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Asian Markets Rise After Court Blocks Most Of Trump's Tariffs; Trump Issues New Round Of Pardons And Sentence Commutations; Graduation Day At Harvard As Ivy League School Goes To Court. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired May 29, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning you can see what's happening after a major court decision has set futures higher this morning. Dow futures rose after the U.S. Court of International Trade blocked President Trump from imposing almost all of the global tariffs, ruling the president overstepped his authority to impose sweeping tariffs that have raised the cost of imports for everyone.

CNN's Matt Egan is joining me now. This is obviously a huge blow to Trump's economic agenda but a win for investors and consumers I'm assuming here.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Sara. Look, investors are loving this setback in the trade war. It's got to be the most popular court ruling on Wall Street in recent memory.

And it fits this familiar pattern, right? Every single time that tariffs go up stocks go down, and when tariffs go down stocks go up. It's as simple as that. Normally, though, tariffs have been going down because the president has been walking back his --

SIDNER: Right.

EGAN: -- own trade threat.

SIDNER: Right.

EGAN: This is a court-mandated de-escalation in the trade war and it's because these judges who were appointed by Trump, Obama, and Reagan -- they found that the president's use of emergency powers to wage this global war --

SIDNER: Yeah.

EGAN: -- this global trade war is unconstitutional.

And so we did see this immediate reaction in the market, right, with stock futures going solidly higher. A number of companies are up even more. Apple, Target, Nike, Wayfair -- all of them significantly higher in premarket trading. And just to break down what this court ruling means --

SIDNER: Yeah.

EGAN: -- it pauses many of these tariffs, right? It pauses the 10 percent global tariffs. It also pauses the limited tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and the 30 percent tariffs on China. But it does not remove all of the tariffs, right?

SIDNER: OK.

EGAN: It keeps alive the sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminum, and autos.

I've got to say --

SIDNER: Like very specific -- the tariffs are on very specific goods.

EGAN: Right. Because those use different emergency -- those use different legal authorities.

SIDNER: OK.

EGAN: But I've got to say this market reaction cannot sit well with the president, right?

SIDNER: Right.

EGAN: A key part of his agenda has just been paused by a court and the market is loving it, right? It would be like if I called out sick and everyone on set was clapping, right? I mean, it's like I'm glad you guys are happy but what does it say about the job that I'm doing?

SIDNER: Right.

EGAN: And I talked to Erica York. She's been a critic of the president's trade war, and she said this is excellent news. She said, "It clarifies that Trump does not have willy-nilly tariff power. This is a major blow to the president's tariff strategy and a major boon," she says, "to both taxpayers and the economy."

But look Sara, we've got to see what happens next, right --

SIDNER: Yeah.

EGAN: -- because the president could end up just using different legal authority. So this could end up being more of a detour --

SIDNER: Trying something else.

EGAN: -- or a delay in the trade war.

SIDNER: All right.

So let's move on because you all have some reporting on Tesla. That the investors were very unhappy and putting pressure on Elon Musk. We now hear from Musk he is leaving the administration.

What are you learning about this pressure that was being put on him because his companies are struggling a bit?

EGAN: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. His companies, especially Tesla, have been under fire.

Investors are upset because they feel like Elon Musk is distracted. So they put up this shareholder letter with a series of demands. They want Elon Musk to commit to a 40-hour workweek. They want the board to tie his pay to him committing to this full-time work. They want the board to disclose his CEO succession plan. And they want truly independent board members added here.

And I want to read you a key line from this shareholder letter. They write that "The board must ensure that Tesla is not treated as just one among many competing obligations." They say, "Tesla deserves a CEO whose time and attention align with the scale of the responsibilities at hand."

And as you note, this comes after Tesla's share price has been under --

SIDNER: Right.

EGAN: -- significant pressure. It has rebounded -- you could see right here -- but still well off the highest levels of the year. And again, this is because of the problems around Elon Musk's brand and his links to the administration.

SIDNER: Yeah. I mean, DOGE highly unpopular in every poll with Americans.

Matt Egan, thank you so much.

EGAN: Thank you, Sara.

SIDNER: Really interesting reporting this morning -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: There's also new reporting from the Financial Times today that the administration has ordered some American companies to stop selling to China software used to design semiconductors. The Commerce Department telling CNN Wednesday it is "reviewing exports of strategic significance to China."

This comes also as we are getting reaction from China about the major decision overnight halting most of President Trump's tariffs. China being the country hit hardest by his tariffs.

CNN's Marc Stewart is in Beijing joining us now. Marc, what are you hearing from the Chinese government about this major moment when it comes to the trade war?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kate. Good morning.

Look, this is a major moment and one hand, you could argue this is tremendous validation for China. Yet, on the other hand, Beijing knows the United States has other tools to make life difficult for Chinese people -- for the Chinese economy. So that's kind of where we stand right now.

Let me share with you the official Chinese government response though we heard from just a few hours ago and now Thursday afternoon here in China. A government spokesperson saying that there are no winners in a trade or tariff war and that protectionism is harmful and that it goes against free will.

[07:35:07]

What really stands out to me is this. This is the exact phrasing -- the exact verbiage that we heard at the beginning of this trade dispute now being recycled yet again by the government.

China is being very focused and not giving any clue as to what it may be thinking for the future. And the future is the real question. Are the United States and China serious about some kind of broader, stronger, long-term trade agreement? Because as we have seen it's a very bad look when the world's largest economy, the United States, is at war -- a trade war with China, the world's second-largest economy.

Not only does it create a lot of instability, but we have seen these economies are really co-dependent on each other, including small businesses in China and on the United States who really do depend on each other.

So that is going to be the question moving forward. And right now, at least from the Chinese perspective, it's not clear what it's thinking about a potential next move.

As far as though how this is being received across all of Asia -- which is a big manufacturing point for automobiles such as Hyundai in South Korea, such as Mazda and Toyota in Japan -- we've seen really good response by the market closing the green as they say -- a lot of strong gains. And then as Matt was also indicating U.S. futures are also showing some strength.

But there is caution because as we have seen in this back-and-forth with the U.S. and China things can change in a moment -- in the blink of an eye. In fact, I was reading some remarks by analysts at Deutsche Bank, which is the banking giant in Germany. They really are curious to see what President Trump is going to say today, specifically about this injunction.

So Germany is watching and, Kate, of course, government officials here in Beijing are also anxious about the White House response to determine what happens next.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, that's exactly right. We've heard from the White House but have not heard anything directly yet from President Trump.

Marc, thank you so much -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. This morning fans of reality television watching closely as convicted fraudsters and "CHRISLEY KNOWS BEST" stars Todd and Julie Chrisley -- they're out of prison. They're just two of several high-profile names that received pardons or commutations from President Trump in recent days.

With me now is Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat from New Jersey. She is running for governor of New Jersey. Congresswoman, thanks so much for being with us.

I know you received the endorsement of the brother of Brian Sicknick who was the officer who died after the January 6 riots. President Trump, of course, granted clemency to pretty much all of the January 6 defendants and convicts.

The Constitution grants almost full power of the pardon to the president. I don't think there is much of a dispute on the legality of what he's doing. But what's your take on the process and the politics of the pardons that he continues to grant?

REP. MIKIE SHERRILL (D-NJ), CANDIDATE FOR NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: Well, I think it's a complete politicization of the entire justice system.

We see that here in New Jersey in my old office where I was an assistant prosecutor having Alina Habba, who is has basically said she's going to make political prosecutions. Has suggested she's going to investigate everyone from Cory Booker to Phil Murphy, to Matt Platkin, our attorney general, to the mayor of Newark until the evidence came out showing, of course, that she had no case. And now she's going after a sitting member of Congress, Congresswoman LaMonica McIver.

So we are seeing this across the justice system. And these pardons of January 6 insurrectionists and others are putting people in danger. We have already seen several of the people that he's pardoned commit further crimes.

And I know Brian Sicknick's family is concerned because they have received threats -- verbal threats for their advocacy to make sure that we are doing better by our Constitution and by the people in this country.

So it's really -- it's really, I think, an undermining of our justice system.

BERMAN: I want to ask you about Ukraine. The president in words yesterday seemed to suggest now that Vladimir Putin has two weeks to come to the table or there will be some consequences. Earlier, the president said that Vladimir Putin was playing with fire with his continued strikes on Ukraine.

My question to you is what fire exactly do you think that Putin is playing with in terms of possible response from President Trump based on what you've seen from the president?

SHERRILL: Well, because President Trump has been so weak in this area and basically toting up to Vladimir Putin -- I don't think anybody feels, probably least of all Putin -- that somehow, he's playing with fire. I think that's why we really need a stronger response here.

[07:40:05]

That's why, of course, I have been a strong supporter of Ukraine fighting for their democracy and their freedom and against what Russia has been doing and their encroachment on the country of Ukraine and tried to take it over.

So this idea they're playing with fire just sounds nonsensical when it comes -- it comes from Trump who has truly been probably the biggest ally in the White House that Russia has ever seen.

BERMAN: As I said, you are running for governor of New Jersey. Roughly half the voters you're trying to reach are men, and some of those men are younger men. And there are efforts now within the Democratic Party to do a better job of reaching young men.

The New York Times -- Shane Goldmacher had a great piece over the weekend over some of the efforts the Democrats are making. And he talked about this large paid effort to figure out how to talk to young men.

"The prospectus for one new $20 million effort, obtained by The Times, aims to reverse the erosion of Democratic support among young men, especially online. It is code-named SAM -- short for 'Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan' -- and promises investment to 'study the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality in these places.' It recommends buying advertisements in video games, among other things."

Is this a good way to talk to young men? What do you think is the best way to talk to young men?

SHERRILL: I think they have a problem with OPSEC if their code name is being reported all over the media.

But nevertheless, I think maybe the place to start is on the ground. Maybe the place to start is by actually speaking to real people. Look, I talk to young men all the time. I'm raising two of them. And I can tell you exactly what's going on.

I think people want to be heard. I think there's a real concern for the future of this country and where we're headed. And a sense that in too many ways the Democratic Party hasn't been listening very well to people.

It's been sort of telling everyone what we're going to do instead of starting on the ground, which is why I think the governor's races we have going on -- I'm running here in New Jersey. We have Abigail Spanberger in Virginia. I think these governor's races are really important because we can build the party from the ground up and not the top down.

It's how I've always run building broad coalitions. I'm listening to hundreds of New Jersians a day as I go around the state and I can tell you that is how you understand where people are at. That's how you understand the hopes and the dreams, and the concerns and the fears of people. And that's where I'm starting and that's where I think the party should start.

BERMAN: Elon Musk is backing away from his government work. And there have been pieces in the last few days about how he's a little disenchanted with politics in general.

In the New Jersey governor's race you've been criticized by some because you, over the years, received donations from a PAC connected to SpaceX.

What do you say to those who say that you've received support indirectly from Musk in the past?

SHERRILL: Well, here in New Jersey people know I have been one of the strongest people in fighting back against Elon Musk. I have legislation suggesting we should drug test him, which I believe we should if he is going to be in some of these positions of trust.

I'm glad to see he seems to be leaving our government. I have some probing questions about what he's doing in the Pentagon and what DOGE is doing in the Pentagon.

I've flagged my concerns about air traffic control and been very directive on what we need to do to combat some of the undermining of our air traffic control at Newark and the safety concerns I have at Newark, some of which were made worse by DOGE.

So I have been very opposed to what we see Elon Musk doing.

And certainly, I received people who were -- received support from people who are employees of SpaceX. I've given that back to a local food bank because I want to make sure that people here know exactly who I serve, and that's the people of New Jersey.

BERMAN: Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill. I've got a couple of 18-year-old boys myself, so if you do make headway in learning how to talk to young men, please --

SHERRILL: Good luck.

BERMAN: -- let me know. Appreciate it. Thanks very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: The universal how to talk to children. The universal feeling that connects every parent.

Commencement and court hearings. Harvard graduates are putting on their cap and gown this morning. Just miles away though the school is about to head into court today in the legal fight over the Trump administration's ban on international students.

And a picturesque mountain village buried in mud and rocks -- look at this video -- after a glacier collapses.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:40:05]

BERMAN: So this morning, thunder -- loud thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder headed to the NBA Finals. And if you've not been paying attention, they are really good.

Let's get to CNN's Andy Scholes. I mean, really good, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yeah. I mean, John, the rest of the NBA, it's in trouble, you know? Not only are the Thunder the most dominant team we've had since Steph's Warriors and Jordan's Bulls, they're also the youngest team in the NBA, so they are not going anywhere anytime soon.

In game five against the T-wolves, this just a rout. The Thunder's stifling defense on display from the start. They held Minnesota to nine points in the first quarter and 32 in the first half. MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points as OKC wins big 124-94 to book their first trip to the finals in 13 years.

And Coach Mark Daigneault, after the game, sure is proud of his team.

[07:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK DAIGNEAULT, HEAD COACH, OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: These guys are uncommon, you know. They do everything right. They're professional, they're high character, they're idiots, they're competitive, and most of all, they're a team first. They embody everything it means to be a team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. They await the winner between the Pacers and the Knicks.

Florida Panthers, meanwhile, back in the Stanley Cup Final for a third-straight season. Tied at three with the Hurricanes in the third, Alexander Verhaeghe -- a beautiful move here. And then Tatar for eight. He buries it for the go-ahead goal. The Panthers would win 5-3.

Florida now awaits the winner between the Oilers and Stars. A matchup with Edmonton would be a rematch from last year's Stanley Cup Final.

All right. And finally, Carlos Alcaraz putting on a show at Roland Garros yesterday. He was facing Fabian Marozsan in the second round. And check out this audacious backhand. He hit it around the net. NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. was there watching. He was certainly impressed.

But Alcaraz wasn't done yet. He did it again later in the match. The reigning French Open champ -- he lost his three games in the final two sets to advance to the third round.

Berman, when was the last time when you were playing that you went around the net for a winner? BERMAN: Like, never. I can't even walk to the net. That shot there, there's a word for it. It's called "cheeky." It's cheeky. That was cheeky right there. Cheeky tennis, Andy Scholes.

SCHOLES: Yeah, it's certainly impressive.

BERMAN: Very impressive, just like you. Thank you very much.

SIDNER: The question is how is John's backhand, period? That's the question that should be asked.

All right. The Health and Human Services Department canceled its contract with Moderna for a bird flu vaccine. That contract was worth almost $600 million. HHS says the project doesn't meet its scientific or safety expectations, but Moderna says they're going to continue the vaccine's development despite the setback.

Right now dramatic new video of a glacier -- look at this -- collapsing into a town in the Swiss Alps. You can see ice, mud, and rock burying the entire village. One person missing so far but thankfully, the nearly 300 people who live in that town were actually evacuated last week over fears of an avalanche that ended up coming to fruition. Look at those pictures -- wow.

All right. And why does this keep happening? For the second time this year alone a car went airborne and crashed into the roof a veterans hall in Missouri.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First thing this morning we get a call that there's a car on the roof and we thought somebody was just joking around because what's the odds of that happening twice in five months?

POLICE OFFICER: They just got it fixed up. I don't know the exact date that they just -- I mean, literally, the roof is brand new.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And they'll have to fix it up again.

Police say the driver was hurt but was actually able to walk away to the ambulance. They're looking into whether that person had a medical emergency or something else.

Back in February, car trying to outrun police did the same thing, crashing into that roof -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Hmm.

Now to this. Mexico is bracing right now for violence ahead of a national election about to take place. The country will have its first-ever judicial elections -- this one happening on Sunday. Nearly 900 offices are on the ballot. It comes as politicians there are facing security threats like never before. Some candidates wearing bulletproof vests and even driving armored vehicles while they are campaigning.

David Culver has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What do you take out when you're doing something?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything comes out. It's going to be like this.

CULVER (voiceover): Across Mexico fear is fueling a push for personal protection.

GADI MOKOTOV, OWNER, ETTS BLINDAJES: This is for if you want to take a shot from inside. And this door, it's like an escape door.

CULVER: An escape door?

MOKOTOV: Yes.

CULVER (voiceover): For 16 years, Gadi Mokotov's company has armored vehicles for Mexico's police, military, government officials, and VIPs.

MOKOTOV: (INAUDIBLE). It is a level five.

CULVER (voiceover): But now he says he's getting more and more requests from lower-level politicians and even from those who work for those elected officials.

CULVER: So you're seeing staffers now say we need armored cars here?

MOKOTOV: Here is one of them.

CULVER: Oh, this is a staffer?

MOKOTOV: This is one of them.

CULVER (voiceover): Spending tens of thousands of dollars not for status but survival.

MOKOTOV: It's not nice to see a man is coming here and, you know, I need to protect my sons. But they're afraid --

CULVER: But they're scared.

MOKOTOV: -- of the -- of the kids.

CULVER: What does that say about the state of security right now in this country?

MOKOTOV: The people is scared. Is scared to go to the streets.

[07:55:00]

CULVER: And it was here on this street where just last week two close aides of Mexico City's mayor were gunned down. You can see they still have flowers and a memorial left behind for them. It happened just as the morning commute was getting underway.

CULVER (voiceover): Violent crime in the capital, including murders and kidnappings, is up more than 150 percent compared to this time last year. That, according to EL PAIS. We reached out to Mexico City officials to verify those numbers.

All of this comes on the heels of Mexico's most violent election cycle in history. Leading up to the 2024 elections, at least 37 political candidates were assassinated with more then 800 attacks on campaign staff, officials, and their families. And yet, this democracy forges ahead.

CULVER: (Speaking foreign language).

How's the situation here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).

CULVER: "As far as crime is concerned it's bad."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

CULVER: He says, "Even with security, police all around us doesn't make you really feel any safer because criminal elements can seep in at any moment."

CULVER (voiceover): It's no surprise that so many are turning to armor, desperate for any sense of safety. And outside, a line of cars waiting for their turn.

CULVER: So what's being done to stop this crime? Well, eight months into her role as president here, Claudia Sheinbaum has said that she's launched these targeted operations to go after these high-crime areas. She's also enhancing coordination between federal and local law enforcement.

And then there's a social aspect to this as well, trying to reduce poverty, inequality. And then more specifically, trying to keep young people from being recruited by gangs.

All of that aside, when you talk to folks their day in and day out is consumed with insecurity. Some folks even saying that they're too afraid to stop at stop signs now because it's become increasingly common that they could get robbed, carjacked, or even kidnapped.

David Culver, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: David, thank you so much for that reporting.

Also happening today it is graduation day at Harvard University and it's also a major day in court for the university in its fight against the Trump administration's efforts to stop the school from enrolling any international students. A judge last week temporarily blocked the State Department and Homeland Security's move revoking the university student visa program.

President Trump has said this is all part of a crackdown over what the administration says is a failure by the school to address antisemitism on campus. He also said that foreign students are taking up spots for other deserving American students.

This morning another twist. Senior State Department officials now tell CNN that the department is reviewing all Harvard-affiliated visa holders, not just students.

Joining us right now is a professor of psychology at Harvard, Steven Pinker. Professor, thank you for coming back in.

Since you were on the show on Monday, I was looking through the list of the moves that the Trump administration has -- have taken since you were last on the show. Moving to cancel the remaining government contracts with the university. Declaring that the U.S. is going to "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students."

And now we're learning this. They're reviewing all Harvard-affiliated visa holders which, I mean, you would assume if it goes beyond students it could mean professors as well.

What's your reaction to this?

STEVEN PINKER, JOHNSTONE FAMILY PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY (via Webex by Cisco): It's part of a concerted campaign to cripple the university. There's no rhyme or reason to it. It has nothing to do with antisemitism. The Jewish students and faculty certainly are adamantly opposed to it.

And since knowledge has no boundaries, particularly science but all branches, to do the best possible scholarship you have to be in touch with scholars from all over the world. This includes students who we teach and who teach us about the countries that they come from, but especially scholars from other countries. There's just no reason to put a wall around the United States. Sometimes the best science is in some other country, and we want to bring them here to find out what they're doing.

BOLDUAN: I've heard that sentiment echoed by so many affiliated with Harvard and beyond.

What does this level of uncertainty kind of hanging over the university -- what does it do heading into -- I mean, commencement today?

PINKER: Well, it's a -- it makes it a day of mixed emotions. It's -- Harvard is doing its best and I'm doing my best to make it a day of joy and satisfaction, and pride, especially to the families of the students who worked so hard for four years. Families have made sacrifices to send their kids here.

But hanging over it is the knowledge that the -- amazingly, the American government seems to be at war with its most famous university.

BOLDUAN: Today's commencement speaker is Dr. Abraham Verghese, and he is -- he is going to be the first physician to give Harvard's commencement speech since '96. He also, in looking at his background and bio, he may embody much of what President Trump's trying to kick out of colleges today.

I mean, he was born in Ethiopia. He went to med. school in Ethiopia and India, then moved to the United States where he did his -- he's done his residency and fellowship then to become very well-known and a prolific author as well.