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Merkel Meets Trump in Washington; Awaiting Trump/Merkel News Conference. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired March 17, 2017 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Chancellor, thank you very much. Such a great honor to get to know you, to be with you.

I want to thank all of the business leaders who have joined us to discuss a subject that's very important to me, training our workforce for the 21st century, especially with respect to manufacturing jobs.

We're working every day to bring back jobs to our country, and how thousands and thousands are coming back. You're seeing it and reading about it in the papers every single day. We want to make sure we have the workforce to develop to ensure these jobs are being filled by American workers.

Germany, the United States have incredible opportunity to deepen our partnership as we continue to develop a strong workforce in both of our countries. Both Germany and the United States are pioneering job- training programs. Here in the United States, companies have created revolutionary high-tech and online courses and, of course, for decades Germany has been a model for highly successful apprenticeship -- that's a name I like, "apprentice" -- apprenticeship programs. As a result, Germany's youth and unemployment rate is much lower than many of the other countries, especially the E.U. countries.

I welcome collaboration between our two countries and our industry leaders. We have some of our great industry leaders here as you know, chancellor, great people.

We must embrace new and effective job training approaches, including online courses, high school curriculums, and private sector investment that prepare people for trade, manufacturing, technology, and other really well-paying jobs and careers. These kinds of actions can be a positive alternative to a four-year degree. So many people go to college four years, they don't like it, they're not necessarily good at it, but they're good at things like fixing engines and building things. I see it all the time and I've seen it when I went to school I saw it. I sat next to people that weren't necessarily good students but they could take an engine apart blindfolded. Companies across the country have a chance to develop vocational training programs heir growing needs and help us achieve greater prosperity.

The German apprenticeship model is one of the proven programs to develop a highly skilled workforce. Germany has been amazing at this, and I'm glad that the leaders of so many companies represented today have recently launched successful programs right here in the United States. And we need that because we're training people as the jobs are pouring back in and they're coming back in big league. I believe that both countries will be stronger as we continue to develop our bilateral cooperation on vocational training, as we build off the greatest careers, create the greatest opportunity for growth and improve the lives of so many workers.

I want to thank everybody in the room, my daughter, Ivanka, who is with us today.

And mostly, most of all, Chancellor, I welcome you to the White House, and it's a great honor to have you in the United States, and I look forward to spending time with you.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The president leading around German and American leaders. You heard him mention that his daughter, Ivanka Trump. And the German leadership there as well, there in the East Room of the White House where they will be -- the chancellor and the president will have a news conference momentarily.

I want to go to CNN's senior White House correspondent, Jeff Zeleny. He's in the East Room.

Jeff, set the scene. We're a few moments away, right?

JEFF ZELENY, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We are indeed, Wolf. We expect them to come in momentarily.

You saw the pictures from the Cabinet Room, and we saw American CEOs, and German CEOs, underscoring the business relationship and the importance of this visit. Wolf, I would say this is the most consequential face-to-face visit are a foreign leader so far yet in this administration. But, boy, is it fraught with interesting history from 2015-2016. If you'll remember back, in 2015, Donald Trump suggested that Angela Merkel was ruining Germany. It was a tweet he sent out using his exact words, talking about immigration. Of course, he has many differences with her. But Wolf, I was standing outside of the West Wing of the White House this morning when she was arriving and, of course, he greeted her with open arms. This is a reset of the relationship. She, of course, is a longstanding leader. So this is going to be the beginning of a "get to know you" process.

She was asked a couple of days ago in Germany what she thought of the new president. Of course, she had a very good relationship with Barack Obama and George W. Bush before that. For her this is the third American president here. She said, out goes the president and a new one comes in. So sort of an understated statement there.

But interesting, there is this, you know, this dynamic coming into this meeting here. So many differences on immigration, on climate change. So she, you know, will be resetting this relationship here and each of these leaders will be taking two questions here from each side, the German press, and the U.S. press. And Wolf, this should be underway here any moment in the East Room -- Wolf?

[13:35:33] BLITZER: Standing by for live coverage.

Jeff, thank you.

I want to bring in our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, joining us from London.

Christiane, as you heard, President Trump has been very critical of the chancellor in the past during the presidential campaign. He often blasted Germany's decision to admit hundreds of thousands of refugees from north Africa and the Middle East into Germany. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP (voice-over): As far as Merkel is concerned, she ought to be ashamed of herself what she's done, because Germany, they're having riots in the street. They can't believe they have this in the streets. I have a lot of respect for her as a leader. She blew it when she allowed this to happen, this migration.

(oc0: The German people are going to riot. The German people are going to end up overturning this woman. I don't know what the heck she's thinking.

You watch what happens to Angela Merkel, who I always thought of as a very good leader until she did this. I don't know what went wrong with her. I don't know. What went wrong? Angela, what happened?

What a disaster this massive immigration has been to Germany and the people of Germany.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. Christiane, those are tough words. How do they get over that?

CHRISTIANNE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRSEPONDENT: Well, they're very tough words. But, you know, what is going to happen is that Angela Merkel is talking to Donald Trump with a new-found sense of self-confidence. The whole idea of the populist wave because of these refugees have been negated in two elections now, Austria and in the Netherlands this week, so there is a new sense of confidence for Europe.

Plus, you know that Angela Merkel was on a phone call with Donald Trump just a few days ago, a few weeks ago, when he brought the first Muslim nation travel ban and she had to explain to him that Geneva Conventions actually obligated international countries to help people who are fleeing war and death and other problems in their own countries. On that issue, I think they'll be talking about it. She too, can't see her country open to every refugee in the world and she's taken steps against that.

But what you played just earlier also goes to the heart of this relationship. Because Donald Trump has made a transactional relationship between different countries. He's very keen on trade, as you know. She's very keen not to, and trying to fend off any kind of protectionism. The video you showed in the Cabinet Room, where Donald Trump was praising Angela Merkel, and praising Germany industry, praising the apprenticeship that that've done in their own country, and she is bringing that over to America as well.

And we were reminded by a German ambassador, former German ambassador, she will try to tell the president that his slogan, "making America great again," will only happen with good and reliable partners like Germany and other partners in Europe. She'll remind him that Germany invested $200 billion in the U.S. economy, apparently, is responsible, Germany alone, for 750,000 American jobs. So all of these kinds of things are very important.

I think on a global and bigger international stage, she'll be keen to talk to him about Vladimir Putin, whether it's about interfering in the Democratic process, as he's suspected in doing in the United States, and most definitely Germany and other parts of Europe, or respecting international laws, such as having to hold the line against invasions of Crimea, eastern Ukraine and the like. It's going to be an interesting and very important conversation today.

[13:39:03] BLITZER: It certainly will be. And we're going to have live coverage.

Christiane, I want you to stand by.

Jeff Zeleny, stand by.

We're moments away from the start of this critically important joint news conference between the president of the United States and the chancellor of Germany. Both will take questions from reporters. Our live coverage will continue right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Looking at live pictures from inside the East Room over at White House. President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, they should be walking in any moment. They take questions from reporters afterwards. They'll have a working lunch. They've been meeting for a while in the White House in the Oval Office. And our live coverage is coming up momentarily.

In the meantime, let's bring in our global affairs correspondent, Elise Labott; CNN chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto; and CNN's chief political analyst, Gloria Borger.

Gloria, you wrote a piece on CNN.com, a good piece, very good piece. You write about the credibility of the president: "He's leading the free world. We're supposed to believe what he says and trust him. If there is a crisis, we want to per see receive him as calm and deliberative, as in not prone to tantrums."

There is been a commotion over these few weeks over his accusations against Barack Obama that he ordered the wiretapping of the Trump Tower during the campaign.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Right, I think this goes to his credibility and you have a foreign leader like Merkel, and they want to know that they can trust him and they want to know that he is calm, and they want to know that he's not going to fly off at any time and criticize them like he criticized Merkel during the campaign. They want the relationships to be strong because they're so important to the world. And so you have to know if you're a leader and my colleagues here can speak about this better than I can, that you can pick up the phone and call Donald Trump if you're -- if you're Merkel, call Donald Trump and say, what do you think about x, y, and z, what are we going to do about it together? And know that you're going to get a considered and informed response not a tweet. It has a bad impact.

(CROSSTALK)

[13:45:37] BLITZER: Jim, this is taking place at a very sensitive moment in world affairs now. We heard the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is visiting South Korea, visited the DMZ, all of sudden, saying all options are on the table when it comes to North Korea and its nuclear threats.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRSEPONDENT: Absolutely. At a time when Trump's most senior national security advisers consistent identify North Korea as the most immediate national security threat, that was the world that Obama gave Donald Trump as he left the White House. That is a significant change him saying that the strategic patience policy that President Obama followed and George W. Bush followed. He says the military option is on the table. So did President Obama. The question is, how close, how high on the table will they actually use that and what does it do to a country such as China that has real influence over North Korea and also North Korea, how does it react? This is a country that reacts to threats like that. What does it do? It is not reticent about rattling its own sabers when necessary and North Korea -- South Korea, rather, the neighbor is often a target of those. It's a dangerous time in that relationship.

BLITZER: They've got to get the act together, both the German chancellor and the president of the United States. As you heard, there is tension over the past few months, and the president is still upset that as far as NATO is concerned Germany is not paying the 2 percent of the GDP that NATO allies are supposed to spend. It's a big issue for President Trump.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Germany spends only 1.2 percent, even though it increased its spending. The president feels this is a legitimate argument than previous presidents and secretaries of defense have said. It's a larger issue not only about what President Trump thinks is the Europeans' riding on the coattails of the American taxpayer, but there is an issue about European unity and whether this is a president that supports European unity. He sees Angela Merkel as a linchpin of European unity. When he talks about the E.U. being a vehicle for Germany to fleece to the United States, this goes to the heart of what he's doing working on more of these bilateral relationships. Some of his secretaries have gone out and gave welcoming messages. But certainly, she's going to want to solidify that he's pro Europe.

BLITZER: We'll have more live coverage of this important joint news conference coming up. Let's take a break and we'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:51:04] BLITZER: Live pictures coming in from the East Room of the White House. President Trump and Angela Merkel should be walking in soon. Their delegations are beginning to walk into the room. They will be taking questions after making opening statements. We'll have live coverage of that. Afterwards, they'll have working lunch at the White House.

I want to bring back our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour.

Christiane, give us a little bit broader picture about the Trump administration, not just Germany, Europe as a whole, what's been the reaction over these a past 50-plus days.

AMANPOUR: As one ambassador here said, Donald Trump presents a stress test for much of Europe, and much of the rest of the world as well, but we're talking about Europe right now. His main chief advisors, the ideologues, like Steve Bannon, who believe that Europe is set to fall apart and are not supporting the democratic institutions of Europe, and who seem to want to see others spin off, that is a big problem for the rest of Europe. So Angela Merkel will be able to tell Donald Trump we have withstood a populist list backlash. In my country, the Germany populists, far-right wingers are way down in the polls. Right now, Angela Merkel is tied with Democrat vying for at the election.

On the issue of NATO, of course, she will build on what Donald Trump has already said, that they now believe NATO is vital and say, yes, we all need to pay more, need to put that 2 percent into our NATO pot and agree with that.

And on the issue of Vladimir Putin, this is another thing that stresses out Europe out, no end, especially part of Europe, Western Europe, for two reasons: Putin is believe, along with his Kremlin- backed fake news and interfering bots program to be interring in the elections to the benefit of these nationalists, whether Le Pen, AFD in Germany, Geert Wilder in the Netherlands, et cetera, et cetera. And the Germans are very worried about that a resurgent Russia who wants to put its power out around the world. So she's going to ask Donald Trump -- she's probably going to explain and wonder why he hasn't criticized the Russian annexation and invasion of Crimea. She'll want to talk him

through all that. But she needs a trans-Atlantic relationship. And, Wolf, this is going to be one of the first times that President Trump gets to hear from a peer. She is the senior leader in the Western alliance, she has been the longest serving and the senior leader, so instead of hearing from his own advisors locked in the White House, he gets to hear now from a long-standing peer. Very important.

BLITZER: Let me bring our senior White House correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, in. He's in the East Room of the White House.

Jeff, I'm sure it's not going to come up in the president's opening statement, but there's a rift that has now developed between the White House and Britain over Sean Spicer alleging that British intelligence was spying at the request of President Obama, how much of a problem is this right now?

ZELENY: Wolf, there's no question that will come up. These whole claims, unsubstantiated, have hung over this White House like a cloud for two weeks tomorrow, so this is the latest iteration. The White House did have to walk back its word and apologize for what White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said yesterday suggesting the British were helping President Obama spy on Trump Tower, that it wasn't true. I expect the president will be asked about that.

Wolf, I'm not sure how it affects the relationship in the long run. The relationship between the British and the U.S. is very strong but it is a warning shot and a reminder that words indeed have consequences, and one this White House is learning.

As Christiane was saying about how long Chancellor Merkel has been in power and in office, this is her third term. And I have been told she has met with other leaders, she's been watching his speeches and videos, trying to assess what he is like here. And this is how she is trying to reset, reframe a very different U.S. president. But they are going to be spending some quiet time with a luncheon, as well as meeting in the Oval Office and with the CEOs.

[13:56:09] BLITZER: I want to quickly go back to Christiane.

Christiane, you're there in London. What's been the reaction to what Sean Spicer said yesterday reading this totally unsubstantiated report of the British intelligence spying on Donald Trump during the campaign?

AMANPOUR: Wolf, I have to tell you, from this side of the Atlantic, people just cannot believe what's coming out of the spokesmen and they know it came from a ranting on FOX News and cannot figure out why the world's leading super power is putting so much flak out based on an unsubstantiated -- and it is extraordinary that the United States accuses its closest trans-Atlantic ally Britain of doing this. That is why Britain came out of the gate so fast. It's almost unprecedented for GCHQ to respond in real time to a news story. And it's unprecedented as far as we can go back and figure out that the British prime minister has had to demand that this is not repeated. And it is a very important thing because it goes to the heart of the credibility of the American presidency. And everybody needs that trust in order to be able to have a strong defense going out into a highly troubled world. We've been talking about Russia, we've been talking about North Korea. These are immense issues, not to mention the global economy, the war, refugees everything else everybody has to deal with. So it is very, very troubling because it goes to the heart of what is the most powerful leader in the world thinking?

BLITZER: Gloria, is it just a rookie mistake over at the White House or a bigger problem?

BORGER: I don't know. We're still into the first 100 days. But this was clearly considered by them. He read from a whole raft of clips. And I think Christiane's is the right one, which is, the president has at his disposal all types of intelligence he can declassify any time he wants, but the person speaking for him at the podium at the White House is talking about something that was said on FOX News. That doesn't make any sense. And by the way, this administration always decries anonymous sourcing. Well, Sean Spicer was reading from piece after piece that relied on anonymous sources they say are never accurate. And suddenly, they say they are.

BLITZER: And it wasn't from a journalist at FOX News, it was from a contributor, Judge Napolitano, making the assertion, which the White House read publicly before the whole world.

SCIUTTO: Funny thing, we shouldn't be surprised. It happened throughout the campaign, and since he was inaugurated. Go back to the false and multiple times debunked claim of two to three million illegal voters in the election, and the promise into an investigation unto that? Where is that today? Just as there was a promise of an investigation into this, which has been denied by everybody, Republican and Democrat, who has been briefed on the intelligence. This is not new. It's a pattern, and it's a worrisome pattern that exceeds the election, follows the election, and it gets to the initial credibility of the office.

I will echo Christiane's point, because I was just in eastern Europe, and it greatly concerns them, because they're on the front lines with regard to Russia. Their question is this, do Mattis, Tillerson, McMaster, et cetera, speak for the U.S., or does Donald Trump? Because often times you hear two different things. They don't know the answer to that question.

BLITZER: Everybody stand by.

We're following the breaking news this hour as we keep an eye on the East Room at the White House. IN just a few minutes, the president of the United States and the chancellor --