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Protesters Disrupt Trump Campaign Rally; Building A Strategy For Defeating ISIS; Historic Climate Change Draft Deal Approved; Obama to Speak on Landmark Climate Deal; Obama Speaks on Landmark Climate Deal; Historic Climate Change Draft Deal Approved; 2 Syrian Terror Suspects Arrested in Geneva. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 12, 2015 - 17:00   ET

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


[17:00:22] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour, I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. We begin this hour on the campaign trail with Donald Trump. The Republican presidential front-runner interrupted by protesters four times today during a campaign rally in South Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Close to doing something and then --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: The protests erupting after Trump briefly mentioned his plan to ban Muslims from traveling to the United States temporarily. One thing Trump did not talk about at that rally, an apparent end to what has been described by a "Washington Post" column as his political bromance with Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): ZELENY (voice-over): Trump, still comfortably on top of the Republican field, has a new rival nipping at his heels. For the first time, Ted Cruz signaled his plan at a closed-door fund-raiser to take on Trump and Ben Carson.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that gravity will bring both of those campaigns down. And I think the lion's share of their supporters come to us.

ZELENY: A recording of Cruz given to "The New York Times" offers a behind-the-scenes look at his strategy to try what's eluded other Republicans, taking down Trump.

CRUZ: People are looking for, who is prepared to be a commander-in- chief? Now, that's a question of strength, but it's also a question of judgment. And I think that is a question that is a challenging question for both of them.

ZELENY: Cruz has been one of the few Republicans unwilling to tangle with the billionaire front-runner. As Cruz tried to contain the furor after his private words went

public, he tweeted, "The establishment's only hope, Trump and me in a cage match. Sorry to disappoint. Donald Trump is terrific."

TRUMP: Thank you so much.

ZELENY: Trump, appearing tonight in Iowa, said he will return fire.

"Looks like Ted Cruz is getting ready to attack. I am leading by so much, he must. I hope so. He will fall like all others. Will be easy."

It's a moment Trump's been waiting for.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And he's been so supportive, but at some point he's going to have to hit me, right? It's going to be a sad day, but we will hit back, I promise.

ZELENY: The latest skirmish comes as Republicans worry whether they can stop Trump. Party leaders discussed preparing for a contested convention at a private meeting this week in Washington. Ben Carson said any backroom deals could push he and Trump from the party.

In a statement today, he said, "If this was the beginning of a plan to subvert the will of the voters and replace it with the will of the political elite, I assure you Donald Trump will not be the only one leaving the party."

The Republican National Committee said there was no reason for worry.

SEAN SPICER, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Republican voters will choose the delegates that will go to the convention in Cleveland next July. Those people will decide the nominee. That's it, bottom line, plain and simple.

ZELENY: The party is trying to bring order to the chaotic race, as other candidates hope to gain traction. Supporters of Ohio Governor John Kasich launched a new online effort to put a stake in Trump.

TRUMP: Trump Steaks are by far the best tasting, most flavorful beef you have ever had.

ZELENY: Mocking one of the mogul's old businesses, Trump Steaks. Yet Trump remains squarely on top. A new poll in New Hampshire shows Trump at 27 percent, followed by Chris Christie at 12 and Marco Rubio at 11.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Jeff Zeleny, thank you for that. Let's bring in our CNN political commentator Ben Ferguson, host of "The Ben Ferguson Show," and Marc Lamont Hill, a professor at Morehouse College. Thank you both for being here.

I know you will be watching the GOP debate, as the world, I think, will on Tuesday night here on CNN. But Ben, we heard how Ted Cruz tried to smooth things over with Trump last night by that tweet, including he's terrific, saying the establishment wants a fight, we're not going to fight. What do you expect sort of long term that we'll see from this relationship, especially post-Iowa?

BEN FERGUSON, RADIO HOST, "THE BEN FERGUSON SHOW": Look, the relationship with Donald Trump is only good if you're losing to him, and if you do start to get closer to beating him, your relationship is going to maybe become to the point of irreconcilable differences, and a true divorce. I mean, that's what you understand about Trump. Anybody is his enemy if they look like they are threatening his campaign.

He has done this every time someone started a surge, whether it be Carly Fiorina, whether it be Ben Carson, whether it be Jeb Bush early on, and I think what Ted Cruz understands and is being pretty smart about this is, you don't want to get into a trash talking war with Donald Trump, because you will lose that war. Donald Trump is incredible at trash talking, and so you want to be allies or at least not be at war with him for as long as possible, and if Trump comes after you first, and then let him come after you, but you don't want to start that war.

HARLOW: Let's look at these poll numbers, because you've got the Iowa caucuses 50 days away. Here's a Monmouth University poll that actually has Ted Cruz up five points ahead of Donald Trump in Iowa. We know Cruz has done really well with the evangelical vote there, you look this week on CNN/ORC poll, it shows that Cruz edged out Trump for that critical evangelical vote. Both of the polls though taken, gentleman, before Trump announced his controversial proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims.

Marc to you, do you think that affects the evangelical vote either way?

[17:05:30] MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Sadly, I think it may help Trump. I mean, there's been no sign even based on a sort of immediate polls from slightly less credible sources that Trump is somehow going to be hurt by those absurd, ridiculous, Islamophobic comments that he made. What I expect is that Ted Cruz does really well in Iowa, but that Trump still polls super well in Iowa and may come out with a victory there, not because he's necessarily going to win the whole thing, although that's entirely possible at this point.

But because Iowa is an activist caucus, Iowa tends to pull people from the extremes and evangelicals tend to have an overly strong impact in that caucus. And so, I absolutely think that the polls will benefit Donald Trump. And that's why I think Ted Cruz's move was so bizarre. I'm assuming his team leaked this on purpose. And if you leaked this on purpose --

HARLOW: Really?

HILL: Well, I can't imagine that they are so incompetent that this audio just got out.

HARLOW: All it takes is someone hitting record on their phone, Marc. FERGUSON: Yes. Someone hitting record on their phone, it happens all

the time.

HILL: I'm not saying it's not possible, but this isn't like the Mitt Romney makers and takers kind of leak, I thought this was something --

HARLOW: Right.

HILL: I think he wanted to get into a war with Trump while being able to hide his hands, but either way it's bad timing, because Trump is going to attack him now.

HARLOW: Either way you play it, how it came out, it's out there. Ben, if Trump loses Iowa, if this Monmouth University poll is right, Cruz has a lead, if he loses Iowa, does this sort of air of invincibility go away for Trump?

FERGUSON: Absolutely it does, and the only person that he can blame for the expectation games is Donald Trump himself. When you walk out there every day and you talk about how you're beating the living you know what out of every single person out there and you've been saying this for months on end, leaving no room to ever come in second place in any state in this country. If you come out of the gate with the very first place where people vote and you don't win it, there could be an awful lot of that momentum that stops instantly --

HILL: Absolutely.

FERGUSON: And I think it also makes everybody else say, wow, maybe I should be looking at Ted Cruz. Maybe I should be looking at some other candidates, because maybe Donald Trump can't do everything he said he can. He set himself up for either you've got to win always, everywhere, or the other option is you look like you seriously lost. He can even lose by one or two percentage points, but everybody will be talking about how did Donald Trump fall? How did he not succeed?

HILL: Especially in Iowa.

FERGUSON: Especially in Iowa, and that's his own fault. There's no one to blame but Donald Trump if that happens.

HARLOW: All right. Guys, stay with me. Got to get a break in. Ben and Marc will be with us on the other side. Marc gets first word, since I know he wanted to jump in there, because tomorrow night, Donald Trump, tomorrow morning I should say, Donald Trump will be a guest on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" 9 a.m. Eastern with our very own Jake Tapper. And then the primetime debate Tuesday evening, just three days away in Las Vegas. Remarkable timing for what is the last GOP debate of 2015, and you'll only see it here on CNN.

Ahead this hour, we move from politics to policy and the question on many Americans' minds, how can the commander-in-chief keep us safe? And later, what do the Republican candidates need to say at Tuesday's debate to prove they are ready for the job?

Also this -- (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We pride ourselves that 75 percent of our leadership started off as cashiers and card pushers. We won't change that, so we've got to develop folks and we also have to make sure that they are paid effectively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: The great minimum wage debate, I sat down with the woman at the helm of one of America's largest retailers. What she told me about that fight in America right now.

Also in just a few moments, agreement reached in Paris today. President Obama speaks live about the world's efforts to fight global warming. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:12:26] HARLOW: ISIS is not contained, the direct quote this week from someone who certainly knows, Defense Secretary Ash Carter on the hill, but politics aside, how can the commander-in-chief protect the United States? All of us from terrorism.

I'm joined now by CNN military analyst, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. Thank you for being with me and when we look at that, this is the focus of the GOP debate on Tuesday night in Las Vegas and it is frankly the focus of so many Americans right now across this country. Let's look at the latest numbers, look at the change in the last month. Four percent of Americans last month thought terrorism was the most important problem, now nearly one in five Americans feel like that. And if you look recently at this CBS/New York Times poll, 44 percent of Americans think a terror attack on U.S. soil is very likely. Forget the politics, how does a president actually keep us safe?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, he's doing what he believes is necessary right now, Poppy, and it will be interesting to see how the candidates address this when asked the questions. If they revert to the simplistic of bombing ISIS, bombing the heck out of them, bombing them into the Stone Age, it will be disappointing. The key, the critical pieces right now, are continuing to influence the financing of this organization, stopping the flow of fighters, countering the messages, increasing the transference of intelligence from various nations, to and from the United States to share intelligence on the various aspects of this organization, and also affecting the ideology of this group. That's the 100-year plan that will take away the kind of terrorist actions that we've been subjected to over the last not just the last ten or 15 years, but actually multiple countries have been subjected to over the last 50 years.

HARLOW: So as people argue over comments from the candidates, including Donald Trump and his comments, proposal really for a temporary ban on Muslims coming into this country, what about just from a military standpoint, do you believe those comments play right into ISIS's hands?

HERTLING: I absolutely --

HARLOW: Do they put the United States at risk?

HERTLING: Yes. I absolutely do.

HARLOW: OK. Why?

HERTLING: Absolutely they play directly into the enemy's hands, because ISIS wants to pull western organizations into their fight. To them as a fight between Islam and the West. That is their jihad. Jihad among the true believers is any kind of struggle. ISIS is taking this to an extreme of a physical struggle of anyone that doesn't believe the extreme views of their religion the way they do should be killed and defeated. So I think, yes, it certainly does play into that realm, because they are seeing people in the West hate all Muslims and that's being transcribed that way. I'm sorry?

HARLOW: No, I was just going to say, I just came back from being in Paris and San Bernardino, and I saw the fear. I mean, I could feel the fear among people. You just saw the guest we had last hour, Paula in New Hampshire, one of the big Trump supporters, they're fearful that their neighbors might have pipe bombs.

HERTLING: Yes. That is the concern, because we're replacing compassion with fear. Outreach with internalization. Those are all the things that ISIS wants to play on, and the integration of Muslims within society as equal partners is what they don't see as a possibility, and that's what they are generating fear around, of all Muslims are the same, they are all after us, and that's just not true. And truthfully, Poppy, the piece that struck me having spent many years in the Middle East now, the most important part is understanding the culture of the Arab mind and the Islamic mind, and we're not doing a very good job of that right now. That's a critical piece in countering this fearmongering that many of the candidates are doing.

HARLOW: All right. General Hertling, thank you very much for being with us. Thank you for your service to this country. This will be the topic on Tuesday night in the debate, absolutely no question. You can see it right here on CNN. All about national security. So what can a republican on that stage say on Tuesday to convince voters they are the one to keep America safe? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:50] HARLOW: We just heard retired General Mark Hertling talk about what it takes for the future president, whoever he or she is, to keep the country safe. Well, as Tuesday's GOP debate gets closer and closer, let's talk about what the candidates need to do to convince all of you that they are up to the job.

CNN political commentators Ben Ferguson, Marc Lamont Hill back with me. Let's begin with you, Ben -- Marc, I should say Marc. Marc?

HILL: We get mixed up all the time.

HARLOW: You got the last word last time.

FERGUSON: We're getting mixed up all the time.

HARLOW: Despite taking criticism from both parties, you know, across the board for saying and proposing that Muslims should be temporarily banned from entering the United States, even subsequent polls taken in part after show that he is still surging, Donald Trump. Do you think this is going to affect the way that his competitors talk on stage on Tuesday night, even though almost all of them have come out and just swung at him for those comments?

HILL: Absolutely. It's going to totally inform their comments, because on the one hand they may actually have some moral outrage about this. Most politicians on both sides of the aisle aren't driven by their morals and ethics, they are driven by strategy. But I think some of them are genuinely outraged by this. I mean, also wants to be in step with the Americans who say, hey, Trump is offbeat on this. Trump is wrong on this. At the same time, they don't want to lose track of those voters who didn't disagree with Trump. A whole bunch of people agreed with him and are continuing to vote for him. It's the Ted Cruz logic. I don't want to throw Trump away because they're not throwing away his potential votes. So what you do is, you walk that tight rope where you say, okay, I won't go as far as Trump goes, but I won't go much farther than Democrats go.

HARLOW: But here's what I would encounter, Ben, to you, does walking a tight rope get you anywhere? Because I think if this electorate has shown one thing, it's they are sick of ambiguity.

FERGUSON: It's so easy, this may be the best opportunity for anyone on stage to really make an intent attack on Donald Trump by showing just how extreme he is while they can take a course that makes him a lot more sense without making Trump supporters mad. And how you do it, you walk out there and say, look, there are obviously some issues with immigration right now, and with the process that we saw with the San Bernardino shooter.

Great example is, how do you get your hands on one of these fiance, you know, passports, not passports, but visa, to come into this country, and if you walk out on stage and say, we can have a moratorium until we make sure we have a secure system set up, where anyone that's traveling from a country where it's a hot bed for terrorism, we're going to put a moratorium out there, that has nothing to do with being Muslim, it has nothing with the religion, and that, I think, can allow a candidate to be very smart and show that, look, you have to have a thought out plan.

You just can't go out there and throw bomb ideas like Donald Trump does. You can show a complete contrast and understanding of the issues because I think most Americans say they feel like there's a real threat of terrorism right now. We've seen polls now that have shown that.

HARLOW: So, 44 percent. FERGUSON: So you have to connect with that but you don't have to say

as Trump said, I'm banning all Muslims.

HARLOW: I have to jump in, stay with me, I'm taking a break because at any moment we're hearing from Washington, the President, President Obama will speak about a potentially historic deal that was reached today in Paris. You will hear from the President as world leaders say this deal will help keep the planet safe for future generations. Its critics say, no way, this deal does not have teeth. We will hear what President Obama says live from the White House, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:27:28] HARLOW: President Obama is about to speak about a landmark deal signed today in Paris that may affect your monthly energy bill, but a whole lot more than that. This is about the future of the world and the planet. We will bring you the President's remarks in just a few moments. World leaders are hailing this deal in Paris as a milestone in the battle to keep planet earth hospitable for human life. The final draft of an ambitious global climate change agreement accepted today in Paris. The really ambitious part getting nearly 200 countries to agree to sign on on cutting carbon emissions.

CNN's Chris Frates joins me now. Chris, the President just tweeted about this, we know he's going to come out and applaud this, but there are some very harsh critics, including really a NASA Scientist, James Hansen, the father of climate change awareness saying this doesn't have teeth, it doesn't go far enough. How's the President is going to make the case?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the President is going to talk about the number of countries, as you pointed out, there's almost 200 countries involved in this agreement. Secretary of State Kerry spoke about it a little bit earlier and he said he figured he'd get about 100 countries onboard and the fact that we have 180-plus countries is pretty huge, and there's a couple of keys to this. I mean, this is the first time in two decades, Poppy, of trying where we've seen all of the countries sign on and say, we're going to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions coming from our countries.

Those emissions limits are going to be voluntary. And that was pretty huge for the White House, because if they had been put into law, that would have meant that the President would have to take this to the Senate. Of course, Senate controlled by Republicans, and as you point out, Republicans are not in favor of this agreement. Senator Jim Inhofe, a very big climate change skeptic, somebody who once held a snowball up in the Senate floor to say that climate change wasn't happening was very critical saying this agreement doesn't mean much at all -- Poppy.

HARLOW: But as we look at live pictures of the White House cabinet room, when we gotten that two-minute warning about when the President will come out. Look, you also have those that say this doesn't have teeth because it's voluntary, because there are no hard line commitments and laws to hold countries accountable, will there be change, right Chris? FRATES: Well, that is what some folks are saying, but keep in mind

there are binding pieces of this agreement. It's a very big, broad agreement.

[17:30:00] One of those binding pieces, Poppy, is a transparency provision and that requires all the countries involved to report their greenhouse gas emissions to everyone.

HARLOW: Chris, I'm going to jump in.

Let's listen to President Obama in the cabinet room.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In my first inaugural address, I committed this country to the tireless task of combating climate change and protecting this planet for future generations. Two weeks ago, in Paris, I said before the world that we needed a strong global agreement to accomplish this goal, an enduring agreement that reduces global carbon pollution and sets the world on a course to a low carbon future. A few hours ago, we succeeded. We came together around the strong agreement the world needs. We met the moment.

I want to commend President Hollande for their leadership and hosting such a successful summit, and the French foreign minister for presiding with patience and resolve. And I want to give a special thanks to Secretary John Kerry; my senior adviser, Brian Diece; our chief negotiator, Todd Stern; and everyone on their teams for their outstanding work and for making America proud.

I also want to thank the people of nearly 200 nations, large and small, developed and developing, for working together to confront a threat to the people of all nations. Together we've shown what's possible when the world stands as one.

Today, the American people can be proud, because this historic agreement is a tribute to American leadership. Over the past seven years, we've transformed the United States into the global leader in fighting climate change. In 2009, we helped salvage a chaotic Copenhagen summit and establish the principle that all countries had a role to play in combating climate change. We then led by example with historic investments in growing industries like wind and solar, creating a new and steady stream of middle class jobs. We've set the first-ever nationwide standards to limit the amount of carbon power plants can emit into the air our children breathe. From Alaska, to the gulf coast, to the Great Plains, we've partnered with local leaders who are working to help their communities protect themselves from some of the most immediate impacts of a changing climate.

Skeptics said these actions would kill jobs. Instead, we've seen the longest streak of private-sector job creation in our history. We've driven our economic output to all-time highs, while driving our carbon pollution down to its lowest level in nearly two decades. And then with our historic joint announcement with China last year, we showed it was possible to bridge the old divides between developed and developing nations that had stymied global progress for so long. That accomplishment encouraged dozens and dozens of other nations to set their own ambitious climate targets. And that was the foundation for success in Paris, because no nation, not even one as powerful as ours, can solve this challenge alone. And no country, no matter how small, can sit on the sidelines. All of us had to solve it together.

Now, no agreement is perfect, including this one. Negotiations that involve nearly 200 nations are always challenging. Even if all the initial targets set in Paris are met, we'll only be part of the way there when it comes to reducing carbon from the atmosphere, so we cannot be complacent because of today's agreement. The problem's not solved because of this accord. But make no mistake, the Paris agreement establishes the enduring framework the world needs to solve the climate crisis. It creates the mechanism, the architecture, for us to continually tackle this problem in an effective way.

This agreement is ambitious with every nation setting and committing to their own specific targets, even as we take into account differences among nations, we'll have a strong system of transparency, including periodic reviews and independent assessments to help hold every country accountable for meeting its commitments. As technology advances, this agreement allows progress to pave the way for even more ambitious targets over time. And we have secured a broader commitment to support the most vulnerable countries as they pursue cleaner economic growth. In short, this agreement will mean less of the carbon pollution that threatens our planet and more of the jobs and economic growth driven by low carbon investment. Full implementation of this agreement will help delay or avoid climate change and will pave the way for even more progress and successive stages over the coming years. Moreover, this agreement sends a powerful signal that the world is firmly committed to a low-carbon future, and that has the potential to unleash investment and innovation in clean energy at a scale we have never seen before.

[17:35:35] The targets we've set are bold and, by empowering businesses, scientists, engineers, workers, and the private sector, investors, to work together, this agreement represents the best chance we've had to save the one planet that we've got.

So I believe this moment can be a turning point for the world. We've shown that the world has both the will and the ability to take on this challenge. It won't be easy. Progress won't always come quick. We cannot be complacent. While our generation will see some of the benefits of building a clean energy economy, jobs created, money saved, we may not live to see the full realization of our achievement, but that's OK. What matters is that today we can be more confident that this planet is going to be in better shape for the next generation, and that's what I care about. I imagine taking my grandkids, if I'm lucky enough to have some, to the park some day and holding their hands and hearing their laughter and watching a quiet sunset, all the while knowing that our work today prevented an alternate future that could have been grim, that our work here and now to give future generations cleaner air and cleaner water and a more sustainable planet. And what could be more important than that?

Today, thanks to strong principled American leadership, that's the world we'll leave to our children, a world that is safer and more secure, more prosperous, and more free. And that is our most important mission in our short time here on this earth. Thanks.

HARLOW: There you have it, the president of the United States, Barack Obama, saying we have met the moment, talking about a critical, critical climate agreement reached in Paris, what could be a landmark deal. He commended the work of leaders of almost 200 countries coming together to sign this accord. He said we have shown what is possible when we all come together. He also said and noted his critics and said that this agreement is not perfect. He said we have a chance to save the one planet that we've got. The president speaking there.

Next, the politics of it all straight ahead. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:41:42] HARLOW: We just heard from President Obama speaking live about a landmark climate deal reached today in Paris. Delegates from nearly 200 countries agreed to cut carbon emissions across the board. World leaders say the deal may help and should help keep our planet safe for our children, our grandchildren. Critics say, not so fast. They argue the deal doesn't really have teeth. The main goal, the big headline here, is it would limit warming to two degrees Celsius, 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, over pre-industrial averages. That is the goal. They are also aiming to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius, so to do better. How? Nearly 200 countries must cut carbon emissions. Part of the deal is legally binding, part is voluntary.

Let's bring back our political commentators, Ben Ferguson and Marc Lamont Hill.

To both of you, and, Marc, let me begin with you, realistically, you have things here that are voluntary because it would be very hard to get them through a Republican-backed Congress, but the problem with voluntary means that not everyone legally has to oblige. Where do you fall on it?

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That's the problem, not everyone has to legally oblige, so what happens is there will be people in this nation who make the same decision that nations and other governments do make, which is not to follow international protocol, which is to not follow measured standards, and the other problem right now is we don't have any clear, lucid, and specific language about what the number should look like, standards should look like, protocol should look like, and as a consequence, it's hard to get anywhere.

HARLOW: I want to read what Mitch McConnell just said. I just got this statement in from his staff. Here's what he said, in part, "The president is making promises he can't keep, writing checks he can't cash, and stepping over the middle class to take credit for an agreement that is subject to being shredded in 13 months."

Ben, he's saying this isn't monumental. Do you agree?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think it's monumental. And I think there's a couple reasons. One, this deal pretty much is a bunch of hype when you have India and China who aren't playing by the same standards as most of the other countries. There was not enough pressure put on India and China, and now what we see is they, one, are not as energy efficient when it comes to burning fossil fuels, and when you see not just American jobs, but other manufacturers around the world that continue to go there and they are going to exploit these standards that we're putting on this country and other countries if they play by the rules are putting on them, they are going to exploit that, say come manufacture in our country.

(CROSSTALK)

LAMONT HILL: But what does an actual response look like with, say, China, Ben? I agree with you, more could be done.

FERGUSON: One, instead of acting like we actually accomplished anything today, let's put real pressure on those two countries.

(CROSSTALK)

LAMONT HILL: What's that look like? How?

FERGUSON: Wait a minute. Let me finish.

LAMONT HILL: That's what I'm asking, how?

FERGUSON: What you are going to have here is you're going to have American manufacturing jobs that will be lost because of this deal, and you will have more pollution because those jobs are going to move to places like India and China, where they can pollute and they are not going to play by the same rules that we are now putting on ourselves. This puts America at a disadvantage, even though we are a leader on global climate change. That's obvious. We've done a great job over the last five or six years, I'll give the president credit for that.

LAMONT HILL: We still amount for a disproportionate amount of pollution. Obviously, China is a great --

(CROSSTALK)

[17:45:07] HARLOW: China exceeds that.

LAMONT HILL: By far.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: But the president --

LAMONT HILL: By far.

HARLOW: -- well, two things. The president refuted those who said this is going to cost jobs. We have to see net-net how it plays out. Jobs are also created in the green energy space, but I hear you --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: I hear you on that argument.

Here's the thing, all these countries are coming from different places. You know, if you're sitting in China, if you're sitting in India, you're saying, this is our Industrial Revolution. We didn't put these limits on you, the United States of America, when you were going through the transformation economically and industrially that we are right now.

What do you say to that, Marc, where an agreement can be reached when you have nations at such different places?

LAMONT HILL: Absolutely, and when we look at, say, basic nations, India, for example, we can go down the list. It's a sharply different moment for them technologically and economically than it is for the states. But ultimately, we have to look at ethical and moral argument, which is if we allow every country to experience its own Industrial Revolution, absolutely disconnected from the kind of pressures that it places on the environment, ultimately, there won't be an environment to experience. There won't be an environment for us to live in. We have to do what's best for the planet. It's a concrete argument, unfortunately, China hasn't always responded positively. In fact, it's been dishonest about their commitment to reducing their emissions. The problem is, -- and this is where I disagree with Ben fully -- that's not on Obama and not something you can say, hey, we'll put more pressure -- what's pressure on China look like as a practical matter except make a commitment to be good citizens?

(CROSSTALK)

FERGUSON: For one, I think you can say we're going to put a tariff if you guys don't go along with some of our manufacturing when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, but that was never talked about at the table because China said they wouldn't come to the table if that was a part of the solution.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Again, that's something that has to get through Congress.

I have to leave it there. We will keep talking about this. I have to get a break in.

Ben and Marc, thank you very much.

LAMONT HILL: Thanks.

HARLOW: Looking ahead to our coverage ahead, much more of my interview with New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. She shares her thoughts on the $15 minimum wage fight. Also, I asked her whether she would run for president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: We have yet to see a woman hold the Oval Office. Would you like to be president one day? SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, (R), NEW YORK: Well, I'd like Hillary

Clinton to be president one day.

HARLOW: I know you would.

(LAUGHTER)

I'm asking if you would like to be president one day.

GILLIBRAND: I don't aspire to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: But first, we want you to meet our "CNN Hero" of the year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, A.C. 360 & CNN HOST, CNN HEROES, AN ALL- STAR TRIBUTE: Ladies and gentlemen, the 2015 CNN Hero of the year is Maggie Doyne.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you heard your name said on stage --

MAGGIE DOYNE, CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: From Anderson Cooper's mouth.

PEREIRA: -- from Anderson Cooper's mouth -- what went through your mind?

DOYNE: Just joy, just pure joy and gratitude.

PEREIRA: What does it feel like?

DOYNE: Proud. I'm proud that I took that step and I'm happy for the kids. This is really for them. They are the ones with the hard stories and the struggles, and they have overcome so much.

PEREIRA: What do you want people to know about the children of Nepal?

DOYNE: There's hundreds of thousands of girls who are not enrolled in school, and many hundred orphaned children because of civil war, and disease and starvation, and I can't do it alone, we have to do it together.

PEREIRA: How is this money going to help you?

DOYNE: I am building a brand-new school, and I'm going to take in more kids. It's gas in the tank. It is remembering what this is all about, and why we do it. So I am taking this back to Nepal and for Nepal and for my kids, and I'm just going to keep going.

PEREIRA: We are terrifically proud of you, young lady.

DOYNE: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Keep on doing it, OK? DOYNE: Thank you, Michaela.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:53:15] HARLOW: Back to one of our top stories tonight, two suspects with Syrian passports are under arrest in Geneva, Switzerland. They are linked to a car with traces of possible bomb- making chemicals. Authorities have been looking for at least two people with indirect links to those involved in last month's terror attack in Paris. Right now, authorities are saying, if those two Geneva arrests are connected -- they're not saying they're connected to the massacre in Paris. But tonight, Geneva remains on high alert.

CNN international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, has the latest from Geneva.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: So what we have right now, the authorities here say that the two men that they've picked up, arrested, both have what appear to be authentic Syrian passports. However, there's a lot of questions the authorities here are not answering. They won't give details about the vehicle the men were driving. They won't say if these men had a Schengen visa in their passports. This is the visa you would require if you wanted to travel freely inside Europe. That's an important detail. They do say that these two men with the Syrian passports don't speak French, which would be significant here in the Geneva area because people, obviously, speak French here. The federal authorities are saying they are investigating the two men for possible ties to a terrorist organization. They're not saying which terrorist organization it might be.

And on the issue of those traces of explosives found in the vehicle, that's how the prosecutor here in Geneva is describing it, traces of explosives. However, a European security source has told CNN that perhaps from his understanding this is not sort of explosives themselves, rather the precursor chemicals, meaning the sort of ingredients you would use to make a homemade bomb.

So at the moment, a lot of details are still being investigated. This is a city on a high state of alert. Authorities say do expect more house searches and more arrests. But don't read too much into those arrests. They're saying, the prosecutor in Geneva saying that not all of the people who may be arrested are necessarily terrorists. That's how they're cautioning it here at the moment.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Geneva, Switzerland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:55:29] HARLOW: Nic Robertson with the latest from Geneva. Thank you very much, Nic.

You can always get the latest breaking news at CNN.com.

I will be back with you at 7:00 p.m. eastern, in one hour's time.

But "Smerconish" starts right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:59:40] MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, SMERCONISH: I'm Michael Smerconish.