GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

On the "News Hour" tonight: Businesses are hit by new tariffs that the United States is slapping on Mexico and Canada in what's become a global trade war.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, Canadian Prime Minister: Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight.

GEOFF BENNETT: Ukraine scrambles to salvage its fractured alliance with the U.S. after the White House suspends military aid to the country at war.

AMNA NAWAZ: And President Trump prepares to give his first address to Congress since returning to office, as he slashes the federal work force and reshapes American foreign policy.

(BREAK) AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour."

Ahead of the president's address to Congress tonight, the White House is implementing two new policies with global consequences.

GEOFF BENNETT: The Trump administration is halting military aid to Ukraine and it's imposing new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.

That sparked a wider trade war and sent markets plummeting for a second day in a row.

We start tonight with the economic fallout.

Hours after the new tariffs took effect, a blunt rebuke from America's second largest trading partner.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, Canadian Prime Minister: Even though you're a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.

GEOFF BENNETT: Speaking directly to President Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced tariffs on more than $100 billion of U.S. exports in the coming weeks, a quarter of which take effect immediately.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU: Canadians are reasonable and we are polite.

But we will not back down from a fight.

Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. tariffs are withdrawn.

GEOFF BENNETT: The new U.S. tariffs in effect today impose a 25 percent tax on imports from Canada and Mexico and raise duties on Chinese goods to 20 percent.

HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. Commerce Secretary: There may well be short-term price movements.

But in the long term, it's going to be completely different.

GEOFF BENNETT: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended the tariffs on CNBC and said they could be lifted later on.

He argued today's policy is tied to the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. from China and across the borders with Canada and Mexico.

HOWARD LUTNICK: We need to see material reduction in autopsied deaths from opioid.

And that's what the president is talking about.

This is not a trade war.

GEOFF BENNETT: Trudeau said Canada has stepped up its efforts to control fentanyl and that only a tiny fraction of the drug seized at U.S. borders comes from Canada.

Meantime, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged retaliatory steps to be announced Sunday.

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, Mexican President (through translator): It is by no means our purpose to start an economic or trade confrontation, which unfortunately and regrettably is the opposite of what we should be doing, that is, integrating our economies more to strengthen our region.

GEOFF BENNETT: In Beijing, China retaliated with tariffs up to 15 percent on U.S. farm exports.

LIN JIAN, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson (through translator): The countermeasures China has taken are entirely justified and necessary to safeguard its own rights and interests.

GEOFF BENNETT: Trade among the U.S., China, Mexico and Canada totals more than $2.2 trillion across a wide swathe of goods.

For example, the U.S. imports cell phones, computers and other electronics from China, lumber from Canada and much of its produce from Mexico.

More than 20 percent of the cars, SUVs and pickup trucks Americans buy come from Canada and Mexico.

Markets tanked again today as a number of business groups and retailers warn the pain of a trade war is about to hit.

BRIAN CORNELL, CEO, Target: If there's a 25 percent tariff, those prices will go up.

GEOFF BENNETT: Target CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC that his company imports much of its winter produce from Mexico.

BRIAN CORNELL: Those are categories where we will try to protect pricing, but the consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days.

GEOFF BENNETT: And the impact isn't limited to consumers.

President Trump's tariffs had Wall Street spooked for a second straight day.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 670 points on the day.

The Nasdaq ended 65 points lower after flirting with correction territory earlier in the day.

The S&P 500 also ended lower and has now erased all its gains after Mr. Trump's election.

Soon after the markets closed, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told FOX business that President Trump may offer some kind of relief to Canada and Mexico from part of the tariffs tomorrow.

But he offered no details.

For the moment, those tariffs are in full effect, and we spoke earlier about the consequences with Roben Farzad, economic analyst and host of public radio's "Full Disclosure".

Roben, thanks for being with us.

ROBEN FARZAD, Host, "Full Disclosure": Thank you, Geoff.

GEOFF BENNETT: So we have got the makings of a potentially devastating trade war.

China and Canada will impose their own tariffs on billions of dollars worth of U.S. goods.

In response to President Trump's tariffs, Mexico plans to announce new levies soon.

Lots of uncertainty being wrought by all of this.

What stands out to you?

ROBEN FARZAD: We're living in the essay section of an AP history exam in, what, year 2050.

I mean, that's the thing.

It's like you can learn from history and we are only so analogous to the last time the United States slapped the world with so many tariffs kind of and caused a full-throated trade war the way we're seeing right now.

But I'm still saying that there's a wait-and-see approach.

Certainly, the first thing to react, markets.

We saw the bond market price in more likelihood of recession.

We saw the stock market tumble the last few days.

We see retailers, producers, farmers and the like come out and anecdotally suggest that they're stressed, but it really hasn't had time to hit yet the true economy and for consumers to feel it.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes, that's the big question right now.

What's going to be the impact?

Our team spoke with Steve Lamar.

He's president and CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association.

Here's what he had to say.

STEVE LAMAR, President and CEO, American Apparel and Footwear Association: Mexico specifically, you have got this very strong partnership between the U.S. and the Mexican textile and apparel industry.

We ship a lot of yarns and fabrics down to Mexico.

They're converted into garments and they're brought back up to the United States.

Of course, our textile industry, they need all the export markets they can get.

And when we turn around and create this huge obstacle to that market, we're undermining not only the ability of our industry to create good jobs on both sides of the border, but also to -- for the textile industry, a partner of ours, to create good jobs as well.

GEOFF BENNETT: So he's making the point that the North American economies are so interconnected.

I mean, what might be the impact on the average U.S. consumer?

ROBEN FARZAD: Well, there's a false nostalgia.

I think Donald Trump, you saw in his press conference, he says there's an easy answer to this.

Build it kind of soup-to-nuts here.

Integrate across the board.

Don't just be sending it back and forth the border, Mexico, Canada, whether it's textiles or autos.

I will say there's tremendous slack in the system.

You could always turn to a Bangladesh, a Cambodia, El Salvador.

There are other markets that are very willing to take the raw materials and turn them around back to us.

But if you look at the likes of Walmart and Target and Gap and the various apparel manufacturers, towel makers, they have longstanding relationships that took 20-plus years to source after NAFTA, that they're suddenly going to have to scramble and say, wow, I can't get this done.

And it's brutal.

I mean, Walmart is going to say, well, if you can't get it done, who can?

And this is where it becomes self-defeating for us.

It ends up hurting our farmers, hurting the ones that churn out the cotton, the hemp, the various other raw materials that go into these textile products, for example.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, the conservative-leaning Wall Street Journal editorial board has weighed in, and they published an op-ed with the headline, "Trump Takes the Dumbest Tariff Plunge."

And there's a line in here that stood out to me.

It says: "Mr. Trump is volatile.

And who knows how long he will keep the tariffs in place?"

Wars are easy to start, not so easy to end.

How might this end, Roben?

ROBEN FARZAD: It's interesting.

It speaks to an old kind of Chamber of Commerce wing of the GOP.

You and I have talked about it before, where, at least very quietly, you were grateful for immigrant labor.

You were grateful for the gains from trade that you would see, the fact that you could go to a Walmart and buy a $20 DVD player because so much was manufactured in China and abroad.

There was always a dividend for the American consumer, which helped the American consumer build her quality of life or the things that she could afford.

And that freed up money for other things.

But it points to a kind of a long-lost fissure in that party, because very much the business Chamber of Commerce wing has been muted.

You're seeing, even with Jamie Dimon, the king of Wall Street, the CEO of J.P. Morgan, say, you know what, they're going to be tariffs and we got to take it.

We got to take this bad medicine.

It's not going to be the end of the world.

So it'd be curious to see which kind of coalition comes out afterwards and say, well, look, see what you wrought?

There's a better way.

GEOFF BENNETT: We have also heard President Trump say that he wants the Fed to cut rates.

Do you see a scenario where the Fed would cut rates if these tariffs are -- prove to be a real drag on the economy?

ROBEN FARZAD: I mean, if we shoot ourselves in the foot and push the economy into a recession, then that would help fully snuff out inflation.

And then weakness becomes an unemployment spiking and credit quality deteriorating.

And you would see all sort of worrisome indicators and layoffs and pink slips going out.

Well, that's a Pyrrhic victory.

I don't know if that's something -- it's kind of a roundabout way, but let's not forget that Trump hasn't been in office for all that long.

And this has already kind of bent the theme of the economy away from a worry, I think, about inflation to on the margin worries about a recession.

You see where a consumer sentiment is.

You see the report from the Atlanta Fed that, if it's something that he wanted to do there, I think there are easier ways of maybe putting slack into the economy than throwing the entire global economy into disorder.

GEOFF BENNETT: Roben Farzad, host of the podcast "Full Disclosure," thanks for being with us.

ROBEN FARZAD: Thanks, Geoff.

GEOFF BENNETT: It has also been a dramatic day for the administration's policy on Ukraine.

President Zelenskyy today expressed regret for how his Oval Office meeting with President Trump melted down on Friday, and he echoed President Trump's language about hoping to end the war and sign an economic deal.

AMNA NAWAZ: But Zelenskyy made that statement after the Trump administration paused all military aid, aid that's helped the country survive Russia's full-scale invasion.

Here's Nick Schifrin with more.

NICK SCHIFRIN: In Kyiv tonight, a mea culpa.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, Ukrainian President (through translator): We can only regret what happened at the White House, instead of our negotiations, but we must find the strength to move forward, to respect one another.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: You're buried there.

Your people are dying.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Since Friday, U.S. officials have been wanting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to apologize and indicate a willingness to cease fire, which he did for the first time today on X.

He wrote: "The first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky, a ban on missiles, long-range drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure, and truce in the sea immediately if Russia will do the same."

Zelenskyy also pledged to sign an economic deal that would pay half of all revenue from Ukraine's critical minerals, including this titanium mine, to an investment fund jointly owned with the U.S.

It would upend decades of U.S. precedent, forcing the invaded, not the invader, to pay up.

But it would also mean the U.S. was invested literally in Ukraine's future, as the two presidents celebrated before Friday's meeting blew up.

DONALD TRUMP: It's a big commitment from the United States, and we appreciate working with you very much.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But the deal does not come with security guarantees, and Ukraine argues only a strong defense can end the fighting long-term.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion, the U.S. has appropriated more than $180 billion to Ukraine, $66 billion in military aid.

Today, the U.S. is responsible for 20 percent of Ukraine's military supplies, perhaps most critically, air defense, including the Patriot missile system.

A senior Ukrainian official argues Ukraine can survive without most American weapons, in part because Ukraine has mastered modern war's most important weapon, drones.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY (through translator): This is not 2022 anymore.

Our resilience is stronger now.

We have the means to defend ourselves.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But, still, the U.S. decision has left Ukraine's defenders offended.

ANTON, Ukrainian Soldier (through translator): At first, the U.S. were with us.

Now they don't even want to recognize Russia as an aggressor.

In fact, the U.S. has changed sides.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Echoing that soldier, a senior Ukrainian official told me that, after the White House confirmed the pause of U.S. military assistance last night, Ukraine felt betrayed.

This official said -- quote -- "In the war between Ukraine and Russia, the first surrender was the United States."

But he and other Ukrainian officials I spoke to tonight said they hope President Zelenskyy's message could lead to the economic deal being signed and they expressed gratitude for their cooperation with the Trump administration -- Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: Thank you, Nick.

For more on this now, we turn to retired Lieutenant General Doug Lute.

He served in both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations on the National Security Council staff and was U.S. ambassador to NATO during the Obama administration.

General Lute, welcome back to the "News Hour."

Always great to see you.

You have heard now the White House says that the freeze on military aid to Ukraine stays in place until President Trump determines Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations.

What's your reaction to that?

LT. GEN. DOUGLAS LUTE (RET.

), Former U.S.

Ambassador to NATO: Well, I think Nick covered the immediate impacts pretty well in his reporting.

We should remember, first of all, that this is not the only time that aid from the U.S. has been paused or suspended.

Remember, we went through a six-month period last year where there was a cease in aid because of congressional debate and so forth.

The immediate impact will be on high-end air and missile defense systems that protect Ukrainian cities.

And, as Nick reported, the Patriot missile system is probably first and foremost there.

But, also, there's very sensitive intelligence sharing that's been going on, and intelligence gathered from very sensitive collection means, collection sources.

So it would be interesting to see if that sharing also ends.

There are three things that will somewhat moderate or mitigate the impact of this U.S. pause.

First of all, Ukraine has ramped up its own indigenous defense industrial base.

They produced a million drones on their own last year, and drones now dominate the battlefield.

The Europeans can cover some of this gap as the U.S. departs.

And then finally, it very much depends on the battlefield dynamic.

Does the tempo of the war remain the same?

Or is there a hope for a cease-fire, which would mean that the gap is less significant?

AMNA NAWAZ: General Lute, is the U.S. asking enough of Russia in all of this to get them at the negotiating table?

LT. GEN. DOUGLAS LUTE: I think this is one of the curious dimensions of the Trump approach, which seems to be removing leverage from Russia and pressuring Ukraine.

You saw just a couple of weeks ago that the defense secretary announced three no's with regard to leverage on Russia, so no U.S. troops as a part of a cease-fire enforcement arrangement, no return of Ukrainian occupied territory, sovereign territory, and no hope that Ukraine will join NATO.

That's curious, because typically, in the pre-negotiation phase, the sides try to gather leverage, to assemble leverage, rather than sacrifice it.

AMNA NAWAZ: We have also heard these repeated demands from U.S. officials of gratitude, more gratitude from President Zelenskyy.

It came up in the White House meeting.

It's come up since then.

What do you make of that?

Is that a productive tack to take with an ally?

LT. GEN. DOUGLAS LUTE: Well, perhaps it would be if it were true, but it's simply not true.

I mean, I don't know of a single public engagement with Americans or with European allies or with the United Nations where President Zelenskyy has not started with making the point, begun his engagement with gratitude and thanks.

So I just don't think it's accurate.

AMNA NAWAZ: President Zelenskyy seems to want in these talks security guarantees up front first, and then to talk about negotiations and a cease-fire.

But President Trump and his team want to talk about the cease-fire first.

For a war that's now in its third year, what's wrong with that approach?

LT. GEN. DOUGLAS LUTE: Well, President Trump has said security is the easy part.

Getting to the negotiations -- he implies, getting to the negotiations is the hard part, which he's working on now.

That's simply not Zelenskyy -- Zelenskyy's and the Ukrainians' experience over the last 11 years.

They have 11 years of experience of numerous signed agreements between Ukraine and Russia, which have repeatedly been violated, and yet their country has no security.

So it's quite, I think, understandable that Zelenskyy requires something more, something more credible to guarantee his security before he launches into cease-fires.

AMNA NAWAZ: In the minute or so we have left, do you see this moving into negotiations?

And, if so, who has the leverage going in?

LT. GEN. DOUGLAS LUTE: Well, leverage is a big thing now.

And as we have already discussed, I think we have unnecessarily sacrificed some of our leverage up front.

I found Zelenskyy's statement today as very interesting.

He offered some good ideas of what would in typical terms be called confidence-building measures, so the exchange of prisoners, a cease-fire of long-range strikes on both sides, a cease-fire at sea.

So if these sorts of introductory measures, beginning measures, can be set in place, then maybe we can build some momentum towards talks.

AMNA NAWAZ: Retired Lieutenant General Doug Lute.

General Lute, thank you for your time.

Always good to speak with you.

We start the day's other headlines with a massive storm system that's rumbling across much of the country, stretching from Chicago all the way down to the Gulf.

WOMAN: This is what we're seeing.

Oh, holy... AMNA NAWAZ: The most severe thunderstorms are carving a path across the South tonight, leaving toppled buildings, debris, and more than 400,000 people without power from Texas to Mississippi.

The weather system hasn't brought just rain.

It's also kicked up blinding dust storms across parts of the Southwest.

And it's threatening to put a damper on Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans tonight.

Officials moved up and shortened the city's two biggest parades, hoping to wrap things up before high winds move in.

Turning overseas, Arab leaders from across the Middle East endorsed a plan today to rebuild the Gaza Strip.

The measure would allow the territory's two million Palestinians to remain in Gaza.

It's a counterproposal to President Trump's vision, which calls for removing Palestinians from the area and creating a beach destination.

Experts warned such a plan would be a war crime under international law.

At today's summit in Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi laid out his $53 billion plan, under which Hamas would cede power to an interim independent administration.

ABDEL FATTAH EL-SISI, Egyptian President (through translator): The plan starts with immediate relief operations and early recovery efforts, leading to the full reconstruction of the enclave.

Egypt calls for adopting this plan at our summit today and mobilizing regional and international support for it.

AMNA NAWAZ: The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, was also there.

He told the summit he's ready to hold elections as early as next year if -- quote -- "conditions allow."

The Palestinians have not held presidential elections in some two decades.

In Serbia, at least three lawmakers were injured after chaos erupted in the country's Parliament today.

Opposition lawmakers threw smoke bombs and flares as the chamber was set to vote on a measure that would increase funding for universities.

They say the session was illegal and that Parliament must first confirm the resignation of the prime minister and his government.

Milos Vucevic stepped down in January after months of anti-corruption demonstrations related to the collapse of a train station canopy that killed 15 people.

Opposition parties say the government has no authority to pass new laws and are calling for new elections.

The U.S. Senate has voted not to move forward a bill that would have banned transgender student athletes from participating in women and girls sports.

MAN: Three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to.

AMNA NAWAZ: The measure needed 60 votes to proceed.

It failed along party lines last night.

The House has passed similar legislation with two Democrats supporting that bill.

Republicans, led by President Trump, have frequently leaned into the issue of transgender athletes, framing it as unfair to women and girls.

Many Democrats argue that such measures distract from more important issues facing the nation and could further isolate and harm transgender youth.

An investor group led by U.S. firm BlackRock is buying two ports at either end of the Panama Canal.

Those terminals are currently operated by the Hong Kong-based group C.K.

Hutchison.

They have been at the center of a dispute between the Trump administration and Panama, as President Trump accuses China of influencing the critical waterway.

Last month, Panama's president denied that China had any control over canal operations.

The roughly $23 billion deal requires approval from Panama's government.

And now for some egg-citing news about two celebrity lovebirds who found fame online.

Bald eagle power couple Jackie and Shadow of California's Big Bear Valley are now proud parents of two baby eaglets.

Yesterday, a livestream showed some cracks in two of their new eggs.

Then, just before midnight, new life entered the nest.

Over 80,000 viewers tuned into the livestream this morning to watch the protective parents admire the eaglets and monitor a third egg which is expected to hatch in the coming days.

So congratulations to Jackie and Shadow and the new members of their family.

And from the beginnings of life to the passing of another.

Robert Clark has died.

He was elected Mississippi's first Black lawmaker of the 20th century in 1967.

A teacher and descendant of enslaved people in a deeply segregated state, Clark was ostracized by his colleagues, forced to sit by himself in the House chamber and at official dinners.

But Clark rose to the second highest leadership role in the Statehouse, a position he held until he retired in 2004.

His son, Bryant Clark, who took over his father's seat, says Robert Clark died of natural causes.

He was 96 years old.

Still to come on the "News Hour": what to expect from President Trump's address to Congress; Mexico argues against gunmakers in the U.S. Supreme Court; plus much more.

GEOFF BENNETT: President Donald Trump is just hours away from addressing a joint session of Congress, where he's expected to tout his administration's accomplishments and lay out his agenda for the rest of the year.

AMNA NAWAZ: But, as we have been discussing, his high-profile speech comes at a delicate time, on day one of a new trade war he started with America's top trading partners and as Europe is scrambling to fill the void in aid for Ukraine now that Trump has ordered an end to U.S. military support.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let's turn now to Capitol Hill.

We will hear from lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

First up is Senator Eric Schmitt, a Republican from Missouri.

Welcome back to the "News Hour," sir.

SEN. ERIC SCHMITT (R-MO): Great to be with you guys.

GEOFF BENNETT: So let's start with the tariffs, President Trump's decision to slap major tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

He's doubling the tariffs on Chinese imports.

It's a move that has a lot of Americans nervous that's certainly reflected in the markets.

At a time when Americans are still grappling with high housing prices, high grocery prices, inflation is as stubborn as it is, why is a trade war the right approach right now?

SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: Well, I think you want to look at these things in two separate buckets.

As it relates to China, President Trump did this in his first term.

We didn't see inflation.

We tried to rebalance the scales a little bit, and we saw record wage growth among every demographic in the country.

And so we were doing quite well when those tariffs went in place.

And, by the way, Joe Biden kept them in place.

And as it relates to Canada and Mexico, this is really about getting them to deal seriously with not just illegal immigration at our southern border and our northern border, but also as it relates to fentanyl.

And people might dismiss the idea that the northern border is that much of a problem, but the truth of the matter is, we have seen a 2000 percent increase in the last year, and enough fentanyl crosses our northern border to kill about 9.8 million Americans each and every year.

So it's a serious challenge.

And I think that's what this is about.

And my hope is that Canada and Mexico will actually come to the table on this.

I think you're also, though, by the way, seeing some indications that companies are taking notice of this.

You see Honda is now going to be building a manufacturing plant in the United States.

Mercedes-Benz is also looking to do this.

So I think there's some benefit to this.

But at the end of the day, this is about us being treated fairly from an economic perspective, and then also dealing with this, the fentanyl that's streaming across our borders.

GEOFF BENNETT: Canada and Mexico aren't just America's biggest trading partners.

They're also Missouri's biggest trading partners.

You have got a really active agriculture and manufacturing industry there.

A lot of jobs depend on those industries... SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: ... as do a lot of grocery bills.

What have you heard from your constituents in the lead-up to today about their concerns about the potential impact?

SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: I think people just want us to be treated fairly.

So when you look at a lot of these reciprocal tariffs, right, they're -- we want to be treated the same way that they're being treated here.

And that's what this is about.

And for a very long time, including in Europe, they have been ripping us off.

You can't sell an American car, effectively, in Europe.

So I think it's also important to keep into context, like in President Trump's first term, that these sort of -- this trade policy is not in a vacuum.

When you have the idea of controlling government spending, which President Trump's talking about, I'm sure he's going to talk about in his speech tonight, and also unleashing domestic energy production, that's why you didn't see inflation.

But that's why you did see inflation under Joe Biden, which was, you saw a bunch of government spending.

The COVID spending was through the roof, and then also declaring war on domestic energy production rose the cost of everything at the grocery store.

So this is part of the process.

And I think that ultimately President Trump is going to stick up for Americans by saying, treat us fairly, lower your trade barriers, or we're going to treat you the same way you treat us.

GEOFF BENNETT: The CEO of Target said today that prices will likely go up as a result of these tariffs.

The CEO of Best Buy says price increases are, in his words, highly likely.

How much economic blowback can Republicans sustain either from the markets or from Americans when we start to see these prices go up?

Because tariffs are definitionally a tax.

SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: Well, they didn't go - - I guess I'm going to keep telling you.

You want to -- obviously, you want to make this about rising costs.

Well, we saw that under Joe Biden when we didn't have this, right?

We have been treated very unfairly by a lot of our so-called allies.

And President Trump is trying to rebalance that.

So, ultimately, if we produce more energy and we cut government spending, OK, that is what drives inflation.

And people feel that in their pocketbooks.

That is what caused the price of everything to go up at the grocery store.

So I think people -- and you look at the polling numbers over the weekend -- President Trump has a record high approval rating, much higher than Joe Biden's was.

So I think the American people are ready for somebody that's going to stand up for them.

You look at the other policies that President Trump is taking on.

You -- in the lead-in, I heard you talking about the Democrats, all of them voting against banning transgender athletes from competing against women, men competing against women.

The Democrat Party is so out of step with where real America is on virtually every issue.

It's why they lost badly in November.

President Trump is doing all of the things he talked about on the campaign trail, including cutting government spending.

So if you look at the polling numbers, it just doesn't support the argument that people aren't happy with this.

They want somebody to come disrupt permanent Washington that just hasn't been working for working families.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, let's talk, if we can, in the time that remains about his polling numbers, because, according to a new PBS News./NPR/Marist poll, his job approval remains underwater.

He's got 49 percent disapproval and 54 percent of Americans say the country is moving in the wrong direction.

It's not exactly a reflection of the mandate that President Trump says he has, at least right now.What do you expect to hear from him tonight to help set a course going forward?

SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: I think he's going to talk about the early successes that we have had.

You see a record low number of border crossings now because it turns out, if you have a president that actually enforces the laws that are on the books, you won't have mass migration like we saw over the last four years, where 15 to 20 million people came here illegally.

So that's an early success.

I think he's going to talk about what that looks like moving forward.

I think he's going to talk about the record investment.

In just the first month here, we have seen $1.7 trillion worth of investment, whether it's Apple, whether it's Mercedes-Benz, whether it's high-tech semiconductor chips, building those facilities here.

The signal is being sent out that America is a place where you can do business.

Now, we have got to extend those tax cuts.

That will be part of our job in Congress.

I think he's also going to talk about a change in direction on foreign policy, where the core interests of the United States of America will reign supreme.

Europe needs to step up a much more meaningful way for their own defense.

And we need to focus on the homeland and for China.

We're not abandoning anybody, but it's a realist's point of view.

And then I think he's going to talk about a return to common sense and just having some policies like getting rid of divisive DEI, which is inherently racist.

GEOFF BENNETT: All right, Senator Eric Schmitt, thanks again for your time.

We appreciate it.

SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: Any time.

AMNA NAWAZ: And now, for a Democrat's take, we're joined by Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington.

She's also the chair emerita of the House Progressive Caucus.

Congresswoman, welcome back to the "News Hour."

Thanks for joining us.

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Thank you for having me, Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: So we saw House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote to Democratic lawmakers.

And he said, for tonight, it's important to have a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber.

We have heard from some of your colleagues in the Democratic Party that they're boycotting tonight.

Will you be attending, and why, if so?

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL: Amna, I will be there, because I was there in the Gallery on January 6 when Donald Trump and insurrectionists tried to take over the people's house.

And, tonight, I feel that it's very important for us to reclaim our house, to reclaim our chamber, to sit there and be able to very seriously react to and hear what Donald Trump is going to say.

I believe that it's going to be a set of lies that he's going to be spreading that are completely divorced from reality.

And I believe that, once again, he will tell the American people that he's doing things for them, when, in fact, two-thirds of the American people know that he has done nothing to lower costs for the American people.

In fact, what he's doing with this indiscriminate trade war, he is levying taxes, because that's what a tariff is, is a tax on working families across this country, so that he can pay for the billionaire tax breaks that he wants to continue to give to his billionaire buddies.

And so I think this is devastating, what is happening to workers who are being fired, who are not being respected, to democracy, to our government, and, most of all, to people's pocketbooks.

He is -- people are seeing raised prices, the stock market's in a slump, because Donald Trump is once again destroying stability for working families across this country.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Congresswoman, with tens of millions of people potentially tuning in to watch tonight, you will be in attendance, what does it mean, in your own words, as you say, to seriously react to what he's saying?

Do we expect Democrats to be loudly booing to some of his remarks or sitting silently?

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL: No, that is... (CROSSTALK) AMNA NAWAZ: I mean, with so many people watching, what's the message you're sending tonight?

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL: I think we will be sitting silently.

It has always been Republicans who have tried to disrupt Democratic presidents.

That's the history of Joe Wilson, Representative Joe Wilson, yelling "You lie" at Barack Obama.

It's a history of Marjorie Taylor Greene yelling consistently at Joe Biden.

And I think what you will see tonight is Democrats reclaiming the chamber in a very appropriate, dignified way that says to the American people, here is the contrast.

Democrats are about protecting American families, about protecting working families' benefits, not slashing Medicaid, not slashing Social Security, making sure that our aviation safety is protected.

That's why my guest tonight is the fabulous president of the flight attendance union, 55,000 members across this country who work every day to take care of the public safety, even as Donald Trump is firing so many people within the aviation safety arena.

AMNA NAWAZ: And the choice of Elissa Slotkin, your former House colleague, now a first-term Michigan senator, to deliver the Democratic response, yes, she has a strong national security background.

She won an open seat in a state that President Trump won.

Why Slotkin and what's her message tonight?

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL: Elissa is terrific.

She was a colleague of mine in the House.

And I think she has shown how you can absolutely win districts and states that Donald Trump won with a strong message that is about protecting the public, making sure that Republicans are not able to slash these incredible programs and benefits to deliver tax breaks for billionaires.

And so I'm glad that she's going to be doing it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what she has to say.

And, certainly, she knows how to win a swing state like Michigan.

AMNA NAWAZ: Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington, thank you so much for joining us.

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL: Thank you, Amna.

GEOFF BENNETT: And for more on the president's address to a joint session of Congress tonight, let's bring in our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, and our congressional correspondent, Lisa Desjardins, both of them on Capitol Hill.

AMNA NAWAZ: Laura, let's begin with you.

Give us a preview of what we should expect to hear from President Trump tonight.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Amna, we expect President Trump to address this ongoing effort to strike a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

Now, one thing to watch for is whether or not President Trump decides to continue to criticize Ukraine.

The president in the past has repeatedly said that Ukraine started the war, which is false.

And the other thing that we're watching for is how he talks about his deportation plan.

That is something that is expected to be a part of his speech.

The president has been frustrated with the pace of deportations by his administration.

And border czar Tom Homan, the president's border czar, said today that the administration needs more money from Congress for flights and for beds to carry out their deportation plan.

The president is also expected to continue his attacks on transgender people as he moves to roll back rights for them across the states.

This is a population that represents roughly less than 1 percent of the American public, Amna.

And all those themes, those policies are represented in the guests that the president has invited tonight, which include the mother and sister of Laken Riley, a young female nursing student who was killed by an undocumented immigrant.

And the president has also invited January Littlejohn, a mother from Florida who alleged that her kids' school allowed her daughter to socially transition without her parental consent.

At the time, the school's guidelines allowed this, and she sued the school district.

But, ultimately, a federal judge dismissed that.

GEOFF BENNETT: Laura, it has been a whirlwind six weeks since Donald Trump took office, huge cuts to the federal work force, new tariffs today.

Put this speech in that context for us.

What kind of pressure is this administration facing?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Well, there's a lot of questions that Americans are asking about the economy.

As you know, Geoff, the consumer confidence is down.

I was talking to a number of economists today who said that the -- there's no flashing red lights, but there are warning signs.

The stock market took a hit after the president announced these tariffs that went into effect.

And so the longer that those tariffs come, that could potentially cause lasting economic damage.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, Lisa, we know you have been talking to some of your Democratic sources on the Hill.

What are you hearing from them about how they plan to respond tonight?

LISA DESJARDINS: That's right.

Think about this.

It is a very big night for President Trump and for Republicans, but you could argue it's equally a big night for Democrats, who have needed to find their footing after losing the election in November.

They realize this.

And they have been paying a lot of attention to how they handle tonight.

For one thing, they have -- the Democrats on the Hill held a flurry of events today.

I want to show you just a couple of them.

You see Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate leader there, on the Capitol steps railing against Trump, railing against Trump's actions so far.

And then, on the right, you see House Democratic women.

They are wearing pink tonight, Amna.

You will see that in the chamber, led by Katherine Clark, the House Democratic whip.

They want people to see Democrats have more women in the chamber than Republicans do, and they also want to show themselves as a force.

But, as you said to Laura, this is all happening as we see cuts, as we see not just reaction from lawmakers here, but protests around the country from people, federal workers who are protesting Trump's actions.

Here, we saw some protests here in Washington, but across the country yesterday, fired federal workers, people who've seen their pay cuts, all of them starting to come out in slightly larger numbers around the country.

Today, Amna, in the last day, I can report that, for example, one agency, the General Services Administration that handles the real estate, they have now told employees that there will be cuts, as well as Social Security and others.

So that is hanging over all of this.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, Lisa Desjardins and Laura Barron-Lopez on Capitol Hill for us tonight, thank you to you both.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: Mexican officials argued today at the U.S. Supreme Court that American gunmakers should be held libel for cartel violence in their country.

GEOFF BENNETT: Mexico is seeking billions of dollars from several major U.S. firearm manufacturers and one gun wholesaler in an effort to be reimbursed for costs related to gun violence.

Stephanie Sy has more.

STEPHANIE SY: The Mexican government estimates that 200,000 firearms are smuggled into the country from the United States each year, and the vast majority of guns found at Mexican crime scenes come from the U.S. Mexico argues that American gun manufacturers are aiding illegal sales to Mexican criminals, and it claims cartel violence is directly connected to those sales.

A 2005 law generally shields firearms manufacturers and others along the supply chain from civil liability, but Mexico is trying to argue for an exception.

Joining me now to discuss the suit and today's Supreme Court hearing is Chip Brownlee.

He's a reporter with The Trace, a nonprofit news organization that covers gun violence.

Chip, I'm sure you listened to the arguments this morning.

Even the typically liberal justices did not seem convinced by the Mexican government's arguments against Smith & Wesson.

And "News Hour"'s Supreme Court analyst, Marcia Coyle, told me that the majority of justices seemed skeptical that there was a direct connection between the gun manufacturers and the injury Mexico claimed.

Why did they seem to face such an uphill battle?

CHIP BROWNLEE, The Trace: So one part about the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act is that it requires, for there to be an exception for someone to sue a defendant in the gun industry, they have to prove that the defendant violated a state or federal law, and that their violation of the law was the proximate or a close cause to a harm that has been alleged.

And I think what happened here is essentially that Mexico laid out this pretty broad case that hundreds of thousands of guns are smuggled from the U.S. to Mexico every year, but that the actual link between the gun manufacturers and the guns on the ground in Mexico that wind up in the hands of cartels, that link wasn't exactly clear.

So I totally agree.

I think, listening to it, you saw most, if not all of the judges seeming skeptical of Mexico's argument.

And I think we could see even a unanimous verdict in this case.

STEPHANIE SY: What is Mexico accusing the gun manufacturers of doing that would amount to aiding and abetting and make the case an exception to that 2005 law?

CHIP BROWNLEE: So Mexico is essentially alleging here that the gun manufacturers and distributors are marketing their guns to the cartels.

So one example that came up in the case is this Colt handgun that was marketed as El Jefe, which, like, almost -- which literally means boss, but is a term that refers to a cartel boss.

Some other things that they alleged was that the gun manufacturers are refusing to make changes to their weapons, like making it harder to deface a serial number, which is -- serial numbers are very important when you're tracing a gun, and also just kind of the general marketing of these weapons as military-style or military-grade weapons, which would make them better or seem better to the cartel.

STEPHANIE SY: If the justices don't decide in favor of Mexico, Chip -- and we do expect a decision by the end of the term in June -- if the gun companies don't address their concerns, if U.S. courts are hamstrung by the 2005 law, what other options are there to stop these guns from getting into the hands of violent criminals?

CHIP BROWNLEE: If the Supreme Court rules against Mexico, and that could essentially make it much more difficult for these types of civil lawsuits to be brought against the gun industry, and that would result in a situation where, if you're actually going to try to stop any of this trafficking, you're going to have to do it through a law enforcement means.

So that would require the ATF, Border Patrol, the other federal law enforcement agencies to actually do more to stop this.

But I also don't think we have really seen any kind of significant funding put towards that.

I mean, the ATF's funding and their personnel have been cut in years past.

So I think the only other option really is that law enforcement angle, but the resources aren't there.

STEPHANIE SY: And yet we hear nonstop about drug trafficking and human trafficking at the southern border.

Those are top priorities for U.S. politicians.

Does that discussion need to include how American policies and American companies are arming the cartels?

And does gun smuggling have a direct impact on crime in the U.S.?

CHIP BROWNLEE: Absolutely.

That's part of the argument that Mexico is making here, that somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000 guns flow illegally across the border,and those are the guns that the cartels and other violent groups in Mexico are using to perpetrate their violence.

And I think the argument there is that, if you were able to cut off that supply, then you could potentially end up in a situation where there's less fentanyl trafficking, there's less human trafficking coming across the border, and you could mitigate maybe some of that violence that's really the root cause of migration in general.

So I think Mexico is making this argument that it could be good for the U.S. if they were to win this case.

STEPHANIE SY: That is Chip Brownlee, a reporter with The Trace.

Chip, thank you so much.

CHIP BROWNLEE: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: And we will be back shortly.

But, first, take a moment to hear from your local PBS station.

AMNA NAWAZ: It's a chance to offer your support, which helps to keep programs like this one on the air.

GEOFF BENNETT: For those of you staying with us, an encore of a regionwide art collaboration now.

Pacific Standard Time, or PST ART, is comprised of some 60 art institutions in Southern California.

AMNA NAWAZ: Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown sampled some of it last fall for our arts and culture series, Canvas.

JEFFREY BROWN: Everywhere you look, light amid the darkness, illuminated manuscripts.

Glowing, even shimmering objects, most from medieval times, a few created by contemporary artists, all part of an exhibition at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles called Lumen: The Art and Science of Light.

And the wording of that subtitle is critical.

Katherine Fleming is president and CEO of the Getty Trust.

KATHERINE FLEMING, President and CEO, J. Paul Getty Trust: Art and science may at first blush look like things that don't go together.

But, actually, they do.

These are both modalities of thought or of expression that are concerned with some of the most profound and basic questions.

JEFFREY BROWN: In fact, Lumen and seven other exhibitions at the Getty are just part of an enormous project that encompasses more than 70 museums, galleries, and public spaces all over Southern California, featuring some 800 artists this fall and into the winter, all brought together under the title PST ART: Art & Science Collide.

The Getty took the lead and provided some $20 million in grants to institutions large and small to curate their own exhibitions.

KATHERINE FLEMING: To have all of these different entities working on a common theme, but in their own way.

There's just the theme, and then all of the people who are participating approach it from their own vector.

And I think that's what makes it so incredibly rich.

JEFFREY BROWN: There was a wide range of responses, among them, the Natural History Museum takes a new look at old ways of exhibiting the natural world, commissioning contemporary artists to reframe dioramas.

At the Huntington, an exhibition called Storm Cloud shows how the Industrial Revolution changed life, and how artists and writers captured the environmental and other impacts.

Self Help Graphics and Art, a community arts center, presents Sinks, looking at land contamination in present-day Los Angeles.

And the Hammer Museum features more than 20 leading artists in Breath(e), just one of a number of exhibitions focused on climate change.

KATHERINE FLEMING: All of these things sort of reflect a zeitgeist of fear that we have drifted too far away from the world of which we're a part and the hope of showing a way to reconnect to it.

JEFFREY BROWN: At the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale, a direct connection between artists and scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for an exhibition titled Blended Worlds: Experiments in Interplanetary Imagination, collaborations that bring together science and art, to see the world, make that worlds, a little differently, as in this work conceived by sculptor David Bowen working with scientists and JPL data systems architect Rishi Verma.

RISHI VERMA, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: One of the questions we had, maybe the seed of a question, was, how do we bridge a gap of 140 million miles between Mars and the Earth?

And if we were to bridge that, what would that look like?

What would that feel like?

JEFFREY BROWN: The result is called Tele-Present Wind, a sculpture in which we see earthbound grass stalks from the plains of Minnesota swaying in the wind of Mars, or at least from tiny motors using data of actual wind speeds on the surface of Mars gathered by the Perseverance rover.

Verma's job, to transform and analyze data gathered from Mars, Bowen's, to bring the data to life.

DAVID BOWEN: I would call it like a hybrid mash-up.

I wouldn't say that this is like -- obviously, there's not grasses like this growing on Mars, right?

So, we're taking something familiar, we're taking this very unfamiliar landscape and kind of mashing it into this hybrid of something you would never see, but hopefully has sort of a familiarity to it that kind of helps you think, oh, that's what the wind is doing.

RISHI VERMA: I have been so used to looking at the data in terms of numbers and printouts and graphs on the computer.

And here was the data alive in front of me.

So, it was absolutely magical.

JEFFREY BROWN: That's pretty cool, huh?

RISHI VERMA: Definitely.

JEFFREY BROWN: So, if you look at this, is this art or science?

DAVID BOWEN: This is definitely art.

(LAUGHTER) JEFFREY BROWN: Definitely art.

RISHI VERMA: Yes.

It's definitely science to me.

(LAUGHTER) RISHI VERMA: I'm sorry, David.

DAVID BOWEN: Agree to disagree.

No, I was too strong.

I think it's a mix.

I will own that, yes.

RISHI VERMA: I think that's the beauty of it, is that it's these different disciplines coming together.

DAVID BOWEN: Yes.

RISHI VERMA: So it's the same thing.

But we're looking at it from two different perspectives.

JEFFREY BROWN: Also in the pretty cool realm, a solo exhibition called OPEN at MOCA Geffen of work by Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, a leading contemporary figure who often uses light, shadows, and elements of the natural world as materials.

OLAFUR ELIASSON, Artist: So it looks like a big sun, but it's cluttered with trash.

OLAFUR ELIASSON: In that way, it's sort of about exploration, exploratory, like investigating something.

What does it mean to actually look at something?

And in that way, I think art and science, they can go hand in hand.

When I make a kaleidoscope with mirrors that people can almost disappear in, it's a little bit of a science experiment, if you want.

JEFFREY BROWN: It's also a way of grasping something that can feel very abstract and far away, like climate change.

These paintings were made through mixing paint with large pieces of glacial ice.

As the ice melts, it paints its own work.

OLAFUR ELIASSON: It's interesting for me to say to people, well, here's an opportunity to maybe explore the boundaries of what you normally see.

What is imagination?

Are we good at imagining things?

Sometimes, things are hard to understand, like the climate crisis.

Well, it's difficult to understand the climate crisis.

Well, we should work a little bit on our imagination to better understand, well, what is on the periphery of what I can actually imagine, in order to deal with it.

JEFFREY BROWN: With so many exhibitions across such a large region, PST ART is likely impossible for any one person to take in as a whole.

But there's plenty of opportunity to choose your science, your art, your combination of both, old, new, and into the future.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Jeffrey Brown in Los Angeles.

AMNA NAWAZ: And be sure to tune in later tonight.

We will be here with live coverage of President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress.

NARRATOR: President Trump is off to an astonishing start and has Congress in his corner.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): What we're doing is delivering on the mandate that the American people gave us.

NARRATOR: But Democrats are pushing back.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): It's unacceptable, unconscionable, and un-American.

REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-VA): We are going to fight in every way we can.

NARRATOR: What are the president's next plans for the American people?

A PBS News special, "President Donald Trump's Address to Congress," Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/8:00 Central.

GEOFF BENNETT: You can watch that right here on your PBS station or tune into our YouTube channel, which has continuing coverage starting right now through the presidential address.

And that is the "News Hour" for tonight.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

On behalf of the entire "News Hour" team, thank you for joining us, and we will see you soon.