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Chief Executives Speak Out on Virginia Violence; Trump Orders China Trade Crackdown; Dow Rallies Back Past 22,000; On Dead as Car Rams into Pizzeria Outside Paris; Google, GoDaddy refuse to Register Far Right Website. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired August 14, 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 HOST: Thirty seconds to the closing Bell Wall Street. Start pushing button the and hit the gavel. One, two, three.
A solid gavel. The Dow Jones Industrial average put on weight but doesn't seem to have made 22,000 just yet. It might just tick over little bit
more. Trading around the world is over. It is Monday. It's August the 14th.
Tonight, the board room speaks out where the President feared to tread. Chief executives condemn the racist violence in Virginia. This is just the
beginning. President Trump orders a crackdown on Chinese trade practices. And the stock market bounce is back for the strongest session in weeks.
I'm Richard Quest. We start a new week together here in the world financial capital. Where I mean business.
Good evening. Corporate America has now spoken with a clear, impassioned voice on the issue of race in the United States. After, that is, the
president of the U.S.'s voice was accused of being too timid. A stream of top chief executives have today condemned the deadly violence in Virginia
where a woman was killed after an attack at a white supremacist rally. While the president did condemn the violence in more specific terms earlier
on Monday, it came too late for one of his top CEO advisers who quit a White House forum in protest. We'll have that in just a moment.
As for what the President said, he tried to move past the controversy with the comments of just two days ago when he fudged in some ways the message
that he said. In a stronger, more scripted statement at the White House the president decried specific hate groups and pledged justice for victims
of the violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Racism is evil. And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs. Including the KKK,
neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans. We are a nation founded on the truth
that all of us are created equal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The President's condemnation of racism came hours after he sparked fresh controversy, and this is why, Ken Frazier, he is the chief executive
of Merck. And Mr. Fraser is just one of four African-Americans chief execs in the Fortune 500. He was the only black man on the president's
manufacturing counsel. And that he resigned today with this statement, you can see it on the screen.
America's leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy.
The president was not taking such an accusation easily or lying down. Within minutes President Trump tweeted, now that Ken Frazier of Merck
Pharma has resigned from President's manufacturing counsel, he will have more time to lower rip-off drug prices!
David Chalian is CNN's political director tracking events in Washington. Let's start with the President, and then will come to Frazier. Did his
statement, you know, a day late and a dollar short. But did his statements today do what was necessary to take the heat off him?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I don't think the heat will be off him completely. I think the statement was necessary for the American
people to hear the president completely disavow, condemn specific groups. Neo-Nazis, KKK, white supremacist, who were involved in these heinous
attacks over the weekend.
That being said, Richard, while it may solve a part of the PR problem for the President, I don't think it's going to answer the fundamental questions
that people have about his presidency. Which is, why were his instincts on Saturday not this? Why were they something else? And what was the
statement about many sides, many sides. He clearly didn't repeat that today because he was trying to fix a problem. But he clearly still has
that problem that his instincts on Saturday was not what it was today.
QUEST: This is a repeat of an incident a few months ago, wasn't it? When only it was anti-Semitism, when the president didn't come out and actually
make a, you know, condemn anti-Semitism.
[16:05:02] But eventually he did exactly the same thing. He actually said in words of one syllable or more. I condemn anti-Semitism. What is it
with him?
CHALIAN: I mean, that's really a question for him. I don't know the answer to that. But it is a question that we have to continue to ask. So,
while we saw I think, Richard, one of the most significant breaks, fractures, inside the Republican Party between Republican elected officials
and the president over the weekend. While no doubt you were going to see some Republicans and others come out and say, yes, Mr. President, what you
said today is the right thing. Those Republicans who had complaints on Saturday we should still be pressing for answers about what this means,
what we've learned fundamentally about President Trump's worldview.
QUEST: Will the president -- will the White House, in your assessment, be concerned that there is a rift now between big business and -- I mean, on
this issue? The CEOs came out and spoke, and they made it clear that they were doing so in a way that the president had failed to do so.
CHALIAN: Yes, the president tends to, when people come at him, no matter if it's big business or Senators or the press or other critics, he tends to
be quite happy battling from an island by himself. So, I don't know that just having big business come out in the way that big business did, will
somehow change the president's behavior.
But clearly the team around him understood and the president came to understand that he had to fix the problem of what his remarks left out on
Saturday or he wasn't going to be able to move forward at all. Today was the first day of doing that, but he still has a real leadership deficit on
these issues about the stature of the presidency and about uniting the country and not dividing it with the American people.
QUEST: So, the resignation of Ken Frazier -- Elon Musk is already gone from one of the councils. Now Frazier has gone. The speed with which the
president attacked back with that tweet, I mean, the moment I thought it -- and it's not pleasant to say this about anybody, let alone a president of
the United States, but that rhetoric is ungracious, isn't it? And arrogant. It's yard brew socks back.
CHALIAN: It may be all those things and it's perfectly within character, as we observed Donald Trump's behavior. You punch me, I punch back even
harder. That has been in business and in his political life, a trademark of his. I think it was probably the least surprising thing we've seen, is
that the moment that Mr. Frazier decided to resign from that Council that President Trump would take to Twitter and go after him for doing so.
QUEST: David, thank you. David Chalian who is in Washington. We return in a moment. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:10:00] QUEST: President Donald Trump says Washington will no longer turn a blind eye to trade violations. In the last hour, he signed a
memorandum directing the U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, to look into China's trade practices. And that the final result, could pave
the way for an official investigation into the alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property by China.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We will safeguard the copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets and other intellectual property that is so vital to our security
and to our prosperity. We will uphold our values. We will defend our workers, and we will protect the innovations, creations and inventions that
power our magnificent country.
And this is just the beginning. I want to tell you that this is just the beginning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: This is just the beginning says the president. All at a time when the president is seeking China's help on North Korea. Early-morning in
Tuesday in Beijing, CNN's Matt Rivers joins us from the Chinese capital. Thank you, Matt, for staying up late or getting up early, whichever it is.
We do need to hear your analysis or assessment of this. Two things, in the last 24 hours, the Chinese have, knowing this was coming, have already said
that trade could poison -- issues over trade could poison China/U.S. relations.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right. And the Chinese fear that somewhere down the road could be some sort of trade war
between the United States and China, which frankly would not benefit either country. But it's important to talk about here, Richard, exactly what the
President is authorizing. He is authorizing that an investigation could take place if the trade representative determines that this intellectual-
property issue is big enough for this investigation to happen. If that investigation happens, and wrongdoing is found, then that could pave the
way for tariffs at some point down the road over Chinese imports to the United States. Which is something that the president has argued for in the
past.
When it comes to intellectual property, there is no doubt, Richard, that this is something that, speaking to American business people here in China.
This is an issue that comes up year after year. It's certainly legitimate. And according to the commission on the theft of American intellectual
property is costs the United States economy somewhere around 600 billion each year.
QUEST: It certainly not a new debate between the two. Anybody who goes into China with intellectual-property on their laptop is warned about this
sort of thing. But Matt, how will the Chinese respond, if at all, to the fact that this is an investigation prior to an investigation?
RIVERS: Well, that's a good point there. It's a very nuisance sort of thing. We've talked to analyst over the last few days, because we've known
this announcement was coming. What we've heard is that were not -- according to most of the analyst I have spoken to, the Chinese may not
respond right away to this. Because frankly, there hasn't been anything done at this point. Where you will see a Chinese retaliation if there is
something concrete that happens. If the investigation finds wrongdoing and certainly, if any tariffs levied in the future, then you will have
retaliation by the Chinese government. But at least, at this early stage, may be the Chinese government is saying, let's take a step back and see how
this plays out.
QUEST: Thank you. Matt Rivers in Beijing.
Markets stayed a strong rebound after tensions over North Korea. The Dow Jones moved dramatically, posting a triple digit gain finishing just shy of
the 22,000. It went over 22,000 shortly, but it fell back. Paul La Monica, look at that graph. Look at that graph if you will be as kind and
it's almost -- I meant it's --
PAUL R. LA MONICA: Yes, we saw it with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq too. It was a good day right from the get go. We didn't really move much in either
direction. We just kind of stabilize.
QUEST: This was what? This was buying in the market? Just a general better feeling? Volume was moderate.
LA MONICA: Yes, volume was moderate. I think that the lack of any new news regarding North Korea probably helped. The events in Charlottesville
obviously were something that, I think, is on everybody's mind right now. But that is not really a market story.
QUEST: I noticed that a couple of the safe havens started to unwind. So, the bond price went down. The yield went up. The VIX came down. Gold
just came back a smidgen. And if there was an element of risk on again.
[16:15:00] LA MONICA: Yes, I think investors are coming to the realization that corporate earnings are still pretty good. They're not fantastic and
you obviously, have obviously not as much reason to be concerned about a global slowdown or real geopolitical tension with North Korea. So, as you
pointed out, definitely it's in our newsletter again today to, all of the safe havens people started to go away from them and they're going back to
the risk on mode of stocks and tech definitely helping to lead the way to that.
QUEST: If we now sort of look forward, North Korea hasn't gone away.
LA MONICA: Not it all.
QUEST: Excuse me, still have a bit of a hangover from the cold. Antibiotics have not kicked in yet. North Korea is not going away, and
could be more missile launches. There are still be problems now with trade with China which got a bit worse today.
LA MONICA: Yes.
QUEST: The fragility of these gains in the market is what?
LA MONICA: I think definitely you have to be worried about whether or not these gains can hold on. I think, at a bare minimum, it's hard to imagine
a scenario where the market is powered much higher than here. But I think maybe we have a bit of a floor as long as consumers keep spending and we
get retail earnings later this week. Home Depot tomorrow, Walmart later in the week, and those numbers should actually be pretty decent. There are
solid retailers out there.
QUEST: Good to see you.
LA MONICA: Thank you.
QUEST: Paul La Monica, thank you very much indeed.
Corporate America has found its voice in condemning the violence in Virginia over the weekend. Merck's chief executive is the third member of
the Presidents Manufacturing Council to leave. CNN has contacted the remaining members. No other defections are planned. And there have been
lots of statements. For instance, the chief executive of Unilever thanked Ken Fraser for his strong and moral leadership that makes this country what
it is.
Andrew Liveris of Dow Chemicals, said there is no place for hatred, racism or bigotry at his company and pledge support for policies that will create
jobs and opportunity. The chief exec of Intel tweeted, there should be no hesitation in condemning hate speech or white supremacy by name.
Luke Visconti, is chief executive of DiversityInc., joins me from Brunswick in Maine. The statements that we have had from chief executives,
obviously, carefully crafted, but do you see them as being like a backhanded slap toward the president for not saying more or are they merely
setting out their own stall?
LUKE VISCONTI, CEO, DIVERSITYINC: I think the chief executives have to deal with their own reality of running their companies, which means they
have to recruit and employ and retain top talent. And if you look at the top talent and who they are looking for, these are people who did not vote
for the president and were repelled by the lack of conviction in his statements over the weekend.
QUEST: So why would they join in? I mean, chief execs often like to keep their heads down at controversial times. Putting out a statement like this
from those companies when you know that there is a controversy over what the President has said, could be seen as a risky business in that you might
piss off the president.
VISCONTI: Well, I think they have to worry about their shareholders before worrying about the president. Because I'm not even sure the president has
the support of the Republican Party anymore. So, they are dealing in the real world. Today you cannot take the baby boomer approach of hunkering
down and waiting for the bad storm to pass. No statement is a negative statement in a situation like this.
QUEST: At DiversityInc., what is it that you tell boards? What is it that you tell chief execs? Can Fraser is what the -- only the second -- there's
only two African-Americans on board of directors in the Fortune 500. Even our own Time Warner only has a couple of women on the board. Other
companies, one could say the same thing about them too.
VISCONTI: Yes, well, I think what you have to be, I think, aware of is that it's morals and judgment and ethics that drive a company and drive it
either in the right direction or the wrong direction. So, these kinds of situations present an opportunity for a chief executive to express the
ethics of the Corporation.
QUEST: In terms of those chief execs who are members of councils, who are part of the administrations wider economic goals and policies, do you think
they should stay within the President or at least -- if they don't want to be seen in such party-political terms -- at least seen to staying serving
the country on these councils?
[16:20:00] VISCONTI: I think can Fraser made the right move. It's time to depart. This is not getting any better. If the President wants to lean on
lack of clarity in communications over the weekend, that's fine. But we're in the middle of a nuclear confrontation with North Korea and a possible
trade war with China. If you have clarity -- lack of clarity in communication, it's time for you to step down. I think for corporate
executives being associated with this president is increasingly negative and negative.
QUEST: Final thought. How much more does corporate America have to do at the top end in the C-suite and for true diversity? And the way I ask you
about this, It's obviously a process. You obviously have to have a pipeline of people working their way up from junior to middle-management to
director at management --
Yes.
-- to executive management. But how far are we for women, for African- Americans, for Latinos, within that pipeline, that we would see in explosion, if you like, of diversity in the years ahead?
VISCONTI: Well, you know, it depends on the management of the company. And we have a top 50 list. If you look at the top 10 on the top 50, for
women, it's over 40 percent in senior management now. That's a big change from just 10 years ago. So, it's already starting to happen. But what
really makes a difference is accountability. Know I have lost my earpiece so I going to have to reach back and get it.
QUEST: Oh, he lost his microphone or earpiece. We apologize. Luke Visconti --
VISCONTI: Sorry about that I'm back.
QUEST: Oh, you're back. I am sorry. Do carry on. Don't worry. You were about to say -- are you, all right?
VISCONTI: I think I have it.
QUEST: Can you hear me?
VISCONTI: Yes, I can.
QUEST: What were you just saying about that interesting question about this question of the pipeline? If you can actually just pick up your
answer there.
VISCONTI: It really takes conviction from a chief executive to hold his people accountable for doing what is different than in the past. So, I am
sorry about this. If you have a situation where you're used to hiring nobody but men and nothing but white men in this country and you want to
advance to capture the top talent from all groups, then you have to go and hold people accountable for doing something different. Change is
difficult. You have to hold people accountable for getting there. That's what the best companies -- the companies in our top 10 are all doing.
QUEST: Luke Visconti, thank you for joining us and for battling with the earpiece. I think you for that. The important thing is that we stay with
him, to hear what he said, rather than worrying about the earpiece. By the way, for those of you who that wonder, that's why mine is molded and fits
in my ear, so it doesn't fall out.
A similar story on the markets in Europe. Markets bounced back strongly. Paris, Frankfurt each gained more than 1 percent. And then had a muted
session ahead of the publication of the government's Brexit papers on Tuesday, one of which is on Northern Ireland.
In Germany, the Chancellor Angela Merkel is standing by her plans to spend more on defense. The Chancellor is accusing opposition parties of reneging
on plans for Germany to meet NATO's defense spending targets. As for Angela Merkel, personally, she's been accused of a lack of luster campaign
so far. And this attack is a sure sign the election in Germany is well and truly underway. Chris Burns is in Berlin and joins us with an earpiece in
his ear one hopes. Chris, the Chancellor has been roundly accused of, particularly before her summer holiday -- a walking holiday or whatever she
did -- of complacency and of taking this election for granted. Has she sort of upped the ante now?
CHRIS BURNS, JOURNALIST: Yes, and it's a molded earpiece, by the way. As a matter of fact, yes, she has been accused. In fact, with this diesel
scandal that's resurged as a matter of fact, there was a summit among the industry and government here and she wasn't there. And a lot of people
were saying, well, she should have been. On that defense spending, she said the sparks are flying between the CDU, CSU, between Merkel and her
coalition partners, the social Democrats. They're accusing each other over this defense spending.
QUEST: I need to stop you Chris were going to Charlottesville for a police press conference.
[CUTS TO PRESS CONFERENCE]
AL THOMAS, CHIEF, CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: -- take time to answer questions that you may have as well. Before I begin, on behalf of
every member of the Charlottesville police department, I want to take a moment to send our deepest condolences to the families of the three
Virginia residents that lost their lives Saturday.
[16:25:00] As you know, Charlottesville resident, Heather Heyer, was struck down by a vehicle while exercising her peaceful right to speech. The city
stated earlier while it will never makeup for loss of a member of our community, we will pursue charges against the driver of the vehicle that
caused her death and are confident justice will prevail.
The Virginia State Police, Lieutenant Cullen, and trooper Pilot Bates were working with Charlottesville Police Department this past weekend to protect
our community. These men also gave their lives in the line of duty and our gratitude to them cannot be overstated. Their loss is a loss for us all
and we mourn with their families and colleagues.
We are working with the Heyer family to ensure that the safety of vigils and other memorials that are planned for this week are safe. We plan to
keep the Fourth Street crossover closed until further notice as there are thousands of flowers lining the street and that is the location of the
crash site.
We are also establishing a hot line for any victims or witnesses to contact local authorities and provide information that may not have been reported
during the weekend. We understand it was a traumatic weekend for everyone. We're still receiving reports of assaults and additional crimes and we're
working with our state and local partners to investigate thoroughly any criminal or civil rights violations that may have occurred this past
weekend that have not yet been reported.
Throughout the entire weekend, Virginia State Police, Charlottesville Police Department intervened to break up fights and altercations among
those in attendance at the rally site. This began on Friday night and continued through Sunday. The city tracked approximately 250 calls for
service on Saturday alone. And many of the conflicts, individuals would strike and disappear in the crowd. State police medics rendered aid to 36
injured individuals Saturday, including several of the traffic crash victims on Water Street.
The early morning hours on Saturday, Virginia State Police and Charlottesville Police were positioned in and around and across the street
from Emancipation Park in order to readily observe and monitor the actions of the crowds and respond as quickly as possible when emergencies arose.
There were also state and local police on foot patrols and at road closures at various locations throughout the parks. So, we could respond to
emergencies occurring beyond the immediate area of Emancipation Park. Law enforcement were staged at McIntire Park as well. You can see we had a
very large footprint during this entire endeavor.
Around 10:00, the Unite the Right attendees began arriving and entering Emancipation Park. We had a plan to bring them in at the rear of the park.
They had agreed to cooperate with the plan. Unfortunately, they did not follow the plan. They began entering at different locations in and around
the park and we had to quickly alter our plans to help facilitate that process.
Other groups also began amassing along the street and in the park. Gradually the crowd sizes increased along with aggressiveness and hostility
of attendees toward one another. Shortly before 11:00 a.m., individuals in the crowd began throwing objects and spraying chemical agents into the
crowd. The city and county then made a declaration of local emergency. The crowd size became increasingly violent with mutually engaged
combatants, with one on one attacks following.
An unlawful assembly was declared and the state police troopers began to safely move individuals out of the park and through the streets.
Charlottesville police officers were originally on site in their everyday uniform. We were again hoping that the members of the alt-right rally
would cooperate with our safety plan of ingress and egress.
Once violent began to erupt, we transitioned officers into their protective equipment. We proceeded with an organized response to ensure that we could
safely restore order in and around the park. No tear gas was deployed on Saturday by any law enforcement officers. There were a few incidents where
the Virginia State Police deployed OC or better-known as pepper spray, on individuals refusing to comply with unlawful assembly declaration to leave
Emancipation Park. I would like to take a moment, open the floor to questions if you have any.
[16:30:01] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: September 12th they're claiming they decided there would be multiple rallies, Richmond, Lexington, here,
September 12th?
THOMAS: I am not sure that information is credible. But yes, we have heard those rumors as well. No one has contacted us directly concerning
other demonstrations in and around the state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The motive for the car strike suspect?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why was fourth street crossing open before 2:00 p.m. it was supposed to be closed until 7:00.
THOMAS: I'm not sure whether or not the fourth street crossing was opening. I don't have the action plan with me currently but I am certain
that the action plan called for this street to be closed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last month for the Klu Klux Klan rally, you were there from the beginning, in the middle of the rally, kept two sides
separate. Why did you take a different approach Saturday?
THOMAS: This was a completely different event from the rally on July 8th. The entire action plan was different. We did make attempts to keep two
sides separate, however, we can't control which side someone enters the park. We had agreements, worked out a security plan to bring the groups in
in separate entrances. Again, they decided to change the plan, and enter the park in different directions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chief, we heard reports that police did not do enough to break up fights that it appeared they were standing around, letting
people get out. And some suggested they may have been intimidated by fire power of the alt-right. Can you respond to that?
THOMAS: We were certainly not intimidated by fire power of the alt-right. However, it was prudent to make sure that officers were equipped to go out
and deal directly with the violence at hand. Originally, we had our officers out in their everyday uniform. We were hoping for a peaceful
event. We urged leaders from both sides to engage in a nonviolent demonstration. Once the violence erupted, once the plan was altered, we
had to quickly transition our officers into their protective gear. Once the unlawful assembly was declared, we requested the state police mobile
field force to deploy in their riot gear, and all officers took position behind them at that point to guard their rear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I witnessed personally dozens of acts of violence, people being assaulted and other general assaults with police officers in
sight watching. Did you give orders to police officers not to help people being assaulted?
THOMAS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the point it turned violent, why didn't you guys clear the streets completely? Why allow any protesters at that point to
remain on the streets?
THOMAS: We did clear the park. And we had, once the crowds were disbursed, they went to many locations throughout the city. At that time,
we had to actually send our forces to multiple locations to deal with a number of disturbances in and around the downtown area. It took probably
an hour to gain control of the streets. We had groups that were moving constantly. We were following a number of groups, ensuring that they were
being peaceful. But it was a challenge. It was certainly a challenge. We were spread thin once the groups disbursed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was there any plan or original plan or thought process to say this might not be a good idea to let these people continue
to march the streets knowing that these two sides were so agitated at that point.
THOMAS: Yes. We have to focus on behavior and criminal activity, not just citizens walking in our streets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief, this didn't end well. Do you have any regrets and do you wish you would have come more prepared so to speak? You knew
what was coming. In other words, you knew what was coming, you met with them, had a plan, you talked it out. Do you regret not having your
officers better prepared and in their proper gear earlier so they could have acted sooner?
THOMAS: Absolutely I have regrets. We lost three lives this weekend. I have, I certainly have regrets. We lost three lives this weekend. A local
citizen and two fellow officers. We certainly have regrets. It was a tragic, tragic weekend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you regret your actions and your decisions?
THOMAS: I explained what our regrets are, we regret this tragic day. We regret that we had a tragic outcome and we lost lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe that one side was more responsible than another for instigating the violence?
THOMAS: This was an alt-right rally.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe they're the ones that instigated the fighting?
THOMAS: We did have mutually combative individuals in the crowd. We tried to be patient, we tried to give the individuals in the crowd who wanted to
leave, we wanted to make sure they were able to leave safely. We facilitated that process.
[16:35:00] We had a number of individuals who chose to remain and cause violence, cause disturbances in the community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have heard from certain law enforcement source from another county whose officers were here and a briefing that was conducted
with your law enforcement that officers were instructed to make arrests without the explicit approval of the Charlottesville Mayor. Our law
enforcement source says he was outraged by the instructions. Did you or the Mayor or anyone on the Mayor staff instruct law enforcement not to make
arrests unless approved by the Mayor?
THOMAS: No, and I would like to know who that officer is who allegedly made those remarks. That's simply not true. Folks, thank you so much for
your time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you do differently next time, sir?
[16:35:57] QUEST: There you have the chief of police of Charlottesville, Al Thomas, which is a fascinating account of the weekends violence. And he
said no teargas was fired by the police, pepper spray from the guard. He said they were not intimidated by the alt-right. But clearly, he did lose
control. And he said -- which I found the most interesting part -- he said, when the fighting broke out his police officers were still in normal
uniform, because we'd been hoping for cooperation as we had agreed, and we've been hoping for a peaceful event. Therefore, they were not in riot
gear when the riot broke out. Several questions also being asked there about whether the police had stood by during the melee. And he said, no
they could not intervene until they were properly equipped.
Now we go to France where a spokesperson for the French Interior Ministry, says a car has rammed into a pizzeria in a town 55 kilometers east of
Paris. One person's been killed, five have been seriously injured in a few likely wounded. The vehicle plowed to the restaurant entrance. The
drivers been arrested. The interior minister says his motivation isn't known. Melissa Bell is in Paris, joins me now. So, a very simple
question, Melissa, even though the police aren't saying anything. Is this an accident? Is it a I suppose a terrorist or non-terrorist event?
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone). Exactly, that is a question immediately in these times, Richard, in France.
Apparently, from what we're hearing, this is not terror related for the time being. What the interior minister has told us is that indeed a car
did plow into a restaurant in Sept-Sorts, which the East of Paris -- we're talking about suburban Paris, intentionally. And indeed, one person was
killed, five were seriously wounded, two more lightly wounded. And that the person has been arrested.
What the French press is reporting for the time being, is that the man has made clear that his intentions were suicidal not terrorist. But from the
Interior Ministry, we've had the confirmation that although the motivations are not known, we cannot confirm any terrorists links. So, for the time
being -- we are waiting for confirmation, Richard. It doesn't seem as though his action was terror related. But of course, in these times in
Paris that's immediately what one thinks of. And apparently the car plowed deliberately into this restaurant wounding several and killing at least
one.
QUEST: Melissa, the -- I mean, it's -- you know, arguably, if it's terror then it becomes perhaps a more serious matter in a geopolitical sense. But
even so, if people are now using vehicles in this way even on suicide missions or on -- just because -- for whatever reason, than criminality.
Then this is getting -- this makes living in Paris considerably more difficult.
BELL: Yes. I think that's right. The fact that we should be talking about drivers driving their cars into restaurants or killing and wounding
others and wondering if this is terrorists and realizing this has become almost too common in Paris. This in itself is a story and I think that is
right. We don't know whether this man was at all inspired by any particular group or any particular ideology or had any motivation beyond
his own destruction in mind and the others, of course, involved. But you're right, this is something that has become all too common in Paris.
We've had six terrorist attacks this year so far, alone. Much's smaller scale than what we've seen over the course of the last few years. But it
has become something that has a frighteningly regular reoccurrence in our new cycle. It is almost a monthly occurrence.
QUEST: Melissa Bell, thank you, and Paris. Please come back when you get more information about this. Either way, we do need to clarify whether it
is more terrorist related or just a nasty accident or indeed something in between.
We will be back in just a moment. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Good evening to you.
[16:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:42:05] QUEST: Returning to our top story tonight the corporate world's reaction to the violence in Virginia and President Trump's response. Mr.
Trump was criticized for not specifically denouncing extremists in his initial comments on the violence today. This was a message we got from the
president
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No matter the color of our skin, we all live under the same laws, we all salute the same great flag
and we are all made by the same Almighty God. We must love each other, show affection for each other, and unite together and condemnation of
hatred, bigotry and violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Joining me now is Will. I. Am the front man for the Black Eyed- Peas, music producer and entrepreneur. Will, I am delighted to have you back on Quest Means Business, we have spoken before about these things and
the incident that we are talking about now, the Charlottesville and the president's response to it, and now the chief executive's response to it.
But you are feeling extremely strongly about this. Aren't you?
WILL. I. AM, MUSIC PRODUCER AND ENTREPRENEUR: I have been feeling extremely strongly about this before Charlottesville, and that is the
status of inner cities, the funding for education, state of mind, the state of health, the state of well-being. And you know, it is not a conversation
about a statue, a General Lee statue, it's a conversation about stature. And statistics on how many in inner cities end up in prisons, and that is
what frustrates me, and what frustrates me even more is we are not even focused on what the core of the problem is.
QUEST: When the president today says that he is calling on all sides to help look at the cause, and indeed the Dow Chemical chief executive says
that this must be a wide-ranging look at what causes this sort of violence. Do you have any hope that this ever happens or does your experience suggest
it's just talk?
WILL. I. AM: The talkers are the talkers and we know the people are just talking are responding to criticisms, so let me fix what I said. There is
a lot of that which is happening. True leadership is someone who brings people together. Let's let the past stay in the past, Germany is an
amazing country now. And we know that at some point in time in history they did wicked stuff. And we also notice the have contributed to society
since then and we love Germany now. So, there is hope in every community that they could come out of their ways of looking at the world that poses
wickedness on someone else. But I am an optimist and at the same time, we are in desperate need of true leadership at this point in time right now.
[16:45:00] QUEST: All right, OK, you say you are need of leadership so forgive me, but it really does beg the question. In your view, in your
view can Donald Trump give that leadership, the sort of leadership that is normally associated with being if you like the leader of a nation, the head
of state, the president?
WILL. I. AM: No, not for this, I mean there are tools for different things, right. So, he is a different type of tool. We need a screwdriver,
he's a hammer. And hammers are for what you need a hammer for, but we need a screwdriver something delicate, something that fits and doesn't strip the
bolt. So, unfortunately, we need the community to lead itself because that is all we have. We need us. We need us right now.
QUEST: This is fascinating because if you are right, you need more than just the community, don't you? You need those corporations, the sort of
chief execs from Dow Chemicals and from all the other companies that have put out statements, from Unilever. Because they create the jobs that the
communities can get that lift people out of poverty don't you think?
WILL. I. AM: Yes, so in being a part of the Davos community and going to Ted's and global citizen and seeing people come together for people,
whether you are the head of the company or you are a marketer at a company, or you are one of the worker bees that make company, they are people. So.
communities, companies, we all need to center around and figure how we work in collaboration with one another. And having tolerance by allowing little
subcultures to exist. And we are not saying that, I am not saying that little cliques should not come together for whatever they are proud of.
But at the same time, you cannot make people like you.
You cannot expect that everyone going to feel the way you feel your community. Just as long as there is not clashing. Just as long as you
know, the police in Virginia, I applaud them because that is how police should act all of the time. When there is a coming together in Chicago and
a coming together in New Orleans let's hope and pray that police act the way to the act in Virginia.
QUEST: So, finally, on this point because you have raised a very interesting point, about certain niche groups coming together. Not
everybody agreeing with the community view. That how do you reconcile allowing alt right and the fascists and the white supremacists to have
their march under their First Amendment rights counterbalanced with those marches against them? Surely, this is a recipe, you have competing
demands, and it's a recipe for exactly the sort of disaster that we saw over the weekend.
WILL. I. AM: What kind of car you drive?
QUEST: I don't have a car.
WILL. I. AM: You like Mercedes and BMWs?
QUEST: Well, I have been known to enjoy them.
WILL. I. AM: That stems from Germany. That is why use Germany as an example. A country that did things in the past that are just horrible to
humanity. Berlin in Germany is an amazing place right now. So, I am an optimist, I know that things will turn around given the right
circumstances, the right tolerance and at the same time starting with love. Germany is my answer to your question.
QUEST: I could also and perhaps you would agree with me not only Germany, I could put in their Japan as well. Which makes exactly the same analogy.
Thank you, very good of you to come in and talk to us from Los Angeles. I appreciate it, thank you very much indeed.
WILL. I. AM: Thank you so much.
QUEST: As we continue tonight, we are going to stay with this particular thought, the white supremacist website has been shut out, Google and Go
Daddy tell the "Daily Stormer" it has crossed the line.
[16:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Now this information just in to CNN, the U.S. defense secretary James Mattis says it is a game on in his words, if North Korea attacks
Guam. He was speaking to reporters a moment or two ago, he said if North Korea fires a missile, U.S. will be able to determine within moments where
it is going, and if it is going towards Guam.
Google and website registration firm Go Daddy have said that they will not host the site
"Daily Stormer." This comes after the white supremacist and neo-Nazi published an ugly attack on Heather Heyer woman who was killed in
Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend.
CNN has reached out to the "Stormer," and its publisher for comment and we have yet to hear back. CNN Money senior media correspondent Brian Stelter
is with me now. What are they being thrown off for here? For attacking a dead woman or for their views in the first place?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN MONEY SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Attacking Heather is the proximate cause but the broader issue is what the Silicon Valley
companies have power over. They have the power about whether you are able to access hate or other really, really sickening content on the Internet.
And we are seeing Google and other big companies increasingly take action to stop users from being able to access it. So, we have got Go Daddy
saying no you are not going to list your website, your racist neo-Nazi website on our platform. And then it was transferred to Google, and within
hours Google said you are not going to list your domain name on our platform either. So, we are seeing tech companies increasingly accept the
fact that they do have a role to play in this situation.
QUEST: All right, I take your point but if this is the pendulum, now clearly the "Stormer" is that this end of the pendulum. But what happens
when you start coming down to this part of the pendulum where you are just a little bit objectful like the manifesto at Google. Where women are
suitable --
STELTER: Biological, right.
QUEST: Where's the line drawn, Brian?
STELTER: This is what the companies don't want to talk about, where they would draw the line. This is one of those really rare sort of relatively
easy cases. These easy cases don't happen very often. Facebook is facing this right now, Facebook was one of the main ways that to unite the white
nationalist protesters organized their event on Saturday. Now Facebook says we took down that event page over the weekend. But by then it was too
late. These racist, these anti-Semites they used Facebook to organize. Should Facebook be stepping in or not? They certainly had the right to
free speech to be there and be protesting in Charlottesville.
QUEST: Clearly, the police allowed them. The police had an agreement which according to chief of police was not followed through by which side
of the park they were going to.
STELTER: What's wrong with Facebook helping organize? But obviously, a lot of folks would say that Facebook should not be creating a platform,
creating a space for racists to organize. Within as you said it gets a lot more complicated. Not every stupid white guy that went over to that rally
actually subscribes to what the "Daily Stormer" would argue KKK values. Some of these folks just wanted to show up in a park to support President
Trump, so it gets really murky when you are trying to decide where the line is drawn, in these tech companies are increasingly the ones with the pen
drawing it.
[16:55:00] QUEST: Brian, I may disagree with your views, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it.
STELTER: Thank you very much.
QUEST: By the way, there is a disagreement over who actually said that, was it Voltaire or was it somebody else, but there we are. You can
download our podcast at the show or at the show as a podcast, it is available from all the main providers and you can see that CNN.com/podcast.
Profitable Moment after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's Profitable Moment, the question has corporate America finally found its voice, finally growing up, finally decided to stand up
for values that are in their mission statements and in their HR policies and in their investor reports, but now they actually have to put into
place. So today we've had GE, Unilever, we've had Dow, we had Intel, we've had Apple, all of whom have strongly come out against hatred, bigotry and
racism. Well, obviously, you say they would say that, wouldn't they? They would say that. Think about the context upon which those statements came
out. From a president that refused to say in blunt terms what they have just said, they were well aware of those companies that they were making
controversial statements. And in doing so perhaps implied criticizing the White House. They did it anyway because their workers require them to,
their investors want them to, and their stakeholders demand it from them.
And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight in this changing world, I am Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you are up to in the hours ahead, I
hope it's profitable. Let's do it again tomorrow.
END