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President Trump Is Set To Join Other World Leaders To Commemorate The 75th Anniversary Of D-Day; Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 05, 2019 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: With the business of Brexit and trade behind him, the U.S. President is set to join other world leaders to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. We're live from Portsmouth, England, and Normandy (inaudible) is straight ahead.

And as the world remembers the heroes of World War II, we look back at the forgotten children cast aside because of the racial intolerance at the time. I introduce you to some of the GI babies of Britain.

And we head to Melbourne where disgraced Cardinal George Pell returns to the courtroom in an effort to appeal his conviction on child sex abuse.

Thanks very much for joining. Good morning. I'm Isa Soares coming to you live from outside Buckingham Palace at the Canada Gate. It's 9:00 a.m. and this is "CNN Newsroom."

A very good morning to you; it is day three of the U.S. President's trip to the U.K. Right now he is getting ready to head to the coastal city of Portsmouth. He is expected to leave around 9:15, 15 minutes or so from London (inaudible). That's were events will be held to mark 75 years since the D-Day invasion has taken place in Portsmouth. The anniversary which marks the beginning of the end of World War II is a fitting backdrop as the U.S. and the U.K. reaffirm Trans-Atlantic ties.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May met business leaders from the U.K. and from the U.S. They then held a news conference where Mr. Trump promised a phenomenal post-Brexit trade agreement but many fear what that might actually look like.

Thousands have been protesting Mr. Trump's visit outside Parliament and in Trafalgar Square. Among the concerns, his suggestion that Britain's publically-funded health system DNHS could feature in the negotiations. The president has now backtracked somewhat. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't see it being on the table. Somebody asked me a question today and I say everything is up for negotiations because everything is but I don't see that being - that's something that I would not consider part of trade. That's not trade.

(END VIDEO)

SOARES: That's President Donald Trump on ITV speaking with Piers Morgan. That happened later on Tuesday, ahead of me now is Quentin Peel, an associate fellow with an Europe Programme, Chatham House. Quentin, good to have you on this morning. Let's put the three days - I know he hasn't wrapped up yet but we've seen the pomp. We've seen the ceremony. We've seen the pageantry. We've also has some politics. Let's focus first on the politics. Did anything in your view come out of it, anything substantive you think?

QUENTIN PEEL, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, EUROPE PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Well on the one hand it was very predictable. Here was Donald Trump trying desperately to be on best behavior ...

SOARES: And he was.

PEEL: Up to a point.

SOARES: Up to a point. At least with the Queen he was.

PEEL: Indeed. But he couldn't stop tweeting and he couldn't stop picking and choosing between the people he liked, the people he didn't like, not being evenhanded. So straight away before he came he said I think Boris Johnson would make a great prime minister even though he's still on the plane he denounced the Mayor of London for being incompetent. So he can't stop and so he's always going to be controversial so what should have been a state visit, you know just the pomp and ceremony, just the feel good factor, actually as always turned into who is this guy and what's he up to sort of visit.

SOARES: Well also you said he also spoke about the other - couple of other candidates that are vying for the race. There were initially 13, I think that's been whittled down to 11 or so. But Jeremy Hunt he said, and he talked about Jeremy Hunt too and he met with Nigel Farage I believe yesterday. But he was on his best behavior when it came to Theresa May because previously he has attacked her somewhat in that Brexit negotiations.

PEEL: Yes, he's very critical of the way she handled Brexit negotiations before and he said you should sue the European Union and so on. This time he said, "Oh you've been really brilliant. You've done a fantastic job." I mean his capacity to change the storyline is extraordinary and he was being on the whole very polite and very friendly.

SOARES: On the question of changing the storyline, you just heard that interview - that clip from the interview he did with Piers Morgan where he talked about the National Health Service here. Actually in a press conference that same day, yesterday, he talked about - he was asked whether it would be on the table. He said actually everything would be on the table. He clearly then backtracked and this is something that's worrying many people here in the U.K. isn't it?

PEEL: I must say I think you do wonder the degree to which he is in complete control of the facts, if you like.

SOARES: Yes.

PEEL: One moment he says yes, indeed National Health Service is something we want access to. We want it to be opened up and then he says no, no, it is not going to be on the table. So when he says there is going to be a phenomenal trade deal who can be quite sure? In fact there was a conservative foreign minister last night speaking who said, "I think it will be phenomenal for the United States."

SOARES: Yes.

PEEL: "I don't think it's going to be phenomenal for Britain."

SOARES: And I think we have heard - I've heard that too in the last 24 hours.

[04:05:00]

Let's wrap it up though with what President Trump got out of this trip. He is eyeing the next successor to Theresa May, looking - completely looking over her shoulder perhaps Boris Johnson, as we know he said he's a friend of his. From the royal perspective, he came away, he was pretty moved by the Queen and the pageantry of it all. Wasn't he?

PEEL: Oh yes. I mean it was absolutely clear from the start that is the one thing he really wanted. Bringing his entire family with him and basically saying "I'm the royal family of the U.S. and I'm meeting the royal family of Great Britain."

SOARES: He considers himself (inaudible) in some ways doesn't he?

PEEL: Yes, absolutely. He obviously loves that stuff and let's admit, the British do pomp and ceremony very well so he loved doing it.

SOARES: Thank you very much Quentin. I'm sure we'll be talking to you throughout this hour. Thanks very much Quentin Peel.

Why the D-Day event in Portsmouth in southern England. There'll be musical performances, military displays and testimonial readings. The Queen and the Prince of Wales will be there as well as veterans, some of whom fought in D-Day landings. The Queen

will then Donald and Melania Trump a formal farewell before he goes to Ireland for a meeting with the Irish Prime Minister. Our Phil Black is at the seaside town of Portsmouth where Mr. Trump heads next. Good morning to you Phil, talk us through what we can expect today.

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It will be the final official event on Donald Trump's state visit but in many ways an event much bigger in terms of what it is commemorating than the president himself or indeed any of the other special guests that are going to be here. There will be 15 international leaders in all hosted by the Queen and British Prime Minister because this is all about remembering a defining moment in modern Europe's history; the biggest ever amphibious assault. An incredibly complex military operation that saw 130,000 plus people transported across the English Channel to land on the coast of Normandy under heavy fire with some 18,000 dropping in from above as well.

An incredibly complex international operation, but the key guests of honor today will really be those who were there, who still remember it, whose lives have been shaped by it, the veterans now in their 90s.

These were men who stormed those beaches, dropped from the sky, their honor - their courage and sacrifice will be honored here today and those who did not survive the operation, of course, will be remembered as well. And the other big theme as the story of that period of history unfolds on the stages before all of these guests will be the lesson of what can be achieved through international cooperation because there was such extraordinary coordination among 14 nations to pull off this whole operation, both the planning and the execution. That's going to be another big theme that unfolds form the speeches, the testimonials, the music and other performances we're going to hear and see today by the coast here at Portsmouth, Isa.

SOARES: Yes, I think it is a very poignant show of commemoration where you are, Phil and I think you touched on this. Of course many of the men that will be there will be in their 90s, won't they Phil? So the importance here will be of memory and collective memory.

BLACK: Yes, those men are the living memory of what took place. As I say, these are the people that actually experienced the operation first hand. And when we all hear and read about what actually took place in terms of the logistics behind it and then the actual - the simple daring and courage required to land on those heavily fortified beaches to run against the machine gun nests and so forth. These are people with extraordinary memories and extraordinary tales to tell who remember a very different Europe only 75 years ago.

It is not just those who stormed the beaches and dropped in, but of course the many others who are involved in the support as well either from the sea and the air but it is an incredibly significant day and so you will get big crowds of people here turning out as well. Not to protest Donald Trump as we have seen in recent days; really not about Donald Trump at all. But to be part of this moment and this shared reflection on a really big significant moment in history.

SOARES: Phil Black there. Thanks very much Phil. We'll be talking to you in the next hour or so. Well as Phil was mentioning and the talk about partnerships, there are real concerns especially here in Europe with President Trump's commitment to international alliances. From his disparaging remarks about NATO and the campaign trail to splitting from agreements on climate change and even Iran's nuclear deal. Coming up on "CNN Talk" we want to know what you think? Can its allies rely on the U.S. under Trump? Log on to facebook.com/cnninternational to have your say. I'll be hosting "CNN Talk." It starts at midday here in London; 7:00 p.m. if you're watching in Hong Kong.

[04:10:00]

Now, back in Washington, Mr. Trump is facing resistance from an unlikely porter(ph). U.S. republican Senators are expressing opposition to his threat to impose tariffs on Mexican imports. Even President Trump's own aids said the move risks slowing the U.S. economy. Everything from cars to food would be affected. It's not known if republican lawmakers have enough votes to block him but Mr. Trump says they would be foolish to even try. Now the tariffs are to take effect on Monday in an attempt to pressure Mexico to stop migrants from crossing into the United States. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

TRUMP: Mexico shouldn't allow millions of people to try to enter our country and they could stop it very quickly and I think they will and if they won't, we're going to put tariffs on. Every month those tariffs go from 5 percent to 10 percent to 15 percent to 20 percent and then to 25 percent. And what will happen then is all of those companies that left our country and gone to Mexico are going to be coming back to us and that's okay.

(END VIDEO)

SOARES: But there's more. The Trump Administration's also cracking down on Cuba. The U.S. has imposed tough new travel restrictions on U.S. citizens wanting to visit the Caribbean Island. They include blocking access for organized tour groups and banning U.S. cruise ships from stopping there. Trump's Treasury Secreatry Steve Mnuchin said, "The restrictions are a response to Cuba playing - continuing to play a destabilizing role in the Western Hemisphere." Those were his words.

We'll have more on President Trump's upcoming trip to Portsmouth for D-Day commemorations just ahead. Also George Pell is a Cardinal, a former aid to the Pope and a convicted child molester. Now there's a chance he could walk free. The latest on his appeal coming up after a short break. And Australian police have arrested a suspect but they're still searching for motive. The latest on the country's worst shooting spree in decades. We'll bring you both of those stories after a very short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Welcome back. He was once one of the most powerful men in the Roman Catholic Church. Now Cardinal George Pell is back in court appealing his conviction on child sex abuse. The former Vatican treasurer was sentenced to six years in prison back in March for molesting two choir boys. If his convictions are overturned, he could walk free. The appeal hearing has now wrapped for the day and will resume on Thursday. For the latest, CNN's Anna Coren is live for us in Melbourne and has been following this story for us right from the very beginning.

Anna, good morning to you or good evening I should say. How likely is it at this stage that George Pell could walk free? What is the legal argument you are hearing from his side?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isa, it really just depends on who you speak to. Legal opinion in the country is extremely divided as to which way this is going to go. Obviously there's the camp who believes that Cardinal George Pell has a very strong case and could very well walk free.

[04:15:00]

They believe that there is an unreasonable verdict in these five counts of child sexual abuse that George Pell was convicted of back in December. There is that camp and then obviously the other school of thought that says the court of appeals here in Victoria is reluctant to overturn the decision of a jury. That jury made up of 12 Australians who heard the testimony and evidence of the sole surviving choir boy. He was cross examined for days and they believe he was credible. They believe that he was telling the truth about what happened to him and his friend back in 1996 and 1997 when George Pell sexually abused him and molested his friend. He then went on to say that he was molested a month later.

So this is a case that really has captured public imagination. It was live streamed by the Supreme Court; the second time they had done this. We were thinking perhaps a decision tomorrow. We're going to hear from the prosecution as to why the conviction should stand up but legal advice now is that that decision from the court of appeals will come in the weeks ahead. Isa.

SOARES: Anna Corin there outside the Supreme Court in Melbourne, Australia. Thanks very much.

Now Australians are in a state of shock after at least four people were killed and several injured in the northern city of Darwin.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

SOARES: (voice over) Now police say a gunman opened fire at several locations on Tuesday night. The 45-year-old male from Darwin was on parole at the time of the killings. This is the worst shooting spree since the Port Arthur massacre more than 20 years ago. That shooting led Australia to put in some of the strictest firearm laws in the world.

(END VIDEO)

Now for some the 75th anniversary of D-Day invasions is dredging up lifelong questions. Just ahead the story of so called G.I. babies who were born to white British women and African-American servicemen during the war. I'll bring you that story next. You are looking as well at live drone video flying over the remains of the Mulberry Harbor at Arromanches. These are (inaudible) in France ahead of the 75th D-Day anniversary. We'll have more of course from Normandy after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Breathtaking video we want to show you of Omaha Beach and the surrounding cliffs in Normandy, France ahead of the 75th anniversary of D-Day. We will be keeping an eye on any of the live images coming to us as world leaders meet in Portsmouth in England to commemorate 75 years of D-Day.

It is the third and final day of President Trump's state visit to Britain and a poignant one. Today the U.S. President will join the Queen, Prince Charles and a raft of world leaders in Portsmouth, England, to mark the D-Day landings when allied forces launched an invasion of northern France to liberate Europe from Nazi domination. Portsmouth was a key embarkation point for the largest combined land, air and naval operation in history.

[04:20:00]

On the other side of the channel, the Normandy town of Carentan in France was at the heart of the battle between allied and Germany Nazi forces. Our CNN International Correspondent Jim Bittermann joins us now from there. Jim, good morning to you. Give me a sense of how Carentan -- how they're commemorating the 75th anniversary?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Isa, you may be wondering why I'm standing in front of an open field. It is part of that commemoration. We are hoping - we're expecting any moment now there's going to be a couple of C-47s come flying overhead and about 46 paratroopers will come flying out the doors in order to commemorate the jumps that took place here which were the first jumps - the first people into Normandy to liberate Normandy 75 years ago.

This is what they're calling a cabbage patch jump because the men of the 101st airborne who were the first jumpers came in and they fought amongst the cabbages of the Norman farmers as they put it. It was also the 82nd airborne and they were scattered all over the place. We are hoping with this jump they'll come in front of the cameras. In any case, we're not the only ones here. Just nearby we've got probably several hundred people out here who are standing around and hoping to get a sight of the paratroopers coming out of the sky and they'll be coming out of the sky practically every hour on the hour during the day today. Isa.

SOARES: And Jim, are there veterans where you are? are they taking part in the commemorations?

BITTERMANN: Yes, in fact one of the last jumps today, there's going to be a paratrooper, not necessarily a guy here at Normandy, but a paratrooper who jumped into liberate Europe. He is 97 years old and going to come back and do a tandem jump at about 2:00 this afternoon local time. And there are a lot of veterans here. We see - all day long we've been seeing various veterans coming and going. Some are in surprisingly good shape. I mean you'll have to figure they're all going to have to be in their 90s and you enlisted when you were 18 years old so do the math - 18 plus 75, you're going to be 93 years old. In fact, there's not that many left, but by the same token you would be surprised what kind of shape they're in. They all seem to be doing their exercises over the last 75 years, Isa.

SOARES: Yes, not just the shape, but memories are so vivid still. Jim Bittermann, we will hearing, of course, from some of those veterans in the next hour with one of your reports. Jim Bittermann for us there in Caretan in France. Now as the world marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day landing, it's

important to remember the toll World War II took on so many lives. Among those who suffered, the G.I. babies, biracial children now in their 70s born to African0American servicemen and white British mothers during the war. I spoke with those still searching for their identity here in the U.K.

When African-American soldiers arrived in Britain in the second world war, their bravery was instrumental in the war effort but it was also the start of the story of love, loss and lifetime of searching.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

DAVE GREENE, G.I. BABY: That is the first one I can remember my mom showing me of this handsome chap she was so in love with.

SOARES: Around 2,000 mixed race babies were born from relationships between black G.I.s and white British woman. The romances borne from war time dances were torn apart by peace.

GREENE: She always spoke with great fondness of my father. She told me that she would have loved to have gone to the states.

SOARES: The U.S. Army refused black G.I.'s permission to marry their white British girlfriends on made paternity claims.

And she loved your father you said?

GREENE: Yes. No doubt about it. No doubt about it. I don't think she ever got over him.

SOARES: After growing up in a white family more than 50 years passed before G.I. baby Dave Greene tracked down and met his black father for the first time in Brooklyn. But many G.I. babies have never known the love of either of their parents. Hundreds of the mixed race and so called illegitimate babies were put into children's homes; the stigma too much for many mothers to cope in what was then a very white Britain.

At Holicot(ph) house in Somerset West England, around 20 mixed race G.I. babies were raised until they reached the age of 5 at which point they were sent to other homes or adopted. Their identity struggles began when they were sent away from other children who looked like them. Debra Prior and Carol Edwards were given up as babies by their mothers and lived together at Holicot(ph).

[04:25:00]

They both remember their time there fondly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a group of us all about the same age, all born '44 - '45. We were in the cots together. We shared potties together. We played together. That was our family.

SORES: But the pain of never really knowing their birth parents has defined their lives. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We weren't allowed to be white and yet we

weren't black.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a teenager, I did question who was I; who am I?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is like a missing piece.

SOARES: New research for the book, "Britain's Brown Babies" has only found one child successfully adopted by his American father.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is after they picked me up from the airport and brought me home. I felt very lucky and very fortunate. It was really hard for them to find me. So that's another way I'm fortunate.

SOARES: Leon's(ph) mother gave uprights to him as a baby but at the age of 3, his father tracked him down in a children's home and flew him to the United States. He still bears the scars of his mother's choice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is always kind of like a void and that void will always be there because I never got to meet her. I know as a kid it really hurt me when she left because I have a distant memory of standing in the corner of a crib crying real hard. I always said that my son...

SOARES: Leon's(ph) questions remain. Did she want to give him up or was she forced? Many years later, he found out where his mother was. She had tragically died two years previously. Her gravestone was all he got to see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is just a lot of questions that I -- I wanted to ask her. My sister, you know, gave me this picture and she also gave me her wedding ring which I wear all the time. It is one of the best gifts I've ever gotten in my life.

SOARES: For hundreds of Britain's G.I. babies, distant memories of love offer some comfort, but they will never quench the desire for answers.

And thank you to those three G.I. babies for giving the time to CNN and sharing their story with me. Our coverage of the 75th anniversary of D-Day commemorations continues throughout the day on CNN. Do stay right here. I'll be back with your headlines in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Hello, I'm Isa Soares in London and this is "CNN News Now."

[04:30:00]

The U.S. president is wrapping up his trip to the U.K. by marking the 7th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth, England. The queen and Prince Charles will be there, as well as heads of state and other officials from a country (ph) that fought alongside the U.K. Mr. Trump will then head to Ireland for a meeting with the Irish prime minister. China's president is expected to arrive in Moscow on Wednesday to meet

with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Xi Jinping is scheduled to spend three days in the state visit where he is expected to cement economic ties with the countries as China's trade war with the U.S. rages on. According to state media, the two leaders have met nearly 30 times since 2013.

Cardinal George Pell's appeal hearing at an Australian court has wrapped up for the day. Pell is appealing his 60 (ph) year prison sentence for molesting two choir boys. His lawyers argue the former Vatican treasurer didn't get a fair trial. If judges overturn his conviction, he could walk free. The hearing is set to resume on Thursday.

A doctor's group says at least 60 people are dead after Monday's attack on Sudanese protesters. Security forces storm a (inaudible), as demonstrators call for a civilian government after the violence, the country's military leader said he wanted elections in nine months. He also said all deals with the opposition are now cancelled. And. that is your "CNN News Now." Do stay tuned for "Business Traveller" coming up next right here on CNN.