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U.S. Envoy: Trump And Putin Likely To Speak This Week; Storms Carve Path Of Destruction Across The Deep South; First Photo Of Pope Francis As He Recovers In The Hospital. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired March 16, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:16]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with the new details on the efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Today, we are learning that President Trump will likely speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week as discussions intensify on brokering a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Trump's Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff made that announcement today on CNN saying he also expects a ceasefire deal to be reached within weeks.

The anticipated conversation between the two leaders comes after Witkoff recently held a late night meeting in Moscow with the Kremlin leader.

The issue of land concessions remains one of the major sticking points in peace talks. CNN's Kevin Liptak is joining us right now.

Kevin, walk us through what we know about the peace talks.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, American officials today are putting a positive spin on these talks, saying that they're moving in the right direction, including this phone call that is now scheduled to take place this week between President Putin and President Trump.

This would be their second conversation since Trump reentered office in January and what Witkoff said is that he expected it to be a good and positive discussion, in part because these two men have a preexisting relationship dating back to President Trump's first term.

But of course, it comes as President Trump is trying to convince Putin to agree to this ceasefire deal. The Ukrainians have already signed on to it, but Putin has said that he has some conditions he wants to see applied to it before he can agree to it.

Witkoff has been down here in Florida recapping his conversation with Putin for President Trump. He said that the talks were positive, even the body language from the Russians was positive, but that there are still gaps. They are being narrowed, he said.

Listen to some more of his interview this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: I don't want to put words in president Putin's mouth, but I think he has indicated that he accepts the philosophy of President Trump. President Trump wants to see an end to this. I think President Putin wants to see an end to this.

We are bridging the gap between two sides, so lots of things that remain to be discussed, but I think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, elsewhere in this interview, Witkoff previewed quite a condensed timeline for these talks. He said that President Trump expects a ceasefire to be agreed to within weeks, but he also said that there were some thorny sticking points. Perhaps the most critical is this issue of the Russian controlled territories inside Ukraine.

American officials, as recently as this morning say that they believe Ukraine will have to cede some of these territories to Russia. Putin has said that this is a condition of the ceasefire. But the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said that that's a nonstarter, and European officials are worried that allowing Russia to keep these territories could essentially act as a reward for Putin after his invasion. So these will all be issues that will have to be discussed.

What Witkoff also said today is that technical teams from the U.S., from Russia and from Ukraine would be in discussions this week as they work very quickly to get this ceasefire in place -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kevin Liptak, thank you so much.

All right, joining me right now to talk more about these peace talks is Ivo Daalder. He is the former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and is the chief executive officer of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Ambassador Daalder, great to see you.

IVO DAALDER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CHICAGO COUNCIL ON GLOBAL AFFAIRS: My pleasure. Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: So right now, the Middle East Envoy Witkoff is, you know, taking the lead with these negotiations with Putin and separate talks happening with Ukraine. Is this the approach that will bring peace?

DAALDER: No, this is a war between Russia and Ukraine that Russia started without provocation or reason, and the only way this war is going to end if the two parties get to the table and decide how it is going to end. And the problem that we are having is that the United States has decided that the way to end this war is to take the Russian side.

The United States voted with Russia at the U.N. against Ukraine, and indeed against all its allies, and has accepted the Russian position on this war.

I thought it was interesting that Mr. Witkoff said that Vladimir Putin had accepted the philosophy of Donald Trump. I think it is the opposite way. I think Donald Trump has accepted the philosophy of Vladimir Putin, that a country can invade a neighbor, take part of its territory and then sue for peace.

[15:05:00]

It is just not how this is going to end, because the Ukrainians are not going to accept a peace that accepts the idea that a country can be invaded and just has to give up territory. That's not the world we are living in anymore no matter what President Putin or indeed President Trump thinks.

WHITFIELD: So you're painting the picture that Russia has the upper hand right now in these talks, negotiations, especially as Russia is more focused on territory and depriving Ukraine of any kind of NATO membership/status.

DAALDER: I mean, it has the upper hand because the United States has decided to side with the aggressor against the victim. Until very recently, the United States had a very clear view of what this war was about, which was that Vladimir Putin invaded a neighboring country without rhyme or reason and is killing thousands and thousands of Ukrainians, again without rhyme or reason, attacking civilians, attacking civilian infrastructure in cities, women, children, elderly, what have you, and the united states thought that the right thing to do was to help Ukraine defend itself, to provide it with weapons, to provide it with intelligence resources, to provide it with economic aid, to work with our allies, to bolster Ukraine to the maximum extent possible. That's all now thrown out of the window.

The United States, under President Trump, has adopted the idea that the best way to get to peace is to give in to the aggressor. That's what Chamberlain did in 1939 with Hitler. It didn't work out then, it is not going to work out now.

WHITFIELD: So far, Ukraine has agreed in principle to a 30-day ceasefire. Russia has put in place a number of conditions, possibly including no other country providing military aid or training to Ukraine. You know, Middle East Peace Envoy Witkoff meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin this week. You heard our Kevin Liptak describing how Witkoff says, you know, he thinks the body language was very positive. He thinks a peace deal could be worked out within weeks.

Do you see that these are, I guess, that the framework is in place for a peace deal within weeks?

DAALDER: No, I don't and I am a little worried that a real estate magnate like Steve Witkoff may not be able to read the body language of a notorious killer like Vladimir Putin, who is a KGB agent after all, and has spent his entire life trying to deceive other people.

I find it interesting that he is taking his measure from body language. Let's take measure from action rather than from words or body language and the actions so far speak volumes. Hundreds of missiles every day, every night are being sent across the border onto Ukrainian cities, killing innocent Ukrainians for one reason only, because Vladimir Putin wants to subjugate and deny Ukraine's independence and sovereignty.

It is a very clear case in which the United States has only one interest, which is that Russia does not succeed and Ukraine is able to survive as an independent force.

For some reason, Donald Trump has decided that he wants to take Vladimir Putin's side, rather than that of the victim of this war, and I think it is a sad day for the United States, and indeed, a sad day for the world to see the United States siding with the aggressor in what is the most significant conflict in Europe since 1945.

WHITFIELD: And something else, Ambassador Daalder that's near and dear to a lot of American diplomats' hearts, the Voice of America, now the Trump administration targeting the VOA by ending it. I mean, this is a federally funded media outlet that is a provider of information to a number of countries where there is a deficit of information or perhaps VOA could potentially help dilute the power of propaganda outlets.

What are your thoughts on what losing -- pulling the plug on VOA would mean?

DAALDER: Well, again, a very sad day. I mean, VOA was founded at the time, at the beginning of the Cold War. It was used as a way to bring America's message to those parts of the world where there was an inability to receive the kind of information from their own governments that was true and effective and indeed was subject to propaganda.

It was particularly effective in Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union to bring the message of what America stood for. America was painted by our enemies as this horrible country where horrible things were happening. VOA was able to provide people in Russia, in the Soviet Union, in Eastern Europe and around the world with a view of the United States that was open, was fair, was balanced.

It didn't skew criticism of the United States when that was warranted, but at the same time was used as a means to help people understand what the United States stood for.

[15:10:05]

We are now abandoning that, and indeed, we are abandoning so much of what the United States used to be standing for and it is a sad day when we don't believe that we can have a broadcasting network that provides for the kinds of things that VOA has done for 80 years and decide without congressional mandate or legal authority, as far as I can tell, to shut it down.

WHITFIELD: Well, we will leave it there. Thank you so much, Ambassador Ivo Daalder, a pleasure having you. Thanks so much.

DAALDER: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right, we are also continuing to track this breaking news, dangerous storms pounding the U.S. for the third straight day now. Right now, tornado watches are in effect in several states from Ohio all the way to Maryland.

The same storm system battered the Deep South on Saturday, killing at least 35 people. Tornadoes ripping through communities as families brace for the worst.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had my daughter in the house with me, and I had to put her in the closet and just make sure everybody in the house was safe. That was my main goal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The violent storms leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Power outages mounting at this hour. The storms knocking out electricity to nearly 300,000 customers across several states.

CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar has more.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: More than 700 total storm reports just since late Friday. You can see that by all of the dots that are located on this map, it is actually hard to see underneath all of the dots in the map, but that really just goes to show you the scope of this particular severe storm that we had.

And several of those reports were actually tornado reports, and that's because right now is the time of year we really start to see those begin to ramp up, but it peaks in May and continues into June. But March is really the month where we start to see a lot of those tornado reports on the upswing, and we could still end up seeing some additional tornado reports as we go through the rest of the day today.

This is where we have the main threat for severe thunderstorms for today. You'll see, it stretches from Pennsylvania all the way down through Florida. We are talking the potential for tornadoes, as well as damaging winds that could be 50, 60, even 70 miles per hour. That's more than enough to bring down trees and power lines.

You could also end up seeing some hail mixed into some of these storms. By late this evening, you're still looking at some of those strong thunderstorms across Richmond, Virginia, over near Raleigh, even stretching down into portions of Central Florida.

But through the overnight, we finally start to see it exit much of the Southeast, and then the focus really just becomes much of the Northeast. The concern here is that it is going to time up with the morning rush.

So places like New York, Boston and even Hartford, Connecticut, you're looking at about 6:00 to 7:00 A.M. right here. This is going to be very heavy rain in some spots as many folks are headed out to work or even making their way off to school.

We also start to get some cold air infiltrating on the back side of this system. That means you're going to start to see that transition over into snow for some of these locations, especially in the higher elevations of the Green and White Mountains, we could even see it accumulate to several inches in those spots.

We don't really see this system exit much of the northeast until very late Monday night, but even for some portions like the Cape and even Maine, it really doesn't even exit the area until we get to late into or late into the morning on Tuesday.

Winds are also expected to be strong tonight as well as early tomorrow, but the good news is, by tomorrow afternoon we finally start to see some of those winds begin to calm back down.

WHITFIELD: All right, Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

Alabama took a huge hit from the violent storms. The governor says there are reports of damage in nearly every county of the state. CNN affiliate WVTM was on the ground and shows us what it looked like right after the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WVTM REPORTER: You can see the wind just basically collapsed the ceiling, the roof of this building onto an R.V. that was being worked on. There is debris on the ground.

If we take a look to the left, Mel, move a little bit further down along the fence here and there's a downed power line. We've got to be careful that we don't get too close to that, of course. Got to be safe.

You could see another R.V. that has been flipped over on its side a little bit behind me here, and there is another R.V. in front of it that actually it slammed into. I don't know if there is any other R.V.s that are damaged. We were actually pulling up here right off I- 65, coming off the exit. All the R.V.s that are along the interstate looked like they were unharmed. It wasn't until we made it to the back side here that we noticed the damage that you're seeing now.

Now, if you also -- you can notice the power line, like I said, it was down. The winds that came through here snapped this power pole in half and laid it down near along the ground. There is debris that's up in the trees, in the distance as you can also see that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Stay with CNN to track the storm threats through the afternoon and into the night. Also look for updates on CNN.com.

All right, dozens are reported dead after U.S. airstrikes hit Houthi rebels in Yemen. Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls these airstrikes a favor to the world. And later, less than three months into the year, and the U.S. has already seen more measles cases than in all of 2024. We are tracking the outbreak.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:19:45]

WHITFIELD: All right, this breaking news on Pope Francis. We are getting our first look at the Pontiff in more than a month. The Vatican releasing this photo of him sitting in a chair. It was taken this morning while he was celebrating mass.

I'd like to bring in now, CNN's Christopher Lamb in Rome. Christopher, what more are you learning?

[15:20:03]

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, this photo is the first we've seen of the Pope since his hospitalization 31 days ago. We are seeing an image of the Pope after he had concelebrated mass on Sunday in the chapel that is in the suite of rooms where he is hospitalized in Gemelli Hospital.

Essentially, concelebration means he is celebrating the mass with other priests, and in the photo you can see he is wearing a stole, which is a vestment worn by priests who celebrate mass.

It is obviously an encouraging sign that the Vatican is able to release this image. Francis has been battling pneumonia in both of his lungs for almost -- for over a month, and it has clearly been a really serious health crisis for Francis, the most serious since his election as Pope.

He said today in a written message that this had been a time of trial for him, and clearly he is having a very difficult time in the hospital. However, the recent updates from the Vatican saying that things are improving slowly. And this photo, I think, gives hope to people in the Vatican and across the Catholic world that the Pope could be coming out of hospital in the not too distant future -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, keep us up-to-date. Christopher Lamb, thank you.

All right, new details now on the consequences of those U.S. attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saturday. Multiple leaders of the rebel group were taken out, according to National Security adviser, Mike Waltz.

Houthi officials say at least 31 people were killed and more than a hundred were injured in the attacks. Last week, the group threatened to resume attacks on ships in the Red Sea if Israel did not lift its blockade on Gaza. It is also vowing to retaliate after the strikes.

President Trump also issuing a warning to Iran that it needs to end its support for the Houthis.

Joining us right now is CNN's Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi.

Paula, have these strikes done enough damage to stop the Houthis from launching any more attacks?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, it is very unlikely that that that would be the case, because this is a policy that we have seen from the previous U.S. administration as well. The former U.S. President Joe Biden, ordered many strikes against Houthi rebels, against missile defense systems, and they were still able to launch those attacks against shipping in the Red Sea and in those areas around there.

What we are hearing, though, from the Trump administration, is that this is going to be a more sustained effort. We are hearing that they will assess the damage from these strikes and then decide to go further. There will be more strikes in the days and weeks ahead, it is being suggested to us.

One senior military official, saying that they have the intelligence connection already to be able to carry out broader strikes in a more sustained way.

Now, we heard from the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on CBS today, and he was talking about how they are doing a favor for the world in trying to stop the impact on the shipping industry and the Houthis, who since late 2023 have been firing missiles and drones against shipping in the Red Sea and in that area. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are not going to have these guys, these people with weapons, able to tell us where our ships can go, where the ships of all the world can go by the way. It is not just the U.S. We are doing the world a favor.

We are doing the entire world a favor by getting rid of these guys and their ability to strike global shipping. That's the mission here and it will continue until that's carried out. That never happened before. The Biden administration didn't do that. All the Biden administration would do is they would respond to an attack. These guys would launch one rocket. We'd hit the rocket launcher. That's it.

This is an effort to take away their ability to control global shipping in that part of the world. That's just not going to happen anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: The Trump administration also making it very clear that they hold Iran responsible for what the Houthis do -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, thank you so much.

All right, a new CNN poll reveals startling numbers about the favorability with the Democratic Party. Next, hear from Democratic voters in the key swing state of Pennsylvania about why they are frustrated with the party leaders.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:58]

WHITFIELD: A CNN new poll shows Democrats now have a record low favorable rating of 29 percent. Part of the discontent a majority of Democrats say they want their leaders in Congress to fight back against Trump's GOP agenda, instead of reaching across the aisle.

On Friday, Congress narrowly averted a U.S. government shutdown after nine Democratic senators and one Independent helped advance a GOP funding bill over concerns of a shutdown, but that move may have escalated more chaos inside The Democratic party.

CNN's Eva McKend has more from frustrated Democratic constituents in battleground Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOBBI ERICKSON, LOCAL DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZER: Either of you registered Democrats?

EVAN MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Bobbi Erickson is a proud democrat.

ERICKSON: My name is Bobbi. I am a volunteer with the local Democratic Committee.

MCKEND (voice over): But that pride does not extend to Democratic leaders at the moment.

ERICKSON: We are 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.

[15:30:10]

She is used to being in the minority.

MCKEND (on camera): Do you feel as though Democrats are adequately representing you right now?

ERICKSON: I don't. I don't think they're matching 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.

(PEOPLE booing)

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.

(PROTESTERS chanting "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)

WHITFIELD: The Trump administration is deporting hundreds of people this weekend after the President invoked a wartime authority only used three other times in history, while at the same time a federal judge is blocking the move. Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:31]

WHITFIELD: Hundreds of alleged gang members were arrested and deported to El Salvador this weekend by the Trump administration. El Salvador's President posted this video of the mass deportations, and this comes after a federal judge blocked Trump's ability to invoke the Alien Enemies Act as a way to speed up the arrests.

The United States will pay El Salvador $6 million to house the deportees. Joining us right now to explain is CNN correspondent, Julia Benbrook.

Julia, what more can you tell us about the agreement made between El Salvador and the Trump administration?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, multiple social media posts and statements are giving some insight into that agreement, but let's start with what happened on Saturday.

President Donald trump announced that he was invoking the Alien Enemies Act to speed up deportations of some migrants whom the U.S. has accused of being affiliated with a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua.

In the Presidential Proclamation, the White House cited its designation as a foreign terrorist organization, saying many of them have "unlawfully infiltrated the United States." And here is What we know about the Alien Enemies Act. It is a little known 18th Century law that before this had only been used three times in U.S. history.

It is designed to be invoked if the U.S. is at war or under threat of invasion, and 00when used, the detentions and deportations don't go through the immigration court system.

Now, following the President's announcement yesterday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration's ability to use the act and ordered any planes in the air carrying some of those migrants to turn back to the U.S. The judge said the Temporary Restraining Order will remain in effect for 14 days or until further order of the court.

But then this morning, Fred, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that "hundreds of violent criminals" were sent out of our country. The President of El Salvador, posting on social media that the members of the Tren de Aragua arrived to El Salvador and have been transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center for a period of one year.

Separately, he shared a photo of an article about the Saturday ruling that the deportation flights must return to the U.S. Alongside that article, he wrote, "Oopsie, too late." Rubio then reposted that post.

Now, all of this, of course, is raising questions about whether the Trump administration defied or ignored that federal court order and CNN has reached out to the State Department and the White House for more information about when the flights left the United States.

[15:40:10]

WHITFIELD: And then, Julia, you said accused of affiliation with the gang. So is there clarity on whether the people who were rounded up, who have now landed and are being detained in El Salvador, are indeed gang members or suspected of?

BENBROOK: I think there are still a lot of questions here and obviously those flights, the judge said, should turn around. They did not. So there are a lot of details that are still looking to be confirmed as we figure out exactly when these flights took off, where, how and exactly who was on them.

WHITFIELD: All right, Julia Benbrook, let us know when you learn more. Thank you.

All right with just three months into 2025, the U.S. has already surpassed last year's total number of measles cases nationwide. As of Friday, the breakdown shows more than 300 cases since January, compared to 285 last year.

The majority of those cases are linked to a multi-state outbreak in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell spells out the severity of this highly contagious disease.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this outbreak really centered in West Texas is growing quickly and even just since the end of January have we seen the cases start to accumulate there. Totally, nationally, we have now surpassed 300 cases and just halfway through March, we have more cases in the year of 2025 than we saw in all of 2024.

So now we are up to at least 320 cases nationally, compared with 285 last year and 59 in 2023. Now that includes an update from Texas, with 259 total cases, 34 hospitalizations and one death, which was of a school-aged child, the first death from measles in the United States in a decade.

New Mexico, where the counties there border the counties in Texas with this outbreak, they have 35 cases, two hospitalizations and one death, they said of a person who tested positive for measles after they died. They hadn't been vaccinated and they hadn't sought medical care.

We also have two cases in Oklahoma that are tied to that outbreak, so it is a three-state outbreak at this point. There are cases in 15 other states across the country at this point, many of those are travel related. So somebody who went to another country where measles is circulating likely were unvaccinated, came back. Typically, we don't see a lot of spread around those cases, but what that really depends on is how vaccinated the people are around the cases that come back.

And in Texas, in Gaines County in particular, the epicenter of this outbreak, they've got a low vaccination rate for kindergartners, for the measles vaccine. The vaccination rate is about 82 percent in that county and public health officials say you want to keep measles vaccination rates at 95 percent or higher because it is such a contagious disease, you have to keep vaccination rates that high in order to try to protect everybody.

Now, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump's pick for CMS administrator, Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid Services testified in his nomination hearing on Friday and was asked about his opinions on the measles vaccine. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BEN RAY LUJAN (D-NM): My question is simple. Yes or no, do you believe the measles vaccine is safe?

DR. MEHMET OZ, TRUMP PICK FOR CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR: Yes.

LUJAN: Yes or no? Do you believe the measles vaccine is the most effective way to protect against infection?

OZ: It is. CMS really should not be opining its own opinion or sharing its own thoughts on vaccines. Our job is to follow the rules. So if the CDC is making decisions about the use of a vaccine, and that's what is agreed on by the experts there, my job, if confirmed, is to make sure we pay for those vaccines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TIRRELL: Now, those comments stand a bit in contrast to what we've been hearing from his would-be boss, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has been spreading mixed messages at best about the measles vaccine, saying that they are encouraging vaccination, but at the same time giving some sort of misleading comments about the safety of the vaccine, which has been proven over decades to be the safest and most effective way of preventing measles.

WHITFIELD: All right, Meg Tirrell, thanks so much.

President Trump's promise of tariffs on Mexico and Canada have people in many American cities anxious.

Straight ahead, I will talk to one Michigan mayor whose city is home to several automakers, about the uncertainties ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:49:18]

WHITFIELD: All right in just under three weeks, President Trump's wide-ranging tariffs on Canada and Mexico could go into effect, adding much uncertainty for many American businesses.

On Wednesday, the President announced 25 percent tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, worrying many in the automotive industry about increasing costs.

The constant stop and go of tariffs on two of America's biggest trading partners has left automakers anxious as they try to navigate their own financial futures.

Joining us right now is the mayor of Sterling Heights, Michigan, Michael Taylor.

Mayor, good to see you.

MAYOR MICHAEL TAYLOR, STERLING HEIGHTS, MICHIGAN: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: So we reached out to you because your city is home to several automotive plants -- Ford, General Motors, Stellantis -- all have operations there.

[15:50:10]

So how is the uncertainty from these Trump tariffs and the threats of more tariffs impacting the tens of thousands of auto workers who live in your city?

TAYLOR: Well so far, I would say they are anxious, they are nervous. They don't know what's going to happen. We really don't know what's going to happen.

Tariffs have been rolled out. They've been changed the next day, modified, rolled back, rolled back on. So there is a lot of uncertainty right now and it is an anxious time for people who rely on the automotive industry and that would be pretty much everybody who lives and works in the city of Sterling Heights, Macomb County and the state of Michigan/

WHITFIELD: You've said that you did not vote for Trump in 2020, nor in 2024, but almost 56 percent of voters in Macomb County, Michigan did vote for President Trump in the last election. So what are you hearing from those voters? Are they still standing behind the President's plans?

TAYLOR: Hundred percent they're standing behind the President. They believe in what he is saying. They, I don't want to say just ignore what the experts and the economists are saying, but they believe President Trump has a plan. They put their faith in him, and they're not ready to bail out on him yet, that's for sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, but it is no secret that the American auto industry has suffered over the last few decades right there in Michigan and beyond. Manufacturing jobs have fallen over 30 percent since the 1990s. Do you think these moves from the White House designed to bring back manufacturing to the U.S. could actually help automakers in the long run?

TAYLOR: It is hard to say. I know they're not going to help in the short run, and I am not sure that there is any design here, particularly with the tariffs that are being placed on the Canadian imports. I understand that some people are saying that this in the long term is going to bring back manufacturing jobs to the United States.

Manufacturing is very strong in Sterling Heights, Macomb County and Michigan. And possibly there are ways to improve on that, but the turmoil and the impact it is going to have on the cost of a vehicle and on employment in the short term is going to be devastating. And any impact to improve manufacturing with our automotive industry is going to take years and years to realize that, and the benefits are sort of speculative at this point.

So I don't see a real cohesive plan or design by the President. I don't understand the reason he is doing it in this manner. If he thought that there was a way to get our manufacturing jobs back to Sterling Heights, Macomb County in Michigan, I would say reach out to us, talk with the automotive industries, work with us, work with local governments and the state government to figure out a plan, but he hasn't done that so far.

So it is speculation to say that these tariffs will help in the long run, but that could be five, ten, fifteen, twenty-five years before we see any concrete benefit.

WHITFIELD: So at a conference this week, the CEO of Ford said they are seeing, I am quoting now "a lot of costs and a lot of chaos" over these tariffs and when asked about that on CNN Friday, here is what the House Republican Chairwoman and Michigan Congresswoman Lisa McClain had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LISA MCCLAIN (R-MI): The people in my district who I have actually spoken to, as well as the CEOs, they understand that tariffs are a negotiation tool. They are hopeful that we can, under President Trump's leadership, that we can get fair trade agreements. That's the goal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So what's your reaction to that? That this is a negotiating tool to get to fairness.

TAYLOR: Well, President Trump negotiated a trade agreement with Canada and Mexico that was signed while he was President during his first term and I would say if it was fair then, it remains fair now.

The auto companies have spent billions of dollars in investment in facilities throughout North America in reliance on that agreement and to slap on these tariffs on you know, 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports is going to be really devastating, certainly in the long term and I would expect, certainly in the short term, and I would expect in the long term as well.

So I am not sure what the negotiating tactic is. What are we negotiating with the Canadian government? What are we negotiating with the Mexican government? It seems to be more immigration related than economic related, and I don't see a real strong plan being put forth by the President.

So, it is not surprising, Republicans have pretty much fallen in line with President Trump on this issue, even though it is a tax that's being -- that's going to be assessed on American companies and passed on to American consumers, and I remember when the Republican Party was against taxes, taxing businesses. So it is surprising and it is confusing.

[15:55:10]

WHITFIELD: Mayor Michael Taylor of Sterling Heights, Michigan, thank you so much for being with us today.

TAYLOR: It's been my pleasure. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: A new CNN Original Series takes us inside the meteoric rise of Twitter, and how it suddenly became a vital tool, even for the U.S. government. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came into work one morning. I get to the office, I am sweating, I had a backpack. I walked all the way and Jason Goldman says, Em is downstairs waiting for you in his car. And I was like, what are you talking about?

And Em had his Porsche. So I got in and I was like, so Goldman says we're going somewhere. Where are we going? He was like, we are going to talk to Mark Zuckerberg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mark was interested in acquiring Twitter, so Iz, we are going to Palo Alto.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is the first time I am hearing about any of this. So I was like, okay if he says, like, what's the number? Like, what do you guys want? We just say something so outlandishly ridiculous.

And I started, like, laughing before I could even say it, because I made up the biggest number I could think of. $500 million.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A new episode of "Twitter: Breaking the Bird" airs tonight at 10:00 P.M. Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.

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