jeff zeleny is outfront live outside the white house. and, jeff, what are you learning tonight? we are now just hours away from that deadline for those tariffs. >> erin, there is no. >> sign that the. >> president is intending to back off, as he did. 30 days ago, and gave canada and mexico a one month reprieve. i talked to a white house official just a short time ago. they said no. the president spoke earlier. he said there is no room for more negotiation. so that is where we are at this point. we have seen this president use tariffs as a threat, as a negotiating tactic. but that was february and march. uh, the officials say that this promise is going to go forward. so if it does, this is going to be one of the things, of course, he talks about at his speech tomorrow evening, basically like the state of the union address. but new presidents just to deliver addresses to a joint session of congress. so looking forward. and this, erin, is very controversial. never mind democrats who are critical of this. republicans alone, farm state republicans in particular, are very worried abou

cnn's jeff zeleny is live outside the white house with more details. right, jeff, tell us about this exemption on autos. and considering these numbers, is it clear what the president actually wants from canada when really the fentanyl is minuscule? >> i mean, brianna, that has been a central question through all of this. what can canada do to really appeal to and perhaps appease donald trump on fentanyl and on immigration? we heard the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, saying yesterday when he directly addressed the president, really raising the question of is this about fentanyl at all? and last night, in the president's address to congress, he laid out several examples and several reasons for why he is imposing tariffs. and fentanyl was not the only thing on the list. so look, the bottom line to all of this is the president issued that, um, sweeping tariffs earlier in the week and now is only backing off of a reprieve on the three u.s. automakers. and that was from a series of phone calls, even as the president was was working on his speech yes

my panel is back with me and jeff zeleny. you have a great piece this morning out with our colleagues alayna treene and kevin liptak, saying that it will be an attempt to explain his fast paced first days in office. and you write, one trump adviser said a goal of the president's speech would be connecting his rapid pace action so far to average americans who may not yet comprehend the motives behind them. so too, is trump likely to address his plan for lowering prices. let's start with the first part of that. how is he going to connect the chaos to everyday americans? >> i think one of the ways is through doge and the department of government efficiency and elon musk, he will point to elon musk. we're told he's going to be in the house chamber and say, look at all these things we have cut. we are moving at a breakneck pace. we are disrupting the government. that may have sounded better a few weeks ago, because once people get to know the actual details, they're not sure about them, but writ large. there's no doubt people want

cnn's jeff zeleny has the details president donald. >> trump often. >> talks about imposing tariffs,d he's often talked out of actually. >> going through with them. >> that is exactly. what happened at the white house on. >> wednesday, at. least for. >> the big three automakers who have been tremendously concerned. >> about the. >> unfair competitive advantage. they said that they would be at with these new tariffs to canada and mexico. ever since the u.s., mexican canadian trade agreement was passed during the first trump administration, there has been effectively free trade flowing from mexico to the united states to canada, which has benefited the automotive industry, which of course, have suppliers in all three countries. well, giving a reprieve for the the tariffs for one month at least offers some relief, but raises questions about what is to come. the market of course, all week long the financial markets have been a key concern at the white house, the white house press secretary said this about the markets. >> for folks on wall street who may be concerned. look at what this pr

and jeff zeleny is here with me.and, jeff, obviously, ukraine has been a huge question of how trump will address that and what exactly he'll say. >> it certainly has been. and this is something that he clearly wanted to make a deal. that was the whole reason that president zelenskyy came to the white house on friday. that deal will not be announced. we do not believe, but the president inches right up to it by saying, i'm working tirelessly to end this savage conflict in ukraine. millions of ukrainians and russians have been needlessly killed or wounded. and he goes on to say the united states has sent hundreds of billions of dollars. meanwhile, europe has not sent as much. of course, we've heard that before. but he also goes on to blame president biden and caitlin. that is a theme we are seeing not just on egg prices, but also on ukraine and many other examples. as you know, he talks about joe biden a lot. >> and he promised to bring down inflation and high prices and also to solve the war in ukraine on day one. obv

let's get the latest from the white house with cnn's jeff zeleny. jeff, president trump just lashed out at zelenskyy again on social media. what can you tell us? >> boris, it's definitely a sign that temperatures have not cooled between the two leaders and the two countries, even as european leaders are rallying around volodymyr zelenskyy all weekend long, the white house is doing no such thing with some suggestions of the one of the discussions now being on the table. will the u.s. reconsider its existing military aid for ukraine? but just a short time ago, the president responded once again to zelenskyy in a post on a truth social. let's take a look at that. the president says this. this guy doesn't want there to be peace as long as he has america's backing. and europe, in the meeting they had with zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the u.s. probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against russia. what are they thinking? there's a lot of questions. what is president trump thinking as

our jeff zeleny for us jeff, thank you very much for that report. and right now live in the arena is massachusetts senator elizabeth warren, a democrat, of course. senator, thank you so much for being here. thank you. happy to be with you. happy to have you on the show. thank you very much. so of course, i do want to start with the address you're planning on bringing a federal worker who has lost their job from your home state. what message are you hoping to send to president trump? >> and his. >> message is pretty straightforward. i want donald trump and elon musk, our co-presidents, to look straight at some of the people that they have laid off people. in my particular case, this is someone who works for the national science foundation, actually brings research dollars in to partner it up with federal government research so that we can do the research we need to do, whether it's on climate or cancer or alzheimer's, and say, how can you cut this important work? this is not about cutting waste, fraud and abuse. this is about just cutting through wit

cnn chief national affairs correspondent jeff zeleny is live for us at the white house. jeff, obviously, a lot at stake here. what should we expect from president trump tonight? boris. >> there certainly is. >> and this is the president's first primetime address since he has been back in power. and really, we are told that he is going to use tonight's address to explain what his. the first of 43 days of his administration have been like, largely focusing on trying to focus on some of the department of governmental efficiency things. of course, elon musk's big approach to shrink the federal government. i'm told that elon musk will be on hand in the house chamber. so that, of course, will be one thing that republicans may enjoy and like. but the challenges really are mounting. even in the last 12 hours or so that make this speech even perhaps more complicated than even yesterday, largely because of this trade war. there is no doubt that high prices have been one of the challenges of this administration. presidents don't set prices, but they take the blame for the cost of pr

i want to go straight to cnn's jeff zeleny at the white house. jeff, what is the latest? because it has been a wild 36 hours, phil. >> it has. >> i mean, president trump often talks. about tariffs, but he's often talked. >> out of. >> imposing them. >> and that is. >> exactly what. >> happened again. >> today, at least for a. >> sliver of. >> the industry. >> the big three automakers. >> have been reaching. >> out to the white house. >> in. >> a series. >> of phone. >> calls, both with staff and the president himself. yesterday. again this. >> morning, and they convinced. >> the president. >> to give. >> them a. >> one month reprieve. >> on these. >> these tariffs that the president has imposed on. >> canada and mexico. >> and. china as well. >> they argued that it. >> was an unfair. competitive advantage. >> to. >> them because their. >> european competitors did. >> not have those tariffs. >> the asian ones did. >> not either. >> but of. >> course. >> the stock. >> market also. >> played a key part in this. it's a metric the president watches very carefully as we know. w

and cnn's jeff zeleny. jeff. >> well, jake, that february threat for tariffs is turning into a march promise for tariffs. at least that's what president trump is saying tonight. he said there is no more room for negotiations, of course, calling for 25% tariffs on canada and mexico, which he backed away from 30 days ago, giving each country a reprieve. he said he will no longer do so. he, citing the fentanyl that is coming across the border from both countries, even though it's a very small amount from the neighbor to the north of canada. but the president addressing this, looking over the criticism of what it would do for prices. he said it would be good for car manufacturers. >> i would just say this to people in canada or mexico, if they're going to build car plants, the people that are doing them are much better off building here because we have the market. we're the market where they sell the most. and so i think it's going to be very exciting, very exciting for the automobile companies. >> in fact, it's

joining us live from the white house with new reporting, cnn chief national affairs correspondent jeff zeleny. jeff, usually these days are kind of like, hurry up and wait affairs, but it's already been pretty busy over there. what are you hearing about? what to expect tonight? >> well, casey, i'm told the phone has. >> been ringing. >> here. >> at the white house. pretty much all day long. >> a different kind of fireworks. >> perhaps some republican criticism. >> and really. >> venting over these. you know, this new trade war over the idea of tariffs. i'm told that white house chief of staff susie wiles and other republican advisers here have been hearing from some republican senators and lawmakers about the concern of this. so the president is walking into a house chamber tonight where there is skepticism. >> and some. >> criticism of some. >> of his policies. >> of course, he this is coming exactly four months after election day. >> so white. >> house officials. >> are pointing to his popular vote win. the fact that he swept the battleground states, there's no question about that. >> but i

jeff zeleny is outfront, live outside the white house to begin our coverage tonight. and, jeff, you know, in this interview, we just saw him there with bret baier. moments ago, zelenskyy stood firm. he did not apologize, even when bret made it very clear, you know, are you choosing not to do that? so then what does that mean? what does trump want from zelenskyy right now? >> well look, aaron, the bottom. line is. >> trump wants. >> president zelenskyy. >> to basically. >> stand down. he wants him. >> to basically. >> stand down from his fight with. >> vladimir putin. i mean, just a short time ago, as president trump was leaving the white house after a very extraordinary day here, he said he's not interested in. fight. fight. fight. he wants a man who can make peace. so when you sort of look through the lines there and and break that all down, the bottom line is the president and the vice president were not interested in a history lesson. they were not interested in anything putin has done before. they simply want a deal to be made. but i can say standing here, as we sa

jeff zeleny starts us off at the white house. and, jeff, what is the white house saying about what we should expect to hear from the president tonight? >> well, jake, we know that the president has been spending most of the afternoon putting some of the finishing touches in his own language and edits into the speech. it's the first time he will return to the capital to give a primetime address. of course, he had his inauguration speech there just 43 days ago. so the actions of those 43 days, i'm told, are going to be a bit of a bridge of an outline of this speech. he's going to be talking a lot about the government efficiency. he's going to be talking a lot about elon, musk told elon musk will be on hand in the chamber. and that, of course, has been the really focus of the first few weeks of the administration. but the action of just the last 24 hours, or certainly shining a brighter light on the actual policies of this administration. and i am told that the white house has been fielding calls all day long from republicans who are

cnn's jeff zeleny is live for us outside the white house. jeff, a lot of suspense surrounding this call. questions about whether they may be a call later on today. what are you hearing about it from sources inside the white house. >> look, boris, we know that they talked this morning for a little bit under an hour. and that, of course, the trade war was one of the examples. but the president, in a separate series of phone calls, that actually is a bit more pressing, really underscoring this, this whiplash on tariffs. he announced that he is putting a one month reprieve on u.s. automakers ford, general motors and stellantis for any goods that they get from canada and mexico. of course, the prime minister of canada was concerned about that, but he's concerned about all goods and the the broader scope of tariffs. so it's a little bit unclear if anything actually developed from that call with the prime minister. but something definitely did with the automakers. and this is the second straight day that the president has spoken with the automakers.

jeff zeleny is out front at the white house. and, jeff, you know, talking about the president's word, right? he's been clear on what he's going to do. he's not going to back off. but the pause in car tariffs is a significant one. it's an admission that making cars in the united states is now a cross border enterprise. that is the reality. is it a sign that the president is wavering on his trade war? >> erin, it's definitely a sign that the president is open to pressure and persuasion. and that's. >> exactly what he got from the big three. >> automakers. >> in a. series of phone calls to. >> the president himself, both yesterday before. >> the speech, i'm told. and then again this. >> morning and also behind. >> the scenes with a variety of advisers, they were sounding the. alarm not only about the. >> market. >> but what they viewed as. >> an as an. >> unfair competitive advantage with european carmakers, with asian carmakers. and the president seemed to rally to their explanation. and for at least one month is. offering a reprie

. >> cnn's jeff zeleny has more on the diplomatic disaster as it's being characterized. jeff, good morning to you. >> good morning. victor. that dramatic diplomatic breakdown at the white house on friday still reverberating, of course, here in washington and indeed around the world as an effort for a negotiation between the u.s. and ukraine that could lead to potential peace talks between russia and ukraine broke down in dramatic fashion. and as the president left the white house on friday evening after spending many hours with his advisers thinking and talking about this, he placed blame on president zelenskyy for saying he's not a man who wants to make peace. >> he's dealing with very strong set of cards and that he doesn't want to make peace. so that's where we are. it's very simple. i'm not looking to get into anything protracted. i want. immediate peace. president putin is going to want to make and he wants to make. he wants to end it. and you saw what i saw today. this is a man that wants to get us signed up and keep fighting. and we're not doing that, not for this

jeff zeleny, thank you so much for that report. and ahead on cnn news central, when president trump speaks. wall street is listening and responding and investors not thrilled. clearly with the president's insistence, tariffs are going to take effect as planned at midnight. we'll discuss the impact here of those tariffs after a quick break. >> united states of scandal with jake tapper returns sunday day at nine on cnn. >> hey hon, i found our new. >> car on carvana already. >> i want to. >> do some research. torque or horsepower. >> for this. oh, great return policy, i found it. >> great minds. >> are by your car on carvana today, honey. >> but the gains are pumping. >> dad, is mommy a finance bro? >> she switched careers to make money for your weddings. >> oh, the asian market is blowing up. hey, who. wants shots, huh? >> shots of milk. >> the right money. moves aren't as aggressive. >> as you think. >> speak now or forever. hold your. >> only took for our cough liquid. >> ha ha. >> unlike robitussin dm liquid, delsym 12 hour liqui

cnn chief national affairs correspondent jeff zeleny is at the white house. jeff, has there been any response to these new comments from the kremlin saying that the u.s. is now coming into alignment with them? >> pamela. >> not direct response, but that certainly is hanging over the entire new week here at the white house. the kremlin obviously was very pleased by what was happening on friday. you could see that happening in real time as the meeting. the proposed deal really blew up right in the oval office, which sent europe scrambling over the weekend, and the white house also scrambling to make clear that they are the ones who have the upper hand. but that is a central question here. this, uh, the idea of a deal being blown up, which was expected to be signed on friday over the rare earths minerals with ukraine, potentially leading to a peace process with that off the table. the european leaders met all weekend long, and the white house now is saying that they welcome europe's increased involvement in this. but the question that is unanswered this morning,

jeff zeleny is outfront live outside the white house to begin our coverage this evening. and, jeff, as we're getting ready for the president's address to that joint session of congress, you know what? what more do you know about what we're going to hear from him tonight, how long he's going to talk, what's going to be in this speech? >> erin, we are told the president spent much of the afternoon putting the final edits into this speech. it will last well over an hour. and of course, it could last much longer with applause or perhaps with outbursts from democrats. now, this is a familiar setting. he's been in the house chamber giving this kind of speech four times before. but this is an entirely different moment. here's why. he's emboldened by winning the popular vote. just four months ago. he's emboldened by winning all seven battleground states. he's facing a full republican control of congress. the optics will be so different. nancy pelosi is not behind him, as she was the last time he addressed a joint session of congress like this. however, so many challenges are also

affairs correspondent matthew chance is in moscow, but we are going to start at the white house with jeff zeleny. jeff, can you explain a little bit more about this escalation that is on top of, of course, all of the escalations that we've seen, starting with friday? >> dana, it's the latest sign that temperatures have not cooled at all since friday afternoon during your show. when that meeting went entirely off the rails in the oval office with the biggest diplomatic breakdown that anyone certainly has seen in the television era. and the president posting just a short time ago, america not will not put up with this for much longer. that is a bit of an ultimatum, signaling the fact that it raises a lot of questions. one question is will the u.s. withdraw its military assistance? officials say that that and everything else is on the table. the president actually was asked that by reporters as we saw him leave the white house on friday night. he says, i will not answer that, but made clear it was on the table. so now, as we begin a new week here, after a weekend of european leaders rallying around

jeff zeleny, cnn, the white house. >> and the war in ukraine.e touch point in president trump's address to congress, in which he said that he is, quote, working tirelessly to end the fighting there just days after that explosive oval office meeting, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy taking to social media to describe the fiery exchange as regrettable. according to mr. trump and zelenskyy are still in communication. here's what the u.s. president shared during his address. >> earlier today. i received an important letter from president zelenskyy of ukraine. the letter reads ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. nobody wants peace more than the ukrainians, he said. my team and i stand ready to work under president trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. we do really value how much america has done to help ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. regarding the agreement on minerals and security, ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for