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UAE Businesses React to Trump Call for Muslim Ban; Trump Rhetoric Could Damage Name Branding, Businesses; Father of Paris Attack Speaks Out Against Son; U.S. Defense Secretary Grilled over ISIS Strategy; China "Star Wars" Poster Criticized; Golden Globe Nominees to Be Named Thursday. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired December 10, 2015 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:00:09] JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour, a new poll shows big support among Republican voters to Donald Trump's travel ban on Muslims. But party leaders worry about the long-term damage.

Protesters stormed downtown Chicago demanding the city's mayor resign.

And romance of the radicals. Officials believe the husband and wife killers behind the San Bernardino massacre developed extremist views before they ever even met.

Hello, everybody. Great to have you with us. I'd like to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm John Vause. NEWSROOM L.A. begins now.

We're getting our first indication of the level of support for U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump and his proposed Muslim travel ban. A new Bloomberg Politics online polls suggest Trump's plan is popular within his own party. Among likely Republican voters, 65 percent backed the idea. Now to be fair, this is an online survey where Donald Trump typically does well. 75 percent of Democrats oppose to temporarily blocking Muslims from entering the United States.

Trump has renewed his threat to quite the Republican Party after the fallout from his Muslim comment. He says he wants the Republican Party to treat him with the respect a frontrunner deserves.

Senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump is on a roll, so far an unstoppable one.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am leading in every single poll. And nationwide I am leading in every one of them. So obviously I am very happy where I am.

ZELENY: And that's precisely what worries many Republicans. The GOP ranks are rattled over Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country. Afraid it could cost Republicans the White House and threaten their congressional majority.

Republican Nikki Haley, the first Indian-American governor of South Carolina, said Trump's comments were damaging to the GOP.

GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: It's just an embarrassment to the Republican Party. I mean, it's absolutely un-American, it's un- constitutional, it defies everything this country was based on. And it is just wrong.

ZELENY: Trump pushed back, saying some of his fellow Republicans were grandstanding.

TRUMP: I am leading by a lot. They get it. They're trying to get publicity for themselves. You know when I came out against illegal immigration, everybody fought, the same thing. Two weeks later, everybody was on my side including the members of my own party.

ZELENY: The international outcry also intensified. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today he rejects Trump's plan to block Muslims. Trump is set to meet with Netanyahu later this month in Jerusalem. The prime minister is now facing pressure to cancel the meeting.

On the campaign trail today, rival Republicans hoped the fallout will loosen Trump's grip on the race.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. Trump is not a serious person. He is not a serious candidate. He is inflammatory. And he makes the task for the next president a lot harder.

ZELENY: Republican leaders across the country fear Trump at the top of the ticket could doom their party.

MATT BORGES, CHAIRMAN, OHIO REPUBLICAN PARTY: We're going to have to distance ourselves from this kind of messaging. It's not going to help us win the general election in November. We wouldn't win Ohio with that kind of message.

ZELENY: Yet some Republicans are also unwilling to agitate Trump, fearful of him running as a third party candidate, a possibility he raised again today with CNN's Don Lemon.

LEMON: Are you going to break this pledge?

TRUMP: I think it's highly unlikely unless they break the pledge to me because it's a two way street.

ZELENY: Trump also can be a sore loser. He lost a different kind of contest today, as "TIME" magazine's Person of the Year, awarded to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It prompted Trump to tweet this. "I told you 'TIME' magazine would never pick me as Person of the Year. Despite being the big favorite, they picked the person who is ruining Germany." (On camera): That was classic Trump, hardly a gracious moment. Now

when you talk to Republican leaders, like the Ohio state chairman, they worry Trump could damage the party's chances of holding on to the Senate and of course winning the White House. But Trump supporters have been nothing but loyal. They are far more likely to follow him than party leaders. And that loyalty could help him win a Republican primary.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: During that interview with CNN's Don Lemon, Mr. Trump went on to insist he was right and the public agrees with him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: What about foreign diplomats or people from Muslim countries who are coming into the country?

TRUMP: Certainly exceptions can be made. I mean, you're not going to have -- you're not going to say you can't come into the country. And the one thing people didn't pick up at the end of that sentence it said, until we get our heads around it, essentially. Until we find out what the hell is going on which is the expression I used.

Now that could go quickly. But you know what? It's a subject that has to be discussed.

[01:05:01] LEMON: So you said there will be exceptions even for, like, international athletes in competitions.

TRUMP: Of course there will be exceptions. You can't keep people out like that.

LEMON: OK.

TRUMP: There will certainly be exceptions made.

LEMON: So you have been saying that until we figure out what's going on, what exactly does that mean, we'll figure out what? What is there to figure out?

TRUMP: Why is there such hatred and such viciousness. Why is somebody willing to fly airplanes into the World Trade Center and go after it even prior to that. They failed, although they did tremendous damage by any normal standard. And then after they failed they went -- they actually took airplanes into the World Trade Center.

Where does this hatred come from? Why does it come? We have to figure it out. Because we have problems. So when you surveil the mosques, I took -- you know, I took a lot of heat for surveillance of the mosques. Well, now other people are saying well, we have to surveil the mosques. I took heat for we have to study things. Nobody's taken the heat like me. I don't care. I don't care because what I'm saying is right. And you know what? You know it's right and everybody knows it's right.

And you know who really knows it's right is the public. The public knows it's right. We have to find out, Don, where does this hatred come from. But it seems to be one group. I mean, the people that flew the planes into the World Trade Center. And many other things, not only in this country but in many other countries. You look at what's going on all over the world. We have to find out why and where is it coming from.

LEMON: So how would you do it? How would -- and to be practical, how would you put this policy into action? What do you do? Ask someone coming over in an airplane?

TRUMP: No, not ask.

LEMON: Don't you think they would just lie and --

TRUMP: No. You have to go through a series of questions. You have to go through a series of -- you need paperwork. You have to find out where these people are coming from. But we can't allow radical killers into this country. We can't do it. We have enough problems. We owe $19 trillion, it's going to be $21 trillion very soon. We have jobs that are being stolen from us by China, by Japan, by everybody.

We cannot continue to allow this to happen to our country. We're not going to have a country soon. We have people pouring across the borders that we have no idea who they are. When I brought up the Mexican situation, I brought up basically illegal immigration, I'm telling you, it was a lot tougher than this, and within four weeks -- you know it better than I do. Everybody was saying Trump is right. Then you had the killing of Kate in San Francisco. You had the killing of Jamil. You had the wonderful woman, a veteran, 66 years old, who was raped in jail.

LEMON: You're talking about Mexican immigrants, right.

TRUMP: I'm talking about the -- well, you know, I think the reason that so many people rate me so highly on security is because I started with the border and everybody said I was wrong. Now they all say I'm right. Had I not brought up border security and illegal immigration at my opening remarks when I announced I'm running for president, you wouldn't even talking about it, Don.

LEMON: So people -- OK. So, you know, first they -- you know, first they came for the Jews, first then they came for -- then when they came for me, there was no one to -- you know that old saying.

TRUMP: It's just words. It's words. It's just words. Yes, you hear the saying that I've read this thing. It's words. We have a problem. We have people that would rather fly an airplane into a building than live out their life. We have to find out why.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You can watch the entire interview with Donald Trump on our Web site at CNN.com. Also later this hour look at the impact of Donald Trump's proposed travel ban on Muslims might have on his business ties to the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHALAF AL-HABLOOR, CHAIRMAN, AL-HABLOOR GROUP: I think he damaged all his brand in all the Muslim countries. I mean, nobody will accept him. Nobody will accept his brand in any country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That story in about 20 minutes right here on NEWSROOM L.A.

Now to Chicago where the mayor is apologizing following a number of high-profile police shootings. But protesters are still demanding his resignation.

CNN's Rosa Flores has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: How many shots?

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Sixteen shots.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Protesters turn up the heat in Chicago, asking Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step down, following a string of high-profile, deadly police shootings caught on tape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You covered up a videotape and we want you fired.

FLORES: They hit the streets after the mayor's speech about police accountability and justice at city hall.

MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL, CHICAGO: Your government's first responsibility is to keep you and your family safe, and to make sure that you feel safe in your neighborhoods. And we have clearly fallen short on this issue, and that needs to change.

FLORES: Just a few blocks away, in federal court, city attorneys argued against the release of another police shooting video, this time of Cedric Chatman, an unarmed black teen and carjacking suspect, who was shot and killed by police in early 2013.

[01:10:06] The city's argument in court, the release could taint a jury pool and among other things be misused by the media. But the Chatman family attorney points to the recent release of the Laquan McDonald and Ronald Johnson videos and calls on the mayor to make the Chatman video public.

BRIAN COFFMAN, CHATMAN FAMILY ATTORNEY: If the city of Chicago and Mr. Emanuel wants to come out and really lead the charge that he wants transparency and he wants change, well, here's his opportunity.

FLORES: In court, the judge said, "There is a lot of interest in this, and for good reason," but decided not to release the video for now, pending a review of the law by both sides. In a statement the city's Law Department said, "The city of Chicago

clearly needs a new policy around releasing videos that accounts for all issues and we're working on it with the help of the recently appointed task force."

The mayor has replaced two city officials in less than two weeks, including the police superintendent. But as the protesters march, they say the mayor should be next.

(On camera): He said, you know, the buck stops with me. Do you accept that? Would you like for him to stay and try to fix the problem?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course not. You know, we already know what he can do behind closed doors. He can hide videos. And we're not having him.

FLOES: Rosa Flores, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Areva Martin joins me now. She's a civil rights attorney and legal affairs commentator.

Areva, thanks for coming in. Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he won't step down. And right now is there any legal way that he can be recalled? Because if you look at the laws on the books, it doesn't seem entirely clear.

AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY AND LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: No. Chicago is a city where there is actually no city ordinance that allows for the removal of the mayor. And there's also no law that allows citizens to do a recall him. But what we saw today was a Democratic legislator who introduced a bill in the Illinois state legislature to provide for a recall of the mayor. Currently that's not on the books in Chicago.

VAUSE: That's a very significant move, right?

MARTIN: Very significant move. And it comes after we've seen days and days of protests. After the release of the Laquan McDonald videotape we've seen activists take to the streets, student activists, long-term civil rights activists like Jesse Jackson calling on some changes to happen within the city of Chicago and the protesters even saying they want the mayor to resign.

VAUSE: OK. With regards to the Laquan McDonald video, five police officers under investigation now by the IG because their reports conflicted with that video. Even the mayor has acknowledged that there was a code of silence within the Chicago PD.

MARTIN: Yes.

VAUSE: Can he fix that?

MARTIN: I don't know. And I think it goes further than a code of silence, if you look at the police reports that were recently released with respect to those officers that were at the scene during that Johnson -- Laquan McDonald shooting, they are dramatically different than what we saw in that videotape. Some of those reports talked about Laquan, you know, moving towards the police officer and making efforts to attack the officer, and we didn't see that in that videotape. So I think something happened more than just the code of silence, perhaps even fabrication.

VAUSE: So that would be -- is that a felony? Was it obstruction of justice? What is that?

MARTIN: I think we're going to see the Justice Department looking at whether obstruction charges should be filed. We've seen cases like this before. We're looking at cases across the country where it's not just one rogue cop that's indicted but it's also everyone that's involved in either covering up or fabricating a story.

VAUSE: One last point here. The mayor said that, you know, this is a decade-old problem. Just didn't happen on his watch.

MARTIN: Yes.

VAUSE: So it's a big problem. It can't be all laid at his feet.

MARTIN: Well, I think he's factually correct. The Chicago Police Department has a history , a very, very negative history of its relationship particularly with African-American men. But the mayor, the Laquan McDonald shooting, the Ronald Johnson shooting, this recent Cedric Chatman shooting, those did happen on his watch. And people want him to be held accountable for his actions in not releasing videotape, not being transparent with the city. So I don't think he's going to be able to hide behind this happened decades ago because people are interested in what he's doing today and they are not very trustful of his actions.

VAUSE: Areva, thank you for coming in. Appreciate it.

MARTIN: Thanks, John.

VAUSE: Thank you.

A short break here but when we come back, a former friend of one of the San Bernardino shooters is speaking to investigators about another terror plot they were planning years ago.

Also ahead, the disturbing courtroom outburst from a man accused of fatal shooting at a women's clinic in Colorado.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:18:33] VAUSE: The man accused of killing three people at a Colorado women's clinic interrupted his court hearing with a series of outbursts saying, "I am guilty. Prosecutors have filed 179 felony counts against Robert Deal including first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. Authorities say Dear shot and killed three people, wounded nine others, and he could face the death penalty.

The FBI says the husband and wife team behind the San Bernardino attacks were radicalized before they even met. Investigators are now looking into how the couple was inspired by terrorist groups. Meantime, a U.S. State Department official says Tashfeen Malik was not asked about any jihadis leaning when she was interviewed by a U.S. official for her visa application. That interview took place last year in Pakistan before she came to the U.S. to marry Syed Rizwan Farook. U.S. officials are also investigating a former neighbor's claim that he plotted an attack several years ago with Farook.

Here's CNN's Kyung Lah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Investigators focusing on Enrique Marquez, and not just for buying the two high powered AR-15 rifles that would be used in the San Bernardino massacre. U.S. officials telling CNN, Marquez told investigators about a 2012 attack that he and Farook hatched but did not carry out. They abandoned the plan, Marquez told them, because they got spooked.

[01:20:02] The FBI had just arrested four people in the area accused of trying to travel abroad to carry out violent jihad.

Marquez also telling investigators he and Farook were both on the path to radicalization as early as 2011, the same year he brought the first of two rifles for Farook.

The two men's lives have been connected for years. Syed Rizwan Farook and Enrique Marquez were first neighbors. They would grow up to become friends, then relatives by marriage.

(On camera): Did he seem like a relative?

BRITTANY DANE, NEIGHBOR: He's -- yes, I could sense that. He was really close with them. It was not just like a friend that you would see over.

LAH (voice-over): Brittany Dane lives two doors down from the home where Farook's father, brother, and sister-in-law currently live. Dane saw Marquez frequently here.

The home not far from this mosque, the Islamic Society of Corona, Norco. Members of the mosque told CNN several years ago Marquez came here alone, saying he had converted to Islam but he only attended a handful of times. This is a mosque Marquez listed on his December 2014 marriage certificate as his religious institution. His wife is the sister of the woman married to Syed Rizwan Farook's brother. But to outsiders, the Marquez's marriage seemed unusual.

DANE: It wasn't like they were married or anything, like he helped them. But it wasn't like he -- I didn't really see him give much like -- he didn't talk much to the sister. LAH: Marquez tells authorities he didn't know about the San

Bernardino massacre and is currently not charged with a crime. But his role remains crucial to investigators.

JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: We're also working very hard to understand whether there was anybody else involved with assisting them, with supporting them, with equipping them. And we're working very, very hard to understand did they have other plans either that day or earlier.

LAH (on camera): Those U.S. officials who have been talking to Marquez caution that they are still trying to verify that claim about the 2012 terror plot. They do caution that he may be trying to deflect their attention from the fact that he did purchase those two long guns that would be used in the massacre.

We should also mention that shortly after the massacre Marquez did check himself into a mental health facility.

Kyung Lah, CNN, San Bernardino, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: It's been a week now since the mass shooting. And while there have been many offers of help and support, one group here in California has done more than perhaps any other, raising more than $170,000 for the families of the victims. And that group is Muslims United in San Bernardino.

Faisal Qazi is the man behind the campaign. Faisal, thank you for being with us right now.

DR. FAISAL QAZI, MUSLIMS UNITED IN SAN BERNARDINO: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: Take us back to when you first started to try and raise money to help the victims of the shooting spree. You did that before you knew the attackers were in fact Muslim?

QAZI: That's correct. We are a small non-profit, serving the Inland entire areas as well as the county. And when we heard about the attacks, many of us are physicians who are serving these underserved families. We already work in these neighborhoods. When we heard about the attacks we wanted to go find ways to support and show solidarity consistent with our works so we set up this fund. But this was before the names of the perpetrators were known.

VAUSE: So when you found out that they were Muslims who had been radicalized, what happened then?

QAZI: When this information was revealed, there was a greater request -- there was a greater response from the American-Muslim community locally in Southern California and we reached out for several Muslim callers requesting that this campaign be increased and made larger to include all Muslim-Americans.

VAUSE: Why is that?

QAZI: I think the scholars really feel compelled and they're genuinely shocked and they wanted to make sure that Muslim-Americans and their respective communities stand in solidarity with the victims.

VAUSE: You've raised money before. And you've done this for charity before. But is this the most you've ever raised?

QAZI: This crowd sourcing Web site that we use called Launch Good, this is one of the largest funding campaigns for the Web site.

VAUSE: OK. So how will this money be spent?

QAZI: The money will be largely spent through county set of process. United Way is one of the leading sources of its fund's disbursement.

VAUSE: You hear a lot from critics who say, you know, the Muslim community needs to stand up, they need to do more, they need to speak out. Is this your answer to that?

QAZI: Absolutely. I think this is a remarkable answer to that. It's a completely different narrative. Muslim communities standing large in solidarity. This is a remarkable action on the part of our community, young men and women, first generation, second generation, they're all in unison behind this campaign.

VAUSE: Do you think that in some ways this will counter the anger and the fear which is being directed towards the Muslim community?

QAZI: I honestly can't speak to that. I think there's a lot of tension. There's a lot of nervousness. And there's a lot of fear. I think when it does do, though, is it does make a statement that the Muslim community is here standing by our neighbors and that this is driven by compassion, this is what's driven by our faith, values, and we just need to do what we need to do. We need to get our job done, which is to care for the people.

[01:25:10] VAUSE: OK. Faisal, well, we wish you luck. And of course people can go to the Web Site. They can continue to donate. But of course this is a Muslim initiative which was started by Muslims but you'll take anybody's money, right?

QAZI: Absolutely.

(LAUGHTER)

VAUSE: OK. Faisal, thank you very much for being with us.

QAZI: Thank you.

VAUSE: And good luck.

QAZI: Pleasure.

VAUSE: A short break here on CNN NEWSROOM. When we come back, could Donald Trump name lose some of the cachet in the overseas business world? I'll talk to an expert about whether his rhetoric tarnishes brand Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Las Vegas. Coming up to 10:30 here. I'm John Vause. The headlines this hour.

Protesters blocked Chicago's streets on Wednesday as they demanded the resignation of the city's mayor. They wanted to sit down after a number of deadly shootings and allegations of police misconduct. The mayor apologized but protesters say that's not enough.

A former neighbor and friend of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook told investigators that he plotted an attack with Farook back in 2012. The friend told investigators the two men abandoned the plan because they were spooked by an unrelated FBI arrests around the same time.

A new Bloomberg Politics online poll shows that nearly 2/3 of likely Republican voters support Donald Trump's proposed ban on Muslim travelers to the U.S. This comes as his Republican rivals continue to blast the U.S. presidential candidate. And as he, quotes, "the idea of leading his party."

Trump wants to temporarily keep Muslims out of the U.S. He makes millions of dollars in countries where Islam is the dominant religion. Now in Dubai, a millionaire who initially backed the real estate mogul says Donald Trump is Islam's biggest enemy.

CNN's emerging markets editor, John Defterios, explain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR (voice-over): In many ways, Khalaf Al Habtoor is Dubai's answer to Donald Trump, a self-made man, head of a multi-billion property empire. He's outspoken and proud of his achievements.

(on camera): How much are you responsible for?

KHALAF AL HABTOOR, CHAIRMAN, AL HABTOOR GROUP: A lot. Maybe more than 50 percent.

DEFTERIOS (voice-over): A few months ago, he viewed Trump as presidential material, but not anymore.

HABTOOR: I view him as the biggest enemy. He is a man supporting ISIS. We have common enemy in the world as a Muslim as is. And Trump now encouraging them. This is what ISIS wants to hear.

DEFTERIOS: Habtoor says he is in no way anti-American. His office is adorned with a portrait of Abe Lincoln and he received an honorary degree from Illinois College. For him, this is about overstepping the mark.

(on camera): You're a developer of scale, I mean, an $18 billion company. Would you work with Donald Trump?

HABTOOR: No, not me. I don't trust him. I don't trust him anymore.

DEFTERIOS (voice-over): Habtoor showed me a letter he received a month ago from Ivanka Trump thanking him for his support back in August, support which has now vanished.

(on camera): Just eight months ago, Ivanka came here to outline an ambitious strategy to use Dubai, the more liberal emirate, as a gateway for the Trump Organization into the oil and gas-rich states of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It appears that master plan may be put into jeopardy by her father's latest divisive comments.

(voice-over): Trump's primary partner in Dubai, Dumac (ph) Properties, where the Trump Organization has a golf course, is standing by him, saying it did not want to mix business with internal U.S. politics.

But cracks in Trump's overseas business adventure are beginning to surface. The COO of Lifestyle, a home decor chain based in Dubai, said, "In light of the recent statements made by the presidential candidate in the U.S. media, we have suspended sales of all products from the Trump home decor range." Meaning Lifestyle is pulling Trump out of 195 stores in the region and beyond.

Habtoor believes it won't be the last to desert Trump here or in the wider Muslim market of 1.6 billion people.

AL HABTOOR: I think that he has damaged all of his brands in all Muslim countries. I mean, nobody will accept him, and nobody will accept his brands in any country.

DEFTERIOS: And Habtoor's future plans, including this $3.5 billion project, seems unlikely to include a certain Donald Trump.

John Defterios, CNN, Dubai.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In many business deals in the Middle East and around the world, Donald Trump licenses his name in return for a fee. In other words, he puts his name on a property or a product and that's about it, a business model that's been praised by some as being almost risk free. But what happens when the name for sale suddenly turns negative?

David Sirota is a senior writer at the "International Business Times." He joins us from Denver.

David, thanks for being with us.

Is there much evidence that Trump's name and his brand are turning negative in the Muslim countries where he does business?

DAVID SIROTA, SENIOR WRITER, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES: I think it's too early to know. One company that distributes retail products said it's not going to distribute products with Trump's name on it, at least for now, after Trump made the comments. The question going forward is if Donald Trump has properties with his name on it and investments in the Middle East that are looking to court Muslim consumers, the question is whether his business partners there will say that the Trump name suddenly isn't such a marketable asset to those potential consumers based on what Donald Trump has been saying about Muslims in the United States.

VAUSE: Well, let's say we get to that point and Mr. Trump continues on with this anti-Muslim rhetoric. Is there any way with there's a dollar value on what this could cost him? Is there a number out there?

SIROTA: I don't think there's a number because Trump's financial disclosure forms are not all that transparent. We get a snapshot of some properties in Muslim countries. He's making $1 million or $5 million in fees from those license agreements. That's a momentary snapshot. I think that certainly -- look, his business empire has said it's looking for business opportunities, his daughter just said this recently, in places like Qatar, Saudi Arabia. He has facilities in Istanbul, in Azerbaijan. The question is whether those business opportunities from him, if he's looking for them and looking to expand them, whether they're still there, the more he intensifies this rhetoric. I don't think we know just yet.

[01:35:08] VAUSE: I guess that gets to the question, I mean, he's continued on with his business while running for president. So then the question is what's more important to him, the politics, running for president, or the bottom line of his company?

SIROTA: That's a very good question. Although he may be banking on the idea that business is business and politics is politics, in other words, that the bottom line considerations of potential investors and business partners throughout the world may, to use a pun, Trump, anything that he says in politics. It's a risk. It's a gamble. I think one thing that we don't know yet is how far he will go and whether -- how far he goes, whether that will impact people in the Muslim world and their willingness to do business with him. We really are in unchartered waters here in terms of American politics, at least recent American politics, of a candidate openly berating an entire demographic.

VAUSE: Quickly, in the past, Donald Trump has done a lot of business in the Middle East. For example, a member of the Saudi royal family bought a majority stake in the New York Plaza during the 1990s. That was basically a bailout of his business, wasn't it?

SIROTA: Yes, it was. He was selling out the plaza and one of the buyers of that was linked to the Saudi royal family. That brings up an interesting point which is that Donald Trump doesn't seem to have problems doing business with Muslims. Some might argue that there's a hypocrisy there in him saying that he doesn't want Muslims to come into the United States and he's talking about all this anti-Muslim rhetoric while he seems perfectly happy to do bliss with Muslims. And I think the question is, how can he be happy to do business with Muslims people but also be on the campaign trail berating Muslims. VAUSE: That is a good question. We'll leave it there.

David Sirota, in Denver, appreciate you being with us. Thank you.

SIROTA: Thank you.

VAUSE: Donald Trump did not become "Time" magazine's person of the year. Instead, they chose German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But Mr. Trump is wining in terms of Internet clicks. That is after time released a video of his photo shoot with a bald eagle. Trump held the legendary symbol of the United States, which ruffled the candidate's distinctive hair.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That is a cranky eagle.

OK. Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, we are just hours away from the start of award season here in Los Angeles. One film critic will have his predictions on who may be about to win big.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:41:59] VAUSE: The father of one of the Paris attackers has some harsh words for his son. 23-year-old Foued Mohamed-Aggad was identified Wednesday as one of the killers at the Bataclan Theater. His father spoke to French media on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAID MOHAMED-AGGAD, FATHER OF FOUED MOHAMED-AGGAD (through translation): I did not know that he came back. I knew that he had left. It's been two years since he left. I didn't know he came back.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Were you surprised he came back?

AGGAD (through translation): Of course.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You would never have thought this, about your son coming back?

AGGAD (through translation): I would have killed him beforehand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Mohamed-Aggad blew himself up during the attacks.

U.S. Republican lawmakers say they are not satisfied with the current plan to take down ISIS. Senators grilled U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Wednesday as he tried to defend President Barack Obama's ISIS strategy.

Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has the details.

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SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), ARIZONA: This morning, our hearts are with the loved ones of the 224 people killed aboard a Russian airliner over Egypt, the 43 killed in bombings in Beirut, the 130 people killed in Paris and of the 14 people killed in San Bernardino.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A roll call of ISIS attacks. Defense Secretary Ash Carter admitting, in contrast to the president's words, just weeks ago that ISIS is not contained.

MCCAIN: How are we to believe that we are succeeding against ISIL?

ASH CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think that we are building momentum against ISIL.

STARR: Senators say that's just not good enough.

UNIDENTIFIED SENATOR: Assuming there's a Paris-like attack, would you go back to the president and say keep the same strategy?

CARTER: Look, Senator, if I had more to recommend to him to accelerate the defeat of ISIL in Syria and Iraq, I would be doing it now.

(EXPLOSION)

STARR: Carter did say the U.S. would provide Apache helicopters and on the ground advisors to help the Iraqis retake the city of Ramadi.

(GUNFIRE)

STARR: But Senators directly making the point Homeland Security depends on liberating Raqqa, Syria, ISIS's self-declared capital, a symbol of its power to attract followers around the world.

MCCAIN: There is no plan, no strategy to retake Raqqa. And I think it's pretty obvious to all that as long as they have the caliphate base, then they are able to orchestrate attacks such as they've successfully achieved in the last several weeks.

(EXPLOSION)

STARR: Raqqa now under heavy assault from Russian missile strikes and bombings. Russian President Vladimir Putin saying he hopes he won't have to ever use nuclear-tipped weapons.

Moscow is already increasing the number of anti-air weapons systems in western Syria, making it a no-fly zone for U.S. aircraft.

GEN. PAUL SELVA, VICE CHAIRMAN, U.S. JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: And they've installed surface-to-air missiles around Aleppo. They have worked with Syrian partners, and the Syrian partners now have their radars active, which they didn't have just a few weeks ago. [11:45:13] STARR (voice-over): CNN has learned that a small number

of U.S. Special Operations forces are now out of northern Syria. They had gone in over the last several days to scout locations for a base of operations for future raids and missions.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

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VAUSE: "Star Wars, the Force Awakens" is almost here. But along with all the hype and all the excitement, there is also controversy. Some say the movie poster in China is racist.

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(WEATHER REPORT)

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UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: There are stories about what happened.

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HARRISON FORD, ACTOR: It's true. All of it.

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VAUSE: The force is getting closer. On Monday, "Star Wars, The Force Awakens" will premier here in Los Angeles. The seventh installment of the franchise opens in theaters across the U.S. December 17. Fans in Hollywood are already lining up for the best tickets.

But what would all this hype be without a little controversy? We had to go all the way to China to find it. Some there are saying the posters for the movie are, in fact, racist.

Matt Rivers reports from Beijing.

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[01:50:20] MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The new "Star Wars" film, "The Force Awakens," won't open in Chinese movie theaters like this one until January 9th, but the film is already being marketed here in a big way.

(on camera): Disney even placed 500 storm trooper figurines on to the Great Wall of China to promote the movie trailer's premier. But not all of the attention has been positive. Some "Star Wars" fans were quick to point out some differences between the U.S. version and Chinese version of the official movie poster. In the U.S. version, on the left, black actor, John Boyega, is a featured presence. On the Chinese side, on the right, he is shrunken down towards the bottom of the poster and replaced by Thai fighters. Meanwhile, other characters appear larger. Harrison Ford, for example, who plays Hans Solo, is a bit bigger. By shrinking down Boyega's picture and enlarging others, some fans on Western social media implied there was racism involved.

(on camera): A Disney representative would not comment to CNN, but Chinese state media said that any claims that Chinese audiences were somehow racists are simply untrue.

(voice-over): So we showed the Chinese version of the poster to some people on the street here in Beijing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I think it would be fair to say that Chinese people can be insensitive about race issues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): It's nonsense to relate the poster to racism. I don't think it matters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): I don't think it will spark widespread discussion here, because people don't pay much attention to race issues here.

RIVERS: It's worth noting that Western movies released here in China regularly have different movie posters. Take the amazing "Spider-Man II, for example. The U.S. version on the left, and the Chinese version on the right.

(on camera): We can't say what motivated the change in the Chinese version of this new "Star Wars" poster, but safe to say, it's P.R. that the movie could have done without.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Turn in this time tomorrow. We'll have Isha's interview with Hans Solo, Harrison Ford.

Well, the awards season gets under way in just hours. Nominees for the Golden Globes will be announced. TV and movie fans anxiously waiting to see who wins big, who gets snubbed.

For more on all of that, I'm joined by Alonso Duralde, film critic for TheWrap.com.

Alonso, thanks for being on.

The Golden Globes cover both film and television, so let's start with the movie side of things. Who's likely getting the nod?

ALONSO DURALDE, FILM CRITIC, THEWRAP.COM: I'd said, in the acting column, Cate Blanchett for "Carol" is as close to a lock as you could get. Certainly Sylvester Stallone for "Creed." The Globes like to put on a good show. They like to get the right people to show up at their parties. I think Stallone's very much a sentimental favorite. The movie is doing well with audiences. It sort of kick-started the "Rocky" franchise. So I think he's squarely in their sites.

VAUSE: Greatest movie ever. So, OK.

(LAUGHTER)

VAUSE: The Golden Globes is a little funky. It's not quite like the Academy Awards, but with fun and booze.

DURALDE: With an open bar.

VAUSE: Yeah, which is always a good thing. What's weird here is -- they have the musical and comedy category. But what is weird, is "The Martian," the Matt Damon film, ended up in the movie/comedy section?

DURALDE: You know, musical, you can take it or leave it. There's a lot of disco in that movie. It's a pretty funny movie. Matt Damon is sort of this diary that he's keeping to maintain his sanity. He's very quipy and funny. For a movie that's a science fiction adventure and a rescue story, it has a light tone. There are funny bits, back at jet propulsion laboratories, or whatever, so. I mean, yeah, it's a bit of a stretch.

VAUSE: Little bit, yes.

DURALDE: People will do this sort of thing to up their chances but it's not completely out of the running.

VAUSE: OK, a couple of movies being mentioned out there, "Steve Jobs," "Bridge of Spies," didn't do so well at box offices. Does that hurt their chances?

DURALDE: Not necessarily. They have certain names they like to get in here. These are people who nominated Johnny Depp for "Tourists."

(LAUGHTER)

They love Spielberg. They've given him the Cecil B. DeMille Award, so I think they're all about having him be there. Mark Rilance (ph) from that film has really been getting attention in the supporting category. He's already won some critics awards. He was a runner up with L.A. film critics, which I'm a member of. I think he's a lock on nomination. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Tom Hanks in there, too, because --

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: He's Tom Hanks?

DURALDE: Because he's Tom Hanks.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: He's a nice guy, too.

Let's go to the television side. Again, Netflix is probably going to get some nominations.

DURALDE: Absolutely. I think Netflix is coming to the table with a lot of stuff. They have Grace and Frankie, the Jane Fonda, Lilly Tomlin sitcom. One might get some love because this is a very international organization and that show was shot around the world in various languages, in Asia, Africa, a lot of different places. Frankly, I think "Dare Devil" got a lot of following. I think Netflix will be a major player. We'll see a lot of Amazon again with "Transparent."

[01:55:21] VAUSE: Now, finally, the ceremony isn't until January. And Ricky Gervais is back as host. Will he be as offensive as usual?

DURALDE: Oh, god, that's why you hire him.

(LAUGHTER)

The Globes are pretty much announcing that we're not supposed to take them seriously when you hire Ricky Gervais. He's constantly reminding you that none of this should is to be taken seriously. They stars are there to have a good time. They are there getting sloshed. They're thrilled that they win but they also know it's a Golden Globe.

VAUSE: Not quite the Academy Awards.

DURALDE: No.

(CROSSTALK)

DURALDE: They're just there to have a good time. Gervais ought to make that happen, too, I hope.

VAUSE: Absolutely.

Thanks for coming in. We'll have you back when the nominations are done, we get a little closer to the award season, and you can share your predictions on who will win, who don't win.

DURALDE: Great. I'll see you then.

VAUSE: Thank you.

You've been watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

For viewers in the North America, "Amanpour" is up next.

For everyone else, the news continues with Rosemary Church and Errol Barnett after a very short break.

You're watching CNN.

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