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New Day Sunday
Hawaii Braces for "Explosive Eruption" As New Fissures Open; Trump Claims Foreign Policy Successes in Israel and North Korea; Three Attacks Target Christians in Indonesia; U.S. to Make Jerusalem Embassy Move Monday; Trevor Noah Talks Trump, Politics and Favorite Joke; Queen Grants Official Consent for Royal Marriage. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired May 13, 2018 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:01] ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: And he follows under 200 people on Twitter, so it's a select group if you have that LeBron follow.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All right.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Maybe we are helping his cause there. Thank you, Andy.
SCHOLES: All right.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is concern from residents about this latest lava activity, especially with the cracks that are now forming along Highway 132.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take this time to prepare for a evacuation that may come at just a moment's notice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It brings up lava and closes the road and we're going to have a hard time getting to town.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the first time in my life. Scare me to death.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: Good morning to you.
Hawaii is preparing for an explosive eruption as lava is spewing from these new cracks opening up in the ground. Officials tell the people who live there to be ready to get out at a moment's notice.
PAUL: And terror in Paris. Sources say the man behind the knife attack was already on an anti-terror watch list. We are taking you live to Paris.
BLACKWELL: Plus, President Trump making good on a campaign promise in just hours. The embassy he moved to Jerusalem is set to open. What does this mean for Americans?
PAUL: We are less than a week away from a royal wedding. This morning, the producers of the "Royal Romance" join us with more on the hype around Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's big day, what they have learned in making this movie.
We do want to start with you, there was this breaking news that there are new threats, there are new warnings. And there's some pretty terrifying new video out of Hawaii right now. Overnight, two new cracks opened up in the ground and they are spewing lava into the air.
BLACKWELL: Now, the people who live there are on high alert as officials warn of a massive volcanic eruption and come soon and no warning at all, leaving virtually no time to get out. Here is what happened when one reporter tried to cover what's happening there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILEKA LINCOLN, HAWAII NEWS NOW REPORTER: There was a strong methane open even though we were up wind. We wore protective our respirator masks and also had an MX machine to monitor sulfur dioxide levels. But it got so hot near the flow front, my phone shut itself off during a Facebook live report.
While there, thousands of lava shot upwards of a hundred feet in the air.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Wow. CNN's meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking every development there from -- she's at the severe weather center.
There are the threats that we can see, the ones we cannot see, and the ones that officials know are coming very soon.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that word coming soon or eminent that you will often here the U.S. Geological Survey or the observatories use. You have to understand that in geological terms, that doesn't necessarily mean that the same that you and I would use in conversations. Eminent in geological terms can mean anything from a few minutes from now to a few weeks from now. So keep that in mind.
The other thing, we have some new threats that have kind of developed here in the last 24 hours. Two brand-new fissures, number 16 and number 17, have formed. We still have high incredible amounts of sulfur dioxide that that reporter showed and that can be fatal in high doses.
Earthquake activity continues not only around the summit of the volcano, but also closer to a lot of the evacuation areas. But those evacuation areas are probably about to change. Here is why. See all of these green dots on the map? Those are all of the fissures that we have.
But notice, all of them, one through 15, have generally been in this region. You don't need to see the tight map to know. Sixteen and 17 are way up here. This has never been in any of the previous evacuation zones before.
So, they're likely going to have to change a lot of that, and not to mention, start blocking off new roads that haven't had to be blocked off before. So, a lot of things will be changing for a lot of the residents that are there. And again, you have to keep an eye on where a lot of that lava continues to flow. Now, again, 16 and 17 opened up yesterday, further off to the east, and so far, they've lava flows about 250 yards and that could increase.
The thing when we talk about these fissures that magma builds up underneath and the pressure is so much it has to go somewhere. So, it creates these cracks known as fissures to release that lava, Christi and Victor, to go somewhere. Just unfortunately, in this case, it happens to go where people live.
BLACKWELL: All right. Allison Chinchar watching it all, thank you so much.
PAUL: So, just a short time ago, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump arrived in Israeli. This is ahead of the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem tomorrow. President Trump has been busy on the world stage. He's moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, he's pressuring Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear site, he's setting a date and location for that North Korea summit, and helping free three American detainees in North Korea.
[07:05:05] Now, the president is claiming a number of foreign policy successes, keeping his campaign promises. Perhaps even hoping that his wins abroad will be the GOP's ticket to success in the midterms.
CNN White House reporter Sarah Westwood is here with all of that.
There are a lot of things that he can chalk up possibly to success here that we are talking about. How is Washington reacting?
SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Christi, President Trump is riding high off the momentum of what he and his supporters would describe like you said, as a week of foreign policy successes. On Tuesday, he fulfilled a campaign promise to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. Days later, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo returned from North Korea with three American detainees the Trump administration helped free. A date and location was set for Trump's upcoming summit with Kim Jong-un. And tomorrow, the U.S. embassy in Israeli will open.
Now, Trump has touted concessions from North Korea tweeting yesterday: North Korean has announced that they will dismantle North Korea test site this month, ahead of the big summit meeting on June 12. Thank you. A very gracious and smart gesture.
Now, Vice President Mike Pence has also touted the administration's foreign policy successes. Take a listen to what he had to say yesterday at a commencement address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On the world stage, you've seen America embracing our role as leader of the free world. With action just this week on Iran, North Korea, and Monday, America will lead the world again when we open our new embassy in Jerusalem, the capital of Israeli.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WESTWOOD: But this all comes, Christi, as the White House battles controversies on multiple fronts, including the White House's refusal to address comments that a White House aide made about Senator John McCain dying and the alleged influence of peddling activity of Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen and it's unclear whether the string of foreign policy victories is going to be enough to distract from the chaos at home -- Christi.
PAUL: All righty. Sarah Westwood, so much distraction that we're not even talking about Russia. We appreciate it. Thank you.
WESTWOOD: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: All right. Let's talk about this now. Joining me now is CNN's A. Scott Bolden, chair of the National Bar Association PAC. We also have Alice Stewart, political commentator for CNN and former communications director for Ted Cruz.
Welcome to both of you this morning.
A. SCOTT BOLDEN, CHAIR, NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION PAC: Good morning, Victor.
ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right. So, let's add to the foreign policy achievements of the president, Scott. The domestic achievements, you've got the unemployment rate down 3.9, lowest in 18 years. You've got the tax cut Republicans pushed through. You've got the strong economy.
Are you concerned? Does the Republican Party have a strong enough narrative to take to the people in the fall that this blue wave is not going to happen?
BOLDEN: Well, those are certainly pluses for the Trump administration. The problem with Trump and his administration over the course of the last couple of years is they find a way to step on the message. So, you have these domestic and international successes hard for me to concede that but I will without -- because I know Alison is coming after me, but the reality is, you still have the Russian investigation and you have the Senator McCain comments, you have lack of apology.
And so that, alone, isn't enough to say there is not going to be a blue wave. Arizona was very close. You have Virginia. You have Pennsylvania. And other states where you've had Republicans versus Democrats and Democrats will be the one or come in very close. And that's really what to watch. Alison's article on CNN earlier
today or yesterday talked about having solid Republican candidates headed into the general in November. She is right about that, but it's really a sigh of relief for the Republicans because they did not elect extreme candidates who could not win in the general, and that's what she's touting, I think.
BLACKWELL: Yes, let's actually read a portion of Alison's piece you wrote after the primaries on Tuesday.
If the party bolsters this resolve with a strong economy and significant presidential foreign policy advancements, the GOP will be on solid ground. The Democrats may still pick up some seats but the anticipated blue wave will more like an uphill battle.
But there is still Democratic advantage. History to tend with in a midterm and a president who will sometimes shout squirrel and have the entire country look away from this long list of accomplishments that Republicans can call on.
STEWART: Really? I don't know what you're talking about.
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: You have a point. But look, as you say, Victor, throughout history, the party in power does have a difficult time in midterm elections, but if the trend continues with the things we have outlined in this show the Republicans are in a good spot. Unemployment is at a low since 2000, and tax cuts have been a positive for Americans with regard to their take home pay and the taxes that they're paying, as well as deregulation and overall, more confidence in the economy.
[07:10:02] And if this continues, which I anticipate that it will, that will be a strong suit for Republicans going into November. And all of these foreign policy accomplishments, that is strong for the president and what we are going to see tomorrow with moving the embassies to Jerusalem, that is a big factor in a lot of the evangelical support that the president has. And I'm cautiously optimistic but more optimistic with regard to the summit with North Korea, I think this will lead to the complete denuclearization of the region.
And with that in hand, that will be a tremendous boost for Republicans as we go through the midterm and be a very difficult rallying cry for Democrats when there are so many successes.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Hold on a second. I've got a couple of minutes here. One other thing I want to hit and you mentioned evangelicals. I understand you spoke with mega pastor John Hagee, who will be there to deliver the benediction. A man in the 1990s suggested that it was part of God's plan that Hitler led the Holocaust against the Jews.
He -- several years later, he said his words were taken out of context. He also has Robert Jeffress who says he will be delivering a prayer there who has suggested that Mormonism is a cult, that Islam promotes pedophilia. Why include these men in part of this ceremony?
STEWART: The comments that you've just referred to are certainly concerning and one thing that is more important or not reflective of overall mission that the two of them have, and specifically Pastor Hagee. His group Christians United for Israel, their main focus is Israel, Israel and Israel, and standing by our allies in that region and they have worked hard to make sure to keep this issue out there on the forefront, working with Vice President Pence, as well as the president, making sure that they understood that it should not be a matter of if we move the embassy to Jerusalem but when, and they worked tirelessly to keep this message out there --
BLACKWELL: But in the context of these comments, do you think it's appropriate? Do you think that it's appropriate that he is there as part of this ceremony -- that either of them are there?
STEWART: I think it's important for the evangelical community to be there.
BLACKWELL: These specific men, Jeffress and Hagee, these two, should they be part of this official government opening of a U.S. embassy?
STEWART: Let me be clear, Victor. The statements that you use, I don't agree with them. I don't support them. I think there is no place for comments like that.
But that being said, that is not reflective of their entire composite and portfolio they have done every the years. They have brought together the evangelical communities and support for this president.
Given the fact they have been strong supporters of moving the embassy, I think it is appropriate for them to be there.
BOLDEN: Wow.
BLACKWELL: You do think it's appropriate for them to be there? But we have seen over this year and several years, I mean, we can go through the Me Too movement, we can go through a lot of statements or actions that people who have done great works over their career, selective few, disqualify them from being part of at least government work, corporate work, so we have had examples where certain things have disqualified people. You think these are not disqualifiers?
Scott, let me come to you and just bring to you Alice's point. She says if they have done work, I mean, we know that Hagee is the founder and national chairman of Christians United for Israeli known was CUFI. He has done work on this level. Do you think it's appropriate that Hagee and Jeffress is a part of this ceremony?
BOLDEN: I certainly don't and I hope that most Americans don't, whether they're Democrat or Republicans. Listen, you can be both, you know, you can be anti-Semite and be very supportive through organizations and money and through your preachings and what-have-you, you're not limit to one bucket.
And here, John Hagee actually said that between god and Hitler, that Hitler was a hunter of Jews and that the context of the Bible that he spoke of was a hunter concept that to bring them back to Israel. The problem with John Hagee is that -- and Hitler is that Hitler didn't bring them back to Israel to live. He gassed them. He put them in concentration camps. So, it really makes no sense to mix those two up, if you will.
Listen, Israel, whether you believe it should be the capital of the U.S. embassy should be there in the capital or not is one thing. But this is a moment of love, of spirituality and tolerance and there are many religions in this country and to disparage them like Reverend Jeffress does and to disparage by the way John Hagee does has no place.
But here again, we have a Trump administration that is either tone deaf or simply does not care about these very important issues that are a big part of Americans lives, their faith, whether you're Muslim, Christian, Catholic, Baptist, it makes no difference. If your base is love, it has no room for hate in any of your preachings.
BLACKWELL: We certainly remember that in 2008, John McCain had to reject Hagee's endorsement, repudiate his comments, but somehow John Hagee is now at an official government opening of an embassy in Jerusalem.
[07:15:12] Scott Bolden and Alice Stewart, thank you both.
BOLDEN: Thank you.
STEWART: Thank you, Victor.
BLACKWELL: And stay tuned later this morning for "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper. National security advisor John Bolton and Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders will join Jake. That's at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
PAUL: Suspected suicide bombers targeted Sunday morning services in Indonesia. Emergency crews have been dousing flames there, helping dozens of victims at three different churches in fact.
BLACKWELL: Plus, the Chinese navy builds its first homemade aircraft carrier. Why it's a big deal for China and how it compares to U.S. technology.
PAUL: And my goodness, they haven't exchanged vows yet but a movie coming out!
BLACKWELL: It's got to work out.
PAUL: I know, you've got a movie now showcasing Prince Harry and Megan Markle's royal romance, of course.
I talked with the producers exactly what they covered in this film.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:20:07] BLACKWELL: ISIS is now claiming responsibility for three separate bombings at churches in Indonesia this morning. This happened in Surabaya where at least 10 people were killed, dozens more were hurt and sent to hospitals. Police say a bomber on a motorcycle launched that first attack.
This was at Santa Maria Catholic church, and then there were two other attacks at the Indonesian Christian church and the Pentecost Central church. Christians are the minority in Indonesia. Authorities have not confirmed whether ISIS was actually involved, despite their claim of responsibility.
PAUL: New details about the suspect that stabbed several people in Paris, killing one, injuring four others. We have learned now from our sources that he was already on an anti-terror watch list.
CNN international correspondent Melissa Bell in Paris with the details.
What more do you know about the suspect, Melissa?
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We know he was very young since he was born in 1997, he was born in Chechen, although he has been naturalized as a French citizen. That terror watch list you mentioned is something we have heard time and time again the last few years. France has seen so many terror attacks and downsized from the scale of the attacks we saw in 2015.
We have seen a lot of over the course of the last few months of these lone assailants carrying out attacks with whatever weapons they happen to have and this appears to have been another one of those it appears. He was on the watch list, although but doesn't mean they are under active surveillance. It simply means they sort of popped up on the radar of authorities at being likely to be radicalized and possibly capable of causing harm. There are more than 10,000 of them on that list. So, it would be very difficult for authorities to watch all of them all of the time.
Now, we did speak to one witness, Christi, who told us exactly what had happened here last night before 9:00 p.m.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLIVER WOODHEAD, WITNESS: I saw the attacker come just down the street here with blood on his hands and carrying the cutter and with his arms open gesturing to the three policemen. They managed to sort of encircle him, they tasered him several times but I think missed him. He managed to isolate one of the policemen and move down the street. And as he went in, the plan shot -- the policeman shot twice and he fell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: Now, extremely shocking scenes for anybody milling around this very busy district on a Saturday night. We are still waiting to hear from authorities more about the say assailant's connections or not with ISIS, we've heard about that claim from ISIS. But what we've also seen over the last few months, Christi, are these lone attackers that are more inspired by the organization than they are actually connected to it.
PAUL: Yes, it will be interesting to find out what authorities are able to discern from this.
Melissa Bell, we appreciate it so much. Thank you.
BLACKWELL: China shows off its new aircraft carrier. This is major progress for the country but will it help China challenge the U.S. as the world's naval super power?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are in Israeli now ahead of the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem tomorrow. You'll remember during the campaign, candidate Trump promised to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv and in December, he made the first moves as president to do just that. A lot of Israelis were thrilled when the president declared Jerusalem the capital of Israeli. They say it was long overdue and nothing more than just a reflection of reality.
But understand that this is an important move with some fearing it could sound the death now to any U.S. role in negotiating peace between Israelis and Palestinians, a control over the city and its holy sites, really seen as the most divisive elements in any negotiation between the two sides. The Palestinians have long claimed east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state and most of the world has committed to the idea as well.
Now, I need to take you to 1980. Israeli lawmakers declared Jerusalem complete and united the capital of Israel. The United Nations condemned the move and called on those countries with embassies in the city to move them out, which they did. So, for many, moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem before the final status of Jerusalem has been settled symbolizes an endorsement of the Israeli's claim of control over the entire city.
But here is the thing. This decision really is not new. Congress vote to move the embassy to Jerusalem in 1995. They passed a law that ordered that it'd be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31st, 1999. So, here is the question. Why did it take so long?
Let's look at the law. It gives the president the power to delay the move up to -- for six months if the president thinks that would protect the national security interest of the United States. And every six months since then, that waiver has been signed and sent to Congress first by President Clinton, then by President Bush, then by President Obama. President Trump signed the waiver in June, but in December, President Trump upended 70 years of U.S. policy and announced the embassy's move.
[07:30:00] Let's talk about this now.
Joining me now is CNN's Oren Liebermann from Jerusalem and Aaron David Miller, CNN global affairs analyst and former adviser to six secretaries of state. He's also the author of the book "The Much Too Promised Land: America's Elusive Search for Arab Israeli Peace." Good morning to both of you.
And, Oren, quickly, just tell me what we are going to see tomorrow as this is officially opened in Jerusalem.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are now officially set up and what will be declared the embassy tomorrow in a ceremony the size of which you can get a sense of how much is going on here behind me. The mike checks, the video screen that will display a prerecorded message from President Donald Trump. The other speeches, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to speak, U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, expected to speak, as well as a number of others here for what will be a ceremony lauded by Israelis, by the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump and a move that is just as much criticized by Palestinians and many in the international community.
That mike check going on behind me. I suspect you can hear that, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Live TV challenges, I get you, Oren.
Let me go now to Aaron. First, after the announcement of the move in December that the president Trump made, he tweeted out this video. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Jerusalem is still the capital of Israeli and must remain an undivided city accessible to all.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: As soon as I take office I will begin the process of moving the United States ambassador to the city of Israeli as chosen as its capital.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I continue to say that Jerusalem will be the capital of Israeli. And I have said that before and I will say it again.
And Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israeli and it must remain undivided.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Aaron, President Trump says and his supporters say he is making good on his promise, he's making good on the promise of his predecessors, the 104th Congress, the American people. So, from your view, what's wrong with that?
AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, look, Victor, I work for Republicans and Democrats who voted for Republicans and Democrats and there's a reason the national security waiver in the Jerusalem Embassy Act that you refer to was used by the last three administrations. This is the most volatile deeply polarizing issue between Israelis and Palestinians and it's coming at a time when the mistrust is deep, when the positions of the parties on the core issues, including Jerusalem, are as wide as the Grand Canyon.
And it's part of a pattern. Again, I think Mr. Trump coming up with solutions to problems that we don't have. Of course, the embassy should be in West Jerusalem. But either in the context of a negotiated settlement or in a way that makes it unmistakably clear that Palestinian claims to Jerusalem are deep, abiding and that the United States would during a negotiation, if the two-state solution was reached open an embassy in East Jerusalem to the New Palestinian state. I think the decisions is ill-timed and ill-advised.
One last point.
BLACKWELL: Yes?
MILLER: Let's be unmistakably clear, the peace process was dead or at least comatose, long before Mr. Trump decided to weigh in on the Jerusalem matter but this is simply going to make an mission impossible, it seems to me, all that more impossible.
BLACKWELL: Well, you say it's mission impossible. Oren to you, the president called the embassy move the best interest of the United States of America and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. And, obviously, the Palestinians don't see it that way.
LIEBERMANN: Not at all. They viewed President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israeli in December before we got the final status negotiations on a two-state solution. They viewed that as essentially the death of the U.S.'s ability to play unbiased arbiter in negotiations, frozen contacts with the American administration, and shortly after the decision in Decembers, and that's where they've stayed.
The U.S. has tried to reach out on a couple of occasions, both openly and behind the scenes, but hasn't work. The Palestinian relations with the U.S. remain in a form of deep freeze and it's not clear what it would take for the U.S. to unfreeze that and for the U.S. to be able to thaw that because of how much opposition the Palestinians have. And from their perspective, they have the support of the international support. Shortly after Trump's recognition of Jerusalem, as the capital of Israel, this went to a vote of the United Nations General Assembly with overwhelming majority of the world voted to condemn Trump's decision.
And more mike checks.
BLACKWELL: Yes, one more mike check.
Aaron, let me come back to you because we are having difficulty hearing and understanding Oren. I want you to listen to what President Trump said when Benjamin Netanyahu was at the White House earlier this year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So I'm looking at two- state and one-state and I like the one that both parties like. I'm very happy with the one that both parties like. I could live with either one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: The White House and seemingly the entire U.S. foreign policy apparatus come out after that and say the U.S. is committed to a two-state solution despite that seeming equivocation on the part of the president. But is a single state, you know, Palestinians with equal rights or as Netanyahu called it, you know, state minus for the Palestinians, is that plausible?
[07:35:09] Is that something that is being considered or discussed?
MILLER: Well, one-state solution isn't a solution. It's a historical outcome to a long process of conflict and the absence of accommodation which essentially would leave a Palestinian majority between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. I don't think that's tenable. As far as the Palestinian "state minus", I don't think that tenable either.
Look, if you want a serious negotiations leading to a two-state solution, you need a couple of things. You need leaders who are masters of their political houses and not prisoners of their constituency. You don't have that. You need a sense of ownership among Israelis and Palestinians, that in fact, this is more important to them, more important to them than the U.S.
And you need an administration, assuming you have one of the two, that essentially has the will and the skill and knows what it's doing. The reality is, you have none of that in place. And the Jerusalem decision, it seems to me is only going to make, again, as I mentioned, an already long stretch much harder to achieve.
BLACKWELL: All right. Aaron David Miller, Oren Liebermann, and the unknown person who was doing the mike checks, our third panelist this morning -- thank you all for being with us.
MILLER: Thanks.
BLACKWELL: All right.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the Chinese Navy has just taken this historic step with the sea trial of its first domestic made aircraft carrier. This is a milestone for China which wants to build, quote, a world class navy. Military experts tell CNN that it will certainly boost China's naval presence in Asia but technology, well, it lags behind that with the U.S. For example, it uses conventional rather than nuclear propulsion, for one thing there.
"Daily Show" host talks Trump in an exclusive interview with CNN and why he thinks people underestimate this president and why they underestimate his supporters. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:41:15] PAUL: All right. We want to get to a CNN exclusive with you right now. Brian Stelter had a chance to sit down with "The Daily Show" host
Trevor Noah. This is a one-on-one interview this week and you can bet it's a good one.
BLACKWELL: Yes he opened up about a lot, including why he thinks President Trump is like an African dictator.
We got to get to this. Joining us is CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter.
All right. So, I want to get to this African dictator element, but what else did you learn in this exclusive interview?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, Noah was born in South Africa. He grew up there. His best selling book is titled "Born a Crime" because of his experience in Apartheid South Africa.
And now that he's in the U.S., of course, hosting "The Daily Show" for almost three years, he's been calling back to his experiences growing up, saying that some of Trump's actions, some of the swampy behavior he has seen in Washington reminds him of what it's like in some African countries.
Let's here from Noah in his words. Here is how he described it to me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOAH TREVOR, "DAILY SHOW" HOST: I said from the very beginning that Donald Trump reminds me of an African dictator. And if you know anything about Africa dictators, the first thing you have to do was follow the money and you follow the money with the people closest to them, family members, business associates. All you do is watch for the money.
I would have been disappointed had we not found out or had Michael Cohen not done this. I'm like, yes, this is following the script, this is what you were meant to be doing as the person who rolls with Donald Trump. You were always going to be finding a way to swindle cash.
I think people underestimate how laser focused Trump and his supporters are. I think people also underestimate how many people in America are willing to accept the adverse effects of Donald Trump as they pertain to the general discourse in America versus the economy and how people actually feel in their daily lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: The last point was really interesting in light of all the John McCain controversy recently. You know, there's been so much discussion for the past few days about how offensive that comment from that White House aide was, that so-called joke saying McCain is dying any way so it doesn't matter what he thinks.
Trevor Noah's point there is, yes, you may be offended by what you hear from the White House but if you think the economy is doing well and you like other Trump policies, then you're going to let the offense slide. I thought an interesting way to frame it -- offended versus affected.
PAUL: Yes, very good point. This is also a man, Trevor Noah, who is known for how comedic he is.
BLACKWELL: He is a comedian.
PAUL: He is so funny, you had to have gotten some of that out of him.
STELTER: Yes, I was trying to be serious with him at first because he has some interesting insights as someone who has to come up with new jokes about the president every day. You know, he's been in the job three years and if it were not for the Trump election, honestly, I don't think he would be doing as well as he is on "The Daily Show". He had to replace Jon Stewart, which was an incredibly difficult task. He had a rocky first year or so, and he acknowledged to me that if it were not for Trump, it would take him a longer time to get comfortable in the "Daily Show" job.
So, when I asked him about his joke, of course, it was about Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: Trevor, thank you for sitting down with me.
NOAH: Thank you again, Brian. Good to see you.
STELTER: Does this feel like home for you now it's a few years?
NOAH: I think it's felt like home for a while now. I think home has been less defined by the --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: (INAUDIBLE) the entire interview actually. I want to save that interview for "RELIABLE SOURCES" today. Let's see if we have the ending, though. This is his part about a favorite joke. Let's see if we have it.
BLACKWELL: I was going to say that wasn't very funny.
PAUL: Do we have it?
STELTER: I don't think we do.
PAUL: Oh, come on!
BLACKWELL: It's an excellent tease, Brian! It's an excellent tease.
STELTER: I'll have to save did for "RELIABLE SOURCES".
PAUL: Did you plan that, Brian? Did you plan that?
[07:45:01] STELTER: Maybe I did.
(LAUGHTER)
STELTER: Hey, while I'm here, can I say happy Mother's Day, Christi? I know it's a special day.
PAUL: Thank you. It is.
STELTER: This is my first year where my wife is a mom. They are watching at home. Sunny is almost a year old, so I'm having a greater appreciation for Mother's Day.
BLACKWELL: Sunny is almost a year old?
PAUL: What do you do for her?
STELTER: Well, I can't tell you what I got because they are watching at home but I can tell you the theme is sunny. The theme is sunshine.
PAUL: All right. So, now, she has a little hint because she is probably up with that child right now.
STELTER: Oh, she is. They are watching. But happy Mother's day to you.
PAUL: Thank you, Brian. That means a lot to me. You're so sweet. Thank you.
And congratulations to you as well because Father's Day is right around the corner.
STELTER: Sure is. One after another, don't they?
PAUL: He'll get his time in too. You can watch Brian Stelter on "RELIABLE SOURCES", of course. He is back with us at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. You don't want to miss it.
So, Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle exchanging vows in less than a week. There is already a movie about their relationship. It's going to be on the small screen. It was a challenge for producers, though, to portray the real-life couple's adventures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were shooting in Vancouver over the winter so a limited amount we had to sort of choose what scenes we were going to show outdoors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST, "ANTHONY BOURDAIN: PARTS UNKNOWN": Here we are -- here we are, boys (INAUDIBLE) in the universe, rural backwards- esque country, middle of nowhere, Newfoundland, eating one of the finest meals in North America because, let's face it, Newfoundland is incredible.
It's beautiful. Still incredible ingredients. Hunting. Fishing. Inappropriate public displays of affection to seasoned products. Something called screeching in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never got you to sign any waiver forms so try not to get you any on your skin.
BOURDAIN: You'll have to tune in to see it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:51:39] BLACKWELL: Less than a week to go now, and the queen gives her approval for Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle to marry.
PAUL: Yes, the Buckingham Palace released images showing Queen Elizabeth's formal consent. You got to get that, the first six people in line for the throne must get the queen's official permission to tie the knot. The document features symbols of United Kingdom, Markle's home state of California, and it will be given to the couple after their wedding this coming Saturday.
So, lifetime has been looking at the relationship between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in this new movie called "The Royal Romance". It airs tonight. This is a film that takes us through the first date through media circus, of course. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you nervous?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think anyone would be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pleasure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're so happy to be here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much. So nice to meet you both.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: I'm George.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, George. I'm Meghan.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: You're pretty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Easy there, kid. She's taken.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PAUL: Now, I spoke to the producers of the Lifetime film, Meredeth Finn and Michele Weiss, and asked why is everyone so fascinated with the couple and the royal family in general.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEREDETH FINN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "HARRY & MEGHAN A ROYAL ROMANCE: They are so beautiful. They are so engaging. And also they are the modern version of the royal couple, of the royal family. I mean, obviously, Meghan Markle is American, she's an actress. She is very good at being on camera, she's known how to do it a long time because it's been her job. She's very comfortable in front of the camera and I think the engagement is really helpful and pulls people in.
And Harry has always been so many people's favorite member of the royal family. I think people who grew up watching and loving Diana, harry is such a close connection to Diana. So I think those elements make them just lovable and people that we want to watch and we want to see fall in love and do well.
PAUL: Michelle, was it hard to find actors? How did you find actors to play the couple?
MICHELE WEISS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "HARRY & MEGHAN A ROYAL ROMANCE": It was hard given the sort of time constraints. I will say I think we got extremely lucky because we found actors who are both convincing playing the parts that they are playing but also who are good actors.
And we were trying to be careful with the ethnicity of the actor playing Meghan because, you know, that's sort of the big point in the history. Lego just got in trouble for doing their Meghan Lego statue too white. And, you know, Parisa is also biracial and also an excellent actress.
We had to look farther afield for the actor who is playing Prince Harry. Murray Fraser, we saw an audition tape from him from London and we just kind of fell in love with him.
[07:55:05] He was not -- he is Scottish. He was not red haired. But, you know, the first time we saw him in Harry makeup we thought he looked great and he's such a warm presence that -- and the two of them had such great chemistry that we kind of lucked out.
PAUL: At the end of the day, what do you hope viewers get out of this movie?
WEISS: Well, we hope they see it as a, you know, sweet, fun romance. We hope it works both as telling this fascinating, you know, can't believe it's true story of a very famous couple but we hope it works just on a level of romance.
FINN: It's a really fun movie to watch. It is joyful. It's romantic. The actors are really good. The movie turned out well. We think people will just have a great time watching it.
PAUL: All righty. Meredeth Finn and Michele Weiss, thank you for spending time with us.
FINN: Thank you.
WEISS: Thank you.
PAUL: Good luck with the movie. I hope everything goes well.
FINN: Thank you.
WEISS: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: All righty. And we hope you make some great memories today. Happy Mother's day to all of you moms out there.
BLACKWELL: Happy Mother's Day, mom.
"INSIDE POLITICS" with John King starts right after the break.
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