CBS Evening News broadcasted live from Paris, France Monday ahead of a new international climate summit planned by French President Emmanuel Macron after President Trump announced he would pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord. And in a one-on-one interview with the French President, anchor Jeff Glor appeared to be fishing for him to say something disparaging of Trump. But Macron never took the bait.
“Now to our other big story, the summit here in Paris tomorrow,” Glor announced immediately following their coverage of the terror attack in New York City. “It was organized by French President Emmanuel Macron to focus on climate change following President Trump's decision to pull out -- the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris accord, which set goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
For Glor’s first question of the video, he asked Macron: “How much has the withdrawal affected your efforts?” “I think the withdrawal, to be totally fair with you, created a huge momentum to me to create a counter-momentum,” Macron said to Glor’s obvious surprise.
“And you say you're in better shape now because of this withdrawal? That the President did you a favor,” Glor followed up, sounding confused. According to Macron, Trump’s decision to pull out was a boon to the climate accord because “it creates an impulse for a lot of others” to step up and do more, both in the public and private sectors.
Glor then proceeded to ask Macron about his relationship with President Trump. First, he asked about how often they call each other, then he wondered: “And you would characterize that relationship as friendly?” “Yes, very direct,” the French President responded.
Seeing that he wasn’t going to get anywhere with that, Glor shifted gears to the U.S. recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The CBS host wanted to know what the two said to each other before the announcement was made:
GLOR: And he said what?
MACRON: He said that probably he will announce that he wanted to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
GLOR: And you told him what?
MACRON: I told him I thought it was a mistake and that such a unilateral decision is not compliant with our international discussions and our international rules and will not facilitate the peace process.
“Was that a calm conversation? Was that a confrontational conversation,” Glor wanted to know. Macron told him the conversation was “open and direct” and that each leader needed to make the decision for their own country: “You can agree to disagree, which is the case between us on some issues.” “In your estimation, does it jeopardize the peace process,” Glor followed up. Macron took the diplomatic route and talked about what he wanted for all parties involved.
The CBS Evening News segment was wrapped up with a question about how all counties could stop terror attacks from occurring. A rather mild ending to a segment meant to dig into Trump for screwing up international relations while being broadcast from abroad at a climate conference.
Transcript below:
CBS Evening News
December 11, 2017
6:36:16 PM EasternJEFF GLOR: Now to our other big story, the summit here in Paris tomorrow. It was organized by French President Emmanuel Macron to focus on climate change following President Trump's decision to pull out -- the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris accord, which set goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We had an extended conversation with Macron today on a number of issues, including terrorism, the future of Jerusalem, and more, but we begin with this summit called "One Planet. "
[Cuts to video]
How much has the withdrawal affected your efforts?
EMMANUEL MACRON: I think the withdrawal, to be totally fair with you, created a huge momentum to me to create a counter-momentum.
GLOR: And you say you're in better shape now because of this withdrawal? That the President did you a favor?
MACRON: I think we have the momentum because I think we have two phenomena. So with withdrawal of the U.S., which for me is a mistake, but it creates an impulse for a lot of others to say: “We have to react and do something because it's impossible to leave the floor to some kind of dismantling of the Paris agreement. Second, a deep wake-up call for the private sectors and some of us to say, wow, so we have to react. If we decide not to move and not to change our way to produce, to invest, to behave, we will be responsible for billions of victims. I don't want to be a leader in such a situation, so let’s act right now.
GLOR: He says he's open to renegotiation.
MACRON: You know; you have more than 180 countries as negotiators. I'm not ready to renegotiate with so many people. I'm sorry. Around the table. The U.S. did sign the Paris agreement. It's extremely aggressive to decide on his own just to leave, and no way to push the others to renegotiate because one decided to leave the floor. I'm sorry to say that. It doesn't fly.
GLOR: You think he'll change his mind?
MACRON: Yes. I mean, I'm not ready to renegotiate, but I'm ready to welcome him if he decides to come back.
GLOR: How often do you speak to President Trump?
MACRON: Look, as often as we need. For instance, during the past weeks we had three to four phone calls together. It's very easy, if he asks for a call, I call him back, and exactly the same on his side. We have very fluent and open discussion.
GLOR: And you would characterize that relationship as friendly?
MACRON: Yes, very direct.
GLOR: You talked about Jerusalem?
MACRON: Yes, exactly.
(…)
GLOR: And he said what?
MACRON: He said that probably he will announce that he wanted to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
GLOR: And you told him what?
MACRON: I told him I thought it was a mistake and that such a unilateral decision is not compliant with our international discussions and our international rules and will not facilitate the peace process.
GLOR: Was that a calm conversation? Was that a confrontational conversation?
MACRON: I think it's always an open and direct discussion. You can agree to disagree, which is the case between us on some issues. I mean, he told me the rationale of his decision. I told him that for me it's not the right announcement, but at the end of the day, you decide for your own, and he decided for the U.S. I decided for France, which is normal.
GLOR: In your estimation, does it jeopardize the peace process?
MACRON: So my first obsession, I would say, and my first concern is to preserve peace and calm in the whole region. Second, I think we have to discuss with all the parties and try to find a way out that's obviously the reaction of the Palestinians will not be very positive. They are not in the good mood to progress toward any peace process.
(…)
