Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Poppy Harlow And Jim Sciutto 20191203

Committee will release the report that builds the case in their view for impeachment that a vote is set for tonight ahead of the next key hearing tomorrow. Lets begin this hour in london where President Trump is already slamming the french president ahead of this mornings bilat between the two. Our White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins is there. Good morning. Good afternoon to you. A lot to digest already from what the president has said so far today. Yeah, poppy, it did not take long for the tough talk to start here in london. It was the president s first meeting of the day. A breakfast meeting. Even before they had breakfast the cameras were inside the room and the president took questions for 15 minutes where he went after the french leader after making those comments last month to a magazine saying he believed nato is experiencing a brain death in part because of decisions from President Trump to withdraw u. S. Troops from syria. Essentially president macron is making the argument you could not rely on the United States to be this unwavering ally like other nato allies had in the past. The president just responded. He did not like those comments. He believes they were disrespectful and nasty. Listen to the words. Remember this is the person who once said nato was obsolete and triggered an emergency session when he was threatening to withdraw the United States from the group. I heard president macron said nato is brain dead. Thats very insulting to a lot of forces, including a man that does a very good job at running nato. You cant go around making statements like that about nato. Its very disrespectful. When france makes a Statement Like they made it nato, thats a very dangerous statement for them to make. So pretty interesting seeing trump stand up for nato. This is likely going to be something that comes up when the two of them sit down in a matter of minutes. But Something Else to consider in the background here is that threat from the Trump Administration yesterday for those retaliatory tariffs on french products after the Trump Administration said a french digital tax was unfairly taxing American Companies. The president is fine taxing American Companies but he wants to be the one to do it, not somebody else. Kaitlan collins in london. For the latest on the impeachment process lets go to capitol hill where Congressional Correspondent Phil Mattingly is. Walk us through for folks at home what happens next. You got this hearing tomorrow and then what follows . So lets start with heres whats about to happen and why it matters. Starting tonight the House Intelligence Committee will vote to transmit their Intelligence Committee report essentially all of the investigation theyve done up to this point into the president s actions. And its a lengthy report. Only a handful of members and a select few Staff Members have been able to see it. Theyre not allowed to remove notes or the report itself. Its held in a compartmentalized room in the basement of the capitol. And that report is lengthy and really a narrative laying out the conclusion the president misused his office in an abuse of power to target a political opponent by withholding u. S. Aid. Its largely going to track with what you saw in the public hearings. Once that vote occurs it moves over to the House Judiciary Committee and thats essentially the starting gun for the final vote to impeach the president. Thats where articles of impeachment will be drafted. The first hearing will largely be a nuts and bolts constitutional dialogue back anding for the. Four constitutional experts will be up to testify. Three democratic witnesses, one republican. The president being sent to the judiciary as the official kickoff. This will lead to a sprint that will likely end with the president being impeached by the u. S. House. One thing that i think is really interesting, phil, as these mock hearings are going on, among democrats is that even democrats sitting on the House Judiciary Committee cant agree on or havent agreed on the scope of the articles of impeachment and what theyd be. You have jaipal saying going into the mueller report. The broader it is, the strong ter is. Congresswoman escobar saying it could be broad but that will weaken our ways among the American People. Keep it focused on ukraine. How problematic, or is that problematic for them . The split is real. Its largely divergent based on the different pulse of the democratic party. There were people like jaipal and others for impeachment long before ukraine ever was an issue. Theyve been pushing for this. There were a lot more, particularly front line democrats in districts that perhaps President Trump won in 2016 that the flipped in 2018. Very late to the game. Only decided to back this idea, this inquiry once ukraine came to the forefront. Theyve been clear with Speaker Pelosi and her leadership team, keep it narrow. Keep it focused on ukraine. That difference is going to have to be worked out. Thats why the Judiciary Committee is important. Well see the public hearings but how they decide what the shape and scope of the articles of impeachment will be is still very much in the air and still an open question for debate inside the caucus. One theyll have to figure out. Not just figure out but figure out in a very quick time period given the timeline theyre working on. Before the president left for europe we heard from people such as secretary pompeo saying its disrespectful for the president to be facing an impeachment hearing at home while representing the country abroad. But it seems the president hasnt lost a step. He seems confident in the way hes speaking in these various bilats. From covering him and youve covered him for some time, is this weighing over him as he meets with World Leaders . Well, this has been a pattern of the trump presidency. Hes had multiple scandals following him when hes embarked on big summits. Theres an ocean of between him and washington but its still very much at the forefront here even for President Trump. And he says he doesnt believe that its casting some cloud over his meeting with World Leaders. He doesnt think its going to diminish his stances with them but the president said he believes if it does cast a cloud he thinks its democrats doing a disservice by holding this while hes here. If you heard from phil about how democrats are essentially trying to stick with this timeline and maintain their momentum and trying to appear fair to the president. Even if it wasnt scheduled for tomorrow, its still something thats looming over all of this. Its something thats very much on the president s mind and something hes continuing to discuss with aides and allies even while here. But this happened before with the mueller investigation. Remember he was overseas when Michael Cohen was testifying. The president would go and have these meetings with kim jongun and watch that hearing play out. Catch up on it. This is not a new thing for the president we should note. Good point. Kaitlan, thank you. Phil mattingly, we appreciate it. Lets speak about more of this with one of the democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, the site of tomorrows impeachment hearing. Congresswoman karen bass from california. We appreciate you taking the time this morning. Thank you. So were about a month into the formal impeachment process here. If you look at the polling, support public support for impeaching and removing the president from office did not budge an inch from before and after those public hearings. If we put the numbers up, 50 before the public hearings. Its 50 after. I just wonder, does this show us that democrats failed to make the case convincingly to the American People . Oh, i dont think so at all. And we are still in the middle of the process. However, 50 of the people feel that the president should not just be impeached but removed. That is a profound number. You know if you look back to the clinton impeachment that it never got above 30 of the american public. So the fact that we are starting with 50 , i think its huge. To be fair to be fair, and i do take your point, but to be fair, during the clinton impeachment, parties some members of the opposing heart changed sides. Democrats voted along with a majority of republicans to impeach even for some of the articles of impeachment. And based at least on public statements, this if it does come to a vote in the house, is going to be a purely party line vote. You may very well as you did on the first vote laying out the ground rules for the impeachment hearing, lose some democrats. How concerning is that to you . Well, i think it would be most important that it is bipartisan. And if you look back to the clinton impeachment, it was a handful, four or five democrats that voted for it. If we had a few republicans, i think that that would be a very powerful situation. And i just think its sad because they do know this is a serious problem. They know that, which is why they only argue about process. They cant argue about content. They several of them as you know even came forward and said they dont think what the president did was right. And then he blasted them. So they are left with nothing but to defend him. And i think that it doesnt look very good for them because they know the facts are there. The facts are very, very loud and for them to just focus on process, i think is really pathetic. Given that thats the reality, though, and again, based on public statements, you are heading for a party line vote. Would it make sense for democrats to consider a step short of impeachment. Perhaps a censure vote where you could get, possibly, again, and this is no guarantee, but get some republican votes on board . I think until the republicans decide that they have the power amongst them to stand up to this president , i dont see why it would make a difference whether it was censure or impeachment. And thats one of the things that is profoundly different. We have never had a president before that was abusive, that was a bully, that would threaten. And i just wish that my republican colleagues would have more courage. I recall a time in california when the republicans had to vote for taxes. And they knew if they voted for taxes that they would never be an elected official again. But we had a 40 billion deficit and they voted anyway. I want to see my republican colleagues have a backbone and say, is this seat that i hold so important that i would compromise the national security, and i would compromise the next election . I think whats at stake here is so much more important than their individual elections. And one final point, if all of them stood together, or even 20 or 30 of them stood together, and voted the right way, voted the way they know is right, he cant defeat all of them. So i think at the end of the day, you have to make a decision in your conscience. Whats more important. My individual seat or the health of our election process. Question before i let you go. After this impeachment process is over, as you know, it is not high. Impeachment is not high on the list of concerns of american voters. Polling shows that consistently. Health care,i itet cetera. Name one piece of legislation that you feel democrats should noekus on and work with republicans on to get passed after the inquiry is over. Well, i could tell you several, but if you want one, lowering the price of prescription drugs. That is an issue in everyones district. And republicans should work with us on that. You know that we have passed over 200 pieces of legislation. So the question should really be asked to mcconnell, why wont he even look at some of the legislation that was passed here in the house . And some of it has been bipartisan. Congressman karen bass, also the chairwoman of the congressional black caucus. Thanks for joining the program. Thanks for having me on. And Mitch Mcconnell is welcome on any time. Open invitation, senator. Moments from now from what could be a very excuse me intense meeting between president s trump and macron, the president launching attacks on the french president just a few hours ago. Trump called macrons comments about nato nasty. Trump has called the military Alliance Obsolete and leveled his own insults at the alliance. Welcome to our busy world. Where we all want more energy. But with less carbon footprint. Can we have both . At bp, were working every day to make energy thats cleaner and better. And we see possibilities everywhere. 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At bp, we see possibilities everywhere. President trump set to meet with a key ally on the sidelines of the nato summit. Just hours after he was publicly criticizing that same ally on the world stage. Any moment now, trump and french met Emmanuel Macron will speak to reporters in london. The president just a few hours ago slammed macrons comments when he described nato as, quote, brain dead. But President Trump, of course, has also had choice words for the alliance over the years. Lets bring back White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins. Also Cnn International diplomatic editor Nic Robertson and david sanger. Great to have all of you as we wait and well carry the comments from macron and the president live here. Take a listen to how the president responded, kaitlan to macrons criticism of the nato alliance. Referring to the turkish incursion into northern syria. I heard that President Trump macron said nato is brain dead. I think its very insulting to a lot of different forces. Nobody needed nato more than france. And, frankly, the one that benefits really the least is the United States. Thats why i think when france makes a Statement Like they made it nato, its a very dangerous statement. Kaitlan, he also said he sees france breaking off from nato. Thats a huge statement to make. Its a stunning role reversal. Normally its President Trump making comments like that and other leaders at a nato gathering criticizing the president for threatening the alliance. Were here marking the 70th anniversary and youre seeing this role reversal with trump, the one who is making those comments about something the french leader said. But a lot of this has to do with two things. Macrons criticism had to do with President Trump. He was saying it was in part because President Trump. You could no longer rely on the president to be this unwavering ally. So less of a direct less of a criticism broadly of nato and more one that was focused on the United States and on President Trump. Two, you also cannot ignore these tariffs looming in the background. Something the Trump Administration was threatening saying they conducted this review and found this french digital tax discriminated and now theyre considering responding by levying their own tariffs. So thats also something because, of course, president macron made this comment about nato and brain dead last month. Something he and the german leader have been engaged in this titfortat over and now President Trump weighing in just moments before their meeting happening any minute. It struck me as most notable. Him saying the u. S. Does not benefit from nato. Just repeating this very transactional view of every alliance. Hes said similar things about other key decadesold alliances. As you cover the nato conference, what is the degree of concern about President Trumps commitment to nato . Theres been talk, a threat if President Trump is reelected, he may pull out of the alliance entirely. An alliance which the u. S. Benefits from enormously as a counterbalance to russia as it becomes more aggressive in europe. And this is really to president macrons point. He believes that President Trump, whether he gets reelected or not has set the United States on a course that disengages it from nato. This is why president macron thinks there should be a European Defense pact. And europe should handle its own security regardless of the United States. You know, i think what weve heard today from President Trump saying i used to be angry at nato but now saying i dont feel that way. Theyre flexible. Its done really well. Ive done really well, raising an additional 130 billion. Nato says since 2016, President Trump actually says its every year annually is what he said which is stretching the facts so far. Predicted to go up 400 billion over the next four years. But this sort of mocking of President Trump saying Something Different and more positive about nato really speaks to the diplomacy of the nato secretarygeneral stoltenberg who has seen President Trump come into the alliance, demand more money. Its been down to stoltenberg to try to raise that. Now, look, weve been able to do this and, President Trump, you should take credit. President trump is now bought in to nato. You know, as we talk about in transactional, stoltening berg has got him buying in. David sanger, let me ask you about something youre an expert in and thats china. Comments from the president this morning that maybe better to wait until after the 2020 election for u. S. china trade agreement. Well see what the markets think about that in about seven minutes. How significant is that from the president on the world stage today . Well, its fairly significant, poppy, because it means that all of the issues that are coming to fore for American Farmers because of the tariffs chinese have put on and so forth would carry through to the election. And thats pretty dangerous for the president. Hes been busy funneling money, federal money to the farmers and others to make up for their lost business. I think on our earlier conversation about macrons statement, whats fascinating about this is theyre talking about different things. The president s focus is all about how much money the europeans are paying into it. An issue that goes back to the bush and Obama Administrations. They all complained about that. I think macron is complaining about what the nato mission is and whether the United States would really come to their defense. Hes got good reason to question that. Theres genuine concern about that. Before we go, it struck me that you have, while you have this decision between the u. S. And its allies, france and a public rhetorical back and forth, the two folks who are on message today are trump and putin actually. Trump telling reporters that its important for nato to speak to russia. No mention of russias continued illegal occupation of ukraine and putin, minute s later sayin that russia is ready to cooperate with nato. Kaitlan, in your reporting, is there any substance to this . Are the u. S. And russia talking about nato and russia talking . Well, the question would be if the president and putin have discussed that and what theyve said about nato. Of course, when the president makes comments essentially undermining nato, youve seen this working in their favor. Thats another interesting point going back to what david was saying about how macrons criticism was about the president and kaitlan, hold your thought. We have live pictures on the president speaking. Lets listen in. Ive gotten a report on it. We talked about it and please give my condolences to the families and to france. A great pleasure. Youve done a fantastic job in that area. Well be talking about a lot of things, including nato and trade. We do a lot of trade with france and have a minor dispute. I think well probably be able to work it out. But we have a big trade relationship, and im sure that within a short period of time, things will be looking for rosy. We hope. Thats usually the case with the two of us. We get it worked out. Weve had a lot of good things. Weve done a lot of good things together as partners. Our countries have been partners in many good ventures, including some having to do with radical islam. Its always worked out. I look forward to our discussion. Weve made a lot of progress in our first 25 minutes, and we intend to make a lot of progress in our next hour, maybe hour and a half. Thank you very much. Thank you. [ speaking french ] translator and what he said for our soldiers. And in paris yesterday and what happened. And thank you for the solidarity and also the participation on the territory. The president said weve just started our discussions, first of all, on the bilateral plan. Economic trade. And weve started to talk about things. Once again, were talking about the digital world, trade and the measures weve taken for our economies. There is also nato. And once again, weve talked about International Affairs and, clearly, during the summit that concerns also different members of nato within the heart of the International Coalition. And what we are doing. The talks ive said repeatedly, the cooperation between our two countries, military, economic, diplomatic are important. Sometimes were not always in agreement. Such as climate change. But on the fight against terrorism and the basic commitments of our soldiers, our teams work hand in hand, and i think i can say we share the objective, and weve been able to find a solution for the problems that were faced. Im very happy to have this exchange and to progress about things during this summit. Final questions which have not been discussed so far. Europe, the problems of threats on the borders and how also to act when faced with our enemies such as terrorism because everyone must be very clear on the objectives. Thats it. A better understanding of what macron was saying about nato . Well, we just began discussing nato. And what im liking about nato is that a lot of countries have stepped up. Really, i think, at my behest. But theyve stepped up and theyve put up a lot of money. It was 130 million 130 billion, and thats a lot. Theyre now stepping up again. Its going to be 400 billion. We have commitments. We just left the secretarygeneral and he has got some things that are very important. I discussed with him the flexibility so we have it not just with one area of the world. You and i discuss this all the time. We have all areas of the world because nato is a lot different than it was and now a lot different over the last three years. So we have a lot of countries stepping up and putting up a lot of money. The number as of this moment is exactly 131 billion. Thats a year. Thats a tremendous amount of money. But its not enough. And they also raised and have commitments for 400 billion. So nato, which was really heading in the wrong direction three years ago, is heading down. You look at a graph, it was a report where i dont think they would have gone on much longer. Now its actually very strong and getting stronger. Many people are committed to that 2 . Ultimately, the 2 will be raised. And the president and i, i think, feel we need more flexibility. We can use it for other things. Not just looking at one specific country. A lot of people say it was meant to look at originally the soviet union, now russia, but we also have other things to look at, whether its radical islamic terrorism, whether its the tremendous growth of china. There are a lot of other things. So nato is becoming different than it was. Much bigger than it was and much stronger than it was because people are now fulfilling their commitments. There are some countries that arent fulfilling their commitment. Those countries are going to be dealt with. Maybe ill deal with them from a trade standpoint in a different way. Ill work something out where they have to pay. We dont want to have people delinquent. I dont be its fair for us to be involved, including france, and you have countries that arent paying their way. You know, less than 1 . A couple that are less than 1 . So nato has made a lot of progress over the last three years and the word flexibility is very important. Theyre not just looking at one area now. Theyre looking at the world. To me, its very important. My statement created some reactions. I do stand by it. And i have to say, when you look at what nato should be, first of all, this is and the president just reminded you of some figures. And the fact its perfectly true that the u. S. Over decades and decades. And i do share the statement. Thats why im a strong supporter of a stronger european component in nato. Which is exactly what we have done. So in terms of we are investing we are increasing our gdp. But when we speak about nato, its not just about numbers. We have to be respectful. The first burden we share, is our soldiers lives. And i do believe that in such circumstances, we do pay what we have to pay for security. When i look at the situation in syria, in iraq, france is we have to its impossible to just say we have to put money, we have to put soldiers. This is not the case today. What about peace in europe . After the decision of the imf treaty, we have to build something new because now this is a risk for germany, france and a lot of European Countries to have new coming from russia. I want the european component to be part of such a new imf treaty. When we speak about enemy as you say of the alliance, what is the objective . To protect our partners against external threats and france will do it. And we will thats a common enemy today as we mentioned. And im sorry to say that we dont have the same definition of terrorism around the table. When i look at turkey, they are fighting against those who fight with us. And sometimes they work with if we just speak about what we pay and we dont have clear decisions about such a situation, we are not terrorists. We are not i do believe we need who is the enemy today . And lets be clear and Work Together on that. I know that we do share. It means more european investment. I do agree. It means having clear, clear definition of these groups. I think we do agree. The one thing i will also like to say, youve been really doing a great job in africa. And youve been very much involved there, more than most. And thats been fantastic. I appreciate you saying the United States for decades had been paying way, way disproportionately too much for nato and you have other countries paying far too little that are directly benefited by it. And by the United States involvement. And were changing that around somewhat. And its very important. But were very important player. I think without unato is not the same thing as we discussed and discussed it at length with secretarygeneral stoltenberg but were behind you 100 and all of the money thats been raised and all of these countries all of a sudden putting up money. Its a great thing to see. But we do have a great we really have a different objective, i think, right now. Were looking at a much bigger picture. And that includes, well, it includes you mentioned iraq but really includes iran, too. If you look at whats going on, they have massive riots. Theyre having protests all over the country and killing a lot of people. Thats why they turned off their internet system so no one can find out. But if the media would go there and its, i think, very hard for the media to go there right now, but they are killing a lot of people. But nato has come a long way in three years. And its something that were very proud of. Were with them. And nato serves a fantastic function if everybody is involved. If theyre not involved, and i believe the president is very much involved and likes the idea of nato, but he wants it to be utilized properly. If its not utilized properly, we all agree, right . Thats no good. So weve had a very good discussion. A lot of people, and were meeting with a lot of countries later. And theyre really stepping up. For the most part, theyre stepping up. Well deal with them on trade. We have a lot of power with respect to trade. They make a fortune with the United States and then they dont pay their bills. Thats no good. Nato has come a long way in three years and its become very powerful. And very, very powerful. And its become, i think, a much fairer statement in terms of the United States. Were able to go down a little bit. We were paying 4 to 4. 3 of the largest gdp ever. Nobody has ever had a gdp like we have right now. And nobody has come close. And other people were paying 1 . Some people were paying less than 1 of a very small gdp. Its not fair. And if they get attacked, we protect them. But its not fair. So a lot of changes have been made. Phil, go ahead. Mr. President , what is your message to president macron about the tech company and what will your process be in determining what additional products from france you might apply tariffs to. Were working on that right now. We have discussed it. I think well be able to work something out. Maybe not. Maybe well do it through taxing. We can work it out easily through taxing. But there are American Companies, Tech Companies that youre talking about, theyre not my favorite people because theyre not exactly for me. But thats okay. Theyre American Companies. And we want to tax American Companies. Its important. We want to tax them. Thats not for somebody else to tax. And as the president knows, we tax wine and we have other taxes scheduled. But wed rather not do that. But thats the way it works. Its either going to work out or well work out some mutually beneficial tax. And the tax will be substantial. And im not sure its going to come to that, but it might. It might. Mr. President , has france well, i havent asked that to the president today. We have a tremendous amount of captured fighters, isis fighters over in syria. And theyre all under lock and key, but many are from france. Many are from germany, the uk. Theyre mostly from europe. And some of the countries are agreeing. I have not spoken to the president about that. Would you like some nice isis fighters . I can give them to you. You can take every one you want. Lets be serious. The very last numbers of fighters on the ground are the fighters coming from syria, from iraq. It is true that you have foreign fighters coming from europe, but this is a tiny minor ut ity of overall problem we have. Its not yet finished. The goal is to get rid of isis and terrorist groups. Yes, we still have fighters in this regiment in syria and iraq. It makes the situation more difficult to fix the situation against isis. Second, some of the foreign fighters are being in iraq because of the we have a humanitarian approach for children. Very organized. And well have a casebycase approach. But we need to finish war against isis and dont make any mistakes. The number one problem are not the foreign fighters. This is the isis fighters in the regiment and you have more and more of these fighters due to the situation today. This is why hes a great politician. That was one of the greatest nonanswers ive ever heard. And thats okay. Because sometimes, you can have some temptation from the u. S. Side. Could be the press to say this is we have some of our people, but if you dont look at the reality of the situation, number one, not to be ambiguous with these groups, that is why weve started to discuss about our relations with turkey. But i think any with turkey, visavis these groups is for the situation on the ground. France has taken back some fighters. We have a lot of fighters. We captured a lot of people. And we have captured 100 of the caliphate but you know that that means that its still going and going. We set a small contingent in and wiped out another portion of isis. We dont want to happen to me what happened with president obama where it reformed and then became stronger than it was in the first place. We dont want that to happen. And as i said before, weve taken the oil. We have the oil. So we have total control of the oil so that theyre not going to be able to use it. They use that oil to really fuel up their wealth, to fuel up their money. That was their primary source of income. And they get contributions so we have now lists of where these contributions come from which is very important. You have people contributing, if you can believe it. Some of these people are wealthy people that make contributions. And we have lists of where. We learned a lot. When we got al baghdadi, that was a great get. And when we killed him, we have a lot of information that im revealing now for the first time, but we also got a lot of good information. So a lot of things are happening. And france has been very helpful. Theyve been very, very helpful. Go ahead. Any other questions for us . [ speaking french ] translator questions asked this morning. Much pragmatism and what are the interests of france and the european position . I do it with the concern also of having an amicable, constructive relationship with the United States. We talked about nato, and i stated what was our position, and it is assumed because we are in a state of operation, clarity. It was mentioned yesterday about the digital tax and things were very clear. The first is why we reached this situation because today we have digital companies, regardless of their nationality, who compete. And 14 points less. Its not fair. We have on the basis of the proposal, the european commission, a digital tax doesnt affect American Companies. It allows to correct this gap, this unfair gap. France did so with other companies. My first question is what will happen from the uk that pays the same tax . Italy, spain, who have themselves did it on the proposal of the commission. All these countries are going to be treated in the same way. Were in a phase thats about to start about discussions that would take place in the next few weeks. And with President Trump, i think it can sort out the situati situation, the previous situation is to have a truly unilateral tax that allows not to make any distinction. We shall see in our talks over the next few weeks, but ive got the impression that france and so the commission expressed itself this morning to provide its support and there must be an escalation, and im sure that a solution will be found together. So its not up to me to comment on such and such a proposapropot on my side, im determined to defend the interests of our friends and europes interests with the greatest friendship of the United States and on the level of freedom also. I just have to say, i came into a position where the European Union was making anywhere from 100 to 150 billion a year in deficits to the United States. They were making it and we were losing it and so we had to do something that is fair. Not severe. Fair. Were losing tremendous amounts of money. The European Union is strong on barriers. Barriers meaning certain of our products cant come in, including agricultural product. It cant come in. And yet the European Union sells openly to the United States and generally untaxed. Taxed at a lower level. These are problems were talking about and working out, and the digital tax is the least of it. I inherited a situation where the European Union, which was formed partially for this reason, for a lot of reasons it was formed, partially to make better or take advantage of the United States. And theyve done that very brilliantly. And, frankly, its not right. So ive exposed it. A lot of people didnt know it. And were doing things about it. We have no choice because the United States cant continue to lose the kind of money theyve lost over the last, literally, since the formation of the European Union. And i think well work something out. They want to talk, as you know. The new head wants to talk who is supposed to be very respected woman. Very highly respected. And i look forward to meeting her. They want to meet. But we have a very unfair trade situation where the u. S. Loses a lot of money for many, many years with the European Union. Billions and billions of dollars. To be specific, over 150 billion a year. So we dont want to be doing that. And we can make a deal. We can make a harsh approach. We can solve that problem instantaneously if we wanted to, but i dont want to do that. These are friends of ours, people weve had extraordinary relationships with and i do personally and im insure we can work something out. You mentioned earlier the iran protest. Does the United States support these protesters in iran . I dont want to comment on that, but the answer is no, but i dont want to comment on that. Mr. President , on turkey, president macron wanted the United States to do more to standing up to president erdogan and clarifying that relationship. I can only say we have a very Good Relationship with turkey, and with president erdogan. I do. I cant speak for the president of france. We have a very Good Relationship. We pulled our soldiers out and said you can patrol your own border. I dont care who you do it with but well not have soldiers patrolling the border thats been fought over for 2,000 years. But we took our soldiers out. We put some of the soldiers around the oil where weve captured the oil and taken the oil. And we have the oil. But weve and we brought some home and we will be bringing some home and weve sent some to other areas, okay . But we have a very Good Relationship with turkey. Mr. President and just on turkey, to be clear, we have a lot of cooperation with turkey on security, trade, migration. With the european and france. I do respect the leaders, whatever they can say. I respect but now a question for this nato summit, i think we need clarification from the turkish side. But i do believe at least we have two clarifications to be asked. How is it possible to be a member of the alliance, to work with to technically it is not possible. Clarifications to be provided by the turkish president as far as he wants to be part. Second, i understand from turkey that they want to block from the summit if we do not agree with their definition of terrorist organization, and ands not our definition. Mr. President this is why were having meetings. Those are points and well be discussing that with the president today. Yes. Mr. President , will you issue sanctions on turkey over their purchase of the Missile System . Were looking at it now and were talking about it now. As you know, turkey wanted to buy our patriot system and the Obama Administration wouldnt let them. And they only let them when they were ready to buy another system, which is not the same system. But turkey for a long period of time wanted very much to buy the patriot system which is our system which is what nato uses which is a great system which is the best system but they wouldnt sell it to turkey. So, you know, there are two sides of the story, i have to say this. But we will be discussing that with turkey in a little while. Well be meeting with turkey in a little while and also tomorrow. To be clear about this point, and to the full view they were discussing with europe and we accepted to sell it to them. So this is not due and one person explained by the refusal of a few years ago of the americans no the to sell the patriot. Its their own decision, even having a european option totally compliant with nato so they decided not to be compliant with nato. Sir, mr. President , Prime Minister johnson i believe is organizing some sort of discussion later today about the syria conflict. Are you going to take part in that are you talking about ambassador boris johnson. The Prime Minister. I thought you meant woody johnson. Hes really risen rapidly. Where is woody . Is he here . This is his house. I cant believe hes not here. Yes, well be meeting with Prime Minister johnson in a little while. Ill be seeing him later on. Were going over to number 10 which is a very exciting place to be as you know. Well be discussing a lot of different thing, yes. One other related question. The London Bridge attack a few days ago, do you have any comment. No, i dont have the comment on the attack other than to say i was very proud of those people that did such a good job between the fire extinguisher and whatever else, it was an amazing job. He was very violent. You could see that. This was captured very much on tape. I think the way i think they were british citizens the way they stepped up was incredible. That was really great so a terrible thing. Terrible attack. A lot of people very badly hurt. I believe three or four killed. Is it four now today . So its terrible. Its a terrible thing and i know its an act of terrorism. Its been declared an act of terrorism radical islamic terrorism, by the way and its very bad, very bad, about i think the way they stepped up to me was something very special okay . Question on russia. Mr. Macron says that russia shouldnt be designated as an adversary of nato. Do you agree with that . Do you think russia is the enemy and i dont think i think we can get along with russia. Weve discussed that before. Certainly we have to be prepared whether its russia or somebody else, we have to be prepared. But he and i have a pretty similar view on that. I think we feel that we can get along with russia. And i think its a good thing to get along with russia and i campaigned on it. I would go into big stadiums. People like it and i think the russian people would like to see it too. A lot of good can come out of it. But the purpose of nato is that but the purpose of nato can be much more and thats where were showing the flexibility over the last period of two years. Okay. Yes, sir. Translator organize to face up to challenges, look at the New Historical situation and also our geography, the cyberattacks on the and the ukrainian crisis is the status quo the best of options . I believe not. We must commit a procedure with methods and preconditions to progress on the ukrainian conflict and which well do in paris on the 9th of december on the normandy format to make progress on ukraine and russia to be able to defend a schedule, an agenda where europeans and the members of the alliance define the procedures, the definitions of joint threats with russia and escalation, itll take time but i think that if we on the one hand want stability in europe and reduce conflict it is important to have a Strategic Dialogue with russia. We must do so without naivete and the weight of history that its the european country and having a lot of empathy for this country in regards to the baltic states, poland and a few other, we know that its to protect ourselves against potential aggression and in that we must show full visibility on the protection that the alliance and europe in this direction must and france will play its full part. Finally, if i think there is one joint enemy, it is terrorism. International terrorism and islamic terrorism in particular. Lets be clear over that which leads us to act together in the event within the context of an International Coalition which is under u. S. Responsibility but nato is committed as you know france is present and also that forces us to act. Mr. President , we see that youre determined that you appear isolated on the european because of your attitude towards russia and you cant have a strong European Defense and be a member of nato, a lot of people can say you can have your cake and eat it but how in with a complicated political situation where germany and your neighbors otherwise, its not a cake and eat it, its a cheesecake. Its the fact of a strong European Defense can reduce the american participation, a position which is very clear, which is it is legitimate that United States as of today want to protect europe and and settle conflicts between neighboring countries. You must invest more and so were not in a situation as at the end of the Second World War where europe was disarmed and where part of european did not want rearmament and our mentality was filled over decades and there wasnt a europe types have changed. There w there isnt a warsaw pact, but also on the part of the United States responsibility im not as pessimistic as you. The last two years weve progressed, strengthened operation European Defense front, European Initiative for intervention people said it was impossible and every time there are new members on the 14th of july italy has joined always and it continues and it will be done when say in fully integrated with regards because its not a question to give in to external threats and be disarmed. Europe takes up its responsibility to take up the position of the United States which has played its part. To have