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Elon Musk Reveals Plans To Cut Budget By $1 Trillion; U.S. And Ukraine Expected To Sign Minerals Agreement; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer To Meet With Donald Trump At White House; Hamas Criticizes "Disgraceful" Donald Trump A.I. Video Of Gaza; Western Tourists Speak About Recent Trip to North Korea; Condolences Pour in for Actress Michelle Trachtenberg. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired February 27, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:31]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, Elon Musk shares the spotlight with Donald Trump during the U.S. president's first Cabinet meeting of his new term, defending his DOGE team and the deep cuts they've made across the federal government.

The special relationship under strain. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to visit the White House, where he will try to convince Donald Trump to offer more support for Ukraine.

And we'll take you inside North Korea to see how the Hermit Kingdom is trying to court American tourists.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. For our top story, key meetings in Washington with potential consequences playing out far from the corridors of power. President Donald Trump touched on an array of contentious foreign policy issues during his first Cabinet meeting with close adviser Elon Musk taking center stage.

In the hours ahead, the U.S. president is set to meet with the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer is urging the U.S. to provide a backstop for any future European peacekeepers in Ukraine, saying it's the only way to ensure a lasting peace.

And the Ukrainian President will visit the White House on Friday to discuss a deal that would let the U.S. access Ukraine's rare earth minerals.

Foreign policy falsehoods and furious efforts to slash federal spending were key themes at the first Cabinet meeting of the U.S. president's new term.

During the wide ranging question and answer session, Mr. Trump repeated his false claim that the U.S. gives significantly more aid to Ukraine than Europe does, and refused to commit to many future security guarantees for Ukraine. He also wouldn't promise to defend Taiwan in the face of possible Chinese aggression, but he did say to expect 25 percent tariffs on the European Union, while baselessly suggesting that the U.S. is the reason for the bloc's existence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I love the countries of Europe. I love all countries, frankly, all different. But European Union has been -- it was formed in order to screw the United States.

I mean, look, let's be honest, the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States. That's the purpose of it, and they've done a good job of it. But now I'm president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Presidential adviser and tech billionaire Elon Musk signaled his intent to slash $1 trillion from the federal budget. The world's richest man making it clear that he's doing President Trump's bidding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA MOTORS: Last week, the president encouraged me via Truth Social and also via phone call to be more aggressive. And I was like, OK, you know, yes, sir, Mr. President, we will indeed do that. The president is the commander in chief. I do what the president asks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Interesting power dynamics were at play during the meeting. Musk, who was neither elected nor confirmed by the Senate took on a star role and spoke significantly more than anyone else besides the president. CNN's Jeff Zeleny explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: If there was any question where the power lies in this new Trump administration, it became clear on Wednesday at President Trump's first Cabinet meeting of this term, it is not in the Cabinet at least the most power.

The dynamics between President Trump and Elon Musk, the world's richest man and one of his senior advisers, became clear inside the ornate Cabinet room on Wednesday, as the President called on Elon Musk to talk specifically about his work for government efficiency, how he's been asking more than two million workers across the government to justify their existence, which has sparked confusion and consternation.

But the president made clear Musk is his man, and called for dissent and then laughed.

TRUMP: And let the Cabinet speak just for a second. Anybody unhappy with Elon? If you are, we'll throw them out of here.

ZELENY: The president saying, if anyone is unhappy with Elon Musk, let him know. Of course, no one voiced that concern, but the president is saying there that workers are on the bubble, it raises the questions exactly of what will become of some of these federal workers who are told to not respond to Elon Musk.

[02:05:14]

But the bigger picture to all of this as the Trump administration engages in the next step of reshaping this federal government in major ways through mass layoffs and reductions in force, who is actually overseeing these, the Cabinet secretaries or Musk himself?

In fact, right after the Cabinet meeting, the White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles went to Capitol Hill and got an earful, we're told from some Senate Republicans who were wondering, in fact, who is in charge? And she said, Elon Musk reports to the president, not to the Cabinet.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Earlier, I asked the director of the University of Virginia Center for politics, Larry Sabato, about Musk's government cuts and the possible consequences of a poorly mapped out termination plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: I think people are finally going to discover what these lazy, worthless government employees actually do, and what they mainly do is to keep the government running and keep the services running and keep people getting the benefits they think they're entitled to. Those are kind of important things.

But most people just think of the bureaucracy as a big gray mass of people who are sitting there twiddling their thumbs and playing with paper clips and waiting for their pension to come in. It's totally inaccurate, but that's the image that's projected and all these dead people supposedly on the rolls. This would be funny if it weren't so serious.

CHURCH: Yes, indeed, of course, Musk also said that he plans to pass along 20 percent of the savings made by these cost cutting exercises and give Americans tax cuts.

Now, if the country faces bankruptcy. Shouldn't that money go toward paying down the debt?

SABATO: Well, of course, there are so many internal contradictions and hypocrisies in what Musk has been proposing and Trump has been seconding. And I think it's going to come back to haunt them, probably in the midterm elections in 2026.

But already you can see the effect on Trump's poll ratings. He is dropping. And people say, well, he's relatively popular. Yes, he's relatively popular compared to his ratings in the first term. He is the most unpopular new president since polls were taken in the 1930s.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: My full interview with Larry Sabato is coming up next hour.

Well, President Trump also talked during his Cabinet meeting about the upcoming visit to the White House on Friday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're doing very well with Russia, Ukraine. President Zelenskyy is going to be coming on Friday. That's now confirmed, and we're going to be signing an agreement which will be a very big agreement, and that will be on rare earth and other things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Mr. Zelenskyy says he's hoping to get concrete security guarantees from the U.S. as part of that deal. A draft of the agreement seen by CNN shows it does not provide Kyiv with explicit security guarantees.

For now, Ukraine's president calls it a framework with details still to be worked out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Of course, this agreement is about economics, but I asked for there to be at least an understanding that we are seeing things the same way that all of this is part of future security guarantees.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: More now from CNN's CHIEF International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh in Kyiv.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think there will be some relief here in Ukraine. The idea that President Trump has confirmed a Friday meeting between himself and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House, that seems to be a sign that this rare earth and resources deal is pretty much done, although there are still some uncertainties about the final terms of it and two very different visions of what this deal really is about.

President Trump clear that it's about repaying the money the United States has given Ukraine now and in the future, but also that it has nothing to do with the United States giving security guarantees to Ukraine.

He says they won't be giving beyond very much security guarantees, leaving that to the Europeans, who were probably at some point after the United States to support any peacekeeping mission they have in Ukraine in event of a cease fire with logistics.

Zelenskyy in a lengthy press conference this morning talked more about the need for the security guarantees to be discussed between himself and President Trump, but he also said that the latest version of the draft he'd been informed of, had a point 10 better terminology for Ukraine when it came to security guarantees.

Now, I've seen a copy of the draft of that that was current as of Wednesday morning, and point 10 refers to how the United States will support Ukraine in its desire to obtain security guarantees, but it makes no mention of the United States actually being part of those guarantees themselves. That's a key difference, as was Zelenskyy demand that the deal, at no point suggests that Ukraine would reimburse the United States for even $0.10, in his words of the money already given to Ukraine by the U.S. during the Biden administration.

[02:10:23]

So, stark differences, certainly between how the two men publicly refer to their needs, whereas this document tries to weave its way between both of them, indeed, kicking much of the complicated stuff down the road for later resolution, suggesting that as soon as this document is signed, there will be immediate future talks on a fund agreement that will deal with the really complicated stuff as exactly what is going to use to be financing this particular fund.

But the fact these two men are meeting on Friday is going to be probably one of the most important diplomatic moments of the Ukrainian president's career. He has to essentially try and heal a week's worth of acrimony between him and Trump and be sure, in his own words, that he gets assurances that the United States still want to provide aid to Ukraine.

So much resting on that given so many Ukrainians dying daily, holding back Russian aggression here in the face of Moscow slow advance along the front lines. So much resting on that Friday meeting in the White House.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Ukraine is expected to top the agenda when the British Prime Minister visits the White House in the day ahead, Keir Starmer is hoping to shore up us support for Ukraine in the face of Donald Trump's recent overtures towards Russia.

He says Kyiv must be a part of any negotiations in order to achieve a lasting peace. Mr. Starmer's visit comes after announcing plans earlier this week to increase British defense spending. He says European leaders need to do more to guarantee Ukraine security. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The worst of all outcomes if there's to be a cessation of hostilities is that it is a short break, rather than sustained and lasting peace. And I think that that means there's got to be security guarantees. I have indicated that we will play our full part. There has to be U.S. backing, because otherwise, I don't think it will deter Putin.

We are working on that. I'm having extensive discussions about it. I'll continue down that route because I want a lasting peace in Ukraine and Europe for the safety and security of Ukrainians, of Europeans, and of course, for everybody in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Prime Minister Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron both say they are willing to send peace keeping troops to Ukraine. But again, Mr. Starmer wants the U.S. to provide what he called a security backstop.

My next guest is the author of New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend The West, CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger joins us live from Berlin. Appreciate you being with us.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Great to be with you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, just before heading to D.C., British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that increase in U.K. defense spending. So, what are you expecting to come out of his meeting with President Trump on Ukraine at the White House today?

SANGER: Well, obviously he's going to be pressing the president to get involved in those security guarantees for Ukraine, and the president was pretty clear yesterday during his Cabinet meeting, he said that's for the Europeans to provide, and that he wouldn't be involved in it very much, other than the security around the U.S. investments in these mining operations, if and when those get going.

So, let's think for a moment about what that means. What would a security guarantee look like? Well, it's intended, of course, to keep the Russians from basically taking a pause and attempting the overthrow of Ukraine again. There's no reason that they couldn't go do that unless there were enough troops on the other side to truly prevent them.

If Europe decided to send peacekeepers, that would probably be, Rosemary, 100,000 to 200,000 troops, seems unlikely that they could raise that between the British, the French, maybe the Germans.

If they just wanted an observer force, it could be a lot smaller, but it probably wouldn't be much of an impediment. And if they wanted what the military calls a tripwire force, in other words, make Putin hesitant to go kill European troops, French, British, Germans and others, then it would need a plan for the United States and other NATO allies to come in right behind it. I don't think that's what President Trump sounds like he has in mind.

[02:15:02]

CHURCH: Yes, of course we heard from President Trump on Wednesday during his Cabinet meeting that Ukraine's President Zelenskyy is coming to the White House on Friday to sign the rare earth minerals agreement.

Now, Zelenskyy is expecting to get concrete security guarantees as part of that deal, but Trump, as you pointed out, made it clear that he thinks Europe should handle Ukraine security. So, what are you expecting will happen Friday with this deal?

SANGER: Well, the draft of the deal has been circulating around. I've looked at parts of it. I know CNN has seen a good deal of it as well. It has no security guarantee in it. It simply says the United States would support Ukraine getting a security guarantee, presumably from the Europeans.

So, one of the main objectives that President Zelenskyy had for this agreement is not contained here. Now, on the other hand, it's not detailed enough, as you heard in the earlier reports to really call it an agreement. It's more like a memorandum of understanding. Here's the direction we would like to go, but they had to take all of the hard issues, security, how the money would be distributed, what kind of fund it would go into, and so forth, and kick those down the road.

This is very much like the kind of agreements that President Trump would sign when he was a real estate investor before they'd really figured out much about what building would go into the ground. Sometimes they happened, sometimes it never came to fruition.

CHURCH: Yes, and Zelenskyy, of course, calling it just a framework at this stage. And David, President Trump also indicated Wednesday that Russia will have to make some concessions when it comes to finding a deal to end the war in Ukraine. So, what do you think he means by that?

SANGER: It's a really great question, because so far we have heard the president be quite specific about what Ukraine would have to give up, no NATO entry, no explicit security guarantee from the United States, the minerals bill. We've heard nothing about what he would insist that Russia would give up.

And in fact, we don't even know if the kind of agreement that the Russians have in mind is limited to Ukraine at all, or whether it is sort of a broader agreement with the United States to try to normalize their relationships.

CHURCH: David Sanger, thank you so much for joining us. We're still looking for so many answers, aren't we?

SANGER: We are indeed.

CHURCH: We'll hopefully get it for days and weeks ahead. Appreciate you talking with us.

SANGER: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, transforming war torn Gaza into a beach resort, strong words from Hamas after U.S. President Donald Trump shared an A.I. generated video of his vision for a post-war Gaza. We'll have a look at that when we come back.

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[02:22:37]

CHURCH: With just days until the first phase of the Gaza cease fire is set to expire, Israel and Hamas are making their final handovers of hostages and Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal.

Red Cross busses carrying hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees arrived in Gaza earlier with similar scenes in the West Bank where families arrive to greet a group of Palestinian prisoners released in the early morning hours. This all comes after Hamas handed over four coffins set to contain the bodies of Israeli hostages. Israel says they have started the identification process. Hamas says they are the remains of four male hostages, all taken captive during the October 7th attack.

Well, Hamas is criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump for posting an A.I. generated video that depicts his vision for a post-war Gaza. The militant group, calls the video disgraceful. It shows the Enclave transformed into a glitzy beach resort on the Mediterranean. The group says the fake imagery reflects a, "deeply rooted racist colonial mindset and is a desperate attempt to legitimize the ongoing ethnic cleansing carried out by the Israeli occupation with clear American support."

More now from CNN's Salma Abdelaziz in London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: The video is bizarre, some would say outright offensive. A 32nd A.I. generated clip shared on President Donald Trump's own social media accounts. It appears to show his vision for the future of the Enclave somehow turned from a war torn region into a golden paradise, and the music is jarring too. Take a listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald's coming to set you free. Bringing the life to all you see. No more tunnels, no more fear. Trump Gaza is finally here.

ABDELAZIZ: Donald is coming to set you free is one of the lyrics there. You also have an Elon Musk look alike eating hummus, bearded men in belly dancing uniforms, and, of course, the Donald himself in the center of it all.

You may remember that President Trump shocked the world when he said that the United States should own Gaza, turn it into the Riviera of the Middle East and expel all two million Palestinians living there.

[02:25:03]

This video appears to show what that scheme looks like in President Trump's own mind, and it is shocking. You have money being thrown up in the air, casinos filling the beaches of Gaza, a stark contrast to what's on the ground and then the real kicker, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump lounging, enjoying the A.I. generated luxury of it all.

Now, this may look comical, but it is no laughing matter. A cease fire deal is set to expire this weekend that could bring war back to Gaza.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Western visitors head to North Korea for the first time since the COVID pandemic.

Still to come, entertainment with a bang and an adventurous cuisine you can find only in the Hermit Kingdom. We'll take a look.

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[02:30:43]

CHURCH: Crowds continue to gather in Vatican City and across the world, praying for the speedy recovery of Pope Francis. The Vatican says the Pope slept well during the night and is now resting. On Wednesday, officials said the Pontiff was showing slight improvement as he recovers from pneumonia and his mild kidney failure had receded, but his prognosis is still guarded. Pope Francis has been in hospital for two weeks now. It is his longest hospital stay since being elected Pope in 2013.

The country known as the hermit kingdom wants more people to come and visit. North Korea admitted a limited number of Western tourists in recent weeks after COVID restrictions kept the country largely sealed off for years. As Will Ripley tells us, some of the visitors are Americans who found a way to get around a U.S. travel ban.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At first glance, this could be any elementary school recital until you notice the backdrop.

MIKE O'KENNEDY, BRITISH SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER: It's not until moments where you see a group of seven-year-old children doing synchronized dancing in front of a giant, you know, LED screen showing missiles, you know, blowing up boats, you know, and it's like, oh yeah, I'm in -- I'm in North Korea.

RIPLEY (voice-over): British travel influencer, Mike O'Kennedy, one of the first Western tourists to visit North Korea since before the pandemic. State-controlled western tourism is making a limited return to Rason, an isolated region near China and Russia.

O'KENNEDY: The one of the most interesting parts for me was that, you know, given the fact that tourists haven't been allowed in for five years, there was a sense of isolation in the air.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Strict COVID-19 protocols kept already isolated North Korea, even more sealed off from the world.

JUSTIN MARTELL, TOUR OPERATOR, YOUNG PIONEER TOURS: But there seems to be a rumor that COVID-19 got into the country via a balloon sent from South Korea that was infected with COVID-19.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Bizarre theories aside, American tour guide Justin Martell says, COVID paranoia is still everywhere and yet, despite five years of near total isolation, North Koreans aren't entirely in the dark.

MARTELL: So they're aware that Donald Trump is now the president once again, and they are aware of the fact that talks broke down last time, during the first Trump presidency. So when I asked the question, would you like Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump to meet again? The response I got was, if Kim Jong-un wants to do it, then of course we support it.

RIPLEY (voice-over): He says, traveling to the secret state is not for everyone. Sightseeing feels more like a school field trip. Itineraries are tightly controlled, unauthorized photos are forbidden, but any glimpse of the hermetically sealed nation is social media gold.

LUCA PFERDMENGES, SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER: I am in North Korea.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Which may explain why so many social media influencers are snatching up seats. Ever since the death of American college student, Otto Warmbier, in 2017, the U.S. State Department has banned American tourists from visiting North Korea, but that's not stopping some from trying.

WENDY ARBEIT, U.S.-GERMAN TRAVELER: I do have a U.S. passport and I also have a German passport. So that was my ticket in.

RIPLEY (voice-over): American Wendy Arbeit calls herself an extreme traveler. North Korea is her 195th country.

RIPLEY: So, how does North Korea stack up?

ARBEIT: It was definitely one of the more unusual places to go. You know, I have to be honest, I was surprised how good the food was. They were very lavish in the food that they gave us. There was a flaming snail that was brought to me and I was like, I don't know what to do with this. But it's cool.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The United Nations says nearly half of North Korea's population is undernourished. For them, flaming snail is almost certainly not on the menu. But for western influencers, a country sealed off from the world is the ultimate feast for content.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we'll be right back.

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[02:38:52]

CHURCH: Condolences are coming in for American actress Michelle Trachtenberg. She died this week apparently of natural causes according to a New York police source. Rosie O'Donnell, her co-star in " Harriet the Spy,"described Trachtenberg's death as heartbreaking. And one of her co-stars from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" called her a beautiful soul. Samantha Lindell has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMANTHA LINDELL, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Actress Michelle Trachtenberg, who rose to fame as a child star in the 1990s, has died at the age of 39 according to the NYPD. Trachtenberg starred in Nickelodeon's first feature film, "Harriet the Spy." In 2000, she went on to play Buffy's younger sister in the WB hit series, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG AS DAWN SUMMERS, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: She should try acting like everybody else more.

ALYSON HANNIGAN AS WILLOW ROSENBERG, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: Apparently, it's what all the kids are doing nowadays.

LINDELL (voice-over): She also starred in a Disney movie playing an ice skater in "Ice Princess" alongside Kim Cattrall.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG AS CASEY CARLYLE, ICE PRINCESS: I want you to coach me for sectionals.

LINDELL (voice-over): Trachtenberg landed a role on the award-winning series, "Gossip Girl" playing Georgina Sparks, a character who stirred up drama.

PENN BADGLEY AS DAN HUMPHREY, GOSSIP GIRL: You're Gossip Girl?

[02:40:00]

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG AS GEORGINA SPARKS, GOSSIP GIRL: What? No. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Oh, OK.

LINDELL (voice-over): She said being in that role was more fun than playing the Good Girl. Her most recent appearance was in two episodes of Max's Gossip Girl Revival.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: LED Lights? Really?

LINDELL (voice-over): An NYPD source told CNN that Trachtenberg reportedly had a recent medical issue and that her death appeared to be related to natural causes and not suspicious.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG AS HARRIET WELSCH, HARRIET THE SPY: Remember, in my life, in this world, there will always only be one Harriet.

CHURCH: I want to thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.

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