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Connect the World
Search And Seizure Warrants Issued for American Swimmers in Rio; Picture of Injured Young Boy in Aleppo Sparks International Cries for Ceasefire; President Duterte's Brutal Crackdown on Drugs in Manila; Usain Bolt Goes for Double-Double. Aired 11:00a-12:00p ET
Aired August 18, 2016 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:21] JONATHAN MANN, HOST: One little boy who has come to symbolize the suffering of millions: the world sees another heart breaking
image from Syria. We will look at why the outrage cause by images like that rarely translates into action. An award winning photographer shares
his thoughts.
Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The authorities call these
operations knock and plead. They go door to door inviting suspected drug users and dealers to voluntarily surrender themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: The front lines of The Philippines' increasingly deadly war on drugs. The body count is rising, so why is the president's popularity also
up? We'll live in Manila to find out.
Plus, the true spirit of the games. We hear from the U.S. runner whose tumble during a race
took a heart warming turn.
Hello, and welcome to Connect the World. I'm Jonathan Mann sitting in once again for Becky Anderson. Today, we are going to focus on powerful
image of war, of hope, of Olympic dreams.
Hello, and welcome to Connect the World. I'm Jonathan Mann sitting in once again for Becky Anderson.
Today, we are going to focus on powerful images of war, of hope, of Olympic dream.s We begin that journey in Aleppo, Syria, where the air
strikes keep coming, and so does the suffering. The fighting so relentless it can be hard to comprehend it.
Have a look, though, at this image. It brings the scale of Syria's civil war down to the fate of a single child. We've now learned his name,
Omran, and that he's 4 or 5 years old. His whole family was wounded, but he survived. He sat quietly looking obviously dazed and confused.
Just moments earlier, he was pulled from the rubble of a building that was destroyed in an air strike. CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of
these pictures, but none of us can forget them.
Our Nima Albagir has the latest on the fighting from London. Nima, tell us about this boy, this indelible image. What happened?
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We spoke to the cameraman who actually took those pictures, who filmed those images and was
amongst those fighting through the collapsed rubble of that home to pull Omran out. And he said it took them almost an hour.
Omran was alone in the dark. You can only imagine what that must have been like for a 5-year-old child, for almost an hour while rescue workers
raced to save him. And when you see him sitting in that ambulance, the cameraman told, Mustafa, told me he hadn't actually cried. There was no
point after they pulled him out that he had cried, even though he is sitting there and he doesn't yet know whether the rest of his family are
alive.
And even now his mother and brother are in critical condition. They have actually had to be taken outside of Aleppo because Aleppo is ravaged
on every single level, Jonathan -- the health care system, the medical professionals, the infrastructure of the homes themselves. And while they
were working, the cameraman said to us they were working with an eye to the sky because so often when there are these kind of air strikes by the Syrian
government he described to us there is a second go around where often rescue workers end up becoming -- end up falling victim
even as they work to try and save others.
So, it was tense. It was difficult.
But he said he didn't have a sense at the time that this would be the image that would capture the world's attention. He said for him, it was a
moment like any other moment that happens almost every day in Aleppo, Jonathan.
MANN: And what happens to Omran now? I mean, as you mentioned, Aleppo is a city that's being bombed and starved into submission. Does he
get to leave?
ELBAGIR: No. And I -- and this is what is so heart breaking is it used to be that we would
speak to people inside Syria and they would say we have the most -- that they have the most unbearable choice in front of them, either risk their
children's lives on those horrifyingly treacherous sea journeys -- and we all remember the image of the toddler Alan Kurdi lifeless in the arms of a
Turkish soldier on that beach -- risk their children's life on the sea crossing or risk their children's lives by staying inside Aleppo. But now
they feel that Europe has closed its doors to them. There is no longer a choice, so they have to stay.
MANN: And this has been going on for years. I mean Aleppo has been bombed now -- it's been bombed for years. Some people are trying to help.
I mean give us a sense of where things stand and whether there is likely to be any improvement.
ELBAGIR: Well, the UN certainly seems to hope that this moment in time, this international
outpouring of outrage seeing those pictures of Omran, that this is a moment it can capitalize on.
The UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura, is now tabling the proposal that there be a 48-hour ceasefire to allow in aid. He says that it's been
a month since a humanitarian aid convoy was able to penetrate inside Aleppo as the government siege began to bite around rebel held eastern Aleppo
where Omran and his family live.
So, he is hoping that this moment of outrage will result in something bigger and better. But that was what was said after Alan Kurdi's pictures
were beamed around the world. And they, took, caused outrange.
So, for so many of those we speak to inside Syria, they're not hopeful that this will change anything, they are not even -- one man said we don't
even want the pity. We don't want to know we have touched people's hearts, because if we touched people's lives and nothing changes in ours, then
really what does that matter.
[11:05:56] MANN: Nima Elbagir, thanks very much.
In neighboring Turkey, police have once again come under attack. Three officers killed when a
bomb went off near a police station in an eastern city Alazek (ph). More than 200 people were
wounded, many of them police as well. There has been no claim of responsibility but the Turkish prime minister is blaming Kurdish militants.
And another attack in another eastern province as well.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is on the ground in Istanbul with more.
Ben, can you tell us what has been happening?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Really, this is a wave of attacks we've seen in less than 24 hours. There have been five attacks
on the police in Turkey within the last two weeks.
Now, just to start with, in the last 24 hours, last night in the town of Vaughn (ph) in the eastern part of the country a bomb went off outside a
police headquarters in that case, killing two policemen, wounding -- killing one civilian, and wounding 73 others. This morning around 9:00 in
the town of Alazu (ph) this bomb went off outside the police headquarters.
There, as you said, three policemen killed, 217 people wounded, 145 of whom are still in hospital, 85 of whom are policemen.
Now, there has been no claim of responsibility by the PKK, but the prime minister of Turkey visited the scene today and said there is no doubt
that they are behind it. And he basically put the PKK in the same basket as the Fethullah Gulen group which of course is accused of being behind the
15th of July failed coup d'etat against the government of President Erdogan.
And finally, yes, two other attacks. These were on military personnel. There is one actually -- there was a clash between Turkish
forces and it's believed the PKK and an another attack, an ambush on a military vehicle. In total, six killed, five of them soldiers, one was a
member of the village guard, as it's called.
So, this definitely seems to be a ratcheting up of activity, of attacks, on the Turkish police and the military. And it was just a few
weeks ago, in fact, Jonathan -- excuse me -- that a senior PKK leader warned that Turkish police will not be safe in their cities -- Jonathan.
MANN: And it's not just police who are worry about their safety. When you think about it, the
government is cracking down on its domestic political opponent. It is trying to crack down on ISIS, it is cracking down on the Kurdish separatist
movement. And the Kurdish separatists are apparently fighting back.
Is there just a constant sentence of crisis there?
WEDEMAN: Well, there is certainly a sense that the Turkish government is surrounded by enemies. ISIS, they attacked the airport here in Istanbul
on the 28th of June, killing 45 people. The Fethullah Gulen organization behind the coup and the PKK with which the government here has
been in a war for more than 30 years, Jonathan.
MANN: Ben Wedeman, live in Istanbul -- we'll let you get some water - - thanks very much.
Other stories on our radar. A Qatar Airways plane flying from Istanbul to Doha has had returned to Ataturk Airport in Turkey. The
airline says it landed safely and passengers got off normally. It turns out a bird strike is being blamed for the detour.
In Mexico, authorities believe they have narrowed down the whereabouts of a notorious drug lords kidnapped son to four states. Surveillance
images appear to show the moment of the abduction. The son of imprisoned drug dealer Joaquin El Chapo Guzman was taken at gunpoint from a restaurant
in Puerto Vallarta.
There are reports that North Korea has resumed its plutonium production. The country's atomic energy institute telling Japan's Kyoto
News Service that it has no plans to stop nuclear tests as long as perceived threats from the United States remain.
Let's get to Rio now. Day 13 of the Olympic competition. But that's not the only thing making headlines. Conflicting reports about a robbery
involving members of the U.S. men's swimming team could overshadow the games as they draw to a close.
Rio authorities pulled two American swimmers off their flight home overnight ordering them to stay in Brazil to answer police questions about
their report of a weekend robbery. Our Nick Paton Walsh has been following the twists and turns and he joins us now.
I can't believe we still haven't gotten to the bottom of this. What's the latest?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is absolutely staggering, to be honest, yes. I mean, really about the one or maybe three
hours these men spent after they left the nightclub Sunday morning when they got home what really did happen in that period.
Now just to bring you up to date of how his sort of investigation, so to speak, is coming through at this stage.
We know that mr. Bentz and Mr. Conger, who were at a hotel near the airport had, it seems, police arrive at the hotel, stay for about 20
minutes and then leave. That may have been to speak to them. We know that police want to speak to them today. They hadn't spoken
to them before.
And then Mr. Bentz and Mr. Conger subsequently actually left that hotel in a car. It didn't seem like the police, or Mr. Bentz and Mr.
Conger were in fact related as they let.
We have also heard from a police source close to the investigation who echoed some sentiments we had heard from the court order yesterday. This
police source is saying there are doubts as to whether there actually necessarily was a robbery, as the men say. Now, those men deny it, of
course, and thou his attorney, Mr. Lochte has been clear that he has cooperated whenever asked and would do so again. But hasn't been asked
again to assist the Brazilian authorities as of yesterday.
But we are sort of seeing this extraordinary sense of a very confusing mystery begin to perhaps shed more light upon itself. The search
and seizure warrants that came out yesterday were for Mr. Lochte and for Mr. Feigen. Mr. Lochte is back in the U.S. now, Mr. Feigen is also thought
to be speaking to Brazilian authorities again at some later stage.
Jonathan, the broad confusion really in its simplest nutshell is Brazilians looked at the CCTV footage of these men coming home and heard
their own statements and said well why did you emerge from an armed robbery still holding your cell phones? What's up with that, because those things
are the main target, frankly, for petty criminals here.
That raised some suspicions amongst police too, police told us.
And there is a second issue, as well, the court seems to think that they left the nightclub at 4:00 a.m., whereas the police chief thinks it
was 5:45. Everyone agrees they got home at 7:00. So there's potentially a three or a one hour window in which something mysterious unraveled.
As I say, there's no suggestion at this point or a confirmed accusation from the police of any major wrongdoing, just a lot of questions
that continually mounts and become international in their profile.
MANN: OK, you passed over one detail rather quickly. The police are telling you they
don't think there was a robbery at all?
WALSH: Well, that is one source close to the investigation. You've got to bear in mind here, too, that Brazil has a pretty strong agenda in
making this high-profile incident slightly less damaging to them. Remember, the initial accusation from the swimmers was that men disguised
as police had robbed them at gun point. Now that potentially undermines the whole security operation here for the Olympic games if you can fake
police officers roaming around robbing people.
So, yes, there have been some doubts cast upon that, but is denied by the attorneys for the men when we spoke to them yesterday. But this
mystery feels like it's getting so dark just before the dawn potentially. We may hear something in the hours ahead that makes it
less confusion -- Jonathan.
MANN: I gather a British athlete was robbed under slightly similar circumstances. How much does anyone know about that?
WALSH: Little, actually. I'm going to have to say it fits into a broader pattern of athletes being held at gun point or robbed here we've
been seeing over the past months or so.
This one athlete did say they were the victim of a mugging. It's not clear if a firearm was involved. But we have seen that here with
Paralympiads have their bikes taken.
You know, as you well know here, Jonatha, Copacabana this area sadly when it doesn't have a police lockdown like this is vulnerable to the petty
crime that haunts Rio on a daily basis, no exception when you venture away from these heavily secured areas. People are finding that's what life in
Brazil unfortunately brings with it.
It is just so bizarre that one of the most high profile instances of this game so far involves this very confusing narrative around what
happened after some men left the nighclub celebrating on Sunday morning.
MANN: A confusing narrative on their part, but also a very intriguing response by the police who seem to be treating them the way you treat
suspects, not victims.
WALSH: Well, yes. And I think that gives you a sense of maybe how Brazil's pride was
wounded by this. They have, so to speak, gone after them to some degree. It was remarkable to see a search and seizure warrant put out yesterday.
And that's obviously being followed up by this questioning, by the fact we now know that Mr. Bentz and mr. Conger's passports were physically
taken from them at the airport yesterday when they were physically being taken off the plane. That's a pretty dramatic move, frankly, to make to
Olympiads here who are your guests in this particular country, who are part of the team at the top of the medals table.
So, there is a very public confrontation here. And I think, you know, there will be a lot of contesting of whatever facts slowly emerge in the
hours ahead. But frankly there is only one truth, Jonathan.
[11:15:15] MANN: We are still waiting to learn it, though, aren't we? Nick Paton Walsh live in Rio, thanks very much.
We'll go back to Rio later in the program for all the sporting news, including Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt going for his second gold in the
men's 200 meter.
And our top story this hour, the human face of suffering in Syria. Shocking images like this, well, are they focusing the world's attention on
the war in Syria? Are they going to make anyone help? You are watching Connect the World.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MANN: You are watching CNN. This is Connect the World. I'm Jonathan Mann. Welcome back. Let's get back to our top story: Syria's civil war.
And we want to share some powerful painful images from that conflict, some are graphic, but we want you to see at least a small glimpse of the horrors
the Syrians themselves have faced and they are still facing.
Have look at this image. It's almost etched into your memory if you have seen it before. The small lifeless body of Alan Kurdi shocked the
world. He drowned as his family tried to reach Europe.
Or how about this, a baby passed under a barbed-wire fence at the border between Hungary and
Serbia. The photographer called it hope for a new life.
In a refugee camp just outside of Damascus look at this, this wave of humanity as far as the eye can see it. All of those people waiting for
food. They are fleeing destruction on an almost unimaginable scale.
This is drone footage from Kobani, a city very plainly in ruins.
And now another haunting image, the latest one, a little boy in an ambulance sitting in silence,
covered in dust, blinking in shock. His eyes are glassy, his face caked with blood from head wound. You can see there he touches his face and then
stares at the blood on his hands.
Syrian activists say the boy and his family were pulled from the rubble of an air strike in Aleppo, miraculously all of them survived but
there other are not -- not in even this kind of condition, some are critically wounded pictures like those are powerful because they put a
human face on the suffering, reminding us that war isn't about casualty counts, but real humans.
Does the shock and outrage those images generate do anything, does it change the situation? We're joined now by Bulent Kilic, an Agence France
Presse photojournalist who has covered Syria extensively and taken some extremely powerful photos himself.
Thanks so much for being with us.
Let me ask you, first of all, what went through your mind as you were looking at those pictures of young Omran?
BULENT KILIC, PHOTOJOURNALIST: I check these pictures early in the morning and it was really powerful. It's -- there is also video. And this
is the kind of grab from this video.
When I checked this video, when the boy was looking at his hands, and then he touched his
face, then he is looking at his hands, and then he doesn't know what happened. He was in shock. And when you look at this picture, yeah, it's
an iconic picture, and everything gathered, symmetry, the face, and everything get together, everything became perfect and it became a message,
you know, I called these kind of pictures touching of god.
You know, the light, face, and the situation, everything very strong and everything getting together and give the message to the world.
It's about how the world getting this message, you know. I mean, this is a message to the
parents, and this is message to the -- all the world. But this main message has to go through the politicians, the big guys, you know.
When this war start, I was there. I saw many children killed, many children suffered. I'm really happy this boy didn't die. But this image
is a kind of message to these politicians, to Obama, to Putin, to Merkel, to Hillary Clinton, whatever, this is a message to them. And they have to
get this message very strongly. If they feel this message in their heart, this message go through. That's my idea.
MANN: Now, you have photographed so much suffering in Syria. What impact did your photos have? You say they are a message. Did the message
do any good?
KILIC: We are collecting these pictures from the land, you know. It's not easy. We are putting our life in danger. When I was in Aleppo,
in Idlib, whatever the place, in Syria, we are trying to collect the pest picture. We are trying to collect this big message. This is kind
of a message that we are collecting, these iconic pictures. We are trying to collecting from the land, from the war zones. And sometimes it's the
perfect times coming through to you.
And we are doing this kind of pictures. But sometimes I'm confused looking -- look at Alan Kurdi -- yeah, this was a strong message. And all
Europe opened their gates, but the war didn't stop. And for me, there will be one big picture has to stop this war. Maybe this time it has to stop.
But I don't have any -- I don't think so.
But there will be another pictures. I hope it's going to stop this war. But sometimes it's really making me confused, as you, as others.
MANN: I'm confused. I tell you I think you are right -- these pictures, they don't just go into the newspaper, they don't just go on
television, they go on to Twitter, and people use them. They turn them into their own art or their own play things. And there is an image of
Omran on Twitter, bloody, dazed, covered in dust, but seated in between -- have a look at this, seated in between Obama and Putin.
So these images, they go around the world in ways unimaginable a short time ago. And they become play things. They become part of the
conversation. And yet they don't always seem to do more than that.
KILIC: This is about when you look at this picture if you think your children, your nephew or somebody from your family -- if you think about
this, this message come to you. And I hope these guys, these big boss, these guys going to think about this. And if it goes to them in this way,
that means message go them in a direction -- in a right direction.
MANN: Bulent Kilic, AFP photojournalist, thanks so much for talking with us.
Live from CNN Center, this is Connect the World. Headlines and more news ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
MANN: In the Philippines, new President Rodrigo Duterte has only been on the job for a fwe weeks, but he's already launched a major anti-drug
offensive. It is producing results but also criticism as the body count rises. We warn you, Ivan Watson's report on this contains some very
graphic images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is part of the new war on drugs in the Philippines. Police send a local government official
going house to house, calling out residents by name.
The authorities call these operations knock and plead. They go door to door inviting suspected drug users and dealers to voluntarily surrender
themselves to the authorities. And so far we haven't seen anybody turn down the invitation.
Police lead suspect back to town hall. Here, urine tests, fingerprints, and mug shots looking awful lot like procedures for an
arrest, until the new arrivals are instructed to take this oath.
CROWD: I voluntarily surrendered to the police and government authorities that I am an illegal drug user.
[11:30:26] WATSON: More than half a million Filipinos have turned themselves in this way in just seven weeks, says the country's brand new
national police chief. With no evidence, arrest warrant or trial, many of them will just end up on a watch list.
GEN. RONALDO DELA ROSA, PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE CHIEF: We have zero tolerance for drugs. So as much as possible we want to be -- to have a
drugless society.
WATSON: Is that realistic?
DELA ROSA: No, it cannot be achieved.
WATSON: The country's largest government-run drug rehabilitation center is crowded and overwhelmed says the head doctor. He says he's seen a
sudden surge in new patients.
Thirty new patients today and are they telling you why they're coming?
BIEN LEABRES, MANILA REHABILITATION CENTER HEAD: Most of them are here because of fear.
WATSON: Fear?
LEABRES: Fear. What's going on outside, the government's actions, especially the PNP .
WATSON: And the police.
LEABRES: . the police, the crackdown has made them fear that they might be either incarcerated or worst, even killed.
WATSON: Since the Philippines' president launched his war on drugs on July 1st, police say they've killed at least 659 people across the country.
Are the police being ordered to kill suspected drug dealers?
DELA ROSA: We have to kill them if they endanger our lives.
WATSON: Human rights groups are sounding the alarm about the growing body counts and what that means for the rule of law, while some local
government officials are worried about other new logistical problems.
ANTONIO HALILI, TANAUAN CITY MAYOR: I never thought that this would happen. I never thought that this would be overpopulated.
WATSON: Cells in the brand new Tanauan City jail built to hold 30 prisoners, now holding more than 50, many of whom were recently arrested on
drug charges.
Is there room in prisons, in the jails, in the court system for these thousands of new suspects?
DELA ROSA: They have to do like that inside the prison cells. Yeah, they're stuck inside.
WATSON: In his rush to combat drugs, this country's top cop seems to have little time for the idea that a suspect is presumed innocent until
proven guilty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MANN: And Ivan Watson joins us now from the Philippine capital Manila. I want to ask you about something you alluded to there. But the
president himself is making no bones about it. He is side stepping the law without apology. Any way to tell how the people of the Philippines feel
about that?
WATSON: Well, you know, he was elected not too long ago with a very convincing lead over the other candidates. And according to a reputable
poll from just last month, he had pretty much 91 percent approval and confidence ratings from Filipinos surveyed. So he does still enjoy a great
deal of popular support.
And people are clearly looking for some semblance of law and order, including at the drug rehabilitation center that we visited where there
were new arrivals coming in, some of them in handcuffs who had been kind of forced to come by their desperate loved ones who said they were bringing in
their sons or brothers or daughters because they were frightened they could get killed out on the streets, and yet when i asked them about this deadly
war on drugs they pretty much -- these desperate relatives and even some of the patients who were in treatment said they did in fact support this as a
way to try to get rid this threat, particularly of methamphetamines, that's the number one drug out here that people are taking and buying and selling.
That said, there are critics out here within other branches of the government. For example, there is a Senate inquiry that's going into
affect next week that's calling up that very same police chief that I interviewed to answer why are so many people being killed by the police?
Why are there so many unsolved additional murders taking place. he has agreed that he will attend that senate inquiry, but clearly the new
president doesn't like it. He slammed in very personal terms the female senator who is leading the inquiry, John. He called her an immoral woman
and accused her of having an extramarital affair as well in very insulting terms on live television at a police celebration yesterday.
So that gives you a sense of kind of how the political rhetoric is heating up here and the sense of the president's very combative style when
he comes under criticism.
[11:35:10] MANN: He wants to see results. Obviously, the people of the Philippines want to see results. And they are seeing them, at least in
the short-term. Over the long term, though, is this really going to work?
WATSON: Well, you know, what was very clear was not only at the rehabilitation center, but also at the jail that we visited, these
institutions had not been prepared for this war on drugs. And when I asked the police chief about that, did you prepare for this? He said, no, we
didn't have time.
The urgency of the drug epidemic was such that we had to move forward without preparing larger prisons, for example, without hiring more drug
rehab specialists to help treat some of these people.
So you got the sense -- and then also I interviewed a city mayor who said he had not been given any guidelines by the executive branch of the
central government, no guidelines, no kind of instructions on how to carry out this war on drugs. He describe it as something quite ad hoc. The
people are just trying to interpret the statements being made by the president on television and then trying to implement the war on drugs on
the ground.
In the meantime, the bodies just keep piling up -- John.
MANN: Ivan Watson, live in Manila. Thanks very much.
Turning now to the U.S. presidential election. Could it be deja vu all over again on the campaign rail? A sharp decline in the polls has led
Donald Trump to revamp his team again. And some speculate this overhaul could mark a return to the old Trump and not a new direction for the
Republican nominee.
According to the most recent CNN poll of polls Hillary Clinton is leading her rival with an average of 49 percent support to Trump's 39
percent. Just short time ago, Trump new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway spoke to CNN's New Day program. Our Alisyn Camerota asking her about the
campaign leadership and its impact on her candidate's poll numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If we're going to talk about polls, the polls on Donald Trump have not been going in the right direction
either.
But was the feeling that under Paul Manafort's leadership that Donald Trump was being too handled? Too -- not being -- not being -- sort of not
letting Trump be Trump?
CONWAY: I've not had that conversation with Mr. Trump. And Paul Manafort remains as our chairman. We -- Paul and I and Steve Bannon were
with each other yesterday when we had a briefing with -- we had a round table with national security and foreign policy experts. We were together
reviewing the last cuts of our ads, which will start this week. We're very excited.
CAMEROTA: So Kellyanne, what will you do differently with the campaign than we've seen in the past few weeks or couple months?
CONWAY: So I think we're going to sharpen the message. And we're going to make sure Donald Trump is comfortable about being in his own skin, that
he doesn't lose that authenticity that you simply can't buy and a pollster can't give you. Voters know if you're comfortable in your own skin.
And let him be him in this sense. He wants to deliver a speech, if he wants to go to a rally, if he wants to connect with the crowd in a way
that's very spontaneous, that's wonderful. And that's how he got here. That's how he became the nominee in large part, Alisyn.
But at the same time, we have some really serious, pressing problems in this country that I'm hoping will start to be addressed more by the
media. He's going to give these policy speeches, and I'm thrilled that we've gotten so much coverage this week just on the first two speeches.
You'll see more of those. Next week is immigration week followed by education week, and we're really excited about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Kellyanne Conway, Trump's new campaign manager.
Well, for more on the race we are joined now by CNN politics senior correspondent Chris Moody live in Washington.
Thanks so much for being with us. The shakeup seems to be about recreating the enormous success Trump had in the primaries for his ongoing
general election campaign.
Can they make lightning strike twice?
CHRIS MOODY, CNN POLITICS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, not if you are taking the same strategy you had in the primaries. Remember in the
American system that's a very different context. You are only talking to not only Republicans, but very engaged Republicans who like to vote
several months before and be engaged in these primary contests state by state.
But now you have to expand to speak to the American people from coast to coast. You have to speak not only to Republicans but to Democrats. You
have to bring on people from the other party and also sway independents. And from the polls I've been looking at, the swath of independents, or the
non-committed voters at this point is quite large. So, there is a lot of voters there that are up for grabs.
The only problem is in that crucial time after the conventions is summer, frankly let's just say it, he blew it. He focused on things like
personal attacks, especially against the family who lost their son in the Iraq war and other things.
So it seems to me from those comments from the new team that they are going to try to focus him a little bit more, but also give him some
breathing room so he can do it in a way where he feels comfortable.
If anything, they do need a focus. It looks and sounds to me like they're going to be putting -- spending a week on a different topic and
subject. And I think that could prove helpful for him.
But then again, all the plans we've had up until this point, Donald Trump usually just blows them up anyway with an offhand comment here or
there. So, there's really no predicting what will happen, Jonathan.
[11:40:21] MANN: Well, that's what I was going to ask you, because the tone of the campaign has been the big variable. At times he tries to
seem presidential and disciplined, at other times he says whatever is on the too much his head. And it seems like these people have been hired to
give him license to do more of that.
MOODY: Well, it seems they are trying to find a way to manage Trump. But what you can't do is package him -- you know, a lot of consultants will
come in and say here is how you need to speak, here's how you need to act, that just does not work with Donald Trump.
But they are obviously looking at these polling -- the same numbers that we are. And it doesn't look good. I think the numbers to look at are
these key swing states where Donald Trump is really, really struggling. And he is going to have to win.
Look, the electoral map that we have in our system here doesn't look good for Donald Trump. He has to win really a landslide of toss up states
whereas Hillary Clinton because of the way the demographics are currently set up, she only has a win key states like
Florida and Ohio and the thing is in the bag for her. Donald Trump has a lot more ground he is going to have to make up.
MANN: Now, there has been a drama of despair from inside Republican ranks at their own candidate. Does this address that in any way?
MOODY: Well, yes, you are exactly right. It's very difficult for a lot of these Republicans who during the primary and beyond called him
things like a con man, someone -- he could not be trusted with the nuclear codes, someone unfit for president and then have to say, oh, and by the way
I'm now voting for him.
It does put them in a tough position. He has struggled to unify the party in a way. Hillary Clinton has not -- even though she had her
challenges with Bernie Sanders supporters -- she has locked up more than 90 percent of Democrats saying they're going to vote for her.
Donald Trump is hovering just about 80 percent of Republicans who say they're going to vote for him. And that's just the voters. I'm not even
talking about the leaders.
I'm not even talking about the leaders. And now we're starting to see lawmakers from the House and the Senate saying I want nothing to do with
this guy, especially the folks that are up for re-election in November.
And for the Republicans, there is a lot at stake. There are 24 senators up for re-election that are Republicans in november. And if
Hillary Clinton wins, Democrats only need to net four seats to take control of the Senate. That has a lot of Republicans spooked. And it's a lot
bigger than just the presidential race.
MANN: Chris Moody in Washington, thanks very much.
MOODY: Thank you.
MANN: Steve Bannon will be Trump new campaign CEO, his addition coming as a surprise for many Republicans, because he has no experience
running election campaigns.
Brian Stelter looks at why Bannon appealed to Trump nonetheless.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were like boys on a playground and he became a very scary situation and he actually stood up for Sarah Palin.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES" (voice-over): This violent scene sums up what Steve Bannon thinks about politics. The filmmaker and
conservative media giant is not shy about his bare knuckles appoint.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come with a very strong point of view.
STELTER: And make no mistake. He's hungry for a battle.
STEPHEN BANNON, DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN CEO: We need to have a fight in the Republican Party for the soul of the conservative movement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I agree with you.
STELTER: In announcing the hire. The campaign made clear what Trump sees in Steve Bannon touting that the new campaign CEO has been dubbed the
most dangerous political operative in America. Bannon, former navy officer and Goldman Sachs banker may lack campaign experience, but he makes up for
it with his media prowess. He's the chairman of the far right website Breitbart and has made political films intended to sway the minds of on the
fence voters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of all of the 50 governors in the United States, sitting at the desk as one of the most powerful and she wasn't afraid to
use those powers.
STELTER: One of those films boosted Sarah Palin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mean that's out there is that Governor Palin is caribou Barbie. She's a complete and total bimbo and she is an ideologue.
Okay? The empirical evidence in Alaska as governor is exactly the opposite.
STELTER: Another tried to take down President Obama before the 2012 election.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're angry because you were basically lied to.
PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES: We're not even half way there yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I think disappointed because we thought there was going to be a change. Everyone that voted for him thought there was
going to be a change.
STELTER: At the time, Bannon told CNN the film was just a way for disgruntled Obama supporters to vent their frustrations.
BANNON: When you talk to them, they feel the country is more divided than ever and in their lives they feel the economy is not going back. I
mean, this is a film of the working class and middle class in this country.
STELTER: The same kind of popular rhetoric is a staple of Breitbart. Hillary Clinton has been the main target of the pro-Trump's site. Close
behind, Republican establishment Paul Ryan, immigrants and the news media.
BANNON: These guys come to Washington a lot of time as country lawyers and what they do is they stay. Their wives become lobbyists, their
children, their in-laws. They turn the business of government into a family business.
[11:45:09] STELTER: It's no coincidence Breitbart's site promotes the book and film "Clinton Cash." Bannon helps write the film and co-founded
the group that funded it, nor is it a coincidence Trump has used Clinton Cash material on the campaign trail. Now the two men's anti-Clinton
alliance is official.
BANNON: You have to understand how the Clintons who -- who proclaim that they support all your values essentially have sold you out for money.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MANN: Brian Stelter reporting on a man to watch.
You are watching Connect the World. Still to come, the true spirit of the Olympics, a runner from New Zealand helps her American rival to her
feet after a painful collision on the track. We'll hear from American Abbey D'Agostino when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MANN: Those drums, I mean, it just gets in your head. You are watching CNN. This is Connect the World. I'm Jonathan Mann. Welcome
back.
Lets he go to Rio now. Team USA has another gold to add to its chest. Karen Clement has won the top spot in the 400 meter hurdles. Jamaican
sprinting legend Usain Bolt will go for another gold in the 200 meters as he takes another step in his quest for the famous
triple-triple.
And some other events to watch -- men's beach volleyball wrapping up today. Brazil facing Italy on Copacabana Beach.
World Sport's Amanda Davies joins us now live from Rio. Let's talk about Usain Bolt. I mean, he is the man to watch.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Absolutely. When Usain Bolt is in action there is only one man to talk about. And Bolt fans are getting
pretty excited, Jonathan, after his performance in the 200 meter semifinal last night. He ran a time of 19.78, that is his
fastest time of the year over that distance so far. And he said he feels like a new world record might well be in reach.
He, of course, has the existing world record, 19.19. He said to me last week he was aiming
to go under 19 seconds.
There are the question marks, because he hasn't been fit, there are question marks because he hasn't been fit. He missed those Jamaican
trials.
But he certainly looked convincing, 19.78 and still had time to kind of slow down and have a
bit of a chat with Canada's Andre Degrasse as the pair of them crossed the finish line. He'll also be boosted by the fact that his great rival Justin
Gatlin, who took silver in the 100 meters didn't actually qualify for this evening's final. He said he was feeling a little bit of an injury.
And Usain Bolt needs to make sure he does win that 200 this evening, because the bragging rights, otherwise, will be going to his female
Jamaican counterpart Elaine Thompson. She completed the double of the 100 and 200 meter gold medals last night with victory over the Dutch favorite,
Dafne Schippers. And Thompson was saying she really let her light shine through as she put it. She wasn't convinced she was going to be taking
home the gold medals last night as well.
So, we could end up in a situation with a Jaimcan triple gold medal champion at these games in both the men's and the women's side, because
Thompson and Bolt, of course, looking for the one, two, three, the 100, 200, and 2x100 relay as well.
[11:50:35] MANN: Amanda, you are a lucky woman, because I think -- if I know your work schedule -- you can get to the Copacabana Beach tonight --
you're already there, in fact, for men's beach volleyball. Brazil has got to be the favorites, a hometown crowd. And they know that beach.
DAVIES: They do know this beach. I'll tell you, it would be a really late night for me, Jonathan. It's a midnight start. And I've got 3:30
starts at the moment. So there wouldn't be much sleep going on, but certainly it's one of the big, big events on the calendar here.
The men's world number one ranked pair of Schmidt and Cerutti, are favorites against an Italian pair heading into the Men's beach volleyball
final this evening. Cerutti actually looking to go one better than the silver medal he won in London four years ago.
They'll be hoping to avoid the disappointment their female counterparts experienced last night. Agatha and Barbara could only to
manage the silver medal. They were beaten by the German European champions to the gold medal.
But the men will be inspired, you would think, by the performance of the men's football team last night. They smashed Honduras 6-0 to book
their place in the men's football final, the gold medal match what a match it's going to be. It is a repeat of that World Cup final -- or semifinal I
should say -- from two years ago where Brazil were drubbed 7-1, weren't they. Such disappointment and despair
here.
But this is the final. This is at the Maracana. And this time Neymar is playing and hoping he will be able to take them to gold.
MANN: OK, we have just a moment, but you spoke to an athlete who didn't get anywhere near a medal or a podium, but she has got all of our
hearts around the world. Tell us her story.
DAVISE: Yeah, Abbey D'Agostino. So often we are talking about those who finished first or who have done something wrong. But this time we are
going to talking about somebody who finished last in a race. And some of the most iconic pictures from this Olympic games, D'Agostino tumbled along
with New Zealand's Nicky Hamblin in the heats for the women's 5,000 meters.
They helped each other up. They helped each other on and they wouldn't allow themselves to
give up. Have a listen to her take of how it happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABBEY A'GOSTINO, U.S. OLYMPIC RUNNER: This isn't time for rational thought in there. It's just so automatic. And I just remember getting up
and thinking, oh, we've got to finish. And you know, before I knew it, she was back up again, and then I fell and she reciprocated. And it's just so
-- I mean, I can't explain. I think you know, that was not me, like, that was another spirit in me. I feel like that was god's spirit in me. I know
it was. And I just -- like, it -- that doesn't come naturally, so I'm grateful to have been a part of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Abbey D'Agostino talking to our Amanda Davies. Amazing ladies. Thanks so much.
Coming up, dancing, spinning and twirling in tonight's parting shots. We stay in Rio to meet a South Korean athlete whose fans call her fairy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:55:16] DAVIES: And in our Parting Shots, South Korea's Fairy rhythmic gymnast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SON YEON-JAE, SOUTH KOREAN OLYMPIC GYMNAST: My name is Son Yeon-jae. I am 21-years-old. I am South Korean rhythmic gymnastic.
I first started when I was five. I can't even remember myself before I started the sport. I perform with a hoop and ball and clubs and ribbons.
I think it's really difficult. We training a lot because we have to perform without any mistakes. We have to show our emotion and everything.
I was fifth place in Londong Olympic games. And I got the gold medal in 2014 International Game. And I got the medal in hoop in (inaudible).
I'm so proud of myself because I'm doing and people call it first time and first time Korean
gymnast, everything is first. So, I'm so happy.
I think rhythmic gymnastic it is like fighting with myself, because it's competition, yes, I go to the floor alone and I go there and I do my
performance.
I feel so free and I feel so happy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MANN: Remarkable.
Thank you for joining us.
END
