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Protests And Baby Blimp Await Trump In London; Trump Visit Prompts Warning For Americans In U.K.; U.K. Visit Comes Amid May's Struggle With Brexit; Harry & Meghan's Whirlwind Tour Of Ireland. Aired 12m-1a ET

Aired July 12, 2018 - 00:00   ET

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


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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour, beyond belief, NATO members left shocked by the increasing demands from Donald Trump. The U.S. president now wants NATO members to double their spending targets for defense.

New video from inside that Thai cave. What was it really like as they carried out one of the most daring and complicated rescues of all time.

Plus, over time surprise, Croatia takes down England and secures a spot in the World Cup final.

Hello. Welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm John Vause. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

In a few hours, Donald Trump attends a NATO meeting with the presidents of Georgia and Ukraine. Once again, his apparent preference for Russia over U.S. allies will be a focus. Plus, Mr. Trump suggested he might consider recognizing Russia's claim to Crimea.

Bringing up allies concerns about his upcoming summit with Vladimir Putin. All of this follows a day that left European diplomats done with one saying the president's performance was beyond belief. Mr. Trump suddenly doubled his defense spending to 4 percent of NATO members GDP and then he went out to Germany.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Germany as far as I'm concerned is captive to Russia because it is getting so much of its energy from Russia. We have to talk about the billions and billions of dollars that's being paid to the country that we're supposed to be protecting you against.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Nic Robertson joins us now live from Brussels. So, Nic, we were expecting the tussle in Brussels that began with a brawl at breakfast and we just heard Germany in particular was in the president's line of fire.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, though, did not let those accusations go by on remarks. Her response is tough if the tone was softer and her language is softer compared to the U.S. president. This is what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): Germany also does a lot for NATO. We are the second largest owner of troops. We put most of our military abilities into the service of NATO and we are strongly committed in Afghanistan where we also defend the interests of the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: This restrain response from Merkel seems to indicate the challenges she faces in dealing with Donald Trump.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. I think what we're seeing here, John, is an attempt by NATO, and we've heard this from the secretary of general, and I think this is, you know, Angela Merkel's tactic as well.

You know, full frontal assault by President Trump, but the idea here is that May present a united front because that's the message they want to send to Russia. They're concerned when President Trump shows up here with his bombastic attitude to berate people like Merkel.

You know, Germany is a country that provides the biggest financial contribution of all European NATO allies. It's increase spend from 1.24 percent to 1.31 percent. It's falling way short of that 2 percent target.

But it is the language that she used to try to address President Trump's criticisms that Angela Merkel used. It's really that effort to show unity. I was speaking with a source here familiar with the sort of behind the scenes inside the meetings yesterday with President Trump.

Although there was consternation and surprise about this suggestion the 2 percent GDP on defense spending should be raised to 4 percent, doubling that. The overall take away was, you know, President Trump's comment bombastic people knew here, leaders knew that they were in for something different.

That this was going to be different from sort of previous U.S. presidents and NATO summits. So, I think the take-away is at that they've got so far at least they've got their communique agreed. It was agreed fairly easily in advance.

That they feel is a good position to be in. Yes, it has been bumpy, but the take away that I'm being told is, you know, it hasn't been as rough or better than perhaps some of the bigger fears had been -- John.

VAUSE: It wasn't a total disaster I guess is how some people look at it. But when you're talking about language, language is important. Germany's foreign minister, here's a lot more blunt and (inaudible), he tweeted this.

"We are amongst the guarantors of the free world. We are staying committed to assume responsibility within NATO. There is a caption he says with this tweet, "We are not captives either of Russia, nor of the United States."

You know, is this a sign that the foreign minister believes that the days of U.S. membership of NATO or at least leadership of NATO is coming to an end? And what did that last part, being captors? That is a big statement for a German official to equate the actions of the U.S. with Russia.

[00:05:09] ROBERTSON: You know, look, we heard from the German defense minister a couple of years ago saying that, you know, yes, Germany is going to increase its defense spending, but this is a budget. It is a national budget. You know, things are planned in Germany.

You don't suddenly raise the level of spending in one area and hurt other areas of the economy or the social infrastructure in Germany. So, the German message for some time has been, look, there is historic precedence why we haven't increased our defense spending.

That's from World War II when Germany was constrained with its defense apparatus in that regard and the idea that they will do it on their time frame that fits with their national strategic objectives and fits with, you know, other budgetary requirements.

So, I think what you're seeing here is, again, the foreign minister speaking out very clearly and strongly, as we heard from Donald Tusk, the European Council president, who perhaps has less skin in the game as far as NATO is concerned.

But does have a lot of skin in the game when it comes to European security and stability telling President Trump, you know, the day before yesterday that he has a limited number of allies.

So, yes, there has been sharp push back. But I think when it comes to leaders speaking to leaders, they save their powder, if you will, fury, if you will, for the times they really feel it is necessary.

They have other ministers. We heard from the German foreign minister, defense minister several years ago, who were able to be more critical to put the countries, you know, position forward, let the leaders try at least, even if Donald Trump isn't going to be, let the leaders try to at least be nice to each other. Again, that united front they want to show to Russia.

VAUSE: At least in public. Be nice to one another in public. Nic, thank you. We'll talk to you again next hour. Appreciate it. Nic Robertson there live for us in Brussels. OK. Joining us for more on this, political commentators, Joe Messina and Mo Kelly. Mo, you know, often in diplomacy when things go badly, summer, high level meeting, the diplomats say it could have been worse. If we look at what happened at the NATO summit on day one, could it have gone worse?

MO KELLY, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I saw a president who is performing, performing for an audience of two, the American people who support him and also Vladimir Putin. This is a president who seems to only know carrot and stick, carrot for dictators and stick for our allies. I'm not so sure that I think it was a good day for America.

VAUSE: Joe, Donald Trump was ready for a fight, you know, or confrontation at least. He got it from the moment he walked into that breakfast with the secretary general of NATO and the cameras started rolling.

The "Washington Post" reports that Trump was more cordial in private than in his public remarks. You know, Nic Robertson also (inaudible). I guess, there is a reason why leaders have in the past, you know, talked tough behind closed doors, but diplomatically in public.

Because for a country like Germany, when Donald Trump goes out to Germany, for, you know, wanting to increase the defense spending and you know, deals with Russia. That makes it a lot harder for Chancellor Angela Merkel to actually agree to what Donald Trump wants to be done. If this is truly what he wants, it seems like he's shooting himself in the foot.

JOE MESSINA, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: Merkel has her own problems, right? She's got a dismal approval rating in Germany to begin with. But you know, again, you know, the term that we hear a lot, too, is he's not presidential. He's not presidential. I don't want him to be presidential.

VAUSE: I didn't go there this time.

MESSINA: We got these meetings in the words of President Obama. He said we've been doing this for 50 years. It hasn't helped us. Why haven't they stepped up? They spent 1.2 percent of their budget on NATO? The Germans have, and they said we'll get to it when we get it to because we have other important things.

Why don't we do the same thing with NATO and the U.N.? We'll get to it when we get to it because our budget is pretty short. When do we stop being called upon to be the financers of the world, if you would, or the protectors of the world and they won't even protect themselves?

KELLY: Two things here. There is message and methodology, and both are equally important. Unfortunately, I think this president oversimplifies the issue and always puts it in terms of a financial transaction because that's what he does best.

And then we have a transactional president who doesn't get into the overarching issues of the intricacies of diplomacy. We need Germany and France. We need England even though they are pulling out of the E.U.

We have a much more weakened alliance across the globe. That is specifically because we have a president who is not presidential and does not exactly take to value those things which help bring us together.

[00:10:10] MESSINA: We heard the same thing with North Korea, right? That went well. I haven't seen any missiles go off, have you lately?

VAUSE: The U.S. intelligence isn't saying that.

MESSINA: He was rattling rockets.

VAUSE: The U.S. intelligence continues to suggest that the North Koreans are serious about denuclearization. Pompeo couldn't get a meeting with Kim Jong-un. It hasn't gone exactly as planned, to say the least.

Let's stick with NATO because I think that's what the news of the day. You know, what people get confused about is NATO country members are hoping -- have 2 percent of their GDP to be spent on defense so they are ready. That's how much they spend.

The reason why the U.S. spends so much on defense because that money was ramped up in the wake of 9/11, which was a choice by the United States. Huge budget, huge defense expenditure. So, I think there is this confusion which the president has and continues to have that these people aren't paying enough into NATO.

KELLY: They aren't paying what they agreed to pay. They aren't stepping up the way they said they were going to step up. Who do they come to, the U.N. and NATO, when they come up short, when they need more help or more money?

So, don't agree to it if you are not going to do it. Don't ask us for help and then as you've heard, but then we get nailed with tariffs. So, why is it always on the United States? Why is it always on us just to shut our mouth and keep getting slapped around?

KELLY: We want our troops over there. We want to have our bases over there. There is a relationship in all of this.

VAUSE: It's 2.6 billion a year from having these bases over there in Europe.

MESSINA: The economy that we bring over with our bases and we protect some of them. We help protect those countries.

VAUSE: Does the United States benefit from a peaceful Europe and prosperous Europe in more ways than just, you know, what is spent on defense? But I want to go to what Trump is saying about Germany and the attack on Angela Merkel. He went for, "I'm not the puppet. You're the puppet." In case you've forgotten, here's what that was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT TRUMP: The 1,800 nuclear warheads and she's playing chicken -- from everything I see has no respect for this person.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, that's because he'd rather have a puppet as president.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: OK. That was the presidential debate against Hillary Clinton. You know, so, Mo, this was the tactic that Candidate Trump used to divert attention away from his own ties with Russia and it seems that that tactic is being used again because, you know, while the numbers they presented that breakfast with the NATO secretary general was simple wrong.

KELLY: And not only that, it is awful rich for this president while under investigation regarding his relationship within his cabinet and also his campaign preceding that with Russia to allege that Germany somehow under the hand or under the finger of Russia.

And if anything, it says to me that it is still on his mind every single day and it sort of predicates everything that he wants to do and has to say because he wants to push away this idea that he is close with Russia. Even though he agrees with everything that Russia is doing including the annexation of Crimea.

VAUSE: OK. Over at Fox News, on Monday night, they had this prediction of what the U.S. president was planning for the NATO summit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS STEWART, FOX NEWS POLITICS EDITOR: You will not stop him from undermining NATO and you will not stop him from realigning U.S. foreign policy to be more favorable towards Russia. He is going to do it. And the Republicans who say, well, we have a broad foreign policy apparatus and we forced him to impose these sanctions, do these things.

He is going to fly into Brussels like a sea gull and defecate all over everything and squawk and fly away is what he's going to do in Brussels, and the Europeans will continue to say to each other, we don't have a reliable partner in the U.S. government right now. We don't think that this is really a working relationship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That's Fox News. This is from the Russian president last year when he was asked would Russia benefit from internal strife within NATO.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Squabbles around NATO, do they help Russia?

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTI (through translator): Well, in the sense that maybe they should completely be pulling out, but we don't see that problem just yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Joe, if it was falling apart, it would help. We don't see that just yet. July 2nd, 2017. It seems as if the president is doing exactly what the Russian president would like him to do.

MESSINA: Well, I don't know if he's taking direction from the Russian president.

VAUSE: It appears so.

MESSINA: It is funny how (inaudible) every coincidence is directly related under him. I know we're not talking about the other administration, so I won't go there.

[00:15:10] But when you get into this, really, seriously, will NATO really fall apart if we don't step up what we're already doing? We're not going to back out from what we're doing. Do you really think so?

VAUSE: Yes.

MESSINA: I don't think so at all. I think if you -- again, I have said this before with you. Read "The Art of The Deal" and you go in there and you're asking for --

KELLY: He didn't actually write that book.

MESSINA: You say that every time, but I have read a few books that I haven't totally written it myself either -- but he adheres to those principles. He actually lives them and plays --

KELLY: That goes back to this being a transactional president literally. But you know what, it hasn't -- yes, I know you like to believe it has, but it really hasn't hurt us, has it, right? I mean, you look at the unemployment rates, we're virtually at zero. We have business of bringing jobs back to this country.

KELLY: Like Harley Davidson?

MESSINA: Harley Davidson, let's be honest with each other here. They have been planning on doing this for, what, a little over a year. That didn't just happen.

VAUSE: This is a whole -- we could go on for a very long time with this. But okay, so, Mo, you know, Joe says that there is no harm in what is happening. But there is harm in what the NATO ally say. There is not this united front.

Have these (inaudible) behind closed doors because everything here is the other way around, Trump is being cordial and friendly behind closed doors. He's berating everyone on being abusive in public. That's presenting this image to Russia that there is strife and division within --

KELLY: I'm not so sure that the president in his desire to present a tough exterior is getting anything out of this with NATO. I mean, he could do this, the same thing behind closed doors and maybe gain some ground and come back with some sort of unanimity as far as what they should do going forward.

But this president unfortunately is not interested in that and he's performing. As far as whether it is hurting us right now, I call this pizza and pancakes. You can eat that for a few years before it shows the effects. Doesn't mean it is healthy for you.

VAUSE: Actually, I was going to ask you if this summit in Helsinki is between the two leaders, you know, the Russian and the American leader or whether it is a Russian agent reporting into his head, but we'll do that maybe later.

Well, for the first time, Croatia has earned a spot in World Cup final. Victory came in extra time against England. The score at the end 2-1. That winning goal electrified fans in the Croatian capital.

Their team now faces France on Sunday for the title. England and Belgium pair up on Saturday to decide third place. CNN World Sport anchor, Patrick Snell, live for us in Atlanta. Set the stage for us now, Patrick. How do these two teams match up when they take to the pitch?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: It's going to be fascinating, John. France looking to win the World Cup for a second time, but what a story regarding Croatia through to their first ever World Cup final.

I want to start with the Croatians and pay tribute how they got the job done. They were extremely impressive against England enough to fall in behind. Luka Modric is one of their key players plays for Royal Madrid. This is a star studded Croatian team.

We were just working out that between four of their players, there are nine champions league titles. Quite incredible. Modric, he alone has won four of them with Los Blancos. There is a wealth of experience when it comes to individuals at club level this very much.

The current golden generation of Croatian football, but he broaden it out, though, and you look at the French national team, what I like about this is the wealth of experience that they are tapping into as a team, as a country.

And we have taken sort of a 20-year, the last two decades going back to the 1998 tournament on home soil which they actually won. That was their first triumph and then two years after that they became champions of Europe.

They had a bit of lull. They didn't get to the 2006 final, losing that one on penalties to Italy. And I think, John, a real motivating factor for them this time around, the French, is that what happened two years ago on home soil when they lost the European championships to Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal. That is really fueling them to get the job done and go on and they hope to win a second World Cup title.

VAUSE: I was always told a champion team will be the team of champions. Let's go to Croatia just for a moment because this has been a hard road to get to this stage in the World Cup. They've had quite a few close games. Is the ticket still there? They got the stamina to beat France.

SNELL: We'll know come Sunday, but I will (inaudible) in the buildup. Very exciting. [00:20:08] In the build up to the game with England, there was all this talk of how they're a spent force both physically and mentally as well. They need extra time and penalty shoot outs to see how Denmark and Russia.

But they did make a sluggish start against the English. They could have been three down in that game, but boy, did they take control in the second half and they finished extra time very strongly indeed. This is a terrific work ethic in the squad. There is a terrific desire and will to win.

These players very much aware of their potential place in the history of their country and there is a huge amount of tough, real tough and grittiness when it comes to the mental aspect of the game. But don't take that from me, let's listen to their victorious head coach now. Here's his take on it all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZLATKO DALIC, CROATIA COACH (through translator): They have shown character. When we started our preparations six weeks ago, I insisted on that in particular and I said it publicly. I cannot teach those players football. They play fantastic football.

As the tournament progressed, they've gained confidence. They are stronger than I am in terms of mentality, psychological strength. I've said this tournament will be won by a team with character who execute on the pitch what their coach tells them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: A great story. He actually only took over the Croatian national team late last year here. He over saw the qualifying playoff victory over the Greek national team and what a response from his players. They have really led the charge all the way to this year's FIFA World Cup final in Russia. John, back to you.

VAUSE: I will take the answer to my question is a yes, they should be fine. Thank you, Patrick.

OK. We'll take a short break. When we come back, a welcome sight from a hospital in Thailand. The boys rescued from their flooded cave get to see their parents for the first time in weeks.

Also, a new video on the divers navigating that narrow passageway with their precious cargo. We'll take you behind the scenes of what was a truly amazing rescue.

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VAUSE: Quite a reunion that close, some of the boys who survived being trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand has seen their parents for the first time in weeks. They're being kept in a hospital isolation room and on the other side of a glass partition, the families, their moms and dads waiting.

Doctors say three of the boys have minor cases of pneumonia, but most will be discharged in about a week. After that the recovery should take all up maybe a month.

[00:25:12] We're also getting a first look at how dangerous and pain staking the operation was. CNN's Matt Rivers has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the first time, video released from inside the cave of one of the most daring rescues of all time. You can see how muddy water is as divers disappear under the surface. Diving, swimming and trekking miles into the cave through darkness, they reach the boys and then the hard work begins.

Loaded on two stretchers, one by one, over three anxious days, they're dragged across sharp, jagged floors. At times, they're pulled on top of the tube sucking water out of the cave. Part of the pumping operation that made this rescue possible in the first place.

Where it's too steep, pictures show the boys hoisted through the air. A pulley system attached to a hanging stretcher. Below, rushing water makes for a swift current under foot, illuminated by rescuer head lamps. It's all incredibly dangerous.

Flooded passageways, the definition of peril, heartbreakingly illustrated with the death of a former Thai Navy SEAL, Saman Kunan. He died after bringing oxygen supplies into the cave just before the rescue began.

His Navy SEAL brothers carried on their mission in his name. Diving, swimming, and carrying the exhausted kids and their coach for hours until they could make it out far enough for initial medical treatment. A final picture shows the last eerily illuminated steps. Heroes freeing the team from their subterranean prison.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This unity it's not only with Chiang Rai or Thailand, it's a global unit unity. This incident was more than a live-saving missing. It's gone beyond that. It is the unity of all nationalities.

RIVERS: All that led to this, 12 boys and their coach weak, but healthy, recovering. Some of them seen for the first time in this video from inside the isolation ward of a Chiang Rai hospital. One flashes a peace sign. Others stand and talk.

Some make the sign for I love you with their hands, likely aimed at their parents on the other side of the glass. The doctors won't let them hug their kids for a few days yet, but the mere sight of them, the first time in 18 horrific days was enough to illicit tears of joy. This improbable reunion thanks to the bravery and skill of the rescuers, the men who delivered the good news whole world wanted the hear.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS: And something worth noting here is that the video given to us at the rescue by the Thai government doesn't include the point where the divers had to bring the kids and their coach underneath the water in order to get them out. Those are the parts that rescuers say were the most difficult. As treacherous as that video looked, it wasn't even the hardest part. Matt Rivers, CNN in Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand.

VAUSE: Mr. Trump goes to London. Just ahead, the welcoming party that's anything but waiting for the U.S. president.

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VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour. An emotional reunion in Thailand even separated by a glass partition, so those rescued boys see their parents for the first time in weeks. Doctors say most of them should be out of the hospital in about a week. A new video shows divers bringing the boys through the caves' flooded narrow passages.

One of Japans' deadliest natural disasters in years has now killed at least 195 people. Heavy rain and flooding inundated cities in a matter of hours late last week and there's still a chance of more mudslides in -- landslides, rather, in the coming days. But 75,000 responders are helping with the search and rescue.

Sunday's World Cup Final, Moscow will pit underdog Croatia against powerhouse France. Croatia earned their first ever trip to the title match after beating England, 2-1 in extra time in Wednesday's semi- final. England and Belgium play on Saturday for third place.

In his first public comments at the NATO Summit, U.S. President Trump took towards aim at close ally Germany, calling it captive to Russia for its reliance on natural gas. He also demanded members increase defense spending to four percent of GDP.

Well, from Brussels, Donald Trump will travel to London to talks with the Prime Minister and tea with the Queen. This will be an official state visit with both pomp and protests. Activists have been planning for this visit for months, and highlights seemed to be a giant baby Trump balloon. Here's Erin McLaughlin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This isn't the dignified welcome that a U.S. President visiting London has come to expect, a giant balloon, a caricature of Donald Trump as a baby. Organizers say it was inspired by the President's Twitter account. LEO MURRAY, TRUMP BABY BLIMP ORGANIZER: What's clear from Donald

Trump's tweets, apart from anything else, is that he's a deeply insecure individual about his own personal shortcomings. And so, we decided that what we needed to do was get down right down on Donald Trump's level and speak to him at a language that he understands which is personal insults. We have to do something which we knew him and the rest of the world and our own government could not miss.

MCLAUGHLIN: And it's hard to miss the so-called "Trump baby blimp." Each element designed to mock and make fun. The orange hued skin, the yellow bouffant hair, the tiny hands gripping the cell phone, ready to tweet. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, an outspoken Trump critic, cleared it to fly in the name of free speech, a move not everyone agrees with. Piers Morgan tweeted, "If Obama was still President and someone suggested flying a giant black baby balloon over parliament, Sadiq Khan would brand it racist and offensive and stop it. This Trump balloon is a hypocritical disgrace."

SARAH B. ELLIOTT, CHAIRWOMAN REPUBLICAN OVERSEAS U.K.: I think whenever his detractors go after him, it makes him double down and it actually encourages him to keep going and to prove everybody wrong. So, I think that's the effect the balloon will have.

MCLAUGHLIN: But campaigners say this isn't just about Donald Trump.

MURRAY: Whether he sees it, whether he reacts to it, we don't really care. It's about -- it's about lifting the spirits of the nation, and it's already doing that, you know, it's just putting smiles on the faces of people who start to despair about the state of politics.

MCLAUGHLIN: The blimp has crowd-funded nearly $40,000 so far. Organizers say the money will be used to get the blimp on the road, so that wherever Donald Trump goes, a giant baby balloon is sure to follow. Erin McLaughlin, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Fabrice Pothier is the former NATO Director of Policy and Planning, current Chief Strategy Officer at Rasmussen Global. He joins us now from Brussels. Fabrice, thanks for getting up early. Theresa May, she was the first foreign leader to visit the Trump White House. There was controversy from the moment she offered that invitation from Queen Elizabeth for a state visit. You know, it seems since then the anger and the outrage, many feel in the U.K. for Donald Trump has grown. I mean, there is this warning right now put out by the U.S. embassy to Americans who are in London that they should keep some kind of low profile out of the concern for their own safety. So, will the protest likely to be bigger and more widespread than they would have been a year ago, why would he go now? Why the timing?

FABRICE POTHIER, CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, RASMUSSEN GLOBAL: Well, I think for Theresa May, it's an important visit because the so-called "special relationship" will matter even more once the U.K. has left the European Union than now. So, she needs to show that the U.K. has friends beyond, you know, the Europe and Trump. So, Donald Trump, I think it's the need for him to have a sense of recognition to, you know, be seen part of the global elite. And I think that therefore, his keenness to meet the Queen, and to have a (INAUDIBLE) program than just to show a natural visit.

[00:35:08] VAUSE: You know, Donald Trump has done what no recent American President has ever done, which is basically involve himself in British politics. He's talked favorably of Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary who resigned out of protest of Theresa May's soft Brexit plan. He doesn't have a great relationship with Theresa May. And so, the fact that, you know, she is willing to host Donald Trump now in the wake of what we saw at the NATO summit, I guess. Is that an indication of just how desperate she is of that free trade agreement with the U.S. after Brexit takes effect?

POTHIER: Well, I think it's first an indication that the U.S. and the U.K. have a very close relationship. And as you said before, she was the first head of government to visit Trump at the White House. So, I think it's an important matter that, yes, she needs to show that there is a global Britain and that global Britain will also to a lot of extent include a very close relationship with the U.S. And she will -- I think the U.K. will have to show that they can exist as a foreign policy power even though they are leaving the biggest club that they were part of. So -- and I think, if I'm correct, next year, the U.K. will be hosting the NATO summit. Again, as a way to show that, yes, we have Brexit, we are still part of some other clubs and we are still very close to the United States.

VAUSE: Theresa put out a statement about Trump's impending visit, and not once did she actually mentioned the word, Trump, which is I guess an indication of the challenge that she is facing. You know, we've seen before U.S. presidents have been unpopular in Britain, you know, most recently George W. Bush, the Iraq war, it brought tens of thousands of people out to the streets to protest, but Bush valued that special relationship. Has Donald Trump alienated not just, you know, the usual anti-war-type protesters who, you know, read The Guardian, butt also those who might see themselves as traditional conservatives who see value in the close ties between London and Washington and Europe and Washington?

POTHIER: Well, first, the truth is the special relationship has changed. There are other special relationships starting with the very close military cooperation between the U.S. and France. And the French like to often say that now that we have a special relationship when it comes to fighting terrorism in (INAUDIBLE) and in the wider Middle East, it's really between the U.S. and France. So, the British special relationship with the U.S. has changed quite significantly over the last few years. It's less what it used to be. But you are right in saying that Trump is in a way brings a new kind of toxicity to popular criticism because it's not just toxic because of some war that he would have trigger. He's toxic because of how he invites himself into domestic politics and how he's leaning on quite sensitive issues about race, crime and therefore, there will be, as you say, probably some more significant protest than usual.

VAUSE: How big are the concerns right now? We're almost out of time. So, how big are the concerns right now that Donald Trump wants to sort of move away from these traditional alliances with Western democracies like Britain towards more of an Eastern alignment with countries like Russia and China?

POTHIER: Well, I think there is a kind of alignment with autocrats. Clearly, he's more comfortable sitting down with them than we sit on democrats. Whether that means there is a strategic realignment of the U.S. as a whole, I doubt, because the U.S. economic interest is still anchor both in Indo-Pacific with countries like Japan, South Korea, obviously China, but also with the European Union and the (INAUDIBLE) the U.K. So, I think the reality of the ground is still the one we are having in the past. But the (INAUDIBLE) opportunities now anchors in dealing with autocrats which is obviously disturbing.

VAUSE: Yes. Fabrice, we want you to come back next hour. We have a few other things we want to get to. In particular, NATO's role previously and how they've helped the United States in the past and, you know, the good will, which, you know, has been fostered by other U.S. Presidents, what happens when that good will is gone? So, we'll see you in about an hour from now. In the meantime, thank you. We'll take a short break. Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, the duke and duchess of Sussex have captured some Irish hearts during their first official visit as a married couple, and now they have to give those hearts back.

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[00:41:40] VAUSE: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have just finished a two-day visit to Ireland. The newlyweds packed in a lot, but mostly they were just charming. Anna Stewart was along for the ride.

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ANNA STEWART, CNN JOURNALIST: It was the first official international trip for the duke and duchess of Sussex since they got married back in May. And it's a great example of how the Royal Family who can't exercise any kind of political view publicly can still exercise soft power. Ireland is, of course, one of the many E.U. member state that U.K. is negotiating Brexit with. And this has really raised interest and have British influence here in Ireland in a speech Prince Harry actually spoke about the special relationship the U.K. had with this country.

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: As each other's closest neighbors, the U.K. and Ireland's relationship is unique. Our shared history is long and complex. There have, of course, been challenging and at times tragic periods of that relationship. Tomorrow, we hope to have the opportunity to reflect on some of those difficult passages in our history when we visit Croke -- when we visit Croke Park and the Famine Memorial. On this visit, we will also celebrate just how much unites us. This is a very special relationship between two proud sovereign countries.

STEWART: And is a relationship that's celebrated by many people here in Ireland, too. Many paying out to catch a glimpse of the happy couple.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Harry loved our shirts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he's like, did you seriously buy those? We were like, yes, they're from us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was the best day of our lives. My legs were shaking so much, I could barely stand up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) that she was so beautiful and actually kind and she said thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's really amazing meeting them, they're really an inspiration and I think we love them.

STEWART: In addition to meeting lots of people here in Dublin, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex also took time to reflect on some of the more difficult moments in Irish history. They went to museum where they saw some artifacts from the Bloody Sunday Massacre, and they also took time to go to the Irish Famine Memorial here in Dublin. So, it's been a very short but action-packed trip for the newlyweds. Anna Stewart, Dublin.

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VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles, I'm John Vause. Stay tuned now for "WORLD SPORT" with Patrick Snell. You're watching CNN.

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