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Quest Means Business
Trump Targets Germany on Trade at G7; Pound Struggles as Polls Tighten in U.K.; Disney CEO: U.S. Immigration Policy Must Appreciate Diversity; Zuckerberg and Clinton Lay Out Political Visions to U.S. Students. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired May 26, 2017 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00] RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: Barry Manilow ringing the closing bell, celebrating "This Is My Town: Songs of New York," his new album. A
rousing day. Bells over. Hit the gavel. That's what you call a firm gavel. A long weekend for traders. They're off to spend the holidays with
Barry Manilow. On Friday, it is the 26th of May today.
Tonight, Donald Trump tells Germany it's bad on trade. I get the response from Germany's deputy finance minister who's with us here tonight.
Sterling slips as Jeremy Corbyn seems to catch up. The U.K. election campaign is back under way.
And from the house of the mouse to the oval office, Disney's chief executive says he's never dreamt of being president. I'm Richard Quest in
London where tonight, yes, I mean business.
Good evening. Tonight, President Trump is on the attack over trade. And his target not new for him, but certainly he repeated his accusations
against Germany. Mr. Trump reportedly called the country very bad on trade while meeting with European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker. At
issue is the U.S. $65 billion trade deficit with Germany. It adds to earlier criticisms from the White House that Germany is unfairly taking
advantage of a weak Europe. The president's latest comments confirmed by his top economic adviser Gary Cohn. There was also some dispute over
exactly what he had said and what he had meant by the phrase which he used. Jean-Claude Juncker says the real message is being lost in the translation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: It's not true that the president took an aggressive approach when it came to the German trade
surplus. I don't really think, and for once it's true, that this is a real translation system. If someone is saying the Germans are bad, that doesn't
mean this can be translated literally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: What he's referring to there is the accusations by many or at least the claim by some that by saying Germany is very, very bad, what Mr. Trump
was saying, the way it was translated by the newspapers, is Germany was evil and he was also questioning whether the country itself, Germany, is
bad, rather than the trade deficit.
For President Trump, the trade deficit is symbolized by in what he called the millions of German cars, sold into the United States. According to
newspaper reports the President has pledged to put a stop to that. His comments in the meeting with Juncker specifically said, "I'm going to stop
it." German cars aren't always German-made, of course. U.S. production of German cars has quadrupled since 2009.
Look out the window and it makes the point. There are 850,000 cars built in the United States last year. More than 59 percent, more than half are
exported. Most of those exports go to Asia and, yes, to Europe. Automakers are responsible for 34,000 jobs. It comes together at these
factories. BMW's largest plant in South Carolina, its largest plant in the world, by the way, VW's for Saturn atlas is in the South in Tennessee.
Mercedes C-Class is assembled in Alabama, it includes more parts made in the U.S. than Jeep's Grand Cherokee. Put this together and the president
has now threatened 35 percent tariffs. The U.S. charges 2.5 to import cars, 25 percent for vans. Germany, 29 percent on cars outside the single
market in the customs union.
If you look at Mexico -- and this is showing you the numbers -- these are tariffs from outside their specific area. You've got Japan, China. Look
at China. 80 to 87 percent on cars outside the area. That's the scenario under which President Trump is pledging to do something to bring down the
U.S. trade deficit. The German government spokesperson warned trade isn't that simple.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORG STREITER, GERMAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN (through translator): A trade surplus is neither good nor evil. It is the result of the interplay of
supply and demand on global markets. That is how surplus is created or not.
[16:05:00] It is rooted in factors which cannot be directly affected by economic and fiscal policies in Germany. For example, the oil price or the
euro rate but also structural factors like demographic change or the high investment abroad by German companies in recent years. So, to answer your
question, a trade surplus is neither good nor evil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Jens Spahn is Germany's deputy finance minister is with me now. What did you understand Donald Trump's comments to mean? Without obviously
any question about criticizing Germany as a country, what did you understand his comments to mean when he said Germany is bad, very bad?
JENS SPAHN, DEPUTY GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER: It's actually nothing new, he has been criticizing actually, the current concept, I saw an interview of
him in 1990 when he criticized it. What is a bit irritating is the rhetoric and the way it is said. Nevertheless, there is an issue on the
table. We need to get deeper into it and we have to make clear as Germany and we want to make it clear actually that there is more to it than just
the numbers, we need to get deeper into it. For example, as you made clear, these direct investments we have of big German companies, car
companies, other companies in the U.S. creating hundreds of thousands of industrial jobs there.
QUEST: But why is that not just apples and oranges? The fact that U.S. companies -- I'm sorry, German companies have chosen to set up in the
United States does not necessarily relate to -- it has an economic benefit to Germany but it doesn't necessarily negate the fact that the U.S. can't
sell more Germany.
SPAHN: Yes, of course, but actually economic relations always have several sides and you have to take the whole picture first. Second, actually, it's
a consumer decision. Why are German cars bought in the U.S. or in the U.K. or in other countries? Because consumers seem to like them. It's a
quality issue, a price issue. And so actually the state is not influencing it. That is, by the way, different, for example, with steel or solar
panels. We just had an argument with China about.
QUEST: So, when you say, are you saying that the U.S. cars either aren't as good or -- I'll be less inflammatory, are you saying then that European,
German consumers, aren't as attracted to those products?
SPAHN: Just put it the other way around. There's no German mobile maker, producer anymore. That's international trade. Every country is bringing
in what it is good at and what consumers like. And so, you always have to take the whole picture. Of course, there might be reasons why American
cars are less sold in Europe than in other areas. But it's not a state- driven situation. And that is important to make clear.
QUEST: He believes the euro is being artificially undervalued so that it benefits Germany. Whether or not he has failed to understand the
mechanisms of the single market and the eurozone, one can't be clear. But there's not much you can do about that, is it, if the euro is being held
down?
SPAHN: Well, it's not held down. It's the BCB is an independent institution that actually decides interest rates and other issues because
of the economic situation in the Eurozone. Of course, with the euro and the low oil prices are actually making the surplus higher than it would be
in other situations. And of course, that is not influenced by the German government, not at all. Actually, there are some German politicians that
would like a stronger euro.
QUEST: I've interviewed and I've been on panels with the minister, Wolfgang Schauble and every time somebody says to him that, you know,
Germany should spend more. The people in Germany should spend more, you should reflate. He sort of almost loses it because he's heard it so often.
But that is the accusation, that the German policy should be designed more for consumption by consumers.
SPAHN: Yes, Richard, you see we heard that for years and then we look at the numbers. Domestic demand in Germany, wages, salary, pensions,
everything is increasing more than it has done for 20 years. We have more public spending than ever. We are investing more than we can even build.
We have nothing ready to be built. It's a problem of the planning process right now, not a lack of money. Actually, we have as much public and
private spending, domestic demand, more than we have had for years.
QUEST: I would like to just --
SPAHN: We always come back to the question, what as a German government could we do in a sensible way.
QUEST: Well, answer your own question.
SPAHN: Actually, what we do need is more growth worldwide. And it's about competitiveness. We have the same debate in Brussels, within the Eurozone,
for other European countries. And it's the same issue with the United States. Of course, we need to get deeper into it. What are actually the
areas where we have these deficits and what is the reason for it, and if it is a consumer decision, actually we should accept it.
[16:10:00] QUEST: On that final point, though, you say you need to get deeper into it. Do you believe it is possible to it deeper into it, at a
time when you've got Brexit in the U.K., which is about to sort of turn everything upside down, and you've got a president that seems to want some
form of protectionism, or at least to find a scapegoat? Can you get deeper into it in a meaningful way?
SPAHN: Well, we have to. Actually, what we do see right now is international cooperation can be hard work. You have to talk and talk and
talk again, which is OK, which is normal. And we have to figure out actually where our problems, what can be tackled. What can be addressed,
and what is just normal international trade. I think President Trump is right that he says it's about fair trade and trade should be to the benefit
of all companies involved and to the benefit of as many people as possible. So of course, we can talk about it. But we should talking about it on the
basis of facts instead actually, of just referring.
QUEST: Minister, good to see you, sir. Thank you so much.
The president's first foreign trip is almost over. He received a warm welcome in Saudi Arabia. There was an awkward moment at a NATO meeting in
Brussels when he lectured leaders on military spending and shoved the Montenegro Prime Minister out of the way. Now he's at the G7 Summit in
Sicily where leaders urged Mr. Trump to stay in the Paris Climate Accord. CNN's senior White House correspondent has been there for it all. Jim
Acosta, who now has many stamps on his passport, joins me now.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
QUEST: How are they going to square this deal? You just heard -- I hope you were listening to the German deputy finance minister talking about what
was really meant, and the policy. How is it going down, those comments about Germany, in the G7?
ACOSTA: Well, one of the president's top economic advisers, Richard, Gary Cohn, made it very clear to reporters earlier today the president was not
talking about Germany in general. He was talking about trade with Germany and that he would like to see that trade imbalance somehow brought back in
the direction of the United States. And that is something that the president's advisers have been doing throughout this trip. We have not
heard very much from the president during this trip, Richard. He has largely avoided our questions. He is not scheduled to have a news
conference tomorrow.
I covered the White House for four years now. President Obama, when he would go on an overseas trip of this length, would do a news conference.
President Trump does not look like he is going to do a news conference before he leaves Sicily and heads back to the United States tomorrow. He's
left it to his advisers to do cleanup. That's just one instance. Gary Cohn, this top economic adviser to the president, I thought said something
extraordinary earlier today when talking about the Paris climate agreement. Because as you know, Richard, the other European leaders, the other G7
leaders gathered here impressing upon the president to please stay in the Paris climate agreement. Gary Cohn at one point said that the president is
here to learn and that he's here to get, quote, smarter.
So that is an indication that the president is not up to speed on all of these issues. And it pains people to say that, I'm sure, from an American
perspective, that the president of the United States is not up to speed on all of these issues. But clearly the president's own advisers were saying
earlier today that he does not understand the climate change issue as well as he probably should. And it was a pretty frank acknowledgement coming
from the White House earlier today on that.
QUEST: OK, so Jim, a long weekend in Europe, long weekend in the United States. G7 almost over. With your experience of these trips, how would
you -- I mean, not rated, but what's your gut feeling, what will the White House be feeling on Air Force One as you all head home?
ACOSTA: Well, there's a bit of an Alice in Wonderland quality in all of this, Richard. Because I was talking to a senior White House official
earlier today, and I asked how do you think this trip went? And they said, great, this person said great. Why are you even asking this? You have to
understand, Richard, there are domestic political concerns hanging over this foreign trip. The president is really dealing with a very big
political problem back home. The Russia investigation, this investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. It has overshadowed
everything. It is very much the reason why the president did not take a lot of questions on this trip. When he was asked about the Russian
investigation on this trip, he dodged, he avoided the questions. He simply did not answer the questions. And that has colored this trip to a large
extent.
From the White House at some point they're going to say, look at the way we stage crafted this, look at the way he interacted with the Arab leaders in
the Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia. Look at the way he was embraced by Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. They look at all of this as his success.
And you've mentioned that awkward moment in Brussels at NATO. The White House is overjoyed with those optics because they believe it attracts that
base of conservative support back in the United States that may be wavering a little bit about how the president is doing. When they say the president
pushing past the Prime Minister of Montenegro and lecturing them about how much their chipping into NATO. In terms of how the White House feels, they
think that plays very well back home.
[16:15:00] So, they're going to go back feeling that this trip was a success. But no question about it, Richard, we have not had a president in
a long time in the United States who has gone on a trip of this length and not taken questions from reporters. It is pretty staggering. We've heard
more from Gary Cohn, the top economic adviser to the president, than we have from the President of the United States, and that cannot go unnoticed,
Richard.
QUEST: Jim Acosta, safe journey home, Jim, over the weekend, thank you.
Now, to the markets. New records ahead of an extended weekend. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ both hit fresh closing highs in very thin trade before
Memorial Day. The Dow finished barely changed. It was down three points. I'm not entirely certain, this is a new graph that they've given us from
the New York Stock Exchange, I'm not entirely certain how it can be showing green when it finished down. I guess somebody will explain it to me
sometime.
We watched and waited to see Amazon shares would hit 1,000, it didn't happen. Paul La Monica is in New York. The $1,000 -- we were talking in
"QUEST EXPRESS" earlier -- It's just a number. It's relatively meaningless because you can split the stock. But for example, Berkshire Hathaway has
never split the stock. What's the downside for Amazon of allowing the stock to reach 1,000 rather than splitting it consistently?
PAUL R. LA MONICA, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: I would argue there isn't really any downside, Richard. Because obviously Amazon has done extremely
well this year. And since it went public about 20 years ago. And you could say the same for Google Alphabet this year and since its IPO in 2004.
Clearly there are investors that are buying these stocks at these levels. You mentioned Berkshire Hathaway, that stock keeps going up as well,
although they have the B shares now too that are more affordable for people like me.
QUEST: The S&P and the NASDAQ go up to -- by the way before we go there, I should say I own a couple of shares in Amazon. I don't normally discuss
these things in that sense, but when we are talking about a share price I think it behooves us for me to say that I have one or two shares in Amazon.
On the question of the NASDAQ and the S&P, what's driving that never-ending or constant record at a time when there is still deep political uncertainty
all around?
LA MONICA: Without question, there is a lot of political uncertainty. But it does not seem to be really affecting the technology sector. The
technology sector is what drives both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. As I mentioned on "QUEST EXPRESS," Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and
Microsoft, those five companies are the largest companies in America. They continue to do really well despite the fact that Silicon Valley and
President Trump are not on the same page on just about anything other than maybe bringing cash back from overseas at a lower tax rate so they can
spend it here.
QUEST: Paul La Monica, thank you, sir, have a great weekend.
LA MONICA: You too.
QUEST: Enjoy the long weekend, the holiday.
The British pound is falling, and there's one specific reason. The election race has tightened. Theresa May had a hefty lead once upon a time
in the opinion polls. That seems to have eroded. We'll talk about it after the break.
[16:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Welcome back. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Tonight, we are in London. Where if you were to take a look at the latest poll -- there is one
particular poll that basically makes it clear that the race for the British Prime Minister-ship in the election, the race for number 10, if you like,
is back on. The British pound has fallen in response as the polls have narrowed.
If you look at the chart of the pound versus the dollar, you can see this week it's a sharp drop overnight. And the opinion polls suggest the race
is getting ever closer just before the election on June 8. The opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, brought the issue of terrorism into the
campaign which resumed today. He promised a different approach at home and abroad to fighting terrorism. Now the YouGov poll gives conservatives a
five-point lead at 43 percent, Labour is 38 percent. Ruth Lea is with me, economic adviser of the Arbuthnot Banking Group. If we want to find a
reason why the pound is down, is this it, the race for number 10 is back on. Campaign restarts shows Tory lead narrowing.
RUTH LEA, ECONOMIC ADVISER, ARBUTHNOT BANKING GROUP: I think it's part of the reason. Because obviously, there's a fear in the markets that Jeremy
Corbyn might actually win. I think the probability of that is virtually zero. But I think what you all are expecting, certainly when the campaign
started, you expected that Theresa May would get a very substantially increased overall majority. She was going from 17.50, 17, she was perhaps
looking for 50 or 100. It now begins to look a bit questionable. But I suspect at the end of the day those polls will come back in favor of
Theresa May. I would be very surprised if she still didn't win with a reasonable majority.
QUEST: How much of this is economics now for this election? There were two government missteps, one was on national insurance in the budget, then
on social security or social services.
LEA: Social care.
QUEST: Social care, and putting a cap on that. On both occasions, the PM reversed herself as against one of her minister within days if not hours of
a decision.
LEA: Well, reversed from the manifesto when it came to social care. I don't think it helps. But if you actually look at the macro economy as
opposed to all the froth surrounding the campaign, and I do think there is a lot of froth at the moment, campaigns are always fairly ridiculous, let's
be honest about this. The actual fundamentals in the U.K. have looked a little bit weaker. There was a downgrade to GDP yesterday. Meantime, the
U.S. economy is looking better, there's been an upgrade to their GDP. There's going to be at least one more rise in the States if not to this
year. And even in the Eurozone it looks as though growth is a little bit better. So, it's not just the politics. I think it's actually the
economic fundamentals as well.
QUEST: What is weakening the U.K.'s economic fundamentals? Is it -- are we starting to see the Brexit chickens coming home to roost?
LEA: It's been the old squeak and squawk if get really grit.
QUEST: Why?
LEA: Because in the first quarter, it was undeniable that household consumption for example, retail sales were considerably weak and they had
been in the fourth quarter. I suspect a lot about that some residual seasonality. End is very interesting if you look at the surveys going into
the second quarter they look better. I would expect the unusually weak first quarter figure will actually look much better in the second
quarterly. I think that growth will resume.
QUEST: Would we be wise not to take anything that we see over the next two weeks, whether it be the pound or an economic number or whatever, because
we are in that very volatile period, high politics, high tension, the two weeks before an election.
LEA: I think we would be reasonably wise. But you're always wise, Richard. But joking aside, I think that's right. And obviously given the
tragedy in Manchester on Monday, I think the whole atmosphere has got even more febrile than usual.
QUEST: Good to see you. Thank you.
The U.K. election is up. We're taking QUEST MEANS BUSINESS on the road all next week. And our old friend, Freddie Brexit, will be with us. We'll be
taking Freddie Brexit our 1974 camper van, Bedford camper van which we use during the referendum.
[16:25:00] We've gotten it out of the garage. We've spruced it up. We've had it MOT and we're taking it off around to the western country, talking
to voters in key areas and businesses, see what voters think. Who should lead Britain out of the European Union. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS next
week on CNN.
Theresa May met with Donald Trump at the G7 in Sicily. The two agreed to do more to fight terrorism and pledged to increase trade after Brexit. The
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been in London where he's been issuing a mea culpa of sorts to his counterpart, Boris Johnson. Now the
Secretary of State took responsibility for the leaking of the British intelligence around Manchester and promised the special relationship will
endure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REX TILLERSON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The president has been very strong in his condemnation and has called for an immediate investigation and
prosecution of those who are found to have been responsible for leaking any of this information to the public. We take full responsibility for that.
And we obviously regret that that happened. This special relationship that exists between our two countries will certainly withstand this particular
unfortunate event.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Malcolm Rifkind, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, was Foreign Secretary under John Major and joins me now from Westminster. All right. I don't think
any serious observer of U.S./U.K. relations thought there would be a permanent rupture. But it's different, isn't it, Sir Malcolm, because in
this case, you're dealing with a president who is not playing by the rules from which people like yourself have known in diplomacy for many years.
MALCOLM RIFKIND, FORMER BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: It's different for several reasons. First of all, I'm afraid to say the United States has
form, in other words it has previous convictions when it comes to leaking of intelligence information it has received from other countries and there
by breaking the normal intelligence rules. So, this isn't an isolated -- but it was infinitely worse this week because this is at the height of the
most sensitive issue in the United Kingdom, the immediate aftermath of the worst terrorist attack we've seen for ten years. And the information that
was being given by someone in the American intelligence community to "The New York Times" was potentially of assistance to any associates of the
bomber who was killed during this attack, because even if you've helped prepare a bomb, you don't know what evidence will be left after that
explosion. And if after the explosion the investigators were able to find pieces of the weaponry, that enables them to immediately come to a view how
sophisticated a weapon this was and the likelihood that other people were involved. And the last thing you want is that people who were also
involved to know that you've got on to that so quickly.
QUEST: All right. But listening to what the Prime Minister said about the FBI and the assurances being given by the United States, would it be your
assumption that to some extent the U.S. is on trial and on notice, not just by the United Kingdom on this, Israel for example, where the President
released secret information regarding Syria, and arguably Germany, and arguably the five "I" countries, will all be saying to the U.S., you're on
notice.
RIFKIND: Yes, look, I don't want to exaggerate this. No one is seriously suggesting, either the President or even the heads of the intelligence
agencies, were responsible for taking a deliberate decision to hand this information over to newspapers. But the problem with the American
intelligence community, it's a fantastic community, I chaired the United Kingdom's intelligence and security committee which has oversight over our
intelligence agencies, I have visited the NSA and CIA, FBI, I know them not as an expert but reasonably well. The problem is there such vast
organizations, they leak like a sieve. Not just in relation to foreign intelligence. And there's a different culture in the United States. If
the Americans choose to leak their own secrets, that's their problem. When they leak secrets from other countries given to them on a confidential
basis, that's a serious matter.
QUEST: Finally, quick question to you, Sir Malcolm. The race is tightening, it seems that -- you're a man of many years in politics. You
know opinion polls at the beginning are often very different at the end of an election campaign. Are you worried about this one?
[16:30:00] In two weeks' time, you perhaps will tell me I ought to have been worried. But the honest answer is no, I'm not, and I'll tell you why.
I know perfectly well and we all know why the opinion polls have narrowed. A few days ago, the Prime Minister made a serious tactical error, putting
in a manifesto, a proposal on social care that would have hurt a lot of people. And she's had to drop back from that. Now people when the answer
and opinion poll aren't deciding how they're going to vote. They're simply expressing their irritation with what happened. The fact is the choice of
a prime minister and of a government in Britain will depend, is it Theresa May or a hard-left Jeremy Corbyn. Not in a month of Sundays. With a big
issue over the next two years being the Brexit negotiations, it's the Prime Minister, it's already clear people trust as being the best person
available to carry out these negotiations.
QUEST: Good to see you, sir, have a good long weekend. Malcom Rifkind.
RIFKIND: Thank you very much. Many thanks.
QUEST: Tonight, in Manchester, nine people remain in custody. The police say they've made immense progress in their investigation into the bombing
on Monday night. We'll be in Manchester with the latest for you as QUEST MEANS BUSINESS continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment.
When Disney's chief executive, Bob Iger, will tell us U.S. immigration policy must celebrate diversity.
And college graduates get a lesson on the future of politics from Hillary Clinton and Mark Zuckerberg. We'll have those stories in a moment after
we've given you the news, because this is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes first.
The Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says he ordered air strikes on terrorist camps after the government attacked and killed at least 28 Coptic
Christians. Many of the victims were children, traveling to a monastery.
91 people are dead and dozens missing in Sri Lanka after afternoon rains caused mudslides. Aid agencies say 20,000 people have been forced to leave
their homes.
Ariana Grande announced she will return to Manchester in the U.K. for a special benefit concert. The singer's concert earlier this week was the
target of the bomb that claimed 22 lives.
[16:35:00] In the past hour, Manchester police say they have arrested a 44- year-old man in connection with the bomb. A total of 9 people are known to be in custody. Earlier today the chief of the antiterror division
described the progress has being enormous although there still some loose ends to tie up, he said. It's emerged the suicide bomber, Salman Abedi,
reportedly spoke to his brother in Libya 15 minutes before the attack. Those details came from the Libyan militia which has detained Abedi's
brother. CNN's Atika Shubert has more on the investigation and joins me from Manchester. So, the fact that we learned the phrase "enormous
progress is being made," and we heard comments like we're tidying up, they're getting to grips with the ring, is it your understanding that this
active cell is being slowly but surely captured?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think they're certainly trying to. But there is a pretty deeply rooted let's say
network, not just here in Manchester, but as we've seen, there have been arrests in Wigan and elsewhere. Today we were able to discover one
concrete link. Where did Salman Abedi turn to ISIS? Two possibilities, Syria and Libya. But the answer may be much closer to home. Last year,
Abedi was seen with this man, a British Libyan as well, but now in prison, convicted of funneling fighters into Syria. A seasoned veteran wounded in
the 2011 Libyan revolution, Abdela uses a wheelchair, which is where mosque members remember Salman pushing his wheelchair at prayers. Do you remember
seeing Salman Abedi at the mosque?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KHALID AL KOUNCIL, WORSHIPPER: Yes, sometimes, he comes in on Friday usually. He comes -- the last time I see him, he was pushing the guy, the
disabled guy.
SHUBERT: Also from Libya?
AL KOUNCIL: Yes, from Libya. He was very quiet. He sat in the mosque and prayed. He seemed like a normal person.
SHUBERT: The mosque is in Manchester's rough neighborhood. A Libyan mechanic told us the attack has hit him hard.
AL KOUNCIL: This is not the right thing to do. He affects me, too many brothers here he affected. Now we're scared, even my wife, she's scared to
go to the store.
SHUBERT: The Abedi family attended a larger mosque. But his sermons pushed Salman to the fringes.
MOHAMMED FADIR, LIBYA YOUTH COMMUNITY: The father and older brother, are well-known in the Libyan community here. There were no more people, there
was nothing abnormal about them. However, Salman was isolated. He was not engaging with the Libyan community here. And actually, most of his friends
were outside of the Libyan community.
SHUBERT: The picture that's emerging of Salman Abedi is that of a lonely young man drifting between communities here. But he didn't have to go far
to find other young men and women vulnerable to extremism. Around the corner from Abedi's house at the Whalley Range high school, the Salman
twins caused a stir when they ran away to Syria to join is. Even when the twins reached Syria they met up with an old friend. Ralph Hostee notorious
for being ISIS's most prolific recruiter believed killed in a drone strike. Local media citing British investigators say he too is linked to Abedi.
Many came here to escape wars at home. Now some worry about raising their kids here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody is worried about their children.
SHUBERT: You have sons of your own.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. You have to worry about them.
SHUBERT: Violent extremism, he told us, is a danger no parent can afford to ignore. It's hard to say whether or not they're really rolling up this
network. As you can see, there are a lot of connections there. Don't forget, there were hundreds of British fighters that went to Syria. Many
of them now coming back. And of course, there are those who went under the radar such as Salman Abedi. It's difficult to know how successful the
police have been in wrapping up this network. Atika Shubert in Manchester.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[16:40:00] QUEST: Disney's chief executive says it's time for serious tax reform in the United States. We'll hear more from Bob Iger after the
break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The chief executive of Disney says he's never dreamt of running for president because his job is more fun. Bob Iger has a big weekend ahead of
him. Disney World in Florida is opening a new park on Saturday. It's called Pandora, the World of Avatar. You can see it here. That's based on
James Cameron's 2009 film, which remains one of the highest grossing films of all time. Now, Pandora is one of the first, most significant expansion
of the Disney theme park's empire for many a year. And still, the speculation won't go away. Oh, look at that, the magic kingdom. That Bob
Iger has his eyes on another kingdom, the kingdom of the White House. Even if Iger doesn't want to be president himself, he is still part of Donald
Trump's council of advisers. Christine romans sat down with him and asked him how he's helping shape this administration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB IGER, CEO, DISNEY: I am on that council. I have not been able to attend the two meetings that it has had. I am aware of the agenda for
those meetings. And I know that the subject matter that's discussed is aimed at improving business climate in the United States for the United
States and the citizens and for the businesses in this country which obviously benefit the people in the country as well. A number of subjects
have come up, immigration was discussed, taxation. We do believe that it is time for tax reform in the United States. From a cooperate perspective,
I've been vocal about this.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not just tax cuts for business, but reform.
IGER: Absolutely, complete reform. Everything needs to be simpler, it needs to be more fair, more ecumenical. From a business perspective, we
have the highest corporate tax rate in the world and it needs to be lowered. It's interesting, people tend to jump to a conclusion about that.
They think it's just so businesses can do better. Businesses doing better is good for the American economy. It's good for people. It's good for
jobs.
ROMANS: You mentioned immigration. Most CEOs I talk to don't agree with President Trump's policies and say so in those meetings.
IGER: America was founded by immigrants. We need to have a sound immigration policy that appreciates the diversity of this country, that is
fair, that allows people to come in and contribute to this great, great economy. Right here, where we're sitting, we have a number of immigrants
who are working for us, and they are great contributors to what Walt Disney world is, for instance. I don't believe we can close our borders. I do
believe with everybody need a very strong policy when it comes to security and safety, of course. I think there's a way to have both.
[16:45:00] ROMANS: Will President Trump be able to sit down and do his hall of presidents?
IGER: Of course. There's already a script that's been written for his team to edit. We're hopeful, at least by the first anniversary of his
election, he'll be there with the 44 other presidents that precede him.
ROMANS: What does Bob Iger do next? Have you ever thought about politics?
IGER: I never dreamed of being president of the United States, actually. I never dreamed about being CEO of the Walt Disney company. I did have a
discussion actually with President Obama at one point and Mrs. Obama about who had the more fun job. They concluded that I did. I don't know if
they're right or not. I haven't made any plans post-Disney. This is a full-time job. I've said before that the whole notion of either running
for president or being president is not something in any way considered frivolously. I haven't spent much time thinking about it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Bob Iger, not thinking too much about running for president.
Mark Zuckerberg is talking immigration, jobs, climate change, and health care. And also insists he's not running. Methinks they all do protest too
much. We'll have the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KETAN MEHTA, CEO, RAYS POWER INFRA: The earth is receiving trillions of units of energy every day, from morning to evening, but we're never able to
use it.
My name is Ketan Mehta. I am 20 years old. And I'm the CEO of Rays Power Infra, one of India's largest solar companies. We are trying to develop,
construct and service some of India's largest solar power projects.
Today more than 300 million people in the country are without power, without any source of energy. The demand is there. Approximately 6 solar
parks of that size we have already commissioned, and 3 are now in process to be commissioned in the next 1 or 2 years.
Every vacant roof is getting converted into a solar powered roof. So, every person is generating his own power, improving the environment, and
improving the dust and pollution levels you see today.
This industry has taught us to innovate and come up with new things every year. I do believe nothing is difficult or impossible. The beauty in
India is opportunities, the country is wide open. The government is supporting the environment as a positive, everybody is moving fast and I am
sure next 10 years it will belong to India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[16:50:00] QUEST: Donald Trump's done it. Sheryl Sandburg has done it. Wolf Blitzer and Orpah winery did it. Today it was Hillary Clinton's turn
to deliver a commencement address to the graduating students of an American university. She may have lost the presidential election, but Hillary
Clinton today urged young liberals to focus on the future of the progressive movement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: So, if your outreach is rebuffed, keep trying. Do the right thing anyway. We're going to share
this future, better do so with open hearts and outstretched hands than closed minds and clenched fists. And third --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: As far as we know, she isn't planning another run for the presidency. However, the speculation rages over Mark Zuckerberg's
potential political ambitions. Now, the Facebook chief has accepted an honorary doctorate from Harvard which is somewhat ironic because he didn't
complete his studies there. Then he delivered what sounded like a stump speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, FACEBOOK: This is the struggle of our time. The forces of freedom, openness, and global community against the forces of
authoritarianism, isolationism, and nationalism, forces for the flow of knowledge, trade, and immigration, against those who would slow them down.
This is not a battle of nations. It is a battle of ideas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Jackie Kucinich is in Washington and joins me now. Come on, Hillary Clinton, you know, knows how to do a good commencement speech,
she's done a couple of in her time I'm sure. And Mark Zuckerberg getting ready for what, do you think?
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Maybe tomorrow. I mean, it's hard to say who is running for president this early. And I feel like we're
at the point where the Democratic bench is so light that pretty much anyone can get on the roster for a potential -- particularly someone with the
profile that Mark Zuckerberg has, the money Mark Zuckerberg has. He has been making some interesting moves like saying he's going to go to all 50
states and meet people, sitting down with a family in Ohio for dinner, that sort of thing. So, his moves are definitely eyebrow raising. But they
also might have something to do with the fact that he does feel a lot of responsibility for what happened during the 2016 election with Facebook and
the role that it played, particularly with circulating fake information.
QUEST: Now, let's talk about whether it's your view that the mold has been changed or broken by Donald Trump getting the presidency. And by this, I
mean that, you know, barriers have been broken, for example on conflict of interest. A billionaire can now get the job, not release his tax returns,
and seemingly have more conflicts of interest than you can throw a stick at.
KUCINICH: Certainly, there's a precedent, right? So, you would have to say that it has changed. Now, the thing we haven't seen yet, will this
cause the pendulum to swing back or will this make it permissible to do this in the future? We don't know the answer to that yet, because we're
only -- I know it's hard to believe, but a couple of months into Donald Trump's first term as president, it does feel like years sometimes. So, it
really is too soon to say whether the mold has been broken. Certainly, it's changed. You used to have to have a reason for running for president.
Now you just sort of need a platform.
QUEST: You've seen many people run. Do they ever truly understand, do you think, what is involved in this enormous undertaking? I mean, ego is
larger than reality.
KUCINICH: Right.
QUEST: Yet, you know, at least for the campaign, ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the United States, and out you trot.
KUCINICH: You have to have a huge ego and an assertive sense of self, to say the least, to even get out there and say you're going to run for
president. That said, I think in recent times there isn't really a president who hasn't said later that they were not prepared for what this
job entails. That's why usually, and you see it's a difference now that Donald Trump has been president, you usually don't see ex-presidents
criticizing the current president, because only a very few number of living people know what it feels like to bear the burden of the presidency.
[16:55:00] QUEST: There's a very good book on that called "The President's Club."
KUCINICH: A very good book, I've read it.
QUEST: An excellent book that came out last year. Don't worry, Jackie, I can't run for the presidency.
KUCINICH: My heart is broken.
QUEST: That little bit in the constitution that says you've got to be born in the United States, or at least naturalized. Good to see you, thank you.
Have a nice holiday weekend.
You can download QUEST MEANS BUSINESS podcast, why would you not, a chance to enjoy it again, available from providers including Stitcher and iTunes.
Someday I'll figure out who Stitcher is. I thought Stitcher is something you did when a button fell off. We'll have a Profitable Moment after the
break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's Profitable Moment. Regular viewers, of course you're all regulars, I love a good election, nothing nicer than political parties
battling for votes until the last minute. As tonight's papers show, the race in the British general election is well and truly back on as the tory
lead appears to have dissipated. We're not sure where it's gone, and it may come back. Which is why next week dear old Freddie Brexit, our 1974
camper van, will be going back on the road. We're going to Cardiff, the capital of Wales, all the way to Windsor. We'll be finding out crucially
think about Brexit but also the horrific incident in Manchester, how that plays into how people are voting, and does the terrorism threat change the
way people will cast their ballots. These are serious issues. We'll be getting to what the British people think, all next week. What's the best
part about it? You don't have to leave your living room or your bedroom. You watch us with Freddie Brexit, because that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for
tonight. I'm Richard Quest in London. There you go. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable. Have a good long weekend.
END
