Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-W) is Interviewed about Canada Trade; Airports Hit by Staffing Shortages. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired October 24, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:14]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. Any minute now we are expecting to hear from the Canadian president. The first time he'll speak after President Trump, just last night, abruptly ended trade talks with Canada. Why? He's mad about an ad after the government of Ontario released an ad using Ronald Reagan's words from this 1987 address to criticize tariffs.

Now, the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, isn't backing down. This morning posting, "Canada and the United States are friends, neighbors and allies. President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together."

Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Mark Pocan of Wisconsin.

Thank you so much for being here.

You hear that, Trump angry over this anti-tariff ad put out by the government of Ontario. He says he's done. He's ending trade talks with Canada. What do you make of that? Does this help or hurt America in your view?

REP. MARK POCAN (D-WI): Well, of course it's going to hurt us. I mean, you know, you can't throw tariffs around indiscriminately and then not negotiate because you're mad about a pushback from one of the countries that you're having a trade war with.

Look, people are paying too much for groceries, for durable goods. Inflation is up from September we're just seeing now, all because of Trump's tariff taxes on all of us. And it does have a negative effect on Americans. It has a negative effect on Canadians.

So, you know, the president needs to be more mature and go back to negotiations. But, actually, he'd be better if he just took away this irresponsible use of tariffs that, quite honestly, Congress is supposed to have that responsibility and let's get back to helping lower the costs for Americans.

SIDNER: And we were waiting to hear what Prime Minister Carney says about all this, if he addresses it. We will stand by for that. I do want to talk to you about a letter that you signed on to with

several other Democratic congresspeople, to the Trump administration, demanding answers about Donald Trump's demolition of the White House, the historic East Wing. What questions do you want answered?

POCAN: Well, I serve on a committee on appropriations, a subcommittee that has oversight. And, you know, they've not come to us, as you would expect they would. In fact, they did all the tearing down, and now they're going to get permission to build. You probably should get permission before you've tore down the East Wing.

But for visual learners, this is what Donald Trump is doing to our democracy right now. He's tearing it down. And to see this so visually with the White House, again, without getting any permissions, without talking to anyone, is just, again, part of the frustration, I think, that the American people have with this administration. They really don't care about lowering costs. That's what they should be focused on. They should care about our health care costs about to soar because of the big ugly law. But instead, he wants to have Mar-a-Lago north. And he'll do anything to have it done. It's just -- his priorities couldn't be any more out of whack.

SIDNER: I want to ask you about something that one of your colleagues, Democratic House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, said. She's the second Democrat that Republicans are pouncing on because she used the word leverage to explain why she won't vote with Republicans right now to fund the government.

Take a -- take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KATHERINE CLARK (D-MA): I mean, shutdowns are terrible. And -- and -- and, of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Now, you met with furloughed federal workers. I know you brought pizza to some of them. You've been talking to them. And while they're worrying about paying bills, are they OK with the term leverage being used about being used as leverage in order to get health care subsidies?

POCAN: Yes, I think the American people more than ever realize what value our federal employees provide, not just when you need help with Social Security or the IRS or all the things that are done by federal employees that affect our lives, but they're also saying, we understand 15 million people are going to lose their health care, and everyone is going to have an increase in health care rates because of the big ugly law that just happened. And we are fighting to try to lower the cost of health care and make sure that people don't outright lose it for their families.

So, federal employees are working without paychecks or being furloughed and not getting paid, and they're the heroes. You know, they're the ones saying, no. But this fight is important to have. And, you know, Republicans can say whatever word they don't like or whatever. House Republicans haven't shut up for five weeks in Washington. If they were serious about negotiating anything, they wouldn't be drinking pina coladas in their basements, right?

It's time to get back to Washington, D.C., and work. And we're not seeing that from the House Republicans.

So, honestly, anything they say is -- the American people can tell, it's pure BS

[09:35:01]

SIDNER: Congressman, thank you so much for joining us this morning. Appreciate your time.

Ahead, disturbing discoveries in New Zealand. Police find hideouts used by a fugitive father while on the run with his children.

And literally hitting the jackpot in Illinois, thieves used sledgehammers to break into slot machines. I'm going to talk you through these pictures and how this might have been an inside job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:07]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Day 24 of the federal government still being shut down. And now there are new worries of the growing impact on air travel at airports across the country. Last night there were as many as 14 air traffic control facilities hit with staffing shortages. That's according to the FAA. And no signs that it is going to be letting up.

CNN's Danny Freeman is at Philadelphia's international airport with much more.

Where is this headed, Danny? What are you seeing there?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's the million dollar question, Kate.

Listen, mornings usually are easier, but you can really just feel the building and building pressure on the entire air travel community as this shutdown goes on.

And I'll say first, there are some non-shutdown related things that have also been just regular problems cropping up that you would expect in the airline industry. Last night, Alaska Airlines, for example, they had a major I.T. outage which resulted in hundreds of flights being canceled all across the country. A lot of frustrated fliers. But that is on top of this just increasing strain that this ongoing shutdown has put on the entire airline industry.

So, according to the FAA, as you noted, Kate, multiple staffing shortages were reported across the country in air traffic control facilities. More than a dozen. Kate, that's including cities like Nashville, O'Hare, DCA, Houston, New York, Indianapolis, the list goes on, Albuquerque as well. And specifically, what I can tell you is that while that directly hasn't led to all of the delays that we're seeing across the country, some are due to staffing shortages. There's, of course, weather and other things as well. There definitely is an impact being felt.

And what we can say is that, according to the FAA, there have been 210 staffing shortages that have occurred since the shutdown began. Now, that number might not mean much to the average person because there are staffing shortages all across the country in a normal non-shutdown scenario. But that number is four times larger than the normal amount that we're used to seeing in this period of time. So, the shutdown clearly having an impact. And when you have staffing shortages, oftentimes airports and air traffic controllers have to start to slow down the amount of flights that are coming into various different cities.

So, like you said, Kate, here in Philadelphia right now, planes are taking off. It's a very busy airline day so far. But the reason, in particular, that we are here is because, in just a matter of hours, the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, is going to be showing up here. He's going to be holding a press conference specifically about this issue, specifically talking about the shutdown's impact on the air travel industry, saying, "the nation's transportation workers are being disrupted and their travel for millions are being disrupted as well." So, that's why we're here at PHL. We're going to bring, of course, updates from that press conference to you and to viewers when we have it.

But again, make no mistake, there are enough challenges, especially as we head into a busy holiday season coming up in the next coming months, and this shutdown is only making things more challenging for the flying public.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Danny Freeman. Thanks for being there, Danny.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, we've got some breaking news to share with you. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth now sharing new video of the 10th deadly strike on a drug smuggling boat overnight in the Caribbean he says. Now, Hegseth says that this boat was operated by the gang Tren de Aragua and was transporting narcotics. He says all six people on board were killed.

This is the latest, as you know, in a string of controversial, deadly operations the United States has carried out. And just yesterday, the president suggested he doesn't need permission from Congress to carry out any of the attacks.

Still ahead, moving and deeply personal. We're getting a preview of Ben Stiller's new documentary about his famous mother and father and the high price he says his family has paid for fame.

And Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and comedian Paula Poundstone join as guests this week on "Have I Got News for You." That's tomorrow night at nine right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:48:35]

SIDNER: Actor and producer Ben Stiller, best known for his hilarious roles in comedy classics like "Zoolander," "Meet the Parents," and "There's Something about Mary." Well, he's now back in the director's chair for his new documentary that is a really touching look at his famous parents, actor and comedian Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. It's out today on Apple TV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN STILLER, ACTOR AND PRODUCER: We come from a showbiz family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, the comedy of --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stiller and Meara.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We grew up around them, working together and improvising. And that's what we did, because they did it.

JERRY STILLER: You're looking at not only my partner in comedy, but this is the mother of my two kids.

ANNE MEARA: This is the father of one.

B. STILLER: When they were working, I remember sometimes hearing laughter. Sometimes hearing raised voices. Never knowing if that was real or them rehearsing something.

MEARA: We don't know, Ben. That's why we're so messed up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: I had a chance to sit down with Ben Stiller to talk about this new documentary, "Stiller and Meara: Nothing is Lost." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: You talk about your father, who gathered everything. Who, like --

BEN STILLER, DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER, "STILLER AND MEARA: NOTHING IS LOST": Yes.

SIDNER: Showed everything all the time. Was there anything, as you're digging through the tapes and the film and the, I don't know, the diaries that both broke your heart and also kind of made you -- made you laugh?

STILLER: There were certain things that, you know, that we never even talked about, that for me, like, these -- these conversations with my mother, that sometimes turned into arguments that he was recording for me were really, you know, it was a lot to -- to take in.

[09:50:15]

Because I remember as a kid, you know, sort of being on the periphery of that. But the fact that he actually saved those recordings. And in another relationship where they didn't end up together would have been one thing, but, like, they stayed together and yet they weathered all these storms and they wanted to be together.

SIDNER: You said your parents had this, like, extraordinary marriage.

STILLER: Yes.

SIDNER: And by all accounts they did. And you wanted to know how they did it. Did you learn the secret by going through all of this?

STILLER: I guess what I learned maybe watch -- you know, in looking at all this stuff and putting the movie together was that there were so many tough moments and so many hard things that they had to go through together, creatively and -- and professionally, that could really tear them apart, that what they evolved into as they got older were people who were just -- who understood what was important in their relationship, was being together and their love for each other and the business and the work and all that stuff as they got older was so much less important. It was important for their own personal happiness and creative happiness, but, ultimately, they valued being together.

SIDNER: You -- you lost your mom in 2015, I think, and -- and your dad in 2020. Was it hard going through all this or had you started the project before?

STILLER: No, I started it after my dad passed away. I probably should have started it before. You know, everybody loses their parents. If, you know, if you're -- if fortunate enough that they -- they live along -- my parents both lived very long lives. And it's never long enough, of course, when, you know, it's your parents.

So, I look at the positive aspect of that, that we -- you know, that we got to spend so much time together and that they got to, you know, know my kids and all the, like, incredible gifts that we had. So, I feel very fortunate about that.

And then I felt kind of, I guess, lucky that I had some way to deal with my grief, I guess, by putting it into making this film, which probably, I don't know if that's the -- maybe I -- I don't know if that's the healthiest thing in the world, except, for me, it was a way to kind of get into connecting with them with a purpose.

SIDNER: Your kids also getting into the business. STILLER: Yes.

SIDNER: What advice do you have for parents, because you've lived this life where you were immersed in it just because you were born into this family that was incredibly talented and was able to work in the business. What -- what would you tell families who are looking at their children want to do the -- do the same thing?

STILLER: I mean if they -- if they have a passion for it, and they have the drive to want to do it, then I -- I'd say support that.

SIDNER: Any warnings?

STILLER: Warnings? Well, it's -- it's a very hard business. It's, you know, there's no security, there's no guarantees about anything. You have to have tough skin to get through it. But, you know, you can't teach someone to have that drive or that desire. They either have it or they don't.

SIDNER: OK, lastly, I have to tell you a story that you did not know that I was going to tell you.

During the Democratic National Convention, you were there.

STILLER: Right.

SIDNER: You had no idea, but I was also there. And we got stuck. We were stuck because the vice president and her detail was leaving, and they had locked the doors.

STILLER: Right.

SIDNER: And my producer looked over and said, that's Ben Stiller. I go, no, he's not there stuck with us plebeians. I'm sure that's not him. Turned around, and it was you.

STILLER: Yes.

SIDNER: And she said, can we take a picture? And you said, yes. And before they snapped the picture, I said, "blue steel," and you did it.

STILLER: Yes.

SIDNER: And from that moment forward, and I have a picture of it, and from that moment forward, I was like, you're my imaginary friend. You don't know I'm your friend, but it was a really fun moment. And we were all so tired. So, I had to let you know that that's what happened.

Thank you. That was fun.

STILLER: Right. I'm glad it worked -- I never turned down a "blue steel," to tell you the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: It was fun getting to make him laugh for once. He's made us laugh so much.

You can stream "Stiller and Meara: Nothing is Lost" right now on Apple TV.

All right, we want to bring you to the breaking news. We are now hearing right now from Prime Minister Mark Carney after Donald Trump's comments saying he is going to cancel all trade talks with Canada.

Here's what he said just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: All right, good morning.

Look, for months we have stressed the importance of distinguishing things we can control and things we can't control. We can't control the trade policy of the United States. We recognize that that policy has fundamentally changed from the policy in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s. And it's a situation where the United States has tariffs against every one of their trading partners to different degrees.

[09:55:07]

And it's in that context that our officials, my colleagues, have been working with their American colleagues on detailed, constructive negotiations, discussions, on specific transactions, specific sectors, steel, aluminum and energy. And a lot of progress has been made.

And we stand ready to pick up on that progress and build on that progress when the Americans are ready to have those discussions because it will be for the benefit of workers in the United States, workers in Canada, and families in both of our countries.

Now, what we can control, absolutely, is how we build here at home. And that's the focus of Budget 2025, generational investment here in Canada. And what we can also control, or at least heavily influence, is developing new partnerships and opportunities, including with the economic giants of Asia, which is the focus of this trip.

(Speaking in foreign language).

SIDNER: All right, you've been listening to Canadian Prime Minister Carney there responding to Trump canceling trade talks over this ad that he did not like that was put out by the premier of Ontario. So, he is responding to all this right now.

BOLDUAN: The prime minister, you could kind of take in summary from that, bringing down the temperature, trying to defuse, but he's also heading off right now to Malaysia, where he is very clearly trying to secure ties with other nations, not the United States, in light of all of this. SIDNER: Yes, very true.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much for joining us, everybody. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM," up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)