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President Trump Visits U.K.; Theresa May Stepping Down; Boeing Finds Another Problem with 737 MAX; Violence Sparks in Sudan; Mexico and U.S. Gear Up for Tariff Talks; Trump U.K. State Visit; Virginia Beach Shooting; Search for Eight Climbers Missing in Himalayas; A Mysterious Re-Appearance?; The Rules of Royal Engagement. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired June 03, 2019 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Lunch with the queen and a banquet at Buckingham Palace. President Trump will land in roughly an hour to the U.K. for his first state visit here.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: A growing crisis. Boeing finds yet another issue with some of its grounded 737 MAX planes.
Plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was absolutely no sign. Even when I talked to him just before it happened, there was no sign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: In Virginia Beach, Virginia, co-workers of the gunman remain in shock. They say the shooter was not someone they'd ever expect to be violent.
SOARES: A very good morning. It is 8 a.m. Welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and right around the world. I'm Isa Soares coming to you live from London.
HOWELL: Isa, good to be with you. From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, I'm George Howell.
CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. CNN Newsroom starts right now.
SOARES: Very good morning to you. In roughly an hour, U.S. President Donald Trump will arrive in London for a state visit that is fraught with political tensions.
Now, in newspaper interviews over the weekend before he left the United States, President Trump advocated Britain take a tougher stand on Brexit and praised some possible successors to Prime Minister Theresa May. He said former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is an excellent contender. Take a listen to what he had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I may meet with him. He's been a friend of mine. He's been very nice. I have a very good relationship with him. I have a very good relationship with Nigel Farage, with many people over there, and we'll see what happens, but I may meet with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, let's give you a take of what we can expect. Now, the first day of his visit is packed with ceremonial events for Mr. Trump. First, there is a private lunch with the queen. Then there is tea with Prince Charles. And finally, a state banquet at Buckingham Palace, where he's expected to talk as well as the queen.
Now, he'll meet with Mrs. May and business leaders. That is happening for you on Tuesday. And as with his visit last year, not everyone will welcome him with open arms. Large protests are expected up and down the country, and London's current mayor, Sadiq Khan, a frequent critic, called the president one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: I don't think we should be rolling out the red carpet. I don't think this should be a state visit. And why do I say that? I think our close allies are akin to a best friend, and the thing about a best friend is, of course you stand shoulder-to- shoulder with them at times of adversity, but you've got to call them out when you think there are wrong.
And there are so many things about President Donald Trump's policies that are the antithesis of our values in London, but also our values as a country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Our international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins me now. Nic, we shouldn't be surprised to hear those words from Sadiq Khan. He's never been a fan of President Trump. But that article he wrote over the weekend was quite a blistering attack on the president, was it not?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: And the president's dismissed it by calling him a mini version of the New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is a Democratic candidate, by the way, in the upcoming U.S. presidential elections.
So really President Trump has dealt with that and dissed Sadiq Khan. They've had run-ins before over terror attacks in London and the way the president's handled that. It's not a surprise to anyone and I don't think it comes as any surprise to anyone either that President Trump is sort of weighing in on who should be the next prime minister, criticizing Theresa May for the way she's handled the Brexit negotiations with the European Union. Remember, he did -- SOARES: Yes.
ROBERTSON: -- he did all this last year and it came out in the papers just before he landed.
SOARES: But how does that affect Theresa May. She's in a really awkward position, isn't she? Because she leaves on Friday, is that correct? And then it's going to be very awkward dealing with hearing the fact that he's a friend of Nigel Farage, who wants a hard Brexit. This is something that will be very difficult for Theresa May and those within her party.
ROBERTSON: He's made it clear he thinks that Nigel Farage should be brought in as part of the Brexit negotiating team.
SOARES: Absolutely.
ROBERTSON: There is no political likelihood of that happening in the near term. Last summer, if we go back to then, you know, that President Trump sort of made up with Theresa May. There was a joint press conference and he made it sound like he was sort of being misunderstand and misquoted, et cetera, as he tends to do.
[03:04:56] This time is going to be different because as you say Theresa May leaves office on Friday. He knows he's dealing with a prime minister who is leaving, who he's already said he didn't approve of, so in a way his positioning -- his positioning are making statements whomever becomes the next prime minister of Britain. He's making it very clear what he wants and what he expects.
SOARES: I'm glad you brought that up. Because this is, of course, a state visit. He'll be meeting politicians as well. And for policy he'll be working his side, President Trump, will have something he has in mind. What will be the key things in terms of policy that he will want to tell the British politician or potential leader of the conservative party?
ROBERTSON: Huawei.
SOARES: Is that number one?
ROBERTSON: Five G. I mean, when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came here a few weeks ago, that was his number one issue, although he was walking into this very toxic Brexit situation at the same time. So, I think the anticipation will be --
SOARES: Yes.
ROBERTSON: -- that that's going to be a very strong narrative. That if you'd -- if Britain uses Huawei 5G elements as part of its 5G network, then that could compromise Britain's security relationship and intelligence-sharing with the United States and others in the Five Eyes partnership. So that will be a message. I think Iran, as well.
SAARES: Yes. ROBERTSON: Again, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just last week in Germany with Angela Merkel, very strong message on Iran there. We can expect to see --
(CROSSTALK)
SOARES: Well, seeking sanctions. Wanting the U.K. to back the U.S. in sanctions against Iran?
ROBERTSON: Want -- exactly. And wanting, you know, a closer alignment with the United States' position, which was to pull out of that joint nuclear agreement.
SOARES: Right.
ROBERTSON: And the pressure on Britain and France and Germany to follow that in suit as well. So, yes, more economic pressure on Iran, more isolation of Iran. That will be part of the conversation undoubtedly.
(CROSSTALK)
SOARES: Let me just give you some of the headlines from the papers this morning if you can see it here. Trump, it's my way or Huawei, which is what Nic was talking about there. If I can bring that up. And then I want to give you another newspaper front page. Trump arrives amid rising tensions. Anger as U.S. trade demands.
I'm joined now by Inderjeet Parmar, he's a professor of international politics at City University. Inderjeet, thank you very much for joining us.
INDERJEET PARMAR PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS, CITY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: You're welcome.
SOARES: For the U.K. government here questions over trade yesterday when we -- over the weekend, in fact, we heard from the U.S. ambassador here basically talking about -- U.S. representative talking about NHS being on the table potentially with a trade deal. How much will that rattle, you think, the British public here?
PARMAR: Well, it will. And it ought to because one of the key things we know about President Trump is that he puts America first. He has not made a secret of that, and I think he's looking forward to a Britain which is weakened by being separated from the European Union. Therefore, easier to deal with. You can drive a harder bargain.
SOARES: Yes.
PARMAR: That means more sectors of your economy, food, finance and the NHS will be open to American penetration. That will also lower standards and so on. So, yes, people will be worried about that.
SOARES: And not just the NHS. But also, as Nic was pointing out, also the question of Iran. Who would be the candidate that he feels -- do you think he'll already be playing into this, eyeing the potential candidate, the next Tory leader who may be slightly more amenable to his policies?
PARMAR: I think he's doing a bit more than eyeing.
SOARES: Yes.
PARMAR: I think he's already identified and named the kind of person that he would like.
SOARES: You think Boris will --
(CROSSTALK)
PARMAR: It was Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, if you like. They are the sort of the ideological access which I think is the most congenial --
SOARES: Yes.
PARMAR: -- to the kind of politics that President Trump represents. And he's made no secret of that. And I think what he does want is to slice Britain away from the E.U. and to weaken both --
SOARES: Yes.
PARMAR: And I think that will be a double whammy for Britain actually. Because on the one hand it makes its weaker in its hand in trade negotiation with the United States.
SOARES: Yes.
PARMAR: But if you lower your standards of production and so on within Britain as a result of that, the E.U. is likely to say we are not going to take the kinds of goods and services that you produce because your regulatory frameworks are now lower than ours. So, Britain will suffer in two directions, I think.
SOARES: And the reality, Nic, is that although the U.K. is leaving the E.U., the U.K. is definitely more in line with Europe than it is with the United States.
ROBERTSON: Absolutely. The amount of trade that it does with the European Union. The proximity of the European Union. The commonality and the standards, as you were talking about, is something that's taken Britain a long time to arrive at this point and it would be -- it would definitely put it at a disadvantage to be trying to negotiate by itself with the United States.
You know, the Huawei pressure is just one example. You know, does Britain see its place outside the European Union as trading with the United States primarily or is it going to try to have a better trade relationship with China? And right now, President Trump is really trying to divide the world on that axis as well.
So, Britain will find itself potentially a loser in many ways. Economically to stay within the European Union is a more immediately, at least in the short term, securer future. [03:10:05] SOARES: And Inderjeet, President Trump is coming here with
a bit of a wind in his sail. The economy is doing very well in the United States. He's working on his 2020 plan. He feels very secure about that. But the U.K. is a very different picture.
We have Theresa May leaving. We've got party leadership contests with 13 or so candidates. There is division, not just within Theresa May's party but also within up and down the country. It's a very different country that he came to visit when he was here last.
PARMAR: It's not that different and it's not very different from the one he just took off from within Air Force One. He is besieged at home in Washington, D.C. He's got -- there is a sense of crisis since the Mueller statement last week kind of reinforced --
SOARES: Yes.
PARMAR: -- the fact that he actually had violated quite a large number of norms, if not laws, and that he's looking for some sort of an impeachment. So --
(CROSSTALK)
SOARES: Yes, but he's coming here and he's running away -- I mean, in many ways running away from that.
PARMAR: Yes.
SOARES: Because I doubt many people will actually talk about that today.
PARMAR: They won't today, but the fact remains that what we've got is the two pillars of the liberal order from 1945 are in a state of deep crisis. Each one is basically loosening its connection with the international system of which they were architects and each one is seeking to renegotiate their positions.
The problem is for Britain is that Britain in 19 -- sorry, 2019, is not what it was in 1945 or even 1955, and I think the relative power of the two has shifted very radically.
So, yes, they're two divided policies in a state of crisis. But I think that crisis, as you rightly identified, sometimes when you're in crisis at home, you seek crises abroad through which you can kind of divert attention.
SOARES: Yes.
PARMAR: And I think President Trump is doing that on so many fronts. You look at China, for example.
SOARES: yes.
PARMAR: You look at Venezuela, you look at Iran. There is crisis everywhere, abroad and at home. So, I would say that what is going on now is a kind of new Cold War and President Trump is trying to line up as many of his allies behind that.
Huawei, if you like, is the kind of current target of that. Effectively what he's declaring is a kind of a war on a particular corporation and a whole strategy of China to become a high-tech superpower in the next five, six years or so. Made in China 2025.
SOARES: On that, do you think then like what we heard from Sadiq Khan, from the London mayor, that the U.K. shouldn't be rolling out the red carpet, or do you think it's critical that we do at this point?
PARMAR: I think the red carpet is a -- if you don't mind me saying, a red herring.
SOARES: Yes.
PARMAR: Because the idea here is it's a state visit, therefore, all the pomp and ceremony. But the fact remains whether it was a working visit as it was the last time --
SOARES: Yes.
PARMAR: -- or a red carpet or whatever, the fact remains that the United States and Britain are locked in a very deep set of interdependent relationships. Strategic, military, intelligence, nuclear, economic, financial, whatever you want to look at.
(CROSSTALK)
SOARES: Future differences, yes.
PARMAR: Large interdependency. So, President Trump, any president of America, regardless of their politics, I would think, is going to be welcomed here because the relationships are so strong.
SOARES: Yes.
PARMAR: On the other hand, as I was arguing earlier, Britain is seeking to renegotiate its relationships with the world and with Jeremy Corbyn in the wings should there be a general election. I think that would sort of open up a rift in that relationship which I think could have longer term consequences.
SOARES: Inderjeet and Nic, we are seeing live pictures of the helicopters that will be transporting President Trump to Central London went to Windsor House. When he does arrive, expected to arrive in the next half an hour to 40 minutes or so, Nic.
On the question of optics for President Trump, although there is so much going on in the U.S., whether being impeachment or the Mueller report, for him, for President Trump, he loves this, doesn't he? He loves the pomp. He loves the circumstance. He loves feeling like he's part of royalty.
ROBERTSON: One of the growing themes of President Trump's leadership in the United States has been a set -- a growing sense that a lot of what President Trump does is he's doing it for the country, for America first, as he says, but there is something in it for him as well, and it's the brand and the brand name.
SOARES: Yes.
ROBERTSON: And there is nothing that speaks to the sort of brand that he wants to represent as sort of a Trump organization is meeting the queen here. It's something he's always wanted to do.
His mother, let's not forget, came from the Outer Hebrides of Scotland and she was very, you know, a really pro the monarchy. And he grew up with that. So, I think it's something imbued with him at an early age.
But what it means for him today, as an enhancement of his own image. At least that's how he would see it and that's valuable to him going forward after the presidency, for his children, for the brand name as well as the relationship with the United Kingdom.
[03:14:56] SOARES: Nic, Inderjeet, thank you very much to you both. Rosemary and George will be following, of course, all the developments when the president does arrive in roughly 30 to 40 minutes, of course. We'll bring you live pictures when that happens. Back to you for now.
CHURCH: Certainly. We'll chat with you very soon.
And we are tracking breaking news in Sudan, where a violent crackdown is playing out in the capital city of Khartoum. Security forces have reportedly used live ammunition to break up a sit-in outside the defense ministry.
This video appears to show people running and trying to take shelter as shots ring out. A group of opposition doctors says at least two protesters have been killed and several others wounded.
HOWELL: The video has also come to light of protesters burning tires. Witnesses -- a witness, rather, tells CNN paramilitaries and secret police laid siege to the protest using whips, tear gas and snipers.
The witness is telling CNN it is a massacre.
Let's bring in our David McKenzie. David is live this hour from Johannesburg. David, it looks like pure chaos right now.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know the exact situation at this moment, but earlier this morning in Khartoum, you saw what is believed to be the rapid security force, that notorious paramilitary group coming in and moving on to protesters who have been camped out for weeks now at the military headquarters.
The protesters, and you see this video of them being scattered by what appears to be live ammunition, the protesters had been warned by some members of the security forces that they were, quote, "a danger to people" by continuing this peaceful sit-in as they tried to negotiate with the transitional military council to try to form some kind of government. This will be a huge blow to the hopes of protesters for a peaceful
resolution. You have seen, according to witnesses, tension increased in the past week or so, in Khartoum, after weeks of relative peaceful negotiations with that military council.
Now, it's unclear exactly at this stage, George, how close they were to getting to a deal, but at this stage that seems to be out the window as protesters have called for more protests against the military transitional regime.
Several dead, we believe, according to both doctors' groups and the umbrella group that runs these protests. And many injured in what appears to be live fire. George?
HOWELL: David McKenzie following it all. David, thank you. We'll keep in touch with you.
CHURCH: We'll take a short break here. Still to come, the growing crisis for Boeing. Yet another problem is found on some of the 737 planes that are already grounded. We'll have details of that when we return. Stay with us.
[03:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WORLD SPORTS)
CHURCH: Well, Boeing is facing yet another problem as it tries to get its grounded 737 MAX fleet back in the air. The company says some of its 737 planes, including many of the MAX aircraft, may have faulty parts on their wings that could fail prematurely or track.
HOWELL: That part is highlighted here. It's known as the leading-edge slat track. U.S. aviation officials say a plane could be damaged in flight if that part failed. Airlines have been ordered to inspect and repair it within 10 days' time.
Now, the 737 MAX was grounded around the world after two deadly crashes in less than five months. Trouble with an automatic safety feature is believed to have played a role in those incidents.
Let's now bring in CNN business anchor Richard Quest. Richard following this story for us as well. And Richard, look, so, first of all, for the flying public hear about this. I'm sure there is some concern. Help our viewers to understand this particular part. How critical would you say it is to the plane in flight?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: It's import -- it's not so much for the plane in flight, it's when the plane's taking off and when the plane is landing. Particularly when the plane's landing and you deploy the front slats and they go down a track. It allows the plane to land at low speed. It keeps the air lift up at much lower speed.
It's important. I would say it's very important. Is it critical? No. The plane can fly without. Look, the significance here is not that this has happened. Airline -- the air manufacturers, Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, bombardier
now, Air Boeing, they all continually putting out air worthiness directives for different faults, for different parts of aircraft. They're exceptionally complex instruments.
However, the importance here, George, is it's Boeing. It's Boeing. It relates to the 737. And Boeing is already fighting a deficit of trust as to what it's told of the traveling public, what it's told its airline customers, and it raises the issue, not so much about slat tracks, these things will always happen, but how much of what Boeing has said can we take at face value? That's the issue here.
HOWELL: All right, Richard, you say it's Boeing. But, Richard, isn't it also the FAA?
QUEST: Well, not really in this case because the FAA, you know, Boeing has fessed up. Boeing has fessed up and said we've made these parts and there may be, may be a manufacturing defect in it, and it's Boeing's responsibility to report this to the regulator.
The regulator, the FAA, which now, of course, is very much on message and on watch, is saying now you need to recall the planes.
It's going to be difficult, by the way, because we're not -- Boeing will manufacture new parts for this and it will be a fairly speedy repair, but it might mean 737s being taken out of service for this at exactly the worst moment.
For those airlines that already have 737 MAXs grounded, to have to lose other aircraft, even for a couple of days, could be extremely difficult and could lead to delays and backlogs and those sort of things.
[03:25:03] This is a bloody nose for Boeing. It goes to the issue of trust. It goes to the issue of how -- of this relationship between Boeing and the regulator. The slats issue itself is, if you like, a red herring. It's a byproduct.
HOWELL: CNN business anchor Richard Quest giving perspective and context on this. Richard, thank you. We'll keep in touch.
CHURCH: And still to come, shock and confusion after Friday's mass shooting in Virginia where many of the gunman's longtime colleagues say there were no signs something like this would happen. We will bring you an update on the investigation.
HOWELL: Plus, we continue to monitor events there in London. The U.S. president due to arrive within the hour. We'll discuss the delicate timing of his first state visit to the United Kingdom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: For viewers here in the United States and around the world, you're watching CNN Newsroom live from the ATL. I'm George Howell.
CHURCH: I'm rosemary Church. Let's check the headlines for you this hour.
HOWELL: The White House is losing its chief economist. President Trump says Kevin Hassett will be stepping down as the chair of the council of economic advisers. Hassett tells CNN he was not asked to leave and that it's good for the council to bring in fresh people and fresh ideas.
CHURCH: Iran's foreign ministry says the U.S. is playing with words and must change its approach. This comes after remarks by the U.S. Secretary of State in Switzerland. Mike Pompeo said the U.S. is ready to talk to Iran with no preconditions, however, he did say the Iranians have to, quote, "want to behave like a normal nation."
[03:30:02] HOWELL: Officials from the United States and Mexico are preparing to meet in Washington, D.C. Monday. They will be discussing ways to avoid President Trump's threatened tariffs on all imported goods from Mexico. President Trump says if Mexico doesn't stem the flow of undocumented migrants across the border, the tariffs will start on June 10th.
CHURCH: U.S. President Donald Trump is due to arrive in London in about a half hour for a three-day state visit. Before he left Washington, he suggested outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May should refuse to pay the divorce payment to the E.U., and he said Boris Johnson would be an excellent successor to Mrs. May. So for more on the visit, Isa Soares joins us now from London. It's going to be an interesting and very busy day.
HOWELL: Indeed.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And that's quite an understatement, Rosemary and George. Thank you very much. As Rosemary and George were saying, Air Force One is due to land at London Stansted Airport shortly in about 15 to 20 minutes.
Of course, this first day of President Trump's visit will be given over to meetings with members of the royal family. No doubt tomorrow will be about politics and will be capped with the state banquet at Buckingham Palace. That's happening later today.
On Tuesday, he will meet with Prime Minister Theresa May. Although the visit is designed to underscore U.S.-U.K. ties, the president has been critical of the prime minister's handling of Brexit negotiations. He has told British newspapers the next prime minister should send Brexiteer Nigel Farage to Brussels for talks.
Joining me now is CNN political analyst Toluse Olorunnipa. He joins me now. Thank you very much for being here with us. Let's stay away for a bit from the Brexit aspect of it. I want to get your sense being based in the states and getting the view from the domestic audience what this trip will mean for President Trump. He will love the pomp. He will love the pageantry. How much of this carries politics as well?
Because although Theresa May is on her way out, he will be looking -- this is Trump post-May era, isn't it? Looking for the next candidate? TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER FOR THE WASHINGTON POST: Yes, this is an opportunity for the president to get away from the impeachment politics that are taking place back in the U.S. --
SOARES: Yeah.
OLORUNNIPA: -- and have a celebratory atmosphere here in the U.K. He is going to have the red carpet rolled out for him by Theresa May and by the royal family. He likes those types of opportunities.
You have to remember that back in Washington the president is facing a Congress that is growing in its ability to investigate him and really growing with the call to impeach him. So he is able to escape some of that, involve himself in some of the domestic politics here in the U.K., and realize that there are also political --
SOARES: Yeah.
OLORUNNIPA: -- controversy here in the U.K. and he is able to escape his own political controversy in Washington. So I think he will like that, but he will also be keeping an eye on what's happening in Washington where Congress is coming back into session and they will be continuing their investigation, continuing to call for impeachment. We know that when the president travels internationally, a lot of times he spends time focussing on what's happening back domestically.
SOARES: He brings politics with him, doesn't he?
OLORUNNIPA: He brings a lot of politics with him. He talks about his 2020 election. Sometimes he tries to get foreign leaders to involve themselves in the U.S. 2020 presidential election, like he did back in Japan, tweeting about how foreign leaders are calling him, saying they don't want President Trump to continue to be president, they rather negotiate with someone like Joe Biden.
So he's going to be trying to focus on 2020, while also realizing that he's here on foreign soil and being vetted by the royal family and political leadership here in U.K.
SOARES: I want to break that down into two questions. First of all is on the question of impeachment. We heard from Mueller last week. Where are we on the impeachment front? Because I know that President Trump was tweeting about this in the last 24 hours or so.
OLORUNNIPA: Yeah, you have a growing number of Democrats in Washington saying that they are now more comfortable with impeachment. We've seen recent polling that shows that larger numbers of people within the Democratic Party want President Trump to be impeached and removed from office.
And you're seeing some restlessness amongst the Democratic Caucus in the House saying, you know, we have all this evidence, we have Mueller came out and said that his hands were tied. He was not able to do anything about President Trump's potential crimes. Now, it falls to Congress to take action. But you also have House Speaker Nancy Pelosi basically saying we're not there yet, we need to continue our investigations, spend some more time gathering our evidence before we move forward with impeachment. You did hear also from a top leader in the Democratic Caucus yesterday, Jim Clyburn, say that he believed that we are on a path to impeachment, but they just want to take their time, make sure they have all their ducks in the row before they get there.
So it's interesting to see leaders with the Democratic Party, not just the rank and file, start to get on board with idea of impeachment. I think President Trump is very aware that impeachment is more likely than not based on those comments from the leadership.
SOARES: He's -- I mean, coming here, really getting away from all of it. You mentioned 2020. How much do you think this visit will help him in his bid for the 2020 election?
OLORUNNIPA: When I've spoken to people on Trump's 2020 reelection bid on his campaign, they say that there is nothing like the presidency when it comes to trying to show the power of an incumbent in the -- in staying in office.
[03:35:06] So the president has Air Force One. He has all the bells and whistles of the presidency. He's able to really show the American people that he's standing on the world stage, standing up for American values and trying to present himself as a president who not only is in office now but can stay in office with his reelection.
So President Trump is going to use this state visit, use the fact that the British government is rolling out the red carpet for him to show that not only is he the president now but he's going to try to make sure that he's campaigning for reelection by showing that he can be a head of state and showing to people who may be concerned with some of his antics back in Washington that when he gets on foreign soil that he can show that level of diplomacy and that level statesmanship that the American people look for in a president.
SOARES: We shall see what happens. Thank you very much. Good to see you. I want to go to Matthew Chance, who I believe is at Stansted Airport. We had some live pictures if we can bring those up again. We're expecting President Trump to arrive again shortly. When he does, he will be greeted, I believe, Matthew, by Jeremy Hunt.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Isa, thanks very much. It is very noisy here obviously on the runway of Stansted Airport to the north of London but this is exactly where President Trump within the next 25 minutes or so is expected to touch down in Air Force One.
You can see this already high degree of security at the airport. We have been sort of corralled into this small little area on the tarmac, but there are secret service personnel everywhere out of sight mostly. The Chinook helicopter behind is there. It is obviously carrying some (INAUDIBLE) out of vision.
There are a couple of U.S. marine helicopters. I'm told that the U.S. president will be helicoptering out of this airport once he has touched down again in the next 25, 20 minutes or so from now. It's immensely a controversial visit, of course. There are many in the country that believes that this is a politician, this is a U.S. president who stands for everything that they are against.
He has been accused of racism, he has been accused of being a misogynist, he has pulled out of the Paris climate change accord and expressed, you know, kind of concern about the science behind climate change, he has put up trade barriers, all of these things. And that has led to, as we've been saying, tens of thousands of people preparing to go out into the streets of London to make that point.
But, of course, there are many others in the country that believe it's absolutely right that the red carpet should be rolled out for the president of the United States. Britain is arguably its closest ally and an incredibly important trade partner, especially as we approach Brexit. And so there are very many people in the country that feel that we should be giving him an appropriate, giving the U.S. president an appropriate welcome, regardless of how controversial he is.
In terms of his program over the course of the day, his agenda, he's going to be going here from the Stansted Airport to that official welcoming ceremony in the gardens of Buckingham Palace where he's going to be meeting the queen and Prince Charles. Isa?
SOARES: Thanks very much, Matthew Chance, there at Stansted where we are expecting to see President Trump arriving in roughly 20 minutes or so. Matthew was saying a controversial visit by President Trump. He really is a very divisive president, Rosemary and George. We're expecting to see how he is greeted not just by the queen, by politicians, but also by the public up and down the country. Rosemary, George?
CHURCH: Absolutely. We will send it back to you very soon. Many thanks, Isa. Well, there is disturbing news coming out of India amid a search for eight missing climbers. We will have a live report from New Delhi coming up.
HOWELL: Plus, it's been a mystery for almost two months. What happened to North Korea's chief envoy to the United States? Well, the north just dropped a hint. We will examine that hint as "Newsroom" pushes ahead. Stay with us.
[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: In Virginia Beach, Virginia, days after 12 people were killed in the latest workplace shooting in the United States, the gunman's colleagues are still in shock.
CHURCH: Yeah, many of them say the shooter was not someone they would expect to be violent. They remember him as a nice person before Friday's rampage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOSEPH SCOTT, CO-WORKER OF VIRGINIA BEACH SHOOTING SUSPECT: DeWayne was a very nice person. 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 and 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)
CHURCH: The gunman was a 40-year-old city engineer. He targeted his longtime colleagues before being killed in a shootout with police.
HOWELL: Now to India where hope is fading now. Searchers there are looking for eight climbers missing in the Himalayas. A helicopter crew spotted a backpack near the scene of an avalanche. An Indian official says bags and tents were buried in that avalanche, meaning the chance of the hikers surviving is "almost zero."
CHURCH: The climbers are part of a 12-person expedition on one of India's highest mountains. They include four Britons, two Americans, an Australian and an Indian. They were reported missing after only four of their group made it back to base camp more than a week ago.
For the very latest, we want to turn now to CNN's Nikhil Kumar live for us from New Delhi. Nikhil, this is of course devastating news for the loved ones of those missing climbers. What are the authorities saying and what is the next step now in this search operation?
NIKHIL KUMAR, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, Rosemary, a very sad news indeed. Yesterday, two choppers had gone up, Sunday, local time in India, trying to do an aerial and perhaps spot the climbers. They returned unsuccessfully. This morning, one chopper went up. As George mentioned earlier, it spotted a backpack buried in the snow.
Officials believe that other backpacks and tents were buried in the snow on this unnamed peak in the Indian Himalayas at an elevation of about 5,000 meters. They say now that the chances of these climbers surviving after being hit by that snow, it was part of a huge avalanche, as one official described to me, that the chances of them surviving are "close to zero."
Officials are now waiting to see when they can send in ground teams into this area where the backpack was spotted. What's hampering the effort, Rosemary, is that right now and for the last several days, they've been hit by really bad weather in that area.
[03:45:04] It's been raining. It's been very windy which is why yesterday's helicopter missions, for example, they had to end in the middle of the day. They couldn't go back in the evening. Today, only one chopper could go up in the morning. So right now, it's still pretty bad up around this mountain. Officials are assessing the evidence, what was spotted by the chopper that did go up, and deciding when they can send in the ground teams beyond base camp into this area where they believe this avalanche, this very large avalanche occurred. Rosemary?
CHURCH: This is tragic news, indeed. Nikhil Kumar is reporting with the latest there from New Delhi, many thanks.
HOWELL: Reports that North Korea's chief envoy has disappeared, those reports may have been greatly exaggerated. State media report Kim Yong-chol attended an art performance on Sunday with leader Kim Jong- un and another high-ranking official.
The state newspaper even published this photograph, what appears to be the envoy sitting a few seats away from Kim. CNN has not authenticated that photo and notice his hands are partially covering his face while everyone else is applauding.
The South Korean newspaper reported Kim Yong-chol had been sent to a hard labor camp for his part in the failed Hanoi summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Our Paula Hancocks is following the story live in Seoul, South Korea. Paula, when you look at the photo, the hands over the face, that is part of trying to determine is that him, but this photo is an interesting clue.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, KCNA has actually named him in this article, saying that he was part of this evening with Kim Jong-un, that he was apparently, according to that photo, sitting just about five seats away from him.
So what it shows is that it's another example of a North Korean official who is reportedly been purged from the regime only to potential turn up not so long later seeming to be unscathed. This is not the first time that this has happened and it's unlikely to be the last time that it has happened.
Now, this one South Korean media group, newspaper, quoting one unnamed source said was that Kim Yong-chol had been sent to a forced labor camp after the Hanoi summit, after that summit between the U.S. and North Korean leader ended without agreement.
Now, we do know that his team has certainly been sidelined. It appears as though the foreign ministry is taking the lead now on any future negotiations, should they happen, with the United States, but it's certainly not clear whether or not he did in fact go to that camp.
And the fact that he appears to have turned up now and KCNA is naming him in this report would throw more doubt on that report as it is. They also said that Kim Yong-chol, who is also part of the negotiating team pre-Hanoi, was executed. We have one diplomatic official in the U.S. telling CNN that they have no independent information or intelligence that would suggest that's true. Even the Blue House here in South Korea was saying that they needed to check how much of that report was accurate before they actually reported on it. So, really, what this shows is that trying to figure out who is in and out in the North Korean regime is not an exact science and it is very difficult to see what is happening within that country. George?
HOWELL: Paula, thank you.
CHURCH: Well, meeting Britain's royal family comes with rules of etiquette and there are many ways to get them wrong. Some memorable moments still to come.
[03:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: What time is it? It is 8:52. I'm Isa Soares. Thank you for joining me here in London where U.S. President Donald Trump is due to begin a state visit, a three-day state visit. Now, there are a number of rules to follow when meeting members of the royal family and they can baffle commoners as well as heads of state. Max Foster looks at some of the more awkward moments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We met with the queen, who is absolutely a terrific person.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is one last thing that I should mention that I love about Great Britain and that is the queen. And so I'm very much looking forward to --
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: It is my honor to offer toast to your majesty, head of the commonwealth and queen of Canada.
ELIZABETH II, QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM AND OTHER COMMONWEALTH REALMS: Thank you, Mr. Prime minister of Canada, for making me feel so old.
(LAUGHTER)
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meeting the queen, a moment that's memorable for most. There's a clear royal etiquette to follow when you're introduced.
RICHARD FITZWILLIAMS, ROYAL COMMENTATOR: A man would make a dignified short bow. A lady has the option of curtseying. If the queen proffers her hand, you should take it, but you should not initiate contact.
FOSTER (voice-over): However, these rules often get lost in the moment. This woman, Alice Frazier, made headlines in 1991 when she hugged her majesty during a trip to Washington, D.C. But politicians and celebrities are amongst the worst offenders. In 1992, Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating put his arm around the woman, who is his head of state.
In 2007, Hollywood royalty, Mickey Rooney, kissed her hand. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands also went for a kiss. Whilst the queen of fashion Vogue's Anna Wintour caused a stir when she didn't remove her glasses. And then there are the U.S. presidents. Call timing by President Obama led to this awkward musical miscue.
OBAMA: The vitality of the special relationship between our peoples and in the words of Shakespeare, to this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England, to the queen.
[03:55:14] FOSTER (voice-over): Michelle touching the sovereign. George W. even winked at her. And then this, who goes first? The world awaits the next U.S. state visit.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And, of course, we'll wait for President Trump to arrive. He should be arriving shortly. In fact, if we can bring you those live images, we're keeping an eye on images out of Stansted Airport to see if that's President Trump's airplane, Air Force One, which to me might look like it, but I'll wait for the final word on that.
In fact, I think it is Air Force One. It is 3:55 a.m. in Eastern U.S., 8:55 here. President Trump is arriving in the U.K. for a three-day state visit. We know that when he arrives, he will travel to Winfield House. That's U.S. ambassador's residence. From there, he will then meet the queen at Buckingham Palace. He will get a welcome ceremony with all the pomp and the pageantry. But you can imagine also the protest.
This is a state visit, but we are expecting protests up and down the country. Protests for those who want to -- one of the coalitions called stop Trump coalition, the other, stand up to Trump. Air Force One landing at Stansted Airport in England, not so far from where I am in London for the three-day state visit.
President trump will be here with First Lady Melania Trump as well as his four children. We also suspect they'll be arriving in a separate plane. There will be, in terms of what we can expect the next few days, we'll also see President Trump have a tour of Westminster Abbey where he'll lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown warrior.
He will then today, later on today, very busy schedule, I may add, will meet Prince Charles as well as Duchess of Cornwall for tea at Clarence House. Later on today, there will be a state banquet and he'll be joined by the duke as well as the Duchess of Cambridge. A very busy three days, hosted, of course, by royalty but also by politicians.
And President Trump arriving at a time when the U.K. is really -- is really going for a bit of a political crisis. We'll keep an eye on those pictures. As soon as the president gets out of the plane, of course, we'll bring you those live images. I'm Isa Soares. I'll have more after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) END
