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Hala Gorani Tonight
Trump On Presence Of "Tapes:" You'll Know Shortly; Trump Denies Comey's Claims On Flynn Investigation; Trump Tells Media On Tapes: "You'll Be Disappointed" Aired 3-3:30p ET
Aired June 09, 2017 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:00]
(PRESIDENT TRUMP'S NEWS CONFERENCE)
[15:18:05]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We are live in London. You've been watching a live news
conference with Donald Trump and the Romanian president.
Trump had some very tough words for Qatar, but most interestingly he was asked about James Comey's testimony, the former head of the FBI that Donald
Trump fired.
He was asked whether or not in fact James Comey was asked by the president to pledge his loyalty, and he denied those statements made by James Comey
on Capitol Hill.
He also said he would be willing to testify 100 percent under oath, and he would be glad to speak to Robert Muller, the special counsel, investigating
whether or not there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the election last year. There was quite a tense exchange there with
Jonathan Carl of ABC News when he pressed him on those very questions.
Let's get straight to CNN political analysts, Josh Rogin, a columnist for "The Washington Post." We will get to the Qatar question in a moment.
That interest our viewers in the Middle East especially as well.
But let's talk there about Donald Trump's answers to the questions by Jonathan Carl asking him in a very direct way, did you demand loyalty from
James Comey -- Josh.
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, here we see President Trump doubling down on his full throated denial of what James Comey testified to
the Senate Select Intelligence Committee only yesterday. They cannot both be right. One of them is misremembering or lying.
And now what we have is a blanket he said-he said where one of them has testified under oath and the other hasn't. So you can be sure that will be
the subject of former FBI Director Mueller's investigation.
Now that President Trump has offered to testify under oath, I'm sure that Mueller will take him up on that. In the end, it seems that President
Trump is confident that there is not going to be any proof that he said these things which speaks to the sort of question of whether or not he
actually did tape those conversation.
[15:20:10]Although the president refused to say whether he didn't, he said we would be disappointed by the answer, which suggests that the tapes are
not going to come out.
GORANI: All right, and that is the question, and that is going to be the next question on the tapes, you will know shortly. President Trump does
tease quite often, sort of upcoming events or statement, how should we interpret that? You will know shortly about the tapes. He was asked, did
you tape those conversations?
ROGIN: That is what the president always says when he does not want to answer the question, and it does not necessarily mean anything at all, and
usually he says in two weeks' time, we will know something. This time he used the terminology, we will know shortly.
I don't have any confidence and I don't think anyone can have any confidence that that means that we will get an answer any time soon. What
is amazing is that, you know, all of the president's surrogates are continuing to refuse to address this question of whether or not the
president has a taping system in his office which of course, the president himself suggested on Twitter that several weeks ago.
So I would say that they are still deflecting and still trying to figure out legally behind the scenes how they deal with that question. The two
issues are whether or not there is a taping system, and whether or not there is a particular conversation was tape. It is not clear what the
answer is either way.
GORANI: But, I mean, he is willing to testify under oath, and he added 100 percent, he'd be glad to speak to the special counsel, what should we make
of those statements?
ROGIN: You know, in the end, President Trump believes that, you know, his account cannot be proven incorrect. You know, so I guess that means that
he doesn't plan to issue a tape if it exists.
Overall, this is a large long pattern of President Trump of making statements that he is willing to standby, whether or not they are proven
incorrect, disputed, and you know, contradicted by the testimony, and that is his style. That is what he does.
He makes all of the statements, and then he dares anyone to prove him wrong. In this particular situation, it seems that he has the credibility
deficit considering the fact that James Comey made contemporaneous memos, documenting each of these interactions, shared them with senior FBI
officials at that time and recalls them in great detail.
Whereas the president is just having some sort of blanket flat denial with no specifics whatsoever, and no alternative version of the conversation.
You know, that being said, we'll have to wait and see.
You know, the president said he is going to testify under oath, but that does not mean he's necessarily going to do it.
GORANI: I want to remind the viewers of that exchange between Donald Trump and that reporter from ABC news when he asked him about what happened
during those conversations with James Comey. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Want to get back to James Comey's testimony, you suggested that he did not tell the truth in everything he said. He did say
under oath that you told him to let the Flynn -- you've said you hoped the Flynn investigation you could --
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I did not say that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he lied about that?
TRUMP: Well, I didn't say that. I will tell you I did not say that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did he asked you to pledge loyalty --
TRUMP: And there will be nothing wrong if I did say it according to everybody that I have read today, but I did not say that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did he asked for a pledge of loyalty from you? That's another thing he said.
TRUMP: No, he did not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he said those things under oath, would you be willing to speak under oath to give your version of --
TRUMP: One hundred percent. I didn't say under oath. I hardly know the man. I'm not going to say, I want you to pledge allegiance. Who would do
that? Who would ask a man to pledge allegiance under oath? I mean, think of it. I hardly know that man. I doesn't make sense. No, I did not say
that, and I did not say the other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if Robert Mueller wanted to speak with you about that --
TRUMP: I would be glad to tell him exactly what I just told you, Jim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he seemed to be hinting that there are recordings of those conversations?
TRUMP: I am not hinting at anything. I will tell you about it over a very short period of time. OK. Do you have a question here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When will you tell us about the recordings?
TRUMP: Over a fairly short period of time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are there tapes, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President --
TRUMP: You will be very disappointed when you hear the answer, don't worry.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: You will be very disappointed when you hear the answer, what is the political impact on the administration? Because the president,
himself, acknowledged at the beginning of this news conference when he started taking questions, we need to get back to the business of running
the country, clearly this is a distraction, what's been the impact on his team, his ability to, you know, actually enact policy in the U.S.?
ROGIN: I mean, this entire scandal has been devastating to the president's ability to push forward his agenda. It is dominated news coverage,
attention on Capitol Hill. It's consumed the work of -- the days and nights of his staffers, his communication staffers. He's been forced to
hire a whole new legal team.
I mean, it is just taking all of the oxygen out of the room, and prevented him from really -- I mean, this was supposed to be infrastructure week, and
we hardly saw any action on that except for a couple of statements by the president.
[15:25:11]And what is also super interesting about the president's comments today was he said that Comey testimony proved that there was no occlusion
and obstruction by the president regarding the Russian investigation. That is also not borne out by the facts. That's not what Comey said.
Comey simply said that he was not going to speak to obstruction, and that the investigation will determine whether there is a collusion. So this is
-- you know, we have this endless cycle.
GORANI: He certainly did not deny it. He said it is up to the investigation to determine, as you mentioned. I want to quickly get to
Qatar, accused it of funding terrorism, quote, "at a very high level," again defending the Saudi and GCC approach of cutting ties, whereas the
secretary of state seems to be sending the opposite message, so it's all a bit confusing?
ROGIN: Yes, what happened here is that, you know, after the president went on a tweet storm, phrasing and even taking credit for the Saudi-led
blockade of U.S. ally, Qatar, there was an intervention by his national security team.
And yesterday, actually while the testimony of Comey was ongoing, the president was meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Defense
Secretary Mattis and they were urging him to sort of take a more balanced approach.
And where they came out was this, it's sort of an agreed upon stance where the White House would take a slightly harsher position on terrorist
financing. The State Department would seek to be promoting mediation.
But both of them have backed off of what was originally President Trump's position which was to praise the blockade and take credit for orchestrating
it. So this is an evolution of the president's position.
It doesn't seem to be rhetorically perfectly in line with the State Department, but it is coordinated and it is meant to send sort of a good
cop/bad cop message to the region, and at least that is deliberate whereas the tweet storm was just sort of a random occurrence, and (inaudible).
GORANI: Josh Rogin, thanks very much as always.
Still to come, British Prime Minister Theresa May clings to power. She says she will form a government after suffering a shock setback at the
polls. We will have full analysis and coverage after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Turning now to U.K. politics, a political earthquake in this country, and an owned goal for the prime minister. She won the vote.
She's still the prime minister, but in many ways Theresa May lost this general election.
Her Conservative Party entered the race seeking a stronger mandate for Brexit negotiations. Instead, it has seen its parliamentary majority
disappear, its political power diminished.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We say hey!
CROWD: Hey!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey!
CROWD: Hey!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Theresa May has got to go!
CROWD: Theresa May has got to go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We say hey! Hey! Out!
CROWD: Out!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: On the streets of London, protesters called for Mrs. May to step down. Her only option now to cling on to power is by cutting a deal with
the DUP. More on that later because many of our viewers are not necessarily familiar with that party.
Now, that partnership will be far from strong and stable. That was the slogan of the Conservatives during the election. The Northern Irish party
opposes many of the Tories' key policies including her plans for so-called hard Brexit.
Our political contributor, Robin Oakley, is here with me.
OK. Let's set the scene for our viewers around the world. Theresa May goes into this with a majority, not huge but still a majority. She wants
the strong hand, strong mandate. Not only does she not maintain a majority, she now has to cobble together some strange coalition with a
Northern Ireland party. This is a disaster for her.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's a mess. It's a disaster. It was a huge gamble, which didn't come off.
GORANI: Yes.
OAKLEY: She wanted to cash in on the opinion polls which gave her a huge lead over Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, which suggested, that her aides had
suggested to her, there were 16 Labour seats that might be at risk because there'd been a heavy Brexit vote, a leave vote in those constituencies,
which she might be able to cash in on onto. If she was hoping to come back with perhaps even a landslide majority for the Conservative Party to
strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiations to come with the European Union.
And fair enough, the European Union probably wanted her to emerge with a strong hand because if she's going to do a deal with them at end of the
day, that's going to mean concessions on both sides when she brings that back to the British parliament.
If she's got hardliners in her own party who say you've made too many concessions, she needs a decent majority to be able to fight them off.
Now, she has stripped away what little majority she had, the majority of 17.
GORANI: Yes. And an emerging theme is that, essentially, she's in denial, she's out of touch, she won't even acknowledge these bruising losses. "The
Evening standard" headlined "The Queen of Denial." Let's take a look at that.
In fact, the later edition, "May Hung Out to Dry," is the one we have here. Let's take a look at the "Queen of Denial" one. There you have it. It's
under the banner.
Also, she spoke today and she talked about those MPs that lost their seats in this general election. This is what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA MAY, PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: Our focus last night, the results came through, was on those colleagues who were, sadly, losing
their seats, colleagues who I've worked with, colleagues who have contributed much to our country. And I felt that they did not deserve to
lose their seats.
As more results started to come through, it became clear that we were the party that had won most votes and most votes. And I felt it was incumbent
on us at a critical time in our country to form a government in the national interests, and that is what I am going to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: I mean, she's not even acknowledging the giant electoral elephant in the room, which is that she called this election after promising she
wouldn't, and then really dragged her party through a process that led to a terrible loss.
OAKLEY: Well, she is the Prime Minister who took the party into this. She went very much under her own personal banner even than standing as the
Conservative Party leader. It was Theresa May and her team.
All right. She has admitted some regret about those colleagues who'd lost their seats as a result, but she didn't say, I'm sorry about these
colleagues, who as a result in the way I've pitched things and done things, have lost their seats. So there wasn't enough regret to satisfy many
people.
She is now saying, well, still, I'm the only person who can offer stability. I'm still the best person to negotiate with Europe and so on.
So that is why people are saying she's in denial. Of course, she's got to carry on and pretend that she is a top leader, still totally in control,
but she is damaged goods.
GORANI: Because she's having to rely on MPs from the Northern Ireland party called the DUP. We'll tell our viewers a little bit about that
later, but I've got to ask you because we just heard from Donald Trump at the White House. He was with the Romanian President.
He's under a lot of pressure because of this Russia investigation and the testimony of James Comey. But Theresa May wanted to establish as close a
relationship as she could with Donald Trump as Brexit is looming over to the horizon for this country. Do you think that her relationship -- and we
saw those pictures of them holding hands at the White House -- was that toxic for her politically?
OAKLEY: Toxic, no. Marginally, it has damaged her, I think. The opposition parties have been keen to emphasize her association with Donald
Trump.
[15:35:02] They've contrasted how polite she is with Donald Trump and how reluctant she is to criticize him with the tough language she is ready to
use against the European leaders that she's going to have to negotiate Brexit with.
But, of course, in the course of the election campaign, there was Donald Trump's tweeting and attacking the Labour London Mayor, Sadiq Khan.
GORANI: Sadiq Khan, yes.
OAKLEY: Donald Trump had clearly misunderstood remarks made by the Mayor about telling people not to be alarmed about seeing armed police on the
streets. He was saying, look, they're there to reassure you and to look after you, and Donald Trump took a different view of that. Eventually,
Theresa May did criticize Donald Trump over that, but rather potentially saying --
GORANI: Not directly.
OAKLEY: -- Sadiq Khan is doing a very good job.
GORANI: Right, by contradicting him. Thank you very much for that, Robin Oakley. We'll be talking to you, of course, in the coming hours.
We mentioned the DUP. That's the Northern Ireland party. In order to stay in power, Theresa May is going to have to play nice with them, something
she certainly wasn't expecting when she went into this.
Theresa May will stay in power, thanks to them. It's the largest union as to a pro-U.K. party in Northern Ireland. And now, it's the fifth largest
party in the House of Commons.
The party picked up two seats in Thursday's election, with a total of 10 Members of Parliament. Arlene Foster is their leader. It's a far right
party founded in 1971.
Here is why people in the U.K., some of them, especially those who are left-leaning, are not at all fans of this party. It opposes same-sex
marriage and abortion rights.
Our Nic Robertson joins us from Belfast, Northern Ireland with more on this party that is now playing, essentially, power broker, king maker, in the
House of Commons behind me here in London. Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. It's an awkward partner for Theresa May to have in some ways because the values, as you've
just outlined that the Democratic Unionist Party here have, the DUP, don't really gel with the sort of cosmopolitan London elite and much of the rest
of Britain. So it's awkward in that context.
But they're history here in Northern Ireland and what they will bring to the table in terms of what they want when it comes to negotiating either
the Brexit negotiation or other issues on their plate here, the power sharing government in Northern Ireland, has collapsed at the moment, isn't
working. There's efforts to try to restore that. It's going to change the dynamic of those things.
So let's take a look a little bit more about the party, the DUP.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Northern Ireland's DUP or Democratic Unionist Party are right of center, and right of Theresa May.
ARLENE FOSTER, LEADER, DEMOCRATIC UNIONIST PARTY: The Prime Minister has spoken with me this morning, and we will enter discussions with the
Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Their reputation for recalcitrant politics dates back decades to their uncompromising leader, the Reverend Ian Paisley.
REV. IAN PAISLEY, FOUNDER, DEMOCRATIC UNIONIST PARTY: Never!
CROWD: Never!
PAISLEY: Never!
ROBERTSON (voice-over): They are Protestant and proud of it. They are fervently loyal to the British crown and view the Republic of Ireland as an
existential threat to Northern Ireland's place in Great Britain. Thirty years of bloody sectarian war from the late 1960s to the early `90s,
killing more than 3,000 people, left Northern Ireland deeply divided.
The DUP are the dominant protestant party, and face off against the powerful Catholic party, Sinn Fein, who want to unite with the Republic of
Ireland. The parties are supposed to share power in a Northern Ireland government, but right now, refuse to do so.
Key Brexit demands from the E.U. include keeping an open border with the Republic, the only land border the U.K. will have with the E.U. Every day
in Northern Ireland, there are bomb threats and bombs discovered. Extreme sectarian violence is only just below the surface. Tensions now are the
highest they've been in decades.
The DUP with the louder voice in Westminster will only raise them further. To some, the DUP are a throwback to the 1950s. For Theresa May, it appears
they will be central to Brexit talks and running the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: So perhaps it comes as no surprise here in Northern Ireland that Sinn Fein, the majority nationalist, if you will, Catholic party
there, have already voiced their concerns that they think that, how can the British government be a fair arbiter in trying to get the power sharing
government here back up and running, which after all was a thing that came out of the Good Friday agreement, which was the thing that embodied what
peace meant in Northern Ireland and what, if you will, sort of put a cap on the troubles and the violence.
[15:40:10] But strikingly, today, we've heard from the Alliance Party, which is a very small party but it's in the middle ground, and they are
saying the same thing. They have a note of alarm, how can we get this power sharing government back up and running? If the Democratic Unionist
Party are working with Westminster in a coalition, how can Westminster be an independent partner in the middle to negotiate to get this government,
the Northern Ireland government, going again? Hala.
GORANI: All right. Nic Robertson, thanks very much, there with more on that small party that is keeping Theresa May in power for now. Will her
party accept her in the leadership role going forward? So much uncertainty, really, surrounding this whole process. And what it will mean
for Brexit, other issues, we will look at that.
Still ahead. As the protesters tell the Tories to get out, I'll ask a long-term Conservative and former aide to Margaret Thatcher, how bad is it
for the Conservatives? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, stiff upper lip or total denial? We've been watching Theresa May's every move because she is set to stay Prime Minister even
though she lost her majority in parliament. That wasn't the plan.
We saw her overnight as the results became clear in this shock election. From the wee hours to the light of day, she has delivered this consistent
message. Her party has the most votes, the most seats, and the most reason to lead. Obviously, many people disagree, perhaps even members of her own
Tory Party.
Let's get some perspective. Nile Gardiner is a former aide to Margaret Thatcher. He's now the director of the Heritage Foundation's Margaret
Thatcher Center for Freedom. Thanks for joining us.
NILE GARDINER, DIRECTOR OF THE MARGARET THATCHER CENTER FOR FREEDOM, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: My pleasure.
GORANI: Should she resign? She herself said, on May 20th, if I lose six seats, it's essentially a defeat and Jeremy Corbyn will be negotiating
Brexit for the U.K. Now, she wants to cling on to power. Should she go?
GARDINER: Well, that's a very good question. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not Theresa May remains as Prime Minister and the leader of the
Conservative Party may not be in her hands. And I think it will be up to the Conservative Party to decide that in the coming days.
But having said that, I mean, clearly, you now need a period of, I think, the prime party is not in her hands. I expect the party to decide that in
the coming days, but clearly now, you need a period of, I think, stability basically to deliver the Brexit negotiations.
I think Theresa May have made the right decision here to remain as Prime Minister and to build a partnership with the DUP. I think that is the best
way forward. The alternative would have been for Jeremy Corbyn to try and cobble together some sort of a coalition, which would, I think, fail
miserably. So I do think the best course --
[15:45:08] GORANI: But, Nile, it's difficult to see --
GARDINER: -- of action now is have a Conservative government.
GORANI: Sorry to jump in. It's difficult to see how, when she promised a much stronger majority as a result of this or hoped for it, at least.
That, now, having to cobble together this unlikely coalition with the party of Northern Ireland who has very different priorities and even very
different views on how Brexit should work itself out for the country, how is this a strong position to initiate discussions on the most, you know, in
terms of how long it will take, complex and difficult set of talks that Britain will have to enter into in many generations possibly?
GARDINER: Well, clearly, it's not an ideal situation for the Prime Minister. And it has to be said it was a very, very disappointing night
yesterday. But the Conservatives are still is the largest party in the United Kingdom. They were not defeated by the Labour Party, and hence, the
Conservatives have the right to form the government.
And also, with regard with the Democratic Unionist Party, I mean, you know, this is a perfectly reasonable partner to have. I mean, a conservative
party who strongly support Brexit and who side with the Conservatives on nine out of 10 issues, so I think that is a perfectly, reasonable
partnership to be striking here.
GORANI: I have to say, I have trouble understanding how, if she felt her position wasn't strong enough before, how after having herself said that it
would be a loss to lose six seats, she still says she is the best person to lead these negotiations.
GARDINER: Yes. And I think that, you know, this was a, you know, huge political upset, and I think very few people predicted this. We're now in
this situation, but I think that, you know, the way forward is political stability rather than turmoil. And we do have the opportunity now for some
stability, and I think that --
GORANI: But it is turmoil. It is, by definition --
GARDINER: -- the Conservatives are going press ahead --
GORANI: It is, by definition, turmoil.
GARDINER: Yes, well, I mean, there is no real --
GORANI: What's happening now.
GARDINER: -- I think alternative to that right now. And I think that the Conservatives must press ahead with Brexit, deliver the will of the British
people, which most British people support. And even the Labour Party is supporting Brexit.
And so that should be the top priority for Great Britain at this time, delivering Britain sovereignty and self-determination, and that is the task
faced by the Prime Minister. And I do hope that she does her best to deliver it, and I'm sure she will.
GORANI: I mean, obviously, it is going to be complicated. I wonder how European countries, especially those key E.U. members -- I'm talking about
Germany with Angela Merkel, France with Emmanuel Macron -- they're probably watching, with great interest, what's going on in this country.
How is that going to affect how talks unfold between the U.K. and the E.U. as it's in such a weak position right now with so much instability and
uncertainty hanging over the government?
GARDINER: Well, I think the talks, you know, continue regardless, but with an extremely tight majority if there is a partnership with the DUP. I
think there's very little sort of room for maneuver for Theresa May, and I don't think that she would be in any position to be making any sort of
concessions, actually, to the E.U.
I think that the election result actually significantly strengthens the position of the Brexit hardliners within the Conservative Party, and I'd
expect to see Theresa May negotiating in an extremely tough manner with European leaders. And that's actually, I think, a good thing for the
British Prime Minister to --
GORANI: But with what mandate, though, Nile? I don't --
GARDINER: -- aggressively stand --
GORANI: With what mandate? With what mandate is she negotiating in a tough manner here?
GARDINER: The mandate here is two-fold. And firstly, of course, with the referendum. The British public voted for Brexit. Secondly, the
Conservatives remain the single largest party in Great Britain and that is still a mandate and that is a procedure followed in Great Britain as it has
been for centuries. And I think that the Conservatives have every right to move forward with their agenda today.
GORANI: Nile Gardiner, thanks very much. Pleasure having you on. We really appreciate it.
GARDINER: Thank you very much. My pleasure.
GORANI: There is a bit of a mini protest going on behind me, just in case you're wondering what all that ruckus is. A small group of anti-Tory
protesters calling on Theresa May to resign.
We saw some larger demonstrations a bit earlier in other parts of the city. This one is a micro protest, if you will. And I think they've just
dispersed, so I'm able to hear my guests possibly a little bit better going forward.
[15:49:49] Still ahead, young voters are often complacent about turning out to the polls. Not so for this election. The youth votes may have been the
key to Jeremy Corbyn's and Labour's. Some very interesting numbers on the young voter turnout coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: His party came in second, but Jeremy Corbyn exceeded everyone's expectations with his passionate campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY CORBYN, LEADER, LABOUR PARTY: Hi, guys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jeremy.
CORBYN: Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, looking at this, you'd think Jeremy Corbyn won the election and that he has a majority. He doesn't, but he performed so much better
than what the polls were predicting that this was seen as a major victory for him, especially considering he's not necessarily popular within his own
party. He had a warm welcome at Labour Party headquarters after leading his party to a 29-seat gain.
Riding this wave of relative success, Corbyn suggested Theresa May should step down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CORBYN: If there is a message from tonight's results, it is this, the Prime Minister called the election because she wanted a mandate. Well, the
mandate she's got is lost conservative seats, lost votes, lost support, and lost confidence. I would have thought that's enough to go, actually, and
make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That was Jeremy Corbyn yesterday. He held on to his seat easily in Islington.
Joining us to talk about the issues that mattered, especially to young voters, is journalist and filmmaker, Billie J.D. Porter. She joins me now
from Abingdon Green.
How are you? What do you think of the results?
BILLIE J.D. PORTER, JOURNALIST: Well, I guess, to begin with, both very, very optimistic, faith restored. And then, throughout the course of the
day, terrified.
GORANI: Why?
PORTER: I think the prospects of a coalition with the DUP is, yes, just political regression.
GORANI: What about it do you find frightening?
PORTER: Having people who are against the right to an abortion, people who are against the right to same-sex marriage. Yes, I feel like I'm in some
sort of weird dystopian novel.
GORANI: And you think that Theresa May, by forming a coalition with them, will yield some ground to them on some of these social issues? I mean,
it's kind of --
PORTER: Theresa May is very against gay rights, historically, before. I don't think that she represents any of the sort of like moral values that I
believe in and that a lot of people my age believe in. I don't think it's the Britain that we voted for.
GORANI: So you voted obviously. Youth voter turnout, by the way, was dismal in 2015, 44 percent. I don't have the exact figure for this year,
but it's over 70 percent, according to many of the reports I've seen. What do you think made the difference this time around? Why was there more
enthusiasm among young voters?
PORTER: I think that there was more at stake than there ever has been for young people. The Labour Party is saying that they were going to, you
know, stop university fees, not only for prospective students going forward but also to kind of reduce that debt of people who had already graduated.
It's a massive thing.
[15:54:54] And I also think that he kind of galvanized the youth in a way that the Tories didn't. It was quite obvious to us that the Conservative
Party didn't want us to engage. They didn't post once about the deadline to register to vote, whereas the Labour Party posted hundreds of time.
They were relying on older people to vote for them. And I just think it's this thought that's like, you know, vicious circle where, you know, the
elderly vote is more reliable, so they don't speak to the young people because there's no point and it's a waste of their time.
GORANI: Because, historically, it's been more reliable. Especially when it comes to Brexit, for instance, older people voted more than young people
that day.
PORTER: Yes.
GORANI: And you could make the argument, leave that "what if" argument, if younger people had turned out in larger numbers last year, perhaps Brexit
wouldn't have passed.
PORTER: Yes.
GORANI: Is that changing, do you think, in the U.K.?
PORTER: Absolutely.
GORANI: Is there more enthusiasm?
PORTER: Oh, for sure. I think that politics, like, right now, feels less far away than it ever has. It's still incredibly -- you know, it's not
very diverse. I think that, for most people my age, it just seems like old, rich, White guys shouting at each other, which it kind of is. But I
think --
GORANI: Well, you had many women voted in yesterday as well into parliament.
PORTER: Yes. Yes. But there are lots of campaigns behind that. I think this is one of the first kind of campaigns that you've seen where people
are using things like social media, personalities, musicians, actors, people from all kind of sectors, to try and galvanize the youth to make
them realize what's at stake here. Whereas, in the past, it's just been kind of -- no one has spoken to us.
GORANI: What do you think is next now? Because Theresa May, she's holding on to power. She's formed an alliance with the DUP. I could see from what
you're saying you're not a fan necessarily of the DUP.
PORTER: No.
GORANI: You have a pin there, "Stand up to racism," and all those issues that are important to young people obviously, and young people who would
probably not be voting Conservative. What do you think is going to happy to your country? Because after Brexit, after this election, it is the big
unknown, isn't it?
PORTER: Yes, it is the big unknown. I think one of the things that is the most kind of terrifying thing about it, I think that there is this kind of,
you know, state of chaos that everyone is watching. Like, it's completely leaderless.
I don't know what is going to happen. I just came from a protest outside Downing Street, which are these the sort of like -- that's where they're
from.
GORANI: OK.
PORTER: And I mean, people are angry, and rightly so. I don't know what's going to happen. I mean, I personally think that there is going to be sort
of like some dark stuff over the next few weeks. I think it could get pretty ugly.
GORANI: Billie J.D. Porter, thanks very much. Appreciate your time on CNN.
I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN for more on this extraordinary day and week in U.K. politics. Richard Quest is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: Now, that's a sight you want to see. Bank of New York Mellon, a group of lady executives ringing the closing bell at the
end of trading on Wall Street.
[16:00:03] I've got a feeling, a good feeling, with the gavel. Come along! Hit the gavel at the end of trading.
END
