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The Situation Room

Menopause Treatment Shortage; Chaos in Mexico; Trump Set to Deliver State of the Union Address. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired February 24, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: New this morning, FedEx, yes, FedEx is suing the federal government. The shipping giant is seeking a full refund of the money it paid for tariffs imposed by President Trump.

The lawsuit appears to be the first by a major U.S. company after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled just last week that the tariffs were illegal. Thousands of other businesses sued the government for refunds ahead of the court's decision. As you see there, they include Costco, Bumble Bee Foods, the parent company of Ray-Ban sunglasses, and Revlon.

Even if the companies eventually do get refunds, it's considered doubtful that consumers who paid higher prices will ever see any of that money. President Trump says he will talk about the economy in the State of the Union address tonight. He says it will be a -- quote -- "long speech." Could go an hour, maybe longer.

With us now is CNN senior political commentator David Urban and CNN political commentator Karen Finney.

To both of you, thanks very much for coming in. It's an important day, indeed, to be sure.

David, let me start with you.

The president, as you have seen in all these major polls, sinking poll numbers, big time, a potential escalating conflict in Iran right now, economic headwinds, and was just dealt a major blow by the U.S. Supreme Court, ruling that the tariffs he imposed were illegal. That was the words of the U.S. Supreme Court.

What do you want to hear from the president tonight?

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, Wolf, I think Donald Trump would be wise to strike an optimistic tone here, right, and reflecting back on our nation's -- this is the 250th anniversary of our great country.

And I think if the president were to come tonight and said, listen, our country's been through a lot, we have been around a long time -- we have had tough crises. We have faced tough headwinds before. Things may be not looking great for everybody in America, but hang in there, things are going to get better.

I think that the president's economic plan, I think his economic advisers, I think they believe that Q1 of this year, things are going to start turning, the economy is going to get better. Real wage growth has increased, right? Inflation has gone down. Wage growth has gone up. So people have more money in their pockets. All those tax cuts are kind of kicking in.

But people still haven't felt that yet. And so I think the president needs to project some optimism on the economic front. I think he needs to protect strength on the international front. As you alluded to, we have got this potential conflict with Iran looming on the horizon.

And so I think the state of the union is strong, and I hope the president projects that tonight.

BLITZER: We will see if he does.

The president said yesterday, as you know, Karen, that he plans on talking about the economy big time later tonight. He said in part -- and I'm quoting him now -- "We have the greatest economy we have ever had." Those are his words, the greatest economy we have ever had.

What will you be listening for tonight?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I wish that what we would hear tonight would be a little bit more of what David said in terms of optimism.

I would love to hear the president also acknowledge the very real pain that people are feeling. Democrats tonight are going to -- those who attend, some are bringing Epstein survivors who want answers. Some are bringing individuals who have lost their jobs in part because of tariffs.

Some are bringing individuals who have lost their health care because the president was more focused on going after Greenland and attacking Canada than lowering health care costs. So I'd love to hear the president have some empathy. I don't think that's what we're going to hear.

It feels like it's going to be more gaslighting, particularly if -- all due respect to David, the economy is not doing better for millions of Americans, friends and family members of my own who happen to live in red states who are talking about the impact of Medicaid cuts, losing their health care.

Grocery prices are up. Gas prices are up. So those layers and what they see are this billionaire first tax cut plan that worked for billionaires last year, but it's not working for average Americans.

BLITZER: This is a midterm election, a critical midterm election, as you know, David, crucial elections coming up in November, the midterm elections. How will tonight's speech define campaign strategies for both parties?

URBAN: Yes, listen, Wolf, I think that, to your point there, and to Karen's point, the president needs to make a strong case for the economy. Things are going to get better.

I think you're going to talk about Trump Accounts. Karen's point, if you have investments in the equity markets, right, if you're invested in the stock market, you're doing very well. But most Americans don't have that, right? They don't have money in the market.

And so how are the Trump successes, like these Trump Accounts for children, all these kids in the future are going to have money in the equity markets moving forward. How are those going to play out in the long run?

I think the president needs to talk about his successes and talk about what he's going to do to make people's lives better. The president did incredibly well. He put this coalition together of black, brown people, working-class, people in bodegas, black barbershops.

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He needs to speak to those folks again and say, I know you have $20 in your pocket. We want you to have $40 in your pocket. And here's how we're going to make sure that happens.

FINNEY: Can I just point out, here's the problem, I think, is the polls have been showing increasingly over the year, I mean, it's more of a trend. It's not just an outlier.

Americans don't buy it, because they're not seeing it. They're not feeling it. They're seeing a president who seems more focused on retribution. They're seeing chaos and pain in our streets with regard to what's happening with ICE.

And so, again, because people aren't feeling it, I think part of what you're hearing is people saying, I don't want to be gaslit tonight. I want to know when you're going to fix my problems, when you're going to focus on me. And that's part of why you're going to see, again, Democrats who won't be at the State of the Union, who will be delivering a different message about the real state of the union.

URBAN: I think also, Wolf, look, listen, the Biden administration had this exact same problem, right?

FINNEY: Yes.

URBAN: The economy was doing objectively fairly well, and nobody believed it, right? And so how do you message that? You see the president saying, my -- we got to do a better job at the P.R. part. Biden needed to do that. This president needs to do that.

We need to make sure that people realize that they feel it in their pockets. If you don't -- the economy is very complex. It's just not what your gas pump is. It's your -- can you afford a house? Are you a gig worker? FINNEY: Of course. It's all those layers.

URBAN: There's so many different things that affect how people feel, what their experiences are individually.

BLITZER: A lot is at stake tonight.

URBAN: Yes, absolutely.

BLITZER: All right, David, thank you very much. Karen, thanks to you as well.

FINNEY: Absolutely.

BLITZER: And join CNN for in-depth coverage and analysis of the State of the Union address later tonight. Our special coverage begins 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN, or watch on the CNN app.

And just ahead: A dream vacation turns into a nightmare. American tourists are stranded in Mexico. They're caught up in a surge of cartel violence.

I will speak to one man who's simply trying to get home. That's next.

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BLITZER: Mexico's president now says the cartel violence that exploded on Sunday is subsiding and the country is returning to normal.

Cartel gang members attacked vehicles and businesses on Sunday after Mexico's military killed El Mencho, the nation's most wanted cartel leader. President Claudia Sheinbaum says 25 members of the National Guard military police were killed in the fighting. There are no reports of civilian deaths.

The scattered violence has stranded tourists across the country. The U.S. State Department has told Americans to minimize their movements. Flights in and out Guadalajara and the resort town of Puerto Vallarta could see disruptions for another day or two.

Our next guest is an American tourist stranded in Puerto Vallarta.

T.J., thanks so much for joining us. I know you were there for a birthday party, scheduled to fly home to Dallas on Sunday. That's when your phone started blowing up with all the alarming news. Walk us through what happened on Sunday.

T.J. PERRY, U.S. TOURIST STRANDED IN MEXICO: Yes, most definitely.

So, on Sunday, we were scheduled to depart. And all of a sudden, our attendee, we weren't hearing from him anymore. We actually -- he was helping us throughout the week. And he messaged my partner and I and basically stated that he could not get in due to fires blocking the road.

He sent us photos of burnt buses, burnt cars, and then stated that he could not get in and most likely to check with the front desk. We checked with the front desk. And then we were told, unfortunately, that there was some military activity going on with some individuals.

We later started to utilize our phones and later understood that it was in fact the cartel that was having some activity and it caught us all by surprise, including the team members here, as this does not normally occur here in Puerto Vallarta.

BLITZER: It must have been really scary.

What were you actually seeing, T.J., just outside your hotel?

PERRY: Yes, once we got that activity -- excuse me -- received that information of that activity, we then went to look outside of our window. And in the mountains, you could actually kind of see smoke, just huge, huge areas of black smoke kind of filling up the skies.

At that point, of course, I think everybody was concerned. You saw people kind of out in the breezeways of the hotel as well trying to figure out what exactly was going on. And then, of course, news reports started to come out a little bit more that it was in fact cartel activity.

BLITZER: It must have been so terrifying just simply to experience that. Did you ever feel, T.J., that you were in imminent danger?

PERRY: I would say, any time you hear cartel activity, I would say most definitely yes initially.

But I must say this. The hotel team members and security members here did their best to make us feel as safe as possible. Again, this was a surprise for them as well and it was new for them. So, they were following procedures and protocols that they put in place for safety.

I have some friends located at other hotels, and they were saying some of the same things. And people also who are friends that had Airbnbs, they were also told to shelter in place once we started to eventually get the notifications from the embassy through the STEP program.

BLITZER: Did you receive those State Department alerts to minimize movements and essentially simply shelter in place?

PERRY: It was -- that was it. It was shelter in place. That's literally what it said. It said, code red, shelter in place.

And then, after that, we started to receive notifications from the airline. It said delay, delay, and then all of a sudden it was canceled. So, at that point, we really knew it was something serious leading up to those phases of events to where we are now.

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So, yes, it was interesting. BLITZER: All right, good luck to you, T.J. Perry. Thanks so much for

joining us. Be safe over there. We will stay in close touch with you.

PERRY: Thank you so much. Have a good one.

BLITZER: All right, Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: All right, Wolf, coming up: Hot flashes, mood swings, brain fog, weight gain, if you have been through perimenopause or menopause, that probably sounds very familiar to you, but you don't have to suffer through it.

Dr. Amy Shah is here with real solutions to help you calm the chaos and take back control.

We will be back.

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BROWN: Turning now to our women's health watch, there is a shortage of estrogen patches that many women depend on to manage symptoms of menopause and perimenopause.

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Manufacturers are struggling to keep up with a surging demand for hormone therapy, and that has led to frustration and concern among patients and doctors nationwide.

Joining us now is Dr. Amy Shah. She is a leading expert in women's health and the author of "Hormone Havoc."

Really nice to have you on.

So I'm going to dig in deeper to your book in just a moment, but I want to start on this important news about these estrogen patches. Explain to us how important they are to helping women of all ages really and why this shortage is worth paying attention to.

DR. AMY SHAH, AUTHOR, "HORMONE HAVOC": This is a really important thing, because we have had a change in prescribing practices with hormone therapy.

For 25 years before this, people -- doctors just weren't prescribing it, and now there's a change in the tide, and there's so much more interest and prescriptions for this estrogen patch. And this is really, really important. It's a very, very big change in women's health. It's a great thing, because we are giving women facts, not fear, and women are able to choose hormone therapy.

And now we're prescribing it so much that there's actually a shortage. I always say it's a comprehensive approach, hormone therapy, diet, exercise, and lifestyle. This can be the best years of your life.

BROWN: Right. So you wrote a whole book on this. What more can women do to regulate their hormones without, say, estrogen patches or medication if they can't have access to that right now?

SHAH: The gut is really the conduit for hormone health, so I always talk about nutrition. So, 30-30-3 is a framework I talk about in the book, which is 30 grams of protein in the morning, 30 grams of fiber throughout the day, and three servings of probiotic foods.

This is a nutritional protocol based on science that is going to help women's gut health, hormone health, and brain health.

BROWN: There's so much out there. It's like an information wasteland on what we should be eating, what we shouldn't. And I say we because I'm in my forties now.

SHAH: Yes.

BROWN: How do you get 30 grams of protein in the morning? I mean, that's a lot of protein.

SHAH: Yes, it could be like an egg scramble with some Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, probiotic cottage cheese. It can be protein shake. It can be tofu scramble.

There's a lot of ways to get it. It's a game changer, honestly.

BROWN: All right, well, I'm going to incorporate that.

So your book goes deeper into the psychological and scientific changes and hormones that women experience and perimenopause and menopause. I have been open on this show about how my hormones have led to really bad anxiety like postpartum OCD.

What do you think would be most surprising for readers to learn about how hormones impact our brain?

SHAH: Yes, this is one of the most common perimenopause symptoms. So people can start perimenopause in their late 30s or early 40s. So it's not something that just happens in your 50s.

And some of those symptoms are anxiety. It's sleep issues. It's feeling down. It's being fatigued. It's having new mental health symptoms. So this is something that we have to pay more attention to.

BROWN: Yes, I was talking to neurologist recently who said it's not anxiety. It's your hormones.

SHAH: Right.

BROWN: Like, I think a lot of women feel the shame, right? But it's, as you said, hormone havoc in your book, and that's largely out of our control. But there are things we can do to mitigate it.

Why, from your perspective, should men and boys care about these issues?

SHAH: I think -- I see people all the time. I have doctor colleagues who are males who don't even know that perimenopause exists, because when we were in training, we never really got taught about this time of life.

And so if physicians that are males can't help their female patients, how can spouses and brothers and friends support their partners and friends through this time of life if they don't even know it exists?

BROWN: That's wild to me that you all weren't taught about perimenopause in med school.

SHAH: Isn't that crazy?

BROWN: Because everything I have learned about it is that it could last for many years, up to 10 years, right?

SHAH: Yes.

BROWN: And it can wreak more havoc and chaos than actually when you're, like, postmenopausal...

SHAH: That's right.

BROWN: ... when your hormones are more steady.

Do you expect there will ever be a point in this country where there isn't a stigma around discussing perimenopause and menopause?

SHAH: I hope so. That's something I'm working on a lot, telling women and men that these are the best years of women's lives. I see women thriving through this and changing the attitude of, like, this is a negative time, we have to suffer through it to, like, let's make it an empowering time.

BROWN: I think that is so important, because I think there has been that stigma. Once you're a woman of a certain age, it's kind of like, well, you're over the hill now.

SHAH: Yes, done. Yes.

BROWN: But you have found, Dr. Shah, many others have found that actually it could be the best years of your life.

SHAH: Absolutely.

The leaders in the world, the people who are leading companies and homes and communities, I mean, so many of these women are in perimenopause, menopause or postmenopause. These are our thriving years. We just have to learn how to manage our changing body.

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BROWN: I think that's really important too. You can be so great and lead even with this, right, and do really big things in life.

SHAH: Yes. Yes.

BROWN: All right, Dr. Amy Shah, very inspired by that conversation. Thank you so much. SHAH: Yes. Thanks for having me.

BROWN: Wolf.

BLITZER: Excellent interview. Thank you.

And, to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. You can always keep up with us on social media @WolfBlitzer and @PamelaBrownCNN.

BROWN: And we will see you back here tomorrow morning and every weekday morning at 10:00 Eastern.

"INSIDE POLITICS" with our friend and colleague Manu Raju is up next.