eight on cnn. >> it is friday, february 28th right now on cnn this morning. >> mr. president., still think that mr. zelenskyy is a dictator. >> did i say that? i can't believe i said that. next question. >> face to face after weeks of turbulence, presidents trump and zelenskyy will go 1 to 1 today in a high stakes meeting that could very well shape the future of ukraine. plus. >> i think. >> we have to be realistic. >> about the impact of these cuts. >> we've got to be very clear that we expect to see the results of what. >> doge is doing. >> and. >> what the administration. >> is doing. >> choppy waters, how to push, how the push to include doge cuts in the gop's budget bill is complicating competing plans between house and senate republicans and. >> it's ten. it's ten plus ten. ten plus ten. it's a second.

bit. plus. >> we do not retreat. we are the united states of america. we lead. >> rebutting trump, democrats tapped freshman senator elissa slotkin to give their party's response to the president's joint address next week. it is 6 a.m. here on the east coast. a live look at the statue of liberty on this last friday in february. good morning everyone. i'm jessica dean in for kasie hunt today. it is wonderful to have you with us in just a few hours, a critical meeting that could very well determine the future of ukraine will unfold at the white house. ukrainian president volodymyr

zelenskyy arriving in washington today to sign an agreement on national natural resources and reconstruction for his war torn country. ukraine was also top of mind at the white house thursday, when the british prime minister traveled to washington and for the second time this week during meetings with european leaders about ukraine. a fact check was required in the oval office. >> you know, they they get their money back by giving money. we don't get the money back. biden made a deal. he put in $350 billion. and i thought it was a very unfair situation. >> we're not getting all of ours. i mean, quite a bit of ours was, was was gifted. it was given, um, there were some loans, but mainly it was gifted, actually. >> the meeting between trump and zelenskyy comes after a dramatic back and forth a week ago when the u.s. president called ukraine's leader a, quote, dictator. >> i think the president and i actually have had a very good relationship. it maybe got a little bit testy. >> mr. president, i still think

that mr. zelenskyy is a dictator. um. >> did i say that? i can't believe i said that. next question. >> president zelenskyy is also expected to meet with lawmakers on capitol hill while he's in town. and joining us now to discuss all of this, cnn senior white house correspondent kevin liptak and cnn chief international security correspondent nick paton walsh from kyiv. kevin, let's start first with you. this has been a big week. it's marking three years, of course, since the russian invasion of ukraine for european leaders in dc, they have come to visit president trump there in the white house. first it was french president macron on monday, then keir starmer yesterday. now we have this meeting with zelenskyy. walk us through how we got to this moment and what we're expecting to see today. >> yeah. and that parade of foreign leaders was very intentionally choreographed leading up to today. but i think of all of the leaders that we've seen arriving over to the west wing, today's will be the most consequential. you know, i don't think it's overstating it to say that zelenskyy will be here at the white house to plead his case for the future of his

country to a counterpart who, at best is openly skeptical and at worst is openly hostile to ukraine's future. so the stakes really could not be higher. when you listen to how white house officials are framing it, they say it's very much about signing this minerals agreement. president trump has framed this as essentially back payment for previous u.s. support for ukraine, but it doesn't contain any future commitments, financial or otherwise. it doesn't contain any security guarantees. and that is part of why zelenskyy balked at it initially when it was presented to him. and that is why that rift grew between himself and the president. now, the way american officials are framing it is, is this is a type of security agreement that if the u.s. and ukraine are so financially intertwined, then that will be incentive enough for you or for russia not to further its aggression. but certainly that is not what zelenskyy is looking for. he wants some military commitments,

some military guarantees. so do the europeans. they want if they are pledging their own troops to go into ukraine to keep the peace, they will need some backing from the united states. so there is still a gulf there for these two men to discuss. i think, you know, if you're looking at this from zelenskyy's point of view, you are seeing something you like. he is meeting with president trump before trump meets with putin in saudi arabia. you did hear the president soften his tone on zelenskyy somewhat heading into these talks. but i think it's what he said about putin that is causing some alarm. it was a remarkably credulous take on the russian president saying that he trusted him, that he thought that he would uphold any kind of deal. and i think that is what sends so many chills down europeans backs as they look. how all of this is unfolding. >> and kevin, thank you so much for that. i want to go to nick now in kyiv. and nick, there's been a lot of discussion about this deal for rare earth minerals. and president trump

has been insisting on the u.s. getting a cut of these revenues. but i know you've been investigating what that actually might practically look like on the ground. what have you found? >> yeah, i mean, look, it's obviously an industry in wartime at the moment where we're one titanium mine we were at, they only get three hours power a day, and they need electricity to power the vast excavators that they use. so they're hobbled, frankly, by the wartime climate and by years of underinvestment. so they will welcome american money. certainly. but they didn't get the sense their titanium being a key thing. even trump has mentioned that they're suddenly able to get near the half trillion dollars that he thought might be extracted from ukraine. so the reality and the sort of fantastical future held up by this framework deal are two very different things. but i should point out, zelenskyy is really going there to sign a deal. that is, i wouldn't say toothless, but it essentially is a very symbolic statement of future intent. it admits by itself that the relevant resources that it impacts will be left further

described in a fund agreement that will be negotiated the minute this first agreement is signed. and this first agreement does not contain security guarantees, just the u.s. saying it would support ukraine trying to obtain them. so a lot missing. but look you've got to remember this is all about healing a relationship and getting trump on ukraine's side. he wants a deal. this is close to that or gets them on a path towards that. and zelenskyy urgently needs a meeting where he can try and heal this relationship. after a horrific ten days, you can see really trump at times quite flippant about the consequence of the statements he's made over the past ten days or so. can i? i can't believe i said that about calling zelenskyy a dictator. well, it, you know, sent shockwaves through kyiv here. and just to remind people, you know, every night we've had over 100 last night, over 200 drones fired at ukraine by russia. civilian casualties mounting throughout the week. there is a very real, urgent reason why zelenskyy needs to meet trump and why they need to try and heal that relationship.

why he needs to get this rare earths deal to a position where trump feels he's getting back what he wants, and also to hear the assurances of future aid. the europeans, clearly moving forward with their peace plan. we heard the uk prime minister, keir starmer, talk about planes in the air from the uk yesterday. that's moving ahead at pace to take over the sort of reassurance element of any peace deal. but, as trump said himself, getting the deal is the hard part. he thinks what comes after will be softer. i have to say most european officials disagree. they just don't trust moscow to keep a peace. back to you. >> all right. nick paton walsh in kyiv. kevin liptak at the white house this morning. thanks so much for your reporting. still ahead on cnn this morning, new details about the death of hollywood legend gene hackman, his and his wife betsy. why officials are now calling the circumstances suspicious. plus, pro-palestinian students clashing with barnard college staff, sending one employee to the hospital and a government shutdown deadline now in sight. how democrats are trying to stand their ground against the trump musk agenda.

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in the average household, there are dozens of connected devices. connectivity is a big part of my boys' lives. it brings people together in meaningful ways. greens.com. >> there's a lot of unknown here. i think we're we're a ways from having. >> two weeks shut down. >> exactly. we're a long way qualitatively. >> uh are you concerned it might be shut down? >> well, i don't think there's any reason for there to be a shutdown. >> well, but the clock is ticking. congress has roughly two weeks to prevent a government shutdown, but recent efforts by doge to dismantle government agencies is throwing a wrench into what are already complicated conversations. as republicans grapple with how to fund those very agencies. house speaker mike johnson has suggested codifying musk's cuts as part of a stopgap funding

measure. but democrats and some republicans are pushing back against that idea. >> it's going to need to be bipartisan. i think some of my colleagues in the republican conference don't recognize that. and as soon as we try to work with democrats, they want to they don't want to vote for it. and i think that that's really what puts us at risk for a shutdown right now. >> joining us now to discuss cnn political analyst and washington bureau chief for the boston globe, jackie kucinich, former chief of staff to dnc chair jaime harrison and former regional communications director for the biden 2020 and more. and cnn political commentator and republican strategist brad todd. good morning, everyone. good morning. how are we doing? good. okay. it is friday. we have about two weeks before a potential government shutdown. and president zelenskyy is coming to town. so we have a lot to talk about. jackie, i want to start first with you. we heard from nicole malliotakis there. she's talking about how it needs to be bipartisan to get through. but just a lot of her colleagues resistance to even talking to the other side. how do you see this kind of coming

together in the next couple of weeks? i mean, even mike johnson knows he's going to need democratic votes to get this across the finish line. how that happens. >> i think two weeks is a lifetime on capitol hill, particularly in the current balance of power. um, but, you know, with these with the speculation that doge cuts are going to end up in a cr that's going to i mean, i don't know any democrat that that's not going to be a hard no for at this point. >> yeah. and so, brad, how do they how do they navigate that. >> well, you know, the republican conference has always had 4 or 5 knuckleheads who don't really cooperate with the leadership. it's just now 4 or 5 too many to pass anything. >> now that really matters, right. >> and so i there are two ways to do this, right. there are 13 democrats who sit in districts donald trump carried. they need to find a way to cooperate with him on something. and the budget might be a thing they could cooperate on. it's not a culture issue where they're starkly different viewpoints. so you can do it with some of that 13 or else. then we hit a shutdown and you do it with a lot more, and everybody is unhappy. but hammond might know

who in the 13. >> yeah, i do want to know, hyman, just from a democratic perspective, what is their strategy? >> i think brad is right. look, you think i saw hakeem jeffries a few weeks ago at an event? i think he's very practical. he understands that he wants to win the house back. i think democrats have a clear vision of two years from now winning the house back. and so there's several democrats, to your point, in these trump districts who are going to try to make some sort of concession around the budget or tax the tax bill or whatever it is to prove that they are not the sort of firebrand liberals. and so i think you look in new york, you look at california, you look at pennsylvania, those three states, you're going to see some members there start to move a little bit closer to saying yes, maybe on some of this budget stuff, particularly not to shut down democrats who do not want to be the shutdown party. and so i think to jackie's point, some of them want to say, look, this is the republicans problem. let them shut down. but the reality is for politics, they want to win the house back in two years. and so they've got to have some democrats say yes in order to get this thing across the finish line. >> and so while we watch that

kind of percolate and see how that goes, you also have to watch the senate republican, house republican dynamic that's playing out and how they're going to get through, um, kind of what, what they want to do with reconciliation and the blueprint. um, jackie, the medicaid obviously keeps coming up. potential cuts to that. you have senators like josh hawley who are like, that's an absolute no for me. and his word he doesn't want to punish working people. he's not exactly a moderate republican. so so they have they're going to have to bridge some gaps there. >> well, and i think democrats are going to keep the pressure on. right. like the republicans that don't want to cut medicaid. um, and that is going to be you're talking about what's going to be a very kind of long negotiation at this point and why thune and johnson really have their work cut out for them. because while there are a lot of things that the house and senate agree on, it's things like that that really it's going to take a lot of time to be able to get that something that can pass both chambers. >> and the democrats just keep

banging the drum on that. >> well, i mean, i think democrats are trying to figure out what the thesis of their argument is right now. >> what is. >> the thesis? i mean, i think look, i think my like my friend ken martin, the new chairman of the democratic national committee, he's a very practical guy from the midwest. and so he's i talked to him yesterday. he said, look, they're trying to figure out, you know, what the right message is to not only oppose donald trump, but to go back and get voters. and so this is not just about what's happening right now. over the next couple of weeks. this is about what happens for the next two years, the next four years. so they're very clear eyed about it. but i think the the rationale right now is donald trump is doing things to wreck your government, but not to make your lives better. so i think that's the argument right now they're trying to figure out. i'm not sure if it's landing, brad, but that's the argument. >> well, you have this juggling, right? right. donald trump is still popular right now, especially among swing voters. what he's doing is popular cutting government is popular. cutting waste is popular. and so there are some democrats who need to show that they got the message from the election, and they're on board with that program. certainly, we're not going to see hakeem jeffries do that. but there are democrats rank and file. and so we're about to hit the phase where it's time for the sales pitch.

trump has an easy time selling the republicans. he's got to find 2 or 3 democrats to start selling and start showing a little olive branch that he's willing to cooperate with just a couple. he just has to have a few. >> in these democratic governors. i think the biggest opposition comes from the democratic governors. all of them want to be president, and all of them want to have their own thesis. >> and they want to be the one that's the prime foil. right. >> correct. but i think for democrats, it's about good governance. it's not about opposition. >> but there's also a lot of pressure. >> on them from from their base, from from their voters to do something to we hear it all the time to get out there and to look like they're opposing some of the things that a lot of that that democratic voters don't like. so there's that push and pull for sure. >> all right. stay with us, everyone. still ahead on cnn this morning, congressman ryan zinke of montana is joining us to talk about the trump administration's new policies on tariffs and immigration. plus, new developments as police investigate the mysterious deaths of iconic hollywood star gene hackman and his wife. and as we go to break, we want to

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convenience store in 2024. cnn's josh campbell has the latest now from santa fe. >> i don't have. >> a lot of fears. >> i have the normal fear of of passing away. you know, i guess we all think about that. >> tonight, an investigation is underway. >> into the death. >> of two time oscar winner gene hackman. >> they're going to work this case. they're going to look at every aspect and and figure out, try to figure out the exact cause. and i again, i think the autopsy is going to be key. and the toxicology. but again, in my experience, you know, that that could take a while. >> the 95 year old hollywood icon was found dead wednesday inside his new mexico home, along with his 65 year old wife, betsy arakawa, and a dog, according to officials. circumstances which the santa fe county sheriff's office called suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation. >> it's concerning that every, every everyone in the house, including the dog, is deceased. >> deputies were called to hackman's house on a welfare check request made by two maintenance workers, according

to a search warrant. >> no. >> they're not moving. just somebody up here. >> really quick. >> inside, deputies found the couple's bodies in different rooms and say they appeared to have been there for some time. hackman in a mud room. his wife in a bathroom near a space heater with an open prescription bottle on the counter and pills scattered around. deputies say she had obvious signs of death and body decomposition. two healthy dogs were also found on the property, with a third found dead near arakawa's body. officials did not find any signs of forced entry, and the fire department and gas company didn't find any obvious signs of a gas leak or carbon monoxide. a sheriff's office spokesperson says the cause of death has not been confirmed, but it is not believed to be foul play. and here in santa fe, new mexico, sheriff's officials behind me are involved in yet another high profile investigation. this was the same team that conducted the investigation into the fatal shooting on the set of the movie rust that involved actor alec baldwin. now, we did get some new information from the sheriff's department. they say that autopsies have now been

performed on both gene hackman as well as his wife, and initial findings indicate that there was no external trauma to either individual. the sheriff officials say that carbon monoxide and toxicology tests have been ordered as this investigation continues, and it's important to note that this will likely take time until we know the cause of death. medical examiner investigations can take weeks, sometimes months, to conclude. josh campbell, cnn, santa fe, new mexico. >> josh, thank you. and coming up on cnn this morning, a new suggestion from elon musk. he wants one of his own companies to take over the nation's air traffic control systems. plus. democrats tapping michigan senator elissa slotkin to respond to president trump's joint address to congress next week. we'll take a look back at some memorable rebuttals from years past. >> nothing has frustrated me more than false choices like. >> the one the president. >> laid out tonight. the choice isn't just. >> between big government or big. >> business.

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>> can a mortgage move you forward? absolutely. sophie has helped over 130,000 people take the leap toward homeownership. sophie mortgage verified pre-approval, low down payment options and an on time closed guarantee. >> cnn news central. next. >> elon musk is now suggesting one of his companies should take over verizon's contract with the federal aviation administration. writing in a post on social media, verizon's efforts to provide upgrades to the faa's air traffic control system is failing. musk warns, quote, the faa assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air travelers safety at serious risk. it wasn't immediately clear what faa risk assessment musk was referring to in his post. verizon says another company is running the current faa systems while verizon is working on building the next generation system for the faa. the suggestion raises some questions, though, about a potential conflict of interest for musk, as he suggests sweeping cuts for agencies that

his own businesses have dealings with. let's bring our panel back in. um, brad. look, i can you can see where there could potentially be some conflicts here. >> well, the facts are a little bit off here. verizon has been awarded a contract to lead an overhaul of the faa's whole system. so starlink is a potential bidder for part of underneath that after after this overall happens. the faa is running on a copper wire system. i mean, it's crazy. every american home has got fiber into it now. and the faa is running on 1950s technology. so there must be modernization. the trump administration is putting a lot of money into this. they're hiring new controllers. they're boosting salaries of faa controllers and sean duffy. the secretary of transportation says, look, we want all companies who have something to contribute to come to us like we. we have an urgent crisis here to upgrade this technology. starlink has 40% of the satellites above the the earth. it's only logical that in the end, they will end up being one of the companies that participate in it because they're so large and they're so on the cutting edge. but sean duffy is going to make the call.

he's going to make the decision. it won't be made by elon musk, but we have to modernize it to keep our skies safe. >> but this is the problem. >> with having the elon musk having this kind of amorphous role in this white house, because you know, everything you're saying could be true. but it but the problem is, is the the appearance of a conflict of interest is problematic here. and is that why he's not technically the head of doge? i don't know, but still, i mean it. yes, it is sean duffy call. but you're telling me if if trump or elon musk don't start putting pressure on him, that that's what he's going to do? come on. >> yeah. and do you think the american people put those dots together and that bothers them? >> yeah, it does bother them. i mean, it does. it's a clear conflict of interest. look, i worked i worked in government even as a 23 year old. i had conflicts of interest. i had to to dedupe. i couldn't do certain government programs. i couldn't buy a house, you know. you know, in new orleans, because there are programs that are

administered by the government that i won't participate in because i was working for the government. so it was clearly a conflict of interest, i think. here's here's the two things. one, i think the american people were sick of government not working for them. and so they will they want donald trump to fix government. that's a fact. but i do think people are a little leery about elon musk being the person that's tearing all of this down and benefiting from it. he's making more money every day. obviously, he's he's getting more influence every day, obviously. and so i think people are a little nervous about that. they just don't know what this elon musk, what it's going to be, what it's going to become. >> and yeah go ahead. >> well, he i mean, donald trump said we're going to have the best and brightest people. elon is a very bright person. and starlink is so important in the world's technology space, it's hard to not include it. you know, for instance, right now in alaska, if you're a pilot, many times the weather system the faa operates is down. you have to call in to just a recorded phone line. i mean, this is this is really ancient again. >> but but then you have elon then. sure. but then elon musk

on his platform going after verizon. i mean, you i mean, you could be right about starlink. maybe it is the best, but that but this is not this process doesn't seem like it is going through, you know, a fair. >> yeah. i think elon's text on x in real time are problem. they're sometimes wrong. and he says i'm going to be wrong and i'll correct it. he did correct his. >> but every day at this point it's every day. >> so this involves a. >> contract that he could make a lot of money. >> the pacing of it i think there's there's a cautionary communications tale here for him posting in real time every hour. >> yeah. so maybe that's maybe that's the takeaway. all right. stay with us straight ahead on cnn this morning looming trade wars as president trump pledges to impose hefty tariffs on mexico and canada next week. plus, michael smerconish is here. we're going to discuss the white house welcome for ukrainian president zelenskyy today. >> will you. >> take the opportunity. >> to apologize to him for calling him a dictator while praising vladimir putin, who is a dictator? >> i think we're going to have a

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supplements for. proactive urinary health. >> life's too short to be put on hold by utis. >> join us at uqora. com. >> as the trump administration steps up immigration enforcement on the border with mexico, mexico's government is now turning over fugitive cartel members to the u.s. late thursday night, a flight with 29 cartel members arrived in new york. among them, caro quintero, a cartel leader accused of orchestrating and kidnaping, and the murder of a dea agent in 1985. now, all of those members are in federal custody, despite what appears to be renewed cooperation from mexico's government on issues related to immigration and the drug trade. the trump administration, still planning to slap those punishing tariffs on the country in a new truth truth social post. the president blaming the drug trade for the tariffs, saying in part, quote, until it stops or is seriously limited. the proposed tariffs scheduled for march 4th will go into effect. trump says there will be a 25% tariff on canadian and mexican goods. the president also threatening to

increase tariffs on goods from china, on top of the initial 10% tariffs, which of course went into effect earlier this month. now, economists do warn that these tariffs will raise prices for american consumers. it's something president trump was asked about in the white house on thursday. >> the tariffs are paid. eventually by american importers and consumers. >> no they're not. no i think they're paid for by the country. but you know look we can get into that. i had i put a lot of tariffs on in my first term, and we made tremendous amounts of progress because of those tariffs. china paid us hundreds of billions of dollars, billions. >> our panel is back with us to discuss this. and jackie, despite what the president says there, if you look at the polling that's coming out, this is breaking through for americans in terms of they're nervous about the economy. they're nervous that these tariffs are going to cost them money. >> well, one of the reasons president trump is president trump, again, is because of the

economy, because of inflation, because people didn't feel like that washington was working for them. and if prices go up, i mean, i know the president has said that people are willing to feel a little pain. i, i you just don't hear a lot of economists saying that this is going to end up in the pocket of the american consumer. there's a lot of people warning that this is going to cause a lot of things to go up for a lot of people. >> yeah. and so, brad, is there an argument against that? like, can you honestly say to americans, this isn't going to cost you anything? >> what's happening right now in corporate america is every company that has manufacturing in china is trying to figure out how to move it out of china to a neutral country or back to the united states. that was trump's intent. it is achieving its intent. and so the threat of tariffs is always going to be something he's going to use. every president has their favorite device, joe biden like multinational organizations, george bush, like interpersonal relations. you know, he stared putin in the eyes and saw his soul. right? donald trump's trick is tariffs and the threat of tariffs, mostly the threat.

we will have some tariffs, but it will achieve what he wants to do. mostly we saw it in the first term. that's why joe biden kept the aluminum tariffs. that's why he kept the steel tariffs because they were working. tariffs can be an effective tool to a point. >> is is do you think this is the right move. >> i mean i have some of my my clients are they're going crazy right now. they're like they're like look we're already paying enough in tariffs. we've been doing this for 30 years. we've been doing this for 30 years. it doesn't it doesn't make the industry stronger. it makes it weaker. and so i think to jackie's point, at the end of the day, i think donald trump was sent here to lower costs to make the economy better, to make people's lives better. and i don't think he's done that just yet. and so i don't think the american people are going to say, yes, we're going to be willing to take a little bit of pain. no one wants to take any more pain. we've been taking pain for years now since the pandemic. and so i don't think people want to pay more for shoes. they don't pay more for appliances. they just don't want to do that. and so i think if donald trump can't figure out a way to both lower costs and also use his his, his tariff thing to, to leverage other countries if he can't do both, i think in two years, the

republicans are going to have to answer to the american people, and it will not be good for them. >> i think there's a point about. communications. you know, the trump administration is doing a lot to bring prices down. mostly it's on energy. they're trying to make electricity and transportation fuel as cheap as possible. that's the number two ingredient in cost in any consumer good. you buy is transportation. and power would be next. and so they're doing a lot on that. they're not talking a lot about it. elon musk and doge are taking up all the headlines. but the administration is actually doing a lot of work to bring energy costs down, which will bring prices down. i think they have to talk about it. >> well, brad, you remember joe biden talk about anything he did for four years and now he's not the president anymore. and we have a republican president. so i think donald trump's got to talk about lowering those costs. otherwise the republicans are going to be in trouble in two years. >> you have to to lead. you have to communicate what you're doing. that's going to help people. i think they have to focus. >> on, i think ties back to your original point, which is donald trump is president because he people believed he would lower the cost of living. and and if he you know, i think the big question is how much how long will people give him to make good on that promise? >> right. and we forget that

it's only been, what. >> a month? yeah. >> a week. yeah. >> it's been two years. >> it takes a while for energy prices to come down because you have to create new capacity. you have to create new exploration. so it will take time. but i think they have to communicate that it's their top priority. yeah. >> all right, guys, stay with me. thanks so much. and a couple of hours president trump welcomes ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy. his arrival caps a week of high stakes diplomacy at the white house, featuring french president emmanuel macron and british prime minister keir starmer, both bringing a personal touch to their meetings. macron trying to rekindle what he calls a, quote, friendship from trump's first term and prime minister starmer arriving with an invitation from the king for a state visit. both men trying to convince trump to soften his stance toward ukraine. it's a country he's accused of being led by, quote, a dictator. just last week. also, both leaders found the need to fact check the president when it came to spending for ukraine's defense. >> you know, they they get their money back by giving money. we

don't get the money back. biden made a deal. he put in $350 billion. and i thought it was a very unfair situation. >> we're not getting all of ours. i mean, quite a bit of ours was, was was gifted. it was given, um, there were some loans, but mainly it was gifted. actually. >> europe is loaning the money to ukraine. they get their money back. >> no, in fact, to be to be frank, we paid. we paid 60% of the total effort. and it was through, like the u.s. loans, guaranteed grants and we provided real money. to be clear. >> if you. believe that, it's okay with me. >> all right. joining me now is political commentator michael smerconish, host of smerconish. michael, good morning. thanks so much for being here with us. you know, it's interesting, we noted at the top that president trump did call zelenskyy a dictator. then when asked about it yesterday, he said, did i say that? next question. and then and then went on to say that they're going to have a good conversation today, that they there's a lot of respect there.

so kind of a differing a softening, softening in the tone. what do you expect today? >> jessica, nice to be with you. first of all, what occurs to me is that at long last, president zelenskyy is getting his oval office meeting with president trump. because, you know, we have to remember trump impeachment two, which was pertaining to the events of january 6th, really eclipsed what happened in trump impeachment. one, trump impeachment one was all about that telephone call in 2019 when president zelenskyy had just been elected. and what did he covet? he wanted to come to the oval office. he wanted to have the credibility that comes with a photo op with the president of the united states. and of course, at that time, president trump, fearing that joe biden would emerge as the democratic candidate, wanted an investigation of hunter biden and the bidens generally. and that's what led because of colonel vindman monitoring that telephone call. that's what led to impeachment, number one. so then it was leverage that

president trump was seeking for a political purpose. today, the leverage is all about minerals, which i guess is in the united states national interest. so that's better. that's an improvement. what i'm most interested in seeing are the terms of this and how it's cast. is this reimbursement for support we've given ukraine because of the russian invasion, or is it forward looking as part of a peacekeeping agreement? that's what i want to see. >> um, and then there's also this dynamic of just the personal relationship between zelenskyy and trump, as you know, that has such history to it. and his just in the last ten days or so, been very back and forth. >> right. but i think that president trump is just relishing each of these opportunities, foreign leaders who are coming to him, uh, the way in which the prime minister yesterday bestowed that invitation from king charles, i think was a smart way to ingratiate himself with the new american president. and i

suspect that you're going to see all smiles from both zelenskyy and from trump today, because each ultimately seems to be getting what they want. right? it's it's zelenskyy as he's wanted since 2019 to have that photo. and the credibility that comes with standing with an ally in the united states. and president trump is definitely going to be saying by the end of today, it's the art of the deal. and look what i was able to glean as no one else was able to glean from ukraine mineral rights. >> i also want to ask you about another story while we've got you here, the trump administration's plan to kick transgender americans out of the military. last night, cnn spoke with a navy diver who is transgender. and i want to listen to a little bit of her perspective on this. >> i'm just concerned. >> i'm concerned. >> for my sailors. i'm concerned. >> for their. >> families. um, i'm concerned for what the impacts this might be on the navy and other services. we've been doing this for ten years. right. and we've got kind of a system in place now to support people that want to transition. and there have

been, no, no, no incidences really with the service members that have been serving openly for that for that time period. >> i just want to get your thoughts on this. and if you think this is doing what voters wanted from donald trump, that, that they're achieving that goal. they talked a lot about this issue on the campaign trail. >> i don't think that we should turn away people who want to serve their country. frankly, we're not in a position to turn away people who want to serve their country because each branch of our armed services is falling short of their recruitment goals. you know, you hear about this in the abstract, but but for me, it's it's a bit more personal because joe ellis is an affected soldier who has been in the virginia national guard for 15 years, and we've worked together. she has transitioned and wants to serve her country. i spoke to her yesterday. she said to me that she's scheduled for guard duty tomorrow, saturday, and is in limbo and and that those in her

unit desperately want her to continue to serve. she served in iraq. how do you say to someone who was a blackhawk helicopter gunner your service is no longer wanted? i think it's disgraceful. i really do let them serve. >> mhm. and how do you think that ends up playing out. does that go to the courts. >> i think it well it's already, you know being litigated. i don't know how it turns out. it was look this was all a very effective. sadly it was a very effective issue for trump during the course of the campaign. you know, donald trump is for him or him, not they or them. i don't know, i get screwed up sometimes. i just remember it was very effective when he used it against kamala harris. >> yeah. and it ran on every football game, every sporting event. michael smerconish. yeah. it's always good to see you. thank you so much for being with us this morning. we appreciate it. and remember to tune in to smerconish tomorrow morning at 9

a.m. eastern. it's right here on cnn. we are just now at 52 minutes past the hour. and here is your morning roundup. a judge in san francisco ruling doj's mass firing of federal probationary staff is likely unlawful. he handed down a temporary restraining order directing the office of personnel management to stop some of those terminations. >> eliza mackintosh. he does not believe in complying. that's still true. >> and those thuds you heard are pro-palestinian protesters placing notes on windows of a classroom at barnard college in new york after they marched at the school and took over a building. they are demanding two students who were expelled for disrupting an israeli history course be reinstated. >> isa soares. >> six. >> says i'm coming. back for sure. going to try and get to the best shape i've been this offseason and get back to the mountain top.

>> espn pat mcafee breaking the news travis kelce is returning for another season with the kansas city chiefs. the star tight end texting mcafee, telling him, quote, i got a real bad taste in my mouth with how i played in that last game and how i got the guys ready for battle. i can't go out like that. health and human services. ignoring repeated inquiries about whether secretary robert f. kennedy jr. recommends the measles vaccine. and of course, this is coming as texas is facing a deadly measles outbreak, the centers for disease control and prevention later releasing a statement acknowledging, quote, vaccination remains the best defense against measles. we can come back out to our panel for to talk just a little bit about that, because we have seen this growing outbreak in texas. we now have the first death of this child. it's the first time in ten years. and. people are looking. they they do look to experts generally to give them some guidance here. and there is there. they're looking for answers, jessica.

>> i mean, i think people are nervous. you know, last time president trump was the president, we were in the middle of a pandemic, and it was just devastating for people. so i think people are very nervous about what's going to happen over the next couple of months. and so i think rfk has got to be very clear about where he stands. and he wasn't doing the confirmation where he stands on these things. he had to be very clear that it is safe, effective and preferred if for people to get the measles, it is the vaccine. yeah. and so i think if our government can be clear about those things, then we're in a lot of trouble all across the country, particularly in texas and other places. people are very, very nervous about this. i mean, these kids want to go to school. they want to live lives. the parents want to be able to feel safe about sending their kids out and playing with other children. but right now, i think there's a question mark on what rfk stand up for the american people and make sure that we're safe. or will he will he hunker down on some of his personal beliefs? >> you know, i mean, if you need if you have any questions, you need to talk to your doctor, your pediatrician about getting the measles vaccine. they should get the measles vaccine for

their kid. but the public health infrastructure in this country lost a lot of trust. and i think you saw two weeks ago, deborah birx, who worked in the administration on the pandemic, come out and say, you know, maybe with the mrna vaccines for covid, we weren't clear enough. it wasn't. they're different from the measles vaccine. measles prevents infection. the mrna vaccine for covid just makes the disease less deadly. and they weren't clear about that. and she also said maybe we should be clear that some people needed it more than other people. so the public health infrastructure made a decision in covid to not really be straight with the american people and that fed vaccine hesitancy. it's sad that that's now affecting the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. but these were decisions that were made. we're seeing consequences of government making bad choices. >> i think. i think rfk and president trump, they have the responsibility right now as leaders to clear that up. and i think they haven't. it's been muddied over the last couple of weeks in a way that people are concerned about. i mean, all across the country. >> all right. i want to get to this story, too, before we go, as donald trump prepares to address a joint session of

congress next week, democrats have now picked who will be responding to that, according to the party's top congressional leaders, senator elissa slotkin from michigan will deliver the rebuttal to trump's speech. she is a former cia analyst and at the age of 48, became the youngest democratic woman elected to the senate when she won her race in november. >> good evening. i represent. >> michigan, which voted for donald trump and me on the same ballot just recently in november. and i think people feel like they they want, you know, a to understand what their government is doing for them in a more significant way. so i think it's one thing to say, yeah, theoretically, i want to cut the federal government. it's another thing when your water isn't being tested and lead shows up in your community, right. something so sensitive to michigan. >> listen, we were talking at the panels back. we were talking about this. this is a tough gig, jackie. it's not always high. high risk, high reward. >> you know, i'm going to quote that very august tome. the hunger games made the odds ever be in your. favor when it comes

to this speech. and it's not just the senator, it's whoever democrat or republican takes this position. you're like, the best thing you can do is kind of like like do no harm just when it comes. because there are i mean, i'm having trouble thinking of one where you're like, man, they knocked it out of the park because there's always it is just such a risky proposition. and the political sphere is littered with people. tough. really tough. >> yeah, we go ahead. >> it's like playing ukulele after elvis presley leaves the stage. it's tough. i mean, it's really hard. it's the hard. there's nothing harder to do in politics than than to follow the state of the union. michigan is important, though. there's an open senate seat in michigan this cycle, so elissa slotkin is going to get this task right. she won. while donald trump was winning her state. i think that's why she's picked. i don't think she's the most charismatic senator, but i think she's picked because michigan is ground zero in the next. >> election and she's brilliant. if there's anyone that i think can do an okay job. is the new senator from michigan.

>> that is the standard. okay. right. okay job. >> just like, again, do no harm. >> but i think brad's point the last the last democrat that did this was the michigan governor, gretchen whitmer, back in 2020. and so michigan is going to be super important for democrats. obviously, with this new senate seat coming up, the democrats want to hunker down and have a real message out of the midwest, a real message that's pragmatic. and i think she can carry that message for the democrats better than most can. >> yeah. and i just want to play. we have well, i was going to say we were going to play the clip, but we'll we'll wait. there was katie britt was last year. yeah obviously. and and that was and we and we have a marco rubio this was a few years back. let's watch this. >> nothing has frustrated. >> me more than false. >> choices like the one the president laid out. >> tonight. the choice. >> isn't just between big government or big business. what we need is an accountable, efficient and effective government that allows small and new businesses to create more middle class jobs.

>> listen, it's not to pick on marco rubio. we have many clips on both sides of the aisle of things where it gets weird, but we were saying, you go from the energy of the president of the united states in a packed house, and then it just it's one person. >> to be fair, marco rubio secretary of state. >> now he has. >> it's worked out for him. but yeah, yeah. >> you have to go all the way back 30 years ago when fred thompson did it, the actor from hollywood who became a u.s. senator from tennessee, that's the last time anybody really did it. well, everybody else just gotten by at best, you know, and not kill their career. so it's. >> a. that's it. >> the it's a it's a hard job. i wish her luck. >> yeah. well we will see how it goes. thank you to all of you for being here. and one quick programing note for you before we go today, starting on monday, audie cornish will be hosting cnn this morning. she has spent years interviewing newsmakers and everyday people on tv, radio, podcasts and more. and now, audie is going to bring her fresh angles and deeper questions to the bigger stories of the day. cnn this morning with audie