Theresa May Interviewed By CNN Talk Panelist; May Repeatedly Questioned On Brexit Progress; Iceland Smallest Country Ever To Qualify For World Cup.
GORANI: What will you do if you are a world leader trying to get over horrible past seven days? If you're Britain's Theresa May, you go on national radio and take questions directly from the public. She was speaking to Ian Dale, a panelist on our very own CNN talk show. Here is some of what she had to say. Listen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: I'm particularly just worried about this new deal scenario. I know that you really want to try to get a good deal, but what would happen in the case and you release the white paper on this yesterday. What is your backup plan for E.U. citizens in case of a no deal?</s>THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Yes. Well, as I said, we are looking at -- we wanted to say perhaps the basic message, we want to ensure that you can stay in the U.K. Obviously, the reason we are having these discussions with the E.U. is because once we leave the E.U. if we have got an agreement with them, then it is about how that reciprocity of treatment. But we want you to be able to say and we want you to be able to contribute to our society.</s>UNIDENTIFIED RADIO HOST: Can you guarantee that Nina and all the millions of people like her under no ideal situation would be able to stay with the same rights that they enjoy at the moment?</s>MAY: Well, we will device a (inaudible) to people staying when we got a deal with the European Union and that is what we are working out.</s>UNIDENTIFIED RADIO HOST: We know that, but we are talking about a no deal here.</s>MAY: Now you are talking about no deal and that is why -- what I'm going to say to Nina is that we will look at the arrangements that we would put in place in relation to no deal. We are doing work on that at the moment.</s>UNIDENTIFIED RADIO HOST: If there was a Brexit vote now, would you vote Brexit because you guys had remain in the referendum. Have you changed your mind?</s>MAY: Well -- I don't answer hypothetical questions, but what I have --</s>UNIDENTIFIED RADIO HOST: It's an easy answer. I would be able to answer that. I know I would vote in exactly the same way.</s>MAY: Well, I voted remain. I voted remain for good reasons at the time but circumstances move on. I think the important thing now is that I think we should all be focused on delivering Brexit.</s>UNIDENTIFIED RADIO HOST: Absolutely.</s>MAY: And delivering the best deal -- what you're asking me to say how would I vote in a vote now against a different background, different national background, different economic background --</s>UNIDENTIFIED RADIO HOST: You tell me that you would vote to leave now? Jeremy (inaudible) conference, he said he voted remain in the referendum (inaudible) because of remain. He said now he would vote for Brexit because he says George Osborn's economic predictions did not come true and he said that he was fed up with the (inaudible) of the European Commission. Now if he says he could change his mind, I don't quite understand why you can't since you are prime minister leading us into Brexit.</s>MAY: Yes. And I'm prime minister showing I'm going to deliver Brexit for the British people --</s>UNIDENTIFIED RADIO HOST: You can't tell me that you would now vote leave in the referendum?</s>MAY: Because I think -- and when you come-- I could sit here and I could say I'd still vote remain or I vote leave just to give you an answer to that question. I'm being open and honest with you. What I did last time on was I looked at everything and came to a judgment and I do exactly the same this time around. But we are not having another referendum and that's absolutely crucial.</s>GORANI: I'm joined now by the man you saw in that clip, Iain Dale, he was interviewing the prime minister and also here with me is Ayesha Hazarika, a fellow CNN Talk panelist. They both join me now. Iain, what did you make of this interview was a bit cringe making in parts, wasn't it? I mean, she was asked quite clearly, would you still vote remain, yes or no. I don't how many times you asked it five or six times, she wouldn't give an answer.</s>IAIN DALE, CNN TALK PANELIST: You showed 2 minutes, though. It was actually 40-minute phone in. She did well on quite a few other questions, but on Brexit, you would expect the prime minister to be really fluent to answer question very clearly. But, as you saw there that did not really happen. I think a lot of people will wonder why somebody who is leading Britain through these Brexit negotiations she can't actually say yes, well, of course, if there was referendum now, I would vote Brexit.</s>GORANI: Is it a tricky position? If she says yes, I'd vote remain again then people would be wondering why on earth are you leading negotiations to leave. If she answers no I'd vote leave now, they say you are flip-flopping, wouldn't they?</s>DALE: Well, the health secretary as I said in the interview, Jeremy Hunt (ph), he told me last week in an interview, which is kind why I asked the question that he had changed his mind for very logical reasons. Now she must know what she would do. She says, well, I don't answer hypothetical questions. Always get out tools for any politicians as you well know when (inaudible). That did not come over very well.</s>GORANI: What did you make of her demeanor?</s>DALE: She was -- when she started, we talked about her conference call, when she made that conference speech last week, she has somebody rush the stage and then she could not really get her words out because she's coughing for half of the speech and she was very good on that. And she's quite lighthearted and she answered questions. We've had so- called racial disparity order today, which has made very uncomfortable (inaudible) in this country about how the minorities feel disadvantaged. It was her initiative and that was the original reason for the phone-in so she could come on to talk about that. We spent about 30 minutes talking about it and she was fine on that and she clearly cares about a great deal. But I'm afraid all headlines in tomorrow's newspapers are going to concentrate on one thing and it's not that.</s>GORANI: All right. Ayesha, what did you make of it?</s>AYESHA HAZARIKA, CNN TALK PANELIST: Well, I think it confirms to everybody that she's in a very, very weak position. I mean, I think Iain was quite naughty enough given that question because it's an impossible question for her to answer. But she should have been prepared for it. She looked very sort of caught under with and the answer that disturb me the most, she was asked by a call if there is no deal, will E.U. citizens be allowed to stay in the U.K. and she could not give a definite answer. I think that is a terrible headline to come out tomorrow. Iain even pushed her on that. Now Iain is, you know, he's a proud Brexiter and he almost I think was fishing her to give an answer of reassurance. She could not give the answer there on my --</s>GORANI: (Inaudible) hard Brexit is not an unlikely possibility. It seems like the idea and the notion of a hard Brexit is floating around more. The German Federation -- Industry Federation even said not preparing for a hard Brexit is, quote, "naive."</s>DALE: Well, I think they are all preparing for that. They are actually preparing for no deal, but I don't think those preparations have got very far yet, because it's only in recent days that Theresa May and David Davis, the Brexit secretary, have been talking about this. I'm not sure I take a (inaudible) of the German business organization because --</s>GORANI: But the whole point of Brexiters, they've been saying over and over again, the Germans (inaudible) --</s>GORANI: So, the German Industry Federation says -- it's not inconsequential.</s>DALE: It's a (inaudible) organization, a confederation versus industry in this country. What you have to do is to talk to the individual businesses, they are the ones that are putting pressure on the German government not necessarily through their trader association.</s>HAZARIKA: What this does show is that the government is so sieved on the Brexit plans. I mean, I got the impression from that tortured clip when you said to her, would you change your mind. Clearly the answer was no. She said I voted remain for good reasons. I think she sees the (inaudible) is looming ahead of her. She can see this cliff edge and that's why her body language looked as (inaudible).</s>GORANI: Does the Labour Party have a better idea of what to do, how to leave these negotiations and more effectively? What is their proposal?</s>HAZARIKA: The Labour Party -- the Torys moved into the position of the Labour Party. The Labour Party said we should have a two-year transitional period or as long as it takes with customs union and the single market and then Asian said the conservatives adopted that position. But the Labour Party are not (inaudible). What is interesting is that there are briefings coming out seen actually the E.U. is starting to talk to the British Labour Party. They all seen as -- Jeremy Corbyn made a joke beforehand. They are having discussions with that the Brexit secretary, (inaudible), the shadow Brexit secretary and Jeremy Corbyn because they think British politics is in such disarray. Who know what will happen?</s>DALE: What they are doing is just trying to stir the pot and annoy the conservatives. That's what they are doing.</s>HAZARIKA: Well, they don't need to stir the pot that much more because clearly Brexit is in disarray.</s>GORANI: I mean, I guess, from the outside looking in, a lot people asked me -- now here is the prime minister who called an election which she didn't have to, lost her majority and is now saying as if there is no debate about it whatsoever. There will never be a second referendum even on the terms of the deal. How is that acceptable to Britain?</s>GORANI: This is the question I get most often.</s>HAZARIKA: Remember, this is the prime minister said, I will not call an early election. I will not call an election, and she did. So, I would not have any story, in her words, saying that there will be a second referendum.</s>DALE: Well, they won't be a second referendum and the reason it won't --</s>HAZARIKA: We don't know that.</s>DALE: I do know that because if there is --</s>GORANI: On the terms of a deal not on the --</s>DALE: It's taking the British people for fools. It was 52-48. Yes, that was close --</s>GORANI: But nobody saying a referendum on whether or not to Brexit, but a referendum on the terms of the deals.</s>DALE: That's what I mean, though, because if you don't accept the terms of a deal, you have to stay in --</s>GORANI: You come up with another deal, couldn't you?</s>DALE: Well, should we make best of three?</s>GORANI: Why not?</s>HAZARIKA: A seasoned political commentator with all (inaudible) can't make any predictions on this. There could be a second referendum.</s>DALE: Well, my prediction is that there won't be.</s>GORANI: OK. So, let's look a little bit forward because time is of the essence here, we are a year and a half away from 2019. What's going to happen? Just every few weeks the two negotiators on one side David Davis and the E.U. on the other will say two very different things at the same (inaudible) and then we'll get to the next round of talks? ou feel you have to stay with another neocon's</s>DALE: If you read the book by Yanis (inaudible), the former great finance minister, he shows exactly how the European Commission appraised in negotiations. Now we are not Greece. I'm not saying we are, but they are following the blueprint of what happened to Greece in 2013. They will take this right up until the 59th minute of the final hour and they will rely on the fact that we will just cave in and give up everything. Well, we are not going to do that I don't think nor should we do that because it shows a sign of weakness. We are not a weak country.</s>GORANI: What Yanis (inaudible), we interviewed him here. I think it was one of the most interesting interviews on Brexit that we -- that we actually conducted. Because what he said is Britain is going to spend two years negotiating about who to negotiate with, how to negotiate, it is going to be going -- it's going to go on and on and on and it is going to be crazy making for them. They think they have a negotiating partner, but they don't.</s>HAZARIKA: I mean, I used to be a British civil servant, we used to go in and do quite a lot of work with the bureaucrats at the European Union. All of this is just fluff. All of this wheels within wheels. This is all the (inaudible) before the main deal will be struck, which will be in the 11th hour. And the truth is Iain despite what you say there is the might of E.U. against Britain. They will have the upper hand. That's why a lot of people -- and I don't think Brexit is going to get a brilliant deal. We will have to take what --</s>GORANI: Will you able to say (inaudible).</s>DALE: (Inaudible). What kind of language is that?</s>HAZARIKA: That's the reality of negotiating.</s>GORANI: Iain Dale, Ayesha Hazarika, thanks so much for joining us. We really appreciate it on this day and it was great listening to your interview, your calling program with the Prime Minister today on LBC. Still ahead, Donald Trump takes another dig at a Republican senator who blasted his leadership. We are live in Washington with the latest.