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Quest Means Business
Trump and Clinton Enter Final Campaign Stretch; Trump Won't Commit to Honoring Election Results; Trump: I'll Accept Election Results "If I Win"; Theresa May Briefs EU Leaders on Brexit Plans; British Lawmakers Vote to Strip Retailer's Knighthood; Trump: Alan Sugar is a "Small Timer"; Sugar: Trump "Greatest PR Stunt" in U.S. History; Philippine President Announces "Split" with U.S.; Arnault Brings French Masterpieces Back Home. Aired 4-5p
Aired October 20, 2016 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: You've seen the debates. You've heard the arguments. Tonight, Hillary Clinton and Trump they both enter the final
stretch of their presidential campaign. We have full coverage. We have full analysis. We'll put it into perspective. Along of course with our
business agenda of the day. It is Thursday, October the 20th. I'm Richard Quest. You're most welcome and I mean business.
Good evening. We have a lot of politics and we have business and tonight we start with the sanctity of the ballot box that seems to be under threat
from Donald Trump. For 240 years' American elections have come and gone without nearly a hitch, with may be the odd Supreme Court decision on the
way. But it always has a familiar format. Sometimes in the middle of the night, the loser concedes and the winner goes on to take the White House on
January 20th the next year. In last night's final debate with Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump told the world this election could be different.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Do you make the same commitment that you will absolutely, sir, that you will accept the result of this election?
TRUMP: I will look at it at the time. I'm not looking at anything now, I'll look at it at the time.
WALLACE: Are you saying you're not prepared now --
Trump: What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: A day after the debate Mr. Trump is singing the same tune.
[16:05:00] He is now suggesting he will not honor the results and that the election is rigged against him. He was tweeting when he said that
secretary Clinton was "inappropriately given the debate questions -- she secretly used them." Then at a rally in the key battleground state of
Ohio, he said he will commit to accepting the results with one huge condition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters, and to all of the people of the United States that I will
totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election if I win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now language like that has those on both sides of the political aisle, Republicans and Democrats, deeply uncomfortable. And the more
uncomfortable truth from Mr. Trump is that as things stand at the moment, we've got to be blunt about this, he is going to lose. Have a look at
this. Remember, out of the more than 500 electoral college votes you need 270, 50 percent of the electoral college votes to win. At the moment, the
way things are going with those that are trending towards secretary Clinton, she has 307. She's comfortably over. Heading towards landslide.
Trump has 179.
Even if he wins all of the battleground states in yellow, Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona, and Utah, I'm going to show you what happens if he wins
them all. Even if he wins them all he still falls up short. So he actually has to turn and flip several states that are trending toward
secretary Clinton to win. For example, Florida and out West as well. Even then he still barely makes it. You're looking at Pennsylvania or something
like that to get him over the top. Joining us now from Washington, our chief political correspondent, Gloria Borger, and Ryan Lizza, he's our
Washington correspondent for the "New Yorker" and CNN contributors. We have so much to get to. We shall attack it at a fair pace. Firstly,
Gloria, what do you make of his statement today that he will accept the results if he wins? Is this just a bit of Biaggio? Or is a very serious
stuff?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: I think he is trying to clean it up a little bit. When he said today that he will accept it if he wins.
A little bit of a joke. But then he went on further to say that he would accept it, but he reserves the right to contest or challenge anything that
he deems might not be a clear result.
I think it is clear that people got to him and tried to get him to clean it up. But I think it's also clear, because we heard him say this in early
May. He said, you know, I thought the election was rigged. I talked about the rigged election until I won. And now I don't care about it anymore.
So he said that when it looks like he was going to be the nominee. Republicans down ballot are furious about this. They don't want to
delegitimize their elections. They believe that what he is doing is unconstitutional, unpatriotic and downright un-American. And they just
think it's somebody who's spiraling out of control. Because quite honestly they believe he doesn't know how to deal with potential of losing.
QUEST: Ryan, if -- and last night I was very taken listening to the various Trump surrogates offering the Al Gore example of nearly two decades
ago, where he challenged the result. If that is what he meant when he said it, I mean, he has a valid point. He can accept the result unless he has
reason to believe it was rigged, that would surely make common sense.
RYAN LIZZA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: And which is partly what he said today, which is a lot better That is much better than where he was previously. Yes, it
is true under extraordinary circumstances, one time in American history, there was one state that was 537 vote margin that triggered an automatic
recount in Florida. And the winner of Florida decided the electoral college winner. So yes, on that night, Al Gore did not concede the
election because there was an automatic recount and the election had not been decided.
There is a smidgen -- if what Trump is now saying that he reserves the right to contest a state where the results are so close there is a recount
or he has evidence of some kind of fraud, sure, that is an extraordinary circumstance and everyone would acknowledge that.
[16:10:00] That is not what he has been saying the last few days. What he's been saying is that the polling places are rigged. That the electoral
system is rigged. That is fundamentally different than what happened in 2000 with Al Gore. Richard, as you know, democracy is the most fragile
period in a democracy is in between election day and the transfer of power. And if you have someone like Trump arguing that the election results are
illegitimate and causing his supporters to believe it, that is a dent to our democracy.
QUEST: Gloria, you're looking -- I notice you last night, you were almost launching yourself out of your seat.
BORGER: We spend a lot of time at CNN talking about Bush/Gore. I did a documentary on it on the 15th anniversary this past November. And there
are so many differences. It's like comparing an apple to an elephant. They're completely different. Let me say one thing about Al Gore. He
never complained that the election was rigged in any way, shape, or form before people went to the voting booth. Nor did he complain that the
election was rigged afterwards when there was an automatic recount in Florida. There was a hotly fought contest that ended up at the Supreme
Court. And by the way it was the Republicans who took the case to the Supreme Court. It was called Bush v Gore. And when they won, Al Gore gave
a gracious concession speech, and made very clear that the people in this country needed to respect the legitimacy of the new president.
QUEST: Now we're looking at the map here. You're familiar with it, secretary Clinton seems to have an inbuilt 307. But if we look at what one
of our colleagues, David Gergen, said overnight in terms of who he thought won the election. David Gergen basically wrote that what we saw last night
was effectively, "Years ago among the casinos of Atlantic City, Donald Trump raised the curtain on an expanded career in business. Last night,
among the casinos of Las Vegas, he seemingly lowered the curtain on his career in politics."
Do you think that's true Ryan?
LIZZA: Well, Richard, as you remember during the primaries, I came on your show and I said that Trump would never be the nominee. So I'm extremely
cautious in my predictions for the general election. But you know, that aside, it would take an extraordinary turn of events for this election to
turn back towards Donald Trump. Every indicator, as your map points out, is that Hillary Clinton is going to win very comfortably.
QUEST: And finally Gloria, last night the meanness of the comment, let's just pause for second and listen to some of those comments. And I want
your gut reaction afterwards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have bad hombres here and we're going to get them out.
CLINTON: When it comes to the wall that Donald talks about building, he went to Mexico. He had a meeting with the Mexican president, didn't even
raise it. He choked.
TRUMP: I don't know Putin. He said nice things about me.
CLINTON: Well, that's because he'd rather have a puppet as president of the United States --
TRUMP: No puppet, no puppet.
CLINTON: -- and it's pretty clear that --
TRUMP: You're the puppet.
CLINTON: Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger.
TRUMP: I didn't even apologize to my wife, who's sitting right here, because I didn't do anything.
TRUMP: The one thing you have over me is experience but it's bad experience. Because what you've done has turned out badly.
CLINTON: I was in the situation room monitoring the raid that brought Osama bin Laden to justice, he was hosting "The Celebrity Apprentice."
CLINTON: My social security payroll contribution will go up, as will Donald's. Assuming he can't figure out how to get out of it. But what we
want to do is to replenish the Social Security trust --
TRUMP: Such a nasty woman.
WALLACE: You will absolutely accept the result of this election?
TRUMP: I'll tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense.
CLINTON: Well, Chris, let me respond to that because that's horrifying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: You have the last word, Gloria.
BORGER: Well, it sounds a little bit like a reality TV show rather than a presidential election, doesn't it? It doesn't have the kind of seriousness
of tone and endeavor that were used to. And I think lots of people in this country are pretty dispirited about it. They're not happy about either of
their choices. But they're also really not happy about the level of the debate we are engaging in. We seem be looking for a new bottom every
single time these candidates get together.
QUEST: Right, Gloria, thank you very much indeed. Ryan, I think we've probably got a hat or a shoe that you have to eat at some point before the
inauguration, but I --
[16:15:00] LIZZA: I don't know what you're talking about, Richard.
QUEST: You admitted it.
LIZZA: Thank you very much from having me on.
QUEST: Don't worry, I'll join you, because I'm sure I have more than enough humble pie of my own. But thank you very much, good to see you.
Thank you very much both of you.
President Obama is speaking at a Clinton campaign event in Florida. Let's listen to what the president is saying.
BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: I told you I wasn't a perfect man. And I wasn't going to be a perfect president, but that I would work as hard as I
could every single day on your behalf. That I would fight for you to make life a little bit easier for working families all across this country.
And I tell you what, eight years later we can look back and we can say we fought our way back from a recession. Our businesses have turned job
losses into 15 million new jobs. We have slashed our dependence on foreign oil. We've double our production of clean energy. Incomes are rising,
poverty is falling, the uninsured rate is at an all-time low. We brought our brave troops home to their families. We deliver justice to Osama bin
Laden. Marriage equality is a reality in all 50 states. We have been busy these last eight years.
By every measure our country is stronger and more prosperous than when I came into office. But all of that progress is at stake if we don't do the
right thing these next 19 days. I know there are --
QUEST: President Obama talking there. We're monitoring what he is saying and his reactions to last night.
As we continue on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Theresa May is attending her first full European Council. It's a Brussels summit. She going to brief the
other EU leaders on Britain's current state of affairs and Britain's current thinking. But the other leaders have been told, no negotiating for
the British Prime Minister.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: I can only image what the conversation and mood is like at the dinner party or dinner table tonight, as Britain's Prime Minister faces her
first ever European summit in Brussels this evening. Not going to the lion's den, said Donald Tusk. But Theresa May has set the case over dinner
to her fellow European leaders that Britain needs a smooth Brexit and she said Britain will continue to work closely with the EU after. European
Council, Donald Tusk, stated clearly that EU leaders must not engage in official discussions or negotiations at this summit. Now as for the prime
minister, she says her position isn't complicated.
[16:20:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is my first European council and I'm here with a very clear message. The U.K. is leaving the EU but we will
continue to play a full role until we leave. And will be a strong and dependable partner after we left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Well, at least Stephanie Flanders is with us. The global market strategist for J.P. Morgan Asset Management, good to see you.
STEPHANIE FLANDERS, GLOBAL MARKET STRATEGIST, J.P. MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT: Good to see you.
QUEST: What do you make of it? There she is, she's gone to Brussels, there's lots of other things on the agenda, Russia and the like. But
obviously they want this briefing from the P.M. and they can't negotiate back.
FLANDERS: No, and I'm not sure they do want to talk about it very much. Because they've all been quite consistent that they want the U.K. to
formally start proceedings before they really start talking seriously. And they are frustrated that she's putting that off into the early months of
next year when the French president has got his own elections to look to. And Angela Merkel is going to be looking at German elections. So it's a
very awkward summit. And it's odd for those of us who watched a lot of this summit is to think that she might the last U.K. prime minister to even
gets invited to these things.
QUEST: What's the latest thinking at J.P. Morgan on hard Brexit versus soft Brexit versus economic impact.
FLANDERS: Well, I think the messy Brexit is what we seem to be going for, because there's so many different voices coming out of the UK government
let alone the rest of Europe on what shape Brexit might take. I'm a bit nervous that we're going to maximize the short-term economic uncertainty
and the impact on the U.K. economy from the fact that short term the economy has not been so bad. Because it's given us sort of false
confidence to the negotiators to the U.K. side, who think everything's fine so I can go blustering into the negotiations.
QUEST: Now let's get to grips with this. Because we know that the U.K. economy is benefitting from the lower value of sterling. Exports are up.
People are telling us that their orders are flying out the door. But do you believe -- obviously this is a short term gain and the U.K. could end
up with -- not literally stagflation, but something very close as that inflationary pressure with low growth feeds through. And there's nothing
the bank can do.
FLANDERS: The problem you have it on paper. Of course it is great for the exporting side of the economy to have this fall in the pound. It means
that those manufacturers and others are going to make more money in the short run. But with all this uncertainty, are they actually going to
invest in building their business and expanding what they're doing in their sales to Europe? I don't think so because there is so much uncertainty.
In the meantime, you have higher import prices as you say, actually quite soon going to be cutting into real living standards and maybe pushing down
on consumption. It could be quite bad for growth over the next few years even if there is more money going into the pockets of exporters.
QUEST: and if inflation, as we've seen, goes beyond 2 percent, which is the bank's target. Now there's a certain amount of asymmetrical symmetry
on this that they allow it for so long. But the last thing the governor can do is raise rates to stymie inflation.
FLANDERS: I think and I think the Bank of England has said pretty clearly they will look through, again, they will look sort of beyond that temporary
rise in inflation, because they don't think it will be a permanent thing. But you're right, it does kind of raise a lot of pressure. It makes it
harder for them and in the end they may have to do something if inflation goes too high.
QUEST: Listen to Nigel Farage, who was talking to us yesterday. I want to get your thoughts on the business side of it. Have a listen tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIGEL FARAGE, INTERIM LEADER, UK INDEPENDENT PARTY: The worry I've got is this, there's an opinion poll out this morning, showing Theresa May nearly
20 points ahead of the Labor Party. My worry is, she may well start to cave to some of the big businesses, to some on her own back benches. And
we get to 2019 and if we have not got what we voted for, that I'll promise you this. We will then see change in British politics. More radical than
any of us have seen in our lifetimes. Because those of us that voted for Brexit demand it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Stephanie, this is the sort of bellicose soundings that has people terrified about more uncertainty, deep uncertainty, and political
infighting.
FLANDERS: I think that is what you have been hearing from a lot of the Brexit side. And that I think is why Theresa May has been so firm. Firmer
than many people expected. This is someone who campaigned for remaining inside the EU. Who has sounded like a true believer in the last few
months. I don't think you need Nigel Farage to tell her that the pressure is on.
QUEST: Good to see you, thank you.
FLANDERS: Thank you.
QUEST: We'll stay in the U.K. British lawmakers have voted to strip the knighthood from one of the country's richest people, one of the richest
men. He's Sir Philip Green, well he is at the moment. He's a retail billionaire. And he owned the British Home Stores, BHS, for 15 years. It
was reportedly sold for a pound last year. It went into bankruptcy under new management that he sold it to. And there is a pension deficit of $700
million.
[16:25:00] Twenty-thousand employees and retirees are effected. The chair of the U.K. Parliament Business Committee, Ian Wright, condemned Sir Philip
Green in Parliament.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IAN WRIGHT, CHAIR, UK PARLIAMENT BUSINESS COMMITTEE: He took the rings from Beatrice's fingers. He beat it black and blue. He starved it of food
and water. He put it on life support. And then he wanted credit for keeping it alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Ian Wright joins me now. Good to hear you, sir and good to see you, thank you. The reality is the vote today is nonbinding. What was its
purpose?
WRIGHT: The purpose of it was to discuss the report that my select committee and the Working Pension Select Committee in Parliament looked at
in respect of the sorry tale of British Home Stores and how it had it's -- what was an iconic part of High Street and how it declined. And also as a
result of that was an amendment in The House of Commons about whether Sir Phillip Green should retain his knighthood or not.
QUEST: Why does losing his knighthood seem important to you?
WRIGHT: Two things for that, Richard. One, symbols matter. And at a time when 11,000 people at BHS are losing their jobs. When the British High
Street is losing in an iconic brand and when 20,000 pensioners are reducing their entitlements, you've also got Sir Philip Green taking delivery of 100
million pounds. That huge inequality is simply unacceptable. And the second thing, Richard, if I may say so. Is that he received his
knighthood. He became Sir Phillip Green because of services to retail. BHS shows that is not very good at retail.
QUEST: But you would agree that normally the bar for losing an honor has to be set very high, i.e. criminal behavior, convictions, gross immorality
or whatever. What you're talking about here is just nasty business.
WRIGHT: We're not talking about nasty business as such, and in a capitalist society, businesses, businessmen and women will succeed and they
will fail. That is what is part and parcel of enterprise and entrepreneurialism. But BHS is different. What happened is that Sir
Phillip Green really took value out of the business which made it much weaker and unable to withstand pressures of -- changing retail environments
on when the pension scheme went from surplus to deficit.
QUEST: He did an interview recently with independent ITV in which he professed his sorrow. He said this was the last thing that happened. And
he admitted that selling to the buyer was a mistake. That they had not done their proper diligence that this man was qualified to run BHS. But
that is not enough for you?
WRIGHT: No it's not. People were warning Philip Green about how absolutely unreliable, untried, and untested this buyer was. He had been
bankrupt several times and he had no experience running the company the size of BHS. So in that regard Philip Green knew perfectly well what he
was doing. He wanted this off his hands. He didn't care who bought it. And as a result 11,000 people lost their jobs.
QUEST: And finally -- so I see is both Sir Phillip angling to keep his knighthood by his interview on television. I see your side basically
setting the stage to try and convince of those that will make the decision to take his knighthood. But it will be an independent commission that
makes that decision. Won't it?
WRIGHT: That is correct. It's not parliament that makes this decision. It's a Whitehall committee called The Honors Forfeiture Committee, and they
will have to have a look at this.
QUEST: Thank you very much, good to see you, sir.
WRIGHT: Thank you.
QUEST: Thank you for coming in this evening. We had peers of the realm and later -- I beg your pardon -- we've had nights of the realm. And later
in the program you're going to hear from piers of the realm. Lord Allen Sugar says that the presidential campaign is doing zero damage to brand
Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN SUGAR, HOST, THE APPRENTICE UK: No, absolutely not, look, if anything this is the greatest PR stunt pulled in the history, I think, of America
really. I'm not even sure he wants to be the president, actually.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The host of the U.K. "Apprentice" where there is no love lost with Donald Trump. He gives me his thoughts on the race for the White House.
[16:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There is much more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. When I promise you things will get a little nasty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: My social security payroll contribution will go up, as will Donald's. Assuming he can't figure out how to get out of it, but we want
to want to do is to replenish the Social Security --
TRUMP: Such a nasty woman.
CLINTON: -- Trust Fund by making sure .
JANET JACKSON, SINGER: Oh baby, it's Janet. It's Jackson if you're nasty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: After Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton a nasty woman, Spotify streams of Janet Jackson's hit single of "Nasty" have gone up 250 percent.
You can't write this, can you? Before things get too nasty tonight, let's me remind you. This is CNN and on this network, the news always comes
first.
Donald Trump is now promising to accept the results of the U.S. presidential election if he wins. He made the statement at the campaign
event in Ohio a few hours ago. During the third and final debate with Hillary Clinton in Las Vegas, Mr. Trump left open in the third and final
debate with Hillary Clinton in Las Vegas. Mr. Trump left open the possibility he may challenge the election results.
Iraqi forces have met fierce resistance on day four of the offensive to reclaim Mosul from ISIS. It's described as the most intense fighting yet.
Still Iraq's prime minister says the operation is moving faster than expected. A CNN analysis shows at least 100 square kilometers of territory
have been recaptured.
The United Nations says it will start medical evacuations on the rebel held side of Aleppo on Friday. Russian, Syrian government and opposition forces
have agreed to a temporary pause in fighting. The sick and wounded will be transferred to either Haleb or to government controlled western Aleppo.
A federal judge in Mexico has approved the extradition of the notorious drug Lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. He will face prosecution in the United
States. An appeals process could delay the actual extradition by many months. Right now, El Chapo, as he's been known, is behind bars in a high
security prison in Mexico after several previous escapes.
The Philippines President Durate announced his military separation from the United States during a state visit to China. Now he says he may go to
Russia as well. The White House says there has been no request from the Philippines to change their alliance with the U.S. you'll hear the State
Department's spokesman in just a moment or two on this program.
And the British government says tens of thousands of gay and bisexual men convicted of now abolished offenses will be granted posthumous pardons.
The new law will also make it easier for living men found guilty of now decriminalized behavior to clear their names. Activists welcomed the
announcement but call it "overdue."
[16:35:00] Donald Trump has offended countless numbers of people during his presidential bid including his British counterpart and the host of the U.K.
"Apprentice" Lord Allen Sugar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your old sparring partner, Lord Sugar, he thinks he can write a bigger check than you.
TRUMP: No, he is a small timer. Don't forget, Sugar works for me. Every time he makes money --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you are part of the format of the "Apprentice."
TRUMP: Yes, with Mark Burnett.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now for his part, Lord Sugar, who made billions with his computer company, Amstrad, says, "Donald Trump campaign is nothing more than a giant
PR stunt." Lord Sugar joined me earlier by satellite and I asked for his gut reaction to Donald Trump's debate performance last night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALAN SUGAR, HOST, THE APPRENTICE UK: I found his demeanor and methods incredible. I don't understand this guy. I don't understand America to be
honest, how he got in the position to be able to be there in a debate like that. And I just don't get it, simply don't get it. As well as many other
of my British colleagues.
QUEST: People will say there is no love lost between you and Donald Trump. Is that a fair characterization?
SUGAR: Yes, absolutely. I never actually met him face-to-face. I've had rather heated discussion with him once on the telephone telling him to shut
his big fat mouth when making reference to me. And there's been this kind of well-publicized Twitter argument.
QUEST: Lord Sugar, you have worked in government. You have been an advisor to government. You know how difficult government actually is. As
you just said, it is easy to make promises, it's very difficult to actually get anything done in government, isn't it?
SUGAR: Absolutely and the danger is, of course, is that when you do make promises, you know two minutes or ten minutes after you become the prime
minister or become the minister in charge of that particular thing, you'll be accused of not keeping your promises. What I think is going to be very
difficult for Donald Trump is that if he does get elected, they will be down on him like a ton of bricks. Where is this wall -- excuse the pun
about bricks -- where is this wall you're talking about? Sorry, what is going on? What do you do about the Chinese importing steel and all of that
stuff? What are you going to do about this?
QUEST: How damaging, do you think this has been? First of all, we'll deal with Donald Trump. How damaging has it been to his business overall. I
mean, we've heard reports that, you know, people in some parts of the world no longer want to do business. Do you think his running for president has
actually completely tarnished the Trump brand such as it might be?
SUGAR: No, absolutely not, look. If anything, this has been the greatest PR stunt pulled in the history of America, really. I'm not even sure he
wanted to be the president actually. I think he would be quite happy to stop, you know, when you get to November 8th and say look what I have done
now. It's Trump brand. I heard rumors of him may be wanting to start a television channel himself. This is wonderful for him. He loves every
minute of it. If Hillary Clinton wins the election, Donald Trump will say he won also and actually he would have won. He would have won a great
branding exercise.
QUEST: I want to turn to some domestic matters, sir. I need your up to date thinks on Brexit. The prime minister is at her first European
council. It's not looking as though the other Europeans are prepared to give Britain much leeway here. But I'm wondering, is this just pre-
negotiating, saber rattling, or do you think there something more going on now?
SUGAR: I don't think there's anything going on. I think what's happening is the stark reality of we're going to have to start negotiating soon. The
public here, in my opinion, has made one of the biggest mistakes they have ever had in the opportunity of voting. One of the biggest, biggest
mistakes and the ramifications of it will not rear it's ahead for another four or five years. When we start to have to negotiate, all of the
individual trade deals to be able to freely trade with the rest of the European community.
You know, here's an example. Boris Johnson and a fellow by the name of Gove, road around in a bus and on the bus they said, we are spending 300
million pounds per week and we're giving it to the European community. A blatant lie. A total absolute lie.
[16:40:00] If you listen to them, they said that the possibility of 18 million Turkish people will come and descend upon England. Another
complete total lie. So on the basis of those lies, some people voted to exit the European community. It's a bit similar to what is going on in
America at the moment. Some of the stuff that Trump is coming out with.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Lord Sugar talking to me earlier. Wall Street finished down. It was a choppy sort of session, just look at that. We haven't seen too many
of those sessions, down then up and down then up, and then down and it finished off down 40 points. Just a small loss. 18,162.
Microsoft stock is soaring, up more than 5 percent in after hours. Microsoft reported higher than expected earnings after the bell. And to
Verizon, that says they're still evaluating the deal to buy Yahoo as its legal team is looking into the financial impact of Yahoo's admitted massive
data breech. On Europe's markets, mostly higher on Thursday with the ECB keeping rates on hold. We're expecting an affirmation of ECB policy by
December. There is an option for more stimulus or at least to revise the QE program. Three were up, Zurich was done.
As we continue tonight, what did the Philippine president mean when he said he was separating from the United States? What sort of separation is he
talking about? We will discuss that after the break. It is "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" and you're most welcome.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: It is us against the world. China, Russia, and the Philippines. That was the message from the Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte that
declared in no uncertain terms today the days of cooperating with the United States were over in his view. He is on his first state visit to
Beijing.
He was given a full ceremonial welcome. And then he said at a reception in the Great Hall of the People that one of America's oldest Asian allies
will, in his words, be realigning its interests. To the sounds of applause, he said the United States lost and the Philippines would be
separating and go its own way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RODRIGO DUTERTE, PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES: I announce my separation from the United States both in military, not just military, but economics
also.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[16:45:00] QUEST: Now, bearing in mind, he just built a relationship with China, and he is talking now about going on to Russia, and he basically
said it could be China, Russia, and the Philippines against the rest of the world. But what did he mean by this phrase realignment, going with the
flow, the ideological flow of China? And separating from the United States, I asked Mark Toner the deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State
Department. The message as interpreted by Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK TONER, DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: We have seen no change in the bilateral relationship between the U.S. and the Philippines.
In fact, everything continues in the same robust way it had been before. When we see these kinds of things said, it frankly raises questions in our
own mind.
QUEST: Which questions? What questions, I mean in terms of it's -- of his fidelity to the relationship? In terms of whether or not the relationship
will continue, or will he make a complete break with relations? What questions are you asking yourself?
TONER: First of all, I can speak on behalf of the United States, there are absolutely no plans in any way, shape or form to break our relationship
with the Philippines. We're a treaty ally. We have a strong, robust bilateral relationship with the Philippines and we have a 70 year plus
relationship. Strong cultural ties, it runs the breadth of a bilateral relationship, what a bilateral relationship should be.
And we are full speed ahead on it. But raises questions in our own minds is when the president continues to make statements as he apparently did in
China. One thing I will add is that our assistant secretary, Danny Russell is traveling to Manila this weekend, he will get to interact with his own
counter parts in the ministry of foreign affairs and in the ministry of defense and to see if anything has changed.
QUEST: So the president said that there will be no more military exercises with the United States. And he called into question the economic ties, but
one thing, and I can well understand how the State Department and the U.S. government is trying to put the best face on the situation, but you must
certainly be worried that the situation is deteriorating rapidly, it would appear.
TONER: Richard again, we've seen frankly a lot of statements from the president, similar statements. But what we have not seen is, in reality,
any kind of reduction in the level of our cooperation in any sphere whether it is military, security, counter narcotics, counter terrorism, across the
board. So again we're scratching our heads on what it may mean for the future of U.S. and Filipino relations. Until we get a clearer idea of what
he means by his rhetoric, then we're going to keep moving full speed ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Full speed ahead. But in which direction? You see my thoughts and my views in the QUEST MEANS BUSINESS newsletter along with a full digest of
the most important business news of the day. You can subscribe, it arrives after New York closes and before Asia opens. The briefing you need, QUEST
MEANS BUSINESS.
Go to CNN money.com/quest where you can subscribe.
France's richest man brought some priceless works of art back to his country for the first time in decades. While you think about, let's make,
create, and innovate.
[16:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: France's richest man and the chief executive of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, has brought a collection of quintessentially French artwork back
to France for the first time in decades. It is on display at the Louis Vuitton Foundation. And you can see priceless paintings by Cezanne,
Matisse, Monet and Gaugin, book me a ticket now.
Sounds like all the favorites in there. The works had been purchased before World War I by a Russian art collector. CNN's Jim Bitterman spoke
to Arnault about the exhibition, and we also of course had to go Brexiting. How can Brexit affect his luxury goods market?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERNARD ARNAULT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF LVMH: I am delighted and it for me is a great emotion.
JIM BITTERMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At the Louis Vuitton Foundation, Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH is justifiably proud of
his achievement. It took him years of negotiation to bring to France Russia's famous Shchukin collection. 130 works of the 257 French
masterpieces the Russian industrialist Sergei Shchukin was collected before World War I.
A collection that was broken up at the Russian revolution and most of which has never left Russia before. Putting it back together and on the road to
France might be unthinkable to organize today given the tensions between Russia and the west.
ARNAULT: You can think what you want of the geopolitical situation, but I think that the link between the culture of France and the culture of Russia
are very strong and they will continue to be very strong. And I hope that it can help to solve the problems.
BITTERMAN: Can I ask you a couple business questions?
ARNAULT: Sure. I do also business.
BITTERMAN: What is the link between geopolitics and your business. Have you seen an impact in your business because of Brexit and international
terrorism and because of these things?
ARNAULT: I am used to the impact of geopolitics. We have been since I am running the LVMH group for 25 years, we had a lot of crisis. So I think
what is key for us is to stay stable and not to give way to pessimism. And today, if you take Brexit, for us, business in U.K. is doing well. I was
not in favor of Brexit. I think it will be bad for the U.K., but I hope that we can find a solution that will maintain some link in Europe. We
think long term. We try to project outside for the next 15 years.
BITTERMAN: We Americans don't know much about thinking long term. You often go from one quarter to the next.
ARNAULT: Yes. The United States you have the eyes on today. I try in my group and because I think my group is controlled by my family. So instead
of looking every day at the stock market, I look for the next ten years. Where will be our products? Will Louis Vuitton still be the number one
brand in the world in our sector, and what should we do today for this goal when you are too much in the stock market or the quarterly results, at how
to cut costs and how to make things not really thought of for the long term?
[16:55:00] BITTERMAN: We certainly see the advantages of long-term thinking, all around you with these wonderful tableaus that took a long
time? ARNAULT: Yes, it took several years to convince and to negotiate with our partners. For me, it is a dream. I always want to dream of something
impossible. And at one point, you can show it -- it can be true and it can be a reality.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Fascinating, beautiful pictures.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's Profitable Moment, no one really knows what Philippine president Duterte means when he says he separating from the United States
in economic and military terms, but not social terms. No one really understands what it means, least of all at the State Department who as you
heard on the program continue to say there is no diminution in relations and it is still full steam ahead.
If this is full steam ahead, then I would hate to see it when it slows down. The Philippines is building relations with China, hopes to build a
relationship with Russia and it could come at the cost of the United States. But the reality of course is with so many territorial disputes
relating to China in the region, it could be that the Philippines may come back looking for U.S. support. Let's see how president Duterte gets out of
that one if it happens.
That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm not separating from anyone. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it is profitable. We'll
do it again tomorrow. Good night.
END
