Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Russia Amasses Troops To Hit Ukrainians In Kursk; Trump Picks Former Acting ICE Director As Border Czar; Trump Nominates Rep. Elise Stefanik For U.N. Ambassador. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired November 11, 2024 - 10:00:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: -- where the time is 7:00 in the evening. And breaking in the last hour, the far-right Israeli Minister

Bezalel Smotrich orders his team to prepare to take full sovereignty over settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Elon Musk is camp town at Mar-a-Lago, according to sources talking to CNN weighing in on key staffing decisions as Donald Trump's second

administration takes shape.

And Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops including North Koreans to hit Ukrainian positions in the Kursk Region.

Well, the Trump transition is well underway, with choices announced for more key positions in the President-elect's second administration. Trump

says he has chosen immigration hardliner Tom Homan to oversee the deportation of all undocumented immigrants from the United States. Homan

served as acting director of ICE in the previous Trump White House. And just a few hours ago, the President-elect nominated New York Representative

Elise Stefanik to serve as ambassador to the United Nations.

She is a long-time Trump ally. Who Trump chooses next will be decided in talks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida where loyalists have converged

and activity, we are told, is buzzing. One near constant during the process is Elon Musk, the tech billionaire has been seen in conversations with

Trump almost daily. What do we know? Well, I'm joined this hour by Priscilla Alvarez and CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston.

Good to have you both on board. Priscilla, let's start with you. Walk us through what we know about Tom Holman, first and foremost.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: So, Tom Homan was widely expected to hold some role in the incoming Trump administration especially

focused on immigration over the last several years. He's been a supporter of former President Donald Trump and a critic of the Biden administration,

often taking more hard line approach to border security and interior enforcement.

Now Tom Homan knows Immigration and Customs Enforcement well. He worked there for several years. And in talking to my sources, they tell me, look,

Tom Homan has a grasp on the operational side of anything like mass deportation. He has been at the helm of it before. He understands the ins

and outs, but he also understands the challenges when it comes to executing on a plan that would be detaining and deporting immigrants at a large

scale.

For example, he understands the contracting and the money and the resources that he would take to pull off something like this. So, on one end, some

sources say, you know, this makes sense, but also because he has a grip on the reality of an operation like this, it will be telling to see how it

unfolds, versus some other immigration choices that may be less familiar with the ins and outs of immigration law and the operations.

But again, Tom Homan, he knows those that immigration to Customs Enforcement well, because of his time there. He knows those in the Trump

orbit because over the last several years, he has been a big supporter of the former president and now president-elect. So, him being in this border

czar role is one that, again, was expected, and it's telling that he's coming this time around.

Remember, former President Donald Trump also selected him to serve as immigration czar in his first administration, which was a surprise to Tom

Homan. He did not ultimately take that post but now he will be joining in this role, one that will keep him close to Donald Trump as again, he tries

to shape the mass deportation campaign promise of the now president-elect.

ANDERSON: Mark, let me bring you in here. What is the choice of Elise Stefanik at the U.N. suggest about Trump thinking?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think it's really important to peer them together, Homan and Stefanik. And Priscilla is

absolutely right. Homan understands how to do things on day one, and in talking with Trump advisers this morning, they said, look over the next

three, four, five days, you may see a couple big names that are mentioned, but pay particular attention to the folks that are not just loyal to

President Trump but understand how to work in government.

So that takes us from Homan who fully understands how to do it and, of course, is loyal to the president but to Elise Stefanik now, who is now

going to become the United States or, you know, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Why this is important is because she has

Donald Trump's ear. And when she's speaking to world leaders, they know that she's speaking on behalf of Donald Trump.

And why that's important, as we know is -- I remember the first time around when Donald Trump was fishing for ambassadors all around the world.

[10:05:09]

And somebody I know was up for a very controversial, a very important ally country. And the person said to me, look, the only thing that really

matters is for me to go over there and for them to know that I speak for Donald Trump. And I do think in these two picks that we're seeing Holman,

Stefanik specifically on the world stage. These are two very key spots, and we shouldn't forget his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, not known worldwide,

but somebody who pays attention to global politics.

The United States Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel. He's a former congressman. He used to be the Chief of Staff for Barack Obama. He was

considered a killer, and that is exactly who Susie Wiles is, somebody who will protect her principal.

ANDERSON: Fascinating, isn't it? Well, more to come. Thank you both. I want to get to breaking news out of the Middle East now. We are seeing a move by

Israel for full sovereignty over settlements in the West Bank. The country's finance minister, also in charge of the territory, says he has

instructed his department to begin preparations for sovereignty. Bezalel Smotrich says with Donald Trump leading, heading back into power, "the time

has come." And I quote him there.

Let's bring CNN Jeremy Diamond in from Tel Aviv. The time has come, says Smotrich. What do we understand to be the intention here and why now?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, what we are watching is one of the first ways in which Donald Trump's election appears

to be impacting policy inside of Israel and that is because Bezalel Smotrich's Israel finance minister who also oversees key departments within

the Ministry of Defense responsible for settlements inside the West Bank is now ordering those departments to begin making preparations to establish

full sovereignty over Israeli settlements in the West Bank, effectively annexing large swaths of the West Bank.

Now we should be cautious here that these are initial steps laying the groundwork for annexation actions, but it doesn't necessarily mean that

those will come anytime soon, but Smotrich is making his intentions and he is also making his reasons explicitly clear in a statement here, where he

is making clear that he is taking these steps because of Donald Trump's election as the next President of the United States, which, of course, just

happened last week.

He believes that as a result of Trump's election that this is a "important opportunity." He is calling it for Israel to take these steps, and he is

also expressing confidence that this is a step that Donald Trump will support once he comes into office. And he's also making clear that he

believes that this is a step that is necessary to remove what he calls the threat of a future Palestinian state.

Now, in terms of whether or not this is something Donald Trump will support, we don't yet have comment from his camp, of course, yet. But what

we can look at is what he actually did when he was in office during his first term as president. And in 2020 when his administration released their

peace plan for this region, they indeed did lay out the United States recognizing Israel's sovereignty over settlements in The West Bank.

It did not call for any territorial swaps between Israelis and Palestinians, which many other peace plants have envisioned. Instead, it

said that the U.S. would recognize Israeli sovereignty over those settlements in the West Bank, in exchange for Israel agreeing to freeze any

future settlement expansion for four years. So certainly, Smotrich and other right wingers inside the Israeli government, including the Israeli

prime minister himself, see very clearly that they have a very strong ally in President Trump, you know, when he will come into office.

The Israeli prime minister just yesterday, said that he spoke with Donald Trump three times in just the last week. And that, of course, signals the

close cooperation that they are likely to have. We should note that Trump also spoke with the Palestinian Authority, President Mahmoud Abbas and

according to Palestinian officials, Trump vowed that he would help to work to end the war in Gaza. Becky?

ANDERSON: Yes. That was a highly controversial plan promoted by Donald Trump's son, Jared Kushner. Of course, it will be interesting to see

whether the Trump administration will just dust that off or whether they will look at that plan if indeed it provides the body of their plan for

Israel and the Palestinians.

[10:10:01]

And whether this past 14 months and the changes of course, the conflict and the changes that have occurred will mean that that plan needs updating, if

indeed it is the plan that the Trump administration wishes to go with. Lots to discuss in the months to come. Jeremy, always good to have you there

with what is breaking news this hour.

Meantime, fresh strikes killed more than 80 people in Gaza and Lebanon over the weekend, and time is running out for Israel to show the U.S. it has

boosted humanitarian aid for Gaza.

CNN's Kylie Atwood joins us now from Washington. The deadline, Kylie, that you and I discussed imposed by the U.S. for Israel to increase humanitarian

access or "face repercussions" is this Wednesday. Have we seen any evidence that things have changed at all?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: We have seen some evidence that things have changed, but there are also humanitarian

organizations who say that on the whole, things are effectively as bad as they have been in Gaza. So, the U.S. government is going to have to weigh

those two things but also weigh the specific actions that Israel has taken or hasn't taken on this long list of demands that they set out.

One of those was demanding that there were at least 350 humanitarian trucks a day coming into Gaza. We'll have to see if that figure is met. But Becky,

there's one part of this letter that I think gives us a good idea, potentially of how the Biden administration will respond, and that was the

fact that they called for setting up a channel between the U.S. and Israel to discuss incidents of civilian harm.

And that specific demand, they said they wanted to have the first meeting by the end of the month. That was obviously back in October. It is now mid-

November and as far as we have been told by the State Department, that channel hasn't actually been set up. There haven't been any formal meetings

on that specific topic. We also haven't seen there be any actual action taken against Israel because of that.

So clearly, the Biden administration is giving them some wiggle room to try and get that channel set up. We'll have to watch and see if they're willing

to give them the same wiggle room on this long list of demands that they made to Israel when it comes to improving the humanitarian situation in

Gaza. And I think it's specifically important to note that even though the letter said that if they don't take this action, they may risk violating

those laws that govern U.S. military assistance to Israel.

They did use the word may in there. So even the U.S. government, in writing this letter, which was highly aggressive and very clear in terms of what

they want to see from Israel, gave themselves some wiggle room to not potentially act on the day of this deadline, which, as you said, is

Wednesday. So, watch and see what the State Department says, what the Biden administration says and what they ultimately do in terms of their action in

responding to Israel and their actions to improve the humanitarian situation which continues really to grow worse on the whole.

ANDERSON: Yes. And it's the agencies, U.N. agencies and others who are on the ground over the weekend. The head of the World Food Program Cindy

McCain tweeted "the unacceptable is confirmed. Famine is likely happening or is imminent in Northern Gaza."

Well, meantime, a source says that Qatar won't resume its efforts for a ceasefire deal in Gaza until both sides show good faith. Qatar suspending

its role as mediator and decided to close Hamas' office in Doha. A diplomatic source tells us "the Qataris have concluded that there is

insufficient willingness from either side with the mediation efforts becoming more about politics and P.R. rather than a serious attempt to

secure peace, save the hostages and Palestinian civilians. As a consequence, the Hamas political office no longer serves its purpose."

Well, still to come, Donald Trump wants to repeal the Biden administration's executive order on Artificial Intelligence. We look at

what that is and how that could affect the future of A.I. in the U.S.

And the U.N. Climate Summit opens with this blunt truth, someone has to finance the battle against climate change or we will all pay the price.

More coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:16:57]

ANDERSON: Welcome back just after quarter past 7:00 in Abu Dhabi. You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD from our Middle East programming hub. I'm Becky

Anderson. The U.N. Climate Summit COP29 now underway in Baku in Azerbaijan. It comes as scientists describe a world at a crossroads. Experts agree

governments across the globe must accelerate their efforts to limit climate change.

Already, temperature records have been smashed for this year and for the past decade. And there is growing anxiety but Donald Trump's promise to

pull the world's largest economy out of what is known as the Paris Agreement, once again. Ahead of the U.N.'s Framework Convention on Climate

Change opened COP29 by stressing that no one is immune to the consequences of inaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON STIELL, UNFCCC EXECUTIVE SECRETARY: But let's dispense with the idea that climate finance is charity. An ambitious new climate finance goal is

entirely in the self-interest of every single nation, including the largest and the wealthiest.

But it's not enough to just agree on a goal. We must work harder to reform the global financial system, giving countries the fiscal space they so

desperately need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, our chief climate correspondent Bill Weir joining us now and keenly listening to what is coming out of Baku. Bill, I wonder what you

think the prospects are at COP 29 of finding the solutions, very specifically, the financing, the cash that is so desperately needed at this

point.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: It's a great question, Becky. And it is Shakespearean, this struggle, you think about these 30,000

delegates, people earnestly trying to do the hard yards of coming up with negotiations that hopes and fears of 200 different nations there together,

but the specter at the top is the climate denial of Donald Trump and the threat to pull the United States out of this.

Keir Starmer, the only G7 leader present here at this one. No president of India or China. Vladimir Putin really choosing Baku as t6he location.

Vetoing Poland because they were sympathetic to Ukraine after his invasion there as well. So, it's not hard to imagine a future in which Petro states

like the United States and Russia align. And this one is supposed to be about finance for developing countries.

Kenya, for example, could go either way. Could go oil and gas, could go clean, sun and wind, depending on the financing and the nudges they get.

We'll see if China steps into the American vacuum that's left there. They, of course, are leading the world and installing clean energy and own much

of that technology now. So, so much at stake right now but at the end of the day, physics doesn't care about elections.

John Podesta went and said he acknowledged that this is, of course, Joe Biden's top comment envoy, replaced John Kerry says we're going to

inaugurate Donald Trump. We're hoping for a peaceful transition of power. He believes this is all a hoax, and is in bed with fossil fuel interests,

but the fight against climate change bigger than one election or one country, it will go on forever and we will continue with commitment,

passion and belief, Becky.

[10:20:16]

Pointing to states like California, top five world economy that's trying to Trump proof their laws, even as we speak.

ANDERSON: Is it clear at this point, then what a second Trump term will look like when it comes to oil and gas? I mean, we certainly know that

Donald Trump has said we're going to drill, drill, drill. But we also know that Texas is a wash these days with IRA money, the money that came in to

convert the country into a more clean energy champion, as it were. What's the sense at this point briefly?

WEIR: It's never -- it's really not about the direction anymore. You're so right to point out, 40 percent of the energy generated in the Petro state

of Texas comes from sun and wind, not because their climate woke but because it just is cheaper and makes more sense economically. And they have

their own grid so they can move faster than the rest of the country. 80 percent of the Inflation Reduction Act billions is in red districts,

Republican districts, battery plants and new kinds of clean energy facilities.

So, that will be hard to claw back once people are tasting the fruits of that. But in his first term, Donald Trump undid over 100 environmental

protection laws. He gutted his environmental protection agencies. There's a big sort of paralyzing fear within those agencies now as to what he could

do, firing people who are not loyal to him or partisan enough, and the brain drain when we need those smart folks, most of all, working together,

from NASA to the Pentagon to the Department of Agriculture.

All of that is threatened by Trump's stance on this. Maybe Elon Musk gets in his ear and convince him that climate change is real and that he's

leaving trillions on the table and potential profits for American climate startups. He seems obviously very malleable in his beliefs, and maybe

that's the best folks in Baku can hope for.

ANDERSON: Yes. That's fascinating. We do know that Elon Musk is the whisperer at this point. Being at Mar-a-Lago, sources tell us, since

Wednesday doesn't look as if he's necessarily angling for his own job. It certainly sounds as if he is a huge influence, though, on the decisions

that Donald Trump is making, at least in these first few days. Good to have you as ever. Bill, thanks very much indeed.

Brazil set to hold COP30 next year. In an exclusive interview with my colleague, Christiane Amanpour, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da

Silva spoke about whether he expects Donald Trump to again withdraw the U.S. from Global Climate Accords. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL (through translator): Well, I believe that President Trump, he has to think as an inhabitant of the

planet Earth, and if he thinks as any -- as the rule of the most important, richest country in the world, most important, has to hire more technology

and that is better prepared from the arms viewpoint. He has to have the notion that the U.S. is in the same planet that I am, and that in an island

of 300,000 inhabitants is -- and so all of us, we have to take responsibility for the maintenance of this planet, of the Earth.

We need to guarantee that the planet should not be suffer a warming of more -- above than 1.6

degrees. We need to guarantee that the rivers should continue healthy with clean waters. And so, we need to guarantee that the biomes of all the

countries should be preserved. And so, this is a commitment that I have, not only as the president of Brazil, as a human being that lives in the

planet called Earth, and that there's no other place to live, only earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, that is the Brazilian president. Pakistan suffering through an especially bad smog season in some parts of the country. Clinics are

seeing a record number of patients with breathing problems and irritation of the eyes and throat. CNN's Sophia Saifi has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): The traffic is still flowing in. The horn. The government officials are urging people to stay at home. The

smog, too toxic. For a city that often ranks as one of the worst in the world for air pollution, face masks are mandatory, a thin shield against

the sky, rocketing amount of pollutants in the air. The city's air quality index stopped 1000 again last week. That's an unprecedented level as the

IQAir index defines hazardous as anything over 301.

[10:25:05]

Many public spaces like zoos, parks and historic monuments have been closed along with many schools, which have shifted to online classes for at least

another week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone has a right to clean air. Everyone has a right to enjoy seeing the sun.

SAIFI (voice-over): Some types of (INAUDIBLE) and barbeque restaurants have been banned. But the smog is a recurring problem, especially at this time

of the year when particles from low grade diesel fumes and crop burning get trapped in the cold air. And some residents say that the closures aren't

stopping that.

MOHAMMAD QASIM, LAHORE VISITOR (through translator): They have closed schools that don't create a smog. They have not closed the factories and

break kilns. They are now closing the things which create the smog.

SAIFI (voice-over): Delhi's air has also reached hazardous levels in recent days, though, some residents are still exercising outdoors. The World

Health Organization says breathing toxic air is harmful and can cause strokes, heart diseases and respiratory infections. One clinic in New Delhi

says there is a 20 to 25 percent rise in patients, especially after the Diwali holiday, when people set off illegal fireworks. Sore throats,

burning eyes and trouble breathing are common complaints.

BALRAM KUMAR, FACTORY WORKER (through translator): I have a severe cold and cough, no medicine seems to be working. I have been taking medicines, but

there is no relief.

SAIFI (voice-over): Officials in New Delhi began a trial program recently to spray water from drones to clear away dust and pollutants, but critics

say this is just a band aid, and the smog problem in South Asia is in need of more long-term solutions.

Sophie Safi, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, still to come. Russian troops preparing to launch an assault on Ukrainian forces, with help of 1000s of North Koreans. More on

that is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. U.S. official says that Russia is readying tens of thousands of

troops, including some from North Korea to launch an assault on Ukrainian forces in the coming days. Now, this, we are told, is an attempt to push

Ukraine out of Russia's Kursk region, where it has held ground since August.

In a post on Telegram, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his troops were holding back a group of nearly 50,000 in the region.

[10:30:06]

It comes as both Russia and Ukraine exchanged record numbers of drone strikes this weekend. Well, Alex Marquardt is the D.C. correspondent on

this story and joining us now. I just wonder what we know about the bevy of North Korean troops recruited by Russia at this point, and how at risk that

Kursk Region is perhaps some context for our viewers is important here.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Becky, Ukraine has been holding on to this Kursk Region or the area within Kursk

that they took since back in August, quite formidably, they've been able to fend off the Russian attacks and Russian attempts to try to take it back.

But what has changed now is that these North Korean troops have arrived.

Estimates between the U.S. and Ukraine vary between 10 and 11,000. And a Ukrainian commander told CNN that some of them are quite formidable, that

they are snipers and artillerymen. That doesn't mean that all of them are sort of specialized North Korean troops, but because of the sheer number of

them, that does offer Russia really significant assistance. So, 10 to 11,000 that equals, according to the Ukrainians, around three brigades.

And so, they really could reinforce these Russian troops. And I'm told by this U.S. official, that tens of thousands of forces between the Russians

and the North Koreans have -- are being assembled to carry out an operation against this Ukrainian held territory in western Russia. Now the top

Ukrainian commander, General Syrskyi, he said that these are among the best Russian troops.

He said that they are shock troops. And he praised the Ukrainians who are inside Russia for holding them at bay, because otherwise they would be

inside Ukraine itself. And there is an expectation, Becky, that at some point those North Korean troops would also make their way into Ukraine

proper. But it is vitally important for Ukraine to hold on to this territory, because it could prove to be a pivotal, a crucial negotiating

chip in eventual negotiations which look all the more likely when President Trump takes office, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes. And everybody, of course, is waiting and watching for signs of what Trump is likely to do next, how he will handle Ukraine. Former U.S.

ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker gave his view on why Trump has certainly not demonized Vladimir Putin. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KURT VOLKER, FORMER U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO UKRAINE: He has also not criticized Vladimir Putin. He's not said that this is a Russian aggression

it needs to stop. But my view is that the reason why he is not criticizing Putin is because he knows he ultimately has to reach a deal with Putin and

so he's not demonizing him, but that doesn't mean that he misunderstands the situation on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Yes. We know that troop Trump has said that he would. And, you know, I don't, not sure whether I'm actually quoting him here or whether

this is a paraphrase, but it's pretty tight. He's going to end the war in a day. Are we getting any clearer or any clearer sense of what policies he's

going to pursue?

MARQUARDT: That is Becky, essentially the extent of what we understand Trump's Ukraine policy to be now. We're getting a bit more of a fuller

image from those around him, and that is giving Ukraine certainly a lot of concern. I mean, in the past, we've heard J.D. Vance, the future vice

president talk about Ukraine having to cede territory that Russia has taken in the eastern part of the country.

We heard a senior Trump adviser tell the BBC a couple days ago that Ukraine needs to just admit that Crimea is gone. And obviously, these are

compromises that Ukraine is not willing to make. I think President Zelenskyy understands full well that his runway of U.S. support, it could

be rapidly diminishing. We heard from President Zelenskyy back in September, well before the election, that he did not think that Trump knew

what it would mean to -- or he didn't know that Trump didn't know how to actually end the war.

He called J.D. Vance a radical, but now he's going to have to deal with these men, and so we could very quickly see President Trump try to

negotiate some kind of settlement, which could include the loss of Ukrainian territory. Now there was that reported call between President

Trump and President Putin that the report came over the weekend. They said it took place last Thursday. We have not confirmed that.

The Kremlin has denied that, so it is unclear whether that call actually took place. But there was that call last week between former President

Trump and President Zelenskyy in which Elon Musk joined and that raised a lot of eyebrows, because what foreign policy position could Elon Musk have

in a future administration? This is someone who has proposed a "peace plan" and that was two years ago, and that also included Russia holding on to

Crimea.

[10:35:11]

So, none of these are good -- are good signs for Kyiv, which makes holding on to Kursk as again, a negotiating chip, all the more important in the

coming days, as it appears Russia is preparing to mount this operation.

ANDERSON: Yes. That's fascinating and the context is extremely important. Thank you, sir.

Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. And Japan's Prime Minister has survived a critical

parliamentary vote to stay on as leader. Shigeru Ishiba came into office just last month and he called a snap election. Now the move to a degree is

backfired, as his scandal ridden coalition lost its majority for the first time in more than a decade.

Keir Starmer is the first British prime minister to attend Armistice Day commemorations in Paris since World War II. Mr. Starmer joined French and

British veterans alongside President Emmanuel Macron to one of those who died in World War I as well as veterans of more recent conflicts.

The Asian Prime Minister Garry Conille has been removed by the country's transitional Presidential Council less than a year after he took office.

And will be replaced by the businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aime.

Haiti's previous prime minister stepped down earlier this year amid spiraling gang violence which has persisted since his resignation. Well,

you're watching CNN. I'm Becky Anderson for you.

Still to come, Chief researcher at the Technology Innovation Institute here in Abu Dhabi speaks to me about A.I. in journalism as part of the CNN

Academy 2024.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: This just in. We're learning of another key appointment coming soon from Donald Trump. Two Sources tell CNN, the U.S. President-elect will

tap Stephen Miller as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. Miller served as a senior adviser to Trump during his first administration. He is

also a lead architect of Trump's plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

Miller has said that a second Trump administration would increase deportation's tenfold to more than a million a year. In 2022, the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security estimated there were 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States.

We are keeping a close eye on the outlook for artificial intelligence in the US in the wake of the election. The President-elect has vowed to repeal

a major Biden administrative executive order on A.I.

[10:40:06]

Biden's plan was intended to establish guardrails around fast-changing technology to ensure it remains safe for humanity and that privacy is

protected while supporting American workers and consumers.

Well, there was also an intention to advance and protect equity and civil rights, to promote innovation and competition and maintain the U.S. as a

leader in A.I.

Well, it's not clear how much the Trump administration might salvage from Biden's executive order but Trump's plan says in part, we will repeal Joe

Biden's dangerous executive order that hinders A.I. innovation and imposes radical left-wing ideas on the development of this technology. In his

place, Republican's support A.I. development rooted in free speech and human flourishing.

Well, for more on this, let's bring in Darrell West. He's a senior fellow at the Center for innovation -- Technology Innovation at the Brookings

Institute. And he's the CO editor in chief at Tech Tank. It's really good to have you today. Thank you. What do you expect this rollback is going to

look like and what might the impact be in the States?

DARRELL WEST, CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, TECH TANK: Well, Becky, we expect Republicans to unleash A.I. in federal agencies and really accelerate the

adoption of that technology. It's going to be used for fraud detection to improve administrative efficiency, there will be automated service delivery

for people. There will be chat bots that answer basic questions that the general public has.

I also think the administration will make greater use of facial recognition software for public safety. So, we're going to see a real acceleration of

the use of A.I. across the country.

ANDERSON: Yes. And I mean, you know, when you talk to any leadership in any part of the world, including where I am here at present, much discussion

about how A.I. will impact sovereignty and governance and the way that countries are run going forward. Of course, there is an awful lot of scope

for an increasing in technology, investment in technology and innovation.

It certainly looks like that will be sort of unleashed through any changes to this order. The impact of Silicon Valley in U.S. politics is, of course,

on full display this week. Elon Musk out Mar-a-Lago as Trump starts putting his administration together. How do you read his influence on the

President-elect at present?

WEST: I mean, this is going to be a very-tech friendly administration, and Elon Musk will have unparalleled access. He contributed over $110 million

to Trump's election campaign. Played a vital role in getting out the vote on Election Day. As you pointed out, he talks to Trump regularly, he was at

Mar-a-Lago over the weekend. Actually, Trump brought him onto the phone call with Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine.

So, we think that Silicon Valley will have very good access under this administration. There will be some problems in the sense that there will be

less attention to the need for human guardrails surrounding A.I. use like when you talk to members of the public, they're worried about possible

risks to public safety, the impact on humans. What's it going to mean for jobs and the workforce.

Just the lack of transparency about how these algorithms make decisions. But the administration is going to move forward, there will be less

emphasis on the need for those types of guardrails.

ANDERSON: Yes. We're in a different world in 2024 than the world that we were in back in 2016. I mean, none of us, you maybe, but mostly none of us

had heard of ChatGPT, for example, we were on our, you know, at the very early stages of our journey, on the sort of A.I. path as it were, as would

Donald Trump have been. And Silicon Valley protested Donald Trump back in 2016.

How do you -- how do you understand why it is that this time, it is such a different story? Is it about A.I., advanced technology and ultimately about

money?

WEST: I mean, a lot of people in Silicon Valley stayed on the sidelines in earlier presidential campaigns because in general, U.S. policy towards A.I.

has been pretty libertarian in the sense of hands off on the part of government and giving a lot of power to these tech companies. But in the

last few years, public opinion turned more negative against A.I., there are more public concerns.

As a result, the Biden administration basically moved towards greater regulation. The executive order basically ordered agencies to take

questions of privacy and security much more seriously.

[10:45:05]

Chuck Schumer convened a task force. He was likely if he'd been the majority leader to introduce new A.I. safety legislation in the U.S.

Senate. So, Silicon Valley solved this move towards more and more government regulation got very involved, mostly on Trump's side in terms of

the big dollar gifts and now they are likely to reap the benefits of maintaining a more libertarian stance and seeing less government regulation

than they would have had under a Harris administration.

ANDERSON: Yes, it's fascinating, isn't it? It's good to have you, Darrell. We'll have you back, sir. Thank you very much indeed. A.I. then beginning

to touch every corner of our lives, and this year's CNN Academy here in Abu Dhabi is exploring Artificial Intelligence in journalism. Students learning

about it in the weekly Master Class series where they can meet and interview industry leaders and experts.

Hakim Hacid Chief Researcher of the Artificial Intelligence and Digital Science Research Center in Technology Innovation Institute: This week they

met Dr. Hakim Hacid, who is the Chief researcher of AI and Digital Science at the TII, the Technology Innovation Institute here in Abu Dhabi. The

Master Class covered everything from the massive amount of data needed to power A.I. to how to secure and protect that data in a changing world. Here

is part of that conversation beginning with Dr. Hacid's thoughts on regulation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAKIM HACID, CHIEF RESEARCHER OF THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DIGITAL SCIENCE RESEARCH CENTER, TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION INSTITUTE: We believe that

the approach that we are taking as open source approach is one way of making sure that we have enough people looking into these models and

eventually build a sort of users based, developers base that will be capable of bringing solutions if any problem happens in --

ANDERSON: Self-regulation.

HACID: It's a self-regulation. But then we need also regulation to come from the government bodies and to all the institutions that are handling

this part. The only thing I think we shouldn't mix is the over regulation at this stage. OK? Because the over regulation at this stage will just

add difficulties and will just sort of remove the innovation path that we are trying to take.

ANDERSON: Where will we be in 2031? How will what you are doing now and tomorrow be affecting all of us in 2031?

HAID: I think by like in -- let's say, in 10 years down the road, one of the things that we -- that will happen is basically having this A.I.

everywhere, because we see it today, we think that it is everywhere, but it's not, OK? So, it's just a matter of having the chatbots and these kind

of things. In 10 years down the road, this A.I. will be actually your assistant, but in realistic words. So anything that you will be doing will

be actually guided by this A.I.

So, you are driving, you will have your A.I. that is supporting them. Everybody is having this question in mind. Is it going to replace us or

not? So, from our perspective, we don't think that we can replace the human. 10 years down the road, the human has to be in the loop. We do not

have enough understanding, enough capacity to replace the human brain at this.

ANDERSON: Digital assistant rather than master.

HACID: Absolutely.

ANDERSON: If we take that sort of view, what will that human, us, be doing? Because we know that this A.I. navigation, this digital assistant will help

us to do a whole load of things that other people might otherwise have been doing for us or a lot of jobs that might have been done in the past by

other people, a lot more automation. What will we be doing in this world of very sophisticated digital assistants?

HACID: Two concepts, innovation and creativity. So, these are things that the A.I. at least as we see it, cannot do. So, I think all the boring

tasks, the repetitive tasks and these kind of things, yes, the A.I. will be able to do it. But when it comes to innovation, I don't know, finding new

medicines, for example, in new vaccines, yes, the A.I. will support in doing the compute, giving some recommendations but the real things that

will make the difference will come from a human at the end of the day.

ANDERSON: And the TII, the Technology Innovation Institute, the sharp end of the UAE's goal to be a global leader in A.I. and advanced technology by

2031. Huge investments being made here in Abu Dhabi and investments from here into the states, for example, in the development of A.I. and

deployment across the country to make this country very much fit for business in an era of A.I.

Well, you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me Becky Anderson. We will be right back after this short break.

[10:50:08]

ANDERSON: Well, New York City is known for its liberal politics and winnable races for Democrats. Vice President Kamala Harris won the Big

Apple easily in Last Tuesday's election, but Donald Trump improved his numbers significantly in districts across the city. So, what's behind the

so-called red shift? Here's CNN's Gloria Pazmino.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NEWSOURCE NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York City just got a little more Republican.

STEVEN CHAN, REPUBLICAN NEW YORK STATE SENATE-ELECT: From corner to corner of New York City, we saw the Republicans gain traction.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Here in Brooklyn. Republican Stephen Chan defeated State Senator Lee Iwen Chu. The Democratic incumbent in a race defined by

public safety, opposition to a homeless shelter in the district and concern about newly arrived migrants.

CHAN: People are not happy with the way things are going, and they want change.

PAZMINO (voice-over): While Harris easily carried the city with about 68 percent of the vote compared to Trump's 30 percent, Trump made significant

gains this election cycle. Roughly 94,000 more people voted for Trump than in 2020.

FRAN VELLA-MARONE, KINGS COUNTY CONSERVATIVE PARTY CHAIRMAN: If you look at a map of southern Brooklyn now, after this election, it's going to be

actually almost all red.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Trump made gains across all of New York City. The most significant shifts were in neighborhoods with large Asian and Latino

communities. He narrowed the gap in the Bronx, parts of Queens and here in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, where Asians, generations of Italians

and Latinos live and work side by side.

CHAN: When we came, nobody supported us. Nobody gave us a handout. We went to work.

PAZMINO (voice-over): More than 200,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since the Spring of 2022. The crisis has manifested across different

cities, but has been particularly heartfelt here.

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: They are poisoning the blood of our country. That is what they have done.

PAZMINO (on camera): Why are so many immigrants willing to support that kind of language?

CHAN: They understand exactly what President Trump is talking about. He understands that President Trump is not talking about them.

PAZMINO (voice-over): This family from Ecuador agrees.

SILVANA SARI, TRUMP SUPPORTER: We need to change. Economy is really a mess right now. It's affecting all families.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Sari and her husband say they've spent years working to open up a barber shop and put their kids to school.

SARI: He has to work 14 hours a day to have what he has right now, to have a business open, and it's not fair another business open in the corner with

no permit, with no insurance. I don't think it's fair at all.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Republican operatives see Trump's inroads in New York as the beginning of what's to come. A chance to grow their party and elect

more Republicans right here in blue New York.

VELLA-MARONE: Hochul better watch out. We're going to come after her. She's going to be in trouble. I believe that we can win the governor's race in

two years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAZMINO: Now, Governor Hochul is reelection is less than two years away. We asked her about the results. She told us that Democrats across the state

should not be taking their voters for granted.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

ANDERSON: Well, toy maker Mattel apologizing after mistakenly printing the web address of a porn site on the packaging of its new-wicked dolls.

Instead of pointing users to the official Web site of the movie, the address takes users to a site that requires them to be age 18 or older.

[10:55:08]

In a statement, Mattel said We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Wicked part one stars Ariana Grande

and debuts in theaters in the U.S. on November the 22nd.

Well, for our parting shots tonight, hundreds of musicians gathered in Mexico City on Sunday in effort to break the world record for the largest

mariachi concert. Local media said the performance drew more than 1000 artists which is higher than the 2013 record held by Guadalajara when 700

mariachis performed. The massive concert was held on the final day of the first world mariachi congress which aims to preserve the iconic music

genre, deeply rooted in Mexican culture.

Leaving you on a high there. That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN Newsroom is up next.

END