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Trump Issues Stark Warning To North Korea In Speech; Trump Calls On China, Russia To Pressure Pyongyang; Democrats Win Virginia And New Jersey Governor's Races; Sheriff: Pastor Knew Suspect, Did Not Want Him at Church; President Trump Arrives In China for Third Stop of Asia Trip. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired November 8, 2017 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:00:00] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause, live in Los Angeles where it has just turned 10:00 here on the West Coast. And at this hour, Air Force One is expected to touch down in Beijing. The third and possibly most important stop on the U.S. president's 12-day visit to Asia. But before arriving in China, Mr. Trump called on Beijing to do a lot more to end the nuclear threat from North Korea. During an address to South Korea's national assembly, the president offered the North Koreans a better future through diplomacy. But he also directly warned Kim Jong-un not to mistake American restraint for weakness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, I hope I speak not only for our countries but for all civilized nations. When I say to the north, do not underestimate us. And do not try us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: North Korea officials were apparently closely watching what the president had to say. Even though, before the speech, they told CNN's Will Ripley, who was in Pyongyang, "We don't care about what the mad dog may utter because we've already heard enough." Well, for more on this we're joined by Paula Hancocks in Seoul; Matt Rivers is standing by in Beijing. Here in Los Angeles, CNN Political Commentators, Democratic Strategist Dave Jacobson and Talk Radio Host and Trump Supporter John Phillips. But Paula, we will start with you. Just a day earlier, the president seemed to indicate his willingness to go into negotiations, to make a deal. But then, he blew this very blunt warning now to North Korea, and specifically to Kim Jong-un.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, this was an interesting speech, John, it was almost like he was trying a different tack. There were none of the blatant threats or the attacks on the North Korean leader himself by calling him little rocket man, anything like that. But really the attack and the insults that we saw within this speech could well actually offend North Korea more than the threats of war. When you look at what he's talking about, he was talking about the

stark contrast between North and South Korea. The fact that in North Korea, the human rights abuses have been devastating over the years. The fact that the North Korean leader is more concerned with his nuclear and missile program than he is with feeding his own people, talking of the famine, talking of the gulags.

Now, all of this, of course, based in fact. But the way he laid it out was really very cutting, very blunt. And it's something that quite likely the North Korean regime is not going to take at all. He also said that, talking about Kim Il-sung, the grandfather who founded North Korea, who many in North Korea still have quite an affinity with saying North Korea is not the paradise your grandfather envisioned, it is a hell that no person deserves.

So, it really went a lot further than many people really expected him to. Not the threats to destroy North Korea if need be, but really showing that he can take almost the moral high ground, showing that this is what North Korea is, how can other countries support this, John?

VAUSE: OK. And with that in mind, Paula, we'll head over to Matt, who's in Beijing. And Matt, Donald Trump also called out Russia and China during that speech. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: All responsible nations must join forces to isolate the brutal regime of North Korea, to deny it and any form, any form of it. You cannot support, you cannot supply, you cannot accept. We call on every nation, including China and Russia, to fully implement U.N. Security Council Resolutions, downgrade diplomatic relations with the regime, and sever all ties to trade and technology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, Matt, Donald Trump will be meeting with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the coming hours. What is Xi expected to say to Donald Trump? What will his reaction be to what he said just hours ago in Seoul?

[01:05:01] MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, you and I have spent the last year, two years now, talking about how China's strategic calculation when it comes to North Korea has not really changed. Yes, they've signed on to harsher, more tough sanctions drafted by the U.N. Security Council, but their strategic calculation that North Korea continues to be a buffer against the U.S. and the South Koreans and the southern part of the peninsula hasn't changed. And whether that's going to change when Donald Trump comes here and meets Xi Jinping, I think most people, most analysts would scoff at that idea that over one day the Chinese would really completely change their viewpoint on this issue.

But one thing that Donald Trump pointed to during that speech that Paula alluded to when she was talking, he really took the approach of almost an argument of morality, if you will. Talking about how can countries like China look at themselves in the mirror, if you will, and continue to support a regime that brutally starves its own people that puts them in forced labor camps that tortures political prisoners. How could you continue to support that regime, not only from a political security standpoint but from a moral argument standpoint?

Now, whether that lands here in China, whether that changes things at all, that's to be seen, it probably won't. But that gives maybe a glimpse into Donald Trump's thinking, what is he going to argue, how is he going to try to change Xi Jinping's mind on all of this and get China to use its economic leverage against Pyongyang. Perhaps, that morality argument might have something to, might have -- might play into the Trump administration's position here.

VAUSE: Yes, good luck. OK. Matt, thank you. Matt Rivers there in Beijing; Paula Hancocks, also with us live in Seoul. Let's to our panel now, Political Commentators Dave Jacobson and John Phillips. OK. Dave, the speech wasn't the total disaster that so many people had feared. There were some concerns that, you know, Donald Trump would go off a script that he would again taunt, you know, Kim Jong- un, call him rocket man, that didn't happen. In fact, he was even talking about diplomacy at one point. But that came with one key demand before any negotiations can begin with North Korea. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Despite every crime, you have committed against God and man, you are ready to offer and we will do that, we will offer a path to a much better future. It begins with an end to the aggression of your regime. A stop to your development of ballistic missiles. And complete, verifiable, and total denuclearization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: OK. So, on one hand, obviously there's now this off-ramp, if you like, you know, been applying pressure for so long, now there's this offer of talks. But the precondition of ending the nuclear program is a non-starter, right it? So, where does this all go from here?

DAVE JACOBSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I mean, think he came off sort of all over the map. I mean, this is the guy who a couple of weeks ago, maybe a month ago, undercut his secretary of state who said, hey Rex, you know, the talking isn't working, give it up.

VAUSE: Give it up, yes.

JACOBSON: So, and then, he shifted today to more of a diplomatic strategy. And I think the tough talk with China, in particular -- I hope I'm wrong -- but I think he's setting himself up for failure. China just intensified sanctions against North Korea, obviously, I support and I think Democrats and Republicans agree. We want tougher sanctions against North Korea. I just don't think there's necessarily going to be any movement on that front. And if Donald Trump fails to deliver on this trip tomorrow, I think it's going to raise real questions of whether or not he's a weaker president and he actually can get China to do anything further on this issue.

VAUSE: Yes. I guess, John, it seems, you know, with this speech, Donald Trump now finds himself pretty much in the same position as, you know, the past several presidents have been in. You know, eventually, he'll wrap his head around the fact that China is not going to solve this.

JOHN PHILLIPS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND TALK RADIO HOST: Well, he's a businessman and he wants to cut a deal. I think we make a big mistake when we talk about how crazy Kim Jong-un is.

VAUSE: Oh, yes, he's not.

PHILLIPS: He looks weird, and, you know, acts weird, and does weird things. But in terms of being a thuggish, brutal dictator, he's quite rational. So, he's going over there with the carrots and sticks, he's trying to give the guy an off-ramp to avoid nuclear war, and avoid a greater escalation to the trouble they're causing in the region, and he's sticking to the themes that he's talked about throughout the campaign and throughout his presidency.

China is the big dog in the region, nothing over there is going to happen without China getting on board. And you know, they love to go to the U.N., they love to pass these huge grandiose resolutions about human rights. Well, you can't be in favor of human rights and support that regime; they're mutually exclusive and I'm happy he called them out.

VAUSE: Look, absolutely, and it's been a long time since a U.S. president has been something like that. The problem though is, John is that Donald Trump is assuming China's interests are the same as American interests, and they're not. And so, until he sort of gets the point of realizing that they are playing a different game here, then this strategy seems to be a losing one right now.

PHILLIPS: Well, China is an economy that's expanding, China likes to do business with us, China likes to do business with the rest of the world. And if you want to continue to grow that economy and move into the 21st century, as they do, you need stability in that region. You can't have the despot launching missiles over Japan into the ocean right and left. That creates instability that could really damage their economy.

[01:10:07] VAUSE: OK. Another major part of the speech came with a warning to the North Koreans. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We will not permit America or our allies to be blackmailed or attacked. We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction. We will not be intimidated. And we will not let the worst atrocities in history be repeated here on this ground we fought and died so hard to secure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Dave that seems to be yet a whole lot of red lines being drawn by this administration, which he has drawn before which the North Koreans have crossed.

JACOBSON: I mean, this sort of reminded me of his remarks at the U.N. general assembly recently where he essentially -- that was a thinly veiled threat, right? The challenge is, I don't see how this moves the needle forward in terms of the conversation, in terms of getting China to do anything or to getting the North Korean regime to move back from where they are right now. So, I think that's the real issue is, like, how is Donald Trump going to change the current situation because that speech didn't do it?

VAUSE: And also, John, in that speech, there were some carrots, not a lot of specifics on the carrots. It also came with a whole lot of sticks.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Well, I think you can't reinforce enough that if they attack us or one of our allies that it's game over for them. That Kim Jong-un has enjoyed his last taco bell with Dennis Rodman on planet Earth. And I think he's getting the message.

VAUSE: He's getting the message, but, you know, we've heard from, you know, the statements that they put out beforehand that we're not listening, we're going to double down on our nuclear program. And, you know, Donald Trump made the point that you know, these weapons are not making you safer. Which is contrary to every part of the ounce of their being in North Korea. They believe that with nuclear weapons, that ensures the regime's survival.

PHILLIPS: Right, it makes them a player, it makes them a player on the global stage. But again, if they do, I mean, what happens if they're shooting one of those things in the air, whether it's just going to be a test and something horrific happens, and they end up accidentally hitting an ally of ours? It's game over for them.

VAUSE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: So, they need to know that.

VAUSE: OK. The president also, you know, had a message, he called on the rest of the world to act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The time for excuses is over. Now is the time for strength. If you want peace, you must stand strong at all times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, Dave, what I found interesting about this is that you know, there seems to be the sort of multi-national, multi-faceted approach, calling everyone to come together and work on this problem. Donald Trump is a president who deals one on one in a transactional manner with countries. He doesn't work well in groups, right? JACOBSON: He's not a collaborator. He's someone who knows how to

build consensus.

VAUSE: Doesn't play well with others.

JACOBSON: Right, and he, like, campaigned on the platform of being the isolationist guy, too, like, get us out of wars. And now, he's throwing out threats all over the place. I mean, that's the challenge when you're Donald Trump -- is alienating your allies, whether it's the NATO allies that we've got, Canada, Mexico, you name it. And he's cozying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin. I mean, there are massive, you know, global issues like North Korea that need to be tackled through collaboration and bringing folks together -- some of the key countries around the world. And Donald Trump has really alienated our key allies. And so, it makes it difficult to, like, develop solutions around issues like this.

VAUSE: And John, finally, you know, how do, you know, this all resonate with, you know, what Dave was saying, with America first?

PHILLIPS: Well, I mean, national security is the first thing the government is supposed to do. And this guy could theoretically hit Guam, it could theoretically hit the Pacific Coast of the United States, Hawaii. Looking out for America's national security interests is putting America first.

VAUSE: And believe to that point of view though, if you're the president of the United States and saying, we don't really care about anybody else, it's going to be us, we're the number one, we're numero uno from now on, guys. And then, he goes out there, you know, and says, hey, but we need your help on North Korea. Yes, well, can we give a (INAUDIBLE) a hand here?

PHILLIPS: Well, ultimately the motivation is protecting the homeland, it's protecting the Pacific Coast.

VAUSE: But how do other countries do this? I mean, are you willing to go and help a country that says, hey, it's all about us, but now we need your help.

PHILLIPS: Well, you don't know a rocket man's going to point the missile. I mean, rocket man could point the missile at South Korea, he could point the missile at Hawaii. I think we're all in this together.

VAUSE: Chances are he won't point it at China and he won't point it at Russia. OK. You guys are going to stick around, we're going to take a short break.

And if you want to know how Donald Trump's Republicans did in the latest round of U.S. elections, take a look at New Jersey Democrat, Phil Murphy, he's a happy man. What made Tuesday night a very good night for Democrats. That's next here on NEWSROOM L.A.

[01:14:49] Also, ahead, the Texas church shooter had a well-known history of domestic violence. And why that is a common thread in so many mass shootings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON RIDDELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Don Riddell with your CNN WORLD SPORT headlines. The West Ham Football Club has confirmed that David Moyes as their new manager. He succeeds Slavin Bilic, he was fired on Monday. The former Everton, Manchester United, and Sunderland boss has a tough job on his hands. The hammers are in the relegation zone, and many fans are opposed to his recruitment. Moyes resigned from Sunderland in May after they've relegated from the Premier League.

Coping is a real problem is sports, and athletes who agreed to work with the authorities to help stampede out should be applauded. And one would assume that such athletes are clean. So, there's a bit of a shock when Kenya's Olympic marathon champion, Jemima Sumgong, has the positive for the banned (INAUDIBLE) EPO. She's been banned for four years. Sumgong claimed that the (INAUDIBLE) was an assistant because she'd been receiving treatment for an ectopic pregnancy. But the authorities couldn't find any record of her hospital visit and dismissed her story.

And South Korea's young sensation, Park Sung-hyun has just found from the top of the world rankings in her very first year on the OPGA tour. A couple of titles including a major victory propelled her to the summit, Sung-hyun is the latest in the long line of a dominant career in golfers, and she's the fourth from her country to become world number one. That is a quick look at your sports headlines. I'm Don Riddell.

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody! Democrats are riding a wave of anti- Trump sentiment through victory in Virginia. Ralph Northam won the governor's race over Republican Ed Gillespie. Democrats also won races for lieutenant governor and state attorney general appear poised to take a majority in the Virginia statehouse.

A New Jersey Democrat, Phil Murphy, will be taking the state's top job there, which was held by Chris Christie. He beat out the current lieutenant governor; she was dragged down by dismal ratings for the outgoing Republican Governor Christ Christie.

OK. CNN Political Commentators, Dave Jacobson, and John Phillips, back with me now. Also, here in Los Angeles, Associate Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University, Michael Shires. So, thank you all for sticking -- thank you for sticking around, Michael. Thank you for being with us.

OK. John, the Democrats said the governor's race in Virginia was a referendum on Donald Trump, it was a bellwether for next year's midterm elections, tell me why they're wrong?

PHILLIPS: Because as Tip O'Neill said, all politics is local. This is a state that's gone for the Democrats in three consecutive presidential cycles. They have a history of electing whichever party did not win the White House to be governor. As was the case, this particular time. You look at other states where -- that are blue states, where Republican governors are doing very well. And the state of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, is the most popular governor in the country right now. Larry Hogan, in the deeply blue state of Maryland, is the second-most popular governor in the country. So, I think the politics of this particular race were specific to that state as is the case with state and local politics in most cases.

[01:20:20] VAUSE: Dave?

JACOBSON: I love you, John, but I don't buy that argument. There's no denying it. Like, this was a referendum on Donald Trump. Donald Trump was on the ballot, he was attached at the hip with Ed Gillespie. And the fact is, you know, Ralph Northam outperformed Hillary Clinton with women, for example. He won with 21 percent of women. Where Hillary only won with 17.

What was fascinating: was he outperformed Donald Trump, who won with married women by one point, and Ralph, of course, won by a whopping nine percent. So, I think this was a body blow to the Republican agenda, but it's not just the top of the ticket. Like, down-ballot Democrats picked up four state assembly seats, they elected their first transgender member to the statehouse, two Latinas, for the first time ever to the statehouse. So, we're winning down-ballot, not just top-ballot.

We've flipped the New Jersey governor's race, of course. And then, of course in Seattle where there was this one sort of pivotal state senate race for control of the upper chamber in the state of Washington, Democrats are poised to win that race as well. So, this was like a blue wave night for Democrats.

VAUSE: You've had a lot of coffee tonight, right?

(LAUGHTER)

JACOBSON: I'm just stating the facts.

VAUSE: You know, one thing though, answer me this, because, for weeks now Democrats have been sweating bullets over this governor's race in Virginia. You know, but why? Because, you know, Democrats have won every statewide race there since 2009. Exit polls show that the U.S. president's approval rating among Virginia voters at 42 percent. A little higher than the national average but still awful. If they couldn't win this election, then what election could they win? Because they haven't won any up until to this point.

JACOBSON: Right. Well, and we were texting earlier today, I was nervous about this race. I'll be upfront about it. I mean, the fact is the polls were closing in. It was a razor-thin margin. I think Northam was up by like two points or something like that. And like, look, he had some self-inflicted wounds that were totally unnecessary where he sort of waffled on the sanctuary cities issue. And then, of course, he was getting hit for not including his lieutenant governor candidate who's the first or only, pardon me, African-American candidate on the ballot statewide in Virginia. And he was getting knocked for not including him on campaign mailers, like.

Those are unforced errors that, like, he shouldn't have been embracing. And so, I think, like, Democrats were nervous going into that election because, you know, those are part of the issues. But also, like, Ralph Northam is not a progressive, he's not a sort of new Democrat, not an Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders-esque candidate; he's an establishment guy. And right now, you do have an identity crisis within the National Democratic Party, there's no secret about that. But -- so, I think that adds credence to why Democrats were nervous, is this was kind of the establishment guy and a lot of Democrats have been turned off by that.

VAISE: OK. Mike, just to bring you on this. The Republican, Ed Gillespie, he kind of had tried to have a bet each way here. He didn't really embrace Donald Trump, he didn't ask him to come to the state to campaign for him, for example, and Trump stayed away. But he did adopt a lot of the sort of Trump campaign tactics. You know, hitting immigration, race, all these issues. That, though, seems to have been a losing tactic, at least in this election. So, what's the takeaway here for Republicans?

MICHAEL SHIRES, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC POLICY AT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY: Well, I mean, I don't think this is the big blue wave that Dave was talking about. I mean, this was a state that's gone Democrat a lot lately. And it went Democrat. I think it's a sigh of relief for Democrats because they took an election that a year ago they got their heads handed to them. And it turned around this time and it actually went the way they thought it was going to go.

And I actually give Hillary Clinton a lot of the credit for this race, because, I think, it was her poor performance last time that got the Democratic Party so focused and energized that they've been able to turn out as well as they have. I think on the Republican side, I don't fault Ed Gillespie as much as I fault a National Republican Party that really hasn't stood for anything and really hasn't accomplished anything as a party.

And I think it was really hard for him. I mean, he tried to tie into the Trump agenda, but the Trump agenda hasn't gone very far yet. And so, I don't think there was any momentum for him to borrow from there. So, I really think this was more about the last election and the Democrats kind of getting their act together in Virginia more than it was, you know, is this going to be a precursor of what happens in the midterms next year?

VAUSE: OK. In his victory speech, Governor-elect Northam seemed to direct some of his comments, at least, to the president and Republicans who follow his politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RALPH NORTHAM, GOVERNOR-ELECT, VIRGINIA: Today, Virginians have answered and have spoken. Virginia has told us to end the divisiveness that we will not condone hatred and bigotry. And to end the politics that have torn this country apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, John, that's it, it's all going to be friendly and nice from now on, no more of this gutter politics that we've seen for the last year or so.

[01:25:01] PHILLIPS: Who would have thought that this guy would think that his election was the pivotal moment in American politics that changed the direction of the country?

VAUSE: Clearly, he does.

PHILLIPS: They have this screwy system where they have term limits, where you can only serve one four-year term. Terry McAuliffe, the Democrat incumbent, is very popular there, his lieutenant governor ran and was elected. I don't see this as being something that's going to change the course of American politics.

I will say this, though, that the White people with college degrees that did turn out for Northam this time and voted for Hillary Clinton in the last presidential election, that is a trend that I think you will see in areas like Northern Virginia where they work for the government. But the exact opposite is true in states like Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, where people who work in different industries, people who don't work for the government, are trending in the opposite direction. I think the problems the Democrats had before are the same today and the problem that the Republicans had before are the same today as well.

VAUSE: OK. Dave, I'm just curious though, because, you know, one of the, you know, the criticisms of Gillespie is that, you know, he didn't embrace Trump, but at the same time, he used a sort of Trumpian tactics. So, do Republicans look at that down the track and say, OK, we've got to move away from, you know, that kind of campaigning -- you know, race and immigration that sort of stuff? Or do they just go full throttle, embrace that sort of Trump campaign tactics, and embrace the president?

JACOBSON: Well -- look. I think, you know, a nine-point loss is substantial.

VAUSE: It's pretty big, yes.

JACOBSON: And, you know, I think if I'm a Republican, I'm thinking back to what Barack Obama said. I think after the 2010 election, which was, we had a shellacking tonight, right? So, clearly, the Trump tactic didn't work. And I think also like, look, you're seeing in the national polling where Donald Trump's approval rating is starting to tick down below what we've seen historically, which has been around at the mid-30s.

VAUSE: Yes.

JACOBSON: The floor's starting to come out, and independents, and sort of soft Republican Trump people are starting to peel away from the president. I think he's having around 33 or 34 percent approval ratings. So, all these other Republicans who are campaigning, whether it's 2017 or 2018, they're riding Trump's coattails. And I think you're going to start to see some space and a little bit of a gap between, you know, them embracing him moving forward as we look to 2018. VAUSE: Yes. OK. Even though the president is in Asia, he didn't

weigh in before dawn with three tweets on behalf of Gillespie, critical of Democrat Northam, this is what I'll read, "A Ralph Northam will allow crime to be rampant in Virginia -- he's weak on crime, weak on our great vets, anti-second amendment, and has been horrible on Virginia economy." Also, this, "Vote Ed Gillespie today! Ed Gillespie will totally turn around the high crime and poor economic performance of Virginia, MS-13, which a crime gang and crime will be gone. Vote today ASAP."

But the results came in, and it was clear that he'd lost. "Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for. Don't forget Republicans won four out of four house seats. And with the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win even bigger than before." Michael, this is the second time in the past few months, the president has backed a losing candidate. What is the impact of this loss for, you know, a president who's already pretty badly weakened?

SHIRES: Well, I mean, you know, President Trump is still trying to get some of his agenda through Congress. And if he gets a win there, then all of this goes away. You know, you have these little wins and these little losses along the way. But the bottom line is, if his agenda moves forward, if he's able to, for example, get the tax legislation through, I think that's going to be transformative. And that's really going to -- that's going to define the midterm elections. It's not going to be whether, you know, a candidate in a state where the Democrats got really well organized, in my opinion, and came out and turned out the vote, actually managed to beat one of the candidates he endorsed.

VAUSE: Yes. The headline really, you know, Democrats win Virginia isn't, you know, really shocking at the end of the day. But Michael, thank you for being with us, welcome to the show for the first time. Also, John and Dave, as always, thank you.

[01:28:46] Up next here on NEWSROOM L.A., there are new details on the violent past of the Texas church gunman; we will hear from a survivor of that massacre who says the shooter went after everyone he saw moving.

[01:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles, I'm John Vause. Now according to a police report, the Texas shooter Devin Kelley escaped from a mental health facility five years ago after threatening military commanders. And despite a history of jail tied to domestic violence he passed background checks and legally purchased a number of firearms because the U.S. Air Force failed to report his conviction.

Kelley had attended the church where he killed 25 people and an unborn child. The pastor of the church, his 14-year-old daughter was among those killed, said he did not want Kelley as part of his congregation. And from one survivor, harrowing account of what happened inside that church last Sunday. Roseanne Solis tells us (INAUDIBLE) what she saw and what she heard as victims as young as 17 months old died nearby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSEANNE SOLIS: Yes, he said -- he heard him, I didn't because I had my ears covered. What did he say? Well, hey, everybody die (BLEEP)." That's what he said. "Everybody's going to die (BLEEP)." That's what he said.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When he came in, can you describe what you thought the minute you saw him? The way he's shooting out, he was walking in the door?

SOLIS: Yes. He was going through the aisles all around with his -- with his -- it wasn't a handgun, it was a pistol or a -- he was looking all around and shooting at everybody, just going through the rows shooting at everybody. First he went in straight to where the guys that sing, they were up, he shot them first.

And the lady, I guess, their mom or I don't know, the -- they're related, I know. But yes, all that family got shot. Yes. He is the one that saw his face, I didn't because I just saw his feet. I didn't want to move.

I knew that was going to be my last day to live. I did not even want to look at his, you know, I was hiding under the bench. I did not want to breathe, look, nothing. And he --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened next?

SOLIS: So what happened next, he was shooting -- as he was shooting down, we could see -- me and him were -- he was trying to put his head on top of me so he could, you know, try to prevent the bullets from coming down on us.

[01:35:09] There was -- all of us were together. It was me, him, and some other -- a little boy and -- that we were all laying around each other and screaming. And what happened next? I told them -- I told him to get out of there because this was going to be our last day to live.

I told him, try to go somewhere where they're not shooting us, save yourself, I told him because I know I'm going to die here. You know, I knew I was going to die. So he went kind of towards the back of the church.

I just went -- I don't even -- at that time I don't even know what happened after that because he, you know, he disappeared and I was still there with the rest of the people there. And then the guy was still shooting. He was shooting, I mean, he -- I think he shot more than 300 shots.

So then he -- it stopped for about, I would say, like, five minutes. And then I guess he must have reloaded and started again. Yes, he reloaded. He had a second time to reload his gun and started shooting again.

All these people were screaming and bleeding and nobody were -- got there to save us from that, you know, from the shooter. So he's inside. After that -- after the second round he was up there for a while.

I guess seconds must've gone by minutes. Maybe at least five more minutes and he was shooting and everybody -- well, he -- I could just see the people -- the bullets were coming right down. I could see it on the carpet, the bullets hitting -- passing me like that, you know.

And I could see it on the carpet. I said, "If I don't move from here, I'm going to die."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you tell me where you were?

SOLID: I was on the left -- on the bench -- on the left bench. When you come inside, there's benches to the left and to the right. I was under the bench.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When did you know you were hit? Like, how did you --

SOLIS: I didn't feel it because I had tooken my pain pill. I didn't feel it that much but I saw blood coming out because I had tooken my hydrocodone that I take for pain because I have a bone disease. And I saw -- I went like that and I saw the blood but I knew I had been hit, I could feel it then, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your husband saw his face? You did not but --

SOLIS: No, he did. He saw him when he ran outside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you ever see --

SOLIS: And when he came inside he saw him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was he wearing mask?

SOLIS: No, he wasn't wearing a mask. Joaquim? He was not wearing a mask right? He wasn't wearing a mask.

I just saw his shoes. I didn't want to look up or nothing to see -- to see -- he saw where he was going, so he could run out of the church. He was paying attention to when he went up and shot the people that were up in the front, the guy -- the family that passed away. And he was watching them so he could go through the front door because he was like going through the aisles, shooting, looking, you know, walking around with his rifle and --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Had you seen the shooter before?

SOLIS: Not me. He had, he saw him outside, but this was a couple of months back, about six months back that he saw him out -- outside of the church.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you pretend that you were dead as he walked by you?

SOLIS: Yes. He didn't walk by me. He did not walk by me. He was in, like, in the middle, like, when you go inside the door, he was in the aisle and he was pointing his rifle like that, he's looking -- look over here, look over there, and he was just shooting at everybody. Everything that would move or he could see.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you got up, you saw what he did?

SOLIS: After he left I got up. When he left -- 15 -- at least I waited 15 minutes or 20 minutes before I went outside. I wasn't about to go out there knowing that it was still dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did you see when you got up?

SOLIS: Hmm, blood, dead people, dead bodies, dead children all over the place. Outside people screaming, looking for each other. It was terrible, terrible.

Dead little bodies, dead with a whole bunch of blood. And a terrible scene. And it's just something that I don't want to think about anymore because it's always going to be there and -- but it was just horrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Gosh, a harrowing account there. And with that, we'll take a short break here. When we come back, U.S. President Donald Trump on his way to China, expected to touch down in Beijing at any moment now. This come after sending a very stark warning to the North Koreans.

[01:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. It seems the U.S. President Donald Trump has just touched down at China's capital Beijing. There's Air Force One on the tarmac, the stairs have gone up. We're now waiting for the president to come out. It is 2:43 in the afternoon.

A lot of people believe that this trip by Donald Trump to China, a two-day stopover, will be the most important of this 12-day long trip to Asia. One of the longest taken by any president to Asia and certainly the longest trip for this U.S. president. Just hours earlier before arriving in Beijing, Donald Trump addressed the national assembly in Seoul, South Korea.

And there he had a very blunt warning for the North Koreans, demanding an end to their nuclear program, also their illicit missile program as well. And during that speech he actually called on China and Russia to do a lot more to end that nuclear program. And of course, that is now one of the key takeaways from this two-day meeting in China.

Will Beijing actually be willing to do anymore to try and end that nuclear program and missile program of the North Koreans? China, of course, is North Korea's best friend, only friend really in the world. The relationship between those two countries described as close as lips and teeth during the days of Chairman Mao. Donald Trump also warned the North Koreans, don't underestimate us, don't take us on. It was a fairly stark warning in very Trumpian terms. As we wait for the president and the first lady to deplane as they like to say, we'll go to Matt Rivers who is actually live in Beijing.

We also have Daniel Lynch in Hong Kong. He's a professor at the City University of Hong Kong. OK. Matt, so, you know, Beijing it seems it's pulling out all the stops here for a very, very warm welcome for the U.S. President. What can we expect?

[01:45:03] MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is going to be a highly symbolic visit here in Beijing. The government here calling it a super state visit because of the special things that Donald Trump are going to be able -- is going to be able to take part. And it's going to start this evening at the Forbidden City inside the old Imperial Palace here in Beijing where the president and the first lady will get a tour alongside China's first lady and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

But perhaps more symbolic than just the tour is the fact that they're going to be eating dinner inside the Forbidden City. It might seem like a minor point there but no U.S. president has ever been given that honor. And so the Chinese are definitely really rolling out the red carpet for Donald Trump, giving him an honor.

Something that he can point to and say, look, no other U.S. president has done this. I have a good relationship with Xi Jinping and you can prove it because we have dinner inside the Forbidden City. So China is definitely engaging in showing Donald Trump a good time, showing him that he's respected here in China and they're hoping that that will have an impact on what they're able to accomplish from a diplomatic standpoint.

It's also worth noting, John, that Xi Jinping is doing that for his own domestic political audience as well, saying that he can have dinner in a place where emperors once ruled China. We know that Xi Jinping has consolidated more power than any other Chinese leaders since Chairman Mao. So Xi Jinping really putting himself on the same toe-to-toe, really, with Donald Trump.

Two major world leaders that Xi Jinping views them as equals.

VAUSE: And Daniel, just to pick up on that point about, you know, the way that Chinese is describing this, is that Chinese Ambassador Washington described the trip as a state visit plus, I've never heard that term used before. Not even on saying anything during talks, military honor guard, and formal banquet and some special arrangements, what the -- whatever that is.

It does seems that Xi Jinping has went from, for instance, Emmanuel Macron, knowing that Donald Trump likes a show. Is this a case of flatter the ego and win the heart?

DANIEL LYNCH, PROFESSOR, CITY UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: Yes, I think we need to keep in mind, though, John that unlike Russia, China under Xi Jinping has a real interest in the United States maintaining political stability and international strength. And I think there'll probably many opportunities for Xi Jinping during the last year to bait President Trump, try to get him to something that he might regret, that might cause the United States to lose face or (INAUDIBLE) some stuff. Power hits internationally, he's refrained from doing that.

I think it underscores that China recognizes again, unlike Russia, that in order for China's rise to continue or it's economic growth to continue at -- even at rates lower than but still healthy than in the recent past, it really needs a strong and stable United States. And so I also think -- so the welcome will be really warm and impressive, but it also highlight the impressive part. When Donald Trump rides in from the airport and into the center of Beijing.

He'll ride down and ride on those wide thoroughfares with those huge tall imposing buildings and in Tiananmen Square. He's about to be -- I think if he's like any other person awestruck and really recognizes in the center of a -- of an imperial capital of a very strong China.

VAUSE: Yes, that drive from the airport down to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, yes, it is very impressive and, you know, the Chinese (INAUDIBLE) you know, they beautify the city, they stopped the factories so there's no pollution. They plant the flowers, I mean, they make the place look amazing. But, you know, what is interesting, though, is, you know, despite, you know, what's on the surface, if you look at what's behind the surface, here in the U.S., we just had this selection, you know, in Virginia, New Jersey but Virginia is the one who wear the democrats, they've swept the field (INAUDIBLE) anti-Trump wave, if you like.

Donald Trump's opinion polls at the lowest, we're saying Republicans, you know, resign out of protest because of his leadership style. Basically the president, you know, under investigation, you know, over the Russia's involvement in the election and, you know, how close the Trump rolled -- whatever role the Trump campaign played you in that. Now this is a president who is not in a very strong position, negotiating with Xi Jinping, a president who has, you know, is an incredibly strong position.

The strongest position in China since Mao Zedong, that's a huge power imbalance right now for these two men.

LYNCH: It is and I think that's why President Trump will want some deliverables that he can take home, some promises that, I think, Chinese companies, whether private or state-owned or some combination there will make the purchase some U.S. goods, maybe (INAUDIBLE) invest in U.S. infrastructure because, of course, President Trump needs some (INAUDIBLE) on this -- on this trip. And I think because, again, on the strategic interest that China under Xi Jinping has in the United States remaining stable and prosperous.

Now, the Chinese, they will give him some of those concrete victories.

VAUSE: And with just watching U.S. President and the first lady leave -- walking down the stairs from Air Force One, they're being greeted there on the tarmac. Can't see who is making up the delegation there, who's actually greeting the president.

[01:49:59] But you can see this is just the start of the pumping circumstance of the president's visit to Beijing. And so, Matt, we were just to bring you back into all of this. One of the things that the president is looking for is obviously progress on North Korea but there's also a whole bunch of other issues, in particular trade that he needs to be resolved.

And he's hoping to go back to the U.S. with some of those wins under his belt. Specifically, what are they?

RIVERS: Well, one of the things that we've talked to a lot about here with American companies based here, American businessmen and women based here have been talking about access to China's markets. One of the things that we've spoken a lot about here is the fact that China, really according to these people we've spoken to, has an unequal playing field for American business getting access to the Chinese market. For example, having to partner with Chinese companies.

If you want to build cars here in China, if you're Ford, for example, you need to partner with the Chinese company. You need to give certain quality control secrets to the Chinese. You have to show the best practiced. That kind of information with the Chinese.

And what American companies say is that makes their competitive balance exclusive and it puts it in favor of the Chinese. You see, the Chinese government is favoring nascent industry. So that's one of the things he's going to be looking at, getting American Company is a equal playing field there in China.

VAUSE: Yes, the dreaded joint venture with the state-owned company in China. Matt and Daniel, I'd like you to stay with us. We are watching the U.S. president about to get in the limousine and do that very impressive drive from the airport into the city. It is 1:51 right here, on the east coast it's 2:51 in the afternoon in Beijing. We'll take a short break and we'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thank you for staying with CNN. I'm meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for CNN weather watch. Here's what's going on across North America right now, with cold air beginning to really make its impact felt throughout portions of the City of Manitoba to (INAUDIBLE) work its way into Southern Canada and eventually into the Northern United States. It is all wintry across that region and we're seeing some impacts of it as (INAUDIBLE) exit portions of (INAUDIBLE) cold enough air to support some snow showers across the western portion of the planes.

But beyond that, wet weather expected in particular for Dallas down into the single digits after a history starts in November with a high last week of 34 degrees, 9 the best they can do. Even New York City into the upper 20s last week, 10 the high temperature and it just gets colder over the next couple of days. In particular around the north eastern United States, but notice, it is extremely short-lived, so we get about of what is essentially January-like temperatures for just about a day or two and then eventually warms up right back.

[01:55:08] New York drops down to 3, Washington down to 4, their coolest on Friday. Even down around the southern U.S., the lower teens, what would you expect? Fourteen out of Atlanta. That's a big storm system right there on the western United States, expect a lot of snow showers across the I-5 corridor.

There's the higher elevation in the course -- in the course of heavy rainfall expected in Northern California. All of that is beneficial. Let's go into the Bahamas upper 20. Mexico City, sunny skies, 26 degrees.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. Short time ago U.S. President Donald Trump touched down in Air Force One in Beijing. It is now going on 3:00 pm there in China's capital. He will be wined and dined by communist leaders in the Forbidden City, a rare honor for what is arguably the world's most famous capitalist and the first time a U.S. President has actually had that experience.

He arrives in Beijing after a visit to Seoul in South Korea, and while addressing the national assembly there, Donald Trump had a very stern warning to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. I was saying don't underestimate or try the U.S. He also offered the hope maybe of diplomatic talks to resolve the standoff with North Koreans over their nuclear and missile programs.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. We will have a lot more on this very significant visit by the U.S. president to Beijing in the next hour. We'll be back after a short break.

[02:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)