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New Poll Shows Support for Impeachment Increasing to 41 Percent; Trump Wants New Tariffs on Mexican Products Over Immigration; Suspect in Virginia Beach Shooting Turned in Resignation Letter on Day of Rampage. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 02, 2019 - 16:00   ET

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


[16:00:17] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone, thank you so much for being with me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

As President Trump gets ready to head to London tonight ahead of his highly anticipated royal visit, he can't escape what he calls that, quote, "dirty, filthy, disgusting word, impeachment." A new CNN poll released today shows support for impeachment slowly increasing with 41 percent of those polled in support. It's up four points from the last CNN poll.

That increase is mostly due to Democratic support. And keep in mind this poll was mostly done after Special Counsel Robert Mueller broke his two-year silence and discussed the findings of his Russia probe this week.

But some good news for the president. His approval rating is still holding at 43 percent. Let's check in with CNN senior national correspondent Kyung Lah. She is in San Francisco at the California Democratic Convention.

Kyung, what's the message that Democrats largely have been saying there?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, largely is that they way they feel, and this is a progressive event. They way they feel that President Trump will be defeated is to tack left, to be more progressive. This is a progressive event. They are the ones who rule the floor here. And you could certainly hear it, they were calling out Joe Biden in conversations here on the floor, talking to reporters, handing out various flyers. And we also heard it from the stage. Bernie Sanders, while not using his name directly, took aim at Joe Biden's lack of presence here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As you all know, there is a debate among presidential candidates who have spoken to you here in this room. And those who have chosen for whatever reason not to be in this room.

(CHEERS) SANDERS: About the best way forward, so let me be as clear as I can be. In my view, we will not defeat Donald Trump unless we bring excitement and energy into the campaign, and unless we give millions of working people and young people a reason to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: And you can hear the response there, it was a crowd-pleasing line. Senator Sanders continued to talk about how he didn't want his party to turn back to the old ways -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then, you know, that was a pretty -- it's empty now but that was a really, you know, boisterous crowd behind you. They had no problem, you know, shouting out their sentiments to these candidates who came forward. Do these candidates expect that they would be so voracious?

LAH: Yes. They have to. This is a long history here in San Francisco. If you are too moderate, dating back to the 1990s, they will boo at you. They will let you know that they do not appreciate it. Moderates here are the outlier, at least when it comes to how you're treated on the stage. I want you to listen to what happened to former representative John Delaney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN DELANEY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Medicare for all may sound good. But it's actually not good policy nor is it good politics. I'm telling you --

[CROWD BOOING]

DELANEY: I'm telling you --

[CROWD BOOING]

DELANEY: We should have universal health care --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: And he's the one with the mic. It went on and on, Fredricka. He couldn't pick up his comments for another 30 seconds to 45 seconds. So it was quite loud.

WHITFIELD: Sounds like they were tough. Tough audience.

All right, Kyung Lah. Thank you so much.

I want to bring in now Donald Trump biographer and CNN contributor, Michael D'Antonio. He is with us now. You can check out his new book, "The Truth About Trump."

All right, good to see you, Michael. So while you've got audiences who are, you know, talking about impeachment of the president, you've got polling that says it's up like 4 percent in support of impeachment, does this further embolden President Trump? Or does this rattle him, do you think?

MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think the president is rattled right now. He's probably fleeing to London with a spring in his step to get out of town and maybe get some positive attention, visiting the royal family and other people in England.

[16:05:12] I also think that he's going to embark on a strategy of saying everything and seeing what sticks so for a while he'll probably say --

WHITFIELD: Like using the word, the dirty, you know, disgusting word, impeachment?

D'ANTONIO: Right. Right. So this is a marketing campaign. It always is with the president. So when he talks about it being a dirty, ugly, disgusting, filthy word you can add your own adjectives. He's seeing if he can form that association in people's minds. And like a pitch for a hamburger or a brand of soda, he wants us to think the catch phrase, when we hear the word impeachment.

WHITFIELD: And when he's repetitious, he feels like he's, you know, actually making some real headway in that respect.

So also joining us now, Michael, is CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein.

So, you know, Ron, the president is about to go abroad, and back at home, you've got people, you know -- you know, saying impeachment. You've got more voices encouraging that, and, you know, you've got some folks in the U.K. who are, you know, saying they don't really want him there. You know, so --

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right.

WHITFIELD: How is this president feeling, you know, heading overseas while you've got all of this going on in his, you know, home turf?

BROWNSTEIN: Look, turmoil, you know, surrounds Donald Trump, that is the essence of his presidency, and this is really no different. I mean, you look at the CNN poll, I mean, Democrats still have some work to do, obviously to convince the country about impeachment. Particularly with swing voters, independents, about half of independents say they disapprove of President Trump's performance in the poll but only about a third of them say they support impeachment.

But support -- you know, opposition to impeachment is lower now than it was on the day that Republicans impeached Bill Clinton in 1998. And I have a somewhat heretical thought that the political consequences of this choice may not be as dire as Democrats think. I mean, it is true that Republicans lost seats in 1998, that was the first time since 1834 that a president's party gained seats in the sixth year of his presidency.

It's also true the Republicans lost a few more seats in 2000 but they didn't lose the House either time, and in 2000, as you recall, Fred, George W. Bush ran on a theme of restoring honor and dignity to the Oval Office. I mean, he very much played off the impeachment and he was the one who got elected even though he lost the popular vote.

So it may be that they have more leeway to do what they think is right because the political consequences of this may not be as dramatic in either direction as many are suggesting at this point.

WHITFIELD: And Michael, as the president, you know, heads to London first, you've got the mayor there who was saying, you know, questioning why even, you know, roll out the red carpet for him, someone who, you know, represents divisiveness. And then you've got the split, you know, right here in the U.S. among Democrats on impeachment. And it was very evident today on the morning shows. Just take a listen to Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, you know, followed by House Intelligence chairman Adam Schiff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM CLYBURN (D-SC): We think that we have to bring the public along. We are particularly interested in the Senate. We do believe that if we sufficiently, effectively educate the public. Then we will have done our job, and we can move on an impeachment vote and it will stand. And maybe it will be what needs to be done to incent the Senate to act.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: But it sounds like you're -- you think that the president will be impeached or at least proceedings will begin in the House at some point but just not right now?

CLYBURN: Yes, exactly what I feel.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): I think we're going to do what's right for the country, and at this point the speaker has not reached the conclusion, and I haven't either, that it's best for the country to put us through an impeachment proceeding that we know is destined for failure in the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So then, Michael, if House Dems, you know, do succeed, you know, in voting for impeachment, but then, you know, Senate Republicans say no, I mean, doesn't this allow the president to consider this a win and perhaps use it in his favor particularly as he campaigns for re-election, Michael?

D'ANTONIO: Well, that's one of the two things he's planning to do. He's planning to either say bring it on and declare that it's to his benefit that they proceed on an impeachment vote or he's going to say, this is a terrible thing for the country, you shouldn't do it. So he's going to test out those two ideas. But I think Ron is correct that it appears that the House Democrats are realizing that this process of educating the public about the wrongdoing of the president, the many indications of obstruction of justice is working.

[16:10:12] And that that's good for them politically no matter how it shakes out.

WHITFIELD: But then, real quickly, you know, Ron, for Dems, there's a lot to lose, too, because, you know, not pursuing or continuing with their duty of oversight, I mean, a lot of Americans are going to be very angry about that.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, they believe they worn in 2018 by focusing on bread and butter issues. Particularly defending the Affordable Care Act. All of the work that they have been doing on gun control, on equal pay, on gay rights, on the Affordable Care Act has been completely overshadowed by their confrontations with President Trump. They fear that impeachment will be an even deeper kind of black hole, kind of sucking attention to anything else.

But as I said, you know, you can overstate the degree to which the backlash against that hurt Republicans in '98 and 2000 and there's no question that there are a lot of voters who are satisfied with the economy, but dissatisfied with President Trump's behavior. And any kind of inquiry, whether it's impeachment or not will focus precisely on the aspects of the way he conducts themselves that are giving those voters pause. So there may be more risk in this for him than his bring it on bravado would suggest.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ron Brownstein, Michael D'Antonio, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

All right. And make sure you tune in to CNN tonight for three back- to-back Democratic CNN presidential town halls. It all starts at 6:00 p.m. with Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton, then Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, 7:00, and California Congressman Eric Swalwell at 8:00 p.m. All live from the CNN center in Atlanta.

Also, President Trump predicting today that American companies doing business in Mexico will get out of there if the tariffs he's threatening really happen. The president tweeting, "Our many companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move south of the border will be brought back into the United States through taxation, tariffs, and many as America has had enough."

The president's acting chief of staff agreeing with his boss today, saying that American consumers simply won't stand for higher priced goods from Mexico and won't pay. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICK MULVANEY, ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: American consumers have gone to products that are made in the United States, for example, that don't carry those tariffs. We think the same thing will happen here and the American consumers will not pay for the burden of these tariffs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But not everyone on the president's team is on the same page. Just last month, the head of the National Economic Council said that tariffs hurt all countries involved. Larry Kudlow used China as an example.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: It's not China that pays tariffs. It's the American importers, the American companies that pay what in if effect is a tax increase and oftentimes passes it on to U.S. consumers.

LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Fair enough, in fact both sides will pay. Right.

WALLACE: The president says China doesn't -- China, it pays the tariffs. They may suffer consequences but it's U.S. businesses and U.S. consumers who'll pay, correct?

KUDLOW: Yes, to some extent. I don't disagree with that. Again, both sides, both sides, will suffer on this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: U.S. markets took a tumble on Friday when the president started talking about tariffs on Mexico, and the normally conservative U.S. Chamber of Commerce is completely against it and looking at legal options to try and block tariffs from happening.

Let's go live to the White House now and CNN's Sarah Westwood.

So, Sarah, what is happening at the White House as the president is about to embark in his overseas trip and at the same time doubling down on this tariff talk?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, President Trump is continuing to issue these threats against Mexico, throwing some barbs at the Mexican government, even as the Mexican president this afternoon is taking to Twitter to tap the friendship between the U.S. and Mexico, saying Mexico still wants to be friends with the U.S. despite the president's threats. This as a Mexican delegation is heading to Washington this week to talk with high-level Trump administration officials including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to try to resolve this tariff threat.

Remember on June 10th, just a few days away now, all Mexican imports will be taxed at 5 percent, unless Mexico meets some sort of unspecified criteria, for alleviating the flow of migrants into the U.S.

Now acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney tried to make the argument this morning that these tariffs aren't immigration issue, not a trade issue because there are fears here in Washington, even among Republican allies of the president, that these tariffs could in a negative way affect negotiations over a renegotiated version of NAFTA. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, that is about to head to Capitol Hill for approval.

And it already had a tough road ahead. Of course the House controlled by Democrats, skeptical of this deal and what's in it. Now that path could be even more complicated by these new tariffs.

[16:15:03] But again the administration, Fred, arguing that this is an immigration issue and they want to see Mexico step up, do more to secure the southern border.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sarah Westwood, thank you so much.

Let's go to CNN's Polo Sandoval. He is on the border in El Paso, Texas. The U.S. imported more than $340 billion worth of goods from Mexico last year.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: President Trump portrays it as a lopsided arrangement with Mexico, getting all the benefits but is there concern over the impact on the U.S. side of the border?

SANDOVAL: Fred, tariff talks have certainly been heavy on the minds of people in border communities, kind of like -- especially the one that we find ourselves in this afternoon here in the city of El Paso, Texas. Here's why. Out of that number that you just mentioned, the roughly $346, the head of the head of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce tells me $80 billion of that comes across right here in El Paso. It is certainly not a drop in the bucket. So you can imagine that the people here have been paying very close attention.

And here's the thing, a majority or at least many of those $80 billion worth of Mexican products that are imported here are manufactured right off in the distance into Juarez. That includes certain components like for example a vehicle harness, which most people may not really know what it is but it is a crucial component in anybody's vehicle. It is also very labor-intensive, which means you still need human hands according to the Chamber of Commerce here in El Paso.

To actually make these products and labor in the United States would simply be too costly. So there are many products just like that have been manufactured for many years, right across the border, and so there is real concern here that a 5 percent tariff or maybe ultimately a 25 percent tariff, could be extremely damaging for regional economies for border towns up and down that 2,000 mile stretch of southwest borders. So if there's anyone who is closely watching those negotiations that are expected to happen in the days ahead in Washington, D.C., are the people about 2,000 miles away right on the border itself -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Polo Sandoval. Thank you so much.

All right. Meantime, we're also learning disturbing new details about what the shooter at Virginia Beach did just hours before killing 12 people in a government building.

Plus, just hours before President Trump takes off for his U.K. visit, London's mayor says he is a global threat, meaning the president of the United States, and compares Trump to fascists. We'll look at how the president of the United States will be received, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:21:11] WHITFIELD: We're following new developments in Friday's mass shooting in Virginia Beach. Officials now say the gunman resigned from his job just hours before he opened on his co-workers, killing 12 people. The longtime city employee sent his supervisors an e-mail earlier in the day saying he was leaving his job. The city also confirming that one of the victims was a supervisor in the gunman's chain of command. And today police also releasing dramatic new details about the shooting.

For more on these developments let's bring in CNN crime and justice reporter, Shimon Prokupecz, who is there in Virginia Beach.

So, Shimon, what more are we learning about the sequence of events.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes. So certainly, Fred, due to the fact that, you know, we finally have learned that on the day of the shooting, the suspect sent an e-mail saying to his managers, to his bosses, that he was resigning. He didn't really give a reason why. We understand that he claimed that it was for personal reasons. Folks here even questioned him. Some of his bosses, that one manager who he shot and killed, asked him why he was resigning.

We don't really have any clear understanding of why that is. But obviously it's a piece of this puzzle that perhaps will help investigators in learning the motive. Nonetheless, a lot of people, a lot of co-workers of the shooter surprised by this, of course. One co-worker we spoke to said he saw the gunman. The day of the shooting, sometime moments before the shooting, and the shooter told him to have a good weekend. And here's what else he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH SCOTT, CO-WORKER OF SUSPECTED GUNMAN: Dwayne was a very nice person. Very -- he was quiet, he was non-assuming, he was pleasant to be around. And when I last saw him, which was just before this incident happened, he wished me to have a good weekend.

The whole department up there is very close. We have a lot of celebrations together. We all celebrate victories for each other. There was absolutely no sign. Even when I talked to him just before it happened, there was no sign that this was going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PROKUPECZ: And that is what we've been hearing a lot of from people who work here behind us in building number two, and also, from the city manager, the man who is really running this entire city, who said there was nothing in the shooter's record to indicate there was going to be any kind of problem. He wasn't facing any kind of disciplinary proceedings. So certainly they are still going through all of that, but there was nothing at least from city officials that would indicate that this guy was a problem, and that this was perhaps going to happen.

The other thing, Fred, we have learned is that there was a lot of dramatic moments leading into the shooting, the police response. They were on the scene within two minutes of the first calls of gunfire coming from the building. Some of the police officers are two detectives who ran into the building in plain clothes. They weren't in uniforms, they grabbed their bulletproof vests. They were sitting at their desks. They grabbed their bulletproof vests and ran 300 yards into the gunfire.

One of those detectives was shot, but he was saved thankfully by his bulletproof vest. But obviously, investigators here still poring through a lot of the evidence, interviewing co-workers, family members, trying to learn the motive.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. All right. Shimon Prokupez, thank you so much.

Ahead of his trip to the U.K. the president shattered diplomatic norms, commenting on who he thinks would be a good replacement for outgoing prime minister Theresa May and even the Brexit stalemate. So what can we expect when the president gets to the U.K. We'll discuss straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:28:33] WHITFIELD: Just hours from now, President Trump will board Air Force One to embark on his first official state visit to the U.K. And though he has not touched down on British soil yet, he's already making waves in a new interview with the British newspaper "The Sun Times" -- "Sunday Times." The president argues the U.K. should walk away from Brexit talks if the E.U. won't deliver what it wants.

Trump also addressed the country's current leadership, calling on the leadership -- the leader of the populist group Nigel Farage to drive negotiations. Farage has pushed for Britain to leave the E.U., the European Union. Meanwhile, a longtime vocal critic of the president is slamming him again. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, labeling Trump today as one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. Khan also says it's un-British to roll out the red carpet for someone whose divisive behavior flies in the face of the ideals America was founded upon.

And that's not all the drama going on. The royals are roped in all of this as well. In the same "Sunday Times" interview, Trump offered some choice words for comments made by the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle when he was told she once described him as a misogynistic. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She said she would move to Canada if you got elected. Turned out she moved to Britain.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, good. There are a lot of people moving here. What can I say. No, I didn't know that she was nasty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, NEWSROOM ANCHOR: But today, less than 24 hours before Trump comes face to face with members of the British Royal Family, the president took to Twitter to deny those very comments that you just heard him say. CNN Royal Commentator, Victoria Arbiter joining me right now, so Victoria, good to see you. So this is going to be a rather awkward visit or will it not? I mean, you have got the London mayor who's calling the president of the United States divisive.

And, you know, the red carpet should not be rolled out. And then you heard what the president said in response to what he heard of the, you know, Duchess of Sussex's comments and points of view about the president of the United States. So what's this visit going to be like?

VICTORIA ARBITER, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Well, fortunately, the person leading this visit is going to be the Queen. And the Queen really is masterful when it comes to diplomacy. She's conducted well over 100 state visits since she came to the throne in 1952. And over the years, she's dealt with a number of divisive figures. Putin's visit in 2003 was mobbed by human rights protesters.

In 1971, Emperor Hirohito, who was Japan's war time leader was met with angry veterans during his carriage procession. So the Queen is used to this. She knows how to handle tricky figures. But, of course, Donald Trump making these types of comments on the eve or indeed during the weekend ahead of a visit to the U.K. is incredibly insensitive and not terribly tactful.

Of course, he's proven himself to be a liability in the past when it comes to the fragility of other nations' political environments. And so I think everyone would rather hoped given the U.K. is laying on so much pomp and pageantry, royal hospitality at its finest that he perhaps would have been a little bit more mindful, but this is Donald Trump we're talking about.

WHITFIELD: So how does the president turn things around or use this trip in his favor after all these foibles thus far.

ARBITER: Well, we certainly hope that once he arrives he'll follow protocol, that he will mind his p's and q's, and that he'll avoid saying I told you so. I think that's going to be really what will wind Britain's up more than anything else. Now, widespread protests have been planned. There's going to be the re-launch of the 20 foot Trump baby blimp.

And we know how sensitive the president is to criticism. So when he arrives, he's going to be rather sheltered from it. He'll have a ceremonial welcome in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. He's kind of protected from it. Once he sees those protests, that are when he becomes a bit of a loose cannon.

WHITFIELD: And apparently, he's going to have some face time with Prince Harry, you know? Would it be, you know, Prince Harry who would say something or stiff upper lip?

ARBITER: I am sure Prince Harry would want to say something. But he's going to be there supporting his grandmother. And he's well aware of the importance and the significance of these visits. Yes, a state visit is a lot of show. It's all about reaffirming the relationship between the U.K. and the U.S. But it's also about furthering British interests. Now, the Royal Family is politically neutral.

Harry, I am sure would have a few choice words that it's his wife that Donald Trump was talking about. But he knows better than that. He'll put on a show. And I actually think this is really Harry being at this private lunch with the Queen and the Trumps at Buckingham Palace tomorrow is more really out of a courtesy to Melania Trump. She did lead the U.S. delegation, the team for Invictus in Toronto back in 2017.

That, of course, is Prince Harry's baby. So I think perhaps Harry will keep himself to Mrs. Trump.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right, Victoria Arbiter, we shall see, won't we.

ARBITER: We will. We'll be watching. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. Embattled plane maker, Boeing, says it has found yet another issue with its still grounded 737 Max 8, along with some similar planes that are flying right now, details on this latest problem next.

[16:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This just in to CNN. Boeing has found yet another issue with some of its grounded 737 Max jets. The FAA says the company has discovered that part of a system on the wings called the leading edge slat tracks "may have been improperly manufactured." The problem affects nearly 180 737 Max planes, as well as more than 130 737 NG aircraft worldwide.

The FAA released a statement saying in part "the affected parts may be susceptible to premature failure cracks resulting from the improper manufacturing process, although a complete failure of a leading edge slat track would not result in the loss of the aircraft. A risk remains that a failed part could lead to aircraft damage in flight."

Let's bring in Mary Schiavo, former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation. And we should note that she also represents families of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max that crashed after takeoff in March. All right, Mary, so what are your thoughts on that statement, this discovery, the revealing of etcetera?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, again, it's a problem in manufacturing, assembly, and inspection. Now, this is a part of the wing. People will recognize it probably more from the sound rather than the sight. And this is something that's extended on takeoff to give your plane more lift. So your plane will hang in the air, if you will, better than you could get performance out of the plane otherwise. So it's a very important part of the plane for takeoff, especially. But it's not directly related to the MCAS, the maneuvering characteristic augmentation system that we heard so much about and what grounded the planes.

But whenever you have a manufacturing defect or design defect that can cause any part of the plane to crack or fail, you do have the risk of that part separate from the aircraft, if the aircraft would not perform property on that very important part of the flight take off (Inaudible). So it's yet another bad setback for Boeing. It is fortunate they reported it to the FAA.

And the operators have just 10 days to fix it, because this does apply to planes other than the grounded planes. It applies to other 737's. So yet another bad blow for Boeing, getting it fixed in 10 days is crucial.

[16:40:02] WHITFIELD: Wow. So you agree with your statement, where they said it may not necessarily -- that kind of the crack would not necessarily lead to the failure of the plane, but it could lead to, you know, damage of the aircraft.

SCHIAVO: That's right.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right, so do you feel like Boeing is able to recover, you know, with this aircraft, this design, even with these now voluntary statements, but particularly after the crashes of 737 Max 8s. How does Boeing convince the public about corrections? When you're talking about life and death in these aircraft?

SCHIAVO: Well, I think Boeing has to rely on two things. One is that Boeing is a very large company. They have huge U.S. government contracts. They're in the space program. They (Inaudible) defense capabilities in planes. So Boeing as a company will survive. But this particular plane, everyone (Inaudible) has such a bad reputation, the 737 Max, even though this particular problem goes to other planes.

I really think that the image of the Max 8 and the Max 9 potentially are so damaged that Boeing probably will overtime, though, they saying they're it back out. They will have to call it something else or phase it into a different program, because people are going to be skittish about this for a long time. However, that being said, when you book a flight on an aircraft, on an airplane, you can be very picky and say I don't want to be on this plane and book your flight just how you want to go.

But if you show up to the airport and there's a different airplane sitting there and it's a 737 Max 8, you have no rights to refuse it. You can say I am not going to go. I am going to lose my money, but the airline can use whatever equipment it wants.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. And as a result now, a lot of travelers are a lot more mindful about the plane that they're willingly getting on. Mary Schiavo, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Some incredible new video from Venice, Italy, showing an out of control cruise ship that sends people running and screaming for safety, the details on what happened next. [16:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Tonight, W. Kamau Bell is back with an all new episode of United Shades of America, and this week he visits Salt Lake City, Utah, to explore the growing LGBTQ community living in the epicenter of the Mormon religion. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been really hurtful because some people can't, like, wrap their minds around, like, being gay, being transgender, being non-binary. And I'm, like, I can't wrap my mind around the fact that they can't wrap their mind around it. It's like saying, like, hey I don't agree with mountains. And it's, like -- the mountains are there. They've always been there whether you agree with them or not.

W. KAMAU BELL, CNN HOST UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA: So what do you two think about your religion?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just wanted to be in that church there for my family. Like, I was sat down, and we heard some things that you're gay. And then we heard this other thing. And they didn't even want to say transgender. They just said that other thing.

BELL: Do you have friends who are going the Mormon route of like abstaining from sex or celibacy or dating people, like, in traditional relationships?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, I respect their choice. I'm, like, I support them in it. But also I think that despite that, when you're told, like, we want you here. There's a place for you if you don't marry, like, who you're trying to, if you're celibate, if you enter into a mixed orientation marriage, or, like, or you leave, like, what kind of a choice is that? Like, I think it's a very lonely thing to be asked to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Here with me now, W. Kamau Bell, the host of CNN's United Shades of America. Welcome, good to see you. So the Mormon Church, you know, hasn't historically had a great relationship with the LGBTQ community. So why are so many LGBTQ people now moving to Salt Lake City and saying, hey, you know, let's change things here?

BELL: I mean I think these are sort of, like, sort of weirdly separate issues. I mean there's the Mormon culture of Salt Lake City. But there's also the fact that Salt Lake City is, like, one of the biggest urban environments in that area of the country. So as happens, people from smaller towns move to that place, because that's, like, sort of the big city.

And when you do that, a counter culture is automatically developed. And I think a lot of it is also because the Mormon Church has a so many rules. And, you know, like, a lot fundamentalist religions, that a counter culture almost has to spring out of that. So it's like it's sort of these two things running parallel tracks. But

But you saw in that video of the show there are young people who are in the LGBTQ community who are feeling kicked out by the church, but it also means they sort of lose their family a lot of times.

WHITFIELD: So then talk to us about what you've discovered in terms of the interaction and the engagement and any progress, you know, that the LGBTQ is having with the Mormon Church and whether there is any change.

BELL: I mean, I think there's -- you know, the church recently made some changes to what they think with how they, you know, talk about the LGBTQ plus community. But it's not happening fast enough. As we talked about it in the episode that there's a high rate of suicide in Salt Lake City that is correlated to LGBTQ youth a lot of times, feeling like they have no other choice but to commit suicide.

So -- but also, as we talked to Dan Reynolds, the lead singer of The Imagine Dragons, who is a Mormon from Las Vegas. He says that, like, the church is actually in a good position to update its operating system. That's my language. Because the church is allowed to say we have new prophecy that says we have to change things.

As Dan says, they recently had new prophecy that said the church could go from three hours to two hours, you know? So if you could do something like that, you should do something bigger that includes your Mormon members that is more loving.

WHITFIELD: How difficult or challenging was it to get people to open up about this?

[16:49:49] BELL: I mean, you know, it's this thing where I think it's fixes a conversation that's happening a lot. And I think a lot of them were -- I was surprised, like, the young people at the (Inaudible) house were very excited to talk about, because I think a lot of times they feel like they have to keep this stuff to themselves or to some sort of in-community conversations.

So I felt like they're pretty open to talk about it. Now, we didn't get anybody on the record from the leadership of the Mormon Church to talk to us.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: That was my next question -- and the Church?

BELL: Yeah. They -- you know, I think they feel, like, they've been clear about this. I think it's also sort of a very awkward position to be put in, because -- and let me clear. All major religions that I can think of don't have a great relationship with the LGBTQ plus community. But I think they're not anxious to sit down with me and talk about that on camera, you know? I have a reputation, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, you are a force, W. Kamau Bell, and we appreciate that. Thank you. And, of course, we'll be watching. We'll be watching tonight. Be sure to tune in to an all new episode of United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell, airing tonight 10:00 eastern and pacific only on CNN. All right, meantime, new CNN polling shows more Democratic voters support impeaching the president, but what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is saying, it's best to wait. Can she keep her party in check? We'll discuss.

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[16:54:53] WHITFIELD: Here in the United States, domestic violence is a leading cause of injury to women. Many of these women have pets they love and don't want to leave behind if they flee the abuse. This week's CNN Hero is working to make sure they don't have to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Noah's Animal House is built right on the campus of the women's shelters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good boy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So that women fleeing an abusive relationship don't have to choose between leaving and leaving their pets behind. We've had clients from 21 states. They're driving thousands of miles. That tells you the need. And that tells you the power of the relationship between the woman and the pet. When you watch the woman come through the doors and then they see their pet, and everything's right in the world for a little while.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. To learn more about Stacy's lifesaving work or nominate your own hero, go to CNNHeroes.com right now. A giant cruise ship was approaching a dock in Venice this morning when this happened. Wow, and you see people running when they realize the ship was not slowing down. Italian officials say four people were hurt when it grazed the dock and plowed into a much smaller riverboat.

The cruise ship company says it was a technical issue, and that it's working with investigators to figure out more. The White House is defending President Trump's tariff wars, saying U.S. businesses consumers won't be affected. But we'll show you who will bear the brunt. Hint, it's not just Mexico.

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