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Hundreds Detained As Clashes Erupt In Major Cities; P.M. Warns Of Unchartered Waters Ahead Of Key Vote; Sandwiches Could Be Toast After Leaving The E.U.; Fuel Tax Protests Morph Into Anti-Macron Movement; Workers Claim Trump N.J. Club Hires Undocumented Immigrants; Consequences If Warming Exceeds Critical Threshold. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired December 09, 2018 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00] BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Detained, gassed, beaten, defiant. Is this Viva La Revolucion with pandemonium on the

streets of France, their president nowhere to be seen? America's president gloating about all of that claiming the protesters there love him and he

loves France right back, but back home he has a boatload of his own problems as he struggles to change the narratives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On the Mueller situation were very happy with what we are reading because there was no collusion

whatsoever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, that's not the whole story and America's comedians can't stop poking fun at Donald Trump playing a little guess who.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, buddy, nothing in the closet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: They're not laughing in Britain where some are worried that there may be nothing in the fridges soon enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll do what I have to do it keeps on having my sandwich.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Sandwiches could be toast as Brits find themselves in a bit of a pickle if it Brexit. More on that a little later. We are exploring a

world in a fog of tear gas, one in a fog of misdirection and one in a fog of total confusion. They're all connected by people upset at least status

quo.

Hello and welcome. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, I'm Becky Anderson live from Abu Dhabi where it is seven o'clock in the evening. I'm going to

get you through to Paris where we begin this hour, where the City of Lights is being upstaged by the glare from a legion of yellow vests.

Water cannon sweeping the streets, vehicles on fire, more than a thousand people taken into custody after a month of this is it any wonder why some

are calling it a revolution. It's not just Paris, see for yourself, the scenes at the other end of the city -- sorry at the other end of the

country, Marseille. It all began with frustrations over the economy is now raw fury at the government because while this movement may not have a

leader, it certainly has a target, French President Emmanuel Macron.

Ben Wedeman is in Paris with the very latest. Ben, who's on the streets and what is it exactly they are protesting?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let me tell you, today, Sunday, Becky, just normal people are on the street. It's amazing

how quickly a Paris went back to normal. There's still some of the stores boarded up but by and large this is a Saturday event. But what we did see

yesterday is as many is 136,000 people taking to the streets of France. And what's interesting that it really is a nationwide protest in terms of

you know where it's all going down. But certainly what we see is that this is a -- this protest movement is a very broad spectrum, a political

spectrum of the country from the left to the right with a lot of people in the middle.

Now originally what sparked the first protests on the 17th of November was this fuel tax but that has been cancelled but that did nothing to take the

fire out of yesterday's a protest. Now we expect President Macron to speak tomorrow and is -- it is expected he is going to concede certain things.

But given that the protest movement really only agrees on one thing, they have a variety of demands, but the one thing they do agree on is they all

want President Emmanuel Macron who's only been in power for 18 months to go.

But this is not a parliamentary system. He is here for the next four -- 3 1/2 years so how this is going to play out it's difficult to say. But the

expectation is that these protests will continue next week and the week after and perhaps till the end of the year and beyond and it has having a

very disastrous effect on the economy. That's what the French economy minister said today. We heard other ministers speaking out. The foreign

minister telling President Trump to not interfere in France's internal affairs. So there's much being said here but it's important to note that

it doesn't appear that there seems to be an outpouring of support for President Trump. Becky?

[10:05:18] ANDERSON: Ben, you're absolutely right. The passed hour, France's foreign minister calling on Donald Trump to keep out of French

politics. It was a response to this tweet. Let's have a look at this in which the U.S. President slammed the Paris Climate Agreement and claimed

protesters have been chanting we want Trump.

Now, Ben, have you heard anyone say we want Trump or do you -- people think might have simply been Mr. Trump's infamous friend -- oh I'm so sorry, we

seem to have missed -- Ben, you could see that we were struggling a little bit and with some of our technology. Never mind, we will move on because

we're going to talk President Trump and we will talk about that tweet with our next contributor.

President Trump basking in apparent praise then from citizens of the Fifth Republic. Back home the Mueller investigation probes ever deeper into his

West Wing. And critics say that the President is practicing the art not of the deal but of deflection and denial after bombshell court filings allege

Mr. Trump directed his ex-attorney Michael Cohen to break campaign laws before the 2016 election. This, of course, is Michael Cohen in the shots.

The President denied that on Saturday and once again said there was no collusion with Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: On the Mueller situation, were very happy with what we are reading because there was no collusion whatsoever. There's ever has been. The

last thing I want is help from Russia on a campaign. You should ask Hillary Clinton about Russia because she financed the fake dossier which I

understand they tried to get some information and help from Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, President Trump then seems try to change the focus by announcing that his Chief of Staff John Kelly would sit down at the end of

the year. But in the New York Times reporting that his son-in-law and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner counseled the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin

Salman on how to weather the storm in an inverted comment following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Could it be the President Trump is

somehow on the ropes? So far his party is standing by him, but Julian Zelizer friend, of this show and Professor at Princeton University warns

the Republicans could reach a tipping point and decide that a scandal- ridden president can drag down the rest of the party.

Professor Zelizer joining me now from New York. President Trump saying there is no collusion, everything pointing to that. Move on. Nothing to

see here, sir.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, his statement doesn't really match what the rest of the information we're receiving says. And I think the

court filings have already produced a lot of very problematic information about what candidate Trump directed in terms of campaign finance

violations, in terms of ongoing discussions between Trump administration officials and Russians not just over the election but over business

opportunities and there's much more to come. So at this point I think we can discount the President's interpretation because it's pretty clear he

and his closest allies are the focus of the investigation.

ANDERSON: Let's talk about some of his closest allies and some who were who are now in his process. Let's have a go at this one, shall we? Among

the flurry of tweets unleashed by the President this weekend, was one about his former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and he's not mincing his words

referring to America's former top diplomat is "dumb as a rock and lazy as hell." Julian, even for this present, this kind of personal attack on

someone, one who's senior the White House is highly unusual, correct?

ZELIZER: Oh absolutely. It's not even a personal attack, it's a childish attack. And we talked about president decorum -- presidential decorum and

then how it seems to be going out the window, a tweet like that is the best evidence of what's going on. But it also seems to reflect a little bit of

the climate in the Oval Office, the fact the president is doing all this right as all this information is coming out from the Mueller report

suggests to me he is actually worried despite what he says and he's lashing out against everyone including people who have been talking about him.

Former Secretary Tillerson said he often had to stop the President from violating the law. I think that's what this is a response to.

[10:10:00] ANDERSON: Julian, if an issue that if true will surely be much more serious than the Tillison tweets. We mentioned the New York Times

reporting that President's Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner offered advice for the Saudi Crown Prince in the aftermath of Jamal

Khashoggi's murder back in October. This is -- and I must be clear about this, this is New York Times reporting at the moment, but Julian we know

that Congress across the party divided and including senior congressmen like Bob Corker and Lindsey Graham both of the Republican Party have a very

big issue with U.S. and Saudi -- the U.S.-Saudi relationship under the Trump administration and including Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Where

does this go next? And you've written an article which is fascinating about the relationship between Donald Trump himself and the GOP, the

Republican Party, what happens next?

ZELIZER: Yes, look, on the Saudis, I wouldn't be surprised if there's an investigation. At this point with the New York Times story, the response

of the administration to the murder of a journalist for the Washington Post, people are wondering what's driving the administration's policy.

There's now a court case regarding the emoluments clause. Meaning, what is the relationship between Saudi spending money in the Trump hotels and the

administration. This is going to culminate in some kind of congressional hearing.

And the question with the Republicans is what's the -- what's the breaking point. Look a lot of Republicans support the president because he's a

Republican not because he loves them. It's about partisanship. And my point was that partisanship can easily turn against the president when he

is simply a burden to the party. And the midterms were the first piece of evidence that this could really cost the GOP. And if this continues to

unfold, I don't think the president can simply assume that Senate Republicans are always going to stand firm. We have seen this

historically, a party can turn against their own party when that -- a person no longer serves their interests.

ANDERSON: We've been discussing at the top of this show whether much of what we have seen over the weekend is Donald Trump once again sort of

playing distraction and deflection. I wouldn't have expected that to have included tweeting about what's going on in Paris but it was. It was the

French Foreign Minister calling on Donald Trump to butt out of French politics effectively. It was a response to this tweet in which the U.S.

President slammed the Paris climate agreement and claimed that protesters in France have been chanting we want Trump.

Now, I haven't been able to elicit whether any of our correspondents have actually heard protestors chanting we want Trump because we had a slight

issue with the communications with our first Reporter Ben Wedeman slightly earlier on so I can't say whether that's true or not. But again, is this -

- is this a good example of deflect and distract at this point?

ZELIZER: It is. Although the fact the discussion has been about whether he is deflecting and distracting suggests it's not really working.

Meaning, if that's the conversation it goes right back to the revelations from the investigation, and it becomes a question of why is the president

trying to shift attention away from the major story people are following. So distraction only works when you're not talking about it. When the news

literally shifts to another story. So I think we've entered a period where the investigation at least right now is the framework for how people are

looking at what's going on in the White House and that's a big problem for the president and I think he is aware of that.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. All right, well, thank you for that. Always a pleasure having you on, sir. Oh, you're just discussing Jared Kushner,

Donald Trump's son-in-law, of course. He apparently continues a fairly cozy relationship with Saudi Arabia. The devastating war in Yemen rages

on. And as it should it is making headlines. And a New York Times opinion piece by Nicholas Kristof has a harsh message for Americans underlining

that -- and it says here very boldly as a headline, U.S. tax dollars contributing to the humanitarian catastrophe there.

The United Nations says the war is close to creating the worst famine on the planet. This as peace talks between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-

led coalition continued in Sweden. That is the story that we will be covering closely for you all this coming week.

Another big story on our radar, a make-or-break week for the Brexit deal and perhaps the British Prime Minister's political future. The uphill

battle Theresa May face is ahead of Tuesday's crucial vote in parliament is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00] ANDERSON: Welcome back. It is 7:17 in the UAE. Two days to go until the Brexit vote showdown. It's called the meaningful vote. And

British Prime Minister Theresa May is racing to get Parliament on board. The thrust of her argument back me or risk no Brexit at all. Uncharted

waters appears to be the phrase of the day with both Mrs. May and her new Brexit secretary using it to describe what is at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN BARCLAY, BRITISH BREXIT SECRETARY: If the deal doesn't go through, we will enter uncharted waters and appeared or uncertainty. And the very

clear message that I got -- our colleagues have got farm businesses, I know this, it that they want a deal which will allow the investment, protect

jobs, and allow us to respect the referendum result. And you're absolutely right. The alternative is a period of uncertainty which is bad for jobs

but for the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Hadas Gold joining me now from London. Unchartered waters, turbulent times, hackneyed phrases, but the British Prime

Minister's supporters desperate, Hadas, to convince lawmakers it's a take- it-or-leave-it vote on Tuesday. Do Brits themselves feel that this is crunch time?

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky I've was actually just out in southeast England on Friday speaking to locals in an

area that voted heavily in favor of Brexit. And both remainders and leavers were mostly just freshened with the whole process that seems as

though Theresa May is completely on her own here on wanting to support her deal. Here's what I found in Dover on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOLD: The White Cliffs of Dover, the symbol of Britain's frontier with Europe today battered by a storm just as Theresa May tries to weather

political turbulence back in London. This vital port which handled a record 2.6 million trucks last year could be approaching a no deal cliff's

edge if Parliament votes down the Prime Minister's deal. At a town favorite the Devoran, locals and dock workers gather for a traditional

English breakfast. And like the 62 percent of people here who voted for Brexit in 2016, many of them just want to leave no matter the terms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There shouldn't be no revote. We voted that we absolutely stay out.

[10:20:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Theresa Mays deal is a very poor one. It doesn't mean leaving. We're tied into a backstop no one can

understand and we should leave. No deal, no problem. If the traffickers held up at Dover, it will also be held up at (INAUDIBLE). How long do you

think the French will put up with that?

GOLD: Government officials and businesses have warned of chaos for miles of freight waiting for customs checks to bodies piling up in morgues if

there's no Brexit deal.

No matter the outcome in London, this area will bear the brunt of that result. But for the majority here who voted to leave the European Union

just 22 miles across this channel, they just want the politicians to get on with it.

Out of the rain and up the road at the Astor Community Centre in deal, the monthly tea dance attracts a mix of remainders and leavers. But what

unites them aside from teaching newcomers how to dance, their frustrations with the Brexit process.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No deal at all. Oh, that is fine. It's absolute nonsense because I'm old enough to remember about nearly 40 years when we

weren't in Europe so we just go back to that. we just go back to square one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unfortunately we've got the wrong Prime Minister, although I voted for her doing it. I just think whatever happens next week

and I don't think she'll get through, I just think we're going to end up with a mess.

GOLD: Little confidence here in Theresa Mays plan, remain or leave, deal or no deal, the Foxtrot or the Waltz, the people of South East England are

feeling out of step with the politicians.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLD: And Becky, today in central London, we actually saw some pro-hard Brexit protests and then some counter protests. It doesn't seem as though

there's a lot of people rallying necessarily behind Theresa May's deal, but clearly she and her Brexit Secretary believe that they need to keep the

vote on Tuesday and that they honestly will we'll see in the next day or so whether they can get just enough members of parliament on their side to

vote for that deal. Otherwise, as we heard, it's just going to be uncharted territory.

ANDERSON: Yes. And to the casual observer, and that will be many of our viewers watching looks like a mess, total mess as one lady pointed out in

your report. If Theresa May doesn't get lawmakers to agree with her that this is the way that the U.K. should leave Europe under the deal that she

has built effectively with Europe, can she survive this?

GOLD: OK, it seems increasingly unlikely. It's almost seems as though people are watching to see by how much she will potentially lose on Tuesday

but she will almost certainly face some sort of leadership challenge. In fact, she warned to the daily -- to the Mail on Sunday that if this deal

did not go through then people risked having somebody like Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Leader as Prime Minister. She also note this morning on the

BBC, we saw the former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson appear on T.V. with his haircut looking quite a little bit more like a Prime Minister and

people definitely think that he will likely pose some sort of leadership challenge.

Everybody is just waiting to see what happens on Tuesday. But so far Becky, I have to say, it does not look very good for Theresa May.

ANDERSON: Whoever thought that a former foreign secretary having a haircut would be an indication that he'd be fishing to lead the country going

forward, a mess I think we might suggest. Thank you Hadas.

What's more British than getting together with your mates and sharing some freshly made sonnies on a lovely British summers. They all look a meal. I

love that. (INAUDIBLE) Get this. Brexit could be about to make sandwiches like these toast as it even makes these cost a few more quid. CNN's Erin

McLaughlin got the lucky assignment of looking into bread and butter. The bread and butter of Brexit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, sir.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For Britain sandwich lovers, for billions sandwiches a year, an industry that wakes up every

morning fresh sandwiches ready to go now an alarm is ringing. Sandwich shop owners coming to grips with a new reality. The cost of the future

Brexit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is going to be taxed, and in the end of the day we going to pay for that. We're going to make less profit. Customer

are going to pay more for sandwich and that is no good for all of us, you know.

MCLAUGHLIN: Uncertainty now rattling both the sandwich industry and perhaps a way of life. Sandwich lovers may for the first time begin

thinking the unthinkable.

JIM WINSHIP, BRITISH SANDWICH ASSOCIATION. We're used in this country to having very fresh products now of hand. So when products like -- that just

don't have a long shelf life and it doesn't take very much for them to be messed up both becoming being delayed at ports and things.

[10:25:09] MCLAUGHLIN: Wholesalers, the lifeline that brings fresh products into the U.K. are facing their own season of discontent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This certainly won't be as easy as it is now. There will be barriers, there will be borders, there will be extra paperwork.

There's possibly going to be extra costs.

MCLAUGHLIN: Britain imports 80 percent of its Tomatoes when they're out of season, mostly from Spain, and the Netherlands, arriving in record time.

Lettuce 40 percent imported from the E.U. mostly from Spain delivered fresh daily. Britain produces almost enough English cheddar cheese for its needs

at 80 percent. Most imports coming from the E.U. because of low tariffs creating a booming business for cheese lovers like Patricia Michelson.

Her store La Fromagerie boasting 283 varieties of cheese after Brexit cheese from the E.U. could become exotic and very expensive. Now she

wrestles with her passion and the need to be pragmatic.

PATRICIA MICHAELSON, OWNER, LA FROMAGERIE: You know, I love everything I'm bringing in and I love everything I get from England too. If I have to cut

it down a bit, I'll have to cut it down a bit.

MCLAUGHLIN: Anxiety among retailers mirrors the political debate full of division. A family-run business depending on British ingredients for four

generations since so worried about a Brexit storm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It won't really affect us Brexit at all. It's not something we're worried about.

MCLAUGHLIN: But as expected with British resolve, there's no appetite for too much fuss.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll do what I have to do to keep on having my sandwich.

MCLAUGHLIN: There are those who are in fighting mode when it comes to defending the Brexit sandwich.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think our British farmers will rise to the occasion. Our European friends will still want to trade with us, we'll

still get our tomatoes from Italy and Spain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The French, the Dutch, and the Spanish aren't going to want their stuff sitting on the docks, stay on the side for too long

either. They'll still keep sending them and we still will still keep having sandwiches.

MCLAUGHLIN: The face of so much uncertainty, British spirit is resolute. Its keep calm and enjoy your sandwich. Erin McLaughlin, CNN London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, from British spirit to Gaelic grit. At least that is out Frances protesters see it as the grassroots movement shows no sign of

backing down. We look at what's next for France and indeed for Europe. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:31:53] ANDERSON: Well, just a taste there what the City of Light saw this weekend. Paris in the spotlight this hour as the French President

Emmanuel Macron confronts one of the biggest most sustained challenges to his reforms and his vision of where France should be heading.

Those setting themselves up against him, so-called, "gilet jaune", or yellow vests. Grassroots movement sparked originally by opposition to fuel

tax hikes that has now morphed into a wider anti-government and anti-Macron movement.

Let speak to a woman who knows the French president well, Laura Haim was Mr. Macron's spokesperson during his presidential campaign. She joins me

now from Paris, where things may be a little quieter today, but no one is suggesting this has gone away. So, just how big of a challenge is this for

Emmanuel Macron at this point?

LAURA HAIM, FORMER SPOKESWOMAN FOR EMMANUEL MACRON: I think it's a very big challenge for the president at this moment. Nobody knows what's going

to happen. People in France want to hear him. He's supposed to speak on Monday or Tuesday. Probably Monday night he's going to talk --

And again, as I tell you a few seconds ago, people really want to hear him. What is surprising for me, he is the personalization of the conflict.

Three weeks ago, people were protesting and were asking for tax reform involving again, the rise of the fuel gas.

And now, it's not at all about that when you speak to the people in the street. They are extremely angry at the president and they want to hear

him.

ANDERSON: And this frustration very much reflected in polls. His approval ratings really very low. The irony of all of this is that Macron is a man

who's swept to power on the back of a grassroots-fueled movement, as a seemingly independent maverick clamping down on this movement, and in quite

a high-handed manner. We have seen images that you certainly would have expected to have seen under this president.

HAIM: There's something quite interesting about the poll because I know that people are looking at the moment at his popularity polls. But you

have to remember something which happened when he was elected. 45 percent of the French people when he was elected voted for the extreme. They voted

from an independent far-right, or they voted also for Luc Melenchon, or Jean, the far-left.

So, when he arrived to power, he and his team decided to communicate in a certain way. He wanted to restore the image of a strong president. He

welcomes Donald Trump to Paris, and then, he decided to reform. And some people were quite surprised by his reform. They thought it was not the

candidate that elected him to transform the country.

ANDERSON: Sure.

HAIM: Now again, he tried to reform and he did probably some communication mistakes also.

[10:35:04] ANDERSON: You know, what's -- but -- what's really surprising - - and you've worked closely with the man. So explain the following to me. It certainly seems as it is unable to connect with ordinary French people.

I talked about his approval ratings. They were 29 percent in September. He's gone through a series of let them eat cake style gaffes. When did

this change happen and who is Emmanuel Macron? Is he the man of the campaign? This very maverick style campaign, the man who really did

connect with the French people. Or is he the man the protestors have now had enough of?

HAIM: In my personal opinion, he's a man who tried to -- wants to reform the country, who wants to protect democracy in a kind of weak Europe. But

at the same time, and again, it's a personal opinion shared by many people I know who have been close to him, who are still working with him, that's a

communication problem at this moment. He has to speak to the heart of the people. He has to go to the street. People, the yellow vest wanted to

hear him. Three weeks ago, they wanted to talk to him directly. And there's also something which is quite specific to President Macron.

Sometimes he speaks with a very complicated world. He speaks in a very, very sophisticated French. And sometimes, as you know, especially in our

democracy, people who are suffering, people who are working hard, people wants to make money do not understand this sophisticated intellectual

language. And that's part of the problems he had recently.

ANDERSON: Sure. And Laura -- and Laura, sometimes he doesn't speak to the people at all. The last couple of weeks, he's been at G20 in Argentina. I

know he canceled another trip because of what was going on in Paris and beyond.

But many, including yourself, looking at the bigger European picture here. And certainly, that's a platform that the French president wants to sort of

own as it were. You know, take France and himself as the leader of Europe at present.

We see demonstrations all over France. Steve Bannon -- for example in Brussels with Marine Le Pen, the French nationalist leader who lost out to

Emmanuel Macron last year. The Italian populist Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, expressing support for the French protesters.

Belgium in full political crisis. Brexit vote going on just a day from now in the U.K. Europe in the last 10 days as you put it. Is the threat here

more than just Macron's political future, do you think?

HAIM: We don't know, and that's a really interesting question you're asking because we all have that in mind. Europe is checking at this

moment, there's no doubt. And President Macron was elected to be this kind of strong man in France, and to bring democracy and to stabilize Europe.

And so far, it's not happening, and that's why this movement of the yellow jackets is quite important. Because there's a disconnection all over

Europe because Democrat's we are trying to reform, we are trying to do something. And people, and especially the middle class which doesn't

understand anymore what's happening to their wallets. What's happening in what we call in France, Luc Melenchon.

The ability to spend money, to buy something to take for your holidays which are so important in France. People at this moment are not talking

any more about holidays, they're talking about this (INAUDIBLE).

They want something to change. And, of course, they extremely worried by what's happening all over Europe with the rise of populism. And it's a

debate which is happening all over the world at this moment. Populism against democracy.

ANDERSON: Yes, that's fascinating. Apologies to our viewers that we have the gremlins with us, unfortunately, tonight when it comes to our

communications with our Paris Bureau.

But Laura, thank you and we heard about 99 percent of what you said, and that was fantastic analysis and insight into what is an extremely important

story not just in France but beyond lots more on cnn.com about. This check out our video, who are the gilets jaunes?

For more on their demands, their tactics and their chances of success. You know where to go, that is cnn.com, live from Abu Dhabi where it is 39

minutes past 7:00 in the evening. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson.

Two former maids. A U.S. President Donald Trump's Bedminster golf club go public saying they got jobs at the exclusive resort despite being

undocumented workers. That up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[10:42:15] TRUMP: We are going to build a great border wall. We will build a great, great wall. We're going to build a wall, don't worry about

it. We'll build a wall.

I promise we will build the wall. It's not going to be a little wall, it's going to be a big, beautiful wall. It's going to be a very tall wall, a

very strong wall, a very powerful wall. It's going to be such a beautiful wall, it's going to be so big. It's going to be so powerful. It's going

to be as beautiful as a wall can be. I've got to make it beautiful, because maybe someday they'll name the wall, The Trump Wall, who the hell

knows? And who's going to pay for the wall?

AMERICAN CROWD: Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: And why does he want a wall? Well, that's Donald Trump's signature stance, of course, since the first moment of his campaign.

It's been a hardline policy against undocumented immigrants. But a story first reported by The New York Times is now raising questions of hypocrisy.

As originally reported by The Times, managers at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, allegedly hired undocumented immigrants.

CNN's Polo Sandoval spoke with two of the women about their experiences.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDRA DIAZ, FORMER HOUSEKEEPER AT TRUMP NATIONAL GOLF CLUB BEDMINSTER: (INAUDIBLE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sandra Diaz and Victorina Morales are the first to speak out publicly about their experience working

at a Donald Trump golf resort as undocumented women.

As first reported by The New York Times, Thursday, both were hired as housekeepers at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Morales, says she was hired in 2013. Diaz, says she worked there from 2010 through 2013. And has since become a legal permanent resident of the U.S.

Both claim managers employed by the Trump Organization knowingly hired them as undocumented workers.

Diaz tells me her decision to go public was made in part because of what she calls a high level of hypocrisy.

"The president launches such hardline immigration rhetoric," says Diaz. Yet his organization is doing the complete opposite. Morales, Diaz's

former colleague, says she has additional reasons for speaking out.

The undocumented Guatemalan alleges she was subjected to demeaning verbal assaults by her superior. After Trump became president, the housekeeping

manager became more aggressive towards the employees, recalls Morales. She describes being threatened with deportation repeatedly.

There are also allegations of illegal hiring practices. Diaz claims managers at the property went as far as to arrange for fraudulent documents

to keep them employed.

Morales tells me she was taken to an off-site location after being hired away from the club. She says it was there that she was provided with a

bogus social security card and identification.

The woman's attorney Anibal Romero, says they are prepared to provide proof to authorities if an investigation to the Trump Organization's hiring

practices is launched.

[10:45:29] ANIBAL ROMERO, ATTORNEY FOR DIAZ AND MORALEZ Absolutely, we have documentary evidence. We have the testimony of workers. We have the

fraudulent documents. All of this could be provided to federal authorities and/or state authorities. Both of my clients are willing to cooperate with

federal and state authorities.

SANDOVAL: In response to the claims, Trump Organization's spokeswoman Amanda Miller said in the statement, "We have tens of thousands of

employees across our properties and have very strict hiring practices. If any employee submitted false documentation in an attempt to circumvent the

law, they will be terminated immediately."

No public criminal or civil actions have been filed against the Trump Organization regarding the allegations from Morales, Diaz and two other

women mentioned by the New York Times. Morales and Diaz tell CNN, they do not believe Donald Trump was actually aware of the alleged illegal hiring

practices. They even have fond memories of their early years working at the Trump property.

"I was very proud to say that I work there," says Diaz.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: We all know, Donald Trump's views on global warming don't be. So, up next, we're going to show you this. Once a kaleidoscope of colorful

coral, but now a graveyard of dust and darkness.

Can Australia fix its Great Barrier Reef? That more after this.

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ANDERSON: Whatever challenges we face at any given time, most of us try to do the best we can, that we in these circumstances available. But when

people are say, people and their governments disagree on what's actually best, you get scenes like these. Frightening ones like we've seen in Paris

or more frustrating ones over in Britain.

Ultimately, these issues boil down to a question of the spaces from the moment we existed how do we broke up what is right for us with what is

right for the rest of us?

Well in answering that, it can feel as though the world is spreading itself too thin. And in some ways, it literally is. Because collectively, our

lives are having a permanent impact on the planet that supports life itself.

And with global warming now at 1-1/2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, the effects of climate change are already grave. But don't just take my

word for it. See for yourself. Here's Ivan Watson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[10:50:08] IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: An underwater snowstorm, that's how a veteran marine biologist describes the

annual event when the coral on the Great Barrier Reef begins to spawn.

PETER HARRISON, PROFESSOR OF MARINE ECOLOGY, SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY: The coral spawning is always magical and it was great to see all these egg-

sperm bundles coming off these corals.

WATSON: This year, scientists are on the scene, scooping coral spawn. It's an experimental effort to save this natural wonder of the world from

the ravages of climate change. A pilot breeding project aimed at increasing the fertility of coral.

HARRISON: The baby corals are going into big floating larva pools on the reef system. So it's really exciting that we can go from these ideas of

capturing coral spawn at small scale and starting to scale about too much larger areas, many more pools, and literally, millions of larvae being

developed on the reef.

WATSON: Off the coast of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is a sprawling marine habitat that's larger than Italy. But it's in trouble. In the

summer of 2016, vast amounts of coral suddenly started bleaching, turning bone white.

DAVID WACHENFIELD, CHIEF SCIENTIST, GREAT BARRIER REEF MARINE PARK AUTHORITY: What we saw in 2016 and 2017, the marine heat waves that led to

coral bleaching, and the death of coral was like nothing we've ever seen before.

WATSON: Scientists estimate, the record warm temperatures killed more than 1/2 of the coral in the Great Barrier Reef in just two years. CNN traveled

to Australia last June to look at a government effort to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into projects to help save one of the country's largest

tourist attractions.

With temperatures milder in early 2018, there were signs of recovery.

JOHN VERON, SPECIALIST IN THE STUDY OF CORALS AND REEFS: But we did see little ones coming -- regenerating back.

WATSON: Going back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WATSON: At the tips of some of the dead coral, these little spots are color, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, and that'll grow again, as long as they aren't bleached again.

WATSON: But with the Australian summer fast approaching, meteorologists are issuing ominous warnings.

A heat wave in the nearby state of Queensland has already contributed to raging bushfires. With the climate warming trend continuing, scientists

have revised their previous target. They now say it's crucial to keep temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels instead of two

degrees in order to avoid looming planetary disaster. Scientists fear marine heat waves will likely follow.

WACHENFIELD: When we think about forecasting the weather for the Great Barrier Reef, the climate of the entire planet and the Great Barrier Reef

has already changed, and it is still changing. And so it's getting harder for scientists to be confident about predictions of the future.

We're entering into uncharted territory. Almost every year is warmer than usual. And in fact, that's becoming the new normal.

WATSON: That's why Professor Peter Harrison's breeding project targets heat-resistant coral.

HARRISON: These corals that have survived the last two bleaching events, we know are heat tolerant. And therefore, they're the ones that we really

need to be capturing the spawn from, because they will provide larvae that gives us a fighting chance to try and overcome the problems of increasing

sea temperatures and mass bleaching events.

WATSON: It's an ambitious effort to save a marine habitat. But given the scale of the challenge, for now, it's just a drop in the ocean. Ivan

Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, it's part of our1.5 series, the next report releasing just few hours from now. And that CNN investigates it can often an overlooked

cause of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, that's beef.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What do you eat and what does it cost you? The planet, your children's future. How does

it affect our struggle to limit global warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius?

Texas has the beef capital of America, the world. Meats was once a luxury, but now it's at the core of life here, it's the tribal symbol. Meat fever

oversteer the mascot.

The grill out burger, sausage, steak, ribs, the excess is the point. This amphitheater of teenage dreams closed now, but it's for a generation who

may see these excesses, these heights of everything being everywhere and cheap end in their lifetime.

We'll think about it this way, 1/2 a pound of beef causes as much greenhouse gas to be emitted as driving 55 of these cars for one mile.

If mankind were on this planet for the length of this football game, it would have this much time left of the game to fix it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:55:03] ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh's full report starting Sunday at the times on your screen, only on CNN.

Well, your "PARTING SHOTS", we ended the show where we began. Talking about the U.S. independent counsel's investigation of President Donald

Trump. Or in this case, Saturday Night Live's take on that Russia probe, with Robert De Niro returning as Bob Mueller playing the bogeyman in Eric

Trump's bedside. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MOFFAT, CAST MEMBER, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: There's something in my closet.

MIKEY DAY, CAST MEMBER, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: Yes, but that's just the cheap steel dad uses to our villages towers. They just grown in the wind.

Look, buddy, nothing in the closet.

MOFFAT: Mr. Mueller, people say you're the worst thing to ever happen to my dad.

ROBERT DE NIRO, AMERICAN ACTOR: No, Eric. Getting elected president was the worst thing that ever happened to your dad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching. Stay with us.

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END