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Week of Tributes for Senator Praised as American Hero; McCain Plan Funeral to Exclude President Trump; South Africa's Finance Minister Says Trump tweet Represents Right-Wing Ideology; U.N. Accuses Myanmar Military Chiefs of Genocide; Two People Killed at Videogame Tournament; Trump Makes Announcement on US-Mexico Trade Talks; Mexican President Says Our Wish That Canada the Joint Trade Agreement. Aired 11-12p ET
Aired August 27, 2018 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00 (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I've had the good fortune to spend 60 years in service to this wondrous land.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured. OK. I hate to tell
you.
Not nice.
MCCAIN: Let's trust each other.
SEN. LINDSAY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: He is loyal to his friends. He loves his country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's tough.
SEN. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: I'm going to miss him.
MCCAIN: We should all thank God for every minute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Lynda Kinkade coming to you live from CNN's world headquarters here in
Atlanta filling in for Becky Anderson.
An American war hero, a lion of the Senate, a national treasure who spent his life serving his country and standing by his ideals. People across the
United States and around the world are honoring John McCain, the Republican maverick, who died of brain cancer.
The New York Stock Exchange helped kick off a week of tributes this morning with a moment of silence. But at the White House the flag is already
flying high again after being temporarily lowered to half-staff. President Donald Trump tweeted brief condolences Saturday but hasn't said one word of
praise about his political opponent. Looking at Mr. Trump's Twitter feed which mentions Mexico's sports stars and his approval ratings, you may not
know the nation is in mourning.
Well, President Trump is expected to make an announcement any time now about trade. We will speak about that when that happens. First, I want to
bring in White House reporter, Stephen Collinson, in Washington. We're also joined by international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, in London.
Good to have you both with us. I want to go first to Stephen about John McCain. The service obviously is set for his memorial service. Presidents
Barack Obama and George W. Bush set to speak. But President Trump, the current sitting President, not even invited.
That's right, Lynda, the feud between Donald Trump and John McCain is continuing even after the Senator's death. This goes back a long way, all
the way to the 2016 campaign when you remember that the President and then candidate Trump said McCain wasn't a hero because he was captured in
Vietnam. That was a moment everyone thought the Trump campaign would basically die because he was dishonoring such a national hero. In fact, it
turned out to be one of the moments we knew politics had changed and that Trump could say things that most politicians couldn't get away with.
You know, in Washington, like everything else, death is highly political. McCain has been planning his funeral over the last year since he was
diagnosed with brain cancer, specifically to exclude the President. And I think a lot of the people that have been paying tribute to McCain, the
politicians, the foreign leaders, are in on the game. If you look at a lot of their tributes, there is a lot of implicit criticism of the President
and the way he's conducted himself and what he stands for and his distrust for institutions in the praise that's been laid on McCain. They talk about
his honor, how he looked to reach across partisan divides, how he conducted himself. As the initial period of mourning passes, we're getting into a
very interesting political moment in the United States.
KINKADE: Yes, we certainly are. I want to ask you more about that in just a moment. First, I want to go to Nic Robertson for the international
reaction. Because here in the U.S. Donald Trump aside, he is being praised on both sides of the political spectrum. And we're hearing from world
leaders who also many are singing his praises.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: They are. And as Stephen says, the undertones of criticism of President Trump are writ large
through it. And when you think about it these individual tweets that are being laid out by many, many different leaders from Australia, Colombia,
the province of Kosovo, the Baltic states, Georgia, Ukraine, many of the European countries as well. All of these are being written by these
leaders individually. They're not calling up each other to say, hey, what should we say? Yet there is this undertone of inherent, if you will,
criticism of President Trump there. Think of what the German foreign minister said, Heiko Maas, saying that Senator McCain believed in the
importance of the transatlantic alliance. Of course, this comes at a time when President Trump is hammering Germany over its payments --
contributions towards NATO, the fundamentals of the transatlantic alliance.
[11:05:06] Theresa May talked in her condolences talked of Senator McCain being a statesman, of being someone who put his duty before himself. You
know, one can certainly see into that the way she was heavily, if you will, attacked by President Trump in the U.K., in her own backyard, just a few
months ago. Last month, in fact.
So, I think across the board we're seeing this framed by all those that came to regard Senator McCain in high esteem as when they're laying this
praise on him. Again, as Stephen says, you can get very clearly a message that there's a dislike of essentially who is in the White House now and the
way he's handling the office.
KINKADE: Absolutely, and I want to go back to Stephen on that point. And just for our viewers, replay some of Donald Trump on the campaign trail
talking about John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: . he hit me --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a war hero.
TRUMP: -- he is not a war hero.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a war hero.
TRUMP: He's a war hero --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five and a half years --
TRUMP: He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, OK. I hate to tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: We can see the flags now back flying high above the White House. That were lowered to half-staff briefly over the weekend. And, Stephen,
we're reading these reports that the President rejected a statement that his team had drafted to praise John McCain as a hero.
COLLINSON: Yes, that's what we heard over the weekend that what would normally happen, of course, in these situations is the president of the
time if a giant political figure dies would issue a statement, may even find an occasion to come on camera and talk about that person's legacy,
leading the nation, if you like, in marking such an important death and a moment of national mourning.
Then you would certainly see the President deliver a eulogy, the service. I'm sort of reminded of the funeral of Ted Kennedy nine years ago, the
great Democratic Senator and friend of John McCain. That was an equivalent coming together. President Obama at the time delivered the eulogy. But
there were people from across the political spectrum. It's going to be very striking on Saturday when this gathering of the political
establishment takes place in Washington's National Cathedral to bid farewell to John McCain that the President of the United States won't be
there and won't be sort of giving the thanks of a grateful nation. It will be even more striking -- and this is something I think which will really
test Donald Trump's patience -- that one of the people giving the eulogy will be President Barack Obama who beat John McCain in 2008.
By no means has he always had a friendly relationship with McCain, but Obama will be back in that position of encapsulating a nation's thoughts
and tributes to John McCain and that's going to be something given what we know about how much Trump despises Obama that's going to be a very
interesting political sort of tableau that is unfolding. And I think it will really test whether President Trump can avoid putting himself in
probably, you know, into this situation with a tweet or something like that. So that's something to watch.
KINKADE: Yes, you can only imagine how President Trump will be feeling as that is broadcast right around the world when that service takes place. I
want to go back to Nic for some of the reaction in the Middle East. Because self-styled maverick threw his weight behind rebels in some of the
most complex conflicts in the Middle East. He of course, visited Benghazi's freedom square while pushing for the U.S. to get more involved
in Libya in 2011. And controversially opposed alongside Syrian rebels two years later with the same call, a bigger role for the U.S. in that war.
And more recently of course, he voted against blocking arms sales to Saudi Arabia and obviously many of our viewers will remember that just recently
CNN exclusively reported that a U.S.-made bomb was used to kill innocent children in Yemen. Talk to us about John McCain's legacy in the Middle
East.
ROBERTSON: Well an absolute hawk on foreign policy and there's no doubt in Tehran today that Senator McCain's passing means there's one less vocal
critic about them. And of course, their involvement in Syria was one of those things that he also talked about. He was a supporter of President
Trump reconsidering President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran.
[11:10:00] He was a supporter behind the scenes on that. But his legacy there is going to be one, you know, that he had time to reflect on. He was
an absolute hawk on going into Iraq. Was one of the first to begin to talk about that in the early 2000s after 9/11, after U.S. forces went into
Afghanistan. Where, again, he was rebuffed on that issue. But he did more recently reconsider what had happened in Iraq and say it was a mistake to
go in. But he will be remembered and is being remembered.
What we're hearing from the Saudi ambassador to Washington who is a son of the King, brother to the Crown Prince, is that he was a trusted friend.
That he was somebody who was a very good friend to Saudi Arabia. Somebody whose judgment they could trust, an American hero is how the ambassador is
describing him.
There's no shortage of praise from the United States allies and, of course, there was praise but not only from Israel's President over the weekend but
from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who called him a very strong and good friend for Israel. I think the legacy in the Middle East is going to
depend certainly on your perspective and where you stand, and which country you stand in the Middle East. But the United States allies truly do feel
largely that McCain was an important ally in Washington.
KINKADE: Absolutely. All right, Nic Robertson for us in London. Stephen Collinson for us in Washington, D.C. thank you both very much.
Well, as we've been reporting, he was a maverick in life and even in death Senator McCain left a final unmistakable message for President Trump by
excluding him from his funeral. Our Stephanie Elam has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lynda, the Senator was diagnosed with brain cancer over a year ago and within that time we've learned that he was
instrumental in planning how he would be memorialized after his passing.
(voice-over): Groups of people gathering along the road to pay their respects as the two-time Presidential candidate was transported to Phoenix
after succumbing to brain cancer.
SEN. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: It's tough to imagine a senate without him. It's tough to imagine politics without John McCain.
ELAM: On Wednesday McCain will lie in state at the Arizona capitol on what would have been his 82nd birthday. On Thursday a memorial service will be
held at North Phoenix Baptist Church where former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to speak according to "The Washington Post."
JOE BIDEN, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: John's a man of significant intellect, deep conviction, and unmatched character.
ELAM: Departing Arizona for the last time the late Senator's body will then be taken to Washington, D.C., where he will lie in state at the U.S.
capitol on Friday. On Saturday his funeral will be held at Washington's National Cathedral where sources say McCain's two past rivals, former
Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, will eulogize the decorated lawmaker known for his spirit of bipartisanship detailed in his final book,
"The Restless Wave".
MCCAIN: Before I leave I'd like to see our politics begin to return to the purposes and practices that distinguish our history from the history of
other nations. I'd like to see us recover our sense that we're more alike than different.
ELAM: President Trump is not expected to attend the funeral. Sources told CNN months ago that McCain did not want him there. On Sunday a private
memorial before McCain is laid to rest at the U.S. Naval Academy next to his longtime friend and former classmate Admiral Chuck Larson. Senator
McCain's death prompting an outpouring of support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a true American hero.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: We will really be missing such an important voice for national unity.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (R), MINNESOTA: He had a joy about politics and a love for his country that was unmatched.
ELAM: Senator minority leader, Chuck Schumer, announcing he'll introduce a resolution to rename the Russell Senate Building after McCain.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), U.S. SENATE MINORITY LEADER: I'd like decades from now little children to ask their parents, who was John McCain? And they'll
explain his sacrifice, his patriotism, and, most of all, his fidelity to do the right thing as he saw it.
ELAM: A sign of the Senator's global posture, glowing tributes also pouring in from a number of world leaders who praise McCain's commitment to
international alliances like NATO. A number of White House aides also honoring McCain despite his contentious relationship with President Trump.
But from the President himself, one sole tweet referring only to McCain's family.
A source telling CNN that the White House did draft a more comprehensive statement that aides expected would be released upon McCain's passing. But
as [11:15:00] the President spent Sunday golfing, it never went out.
(on camera): As for who will be appointed to replace the Senator, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey saying that he will not make any announcement about
that until after the Senator is laid to rest. He said right now is a time to reflect on all that the man did to serve his country -- Lynda.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Our Stephanie Elam there.
Well meanwhile South Africa's government is still seething at President Trump for his tweet critical of land reform policies. He accused South
Africa of seizing land from farmers and refer to what he called the large scale killing of farmers. Mr. Trump was apparently responding to a Fox
News report alleging land was being seized from white farmers. A South African presidential spokesman called the comments hysterical.
Our David McKenzie joins me now from Pretoria where he has just interviewed the Foreign Minister. And David, certainly a lot of anger coming out of
South Africa about President Trump's comments. Not only calling them hysterical but misinformed. What did the foreign minister have to say to
you?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Lynda. And certainly, there was irritation and more here from the government in South Africa
because of President Trump's tweets. And why it is something a bit more serious than perhaps a tweet that was disconnected from policy. Because
President Trump called on the State Department to look into the issue of land distribution here in South Africa. The State Department spokesperson
then saying that the redistribution without compensation, something the South African government is entertaining to possibly try and redress the
sins of the past is something that could be the wrong path forward, the Americans said for South Africa.
So, I spoke to the minister of international relations here in South Africa who works in the building behind me in Pretoria. She said they were
particularly aggrieved by how in their words right-wing groups pushed the agenda both in the U.S. and Australia on this issue. And I asked her,
well, why is this message resonating with certain politicians around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LINDIWE SISULU, SOUTH AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS MINISTER: Because I think they are resonating with people who stand to benefit because they
probably have the same kind of ideology. I have no idea.
MCKENZIE: Is this a racist ideology?
SISULU: I think it is a right-wing ideology and it is very unfortunate. We've used every opportunity coming through our communications to explain
to the world what it is that we're doing. It is the most reasonable way to deal with a legacy such as we have. And we are almost amazed at how it
could be misinterpreted and acceptable in certain quarters.
MCKENZIE: But it seems like the President of the United States has almost made it acceptable to talk about this.
SISULU: That is why I was indicating that I think it is unfortunate. I would have thought in a position of a President the first thing you would
have done is to call his Secretary of State. Our job is to make sure we can redistribute land, that those people whose land was taken away from
them forcefully and illegally by previous governments should be returned to them. Because we would like as much productivity as we can on the land.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE: This is a very emotional issue of course, Lynda, in South Africa. The government is trying to figure it out through parliament how
to redress inequality of the land. One big issue they face though is convincing investors to invest in South Africa while there is this
uncertainty about property rights and the land question -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Absolutely, well we'll continue to stay on that story as well. David McKenzie in Pretoria, good to have you with us. Thanks so much.
Still to come the United Nations is accusing Myanmar's military of genocide for its ferocious campaign against Rohingya. Next, we'll have look into a
report that outlines the violence the minority group has faced.
[11:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Allegations of murder, imprisonment, and rape, a damning new report from the United Nations says Myanmar's top generals should be
investigated and prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes over events in Rakhine state that sent thousands of minorities
Rohingyas fleeing their home. The crisis spilling over into neighboring Bangladesh. Now the U.N. says the actions of the military there, quote,
undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law.
For more on the U.N.'s report I'm joined now by colleague, CNN's Alexandra Field. She's reported extensively on this very crisis. Alex, this report
calls for the country's military leaders to be investigated and prosecuted. These allegations certainly very gruesome.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Lynda, it's a stunning report in the sense that it named names. But really it puts pen to paper and it
documents for the world to see the images that, of course, we've already all pored over those images, burned out buildings and villages, of bloody
bodies. We have for a year now been hearing the horror stories as told by the Rohingya Muslims who fled their own country by the tens of thousands,
ultimately by the hundreds of thousands.
Now you've got this U.N. mission saying that this was, in fact what they believe, amounted to war crimes, crimes against humanity, acts even of
genocide. And they want an immediate call to action. They want to see the international criminal court taking this up. They want this case referred
to the ICC. This is a very strong statement from this mission.
We have certainly looked again at these images in the past of these hundreds of thousands of people fleeing persecution. They say they were
escaping a brutal military campaign. Myanmar's government has always contended that this military campaign was a crackdown that targeted
militants, but this report puts it another way. This report says military necessity would never justify killing indiscriminately, gang raping women,
assaulting children, and burning entire villages. The Tatmadaw's or military's tactics are consistently and grossly disproportionate to actual
security threats.
Certainly, again, these are the stories that you've heard from Rohingya refugees who fled from Myanmar. There are now some 700,000 of them who are
living just across the border in Bangladesh. The findings of this report very much validating the stories they have been telling. But Lynda, we
should point out that U.N. investigators were not allowed into the country do this reporting. Instead, they had to rely on hundreds of interviews
with victims and with eyewitnesses. They pored over any video and images that were available, and they also analyzed a lot of data that was gathered
from satellites that of course, showed big swaths of burning villages across Rakhine state.
KINKADE: Yes, those very images that we have been showing. And what did the report have to say about Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's state counselor
who continues to claim the Rohingya present a terrorist threat?
FIELD: You know, the report did lay the blame squarely at the feet of military commanders and military chiefs, but it didn't leave Aung San Suu
Kyi out. It made note of the fact that the civilian government in Myanmar would not have the scope to stop military action, but it had these words
for Aung San Suu Kyi. Saying the state counselor has not used her de facto position as head of government nor her moral authority to stem or prevent
the unfolding events in Rakhine state.
[11:25:09] Certainly, Aung San Suu Kyi has received international criticism for failing to defend the rights of the Rohingya. The Rohingya had often
been called the world's most persecuted people. Again, they are a minority Muslim group in a predominantly Buddhist country. A group that says that
they have not had the full rights of citizenship for decades despite the fact they have lived in that country for generations -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Absolutely. Alexandra Field, good to have you with us. Thanks so much.
The U.N. report is one way to hold those responsible for the violence against the Rohingya to account. Another is a new database which is
compiling the stories of survivors. One year after they were forced to flee their homes Rohingya refugees are detailing their situation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHAFIKA, ROHINGYA REFUGEE (through translated text): I had four close friends. I saw the military shoot my friend Shora Khatun. I saw this with
my own eyes. I do not know how they killed my other three friends.
TEXT: more than 700,000 Rohingya people have fled their homes in Myanmar and are living as refugees in Bangladesh.
Now their claims of rape, murder and arson at the hands of the Myanmar military are being recorded in a new database.
JAMALIDA, ROHINGYA REFUGEE (through translated text): I was tortured and raped. My husband was killed. I became a refugee.
TEXT: USC Shoah Foundation is gathering oral testimonies from Rohingya refugees to add to its database of 55,000+ other genocide testimonies.
It's an effort to gather first-person accounts of what the U.N. has dubbed a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
KARIM, ROHINGYA REFUGEE (through translated text): After being shot, I jumped into the water to live. My father was killed in front of my mother.
My mother told me this. Anyone left alive after being fired on by the military were killed with a pickax so that Rohingya would die on the spot.
KARMAL, ROHINGYA REFUGEE (through translated text): This is the list of people in our area who were killed by the military. They killed old men
and children. They also raped the women.
TEXT: The Rohingya are the Muslim minority group living in Myanmar, a majority Buddhist country.
ULLAH, ROHINGYA REFUGEE (through translated text): every year, the ruling Myanmar government has taken photos of us since 1990, treating us like
animals. When they took the photo, the military hung tags on us like a bell around the neck of a cow.
TEXT: on August 25, 2017, they were forced to flee following the escalation of violence and mass killings.
TEXT: "The acts of genocide does not end with killing. It purposefully isolates, dehumanizes and silences its victims and survivors. To listen to
witnesses re-humanizes and gives agency to these ordinary and beautiful lives." Stephen Smith, USC Shoah Foundation Director.
HOSSEN, ROHINGYA REFUGEE (through translated text): The military killed 120 children who were as young as one month and two months old. What did a
one or two-month-old baby do wrong.
TEXT: Myanmar's military strongly denies any wrongdoing against civilians in Rakhine State. It says it's been defending itself against terrorists
who attack border outposts last year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Still to come, police in Florida's search for a motive in a deadly mass shooting at a video game tournament. We are going to go live
to Jacksonville, a city in shock and mourning when we come back.
[11:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. A recap of our top story, the United States mourning a political giant with a week of tributes honoring the remarkable
life of Senator John McCain. The Republican war hero was considered a maverick, unafraid to break with his party to vote his conscience.
One voice conspicuously missing from the outpouring of praise, President Donald Trump. We're expecting to hear from him soon on a different
subject, a trade deal with Mexico.
Well, all too often we see horrific scenes from mass shootings in the United States, but yesterday's incident at a video game tournament in
Jacksonville, Florida, was a new kind of horror because it was being live streamed online, and, in a video, you can see two people playing a game
when the shooting starts. A red dot appears on one of the players. The young man you see here on the right. We now know he and the other man you
see here were killed. You can hear the gunshots and people reacting to being shot. We need to warn you the video is disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got a lot of good games going on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be hard to get them on stream.
It's not a tough out today. Excuse me, not an easy out. Whoa. (GUN SHOTS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did he shoot me with? Oh.
(GUN SHOTS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: While the motive is not entirely clear, we do know the shooter had been competing in the tournament. Our Rosa Flores is live in
Jacksonville. And Rosa, this shooter was a well-known gamer who had traveled to Jacksonville, Florida, for this tournament. What else are you
learning about him?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know he was a big gamer and that he was the champion for the 2017 tournament. So, he was well known in these
circles. We know that he was from Baltimore, Maryland. We know that the ATF and the FBI, the federal agencies here in the United States, have been
scrubbing his home trying to figure out clues, to figure out the motive.
[11:35:00] Now they've been tightlipped about what they've recovered from the home, but from covering other stories like these, we know that usually
what authorities look for are computers, cell phones, notebooks, anything that will give them an idea as to why this individual would fire these
shots in this video game tournament. We also know that he was here in Jacksonville specifically for this tournament. This tournament was
actually happening in this area that you see behind me. And, Lynda, this is an open-air mall, entertainment center, ding area. Normally on a Sunday
there would be families with their children there. So, aside from this video game this area attracts a lot of people from this area on any given
weekend -- Lynda.
KINKADE: And, of course, I want to hear more about the victims because we know Eli Clayton known as True Boy, tweeted just days ago saying that he
decided to attend the tournament after having a change of heart. That tweet certainly highlighting the randomness of all of this. What more are
you learning about the victims?
FLORES: You know, there's 13 of them, two lives cut too short. I'll share with you the names. As you mentioned, 22-year-old Eli Clayton from
California. There is also 27-year-old Taylor Robertson from West Virginia. As you mentioned this is just extremely tragic. Nine other individuals had
gunshot wounds, two others got wounded as they were escaping the scene.
Now, Lynda, we also always hear the stories of the first responders, the heroes to run towards danger to try to save others. In this particular
case there were seven firefighters who were doing a drill on Sunday here in the building that's in front of me. So right behind this camera they
started seeing people running and then an individual that lifted their shirt saying they had been shot in the chest. These firefighters split,
four of them stayed in this area where I am standing and started treating the wounded. The other three flagged a police officer and rushed to the
scene, started triage there and then, of course, we know that two individuals lost their lives. And then according to authorities the
shooter took his own life. So, we are learning more from the victims that were there. And I believe we have sound from one of them. If we do, let's
please play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHOOTING SURVIVOR: Everybody there I knew, and I would consider friends. I feel like I was the lucky one. You know, because there was guys, you
know, I am never going to get to shake their hand at a tournament again. You know, I'm in a hospital room next to my buddy who's -- you know he's
got two bullets in his chest and they said they'll probably never be able to get them out again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: Those were some intense moments. At last check we know that at least five of those victims are still in the hospital -- Lynda.
KINKADE: And, Rosa, what can you tell us about what the organizers of this gaming tournament are saying given the security situation, how someone
could possibly get into this tournament with a gun.
FLORES: You know, these organizations are now having these conversations and asking themselves we need to reconsider the security and the safety of
these games. As you know the gun control issue has been a polarizing conversation in the United States for a really long time and it's
situations like these bring the conversations back. And now the organizers of this tournament saying that they're of course, cooperating with
authorities as the investigation goes forward. But that now they're going to reconsider the safety and security part of this tournament because they
haven't had this problem before. But here we are yet another public event in the United States that has been impacted by a mass shooting. So, those
conversations are -- Lynda .
KINKADE: Yes, shootings, obviously, in the U.S. happening every day. According to the gun violence archives, they say more than 150 have
happened since the start of this year. And they define a mass shooting as more than four people shot or killed not including the shooter. Florida,
of course, unfortunately, has had quite a few in recent times. Parkland, Florida, of course, the high school shooting and Orlando, the nightclub
shooting. How is the state of Florida responding to this?
FLORES: You know, it is this ongoing conversation of gun control and people on both sides of the issue debating --
KINKADE: Rosa Flores, I'm going to have to interrupt you for a moment. U.S. President Donald Trump is speaking right now. Let's listen.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: . This has to do -- they used to call it NAFTA. We're going to call it the United States-Mexico
Trade Agreement, and we'll get rid of the name NAFTA. It has a bad connotation because the United States was hurt very badly by NAFTA for many
years. And now it's a really good deal for both countries, and we look very much forward to it.
And I believe the President is on the phone. Enrique?
[11:40:00] You can hook him up. You tell me when.
How are you? It's a big thing. A lot of people waiting. Hello? Do you want to put that on this phone, please? Hello? Be helpful.
PENA NIETO, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): President Trump, how are you? Good morning.
TRUMP: Thank you, Enrique, and congratulations. That's really a fantastic thing. We've all worked very hard, and your brilliant representatives are
sitting right in front of me. And I thought we would congratulate each other before it got out. And I know we'll have a formal news conference in
the not-too-distant future.
NIETO: Thank you very much, President Trump. I think this is something very positive for the United States and Mexico. And the first reason for
this call, Mr. President, is, first of all, to celebrate the understanding we have had between both negotiating peace on NAFTA, in the interest we
have had for quite a few months now to renew it, to modernize it, to update it, and to generate a framework that will boost and potentiate productivity
in North America.
It is our wish, Mr. President, that now Canada will also be able to be incorporated in all this. And I assume that they going to carry out
negotiations of the sensitive bilateral issues between Mexico -- rather, between Canada and the United States.
And I'm really grateful, Mr. President. I want to say that you -- I greatly recognize and acknowledge your political will and your
participation in this. And on this paved path, I want to bear my testimony, Mr. President, and my acknowledgement to both negotiating teams,
especially the team that is headed and led by Mr. Robert Lighthizer, and also the accompaniment and the support we have had from the White House
through Jared Kushner.
And I also extend this recognition to the Mexican team. They are listening to you. They are close to you right now -- Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray
and the Secretary of the Economy, Mr. Guajardo.
[11:45:10] Yes, and this is of course, the negotiations that have taken months, it's been difficult, complex, and a very hard negotiation
altogether with difficult moments, of course. But I truly acknowledge now the fact that we've been able to reach an agreement that we are about to
make public. And this is the result of good understanding and good work. And I, of course, I am quite hopeful that now Canada would start discussing
with the United States the sensitive bilateral issue.
Congratulations, President Trump. I am very grateful, and I am attentive to your comments.
TRUMP: Well, Mr. President, thank you very much. It's an honor. And you've been my friend. It's been a long time since I traveled to Mexico,
where we got to know each other quite well and we actually had a good meeting. Some people weren't sure if it was a good meeting, but I was. I
have a lot of good meetings that a lot of people aren't sure if they were good or not.
But it's been a long time, and this is something that's very special for our manufacturers and for our farmers from both countries, for all of the
people that work for jobs. It's also great trade and it makes it a much more fair bill. And we are very, very excited about it.
We have worked long and hard. Your representatives have been terrific. My representatives have been fantastic too. They've gotten along very well,
and they've worked late into the night for months. It's an extremely complex bill and it's something that I think will be talked about for many
years to come. It's just good for both countries.
As far Canada is concerned, we haven't started with Canada yet. We wanted to do Mexico and see if that was possible to do. And it wasn't -- I think,
it wasn't from any standpoint something that most people thought was even doable when we started. If you look at it, you remember, at the beginning,
many people thought that this was something that just couldn't happen because of all of the different factions, all of the different sides, and
the complexity. And we made it much simpler, much better, much better for both countries.
Canada will start negotiations shortly. I'll be calling the Prime Minister very soon. And we'll start negotiation, and if they'd like to negotiate
fairly, we'll do that. You know, they have tariffs of almost 300 percent on some of our dairy products, and we can't have that. We're not going to
stand for that. I think with Canada, frankly, the easiest thing we can do is to tariff their cars coming in. It's a tremendous amount of money and
it's a very simple negotiation. It could end in one day and we take in a lot of money the following day.
But I think we'll give them a chance to probably have a separate deal. We can have a separate deal, or we can put it into this deal. I like to call
this deal the United States-Mexico Trade Agreement. I think it's an elegant name. I think NAFTA has a lot of bad connotations for the United
States because it was a rip-off. It was a deal that was a horrible deal for our country, and I think it's got a lot of bad connotations to a lot of
people. And so, we will probably -- you and I will agree to the name.
We will see whether or not we decide to put up Canada or just do a separate deal with Canada, if they want to make the deal. The simplest deal is more
or less already made. It would be very easy to do and execute.
But I will -- I will tell you that working with you has been a pleasure. Speaking with and working President-elect Lopez Obrador has been absolutely
a very, very special time. You both came together for your country. You worked together. I think that's important for the media to know. We have
a little -- a small amount of media in our presence, like everybody. And the media should know that the President and the President-elect worked
very closely together because the President felt it was important that the President-elect liked what he was seeing.
And our teams worked together. Our teams were really well unified, and your team was very well unified. I was very impressed with the fact that
the two Presidents came together and worked out something mutually agreeable.
So, it's an incredible deal. It's an incredible deal for both parties. Most importantly, it's an incredible deal for the workers and for the
citizens of both countries. Our farmers are going to be so happy. You know, my farmers -- the farmers have stuck with me. I said we were going
to do this. And Mexico has promised to immediately start purchasing as much farm product as they can. They're going to work on that very hard.
[11:50:00] And as you know, we're working -- unrelated to this, we're working very much with other countries. China is one. They want to talk.
And it's just not right time to talk right now, to be honest, with China. It's been -- it's too one-sided for too many years, for too many decades.
And so, it's not the right time to talk. But eventually, I'm sure, that we'll be able to work out a deal with China. In the meantime, we're doing
very well with China.
Our economy is up. It's never been this good before, and I think it's only going to get better.
But, Mr. President, you've been my friend and you have been somebody that's been very special in a lot of ways. We talk a lot. We talked a lot about
this deal. And I'd like to congratulate you and the Mexican people.
NIETO: Thank you very much, Mr. President. I finally recognize this, especially because of the point of understanding we are now reaching on
this deal. And I really hope, and I desire -- I wish -- that the part with Canada will be materializing in a very concrete fashion. That we can have
an agreement the way we proposed it from the initiation of this renegotiating process, a tripartite.
But today I celebrate the (INAUDIBLE) between the United States and Mexico because we're reaching a final point of understanding. And I hope that in
the following days we can materialize the finding and the formalization of this agreement.
Something additional, Mr. President -- and you have already mentioned it -- it has to do with an involved and committed participation of the
administration and the President-elect of Mexico. As you know, we are now going through a period of transition, and it has been possible to create a
highly unified front between the negotiating team of this administration and the people appointed by the President-elect of Mexico to be observers
and participate in this agreement, in this understanding, to reach the point we are now reaching.
The President-elect has been aware of everything that has been happening, and I have also had the opportunity of talking to him directly and
personally on the progress being made. You have also had direct conversations with President-elect. Things that we have to do, and I hope
we have the space to do it would be to find -- to toast a good toast with tequila, of course, to celebrate this understanding.
TRUMP: Enrique, I think that's exactly right. And you know the good relationship that I've already established with the President-elect. I was
very impressed with him, I must tell you. He was terrific in every way. And he wants -- you know, he loves your country like you love your country.
You want to do the right thing. And we're really doing the right thing for all of us. So, I really enjoy that. Please send him my regards, and I
will speak to him very shortly. But this was great that you were able to do it together.
I think doing it mutually as opposed to just you doing it -- or even just him doing it -- I think a mutual agreement between your two administrations
was a fantastic thing. I suggested that early on, and I think it was immediately embraced and I think it was a really fantastic thing that you
were able to do it -- and with great spirit.
[11:55:00] I mean, it was great coordination and spirit. So, I think that is really just great. And, you know, one of the things that I'm excited
about is you're going to be helping us at the border. You're going to be working together with us on agriculture. You're going to be working in
many different ways, and we're going to be working with you in many different ways. This is a very comprehensive agreement.
So, Enrique, I will see you soon. I think we're going to have a very formal ceremony. This is one of the largest trade deals ever made. Maybe
the largest trade deal ever made. And it's really something very special that two countries were able to come together and get it done. And I just
want to thank all of my people -- Bob and Jared. And, gentlemen, you have been really great, the way you've worked so long. And I know you've been
going up until three o'clock, four o'clock in the morning, and then getting in at eight.
So, I just want to -- on behalf of the United States, I want to thank you very much. And I can say that Mexico is very proud of you. They're very
proud of you. Thank you all very much.
Enrique, I'll see you soon. I'll talk to you soon. And congratulations, and job well done.
NIETO: Thank you, Mr. President, and congratulations as well to you, to the negotiating team, it defines the discipline and well-being of both
countries. We'll be waiting for Canada to be integrated into this process.
I send you an affectionate hug. And all my greetings to you and my regards.
TRUMP: A hug from you would be very nice. Thank you. So long. Thanks. Goodbye, Enrique.
OK, so we've made the deal with Canada. It's a very --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With Canada?
TRUMP: They're starting. We made the deal with Mexico. And I think it's a very -- deal. We're starting negotiations with Canada, pretty much
immediately. I can't tell you where those negotiations are gone. It's going to be a -- it's a smaller segment, as you know. Mexico is a very
large trading partner. But we've now concluded our deal and it's being finalized. And, Bob, when would you say it will be signed -- actually,
formally, signed?
ROBERT LIGHTHIZER, UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: Well, it will likely be signed at the end of November because there's a 90-day layover
period because of our statute. But we expect to submit our letter to Congress, beginning that process on Friday.
TRUMP: OK, so that starts the process.
LIGHTHIZER: And then 90 days later, it will be signed.
TRUMP: We have an agreement where -- both with Canada and with Mexico -- I will terminate the existing deal. When that happens, I can't quite tell
you. It depends on what the timetable is with Congress. But I'll be terminating the existing deal and going into this deal. We'll start
negotiating with Canada relatively soon. They want to start -- they want to negotiate very badly. But one way or the other, we have a deal with
Canada. It will either be a tariff on cars, or it will be a negotiated deal. And, frankly, a tariff on cars is a much easier way to go. But
perhaps the other would be much better for Canada.
And we're looking to help -- you know, we're looking to help our neighbors, too. If we can help our neighbors, that's a good thing, not a bad thing.
So, we're going to start that negotiation imminently. I'll be speaking with Prime Minister Trudeau in a little while.
So, I want to thank everybody. I want to thank you. What a great job you've all done. And it's been -- it's been a long one, but a lot of
people thought this was not a doable transaction. It's going to be great for our people. And again, I want to thank you folks. And we'll see you
at the signing, and we'll see you many times before that, I'm sure.
So, congratulations to the people of Mexico. Great job.
Thank you very much everybody.
KINKADE: Listening to U.S. President Trump saying he's terminating the NAFTA free trade agreement, renaming it the U.S./Mexico agreement. And he
will begin negotiations with Canada very soon on that. We're going to have much more analysis on that after a very short break.
END
