Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: Zelenskyy to Visit U.S. with Aid Stalled in Congress; Trump Changes Course, Says He Won't Testify Monday; Palestinian News Agency: Dozens Killed in Strikes Across Gaza. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 11, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and warm, welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. Bianca off for today, but just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Zelenskyy's visit to Washington on Tuesday will come at a critical moment as lawmakers are working to come up with a package that would include new aid for Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to bring the killing to a stop, and that's what American leadership should be doing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump doubled down on comments that he had made during a town hall with Fox News earlier in the week.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And you know why I wanted to be a dictator? Because I want a wall and I want to drill, drill, drill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is clear from fierce fighting that Israel is still battling to control much of northern Gaza.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: There needs to be a premium put on protecting civilians and making sure that humanitarian assistance can get to everyone who needs it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: Hello, it is Monday, December the 11th. 9:00 a.m. a.m. here in London, 4:00 AM in Washington where later this week Ukraine's president will make his third trip to Washington since Russia invaded this country nearly two years ago. A statement from Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office says he'll meet with U.S. President Biden about further defense cooperation. But right now, aid to Ukraine is bogged down in Congress amid a long running domestic debate, with some lawmakers saying it comes down to a matter of priorities, CNN's Kevin Liptak has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Zelenskyy's visit to Washington on Tuesday will come at a critical moment as lawmakers are working to come up with a package that would include new aid for Ukraine, along with new rules on migration into the United States. And certainly, the fact that President Biden invited Zelenskyy to visit Washington tells you that the administration is looking for some kind of dramatic way to break the impasse on Capitol Hill.

So, while he is in DC, he will meet with President Biden at the White House to discuss what President Biden's aides say is vital American support for Ukraine. But he will also be on Capitol Hill. Zelenskyy will speak to all senators at a meeting in person and he will meet as well with the Republican House Speaker, Mike Johnson.

And certainly, his challenge will be in convincing some of these skeptical Republicans that the $60 billion in additional American assistance that President Biden is requesting for Ukraine could make a difference on the battlefield as Ukraine remains bogged down in this counteroffensive that hasn't necessarily changed the battle lines so far. But already you're hearing some Republicans sort of opposed Zelenskyy's visit. JD Vance, the Conservative Republican from Ohio, said that Zelenskyy will come to Washington and demand that Congress care more about his border than our own.

And remember, these talks are tied together with this conversation about tightening the rules on migration into the United States. We did hear Sunday from the two senators who are sort of leading those discussions. The Democrat, Chris Murphy, and the Republican James Lankford. It did not appear as if they were any closer to an agreement, listen to what they said.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I think this is one of the most dangerous moments that I've ever faced in American politics, and I wish Republicans weren't holding Israel aid and aid to Ukraine hostage to the resolution of immigration reform.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you get Ukraine aid passed separate from this?

SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): No, no, the focus is where we hear from so many people is why would we deal with other people's national security and ignore American national security. Why would we literally allow people across our southern border this administration labels national security risks by the thousands coming in the country separate from just the migrants that are coming from employment? We have individuals they've literally labeled national security risks coming into the country. Why would we not work to be able to stop that? We can do two things at once.

LIPTAK: Now President Biden did say last week that he was open to significant compromise when it came to border provisions. But he is really caught in a bind here, feeling pressure from both sides. Certainly, from Republicans and even some Democrats who want to do more to stop the migrant flows from coming into the United States. But also, on the other side from progressives and immigration advocates who are worried about the steps that President Biden might agree to. Worried that they could amount to some of the restrictive policies that President Trump enacted when he was in office.

[04:05:02]

Now, we did hear from Senator Chris Murphy today that the White House plans to become more engaged on these talks over the coming weeks, but it remains certainly unclear whether presidential involvement will break the impasse.

Kevin Liptak, CNN Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: My colleague Rosemary Church spoke earlier with CNN contributor Jill Dougherty and asked her what would happen if U.S. Conservatives ultimately refused to approve more aid for Ukraine. Here's what she said their likely motivation is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think Zelenskyy's got a very difficult job and this really may be the biggest, most important pitch that he has to make for his country. Because right now, as was just noted in that report, everything in the United States has been highly politicized. Obviously, we have an election coming up. And so, any issue and especially Ukraine, where you're talking about, you know, big amounts of money, you've got this package, overall package of $106 billion -- 60 billion of which would go to Ukraine, the rest would go to Israel, to the border and some other Taiwan, in fact, but 60 billion is a lot of money.

And as American lawmakers look at it, they don't believe that there is much progress that the Ukrainians are making. And also, they know -- at least the Republicans know -- that Joe Biden is really kind of over the barrel on this. He needs to continue that funding that is a major purpose that he's set out to do. And so, they can hold him and they can pressure him on this issue of the border.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, thanks to Jill for her expertise there.

But Ukraine says its air defenses destroyed eight ballistic missiles launched by Russia against the Kyiv region. An all clear has been issued for the city. Authorities are still assessing the damage done to the area. So far, at least four injuries have been reported, but no deaths.

A last-minute change of course for former President Donald Trump. Against the advice of his lawyers, he declared Friday that he would take the stand today in his $250 million New York civil fraud trial. But just a few hours ago, he announced on his Truth Social platform that he'll not testify after all. CNN's Zach Cohen has that story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: A last minute reversal by former President Donald Trump, who announced on True Social that he will no longer testify for a second time in his New York civil fraud trial on Monday. Now Trump had been expected to take the stand again in the civil fraud case, despite his lawyers advising him not to because of the gag order in effect that prevents him from criticizing court staff.

On Thursday, one of Trump's lawyers said the former president was adamant about testifying because he wanted to reiterate how unfairly he had been treated by the judge and prosecutors in this case. Trump's lawyer, Chris Kise, released a new statement Sunday saying Trump had, quote, nothing more to say to a judge who imposed an unconstitutional gag order. And accused the judge of ignoring Trump's previous testimony in the case.

The New York Attorney General issued her own statement on Sunday, accusing Trump of trying to distract from the facts of the case, which she says, proved he committed years of financial fraud and unjustly enriched himself and his family.

Now it's important to note that the judge in this case has already ruled that Trump did commit fraud and this trial was simply to determine the damages, the former president must pay.

Zachary Cohen, CNN Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: As Zach mentioned, Trump has already taken the stand in in the New York trial. From a defense perspective, there's not much to be gained really from another round of testimony and a lot to lose, CNN legal analyst Elie Honig explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: This is the smart move or I guess I should say the least self-destructive move for a couple of reasons. First of all, as Zach just said, Trump has already lost a piece of this case. The judge has already ruled against Donald Trump for the AG on one of the causes of action. It's not as if Donald Trump's testimony was going to get the judge to reverse himself.

The other thing is, Donald Trump already testified in this case. He was called to the stand as one of the AG's witnesses. That did not go well for Donald Trump. His testimony was all over the map, was non- responsive at times, was self contradictory. So, looking at this from a lawyer's point of view, there is no reason for him to get up on the stand. Now politics and PR wise -- that's not my area -- but legally here he's done the least dangerous thing by deciding not to testify.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Legal analyst Elie Honig there, speaking with CNN a little earlier on.

Now in Tennessee, at least six people are dead and dozens more injured after multiple tornadoes and strong thunderstorms tore through the state over the weekend. One tornado hit Madison and nearby Hendersonville with peak winds of 125 mph, according to a preliminary survey by the Weather Service. And another tornado devastated Clarksville over an 11-mile path where officials say nearly 100 military families lost their homes.

[04:10:00]

CNN's Rafael Romo has more on the tornado recovery efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we have been able to see as the devastation caused by those 13 tornadoes. And the Tennessee Office of Emergency Management said that that's how many tornadoes were spotted here on Saturday.

And what I can tell you is that in this particular neighborhood here in Madison, in the north side of Nashville, many homes are a total loss. There are many downed power lines and trees. Total devastation here. Authorities say 22 structures have collapsed. And Governor Bill Lee has declared a state of emergency.

I was talking to a gentleman who lives here on this block earlier and he was telling me that him and his wife were watching TV when they realized, after listening to the forecast, that their area was in the danger zone and they ran to the kitchen, a decision that ultimately, he says, saved our lives. Let's take a listen.

GREGORY CHANCE, TORNADO VICTIM: What I remember is we got into our safe place and the next thing I know, all you hear is stuff started flying and the glass was breaking. And it -- and it seemed like it lasted forever, but it was probably maybe 30 seconds.

ROMO: Restoring power is another huge challenge authorities here are facing. According to officials, 10s of thousands of people are still without power. An official for the local utility was saying that it's not a matter of hours, but days before they can turn everybody back on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We expect some of those outages be prolonged and we will know more today as crews further assess the damage. We don't have an estimated restoration time, but we do know that the outages in the Henderson -- Hendersonville area will be prolong.

ROMO: And the damage to the power grid is so extensive that two utility providers are operating on generator power.

Rafael Romo, CNN Nashville, Tennessee.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now that same storm currently impacting Northeast -- the Northeast U.S. with heavy rain, high winds and snow. Parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts expected to get the heaviest rainfall and over 40 million people are under flood watches from eastern Maryland, Delaware -- Delaware to parts of Maine, Philadelphia and New York City. Winter storm alerts are also forecast across parts of the Appalachian Mountains and the northeast through Monday evening, likely accompanied by snowfall.

Still to come, one city in southern Gaza now a major focus of Israel's war against Hamas. We'll have the latest on the fighting ahead.

And Israel says it'll not stop fighting until Hamas is destroyed. How the Palestinian Prime Minister is responding, next.

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Israeli forces and Hamas fighters are engaged in intense fighting as Israel expands its operations in southern Gaza. The Palestinian News Agency WAFA says dozens of civilians were killed in air strikes on Sunday across Gaza, including in the Jabalia refugee camp. In the north and the city of Khan Younis in the South. There one resident described intense artillery shelling and a dire humanitarian situation in amid food and water shortages. We want to warn you the next video contains images that are disturbing.

It shows the wounded being rushed to a hospital in Khan Younis. According to WAFA, medical sources say those arriving for treatment are having to lay on the ground because there are no beds or medical supplies available.

CNN's Clare Sebastian following developments. Joining me here in London. It's going from bad to worse basically.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a very intense phase in the fighting. We're now in the second week after the truce. It's hard to say whether it's more intense, Max, than it was before that, but certainly it's happening over a wider area because they've now expanded to the South. So, we're seeing fighting in the north around Jabalia, as you say, very intense and dozens of civilians killed -- according to the Palestinian News Agency WAFA -- 45, they say after air raids targeted a house and another nine in a square.

We've seen the Israeli soldier death toll mount. It's now hit 100 civilian death toll, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah is now approaching 18,000. Khan Younis in the South, clearly still a major focus. Heavy artillery shelling was reported. CNN spoke to a resident there over the weekend.

And Israel's, you know, continues to say that this is, you know, they're seeing some success when it comes to eradicating Hamas. They say they've now killed some 7,000 militants, Hamas militants, since the start of this conflict. But how they are prosecuting this war now that it has expanded is still a major focus.

Now we know that they issued an urgent appeal. They said to civilians to evacuate some small areas within Khan Younis over the weekend. I think we can show you the map that they put out on X -- formally known as Twitter. Of course, you can see the areas highlighted in orange there is where they told civilians to evacuate, to moving them, they say to shelters in the West.

Now this is under intense scrutiny from the international community, and Secretary Blinken was asked about this on CNN on Sunday. He made it clear that while he has noted what they're doing here with these kinds of maps, it's still not enough. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I think the intent is there, but the results are not always manifesting themselves. And we see that both in terms of civilian protection and humanitarian assistance.

Even as Israel has taken additional steps, for example, to designate safe areas in the South, to focus on neighborhoods, not entire cities, in terms of evacuating them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Well, the UN coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs in the Middle East, Lynn Hastings, she went even further. She questioned whether you can call what she described as patches of land where there is no infrastructure, food, water, healthcare or hygiene as safe zones. So, Israel still come on -- coming under a lot of criticism for how this war is going, and of course, that mounting death toll.

FOSTER: What about the aid? Is it getting in in any greater quantities?

SEBASTIAN: So, we're seeing, you know, there were 100 trucks that went in through Rafah on Sunday, the same number on Saturday. That is a fraction of the some 450 a day that the UN said that that the Gaza Strip was getting before this conflict.

[04:20:00]

The key thing to understand now about the humanitarian is that the aid agency is saying that humanitarian work is basically almost no longer possible in some areas. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that they're really only able to distribute aid in Rafah. The other areas are too dangerous. The World Food Programme, saying that it's practically impossible because of the breakdown of law and order. So, you get a picture there of the challenges they face.

FOSTER: Yes, unbelievable scenes. Clare, thank you.

The Palestinian Crossing Authority says 108 trucks arrived in Gaza from Egypt on Sunday -- as Clare was saying -- which is consistent with the daily average that's been allowed in over the past week at least. But it's still less than a quarter of the aid that was going into Gaza before the war, and that's according to the UN. The World Health Organization says the lack of basic supplies is allowing diseases to spread and warn that Gaza's healthcare system is, quote, on its knees and collapsing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: As more and more people move to a smaller and smaller area, overcrowding, combined with the lack of adequate food, water, shelter and sanitation are creating the ideal conditions for disease to spread. Health needs have increased dramatically. And the capacity of the health system has been reduced to one third of what it was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Israel says Hamas is likely holding 137 hostages in Gaza, but twenty of them are believed to be dead.

Some of the hostages released by Hamas joined a Hanukkah gathering with displaced residents from the kibbutz Kfar Aza, a community devastated in the attack on October the 7th. A mother and daughter spoke to the crowd, saying they were thankful to be freed, but they still feel the pain of the remaining hostages.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AGAM GOLDSTEIN-ALMOG, RELEASED ISRAELI HOSTAGE (through translator): It took us a lot of time to understand what happened when we weren't here, and all you did in order to get us home. Until we understand everything, we want to say a huge thank you. Thank you for returning us. Thank you for succeeded throughout all the pain and mourning to return us. We lost people who were so dear and everyone we knew and everyone we will remember forever. And there are people who are here who are so close and so far from us. They are our hope in this pain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The war in Gaza took center stage during the first day of an international forum in Doha. CNN's Becky Anderson moderated a panel with world leaders, including the Qatari Prime Minister. He told her he's deeply disappointed by the failure to secure a new pause in the fighting. But he's not giving up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, Israel has categorically ruled out a ceasefire and says its military operation will continue until it has destroyed Hamas and freed all of the hostages and two months in and 137 hostages are still being held can in Gaza, including Americans.

And Israel is yet to come up with compelling evidence that it can execute on that goal of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages without continued catastrophic loss of human life. Well, I spoke to the Qatari Prime Minister and FM earlier on today. Of course, Qatar intimately involved at the heart of the mediation talks which affect a humanitarian truce, a weeks long truce which allowed for the release of upwards of 100 hostages. That, of course, is now over, and the Qatar Prime Minister told me that he is deeply disappointed that the two warring parties have not been able to come together to effect further negotiations, further freeing of hostages on the one side held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. But he did sound a tone of optimism. Have a listen.

MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN BIN JASSIM AL THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER: For the way forward, we are going to continue. We are committed to have all the hostages being released. But also, we are committed to stop this war and to stop the bombardment of the innocents, Palestinians. It always takes two parties to be willing to such an engagement. Unfortunately, we are not seeing the same willingness that we had seen in the weeks before.

ANDERSON: While this region, the Gulf and the wider Middle East is absolutely determined -- and you hear this echoed around this region -- that it is an immediate ceasefire that is needed at present. Certainly, the U.S. administration is very enthusiastic about trying to get a plan for what's known as the day after. The day the guns go silent, a plan about what a post conflict Gaza may look like.

[04:25:00]

I spoke to the Palestinian Prime Minister who was here with me in Qatar. And he has described talking to the Americans about a plan which could involve Hamas as a junior partner if Hamas signed up to the PA PLO platform.

Well, I asked Mohammad Shtayyeh whether it's realistic to suggest that Hamas be involved in governing Gaza going forward. And what any plan for the day after might look like. This is what he told me.

MOHAMMAD SHTAYYEH, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER: I think it's very important that we should all realize that Hamas is an integral part of the Palestinian political mosaic. And therefore, for Israel to claim that they are going to eradicate, eliminate Hamas, I think this is something that is totally -- it's first of all, it's not going to happen and totally is not acceptable to us.

ANDERSON: Alongside the Director-General of the United Nations General Assembly, I was also joined on stage by Ayman Safadi, who is the Jordanian Foreign Minister, and all three regional leaders that I spoke to today said any plan going forward has to include a Palestinian horizon, must include a solution for the Palestinians, must include security, dignity, and self-defense as part of any conversation about where this region goes tomorrow.

Becky Anderson, CNN, Doha.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Former President Donald Trump, pushing back on controversy over recent comments about being a dictator. But he's turning to a familiar playbook, the story ahead.

Plus, Argentina's new president promises change is in store for the country's troubled economy. His plan for a new era, just ahead.