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Far-Right AfD Party Sees Surge of Support in German Snap Election; Republican Lawmakers Face Voters Angry About Government Overhaul; At Least 21 Dead After Floods, Damaging Winds Hit Kentucky. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired February 24, 2025 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster, if you're just joining us, here are some of today's top stories.

In just a few hours, U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington. This comes on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Macron says he'll warn Mr. Trump not to be weak in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Tens of thousands of mourners turned out Sunday in the streets of Beirut, Lebanon to take part in the long-delayed funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Israeli fighter jets flew just above the event in what the IDF called, quote, a clear message. The Iranian-backed proxy group Nasrallah was killed nearly five months ago in a massive Israeli airstrike.

The Vatican says Pope Francis had a good night in hospital. He slept and he's resting. That follows news that the pontiff is now experiencing mild kidney failure, though they say it's under control. This is the 11th day of hospitalization for the 88-year-old pontiff.

The head of Germany's opposition Conservative says his absolute priority is to strengthen Europe and achieve independence with the United States. That pledge from Friedrich Merz comes as preliminary results show the center-right leader is on track to become Germany's next Chancellor.

[04:35:00]

Sunday's vote also saw a strong second place showing for the far-right Alternative for Germany party, followed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats in third.

The AfD leaders say their performance in this election means they are the party of the future and cannot be ignored.

Joining me now from Germany is Deborah Cole, Berlin correspondent for "The Guardian."

And, you know, the far-right isn't right. If we just take a look at their numbers, it's been an absolute surge and they now have a really strong position in Parliament and will have an effect on policy that way, even if they don't make the government.

DEBORAH COLE, BERLIN CORRESPONDENT, THE GUARDIAN: That's right. I mean, they are the strongest opposition party. The AfD had a historic night. They doubled their support compared to the last election in 2021. So this firewall that you might have heard about that bars cooperation by the mainstream parties with the AfD is going to come under massive pressure in the coming years.

FOSTER: How did they do it? I mean, what's your understanding, having reported on the election, having spoken to people, what is resonating about the far-right? Because I know, obviously, economy was a huge issue here, also immigration. Do they just speak better to those issues than the left, for example?

COLE: Well, they're a party of anger, they're a party of, you know, of protest. When it comes to their economic plans, very few voters cite anything that they, you know, would choose to do as being something that would be likely to help Europe's top economy get back on its feet. The real issue, and they managed to completely harness the debate and really, you know, call the tune for the other parties, was on immigration.

And during this campaign, you saw a series of deadly attacks, seemingly unconnected attacks that were blamed on migrants, where the suspects in each case were asylum seekers who had come to Germany in the last years and become radicalized on German soil, as it seemed. And that really spooked a lot of German voters. It was a scary time for a lot of people.

And the AfD, apparently for some voters, for 20 percent of voters, made the case that under a government led by them, this wouldn't have happened.

FOSTER: The winning conservatives also spoke a lot about immigration, didn't they? So we've seen a whole shift to the right in this election. How much has that got to do with the success of Donald Trump's policies in America?

COLE: Yes, I mean, you I'm sure your viewers noticed the quite high profile and for the German political establishment, shocking interventions by members of the Trump camp, including Elon Musk, and then at the Munich Security Conference, J.D. Vance, on behalf of the AfD calling for an end to the firewall and Musk saying that really, the AfD was the only party that could, you know, rescue Germany.

Now, it didn't seem to have much of an impact on the polls. I mean, if you look at where they were at the end of December, and then where they were last night, they landed on 21 percent, which is about where they've been, you know, for months and months. That said, those interventions, which last night, Friedrich Merz, the winner of last night's election, you know, called them brazen, these these interventions by Musk and Vance.

FOSTER: I think it's interesting, though, isn't it? You could you could see a slight separation between Musk and Trump on this issue, though, because Musk very clearly throwing himself behind the far right. Then we saw Trump hasn't done that.

But Trump has thrown his support behind the conservatives. So do you see different levels of extremity really between these two key players in America and how they've played into the German election?

COLE: Yes, I wouldn't -- I wouldn't speak to that. I mean, I think that his message last night on on truth social was quite ambiguous. You know, he had said it was a great day for Germany. And I think you could read that either way. And I think many people here read that as support for the AfD, actually.

But Friedrich Merz is the man he's going to have to be dealing with. You know, Trump has threatened these, these punishing tariffs, and Germany and Europe is going to be hit hardest by them. So I would expect, you know, Merz to be able having those conversations with him.

FOSTER: OK, Deborah Cole in Berlin. Thank you so much for joining us today.

COLE: Thank you.

[04:40:00]

FOSTER: Trump's actions in Washington are impacting people across the country and many voters aren't pleased about it with some Republican lawmakers facing angry crowds at town hall meetings in their districts. CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more on that.

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GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, perhaps these are signs that the Republican honeymoon may be over as some of these lawmakers are back in their districts during a recess from Congress for the next several days. Many of them have been holding a town halls in their communities, where they are getting an earful not just from Democrats, but also Republicans who are frustrated about the way that the Trump administration has been enacting its agenda. Also, the role that Elon Musk is playing in the federal government, and a lot of questions about the federal layoffs and whether or not there will be cuts to some benefits such as Social Security.

Now, these town halls have been taking place all across the country here in New York, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Saturday night in Trinity, Texas, where Congressman Pete Session was prepared to deliver what he thought was going to be a routine update about the work that he's been doing in Congress. Instead, he got a barrage of questions and accusations from his constituents regarding the role of Elon Musk, the federal layoffs, as well as Social Security benefits.

Now, according to the "New York Times," there were several attendants in this town hall who got up and questioned him.

At one point, one woman saying, when are you going to wrest control back from the executive and stop hurting your constituents? She was talking about the mass layoffs and agency closures, which she

believes are unconstitutional. Then there was another gentleman who asked about Social Security.

He said, will you be courageous enough to stand up to them?

Now, this is something that both Elon Musk and President Trump has said that they are focused on Social Security administration, and whether or not changes need to be made to that program. Now, many of these lawmakers are holding town halls in person, which means that constituents can come out and sort of confront them.

And that's why we're getting a lot of these videos where constituents are booing and shouting down their lawmakers. Other lawmakers are having these town halls either virtually or on the phone. That allows for perhaps a little bit more control, crowd control, trying to filter the type of questions that they're getting.

But even there, they're getting a lot of pushback and criticism. I want you to take a listen to a Republican retired U.S. Army officer. This is what he had to say to Congresswoman Stephanie Bice in Oklahoma.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, CONSTITUENT: How can you tell me that DOGE, with some college whiz kids from a computer terminal in Washington, D.C., without even getting out into the field, after about a week or maybe two, has determined that it's OK to cut veterans' benefits?

REP. STEPHANIE BRICE (R-OK): Did you know that the V.A. was in charge of payments for illegals for for housing? Basically, the V.A. --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, CONSTITUENT: No, I'd like for you to send me -- can you send me that reference so I could research that? Because, no, I'm not aware of that. And I would tell you that that's a red herring, a false flag.

PAZMINO: He was not the only frustrated caller at that town hall. A lot of questions about Social Security, about federal funding cuts and about mass layoffs and about Elon Musk.

We are expecting to see many more of these town halls into the following week in Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, just to name a few. There are town halls that are scheduled. And the question will be whether or not we continue to see this pattern of criticism, both from Republicans and Democrats, and whether or not lawmakers take those concerns back to Congress when they're back in session.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now, federal workers are voicing their frustrations with the Trump administration's mass government layoffs. Yosemite National Park in California workers unfurled an upside down American flag, which symbolizes a distress call. More than 2,200 workers at the Interior Department, which includes the National Park Service, were dismissed a little over a week ago.

A flight going from New York to India lands in Rome instead. Up next, why this plane got an escort from the Italian Air Force.

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FOSTER: Italian Air Force jets had to escort an American Airlines plane to Rome on Sunday because of a potential security concern. It was ultimately deemed non-credible. The flight was on its way from New York to Delhi, India when it was diverted. American Airlines says the flight landed safely and law enforcement inspected the plane for re- departure today. But you can imagine the concern of the passengers looking out of that.

Now, a senior Hamas official tells CNN any future peace talks with Israel are contingent on the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners. They're meant to be freed after Hamas handed over six Israeli hostages on Saturday. But Israel says it won't release the prisoners until Hamas guarantees the end of humiliating ceremonies during the hostage releases.

As the first phase of the ceasefire deal in Gaza comes to an end, Israel is warning that it could resume intense fighting at any moment. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has military plans ready to go if needed. The IDF says it's ramping up operational readiness around Gaza after what it described as a situational assessment.

Now, Israel is moving tanks into the occupied West Bank for the first time since the end of the second intifada. And that was more than 20 years ago. Palestinian authorities are slamming the move as an escalation of aggression. Israeli defense minister says his country's military is expanding its operation in the Palestinian territory. He's telling troops to remain in some refugee camps for the coming year after about 40,000 people were evacuated. Several Palestinians told CNN the Israeli military made them leave and they don't know when they'll be allowed to return.

The death toll in Kentucky has now jumped to at least 21 victims after a powerful storm brought widespread flooding and damaging winds across parts of the U.S. Kentucky has borne the brunt of that severe weather system. More than a month's worth of rain drowned much of the state in less than 24 hours. It brought water levels to historic highs and set into motion deadly floods.

Kentucky is unfortunately no stranger to natural disasters. Just over two years ago, catastrophic flooding killed 43 people in devastated parts of the state.

Now, coming up, Hollywood celebrated 2024's outstanding performances across film and television. The big winners of the night are the Screen Actors Guild Awards coming next.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: I've seen the faith and celebration days before the start of carnival in Brazil. Devotees from Catholic and Afro-Brazilian faiths gathered at the parade venue in Rio de Janeiro for a spiritual cleansing ritual, seeking protection and success during the country's biggest festival.

Aston Martin's showing off its new car for the twenty twenty five Formula One season. The Mercedes powered AMR twenty five is expected to debut at preseason testing in Bahrain on Wednesday. Look at that. Aston Martin revealed the car online on Sunday.

The team finished fifth in each of the last two seasons. A new Formula One season begins next month in Australia.

Last night in Hollywood was the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards. It's where the stars themselves select the best performances across film and television. The cast of Conclave won for their outstanding performance in a motion picture depicting the secretive process of selecting a new pope.

[04:55:00]

Zoe Saldana continued her award season sweep, landing the outstanding female actor in a supporting role award. This for her part in the Netflix cartel crime film Amelia Perez. And Hulu's hit TV series Shogun won big for their take on Japan's warrior past. The ensemble cast took home the award for outstanding performance in a drama series.

Hollywood's canine stars are also getting their day on the red carpet. The Fido Awards were held in London on Sunday, honoring the greatest dogs in show business. This year, the best in the world award went to one very special crested cross.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The winning film is Deadpool and Wolverine, and the winner is Peggy.

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FOSTER: Of course, you might know Peggy as Dogpool, who stole the show in Deadpool and Wolverine. She was once crowned Britain's ugliest dog in a national contest, would you believe? And now she's getting attention for her magnetic performance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOBY ROSE, FILM JOURNALIST AND FIDO AWARDS ORGANIZER: Everyone loves Peggy, and she's she's definitely got star quality when it comes to the silver screen.

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FOSTER: Absolutely. And that's why we feature her quite regularly on the show with any excuse, at least Mora does, she's producing.

Thanks for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster, London. CNN "THIS MORNING," up next after a quick break.

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