Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Trump Officials Texted Yemen Strike Plans to Journalist; Arab Nations Condemn Israel's "Voluntary" Gaza Relocation Plan; Palestinian Director Hamdan Ballal Attacked Detained; Chinese Electric Vehicle Maker Beats Tesla in Annual Sales; Poll Shows Greenlanders Reject Idea of U.S. Takeover. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired March 25, 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 ANCHOR CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this is the scene in Washington, D.C., where top Trump officials are expected to be pressed by a

Senate panel on national security blunder. It is 09:00 a.m. at capital in D.C., excuse me. It is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi.

You're watching "Connect the World" from our Middle East broadcasting headquarters. Also coming up secret U.S. war plans revealed in a group

chat, in a shocking breach of national security, involving, excuse me. A shocking breach by officials of the Trump Administration, including Defense

Secretary Pete Hegseth.

And talks between the U.S. and Russia in Saudi Arabia going extremely well, according to the White House, with a positive announcement expected in the

near future. Plus, Israel reportedly releasing the Oscar winning director of No Other Land after he was beaten up in the West Bank violence and

detained.

Well, stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now, and futures inching higher, indicating a positive start after the averages posted big

gains on Monday. We'll be back at the New York Stock Exchange for the opening bell at 09:30 Eastern time.

Well, we start with the Trump Administration on the defensive today after that stunning intelligence breach involving U.S. military strikes in Yemen,

Democrats in Congress calling for a bipartisan investigation asking how detailed operational plans for U.S. attacks on Houthi rebels were

accidentally sent to the Editor-in-Chief of "The Atlantic".

Jeffrey Goldberg, published a story after receiving the plans, which were transmitted as a group message on the Signal app, a platform that security

experts say should never be used for classified conversations. Well, the White House says the texts appear to be authentic.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth trying to downplay the breach, claiming war plans were not actually discussed. Goldberg told CNN's, Kaitlan Collins,

Hegseth is lying about what actually happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY GOLDBERG, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE ATLANTIC: He was texting war plans. He was texting attack plans, when targets were going to be targeted,

how they were going to be targeted, who was at the targets, when the next sequence of attacks were happening.

I didn't publish this, and I continue not to publish it because it felt like it was too confidential, too technical, and I worry honestly, that

sharing that kind of information in public could endanger American military personnel. But no, they were plans for the attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well next our Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and the CIA Director John Ratcliffe, may get grilled on that breach when

they appear at a previously scheduled Senate hearing. We have an awful lot to unpack here, Alayna Treene, Katie Bo Lillis.

Alayna, let's start with you. On the surface, this is a very bad look for the White House. What can we expect the fallout to be, if any, at this

point?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, there are still a number of questions, Becky, that we really need to learn, and hopefully we can hear

both Gabbard and Ratcliffe potentially try to answer some of those today at that hearing. And here are some of the reasons.

One is, why were these top government officials, cabinet officials, the vice president, the defense secretary, the CIA Director, the list goes on

communicating in a Signal chat like Katie Bo Lillis get into the details of why that is against protocol and the concerns about hacking.

But that is one of the major questions today that I know a lot of people, including myself, are going to try and get this White House to answer. The

other question is, why was a reporter inadvertently added to this chain, and why did no one else in that chain recognize what either was an unknown

number to them or that it wasn't the right person in that chat?

And then the third part of this, of course, is, as you mentioned, where do we go from here? We're already starting to see a lot of the White House

strategy on this and in trying to contain the fallout play out. We started overnight when you had Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth deny that any war

plans were discussed in that chain.

However, we do know that. And then you just played that clip from Goldberg, the reporter who was in this chat and going through it, said that there was

very sensitive information. There were specifics regarding names and attacks and locations, which he did not include in the story because of the

-- again, sensitive nature of it.

And then the other part of this as well is, you know, who is going to take accountability for this?

[09:05:00]

Now, there's been a lot of talk over whether Michael Waltz is going to be the one on the chopping block for this. I will tell you I've had extensive

conversations now with Trump Administration officials, White House officials on this. As of this morning, they consistently tell me that that

is not something the President is currently considering.

Of course, that could change as this story evolves, as we continue to see the fallout from some of this, but right now that is not in the cards. The

strategy that I was referring to before is really seeing them deny this, deny or downplay a lot of what was in this chat, and also try to frame

Goldberg as and disparage him as a sensationalist journalist.

That is the exact language that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt just used moments ago to describe him, and all of that to say. And

then I'm going to hand this over to Katie, I know is that we do know that the National Security Council, Brian Hughes a spokesperson for them, a

spokesperson for Michael Waltz, the person who added this reporter to the chain, they say that the messages appear to be authentic.

So that's part of this is, of course, we know that this chain was real, and we have not heard these top officials denying it. What they are denying is

the amount of you know, classified, sensitive information in this chat. All things that are, of course, very, very concerning for how the White House

handles its operations, particularly as it relates to national security operations.

ANDERSON: Katie Bo, let's just hear how Pete Hegseth then speaks on this report. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What were those details shared on Signal? And how did you learn that a journalist was privy to the targets, the types of weapons

used --

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I've heard I was characterized. Nobody was texting war plans, and that's all I have to say about that.

GOLDBERG: No, that's a lie. He was texting war plans. He was texting attack plans, when targets were going to be targeted, how they were going to be

targeted, who was at the targets, when the next sequence of attacks were happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Flat out denial from Pete Hegseth. Katie Bo, how is the rest of the defense community reacting to this breach?

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: Look, Becky, the response across the defense the defense community has just been sort of shock and in some cases, really

outright horror that this kind of sensitive discussion was taking place on Signal. Look, normally, when top national security officials or members of

the cabinet are getting together to have a discussion about whether or not and how they're going to take lethal military action in another country, as

was happening in this Signal chain.

They meet in a secure location, perhaps the situation room in the White House to that is designed to handle conversations that contain classified

information and to protect that information from prying eyes and ears if they can't get to a physical location, then there are government platforms,

phones and that are frequently installed in the homes of top national security officials, if they're not you know, at their office, for example,

that will enable them to securely have those conversations.

I spoke to a number of current and former senior national security officials who said they could think of absolutely no precedent for this

kind of incredibly sensitive operational conversation again, which included information that if it was exposed to a foreign government could have

endangered the lives of American service members.

You've got planes in the air and bombs imminently about to fall. They could recall no previous instance in which this had happened on an unclassified

platform. Look really important to I think, kind of think about what Signal is. It is a commercial network. It is a commercial messaging app.

Think of it just like texting that you would do from your phone. It is end to end encrypted. And national security officials do say it's a reasonably

secure way to communicate with the expectation that there's going to be nobody in the middle of the sender and the recipient of a message who's

going to be able to eavesdrop on that message.

That said it is not as secure as government classified systems. Those systems exist for a reason, and so the degree of just shock and horror that

I heard from defense officials was across the board, many of them saying, look, if this had been me, I would have immediately been fired for this and

probably prosecuted for mishandling classified information, Becky.

ANDERSON: Well, there is a Senate hearing top of the next hour, and we are expecting to hear more on this. Trump officials there, they are expected to

be pressed on this more as we get it, of course, to both of you. Thank you. Now we are hearing the most high-level comments from Russia yet after

discussions with the U.S. on a potential partial ceasefire with Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirming to state media that the talks in Saudi Arabia centered on safe shipping in the Black Sea. Lavrov

says Russia would like to revive a deal to protect grain shipments in the Black Sea with certain conditions.

[09:10:00]

Meantime, despite the tentative moves towards diplomacy, Ukraine reporting that dozens of people were injured in a single Russian strike on Monday.

And more than 100 drones launched from Russia overnight. CNN's Sebastian Shukla following developments and joins us now from Berlin, Seb.

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yeah, hi, Becky, we were expecting to hear some sort of joint statement from Russia and the U.S. regarding the talks

which lasted for 12 hours yesterday in Riyadh. That statement hasn't appeared yet, but what we are starting here, as you mentioned, is a trickle

of information coming out of Moscow about what the talks surrounded and focused on over the last couple of days.

And that appears to be the Black Sea grain deal, that deal which Russia upended in July 2023 after a year of its existence. And what we are hearing

from the Russians is that they are blaming the Ukrainians, particularly one Russian Senator, saying that its characteristic nature, of Ukraine, that

they have said that they're not prepared to agree to certain parts of whatever was negotiated between Moscow and Washington.

So, we are still slightly unclear as to whether we will hear anything more official in terms of a statement or an agreement. And I want to paraphrase

some of what Sergey Lavrov been saying on Russian State TV too, in that given the poor experiences of the agreement with the Kyiv regime and

guarantees it can only come as a direct order there, Becky, being the word from Washington to Zelenskyy and his team to adhere to anything that may be

agreed.

So, it's been a very confusing morning, and perhaps not surprising, given that these conversations are very difficult and very delicate. But I would

like to say one thing, Becky, about the deal itself, which is, should it be agreed and that a ceasefire come into place in the Black Sea that is

probably more beneficial to Russia than it is to Kyiv.

Have managed to secure the shipping lanes there for quite some time, and have even managed to push the Russian fleet eastwards back towards its

mainland, mainly as a result of their maritime superiority, incredible for a country like Ukraine that doesn't really have a navy not want to speak of

necessarily.

And has come about as a result of their own ingenuity, using the sea drones that have attacked Russian ships, both at sea imports Russian ports and

have extended as far away to the Kerch Bridge too. Russia, for their part, say, though, that the grain deal fell apart essentially because they were

not upholding.

They felt they were being unfairly treated, and Ukraine and the West were not upholding some of the agreements already laid out. So, we will start to

see, Becky, perhaps a little more flesh on the bones as the hours and maybe days pass, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Seb. Thank you. I'll get more on both of what are these big stories with CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kim Dozier. Kim,

let's start with this massive security, national security blunder by top Trump officials. I want to play a little bit more of what Jeff Goldberg

told CNN about being added to this Signal chat group. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOLDBERG: Nobody raised the question, why are we talking about this over Signal? And nobody said, hey, who is JG, because you show up in a little

bubble as your initials. And no one at any point said, who is JG? And when I withdrew from the group, you formally remove yourself, you hit a button.

It says, JG has removed himself from the group. I assume that somebody would say, hey, who just removed himself from the group? Nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, all of this, Kim, does seem to paint a picture of an administration that is extremely cavalier. That's true of using Signal, of

adding journalists they apparently didn't even know he was there, but also just of how serious or unserious sorry they seem to take carrying out these

bombings.

I just want to show our viewers this. Mike Waltz replying with a fist and an American flag, almost like this is just, I don't know, just a big game.

What do you make of all of this?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I've been trying to think about how it happened. Signals, since it's an end to end, encrypted

app that is highly recommended by privacy organizations is sort of the way we do our job in Washington, D.C., whether you are a lawmaker on Capitol

Hill or a journalist.

Mike Waltz was just a lawmaker on Capitol Hill and Pete Hegseth was a journalist, but also those two men served in war zones where I can remember

years of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, also one of the only ways that people felt being securely in touch with me as journalists and speaking to

me so they wouldn't get in trouble, is on Signal.

[09:15:00]

Finally, Signal has a laptop version you can access your Signal app on your computer. So, I could see someone setting up this chain on their

unclassified computer, and you can give Signal access to your address book, so somehow it populated with the wrong JG, and then everyone sees initials,

because you generally don't put your full name in your Signal app, except for a couple of these folks.

And so, I can see how it happened, but you can also see that the way they were so comfortable using this, they must use this on a regular basis, and

that raises questions about not the security of the app, but the security of all of their phones. Steve Witkoff, if you look at the timeline, was in

Moscow when this chat was set up.

So, it's the phone that is the area of weakness. The Russians and the Chinese both are great into getting into our devices, as several public

recent leak scandals have shown. So, did Witkoff have this on a government secure phone that is more hardened against that kind of intrusion?

Or did he have it on his public commercial phone because he's a civilian and he's never really thought about being the target of a state

intelligence actor? These are all the questions that now the intelligence community will be scrambling to answer.

ANDERSON: Yeah, and we have top Trump officials from the security sort of infrastructure at a Senate committee hearing today.

DOZIER: Yeah.

ANDERSON: Next hour, and we expect to hear them being pressed on, what is this national security blunder? Look a person -- I just want to sort of dig

a little deeper here, a person who appears to be Stephen Miller, who is Homeland Security Adviser for Trump, jumps into this group chat and says

the following.

The president was clear: green light, but we soon make clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return. If the U.S. successfully restores freedom

of navigation at great cost, there needs to be he says in this chat, some further economic gain extracted in return. Unpack a couple of things for

me.

First, you get the sense that this administration really understands the difficulty of reopening shipping lanes in the Red Sea. Yemen has been

bombed for years, after all, and the only reprieve we saw to the Houthi Attacks in the Red Sea was the brief ceasefire, of course, in Gaza.

And secondly, you know, what are we talking about here, when Europe and Egypt need to be lent on and for the U.S. to extract some economic gain of

reopening the shipping lines? What's the inference here?

DOZIER: To take those in two parts. First of all, the idea that a single strike would reopen these shipping lanes shows that some of the people

involved in this chat, don't have the institutional memory to know that the entire nation of Saudi Arabia, together with the UAE, backed with U.S.

intelligence and U.S. Special Operations Forces, Navy SEALs, et cetera, advising on the ground in Yemen, in a multi-year campaign, couldn't shut

down the Houthis.

So, one strike is not going to reopen those shipping lanes. Now, on the economic side of it, this administration seems to be laser focused on its

checkbook and the size of the American military and how it's been used to guarantee peace since World War Two, the so-called Pax Americana, which the

U.S. originally set up and embraced after World War Two, they seem to want to renegotiate it.

The majority of the shipping that goes through there is European and the Egyptians get people paying for using the Suez Canal, which this can lead

to. So, it sounds like they're trying to say, hey, our military, which costs a whole bunch of money, especially our Navy, that we're having

trouble keeping large enough to compete with China.

We want you to help bankroll it for us to be the world's policeman. It's not necessarily the wrong thing to do, but it is renegotiating an

understanding that has long existed about what the U.S. does for the world and also what the U.S. does for its treaty allies. Its treaty allies with

most of the people that allegedly Stephen Miller, SM in this chat, and Hegseth et cetera, are referring to.

ANDERSON: It's fascinating, Kim, it's good to have you. And there is as of yet, prominent Democrats have called for an investigation.

[09:20:00]

Republicans seem to be largely dismissive at this point. We will see whether there is any disciplining on the back of this, any sackings, I

guess that not clear as of yet. More to come, of course. And still to come, on this show, sources say Israel is planning a massive new ground offensive

in Gaza. We have a live report from Tel Aviv coming up with details of what is being considered by the IDF.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, there is condemnation from Arab nations after Israel's security cabinet green lit a controversial proposal for relocating

Palestinians out of Gaza. Israeli officials say any immigration, as they refer to it, would be voluntary and in line with international legal

standards.

That is not how Saudi Arabia and, for example, Egypt see it. They say the plan is illegal under international law. Qatar and Jordan also strongly

condemning it. Meantime, sources tell CNN, Israel is making plans for a potential major ground offensive in Gaza. It could see the deployment of

some 50,000 troops to clear and occupy large parts of the Enclave.

CNN is Jeremy Diamond joining me now from Tel Aviv. Jeremy as many as 50,000 troops potentially back into Gaza to clear the Enclave, as the

Israelis describe it. What more do we know at this point? How does that sort of scope of activity stack up to what we've seen over the last 20

months or so?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, it's important to note that this is just one possible scenario under

consideration by the Israeli government. And there's no question about it that the leaking of these plans is indeed part of a campaign by the Israeli

government to pressure Hamas into new conditions to releasing additional hostages.

But it is a very real plan nonetheless, and it is one that would, you know, pretty much dwarf in comparison anything that we've seen before in Gaza.

That's because we would see 50,000 troops going into combat. But not just that, because it would be about not only clearing certain areas of Hamas

militants, but also then occupying those areas.

Meaning, whereas in the past, we've seen Israeli forces going into certain areas, routing Hamas militants from that area, leaving those areas only to

see Hamas then reemerge, because of the lack of an alternative governance structure, because Israeli troops are not occupying the area.

And so, in this case, the Israeli government says that they would then send those troops to remain in those areas, which could potentially set up an

Israeli force occupying large swaths of the Gaza Strip for months or even years to come, and presumably also fighting off an insurgency throughout

that period of time.

[09:25:00]

The question is whether there is an appetite among the Israeli public to see that kind of large-scale offensive. And indeed, what polls have shown

us recently is that a majority of Israelis would much rather see a deal with Hamas to free the hostages and end the war, rather than escalating the

fighting in the Gaza Strip once again.

And we are also seeing as the reservists in Israel who have been called up to duty repeatedly over the course of the last year and a half. They are

being stretched thin as well. So are their families, and so there is quite a bit of tension within Israel as these plans are being contemplated,

Becky.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you, sir. Thank you. Palestinian Director who won an Oscar at this month's Academy Awards, was attacked by Israeli

settlers in the West Bank last night and taken away by Israeli soldiers. According to eyewitnesses, they say, Hamdan Ballal, the co-director of the

Oscar winning documentary No Other Land, sustained injuries to the head and body was taken away by the military, which says it was responding to a

violent confrontation.

Well, his co-director, the Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, posted an update a short time ago saying Ballal told his lawyer he was held at an

army base overnight, where he had been beaten by soldiers and kept handcuffed and blindfolded. Ballal has just been released to go home,

according to Yuval.

Well, still to come electric car wars, Chinese EV maker BYD, seemingly taunting Elon Musk and Tesla, taking the lead in sales and taking new

strides when it comes to technology. More on that is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, we are waiting on the opening bell on Wall Street. Shares made big gains on Monday, some investors buying into these markets, which

many believe have been somewhat oversold these past couple of weeks. But investors, it seems, still unnerved by the seeming daily news on tariffs.

[09:30:00]

That is the shot out of Wall Street and we are literally moments away from the opening bell, and the indication was a sort of mixed to slightly higher

open. I think it would be fair to say we shouldn't expect these markets to take off at the open. We'll get you the numbers as they settle in the next

couple of seconds.

We are watching the global electric car wars heating up once again, and Chinese EV make a BYD speeding ahead when it comes to sales. More on that

in a moment. These are the live markets. And as we see there, the DOW up marginally again, the NASDAQ a similar picture as is the S&P 500.

We are concentrating on the EV market, BYD beating its number one rival Tesla in annual revenue for 2024 and for the first time ever, BYD cross the

$100 billion mark, raking in about 10 billion more than Tesla last year. That milestone for BYD comes just as Tesla is sliding into a crisis.

Of course, the company facing declining sales for the first time amid this backlash over CEO Elon Musk's contentious role in the Trump Administration.

Well Senior -- CNN Business Senior Writer Allison Morrow, covering the story for us from New York. The CEO of Tesla Elon Musk, once scoffed at the

idea of this Chinese competitor BYD being anything like a serious competitor.

It is now announced new technology free upgrades in the past month. What do we know about this car maker?

ALLISON MORROW, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR WRITER: Yeah, thanks, Becky. Those numbers that you cited, you know, $100 billion revenue would have been

unthinkable a few years ago, but BYD has just grown so fast, and it's done it on a pretty simple model of making good cars that are cheap.

It has competed against Tesla, and it was, you know, Elon Musk once famously now kind of brushed off the idea that it could ever compete. That

was over a decade ago, and BYD has figured out how to make really sleek cars that are technologically enabled in the way that you expect Tesla's to

be but they sell them for about a third of the price of Tesla.

So, you know, a lot of Americans don't know BYD because of strict tariff restrictions, but the world is getting to know BYD really well because its

models are accessible, affordable and pretty solid.

ANDERSON: Yeah, you see a lot of them the roads here in the UAE, I have to say, look, just -- let's talk about how Tesla has been impacted by Elon

Musk's new role and the sort of political controversies around that role. What sort of impact do you believe, you know, this new world of Elon Musk

has had on his car company?

MORROW: Yeah, I think it's important to note that on the global stage, with sales falling, that is a fundamental business problem that Tesla has been

facing for a while. But within the U.S., where he where sales are also falling off, the political element is huge. One of the early indications

we've seen from some recent surveys is that Tesla owners, a lot of them, cannot wait to sell their Tesla.

There is a new political stigma around owning one, driving one. You know, the most polarizing of the Tesla lineup is obviously the cyber truck. You

know, a lot of people see it as an eyesore, and it is the most in your face, the Tesla model. And on the resale market, we saw a study last week

show that, on average, a cyber truck sells for about 60 percent less than it did a year ago.

So, if you bought a cyber truck and you're trying to get rid of it, it's a rough time to try to resell.

ANDERSON: Wow.

MORROW: So, the political element is definitely a force in the United States.

ANDERSON: That's fascinating. Yeah, it's good to have you. Thank you. It's not only the car market that Tesla is going head-to-head with Chinese

competitors. Elon Musk recently predicted his company's robot project, known as Optimus, could eventually generate more than ten trillion in

revenue, while independent estimates are in the billions rather than in the trillions.

And although Tesla unveiled a prototype three years ago, experts say it is likely to be years before humanoid robots are adopted on a large scale.

Still to come, a look ahead to tonight's showdown between two of world football's biggest powers, Argentina versus Brazil that is in focus on CNN

"World Sport". Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:35:00]

ANDERSON: Well, no sitting U.S. President, no First Lady, no U.S. Second Lady has ever visited Greenland. That is until this week, Usha Vance will

be among a high-level White House delegation winging their way to Greenland to attend a dog sled race. And despite weeks of talk by the U.S. President

of annexing Greenland.

Donald Trump says this is just a friendly visit Greenland is it seems see it differently. Here's CNN Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Teeth are showing a Greenland's national dog sled race with the prime minister slamming a

pending visit to the contest by U.S. government dignitaries as highly aggressive and adding the only purpose is to demonstrate power over us and

fuel American belief in Trump's mission to take over the world's largest island.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This is friendliness and provocation.

FOREMAN (voice-over): President Trump is racing to defend the trip by Second Lady Usha Vance, a likely visit by National Security Adviser Mike

Waltz and possibly a stop there by Secretary of State, Marco Rubio too. Vance is soft selling her visit.

USHA VANCE, SECOND LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm also coming to celebrate the long history of mutual respect and cooperation between our

nations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here as tourists seeing it looks like an incredible place.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But these are not the first visits from Team Trump, which, for months, has pushed the notion that annexing Greenland is

critical to U.S. interests as America, Russia and China vie for commercial and military control of Arctic waters.

TRUMP: We need that for international security, not just security international. We have a lot of our favorite players cruising around the

coast, and we have to be careful.

JD VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Denmark, which controls Greenland, it's not doing its job, and it's not being a good ally.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And the point person on that argument is the second lady's husband, Vice President JD Vance.

VANCE: If that means that we need to take more territorial interest in Greenland, that is what President Trump is going to do, because he doesn't

care about what the Europeans scream at us. He cares about putting the interests of America's citizens first.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Greenlanders clearly don't like that talk. A January poll commissioned by Danish and Greenlandic newspapers found 85 percent

oppose joining the U.S., and many consider Trump's designs a threat. Even after years of cooperation, including hosting a big American military base.

Things have turned upside down now with the current president in the USA, the prime minister says, we must face the seriousness of the situation and

acknowledge that every minute counts to ensure that the Americans dream of annexing our country does not become a reality.

FOREMAN (on camera): And while President Trump insists there's a lot of enthusiasm there for the takeover, Denmark itself, which has overseen this

autonomous nation for hundreds of years, says it's not for sale, meaning the dog sled delegation may be on thin ice, even before it arrives. Tom

Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: Well in Turkey, the crowds are out, tens of thousands, defying rules against outside protests, rallying again at city hall in Istanbul on

Monday night. These are images from that as we've been reporting this week, they are protesting the arrest of Istanbul's mess.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, monitoring what is going on there, joining us now live. Any indication these protests are slowing down, Salma?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, in fact, the seventh night of demonstrations has been called by opposition figures for tonight. So,

expect to see those crowds yet again. Tens of thousands of people, as you have mentioned, have been defying those bans on demonstrations, and the

response has been, as you can see there as well, brute force.

At times police have clashed with demonstrators, fired tear gas, used water cannons, and hundreds of protesters have been detained. Journalists have

been put behind bars. All of this, of course, because President Erdogan's main political rival, sits in prison. A man who many believe could have

beat President Erdogan at the ballot box, if only he was allowed to get there.

In another huge act of defiance, Becky last night, that opposition party, the CHP, elected the detained mayor as their presidential nominee for the

2028 elections. President Erdogan has been in power for more than two decades now, and he has done that by crushing any dissent, his critics say.

But there is fear that he is now more emboldened than ever because of his relationship with one President Donald Trump, who has called him a friend,

a man he respects, and has used him at times as a mediator in key conflicts, not just in the Middle East, but even in Ukraine.

It is now being said that President Erdogan is working on getting a White House visit as soon as possible.

ANDERSON: Salma Abdelaziz is on the story. "World Sport" is up after this short break. I'll be back with more "Connect the World" in 15 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END