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North and South Korea March Under Unified Flag; Migrants Battle Heat and Cold for a Better Life; No Repetition of Mistakes in Syria; President Trump Criticizes Russia; Olympics Doctor Confronted by Victims; Mexican Government Not Directly Paying For The Wall; Better Relation With Russia Never Materialized; Trump's Deregulation A Boon For Telecoms; Senator Berates Trump Over Treatment Of Media; Bayeux Tapestry To Leave France For First Time. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 18, 2018 - 03:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: A rare dig at Russia from the U.S. president. Why Donald Trump is criticizing Moscow.

Saudi Arabia has long accused Iran of arming Houthi rebels. Now the kingdom is showing us its evidence in a CNN exclusive.

And African deserts, Libya and the Mediterranean, African migrants seeking a better life are now facing a new ordeal in the bitter cold of the French Alps.

Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church, and this is CNN Newsroom.

It doesn't happen often. The U.S. president criticizing Russia. Donald Trump accused Moscow of helping North Korea work around international sanctions. He told Reuters China is largely complying with international restrictions on Pyongyang, but he says Russia is, in his words, "denting China's actions."

He seems to be referring to reports Russian tankers at sea have supplied fuel to North Korea. And Mr. Trump wouldn't say whether he's had any direct contact with the North Korean leader, saying quote, "I'd sit down but I'm not sure that sitting down will solve the problem." He added, "We're playing a very, very hard game of poker and you don't want to reveal your hand."

Well, for more on this we're joined by Paula Newton in Moscow and Paula Hancocks in Seoul. Welcome to you both. Paula Hancocks, let's go to you first in Seoul. President Trump says he's playing a very hard game of poker with Kim Jong-un, and doesn't want to reveal his hand. But now the two Koreas will march under one unified flag at the Winter Olympics. What does that mean for the U.S. in terms of possible talks going forward?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, up until today the U.S. is effectively been sidelined when it comes to negotiations. And the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did that on New Year's Day by saying -- slamming the United States saying that he was able to hit cities in mainland United States, but then turning to South Korea and saying, let's talk. Let me send a delegation to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

So, this is what's happened. North and South Korea are focusing on inter-Korean relations. They're focusing on the Olympics. The fact that they have agreed that North and South Korean athletes will walk side by side, marching at the opening ceremony at the Pyeongchang Olympics as they did in Sydney, as they did in Athens, as they did in Turin, this has worked before but it's been since 2006 since they actually did this.

And also this joint women's ice hockey team, which obviously they have to get approval from the IOC, meeting with them on Saturday. But most people assume the IOC will give it the green light.

So, from the United States point of view, there on the outside looking in when it comes to negotiations. They co-hosted a summit in Vancouver, in Canada, with the Canadians. China and Russia didn't even go to that. They're the two very key players when it comes to North Korea.

China talking about the Cold War mentality, referring to the summit. So from the U.S. point of view they really are being sidelined by North Korea.

CHURCH: And Paula Newton, to you now in Moscow, we are now seeing the U.S. president turn on Russia, accusing it of helping North Korea. How's that being received there and what's in it for Russia to do that?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Russia has been denying that it's not abiding by the sanctions or is in some way aiding and abetting North Korea for several months now.

I mean, I first did the story in April, the fact that the U.N. articulated, spelled out in black and white in its reports, exactly how Russia was helping North Korea and not abiding by the sanctions.

They know, Rosemary, it has to be said, in terms of the kind of trade that Russia is doing, it really does pales in comparison to China. What is interesting here is the timing. The fact that the Trump administration would choose this time, clearly Donald Trump is listening to his briefings and people are letting him know that, look, one thing that is open in the mind of North Korea is that even if China turns on us, even if we cannot rely on China, who else can we rely on?

And the people they seem to be turning to, more likely, is Russia. Why would Russia do this, Rosemary? In answer to your question, they want some leverage, they want in at the table. They were quite annoyed that they were not at that meeting in Vancouver.

Quite frankly, even if they were invited it's not sure they would have shown up. The point is they want negotiations on Russian terms. Certainly, some type of a negotiated settlement that they can control and that they have a hand in.

And the more that they continue this illicit activity with North Korea, in fact, Rosemary, the more likely it is that they will in some way, shape or form be involved in an eventual settlement.

CHURCH: And Paula Hancocks, let's go back to you for the final word. Mr. Trump attacked Russia while praising China for largely complying with international sanctions against North Korea.

[03:05:02] But then on trade he threatened to fine China. How will that be received in Beijing?

HANCOCKS: Not well, Rosemary. I mean, the fact is even the U.S. president himself has acknowledged in the past that he wasn't able to do all he wanted on trade or at least accused China of things he's accused them of during the campaign, for example, currency manipulation. Because he knew that the United States needed China's help when it comes to North Korea.

China has signed on to sanctions stronger than ever before. And as far as China's concerned, they are fully implementing these sanctions. Officials are saying, some more experts now are saying that they do believe that these sanctions are starting to bite North Korea. To what extent is simply not known at this point.

But of course it's a difficult balancing act for the United States. If they want China's help on North Korea, and quite frankly, you have to have China's help on North Korea, it's the biggest trading partner, it shares the largest land border, there's no way of preventing cash to get to this nuclear missile program without China.

Then you can't really turn around and slam them on another sense, in the trade sense. So it's a real balancing act for the Unites States. And something that the U.S. president has done once or twice before. But has always pulled back from in the end.

CHURCH: Paula Hancocks in Seoul, Paula Newton in Moscow, many thanks to both of you.

Well, in the Reuters interview we just referred to, Mr. Trump blames his predecessors for the current tension with North Korea, specifically Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. He jokingly referred to the cognitive test he took during his physical saying this.

"I guess they all realized they were going to have to leave it to a president that scored the highest on tests."

Well, in a matter of hours former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon could be back before the house intelligence committee. His appearance Tuesday was marked not by what he said but what he didn't say.

CNN's Sara Murray has the details.

SARA MURRAY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: When Steve Bannon appeared in front of the House intelligence committee this week, he refused to talk about his work during the transition and in the White House. But what he really brought into focus were the lengths the White House was going to behind the scenes to limit testimony to congressional investigators who were looking into Russian meddling.

There were points during Bannon's six hours of closed-door testimony when his attorney took breaks and conferred via telephone with the White House counsel's office to clarify what questions could be answered. And they kept coming back with the same guidance that Bannon couldn't discuss any activities related to the transition or his tenure in the White House, so that's according to sources familiar with the situation.

This infuriated lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. They're saying, wait a minute, this seems like a pretty broad interpretation of executive privilege.

Now the White House insists there's nothing wrong with what they're doing that previous administrations have done this, and that they are just maintaining precedent. But democrats see this as an effort to muzzle important witnesses.

Now Corey Lewandowski, who served as Trump's campaign manager before he was eventually fired, was also on the Hill today and managed to rankle democrats. Congressman Adam Schiff, who is the top democrat on the House intelligence committee, said Lewandowski fused to disclose information to the committee about anything after he left the campaign in 2016.

For instance, Schiff says Lewandowski wouldn't discuss whether Trump talked to him about his testimony. Lewandowski told the panel he was unprepared and would come back another time.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: President Trump's Chief of Staff, John Kelly, says the White House did not tell Bannon to invoke executive privilege during his testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRET BAIER, HOST, FOX NEWS: Did the White House tell him to invoke executive privilege?

JOHN KELLY, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: No.

BAIER: No?

KELLY: No. Steve has had very, very little contact with the White House since he left. He left the White House and has had -- has really never returned to the White House. With the exception of a few phone calls here and there, very, very little contact with the White House. And I certainly have never spoken to him since he left.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: There was one major point that did come from Bannon's testimony. According to Axios, Bannon told congressional investigators that he spoke with other senior White House staffers about the infamous June 2016 Trump tower meeting attended by Donald Trump, Jr. and a Russian lawyer, among others. The purpose of that meeting, to get dirt on Donald Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton.

We'll take a short break here. But still to come, Saudi Arabia offers evidence that Houthi rebels in Yemen are getting advanced weapons from Iran. CNN has an exclusive look.

Plus, migrants who have already crossed deserts and the Mediterranean have now brave the bitter cold of the Alps, sometimes barefoot, all in search of a better life in France.

[03:10:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson predicts that U.S. forces will remain inside Syria for the foreseeable future. He said keeping U.S. troops there is necessary to counter Iranian influence in the country. Plus ensure that ISIS, Al Qaeda, and other terror groups don't have a chance to regroup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REX TILLERSON, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: Our military mission in Syria will remain conditions-based. We cannot make the same mistakes that were made in 2011 when a premature departure from Iraq allowed Al Qaeda in Iraq to survive and eventually morph into ISIS.

It was that backing that allowed ISIS and other terrorist organizations to wreak havoc on the country and gave ISIS a safe haven to plan attacks against Americans and our allies. We can't allow history to repeat itself in Syria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: In Yemen, the Saudi-led military campaign against Houthi rebels is escalating. The kingdom claims Iran is helping the Houthis by providing them with advanced missiles.

CNN's Nic Robertson was given exclusive access to inspect the Houthi missiles shot down last month near Riyadh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR, CNN: Laid out in a Saudi military base, the remains of a ballistic missile fired from Yemen. Some of the missile fragments like these, are tiny. The Saudis say they were scattered across the desert from where they anti- ballistic missile system shot this down as it was flying towards the capital.

CNN is the first news crew to be shown this Houthi rocket, brought down last month about 15 miles from Riyadh. It is evidence, officials here say, Iran is backing the Yemeni rebels who are increasing attacks targeting Saudi civilians.

It's the positioning of these valves on the side of the missile that convinced the Saudis this is Iranian manufactured. They say they have to do a lot more testing on this, scientist analysis of the metals, they have to look at the explosives, look at the electronic circuit boards here as well, examine the wiring.

Figure out, for example, where the chip on the circuit board were made. Their immediate worry, though, a missile hits the capital, population more than 7.5 million.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Houthis, he has to know if (Inaudible) there is a red line.

ROBERTSON: What's the red line?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We cannot declare the red line, but if our fighter point or our people they have been affected because of the ballistic missile, the Houthi has to assume it's going to be very painful to him.

ROBERTSON: It's not the only recent escalation that's worrying the Saudis. This month, Saudi officials say they stopped an Iranian-aided Houthi attack on an oil tanker in the Red Sea.

[03:15:07] The Houthis vow more attacks may come. But both the shipping and missile attacks point to a potential dangerous overspill of Yemen's civil war.

The Saudis say they believe this massive missile was smuggled into Yemen in separate parts. And the clue they say is in the welding. Different types of welding covered with different shades of paint.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last one being fired and intercepted 30 minutes ago or one hour ago, now we are reaching up to 88. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have received 88 ballistic missiles from the Houthi.

ROBERTSON: In the past few months the pace of missile attacks has picked up, with more fired at major cities. Officials won't say precisely what they'll do should their red line be crossed.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A battle over immigration is threatening to force a U.S. government shutdown. Democrats say they won't vote for a spending bill without protection for hundreds of thousands of DREAMers, children brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents.

Amid the debate, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly says President Trump's key campaign promises on immigration and a border wall with Mexico may have been uninformed. He now admits the Mexican government will not directly pay for the wall.

The White House says any immigration deal must include a border wall, reform chain migration, and end the visa lottery. But the top Senate republican says he's still not sure what President Trump wants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITCH MCCONNELL, (R) UNITED STATES SENATOR: I'm looking for something that President Trump support and he's not yet indicated what measure he's willing to sign. As soon as we figure out what he is for, then I would be convinced that we were not just spinning our wheels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Immigration and border security will also be on the agenda when French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Britain's prime minister in just a few hours. Theresa May wants to boost defense cooperation with the French leader, a move she hopes will win her good will in the ongoing Brexit talks with the European Union.

Many African migrants trying to reach France face a perilous journey that's almost impossible to imagine. First, trekking across the desert, then crossing the Mediterranean, only to face a whole new challenge in Europe. The bitter cold of the Alps.

Our Melissa Bell has seen firsthand the dangers they're facing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been the longest of treks. With a determined step, these 16 and 17-year-old boys have already crossed from West Africa to Northern Italy in search of a better life. Ahead of them now, the French border and a perilous, nearly two-kilometer high mountain pass.

But this is not the first obstacle they've faced on their journey and they say they're ready for anything.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

Simone, a local mountain rescuer, tries to convince them not to go. But the boys head up nonetheless. So too does Simone. She doesn't find the group, but later learns that they had to turn around near the top. This winter, for the first time, he says, he's spent more time rescuing migrants than skiers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because they don't have the experience, you know. They don't know much about snow.

BELL: The rescuers don't always find the migrants. Often all they can do is follow their tracks until they get too dangerously high and night falls. The footsteps of the very luckiest migrants will lead here to the French side of the border on the other side of that mountain.

It is as you can see extremely treacherous. It is very late at night, which is when they'll arrive, after a long night's walk. And it is minus 10. I'm extremely well equipped. They arrive here, of course, with nothing. Often frost bitten. But always cold and exhausted and confused. And even now, after all they've been through, it is still on the

kindness of strangers that they depend for their very survival. Strangers like Jeff and Gaspar who are heading on their evening round.

They're part of a group of local volunteers that got together this winter to try and save the migrants coming over the mountain. They worry that only the melting of the snow will tell how many have been lost. On average they find about 10 a night. Although tonight, it's been quieter than usual. Until their phone rings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello? Bonjour.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

[03:19:59] BELL: A desperate voice on the other end tries to describe where his group is. And so we set off in the car in search of a tunnel. But after a couple of hours of fruitless searching, Gaspar realizes that the tunnel the migrants are at is in fact the one at the very top of the mountain.

So after a very short night, we set off to scale it from the French side. But once at the top, there is no one there. We're now at the very top of the mountain and overlooking Italy down below. This is probably the most dangerous part of the crossing. You can see how treacherous conditions are as a result of the snowfall of the last few days.

Large risks of avalanches of course. And you can see that the pass has been cut off, which is why those groups that we've been trying to reach over the course of the last few days have just been getting stuck on that side of the tunnel, unable to pass this way. And therefore obliged to head back down to Italy.

At other time though, this is also where migrants have been getting stuck and with disastrous consequences. Mamadumay (Ph) is one of those who made to it France. But after a night spent trapped at the top of the mountain, he lost his feet to frostbite.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BELL: Mamadumay's (Ph) made his crossing before the current wave of migrants. But he has not made it far. A year and a half on, he continues to live in the shadow of the mountain that he still can't bear to look at.

Melissa Bell, CNN, in the Alps.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we have this just in to CNN. India has successfully test fired an intercontinental ballistic missile. The three-stage missile was fired from an island off the Eastern Coast. India's defense ministry calls it a major boost to the country's defense capabilities.

A former CIA officer suspected of passing secrets to China has appeared in a U.S. court. He left the spy agency 11 years ago, but it took authorities until Monday of this week to arrest him.

Justice reporter Laura Jarrett tells us about the case.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: The big question right now is, why did federal authorities wait so long to arrest the man, the ex-CIA agent, who they believed to have been involved in compromising U.S. spies in China?

What we now know from court documents is that 53-year-old Jerry Lee left the CIA in 2007, but in 2012, surveillance teams in the U.S. found that he had two small notebooks while he was traveling in the U.S. in his hotel rooms, and the FBI says they contained classified information, including names and phone numbers of U.S. spies, covert meeting locations, addresses of CIA facilities, even.

Now as the New York Times reported over the summer, over a dozen CIA informants had been killed or imprisoned during this period of time by the Chinese government. A devastating setback for the agency. But the court filings here don't actually say that Lee disclosed anything to anyone, they're not accusing him of formally spying in these court documents.

Instead, the unsealed complaint against Lee indicates that he was interviewed by the FBI five separate times in 2013, but he never admitted to possessing these books and the classified information that he's accused of keeping.

Now fast forward five years later and he's now being charged with unlawful retention of national defense information, which carries up to 10 years in federal prison. He's being charged in Virginia just outside of Washington here in the U.S. because that's where he lived for a period of time. And we now await his formal court appearance where we hope to learn more about what exactly happened in this case.

CHURCH: One by one, women who were victimized by former USA Gymnastics team Dr. Larry Nassar are confronting him in court. In all, 98 women are expected to face their abuser this week and testify about what he did to them. Here are some of their emotional statements from Wednesday, the second day of Nassar's sentencing hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIFFANY THOMAS LOPEZ, LARRY NASSAR'S VICTIM: The army you chose in the late '90s to silence me, to dismiss me and my attempt at speaking the truth, will not prevail over the army you created when violating us.

JEANETTE ANTOLIN, LARRY NASSAR'S VICTIM: Larry -- you made me believe that you were my friend. You deceived me. You manipulated me and you abused me. I truly believe that you're a spawn of Satan.

AMANDA THOMASHOW, LARRY NASSAR'S VICTIM: I knew that you had abused me. I reported it. Michigan State University, the school I loved and trusted, had the audacity to tell me that I did not understand the difference between sexual assault and a medical procedure. [03:25:00] GWEN ANDERSON, LARRY NASSAR'S VICTIM: I'm a middle

schoolteacher and I teach 12, 13, and 14-year-old kids every day. And every single day when I look at them, I am faced with the reality of how young and defenseless we were when Larry molested us.

JAMIE DOSKI, LARRY NASSAR'S VICTIM: Larry took away a part of me that I will never get back, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make sense of all of this. I hope that Larry gets what he deserves and serves the maximum amount of time for doing what he has done to me and so many other women, including my fellow teammates and friends.

JENELLE MOUL, LARRY NASSAR'S VICTIM: In all this time you were helping me, you were just manipulating me so that you could take advantage of me. I thought you were fixing me. But I have realized you broke me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Nassar has pleaded guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual misconduct, but he's been accused of sexually abusing as many as 125 victims.

A Palestinian teenager accused of slapping and punching two Israeli soldiers will remain in jail until her case is heard. Ahed Tamimi was filmed assaulting the soldiers outside her home in the West Bank last month. Many Palestinians hailed her as a symbol of resistance. Human rights groups say the girl should be released because she's only 16. The trial is set for January 31st.

Coming up after this short break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: From this day forward, it's going to be only America first. America first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: One year later, has the Trump doctrine been a success or a failure? We will discuss it with our global affairs analyst.

Also ahead, the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Just where do things stand now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A very warm welcome back to our viewers joining from us all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Time to update you on the main stories we're following this hour.

U.S. President Trump is accusing Russia of helping North Korea evade international sanctions. Mr. Trump told Reuters China is stepping up pressure on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program, but Russia is offsetting those gains. Russian tankers have reportedly supplied fuel to North Korea at sea. Meantime, North and South Korean diplomats meeting in the DMZ say

their countries' athletes will march together at the upcoming Olympics under a unified flag.

[03:30:00] That hasn't happened since the 2016 -- 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. The Koreas will also form a joint South and North Korean women's ice hockey team.

The White House chief of staff has publicly conceded the Mexican government will not directly pay for Donald Trump's border wall. John Kelley told lawmakers at the candidate some of Mr. Trump's positions were not fully informed.

Saturday will mark one year since President Trump was sworn into office. For the White House it's been a year clouded by allegations and investigations with overarching questions. Was the Trump team in cahoots with Russia? And exactly what role did Russia play in the 2016 election? For Russia it's been a year of high expectations. But how did they play out? Our Matthew Chance reports from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It didn't take too long for the high hopes to fade. For the disillusionment toward Trump and Russia to really set in. He may have been portrayed as the kremlin favorite candidate, but his vision of better relations with Moscow never materialized. Victim of an anti-Russian media witch hunt according to frustrated Russian officials.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop spreading lie and false news. This is a good advice for CNN.

CHANCE: Are you concerned that the investigations into Russia are going to turn up more secret meetings?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please stop this spreading lie and false news.

CHANCE: Can you give us a question?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not going to give you a question. You are fake news.

CHANCE: It's not just insults Russia and Trump shared. Despite denials of contacts, details emerged of private meetings between Russian nationals and Trump campaign figures.

CHANCE: Why did you arrange that meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and the Russian lawyer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come join me for the show tonight.

CHANCE: Like one organized at Trump tower set up by a representative of a Russian pop star, Emin. Donald Trump Jr. released his own e- mails showing he'd been told the meeting was to pass on damaging intelligence about Hillary Clinton. Did the Russian authorities give your family information to pass on to the Trump administration? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talk to my lawyer.

CHANCE: I already talked to him, he said you wouldn't comment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I wouldn't comment.

TRUMP: Wouldn't it be nice if we actually got along with Russia? Wouldn't that be nice?

CHANCE: It was that promise to transform U.S.-Russian relations that was one of Trump's most consistent campaign themes. His criticism of NATO, calls for security cooperation with Russia, and hints at ending sanctions, all made him Russia's preferred candidate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump!

CHANCE: Trump's failure to deliver amid investigations into collusion and tightening sanctions was all the more disappointing to the kremlin. Despite two meetings and numerous phone calls between the two leaders. Do you sometimes sit in your office in the kremlin thinking about how badly U.S.-Russian relations are going, and regretting the day that Donald Trump was elected?

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (TRANSLATOR): What we see is merely the growth of anti-Russian hysteria and, yes, I regret it. It's a pity because acting together, we are more able to solve the acute problems that exist in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Office of President of the United States.

CHANCE: A year on from Trump's inauguration and the grand celebrations held in Moscow when he was sworn in, that dream of a U.S.-Russian partnership seems more distant than ever. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEO)

CHURCH: The world has had a year to size up Donald Trump as the U.S. President. Many people around the globe are not impressed. Global approval of U.S. leadership has hit its lowest point ever. Just 30 percent. That is down 18 points in just one year since Barack Obama left office. The sharp decline is especially pronounced among many long-time U.S. Allies and trading partners. International trade agreements and alliances were a frequent target of President Trump as he pursued his vision of America first over the past year. Here's an overview of Mr. Trump's foreign policy actions since taking office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's going to be America first. America first.

(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERS)

CHURCH: It was a rallying cry of Donald Trump's campaign. Slamming what he called bad and unfair international agreements.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please raise your right hand --

CHURCH: In the year since Mr. Trump was sworn in as President, America-first policies have changed global governance. Extricating the U.S. from a network of alliances and pacts on key issues ranging from environment to defense to trade.

REINCE PRIEBUS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: We're going to sign three memorandums right now, the first one is withdrawal from the -- of the United States from the transpacific partnership.

[03:35:07] CHURCH: Just days after taking office, Trump made his first move to abdicate America's role in global trade leadership. Unraveling the TPP deal that was set to reshape commerce through the Pacific Rim. It shocked Asian allies, now considering a regional trade deal with China instead.

XI JINPING, PRESIDENT OF CHINA (TRANSLATOR): Pursuing protection is like locking one's self in a dark room. While wind and rain may be kept outside, that dark room will also block light and air.

CHURCH: Another multi-lateral deal that could be on the President's chopping block, NAFTA, the free trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada has been law for decades. Trump says he'll scrap it if it can't be renegotiated the way he wants.

TRUMP: We'll see what happens with NAFTA. But I've been opposed to NAFTA for a long time.

CHURCH: Perhaps the largest blow to international cooperation came in June.

TRUMP: The United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord.

CHURCH: Trump's decision to quit a universal and binding climate change treaty isolated the United States. Near-unanimous global support for the accord continued anyway, making America the only country in the world that won't participate by 2020.

PRES EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (TRANSLATOR): A doubt about the deal could have emerged by this decision of the President of the United States to pull out. Bought you saw as I did that it seems to have made no difference at all.

CHURCH: Trump alarmed European allies by attacking NATO members as freeloaders of U.S. Defense spending in May.

TRUMP: 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying.

CHURCH: In October, a pact to limit Iran's nuclear program came under threat. When Trump, who's been highly critical of the deal, punted the issue to U.S. lawmakers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a deal that works, it's a deal that needs to be maintained for security reasons, and it's also the basis for us to work together with the United States on other issues.

CHURCH: The year's final diplomatic break from the international community was perhaps the most combustible.

TRUMP: Today we finally acknowledge the obvious that Jerusalem is Israel's capital.

CHURCH: The unilateral U.S. recognition was praised by Israel. But sparked violent protests, rebukes from foreign leaders, and led to international condemnation from the United Nations.

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the general assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation.

CHURCH: The U.S. Ambassador's blunt words at the end of 2017 may foreshadow the next year of Donald Trump's presidency. As America redefines its historic role in multilateralism. Leaving international leaders to forge new channels of global diplomacy.

(END VIDEO)

CHURCH: Let's talk more now about Mr. Trump's foreign policy in his first year. CNN global affairs analyst David Rohde joins me now. Good to have you with us.

DAVID ROHDE, GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, CNN: Thank you.

CHURCH: So David, would you characterize any of the international agreements that President Trump has targeted as bad or unfair as he suggests? Such as the TPP deal, the Paris climate accord, NATO, the Iran nuclear deal, and NAFTA?

ROHDE: I would say it's a mix. I think that he is -- I think he is been most successful if it doesn't involve the nuclear deal with North Korea in terms of making a fair argument the North Korea problem has been dealt with. Otherwise he is pulled out of the Paris climate accord. And I think that, that is sort of created opportunity -- we can talk about other agreements, but Paris in particular created opportunity for China to increase its influence.

CHURCH: I wanted to talk about that. What impact could President Trump's efforts to remove the U.S. from these international deals ultimately have on its place in the world, and does it give away opportunities to China and Russia to fill that vacuum left behind?

ROHDE: I think it does. I think, you know, there's talk of withdrawing from NAFTA, which would hurt American farmers. I think Paris did isolate the U.S. I think also the rhetoric towards NATO allies has also isolated the U.S. He is kept some campaign promises in terms of pulling out of the Paris accord, he hasn't moved yet on NAFTA, he did pull out of TPP, but I don't see how that is produced the jobs and other issues that he is promised so many voters when he was running. CHURCH: Mr. Trump's recognition in late 2017 of Jerusalem as Israel's

capital has probably caused the most tension. What impact might that decision have on any efforts to find peace in the Middle East, particularly given the U.S. just recently decided to withhold funds for Palestinian refugees?

[03:40:13] ROHDE: I would say Trump's Middle East peace plan is dead. The Jerusalem declaration caused the Palestinians to say they would no longer accept United States a mediator in the talks. Looking around the world, you know, no change or sort of failure in the Middle East, no decision yet after promising NAFTA and promising to build a wall to separate Mexico. He has not confronted China in terms of its trade practices or the South China Sea. And again, the only place I would give him credit is I think North Korea has been ignored by previous Presidents, and he is trying to address it. But his strategy, again, there was a setback today with the north and South Korean governments announcing there would be one unified Korean Olympic team. The Trump administration doesn't want that kind of symbolism. So it's really mixed record.

CHURCH: Of course then the debate on immigration, including DACA and the President's use of a vulgar term to describe African nations set off another firestorm. What message does that send the world about the policies of the United States and its direction?

ROHDE: Look, I had a colleague at "the New Yorker" write a piece that essentially China is sitting back, and they see President Trump as a Mikhail Gorbachev-like figure, that is a reference to the soviet leader who has seen as managing the decline of the soviet union. From a Chinese perspective, Trump is managing the decline of the United States. And this comment many called racist about immigrants from Africa and Latin America does set back the United States, it does isolate the United States, it does reduce its influence worldwide. So Trump is keeping many of his campaign promises, but it is not causing the United States to be more respected around the world. Around the world, countries are not sort of bowing to Trump.

CHURCH: David Rohde we thank you for your analysis.

ROHDE: Thank you.

CHURCH: The U.S. Stock market is soaring to new heights. The DOW closed above 26,000 for the first time ever on Wednesday. The market is up almost 8,000 points since President Trump's election in November 2016. And Apple is set to give the U.S. economy a big boost. The company says it will pay a whopping $38 billion in taxes on cash it had been keeping overseas. It also pledged to create 20,000 U.S. jobs over the next five years. President Trump says his tax cuts are the reason. He calls them a huge win for American workers.

More than 20 U.S. States are suing to stop the Trump administration's repeal of net neutrality protections. The regulatory reversal has driven up stock prices for telecommunications companies like Comcast and Verizon. CNN's Richard Quest reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO) RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: Telecoms is one of the key areas where we

have really seen Donald Trump's deregulatory zeal at its most zealous. When it comes to telecoms, you' really got to see how he chose the man to oversee the industry and then took deregulation one step further. It's the FCC chair who pledged to fire up the weed whacker as he called it, to destroy rules that he believed were killing investment and innovation.

In particular, the net neutrality rules. These were put in place by President Obama. And essentially it forbids internet providers from picking and choosing who is going to get faster service, depending on how much they were prepared to pay. The battle over net neutrality was well and truly under way. Publishers, social media giants, hordes of online activists, they criticized the FCC plans to get rid of net neutrality. But no end by December the Trump administration got its way. Net neutrality was gone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Within a generation, we have gone from e-mail as the killer app to high definition video streaming. Entrepreneurs and innovators guided the internet far better than the clumsy hand of government ever could have. But then in early 2015, the FCC under political pressure jettisoned the successful bipartisan approach to the internet and decided to subject the internet to utility-style regulation, designed in the 1930s to govern mabell. This decision was a mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:45:00] QUEST: Social media and some internet companies didn't like it, telecom companies and their investors loved it. Shares in Comcast, charter, century link all soared as a result of what happened. Congress may still act to reverse the move, but I think you have to say when you look at it, it was Donald Trump's administration's biggest deregulation victory so far. And clearly it will change the telecoms industry in this country for years to come. Richard Quest CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO)

CHURCH: And when we come back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN JEFF FLAKE, (R) ARIZONA: When a figure in power reflexively calls any press that doesn't suit him fake news, it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion, not the press.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A Republican Senator takes on President Trump over his treatment of the media.

Plus how Donald Trump's fake news phrase is catching on with autocrats and dictators around the world. We are back in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: It was a remarkable moment on the floor of the U.S. Senate Wednesday. A Republican Senator taking the Republican President to task over his treatment of the media. Treatment like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's all fake news. It's phony stuff. We are fighting the fake news. It's fake. Phony, fake. Fake news. Fake, fake news. I like real news, not fake news. You're fake news. All I can say is it is totally fake news, just fake. It's fake, it's made-up stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: It was Donald Trump's relentless berating of journalists that led Arizona Senator Jeff Flake to compare the President to soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. And he didn't stop there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLAKE: The enemy of the people was how the President of the United States called the free press in 2017. Mr. President, it is a testament to the condition of our democracy that our own President uses words infamously spoken by Joseph Stalin to describe his enemies.

Despotism is the enemy of the people. The free press is the despot's enemy. Which makes the free press the guardian of democracy. When a figure in power reflexively calls any press that doesn't suit him fake news, it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion, not the press. We know well that no matter how powerful, no president will ever have dominion over objective reality. An American President who cannot take criticism, who must constantly deflect and distort and distract, who must find someone else to blame, is charting a very dangerous path. Simply put, it is the press obligation to uncover the truth about power. It is the people's right to criticize their government. And it is our job to take it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:50:07] CHURCH: And here is how the White House responded to the Senator's floor speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Not criticizing the President, because he is against oppression, he is criticizing the President, because he terrible poll numbers. And he is, I think looking for some attention. I think it's unfortunate. And certainly I think our position here at the White House is that we welcome access to the media every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Flake has been one of the president's fiercest Republican critics. He has said he will not seek re-election and will use his remaining time in the senate to speak out against the President when need.

The more Donald Trump has attacked the media as fake news, the more it seems to embolden dictator and autocrats around the world to try to silence journalists in their own countries. Our Lynda Kinkade reports on the growing popularity of President Trump's favorite phrase.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

LYNDA KINKADE, CONNECT THE WORLD, CNN: Critics say President Trump has set a troubling example and a dangerous president regarding freedom of the press.

TRUMP: We had a very, very good, good call. That was a little bit of fake news as the expression goes.

KINKADE: Any authoritarian leaders have taken up the phrase "fake news" to denounce their critics and discredit accusations against them. Case in point, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In reference to an amnesty international report accusing the leader of human rights abuses last year, Assad responded --

BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIAN PRESIDENT: They haven't been to Syria, they only report on allegation. They can bring anyone. Doesn't matter what his title. You can forge anything these days. And we're living in a fake news era, as you know.

KINKADE: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is also known to call the media fake news, especially if its reports are critical of him or his government, like online news outlet Rappler.

RODRIGO DUTERTE, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES: Your articles are ripe with innuendos and pragma falsity, you can stop your suspicious mind from roaming somewhere else. But since you are a fake news outlet then I am not surprised that your articles are also fake.

KINKADE: Venezuelan President Maduro discussed the issue in an interview with Russia today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (TRANSLATOR): Venezuela is targeted in a witch hunt of media persecution to spread lies and deception about us. This is the real fake news in a post-truth era.

KINKADE: And when CNN's Matthew Chance attempted to interview Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, he was met with two words.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fake news.

KINKADE: With social media and the intentional publication of propaganda, fake news is not a new problem. But Trump's fake news narrative applied to traditional and credible news organizations has dangerous implications on freedom of the press and the press' ability to hold governments accountable for their actions. Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

(END VIDEO) CHURCH: It's a loan that is been nearly a thousand years in the

making. Up next the ancient and iconic Bayeux tapestry appears to be heading to Britain. A diplomatic gesture courtesy of the French President.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:55:10] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. It has been nearly 1,000 years since England was last invaded, and for the first time the famous Bayeux tapestry depicting William the conqueror's invasion will be leaving France to go on display in Britain. The historic loan will be announced in just a few hours when French President Emmanuel Macron meets with British Prime Minister Theresa May. Jim Bittermann reports now from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

JIM BITTERMANN, SENIOR EUROPEAN CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's probably a more significant event on the English side of the channel than on the French side, mainly because of the significance to the tapestry itself. It's almost 1,000 years old. It was woven shortly after the battle of Hastings in 1066, one of the most famous dates in English history, a date when William the conqueror took over large parts of southern England from Harold, who was killed in that battle. And the tapestry, which is in fact not a tapestry, rather, a long piece of linen cloth 224 feet long by a foot and a half wide with the scenes of the battles leading up to the battle of Hastings woven into it.

The cloth has survived for almost 1,000 years after it was embroidered in England, but it has been here in France, in Bayeux, on display at the tapestry museum in Bayeux in Normandy. And the Bayeux officials were concerned they were seeing fewer and fewer English visitors coming to look at the tapestry and they thought it might be more appropriate if it went back, at least temporarily, to the place where it was woven. In fact, that is what's apparently going to happen. They're thinking it won't be until 2023 when a renovation of that museum is about to take place. And at which time it will go over to England.

It's not clear exactly where it will go and how they'll get it there but it will be a very significant event indeed. And the mayor of Bayeux is hinting if the English, who actually put this together in the first place, wanted to restore it after 1,000 years, the French would be most appreciative.

(END VIDEO)

CHURCH: Jim Bittermann there and thanks for your company this hour, I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me any time on twitter. The news continues with Max Foster in London. You're watching CNN. Have yourselves a great day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)