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Dr. Oz Unlikely To Shed Light On Trump's Health; Colin Powell Blasts Trump In Leaked E-mails; Aid On Hold Despite Truce In Syria; Taiwan Hit By Biggest Storm Of 2016; Rare Glimpse Inside Zimbabwe As Protests Escalate; European Commission Says E.U. Is Not In Danger; Aleksander Ceferin Elected New UEFA President; Would Trump's Business Dealings Affect His Presidency? Aired 10-11a ET

Aired September 14, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:34] ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead here at the "International Desk." Donald Trump talks about his health, but how much will we really

learn? Syrians wait for much-needed aid. And a powerful typhoon heads toward China.

Hi there. Welcome. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN center. Thanks so much for joining me.

As Hillary Clinton recovers from pneumonia, the pressure mounts for Donald Trump to release his own health records. He was set to do so this week.

And celebrity T.V. surgeon Dr. Oz was expected to review the records on T.V. They're taping that interview today. But now we've learned it'll be

more of a general discussion about health, not the results of a recent physical that voters might have been hoping to see.

Meanwhile, Trump is facing attacks from the U.S. President. Barack Obama was in Philadelphia, Tuesday, knocking Trump's flair for T.V. appearances.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: This is not reality T.V. Democracy is not a spectator sport. You don't tweet in your vote. America is not about yes,

he will, it's about yes, we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, let's get deeper into what this day holds for Donald Trump with David Swerdlick. He joins us from Washington where he is assistant

editor at the "Washington Post."

Hey there, David. Great to have you again.

DAVID SWERDLICK, THE WASHINGTON POST ASSISTANT EDITOR: Good morning, Robyn.

CURNOW: Hi there. It was thought that Donald Trump would release some form of his records, medical records, today, likely now at the end of the

week, according to the Trump campaign. Why not today? Are these stalling tactics?

SWERDLICK: Well, it would be nice if it was today. But if it's at the end of the week and if Donald Trump does release more robust medical records,

then I think the end of the week is fine. The key is that the American people have an opportunity to evaluate the physical and mental health of

both presidential candidates before they vote in November.

Look, I was one of the journalists saying the last day or two that I felt like we in the press were going after Secretary Clinton a little hard,

right. You know, two weeks before the debate, two months before Election Day, if she wants to power through having a case of pneumonia that she'll

probably get over in a couple of weeks, I think she's entitled to make that decision.

That said, if the consensus is that we need more robust, more complete health records on both presidential candidates, and that's the standard

going forward, I think that's fine, as long as, a, we apply it evenly to both Trump and Clinton, and we apply it to everyone in the future, not just

people who are a little bit older. Just because they're 69 and 70 respectively, doesn't mean they should come in for more scrutiny than

someone in their 40s or 50s. I think that's ageist.

So, if Donald Trump releases his records in the next couple of days, great.

CURNOW: Yeah. I mean, you make the point there. John F. Kennedy was one of the youngest presidents but by all accounts one of the unhealthiest.

SWERDLICK: Right.

CURNOW: So, I think you make an excellent point. Let's just move on. This health issue is certainly going to bubble over a few days now. Hacked

e-mails again, that's a whole another question. But hacked e-mails from former Secretary of State Colin Powell. And in that, you know, Mr. Powell

is saying that Donald Trump is a national disgrace. He's an international pariah. This is just another example of what appears to be really growing

embarrassment and frustration from within the Republican Party.

SWERDLICK: Yeah, Robyn. So there's two issues. And one issue is this ongoing suspicion that there are Russian hackers behind some of these

breaches of e-mails. I think the facts are still yet to completely come out on that.

In terms of the embarrassment to the Republican Party, look, on one level, it's not surprising that Colin Powell would make these comments in private,

right? I mean, he is someone who has called out his own party time and again for its inability to message or to communicate with communities of

color. And Donald Trump has been accused of that frequently I think, justifiably in many cases. So it's not that surprising.

On the other hand, it is disconcerting, I think, for Republicans that one of their more respected African-American figures is so negative on Trump.

Now this is coming out at a time when Trump is trying to reach out to communities of color, to, you know, to bolster his support in key swing

states. No question.

CURNOW: Yeah indeed. He's going to Flint, Michigan today, with that in mind.

[10:05:02] Let's talk about Mr. Trump, not just about his medical records that people want to get their hands on, it's also his financial records.

Now, there has been also very intensive investigation by "The Washington Post" on his charity, on his charitable foundation. This week, today,

"Newsweek" has come out with their own investigation on his company, on his financial dealings. Many voters will ask, you know, how is it that Mr.

Trump seems to be getting away with behavior, whether it's past or present, that would have really flayed any other candidate up until now.

SWERDLICK: Yeah. So briefly on "Newsweek," right, they have this report out this morning by Kurt Eichenwald which, you know, is drawing a line

between the Trump Organization and some of their potential conflicts of interest with investments or business interests they have in foreign

countries. And I confess to you that I'm just catching up with that report.

In terms of the reporting done by .

CURNOW: We're going to be interviewing the journalist in about 20 minutes. So, we'll certainly go into details on that. But I think it's more about

the issue of double standards. Is there a different standard for Mr. Trump here?

SWERDLICK: Well, I think we're starting to finally hold Donald Trump to the standard that he should be held to. My "Washington Post" colleague,

David Fahrenthold, has been doing extraordinary reporting as CNN and other networks have pointed out on some of the problems with the way the Trump

Foundation has done its charitable giving, right?

He -- David Fahrenthold found that Trump has not contributed his own money to his own foundation since 2008. He found five instances where a charity

said that contrary to Trump Foundation records they had not received charitable contributions from the Trump Foundation.

And so, I think this is something that "The Washington Post" and other outlets absolutely have to continue to look into. Especially considering

that we've looked so closely into inconsistencies and potential conflicts of interests with the Clinton Foundation.

To your point, Robyn, there can't be a double standard. Both candidates are running to be the commander-in-chief and the leader of the free world.

They both have to be held to a very high standard.

CURNOW: Indeed. And one of these two people is going to be the next American president.

SWERDLICK: Yes.

CURNOW: So the big push, I think now, certainly, is for Donald Trump to release his tax records. And I think that certainly is a concern. Hillary

Clinton, I think, has released her tax records back in, you know, to the 1970s. So, certainly focused on that, David Swerdlick, as always from the

"Washington Post". Great to have your perspective.

SWERDLICK: Thank you.

CURNOW: Well, I want to go to New York now. Our politics reporter M.J. Lee is standing by outside the studio where Mr. Trump will be taping the

"Dr. Oz Show."

Hey there M.J. I mean, this is going to be a reality T.V. doctor interviewing a reality T.V. star running for the White House. Has Mr.

Trump arrived? And how much detail will he give?

M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: That's right. Donald Trump is visiting the doctor's office today, but this is not a typical doctor and certainly

not a typical doctor's appointment. We do not believe that Mr. Trump has arrived yet. Behind me is the garage door where we believe his motorcade

will roll in any minute.

And we have heard from Trump's campaign this morning. They are saying that he will not be talking about the results of his physical exam that he took

last week. That means that we may not actually get a lot of new information from this interview about actually the state of Donald Trump's

health.

And take a listen to what Dr. Oz said when he was describing how he intends to conduct this interview today.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MEHMET OZ, "THE DOCTOR OZ SHOW" HOST: It's his decision. It's, you know, I'm -- look, the metaphor for me is it's a doctor's office, the studio.

So, I'm not going to ask him questions he doesn't want to have answered. If he puts limitations, I'll acknowledge them.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LEE: And of course as you point out that health has become such a contentious issue on the 2016 campaign trail, especially after it was

revealed over the weekend that Hillary Clinton has been diagnosed with pneumonia. Some questions are raised at that point on why the campaign

decided not to share with the public that she have been diagnosed with pneumonia. She found out on Friday but we didn't find out about this

information until Sunday. So, a lot of pressure for both candidates, both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to be a little more upfront about their

medical records.

CURNOW: M.J. Lee, in New York, keeping an eye on all things medical there. Thanks so much.

Well, we are nearing 48 hours since the start of a ceasefire in Syria. But aid still hasn't reached hundreds of thousands of civilians who desperately

need it.

The U.N. says its aid trucks bound for Aleppo remain at the Turkish-Syrian border for a second day. They're waiting for approval from the Syrian

government and assurances of safe passage from all parties.

Well, for more on this, let's go straight to Damascus, Syria. Fred Pleitgen is standing by.

Hi there Fred. Of course real concern that these aid trucks, desperately needed aid, are not getting to those who need it.

[10:10:00] FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A very real concern Robyn, and also justified concern. And certainly seems to be a

very difficult situation for those aid trucks to actually be able to reach Syrian territory.

This is not that surprising, though. We've covered some of these aid deliveries in the past by the United Nations and it's always been very

difficult, very tedious process.

On the one hand, to get the permissions for these convoys to be able to enter Syria, to be able to get through, for instance, government

checkpoints. The Syrian government has enforce that it will not allow any convoy, especially from those Turkish areas, to go come and to go towards

Aleppo unless they have a consent of the Syrian government and of the United Nations.

And then, of course, you have those security concerns which are very, very important and very real for these convoys to ensure that they get safe

passage through all of those rebel-controlled areas. And then of course, also through that government siege ring of Aleppo to be able to then

deliver those goods.

It's a very, very complex negotiating process that the U.N. is going through. They believe that they might be able to get some of these goods

rolling fairly soon. But even the United Nations is not able to put any timetable on when they think that those goods are actually going to be able

to get rolling.

So right now, it's a waiting game. It's a negotiating game. All the while, as you correctly point out, those goods, very much badly needed in

those besieged areas in Aleppo. But of course, in other areas of Syria as well. Robyn?

CURNOW: And you're there on the ground, I mean, what's the optimism about the ceasefire holding and also the political implications of this ceasefire

for the Assad regime?

PLEITGEN: Yeah, you know, speaking to people here in Damascus and also to some other contacts that we have, for instance in Aleppo, I would call it

very, very cautious optimism that we're hearing from people.

On the one hand, they say any sort of ceasefire, any sort of cessation of hostilities is of course something that's very good. We saw some pictures

surfacing today and yesterday of kids, for instance, being able to play in some of these areas in Aleppo where beforehand, they would have had to be

afraid of bombardment almost 24 hours a day.

On the other hand, of course a lot of the people, they've been going through this for six years now. But they've had optimism in the past.

They've had ceasefires. But they've had limited ceasefires, nationwide ceasefires, they had negotiating processes. And in the end, the violence

has always broken out again.

So of course, people here are not going to get overly optimistic about this ceasefire. However, they do hope that because it also has big implications

for the U.S. and Russia, possibly having a cooperation to fight against group like ISIS, if the ceasefire holds, they think maybe that will give it

an additional push. That's what the Assad government, Bashar al-Assad himself of course came out right after the ceasefire, went into place and

said, look, the Syrian government still wants to retake this entire territory.

So it's unclear what implications that's going to have for the longevity of this ceasefire. But of course it comes at a very difficult time, both

politically, as well as a situation on the battlefield is concerned as well. But of course, no group really willing to give another an inch of

territory here in this country.

CURNOW: Great to have you there on the ground in Damascus, in Syria. Fred Pleitgen, thanks for your reporting.

Well, China has issued a red alert for Super Typhoon Meranti. The most powerful storm of the year is heading to the mainland after barreling into

Taiwan. Look at that. The dangerously strong winds caused widespread power outages and flight cancellations. Flooding has closed roads and

disrupted train service in China. Six southeastern provinces and Shanghai activated emergency response measures ahead of this storm.

A lot is happening. Chad Myers is tracking the typhoon. He joins us now. Some pretty intense winds.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOIGIST: Yeah. You know, we talked about it yesterday.

CUNROW: Yeah.

MYERS: The sustained winds with this storm at one point, before it kind of got affected by Taiwan, was 305 kilometers per hour, and the wind gusts may

have approached 360. Now we know that there's only one real island, right there, that experienced the eye wall itself. There was a glancing blow

from Taiwan. There is Taiwan itself just to the south, just barely missing what could have been even more disaster.

But we still got 227 kilometers per hour right on land there in Taiwan. The rainfall has been tremendous. Three quarters of a meter of rain right

there in Tai Wu, in Taiwan.

Now, we focus on where it's going. It's going to a place with 5 million people. It's going to Xiamen. It's going to an area in this country that

looks like a catcher's mitt. It looks like a mitt that's going to catch all that water. And the storm surge is going to be tremendous.

It's still 230 kilometers per hour. In 12 hours, it dies off to only 130. But it's the storm surge, the bubble of water that's under the storm right

now that will push into the city and push the water levels up at least five, possibly 10 meters. And I'm not talking about the rainfall. That's

half a meter of rain. What I'm talking about here, is that all of this water that's getting pushed by the hurricane will go into the bay, will go

into Xiamen and all of the water will go up the rivers here, here, here and here. And all of a sudden, we will see significant flooding.

[10:15:14] They can deal with the wind. Things are going to get knocked down. But if your building is hit by a wave of water, it's going to do a

lot more destruction because the water is so much more forceful. Robyn?

CURNOW: Thanks so much. The geography there really impacting on this. Thanks so much, Chad Myers.

MYERS: You're welcome.

CURNOW: Well, still ahead here on the "International Desk." The discontent is boiling over in Zimbabwe. And we go inside the country for a

rare, exclusive look at the growing movement to ask Zimbabwe's aging leader. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Let's get an update on former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. The 93-year-old suffered a stroke on Tuesday. Doctors say he has improved

since then. But let's get more details from Tel Aviv. Oren Liebermann is standing by. There's been an update on his condition. What was said?

Hi there, Oren.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Robyn, you can feel almost a sigh of relief in this latest update which has been the most positive update we've

heard since former president, Prime Minister Shimon Peres suffered a major stroke yesterday, less than 24 hours ago. His doctor spoke, the director

of the health center here, as well as his son-in-law who is his personal doctor saying, he is responsive, he is still sedated and intubated. He is

severe condition but he is stable.

They're slowly at times bringing him out of sedation to see how he responds. And so far, his son-in-law, who is his personal doctor says, he

is responding well. That is a very, very positive sign, perhaps a small sign but a significant and positive sign, again, less than 24 hours after

Shimon Peres suffered this major stroke.

More of the update, the director of the hospital says he is slightly more alert. His neurological condition is a little bit better. They still have

to monitor him. They're doing full examinations every four hours. So that's been generally when we're getting the updates. But again, this has

been the most positive press conference we heard so far with the condition of Shimon Peres.

There has always been a hope of optimism here. In this latest press conference, we saw that optimism, we saw those positive signs. That

doesn't mean we're in the clear just yet. These are still the critical hours following a stroke.

Last night, very difficult times here. And his son-in-law said the family may have to make some very difficult decisions and have some very difficult

hours ahead of them we've gotten here. His health is trending in the right direction. And everyone here hopes, as well as Israel and many abroad,

hope that his health keeps moving in that direction. Here's a bit of the last press conference with that update on his condition.

CURNOW: Oren Liebermann there in Tel Aviv, thank you so much.

Well, Zimbabwe is in crisis. The skyrocketing unemployment, a cash crunch and a growing movement to oust the country's 92-year-old leader.

[10:20:05] Well, CNN's David McKenzie and his team got rare access inside Zimbabwe for this exclusive report. Now, it's a story that really grab the

attention of our viewers online. We want to show you it here now on the I- Desk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The protests now happen every week. The response from Harare's police, always brutal. Here a tear

gas canister is lobbed into a packed commuter van.

For 36 years, Robert Mugabe has depended on the police to enforce his rule to crash dissent. But the dissent is now building from within.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think people don't know what is actually happening in Zimbabwe.

MCKENZIE: This veteran police officer has taken an enormous risk just to meet with us. We're concealing his identity for his protection.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were told to beat up everyone who was there. But that was not the initial instruction that we've been given. It came later

on.

MCKENZIE: So the politicians are ordering the police to beat up protesters. Is that the case?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That I believe.

MCKENZIE: Politicians from a regime that he says will stop at nothing to stay in power.

A government spokesman told CNN that it's not the case. He denies that Mugabe's party is ordering the police to attack protesters. They say the

protesters are out to damage property.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The very same people we're beating, some of them are my schoolmates, some of them are my friends, or people that we live with in

the community. It's a job, but hey, there is nothing you can do.

MCKENZIE: Having to go months without pay, he says he and many of his fellow officers sympathize with the activists that they've been ordered to

suppress.

We spent days trying to get the trust of this group of activists that we're following. And we're going to a secret meeting. Their aim is to unseat

the government of Robert Mugabe.

Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can wait inside.

MCKENZIE: Yeah, yeah. That's fine, no problem. We'll wait inside.

Hidden from view, political gatherings like this are taking place in backyards and houses throughout Zimbabwe. Social media is used to organize

the movement and stay ahead of state security operators. They face a risk, and say fellow activists have disappeared. But they are undeterred.

But are you afraid that the police will strike back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether they strike back or not, we are not afraid.

MCKENZIE: But this police officer has seen the orders, and he is afraid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They talk of the use of tear smoke, they talk of use of animals, like dogs, horses and the like, then the last one is use of

firearms in that order.

MCKENZIE: Are you afraid someone's going to get killed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. If the momentum of these demonstrations continues, I think eventually they are going to live ammunition. That's my

worry.

MCKENZIE: Mugabe says the protesters are playing a dangerous game. But his fate and the fate of Zimbabwe could finally be in their hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, David McKenzie joins me now from neighboring South Africa.

Hi there, Dave. I mean, we both know, I've reported and traveled there as well, and you've spent a lot of time obviously in the last weeks or so

trying to assess the situation. Zimbabwe's political structure is in many ways based on a system of patronage. But the country is running out of

money and the political implications of that for Robert Mugabe is what is so significant here.

MCKENZIE: You're exactly right, Robyn. And the issue of money, the cash crunch particularly when it comes to civil servant salaries which make up

more than 90 percent according to the government's own figures of their budget, those aren't being paid. They're being paid late. And there's

this argument, it seems, between the finance ministry which is trying to figure out how to get themselves out of this financial mess. And the

presidency and cabinet which are saying, actually, you know, don't cut salaries, don't stop bonuses because clearly, it is a huge political risk

not to pay the state security operators and other civil servants. Robyn?

CURNOW: Exactly. So they're rumblings in many ways. If the soldiers don't get paid, if intelligence officers don't get paid, if the civil

servants don't get paid, that is rumblings from within, from the bottom essentially.

But, within the very top of this senior leadership of the Mugabe's party, we're also starting to see cracks as well. There's a new story that you're

going to be putting out on CNN in the next coming hours. Tell us about that.

MCKENZIE: Well, that's right. There is this high level abandonment of Robert Mugabe, of those people who were at the very top of ZANU-PF. Some

of them are war heroes, struggle heroes in the war of liberation of Zimbabwe which put Robert Mugabe back into power way back in 1980.

[10:25:15] Those people, several of them, powerful ones like Joice Mujuru have abandoned ZANU-PF when she was thrown out, and started their own

party. So you have this push from the populous and the squeeze from political elite as well which is really leading people to believe that

Robert Mugabe, 92 years old with questionable health, is facing his biggest risk yet, more than three decades in power. Robyn?

CURNOW: OK. Keeping an eye on things there. Thanks so much, David McKenzie. Great reporting.

Well, the president of the European Commission says the E.U. is not about to break up despite Great Britain's vote to leave. Jean-Claude Juncker

made the comments in his State of the Union Address to the E.U. parliament. He warned that the E.U. is facing a battle for survival against nationalism

in Europe. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT (through translation): Allow me to state here and today that we respect and at the same time

regret the U.K. decision. But the European Union as such is not at risk. And we would be happy if the request for Brexit could happen as quickly as

possible so that we could take the specific steps which need to be taken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Juncker also added that a new agency, the European Border and Coast Guard, would help secure the E.U's borders.

Well still ahead, Donald Trump loves to talk business, but his deals may put him in a precarious position if he assumes office, if he moves into the

White House. We'll talk to the reporter who says Trump's financial ties may compromise U.S. national security.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:35] CURNOW: Welcome to the "International Desk". I'm Robyn Curnow. Here's a check of the headlines.

A ceasefire in Syria appears to be holding for a second day, but aid still hasn't reached civilians in East Aleppo. The U.N. says its aid convoys

remain on the Turkish-Syrian border. They're waiting approval from the Syrian government and assurances of safe passage.

Super Typhoon Meranti is barreling towards mainland China after battering Taiwan, it brushed Taiwan. Its pack winds equivalent of a category five

hurricane, wires break, power outage are reported. And officials move more than 1,000 people to safer ground. China though issued a code red alert

for the storm, which is forecast to hit populated southeastern provinces on Thursday.

And European football's governing body has a new boss. Aleksander Ceferin has been elected President of UEFA. He's a former head of Slovenia's

football association. He replaces Michel Platini. He was bound for four years for receiving improper payments.

Let's get back to U.S. politics. At his campaign rallies, Donald Trump has been quick to slam the Clinton Foundation for potential conflicts of

interest. But the New York Attorney General has just revealed his office has opened a probe into Trump's own charitable foundation.

Now, that comes as a new article in "Newsweek" looks at the way about Trump's business deals abroad. It says if Trump takes office, he could

face more financial conflicts of interest than any other U.S. president.

Well, the author of that piece, Kurt Eichenwald, joins me now from Dallas, Texas. A lot of people are talking about your reporting and the headline

in "Newsweek" today how foreign business ties could up and do jeopardize national security. There it is there. That's quite a headline. What, in

your opinion, is behind that?

KURT EICHENWALD, NEWSWEEK SENIOR WRITER & COLUMNIST: Well, the story. What the story shows is, you know, Donald Trump, his entire selling point

is he's a businessman, but nobody has really looked into his private corporation, because it's private. And there are about 500 different

subsidiaries that many of them have partnerships. He hasn't revealed who the partners are.

And so, I started digging and trying to find out who are Donald Trump's partners. And what I found was a real web of interconnections with, you

know, very politically tied organizations. Organizations that are under criminal investigation, organizations that have interests that are contrary

to the interests of the United States. And there is really nothing Donald Trump can do about it. His family is there. He is there. And the way it

is set up is he is currently getting money from organizations whose interests are contrary to American national security and would continue to

do so if he was elected president.

CURNOW: And in your reporting, specifically, what are you referring to here?

EICHENWALD: Well, there are a lot of nations. Let me take one, for example, there's India. In India, Trump has partnerships with, I believe,

three different companies. Unfortunately, there are so many countries I wrote about, sometimes I forget the numbers. With three different

companies, one of them is very close to one political party in India. The other one is very close to another political party in India. The other one

is under criminal investigation right now relating directly to Mr. Trump's financial involvements there.

So, you have a situation where Trump has a connection to political parties in India with a partner who's under investigation by another element of the

Indian government. And it's in his financial interest to be favorable to India and to act against the interest of Pakistan. There's a reason why

Trump is very, very strongly supported by the Hindu nationalists in India, because they seem to understand what's going on here.

CURNOW: I think what's .

EICHENWALD: Trump has .

[10:34:55] CURNOW: Yeah. What's key here is that that the Trump Organization, particularly in your reporting, you make a point of saying

that it's certainly not engaged in any illegal or criminal activity. You ask a lot of questions about his subsidiaries. In terms of the links

between national security and his business interests, I mean a lot of people heard him say on a golf course during the whole Brexit vote in

Britain, that he wanted Brexit because it would be good for his business. Is it those sorts of comments .

EICHENWALD: Think about that.

CURNOW: . that can also raise your concerns?

EICHENWALD: Well, I mean, that's the kind of comment that signals what's going on here. You know, you have situations that are so complex. I mean,

take a very simple one. You have a Trump partnership in Azerbaijan. The partner is the son of a government official who American intelligence has

linked to money laundering for the Iranian military. You know, these are not just people. These are not just businessmen. These are people of

enormous political influence, of enormous political connections.

And, you know, Trump supports Brexit because it would be good for his golf course. Imagine what you're talking about when you're talking about the

entirety of the Trump Organization's overseas operations. You know, will he side with the interests of our ally in Turkey, or will he react because

the Turkish president is attacking him and attacking his business there?

CURNOW: So what would he do? I mean can -- I mean this is not the first time a wealthy man or somebody who has previous businesses becomes

president. How in the past have presidents untangled their business links? Would there be a conflict of interest? Could he pull himself out? Could

he pull out his families' interests? Could he clean things up?

EICHENWALD: Only by severing his contacts completely with the Trump Organization.

CURNOW: And is that contractually possible on some of the deals?

EICHENWALD: You can -- the Trump Organization can continue whatever deals it wants to have. Donald Trump just can't -- and his family just cannot be

profiting from it. You can't be in a situation where any foreign partner could walk up and say, I'm going to give money to the president of the

United States by striking a deal in Moscow.

Because, you know, right now Trump is perfectly set up. He's got a trademark in Moscow. He's got -- already has contacts with -- trying to do

a deal with a local partner in Moscow. He's already got some arrangements with one of the oligarchs in Moscow. And, you know, you have a situation

where any of those people could walk up and say, hey, let's do a deal with the Trump Organization and the money goes into the pockets of the Trump

family.

Other politicians, what they have done if they worked for a business, they left it. If they had investments, they put it in a blind trust. So they

would never know what the investments were. Someone else was managing them. Trump is using the ridiculous line of he'll put his company in a

blind trust. Which is like saying, I'll put my 100 million shares of Apple incorporated into a blind trust. I know what's there. You know, the blind

trust would be the most transparent thing of the Donald Trump administration.

And so it's impossible. He would have to quit and never return to the Trump Organization, as would his family. Otherwise, you have a situation

where the president of the United States' financially interests are in conflict with the interests of the United States in terms of national

security.

CURNOW: Kurt Eichenwald from "Newsweek." Your reporting has certainly got a lot of people talking. Thank you so much for joining us.

EICHENWALD: Thanks for having me.

CURNOW: Well, ahead here at the "International Desk." Will he be a hero or a villain? We'll hear from the man said to become China's first

homegrown pro wrestling star.

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[10:41:11] CURNOW: Well, it's a sport like no other. Takes some drama, a little comedy, some feats of strength and you've got professional

wrestling. It's a big business, in search though of some new fans. So the WWE is looking east. Matt Rivers has this report.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cesaro.

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A Swiss superman, a Celtic warrior, and for the first time, a homegrown hero.

It's Saturday night in Shanghai, and World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE, has come to China. Larger than life characters battling it out in the

ring, entertaining thousands of fans. The pro wrestling company has stepped up its efforts to expand in the middle kingdom this year. A big

part of that strategy, 22-year-old Wang Bin, 6'3", 220 pounds. The WWE wants to make him its first Chinese superstar.

WANG BIN, WWE WRESTLER (through translation): I'll be having my debut WWE match in my motherland. I'm excited and very happy.

RIVERS: In addition to Wang, WWE announced last week it signed seven more Chinese performers to developmental contracts. But developing them into

full-pledge superstars is a process that could take years. In June, the company struck a deal with a Chinese streaming service to carry its

signature programs live each week with mandarin commentary. There's also an aggressive social media strategy.

JAY LI, WWE CHINA VICE PRESIDENT: We have to use WeChat, and Weibo, and Youku-Tudou and to deliver a lot of our short form content and engage fans.

Right now we're over 500,000 fans across three platforms.

RIVERS: 500,000 in a country of 1.3 billion means there's lots of room to grow. But Li knows just how to pitch WWE to the Chinese audience.

LI: Kung fu novel. And that would be the word that I give friends who ask this question and they get it immediately. Oh, yeah, we get it. It's

scripted entertainment that's full of action.

RIVERS: One of the WWE's biggest superstars told us he saw so much potential in China, he learned some Chinese.

JOHN CENA, WWE WRESTLER: I know that in mandarin, you can't see me is "Ni kan bu dao wo" (foreign language). And I came back to China in June and I

talked to our digital people and I said ah, I'm sorry for saying it wrong. They said, no, no, Chinese fans love you for it. So you now have to say it

wrong every time.

RIVERS: Wang Bin's match in Shanghai on Saturday wasn't televised. There's much more training he needs to go through before being ready to

performing on WWE T.V. The company also needs to decide whether to make him a hero or a villain.

BIN (through translator): I don't really have a preference. I think that will slowly come. Right now, I have to have more matches to show off

myself and figure out which character suits me best.

RIVERS: And having homegrown superstars will definitely give these loud and loyal fans the more reason to cheer and potentially a billion more a

reason to start watching.

Matt Rivers, CNN.

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CURNOW: Great piece there from Matt. Thanks so much. Well that does it for us here at the "International Desk." Thanks for joining me. "World

Sport" with Amanda Davies is up next.

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