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Erin Burnett Outfront
Stocks Sink As Trump's Tariffs On Mexico, Canada Hit At Midnight; Trump Pauses Military Aid To Ukraine After Zelenskyy Clash; Melania Trump Slams "Mean-Spirited & Hurtful Online Behavior". Aired 7-8p ET
Aired March 03, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:34]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The breaking news, war. Trump's trade war is about to be in full swing. Tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China taking effect in a few hours. Canada and Mexico vowing to retaliate.
Plus, for the second time in a week, Elon Musk's DOGE backtracks on claims of saving government money. "The New York Times" tonight reporting major errors in DOGE's so-called wall of receipts.
And, face off. A Republican senator cuts a town hall short and abruptly walks out after voter asked about cuts to veterans. It's all on camera. And the man who's questioning, sent him over the edge is my guest.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news of war. We are less than five hours away from an economic war. Stocks plunging today ahead of Trump saying he's going to be launching 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico at midnight, also doubling the tariff on China to 20 percent. All of this taking effect in these next few hours.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Is there any room left for Canada and Mexico to make a deal before midnight? And should we expect those Chinese tariffs the extra 10 percent to take?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No room left for Mexico or for Canada? No. The tariffs, you know, they're all set.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The tariffs are all set. Well Trump appears to be set on this, obviously doing this at midnight. That, of course, is a trade war with America's biggest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, in fact, the only two countries on earth which border the United States. That's the land borders. Together, America's largest trading partners and closest allies, and now, in an economic war.
And that's the word I've used a few times for a reason because it is. And because listen to what Warren Buffett said this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN BUFFETT, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY CEO: The tariffs are actually -- we've had a lot of experience with them. They're an act of war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: An act of war, as he calls it. And indeed, what happens in a war? One side fires, the other side fires back. Canada says its ready to retaliate. Mexico has said it will do the same.
And that's what caused the bloodbath on Wall Street. The Dow closing down 650 points, S&P suffering its biggest drop of the year. And economists, of course, as -- as -- as you all know, right, they have talked about what tariffs can do to consumers in terms of driving up the price of cars, electronics, fuel, food more.
But Trump believes it is worth it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We may have short term some little pain. And people understand that.
(END VIDEO CLI)P)
BURNETT: Well, there is a real question of whether they do understand that, not just how -- what the magnitude of the pain will be or what will happen, but just even on the point that he makes. On the campaign trail, Trump had been very adamant on one really crucial thing, which is that Americans would see lower prices on day one of his administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're going to get those prices down.
We're going to bring down the energy prices fast, fast.
So when I went, I will immediately bring prices down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Prices have gone up since he took office, all in up 3 percent since he took the oath.
And Trump, of course, is also proudly making it clear not just in tariffs with Canada and Mexico, America's closest allies. He's making it clear he does not care for the other allegiances and partnerships that have defined American foreign policy since the Second World War. He's already turned his back on America's oldest European allies by siding with Putin on Ukraine. The two now in lockstep on the issue of the largest land war in Europe
since World War II, which was started when Putin invaded Ukraine. Just listen to Trump and Putin spokesperson today saying that it is Zelenskyy who doesn't want peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Now, maybe somebody doesn't want to make a deal, and if somebody doesn't want to make a deal, I think that person won't be around very long.
DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESMAN: He doesn't want peace. Someone must make Zelenskyy want peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And tonight, Americas European allies are taking a stand. Listen to the British prime minister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Russia is the aggressor. Zelenskyy is a war leader whose country has been invaded. And we should all be supporting him and not fawning over Putin.
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So make sure, in case the accent wasn't clear, fawning over Putin.
[19:05:02]
Well, as for Putin, today in Russia, state media is mocking Europe for saying it will stand by Ukraine even if America doesn't, by threatening to wipe European cities off the map.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They think that now they will send European troops to Ukraine and we will say, wow, the Europeans are coming. No, we'll just wipe their cities off the map.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Just wipe their cities off the map. That's what they're saying on Russian state media. You know, of course, the reality of it is, and why this is such a fraught moment, is most wars begin with economic pressure and crisis. And that's why Trump's tariffs are about so much more tonight than money.
Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT live outside the White House.
And, Jeff, what are you learning tonight? We are now just hours away from that deadline for those tariffs. JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erin, there is
no sign that the president is intending to back off, as he did 30 days ago, and gave Canada and Mexico a one month reprieve. I talked to a White House official just a short time ago. They said no. The president spoke earlier. He said there is no room for more negotiation.
So that is where we are at this point. We have seen this president use tariffs as a threat, as a negotiating tactic. But that was February. In March, the officials say that this promise is going to go forward. So if it does, this is going to be one of the things, of course, he talks about at his speech tomorrow evening, basically like a State of the Union Address.
But new presidents just to deliver addresses to a joint session of Congress. So, looking forward.
And this, Erin, is very controversial. Never mind Democrats who are critical of this. Republicans alone, farm state Republicans in particular, are very worried about what this could do for prices as planning season is coming up.
Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, take a listen to this. He says: I'm concerned about them. I come from a state that will feel the pain of tariffs on the agricultural side and the manufacturing side, as well.
Then, Rand Paul of Kentucky said, I am against these tariffs. I am going to do everything I can to stop them.
So tomorrow evening at that speech, we shall see how many Republicans are actually applauding during this point of tariffs. But this is just one thing that the administration is trying to grapple with. And really, this is not happening in a vacuum. These high prices are a key concern. The White House, the president rarely talks about them. He rarely talks about the stubborn inflation.
So taken together, all of this is it a warning sign for the president going forward? He does not seem to think so. He said he's going ahead with these tariffs, Erin. But, boy, that stock market. What a sign today for a president who we know follows it very closely.
BURNETT: Yeah, and stock market thought perhaps that it would be a bluff that when he had said he would do the tariffs and delayed that maybe it was just a bluff. And now, well -- they're hoping in the next few hours, but its not looking that way.
Jeff Zeleny, thanks very much.
I want to go now to Fareed -- Fareed Zakaria, of course, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS".
And, you know, Fareed, here we are in this moment. And as I just mentioned, Trump backed off the tariffs once, right? He said he was going to do it and then had the call with Trudeau and Sheinbaum and backed off, delayed it a month. So a lot of people in the market thought that's what this was going to
be about, a lot of bluster and not a lot of reality. But if he doesn't do it this time, then he loses credibility. Is there any off ramp for him in these final hours?
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": Well, I hope there's an off ramp. It doesn't look like it, as Jeff was saying. But, you know, I try to be measured in how I look at things, Erin, but this is a really dumb idea.
Just give you a sense of why. So you're putting tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Let's take car production in America. Cars are made as a kind of integrated supply chain. In other words, parts moving back and forth from America to Canada to Mexico. They cross the border three or four times. And you build essentially North American cars.
So your tariffs, the part of the American supply chain. And guess who's going to come in? The Korean car manufacturers and the Japanese car manufacturers for whom there are tariffs. This is a gift to Japan and Korea.
Take something like the tariffs on consumers or electronic goods coming out of Mexico. What's going to happen is Southeast Asian manufacturers, most or many of whom are Chinese owned, or the Chinese are using it as a backdoor to get in, are going to be privileged here because there are tariffs on Malaysia, there's no tariffs on Indonesia, there's no tariffs on Thailand.
So it's a very weird own goal where Trump is so obsessed with, with, you know, owning Mexico or Canada that he doesn't realize that what he's doing is actually benefiting China, benefiting Japan, benefiting Korea. And by the way, the American consumer pays the bill.
BURNETT: Right. Certainly when you talk on cars, you know, in terms of prices, in terms of what it could mean for jobs.
The thing is, Fareed, as you know, Trump believes tariffs will -- will work, right? I mean, he -- he ardently believes this very loudly and clearly. Here are just three times he said it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[19:10:00]
TRUMP: I'm a big believer in tariffs.
The tariffs are going to make us very rich and very strong.
The tariffs are necessary because we've been treated very unfairly by many, many countries, including our friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Fareed, when you use the blunt words tariffs are a dumb idea. And you explained why. I mean, surely Trump's aware of those arguments. I mean, why does he think this? Why does he think they're such a good idea?
ZAKARIA: This goes all the way back to his earliest political leanings. In the '80s, he took out an ad when he was a real estate developer, and the ad was all about how Japan was ripping us off. Japan was going to -- was going to take over the world economy. And, you know, that sort of -- if there's any consistency in Trump's worldview, it is this deep protectionism.
He doesn't, by the way, seem to have noticed that his predictions about Japan turned out to be completely wrong. Japan did not, in fact, take over the world. It did not take over the world economy and the U.S. by being an open, free trading, innovative economy has far surpassed countries like Japan.
So, you know, the facts are not on his side, but it doesn't seem to matter.
BURNETT: I mean, in fact, I can remember when Japan was the second largest economy in the world, long since leapfrogged by China. Warren Buffett used the word today, though, over the weekend. Tariffs are an act of war and, Fareed, they come at this fraught and fragile moment.
The French foreign minister tonight saying the risk of physical war in Europe has never been so high. That's the quote, has never been so high since the start of the European Union itself.
How tenuous is this moment?
ZAKARIA: I think it is exactly the thing that Buffett was hinting at, which is you're adding to the kind of nationalism, protectionism, the sense that, you know, that we live in a zero sum game. That's, again, seems to be a core belief for Trump.
He never believes in win-win. He has to win and you have to lose. And you know, notice the place, the people with whom he puts pressure Canada and Mexico. The Europeans are all American allies. Why does he do that?
Well, he has leverage over these people, over these countries. And for Trump, that's where you use the power. He doesn't have that much leverage over Putin and Xi. So he -- so he discriminates against our closest allies. It's a world upside down.
BURNETT: It is a world upside down when you put it that way. He would identify the leverage point. That's where you're going to push. And it is with your friends.
Fareed, thank you very much.
In this fraught moment, as I said, now, less than five hours away from those tariffs scheduled to take effect, 25 percent at midnight, and Trump does seem focused on punishing U.S. allies, whether it's Canada with tariffs or Mexico or, of course, Ukraine, even as he is moving to reopen U.S. business ties with Russia, which, by the way, even prior to the war, as Jeffrey Sonnenfeld pointed out, was 1 percent of U.S. business revenue. But he wants it back. Putin is relishing every minute of this.
Matthew Chance is OUTFRONT tonight in Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even Russian commentators saw this as a trap. A public flogging in the Oval Office, said one columnist.
On state television, the Kremlin spokesman confirmed President Putin watched the drama unfold. Of course, Putin saw it with all of its nuances, Dmitry Peskov says. So did the entire world. It was, let's say, quite unprecedented, he adds.
Earlier, he said the new U.S. administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations, which he said largely coincides with Russia's vision.
But on the streets, ordinary Russians took the presidential bust up in their stride.
The fact there was a squabble is just part of the show, says Dmitry. Like good American cinema, the really important things will be decided behind the scenes, he says.
I'm against war and I'm waiting for this to finally end, says Natalia. In terms of what happened, though, it's probably more positive for Russia.
Already, there are expectations in Moscow that U.S.-Russia talks, which began in Saudi Arabia last month, will now intensify. Even hopes a Trump-Putin summit will be fast tracked.
And with the U.S. and Ukrainian leaders at odds, negotiations to end the brutal war in Ukraine may be overshadowed by lucrative U.S.- Russian economic deals already being tabled behind closed doors.
Russian officials couldn't be happier with what they see as a seismic shift in Washington's geopolitical stance.
Trump is a pragmatist. His slogan is common sense, says Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister.
[19:15:03]
It's a shift to a different way of doing things. That's why it's interesting to work with him, he adds.
But again, on Moscow's streets, Trump's embrace is viewed with skepticism.
Trump doesn't really know much about what's happening in the world, says 74 year old Vladimir. He has a very narrow view of purely financial tasks, he says. But with Trump's lurch towards Russia, there is far more at stake than just money. (END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE (on camera): Well, Erin, it's still uncertain what exactly this new relationship between Russia and the United States is going to look like. The Kremlin told me tonight they're still waiting for substantial dialog with the Trump administration. But, they have made it clear that they regard the Ukraine war as just one of many issues, including sanctions relief and economic cooperation, that they're now confident will step by step be resolved -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Matthew Chance, in Moscow tonight.
And with me now, retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe.
And, General, you know, you heard Matthew refer to it as a lurch -- the lurch of Trump toward Russia. How afraid are you of what we are seeing right now?
LT. GENERAL BEN HODGES (RET.), FORMER COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMY EUROPE: Well, what we're seeing is 80 years of hard work by the United States and allies under multiple administrations to create a an environment where the United States has prospered more than anybody. And we've always been on the side of defending Democratic countries against Russia. What we saw on Friday, of course, was the ripping off of the mask. There's -- there's no longer any pretense that the administration is siding with Russia here.
BURNETT: And now, Europe has come out. And look, I've seen the list that they've provided more tanks and more, you know, more of the actual materiel. All of that may be true, but you, as someone who had commanded U.S. Army Europe, what does it look like if the U.S. goes ahead, if Trump says we're done with the aid, I'm going to stop it now. No more aid to Ukraine, no more nothing.
If it's really in Europe's hands, what happens?
HODGES: Well, of course, it will be bad for Ukrainians for a period of time and bad for Europeans as well, because they have depended on American leadership. And leadership is not just providing stuff. It's standing up for things. It's nobody like the U.S. can convene countries to do things.
And I think that what we're going to see, because Russia actually is in big trouble. I mean, the premise that the administration is using when they say Ukraine, you have no cards, that's just not -- that's just not true. The Russians are in big trouble. The Ukrainians have stopped them without us even committing to helping them win.
So imagine if 20-plus European countries finally rediscovered their strategic backbone and start bringing together the incredible industrial capacity which dwarfs what Russia has.
BURNETT: Yeah. HODGES: We're going to regret that they got together and did this without us and despite us, and we're going to lose an awful lot of influence.
BURNETT: I just want to ask you, you know, Zelenskyy's outfit at the White House, obviously, Trump took issue with it. It's not just that he made a snarky comment about it. You know, there's been reporting that he had a problem with what he wore. Of course, this is what Zelenskyy wears, in all in all settings since the war began.
Now, Ukrainians have, you know, there's they said their suits are military uniforms right now. And then the going around has been a picture of Winston Churchill when he came to the White House to in world war two and met with FDR, wore his air raid suit. That's what he showed up and, of course, Winston Churchill, you know, seen as a hero, a lion, as history has judged him.
What do you make of Trump's reaction to even commenting on Zelenskyy's clothes?
HODGES: Well, the president, the leader of the free world, the president of United States, that was beneath him to make a comment like that. And, of course, Elon Musk stands in the oval office with a ball cap and a t shirt on.
So this -- this is an attempt, I think, by some, to try and humiliate President Zelenskyy. And, of course, nobody else, including the king of England, was -- was bothered by this outfit.
BURNETT: No, no, he wore it out with the king of England, of course, this weekend.
General Hodges, thank you very much.
And next, the breaking news, DOGE backtracking for the second time in a week, deleting claims of saving the U.S. government money. There's some incredible new reporting tonight in "The New York Times".
Plus, a Republican senator gets up abruptly, leaves the town hall after being confronted by one voter about Trump's sweeping cuts to veterans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I support the veterans, but what you're doing right now with the government is doing right now as far as cutting out those jobs.
[19:20:04]
That is a damn shame.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That voter is my guest.
And Melania Trump, whose husband famously obviously lashes out online, making a rare appearance today to rail against others' online attacks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news Elon Musk's Department of Government efficiency backtracking on its claims that it has saved the government nearly $4 billion.
Now, of course, that's a second backtrack. According to the New York Times, they report that in just the last week, DOGE has, on two separate occasions, erased some of its largest claims on what it calls its, quote/unquote, wall of receipts website.
[19:25:09]
"The Times" reporting that DOGE savings from cutting contracts, their claimed savings has dropped from $16 billion to less than $9 billion, currently nearly in half.
OUTFRONT now, Kara Swisher, tech journalist, podcast host. She's extensively covered Elon Musk and this world, the entire tech world for years.
So, Kara, DOGE makes these big claims. This isn't the first time either.
KARA SWISHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah.
BURNETT: And -- and then apparently in the dead of night, that is when some of them get deleted.
SWISHER: Yeah, because they love transparency. That's how they like it to do this.
I mean, look, they just don't. A lot of this is performative. A lot of it is inaccurate. If you're being kind, it's inaccurate and sloppy. If you're being unkind, its mendacious and cosplaying that they're doing something that they're not doing and causing people to suffer.
I mean, it's just -- it's basically ranking competence. Not to be able to keep track of what you're doing. There's plenty of reform of the federal government that could be done if you just be honest about it. But having to make these large claims because they've made so many large promises is what they're doing, and therefore they're making things up. That's pretty much it.
And David Fahrenthold, "The New York Times" has done a great job because David Fahrenthold can do math, actually.
BURNETT: Well, David Fahrenthold always has been excellent at math in this case, you know, right?
SWISHER: Math is hard. I know math is hard, but Elon Musk is supposed to be a genius. But apparently math is hard.
BURNETT: Well, I mean, if you can land on, you know, people on Mars, that's math. You know, but -- SWISHER: He didn't land them.
BURNETT: Right, right. He obviously wants to, but --
SWISHER: Nobody's landed on Mars, yeah.
BURNETT: Right. So here's the thing, though, Kara, we're hours away from this latest deadline for federal employees to send in their weekly list of accomplishments. So, HHS, Defense Department, DHS, they're now directing staff to respond. And the reason this stood out to me, because it kind of dripped in these headlines saying, oh, DOD, Hegseth is saying you have to respond.
Last week, they were told not to respond. And the department chiefs, Trump appointees were silent on the issue, almost seeming like they were taking him on quietly, hoping this would go away. But now they're not. Now they're in line. It's formal. You have to respond to this email. What does that tell you about Musk's influence over everybody else in the Trump cabinet?
SWISHER: Well, it wasn't at the White House last night. I mean, you saw him going in. He has obviously the closest relationship to the president. So you know, that's -- that cabinet meeting was like it was it was like Stalin-esque, you know, in the way it was conducted.
We all like him, don't we? We all like him. I mean, that's not a way to conduct a really critical assessment of how to reform the federal government, which is critical for our country at the very heart. There's a single truth that we do need to figure out a way to bring down our deficits. And doing it this way is comical.
It's a circus. It's just a circus. Its not, you know, like, to quote, Logan Roy from "Succession", these are not serious people.
BURNETT: Well, you point out there is something at the core here, right? The need to -- to reduce the deficit, this is very serious. And yet the way it's being handled, as if it's a joke and it's so easy, it's a mockery, right, that the two things just aren't. They don't match to demean it, to mean the seriousness of it and the lives it affects.
I mean, Musk was, you know, you say at the cabinet meeting was at Mar- a-Lago this weekend on stage with Trump and his four year old son, one of his four year olds. I know he has several that are the same age, but this X who had been with him a lot and Marine One, ride back to Washington. I'm -- I'm curious, Kara, because you've covered him for a long time. And just over the past couple of weeks, there have been reports about maybe more children, and with different mothers.
What's behind Musk's insistence to put this particular child just so much in the spotlight?
SWISHER: He's not supposed to from what I understand. I understand he's not supposed to do that. And I think Grimes, who's the -- the mother of this child, has said that. I -- it's strange. He has lots of other kids, and this is the one he takes around. He's called this kid a cute prop at one point, and a lot of people around him call the child an adult. You know, an emotional support toddler, which is repulsive when you think about it.
I don't know. I don't know why he's focused on this one child. And it's, you know, I have a -- I have a kid of the same age, and I definitely don't carry this kid around and show him off on CNN right now. It's -- I find it very strange as a parent of four kids, but, you know, everybody has their own parenting style.
BURNETT: That's what I love about you, Kara, that you could just end it so dead -- where are they? Where are they?
(LAUGHTER)
BURNETT: All right. Well --
SWISHER: I'm in Australia, so I didn't -- I didn't take my children on my back, by the way, putting a carrying a kid around a lot. That's -- that's a -- that's heavy. That's -- my back couldn't handle it, but whatever. We all have our own style.
BURNETT: We always want to get practical about it.
All right. Well, hey, Kara, I appreciate it. I know you are in Australia, so thanks a lot for fitting this in.
[19:30:02]
SWISHER: Thank you. It's tomorrow here. It's tomorrow.
BURNETT: That's right. It's tomorrow.
SWISHER: Yeah.
BURNETT: All right. Well, next, a Republican senator bails on his town hall after voters pressed him for answers on Elon Musk and mass firings. One voter who's questioning has gone viral is OUTFRONT next.
Plus, a CNN investigation. Trump's efforts to dismantle the U.S. government taking a major toll in one key state that supported him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: All right. Breaking news, we have just learned that President Trump is pausing all military aid to Ukraine, after that public clash with Zelenskyy last week in the oval office, but this is now rubber meets the road. All military aid to Ukraine from the U.S. on hold right now.
Jeff Zeleny is on the phone.
Jeff, what are you learning about these this breaking detail? Obviously, a huge blow to Ukraine.
[19:35:01]
ZELENY (via telephone): There's no question, Erin. It's a deep blow to Ukraine. Just three days after that meeting in the Oval Office.
But we are learning tonight that President Trump has ordered a pause to all military aid that is not yet inside of the country. So that means that it applies to all military equipment that is not yet in country. So some things that would be on the way, some things that would be nearby in Poland and elsewhere.
But this certainly is an escalation of really what we've seen, a back and forth quite extraordinarily, between the Trump administration and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who came to Washington last Friday in hopes of signing a deal. And that obviously did not happen.
Now, this is going to be certainly setting up a confrontation in some respects with some Republicans in Congress. They believe its the purview of Congress. This is a funding that has already been approved, but the White House is saying that a pause could be lifted if Volodymyr Zelenskyy demonstrates a new commitment to a negotiating to end the war.
And we heard the president say earlier today, he wants to hear some appreciation from Zelenskyy.
But, Erin, underscoring all of this is simply that this is music to Vladimir Putin's ears. This is what the Kremlin, they were aligned with Washington, they said over the weekend as talks were going on. So this is a new development tonight, ordering a pause to military aid for Ukraine, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Jeff Zeleny. Of course, a crucial moment and largest land war in Europe since World War II. European country, the largest recipient of U.S. aid for the first time since Harry Truman. So to undo that, this is a crucial moment.
I want to go to Oren Liebermann in Washington, of course, Pentagon.
So, Oren, how significant of a blow will this be to Ukraine? Obviously, you know, your total numbers. Here is, what, 175 billion, some of which is obviously gone to U.S. defense manufacturers as well. But where are we in this moment when you stop it? What happens?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ukraine absolutely relies on U.S. stocks, U.S. supplies to stay in the fight. Yes, they have their own drone manufacturing industry, and that produces many of the drones they use short term, short range, long range. But in terms of the big stuff, if you will, that Ukraine needs to stay in the fight, artillery, anti-tank weapons, rockets for their HIMARS system, armored vehicles, a good portion of that, a very large portion of that comes from the U.S.
So to seize that, to pause it and stop it is an incredible blow to Ukraine and its military at a crucial time here, especially when the Kremlin and Russian forces on the ground will absolutely celebrate this and push harder, as we've seen them do over the course of the past several days and weeks, including since the Zelenskyy Trump meeting, which was last week. It's also worth pointing out, and I'll pick up on Jeff's point here, that Zelenskyy has thanked the U.S. for every single one of the announcements of aid that has come. Those just came from the Biden administration.
Trump hasn't announced any on his own.
BURNETT: That's right. And as you point out, gratitude is something that he has expressed in plenty.
All right. Thank you very much, Oren Liebermann, as we are covering that breaking development here, as we get a reaction out of Ukraine. We were going to bring that to you.
But also tonight, a top official at USAID ousted after criticizing Trump's move to freeze almost all foreign aid. CNN obtained a series of memos from that official warning that Trump's moves will, and I quote, no doubt, result in preventable death, destabilization and threats to national security on a massive scale. And that's USAID. We're not even talking about something like Ukraine as its breaking just this moment.
It comes as a new CNN investigation tonight finds that Trump's move to cut foreign aid is not just affecting people who live outside the United States. It is taking a toll -- a toll in the United States, specifically in a key battleground state. And that's where Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUTH GARFINKEL, LOST JOB WITH USAID CONTRACTOR: My job brings in about 75 percent of our household income. It was with two small children, one still in daycare. We have a lot of childcare expenses, so not a lot of savings.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ruth Garfinkel in Durham, North Carolina, is not a federal employee. That didn't stop what happened.
Life changed in January for you.
GARFINKEL: Yes. I worked for a USAID contractor and without USAID funding contracts. Then there's no -- no job for me.
LAH: She's taken out a home equity line of credit on her North Carolina house to now stay afloat. Her family part of an economic ripple effect of federal cuts felt acutely in the so-called research triangle of North Carolina, where a CNN review shows in the last fiscal year, USAID agreed to pay more than $1 billion to groups based in the state.
MAYOR LEONARDO WILLIAMS, DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA: Real things are happening. People are losing their jobs now.
LAH: Walk with Durham mayor through the city's downtown. And you quickly learned there are a lot of Ruth Garfinkels here, people who don't work for the federal government, but for the organizations that receive USAID funding.
[19:40:11]
FIH down the street furloughed how many?
WILLIAMS: I believe they furloughed about 200 employees so far.
LAH: CNN found more than 300 people laid off or furloughed in the state from USAID related cuts. But that may be just the tip of the iceberg. The mayor expects local numbers to climb as subcontractors and other businesses report layoffs. That's loss of income directly to the city.
WILLIAMS: The city, the county, the state, but most importantly, the families.
LAH: People think USAID is cutting funding to other countries.
WILLIAMS: It's happening right here in my city. When those jobs are gone, that means I have one less resident that could support the small businesses here locally. That's one less resident that can contribute to the tax base right here in Durham.
LAH: Making it harder and scarier for some in North Carolina are the trolls celebrating these job losses. One company that announced cuts in North Carolina shared with us emails like this. Hate letters sent by mail. And if you dare, look on social media, plenty of cheering for the suffering in the state.
BRIANNA CLARKE-SCHWELM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NC GLOBAL HEALTH ALLIANCE: These are real businesses here in North Carolina. They support other businesses.
LAH: Brianna Clarke-Schwelm leads a North Carolina public health alliance.
CLARKE-SCHWELM: A lot of people are applying for unemployment right now. A lot of people are also pulling their kids out of childcare. They're also thinking about their mortgages. They're thinking about if they're going to stay in North Carolina, if they can afford to -- to stay living here.
SADIE HEALY, TRACKING JOB LOSSES FROM FOREIGN AID FREEZE: Thirteen thousand one hundred and twenty-four jobs have been lost or furloughed.
LAH: Sadie Healy and her business partner have been tracking the ripple effect of the individual U.S. job losses. Organizations and workers are messaging them directly. Then they use that data and publicly post on their USAID stop work website.
Walk me through some of the hardest hit states.
HEALY: Yeah, you have Florida. You have North Carolina, South Carolina.
LAH: In your perspective, especially having the messaging and the phone calls that you're getting, is this very much an American problem?
HEALY: This is 13,000 Americans that just suddenly lost their job, who didn't have a plan and didn't know this was coming. So maybe they have some savings, but like, you make cuts and that's going to affect your local economy.
MEG MCLURE, TRACKING JOB LOSSES FROM FOREIGN AID FREEZE: Yeah, I can chat with somebody.
LAH: Healy and her partner, Meg McClure, forecast that if all active USAID contracts and grants are cut, the groups based just in North Carolina could lose more than $2 billion. But it's already having an impact now.
GARFINKEL: I'd like them to know that they are harming ordinary people, and it's really shortsighted and, frankly, cruel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAH (on camera): It bears reminding that North Carolina was a battleground state and that Trump won it last November. And this is just a slice of the impact on this pivotal state from the Trump administration. A nonpartisan study drilled down on these numbers. And when you look at the overall federal funding and federal research grants that go into North Carolina just in 2024, approximately $30 billion, Erin, went into the state -- Erin.
BURNETT: Wow, all right. Kyung, thank you very much.
And next, a Republican senator walking out of a town hall abruptly after being pressed about Trump's sweeping cuts. The voter who prompted that senator to leave is next.
Plus, Melania Trump making her first public solo appearance in over a month.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:46:21]
BURNETT: Tonight, paid troublemakers. That's what President Trump is calling angry voters facing off against Republicans at town halls all over the country, including Chuck Nunn, my guest tonight, who is incredible exchange with Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, has gone viral.
Watch for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHUCK NUNN, CONSTITUENT: I support the veterans, but what you're doing right now, what the government is doing right now as far as cutting out those jobs, a huge percentage of those people -- and I know you care about the veterans -- are veterans. And that is a damn shame. That is a damn shame.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not a Democrat, but I'm worried about the veterans. Thank you.
SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): All right. Well, I yielded to him, one of my -- my elders, and I appreciate his comments. I think it's a great -- I'm not going to. We don't have time for everyone to stand up. I do got two more commitments today. Appreciate everybody making the drive out. And God bless America.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to vote you out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: He just got up and walked out, and much of the crowd there, you could see incredibly frustrated and angry. The senator abruptly ended that town hall after that exchange early, and Trump sounded off about the contentious town halls on Truth Social today, saying in part, quote, its all part of the game for Democrats.
OUTFRONT now, Chuck Nunn, the man in that viral video, a lifelong Kansas resident.
I know, Chuck, you call yourself a conservative Democrat. Your wife is a Republican. And you were at that town hall together.
So I just want to start, Chuck, in the awkward place where the president started, when he is calling people at these town halls who are asking tough questions, or maybe just saying they, as you did, talking about your concern for veterans, paid troublemakers.
I mean, just to be clear, awkward question here, but were you paid?
NUNN: No, but -- but if President Trump would like to send me some cash, I would prefer large bills in a in a plain envelope. But no, I wasn't paid. And if they, you know, it makes no sense, if they were going to have a paid actor, they would pick somebody a hell of a lot better looking than I am. And someone that's much better spoken than I am.
It makes no sense. It's in the people that were there, I can't guarantee you all of them were Kansans, because I did not check every tag in the parking lot. But as my wife and I walked into that hall, I did look at the tags and they were all Kansas tags.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: You know, Chuck, as I said, this is a senator, so people could come from all over the state. And you were there raising a crucial point, which, as you say, your wife's a Republican. You define yourself or identify as a conservative Democrat.
You're upset about veterans and veterans being fired by the federal government as part of these cuts. And you called it a damn shame.
What made you decide to go into that parking lot, walk in the town hall? All the effort that it takes to do that, to speak to Senator Marshall.
[19:50:01]
What made you decide to do it in person?
NUNN: I've attended other town halls that Senator Marshalls had. In fact, I voted for the guy once. You know, I thought he was at that time, I thought he was a pretty decent individual. The reason that I -- I went is that, my family's been in this country since the 1600s. We fought in wars in this country before there was a country.
More recently, during the second -- the Second World War, my dad and my uncles fought against the Nazis in World War Two. My dad was involved in the -- and this is hard for me to talk about, and I'll just make it quick, but in the cleanup of a couple of the concentration camps.
I saw my dad cry twice -- once when my sister, at age 14, died of leukemia. The second time was when he sat down and talked to us, us boys, his sons, about what he saw over there. My dad was a big man and he was a tough man, but that experience stayed with him all of his life. But as I understand it, it changed his personality.
This probably isn't why you called, but you know, yeah, to see your South African immigrant stand up on the -- upon the stage wave a chainsaw around, you just absolutely sickens me. That's -- that's disgusting. That's repulsive. And that is un-American to -- to have that same guy and his group of thugs have the ability to take and go through my personal information at will is frightening. And it's -- I don't have the words for it. I'm sorry.
BURNETT: You know, Senator Marshall, when you asked him, you brought that up, and you brought it up in a passionate way. It wasn't confrontational. He -- he obviously just didn't want to engage on the on -- on the issue. So, you know, he got up and he walked out abruptly ending the meeting. Why?
And you point out there was a, you know, you -- you voted for the man at one point to be senator. Why do you think he reacted that way?
NUNN: Some people can't handle the truth. Yeah, some people can't handle the truth.
And, you know, I don't understand this because I -- I honestly believe that I don't hate the man. I honestly believe that he -- he's a decent individual. He's a -- he was a -- as I understand it -- he was a wonderful doctor, over in Barton County, his family is well thought of.
Why he would stand up there and lie to us over and over again, does he think that we're stupid out here? Has he been away from his roots for too long? I -- I -- I just -- I don't understand it, and I don't get it.
BURNETT: Well, Chuck, I really appreciate your taking the time and sharing this with all of us. Thank you very much. I really do appreciate it.
NUNN: Thank you. Thank you, thank you for having me.
BURNETT: And next, Melania Trump speaking out tonight as she makes her first solo public appearance in over a month.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:13]
BURNETT: Tonight, in her first public speech as first lady, Melania Trump slamming, quote, mean spirited and hurtful online behavior. It's unclear if she meant that with irony.
Sunlen Serfaty is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First Lady Melania Trump making her first solo public appearance in over a month since her husband was inaugurated.
MELANIA TRUMP, U.S. FIRST LADY: It is imperative that we safeguard children from mean-spirited and hurtful online behavior.
SERFATY: Appearing on Capitol Hill today to advocate for a bill that would protect Americans from deepfake and revenge pornography, the take it down act would criminalize the publication of nonconsensual, intimate imagery, including A.I. generated pornography, and could require social media networks to remove all content after being notified by a victim.
M. TRUMP: It's heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content like deepfakes.
SERFATY: In the president's second term, the first lady has spent very little time in Washington. Not seen at the White House for a nearly month long stretch between January 24th and February 22nd, with very few public appearances.
M. TRUMP: That's so sad.
SERFATY: In January, the first lady traveled with her husband to North Carolina and Los Angeles to tour communities damaged by natural disasters.
TRUMP: The first lady is here.
SERFATY: Bringing a film crew with her, detailing the trip as part of an Amazon documentary about her daily life that she is executive producing. TRUMP: She really wanted to be here, she said, no, I want to go. And
you know, she sees what happened and she felt very badly.
SERFATY: Sources tell CNN the first lady will be present for major events and would have her own priorities as first lady, but plans to spend the majority of her time between Florida and New York, where her son Barron is attending college.
M. TRUMP: I will be in the White House. And you know when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach. But my first priority is, you know, to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife.
SERFATY: In the first Trump administration, Melania spearheaded the Be Best campaign aimed at online safety for kids.
M. TRUMP: When children learn positive online behaviors early on, social media can be used in productive ways and can affect positive change.
SERFATY: A platform she is reviving today.
M. TRUMP: Every young person deserves a safe online space to express themselves freely without the looming threat of exploitation or harm.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SERFATY (on camera): And the first lady is expected to be at President Trump's State of the Union Address tomorrow. One of the guests that she is invited to sit with her for that speech will be a 15 year old girl who was a victim of the sort of online behavior. Her face was superimposed into pornographic content without her consent, and those fake images were circulated worldwide -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Sunlen.
And thanks so much, as always to all of you. We'll see you back here tomorrow.
"AC360" starts now.
