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British Columbia Premier David Eby is Interviewed about the Trade War; Polls on A.I. and Politicians; Katalyst CEO Ghonhee Lee is Interviewed about the Swift Mission. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 24, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:32:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: The trade war between the U.S. and Canada has escalated after talks imploded over the weekend. The U.S. has imposed a 50 percent tariff on $20 billion in Canadian goods, hitting a wide range of products, everything from milk, honey, beer and wine to hockey sticks and fishing poles. Prime Minister Mark Carney is now vowing to hit back with a dollar-for-dollar tariff on all kinds of U.S. goods, including steel, dairy, paper products and electronics. That would start September 8th. Carney said the U.S. asked too much and offered too little as trade talks collapsed.

Joining me now is David Eby. He is the premier of British Columbia.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

You have said that the U.S. deal that was offered Canada revealed the true nature of what the White House really wants from Canada. What do you think President Trump really wants to do to Canada?

DAVID EBY, BRITISH COLUMBIA PREMIER: Well, I mean, you just have to listen to the words the president says. He would like Canada to become the 51st state. And, you know, we are proud and we're happy about our relationship with Americans. We like our American partners and friends. But there is a line. We are a separate country. We have our own vision for the country and for where we'd like to go, and we will never be the 51st state. The idea that the president could impose on Canada obligations about who we trade with and who we can't trade with, and then simultaneously hit us with massive tariffs and give us poor access to the American market, it makes no sense. And unless you understand that he's interested in turning Canada into the 51st state, and we're not.

SIDNER: Do you truly think that's what his intention is, or do you think, as they have put it, it's to, you know, sort of make things more even to help the United States even out the trade with Canada?

EBY: Well, I mean, the idea of evenness is a bit of an absurd one. I mean we sell a lot of energy to the United States. So, if you like affordable energy in the U.S., then it -- questionable about whether the president likes affordable energy given his various policies. But we do sell a lot, and that causes a trade imbalance between Canada and the U.S. But in every other product except for energy, we're in a trade deficit with the U.S. And what it actually means for Americans is a new 50 percent tax, if you're building a new home, on plywood, if you're replacing your floor, on veneers, if you're getting married, on cut flowers, if you're going out fishing, on fishing poles, it is a bizarre policy for Americans. It's going to hurt them. And, unfortunately, Canada has to hit back.

You know, as much as we have friends and family in the U.S. and I, frankly, I feel sorry for Americans right now that they have a president that is so disinterested in their cost of living concerns and is making them a global pariah. But we have to hit back. And I think it's unfortunate because we've been friends for so many years. This relationship can be destroyed very quickly and efficiently. And the president is working on that.

SIDNER: Wow. Well, the U.S. trade representative, I wanted to let you hear what he said.

[09:35:02]

He just told CNBC this morning this about the tariffs.

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JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: I think the market knows that at the end of the day this is five percent of imports from Canada. It's 0.06 percent of our, you know, overall consumption in this economy. So, there's no possible way it can really affect U.S. well-being, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: So, Greer says there is no possible way the tariffs can affect the U.S. well-being. Is that how you see it?

EBY: Well, Canada is the number one export destination. We're the number one customer for dozens of U.S. states. We're number two for the rest. And this is a negotiation with Canada that is just preceding negotiations with Mexico. And, frankly, I think other countries are watching Canada's response and we hope, I hope, will be following along. At some point the rest of the world will say enough.

In terms of hitting your number one customer with a 50 percent tariff and expecting that we wouldn't do the same is bizarre. So, we will, the prime minister has been very clear, tariff American company goods coming into Canada. And we will ensure that Canadians buy from other places in response to this.

I just want to give you one -- we're a major lumber exporter here in British Columbia.

SIDNER: Yes.

EBY: Our tariff level on some wood products to the United States is 85 percent. That's worse access than Russia and Europe. I mean, I try to make sense of this policy in terms of our relationship with the United States and Canadians. And I -- there's just no sense to it unless you understand the president has a larger ambition.

SIDNER: David Eby, thank you so much for your candid conversation this morning.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A mission to save a NASA space telescope called off and now is headed for a fiery plunge back to earth. We've got more on this update from the company who tried to take on this first of a kind mission.

Plus, an Alabama high school football team finally snaps a losing streak that lasted 11 years.

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[09:41:51]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Perhaps no issue has risen to the forefront over the last few weeks as we head into the midterms than A.I. and the building of data centers. There have been bipartisan flip flops on the issue. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. So, what's going on here?

With us now, chief data analyst Harry Enten.

So, when we talk about A.I. --

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes.

BERMAN: We're sort of seeing it going at both parties right now. Who do people say they trust?

ENTEN: Nobody. They hate everybody. That is what's going on. And that is why you're seeing these flippity flops when it comes to A.I. and these politicians because, look at this, trust more on A.I., 21 percent say the Democrats, 23 percent said Republicans. And then look at this, the clear majority, the clear plurality, 51 percent say neither party. I think a lot of these politicians thought, hey, A.I. is the future. But a lot of Americans are very concerned. And that is why you are seeing these politicians move much more into an A.I. skeptical camp.

BERMAN: Yes, from both parties going after each other. What do people think is going to happen with jobs?

ENTEN: Yes, this is the reason why I think a lot of people -- you know, there are a couple of reasons why, but I think this is one of the big reasons why a lot of people are concerned about A.I. Think A.I. will lead to fewer jobs in the U.S. over the next 20 years. Look at this. By every age group, 73 percent of those under 30, 74 percent age 30 to 44, 72 percent age 45 to 64, and 65 plus, which has the lowest percentage, still more than three in five. This is universal. This is across age groups. This is across partisan groups. What we are seeing here is a lot of fear that A.I. is going to take jobs away from Americans. No wonder that a lot of folks are skeptical of A.I.

BERMAN: What else are we seeing in terms of concerns there when you look at age (INAUDIBLE)?

ENTEN: Yes, if you look at age, right, you might think, OK, the youngest of folks, the ones who are on their phones, their computers, the ones who might be able to take the biggest advantage of A.I., if, in fact, they're able to do so. But look at this, more concerned about A.I. than excited. Among those under the age of 30, in 2021 it was 31 percent. Look at that number, up like a rocket. Now, 55 percent of those under the age of 30 are more concerned about A.I. than excited.

BERMAN: Wow.

ENTEN: Johnny B. said it, wow.

BERMAN: And, of course, there are these companies that are fueling this A.I. boom right now. What are the prediction markets saying about how they're doing or what they might do?

ENTEN: Yes, I think this is, you know, sort of the inverse, right? The chance that OpenAI announces an IPO before June of 2027, according to the Kalshi prediction market, 76 percent. So, I think -- or in the upper 70s, I should say. What I think you're seeing here is essentially the -- they -- the folks see the A.I. companies making a whole lot of money and they themselves thinking, you know what, we're going to lose jobs. And that, I think, is one of the big reasons why you're seeing this real backlash against A.I.

BERMAN: And this could go through the November elections.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

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

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[09:49:18]

SIDNER: Right now -- we've been talking a lot about the fires raging in Reno, or near Reno. Now to Indonesia, where fires are intensifying, threatening local communities and leading officials to ask the public for help. But they're getting some super powered help. Yes, superman has entered the chat. A 16-year-old in blue tights and a bright red cape volunteered to give a hand to firemen putting out a blaze near his home. Local officials say they hope his actions will inspire others to join in the effort to fight the fire. All right, patience and persistence and maybe some new players after

an 11 year losing streak. Years. That's 101 games lost. The football team at Columbia High School in Huntsville, Alabama, has finally won a game.

[09:50:03]

The Eagles rallied to defeat Greensboro High School 41 to 14. So, they won big, earning their first victory since 2015. This happened under new head coach Sammie Coates, who played two seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Maybe that was the key to this new win.

And at the World Humanoid Robot Games, this robo athlete celebrating with a little happy dance. The robot was one of some 2,000 representing 16 countries competing in the five-day games. The robo athletes are becoming better and better at competing in a variety of sports. And obviously in dance moves. Look at this. Case in point, one of the robots beat Usain Bolt's 100 meter sprint world record on the opening day. But it ended up crashing into the wall and some pieces seemed to come off there as well, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Breaks come next season. That's next season.

Let's move to this. One of NASA's storied space observatories is falling out of space and back to earth. The Swift Observatory telescope has recorded cosmic objects across multiple wavelengths of light for nearly 22 years. But it was being pushed out of orbit, kind of sinking towards earth due to what's been described as atmospheric drag and the impact of recent solar activity. So, a rescue mission was needed, and Katalyst Space Technologies was -- won the bid and was tasked with saving the observatory. They successfully launched a satellite called Link last month to rendezvous with Swift to stop it from sinking and basically boost it back to a safer orbit.

But then last week, it was called off after Link ran into malfunctions with some key systems, meaning it would not be able to complete the rescue mission. Now NASA says the Swift Observatory will burn up in the earth's atmosphere later this year.

Joining us once again now is Ghonhee Lee, the CEO of the company that launched this rescue mission, Katalyst Space Technologies.

It's good to see you again.

There was so much excitement and hope around the launch of Link last month to save Swift -- the Swift telescope. Help us understand what has happened since.

GHONHEE LEE, CEO, KATALYST SPACE TECHNOLOGIES: Thanks so much for having us back, Kate.

You know, this is not the outcome that we wanted, but I think it's very important to recognize the unprecedented scale. This was an ambitious, high risk, high reward mission where we designed, built and launched a space robot within nine months. This is a vast departure from the traditional industry norm. Something like this might have taken three, four, five years, and NASA asked us to step up and say, hey, could you put something that has a realistic shot on goal, on orbit within nine months? Our team did just that. And while it is unfortunate that we weren't able to make the boost of Swift happen, we've learned so much as an industry in terms of how to go fast, how to scale, and these are going to be important lessons for the future. When another need like this comes up, we'll be ready.

BOLDUAN: And talk to me about that because, I mean, I was so excited when we had you on this -- just, I love the kind of -- I mean, from concept on the back of a napkin, to launching in nine months, I mean, just the idea of how the compressed timeline you guys took on was just fantastic. And then to be able to share launch -- you know, right after you launched and speak with you, I was so excited.

What are the lessons learned? There's success in every failure when you're talking about advancements in technologies. What are the lessons that you guys are taking from this?

LEE: Absolutely. When it comes to engineering and the engineering process, there were many tradeoffs that we had to make every single day. We were -- we had option one, option two and option three for every decision, whether it was selecting a component, or how to build the spacecraft. And given the condensed timeline, we were only -- almost always on option three.

And so, I think one of the key lessons here is making sure that we have the ability to have many different pathways of redundancy, which is something that we had built in. But, honestly, the timeline was just working against us so much. I think if we had had 12 months even, just three more months, it would have made a tremendous difference. And I think really the big takeaway from the industry is twofold.

One, you can go fast. We challenge this traditional aerospace operating model. And we showed that you can put a viable spacecraft on orbit. It was beautiful seeing the pictures coming down from orbit within a couple of hours of launch. That was amazing. Our team was fired up. Everyone was cheering in the control room. I think that that shows that this is possible.

The other piece of this is that we need to also have many different types of plays in our playbook. When we started this mission, we were just -- it was truly a rescue mission. We were starting from ground zero. We were ready to go. But by having missions like this, by having technologies available like this, it gives mission planners, whether that's NASA or commercial companies or other groups within the government, the tools that they need to be able to make these types of decisions.

[09:55:07]

So, instead of starting necessarily from ground zero, we have already a huge leg up for the next one of these types of missions.

BOLDUAN: It's a great -- I mean, that is a good point. I mean I have seen some reporting that the Hubble Space Telescope could also benefit from something of a boost, an orbital boost, and is kind of seen as next in line for a rescue attempt had this mission gone well. Is that something that your team is now like, oh, yes, let's do this?

LEE: Absolutely. Again, I just want to emphasize how unprecedented this mission is for fractions of the total cost of a normal space mission within, you know, nine months compared to five years we were able to put a spacecraft like this on orbit. So, yes, when it comes to rescue-style missions, you think about Hubble, you think about other spacecraft that we have around the moon. These are all very valuable science assets that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But not only that, we have other satellites up in orbit that we can use as well.

BOLDUAN: They are loudly playing us off here. It is great to see you again, Ghonhee. Thank you so much for coming in. I appreciate it.

BERMAN: You didn't even get to thank his agent.

BOLDUAN: I mean, geez, Louise.

BERMAN: All right, thank you all for joining us. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

SIDNER: That's our cue.

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