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One World with Zain Asher
President Biden Expected To Take Executive Action Over The Border; Trump Campaign And The Republican National Committee Say They Raised $141 Million Last Month; President Biden Describes Donald Trump As A Felon; "Ecstasy" Could Be Potentially Used For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Aired 12-1p
Aired June 04, 2024 - 12:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: In just about two hours the Biden administration is expected to announce a significant policy shift just
months before the election.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: ONE WORLD starts right now. Border Policy overhaul -- Joe Biden is set to announce a controversial move that will effectively
shut down the U.S.-Mexico border to asylum seekers whenever illegal crossings surge.
GOLODRYGA: And just moments ago, Narendra Modi declared victory for a historic term is India's Prime Minister but shockingly an outright majority
for his party is now in serious doubt. We'll discuss.
ASHER: And late, you'll have to see it to believe it. A really happy, hilarious, heartwarming moment caught on the Capitol. All right, coming to
you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching ONE WORLD. In the next couple of hours, we expect President Biden to take executive action
over the border and attempt to once again take away one of Donald Trump's biggest talking points in the 2024 campaign.
ASHER: Yeah, the measure is designed to seriously curtail legal immigration along the border with Mexico. It would severely limit the
number of people who can apply for asylum if they have crossed the border illegally when daily border crossings rise above a certain level.
The action Biden is taking uses the same authority that Trump used to limit immigration when he was President though that isn't stopping Republicans
and Donald Trump himself from criticizing it. The Trump campaign says that Biden should just shut down the border completely.
GOLODRYGA: Kevin Liptak joins us now from the White House with more. Some are perceiving this as a sign of desperation, Kevin, from the Democratic
Party in this administration trying to take control over an issue that has historically been a strong suit for Republicans.
Democrats would beg to differ though saying that this is actually showing leadership from the President once he signs. It could take effect
immediately given that that threshold was already met and surpassed just yesterday. Walk us through what we can expect to see.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and there's no question that immigration has been a political vulnerability for President
Biden. And I think what you're seeing him do today is really try and put some action behind his words, show that he's trying to take steps that
would curb the flow of migrants across the southern border.
But as you mentioned, it's not necessarily making everyone happy including some Democrats who say that this just goes too far and that this is just
too reflective of the steps that Trump took when he was in office. Now, what President Biden will do in a couple of hours from now is sign an
executive action that would close the border if asylum crossers reach 2500 per day those illegal crossings that would allow President Biden to shut
down the border.
Now, those crossings right now are averaging around 4000 per day so this really could have the potential to take effect as soon as the President
signs it. And this is the most sweeping, the most aggressive action that the President has taken to date.
When it comes to immigration, it does reflect in some part what President Trump did when he was in office but what you hear the White House saying
what you hear President Biden's aide say is that this does contain more humanitarian carve outs, for example unaccompanied minors victims of human
trafficking they would be exempt from this.
So, they do say that it does contain you know more nuance it's more strategic in a way that President Biden or President Trump's actions were
not. They are expecting this to be challenged in court. And this was a part of the broader border legislation that President Biden had supported a few
months ago that of course was torpedoed by Republicans at the urging of President Trump. So, they are somewhat more limited legally on what they
can do.
[12:05:00]
But this really does show President Biden trying to seize the initiative on an issue that he has been so vulnerable on. And it is, you know, in the
end, quite where rare to see a President come out and talk and be the face of an issue on which he is so unpopular but that is what President Biden is
doing today, really trying to gain some initiative, of course, three weeks before that, CNN debate where this is starting to come up.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and just months before the number of border crosses is expected to continue to rise into the summer months. Kevin Liptak at the
White House. Thank you.
LIPTAK: Sure.
ASHER: And we're waiting for President Biden to make his announcements. We're expecting announcements to be made in the next couple of hours from
now. Let's get the view, though, from the U.S. southern border. CNN's Rosa Flores is there with a look at how people are reacting to the news of this
potential policy change.
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Reaction on the border is mixed. There are the officials who support the President, like the group of mayors who have
confirmed that they will be at the White House today by President Biden, supporting him while he makes this announcement. That includes the
Brownsville mayor.
Brownsville is here in South Texas. That mayor issued a statement saying, in part, quote, "President Joe Biden is expected to unveil an executive
order that may notably impact migrants' ability to seek asylum along the U.S. southern border." Now, that mayor, like some of the other officials,
are not commenting on camera yet because they want to know the specific details of the executive order before commenting.
Now, there's another group of mayors who are upset about the President doing this. They say it's too little, too late or that this is not going to
fix the issues on the U.S. southern border. And some of them are upset because they weren't invited to the White House event today. Well, that
includes the El Cajon mayor, and that is in Southern California. That mayor issuing a statement saying, in part, quote, "This is nothing but a sham and
an insult to those of us dealing with the real consequences of his failed border policies."
Now, the White House would argue that no executive action is going to fix all the ills on the U.S. southern border that Congress needs to act, that
congressional action is required for comprehensive immigration reform to actually happen. Now, the timing of this is very interesting because we're
not in December of 2023 when the U.S. southern border was experiencing a surge.
There were about 250,000 migrant apprehensions at that point in time. The numbers at the border have plummeted. If we have the numbers for you, in
April, about 128,000 migrant apprehensions occurred. I talked to a source yesterday who says that the numbers dropped even more last month.
And everybody that I've talked to here on the U.S. southern border pointed that, to the fact that the numbers are so low right now, to say that this
is a political move by the Biden administration. And I can tell you that the ACLU says they're going to be looking at those details carefully to
figure out if they're going to file soon or not.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Well, Donald Trump may have something to smile about post-conviction, and that's his finances. The Trump campaign and the
Republican National Committee say they raised $141 million last month.
ASHER: Yeah, they say that $53 million was brought in in the 24 hours after his guilty verdict just last week, describing it as the major driver
behind the big surge in donations. CNN's Alayna Treene has more from Washington.
Alayna, it seems nothing, not even a guilty verdict, right, can derail Donald Trump's campaign, especially when it comes to raising money. We knew
going into this that the guilty verdict was likely -- that a guilty verdict was likely to have that kind of effect in terms of getting more donors to
support him, but this was actually his strongest single month in 2024. So, this took a lot of people by surprise.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: It did, and I think it took some Trump advisers by surprise too, according to my conversations with them. And
you're right, I mean, this is nearly double what they raised last month. And last month was, prior to this month, their best fundraising month of
the year, or really, I should say, the cycle so far. And so, this $141 million is a significant increase in what they've seen.
I also just want to, to your point, Zain, about them raising more money this month, or last month, I should say, sorry, than in the campaign so
far, is that one of the key struggles for the Trump campaign this cycle has been fundraising. They have been repeatedly and aggressively trying to
catch up to the Biden campaign's ever-growing war trust.
However, this $141 million is more than what the Biden campaign raised in April and March combined. So, just take a moment to let that sink in,
because that is a ton of money. Now, another interesting part about this figure is that this is just money raised from the RNC and the Trump
campaign.
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And this is not including the millions of dollars that the Trump campaign says they're supporting Super PACs have raised. And so, this was really a
great week, or a month, I should say, for the Trump campaign. And I do want to just break down some other interesting things, though, because, one
thing that is still not clear is how this will play out in the long-term.
So, when we saw Donald Trump be indicted four times last year, we saw a similar effect, that in the immediate aftermath of those indictments, he
saw a very big fundraising boost and he saw a support, an increase in his support. It's still unclear, when I discuss this with the Trump campaign,
about whether or not -- or, excuse me, I guess how this will play out, I should say, ahead of November. And a key thing that they're really looking
at is July 11th.
That is currently the sentencing date for Donald Trump in this case. And that's just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
And a key thing I've heard from Donald Trump's team is, they really don't know if this conviction and however the sentencing plays out, how that will
play with Republicans.
Could that turn Republican voters off, particularly conservative-leaning independent voters? The other part of this is, how could this play in the
general overall? And that is still something that they do not know and are trying to calculate behind the scenes.
GOLODRYGA: Alayna, let me ask you about the $53 million specifically that the campaign said they raised after just the 24-hour period after the
conviction. Has that figure been officially filed with the FEC?
TREENE: It has not. So, all of these numbers, and I'm glad you reminded me of this, because I wanted to make this point. All of these numbers have not
yet been filed with the FEC. So, those reports will be coming later this month. We are not able to independently verify these data points until we
see those reports. However, it is common for their campaigns to share these numbers earlier. And we have done this in the past with their campaign,
where we've published the numbers that they have given us.
And, of course, we have to wait to confirm those. And I think you can understand why they wanted to get out ahead with these numbers so quickly
in the immediate aftermath of the jury delivering this guilty verdict for Donald Trump. They announced that $53 million figure in the 24 hours after
the conviction. And then they also later revised it to say, in the days since, he has raised roughly $70 million.
These are numbers that they want to continue touting, because the more that they can show that they are raising, they anticipate more people will
continue to contribute to that effort. And I think a key point about all of this is timing. Unlike last year, in the aftermath of his indictments,
Donald Trump was still just a Republican candidate. He is now the presumptive Republican nominee.
So, not only does he have all of his very fierce and loyal supporters, he also has a lot of other donors, and I should say wealthy donors, in his
back pocket that potentially he didn't have in the past because they were giving or giving to other candidates at the time. And so, I think that
changes the dynamic here, as well.
ASHER: Yeah, that's interesting, because we saw that a lot of Republican donors, wealthy Republican donors who perhaps did not want to support him
during the primary, some who turned off by January 6th, have now come back into the fold. And so, Donald Trump is benefiting from that. But also a key
point that Alayna made there, that the Biden campaign, the Biden administration, the Biden campaign and the DNC raised that number, $141
million, essentially in March and April combined. So, that is how well Donald Trump is doing right now.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. And one has to remind viewers, though, that some of this money, I would imagine, is going to pay for his legal fees, as well,
because they have been mounting, no doubt. Alayna Treene, thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you, Alayna.
GOLODRYGA: Well, President Biden is using a new word to describe Donald Trump, and that is felon. Biden pulled out the F word at a fundraiser in
Connecticut on Monday.
ASHER: He told his audience, "For the first time in American history, a former president that is a convicted felon is now seeking the office of the
Presidency. As disturbing as that is, more damaging is the all-out assault Donald Trump is making on the American system of justice." The comments
were a bit of a shift with Biden, who has thus far avoided extensive comments on Trump being found guilty of 34 felonies last week.
All right, in Delaware, just a short time ago, Hunter Biden's attorney wrapped up his opening statements, promising the jury they will see that
the President's son is not guilty. Biden arrived in a court this morning to face three charges related to buying a gun while using illegal drugs. He's
pleaded not guilty.
GOLODRYGA: So, over the next week or so, prosecutors will spell out their allegations against Biden while the defense tries to poke holes in their
case. The first witness called by the prosecution is an FBI agent. A new court filing shows three of Hunter Biden's exes are expected to be called
to give testimony about his addiction.
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CNN's Evan Perez is following the case, joins us now live from Wilmington, Delaware. Yesterday, Evan, we saw the family members come out in support of
Hunter Biden, including the First Lady, including his sister. What can we expect and what have you already seen thus far this morning?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the day began with a little bit of unexpected developments with one of the jurors who had
been selected for this panel -- one of the 12 jurors who overnight decided that she could not be part of this jury because she doesn't have a car. She
can't get to the courthouse and it would be a hardship. So, the judge excused her.
But, you know, after that, we got eventually into the opening statements. The prosecution began by emphasizing to the jury that no one is above the
law. Derek Hines, the prosecutor, said we're here because defendants of the defendants lies and choices, noting that drug addiction is -- may not be a
choice, but illegally buying a gun -- that is a choice. And that is what Hunter Biden is facing.
You saw some of the glimpses of the very deeply personal evidence that's going to be introduced to this jury, including things from Hunter Biden's
laptop, some of his text messages where he admits to smoking crack, where he talks about the different times going back and forth from rehab. There
are pictures from that period, which the judge is going to allow into evidence.
Hunter Biden's defense attorney, Abby Lowell, took the took his turn at the stand, and he is focusing his defense on the word knowingly. That is what
prosecutors have to prove. They have to prove that he knowingly filed or filled out this ATF form, this form in order to buy this firearm, that he
filled that out and lied on it knowingly, that he knowingly bought a firearm when he knew that he should not be able to buy it.
And they're also focusing a little bit on some of the evidence that prosecutors have saying that that doesn't really prove that Hunter Biden
was using drugs on the day he bought this firearm on October 12th, 2018.
One of the things that really stuck out to me from being inside that courtroom, you see his wife, Melissa Cohen, nodding side to side when
prosecutors were trying to make their argument that Hunter Biden violated the law by buying this firearm. She shook her shook her head sideways like
this.
We also saw one juror become very emotional during the defense presentation. She reached for tissues, dabbed her eyes on her nose and let
out a big sigh as she walked out of the courthouse courtroom, rather.
GOLODRYGA: All right, Evan Perez, we'll be following. Thank you so much.
ASHER: Still to come here on ONE WORLD -- India's Narendra Modi declares victory, but his party faces some shock losses in parliament. We'll look at
the challenges India's prime minister could face in what would be his third term.
GOLODRYGA: Then confusion, contradictions and accusations. Days after U.S. President Biden set out what he described as an Israeli ceasefire proposal,
it's still unclear where the deal actually stands. But it's the prime minister who is feeling the heat right now.
ASHER: And later, a panel of federal drug advisers in the U.S. is deciding whether to approve the party drug known as "Ecstasy" for treating PTSD.
We'll have a closer look at that this hour.
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ASHER: All right, who will be the next leader of the world's most populous country?
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, that's what this army of vote counters in India was working to figure out. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to keep the
job he's had for the last 10 years. His party, the BJP, needs a majority in the lower house of Parliament to hold on to power. Now, preliminary returns
suggest they might need to form a coalition. Despite that, Modi declared victory before the counting was finished.
ASHER: All right, time now for The Exchange and a closer look at the Indian election. We're joined live now by Neelanjan Sircar, a senior fellow
at the Center for Policy Research. Thank you so much for joining us. Modi was widely expected to be elected. You're welcome.
Modi was widely expected to be re-elected for a third term. But the fact that the opposition has made so many inroads, just in terms of him now
having to form this coalition, just explain to us what the message is to Narendra Modi by the voters.
NEELANJAN SIRCAR, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR POLICY RESEARCH: So, I think heading into the election, most people assumed it was a fait accompli, that
it was going to be an easy election for the BJP. It would be the single largest, not only would it be a single largest party, but it would easily
cross the majority mark by itself.
In fact, the exit polls had the BJP and its coalition winning upwards of 400 seats out of 543. But come to today, and the BJP has fallen to around
240 seats, and it needs 272 seats to form a majority. So, as you mentioned, it's going to require a coalition partner to be able to form government.
What we are seeing in India is that since Prime Minister Modi has come to power, he has really centralized power, not only within the country, but
also within his own party. He has used state institutions against opposition leaders, against the media. And in many ways, what we were
hearing from voters on the ground, even if they were saying so silently, is that certain red lines had been crossed. So, this is in some sense a wake-
up call to a leader who is still very, very popular, but who many voters feel have crossed lines for what should otherwise be a very vibrant
democracy.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, he really ran on a Hindu nationalist agenda here, and it seems he's getting a bit of a rebuke from voters on that specific messaging
and policy going forward. I'm just wondering, given the stock market selloff that we're seeing, the fact that in a third term, Modi was hoping
to bring the country from the fifth largest economy to the world's third largest economy, make them a fully developed nation by 2047.
How does the fact that he no longer appears to have a mandate and will have to form some sort of coalition in this next term? How does that impact what
some of his economic policies may have to be domestically?
SIRCAR: So, you know, in the short term, I don't think there are going to be huge impacts on the economic policy. I mean, in some sense, most of the
economic class is agreed on where the country needs to go. But one thing that has happened over the last 10 years since Modi has been Prime Minister
and actually started before him, is an extraordinary increase in income inequality and wealth inequality.
So, we have now, according to most recent data, the top one percent of income earners are earning somewhere on the levels of what we see in
Russia, right? And that's a very new phenomenon in India. And so, some of the uneasiness that the average Indian voter has with the government or
with the economic situation in the country, derives from this extreme level of wealth and social inequality that we're starting to see in the country.
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So, I think going forward, Prime Minister Modi is of course going to have to grow the economy, but he's also going to have to think about how to keep
people comfortable enough and happy enough under what seems to be going to have to grow the economy. But he's also going to have to think about how to
keep people comfortable enough and happy enough under what seems to be relatively rapid growth in income inequality.
ASHER: Yeah, I mean, it's interesting because a lot of his promises have centered around, you know, an anti-poverty message, the importance of job
creation, turning India into a manufacturing hub, energy independence. But as you point out, a lot of his economic successes from the past have really
failed to sort of trickle down to India's poorest. So what does he need to do differently in his third term, do you think, with obviously the
coalition?
SIRCAR: So, I think, look, on the economic side, the answer is jobs, jobs and jobs, right? You know, one of the biggest frustrations we were hearing
from voters on the ground is all of these cash entitlements and welfare benefits are fine, but our economic situation vis-a-vis jobs is just simply
not where it needs to be. And so, that is going to be something where the BJP and Prime Minister Modi in particular puts significant focus.
But I think in addition to that, he's going to have to make sure that he doesn't cross a certain red line, you know, the use of state institutions,
the lack of comfort that voters feel with where things have gone in the country, the lack of freedom of press, so on and so forth. That's going to
have to be something that Prime Minister Modi addresses going forward. Otherwise, it's going to linger. It's going to leave a bad taste in
people's mouths.
ASHER: All right, Neelanjan Sircar, live for us there. Thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.
GOLODRYGA: Thank you. Well, coming up, two months after Tehran warned that it would retaliate for attacks on its interests, an Iranian general is
reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes. We'll have a live report ahead.
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GOLODRYGA: An advisor to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Syria. This, according to Iranian media.
ASHER: Yeah, it reportedly happened on Monday near the city of Aleppo. Media reports say that Saeed Abiyar was killed in the attack. So far,
though, Israel has not responded. Now, if true, it would mark the first time an Iranian IRGC member has been killed by Israel, since, of course,
the April strike on Iran's consulate in Damascus that killed several commanders.
GOLODRYGA: Now, the strike comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing growing international pressure to agree to a Gaza
ceasefire proposal, while also dealing with threats from within his own government. And right now, it's still unclear exactly where that proposed
deal stands. Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson says that there are contradictory statements by Israeli ministers.
ASHER: And he adds Hamas is still not committed to the language. On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled what he said was a three-phase
Israeli proposal aimed at ending the war in Gaza and freeing all the hostages. The U.N.'s human rights chief says a solution cannot come fast
enough.
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VOLKER TURK, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: Any initiative that leads to a ceasefire, that leads to an ending of what's happening now, is,
of course, welcome. We can only hope that that is achieved because the humanitarian situation bears words. We don't even know how to describe it
anymore. It is beyond precarious. It is beyond catastrophic.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): The families of the hostages still being held in Gaza are adding to the pressure on the Israeli Prime Minister to agree to
the ceasefire proposal. Protesters held a march outside the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv on Monday.
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ASHER: Yeah, hours later, another anti-government demonstration broke out, this one outside of IDF headquarters after the military confirmed the death
of four more hostages. The IDF told the families of the deceased hostages that their bodies are being held by Hamas.
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us now live in Jerusalem. The news of these four additional deaths of these Israeli hostages. Jeremy, surely
adding more pressure on the Netanyahu government to come to terms with this agreement that President Biden announced Friday but said that it was
actually put together by Israel.
It seems we're seeing more pressure on Netanyahu given the two versions of Bibi we've seen. An Israeli reporter describing it as there's a Netanyahu
in the war cabinet and there's a Netanyahu in the security cabinet being pulled in two different directions. Where do things stand right now?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. And I think that push and pull is still very much on-going. And it's unclear where -- which
Bibi will eventually emerge, to use your analogy. The Israeli Prime Minister over the course of the last few days has really been trying to
shore up the extreme right-wing ministers in his governing coalition who are very much opposed to this agreement, trying to convince them that this
deal is not as bad as they think it is, that it will not lead to an end to the war.
And that point of emphasis in particular that this will not lead to an end of the war until Hamas is first defeated and destroyed in Gaza, that has
sparked quite a bit of concern among some Israeli officials within the government. And that's because they fear, according to two Israeli sources
who I spoke with, they fear that the Israeli prime minister is undermining the very fabric of this deal, the ambiguity that is built into this
agreement.
That can be interpreted either as just a six-week ceasefire that will then lead to negotiations and the uncertainty of what follows, or perhaps
another interpretation, and the one that President Biden and the mediators are very much trying to sell Hamas on now, that this is a deal that will
lead to a six-week ceasefire that could be extended for weeks, if not months, ultimately resulting in an end to this war.
And so, the concern is that the Israeli Prime Minister, not only has he not been successful in shoring up the far-right members of his government, but
that in the process he's actually undermining this Israeli proposal itself.
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Now, we don't know what Hamas' response will be, and that, of course, will be critical to determining whether or not the Israeli even has to make
this decision between itself.
Now, we don't know what Hamas's response will be, and that, of course, will be critical to determining whether or not the Israeli prime minister even
has to make this decision between the survival of his government or this ceasefire proposal that his own government has actually put forward.
Hamas, as you guys know, has been insisting on a commitment up front before the implementation of this ceasefire agreement even goes into effect, on a
commitment from the Israeli government that this is going to lead to a permanent ceasefire. And that's just not something that the Israeli Prime
Minister is willing to do at this moment, in fact, something that he's very much making clear he will not do.
And so, it remains to be seen whether or not this latest Israeli proposal, which includes significant concessions, comes a lot closer to the Hamas
position, but still does not go all the way in terms of that critical demand, whether or not this will be enough for Hamas to agree to.
GOLODRYGA: No doubt this would be a painful concession for the Israeli government to agree to, regardless of where Hamas ultimately comes out.
Jeremy, there had been reports yesterday after that bipartisan invitation from the leaders of Congress here in the U.S. for Prime Minister Netanyahu
to address members of Congress that he may be coming as soon as next week.
That actually is not the case. When do we expect to see him visit Washington this summer? I
DIAMOND: It's still very much unclear, but it appears that that could now be sliding even into July. And, of course, I mean, the timing of this visit
will matter for so many reasons. I mean, you know, it's difficult to even predict where we will be next week when the Israeli Prime Minister was
originally seemed to be slated to address Congress. Even much, much, much more difficult to know where we will be in over in a month from now.
So, you know, at the moment, it's a moment of considerable uncertainty. Whether or not this deal goes through is going to be critical to
determining whether or not we are headed for a potential ceasefire, one that could last at least six weeks, but very likely weeks and perhaps even
months longer than that.
Or if this deal falls apart, I think there's a very strong likelihood of the Israeli government ramping up its military activity in Gaza even
further, bringing more military pressure to bear, trying to finish the job, as some Israeli officials have told me, in Rafah itself and continuing to
try and achieve this very elusive goal that the Israeli prime minister and his allies have set of absolute victory over Hamas, something that even
Israeli military officials say is going to be very challenging.
There's also, of course, the consideration of President Biden. You know, he may not want to be seen to be sitting down with the Israeli prime minister
at this moment, particularly as elections approach. The visit next week that seemed to originally be scheduled for Netanyahu was actually going to
coincide with Biden being out of the country, which would have been quite convenient for the White House.
But in this case, if it slides even further, some uncertainty over whether or not Biden and Netanyahu would be sitting down. So, a lot of
considerations, and, of course, the timing will be foremost among them.
GOLODRYGA: We even talked about the concern and increased heightened tension in the north of Israel there with Hezbollah, where there's
literally a fire blazing there from rockets that had been launched by Hezbollah into Israel. A lot going on, needless to say. Jeremy Diamond,
thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you, Jeremy. All right, still to come, a panel of drug advisers in the U.S. is deciding whether to approve MDMA, the illegal party
drug also known as "Ecstasy" for treating post-traumatic stress disorder. We'll have a closer look for you after the break.
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GOLODRYGA: In China, people are taking to social media to mock Donald Trump and the United States after the former President's felony convictions
in his hush money trial.
ASHER: One user on Weibo wrote, "Put Trump in jail and wait for the fuming rednecks to draw their guns." Comments like these are getting hundreds of
millions of views. In China, Will Ripley has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On China's tightly controlled internet, A.I.-generated images of Donald Trump
in an orange prison jumpsuit. Posts about the former President's felony convictions trending on Chinese social media, racking up hundreds of
millions of views, untouched by Beijing's heavy-handed censors. This user asks, "Can he be put behind bars? Will this lead to civil war?"
UNKNOWN: Nineteen states have seceded.
UNKNOWN: The United States Army ramps up activity.
RIPLEY (voice-over): As the movie "Civil War" hits theaters in China this week, one of just 34 foreign films allowed all year. This comment says,
"Trump supporters, hurry up and mobilize, storm the Capitol." Another uses Trump's popular Chinese nickname, Comrade Nation Builder Trump should not
be fighting alone.
Chinese social media users often call Trump the "Chinese Nation Builder", a play on his isolationist policies, dividing the U.S. and its allies,
building up Beijing, and weakening Washington on the world stage.
Trump's legal troubles fueling Chinese state media's on-going narrative of American democracy in decline, a stance summed up by this Chinese academic.
"The attitudes of both parties reflect the rottenness of American politics, and the law now seems to be used as a political weapon."
Alex from Beijing says, "In the United States, you can still run for President even if you have a felony or have committed a crime? This kind of
thing is unimaginable in China." Wen, a student, says, "If Trump can still become President after being convicted, I think he may try to use his power
to quash the charges."
"It's politics," says Xiaoye. "The multi-party system will have such problems. China does not have such problems because of the one-party
system." The comment echoes China's larger narrative that the U.S. is a superpower in decline, a democracy marred by dysfunction, division, chaos,
that ultimately benefits Beijing.
RIPLEY: All of it perhaps a welcome distraction from Tuesday's 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Experts say China is not just
watching what's happening in the U.S. from the sidelines.
The U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has said that influence operations are in full swing ahead of the November election, aiming to sow
discord and amplify divisions within the U.S., whether it's social media campaigns or Chinese state media portraying the United States as this
democracy that's falling apart. It's clear, some say, that Beijing's goal is to weaken America's standing on the global stage. Will Ripley, CNN,
Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Well, as Will mentioned, today marks the 35th anniversary of the massacre China would like the world to forget. The deadly crackdown on
students and pro-democracy demonstrators at Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
[12:45:00]
China still censors any mention of it on the mainland and now in Hong Kong. Taiwan is the only place in the region where the bloodbath can be publicly
commemorated. A vigil will be held later today in Taipei, and Taiwan's President is vowing to keep that memory alive.
ASHER: Tiananmen was the site of the infamous standoff between the Chinese military and an unidentified protester known as "Tank Man". His refusal to
step away became the defining image of the tragedy, as you see in this video here. No official death toll of the incident was ever released.
GOLODRYGA: A whole new generation never even knew about this event, literally wiped out from Chinese history. Well, a Chinese lunar lander is
on its way back to Earth after a successful mission to the far side of the moon.
ASHER: Yeah, this is something never done before. CNN's Marc Stewart reports.
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This lunar landing and the sample collection is certainly a big deal for the Chinese space program on a
scientific front, but it is also rich in symbolism and political importance. We've been looking at images from this far side of the moon,
the South Pole, the Aitken Basin, where for the first time, China unfurled a Chinese flag on that lunar surface. It is certainly an ego boost to
China. Take a listen to what one Chinese scientist had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZHOU CHANGYL, CHIEF DESIGNER AND RESEARCHER, NSSC-CAS (through translator): The national flag should be able to inspire patriotic enthusiasm among
Chinese people around the world. I think people across the country should be looking forward to this picture and be proud of our great motherland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: We certainly don't want to dismiss the scientific aspect of all of this. These samples will be brought back to Earth. It will take about a
month. They will be studied to learn more about the lunar surface and the solar system, but also play a key role in the development of the Chinese
space program as it looks to build a research base on the moon and land astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030. Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.
ASHER: All right, still to come, what happens when you take your kids to work?
GOLODRYGA: This is why we don't take ours to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER (voice-over): I would actually love to bring mine, actually. They steal the show, as you see in this video. Oh, there's the funny face. The
story behind a politician's memorable speech, in just a minute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:00]
GOLODRYGA: We're following a potential new treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. A Federal Advisory Committee here in the U.S. is meeting
today to weigh the risks and benefits of using MDMA, commonly known as "Ecstasy" to treat PTSD.
ASHER: Right, it is the first time FDA advisors have considered granting approval of a psychedelic drug for medical use. CNN's Sanjay Gupta reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, guys, there's been a lot of focus on the use of psychedelics as medicine, and there's going to
be a lot of interest in this FDA Advisory Committee meeting. If things continue to move forward, that may usher in other psychedelics as
medicines. If they stall, I think it's going to stall the whole process for some time.
We're talking about MDMA here -- Methamphetamine is what that stands for, and potentially its use in treating post-traumatic stress, which is a huge
unmet need. I mean, there hasn't really been a new therapy for post- traumatic stress in a quarter century. I've been reporting on this for over 20 years.
Lycos Pharmaceuticals is sort of at the center of these trials, and they're presenting these Phase III blinded controlled studies. And let me just show
you a little bit of what they found. These are not huge studies. These are early days still. But what they found was that in the group of people who
received MDMA, about 87 percent of them had a reduction of their post- traumatic symptoms. If they got a placebo, it was closer to 69 percent.
And I should point out that both groups got talk therapy, and that's in part why the placebo group was so high. The trial really consisted of three
eight-hour sessions separated over time where people received a dose of the MDMA. And again, you can see what the results showed there.
I think even more significant was how many people reported a complete resolution of their symptoms. They no longer met the criteria for post-
traumatic stress. If you received MDMA, 71 percent of people said they no longer had those symptoms. And in the placebo group, it was closer to 48
percent.
So, again, we'll see what this committee meeting really thinks about all this, what the advisors say. But there's going to be a lot of interest, I
think, overall in psychedelics. I should point out that there are concerns with these types of medications. There are cardiac concerns. These
medications can raise your heart rate and raise your blood pressure. There could be liver concerns.
But I think more broadly, when studying these types of medications, it's very hard to do a true blinded trial. Think about it. You get a
psychedelic, you get a placebo, people generally know what they've received. And as a result, it may be hard to call these trials truly
blinded.
In fact, when you look at those numbers and you ask, what did you get? In the group of people who received MDMA, 94 percent of them knew that they
received it. In the group that got the placebo, most of them realized that they did not receive it, as well. That is something that's certainly to
come up.
We've been talking about this for a long time. I've been reporting on the possibility of using psychedelics like MDMA for a long time. Over 10 years
ago, I talked about this woman named Rachel, who as a child had been abused and raped and suffered from post-traumatic stress most of her adult life.
She had tried everything. Nothing had really worked for her. It's a really sad situation. And then she enrolled in a trial. Again, this is over 10
years ago. And I want you to watch a short clip of what happened to her.
UNKNOWN: This is the place where we do the study. This is where we meet with people. And then this is where we do the MDMA sessions.
GUPTA (voice-over): Intense psychotherapy, including eight-hour sessions after taking a capsule of MDMA -- of "Ecstasy." Now, listen closely. On
this tape, you can hear Rachel, along with Dr. Mithoe (ph).
RACHEL HOPE, SUFFERED POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: I felt as if my whole brain was powered up like a Christmas tree. All at once.
GUPTA: What she's essentially describing was sort of a rebooting of her brain. When we followed up with her weeks later, she said 90 percent of her
symptoms had gone away. Again, she had not had any success with just about anything in the past. This worked for her. Stories like that, along with
the trial results, are what's going to be discussed today as we find out what that committee decides. We'll bring it to you. Zain, Bianna.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Thanks to Sanjay Gupta for that. And I guess it's studies relative to real-life experiences like that woman who just experienced
having a complete nearly 90 percent turnaround. For her, that this panel will be weighing, and of course will be following the results.
ASHER: It gives her hope, at least, when he said that nothing else had worked for her at all.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah.
ASHER: All right. Lawmakers are often accused of behaving like schoolchildren. So, it's only fitting that a kindergartner stole the show
on the U.S. House floor while his father was speaking.
[12:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN ROSE (R-TN): Using the justice system to engage in a politically-driven prosecution and now conviction of a major political
party nominee running for President, especially on the charges brought against Donald Trump, should gravely concern every member of this body, as
well as every American across our country.
We'd be well-served to remember the long and cherished tradition we have in this country of settling our political differences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Okay. So, that's Representative John Rose having zero idea what was happening behind him.
ASHER (voice-over): That would be me. I would be the kindergartner there in the chamber.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Little did he know it was one of the most memorable speeches of his life and career, so far, for all the wrong
reasons. His 6-year-old son, Guy, was giving the performance of his life and one that soon went viral on social media. Rose tells CNN that this is
what he gets for telling Guy to smile at the camera for his little brother at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J. ROSE: I didn't have a single clue and not until I was walking off the floor one of the floor managers said, you're probably going to want to
watch that video when you get back to your office. And when I saw it, then I knew at least there was going to probably be some reaction. I had no idea
it would be as extensive as it has been. Have you got any other faces, buddy?
GUY ROSE, SON OF U.S. HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE JOHN ROSE (R): A lot of others. I can't show them all, okay?
J. ROSE: Let's give one for them.
G. ROSE: You want me to show one of them I've already done or do you want to show me a new one?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: I think he behaved really well, all things considered. He wasn't picking his nose live on camera.
GOLODRYGA: I think he's got a future in politics.
ASHER: Nobody remembered what the Representative had to say during the entire speech.
GOLODRYGA: Maybe one day he'll run for his dad's seat. That does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. "AMANPOUR" is up next.
END
