Return to Transcripts main page
One World with Zain Asher
Trump Holds First Cabinet Meeting Since Iran War Began; IOC Bans Transgender Athletes From Olympic Games; Gulf Nations Intercept Iranian Missiles And Drones; Witkoff: U.S. Negotiating With Iran Through Pakistan; Freckle Face Tattoo Trend Goes Viral; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired March 26, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:00]
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Said they would matter, maybe it does better, who knows? But I wouldn't talk. It's like the question this
young lady has. Sorry, but I embarrassed her. I don't want to embarrass. Because I think you're off. I think she's a friendly reporter, so I'm
sorry.
But, you know, I can't say what we're going to do because if I did, I wouldn't be sitting here for long. They probably -- what does it call the
25th Amendment? That Institute the 25th Amendment. Which -- which they -- which they didn't do with Biden, which is shocking.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Safe enough to leave the region? Because Steve said that they've got enough uranium to make 11 bombs. That's a very scary
thing, so.
TRUMP: Well, it's, again, I can't talk to you about that. You're asking me a question. You're essentially saying, will I go in and do something? I
can't talk to you about that.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking at a coalition of shifts to health warships, to help protect tankers. How close are you getting that
coalition?
TRUMP: Well, we have a coalition for them, but they should have been up here a long time ago. And, you know, they're affected. The amazing thing is
we don't need the Hormuz Strait. We don't need it. We don't need it at all. We have so much oil.
Our country is not affected by this. We have more -- we have twice the amount of oil as Saudi Arabia or Russia. And sooner it'll be three times
the amount.
Chris, do you want to speak to that for a second?
CHRIS WRIGHT, U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY: That's correct. Our total oil production is greater than Saudi Arabia's plus Russia. And more than we
consume in the United States. We're the largest.
TRUMP: Pretty good. Pretty good. You know what they call it? Drill baby drill.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --
TRUMP: Anything else you want to say?
WRIGHT: Well, it's same thing for natural gas. We wait -- before your first term, we were the largest exporter of natural gas in the world. Today,
we're just by far the largest. And we were the largest importer. Now, we're, by far, the largest exporter. And it's growing rapidly this year.
New facilities are coming online. The production is ramping up.
TRUMP: We're doing an amazing -- we're doing an amazing job. We're getting a lot of help for that man right over there. He's getting approvals done
quickly.
And -- and very environmental. He's an environmentalist, actually. He does a great job, but he gives you a fast approval or rejection. Do you have
anything to say?
DOUG BURGUM, U.S. INTERIOR SECRETARY: Well, back on Venezuela, Chris and I both had a chance to be there. I literally think they're going to put a
statue to President Trump. And I'm not being -- it's not a political statement. It's an actual, sir.
TRUMP: I hope. That would be a big great honor.
BURGUM: No, because it's -- it's like they view President Trump like Simon Bolivar. He's the liberator of a country. And this is a country where they
-- you know, they love American baseball. You look on the street. They're wearing NBA jerseys.
And Delcy and her team working with us, getting back. Chris and I both experienced it. It was the first time in Venezuelan history that they had
the free press allowed to come on to the essentially what's there -- where the White House, the Palacio de Miraflores.
TRUMP: Yes.
BURGUM: And it was like -- it was an emotional thing for people that had been for 20 years that never had a chance to be there.
So whether it's the -- and then production, it's showing up in production, the American companies that are coming back. Most of those American
companies have many American Venezuelan team members.
One company in Houston has got 600 Venezuelan Americans that know more about reviving that industry. So their GDP went -- is it one fourth of what
it was before? They want to get back. They remember what it was. Their production on oil production is -- is going to -- is climbing towards 50
percent increase just in the three months we've been here.
That's -- that flows to American refineries on the Gulf Coast lowering the price of gas in America. So it's the --
TRUMP: Forget that. When are they going to do the statue? That would be awesome.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. You've been really honest about how disappointed you are into Keir Starmer (INAUDIBLE) issue to Iran. So I'm
curious about your phone calls with him, how easy they might be.
And also, were you surprised by how - -
TRUMP: Are we talking about Starmer?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TRUMP: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And are you surprised by how --
TRUMP: I think he's a lovely man. I do. I think he's a lovely man. But I think he did something that was shocking. He didn't want to help us.
And maybe in particular to that country, you know, we've got the longest bond, the longest ally. Australia too. Australia was not great. I was a
little surprised by Australia.
I wouldn't say anybody was great. Other than the five countries in the Middle East. We -- we never really had very much support.
You know, we spend trillions of dollars supporting countries. And this is - - literally, this isn't the big league deal. This is sort of literally (INAUDIBLE) for us. This was an easy -- this was -- like, we decimated them
in a period of a week.
The first week, it was over. In the first few days, it was over. I think that Navy took us three days to essentially annihilate that. They weren't
there.
So if there's ever a big one, which I hope there's not, but if there's ever a big one, I don't think they're going to be there.
And that's not fair. And we have to remember that as a country. Because we spend trillions of dollars protecting Europe, protecting the countries of
NATO. They weren't there for us for small time. This is small time.
[12:05:03]
You know what? Venezuela is a big deal, but it's not the big one. They weren't there. So, what makes you think they'd be there if we needed them
to sub?
(CROSSTALK)
And -- and your prime minister was not there, you know. He was there after we won. He said, we'd like to send some ships. I said, we already won. We
don't need them anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But cam you explain why he was (INAUDIBLE).
TRUMP: Why he what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why he was (INAUDIBLE) with Iran.
TRUMP: He didn't have to. I didn't ask him. I just said, you tell me, no. I mean, we -- we're always going to be there, at least we were. I don't know
about anymore, to be honest with you. I don't have to be honest.
We were always there when they needed help. We always would have been there when they needed help.
I mean, think of it. We're there to protect Europe from Russia. In theory, it doesn't affect us. We have an ocean. Big fat, beautiful ocean. But we're
there to protect NATO, to protect them from Russia, but they're not there to protect us. It's ridi -- it doesn't make sense.
I tell you, a lot of people were big NATO people. I was never big. It was OK. I got them to pay five percent.
By the way, they haven't paid it yet. You know that. You know, I got them to pay five percent, from two percent to five percent. They didn't pay it
yet.
I got them to pay up to two percent because they weren't paying the two percent. Then I got them to pay five percent, which they should be at.
And we had a lot of, oh, that was great, great. Oh, only Trump could do it. Trump is having paid because if you look at the numbers, they haven't paid
yet.
So we were there for them, but they were not there for us. Did we need them? No. I never thought we needed them.
I was more doing a test. I said, I really would love to have you come up. Bring your boats. You can sail through the beautiful Hormuz Straits and you
can protect people that are being shot at. They didn't do it.
And that's small potatoes. Do you understand what I'm saying?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I do.
TRUMP: Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just going to say, just (INAUDIBLE) state visit with the king that you kind of having an April? Are you looking forward to
that?
TRUMP: With the king?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With the king.
TRUMP: No. No. He's a friend of mine. He's a great gentleman.
As you know, he honored me and our country. He really honored our country. But we had an amazing time. I've known him as Prince Charles, I know him as
King Charles. I'm proud of him. He's fighting a tough battle. He's tough.
And I think -- I think he's a -- a fantastic. It has nothing to do with that. It's different.
And we're going to -- he's going to be here very soon, as you know. We're going to have a state dinner. It's going to be great.
But I was very disappointed when the prime minister said, I won't be able to. It started with the island. The island that the indigenous have claimed
away from your country. And for some reason, you went for it.
And all of a sudden, indigenous people that never saw the place. They never saw it. He was afraid that we would do something to himself. Because he's a
liberal. That's the way they think.
And -- and when we needed the island to land that beautiful B2 bomber, we were told we can't use it. We'd have to fly back to Missouri, which is a
17-hour flight, as opposed to a couple of hours. And I said, you got to be kidding. Not good. They made a big mistake.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President (INAUDIBLE) deadline for Iran, is that push back now or it's not (INAUDIBLE).
TRUMP: I don't know yet. I don't know. Mr. Witkoff and J.D. and Jared will tell me whether or not they think it's going along. And if it's not going
along, maybe not.
And we have a lot of time. You know what? It's a day. In Trump time, a day, you know what it is? That's an eternity.
(LAUGH)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) has a major --
TRUMP: Say it. What?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your parliament just passed a major deportation plan. Some of the tenets of it are that member states can deport, reject the
asylum seekers to their countries, regardless of whether they have a connection to it. It allows for detention periods of up to two years, and
also offshore return (INAUDIBLE) or detention centers so much power.
TRUMP: Who did this? Who does -- which country?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) Parliament. And the vote was not close. It was 389 in favor --
TRUMP: Good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- to 208 again.
TRUMP: I'd vote -- I'd vote with them. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're in this where you are now. Do you think that will move the needle with Democrats?
TRUMP: I don't care about the Democrats. The Democrats hate our country. The Democrats are in chaos right now. And they have no common sense.
You know, they have one quality that's amazing, they stick together. And it's harder because they stick together a ridiculous policy like men
playing in women's sports, open borders for everybody, including murderers and anybody else that want to -- we're open to you. Come in murderers.
You know why they do that? They do that for a couple of reasons, but they do it for votes because they think they're going to vote for the Democrats.
Even though I did great with the Hispanic vote, tremendous with the Hispanic vote. You know, I turned that whole thing around.
[12:10:12]
The Hispanics like me and I like them. And, you know, it's interesting with Hispanics. When I built the wall, everybody said, oh, that's going to ruin
us for these Hispanics, which is the opposite.
They know all about immigration and they know all about death and crime and they're smart people and they have common sense. They wanted to be
protected from the people that were coming into our country.
So, you know, I won the election with a very tremendous Hispanic vote. And I think it's higher now than it was then.
So, we're a party of common sense. The Democrats are a party of insanity. They're a party that will destroy our country. If I didn't win this
election, I believe our country would have been destroyed by now.
One year, that's all it would have taken. If you had Kamala or Sleepy Joe, either one, it wouldn't have mattered. They're the same thing. Two sleepy
people. Two stupid people.
I believe -- and -- and by the way, Gavin Newscum, who is one of the candidates, I believe he took himself out of the running when he says he
suffers from mental disability.
And a reporter said it was terrible that I talked that way about somebody with mental disability. I said, no problem with it, but I don't want a
person with mental disability to be my president.
I mean, you don't want to have a person with mental disability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: OK. We're going to continue to monitor the president. He is having a cabinet meaning. It's been going on since 10:35
A.M.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He's as dumb as all the people in the room and he got accused of being a racist, which was an amazing saying.
I thought it was the worst interview I've ever seen anybody give. He's actually a very stupid person. So I believe he's out of the running.
I think that that statement, that interview, he admitted that he's a stupid person. I don't want a stupid person being president.
You know, I'll say it right now, I say it because no person ever reports it. I'm the only president that ever took a cognitive test. I took it three
times. It's actually a very hard test for a lot of people. It wasn't hard for me.
But it's a cognitive test. It starts off with an easy question. And by the time you get to the middle, get suffered. By the time you get to the end,
very few people can answer those questions. You get very tough mathematical equations and things.
I took it three times. I aced it all three times in front of numerous doctors that I have no idea who they -- who -- who they are.
And I was told when I went in, they said, Doc Ronny told me this. My current doctors were fantastic doctors. They said, well, if you take it,
you know, it's Walter Reed. It's essentially a public hospital.
And if you do badly, it's probably going to get out, but I aced it. I got them all right.
And one doctor said, I've never seen anybody get them all right. I've been doing the test for 20 years.
I want people -- I -- I would love to see anybody that's a president or a vice president or anybody that has any chance of being a president. I would
like to see them take a cognitive test. Because we had a man in this office that had no clue what was happening.
And let me give you a little secret, he wasn't a smart man 30 years ago. And I'll tell you about President Obama. He wasn't a smart man either. I
know all about him. He wasn't a smart man. Highly overrated.
He was a great divider. And our country can't go through that anymore. Can't go through. We have done an amazing job. I had to do a little
stopover. I call it an excursion. I had to do a little stopover in Iran. And we had to knock the hell out of them because our country would not have
been safe. The world wouldn't have been safe.
I've done a great favor for the world. The world has not been -- it has not been reciprocal. Because when I told NATO, where we give billions and
billions of dollar, trillions over the years, I said, do you mind coming up and giving us a little hand with this, straight send up some? They didn't
want to get involved. And I believe that's going to cost them dearly.
Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Hello, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York. You have been watching President Trump and his
cabinet meeting at the White House.
This meeting, I believe, his longest, perhaps, since he's come back to office for his second term, a little over an hour and a half.
The president making some notable headlines, beginning with the -- that the Iranians are the ones who are begging to make a deal with the United
States. The president says it's not him. It is the Iranians who are begging to make a deal.
He also revealed the gift that he said the Iranians had delivered to him earlier this week by stating that -- and announcing that the Iranians had
let some ships, about 10 tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This as we enter day 27 of the war.
[12:15:10]
The president also made some comments on domestic issues and concerns, as everyone has seen, those lengthening lines at the airports here in the
country, day 41 of the partial government shutdown.
The president blaming Democrats and saying that he will take some drastic measures if DHS funding isn't -- isn't turned back on.
Alayna Treene, let's -- let's turn to you now. You've been listening at the White House. So, what stood out to you again hearing the president say that
it is the Iranians who want to make a deal?
We also heard some more detail from Steve Witkoff as to what those earlier negotiations prior to the start of this war looked like.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I think actually what Witkoff kind of briefed on, you know, the president obviously going to
him around the table. Notably also, Witkoff is not a cabinet member but, of course crucial, really leading these talks in addition to the president's
son-in-law, Jared Kushner, when it comes to handling negotiations for this war with Iran.
Look, I think a couple of things though stood out to me. I'll get into the specifics of what Witkoff went to in a moment, but I think one, just from
the top there. You saw the president first go to the Vice President J.D. Vance notable that, you know, he was someone who was actually very much
wary about military involvement in Iran, one of the voices who actually cautioned at times against moving forward with strikes.
But he went to Vance first to lay out the justification essentially for this war. And that's really what we heard from a number of these officials.
To me, it was very notable, all of them, trying to explain clearly to the American people, you know, the White House, hoping the American people were
watching this meeting, why they believe this war is justified. The president himself trying to paint a rosy picture of the -- what he called
success thus far with these military operations.
To get back to the Witkoff point of this, though, he did walk through, you know, the negotiations that the president had tasked him and Kushner to
have with the Iranians, dating back several months now, going even back before to the beginning, early months of the president's second term before
Operation Midnight Hammer, of course, when the U.S. joined Israel to strike several of the Iranian nuclear facilities last summer.
He said that one of their clear goals was nuclear enrichment and making sure that Iran would not enrich uranium, something that they refused to do.
And also this idea of really, in their minds, Witkoff said, giving the United States, both Witkoff and Kushner, the idea that they were not
committed to or serious when they made these statements, that they would commit to not making a nuclear weapon. And that's really where talks fell
apart, he said.
But what I also found was very interesting was that we also kind of heard him almost try to an attempt to explain, Bianna, why he couldn't share more
about the diplomatic talks now.
He essentially said -- he said that he believes that talks are progressing. He said -- he said, I can present to you. He kind of confirmed that the
United States had presented the Iranians with a 15-point plan, something that was passed along from the Pakistanis, which are a key intermediary
here, something we had reported, but first time we're hearing U.S. officials actually confirm that they did that.
And he said that these are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and you have directed us, referring to the president, to maintain confidentiality on the
specific terms and not negotiate through the news media as other do -- as others do.
He went on to say, we will see where things lead. And if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them,
other than more death and destruction, we have strong signs that this is a possibility.
So really, I think notable, of course, again, because Witkoff is leading these talks. He is one of the people leading this effort by the Trump
administration to set up a meeting, potentially in Pakistan or another country abroad, to have the Iranians there to try and find a diplomatic
pathway. So that is very notable.
The other thing is the president, very much trying to tamp down reports that he is -- you know, he referred to one story he said that he read, that
he was desperate, Bianna, to make a deal. This was a very striking quote to me.
He said, I'm not desperate. He said, the first person who would know if he were desperate would be the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He would have
told him to, quote, get the hell out of there. But he said, quote, I'm the opposite of desperate. I don't care. We have other targets we want to hit
before we leave.
So just giving you a sense there of what at least the president is trying to project publicly at this point in time.
All to say, key questions of course remain. A lot of skepticism over whether diplomacy is actually possible at this time.
We're hearing a lot of pushback from the Iranians that negotiations are actually something they are committed to or are happening at this moment,
but we'll have to see.
[12:20:03]
And then the last thing again -- and I know I'm going on here, but I just - - to point out what your question about that gift that he had, the president had taunted the media with earlier this week. He said that the
gift was that Iran allowed eight boats and then he corrected it. He said it ultimately ended up being 10 boats able to pass through the strait.
Context here, though, of course, we have heard the Iranians say that the Pakistanis would be able to continue through the strait. Those boats were
flagged Pakistani, just a little context around there. But the president said to them, that was a sign that they are ready to negotiate in good
faith.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And 10 tankers, just a fraction of the number that typically before the war would go through and pass through the Strait of
Hormuz. It was interesting to hear the president say in his view that there are substantive talks happening right now, reiterating what we heard from
Steve Witkoff, where he said there are strong signs that this indeed is a possibility, that being Iran agreeing to a deal saying that Iran is looking
for an off-ramp right now and left them with a warning. Don't miscalculate again.
Alayna Treene, thank you so much. I know there's a lot to get through. That was a brilliant way of summing up a press conference and a cabinet meeting
that went on for over an hour and a half.
Appreciate the time.
Let's bring in Jackie Kucinich. She is the Washington bureau chief for "The Boston Globe" and joins us live from Washington.
So, Jackie, we also heard the president touch on some of the concerns as it relates to the economic impact of this war, saying, you know, continuing to
call it an excursion, saying that he didn't mind the increase in oil and gas prices that he views as just temporary, and again, going back to what
he described as a very healthy and strong, robust economy. And even saying he thought that the markets and that prices would have been higher at this
point.
What stood out to you from his words?
JACKIE KUCINICH, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE BOSTON GLOBE: It's -- it's funny you -- you pinpoint those things, Bianna, because it's exactly what I
wrote down, particularly as we're talking about this, under the overarching umbrella of affordability, something that Americans are very concerned of
and concerned about, and say as much, and poll after poll after poll, and also just when you talk to people in the country, that is what they're
talking about.
The fact that he thought it was going to even be higher really made me raise my eyebrows because gas prices, depending on where you are, but
everywhere, are up. And that -- look, it's causing people to look at their budgets, particularly also you have this issue with all of these TSA
workers who are not being paid.
And so the fact that you're talking about the strong economy, when we know for a fact that a lot of people out there, including government workers,
are suffering because of, you know, all of these various issues, some of which created by the president himself.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. I'll get to the TSA issue in just a moment, but if I could just follow up on what else we heard, not only from the president, but then
from his defense secretary, the secretary of state, national security advisor, Marco Rubio, and others, and the vice president, really trying to
lay out the threat that Iran posed to not only the region, but to the world, the United States, and taking a look at their actions thus far in
this war, and asking the question, the hypothetical, imagine what this country, this weakened country and regime would do if they had their hands
on a nuclear weapon.
They've already lied to us about the ballistic missiles and their capabilities --
KUCINICH: Right.
GOLODRYGA: -- saying that look, they told us they didn't have long-range or medium-range missiles. They just sent missiles to the Diego Garcia 2,000
miles away from that where -- where they originated and were launched from.
Do you think that they made an adequate enough case to the American public about the threat that Iran posed?
KUCINICH: I mean, I'm old enough to remember when they said that the Iran's ability to make nuclear weapons was obliterated because of, you know, a
different rate, also selling this after the fact, when both to the American people and to Congress, when they've already done this.
I mean, I guess it's up to the American people, but it is a little too little too late. They're trying to make a reason rather than having a
reason, but they're there now. And they know they have to justify it and why gas prices are up, why you have American soldiers going there. You have
American soldiers dying there.
So it -- it -- whether or not they're going to, it's going to be enough. We'll have to wait and see, but it certainly does seem like there --
there's a lot of like retroactive things going on here.
GOLODRYGA: And then coming back to the domestic concerns, aside from the impact to the economy and gas prices here, the lines, the -- the -- the --
the wait time at airports that we've now seen for weeks on and day 41 of this partial government shutdown.
[12:25:02]
The president saying that he will take drastic measures if DHS isn't funded. And this morning, a posted -- a post on Truth Social, once again
calling for the abolishment of the filibuster, something that Senate Republican leaders have thus far, said they refuse to do.
Jackie, he painted this as a crisis that the Democrats are being blamed for. He even said that this is Chuck Schumer -- Chuck Schumer's problem and
that that's what he's hearing on televisions and interviews this morning with those passengers that are there waiting in these lines.
Is that what the polling suggests? Are Americans blaming Democrats for this?
KUCINICH: I think Americans are frustrated that the politicians can't get their acts together and open back up the -- the -- the -- and getting TSA
workers paid and thus relieving these lines.
I think that -- but regards to what the president said, I think it was a lot easier case to be made before he reportedly told the Senate Majority
Leader, John Thune, that he wasn't going to sign any -- any -- anything to reopen DHS without a unrelated voting bill attached to it, something that
there's not even unanimous support among Senate Republicans for.
The filibuster isn't going anywhere. So that's also -- I mean, he could -- he can post Truth Social on as much as he wants. There's not enough support
among Senate Republicans.
So again, I think -- I think he, by inserting himself into this, he's -- he's getting himself even more enveloped in what is a real stalemate on the
Hill right now. And, you know, one would hope that they were able to come to a compromise sooner rather than later.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. This as Congress is about to go on a two-week recess. I don't know how many --
KUCINICH: Right.
GOLODRYGA: -- of these lawmakers will actually be having to stay -- stand in these lines themselves. It is grueling and completely self-inflicted on
by -- by this government on Americans who are trying to travel now.
Jackie Kucinich, thank you so much. Good to see you.
KUCINICH: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Well, coming up for us, the latest in the Nancy Guthrie case. Her daughter Savannah, giving her first interview since that apparent
abduction. We'll hear why she blames her own thing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Venezuela's ousted president is back in a New York court right now. Nicolas Maduro's attorneys are expected to push for a dismissal of the
case in a New York -- in a courtroom here in New York. They say the Treasury Department has revoked a license that allows Venezuela to pay for
the legal cost.
[12:30:16]
And in their view, that violates Maduro's constitutional right to defend himself. Maduro has pleaded not guilty to charges related to drug
trafficking, money laundering, and corruption.
Well, transgender women athletes are now banned from competing in the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee has agreed to a new
eligibility policy, one that is in line with President Trump's executive order on women's sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
CNN's Christina Macfarlane joins me now from London with more from this decision.
So just break it down for us. What does this ultimately mean, Christina?
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN SENIOR SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bianna. I mean, this was an absolute bombshell from the IOC, but one we were expecting
because the issue of who can compete in the women's category has become one of the most fraught, one of the most politicized issues in, honestly, the
history of sports.
And we now know that after a 30-year hiatus, the IOC will be reintroducing sex testing after they actually dropped it for being inhumane and
inaccurate, harmful to women.
And let's just take a quick listen to IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who was talking earlier today on this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRSTY COVENTRY, IOC PRESIDENT: Scientific evidence is very clear, male chromosomes give performance advantages in sports that rely on strength,
power, or endurance.
At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it's absolutely clear that it would not be
fair for biological males to compete in the female category.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Let's be clear, there are going to be many who take issue with the science the IOC have applied in order to -- to implement this test.
But what it means, Bianna, is starting today, all athletes are going to be required to take a once-in-a-lifetime cheek swab or blood test to determine
whether or not they have a gene called the SRY gene. That's a gene that can detect the presence of a Y or a male chromosome, which causes male
characteristics to develop.
And in practice, what that's going to mean is that all transgender athletes and athletes with differences of sex development or DSD are effectively
going to be banned from the sport.
And as you can imagine, this is raising real medical, ethical, implementational concerns around how the IOC are going to move forward with
this. They say they're going to be providing more detail in the days to come.
But right now, on the basis of the medical evidence, I mean, I actually spoke to the scientist who discovered the SRY gene in 1990. And he told me
that to use this method to determine biological sex was actually misguided and the IOC should not be doing it.
When it comes to the sort of ethical questions, the ethical concerns around this, I've been following this for a long time speaking to a lot of human
rights activists, and she told me, one in particular in the last hour, told me that this was a brutal policy with even more brutal comments by the
president. The policy is not based on science, but on stigma.
And on the issue of implementation, we should expect real issues there, too, because it's actually illegal in several countries around the world to
use genetic sex testing to determine sex. There's going to be a lot of legal cases that come from this.
But, Bianna, this has been many, many years in the making. And there have been many athletes, you know, who have been sort of criticized,
stigmatized, and -- and -- and focused on inaccurately in terms of determining, you know, whether or not women should be competing, or women
should be competing in the -- in the women's category.
So there's going to be a lot more fallout to come from this. And I expect a lot more legal challenges to follow.
GOLODRYGA: And as you've noted, you've been covering this for -- topic for many, many years. And you'll continue to do so for us.
Christina Macfarlane, thank you.
Well, Savannah Guthrie believes that her own fame may have played a role in her mother, Nancy's apparent abduction.
Speaking to NBC in her first interview, since the disappearance, Guthrie said her family is an agony as they await updates on Nancy's well-being.
The broadcaster also discussed her brother's theory that Nancy was kidnapped for ransom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, CO-HOST, NBC'S "TODAY": Like how dumb could I be, but I just -- I didn't want to believe I just said, do you think because of me?
And he said, I'm sorry sweetie, but yes, maybe. But I knew that.
HODA KOTB, AMERICAN BROADCASTER: You did?
GUTHRIE: I hope not. I mean, we still don't know. Honestly, we don't know anything.
KOTB: No.
GUTHRIE: We don't know anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: And they still continue to hope and pray for their mother's return.
[12:35:01]
A friend of Savannah's tell CNN that the Guthrie family maintains close communication with law enforcement.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.
Gulf nations continue fending off attacks as regional strikes by Iran continue. Falling debris killed two people in Abu Dhabi. The UAE's
ambassador wrote -- an ambassador to the United States wrote an op-ed in "The Wall Street Journal" saying, quote, "We can't let Iran hold the U.S.,
the United Arab Emirates, and the global economy hostage. A simple ceasefire isn't enough. We need a conclusive outcome that addresses Iran's
full range of threats, nuclear capabilities, missiles, drones, terror proxies, and blockades of international sea lanes. This isn't a war that we
wanted until hours before the first strike, Emirati officials undertook intensive diplomatic efforts from Tehran to Washington.
So let's bring in managing director for the Middle East and North Africa for the Eurasia group, Firas Maksad. Firas, it's good to see you.
So there you hear from the UAE ambassador speaking for his government, saying that they are against ending this war until there is a conclusive
outcome.
You juxtapose that against the stopwatch that the president is basing this war on at this point. He sees the poll numbers. He sees gas and oil prices
continuing to rise. There have been reports that -- that he set out that this war would be four to six weeks. Now there's another date, perhaps his
meeting with President Xi in China. And he would like this war to be over by that time in May.
Talk about the tension and -- and the pressure on the president from these Gulf nations that are now saying, you can't leave this war in our own
backyard until Iran is completely defanged.
[12:40:07]
FIRAS MAKSAD, MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA, EURASIA GROUP: Thank you, Bianna. I actually don't think that there is much
tension right now between these GCC partners and President Trump.
I think what President Trump, we all know by now says publicly, is perhaps different than his real position or his intentions. And this is all part of
his negotiating style and negotiating strategy.
What's very clear and what's communicated through this op-ed in "The Wall Street Journal" from the UAE ambassador is that an inconclusive outcome to
this war is a very negative outcome, not only for the GCC, not only for the UAE, but for U.S. interests in the global economy.
Iran's succeeding to hold the Straits of Hormuz hostage means that the entire global economy is at stake. It's not only energy, it's not only oil,
it's also gas, it's petrochemicals, it's aluminum, it's fertilizers. A very significant percentage of what underpins the global economy goes through
that very crucial strait.
So the message here, and I think it's a message that is well received by President Trump, is that you cannot having fought this war right now and on
an inconclusive note.
Again, the messaging publicly from President Trump perhaps is one thing, but I think Marines being dispatched to the region speak much louder.
GOLODRYGA: And it's interesting that you raise that because you hear from a number of experts, analysts, even military, former military officials and
now commentators who have come to the conclusion that 27 days and that Iran is -- has the cards at this point. The time is on their side.
And that while militarily they may be -- they may have already been defeated, that they see the pressure that President Trump is facing perhaps
not even from himself but from the American public. Karim Sadjadpour has written about this as well.
Do you think, at this point, that Iran feels that they have the upper hand? Or are they just posturing?
MAKSAD: I think certainly both sides are hurting and both sides are posturing. Yes, Iran continues to fire, but we have to all recall that this
is a regime that even before the onset of war had to kill tens of thousands of its own people just to survive, was struggling with runaway inflation
with no solutions for its own people.
And so to think that Iran actually emerges from this in a -- in a successful way, I think it begs that the truth is -- is different.
I do think, however, that despite the pain at the pump, we haven't seen yet in the U.S. any fractures within the Republican base, within the Republican
Party. Most polls, including polls put out by CNN, indicate that the MAGA base remains firmly behind this war and behind the president.
And until that changes, I don't see the pressure piling on President Trump to bring this to a quick conclusion.
So, yes, there might be some posturing. You might hear the president exploring the possibilities of an off-ramp suggesting it, offering
negotiations.
But again, I think watch what President Trump does rather than when he says as the clue of to where we might go next.
GOLODRYGA: Quickly, because I'm being told we're -- we're out of time. Does that change in your view? And is the president perhaps risking that MAGA
support if boots on the ground does become the reality?
MAKSAD: The president's willingness to take on risk is certainly something that has surprised me and surprised most observers.
I don't think that the Iranian military and their capabilities are going to be a match, but certainly, if various scenarios that are out there,
including Kharg Island, perhaps even seizing some of the other islands, the Iranian coastlines, those are high-risk operation.
I have no doubt that the American military will come out on top, but certainly any time you go into war, lives are at stakes, including American
lives.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Firas Maksad, thank you so much. It's always good to have you on the program.
MAKSAD: My pleasure.
GOLODRYGA: And still to come for us, with the U.S. and Iran reportedly looking for a way out of this war, we'll look at why Pakistan may be the
perfect venue to deliver an off-ramp to both sides.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:15]
GOLODRYGA: All right. Moments ago at the cabinet meeting, President Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed the United States has been
negotiating with Iran through diplomatic channels with Pakistan.
And sources tell CNN there's a proposal for officials to meet in Islamabad this weekend.
CNN's Ivan Watson reports from there on why Pakistan could be an ideal venue for negotiators.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the war in the Middle East continues to rage in its fourth week, continuing to claim lives and cause enormous and
expensive damage, there has also been a flurry of mediation efforts.
And two senior U.S. administration officials have said that Pakistan could be a venue as early as this weekend for some kind of talks aimed at getting
an off-ramp or de-escalation to the conflict.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister put out this statement saying that U.S.-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan.
In this context, the U.S. has shared 15 points being deliberated upon by Iran.
He goes on to write that other countries, such as Turkey and Egypt, have also contributed with these efforts to try to back channel between the
warring enemies.
As for the Iranian government, we have heard from an official saying there have been exchanges of messages, but the Iranian foreign minister, the top
diplomat, certainly does not make it sound like Tehran is anywhere close to cutting a deal with the Trump administration. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): There is no negotiations, but the fact that the enemy who sought our unconditional
surrender now talks about negotiations, requests, talks, and mobilizes its highest officials to negotiate with the Islamic Republic. This means
accepting defeat.
So far, the people of Iran, our armed forces, and all segments of the nation are truly the winners.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Iran's state-funded press T.V. has published a list of what it says would be Iranian demands if talks were to move forward with Washington.
They include a complete halt to aggression and assassinations. Establishment of concrete mechanisms to ensure the war in Iran does not
resume. Guaranteed and clearly defined payment of war reparations and end to military operations across all fronts, and for all Iranian proxies in
the region, and a guarantee that Iran can exercise sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
And a month ago, when Iran was engaging in talks with the two U.S. envoys, that was Steve Witkoff, the -- the real estate magnate, and President
Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the Strait of Hormuz was not one of the topics of discussion. It was the nuclear program in Iran and ballistic
missile technology.
[12:50:11]
The Strait of Hormuz has been shuttered as a result of the war and has demonstrated new form of leverage that Iran has not only over the U.S., but
actually over the global economy.
Both sides are clearly posturing. And we have no confirmation yet of whether any kind of negotiations will, in fact, move forward face to face.
And meanwhile, again, the death toll and the enormous economic costs of this war continue to grow.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Well, the White House says a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which was postponed due to
the war with Iran, is now set for mid-May. However, Beijing's foreign ministry has declined to confirm this.
Well, have you ever wanted freckles but weren't born with them? A tattoo artist can help with that look. There's something for everyone, I guess. A
look at the newest beauty trends, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: So, apparently, there is a new beauty trend that's racking up tens of millions of views on social media, it's face freckle tattoos.
The procedure is like any other tattoo. And like any other tattoo, it is a permanent.
Reporter Anna Ballweber has the details from Fargo, North Dakota.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA WALLWEBER, REPORTER (voice-over): Spots, dots, and a lot of commitment. It's a beauty trend that's written on your face, literally.
TRENT BALVITSCH, TATTOO ARTIST: A face freckle tattoo? I mean, those are mostly decorative.
BALLWEBER (voice-over): This decorative trend has over 131 million views on social media platforms like TikTok.
Local shops say, they'll do this procedure, but the name of the game is proceed with caution.
BALVITSCH: Each artist will probably tell you something a little bit different, but I -- I would definitely caution people to get it tattooed.
BALLWEBER (voice-over): Even with freckles, it's approached as any other facial tattoo.
BALVITSCH: When somebody comes to me and asks for a facial tattoo, I -- I really kind of grill them a little. I'm not going to -- I'm not their dad
or their parent, but I want to make sure they're making a really a -- a very smart choice, a great decision.
BALLWEBER (voice-over): He says, decisions when you're 18 can be different as you age. This artist advises waiting for this procedure only until
you're 100 percent confident.
[12:55:01]
BALVITSCH: I'd say an age limit. Try to go with that age 30. A lot of times at that age, people know should -- kind of know who they are a little bit.
BALLWEBER (voice-over): But when you know, they're here for questions before this trend hits the tattoo chair.
BALVITSCH: That's what we're here for, to help out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Now, that is a responsible tattoo artist. I guess to each their own.
And finally, something we can all agree upon, the beauty of cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C.'s Tidal Basin. Well, they have reached peak bloom.
These are the live pictures from the U.S. Capitol. This is the seventh year in a row that the famous flora have reached peak bloom early. All right. I
can look at that forever.
And that does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks so much for watching. "Amanpour" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
