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Bolivian Officials Arrest Former Army Chief After the Failed Coup Attempt; All Systems Go for Thursday's Biden-Trump Rematch at CNN Presidential Debate; Kenyan President Withdraws Tax Bill Owing to Violent Protests; Sunak, Starmer Vies for the Electoral Race in the United Kingdom as Prime Minister; Georgia Enters EURO 2024 Round of 16; U.S. to Receive Two New Giant Pandas for the First Time in More Than 20 Years. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired June 27, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Hello, and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Max Foster, coming up on "CNN Newsroom."
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A failed coup attempt leaves Bolivia on edge. The president calling the public to mobilize in defense of democracy as officials arrest the military rebels. We're live in the region.
Plus, we're just hours away from the Biden-Trump rematch in America's first presidential debate of the year.
And the president of Kenya backs down after a controversial tax bill sent protesters storming into the streets and into the halls of parliament.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from London, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Max Foster.
FOSTER: Bolivia's former army chief is under arrest after attempting a coup and failing spectacularly. This all unfolded on Wednesday in the capital, La Paz, where troops surrounded government buildings and armored vehicles were seen trying to break down the doors of the presidential palace.
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But military police pulled back just a few hours later, pulled them back after the newly appointed head of the army ordered them to leave. The accused architect of the coup, Juan Jose Zuniga, had lost his job on Tuesday for reportedly threatening to block a presidential bid by former Bolivian President Evo Morales. Before his arrest, Zuniga claimed the people have no future, and it's the army that's looking out for their well-being. President Luis Arce called on Bolivians to organize and mobilize in defense of democracy.
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Crowds flooded into La Paz's main square in support of the government and to demonstrate against the attempted coup.
CNN's Julia Vargas -- Vargas-Jones rather, is covering this for us from Los Angeles. It was a spectacular failure, wasn't it? What do you understand happened here?
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Max, it was just so fast. You know, those tanks came in, those armored vehicles came into Camargo Square. They ran into the presidential residence.
We see that former chief of the military walk in. He's followed by a handful, a handful of troops with him. They have their faces covered. They go in and then we have this fantastic image, this video of the president and the former head of the military facing off inside the palace. What happens here is that basically the president just shoos him away, and that's remarkable.
You know, quite a few moments after that, Arce comes out and he speaks to his supporters who, as you mentioned, came out en masse to thank them, to say, look, Bolivia will not stand for another coup and it deserves democracy. That message was echoed by leaders across the world, Max, all of them, of course, saying, condemning today's events.
FOSTER: Yeah, Evo Morales, probably the best-known politician, isn't he, internationally from the country. What was his role here, do you think?
VARGAS JONES: Well, look, Max, this is all about whether or not Evo Morales can run in the 2025 presidential elections. It's not necessarily about Zuniga, it's not necessarily about Arce. Behind it all is his bid for coming back to power. It's not even re-election.
He's been out of the government for about five years. He's served the three terms already. According to Bolivian constitution, he shouldn't have served a third one. He was allowed to because of a technicality, basically, that legislation wasn't in place when he served his third term.
But now he's asking for another one. He said he wanted to run, but Arce is his hand-picked candidate. In 2020, after Bolivia went through all of that turmoil, Arce was the person that Morales chose to be in power. And this move, saying that he wants to go back into power, is seen as challenging his very own successor, which, of course, he has had his set of challenges.
Bolivia has been going through a rough time economically. They've had reduced energy production, inflation prices have skyrocketed, and that has generated some dissatisfaction from the Bolivian people.
But you have to remember, he is a towering figure. He's got so much political power. Evo Morales, it's difficult to go against him. He, of course, lifted so many Bolivians out of poverty. But in 2016, Bolivia said very clearly through a referendum that they would not allow him to come back into power, Max.
FOSTER: Julia Vargas-Jones, thank you for that update.
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We are just hours away now from the biggest event so far of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign, and that is the first debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The 90-minute face-off will take place at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta. It's the earliest general election debate ever, and the first between a president and a former president. It's also the first with a convicted felon.
The stage is set and the podiums are in place. The two men will be standing just eight feet apart, much closer than any other time that they've debated. There's no clear leader in CNN's latest poll of polls, and there's been no shortage of dissatisfaction for months now with either candidate. We're expecting close scrutiny of both men's age and mental acuity, the economy, immigration, crime, amongst the most important issues for voters.
We have more now on how Donald Trump is preparing for the debate from CNN's Kristen Holmes. But first, MJ Lee tells us what President Biden is expecting.
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MJ LEE, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There is one separate category of incoming from Donald Trump that President Biden, we are told, is preparing for, and that is potential personal insults and attacks aimed not just at the president but members of his family as well.
A Biden adviser tells me that in debate prep sessions at Camp David, the president and his team have been preparing for the president to respond to those kinds of potential attacks thrown his way by the former president.
And while this adviser wouldn't elaborate, of course, still fresh for President Biden is the news from earlier this month that his son, Hunter, was convicted on three felony gun charges. This was a legal saga that was extremely painful for the entire Biden family.
And of course, what's incredible is that the president has already experienced his son, Hunter, being attacked by the former president on the debate stage. And that was back in 2020 when President Trump said that Hunter Biden had been dishonorably discharged from the military for cocaine use. To be clear, he had been administratively discharged, which is different.
He also mocked Hunter Biden for not getting a job, he said, until his father had become vice president. And the moment where President Biden defended Hunter Biden in response ended up being a moment that aid said afterwards really resonated with American voters. There's a moment where the president at the time was able to really connect with different American families who have had experience with family members dealing with addiction issues. So all of this just goes to show the level to which the Biden team has
really been trying to prepare the president for anything and everything that the former president might throw his way on Thursday night.
MJ Lee, CNN, Atlanta, Georgia.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, former President Trump said the day before the debate at his Mar-a-Lago home with some of his closest senior advisers, his other aides and advisers were here in Atlanta getting ready to greet the former president. Now, one of the things I heard from a number of these advisers and allies close to Donald Trump was a change in posture when it came to the format of the debate.
For weeks, they have been criticizing the format, particularly the fact that the mics would be muted and that there would be no live audience. Part of the complaint was that Donald Trump, they say, feeds off of the audience, that he gets his energy from the audience, that any kind of environment without that would harm him.
However, what we've started to hear from these same allies is that they're actually hoping that this helps the former president stay on message. They have honed into him that the most important thing that he needs to do on Thursday is focus on three topics. One, the economy and inflation in particular. Two, immigration and three, crime.
The reason they are focusing on these three issues is because looking at recent polling, it shows that Donald Trump pulls ahead of President Joe Biden in these areas with voters and they want him to continue to hammer that down. They are hoping that without a live audience, he won't go on those riffs and rants you see traditionally at his big rallies.
The other part of this is those muted mics. They had said that part of his strategy at one point was the fact that he was very aggressive going after Biden. Now, they are hoping that because the mics are muted, it seems like he is less aggressive, more on message.
One of the things Donald Trump himself seems to have done in the last several days is reflect on his own past performances. He did a very candid interview with "Washington Examiner," which he said he was too aggressive in the debate in 2020 with Joe Biden. Now, of course, it is still unclear what version of Donald Trump is going to show up on Thursday. Perhaps the former president himself doesn't know.
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But one thing that is clear is that his senior advisers, allies, everyone in his orbit is stressing to him the gravity of this moment and how he needs to remain focused and on message.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, Atlanta, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE) FOSTER: The CNN U.S. Presidential Debate tonight. You can watch it live, 9 p.m. Eastern in the U.S., 9 a.m. Friday in Hong Kong, 2 a.m. here in London.
Protesters in Kenya are set to take to the streets once again in the coming hours for a one million people march. It comes after more than a week of deadly protests over a controversial finance bill that made its way through parliament. Protesters torched government buildings and cars around Nairobi in response. In a surprising turn of events on Wednesday, Kenyan President William Ruto withdrew the bill after vowing to protect the country from violence.
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WILLIAM RUTO, KENYAN PRESIDENT: I concede. And therefore, I will not sign the 2024 finance bill. And it shall subsequently be withdrawn. And I have agreed with these members that that becomes our collective position.
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FOSTER: Well, at least 23 people died in clashes with police, according to a Kenyan civil society organization. Kenya's president reports six people were killed in the violence.
CNN's Victoria Rubadiri is following developments for us from Nairobi. What was the reaction to that announcement then?
VICTORIA RUBADIRI, CNN REPORTER: Well, the reaction from the protesters, from Kenyans in general, was it's a little too late. This is after several killings that were witnessed in the protests that happened on Tuesday and last Thursday.
Kenyans feeling that this message from the president and the withdrawal should have happened a lot earlier than it did yesterday. And of course, the number of lives that were lost were clearly unfortunate. And so Kenyans feeling we're still coming out to the streets. We're still going to have our voice heard.
And they want to put several demands on the table, including having the withdrawal of M.P.s, who they feel did not have their interests on the floor of Parliament when it came to this finance bill, Max.
FOSTER: In terms of the one million people march, just explain what that's about, what we'll see.
RUBADIRI: Well, we're likely to see more numbers as compared to Tuesday, at least from the chatter you're seeing on social media. The ground zero for them is a state house, which is just down the road behind me. You can see a heavy police presence that's been stepped up as they anticipate the protesters to make their way there.
However, there's been a slight change in tone on social media as well. Some saying that it could be significantly dangerous for many of them, considering what happened on Tuesday at Parliament buildings. And so many have been asked to stay away. Whether they heed to those calls is yet to be seen.
But for now, right now, Max, it is pretty quiet until we see if the numbers gather later in the day.
FOSTER: OK, Victoria Rubadiri in Nairobi. Thank you. We'll wait and see what happens.
Julian Assange's wife is asking for privacy now that her husband is home in Australia. And the free man, the WikiLeaks founder, agreed to a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors on a single espionage related charge. Journalist Alex Thomas has details.
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ALEX THOMAS, JOURNALIST: Julian Assange's opponents said he should not and would not be given a hero's welcome on his return to Australia. But there was a celebratory atmosphere when hundreds of his supporters turned up to this hotel near Canberra airport to catch a glimpse of the WikiLeaks founder. In the end, Assange didn't speak to the media, but his lawyers and his wife did.
STELLA ASSANGE, JULIAN ASSANGE'S WIFE: He needs to recuperate. And this is a process. I ask you, please, to give us space, to give us privacy, to find our place, to let our family be a family before he can speak again at a time of his choosing.
THOMAS: It has been a whirlwind 48 hours for Assange since news broke that he had agreed a plea bargain with the US Department of Justice released from the high security Belmarsh prison in London to fly to a court hearing in Saipan, where a judge agreed to the deal of time already served and released him.
Then another flight, more than six and a half hours to Australia's capital, landing after the country's Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, had welcomed his release and into the arms of his wife, the first time he had ever spent time with her as a free man.
Alex Thomas, Canberra, Australia.
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FOSTER: Now, for the second time in two years, a major abortion opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court has mistakenly been released before the official decision.
A document related to a case about Idaho's strict abortion ban was briefly posted on the court's website on Wednesday. The unsigned opinion, reviewed by Bloomberg News, showed three conservative justices: John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, sided with the court's three liberals to block Idaho from enforcing a ban which only allows abortions if pregnant women's life is at stake, but not her health.
It would be a win for the Biden administration if it stands. Two years ago, a draft of the high court's opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was also released prematurely and it was essentially the same as the final opinion that was issued weeks later.
Now, still to come, an Israeli government spokesperson talks about the future of Gaza after the war ends, even as strikes in the enclave continue. We'll have the latest in a live report.
Plus, British voters are just days away from deciding whether Rishi Sunak and his conservative party will continue to lead the country. Details on that coming up.
And later, a dramatic finish to the group stage at the European Football Championship will have the highlights and a preview of the round of 16.
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FOSTER: Tensions again flaring on Israel's northern border. Lebanon's state media reports that Israel launched two air-to-surface missiles on the southern side of one city. At least 19 people were reported injured after a building was destroyed.
The Israeli defense forces didn't immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. Earlier, Israel said firefighters responded to fires in two buildings in the northern part of the country that it says were the result of rocket fire from Lebanon.
Meanwhile, in the south of Lebanon, in Gaza, the war continues and a warning, the images you're about to see are disturbing. Hospital officials say an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the enclave killed at least eight Palestinians, including three children. This comes as the Israeli prime minister's office says the government is looking for Gaza civilians as well as countries in the region to run the territory after the war ends. But it did make clear that that day would come only once Hamas is defeated.
CNN's Nada Bashir joins us with more on this. And they are talking more and more, aren't they, about what it will look like after the war?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And there's been growing pressure from international allies, including the U.S., on Israel to come up with some sort of post-war governance plan for Gaza. There has been some suggestion in the past from the Israeli government that there would be a prolonged security presence, in those words, by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip that has been repeatedly rejected, both by Hamas officials and, of course, by the Palestinian Authority, who want to see Palestinian autonomy in the Gaza Strip.
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But, of course, there is that pressure from the international community. We know that Yoav Gallant, the defense minister, was meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who also pushed on the Israeli government in this recent visit to come up with some sort of post-war plan. And now, according to the Israeli prime minister's office, the Israeli government is looking into this, looking at Palestinians within Gaza, as well as regional countries, regional allies or, rather, partners who could help in the running of the Gaza Strip after the war comes to an end.
But, as you mentioned, they have made clear that this is not something they will be considering until Hamas is defeated. But we have seen a bit of a shift in the language now from the Israeli government, rather than a total eradication of Hamas, as we've heard in the past from the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as from more far-right members of his cabinet.
Some are saying now within the government that, actually, this doesn't mean killing and destroying the entire Hamas organization, but, rather, diminishing its ability to govern and also, of course, its military abilities, and that is something that the U.S. believes that the Israeli military has done already over the course of the war in the Gaza Strip.
But, of course, this really does stand at odds to what the Palestinian Authority has long pushed for in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Authority leaders, as well as, of course, Hamas officials, repeatedly saying now that there cannot be security, long-standing security, between the Israelis and the Palestinians and, in particular, for the Palestinian community until there is an end, in their eyes, to Israeli occupation in the occupied West Bank and, of course, in parts of Jerusalem, but also until there is autonomy for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
FOSTER: And do we have any more clarification about this member of Doctors Without Borders who was killed?
BASHIR: Well, that's right. So, Fadi Al-Wadi, a physiotherapist with Doctors Without Borders, he was, of course, killed in an Israeli strike. The Israeli military and government say that they were targeting what they've described as a terrorist.
They believe he was a part of Islamic jihad. In response, there has been a statement now from Doctors Without Borders saying that he was executed by an Israeli strike, that there is no proof, in their words, of any wrongdoing on his part, that there was no justification for his targeting and that Doctors Without Borders had not been made aware of this potential strike nor the targeting of Al-Wadi by the Israeli military ahead of this. They are now calling for an independent investigation.
FOSTER: OK. Nada, thank you.
Candidates are making their final pitches to voters ahead of Friday's presidential election in Iran following the helicopter crash that killed President Ibrahim Raisi last month. Only six out of 80 initial candidates were given the green light to run for the post by the country's Guardian Council, five of them hardliners and no women approved.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen went to one of the frontrunners' rallies. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A children's group warms up the crowd. But things really heat up when Mohamed Bahr Ghalibaf enters the room, one of the leading conservatives in the presidential race.
The first thing people expect is economic development, he says. There is no doubt that this development can happen through the path of elections.
Ghalibaf's supporters saying they also want a hard line towards the U.S. and Israel.
Under any condition, we will be supporting the oppressed and fighting our enemies, this man says. We are very determined. And he says Ghalibaf is the one who supports the Supreme Leader and follows him. Whatever the Supreme Leader says, he puts into practice.
PLEITGEN: Five of the remaining candidates are considered conservative, but Mohamed Bahr Ghalibaf is certainly considered to be one of the frontrunners. And he has vowed that if he becomes president, he will continue the hardline policies of Ibrahim Raisi, who was killed in that chopper crash a little over a month ago.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): After Iran's embassy compound in Syria was bombed in April, killing several Revolutionary Guard commanders, and Iran retaliated for the first time, launching drones and missiles from its own territory, Iran is now warning it will hit Israel again if its assets in the Middle East are targeted.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticizing presidential candidates he thinks could seek ties with the U.S. Not naming names, but some believe he referred to Massoud Pezeshkian, the moderate left in the race. Pezeshkian has called for improving ties with nations in the region.
A Pezeshkian campaign event in Tehran on Wednesday was canceled abruptly.
PLEITGEN: The Pezeshkian campaign says after a long process, they didn't receive the necessary permission to hold their rally inside a stadium. So now, as you can see, the rallying outside on the street, streaming their vote for Pezeshkian.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Disappointed supporters saying they still believe Pezeshkian has a chance to win.
The wave of support has added to people's hope in elections, this man says, so we hope that those who are hesitant will come out and vote.
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And she says, in general, the change we need in politics is foreign policy, so it will result in improvements in people's economic situation. As the campaigns come to an end, Iranians will go to the polls on
Friday to elect a new president.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
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FOSTER: British voters go to the polls a week from today to decide if the Labour Party leader Keir Starmer will be their next prime minister. The polls suggest he might. We'll discuss with a professor of politics.
Plus, why Donald Trump is bragging about his mugshot taken in Georgia last year. We'll explain after the break.
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FOSTER: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Max Foster. Here are today's top stories.
A coup attempt was thwarted in Bolivia yesterday. Armed soldiers stormed the presidential palace to confront the democratically elected president. The attempted coup was orchestrated by the country's former army chief, who was fired earlier this week. He's been detained.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump will meet face to face in just a few hours from now at CNN headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The presidential candidates will debate for 90 minutes, standing at lecterns just eight feet apart, with no live audience.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called Kenya's president to thank him for taking steps to reduce tensions in his country. This comes as protesters say they will go ahead with a one million people march in Nairobi today.
A week from today, voters head to the polls in Britain's general election, and it looks like Labour leader Keir Starmer could become the next prime minister, as the Tories, led by current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, continue to sink in the polls.
Sunak and Starmer went head-to-head on Wednesday in their last debate before the July 4th election. Starmer says his Labour party is best suited to lead the country out of a cost of living crisis and soaring inflation, and Sunak accuses his rival of not being straightforward about his plans for taxes, women's rights and illegal immigrants. Take a listen.
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RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We need to make it crystal clear to people that if they come to our country illegally, they won't be able to stay. And that's why, if I'm your prime minister on July 5th, the flights will go to Rwanda.
We will build that deterrent that multiple other European countries now agree is the right way to deal with this problem, and that's how we solve this problem. If Keir Starmer is your prime minister, all those illegal migrants will be out on our streets. And that is the choice for you. Do not surrender our borders to the Labour party.
KEIR STARMER, U.K. LABOUR PARTY LEADER: Why are record numbers still coming under your watch, prime minister? How on earth can you say it's working? You put the scheme in place, the flights could go off. I notice you've called the election, by the way, before any flights could actually get off and it could be tested, interesting timing. But if this was such a deterrent, why is it obviously, obviously not working?
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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: CNN's Nic Robertson has the very latest.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Elections close. U.K. P.M. Rishi Sunak's Conservative party facing an historic drubbing.
GIDEON SKINNER, SR. U.K. DIRECTOR OF POLITIC, IPSOS: The polls are showing that the Conservatives are in a pretty difficult position. Our central estimate was having the Conservatives around about 115 seats.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): 650 seats at stake each week of campaigning, damaging Sunak more than the last. The British prime minister left D- Day commemorations in France early.
RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: On reflection, that was a mistake and I apologize.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): More damaging allegations followed. Several of his senior staff bet on the unexpected July 4th election date.
SUNAK: Well, I was incredibly angry.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Good for his main opponent, Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer. You'd think, not so much. Labour, like Conservative, have dropped a little in the polls.
SKINNER: Maybe two to three points. The big picture is still that Labour have got, on average, a fairly healthy lead.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Healthy, meaning about 20 percentage points. Starmer's challenge? Most voters aren't sure what he stands for. Recently praising his socialist predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, now booted from Labour, saying he would have been a better prime minister than Donald Trump friend Boris Johnson.
STARMER: Look what we got, Boris Johnson. A man who made massive promises, didn't keep them.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Labour's left-wing legacy haunts Starmer, a centrist.
MISHAL HUSAIN, BBC JOURNALIST: You said he'd make a great prime minister. Did you mean it?
STARMER: It wasn't a question that really arose because I didn't think we were going to win the election.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): His skills so far, uniting his once fractious party. Not so for Sunak. Right-wing Tory voters increasingly tempted by the upstart right-wing disrupter Reform Party, led by Nigel Farage.
Another friend of Trump, who almost a decade ago led the charge for Brexit, now back in the political fray, as ever, pulling the country right, costing Sunak voters.
The field, though, bigger than these three leading parties. Middle class, middle of the road, Liberal Democrats, struggling for attention.
His stunts paying off, Lib Dem polling up, slightly, mostly at Sunak's expense.
Starmer looking to benefit in Scotland, too. The powerful but scandal- hit, independence-driven Scottish National Party, SNP, onto their third leader in 15 months.
JOHN SWINNEY, FIRST MINISTER OF SCOTLAND: Be careful what you wish for, because the Labour Party is going to pick up where the Tories left off.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): But despite their tough talk, likely losing their dominance north of the border.
ROBERTSON: Polls are notorious. There's no hard guarantee of actual results. And if the most favorable outcome for Sunak is an historic loss, the worst could leave his party in the political wilderness for years, vulnerable to populists like Farage.
Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Let's bring in Anand Menon, Director of U.K. in a Changing Europe. Thank you so much for joining us. How much excitement is there, would you say, in the U.K. about this election?
ANAND MENON, DIRECTOR, U.K. IN A CHANGING EUROPE: I think of all the things you can say there is in the U.K., there's very little in the way of excitement. One of the curious things about this election is the sort of overwhelming sense that no one is particularly inspired by politics. Trust in politicians is at an all-time low.
And actually, in a sense, we're left here with a choice between who we find least unpleasant, in the sense that even Keir Starmer, who, as your reporter said, is 20 points ahead in the polls, has a net negative favorability rating. FOSTER: And in terms of what we're looking for here, it's widely
believed that Starmer will win. Are we just talking then about the scale of the win and the majority and how much power he would have in government because of that?
MENON: Up to a point, yes. In the sense, I mean, our system means that even if you have a very small majority, as long as that majority holds, the government can pretty much do what it wants.
[03:34:54]
But I think what we're looking at here is the potential for an enormous Labour victory that isn't just about the power that the government has, but risks potentially seeing something that we've not seen, which is the Conservatives being relegated in vote share, perhaps to third place.
The real issue here is just how badly the Conservatives do, because not only do Labour have that 20 percentage point lead, but their voting intentions at the moment look incredibly efficient. That is to say, they're gaining votes in the places they need them to win, and they're not necessarily gaining votes where they're already miles ahead.
FOSTER: And what sort of prime minister would Keir Starmer be for people who don't know him?
MENON: Well, that's the million dollar question. No one is entirely certain at the moment. He's never held government office before. We're not quite sure how the government will function.
And Labour, because they've been ahead for so long, have played a very defensive game in this election by simply, in a sense, saying as little as possible. So we don't really have a clear sense either of how they'll govern or of what they'll do if and when they come into government. So actually, that is something we'll have to wait and see after the 4th of July.
FOSTER: One big issue in the U.K., famously, is Europe. It's been a remarkably small part of this campaign there, hasn't it?
MENON: It has, because for different reasons, neither of the big parties wants to talk about it. The Tories don't want to talk about it, because the majority of Brits think that Brexit has gone badly and blame the Conservatives for that.
Labour don't want to talk about it, because they're trying to attract Leave voters and so don't want to talk about moving us closer to the European Union. So it is the elephant in the room. Both parties are talking about growth. We know that there is a source of growth in terms of the European single market, but neither party will mention it. It's been very, very strange in that sense.
FOSTER: In terms of the Conservative Party, I mean, if the polls are right, as you say, they could end up in third position. Just explain how that happened, presumably Labour taking some of those votes, but you've also got this issue with reform on the right.
MENON: Yeah, it's happened for a variety of reasons. You're quite right that the Reform Party led by Nigel Farage is eating into the Conservative vote. Reform voters are basically switchers from the Conservatives. But there's a whole sort of confluence of factors. The Tories have been in government for 14 years. The Tories have presided over a number of scandals, Boris Johnson and Partygate, the infamous mini-budget of Liz Truss.
And this is the first Parliament since the Second World War where people are going to be poorer at the end of the Parliament than they were at the start, not least because of the cost of living crisis that we've experienced. So there's a whole number of reasons, I think, why the Tories are doing badly. I think it's fair to say that Keir Starmer has been a very, very lucky general.
FOSTER: And he's got his own issues with his party, hasn't he? I mean, we've made a lot over the years about the splits within the Conservative Party, but there's also pretty big splits within the Labour Party as well. They've had a very good campaign, but what will that look like if they get into government?
MENON: I think when it comes to splits in the Labour Party, I'd say yes and no. On the one hand, Keir Starmer has been remarkably successful and efficient at ensuring that the left of the party has no control over the party anymore. Since he became leader, he's effectively pushed them out of key decision-making positions.
On the other hand, it's always going to be a problem for a government if you've got a massive majority, because there are going to be so many M.P.s who you can't give ministerial jobs to, who you can't give chairmanship of committees to. And under those circumstances, I think we'd expect to see, under a Labour government, factions arising, and that might cause problems for him down the line.
FOSTER: Okay. Anand Menon, I really appreciate your analysis. Thank you.
Do be sure to watch CNN's special coverage of the U.K. elections on July 4th. It starts just before 10pm right here on CNN. That's 10pm in London.
Now, election day in the U.S. is still more than four months away, but the first debate in the presidential campaign is finally here. Joe Biden and Donald Trump will face off at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia tonight. The 90-minute debate is the first ever between the current and former president. It's also the first to include a convicted felon. The economy, immigration, abortion and democracy all expected to feature prominently in the debate.
Georgia is a key swing state in this election. On Wednesday, Trump made a surprise call to the Black American Business Leaders Roundtable in the state, an event hosted by his campaign. He told attendees that his mugshot taken when he was processed at the Fulton County Jail last summer was helping with his appeal to Black and Latino voters. Take a listen. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The mugshot is the best. Since it happened, the support among the Black community and the Hispanic community has skyrocketed. It's been amazing.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
FOSTER: CNN's Jeff Zeleny spoke with some Black Georgia voters on how they're feeling this election cycle.
[03:40:00]
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Mariama Davis is busy in her Atlanta boutique, hopeful for the summer ahead.
MARIAMA DAVIS, GEORGIA DEMOCRATIC VOTER: Hey there, welcome to The Beehive.
ZELENY (voice-over): When you ask her that age-old question in politics --
ZELENY: Are things better for you than they were four years ago?
ZELENY (voice-over): -- her deliberate answer is telling.
DAVIS: I mean, with the loan forgiveness and that, definitely better. But things are, you know, might be just a little slight increase, but they feel pretty much the same.
ZELENY: It's not worse.
DAVIS: It's not worse. It's not worse.
ZELENY (voice-over): While it's hardly the slogan President Biden is running on, it taps into a sentiment often expressed by supporters like Davis. She manages The Beehive, a small business like so many on an economic roller coaster.
DAVIS: If people have a choice to buy eggs or food and gifts, we still expect them to buy food for their families. But like I said, our doors are still open, so we're grateful for that.
ZELENY (voice-over): She's also grateful the president of the state is seeking a second term and has high hopes for his chances in Georgia, where Biden defeated Donald Trump by 11,779 votes out of 5 million cast, the closest margin of any battleground.
KELVIN KING, GEORGIA REPUBLICAN VOTER: A good candidate on either side may be able to sway voters in Georgia.
ZELENY (voice-over): Kelvin King, a conservative Republican leader, backed Trump in 2016 and 2020. KING: And thank you for fighting for all Americans.
ZELENY (voice-over): While he believes Biden is vulnerable on inflation, immigration and more, he said a Trump victory here is hardly guaranteed.
KING: We have new Republicans who are excited about President Trump. We have some Republicans that are not.
ZELENY (voice-over): It's one of the biggest questions of the race. Can Trump capitalize on Biden's challenges? The former president's campaign has started opening offices across the state, like this one in Marietta. But Trump has yet to bury the hatchet with the popular Republican governor, Brian Kemp.
TRUMP: Let me tell you, this guy's a disaster.
ZELENY (voice-over): Who refused to give in to Trump's demands to overturn the election, which made Georgia an early epicenter of criminal charges against him?
KING: Relitigation is not going to drive people to the polls, at least not the folks in the middle, the folks that we need. But focusing on today and tomorrow is really where we need to be.
ZELENY (voice-over): Georgia is among the battlegrounds Trump is trying to win back, along with Arizona, while also picking up Nevada, which he lost twice. Biden could lose all three and still win reelection if he holds the blue wall of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and a single electoral vote in Nebraska.
To keep all pathways open, Democrats are making big investments in Georgia with a dozen offices.
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: We will gather, we will organize, we will build community, we will build coalitions.
ZELENY (voice-over): That fraying coalition is a pressing challenge facing the Biden campaign.
When we met Kerry Singleton last year, he was disappointed Biden hadn't achieved all of his promises.
KERRY SINGLETON, GEORGIA DEMOCRATIC VOTER: Just as well as we hold Trump accountable, you know, we have to hold Biden accountable.
ZELENY (voice-over): After hearing the president deliver a commencement address at Morehouse College last month and focusing on his November choice, he sees it differently.
SINGLETON: My disagreements previously do not matter as much as the two people that we have as choices here. And to me, former president Donald Trump just isn't an option whatsoever.
ZELENY (voice-over): Back at The Beehive, Davis is optimistic for the fall. And for her, status quo sounds just fine. DAVIS: You know what you're getting with Joe Biden. He doesn't pull any punches. He's a straight shooter. And I'm happy to see more of the same.
ZELENY: Four years ago, Georgia was seen as one of the most surprising swing states of all. This time, millions are being spent by both sides.
The Biden campaign sees it as something of an insurance policy if other states don't go their way. There's no doubt voters here in Georgia have a close eye on Thursday night's debate.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The CNN U.S. presidential debate is tonight. You can watch it live, 9 p.m. Eastern in the U.S., 9 a.m. Friday in Hong Kong, 2 a.m. here in London.
Still ahead, Russia's trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich began on Wednesday. What the U.S. is saying about the espionage charges against him next.
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[03:45:00]
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FOSTER: The White House expressing its support for American journalist Evan Gershkovich after his espionage trial began in Russia on Wednesday. They are condemning the proceedings as a sham and a performance. The U.S. is also accusing Moscow treating Gershkovich and other detained Americans as bargaining chips, CNN's Matthew Chance reports.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the first glimpse of Evan Gershkovich for months. Cameras briefly allowed into the courthouse about 1,000 miles from Moscow where his trial for espionage is finally underway.
His head shaved, the 32-year-old "Wall Street Journal" reporter looked calm. But he faces a sentence of up to 20 years if or likely when he's found guilty.
In a statement, the editor-in-chief of the journal wrote, this bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man.
For nearly 15 months, Gershkovich has been held under tight security in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison.
He, his employer and the U.S. government all vigorously deny the spying allegations against him. But Russia appears determined to press ahead despite official U.S. objections.
A new statement from the U.S. embassy in Moscow says Evan did not commit any illegal acts and should not have been arrested at all. This trial isn't about the presentation of evidence, due process or the rule of law. We're talking about the Kremlin using American citizens to achieve its political goals, the statement adds.
With the conflict raging in Ukraine, Russia began a crackdown at home on free speech, silencing dissidents or forcing them into exile. It's against this backdrop that Gershkovich was arrested on a reporting assignment in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
This is video from the website of the tank factory there, where Russian prosecutors allege Gershkovich acted, quote, "on the instructions of the CIA to collect secret information, although no evidence has been made public." The trial will take place in the city, which is about a thousand miles from Moscow, amid an outcry.
LESTER HOLT, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: Journalism is not a crime.
LAURA COATES, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST AND ANCHOR: Journalism is not a crime.
CHANCE (voice-over): Some of the most prominent journalists in the United States are calling for his release, and Tucker Carlson even appealed directly to Putin in his recent sit-down.
TUCKER CARLSON, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND HOST: And I just want to ask you directly, without getting into the details of it or your version of what happened, if as a sign of your decency, you would be willing to release him to us and we'll bring him back to the United States?
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We have done so many gestures of goodwill out of decency that I think we have run out of them.
CHANCE (voice-over): But they're not running out of Americans in Russian prisons. Far from it.
PAUL WHELAN, AMERICAN JAILED IN RUSSIA: I'm innocent of any charge of political kidnapping.
CHANCE (voice-over): Former Marine Paul Whelan is serving 16 years in what U.S. officials say were trumped-up spying charges.
Dual citizens Ksenia Karelina, an amateur ballerina from L.A., and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva are also in custody. As are Gordon Black, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, and U.S. schoolteacher Mark Fogle. Critics suspect the Kremlin is collecting U.S. citizens as bargaining chips for a future deal.
[03:50:10]
And with his trial for espionage now underway, Evan Gershkovich is one of the most valuable in the Kremlin's hand.
Matthew Chance, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Russia's Navy is going on an acquisition spree with plans to get 40 new vessels this year. President Vladimir Putin says it's part of the plan to replenish and modernize the fleet. He says it's also important to protect the fleet by implementing systems to detect aerial and underwater threats. Ukraine says it has put one-third of Russia's Black Sea fleet out of commission. According to Mr. Putin, Russia received more than 30 new warships last year.
Still ahead, one of the biggest upsets in the history of the European Football Championship. The lowest-ranking team in the tournament stuns a perennial powerhouse. Those details in a preview of the round of 16 next.
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FOSTER: The group stage of UEFA's European Football Championship came to a dramatic finish on Wednesday. Georgia stunned Portugal with a two-nil victory in its first major tournament in the nation's history. CNN's Patrick Snell has the highlights in a preview of the round of 16.
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PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, we now know the last 16 of the European Football Championships in Germany, and as always at this stage, you get a whole range of emotions, don't you? You get sheer heartbreak for countries going home, but then there's utter delight and elation for those nations making history.
Let's get to Group F now, where already-qualified Portugal faced Georgia on paper, not many giving Georgia too much hope. But matches aren't played on paper, are they?
Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese teammates, in fact, group winners ahead of this one, but all three other teams in the group could advance, and it's Georgia ahead after just two minutes of play with the Napoli superstar, Victor Varzelha, producing a sublime finish. Really well taken.
The opening goal of the match at this point, Georgia were qualifying, then just before the hour mark, it gets even better for the Georgians. They double their lead. George Mikotadze converting from the penalty spot after the foul on Luka Lokosvili. This is one famous, famous win, and Georgia would see the game out. Look at these scenes. Ronaldo not happy. He wants to win every game he plays, doesn't he?
Georgia, 74th in the world, through to their first-ever major tournament knockout stage after a victory they will forever cherish and their fans as well.
Without question, though, this is the greatest night in Georgia's football history. You know, by beating Portugal, this is now the biggest upset in tournament history based on FIFA rankings. Portugal are ranked sixth in the world. I'll say it again. Georgia all the way down in 74th place. What an occasion for Georgian football.
All right, earlier in the day, that despair I was talking about, and it goes and it applies to Ukraine, who carried the hopes of a war-torn nation into these Euros ahead of their match with Belgium in Stuttgart. All four teams in Group E remarkably level on points. Ukraine gave it everything, and they did have a really good chance right at the end, two minutes into stoppage.
[03:54:55]
It's Georgy Sudakov who runs a really amazing, terrific run there, but the shot is straight at the keeper. That had to go in, didn't it, for the Ukrainians from their point of view, and just seconds after that, look at this, the final whistle goes, and it's heartbreak for Ukraine, whose players fall to the ground at the end there, amid huge disappointment.
Ahead of the tournament, Ukraine's head coach Sergei Rebrav, revered former player as well, telling us how he hoped his team could show the world the real character of our country. Well, they have fallen just short, but they can hold their heads up high, very high indeed.
Just look how Group E ended then. This is incredible. For the first time ever in Euros history, all four countries within that same group ending up on the same number of points. Heartbreak for Ukraine, who now become the first team ever in this competition to not advance from a group on four points. The reason they go out is a goal difference. Romania and Slovakia both advance the Slovakians as one of the best third-place nations.
So what about the last 16? Well, here we have it. The host Germany will take on Denmark on Saturday. On the same day, we got the defending champs Italy facing Switzerland. England will face Slovakia. Turkey have Austria. Georgia will play Spain, while Portugal take on Slovenia. Belgium's failure to top Group E means the Red Devils now face the daunting task of taking on France for a place in the quarterfinals.
And with that, it's right back to you.
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FOSTER: All right, campers and fans are arriving for the famed Glastonbury Festival at the Worthy Farm in southwestern England. This is Glasto's 38th edition. Tickets for the five-day event cost 355, or about $450. They sold out in less than an hour, though, in November. Headliners include Coldplay and Dua Lipa, and SZA closes the festival on Sunday. And there's a first for the event, a K-pop act, Seventeen, which has 13 members, set to perform on the world-famous Pyramid Stage tomorrow.
Panda diplomacy is back between the U.S. and China. Two giant pandas left China on Wednesday, headed to San Diego Zoo in Southern California. The loan was finalized in February, marking China's first panda loan to the United States in two decades. But San Diego Zoo hasn't had pandas since 2019. When it returned its last two to China, the world-renowned facility was the first in the U.S. to carry out cooperative research on giant pandas with China.
Thanks for joining me here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Max Foster, in London, back with more news after this break.
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