Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Trump Approval Rises, But A Majority Also Sees Him As Unpresidential; Inquiry Launched Into Leaked Memo From U.K. Ambassador; Team USA Wins Fourth Women's World Cup; Iran Breaks Nuclear Deal Enrichment Targets For Second Time; Jeffrey Epstein Arrested For Sex Trafficking Of Minors. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired July 7, 2019 - 15:00   ET

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


[15:00:58] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for being with me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We begin this hour with mixed poll numbers for President Donald Trump and a declaration of independence from a Republican member of Congress. A new "Washington Post"/ABC News poll says 44 percent of Americans approve of the job of the president is doing. That's the highest number ever for the president in that poll.

But that same poll shows an overwhelming majority, 65 percent of Americans, see President Trump as unpresidential with just 28 percent of Americans saying Trump has acted fitting and proper since taking office. This comes as Michigan Congressman Justin Amash sits down with CNN and explains what drove him from the GOP. His thoughts on the president and the prospects of impeachment.

Amash is a vocal Trump critic. And today, he once again called for impeachment proceedings to begin against the president. He also lashed out at the GOP, partisan politics and Republicans who show blind loyalty to the president. All of those factors, Amash says, led him to leave the party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Do you think it's fair to say that President Trump and your fellow Republicans' unblinking support for President Trump was the straw that broke the camel's back?

REP. JUSTIN AMASH (I-MI): I think this term in Congress has really shown how bad it can get. When I started the House Freedom Caucus, I was one of the founding members. What we were fighting for was better process. We are fighting for a more open government, a more accountable government.

We wanted members to have a voice in the process so that we'd have a deliberative body and be able to represent people back home. Whatever the outcome. Sometimes the outcomes would be more conservative, sometimes would be more progressive. But whatever the outcome, we wanted to open it up.

But over the years, I've seen that people are just falling in line behind the leaders, including people in my own caucus, which I left. So, it's gotten worse and worse. And I think this was the term that really broke it for me.

TAPPER: The president lashed out at you on Twitter, Thursday, after your announcement that you were leaving the Republican Party saying, "Great news for the Republican Party as one of the dumbest and most disloyal men in Congress is, "quitting" the party. No collusion, no obstruction. Knew he couldn't get the nomination to run again in the great state of Michigan. Already being challenged for his seat. A total loser." I wanted to give you an opportunity to respond.

AMASH: I mean I don't have a response to it. It's what the president does, it's what he says. And I think most people understand that's not how people are supposed to talk about each other and to each other.

I think he's really identified what I talked about in my op-ed, which is he thinks that people owe loyalty to him. But people are elected to Congress with an oath to support and defend the constitution, not an oath to support and defend one person, the president, who happens to be from your own party.

TAPPER: Do you anticipate you're going to be kicked off the oversight committee?

AMASH: I anticipate I may be kicked off. And that's OK. I understand the consequences of doing what I'm doing. At the end of the day, though, I've done this for several years. I've worked within the Republican Party. I've tried to make changes from within. My colleagues have tried to make changes from within. It hasn't worked. It's not working for anyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All this as we learned the U.K. is going to launch a formal inquiry into the leaking of memos revealing the country's ambassador to the U.S. calling President Trump inept, insecure and incompetent. "The Daily Mail" newspaper in the U.K., which obtained the leaked cables says ambassador Kim Darroch warned the British government that President Trump's career could, quoting now, end in disgrace. CNN International Correspondent, Anna Stewart is following the story for us. Anna, what exactly has been spelled out in these memos, and then now what?

ANNA STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are really explosive memos. They date back to 2017 all the way through to the present day and cover such a huge range of topics. Scathing about the U.S. president and about the White House.

[15:05:06] For instance, in one the ambassador writes we really don't believe that this administration is going to become substantially more normal, less dysfunctional, less unpredictable, less faction driven, less diplomatically clumsy and inept. Other memos go more policy specific on Iran. The ambassador writes, he thinks the U.S. policy on Iran is incoherent.

On the alleged links between the President and Russia, he says that the worst cannot be ruled out and says that it could result in the presidency crashing and burning. All this is highly embarrassing for the British government not least because the U.S. president was here just weeks ago for a state visit.

WHITFIELD: But then what will happen potentially now? I mean, were there be any real disciplinary action, you know, for the, you know, ambassador or -- I mean, yes, there's an investigation to find out who leaked these cables because it was supposed to be, you know, in secret, but now the cat is out of the bag, so to speak. What could potentially happen?

STEWART: Yes, I mean, absolutely no surprise that they're launching a formal investigation. Although it took them some time to announce that. But yes, of course, these are so highly sensitive, how on earth did they get leaked? Is there some political machinations at work here?

Interestingly, the one thing they did do in a statement, the British Foreign Office did not throw the ambassador under the bus. They actually really came out in support. They said "The British public would expect our Ambassadors to provide Ministers with an honest, unvarnished of the politics of their country. Their views are not necessarily the views of the Ministers or indeed the government. We pay them to be candid. Just as the U.S. Ambassador here, will send back his reading of Westminster politics and personalities."

And you know what, I would love to read those two because frankly we have plenty of politics and personalities over here too.

WHITFIELD: All right, Anna Stewart, thank you for bringing that to us.

Let's talk about all of this now. With me now to discuss Doug Heye, a Republican strategist and a CNN political commentator. Basil Smikle is a Democratic strategist and a former executive director for the New York Democratic Party.

Good to see you first.

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you.

BASIL SMIKLE, FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NEW YORK DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Glad to be here.

WHITFIELD: Alright, to Basil, you first, you know, how will this or could it impact the U.S/ U.K. relations?

SMIKLE: Well, I don't know how it could make it that much worse. But I think the reporting is right there that, you know, diplomats are supposed to report home with their unvarnished, very candid assessment of what's going on. And the truth is that assessment isn't -- and read and really -- is not really different from what most of us have been talking about the last couple of years.

So the question then becomes what does the British government do with that kind of information? And I don't know that it will radically change their behavior, but it certainly interesting to hear that we have some sympathizers across the pond.

WHITFIELD: So Doug -- OK, Doug, what do you think? I was about to ask you something else but I'm reading your expression. What does that mean?

HEYE: Yes, let me preface this Fred by saying I know the ambassador personally and I know him personally because he frequently holds conversations, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, with Republicans, Democrats, people who support the President, people who oppose the President. People support Nancy Pelosi and oppose Nancy Pelosi because he wants to gain as much insight as you can so he can report back accurately what he's hearing. And I would tell you--

WHITFIELD: What's it going to be like now at those teas or gatherings?

SMIKLE: If they have them.

HEYE: Sure, well, I think they'll continue to be candid conversations which is important for him to hear. And also he travels throughout the country to hear not just what people in Washington think, which people in Washington spend too much time worrying about. For what people in Iowa or New Hampshire or North Carolina or other really important political states think.

And at the same time, I would say, you know, this is political mischief 101. These are documents that were leaked selectively. Quotes that were leaked selectively from, you know, up to two years ago.

So clearly, there's an attempt to cause some embarrassment here. I'm heartened to see the British government is standing behind the ambassador this far. Because I know that just from my conversations with him, he's doing the job the ambassador does. And, you know, as it was alluded to earlier, this is exactly what the U.S. government does in sending information back and analysis back to President Trump as we go through all the machinations of Brexit. That's the job.

WHITFIELD: OK. So there's that criticism coming from, you know, the ambassador and then there's also criticism, you know, kind of unleashed 2.0 coming from the former Republican, now independent congressman Justin Amash. He talked to, you know, Jake Tapper earlier today. And he said, you know, blind loyalty is a big problem right now.

And he is only saying publicly what so many others want to say privately that the president, you know, is -- that everyone shouldn't have such blind loyalty toward the President's decisions, behaviors, et cetera, and that's largely why he is now independent. So, you know, Doug, back to those circles in Washington now, is he likely to, A, lose his seat in his committee or, you know, will he be applauded for this kind of candor since he says there's so many that are thinking this privately, just not saying it publicly?

[15:10:09] HEYE: Yes, I can tell you from my conversations with House Republican members, a lot of them feel the same way privately but they've also been frustrated with Justin Amash for years in ways that has nothing to do -- have nothing to do with President Trump.

But going to -- when I worked in house leadership, he's very good at identifying problems. A lot of what Justin Amash said in his op-ed in "The Washington Post" or he said to Jake Tapper this morning on State of the Union, I wholeheartedly agree with.

The challenge is Justin Amash is often not good as identifying the solutions then. And if you can't do that, then really it's hard to see how the conversation is constructive. Again, I agree with a whole lot of what he said, but what are the solutions? If you can't identify that, it's hard to move forward.

SMIKLE: Right.

WHITFIELD: So then Basil, that up against, you know, this new ABC/Washington Post poll showing President, you know, Trump enjoying a 44 percent approval rating. The highest that he has had during his presidency. Does the President, you know, just kind of brush off, you know, sentiments like from Amash or even the ambassador and say largely because of the economy, he can enjoy these approval ratings and that's going to put him in a good position for re-election?

SMIKLE: Yes, some of the -- I expect that to be the case. If you -- the tweet. When he tweeted against Justin Amash and sort of downplayed his statements, that's exactly what the President does. And the truth is that a lot of his supporters like that. They want to see that from him because he went down to D.C. talking about draining the swamp. And I guess to them, this is part of draining the swamp.

I expect his numbers would have gotten better because of the economy. But in that same poll, voters don't like him on any other issue and also don't consider him to be quite presidential at all. And so, what Democrats are trying to do right now is go through our own vetting process. And I think you'll start to see a lot more focus on what the Democrat is saying and maybe push down those poll numbers a bit as we get closer and closer to our nominating process and then have that one nominee.

But right now, if we're going to talk about the economy, I think one of the ways that we hit him on the economy is focus a lot more on affordability. Forty percent of this country still feels that they're struggling. Over 70 percent of this country is still living check-to- check.

So I think there are ways that we can still hammer him on the economy but it will take some time as we get down to that singular candidate for all of those ideas and policies to focus through one individual.

WHITFIELD: Alright, we'll leave it there for now. Basil Smikle, Doug Heye, always good to see you.

SMIKLE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much.

HEYE: Thank you. WHITFIELD: Happy independence weekend.

All right, still ahead, triumph for the USA women's soccer team. They blasted the -- that they, yes, they did kind of blast the Netherlands, you know, for their fourth World Cup victory.

And as team USA celebrates their historic victory, the U.S. Soccer Federation and the 28 members of the top ranked U.S. women's national team come to an agreement over a gender discrimination lawsuit. Details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:45] WHITFIELD: The U.S. women's soccer team has created a historic moment in sports bagging its fourth World Cup trophy after defeating the Netherlands, two to zero.

Praise for the team is coming in, including from President Trump who just tweeted, congratulations to the U.S. women's soccer team on winning the World Cup. Great and exciting play. America is proud of you all.

CNN Sports Anchor, Amanda Davies was inside the stadium where all the action unfolded and she is joining me now from Lyon, France. So star player, Megan Rapinoe, she just spoke to CNN and what does she saying?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, that's Rapinoe put it, the sunglasses season is about to start. The party is getting started is basically what she means. She's expecting a late night because that is how you make history. A fourth World Cup title. Four out of eight in the history of the tournament. All the success goes to the U.S.

A record, 26 goals along the way, conceding just three and they become just the second side to successfully retain their crown. There is no doubt they absolutely deserve this success. They maybe didn't have it all their own way in a match where they were billed overwhelmingly as the favorites.

The Dutch did do their bit. There were a nervy few minutes but ultimately the USA showed what has made them the best of the best in recent times. They have lost just one match since 2017. And who else was it going to be but captain fantastic Rapinoe who stepped up, scored the penalty that broke the deadlock. She is a player who has written as many headlines off the pitch as on it during the last few weeks. Tough she really thrives in that position, leading from the front.

The goal helped her claim the golden boot for the tournament top scorer but over the last few weeks we've seen her talk about the equal pay dispute. She got into a Twitter war of words with Donald Trump. She's criticized football's governing body FIFA for their fixture clash today, on the day of the final. And afterwards, when she spoke to us, she really underlined her point that this tournament was so much more than just winning the trophy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MEGAN RAPINOE, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM PLAYER: We've done exactly what we set out to do. We've done exactly what we want to do. We say what we feel. All of us really, I know that my, you know, voice sometimes is louder, but, you know, in (INAUDIBLE) and in conversations and everybody is in this together. We are such a proud and strong and defiant group of women. I don't think we have really anything to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIES: Well, we saw that togetherness in spades at the end, Fredricka, despite all the superstars, all three co-captains, Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Carly Lloyd. They went up. They got the trophy together at the very end. We don't always see that at the top level of football.

You know, we've always talk about the class of '99 have it as the trail blazers for the women's game. This group of women, the 2019 U.S. women's team certainly will be the ones to watch, the ones we talk about for many years to come.

[15:20:00] WHITFIELD: They are amazing. And so as this team USA celebrates this historic victory, the U.S. Soccer Federation and 28 members of the U.S. National Team, you know, who sued over gender discrimination have agreed to proceed but with mediation.

How big of a step is this, because we're talking about historically what, you know, each player, you know, with a World Cup win getting on average about $90,000 versus if the men were to win a world cup, each player gets $500,000. I mean that's a huge disparity. So will this mediation get them closer to seriously leveling the playing field?

DAVIES: Yes, this topic has really been bubbling under the surface throughout the entire of this tournament, even though at the first press conference. I went to hear ahead of the USA's first game against Thailand. Alex Morgan was very much playing it down. She said, yes, we've got the pressure but we don't think it's going to have any impact on how the team are going to play, how they're going to perform at this tournament.

But there's no doubt there has been the feeling that another victory, another World Cup crown was only going to help their cause. Because as you rightly pointed out, the U.S. women's argument against their own governing body is in essence that the women get paid only 38 percent of a male player meeting the same criteria.

And that is actually even before you take into account the success on the pitch. The fact that the women have won four Olympic golds, now four world cups. They're the top ranked site in the world. But the men have not made it past the quarterfinal of a world cup since the 1930s.

You do feel now that with this increased visibility, with the success on the pitch over the last couple of weeks, this can only help their cause. And we saw just a few minutes after the full-time whistle a spokesperson for the players wasted no time issuing a statement. It said this, "At this moment of tremendous pride for America, the sad equation remains all too clear.

Americans won't stand for it anymore. These athletes generate more revenue, garner higher TV ratings but get paid less simply because they are women. It is time for the Federation to correct this disparity once and for all." We do have this mediation that happens next, but Fredricka, you have to say the numbers are getting ever harder to argue with.

WHITFIELD: Amanda Davies, thank you so much for bringing all of that to us. Congrats of course to team USA.

All right, still ahead, Iran breaks the nuclear agreement again. The country's latest plan for uranium enrichment and the international response, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:35] WHITFIELD: For the second time since May, Iran has breached the terms of the landmark nuclear deal. It signed with the U.S. and other western allies in 2015. This after the U.S. pulled out of the agreement in 2018. Iranian officials are now saying that they have begun enriching uranium beyond the levels allowed under the agreement.

Reaction has begun to pour in from around the world, including from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has called on European leaders to impose sanctions on the country in retaliation.

My next guest is a former director for the U.S.s' Iran Regional Presence Office and former Foreign Policy Advisor for the U.S. Central Command. Ramin Asgard, good to see you.

So Ramin --

RAMIN ASGARD, FORMER DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES' IRAN REGIONAL PRESENCE OFFICE: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: So, you know, Iran says, you know, it has already started, you know, extending beyond the level, but this comes after the U.S. pulled out of the deal. In your view, is this Iran further agitating the U.S., is this a response to the U.S., and, you know, pulling out of the deal, or is this trying to send some other kind of message?

ASGARD: That's a good question, Fredricka. The Iranians by doing this are grabbing the world's attention. They're starting nuclear enrichment at the level of 3.75 percent, which is what is needed for a nuclear reactor.

By doing that and breaching the agreement, they're essentially saying to the world, look, we also can breach this agreement. We're not really satisfied with what the Europeans have done under the agreement, and of course the United States pulled out, so it's their way of trying to gather attention without having to shoot something down or do something really inflammatory.

WHITFIELD: So when Benjamin Netanyahu is challenging European leaders to engage here, what will be the response from the European community when largely it backed this agreement with the U.S. being part of it?

ASGARD: Well, I think the Europeans are disappointed. I think they did what they could to upholding the agreement and also cited the fact that Iran was observing the agreement when trying to push for possibly doing what they could to keep the agreement in place. Now that Iran has breached the agreement twice, as you pointed out, it's a lot harder for them to make the argument that, hey, we're here. The Iranians are still on board and we're going to do what we can to try to make this work.

As it stands right now, that warning about going down this track of nuclear enrichment, it's just a dangerous path. Once it starts, it's not really clear where it's going to end.

WHITFIELD: Ramin Asgard, thank you so much.

ASGARD: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is back in jail. What we're learning about the new child sex trafficking charges he's facing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:33:22] WHITFIELD: A Florida billionaire is back in the headlines once again accused of sex crimes with minors. Jeffrey Epstein is already a convicted sex offender, but sources say he was arrested on new charges of sex trafficking underage girls. Epstein served 13 months in jail after pleading guilty to state prosecution charges back in Florida of 2008.

CNN's Sonia Moghe is in New York where Epstein is expected to appear in federal court tomorrow.

SONIA MOGHE, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, Fred, you know, these charges may be new, but once that indictment is unsealed, we'll get to see how much information is actually new, how much information isn't, you know, allegations that we've already seen out in the public arena. We have seen accusers speaking for over the past decade, through the form of lawsuits with these allegations of sexual abuse and even sex trafficking allegedly at the hands of Epstein and some of his associates.

One lawsuit that was filed about 10 years ago was from a girl who says that she was about 14 or 15 when she was lured to Epstein's Florida mansion under the guise of massage classes, learning how to be a masseuse, was coerced into sex, was given money and then spent years being flown around by Epstein, you know, being allegedly sexually abused and, you know, told to have sex with his associates as well, she claimed. So how much of that will be in the indictment, we don't know. We will find out tomorrow presumably.

But one thing I really wanted to mention was the, you know, how we got here. This case has been out there for quite some time now and there are several factors, including the "Miami Herald's" dogged reporting over the past several months, over the past year. I want to let you listen to one of the reporters who's been staying on this story on why she stayed on the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:35:12] JULIE BROWN, INESTIGATIVE REPORTER, THE MIAMI HERALD: I didn't give up on it, and you know, it's sometimes easy to walk away and just let things happen, but I just can't felt that I had to keep pursuing it and not let the powers that be so to speak, the law enforcement people the people in government forget that these women were out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOGHE: And another factor here is obviously those victims who kept talking to prosecutors in hopes of getting their case reopened, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sonia, thank you so much. Let's talk a little bit further on this with Defense Attorney Ross Garber. Good to see you Ross, so what strikes you as different this time around?

ROSS GARBER, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There's almost nothing that's not different about the situation this is a wild extraordinary almost bizarre case. What struck -- what kind of strikes me as different was the plea deal that was cut you know many years ago --

WHITFIELD: Florida.

GARBER: -- in Florida which thankfully gave Epstein a slap on the wrist and kept everything quiet including from the victims. Now, so many years later it is very extraordinary to have these kinds of charges brought so much later. But one of the things I think we'll be looking for is how much is new here?

Are there new allegations, are there different allegations that will be the important thing to look for.

WHITFIELD: Well, won't -- one thing that is new possibly include hearing from some of these, you know, young ladies. In the Miami Herald's reporting which was extraordinary there, you know, there were testimonies I mean young girls who are recalling their experiences when they were in high school.

And only in recent, you know, moments now talking about it and talking about how troubled they were, you know about having to share this. And might that kind of information be what inspired this new set of, you know, legal pursuits against him in New York I mean that perhaps even though he was not prosecuted that people are being enlightened a little differently now as a result of the fact that Miami Herald did its extraordinary reporting.

GARBER: Yes, and for any of our viewers who haven't yet looked at the Miami Herald's reporting, I strongly recommend it, it includes text, it includes just heartbreaking shocking video, it is extraordinary, extraordinary work. So I think, you know, between that and giving credit to, you know, these women who came forward --

WHITFIELD: Yes. GARBER: -- who kept after this year, after year, after year. I think those two things probably lead us to where we are today. And I think we're going to learn a lot about the actions.

And in federal court, one thing we shouldn't do is even if the charges are narrow, we should remember that first of all those charges can be amended, they can be expanded later, and then second, and I know we're getting ahead of ourselves, in any sentencing in federal court, a judge can take into account other relevant conduct that goes beyond just the narrow allegations.

So I know we're getting ahead of ourselves but when we look at this tomorrow we should keep those two things in mind.

WHITFIELD: Wow, all right, yes, it's extraordinary again, you know, these are new charges, new case, still allegations, you know, yet to be proven but there are so much that's preceded this that is so eyebrow raising, so the interest is very high. Ross Garber, thank you so much, appreciate it.

All right still ahead, the Trump campaign gets called out for using paid actors to give the President a glowing endorsement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACEY: President Trump is doing a great job, I could not ask for a better president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:43:21] WHITFIELD: Welcome back, the new CNN Original Series "The Movies" premiers tonight looking at some of the best films from the 80s, here's a sneak peak.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM BURTON, DIRECTOR: I was never scared by any horror movie ever, because I always liked them too much do you know what I mean, I mean the things that scared me was like going to school or you know seeing my relatives.

ROB ZOMBIE, DIRECTOR: I love Tim Burton because he is the best thing you can be as a director. He's completely unique, you start noticing the black and white stripes on things, and just the vibe, and you feel like we'll really get something here with this guy.

ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: With the Beetle Juice, his basic idea was that the living people would be scary and the dead people would be the kind of banal.

BURTON: I was very lucky earlier on in my career to work with people that had come from comedy that were good at improving, there was really like Michael that (INAUDIBLE) so there's a whole different energy when people are there, and there may be some written things but then it just goes off, you know, and you start riffing and you start getting into it. He was great at that, just -- he's like a pressure cooker.

BEETLE JUICE: You like it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Beetlejuice indeed a classic so CNN is celebrating with a CNN video store, it's happening right now in New York, what is real, what is the poster, I see Brooke, I see Eddie Murphy. All right, Brooke Baldwin is there live for us. OK, so the 80s definitely makes me think of, you know, really the start of all some of my favorite Spike Lee movies, lots of other iconic films, what have you got there?

[15:45:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes so obviously one of my favorites, and I think I was probably a little too young to be watching this movie, but Beverly Hills Cop, Beverly Hills Cop 2, Axel Foley anyone? Can you remember his laugh like I found Eddie Murphy just -- I mean, I'll save you, we have a keen impersonator. We'll go back to him because I am awful at impersonations.

But I was looking at -- we were asking everyone to rank like -- and then Beverly Hills Cop nearly made my top five movies I could watch the rest of my life. And I was looking at yours, I was -- what was some of yours, because I was loving on The Joy Luck Club.

WHITFIELD: I love the Joy Luck Club, it was so hard to come up with something. But, you know, I thought about -- I mean there are so many, but I had to whittle it down to some of the scenes or imagery or lessons that were most memorable. I love The Joy Luck Club because I think it said so much about a mother-daughter relationships, it taught us so much about culture. I mean there were incredible highs and lows in that movie and then here are some of my others.

I mean I live "Cornbread, Earl and Me", that was the first movie in America that I saw after we you know left overseas and came to the states, add Chitty, Chitty Bang, Bang, you know.

BALDWIN: Wow, wow.

WHITFIELD: A great English, you know, kids movie of "The Spy Who Loved Me" because James Bond films are the first of films that I saw when we were living overseas, it was double 007 stuff. "Forrest Gump" I mean, you know, Tom Hanks, exceptional again a journey, you know, in history and "Joy Luck Club", it still makes me cry every time as if I'm seeing it for the first time, but I love that movie.

BALDWIN: As we talked so much about the eighties and by the way just for all of you, all who are watching, swing around me and we'll show everyone we're at the CNN video store here in New York city in Hudson Yards, anyone can come, anyone can hangout and talk movies with us all day long.

But I want to bring in someone who is a self-professed movie geek, Alicia Malone, she's a host over at Turner Classic Movies. And Alicia, I wish you were here with me. I wish you were here, because we actually have, hand me one, an actual VHS tapes. Be kind please rewind. Does anyone remember that? Thank you very much. What is it about the movies, what is it about the movies do you think that is so magical?

ALICIA MALONE, HOST, TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES: Well, I wish I was there too because I worked in a video store, so I just have that such nostalgic feeling about seeing the covers and choosing your film on a Friday night, you know, I was often in pajamas with my friends choosing films. But I think in general, movies, you know, they allow us escape from our everyday lives, from the world for an hour and half, to two hours.

But they don't necessarily have to be mindless entertainment before I move to America. I learned a lot about America through film. So they can be a portal into the world, they can help you experience different cultures, different places, different people, that you may not get to in your day to day life.

And I don't know about you, but I love going to a movie theatre, sitting in the dark with a bunch of strangers everyone is laughing at the same time, crying at the same time. But when you walk out of the theatre you can have a completely different perspective on the film than the person sitting right next to you. I think that's magical.

WHITFILED: I think we lost Brooke's audio there, but you and I can still talk because I was listening to everything you said, you know. Yes, there is something about movies that you go to a theatre like you said, you know, you don't know anybody, but then you all collectively are feeling something. And perhaps is that gage of a good movie, how it makes you feel once you have left the theatre or once you know have turned of your DVR and television you know to reflect on a favorite movie?

MALONE: Absolutely. I think, you know, it's so special to see a film and then go have coffee with your friends afterwards, debate films. I love a movie that makes me feel something, even if it feels uncomfortable or happy, or sick or sad, just something that moves me in a different way, something I wasn't expecting.

And it's so interesting that were starting the CNN series with the decade of the '80s because there is a school of thought that that was the worst time of American cinema --

WHITFIELD: Oh really? How come?

MALONE: -- because in the 1970s you had these great film makers who were breaking the rules. They were making new Hollywood and smashing the old ways of old Hollywood and they really had something to say. They had a unique voice that was speaking about the time and place in which the films were made, the mood of the country at the time. And then once you had Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1977, Hollywood realized the power of making when it comes to block buster franchises and movies with mass appeal.

But when you look at these films of the 80s and the movies that were so popular like E.T., you know, Beverly Hills Cop, Ghost Busters, Back to the Future, The Goonies, these movies are so much fun --

WHITFIELD: They are.

MALONE: -- as a child of the 80s. I really do have that nostalgic feeling --

WHITFIELD: And there's fantasy.

MALONE: -- for them.

[15:50:10] WHITFIELD: Yes, lots of fantasy in there.

MALONE: Yes, so they were very much sci-fi, fantasy, action, adventures.

WHITFIELD: Oh, wow. Oh, Alicia thanks for rolling with it. Thank you so much, we got a quick peek at your favorite five. You like the really mysterious, driven kind of, you know, flex there.

So, that is lot of fun. The rear window too. OK. Thank you so much Alicia Malone, appreciate it.

And don't miss the all new CNN Original Series "The Movies" tonight at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific only on CNN. We well connect again with Brooke Baldwin because she is you know, checking out all the best of flicks when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Supporters or just stock footage? It turns out there is more than meets the eye in some of the president's latest ads. Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This Trump ad features Tracey from Florida walking the beach, praising the president.

TRACEY: I could not ask for a better president of the United States.

MOOS: And he couldn't ask for a better testimonial, unless it was from a real supporter because Tracey from Florida is just a model from iStock photo. But surely, Thomas from Washington offering Trump religious support is the real thing?

THOMAS: In our prayers.

MOOS: No, not a prayer that he's real, just a bearded and tattooed hipster type from iStock and A.J. from Texas --

[15:55:07] A.J: President Trump from although I'm a life-long Democrat.

MOOS: -- is another model from iStock photo available for a modest licensing fee of 170 bucks. All this first reported by the website popular info. What's an ad guy who spent 17 years making democratic spots think of this?

J.J. BALABAN, DEMOCRATIC ADMAKER: If I did anything remotely like this for anyone of my clients, I'd be fired.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're fired.

MOOS: Actually, no word of firings from the "Trump Make America Great Again" committee that made these Facebook ads.

(on camera) Now there is an itty-bitty disclaimer that pops up on the ad for maybe two seconds but you better have you trusting magnifying glass handy.

(voice-over) Don't blink, it's coming. What you missed says, "Actual testimonial, actor portrayal." Why would someone do this when they can just grab a real Trump supporter?

BALABAN: Sloppiness and laziness.

MOOS: Sloppiness is nothing new. There was that Marco Rubio screw- up.

JIMMY FALLON, THE TONIGHT SHOW HOST: This is real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's morning again in America.

FALLON: Stop the clip there. That's Vancouver, Canada.

MOOS: Someone on Twitter defended the Trump committee use of stock images because the unhinged jackasses on the left would go to no ends to make some Trump supporter's life a living hell.

But they didn't just borrow the people, they lifted the storefront. It's in Tokyo. Note the Japanese sign. And the beach that Tracy from Florida is walking on is actually the Mediterranean Sea. Better check Tracey's birth certificate.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: OK. And still ahead, team USA celebrating their historic World Cup win. And now, all 28 of this top ranked team have reached an agreement with the U.S. Soccer Federation over a gender discrimination lawsuit. Details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)