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The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo
Nationwide Pension Strikes Aim To "Paralyze" The Country; CDC: Measles Killed More Than 140,000 People In 2018; One Week Until Crucial National Vote; Sadiq Khan: Donald Trump "Far Right" Influence Felt Across Europe; Study: Phone Related Injuries Are On The Rise. Aired 5-5:30p ET
Aired December 05, 2019 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN HOST: Tonight on THE BRIEF, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Democrats have no choice but to move ahead with articles of
impeachment against Donald Trump. Police in France fired tear gas as thousands of protesters join a largest strike in decades. And it's one week
before the U.K. General Election. We hear from London Mayor Sadiq Khan and break down the key issues of the campaign.
Live from London, I'm Bianca Nobilo. Welcome to the show. When the tomorrow Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
walked up to the podium on Thursday, she calmly said the Democrats would begin writing articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, but by the end
of the news conference the calm had dissolved into an angry confrontation with a reporter who asked her if she hated the U.S. President. It came
after the Speaker said the President's actions gave Democrats no choice but to push forward with impeachment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you hate the President, Madam Speaker?
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I don't hate anybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Representative--
PELOSI: I don't hate anybody. Not anybody in the world. I resent your using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me. I don't hate anyone. I was
raised in a way that is full, a heart full of love, and always pray for the President. I still pray for the President. I pray for the President all the
time. So don't mess with me when it comes to words like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: President Trump seized upon Pelosi's response to that reporter. He tweeted that she was having a, "Nervous fit" and said he doesn't believe
that she prays for him. And the President continues to insist that Democrats are impeaching him for nothing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you worried about what the impeachment will have on your legacy?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No. It's a big fat hoax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: But that hoax isn't going away any time soon. Democrats plan to vote on impeachment before Christmas. Joining me now to discuss this is CNN
White House Reporter Stephen Collinson and Congressional Reporter Lauren Fox.
Lauren, let's start with you. What is the timeline for this if in fact there is going to be a vote before Christmas. How do you see this playing
out?
LAUREN FOX, CNN POLITICS CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, we know that next week this hearing in the Judiciary Committee will really open the week. It
will be a presentation from staff lawyers of the Intelligence Committee's 300-page report. Then we expect that they would have to mark up any
articles of impeachment.
That basically means they would have a vote in the Committee where they would move ahead so that they could get to a full floor vote the week
before Christmas. So, obviously Bianca, things could be moving very quickly after that two months of investigation and sort of constant breaking news
that was coming out of those closed-door sessions. We are now moving into this very public phase where things could really speed up and then wind
down very quickly in the House of Representatives. Bianca.
NOBILO: Thanks, Lauren. Stephen, what is the White House's approach to this next stage in the impeachment process going to be, do you think? Lauren was
just referencing the speed at which this next part is likely to take place, and of course that was something referenced by the legal minds that we
heard from yesterday as well. So how do you see them responding?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the White House has gone from a position of trying to prevent impeachment to now almost relishing
the prospect of a subsequent Senate trial we expect to take place in January. The President is giving every indication that he wants to make
this a show trial, a reality TV moment that we have seen so often in his presidency.
He is saying he wants Republicans in the Senate to call Joe Biden, his son, Nancy Pelosi to make this a rallying point for Republicans. The question is
the Republican Leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, who has to worry about some of his more vulnerable members heading into the election in
November 2020 going to allow this to happen?
It seems unlikely. We are going to see a clash, I think, between the very unusual, unconventional political style of Donald Trump and the
institutional style of the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
NOBILO: Stephen Collinson and Lauren Fox, thank you both. Be sure to stay with CNN for a Town Hall with Nancy Pelosi that's at 9:00 pm eastern time
in Washington. Four hours from now, and 10:00 am Friday in Hong Kong.
Now, in France tens of thousands of people marched in a national strike one of the largest strikes in decades. Protesters are angry over the French
President's efforts to overhaul the country's pension system. Union leaders, rail workers, teachers and ambulance drivers all joined in. Some
of the protests even erupted into violence.
[17:05:00]
NOBILO: Riot police fired tear gas at protesters while some demonstrators lobbed projectiles back at them. Rail unions are planning to keep striking
until at least Monday. Despite the show of public anger, President Macron's office says he is determined to push this pension reform through.
Iran's Foreign Minister is calling accusations that Tehran is developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads a quite desperate
false suite. Ambassadors from France, Germany, and the U.K. have sent a letter to the U.N. citing flight test footage of a new Iranian ballistic
missile. They say it's part of Iranian activity that violates the 2015 nuclear code and the U.N. Security Council Resolution.
Meantime, CNN has learned the U.S. is considering sending thousands more troops to the Middle East to try to deter Iran. U.S. officials are also
concerned about the apparent movement of Iranian short-range ballistic missiles into Iraq, which could potentially threaten U.S. forces there.
An Italian newspaper is standing by its front page despite widespread backlash. The Rome-based national sports newspaper says its headline Black
Friday has been twisted into poison. The headline refers to two star players in a preview of Friday's match between Inter Milan and Roma. But it
comes at a time when European Football has been criticized for the way its handled racists incident. Don Riddell reports.
DON RIDDELL, CNN HOST, THE WORLD SPORTS: Black Friday is not a sales promotion and it's not an advert for some discounted goods. This is the
headline in the Italian paper Corriere Dello Sport topping a story about two black football players and it has unleashed a furious backlash.
DARREN LEWIS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I was staggered, actually Don, because Italy has had so many problems for so long, and so it just seemed remarkable that
they would shoot themselves in the foot with such a negative headline.
RIDDELL: A Black Friday is an appalling on gulf from a publication which says it was trying to celebrate the players Romelu Lukaku and Chris
Smalling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN ZAZZARONI, EDITOR, CORRIERE DELLO SPORTS: I would like to know what is racist in this headline because this is a total innocence play on words. It
was used and instrumentalized without reading the subtitle summary and article. We incite this paper on the first page we say that Smalling and
Lukaku are champions of anti-racism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: Both Lukaku and Smalling are new to Italian football this season. They play each other on Friday when inter hosts Roma. In September Lukaku
was told - by fans making monkey noises. Later that week Smalling arrived in Italy and have asked about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS SMALLING, ROMA DEFENDER: Racism is unacceptable and it couldn't be stood tall. I think it's not an issue just in Italy. I think it's around
the world, and I think there needs to be a change. I think there is going to be generational changes, and younger people will learn not to act like
that. But I think it's a world issue and I think it happens all over the world, but it's very sad that it does happen in these modern times.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: In recent years, racism has been on the rise across the European Continent and Italy is often cited as one of the worst offenders. November
- kicked the ball at Verona's fans who were abusing him. He tried to leave the field, but he was encouraged to stay by players from both teams. He is
no stranger to racism in Italy both casual and deliberate.
In 2012 another sports newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport depicted him as King Kong. In 2017, Sulley Muntari complained about racist abuse and he was
booked for it. He left the field in protest and disgust.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SULLEY MUNTARI, WALKED OFF PITCH DURING 2017 SERIES A MATCH: On the field, I'm really a top guy on the field. But when it comes out of the field, I
really get emotional sometimes. I'm a human.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: Campaigners who want Italy to do better are disheartened when it's brushed under the rug it's dismissed as other than racism. They are
encouraged this article was trying to highlight the players in a positive way. The casual racism in the headline though indicates just how much work
still needs to be done. Don Riddell, CNN.
NOBILO: The two football players depicted on that controversial front page are now speaking out against it. Romelu Lukaku is calling out the Italian
paper online, writing "You guys keep fueling the negativity and the racism issue education is key. You guys at Corriere Dello Sport should do a better
job at that".
His opponent on Friday, Chris Smalling, writes, "I would have liked to spend the day focusing on the big game tomorrow.
[17:10:00]
NOBILO: It is important that I acknowledge what occurred this morning was wrong and highly insensitive. He continues saying, I hope the editors
involved in running this headline take responsibility and understand the power they possess through words and the impact those words have".
Well, now getting new numbers on just how devastating the global outbreak of measles has been. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
say that more than 140,000 people died from measles last year worldwide most of them young children. One nation hit hard by measles is Samoa. Its
government is engaging in an all-out effort to try to stop the outbreak there. CNN's Ivan Watson has the details.
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Noel was only one year old when a long forgotten disease claimed her life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELSIE LOLESIO, DAUGHTER DIED OF MEASLES: She is gone and I never forget her, the way I tried to teach her how to talk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Noel is buried next to her cousin who died just three days earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOLESIO: It's very hard to lose a child. It's hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: These two children are among the dozens of victims of a measles outbreak in the Pacific Island Nation of Samoa. Thousands of cases have
been reported in recent weeks. The government is ordering businesses to close and shutting down all but essential services as it implements a
massive vaccination campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUILAEPA SAILELE MALIELEGAOI, PRIME MINISTER OF SAMOA: We have declared two days of holiday so that everybody stays at home. No car should be under
operation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Here the red flags are a warning hanging outside the homes of those who have not been vaccinated. Measles vaccination rates in the country had
dropped significantly before the outbreak began in October and the government says it knows why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALIELEGAOI: We have so many anti-vaccine people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Samoa is not alone. Unproven conspiracy theories about the side effects of vaccination have contributed to a resurgence of measles around
the world in low and high income countries, including the United States. The disease is highly contagious, but it is also preventable simple and
nearly painless. Vaccination against measles is as fast as medical procedures get. But for many in Samoa it is simply too late. Ivan Watson,
CNN, Hong Kong.
NOBILO: Coming up on the program, the London Mayor tells me that President Trump's style and policies are being copied by politicians in Europe and he
is influencing U.K. politics. My chat with him next.
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NOBILO: Now with just one week out from the election here in Britain, the polls have been broadly consistent. Conservatives in the lead in the low
40s, labour roughly ten points behind that, the Dems floating around the 10, 15 mark and all the other parties, Brexit, The Greens, all in single
digits.
Now, British elections are won by securing a majority in the first pass the post system. The candidate that gets the most votes in each constituency
wins. The biggest party with the most candidates will either get a clear majority or if they don't meet the threshold of half the seats they will
then have the first opportunity to form either a minority government or a coalition confidence deal of sorts.
Boris Johnson called the election to reshuffle the House of Commons in the hope of securing a majority that would vote through his deal and break the
Brexit deadlock. But any election observer knows once one is called in the name of something, in this case Brexit, other issues can take over. And
some of the key issues this time have been trust.
To the relief of a large contingent of the population, Brexit still has not been delivered despite many promises from Theresa May and subsequently
Boris Johnson, to the contrary. Skepticism that politicians will deliver on promises whether that is regarding Brexit or spending has dominated a lot
of discussion. Mr. Johnson in particular is being criticized for avoiding tough interviews, most notably with the BBC in the last hour the BBC have
come out fight being this challenge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW NELL, BBC PRESENTER: No broadcaster can compel a politician to be interviewed, but leader's interviews are being a key part of the BBC's
primetime election coverage for decades. We do them on your behalf to scrutinize and hold those in account. That is democracy.
We have always proceeded in good faith that the leaders would participate. In every election they have, all of them, until this one. It is not too
late. We have an interview prepared, ready, as Mr. Johnson likes to say. The theme running through the questions is trust and why so many times in
his career and politics and journalism critics and sometimes close to him have deemed him to be untrustworthy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: So trust is clearly a big issue in this campaign, not helped by the fact that the Tory party at the very beginning of the campaign got off to a
rough start when they edited a video misrepresenting a key labour figure. And U.S. President Donald Trump has become an issue. Labour pains to
associate Mr. Johnson with Mr. Trump in the expectation of galvanizing their base and raising concerns about the NHS primarily that Boris Johnson
might be prepared to sell off parts of it to get a good trade deal with the United States post-Brexit.
The Conservative and Labour Parties have both been conflicted with continuing accusations of Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism respectively. The
U.K's chief has warned voters about Anti-Semitism in labour after a number of prominent Jewish Labour politicians like - left the party after
complaining of Anti-Semitic abuse.
Corbyn has been accused of being too low to take action on Anti-Semitism within the Labour Party and to apologize for it. And then of course as the
issue of security that in the campaign is centered around whether or not Jeremy Corbyn would be prepared to use a nuclear deterrent tried in the
United Kingdom's case and the approach of all of the parties to terrorism and sentencing in the aftermath of the London Bridge attack Last Friday.
So in our debrief I talked to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. He is been critical of Donald Trump in the past. Khan called the U.S. President's
behavior at NATO impressive though and he cautioned that Trump's rhetoric can be dangerous. So I started by asking him, which one is it?
SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: Even I have got to give credit. In three and a half years, there has been a day where he has been impressive, I should
give credit where it's due. My concern as the Mayor of London is here in the U.K. we feel the long shadow of Donald Trump's agenda, but also how the
rise of the far right extends beyond the USA and is felt here.
So we see it, for example, in the fact that you have in the U.K., and those in the far right, copying Donald Trump. We see in Hungary, Italy, in
Poland, in France, members of the far right movement, people who support populist nativism having Donald Trump as their poster boy as he shows the
concern for me as the Mayor of the nice diverse sitting a lot beliefs in pluralism and liberal values.
[17:20:00]
NOBILO: Which politicians in the U.K. do you see as copying President Trump on those respects?
KHAN: Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage. We see on the extreme far right parties who have been banned like Britain first, having their tweets re-tweeted by
Donald Trump, leaders of foreign movements here in the U.K. who are deemed to be racist having Donald Trump as their poster boy.
NOBILO: Since you have been Mayor have you detected an increase or difference in the demonization of immigrants or minorities in the Capital
here in the U.K.?
KHAN: Without a doubt. We see it. Not just minorities, but immigrants. Increase in hate crime. I am not saying all it lays at the door of Donald
Trump, but I see this that is people here who mimic him and copy him. I think he gives them confidence and views that used to be in the periphery,
people used to be in the margins are in the mainstream. When you see some of the languages used by our own mainstream politicians, they have seen
that Donald Trump's playbook leads to electoral success.
NOBILO: With the NATO meeting at the moment for the 70th anniversary there has been a lot of discussion about the evolution of the threats that are
facing NATO countries and how that can be addressed? Chief among them is Islamic fundamentalism; radicalization and obviously we have seen that on
the streets of London. Do you feel like NATO needs to do more than it's currently doing to combat those threats?
KHAN: One of the things that NATO is doing is looking on the whole issue of terrorism and counterterrorism, forces deployed in Afghanistan and in Iraq,
really important. One of the reasons why it causes us concern is when the President of the USA calls NATO obsolete or makes threats to leave because
it's important. We should be worried about terrorism and extremism not just so-called Islamic groups but also from the extreme far right we saw in the
synagogue in America, consequences of the far right going to a synagogue and killing Jewish men and women.
We almost seen in Christchurch, New Zealand, the consequences of the extreme far right - mosque we saw in - in 2017 the far right. But also we
see Islamic terrorists are well motivated by a perverse form of Islam, the London Bridge and this terrorist, responsible for two deaths. We have to
make sure we work together.
That's a good example of the sort of threat that can only be dealt with across borders whether it's terrorism, whether it's migration from the
southern hemispheres, a big source of concern, whether it's climate change. These sorts of challenges are cross border. That's why it's so important
for the leader of the USA to not give the impression that he is going to be a protectionist and the concern that we have is when Donald Trump, when
President Trump talks about America First, does he really many white America First? That's a big concern for many of us.
NOBILO: Do you think he does mean White America First?
KHAN: Well, I think you judge somebody by what they say and by what they do, and as far as we can see from London President Trump has said on many,
many occasions and done things on many, many occasions that give us huge source of concern and gives us the impression that all he cares about is
White America.
NOBILO: Now, you are obviously a member of the Labour Party and that's a part that you stand for. Given that there has been nine years of austerity
under the conservatives and they are still currently leading in the polls as unpredictable as they can be. Do you attribute some of the lack of the
success the Labour Party is having to the leadership because Jeremy Corbyn himself has come under quite a lot of criticism particularly under issues
of Anti-Semitism in the Labour Party?
KHAN: There are a number of issues. Well, firstly there is an issue with the Labour Party to addressing serious concerns around Anti-Semitism,
members of their party not quickly enough and racism. We can't have a hierarchy of racism. Racism is racism. We are a party whose roots of anti-
racist and it is the case though and it breaks my heart to say this that we have been too slow.
Many of my Jewish friends can't vote labour because they think we are racist. We've got to address those concerns. We can't deflect because
people's motivation may be anti-labor. These are genuine concerns people have. The second issues about the polls which frankly speaking aren't
looking good for my party, let's wait and see how the general election pans out; there are a number of days to go. Like many labour member supporters
activists - I'll spend a little bit time knocking on doors, persuading people to lend us share vote, make the point that the choice that this
election is between a Brexit backing austerity conservative party or a labour government don't give the British public a final say on whether we
should stay or leave the European Union but austerity wants the full land the big choice people have to make under some of the draft.
NOBILO: When THE BRIEF returns, why walking is becoming more dangerous, especially here young people. And you might be looking at the reason right
now that story straight ahead.
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[17:25:00]
NOBILO: There is no point in denying it. Our phones are now everything, and there are more of them in the world than people around 9 billion. But if
you are using them when you are out and about, it might be time to lift your head up. A new study said that injuries to the face and head are on
the rise and that phones are to blame.
They say that most injuries occur to people between the ages of 13 and 29. Cuts to the face and the head were the most common, and they were due to
distracted driving and walking and texting with a cell phone. People tell me the full contact martial arts are dangerous.
The study says that injuries were infrequent in 2007 and then they rose dramatically. 2007 was the year that Apple introduced the first "iPhone".
The study seems to be an obvious expression of the effect that our digital lives are having on us. It may be that every now and again, seeing what's
happening beyond our phones would be beneficial unless you are watching clips of THE BRIEF, of course. On that deeply hypocritical note, I bid you
good night. "World Sports" is next.
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