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U.S. Immigration Crisis; Immigration Parents Share Their Stories; Investor Anxiety Pushes Stocks Down; Thailand Resumes Search for Missing Soccer Team; Prince William Begins Middle East Trip; World Cup 2018; More Migrants in Limbo as Italy Blocks Lifeline Boat; U.S. Prepares To Receive Korean War Remains; Pompeo Will Not Set Timeline For Negotiations; U.K. Activist Plan To Mock Trump With Baby Blimp. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired June 26, 2018 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Immigration and politics, parents separated from their children plead for help reuniting with their kids while a U.S. president ramps up his attacks on Democrats.
In Europe, countries can't agree on how to cope with their migrant crisis and rescue ships are caught in the middle.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Italians told us the responsibility is on the Libyans. And the Libyans, if you try to call them, they don't pick up the phone.
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CHURCH (voice-over): Plus a unique view on the changes in North Korea. We will hear from a scholar who's made 69 trips to the country.
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CHURCH (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
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CHURCH: And we begin with Donald Trump and the crisis over immigrant families separated at the U.S. border with Mexico. Multiple sources tell CNN the president questioned his recent executive order meant to keep families together, complaining it created more problems than it solved. But Mr. Trump was defiant on the issue again on Monday. CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump questioning again today why those entering the country illegally should be afforded basic constitutional rights and blasted a proposal to hire more immigration judges at the border.
TRUMP: They said we'd like to hire 5,000 more judges, 5,000.
You ever hear of a thing like that?
We want a system where, when people come in illegally, they have to go out.
ZELENY (voice-over): Attacking due process, a basic American right, has become a recurring theme for the president, who tweeted, "We cannot allow all of these people to invade our country."
In the Oval Office the president welcoming the king and queen of Jordan, talking briefly about humanitarianism before blasting U.S. policy.
TRUMP: We're all talking about humanity, whether it's what you're doing in Jordan or whether it's what we're doing here. The laws are obsolete, the laws are horrible having to do with the border, both in terms of security and in terms of taking care of people.
ZELENY (voice-over): The president talked again and again today about the need for new laws. Yet he's not spending time publicly persuading Republicans to pass two bills still stuck in the House, up for a vote this week but expected to fail.
TRUMP: We're taking care of a lot of problems that should have been taken care of over the years. Well, one of the highest on the list is immigration. And we have to change our laws. We have to make them sensible.
If they see any weakness, they will come by the millions.
ZELENY (voice-over): As he intensifies his campaigning for Republicans in the midterm elections, heading to South Carolina tonight, immigration is at the center of his effort to fire up supporters and block Democrats.
TRUMP: Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, they just want -- they want to use the issue -- and I like the issue for election, too.
ZELENY (voice-over): Those sharp words doing little to quiet the controversy or resolve confusion over the executive order he signed to end family separations last week.
TRUMP: I think anybody with a heart would feel very strongly about it. We don't like to see families separated.
ZELENY (voice-over): But aides say the president was privately furious at the global outcry over images of migrant children and parents being separated at the border that led him to sign the order. He denied that when we asked him today.
TRUMP: No, no. The executive order was great, it was something that I felt we had to do. We want children staying together. The law has been this law for a long period of time.
ZELENY: So immigration remains front and center on the president's mind. Also on Capitol Hill, as Republicans are struggling to pass an immigration bill through the House of Representatives. One thing is certain: this will remain a central issue on both sides for the next five months of the midterm election campaign -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.
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CHURCH: President Trump vented his frustration over immigration at a campaign rally in South Carolina Monday night, again blaming Democrats for the crisis. But he also told supporters, the national uproar is simply good politics.
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TRUMP: And what I learned is one thing, our facilities are cleaner, better kept and better run. That's the one thing I learned. OK. I saw that.
[02:05:00]
TRUMP: But what we have is too extremes. I liked it. I said it's fine for us. The Democrats want open borders they want anybody they want, including MS-13 pouring into the country.
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CHURCH: And despite all the political banter, at the center of the crisis are parents who are without their children right now. They told their stories to local media in South Texas.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
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CHURCH: Just so distressing and stories like that are what has brought activists and protesters to South Texas, hoping to send the message, set the children free. Miguel Marquez has the details now from McAllen in Texas.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We care! We care!
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anger growing on the Texas-Mexico border and across the country over the president's zero tolerance immigration policy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let them loose! Let them loose! MARQUEZ: Zero tolerance equals children separated from parents;
despite the president's executive order to end the separations, thousands of kids and their parents remain disconnected.
This man, just out of lockup in El Paso, has no idea where his daughter is or how he'll find her.
"I don't know if I'm going to see her again," he says. "I need to see her and be with her. She's the only child I have."
In McAllen, responses to the first lady's fashion choice, when she was seen wearing a jacket, bearing the message, "I really don't care. Do you?"
Assurances today, many here do care.
NORMA PIMENTEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY: They're scared. They're frightened and they know in prison, in a prison environment and so they're not sure what's going to happen.
MARQUEZ: Sister Norma Pimentel has worked in resettling immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley for decades.
PIMENTEL: Any person that feels threatened and afraid for their life, they should have the right to go for a country and ask for protection.
MARQUEZ: But the president as he has for years insists there is a crisis of criminal immigrants flooding across the border.
TRUMP: We will have millions and millions of people pouring through our country with all of the problems that would cause with crime.
MARQUEZ: The president now suggesting in a tweet, immigrants seeking asylum should be turned back with no opportunity to make their case.
Is it illegal to seek asylum?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not illegal to seek asylum. Stripping immigrants from due process it's illegal and unconstitutional.
MARQUEZ: The government making its best case that children separated from their parents are being cared for.
In this video provided to CNN by Health and Human Services, because they won't allow independent media to record in the facilities, the Tornillo facility in El Paso County portrays an upbeat atmosphere with kids playing, eating and staying in tents. There is no sound along with the video.
The big question is here, how does this all get rectified?
How do these families get back together?
One state politician I spoke to says that she is convinced that the government has information, has tracked both the kids and the families, knows where they are, but there's no process. There's no way to get them back together.
She's also not convinced they want to do it very quickly, since that the government may choose to wait till the --
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MARQUEZ: -- asylum process is over for the parents before trying to get them together. That could take weeks if not months. And in many of these cases, these kids and parents are thousands of miles apart -- Miguel Marquez, CNN, McAllen, Texas.
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CHURCH: And we'll have more on this issue a little later in the program. But let's go to the U.K. now. And lawmakers there have strongly voted in favor of building a new runway at Heathrow airport. The British parliament has been divided over a number of issues associated with expansion, including noise and air pollution.
Monday's vote follows decades of controversy. Construction could start in 2021. Prime Minister Theresa May believes it would signal to the world that Britain is open for business after the U.K. bows out of the European Union.
But it's not a done deal. London's mayor says he will fight the new runway.
Most Asian markets extended a global selloff Tuesday as investors worry about a trade war between the U.S. and China. Look at those numbers in Asia and you can see there, mostly in negative territory and Japan's Nikkei just up very slightly.
That anxiety sent tech stocks on Wall Street to their worst losses in more than two months Monday. The Nasdaq dropped just over 2 percent.
Clare Sebastian explains what set Monday's Wall Street selloff apart.
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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know the stock markets are easily spooked by escalating rhetoric on trade but this Monday was different. For the first time in several months the tech sector was also impacted.
After hitting record highs last week, the tech-dominated Nasdaq fell 2 percent. That came after reports overnight that the Trump administration was planning to restrict Chinese investment in U.S. technology companies.
Amazon was off 3 percent; Netflix down more than 6 percent. Both stocks that for so long has been seen as insulated from trade war fears.
But this wasn't just an alarming day for the markets; it was also a confusing one. First, we got Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tweeting that the
measures the administration was planning were, quote, "not specific to China but to all countries that are trying to steal our technology."
Well, that only added to the selling.
And then in the last hour of trading, Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro contradicted everyone, telling CNBC there were no plans to put investment restrictions on any country. That sent the markets climbing well off its lows of the day.
In the end, the Dow closed 328 points lower.
And if you thought this uncertainty was still just a hypothetical for companies, just look at Harley-Davidson. That stock fell almost 6 percent after the company says it would move some production out of the U.S. to avoid E.U. retaliatory tariffs. The company said it stands to lose $100 million a year if it doesn't act.
That's real evidence that U.S. companies are starting to feel the impact of this escalating trade dispute -- Clare Sebastian, CNNMoney, New York.
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CHURCH: And President Trump responded to the motorcycle maker shipping some of its production to Europe, tweeting this, "Surprise that Harley-Davidson of all companies would be first to wave the white flag."
He adds, "Taxes just a Harley excuse, be patient."
But can they afford to wait it out?
The company said those added costs amount to about $2,200 extra per exported motorcycle. Over a year, Harley-Davidson said it would lose between $90 million and $100 million.
New challengers as rescue efforts continue for 13 members of a youth football team, trapped in a partly flooded cave in Thailand.
Plus a royal first: Britain's Prince William is in Israel. He will meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. And that's not all. We'll have the details for you next.
And we have got World Cup highlights, including Portugal's tough test from Iran. That is next here on CNN NEWSROOM. Stick around.
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(MUSIC PLAYING) CHURCH: The search for a missing teenage soccer team has resumed in a cave in Northern Thailand; 12 teenage boys and their coach are believed to be trapped. They've been stuck since Saturday. Searchers are facing a lot of challenges.
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BUTCH HENDRICK, LIFEGUARD SYSTEMS: The most important one for the team that's going in there is the total lack of visibility. If you were to take a glass jar, put coffee in it, pick it up and try and look through it, what we're going to discover is I can't see anything.
They're going to be doing the majority of this project by feel. They're not able to look at compasses, they're not able to get reasonable landmarks visually. Everything is going to have to be done by feel and reported again on the way out.
As they start to do that, to be able to get from point A to point B to point C and understand they've covered the area is going to take a fair amount of time. They're looking at -- hoping that these young children, these young people, are not on the bottom but found themselves a space where they could be up and be able to breathe.
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CHURCH: Now the cave is partly flooded due to rain. It's also a tourist attraction that runs for many kilometers underground.
U.S. president Donald Trump says a lot of progress is being made in the Middle East. He met with Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House on Monday. He praised the king for taking in refugees from Syria, saying he's doing an incredible job.
He also told reporters that things are going well since the U.S. pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, although he didn't offer details or a timeline for any Middle East peace plan.
A first for Israel: Prince William is the first British royal to make an official visit to the country. While the palace says the visit is nonpolitical, Prince William will meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. An hour from now, he'll visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. More now from CNN's Max Foster.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not the first time a British royal has stepped off an airplane to be greeted by local dignitaries but it is the first time it's happened in Israel for an official U.K. royal visit.
The next few days will test the Duke of Cambridge's diplomatic skills to the limit. Royals speak through actions more than words. So officials in the U.K., Israel and the Palestinian territories have painstakingly arranged a series of arrangements that endorse all sides without favoring any one of them.
Prince William will meet Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel but also the Palestinian Authority President Abbas.
It had been a long day for William already, starting in a sprawling ancient Roman city of Jerash in Jordan, for centuries hidden under the sand, now excavated and second only to Petra as a national tourism hotspot.
FOSTER: These grand colonnaded streets were once graced by Roman emperors. But today they're paving the way for the next generation of royalty, Princes Hussein and William of the Hashemite and Windsor dynasties.
FOSTER (voice-over): They share much in common; both are destined to be --
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FOSTER: -- king, descendents of English grandmothers and graduates of the prestigious Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst in England. Both are football fans, too. The two of them here enjoying the England- Panama match in Prince Hussein's man cave, as it's been dubbed by the British tabloids.
Another link between the two countries is this picture. The palace was noticeably keen to promote it, a young Kate Middleton, standing next her to father at Jerash whilst in the country as a young child.
Today, Jordan is famously home to hundreds of thousands of immigrants from less fortunate circumstances. Prince Hussein introducing Prince William to some of the 655,000 refugees taken in from regional conflicts. The U.K. visibly standing shoulder to shoulder with Jordan in an effort to keep world attention on the Middle East tensions.
FOSTER: Those tensions felt acutely here in Israel, 70 years after the country's founding and only now receiving an official U.K. royal visit, many people here questioning why it took so long -- Max Foster, CNN, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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CHURCH: Lionel Messi and Argentina take to the pitch in a win-or-go- home World Cup match against Nigeria. And CNN's "WORLD SPORT" anchor, Patrick Snell, joins us now in the studio to talk more about this.
How is Messi likely to go along with the team in this do-or-die match?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well they simply dare not lose this one against Nigeria later on today, Rosemary. It's really not been Messi's World Cup so far. We've seen the body language. He's just not content, not surprising, given the way the Argentine national team have been playing.
But I'll give you a reason why they should be confident, why they should be optimistic because they have got terrific support from their fans.
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We have got some incredible video of how the (INAUDIBLE) supporters are really rallying around the team. Just look at this, outside the official team hotel in St. Petersburg, where they're going to be playing that match later on.
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SNELL: And also I think Argentina should take heart from the fact that they've beaten Nigeria the last four World Cups. But they're struggling in this tournament. They only drew with Iceland in the very first game and then they lost heavily to Croatia, 3-0. That was a really, utterly demoralizing result. They've been thrown a lifeline by the fact that Nigeria won over Iceland.
They've been thrown a lifeline now. I think that's fair to say by the fact the Nigeria won over Iceland.
Can they take advantage, that's the big question.
I will say this, they are a far cry from the team that went all the way in Brazil in 2014. They got to the final there losing narrowly to Germany. You just wonder, as we look at the scenario there in the group table, what has to happen.
Quite simply, Argentina must beat Nigeria and then hope Iceland don't beat Croatia in the other game. If it doesn't work out well for the South Americans, two-time world champions, will it be Lionel Messi's swan song?
Many would argue yes. But we'll have to wait and see on that. I still believe they'll turn it around. We'll see.
CHURCH: Yes, he hasn't looked sportsmanlike on the field, either --
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CHURCH: Yes, you have to be sportsmanlike. You know, someone wins, someone loses.
SNELL: Quite the crushing defeat.
CHURCH: But of course talking Messi, we need to talk Ronaldo and what are some of the other highlights.
SNELL: You can't talk one without the other.
CHURCH: No, they come together.
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SNELL (voice-over): We just saw those great images of the Argentina fans. How about this, other side of the coin. This is ahead of the Portugal-Iran game on Monday. This is outside the Portuguese team hotel in Saransk, the game which played visa (ph), not Portuguese fans, though, Rosemary.
These are Iranian fans trying to stop Cristiano and Co., you might argue, from having a good night's sleep, making an absolute racket there.
Look who comes to the window, I think that's Cristiano himself telling them, look, a man needs some shuteye here. Eventually they get it.
CHURCH: So shut it.
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SNELL: What happened on the field of play. Let's just say it was a thrilling game. A great goal from Ricardo Quaresma to put the Portuguese ahead. Remember, they are the reigning champions of Europe.
And then the unthinkable happened, maybe it was a lack of sleep, I don't know. But Cristiano Ronaldo misses a penalty and then Iran got a penalty of their own. It's Karim Ansarifad, making no mistake, that was in stoppage time and this is the key moment of the game for me. It's deep into stoppage time, virtually the last kick of the game, Mediterranee (ph) with a really bad miss, that would have put Portugal and Ronaldo, Rosemary, out of the tournament.
That player later in tears afterwards, like some of the fans as well. Now of course, Ronaldo talking point VAR, that's the technology, video assistant referee, a --
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SNELL: -- really good talking point from that game. Cristiano Ronaldo in the match, he got a yellow card. This is from the incident there, tangling with the Iranian player Morteza Pouraliganji.
Could it have been a red?
But it wasn't. It was a yellow. Had it been a red, he would have missed the round of 16 clash with Uruguay, Portugal will face Uruguay in the round of 16 after that. Ronaldo thinks it was unjust. Many would argue it's a yellow and he'll take it.
CHURCH: Right, OK, well, we'll talk about the matches to look ahead, too, next hour.
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SNELL: There's so much to look forward to.
CHURCH: Absolutely. Thank you, Patrick Snell, appreciate it.
For host country Russia, a loss to Uruguay didn't do much to dampen their spirits. People across the country are celebrating their hometeam heroes and the tournament's success. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is in Moscow with that.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A bit of a downer for the Russian team here at the FIFA 2018 World Cup with their team losing 3-0 against Uruguay. The Russians tried to start strong but you could tell that they were a bit more flat than they have been in the past two games. But of course they routed their opponents by scoring 8-1 goals in those games.
In this match, it was the Uruguayans who scored first and then added on a second goal shortly afterwards, both of them in the first half, another Russian player that actually saw a red card and from there on, it was pretty much lost for the Russian team.
Now as you can imagine, here at one of the main fan zones in Moscow, people not very happy , However they are aware, of course, of the fact that their team is already in the second round and they say that the atmosphere here in the World Cup will continue to be great and they say Russia will continue to be a great host. Here's what folks said.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's amazing. It's a holiday for all of us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I read many stories about people from many countries which are really surprised about Russia, they are changing their mind about Russia.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm surprised that people see the differences of Russia. We are not only about vodka, bears and something else. We are about a really good structure.
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PLEITGEN: As you can see, despite the fact that the Russian team didn't win today and maybe didn't play according to the expectations of some of the fans here, the folks at one of the main fan zones are still having a good time. That's because Russia is still in the tournament and already the 2018 World Cup is one of the biggest success stories for either a Russian or a Soviet team. It's been 1986 since the team from Russia or the Soviet Union advanced to the next stage of the World Cup.
So the Russians know that their football, yes, that is going to continue . But they also know that things certainly are going to get more difficult -- Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
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CHURCH: Coming up a ship carrying hundreds of migrants has nowhere to go after Italy closes its ports. The details next.
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SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Healthy debate on ideas and political philosophy is important. But the calls for harassment and push for any Trump supporter to avoid the public is unacceptable.
CHURCH (voice-over): And the White House press secretary has her say after being asked to leave a restaurant over the weekend. Coming up, where political debate is headed in America.
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CHURCH: We're back in a moment.
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[02:30:41] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back everyone. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to update you now on the main stories we're following this hour. Donald Trump says the recent uproar over immigration is a winning issue for Republicans. He spoke at a campaign rally in South Carolina Monday. The president also says detention facilities for undocumented immigrants are much nicer now than under President Obama. London's Heathrow Airport has moved a step closer to getting a controversial third runway. On Monday, U.K. lawmakers approved its construction in West London. Decades of resistance and debate had stopped efforts to expand but the new runway could still face legal challenges from local counsel.
Britain's Prince William has a busy day ahead in Israel. In the coming hours, he will lay a wreath at a holocaust memorial, meet with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and take part in a football match with Israeli and Palestinian children. On Wednesday, he's expected to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. And now to the migrant crisis gripping Europe, Italy wants migrant centers to be setup in Africa to help stem the tide of refugees flowing into Western Europe. It's not clear if that will happen. This comes as Italy is closing its ports and as CNN's Melissa Bell reports, that's leaving the fate of hundreds of asylum seekers in limbo.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tourists taking a Zumba class in the Mediterranean oblivious to the tragedy unfolding alongside them. In the background, the Maersk cargo ship carrying 113 rescued migrants now stranded off the Coast of Italy. Just like the Aquarius before them, the Maersk and a Lifeline are carrying migrants with nowhere to go as Europe closes its doors. Sunday night, a group of European MPs visited the Lifeline where the outlook for the migrants remains bleak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody cares about you. Nobody helps you.
BELL: Over the weekend, Maltese armed forces delivered boxes of supplies but with weather conditions expected to worsen, the ship's crew says they only have enough to get either to Malta or Italy, both of which have closed their ports to these ships.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Italians told us the responsibility is on the Libyans and the Libyans if you try to call them, they don't pick up the phone. BELL: But Italy's hard line interior minister was in Libya this
Monday praising authorities there and taking on the NGOs.
MATTEO SALVINI, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF ITALY (via translator): We will do everything to ensure that only the Libyan authorities are responsible for protecting the Libyan territory including the maritime one. By blocking the invasion of those associations that would like to take the place of governments and authorities and that in fact, help human traffickers.
BELL: A group that arrived back in Tripoli on Sunday according to Libyan officials this as a result of a deal signed last year between Tripoli and Rome that led to a 50 percent dropped in the numbers of migrants landing on European shores from Libya. Too little too late for European unity on the matter, the migrant crisis now more than three years old has brought to power a hard line coalition in Rome and lead to a more fragile one in Germany. But the German Chancellor now under such pressure to toughen up her position that the meeting of 16 E.U. leaders on Sunday was dubbed the save Merkel summit by the press.
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (via translator): It cannot be the case that some only deal with primary migration and others only with secondary migration. Everybody is responsible for everything. Wherever possible, we want European solutions where this is not possible, we want to bring those who are willing together and find a common framework for action.
BELL: But agreement among the 16 won't be enough. On Thursday and Friday, 28 European nations including the four hard line East European countries who boycotted Sunday's meeting will meet in an effort to find unity on the very issue that has for three years now driven them so much further apart. Melissa Bell, CNN Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: There's no question the United States has been deeply divided politically for some time now. But the emotions stirred by the Trump administration's immigration policy have reached a level that bypasses debate and at times moves on to public shaming. Our Tom Foreman explains.
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[02:35:15] TOM FOREMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This small restaurant in a small town is now on the flaming front line of the culture wars after White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders went Saturday night and tweeted I was told by the owner to leave because I work for POTUS, the President of the United States. From some Democrats, jubilation, California Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
REP. MAXINE WATERS (D), CALIFORNIA: And if you see anybody from that cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them. And you tell them they're not welcome anymore anywhere.
FOREMAN: From the White House, outrage in an effort to suggest Waters is after all the president's fans. "Congresswoman Maxine Waters, an extraordinarily low I.Q. person has just called for harm to supporters of the Make America Great Again movement. Be careful what you wish for, Max." Even before, Waters encouraged public harassment of Trump officials, left-wing protesters were arguing someone must stand up to an administration they view as aggressively racist. Homeland Security Chief Kirstjen Nielsen was hounded at a restaurant and her home by a progressive group enraged by the administrations family separation policy. Trump Advisor Steven Miller was reportedly called a fascist while he dined. Robert De Niro meanwhile used his platform to hurl an obscenity.
ROBERT DE NIRO, AMERICAN ACTOR: -- Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would Mr. Rogers thinks about you?
FOREMAN: And it's not just Washington. The Florida Attorney General was heckled at a movie about Mr. Rogers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you to be my neighbor.
PAM BONDI, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: A woman approaches me in the ticket line and starts screaming that I was personally ripping babies out of the arms of mothers.
FOREMAN: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is trying to temper the rage tweeting, Trump's daily lack of civility has provoked responses that are predictable but unacceptable. We must conduct ourselves in a way that achieves unity. Republicans are counter-attacking anyway.
JASON CHAFFETZ, FORMER UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: It's about scorched earth. It's about hatred. It's about harassment. And that's who the Democrats of today are unfortunately.
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FOREMAN: The owner of that restaurant said this is one of those times when people have to take uncomfortable actions to uphold their morals. It seems like a lot of people on both sides of the political spectrum agree with her. That could mean a lot more uncomfortable moments down the line. Tom Foreman, CNN Washington.
CHURCH: So let's talk about more about this with Dean Obeidallah. He is a radio host and a CNN opinion contributor. Good to have you with us.
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks.
CHURCH: So we have seen Kirstjen Nielsen and Sarah Sanders both tossed out a restaurants and Democrat Maxine Waters calling on people to confront any White House officials that they see in public. Isn't this exactly what President Trump wants, this division?
OBEIDALLAH: I think on some level Donald Trump does like division. We've never had a president whose come into office and not reached out beyond his base before like this, so perhaps on some level. But let's be honest. Donald Trump has riled up the left and even the center with his policies, with the family immigration policy which rips -- separates families to demonizing different minority groups banning transgender Americas from serving in the military to a Muslim ban. We're going to have a Supreme Court decision on the next few days. So what Trump wants and doesn't want doesn't really matter to those on the left where I am. We're riled up. We are very passionate. We're very emotional about this and we feel like we're fighting to save the United States of America from becoming Trumpistan.
CHURCH: So you think it's acceptable for Maxine Waters to call on people to heckle White House officials? Aren't you concerned that could end up happening on the other side as well and then we're sort of reduced to nothing.
OBEIDALLAH: Well, here's the reality, you know, Maxine Waters said very specifically cabinet officials. I have no problem myself personally if someone is going to call out a cabinet official. That's speaking truth to power literally and that's the First Amendment come to life. Our elected officials and people those in power or even appointed are beholden and should be beholden to the people. So if they don't want to hear from the public, well, they can dine with Donald Trump in the White House that they like. But if they're going to come out in the real world and they're supporting immoral policies they are involved in helping Donald Trump lie to us and spread bigotry and racism, well, this is a very unique time. This is not a normal time. This is not President George W. Bush time, but Donald Trump is very unique. People are very animated and very passionate.
[02:40:06] It's really a fight of values not policy. From the left, we view Donald Trump as somebody who is truly a threat to the values of this nation, values that my Palestinian father came to this country for and my Sicilian grandparents came to this country for a nation where you're treated equally and the same regardless of your religion, your race, your ethnicity. Donald Trump doesn't subscribe to that, so those defending those policies and formulating those policies are going to be called to answer for it. That's like there should be no violence. That's absolutely that's absolutely wrong, but calling people out, that's fine.
CHURCH: And now closer in the midst of all this, the White House is calling for civility. But let's just listen to how President Trump has conducted himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm on meet the press a show now headed by sleepy eyes Chuck Todd. He's a sleeping son of a bitch I'll tell you. Maxine Waters a very low I.Q. individual. Have you seen her? Little Marco. He's lying Ted. He's no good. I'm telling you. He's a bad guy. He's a bad guy. He's a bad liar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: OK. So just some examples there and then just a few hours ago President Trump tweeted this, why is Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat, perhaps in a near drunken state claiming he has information that only he and Bob Mueller, the leader of the 13 angry Democrats on a witch hunt knows? Isn't this highly illegal? Is it being investigated? So Dean, is this the problem? The president has lowered the bar to such an extent now it's all-out war on both sides and again, you know, we have to ask where does that leave this country?
OBEIDALLAH: I think that we really can't equate the two sides frankly. You know, Donald Trump has literally called for violence at his rallies saying punch him in the face, get that guy out of here, I'll pay for your legal bills. There are no Democrats doing that. Donald Trump has called on African-American men who take a knee in silence at NFL games to be deported. Donald Trump has done everything he can to delegitimize our media which is a check on people in power. He's trying to delegitimize those. Donald Trump is following the authoritarian for dummy's playbook. So in this time, it's -- again, it's a unique time. It's not normal politics. From our point of view, we are trying to save the United States of America from Donald Trump and I'm not being hyperbolic. I'm not being provocative. I'm telling you how I feel and how listeners to my show in my progressive channel, on my radio station, they feel, so we're going to call Trump out. We're going to call those who formulate those policies and defend his lies. That's the America we live in today. When Trump is out of office, I hope we can heal. We can return to the country we were. But in the time of Donald Trump, it's simply not possible. The stakes are just too high.
CHURCH: Dean Obeidallah, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
OBEIDALLAH: Thanks for having me on.
CHURCH: And still to come, a unique perspective on what life is like inside North Korea. A scholar who has spent years in Pyongyang says much has changed but many struggles remain. We'll have that for you in a moment.
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[02:45:46] CHURCH: On the anniversary of the Korean War, the United States is prepared to receive the remains of some of its war debt. During the summit, earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un promised to return the remains of up to 200 U.S. service members. With more on this, Paola Hancocks joins us now live from Seoul in South Korea. Good to see you, Paula.
So, we don't know when the remains will be handed over to U.S. officials, but when that does happen, what's the procedure that's followed?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Rosemary, what we know at this point is that the U.S. is ready. The military is ready to receive those remains. They're leading that the United Nations command up on the DMZ, they say that they have 100 wooden caskets at the joint security area. This is the area between North and South Korea where many of the recent meetings and the inter-Korean summit was held. So, they're there ready to receive these remains. And what we've seen in previous times is that, that will then be taken to an Air Force base here in South Korea, or a U.S. base. And then, potentially flown on to Hawaii. But this is where they have a very large laboratory, they're able to do the forensic analysis that they need to try and identify these remains.
Of course, that the Korean War started 68 years ago, as you say. So, clearly, they're going to need all the technology to try and ascertain exactly what remains they have.
Now, they've also said that it's not necessarily just going to be U.S. service members, either. There were a number of countries from around the world that dozens of countries that were part of the United Nations command. And then, of course, you also have the Chinese and the North Koreans on the other side.
So, that's really the process that they will be going through at this point. They don't have a timeline because they're waiting basically, for North Korea to give these remains back. And North Korea clearly doesn't give any kind of heads-up for things like this.
CHURCH: I, indeed. And while this is happening, the U.S. appears to be softening it stands on any timeline for North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, that's according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. And that's not what we were hearing yesterday, what's changed?
HANCOCKS: Well, that's right. We heard from a senior defense official as you say, just yesterday, saying that they were going to have what they called specific asks to give to North Korea, specific timeline they were going to be giving to North Korea to show that the U.S. concept of how this implementation of denuclearization was going to emerge.
But then you have this exclusive interview with CNN from the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying that he's not going to give a deadline. Now, whether that's he's not going to give publicly, a deadline but we'll give it to Pyongyang. We simply don't know but earlier we'd heard from Mike Pompeo, saying that he wanted to have the complete denuclearization finished by the end of Trump's first term as president. So, that would be 2020.
But now, he is pulling that back somewhat, saying that he doesn't want to say if it's going to be two months or six months, he simply doesn't want to give a deadline. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right, I have Paula Hancocks, joining us live from Seoul in South Korea, many thanks.
Kim Jong-un's recent moves on the international stage indicate an openness on behalf of the North Korean regime. And our next guest, says there are changes happening within the country, as well Katharina Zellweger is the director of KorAid and a visiting fellow at Stanford University. Great to have you with us.
KATHARINA ZELLWEGER, DIRECTOR, KORAID LIMITED: Thank you, happy to be with you.
CHURCH: And it's worth noting that you have spent five years living in Pyongyang. And this next trip will be your 70th trip there. So, I did want to just to get that out there, you've had the opportunity. Because of that, to really watch these changes take place. And I wanted to ask you overall what day-to-day life is like for the average North Korean citizen? And how it has changed over the past few years?
ZELLWEGER: Well, there is certainly a big difference between now and my first visit in 1995, but life for the ordinary North Korean is still tough. The situation in Pyongyang is better, but in the countryside, people still have to struggle to make ends meet.
[02:50:10] CHURCH: And what about -- what -- yes, I did want to ask you that about the food. Access to food and to health care services, what's that like? And what's the general quality of life like for the average citizen?
ZELLWEGER: Overall, the food situation has improved. It is no longer the famine we had in the mid-90s up to 2000 or 2002. But the diet is not a balanced diet, it's very strong on carbohydrates and people lack fats, proteins, and micronutrients. But still, at least, it's no longer famine and there are nowadays also many more greenhouses, so they get more vegetables.
CHURCH: And what about the health services that was available to them if they get sick?
ZELLWEGER: Well, health services is one area where there is a need for a lot of improvements. And I hope that in future, the international community will focus more on health services across the whole country.
CHURCH: And I also wanted to ask you about the level of education. What does that tend to be for the average citizen and how much of an understanding might they have of life outside their country?
ZELLWEGER: What is very positive is that in all those years, I have never met a North Korean who is illiterate. All children go to school, boys and girls alike. And that makes me optimistic that things can move pretty fast when we have a wider opening. CHURCH: And, of course, the fascination with North Korea now is due
to this new relationship we're seeing form between President Trump and Kim Jong-un. They had their summit in Singapore and now, of course, there's this expectation that Kim Jong-un will show that he is committed to denuclearize the country. How do you think that will go?
ZELLWEGER: I would say it's not something that can happen overnight, it will be a process, a step-by-step approach. But let's hope it will happen because there are also expectations in terms of sanction relief, of more economic activities, of a wider opening, and also more links with the international community.
CHURCH: And what's your feeling? Do you think -- I mean, you understand the mindset of the North Korean and presumably have a good understanding of how Kim Jong-un, may think in these sorts of situations. Do you see this going well?
ZELLWEGER: It's very hard to predict, but I think we need to see that things are not always moving at the very fast pace. So, we have to go in tune with the pace of the North Korean side too.
CHURCH: Indeed. Katharina Zellweger, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
ZELLWEGER: Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, protesters in the U.K. have planned for Donald Trump's upcoming visit. Just ahead, the larger than life, Trump, the American president might not want to see. Back in a moment with that.
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[02:55:04] CHURCH: Well the U.S. president heads to London next month. And activists there are seeking permission to fly a blimp of Donald Trump. Jeanne Moos, reports on what might be described as an infantile protest balloon.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is often accused of acting like a baby. But now, activists in Britain are planning to fly him in the form of a baby, the baby Trump blimp.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEO MURRAY, ACTIVIST BEYOND TRUMP BABY: He's as high as a small house, he's basically a big, fat, round, chubby baby, and the tiny weeny hands with a phone.
MOOS: Currently stored in a warehouse, activists want to fly him over Parliament on July 13th, when President Trump is scheduled to visit. The helium blimp was paid for with money raised on a crowdfunding site, $11,000 and counting.
Sort of reminds us of the inflatable Trump chicken that popped up at anti-Trump protests in the U.S. Large numbers of serious protesters are expected to turn out for President Trump's visit to Britain. But the baby blimp organizer's think --
MURRAY: Mockery is the right way to approach Donald Trump.
MOOS: Attacking --
MURRAY: His tremendously fragile ego.
MOOS: The activists are petitioning London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, to let their Trump baby blimp fly. Initially, the city rejected their request saying, "This isn't a protest this is art."
But even if officials refused to allow Trump baby to fly above Parliament, organizers do have a backup plan.
MURRAY: Trump baby will fly, this I promise. MOOS: There is talk, President Trump will visit one of his golf courses in Scotland, the activists say, Trump baby loves golf and might show up there.
Remembers a time, candidate Trump was interrupted by a crying baby?
TRUMP: Don't worry about that baby, I love babies so --
MOOS: We imagine his reaction, the baby blimp might be similar.
TRUMP: Actually, I was only kidding. You can get the baby out of here.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN.
TRUMP: What a beautiful baby.
MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And we'll continue to follow that story and bring you updates on whether they get permission. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me anytime on Twitter, and I'll be back with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment you're watching CNN.
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