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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Trump Touts "Profound Change" In First 100 Days; Trump: GOP Tax Bill Will Be "Biggest Focus" Going Forward; Trump: Bezos "Did The Right Thing" By Not Listing Tariff Costs. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired April 29, 2025 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Try to use unscented shampoos because, again, fragrance lasts in these shampoos and perfumes because of phthalates. Phthalates is a stabilizer in that case. Avoid non-stick pots and pans. And store food in glass and stainless steel as much as possible.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Wow.
GUPTA: But this is -- this is a significant problem. You and I talk about heart disease a lot, Anderson.
COOPER: Yes.
GUPTA: You've got to put plastics on the list as a risk factor.
COOPER: Wow. Sanjay, appreciate it. Sanjay Gupta.
That's it for us. The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Welcome to a special edition of THE SOURCE.
An inside look at the first 100 days, as President Trump says tonight, quote, You haven't seen anything yet.
Three top senators are here, including one of the President's allies and one of his biggest critics.
We'll also be joined by two members of the House, as a majority of Americans say in a new poll that they should do more to check the President's power.
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
Good evening from Washington, where at the White House tonight, they are closing out on 100 days of the second Trump presidency. And the President tonight is celebrating with his first rally of his second term in Michigan, in a county he won that put him over the top in the election.
And love him or loathe him, these first 100 days have been undoubtedly consequential, and the changes they brought in such a short time are really unlike anything we've seen in modern American history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: In 100 days, we have delivered the most profound change in Washington in nearly 100 years.
Democrats have vowed mass invasion and mass migration. We are delivering mass deportation.
We cannot allow a handful of communist radical-left judges to obstruct the enforcement of our laws and assume the duties that belong solely to the President of the United States.
We like strong borders. We like good education. We like low interest rates. We like being able to buy a beautiful car.
Interest rates came down despite the fact that I have a Fed person who's not really doing a good job, but I won't say that.
They said, he pledged to bring prices down. Well, that's what I've done.
Since I took office, the cost of eggs is down 87 percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That claim there at the end, the President has repeated it a couple times this week, again -- including, again tonight, during an interview that he did with ABC News, at the White House, earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: When I took over, you remember the big thing with eggs? They hit me the first week, Eggs, eggs, eggs. Like it was my fault. I said, I didn't cause this problem. This problem was caused by Biden. What's the problem with eggs? And they said, They've doubled them. Well, eggs are down 87 percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: As we reported last week, the national wholesale price for a dozen of large white eggs has gone down. Last Friday, it was about $3.13, according to the Department of Agriculture, which is down from the $6.55, the week that President Trump took office. That's a decline of about 52 percent, not 87 percent or even 93 or 94, as we have heard from him.
On day 100 of the President's second term, and into his second presidency, he is declaring a success, and also touting the tariffs that he's put in place, even as they've roiled the financial markets and created deep concern for many voters.
My lead source tonight is the Republican senator, Markwayne Mullin, of Oklahoma.
And it's great to have you here. Obviously, you're a huge ally to the President's.
SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): Thank you.
COLLINS: And now that he's a 100 days in, and the economy seems to be a major focus for a lot of voters, as they're looking at this. In that interview tonight, he talked about the 145 percent tariffs in place on China. He said he thinks China will actually end up eating most of that. Is that how you see it, though?
MULLIN: Well, I do. I think China has to have us. If you start looking at the economy, the economy is strong, Kaitlan. I know the voters are looking at it.
You got to remember, underneath President Biden's four years in office, he averaged inflation at 4.95 percent, nearly 5 percent, at a high of 9.1 percent. Today, inflation is down to 2.4 percent.
You start talking about optimism inside the economy. We have 229,000 jobs created. 459,000 jobs went from part-time to full-time. We have private investment of $2 trillion that have been pledged to invest in the United States in the first 100 days of the presidency. We have foreign investments of $3 trillion. That's $5 trillion of investment in our economy, just in the first 100 days.
People like to see what is going on right now. You have gas prices down to -- 22 percent. And when you start talking to American people, they are excited about where our country is headed.
COLLINS: But if the numbers are as good as the President says they are? I mean, he's wildly exaggerating how much eggs are down. They're not down 87 percent. If they were, people would be paying $0.50 for a dozen of eggs, which obviously--
MULLIN: Well, you know--
COLLINS: --you know that they're not.
MULLIN: --the fact is, they're down. And, as I said, at the height--
COLLINS: Right.
MULLIN: But the height they were--
COLLINS: But why don't just say exactly how much they're down?
[21:05:00]
MULLIN: Well, at the height, it was 9.1 percent. So, it depends on what metric you're using. At 9.1 percent. They're down to 2.4 percent now, inflation. That is a significant drop. That's not 50 percent. You're getting down to actual real numbers at that point. So, it depends on which point you're talking about.
We can discuss wherever we want to on the eggs, or what source you want to say, or what -- at what timeframe he may be referring to. The fact is, prices are down. And we see them, continues to drop it. COLLINS: But they're not down as much as he's saying that they're down for eggs.
MULLIN: Well--
COLLINS: So, I'm saying if my--
MULLIN: So let's use the math.
COLLINS: If the numbers are as good?
MULLIN: What's 9.1 percent down to -- down to 2.4 percent? What's the percentage of that?
COLLINS: I'm saying if the numbers are as good as you think they are, and as you're arguing, and that's number from the Agriculture Department, why not just say they're down 52 percent, or 53 percent--
MULLIN: Well--
COLLINS: --instead of 87 percent?
MULLIN: It's interesting to me that we're focused on the price of eggs when we know it's down.
What I don't remember hearing is when Biden was in office, and inflation was 9.1 percent, about you talking about how high the prices were, or anybody for that matter, actually saying, OK, why is inflation at 9.1 percent? Why are we averaging 4.95, nearly 5 percent of inflation?
Why is it in the first 100 days -- that should be the conversation -- why is it in the first 100 days that the President was able to bring down inflation to 2.4 percent, and have $5 trillion of investment inside the United States? Why wasn't that happening in the last four years of the Biden administration?
COLLINS: I think if you asked anyone in the Biden White House, they got asked about inflation all day long. It was essentially one of the only questions reporters asked them. So, I don't think that that's a fair criticism.
But on the numbers, when you're looking at that, this isn't some criticism from the media. It's the polling that voters are not happy with where the economy is going. They don't feel good about the President's policies, and they think they're making the economy worse. Why do you think that is?
MULLIN: Well, I would go, what demographic are they polling? Who are they talking to?
Because when I'm talking to people in Oklahoma, or I'm talking to people in Texas, or I'm talking to people in Alabama, or wherever I'm traveling to, which granted, I'm traveling to red states, they're very optimistic about where we're headed to. They're excited about what's happening inside the country. And I think investors are that way too. As I go back to it, in the first 100 days, we've had $5 trillion pledged to invest inside the United States. Why weren't they doing that underneath the Biden administration?
COLLINS: Yes. I mean, I looked at the CNN polling. It was, I think the sample that they surveyed, it was more Republicans than it was Democrats, and then a lot of Independents in there as well. I mean, it was a pretty broad swath. And it's also not just the CNN poll. It's the ABC/Washington Post poll. There's a Fox News poll that's out where his numbers are down.
And so, I guess, the question is, when you look at that, is there any sense, when you look at those numbers that the White House needs to change course--
MULLIN: Kaitlan, numbers--
COLLINS: --on tariffs?
MULLIN: Numbers don't lie. Polling, you can skew however you want to. When I read -- when I read -- state these numbers, again, inflation is down to 2.4 percent. We're an average of 4.95 percent, 5 percent underneath the Biden administration.
COLLINS: Yes, inflation is down.
MULLIN: 9.1 percent. 5 -- I'm not -- don't mean to sound like a broken record. But when you have $5 trillion pledge of investment in the first 100 days, I believe the investors, I believe the job creators, those that create the jobs that hire the individuals, I think it speaks for themselves.
When you -- when you have 459,000 jobs that were part-time, just a 100 days ago, today, they're full-time? I believe the economy is moving in the right direction. And so, we should be talking about what has happened in the first 100 days. Why is it that President Trump was able to do this--
COLLINS: Well--
MULLIN: --and Biden couldn't.
COLLINS: The S&P 500 posted its biggest loss in the first 100 days of -- the first 100 days of a presidency--
MULLIN: Yes, right.
COLLINS: --since Nixon in 1973. I mean, those are hard numbers that you can't dispute.
MULLIN: Well, think about the -- well, but think about the stock market. The stock market deals on today's news, not on the future. What the President's trying to do with the tariffs is he's trying to build a workforce for the future.
We know, without question, that countries were taking advantage of the United States' generosity for years. That countries all across Europe, all across Asia have -- became wealthy, on taking products that were once built inside the United States, build it in their country, and then selling it back to us, and taking the dollars out.
When the President said Enough is enough, we're tired of countries taking advantage of us, we're going to right this ship, and we're going to build a workforce for the future? The stock market didn't react the way that -- well, actually reacted the way we expected it to, really, because they deal on today's futures, not tomorrow's futures, and that's understandable.
COLLINS: Well can I ask you about how it's being carried out?
MULLIN: But the market that the President is building is going to be better for the future coming -- the future generation.
COLLINS: Yes, and the President is making the argument tonight that he ran on tariffs, this is what he's now putting in place.
MULLIN: Without question.
COLLINS: Maybe Wall Street didn't believe him.
But on this today, amid this report that Amazon was going to start showing how prices were impacted by his tariffs, you would see what you would pay without the tariffs, and you'd see what you pay with them. Amazon quickly denied that they're actually going to do that. But the White House lashed out, and called it a hostile and political act.
Why would a company being transparent about why prices are going up be hostile?
[21:10:00]
MULLIN: So, I actually had a meeting with the CEO of distribution and small stores and retails for Amazon before we came on air tonight. And he said, that was based on a story that was based on a very small aspect of Amazon. But Amazon was never doing that.
And so we got into pricing, started talking about pricing, right? We started talking about how that would work. He says, We haven't increased pricing. We haven't increased pricing. We don't expect to increase pricing. We haven't seen the tariffs increase.
We -- most retailers, major retailers, had surged up before the tariffs came in, because we knew what the President said. And so we saw a larger surge in surplus, in warehouse goods than we did even over Christmas. And so, the consumer is not seeing this tariff that everybody is talking about. What more--
COLLINS: But they will soon, don't you think?
MULLIN: Well, according to him, it'll be weeks, possibly months, before you see it happen.
COLLINS: But that's not that long from now. Just a few weeks from now. I mean.
MULLIN: Well, think about how fast the President has moved in a 100 days.
And when you say just few weeks? I didn't say a few weeks. I said weeks, possibly months.
When you start talking about what the President has accomplished in the first 100 days, can you imagine what he can do in the next 100 days? We're talking about 90 days, if you want to start about -- months. We're talking about 90 days from now, three months from now, what else can happen?
I have enjoyed where the direction--
COLLINS: On the premise though--
MULLIN: --that President is taking the country.
COLLINS: On the premise though that -- I mean, OK, so in six weeks, we could see prices go up. If a company--
MULLIN: I don't think it'll be six weeks. It'll be past that.
COLLINS: What's -- so when should voters, do you think, be prepared for prices to go up?
MULLIN: I don't think you got to be prepared for it. I think you're going to see a deal made. Countries need to do business with our economy. They want to do business with our economy. Think about what's -- the products made in China. Who needs the economies worse (ph)? China, 40 percent of all their manufacturing goods that they make today are sold inside the United States.
COLLINS: But you yourself acknowledged, the last time you were here, a tariff is a tax that is passed on to consumers. You've said that pretty bluntly.
The question, I think, is, that was raised today is, why is it the responsibility of a CEO or someone who owns a company to shield the White House from the cost of their policies by not raising prices?
MULLIN: What do you mean, shield? That's what a businessowner does. We prepare for the markets ahead. That's what we do.
COLLINS: But all businesses are not going to eat these prices. You don't think that, right?
MULLIN: I didn't -- I never said they were going to eat the prices. I think some of them will build -- absorb some of them. But the retailer can't. The manufacturer can. So the margins at a retail store is much, much smaller than the margins at a manufacturing plant. So a lot of them can be absorbed from the manufacturer. And I believe they will absorb some of them.
But you don't expect a retailer, when they're working off 2, 3, or at the top 6 percent margins to be able to absorb that. It should be consumed at the manufacturing level, though, which is why we're trying to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. And that's what the President--
COLLINS: Which is obviously--
MULLIN: That's what President Trump is doing.
COLLINS: --a years-long endeavor, and something that is not done in a few weeks or months.
MULLIN: But trade deals can be done. And the President is the absolutely, the best president we've ever had, to right this ship on unfair trade prices that the--
COLLINS: Yes.
MULLIN: --that the countries have taken advantage of us. And the president -- no one can work a deal better than President Trump.
COLLINS: We're staying on top of it closely. None have been announced so far.
MULLIN: Right.
COLLINS: Senator Mullin, thank you for coming on tonight. Appreciate your time as always.
MULLIN: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
COLLINS: Democrats in Congress, meanwhile, have been watching their ratings tank, also in a new CNN poll. It's not looking better for the party's leadership. My next source tonight is the Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer. We'll talk to him about that, and Democrats' reflection on a 100 days.
[21:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, President Trump is deferring to his lawyers on an issue that he's also touting as his biggest accomplishment, a 100 days into his second term. What he's done with the United States border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY MORAN, ABC NEWS ANCHOR & SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The law requires that every single person who is going to be deported gets a hearing first.
TRUMP: Well--
MORAN: Do you acknowledge that?
TRUMP: I'll -- I'll have to ask the lawyers about that. All I can say is this: If you're going to have 21 million people, and if we have to get a lot of them out because they're criminals, we're going to have to act fast. We can't -- do you think we can give 21 million trials? Let's say each trial takes two weeks. Is that what you want us to do?
MORAN: The law is the law, sir.
TRUMP: Give 21 million?
MORAN: The law is the law and you're sworn--
TRUMP: No, no. The law doesn't say anything--
MORAN: --to uphold it.
TRUMP: --about trials.
MORAN: No, not trials. Hearings. I said hearings.
TRUMP: If these people came in, they're not citizens, they came in illegally, they came into our country illegally--
MORAN: Right. And they--
TRUMP: --we have to get them out.
MORAN: The order from the Supreme Court stands, sir.
TRUMP: He came into our country illegally.
MORAN: You could get him back. There's a phone on this desk.
TRUMP: I could.
MORAN: You could pick it up, and with all--
TRUMP: I could.
MORAN: --the power of the presidency, you could call up the President of El Salvador and say, Send him back, right now.
TRUMP: And if he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that.
MORAN: But the court has ordered you--
TRUMP: But he's not.
MORAN: --to facilitate that -- his release.
TRUMP: I'm not the one making this decision. We have lawyers that don't want--
MORAN: You're the president.
TRUMP: --to do this, Terry.
MORAN: Yes, but the -- but the buck stops in this office. TRUMP: I -- no, no, no, no. I follow the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Those comments from the President, inside the White House today, come, as here in Washington, Democrats are still looking for a cohesive strategy to respond to the President, as he is now 100 days in.
Tonight, on Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats have promised to deliver speeches, criticizing, what the Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer, has called 100 days of hell.
I want to get straight to THE SOURCE with Senator Schumer of New York.
And Senator, it's great to have you here.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Hi, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Listening to what the President said there, I wonder what you make of him deferring to his attorneys, on whether or not Kilmar Abrego Garcia must be brought back to the United States.
SCHUMER: Well, I think he just makes it up as he goes along.
The courts have ruled against him on issue after issue after issue. And in fact, four U.S. citizens who were children were deported without any due process, without any hearing. The bottom line is, America stands for rule of law, stands for due process, and they're violating it, and the courts are telling them that. Day in and day out, they're losing court decisions.
[21:20:00]
COLLINS: Well, we'll see. They believe that the Supreme Court here is essentially in their favor. Remains to be seen how that will be sorted out in the courts.
On the first 100 days overall. On tariffs, you just heard, we were speaking with Senator Markwayne Mullin, about his view of this. President Trump is arguing, tonight, at a rally that people essentially signed up for this. And I wonder whether or not you agree with his policies, you agree if he has a point there?
SCHUMER: No, they didn't sign up for the kind of tariffs he's doing, the chaos, where they say one thing, one day, one thing, another day, then do different things.
There should be, there can be tariffs, pointed tariffs, directed at, say, China, when they don't -- when they don't play by the rules. But he turned all the nations of the world -- he's put tariffs on everybody, and he's turned the nations of the world against us, and now China is rallying them.
The way to get after China, if you need some specific tariffs, which I would support, against China, is to get the nations of the world to join up with us, if they didn't bargain for that. They didn't bargain for the increased prices. He says he doesn't care. It's so callous of these billionaires to say they don't care, when people have to pay more.
It's estimated that his present tariff regime would charge -- would cost the average American family $4,000 more. The price of food goes up, the price of drug -- prescription drugs goes up. The price of gasoline goes up. The price of clothing goes up.
And, to boot, people who have IRAs, because the markets have reacted so negatively to these tariffs, have approximately almost a $100,000 less, not to mention the chaos that it's caused.
Businesses are frozen. I speak to big businesses in New York, middle- size businesses, small businesses. They're frozen because of the tariffs. In fact, Kaitlan, I was out on Long Island with -- in Suffolk County, in the Republican district. I've gone to six of the seven Republican districts to talk about Medicaid and tariffs. And this woman, who owns a well-known dress shop in Long Island--
COLLINS: Yes.
SCHUMER: --and is a lead Republican in Long Island, said she won't support Trump again. Her costs have gone up 30 percent.
COLLINS: Well on these tariffs, overall, I mean, there has been a real question of how Republicans are handling it, but also what Democrats are doing, especially Democrats here in Washington.
We're looking at the President's polling that's underwater. But Senator, it's not exactly great for your party, either, because Democrats, or people who lean Democrat, according to CNN's latest poll, say that they're not satisfied with your party's leadership.
SCHUMER: Well, Kaitlan--
COLLINS: 61 percent disapprove. And among all Americans, sir, you personally stand at a 17 percent favorable rating.
SCHUMER: Yes, well, first--
COLLINS: Is that concerning to you?
SCHUMER: No--
COLLINS: What do you say to that?
SCHUMER: What we are doing is we are showing the contrast between Trump and us and the American -- and the Democrats. And the American people, day in, day out, learn that we are for keeping Medicaid and Social Security, learn that we want to get rid of these horrible tariffs.
There will be a bill on the floor, tomorrow, that we are -- put in, by Tim Kaine, Ron Wyden, and myself, that will allow Republicans to vote to repeal the tariffs. When we did it for Canada, we did get four Republican votes.
So we're fighting every day. And what Trump is doing is giving us the opportunity and the necessity to show the contrast between us, and the Republicans.
And the -- as the American people more and more see what we are for, not cutting Medicaid, not cutting Social Security, not cutting our veterans benefits, not cutting taxes for billionaire -- not cutting taxes on billionaires, as he wants to do, they're going to see that we are the party of the working people. And that's where we got to be. That's where we've always been when we've been successful. And that's what we're doing now.
COLLINS: But if you've been doing that, then why are the numbers as low as they are for Democrats?
SCHUMER: Well, it takes a while. We're doing it day in, day out, day in, day out. And the first step has been for them to see how bad Trump is. Because he tries to drown the airwaves. He tries to distract people with all kinds of things, like Gulf of America, and Panama Canal, and Greenland. But it's not working.
And as they realize who Trump is, and they contrast them with us, they're going to see who our party is more and more and more, and I believe we'll be very successful.
COLLINS: And how long do you expect that to take?
SCHUMER: It's going to be a day in, day out process, but you'll see it -- you'll see it happening. He's betraying them, and they know it. And they know also, day by -- we're going back to the districts.
I went to six districts in New York State over our Easter/Passover break, and there were Republican -- and they were six Republican districts. That we have seven Republican congressmen. I was in six of them, just not in Stefanik's. And in those districts, I was rallied by Republicans.
I was on Staten Island. And health care executives, and nurses, and people, it's a Republican area, but they came and rallied to this event we had, because they were afraid, if Medicaid is cut the way they are, we could lose up to 18,000 jobs on Staten Island, and cause a recession.
COLLINS: But sir you--
SCHUMER: So it's a day-by-day fight. But I do believe that we are both, showing who Trump is, they don't like him, and showing us by contrast.
[21:25:00]
COLLINS: And there is a contrast, obviously. And yes, the President's numbers are underwater, as we just raised with his Republican ally here. But they're not exactly turning to Democrats. I mean, specifically, for you-- SCHUMER: They will.
COLLINS: --for you, sir, in the first 100 days, you went from a 46 percent favorable rating to 31 percent.
SCHUMER: You know--
COLLINS: Why do you think that happened in those 100 days?
SCHUMER: Look, the polls--
COLLINS: What do you attribute that to?
SCHUMER: Look, the polls come and go, OK? I've been through all the years and I've seen them. I pay attention to doing the right thing. And when you do the right thing, things work out all right. We are doing the right thing. We are focusing on how bad Trump is.
I've gotten a great reception in New York as I go to districts, Republican districts, and talk about what we're fighting for, from Republicans themselves. As I said, on Staten Island, they -- we came to the conclusion with a lot of Republicans, who are in the health care business, and, I mean, in hospitals and nursing homes and things like that, that there'd be a recession on Staten Island if we didn't stop Trump. They want me to stop Trump, even though they voted for him before.
COLLINS: What about from Democrats though, sir? Because it's Democrats who seem unhappy with what Democrats are doing, or, in their view, not doing enough, in response to what the President is doing.
SCHUMER: As I said -- Kirsten (ph), as I said -- I mean, Kaitlan, as I said, it's a day-by-day process. You will see, things not only will continue to get bad for Trump, but get better and better for us, as people see the contrast, see that we're back in the states, back in our districts, fighting for them, and that's going to work out very well for us.
COLLINS: You've defended the lead -- the moves that you've had to take, as Minority Leader, on Capitol Hill. Obviously, Democrats are not in power. You're certainly hoping to change that.
But amid the questions of what this looks like. And you're no stranger to dealing with President Trump. You've been getting a little heat after you told my colleague, Dana Bash, that you had sent the President a strongly-worded letter, about his ongoing battle with Harvard. You said it had eight very strong questions in there.
I wonder what you would say to people, tonight, in your party, who may say--
SCHUMER: That is--
COLLINS: --a strongly-worded letter is not enough.
SCHUMER: Dana -- that was a news clip. I talked with Dana about all the other things we're doing. How tomorrow we have legislation on the floor on tariffs. And if we get four Republicans to vote for us, we can undo those tariffs. How we're opposing them every step of the way, on the kind of vicious cuts that they make.
And so, I am fighting, fighting every day in every way. And wherever I go in New York, I'm getting plaudits not just from Democrats, not just even from Independents, but from Republicans as well.
COLLINS: And what are you hearing on Capitol Hill from other members in your caucus?
SCHUMER: Our caucus is united.
Look at this. The Republicans on this upcoming reconciliation bill, which sets the funding for the whole government, they're fighting with each other. Republicans are fighting with each other within the House. Republicans are fighting with each other within the Senate. And something that rarely happens, the Republican leadership in the House and Senate are fighting with each other.
Compare that to the Democrats. We're totally united. We're totally united in my caucus. And in fact, on the last budget reconciliation bill, we had seven -- 27 amendments. Every single Democrat voted for every one of them.
And the reason we are united, the reason they are divided, and the reason our caucus is feeling very good about our future, we know we have to work at it very hard, day in, day out, is because we know we're on the side of the American people, and they are not.
And you know the political process, you have to fight, you have to protest, you have to do everything you can. But in the -- public sentiment is everything. And the public sentiment is turning in our direction.
COLLINS: Senate Democratic Leader, Chuck Schumer, we will see if you are right. Thank you for your time tonight--
SCHUMER: Thank you, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: --on a busy night on Capitol Hill.
SCHUMER: I would say, Good to see you. But I can't. But it's good to hear you.
COLLINS: Good to hear you as well, Senator Schumer. Thank you for that.
SCHUMER: Thank you. Bye-bye.
COLLINS: Up next. When it comes to Washington and the President's agenda, they may be divided on it, but they are united on the need to talk. Republicans, on Capitol Hill, are moving fast on a spending plan, as you heard Senator Schumer mention there. Some Democrats are questioning how they're going to get it across the line.
Two congressional sources, one Republican, one Democrat, will join me next.
[21:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In the final hours of the President's first 100 days back in office, President Trump revealed his top priority for the next 100 days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think my biggest focus will be on Congress, with the deal that we're working on. That will be the biggest bill in the history of our country, in terms of tax cuts and regulation cuts and other things.
I think they're going to be all aboard. I think the Republicans are really with us. We have the big, beautiful deal. It's moving along, and I think we're going to have it taken care of. I think they'll all be there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Trump's effort to put his agenda and tax cut into law will be tested. His White House has set a July deadline. It's also what we've been hearing from some Republicans on Capitol Hill. It will be here sooner than they think, potentially, as Republicans have to navigate their ultra-slim majority, in the House, to get it all done.
As the President stays focused on reshaping the country, Americans, though, seem not so pleased with how lawmakers may be responding to that. Our new CNN polling that we've been quoting tonight finds that 56 percent of Americans think Congress has not done enough to provide any check on President Trump's power.
I have two congressional sources with me tonight.
Republican congressman, Mike Lawler, of New York.
And Democratic congressman, Jared Moskowitz, of Florida.
Great to have one of each of you here tonight.
I do wonder what you think of that polling, though, Congressman, in terms of Americans don't think that the Congress is doing enough, to do your job. Would you agree with that?
[21:35:00]
REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): No. Obviously, the administration has been very aggressive, in these first 100 days, especially when it comes to border security. I think all polling has showed the American people support what the President has been doing, to stem the flow of illegal immigration into the country, and deport criminal aliens.
But Congress is going through the process, now, of reconciliation. And as the President pointed out, in that clip, that is going to be one of the biggest things that Congress does this year.
In addition, we will be having fiscal year '26 appropriations and a rescissions package. That's where Congress will exert its control of the purse. And where we agree with the administration on savings, it will be rescinded. Where we don't, it will not. And that is something that the committees are in the process of working through, especially on the Appropriations Committee.
But the reconciliation bill, where markup started today--
COLLINS: Yes.
LAWLER: --is really going to be the tax bill, and obviously savings.
But also, for members like me, I've been very clear, we're going to protect Medicaid for those who rely on these critical services. All eligible recipients will be protected. But we're going to stop the waste, fraud and abuse, including the billions of dollars being spent on illegal immigrants getting Medicaid benefits in this country, including in states like New York.
COLLINS: Well, and you've said you would not vote for any final package that included cuts to Medicaid. I think there are--
LAWLER: For eligible recipients.
COLLINS: For eligible recipients.
LAWLER: Yes.
COLLINS: Some people may ask, how you define that. We've talked about this--
LAWLER: Well, illegal immigrants should not be getting benefits.
COLLINS: Yes, well, I mean, some people have said--
LAWLER: And I think we can all agree with that.
COLLINS: --work requirements and whatnot.
Democrats have argued that there is no way that they can get this done without making those cuts, and that they're going to be big cuts, especially when you look at what was passed, and just the outline.
How do Democrats plan to navigate this, especially with such an ambitious timeline? Speaker Mike Johnson, I believe, was saying, Memorial Day, this could all be done.
REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): Well, look, I -- let the Republicans cook on themselves, right? They got to figure this out on how they get there, right?
They originally started with, We were cutting Medicaid, right? They've pivoted to, We're not going to cut Medicaid, because people took to the streets, and they heard from their constituents in town halls, right? And the President pivoted on this.
This was about, where are they going to find the money? And they were looking at Medicaid. They were looking at SNAP. They were looking at the poorest among us to figure out how they were going to pay for the tax cuts for the rich.
But look, we're in the first 100 days of the Trump administration. And he told everybody that the economy was terrible under Joe Biden. It wasn't, but that's what he told people.
And if that is true in his world, the economy in every metric is worse in the first 100 days than it was before he got elected. The stock market is worse. Egg prices were highest on Easter of any Easter we've ever had. OK. Every metric he used in the election, OK, is worse now than it was before he became president. So, look, it's not been a great 100 days.
This is the only big thing they're going to pass. What's -- going to do reconciliation, and then we're going to immediately pivot to reelection. OK? So let's see where they land. I take Governor Lawler at his word that he's not going to vote for Medicaid cuts.
LAWLER: Respectfully -- respectfully, look, the bottom line here is, if we do not pass a tax bill, it will be the single largest tax increase in American history. And Democrats--
MOSKOWITZ: The tariffs are the single largest tax increase in the country--
(CROSSTALK)
LAWLER: --and Democrats are planning to vote against the tax bill, period.
MOSKOWITZ: Mike, it's 37 to 39.
LAWLER: It would cut the standard--
MOSKOWITZ: It's a--
LAWLER: It would cut the standard deduction in half.
MOSKOWITZ: I'm in--
LAWLER: If the -- if the tax bill--
MOSKOWITZ: I'm in the top 1 percent.
LAWLER: If the tax--
MOSKOWITZ: Hold on, I'm in the--
LAWLER: No, no, no, no, wait Jared.
MOSKOWITZ: I'm in the top 1 percent.
LAWLER: You want to focus on tax the rich.
MOSKOWITZ: It's 37 to 39.
LAWLER: But the fact is, if you do not pass a tax bill, it will be the single largest tax increase in American history. The standard deduction would be cut in half. Do you support that? Do you want the standard deduction cut in half? I don't.
MOSKOWITZ: No, you--
LAWLER: I want to lift the cap on SALT.
MOSKOWITZ: Hold on.
LAWLER: That's something that I've been fighting to do.
MOSKOWITZ: And you've been -- you've been--
LAWLER: As part of this.
MOSKOWITZ: Hold on. You've been clear on fixing the SALT issue, and you should do that for your constituents. But actually, I -- if President -- President Trump came with the no tax on overtime, the no tax on tips, rather than--
COLLINS: Policies that Vice President Harris also supported.
MOSKOWITZ: That's correct. If he came with that, then we'd have something to talk about, because that money would go down.
LAWLER: But here's -- but here's the bigger issue we're dealing with.
MOSKOWITZ: And he promised he was going to do that, you know.
COLLINS: But can I ask you what--
LAWLER: But I want to make this one point, because this is critical. Over the next 10 years, we're projected to spend $86 trillion. We're running $2 trillion deficits. That exploded under Joe Biden's first two years, where he increased spending by $5 trillion. That's what gave us the record inflation. So when you say that everything was ho- hum under Joe Biden, and it was going well?
MOSKOWITZ: I didn't say -- hold on. I didn't say that.
LAWLER: It was not.
MOSKOWITZ: Hold on. I didn't say that.
LAWLER: And, by the way, egg prices went up because they killed all the chickens to deal with avian flu.
MOSKOWITZ: Hold on. I--
LAWLER: So to act as though that's somehow Donald Trump's fault--
MOSKOWITZ: Hold on. To be clear. Hold on--
LAWLER: --is wrong.
MOSKOWITZ: Let's have two moments--
COLLINS: But the avian flu is there, that is something that they have to respond to, right?
MOSKOWITZ: Hold on. Let's have two moments.
LAWLER: Of course. And they killed all the chickens, which is why egg prices went up, correct?
MOSKOWITZ: OK. It's always the chickens.
But let's -- look, let's have two moments of clarity. There were policies that Biden put in place that were inflationary. There were. There's no question about that.
LAWLER: Right.
MOSKOWITZ: I think the data shows that. But you also have to admit--
LAWLER: And it spiked prices as a result.
[21:40:00]
MOSKOWITZ: OK, Mike. But the prices now are higher than they were when Trump took office. They are.
LAWLER: No. Wait a minute.
MOSKOWITZ: In every metric.
LAWLER: No, they are not.
MOSKOWITZ: Come on.
LAWLER: No, they're not.
MOSKOWITZ: Come on. No, no, no.
LAWLER: CPI is down, and real wages are up higher.
MOSKOWITZ: Hey, Goldman -- hold on.
LAWLER: And CPI for the first time.
MOSKOWITZ: Goldman Sachs--
LAWLER: The month of March--
MOSKOWITZ: Hold on. Goldman Sachs not a--
LAWLER: --real wages went up.
COLLINS: Yes, but that was before also the tariffs went into effect. He announced them on April 2nd.
LAWLER: But there's the--
COLLINS: Then paused them.
LAWLER: --here's something on tariffs.
COLLINS: There's the question of what that data looks like.
LAWLER: Here's the thing on tariffs, OK?
MOSKOWITZ: It's going great. Penguins are happy.
LAWLER: No, look, the issue on tariffs is we have had a trade deficit for a very long time. And countries like Japan, like India, countries in the EU are, who are our allies, have been putting in place tariffs, price controls and barriers to entry to U.S. goods and products. And the fact is, we need to eliminate that trade deficit.
COLLINS: Yes.
LAWLER: We need to bring back jobs and manufacturing and investment. And President Trump has already announced over $5 trillion in new investments into the U.S. economy.
COLLINS: And there's a question of what that looks like, as we get there. We are out of time.
MOSKOWITZ: Prices are higher.
COLLINS: If Elise Stefanik runs for governor in New York, are you -- would that preclude you from running or no?
LAWLER: No, it will have no impact on my decision.
COLLINS: And have you talked to Speaker Mike Johnson about running for governor?
LAWLER: I have had conversations with the Speaker in the past. But the bottom line for me is I will make a decision by June.
COLLINS: OK.
LAWLER: And it will not be impacted by any of my colleagues.
MOSKOWITZ: It will also not affect my run for governor of New York.
(LAUGHTER)
COLLINS: Congressman Mike Lawler, and Jared Moskowitz of Florida, thank you both for being here, for a lively discussion.
My next source just was -- just left the Senate floor. Democrats are there, marking 100 days of Trump's presidency, with speeches critical of those 100 days. Senator Elizabeth Warren is here next.
[21:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: When President Trump returned to the White House, in January, he was surrounded by several billionaires who had worked, over the last several months, to get into his good graces.
Now, 100 days in, we're just seeing how much the President has them under his thumb, as we watched today, as he lashed out at Amazon, after it was reported in Punchbowl News, that Amazon was considering displaying the cost of U.S. tariffs next to the prices for certain products, and how they're impacted by them.
The President was, quote, Pissed off, according to a White House official, what they told my colleague, Alayna Treene. And he later called the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, personally.
We heard from President Trump as he was leaving the White House today, and I asked him how that call went.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: How did your call with Jeff Bezos go?
TRUMP: Great. Jeff Bezos was very nice. He was terrific. He solved the problem very quickly, and he did the right thing. And he's a good guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, after that call, we saw Amazon issue a statement, clarifying that the move was, quote, "Never a consideration for the main Amazon" website. They later added in, to that statement, quote, "This was never approved and not going to happen."
My source tonight is the Democratic senator, Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts.
And it's great to have you.
I wonder what your response was, one, to just this whole thing playing out today between the White House and Jeff Bezos and Amazon.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): So stop and think about what just happened.
Donald Trump said, Yes, I'm doing tariffs across the board, every country. This is going to completely disrupt trade and drive up cost. But I don't want you telling the American people exactly how much this costs. That's all that happened here. Trump saying, I know I'm driving up costs for American families, but I sure don't want the American people to know that.
And do keep in mind. This is the man who said how many bazillion times, while he was running for office, he would lower costs on day one. Said in his first interview after he was elected, that that was a big reason he got elected. And now, on day 100, has done nothing except raise costs for American families.
COLLINS: Yes, they called it a political and hostile act. That was the White House's initial reaction, before Amazon had denied it.
And I wonder what it says though, about Bezos himself. Because for people who aren't steeped in their history, they once were pretty big rivals. Well, they feuded a lot. The President criticized him. Bezos went on to donate a million dollars to his inauguration. He attended it. He has dined with him. He's praised him. I mean, he thinks that he seems to have a pretty close relationship with him.
WARREN: Oh--
COLLINS: Yet that did not stop the White House from going after Amazon today.
WARREN: Look, this is all about corruption. Donald Trump wants money from Bezos. He wants Bezos to bend the knee to him.
Donald Trump wants whatever he thinks helps Donald Trump. And in this particular case, it's hiding the cost of what Donald Trump is doing to American families, and the cost they're going to have to pay.
So, I just see this as more of Trump has indicated he's open for business. Donate a million dollars. Buy his meme coins. Make sure that his family is making money off the stablecoins. It's all about Trump and power, corruption and chaos.
COLLINS: Well, and we have Democrats on the Senate floor tonight. They're protesting the 100 days. You're about to deliver a speech--
WARREN: Yes.
COLLINS: --highlighting what you say are 100 corrupt acts that you -- those are your words, against what President Trump has done.
WARREN: Yes.
COLLINS: One of them -- I'm sure he appreciates that, marking of his 100 days.
WARREN: You bet.
COLLINS: But one of those is how he's set to host a private dinner with holders of his meme coin.
WARREN: Yes.
COLLINS: You have launched an investigation into this. Have you heard anything from the Office of Government Ethics on that?
WARREN: Not yet.
[21:50:00]
But remember what he's doing here. He is doing something no president in American history has ever contemplated. And that is, he is effectively openly, selling access to the White House, to dinner with the President, in return for what? For stirring up a lot of action on something the President has a direct financial stake in, these meme coins.
And boy, talk about a way to set up a scam. Not only does Donald Trump benefit from the fact that people are competing to have the most of his coins, driving up the value of those coins for him personally. But he gets a cut of every transaction. So all that frenzy back-and-forth trading of coins is causing Donald Trump to just ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching, every minute. That is corruption.
COLLINS: Is there one thing that he has done in his 100 days that you do like?
WARREN: I think of it differently. It's not about a specific action. It's about -- if you want to back up, I gave a 100 acts of corruption in 100 days. I'm going to go read that on the floor of the Senate.
But I think of it to back up for 100 days and looked at it overall and say, What has he done? He has created enormous chaos in the economy. It's mostly been through the red light, green light on the tariffs. But he has also held up a giant sign that says, This White House for sale to the highest bidder.
And that ultimately, those two things together undercut the American economy, undercut our role in the world. But they also directly hurt American families, because it puts them in a place where, just like the Federal Reserve Chair said, prices will go up and unemployment will go up.
COLLINS: Well, I mean, there's questions of how Democrats are responding to that.
We saw Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan with the President today. He was there, on a military base in her state.
We just heard from Senator Chuck Schumer saying that he believes Democrats are going to start to show the real contrast between your party and President Trump. He is not stepping down as leader of the Democrats in the Senate. Do you agree with that move? Do you think he's the right person to redraw (ph) at this moment?
WARREN: Look, I think where we are right now is a 100 percent focused on fighting back against Donald Trump, and the spineless Republicans in the Senate and the House that won't put any curbs on Trump's activities.
We have a responsibility for all 47 of us in the Senate, and also for every Democrat in the House, to be completely committed to this fight on behalf of the American people.
Keep in mind, Kaitlan, that many economists, in fact, the majority, have said, either we are headed into a recession, or we are already in a recession. We have, like this narrow window, to be able to pull that back. Because you know who's going to really pay for this recession is going to be hard-working American families, people who pay more at the grocery store, people who pay more for car insurance, people who pay more and pay more and pay more.
But we got to be in that fight to rein Donald Trump back in. That's what our vote on the tariffs, tomorrow night, is all about.
COLLINS: Yes, you want to claw back Congress' authority.
WARREN: Yes.
COLLINS: We'll see, obviously, how Republicans vote on that.
I do have to ask you, because there was this moment, in a recent interview that you did about President Biden, and what Democrats, his allies saw, and when. I want everyone to just see what you were asked, and how you answered that question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAM FRAGOSO, WRITER, FILMMAKER, AND PODCAST HOST: Do you regret saying that President Biden had a mental acuity, he had a sharpness to him? You said that up until July of last year.
WARREN: I said what I believed to be true.
FRAGOSO: And you think he was as sharp as you?
WARREN: I said I had not seen decline.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: You went on to say you hadn't seen decline at that point. Does that mean that you later did, before the debate?
WARREN: So, look, we -- it's all clear. We saw what Joe Biden did at the debate, and it was -- it was really sad to see. But I made clear what I had seen, when I had met with him individually, when I'd seen him up speaking.
But right now, we are in a moment where it's not about what happened last year or year before. We've got Donald Trump and Elon Musk chain- sawing their way through the Department of Education, trying to cut public education in this country, chain-sawing their way through the Veterans Affairs Department.
COLLINS: You don't think it could be part of why Trump is in office maybe, if people -- if voters felt like they didn't get a real look from your party, or maybe the President could have dropped out of the race sooner?
[21:55:00]
WARREN: I think that the reason Donald Trump is in office is what he said. And that is, he promised over and over and over and over and over again that he would cut costs on day one.
And here we are, on day 100, and costs are higher for American families. Donald Trump has engaged in at least 100 acts of corruption. And economists are telling us, our economy is sliding into recession, not because of a pandemic, not because we've had these mortgages build up over years that were scamming people, but because one man took an economy that was on the rise, and broke it all by himself.
COLLINS: Senator Elizabeth Warren, thank you for your time tonight.
WARREN: You bet.
COLLINS: Appreciate it.
WARREN: Good to see you.
COLLINS: And we'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:00:00]
COLLINS: Today, the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, boasted about ending the Pentagon's Women, Peace, and Security program, even though it was something that President Trump actually signed into law in his first term. It was touted by his daughter, Ivanka Trump. And it also had the support of many top Republicans, who are now in President Trump's cabinet, including Marco Rubio, Kristi Noem, and the National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz.
This is a program that has been critical for women in the military, from ensuring that they have properly-fitted body armor. To help (ph) say that ending it could make some women think twice about joining the U.S. Armed Forces, amid a recruiting crises.
More on that. Thank you so much for joining us though tonight.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" is up next.
