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G7 Day Two Agenda: Global Economy, Foreign Policy, Pandemic; Justice Department Watchdog To Investigate Handling Of Leak Probes; Georgia Official Still Gets Death Threats Months After Vote; Biden Heads To Geneva Next Week For Putin Meeting; Vaccines Offered To 18,000 Olympic Workers Next Week; First Lady Jill Biden Tours School With Duchess Of Cambridge. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired June 12, 2021 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): G7 leaders plan to spend this day working to protect the world from another pandemic and rebuilding from devastation caused by the current one. Hello.
Welcome to all our viewers from around the world, I'm Cyril Vanier.
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): And I'm Kim Brunhuber from CNN headquarters in Atlanta.
Some U.S. lawmakers want to put former attorney general William Barr under oath.
Plus --
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BRAD RAFFENSPERGER (R-GA), GEORGIA STATE SECRETARY: We need to get the message out that this is not acceptable.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): He's the Republican who oversaw the presidential election in the state of Georgia. When Donald Trump lost, he and his family received death threats. Now he's talking to CNN.
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VANIER: And let me welcome you this hour once again to our beautiful little spot on the Cornish coast on the western tip of England. We are not far from where seven of the world's most powerful democracies are meeting this weekend at a seaside resort to talk face-to-face for the first time in almost two years.
This is significant because the G7 nations have been unable to get together because of COVID-19. And that's been difficult for them to form a cohesive response to the pandemic but also to many other important issues. Day two of the summit is set to get underway very soon. There's
already a potential sign of progress. Downing Street said the seven leaders will put together the Carbis Bay declaration to ensure the world never ensures another pandemic. Here's what Boris Johnson said on Friday.
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BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: We need to make sure that we learn the lessons from the pandemic. We need to make sure that we don't repeat some of the errors that we doubtless made in the course of the last 18 months or so. And we need to make sure that we now allow our economies to recover.
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VANIER: The G7 marks Joe Biden's debut on the global stage and his first real opportunity to show off the statecraft that he's fine-tuned over a lifetime. Even if the other leaders don't agree with the U.S. President on everything, they certainly seem to appreciate his presence. Watch this.
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JOHNSON: It's wonderful to listen to the Biden administration and to Joe Biden because there's so much that they want to do together with us, from security, NATO, to climate change. It's fantastic. It's a breath of fresh air. A lot of things they want to do together.
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): I am happy that the American president is present here. Being able to meet Joe Biden is obviously important because he stands with a commitment to multilateralism, which we were missing in recent years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins us from Carbis Bay.
You've covered countless G7 summits. This one comes after the Trump presidency and Joe Biden has promised to restore the United States' presence in the world.
The question is this, is multilateralism back?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: That's the question that all the G7 leaders will be asking themselves. They'll be able to see that, incarnate in Joe Biden. But he's a Democrat.
The question is, four years from now, if there's another U.S. President, if there's a Republican, will he be in the mold of former president Trump?
And that's a real question here. And that's why the Europeans, Angela Merkel particularly, Emmanuel Macron, in their own ways, be it trade, be it defense, sort of want to have this strong relationship with the United States, the one where the United States leads the multilateralism that became so familiar over the past 80 years since World War II.
The question on their minds will be, you know, would we be better served by having our own financial relationship with China, for example?
That's a bit looser and more independent of strictures than the U.S. and President Biden would like to put on China.
Or would we, in the case of Germany, like to have our own independent energy supplies coming from Russia rather than some other countries?
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ROBERTSON: Would, as Emmanuel Macron would like to see, a stronger, unified European defense policy, separate and apart from NATO, which the United States is a big contributor to.
These are the questions in the back of their minds.
Would we be better off preparing for the day when there's a potential Donald Trump back in the White House?
For the moment, this is an absolute opportunity for them, for all of the multilateral views that they all share to try to build on those views, that U.S. leadership, and try to cement in some of those values.
That's the message President Biden's selling here. Look, we need to stand up for democracies. President Trump was a leader of a democracy but he was a populist and that path leads to autocracies. And autocracies are growing.
So this is a moment where European leaders can support President Biden and lock in those values and sell those values back to the United States, if you will.
VANIER: Nic, if multilateralism is back, what is it there to achieve?
What are they announcing this weekend?
What is it these seven leaders are doing?
ROBERTSON: There will be a basket of things that they announce. One of the ones that we've got details on now is, you know, a statement on health.
It's all about rebuilding post pandemic, about spending, so that poorer nations are on a better economic footing so that, as Boris Johnson says, some countries don't get left behind with issues of leveling up.
In the health area, it's making sure that this pandemic, the world is better prepared for a future pandemic; for example, having a mechanism that will sort of speed up that readiness to a 100-day footing. So you can speed up production of vaccines. You can speed up licensing of vaccines.
You can speed up the science behind catching a pandemic when it appears on the global threshold, that you have -- and the U.K. Is going to invest in what the U.K. Is calling a zoonotic research facility that will look out for the animal-to-human transfer of potential pathogens in the future.
So it's that level of preparedness in the health sector. That's a big thing to look at as they wrap up the G7 tomorrow.
VANIER: We'll be covering all of that today. Nic Robertson in Carbis Bay, thank you.
It wasn't that long ago that the G7 was actually the G8. Now Vladimir Putin will meet with his U.S. counterpart next week. He says he is looking forward to working with him and he is nothing like his predecessor.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): Even now, I believe that former U.S. president, Mr. Trump, is an extraordinary individual, talented individual. Otherwise he would not have become U.S. president.
He's a colorful individual. You may like him or not. And he did not come from the U.S. establishment. He had not been part of big-time politics before. Some like it, some don't like it, but that is a fact.
President Biden, of course, is radically different from Trump because President Biden is a career man. He's spent virtually his entire adulthood in politics. Just think of the number of years he spent in the Senate. A different kind of person.
It is my great hope that, yes, there is some advantages, some disadvantages. But there will not be any impulse-based movements on behalf of the sitting U.S. President.
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VANIER: All right. Let's get some perspective on all that's happening in Cornwall. Joining me now is Dan Stevens, a professor of politics at the University of Exeter.
We have unfinished business. Our conversation isn't over. One burning question I have to ask you now, because I don't want to miss out on this one, I think we now are able to answer a question I had throughout the entire Trump presidency.
Is it possible for the U.S. President to damage relationships with long-standing Western allies and that all disappears when the president changes, that damage disappears?
DAN STEVENS, PROFESSOR OF POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF EXETER: Well, to answer the first question, it's certainly possible, as we saw for a president to damage the long-standing relations, relations that had been more or less on a stable footing since the Second World War. And Trump really disrupted those.
VANIER: Is it possible to turn that page?
STEVENS: Well, so then, yes; Biden is turning that page rhetorically, certainly. We'll see whether he's able to -- you know, with his actions as well.
But the problem is, can he do that alone?
I don't mean just with the other countries of the G7, who will be quite happy to go along with America and America's leadership.
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STEVENS: But there's still that question of domestic politics in America. There is this wariness on the part of other nations of how far do they go along with American leadership, no matter how much they may want to.
Because this may change. In two years, you may have --
VANIER: That's what our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, was telling me, they don't know who they'll have in front of them in four years.
STEVENS: Right.
VANIER: So they don't know -- maybe they don't want to get too close to the U.S. again if things go back the other way.
STEVENS: Right. So that would lead them to hedge their bets a little. So I think what Biden will be trying to do, he genuinely believes in what he's arguing in America's interests, is to do as much as he possibly can within the two years he has before the midterms, let alone the next presidential election.
And then he needs to demonstrate that things are working, this is in everybody's interests; Republicans' too.
VANIER: Which is why we have concrete announcements. Some have been made. They're donating 1 billion vaccines to low income countries. There will be an agreement on taxation on multinational companies.
What are you expecting today?
STEVENS: From today, the focus today is on climate change. We're still on the pandemic as well. Overlaying all of this is this approach to how they tackle what Biden is calling this new cold war.
And so lots of that has to do with how they tackle China, both economically and in terms of its influence around the world. With Russia, too, this battle, as Biden sees it, how he wants everybody else, too, to see it, this big battle between democracy --
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VANIER: So he's rallying the troops?
STEVENS: Right. That's important not only for the world but it's important in the self-interest point. It's important inside these nations.
So many of these nations are threatened by populists, by a certain approach that may be less democratic. This is part of the picture, too. It's not just a multilateral picture but convincing these nations, this is in your interests politically.
VANIER: That is so interesting and it's really hard to measure how good a job they are doing of convincing Western countries and their populations that democracies are better.
What are you looking at this weekend to see whether they're actually achieving that?
STEVENS: I think part -- as always, we look for the strength of the communique again and we know that some of the disagreements here are about just how much of -- or what kind of a threat is China and what should be the approach.
The approach, if we go back 10, 15 years, the idea was cooperation would work. Now that has changed. Not all the nations have gone along with that. Not all the nations see China as the same apocalyptic new cold war kind of terms.
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VANIER: The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called for a measure of independence in Europe's position vis-a-vis China. They don't just want to follow what the U.S. says and does with respect to China.
STEVENS: Right, exactly. There may be this way of approach that the European nations may be inclined to adopt. If we're looking for signs how successful multilateralism is, whether there's consensus, then we need to look at the details when they come of the Carbis Bay Declaration and just how strong the terms are and how much is vague and sort of hedging bets a little bit.
VANIER: We'll look to the smoke coming out of Carbis Bay and the specific words they use, you tell us, and you'll be there to tell us what they mean and whether they've actually achieved their purpose. Dan Stevens, thank you so much.
With that I toss it back to Kim Brunhuber. Kim is going to bring us up to speed on what's happening all over the world. I will be back with continuing G7 coverage shortly.
BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much.
Coming up, U.S. Democrats want answers from former attorney general William Barr, as an investigation is launched into Donald Trump's targeting of his political foes.
Plus, the British royal family is making an appearance at the G7.
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BRUNHUBER: Top U.S. Democrats are demanding answers over revelations that the Trump administration may have abused the Justice Department powers. Sources say former attorney general William Barr pushed the DOJ investigators to quickly finish the probes that included secret subpoenas on House Democrats, staff and family members. Now lawmakers want to hear from Barr and Manu Raju has the latest.
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WILLIAM BARR, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: And the president directed me --
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former president Donald Trump's Justice Department under intense scrutiny today, after new revelations suggested he employed the department's awesome power to investigate his enemies.
The deputy attorney general, Lisa Monaco, asking the department's inspector general to begin an investigation after news broke that Trump's Justice Department seized records of House Intelligence chairman Adam Schiff and committee Democrat Eric Swalwell, along with staff and even their family members.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), CHAIR, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I can't say that it was extraordinarily broad. People having nothing to do within, you know, the intelligence matters that are least being reported on. It just shows what a broad fishing expedition it was.
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SCHIFF: And so many norms were broken in connection with this.
RAJU (voice-over): Sources tell CNN, the effort began in February 2018, when attorney general Jeff Sessions ran the department. The subpoenas were related to leaks of classified information regarding contacts between Russians and Trump associates.
More than 100 accounts were affected, casting a wide net that even swept up at least one minor, that included a gag order, which was renewed three times before expiring this year. And it wasn't until May that Apple notified customers that the records had been seized.
On a private conference call today, sources tell CNN that committee Democrats were animated about getting to the bottom of who was behind this effort and are now asking Apple to provide them with more details about whether additional members were targeted. The source tells CNN that Sessions was not involved in the subpoenas, even though it began under his tenure. And the effort continued under Trump's attorney general Bill Barr, who had this exchange with then Senator Kamala Harris in 2019.
WILLIAM BARR, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: Can you repeat that question?
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will repeat it.
BARR: Yes.
HARRIS: Has the president or anyone at the White House ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone?
Yes or no?
Please, sir.
BARR: The president or anybody else?
HARRIS: Seems you'd remember something like that and be able to tell us.
BARR: Yes, but I'm trying to grapple with the word "suggest."
RAJU (voice-over): This afternoon, Barr told "Politico" that he was, "not aware of any congressman's records being sought in a leak case," Barr adding, "I never discussed the leak cases with Trump."
In the Senate, the top two Democrats want Barr to say that under oath, threatening to subpoena him along with Sessions and other officials to compel their testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
RAJU: Now while most Republicans in Congress have been quiet, one of them has spoken out. That's senator Chuck Grassley, the lead Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
He said, in part, "Investigations into members of Congress and staff are nothing new, especially for classified leaks."
His position is important because, on the Senate Judiciary Committee, they require bipartisan support in order to issue a subpoena. So all Republicans can deny Democrat's permission to subpoena for the testimony, it's different on the House side, where they can do it unilaterally. The Democrats are in the majority there, can do just that.
They want to hear from Merrick Garland, at least get him to provide information to their committee, because they're frustrated they haven't gotten enough information from Biden's Justice Department about the investigation that happened under Trump -- Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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BRUNHUBER: The White House is calling out the Trump administration's, quote, "abuse of power." On Friday communications director Kate Bedingfield said President Biden has a very different relationship with the DOJ than his predecessor. The White House press secretary told Jake Tapper that Biden is appalled by the news.
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JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Let me be absolutely clear -- the behavior, these actions, the President finds them absolutely appalling.
He ran for president in part because of the abuse of power by the last president and by the last attorney general.
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BRUNHUBER: Psaki added that such, quote, "atrocious behavior" won't be a model for how the Biden administration will govern.
In the aftermath of the 2020 U.S. election, Georgia's Republican secretary of state, along with his family, received numerous death threats and threats of violence. The reason: he rebuffed former president Trump's demands to overturn the election result in his state. A new report from Reuters shows those threats continue even now. Gary Tuchman has the details.
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LINDA SO, REUTERS: One of the text messages said, you and your family will be killed very slowly.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Linda So was a journalist with Reuters, who just wrote a story about the threat to election workers following Donald Trump's election loss. The text she read was sent to the wife of Georgia's Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger.
SO: That previous text came from a sender called raffensperger@revenge.us.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): A made up name that has so far been untraceable. Trump has made his hostility to Raffensperger very clear. This was two days before the Capitol insurrection.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, Georgia. By the way, there's no way we lost your, there is no way. It's a rig -- that was a rigged election.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Reuters reports the Raffensperger family has received a constant stream of threatening texts for months.
"Keep opposing the audit of Fulton County's 2020 election ballots. And somebody in your family is going to have a very unfortunate incident."
That came from the address murder@raffensperger.com.
And, "Please pray. We plan for the death of you and your family every day. I'm sorry," from america@jesus.com.
The secretary of state and his wife made a decision to go into temporary hiding following the multitude of threats.
[04:25:00]
TUCHMAN (voice-over): And after an intimidating house break-in that their daughter-in-law and grandchildren endured.
SO: She returned to her home one evening with her children to find that the garage door had been pulled up, the door leaving to her house was open. All of the lights in the house had been turned on. Items within the house had been moved around but nothing was taken.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Many other election workers have been threatened. Richard Barron is the Fulton County, Georgia, elections director. We talked to him his absentee ballots were being processed and scanned in the Georgia presidential race that at the time was too close to call.
TUCHMAN: You haven't gotten pressure from the campaign's but do you feel pressure on your shoulders?
RICHARD BARRON, ELECTIONS OFFICER, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: Well, yes, because we want to make sure all the votes count.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Election workers did their jobs well but Trump's allies and innuendos resulted in the elections director receiving --
SO: Hundreds of phone calls, emails, threatening hanging. There was one in particular that really alarmed him. A caller had said that they were planning on standing him before a firing squad and killing him.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): And here's the audio of one of those phone calls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you need a pair of handcuffs slapped on you. It's quite obvious the fraud that went on. So why don't you just come out and admit it and quit jerking the American people around. Just wondering how much they paid you. When I'm done with you, you'll be in prison.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The day after the Capitol insurrection, CNN asked Brad Raffensperger what he would say to Donald Trump.
RAFFENSPERGER: Well, obviously that's why I've said from day one that we have to be really mindful of our speech, because we can't spin people up and play people with -- and get them into an emotional frenzy, emotional state. Deal with the facts.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.
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BRUNHUBER: Raffensperger spoke to CNN earlier about the threats and defended his handling of the presidential election in Georgia. Listen to this.
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RAFFENSPERGER: We made sure we ran an honest and fair election. Am I disappointed?
Absolutely. I'm a Republican, conservative one but my job is to make sure we have a fair vote and people are trying to push us off our program, our plan and I'm not going to do that. I need to stand for integrity.
What is really, I think, embarrassing as a Republican is that we have people that are on our side of the aisle that would do such shameful things and say such shameful things that are so vile.
I always thought that, you know, we were the people that -- you know, our party was better than this. And when you start seeing this, we -- everyone on my side of the aisle needs to hold people accountable. We need to watch what we say and we need to make sure what we say is respectful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, a prosecutor in Fulton County, Georgia, is pursuing a criminal investigation into Trump over his "attempts to influence the administration of the 2020 Georgia general election."
Still to come, a royal presence at the G7. Why members of the British royal family dined with world leaders on the first day of the summit.
Plus, Olympic officials in Japan offering coronavirus vaccines to some people. We'll tell you whom. Stay with us.
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VANIER: I'm Cyril Vanier, live in Cornwall, England. If you're just joining us, I want to take a second and introduce you to our beautiful little spot of the Cornish seaside. Beautiful day, beautiful spot, we love it. Now back to our main story this hour.
The G7 is underway. It's a few bays down that way. The world leaders will have woken up to something like this morning.
On the agenda for day two of the G7 is the global economy, foreign policy and the pandemic. COVID-19 prevented these leaders from meeting in person for almost two years. Downing Street said the group on Saturday is expected to sign what's known as the Carbis Bay Declaration, aimed at preventing another devastating pandemic.
They're also talking about ways to rebuild the global economy in ways to mitigate climate change. The Group of Seven is unlike any other international forum. For U.S. President Joe Biden, it's his first real chance to reassert U.S. values and leadership into the group.
Other leaders have welcomed his presence. Here's more on this with CNN's Kaitlan Collins.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Face-to-face diplomacy is back as President Biden surrounded himself with other world leaders at the G7 summit. After being forced to meet remotely for a year, it was the first gathering of the four leaders since the COVID-19 pandemic.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It is genuinely wonderful to see everybody in person. I can't tell you what a difference it makes.
COLLINS (voice-over): Biden arrive intent on restoring the traditional alliances that his predecessor often undermined. Some of those allies are already noting the difference in Biden and his predecessor including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: Being able to meet Joe Biden is obviously important because he stands to the commitment to multilateralism, which we were missing in recent years.
COLLINS (voice-over): Merkel, had a notoriously fraught relationship with Donald Trump, summed up by this 2018 photo of Merkel standing over Trump, who had his arms crossed, as he refused to sign the joint agreement with other G7 leaders.
TRUMP: We're like the piggy bank that everybody's robbing and that ends.
COLLINS (voice-over): Even Trump's allies around the world appeared to welcome the change in U.S. leadership.
JOHNSON: It's wonderful to listen to the Biden administration and to Joe Biden. It's fantastic. He's a breath of fresh air, a lot of things, they want to do together.
COLLINS (voice-over): It remains to be seen how Biden's diplomatic outreach changes the substance of those relationships. But tonight, the G7 leaders were joined at dinner by Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Prince William in the queen's first visit with world leaders since the pandemic.
Earlier today, another royal connection as the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, and First Lady Jill Biden visited a school together.
CATHERINE, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE: I want to say a personal thank you and welcome to you, Dr. Biden.
COLLINS (voice-over): Biden will visit the queen at Windsor Castle on Sunday before ending his trip with a high-stakes summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin. QUESTION: Mr. President, what's your message to Putin?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll tell you after I deliver it.
COLLINS: Russian President Putin later did an interview with NBC News that lasted for 90 minutes.
[04:35:00]
COLLINS: And in a small excerpt of that interview that CNN saw, you saw Putin comparing Trump to Biden, saying, praising essentially Trump at length while saying that Biden is someone who has been in public life for several decades.
Of course, Putin is also someone who has been in public life for several decades as well. But really setting the stage for that meeting in Geneva by saying he also believes that U.S.-Russia relationships are at their lowest point that they have been in years. That is something that the White House has readily acknowledged.
Of course, the question is how those two leaders handle it when they come face-to-face for the first time since Biden has taken office -- Kaitlan Collins, CNN, traveling with the president in Cornwall.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VANIER: Kaitlan, thanks for that.
I want to bring in Antonello Guerrera, joins me now. He's the U.K. correspondent and Westminster lobby journalist for Italian newspaper "la Repubblica."
You're covering the G7 summit. I want to talk about the U.K.'s position here a little bit. It is the first in-person meeting of the G7 since the pandemic. It's the first G7 since Brexit. Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, is hosting it. That puts him in an interesting position. It's an opportunity for him, isn't it?
ANTONELLO GUERRERA, U.K. CORRESPONDENT, "LA REPUBBLICA": Absolutely. Now it's a very important meeting after such a long time because of the pandemic. And of course, I mean, he is trying to be the center of these seven countries.
It is massive for him in the United Kingdom because now he has just an abundant impression that he wasn't very reliable. And now, I mean, after having very good vaccination campaign and also this meeting can give him, I mean, much more -- I mean, a very good impression to the rest of the world.
And of course, I mean, we have to see what is going to be the final communique because it's very important to understand what is going to be the future policy of the United Kingdom in the foreign policy, in the economics and Russia and China.
VANIER: About that, about the future place of the U.K. on the global stage. Boris Johnson has touted his vision of global Britain. Essentially it's the idea -- it's how he's marketing Britain as an innovator and holding a unique niche in international relations.
But he's got to prove this weekend that it's not just an empty slogan.
How does he do that?
GUERRERA: Yes, that's absolutely true. This is a very important point. The thing is in his mind is exactly the idea of the global trade (ph), which is the United Kingdom that faces the way to the other countries. This is in theory.
In practice, the reality is much different. For instance, we have seen in these last days that -- in these later states, there is -- the Northern Ireland issue is very important. This is a weak point for Boris Johnson.
(CROSSTALK)
VANIER: And he's feuding with his European neighbors on that.
GUERRERA: Yes. Also we have the special relationship with the United States because he said a few days ago that he doesn't --
(CROSSTALK)
GUERRERA: Yes, I don't like the term because he said, well, we like look -- it looks this way and needy and weak.
VANIER: Right.
GUERRERA: But then the day after he said this indestructible relationship.
VANIER: The words special relationship have suggested domination of one party, the U.S., over the other.
GUERRERA: Exactly.
VANIER: Something like that.
GUERRERA: Exactly. But relationship with the United States is going to be very important because -- especially on two aspects. One is, of course, I mean, Northern Ireland, because we know President Biden is of Irish origin. He is very passionate on this issue. And also what is going on with the trade deal.
(CROSSTALK)
VANIER: The bilateral trade deal between --
(CROSSTALK)
GUERRERA: Yes, because it's very important.
VANIER: It never happened under Trump. And both Johnson and Trump had said we're going to have a great deal. It never happened. It doesn't exist.
GUERRERA: Never happened. Also because it's quite complicated because we know that such a deal should be approved and also by the Congress.
[04:40:00]
GUERRERA: But the thinking is symbolically it's very important for Boris Johnson because, striking a deal -- a trade deal with the United States, will mean, first, Britain is global and, secondly, he will succeed in something the European Union for instance never did.
So this will be a great success for him.
VANIER: So if this is the scene, if this is the opportunity for Boris Johnson to showcase Britain's place in the world. This is what would worry me if I were one of the advisers.
You look at the picture. You have the U.S., the top dog, the leader, always is, and you have on the other side, the European countries. We saw them having lunch without Boris Johnson, just the European nations together.
Then you have Japan and the U.K. now both in their lanes. It's probably excessive to say Boris Johnson is isolated.
But he is, in his lane, isn't he?
He is in his own unique little path.
GUERRERA: In some way, yes, this is true. Also because this is related to Northern Ireland. Basically the United Kingdom is breaching the international law (ph) because there is a protocol in Northern Ireland, that the United Kingdom is not respecting at the moment.
So this is very interesting because we see the dynamics also of European politics. Like if you notice, yesterday, Macron, the French president, he never published a photo of him with Boris Johnson but only with other European leaders.
This is also because of internal European dynamics in politics. As we know, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, she is leaving at the end of the year. She is leaving a huge gap, a void that should be filled by someone.
And, of course, I mean, Macron wants to be that person to fill the gap. And that's why he needs (INAUDIBLE) with Boris Johnson. That's why I think we're going to see -- yes, now Boris Johnson looks very isolated.
I think it's quite understandable after Brexit because apart from leaving the union, even Joe Biden and the Obama administration said it was very negative.
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GUERRERA: So we really see now what is going to happen and if, you know, Boris Johnson is willing to be global as much as is Britain.
VANIER: Well, it's day two. We'll see what happens with day two. The day is just beginning. We'll see what happens at the end of the weekend. Antonello, thank you very much.
GUERRERA: Thank you.
VANIER: Boris Johnson carving out his own little path on the international stage after Brexit. Thank you for joining us.
We will have continuing coverage of the G7, of course. But for this hour that's it from the Cornish coast. I'll hand it back to Kim for more world news.
BRUNHUBER: Fascinating stuff. Thanks so much, Cyril.
Coming up, doctors in Japan worry the health care system could be overwhelmed by the Olympics. We'll talk about their fears ahead. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: With just 41 days until the Tokyo Olympics, the president of the Olympic organizing committee says they'll be giving shots to 18,000 people working closely with the athletes. Overall, Japan's vaccine rollout has been going slowly, according to the tracking group Our World in Data. Japan has given 21.5 million doses so far.
That's a little more than 12.5 percent of the country's population. Obviously, there's a long way to go before Japan is fully vaccinated. Still, Olympic officials are trying to calm fears. Selina Wang has the latest from Tokyo.
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SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With the Olympics just 6 weeks away, organizers are trying to reassure the public these games can be held safely. Japan has only fully vaccinated around 4 percent of its population.
But the president of Tokyo 2020, now says that they are planning to vaccinate about 18,000 Olympic workers. Take a listen.
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SEIKO HASHIMOTO, TOKYO 2020 PRESIDENT (through translator): We expect those with frequent contact with athletes to be Olympic Village staff, national Olympic and national Paralympic committee staff, assistants, operation staff, airport staff, antidoping staff and others. Volunteers and contractors will be eligible. They will get their first
dose by the end of June and, after 3 weeks, get their second dose before the games.
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WANG: It's unclear how many volunteers would be included in this. There are 70,000 Tokyo Olympic volunteers, even after 10,000 already quit. So it would include a small proportion, at best.
And many volunteers told me they've been given little more than hand sanitizer and cloth masks for protection. And they're asked to take public transportation between their homes and the Olympic Village.
Japan has already started to vaccinate their own Olympic athletes and officials say that they expect 80 percent of the Olympic Village to be vaccinated. Participants will be tested regularly, contract traced with GPS and asked to socially distance themselves.
But even Tokyo's own Olympics coronavirus advisor says it is impossible to shut out COVID-19 and stressed the importance of mitigating the spread. Now foreign fans have already been banned from attending the games.
And officials say, they will decide later this month how many local spectators can attend. Local media have reported that a negative COVID-19 test or a vaccination certificate may be required in order to get in as a local fan.
But here in Japan, there is still major opposition to hosting the Olympics. Tokyo and much of the country is still under a state of emergency. That is not set to expire until June 20th, just weeks before the games begin.
Now infections in Japan have slowed more recently. But they are still reporting a few thousand new COVID cases per day and the spread of variants is a major concern. A key worry from doctors is that these games could push Japan's already overstretched medical system past the brink -- Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.
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BRUNHUBER: Just ahead, G7 leaders getting a royal welcome at this year's summit. We'll look at the key issues Queen Elizabeth and her family are discussing with world leaders. Stay with us.
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VANIER: And welcome back. In just a few hours, Queen Elizabeth will celebrate her official
birthday with a military parade at Windsor Castle. Before marking the occasion, she and other senior royals spent the day in Cornwall, making several appearances at the G7 summit. CNN's Max Foster, our royal correspondent, takes a look.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The queen is not a political leader, so she's less divisive. Add to that her record as the world's longest serving head of state and she earns her position in the center of the family photo.
The royals were out in force in Cornwall on Friday, starting with a joint visit to a school by the Duchess of Cambridge; the first lady herself an educator.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
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DR. JILL BIDEN, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I agree (ph).
FOSTER (voice-over): The children keen to show off their pets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we have Brian (ph) and -- absolutely.
FOSTER (voice-over): And the duchess keen to speak to her pet cause, her children's well-being during a discussion with British and American learning experts.
DR. BIDEN: Early childhood education is so important.
CATHERINE, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE: Best investment for our future, health and happiness lies in the first years of life.
FOSTER (voice-over): Jill Biden already has royal connections.
[04:55:00]
FOSTER (voice-over): She's worked with Prince Harry for years on veterans' issues. The duchess was asked about Harry and Meghan's new baby, Lilibet.
CATHERINE: Oh, I wish her all the very best. I cannot wait to meet her because we have not yet met her. So hopefully that will be soon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)?
CATHERINE: No, haven't met.
FOSTER (voice-over): Meanwhile, the first lady was asked if she asked the duchess for any advice on meeting the queen.
DR. BIDEN: No, I didn't. We've been busy.
Were you not in that room?
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DR. BIDEN: We were talking education.
FOSTER (voice-over): In the evening, at a reception for G7 leaders, the duchess joined her husband. This is Britain deploying its soft power, government-speak for a diplomatic charm offensive. They joined the queen there. She rarely travels this far from Windsor for engagements these days.
But she dutifully travels when requested by ministers. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, alongside the queen, as they are for all the big events these days, all part of the long-term royal transition process.
But Charles held his own spin-off meeting about private sector efforts to tackle climate change, this ahead of the U.N. climate change conference, which will also be held in the U.K. later this year.
After so much focus on tensions within the royal family, this was an opportunity for the royals remaining in the U.K. to show a united front and reassert themselves on the world stage -- Max Foster, CNN.
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VANIER: Well, that was an unusual amount of royal muscle for a G7. But that's what you get when the G7 is hosted in the U.K. Of course, that comes ahead of Mr. Biden's personal meeting with the queen. That will be tomorrow. We'll have continuing coverage of the G7 right after this on CNN -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, so many interesting threads and compelling narratives to follow, which you'll be back to do next hour.
That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber and we will be back with more news. Please do stay with us.
