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Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) is Interviewed about Iran; Trump's Poll Numbers; A.I. Reshaping Software Development. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 01, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:31:21]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, live pictures from the White House. We expect President Trump to leave any minute now to go to the Supreme Court. He is going to sit in, he promised us, on the oral arguments over birthright citizenship. This is the idea enshrined in the Constitution that if you're born in the United States you are a citizen. This is something his administration is trying to overturn. The president wants to be in court for those arguments today. We will tell you when he is on the move.

Also breaking just moments ago, President Trump issued a social media post on Iran. And want to read it so we get it specific here. He said, "Iran's new regime president, much less radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a ceasefire. We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the stone ages."

Now, a few crucial things here. Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, is not new. He's been in office since 2024. It's also an open question as to how much power, if any, he really has. Power in Iran resides in the supreme leader, not the president. And Iran's state media reported yesterday that Pezeshkian said his country is ready to stop fighting if it is assured it will not be attacked again. So, it's unclear if maybe that's what the president is referring to when he said Iran is asking for a ceasefire.

And finally, what must be -- must be -- might be, sorry, most new here is the president's new threat on the Strait of Hormuz, because just yesterday he said the opposite. He said the United States could leave, could end the conflict even if the Strait is not open. Now he says the United States will continue bombing until it is.

With us now is congressman -- Congresswoman Dina Titus, a Democrat from Nevada. She is on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for being with us.

Let me just ask for your reaction to the statement the president just gave on the situation in Iran. REP. DINA TITUS (D-NV): Thank you. Well, you never know how to react

to this president because he changes his mind every half an hour. It would be great if we could have a ceasefire and have some diplomatic relations, as opposed to bombing back to oblivion. But I don't believe that. We don't even know who he's negotiating with. We don't know who's in charge over there, nor what position they are taking, much less what the president is saying he's going to do from one minute to the next.

BERMAN: The president will address the nation tonight, 9 p.m. Eastern Time, on Iran. An important update, we're told. What do you want to hear from him?

TITUS: Well, you know this -- in any other time, the president would have addressed the nation weeks ago trying to talk about why he's going to war, why it's necessary for the United States to take this action, what his goals are so we'll know when we can declare victory, and just showing compassion for the seriousness of making a decision to put our men and women in harm's way. He didn't do that. All we got was a picture of him on the tarmac with his MAGA hat on and some babbling from the plane where he goes off talking about his new drawing room and his fountain pen. So, it would be nice to hear him give some justification or some kind of plan for what we are looking at, to see if we are victorious or not. I doubt we're going to get anything that comprehensive or that cohesive.

BERMAN: The president said last night that his goals in terms of Iran's nuclear program have been met. Now, as far as we know, there is still this nuclear material inside Iran and the Isfahan facility here.

[09:35:02]

So, if the United States were to end this conflict, what goals do you think would have been met in terms of Iran's nuclear ambitions?

TITUS: Well, don't forget, the president said several months ago, we have obliterated their nuclear program. They can't start it back. Then this just one -- one of the many justifications for starting this war of choice was to get the -- stop the nuclear development. So, did he obliterate it or do they still have it? And you have heard some of the kind of warmongers say, we've got to get that uranium or that material out, and that would mean boots on the ground. Nobody wants that, but who knows if that's what he's going to do because we're sending more and more troops that way. We even sent the Nevada Air National Guard just yesterday.

So, if he's going to really secure the Strait, or really get the material, he's going to have to put boots on the ground. And then where do we go from there? Nobody wants to see that.

BERMAN: And again, just overnight, also the president gave an interview where he's very angry with U.S. NATO allies, suggesting that the idea of the United States leaving NATO, he said, is beyond reconsideration, which I think what he's trying to say is that he is seriously considering leaving NATO. You're on the Foreign Affairs Committee. How would you feel about that? TITUS: Well, diplomacy is always a much better way to go than war. You

know, one negotiation stops a lot of use of bullets. And that's been our position all along.

He has never liked NATO. He has criticized our allies from the very beginning. He has attacked them for not paying their share of the defense under NATO. So, it wouldn't surprise me if he's already ignored some of the main principles, Article five I think it is, that in effect debilitates the alliance. So, it -- I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to pull out NATO.

But the interesting thing is, when he needs friends, he goes back to them and then gets mad if they don't want to help after he's done all of this.

BERMAN: Congresswoman Dina Titus, from Nevada, we are always excited to speak with you. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, ahead, ever thought, I wish there was an app for that. Well, your dreams could come true. A new technology that helps you turn your ideas into real smartphone apps.

And what do neuroscience and cyborg cockroaches have in common? Did you even know there were cyborg cockroaches? Gross.

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[09:42:04]

BERMAN: All right, new this morning, a brand-new CNN poll finds that the president's approval on the economy has fallen to an all-time career low for him of 31 percent. It has never been lower for President Trump. This only begins to tell the story, though, of the president's problems on the economy.

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

As I said, this is -- just scratching the surface.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes.

BERMAN: Because there are some other numbers here that are really staggering.

ENTEN: This is no April Fool's joke. This is a disaster. All these numbers are a disaster for President Trump. I mean let's just talk about inflation, which is the name of the game.

OK, highest disapprovals on this -- on inflation about this time in a presidency. Whenever you have Joe Biden and Jimmy Carter on the board and you're matching them or slightly exceeding them when it comes to inflation, you know it's bad. Look at this, 72 percent in our latest CNN poll say they disapprove of the president on inflation. Joe Biden, in an average of polls at this point in his presidency, 68 percent. And Jimmy Carter, whose presidency, just like Joe Biden's, was absolutely wrecked by inflation, was it 66 percent about at this point in his presidency back in 1978. Donald Trump, even worse than they are.

So, you see it here. And the one word is, or phrase I might say is, oh my goodness gracious, what a disaster.

BERMAN: And just what's so interesting here is inflation, way, way higher.

ENTEN: Way, yes.

BERMAN: So, they just -- right now voters don't like what the president is doing on it, even if it isn't as high as it was at these other times. What about gas prices?

ENTEN: What about gas prices, which, of course, is part of this inflation picture, only making this number climb ever higher. How about disapprove on gas prices. OK. Disapproval ratings on gas prices. Biden's worst number. His worst number in any poll I could find was 72 percent disapprove of Joe Biden on gas prices. Donald Trump right now in our CNN poll, 76 percent, 76 percent. Three in four Americans disapprove of the way that Donald Trump is handling gas prices. And again, the gas prices were higher during Biden, but the increase has been so dramatic under the last month under Donald Trump, we're talking about an increase of about a dollar. It's the highest increase that we've seen since at least 1991 in terms of raw dollars. No wonder this number is so high. He is beating or doing even worse than Joe Biden was on gas prices, which, of course, was such a major issue.

BERMAN: So, talk about his disapproval on the economy. Put it in historical perspective.

ENTEN: OK. So, you see the gas prices here, disaster. You see the inflation here, disaster. How about the economy? You know you mentioned it was the worst in terms of the approval rating for Donald Trump in any poll we've conducted. How about highest disapproval on the economy about at this point in term two. Look at this. These are the worst. Iin our poll, 69 percent disapprove of Donald Trump on the economy. For George W. Bush it was 57 percent in terms of the average. Barack Obama, 56 percent. Donald Trump is crushing him on a metric you don't want to be crushing anybody on, which is disapproval ratings on the economy.

[09:45:04]

He's double digits worse.

I was looking at some other polling data also above the 57 to 56 percent. The worst of all time at this point in term number two. It's the economy dragging Trump down, being, of course, accelerated by inflation being so bad. And, of course, the gas prices just adding up. It's like a pancake tower and you're just reaching the top. And this is not a tower you want to climb.

BERMAN: One of the things you deal with when you deal with economic sentiment is how people feel things are going to be. So, what are the prediction markets saying about where they see inflation going?

ENTEN: Yes, where do the -- where does the Kalshi prediction market say that we're going on inflation? Chance CPI year over year is above four percent.

BERMAN: Wow.

ENTEN: In any month in 2026, 64 percent. That would be the -- for the first time since 2023. So, the inflation tower that we're going up, it seems like there are more steps on a stairway, certainly not to heaven, more like hell if you're the president of the United States.

BERMAN: Yes, I mean, the White House certainly doesn't want their predictions to be right about this. That's clear.

ENTEN: No.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

BERMAN: A lot of news. We'll be right back.

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[09:50:37]

SIDNER: President Trump arriving at the Supreme Court. You're seeing the video there of -- there he is, of Trump there at the court. He is there to watch arguments in the landmark birthright citizenship case. It's the first time a president is going to hear arguments at the high court. Those are set to begin just moments from now. We're going to have special live coverage and bring you that when it happens. You'll be able to hear the arguments there on that case. But a historic moment. The president now at the Supreme Court.

All right, on our radar for you as well today, firefighters in southern California now have a new tool to use during emergencies. The Los Angeles and Arcadia Fire Departments are rolling out a new fleet of electric motorbikes. The L.A. fire chief says the bikes will be really useful when roads are blocked or for going up canyons or in other difficult terrain. The waterproof bikes are also specially designed to support up to 300 pounds and have a rack system designed to carry blankets and medical tools.

All right, forget textbooks and anatomy figures, college students at Marquette University are tracking cyborg cockroaches -- yes, they're real cockroaches -- to learn about neuroscience. They're called roboroaches. Real cockroaches with Bluetooth backpacks attached to them. Students use those backpacks to control the bugs' movements and study their nervous system. Sorry, I got a little sick there. That is the grossest thing. But if it helps with neuroscience, I'm all for it, Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: No, but if it helps control cockroaches, I am all for it. SIDNER: That's what you want?

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SIDNER: You're like, get out of my house now.

BOLDUAN: Exactly. Anywhere but my apartment, people.

This is -- this is important news for me. Thank you so much, Sara.

This is also important news. Artificial intelligence upending another aspect of life, work and everything. This time they're calling it vibe coding, sending shock waves through the software industry.

CNN's Hadas Gold is here, our vibe expert.

What is vibe coding?

HADAS GOLD, CNN A.I. CORRESPONDENT: Vibe coding is a term that's only been around for about a year, but it's when you're coding something, an app, a website, just by having a conversation with an A.I. either chatbot or an A.I. tool. You know, back in the day, coding was very painstaking. It was like building something brick by brick with Legos. But now anybody can be a coder. A.I. is changing a lot of industries, but few industries are being changed, like coding and like software development.

So, I want to give an example of this by, I built my own app. Before A.I. this would have taken a team of, I don't know, five to 10 developers a few hours, a few days maybe. And instead, I went to a tool called Replit. You could use any tool out there. You can even just have a conversation with your favorite chatbot. It will walk you through the steps, step by step. And I asked this Replit to help me make an app to help me choose dinner every night for my family that's kid friendly. And it immediately, within a few minutes, you can see starts developing this app with just one line of request.

I can then adjust it and I said, OK, well, make sure to add a recipe for each option. I could have kept going. Within minutes, it is building this. And now you can see I have an app right here on my phone to make dinner.

BOLDUAN: Wait, for real?

GOLD: OK, I'm going to press it. What is -- dinner spinner is what it's called. Tonight we're going to be making fried rice and it gives me all of my ingredients, how to make it, all the steps.

I made this. I've never coded in my life. I've made this app within a few minutes. So, you can understand. Whereas in the past you would have had to hire five to 10 developers to do this. Now this is going to be done in minutes. And that's why you're seeing all of those software as a service stocks go crazy because everybody's saying, why do I need to hire this company, pay them so much money to use their software when I could just have my in-house developers make me a custom app within minutes or even days. SIDNER: That could be $1 billion app, right?

BOLDUAN: I can't wait to sign up for this new app.

SIDNER: Right. Right.

BOLDUAN: I need that right now for tonight. Thanks.

BERMAN: I know but if you just like chicken nuggets. How hard is it to design an app that just says chicken nuggets every night? Every night.

GOLD: Every single night?

BERMAN: All right.

BOLDUAN: Then John Berman with the mean reality.

BERMAN: Thank you all for joining us. "SITUATION ROOM" up next.

BOLDUAN: With nuggets.

BERMAN: Nuggets.

SIDNER: Nuggets.

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[09:58:43]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

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

And we begin with the breaking news. Huge news. In just moments, the U.S. Supreme Court justices will hear arguments on birthright citizenship. This is video of President Trump's traveling to the U.S. Supreme Court to attend the arguments today. It's an apparent first for a sitting U.S. president.

And these are live images of protesters gathering outside the court here in Washington. The hearing is about to get underway, and the stakes truly are huge. The case will decide President Trump's efforts to end the constitutional right for citizenship here in the United States for almost anyone born on U.S. soil.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: On the first day of his second term, the president signed an executive order denying birthright citizenship to children born in the U.S. to immigrants who are here either temporarily or illegally. Now, lower courts have ruled against the president, saying the automatic citizenship is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. That's been the understanding for more than a century in America.

We're covering all of the angles of this very important story. Our correspondents and analysts will follow every twist and turn of the arguments and break them down for you.

[10:00:01]

Let's begin with CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid.

Paula, you are right outside the Supreme Court. Courts around the country, as I noted, have