Return to Transcripts main page
iDesk
U.K. Referendum Too Close to Call; America's Choice 2016; Orlando Gunman Visited Club on Night of Attack; McIlroy Won't Compete in Olympics; Libertarian Speaks Out about Orlando. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired June 22, 2016 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST (voice-over): Ahead at the INTERNATIONAL DESK: politicians in the U.K. make the final push for a vote.
Donald Trump gets ready for a speech attacking Hillary Clinton.
And Rory McIlroy says he's skipping the Olympics.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Hi, there, welcome. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN Center.
We are less than 24 hours away from an important decision, that vote on whether the U.K. remains in the European Union. Both sides are doing
some 11th-hour campaigning to sway the undecided.
It is impossible to say which way this vote is going to go but, either way, the debate and the impact will not only define Britain but Europe as
well. Let's listen to some of the last-minute arguments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER, GREAT BRITAIN: We've got one day left to hammer out that message, stronger, safer, better off. And as we do so,
think of one word that brings it all into one, which is together, because, frankly, if we want a bigger economy and more jobs, we're better if we do
it together.
NIGEL FARAGE, UKIP LEADER: I want us tomorrow to vote for Britain to become independent. I want us to vote for us to become democratic. I want
us to vote for us to become a normal country, because normal countries make their own laws. Normal countries are in charge of their destiny and their
future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well, against the backdrop of the vote, tributes are being held around the world today for murdered MP Jo Cox, who was strongly in the
Remain camp.
CNN's Nic Robertson is at Trafalgar Square, where one such event is planned for the next hour.
But first, let's got to Phil Black, who is gauging the mood on the streets of London, one day before this very critical referendum.
Hi, there, Phil. This is going to be so close.
What are people saying there?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Robyn, if you speak to people here, it's a mix. Obviously those who made up their minds a long time ago
believing Britain should be with the European Union, those whose -- very strongly believe that patriotism and other factors drive them to believe
that Britain should go it alone and, of course, a number of undecideds, too.
And so that's what it's all going to come down to, those wavering few. As a result of that, it means that both campaigns are out and about today,
really trying to be seen and heard by as many people as possible because it's all to play for.
So the Leave vote, arguing that they want to take back control from Brussels on, well, pretty much everything: the ability to make laws;
control immigration, trade, the economy; whereas as you heard David Cameron and the other Remain campaigners, well, they have been saying that Britain
is stronger, better off, more secure and more influential on the world stage.
This is not new on either side. We've been hearing these arguments for a long time now. They are refined. They are clear. But there is
still a chunk of people in the middle that are yet to decide and ultimately they'll determine the result -- Robyn.
CURNOW: They will indeed. Stand by. I'm going to Nic now in Trafalgar Square.
Jo Cox's death shocked Britain, both the timing of it and the manner of it. It would have been her birthday today. Tell us what's --
(EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM TEST)
[10:05:00]
BLACK: -- back to Remain but it's always remained so tight that the undecided element would ultimately determine this. We don't know how
accurate those polls are. This sort of democratic event in this country means -- these are so rare that we don't know how accurate the polling will
turn out to be.
But if they are accurate and the result is as close as is suggested, then what it means is that this country, one way or another, this country's
difficult, sometimes often complex relationship with the European Union, it's going to continue. And the divisions that have been exposed here,
well, they're not likely to heal quickly, either.
CURNOW: It's complex indeed. It is a very crucial 24 hours coming up. Thanks to both of you.
Let's cross the Channel now, where the rest of Europe is waiting to find out if Britain will remain as their E.U. partner. Here's what French
president Francois Hollande said a short time ago advocating a Stay vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): Tomorrow is the British vote. It is more than the U.K.'s future in the European
Union that is at play here.
It is the future of the European Union because the departure of a country that is geographically, historically and politically in the E.U.
would have extremely serious consequences. It would have extremely serious consequences for them, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: So the future of the E.U. is in play, says Francois Hollande. Well, Will Ripley is in France and he brings us the view from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Summer in the City of Light means outdoor cafes, selfies on the Seine, strolls along the Champs-
Elysees. Most Parisians are not preoccupied with the looming Brexit vote. But some are nervous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am a little bit worried about it, yes. I think it would be a pity if this cohesion would disappear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like them to stay.
RIPLEY: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More likely. Because even if it's difficult, I think we build something very nice.
RIPLEY (voice-over): At newspaper kiosks, the headlines portray Europe and Britain as a marriage on the rocks.
But at least on the continent, few seem ready to divorce.
RIPLEY: Some of the French press think it's incredible Britain would even consider leaving the E.U. This is one of the most colorful headlines
and illustrations here.
It reads, "The English, they're mad."
And the French economy minister told the newspaper, "Le Monde," that Britain would quickly become a small, isolated island.
RIPLEY (voice-over): While Prime Minister Manuel Valls says Britain leaving the E.U. would be a terrible shock, at the Petite Ballet, this
statue of Winston Churchill pays tribute to his wartime leadership and vision of a European family. But a family feud is deepening.
DOMINIQUE MOISI, FRENCH POLITICAL SCIENTIST: You don't want to see the disintegration of Europe and what it can lead to. We have a memory of
the past.
RIPLEY (voice-over): French author and veteran commentator Dominique Moisi --
[10:10:00]
RIPLEY (voice-over): -- says British voters have a huge responsibility.
MOISI: A responsibility that goes much beyond Great Britain, much beyond Europe. It is the West at large that is at stake.
RIPLEY (voice-over): This increasingly fractured Europe is reflected in the views of football fans here for Euro 2016. These men from Northern
Ireland say they want the U.K. to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Britain will be bullied by Europe.
Should we remain like an adulterous husband that's taken back to their wife?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Northern Ireland and Britain are putting more money in than we're getting out of Europe.
RIPLEY (voice-over): German fans say they're rooting for Britain to remain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have to take into account that the economic power will decrease, unemployment will increase.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Britain stay.
RIPLEY: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay because it will be a disaster for all Europe when they will be out.
RIPLEY (voice-over): By the end of this week, British football teams may still be in Europe but their country could be on the way out -- Will
Ripley, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Great perspective there from Will.
This vote, as you heard there, has provoked a lot of conversation, much of it heated over dinner tables, on the television and of course
online. And Britons are debating the vote in a big way on Twitter. Samuel Burke is watching social media's role in this referendum.
Sam, how big and how controversial is the conversation around #Brexit?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can't overstate just how many conversations, just how much attention Brexit is generating on social
media, not just for Britons, all around the world, including here in the United States.
And it's managed to do something absolutely incredible. We noticed on Tweet, that's the tool that we use, the CNN digital producers here, to see
what's happening on social media.
Take a look and you'll see on the screen here, on the left we have tweets about Donald Trump; on the right you have tweets about Brexit. Look
how much faster the tweets about Brexit going by are. That's because there are about 15,000 tweets an hour about the Brexit around the world, even
more than Donald Trump.
And amazing to think about the fact that Donald Trump has 9 million followers. He can generate a lot of conversation about himself.
Compare that to just 1.5 million for David Cameron, the face of Stay and just 120,000 Twitter followers for Boris Johnson, the former mayor of
London, who's the face of Leave. So incredible to think that they've been able to trump Donald with those numbers of followers talking about the
Brexit.
CURNOW: That's fascinating but really it's not all that it seems. There are concerns that campaigners are using fake accounts to swing the
vote.
BURKE: Well, it's interesting. I want to make a differentiation between fake and accounts that are bought. So these are actually accounts,
they do exist but you might have a debate about whether the tweets really exist or not.
Basically what two researchers did, one of them from the University of Oxford, basically what they looked at were -- they took a sample of tweets.
I want to just put up some numbers on the screen here to display this.
They looked at 1.5 million tweets over a certain period -- I believe from June 5th until June 12th. So they looked at these 1.5 million tweets.
They found that 54 percent were pro Leave, Robyn, 20 percent were pro Remain. So you might think, whoa, the pro Leave people have it.
Do not be fooled by those numbers because what these two researchers found is that just 1 percent of all the accounts that they're looking at
are generating about one-third of the tweets.
And more interestingly, they found that the Leave campaign had three times the number of accounts generating tweets. These are robot accounts
that are just programmed to send out tweets, not necessarily a human doing it -- three times more than the Remain campaign.
So it's difficult because people on social media may be influenced by what they're seeing but it may actually just be favi robots, three times
more from the Leave campaign than the other one, according to these researchers. So be careful what you see on social media. Not always an
accurate representation of the population at large.
CURNOW: Well, we've always got our savvy Sam. So thanks for that.
Stay tuned for CNN's special coverage of the U.K. referendum today, tomorrow and the days to come. We'll have reporters all around the world
watching the vote and the final outcome.
And also, we are minutes away from the speech Donald Trump has been hinting at for weeks. Our politics reporter will tell us what to watch for
and why the U.S. presidential candidate is now attacking Hillary Clinton's cash.
And for the first time in more than 100 years, golf will be part of the Summer Games but some of the big names in the sport won't be part of
the competition. All of that ahead.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:15:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Welcome back. It is 16 minutes past the hour. I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks for joining me.
Over the past 48 hours, the race for the White House has taken on the rhythm of a high-stakes tennis match. Tweets are zinging across the net
and candidates are taking direct shots at each other with big speeches. Donald Trump serves next. Our Sara Murray tells us what to expect.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So many of the things she said were outright lies.
SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump is aiming to put Hillary Clinton on defense.
TRUMP: You know, she's Crooked Hillary. Let's face it. She's Crooked Hillary. She always has been and nothing's going to change.
MURRAY (voice-over): The presumptive GOP nominee preparing to deliver a speech in New York City today, targeting everything from immigration to
Clinton's e-mail scandal and even accusing the former first couple of improper dealings when Clinton was secretary of state.
TRUMP: Her record is a disaster. In addition to taking in tens and tens of millions of dollars from people for lots of different things in
lots of different ways and countries that should not be giving her money or her husband money.
MURRAY (voice-over): On Tuesday, he fired off preliminary shots, even questioning Clinton's faith at a gathering of religious leaders.
TRUMP: Because she's been in the public eye for years and years. And yet there is no -- there's nothing out there.
MURRAY (voice-over): Trump's focus on Clinton coming as he tries to pivot from days of staff shakeups and dismal fundraising. Trump ended last
month with $1.3 million in the bank, compared to Clinton's $42 million. But the real estate mogul argues her dollars come with a price.
TRUMP: All of the money she's raising, that's blood money. That's blood money.
MURRAY (voice-over): The billionaire businessman still dangling the idea of self-funding in the general.
TRUMP: I'll be honest, I've never raised money before for this because I've never done it before. I think I'd be very good at it. As far
as I'm concerned, I'd be very happy to continue to self-fund.
MURRAY (voice-over): Even though he spent Tuesday evening looking to shore up his campaign coffers at a New York City fundraiser.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Frank (ph), how are you feeling about the campaign?
MURRAY (voice-over): As Trump and his top GOP allies put on a happy face and downplay concerns about the candidate's campaign war chest going
into a head-to-head battle against Clinton.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Sara Murray reporting there.
Hillary Clinton's opponents have scrutinized her for decades. But Donald Trump has proved himself to be a master of the unexpected. Let's
talk with our political analyst about where Trump may be going today.
John Avlon joins us from New York.
Hey, there, John. I mean, this speech is expected to be a rebuttal to Clinton's speech yesterday. But generally this campaign seems to be all
about "he said, she said."
JOHN AVLON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's the elevation of insult often in the replacement of ideas. Hillary Clinton's first broadside
against Donald Trump in that national security speech really hit a lot of notes and she seems to have set upon a rhythm of using his own words and
comments against him in contrast to her policies.
Now Donald Trump's national security speech was a broadside against Clinton and Obama, trying to tie them together. But he delayed the speech
he wanted to give, which is what he's going to be giving today in New York, which he has billed as a real, full-frontal assault on the Clintons and
their connections --
[10:20:00]
AVLON: -- to what he would call "illicit cash," directed in particular at the Clinton Global Foundation. You heard in that previous
clip some of the teasers, basically alleging that some of the foreign governments with unsavory human rights records that have given to the
Clinton Global Foundation, her work in the State Department, may be the subject of his attacks.
His famous line is "Crooked Hillary," so figure the doubling down on that in the speech today with some specifics.
The question will be, does he move the ball forward with new facts?
Or is this simply a rehash of warmed-over cottage industry of Clinton- hating stuff we've seen on the Right, frankly for decades now?
CURNOW: Yes, exactly. And also, within the broader context, Trump has had a pretty rough few weeks, pretty rough transition from the
primaries to the general election here.
Can one speech change the momentum for him?
Or are his organizational challenges just more deeper than that?
AVLON: Yes. I mean, there's a fundamental difference between the rhetoric of the campaign and the earned media he's proven very effective at
getting and the nuts-and-bolts, bricks-and-mortar of building a campaign organization.
That financial disclosure form that surfaced late Sunday night was just a disaster. There is virtually no cash on hand, $1.3 million. No
television ads up in swing states, virtually no staff. In each of these core areas of campaign operations, the Clinton camp is light years ahead of
where the Trump team is.
That's not going to be fixed with a speech. That needs to be done with actually building out an organization, getting the dollars you need
in. And while Trump can spin and talk about self-funding, what's mostly striking about the money spent to date is how much of it ends up cycling
through his own corporations, leaving his presidential campaign looking more like a Ponzi scheme.
So he is going to have to ratchet things up dramatically operationally and organizationally. The speech can be effective at changing the
conversation; it doesn't change the reality.
CURNOW: OK, John Avlon, great to have you on the IDESK. Thanks so much. And of course, we will bring that speech to you live when we get it.
AVLON: Take care.
CURNOW: Thanks.
Well, let's turn now to some new developments in the investigation into the Orlando night club massacre. CNN has learned gunman Omar Mateen
had visited the Pulse night club earlier in the evening before returning to kill 49 people.
Well, Boris Sanchez joins us now live from Orlando.
Hi, there, Boris. I mean, this is no doubt incredibly important for investigators.
What more do we know about his movements?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Robyn. It certainly is. They're still working to expand this timeline to figure out exactly where
he was, not only Saturday night but -- or rather not only Sunday morning but also into earlier on Saturday before the shooting.
From what we've heard, investigators say that he came to the Pulse night club and got a ticket, he bought a wristband, which allowed him re-
entry. He was in the club for a short while and then left for two hours. They're still working to figure out his exact whereabouts in those two
hours.
But the idea here is from investigators that he came specifically to scope out the club, to get a closer look at the security here before he
eventually came back and opened fire.
We also heard previously from investigators that in Saturday afternoon, he was in an area known as Disney Springs, it used to be known
as Downtown Disney, it's like an outdoor mall with a lot of restaurants and concert venues, really an area for families to be.
So it's kind of unsettling to know that he was in that area just a few hours before carrying out the attack. Still, many questions to be answered
about his whereabouts, though, clearly.
CURNOW: Many questions to be answered about his whereabouts, what his wife knew also about his history. There's a very revealing interview with
a man who said he had reported the gunman to the FBI. Tell us about that.
SANCHEZ: Yes. His name is Mohammed Malik, he was a former friend of the shooter and they attended the same mosque. He tells CNN that, in 2014,
the gunman was making strange references, things that he found somewhat unsettling, specifically about radical Islamic propaganda.
And it just so happened that at that same mosque there was another person who used to attend mosque there, who later went to Syria and was
part of a suicide bombing. So as these references were coming up, it brought up a lot of red flags. Here's what that friend, Mohammed Malik,
told CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED MALIK, FORMER FRIEND OF OMAR MATEEN: Omar Mateen brought up the name, Anwar al-Awlaki, who's a radical cleric that has radicalized
several people, including Nidal Hasan, who's the Ft. Hood shooter.
And mentioned that he had also seen the videos of Anwar al-Awlaki. And my reaction to him was what he thought about the videos. And he told
me they were powerful. Both of those raised a red flag for me and prompted me to speak with the FBI.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now despite Mohammed Malik reaching out to the FBI, they pursued an investigation but ultimately no arrests came out of it. Law
enforcement experts tell us, though, it's because there was simply not enough --
[10:25:00]
SANCHEZ: -- evidence to prosecute further and that not just that, they also cover hundreds of these kinds of reports every year. So there
was just not enough to kind of pursue him and continue the investigation into him.
CURNOW: And, again, what more do we know about this gunman's wife?
I mean, I know she's been interviewed a number of times.
The big question is why didn't she call authorities when she suspected something was amiss here?
SANCHEZ: Right. That's something investigators will certainly be looking at.
The most recent thing that we found out was that she told investigators that the night before the shooting that he was acting very
erratic, that he was agitated, visibly angry and that he left their home in Port St. Lucie, two hours away from Orlando, with a bag; we later came to
find out the bag was full of firearms.
She said that she didn't know exactly what he was planning but that she tried to stop him. She also contacted him several times throughout
that night, through calls and text messages.
Yesterday the attorney general, Loretta Lynch, was here in Orlando and she declined to go into specifics about whether or not the wife would
ultimately face charges. But you can bet that investigators will dig into that much deeper.
CURNOW: Boris Sanchez, thanks so much.
Japan, South Korea and NATO are among the first to condemn two new missile launches in North Korea. It's at least the fourth time this year
that the North has tested the mid-range type rocket.
Most of the tests have failed, including the one today, the first one today. The second launch, however, appears to be a partial success. And
we'll keep an eye on that story.
Now to India, where at least 90 people have been killed by lightning strikes Tuesday, as monsoons sweep across most of the country. An Indian
official says lightning strikes are common during monsoons but they have been more than usual this year. The monsoons are actually welcome relief
right now in India after two years of drought.
And still ahead here at CNN, for decades, the world has scrutinized Hillary Clinton. But Donald Trump is trying to make all the criticism
stick. We'll bring you his speech, set to begin in just a few minutes. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: This is CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow.
And we are moments away from Donald Trump delivering a speech he's promised for weeks. He says in a tweet he'll focus his talk on Hillary
Clinton and her failed policies and bad judgment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Well, Trump has dug into The Clinton Foundation and the e-mail scandal -- that is a live look at the podium where he will speak. But Donald Trump
appears to be preparing to go further. He tells CBS Hillary Clinton's campaign cash is, quote, "blood money," and he told a group of Christian
conservatives Tuesday she isn't open about her religious views.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: I want to go back to Britain and another story, a big story we're following here at CNN, now in the final hours before deciding whether
to remain part of the European Union. CNN's Becky Anderson is with us from outside 10 Downing Street in London.
Hi, there, Becky. David Cameron, in many ways, has pinned his political future on this vote.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. It must be a very challenging 11th hour for the prime minister, who's been out and
about, making speeches on behalf of the Remain in the E.U. campaign today, out in Bristol to the west of the country.
We had the last sort of big official televised debate last night between the Leave and the Remain camps, impassioned, fiery speeches made on
both sides in front of a crowd of 6,000 at Wembley Stadium. Somebody described it as having the atmosphere of more of a sporting occasion than a
debate.
This is a debate, as you and I now know and so many of our viewers will be aware, has polarized the country. And on both sides it's very
difficult to get a sense of why, for the Remain camp, you know, it's sort of the ultimate deal about why the U.K. should remain in the E.U. they're
finding difficult to provide.
And on the flip side of that, those who support the U.K. leaving the E.U. are also, to a certain extent, finding it quite difficult to get a
cogent argument out. In the end, this has polarized the country in that it has become such an emotive issue on the issues of immigration, of trade and
the economy.
What is interesting is the sense of the consequences of a vote to leave the U.K. And that is becoming clearer. We've seen the pound
sterling down of late. We've seen tremors across the British financial markets. And these are things that, at the E.U., the rest of Europe and
the rest of the world are concerned about.
What we have heard in the past 24 hours are impassioned pleas from other Europeans, including the French president, who says this would be an
awful -- and I'm paraphrasing him here -- a Leave vote would be an awful situation for the rest of Europe and it would put the E.U. project, he
says, in play.
And that's really important because, if the U.K. were to vote to leave and the rest of the European project, that being the European Union, were
to unravel, well, the consequences of that would be absolutely huge.
So we wait to see, this is 11th hour, this is the last day of campaigning, locked down; so far as the press is concerned in talking about
the campaign, once the voters go out and start voting in the morning.
All to play for at this point, the newspapers, in true British fashion, have come out in favor of one side or the other, including "The
Sun" newspaper, a great Brexiter, "Give Me Three Good Reasons to Stay in Europe," they have printed on their front page today, alluding to what they
say the queen asked dinner guests of late.
And their answer, "Sorry, Mum, we can't think of one," that's what they say, the queen says of course historically never one to show her
colors.
So as things stand, too close to call. That's what the polls are telling us. So we wait to see what unfolds in the coming 24 hours.
CURNOW: Yes. Thanks so much, Becky Anderson, there outside 10 Downing Street.
And of course we're keeping an eye on that image in the corner of your screen. Donald Trump is about to speak and we will take that to you live
as soon as he comes to the podium.
But in the meantime also, keeping an eye on the Olympics. For the first time in our lifetime, golf is an Olympic sport in Rio. But one of
the gold medal favorites has just announced he won't compete, adding to the list of top athletes who are opting out of the Summer Games.
Alex Thomas is here to tell us all about that.
Rory McIlroy, what has he said?
[10:35:00]
ALEX THOMAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's said that he's not going to Rio because he's worried about the Zika virus. This is the Rio games, as we've
reported often here on CNN, Robyn, that has been absolutely plagued by controversy.
So the last thing they needed was to have a major potential Olympic star pull out of the games.
It's also very embarrassing for golf, coming back to the Olympics after a gap of more than a century. They're looking to attract a new
audience. So they really needed what is arguably the biggest poster boy of the sport to be there.
Interesting that of all the Olympic disciplines -- and there's something like 26 or 27 -- men's golf, the only ones who have had mass
withdrawals although no leading women's players have pulled out of Rio yet. And Rory McIlroy is certainly not a quitter. He's not somebody who would
make up a reason.
He released a statement and part of that statement read, "My health and my family's health comes before anything else. Even though the risk of
infection from the Zika virus is considered low, it is a risk nonetheless and a risk I'm unwilling to take."
Some golfers, Robyn, have used the Zika virus as an excuse to get out of what is already a packed schedule and adds the impression they care less
about going for gold than they do about having to travel too many air miles.
Rory McIlroy, I don't think, is one of those. He had to make a controversial decision to play for Ireland instead of Team GB.
He wouldn't have said that publicly and courted that controversy if he had no intention of going to Rio in the first place. We do know he's
engaged to be married and we know of course the Zika virus can be sexually transmitted. And if a pregnant mother is infected, then they run the risk
of giving birth to a baby with severe deformities.
So short of him playing on his mind but a massive blow to golf, the International Golf Federation saying they're disappointed. And it's an
unfortunate decision. Rory McIlroy not going to Rio -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Yes. This really is a big one. Of course, as you mentioned, he's -- his name just added to a list of high-profile golfers who are not
going to Rio.
I mean, what does this mean, particularly for a sport that was supposed to sort of, you know, jump onto the international stage in terms
of the Olympics for the first time in a century?
This is a big blow.
THOMAS: It's a huge blow because it's a sport that's very successful at the professional level, plenty of money in the game. And when it was
first voted in as a new Olympic sport for these 2016 Rio games, the first to be held in Brazil, of course, Tiger Woods was still in his pump (ph).
Since then, Tiger is currently injured and out of the game. We've got a new breed led by Rory McIlroy and he now will not be there.
Golf, in some ways, doesn't need the Olympics in terms of its success at the highest level. But the Olympics could certainly do with golf coming
in and having those stars there. Golf had a chance to reach a new audience through the Olympic Games, have new funding.
But there's the host of names you can see on your screen who aren't going to go there: Adam Scott, a former Masters champion; Louis
Oosthuizen, has won a British Open; Vijay Singh of the bottom's a former World number 1, a three-time major winner himself.
As I said, men's golf, the only one of the Olympic sports that have mass withdrawals. The only other signs of people worried about the Zika
virus enough to not go are the current long jump men's champion, Greg Rutherford of the U.K., who is freezing his sperm because he wants to have
kids in the future with his wife.
And I think one American cyclist said he won't be going. So men's golf is really sticking out in a bad way -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Why did the IOC add golf to the list of Olympic sports after a century?
THOMAS: Well, a lot of the new sports that have come in in recent Olympic Games, rather than sort of minor sports, where competitors will be
so grateful to go for Olympic gold, they've gone for big ones.
Tennis has been now in the Olympics for two or three decades. And while that was controversial at first as well, you've seen the leading
men's players of the current generation value the Olympics as much as they do the four annual grand slam events.
Roger Federer, for example, despite being the most successful men's player in the professional era, has never won Olympic gold and was
desperate to do that at London 2012 when he was picked in the final by Britain's Andy Murray. Golf might get to that stage. But it clearly isn't
there yet.
CURNOW: Thanks so much.
Alex Thomas there.
Of course we are waiting for Donald Trump to make a major speech; in the meantime, we're also keeping an eye on other angles with this very
eventful U.S. election. Trump, Clinton and Sanders, as we know, those are the U.S. presidential candidates we know.
But what about Johnson and Stein?
They're also running for president from parties you may not have heard of. Lynda Kinkade takes a look at one of those third parties.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): America's Libertarian Party wants to shrink the government, ending many traditional programs,
initiatives and laws, like payouts to the poor and elderly, gun restrictions and all foreign aid and military intervention.
The Libertarians are the third largest political party in the U.S., a very distant third.
In 2012, they got less than 1 percent of the popular vote. This year, the Libertarians and their presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, are getting
a lot more attention. Johnson --
[10:40:00]
KINKADE: -- recently weighed in on the Orlando massacre, the worst mass shooting in U.S. modern history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY JOHNSON, U.S. LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: If potentially it wasn't a gun-free zone and that there were a number of people in that
night club that might have been carrying weapons for self-defense, it may have lessened the tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE (voice-over): The latest nationwide CNN/ORC poll shows that, in a general election, Democrat Hillary Clinton would secure 42 percent of
the vote; Republican Donald Trump, 38 percent; Libertarian Gary Johnson, 9 percent and the Green's Jill Stein, 7 percent.
The Libertarian Party is hoping to pull voters away from the two main parties but it's far from a level playing field. The big parties have
millions of dollars at their disposal. The Libertarians have just thousands.
JOHNSON: Isn't it amazing that we are where we're at, given that amount of money? And that if we just had a little bit of juice, where it
might go?
KINKADE (voice-over): Gary Johnson has a lot of work to do. The CNN/ORC poll says half of all Americans have never heard of him -- Lynda
Kinkade, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: CNN's Chris Cuomo moderates the Libertarian Party town hall. Join us for the live event Wednesday at 9:00 pm in New York and again
Thursday morning at 10:00 in London, only on CNN.
Hillary Clinton isn't sitting with her hands sweetly folded in her lap, is she?
She is book-ending Trump's attack speech with two of her own. In just a few hours, she's set to deliver a rebuttal. And 24 hours ago, she
skewered Donald Trump's economic policies. Here's our Chris Frates with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's written a lot of books about business. They all seem to end at
Chapter 11.
(LAUGHTER)
CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the battleground state of Ohio, Hillary Clinton hit Donald Trump where it hurts: his
business record.
CLINTON: Trump ties are made in China, Trump suits in Mexico, Trump furniture in Turkey and I would love for him to explain how all that fits
with his talk about America first.
FRATES (voice-over): Trump responded directly to the charge.
TRUMP: It's true.
You know why?
Because they devalue their currencies and they make it impossible for companies to compete. Unfortunately, my ties are made in China.
FRATES (voice-over): Clinton is also calling out the four bankruptcies Trump filed for casinos he once owned in Atlantic City.
CLINTON: We can't let him bankrupt America like we are one of his failed casinos.
FRATES (voice-over): And branding Trump as dangerous to the economy.
CLINTON: Trump would take us back to where we were before the crisis. He'd rig the economy for Wall Street again.
Well, that will not happen on my watch, I can guarantee you.
FRATES (voice-over): Trump responded to the attacks in real time, live tweeting as the hits kept coming.
"How can Hillary Clinton run the economy when she can't even send e- mails without putting entire nation at risk?"
And, "I am the king of debt. That has been great for me as a businessman."
Trump even posting this video response on Instagram as Clinton continued unloading.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton's only right about one thing: I understand debt and how to handle it. I've made a fortune with debt. But debt for
this country is a disaster and Obama has piled it on and she's been there watching.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES (voice-over): The latest CNN/ORC poll shows voters believe Trump would be better at handling the economy than Clinton, a perception
she's hoping to turn around.
CLINTON: He has no real strategy for creating jobs, just a string of empty promises. But then maybe we shouldn't expect better from someone
whose most famous words are, "You're fired."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: That was Chris Frates reporting there.
And as you can see, we are waiting for Donald Trump to take to that podium. He was going to deliver this speech a few weeks ago. He has
waited until now. And this is a speech that is most definitely going to be attacking Hillary Clinton. We know in a tweet he says he will focus his
talk on Clinton's failed policies and bad judgment.
And he has dug into The Clinton Foundation and the e-mail scandal; that has been a line of attack throughout his campaign. He appears,
though, he might be going further today. It is unclear just how much further and what kind of detail he will go into.
He tells we know CBS that Hillary's campaign cash is "blood money." We also know he might try and address some of the questions about his
economic policy that Hillary Clinton brought up also in a scathing attack yesterday.
All in all, this is a speech that many people in the U.K. -- in the U.S. will be watching intently. We will bring that to you live. You're
watching CNN. Much more coming up.
END
