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Iranian Oil Industry Cautiously Optimistic About Trump Presidency; Israel Announces Big New Settlement Plan; Theresa May Set to Meet with U.S. Lawmakers, President; Trainspotting Crew Returns After 20 Years. Aired 10- 11a ET
Aired January 24, 2017 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:23] LYNDA KINKADE, HOST: The power of the pen, Donald Trump begins his first full week in office signing executive orders that are having
ripple effects right around the world.
Next, we're live at the White House and in Beijing where Asia is reacting to America's withdrawal from the Transpacific Partnership.
Also ahead, a battle lost, but not the war. British Prime Minister Theresa May loses a legal
fight over Brexit. What's next for the UK's exit from the EU?
And coming up, we'll cross to 10 Downing Street.
And also ahead, honors for the silver screen. The nominees for the 89th Academy Awards have been announced. Which movies made the cut? We'll find
out later.
Hello and welcome to Connect the World. I'm Lynda Kinkade. We begin with the world reacting as U.S. President Donald Trump pursues his America First
agenda on trade and jobs. Critics say he has left the door open for China to pursue its own brand of trade by pulling the U.S. out of the
Transpacific Partnership.
U.S. allies Countries like Australia are considering whether there is a way to make TPP minus America work.
The U.S. president says he's bringing factory jobs back to America, that was his message as he met with Detroit's big three automakers in the last
hour. Mr. Trump talked about the new rules of the road.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to make the process much more simple for the auto companies and for everybody else that
wants to do business in the United States. I think you're going to find this to be from very
inhospitable to extremely hospitable. I think we'll go down as one of the most friendly countries. And right now it's not. I mean, I have friends
that want to build in the United States. They go many, many years and then they can't get their environmental permit over something that nobody ever
heard of before. And it's absolutely crazy.
And I am, to a large extent, an environmentalist. I believe in it, but it's out of control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, for more now on the showdown in the courtroom that will translate into politics, our Nic Robertson has his ear to the ground
outside 10 Downing Street for us. Good to have you with us, NIc.
Not surprising that this happened, but certainly not what the prime minister wanted. How let's get more now on Mr. Trump's jobs and trade
agenda. Sara Murray joins us from the White House, and Matt Rivers is live with us from Beijing. Great to have you both with us.
Firstly to Sara. The billionaire businessman turning president is really working on getting jobs back on American soil.
SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, that's certainly his hope. We have seen, I think, him meet with business executives yesterday as well as
automakers today. And this was, of course, a theme of his presidential campaign, the notion that he was going to bring manufacturing back, he was
going to bring job creation back to the U.S. He's threatened tariffs, not only on automakers, but on other companies that move abroad and are
creating their products abroad.
And I think we're seeing one of his moves today. We're expecting him to take executive action on both the Keystone Pipeline as well as the Dakota
Pipeline, which, obviously is an opportunity to create more energy resources here in the U.S, and from Donald Trump's point
of view, to create more jobs. But no doubt both of those moves will be extremely controversial and have been protested by
environmentalists.
KINKADE: And of course, Trump, as I mentioned, has moved to withdraw the U.S. from the Transpacific deal. What's the next move on that matter? How
will he assure other trading partners that the U.S. is ready for business?
MURRAY: Well, it was interesting to hear the administration take this on yesterday, because they said while the U.S. is formally withdrawing from
TPP -- and by the way, people pretty much thought it was dead already. The congress made it pretty clear they weren't taking it up for a vote
at the end of last year. Sean Spicer, who is President Trump's press secretary, said that they still want to pursue bilateral trade agreements
and they're still hoping to do some deals with other countries in that region.
I think the big question is whether there will still be an opportunity for the U.S. to be involved in those markets or whether this creates
essentially a vacuum for China to fill in these Pacific Rim countries.
KINKADE: That's exactly what I want to talk about with Matt.
Matt, the Trump administration withdrawing from this TPP deal, it does create a bit of a vacuum. China no doubt pretty happy and apparently
ramping up on a deal that excludes the U.S.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORREPSONDENT: Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, Chinese officials privately, according to a lot of the experts that we
spoke to today, are probably pretty happy about the fact that their path is just that much easier in terms of exerting influence in and around
this part of the world.
Now, it's also worth mentioning that many of the countries that are involved in TPP already have a very, very big trading relationship with
China. In many of those individual cases on a country-by-country basis, China is their number one trading partner already. But everyone will tell
you business could always be better.
And so China now with the U.S. seeming to pull back a little bit from this part of the world,
China now putting forward a different trade agreement, called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, 16 countries in total, combined that
represent 30 percent of the world's GDP, a little bit smaller than the TPP, but it involves many of the countries that would have been involved in that
original framework, and those 16 countries do not include the United States.
So China definitely sees an opportunity here in terms of being able to further exert its influence more than it already has.
[10:05:53] KINKADE: Absolutely, no doubt some concerns there for American business.
I just want to go to another matter. Back to Sara. And Donald Trump, he, of course, does like
conspiracy theories, and he is again claiming voter fraud cost him millions of additional votes. Is there anything truth to that claim?
MURRAY: There is absolutely no evidence that supports this claim. But I think what it shows you is it really gets to the heart of one of President
Trump's deep insecurities, this notion that somehow he is not the true president, that this isn't a real victory, that he is somehow an
illegitimate president. He is personally very concerned, and we saw in what was a pretty exceptional press briefing yesterday, his White House press
secretary saying that Donald Trump is personally offended by the notion that people might not take him seriously, by the notion that people are
trying to undermine him.
And I think one of the things that does personally bother him is the fact that he lost the popular
vote to Hillary Clinton.
KINKADE: All right. Sara Murray, we'll have to leave it there. It looks like the battery has
gone on that light there. But thanks to Sara Murray and Matt Rivers for that report.
Well, Donald Trump told everyone to think of him as Mr. Brexit just a few months ago, but Britain's prime minister may be wishing that she wasn't
Mrs. Brexit right about now. Theresa May plans to get out of the European Union. And it hit a big snag just a few hours ago. The country's highest
court rulled that she has to get the go ahead from lawmakers in parliament before being allowed to start formal talks on leaving the club.
CNN's Isa Soares breaks it all down for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The verdict just seven minutes long.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By a majority of 8-3...
SOARES: But the ruling changes the course of the UK's Brexit negotiations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Supreme Court rules that the government cannot trigger
Article 50 without an act of parliament authorizing it to do so.
SOARES: The prime minister wanted to avoid this, but her party says they will forge ahead with their timeline and will introduce a new bill to beg
bill to start the Brexit process to both houses of parliament within days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll work with colleagues in both houses to ensure this bill passed in good time first to invoke article 50 by the end of
March this year as my right old friend the prime minister has set out.
SOARES: The government says there is no turning back on Brexit. This is, they say, the will of the people.
This is a major win for Gina Miller. She is the lead claimant here. And she has always argued this was never about overturning Brexit, but the
decision this big shouldn't be made by the prime minister alone.
GINA MILLER, PRINCIPAL PLAINTIFF: Only parliament can grant rights to the British people, and only parliament can take them away. No prime
minister, no government can expect to be unanswerable or unchallenged. Parliament alone is sovereign.
SOARES: In a charged legal process, the lawyer for a hairdresser that voted for Brexit, says the last few months have been ugly.
DAVID GREENE, LAWYER FOR DEIR DOS ANTOS, BREXIT CASE CLAIMANT: It's a sad day when someone has to sit in a court with bodyguards to protect against
any potential threat that follows on from the emails they've received.
SOARES: With the legal process over, the battle becomes political, with a majority MPs saying they will back the bill, but with amendments.
CHUKA UMUNNA, BRIITSH PARLIAMENT MEMBER, LABOUR PARTY: So, I believe we could have got single market membership and a changed immigration
arrangement, and that would have been the ambitious place for the prime minister to start negotiating.
SOARES: Amendments that could complicate the prime minister's goal of a speedy exit
from the European Union.
Isa Soares, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, for more now on the showdown in the courtroom that will translate into politics, our Nic Robertson has his ear to the ground
outside 10 Downing Street for us. Good to have you with us, Nic.
Not surprising that this happened, but certainly not what the prime minister wanted. How did it play out and will it cause issues for Theresa
May going forward?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She thinks it can potentially cause issues, not just the potential that you can get in to
protracted amendments and therefore a delay to her deadline, the deadline of the end of March for triggering Article 50, which David Davis, her
Brexit minister, says can be achieved.
But problems because both she and Davis have said that, you know, they're not going to give a blow by blow. They're not going to give a step by step
over the precise plans and nature of this exit negotiation, however the amendments that are called for will precisely potentially do that, both
Theresa May, David Davis has said that's against Britain's national interests to lay out the plans of its Brexit plans in advance, because that
gives the game away, if you will, to the European Union.
And we heard -- we heard from Chuka Umunna there in that -- in Isa Soares report. We also heard on the floor of the houses of parliament today the
Labour Party, a Labour parliamentarian they don't want Britain break out of the custom's union. That's another point of contention. That, again,
would constrain, potentially, Theresa May right now, could potentially,again, in the way that responds to that, the way that the
government responds to that, tip their hand to the European Union how they plan to negotiate.
None of this is what she wants. So that's perhaps where part of her deeper problem lies at the moment.
KINKADE: Yeah, certainly a risky move there.
So what are the next steps for the UK government? And what sort of input can we expect from
Scotland and Wales, two countries which were against the Brexit?
ROBERTSON: Sure. Well, very simply, we've heard David Davis today say that very soon the government they will be, the government, will be putting
a bill before parliament. This -- we can expect it to be a short and simple bill that will try to get around having lengthy and contentious
amendments inserted into it, and they hope that parliament will support that bill quickly again, because this is the will of the people.
Scotland, Northern Island and Wales, they're devolved assemblies. The ruling of the high court -- the ruling of the Supreme Court there was all
11 judges saying. They essentially don't have a right to veto. Well, 66 percent of the Scots people voted to remain part of the European Union.
The First Minister of Scotland today has said that this is against the interests of the Scottish people that they should have a stronger say in
this decision. At the moment they legally, it appears, according to the Supreme Court, don't have that right.
Northern Island, they've also heard from Republican, you know, united island, if you will, politicians there in Northern Ireland, that they are
opposed to not having a stronger voice. But if the question was to go to them, it would be even more problematic, because their powersharing
government is collapsed at the moment.
Wales as well not getting a voice. So, that -- we do seem to have moved beyond the point at the moment for those devolved assemblies to have a
strong control over what the government is going to do. It's not to say that their MPs here in Westminster are going to sort of -- are going to
vote against the government's bill and also perhaps put in long amendments -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Certainly a lot to stay across there. Nic Robertson, good to have you with us from London. Thank you.
Well, in the Middle East, one of the biggest challenges facing the Trump administration is the war in Syria. But the U.S. did not send a delegation
to talks that have just wrapped up in Kazakhstan.
Hosts Turkey and Russia, along with Iran, issued a joint statement saying a mechanism has been set up to monitor and bolster a shaky, month-long cease-
fire. It also looks ahead to talks in Geneva in February, but the armed opposition objects to Iran's involvement and has put forward its own
proposal.
With more details, CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman joins us now from Istanbul. Great to have you with us, Ben.
Russia, of course, supports the Assad government and has taken the lead in these talks,
agreeing with Turkey and Iran to enforce this cease-fire. How is it playing out?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far the cease-fire, which went into effect on the 30 of December has been shaky at best.
There's been in particular a lot of fighting in the Wadi Barada (ph) area, which is just outside of Damascus near the source of drinking water for the capital.
And there we've seen the involvement of the militia, of Hezbollah particularly actively involved. But certainly, by and large, this is the
third cease-fire that's gone into effect in Syria in recent years. It's shaky at best, as I said, but certainly it seems that
the Russians are eager to see it stay in place to be strengthened.
Now, it's interesting that this meeting in Kazakhstan involved Russia, Iran and Turkey who have all been involved in the Syrian conflict. Of course,
Russia became actively militarily involved in September of 2015 when it sent troops and its air force there to hit rebel targets, although they
said they were hitting terrorist targets.
Now, what we heard from Astana, from these talks, was that in the final statement, all three of
those parties agreed that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict, but what we've seen, in effect, with the involvement of Russia
and Iran in this conflict as they have, in a sense, pulled off a military solution to the conflict. The rebels are in disarray. We saw that the
Ahram Sham (ph), one of the most powerful rebel factions, did not participate. It declined to participate.
Absent from the talks was also the Jabhat al-Nusra, which has renamed itself. It, of course, is the affiliate of al qaeda in Syria. It renamed
itself Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. And obviously missing also is ISIS as well.
But at the end of the day, what we've seen is that whatever comes out of this conference and
the meeting in February in Geneva that, yes, there is no military solution, but a political solution has come out of the barrel of a gun -- Lynda.
KINKADE: And, ben, the other notable absent, of course, was any sort of U.S. delegation. They only had the U.S. ambassador there as an observer.
Where does the U.S. under a Trump administration figure in the future of this conflict?
WEDEMAN: Well, I think what we see, we saw in Kazakhstan at these talks was the abdicatoin of the United States under the Obama administration of
an active role in Syria. The United States, along with Turkey and their Gulf allies, they spent $20 billions funding a rebel effort that has
ultimately failed.
Now, what we've heard from the Trump administration, what we've heard from the Trump administration, is that it wants to cooperate with Russia when it
comes to defeating terrorism, and certainly ISIS is terrorism in Syria, but it depends who you define as a terrorist.
The Russians consider some of the organizations, Turkey, the United States and the Gulf states supported as terrorist organizations.
But we may see a warming of relations between Washington and Moscow, and it may be played out in Syria.
KINKADE: All right. Well, we'll be watching it closely, and we thank you for your analysis on the ground. Ben Wedeman, thank you.
Well, still to come, Iran's oil sector is booming, but could President Trump threaten that
recovery? We're live to Tehran next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:20:00] KINKADE: You're watching CNN with Connect the World and me Lynda Kinkade. Welcome back.
Well, President Trump has some strong words about Iran on the campaign trail, calling the
nuclear deal, quote, a disaster. But what's the message from the Oval Office going to be? At least one Iranian official is confident that all
that rhetoric is just that.
The deputy oil minister tells CNN he sees potential for partnership with a new administration. This, of course, comes as Iran's oil industry is
booming.
Senior international correspondent Frederick Pleitgen has the story from southern Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is what Iran's new oil prowess looks like, the Yadavaran field right on the border with Iraq. Ali Sajadian (ph) is a petroleum engineer monitoring and repairing
the brand new equipment.
ALI SAJADIAN, OIL WORKER: The people who want to have a new job, they can come to Iran and find a good job in Iran.
PLEITGEN: Tehran recently found out that the Yadavaran has about twice as much oil than
they anticipated, around 34 billion barrels, meaning this site will vastly expand in the coming years.
This is one of Iran's most advanced oil and gas facilities. And the government of the
Islamic Republic believe that if places like this one can continue to expand, that they will soon be one of the biggest hydrocarbon powerhouses
in the world.
For years, sanctions hampered the growth of Iran's oil industry, but now the country wants to unleash its full potential. This is the Yaran field
in the same region where engineers are in the final stages of construction.
But after a warming of relations between the U.S. and Iran during the Obama years, many fear
Donald Trump will take a harder line.
Trump calling into question the nuclear agreement between Tehran, Washington and several other countries that led to the easing of sanctions
in the first place.
TRUMP: He negotiated a disastrous deal with Iran, and then we watched them ignore its terms
even before the ink was dry.
PLEITGEN: I spoke to the head of Iran's petroleum engineering and development company, and he acknowledged there is concern.
SAYYED NOUREDDIN SHAHNAZIZADEH, MANAGIC DIRECTOR, PEDEC: I hope Mr. Trump doesn't reduce our respite, because anyhow we will go in order -- we will
go forward in order to develop our country. But if he makes some noise, the speed of developments and our progress may be reduced. But we never
stop.
PLEITGEN: Many in Iran's oil and gas industry say they hope Donald Trump's actions won't be the same as his campaign rhetoric, that the businessman
turned president will be willing to make deals with them as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, Frederik Pleitgen is back in Tehran now and joins me from the Iranian capital.
Fred, I understand you've interviewed Iran's deputy oil minister as well. What does he think about working with the new Trump administration? Is he
concerned?
PLEITGEN: Well, he certainly is concerned about some of the rhetoric that he's heard on the
campaign trail while Donald Trump was trying to get elected. However, they say that they're waiting
to see what happens now that all of that could possibly be translated into actions. And there, the deputy oil minister said that he even sees some
potential for perhaps some cooperation between Iran and the United States. Here's what he told me earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLP)
AMIR HOSSEIN ZAMANINIA, IRANIAN DEPUTY OIL MINISTER: I don't foresee a conflict. We see a lot of indication that there is a departure in the
administration, current administration, from the campaign slogans and we don't see a conflict coming up.
PLEITGEN: There are some here that I've spoken to that say that they even have somewhat of an optimistic outlook on the Trump presidency, who believe
that perhaps because he was a businessman he could do dealings with Iran as well, especially as far as oil is concerned. How do you feel about that?
ZAMANINIA: Well, as an oil and gas official, I certainly hope so that we can decouple politics from economic cooperation. We would very much like
to see the primary sanctions lifted, and we think there is a great potential for President Trump as a non-conventional politician to review
this situation, to revise the situation, and to see that there is a great benefit both for the United States for
American people, for creating jobs there in the United States, for revising and revitalizing the oil and gas business there. There is great potential
for engagement and partnership in Iran for American companies.
PLEITGEN: If things do remain the same, if there's no issues, how do you see your own oil and
gas industry evolving over the next couple of years? When do you think that you'll bridge the -- or breach the 4 million barrels a day mark?
[10:25:12] ZAMANINIA: We have the largest reserves of hydrocarbon in the world. Oil and gas put together. And as a country that has the largest
reserves, we don't produce nearly enough compared to others.
Therefore, our production is negatively skewed with our reserves. The potential is great. The cost for production is low in Iran. The question
is not just is the potential to produce, it's also the dynamic of international market, international oil and gas business.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So that's the deputy oil minister of Iran who I spoke to earlier today saying
that the Iranians have somewhat of a wait and see outlook. And, you know, Lynda, the other thing that he also said is that of course the Iranians --
politicians here, the people here, aren't naive about the situation. Of course they heard some of the campaign rhetoric, they heard Donald Trump's criticism of the nuclear agreement, which some
officials here by the way, share as well, and of course they also see the confrontations between the U.S. and the Iranian navys that have become
quite regular in places like the Persian Gulf as well.
But at the same time, the word that you hear very often here is pragmatism. The people here hope that the businessman Donald Trump, who has now turned
into the politician Donald Trump could be pragmatic enough to separate between the political issues that the U.S. and Iran no doubt still have and
will continue to have and the possible economic cooperation that could happen in the future.
But of course, again, it is something that is -- could happen but there is always the potential
for these conflicts to grow deeper and for the conflicts to escalate as well, Lynda.
PLEITGEN: Absolutely. Good to have you on the ground there in Iran to get their perspective, Frederick Pleitgen. Thank you.
Well, live from CNN Center, this is Connect the World. Coming up, more than a million
people worldwide joined the women's march over the weekend, and organizers say they're just
getting started. We'll see where the movement may be headed next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[10:31:07] KINKADE: Israel has just announced an expansion of settlements in the West Bank. The defense ministry says 2,500 new housing units have
been approved. And Israel's prime minister is leaving no doubt that this type construction will continue.
Benjamin Netanyahu writing on Twitter today, and I quote, "we are building and we will continue to build."
This comes just days after Donald Trump took office. Well, let's get more from CNN's Oren Liebermann live from Jerusalem. Oren, under the last
administration, Israel was warned time and time again that these new settlements would destroy the peace process, but
Trump's victory essentially means full steam ahead there.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly seems like it for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has said a new era is
coming and that era is coming soon. It seemed clear then, and this is just a couple weeks ago
that he was referencing President Donald Trump and it's even clearer now. Now that it seems he has the cover of the Trump administration, he's
pushing forward these 2,500 new housing units.
An announcement like this, that is to say, this big, this many units in the West Bank, hasn't been seen in years. It stunned all of us with its size.
Now, the defense ministry says most of these are in the settlement blocks, but about 100
of these 2,500 units are in a Bet-el (ph), settlement just outside Ramallah that's now noteworthy because Donald Trump donated $10,000 to that
settlement back in 2003.
Will this continue? It certainly seems like it, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this is a time thoughtful diplomacy when it comes
to bilateral relations,when it comes to settlements. This is the first step from Netanyahu. We'll see where he goes from here.
KINKADE: So, how is this announcement being received by the Israeli people, and do they feel that they now have the complete protection of the
U.S.?
LIEBERMANN: The Israeli government does. Certainly this right wing government feels it has the protection of the U.S. Netanyahu himself was
actually under right wing pressure to go beyond this. He was under pressure to annex parts of the West Bank, not just to build in settlements.
That is pressure that he rebuffed. He decided to put off talks about annexation. Instead, he is building. He is building with this major
annoucement.
There are Israelis who are opposed to the settlements, but in terms of the Israeli government, the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, this is their move. This is their priority. They've made it clear there is no more pro-settlement government in Israel than this one.
It's impossible to put together a more pro-settlement government. And this is Netanyahu living up to his own promises about building in the
settlements.
Also noteworthy that this comes just one day after the Trump administration seemed to back off promises of moving the embassy, saying decisions there
have yet to be made.
Lynda, the Palestinian response came just a short while ago. They absolutely condemned this.
they called on the international community to condemn it as well. They say, and this comes from Nabillah Abu Radaina (ph), the spokesman for
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, they said, quote, there will be consequences.
KINKADE: We'll wait and see what those consequences will be.
Oren Lieberman live for us in Jerusalem. Thank you very much.
Well, you can take almost everything you know about the world and put it in a box, but put it to the side, because Donald Trump is turning so much of
what we know upside down. I'll look at how he could be rocket fuel to Brexit and totally shake up Europe with my next guest. Stay with us for
that.
As well as the Oscar nominations are revealed. Who is up for best picture and all the other big categories. That's just ahead on Connect the World.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The multinational banks, the media celebrities, the big donors tried to scare the
British people out of voting for change. The same thing is happening right here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, if that was anyone's plan, it clearly didn't work. Donald Trump rode what many see as the same wave of populism that led to Brexit,
becoming America's 45th president last Friday.
But if Mr. Trump got a boost from Brexit, my next guest, Tom McTague thinks that Britain could get a bump from Trump. Writing that the new American
president, quote, "presents Britain with opportunities that previously looked unachievable."
But what opportunities exactly? Tom, the chief political correspondent from Politico joins me now live from London. Great to have you with us,
Tom.
As I mentioned just then, you predict that a Trump administration will present Britain with opportunities that were unachievable in the past.
What can now be achieved?
TOM MCTAGUE, POLITICO: Well, the first one is a UK-U.S. trade deal. With Barack Obama, that just
looked like it wasn't going to happen. He said that the UK would have to go back to the queue if it voted for Brexit and wait in line behind the
European Union and other countries that the U.S. was trying to strike deals with.
Now President Trump has said the UK is front of the line. And that is a huge bonus, potentially, for the UK.
KINKADE: So no doubt you think that the Brexit will push Britain closer to Trump?
MCTAGUE: Well, it's a real tough one for Theresa May, actually, this one. Because in some sense she has no choice. She has to make a deal with Trump
because the UK is more reliant on American trade now, because it doesn't have the European Union to fall back on.
However, that does present her with difficulties. Donald Trump isn't very popular in the UK. So for her to be seen as too close to President Trump
would cause problems here.
KINKADE: All right.
I understand that Theresa May and Donald Trump have been compared to Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. What similarities do you see? And
could they have a similar relationship?
MCTAGUE: Well, you do look at it as, you know, two strong-willed characters, a Republican and a conservative prime minister, a female prime
minister. It does look very similar.
But I think the similarities don't go anywhere near as far as some people are suggesting. Theresa May is quite a hard woman, a -- she's not overly
friendly. She's quite shy. She's the sort of typical British conservative. Ronald Reagan was very laid back, very relaxed and he sort
of -- they rubbed along nicely.
Donald Trump is an abrasive New York billionaire. It's unclear who Theresa May, who spent her lifetime pushing for women in politics, to get on. Is
it how she's going to deal with this man who has said such, you know, such horrible things about women in the past, including, you know, things that
we don't want to mention right now.
KINKADE: You make some very good points there.
Theresa May, though, will become the first world leader to meet the new president this Friday. What do you think we can expect from that?
[10:40:12] MCTAGUE: I think the first thing Theresa May will be visiting Republican congressmen in a retreat at Philadelphia. That will be on
Thursday. At that point, we expect her to try and push the UK's security and economic agenda to the Republican
leadership in a bid to sort of put pressure on President Trump.
So, for example, on NATO. NATO is the sort of cornerstone of UK security in Europe. And
Donald Trump has put a question mark over that. So Theresa May will be looking specifically to get guarantees on that.
The next day, she'll see the president in the White House. And that we are looking for body
language as much as anything. Are these two going to get on? And what is it that Donald Trump wants from the UK? Why has he brought Theresa May
over to Washington so quickly? It doesn't usually happen this quickly.
KINKADE: Yeah, it will be very interesting to watch very closely at the body language and
what is said after their initial meeting.
Tom McTague, great to have you with us from Politico. Thank you very much.
MCTAGUE: Thank you.
KINKADE: Americans who took part in massive protests against Donald Trump's inauguration are trying to keep the momentum going. Several
activist groups are planning more demonstrations across the U.S. today to protest Mr. Trump's cabinet nominees. More than a million people worldwide
took to the streets for the Saturday's Women's March, and organizers say they're just getting started.
But one of the women behind that march is coming under attack online. Right wing news outlets are accusing Palestinian-American Linda Sarsour of
having ties with terrorists. The long-time activist is widely respected in progressive circles. Sarsour is rejecting what she calls the character
assassination attempts and vows to continue standing up for the marginalized.
CNN political commentator Van Jones is one of the people coming to her defense. He tweeted this: "hey, my sister, these bigots are only making
you more famous. Because this movement loves you, we got your back. Keep shining."
Well, Van Jones joins us live from New York. Great to have you with us, Van.
Just before we get into that, I just want to hear about your experience. You were at the march. What was the feeling like there?
VAN JONES, CNN COMMENTATOR: Well, it's extraordinary to be in a situation where they're expecting 20,000, 50,000 people, some people were saying it
might be 100,000 people, and in D.C. alone more than a million people showed up.
Also, across the country, you know, hundreds of thousands of people in Los Angeles and
Chicago, people came out in Mississippi. So we basically are starting out now with a higher level of
protests against Donald Trump on the very first day than we ever got to with George W. Bush after
eight years, and George W. Bush obviously had two controversial wars, the Katrina disaster. We never had protests as big against George W. Bush who
left historically unpopular as we had the very first day with Donald Trump.
So there is a massive backlash against the Trump presidency already because of the way he
conducted himself on the campaign trail and the way he's conducted himself since, and Linda Sarsour is one of the most important leaders in this fight
back, the so-called resistance against Donald Trump.
And, of course, that hashtag, I march with Linda was trending last night, because she stood up for her rights. What else can you tell us about Linda
Sarsour?
JONES: Well, I mean, she's just an extraordinary human being. I mean, she's Palestinian-American. She very outspoken on a range of causes and
issues. She's a real champion for the poor. She's a real champion for the marginalized. As a Muslim woman, she sticks up for lesbians and gays.
She's just -- she's a beloved figure on the American left. And her star has been rising quite a bit as the Muslim community has come under real
attack.
She's the kind of Muslim I think that most Americans would be very proud of because her heart
of service is so big, and her willingness to reach across so many different issues and constituencies is so profound. And yet of all the people who
are involved, some of these groups, and I deliberately call them bigots, because they have picked on the only Muslim woman in this
entire movement, and then they are lying about her record, and it's only to stoke Islamophobia, it's only to stoke fear of Islam.
When frankly, in United States, unlike, frankly, in Europe, our Muslim population is just extraordinary. It's our best community by so many
measures -- the highest educational attainment for women in the United States are Muslim-American women by some measures.
One of the lowest crime rates in the country, the Muslim community. One of the highest entrepreneur rates in the country, the Muslim community in the
United States. And so for our Muslims in the U.S. to be picked on and to be demonized just makes zero sense. They are a model community here. And
she's one of the best people, as far as I'm concerned, as a progressive is speaking out from the Muslim faith.
[10:45:19] KINKADE: Absolutely. And this march on the weekend, it was called the Women's March, and it was a diverse crowd of women activists and
also celebrities, but we also saw a lot of men there.
JONES: Yes.
Well, it turns out when there is a gender issue, everyone who has a gender is affected. And men, it turns out, have genders. And it should not just
be on women to make sure that women are treated with respect. It shouldn't just be on women to make sure that women are paid fairly and that women can
move safely through society. That is on all of us.
And it's the old way of thinking that said, well, women's issues are for the women, and lesbian issues are for the lesbians, and disability issues
are for the people who are in wheelchairs and the coal miners issues are for the coal miners, and the white people working in the
Rust Belt. No. You're either going to have a country that works well or it doesn't.
And if there's any part of the country that's not working well, that means the country isn't working well. And so you have a new generation of men
saying, who say of course, I'm a feminist. If feminism means that women are human beings and have rights the same as me, of course I'm a feminist.
And so you had a lot of men there.
At the main march in D.C., I was proud to be one of the four men that was picked to speak, but I kept my remarks short because I was there to learn
and not to preach. But you have a different generation now of young men who have grown up expecting that women and men would be given the
same rights.
KINKADE: The turnout, of course, Van, on the weekend was incredible, but there has been
criticism of what comes next. Will this momentum go anywhere? Do you think it will? What needs to happen?
JONES: In the United States, the Tea Party protests started off as these miniscule, miniscule
demonstrations. And I mean hundreds of people, not even necessarily thousands, maybe total a couple thousand people across the country, August
2009, going into the town hall meetings where our congresspeople go back home to meet with their constituents and being disruptive.
So, you had a couple of thousand people. Within two years, that movement took over the House of Representatives, and within six had taken over the
House of Representatives and the Senate and blocked President Obama within two years of him being in office.
These protests are exponentially bigger than anything you saw with the Tea Party on day one. So even if half of the energy falls off, even if 70
percent of the energy falls off, the remaining 30 percent is massive. And I don't think it's going to fall off because I don't think that Donald
Trump is going to let up. And I think the best organizer of the progressive movement in the United States right now is Donald J. trump.
KINKADE: Van Jones a pleasure having you on this program. Thanks for joining us.
JONES: Thank you.
KINKADE; And Van Jones, of course, will host another town hall right here on CNN. You can watch The Messy Truth on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. New York
time, that's 6:00 in the morning on Thursday in Abu Dhabi. Thank you.
Well, still to come, the wait is over. Find out which films made the first cut for the Oscars. We have your nominations for you next coming up on
Connect the World.
And choose a job, choose a television, choose a channel, choose CNN, of course. You may remember lines like these, most of these, from this movie.
Well, the Trainspotting gang is back. Stay tuned for more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:36] KINKADE: You're watching CNN. And this is Connect the World with me, Lynda Kinkade. Welcome back. Oscar nominations were announced
just a couple of hours ago.
(MUSIC)
KINKADE: La La Land the musical leaves with 14 nods, ties an Oscar record. The romantic musical picked up nominations for both of its stars, Ryan
Gosling and Emma Stone.
Well, nine movies are up for best pictures. In addition to La La Land, there is Arrival, also Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden
Figures, and Lion, Manchester by the Sea, and Moonlight.
Well, let's talk more about all of this with CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter. Good to have you with us, Brian.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORREPSONDENT: Thank you.
KINKADE; Well, a musical, La La Land got the most nominations, a record that matched the epic Titanic.
STELTER: A movie made for Hollywood. You know, La La Land, a musical set in Tinseltown, all about two aspiring stars in their various fields. It is
a beautiful film, one that had rave reviews from critics for months. It was expected to be on this list, but the other nominations as well for best
picture lined up pretty much along expectations.
None of the films on the list cracked $100 million at the box office, so movies like Star
Wars not nominated for best picture. Instead, a lot of the smaller films of the year that were beloved by audiences. And you know what's great
about the Oscars, we have got a now month to go see these if you didn't see them. So, I'm going to go see Arrival tonight. I haven't seen it yet.
Lion is wonderful. It's already on iTunes if you want to watch it.
Hidden Figures is also a great contender for best picture. So, nine -- overall there.
And by the way, Hacksaw Ridge is interesting. We should get back to that later, because of Mel Gibson's role.
KINKADE: Yeah, and I want to go see La La Land. There's plenty of good movies to see.
Just looking at the nominees, last year's Oscars, of course, came under fire for so many white nominees. This year, there's more diversity.
STELTER: That's right. The new hashtag, instead of Oscarsowhite, is Oscarslesswhite. I think we can put on screen now the best actress
nominations, for example, both in the best actress category, the best supporting actress category, best actor category, we are seeing much more
diversity than in prior years.
You see, for example there, Ruth Negga for the film Loving. There are number of others, examples of this all across the lineup, especially among
African-American actors and directors.
So, progress certainly is what Hollywood is feeling and seeing today, and that is something
that is definitely going to be noticed, even visual on the broadcast of the Oscars, on February 26.
There were a lot of uncomfortable jokes this time last year about this diversity issue. Clearly some progress this year.
KINKADE; And, Brian, just very quickly, Mel Gibson who has been out of the spotlight for about a decade is back.
STELTER: That's right. His film -- he directed Hacksaw Ridge. He was nominated for best director. In some ways he's already won, because he
was persona non grata in Hollywood a decade ago after making anti-Semitic comments. Now, he's at least being nominated.
By the way, two business stories. Amazon getting a best picture nomination for Manchester by
the Sea. And Netflix getting a best documentary nomination for The 13th. Just two examples of how it's not just big studio anymore, it's also the
streaming services coming to play.
KINKADE; All right, Brian Stelter, good to have you with us. As always, thank you.
STELTER: Thanks.
KINKADE: Drugs, sex, money, betrayal: for your Parting Shots, we're keeping our eyes on the big screen. More than 20 years ago,
Trainspotting's hedonistic story line made the movie a cult classic. Fast- forward to today and a long awaited sequel is finally pulling into the station. CNN's Neil Curry has the cast's story from where else but
Edinborough.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEIL CURRY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For tourists around the world, Edinborough is best known for its imposing castle, its historic
streets lined with Caledonian couture and its arts festival.
EWAN MCGREGOR, ACTOR: Choose a life, choose a job, choose a career, choose a
family, choose a big television.
CURRY: The 1996 film Trainsspotting, based on Irving Welsh's book, portrayed a much seedier, violent, drug riven side of the city through four
flawed characters which film fans took to their hearts.
[10:55:05] DANNY BOYLE, DIRECTOR: It's extraordinary, and you don't get out very often in your career, you know. And to get it at the beginning of
your career, you know, my film career anyway, I was very lucky.
MCGREGOR: Choose life. Choose Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and hope that someone , somewhere cares.
CURRY: Boyle says the debt of gratitude left by that success played a part in reuniting the team for T2, the sequel which had generated such a buzz in
Scotland, it's been referred to as the Scottish answer to Star Wars.
ROBERT CARLYLE, ACTOR: It's very special. A 20-year sequel is going to be extraordinary thing to see.
CURRY: For Danny Boyle and Ewen McGregor, Trainspotting was only their second film. The actor admitted to concerns about getting back into a
character he'd left behind two decades ago.
MCGREGOR: I did worry about it. I wondered -- I worried that I wouldn't be able to find him again, because I haven't lived here, you know, I
haven't been living in Scotland since I was 17.
He's so Scottish, Rent, such a Scottish character. I thought maybe I can't pull him off anymore.
What's on the menu this evening, sir?
CURRY: The strong Scottish story led the filmmakers to insist the world premier took place in the Scottish capital rather than London. And amid
kilts on the carpet, fans braved the wintry conditions to welcome their heroes.
BOYLE: No way we can say thank you to a city and to stories that launched us all, really.
CARLYLE: In all my career, I've never felt the amount of warmth and expectation of any film that I've ever done.
CURRY: Fans are already speculating about a third installment of Trainsspotting. And at the world premiere, Danny Boyle stopped short of
derailing any such hopes by not ruling it out.
Neil Curry, CNN, Edinborough.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: I'm Lynda Kinkade and that was Connect the World. Thanks for joining me. See you next time.
END
