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Trump's Foreign Policy Agenda; House Republicans Protect Pete Hegseth; Consumer Confidence Plummets; Interview With Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA); White House Attacks Amazon. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired April 29, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:01:38]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now: the White House attacking Amazon after reports the company will display just how much President Trump's tariffs are costing you.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And we begin this hour with the breaking news, the White House attacking the nation's largest online retailer, the administration accusing Amazon of a hostile and political act.

BROWN: The reason, they say transparency over tariffs. Amazon will reportedly soon show how much you will pay for President Trump's tariffs on anything you order.

CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House. And Vanessa Yurkevich will join us with more breaking news on jobs and consumer confidence.

Alayna, though, I want to start with you. Trump just told "The Atlantic" that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is -- quote -- "100 percent" and he's been great. Now, today, the administration is calling his company's move hostile and political. What's going on?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right.

I mean, it's a pretty remarkable statement we heard there from Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, this morning. She said this after she said that she had just gotten off the phone with the president himself to discuss this, and that's when she said it was a hostile political takeover.

I want you to take a listen to the exchange. Oh, I'm sorry. I think we don't have the sound. But, essentially, she said -- I will just quote some it for you. She said: "I just got off the phone with president about Amazon's announcement. This is a hostile and political act by Amazon." However, I do want to point your attention to what we saw from "The Washington Post." They said that they actually received a statement from Amazon responding to some of this and noted that this was never under consideration, this idea of posting the cost of tariffs next to prices. They said it wasn't under consideration for the main Amazon Web site, but it had been under consideration for certain products, essentially low-cost Amazon Haul store products in that store.

All to say, though, look, you mentioned what President Donald Trump told "The Atlantic" last week about Bezos. We know that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has actually been coming to the West Wing a lot. I'm told that he's been in and out of the West Wing for meetings with the president.

So they do have quite the relationship, very different from their relationship in the first term. But it'll be interesting to see how this plays out further on. And I think the next question, of course, is whether or not the president is calling up Bezos directly now to ask him about this.

But one other quick thing I also want to turn your attention to is what else was said during that briefing this morning, because we also heard from the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. And one thing that he previewed, along with Karoline Leavitt, is that there will be an executive order that the president is signing later today really aiming to seize or -- excuse me -- to soften some of the tariffs that have been placed on auto imports.

Essentially, we know that 25 percent tariff has been placed on the import of foreign cars into United States, in addition to car parts. But, today, we're learning that this new executive order is likely to soften the impact of that by trying to prevent other tariffs from being placed on top of that, for example, steel and aluminum tariffs that we know have been put into place.

[11:05:00]

All of this as the president is heading to Michigan for his first rally of his second term to mark this 101st day in office, all of it as well coming as there's been some anxiety around the Trump administration's policies on the economy, which we have seen today in new polling -- Pamela.

BROWN: Right, and we have seen it also in this new report out showing consumer confidence numbers.

Vanessa, on that, what do those numbers mean?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Americans are feeling as badly about the economy as they did during the height of COVID.

This is the fifth consecutive month of consumer confidence declines, dropping eight points. And it's the lowest level in five years. And what really dragged down consumer confidence in the month of April was people's expectations about the future hitting a 13-year low. Here's what people were concerned about, the business outlook, their

income, what that's going to look like, fewer jobs available, concerns about recessions hitting a two-year high in terms of concern level, also concerns about the stock market.

And in this consumer confidence report that is put out by the Conference Board, there's actually a write-in section where Americans can write in sort of their top concerns. The top concern was tariffs, and that has reached an all-time high in terms of tracking that concern over the last several months.

Also, I thought what was interesting in this report, Pamela, was that, in the month of March in this report, it detailed that consumers were making big purchases, cars, appliances, electronics, but not the case in April. Now it indicates that consumers are pulling back on these big-ticket item purchases.

Of course, that lines up, that tracks with the fact that the higher tariffs went into place in April. Also, this consumer confidence report really tracks with what we have seen with consumer sentiment and our own CNN polling that says that Americans, 52 percent, so the majority, are dissatisfied with the economy.

It'll be critical to watch these reports in the next couple months, as these tariffs really steep into prices, just how low people will feel about the economy, Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Vanessa, Alayna, thank you so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Pamela, there's more news this morning, CNN polling showing a majority of Americans are facing growing doubts about the country and the economy, and those same Americans are also losing confidence in their political leaders.

I want to bring in our senior political analyst, Mark Preston. He's here with us in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Mark, how are everyday Americans feeling about this Republican-led Congress?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I will tell you what, Wolf. If you are one of the Republican leaders, you may need a hug after you see this segment right here, because it does not look good.

Look at this. Less than four in 10 Americans right now, Wolf, approve of the Republican congressional leaders, only to be outdone by Democrats, where less than three in 10 Americans believe that they're doing a good job in Congress.

Now, that is just crazy. For Democrats, that is the lowest we have ever seen in our CNN polling that goes back years and years and years. The person who should be most concerned about this, though, Chuck Schumer. He's the Senate Democratic leader.

As you go on, though, and you wonder, how is the party looking at their individual leaders, and we looked at that as well, and this is where the divide happens. Republican and Republican leaders, these are two folks, or a subset of folks that are standing right behind their congressional leaders.

People always wonder, when we talk about how does Donald Trump get all of this support and this energy, well, he's getting it from the base right here, as is his congressional leadership. But if you look at Democrats and Democratic leaders, less than four in 10 are happy with their leadership.

That, again, spells trouble for leaders that are Democrats in Congress.

BLITZER: Important new numbers.

Mark Preston, as usual, thank you very, very much.

I want to get reaction to all of today's developments.

We're joined now by Louisiana's Republican Senator John Kennedy.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

One hundred days into President Trump's term, just 41 percent approve of the job he's doing in our new CNN poll, and just 37 percent approve of Republicans leading Congress. Are those serious warning signs for your party?

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): I think, Wolf, that the American people have been unhappy at least for 10 years. That's why President Trump was elected the first time. They weren't unhappy -- or they weren't happy, rather, under President Biden, in part because of inflation, and their unhappiness continues.

We will see what happens over the next year. In terms of the president's first 100 days, it's hard to find the honey and the rock and the water and the stone in 10 days. But, having said that, I think President Trump's done some things right in his first 100 days.

[11:10:02]

He's secured the border. He's been very aggressive in abolishing racial quotas. He's deregulating the economy, getting rid of rules and regulations. He's changed the national conversation about the federal budget, he and Mr. Musk.

Under President Biden, the conversation or the question was, who needs to pay more taxes? Now, thanks to Trump and Musk, I think the question in Washington and elsewhere is, what the hell happened to the money?

The final point I would make, you may find a little strange, but it has to do with Europe. President Trump, as we all know, exists loudly. And his loud existence has awakened Europe with respect to its economy and its national defense, national security.

We're seeing dramatic changes there. And I think it's possible that, a decade from now, the Europeans, they may not say it, but they will look back and actually thank Trump from awakening them from their economic and national security slumber.

BLITZER: We will see how that unfolds.

Senator, the public, the American public, isn't very happy with what's described as unified Republican control of the House, the Senate, and the White House. Right now, 58 percent say it's bad for the country. How is your party, the Republican Party, going to change that?

KENNEDY: I think -- well, first, I think the American people have been unhappy with Congress for a long time.

As long as I can remember, Congress has polled right up there with robocalls with the American people. Here's what I think will be meaningful in the next three months. We have a plan to lower prices. Number one, it's called the reconciliation bill, which is just a budget bill.

In that bill, we're going to reduce spending, which will help to lower prices. Number two, we're going to continue to deregulate the economy. Rules and regulations cost about $2 trillion a year, which increases the price of goods and services.

And, number three, we're going to try to redesign the tax code so that it will look like somebody designed it on purpose, and increase wages at the same time, so that people can tolerate these high prices. If we do that, I think the American people will recognize our progress.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: You talk about people tolerating these high prices.

As you know, critics of President Trump's tariff strategy have said that this is a tax on Americans. Just 35 percent approve of President Trump's strategy. Do you buy the White House line that the chaos around the president's trade war is simply -- quote -- "strategic uncertainty," or do you think that's just an excuse?

KENNEDY: I don't know, Pam. Pamela, I don't know.

Here's what I think about tariffs. Tariffs represent an intervention by government. It's the government intervening in the free exchange of goods and services. Now, it's not a news flash that many foreign countries, including but not limited to China, have used tariffs and trade barriers for years to disadvantage the American worker and the American economy.

President Trump decided to try to do something about it. He basically got up and said, I want everybody to say hello to my little friends. And he jacked up tariffs, American tariffs, and half the valley shook.

But then a strange thing happened. I thought that other countries would bow up and we'd enter into a trade war. Instead, many other countries have said no mas. They said, OK, we want to lower our trade barriers, but you have got to lower yours, America. And I think that's a good thing. I think our goal here ought to be to lower trade barriers and tariffs

on both sides. Now, it's been very disruptive. And I don't know how it's going to turn out, but that's the way I analyze what's going on. The president has given several different interpretations of his intentions with respect to tariffs.

I don't know how much of that is negotiating. But that's the way I see it anyway, Pamela.

BROWN: OK, just very quickly, I want to ask you about the war in Ukraine.

And, Wolf, I know you might have a question.

But do you think Trump is allowing himself to get played by a master manipulator? I know you told FOX News over the weekend that Putin has reneged on every promise he's made to President Trump.

[11:15:07]

KENNEDY: Well, he -- Putin has.

I think what I said this weekend was that Putin thinks America has taken the bullet train to chump town. I think he's disrespected our president.

What I hope the president does is apply the same pressure to Putin that he has applied to Ukraine in getting a peace deal. Putin's got to understand that, in order to get him to make concessions, that we're willing to slap him took to Pluto. I don't mean that in terms of a war. I mean, that in terms of economically.

Right now, Europe and America are allowing Putin to sell his oil, so long as he doesn't get more than $60 a barrel. And a third of his revenues come from oil sales. We need to ratchet down those sanctions and starve him out on his oil if we're going to get an honorable peace in Ukraine, in my opinion.

And I hope the president gets a lot tougher.

BROWN: All right, Senator Kennedy, thank you so much.

KENNEDY: Thank you.

BROWN: And still ahead: Many of President Trump's efforts in his first 100 days have been focused on foreign policy, but his drive for quick foreign deals has been tested.

We will take a look at how his America first policies are impacting U.S. relations around the world.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:20:55] BLITZER: We have breaking news up on Capitol Hill right now.

The House speaker, Mike Johnson, is taking steps to change House rules that would effectively block an investigation into the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of the Signal chat app.

Let's go live right now to Capitol Hill. Our chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju, is watching all of this unfold.

So, Manu, what did the speaker tell you?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's defending this move, Wolf.

He included a provision in a House rule that would essentially deny Democratic efforts to force a vote that would call for a probe into Pete Hegseth's use of the app Signal. That became, of course, very famous over the last several weeks in which he talked about military plans, strikes against the Houthis in advance of that happening.

Now, these types of votes that actually call for an investigation typically fail. Minority parties try to do this pretty regularly against the Trump -- against the party in power. But in this particular aspect, there is a chance that Democrats could succeed.

So the speaker is taking the extraordinary step of including language in the House rules to deny the Democratic efforts altogether, preventing that from even coming to a vote before the full House.

And I just asked the speaker about this. This is -- he's done this on multiple occasions, not just on this, but also to deny efforts to target Trump on tariff policy. I asked him why he's protecting Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): No, we're using the rules of the House to prevent political hijinks and political stunts, and that's what the Democrats have, as I mentioned, no leader, no vision, no platform. All they have is obstruction. They're trying to target -- they showed us over the last four years, the last eight years.

They used lawfare, they used conspiracy theories, all these political weapons to just go after the president and make his life miserable. That's not what the American people voted for. That's not what they deserve. We can do better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: I just caught up with the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, who told me he plans to make this a big issue in today's committee meeting, where they're taking up a major part of the Trump agenda to spend more money on defense policy.

He plans to bring this up, and he's accusing Republicans of hiding from this issue by changing the rules to block this investigation -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Manu Raju at Statuary Hall up on Capitol Hill, thank you very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: And up next, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM: Democrats are feeling the pressure from dissatisfied voters who are unhappy with how they're combating President Trump's agenda in his first 100 days.

How they're looking to reshape the party's message and show strength against the administration moving forward.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:27:52]

BROWN: Today marks 100 days since President Trump took office. And this week in THE SITUATION ROOM, we're taking a deep dive on five key topics and where they stand 100 days in.

Today, we're taking a look at the president's foreign policy agenda. His radical reimagining of American relations has come at a dizzying pace. He has threatened to make Canada the 51st state, has renamed the Gulf of Mexico, and he's launched a full-scale trade war with China, all of this as the war in Ukraine he promised to end on day one drags on and as the lasting peace he vowed to bring to Gaza remains elusive.

CNN's Brian Todd is back at the Magic Wall today to walk us through where things stand on the world stage.

All right, so Brian, let's start with China, escalating trade war and rising tensions over Taiwan. Where do things stand in the region?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, things still very tense between the U.S. and China in that region, primarily because of this number, 145 percent.

That's the percentage of tariffs that the president has slapped on Chinese exports of goods to the United States, a major cause of tension between the U.S. and China. The latest reporting is that the Chinese government is denying President Trump's claims that Chinese leader Xi Jinping recently called President Trump to talk about the tariffs.

The Chinese say that call did not happen. The president has said that this number is going to come way down in negotiations with China when they start. And he's promised to be nice in those negotiations, but we have to see how those play out.

Of course, this all comes as tensions have been clearly ramping up over Taiwan. Just this month, the Chinese ramped up these military drills around Taiwan. These were live-fire military drills. They actually also practiced a blockade of Taiwan, this causing major tension with the United States.

In recent years, Pamela, the Chinese have ramped up these military drills around Taiwan, ostensibly preparing for a possible invasion, creating lots of tension with Washington, Pamela.

BROWN: All right, and, also, candidate Trump had said he'd end the war in Ukraine before even taking office. He said it would be day one.

TODD: Right.

BROWN: That's something our reporting indicates he has conceded privately that it's been harder than he thought.

TODD: It's been harder than he thought, Pamela.

And he has voiced open frustration at various points along the war, along these negotiations about ending the Ukraine war. The latest came yesterday, when the president -- actually -- sorry -- this was last week.