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Palestinians Push Back Against Gaza Takeover Idea; Nation Sees Long Road ahead as it Starts to Rebuild; Inside New Leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa's Vision for the Country; Fear Among Federal Workers as Trump Administration Plans Layoffs; Arab Americans React to Gaza Takeover Proposal. Aired 9- 9:45a ET
Aired February 06, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: You are watching CNN. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi for you. And this is Washington, this hour. It
is 09:00 a.m. there in Washington. And Donald Trump attending National Prayer Breakfasts. 06:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. This is
"Connect the World".
Also coming up President Trump doubling down on his recent Gaza comments with a post on Truth Social. And the flurry of executive orders continues
from the Oval Office with a new ban on transgender women from women's sports. Plus, Syria's transitional leader gives his first interview since
taking the presidency, laying out his vision for the country.
And the stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now. Futures indicating a positive open to the session, with investors seemingly shaking
off these concerns about global trade. And instead focusing on earnings, big companies set to report today, including Amazon and Eli Lilly, and keep
an eye on the latest weekly jobless claims.
We will be back at the New York Stock Exchange for the opening bell at 09:00 a.m. local. Well, Donald Trump with new details today on his plan for
the U.S. to quote, take over Gaza. In a post on social media just a few hours ago, the U.S. President wrote, and I quote, the Gaza Strip would be
turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting.
He later describes his ideas for reconstructing the enclave into what he calls a spectacular development, saying, no U.S. soldiers would be needed.
This comes after the president suggested U.S. troops could be used when he first announced the plan in inverted commerce on Tuesday during a news
conference with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Well, this plan, which would involve removing nearly 2 million Palestinians from Gaza. Has been met with widespread condemnation from Arab nations here
in the Middle East and those living in the enclave say they would never accept it. Well, Jeremy Diamond, connect us from Tel Aviv today.
Jeremy, Donald Trump, appearing to sort of double down on the idea that he has, while discounting the use of U.S. troops and his aides have sort of,
you know, pulled back from the notion this is sort of U.S. land grab at this point. Just what do we know, get our viewers bang up today on where we
stand on all of this?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. President Trump is insisting that he wants to move forward with this idea, but saying
that the Gaza Strip would only be handed over to the United States by Israel once the fighting is done, therefore trying to put the possibility
of U.S. boots on the ground out of the equation.
He is also suggesting that the displacement of Palestinians would only take place after, or should I say, before, that land has already been handed
over to the U.S., meaning Israel would be responsible for that. But even as the president is doubling down on this idea, it is still being resoundingly
rejected by the Arab countries in the region, and of course, by Palestinians themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND (voice-over): In the ruins of Gaza, Sammy Ramadan is determined to clear the rubble where his home once stood. We will not leave occupation
and colonization will vanish, and we will stay, he says. As long as we live on this land, we will stay. We will die here.
Like so many here, he swiftly rejected President Trump's proposal to permanently displace Gaza's 2 million Palestinians in favor of a U.S.
takeover, and the President's rationale for doing so.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- what's the alternative? Go where? There's no other alternative. If they had an
alternative, they'd much rather not go back to Gaza and live in a beautiful alternative that's safe.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Palestinians say they are undeterred by the scale of the destruction. I don't care what Trump says or anyone else. Look, my
house is completely destroyed. There's not even a roof, but here I am. I am staying.
[09:05:00]
The two countries Trump is pushing to accept Palestinian refugees reiterating that Palestinians must be able to remain in Gaza amid what will
be a years' long reconstruction. While Trump says his proposal is a humanitarian one, Human Rights experts call it a crime against humanity.
NOURA ERAKAT, HUMAN RIGHTS ATTORNEY & PROFESSOR AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Their removal is equivalent to their forced exile, permanent and forced
exile, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the denial of their return, which is already a Palestinian condition.
DIAMOND: So, there's no question in your mind that what President Trump is suggesting here is ethnic cleansing?
ERAKAT: There should be no question in anybody's mind, Trump is saying it himself.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Trump's proposal is being heralded on the right wing of Israeli politics, where lawmakers have long pushed for the forcible
displacement of Palestinians.
BEZALEL SMOTRICH, ISRAELI FINANCE MINISTER: Those who carried out the most horrific massacre on our land will find themselves losing their land
forever. Now, with God's help, we will work to permanently bury the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling Trump's proposal worth pursuing. A broad smile making clear he's thrilled
by Trump's return.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND (on camera): And the Israeli Prime Minister is making clear that he is indeed thrilled with this proposal by the U.S. President, now saying not
only that, it's a great idea, but something that should, quote, really be pursued exam and pursued and done, according to the Israeli Prime Minister
in an interview last night.
The Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, he is now ordering the Israeli military to prepare a plan to enable Gazans to voluntarily leave the Gaza
Strip, to be able to emigrate to other countries, Becky.
ANDERSON: And he talks about other countries critical of Israel's war with Hamas, being obligated to take Palestinians in, at this stage, the sort of
momentum, as far as Israel is concerned, it seems, is to pursue this course, despite the fact that even Donald Trump's aides themselves are
slightly sort of pulling back some suggesting.
This is, frankly a trial balloon to see whether the administration can actually get Arab countries around the region to provide their own plan for
a day after. What do you make of this sort of nuance that we are sort of feeling and hearing here?
DIAMOND: Well, I think whether Trump's plan actually becomes a reality in terms of the United States taking ownership of Gaza is less important than
what it may actually allow in its stead, and that is giving the green light to the Israeli Prime Minister, to the Israeli government to move forward
with some kind of plan that would see the population of more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza potentially resettled elsewhere.
The extent to which the Israeli government actually moves forward with something like that, and whether they turn that into something more
forcible than voluntary, remains to be seen. But certainly, by Trump putting it out there in the way that he has taking a page right out of the
playbook of right-wing Israeli politics.
He is indeed giving fuel to those ideas here inside of Israel, and for the Israeli government to actually be able to pursue them. But ultimately,
there will also be other considerations, such as the willingness of those other countries to actually accept those Palestinian refugees, and the
willingness of those Palestinians to actually leave the Gaza Strip, which, as we have seen so far, seems quite low.
Jordan and Egypt, the two countries that President Trump mentioned for potentially taking in these refugees, have rejected that notion, and a host
of European countries have said Gazans should not be forced to leave the Gaza Strip, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Jeremy, thank you. Since returning to the White House, President Trump's second term has been marked by a flurry of
executive orders aimed at reshaping the U.S. government. He has issued 80 executive actions since January the 20th, one of his latest fulfills, the
campaign promise that he made to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.
He held a signing ceremony on Wednesday, surrounded by dozens of women and young girls looking on the president's executive order applies to any
academic institution which receives federal funding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Under the Trump Administration, we will defend the proud tradition of female athletes, and we will not allow men to beat up, injure and cheat
our women and our girls. From now on, women's sports will be only for women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the president's array of executive orders, which critics say greatly exceed some of his constitutional authority, range from
immigration and foreign policy, health care, economy and education.
[09:10:00]
CNN's Alayna Treene joins us now from the White House. 80 executive orders since January the 20th. Just how does that stack up against other
presidents of the recent past? And what are you hearing from the Trump White House about these new orders?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, there's no question, Becky, that the president has moving very, very swiftly and really pressing the
boundaries of his executive power. As you mentioned, he came in and he signed a flurry, I would note his first day, he signed dozens of executive
orders right out of the gate.
I'm really trying to make a statement to the country, but he has kept up with that quick pace ever since. And I would note to your question, it is
outpacing what we have seen past presidents and even his own presidency during his first term in the White House have done in modern history.
Now, one clear thing, and one key question is, of course, like I said, Donald Trump is testing the bounds of that executive power. We know that
much of what he is trying to do is facing legal action in the courts. A lot of it, as well, is raising questions from people on Capitol Hill, who, as
we know, the government is designed to have checks on different power.
A lot of people raising questions about whether or not he is taking some of that power away from Congress, for example, wanting to use funds already
allocated by Congress, or, excuse me, get rid of funds already used, allocated -- that are allocated by Congress. And so again, a lot of
questions about what he's able to do.
But I would also know, and this is something I know from my conversations with several people who have been working with the president on this both
during his time on the campaign trail, but also, of course, now that he is in the White House. He has always had a strategy that was going to try and
push the limits of what he could do just from the Oval Office and within the executive branch.
His team had already been preparing a lot of legal briefs and looking into what they expected would be big court fights. We have seen, like I said,
some of them already begin to play out when, of course, we saw them try and undo or put a pause on a judge the birthright citizenship executive order
to end, you know, allowing children who are born in the United States to not have citizenship anymore that is being challenged in the courts.
We just recently saw yesterday, the courts challenge whether or not Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency and employees working for
that can have access to very highly sensitive documents at and systems at the Treasury Department. So, all of this is kind of coming to the forefront
as we continue to see the president, again really push the bounds of what he is able to do within the executive branch, Becky.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Alayna, thank you very much indeed. We are going to take a very quick break. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:15:00]
ANDERSON: Syria is facing a long road ahead as it tries to recover for more than a decade of civil war and the brutal dictatorship of the now deposed
Bashar Al Assad. More than 300,000 people died during the fighting, and millions were forced from their homes. And as CNN's Clarissa Ward now
reports rebuilding will be a herculean task.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're just about a 15-minute drive here from Central Damascus. And these suburbs of Damascus
really were essentially the heart of the uprising against Bashar Al Assad. And you can see how they've just been smashed to bits.
They've been bombed; they were besieged. People were starved; they were forcibly displaced. And now being here on the ground, you get a sense of
the full scale of the devastation, the kind of rebuild and reconstruction that we're talking about. Estimates had been around 250 billion, which once
seemed like a figure no one could get their head around.
But when you're here on the ground and looking at it, it's clear that it is going to cost hundreds of billions to rebuild.
WARD (voice-over): What's not clear is where those dollars will come from. Syria's economy has been hollowed out by years of war, corruption and
crippling sanctions. In the suburb of Darayya, life has returned to the streets, but making a living is hard. Imad Abu Kalam runs a shawarma shop.
Like most here, he is optimistic about the future, but realistic about the challenges.
WARD: So, he's saying that it's going to take a lot of money and a lot of time to start to really rebuild Darayya.
WARD (voice-over): Much harder to rebuild are the broken lives. Darayya is a town of widows and orphans. Schools are starting to reopen, but few are
paying salaries.
WARD: OK. Thank you -- Thank you. According to UNICEF, 2 million children are now not going to school inside Syria. These kids told us that they
actually just got out of school, and we're heading now to a place that's been set up by a charity. Essentially, it's a safe space where kids can
come and play.
WARD (voice-over): It open just weeks after the fall of the regime of Bashar Al Assad, and is run by INARA. A charity whose work I support that
focuses on children affected by war. Child Psychologist Rahaf al Bayad (ph) says that many of the kids here show signs of aggression and are lacking
love and attention at home.
A result, she says, of the grinding hardship 12 years of war. Most women of Darayya are widows, so the mother took the role of the mother and the
father, she tells us. So, she has to work support and raise the children. This all affects her well-being. As the euphoria of liberation begins to --
the hard work ahead is becoming clear, and communities like Darayya will need all the support they can get. Clarissa Ward, CNN, Darayya, Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: We are working to speak with the Syria Correspondent for "The Economist". He is on the ground in Homs, and we are just establishing that
connection. I'll get that to you after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:00]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. This is our Middle East programming hub time here is 21 minutes past 6 in the evening. You are
watching "Connect the World". And I just want to check in on what's happening in Washington for you where U.S. President Donald Trump is
attending his second National Prayer Breakfast of the morning.
This one is at a hotel in D.C. We will check back in with, what is going on in Washington shortly. I want to get you, though to Syria now to support
the country's monumental task of rebuilding its transitional president is turning to regional heavy hitters. Ahmed al Sharaa taking his first
international trip to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to meet there with the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He also made a pilgrimage to Mecca with his wife there on Monday. Well, the next day, he traveled to Turkey to meet with President Erdogan. There is
potentially mutual benefit here for Syria, its economy lays in ruins from years of war. And Assad family plundering desperately needs foreign funds
or for regional players, this offers a delicate opportunity to influence a new Syrian state.
We are talking about a region which really does have a very different architecture, here, now and going forward. Al Sharaa discussed Syria's next
steps in an interview with "The Economist" this week the question the article poses warlord, jihadi or nation-builder.
Gareth Browne, "The Economist", Syria Correspondent joining me now from Homs in Syria. It's good to have you, Gareth. Thank you very much indeed
for joining us. You sat down with Al Sharaa. What was your sense of his ambition for Syria, both domestically and in the Middle East, as he courts
sees key regional players?
GARETH BROWNE, SYRIA CORRESPONDENT FOR "THE ECONOMIST": You know, ambition is a difficult word. It's hard to know exactly what's going on in that mind
of his -- especially when you look over the last kind of 10 or 15 years of his life. You know, this is a man who really has shifted shapes.
You know, on the regional front. He was really, actually keen to insist that he didn't want Syria to become a nation dependent on handouts,
dependent on the United Nations. He spoke about attracting the sovereign wealth fund. The sovereign wealth funds of places like Saudi Arabia, Qatar.
He said he wanted to bring them into Syria for big investment in infrastructure projects. That's something that Syria needs. And it sorts of
measures with other things, he said, and also his kind of colleagues in the leadership of HTS, they're looking to, you know, turn this into a free
market economy.
They want to privatize some of the state industries, which, you know, you had this massive sort of complex under Assad, which just basically had its
tentacles on absolutely everything. So, I think in that sense, obviously, in the short term, he sees that Syria is going to need, you know, military
and financial support from regional players, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, but he wants to --
[09:25:00]
ANDERSON: Oh, well, it would be a shame if we don't get this shot back, because I know folks, you will be keen to hear from Gareth. Let me see
whether the technical team here in Abu Dhabi can get that shot back for you, because it's important. We've been talking about Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
Turkey, playing a leading role in working with Al Sharaa.
Emmanuel Macron, of course, of France now extending an invite for Al Sharaa to visit France. Other players, though, taking a wait and see mode.
Certainly, some players around this region really concerned about his Islamist roots, and I include the UAE in that where we are based here look,
it looks as if we are struggling to get Gareth back.
We'll do our best. Meantime, let me crack on by midnight tonight, millions of U.S. federal workers must decide whether to take the Trump
Administration's deferred resignation offer. Sources tell CNN, that a new round of paid leave notices are on the way, this time for the EPA, the
Environmental Protection Agency and civil rights workers.
The White House Press Secretary says this is exactly what Mr. Trump and Elon Musk promised to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He campaigned across this country with Elon Musk vowing that Elon was going to head up the Department
of Government Efficiency, and the two of them, with a great team around them, were going to look at the receipts of this federal government and
ensure it's accountable to American taxpayers. That's all that is happening here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well CNN's Rene Marsh, talk to a mother of three who is now facing unemployment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I keep having to start over.
RENE MARSH, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was not supposed to be the thing that you needed to start over from.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I felt like going to the federal government was a way to find stability over the long term.
MARSH (voice-over): This woman who spoke with CNN on the condition that she remain anonymous, was in one of the first groups targeted by an executive
order. Employees connected to DEI programs, a single parent with three kids, school loans, steep rent and now facing unemployment.
MARSH: What is the general feeling across government, amongst your fellow federal workers right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grief. They're angry, many that are confused, but all kind of grieving in their own way, the work that many of us do directly
impacts the lives of some of our most vulnerable citizens, the people that we serve through these programs that are going to be in far dire streets
than we are.
MARSH (voice-over): It's a story playing out across all agencies of the U.S. government. 2.4 million jobs the country's largest employer now in the
Trump Administration's crosshairs for a dramatic downsizing.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): They're shuttering agencies and sending employees home in order to create the illusion that they're saving money.
MARSH (voice-over): CNN has spoken to federal workers at multiple agencies, all who have been placed on administrative leave and are worried about
being fired, but even those whose jobs had nothing to do with DEI have been targeted. According to a union president, some because they had
participated in diversity training under the first Trump Administration. Others had volunteered to plan events like celebrating Black History Month.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a perfect storm. You were sidelining a lot of your federal workers, making them feel fearful, and it doesn't take long for
these systems to kind of break down, and for the institutional knowledge that's lost to have like real world impacts.
MARSH (voice-over): At least 75 career employees at the Department of Education face the same fate, also placed on indefinite leave, as the
president crafts an executive order that will urge Congress to pass legislation that would shut down the agency. The Trump Administration's
plan to slash the federal government includes firing employees who have been on the job less than a year, offering buyouts and restructuring job
titles, classifying employees as political appointments, making it easier to fire them.
REP. DON BEYER (D-VA): I haven't characterized it as chaos and just department after department. People have no idea who their leader is, what
their job is? Can they come to work tomorrow? It's really the worst thing I've seen in federal government in my life.
MARSH: How does it feel to be targeted for the work that you're so passionate about? It's OK you could take your time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, makes me proud of the people that I've worked with and the things that we've done.
MARSH (voice-over): Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[09:30:00]
ANDERSON: All right, let me take a very short break -- We're looking at Wall Street, and this is the opening bell. The U.S. market open, and we
will take a look at what these shares are doing. Certainly, futures were indicating a positive open. It seems like investors have, to a degree,
moved past this global trade spat and concentrating on earnings.
At this point, two biggies today, Amazon and Eli Lilly, also looking at the weekly jobless numbers. So let these markets settle just a little bit, and
there you see some 20- or 25-seconds in. And indeed, these markets are open in positive territory, but you know, not an awful lot of action, let's say.
And from the stock market to the supermarket, the cost of a grocery staple is soaring in the United States. Egg prices have jumped around 50 percent
over the past year, putting new strain on families, farmers and restaurants. An outbreak of bird flu has led to millions of hens being
slaughtered. As Brian Todd reports some people are taking desperate measures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A brazen heist reflects the desperation over eggs in the U.S. Authorities in Southern Pennsylvania
investigating the theft of about 100,000 eggs from the back of a truck at this distribution center. The take worth an estimated $40,000.
It comes as eggs are in much shorter supply and prices are spiking. At waffle houses across the country, the menus now say there will be a
temporary 50 cent surcharge for every egg you order, a tough hit. Since eggs are waffle houses, most ordered item. At grocery stores across the
country, shoppers are frustrated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's outrageous. I just don't understand why our egg price has got to be so high.
TODD: Is it going to change the way you kind of cook and shop?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is, because I don't get that many eggs now.
TODD (voice-over): The price of eggs spiked two years ago and is now spiking again, jumping 50 cents per dozen, just between November and
December. And in some places, eggs aren't available at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They went in and by God, they had everything but eggs.
TODD (voice-over): The main culprit a devastating outbreak of avian flu across much of the U.S. Egg laying hens having to be culled by the
millions.
EMILY METZ, AMERICAN EGG BOARD: Just in the last year alone, we've had to euthanize more than 40 million birds, and we started this year by
euthanizing an additional 15 million birds because of this deadly virus. It's absolutely devastating.
TODD (voice-over): Also, strong consumer demand has fueled the shortage and the price spikes. The demand for eggs typically higher during the holiday
season, and like many other crises these days, politics has crept in. President Trump mentioned eggs a few times on the campaign trail last year.
TRUMP: -- eggs, all of this stuff, it's gone up at levels that nobody has ever seen before.
TODD (voice-over): Trump promised to bring food prices down on day one. Now that the egg crisis has persisted, Trump's team has blamed Former President
Biden.
LEAVITT: In 2024, when Joe Biden was in the Oval Office or upstairs in the resident sleeping, I'm not so sure, egg prices increased 65 percent in this
country.
TODD (voice-over): But the reality, analysts say is that the egg crisis is something no president can really control.
MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST AT MOODY'S ANALYTICS: It's not President Biden's fault. It's not President Trump's fault. You know, it's what's
going on in the industry, and a virus.
TODD (voice-over): And according to the Department of Agriculture, will have to endure spiking egg prices for a while longer. They're expected to
increase another 20 percent this year.
METZ: I wish I could give people a little light at the end of the tunnel, but we need a sustained period where we have no new outbreaks to allow our
industry to recover.
TODD: And we may need to brace for a ripple effect from the spike in egg prices. A marketing exec from a top grocery store chain says products made
with eggs, things ranging from pasta to mayonnaise, could also get much more expensive in the months ahead. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, 12 years after he left for Barcelona, Neymar is back home in Brazil. His second debut for Santos was a site to behold. We'll show you
more on that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:35:00]
ANDERSON: The City of Dearborn in Michigan is home to the largest concentration of Arab-Americans in the United States. Some say they did not
support Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election because of the Democrats position on Gaza. So, what is their reaction to President Trump's
proposed U.S. takeover of the enclave for. CNN's Jason Carroll talks to voters about whether they have regrets at this point. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Days before the last presidential election, Donald Trump was the invited guest at the
great common or restaurant in Dearborn, Michigan. Albert Abbas says he extended that invitation, a decision he is now reflecting on, given all
that has happened in the last 24 hours.
ALBERT ABBAS, DEARBORN, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: Many in the community are at a loss for words. Last night was a very rough night for most of us.
CARROLL (voice-over): Abbas is Arab-American and one of a number of Democrats who voted for Trump. Abbas says he hoped Trump would do more than
President Joe Biden did, to help Palestinians suffering in Gaza.
TRUMP: The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip --
CARROLL (voice-over): But after Trump said Palestinians should leave Gaza, so it can be redeveloped, Abbas says, not only does he feel betrayed, he is
hearing from a number of people angered over his past support of Trump.
ABBAS: People were really, really frustrated, and I don't think there is anyone to blame. At the end of the day, as Arab-Americans or Muslims, we
really didn't have much of a choice.
CARROLL (voice-over): Dearborn, a Detroit suburb, is home to the largest Arab-American population in the United States, community, which helped
Trump carry the critical swing state. He won 42 percent of the vote in Dearborn versus Vice President Harris with 36 percent and Jill Stein with
18.
In 2020, Biden handedly carried the city with 69 percent. Fay Nimmer (ph) voted for Trump in 2024, out of frustration over the previous
administration supported Israel. Now she is troubled by the president's proposal to move Palestinians out of Gaza.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, it's very concerning, and it's infuriating.
CARROLL: Personal feelings, you're infuriated, but standing by your decision for now to have voted for Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Correct.
CARROLL: And what would move that -- for you to say, you know what, I made a mistake.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Palestine is the red line for this community.
CARROLL (voice-over): Nimmer (ph) says she suspects Trump is bluffing and is using his proposal as some sort of negotiating tactic. That's the same
sentiment shared by Amer Zahr.
AMER ZAHR, COMEDIAN: First, this is clearly not going to happen, right?
CARROLL (voice-over): And real estate broker Ali Farajalla.
ALI FARAJALLA, REAL ESTATE AGENT: A lot of people are calling me and texting me saying, hey, you know, how did your vote work out? You know, how
is that third party vote?
CARROLL (voice-over): Both were so called protest voters. Neither supported Trump or Harris.
CARROLL: Are there any sort of second thoughts now about having supported a third-party candidate?
FARAJALLA: Absolutely not. And I will still do that again and again and again.
ZAHR: I didn't vote for Trump. So, a protest vote, I don't know. I would say it was a targeted vote of conscience to say that the children of Gaza
have to mean something. Their death has to mean something.
CARROLL (voice-over): And while Arab-Americans here were divided in the past, going forward, one point is uniting them.
[09:40:00]
Opposition to Trump's proposal to move Palestinians out of Gaza.
SAM BAYDOUN, WAYNE COUNTY MICHIGAN COMMISSIONER: The community will be unified. I will tell you this, the Palestinian people would rather die and
live in a demolition site than to be ethnically cleansed and being sent out of Gaza to Egypt or Jordan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (on camera): So, there's a real sense from those that we spoke to here in the Arab-American community that they have been let down by both
parties, a real sense of frustration clearly over Trump's proposal, but those very same people told us that if Harris had been elected and if there
had been a Harris Administration, their feeling is that Palestinians would still be suffering. Jason Carroll, CNN, Dearborn, Michigan.
ANDERSON: Right, Brazilian super star Neymar said he was less speechless on Wednesday. He was making his first appearance for Santos since returning to
the Brazilian club where he began his illustrious football career. Patrick Snell joining us now. And how did he get on?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi, Becky, yeah, you know, it's so good to see him back, because he's had such a miserable space of injuries during
his time in the Saudi Pro League. So, I think all name our fans all over the world just want to see him back and playing.
And there was a really special moment for him, Becky, right there, last night, his second debut for the close boyhood club, the club that means so
much to him. He had a few chances to score nothing out and out clear cut. He did come on as a sub right at the start of the second half.
It ended up in a one or draw between Santos and Botafogo. But the main thing is, he's back. He's still so very revered in that part of the world.
No question about it. Extra special to, Becky, was the fact it was also his 33rd birthday. This was his 33rd birthday, and he's already indicated the
next year he hopes will be his final World Cup.
So, what a moment for him, it would be, if he could be part of the Brazilian team that qualifies for the World Cup over here in the U.S.,
Canada and Mexico as well.
ANDERSON: Wow.
SNELL: But I just want to pick up very briefly on what he said afterwards, Becky, he said he loves Santos, and he has no words to describe the amazing
feeling that he experienced getting back on that pitch there, Becky.
ANDERSON: Fantastic. "World Sport" is up next. We will be back with more "Connect the World" in 15 minutes time. Stay with Patrick.
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[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
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