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Russian Foreign Minister Calls Hacking Allegations Flattering, But False; Syria: War on Terror, or War on Civilians; Iraq, Turkey Spar Over Turkish Troop Deployments; African Start-up Mirini Naturals; Donald Trump Steps up Intraparty Attacks. 11:00a-12:00p ET
Aired October 12, 2016 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[11:00:15] BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER: If Russia continues its
current path, the I believe that great country is in danger of becoming a pariah nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: A war on terror or a war on civilians? Relations sour as Russia and the west play the blame game over Syria.
We're live in Moscow in just a moment to hear what Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had to say to CNN.
Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is collusion and corruption of the highest order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Donald Trump lashes out at his opponent over the contents of hacked emails. We'll delve into the latest batch of emails from
WikiLeaks and ask how they affect the Clinton campaign.
And a vision of hell on Earth in Iraq. We'll take you to a town reclaimed from ISIS but still suffering. That special report is just
ahead.
Very warm welcome. And it's just after 7:00 here in the UAE. You're watching Connect the
World. I'm Becky Anderson.
We begin with more tragedy in Syria, in two cities on different sides of the country and two
different sides of the war. To Daraa first where reports say five children and an adult were killed when shelling smashed into a primary school. Many
others were wounded. Rebels are said to have fired shelled a government- held area.
Meanwhile in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, almost a week of relative calm has come crashing down. Activists say air strikes have killed at least 25
people there on Wednesday alone, dozens more were reported killed in the violence on Tuesday.
Well, we have reported on the painfully slow going diplomatic slog to stop the fighting. Right now it looks to be more of a breakdown than any
kind of breakthrough. Russian President Vladimir Putin called off a planned trip to France for next week in an apparent snub after the French
president suggested Moscow could be guilty of war crimes in Syria.
Britain isn't happy with Moscow either. It's foreign secretary called for protests outside Russia's embassy in London and gave the country this
warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: I must say bluntly to the House that if Russia continues in its current path, then I believe that great country is in danger of
becoming a pariah nation. And if President Putin's strategy is to restore the greatness and the glory of Russia, then I believe he risks seeing his
ambition turn to ashes in the face of international contempt for what is happening in Syria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Boris Johnson, the British foreign secretary, speaking earlier.
Well, let's get you out to Moscow where CNN's Matthew chance is getting the very latest from
there. And Matthew, the facts are, as often, disputed, as the land itself in Syria -- France, Britain, the U.S., clearly coming down against Moscow.
What's its response?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course this isn't a new departure on the part of Britain and France and the west in general when it
comes to criticizing Russia's actions in Syria. Russia, of course, backs the opposite side in the conflict. To many of the western powers, Britain
and France included, along with the United States. They're strong allies of Bashar al-Assad.
In terms of the criticism of the humanitarian catastrophe and Russia's part in it that has been made by both France and the United Kingdom in
recent days, well, the Russians, I mean, they categorically -- as often the case when they're accused of doing these negative things, they
categorically deny it, saying, look, we're not targeting civilians in Syria. In fact, the Russians refuse to acknowledge that any civilians have
been killed as a result of the Russian bombing raids and the backing of Syrian forces that they've been engaged in for some time now.
They're purely aiming, they say, at terrorist groups inside Syria. And obviously that's sometimes at odds, very often at odds with the very
dramatic, horrific images that we see come from the ground inside Syria.
But, you know, the Russian call, for what it's worth, is that the international community, with the United States, with Britain and with
France as well should get together and should formulate a common policy towards Syria, which of course from a Russian point of view would be
backing Bashar al-Assad and cracking down on jihadists as hard as possible, including ISIS inside Syria.
ANDERSON: Matthew, in just the last few hours, our colleague Christiane Amanpour, sat down with the Russian foreign minister. She
clearly talked Syria. She also asked Sergey Lavrov to respond to mounting accusations that Moscow is trying to interfere with America's presidential
election.
For our viewers' sake I just want them to hear this part of that exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, it's flattering, of course, to get this kind of attention for a regional power, as President
Obama called us some time ago. Now everybody in the United States is saying that it is Russia which is running the United Nations (sic)
presidential debate. It's flattering, as I said, but it has nothing, you know, to be explained by the facts.
we have not seen a single fact, a single proof. And we have not seen any answer to the proposal which one year ago, almost one year ago, November
2015, the Russian prosecutor general's office conveyed to the Department of Justice to start professional consultations on cybercrime.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's get back to the facts. You deny this. You know, the international
community...
LAVROV: No, we did not deny this, they did not prove it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Hmm.
Matthew, some might suggest the foreign minister is being rather coy there. Why?
CHANCE: Well, I think it was interesting that he was using the word "flattering" so many times during that response as if it was a sort of good
thing that Russia has been accused of intervening, or trying to influence the outcome of the presidential elections. And I think that talks to this
idea that Russia has for a long time strived to be taken more seriously on the international stage, dreamed about having its influence felt in all
corners of the world, sort of harking back to the influence it enjoyed when it was the Soviet Union, when it was part of the Soviet Union.
And I think that is in a sense a really major win for Putin already, the fact that Russia is being talked about as a power that has the ability
to even influence the U.S. presidential election, I think in the Kremlin will be perceived as something of a win.
ANDERSON: Matthew Chance is in Moscow for you. And viewers, you can watch the rest of
that interview with Mr. Lavrov in just a few hours' time, 7:00 p.m. over in London, 10:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm sure you can we can work only
right here on CNN.
Well, Donald Trump is going rogue and says he's ready to fight after declaring himself unshackled. Well, it's safe to say we have never seen
anything like this in the race for the White House, with just weeks to go until election day. The Republican candidate not only attacking top
members of his own party but also saying he may be, quote, better off without their
support.
Well, w new survey by USA Today lays bare the extraordinary fracture in Trump's party. It says 26 percent of Republican governors and members
of Congress are refusing to endorse their own nominee.
CNN's Manu Raju has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't want his support, I don't care about his support.
MANU RAJU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump declaring himself unshackled from his own party and lashing out at Republican leadership
after spending the day unleashing in a tirade of tweets.
TRUMP: The shackles are some of the establishment people that are weak and ineffective people within the Republican Party -- senators and
others and Paul Ryan.
RAJU: Berating House Speaker Paul Ryan for announcing he would no longer defend Donald Trump.
TRUMP: The first sign of a little bit of difficulty, he unendorses. I wouldn't want to be in a fox hole with a lot of these people, including
Ryan, especially Ryan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got that.
RAJU: And blasting Senator John McCain for revoking his endorsement.
TRUMP: He's never heard salty language before. You know, John McCain, who has probably the dirtiest mouth in all of the Senate.
RAJU: Trump rejecting the idea that his vulgar comments about forcing himself on women is a valid reason for his supporters to abandon him.
[11:10:02] TRUMP: Locker room talk and most people have heard it before and I've had a lot of women come up to me and said, boy, I've heard
that and I've heard a lot worse than that over my life.
RAJU: This as more Republicans, particularly those in tight races, attempt to distance themselves the nominee.
SEN. PAT TOOMEY, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: I've been openly very critical of policy positions that Donald Trump has taken.
[08:15:01] RAJU: As others are sticking by his side and celebrating his intraparty attacks.
GOV. PAUL LEPAGE, (R) MAINE: We need him to show authoritative power in our country and bring back the rule of law.
RAJU: The Clinton campaign moving swiftly to capitalize on the Republican revolt. Rolling out the Democratic party's biggest names to
turn out the vote.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You can't repeatedly denounce what is said by someone. and then say, but I'm still going to
endorse them to be the most powerful person on the planet.
AL GORE, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Your vote really, really, really counts. You can consider me as an exhibit A of that truth.
RAJU: As Trump's team pivots to a new strategy aimed at driving down Clinton's favorability numbers in hopes of keeping Democratic voters home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Trump getting ready to rally supporters today in the key state of Florida.
Jason Carroll is there with the very latest. I know it is pretty noisy where you are.
Listen, Jason, Trump certainly rallying his base by antagonizing the Republican establishment, as it were. But is that earning him any new
votes? Polls certainly showing he has a way to go to close the gap with Hillary Clinton, not least in the state of Florida.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I heard part of your question there, Becky, in terms of trying to attract new voters, you know,
there seems to be a question, if this strategy, this strategy of attacking members of the GOP, Donald Trump's own party, is that going to work?
And there are a number of people clearly within the GOP establishment who clearly feel as though this strategy is not going to work. But I'll
tell you what it does do, it rallies and it drives up people who come out to arenas like this one. They absolutely, for lack of
a better word, love it when Donald Trump goes after the GOP establishment.
Let me tell you something, Becky. Back in April, I attended a GOP state convention in California, in April, where Donald Trump told a room
full of GOP insiders, GOP elites, he said, look, I can do this with you but if I do it without I still think I can win. That was in April.
So, all of these -- all of this talk about Donald Trump saying that the shackles have been removed from him at this point and he can finally be
himself, well, there's also an argument he's -- quite frankly he was himself throughout the primary. He's been himself throughout the summer.
And he's going to be himself throughout the very end.
Now, whether or not it attracts independent voters, I think there are a lot of people who feel as though he is not going to work, but what it
definitely does do, it rallies the base.
ANDRESON: Jason, what does he need to do in a state like Florida? And what is he likely to do and say tonight? Because the answer to those
two questions should be similar, but with Donald Trump, they're likely to be very different, aren't they?
CARROLL: well, in terms of the state of Florida, Florida, as you know, the polls here show it's very, very close. Hillary Clinton, with a
slight lead over Donald Trump here in the state. This is one of the states that is crucial for a win for both campaigns. You know, again, it's a
question at this point in the election, for an international audience, whether you're in the state of Florida, whether you're in the state of
Pennsylvania, in any of the one of the swing states -- what we call here in The States that are up for play, it is essential that you draw in people
who are beyond your base. That is the only way you can really secure a win. And there is a very serious question with a number of GOP leaders if
this stragey of attacking members of your own party, will that play in a place like Florida -- probably not. Will it play in a place like New
Hampshire or Pennsylvania? Probably not.
And that's why you've got this real worry here. But if you're the Trump campaign, what else do you do? You know, you know that you can rally
the base. That works. So, I think the Donald Trump campaign is really running out of some options here in terms of how to bring in new people.
So, what do you do? You rally the base. That's what they're doing here in Florida, that's what they're likely going to do as they move forward.
[11:15:02] ANDERSON: Jason Carroll is in Florida for you viewers tonight. It is 11:14 there. It's 7:14 here in the UAE. Jason, thank you.
Well, to some other stories on our radar today, and South African students clashing with police again over the cost of education. Protesters
demanding free education were met with this.
Well, this was the scene in Johannesburg. Police fired rubber bullets to break up the demonstrations.
Well, the lawyers for Paris terror attack suspect Salah Abdeslam said they will no longer defend
him. They made the decision after he refused to speak in court.
Now he's accused of helping carry out the attacks in Paris last November that killed 130 people.
The king of Thailand's medical condition remains unstable. A palace statement says the
world's longest reigning monarch is being closely monitored after receiving medical procedures
over the weekend. He has held the throne for seven decades.
Well, Samsung may have put out the fire, but the company is still cleaning up the mess. The world's largest smartphone maker has slashed
billions off its estimated profits after thatyou thought production of its Galaxy Note 7.
Now, the company is still trying to figure out why its phones are catching fire like we see here, as consumers wonder if the manufacturer can
be trusted.
CNN's Paula Hancocks explains from Seoul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHEN COLBERT, LATE SHOW HOST: I have a special message for anyone watching tonight's show on their Samsung Galaxy Note 7: run for your lives.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You can't help but laugh at Stephen Colbert on the Late Show, unless of course you work for
Samsung.
The South Korean tech giant's woes have become welcome fodder for comedy shows in the U.S. Social media users are also having some fun of
their own mocking the fact Galaxy Note 7s can be prone to overheating or bursting into flames, praising the fact it's waterproof, but for all the
wrong reasons.
Samsung writing off its Galaxy Note 7 line completely has done little to silence the jokers.
LEE BYUNG-TAE, KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: You have to embrace it. So, there's no other option. You have to
communicate with the customers proactively.
HANCOCKS: Samsung is now in crisis mode: how to rebuild the brand., how to convince customers a potentially dangerous phone replaced by another
potentially dangerous phone does not mean they cannot be trusted.
BOB O'DONNELL, ANALYST, TECHANALYSIS: The bottom line is it makes questions about the brand. Because all of a sudden we're not sure we can
trust Samsung because they couldn't solve this problem.
HANCOCKS: Most agree that until Samsung figures out what is wrong with this phone, and makes moves to ensure it can never happen again it
will be hard to regain trust.
Samsung has built credibility from scratch before. Back in 1995, Chairman Lee Kyung-hee (ph) ordered mass burning of products he deemed low
quality and defective, ramming home the message of quality first.
A similar message may be needed now, although perhaps without the fires.
There is a second shadow hanging over Samsung products: U.S. regulators last month warned owners of certain top loading washing machines
of safety issues following a report some have exploded.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission says it is currently working with Samsung on a remedy.
Samsung electronics has cut its forecast for the third quarter operating profit by a third. And this is really the first indication we
have of how this crisis is going to affect them.
But what Samsung is unable to answer, the question they simply don't know, is how costly is
this mistake going to be for its brand and its credibility.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Still to come tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But ISIS is now gone, and this fire continues to burn right on the edge of a town in which many
people are now living.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman reports from Qayyara, a town rid of the terror group, but still feeling the aftereffects.
And later, first he wanted to lock them out, then vet them. Now, Donald Trump wants Muslims to report on themselves, but they may get the
last laugh. We'll speak to the man who started a campaign mocking Trump's latest comments. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:21:58] ANDERSON: Another escalation in the war of words between the Turkish president there has been a war of words between Turkish
president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Iraqi prime minister Haider al- Abadi. Tensions rising as troops prepare for a major offensive to try to retake Mosul from ISIS.
Now, Mr. Abadi repeatedly has called on Turkey to withdraw its forces deployed near the northern city. But Mr. Erdogan insists Turkish soldiers
will take part in the operation.
You're with CNN. This is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson, 22 minutes past 7:00 here in Abu Dhab. Welcome back.
The U.S. calling for calm amid the friction and concerned that the flare up between the two countries could compromise what is the impending
fight.
For more on the situation in Iraq, I'm joined now by our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, in Irbil this evening, having
recently traveled to Qayyara, a town that was liberated from ISIS control, Ben, in late August. And our viewers can see on the map Qayyara's
strategic location in relation to Mosul.
What did you find?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, Qayyara is important because it's just 55 kilometers south of Mosul. And it's right
next to a major air base, which will be used in the fight to drive ISIS out of Mosul. But what we saw in Qayyara was a very vivid example of ISIS's
scorched Earth tactics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: It's a scene that conjures up images of the darkest depths of hell, a lake of fire, thick black clouds obscuring the town of al Qayyara
south of Mosul.
(on camera): ISIS set this oil well on fire months ago. The purpose was to obscure the view of aircraft overhead but ISIS is gone and this fire
continues to burn right on the edge of a town in which many people are now living.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): In its shadow lives Halil, who takes us to his house somewhere in the midday darkness. The smoke has stained his 2- year-
old and his sisters. Halil and his wife cover the children with a sheet at night, scant protection from the toxic fumes.
"That well is really hurting us," Halil says. "The wind has changed direction and now it's all blowing on us."
He says they have nowhere else to go. We could barely stay with him for 10 minutes.
Engineer Hussein Suleiman and his team are trying to put out the dozens of fires, but it's a time-consuming process.
"It took 30 days to put out one fire," he says.
(SHOUTING)
WEDEMAN: Outside the mayor's office, people line up with requests and complaints, usually about the smoke.
"It's poison," says this man.
Since ISIS was driven out of Qayyara in late August, the mayor has struggled to bring the town back to life. He worries about the long- term
effects of the fires.
"Those who aren't sick now will become sick," he warns.
(SHOUTING)
WEDEMAN: In the main street, some shops have reopened. Also here, the smoke hangs heavily on residents.
"It's another ISIS," he says. "It's cancer."
Daesh, as they call ISIS here, left behind a poisoning legacy of death, destruction and disease.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:25:57] WEDEMAN: And that's one tactic that ISIS is using. And we've learned today another tactic they've begun to use is the use of
explosive drones.
Now, according to Peshmerga sources, on the Second of October, ISIS flew a drone into a Kurdish position north of Mosul, killing two Kurdish
fighters, wounding, including one seriously, members of a Frenchspecial forces unit.
In addition to that, as coalition and Iraqi and Kurdish forces prepare for this offensive, there's also the concern that ISIS may be about to use
chemical weapons as well -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman is in Irbil in Iraq for you this evening. Ben, thank you.
World headlines up next for you, viewers.
Plus, Donald Trump says hacked emails show the U.S. Justice Department helped Hillary Clinton, quote, cover up for her crimes. We're going to
look at those allegations just ahead. Taking a very short break. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[11:30:44] ANDERSON: Well, Donald Trump's war on his own party may be dominating the headlines, but Hillary Clinton dealing with some challenges
of her own. WikiLeaks has released a new batch of hacked emails that the Trump campaign calls evidence of collusion and corruption of the highest
order.
CNN's Drew Griffin investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDNET: It's the latest batch of hacked emails perportedly from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, and the
Trump campaign has seized on this one.
It is from Hillary Clinton's campaign spokesman Brian Fallon, a person who used to work at the Department of Justice. The Trump campaign says
this email proves Clinton's camp was in contact with the Department of Justice just as Justice was investigating Hillary Clinton.
DOJ folks inform me there's a status hearing in this case this morning, Fallon writes to
Clinton staffers, so we could have a window into the judge's thinking about this proposed production schedule as quickly as today.
The email concerns a civil lawsuit about the pending release of Clinton's State Department emails. And Trump's campaign immediately
pounced.
Today's report that Clinton's campaign was in communication with the Obama Department of
Justice on the email investigation shows a level of collusion which calls into question the entire investigation into her private server.
The email doesn't specify who at the Department of Justice Fallon was in contact with, and
other media organizations, including CNN, were already aware of the hearing that he's talking about. It was a matter of public record.
Possibly more damaging in the recent email dump are what appear to be excerpts of Hillary Clinton's paid speeches to Wall Street executives.
Clinton has refused to release the transcripts of these speeches and according to the hacked emails, this may be why.
A passage where she contemplates just how to regulate Wall Street reform in a paid speech to Wall Street bankers. "There is nothing magic
about regulations," Clinton reportedly says. "Too much is bad, too little is bad. How do you get the golden key? How do we figure out what works?
And the people who know the industry better than anybody are the people who work in the industry."
It's one of several passages in her private speeches where Clinton mentions her long time
friendship and financial support with Wall Street. Contrast that with how she speaks about Wall Street on the campaign trail as she did this past
February.
CLINTON: Wall Street can never be allowed to threaten Main Street again. No bank can be too big to fail. No executive too powerful to jail.
GRIFFIN: The hacked emails also show a very different view on trade when Hillary Clinton
speaks in private and when she speaks in public.
Speaking in private before executives of a Brazilian bank, she says, "my dream is a hemispheric common market with open trade and open borders.
We have to resist protectionism, other kinds of barriers to market access and to trade."
In April, before a public gathering of trade unions, her message was different.
CLINTON: I will stand with you. I will have your back. And I will stop dead in its tracks any trade deal that hurts you or hurts America.
But I believe we need a president who doesn't just complain about trade, we need a president who knows how to compete and win for American workers.
GRIFFIN: The Clinton campaign's response to all this is to blame Russian hackers, and without evidence, insinuate Donald Trump and Vladimir
Putin are somehow engineering a campaign strategy.
The Clinton statement reads in part, "the timing shows you that even Putin knows Trump had a bad weekend and a bad debate. It should concern
every American that Russia is willing to engage in such hostile acts in order to help Donald Trump become president of the United States."
Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, our next guest says the WikiLeaks revelations could have been a devastating October surprise, as he calls it, for the Clinton
campaign, if she were running against a typical Republican candidate.
Eric Levitz is associate editor of the Daily Intelligencer at New York Magazine, by which, Eric, you mean what?
[11:35:11] ERIC LEVITZ, NEW YORK MAGAZINE: Yeah, thanks.
Basically there's nothing in these private remarks that are more politically toxic than what's in
Donald Trump's public remarks. But in a close race with a conventional Republican candidate, this kind of material could have threatened to
alienate the small but significant number of Bernie Sanders supporters who really are very skeptical of Hillary Clinton and are flirting with voting
for third parties. So, that's on the one hand.
On the other hand, it threatens to energize the Republican base, particularly these comments that she made about wanting not just open trade
with South America, but open borders with South America. And that's something that Donald Trump's base would be really responsive to, and also
swing voters who are leaning right on immigration I think would really find those comments to be potentially, you know, energizing.
ANDERSON: So how damaging do you think these WikiLeaks are to her campaign in the first instance?
LEVITZ: Well, I think one thing that I think should be clarified is that I don't think that anything in these emails is shocking in particular,
like we're not seeing Hillary Clinton joking with Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sach's CEO, about how funny it is when Americans get their homes foreclosed
on or something. What we're seeing is...
ANDERSON: Sure. But what we see big government hooked up with big business, don't we?
LEVITZ: Absolutely. I mean, we're seeing what -- the image that Clinton has tried to run away from for most of 2016 campaign, which is
she's a centrist establishment Democrat who is more friendly with Wall Street than your average establishment Democrat, partially by the
fact that she represented New York City when she was New York's senator.
So it brings attention to the fact that she has this cozy relationship with Wall Street at a time when Wall Street's popularity on both the left
and right is extremely low. I mean, I think it was ultimately a fairly reckless decision on Clinton's start to spend the time between when she was
secretary of state and when she was going to run for president giving a lot of closed doors speeches to Wall Street firms. You know, I think that it's
not...
ANDERSON: As you point out -- as you point out in your article, at a DNC speech, Clinton said she believed, quote, Wall Street can never, ever
be allowed to wreck Main Street again. But in a 2013 speech to Goldman Sachs, Clinton seemed to doubt that Wall Street had ever wrecked Main
Street in the first place.
It doesn't add up, does it?
LEVITZ: Yeah. I think -- I mean, there's a little bit of hedging in her exact quote where she says, you know, that Americans have been raging
against the United States banking industry and we know that that's an oversimplification. So, she implies that there's some responsibility with
Wall Street, but also suggests that the public is misinformed about how responsible they are.
Yeah, with which, you know, I think again is not going to score her many points with most American voters, I would say.
ANDERSON: Eric, we've been looking through these hacked emails as a team. I want to share one in particular with our viewers, a memo sent to
the Democratic National Committee in April of last year, outlines a strategy to force Republican candidates into extreme
conservative positions. You'll be familiar I'm sure with this email.
It goes on to say, according to WikiLeaks, quote, we don't want to marginalize the more extreme candidates, but make them more Pied Piper
candidates who actually represent the mainstream of the Republican Party. Pied Piper candidates include but are not limited to Ted Cruz, Donald
Trump, Ben Carson.
With the benefit of hindsight, will her campaign wish they had better understood how unshackled, some commentators might say unhinged, a
candidate Donald Trump would turn out to be?
LEVITZ: Well, I would say two things. One, I don't think so, because the unshackled candidate is currently trailing Clinton by I think six
points in an average of current polls, and other candidates would be less likely to be losing to her by this much, so I think probably they're not
regretting that.
But I also think it's important to stipulate that it's very unlikely that the Clinton campaign is the reason that Donald Trump won the
Republican primary. However, they may have tried to elevate Donald Trump. Trump was perfectly capable of elevating himself, as was the news media
that was really attracted to the sort of celebrity audience that he brought to the political process.
So, whatever the Clinton campaign did to try to, you know, increase Donald Trump's profile,
I think is fairly insignificant I think to what actually happened.
ANDERSON: There's been much talk of an October surprise, as it's being termed, so far as WikiLeaks are concerned.
And much of the talk is that these leaks -- or certainly the Clinton campaign accusing those who are leaking these emails as being out to get
her.
Do you expect, or do you sense, that there is anything more damaging to come with what now -- we're into what, the last four weeks before the
actual election date of November 8.
[11:40:38] LEVITZ: Yeah, you know, I don't have any special contact within WikiLeaks or, you know, Putin's government. But I do think that
it's very possible that more damaging stuff is going to come out. But the trouble is that printed stuff, you know, leaked transcripts of speeches,
just don't play as well as leaked audio and video. And, you know, Trump's video conversation with Billy Bush about touching women is always going to
I think resonate more in this text.
And, again, there's also this other, you know, potential sitting bomb of the fact that Donald Trump has been giving interviews for two decades,
and how many other hot mic videos are out there somewhere?
So I think that it's certainly possible that even more damaging stuff is going to come from WikiLeaks, but whether that material is going to be
damaging enough to overwhelm Clinton's current lead over Trump, I'm skeptical of.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. All right, for the time being, thank you for that. We'll have you back.
Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. Coming up, another week, another meaning. When Donald Trump urged Muslims
to report what they see, some saw humor. The funny online campaign that has its own hashtag. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's no secret that women want healthy hair. But for African women, it usually means subjecting it to harsh products.
In Kenya, one entrepreneur is capitalizing on the growing demand for natural hair care. And is now going up against big brands.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; Marini Naturals is Kenya's first quality hair care line for all women of natural and Afro textured hair.
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: After studying interior design in Italy, Michelle Talami (ph) came back home to start her life afresh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three years ago, I wanted to live a mother natural and healthier lifestyles. Everything about me that had chemicals
or that was not natural or that was synthetic had to go in my life. So, one of the things that I did was cut my hair and grew it afresh naturally.
And then when I did that, the challenge came that I could not find products in the market suitable for women of natural hair like myself.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mirini Naturals is growing in popularity. But success has come with a price tag.
[11:45:02] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some of our challenges in the very beginning was raising that startup capital that was needed to put together
the product, the formulation, our labels. And we really wanted a product that looks so good, that looks international standards. So, of course that
costs quite a bit of money. It took me about $50,000 to $70,000 to put this together. It was not easy to get that capital.
I got a lot of support from my family, my mom, my brother, they came through for me, and we were able to sort of just collect all the finances
we could to set up shop.
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: Mirini Naturals has a team of eight employees. The business also works with a separate team of research laboratories
formulators, hair stylers, chemical engineers and cosmetic scientists.
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE; This is Mirini Naturals curling butter. And we usually like our butters very thick, because African hair is naturally it
needs moisture to be able to be maintained properly, so butters tend to seal in the moisture very well.
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: Mirini Naturals hopes to see the product grow outside of East Africa.
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: I have a vision to make Mirini Naturals the leading haircare line for all women in Africa and beyond.
I feel very accomplished to be able to have in a timeframe of just a year to be able to have moved Mirini Naturals from Kenya beyond borders.
We're soon to be in South Africa. And even more recently, we are now in France. We didn't even know there's such a huge demand there, but we just
had our doors knocking and we shipped some products to them. they loved it. And now products are all the way in Europe in Frnace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. Welcome back. 48 minutes past 7:00 here.
Let's get back to the United States of America, land of the brave, home of the Donald.
Trump's campaign has inadvertently launched a thousand memes this election. And at Sunday's bruising debate with rival Hillary Clinton, he
sparked yet another round of them with these words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have to be sure that Muslims come in and report when they see something going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: So some have been doing just that, using the the #muslimsreportstuff.
One Twitter turned himself in for a laundry related crime, as you see here, another calld out his own sister for drinking orange juice straight
out of the carton. To be fair, that can be kind of gross.
And scholar Reza Aslan, who has been on our show, of course, tweeting you don't want to know what we actually put in hummus -- just chick peas, I
hope mate.
Well, all this part of Trump's, shall we say, uneasy relationship with Muslims this election.
Let's bring in Mustafa Bayumi from New York. Mustafa sent the first tweet that helped kicked off the hashtag, writing quote, "I'm a Muslim and
I would like to report a crazy man threatening a woman on a stage in Missouri."
So, Mustafa, Twitter has been in many ways a pillar of Trump's campaign. Did you expect your tweet to catch on the way it did?
MOUSTAFA BAYOUMI, AUTHOR: Not at all. I was live tweeting the debate all the way through. And then with that tweet, suddenly my phone was
blowing up. So it was completey a surprise to me.
ANDERSON: What do you in the Muslims -- the Americans you speak to make of Mr. Trump?
BAYOUMI: What do Muslim Americans make of Mr. Trump? Yeah, I think you know Muslim American completely reject the kind of divisive campaign
that Donald Trump is running. And I think that actually a lot of Americans reject that kind of campaign. And it's not just divisive against Mslims,
it's also Mexicans, other imigrants, it's women, obviously as well. And so I think the best way to fight that division, too, often is through humor.
So that's what I was trying to do with my tweet.
ANDERSON: And it succeeded, which is a good thing.
Listen, the title of your book, "How Does it Feel to be a Problem?" I wonder, do you feel like more of a problem than you did before this
campaign? I'm using the title here.
BAYOUMI: Well, I certainly feel more like an issue. I don't know if I feel like more like a problem, but I certainly feel more like an issue.
I feel like the way that Donald Trump has tried to in a sense really deploy Muslims as a kind of wedge issue in the country, and it's not just him
also, it's actually, you know, we've seen it from all kinds of politicians across the spectrum. I think that's actually a very big problem. And it
certainly escalated during this campaign.
ANDERSON: How important do you think it has been to inject some humor into what was such an early and divisive issue for so many people from the
Trump campaign?
BAYOUMI: Yeah. I think that this campaign is itself kind of a joke, frankly. And so I think what the humor is doing in effect is just
illustrating the non-seriousness of someone like Donald Trump as a world leader. I just do not think that Donald Trump is prepared to be a
leader, in effect the biggest leader of the world.
And it's -- in effect it's a joke on its own. And so the humor is incredibly important as a way of also deflating the aura around Donald
Trump.
ANDERSON: And perhaps doing away with the issues that Trump has raised, which as we have been pointing out, have been so divisive and
damaging for Muslim-Americans. Whatever happens in this election, do you think the damaging impact will evaporate, or is it here to stay? I'm quite
serious about this.
BAYOUMI: Right. Yes, I think that's actually the most important question, that's the big question of the campaign. And in fact, we know --
what we do know, is that based on independent studies, there was a study done just in California a few weeks ago, Islamophobic incidents, hate
crimes against Muslims in the United States are up 78 percent this year compared to last year. And last year was already a banner year for that.
And so we know that that's actually a real problem. And it seems like was already a banner year for that.
But I think that we really need to work at this. It's not going to disappear, just evaporate when the election is over. Clearly, we -- Trump
has made a certain kind of Islamophobia respectable in American politics. And he's also made that kind of notion, something that people are now more
than willing -- more willing than ever to entertain.
So, I think it's really, really important that we actually work very hard to try to put that genie back in the bottle.
ANDERSON: Right. You reportedly got the most shared tweet of the debate. And we know these debates have been massively, massively followed
on social media.
So like Mr. Andy Warhol, and as he promised, these are your 15 minutes of fame, as it were. With those 15 minutes, what's the message that you
want to leave us with?
BAYOUMI: Oh, you know, I think it's so obvious to me that I'm getting a lot of love, it's
great, youk now, coming out of this one tweet. Well, one thing I've written a few books, I write articles, I do all kinds of writing, but only
this 140-character tweet I guess matters. But that's fine.
But, you know, the thing is the love that I'm getting from around the world is really coming not just from Muslims but from everybody. I think
there's such an opportunity to unite around common causes and we should not be ruled by a politics of division. That to me is fundamental and clear
from this.
ANDERSON: Pleasure speaking to you, sir. Thank you.
BAYOUMI: My pleasure. Thank you, Becky.
[11:55:03] ANDERSON: Well, the last U.S. presidential debate may have gone down as one of the you ugliest in history, but thanks to the internet,
it's getting a hilarious makeover. Today's Parting Shots, then, brought to you by my colleague Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The candidates were hard on each other, but not this hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Hey. Hey. Have to say you suck."
"Well, that's just stupid."
MOOS: Nor were they this nice.
(SINGING)
MOOS: Two debates; two parodies.
(SINGING)
MOOS: The stand by me lyric.
TRUMP: Congratulations. Great job.
MOOS: Was actually a sarcastic comment in the real debate.
The funny thing is that this us election spoof wasn't even made in America. A Dutch video artist did it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just noticed the way these candidates were strolling around the stage and I just felt this needed a song really.
Some sick courting ritual, in a way.
(SINGING)
MOOS: With a magical fantasy of a different sort, Bad Lipreading is back with a new video.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well I can do this, bweeeeep.
Woo ha. Woo ha.
MOOS: Actually, trump was saying this:
TRUMP: Wrong.
CLINTON: That is absolutely.
TRUMP: Wrong.
CLINTON: Proved.
MOOS: Bad Lipreading has been around for five years now.
UNIDENITIFIED MALE: Well, yeah. I can do this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I doubt you're quite that good."
MOOS: Hillary did actually wink, a la Sarah Palin, at the debate.
CLINTON: Well, not quite that long.
MOOS: Commenters commiserated, "we are doomed. This makes more sense than the actual debate!"
UNIDENITIFIED MALE: You know you want to lick my feet. You know you want to lick my feet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's psycho.
MOOS: The video producer who does these bad lip readings wants to remain anonymous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Favorite way to eat chicken?
UNIDENITIFIED MALE: Raw.
MOOS: Actually, Donald's favorite way to eat chicken is with a knife and fork.
The public eats up these parodies. Forget Dirty Dancing, the debates are dirty politics and could use a little harmony.
(SINGING)
MOOS: Jeanne moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson. That was Connect the World. From the team here, thank you for watching.
CNN continues of course after this very short break. Don't go away.
END
