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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Delivers Record-Long Primetime Address; Trump Touts Record, Slams Dems As "Crazy" In Record-Long Speech; CNN Poll: Trump's Address Draws Largely Positive Remarks; Trump Claims Success On Economy, Immigration, Crime; Dozens Of FBI Records Appear To Be Missing From Epstein Files; Jewel Thieves' Own Videos Lead To Their Arrest; International Reaction To trump's Record-Long Speech; Lifelong Friends Offer Advice For Free; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired February 25, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:32]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. What Donald Trump left out of his State of the Union speech is making headlines. Second hour of "One World" starts
right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Members of Congress, the state of our union is strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Well, that certainly does depend on who you ask. Reaction from around the globe, across the aisle, and along main street USA.
Also ahead, the Justice Department is done presenting the Epstein files, but CNN has noticed that a few are actually still missing. The crucial
survivor interviews and what they have to do with Donald Trump.
Plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALL: Free advice from The Old Broads, some good, some bad, always free.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. What happens when you bring together lifelong friends, decades of wisdom and the corner of a local coffee shop? Later this hour,
meet The Old Broads, their words, not ours. And.
All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. My colleague and friend, Bianna Golodryga is off today. You are watching the second hour
of "One World."
U.S. President Donald Trump broke his own record for the longest State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, a speech critic say was heavy on
theatrics, but light on specifics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr Speaker, the President of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: For the better part of nearly two hours, Trump attempted to convince increasingly wary Americans that the economy is stronger than they believe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Our country is winning again. In fact, we're winning so much that we really don't know what to do about it.
People are asking me, please, please, please, Mr. President, we're winning too much. We can't take it anymore. We're not used to winning in our
country until you came along, we're just always losing, but now, we're winning too much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: The president also spent time touting his immigration agenda, but he failed to mention two U.S. citizens killed last month by federal agents in
Minneapolis.
And he didn't spend much time talking about foreign policy either. Trump barely mentioned Ukraine despite it being the fourth anniversary of
Russia's full-scale invasion.
And it was 19 minutes into the speech before he even mentioned Iran. Instead, the president turned his ire on Democrats repeatedly calling them
sick people as the vice president and the speaker of the House laughed along.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Look, nobody stands up. These people are crazy. I'm telling you, they're crazy.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: CNN's Karin Caifa has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARIN CAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump, Tuesday night, painted a picture of the U.S. economy largely at odds with what
economic data polling and consumer sentiment surveys show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Inflation is plummeting. Incomes are rising fast. The roaring economy is roaring like never before.
CAIFA (voice-over): And attack Democrats' affordability agenda.
TRUMP: They knew the statements were dirty rotten lie. Their policies created the high prices. We are doing really well.
CAIFA (voice-over): As he entered the chamber, Trump greeted three of the six Supreme Court justices who ruled against his sweeping emergency tariffs
on Friday, then later slammed their decision.
TRUMP: They got it really wrong.
CAIFA (voice-over): The President also addressing foreign policy hotspots like Venezuela and Iran.
TRUMP: My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of
terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon.
CAIFA (voice-over): And using an appearance by the Olympic champion U.S. men's hockey team to underscore his theme of America, winning.
(CHANTING "USA")
CAIFA (voice-over): Democrats rebutted the speech in different ways. Congressman Al Green of Texas was removed from the chamber early on for a
protest.
Dozens of other Democratic lawmakers attended a counter rally on the National Mall.
SEN. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-AZ): We are better than what is under that Capitol right now.
CAIFA (voice-over): But the official democratic response was delivered by Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, elected last November, and offering a
preview of Democrats' potential midterm approach.
GOV. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-VA): He's enriching himself, his family, his friends. The scale of the corruption is unprecedented.
[12:05:04]
CAIFA (voice-over): On Capitol Hill, I'm Karin Caifa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Spanberger wasn't the only Democrat who had harsh words for the president. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who represents state of Minnesota, had
this reaction while Trump was criticizing Democrats for not showing support for his immigration policies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You should be ashamed of yourself. That is why I'm also asking you to end deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and enact serious
penalties for public officials.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Omar and her colleague, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, repeatedly yelled at Trump, accusing him of enabling the deaths of U.S. citizens and
objecting to his characterization of Minnesota's Somali community as pirates.
Omar later explained to CNN that the irony of Trump's comments is what made her vocally pushed back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): I think it was really unavoidable. The president talked about protecting Americans. And I just had to remind him that his
administration was responsible for killing two of my constituents.
I think many people look at that moment when the president says, it is our responsibility to protect Americans. And he does not acknowledge the fact
that two Americans, two of my constituents, two of our neighbors, were -- were killed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Alayna Treene joins us live now from the White House.
And, you know, when you think about the speech more broadly, I mean, obviously, we've talked about the fact that it is the -- the longest State
of the Union Address in American history. Trump even beat his own record.
But there was an extraordinary amount of self-congratulation. And a lot of, as I've mentioned, theatrics with, of course, the U.S. hockey team being in
the room, being brought into the room, a Venezuelan political prisoner being reunited with his niece live on -- on television. And that was an
emotional moment for them.
A fighter pilot, the one of the sort of army pilots that was actually involved in the raid with Nicolas Maduro being given a congressional medal
of freedom.
Just explain to us who Donald Trump's target audience was and whether or not he had the midterms in mind specifically. Because it seemed as though
he was very much speaking to his base and not necessarily trying to sort of reach across the aisle and get sort of more swing voters or independents.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, there's a couple of points there. One is, I think, when it comes to the audience, I'd say
that the president actually took this address very seriously.
I know from my conversations with people and that building behind me, Zain, that he had been preparing for this address for some time, especially over
the last couple of days. Over the weekend, I should note, he was practicing his address from a lecture that was -- lectern that was brought into the
residence. He was going through the draft speech, you know, editing and reviewing it.
And part of the reason he took this so seriously, I think another point to that is that he actually stuck on -- stuck to the script, read mostly from
the teleprompter, something that is very uncharacteristic for the president, is because he knew that there were many Americans who typically
do not actually watch Trump off and, you know, on a day-to-day basis when he's making comments to the press or even when he goes on a trip for a
rally, that they don't -- may not listen to that, they were listening last night.
And so he wanted to use this as an opportunity to really improve on messages that are important for the midterm elections.
And so your second question there about, did he have an eye on the November elections? He absolutely did. I think the strategy for that speech was to
try and approve on two issues that mean a lot to not only him, but Republicans at large, and that is the economy and immigration. Those are
issues that, you know, the party and Trump specifically had often been very strong on.
But if you look at polling from the last year or so, particularly the polling in recent months, shows that he is not necessarily doing as well as
they need to be, particularly as there is an eye on the midterm elections. And so that was a big part, I think, of last night and really his goal
there.
I do think that it was a speech, if you took it in its full, you know, that was more geared toward Republicans. I think a lot of Republicans actually
left happy with it, in part because he did stick to the messaging on this.
But he did need -- you know, it's unclear if he's actually going to be able to move the needle with the broader public.
And I will say as well, from all of the different things that he did as for that showmanship you were talking about, that was really him kind of, I
think, skillfully in some ways, using the room to try and do something that he's often criticized for lacking and that is showing empathy, you know,
him telling these stories, some sad, some inspiring about these Americans, about people who were caught up in -- in Venezuela, the political prisoner,
other stories like that. Moments that he needed to use to try and rally the crowd. And a lot of those are going to be clips you can expect to be played
kind of on loop in the future.
[12:10:00]
ASHER: All right. Alayna Treene, live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. Presidential addresses tend to attract generally friendly audiences, and Donald Trump's speech was no exception according to CNN
poll. The pool of people who watched were about 13 percentage points more Republican than the general public. But did he focus on the nation's most
important problems?
Let's bring in our number cruncher, the one and only Harry Enten. So, there he goes. There he bows for us.
So, Harry, listen, you know, one of the things that a lot of people have been talking about is the fact that Donald Trump didn't necessarily show
enough empathy for perhaps low-income Americans who are dealing with a massive affordability crisis.
For people who watched and what voters more broadly, how did the speech go down for them, Harry?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes. I mean, look, if we -- here's the whole thing to keep in mind. You pointed it out, right? It's a friendly
Republican audience, just like when Joe Biden spoke to Congress, you had a friendly Democratic audience.
But even amongst that friendly Republican audience, this spiel was actually the least liked of any that Donald Trump has given to a joint session of
Congress, because what are we talking about here?
OK. View of Trump's speech to Congress among speech viewers, a very positive review. Look at this, this time around in 2026, just 38 percent.
Just 38 percent of those who watched the speech had a very positive reaction to it.
And you can see, I have all the numbers going across the board. This was the least positively, very positively reviewed speech that Donald Trump
gained to Congress in his entire either presidency. Forty-four percent back in 2025, that was our 2019. He wishes he could reach that level, 59
percent. Forty-eight percent in 2018. Fifty-seven percent in 2017.
You don't have to be a mathematical genius to know that 38 percent is lower than all of those numbers. So at least initially, those who watched the
speech did not review it as positively as they had prior Trump speeches.
But here's the whole thing, which is, do these speeches actually matter? Does anyone give a hoot? Does -- does it actually move the numbers? And
usually, these speeches do diddly squat, because what are we talking about?
OK. Average shift in approval rating post a State of the Union Address. Since 1977, the average president has seen their approval rating move zero,
zero, zero point, Zain.
What about Donald John Trump? Remember, of course, he had a first term in which he had State of the Union Address, is how much did it move his
approval rating on average? Just one -- just the loneliest number in the world, one, one point movement.
And, of course, it's so important to note that one point movement, because here's the deal. Donald Trump needs massive movement in his numbers. He's
way underwater, right? His net approval rating in our last CNN poll that came out on Monday was negative 27 points.
And more than that, he has been in the basement for such a long period of time. So, you know, sometimes I like having numbers on the screen, and you
know, they're very mathematical. And sometimes, I just like to do a little bit of counting, counting the days.
And this is what we're doing here. Trump's negative net approval rating, every day since March 12, 2025. If you want to count all those days up, he
has had a negative net approval rating now for 351 days in a row. That is nearly a year. There are 365 days in a year. And, of course, it's a leap
year in which case there's 366.
But 351, very close to either the leap year or the regular year number of days needed to have an entire year.
So, no, I'm not expecting that this is going to change very much. And especially, Zain, because it wasn't that very positively reviewed compared
to either speeches.
But I think anyone watching this segment and the repertoire between the two of us would have a very positive reaction.
ASHER: No. They -- they love it. The viewers love our interaction, Harry. You know, we vibe together. We just blend, you and I.
ENTEN: We vibe.
ASHER: We just blend.
ENTEN: We vibe. We -- we blend -- we blend together.
ASHER: I'm not as outgoing as you. I'm a fake extrovert. So I'm not -- but I want to be like you, Harry.
ENTEN: You know what? I -- I would just say this. Outside of the office, I'm very much of an introvert. I just like to put my headphones on. I do
not --
ASHER: I do not believe that. I do not -- you are an introvert.
ENTEN: We -- we -- we are going to have a conversation. I'm putting the girlfriend --
ASHER: Yes, right.
ENTEN: -- you, I, and Bianna on a text chain. And she will show -- she will tell you the introvert that I truly am. This is my chance to be the
extrovert like Liza (ph). This is my Liza moment.
ASHER: Harry, I don't believe it for a second. OK?
ENTEN: Well, believe what you want.
ASHER: And I will see you -- I will see you downstairs too.
Harry Enten live for us. Thank you so much.
Well, let's take a little deeper into the State of the Union Address with our political panel. Charlie Dent is a former Republican congressman from
Pennsylvania. And Meghan Hays, the democratic strategist and former White House director of message planning.
Charlie, let me start with you. I'm just going to sort of repackage one of the questions that our reporter there, Harry Enten asked, which is, do
these addresses actually matter? You've got the midterms in about six or seven months or so.
Historically, do these addresses even -- even matter just in terms of persuading swing or independent voters?
[12:15:04]
CHARLIE DENT, FORMER UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: I agree with Harry. These -- these speeches have very little effect on -- on the elections.
The -- the narrative is already written. The cake is already baked. So, I don't think it makes a difference.
And by the way, for years, I've been saying presidents should just mail in their State of the Union Addresses. These things have become spectacles,
jack in the box events. Doesn't matter which party's in charge.
You know, if it's Democratic president, they're jumping up and down, Republican president, they do the same thing.
And -- and -- and frankly, there's a lot less discussion about policy. And there wasn't a whole lot of discussion about forward-looking policy last
night, but it's really more about recognizing people in the audience, these heroic, you know, stories of heroism and tragedy that we hear that are very
emotional. And so I think it may be better off just mailing it in. Nothing's really going to change.
And, you know, but the president did stay on message. I don't think he did himself any harm, but I don't think he moved the needle either.
ASHER: Meghan, let me bring you in. So Charlie's saying that it -- it would be fine for the president to mail it in because it doesn't really make a
difference, especially when it comes to the midterms, for example.
But for Democrats, this still does represent an important opportunity, especially when it comes to counter-messaging.
You know, what did you make of what Abigail Spanberger said in terms of her rebuttal, and also how Democrats conducted themselves in the room, their
own sort of silent rebellion as well?
MEGHAN HAYS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes, I agree with Charlie that these things need to be reimagined. They've become extremely divisive. I think it
just shows the American people how divided our Congress actually is.
And it really shows how people -- the Congress is not working for them. Democrats didn't show up. They were at a different event. You know, people
are protesting. And it happens when a Democrat is a president as well. These people are shouting from the -- from the -- the audience.
And so it's just -- it's just not really productive. It really doesn't show the state of the union. It shows this specific address showed the state of
Trump's union, but it's not the actual union.
But, you know, I think Abigail Spanberger did an incredible job for her rebuttal. She asked him really and poignant questions. Do you feel that --
that President Trump has made, you know, prices lower for you? Does he made your streets safer? And how do you answer those questions?
So if I was a congressional Republican right now, I would be going out and campaigning on prices and campaigning on those -- those message points,
rather than what the president did for them yesterday, because all he did yesterday was more grievances, more lies.
And they can't really campaign on that in the midterms. And that's really going to impact them.
ASHER: Charlie, one of the things that the president has received a lot of flak for is this idea of just not speaking out as much about the
affordability crisis in this country. Just in terms of having empathy, right, for low-income Americans who are really struggling, should the
president have done a better job, regardless of whether or not it matters come November?
Just in terms of just good PR, just good old plain PR for the Republican Party, should the president have done a better job in terms of really
talking about this crisis, affordability crisis, from a much more empathetic standpoint?
DENT: Well, he certainly did stay on message. He did address the economy.
Now, it's the way he addressed the economy that I think is a bit of a problem. You know, simply citing economic statistics. And I assume some of
those statistics were true, not all of them, but he tried to make a case that his policies were helping people, you know, who -- you know, who lived
on tips or were making overtime, they saved money on -- on taxes. So he -- you know, TrumpRx, he pointed at some successes.
So he made those points. But I think a lot of that got lost in this very lengthy speech. It went for almost two hours.
And so I think that also really didn't help him. He wasn't focused enough on the economy, even though he did discuss it. Tariffs, I thought was --
was alarming, is that he basically said, I'm going to do whatever I want to do on tariffs anyway. I'll find new authorities. I don't really need
Congress. And sitting there with the Supreme Court staring at him and Congress.
So I think he didn't really help himself too much on the economy, although he did make some points if -- we'll see if anybody really remembers those
points though after this speech.
ASHER: Meghan, the Democrats are going to focus a lot on -- on the economy. They -- they believe that's going to be their winning strategy come to
midterms.
Aside from the economy, what is the Republicans' party's greatest liability? I mean, is it the Epstein file? I mean, what do you think it is
beyond the obvious, which is of course the economy?
HAYS: I mean, I think that it is the economy, but I also do think that it is the Epstein files. It's the blatant disregard for the rule of law. I
don't think the American people like to see the courts being trashed or that the administration just blatantly breaking the law.
And I do think that Republicans in Congress are going to have to pay the price for that because they don't see anybody standing up to Trump to give
him a check. And people like three co-equal branches of government that's why we live in a democracy.
And I think that really Republicans are underestimating how people in their communities are going to react to that. I mean, Democrats have outpaced in
these down ballot elections since the 2024 election. I think they've won 281. We just won two seats yesterday in Pennsylvania to keep the majority
in the -- in the state house.
So, Republicans have a long way to go in just having empathy with the American people and showing them that they really are -- they really could
be a check on Trump, which they are not doing now.
[12:20:07]
ASHER: All right. Charlie Dent, Meghan Hays, thank you both so much for your perspective. Appreciate it.
All right. Coming up, Iran accuses President Trump of lying about its nuclear ambitions. We'll have reactions from Tehran and around the world to
the longest ever State of the Union Address.
And it doesn't take a criminal mastermind to know you don't take a video of yourself committing a crime, especially a $2 million jewel heist.
Coming up, you'll meet the theatrical thieves who did exactly that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. The U.S. president not mentioned the Epstein files at all during his record-long State of the Union speech.
But survivors of Jeffrey Epstein say, they're simply not ready to move on. This as CNN review finds dozens of FBI witness interviews appear to be
missing from the files released by the Justice Department in December.
The apparently missing records includes three interviews related to a woman who accused Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her a decade ago -- rather
decades ago.
She had also accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse as well. Donald Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
CNN's Kara Scannell is tracking the story for us. So, what more do we know about the ease missing interviews and what the reaction has been from the
Justice Department?
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zain, our investigative team had taken a look at the investigative files that were released and specifically the
ones that were related to the investigation into Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
There was a privilege log that was turned over to her team. And by looking at the serial numbers, our team was able to discover that there were a
number of files that were missing. And these included FBI interviews with some witnesses.
So, of a total of 325 FBI 302s, that's the forum for these interviews, were on this log, and only about 90 of them are on -- are not on the website. So
about a third of them are missing.
Within this, the investigative team found that that includes three interviews conducted with this woman who says that when she was 13 years
old, she began being sexually assaulted by Jeffrey Epstein.
One of her other claims is that she was also assaulted by Donald Trump back in the 1980s. Now, the White House has said that this was a false
allegation and that a number of these allegations are salacious and untrue.
[12:25:01]
We did reach out to the Justice Department about these files that are missing. And they said that they have not deleted any documents. They said
that documents that are not on the website includes ones that are either duplicates, privileged or part of an ongoing investigation. That was the
extent of their comment.
Now, we have seen that there are documents that are on the website, then they're off the website, then they come back on the website. In those
instances, the Justice Department says that they had done that to handle redactions for victims and survivors' privacy. It's not clear why or
whether these documents would fit into that batch.
What's also not clear is what happened with these allegations. We did see on another document more recently that had been a tally of claims made
against prominent people. And this same claim against Donald Trump that was initially reported in 2019 was referenced on that.
And in that FBI record, it says that the one person claimed abuse by Trump but refused to cooperate. So it's really not clear, you know, if there was
any additional details, then sort of the -- the kind of cursory summary details that are included and referenced in these files.
But it sounds like, at least according to this document, that they were the person then later did not cooperate further.
But as it stands, according to the files, as of now, that these records related to the interview of this person are not available publicly. And
lawmakers, the Democrats, are upset about this saying that it does appear to be a cover-up. This is all part of the frustration that they have with
the Justice Department's posting of the records, redactions of the records, and all in all making public the records that are required by law. Zain.
ASHER: All right. Kara Scannell, live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. New details emerging on some of the text messages including -- included, rather, in those files. This includes a conversation between
Jeffrey Epstein and the U.S. Virgin Islands governor months before his July 2019 arrest.
Epstein asked Governor Albert Bryan Jr. for help on a case concerning his private islands. At the time, U.S. officials, rather, were investigating
unauthorized construction and weighing potential fines.
One of the governor's messages explained that he had asked the commissioner overseeing the case to, quote, recuse himself and concede an all-previous
permit request.
And in that message, Bryan added, quote, we got you. Record shows his text messages with Epstein ended in May of 2019. The governor is now in the
final year of his second term.
All right. A band of thieves thought they had a sweet deal when they cut through a candy store wall to access a jewelry store where they managed to
make off with $2 million worth of jewelry. However, they actually shot a video of the whole thing.
California prosecutors then made sure the only close-up these felonious filmmakers got was their mugshot.
Reporter Laurie Perez from our affiliate, KCAL/KCBS, has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURIE PEREZ, REPORTER, KCAL/KCBS (voice-over): Flashing the peace sign, a masked burglar got to work last May. The video, apparently taken by one of
his criminal pals, showing how much jewelry they'd already collected from inside 5-Star Jewelry and Repair and the big hole his crew had made to get
in from the coffee shop next door.
Another clip shows them using a crowbar to hammer away at a safe, apparently trying to break it open. And then two more clips ready for
Instagram.
Back at home, the four suspects going through their spoils spread over a table organizing and dividing what the victims said was $2 million plus of
jewelry.
For some reason, the burglars recorded their every step. And when he got his hands on it, Ventura County's D.A. used it against them, sentencing
three of the four-person crew to at least four years in jail.
The last member will be sentenced soon. These new videos completing what security video had shown, a suspect masked and gloved, shimmying on his
stomach across the floor of the coffee shop next to the jewelry store, seemingly trying to avoid tripping any motion detectors before he reached
up and spray painted the camera's lens before they began drilling through walls.
When it happened, 5-Star's owners were devastated.
JONATHAN YOUSSEF, OWNER, 5-STAR JEWELRY: The worst part about the -- the loss of property that we had was the customers that we've built up over
that same period have entrusted us with their heirloom jewelry to repair. And unfortunately, some of that jewelry or all -- all of that jewelry was
stolen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Still to come, it was the longest ever state of the union, but President Trump made just one offhanded comment about China.
We'll have reaction for you from Beijing just ahead.
Also ahead, Senegal's prime minister wants to increase punishment for same sex relations. What he's proposing, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:04]
ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Zain Asher.
All right. It clocked in at one hour and 47 minutes, but President Donald Trump spent very little of his record-long speech in -- State of the Union
speech, touching on foreign policy.
Trump making just one mention of China, noting that Chinese and Russian military technology failed to protect Nicolas Maduro's compound in Caracas.
Trump did, however, repeat the claim that he ended eight wars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Our country has never been stronger. My first 10 months, I ended eight wars, including Cambodia. Cambodia and Thailand. Pakistan and India.
Would have been a nuclear war.
Kosovo and Serbia. Israel and Iran. Egypt and Ethiopia. Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Congo and Rwanda. And, of course, the war in Gaza, which
proceeds at a very low level. It's just about there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: And we have a reaction from around the world to Trump's address. CNN's Mike Valerio has more for us from Beijing. But first, let's begin
with Paula Hancocks on Iran's response.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iran has accused President Trump of repeating big lies in his State of the Union speech when it comes to their
nuclear and missile program and the number of anti-regime protesters killed by security forces last month, even comparing it to Nazi propaganda.
Now, President Trump has said that he believes Iran does want to make a deal, but he has not heard the secret words, 'we will never have a nuclear
weapon."
Now, in fact, Tehran has said that on a number of occasions. We heard the foreign minister say it just hours before this speech, although many do
doubt what truth there is in that statement.
Now, President Trump has said though that he does still prefer a diplomatic option to the issue at this point. The next 48 hours are key as the U.S.
and Iran will meet once again in Geneva on Thursday.
[12:35:05]
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What was certainly stunning, especially watching here in Beijing, that there was no extensive section in the state
of the Union that talked about China policy. So the question is, why? And it could be because U.S. President Donald Trump finds himself perhaps
weakened going into a trip to Beijing on March 31st through April 2nd that has to, of course, center on the trade truce.
The U.S. Supreme Court, somewhat clipping his wings when it comes to limiting that emergency tariff power that he had been wielding over the
past year, especially negotiating with China.
China's main Trump cards when it comes to rare Earth minerals and its huge export network, they remain untouched. So, this could be perhaps U.S.
president not wanting to rock the boat ahead of this key trip to China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: President Trump's State of the Union Address offering what seemed to be an awkward moment for the U.S. Supreme Court justices there. Trump
repeatedly slammed the court's decision against his sweeping emergency tariffs. The president going so far as to argue that his tariffs are saving
the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Despite the disappointing ruling, these powerful countries saving, it's saving our country, the kind of money we're taking in, peace
protecting. Many of the wars I settled was because of the threat of tariffs. I wouldn't have been able to settle them with that.
We'll remain in place under fully approved and tested alternative legal statutes. And they have been tested for a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. Time now for "The Exchange." Joining me live now is our global economic analyst, Rana Foroohar.
So, Rana, he talked a lot about the economy from his perspective. I was speaking to our guests earlier, political analysts earlier, just
essentially saying that he didn't necessarily show much empathy for low income -- low to middle income Americans who are certainly struggling when
it comes to paying for groceries.
But just explain to us how wide the gap is between what President Trump projected, what he said about the U.S. economy, versus the reality of what
ordinary Americans are experiencing.
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Yes. No, I mean, I -- I think you've hit the nail in the head, Zain. I -- I don't think President Trump
has any empathy for low income people. Many of his policies have -- have actually made things harder from cutting Medicaid benefits to -- to the
tariff policies that the Federal Reserve says have actually increased inflation in the U.S., which, of course, hit working people the hardest.
You know, Donald Trump has a lot of bluster always, but particularly when talking about the economy. And the truth is that the picture is mixed. The
U.S. came into the Trump administration with the best recovery of the rich world from the COVID virus, from things like the war in Ukraine.
The Biden administration had done a great job managing a lot of risks. Trump came in with a very strong economy. He now has a mixed economy at
best.
You know, the inflation picture is, by many measures, still very worrisome. Housing prices are a big concern. He, you know, has, to his credit, come up
with a couple of ways to address that, but I don't think that there's a coherent 360 policy from the White House about how to get housing prices
under control.
Wages steady economic growth. I would say that the risks are on the downside. Job market, again, risks are on the downside. So, it's really a
mixed picture.
And the one thing that he always raves about is, of course, asset market, stock prices. Those have been very volatile lately, but they're still
relatively high by historic standards. That tends to benefit the top 10 percent of the population that owns 80 percent of the stock.
It doesn't matter much to people who are getting the majority of their money in a paycheck and having to deal with inflation in grocery stores
and, you know, paying their heating bill, et cetera.
ASHER: And when it comes to some of the -- some of the claims that Trump made about tariffs, he said that he sees a future. It's kind of an
unrealistic claim, but he sees a future where one day tariff revenue replaces income tax.
Your thoughts on that, Rana.
FOROOHAR: Well, it's not historically unprecedented. If you go back to the 19th century, in the first half of the 19th century, tariffs did make up
about 90 percent of U.S. federal revenues, but that was a very different era. It was an era in which the U.S. was quite a closed economy.
Globalization was not at all what it is today. It was an era of great power conflict. And it's interesting because Trump has always had a lot of
nostalgia for the 19th century. You know, we've heard about the -- the Donroe Doctrine, the idea that is playing off the Monroe Doctrine of former
President Monroe wanting to sort of protect the Western Hemisphere.
Trump has made it clear that he wants to have his own Donroe Doctrine. He certainly favors tariffs above taxes. That's good, again, for wealthy
people.
But tariffs are aggressive because they're paid by the consumer and, of course, working people have to spend a higher percentage of their overall
paycheck and their overall wealth in paying for basic things like food and housing and utilities and such.
[12:40:11]
So it's certainly true to character to -- to glamorize the 19th century. I don't think it's realistic in today's economy.
ASHER: But you're essentially replacing one form of taxation for another. I mean, obviously income tax is one form of taxation. And then you have
tariffs, which is another form of taxation through American goods --
FOROOHAR: Right.
ASHER: -- being imported into the country. So, essentially, I mean, that is -- that is one of Trump's arguments here that he's going to use tariffs to
basically bring back the manufacturing sector. Obviously, there's so much - - there's so much controversy around that mindset.
But this idea of using tariffs to boost revenue for the U.S. government, you are essentially taxing the American people. How is that messaging going
down with ordinary Americans?
FOROOHAR: Well, I don't think it's going down well at all. You know, and you can see that in the polls. I mean, a lot of people feel that Trump's
handling the economy has been very, very poor.
He's really fighting an uphill battle, particularly Republicans into the midterms with -- with some of the polling around the economy.
To your point about manufacturing, manufacturing jobs have actually gone down under the Trump administration, despite all the bluster and the -- the
calls for tariffs to bring back manufacturing.
You know, there is a case to be made. And I think it was made in Trump one and during the Biden administration, for tariffs in a very strategic,
targeted way against, say, adversaries like China, to be used to ring fence certain parts of the economy in order to be able to bring back, you know,
chips or, you know, bring back certain bits of resiliency.
That has to be done in conjunction with a very strong domestic industrial strategy. That's the strategy China itself and many Asian tigers have used
over the years.
It is not the strategy that we're seeing from the U.S. We're seeing mostly tariffs, tariffs, tariffs on adversaries and allies alike, and -- and
really, that's not the way to bring back anything.
ASHER: All right. Rana Foroohar, thank you. Thank you so much.
FOROOHAR: Thank you.
ASHER: Senegal's prime minister wants to make the punishment for same sex relations even harsh.
On Tuesday, Ousmane Sonko urged the National Assembly to pass a law that would double the maximum prison term for same-sex practices from five years
to 10 years.
Those found guilty will also face fines of up to $18,000. The prime minister says he wants the law to ensure that even a judge won't be able to
let someone off easy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OUSMANE SONKO, SENEGALESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The judge cannot grant a suspension nor reduce imprisonment below the penalty
provided for in paragraph one of this article. We will thus restrict the judge in such a way that he cannot let someone go.
At a minimum, he will sentence for five years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Human rights watch says the proposed law would lead to further violence targeting an already stigmatized population.
All right. Turning now to Syria. Officials there say a mass escape took place from a now closed detention camp holding ISIS-linked families amid
reports that thousands fled. The escape took place last month in northeastern Syria following the withdrawal of Kurdish forces. Syrian
authorities have discovered more than 100 breaches within the camp.
All right. Still to come here, a friendship that spans decades. Ladies who call themselves the Old Broads offer life advice to anyone who may need it,
including key to a lasting friendship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The best advice is don't talk politics. Well, besides that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:18]
ASHER: All right. Nigeria has the largest publishing market in Africa with an estimated annual value of more than $200 million. With the wealth of
prize-winning authors, it's still a challenge getting local books into local hands.
This week's Africa Insider shows us how independent publishers are changing the scene.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KADIJA GEORGE ESSAY, WRITER AND PUBLISHER: Before the only books that you would find in Africa that were being published for maybe textbooks and
things like that, books for schools. But now, publishers are more bold, and they are publishing literary works.
OTHUKE OMINIABOHS, FOUNDER, MASOBE BOOKS: There's some sort of renaissance going on in terms of writing currently in Nigeria, probably in Africa, but
mostly in Nigeria.
Eighty-percent of our submissions come from Nigerian writers. And that means there is a lot they want to see. We're privileged to get these voices
out there.
Masobe Books was founded in 2018, but we didn't publish our first novel until 2020. And for bookstore sales, we've done over $170,000 books.
Romance has topped the charts from our inception. We have 15 titles that -- that dominated the sales by over 50 percent, over all the other books.
To succeed, we need to have partners in terms of bookstores. We have brands like Rovingheights. As they grow, it also means we're growing as well
because for every outlet they open, we have our book stock there. And accessibility to these books increases.
SESAY: There are a lot of different ways now for African writers to be published. Literary magazines are now becoming stronger because as well you
can have those online too, not just in print, so they will be online.
And they are being used really well in terms of also getting African writers' names out there.
AINEHI EDORO, FOUNDER, BRITTLE PAPER: Brittle Paper is a news platform, a literary news platform. But we also publish original, fiction, poetry,
essays.
Where you really see growth is in the debut writers, the new writers that you are getting, the influx of new voices.
Nigerians just have this kind of way of driving culture and driving innovation. Nigerians are the most published Africans in the U.S. and the
U.K.
And what that means is that it trickles back home. Their influence actually affects the success of Nigerian publishing in Nigeria because, one, it just
creates a space for Nigerian books.
This I think has been really good for the Nigerian literary space.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:46]
ASHER: All right. Pigeons have been used as crucial messengers throughout history because of their ability to travel long distances and return to
their owners.
Now in Iraq, they're part of the nation's bird sporting world. One center says, it has trained thousands of pigeons to fly continuously for hours as
part of the competition, while they track them with electronic rings. They typically train the birds for a year before entering the races. One race
recently drew 830 birds for a challenge spanning more than 450 kilometers.
All right. Finally this hour, a group of lifelong friends is offering advice on any subject to whoever wants it. They call themselves the Old
Broads. And they hope to spread cheer while also building up their own friends.
Hugh Keeton from WLOX in Mississippi has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALL: Free advice from the Old Broads, some good, some bad, always free.
HUGH KEETON, WLOX REPORTER (voice-over): Four friends since elementary school, Cheryl, Kathleen, Sue, and Cindy still getting together 55 years
after graduating from Long Beach High School.
CHERYL NYBERG, THE OLD BROADS MEMBER: Hey, Emily.
KEETON (voice-over): They're always ready to invite anyone to a seat at their table.
NYBERG: We laugh, but we do give some good advice. I mean --
CINDY ROGERS, THE OLD BROADS MEMBER: And we're in shape though, supposed to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, yes.
KEETON (voice-over): Setting up their sign in the Town Green during the weekly Farmers Market or in the corner of the coffee shop, the Old Broads
get a wide variety of questions.
SUE HATEM, THE OLD BROADS MEMBER: Mostly, we're greeted with a smile.
ROGERS: And a giggle.
HATEM: Yes. And it's like, OK, what advice can you give to me? We'll say something along the lines of, well, you could have picked a better shirt,
but that's OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, hey, hey.
KEETON (voice-over): Cheryl lived away from Long Beach for decades. When she moved back a few years ago, the four friends started getting together
like no time had passed.
NYBERG: I think it's real unusual that we go back as far as we do to kindergarten.
KATHLEEN HODGINS, THE OLD BROADS MEMBER: And live to tell about it.
NYBERG: And live to tell about it.
KEETON (voice-over): As for the name, "Old Broads."
NYBERG: I saw on Facebook a men's group and they were called the Old Farts. And they're saying was the truth is out there, just not here.
And so we thought, we can do that. Let's give free advice.
KEETON (voice-over): Someone something's free, you have to take advantage of it, right?
KEETON: When is the good time to buy a car?
HODGINS: Twenty minutes before your car is dead. (INAUDIBLE)
NYBERG: I think I kind of want interest rates to drop a little bit more.
HODGINS: Yes.
NYBERG: And I would milk the car on drive and nail for all it's worth before I traded it in.
KEETON (voice-over): But the advice isn't always taken as freely as it's given.
HODGINS: My car just got paid off and I'm always suddenly got this urge.
ROGERS: Oh, stop.
HODGINS: I'm looking at her and thinking but it's (INAUDIBLE).
ROGERS: It runs beautifully and it's pretty.
HODGINS: Yes. (INAUDIBLE).
KEETON (voice-over): While the old classmates enjoy dishing out advice to others, they spend just as much time lifting each other up.
HATEM: I will tell you, when my husband passed away, these three ladies kept me going.
ROGERS: Yes. We're there for each other.
KEETON (voice-over): Living through experiences together gives them each perspective on what might be the most important priorities for others.
[12:55:00]
HATEM: But our best advice is --
NYBERG: Don't talk politics.
HATEM: Well, besides that --
NYBERG: Yes.
HATEM: -- is to get a 3D mammogram.
ROGERS: Yes. That's what I said to them. It saved my life.
KEETON (voice-over): Cindy Rogers lived through breast cancer. Now, she lives to tell others how to catch it early. It's just one way the Old
Broads are helping their community and creating friendships.
HATEM: We all need to make connections outside of ourselves.
NYBERG: Yes.
HODGINS: That's right.
HATEM: That's the only way we can positively move forward.
ROGERS: I'll drink to that. Cheryl's got -- let's drink again.
NYBERG: All right.
(LAUGHS)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: That's such a sweet story and what a great way to end the show.
That does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Zain Asher. I so appreciate you watching. "Amanpour" is up next. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
