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Hala Gorani Tonight
Trump Says He Regrets Saying "The Wrong Thing"; Trump Reshuffles Campaign As Election Nears; Devastating Video Of Rescued Child Goes Viral; Toner: U.S. Open To Working With Russia Against Terrorists; U.S. Olympic Committee Apologizes For Swimmers' Actions; Usain Bolt Has Won Eight Olympic Gold Medals; Boy's Rescue Video Prompts New Calls For Help; CNN Speaks To Doctor Inside Aleppo; Former U.S. War Crimes Ambassador Speaks To Syria; Ryan Lochte's Ascent To The Spotlight; CNN's "Says Who?" Interview Goes Viral. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired August 19, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We're coming to you live from CNN London. Thanks for being with us this
hour. This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
Well, Donald Trump is making yet another change at the top in the final months of the presidential race, after being sidelined just days ago in a
staff shake-up, Trump's campaign chairman Paul Manafort is now out.
Trump said in a statement that Manafort offered his resignation, but he wasn't fired, adding, quote, "I am very appreciative for his great work in
helping to get us where we are today. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success."
Manafort's resignation and other recent staff moves leaves some wondering what direction Trump will take next. Just last night, we saw a campaign
first, Trump made this unexpected admission. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or
you say the wrong thing. I have done that, and believe it or not, I regret it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Hillary Clinton's campaign isn't buying that. It attributes Trump's apology to his speechwriter and to his teleprompter and says it
will not believe that he is sincere until he says exactly which comments he regrets, then changes his tune altogether.
Let's talk about all of this with Chris Moody, a senior correspondent for CNN Politics. We're also joined by CNN political analyst, Josh Rogin.
Chris Moody, I want to start with you. What is going on here? "I regret sometimes choosing the wrong words, sometimes saying the wrong things." We
have never heard anything like that from Donald Trump. What is going on?
CHRIS MOODY, CNN POLITICS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is yet another attempt at the great famous pivot many of our viewers might have heard is
coming time and time again from the Trump campaign.
We heard it after the primaries were over. We heard it after the convention and now we're hearing it again heading into the fall and general
election.
Every time they say that this is going to happen, Donald Trump gives a speech that he's reading from the teleprompter, and then once he gets off
the teleprompter he makes a remark that totally blows away any of that and distracts everyone away, whether it's something offensive to somebody else
or something else.
Now there's merit, possibly, to the Hillary Clinton criticism, saying, OK, he's reading somebody else's words, every time we've given him a chance
before, just give him a day, we'll see what he says when he's off script and off prompter. I think that's really the next few weeks, that's really
what to watch from Donald Trump.
GORANI: Right. But he had to agree to the general message and perhaps his campaign felt this was necessary to get it back on track, because when you
look at the polls, they are down and Donald Trump is not doing well. Josh Rogin, what do you make of this new strategy?
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. I think what makes this pivot different from all the other pivots is what you just mentioned, Trump is
not doing well. Polls are down across the board with all demographics, including white men, including swing states, right.
He knows he has to do something. That's why he's willing to go a little further than he has before. This is also a reflection of the new
leadership inside the campaign, they want to come in and do something new.
We saw this when Paul Manafort took over from Corey Lewandowski. Now we see this as Bannon and crew take over from Manafort. So they are trying to
set a new tune as Chris pointed out, it never lasts.
The question is whether Donald Trump will realize the dire situation that his campaign is in and respond to that. There's a sort of dichotomy inside
the campaign.
[15:05:06]Half of them think they're doing great despite all of the available evidence and the other half realize that they're not. Which half
Donald Trump is on, remains to be seen.
GORANI: Chris Moody, what about the Paul Manafort resignation? And by the way, I just want to remind our viewers a little bit about the controversy
surrounding Manafort. He's under investigation in Ukraine for allegedly receiving millions of dollars in illegal payments from a former ruling
party with close ties to Russia. He denies that.
So Chris Moody, I want to ask you, is that what it's about, or is it just this sort of like precipitous fall in the polls for Trump that's behind
this resignation?
MOODY: There's a big rule in politics and that is that the aides should not be the ones making the news. I think we're seeing reporting from
inside the campaign and from the Trump family that Manafort was becoming a distraction.
I think Manafort himself thought he was becoming a distraction, possibly didn't want the attention that he was receiving. The focus on him in the
Ukraine, lobbying for pro-Putin forces, that is a big story and that distracts from the candidate's message, which is what you really want the
focus on.
It makes it really difficult to do your job. It also domestically, as we've been talking about, things have not been looking good for Donald
Trump. Ever since the convention, whether it's national or in the key swing states he'll need to get to 270 electoral votes in November, he was
flailing in many of those, most of those.
And so Manafort might have been a good force for him to win the primary, to get what he needed on the convention floor back on Cleveland, but he wasn't
cutting it looking ahead to the general election.
GORANI: OK, I want to run a new Donald Trump campaign ad and get your thoughts, Josh. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): In Hillary Clinton's America, the system stays rigged against Americans. Syrian refugees flood in. Illegal
immigrants convicted of committing crimes get to stay, collecting Social Security benefits, skipping the line.
Our border open. It's more of the same, only worse. Donald Trump's America is secure. Terrorists and dangerous criminals kept out. The
border secure. Our families safe. Change that makes America safe again. Donald Trump for president.
I'm Donald Trump and I approved this message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So there you have it, Josh, those old themes, I'm the one to keep you safe, Hillary Clinton is making everything more dangerous for
Americans. Again, what shall we make of this particular ad? It's a more conventional sounding ad.
ROGIN: Right. Well, first of all, it's notable that the Donald Trump campaign is running ads. I mean, everyone wondered for months why weren't
they doing this. Hillary Clinton spent tens of millions of dollars on ads and they've always been far behind, they said they didn't need to do this
now.
It seems like they realize they do. As for the content, it's more of the same, a sort of anti-Hillary, anti-immigration, anti-trade, anti-
globalization message. It's pretty much what he's been running on for the last year.
It doesn't show an evolution of the policy, it just shows sort of a softening of the tune. Whether or not that will make the difference, we
don't know.
GORANI: A softening of the tune, we saw it with his "I regret," although we're not exactly sure what he regrets, we're not exactly sure what he was
referring to. The campaign is in a tough spot, right?
Because what allowed him to be so successful initially was that sort of straight shooter, I'm not a politician, I don't package my message in
carefully crafted campaign ads.
Now he's having to do that because he's losing ground in the polls. So is that going to help him get back to where he was just a few weeks ago?
ROGIN: Yes, if you listen to the North Carolina speech, it was clearly targeted to all of those groups who are not Republican white men primary
voters, OK? So that's the first step, and acknowledging that you have a problem. That's what he's trying to do.
That's what his new campaign leadership is trying to pivot to, but the message is still the same. It's not a message that appeals to those
voters. That's the essential problem with the Trump campaign.
They need to expand but they refuse to go expand their policies or their message. That's the rub and that's something that they haven't figured
out.
GORANI: And Chris, just very briefly, Stephen Bannon, also the new campaign manager is Kellyanne Conway, are they the ones telling Trump just
apologize but don't say for what and we'll see if that works?
MOODY: Yes, I mean, they are responsible now for what Trump is asked to say on the stump and a lot of viewers might not know what Breitbart is.
Some have called it a conservative website. It's more of a nationalist, populist website that has been very pro-Trump for the past few months.
This is one of those big plot twists in this movie called 2016 that somehow not unexpected at all. It all just kind of makes sense. They kind of do
go hand in hand. I'm not surprised.
[15:10:02]And they are taking the campaign in what appears to be a different direction. We'll just see if Donald Trump listens to them. He
hasn't always listened to his advisers in the past. So we'll see. We've got a few more weeks ahead to see how this plays out.
GORANI: I like it, this movie that is 2016, with all the plot twists that I'm sure we have to look forward to in the last few months of the year.
Josh Rogin, Chris Moody, thanks to both of you as always.
Moving on to Syria, a display of total disrespect for human life. These are images of ISIS retreating from the Syrian city of Manbij after a
significant defeat. Many people in the cars, though, are not fighters, they're civilians being used as human shields against airstrikes, according
to the Syrian Defense Forces that participated in the liberation of Manbij.
The U.S.-backed SDF pushed ISIS out of the city that had been a key stop for the terrorist group on the road from Turkey to Raqqah. As awful as the
trek was for the captives, newly-freed Manbij residents were relieved, understandably. Robyn Curnow has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cars and motorbikes buzz through the streets. Merchants are open to business again. A mother
pushes a stroller with her children by her side as the people in the Syrian city of Manbij begin to resume their daily lives.
Months of bombardment by U.S. war planes along with U.S.-backed rebels on the ground finally liberated the city from the grip of ISIS last week.
Ousted ISIS fighters have now fled the city, using civilians as human shields, according to Syrian democratic forces.
Jubilant residents returned. Men cut off their beards. Women burn their nicabs and openly smoked cigarettes, all things they weren't allowed to do
during the terror group's two-year oppressive rule.
Everybody has a story to share about life under ISIS. This man says he and others were starved and targeted by snipers. Another says militants burned
down his store and this man says ISIS set fire to a building containing all of the city's official documents.
JUMAA HASSAN, MANBIJ RESIDENT (through translator): It's all ashes now. There's nothing left. Proof of property, everything is burned.
CURNOW: Now residents say they will start to rebuild what's left of their city. While the loss of Manbij is a big strategic blow to ISIS, coalition
officials say the fight against the terror group is far from over. Robyn Curnow, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Speaking of Syria, the world is finding it nearly impossible to turn away from this image, Omran Daqneesh, in the aftermath of an airstrike
that destroyed his home in an ambulance after being pulled out from the rubble.
A U.N. official said what we're all thinking when we see this, "The whole world has failed the Syrian people." This little boy peered off almost
every front page, his shock and misery cutting through the noise of five years of civil war.
This is what Omran looked like after the treatment of his wounds. The question remains, will it make a difference? Let's get more now on the
situation in Syria and what can be done or I should say what parties are willing to do to end the violence and suffering of children like Omran.
I'm joined now by State Department deputy spokesperson, Mark Toner. Thanks for being with us. I'll ask you the question on everyone's minds. If
America can't do something to stop what's happening in Syria, this just sort of unfolding day in, day out massacre of civilians, then who can?
MARK TONER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SPOKESMAN: Sure, it's a good question. Look, a couple of thoughts to start off with. One is I, like
the rest of the world, lingered over the image of that small boy yesterday. Whether you're a parent or just a human being, you can't look at him and
not feel pangs of sadness over what this little boy's life must be like.
And, you know, we were talking in our own office here that he's 5 years old, and in his five years he's known nothing but civil war, conflict,
sacrifice, besieging by regime forces. It's just sad to see what it has wrought.
Look, I mean, the other -- on the positive note, you know, I heard the story as I was standing here about Manbij and life returning there and ISIL
being driven out by these Syrian democratic forces. And that's important.
And it's encouraging to see that. But look, in terms of the civil war, we are engaged wholeheartedly and full throatedly to all extents possible to
trying to get something in place that returns us to where we were a few months ago, and that is a credible, nationwide ceasefire or cessation of
hostilities.
We had that in place in February and we need it back in place so we can get negotiations back on track in Geneva. I know we've been talking about this
for weeks now. The challenge --
[15:15:05]GORANI: But let me ask you about these reports. Some people have been critical of the possibility that the United States might
cooperate a lot more closely with Russia. Russia that, as you know, has been accused of conducting some of these air strikes that have hit civilian
neighborhoods. Is the United States close to some sort of cooperation on targeting sites inside Syria with Russia?
TONER: What we've talked about and what we continue to talk about with Russia is frankly a recognition of the reality on the ground. What we're
trying to get Russia to focus on is really directing its air strikes against a common enemy, and that is Daesh or ISIL.
GORANI: But they're not doing that. You know they're targeting rebels opposed to Assad and that's what leading to some of civilians at.
TONER: Well, we're not blind. We see that as well and that's frankly a sticking point is how we separate these forces and we've seen it time and
time again. Where they continue to, whether they're flying out of Iran or out of their own basis in bases in Syria.
They continue to carry out air strikes that they say are exclusively targeting Daesh or ISIL, but we still see it hitting civilian target or
opposition forces, and that cannot continue.
What's important here and what people missed is that, you know, Russia and Iran both sit on this group called the ISSG, the International Syria
Support Group.
And to be a part of that group, it is a recognition, you have signed up to be -- signed on to the U.N. Security Council resolution, to say there's no
military solution to what's happening in Syria.
We're going to pursue a political path. We're going to pursue a peaceful path, and we are going to put in place a cessation of hostilities, and oh,
by the way, we'll allow humanitarian access, which is another issue that we're dealing with.
GORANI: We know that they're in contravention of some of these documents and agreements that they've signed, according to you and according to many
on the ground who are actually suffering the effects of these bombs. But is there truth to the reports that the United States and Russia might
cooperate in the air campaign, yes or no, at this stage?
TONER: Sure. Only if we can get to a point where we have a very clear understanding that we're only targeting aisle and Daesh, and we're not
there yet. And that is a common enemy, al-Nusra as well, let me add them to the mix. They've rebranded themselves, but it's still al-Nusra in our
mind.
GORANI: So you would be OK if Russia was targeting only ISIS and al-Nusra Front, then the U.S. would be open to a cooperation in the air campaign
inside Syria, is that fair to say?
TONER: It is what we're looking at, yes. We're looking at reaching an agreement with Russia where we can focus on what is the common enemy here.
And in doing so, we can put back in place a cessation of hostilities that allows the credible opposition.
The opposition signed up to this cessation of hostilities and the regime to get back to political negotiations. That's the ultimate goal here. We
need a political transition, a peaceful one, and then we can all go after a common enemy.
GORANI: We're very far from that, unfortunately.
TONER: Yes.
GORANI: There are other reports I want to actually get your reaction on.
TONER: Sure.
GORANI: That Russia is pressing Turkey for the use of the Incirlik airbase. Is there any truth to that? Is this something you've heard?
TONER: Look, I'll have to direct you to Turkey to respond to that. I have not seen those reports to be frank. You know, we are obviously using
Incirlik. We value Turkey's cooperation as a member of the now 66 nation strong anti-Daesh or ISIL coalition. We continue to work them.
They've maintained that even though they have their own internal strikes over the past month or so. But I can't speak to any cooperation that they
may be pursuing with Russia.
GORANI: All right. This would be an American-built base. Would it be entirely up to Turkey to make that decision?
TONER: Well, it's on Turkish territory. Again, I can't speak to what their intentions are. Again, I think the fundamental premise here has to
be a verifiable arrangement or agreement with Russia that we're not going to go after civilian targets. We're not going to go after opposition
forces. We're not going to help the regime. We're only going to target what we recognize commonly as Daesh and ISIL and al-Nusra.
GORANI: One last question, when will the discussion happen with Russia? Will it be in Geneva in the coming week or ten days or so, about possible
cooperation?
TONER: So what we've talked about, and this has been out there to some extent, and we've been frankly vague on getting into the details, except to
say that we have been working in Geneva. We have working groups on the ground in Geneva since the secretary was in Moscow last month.
And again, he talked about that time that we're trying to reach some kind of agreement or understanding, I think, of where the bad guys are that we
all agree on are bad guys, and where the good or the credible opposition are, and we need to separate them.
[15:15:00]We need to -- you know, Aleppo's been the centerpiece for all of this, and it's seen the most intense fighting, as we saw from that little
boy's picture. It's really been the target of the regime and of Russia's airstrikes. We need to stop that and get humanitarian assistance to those
people.
GORANI: All right, I think everyone has agreed on what needs to be done. It's a question of whether or not it will be. Thanks very much, Mark
Toner, the deputy State Department spokesperson in Washington. We appreciate your time.
TONER: Thank you.
GORANI: Still to come tonight, U.S. Olympic swimmer, Ryan Lochte, breaks his silence. Will his apology be enough to quiet the outrage? That's
next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: After days of painful silence, American Olympic swimmer, Ryan Lochte, is finally apologizing for his role in what happened at a Rio gas
station last weekend. But the gold medalist is not rolling back the claim that he and his teammates were robbed at gunpoint by men posing as police,
even though the police said no crime was committed and that the story was fabricated.
In a statement posted on Instagram, Lochte says, quote, "I wanted to apologize for my behavior last weekend, for not being more careful and
candid in how I described the events of early that morning and for taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of
participating in the Olympics."
He goes on to say, "It's traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country with a language barrier and have a stranger point a gun at
you and demand money to let you leave." Nick Paton Walsh has more now on the saga involving the swimmers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This morning swimmers, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, arriving back in the
U.S. after Brazilian police claimed they admitted Ryan Lochte's story about being robbed at gun point in Rio was not true.
The U.S. Olympic Committee apologizing for the actions of four team USA swimmers, saying in a statement, "The behavior of these athletes is not
acceptable nor does it represent the values of Team USA. We apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal."
Brazilian police say the athletes were not robbed and that they are not victims. Police say they were held by security at this gas station after
urinating in a back alley and vandalizing a bathroom.
FERNANDO VELOSO, CHIEF OF CIVIL POLICE, BRAZIL (through translator): The athlete was really disturb somehow. He was actually very kind of angry.
So there is the use of a weapon to control probably one of them. The answer, yes.
WALSH: THE surveillance video shows one of the athletes bending over, seeming to pull up his pants before an attendant appears. They then leave
the alley, attempt to get into a taxi but it's not theirs.
Once in the correct car, an armed security guard approaches, demanding that they stay until police arrive.
[15:25:03]They're later seen sitting on the curb, hands in the air, with Lochte standing and appearing to take something out of his pocket. The
athletes were told they had to pay for the damage they caused.
VELOSO (through translator): They got out money almost to pay for the damage they caused and leave the place before the police could arrive.
WALSH: Ryan Lochte is back in the U.S. after Brazilian officials say his account on Sunday was fabricated.
RYAN LOCHTE, U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMER: We got pulled over in our taxi and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge. They pulled us over,
they pulled out their guns.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Nick Paton Walsh joins me now live from Rio. What is the final version of events here?
WALSH: Well, we know pretty clearly, everyone accepts there was some unsolicited urinating behind a building at the gas station, there was a
poster most likely torn off the wall as you can see on CCTV.
You can see a confusing bit, it's 6:00 in the morning, and four of the Americans involved have been at a nightclub celebrating quite hard. At
this stage they are, it seems, in a conversation with security guards.
CCTV doesn't make it look that animated. But the USOC, the Brazilian police, and Mr. Lochte even in his final quasi-apologetic statement say
there is a gun involved somehow on display. It's not clear if it's pointed at anybody.
But there is a conversation between the security guards and the swimmers in which they say probably about paying some money for the damage you've done
here.
Now that's not abnormal frankly given they torn parts o of the gas station up. The question you have to ask is who is feeling threatened. Does this
constitute armed robbery? Did Mr. Lochte wake up the next morning and feel that he had actually been robbed? That isn't clear.
We'll never know what's inside his head. We'll always be asking why did he take the step of making this extraordinary statement to NBC News that put
this on the map.
It's probably the most high profile incident of the whole Olympics causing him and the swimmers to go through these days, dragged off airplanes with
search and seizure warrants?
The intense embarrassment that's brought the U.S. Olympic team, the damage probably it's done to U.S./Brazilian relations and overshadowing the end of
the Olympic games, and him on the front pages of American tabloids this morning.
It's not been a good week for anybody, frankly. Brazilians are angry because armed robbery is no joke here. It's not something to make your
alibi sound slightly more convincing.
Mr. Lochte still maintains there's an element of trauma and truth to the fact that he felt threatened, but at the end of day, the fact that five
days later he's talking about maybe he could have been more candid. That's a problem -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, thanks very much, Nick Paton Walsh. Some of the sponsors are maybe looking at this story a little too closely for the
athlete's face. Thank you very much.
Staying in Rio and talking about the sporting events there, what other name? Usain Bolt, of course. He's one more run away from sporting
immortality. In a few hours he has a chance to win the triple-triple.
If he and his team win the four times 100 meters final. On Thursday night, he won the 200 meters finals for the third time. He finished way ahead of
the field, seemed a little disappointed with his time, it wasn't a world record.
CN's Don Riddell is following the story and he joins me now from Rio. When I saw that 200-meter final, I thought to myself, what is it like being a
sprinter when Usain Bolt is running in the same race? Winning is getting a silver medal at this point, right?
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS: I think so, yes. I mean, he really destroyed the field last night. You're right, he did seem disappointed
afterwards, because we all knew it was going to be his last individual race in his Olympic career, at least that's what he says.
And I think he was really hoping to sign off with a world record, possibly even going under 19 seconds. That really would have been a mic drop
moment. It actually rained in the stadium beforehand, giving us the impression that perhaps a world record was unlikely.
It's interesting. You talk about how far he was ahead of the field. There was a relay race all the way around the track -- sorry, a hurdle race
around the track before that. They cleaned as up all the hurdles and it looked as though they had forgotten to take the hurdles away from the home
stretch in the 200.
We were speculating that maybe they left those up to make it more interesting and to make Usain jump to get to the title. But he nailed it.
We're now in touching distance of this unprecedented triple-triple. The Jamaican relay team are favorites. I see no reason why he won't get nine
golds out of nine.
GORANI: I've been burning the midnight oil watching some of these events. Let me ask you you've been there for two weeks covering the Olympics. What
was your best moment?
RIDDELL: Well, my best moment was watching Bolt in the 100, to be there in the stadium and see that really is a once in a lifetime opportunity. That
was just sensational, but you know, I'm not just watching the events, I'm very fortunate, Hala, that I'm able to interact with many of these
champions, for example spending time with Wayde Van Niekerk and his family after he won the 400 and broke the world record was really special, that
was something I'll always remember.
Meeting Mylinda Kaminde, the judoka from Kosovo, who delivered their first ever medal, a gold medal. Of course, Kosovo only just becoming an Olympic
nation eight years after gaining their independence.
It's about much more than the medalists and the men and women on the podium, it's about the little guys too enjoying the Olympic spirit. I
really, really enjoyed meeting the athletes from Nauru.
They come from a country whose population is smaller than the number of athletes here in the Olympics. They say the whole experience was just
overwhelming. There's a lot of fun being with them too.
GORANI: OK, thanks very much, Don.
Still ahead, inside Aleppo, as dramatic video of a child's rescue is shared around the world. I speak with a surgeon risking his life every day to
help those affected by Syria's raging civil war. That powerful conversation is coming up, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: A look at our top stories, another change at the top of Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Paul Manafort is out. Trump says his
campaign chairman offered his resignation this morning without giving further details. A source tells CNN Manafort felt that he was becoming a
distraction and that he wanted that to end.
Also among the top stories we are following, American Olympic swimmer, Ryan Lochte, is apologizing for his role in what happened at a Rio gas station
last weekend. However, the gold medalist is not entirely rolling back the claim that he and his teammates were robbed at gunpoint by men posing as
police. Police in Brazil though contend the robbery was a fabrication and that the story never took place.
Also if you're going to Miami, you should know that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control say that pregnant women should consider postponing
nonessential travel to Miami-Dade County in Florida. The state's governor has confirmed five cases of the Zika virus in an area of Miami Beach. All
the cases were transmitted locally.
We want to return to one of our top stories, the crisis inside Syria, the raging civil war there. It's back in the spotlight tonight largely because
of the suffering of this one little boy, Omran Daqneesh.
[15:35:05]You see him here after doctors treated him for his injuries at an airstrike. Dr. Hamzal Khatib sees firsthand the terrible price being paid
by children like Omran. He works as a surgeon at Al Quds Hospital in Aleppo, and needless to say, he risks his life every single day to care for
others.
I spoke with him via Skype. He was on his smartphone in the middle of Aleppo, Syria. I began by asking him what the situation was like at that
moment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. HAMZA AL-KHATIB, SURGEON, AL QUDS HOSPITAL IN ALEPPO: It was the same. Each day was exactly the same for the last several days. A lot of bombing,
shelling, striking with all kinds of weapons, missiles, rockets, cluster bombs, even chloride gas, we have witnessed that also in past days.
We can't name a single neighborhood that hasn't been shelled at the last several days. At any moment, day or night (inaudible) and in spite of all
of that we are expecting to be targeted at the hospital at any time.
GORANI: What keeps you going? You know your life is at risk every single hour of every day that you work in these hospitals. Why do you do it?
AL-KHATIB: Actually seeing the patients and the injured persons in front of you, bleeding on the floor, would make anyone hope to practice medicine.
We are doctors. We are Syrian doctors and we have to be here for our people.
We have to be here for being -- for supporting the revolution. We had a feeling that it's our job and it's our duty to be here, saying that we're
not terrorists, we're helping people. We're helping the civilians to survive.
GORANI: And Doctor, every once in a while a picture emerges that shows the true horror of the war, especially its impact on children. Today's picture
was one of a child that was pulled from the rubble of a bombed building, Omran Daqneesh. Did you see that picture and if so, what went through your
mind?
AL-KHATIB: Yes, of course I've seen that picture. It tore my heart, of course, as many patients and injuries. The day before that attack, before
Omran was injured, we had in the hospital 12 children, all injured with cluster bombs and they are all under 10 years old.
So it's not Omran, it's not a single coincidence that happened. Omran's case is happening and happening all the day, every time, in the eastern
side of Aleppo city.
GORANI: If you could ask for one thing from the U.N., from the United States, from Europe, as a Syrian doctor inside Aleppo, what would it be?
AL-KHATIB: No-fly zone.
GORANI: A no-fly zone?
AL-KHATIB: No-fly zone, exactly. It's the main reason. We want this attacks, of course, to be stopped, but I guess it needs a lot of work to
happen. So if you want this massacre to stop, if you want the Syrians, I guess, even the refugees in United States or Germany will come back to
Syria if a no-fly zone is announced. It's our main problem.
GORANI: Lastly, I want to ask you, you're going to go back on your next shift, you're going to go to a hospital that very much is potentially a
target for air strikes and fighter jets. Are you scared for your life?
AL-KHATIB: Of course. Of course, I'm scared for my life. I'm scared for my wife and 7-month-old baby. I'm scared for them all the time. But as
I've mentioned, I guess the whole world was moved by Omran's picture. Being at the hospital, waiting for cases like Omran and those children, you
can't just live like that. I guess, no human can leave those children without treating them.
[15:40:07]GORANI: Well, you're one of the few who stayed, and who keeps going back. Dr. Hamzal Al-Khatib, thanks very much for speaking to us from
Aleppo. I hope you stay safe.
AL-KHATIB: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: The world is focused Omran Daqneesh right now, but we want to show you some other powerful images that you will remember, some are graphic,
but these are the horrors that Syrians have faced all along.
After each one of these pictures, people ask, will this finally be the image that will prompt leaders to act. Of course this one, the small,
lifeless body of a child shocked the world. He drowned as his family tried to reach Europe.
Here a baby is passed under a barbed wire fence on the border of Hungary and Serbia, the photographer called it hope for a new life.
In a refugee camp outside of Damascus, a wave of humanity as far as the eye can see, waiting for food handouts. They're fleeing destruction on an
unimaginable scale, this is drone footage showing a city in ruins.
Each time these images come to us, we air them, we show them to you, you react on social media, we get a lot of reaction as well, and people
continue to ask when will this prompt the world to act, the U.N., the U.S., Russia, others.
And sadly, every single day we continue to see destruction and death inside the country. Now, doctors inside Syria are desperately appealing to the
international community for help. Why aren't those in power answering that call?
I put that to the former American ambassador-at-large for war crimes, Steven Rapp. He joined me yesterday from The Hague.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHEN J. RAPP, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE, WAR CRIMES ISSUES: I think the lesson also for us I mean, is the political one. I dealt with
the accountability issue. We had the Russians wanting to negotiate with the U.S. and to sort of go in together in bombing.
We know what that will be, all of these horrors happening on their side of the line, and we'll end up being complicit in it. And there will be those
that say we need to make a deal with Assad, he can be used against Daesh.
How can anyone that does what happened to Omran today be any kind of useful individual to bring people in the Arab world in on your side?
GORANI: We're hearing that the U.S. and Russia are getting closer to some sort of deal. Do you think it would be a mistake for the U.S. to join
Russia?
RAPP: We haven't reached it yet. I respect my former boss. But the conditions, every time there have been conditions about humanitarian acts,
all of those kinds of things, they've always been violated.
And so we get involved in joint operations with people that are committing war crimes, and in return for that we get some positive things on the other
side. But what if we don't get the positive things on the other side?
Because we haven't before. I don't think it's a smart bargain, it puts us in on frankly the wrong side. We need to continue to press for, you know,
accountability and working with people that don't have blood on their hands.
GORANI: Let me ask you, in your experience, arguing these cases, following the war crimes, the terrible war crimes that have occurred in many battle
zones over the decades, where does Syria rank here for you?
RAPP: I mean, obviously in terms of the number of refugees it's created, it's almost number one, to be frank. Larger numbers of refugees than we
had in World War II, frankly. So it's incredible.
And that says that basically it's not just a question of there being a war, it's the way the war is being fought with civilians as the hard targets or
with anybody potentially being picked up and detained and tortured to death.
As I talk to survivors and people who have left, it's not just armed groups shooting back and forth at each other, because at least the regime is not
shooting much at those armed groups, they're shooting at civilians.
In terms of the strength of the evidence, and I said it before in regard to the Caesar files, you don't have a situation anywhere else that I know
where the regime itself documents the murder by torture of 11,000 of its own people with the numbers of the facilities and the prisoner on each body
next to the gouged-out eyes.
And here you have over and over and over again attacking medical facilities and ambulances that have to be covered with mud. It used to be enough that
they had a red crescent or cross on them, and they were white, you didn't target them.
Now they're intentionally targeted. You get the kind of crimes that you see today with this young boy, that was part of a neighborhood, an historic
part of Aleppo, not an area militarized at all, creating a situation where life is intolerable.
There's extremely strong evidence of high level responsibility for these crimes. I would love to prosecute these crimes.
[15:45:07]We don't have a court yet. We'll have some possibilities in third countries because of the citizenship of victims or because
perpetrators turn up in those countries.
But eventually, with this kind of evidence, there will be justice and people need to know that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: That was Stephen Rapp, a former U.S. ambassador. By the way, we're going to post that interview. We'll also have some of our interview
with the doctor inside Aleppo on facebook.com/halagoraniCNN.
All right. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, Ryan Lochte says sorry. We take a look at the career of the American Olympic
swimmer at the center of the controversy. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Normally when you return from the Olympic games with a gold medal, you're celebrated and all that goes along with it. But Ryan Lochte is
making headlines around the world, as you well know, for very different reasons.
After Brazilian police disputed his claims that he and three of his mates were robbed at gunpoint. "The New York Post" headline says, "Liar, liar,
speedo on fire."
Here's "The Daily News," "The Lochte mess monster." Lochte has had a long successful career dotted by some minor runs in with the law. Miguel
Marquez looks at the man at the center of an Olympic size controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 12-time Olympic medalist including six gold. He holds world records in 200 and 400
meter individual medleys, a four-time Olympian, bursting into stardom after winning five of his 12 medals in the 2012 London games.
RYAN LOCHTE, U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMER: I'm not the one to really get sentimental, to get all teary-eyed. But when that national anthem was
being played and our flag was being raised, I just remember all those hours, all that hard work and dedication that I put into the sport is
finally paying off and my dreams are coming true.
MARQUEZ: Lochte's dreams built on a foundation of swimming and charisma.
LOCHTE: Being called one of the sexiest men alive is definitely an honor.
MARQUEZ: Runner up in "People" magazine's sexiest man in 2012. Lochte has millions of social media followers, bad boy antics and boyish charm put him
squarely in the public eye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lochte for president!
MARQUEZ: The much-hyped reality show, "What Would Ryan Lochte Do," sank after eight episodes in 2013. His clothing line also never took off. His
acting played mainly on his public persona.
LOCHTE: Another old guy wanting to buy my shirt. Old guys are so funny.
MARQUEZ: In "30 Rock" he played himself.
LOCHTE: My character on "30 Rock" is the sex idiot. I get to play myself. Not too much acting I have to do so that's pretty good.
[15:50:10]MARQUEZ: His swimming career started when he was 8, named NCAA All-American 24 times at the University of Florida and a seven-time SEC
champ. He also had run-ins there that echo today.
In 2005, two incidents reported by university police, one for trespassing, the second time for urinating in public. In 2010, two years after
congratulating, university police cited Lochte for disorderly conduct, fighting in public.
LOCHTE: I could be having the worst day of my life, but as soon as I step foot in that water, everything just disappears.
MARQUEZ: Sponsorships by Ralph Lauren, Speedo, and Airweave now at stake. Over the years those and many others adding up to millions of dollars.
Lochte says he wants to compete in Tokyo 2020, but this incident could end the career of a guy known for cutting up. Remember the American flag mouth
grill in 2012? And of course that blond-ish greenish bluish hair this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you think about America, you think about hotdogs. Guess what? Ryan Lochte's got his own hotdog.
MARQUEZ: But has the 32-year-old with a killer backstroke finally bit off more than he can chew? A night out drinking, partying, and trouble making
could topple an athlete otherwise on top of the world. Miguel Marquez, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: We are all talking about this. It's taking of course attention away from the fact that the American Olympic team is way ahead in the medal
table, in no small part due to the exploits of Simone Biles. The gymnast won five medals including four golds. She spoke to Isa Soares about her
time in Rio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIMONE BILES, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: It feels amazing. It's very rewarding and we feel so accomplished. It's just what we did in practice.
We're all very proud.
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What about many people were expecting that gold medal in the beam, but you got a bronze. Were you disappointed with
that at all?
BILES: I can't say that I was disappointed in the bronze that I received, because anyone in the world would love to have bronze at the Olympic Games.
But I was just only disappointed in the skill that I did. But the rest of the routine I can't be mad about, the rest of our team was very good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Simone Biles there, well done to her.
Coming up, this awkward moment during a CNN interview has gone viral.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Says who?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Most of them. All of them?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: It's reminding viewers of a classic joke. You'll have to wait to hear more, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Here at CNN we're used to bringing you the latest political polls. They are not always well-received, especially for the side that is down.
That was the case when my colleague Brianna Keilar interviewed Donald Trump's lawyer. His reaction went viral. And Jeanne Moos has the story
for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a little like the old (inaudible) Castello routine about the guy with the last name "who'
playing first base.
Imagine that in slow motion, an exchange between CNN's Brianna Keilar and Trump attorney, Michael Cohen has become an instant campaign classic.
KEILAR: -- you guys are down and it makes sense that there would --
MICHAEL COHEN, EXECUTIVE VP, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Says who? Says who?
KEILAR: -- most of them. All of them.
MOOS: That led to an awkward five seconds of silence.
COHEN: Says who?
KEILAR: Polls. I just told you. I answered your question.
COHEN: OK. Which polls?
KEILAR: All of them.
MOOS: I watched it five times. It's hypnotic, posted one person, her single raised eyebrow at the end deserves an Emmy on its own.
COHEN: Which polls?
KEILAR: All of them.
MOOS: That ended up on a mock make America great again hat. But the big takeaway seemed to be --
COHEN: Says who?
MOOS: The #sayswho became a thing. The aftermath of the interview you're fired, says who? Who else says who? Either Trump's attorney was in denial
about the polls --
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Or doing his best impression of an owl.
MOOS (on camera): The exchange even inspired, we kid you not, knock, knock jokes.
(voice-over): The #allofthem picked up steam with an Olympic theme. So you're losing this race. Says who? The clocks. Which clocks? All of
them.
There was even a poll pitting says who against all of them. All of them won by a landslide. In the wake of Brianna's interview Trump's attorney
told Yahoo! News, "I think I unraveled her." Let's take a poll on that. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right. The art of politics taking a racy turn. Five American cities including Los Angeles and New York woke up Thursday morning to this,
life sized naked Donald Trump statues. People flocked to the statues, took pictures with the Republican presidential nominee's likeness. It was an
art installation.
But the New York City Parks Department removed it saying, quote, "New York City Parks stands firmly against any unpermitted erection in city parks no
matter how small." Trump's campaign declined to comment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
