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Fascinating Moments from Trump's NATO Summit with Allies; Trump's China Tariffs Threaten Maine Lobster Sales; Life Behind Bars for Manafort as He's Moved to Another Jail; Lisa Page Defies Congressional Subpoena to Answer Questions; Controversy After Papa John's Founder Using "N" Word. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired July 11, 2018 - 14:30   ET

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


[14:30:00] DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Here he is with all of the allies around him after slamming then, being aggressive about how much they're spending on defense and here he is grouped with them. We're watching to see, how is the group dealing with each other.

How about this special relationship here? Look more closely at that. Theresa May, Donald Trump, seem to be engaging, hitting their marks, keeping them separate for a family photo, still engaged in conversation, despite the fact he was giving some praise to Boris Johnson, her foreign secretary that just quit. There's some frostiness here. But in this picture, we saw them getting along. That freeze frame there with the fist, this is a president not backing away from his proclamations. He is continuing to make his point, even to the closest allies.

We also took a look at this interesting moment. Here are the European allies. What's Donald Trump doing in back? Pulling Erdogan from Turkey. You know, he has shown an affinity for strong men. All of the close European allies the U.S. had great relationships with move ahead, he pulls him aside. Don't know the content of that. Donald Trump is not trying to put an image out that he doesn't want to be associated with the strong man either.

How about the Canadian relationship, closest neighbors to the north? Look at this. You see the president walk right by Justin Trudeau. Don't even look at each other. Avoid eye contact. You remember the blow up, what Donald Trump's aide said after that meeting. Clearly, there's no love lost at the moment in the Trudeau/Trump relationship. The president says that's not true, the relationships are just fine. I think the pictures show a slightly different story.

Then this may be my favorite picture of the entire trip. Say a picture tells a thousand words. How great is this? All of the allies are looking one direction. Donald Trump is looking the other direction, going a different way. That's basically, that's been his message to the U.S.'s close allies on this trip. They were looking at military aircraft. I think this picture captures it.

Chief of Staff John Kelly, all eyes on him, making a way for the exit. Tenure as chief of staff coming to an end. While Donald Trump is giving hard talk to leaders of NATO across the table, John Kelly taking water, not necessarily engaged in what the president is saying in that moment. There's a lot of chatter about what he is thinking while Donald Trump is giving a strong, stern message to NATO at that lunch there.

Then, of course, there's the moment when he met with Macron. And Macron was asked by the press about Angela Merkel and about Donald Trump's comments that Germany is captive to Russia.

Take a listen to what the French leader had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you agree that Angela Merkel is beholden to the Russians?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: (INAUDIBLE)

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you. Thank you very much.

(LAUGHTER)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: No. (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHALIAN: You see the president was glad that question wasn't asked of him. He had already made that statement, and Angela Merkel was responding. But Macron, take note, did not shy away from answering the question, even though he was next to the U.S. president. He clearly says, no, he does not agree with that, and he had no problem saying that sitting next to the U.S. president -- Ana?

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: I wonder if that will affect the bromance.

David Chalian, thank you very much. That was fascinating.

Coming up, Donald Trump threatening China with even more tariffs. This time, to the tune of $200 billion. A look at how the trade war is already impacting one state's most famous export, lobster.

And later, a bizarre story involving the mayor of New York, and allegations he crossed the border into Mexico illegally.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:00] CABRERA: Welcome back. The Republican-controlled Senate overwhelmingly rebuking President Trump's tariffs with a resolution, urging Trump to get congressional approval before using national security as a reason for imposing tariffs. Comes as President Trump raises the stakes again in his trade war with China. Unveiling a plan to impose new tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports. This time, the U.S. is targeting clothes, seafood, even baseball gloves.

Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, typically a Trump supporter, doesn't seem entirely convinced this is sound strategy. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ORRIN HATCH, (R), UTAH: I'm not a great fan of -- great believer in tariffs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I want to bring in Tom Adams, founder, owner of Maine Coast Company.

Tom, great to have you with us.

We like to have personal stories for the impact of some of the moves that many of us don't feel initially.

I know you're feeling it. China is a big market for you. You say 22 percent of lobster sales in 2017 went to China. How has your business been impacted by the tariff fight so far?

TOM ADAMS, FOUNDER & OWNER, MAINE COAST COMPANY: Thank you, Ana. Appreciate you reaching out and showing interest in some of the problems that we're facing as an industry here in Maine. This punitive tariff situation that we're involved in in the trade war has a direct effect on my company and the Maine lobster industry.

CABRERA: What are you seeing when you talk about a direct effect, what does that look like for you?

ADAMS: Imagine 22 percent of our sales at Maine Coast last year were directly to mainland China. Since July 1st, our Chinese sales have stopped due to concerns not only about the tariff amount but how our goods as American goods will be treated coming into the country from a customs perspective. We're dealing with live, perishable product, Maine lobster, and any delay in transit time or at the border can have direct result in our product not making it there alive.

[14:40:29] CABRERA: So what I'm hearing you say is a quarter of your potential income is in jeopardy now. What goes through your mind seeing that China has cut off lobster coming in from your company?

ADAMS: That's absolutely correct. When these punitive tariffs were announced on live lobster and American seafood, it was really a kick in the gut for us. We built our business in the last few years, and expanded it, hired people accordingly to grow into the Chinese market, which has been very good for us. We traveled there several times a year, invested hundreds of thousands in our marketing and sales efforts, and all of that is right now in jeopardy. And the future is uncertain.

CABRERA: Do you think President Trump actually grasps how much a blow this is to people like you?

ADAMS: You know, I don't know that. I understand trade is a complex issue and I understand that, you know, we, as a country, have to negotiate in our best interests. But when it comes to a small industry, like Maine lobster, I don't think that President Trump or even sometimes our USTR representatives have a full idea of how much companies like mine, in a small state like Maine, relies on these industries in this global trade we have now.

CABRERA: I guess, bottom line then, what happens next for you? Are you making adjustments? What is your plan?

ADAMS: We are trying to make adjustments. We had very little notice, only a few weeks before the tariffs were imposed. As a company, since that notification, we have been trying to decide what our path forward is. And we will make paths. And we will persevere. But there's going to be some suffering both within my company and the entire state of Maine. This is one of the most-important industries in the state. There's over 4,000 licensed fishermen and women in the state of Maine that will be affected by having a market as big as China be directly affected by this. This will result, I believe, in lower pricing to those hardworking fishermen and lower revenue for my company.

CABRERA: Tom Adams, we'll keep in touch with you. Thank you for sharing your story. Best of luck.

ADAMS: Thank you. I appreciate, once again, you looking out for our industry. Thank you.

CABRERA: You're welcome.

Coming up, the president's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, is going to be moved to another jail after a legal back and forth ahead of his trial. Why his lawyers were raising concerns about his safety.

Plus, shares of the popular pizza chain Papa John's falling after reports the company's founder used a racial slur on a conference call.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:47:52] CABRERA: Just into CNN, more insight in what life is like for President Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, inside jail. This, as we're learning he will be moved to a different jail, one closer to D.C. ahead of his trial on bank and tax fraud charges.

Here's why this move is significant. He complained for weeks being jailed 100 miles outside of the city made it too difficult to meet with his lawyers to prepare for his upcoming trial on bank and tax fraud charges. A judge finally decided to grant his request to move him closer, saying he could be moved to a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, where the trial will be held. Then Manafort's lawyers said, forget it, they had safety concerns. It was already too late. The judge ordered the transfer. Now prosecutors say his trial should not be postponed.

In a court filing today, prosecutors are providing some detail into Manafort's jail experience. He has reportedly been in solitary confinement, but prosecutors are describing it more like a VIP experience with a private-living unit, its own bathroom, telephone to call his lawyers, a laptop, no requirement to wear a prison jumpsuit.

Let's discuss further. I want to bring in CNN contributor and former Nixon White House counsel, John Dean.

John, let's start with the back and forth over where he was going to be jailed. He tried to get the judge to move him. The judge says we'll give it to you. Now all of a sudden, his lawyers are saying, no, thanks. What do you think is going on? Did the judge call their bluff?

JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think Paul Manafort must have liked the present location he's in. And while it is a two-hour drive or more for his attorneys to get there, he's accustomed to it now, and it is not a bad place to be. It's a relatively new facility. It's much better than the place in Alexandria. I think that's why they caboshed the move when the judge was willing to make it, and they've lost credibility with the judge, and so he went ahead and made his decision.

[14:50:02] CABRERA: Looking at reporting from the filing, it says, "On the monitored prison phone calls, Manafort has mentioned that he is being treated like a VIP." Those are apparently his words. Mueller's team also pushing back on the idea that Manafort couldn't prepare.

Let me read you a quote from filings. It says, "July 4, 2018, Manafort remarked in a taped prison call that he is able to visit with his lawyers every day, that he has all my files like I would at home." They also say, "Manafort has a personal telephone in his unite which he can use over 12 hours a day to speak with his attorneys, and that he has a personal laptop that he is permitted to use as well."

John, in your experience, how unusual is this type of, quote, unquote, "VIP treatment"?

DEAN: Well, for somebody in a pretrial stage, not unusual at all. I think the government tries to make it easy for people who are held in this sort of circumstance, getting ready for trial, to not make it impossible to prepare for trial. That will give them a reversible error. They're being careful. I think they knew that when they sent him down to this place in Virginia. It is a safe place. I understand that there have been a number of high-profile people there before him and found it pretty comfortable.

CABRERA: How likely is it his trial gets delayed? It is supposed to start in a couple of weeks.

DEAN: I don't see that happening. I think they've lost a little credibility with this volley of motions. The judge wants to get it moving. I think it is going to go forward. I haven't seen, so far, a really compelling reason that the judge would delay it. I think they know that. So I think they're going full steam ahead.

CABRERA: I want to switch gears for a moment and ask you about Lisa Page, the former FBI lawyer that exchanged some anti-Trump text messages with Agent Peter Strzok before the election. She's defying a congressional subpoena to appear before a closed-door interview saying she hasn't been provided the scope of questions and all of the documentation she would need to prepare for the interview. What are the consequences of her defying a subpoena?

DEAN: Theoretically, she could be held in contempt of Congress. There's been a mixed record of people held in contempt of the House or Senate. It happened more with the House. Then it is referred to local U.S. attorney for prosecution. Nobody has been prosecuted under this in a very long time. I think she's asking for the same kind of treatment that Republicans get, and she's hoping to get it.

CABRERA: John Dean, as always, good to have your take. Thank you for joining us.

DEAN: Thank you.

CABRERA: Coming up, George Clooney, a speed scooter and crash, all caught on tape. A new look at the accident that sent the actor to the hospital.

Plus, we've keeping an eye on the NATO summit. World leaders holding a working dinner now, after President Trump demanded that all members pay up and beyond the initial amount they agreed upon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:57:41] CABRERA: We are getting our first look at the moment George Clooney collided with a car while riding a scooter in Italy. It happened Tuesday. In the footage, you can see Clooney fly high into the air, over handlebars, even over the car, and come crashing down to the pavement on the driver's side. He reportedly smashed the windshield with his head. Amazingly, the 57-year-old has been released from the hospital. Clooney reportedly told a friend, "It's good to be alive."

The founder and public face of Papa John's Pizza is at the center of controversy after a report in "Forbes" that he used the "N" word on a conference call in May. John Schnatter was asked on the conference call with his marketing agency how he would distance himself from racist groups online, and Schnatter reportedly responded, "Colonel Sanders called blacks" -- and then he used the "N" word. And he complained Sanders never faced public backlash for using it.

The company released a statement with a different tone to "Forbes"," "Papa John's condemns racism and any insensitive language, no matter the situation or setting. We take great pride in the diversity of the Papa John's family. So diversity and inclusion are an area we will continue to strive to do better."

I want to bring in Alison Kosik who is with us now.

Alison, this is not the first time Schnatter has come under fire. Are stockholders reacting?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are. This is not the kind of headline that shareholders want to hear. As soon as headline came out, we saw the stock drop 5.9 percent. That equates to $96 million in market value. It's since come back. Now down about 3 percent. But shareholders are concerned that there could be a consumer backlash or a boycott, that people won't go buy Papa John's Pizza after hearing what Schnatter apparently said. This is according to "Forbes." CNN hasn't independently confirmed what he said.

But Schnatter isn't new to this kind of controversy. Back in November, during an earnings call, he lashed out at the NFL for how they handled the national anthem controversy. He blamed the NFL for Papa John's poor sales. He stepped down as CEO in January, but he still has close ties to the company. He's the biggest shareholder. He founded the company. And, Ana, his face is still on the pizza box. It will be interesting to see what the company does, how the company handles the latest P.R. disaster.

[15:00:03] CABRERA: And with the fallout, we do know that marketing service, market company, a laundry service that's already cancelled its contract with Papa Johns.

KOSIK: They have.

CABRERA: Alison Kosik --

KOSIK: Thank you.

CABRERA: -- thanks very much.