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CNN Live Event/Special
President Trump Wraps Up U.K. Visit with D-Day Events; Gunman in Australia Kills Four. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired June 05, 2019 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): 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 in Portsmouth for today's events.
And we are showing you pictures of the beaches and clips of Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. These are from today but 75 years ago it was ground zero, the largest seaborne invasion in history. The world remembers D-Day. We take you to Normandy as the anniversary nears.
Thank you for joining us. It is 10:00 in London. I'm Isa Soares coming to you live from outside Buckingham Palace. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
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SOARES: Good morning to you. It is day three of the U.S. president's trip to the U.K. Right now he is heading to the coastal city of Portsmouth where events will be held to mark 75 years since the D-Day invasion.
The anniversary marks a turning point in World War II, a fitting backdrop as U.S. and U.K. reaffirm transatlantic ties.
On Tuesday President Trump and Theresa May met business leaders from the U.S. and the U.K. They then held a news conference, where Trump talked about , quote, "phenomenal post-Brexit trade agreement."
But many fear what that might look like; thousands have been protesting his visit. Among their concerns, his suggestion that Britain's NHS could feature in the negotiations. The president has now backtracked somewhat. Take a listen.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't see it being on the table. Somebody asked me a question today and I say everything's up for negotiation 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 CLIP)
SOARES: That was Donald Trump on ITV, speaking with Piers Morgan.
The D-Day events will include musical performances and testimonial readings. The queen and Prince of Wales will be there and hundreds of veterans, many in their 90s. Sixteen countries agreed to make a statement, promising to ensure the horror of the Second World War will never be repeated.
Along with the queen, giving a final farewell to Donald and Melania Trump as they head to Ireland.
We have Phil Black with more.
I believe Trump is on his way already. Give us a sense of what we can expect in the next few hours.
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It will be a big ceremonial event designed to tell the story of World War II from the fall of Europe to Nazi Germany and the departure of the D-Day landing forces. They will do that through music, performance and reading testimonials to commemorate that military operation, one that changed the momentum of World War II, that led to the liberation of Western Europe and ultimately contributed significantly to the outcome, the Allied victory.
It was an international operation. So today's event will be international as well, with the queen and prime minister hosting 15 other world leaders, including, as you touched on, the American president, Donald Trump. This is the last official event on his state visit.
But in many ways, the true guests of honor will be those men who lived through the D-Day landings, who have powerful recollections of storming the beaches at Normandy or drop in from the air and those who provided vital support from the sea and from the air as well.
They will be here. They will be honored for their courage and their sacrifice and, of course, much will be said about those who did not survive that operation.
Crucially, one of the big themes of the event will be the sense of international coordination and cooperation that made it possible, both in the planning and the execution. And the lesson and legacy, if you like, how that is all relevant for the world today -- Isa.
SOARES: I'm glad you ended on that, Phil. I want to ask you about the idea of cooperation. Just yesterday there was a D-Day proclamation. Many countries signing that proclamation --
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SOARES: -- pledging to ensure the unimaginable horror of the Second World War is not repeated.
How will Donald Trump see this?
This president has disdain for certain institutions.
BLACK: The lesson of the D-Day landings and the Allied offensive to take back continental Europe and defeat Nazi Germany is one that says international cooperation can achieve great things and, more than that, it can shape history, which is really ultimately the legacy of this one amphibious landing.
It went on to free the continent and that is what people will be thinking about and talking about. This is essentially the lesson of the potential greatness of multilateralism, which we know Donald Trump is not a big fan of and why, over time, he has been critical of multilateral institutions, whether the E.U. or defense alliances like NATO.
There is no doubt about just what the D-Day landings did go on to achieve. For that reason, it has to be said, American forces played a really big part of that. It is absolutely an appropriate that an American president should be here as part of this.
But ultimately the event itself, the legacy and commemoration here, themes reflected upon, all of these things are more important than the individual leaders we will see here today -- Isa.
SOARES: Very good point. Phil Black for us in Portsmouth. We will touch base with you throughout the hour.
Here with me is Quentin Peel, associate fellow with the Europe programme at Chatham House and a very familiar face on the show.
I want to talk about what you heard from Phil Black, the idea of multiculturism, working together. They signed a D-Day proclamation yesterday to make sure the horrors of the Second World War do not take place again.
But this is a president who has disdain for the likes of NATO and E.U. and NAFTA and climate change accord, the Iran nuclear deal and many others.
What message does this give him?
QUENTIN PEEL, CHATHAM HOUSE: I think it is precisely why actually the others have twisted his arm and got him to sign up to this statement, saying cooperation is the right way, talking to each other.
There is a real worry, a profound worry in Europe under the direction of U.S. policy under Donald Trump. The fact he called NATO obsolete and the E.U. the enemy. This is extraordinary behavior.
So that has been underlined. It happened right from the start of the visit of President Trump, when the queen at Buckingham Palace at the state banquet, said we should celebrate all of these institutions that we set up after the Second World War, which have effectively ensured we didn't have another world war.
SOARES: And interestingly, Theresa May gave him a gift, a draft of what formed the basis of the United Nations from Winston Churchill.
But how will this alliance with the U.S. and U.K. work?
We have a president who is very much America first and Great Britain, who wants to be global post-Brexit.
How will those work together?
PEEL: I'm not sure. I think if you look at the list of people that Donald Trump met in London, outside the official people, he met Nigel Farage, the leader of the Brexit Party, several of the most conservative English nationalist members. This is Donald Trump America first in a way encouraging England first as the message.
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SOARES: Because it benefits him, peeling the U.K. away from Europe. It benefits him because it weakens Europe, too.
PEEL: Look at him hostile and crisis, particularly toward Germany. He has been very critical of German chancellor Angela Merkel. Very important and interesting to see she is attending these celebrations as the enemy of 1945, is now embraced in the celebrations, along with Emmanuel Macron.
That also is a message of these celebrations.
The question is how much of this will Donald Trump take to heart when he goes home?
SOARES: Do you think any of it?
Do you think that will actually influence policy?
All we hear is, in the U.S., the Mexico tariffs, and the agreement with Mexico and Canada has gone out the window now. We see 5 percent tariffs against Mexico.
Can he be trusted?
PEEL: Well, he is erratic.
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PEEL: He does seem to say one thing one day and another thing the next. Just like we heard on the trade deal with Britain about the National Health Service. So he is a difficult man to deal with. He has been on best behavior during this trip to Britain. After all, a state visit is supposed to be about making nice.
On the other hand, he can never resist the political point scoring that he does on Twitter.
SOARES: Who then, in that case, given he is so erratic, who is the best leader here in the U.K. to deal with him?
Boris Johnson, who he considers a friend?
Who would work best with him not to be manipulated?
PEEL: That is a very difficult question. I think he would enjoy Boris Johnson as a leader.
But would Boris Johnson be the best leader for the U.K.?
There's a good column in one of the newspapers today, saying Britain could not handle somebody like Trump. So I think that's a warning.
SOARES: Quentin Peel, thank you very much.
Underneath the talk of partnerships are real concerns, especially in Europe and the Donald Trump's commitment to the international alliances from his disparaging statements about trade to splitting agreements on climate change and Iran's nuclear deal.
Coming up on "CNN TALK," what do you think?
Can its allies still rely on the U.S. under Trump?
Log on to facebook.com/cnninternational. That starts at midday here in London and 7:00 pm in Hong Kong. I'll be your host for that.
We'll have more from Portsmouth as President Trump heads there for D- Day commemorations. But he is not the only world leader on the move. Chinese president Xi Jinping is due in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin. We will have a live report from Moscow just ahead.
Also ahead, George Pell, the cardinal and former aide to the pope, convicted child abuser, there is now a chance he could walk free. We will have the latest on his appeal coming up. Stay here on CNN.
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SOARES: Now he was once one of the most powerful men in the Roman Catholic Church. The former Vatican treasurer George Pell is appealing his conviction on child sex abuse. He was sentenced to six years in prison in March for molesting two choir boys.
If his convictions are overturned, he could walk free. The appeal hearing has wrapped up and resumes on Thursday.
Australians are in a state of shock after at least four people were killed and several injured in the northern city of Darwin. We will have much more on that. They are still trying to find the killers. Four people killed and several injured in the north city of Darwin. I'll show you the footage. Have a look.
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SOARES (voice-over): Police say a gunman opened fire at several locations on Tuesday night. The 45-year-old male was on parole at time of the killings. This is the worst shooting spree since the Port Arthur massacre more than 20 years ago. That led Australia to pass some of the strictest firearm laws in the world.
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SOARES: The former sheriff's deputy who came under fire for his actions during a shooting in Florida is now facing charges. Scot Peterson has been charged with child neglect, negligence and perjury in connection with the shooting which left 17 people dead.
Surviving video at Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shows Peterson taking a position outside the school. Authorities say the gunman killed five students and one teacher while Peterson stood at that spot for more than 45 minutes. His attorney says the charges are politically motivated.
Now honoring those who gave their lives for freedom. We head to Normandy and a village at the heart of the battle between Allied forces and the Nazis, which brought about the beginning of the end of World War II.
Here are pictures from France, here in Normandy ahead of the 75th anniversary of D-Day. We'll be right back.
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SOARES: A somber view of the American Cemetery in Normandy, France, ahead of the 75th anniversary of D-Day. We will keep an eye on the commemorations for the next few hours here on CNN.
It is the third and final day of President Trump's state visit to Britain. Today, the president will join the queen and Prince Charles and a raft of world leaders to mark the D-Day landings, when Allied troop forces launched an invasion of Northern France to liberate Europe from Nazi domination.
Portsmouth was one of the key demarcation points for the largest combine air and land and naval operations in history.
On the other side of the Channel, the Normandy town of Carentan in France was at the heart of the battle between Allied and German Nazi forces. We have Jim Bittermann now.
Jim, give us a sense how Carentan is marking the commemorations.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Quite a remarkable ceremony here today. In fact, they are remembering the 101st Airborne, which landed in the field behind me. We have seen a parachute drop of 32 members of the Round Canopy parachute team coming out of the C-47s, the planes they flew during the day.
They have landed safely. There's going to be parachute drops all afternoon. Then there will be a march down the street with the members of the 101st Airborne. Both the 101st and 82nd Airborne were among the first units to liberate towns in Normandy.
I think we see a C-5 coming over, with more paratroopers dropping out of the sky. The 82nd and 101st dropped out the sky here in the night of June 5th and 6th. The first people on the ground and first to liberate the very first village of France, Sainte-Mere-Eglise, which is down the road from here.
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BITTERMANN: -- So they are commemorating what they call the Cabbage Patch Drop, which is the name because the paratroopers jumped into French cabbage fields and had to fight their way out of the fields before they went on to liberate Normandy -- Isa.
SOARES: Jim, today is also about the veterans taking part in these commemorations. Many of them well over 90 years of age. I believe you have been speaking to some of them.
BITTERMANN: Yes, exactly. Isa, in fact they have to be over 90 years of age because they enlisted at age 18 or 17 maybe, still, that puts you over 90. We will see one veteran jump here in a couple of hours. He has been practicing for months to do a tandem jump, a little different from what he did at the time. But he will take a jump this afternoon.
Then I have been talking to the other veterans who have come back by ship. Here is what they had to say.
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The first time Vern Ollar sailed along the Normandy coast, it wasn't exactly on board a luxury cruise ship. It was 75 years ago and his transport was a military landing craft, heading for Omaha Beach on the coast of France.
He barely got there. His boat got hit and he almost drowned, weighed down by heavy mortar equipment. But Ollar survived.
VERN OLLAR, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: We lost a lot of guys. And I always get a little lump in my throat. All those guys -- we had almost 2,000 D-Day, just on Omaha, 18-, 19-, 21-year-old guys. It makes me -- I get choked up.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): At 98 years old, Ollar has come back, along with 17 other vets, on a tour organized by the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Scores of Allied veterans, now at least in their 90s, are at Normandy for this anniversary of D-Day, the last salute, some are calling it, since it is not sure how many more years there will be old soldiers around to share their living memories. PAUL HILLIARD, NATIONAL WWII MUSEUM: We've got to keep the memory alive. There was a very high price paid for that freedom. So value it. So I guess that what we're trying to bring forward is the value of freedom.
BITTERMANN: So much of the commemoration is about remembrance. Not only for those here on Omaha Beach but those who weren't. For those who never knew or have forgotten exactly how much of modern Europe and today's world is based on what happened here 75 years ago.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): Long gone are the generals and colonels who gave the orders and understood the bigger picture and how important it was for the D-Day landings to establish a toehold on a continent that has lost its freedom. Those who came back this anniversary were well down in the ranks, like paratrooper Guy Whidden, who says he was just doing his job.
GUY WHIDDEN, WWII VETERAN: I always thought God was with me. I don't remember any fear at all, some apprehension, not knowing exactly what was happening.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): To help the vets and others understand just that, the importance of what they were part of, there were lectures and seminars on board their cruise ship to put D-Day in context.
And there was musical nostalgia to bring back a happy memory or two of what it would be like to feel young again.
But most of the thoughts this anniversary are serious about an event many here, like Omar, say changed their lives and changed the world forever.
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BITTERMANN: And those events of 75 years ago will be commemorated over the next two days here. The people of Normandy are turning out for all kinds of activity all across Normandy -- Isa.
SOARES: Incredible to see they still have a spring in their step. Jim, thank you very much. We'll talk to you throughout the hour.
I want to bring in Kathleen Burk, emeritus professor of modern and contemporary history at the University College of London. She's the author of "The Lion and the Eagle: The Interaction of the British and American Empires from 1783 to 1972"
Kathleen, thank you for joining us. Let's talk about the special relationship.
Do you think it has been strengthened the last few days?
KATHLEEN BURK, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LONDON: May I say I think it is a very bad thing to say special relationship.
SOARES: Tell me why. You are not the first.
BURK: I felt for decades, well, not that long, that special relationships are claimed by the weaker power.
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BURK: And in a sense it brings some emotion into what is essentially an international jungle. It doesn't do anyone any good because the one person who will not claim it is the British diplomat. It makes him a supplicant.
So there is a special relationship as long as we don't think that means America is going to give up what it wants in a negotiation with Britain.
But in terms of how it has gone over the past three days, there were many fewer fireworks than people might have expected, certainly fewer than I expected.
SOARES: You are talking fireworks coming from Trump?
BURK: I was, indeed. He has a long history of going to great allies and going, it could be better. He hasn't done that. I think he brought the whole history, not that he knows the history. He may, I don't think so. But just Buckingham Palace knocked him over.
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BURK: That's right. In that sense, he likes loyalty. Britain has been quite loyal. I think it has, if not strengthened, it certainly hasn't made it deteriorate.
SOARES: But they still have huge differences. The history could be there. But very big difference with policy.
BURK: Indeed. Indeed. And there are certain red lines that Trump's advisers think ought to be overstepped. Trump has more or less admitted that the NHS is off.
So the question is how much Trump actually makes policy. He says yes and he says no. But his attention goes on to the next big thing. So when Britain finally has these negotiations, I think they will be in a weak position.
SOARES: You have studied British and American alliances.
Have you seen anything like this?
Anything comparable?
BURK: Well, the war in 1812.
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SOARES: -- a leader like President Trump.
BURK: No. On the whole, leaders have been, how do I put this delicately?
A bit more polite in public.
SOARES: More diplomatic.
BURK: We'll go for that one.
SOARES: He is a tour de force?
BURK: Yes. You are right. I think what European Allies realize, you go with the wind because, with any luck, it will blow elsewhere. The continuation of the institutional relationships, the real things they have in common, will be there.
SOARES: Let's talk about what they signed yesterday with President Trump and Britain and other countries, the D-Day proclamation. This is someone like President Trump who is well known who has disdain for certain international institutions, NATO, E.U., climate change, be it NAFTA.
Do you think signing this will mean anything to him?
Do you think, on D-Day and in Portsmouth, we will go away with something strong in terms of the importance of these alliances?
BURK: I think so. He is nothing if not very supportive of the American military. It will be pointed out Omaha Beach. For the first time, he will see where they all landed and died.
SOARES: Yes.
BURK: He will also know it came from Britain. In that sense, he will get a snapshot of a strong historical relationship that possibly he hasn't had the opportunity to find before. It is a very good thing.
SOARES: Thank you very much. Fascinating speaking with you.
We will have more on Trump's visit to D-Day commemorations just ahead. We will be with you for the next hour here on CNN. Stay here.
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SOARES: Welcome back. We will be taking you to Portsmouth in the next few minutes. We are expecting to see President Trump arrive in Portsmouth to commemorate D-Day. He will meet with the queen and with Prince Charles and other leaders from several other countries.
There will include musical performances and military displays and testimonial readings from many of the men who took part in D-Day. The queen, Prince of Wales, as I said, will be there and, more importantly, hundreds of veterans who fought. Now 16 countries have agreed to make a statement that happened for the
D-Day statement. They promised to ensure the horrors of the Second World War is never repeated. The U.S. was among them.
Later, the queen will bid Donald and Melania Trump a formal farewell before he heads to Ireland for meeting with the Irish prime minister.
But today very much about D-Day, the 75th anniversary, and about the men who took part in that remarkable day. Phil Black is in the seaside town of Portsmouth, where Mr. Trump will arrive shortly.
Phil, for viewers just tuning in, give us a sense of what this means for President Trump today.
BLACK: President Trump will be an important guest, a guest of honor, if you like. He will be one of 15 world leaders hosted here by the queen and the British prime minister. Such is the international nature of the commemoration because the moment in history that it is honoring and reflecting upon, that was international in scope as well; 14 nations in all took part in the D-Day landings.
That is not just the storming of the beaches and military operation itself but the huge buildup, the logistics and planning and effort that went into preparing for that extraordinary assault on the beaches of Normandy.
The huge offensive operation, 130,000-plus soldiers transported across the English Channel before storming the beach. Some 18,000 dropped from the sky as well. It was such a huge, complex operation. Big in planning. Big in execution.
As I said, that is why it is so international. For Donald Trump, he will take part in the ceremony. He will be surrounded by the other international leaders and he will also be moving among and seen speaking to those other key guests here, that is those men, 90 plus, as you say who actually lived through the day itself, experienced what it was to be part of the military operation, whether it was running toward the machine gun nests on the beaches of Normandy or jumping out of an aircraft or providing vital support from the sea and air.
Those are the people with the living memory of what it was, of what happened that day and the loss of comrades and friends that fell that day. These are the people who are being remembered because it was their actions that ultimately shaped the momentum of World War II and so also shaped the future course of Europe and the world as well -- Isa.
SOARES: Phil, do stay with us. I want to bring in Quentin Peel at Chatham House.
Today is also about union and alliances. I suspect Theresa May will call for cooperation, something we heard as well --
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SOARES: -- from the queen. How do you think this will play with President Trump?
He is not one that is a fan of multilateralism.
PEEL: He is not. He is rude about multilateral institutions and America first is his slogan. So I think this is going to be an important moment, if you like, for Donald Trump.
But will he listened?
That is always the question.
SOARES: Or shape policy.
Will that impact his policy?
PEEL: Absolutely. I think it is an important moment and it is a moment of history. This is, after all, going to be the last time that any significant number of those veterans will be able to attend a big ceremony and anniversary like this.
So that is an important moment. There's one ally missing, of course, from this. It wasn't actually part of the invasion but very much an ally. Vladimir Putin of Russia is not there.
SOARES: He is meeting with Xi Jinping today. We'll have more on that later on today.
But you are quite right. He is absent. I want to bring viewers up to date with the development.
The White House has passed along information about Donald Trump's reading at the commemoration in Portsmouth. We expect President Trump to arrive imminently. Let me read you part of it.
Today at the ceremony, President Trump will read an excerpt from the prayer that President Franklin Roosevelt read on the radio on June 6th, 1944, in which he spoke to the country for the first time about the Normandy operation.
So give you a sense of what we can expect in the hours ahead. No doubt, Quentin, the president is seeing more than the 300 veterans there and seeing Omaha Beach. He will be moved by this.
PEEL: I think nobody could be failed to be moved. To think also the bravery and also the number who died. This was very, very brutal fighting. This is a moment and to see these wonderful 90-year-old 90 plus veterans who took part in that cannot fail to affect him.
SOARES: The number who died. The exact number of casualties is hard to know. It's estimated approximately 10,000 Allied soldiers wounded, were killed or went missing in action, 6,600 Americans, 2,700 British and 946 Canadians.
This is important. We mention it because, as we heard from Jim Bittermann in the last hour, they are in their 90s. The importance of memory is key here, isn't it?
PEEL: I think it is. I wonder whether the younger generation actually really, if it means as much to them now as older people.
SOARES: How do we keep that alive in that case?
PEEL: I don't think we want to keep it too alive, if you like. I think there is an element of overdoing it.
SOARES: The younger generation, the fear is you forget. Now it is great because they are telling these stories at 90 years of age. We can still it hear from them. But that will be much harder in 10 years or 15 years time.
PEEL: It will. For my generation, my parents took part in this sort of thing. It is important for my children's generation. I think climate change, looking at it, is actually much more important than looking backwards.
SOARES: We are seeing a helicopter land. We do not know whether this is President Trump or whether this, in fact, is some personnel, which is what we have seen in the last few days. Sometimes President Trump is the second one to arrive. We will keep an eye on the commemorations.
It will be so many. The queen is there today as well as Prince Charles talking today and many other countries taking part. This comes, Quentin, the day before they signed the D-Day proclamation, the joint statement, where they commit to working together to resolve international tensions peacefully. That is something that we heard from the queen this week.
PEEL: It is indeed. Very unusually, the queen actually sounded a little bit political in underlining the importance of multilateral institutions set up after 1945. And this directly to a man who expressed grave doubts about multilateralism, wanting to put America first.
This is undoubtedly the message to Donald Trump of the whole event has been, look, multilateralism matters. We must work together.
SOARES: I'm listening to you and looking at the live pictures coming in from Portsmouth, England. We are awaiting to see if that is the president inside the helicopter. We will keep an eye on that for you. He is going there. He will mark the 75th --
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SOARES: -- commemoration anniversary of D-Day. Of course, this is when Allied troops invaded Normandy, France, on June 6th, 1944, to fight Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
This is day three of the state visit for President Trump.
Do you think he has been moved by what he has seen here? PEEL: I think he loved the pomp and circumstance.
SOARES: The attention.
PEEL: That's what Donald Trump is all about. I think this does matter, too. He believes in the military. He believes in America's might. That actually was very much on show there. This was America leading the real fight back against the Nazis. So that's important to him.
I think it's gone pretty well this visit. Actually, the demonstrations, which he tried to ignore, demonstrations against him, he hasn't seen. He has moved on, water off a duck's back.
SOARES: Phil Black is with us in Portsmouth. We are looking at the live pictures of the helicopter. We are not sure if it is the president. I apologize if I have to interrupt. This is about the D- Day commemorations. We are marking this important date, not about the political leaders but the men who were there.
More than 300 veterans. Oh, apologies, Phil. That is President Trump. Arriving in Portsmouth, England. Let's listen in -- and first lady Melania Trump. Both arriving in Portsmouth, England. It's about 9:50 here.
He will take part in D-Day celebrations in Portsmouth. Of course, D- Day was when Allied troops invaded Normandy, France, June the 6th, 1944.
We heard in the last few minutes from what President Trump is likely to talk about today. He will read from a prayer from President Roosevelt, which he delivered to the nation by radio on that day, June 6th, 1944, in which he spoke to the country for the first time about the Normandy operation.
I want to go back, if we still have Phil Black.
I was asking you before we took those live images the importance of hearing from the veterans. More than 300 or so will actually be there today.
BLACK: That is right. President Trump has landed nearby. We expect him to make a short motorcade journey. We are close to the location for the ceremonies, which is where there will be a strong --
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SOARES: We seem to have lost Phil.
But what Phil was pointing out, there will be a huge contingent of world leaders there. You were pointing out that one absence is Putin, who is meeting with Xi Jinping today.
But it's also going to be about the veterans today.
And it's about hearing from them those memories of what that day meant.
PEEL: Absolutely and some extraordinary stories and wonderful clarity to a memory. I do think it brings it home to people, the sheer discomfort, of bravery.
I was listening to one of the old veterans about how they were nearly to embark the previous day and then the weather was too bad and they sat on the landing craft, bucketing around in the harbor in Portsmouth, feeling dreadfully seasick and not knowing what was happening. Just hanging on and waiting for the thing to happen.
I can't imagine how tough they must have been.
SOARES: I heard one veteran saying this morning in a radio interview, I had such a great time. I was a bit surprised. It is something; he was there with his companions and a moment in history that changed the landscape for us.
PEEL: Yes, absolutely. I don't think they absolutely knew what was going to happen. They were like, was this a real landing or another training exercise?
The whole thing was kept under such wraps of secrecy until the very last moment. So there they were. But it was a key moment in the war, when a new front was opened up. Something the Russians were screaming for us to do. We had to get it right. It wasn't going to be a massacre.
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SOARES: Quentin, we will talk after the break. We will take you live to Portsmouth. Stay with CNN for more on the D-Day commemorations.
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SOARES: Welcome back to CNN.
I want to show you live images we had moments ago. President Trump arriving in Portsmouth, England, with first lady Melania Trump. They will take part in D-Day commemorations today along with other world leaders.
The queen will be there as well as Prince Charles. It will be a day full of musical performances, military displays and testimonial readings. In the last 20 minutes, we learned the president will read from the prayer that Franklin Roosevelt delivered on June 6th, 1944, about the Normandy operation.
You hear music behind me. There is a brass band about to come behind us. Quentin Peel is here. A bit more pomp for you.
Quentin, let's talk about what we can expect today. Donald Trump will give an excerpt from the prayer that Roosevelt gave on that day. I have no doubt that President Trump will be moved by what he sees and hears in Portsmouth today.
PEEL: Yes, I'm sure. This is a moment of tribute to the veterans. It is a moment of theater. We know Donald Trump loves theater. It also brings together these 15 heads of state and heads of government from all the countries who were Allies and, very importantly, from Germany, too.
Angela Merkel will be there, not somebody Donald Trump gets on with very well. But it is a real gesture with both sides of the war are saying and, in the statement together, saying never again.
SOARES: A moment of theater and moment of reflection, the importance that you hinted at, the importance of having allies of multilateralism and cooperation.
PEEL: Very much. That has been, in a way, the subtheme of the trip of Donald Trump's to Britain. The British theme has been multilateralism matters. We have to work together, a very clear message to an American president who believes in America first.
SOARES: We heard that from the queen, the first person who mentioned the importance of the international institutions.
PEEL: Yes, absolutely. I think she believes in that very much. To the queen, the commonwealth is absolutely central. Nonetheless, the commonwealth, the United Nations, she believes that reaching out --
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PEEL: -- is the best way and working together. Not only the queen but, interestingly, we heard that Prince Charles had a 90-minute one- on-one conversation with Donald Trump about climate change.
SOARES: How awkward for President Trump. President Trump does not believe climate change is real. He pulled out of the Paris climate accord. Kudos to Prince Charles for pushing something that is so dear to him, isn't it?
He also has shown, President Trump has shown disdain for so many of the institutions that many of us respect, the likes of NATO and of the E.U. as well, of NAFTA. He has been highly critical of this.
I wonder whether this cooperation and what he has seen in the last few days and what he will see today, whether it will change his perspective or will he remain America first?
PEEL: I think it will remain America first. I think Donald Trump is pretty clear about that and that's what appeals to his base in America. After all, even a trip like this is still very much for him about how it plays back home.
So I don't think he's going to be transformed. Nonetheless, it has been a consistent message. It began last week, with Angela Merkel going to Harvard University and making a very firm defense of multilateralism in his own backyard.
So all of those things are hammering the message home. I think the danger with Donald Trump is it could work either way. He could resent being lectured to, if you like, by these former allies.
SOARES: It has done diplomatically. I doubt he will see it is a lecture. Some see it as a draft of Winston Churchill foundation for the U.N. or the book that the queen gave him. He was making light of it. But it means so much to the queen as well I'm sure to Theresa May.
Let's talk about it. You say for President Trump, America first is the most important thing because it plays to his base, with the 2020 elections coming up.
How does that change this relationship?
I won't call it a special relationship.
How does it change the rapport with both countries?
You have Britain post-Brexit trying to be global Britain against America that is very much America first.
PEEL: I think it will be Britain first and America first. Actually the idea of global Britain is a bit for the birds.
SOARES: You don't think Britain wants to be a global Britain?
(CROSSTALK)
PEEL: I think Britain wants to be more global Britain. But I think Britain outside of the European Union is going to be less influential and actually going to China or India as just Britain will not count for so much.
So there's a real problem facing the Brits. We will be inevitably much more Britain first, which is in tune with President Trump. That's if and when we leave. We are stuck in a terrible place. We are not going anywhere at the moment.
SOARES: If and when and who is in charge because, if we have a Brexiteer or a Remainer. We don't know where we will go.
PEEL: It's an extraordinary moment we are in. We don't know where the hell we're going. The politics in the country is in a shambles. For three days with Donald Trump arriving, the Brits have been able to almost put it aside.
But actually we don't know who's going to be the next prime minister and we don't know if we're leaving the European Union.
SOARES: What do you think came out of this state visit?
Not for President Trump, because he clearly will go away moved by the pomp that he saw and treatment from the queen and the royal family. From the U.K. perspective, do we get anything out of this?
PEEL: I think people will say, oh, we still are important to the Americans. We still matter. I think we should be somewhat cautious about that because it's very clear that when President Trump says you will get the most phenomenal trade deal, what he means it is phenomenal for the U.S. I'm not sure it will be so phenomenal for the United Kingdom.
SOARES: Because he will push a hard bargain?
PEEL: Yes, he will push a very hard bargain and at the moment we're the ones who've got the trade surplus, we, the U.K. And America wants to sell more to us.
SOARES: Quentin, stay with us. I want to bring in Max Foster.
We saw President Trump arrive in the last 20 minutes. Give me a sense of what you are seeing on the ground.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Isa, a photo with other world leaders here in Portsmouth. They gathered --
[05:55:00]
FOSTER: -- here, all of the countries involved all those years ago in D-Day. This is one of the main launch points really. There will be a ceremony taking place, a musical show and readings from various leaders.
We will hear from President Macron and Theresa May and also hearing from Justin Trudeau, giving readings from famous speeches and those who were involved in the D-Day landings. And we will hear from President Trump. He will give a reading and a tribute on behalf of the United States.
So a big moment reflecting history with 16 world leaders. Also we will hear from the queen at the end, where she will speak on behalf of all of the world leaders involved, the heads of government involved, followed by a fly pass which will be spectacular.
Then, Isa, a day would not be complete without the Red Arrows. That is later on today.
SOARES: Absolutely. Critically, not just about world leaders, Max, but also the veterans, 300 or so veterans expected there and hearing from them what happened on that day that changed history. Max Foster in Portsmouth.
That does it for us this hour. I'll be back in the next few minutes for more. Stay right here with CNN.
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