff Zeleny, over at the White House.

Up next: Attorneys are now fighting to keep a student activist from being deported from the United States. President Trump has likened him to a terrorist sympathizer. We're live outside the courthouse in New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)