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Hala Gorani Tonight
U.S. President Trump Prepares To Meet Kim Jong-un; Trump Slamming Trudeau After Leaving G7 Summit; Merkel: Trump Actions Sobering Somewhat Depressing; Spain To Offer Safe Harbor To Humanitarian Ship; Hungary's Growing Film Industry. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired June 11, 2018 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:18]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight, you saw the images there at the top of the hour. Historic, high stakes and hugely unpredictable. The leaders of the United States and
North Korea have never met. But in less than six hours now in Singapore, that will change.
Donald Trump will sit down face to face with Kim Jong-un with only translators in the room, no other officials. Kim Jong-un is looking
confident about meeting, if you judge by these appearances.
He stunned everyone by taking a nighttime stroll in downtown Singapore, completely surrounded by his security detail with that massive entourage of
bodyguards and photographers.
Take a look at this. The North Korean leader posed for a selfie in between two Singaporean government ministers including the foreign minister.
President Trump for his part tweeted that there is, quote, "excitement in the air." His top diplomat, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, says he
is very hopeful about the talks. Kaitlan Collins has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The ultimate objective we seek from diplomacy with North Korea has not changed. The complete and verifiable
and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the only outcome that the United States will accept.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump and North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un touching down in Singapore just hours apart
ahead of the historic high-stakes summit.
Both leaders meeting separately with Singapore's prime minister while aides spent the day hammering out last-minute details.
POMPEO: We're prepared to take what will be security assurances that are different unique than have been provided -- that America has been willing
to provide previously. We think this is both necessary and appropriate.
COLLINS: North Korean state media broadcasting these pictures of Kim Jong- un leaving North Korea and arriving in Singapore -- and officially announcing the trip which they say will be focused on peace and the
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think within first minute, I'll know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Just my touch, my feel. That's what I do.
COLLINS: The summit coming as President Trump escalates his feud with America's closest allies on the heels of a contentious G7 meeting.
President Trump lashing out on Twitter accusing Germany, European Union, and Canada of unfair trade practices and not spending enough on security.
Adding, "Then Justin acts hurt when called out." This after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would retaliate after new
U.S. tariffs.
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Canadians are polite. We're reasonable, but we also will not be pushed around.
COLLINS: President Trump responding by calling Trudeau dishonest and weak and instructing U.S. representatives not to sign the G7 joint statement.
The president's advisers fiercely attacking Trudeau on the Sunday shows.
LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, WH NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Trudeau posed this sophomoric, political stunt for domestic consumption.
PETER NAVARRO, ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT: There is a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy with
President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door.
COLLINS: Trudeau publicly ignoring the feud but his foreign minister saying this about the insult.
CHRYSTIA FREELAND, CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Canada does not believe that add homonym attacks are a particularly appropriate or useful to way to
conduct our relations.
COLLINS: Mr. Trump's top economic adviser telling CNN that the strong response is related to the summit with North Korea.
KUDLOW: He is not going to permit any show of weakness on the trip to negotiate with North Korea. Kim must not see American weakness.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: That is one of the recent economic adviser hires, Larry Kudlow. Kaitlan Collins is live in Singapore with more. So we had that surprise
walk around by Kim Jong-un and an appearance by Dennis Rodman, the former professional basketball player who's been to North Korea several times.
COLLINS: Yes, all the players ahead of this summit are now here in Singapore, just hours out from this potentially historic making summit.
The White House has also announced some new developments about the president's schedule.
They're going to have that one-on-one meeting just Trump and Kim and their translators in the room. And then they will go out a little bit with an
expanded bilateral meeting, probably a few officials from each side.
And then they will have a working lunch that will include a much larger delegation from each side, including the national security adviser, John
Bolton, and the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, who we heard from earlier.
[15:05:10] So, Mike Pompeo said he doesn't believe what happened in G7 is all related to here. He said it was ludicrous to compare the two
situations. He was asked how the North Koreans can trust President Trump and the United States after seeing the way that he is treating one of the
United States' closest allies.
GORANI: Kaitlan Collins live in Singapore where it's just past 3:00 a.m. Thanks, Kaitlan.
So, while President Trump prepares to talk peace with the North Korea, he's left many of America's closest allies infuriated and some befuddled, others
depressed. Before he left for Singapore, he was in Canada for the G7 Summit.
There he clashed with America's traditional allies, its closest friends, calling trade with them unfair. After he left, he kept up his attacks on
Twitter singling out Canada's prime minister.
Paula Newton is covering this story for us from Ottawa and Atika Shubert is in Berlin with the European fallout. First of all, Justin Trudeau called
this news conference and essentially said, look, we in Canada are nice, we're polite but enough is enough. This is not a fair attack on the
friends of the United States, Canada.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he said that we won't be pushed around. Guess what? The week prior I was with Justin Trudeau and his
foreign minister at another press conference which he said exactly the same thing. That's why the reaction here really has been so shocking, so
surprising for so many Canadians.
I will tell you what it's done. People on political right and left of Justin Trudeau, even the former prime minister, Steven Harper, that he
defeated in the last election, is coming to his defense, obviously coming to Canada's defense and saying we are sticking up for our trading rights.
There might be a better trade deal to be had. But doing this way and to have those advisors that we just heard from Kaitlan talk about there's a
special place in hell and backstabbing political moves, it really stunned many, especially because those advisors, Hala, made it clear, look, this is
not us going off on our own. This sentiment came straight from Air Force One and Donald Trump.
GORANI: It is indeed baffling. What is the probability, I guess, that this will really explode into an all-out economic war, an all-out trade war
that -- as we all know historically, trade wars are damaging even to the country that imposes the tariffs of goods coming in.
NEWTON: Let's just put it out there, Hala. We have one of the largest trading relationships in the world, that's the United States and Canada.
OK. Canada is the -- Canada buys more products from the United States than China, the U.K. and Japan combined. OK? You put all that on the table.
But what Canadian officials worry about right now, Hala, is two things. One is the fact that Donald Trump will go ahead and unilaterally pull out
of NAFTA and then try and negotiate a bilateral deal with Canada.
Not sure that there is any compromise to even do that at this time, but number two and very significantly, he said in one of this tweets that he
might apply and is looking at applying very strict tariffs to Canadian cars going into the U.S. market.
What does that mean? Their supply chain by some in estimate the same car part crosses the border five, six, seven times to make the one car.
Whether it's sold in the Canadian market or the U.S. market.
A lot at stake here economically. One thing that the Trump administration is marked by from when it started, Canadian officials will tell you is
unpredictability. They really don't know where this is going right now.
GORANI: And these Canadian carmakers are usually American carmakers that assemble their automobiles in Canada. It hurts consumers all around.
Atika Shubert is in Berlin. There was an interview with the German chancellor saying she found the whole thing just depressing.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. She said sobering and a bit depressing. I mean, I think it certainly shows that
Chancellor Merkel was disappointed at what happened at the G7. But she didn't seem surprised either. I mean, she's had to deal with this sort of
attitude from President Trump over and over again, whether it's the Iran deal, the Paris climate agreement or Transpacific trade partnership.
So, I think at this point Germany is saying, look, we're trying our best, but we can't rely on the U.S. and that's what she said. It would be good
to have a good working relationship with the U.S., but it doesn't seem to be something that we can really rely on at this point.
So, instead, you know, she trying to roll up her sleeves and figure out what to do when the president of the world's largest economy decides to rip
up the rule book on trade. She's meeting with the heads of the IMF, the World Trade Organization and the World Bank here in Berlin today.
[15:10:06] You know, and all of them had a press conference and they said, look, it's a gloomy outlook for the economy if we have a looming trade war
with the United States.
GORANI: All right. Atika Shubert in Berlin, thanks very much. Paula Newton in Ottawa as well covering our top story.
Let's get to Robin Wright, a contributor for "The New Yorker." She joins me now live from Washington. We'll get to the G7 in a moment. This iconic
picture of Donald Trump with his arms crossed there around a table with Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron. What do you expect, though, in
Singapore? What do you think will come out of this summit?
ROBIN WRIGHT, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, "THE NEW YORKER": Well, I think both Kim and Trump are very invested in trying to find some common language that
will lead to an agreement on principle. The danger, of course, is that the details are much more difficult, and it could take years to actually
implement the denuclearization of the entire North Korean region.
So, I'm hopeful short-term, pessimistic long term. But this is a moment for President Trump that he probably faces even greater pressure than Kim
Jong-un does in getting an agreement.
In part because of what happened in Quebec, this disarray among the tapestry of the western alliance that the United States has spent seven
decades building. Pulling the rug from underneath the alliance and challenging our closest trading partners, our partners in security and NATO
really puts the pressure on President Trump in a year of rocky foreign policy to produce some kind of success and look presidential in Singapore.
GORANI: Also, it will all come down to what do -- what does the United States, what does North Korea, what do they understand by denuclearization?
Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state said it has to be irreversible and verifiable. North Korea might not see it that way.
WRIGHT: Absolutely. In the past, the North Koreans have referred to denuclearization as lifting the U.S. nuclear umbrella that protects South
Korea. They have asked for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. We have 28,000 troops in the South.
They wanted the end of military exercises. So, we come into these negotiations with very different visions of what one word means. Can you
imagine what it will take to actually produce an agreement?
The start agreement with the Soviet Union in 1991 was 700 pages. There's a lot at stake here. Not just nuclear weapons, but intercontinental
ballistic missiles, chemical weapons, biological weapons. There's just enormous amounts of questions and issues that have to be resolved.
WRIGHT: And the U.S. president has said he doesn't need to prepare. He has prepared his whole life for this. You mentioned that G7 Summit in
Canada, as far as European and our -- the U.S. allies in Canada are concerned went disastrously wrong.
I showed the picture at the top of the hour where you see Trump kind of with his arms crossed. John Bolton, his national security adviser with
that same kind of body language. Also, Shinzo Abe, the prime minister of Japan, standing it seems like in the Trump/Bolton camp.
Then we see Merkel and Macron, a little bit of the picking out of the frame there at the corner of the picture, Theresa May, the prime minister of the
U.K. What's going on there? Could it cause irreversible damage?
WRIGHT: It's not irreversible. These allies really are important to each other, but it does do a lot of damage short term to our ability to
cooperate with each other on these fundamental issues of security and climate and trade.
GORANI: But why short-term because this could really realign the western world order, couldn't it?
WRIGHT: Absolutely. The German foreign minister made that point today. You can't repair 280-character tweet with another 280-character tweet when
it is challenging the basic principles of an alliance and an ally personally.
So, yes, the damage here is -- can it be repaired? Yes, let's hope so. But this was the rockiest summit of the G7 since it was formed in 1975.
This is one of the toughest weeks in the Trump presidency. There is an enormous amount at stake, not just for his presidency but for the state of
the western alliance and the state of the world order or disorder. This is a very --
GORANI: You say it can be repaired, which means it's broken. How broken is it? I mean, could we see -- let's assume this. Could we see as Macron
floated the idea of a G6 plus one? Where now the six countries within the G7 are allied together, maybe minus Japan, so say it's five. And then
Japan and the U.S. on another side.
[15:15:06] WRIGHT: Well, as your correspondent pointed out Canada and the United States are strong trading partners. That may change at little bit.
But at the end of the day, we share a geographic space and that we can't change the reality of how we need each other.
So, there are basic truths. The western alliance is important to every single member. I think all parties will at some point try to repair the
damage. The problem is that by the president challenging our allies, he weakens them as well.
He weakens the institution and the danger is we have a security threat, we need our allies to stand with us as we did with Afghanistan and we wanted
them too in Iraq, and you know, we find that they are not as interested or as willing to expand their resources, their treasury or their personnel to
help us.
GORANI: And the president is calling on Russia to be reintegrate the G7.
WRIGHT: Yes, that's the wild card in the middle of all this turmoil. He is calling -- suggesting it's time to bring Moscow back into the G7.
Seeming to defy the realities of its intervention in an American election, its annexation of Crimea in 2014, providing the weaponry to shoot down a
Malaysian aircraft over Ukraine. Its intervention in the Syrian civil war, it's staggering that at this moment, he'd bring up that idea. Why now?
GORANI: Robin Wright, thanks so much for joining us. Always a pleasure.
Still to come tonight, Malta says Italy broke international rules, but that country's new right-wing government is claiming victory. We have details
of a standoff in the Mediterranean with more than 600 lives in the balance.
We take you on board that very ship at the center of it all. We speak to a reporter who says areas of the vessel are unbearable after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Hundreds of lives are suspended in limbo as a result of a standoff between Malta and Italy. Earlier today, Italy's new right-wing government
refused permission for a humanitarian ship to dock. There are 600 migrants on board, including more than a hundred unaccompanied minors and seven
pregnant women.
The ship remains stranded in the Mediterranean Sea between Malta and Sicily today. Now Spain is saying it will allow the ship to dock to prevent what
it calls a humanitarian catastrophe. But (inaudible) says the ship has not yet received instructions to move.
Meantime, the new right-wing Italian interior minister is declaring victory. That these 600 migrants are not allowed to dock in his country.
Melissa Bell is in Sicily in the port city of Catania with more. Where is the ship now? How long does can it -- does it have supplies and water and
food and that type of thing?
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The situation on the boat is fairly precarious, Hala. We understand that this evening they have
receive new supplies thanks to a Maltese ship that was able to bring them enough water and some food, because supplies were running so low.
[15:20:14] It is for the time being between Malta and Sicily. It should have docked right here in the port of Catania, of course, Hala, but on
Sunday was refused that permission. We understand it will perhaps tomorrow morning set off then to Valencia where the new government has given it a
refuge.
What's so interesting about this is to see these two very new governments, both the new Italian populist government and the one -- the new socialist
government in Spain dealing with this very different issue.
And really you are right to point out, the Italian interior minister, who, by the way, is also the leader of the far-right League Party here in Italy,
claim victory. I mean, this is something that was an electoral pledge tackling Italy's migrant crisis was very much at the heart of what this new
government wanted to do and that party in particular.
And Matteo Salvini (ph) is really trying to show he meant what he said and that Italy is no longer going to continue to attract, to welcome the
numbers of migrants that it has and it has had 600,000 migrants come into Italy since 2013. It's a huge amount, and 500,00 still believed to be
here.
And yet very difficult to see how this is going to pan out in the future. The Aquarius is not the only boat. Of course, this one seems now to have
found a portion in which to dock. What about the others?
This is, of course, just the beginning of a season that traditionally sees so many people try to make this crossing -- Hala.
GORANI: Right. The weather certainly is becoming warmer. Thanks very much, Melissa Bell is in Sicily. Euro news reporter, Annaliese Borghese
(ph), is actually onboard Aquarius, the ship at the center of all of this. She joins me now by phone. What are the conditions on the ship, Annaliese?
ANNALIESE BORGHESE, EURO NEWS REPORTER (via telephone): Well, Hala, the situation is very, very complicated right now. A very crowded ship, we're
over capacity with 629 people including women and children. This is a boat that has the capacity for 550 people, roughly.
These people onboard are exhausted. Some of these people had been on board for just over 48 hours now and they have spent at least 20 hours at sea
prior to that rescue. So, considering all that, I would say that everyone here is doing pretty well. It's hot. It's crowded.
People need clean clothes. They need a shower. Children need diapers. The situation is very, very difficult for those rescued, but also for the
medical and the staff that are trying to give these people care and provide them with food.
GORANI: They presumably know Italy -- the central government doesn't want the ship to dock. Malta doesn't want them either. Spain has said they
will take them. For some reason, the ship hasn't been instructed to go to Spain. Have they been told all of this? What has been their reaction?
BORGHESE: Yes. We have been on the same spot for exactly 24 hours now. The boat basically stopped moving last night and so this morning people
obviously started asking. The medics, volunteers, journalists on board what is going on, why are we not moving anymore.
Initially, the answer was, we're just on standby. We will let you know what happens. Eventually, of course, they grew more curious, more anxious.
The fact of the matter is, there were other boats that started approaching or at least making -- they could make visual contact with other vessels.
That started creating some tension here because they believe that they were perhaps going to be sent back to Libya. That caused a lot of tension. The
staff on board decided that they would be better to warn these people, to explain to these people what was going on.
So, they went around the boat with a map, Hala. They showed people exactly our location on that map and told people, look, we are closer to Europe
than we are to Libya. We are not going to bring you back. Don't worry. We are going to go to Europe. We are just waiting on confirmation of a
final destination, of a port.
Of course, people were terrified because of the terrible conditions that many of them have endured in Libya. One man actually threatened to throw
himself in the water if they were going to turn back to Libya.
GORANI: There as some pregnant women there as well. People that need medical attention. Are these heavily pregnant women? What's the situation
there?
BORGHESE: Well, two of them are heavily pregnant. There are seven pregnant women on board Aquarius. They are doing well. Again, considering
the context, they are doing relatively well.
[15:25:10] They are calm, but they -- I have spoken to three of them who came to ask me because there was a bit conversation -- an ongoing
conversation because of that offer by Spain that this ship could potentially go to Spain.
We started -- the medics here on board, started analyzing the situation. A trip to Spain from where we are would take four to five days. To put four
or five days of course, it would be a risk to their safety and to their health.
So, medics started discussing whether or not they should evacuate some of the pregnant women. Of course, to evacuate people you need their consent
and so the women were very worried.
They did not want to go to Malta. They said they didn't like Malta. That they didn't know about Malta. So, again, a lot of decisions are being made
and a lot of consultations are taking place right now with the people on board. But for now, the situation is under --
GORANI: We have to leave it there. Annaliese Borghese, we will keep our eye on this. Thank you. She's on board the ship with these 600 plus
migrants, some of whom pregnant, others in need of medical attention so far, not able to dock anywhere. Thanks so much, Annaliese.
We know where there is migration obviously, there are people making money off of others' desperation for a better life. But now the U.S. is throwing
its weight behind unprecedented action by the United Nations.
It's joining the U.N. in imposing sanctions against six men for their role in trafficking huge numbers of migrants to Europe. That comes after our
CNN investigation exposed the slave trade in Libya.
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, said images in CNN's report, quote, "shocked our conscience." So, there you have at least some
incremental positive news concerning the world's migrant crisis.
Still to come tonight, the world is watching Singapore and so are we. Will the U.S./North Korea summit produce real change or is it just a meet and
greet? I will talk with a former diplomat who says, don't be so sure it will be successful. The image tweeted around the world. A discussion
about that viral G7 photo when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: It is just about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday morning in Singapore where we are just hours from the first ever meeting between the leaders of the
United States and North Korea. Kim Jong-un was out and about earlier. Everyone on the planet is watching this summit very closely. But with
North Korea's nuclear weapons possibly on the line, if neighbors are especially, especially invested and how it works out.
[15:30:01]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOON JAE-IN, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA (through translator): I hope a big agreement on scrapping hostilities and denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula
will be reached through this summit. The summit was possible only through the bold decisions of President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un.
SHINZO ABE, PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN: President Trump has stated that we are implementing sanctions and those sanctions are very strong sanctions.
He also stated that until North Korea takes the action, these sanctions will not be lifted and Japan is in full agreement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So there you have South Korea and Japan. My next guest says look for an agreement of the summit, but don't expect Kim to fulfill it.
Nicholas Burns is a former U.S. diplomat who's served under President Clinton and George W. Bush and he joins me now live. So your expectation
is what for this summit? They're going to spend several hours, these two leaders together, without any other officials or aides in the room and just
translators. What's your expectation?
NICHOLAS BURNS, FORMER U.S. DIPLOMAT SERVED UNDER PRESIDENT CLINTON AND GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, I think that President Trump would not be in
Singapore if we didn't have a pretty good indication in the United States that Kim Jong-un will agree to some kind of scheduled dismantlement of his
nuclear program and destruction of his nuclear weapons force. I would expect that would be the announcement coming out of this summit tomorrow,
but of course, this is just going to be the first step of a 10,000 step journey. There's so much that has to be done to make that true. And as
you know, Hala, the United States has been down this road before. President Clinton as well as President George W. Bush and the North Koreans
did not fulfill their commitments both times. So I think the Trump administration obviously understands this. Has its eyes open. Mike
Pompeo, the secretary of state, I think will inherit the mantle of having to negotiate whatever is agreed in Singapore.
GORANI: Because the word denuclearization, it depends how you interpret that word. Mike Pompeo had this to say about America's expectations.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The ultimate objective we seek from diplomacy with North Korea has not changed. The complete a verifiable and
irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the outcome that the United States will accept. Sanctions will remain until North Korea
completely and verifiably eliminates its weapons of mass destruction program. If diplomacy does not move in the right direction, and we are
hopeful that it will continue to do so, those measures will increase.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So complete and verifiable and irreversible denuclearization. North Korea might not have that in mind at all. Probably not, actually.
BURNS: I think those three adjectives are very important. Secretary Pompeo, in my view, is absolutely correct to lay down the expectations
here. And he also indicated -- he implied that if the North Koreans do not measure up, if they don't keep these commitments, then of course, the
United States has options. We have sanctions that will continue. And I don't think those sanctions will be lifted until you see complete,
irreversible and verifiable progress and of course there's always --
GORANI: But that takes years though, Nic. I mean, that can take -- that could take 10 years. So this will probably -- this full agreement will
probably actually outlive the Trump administration, whether there's one or two of them.
BURNS: It could, Hala. It took 10 years for the Iran nuclear deal to come together under President Obama and before him President Bush. And so I
think what the American public and the international community have to understand -- if this is just a first step in Singapore, this will take
months, but most probably years to work out with the North Koreans, if it can be worked out. So I think Secretary Pompeo actually was correct in how
he framed this in Singapore by saying, the United States has the ability to continue to maintain its leverage against North Korea. That means we've
got to keep close to South Korea, close to Japan and keep China on our side. This is a big diplomatic framework here that we have to be operating
on.
GORANI: Kim Jong-un is a dictator. He is accused of starving his own people, to fund the nuclear weapons program, accused of having killed his
own brother in Malaysia or having him killed. And yet he is now -- he's being applauded in Singapore by passersby when he made that unexpected walk
around appearance. The foreign minister of Singapore is tweeting out selfies with him. This is a remarkable turnaround and how the world is --
there's the selfie by the foreign minister of Singapore on how world leaders are dealing with Kim Jong-un.
[15:35:59] BURNS: Well, it is because he's been the most isolated leader in the world until a couple of month ago he haven't met anybody around the
world. Haven't taken a trip outside of North Korea as a dictator of North Korea. So he's already been able to decrease his isolation. He's been
able to win over some of public opinion and official government opinion. So our president, Donald Trump, obviously needs to keep and check what he
says about Kim Jong-un. There's no reason for our president to be overly conciliatory here. There's no reason to describe --
GORANI: He called him very honorable and very open. Right. He's used very, very positive adjectives to describe him.
BURNS: And I think that the president needs to check that because we're the stronger party. The North Koreans have to come towards us to get what
they want. And given this human rights record, this is the most oppressive regime in the world. We ought to be raising human rights at the table too
to let him know that we're watching what happens inside his own country.
GORANI: We'll see if that is raised and we'll see how this unusual format with no aides and no other officials in the room, how that plays out. It's
only about five and a half hours from now. Thanks so much, Nicholas Burns.
BURNS: Thank you, Hala.
GORANI: So Mr. Trump is praising a sworn enemy after trashing longtime allies, including Canada. It's nothing else, the past 48 hours have shown
us just how upside down the world has become.
Let's bring in CNN political commentator and former Trump campaign advisor, Jason Miller. So praising a ruthless dictator, the president has called
Kim Jong-un very honorable and very open. And he's insulted meantime Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of probably America's closest ally.
What's going on?
JASON MILLER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, let's go and take these in individual pieces here. I think what the president is doing with regard to
the G7 and the back and forth with Trudeau is sending a very clear message that the U.S. is tired of being on the wrong end of these trade deals all
over the place. Now, I do think that the administration official who used some particularly harsh language toward our Canadian friends --
GORANI: You're saying Pete Navarro who said there should be a special place in hell for Trudeau. That is madness. Isn't it, Jason Miller? That
is madness.
MILLER: Yes. That language is completely out of bounds. I mean, I don't think --
GORANI: It's coming straight from the administration.
MILLER: That went -- definitely went too far. But I do think that President Trump is absolutely right to go and send a clear message that
just because a country is an ally of ours, doesn't mean that we should be on the wrong end of these trade deals. Let me give you an example. On
what planet does it make sense for, say for example, for the Canadians to put a $270 percent tariff on U.S. dairy but then it's out of bounds for the
U.S. to do the same thing in return?
GORANI: Yes, I know you understand the basics of economics, Jason Miller. There is a trade surplus on the U.S. side with Canada. You know that.
Because if you look at the surplus, it includes services. You were just talking about goods. The U.S. is on the right side of this deal here right
now. Here it is. The U.S. is $8.4 billion in surplus with Canada. So this line that keeps coming out that the U.S. is on the wrong end is just
not accurate.
MILLER: Well, with regard to goods and in particular as the president is fighting for American manufacturing.
GORANI: You cannot cherry pick what you want and then insult your closest ally's leader. Can't do that.
MILLER: Well, no, I mean because the U.S. can push for increasing our position when it comes to goods and with regard to agriculture. I think we
absolutely should be doing that. And if you know anything about Trump supporters and who put him in the office, this is exactly what the
president campaigned on that he would fight for American farmers, that he would fight for American manufacturing. So when Trump supporters see the
president standing tough when we're on the wrong end of these trade deals, his supporters are excited. They're happy that finally someone is standing
up for them. And so that message has taken completely differently.
GORANI: But also, how do you explain then the very honorable, the very open, those adjectives used to describe Kim Jong-un, a man who had his own
brother killed? And then you called Trudeau all sorts of insults and then Larry Kudlow, the new economic advisor said Canada stabbed us in the back.
Why use those words? Because ultimately, whether you support Trump or not, it will be damaging to both economies, historically that's always how trade
wars end up.
MILLER: So let's talk about Kim Jong-un for a moment. Obviously the president is in Singapore, as you've just talked about preparing for this
momentous summit that's going to get going in the few hours here. Everything that our previous leaders going back to the Clinton
administration, the Bush administration, the Obama administration, everything that they have tried, everything the experts have tried with
regard to Kim and his father before him have completely failed. All the approaches, the only thing that has actually worked is what President Trump
is doing with these maximum economic sanctions and then now the threat that something even militarily could happen with regard to North Korea. That is
what has brought them to the table and what we're getting hopefully, move them in the right direction toward denuclearization of the Korean
peninsula.
[15:40:02] And so I think what the president is smartly doing is playing to Kim's ego and he's going to see what he can get out of this. Now, this is
the first meeting. Certainly, we're not going to solve everything in one swoop simply with the meeting in a couple hours. But I don't think anyone
can deny the fact that all of this so-called experts have gotten it completely wrong with regard to North Korea the last 20 years. Trump is
trying something different. And I think one of the things here that everybody -- not just Trump supporters, not just all Americans, but I think
everyone on the planet should be rooting for Trump in this instance, because again, this isn't just the mainland U.S. We're talking Japan,
we're talking South Korea, we're talking Guam. We're talking everyone's Pacific Rim is at danger if we don't get this madman Kim under control.
GORANI: All right. Jason Miller, thanks so much, as always, for joining us.
MILLER: Thank you.
GORANI: So the Trump administration is in a war of words with the rest of the G7 of all people over trade. Is the U.S. really being taken advantage
on by its -- of, I should say, by its allies?
Richard Quest is here. Richard is anchoring "Quest Means Business" at the top of the hour. So we kind of --
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: I was listening closely.
GORANI: So let's talk about that topic. You and I cover business for a long time. You have fantastic business news hour on CNN. There is no
trade deficit with Canada.
QUEST: No. But here's the argument. I'm going to go -- let's bring the graphic back. Anyone can find it deep in the system.
GORANI: Yes.
QUEST: Yes. If you take the totality in terms of trade, there's a surplus. There is a surplus. If you add services against goods and
manufactured goods. But I see there's nothing wrong with saying that manufactured goods should also be more in balance depending on the nature
of the two economies. Which is really what the president is saying. The president is saying, look, yes, we've got surplus -- where we go. It is
wrong to have a deficit in goods of that magnitude. It should be more balanced. But where he goes wrong, I think, is that back to your daring --
GORANI: There's a reason, by the way, that Canadian -- Canada imposed --
QUEST: Every single country have called in upon has a sacred cow. In the U.S., it's tobacco, it's soy beans, it is -- there's a whole load of
things. In Japan, it's rice. In Europe, it's --
GORANI: And the farming industry in Europe is very heavily protected.
QUEST: Exactly. For example, the Europe has a 25 percent tariff unlike trucks being imported into the United States. So the starting point here
needs to be no one comes to the table with clean hands. You can dissect it any which way and backwards.
GORANI: I think from the western powers perspective and the western leaders at the G7, there is the admission that it could be a fairer system
for everyone. It's just a question of how you word it and how -- what adjectives used to describe your closest friends. Now, the picture that
went around the world.
QUEST: Merkel press --
GORANI: Merkel's photographer and it was on the chancellor's website. Let's put that up, because it's already an iconic image. And there have
been many --
QUEST: This will play well.
GORANI: This will play well with Trump's base.
QUEST: Absolutely. This is the president of the United States making America great again. Look at his face. He's not cowed. He's not
dismayed. He's resolute. Look at Angela Merkel. For goodness sake, just -- look at Shinzo Abe. Where are we going with this?
GORANI: And John Bolton.
QUEST: As for Theresa May who knows what -- she's off to the left.
GORANI: There's a bit of her hair on the left-hand corner. But it's been of course online. It went viral. Guy Verhofstadt is the former Belgian
prime minister. He said something completely remarkable. He tweeted this with the picture. Just tell us what Vladimir has on you. Maybe we can
help. Others put the picture because it was likened to a painting --
QUEST: When did you last see your father? In Liverpool museum by the way, it's a very famous painting.
GORANI: It was photo shopped in the actual frame.
QUEST: Beautiful.
GORANI: It's incredible: And there are other, Richard, pictures of the same moment taken by the official photographers of other governments.
Let's take look at what the Japanese put out.
QUEST: The Japanese clearly weren't using a digital came. It hasn't quite got the iconic moment of Merkel looking in the face. But it's there. It's
there.
GORANI: And a quick one. Here's what the French put out. There's Macron.
QUEST: Well, I was about to say -- the French managed to miss most of the picture. But they did get their own president.
GORANI: And quickly, the U.S.
QUEST: Let's see this.
GORANI: I don't know --
QUEST: You could see why Merkel's picture is iconic. The rest of them just look like snaps taken at a bad party.
GORANI: All right, Richard, we'll see you at the top of the hour. Thanks so much for joining us.
[15:45:01] Still to come, back to North Korea -- back to North Korea after the break with someone who knows Poyang better than just about any other
outsider. A conversation with the first American journalist to be stationed in North Korea when we come back. Stay with us.
GORANI: U.S. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo says there's only acceptable outcome to the talks between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, the
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. For more on the summit, I want to bring in former Associated Press Pyongyang Bureau chief, Jean Lee. She
was nominated for a Pulitzer for her coverage of North Korea. Welcome to the show. Thanks for being with us.
Is it possible that we end up with a bit of an anti-climax in the end, you know, where we see the two leaders shake hands, that'll be the big picture,
than a few pictures of them talking face to face with the translators then some sort of communique about some step by step denuclearization process
and everybody goes home? Could it end up being just that?
JEAN LEE, FORMER ASSOCIATED PRESS PYONGYANG BUREAU CHIEF: Depends on whose perspective you're looking at this from, because remember, that these two
leaders both have a flare for drama, they both love theatrics and they're going to make sure that they have a historic, dramatic moment. Both of
them have an interest in spinning it so that it comes out to be a historic moment and something that they can be proud of and call a victory. So when
you break it down, it's quite possible, very likely that it won't have the big things that we were expecting, that we were hoping. So for us
watching, looking for takeaways here, it may be anti-climactic. But they will make sure that it is theatrical.
Now, the two leaders will have some time to themselves, so they will likely work some of that out and try to figure out how they want to take advantage
of the world's attention. And they both have domestic agendas that they're trying to push. Reasons why they want this to be a big success. So I
think we'll see both of them spinning as a victory no matter what happens and what we come away with from this.
GORANI: And what's interesting is that veteran North Korean news reader, the female news reader, she actually announced that Kim Jong-un would be
leaving the country. And I understand that is quite unusual to announce an overseas trip. First of all, he's not -- I think he's only made two other
ones that we know of as leader. So how significant is that and why do you think that the North Korean leadership decided to make this announcement
internally?
LEE: There was a lot of speculation about why it was that North Korea state media didn't cover the summit. They don't engage in speculation.
They waited until he was on his way and the coverage has been astounding in the last day or so. So they had some pictures and images and coverage of
his departure. Absolutely amazing because what they did show was that he was flying on a Chinese plane, which was something we were all curious
about. How would he get here? That sends a message to the people that China and North Korea are back on good footing. Very important for the
people of North Korea, because they are watching that relationship closely. Remember, that China is a lifeline for North Korea economically. And then
also his arrival here in Singapore. So that certainly makes it -- it's set in stone now. And trust me, in the next couple days, no matter what
happens, this is a massive moment for North Korea and for Kim Jong-un. They are going to take advantage of the propaganda that it offers. It is
going to be considered and treated like a historic milestone by the North Koreans and by its media.
[15:50:35] GORANI: And do you think that the North Koreans are -- what do you think they -- their definition of denuclearization is? How far are
they willing to go? Because the Americans are saying, it has to be verifiable, which means inspectors and that type of thing.
LEE: Absolutely. And the verification is what has really stopped these agreements of the past from moving forward. I remember 10 years ago that
being an issue with international inspectors being kicked out in 2009. And it was Kim Jong-un himself who made very clear how he sees this happening.
On April 20th, he told a party -- a very significant party gathering. Listen, I am a leader who embraces a nuclear weapons-free world and I will
work with the United States as my peer, as my equal -- it's amazing that he's putting himself on that level. But as a nuclear power, I will also
push to -- push for denuclearization, but I'm not going to give up my nuclear weapons until I can rest assured that our country is safe. All you
need to do is look at his words and realize that for him denuclearization means denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula or the entire world.
And I think that that is going to be a very difficult hurdle for the two sides to get past when it comes to that definition. So I think he'll come
to this meeting say, yes, let's both agree to put out a statement that we both embrace the concept of denuclearization. With the nitty-gritty what
that will mean is going to be very difficult for them to work out.
GORANI: Jean Lee, thanks, as always, for joining us. We appreciate your analysis.
We'll be right back. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: When you think of the world's biggest filming locations, you may think of Hollywood, maybe Bollywood. But what about Hungary? A local film
producer took CNN behind the scenes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi (INAUDIBLE) I'm a film producer. And now, I'm going to show you the film industry of Budapest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And action.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we're at Heroes' Square. This has been used for many film productions. It's very popular filming location. Over there,
they use that part at one of the "Die Hard" movies with Bruce Willis. And this part was used for a Michael Jackson video.
One of the big blockbusters, the recent ones that was shot in Budapest was "Red Sparrow." And one of the main locations was the beautiful Opera
House.
[15:55:01] Budapest is the perfect place for filming, because it's so versatile. One corner can look like Berlin. Another avenue can look like
Paris. There are a lot of international movies that are shot here, probably 30, 40 per year. A film that I recently executive produced was
"Jupiter's Moon" where we shot a very interesting scene over there where we had a container 40 meters up and we had an actor and the stunt cameraman
jumping out from that container. I remember shooting this scene. I was extremely terrified.
So this is a New York film set. Although, we're still in Budapest. This was made for "The Alienist," the American TNT series. If you look around,
you can see that this is a film set. These are facades, but not actual buildings. Budapest is a great place to shoot and also economically, we
have the Hungarian tax incentive through which 25 percent of every money that is spent in Hungary on film will be given back to the production cast.
So I think this boom will continue for at least another few years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Thanks for watching tonight. I'm Hala Gorani. We'll have a lot more on the Singapore summit later. Stay with CNN. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS"
is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(CLOSING BELL RINGING)
[16:00:04] RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: That's the session on Wall Street. Dow Jones Industrials eking out a small gain overall. Bell
has rung.
END
