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Hillary Clinton Holds Commanding Lead in Latest Poll; AT&T Plans to Merge with Time Warner; France's Struggle to Close "The Jungle"; Fierce Fighting in the Battle for Mosul; Has Trump Campaign Increased Bullying in U.S. Schools? Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired October 24, 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)
[11:00:20] MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But even the first week in open plains and deserted villages proved a hard slog,
defenses inside the city will be much tougher.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Seven days into the offensive on Mosul, we take stock of the
push to dislodge ISIS from their stronghold in Iraq. I'm going to get you to the front lines this hour with a special report on the battle.
Also ahead for you, lining up for a better life: hundreds of migrants on the move as France dismantles a notoriously crowded camp.
And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never heard anyone call me a terrorist until this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The power of words. As early voting starts in the key battleground Florida, we look at how the U.S. campaign's charged rhetoric
is affecting America's schoolchildren.
Just after 7:00 in the evening, hello, and welcome to Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. The battle to unclench ISIS' grip around
Mosul has now been full on around the city for seven days.
Now, the assault seems to be stampeding forward at lightning speed. Iraqi forces claiming back town after town. A local tribal leader tells CNN
hundreds of the militants are scuttling off to Syria.
CNN's Michael Holmes has this look at what has happened so far and what sis on the road ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Overwhelming force meets fanatical resistance. Coalition and Iraqi air power, along with nearly 100,000 troops -- Kurdish Peshmerga, the
Iraqi army, and several militia -- against perhaps 5,000 ISIS fighters. But those fighters have had two years to fortify their crown jewel.
In the first few days of the campaign, the attacking forces found dozens of tunnels, some of them nearly a mile long. They lost men to snipers and
booby traps and they face the deadliest of ISIS weapons: vehicles laden with explosives barreling through the dust.
Many ISIS fighters were taken out by missiles or coalition air power, others found their target. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says the
campaign is progressing faster than expected and in some places forward units are just seven kilometers from the outskirts of Mosul. But every
village and every town has to be fought for.
The church bell rings again in a Christian town. Children thank their rescuers. But homes are ruined, streets littered with booby traps.
For people returning home for the first time in two years or escaping the brutal grip of ISIS, mixed emotions.
"We can't live there, no water, no electricity, damage everywhere, and explosives, as well."
ISIS had yet again shown it is a resilient enemy, its fighters penetrated deep into Kirkuk, a city under Kurdish control, launching a fierce attack
that went on for a day and left nearly 100 dead, an attack that quite deliberately drew Kurdish troops away from the front lines.
No one expected this battle to be quick or decisive.
ASH CARTER, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Mosul will be recaptured. It's going to be a difficult fight. We don't know exactly how the battle will go, but
we know what the outcome is.
HOLMES: But even the first week in open plains and deserted villages proved a hard slog. Defenses inside the city will be much tougher.
Intelligence sources say ISIS has already begun to use civilians has human shields, many already executed, and if hostage taking continues, air
strikes will be difficult, sometimes impossible in the city.
Commanders here expect this campaign will last deep into the winter. If it does, the trickle of civilians already escaping Mosul could become a
flood. Aid agencies fear they will be overwhelmed by perhaps hundreds of thousands of desperate people, maybe mixed among them ISIS fighters and
suicide bombers.
Even when coalition forces retake Mosul, what will the day after look like? There is no firm agreement at the moment on how the area will be governed,
how the city will be rebuilt. Competing groups -- Sunni, Shia, Kurds and Turkmen -- will all jostle for power. Getting rid of ISIS might then
after look like the easy part.
Michael Holmes, CNN, near Mosul, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:05:24] ANDERSON: Well, Michael Holmes there for you.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has been on the front lines this week. He filed this report a short
time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's very little doubt Donald Trump doesn't speak from a position of great military
expertise when he talked about the campaign of Mosul. It's very difficult indeed to amass a sort of the 500,000 or so troops around a city
of this size discretely without your enemy knowing about it and there's a psychological impact potentially of advertising your move. It makes people
leave. It makes civilians, perhaps, seek a more sheltered place.
The idea that things aren't going well so far, that isn't what we are seeing really here. Yes, it is tricky going. It has I think been a
tougher fight on the outer parts of the territory that ISIS holds. They've had to put through what the Pentagon referred to as the outer crust of ISIS
defenses. But now the new strategy seems to be going around some of the built up areas and just plowing towards the main urban sprawl of Mosul
itself.
It will be difficult going. We don't know what the Pentagon's original timetable was but they say that they're ahead of schedule at this point.
It's going to be tough fighting indeed ahead, but I don't think there was any doubt what the outcome will be. ISIS will eventually get moved out of
Mosul. The real question is what level of blood shed, and instability in Iraq generally occurs before that happens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: We're going to we're going to get back to the battle for Mosul very, very
soon. To look at why Turkey can't seem to hold itself back from getting involved even as Baghdad insists its own troops can do the job without
Turkey's help. I'm going to ask an expert on the region why they are so keen to jump in.
Plus, as Mosul collapses into a battleground, how's that playing out in battleground states in
the American election? Hoping a tweet is mightier than the sword, Donald Trump weighing in on that,
all those issues and more just ahead on the show. Do stay with us.
Well, more than 1,000 migrants have been bused out of the camp known as The Jungle in Calais in France as authorities there prepare to dismantle what
has been a temporary home for thousands seeking a better life.
These are just some of the people who had hoped to start afresh in the United Kingdom. Now, a majority of them have to choose a different future,
either seek asylum in France or return to their home countries.
Well, CNN correspondent Melissa Bell is in Calais for you.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORREPSONDENT: The migrants began lining up here even before the sun had risen this morning, Becky. The many hundreds who were
determined to take up the French government's offer and try to seek asylum in one of France's regions. They go through this line into
the hangar just over there where they get to choose a region and then they're put on buses and taken directly to where they're to seek asylum,
which is why they've come with all their worldly belongings.
This, in a sense, is the first part of the process: the evacuation of the camp ahead of its demolition tomorrow. We caught up with one of those
migrant who'd arrived nice and early to ask him why he chosen to give up on his dream of getting one day to the United Kingdom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAHID, AFGHAN MIGRANT: I feel better. It's good for us. So, we're living like animals, not like humans. Did you see The Jungle? Some places, it's
very sad place, boring place. So like animals we live like animals in The Jungle.
BELL: That was Wahid you just heard from, Becky, who lived inside the jungle for eight months. One of those who has decided to take up the
French government's offer.
In a sense, though, the much more difficult part of this process begins tomorrow when the bulldozers move in and the camp itself begins to be
dismantled. We've spoken to many people here who do not want to take up the French government's offer and are determined instead are clinging on to
their dream of making it to the UK. And that's why the police presence her is as great as it is. 1,200 ordinary policemen and riot policemen are on
standby to deal with that second part of the evacuation, the dismantling of the camp itself. It's to begin tomorrow morning.
ANDERSON: Right, some of the other stories on our radar. And 80 people are now confirmed dead in Friday's train crash in central Cameroon, more
than 600 were injured.
The train, carrying more than double its usual passenger load because of a road closure. Eight more characters have been added to handle the load.
In Malta, five French nationals are dead after their light aircraft crashed. It happened shortly after takeoff, officials say the flight was
part a French customs operation that had been going on for the past five months.
The Italian coast guard has rescued another 95 migrants after a busy weekend. Most of the migrants on this boat near a small town in southern
Italy were from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Coast Guard says nearly 6,000 migrants and refugees were rescued in the Mediterranean over the weekend.
14 bodies were also recovered across the same period.
Right. After months and months of what has been a grueling race, the U.S. presidential candidates have just 15 days left to make their closing
arguments to voters. We are counting down to election day. But it's important to remember that early voting is already underway in dozens of
U.S. states.
More than 5 million ballots have been cast so far across the country. Early voting began today in the key battleground of Florida. And both
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are hitting the trail there hard this week.
Trump must win Florida if he hopes to capture the White House, but his path to victory narrowing.
A new poll shows Clinton with a 12-point lead nationwide. The Republican candidate says
Democrats are, quote, making up phony polls to suppress the vote. Just this morning he tweeted that, quote, we are winning and the press is
refusing to report it.
Well, as the election nears, Clinton and Trump are trying to seal the deal with voters. And as Jeff Zeleny now reports, a new change in tone may hint
at growing anxiety in the Trump camp. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A two-week fight to the finish. It's time for closing arguments. Hillary Clinton striking an
optimistic note.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to be the president for every American. Democrats, Republicans, independents, people who vote for
me, people who vote against me because we've got to bring this country together.
ZELENY (voice-over): Donald Trump, less so.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are we glad that I started? Are we happy?
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Well, I'll let you know on the evening of November 8th whether I'm glad.
ZELENY (voice-over): With 15 days to go, Trump no longer talking about when he wins, but if.
TRUMP: If we win on November 8th, we are going to fix our rigged system. It's a rigged, broken, corrupt system.
CLINTON: Some people are sore losers and, you know, we just got to keep going.
ZELENY (voice-over): A wild weekend with Trump visiting Gettysburg for an unusual Gettysburg address, overshadowing the plan for his first 100 days
in office by pledging to sue the women accusing him of inappropriate behavior.
TRUMP: Every woman who lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign, total fabrication. All of these liars will be sued after the election is
over.
ZELENY (voice-over): Trump Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway bluntly acknowledging the uphill climb.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR DONALD TRUMP: We were behind. We were behind one, three, four points in some of these swing states that Mitt
Romney lost to President Obama, Chuck. Our advantage is that Donald Trump is just going to continue to take the case directly to the people.
ZELENY (voice-over): Trump undermining that acknowledgment.
TRUMP: "Investor's Business Daily," the most accurate poll from the last election and the two elections before that, just announced that we are
leading nationally by two points. Numbers are looking phenomenal in Florida. Don't believe the media.
ZELENY (voice-over): But a new ABC News national poll shows Trump trailing Clinton by 12 points.
Meantime, CNN has learned Clinton is increasingly moving beyond Trump and turning her attention to her transition to the presidency. A Democrat close
to Clinton saying she's not being arrogant, she's being diligent. Clinton is sizing up candidates for White House Chief of Staff. One top contender,
Ron Klain who led her debate team. All these as President Obama is tying GOP Senate candidates to Trump visiting Nevada, one of the hottest senate
battlegrounds.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're for him, but you're not for him. But you're kind of for him. What the Heck?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Jeff Zeleny reporting for you.
And still to come, they are just words, but they can have very powerful and damaging consequences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never heard anyone call me a terrorist until this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We are going to see how negative rhetoric from this presidential race could be fueling the bullying and taunting of kids in America's
schools.
First up, though, it could be one of the biggest media mergers in recent years. What you should know about AT&T's plan to buy Time Warner and the
hurdles the deal could face.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:17:02] ANDERSON: You are back with us wherever are you're watching in the World. You are very welcome. It is just after quarter past 7:00 here
in the UAE. This is Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson.
Now, get you back to one of our top stories, the U.S. presidential campaign. The clock is ticking. Let's get you an update from Florida.
CNN's Jason Carroll is live at an early polling station in Miami. And Jason, it is a campaign of
frenzy in the Sunshine State. Both candidates visiting this crucial battleground state this week. E
arly voting data providing some insight into what might happen. Explain.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in term of some of that insight there is data that seems to suggest that Clinton is doing well in terms of
early voting here in the state of Florida also in Pennsylvania. Some of that same data suggests that perhaps Trump will do better in places like
Ohio, Iowa, and Georgia.
In terms of right here, we've seen some folks starting to line up here, participating in early voting. If you look at history, history shows that
half of all voters here in the state of Florida cast their votes during the early morning period. Yesterday, Becky, we were with Donald Trump out in
Naples, Florida, where he made it very clear to his supporters get out and vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have to get out and vote. And that includes helping me re-elect Republicans all over the
place. I hope they help me too. Be nice if they help us too, right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Now, let me just give you a little bit more perspective on the state of Florida for your viewers there internationally. When you look at
the whole electoral map, in terms of mathematics, Trump really needs this state. There are 29 electoral votes here in the state of Florida, same as
New York, big state, 29 electoral votes there as well. Florida has actually voted -- swung to Democrat in the past two elections.
In 2012, the vote was so close, it was only separated by one percent of the vote. So you can see historically why Florida is important. And you can
also see mathematically why this state is key -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Just been looking at some live pictures of Donald Trump there, West Beach -- West Palm Beach I believe. And as you point out, things are
looking tougher for Donald Trump in this race for the White house. Let's have a look at these polling numbers as we understand them.
We've got a lot ground to make up, Jason. Let me just give you some stats here.
The new ABC Poll giving Hillary clinton some 50 percent support nationwide compared to 38 percent for Trump. The latest CNN poll of polls also
showing a wide lead for the Democratic nominee, Clinton's at 48 percent while Trump has 39 percent.
So, just how significant will this week be for both candidates
[11:20:22] CARROLL: Well, look, it's extremely significant for the Trump campaign for the numbers you see there. But when you listen to Donald
Trump, he'll tell you ignore those polls. He says that the polls are wrong, that the media is wrong, that's what he's been saying at some of his
rallies.
But then you listen to his campaign manager Kellyanne onway who admited to CNN yesterday, to CNN's Jake Tapper saying, look, we know that we are
behind. So privately the Trump campaign knows that this is a troubling period for them.
Publicly, though, you've got Donald Trump out there spinning,telling his supporters not to believe the polls, but those numbers are troubling
nonetheless.
ANDERSON: Mr. Carroll is in the Sunshine State for you. Thank you, sir.
That is the latest on the race for the White House. More of course in the 14 days to come.
AT&T has agreed to buy Time Warner in an $85 billion mega deal. Now that comes the tough part: the two companies will have to convince skeptical
investors that this is a good deal.
Plus, they need to get the green light from regulators.
Time Warner, the Parent Company of our network CNN, of course, as well as HBO and Warner Brohers. Both CEOs spoke to our Christine Romans about the
deal and its potential impact for consumers. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF BEWKES, CEO TIME WARNER: They're going to have more choices of different channel packages. If they want a big package of a lot of
channels on their big screen TVs and they can watch the show and walk out the house with a tablet and have seamless connection.
Or maybe they don't want that, maybe they've got -- it's a young couple that wants to use mobile devices to watch. Maybe they don't want the full
package of channels. There will be more price, I think better prices for consumers.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDNET: You think better prices for consumers?
BEWKES: Yes, more competition usually leads to more price reductions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All right, for more on this deal, our senior media correspondent Brian Stelter joining us from New York.
In the house once again, sir. And it's always a pleasure to have you. We've heard from the CEOs of these two companies on why this deal makes
sense. We've got a pioneering TeleCo and a huge content provider. This deal, though, will cause their rivals and the competition regulator to lose
an awful lot of sleep.
What sort of hurdles does it face at this point, Brian?
BRIAN STELER, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. Time Warner's rivals like Disney and Fox are surely going to be lobbying against this deal. And AT&T
rivals like Verizon and Comcast will also chime in. There's always concern when one of your rivals
is getting bigger, or pairing up with a larger company.
And that's what Time Warner is seeking to do by seeking to do by being acquired by AT&T. So far the sense from Wall Street is that while a long
regulatory process. The deal is likely to be approved with conditions probably toward the tail end of 2017. So that's the bet that's being made
right now. And certainly AT&T and Time Warner believe that will be the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDALL STEPHENSON, AT&T CEO: I watch how Jeff manages his business today, and I think it's a model for how we want to manage it in the future.
And, look, I think of a brand like CNN and the key variable of your brand is your independence. And when people watch CNN are they getting an
independent assessment and reporting of the news? The last thing we want to do as AT&T is in any way taint that in the slightest bit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: So I thought it was important to share that from Randall Stephenson because of course AT&T is acquiring CNN, a news division, as
well as the entertainment assets of Time Warner.
Up until now, AT&Tt has not been in the news business, so it's important to have him on
the record saying he will preserve CNN's editorial independence.
ANDERSON: Should this deal go through, how likely is it to spur a frenzy, a deal frenzy, across the media and telecoms industry? The consequences of
this deal could be huge, couldn't it?
STELTER: We have seen other media stocks being bid up in recent days on anticipation of further deals. These are smaller channel owners like
Discovery Communications, which operates TLC and Animal Planet or the Scripps Company, which owns channels like HGTV.
So, we are seeing a lot of Wall Street activity around other media stocks that could be next, that could be part of this wave of consolidation.
There aren't that many other players left, though. What we're seeing are a number of big companies kind of becoming the dominant players in this
landscape -- AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, Google.
[11:25:06] ANDERSON: One analyst suggested today that the key for Time Warner will be ensuring, and I quote him, ensuring this merger or this
acquisition or this deal is more successful than the, quote, disastrous 2000 deal that merged it with AOL. The company's CEO called that
partnership, which demerged of course in 2009 the biggest mistake in corporate history.
STELTER: Yes, the Time Warner CEO...
ANDERSON: How do they ensure this isn't another one.
STELTER: Jeff Bewkes, who is now making this deal on behalf of Time Warner with AT&T, was an opponent of the AOL/Time Warner situation back 15 years
ago. The key starting today is going to be corporate culture and execution. You can make a great deal. It can
look fine on paper. It can get Wall Street excited. It can result in billions of dollars of profit for various companies and people, but if you
can't execute on it, if you can't get the two companies to mesh well and play nice together, then all of it is a waste of time.
And so that's going to be the issue going forward. What kind of synergies are there. What kind of relationships can be built between the two
companies. What can AT&T do with these channels? How can it package these channels in new ways? What can they do -- for example, on your mobile
phone if you land in somewhere and there's breaking news, how can CNN reach you on the AT&T device? Those are going to be the practical questions once
this deal gets approved by regulators.
ANDERSON: Thank you, Brian, always a pleasure.
World news headlines are just ahead, viewers. Plus, with so many sides piling into the fight
for Mosul, are they all driving fast towards an unstable future? I'm going to ask Fawaz Gerges, an expert, on the Middle East here next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[11:30:26] ANDERSON: Well, our top story this hour is the battle for Mosul where the fighting has been going all out now for a week. Let me break
down what you need to know so far. Iraqi forces claim they have freed dozens of towns and villages, but many were already empty and are booby
trapped.
CNN reckons that an area a little over half the size of Lichtenstein has been clawed back. In doing that, almost 800 terrorists have been reported
killed. But, Iraqi forces aren't saying how many of their own troops have lost their lives.
Running from that fighting, the UN says thousands of people have trickled out to refugee camps, but it's expecting that to turn into a flood of 1
million souls or about twice as many people who live in Scotland's capital Edinburgh. Just to give you a
context, I'm pleased to welcome back a good friend of the show, Fawaz Gerges, who is here with me now. He's chair of contemporary Middle East
studies at the London School of Economics, and as I say, a regular guest on this show.
You wrote ISIS are history. It's an excellent read. Is ISIS now, well, history?
FAWAZ GERGES, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: No, I don't think so, not yet. ISIS sadly is going to be with us for many years. The loss of Mosul,
though, which really represent a turning point. It would mean the beginning of the end of the territorial caliphate, the territorial Islamic
State, as opposed to the end of ISIS as a terrorist organization, or as an insurgency. So ISIS will be with us for many years.
But if and when Mosul falls in the next few weeks, this really would be a turning point in the caliphate in the Islamic State.
So the effort to defeat ISIS in Iraq is a multipronged attack. The Turks would like to be involved in that. They say they are Iraq and Turkey
though are at odds over Mosul because Turkey as I say wants to jump into the fight and Iraq wants it to sit on the sidelines.
Here's why Ankara is so keen, Fawaz, and I want you to provide some context for this, like Turkey, most people in Mosul are Sunni Muslim, so Turkey
wants to protect them, along with ethnic Turkmen, mostly from powerful Shiite groups backed by Iran.
Now, Turkey worries Iran could turn Mosul into an outpost for its influence.
Then there are the Kurds. While Turkey is on good terms with some of them around those
parts -- I'm talking about the Kurds in Iraq -- it wants to keep others, like the PKK, in check.
Plus, Ankara wants to use Mosul as a platform to make sure it has a say in other Iraqi cities like
oil rich Kirkuk.
Can Turkey achieve its goals in Iraq at this point?
GERGES: Again, it's a very, very difficult situation. Iraq is a very complex country, is deeply fragmented. There's a great deal of opposition
to Turkish involvement in Iraq. The Iraqi prime minister has come from under tremendous pressure from inside Iraq to really refusing any kind of
support from turkey. The Iraqi government accuses the Turkish government of basically turning a blind eye to the flood of ISIS supporters into
Mosul.
But as you've suggested, I mean, Turkey has a particular grand ambition, not only in Mosul but also in Aleppo. It wants to be the leader of the
Islamic world. It wants to come across as defending the Sunni community.
ANDERSON: It could do that should these ISIS fighters be leaking out of Iraq and into Raqqa in Syria, for example. Turkey could end up being a
hero to a certain extent in all of this so far as the coalition is concerned, if it would help to rid ISIS there shortly.
It's complicated, isn't it?
GERGES: It's very complicated. My take on it, and you have already suggested, Becky, that Turkey wants a voice in the post ISIS Iraq and
Syria. It also, remember, there is oil in Kirkuk and Mosul, big oil, and Turkey is really starved for economic and oil resources. It wants also to
have good relations with the Kurds in Iraq, the Kurdistan, the Iraqi Kurdistans as a
counterweight to the PKK.
So it has multiple aims at the reality is much more complex as we've seen in Syria. And finally, I would argue, at the end the day, the United
States realizes how difficult this particular situation is trying to mediate between Turkey and Iraq.
So far, this will not involve any military. Basically, I mean, attacks between Turkey and Iraq, it's positioning. Those sides are trying to
appeal to domestic constituencies in Turkey and Iraq and also in the region as well.
[11:35:20] ANDERSON: Turkey will say it's got support on the ground for this coalition effort, and that's what the Americans will say about how its
troops on the ground are involved as well as from, of course, though, as air force from a U.S. coalition which is
helping support this effort towards Mosul.
Donald Trump took to Twitter to share his opinion on the fighting, saying, quote, the attack on
Mosul is turning out to be a total disaster. We gave them months of notice. The U.S. is looking so dumb. Vote trump and win again.
Months of notice to ISIS that is, he's saying. Trump promising an amazing plan, an amazing plan, he says. I'm going to say that again, an amazing
plan, to defeat them, but he won't tell anyone because you know it's a secret.
U.S.-backed campaign is going well, right? Or not?
GERGES: What Donald Trump has said is rubbish. And I say it with all fairness to Donald Trump. He doesn't know much about either Mosul or
Aleppo.
He says the battle in Mosul is a disaster. It has not started yet. This is the first phase, even the Americans and the Iraqis are saying the second
and third phase will be more difficult. And guess what, the American man in charge of the operation has said that the campaign has met all its
objectives and more. Plus -- so the reality is, what I'm trying to say, Trump has politicized the Mosul campaign. He does not have the knowledge.
He does not have the wisdom, he's incoherent and he's trying to appeal to his basically deluded supporters, look, our government is a disaster
whether it's Aleppo, whether it's Mosul, whether it's ISIS, you name it.
ANDERSON: I love it when you're sitting on the fence.
GERGES: And I said I was fair.
ANDERSON: Listen, let me read you -- and this is obviously a very important conversation we are having. Let me read you this from the Jordan
times newspaper. I noticed this today, and it's quite an interesting column there.
The columnist Amar Al Sabaleh (ph) wrote, quote, "the message is that the current administration plays -- I'm talking about the U.S. -- plays a role
in the liberation of Mosul, demonstrating the success of President Barack Obama's second term, much like the elimination was used to demonstrate the
success of his first time."
Amar talks about the Hollywoodesque narrative at play here.
You are an expert of western foreign policy in this region. Do you worry that this Mosul
offensive is turning into a battleground to win voters back in The States?
In fact, and again I know quite a bit about the battle for Mosul, it was the Obama administration
who has delayed the battle for Mosul for many months. In fact, it was the Iraqi government that had been pushing for a quicker date for the start of
the battle in Mosul. The Obama administration said the Iraqi government was not ready. It took a great deal of time to train
30,000 forces.
And guess what, Becky, President Obama will not, might not witness the liberation of Mosul during his tenure in the White House. In fact, the
liberation of Mosul will not, and might not take place until the end of the Barack administration. This military man, both in Iraq and the U.S.
determine the date and the logistics of the battle.
Of course if I were Barack Obama I would love to see the liberation of Mosul. That's not how battles like Mosul, complex battles. Mosul is a
city of 1.2 million men. ISIS has two years and half to entrench itself in Mosul. It has between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters. This battle is going to
be complex, bloody, prolonged, in blood and treasure. And no administration, including Barack Obama, would basically risk any kind of
amateurish relationship in Mosul.
ANDERSON: Farwas Gerges, always a pleasure. Thank you.
GERGES: Fine. Thanks.
ANDERSON: Well, we have heard a lot of bitter and divisive rhetoric in this U.S. presidential campaign. Donald Trump, in particular, has been
accused of hate speech for his remarks about Muslims and Mexicans amongst others. You may remember when he called for a total and complete
shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. He said some Muslims hate America calling it a, quote, dangerous problem.
Trump also came under fire for suggest a judge couldn't be fair because he is Mexican. That judge was actually born in the U.S. leading even some
fellow Republicans to accuse Trump of textbook racism.
And the list goes on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing
crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
But we have some bad hombres here, and we're going to get them out.
I promise, we will build a wall, I promise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well, that's Donald Trump for you. There is evidence that the divisive campaign rhetoric could
also be fueling taunting and bullying in America's schools.
Cristina Alesci joins us now from New York with the details -- Cristina.
[11:40:39] CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We all heard about the possibility that this has increased, this political rhetoric that Donald
Trump is putting out there, has increased the amount of bullying and racist attitudes inside schools. But honestly,
I went into this story thinking bullying has been around in schools, at least here in the U.S., since the beginning of time and I'm sure around the
world.
So I went to this the school outside of Seattle, Washington, which you could argue is probably one of the most tolerant schools in the country, 90
different languages spoken, lots of immigrants, some refugees, and what I found was not just run of the mill bullying, I found something way more
disturbing. The question, of course, is is it Donald Trump's fault.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHUKRI DIRIYE, STUDENT: I've never heard anyone call me a terrorist until this year.
CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shukri Diriye is an American. She was born in Colorado.
DIRIYE: My parents are immigrants from Somalia. They left it because of the civil war.
ALESCI: Now, she's a middle schooler in Tacoma, Washington, in one of the most diverse school districts in the country.
DIRIYE: There's people from a different background. You never feel left out because there's always someone that looks like you.
ALESCI: Students here say they used to feel safe and welcome. But rhetoric on the campaign trail has changed that. In a nonscientific survey by the
Southern Poverty Law Center, one-third of educators reported an increase in bulling and Muslim or anti-immigrant sentiment in schools.
DEBBIE ALDOUS, TEACHER: I think the main difference I've noticed the last year and a half, has been the tone. Now, they have words that they are
throwing around, labeling other kids.
ALESCI (on camera): Like what?
ALDOUS: Things like towel head or you should run back to the border. These are things that we hadn't been hearing before. And our population hasn't
changed. What has changed to me is the political rhetoric.
ALESCI: Is it all Donald Trump's fault? Not necessarily.
JONATHAN ZIMMERMAN, UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: These metaphors and these ideas and these fears predated Trump and are extent in a much bigger swath of our
population than just the people who are going to vote for Donald Trump.
ALESCI: Polls show half the U.S. population supports a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S. Yet...
ZIMMERMAN: The Trump candidacy has obviously played a large role in triggering these episodes. It's made lots of people and their kids feel
more free to express certain bigoted ideas.
ALESCI: For Shukry, the bullying has shaken her confidence.
DIRIYE: Even for me, like, I had my doubts. What if I'm the bad person in this situation? What if I tonight deserve to be in this country? I felt
like that sometimes. I knew I was accepted. But he kept saying those things, I thought, well, I'm not American. I'm not from this area. Even
though I was born and raised here, I'm not someone that deserves to live here. That was really, like, Somalia never had a civil war. I wish I could
have stayed there, with people that look like me. I wouldn't be the different person.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALESCI: The studies show there's definitely an increase in depression and anxiety with kids who are bullied, but what hasn't been studied is this
specific kind of bullying. But clearly a lot of pain is being felt right now.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely, good reporting, thank you.
Remember, you can get an update on the presidential race in its entirety around the clock on the website. Florida in the headlines today as early
voting, of course, gets underway there. CNN's political director explains why it's such a critical battleground state in what is his daily podcast.
That and much more on CNN.com, definitely worth a listen, that.
Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World. Coming up, the president of The Philippines
trying to clean up some controversial comments, but is the damage already done? A report from Manila just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:47:53] ANDERSON: This is Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson, welcome
back. Bad for business, Controversial comments by the president of The Philippines have endangered his country's business relations with the
United States apparently. Well, Rodrigo Duterte has since walked back from his call for an economic military, quote, separation from the U.S., Many
in his country now worry their outspoken president could scare away business.
CNN's Will Ripley is in Manila for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Philippines' firebrand leader once again taking shots at his favorite target. Fresh off his first
official overseas trip, President Rodrigo Duterte blasted the U.S. and U.S. threats to withhold aid.
RODRIGO DUTERTE, VENEZUELA PRESIDENT: At it stands, USAID, you can go to hell.
RIPLEY: During a rambling Friday night news conference in his hometown, the president used the "A" word, the "B" word and the "F" word in the same 30
seconds, and that was in damage-control mode, trying to walk back from the shocking announcement in Beijing of his separation from the United States
and shift towards China and Russia, saying it's only applies to foreign policy.
DUTERTE: Better be careful with the world, we separate and sever our diplomatic relations. The second one is not feasible. Why? The Filipinos
and the United States...
RIPLEY: Those Filipinos working in the U.S. send back billions of dollars a year to their families, one of the biggest sources where tens of millions
live in poverty.
(on camera): Here in Manila, some fear President Duterte's anti- American rhetoric could destabilize one of Asia's best performing economies. Since
he took power less than four months ago, stocks are down and the Philippines peso is trading near a seven-year low.
(voice-over): One sector that could be hit the hardest, business out sourcing. Philippines call center jobs are expected to double by 2020, jobs
that help grow the middle class.
[11:50:32] CHRISTINA CONCEPCION, PRESIDENT & CEO, You don't want to have to deal with one more. But you know what? Every day there is one more thing
that happens.
RIPLEY: Christina Concepcion is president and CEO of the company that does payroll and financing. She's been getting nervous calls from her American
clients.
(on camera): What are you telling your clients?
CONCEPCION: I think our clients -- with our clients, it's business as percents, and they know it.
RIPLEY (voice-over): The Philippines' out-sourcing industry employs more than one million people. Experts say more than 80 percent of their work on
average is for American companies.
(on camera): Do you worry about your job?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, of course. This is our livelihood.
RIPLEY (voice-over): These call center employees tell me they still support their president.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not. I don't think that they've been trying to combat the U.S.
RIPLEY: Duterte remains wildly popular. Most Filipinos see him as a strong leader, fighting to make his country better.
But many worry his alienating the U.S. will only make things worse.
Despite these outbursts and the unpredictable things that come out of his mouth, President Duterte remains extremely popularity here with his
approval ratings in the high 80s, even low 90 percent.
Becky, the reason for that, Filipinos say, is that he doesn't always necessarily mean the words that he's saying, they believe, they think he's
like that crazy uncle sitting at the dinner table who sometimes blurts things out and then everybody just kind of looks down at their plate
awkwardly.
But it's very different when you're talking about a crazy uncle and the president of a country ofa 110 million people whose words have a real
impact on the business climate and on other countries wondering what direction the Philippines is headed -- Becky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Will Ripley reporting for you viewers.
Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World. Coming up, a look through the lens of the White House photographer. His intimate photos of the
American president will illustrate history. Your parting shots are after this very short break. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Right, a couple of minutes left for you throughout this show. We have brought you up to speed on what is the race for the White House and
the clock ticking of course. Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will succeed Barack Obama who is in the final months of his eight years in office.
Our Parting Shots, then, this evening. Well, we thought we'd hook you up with the photographer who has had unprecedented access documenting the 44th
president of the United States. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE SOUZA, WHITE HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHER: I see him in all aspects of his life. I don't think there's really anyone else in the White House that has
that kind of exposure.
My name is Pete Souza. I'm the chief official White House photographer, essentially I document the president for history.
What keeps you on your toes is every once in a while there's this unexpected moment that happens that you have to be ready to capture and
that's exactly what happened in this particular situation.
Jacob Philadelphia said he had a question for the president. His family had come in to the Oval Office for a departure photo. He wanted to see if
his head felt the same as the president's. So the president leaned down so Jacob could touch his head.
Back in the '80s, I was a staff photographer for the White House. I joked that I was 12 at the
time and Reagan was 50 years older than me, and now I'm working for a president that I'm actually older than.
There's been a huge technological change between the first time Ii was here at the White House and now.
Back in the Reagan days, there was no such thing as Instagram or Twitter or Flicker, there was no White House website.
I've been urged by people at the White House to participate in the social media tools, which
I've actually found exciting in that it gives me a chance to present some of my documentary photos to the public now instead of waiting post-
presidency.
My guess is after this is all over and I have a chance to take a deep breath, it will actually be fascinating for me to go back through all these
photographs and have a new perspective.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:56:52] ANDERSON: Well, this presidential race has been unconventional to say the least, hasn't it, with lots and lots of surprises. And college
students got another one over the weekend when performer Miley Cyrus, of all people, knocked on their dorm room doors campaigning for Hillary
Clinton.
If you want to know more about the other stories we've brought you today and over the
weeks and months as usual, you can head to the Facebook page, Facebook.com/CNNConnect. Love to get your thoughts.
I'm Becky Anderson. That was Connect the World. Thank you for watching from the team here. It was a very good evening. But the news continues on
CNN with iDesk next with my colleague Robyn Kurnow.
END
