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Trump Lashes Out As Democrats Proceed With Probe; Ukraine Faces Impact Of U.S. Political Scandal; Libyan Migrants Recount Struggles In Perilous Journey; Pelosi: It's Not About Politics, It's About Patriotism; Swing State Voters Weigh In On Democrats' Impeachment Probe; State Of Our Oceans: CNN Travels Pole To Pole. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired September 29, 2019 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: News that President Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden's son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see that the White House is right now in chaos.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I said to the President and I'm saying it to you, you come into my wheelhouse now.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are coming for you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Donald Trump on Saturday after a day of golf going on the counteroffensive. In a series of tweets, the president
insists that he should not be impeached.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
ANDERSON: And connecting you tonight to a momentous moment in American politics. You're back with me Becky Anderson coming to you live out of Abu
Dhabi. Washington, bracing for a bruising fighters Congress races full speed ahead with the historic impeachment probe into U.S. President Donald
Trump.
It's ordered the U.S. Secretary of State to turn over documents by the end of the week. And we'll hear from the former, now-former U.S. Special Envoy
to Ukraine on his involvement with the scandal. That is on Thursday.
Now, this all stems as you know, from a whistleblower complaint alleging President Trump tried to get Ukraine to interfere in the upcoming 2020
election. And those efforts were subsequently covered up by the White House. But according to the White House, there is nothing to see here.
It's insisting that the President nor his administration did anything improper.
Well, Kristen Holmes joins us from the White House, our Matthew Chance is in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. The speed of which this all occurs late
last week was quite something. Kristen, what happens next and how long does this Impeachment Inquiry last?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that all depends here. So let's talk about the speed of things happening and then we're going to talk about
a little bit how people are reacting here at the White House. Keep this in mind, last weekend, we were reporting that the White House was mulling over
releasing this transcript. They then released it on Wednesday.
When that happened, there was no rapid response. There was no explanation of that transcript. And we have heard from sources that President Trump is
angry about that. That he's taking it out on his chief of staff Mick Mulvaney that he is on shaky ground, that chief of staff there, and this is
causing a lot of concern here in the White House.
As you said in the introduction to us, Congress is really ramping up this impeachment probe. They are really going full speed ahead. We have heard
from senators lawmakers who are saying that they would like to get this in the works going by October, which is next month. So this is very quick-
paced here.
The idea that they didn't have any sort of response even when they had all of the time, all this time to kind of come up with that, it's causing a lot
of tension and concern that when they deal with something of this magnitude.
Now we had heard some rumblings that they were going to come up with a war room here. That's something that we know that former President Bill
Clinton had during his impeachment proceedings, an entire team of outside lawyers and outside media handling that rapid response.
But when there were rumblings of it happening in the Trump administration, sources say that President Trump was upset, that he didn't want to bring
anyone else inside, again, causing a lot of tension for the White House.
We did reach out to President Trump's personal attorney who told us this about that potential war room. There is no war room being established.
This is not a war, it is a skirmish. I am confident that our existing legal team will be in a position to respond appropriately to any
developments.
But a lot of people here at the White House, a lot of people close to the president are concerned that this is, in fact, going to turn into a war and
that they might not be prepared.
ANDERSON: Thank you, Kristen. That's the story at the White House. What's the story in Kiev in Ukraine? Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, it's one in which Ukrainian officials and many people across the country are
watching this political crisis in United States unfold and worrying, you know, increasingly concerned about what impact is going to have on their
country and on their relationship with U.S., its crucial strategic relationship.
Ukraine depends on United States not just on for economic aid and diplomatic support, but also for all-important military aid as well. Of
course, it's fighting a very hot war in the east of the country against pro-Russian rebels, it's engaged in a diplomatic campaign to secure back
territory annexed by Russia on the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
And it's absolutely essential for the Ukrainians that they maintain cross- party bipartisan support the United States to try and do that. The problem with this sort of political situation as its unfolding in the U.S. is of
course it's pitching the Republicans against the Democrats, is pitching the President Trump against his opponents, and the Ukrainians are caught right
in the middle of that, and they want to have a good relationship with both.
They don't want to alienate the incumbent president, President Trump at the same time, they need to make sure that maintain a good relationship with
the Democratic Party because you know, who knows 2020, it's election then in the U.S., there could be a Democratic Party presidents in place by the
end of the election. It could even be Joe Biden so they're deeply concerned about that. They're trying to walk that very narrow, tight rope
in relations.
[11:05:31]
ANDERSON: The view in Washington and in Kyiv. Thank you, guys. Well, Democrats already subpoenaing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for not
producing documents related to Ukraine. He now has until Friday to turn those over.
And they have a hearing scheduled with Kirk Volker. Now, he is the former U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine. He actually resigned on Friday, just hours
after Pompeo was subpoenaed. And just a quick reminder of how the impeachment battle has the country's split right down the middle.
According to a recent poll, 88 percent of Democrats support the impeachment inquiry, 93 percent of Republicans oppose it.
Well, here's what leaders on both sides of the aisle have to say about their party's position on the inquiry. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): To obtain dirt, to have another country manufacturer dirt on his opponent, it's hard to imagine more fundamental of
use of that office.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): If you're looking for a circumstance where the President United States was threatening the Ukraine with cutting off aid
unless they investigate his political opponent, you would be very disappointed. That does not exist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: OK, two voices for you. Our next two guests have both weighed in on all of this, Peter Beinart writing in the Atlantic, and I quote,
Democrats have become for the first time in a generation, a daring party. While Ben Domenech, publisher of conservative magazine, the Federalists
tweeted, I cannot fully express how pleased I am to see this happen. Both men joining me now. By which venue mean what?
BEN DOMENECH, PUBLISHER, THE FEDERALIST: Well, I believe that this was something that was inevitable ever since the 2018 midterm elections went
the way that they did. This speaks to the honest belief of a lot of Democrats ever since the President arrived in office. In fact,
supermajority of Democrats favorite impeachment of the President, before he was even sworn in as president, before he had even done anything in office.
This is an expression of the level of partisan tribalism that we have in the country today and I think it's an expression also of the how much it
took to get Nancy Pelosi, the smartest Democrat officeholder today, dragged in kicking and screaming into this over the course of the past year.
They had to have issue after issue where they pulled her into this, with her resisting it. Now, they're actually going to pursue it. And I believe
the President will be in peace by Thanksgiving.
ANDERSON: Democrats have become for the first time in a generation, a daring party you say, sir. How so?
PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think what you see is the democratic party that's willing to take big risks. You see it in the
policy positions that Democratic presidential candidates are willing to take Medicare for all, for instance, reparations for slavery,
decriminalization of the border.
These are much more ideologically daring positions than Barack Obama, let alone Bill Clinton would ever have conceived of. They're not necessarily
popular, but I think Democrats are playing -- are betting that over the long term, they can kind of shift the ideological center of gravity and
that's what's happening on impeachment too.
The Democrats do not have a clear majority of Americans who favor impeachment. That's why as Ben was saying, Nancy Pelosi was very skeptical
of doing this. But in the face of these Ukraine revelations, I think the Democrats are willing take a risk in large measure partly because their
base really wants it, but also because I think they are genuinely outraged that the President of the United States so nakedly asked another country to
do his political bidding.
DOMENECH: But I think we have to remember as well --
ANDERSON: To do us a favor. Ben, let's be absolutely -- let's be absolutely clear here. It's not just democrats calling out the president
over the Ukraine scandal, some Republicans are breaking ranks to voice concern. I just want our viewers to have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): This remains deeply troubling and we'll see where it leads. But the first reaction is troubling.
REP. WILL HURD (R-TX): There's a lot of disturbing allegations.
REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): I want to say to the President, this is not OK. It isn't -- that conversation is not OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The Democrats will need Republicans if they are to ultimately be successful, Ben. This cannot be comfortable for the President.
DOMENECH: It's comfortable, but this is also a president who I think was not as afraid of impeachment as maybe other Republicans or those around him
in the White House. I actually think he's spoiling for a fight. I also think that Mitt Romney is the exception that proves the rule. He's the one
senator who's really saying anything close to this, and he's not representative of the coalition in the senate.
Once impeachment happens, it'll be kicked over to run -- be run by Mitch McConnell who's obviously very close to the White House and you know, one
of the smartest politicians in Washington. He's someone who will have enormous power over the way that that process plays out, how long it plays
out in the Senate side in terms of a trial, whether witnesses are called in the like.
We haven't seen anything like this before in American history where the same party was in control of the Senate as was in control of the White
House. And I think that that actually is something fraught for a lot of Democrats, because we don't know how McConnell is going to play this or how
long he's going to drag it into the Democratic nomination process in terms of once the votes start.
[11:10:57]
ANDERSON: There isn't just, of course, one character at the same true of all of this. There are a number, a number of people who've actually been
named in this whistleblowers report. Not least, the name of Rudy Giuliani keeps popping up. He, of course, is the President's personal lawyer.
Peter, here's one New York Times columnist is characterizing Giuliani's response to all of this. Michelle Goldberg tweeting, "After denial and
anger comes bargaining, then prison." What do you make of that?
BEINART: I have no idea whether Rudy Giuliani is going to prison. The standard script would not be -- would not think that a White House would
want Rudy Giuliani are kind of going out there having meltdowns kind of contradicting themselves but this is really the Trump style.
And I think what you see is that people kind of reflect Trump's own style, which is rather than a kind of logical and measured kind of point by point
response to these things, you basically kick up an enormous amount of dust, make huge numbers of counter-accusations and create a lot of fog, and hope
your base stays with you.
And so far the Republican base is staying with Donald Trump. I think I agree with Ben on that. And so far, at least unfortunately, from my
perspective, there's no reason to think that most Republicans will abandon Donald Trump. I think they sold their soul long ago.
ANDERSON: Yes. Ben, impeachment battle is likely to go on now for quite some time. Some saying it will go on lightly through Thanksgiving, the end
of November and that primes it. Of course, the key issue in the 2020 presidential race, which is that to all purposes -- to all intents and
purposes is already on.
Here's how some of the Democratic candidates are beginning to wane more forcefully on the subjects. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a president who is confessing on national television to an abuse of power, rather than leading
the American people to where we need to go. We're in trouble.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Listen, this administration, and particularly Donald Trump is going to do everything
possibly can to try and distract from the fact that he has been running a corrupt administration, that he is in the process of being impeached, and
that he has violated the trust of the American people and sold out our democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Received wisdom dictates that voters don't like impeachment. In fact, many people on the right are saying this will do Donald Trump an
absolute favor. Do you genuinely believe that, Ben?
DOMENECH: Well, possibly, but not maybe in the sense that some on the right think? First off, I think it does give favor in two respects. One,
it takes sort of the issues that could be debated off the table. Nancy Pelosi last night and addressing donors in Atlantic City, or on Friday
night, I should say, said that 2020 will not be an election about impeachment. That's just ridiculous. It's going to be an election that's
about impeachment one way or the other.
And that -- what that does is it removes a lot of the President's own failings when it comes to policy on health care and in terms of economic
issues, and the like from the debate in a lot of ways. I think that's something that benefits the president. I also think it benefits him to
take out the person or to damage the person who is the best candidate when lined up against him in a general election and that's Joe Biden.
If the next several months are spent adjudicating how corrupt or whether his son had corrupt interests involved in terms of the money that he was
taking in Ukraine, and elsewise, it doesn't help the Biden campaign in any real significant way. And we see Elizabeth Warren rising as a candidate
getting stronger and stronger, it makes it likelier that she ends up to being the -- being the nominee.
And while I don't agree with the White House on this, I think the White House thinks that they -- that she is eminently beatable, and that they're
going to be able to line up very well with her.
ANDERSON: Yes, that's fascinating. Finally, Peter, I mean, this certainly puts Biden or the name Biden in play whether you believe there is anything
and the allegations against him and his son, not. Will that ultimately hurt him, do you believe?
[11:15:07]
BEINART: Yes, I think so. Look, I think Biden was already starting to fade even without this. Even without impeachment, the centrality of the
focus by Trump on Biden and his son, I think would already probably hurt by it because it reminds Democrats that Republicans can use this against them
like they did the e-mail inquiry.
I want to be clear, Hunter Biden basically working as a lobbyist his whole career is the kind of typical corruption that we see in Washington. Many
senators have family members who basically serve trade-off of their political names. That's typical.
What's different is that Donald Trump represents an extraordinary level of corruption that we don't normally see in Washington. It doesn't mean that
everything that Biden's did was OK.
ANDERSON: Peter, Ben, a pleasure having you both on and we'll have you back.
DOMENECH: Good to be with you.
ANDERSON: This is going to go on for weeks if not months. Thank you. Thank you. Your analysis is important from both sides of the aisle. Just
ahead, CNN get spoofed as Saturday Night Live host it's very own CNN Town Hall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last time my slogan was "feel the burn," this time it's "let's burn this place to the ground."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You will not want to miss. SNL bringing out its Democratic heavyweights and heavy hitters after this. Plus, connecting the world
through the climate crisis. CNN travels holds pole to pole to see the state of our seas. That coming up this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Let's recap you on one of the top stories that we've been following. It 20 past 7:00 here in the UAE. The British Prime Minister
under pressure on multiple fronts. Boris Johnson denying conflict of interest accusations.
Claims have emerged that he had a relationship with an American businesswoman whose firm received tens of thousands of pounds in public
funding when Johnson was mayor. And he could face a possible new confidence fate as early as this week as his opposition lawmakers tried
oust the prime minister in order to secure another Brexit delay.
While Britain tries to tear itself up, hundreds of refugees are prepared to die trying to reach Europeans shores. An exclusive CNN report now shows
people so desperate to flee conflicts at home, they refuse help from Libya's Coast Guard saying they would rather sink in the Mediterranean,
than return to where they are from.
Ben Wedeman and cameraman Gabriel Chaim take a look at the perilous journeys these people are willing to make.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[11:20:29]
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sailors with the Libyan coast guard throw a lifeline to a boat full of migrants who throw it
back in the water. We don't want it this man shouts. Since the beginning of 2014, more than 33,000 people have died trying to cross the
Mediterranean According to the International Organization of migration, yet these people don't want to be rescued because rescue means returning to
Libya.
Eventually, one of the sailors so overboard and swims to the boat and attaches the rope. Reluctantly, the migrants climb onto the Coast Guard
ship. Death is better says one of the women. There's little love between rescuers and rescue.
You're all cursing Libya, you animals shout the sailor. 28 people were on the rickety boat, 22 from Somalia, five from Bangladesh, one from Yemen.
Fleeing the conflict chaos and poverty, that is the new world disorder. (INAUDIBLE) from Somalia explains why he tried to make this dangerous
crossing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The reason that I entered the sea is the situation which is going on in our country. Our country is war.
WEDEMAN: The European Union has paid the Libyan government in Tripoli more than $250 million to stop the world's tired, poor, and huddled masses
yearning to breathe free from arriving on its blessed shores.
The E.U. money funds the Libyan coast guard and indirectly supports detention centers for those caught trying to cross the Mediterranean to
Europe. Nearly 6,000 people are stuck in centers like Tripoli's (INAUDIBLE) detention center. Eventually, they might be sent back to their
home countries, or what's left of them.
Human Rights Organizations have criticized the conditions at these detention centers but the E.U. Riven by differences between member states
has not changed its policy regarding migrants in Libya despite its glaring shortcomings. The migrants may leave Libya someday, but the trauma they
experienced on their journey will stay particularly with many of the women for the rest of their lives.
18-year-old Danate (ph) from Eritrea says traffickers sexually assaulted her. They beat us with a belt she recalls, then they raped us, and they
fed us, and they raped us. She's now pregnant, soon to give birth in a detention center with little in the way of medical attention.
Lucky, also 18 years old is from Somalia. She says smugglers raped her repeatedly and she subsequently gave birth. Praise God who blessed me with
this baby. I can't throw it away. The baby is a part of my body, but please, she begs, take me from here. Of the eight women freelance
cameraman Gabriel Chaim interviewed at the center, seven said they were raped.
Nearby on the outskirts of Tripoli, the war between Libya's competing factions rages on. The West was eager to help bring down the regime of
Muammar Gaddafi, but since then has turned its back on Libya. The country's become an arena for local and regional rivalries. The madness
here tolerated by the world as long as the madness stays here. Ben Wedeman, CNN Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Libya's U.N. back to governments again appealing for international help. The prime minister says this country cannot deal with
the conflict that is raging on his soil alone. Here's what he told the U.N. General Assembly last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAYEZ AL-SARRAJ, PRIME MINISTER, LIBYA: I came to address you, carrying on my shoulders the cause of my country Libya who is experiencing very serious
circumstances and a serious crisis because of negative foreign interference that led to institutional and political division. And the crisis grew to
reach the extent of military assault against its capital with external financial and military support, all of which reflected negatively on the
peace and security of citizens.
And it is no exaggeration to say that the stability and civilian nature of Libya is a critical matter not only for Libya's stability but the region
and the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:25:41]
ANDERSON: Meantime, Yemen's Houthi rebels broadcast pictures they claim show a 72-hour attack on Saudi led coalition and Yemeni forces. The Houthi
military forces spokesman said it happened near Saudi Arabia's southern border but didn't say when, adding that around 500 men were killed and
thousands of others surrendered.
He also said the rebels hit more than 20 targets inside Saudi Arabia itself using drones including in the capital Riyadh. Now CNN cannot independently
verify the claims or the video and Saudi Arabia itself is yet to respond.
You're watching connect more with me, Becky Anderson. It is 26 minutes past 7:00 here in the UAE. Still to come, colossal developments in
Washington over the past few days, ones that just get bigger and bigger. What happens next and what is this Donald Trump impeachment inquiry? We
will dig in for you just the head.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:10]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Democrats are going to lose the election. They know it that's why they're doing it.
PELOSI: I never thought he was worth it to have something so divisive to the country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
PELOSI: But the fact is, is that we're talking about our oath of office, to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You're watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD from our Middle East broadcasting hub in Abu Dhabi, in the Gulf, Washington, preparing for
a busy week ahead as Democrats push forward with the impeachment inquiry against the U.S. President Donald Trump.
You just heard the thoughts thereof House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who wants to move with speed. This week, watch out for the former U.S. special envoy
to Ukraine who is due to appear before three House committees. Kurt Volker stepped down from his post on Friday.
The inquiry, of course, stems from a whistleblower complaint, alleging Mr. Trump tried to get Ukraine to interfere in the upcoming 2020 election.
Well, earlier I spoke to one of the group of Democrat freshman known as the Badasses, who penned The Washington Post op-ed before U.S. House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi called for these impeachment proceedings. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): That very basic idea which the president acknowledged and his lawyer certainly acknowledged are where I start from.
And I think the onus is on the administration to say, OK, if you weren't trying to leverage your position for dirt on a political opponent, show us
that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the plot may just be thickening. The White House restricted access to President Trump's conversations with Russian leader
Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. That is according to people familiar with the matter.
Both leaders maintain controversial relationships with the U.S. President, has to be said. And a source calls the lack of a transcript to the Saudi
call, highly unusual.
Well, our political analyst Josh Rogin is in Philadelphia. In all of this, whether the Putin-Mohammed bin Salman calls, where the transcript may be
stored, will have any bearing on the inquiry.
The rest of the world is likely to be wondering what happens next when they pick up the phone to the U.S. president. Josh.
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. Well, there was an original reason that the White House decided to place some more restrictions on the
security of these phone calls.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Some like --
ROGIN: Some of the early phone calls that the president made were leaked, specifically, those to Mexico and Australia. And after that, there was an
effort to tighten the circle. But what was revealed this week is that the specific phone calls that they chose to apply extra secrecy too were phone
calls that had nothing to do with national security, but had a lot to do with the president's personal misbehavior. And that's why the Saudi calls
and the Putin calls are so special because these were given an extra level of classification, not because of real American interest, but because of
Trump's interest.
ANDERSON: I can't hear what you are saying I think we've got some technical gremlins in the house. That's one of those Sunday things,
unfortunately. It's a pleasure having you on. Unless I'm told that we can't -- should we go -- can we carry on with Josh?
I think we better move on. Josh Rogin in house. Apologies for the quality of the sound on that.
Well, to Washington now, and the impeachment inquiry Democrats have launched against President Donald Trump. For a long time, House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi had been wary of trying to impeach the president because of the potential political damage to Democrats.
Well, now she is explaining why she has changed her mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PELOSI: But this is again about the oath of office.
EVAN SMITH, CO-FOUNDER, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE: Right.
PELOSI: It's not about politics.
SMITH: Yes.
PELOSI: It's not about partisanship, it's about patriotism for our country. And so, again, I have handled this with great care but this is of
-- this is very bad news for our country because if it is as it seems to be our president engaged in something that so far beyond what our founders had
in mind.
SMITH: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, a recent poll shows Americans are split on whether they approve of the Democrats impeachment proceeding. CNN's Miguel Marquez
spoke with some voters in Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Quakertown Borough, P.A. voted for the president in 2016. Today, some of his supporters aren't so sure.
TODD CHIARADIA, CHEF, KARLTON CAFE, QUAKERTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA: I think he's crossed the line, but that's the way he is.
[11:35:02]
MARQUEZ: Todd Chiaradia, voted for Obama twice, liked Bernie Sanders in 2016, then voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton.
You reluctantly voted for the president in 2016. And in 2020, it's an open question for you.
CHIARADIA: Only because I didn't -- I didn't see another -- a better opportunity there.
MARQUEZ: A chef a Quakertown's Karlton Cafe, Chiaradia says, with impeachment, Democrats may be going a step too far.
Do you -- do you feel like it's overreaching right now?
CHIARADIA: I think so. I think they are. I think they're -- they just -- they want him out, I'm pretty sure.
MARQUEZ: Third-generation shoe store owner Ralph Morey became a Democrat in 2008 so he could vote for Barack Obama in the primary. He voted for
Obama again in 2012. In 2016, he voted for Donald Trump. In 2020, he says, no way.
What is it about the President that --
RALPH MOREY, VOTER, QUAKERTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA: The way he manages himself. And then that reflects on what our country is all about. And our country
is better than what the way we're being perceived as.
MARQUEZ: But he thinks impeachment will further divide an already hyper- partisan country.
MOREY: I think it is ugly now, and I think we should focus on not being ugly.
MARQUEZ: Hardcore Trump supporter Rocky Bixel, says Democrats will only harm themselves in going after the president.
ROCKY BIXEL, VOTER, QUAKERTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA: In this town, there's a lot of people are turning because they see it's just stupid.
MARQUEZ: Quakertown is part of Bucks County and the vote-rich Philly suburbs. It narrowly supported Clinton in 2016. In New Hope, a Democratic
stronghold, many voters here say, impeachment? About time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But to show people that a president can't do these things and just get away with it.
ANNELI MARTIN, VOTER, QUAKERTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA: I think that Democrats need to show some spine. I think that it's a good way of showing power.
MARQUEZ: Right.
MARTIN: And what's right and doing everything by a law.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, thanks to CNN's Miguel Marquez for bringing us those voter's perspectives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's literally taking my breath away.
We traveled from the Antarctic to the Arctic to the Sargasso Sea, documenting the impact of manmade climate crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: From the highest mountains to the deepest seas, CNN takes you pole to pole taking a first-hand look at the climate crisis.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:41]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRETA THUNBERG, STUDENT AND CLIMATE ACTIVIST: We've become too loud for people to handle, so they try to silence us. So, we should also take that
as a compliment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Mumbai to Montreal, stronger and louder when united. The climate crisis connecting power and people to power across the globe.
This week, the last of three special climate reports by the U.N. was released. It warns sea levels will rise faster than projected by the end
of the century. Antarctica's ice sheet close to the point of no return, it said.
The report, however, carries a hint of hope. We still have the choice to shape the future, but time is ticking, the alarm is going off. We can't
press the snooze button any longer.
Well, CNN's senior international correspondent Arwa Damon has traveled to the furthest corners of the earth, connecting us pole to pole. She brings
you this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: Our planet possesses a wild beauty. Ethereal and awe-inspiring, deceptively indomitable.
It's literally taken my breath away.
We traveled from the Antarctic to the Arctic to the Sargasso Sea, documenting the impact of manmade climate crisis, to our toxic filth that
ends up in the ocean. Much of it is unseen, but experts say, it's undeniable. Our planet's equilibrium is under attack.
THILO MAACK, MARINE BIOLOGIST, CAMPAIGNER OF GREENPEACE: There's no doubt that there's climate change. That there's -- that there's a warming of the
planet. So, and to put it very simple, we need cooling chambers that mitigate this warming. And one of the cooling chambers on the planet is
Antarctica.
DAMON: The Antarctic is one of the world's largest carbon sinks. Meaning, the way that the icy cold waters and the wildlife interact here actually
functions as a harmonious mechanism that takes carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and then drives and stores it at depth.
There, if left undisturbed, it is sequestered for millennia, but that carbon storage cycle is being disturbed by climate change, record high
water temperatures and ice loss. And our insatiable appetite, krill fishing, and our pollution.
MAACK: We just take a walk around this little bay, find us a place that is untouched for the last -- for the last weeks, at least.
DAMON: Greenpeace studies found noxious chemicals known as PFAS, which is what is used as stain and water-repellent and textiles, cookware, and other
products in all the snow samples they tested around the world.
MAACK: We already found it in snow samples of China, we found it in snow samples in Russia, in the Alps in Europe.
DAMON: And they found it here in the Antarctic. That is what scientists are finding in one of the farthest reaches of our planet. There is much,
much more, much closer to our dinner plates.
The Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic is one of the world's five ocean garbage patches. From the surface, it can look deceptively pristine, but
dive into the blue --
In one little chunk. Look at all that.
Each time we got into the water, we found countless pieces of plastic, all different shapes, and sizes. Most plastic is not dumped directly into the
ocean, much of what you see has been discarded on land, traveling thousands of miles, and breaking up along the way.
ALEXANDRA GULICK, MARINE BIOLOGIST: On these are bite marks like animals taking bites.
DAMON: Really? Out of the plastic?
GULICK: Yes, you can tell these are fish because they are very little half circles.
DAMON: The Sargassum provides a habitat for baby turtles and fish, shrimp, plus hundreds of other marine organisms. In the oceans, degrading plastic
becomes even more poisonous as it binds with other man-made chemical pollutants.
All that toxicity ends up in the digestive systems of marine life and travels up the food chain all the way to our dinner plates.
A Greenpeace study found similar or greater concentrations of microplastic to what they found in the notorious Great Pacific Garbage Patch last year.
[11:45:10]
CELIA OJEDA, MARINE BIOLOGIST: We need to change our assumption, our patterns, the way we rule the planet, the way we do things.
DAMON: Even here in the Arctic, scientists found microplastics in the ice. We saw a firsthand in an Arctic expedition how the ice sheet is shrinking
at an alarming rate.
TILL WAGNER, POLAR PHYSICIST: You have the warming of the air temperatures which are melting the ice from the top. But now, you also seem to have an
increased warming signal from underneath. So, the sea ice is being -- been compromised from both sides.
DAMON: It's almost inconceivable, but we have declared war on our planet through the poisons that we have released into land water and our
atmosphere, assaulting Mother Nature on multiple fronts.
There are so many challenges when it comes to really understanding our planet's changing climate. It's a bit like trying to put together a puzzle
whose pieces are constantly changing. Changing faster than the science and the studies can keep up with.
There are changes that we can make. From ending are rampant consumption of single-use plastic to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and creating
protected natural reserves both on land and in the oceans.
If we do this now, many experts feel our planet can heal itself, protect itself, and protect us. Across the oceans, we've witnessed a remarkable
array of biodiversity. One that is both breathtaking and unique to our planet. A wealth that should be preserved for future generations.
Our planet is resilient. But unless we drastically and urgently change our way of life, the natural world as we know it and ultimately us may not
survive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That was CNN's Arwa Damon, reporting.
Well, last hour, we spoke to Lois Young, chair of the Alliance of Small Island States. And she gave us a grim glance of the climate crisis and
what it means for areas like hers -- for low-lying areas. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOIS YOUNG, CHAIR, ALLIANCE OF SMALL ISLAND STATES: We will lose our biodiversity. We're -- we are already losing it. We will have a sea-level
rise, infusions of the sea into our freshwater supplies, coastal degradation, complete loss of biodiversity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Lois Young, there. To connect to more of our climate content and the other stories on our global radar, dive into the blog, plenty to
get your teeth into there. Join the global conversation on digital. That's cnn.com/connect -- CNNconnect on social and you can get in touch
with me on Twitter @BeckyCNN.
Still, for you this hour, Afghans wins the polls this weekend defying concerns about security. But when you think of Afghanistan, these images
probably aren't the ones that come to mind. After the break, we're going to get you the other side of the country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:51:30]
ANDERSON: Right, you're back with the news, it's 10 to 8:00 here in the UAE. This weekend, voters in Afghanistan defied threats from the Taliban
to participate in their nation's presidential election.
Via a Washington Post reporter, here's a picture of Saifullah Safi, whose finger was cut off by the Taliban for voting 2014, now, voting in 2019, his
left finger having been dipped in indelible ink.
Among citizens are risking their lives to support representative democracy and all that entails. Fairness, minority rights, and perhaps most
importantly, accountability. So, instead of showing you the violence in Afghanistan, I won't show you the beauty amidst the conflict with these
pictures from photo journalist Paula Brownstein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA BRONSTEIN, FREELANCE PHOTOJOURNALIST: We're looking at 15 years of work, looking at the Afghan people, and how they lived against the backdrop
of a violent war and a brutal Taliban insurgency.
Really focusing on story that give voice to people who have none. I mean, some of the happier moments for me is celebrating Afghans when they're at
weddings, during Nowruz, the Afghan New Year. Just to be able to see Afghans enjoying life as if there was no war.
As a female photojournalist, there are always difficulties working in a conservative Islamic country. You have to abide by their rules in terms of
respecting the religion. When I'm photographing women inside their home, I have to get permission from whoever the man in charge was. Access remained
always the biggest challenge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Afghanistan. Before we go, let's take a moment for your parting shots tonight. And get back to, well, the very top of the show. Because
you've just got to see our late-night T.V. -- American T.V. is taking on the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump.
Have a look at Saturday Night Live.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEC BALDWIN, CAST MEMBER, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: Bill, you know, I'm going to need somebody to take the blame for this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, but where are you going to find a sacrificial patsy that will do anything you say, not it?
BALDWIN: Don't worry, I've got the perfect stooge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello?
BALDWIN: Big my cows church-going. You're still waiting on -- what's his face to come back?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mean, Jesus, sir?
BALDWIN: Yes, (INAUDIBLE). Sir, listen, I'm just calling about this whole Ukraine whistleblower thing is looking pretty bad for you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me? But you're the one who broke the law.
BALDWIN: Hey, wait a minute. Don't try to drag me into your mess.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm like plastic straws. I've been around forever, I've always worked, but now you're mad at me?
Drink up America.
LARRY DAVID, PORTRAYING BERNIE SANDERS ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: Last time my slogan was, feel the burn. This time it's let's burn this place to the
ground.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:55:08]
ANDERSON: Saturday Night Live for you. Taking a lighter look at what is an incredibly important story and stick to CNN for impeachment. I'm Becky
Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD from the team here in Abu Dhabi, in London, and our colleagues in Atlanta. Thank you for watching.
After a very quick break, my colleague, Don Riddell will take you through "WORLD SPORTS". So, we will leave you with pictures of Japanese rugby fans
celebrating trouncing the Irish team in Japan at the Rugby World Cup.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:00]
END
