Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with Rahel Solomon

New CNN Poll Shows Economic Concerns Dominate; E.U. Announces Countermeasures For "Unjustified" U.S. Tariffs; Ukraine Agrees To U.S. Proposal For 30-Day Ceasefire; Ex-Philippine President Duterte Put On A Plane To The Hague; Turmoil For Tesla Owners. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired March 12, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:33]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN HOST: Good morning. And welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world.

I'm Rahel Solomon. It is Wednesday, March 12th, 5:00 a.m. exactly here in New York.

And this is what's ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for decades.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Canada should honestly become our 51st state. We wouldn't have a tariff problem.

DOUG FORD, ONTARIO PREMIER: If he continues with the aluminum and the steel, they will respond, dollar for dollar, tariff for tariff.

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business and worse for consumers.

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Today, people will die in this war. The president wants that to stop. We'll take this offer now to the Russians. And we hope that they'll say yes. They'll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been sent death wishes. Thumbs down. Flipped off. I hope that your Cybertruck catches on fire with the doors locked and you inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I'm not selling my Tesla.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And we begin this hour with new polling just released minutes ago that sheds light on how Americans feel about U.S. President Donald Trump and how they feel about his trade policies.

And it comes at a time of turbulence in the financial markets, and amid concerns that the U.S. could be headed toward an economic slowdown. The CNN poll found that economic concerns remain a top issue, with 56 percent of those surveyed disapproving of Trump's handling of the economy. That figure is worse than at any point during his first term in office.

And when it comes to how the president is handling foreign affairs, 42 percent approve, 58 percent disapprove. Still, though, his overall job approval rating, well, that stands at 45 percent. That matches his highest ratings for his first term in office, with 54 percent disapproving of his performance so far. We're going to dive deeper into the latest poll numbers still ahead throughout the hour.

But right now, a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. has gone into effect. It's been imposed, of course, by the Trump administration. And this comes just hours after the U.S. president backed off his threat to double that rate to 50 percent for Canada in an escalation of a trade tariff tit for tat between the two countries.

That reversal from Donald Trump came after Ontario's premier agreed to suspend a 25 percent surcharge on electricity to U.S. customers in three states.

Mr. Trump, though, apparently has not given up on his call to make Canada part of the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Canada should honestly become our 51st state. We wouldn't have a northern border problem. We wouldn't have a tariff problem. But Canada would be great as our cherished 51st state. You wouldn't have to worry about borders. You wouldn't have to worry about anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, it's obviously not just Canada that will be impacted by Mr. Trump's 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum. The European Union responding swiftly this morning just hours ago, announcing that it would impose duties on $28 billion worth of U.S. goods following what it called, quote, unjustified tariffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VON DER LEYEN: We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geo economic and political uncertainties, it is not in our common interest to burden our economies with such tariffs. We are ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, a similar sentiment is being echoed by Australia's prime minister, while his country will not impose reciprocal tariffs, he did criticize the U.S. move as going against the, quote, spirit of our two nations enduring friendship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Tariffs and escalating trade tensions are a form of economic self-harm and a recipe for slower growth and higher inflation. They are paid by the consumers. It is disappointing. Australia has a closer relationship with the United States. Friends need to act in a way that reinforces to our respective populations the fact that we are friends. This is not a friendly act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now all of this is only fueling fears over the impact of Trump's tariffs and the possibility of a recession. And we're seeing that uncertainty continue to play out day after day in the market. Tuesday, marking yet another turbulent day with all three major averages closing in the red again, the Dow closing off 400 points, as you just saw there yesterday.

But this morning, green across the board again yet another morning where we're seeing positive futures.

[05:05:06]

We'll see how things close. But I will say that one thing that investors are watching very closely this morning is a big inflation report that is out about 3-1/2 hours from now. So watch this space very closely.

And while the markets recent decline has rattled investors and everyday Americans, it appears the president is not concerned. At the White House on Tuesday, he said that markets will go up, they'll go down. But he's focused on rebuilding the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm very optimistic about the country, much more optimistic this way than if I did it the easy way.

REPORTER: Do you and your tariff policies right now bear any responsibility for the turmoil were seeing this week?

TRUMP: No, Biden gave us a horrible economy.

REPORTER: When you look at the market selling off, that didn't concern you? And where do you see it going?

TRUMP: It doesn't concern me. I think some -- some people are going to make great deals by buying stocks and bonds and all the things they're buying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, when asked about the possibility of a recession this year, Mr. Trump said, quote, I don't see it at all.

Returning to Ukraine, Ukraine has signed on to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S. Unclear this morning, though, how Russia will respond. Ukraine agreed to the plan during marathon negotiations with the American delegation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. Ahead of the talks, the U.S. secretary of state said that he would be listening for possible concessions Ukraine would make in a peace deal. There is no word on what Ukraine might be willing to give up.

But back in Washington, the U.S. president welcomed the news and said that he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin, possibly as early as this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think it's a big difference between the last visit you saw at the oval office and the so that's a total cease fire. Ukraine is agreed to it, and hopefully Russia will agree to it. We're going to meet with them later on today and tomorrow, and hopefully we'll be able to wipe out a deal. But I think the ceasefire is very important. If we can get Russia to do it, that will be great. If we can't, we just keep going on and people are going to get killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Okay, let's get to CNN's Clare Sebastian monitoring all of this live from London.

Clare, as the president just sort of alluded to the big question this morning is the Russia of it all. I mean, where do things, where do things stand this morning?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the ball is in Russia's court. That is the refrain coming out of this meeting. At this point, we don't know what Russia is going to do about it. When we had a European proposed ceasefire that was just limited to the air and maritime operations and stopping attacks on energy infrastructure, Russia seemed to reject that. Foreign ministry spokesperson saying last week that that would only give Ukraine the space to rearm and regroup, and Russia was only looking for a final settlement in this conflict.

The question now, given that they clearly value this reset with the U.S., is will they take a different approach now that this is a U.S. proposal? I think the other big question here is how will they react to this brand of sort of public pressure, having the heat turned up on them, the ball in their court after getting used to incentives from the U.S. that we saw some three weeks ago when Russian officials met with the U.S. delegation in Saudi Arabia.

So, those are the questions that the foreign ministry spokeswoman has said that they're not ruling out contacts with the U.S. in the coming week. We know that from the U.S. side, that that Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected in Moscow. Trump himself has said that he will speak to Putin, and there was a contact already, Russia, coming out this morning and saying that the head of its foreign intelligence service has spoken to the CIA Director, John Ratcliffe. So the lines of communication are open.

They have agreed to keep them up; the two intelligence chiefs to -- to reduce confrontation, according to the Russian readout of that call. But we don't see any evidence as of now that Russia is backing off any of its core demands when it comes to things like keeping the occupied territories and neutrality for Ukraine, disarming Ukraine.

So look, if Putin speaks to -- to Trump, then I think that will be significant, because clearly in Russia, there's only one person who eventually will make this decision.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And we wait to see.

Clare Sebastian live for us in London, Clare, thank you.

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been put on a plane to The Hague after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity. These images shared by Philippine senator show Duterte on board the flight. The fiery populist leader has been investigated by the ICC over the deadly crackdown on drugs that he unleashed as president. It's a campaign that cost thousands of lives.

Now, critics of his administration held a demonstration and a vigil to show their support for his arrest and to honor those killed in his war on drugs.

Still ahead, President Trump promoting Teslas with his friend Elon Musk. But a new poll shows that the growing public discontent with the Tesla CEO was growing. We'll have the details straight ahead.

Plus, a rally to save the Department of Education as the Trump administration takes the first step to shut down that agency with massive layoffs.

And passengers of Southwest Airlines will have to say goodbye to one of the carrier's best loved perks. It is the end of an era. We'll explain it. All that and more, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:14:42]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

New polling just released this hour highlights the growing public discontent with Elon Musk as the world's richest man increasingly gets involved in the Trump administrations efforts to slash the federal workforce. The CNN poll, conducted by SSRS between March 6th and 9th, shows that 53 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Musk.

[05:15:01]

Just 35 percent have a favorable opinion of him.

Now, Musk has been leading the Trump administration's efforts to shrink the federal workforce through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. His close ties with the president unrivaled, his unrivaled wealth, his control over the social media platform X has given the unelected billionaire extraordinary influence.

And U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson even acknowledging that Musk can influence congressional deals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I think of it metaphorically. I get up every morning and I have this giant sort of control panel, and it's got 219 dials on it, and I got to make sure everybody's, you know, okay, this ones -- oh, I got it, you know. And then I got the President Trump dial.

And now, I -- now I have the Elon dial, okay? Because Elon has the largest platform in the world literally, and if he goes on and says something that's misunderstood or misinterpreted about something we're doing, he can blow the whole thing up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Meanwhile, President Trump turned the White House lawn into a Tesla showroom for his friend and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The president and the world's richest man posed in front of shiny new Tesla vehicles in what was part news conference, part sales pitch. Tesla shares have been in a sharp slump recently as Musk's efforts to gut the federal workforce have drawn significant public backlash and declining sales.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So what is this one, Elon?

ELON MUSK, TECH BILLIONAIRE: That's the model y.

TRUMP: That's the model Y. So I have a lot of information, including the price.

MUSK: Yeah.

TRUMP: I want to make a good deal here. You know, I do notice this. They have one which is $35,000, which is pretty low. What is that all about?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, as we spoke, President Trump was holding that note that resembled the Tesla price list. Tesla stock did regain some ground on Tuesday as the president came to his defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think he's been treated very unfairly by a very small group of people, and I just want people to know that you can't be penalized for being a patriot. And he's a great patriot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And the blowback against Tesla has taken many forms, from protests at dealerships to actual vandalism. Some Tesla owners say that they are fed up with Musk and that they're now ditching their vehicles, but others say they're standing firm, saying that they're tired of being harassed just for owning one.

CNN's Jason Carroll has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tesla vehicles on fire at this car lot in Seattle over the weekend. The cause still under investigation. A fire erupted at a Tesla charging station in Littleton, Massachusetts, after police say vandals targeted that center last week.

This person caught on camera throwing a Molotov cocktail at a Tesla showroom in Oregon weeks after police near Portland responded to shots fired at the same location. It comes as protests have broken out across the country at Tesla locations from New York to California, all in response to Elon Musk's involvement with DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, and its cut to federal workers. He's also facing criticism over his alignment with far right politics.

Tesla shares have plunged, losing nearly half of their value since Trump took office, and Musk began slashing federal agencies. The richest man in the world has taken a hit to his fortune, losing $29 billion in net worth on Monday alone, though he is still worth over $300 billion.

Some Tesla owners are feeling buyer's remorse.

ANGELA KENZSLOWE, TESLA OWNER: Had I had the option of purchasing a Cybertruck after the inauguration, I just wouldn't.

CARROLL: Others have decided to sell at a loss.

JENNIFER TREBB, FORMER TESLA OWNER: Oh about $18,000.00 to $20,000.00.

CARROLL: Loss?

TREBB: Yes.

CARROLL: And those who proudly want to keep driving their Teslas.

KUMAIT JAROJE, TESLA OWNER: I'm going to keep it. I'm going to defend it. So, no, I'm not selling my Tesla. If they don't like my Tesla, just don't drive it.

CARROLL: Kumait Jaroje uses his Cybertruck to advertise his body sculpting business in Worcester, Massachusetts. He says he has been harassed. His vehicle vandalized, threatening voicemail messages like this left on his phone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Take your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) gold Tesla, the bunch of ya, climb in and drive down to Florida or drive to Tennessee." JAROJE: I refuse to get terrorized. So to do something they want me to do to force me to do that.

CARROLL: Tesla owner, Angela Kenzslowe knows what it feels like to be on the receiving end of threatening messages. She says driving a Tesla was fun at first, until Musk got involved in politics.

KENZSLOWE: The thumbs down, flipped off, mean mugged, cut off.

CARROLL: She wrote an essay about her experiences for "Business Insider." Then she says, things got worse.

KENZSLOWE: I've been sent death wishes. So, folks have sent, you know, I wish that, you know, I hope -- how did they say it? I hope that your Cybertruck catches on fire with the doors locked and you inside.

CARROLL: But the backlash seems to have only strengthened Musk's relationship with the president.

[05:20:02]

Just today, Trump said he would look to have attacks on Tesla dealerships designated as domestic terrorism.

TRUMP: I will do that. I'll do it. I'm going to stop them. We catch anybody doing it because they're harming a great American company. And let me tell you, you do it to Tesla and you do it to any company. We're going to catch you and you're going to -- you're going through hell.

CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: And still ahead for us, the U.S. says that intelligence sharing and military aid has resumed after Ukraine signed on to a temporary cease fire. But the question this morning is, will Russia agree as well? Well be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:25:09]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

Ukraine has agreed to a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire after hours of negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Now, the truce would pause fighting by land, air and sea. And the U.S. has vowed to immediately resume intelligence sharing and security assistance to Ukraine.

And the onus is now on Russia to decide whether it will comply with the temporary truce.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: What we leave here with today is a commitment that the Ukrainians are ready to stop fighting. They're ready to stop the shooting so that they can get to the table and bring about peace for their country and for the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Okay, let's continue the conversation now. I want to bring in senior "Bloomberg" editor Bobby Ghosh.

Bobby, great to see you this morning. You know, in some ways it sort of feels like this is a moment of truth in this war. Trump officials have been saying that Ukraine has been the obstacle to peace here. Secretary Rubio now saying the ball is in Russia's court.

What do you think they do here?

BOBBY GHOSH, SENIOR EDITOR, BLOOMBERG: Well, the two questions to be asked now. One is whether Russia will agree to a ceasefire. And the second question is whether it will observe a ceasefire.

There's not a lot of room for optimism, I have to say. We know what the Russian counter demands will be. The Russians are not simply going to agree to a 30-day ceasefire without putting forward some demands of their own, and we know from what they have said in the past, generally, the broad lines of what they want.

They want Ukraine to commit that it will never seek to join NATO. They want to keep the territory in Ukraine they already have. They -- they want to make sure no European or Western troops are in Ukraine. These conditions will not be easy for Ukraine to accept.

And then going forward, if there is a deal, we've seen this happen over and over again, even in the context of the war in Ukraine, that Russia makes ceasefire commitments and then breaks them. So this is just the first step of what will probably be a long and tortuous journey towards a truce. It's a -- it's a good thing that that step has been taken, but we should not kid ourselves that we've really made a lot of progress.

We've made a little bit of progress and we should be grateful for that. But there's a lot more to be achieved before there's actually a cessation of violence on the ground.

SOLOMON: Yeah, and I sense the pessimism and the skepticism, at least at least at this point.

Let's say Russia doesn't agree or they put forward these conditions that are just not agreeable to Ukraine. How does that make Saudi Arabia look? And even Trump, in this moment, with him growing more, at least publicly sympathetic to Putin based on the comments that he's made?

GHOSH: Well, for the Saudi Arabians, look, they have offered their good offices as they as they say in diplomacy, as a place for these discussions to take place. So at the moment, Saudi Arabia doesn't lose a great deal. They're simply providing an environment in which these talks can be held.

Saudi Arabia is not committing to enforcing the truce. Saudi Arabia has no military stake in this conflict. The United States is supplying Ukraine with -- with arms and with intelligence. Saudi Arabia is not.

So Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a neutral here. If at some point in the future there is a full ceasefire agreement, then Saudi Arabia becomes a signatory and then it has a stake in the success of that ceasefire.

For President Trump right now, the big question is when Putin, when Russia makes those counter demands, what is his position going to be? Is he going to then turn around to Ukraine and say, you have to accept some of what my friend Vladimir is asking you to do? Or does he say to the Russians, look, we brought the Ukrainians this far. Now you have to travel the rest of the way.

Again, I'm a little pessimistic about whether he will hold the line. We know that he believes that Russia is the aggrieved party in this conflict. He believes that Putin is the one who needs to be placated. But we'll see. Now, as you say at the in your introduction, the onus is entirely on Moscow. What does Putin do next?

SOLOMON: Yeah. You know, what's interesting, Bobby, is that the site of these conversations has become a familiar sight in recent years. It's a familiar host for these types of high stakes conversations regarding war. Whether you're talking about Gaza, whether you're talking about Ukraine, whether you're talking about the conflict in Sudan.

MBS has obviously been trying to position the nation as less of a pariah, more of a diplomatic go-to, a tourist hotspot, an economic hotspot. Bobby, is the rebrand working?

GHOSH: Well, it is certainly working to the extent that, look, were having this conversation about -- about Saudi Arabia being a place where these kinds of conversations can take place. And so to that extent, it certainly is working.

There is a lot of tourism. There's been a huge increase in tourism in Saudi Arabia. And now and especially Saudi Arabia's outreach to the Global South has changed a great deal. There are now people who look at Saudi Arabia in a very different way than they did ten years ago.