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Hala Gorani Tonight
Updates on Pensacola Naval Air Base Shooting; House Intelligence and Judiciary to Hold Impeachment Hearings Next Week; Sixth Child Dies in Border Patrol Custody; Trump Faces Criticism After NATO Summit; Senior U.K. Diplomat In U.S. Quits, Citing Brexit "Half-Truth"; Activist Thunberg Pressures Governments, Industry. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired December 06, 2019 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:12]
HALA GORANI, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone, and welcome. I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight, we start with breaking news out of Florida, where a Saudi Arabian military trainee is said to be the gunman who opened fire at a U.S. Navy
base there. That is according to five U.S. defense officials.
Three people were killed when this gunman began shooting at a Naval air station in Pensacola. The shooter is also dead, we understand. The FBI
has taken over the investigation. So far, there is no word whether this was terror-related, it's important to underline the fact that these are
initial reports. Investigators say 11 people in all were shot. But as I mentioned, three deaths confirmed.
Our international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins me. He's on his way to Saudi Arabia. But you can join me on the phone, now, Nic. What
more can you tell us about what happened in Florida today, and more about the suspect?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (via telephone): Well, one of the key things about the investigation is going to be the motive of
the suspect. Terrorism is not being ruled out. However, it's far too early to say that there is evidence to support that.
The FBI are on the scene, the governor of Florida has informed President Trump of the situation and what's happening. Of course, this is really out
of the ordinary. It is not unusual to, obviously, to have shootings in the United States, even on military bases. Indeed, they at times seem to be
the location or the occurrence of a number of shootings where there have been a limited number of deaths.
But, as the suspect is now dead, but also believed to be a Saudi military officer in training at the base, this puts a different complexion on it,
but it doesn't point in any particular direction at the moment.
It's not unusual at all, I have to say, for Saudi military officers to train with the U.S. military. There's a huge exchange, as we know, of
defense equipment, of shared training facilities, shared bases.
The two forces work side-by-side. I saw them doing exactly that in Saudi Arabia early last year, on the border with Yemen. There were U.S. military
helicopters, side by side with Saudi helicopters. The two forces use, oftentimes, the same equipment. So this is not uncommon at all, to have a
military officer in training at a U.S. military base.
Of course, it is utterly out of the usual for this to have occurred. So the FBI on the scene, the president's been informed, five U.S. military
officials saying that this was a Saudi military personnel that was the gunman here, and that the gunman dead, along with, as you say, several
others. And 11 people injured.
GORANI: Yes. What more do we know about how the shooting unfolded on this base? Because you're saying it's not unusual, you'd have Saudi military
personnel there for training. Saudi Arabia, of course, buys a lot of arms and weaponry from the United States, there's close cooperation in certain
parts of the globe, you mentioned Yemen.
What more do we know about how this all unfolded in Florida?
ROBERTSON (via telephone): Very few details so far, to be perfectly honest, very few details. And it's not -- it seems to be, given the level
of trust between the two militaries when they work together, this is not a scenario, as you have in Afghanistan, where, on a number of occasions,
Afghan military personnel have suddenly turned their weapons on U.S. military who had been training them inside the country, in Afghanistan.
The situation is not like that.
There is a huge mutual trust between the forces when they're training. And the Saudis (INAUDIBLE) just spoken said, you know, many Saudis who have
been to the United States for military training in the Air Force and other areas, and they all speak very highly of their time there. So this is
unusual.
(INAUDIBLE), why did it happen? Was there an altercation of some description? And obviously, the FBI trying to look now to find out what
the motive was, was there an element of pre-planning involved and what will that tell them about the nature of the attack, the attacker himself.
GORANI: Yes. Nic Robertson is on his way to Saudi Arabia. Thanks very much for that update on our breaking news story.
Let's get some perspective on the base itself. It employs thousands of military and civilian personnel. Retired Rear Admiral John Kirby was once
stationed at this very naval air station in Pensacola. He joins me now from Washington.
[14:05:04]
Talk to us, John, about the base here. This is, as I mentioned, a base where you have thousands of military and civilian personnel. What more do
we know about what happened there today?
JOHN KIRBY, CNN MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: Well, we don't know a whole lot. The answers are still coming forward. We do know that a Saudi
national has been reported as the shooter, and we've got several victims that were killed as well as more wounded.
We -- the only hint that we got about the status of the victims was when the governor of Florida, who just stood up at a press conference, said that
he believed the Saudi government owed a debt to the victims. That would lead one to believe that the victims were in fact Americans, U.S. Navy
personnel. We can't know that for sure, but that was sort of the inference, I think, that he was trying to give.
This is a sprawling base in the south of Pensacola. I lived there for five years, my son was born in the Pensacola naval hospital. We lived on-base.
It is the -- basically known as the cradle of naval aviation. This is where Navy pilots and air crew go to get trained to fly in the jets and the
other kinds of aircraft, helicopters and prop airplanes that the Navy puts into the fleet.
As a part of that training, we also do a fair amount of international exchange work as well. So there are men and women from foreign militaries
that go there to train as well, on the equipment that they will eventually go fly in defense of their own nations and their own national security.
There's also a big component of enlisted training there: air crewmen, maintenance personnel, technicians that work on these airplanes also go
there to train. So it's a big base. Over 20,000 people, takes up a large amount of real estate, South of Pensacola, right there on the bay.
I would also note there's a museum open to the public there, as well as an old Civil War fort that the public can visit --
GORANI: Yes.
KIRBY: -- that's owned by the Park Service. So it's a fairly open base in terms of access.
GORANI: Would visiting military, foreign military personnel be armed on the base, usually?
KIRBY: No, no. Again, this is a training environment, Hala. So these are -- these are aviation students, they're there to learn how to fly and to
maintain aircraft, not to shoot.
There is a firing range on the base for small arms, that is for those, you know, personal owners of their guns that want to practice, but also for the
security personnel on the base. And, really, it's really only the security personnel on-base that are armed on a daily basis. It's not the student
population.
GORANI: And by the way, we don't know what arm was allegedly used, but so it would be unusual for a visiting foreign military trainee to have
weaponry on him?
KIRBY: That is correct. I don't know what the personal firearms regulations are for Naval Air Station Pensacola, but there would be no need
for it, there would be no demand for it, there certainly would be no Navy system in place to allow a foreign national to come on base with a firearm
in the course of their duties as aviation trainees. There's just simply no place for that.
Now, look, pilots need to --
GORANI: And -- yes.
KIRBY: -- know how to use small arms, and so there is a firing range there, so they do get some firearms training. But in terms of personal
ownership of that or keeping a firearm with you during the aviation training process, that's not done.
GORANI: And presumably, when you walk in and out of a training facility, there are no metal detectors or any checks to see if someone is armed when
they shouldn't be?
KIRBY: The force protection at this base, like all of our bases, changes based on the security environment. They can make it more strict, the
protocols, or they can lessen them depending on the environment.
I don't know what kinds of vehicle checks there were in place during this particular day. I'm sure that the Navy's going to look at those protocols
to see if they were being appropriately applied.
But as you enter any U.S. military installation here in the United States, you should be -- you are -- it's made clear to you that your vehicle can be
stopped at the gate and inspected. It's happened to me on a random basis, it happens all the time. And then some days you're waived through, as long
as you have the proper identification.
But, again, it really depends on the security environment they believe they were dealing with today, and whether those protocols were properly in
place.
GORANI: All right. John Kirby, thanks very much. John Kirby actually lived on this naval base in Pensacola. Thanks so much for your thoughts
and analysis. Always appreciate it, John.
We'll have a lot more on our breaking news story when details emerge. We know there was a news conference with officials there. Once we have more
information on how this shooting unfolded and more information on the suspect as well, we will bring it to you.
The latest in U.S. politics, the clock is ticking, the White House faces a deadline of less than three hours from now to decide whether a lawyer will
represent President Trump in next week's impeachment hearings. On Monday, here's what's happening: more hearings. Attorneys for both the House
Judiciary and Intelligence Committees will present their findings against the president.
[14:10:00]
It's expected the full House will vote on articles of impeachment before Christmas. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did a town hall with CNN yesterday
night. She was asked about her longstanding pledge to try to get bipartisan support for the whole impeachment process. She doesn't have it
now, not at all. Here's how she responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Does this mean that you're failing to meet the standard that you set in January?
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): No, understand, the Republicans have failed to meet the standard of honoring their oath of office, to protect and defend
the Constitution of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, let's get the latest from Capitol Hill with CNN politics congressional reporter Lauren Fox. So, Lauren, I mentioned this 5:00 p.m.
deadline. What is -- what are we expecting from the White House? Because what can they do by 5:00? They can ask to be represented in these hearings
next week?
LAUREN FOX, CNN POLITICS CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, essentially, they can let the House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler know whether or
not they plan to participate at all. And, again, it's a very tight turnaround. And if past is prologue, we don't expect that the White House
will necessarily want to participate.
Remember, on Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee had their very first hearing; the White House declined to participate there. So will they
participate in Monday's hearing? I think that's an open question. Will they have a Republican hearing? I think that's still one of the questions
on our minds.
But, you know, things are moving very quickly, Hala. Next week we could see articles of impeachment unveiled. We could also see a vote out of the
House Judiciary Committee to approve those articles and then move them to the House floor the week after. That's the week before lawmakers would
leave for their holiday break, so a very big deal, moving forward in the next couple of weeks as we look forward to what could be a very quick end
to a very long investigation and process in the House of Representatives -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, Lauren Fox. We'll all be watching.
Let's chat a bit more about what happens next in the impeachment battle. I'm joined by CNN political analyst Lisa Lerer. She's also a political
reporter for "The New York Times." Lisa, thanks for being with us. So next week, how significant will next week be? Do you believe that the
White House will want to participate?
LISA LERER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it's pretty unlikely that the White House will participate in this House process, mostly because they've
spent much of the past couple weeks, while this has been going on, talking about how unfair this process was, how they weren't getting a chance to
state their views. So if they come in now, it really undercuts that argument.
We also know from talking to people in the White House, that their focus is really on the Senate process, which could happen as soon as January, after
the House votes --
GORANI: Yes.
LERER: -- this moves over to the Senate, where the White House will have the opportunity, the president's lawyers, to put on a more fulsome case.
So they think that's a better opportunity for them politically.
GORANI: What happens in the Senate? There's a trial, so obviously it doesn't end with impeachment, there's then a trial. It's a Republican-
controlled Senate, no one really expects this to end with the removal of the president. But how significant can it be politically? What will the
political impact of a Senate trial be?
LERER: Oh, it can be very significant politically. First of all, both sides will have the chance to put on their case, so the White House will
have an opportunity to call up people that they might like to hear from. There's a lot of -- the senators, this is going to be something that's very
hard for senators because they're going to have to do something which senators don't really like to do, which is sit and listen. They are not
allowed to talk, they're not even allowed to use their cell phones.
But it will have political ramifications for them, particularly Republican senators in swing states facing tough re-elections may not want the trial
to become a bit of a circus. We're already hearing that from people like that.
Chief Justice John Roberts will preside, so if there's any votes that are tied, he gets the tiebreaking vote on that, so this has ramifications for
the Supreme Court. And of course, it could run into the Democratic primary process for the 2020 election, so it could have ramifications on that side
too. So everyone has some serious political stake in the game here.
GORANI: Yes. So you don't expect, then, in the House phase of things, for the White House to want to participate? But potentially it will happen in
January? I just quickly want to ask you about Jonathan Turley, who was the expert brought in to argue against impeachment. This is what he said
during the hearings a few days ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN TURLEY, PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON LAW SCHOOL: I'm concerned about lowering impeachment standards to fit a paucity of evidence and an
abundance of anger. I believe this impeachment not only fails to satisfy the standard of past impeachments, but would create a dangerous precedent
for future impeachments.
GORANI: But what's interesting is it's worth noting that Professor Turley had a completely opposite attitude, Lisa, about impeachment in '98 when the
Republican House was impeaching the Democratic president Bill Clinton.
[14:15:00]
Back then, Turley wrote, "Impeachment serves a purpose beyond removal... the House does not convict but merely accuses. Thus, the House plays an
important role in deterring presidential misconduct."
I wonder if the Republicans run the risk of looking like they held Bill Clinton to a standard that they're absolutely not holding Donald Trump to.
LERER: Yes. And the -- of course. And the Democrats run the risk of looking like they're overreaching, that they're rushing something --
GORANI: Yes.
LERER: -- through when they don't even have -- I mean, there are no articles of impeachment written yet. They're spending this weekend,
hopefully, drafting them and the vote could come, you know, in under two weeks.
So I think there's real political risks on both sides. But what I think the professor's comments tell us is how much of a political process this
is.
GORANI: Yes.
LERER: We think of impeachment as a government process or, you know, it's about the Constitution. And it is about those things, but at its core this
is about politics. This is about vote-counting in the House and Senate, and about where the American public comes down. Public opinion has a huge
impact on how these --
GORANI: Well, but support --
LERER: -- representatives and senators will (ph) vote (ph).
GORANI: Sorry to jump -- sorry to jump in --
LERER: No, go ahead. Yes.
GORANI: -- but public support for the impeachment inquiry has actually gone down in America, from the -- from the polls I've seen.
LERER: Yes. It depends when you start counting, right? If you're looking from back in the spring, support has ticked steadily up. Perhaps not for
removal, but for moving forward with some kind of process.
GORANI: Yes.
LERER: But in recent weeks, since the hearings began, it's really leveled off. And what we have is both -- unsurprisingly, maybe -- both parties
sort of going to their camps, with Republicans firmly behind the president and Democrats firmly wanting his impeachment, and independents fairly
split.
It's just -- there are -- I think the number of independents supporting impeachment is slightly under 50 percent, so it's a near-even split there.
GORANI: Lisa Lerer, thanks so much -- of "The New York Times." Have a great weekend. Thanks for joining us.
Still to come tonight, we've seen so many heartbreaking images of the migrant crisis at the American border. Now, a newly released video is
raising some serious questions about why one teenage boy died in Border Patrol custody, laying on the floor for hours without being attended to.
I'll be speaking to the deputy managing editor of the news organization that broke this story and published this video. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, let's get the very latest on the Florida shooting. Natasha Chen joins me live now from Pensacola. And, Natasha, I understand you have
more information on the weapon that the suspected shooter used?
NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just heard from several officials here at a press conference at the base of this bridge. We heard
from the governor, from the mayor, from the sheriff. And one thing that the sheriff wanted to emphasize is that because of the nature of this
investigation involving a foreign national, that there are going to be a lot of questions that they cannot answer for us.
[14:20:01]
So the information, he says, is going to be more limited than usual, and to trust them to go through this process involving federal agencies
investigating and figuring out exactly what happened here.
The sheriff also talked about the heroics of their deputies, people in uniform both with the Navy and with the Sheriff's Office, really helping
others who were injured, even when they were wounded themselves. They talked about visiting some of the victims and families, still in hospitals;
some of them are still going through surgery.
Hala, I also want to mention that Governor DeSantis mentioned that he spoke with the president about this foreign national and the fact that there was
training going on for him and other foreign nationals here in Pensacola.
And he said that, you know, there will be a time, down the road, when it is appropriate for this, but he feels that the government of Saudi Arabia
should make things right for the victims here.
So he also talked about this being a dark day for this great place, and that's sort of the sentiment that a lot of them had. They're really just
thankful for the heroics of their people on the ground here today, and thinking of those victims, Hala, right now, who are recovering.
GORANI: All right. Natasha Chen in Pensacola, thanks very much.
I'm just checking my Twitter here. The U.S. president, Donald Trump, just tweeted regarding this shooting in Pensacola. "King Salman of Saudi Arabia
just called to express his sincere condolences and give his sympathies to the families and friends of the warriors who were killed and wounded in the
attack that took place in Pensacola, Florida."
Donald Trump, in a second tweet, writes, "The king said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter, and that
this person in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people who love the American people."
So this tweet, just a couple minutes ago from the U.S. president, you see it on your screen there. We'll have more on this story when we have more
details on it.
Now, U.S. immigration officials are once again facing questions over how they treat migrant children who are supposed to be in their care. Those
questions are louder than ever after a newly released video shows the agonizing final moments of a Guatemalan teen who died in custody without
receiving any help or attention.
A warning, it's shocking video and very disturbing. Nick Valencia walks us through this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the final moments of life for 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant Carlos Hernandez Vasquez. The
video is not only disturbing to watch, it calls into question the official narrative released by Border Patrol after the teen's death in May.
The security footage was first obtained but the investigative team at ProPublica. In the surveillance video from the early morning hours of May
20th, the Guatemalan teen, who was diagnosed with the flu and a 103-degree fever, can be seen inside his cell at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco,
Texas. Time stamps have been added by ProPublica.
At 1:20 a.m., Vasquez is seen laying on a concrete bench, appearing to be in pain. Four minutes later, he collapses on the floor, face down,
clutching a mylar blanket.
After more than 10 minutes and with seemingly no one responding, the teen picks himself up and appears to prop himself against a toilet inside the
cell. His feet can be seen flailing for minutes before the video abruptly ends at 1:47 a.m.
According to Welfare Check records obtained by ProPublica, Border Patrol says an agent checked on Vasquez three times over the next four and a half
hours. The log does not indicate how those checks were done.
At 5:48 a.m., the video begins again. Officials did not provide an explanation for the gap. Vasquez still hasn't moved.
In an official press release by Border Patrol, the agency says Vasquez was found unresponsive during a welfare check. But video shows it isn't until
Vasquez' cell mate wakes up that anyone realizes something is wrong. Several agents are then seen tending to Vasquez, but it's already too late.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And thanks to Nick Valencia for that report. As Nick said, ProPublica is the nonprofit news organization that first obtained the video
of the teenager's death. Eric Umansky is ProPublica's deputy managing editor, and he joins me now.
Eric, who is this young man? A Guatemalan teen, 16 years old, he was diagnosed with the flu. He was, in fact, in a holding facility for sick
migrants. Why did he die?
ERIC UMANSKY, DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, PROPUBLICA: Thanks for having me. So Carlos Hernandez Vasquez, as you've said, a 16-year-old boy. He made
his way up from Guatemala, he came with his sister, actually, who's an adult.
And they crossed the border, they presented themselves to authorities, and then they were detained. What's supposed to happen is they're supposed to
be quickly -- the minors are supposed to be quickly transferred to shelters or family. And that didn't happen here. He wasn't given the appropriate
treatment, and he died as a result.
[14:25:13]
GORANI: But the official account contradicts what the video shows, right? Because the video, I understand ProPublica acquired from law enforcement,
from police. Border Patrol initially said they conducted welfare checks, but that's not what the video shows.
UMANSKY: Yes. So the video actually shows that the facts seem to contradict the government's account in two different ways. One is that in
the -- the government said that they were, as you've noted, were doing repeated wellness checks, is what they call them. And then during one of
those wellness checks, the boy was found.
In fact, what we see from the video is, though a log shows that somebody, you know, noted welfare checks had been done, the boy, Carlos collapsed and
his body stopped moving hours before he was discovered, so that's one thing. If they were conducting wellness checks, they weren't very good
wellness checks because they didn't notice that he had stopped moving and was splayed on the ground.
And then, second of all, he was not discovered by border agents or government officials. He was discovered -- and the video shows this quite
clearly -- by his cell mate, who was actually another sick boy who found him on the ground. You can see him, though, then going to the door,
alerting government agents and then coming in.
So that's two ways in which this -- in which it contradicts the government story.
GORANI: But I guess my question is, why are sick children being held in this way? The cell looks -- it's very bare and basic, they don't even have
a bed. If these boys are ill, and so severely ill that they might even die from some sort of respiratory infection of pneumonia, or I'm not sure
exactly what killed this young man, but something severe enough that he lost his life, why are they held in such conditions? What do Border Patrol
officials say about that?
UMANSKY: Well, border officials have a few specific answers. For this, they say, for example, that they were mistaken about his age, and that that
delayed his transfer. They also are not getting into details about this case because they say it's under investigation.
The broader reality of this is that Border Patrol was never designed to -- and doesn't really have capacity to hold people for any length of time,
right? And they should be transferred.
But what has happened because of the stricter policies of the Trump administration is, they've now been stuck with this new role that they
simply don't have the capacity and expertise for.
One of the things we noted is that last year, there were 20 medical staff working for Border Patrol across about 2,000 miles. And you can do the
math, that's not a lot of staff. So --
GORANI: Yes.
UMANSKY: -- you end up having some real failures here. And in this case, you know, a nurse had said he should have been checked on, it was written
down in her orders. He was not apparently checked on. They said if he got worse or even remained the same, he should go to the hospital. He did not
go to the hospital. He was instead transferred to another facility that was a quarantine for other kids with the flu.
GORANI: Right. And you tweeted that there's more to come in this investigation? What is ProPublica working on in terms of how some of these
kids are held in border facilities?
UMANSKY: Well, broadly speaking, we are -- we have been doing a lot of reporting about Border Patrol and related agencies. And we're going to
continue doing that. We have interest both in these specific cases, the treatment of children, and more broadly, how the system is working overall.
And I would just say quickly, if people have information, we are very interested in hearing it.
GORANI: All right. And they can actually find that link on -- I know you tweeted it out. And this would be the sixth minor migrant death in U.S.
custody, I understand?
UMANSKY: That's correct. And that's a little bit of critical context to understand. This was the sixth death of a child who had been detained by
Border Patrol in less than a year.
In the 10 years prior to that, there had not been one death of a minor.
[14:30:00]
GORANI: Eric Umansky, thanks very much, the deputy managing editor at ProPublica.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: When world leaders face controversies at home, they often look forward to international gatherings where they can change the subject and
display foreign policy leadership.
But if U.S. President Donald Trump hoping this week's NATO summit would be a counterpoint to the impeachment proceedings in Washington, well, he may
have been disappointed.
Mr. Trump butted head with his fellow NATO leaders prompting commentators at home, and in Europe to question how much respect he has from his peers.
And then there was that whole video that appeared to show world leaders mocking Donald Trump, including Justin Trudeau talking about 40-minute news
conference if off the top.
David Sanger is a CNN political analyst and a national security correspondent for the New York Times.
And, David, before we talked about what happened at NATO, the president tweeted that King Salman of Saudi Arabia has extended his condolences to
the United States after authorities say a Saudi national is suspected of having gunned down people at a Pensacola Naval Base.
That was a very, very fast tweet from the president, just practically minutes after the attack itself. What do you make of it?
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, what I make of it is this, Hala, that the Saudis and the Americans both realize that there's huge
potential for blowback here. You'll remember that after 9/11, there was all the criticism about how quickly President Bush got members of the Bin
Laden family out of the country.
The United States never quite new had a go deal with the fact that so many of the hijackers were Saudi.
And now, President Trump having emerged from a year of basically ignoring evidence for making excuses for the Saudis for the killing of Jamal
Khashoggi, the distant columnist for the Washington Post, finds himself with a shooting that appears to have been done by member of the Saudi Air
Force, by the Saudi elite.
Now, we don't know whether this was personally motivated or whether it was terrorism, and we're going to have to wait to find out.
But the speed with which King Salman called tells me they realized they had to head off a problem.
GORANI: Right. Yes, I agree with you on that one. Now, what happened at this NATO summit, they didn't call it a summit, because they didn't want to
have to issue or communicate that the president wouldn't sign but there was, of course, that video that went viral featuring Justin Trudeau,
Emmanuel Macron, Boris Johnson, even Princess Anne, the daughter of the Queen appearing to mock Donald Trump.
[14:35:03]
I want our viewers -- refresh our viewer's memories and roll this video and then get your thoughts after that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: He was late because he takes a 40-minute of press conference off the top every time.
Oh, yes, yes, yes, 40. He announced.
I just watched his team's jaws just drop to the floor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So, David, and presidential and political observers and experts have pointed that this is one thing that would really irk Donald Trump,
this notion that somehow as if some sort of schoolyard snickering behind his back and making fun of him.
But what should people make of the fact that the U.S. president is being discussed in this way when his back is turned?
SANGER: You know, it's really fascinating that those during the 2016 campaign, what was the Donald Trump line about the United States? They're
laughing at us because we're weak. Remember how many times you heard that?
And now, the laughter which you saw on the video is not because of American strength of weakness but because they are regarding the president as
basically a camera hog who was more interested in the press conference part of the summit meeting that actually meeting the leaders and burns up his
time, you know, in front of the camera.
And nothing stings Donald Trump more than being mocked and not being the central force in the entire operations. And you saw he picked up and left
early.
GORANI: Yes. He was meant to actually hold a news conference and he said, I've spoken enough, after calling Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime
minister two-faced. He said, I think I've answered enough, I'm off. And then he just went back to Washington, which by the way was a surprise to
our team. They waiting for that news conference.
And by the way, Joe Biden who is the front runner still in the democratic field quickly -- his campaign quickly ceased on this video. It was a very
rapid turnaround and included these world leaders seemingly appearing to mock Trump in a new campaign video. I want our viewers to see this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The right to be educated, the right to marry who you choose, the right to live free from the threat of violence
and fear, these are basic fundamental, universal human rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. Unfortunately, that's not, at all, the section that I want our viewers to see but they featured that video and also you'll
remember at the U.N. general assembly a speech where he said he was the greatest president of all -- in U.S. history, and people laugh there as
well.
What political impact do you think this will have?
SANGER: Well, you know, this might be the first effective Biden ad that we've seen because it does two things, one, it gets across the concept that
you haven't gotten strength after all the bluster.
Whether voters believe that or not or believed that Biden would lead a more -- strength is another question. But it certainly takes you there.
But the second thing it does is it's designed to get underneath the President Trump's skin, to do in other words. But the president has done
so often with nicknames, you know, Sleepy Joe Biden, Pocahontas, or Senator Warren, you know, so forth and so on.
And it's beginning to try to turn a little bit of the president's own medicine on him. We just don't know how that will play yet.
GORANI: Do you think that world leaders are just -- I mean, I'm talking about the Trudeau's, the Macrons are just trying to weigh this out and just
hoping that the U.S. president will lose next November?
SANGER: They are playing with fire, but they're also playing a dangerous game. Because if President Trump wins reelection, as you know, he's a man
who holds grudges and he is going to come back out, you know, after them in many ways that he can.
Think about what got us into the impeachment inquiry to begin with. This Trump notion that the Ukrainians were out to get him during the election.
Separate the portion of the fact that President Zelensky was not the president in power during the 2016 election. But then it was the
Ukrainians, generally, that they're all corrupt, they were all after Trump.
So you could imagine if you're a Canadian leader of a French leader, you're going to have an issue.
GORANI: Yes. I have to go, but I mean observers have found it surprising that the president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is actually, as we
speak, in Ukraine talking to former officials over there trying still to whip up some sort of support for this debunked conspiracy theory that it
was Ukraine that interfered in the 2016 election and not Russia.
This is a Kremlin line and this goes against every intelligence agency conclusion in the United States
[14:40:05]
GORANI: This has been done all out in the open. Yes, go ahead.
SANGER: I spoke to -- I spoke to Mr. Giuliani about two weeks ago before he went, he said he was going to continue his investigation. Even he does
not believe that the Ukrainians have the servers and so forth, but he does believe the Biden stuff is all legitimate for him. It is pretty remarkable
that he's back there right now.
GORANI: Yes. The Biden stuff -- that Biden tried to what, get rid of the prosecutor --
SANGER: Right. That in other words, he believes there's a lot of evidence that Biden was trying to remove, the prosecutor and helped his son. I have
not seen anything I find convincing along those lines. Vice President Biden was doing what the IMF and others were trying to do at the time, the
International Monetary Fund, which was removed what they believe was a corrupt prosecutor. But Mr. Giuliani is convinced that he can find this
evidence.
GORANI: And my next story is about these jobs numbers, by the way, and I'm not asking you to analyze the jobs numbers. But I mean, we -- incumbent
presidents with economies firing on all cylinders. Usually win reelection, I wonder --
SANGER: That's absolutely right, 260,000 jobs. That's a very impressive number by anybody's measure. And in the end, all the noise you're hearing
on impeachment, on Ukraine, and all that, may matter a whole lot less in how the economy looks like in October of 2020.
GORANI: Thanks very much, David Sanger. A pleasure. Have a great weakened.
And we were talking with David about these jobs numbers. Well, it's not just the job creation figures, and those are stellar. It's also that wages
have gone up. And that was always something that was missing during the recovery. The jobs numbers were up but that wages were stagnant.
In this case, we have higher job numbers, much higher than expected but also higher wages, and that's something that's very important because it
increases purchasing power for ordinary consumers and Americans that keeps this economy going strongly.
And you can see the Dow Jones quickly -- the Dow Jones Industrial Average. There it is. Up 300 and almost 50 points, one in a quarter percent at
28,000 and change.
Moving on to what? I'll wait for you to tell me. Oh, here we go.
This story. A senior British diplomat has quit her job with a scathing resignation letter that blasted the government of the United Kingdom over
its handling of what else, Brexit.
Alexandra Hall Hall was the lead envoy for Brexit in the British embassy in Washington. And CNN obtained her resignation letter where she says she
could no longer "peddle half-truths" on behalf of political leaders she did not trust.
The British foreign office says it will not comment on the details of her resignation but she has put in that resignation saying she just can't work
in her position anymore.
Now Brexit is not explicitly on the ballot in next week's U.K. election, but political parties are using the issue to rally their supporters. Some
like the Liberal Democrats are pushing to cancel Brexit altogether.
CNN's Scott McLean spoke with the leader of the Liberal Democrats to find out why she is campaigning against the decision that, after all, has
already been made.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jo Swinson may be a boxing novice, but she's taking a big swing at Brexit. Despite the
unmistakable message voters sent to Westminster in 2016.
GORANI: Fifty-two percent to 48 percent nationwide in favor of Brexit.
MCLEAN: Swinson, the fresh faced leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats is aiming to capitalize on the central issue of the election campaign,
Brexit. She's courting the 48 percent who voted to remain by pledging to cancel Brexit altogether, revoking the Article 50 process. No debate, no
vote.
JO SWINSON, BRITISH LIBERAL DEMOCRAT LEADER: This is a Democratic election now and people can make a choice. And if they want to stop Brexit as
Liberal Democrats, we're standing up from what we believe is the right position.
MCLEAN (on-camera): Do you not respect the 52 percent of people who voted to leave the E.U. or do you just think that you know better than them?
SWINSON: I respect them and I respectfully disagree with them.
MCLEAN: Swinson's Party is pulling a distant third nationally, but hopes to do better after making a pact with two smaller pro-remain parties who've
agreed not to stand against each other in 60 constituencies, all to consolidate the remain vote.
The Green Party is part of that pact, but candidate Caroline Lucas is no fan of Swinson's plan to cancel Brexit without a vote.
IAIN DALE, RADIO PRESENTER, LBC: We just want you had fans on the second one. I want to play you a clip.
CAROLINE LUCAS, MEMBER, PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: You want to send a message to 17.4 million people but you don't give a (BLEEP) about what I
just said. Why don't you just say something?
DALE: Caroline Lucas, you potty mouth.
LUCAS: In my defense, I didn't realize that that was being recorded. So, although I stand by the sentiment.
[14:45:01]
MCLEAN (voice-over): On his call in radio show host, Ian Dale, regularly gets an earful from voters who feel like it's the political establishment
and the country's elites calling the shots, not them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There reason to center-left party that hasn't betrayed the vote that the referendum campaign called for.
The people who lost the referendum can't really bear it. They think the people who voted for Brexit was stupid, thick, racist, whatever. And they
just haven't come to terms with that result. And I'm afraid I don't think they ever will.
MCLEAN: And it's not just Swinson, Dale thinks politicians of all stripes have spent the last three years only pretending to move ahead on Brexit.
DALE: What they're actually doing is subverting democracy and it's a very dangerous game that they're playing.
MCLEAN: But they're not very subtle anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of them were subtle than others.
MCLEAN: Subtly it seems is no longer required. Only one major party, conservative, has promised to follow through with Brexit. The Scottish
National Party has vowed to remain and the opposition Labour Party wants a second referendum.
So, while Swinson's odds of becoming Prime Minister are long, she doesn't need to win outright to derail Brexit.
I wonder what kind of precedent you think that's sets for democracy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be a lot of people that withdraw from the Democratic process altogether. They will think what is the point of voting
if the politicians and the elites in Westminster don't respect that vote?
(CROWD CHANTING)
MCLEAN: Scott McLean, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Still to come tonight. She brings power and passion to the world's climate emergency. Young activist, Greta Thunberg, takes center
stage at a big gathering in Madrid. That is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Diplomats and heads of state are among the thousands of people talking policy at a global climate conference in Madrid. There is one name
in face that everyone is looking towards, Sweden's 16 year-old powerhouse, Greta Thunberg. The young activist who doesn't suffer fool's gold. Says
these meetings represent the point of no return in the climate emergency.
Arwa Damon has more for us now in some of the voices of the COP 25 conference as the Paris Climate Agreement is about to go into effect.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Greta Thunberg was most certainly greeted, mobs, in fact, by other activists and the media as
soon as she did arrive in Madrid.
And, Hala, as you know, Greta has really become the key figure in this global youth movement, that is demanding that government leaders and
corporations actually, seriously, immediately deal with the climate crisis.
They, and she, and particular are very eloquent when it comes to expressing their anger and their frustration. Here is what she had to say at a panel
in Madrid.
[14:50:59]
GRETA THUNBERG, SWEDISH ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST: I sincerely hope that the COP 25 will lead to something concrete. And that will lead to also to an
increase in awareness among people in general, and that we -- that's the world leaders that people in power gross the urgency of the climate crisis
because it -- right now, it doesn't seem like they are.
DAMON: It is quite shocking when you think that emissions have actually gone up in the last year, and that is perhaps an indication of just how
dire this situation is, because it's not just that our planet is undeniably warning that we have as the science itself has proven come very, very close
to what is being described as this global tipping point.
It's that it would seem that success of government are not taking the issues seriously enough. And unlike other crisis where inaction, the
impact of inaction tends to, most of the time, be limited to the area where that crisis is unfolding.
When it comes to the climate crisis, inaction, on this particular front, that will doom all of us, Hala.
GORANI: Arwa. Thanks very much for that. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: People in India are in constant search of relief from scorching temperatures. One New Delhi architect has discovered that nature is a
magnificent teacher when it comes to innovative designs to keep cool. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Monish Siripurapu is an architect by trade, who lives and works in New Delhi. Recent advances and computation of analysis and
building techniques enabled him to become a green, innovator and impacts the billion people living in India.
Monish has reimagined an age old ecofriendly cooling system providing welcome relief for India's sweltering heat.
MONISH SIRIPURAPU, FOUNDER, ANT STUDIO: Cooling the building or getting in terms of comfort for all spaces is taking a 40 percent of the energy
reserve in the entire world. It's a massive problem, not for just India or Delhi, for the entire world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Air-condition is consumed large amounts of energy. They released gases into the atmosphere and contribute to global climate
change.
SIRIPURAPU: It is really important to find all the ordinary solutions to the conception that are rarely are resource sensitive and also on energy
consumption, so that would not put so much pressure on the environment and the energy resources that we have.
Monish's solution is an eco-friendly cooling system that could be trace back to ancient times.
SIRIPURAPU: If you look at the way we use to cool those spaces before 100 years, before air-condition was introduced, we are living with passive
cooling methods, natural ventilation systems.
He's adapting an (INAUDIBLE) cooling method into a modern design. He calls it the beehive due to its honeycomb structure.
SIRIPURAPU: We're in a factory right now where we install the beehive in front of a (INAUDIBLE) and it will also 10 meters per second.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the water recirculates, it falls on the parts and generates cool air.
SIRIPURAPU: I think every architect, designer, and also the engineer who's actually making this space, they should really think about environment
before they make anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Monish wants to see sustainability at the heart of his designs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:55:08]
GORANI: Finally, her 14 years as German chancellor in that time, Angela Merkel, has traveled the world.
But today, she visited a place she'd never been before, Auschwitz. Merkel has visited other holocaust memorials in the past but never the most deadly
of the Nazi concentration camps.
No official reason was given for her visit, this particular visit, but it comes at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise in Germany.
And the chancellor did not mince words in speaking about Germany's shame for the holocaust.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): For me, it is anything but easy to stand here before you and to speak to you. I am
filled with deep shame and the face of the barbaric crimes that were committed here by Germans. Crimes that are unacceptable, that defy our
imagination that are inconceivable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And there she is during her visit, Merkel said that the horror on confronting Auschwitz left her at a loss for words at times. But that we
must never remain silent in the face of tyranny, she said, and also that we must not forget.
That's going to do it for me. I'm Hala Gorani. Thanks for watching our program, coming to you live from CNN London. Do stay with CNN. My
colleague, Richard Quest is in London, and "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is coming your way next after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
