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American Morning
Huge G-20 Protests in London; Obama at G-20 Summit; Obama Meeting Russian President
Aired April 01, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And I think that's the key to the future, that people can see that the problems are being addressed and that they, themselves, can have the confidence either to save or to spend or to invest, that confidence in the future. And I believe that we can make a big step towards creating that confidence by some of the decisions that we can make together.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All right. George?
QUESTION: Thank you. George Pascoe-Watson from "The Sun."
Mr. President, as president who won with a landslide, have you got any advice for Gordon Brown, the prime minister?
Secondly, what are your things you like most about Great Britain and London?
And lastly, England are (ph) playing in a World Cup qualifying match, and soccer, a game you love. Have you got any good luck message for the England team tonight?
OBAMA: Well, let me take all these in turn.
I have had enough trouble back home picking my brackets for the college basketball tournament that's taking place there, called March Madness. Stirred up all kinds of controversy. The last thing I'm going to do is wade into European football. That would be a mistake. I didn't get a briefing on that, but I sense that would be a mistake, I can tell you. So that would be point number one.
The thing I love about Great Britain is its people. And there is just an extraordinary affinity and kinship that we have. You know, we owe so much to England that when you come here, there's that sense of familiarity, as well as difference, that makes it just a special place.
I have -- the only advice I would give Gordon Brown is the same advice that I gave myself during the campaign and that I've been giving myself over the last three months, which is, over time, good policy is good politics.
And if every day you are waking up and you are making the very best decisions that you can, despite the fact that sometimes the cards in your hand aren't very good and the options are narrow and the choices are tough and you are assured to be second-guessed constantly and that occasionally you're going to make mistakes. But if every day you're waking up saying, how can I make the best possible decisions to create jobs, help young people, imagine a better future, provide care to the sick or the elderly or the vulnerable, sustain the planet, if those are the questions that you're asking yourself, then I think you'd end up doing pretty good. And the best part is, you can wake up and look at yourself in the mirror.
And that, I think, is the kind of integrity that Gordon Brown has shown in the past and will continue to show in the future.
BROWN: It has been an extraordinary visit already and I've benefited from Barack's advice. Not just about elections, but about fitness. We've been talking about not the treadmill of politics, but the treadmill that we're both on every day, the running machines, and how you can manage to do that when you're traveling around the world and going to different countries and we've been exchanging ideas.
I can also say it's an extraordinary privilege to have Secretary of State Clinton here and Secretary of Treasury Geithner, and we wish them well in everything that they do as well.
OBAMA: And we thank the entire team.
As I said, everybody's worked extraordinarily hard to make this successful. We are very grateful for the hospitality. There's one last thing that I should mention that I love about Great Britain, and that is the queen. And so I'm very much looking forward to...
(LAUGHTER)
I'm very much looking forward to meeting her for the first time later this evening. And as you might imagine, Michelle has been really thinking that through.
(LAUGHTER)
Because you know, I think in the imagination of people throughout America, I think what the queen stands for and her decency and her civility, what she represents, that's very important.
BROWN: Well, I know the queen's looking forward to welcoming you, and she's very much looking forward to a discussion with you, so thank you very much.
OBAMA: OK, thank you.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: All right, and with the handshake, that wraps it up.
If you're just joining us, by the way, 6:05 here in New York. I'm Kiran Chetry along with T.J. Holmes. We also have with us Christiane Amanpour as well as Christine Romans this morning.
And if you were just joining us right now, we were listening to President Barack Obama as well as British Prime Minister Tony Blair. They were speaking and answering questions.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Gordon Brown. You've been doing that all morning.
CHETRY: Gordon Brown, thank you.
HOLMES: That's all right.
CHETRY: I'm so sorry about that.
At the G-20 summit. It's very interesting. You hear President Obama, he called the world's economic challenge and we heard this before, the most serious ones since World War II. But then later on he said, you know what, despite the current hardships, we are going to get through this so plan sensibly.
It's a very interesting dynamic. Acknowledging just how deep and vast this crisis is and at the same time saying we're already putting into place an emotion, moves that are going to make things right.
HOLMES: And it came from a question he was asked about what should people do right now? Should they save or should they spend? We need people to spend to kind of get the economy going, but at the same time everybody's scared, that this crisis of confidence we keep hearing about. And the two leaders there again, spent an hour, almost an hour, spent a little more time taking more questions that we felt they were going to take.
We continue with live pictures right outside of 10 Downing Street. We see the beast there that has made its way over to London as well, the president supped up, and very sophisticated limo there.
But Christine Romans with us, Christiane Amanpour as well.
Christine, I was sitting here next to you watching this press conference and you perked up and made notes on several points on things we heard several times during that. It was about protectionism. We heard that several times. We heard Gordon Brown also mention these five things that they have to do.
Now, of those five things and protectionism was something they need to reject, he said. But also, did you hear too much in there that was concrete necessarily? It sounded like another one of these issues where we hear all this nuance sometimes from these leaders and nothing too concrete. Are we going to get something out of this?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I think we're getting some concrete things about, as Gordon Brown said, the five tests for this event. If they can meet these tests, those five things you -- the supervision of the banks, the hedge funds, the shadow banking system, that's something that the treasury secretary in this country made very clear about last week and looks as though there are some -- there are some concrete proposals out there about how to regulate and make this a stable and robust financial system that can benefit everybody. How do we support growth? You mentioned decrying protectionism, and the like. You know, $100 billion in trade support is something that they're talking about and keeping their pledges on aid. He said that was something incredibly important for these countries to do even as they're looking inward to try to fix their own problems. But we all perked up when he was asked there -- both asked the question, how are we supposed to handle this, American families and British families, what are we supposed to do?
And I think the answer here is what our leaders are trying to do is put together the policies in place so that we can come out of this down the road, the recession ends. And that's when he said, you know, we need to sensibly plan for a time when this recession ends and we recover.
CHETRY: You know, one of the questions that we've been talking about as well, Christiane, is what role the United States and, of course, our president, Barack Obama, is going to be playing in this, given that most countries around the world blame the United States for the situation that we're in. It's very interesting that Barack Obama said I'm coming here to listen, not lecture. Yet at the same time, he went on to say we must not miss an opportunity to lead, so which is it?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Both. Barack Obama is the head of the only superpower in the world today. As such, he is the president of the world, particularly in this interconnected global economy. And since this is the focus of this two-day meeting in London, I thought what was interesting was that Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, specifically laid out those five concrete proposals.
CHETRY: Right.
AMANPOUR: Whereas President Obama did not lay out proposals, talked in generalities. Obviously, he supported what Prime Minister Brown was saying but actually spoke more about other foreign policy goals.
He talked about Russia. He talked about reducing nuclear arsenals. He talked about Afghanistan, the latest meeting that happened in the Netherlands yesterday, and about increasing civilian structure. He talked about Iran and offering dialogue that would give the "Islamic Republic" a better future.
I predict the Iranians will be miffed because he talked about if they give up nuclear weapons ambitions. Of course, they say they have no nuclear weapons ambitions but he went on at length about those kinds of things.
CHETRY: He also talked Mideast peace as well.
AMANPOUR: Which he's going to find a problem with. He's named a special representative to the Middle East peace process, and now Israel has a prime minister who is on record as opposing a Palestinian state. So this is going to be incredibly difficult. I thought very interesting, Gordon Brown over and over again talked about the developing economies, the emerging economies, the poor nations, the people who have to scrape and scrimp just to put food in their mouths.
Christine, you were saying that some people in the developed world are talking about bonuses.
ROMANS: That's right.
AMANPOUR: Others in the underdeveloped world can't even feed themselves.
I just came back from Afghanistan, I see that. In Gaza, there is a siege on Gaza. People are only getting some 70 truckloads of food and nothing else in there. I mean, there is serious poverty going on so there are a lot of challenges.
CHETRY: Right. And on that point, they do want to talk about increasing our, as the United States, contribution to the IMF, by about $100 billion, with a "b" that would account for a fifth of the needed money and both of them talked a lot about the fact that cannot be forgotten in all of this.
HOLMES: Like you said, just a fifth of that money they still have the goal of $500 billion there for the $100 billion.
Another live picture here. The president of the United States and Gordon Brown, the prime minister of Great Britain, just finishing up there, their press conference, heading back into 10 Downing Street. We've been watching this scene.
I want to let everybody know what you are seeing here. Good morning to you all again here on AMERICAN MORNING.
We've been with you since 5:00 this morning. It started a little early because we want to bring you that live press conference between those two leaders. We just wrapped it up.
I just saw these two leaders again. You just heard Christiane talk about a host -- a whole wide host of topics, of subjects, of serious things they're going to be discussed during this G-20 summit that's going on right now. At the forefront, of course, the global economic crisis.
Again, a live picture we will continue to monitor. But in case you did miss some of that press conference, take a quick listen here. And now listen to what we just saw in the press conference between these two leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: All of here in London have the responsibility to act with a sense of urgency.
And I think that what Prime Minister Brown spoke about, the human dimensions of this crisis, people losing their homes, losing their businesses that they've worked so hard for, losing their health care in the United States, people around the world who were already desperate before the crisis and may find themselves even more desperate afterwards, that's what our agenda has to begin with, and that's where it will end.
All of us here in London have the responsibility to act with a sense of urgency, and every nation that will be participating has been affected by a crisis that has cost us so much in terms of jobs, savings, and the economic security of our citizens.
So make no mistake, we are facing the most severe economic crisis since World War II, and the global economy is now so fundamentally interconnected that we can only meet this challenge together.
We can't create jobs at home if we're not doing our part to support strong and stable markets around the world. The United States is committed to working alongside the United Kingdom to doing whatever it takes to stimulate growth and demand, and to ensure that a crisis like this never happens again.
At home we're moving forward aggressively on both recovery and reform. We've taken unprecedented action to create jobs and restore the flow of credit. And we've proposed a clear set of tough, new 21st Century rules of the road for all of our financial institutions.
We are lifting ourselves out of this crisis and putting an end to the abuses that got us here. I know that the G-20 nations are appropriately pursuing their own approaches. And as Gordon indicated, we're not going to agree on every point.
I came here to put forward our ideas, but I also came here to listen, not to lecture. Having said that, we must not miss an opportunity to lead, to confront a crisis that knows no borders. We have a responsibility to coordinate our actions and to focus on common ground, not on our occasional differences.
If we do, I believe we can make enormous progress. And that's why in preparation for these meetings I have reached out and consulted with many of the leaders who are here or will be arriving shortly.
History shows us that when nations fail to cooperate, when they turn away from one another, when they turn inward, the price for our people only grows. That's how the Great Depression deepened.
That's a mistake that we cannot afford to repeat. So in the days ahead, I believe we will move forward with a sense of common purpose. We have to do what is necessary to restore growth and to pursue the reforms that can stabilize our financial system well into the future.
We have to reject protectionism and accelerate our efforts to support emerging markets. And we have to put in place a structure that can sustain our cooperation in the months and years ahead.
The prime minister and I also covered several other areas of challenge that are fundamental to our common security and prosperity. As he mentioned, we discussed my administration's review of strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a review that benefited greatly from the consultations with our allies.
The city of London, like the United States, was attacked by the al Qaeda terrorists who are still plotting in Pakistan, and we are committed to a focused effort to defeat them.
And I want to repeat something that I said during our last visit together. I want to honor the British troops and their families who are serving alongside our own on behalf of our common security.
We also discussed the progress that was made yesterday at The Hague where more than 70 nations gathered to discuss our mutual responsibilities to partner with the Afghan people so that we can deny al Qaeda a safe haven.
And in the days ahead, we'll consult further with our NATO allies about training Afghan security forces, increasing our civilian support and region approach that recognizes the connection between the future of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Just a few other points, the prime minister and I share a common commitment to sustain diplomacy on behalf of a secure and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and Israel and the Arab world.
And we're working together to responsibility end the war in Iraq by transitioning to Iraqi responsibility. We're both committed to diplomacy with Iran that offers the Islamic republic the opportunity of a better future if it abandons its nuclear weapons ambitions.
And finally, we discussed two of the other long-term challenges that will define our times, which I will be focused on throughout my trip in Europe: the need for global action to confront climate change, and a renewed effort on behalf of nuclear non-proliferation, which I will be discussing later today with President Medvedev.
Our immediate task, however, is the critical work of confronting the economic crisis, as I've said, we've passed through an era of profound irresponsibility. Now we cannot afford half measures and we cannot go back to the kind of risk-taking that leads to bubbles that inevitably bust.
So we have a choice. We can shape our future or let events shape it for us. And if we want to succeed, we can't fall back on the stale debates and old divides that won't move us forward.
Every single nation who is here has a stake in the other. We won't solve all of our problems in the next few days, but we can make real and unprecedented progress. We have an obligation to keep working at it until the burden on ordinary people is lifted, until we've achieved the kind of steady growth that creates jobs and advances prosperity for people everywhere.
That's the responsibility we bear. That must the legacy of our cooperation. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right, so that was just a little bit President Barack Obama. He held a joint news conference and answered some questions along with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown ahead of the G-20 summit meetings that are going to be taking place.
We're here all morning following the latest developments on this. We have Christiane Amanpour as well as Christine Romans with us. And we're going to take a short break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Seventeen minutes past the hour. You're looking at some new video just in to us of First Lady Michelle Obama. She's with British First Lady Sarah Gordon -- Sarah Brown, sorry about that.
She was receiving some presents actually for Sasha and Malia there in London this morning. Of course, as those two were getting to know each other a little bit, posing for pictures together and spending a little bit of time. Of course, Sarah Brown escorting the first lady around parts of London and showing her some of the projects actually, some of the projects that are under way. That's something that President Barack Obama talked about earlier that she's been certainly a gracious hostess to his wife as well.
And if you are just joining us this morning, we are continuing with our live coverage this morning from London at the G-20 summit meeting. And again, this is some video that was coming in earlier today that we're bringing you right now. This is ahead of the joint news conference that was held by our president, Barack Obama, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
And these are some photos that were being taken of Michelle Obama, our first lady, as well as Sarah Brown, Britain's first lady as well. They are spending some time together today as well.
But I want to let you know about some of the headlines that came out of this joint press conference and some of the questions that both of the leaders of these two nations answered.
President Barack Obama calling this the greatest challenge facing the world that we've seen since World War II. He said that he came to listen, not to lecture but he did go on to say that we must not miss an opportunity to lead.
He downplayed some of the disagreement that's taking place between some of the nations, including, of course, France, as well as Germany, saying that there's actually much more consensus than there is disagreement on finding solutions.
And we have with us this morning Christiane Amanpour. You, of course, lived in London. You're familiar with all of this much more than we are here in America. So tell us a little bit more about what Sarah Brown is doing, where she's showing Michelle Obama, and some of the goings on that are happening between the two first ladies?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as always, the focus is going to be on the two main heads of government so it's on the president of the United States and Gordon Brown, the prime minister of Great Britain, to get through this G-20 summit and to come out with proposals that will happen tomorrow in their communique.
But always there is the side element of what the first ladies are doing. And just to put in a little bit of some of the excitement that has been awaiting Michelle Obama, many are very intrigued by her. Her poll numbers are very high, not just here in the United States but expectations are high in Britain. For instance, they're already comparing her as a potential fashion and style and cultural icon as they did to Princess Diana.
CHETRY: She's wearing sequins this morning.
AMANPOUR: There you go. I can't quite see what she's wearing there, but they're going to be pouring over every detail. But there's always this kind of sidetrack two that goes on between the first ladies. And then around a couple of hours from now, they're going to be meeting both Michelle Obama and President Obama with Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace and that's advance of a broader meeting between the G-20 leaders with Queen Elizabeth.
So Michelle Obama will get to see some projects that Sarah Brown is very concerned about and working on in England. Sarah Brown works on, for instance, something called the White Ribbon Alliance, which is all about trying to prevent maternal mortality, and she has joined several first ladies around Europe and around the world in trying to make this her signature effort.
HOLMES: And, Christiane, on that point, you mentioned the queen. They're going to have this meeting. And we can tell you to follow these pictures.
Just getting these in, so we're going to bring them to you as we get them. But they're going to be meeting with the queen. Now this is an official state visit, and we understand that's usually when you do get to go hang out with the queen, have some sea. But they're getting this. She just said swing on by and have some tea here.
Now tell us about these meetings, how rare it is for something, and what it does say about how the queen views this first couple to have them over like this?
AMANPOUR: Well, I'm sure she didn't swing on by, T.J.
But look, when a U.S. president comes to Britain, it is generally customary for them to meet the queen. She's the head of state. She is the queen. She's outlived many, many presidents of the United States. She's been on the throne for more than 50, 60 years, and this is her role.
You're right. This is not a state visit. If it was, they would have been met with much more pomp and circumstance at the airport. They would have had the whole carriage trip down the mall with the queen and Prince Philip. There would be a state banquet, much the same as there is a state dinner in the White House when there is official state visits to the White House.
This is a working summit. It's about the economy. There probably will be in the not too distant future a state visit by President Obama to Great Britain, hosted by the queen, but in this case she's meeting him. This is the first opportunity for her to do so, and that is traditional and that's what she'll be doing.
CHETRY: It's funny there were a few articles this morning talking about how President Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, probably a little nervous and anxious and excited to meet the queen, of course. And they said she's probably not as nervous. She's met eleven, actually she's seen all eleven U.S. presidents since her reign. Even when she was a princess, she met with them and ten of them she's actually sat down with. So it's almost old hat to her.
AMANPOUR: Well, she does have the history, there's no doubt about it.
And President Obama, when he was asked about what his impressions of Britain and England were, you know, he said several things but the big thing is the history, the pomp, the circumstance, the longevity and persistence of the monarchy. Even in this day and age where most monarchs in Europe are sort of working monarchs, they're not so much the pomp and circumstance that occurs in Great Britain.
But this is something that despite occasional and we've used the term before copying by the British press that is still very deep in the hearts of the British public, and very much significant for Britain in terms of selling itself, in terms of its tourism industry, in terms of how the world sees it. The British monarch is not just a figurehead, although she is in terms of government, but she is much more in terms of underpinning England and Great Britain.
HOLMES: We want to remind our viewers while we're looking at here, Michelle Obama taking a bit of a tour today with the first lady of Great Britain, Sarah Brown. These are pictures we're just getting in. We want to continue to bring them to you as we get them.
And, Christiane, you're talking here about this meeting with the president and the queen. How intimidating can it be to go in there and have that kind of audience with the queen? I mean, there's so much protocol and you got to remember to do this and that, but how intimidating can that be even if you are the U.S. president?
AMANPOUR: Well, you know, I think it's probably intimidating but I think President Obama will probably get over it pretty quickly because look, his election and particularly his campaign and particularly his welcome in Britain and around Europe are very significant and the queen understands that in terms of peoples personal power and their fixture in the hearts and minds of the public. She knows that about him and she knows it about herself as well. So I think she'll do everything she can to put him at ease. I've never been in one of those meetings obviously, but from all the pictures, from all the after reports that we get from those who've been in there, I did meet her once when I got the CBE (ph) and I can tell you it was incredibly intimidating, even a big public meeting with her.
CHETRY: Right.
AMANPOUR: She is an icon. She is history. She holds, you know, centuries of British and English history behind her. And she is known as somebody who has, despite all the troubles with the monarchy, held her head up and kept her self-respect and her dignity and people appreciate her for that.
CHETRY: And speaking of an icon, we're seeing pictures right now of Britain's first lady, Sarah Brown, as well as U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama. And there's a lot of excitement surrounding Michelle Obama's arrival there. A lot of British women feel that, you know, they just sort of have her in awe. They think that she's self- confident.
And it's very interesting there's an article today and we're having Tina Brown from The Daily Beast join us in a few minutes to talk a little bit more about this. And she wrote in this article that Michelle is the striding self-assurance glamour broad demographic appeal that feels thrillingly 21st century.
She also said that the fact that she's African-American adds an inspirational magic as well and talked a lot about how much the British public is looking forward to meeting and getting a look for, you know, a look in person at our first lady.
ROMANS: To say nothing of the incredible education, I mean, here's a woman who was incredibly bright, who is super successful in her own career before, you know, embarking on this new career. I mean, she's really the whole package. That's the view from a lot of people overseas who are looking to our first lady as some sort of style icon, more than a style icon. Definitely a style icon and also, you know, an icon on intelligence.
HOLMES: And how important can the first ladies be, the wives who are so popular sometimes? You know, Barack Obama can step up to the leader, whether it's Russia, whether it's China, whether it's France, whether it's Germany. Yes, I'd like you to give some more money, a bigger stimulus package and they might not be so hot on that but yes, have you met my wife, Michelle, kind of a thing? I mean, how important can these wives, sometimes these first ladies be in smoothing things over?
I don't want to say they're in there helping to make deals necessarily but still can help -- to help the husbands out sometimes when they might not be so popular, whether it's policy or the politics or just the person?
AMANPOUR: Well, probably a lot, in terms of, you know, the dynamic between all couples. Sometimes you go to meetings and one couple is, one of the couple is under more pressure than the other. But I think what's important here is the fact that this is the first official visit by the new first couple of the United States, comes at a time when England, when France, Germany, all the other countries which were historically very close U.S. allies really saw a lot of drift in that relationship because of the person and the politics of the previous president of the United States.
So these two come with a new face. We're turning a new page in relations between these two countries and I think you can't underplay the fact that they are the first black couple to be at the top of the pinnacle of power, the superpower of the world. And I think that's very important particularly in places like in England and other places in Europe where they don't have similar minorities in such enormous positions of power.
CHETRY: All right. So as we look at these pictures of Sarah Brown, as well as Michelle Obama, we want to draw your attention to the box that you're looking at in the lower right-hand part of your screen as well.
This is thousands of demonstrators. They've planned a day of pranks and protests today. They're actually bracing for possible violence around the Bank of England. That's expected to be the focus of protest.
We have Jim Boulden there with us. What can you tell us about what's going on with these protests this morning, Jim?
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Kiran, right now, many of the protesters, the demonstrators, I should say, are gathering around the city of London. They've come into the Liverpool street station. And what you're seeing here is that the anti-capitalist group has just marched by us, and they're heading toward the Bank of England as well.
We should note there are a lot of different groups here who are using this day to make a statement. We have climate change groups. We have anti-capitalists. We have the anarchists.
We have others who say, look, we bailed out the banks, we want to bail out people. We need homes, we need jobs. We don't want to give more money to the banks.
So it's a disparate group but so far very peaceful, no arrest. But as you said they are going to be heading toward the Bank of England. That's the equivalent to the Federal Reserve.
And a lot of people say that's where they should see the focus of their sort of anti-capitalist feelings. And the police there have said that there could be some violence later in the day. We're not sure yet, but so far thousands of people have come in to London to show their disdain for the leaders as they gather here, especially during tomorrow's meeting -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, and what are -- tell us a little bit about the police presence. I understand that they're bracing as they said, for possible violence, and that some are riding around in these armored vehicles as well. Also a large number of police lining the streets, putting up these temporary barriers. Do they think that that's going to be sufficient?
BOULDEN: Yes. I mean, you know, they have brought in thousands of police, the metropolitan police from greater London, the city police. They have mounted police.
It's a major operation for them because we do have leaders of many countries here. Even though that's happening miles away that way, this focus of the demonstrations is here. So they have -- we've seen buildings boarded up. We have seen the barriers go up around the Bank of New England.
This morning when I came out of the train station, you could see police lined up along the bank. They're not going to let people get close to that building. They're certainly not going to let them get close to any of the leaders. But for now, the focus is here.
We have had demonstrations turned violent in the past. There hasn't been any for many years, so we're not really sure how it's going to play out for the rest of the day.
CHETRY: Jim, we'll check back in with you.
Jim Boulden there in London, keeping an eye on the anticipated protests and demonstrations that are taking places there at the G-20 summit.
HOLMES: And this happens at all of these -- these major summits. You do -- you do always see this so nothing -- nothing new here. But still the way the police are talking about this one this time around, makes it sound like it's going to be a much bigger deal than anything we've seen before.
So we're going to go on through something in this world, this county here in particular, but also in the world, this economic crisis that the likes of most of us never seen in our lifetimes. But they are expecting a protest like we've never seen. They mobilized some 10,000 police officers at this point. And are calling this an unprecedented protest, they are getting ready for. We'll continue to keep an eye on this live picture.
Meantime, we want to get to our Suzanne Malveaux, who was also in London, traveling as the president travels there for the G-20 Summit.
I know, Suzanne, you were listening in as well to the president and Gordon Brown in that press conference. We want to ask in anything in particular jumped out at you. I'm sure it did. But also, we want to ask you, if you notice and we noticed here, the president seemed a little under the weather. Is there any word about how he is doing? Sounded like he might have a cold or something. Is he all right?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He's OK. Obviously, it's been quite a journey already. I mean, the hours that he's keeping here, there was a very hectic pace that he's dealing with his schedule. As far as we know, he is fine.
But one of the things that really struck me with his press conference, there where couple of things.
First of all, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown did put a number on the economic stimulus. He said $2 trillion is the agreement that they hope all these world leaders come to some sort of a consensus on tomorrow. We'll see if that actually happens.
The other thing, of course, is the situation that President Obama is in. He is trying to acknowledge the kind of frustration and anger, that so many people feel towards the United States, not personally towards the president, but the United States, because they feel that it's the U.S.'s fault, this economic global crisis. That it started in the United States. So he acknowledged that saying, yes, you know, regulatory systems were inadequate.
But he also, as well, wanted to share the blame. And he talked about similar problems that are in England. He really tried to play down this idea saying now is not the time to blame. That he is moving on to fix the problem, trying to downplay some of those differences with France and Germany in terms of how to go forward, and here's what he really focused on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I came here to put forward our ideas, but I also came here to listen, not to lecture. Having said that, we must not miss an opportunity to lead, to confront a crisis that knows no borders. We have a responsibility to coordinate our actions and to focus on common ground, not on our occasional differences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And actually doing that, he talked about as well acknowledging that there were economic circumstances as well as, he said, political circumstances of these leader. The kind of situation that they're in, the audiences that they deal with back at home. So he acknowledged that they are kind of in a tough spot here.
The other thing, T.J., that we notice he was asked about, what are the goals in meeting with the Russian president later this morning. He talked about broad goals.
I've learned from two senior administration officials specifically when he sits down with the Russian president, he also wants to come up with some sort of date for the two of them to meet in the summer in Moscow to deal with nuclear arms reduction. That there's a treaty there expires in December. They're going to sit down and talk about that initially -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us there in London. Suzanne, we appreciate you. We'll be checking back in with you.
CHETRY: And back here on set, we have Christiane Amanpour with us as well and Christine Romans both weighing in this morning with their expertise.
And it's interesting about the Russia situation. Tell us from your point of view what you've been hearing, and the implication of this meeting that's going to be taking place.
AMANPOUR: Very important. Russia was the least receptive to President Obama's inauguration. If you remember, right after he was elected President Medvedev went on and said he was perhaps going to station missiles on Russia's western front in response to the so- called U.S. missile defense shield. Things have obviously calmed down.
He's written an op-ed in "The Washington Post." He's saying he wants to go ahead -- again, with this mutual interest. And, obviously, what the Russians want to see is whether President Obama is going to give on this highly controversial missile defense shield.
CHETRY: And also -- yes, let's listen to what President Barack Obama said at this news conference, we just finished listening to, about Medvedev and Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Well, this will be the first time that I'm meeting with President Medvedev. I'm very much looking forward to the meeting. We've had a series of conversations on the telephone, exchanged letters.
As I spoke about during the campaign, as Secretary of State Clinton has amplified in some of her remarks and her meetings with top Russian officials, what we've seen over the last several years is drift in the U.S./ Russian relationship. There are very real differences between the United States and Russia and I have no interest in papering those over.
But there are also a broad set of common interests that we can pursue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: There you go.
It reminds me, Christiane, when President Bush first talked about looking into Vladimir Putin's eyes and being able to see his soul. And now you hear a little bit more of a pragmatic discussion as to what common goals the two countries share.
AMANPOUR: Precisely. And particularly, as you said on Afghanistan and even on Iran.
HOLMES: So some movement, some news being made already with this G-20 Summit, just getting going. And this two, we are -- we are learning these two countries going to get together, these two leaders. Go ahead, you wanted to finish a point?
AMANPOUR: They will be getting together. He will also be meeting with the president of China. I think what will be interesting is if anything comes out of their talks on whether they have a new ceilings for the level of nuclear warheads that either countries can keep in their stockpiles. Right now, it's 2,200 and there is talk, the Russians are putting out, or perhaps bringing it down to 1,500.
But the interesting thing is will they push back on America's desire to expand NATO eastward? Will they push back heavily on the missile defense shield? And will there be some quick pro quo on that kind of arrangement?
HOLMES: Just one of a number of important issues and topics being taken up at the G-20 Summit, just getting under way. We have been under way for about an hour and a half. We're bringing you all of the live events happening out of London, including this -- a live picture here of protest and demonstrations, we are expecting to happen all around London today.
This is just one. They are just getting started.
Again, an unprecedented event according to police there, happening with these protests. We're keeping an eye on it, all here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Good morning, again, everybody on this AMERICAN MORNING. About 6:40. I'm T.J. Holmes sitting in today for John Roberts, along with Christine Romans, and Christiane Amanpour. And also, of course, as always Kiran Chetry here to my left, navigating through what's happening this morning. We've been watching since about 5:00. The president over in London for the G-20 Summit. Had a press conference this morning with Gordon Brown, the British prime minister. We kept an eye on that.
A lot of things came out on that, but of course a lot of talk about the economic crisis, and what these two leaders say must be done by all countries around the world. It's a global crisis that requires a global response.
Christine I will start with you here. You tell me right, quick, what was your highlight? What was your -- the headline you got out of this that jumped out at you?
ROMANS: Well, one of the most interesting thing is, I thought, was the number of references to the Great Depression. And how this is what we're trying to avoid if we can get our act together and there is a coordinated response from everybody involved. And the president saying that you have to plan sensibly, because we will recover from this. Not telling American families and British families to spend wildly or anything, but just to know that there will be an end to this if all of the things our leaders are trying to do work.
HOLMES: But he also -- we jumped in there and kind of got a little confuse, like what he want us to do here. Because he did say, not saying save or spend, but at the same time, he did say, we'll spend if you feel like it's OK for you to spend right now.
ROMANS: The whole problem is the confidence thing. I mean, their job is to try to figure out to make confidence again in the global financial system. That's just something that is lacking right now. And they can't tell you how to spend your money, but they can try to fix the system and then you'll feel better about things and then spend your money.
CHETRY: Well, Gordon Brown spoke first and then Barack Obama spoke second. And it was interesting that the president and the prime minister with very different levels of detail about what they think is needed to solve this.
AMANPOUR: Yes. I think for me, given that this is a G-20 summit, the thing that stuck out was that Gordon Brown was very specific. He had a list of five things. Barack Obama was less specific about the economy, spoke more in generalities, things we've heard before, but also broadened it to a foreign policy discussion including Russia, nuclear terrorism, et cetera.
HOLMES: As you mentioned there, a lot of significant topics and other important topics, big topics, serious topics. But you can't go to London, your first trip as president and have your first press conference without mentioning the Queen. There were several serious moments, of course, in this press conference, but he also, as we look at this picture in particular, but he also had to, of course, mention the Queen who he's going to be meeting with a little later today. Let's take a quick listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: There's one last thing that I should mention that I love about Great Britain, and that is the queen. And so I'm very much looking forward to...
(LAUGHTER)
I'm very much looking forward to meeting her for the first time later this evening. And as you might imagine, Michelle has been really thinking that through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And you hear the president. You heard a little laughter in the room there. He was actually asked the question about what he was looking forward to and going to do on this trip and about England and all the history. And then Gordon Brown gave an answer and he said oh, yes, by the way, and he had to jump back and say, oh, yes, I forgot to mention the Queen.
So that's why you heard a little laughter there. But, Christiane, you've been talking about this, this morning. This is -- that is Great Britain. She is it. She is the history, and that's what it's all about.
AMANPOUR: Yes, I know it's a little bit odd for you. You fought a war to get rid of this kind of thing, but it's still very important. So many Americans really revere the Royal Family. They're real royal watchers or admire, let's say, and so many Britons do, too. And whether it's anachronistic or not, she's still has a very powerful role to play as the symbolic head of Britain -- Great Britain, and, you know, people who come want to meet her.
CHETRY: Absolutely. You know, if you're watching right now at the bottom of your screen as well, we are following, of course, the protesters. Every time there's one of these worldwide global summits, the protesters come as well especially this one. There is a heavy police presence around London, and the situation there has not gotten out of control in any way. But around the Bank of England, it's expected to be the focus of the protest and authorities are bracing, they say, for possible violence.
So we will, of course, keep you abreast of that situation of what's going on there, as these thousands plan to come out today for a day of protests there during this G-20 summit.
There was another lighter moment that we're going to get to. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we are going to talk football.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome.
There is a live look this morning of London. Thousands of protesters and police in the streets. People of all different stripes are out there protesting this morning the G-20 summit that's taking place. They called it a financial fool's day. Of course, today is April Fools' Day.
Police warning, though, of unprecedented mass protests. You got anti-capitalists. You have anarchists out there. You have environmental campaigners. And they say that they're going to be deploying a large number of officers to maintain public order there.
Meantime inside, we talked about that unprecedented security taking place, we had a chance to hear from Gordon Brown, Britain's prime minister, as well as President Barack Obama this morning. They were at a joint news conference and they answered many questions.
Of course, the biggest topic was what solutions they're putting forth along with the 18 other nations to try to get us out of this global financial crisis, references to the Great Depression, trying to find ways to make sure that protectionism doesn't take hold, that they understand that, you know, in order for all of the individual countries to lift themselves out of this financial trouble, it has to be a global solution. That was mentioned a lot.
Of course, though, a lighter moment as well.
HOLMES: A lighter moment. You know, it never fails. During these press conferences, you know, somebody's going to ask, sometimes ask a little something that's a little off the beaten path, if you will. It's not right in line with the G-20.
And so, here's the question he got. It had nothing to do with the G-20. It had to do with sports, had to do with football. Not our football here, but football there. Take a listen.
AMANPOUR: Real football.
CHETRY: Whoa!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I have had enough trouble back home picking my brackets for the college basketball tournament that's taking place there, called March Madness. Stirred up all kinds of controversy. The last thing I'm going to do is wade into European football. That would be a mistake. I didn't get a briefing on that, but I sense that would be a mistake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: There you go. So a lighter moment. You called it real football. You know, I was wondering about...
AMANPOUR: Football is played with the foot.
CHETRY: I know. Well, you're right. And there are a lot of passing and throwing and catching in ours, right?
But what I don't understand is every kid is in soccer, right, starting at age three. When they first learn to tow around, they're playing soccer. But where does it go for them. Nowhere here.
AMANPOUR: Well...
ROMANS: Christiane can't even say soccer. She wanted to say, no, football.
AMANPOUR: But, look, I think it's partly because of your television system. You know, they can't figure out how to break it down for commercials and things like that. But it's a shame because it's a beautiful game. And on a very serious note, wherever I go in the world, in the most deprived, the poorest hovels, people are playing football and it's something that really unites people all over the world.
CHETRY: Very true.
AMANPOUR: And I think the United States is poorer for not making a big deal of it.
ROMANS: Was it smart politically for the president not to weigh in even without his briefing? A funny joke.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: You know, he's gotten into some trouble with his bracket. A lot of controversy over that. It's just the bracket.
CHETRY: It's a no-win situation.
HOLMES: It's a no-win -- it's a no-win situation. All right. Well, a lot more to come this morning of more serious notes. And again, there's a live picture. As we've been watching the past hour or so, these protests continue to grow, expected to be huge, unprecedented is the word the police are using there.
But these protests come out to protest the G-20 and there's a whole lot -- a lot of folks out, they have so many different issues, they're out there to demonstrate about. Protesters say and demonstrators say it's going to be nonviolent. However, police have said that it's possible that these things could get violent.
So as they grow, we continue to keep an eye on it and continue to, like I've said, have a live picture here for you. But when we come back, a lot more on the president's first trip overseas as president at this G-20 summit.
And also, Fran Townsend, coming up, former Homeland Security chief. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Once again, looking at live pictures here on this AMERICAN MORNING, but we're over in London this morning. We've been live since about 5:00 showing you what's happening with the president on his first trip overseas as president, and he has been greeted by this over in London and so have the other members of the G- 20 nations having their summit there.
But so many protests there are starting to build now. Again, the word being used by police is unprecedented event there happening with the protests. Thousands, of course, there and we always see typical of these summits. But we're keeping an eye on this. Live picture again.
But, again, we've got a lot going on this morning. A lot happening in London. Right now, we're waiting for the president. We're expecting him to meet with the Russian president, Dmitriy Medvedev. That's expected to happen in just short order. We will keep an eye on that, bring you any live pictures and any word we get out of that, of course.
And the first big event that we saw this morning, President Obama speaking alongside the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at that press conference here. Again, pictures we got just a short time ago. This was after the press conference. President Obama telling the world he'd come to the G-20 to listen and not necessarily to lecture and, quote, "we can solve this financial crisis."
Outside of the meeting, also saw the first lady of the U.S., Michelle Obama. She's meeting with the Prime Minister Brown's wife, Sarah. You see them there. They took a little tour around town. Also, another thing we're keeping a close eye on, as we say just a moment ago. Again, take you back to this picture -- the protest in London expected to really ramp up in the next hour. We are all over the G-20 summit this morning.
CHETRY: Joining us right now is Frances Townsend. She was the Homeland Security adviser under the Bush administration. She's a national security contributor here on CNN.
Thanks for being with us this morning.
And as we look at those pictures, it's very interesting to hear what police officers are saying, because usually they try to downplay these types of events, right? And say things like, it's under control, they're keeping things calm.
In this case, they're calling it almost an unprecedented level of activity and something that really took them. They called it one of the most challenging and complicated public order operations that Scotland Yard has ever devised.
What are they looking at today as they try to make sure that these protests maintain a peaceful nature?
FRANCES TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Well, there's no question, Kiran, that it is unprecedented in London.
But remember, going back several years ago to the G-8 summit in Genoa where Italian police confronted protesters, it turned violent. There was an investigation about the use of force by police. The police were ultimately cleared there. But after that, all the G-20 countries looked at how they handle civil disobedience and protest.
I don't think there's -- other than American authorities, I can't think of anybody better prepared than Scotland Yard to deal with this sort of level of interest and involvement by protesters. The key here is to keep everybody safe and for it not to turn violent, for nobody to get hurt, none of the dignitaries and none of the protesters.
And I think what the British police, Scotland Yard, are trying to signal to folks is, this is complicated. They take it seriously, but the idea is to let world leaders get together, have their discussions without the distraction of violent protests. And I think the British are likely very well prepared to deal with this.
CHETRY: All right, Fran, stick with us. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to hear more of your take on what's going on in London this morning.
TOWNSEND: Sure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cameras come with a lot of fancy accessories these days, but here's a new one -- wings. STEVE GITLIN, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, AEROVIRONMENT: Unmanned aircraft are essentially flying cameras.
FEYERICK: Meet the newest eyes in the sky. They might look like simple remote control airplanes, but these high-tech devices are equipped with GPS, infrared cameras and are fast becoming a crucial new tool in military intelligence.
GITLIN: The soldiers, airmen, marines and, in some cases, sailors who use our small unmanned aircraft systems are often operating very dangerous areas, in areas where they don't have access to the kind of information that they would like to have about what's over the next hill, what's on top of the building, what's around the next corner.
FEYERICK: Some are launched by hand and some lift off on their own. But they're all lightweight and compact, weighing less than four pounds, and they're only getting smaller. Yes, even smaller. Researchers are now developing unmanned aircraft the size of birds and even tiny insects, and they could be put to use beyond the front lines.
GITLIN: Natural disasters are very appropriate applications for this kind of technology. Small unmanned aircraft would enable people to see which roads are passable, would enable to see where survivors are.
FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right, protesting to (INAUDIBLE) music this morning.
Welcome back. If you're just joining us, we're coming up on two minutes before the top of the hour here. A live look at London. Police and protesters all gathered, protesting at the G-20 summit that's taking place. We are bringing you all of the latest developments this morning from what's going on.
And there you see a little bit of pushback. Some of these barricades that were up to make sure that people stayed within the areas that were designated for protesting. And, of course, Scotland Yard with an unprecedented endeavor to try to make sure that everything goes smoothly, as smoothly as it can go.
Christiane, you had an interesting note. You were there when the Iraq war protests were going on and, as you look at this, and, of course, we're getting some of the sweeping shots of this from some of our -- from some of our cameras, what do you make of it?
AMANPOUR: As I look at it right now, the pictures we've seen have not been nearly as thronged as the protest for the Iraq war, rather, against the Iraq war back in 2002, when President Bush was in London. Also, it doesn't seem to be as big as the huge so-called countrywide alliance march that went through London around that same time when then the Blair government was banning the fox hunting issue in England. So that was a huge march. All of those were orderly. Yes, there are a lot of people right now. You can see them outside the Bank of England where the focus is.
CHETRY: All right. You know who we have with us this morning as well, somebody that can speak to this, is Frances Townsend, who is our national security contributor and she worked under the Bush administration as the Homeland Security adviser. We're going to be checking in with her as well. She's been watching these protests.
