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Don Lemon Tonight

Pelosi and McConnell in Standoff Over Trump's Impeachment; Hate Crime in Broad Daylight; Christianity Today Magazine Calls for President Trump's Removal; President Donald Trump's Impeachment Trial; Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) is Interviewed About Senate Impeachment Trial, Articles of Impeachment, and His Campaign; Putin Takes Trump's Side; Two Cruise Ships Collide While at Port. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired December 20, 2019 - 23:00   ET

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


[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon.

There's a lot to get to tonight. And we're going to catch you up on all the headlines in the hour ahead.

Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell lock in a standoff over the president's impeachment trial. The speaker says the House won't vote on impeachment managers or send over the articles until she knows more about the Senate trial. But President Trump wants a trial soon. So, does that mean McConnell will have to negotiate?

And the president on a Twitter tear today. After a scathing op-ed by the leading Evangelical magazine called him grossly immoral. Christianity Today calling for his removal from office. What does it mean for the president's relationship with Evangelical voters?

And where did Trump come up with the conspiracy theory that Ukraine attacked the 2016 election? According to a former senior White House official quoted in the Washington Post, Putin himself told him so. We'll go to Moscow for a report.

Also, a really disturbing story. An Iowa woman facing attempted murder charge after allegedly intentionally hitting a 14-year-old girl with her car because, quote, "she was Mexican." Will she be charged with a hate crime?

Plus, two massive cruise ships collide today while at port in Cosmo, Mexico. It was all caught on video. The cruise line says six people had what they're calling minor injuries. I'll talk to passengers from one of the ships.

But first, I want to get to the president's feud with Christianity Today. It started with the magazine founded by Billy Graham calling for his removal from office. The editor in chief, Mark Galli, writing, "it's time to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of grossly -- of gross immorality. And ethical incompetence." Here's how he explained it on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: You take a step beyond the politics here and say his actions are flat-out immoral.

MARK GALLI, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "CHRISTIANITY TODAY": Yes. I don't think that's the particularly unusual or surprising insight. I mean, people have been saying that for some time. The question is when does his behavior which is described as immoral accurately, rise to the level where he's no longer fit to serve office. And to me, we crossed that line with the impeachment hearings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, predictively, the president lashed out on Twitter today calling Christianity Today a far-left magazine which it is not.

[23:05:02]

He also claimed "Christianity Today" knows no nothing about reading a perfect transcript of routine -- of a routine phone call and would rather have a radical left non-believer who wants to take your religion and your guns than Donald Trump as your president. No president has done more for the Evangelical community and it's not even close.

And a few hours later he tweeted again, adding "I guess the magazine "Christianity Today" is looking for Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders or those of the socialist communist bent to guard their religion. How about sleepy Joe? The fact is no president has ever done what I have done for Evangelicals or religion itself.

Let's discuss now with Max Boot, Keith Boykin, J.W. Verret, and Alice Stewart. It's so tedious. I'm sorry. It's exhausting. Good evening, everyone. How are you guys doing? Everybody OK?

J.W. VERRET, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF LAW, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: Hey, Don.

KEITH BOYKIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

LEMON: Max, the president is clearly freaked out by the "Christianity Today" piece. I mean that piece really hit a nerve with him. Don't you think?

MAX BOOT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, obviously, Don. And I think the reason that it did what we all know is that white Evangelicals are the very core of his support. He has about 75 percent support among white Evangelical compared to about 42 percent in the country at large. And he know that if he's going to get elected he has to keep that support.

Now he's freaking out that they are may be wavering in the Evangelical base. Which I suspect is probably premature. Because this is after a magazine with a circulation of only 90,000.

But I think what the editorial does highlight is that white Evangelicals are not monolithic, there are differences of opinion. And that not all of them have made this feisty and bargain of saying that because Donald Trump gives us judges that we like we're willing to overlook all of these other atrocious and immoral behavior.

I think that is something that is troubling a lot of Christians out there. And you saw that sentiment expressed in that Christianity piece. And typically, of course Donald Trump doesn't even understand what they're talking about because he doesn't understand the concept of personal morality or rectitude or good behavior. He says I'll give you guys all this stuff so why don't you back me. It doesn't occur to them that they may be troubled, that they might be troubled by the way that he conducts himself in office.

LEMON: Your shaking your head in agreement, Keith.

BOYKIN: I do agree. I think that this is something we all knew all along as the editor of "Christianity Today" said a while ago in an interview. Donald Trump came to office with this record. He was cheating on his wife. She was lying about Obama. He was bragging about grabbing women by their private parts. He was defrauding his university students.

At the same time, he was engaged in stealing from his charity. He's been doing so many things all along before he even became president. That gave us all the evidence we need. By the time he took office he didn't stop doing any of those things.

So, the other thing I have to say is, why did it take so long before somebody in the Evangelical community with this type of promise finally spoke up and said what we all knew all along.

LEMON: Yes. J.W., Evangelical leaders like Franklin Graham, Ralph Reed, Jerry Falwell, Jr. Tony Perkins, they're all now slamming the magazine and defending Trump. Why are they so loyal to this president?

VERRET: I think that Donald Trump has made a transactional arrangement with the Evangelical voters. And he began that contract by selecting Pence as vice president. But transactional loyalty is not something very Christian. And it's not something that will last.

And frankly, if the Senate flips, I think that Trump will do a deal with Schumer on judges and he will sell out the Evangelical community like he sold out everybody he's ever done business with. That's why I left the transition team after the Hollywood Access tape.

We've all known what this guy has been for a long time. It's disappointing to see people follow him. But I think the key is 10 to 15 percent of Republicans think it was proper to impeach him. That's a lot of people. And if even half of them vote for somebody like Joe Biden, you know, I think it could be a real change.

I mean, I'm someone who I worked on the campaigns of McCain, Romney, and Marco Rubio. I worked in the House as a Republican staffer. I've never voted for Democrat for president. I'd vote for Joe Biden. I think he's a nice guy. I disagree with him on all kinds of policy issues. But I'd vote for him over this guy because it's just -- I mean, the list is long we don't have time to go through all the issues.

LEMON: Yes. This is what Franklin Graham wrote on Facebook. He said, yes, my father Billy Graham found Christianity Today. But no, he would not agree with their opinion piece. In fact, he would be very disappointed. My father knew Donald Trump. He believes in Donald Trump and he voted for Donald Trump. He believed that Donald J. Trump was the man for this hour in history for our nation.

For "Christianity Today" to side with the Democratic -- or the Democrat Party -- sorry, it's the proper grammar -- but the Democrat Party in totally -- in a totally partisan attack on the president of the United States is unfathomable." Do you think that this has anything to do with politics, J.W.?

VERRET: Yes, it has everything to do with politics. And unfortunately, Jerry Falwell has become more politician than pastor. I think you just had to call it like it is.

[23:10:05]

LEMON: Alice, Donald Trump has been married three times. You know, Keith pointed that out, he allegedly had multiple affairs. Lies constantly. Attacks everyone even the deceased as you were witness to this week. We all did.

But according to a new poll 75 percent of white Evangelicals support him. When it comes to Trump is there anything that Evangelicals won't overlook?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, the relationship between Donald Trump and social Evangelicals is strong. This is not a transactional relationship. This is when based on them taking a leap of faith for this president and he is followed through. He promised them that he would appoint Scalia-like justices. He delivered.

He promised that he would support religious liberties. He has delivered. He promised to support Israel. He has delivered. And his faith and opportunity initiative that he has currently in place with the White House is a great sounding board between social conservatives and this president.

Look, Billy Graham may have been the driving force for Christianity Today. But that outlet is now driving under the influence of left initiatives. And it is no disputing that. You look on their web site, you look at the stories that they write. They do have a left-leaning slant.

Let me say this. I don't see a problem with that. Republicans don't corner the market on Christianity. There are Christians that lean to the left and those that lean to the right. This happens to be an outlet that does lean to the left. That is perfectly fine. You can be a Christian and have social conservative views and be a Christian and have more left leaning views. And that's exactly what we have here.

But to say that this is shows that there's a crack with the social Evangelicals and Donald Trump is completely inaccurate. The social Evangelicals of this country still stand behind Donald Trump.

LEMON: Keith, go ahead.

BOYKIN: Alice, that's the problem. If that's true, then why are they still standing by him? There's a poll that was one recently that showed that Evangelical -- white Evangelicals were willing to support and acknowledge a leader's fault when Donald Trump was president in 2016 when he became president.

But in 2011 when they did the same poll and they asked white Evangelicals about Barack Obama they said they weren't willing to acknowledge and accept that person if they had moral failings.

So, there's total hypocrisy on the white Evangelical ring of the Republican Party. They made -- they joined in this marriage with the Republican Party. Thinking that the Republican Party we've been told this for 30 years that this was the party of family values. The party of morality and all these things. And here they are, they are supporting this guy who is equating Nazis and Klansmen with good people. This is not what the Republican --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: His support among white Evangelicals is overwhelming. But it is now the case when it comes to black Christians. Why do you think there is such a huge divide here?

BOYKIN: Because black Evangelicals understand racism. I mean, look, white Evangelicals and white Christians use the bible to justify slavery. They use the bible to justify segregation. The use the bible to justify oppression against African-Americans even today. Those of us who are African-Americans know this.

LEMON: So, it's situational ethics? It's situational beliefs.

BOYKIN: Well, for black people, I think for the people I know who were Christians, Christianity has always been more about redemption and more about salvation and less about judgment.

I think what you get from the Christianity of the right from the Evangelical white Christian base is a bunch of judgment. We don't like you because of your -- because you are Muslim. We don't like you because you are Mexican. We don't like you Because you're an immigrant.

We are going to think differently of you. It's become a faith that at least in the hands of white Evangelicals has enshrined white supremacy above all else. I think that's terrible for the faith, it's terrible for white Evangelicals. It's terrible for the Republican Party. And if they want to have any sort of morality to have any sort of moral grounding, they have to get back to what they said they believed in from the beginning. LEMON: Yes.

BOOT: If I could just pick up on one point quickly. It's something that Alice said, Don. Where she was talking about how you can be liberal or conservative and still be a good Christian. And I'm sure that's the case.

But Donald Trump clearly does not believe that. Because he is saying you have to support me, Donald Trump, or otherwise you're going to have the radical left non-believers who want to take away your religion which is ridiculous. But he has managed to scare the Evangelical community into this ridiculous notion that all these Democrats are going to take away their religion which is not true. Because many of these Democrats are very religious themselves.

LEMON: Yes. That's got to be --

(CROSSTALK)

STEWART: But I think -- I think the difference he has actually really fought for religious liberties where that hasn't been the case in the past. And that is why they continue to stand behind him.

LEMON: But isn't that fighting for religious liberties? Isn't that making a point that Keith just made, as long as you're fighting for what I believe and not necessarily what the bible actually teaches and what religion is actually all about. Then it is OK. It's again, situational ethics.

BOYKIN: And it's only religious liberty for Christians. What about Muslims.

LEMON: Yes.

BOYKIN: What about other people who has different faiths. You're the president of the United States of America not just a president of white Christian America.

LEMON: I got -- I've got to --

[23:14:58]

VERRET: This is why Biden is such a threat because he is a person of faith. And I think more than I haven't heard other candidates talk about it as much. Somehow Pete Buttigieg has, as well. They are both, I think big threats to him in the general.

LEMON: Thank you all. Tonight, we have an absolutely shocking story. Police say an Iowa woman told them that she ran over a 14-year-old girl because she, quote, "was a Mexican. The disturbing details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A truly disturbing story tonight. An Iowa woman is facing charges of attempted murder after allegedly intentionally hitting a 14-year-old girl with her car. Telling police, it was because the girl was Mexican.

Nicole Marie Poole actually telling investigators that -- join me -- actually telling investigators that. Excuse me. Joining me now is Omar Jimenez and Maria Cardona. Good evening. Boy, this is a real crazy story.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Don.

LEMON: Omar, what happened? Fill us in the details.

[23:20:01]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Don. So, this happened just outside Des Moines, Iowa. And what we learned from police that this 42-year-old woman intentionally hit this 14-year-old girl as she was walking to her middle school. And then fled the scene.

Now luckily that 14-year-old girl survived but it was later on when she was arrested and then police had a chance to sit down and interview her about what happened that police say she admitted she hit this girl because she was Mexican.

Now in the circumstances surrounding that specific arrest it happened at a convenience store about an hour after the incident took place. And it was there that our affiliate KCCI reports that the woman was hurling racial slurs at convenience store employees there just before the arrest actually happened.

Again, just a little bit about an hour later and in regards to the specific hit and run incident police say authorities are still exploring the possibility of a hate crime.

LEMON: Do we know how the 14-year-old girl is doing, Omar?

JIMENEZ: Yes. Luckily this 14-year-old girl is doing OK. And one thing to keep in mind with this as well, is while we're just learning about the new motivation that police say came from the suspect, the actual incident happened back on December 9, but obviously still fresh on the mind of the girl and her family. This is how she described what happened in those moments. Again, back on December 9.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember waking up in the snow. And them screaming I'm crying. I'm like how did this happened, what has happened? Why am I in the snow?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And obviously you can see how battered she is there. Just with the tremendous physical impact. We can imagine the car coming through. And it was just about a week later that we understand she is OK enough to go to school. And I'm sure all of her classmates were glad to see her, Don.

LEMON: Maria, I know you were in disbelief over this really appalling story. The idea that this was intentional. What are you thinking?

CARDONA: I just, it made me sick to my stomach, Don. And it made me think about all of the young Latinos in this country and young girls and boys of color who have lived in fear. And yes, I'm going to say it. Ever since Trump became president.

And frankly, in Iowa we also know this is nothing new given the racism and the hatred in the white nationalism that is spewed every day by Steve King.

And look, yes, Donald Trump nor Steve King they did not drive that car into this young Mexican girl. But they did inject a viral hatred and divisiveness that mobilized people to believe that they can wear that kind of hatred and that kind of xenophobia not just on their sleeve, but show it in their actions.

And this is what we have seen time and time again, Don. Words matter. This was not a coincidence. The same way that the Latino massacre in El Paso earlier this year where you had another white nationalist drive six hours to kill Mexicans was not an accident. The same way that Charlottesville was not an accident.

Donald Trump did not invent racism and xenophobia. Right? We know that. But he has injected that kind of hatred and violence into the bloodstream of America. Where now those white nationalists and those xenophobes and those racists feel like they don't even have to be ashamed of what they see.

Hell. Before even the Ku Klux Klan used to wear white sheets on their heads. In Charlottesville they were in plain sight. It is almost like people like Donald Trump and Steve King have given a kind of pride to that kind of white nationalism and hatred and xenophobia.

And it makes me sick as a Latina myself, as an immigrant and a mother of two young Latino children. I am actually afraid for them when we go out to rural places in the country, Don. And you know my children. You've interviewed them. You know that I speak Spanish to them in public.

It is the first time in my life ever since this president became president that I now think twice because I think to myself, am I making my children less safe because I am speaking to them in Spanish in a public place in the United States of America.

LEMON: Maria, thank you. Omar, thank you very much. We appreciate you both joining us.

CARDONA: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: We have an update tonight on a story that we first brought you earlier this week. Remember those cadets and midshipman seen on camera at the army navy game making a hand gesture that some people see as a white nationalist symbol?

Well, the naval academy and West Point have investigated and now say it was all part of what they what's called the circle game. Now the way it works is a person makes an OK gesture with their hand below their waist to trick a second person into looking at it. Now if the second person looks, they get punched by the person who made the gesture. Which seems silly at best. And the military apparently agrees.

[23:25:05]

Both academies issuing statements saying that they were disappointed by the immature behavior.

President Trump wants an impeachment trial in the Senate. But is he going to get that trial any time soon? I'm going to talk about that. And the state of the race with presidential candidate and Senator Michael Bennet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It's Pelosi versus McConnell in the battle over President Trump's impeachment trial. They say they're at an impasse over logistics. But that isn't stopping the preparation.

[23:30:00]

Sources telling CNN Democrats and the White House are actively working to get ready for the trial that could start in early January.

Joining me now is Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado. He is also a Democratic presidential candidate. Good evening, senator. It is good to have you on. Thank you so much.

SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good evening, Don. Thanks for having me.

LEMON: Speaker Pelosi and Leader McConnell are going head-to-head, feuding over the terms of the Senate trial. Take a listen to them attacking one another, and then we'll talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Speaker Pelosi suggested that House Democrats maybe too afraid, too afraid to even transmit their shoddy work product to the Senate.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Our founders when they wrote the Constitution, they suspected that there could be a rogue president. I don't think they suspected that we could have a rogue president and rogue leader in the Senate at the same time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, you're in the Senate, sir. Are you ready to see these articles of impeachment come your way?

BENNET: Yes. I think we should finish the job or at least have a fair trial in the Senate. We need to be able to have witnesses and give evidence in front of the American people so they can make a judgment about what happened here. And my hope is that we'll work this out. These are two of the most strategic people in Washington.

LEMON: So it matters not to you whether it's fair because, you know, Mitch McConnell has said and you heard Lindsey Graham saying, listen, their minds are already made up. They're not impartial. They're partial. They're saying it's done, so it doesn't matter. Nancy Pelosi says she wants a fair trial. She wants to know what is going to happen before she sends the articles over. That doesn't matter to you?

BENNET: No. I think it's pathetic. That's what I mean. I think we got to have a fair trial. She's trying to do what she can to try to get that fair trial. It matters a lot to me. McConnell has said that he's going to take his direction from the White House counsel and from the president's personal lawyer.

That is not how this is supposed to work. The way this is supposed to work is we are supposed to be providing oversight just as the House provided oversight. We shouldn't be jumping to conclusions.

LEMON: Well, the president has said that he wants a trial. And he wants, you know, he thinks that he's going to be exonerated, right? So, how does that impact these negotiations? He says, let's do it.

BENNET: Well, it's very unlikely that he's going to be convicted. You need two-thirds to do it and there is a republican majority. McConnell has already said that he thinks the president is going to be acquitted. I think anybody betting against that would be making a bad mistake.

I view this as an opportunity for us to try to re-establish what standard we want out of the president of the United States. You know, do we want somebody who is shaking down a foreign leader for his own political purposes?

And, you know, Neil Catlio (ph) mentioned earlier the day that Donald Trump fired Comey and then told the Russians while he was in the White House that he was glad he got that off his back. You know, he's not being impeached for that offense, but I guarantee you that to Neil's (ph) point that if Barack Obama had done something like that, he would have been impeached for that.

So, what I hope is that we are reasserting the standard even if he's not convicted of what we want out of a president. And that's, you know, why I think it's worth trying to get to a place where there is a fair trial where we do have witnesses, where we do have documents coming over from the White House.

LEMON: You weren't on the debate stage. That hurts, right?

BENNET: It does hurt.

LEMON: OK. So, listen. You're going to be a juror. You're going to be a juror and for the impeachment. And so that means that you won't be out on the campaign trail. How does that impact your campaign? That is going to hurt, too, won't it?

BENNET: Well, I can't worry about that. I've got a job to do and the other senators have a job to do. If we have to be in Washington doing that, that's where we should be. I'm in New Hampshire tonight, Don. I've been in New Hampshire more than any other candidate for president this cycle. And in addition to that, I have committed to doing 50 additional town halls in New Hampshire.

So, I am putting one foot in front of the other in front of the other in front of the other trying to build momentum up here. And if I have to be in Washington to do the trial, I'll be glad that I invested the time and I will be continuing to do this right up until that happens.

LEMON: The DNC's polling and fundraising thresholds have kept you from participating in the last several debates including last night. Did you think that the dynamic of the race changed much after last night's debate?

BENNET: I don't think the dynamic of the race changed after last night's debate just like I don't think it changed after any of these debates. The debates have not really helped Democrats. In New Hampshire and in Iowa, this race is less consolidated today than it was six weeks ago or six months ago or a year ago because people are trying to figure out who the best person is to beat Donald Trump.

[23:35:03]

BENNET: I obviously think that I am because I've won two national elections in the swing state. I've, you know, wrote the public option in the Senate and wrote the immigration bill in 2013 that got 68 votes. I'm making my case in these states. I can tell you, these people have no idea who are they go to support yet.

So, I -- it just makes no sense to me that the DNC would win the field. I am not complaining about it, but I think they should have waited until voters started to decide. I mean, John Kerry, I think, when he was running in '04 was at three percent today and he went on to win the New Hampshire primary. That's what happened. It's more unusual that a leading candidate wins than somebody comes out of the blue.

LEMON: Michael Bennet, thank you for your time.

BENNET: Thank you for your time, Don. If you want to help, go to michael bennett.com. Thanks.

LEMON: Merry Christmas to you.

BENNET: Merry Christmas to you. Thank you.

LEMON: Are the president's talking points coming straight from Vladimir Putin? That's what some former Trump administration officials are telling The Washington Post. What is Putin saying about it? We'll go to Moscow for a report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The president in the fighting mood after becoming only the third president in our history to be impeached. But you know who is on his side. Russian President Vladimir Putin. CNN's Fred Pleitgen went to Moscow to get the story. Fred?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Don. Yes, the kremlin has been watching very closely all week as the chips seem to be falling very much in Vladimir Putin's favor. On the one hand, you had the president's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, continuing to try to dig up dirt on the Bidens and trashing the State the State Department.

And then, of course, you also had impeachment of President Trump. There is no surprise, Don, that Vladimir Putin is very much in the corner of the U.S. president. Here's what we're learning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Article One is adopted.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): After his impeachment by the House, President Trump lashing out.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't feel like I'm being impeached because it's a hoax. It's a set up.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Vladimir Putin seems to feel the same way. Speaking at his annual marathon press conference, which features not only journalists but also people from all over Russia often praising their leader while asking questions, Putin blasted impeachment, claiming Democrats made it all up.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): It still has to go through the Senate, where as far as I know, the Republicans hold the majority. So it's unlikely they will want to remove the representative of their party for some made-up reasons.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Those aren't the only Trump and republican talking points Putin was parroting. The similarities in the rhetoric often are striking.

REP. BRAD WENSTRUP, (R-OH): When they didn't win at the ballot box, they pursued a Russian collusion narrative. Special counsel Robert Mueller had to waste time and taxpayer dollars to prove false. When the Russia collusion malicious deception didn't work, Madam Speaker, Democrats sought a new path forward to impeach President Trump.

PUTIN (through translator): One party that lost the elections, the Democratic Party, is now trying to achieve its goal with new ways as it accused Trump of collusion with Russia. But then it turned out there was no collusion and it can't be the basis for the impeachment. So now they came up with some pressure on Ukraine.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Russia also taking a favorable view of President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani's continued efforts to dig up dirt on the Bidens in Ukraine. Democrats and even some Republicans were shocked when Giuliani recently went on a so-called fact finding mission to Ukraine, afterwards appearing on the right- wing pro-Trump network OANN. On Kremlin-controlled TV in Russia, a very different tone, the host and most analysts often praising Giuliani and cheering him on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I think Giuliani's trip is going to be a success. Based on the fact that even against the impeachment backdrop, Trump's electoral ratings grow little by little, which is weird, we can conclude that after this trip and the scandalous interviews, the situation will also favor Trump so the goal has been achieved.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Russia continues to back an insurgency that is destabilizing Ukraine. While Ukraine grappled with Moscow's pressure, unsure of the Trump administration support, Washington is divided over impeachment, Vladimir Putin is sitting back and watching it all play out so far in his favor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: And you know, Don, all this comes as The Washington Post reports that it spoken to several former Trump administration officials who feared that Vladimir Putin could be fuelling President Trump's view of Ukraine. Of course, one of the things that President Trump has been promoting is the debunked theory that it was Ukraine and not Russia that meddled in the 2016 election despite the fact that the intelligence agency unanimously said that it was Russia.

And there are former administration officials, according to The Washington Post, who believe that Vladimir Putin in meetings with President Trump may have been fuelling that theory and promoting that with the U.S. president. The Kremlin itself hasn't commented on that but certainly any sort of deflection of blame from the Kremlin would certainly be in Moscow's favor, Don.

[23:45:00]

LEMON: Fred Pleitgen, thank you. At least six people injured after two cruise ships collided while at port today. I'll speak to passengers from one of those ships, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Two massive cruise ships collided today while at port in Cozumel, Mexico, and the moment was caught on camera. You can see the damage to the deck of the Carnival Glory, which hit the Carnival Legend during a docking maneuver.

[23:50:00]

LEMON: The cruise line says six people were injured but calls those injuries minor. My next guests were on board The Legend during the incident. Joining me now is Maddie and McKenna Morris. Good evening to both of you. Hello. McKenna, you shot this video that we are watching right now. What were you thinking when you saw the ship was coming so close?

MCKENNA MORRIS, PASSENGER ON CRUISE SHIP LEGEND (via telephone): I just was in shock. I was, like, when it was coming towards us, I was, like, is this -- there's no way that this boat is going to fit because there was a Royal Caribbean ship on the other side of us.

And I was, like, I don't know if it's trying to come in between us or what, but there was no way it was going to fit. And once I saw the boat coming, it was only -- there was only about half of the boat, and I was, like, oh, no, this ship is way too big. So once it collided, I was just, like, oh, my gosh, it just hit us.

(LAUGHTER)

MORRIS: The ship just hit our ship. I was just in shock really that that actually happened.

LEMON: You were shocked. I mean, were you frightened at all?

MORRIS: I was a little scared because, I mean, you hear about, you know, the Titanic --

(LAUGHTER)

MORRIS: -- and me being a little jumpy. It was our first cruise.

LEMON: Yes.

MADDIE MORRIS, PASSENGER ON CRUISE SHIP LEGEND (via telephone): I mean, for our family, this was our Christmas cruise. And, you know, so I had been on seven cruises, but for the rest of them, it was first time cruisers.

So we have had quite a windy and stormy, you know, ride the past five days, and so they would ask me, is this normal? Are the waves normal? And I'd say, yes, yes, this is normal. But I didn't think that we'd have to explain that the big hit from another boat in the port was not normal for their first time on a cruise.

LEMON: Yes. So Maddie, that was you just speaking now. You said you spoke with passengers on the Carnival Glory, the ship that hit yours, and they were shaking and screaming. What did they say?

MADDIE MORRIS: Yes. A lot of the screaming was coming from actually the carnival -- I'm sorry -- the Royal Caribbean cruise that was to the right of us as you can see in the video. I think they tried to kind of steer out of the way of us. The Glory did and went right towards the Royal Caribbean. And that was the screams of them thinking that their ship was about to get hit, which luckily they just nearly missed it.

But when we talked to the Carnival Glory passengers, we actually talked to people who were in the dining room, which was what was hit. The bow of our ship went straight through the dining room. They said it was mass chaos. And even some of the workers in the dining room were running, you know, over people trying to get out because they -- no one has seen anything like this happen before.

LEMON: So, McKenna, you saw the back end of that ship. It was crushed. Were you worried that more people may have been injured?

MCKENNA MORRIS: Yes. I think after the initial shock of it all happened, I just thought about, oh, my gosh. I'm like I really hope that people are OK because it was a straight window. I didn't know at the time it was the dining room. I mean windows so that's probably where people are going to be.

I didn't know exactly where it hit on our boat at the time of seeing it happen. So I just thought -- I really hope people are OK from our side and on that side, that no one got seriously hurt because that would -- that would just be terrifying.

LEMON: Yes. Maddie, after this happened, all the passengers were advised to go enjoy the day in Cozumel. I mean, were you actually able to do that?

MADDIE MORRISON: Yes. You know, once we got off and there was the initial shock of the ambulances coming through, and, you know, they pulled the boat right next to us, so we were able to see up close all of the metal and glass still coming off the ship. Once we kind of got past that, we, like I said, our family vacation, so we went and had fun.

We had a little 1-1/2-year-old niece, Sophie, who came with us, and we wanted to make sure she still enjoyed her day. So we took her out. Our family, when we have tough or hard things, we like to do it with humor. We said when we get home that we're going to make some t-shirts that said "we survived the shipwreck of 2019."

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Yes. The end of 2019. So I think one of you said you had been on a lot of cruises. I'm not sure if both of you have been. But would you do it again after this?

MADDIE MORRIS: Yes. This is my seventh cruise, and I actually have my honeymoon booked in March to go on another cruise. So whether or not I would want to, which I still will, I am booked and ready for another cruise. I plan on it, too.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: All right. Well, good luck to both of you, and happy cruising and happy holidays.

[23:55:00]

LEMON: Happy New Year to you. Be safe.

MADDIE MORRIS: Thank you.

MCKENNA MORRIS: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you. And thank you for watching. Our coverage continues.