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Russians Make Gains in Areas Along Ukraine Frontlines; Canada and E.U. Hit Back at Trump Tariffs; Former Philippines President in International Criminal Court Custody; Pennsylvania Democrats Frustrated with Lawmakers; Pope Francis Marks 12 Years Since Election. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired March 13, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And hello to you. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York City. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We had a great success yesterday. Well, we have to see. It's up to Russia now.
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SANDOVAL: Donald Trump urging Russia to accept a U.S. brokered ceasefire deal. But it's still unclear if Vladimir Putin is actually ready for peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business and worse for consumers.
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SANDOVAL: And you heard it. U.S. trade partners firing back at Trump's latest tariff hike, announcing billions of dollars in retaliatory actions.
And Rodrigo Duterte is met by crowds of cheering supporters that's as he was arriving in prison to face charges of crimes against humanity.
Foreign ministers from the G7 are meeting in Canada for the first time since Donald Trump returned to the White House. A summit that comes amid global uncertainty over the U.S. president's major upheavals in foreign and economic policy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Quebec on Wednesday as world leaders remain focused on President Trump's tariffs, as well as the changes that he's made to U.S. policy on the conflict in Ukraine.
This meeting coming as Russia claims significant gains on the battlefield both along the frontlines in Ukraine and in the part of Russia invaded by Ukraine last year. President Vladimir Putin, you see him here, visiting the Kursk region on Wednesday. His top general says hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have been captured in the renewed offensive there, and Ukraine's top army commander says Moscow is using airborne troops and special ops to push Ukrainian forces out of Kursk. President Putin believes victory is at hand in that region.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): In the near future, the task is to finally defeat the enemy that is still engaged in combat operations, who has dug into the Kursk region as soon as possible, and completely liberate the territory of the Kursk region.
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SANDOVAL: So far Russia has not said whether it will agree to the U.S. proposed 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine has already accepted. President Trump said Wednesday that the ball is now in Vladimir Putin's court.
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TRUMP: We had a great success yesterday. We have a full ceasefire when it -- if it kicks in. Well, we have to see. It's up to Russia now. But we've had a good relationship with both parties actually, and we'll see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Earlier on Wednesday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he expected the U.S. to take, quote, "strong steps" if Russia did not agree to that ceasefire proposal.
CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen has the latest on the fighting in Ukraine, but also some reaction inside Russia to the U.S. ceasefire proposal.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A brazen attack, Russian troops sneaking through a gas pipeline to target Ukrainian positions.
The assault is starting, the soldier says.
The Russians saying thanks to this assault, they've all but taken the town, Sudzha, one of Ukraine's last footholds on Russian territory.
Kremlin controlled TV in breaking news mode, hailing the gains.
This is what the most important victory of the Russian spirit and weapons looks like, the host says.
The Russians have been taking territory in multiple areas along the frontline in recent days, leaving some in Moscow wondering why they should even bother with a Trump administration ceasefire deal.
Now, Trump, like an ultimatum, says you stop the war because Ukraine is ready for a ceasefire, this man says. But what's the point? What ultimatum? We're dominating on the battlefield.
After the Ukrainians agreed to a 30-day ceasefire in meetings with the Trump administration's negotiators, the U.S. says now it's time for Moscow to do the same.
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: They're probably processing the news the same as the rest of the world, and so we hope to have a positive answer from them. The ball is truly in their court.
PLEITGEN: But so far, the Kremlin hasn't even picked the ball up yet. Russian President Vladimir Putin silent on the issue and his spokesman saying they're waiting to hear from the U.S. While the foreign minister, in an interview with U.S. bloggers, merely stated what Russia isn't willing to allow like tolerating NATO peacekeepers in Ukraine.
SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Under any conditions, well, nobody is talking to us. They keep saying nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, but they do everything about Russia without Russia.
PLEITGEN: This as the Trump administration is saying it's eagerly waiting to hear from the Russians, whose forces continue to grind down Ukraine's defenses.
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Fred Pleitgen CNN, Moscow.
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SANDOVAL: -- by Matthew Schmidt, associate professor of national security at the University of New Haven.
Matthew, thank you for taking time for us.
MATTHEW SCHMIDT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF NATIONAL SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: It's a pleasure to be here, Polo.
SANDOVAL: So, Matthew, as Russia considers this ceasefire deal, Putin has pretty much every reason not to say yes. He's even previously indicated that he would not compromise. He would offer no concessions. But in your opinion, is there really any incentive at all to agree to at least a temporary peace?
SCHMIDT: There's incentive for Putin to agree to a ceasefire sometime this year. We often talk about Ukraine's manpower and weapons problems, but Russia has them, too. So there's -- it's not as urgent. They don't have to do it tomorrow. But they do need to wind down the major combat sometime in 2025, or they're going to find themselves in a bad position, too. So that's probably enough to bring him to the table eventually. SANDOVAL: Matthew, you've also shared that Russia could use a
ceasefire to perhaps gain some leverage over the U.S. Can you tell us in what way and why he would do that?
SCHMIDT: Putin's number one goal right now in the process of putting together these negotiations is to use the process itself to get the United States to force Ukraine to have elections. Putin's strategic goal here is less about territory. We often get focused on that, but it's less about territory and more about political control over Ukraine. And the way that he will try to get political control over Ukraine is to force Zelenskyy out.
And the way he can force Zelenskyy out is to have Zelenskyy's nominal ally, us, force him to have elections.
SANDOVAL: Matthew, as an expert on this matter, I'm curious, were you surprised that yesterday Secretary of State Marco Rubio emerged from that room and announced this potential deal, this actual deal between the U.S. and Ukraine, this agreement, if you will? Did you expect that?
SCHMIDT: No, that's been coming for some months. It's been coming for even as much as a year that we knew we would get to this point. If Ukraine is getting more by moving into a ceasefire then it would continue fighting right now. But the question is, is how do you get Russia to the table and when.
SANDOVAL: Yes, they get more, at least some sort of repair between the relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine after that pretty disastrous Oval Office meeting that we all remember. And then finally assuming that this will result in a positive outcome and Russia agrees to sign onto a ceasefire, I'm curious, what would it look like on the ground, on the frontlines? How would troop deployments look and who would be on the frontlines?
SCHMIDT: Well, the answer is we don't know that yet, Polo. We know some questions are, how many troops? We don't know if it's going to be a large number or a small number and a monitoring group. We don't know where they will come from. Is the U.K. really going to put 7500 troops on the ground? Is France? You know, Hegseth at one point talked about non-European troops. What does he mean by that? Would NATO accept 30,000 Chinese troops on its border?
Those details are going to be critically important. But we're just not there yet. And those are going to be the things that are going to make Ukraine feel like it has a credible security guarantee or not. And so those details are really important but right now we're building the rules of the game. We're not playing the game yet. That's next.
SANDOVAL: We'll be watching along with you, Matthew Schmidt. Thank you so much for your expertise.
SCHMIDT: My pleasure.
SANDOVAL: Turning now to escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and its allies after the European Union and Canada retaliated against President Donald Trump's tariffs on all steel and aluminum coming into the U.S. Europe was the first to strike back Wednesday with retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods including boats, motorbikes, even bourbon. The E.U. chief called the U.S. tariffs unjustified.
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VON DER LEYEN: Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business and worse for consumers. The countermeasures we take today are strong but proportionate.
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SANDOVAL: Canada is also hitting back, announcing more than $20 billion in retaliatory measures on U.S. goods, including steel and computers. Mark Carney, who is set to be sworn in on Friday as Canada's next prime minister, says that he is ready to talk with the U.S. president.
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MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE: I'm ready to sit down with President Trump at the appropriate time under a position where there's respect for Canadian sovereignty, and we're working for a common approach, a much more comprehensive approach for trade.
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SANDOVAL: Trump, meantime, is threatening to take further action after the retaliation by Canada and by Europe, sitting alongside Ireland's taoiseach Micheal Martin in the Oval Office on Wednesday. He accused the E.U. of treating the U.S., quote, "very badly."
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TRUMP: We're going to be doing reciprocal tariffs so whatever they charge us with, we're charging them. Nobody can complain about that. Whatever it is, it doesn't even matter what it is. If they charge us, if they charge us 25 percent or 20 percent or 10 percent, or 2 percent or 200 percent, then that's what we're charging them.
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SANDOVAL: But Mr. Trump's trade policy isn't just rattling U.S. allies. Americans are also feeling the economic unease with a new CNN poll finding that most are simply not impressed with his handling of the economy so far.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny has those details from the White House.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is repeatedly embracing his economic policy even as a new CNN poll shows that 56 percent of Americans say they disapprove of his handling of the economy. And 6 in 10 Americans in particular say the tariff policy is not the correct one.
Now the president is doubling down on this policy saying that he's not inconsistent. That's not what's roiling the markets. He's saying he is being flexible. We asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about that.
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ZELENY: Is there a sense that the market and business leaders are not understanding what the president is trying to do or that they don't like what the president is doing? How do you explain the stock market?
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's a snapshot of a moment in time. And we expect there will be good days and there will be bad days, but ultimately, Wall Street and main street are going to benefit from this president's policies, as they did in his first term.
ZELENY: With new tariffs on the way seemingly every single day and reciprocal tariffs coming in April, the administration is holding straightforward on the path of saying that tariffs will eventually lift the economy. That very much is an open question, certainly in the minds of the stock market as well as in the minds of some of the president's own supporters. But for his part, the president is saying that it is flexibility, not uncertainty, that he is using as one of his central positions here.
Now going forward there is no doubt that the economy will be one of the major factors he's judged on. The White House watching these polling numbers as well.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.
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SANDOVAL: One day after President Trump held an apparent electric vehicle auto show in front of the White House with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, his Environmental Protection Agency announcing plans to basically undo climate policies that would have pushed power plants and also carmakers to use cleaner forms of energy.
The EPA also plans to roll back rules on soot, mercury and coal ash pollution and also eliminate programs overseeing environmental justice and diversity.
While the administration is also preparing to strip the EPA's authority to manage the pollution that causes global warming, critics saying that these actions would sacrifice human health to benefit private industry. Climate and environmental groups are vowing to challenge the EPA moves in court.
A lot still to get to. The Palestinian activist and U.S. resident detained by the Trump administration is still in immigration detention. A look at why his case is raising some questions about free speech in the United States.
Plus, he was called the punisher. Now Rodrigo Duterte is behind bars at the International Criminal Court. Ahead, the message that the former Philippine leader had for his supporters.
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SANDOVAL: The Philippines' former strongman, President Rodrigo Duterte, is now in the custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
You see and hear a group of his supporters. They showed up outside a detention facility as he arrived there on Wednesday. Hours earlier, he released this video from the plane that flew him to the Netherlands. Duterte is facing murder charges related to his ruthless and deadly war on drugs during his administration. But he said he'll take responsibility, quote, "for everything" and protect the police in the Philippines as well as the military.
Here's Melissa Bell.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Far from the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, the country's former president, now in The Hague and accused of crimes against humanity.
His dramatic arrest in Manila on Tuesday, the result of an International Criminal Court warrant, only served after a U-turn by the country's current president, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
RODRIGO DUTERTE, FORMER FILIPINO PRESIDENT (through translator): My order to them was that if they are holding a gun, kill them immediately, so there will be one less criminal.
BELL: Dubbed "the punisher," Duterte oversaw a brutal years-long crackdown on drug pushers that allegedly left thousands dead. More than 6,000 people were killed, according to police data, but independent monitors believe that the number could be into the tens of thousands, including bystanders caught in the crossfire.
DUTERTE: What is the crime that I committed?
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BELL: Duterte has repeatedly denied the extrajudicial killing of alleged drug suspects, and although the verdict could take years, his arrest is significant. First, because the former Filipino president will be one of a very small number of former leaders to have ever been taken to trial, but also because the Philippines had actually withdrawn from the ICC under Duterte in 2019. The court argues, however, that the crimes were allegedly committed when it did have jurisdiction.
And the ICC has plans for other world leaders, too, though it relies on the cooperation of national governments to execute its warrants. It's seeking the arrest of both Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for Israel's actions in Gaza, and Russian President Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Justice for all the victims of Duterte's crime.
BELL: Outside the ICC, celebrations of a step that some say means that justice will at last be done.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
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SANDOVAL: To the United States now where a prominent Palestinian activist will remain in detention at least for now, as his case plays out in a court. But a New York federal judge says that Mahmoud Khalil must be allowed more access to his attorneys after they told the court that their ability to speak with him has been severely limited.
Khalil, a Columbia University grad, was arrested Saturday and his green card revoked in an attempt by the Trump administration to deport him for his involvement in anti-Gaza war protests last year. His lawyers say that he was arrested for exercising his First Amendment rights.
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BAHER AZMY, MAHMOUD KHALIL'S ATTORNEY: Mr. Khalil's detention has nothing to do with security. It is only about repression. The United States government has taken the position that it can arrest, detain and seek to deport a lawful, permanent resident exclusively because of his peaceful, constitutionally protected activism.
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SANDOVAL: U.S. borders czar Tom Homan called Khalil's arrest, quote, "justified" and accused him, without evidence, of inciting violence. The Justice Department says that they will attempt to move his proceedings out of New York.
Nearly 350 hostages have been rescued after a deadly train hijacking in southwest Pakistan on Tuesday. That's according to sources speaking to CNN. The Baloch Liberation Army, a militant separatist group, has claimed responsibility for the attack, which resulted in the deaths of at least 27 hostages, a soldier and at least 35 militants. Passengers telling CNN that the separatists opened fire, opened as they described it, intense gunfire on the train as it passed. The militant group has been responsible for some of the deadliest attacks in Pakistan over the last year.
Still to come, Democrats in Pennsylvania, they are fed up with what's happening in Washington. They want their elected officials to stand up and fight back against the policies of Donald Trump.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you feel as though Democrats are adequately representing you right now? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't. I don't think they're matching my
energy.
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SANDOVAL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York.
And with a Friday deadline looming to pass a government funding bill, U.S. lawmakers are facing the very real possibility of a shutdown again. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats have enough votes to block the measure passed by House Republicans on Tuesday. Their bill, which contains no Democratic concessions, it would fund the government through September.
Schumer, though, wants a shorter term measure that gives Congress time to work on a bipartisan agreement instead. But some Senate Democrats, like John Fetterman from Pennsylvania, say that their one job is to keep the government open and not tempt fate with a plan that may not even work.
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SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): I was hoping we could at least have the vote tomorrow because, I mean, aren't we all sick of each all of us? Why can't we just leave? If we have to bring this out to, like, you know, 11:59 on Friday night, then that's really -- that would be really (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Remember what you are voting for. You are voting to shut the government down.
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And that will absolutely punish millions. Millions of Americans.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: And then there are some Democrats who say that the party simply isn't doing enough to push back against the White House. They feel that their voices are not being heard anymore, so that they're essentially making them louder than ever.
So, CNN's Eva McKend went to Pennsylvania to hear them out.
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BOBBI ERICKSON, LOCAL DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZER: Either of you registered Democrats?
EVA MCKEND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bobbi Erickson is a proud Democrat.
ERICKSON: My name is Bobbi. I'm a volunteer with the local Democratic committee.
MCKEND (voice-over): But that pride does not extend to Democratic leaders at the moment.
ERICKSON: We're scrapping every single day to get volunteers, to get Democrats on the ballot, to get votes out. And if they would work half as hard as we do, I would have no complaints.
MCKEND (voice-over): Erickson lives in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, where Trump won 79 percent of the vote. She's used to being in the minority.
MCKEND: Do you feel as though Democrats are adequately representing you right now?
ERICKSON: I don't. I don't think they match my energy. We're watching the Constitution burn. We're watching the country that we love be systematically dismantled. And they're not angry enough about it.
MCKEND (voice-over): In 2022, Erickson campaigned to get Senator John Fetterman elected. But now she's among the nearly three quarters of Democrats across the country who want to see Democrats in Congress do more to oppose the Trump agenda.
ERICKSON: He's told us previously that when we worry about these things, we're clutching our pearls. I would say, guess what, Fetterman? I'm a lunch lady. I don't have pearls.
MCKEND (voice-over): In nearby Clarion County, Kali McLaughlin is equally frustrated.
KALI MCLAUGHLIN, LOCAL DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZER: It's really a moment for action.
MCKEND (voice-over): Mclaughlin has multiple sclerosis, which makes the grueling work of canvasing challenging, but she says she's still covered about half of her rural county on foot, campaigning for Democrats.
MCLAUGHLIN: We are the ones that put them in office, right? We're kind of responsible for them. That's who we should be going after.
MCKEND (voice-over): That's why she felt especially disappointed when Fetterman broke ranks with his party, becoming the only sitting Senate Democrat to visit Trump at Mar-a-Lago in January and to join Republicans in voting to confirm Trump's nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boo!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Boo!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boo!
MCKEND (voice-over): A few hours away in blue Philadelphia, voters rally weekly outside Fetterman's office to voice their dissatisfaction.
That's where we met Michelle Flamer, a retired attorney for the city.
MICHELLE FLAMER, RETIRED ATTORNEY FOR THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA: I have to do something. In my view, our nation's on fire, and we are actually in a constitutional crisis now.
MCKEND (voice-over): She is in disbelief with how Democrats have, in her eyes, thrown in the towel.
FLAMER: In the middle 1800s, if you look at Philadelphia, we had 20,000 free black people living in Philadelphia at the time. They were very much engaged in the Underground Railroad activities. How much power did they have? But still, these people persevered.
It's a matter of persistence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stand up. Fight back.
MCKEND (voice-over): Flamer, like many Democrats, wants to see her party stand together.
FLAMER: I don't want you just to stand down and, you know, be passive or say, oh, we just have to wait till the midterms. Just give us more money, and we'll take care of it in the midterms.
No, you need to fight right now.
MCKEND (voice-over): Eva McKend, CNN, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: Thursday marks 12 years since the election of Pope Francis. Still ahead, we're going to look at the impact of a pope who, at times, has really challenged Vatican norms.
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SANDOVAL: Pope Francis's medical condition is improving, according to the Vatican. The news coming as the pontiff marks the 12th anniversary of his election on Thursday.
CNN's Christopher Lamb looks back on his career.
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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Twelve years ago, I stood in St. Peter's Square and heard that Bergoglio had been elected as the next pope.
LAMB (voice-over): And then, Pope Francis appeared on the balcony. People had been asking, who is he?
LAMB: Since then, Francis has been a pope full of surprises. Now, of course, this year, Francis is --
LAMB (voice-over): -- marking his anniversary of his election from hospital. So, it's a moment to look at how much of a huge impact the pope has had on the papacy and the Catholic Church.
Francis has embraced simplicity, wearing simple black shoes rather than the red papal slippers, using a modest car, and living in a Vatican guesthouse rather than the papal palace.
He's been an advocate for migrants, bringing refugee families to Rome on his papal plane and, before his hospitalization, sending a strong rebuke to the Trump administration over its immigration deportation policy.
Francis has appointed the first female leaders of Vatican departments, appointed the first women voting members of a global Vatican assembly, and washed the feet of female prisoners.
The pope has made repeated efforts for peace, working with other religious leaders and making bold appeals to end conflicts in Africa, Ukraine and the Middle East.
Finally, the pope has insisted that the church is open to everyone, including LGBTQ plus Catholics.
POPE FRANCIS, LEADER OF CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): If a person is gay and accepts the Lord and has goodwill, well, who am I to judge?
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LAMB (voice-over): He's authorized blessings for same-sex couples and called for the decriminalization of homosexuality.
But it has not all been plain sailing. Francis has faced criticism for his handling of the sexual abuse crisis, a scandal which continues to be a stain on the Catholic Church.
LAMB: Now, I've been speaking to those who know Francis very well, and they tell me that Francis is a determined character, driven by a deep sense of mission.
Now, despite this really serious health crisis, Francis is determined to continue.
Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.
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SANDOVAL: Determined to continue leading the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. I will be back at the top of the hour with CNN NEWSROOM. But first WORLD SPORT. It starts after the break.
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(WORLD SPORT)
